Twining Vines (COMPLETE)

*~*Twining Vines*~* By Echidna

Author's Note - Thanks soooooo much to Ali for BETA reading this chapter and suggesting changes!!! ;)

Part VI - Invitation

A chill ran down her spine as the cold water splashed against her flushed face. She looked up and stared at her reflection in the mirror; her mind swirled. A light knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Come in.” she spoke with a sleepy voice

Tara’s head pop out from behind the white door.

“Hey…” she greeted as she stepped in.

“Hey.”

Buffy rubbed the soft fabric of the towel against the wet skin of her face.

“I-I thought you might want this.” Tara outstretched her arms handing her am cum cup of hot chocolate.

“Thanks.” She nodded, taking the warm mug in her small hands and walking into her room, closely followed by the witch.

“C-Can we talk?” Tara stuttered awkwardly as she stepped into the room.

“Sure.” Buffy said with a weak smile, taking a seat on the bed and signalling the tall girl to do the same.

“Thanks.” Tara said as she sat down. “I hope you d-don’t mind but… Willow and I are a bit worried about you. You have been so distant… so-“

“Spike and I broke up.” Buffy suddenly blurted out.

“Oh… I figured so.” Tara said showing little surprise.

“I-I mean, I called it all off right after Riley left. I-It was just the right thing to do, you know?” she explained as she set the mug on her nightstand.

“I-If you say so.” Tara spoke with her usual soft and understanding tone which made it so easy for Buffy to open up.

“It was.” The blond girl said without much resolve, but looking up at Tara she added with little more conviction: “I know it was.”

“Then why are you like this?” the witch hesitated a bit, but was relieved when Buffy didn’t snap and merely dropped her gaze to her hands.

She fidgeted nervously with her fingers as she pondered how to say what she wanted to say. Finally, she took a deep breath and, never looking up, she spoke:

“I saw him… at the DoubleMeat Palace… He was with someone… A woman.”

“W-well, they c-could just be friends.” Tara offered.

Buffy suddenly looked up from her hands and stared straight into Tara’s eyes.

“He was grinding her against the back wall of the DoubleMeat.” She set her mouth in a straight line.

“Oh.” Tara quipped figuring Spike might have been fighting the woman but, seeing the look on Buffy’s face, realisation came crashing down on her; “Oh!” she repeated a little more loudly, as the sexual connotation of the verb ‘to grind’ sprang to mind. “Oh!”

“Yeah,’oh!’ ! My reaction was more of a ‘*Thud* now I’m laying unconscious on the floor’ sort of thing.” Buffy tried to seem unaffected by the news she was just giving the witch, but failed as the tears began to swim in her eyes, turning them glassy and bloodshot.

“Oh, Buffy I-I’m sorry!” Tara tried to calm her.

“And tonight I decided to have some fun, you know? Not let the evil creature of the dark get to me? And guess who I find? Spike… With his new skanky ho!” Anger was growing in her and quickly becoming the dominant emotion. “And she was all nice and smile and… God, I wanted to rip that smug smile off her face!” she hissed between clenched teeth. “And he was staring, gawking at her like she was… You know what? I think she was a man. I mean she has a man’s name. What kind of name is Sam, anyway?”

“Buffy, I-it’s ok to be jealous, you-“

“Jealous? Who’s jealous? I’m not jealous!” The blond said defensively, standing up and beginning to walk in circles as she rambled: “I’m just angry that he had to come to the DoubleMeat and rub it in my face and then act all ‘Oh, what are you angry about? What did I do wrong?’ I’ll tell him what he did wrong. That little weasel.” She practically growled, fisting her hands as she paced around, causing Tara some unease.

“What did he do wrong? B-besides come to your workplace a-and…” she tried to imagine how to word it and instead decided to just skip that part of her reasoning. “And…” she tilted her head and continued: “…Wh-which I can understand would make you angry.”

“Well, isn’t it enough?” Buffy quipped.

“E-enough to get you t-his angry?” Tara wondered. “Are you sure you’re just angry?”

Buffy stared wide eyed at the woman sitting on her bed and finally stated matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest:

“I’m *not* jealous!”

~++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++~

“She’s jealous!” Spike practically chanted as he hopped onto his sarcophagus.

“Oy, I’m starting to regret ever telling you about that.” Sam mumbled from the armchair as she blindly looked at the black and white images flickering on the TV set. She heard him sighing loudly and turned to see a dreamy look on his face. A couple of images coming from the dazed vampire flashed in her mind and she couldn’t help but cringe. “I think I’m gonna be sick.” She muttered wondering which was worst - the highly R rated footage from before or the new and improved Mexican soap opera that now passed before her eyes.

Snapping out of his dreamy haze he noticed the disgusted look she was giving him.

“What?” he asked defensively. Her index finger tapped on her temple and he grumbled: “Well, turn that thing off then.”

“I can’t turn if off. It’s kinda like me telling you to not listen when someone’s screaming in your ears.” She made a face and returned her attention to the TV.

Spike hopped off the sarcophagus and slowly approached her. Her eyes remained glued to the television as she tried to ignore the vampire who now kneeled on the floor to her right and stared intensely at her. They stayed that way for a few seconds until she snapped and whipped her head around to look back at him.

“What?” she asked annoyed. As she saw the lost little puppy dog look he was giving her she rolled her eyes and tilted her head, spurring him on to tell her what was going on.

“When are we going out again?” he practically sinsonged the words out of his mouth.

She tried hard not to smile, working hard at keeping her cool exterior.

“And why do you want to go out? I thought you liked staying at home… moping.”

“You cured me.” He quipped.

“Right.” She said with a mocking tone.

“Ah… come on!” he practically begged tilting his head as his lip jutted out for a pout.

“You can put that lip back in place. It’s not working its magic today.” Sam lied.

He frowned and the pout grew.

“You have to understand we can’t overexpose this thing. If you do, the jealousy is just gonna turn into pain or anger, which is bad. You still have to grasp the concept of subtlety and suggestion. You wouldn’t believe what those two things together can do.” She took a french-fry from the bag she was holding in her hands and popped it into her mouth, turning to face the TV.

Spike began to protest, but found it impossible as she quickly stuck a fry in his open mouth and said with a shrewd tone:

“Subtlety and suggestion.”

Spike sulked and resigned to munch on his fry.

~++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++~

“Buffy! I’m home!” Dawn bellowed closing the door behind her and hoping her way upstairs. Getting no answer, she repeated louder: “Buffy!”

“I heard you the first time.” She grumbled, dragging her feet as she exited the bathroom.

“Are you ready?” the young teenager asked with a huge grin.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Boy, you’re in a lousy mood today for a change…” Dawn noted sarcastically, then added: “No!”

Buffy mumbled something unintelligible under her breath as she walked into her room and got her bag.

In a few minutes, the two sisters were out the door and heading for the mall. Dawn practically hopped the whole way there.

“So, what do you think we should get her?” she asked a little too enthusiastic.

“What are you so happy about? It’s just ahelohelor party and it’s next Saturday, I don’t know why we have to buy a present right now.” Buffy continued oozing her ‘good mood’ as she entered the large department store.

“Because you’re working tomorrow and the rest of the week and I have classes. Our schedules clash.” Dawn explained matter-of-factly as she stared at a shop’s window.

“Right…”

“How about that?” The younger girl asked pointing at a strangely shaped mug.

Buffy cringed shaking her head in disapproval.

“Well, what about this?” Dawn pointed at another option and got the same reaction from her sister.

This went on for a while until the teenager had enough and decided to protest:

“Come on, Buffy. You’re suppose to choose with me, not simply moan and groan and be ‘negativity queen’.”

“I’m not ‘negativity queen’?” Buffy complained.

“Yeah, cause you’re so enthusiastic about this whole wedding thing.”

“Since when did you become so cynical?”

“Right about the same time you became an anger ball.”

“Anger ball?” Buffy cocked up an eyebrow.

“I’m going through a Ryan Philippe phase.” Dawn admitted a bit embarrassed.

“You’ve seen that movie one too many times.”

“Oh, but he looks sooooo cute and cuddly and…” Dawn noticed the disgusted looked her sister was giving her and cut her drooling short. “Fine, let’s just find something for Anya.”

~++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++~

The vampire turned on his sarcophagus as he tried desperately to ignore the sound of longs nails tapping on wood, but the more he tried to block it out the louder it seemed to get.

“WILL YOU QUIT DOING THAT? I’m trying to sleep here.” He finally snapped, sitting up straight and staring at the woman who sat on the armchair.

“Sorry.” She said with a small voice.

“Thank you.” He grumbled laying back down to sleep.

A few minutes went by and the vampire actually believed he was going to get some shut-eye when a strange blipping sound filled the crypt, after a few seconds he recognized the series of off key ring as notes of Beethoven’s 5th.

“What the bloody fu-“ He stopped in mid sentence as he saw Sam standing up and begin to speak apparently to no one in particular as she brought her hand to her ear; the annoying sound disappearing. Looking more closely, he noticed she was holding something up to her ear.

He waited a few seconds and soon Sam dropped her hand. She pressed a button on the object she held and another single screeching sound was heard. She looked up and gave him a wicked smile.

“You have a cell phone? Since when do you have a cell phone?” he asked confused.

“Since my shopping spree. I always wanted to have one.” She quickly explained, the impious grin never leaving her lips.

“What?” he questioned. The way she was smiling he wasn’t really sure if he wanted to know.

“You should drop to your knees right now and kiss the floor I’m walking on.” She nodded as she spoke.

“And that would be because…?”

“I’m going to a party.” She announced matter-of-factly.

“We are?” he asked, not sure if it was good or bad news.

“Not ‘we’, *I* am!” She corrected.

“And that would affect me because…?” During the few days he had known her, he had realised that the best way to get things out of her quickly was by making incomplete sentences in the form of a question that she would have to complete.

“Because said party is at your true love’s house.” The grin on her face grew while Spike’s face seemed to crunch up, every muscle contracting and pulling in separate directions as he began to choke.

“Wh-“ cough. “Wh-“ cough, cough.

“I’m assuming the question is ‘what’. Am I right? Nod if it is.” She said.

He nodded fanatically.

“Ok. Well, Anya just called me…”

“You…” cough. “You…” cough.”

“I thought vampire’s couldn’t choke?” she asked annoyed as his coughing fit was ruining her moment of triumph.

After few seconds, Spike calmed down and asked, ignoring her question:

“You know Anya?”

“And Alexander, and Willow, and Tara. Tara was nice, shy, but nice. Got very pretty pictures from her head. She’s sweet, she really likes Wil-“

“How?” The vampire interrupted.

“I met them at the Bronze. Willow and Tara, I mean. I met Anya at her shop, along with Xander, but he didn’t remember me.” She pouted for a second but then added: “But after last night… I’m sure he’ll remember.” The wicked grin returned to her lips.

“You and Xander?” The vampire was totally confused now as well as a little disgusted.

“Oh, God no!!” Sam denied vehemently shaking her head. “Just the…” she tapped on her temple. “I got when he saw me. Believe me, that man’s totally smitten with Anya. Anyway, I went into a shop yesterday to buy some candles and incense sticks to get the horrible stench out of this crypt…”

“I liked that stench. It was my stench, now all my clothes smell like jasmine.” Spike used the opportunity to protest.

“Well, I like jasmine, so get used to it. Moving on… I started talking to Anya and realised she was a friend of Buffy’s.” she tapped her finger on her temple once more.

“And this information just slipped your mind, right? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you were too busy grilling me about the fact that I now have a pulse, remember?” Sam complained, before continuing: “So, at the Bronze, I bumped into her when I went to the ladies room. We chatted about her engagement and the fact that it was taking forever. Xander is really… Actually, no! All of you are. All men are just-“

“Can we skip the ‘men have the emotional skills of an amoeba and are the most insensitive creatures on the face of the planet’ speech?” Spike interrupted a bit annoyed at her babbling.

“This is why you and *her* aren’t together. You people don’t talk. You have a problem, you do one of two things: ignore it and boink each other till one of you drops senseless or ignore it and beat each other up till one of you drops senseless.” Sam finished her speech to find a very annoyed Spike looking back at her. “Ok, fine. Geez… We talked, I gave her my phone number, she told me to come meet her friends, I met her friends, I saw you and little blondie on the dance floor and interrupted. That about sums it up. Oh, wait, no. Anya just called me, inviting me to go to her bachelor party next Saturday. She reminded me to buy her something expensive.” Sam took a long breath as she finished.

“You’re going to Buffy’s house next Saturday?” Spike finally asked.

“And I’m going to make your girlfriend green with envy while being extra nice to her, which will make her nuts, since I’m not giving her any excuse to hate me, besides the fact that she thinks I’m boinking you.” Sam summed up her plan as she dropped onto the armchair. “Oh, that reminds me. I have to buy something to wear.”

“You’re buying something to wear? What about the pile of clothes downstairs?” Spike asked in disbelief.

“I need green envy causing material!” Sam announced turning on the TV.

To Be Continued...