My Immortal

Chapter 7


Buffy made it back to her house in time to be caught by Joyce on the stairs. Joyce stood at the bottom trying to put in an earring. She looked up and smiled. Buffys heart raced and she waited for the onslaught of ' your a delinquent, what did I do to deserve this' , but it never came. Not only did Joyce think that she had just woken , but she didn't register that she was wearing the same clothing. Joyce didn't even notice the blood and dust that clung to Buffys clothes. She hurriedly told Buffy that she had left some money on the side in the kitchen and that she would be home late as today was the Franco exhibit.

Joyce kissed Buffy and left for work. Buffy slumped on the stair she was stood on and tilted her back against the wall. She had only been the slayer for a matter of weeks and already it had turned her life upside down. How was she supposed to avert apocalypses and still study and have friends and keep her Mum safe and deal with all the usual teenage angst?

"Great, jump on your own pity train to depressville"

Snapping herself out of it, Buffy ran upstairs and got into a hot shower. She got dressed and decided that today she would train with Giles. After her dream and Giles talking about the prophesied Harvest, she knew she had to get as fit as possible.They could research after training, just as long as she was back in time to spend some QT with her Mum.

As was normal for her, she bounded through the front door calling his name and then slamming the door behind her. Buffy wasn't expecting to see that he had company, not just anyone, the taller vampire from her dream, the same one that had been in the cemetery last night .

"What is he doing here? Have you lost you mind? "
"Buffy, Angel is here to help you. He is on a mission of sorts, sent by the Powers That Be"
"The Who-be's?"

Giles smiled, he was getting used to the way the girl spoke and at times found it refreshing, like now, other times it was tiresome and would cause him to have a headache. Of all the young Slayers he had trained with the Council or had been a Watcher too, Buffy was the hardest to work with. And he'd been her Watcher for a short time.

Angel stood awkwardly, his shoulders hunched and his gaze was kept to the floor. Buffy frowned. Why was this vampire giving her the totally submissive vibe? Okay so he was working for the good guys but that didn't mean that he couldn't have a bit of pride.

"Okay so, he comes here, says 'I'm a good guy and here to work with the Slayer' , and you buy it"
"It's not quite that simple" Giles said , which made Buffy frown again.
"So these Powers, they send me a vampire to help protect me. I want to know why I should trust him"

Angel walked over and stood beside Giles . He smiled at Buffy sheepishly .

"I have a soul, I'm the only vampire to have been given their soul back"

Buffy thought about it for a while.Spike had said the same thing to her last night. She remained silent and eyed Angel with suspicion.What was a soul anyway? So it was like a humans essence, it didn't automatically make them a good person, did it? The way he was smiling at her now was giving her goose bumps. Great, now he was walking towards her.

Angel stood before Buffy and reached out and took her hand in his. Giles stood back and watched curiously. When the vampire morphed , Buffy took the stake and raised it, ready to plunge it into Angels cold dead heart. His fangs never broke the skin as his lips played along the vein in her wrist. Buffy pulled her hand away from his clutches and lowered the stake.

"So you have control, still doesn't prove your not evil. Spike managed to stop himself from trying to kill me for days, what you just did , proves nothing"

Buffy ignored the calls from both her Watcher and the vampire as she marched out of the apartment. Daylight stopped Angel from following her, Giles stood and cleaned the lenses of his specs again. His Slayer was definitely a lore unto herself. Giles gestured towards the couch, Angel sat and leant elbows on knees as he considered his part in this headstrong girls life. She certainly had spunk and he kinda liked it. He smiled as he thought how interesting his life was going to be.

"Stupid vampire! Thinking he could lick and kiss my wrist and prove a point!"

Buffy wiped her wrist against her jeans even though there was nothing offensive there. She looked up and found herself walking through Restfield cemetery. This was the oldest and therefore, had the largest collection of crypts. As she passed one, her senses heightened and she stopped dead in her tracks. Buffy took out the stake she had threatened Angel with and edged towards the crypt doors. She swung it open and leapt inside, expecting to find a fledgling sleeping away the daylight hours. It looked empty and yet the sensation that shot down her spine and thrummed through every nerve ending , told her different. Sighing loudly , Buffy walked towards the darkened part of the crypt and saw the gap in the floor. She tucked her stake into the back of her jeans and jumped down into the gap. Landing lightly , she furrowed her brows and stared into the blackness. Her senses warned of one vampire, off to her left and closing in. Buffy calmed her breathing and focused her minds eye. Her senses told her that the demon as now stood behind her. She spun and connected with it. Hearing the crack as it's nose broke, she smiled before raising her fist again, only to find it encased within a larger fist.

"Ow, that bloody hurt ! You broke my bloody nose you stupid soddin bint!"
"Spike?"
"Who else do you know with this bleedin' accent love?"

Buffy fell into a fighting stance, her senses shot to oblivion by his close proximity. He moaned and cursed as he touched his nose , causing a snigger to escape her. Finally she relaxed and blinked as he lit some of the candles that littered the lower level of the crypt.

Spike was naked, just a pair of , open to the crutch , black jeans hugged his lean and muscular figure. Buffy stared , having never seen a man, or a boy of her age for that matter, in a state of undress. She shook her head as she realised what she was doing. Not before Spike had seen it and could smell her arousal. He swallowed hard and picked up the t shirt he had discarded earlier that night. He pulled it over his head and then searched for his cigarettes. During this time Buffy remained quiet. Something bothered Spike. A new scent, or rather an old one that he recognised, invaded his senses.

"Angelus"

His statement confused her, she frowned.

"Huh?"
"Angelus, I can smell him on you"
"Right.. Angelus?What is it with you two anyway?"

Spike laughed as he lit his cigarette
"Tha's the one cutie, so he saw you earlier then?"
"Yeah, he was at my Watchers house when I went there earlier"

The tension seemed to be equalised between the two of them.

"How do you know him?"

Buffy needed to know about Angel and Spike seemed to know him and possibly , had the answers.

"Oh, me and the Poof go way back pet, Now why was he at your Watchers?"
"He said he was sent here to protect me and to help me, the Powers that Be sent him"

Spike laughed louder than ever and it echoed through the room.Buffy frowned again. Anymore of this frowning and she would get wrinklies.

"That's classic that is! He's still using that excuse"
"Is he lying to us then? Is he still dangerous?"
"No.. don't fret so much, he's as safe as bloody houses pet, Just bloody ironic that's wha' it is and like I said last night, his bitches tend to follow him around"

After a moments silence Spike moved towards her and stroked at her hair.

"So Goldilocks, Angelus is here and is s'posed to protect you from the likes of me, so where is the great git Hmmm?"

Buffy swallowed hard, both at the closeness of Spike and also the possible threat after the encounter that left her with his mark.

"I.. left him with my Watcher, I stormed out"
"And came here... to me?"
"No!"
"And yet, here you are"
"I didn't know it was you, I just felt a vampire near and came in here to kill it"

Spike backed off a little and held his arms out wide. His fag hung loosely from his lips, his eyes narrowed as he took her reactions in. He knew then that she couldn't do it. His mark gave him a connection to her. His gaze fell upon the bite that he had given her and her eyes narrowed.

"If you think this will stop me, your wrong. I know how to break your hold on me. Maybe I should just let Angel bite me and break the bond"

He growled and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her in close. Buffy dropped the stake and turned her head away from his face. Fury built behind his eyes and his face changed. His fangs dropped and he teased the bite that she already wore. Small droplets formed on the surface of her skin. Spike lapped at them like a kitten laps at milk. Buffy shuddered at the sensation and silent tears fell. Her body betrayed the Slayer within.

"Your Mine! I smell that wanker on you and I won' be responsible for my actions Buffy. You been warned"

He let her go and she watched from the floor, as he climbed the ladder in a swirl of black leather.She remained on the floor for what seemed to her to have been hours and yet, Spike hadn't reappeared.

Slowly, Buffy made her way back through the cemetery and back to Giles' apartment. Once there, she knocked . Giles opened the door and stood aside so that she could enter. Buffy closed her eyes and sighed as she saw that Angel was still there. She stood by the kitchen and avoided eye contact with the large vampire. Angel stared at her and flared his nostrils, Spikes scent was all over her. He growled and stood, making Buffy back away further. Giles noticed the strange actions from both his Slayer and the vampire. He cleared his throat, effectively cutting off the tension building between them both.

"Is there something I should know Buffy?"

Buffy didn't take her eyes off Angel as she answered Giles.

"Ran into Spike, he's warned me about some women that follow Angel, told me they're dangerous, I want answers and I want them now"