Is This the End?

Chapter Eight

Buffy entered her house very quietly. Angel had returned her as soon as she’d woken up. Cordelia had been walking to the bathroom, so Buffy had her ask him for her. Buffy had been friends with Angel as long as she could remember. Angel hadn’t even asked questions, had just gotten dressed, and drove her to her house. He’d tried to talk her into staying, even it if meant sharing a tent with someone else, but she didn’t want to ruing anyone else’s weekend. It was around six A.M. on Saturday, and Buffy was sneaking into her house. Her mom was probably going to be upset with her that she hadn’t stayed. She seemed to love the idea of her getting married. Buffy was going to have a huge talk with Spike, because his behavior was unforgivable. She just hoped that he followed her wish in her letter. She really didn’t want him to come after her, because she really needed to cool off. Her temper was still a little high, and her feelings still a little hurt. She was trying to go up the stairs, when her sister stopped her.

“ Buffy, what are you doing home? I thought your camping trip was going to last until tomorrow.” Buffy smiled weakly at her little sister.

“ The camping trip is lasting until tomorrow, I just came home early, is all.” Dawn tried to read Buffy’s expression, but she was careful to hide hurt. She continued up the steps, and didn’t realize when Dawn followed her into her room.

“ Dawn, what is it? I didn’t really sleep well last night, I was hoping to catch a few hours.” Dawn nodded at her, but sat down on her bed anyway.

“ I’ll let you go to sleep in just a minute, okay? I just want to know what happened. Did you and Spike get into a fight or something?” Buffy sighed and flopped down on her bed.

“ Yes, as a matter of fact, we did. I can’t tell you why, kid, but let me tell you, Spike was a very big asshole.” Dawn gave Buffy a mock shocked expression.

“ You just called your future husband an asshole. Is that going to be a regular thing?” Buffy smiled at her.

“ Probably, now if you don’t mind, I’m really sleepy.” Dawn finally took her hint, and left her room. Buffy took off her jacket, and dressed for bed once again. When she climbed into her own bed, she got a huge wave of sadness. She already missed Spike, but there was no way she was going back. Buffy refused to let herself cry again, and finally drifted off to a fitful sleep.

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Spike had drifted back off to sleep after reading Buffy’s note. When he woke back up, Spike sighed already feeling her absence. He quickly got dressed, and walked out of his tent. Angel, Cordelia, Anya, and Oz were already up and about. Spike set up his camping chair, and settled in without saying a word to anyone. Angel was standing over the cooler, trying to find something to eat for breakfast. When he saw Spike, he straightened, and walked over to him.

“ You’re not going to go after her?” Spike at first didn’t answer him. He really didn’t think it was any of their business what he did with his girlfriend.

“ She asked me not to, mate. She was very specific in her note that she did not want me to contact her until Monday.” Angel shook his head, and walked away from him. Cordelia, on the other hand, moved her chair closer to him.

“ She was pretty upset this morning, Spike. I’m sure she’s had time to cool off. I would definitely go after her if I were you. Besides, we were all going to go hiking, remember? We’d all be disappointed if she missed it.” Spike sighed and knew that they were right. He grinned at her, and hopped out of the chair heading towards his car. When he started up his car, Angel waved at him smiling.

When Spike pulled into Buffy’s driveway, it was after eleven. He took a deep breath and headed towards the front door. When he knocked on the door, he heard shuffling, and then giggling. It was quite a bit before Dawn finally answered the door. When she saw him, her smile instantly vanished. He didn’t care, though, he plunged ahead.

“ Hey Dawn, is Buffy up yet?” It seemed to Spike that Dawn immediately started to fidget.

“ Spike, Buffy isn’t here. She got up about an hour ago, and went to the mall with Lindsey.” It took a moment before the name registered with him. When he finally remembered that Lindsey was their cousin that was in college, he frowned.

“ Dawnie, Your cousin is in Chicago. School is still in, you know?” Dawn sighed, and moved out on the porch.

“ Okay look, she’s in her room, but she told me to tell you she wasn’t here if you showed up. She made it very clear that she didn’t want to see you until Monday at school. If I were you, Spike, I wouldn’t try to see her before then. She’s been pretty upset, you know?” Spike just nodded, and walked away without saying goodbye. He jumped back into his car, and skidded out of their driveway. When he returned back to the campsite without Buffy, no one said anything. Instead they gathered their hiking gear, and the group, including Spike, headed off on their favorite trail.