Chapter 12 – Who's Sorry Now
The rest of the week went by quickly, which surprised Buffy. But professors who gave out homework on the very first day of class were the only demons she had time to deal with.
She still tried to patrol each night, at least for a little while. Things were strangely quiet on campus. So quiet that Buffy wondered if maybe the Initiative was back in business, especially since she hadn't seen Riley since he left Spike's crypt that night. If he hadn't rejoined his old crew, she still didn't think he was trying to go all Invisible Man. Their lives just didn't seem to intersect much.
As for Spike, well, Buffy really had been avoiding him. She'd seen him on campus while patrolling a few nights ago, and as much as she wanted to ask him what he was doing there, she didn't want to have to deal with the inevitable confrontation that would follow. So she'd decided to patrol somewhere that was else. Not that she was running away or anything.
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Saturday morning, Buffy stood in the cafeteria line with Willow and Tara.
"I thought you'd go home to see your mom this weekend," Willow said.
Buffy shrugged. "She had a date today. Some guy she met at the gallery. Maybe I'll go see her tomorrow and get all the not-so-juicy details."
Willow glanced at Tara before turning back to Buffy. "So, Buffy. We haven't seen much of you and nothing of Riley in a while. Is there a story that needs telling there?"
Buffy fiddled with the necklace she was wearing. "Riley and I aren't seeing each other anymore."
Willow backhanded her on the shoulder. "And you're just telling us this now?"
"What happened, Buffy?" Tara asked.
"Let's wait until we get our food. I can't spill a tale of woe on an empty stomach."
"Woe?" Willow said. "There's woe?"
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"...and then he staked Spike, we had words and I haven't seen him since," Buffy finished.
"He staked Spike?" Tara asked.
"How do you feel about that?" Willow added.
Buffy waved her hands. "No, no. Spike's not blowing in the wind. Riley used a plastic stake. It hurt Spike, but it didn't make him dusty."
"Why would Riley stake Spike?" Tara asked.
"Heh . Well, that's the funny part. Or not funny. Actually, more embarrassing. Humiliating?"
"Buffy..." Willow said.
Buffy put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. "Spike and I slept together and Riley found out," she mumbled into her danish .
After not hearing anything for several seconds, Buffy looked up. Willow and Tara were staring at her with wide eyes.
"I know," Buffy said. "I've gone completely insane. They should take away my Slayer ID and send me to the stockades or something. Not that they could. You don't think they could do that, do you?"
Willow shook herself a little. "You slept with Spike? Actually, I don't know why I didn't see this coming. You two have been doing the sexual innuendo thing for years."
Buffy opened her mouth in shock. "We so have NOT."
Tara nodded. "You really have."
"I mean, first you kiss him," Willow said, ticking off points on her fingers, "then you kiss him again, then you find out there's no spell... The next logical step would be you sleeping together."
"What kind of a jump in logic is THAT, Evel Knievel?"
"Well, that's what happened, isn't it?" When Buffy flushed, Willow patted her hand. "See? Not such a death-defying jump after all."
"So, Riley left and you and Spike..." Tara asked, waiting.
"Spike and I nothing. He told me to get out. I left. Haven't talked to him in days."
"Why did he tell you to get out—and why am I not completely wigged by all of this?" Willow looked at Tara for the answer.
"You got a lot of your wigging out when Buffy told us she'd kissed Spike, sweetie," Tara told her.
"True," Willow said. "So why'd he throw you out, Buff?"
"I... I told him it was over. That it wasn't going to happen again," Buffy said.
"And will it?" Willow asked gently.
Buffy's words were soft. "Honestly? I don't know."
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Buffy didn't feel much like eating after her conversation with Willow and Tara, so she made her excuses and escaped to the library to stare at her text books. She was reading the same passage about the Revolutionary War for the tenth time when she heard a girl whispering at the table behind her.
"He did!" the girl said. "He came out of nowhere and shoved this piece of wood into the thing's heart and it just burst and sprinkled to the ground!"
"What did you do?" another voice whispered.
"I told him 'thank you', of course. After I finished screaming. He was so nice! And he had the most wonderful accent and these really blue eyes."
"Sounds hot! Did you ask him out?"
"I actually thought about it, especially when he called me 'love'. But he left too quickly," the first voice said.
Buffy spun around. "Sorry to barge into your conversation, but did you say this guy had an accent?"
The two girls at the table behind her looked startled at her question. The dark-haired one answered first. "Uh, yeah. He had an accent."
"And he called you 'love'?" Buffy asked. The girl nodded. "Was he really well-built with white blond hair?"
"Yeah! That's him!" the girl said, hopping up and down in excitement. "Did he save you too?"
Buffy laughed. "Not exactly. What night was this?"
"Last night. Why? Do you know him? 'Cause, I mean, if he's not taken, I'd really like to get to know him better."
"I know him," Buffy said. "But believe me. He's not your type." Buffy gathered her books together quickly. "Thanks for the information, though."
"Sure. Whatever," the girl said, offended.
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An hour later, Buffy banged into Spike's crypt. His bed looked neat and definitely empty. She stood still for a minute to see if she could maybe feel him anywhere close. Nothing. Not that it meant anything. She didn't always feel him. Much.
She moved the cement slab off the entrance to the lower level and hung her head down a little. "Spike!" she yelled. There was no answer. She pushed the slab back into place and sat back on her heels. It was the middle of the day. Where could he be?
She stood up and brushed the knees of hercapris off. Well, he'd have to come back eventually, and when he did, she'd be here waiting for him.
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It was after dark when Buffy woke up. The voices from the television had made it into her dream and she thought for a second that there was a five-car pileup somewhere in the crypt. She pushed herself out of Spike's easy chair and stood, working the kinks out after having been asleep in one position for—she looked at her watch—eight hours! And still no sign of Spike.
Buffy shut the TV off and left the crypt. He could be anywhere, she thought as she walked through the cemetery. For all she knew, he'd come in, seen her and left again. She sighed and headed for campus.
As she crossed the campus green, Buffy noticed a group of semi-hysterical girls huddled together under a tree. Trying for casual, Buffy walked up to them. "Is everyone okay?" she asked.
One of the girls turned. "Did you see that?" she asked Buffy. Buffy looked around at the group. Four girls, one with torn jeans and—yes—bite marks on her neck. "There was this monster thing—like out of a vampire movie. It bit Courtney and then some man in a black coat showed up and killed it."
"Did you see where the man went?" another asked. "God, he's a hero. I think he's the one who's been saving girls all week, don't you think, Courtney?"
Courtney looked a bit shaky. Buffy went to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Let's take you to the ER. Make sure you're okay."
Courtney nodded and let Buffy lead her away. The other three followed, chattering about the stranger in the black coat with the sexy hair. Buffy rolled her eyes and squashed a tiny bit of jealousy as they described his muscles, his good looks, his blue eyes. No, not jealousy. Anger. She was angry that Spike was playing some new game. And Buffy intended to find out the rules.
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Buffy left Courtney and her friends at the hospital and made her way back to her dorm. She didn't come across even one demon on her way, especially not the one she really wanted to see. But she was achy and still surprisingly tired, so she decided to call it a night.
She was pretty deeply asleep when something woke her. A feeling that something was different. She opened her eyes to see Spike standing across the room.
Buffy sat up quickly. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Got something to show you."
"Where were you?"
"What?" Spike asked.
"Where were you? I went to your crypt today and you weren't there. I feel asleep in front of your TV, but you still weren't back when I woke up."
"I'm about to take you where I was. Get dressed."
Buffy narrowed her eyes at him. "Spike, there's been talk—"
"Slayer, get dressed now," Spike said, getting impatient. "We don't have a lot of time. And you really need to see this."
Buffy slid out of bed and quickly stripped off her pajamas. She didn't even check to see if Spike was watching her as she put on a pair of jeans and a shirt. She was sure he was.
Dressed, she turned to face him. "You better not be wasting my time with this, Spike."
He flashed an angry look at her. "You'll understand when we get there. Come on."
Buffy followed him into the hall and outside the building. He led the way, walking quickly and never looking back to see if she was still there. They were reaching the downtown warehouse district when Buffy grabbed his shoulder.
"Spike, where the hell are we going?" she asked as he stopped and turned to her.
"Almost there, pet. Believe me. It's important you see this."
She dropped her hand and he started walking again. She hurried to catch up.
Spike finally stopped at the bottom of a flight of stairs that led up to a deserted-looking building. He glanced at her before climbing the steps. At the top, he moved aside so she could open the door.
The place they walked into was dark and smelled like Xander's tennis shoes. Buffy looked at Spike uncertainly, but he gestured at another flight of stairs, this one leading to the second floor. Buffy noticed scattered bodies writhing together in the darkest corners of the room. Vampires—at least some of them. She looked at Spike.
"We're not here for them, Buffy."
She hesitated a moment longer and then decided to trust him. She started up the stairs, Spike right behind her.
At the top, Spike put his hand on the small of her back and guided her down another dark hallway until they reached a closed door. "Sorry, love," he whispered as he turned the knob.
He pushed the door open slowly. Buffy saw two forms moving in rhythm together on the bed in the middle of the room. Both were naked. The female on the bottom had her fangs deeply embedded in the man's arm as he drove into her.
"What the hell?" Buffy said. But she covered her mouth in shock when she realized she recognized that strong-looking back. "God," she said faintly. "Riley?"
Riley slowed his hips and looked over his shoulder. His yellow eyes shone through the darkness.
"Hello, Buffy."