Chapter One

At fifteen years of age the one thing you don't want to do is go on holiday with your parents. Her Mother and Father were arguing again, she could hear them as she walked back to the villa. She groaned and walked in anyway, hoping that her returning would stop them. Apparently not. Now her Dad was stood over her wagging his finger at her and screaming about doing more stuff together as a family and that getting a tan was bad for her skin. Spending all day at the beach was not why he had bought them to Spain.

Joyce stood beside Buffy and wrapped her arm around her daughter.

"What else is there for a fifteen year old to do? At least she can socialise with other kids her age Hank"

Buffy smiled sheepishly up at her Mum. The tears fell and Buffy wiped them away with the tissue that Joyce handed her instinctively. So, her tanning time was the cause of the arguments? Didn't they realise that she only went there to escape from the tension between them and the constant fights? Obviously not.

Joyce kissed Buffy's hair and sent her to shower after her time at the beach. Buffy complied but looked over her shoulder at Hank, who had now poured a large scotch and was looking out across the view of the bay. Great, so now he's in the get drunk and ignore everyone phase. She closed her bedroom door and slumped onto her bed crying.

Hank woke Buffy up , saying that he was taking Joyce out for a meal to make up for this afternoons fight and that she had to entertain herself. He threw some money onto her bedside table and left. There was no 'sorry baby' or anything. So, he still blamed her.

Buffy showered and got dressed. She pulled her halter neck top on and then slid the very short skirt up her legs, she put her feet into her flip flops and grabbed the money off the side.

"Hundred peseta's, cool!"

She grabbed her keys and slung them in her bag along with the money. The money was the only good thing that came from their arguments, it didn't stop the hurt , but it bought her enough things or entertained her enough to forget it for a while. Buffy headed out of the villa, slamming the door and made her way down to the beach front. Her plan tonight was to hang out with the friends she had made at the arcades.

Buffy waited at the front of the amusement arcade as arranged. Her friends were nowhere to be seen.She checked the time again and furrowed her brow. Shrugging she went inside ,just in case they had started the fun without her. Her quick circle around the arcade hadn't produced her friends and so Buffy popped a coin into the slot machine closest to her. A sigh left her as the wheels spun and the lights flashed, she gave a half hearted smile as a few coins fell into the tray. Winning a few more times made the smile grow, but she couldn't get the level of excitement she needed to take her mind off things. She was alone.

The blue eyes watched as she stood against the machine , popping coins into it and giving a slight jump for joy as more coins fell. He smirked. She was actually cute. Long blonde hair that was held from her face with a band, but allowed it to cascade down her back, her cheeks still had that childish fullness and her figure was just filling out to that of a woman's.

She reminded him of the Slayer he had hunted and been hunted by, back in 1940. He had been trying to off all of the Slayers in waiting then too, but that was for Dru, and her crazy need to have Fraya's Strand. This time it was for him, Slayers were good an all, but after killing two, the thrill had gone. Well, that wasn't strictly true. He would still fight them, but he was infamous for killing their kind and so they were trained harder now. Trust him to be the one to make the Watchers Council toughen up the one thing that really gave him a thrill.

Buffy felt eyes on her and scanned the crowd , not seeing anyone taking notice of her, she shrugged and went back to playing on the slots. Spike pushed off of the wall and swaggered towards her. He stood behind her and Buffy was oblivious until he leaned in and took in her scent then whispered,

"All alone? Where's your mates?"

Taken by surprise, Buffy jumped and spun round. Her eyes widened as they met the blue of his. Her heart pounded in her chest and she flattened herself against the machine. This just made him step forward, closing the gap between them again.

"Cat got your tongue pet?"

"N.. no"

Spike smirked. He reached into his pocket and pulled a fag out, he let it hang between his lips and patted the pockets of his leather coat for his lighter. His face relaxed as he found it and retrieved it. He lit up and took a deep pull of the smoke in. He blew it away from her and then looked down at her.

"I'll ask again then, where's your mates, bailed on you have they?"

"I don't know, they should be here soon though" she answered

"Right, I won' keep you then" he blew more smoke over her head and turned to leave "Jus' gonna go get a bite to eat, see you around"

Buffy turned back to her machine as he disappeared out of sight.

"Weirdo"

It was now ten o'clock and her friends still hadn't shown up. Resigned to the fact that she had been ditched, Buffy took off her flip flops and walked along the sand . She paddled in the shallow surf and kicked at the water.

My life sucks! she thought. Mum and Dad fight constantly, I'm on holiday and away from my friends and I get ditched by a bunch of girls that I normally wouldn't be seen with . I'm officially Buffy the socially challenged.

Spike sat on the sand watching all the people walking around. Couples and families , men with friends that had consumed way too much alcohol and the Slayer. Wait , what? Oh this couldn't be better, he thought as he stood up.

"Still alone then I see"

"Shut up" she paused "Sorry, just not having a good time of it "

He felt the desire to ask what was wrong but that wasn't his concern, he was just here to kill her and move on to the next.

"What's up then? " inwardly he groaned and mentally kicked himself.

"Usual, unno, parents fighting, all alone here in Spain, hating it"

Bloody great! This could be good, gives you a way to get to her before you drain the stupid bint dry.

" Right, sorry to hear that. How long are you here for?"

Best find out how long you got to toy with her.

"Six weeks, I'm here for the duration of summer break"

"So, where you from then, in the States I mean"

"California" she kicked at the surf again "Sunnydale, just moved there as a matter of fact"

"Like it?"

"It's okay" she sighed "Not what I expected but I kinda got in trouble in my last school"

His ears pricked up at this and he smirked. Seems like this Slayer had a wild streak, a bit of a bad girl , he raised his scarred brow.

"What did you do then , Goldilocks"

Buffy smiled at the nickname, her body flushed and she was glad the night air was cool. Hopefully he didn't spot the redness of her cheeks, they must be red, oh god he's cute when he does that with his brow, she thought.

"I kinda burnt down the gym hall"

"What'd you do that for? Have a hissy fit cos it was aerobics day?"

"No! No.. it was... um... mice, yeah mice"

"So, you burnt down a school cos of mice, right pet"

She could tell that he didn't believe her, which wasn't surprising really, she hadn't put any conviction into it. Still, he was amused judging by the smirk he still had on his face. A scream in the distance caught her attention, without any warning she took off in it's direction.Spike ran a distance behind her, after all, he already knew what it was, or rather who it was.

"Um, hate to crash your party guys but well, I lost my invite"

"Your not the Slayer... "

He burst into a cloud of ash and cinders, his partner stood holding the girl , his eyes wide in shock.

"Wrong answer , now let her go or else you meet Mr pointy"

The fledgling vamp let her go , the girl slid to the floor, alive but unconscious,and he took off running .He got no further than a few feet before Buffy threw her stake in his direction , she didn't even watch as he dusted. Buffy scanned the area and saw that there were no other vampires around. She checked the girl for a pulse and then lifted her up onto her shoulder. Spike arrived and feigned breathlessness. He bent at the waist and looked up at her.

"Mice huh?"

"Don't know what you mean"

Buffy continued to walk towards the town again, Spike followed .

"What were they, they just burst into nothing"

"Look I just want to get her to the hospital and then go home, my night has truly sucked and now I just want a hot shower and to curl up with Mr Gordo and forget this hell hole exists"

"Why don't you let me carry her and you tell me exactly what the hell they were and what you are"

Buffy thought about it for a few minutes, Spike stayed by her side and took the girl from her. He remained quiet, hoping that she would tell him, the girl was lonely and going through a difficult time, she needed someone to confide in and he definitely needed the who's who and she obviously had the information he needed.

"Okay ,I'll tell, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone else"

"Cross my heart"

Buffy stopped and looked at him. She saw the sincerity in his eyes and she nervously walked around in circles for a while before she turned to him.

"I'm a Slayer and what you saw disappear, that was a vampire"