Spike stood in the dark parking lot of the Doublemeat Palace. He looked at Buffy's miserable face through the large window. When she finally met his gaze, he nodded towards the alley, giving a questioning face. Buffy shook her head. He frowned, but smiled when she walked outside.
"So, you couldn't wait to get a piece, eh Slayer?" He grinned. Buffy kept her emotionless mask on.
"I'm not in the mood, Spike. Just go home. I can't work knowing you're out here." He rolled his eyes.
"We go through this every time, can't you just admit-"
"No!" Buffy said angrily. "Just leave me alone." Spike's face fell for a moment, but then he gained composure again. Buffy turned and marched inside angrily. Spike sighed and walked away. Why did she do this to him? Use him and then treat him like utter garbage?
After a few minutes, Spike found himself at the park. There was a little girl, about 6, sitting on the swings, swinging as high as she could. He walked over and sat on the swing next to her.
"Hey mister," she greeted him. Spike looked up at her.
"Hey there, bite sized." She stopped swinging.
"You look kinda sad."
"Well that's how I'd think someone would look if they were kinda sad," Spike replied quietly.
"Do you wanna talk about it? Mommy says it can make you feel better sometimes if you talk about it," she said softly. He chuckled.
"I suppose it couldn't hurt anything."
There was a pause. "Well? What's wrong?" she asked impatiently.
He thought about how to answer. "Someone said some…not very nice things to me... someone I care about," he said, almost laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of his situation. The little girl gasped and looked at him.
"Me too! The boy I like, Nick, called me ugly! I was like 'No I'm not!' and he was like 'yes you are!' and I was like-"
Spike started to tune her out. She was cute but he didn't have to listen to her nonsense. It sounded like how Buffy talked, actually.
"Anyways," she said, noticing he wasn't paying attention, "my mommy always says that when a boy is mean to you, it usually means he likes you. So I asked Nick to be my boyfriend and he said yes. We're getting married tomorrow at recess, too!" She showed him a plastic ring, most likely from a cereal box or the dollar store. "Isn't it so pretty? We're gonna be together forever!"
He smiled sadly at her. "Yeah, pet, it's lovely."
"Maybe you should marry the girl you were talking about earlier," she suggested shyly.
"How do you know it was a girl?" he asked her.
"Because I can just tell." He chuckled again, looking down at the ground. She shuffled her feet and it was quiet for a moment.
"Why can't people just tell other people when they like them?" she asked.
"I'd like to know that too," he murmured.
"I'm Hope, if you wanted to know my name," the girl, Hope, said.
"Call me Spike."
"Can I call you Spikey?"
"No."
"Okay Spikey." He glared at her. She giggled.
"You should get home, before all the monsters come out."
"Oh, they won't hurt me." Spike looked up at her.
"And why not?"
"They just won't," she said, and Spike saw a sparkle of wisdom in her eyes. "But I'll go home because I know you want me to. Goodbye Spikey," she said sweetly, skipping off into the night. Spike sat on the swing alone, wondering why people can't just tell other people when they like them.