Rearview Mirror

(I don't Buffy or any associated stuff, Joss Wheedon and ME do, don't sue etc. Reviews make my day  The story may seem weird at first, but bear with me. It will become clearer in later chapters. )

Spike watched as a car pulled up outside the school, and Buffy got out after kissing her mother on the cheek. He saw Willow and Xander run up to her and hug her happily, tell her how glad they were that she was home again.

He realised what time of their high school years he had landed in- the beginning of their last year; seniors.

Spike looked on incredulously as he recognized Harmony, choosing to ignore all the girls looking back at him- the mysterious, gorgeous new comer with the black leather trench.

He laughed as he spotted Giles dashing out to meet Buffy, and realized that the girl with him must be the infamous Cordelia. The other boy there must be Oz.

Spike strode up next to them, and felt a pang of loss at the complete lack of recognition crossing their faces.

As he was passing their mini Scooby meeting, a girl running past sent Willow flying. Without even thinking about it, Spike hurried back a few paces and hauled Willow to her feet.

"Alright, Red?" he asked her, almost in a concerned tone.

"Fine, thank you."

"No problem. I guess I'll see you around."

"Right." Willow answered, watching his back as he retreated.

"He seems to be of favourable disposition," Giles commented.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Why couldn't you just say 'he seems nice'?"

Spike did a mental victory dance. He seemed to have made a good impression on Buffy and her friends; he was bound to be asked to join the Scoobies sooner or later!

Heading to the admin office, Spike got a welcome package and timetable, and saw that he had Bio first period.

As he was wandering around trying to find the right room, he bumped into Willow.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he apologized, collecting his things from where they had fallen on the floor.

"Oh, it was my fault!" Willow insisted, "Hey, aren't you the guy who helped me earlier?"

"Yep. I'm Spike…ah, just Spike."

"I'm Willow Rosenberg," she told him, and Spike repressed the urge to say 'I know'.

"Nice to meet you, Willow."

"Likewise, Spike. So what year are you? You're new, right?"

"That I am…I'm a senior like you."

Willow eyed him suspiciously. "How did you know I'm a senior?"

"Um…I heard you talking earlier to Buf- to your blonde friend."

This just aroused Willow's suspicions even more, but she decided to let it drop for the time being. "Cool. I bet we have some classes together then, what have you got first period?"

"Ah…" Spike checked his list, "Biology."

"Me too! I'll show you the way. You can sit with me and my friends Buffy and Xander if you like." Willow kindly offered.

"That would be great. Thanks!" Spike was impressed with himself. He was really getting this 'polite and grateful human' thing down!

When Willow 'introduced' him to Buffy, Spike felt his heart swell as she smiled and shook his hand. He was less emotional when Xander greeted him, but he was Buffy's friend, and if being civil to him gave him better chances with her, then he would do it.

After biology was English, then History. Spike was enraged at their versions of some of the stories. He was very tempted to leap out of his chair and declare the truth, but that would just make him look completely insane.

He was also missing all the required textbooks, so when the bell rang for lunch he decided to take a quick field trip to the library to stock up. Maybe he would even see Giles.

"Hey, Spike, you wanna come eat lunch with us?" Buffy asked.

"I'd love to, but I have to go to the library to pick up some books for class." Spike was overjoyed. Buffy seemed to be taking a liking to him!

"OK, maybe tomorrow then. See you later!" the trio waved to him as they veered off into the cafeteria.

Spike walked down to the library, and pushed open the wide doors. Inside, Giles was busy pacing the aisles and muttering under his breath. "Um, let me see, I know I left it here somewhere…"

"Mr Giles?"

Giles let out an exclamation of surprise, almost banging his head off the bookshelves.

"Yes?"

"Sorry about that. I'm a transfer student, and I need some books."

"Of course, of course…oh, your accent! You're English?"

Spike grinned at Giles' excitement. "Born and bred."

"Oh, my. Wonderful. Let me find your texts." Giles wandered off, still muttering happily under his breath.

Spike grinned again. Who would have thought that one day the Watcher would be glad to see him?

Giles returned a minute later laden with books, which he pressed into Spike's arms.

"Have we met before?" Giles asked, a slight frown re-creasing his perpetually wrinkled brow.

Spike thought quickly. Wouldn't do if good old Rupert had found him in some demon book. "Uh, yeah, this morning, remember? Your friend Willow fell and I helped her up."

"Oh yes, of course. Anyway, enjoy your textbooks."

Spike shook his head at this typical Giles statement. "Sure. I will."

A few days later, Spike had gotten settled into routine at Sunnydale High. He now sat with Buffy, Willow, Oz and Xander at lunch, and in most classes too. Wow, he thought to himself during a particularly dull History class, I'm really turning into one of the Scoobies now.

Spike had also made some other friends- including Cordelia, but unfortunately that came at the price of having Harmony salivate all over him whenever he was with Cordelia (though Cordelia often sat with the Scoobies, seeing as she and Xander were a couple). She hasn't changed much, Spike thought, but then rubbed his back remembering the pain when she'd gotten a bolt from a crossbow through his back. Hmm…on second thoughts-Note to self: do not aggravate Harmony.

But still, Buffy and her gang hadn't invited him to be initiated into their Scooby thing. Maybe he'd have to do it by himself. Just before lunch was due to start, Buffy leant over to Spike and whispered to him "Hey, we all gotta go to this…thing...at lunch, really sorry, do you know anyone else to hang with?"

"Yeah, I know a few people, but I have some stuff I need to catch up on as well. Don't worry about it."

Buffy looked relieved he hadn't pressed about the 'thing'. "OK, great."

As the bell rang Spike hurried off to the library to make sure he got there before them. Life in Sunnydale would probably get pretty dull without demons to hunt, and if they weren't going to ask him in straight away, he would have to force his way in.

Nestling himself in between some high up shelves, Spike sat and waited for the gang to arrive. As he watched they all busted through the doors, talking.

"-Glad that Spike didn't ask more questions," Buffy was saying to Willow as they came in.

"Yeah. But there is something a bit, well, off about him, don't you think?" Willow replied.

Spike stiffened. This could be interesting.

"I guess…"

"He seems normal enough to me," Xander butted in. Spike suppressed a smirk. The whelp was sticking up for him!

"Are you talking about that new English boy, Spike? He seems harmless enough." It was Giles who was commenting this time.

This time it was irritation Spike was suppressing. Harmless, Pfft!

"I dunno. I think he knows a lot more than he's letting on." Willow said thoughtfully.

"Anyway, the reason why I asked you all here was because a train rolled into Sunnydale station with all the occupants murdered- the apparent cause of death for all of them centred around two puncture marks on their throats."

Buffy grimaced. "Vampires."

"But you can kill them!" Cordelia piped in.

Everyone rolled his or her eyes. "What?!" she asked defensively.

"Alright, everyone meet here this evening for research. These vampires left some strange things lying around the cabins- like dolls with their eyes scratched out. Maybe we can identify them from that."

"Yay! A research party!"

"Will, you need a life in the worst possible way." Xander told her.

Spike sucked in a breath. Mutilated dolls? That sounded like someone he knew very well indeed…

"Hey Giles, I'll patrol beforehand, kay, and meet you guys here after." Buffy said.

"Yes, yes, of course. But be careful Buffy, if you do run into these vampires, god knows how many there are and they're obviously dangerous. Take care," Giles told her, an immense amount of concern shining in his eyes.

Buffy noted this and said, "Don't worry, Giles. You know I can take care of myself."

And before Spike knew it, the entire Scooby gang had disappeared. Guess I'll have to show myself at a later date then. He hauled himself out of his spot and crept out the library door, to make sure Giles didn't see him.

Later that night Spike collected a few stakes from his crypt and walked into the graveyard. "Might as well go get some vamps, make myself useful."

He wandered out a bit deeper into the cemetery and soon found himself on his back with a stake pointed directly at his heart.