Chapter One

"Are you serious? You're really doing this? All because she told you to?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Spike was practically ripping apart their friendship for that gothic ho.

"Buffy, it's not like that." He was practically stuttering! How could he just stand there and give some lame excuse as to the reason for breaking her heart?

"How can you do this? We have been BEST friends since we were nine! How can you throw that away? Oh my god, I freaking introduced you! This is ridiculous!" She practically screamed, her hand pulling on either sides of her hair, yanking to see if she was having a nightmare.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you, okay? It's not as simple as just you think." His eyes dropped to the floor, and he was shaking his head, a look of uuter shame passing across his face.

"You know what's simple? Telling that..." She took a deep breath to stop the stream of profanities from spilling out of her mouth, "Viper...that I'm your best friend and she should accept that. I have been Sooo civil that it's practically killing me. And you just give in at the drop of her panties?" She threw up her hands and growled, shoving her feet into her snow boots and snatching her coat off the arm of his couch. She turned and tilted her head to look at him, shaking it in wonder as she spoke. "I just don't understand you, Spike. I don't know why you would just shatter our friendship over some girl." She took one last look at him and walked toward the front door.

"Because I was in love with you." She froze and blinked several times, her eyes darting around the room, trying to comprehend what she just heard.

"I LOVED you. Have since high school. An' you never once looked at me like that. Every time you set me up with a girl I wished it was you. An' that was the problem. Do you know why every relationship I've ever had failed? Because every time we got into an argument or debate and you were involved, I always took your side. I always chose you, whether you were right or wrong." She heard him sigh. She wanted to turn around but she couldn't move. She was frozen. She blinked away tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"An' don't tell me...don't ask me why I never told you. It was obvious. I...was obvious. An' if you truly never saw it, then you were either blind...or you didn't care enough to notice. I didn't drop you because she told me to...not that she didn't want me to. I did it because I just can't do it anymore. I can't keep thinkin' about you when I'm with another girl. I'm tryin' to be happy."

She suddenly felt a wave of anger surge through her. "Well...goood luck with that. After everything we've been through...If you want to throw away the last ten years because you're too selfish to put aside your feelings..." She paused, contemplating whether she should voice her next thoughts, eventually deeming them worthy. "Then I don't need someone like you as a friend...or even in my life at all." Her voice was cold as she pulled open his front door, thinking this may very well be the last time she would ever be in his house.

The tears broke forward as she slid into her Jeep, her hands gripping the steering wheel, she forced herself to start the car and at least drive a block so she could cry in private, not wanting to give him anything to pity her about. She pulled out of the driveway and slammed on the gas, only slowing down as she exited his street. Her tears blurring her vision, she didn't see the stop sign until it was in front of her, and she slammed on her breaks too late as two neon colored Hondas raced toward her from the opposite street and the last thing she remembered was a little girls' scream as a neon pink car slammed into her.