Author's Note: I'm fairly new to the fanfiction scene, so please be kind. This story is all human and will involve most of the characters from the Buffy verse. Since I first saw James Marsters play Spike, I have been a huge fan of Buffy and Spike. This story takes place over several years and the Spuffy stuff doesn't come until later. It will eventually be mature, so the rating will stay (M) throughout. Thanks and I hope you like it.

Young Girl

Chapter 1

Spike's eyes darted around excitedly as he watched new students flow into his structural design class. This was only his second year at Rockwell Conservatory, but lucky for him, he had made a great impression on the dean, allowing him to teach senior level classes. Last year, he had been assigned design theory, and as much as he enjoyed opening the minds of freshman, there had been many taking it for an easy grade. He didn't discount those students, but their passion for sculptures and modern design was not at the level he was used too. Spike wanted students that longed to be creative and adventurous with their art. People that expanded their minds and asked questions like, "What if" and "Why not".

He eagerly checked his watch and stood to close the doors at the top of lecture hall. Though he wasn't a stickler, he had a problem with students being late to his lectures, especially, on the first day. First impressions were essential to his process and if someone disrupted that process, they were getting detention.

Buffy was late. She had missed her ride and now she was running in full sprint to get to school. What made matters worse was the fact that her new uniform was too small for her and the skirt was riding up past her thighs. She didn't consider herself a prude per say, but she wasn't the type of girl that liked exposing herself for attention. She wished her talent would show through more than her looks. At least she had thought to wear stockings. That way, at least her legs would be covered appropriately.

Buffy quickly glanced at her watch and muttered to herself, "two more minutes."

As she rounded the corner intending to climb the stairs to the main gate, her foot caught the edge of the bottom step. She smashed knees first onto the ground, slicing her left stocking, leaving her skinned knee exposed and her glasses cracked.

Great, she thought, this is exactly what I need today.

She quickly pounced back up, feeling a stinging sensation on her hands and booked it toward her first hour, structural design.

Spike waited at the top of the lecture hall watching as the last few students clambered into their seats. Holding the door open and looking into the hallway he waited for the final bell to chime.

Preparing for possible latecomers, he taped detention slips to the door with a note underneath stating, "If the door is closed, I will assume you are late. Please grab a slip and enjoy detention." He laughed at his note then turned to stare at the clock again.

He began absentmindedly tapping his foot in accordance with the second hand.

Twenty . . . nineteen . . . eighteen . . . seventeen, he counted down in his head.

He always enjoyed watching as stragglers came barreling down the hallway in panic toward his door. It gave him a rush to watch as they sprinted to avoid detention. As if on cue, Buffy in all her disheveled glory was running toward his door raising her hand to stop him from shutting it in her face.

Too late, doll, he thought as he slammed it shut.

Buffy saw him leaning against the wall slowly shutting the wide wooden door in her face. She was determined to make it on time to avoid detention, but with no such luck.

He's such an ass, she thought as he slammed it in her face.

Immediately, she knew she was getting detention, whether she liked it or not. Reading his well-prepared note only confirmed her suspicions.

This class is going to suck! What a d-bag! She thought to herself.

Annoyed by his rude behavior she grabbed the handle loudly and pulled not expecting the entire class to turn in her direction. Embarrassed by the attention, she quickly stumbled to the nearest seat eyeing her ass of a professor.

Calm down, Buffy thought to herself, I made a bad impression and now I have to somehow fix it.

Spike turned around once he had reached the bottom of the lecture hall and grabbed a piece of chalk from his tote bag. He leisurely walked to the board and began writing his name in cursive.

He spoke as he wrote saying, "'ello students, my name is William Pratt, I'll be your professor for the duration of this year." He continued gingerly by saying, "I expect all of you to refer to me as Professor Pratt when asking questions or seeking inspirational advice." At that, many of the students chuckled at his sarcasm.

Buffy was mesmerized by his accent. She hadn't really been given a chance to take his appearance in, seeing as a door was being slammed in her face, but she watched him with wide eyes. His hair was short, bleached almost white, and slicked back. He wore a skinny navy suit that hugged his body very well and gleamed against his piercing blue eyes. His hands showed off several punk rings that worked well with his attire. And he had two black stud earrings that were casual and yet, sophisticated. His cheek bones, high and prominent, angled down and were accentuated by the lighting. The one thing she couldn't look away from was his smile. It lit up when he talked about art and she knew immediately, that she had judged him too quickly. She rested her face in her hands and zoned out listening to his Londoner accent. She would have to buy a recorder so she could listen to it over and over again at home. Maybe he would forgive her tardiness?

Spike walked back and forth around the first row and continued, "I've got a passion for structural design and while you're in this class, I expect all of you to give me 110%." He turned around to face the audience smiling broadly while scanning their faces. "I'm fairly new to Rockwell, but have years of design experience that can help you during your time here. As we get closer to Christmas, I'll be allowing 5 eligible students to come with me for a short study abroad trip to England. And after that, I will be choosing 1 student to mentor in preparation for their graduation project." He smiled at his fangirl groupies in the front row and watched as their faces turned beet red. Cordelia and Faith, both twins he had the previous year, winked at him, which he ignored. Leaning against the podium near the front he said, "I may not learn all of your names, and I apologize for that, but with 200 students and 4 classes, that's just the way it has to be. I'm passin' around the syllabus so make sure you take a gander. I'm expecting you to be responsible and prepared for my lectures." He smiled brightly and said kindly, "You can leave early and I will see you all back here tomorrow at 9 a.m. sharp." He looked around and found the face of the girl who had been late and spoke directly to her. "If anyone has detention, please meet me in room 215 at 2:30. I will have an assignment waiting for you."

Buffy gave him an innocent look, but in her mind she was panicking, yeah, that was a bad first impression. Good job, Buf.

Spike realized he was giving the poor girl a hard time, what with her bleeding knee and broken glasses. It was clear she had a bad morning. He stared at her without realizing it and thought, I'll give her one more shot at a first impression. Then he pushed it from his mind and started packing up to leave for his next class.

As soon as Buffy received her syllabus she stood to leave, but Angel, her ex-boyfriend stood in her way.

He glared down at her, putting his hand on her shoulder and said, "Hey, Buffy. So it seems you were a little late today. Everything alright?"

She immediately felt a condescending tone in his voice and proceeded to step sideways out of his reach. He had cheated on her with Faith, her ex-best friend, so any warm and fuzzy feelings she once had for him were completely gone. She smiled the pain away and said with slight sarcasm, "I just missed my ride, that's all. But, thank you so much for asking."

He reached down and grabbed her broken glasses, handing them to Faith who came and wrapped her arms around his torso. "You won't be needing these anymore, right Buf?" said Faith in a bitchy tone.

She had always been jealous of Buffy. Mainly because Angel really loved Buffy and he only had sex with Faith to get back at her. Buffy always believed art came first, so he wanted to make her feel rejected like he had when they were together. Angel and Faith were only together now because the Chase twins were considered really easy. Buffy knew Angel still had feelings for her and if she wanted, he would come back to her in no time, but frankly, he wasn't worth her time.

Buffy looked at Faith two steps above her and reached for her glasses, "I need those back."

From the podium Spike watched as Faith proceeded to break them in her hands. "Oops, my bad Buf, must have lost my grip."

He didn't like to see students getting bullied. When he was back home, and much weaker, he would get beat up frequently. Walking toward the confrontation intending to break it up, he stopped when Buffy glared at the pair.

Buffy was annoyed that she would have to get a new pair of glasses on the first day of school, but wanting to stay calm she said, "That's alright, Faith, we all know you can be loose, right Angel." And with that she flipped her hair and walked away.

Spike walked back to his papers and realized he might have misjudged the little spit fire.

I guess everyone deserves a second chance, he thought to himself. Then he left out the back entrance hoping to avoid his fangirl posse.