"Oh my god. It's beautiful!" Andrew practically screamed. Dropping his bags he ran into the room and jumped on the bed, his back meeting the softness of the mattress. Smiling he motioned for everyone to join, everyone at the door stood still for a second before sharing a secret smile. Andrew raised his body up on his elbows. "Guys…one at a time, guys…??" Too late. Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Tara, and Anya all ran inside the room and girl piled on top of Andrew. Their laughter loud and genuine it brought tears to Buffy's eyes.
"Stop, oh my god!" Buffy held her sides at the sight, Andrew was being overpowered by a bunch of girls and the whole scene in front of her was priceless. Barely hearing Andrew's yelp for help she broke down in another fit of laughter.
About five minutes later after the group had finally buckled down from the excitement Tara suggested a group photo. "Please you guys? I want to make a scrapbook of our time together on the Magnolias." Everyone agreeing cheerfully Tara set the camera up on a nearby shelf and set the timer. Rushing over to where everyone else was by the bed she smiled just as the flash went off. This cruise was going to be just what Buffy needed…
"Alright," Buffy said as she started to unpack her things, "Tara, Anya and Andrew why don't you go across the hall and start unpacking your things and settling in. Then in perhaps an hour we'll all go down to the top level? Check it out maybe?"
"Sounds like a plan to me Buff." This came from Andrew. The girls didn't have to worry about sharing a room with him, Andrew was just like them, quite literally. He was a metro sexual gay. They asked him opinions about how they look and he would be quite the helpful opinionator, always answering from the girls point of view and then answering from a guys point of view (which was really helpful). The three walked out of the room and the remaining girls could hear Andrew's voice in the hallway, "Ahn, Tara, I call the bathroom first."
Buffy smiled and just before the door closed she could hear Anya's complaining response, 'But youuuuuu take the longest out of all us….'
"Ok wait, so you met a crazy woman, she dropped this thing, and now your on a quest to go find her? Spike, this is a huge cruise ship. You will probably never see her again."
"Keyword here Glory, is "…beautiful, crazy woman." Isn't that right?"
Letting out a puff of smoke the bleached blond nodded to his best friend, Alexander Harris, Xander for short. Putting out his cigarette he stood up and combed his hair with his hands. "I just can't stop thinking of her. Her green eyes burn through me like fire…"
Glory laughed, her red lips curling up into a Cheshire Cat grin. "Wow. Dishing out the Shakespeare part of you for some stranger. I'm sure your fiancée would love to hear that."
"Drucilla doesn't need to know. Besides, its not like I'm going to try anything with the chit if I find her. I'm currently just, infatuated, nothing more. Besides, its like a mini adventure, a quest, to go find the missing woman. Its exciting. Plus, wasn't it your idea Glory to throw this Bachelor party for me on this ship?"
"I suppose so," she replied flipping her hair behind her shoulder, "Alright, go have your childish little adventure fun, just don't get too carried away. I mean it." She stared at him for a full minute before excusing herself to get changed for the pool, leaving the guys alone in the room.
"So, where do you suppose we find this girl?" This came from Oz. No last name, just, Oz. He was the mellow one of the group, but never unappreciated. He was Yoda, everyone came to him for advice.
"Well, I know her last name is Summers. I mean, how many Summers could there be on this damned boat?"
--
"…68 Summers, Sir. Unfortunately I cannot give you their room numbers. That's confidential information. I'm sorry."
Spike's brow furrowed. He had been flirting with this bint for five minutes already. Why did she still refuse to give him the names of the room? He threw her his most charming smiles at the concierge and quickly thought of a lie. Something that will get this woman to eat out of the palm of his hands. Think, think, think! Suddenly the idea came into his head. Squinting to read her name tag he smoothly did his thing. "Ms. Kendall, or Harmony, can I call you Harmony? The woman I am looking for is my long lost love. You see, we met in New York City over our winter breaks from college and to make sure we didn't become too attached we only exchanged last names. It was only by chance that I found out that she would be on this cruise and I knew I just had to see her again. I can't stop thinking about her Harmony. Without seeing her beautiful smile every night it's like the world without the sun, moon and stars. Without hearing her precious little laugh its as if I have become deaf among my peers, and without her sweetest touch its as if my body has turned to stone and I have become unfeeling. So please, please, I'm begging you from the deepest layer of my heart to give me a list of the room numbers so I can be reunited with the woman I fell in love with…Now, even if you don't give me the list of rooms that will not stop me from knocking on every singly room on this ship to find the woman I am seeking. I am a man on a mission, and I will not rest until I have her in my arms."
The woman only stared at him, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. Spike for a second thought he may have been a little too dramatic, when all of a sudden the bubbly blonde woman started to cry. Looking around he desperately assured everyone that everything was okay. "Miss, are you alright? What's the matter pet?"
"Your story, its sooooo sweet! I wish I found a man as romantic as you are. Excuse me, I'm gonna go to the bathroom and then I'll print out the room numbers for you okay?" The woman looked at him one last time before another set of tears came flowing and she quickly ran away leaving a very prideful man patiently waiting.
"That was the most pitiful, embarrassing, most genius thing I have ever seen in my life man!"
Spike turned around startled, only to be face to face with Xander. "What the hell are you doing here mate? Can't you see I'm working?"
"Obviously. Jeeze, I was gonna ask the lady for a drink after her shift but after your performance I doubt that I'll even be a possibility."
"I'm sorry Xander, not everyone can be on my level."
"Hey! No need to get harsh. Alright well, I'm gonna go meet up with Glory and Oz up poolside, maybe I'll find a nice catch there, you comin?"
"Uh, yea I'll meet up with you guys afterwards. Just let me get the printout first then I'll change and catch up."
"Mr. Giles?" Spike turned around at his name to see a newly freshened up Harmony standing behind the counter. Nodding a goodbye to Xander, Spike turned his attention back to the woman. "Here's a list of all the women onboard with the last name Summers." Handing him the papers Harmony flashed a wink, "I hope you find her. She is one lucky girl."
"Right, I'll make sure to tell her you said so. Thank you so much Harmony. You are an absolute Angel." And with that Spike went upstairs to change into his swimwear, perhaps this trip wouldn't turn out too bad.
"Please, this is a really bad time. I am completely swarmped with paperwork that I had to bring home from the office. You know, all those graphs and equations that I have to transfer onto the computer? Babe, I promise, just a few more hours and I'll call you. We can get dinner or something okay sweetheart?"
"Oh hush. I promise I'll be quiet while you do your work. I just brought over some snacks you can munch on." She pushed his arm that was blocking the doorway and walked into the apartment. It was so dark, and everything was out of place. "God, did you just completely forget how to clean and take care of a place? Your apartment is a complete mess. And why is it so dark in here, how are you supposed to be doing--" She trailed off her current train of thought, as she stared at the lifeless computer. "How are you doing work if your computer isn't even on…?" She turned around to face the man afraid of his response. "Angel, if you don't want to see me, if you're mad at me, please let me know. What did I do wrong?"
"It's nothing okay? I was just taking a quick break. But I really am busy…"
Her eyes caught the reflection of something in the mirror behind him. Turning around she understood, and hot tears came to her eyes. Standing in front of her, was a beautiful woman wearing nothing but his t-shirt. The brunette woman was much taller then her, more endowed in the chest, sexy figure...Of course, how could she ever compete with someone like her? Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. "Three. Three years we've been together Angel. How could you do this to me? How could you…how could you…?"
Buffy sat up abruptly. Her heart pounding in her chest, a tear running down her cheek. Looking around frantically she began to realize that it was only a dream. Or in her case, a nightmare. "Buff, are you alright?" Andrew asked, dipping his head under her large sunhat.
Thanking herself mentally for putting on her sunglasses, she nodded, not trusting her voice yet. Giving it a few seconds she pulled herself together, before turning to her friends and excused herself. "I'm going back to the room, I'm waaaay tired and the sun is just a little too hot for me at the moment. No, don't bother, I'll be fine, you guys just enjoy yourselves. I'll be in the room if you need anything."
"Buffy, if you need anything, let us know. We all know how hard its been for you to forget about Angel and his affair. Love isn't for everyone so don't worry."
"Uh, thanks Anya. That was almost comforting." Buffy headed to her room, more depressed then ever. So lost in thought she didn't even notice the man walking in front of her, and the two bumped shoulders. The man was quick to apologize, which made Buffy smile.
"I am so sorry miss. I was just staring off into the ocean and I didn't even see you walking."
"Its really alright."
The man took the opportunity for all he could and grabbed her hand gently, brushing his lips on her knuckles. "How dumb of me to have been staring into the abyss, when if I had just turned my head I would have seen the most beautiful goddess in the world."
Buffy laughed at his words. "Does that line usually work on women or will I be surprised?"
"Line? I speak directly from my heart."
Laughing again Buffy nodded, "Alright Romeo, that's enough."
The man did a mock bow and introduced himself. "I'm Alexander, but everyone just calls me Xander for short. And your name is?"
"Buffy. But everyone just calls me…well, Buffy."
Xander was blown away from this girl's beautiful smile. He just couldn't let her get away so easily without asking one last thing… "So, Buffy. Are you single?"
Ah. The dreaded question. Buffy suddenly became uneasy. "Single yes. Looking? Not at the moment. I'm sorry Xander."
Putting up his hands defensively, Xander shook his head. "Its not a problem. I'm glad we met though. Maybe I'll see you around?"
"Definitely. What are you doing tonight? Some friends and I are gonna check out some restaurants, wanna come with? I'm sure they'd love to meet you, you're so funny."
"Thanks for the offer, but I can't tonight. My best friend is getting married and we're throwing him a party tonight. Some other night?"
"Most def. My friends are over there if you wanted to just hang out, but silly me, you're probably going to lounge the pool with your own friends. Sorry, I'm a mumbler."
"Don't be, its very adorable."
Smiling and waving goodbye Buffy walked down the corridor, her smile fading and her dark thoughts clouding her mind once again.
Arriving at deck level, Spike walked down the corridor towards the pool. Pausing he felt his senses tingly. He didn't know why but something was just very familiar about the area. Shaking it off he spotted Xander laughing with not one, not two, not even three, but four women. Shocked he started to walk over, demanding an explanation of how Xander suddenly became babe magnet when he spotted a familiar blond in distress.
"Look, I'm not interested alright? Shoo! Your in my sunlight."
"Don't be such a bitch--"
Spike walked over to the man and tapped him on the shoulder, and the taller man told him to fuck off and shoved Spike backwards with one of his broad shoulders. Grinning, Spike walked back to the man and tapped him once again on the shoulder.
"Look jerk off. I'm talking to the lady, now if you don't mind--"
Spike looked to the blond woman who was lying on the lounge chair, elbows propping her up, and shook her head. Spike turned back to face the intruder. "Doesn't seem like the lady's interested mate. Best to just move on."
"Oh yea? And who the hell are you to tell me what to do?"
Spike grinned. "Cause I'm her brother asshole." A cracking noise was heard directly after and the man fell backwards into the pool, dark blood rippling in little waves in the pool. Spike grabbed a nearby pool boy, "Best have someone take a look at his nose. I think it might be broken." Patting the boy on the back he dismissed him and Spike walked over to the smiling blond.
"Aww, thanks Spikey. Didn't have to make a scene for my sake."
"Oh shut up. You know you enjoyed every minute of it you conceited little sister of mine."
Glory laughed, Spike was right. As usual. "Okay caught me. Anyway thank you for getting rid of him, he was a major sore in my side. Xander's over there if you're looking for him…"
Spike raised an eyebrow. "You trying to shoo me away? After all I've done for you?"
"Duh. I said thank you. Now go, you're in my sun!"
Giving her a mock salute, he took his dismissal with pride he walked over to a shocked Xander and four beautiful ladies. Before reaching them however he was suddenly interlocking elbows with a ridiculously looking man. A line of sunscreen from his forehead ran to the tip of his nose and he was wearing flaming bright green swim trunks. "I saw what you did for that girl. It was absolutely enchanting…"
Slowly removing his arm from the man's Spike gave him an awkward smile. "Uh, thanks."
Xander climbed out of the pool, "That's Andrew, he's one of Buffy's friend."
Spike stared at him confused. "And Buffy is…?"
"This girl I met, she's totally beautiful. Well, I didn't really see her face because she was wearing an extremely large sunhat but she's very beautiful. Completely uninterested in me though even though I used some of your lines," Xander leaned in a bit closer and whispered, "I really do think you need some new material, I don't think they work."
Taking the bait Spike leaned in as well, "It doesn't work. Because the words are coming from your lips."
Smiling Xander stuck out his hand, "Touché." The friends shook hands and Xander introduced him to his newfound friends.
"So do you always pick fights with big scary men?" Looking down to the red headed woman in the pool he winked at her, "Only if an attractive woman like yourself is close by."
Leaning in again, Xander whispered to him, "Don't bother. She's with the brunette chick next to her, Tara."
Sighing, Spike looked from Andrew (who was still giving him gushy looks), Willow and Tara. "Is anybody besides me and Xander not gay?"
"I am definitely not gay. I like penis." Spike couldn't help but outright laugh at the woman's answer.
"Sorry, that's Anya, she's very open about her sexual lifestyle. You'll get used to it. I'm Dawn, straight, and single."
Spike's eyes twinkled, "Now if I were about six years younger, I'd be bashing in the heads of my competition to get to you."
Dawn smiled, she liked him. He was funny. She made a note to make sure to introduce him to Buffy. Looking down towards the elevators, Dawn silently wished for her sister to be alright again. It was so sad to see her moping around. Maybe tonight she'd be more cheerful and hopefully by the end of the cruise, she'll have no more tears to cry for a certain someone back home…
Had to introduce the characters in our story (: Review for a quicker update, and trust me, you'd want the next chapter. Its very full of…how shall I say….SPUFFINESS!!