A/N: Thanks again to my editor harvardbaby!
Disclaimer: The only character that I own is Tabitha. All others belong to
the great Joss Whedon.
After almost getting staked, Spike had walked away from the twin slayers and
headed towards the crypt that was his home. What the bloody hell was I
thinking? He thought bitterly. It was out of character for him to suddenly
kiss Tabitha. She wasn't the slayer he was in love with...was she?
He entered his crypt, kicking the door in with his supernatural strength.
Blinded by anger, he began kicking and punching the air, shouting and cursing
as if he were attacking an enemy. He turned the corner and stopped in his
tracks. He grasped his heart; if it were beating, it might have burst out of
his chest. Splayed out on his couch was a beautiful blonde girl, obviously
awaiting his return.
"Blondie Bear, you finally came back!" the perky blonde greeted
enthusiastically. She was practically bouncing from her position on the
couch.
"Harmony," he growled, "please... please, leave me alone." Spike's
voice was drained, and it was easy to detect the annoyance in his words.
Clearly, Harmony was not wanted here.
"Oh, what's bothering my Blondie bear?" she gushed. She got up from the couch
and wrapped her arms around him, completely ignoring the hints that he wanted
to be left alone.
Spike pushed her away, shaking his head in regret and exhaustion. Why did I
ever get involved with the most annoying being on the planet? He mentally
cursed himself.
Harmony gave him a pathetic look, sticking out her bottom lip into a pout.
Spike did not even feel sorry for her; he just could not stop thinking about
how sad of an attempt this was at trying to get him back. Suddenly, anger
bubbled inside of him. Why did he get stuck with Harmony? Why not somebody
else? He had done plenty of good lately...why did he not deserve Tab...Buffy?
"That's it, get out!" Spike shouted at Harmony. She pouted even more, but he
was not going to cave into it. "I said out! And none of your pouting or
crying. I'm sick of it, and sick of you! Now get out before I force you
out!" His face changed once more from human to demon, but only because he knew
Harmony hated it.
"I thought you loved me!" she cried. She stomped her foot, and gave him one
last look, then stormed out of Spike's home.
Spike took off his leather duster and laid it on the couch. His mind was
clouded with millions of thoughts, and he could not tell one from the other
for the life of him. He needed to figure it all out. What were these new found
feelings for Buffy's twin sister? He had loved Buffy for years, what
emotions inside his head were making him change his mind so suddenly and
discreetly?
Sensing that the sun was about to rise soon, he headed down the stairs to the
basement of the crypt that he called his bedroom. He collapsed on his head,
hands behind his head, and gazed up at the cracked and grey ceiling. Spike
decided it was best to try to sleep before the sun would set again, and
another night would begin.
Tabitha woke up in a clammy sweat, remembering only that she had dreamed of
something she really did not like. What she had seen was something neither
she, nor her sister could ever believe. Thinking back to her vision-like dream
gave her cold shivers throughout her body, and a mind-whirled headache that
made everything else inside her head swirl together like soup.
In the cloudy state that was her dream world, Tabitha had seen Riley sneaking
soundlessly into a vaguely familiar crypt. All seemed normal until the next
flash of vision, and an anonymous vampire was latched onto his neck, and
Buffy's dear boyfriend was not fighting back. Another flash and he was
paying the vampire. All these pictures had left her disorientated and
confused; it couldn't have been real, could it?
But nothing had shaken Tabitha up as much as the next flash in her dream. She
saw Faith lying in a dead, eyelids gently closed and her face soft. She
didn't stir, but Tabitha was somewhat glad; Faith was a rogue slayer that
had come to Sunnydale when she had almost been killed by Drusilla, Spike's
ex-lover. Faith had caused nothing but trouble in the small Californian town,
and Tabitha had never seen her so peaceful.
She kicked off her covers, which were tangled around her legs, and got out of
bed. She made sure to be extremely quiet, as to not disturb her sleeping
beauty of a sister. But their special twin bond always got the best of them,
and Buffy shot up in her bed too. The two sisters stared at each other
wordless for a few moments.
"You saw Faith, didn't you?" Buffy almost choked out.
Tabitha nodded, suddenly feeling small. "Yeah, I did," she replied.
"But...she can't wake up can she? Something happened to her.
Buffy was quiet for a few minutes, as the twins pulled outfits from their
dressers and changed into presentable clothes. Tabitha's mind was completely
blank, but it was evident that Buffy was thinking over her sister's question
with great seriousness.
"Let's not think about it," Buffy finally replied. "It's Sunnydale,
anything can happen. Supernatural does not exist. Come on, we have class
soon." She gave her sister a look, and then headed downstairs. Tabitha knew
better than to press on with more questions, so she followed her sister
towards the kitchen.
In moments, the familiar kitchen sounds reached the twins' ears. It was
easy to tell that their mother was cooking breakfast. A whisk against a metal
bowl, glass cups against the marble countertops, the sound of the fridge
opening and closing...
"Oh Buffy," came Joyce's surprised voice as they entered their kitchen.
"You stayed overnight! I didn't know." Buffy was not around the house
much anymore, and their mother was ecstatic that she had stayed in the house.
"Well, I was with Riley last night," Buffy began to explain, "and
Tabitha said she needed my help. It was late, and I was tired... I can still
come home once and a while, right Mom?" Buffy felt bouts of sadness
sometimes, because she had chosen to live at the university instead of living
at home like her sister. But then again, she had always been the free-spirited
child...
Tabitha envied her sister's ability to make such a complicated situation so
easy. The events from last night still swam around in her head, and the
thought of Spike kissing her always gave her a sudden shock, which usually
made her twitch. The problem here was: she was not sure if it was a good
twitch or a bad twitch.
"Mom, Buffy's allowed coming home," Tabitha put in, trying to distract
herself from her thoughts. "She shouldn't have to feel bad." The last
sentence came out bitterly and without thinking. Tabitha said without
thinking. She had a tendency to speak about her sister's feelings that she
was tuned into before she could stop herself. She covered her mouth with her
hand, and gave Buffy an apologetic glance.
"Forget it, sis. I don't want a fight," Buffy said calmly, then got up and
left the kitchen dramatically, without another word. In moments, the front
door slammed shut as Buffy headed off to school.
In the kitchen, Tabitha sighed and rolled her eyes. "Sorry Mom," she
murmured, her voice cracking, suddenly feeling upset.
"Don't worry about it," her mother said gently. "It's normal Buffy
behaviour, we both know that." She kissed Tabitha's forehead, and it had
her flashback to Spike's kiss again. She shivered, but Joyce did not notice.
"Have a good day at school, sweetheart."
"See you at dinner tonight," Tabitha said quietly, because she just could
not find the willpower to make her voice work. She left without eating
breakfast to follow her sister, would she felt was slowly distancing herself
from her.
