BVS is owned by Joss Whedon.

Discretion is Advised

Chapter 7

Dawn was the first to notice them, stalking silently over the shortly cut grass behind her and Bethany. Both were tall, lanky specimens with more head than body, but she knew their intentions as well as the good that fighting back would do: hardly any.

Not wanting to frighten her cheerful friend, Dawn smiled, keeping her eyes forward and ears open. "We're almost there."

"Ooh! I can't wait! Er," Bethany paused, concerned that her eagerness sounded nerdy in front of Dawn's suave nature, "I mean, yeah, graveyard - that's chill." The younger Summers reluctantly compared the stammering redhead to her once immature self.

The sound of footfalls behind them became heavier with every passing second, prompting Bethany to turn out of curiosity - but not before Dawn took her hand and yelled: "Run!"

Vampire one grinned with the excitement of a new chase; vampire two followed suit, working to gain ground on the now fleeing girls.

Dawn bounded onto a tombstone laughing, then off again - still dashing - much to Bethany's horror as she felt her own feet losing speed under the restraint of untied shoelaces.

Noticing this with wet lips, vampire two split off from his fellow hunter to pursue the slower target whose panicked eyes only served to strengthen his appetite. Dawn on the other hand was untouchable, leaping from ground to marble with practiced ease.

Bethany fought to regain ground to no avail, tripping over herself before plunging head first into the dirt. Vampire two readied her for drinking as vampire one continued after his own prey, eager to catch up but not succeeding.

A firmly placed kick to the mouth sent vampire two spinning backwards as Bethany scrambled to escape, gathering enough force to propel forward and out of harm's way. Giving up his hunt, the first vampire halted in place, put his hands on his hips, and sighed, only to be shoved aside by a very flustered, speedy young woman.

Reaching Spike's crypt at last, the two girls pried open the rusty vault door and shut it tightly behind them, pressing against it with their heaving backs. Bethany tried to say something but the air caught painfully in her throat.

"I-" was followed by a pant, "I- What. Huh?" She shriveled her nose in equal parts deliriousness, excitement, and confusion. This made Dawn giggle, which forced Bethany to do the same.

Spike, who had up to that point been deducing not only the mystery of his love spell, but life itself, climbed the ladder upwards from his cozy catacomb intent to be as visibly impatient to his new guests as possible.

"Oh," his grimace was replaced with a villainous smile upon noticing Dawn - as well as her tag-along. He immediately made his way across the floor and met the younger Summers halfway, taking her around the waist.

Bethany scanned Dawn's "boyfriend" up and down, side to side - she failed to accurately label him. Peroxide-blonde hair, leather jacket over a red and black undershirt, eyebrow scar; something told her the man who was now fiercely kissing Dawn had some form of parental issues.

At the moment, 'third wheel' didn't do her position justice.

"I got you something." Dawn managed between dreamy sighs. Spike paused only to ask what it was before running his lips along her neck. She pushed him away with an imploring grin, her hand on his stony chest.

"Look, see." A hand snaked its way into the cut of her shirt, pulling a long silver chain out by the clasp.

Bethany twiddled her thumbs.

"Good choice, pet." Spike growled, sincerely admiring the jewelry. He leaned forward so as to be forehead to forehead, his eyes burrowing deeply into Dawn's as she fitted him around the neck with a quiet click; her tongue playfully mimicked the noise.

Three knocks upon the door shattered the atmosphere, both relieving and startling Bethany who expectantly looked towards it.

Another pound echoed throughout the room before Spike made his way to the entrance, angry to be interrupted. Outside the tomb waited a pair of vampires, frothing - not the least bit intimidated, he scowled through the iron grating.

"Spike? Man, hey." The first vampire said in a friendly manner. "So me and my bud here saw some girls a few minute ago, he thinks they may have, y'know, tried to hide with you." This earned an elbowing from the second vampire.

"And?" Spike asked, his tone biting. Bethany stood frozen in place.

"We were wondering, man, if we might be able ta' share-"

"Get outta here before I dust you." He snarled. Vampire two was close to busting when vampire one took him by the shoulder, shaking his head 'no.' They made off back into the night, hungry and frustrated.

"Hi, I'm Bethany." She squeaked, regaining her composure. Spike examined the girl without any flicker of emotion, wordlessly scrutinizing her. Feeling threatened under the pressure, she shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm Spike." His response was drawled - Dawn could nearly feel how much he enjoyed dragging things out, raking her friend through the brambles with his locked stare.

"Nice place...?" Bethany's comment sounded more like a question.

Much to the vampire's continued annoyance, there came another knock at the door. He directed Dawn and Bethany to hide away for the time being, cracking his knuckles against each other as he approached the crypt's opening for what promised to be the final time.

Spike snapped a toppled chair's leg off into his fist, plying the end into a sharp cliff-like edge with the fingers of his other hand. Steeling himself, he swung open the door, drew back his arm, and-

"Buffy?"

He could smell adrenaline and sweat on her person, indicators of a recent fight; it wasn't difficult to figure out with whom. Buffy pushed Spike's hand out of it's motionless position in the air then slid inside.

Still flabbergasted, the words, "wait, no, don't come in," never issued from his mouth as he wanted them to, and before he had a chance to speak, she did first.

"Hello, Spike."

"H-hello." The vampire said as evenly as his terrified body would allow. He had hoped to avoid Buffy after the morning's close call, wary to accidentally give anything away about he and her sister's blossoming affair. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Expecting somebody else?" Buffy asked, inspecting his rudimentary weapon; quickly discarding it, he pushed his shoulders back and jutted his chin. This attempt to say "You're not welcome," told her nothing that she hadn't already known - Spike slumped, thinking of how easily Dawn could be discovered, and him, subsequently staked.

"I wasn't, jus' surprised to see you here is all. Speakin' of which, why are you here?"

"Just out on patrol, thought I'd stop by to make sure you weren't chomping on anyone behind my back." Buffy lied, her word choice forcing a nervous cough from the uneasy vampire. She knew about his chip, but the excuse seemed valid regardless.

"Thanks, g'bye now." The bluntness of his answer, sans witty retort, made her suspicion grow. Bethany standing up to introduce herself did nothing to help the situation's cloudiness.

"Hello! I'm Bethany." Followed by, "I love meeting new people."

Spike shrugged in response to Buffy's nonplussed look.

"Dawn? It's okay to come out now!" The redhead chirped, meaning well.

Spike cringed under the frigidness of Buffy's glare.

If you have an idea of where this story is going, tell me so in the reviews. :) Who hexed Spike, how will Buffy react, is Dawn's love a futile one?