Chapter 10
A Glimpse of Heaven
By Zarrah
Buffy was staring up at the ceiling, Spike's voice barely even registering to her as her interest in learning Algebra all over again was less than exciting. She had lain back across his bed, her feet dangling over the edge as he tried to 'teach' her without much luck.
"Do you understand that part?" Spike asked, flipping the page before turning his head to look over at her.
"You can almost make out pictures if you look hard enough." Buffy said absently as she continued to stare at the ceiling.
"What?" Spike asked, glancing up at the ceiling where she was looking.
"The patterns in the ceiling." Buffy said, pointing up. "It's like watching the clouds, stare long enough and you can actual see things."
Spike glanced at the ceiling again before looking back over at Buffy. They had had a peaceful last hour, much to the fact that she was barely even listening to him, but not screaming at one another was actually kinda nice.
"Buffy, I don't think your Mum and Dad are paying me just so you can see Elvis in my ceiling tiles." Spike said, smiling slightly as he looked at her.
"Elvis!" Buffy said excitedly, glancing over at him. "I haven't seen Elvis."
Spike chuckled before closing the math book on his lap and sitting it on the floor next to her book bag. "Well, he was down at the Jody Burger last week, but I don't ever recall seeing him on my ceiling."
"Eww, you don't actually eat in there, do you?" Buffy asked, turning her head back to look at Spike. "That place is just…ewww."
"Hey, they have the best burgers in town." Spike said smiling. "Ever had one?"
"Uh, no." Buffy said scrunching up her nose. "That place reeks from the outside, hate to see what the inside looks like."
"Well, might not look like much, but there's no better food in town."
"I doubt that." Buffy said as a soft knock was heard before the door slowly opened. Sitting up she smiled as Giles poked his head in, smiling at them before opening the door wider.
"Buffy, your parents are here." Giles said, his smile widening as he looked at her.
"Thanks." Buffy said smiling back at him before bending over at grabbing her book bag. "Tell them I'll be right out."
"Sure thing." Giles said before turning and walking back down the hall.
Buffy shoved all her books back into her book bag, quickly zipping it before standing up. "Well, I guess Hell's High school is now dismissed." She said as she picked up her empty soda can and walked over to the dresser and placed it on the tray.
"Hell's High school?" Spike asked, leaning his head over to the side as he looked at her. "Wasn't that bad now was it?"
Buffy let out a small laugh as she turned back to look at him. "Uh, being locked up in a room alone with you for over two hours, what would you call it?" She asked, her smile fading slightly as she saw a flash of hurt register on his face before the sneering smirk he was so good at crossed it.
"I was thinking more like purgatory." Spike snapped before he stood quickly as grabbed her book bag. "So if you don't mind, I'm rather anxious for you to leave." He told her as he shoved her book bag at her. "Pretending to be nice to you is starting to wear on my nerves."
"Oh, like it was a picnic for me!" Buffy said loudly, catching her book bag as he roughly shoved it at her. "Just the sound of your voice is more annoying than the sight of you."
Spike gritted his teeth, his fist clenching at his side as he stared at her when she straightened her shoulders and glared hard at him. He should have known it would take more than a couple of hours to rid her of her bitchy attitude towards him, something he still couldn't figure out.
~*~*~*~
Giles smiled, shifting on his feet as he looked at Joyce and Hank, the yelling he had heard earlier from Spike's room once again starting. Removing his glasses, he cleaned them absently, clearing his throat as he replaced them. "So, did you enjoy your evening?" he asked, trying to get everyone's attention off the bickering coming from the other end of the small apartment.
"Yes, it was fine." Joyce said, her eyes widening as she heard a door slam and the muffled voice of Spike still yelling as Buffy stomped down the hall doing the same.
"Hey mom, can we go now!" Buffy said as she stomped into the Living room.
"Is everything okay Buffy?" Joyce asked worriedly, glancing down the hall from where she could still hear Spike yelling.
"Just peachy." Buffy said sarcastically, giving her a wide fake smile as she turned and headed for the door. "See you Thursday Giles." She said, reaching for the doorknob and opening the door.
"Oh, certainly." Giles said, his eyes as wide as Joyce and Hank's were as Buffy left in a huff.
"Did something happen?" Joyce asked, turning to look back at Giles.
Giles smiled, sighing lightly before looking from Hank to Joyce. "Everything's fine." He answered. "They just have a little trouble…communicating from time to time."
"Obviously." Joyce commented as she turned to glance at her husband. "Ready?" she asked him, smiling as she looked back over at Giles.
"Yeah, let's get home, see what's got Buffy in such a foul mood." Hank said, smiling as he reached a hand out to Giles. "It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Giles." He said, knowing from Buffy's reaction, that they wouldn't be coming back.
"As it was meeting you, Mr. Summers." Giles said, returning the mans friendly smile and shaking his hand before giving Joyce a warm smile.
"Goodnight Mr. Giles." Joyce said as she turned, followed by Hank as they walked to the door and left.
Giles watched them walk to the car before shutting the door, another loud crash coming from Spike's room causing him to jump slightly as he turned back to the Living room. *And here I thought having a teenager in the house would be enlightening* he thought as he flipped off the light and headed to his room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy was sprawled out across her bed, Mr. Gordo clutched tightly in her arms as she stare up at the ceiling. Her parents had questioned her all the way home about what her and Spike had been yelling about and the only thing she could come up with was that he just irritated her.
She didn't know 'why' she had gone off on him again and the fact that they had actually gotten alone for over an hour was more disturbing than their actual fights. She knew being pissed at him was completely unfair, seeing how he 'wasn't' the Spike she knew and the fact that he actually wasn't that bad to talk to was just another reason to be weirded out about it.
The Spike she knew was a constant irritation to her, only because of the fact that he claimed to love her, even though she still doubted the possibility of it. But that didn't explain her irritation of 'this' Spike. Was it because she saw 'vampire Spike' everytime she looked at him or was it something completely different.
Sighing loudly, she turned her head, looking across her room. Her eyes fell to her desk, the large black book that lay on top of it catching her eye. Rolling over, she stood and walked to the desk, retrieving the book before lying back down across her bed.
Buffy opened the book, briefly glancing at Spike's name written on the inside cover before flipping through the pages. She still couldn't figure out 'what' he was doing with a Poetry book, let alone having dozens of them in his room.
All the poems in the book spoke of love or beauty and the thoughts of Spike reading them, let alone liking them puzzled her more as she scanned some of the text.
Flipping through the pages, her eyes were caught as she passed a page, the text highlighted in bright yellow. Turning back a few pages to see what he had marked, Buffy opened the book wide, reading over the poem that Spike had apparently liked.
Rondel of Merciless Beauty
By: Geoffrey Chaucer
Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly;
Their beauty shakes me who was once serene;
Straight through my heart the wound is quick and keen.
Only your word will heal the injury
To my hurt heart, while yet the wound is clean-
Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly;
Their beauty shakes me who was once serene.
Upon my word, I tell you faithfully
Through life and after death you are my queen;
For with my death the whole truth will be seen.
Your two great eyes will slay me suddenly;
Their beauty shakes me who was once serene;
Straight through the heart the wound is quick and keen.
Buffy stared down at the page, rereading the passage again. She didn't really understand poetry nor did she even being to analyze it, but the words on the page had struck her hard. She closed the book, staring down at the plain black cover, the words replaying over in her head. She knew poetry was an expression of ones soul and that two people would get two completely different meanings from the same poem, but this one…..she knew, had the same meaning to her as it did Spike.
With another long sigh, Buffy closed her eyes as she laid her head down. Things were getting more confusing by the minute. If landing in some alternate dimension or heaven weren't confusing enough, the thoughts that Spike may 'actually' be more than…just a monster…had her wondering if she hadn't been to harsh on him, this worlds version as well as her own.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The halls were a flurry of students, laughing and joking as Buffy walked slowly towards her locker. She had had a dull, numb feeling hanging over her all day that only increased when she had walked into math class to find Spike not there.
She felt bad, and had felt bad since the night before, and the feeling was foreign to her, especially when Spike was the one causing it. She had never, not once felt anything when she had yelled or hit him in her own time, but now, she did and the feeling was more than disturbing.
Stopping at her locker, Buffy twisted the lock, hearing the click as the combination was being dialed before the lock slid open. Opening her locker, she placed her unneeded books in, pulling out the ones she needed before closing the door back.
"What's with the long face?"
Buffy jumped, startled as Angel stood behind the door as she closed it. She smiled at him, despite her blue mood, the sight of him always bringing a smile to her face.
"Hey." She said, her smile widening as his did.
"Hey yourself." Angel said, leaning down and placing a light kiss on her cheek. "I missed you at lunch, where'd you go?"
Buffy smiled, leaning against her locker as she looked at him. "I wasn't in the mood for a crowd."
"To bad." Angel told her, "I was really hoping to talk to you."
"Oh?" Buffy asked, her mood suddenly lifting. "About what?"
"Well, I wanted to know…if you wanted to go out with me." Angel asked smiling.
"Yeah, I'd love to." Buffy said, returning the warm smile he gave her as she looked into his eyes. "When?"
"Well," Angel said, "I was kinda thinking anytime I wanted."
"Huh?" Buffy asked, confused. "What do you mean?"
Angel grinned, looking across the hall as a group of girls giggled and passed them. "Well, I was thinking more of a steady date." He said, "You know, you, me…."
"Steady?" Buffy asked quietly, not sure if he was asking what she thought he was asking.
The smile that lit up his face let her know that he was.
"Yeah, steady." Angel said, chuckling lightly as Buffy's eyes widened.
"As in, boyfriend, girlfriend steady?"
Angel shook his head, grinning at her stunned face. "Yes, as in boyfriend, girlfriend." He said, glancing across the hall again when the whispers started.
Buffy watched as he held out his hand, removing his class ring. She almost laughed out loud as the 'high school girl' in her got butterflies at the prospects of having a boyfriend and wearing his class ring. It was funny to even image this as she still felt like a twenty one year old, not the sixteen year old she looked like.
The whispers in the hall intensified as Angel took hold of Buffy's hand, placing the ring on her palm before looking back up at her. "So, what's it going to be Buff, you wanna be my girl?"
Spike watched the scene from his spot at the end of the hall. The gossip mill had already filtered its way down the hall, almost replaying every word said as Angel asked Buffy to go steady. He clenched his jaw tightly as he saw Buffy smile brightly, taking the ring and slipping it on her finger.
As much as he repeatedly told himself he hated her, the sight before him only proved him wrong as anger and hurt washed through him. Sighing loudly, he leaned his head to the side, resting it on the row of lockers he was leaning on as he watched, his brain telling his legs to move, but they stood steadfast in their spot.
Pushing his hands deep into his pockets, Spike turned, his back flat against the lockers as he saw Angel reach his hand up and lay it on the side of Buffy face. Staring at the ceiling, he told himself to just walk away, that she didn't matter, but his head turned on its own will, glancing back down the hall.
Seeing Angel lean in, his face inching closer to Buffy's finally convinced his body to cooperate with his mind as Spike pushed off the lockers and turned, walking down the hall and away from the kiss he knew she was now getting.
With slumped shoulders and an aching pain in his chest, Spike walked slowly down the hall before quickening his pace. With his eyes straight ahead and never looking back, Spike was unable to see Buffy standing by her locker, watching his hasty retreat.
To Be Continued………
A/N….Okay…NO FLAMES!!! I PROMISE things are going to get better. We have to get from point A to point B before we can even LOOK for point C and I'm pretty sure the journey will be fun, I mean who said love was easy???
Thanks again for the reviews…you guys are just awesome!! I hope you're still enjoying the story, even though we have Angel in there now…but at least I didn't SHOW the kissage…that would have been just…ewww. (hahaha)
Zarrah