Chapter Five

Buffy had no intention of going to Kyle's party, but after everything she'd been through the last two weeks, she wanted to have normalcy in her life and forget the responsibilities that came with being a teenage girl. Ergo, party. It was just one night. She deserved one night of recklessness, to let loose and have fun. But when she showed up, she instantly regretted her decision. Cordelia was telling the truth when she said Kyle took precautionary measures to keep the vampires away. She could practically smell the garlic from the end of the driveway. On the ground around the house were crosses. The place was bustling with people, completely crowded.

"Ta-da!" Buffy exclaimed, throwing her hands up to the party going on behind them.

Willow stiffened, eyes widening when she realized where Buffy had taken her. Buffy immediately felt terrible for lying to her friend about where they were going. Claiming that they were going to the movies instead, Willow should have known something was wrong when she saw Buffy dressed in party clothes. She looked over at her friend and knew that she and Willow looked out of place, too. Not just her friend's non-party garments, but they were wearing bright colors while everyone else dressed in dark colors. A foolish thing to do, knowing that it attracts them, but Buffy didn't care. She was too focused on having a fun time to worry about vampires seeing her pink, knee-length, little silk dress that fit her body like a second skin. Besides, if a vampire attacked her, maybe Spike would finally show his rippled face.

Buffy shivered when the wind blew against her exposed body. The unexpected coldness made her wish that she had brought a jacket with her.

"Kyle's party?" Willow asked, shocked and completely confused. "I thought we agreed not to go!"

Buffy frowned at Willow's lack of excitement, pulling down her hands disappointedly. "Come on," she complained. "I thought it'd be fun!"

"A party?" Willow repeated in disbelief.

"Where else did you think we were going when I'm dressed like this?" Buffy asked, gesturing to her revealing dress. "The library?"

Willow could only shrug.

"Let's hurry and get inside," Buffy said quickly, not waiting for Willow to change her mind as she pushed her through the door. It seemed like her night was off to a great start, but only because she had no idea that someone was watching her.

They entered the house and pushed through the crowd of drunk teenagers. They stood awkwardly in a corner, unsure of what to do. It was a weird feeling. When she attended Hemery, she'd gone to tons of parties, so why did she feel out of place? Her reputation at Sunnydale High didn't help when it came to making new friends. Cordelia Chase saw to that. She almost befriended the Queen Bee when Cordelia saw Buffy talking to Willow and went around the school proclaiming Buffy a loser. In all honesty, Buffy would rather be friends with Willow than Cordelia anyway. The only downside to that was Willow could be awkward when it came to socializing with people that weren't Buffy.

For the rest of the night, the time passed at an alarming and antagonizing slow rate, the clock on the far side of the wall showing that it was midnight. However, Buffy had felt like she had been at the party for hours. She tried drinking, but Buffy and alcohol were un-mixy things. The little substance she did consume was rolling around in her stomach and making her tipsy. Overall, she concluded that the party was lame. Not for Willow, though. Buffy smiled as her friend was in deep conversation with one of their classmates, Oz. She didn't know much about him, other than he was in a band and hung out in the library often, and apparently a werewolf. The few times she did talk to him yesterday included, he seemed polite and friendly. A perfect match for Willow.

"You don't look like you're having fun."

Buffy looked from her friend to the man standing before her. He looked familiar. Wasn't he in her French class?

"I'm Cameron," he said. "We have Algebra together."

Oh! Algebra. Of course. She tried to remember him, but there were so many students in that class. And when she did go, it was usually her nap period.

"Sorry, I pretty much repress anything math-related," she said, not recognizing him.

"It's fine. Me too," he replied. "I sit two seats behind and three over from you."

"Oh! Yeah, I remember now," she said. "It's the one with the desks and the chalkboards and pencils, and the boring teacher, right?

Cameron chuckled. "That's the one."

She smiled and pointed at her head. "Like a steel trap."

He gestured towards the room of people and said, "So, this party is pretty lame."

"It was," she replied, looking at the drunk-filled room, and then turned her eyes back to him. "It's not so lame anymore."

It sounded cheesy even to her ears, but she was grateful that somebody had saved her from the misery of this party. It was ironic. She wanted to come so severely while Willow didn't, and yet her friend was the one having an enjoyable time while she wasn't. Until now. Cameron seemed nice enough. He could keep her company for the rest of the night. And she didn't have good luck when it came to men. She'd only had one boyfriend before and zero sexual experiences. When she went to Hemery, it was embarrassing being the only girl in her friend circle that hadn't had sex yet, wanting to wait until she was in love first. She wouldn't give just anyone her virginity. She wanted it to be something special. Cameron was cute… but that is all he was. His presence didn't give her the same excitement as a certain vampire did. God, she was sick. The first male she felt an attraction to had to be a vampire.

And he was incredibly dull. For the next half hour, she had to listen to him go on and on about the records he had broken on the swim team. They were impressive, she could admit that, but the conversation was one-sided. Every time she tried to respond, he cut her off and continued talking.

So, when she saw Willow heading to the bathroom and gesturing her to follow, she took that as her opportunity to leave.

"I'm sorry," she interrupted his ongoing talk. "I have to use the lady's room."

"Okay. I'll wait for you here," he replied.

Buffy hurriedly walked over to the bathroom and slid through the door just as Willow was about to shut it.

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to be rid of somebody," Buffy let out a relieved sigh and leaned against the door. Willow giggled. Buffy opened her eyes and looked at her happy friend. "And what about you? How is it going with Oz?"

"Amazing," Willow replied dreamily. "He's smart, and he can play the guitar!"

Buffy smiled at her. She was happy for her friend. Truly.

"But it's getting late, and I'm tired," Willow said. "Why don't we call it a night and head home? I just need to tell Oz; he offered to drive us home."

Buffy agreed and was suddenly thankful for Oz. She was ready to get out of this house. They walked out of the bathroom, and Willow went over to Oz as Buffy walked back to Cameron. Even though he was very annoying, she didn't want to ditch him without saying goodbye. It would be rude.

But she wished that she had.

"Buffy is a cool girl and all, but I'm only trying to smash. And I don't think she's all that smart when it comes to men. I think she's a virgin. I could break her easily."

Listening to Cameron talk about her that way to his friends hurt. Mostly because it was true, she didn't know much when it came to men. She was naïve to think that Cameron had tried talking to her because he liked her.

Hurt quickly turned into anger.

"Cameron!"

Just as he turned around, she threw a punch to his nose, causing a crunching sound from the impact of the blow. He howled in pain.

"You bitch!" he yelled, still clutching his bleeding nose.

Buffy stormed out into the night, tears streaming down her face. She wasn't going to let an idiot like Cameron make her feel this way. She was better than that. Wiping her tears from her eyes, she shivered when a breeze of air brushed past her, rubbing her goose-bumped arms. The night had gotten chillier. Realizing that she had passed the crosses protecting the house, she turned to go back and find Willow and Oz. The thought of cookie dough ice cream and her comfortable bed sounded like music to her ears. Just as she was about to pass the crosses, a group of vampires jumped out in front of her. She gasped and went to scream when a vampire hit her in the face, stopping her and knocking her unconscious.

Buffy jerked awake with a gasp. She looked around but could only see pitch black; a blindfold placed over her eyes. She groaned and went to touch the back of her head but couldn't because her hands were tied behind her back, making it impossible to move. She tried to recall the last thing that happened to her. She had been at Kyle's party, outside upset after what Cameron had said about her when someone randomly hit her, knocking her unconscious.

No, not someone.

Something.

A bunch of things.

She began panicking and was also annoyed that she kept ending up in situations like these. And it always involved a specific irritating bleached blond-haired person. But she couldn't confirm he had taken part in this, not without her eyesight. Her luck majorly sucked.

"She bloody well can't stay here!"

Buffy's head jerked to the familiar voice that she heard from across the room. Her suspicions were confirmed. Spike had taken part in her kidnapping. Ugh! Stupid bleached… stupid guy. She wished her hands were untied so she could give him a piece of her mind. Instead, she ground her teeth and tried to keep quiet. They didn't notice that she was awake and listening in on their conversation… or argument.

"The girl is at too much risk out there!" A man said. The voice was unfamiliar to Buffy. "She's almost gotten herself killed twice!"

"It's your town, isn't it?" Spike snapped. "Why haven't you ordered her protection? Or are you not as powerful as you claim to be."

"You fool! You have no idea how powerful I am! My power is limitless!"

"And you can't keep your minions in check, so they don't take a bite out of the girl?"

"I can, but there's nothing I can do about a few rebellious fledglings or vampires coming in from out of town that doesn't know she's off-limits. It's too risky. She stays here with you where I know she'll be safe until I say otherwise… if you want your sire back, I suggest you don't argue with me."

Spike didn't respond, only growled.

His sire? What did that mean? Is that why he'd been protecting her? So he could get somebody back to him? And here she thought he was doing it because he was a good vampire. Buffy couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her lips. As soon as she did, she immediately wished she could take it back because now she could feel their eyes on her body, making her uncomfortable.

Suddenly, somebody lifted the blindfold off her eyes and over her head. Warm brown eyes stared back at her. Whoever this man was, he was undoubtedly attractive. He was tan with chestnut brown hair and dressed in a suit and tie. If she could guess his age, she'd say he was in his mid-thirties.

"Well, look who's awake," he said with a dazzling white smile. "And here we thought you'd sleep the night away."

"Who are you?" she asked, confused.

"Forgive me, Miss. Summers," he replied. "I wasn't planning on our first meeting going this way. But unfortunately, you couldn't seem to keep yourself out of trouble, so I had no choice but to step in."

Buffy frowned. And he cared about her wellbeing because…?

"I care about your wellbeing because you are critical."

Buffy's eyes widened. Had she said that aloud?

"No," he replied. "You didn't. I can read your thoughts."

He could read her thoughts. Okay, she was officially freaking out. Vampires and werewolves were one thing, but mind readers? How is that even possible? Not to mention it was a total invasion of privacy.

"Get out of my head," she snapped. She so did not have time to deal with stupid vampires and stupid handsome mind readers.

He smirked and turned back to Spike. "She's a feisty one, isn't she?"

Buffy looked over his shoulder and tried to give pleading eyes to Spike to help her. Whatever this guy wanted with her, she had a feeling it would lead to her ultimate death. But Spike wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was fumbling with a cigarette and lighter.

"You can call me Bane," he said, turning back to her. "And don't worry, nobody will harm you. But you've been getting yourself into trouble lately. And I cannot allow that to happen, which is why you're going to be moving in with Spike. Here, in his lair, I've set up for him. For your protection."

"Why?" she asked.

Bane bent over and put a finger to her lower lip, and slowly traced it across. "You'll know soon enough. But not yet. Until then, I need your full corporation so Spike can protect you from those who'd want to harm you."

Buffy jerked her head back. "Who the hell wants to harm me?"

Bane sighed and stood up to his full height. "Spike will fill you in on that eventually. You'll be staying here with him until then."

"I'm not staying here," she spat. "I want to go home!"

Instead of responding, Bane turned to Spike, dismissing her. "Make sure she doesn't die," he commanded and then vanished. As in poof, he was gone. Buffy's eyes widened.

Okay, she's officially seen enough of Sunnydale's weirdness.

She turned to look at Spike, who was staring at her with narrowed eyes.

"Take me home," she said sternly, tugging at the ropes binding her hands together, but they didn't budge, too strong for her.

"Can't do that," he replied; then, with his cigarette still between his lips, he crossed the room and untied her bondage.

Buffy held her chaffed wrists to her chest, rubbing circles around them to ease the pain. She looked around the room, trying to find an escape. Seeing a door to the far corner, she wasted no time running towards it, but before she could get three steps, Spike was suddenly in front of her. She gasped and jumped back, frantically looking for another way out. There had to be some way of getting out of this place. But before she could try again, Spike grabbed her injured wrist and dragged her through the halls. While she tripped over her feet, trying to keep up with him, at the same time, she tried remembering the route he was taking her to get to her room and also the exterior of his lair. The floor was cement, with a long red rug going down the hallway; the walls were bricks. Lanterns were on the wall every ten feet or so to keep light. The place was dreary, but at the same time, elegant. There was a metal door at the end of the hallway; he took out a key and unlocked it. They walked through and suddenly stopped at another door; Spike let go of her wrist and tugged her inside; she stumbled forward before falling to the ground clumsily.

"Was that necessary?" she yelled angrily, turning back to him.

He rolled his eyes and waved his hand, gesturing around the room. "This is where you'll be staying from now on."

Buffy turned and looked at the room. There was a queen-size bed in the middle of it with red sheets. The walls were grey; lanterns hung over the walls the same as the hallway; there were two black dressers and a walk-in bathroom.

"You can leave your room to go into the main dining room, which is out here," he pointed towards the open door and motioned for her to come closer to look.

She walked over and looked outside the room to see a kitchen and lounge area with cabinets and a table. There was a black leather couch, and flat-screen TV hooked onto the wall.

"Over there is my room," he said, pointing to a room across the lounge. And then turned and got close to her face. "Don't ever enter. Or I promise I won't be as kind as I am now."

Buffy laughed in his face. "Kind? Do you think this is you being kind? You kidnapped me and are keeping me, prisoner, without even telling me why!"

He growled and flashed his fangs. "I didn't kidnap you! And I don't want you here. As soon as Bane gives the word, your ass will be back with him, and he'll do whatever he pleases with you for all I bloody care!"

Buffy's eyes widened, and she froze. The kidnapping was terrible. But at least she felt oddly safe with Spike. She knew he wouldn't harm her (unless provoked). She didn't know what that Bane guy would do. He could torture her or worse.

"H-how long will I be here for?" she stuttered. The reality of the situation started to dawn on her. She was trapped in a lair with a vampire who could kill her at any moment. And her mother… oh god, her mother had to be worried sick.

"I don't know," he answered. And Buffy believed he was telling the truth. He had no idea how long she'd stay with him for. He hated this situation just as much as she did. And he was doing it to get somebody back to him? Somebody that he loved? A woman? She wanted to ask but knew that he'd only become angry.

Suddenly he turned away and walked to the door that led to the hallway–to her escape. "I'm leaving. Don't bother trying to break this door down or open it. It's metal, and only I have the key. It'd be a waste of time."

Gently, Buffy wrapped her arms around herself as soon as he was gone, bringing her head to her knees and closing her eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and to keep from breaking down. She could survive this. She couldn't give up, not while her mother was at home, no doubt worried about her. She had to calm down and rest. She needed her strength. Tears began to form in her eyes and slowly fall down her cheeks as she realized how tired she was. Stressed from tonight's events, sleep overtook her while she was still on her new prison floor.