Chapter Twenty-Nine
As the day neared its end once more in the town of Sunnydale, it was once again time for Kellie and Spike to go their separate ways. Spike once again offered to walk Kellie home.
As the two neared the Summers house, Spike turned to face Kellie. "You know, me being a vampire and you being a human, we wouldn't be able to see each other, I mean if we were dating. In the daytime, all we can do is stay in the crypt and at night we can't see each other without Buffy and the others getting suspicious." Spike pointed out.
"Why can't Buffy know? What's so wrong with that?" Kellie asked, her eyes narrowing.
"You know she won't let you see me." Spike said and he was right, Kellie knew that and that's why she didn't tell anyone where she was going or where she was.
"I don't care, hanging out in your crypt all day seems to be working for the time being. What are you saying Spike?" Kellie asked, studying him.
Spike thought a second, not exactly sure what he was saying. "I'm saying it probably won't work, us being together." Spike finally muttered.
Kellie bit her lip, knowing somewhere in her that he was right. "I still don't care; you know what they say: a little bit goes a long way. Even if we only get to see each other during the day, that's enough time to have something like a relationship or something." Kellie said, looking up at him.
"Kellie…it won't work." Spike muttered.
Kellie looked up at him, her eyes narrowing. "You don't even want to give it a try, does it even matter to you that I've never felt this way about anyone before? Does it matter to you that when I'm not with you, I'm thinking about you? Does any of the that matter?" Kellie asked, feeling tears brimming at the corner of her eyes, even if she was ashamed of them.
Spike didn't answer; he couldn't come up with the right words. "I guess it doesn't." Kellie whispered and turned and ran into the house, slamming the door shut behind her.
Darry, Oz, Dawn, Willow and Buffy were in the kitchen, eating a light dinner when they heard the front door open and slam shut. They briefly saw Kellie on her way upstairs, looking nothing less of very upset.
Darry stood up from her place at the table. "Excuse me." She muttered and ran out of the kitchen to follow her cousin upstairs. Oz looked over at Willow and Buffy, rather surprised by Darry's hurried exit.
"That's her cousin, Kellie." Dawn said and took a bite of her food.
Kellie ran into Dawn's room, sobbing in spite of herself. She was barely aware of Darry behind her as she shut the door. She collapsed on the floor, her body shaking with sobs; she was telling Spike the truth when she told him that she'd never felt the same way about anyone the way she felt about him. She had also never cried over anyone like this before; it wasn't like they were going out but she couldn't help it. There wasn't something about Spike that other guys didn't have. But, he obviously didn't feel the same way about her.
Darry entered the room and fell to her knees beside her cousin. "Kellie what's the matter?" Darry asked.
Kellie knew she couldn't answer Darry because she couldn't form the words. She looked up at her cousin and attempted to tell her at least the gist of what was wrong but she started to cry again.
Darry didn't know what to do, something was obviously wrong her cousin and it was clear that Kellie couldn't speak to tell her what it was. Suddenly, Kellie opened her mouth and hurriedly told the story to Darry. When she was finished, she began to cry again.
"You've been with Spike?" Darry asked, unbelieving at first and then attempted to suppress a laugh. The vampire was obviously in love with Buffy and just really desperate; however she dare not say that to Kellie because she really 'liked' the undead guy. And maybe she was wrong; maybe Spike liked her as well.
"Okay, Kellie, stop crying okay. Kellie…stop crying and listen. Stop crying." Darry said. Kellie lifted her tear-streaked face and looked up at Darry.
"What?" She sniffed.
"Don't let what Spike said get to you. There's this saying: 'Mecka Lecka Salava Beem Sala Beem'." Darry said.
Kellie blinked. "What? Bean salad…what?" Kellie asked, blinking in confusion about what her cousin said.
"No, 'Mecka Lecka…um…it's a saying." Darry said, flushing at the fact that she wasn't able to remember the words.
"What does it mean?" Kellie asked, sniffing back tears.
Darry thought for a minute. After a while she said, "I don't know what it means. It's very old."
"Did you make it up?" Kellie asked.
"No." Darry said, deadpan. "Do you want my advice or not?" Darry asked.
Kellie nodded slowly. "Sure." She said, her voice still shaking with repressed sobs.
"Okay then shut up and listen! Forget about Spike. If he doesn't want to be with you, that's his loss. Find someone who is more suited to you and who is alive. Spike is just a loser vampire who can't even bite anymore. Trust me, he's not the guy for you." Darry said, smiling at her cousin with genuine concern and sisterly affection.
Kellie sniffed and wiped a tear away. "All right, thanks Darry." Kellie muttered and attempted to smile back at her cousin.
Kellie told Darry that she wanted to spend a little time by herself, so Darry left Dawn's room. When she entered the hall, she was surprised to see Oz waiting for her.
He smiled at her. "I heard what you said to her, you've obviously comforted a lot of people." Oz said.
Darry shook her head. "Nope, not really; I was making it up as I went along. I wasn't really a people person growing up." Darry said, thinking back to her isolated child-hood.
"I know what you mean, I was usually always the odd man out." Oz said and smiled.
Darry smiled back, surprised how Oz's few words could make her forget about her past, for the time being. She looked back toward Dawn's room. "I hope Kellie will be okay." Darry muttered.
Oz nodded. "Dawn was telling me a little bit about her downstairs. She sounds like she can take care of herself." Oz said, once again chasing away all Darry's doubts.
"Yeah, I think you're right." Darry nodded. The two headed back downstairs to join Dawn, Buffy and Willow.
That night, after Oz had left, Kellie was having a hard time going to sleep. Even after what Darry had said, she couldn't get Spike out of her head. Sure, everything Darry said was true; after all, Spike wasn't even human. She might have dated a lot of weird guys in Snowville but at least they were all alive. However, despite what Darry said and despite what Spike had said (or hadn't said), Kellie found it hard to believe that Spike didn't care about her.
Rolling over on her back, Kellie stared up at the ceiling of Willow's room. Everyone seemed to have someone who cared about them; Darry had Oz, even though they had just met, Willow had Tara, even if they weren't together at the moment, Dawn had the boy Steven from school, Anya and Xander had each other and Buffy had the love of all her friends.
Kellie sniffed back another sob; every time she thought about Spike she couldn't help but cry. She had never felt this way about anyone before; except for the boy in her middle school, John, who she thought she had loved. She also thought John loved her but it turned out that he didn't love anybody (or anything) but his three-legged dog named Puffy. After finding out that John didn't love her, she cried but not like she was crying now.
At the sound of her sniffing and repressed sobs, Darry opened her eyes and turned to face her cousin.
"Kellie, what's wrong?" Darry asked, keeping her voice low so that she didn't wake up Willow.
Kellie turned to face her cousin, slightly embarrassed that she had woken her up. "Nothing." Kellie sniffed.
Darry raised herself up on her elbows and studied her cousin. "You're not still upset about Spike are you?" Darry asked, whispering.
Kellie raised herself up as well and looked at Darry. "I can't help it, Darry, I love him. Well maybe love is the wrong word but that's the way it feels." Kellie said, feeling tears trickle down her cheeks. "But I don't know what I want; I know what you said is true, about being able to find someone better but I also know that I want him, not anyone else." Kellie said; she began to cry. "It hurts Darry." Kellie sobbed. "To be so confused; it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time."
Darry hugged her shaking cousin. "It's going to be okay Kellie, believe me." Darry muttered. "It always becomes okay." She whispered. "Just wait, in the morning you'll realize that you don't need him at all." Darry added.
Far from her own house, Buffy Summers delivered a spin-kick to a vampire's stomach. The vampire stumbled back, momentarily stunned. Buffy reached into her back pocket and withdrew a stake; the vampire growled and lunged forward. Right into the waiting pointing of Buffy's poised stake. Buffy frowned as the vampire turned to dust.
"What, can't you even put up a fight anymore?" Buffy muttered and pocketed her stake. It was the third vamp. she had staked in the last twenty minutes. The vampire population of Sunnydale didn't seem to be trying as hard as they used to.
"Something's coming." Came a voice from behind her. Without even having to turn around, Buffy knew whom that voice belonged to.
"Spike, you keep saying that but I have yet to see proof of that." Buffy muttered and turned to face the vampire.
Spike shrugged. "But can't you feel it, Slayer-girl?" Spike asked. "Besides, I saw how easily that vampire went down, I've seen how stupid the vampires are getting. Old vampires like me are siring new vampires as fast as they can. They're trying to prepare." Spike added.
"So, old vampires are making more vampires for like an army or something? Wouldn't they welcome the new evil?" Buffy asked.
Spike shook his head. "This is different, even the baddies not want it to come. But there is no stopping it." Spike said.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "You're starting to sound like Angel with you cryptic messages. If everyone knows there's evil coming, why don't they know what it is?" Buffy asked.
"Why won't you pay attention to what's around you Slayer?" Spike growled. "You're still too hung up on your brush with Heaven that you're numb to everything going around here. There are people who need you now, like Red. And pretty soon, if you don't find out what's got the demon population of Sunnydale wigged, a lot more people will need your help."
Buffy frowned. "Thanks for the pep talk Spike but when I want your help, I'll ask for it. Until then, keep your opinions to yourself." Buffy said and pushed past the vampire.
Spike growled as he watched her pass. "Just wait Slayer." He said, narrowing his eyes.
In the carven below Sunnydale, the man sat thinking. The Slayer had killed his latest demon without trouble, but she had had help. He wasn't sure who it was but there were three other people with her; he'd never heard of a Slayer who worked with assistants. However, that was no problem; the demons in Sunnydale knew that he was coming; they knew his plan would happen soon. And they trembled.
Spike trudged toward Willy's bar, many thoughts heavy on his mind. However, the Slayer in denial wasn't at the top of his list. He was thinking about Kellie; he was cursing himself for being so stupid when she basically poured her heart out to him. He had just stood there like a stupid teenage boy and let Kellie walk away, without a fight. Spike walked into Willy's Place, noticing how many vampires were packed into the cheesy, underground retreat.
Spike shoved a vampire off one of the bar stools and sat down. Willy came over to him. "Hey Spike, what can I get ya?" Willy asked.
"Anything." Spike muttered. He looked up at the bar tender. "Hey, I need your advice Willy." Spike said.
"Oh yeah? How can I help you, old buddy?" Willy asked as he poured Spike a shot of tequila.
"There's this girl right, and well she told me that she had all these feelings about me. I just stood there, like an idiot, and let her get away. How can I make ties with her again?" Spike asked and downed his shot.
"Well, let her know how you feel, if you feel anything at all." Willy suggested.
Spike nodded thoughtfully, wondering why he hadn't thought of that before. "Right, I bloody well will then." Spike agreed. He looked around at all the vampires and demons. "Any idea why this place is so packed?" Spike asked.
Willy shook his head. "Not really, except there's so many vampires now, not even the Slayer can keep the numbers down. Everyone's preparing for this 'thing'." Willy said.
"Any idea what it is?" Spike asked.
"Not a clue." Willy answered and wiped the bar.
"Well, I'll be seeing ya." Spike said, as friendly as possible. He left the over-crowed bar and heard some vampires fighting for his seat at the bar. Sunny-hell was really going to go down hill if Buffy didn't get to the bottom of all the weird-hoopla that was taking place.
As the day neared its end once more in the town of Sunnydale, it was once again time for Kellie and Spike to go their separate ways. Spike once again offered to walk Kellie home.
As the two neared the Summers house, Spike turned to face Kellie. "You know, me being a vampire and you being a human, we wouldn't be able to see each other, I mean if we were dating. In the daytime, all we can do is stay in the crypt and at night we can't see each other without Buffy and the others getting suspicious." Spike pointed out.
"Why can't Buffy know? What's so wrong with that?" Kellie asked, her eyes narrowing.
"You know she won't let you see me." Spike said and he was right, Kellie knew that and that's why she didn't tell anyone where she was going or where she was.
"I don't care, hanging out in your crypt all day seems to be working for the time being. What are you saying Spike?" Kellie asked, studying him.
Spike thought a second, not exactly sure what he was saying. "I'm saying it probably won't work, us being together." Spike finally muttered.
Kellie bit her lip, knowing somewhere in her that he was right. "I still don't care; you know what they say: a little bit goes a long way. Even if we only get to see each other during the day, that's enough time to have something like a relationship or something." Kellie said, looking up at him.
"Kellie…it won't work." Spike muttered.
Kellie looked up at him, her eyes narrowing. "You don't even want to give it a try, does it even matter to you that I've never felt this way about anyone before? Does it matter to you that when I'm not with you, I'm thinking about you? Does any of the that matter?" Kellie asked, feeling tears brimming at the corner of her eyes, even if she was ashamed of them.
Spike didn't answer; he couldn't come up with the right words. "I guess it doesn't." Kellie whispered and turned and ran into the house, slamming the door shut behind her.
Darry, Oz, Dawn, Willow and Buffy were in the kitchen, eating a light dinner when they heard the front door open and slam shut. They briefly saw Kellie on her way upstairs, looking nothing less of very upset.
Darry stood up from her place at the table. "Excuse me." She muttered and ran out of the kitchen to follow her cousin upstairs. Oz looked over at Willow and Buffy, rather surprised by Darry's hurried exit.
"That's her cousin, Kellie." Dawn said and took a bite of her food.
Kellie ran into Dawn's room, sobbing in spite of herself. She was barely aware of Darry behind her as she shut the door. She collapsed on the floor, her body shaking with sobs; she was telling Spike the truth when she told him that she'd never felt the same way about anyone the way she felt about him. She had also never cried over anyone like this before; it wasn't like they were going out but she couldn't help it. There wasn't something about Spike that other guys didn't have. But, he obviously didn't feel the same way about her.
Darry entered the room and fell to her knees beside her cousin. "Kellie what's the matter?" Darry asked.
Kellie knew she couldn't answer Darry because she couldn't form the words. She looked up at her cousin and attempted to tell her at least the gist of what was wrong but she started to cry again.
Darry didn't know what to do, something was obviously wrong her cousin and it was clear that Kellie couldn't speak to tell her what it was. Suddenly, Kellie opened her mouth and hurriedly told the story to Darry. When she was finished, she began to cry again.
"You've been with Spike?" Darry asked, unbelieving at first and then attempted to suppress a laugh. The vampire was obviously in love with Buffy and just really desperate; however she dare not say that to Kellie because she really 'liked' the undead guy. And maybe she was wrong; maybe Spike liked her as well.
"Okay, Kellie, stop crying okay. Kellie…stop crying and listen. Stop crying." Darry said. Kellie lifted her tear-streaked face and looked up at Darry.
"What?" She sniffed.
"Don't let what Spike said get to you. There's this saying: 'Mecka Lecka Salava Beem Sala Beem'." Darry said.
Kellie blinked. "What? Bean salad…what?" Kellie asked, blinking in confusion about what her cousin said.
"No, 'Mecka Lecka…um…it's a saying." Darry said, flushing at the fact that she wasn't able to remember the words.
"What does it mean?" Kellie asked, sniffing back tears.
Darry thought for a minute. After a while she said, "I don't know what it means. It's very old."
"Did you make it up?" Kellie asked.
"No." Darry said, deadpan. "Do you want my advice or not?" Darry asked.
Kellie nodded slowly. "Sure." She said, her voice still shaking with repressed sobs.
"Okay then shut up and listen! Forget about Spike. If he doesn't want to be with you, that's his loss. Find someone who is more suited to you and who is alive. Spike is just a loser vampire who can't even bite anymore. Trust me, he's not the guy for you." Darry said, smiling at her cousin with genuine concern and sisterly affection.
Kellie sniffed and wiped a tear away. "All right, thanks Darry." Kellie muttered and attempted to smile back at her cousin.
Kellie told Darry that she wanted to spend a little time by herself, so Darry left Dawn's room. When she entered the hall, she was surprised to see Oz waiting for her.
He smiled at her. "I heard what you said to her, you've obviously comforted a lot of people." Oz said.
Darry shook her head. "Nope, not really; I was making it up as I went along. I wasn't really a people person growing up." Darry said, thinking back to her isolated child-hood.
"I know what you mean, I was usually always the odd man out." Oz said and smiled.
Darry smiled back, surprised how Oz's few words could make her forget about her past, for the time being. She looked back toward Dawn's room. "I hope Kellie will be okay." Darry muttered.
Oz nodded. "Dawn was telling me a little bit about her downstairs. She sounds like she can take care of herself." Oz said, once again chasing away all Darry's doubts.
"Yeah, I think you're right." Darry nodded. The two headed back downstairs to join Dawn, Buffy and Willow.
That night, after Oz had left, Kellie was having a hard time going to sleep. Even after what Darry had said, she couldn't get Spike out of her head. Sure, everything Darry said was true; after all, Spike wasn't even human. She might have dated a lot of weird guys in Snowville but at least they were all alive. However, despite what Darry said and despite what Spike had said (or hadn't said), Kellie found it hard to believe that Spike didn't care about her.
Rolling over on her back, Kellie stared up at the ceiling of Willow's room. Everyone seemed to have someone who cared about them; Darry had Oz, even though they had just met, Willow had Tara, even if they weren't together at the moment, Dawn had the boy Steven from school, Anya and Xander had each other and Buffy had the love of all her friends.
Kellie sniffed back another sob; every time she thought about Spike she couldn't help but cry. She had never felt this way about anyone before; except for the boy in her middle school, John, who she thought she had loved. She also thought John loved her but it turned out that he didn't love anybody (or anything) but his three-legged dog named Puffy. After finding out that John didn't love her, she cried but not like she was crying now.
At the sound of her sniffing and repressed sobs, Darry opened her eyes and turned to face her cousin.
"Kellie, what's wrong?" Darry asked, keeping her voice low so that she didn't wake up Willow.
Kellie turned to face her cousin, slightly embarrassed that she had woken her up. "Nothing." Kellie sniffed.
Darry raised herself up on her elbows and studied her cousin. "You're not still upset about Spike are you?" Darry asked, whispering.
Kellie raised herself up as well and looked at Darry. "I can't help it, Darry, I love him. Well maybe love is the wrong word but that's the way it feels." Kellie said, feeling tears trickle down her cheeks. "But I don't know what I want; I know what you said is true, about being able to find someone better but I also know that I want him, not anyone else." Kellie said; she began to cry. "It hurts Darry." Kellie sobbed. "To be so confused; it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time."
Darry hugged her shaking cousin. "It's going to be okay Kellie, believe me." Darry muttered. "It always becomes okay." She whispered. "Just wait, in the morning you'll realize that you don't need him at all." Darry added.
Far from her own house, Buffy Summers delivered a spin-kick to a vampire's stomach. The vampire stumbled back, momentarily stunned. Buffy reached into her back pocket and withdrew a stake; the vampire growled and lunged forward. Right into the waiting pointing of Buffy's poised stake. Buffy frowned as the vampire turned to dust.
"What, can't you even put up a fight anymore?" Buffy muttered and pocketed her stake. It was the third vamp. she had staked in the last twenty minutes. The vampire population of Sunnydale didn't seem to be trying as hard as they used to.
"Something's coming." Came a voice from behind her. Without even having to turn around, Buffy knew whom that voice belonged to.
"Spike, you keep saying that but I have yet to see proof of that." Buffy muttered and turned to face the vampire.
Spike shrugged. "But can't you feel it, Slayer-girl?" Spike asked. "Besides, I saw how easily that vampire went down, I've seen how stupid the vampires are getting. Old vampires like me are siring new vampires as fast as they can. They're trying to prepare." Spike added.
"So, old vampires are making more vampires for like an army or something? Wouldn't they welcome the new evil?" Buffy asked.
Spike shook his head. "This is different, even the baddies not want it to come. But there is no stopping it." Spike said.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "You're starting to sound like Angel with you cryptic messages. If everyone knows there's evil coming, why don't they know what it is?" Buffy asked.
"Why won't you pay attention to what's around you Slayer?" Spike growled. "You're still too hung up on your brush with Heaven that you're numb to everything going around here. There are people who need you now, like Red. And pretty soon, if you don't find out what's got the demon population of Sunnydale wigged, a lot more people will need your help."
Buffy frowned. "Thanks for the pep talk Spike but when I want your help, I'll ask for it. Until then, keep your opinions to yourself." Buffy said and pushed past the vampire.
Spike growled as he watched her pass. "Just wait Slayer." He said, narrowing his eyes.
In the carven below Sunnydale, the man sat thinking. The Slayer had killed his latest demon without trouble, but she had had help. He wasn't sure who it was but there were three other people with her; he'd never heard of a Slayer who worked with assistants. However, that was no problem; the demons in Sunnydale knew that he was coming; they knew his plan would happen soon. And they trembled.
Spike trudged toward Willy's bar, many thoughts heavy on his mind. However, the Slayer in denial wasn't at the top of his list. He was thinking about Kellie; he was cursing himself for being so stupid when she basically poured her heart out to him. He had just stood there like a stupid teenage boy and let Kellie walk away, without a fight. Spike walked into Willy's Place, noticing how many vampires were packed into the cheesy, underground retreat.
Spike shoved a vampire off one of the bar stools and sat down. Willy came over to him. "Hey Spike, what can I get ya?" Willy asked.
"Anything." Spike muttered. He looked up at the bar tender. "Hey, I need your advice Willy." Spike said.
"Oh yeah? How can I help you, old buddy?" Willy asked as he poured Spike a shot of tequila.
"There's this girl right, and well she told me that she had all these feelings about me. I just stood there, like an idiot, and let her get away. How can I make ties with her again?" Spike asked and downed his shot.
"Well, let her know how you feel, if you feel anything at all." Willy suggested.
Spike nodded thoughtfully, wondering why he hadn't thought of that before. "Right, I bloody well will then." Spike agreed. He looked around at all the vampires and demons. "Any idea why this place is so packed?" Spike asked.
Willy shook his head. "Not really, except there's so many vampires now, not even the Slayer can keep the numbers down. Everyone's preparing for this 'thing'." Willy said.
"Any idea what it is?" Spike asked.
"Not a clue." Willy answered and wiped the bar.
"Well, I'll be seeing ya." Spike said, as friendly as possible. He left the over-crowed bar and heard some vampires fighting for his seat at the bar. Sunny-hell was really going to go down hill if Buffy didn't get to the bottom of all the weird-hoopla that was taking place.
