On Saturday morning, Buffy was too depressed to drag herself out of bed early. She didn't bother to show substantial signs of life until Willow woke up at well past 10, looking and sounding unbearably perky.
"Buffy, you were out awfully late last night. Does that mean your date with Parker went well?"
"Not exactly." Buffy propped herself against the wall and elaborated. "Let me put it this way: 'Disaster' is not a strong enough description."
"What happened?" Willow asked.
"Well, things started out okay. He picked me up and we went to the Bronze. So far, so good. Parker bought us drinks and we were talking and getting to know each other and I liked him a lot. Then I noticed these vampires luring people outside, so I had to make up an excuse to leave so I could dust them. I followed them out, took care of them, went back in. A few minutes later, more vampires came in, and I had to leave again. When I went back to the table that time, Parker acted really nice about things and he asked me to dance. So we started to, but two more vampires showed up. I had to make up some lame excuse about why I couldn't finish the date and I ran out again. I didn't see Parker around after that. He probably couldn't leave fast enough. I bet if he ever sees me on campus, he'll turn and walk the other way."
"No, he won't. I bet he'd love to go out with you some other time."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Willow, there's a difference between trying to make someone feel better, and laying it on way too thick. You've definitely crossed that line. Nice try, though. I was back late because I was so busy hunting down all of those stupid, annoying vampires and then patrolling to wipe out more of them. It's all Spike's fault, you know," Buffy declared.
Willow cocked her head. "Huh? Not following you, here."
"I bet he created most of those vampires who were at the Bronze, plus the ones in the cemeteries. We all know he's positioning himself as master of Sunnydale. And even if he wasn't responsible for that, he's still a pain. I don't even want to go to composition class because I know he'll be there. All right, to be honest, I never want to go to comp anyway, but Spike's presence is another major reason to avoid it."
"Maybe he'll get bored and go away," Willow suggested.
Buffy shook her head. "With my luck? Never." The phone rang, and Buffy picked up the receiver. "Hello?" She sat bolt upright and exclaimed, "Parker! No, this isn't a bad time. ... Tuesday? Um, yeah, sounds good." She fumbled for a pen and scribbled a message in her notebook. "Right. ... See you there." Buffy hung up and sat in a reverie for a moment until she remembered that Willow was waiting for her report. "That was Parker. He wants to go with me to a party on Tuesday night. I guess I didn't scare him away after all."
"That's great!" Willow began, then hesitated. "Did you say Tuesday? That's the night before the big psychology test. Are you sure you should go out then instead of studying?"
Buffy laughed. "Oh, come on, Will, live it up a little. This is college."
"Exactly. You have to take it seriously. Your grades are slipping, especially in psych."
"I'll be fine." And Buffy ignored the worried expression on her friend's face as she began to daydream about her upcoming date.
*****
Spike was all set for school on Monday morning. He had a new approach in mind. He would attempt to make conversation with Buffy every time they were in comp class together. The course met three times a week, which should provide him with ample opportunity. Gradually, Buffy would come to accept that he was there to stay, and she would open up to him. He was sure of it.
He was also pleased that he had successfully sabotaged her big date on Friday. He had maintained close watch over Buffy and Parker that night, but the Slayer had surprised even him by how short she had cut the evening. Before Spike had a chance to react, Buffy had called off the whole thing and sent her companion on his way. Knowing she was unharmed and seriously doubting she would ever go out with Parker Abrams again, Spike hadn't bothered to track and kill the young man. Now he wasn't sure that he even should. He really couldn't go around killing everyone Buffy associated with, no matter how great the temptation. After all, he wanted her to like him. No, he would just continue to whittle away at her defenses in his own special way.
Spike arrived in the composition classroom and chose the desk he'd taken the two previous times. Although seats weren't assigned, most of the students had established a pattern and selected the same spots every class. Buffy had the desk right next to Spike's. In their two classes so far, she hadn't resisted or attempted to move to another place, which had to be a good sign.
Class was due to begin in 15 minutes, which seemed like plenty of time to get a good conversation going. Unfortunately, Buffy wasn't anywhere to be seen. Spike alternated between staring at the clock and checking the doorway. Finally, with barely five minutes to spare, Buffy entered the room.
"Good morning," Spike greeted her cheerfully. "How are you today, Buffy?"
She threw herself down at her desk and glared at him. "Look, Spike, let's keep this simple. I leave you alone, you leave me alone. All right?"
"But I don't want to leave you alone," Spike said reasonably. "I came back to Sunnydale because of you. I even enrolled in this class for you. I love you."
Their eavesdropping classmates burst into applause.
"Thanks, everyone," Buffy said sarcastically. "You know nothing about this creature, yet you encourage him to pester me. Please stop."
The other students looked at Spike with sympathetic expressions. "Bitch," muttered one.
Undaunted, Spike tried again to reason with the Slayer. "I've done nothing but be nice to you since I've come back. I've defended you, I've given you presents--speaking of which, what happened to the ring I sent you?" He double-checked her bare hands. "Why aren't you wearing it?"
"That little trinket?" Buffy shrugged. "I don't know, I guess Giles did something or other with it."
"Oi! I brought that ring all the while from Brazil, and not for the Watcher, either!"
"He has the dagger, too," Buffy added with a falsely sweet smile.
Spike glowered beside her. Making progress was going to be a hell of a lot more difficult than he had anticipated. "If you aren't going to use them, give them back," he demanded.
"What? No!" Buffy protested loudly.
From the front of the classroom, Dr. Petrovski cleared his throat. "Buffy, William, excuse me. You two can continue your discussion after class. Buffy, may I speak to you for a moment?"
Buffy shot Spike a nasty look before she made her way over to the instructor. Seizing a golden opportunity, Spike reached over and grabbed Buffy's folder and notebook from her desk. Fortunately, the other students didn't even seem to notice his action.
Satisfied that he would get away with it, Spike flipped the folder open. It held a sheaf of Buffy's graded assignments and tests. The sociology section was marked with grades ranging from A to C. Composition was more spotty, but not too bad. Then Spike moved on to the psychology area, which was worse than he would have guessed. The instructor had written varying negative grades across the tops of nearly every paper: a large red "F," "See me, "incomplete," "unsatisfactory." It looked like Buffy was really struggling in that course, and Spike remembered how the Slayer had been complaining of that fact back when he'd first returned to town. Matters apparently hadn't improved since.
Thoughtfully, Spike replaced the papers and moved on to the notebook. It contained less interesting material: mostly class notes, unfinished assignments, and indecipherable doodles. Spike was about to shut the book when he noticed a calendar in the front area. He looked over that week's entries. Written in the space for the very next day, Tuesday, was, "8:00, Parker, party at 1830 Chesterfield."
With an effort, Spike stopped himself from changing into game face in the middle of the classroom. He'd thought he'd taken care of the Parker problem. Evidently, he'd been wrong. He threw Buffy's things back onto her desk as he pondered how to fix his mistake.
Next time: Buffy goes to the party with Parker; Spike tags along, and trouble ensues.