"Never Will Work"
By: Cryiinq Duckie
Dead leaves crunched under her boots as she stepped further into the empty graveyard and a cool breeze swept past her skinny, yet curvy body making her golden locks sway behind her ears. With a wooden stake clutched within her hand, she paused, her eyes wandering around the deserted home of the dead. The blonde girl took a step to her right, her emerald orbs still gliding around the rows of tombstones she stood near. The girl felt a presence behind her, someone near the weeping willow tree that hung so sadly near the freshest grave. Could it possibly be the man that was buried there only a few days ago? A simple turn of her body would show the identity of this figure, whatever it may be. The girl gripped the stake tighter and held it high, ready to fight and kill. She whipped around, her hair landing upon the opposite shoulder. She rolled her eyes, letting the hand that held the weapon fall to her side. There wouldn't be any killing of this figure in the near future for her.
"Well love, didn't think you'd notice me any time soon," spoke the witty figure with a deep British accent as he held an unlit cigarette between his fingers. The black nail polish was chipping horribly, but it seemed this man didn't care about his nails. The man with bleached blonde hair smirked slightly at the girl as he pulled a lighter out of the black trench coat he wore. He raised the cigarette up with the lighter following. He lit up the fag quickly and placed it in between his smirking lips. The blonde man slipped the lighter back into his pocket and took a step toward the girl; his heavy black combat boots crunched the dead leaves upon the ground. He grasped the fagot in a pinch with his thumb and index finger as he took a long drag from it before pulling the cigarette away from his mouth. "I always thought slayers could tell when a bad was near, eh?"
The girl once again rolled her eyes at this man; she seemed annoyed at his presence and the words he spoke. She slipped the stake into the inside pocket of the black leather jacket she wore over the tan turtleneck that closely hung upon her body. "Spike, I'd love to stick around and chat, but I've got to patrol and save the world. Slayer stuff, ya know?" the girl said. The man named, "Spike," laughed at the girl before raising the cigarette back to his lips and taking another long drag. He then lowered it, slowly blowing out the smoke.
"What a shame. I thought you'd beat me up for a bit like you always do Buff. You know how I like that," Spike said in a low voice. He took a step over to the girl, eyeing her up and down, watching her every move. The girl shifted her weight to her left foot and put her hands on her hips.
"Like I said, I should get going. Patrolling. Maybe tomorrow you'll get lucky."
Spike flicked the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out with his boot. He watched her, trying to think of an excuse to keep her around, that's all he really wanted from her. No, he didn't want her around, he needed her around. He loved the girl even if she hated him, which she did. An excuse popped into his head. "There's a new demon on the Hellmouth Slayer. You might want to check it out. He doesn't seem that friendly. I had a meeting with him last night, he didn't want to play." It was true though; he had run into a demon the night before, after he left the Bronze. He was heading back to his crypt and out of no where this big ugly beast came up trying to whoop his British tail. The demon had to be new, not to know who Spike was. Spike was the baddest vampire around the Hellmouth, or so he thought. The Slayer's eyes widen a little at Spike's tale. A new demon would mean research and hard work. Two things the Slayer didn't feel like doing at the moment.
"I haven't heard about this new demon yet. I guess I'll have Willow do some research on it. What'd it look like?" she asked the vampire. Spike smiled, his excuse worked, she was sticking around.
"I can't really explain how it looked. I'll have to help Red research it, show her what it looks like. Explain it's powers, all the good stuff. When should I come over?" Spike was going to play this card as long as he could. Time with the Slayer meant a lot to him, even if every second of it she hated. The Slayer took in a deep breath of the cool air before responding to his request. She raised her wrist, checking the time. Only 10'o'clock. Willow would still be up, probably at the Magik Box surfing the Internet while Tara read and Anya closed up. Xander would be there too, sitting on the counter making stupid comments about anything he could think of just to hear himself talk.
"She's probably at the Magik Box, with the gang. I still have to patrol, just here though. I'll meet up with you there, 'kay?" she explained to him.
"I could help you finish up your patrol. It won't take that long with me around. Then we could walk there together; I'll protect you from that demon. How 'bout if Buffy?" Spike asked. The girl shook her head, her lips forming into a small smile at his idea. It wouldn't hurt anybody if he went with her.
"Whatever Spike. Let's go," she responded. Buffy turned around and started to walk in between the rows of tombstones with Spike right behind her. His blue eyes fell on her behind, watching it sway as she walked slowly through the graveyard. This was going to be a fun night.
Xander sat upon the counter in the Magik Box as Anya shuffled through the money in the cash register. Willow sat at a table, her trusty laptop in front of her. Tara sat next to Willow, reading a spell book. And Dawn sat across from Willow doodling in her notebook. Xander glanced up at the clock that hung on the wall, and then his chocolate eyes fell on the door. "Wonder when Buffy's coming back from patrolling," he thought aloud. Anya shrugged, still counting the money under her breath. When she finished through the stack she smiled happily and placed it inside a bag. She pulled the pen from behind her ear and wrote down the number in her book.
"I'm rich!" she called out gleefully as she slipped the bag into the cabinet under the register. She closed the door to the cabinet and ran out from behind the counter. "I'm going to the bank tomorrow, so then they'll know how rich I am." She grabbed a rag from beside Xander and ran off to a shelf to clean it.
Dawn looked up at Xander, dropping the pen that she held in her hand. "Can you walk me home now? I'm bored," the teenager said. Xander shook his head, looking at his Tweety bird watch.
"Buffy's coming back soon. She'll walk you home, right Will?" Willow glanced up at Xander, her digits upon the keyboard paused. She slowly shook her head, her short, bright red hair shaking with it.
"If she's not back by eleven, Tara and I are taking Dawn home. Dawn has school tomorrow, she needs her rest," the red head responded before looking back at the screen and resuming typing madly. Tara nodded her head without looking up from the book. Xander responded with an "Oh," before looking back at the door.
The teenager got out of her seat and walked around the table. The man glanced at her, then back at the door. Dawn walked over to the counter where the dark haired man sat. She pulled her long hair up in her hands and then let it fall. "This is so boring. Agh! No other teenager has to sit around without TV all night," she exclaimed. Tara finally looked up from her book; her eyes showed sympathy to the younger girl.
"Television rots your brain Dawn," she said softly before returning her soft eyes to the book. Xander nodded in agreement with the witch. He placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder and gave it a few pats.
"Buff will come back soon…no need to worry. She's probably walking here right now."
The Slayer pushed Spike up against the tree and pushed her lips up against his. His cool hands fell on her hips as he kissed her back passionately. The girl put her hands on his cold cheeks as she fiercely kissed him. Her warm, lively lips all over his. The vampire moved a hand up the Slayer's back to her neck, pushing her face closer to his. The warm of her body felt odd, yet so right against the vampire's dead, cold skin. The blonde girl's lips went to his neck, where she continued to kiss and suck on him. A slight moan escaped the vampire's open lips as the girl did these acts of passion. He didn't know how this started; he just remembered his hands falling on her hips and his lips falling on the side of her neck. Spike was expecting a staking, not a kissing. To him, this all felt right and it was an epiphany.
"Buffy…I," he paused to moan, "love you." The Slayer pulled her fiery lips away. She let her warm hands fall down to his chest. Her emerald orbs locked within his crystal eyes. Her eyes were glazed with confusion, even though she had heard this from him before. She didn't want to hear it now though, those kisses had felt so right and now, as she thought of them, they felt so wrong. She wanted to wipe them away and spit away the taste of the vampire. Spike could see in her eyes it wasn't what she wanted to hear. He leaned his head back against the tree and he sighed deeply, feeling like an idiot. "Sorry love, wrong thing to say. I meant to say…you looked sexy when you staked that vamp. Yeah…that's what I meant."
He slipped his hands away from the curves of her body, allowing her to step away or beat him if she pleased. The Slayer looked down at the ground, then back up at Spike. "You're damn right it was the wrong thing to say. I don't love you…I think you're a disgusting vampire and I'm only keeping you around because I pity you." Her words were cold and bitter to his ears. She took a step back and turned around. "Let's go. You need to tell Willow about this demon." She began to walk out of the graveyard. Spike sighed, shaking his head before beginning to walk. He followed the Slayer to the Magik Box with his head hung like a bad puppy that had been caught peeing on the carpet now on it's way to the doghouse.
Buffy opened the door to the Magik Box, holding it open for Spike once inside. Spike stepped inside, picking his head up immediately. He didn't want all of Buffy's friends to see how badly she had him whipped. Buffy let the door close behind her as she walked toward Willow. "Spike saw a new demon around here. Will, can you do some research for me?" She paused to allow a response from her friend. Willow nodded, her eyes still focused on the computer screen. Buffy looked over at Xander. "And can you take Dawn home and stay with her until somebody else comes home?" the Slayer asked her male friend. Xander nodded, seeing something inside Buffy's emerald eyes that wasn't always there. Tara glanced up from her book to the Slayer and spoke softly.
"I can go with them. There's something on TV I've been wanting to watch." Buffy smiled warmly at Tara.
"Thanks."
Dawn picked up her blue backpack and slung it over her shoulder. "Finally," she muttered as she walked to the door. Xander jumped off the counter, following the teenager.
"Alright Buffy, see you later. I'll stay with Dawn and Tara until you and Will come home," he offered to the Slayer. Anya glanced at Xander, stopping her cleaning.
"What about me?" Her cheery smile formed into a small frown. "You forgot me."
"Would you like to come with Tara, Dawn, and me?" Xander asked the ex-demon politely. "I'm sure Buffy would like to close up the store for you." Anya shook her head.
"I'll stay. Bye Xander." Xander gave Anya a fake smile, as Tara walked to the door carrying her bag. The teenager opened the door and the three of them walked out.
"Bye," Tara said softly before the door closed behind her.
Spike sat at the table next to Willow. "So Red, how are we going to do this?" he asked the computer geek. Willow gave the vampire a weak smile before answering.
"You can just tell me what it looked like, or you could go through a book and find him. You can choose. It really doesn't matter to me," she explained. Spike nodded and looked over at Buffy who was now sitting on the counter where Xander previously sat.
"What do you think Slayer?" he asked, trying to see if she was still upset with the comment during their moment of passion. Buffy picked up the big book full of demons that sat on the counter and held it out toward him. "The book. Bloody good choice." He rose from his seat and grabbed the book from Buffy. The vampire sat down with the book and began to flip through the pages.
Willow looked up at Buffy and saw her glaring at Spike. 'Something must have happened between the two of them on the way to the magic store,' Willow thought. She looked back down at the screen and started typing again before glancing up at Spike. He wasn't paying much attention to the pictures of demons because his eyes were locked upon the Slayer. Yep, he sure did love her and that wasn't a good thing. The red head looked back to her screen before asking, "How's the search going Spike?" The vampire looked down at the book quickly.
"Great Red, bloody great."
He stopped flipping the pages and pointed a digit to a picture. "That's the bad that attacked me," he said. Buffy jumped down from her seat and stood behind Spike's back. She looked over his shoulder at the picture.
"The demon of broken hearts?" Buffy asked questioningly. Anya walked over to the three and looked down at the open book.
"You mean broken hearted demons. They're sort of like vengeance demons except they only hurt the person they love. When a person loves someone who doesn't love them back, one of them will recruit it. A demon will take over the body and make that person hurt the person they love to make the loved one love them back. Eventually, the person will die and the demon will go from human form to that." She pointed at the picture. "Then, in that form they try to recruit more people."
Buffy looked at Anya. "They only attack people that love someone who doesn't love them back?" she asked. Anya shook her head.
"Not necessarily. When a relationship is doomed or when the loved one is cheating. So, the attack normally makes the person halt and the demon will explain," Anya concluded while eyeing Spike. The vampire looked at the ex-demon.
"Does the person have to become a demon?" he asked softly. Anya shook her head.
"Not if they don't want to. But, becoming the broken hearted demon is nice. You lose all your intelligence and you're very naïve, so you do whatever the demon inside you says. You don't feel any emotional pain either," Anya told him.
"So, what do I do?" Buffy asked Anya, "I mean…do I kill this demon or let it run around trying to recruit Spike?" Willow picked up the book and read to herself while Anya thought. Before Anya could answer Buffy, Willow read to them.
"'When this demon comes into a town, one should immediately kill it. These demons cause pain and suffering to any who is recruited by it," Willow paused looking at Spike, "That means you need to kill it."
"Why are you all bloody looking at me?! Of course it's after me because Buffy doesn't love me!" Spike exclaimed. Willow's eyes fell back on the book and Anya looked away from him. "Thank you," he muttered. Willow back up at Spike.
"It says that if someone is hiding their feelings that the demon will come to the person that loves them and recruit them. Since, the demon can't feel the love," she said softly. Buffy ignored Willow's comment. She couldn't be hiding her love for him because she didn't love him.
"So, I kill it. Good. Let's use Spike as bait," Buffy explained. The Slayer glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's getting late…maybe I'll kill it tomorrow. And Spike, just so you don't become a demon and kill me, you're sleeping at my house."
"Oh yay," Spike muttered sarcastically.
Willow and Anya stayed at the Magik Box. Anya stayed to finish cleaning. And Willow stayed to continue researching this demon. "This could mean Buffy loves Spike, right?" Willow asked Anya. Anya walked back to the table and sat next to Willow.
"Of course. This means either Buffy hates him or she loves him. It doesn't say much more than we already know," Anya answered. The redheaded witch nodded, reading the words on the computer screen.
"Is there anyway we could tell if she loves him?" Willow asked herself allowed. Anya gave Willow a perplexed look.
"Why would it matter if Buffy loved him? He's a vampire who's madly in love with her and everyone knows they're having sex every chance they get. She probably does though, that's why she hasn't staked him yet. Think about it," Anya explained insightfully. Willow nodded in agreement. It was the Slayer's job to stake vampires and he was a vampire. Plus, Buffy had had tons of opportunities to stake him, but she never did. If that wasn't love, what was?
Willow began to type quickly and click around on the mouse. She leaned back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head. "I think I've found the solution Anya." The dirty blonde eyed the witch with confusion again.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I found a spell to see if Buffy loves Spike. It's really easy and you can help me with it," Willow said.
"Why not have Tara?" Willow paused, not sure how to answer.
"I don't think she'd want to…she's not big on spells that invade privacy of people's thoughts, you know how it is," Willow answered, stumbling on her words. Anya just shrugged as Willow continued to click on the mouse.
The Slayer and vampire walked in silence to her home. He walked next to her, feeling embarrassed. Buffy stopped walking and looked at him. He stopped, turning to her. His eyes widen, but he didn't say a word to the Slayer. She slowly shook her head. "I don't get you Spike. I mean, I tell you I hate you and you still love me. I fool around with your emotions and mess with your head and you still love me. How can you love me after all I do to you? You say you're bad and all that but you never show it. Why do you do this to yourself Spike? How can you try so hard and then get rejected and then try harder? Just explain it to me Spike…please because I'd love to know." Spike stepped to her, grasping her hands within his. He looked into her eyes.
"I just can. I love you Buffy…you mean the world to me. And when I tell you that, you knock me down. I want to know how you can knock me down even though I'm the only one that cares about you enough to hurt you. Nobody else would and nobody ever will do that to you Slayer. I'm it. Why can't you embrace that? Why?"
"Spike, can't you see it? We can never be. It will never work between us. You're a vampire and I'm the Slayer. It will never, ever work Spike. Please…open your eyes and see it. Stop hurting yourself Spike, please." Tears began to swell up in her eyes and a few fell to her cheeks. Spike released her hands and brought a hand to her face where he wiped a tear away from her.
"I love you Slayer…I want to be wi—" Spike was cut off by Buffy.
"No Spike! Don't you see? We can never work. I'm sorry, but this," her hand gestured between the two, "Can never be." She pushed his hand away from her face and she began to walk home. Spike ran after her and put a hand on her shoulder, ceasing her in her tracks. She turned around, salty tears now pouring from her green eyes. She bit her bottom lip, looking at the vampire. "Please…you know it can't work, so stop."
"Love, stop saying it can't work. If you would try to make it work, it will. Just love me back and it will all be okay. You mess around with me all the time. How can you not say you love me after we've made love so many times?" Spike was almost screaming at the Slayer. Why couldn't see she that he was the one for her? He could see it clearly. They were meant to be together.
"That wasn't making love Spike. That was called fooling around. Stop saying it can work, you're not hurting yourself anymore, you're hurting me too. And Dawn likes you so much, that if it didn't work out and you left…she'd be heartbroken. You're not just hurting yourself by loving me Spike; it's hurting me too. All your words and kisses…just give up. It can never work. I wouldn't let it go any farther Spike. Let's give up before somebody ends up really hurt, okay?"
The vampires looked down at the ground, even if she didn't mean it, her words were harsh. They stabbed him like a thousand knives. Why did she have to pull Dawn into this? He loved Bits like a little sister and he never wanted to hurt her. His love for Buffy couldn't possibly ever hurt Dawn, but Bits didn't know yet. He was sure she could tell by all the looks that he'd give Buffy and the way that he'd talk about Buffy. Yeah, it was pretty obvious to everyone that he had some major feelings for the Slayer who was supposed to kill him. He looked back up at her, into those beautiful green eyes of hers. He could she that she was hurt. He wanted to kiss her and make all the pain she felt go away. He always wanted to make her feel good. The vampire took her hand within his and kissed it softly. "Whatever you want Slayer."
Buffy gave him a minute smile. "Thanks Spike…I'm glad you finally see that it could never work." The Slayer wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly. The two stood in an embrace in the middle of the road. A sudden clap of thunder was heard and small drops of rain began to fall from the sky, but the two didn't notice. They stood in their embrace with the rain falling on their bodies.
Dawn sat on the couch, looking out the window as Xander lay on the opposite couch watching TV. Tara sat on the floor watching the TV. She had a smile on her face as the special on monkeys continued on the Discovery channel. Xander closed his eyes, bored with the monkeys. The teenager by the window looked over at Tara and Xander. "It's raining and Buffy's not home yet. What if it floods?" Xander's eyes opened and he glanced at his watch.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked in a fatherly tone. Dawn's facial expression showed worry.
"It's raining and Buffy's not home," she repeated. Tara got up and sat next to Dawn, wrapping an arm around her.
"It's okay. How about you go to bed and I'll have Buffy wake you up when she comes home? You have school tomorrow," Tara suggested to the teen. A loud sigh escaped Dawn's lips.
"Sure."
Dawn stood up and gave Tara a quick hug. "Good night Tara," she said softly. Tara gave Dawn a warm smile.
"Good night Dawn, sweet dreams," Tara responded as Dawn walked to the staircase.
"Night Xander," Dawn said before beginning to climb up the stairs.
"Nighty night Dawn," Xander called out. Once Xander heard the door close upstairs, he sat up and expressed his feeling of worry to Tara. "She is right, it's raining and Buffy's not home yet." Tara sighed.
"Go call the Magik Box and talk to her. They're probably still researching the demon," she explained. Xander nodded.
"Yeah, you're probably right." He leaned back up against the couch and closed his eyes.