Interlude 7: Everyone's Pick… and Spike's Accent
"Wow."
All of them looked at Lorne.
"What? Did you get something? Are they okay?!" exclaimed Wesley.
"No," said Lorne, shell-shocked. Then kind of waking up, he quickly said, "I mean, yes, they're okay. It's just… wow, can that vamp rock! And those vibes… oo-whee!"
Gunn, who had been holding his breath, expelled it quickly in relief and tossed some popcorn in the demon's direction. "But they're okay, right? I mean, Giles is on the right track, he knows it's a demon and that he's killing them!"
Lorne nodded. "Yeah… but let's not get all excited, Slick. They're still not out of the fire yet."
"But it's only a matter of time," said Fred, cheerily. "They'll figure it out."
"Before someone ends up on Entertainment Tonight? I hope so," added Cordelia. "Cause God knows what I'd do if Anya gets to meet Mary Hart before I do!"
"Anya?! I don't think so. I think Spike's gonna win," predicted Gunn.
"Really? I didn't think he was that good. Tara was a lot better," announced Fred. "All the judges agreed she has the better voice."
"Yeah, but that was before Paula saw Spike," replied Gun, matter-of-factly. "She looked like she wanted to jump him!"
"Ugh," groaned Cordelia as Fred looked up and said, "Well, he is cute…"
"Cute?! Oh, I forgot, you weren't here… when he tried to kill us all!" Cordy retorted, sarcastically.
"Now, Cordelia, with that chip in his head, he cannot hurt anyone," Wesley added.
Cordelia shook her head. "No, sorry. Chip doesn't cut it for me. Do you know how many times he tried to kill us?! He tortured Angel, for Christ's sake!"
Fred saw Angel still staring at the screen where a commercial for that purple pill that no one was quite sure what ailment it cured, but you had to ask your doctor about, was playing. "Angel? Are you okay?"
"Hmm?" He turned to see them all looking at him. "Oh, yeah… I… uh, why was Buffy in Spike's crypt?"
"Getting information, naturally. She said so," replied Wesley.
"Hmm." He looked at the screen, uneasily.
"Angel, there's nothing between them, if that's what you're afraid of. Spike and Buffy… it's laughable. The feelings Spike has are obviously one-way, there's no way she would return them. It's quite apparent this has been going on for quite a bit and I suppose it helps, in a way, in keeping him from hurting others. His affection for…" Wesley saw Angel staring at him, intently and quickly summed up, "Buffy can take care of herself, Angel. And Spike, for that matter."
Angel sighed. "I hope so."
Gunn saw Lorne looking away absently and thought maybe Wesley might not be so right, but bit his tongue as he knew of the vampire's liaison with the Slayer.
Fred, wanting to lighten the mood, asked, "Wes, you're British… was Simon right? Is Spike's accent really fake?"
Wesley smirked slightly as he turned back to the show that was starting up. "Well, one's manner of speaking has been known to be a good representation of one's life. Spike's life has been… colorful to say the least."
"What do you mean?" asked Gunn.
"Suffice to say," Wesley whispered after Cordelia, eyes glued to the screen, hushed him, "accent or not, BBC is going to have a marvellous time with their censors if they wish to broadcast this there."
They fell silent as the show's logo splashed across the screen, but it was broken shortly after when Fred said, "Wes… you didn't answer my question."
Wesley sat back, smiling, and murmured, "No, I didn't, did I?"
Fred scowled, but then turned back to the show.
