Summary: Buffy's Slayer senses are on over load. Who is watching her?
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own everything. But I wouldn't mind leasing Spike from them for a couple of weeks :)
Feedback: As always, appreciated.
Seeing Spike Through Buffy's Eyes Chapter 10 - Familiar FeelingBuffy met Willow at the coffee house around noon. Since Willow had moved back in with Tara, the best friends made it a weekly ritual to meet for coffee and catch up. Not demon, apocalypse, Big Bad kind of things, just routine life stuff. It was their special bonding time.
"Hey, Buff." Willow waved at her friend, being the first to arrive as usual. She waited for Buffy to order a latte and sit down before starting the conversation. "How was your date with Nick last night? Any sparkage?" Nick was the latest in a long line of guys Xander had tried to set Buffy up with. Cute, well built, but not much going on in the brains department.
"The usual. Lame dinner, lame movie, awkward goodnight kiss at the door." Sometimes Buffy wondered why she even bothered.
"So no second date, I take it." Willow knew Buffy went out on a lot of first dates, hardly any second ones. "When Xander introduced you, I really didn't see the chances of a long-lasting commitment. Nothing against Xan, but the guy was a little…"
"Dumb," Buffy supplied. "The word you are looking for is dumb, Will. His idea of dinner was taking me to the Doublemeat Palace. And you know how much I hate that place. Six weeks of working behind the counter was enough to last me for the rest of my life. And then, we went to a vampire movie. Can you believe it? Like I need to see a movie about vampires. It was like, let's cram everything bad about Buffy's life into one unforgettable night. It was the worst."
Willow laughed. "He actually took YOU to a vampire movie? Talk about life imitating art. How could you sit through it?"
"It was unbelievable! Not only was it a vampire movie, it was a bad vampire movie. Nothing like real life. And the girl was a complete wimp. 'Oh, please Mr Vampire. Don't bite me.' No kicking, no fighting, no stakes. Just the poor, defenseless girl who needs to be saved by the big strong man. I thought I was going to hurl. Then he tells me while were walking home, not to worry. If any vampires come after me, he'll take care of them. Ya, right." Buffy snorted. "More like I'll kick ass while he screams like a baby. I'm so going to punch Xander for this one."
"Buffy, I'm sorry." Willow was trying to control her laughter. "But don't blame Xander. It's not like he knew where the guy was going to take you. He's only trying to help."
Buffy played with the straw in her latte. "I know. I just wish he'd stop helping. One more date like that, and I'm swearing off men completely." Buffy frowned.
Willow looked at her friend's serious expression. "Buffy, is something else wrong?"
It was several minutes before Buffy responded. She wasn't sure what to say. "Will, I don't know. Something else did happen last night. You're going to think I'm crazy. Look, I know the movie was about vamps, but the whole time we were there, my Slayer senses were working over-time. It was like I could feel a vampire in the theater."
"Buffy, that's not so strange. Maybe vampires go to movies. And if they go to movies, what else would they go see?" Willow was trying help. It made sense to her.
"It wasn't just a vamp in the theater. I mean, I sense vamps all the time. When we're at the Bronze. At the mall. I've felt them in the grocery store, for God's sake. But this was different. It felt like... I felt like someone was watching me. I couldn't shake it. It was uber-weird." The feeling that she was being watched had stayed with Buffy most of the night. She'd even done a quick sweep of the neighborhood before going to bed.
Now Willow was more concerned. "Have you felt it before?" At Buffy's positive, but hesitant nod, Willow continued. "Buffy, if a vampire is stalking you, this could mean serious trouble. Maybe we should tell the others."
"I'm not sure what to do, Will. Okay, this is going to sound even stranger if that's possible, but it's not a bad stalking thing. I can't really explain it. I could sense someone watching, but I didn't get a negative vibe about it. Well, that was until Nick kissed me, then I got a double-dose of anger. But until then, it was just there. You know, looking back on it. I think I've sensed something for the past couple of days, but it hasn't bothered me as much as it did last night." Buffy was trying her best to explain how she felt, but she wasn't sure she was doing a good job.
"So what? You think you have a fairy-god-vampire looking over your shoulder? Buffy this is not of the good. We need to have a Scooby meeting. Make sure everyone else is informed. And you definitely need to tell Dawn. If something is watching you, there might be something watching her too. She needs to be more careful." Just because Buffy wasn't taking this seriously, didn't mean that Willow was going to let it rest.
Buffy nodded her head in agreement. "You're right. I need to tell everyone, especially Dawn. I just wish I didn't feel like such an idiot bringing it up. It's not like we've got much to go on. I could be completely wrong about this."
Willow grabbed Buffy's hand across the table. "Buffy, I'd trust your Slayer sense over all the books in Giles' library any day. If you felt something, it's out there. We'll have a Scooby meeting this week. How about Saturday, before we go to the Bronze?'
"Sounds good." Buffy felt better now that she had told Willow. "And I'll talk to Dawn when I get home. But enough about me. How's Tara?"
The best friends sat and talked for the next hour about life and stuff.
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Buffy walked around the cemetery twirling Mr Pointy in her hand. Nothing like patrol to relax a girl before bedtime, she thought. She would make one more pass before calling it a night. The late summer heat wave made it unbearable to be outside, even after dark. Buffy wasn't sure why she was out tonight anyway. It wasn't even her scheduled night for patrol. She was supposed to be doing the bills, but she – Buffy stopped. There it was again. That strange feeling that had been prickling at her all week. Sometimes sharper than others, but always there.
All week long Buffy couldn't loose the strange sensation. She knew she was being watched. The sensation grew stronger at night, especially if she was on patrol. And she couldn't shake it. It wasn't a bad feeling, just weird. And so familiar, almost comforting. It almost felt like, felt like…
Buffy dropped her stake. That's it. That's who it was. There were two vampires that Buffy's senses instantly recognized. Sure she could always sense if a vampire was near, but her sense when it came to Spike and Angel was different. If she had to, she could pick them out of a crowd. The particular feeling that had been bugging her all week was reserved for one particular vampire. Why hadn't she recognized it before? Because she wasn't expecting it, that's why. Same reason she didn't recognize it when Angel had been around at Thanksgiving two years ago. But if he was around, why wasn't he showing himself? Whatever the reason, it was giving Buffy the wiggins.
Buffy started running for the crypt. She knew he wasn't in there. He was somewhere around her. But maybe she could find a clue. She went to the crypt often. She had staked three different vamps who had tried to make it their new home. Why she did it, she wasn't even sure. Probably because it was his, even if he never came back. She pushed the door to the crypt open. Slowly she walked inside, took a look around. Okay, no vamp. No vamp things. Actually, nothing had been moved since the last time she was there. Buffy walked back out of the crypt, shutting the door behind her. She looked around in the dark, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but nothing. What the hell was going on?
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Buffy was late. When she walked into the Magic Box, all the other Scoobies were already inside. She had stopped by Willy's before joining them to do a little friendly interrogating.
"Where ya' been, Buffster? We've been waiting. What's the all-Scooby emergency?" Xander was standing by the counter, watching Anya count money. Willow and Buffy had decided not to tell the others about their conversation earlier in the week until they were all together.
Buffy sat down at the research table, looking directly at Willow while she spoke. "It's Spike. I think he's back."
"You think Spike's back?" Xander said as he crossed the room. The forbidden subject raises its ugly undead head, he thought.
"Buffy, is that who you've been feeling?" To Willow, it now made complete sense. No wonder Buffy hadn't been getting a negative vibe.
"I think so, Will." Buffy brought the rest of the gang up to speed about the movie incident. "It's not like I've seen him. I stopped by Willy's on my way over here. Asked him if he'd seen Spike or heard anything about him. He hadn't either. But my guts tells me it's him"
"Slayer s-senses?" Tara asked.
"Yeah. I know I sound like insane-o woman, but you guys have to believe me. It's him. He's here, in town. And he's watching me." Buffy was almost pleading with her friends. "I wasn't sure what it was at first, but last night on patrol, it clicked."
Anya decided to add her two-sense. "Maybe the chip is finally gone, and he's come back to kill you." Everyone turned to look at her. "What? It's possible."
"No, it's not." Tara answered. He said he'd never come back to harm Buffy or any of us. I believe he meant it." Tara turned to Buffy. "I really do believe he meant it."
"Thank you, Tara." Buffy said. "And I believe it too. No, he's not here to kill me. Number one, because he promised not to. Number two, because lurking in the shadows isn't his style. If that's what he wanted, he would have come for me days ago. Number three, because that's not the type of feeling I'm getting. And number four, because I think Giles knows he's here."
"Giles knows? When did you talk to Giles?" Willow was stunned. Buffy hadn't mentioned talking to Giles about this.
"I called him last night, left a message. He called me back today. When I told him my senses were going bongo about Spike, he told me not to worry about it. It probably wasn't what I thought it was. But he was nervous. The minute I brought it up, he was nervous. Like he knows what's going on, but he won't tell me." Buffy wasn't used to Giles hiding things from her. She didn't like it.
"If you're right, and Giles does know, why wouldn't he tell you?" Xander couldn't come up with a reason for Giles to keep secrets from Buffy, especially about Spike.
"I have no idea. Look, I didn't mean to make everyone worry. I just want a few more sets of eyes watching for him." Buffy felt better about involving the gang now that she knew who was watching her.
"Tara and I could check the butcher shops tomorrow. See if anyone's been buying blood." Willow wanted to help. If Spike was back, maybe they had a chance to bring the old Buffy back with him.
"And I could check the local liquor stores, see if anyone's seen him." Xander felt the same way Willow did.
"Yes, because your boyfriend is an alcoholic," Anya added.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "I know, Anya. You've mentioned that before." Buffy had grown to like Anya a lot, but sometimes she was still inappropriate-girl. "I didn't even think about the butcher shops. Thanks Willow. And Xander, checking the liquor stores is a great idea."
Tara was the next to speak. "Buffy, have you checked his crypt? He has to be staying somewhere."
"It was the first thing I did last night when I realized who it was. Nothing there. I'm not sure where he's staying. I thought about checking some of the other crypts, but he's doing a great job of hiding from me. I don't think he'd be staying somewhere where I could just run into him." A million different things were running through Buffy's mind at once.
"It's the hiding thing I don't get." Xander knew Buffy was right. Creeping around in the shadows wasn't Spike's style. "If he's not makin' with the evil, why doesn't he just knock on your front door?"
"I can't figure it out either. Maybe he's just checking up on me? Seeing how I'm doing? Or maybe this is some elaborate plan to drive me nuts? Yes. I think I'll go with option number two." Buffy banged her head on the table. Everyone in the shop laughed. Buffy raised her head, looking around at her friends. "What?"
"If I had my doubts before, I don't now. No one drives you crazy like Spike does," Xander said. "Buffy, what are you going to do when you find him?"
"I'm going to beat the hell out of him for leaving in the first place." Buffy let out an exasperated breath. "After that, I have no idea."
---TBC
