A/N : Thanx so much to everyone who left reviews on the third chapter - your comments brighten my day! Hope you like this next part.

(For disclamier, etc - see chapter 1)

Chapter 4

Buffy sighed as the lunch bell rang. She had spent hours in the school library with Giles, training, discussing patrol, reading up on demons.

"I can't believe how much time I've spent in here today" she said, closing the book she'd been reading until her eyes gave in and the words started to blur.

"Yes, we have worked rather hard, haven't we?" Giles admitted, surveying the room.

"First thing this morning, through two study periods" Buffy rubbed her eyes "please could I have a little of my lunch break to myself?" she pleaded.

"Very well" her Watcher nodded "just put those books back over there for me" he pointed to the far side shelf "and you're free to go"

With that he disappeared behind another bookcase at the back of the room, as Buffy went to the shelves behind the door and put away various volumes about vampires, demons and other creatures of the night.

"Buffy?" startled by the sound of her name, the girl almost jumped out of her skin. She peered round the door to greet the owner of the voice, making him jump too.

"Spike, hi, did you want something?"

"Found the library on my map" he smiled, waving the piece of paper he'd been given at her "thought I'd walk you to lunch"

Before she could give any kind of answer, Giles reappeared, unaware of Spike's presence in the room.

"Buffy, about last nights patrol..." he started, looking at the book in his hands rather than at the person he was talking to.

"Giles" she interrupted, causing him to look up suddenly and realise there was a non-Slayer-secret-knowing person in the room.

"I'd like you to meet a new student and my new next door neighbour" Buffy continued "this is Spike"

"Pleased to meet you, er, Spike" Giles held out a hand to shake the young mans and Spike took it.

"Good to know you, Mr Giles" he said with a smile but the librarian glanced at Buffy with a questioning look.

"His real name is William Hart, Spike's just a nick-name" she explained "...the hair" she added as further explanation.

"Ah, indeed" the older man nodded as he released the boys hand "and you're British too by the sounds of that accent"

"Technically, yes" Spike started, but Buffy did not want to go over the entire explanation again, she just wanted to get out of the library for five minutes.

"Well, I'm gonna go grab some lunch with Willow and Xander" she said, grabbing her jacket and bag "and Spike apparently" she added, a slight annoyance in her tone "See you tomorrow Giles" she called, practically flying out the door, Spike close behind her.

They walked side by side toward the cafeteria in silence. Spike was beginning to think he was more right than he thought with his idea that there was something different about Buffy Summers. Twice already today people had started to say things to Buffy and seemed to change their mind when they realised he was there. He was more than intrigued now.

"You so friendly with all the staff, pet?" he asked the blonde beside him.

"What?" she answered, too loud and too fast.

"You seem pretty close to that Giles bloke and you've spent half your day in that library" he commented.

"I had work to do, requiring books, that's all" she shrugged. It was only a half lie after all. When Spike was silent she thought she'd won - he was going to let the subject go. She was wrong.

"So, what's 'patrol'?" he asked next.

"Patrol?" she echoed as if she didn't understand him.

"Yeah, when your friend Giles came over to us he mentioned 'last night's patrol'" he said, watching her face turn a little paler.

"Really?" she made a face as if she had no idea what he meant but he could see in her eyes that she understood completely "I don't know...." she trailed off, suddenly becoming very grateful when she saw her friends at a nearby table.

"Hey Willow!" she called as she bounded over to her. Spike shook his head as he followed her. She was covering something, he knew it, and he would find out what it was.

Spike didn't talk much during lunch, he just listened and watched, waiting for someone to say or do something that might help him better understand what was going on, because something was going on, he just didn't know what yet.

Buffy had been too uncomfortable about the whole 'patrol' thing and Xander had changed what he was going to say in the morning - what was it they were hiding? Whatever it was the chances were that Willow and that librarian, Giles, were in on it too.

'Willow' he thought to himself, 'we agreed to be friends, me and her, maybe she'll tell me something' But lunch was over and they headed off to their different classes. Spike sighed, it didn't matter. The friends had all decide to go out together in the evening and Willow had insisted Spike come along, much to Buffy's, and more notably Xander's, annoyance.

* * * * *

Spike had planned to walk home from school in the same company as he had walked to it, but Buffy had said she needed to stay behind to see Giles again. Spike couldn't decide whether that was her way of telling him she didn't want to be anywhere near him or whether she really did need to see the librarian again, but either way he wasn't happy about it.

He walked fairly quickly home, just wanting to get there, almost as if getting to his house faster would make the night come quicker, make the time when he could see Buffy again arrive sooner. 'God, what is wrong with me?!' he wondered to himself as his house came into view 'All wound up over some secretive girl who doesn't even like me! I must be crazy'

Jessica came from the kitchen when she heard her son at the front door.

"Good first day at school Will?" she smiled, still drying a plate on a dish towel in her hands.

"Not so bad" he shrugged following her back toward the kitchen, but then changing his mind and heading for the stairs.

"Well don't just disappear, tell be about it" she called and he stopped short on the bottom step. Sighing he turned back.

"Not much to tell" he shrugged, entering the room behind her as she dried the rest of the dishes "Met Buffy's friends, went to classes, came home, no big deal"

"Does Buffy have a lot of friends?" his mother asked, glancing over at him, then back at what she was doing.

"No, not really" he told her, suddenly thinking how strange it was that someone that seemed so nice and beautiful and everything could be so short of friends.

"There's a girl called Willow" he explained "she's okay, and then Xander..." he made a face as he remembered that particular friend of Buffy's. He wanted to be more than her friend and that made him competition to Spike.

"Oh and she seems pretty close to the librarian bloke Mr Giles..." he continued, but stopped speaking as his Mum spun on her heel and sent the plate in her hand crashing to the tiled floor. Shards of porcelain shot out in all directions and Jessica gripped the worktop.

"You alright Mum?" Spike checked, moving toward her.

She steadied herself and smiled a fake smile.

"Er, yes, I'm fine" she assured him.

"You sure?" he asked, moving forward and taking her arm "You look pale"

"Honestly" she said, taking his hand off her arm so she could move and find the dustpan and brush "the plate just slipped, that's all"

"Okay" said Spike, dubiously, clearly not convince but willing to let it go for now "if you're sure then I'm going to get to the homework because Buffy and her mates invited me to go out with them tonight. That's okay, right?" he asked, turning back from the kitchen door.

"Er, yeah, of course" his mother smiled, now on her hands and knees, clearing up the shattered crockery.

* * * * *

Buffy was getting ready to go to the Bronze. She was happy to be going out with her friends as she always had a good time, but knowing Spike was going to be there made things different. She didn't like him and she didn't want him there, but it wasn't just her dislike of him that made her wish he wouldn't be joining them tonight. She felt guilty and she hated herself for it, but she had told Spike she had to see Giles after school so she could get out of walking home from school with him. Truth is, she had waited ten minutes and then followed on home. Why she felt guilty about it she couldn't understand at all.

'It's not like I care about him or anything' she thought to herself, pulling on her jacket and checking her hair in the mirror, 'even if he is gorgeous and sweet and...' her mind started to ramble and Buffy wanted to scream at her own brain for thinking such things. He wasn't gorgeous and sweet, he was ugly and annoying, she told herself as she said goodbye to her Mom and Dawn and promised not to be late back.

Buffy came out of the front door, still telling herself how much she hated her new next door neighbour and she was doing quite well until she saw him standing there, waiting for her.

Still in the same black boots and leather jacket he had been in earlier, but now Spike wore dark blue jeans and a paler blue T-shirt that brought out a similar shade in his eyes. He looked striking, just standing there by the light of the street lamps.

"Something the matter, luv ?" he asked her when she didn't move or speak. It hadn't occurred to her she'd been staring quite so much and it annoyed her that she had.

"Yes" she snapped, "I have to spend an evening with you, that's what the matter is"

He just smirked at her, a smirk that she noticed was annoyingly attractive, and Buffy found herself thinking thoughts about this guy that were disturbing to her.

The more she thought about it, as they walked towards the Bronze in silence, the more Buffy was finding it hard to remember why she was fighting so hard to hate this guy, it would be much easier to like him right now.

Then she thought of Angel, her first and only love. 'Look how well that turned out', she thought to herself. She really didn't know Spike that well and she was determined not to go falling for someone unsuitable again. She tried to put the thoughts out of her head and just concentrate on enjoying herself as they reached the hang-out where Willow and Xander would be waiting for them.