Disclaimer: Parts of this chapter are based on some parts of an episode of
Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
A/N: Yes, I know that new slayers usually aren't older than 18, I just
ignored the fact. :)
***** Chapter 7: All Shook Up *****
She stepped inside Buffy's house and entered the living room. Spike rose when he saw her, taking in the sight of her quickly, his strikingly blue eyes flickering over. She inhaled sharply when tingles formed everywhere his eyes touched. He smirked, as if reading her mind.
Willow sat on the couch, oblivious to Andrea's presence. "What are you reading?" Andrea asked. The red-headed witch glanced up from the novel she'd been engrossed in.
"Tara and I joined a book club at the university. The reading assigned this time is called 'Hunted.' It's by a woman named Stephanie Goodwin. It's an awesome book. Ever heard of it?" Andrea stifled a laugh.
"No, sorry," she lied. "What's so great about it?"
"This woman grows up in a really dysfunctional household and she's, like, a CIA agent on this huge case. The president's trying to cover up that vampires are real. It's really funny in parts. Lots of action. It's amazing how the author captures the physical characteristics of vampires and their mannerisms, when she probably doesn't even realize the truth of what she's writing."
"Maybe she does," Andrea suggested. Spike glanced at her strangely. "Everybody ready to go?" she asked, hurriedly changing the subject. Buffy came in from the kitchen.
"Yep, all set." Andrea's gaze flickered over the room and she frowned.
"Where's Dawn?"
"At a friend's house."
"Okay. Let's go." She moved out the door, digging her car keys out of her pocket. Willow and Buffy excitedly hopped in the back of the black Firebird convertible. Spike slid in to the front seat, running his hands over the smooth leather.
"Nice wheels. Who'd you have to kill?" He was only half joking when he asked. Backing out of Buffy's driveway and heading for The Bronze, she answered softly.
"I've worked very hard for everything I have, Spike." He was taken aback by her defensive response. "Never said any differently, love." He might have touched her then, might have gently brushed away that blonde hair that had fallen adorably over her forehead, if Buffy and Willow hadn't been carrying on a conversation directly behind them. But they were, so he didn't.
Andrea stayed silent for the remainder of the drive to the club, listening to Willow and Buffy discuss the band playing that night. Surprisingly, it was one she liked.
She pulled into the near-empty parking lot behind the nightclub. Evidently, people enjoyed walking in this town. Not too bright, considering its underground inhabitants.
The interior of The Bronze was packed with kids their age, dancing, having fun. Typical nightclub scene. They found an empty table and decided to wait for Xander and Anya to arrive before getting drinks. It shouldn't be long anyway. It was almost 7:00, the time they'd agreed to meet.
Seven? Had she really been writing for that long? Jesus, talk about focused.
Andrea let her train of thoughts drop when one of her favourite songs came on. It was 'All or Nothing.' Originally by O'Town, but these guys seemed to be doing well with it, considering it was only the intro. She must have voiced her opinion out loud, because Spike rose, leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Wanna dance, love?"
"Sure." This was probably a bad idea. Oh, well. Too late now. He had taken her hand and was leading her out onto the dance floor. He turned to dace her, smirking in an annoyingly satisfied way. He slowly drew her arms up and pulled them around his neck. She tried to stay a respectful distance away from him, but he would have none of it. He pulled her soft body flush up against his hard chest, not leaving a breath of space between them. He nuzzled her silky hair with his nose, inhaling her scent.
Alright. Too could play this game. Andrea laid her head down on his shoulder, accidentally-on-purpose brushing her moist lips against his neck. He inhaled sharply. Hadn't been expecting that. If he'd had a pulse, it would have skipped a beat, then quickened considerably.
They had turned this into a can-you-top-this game in which the object was to drive the other person crazy. Oh, well. He had started it, after all. Control your body's responses. Think of fat men. Old ladies. Anything but the feel of Andrea's curves against your body.
The song ended and she pulled away, but Spike kept his arms around her waist, not allowing her very much room. His gaze flickered over her face, catching the desire that flashed through her eyes. She licked her lips. She did that a lot when she was nervous.
Then the ground began to shake.
They looked around, searching for the cause of the earthquake. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he assumed it was natural. This was California, after all. He saw the fear in Andrea's eyes as he pushed her gently under a table and dove in after her, to guard her from falling debris. She instinctively crawled up next to him and he protectively wrapped his arms around her.
Lights, drinks crashed to the floor. Screams rang out around them. He wasn't sure, but he thought Andrea was shaking. Of course, that could have been a result of the earthquake. Amazing. She could kill demons without blinking, but the ground moves for twenty seconds and she was under a table sitting on his lap. Although, he happened to be enjoying that last part. All it took was an earthquake to bring out the vulnerability in her.
The shaking stopped and the screaming quieted. He brushed her hair tenderly away from her face. "You okay, pet?" he asked softly.
"The ground moved, Spike. It moved. Nobody bombed it, it just moved. No, I am not okay. I am a grown woman, hiding under a chair, hugging a vampire. I am not okay!" His chest was shaking softly. "Are you laughing at me?"
"I'm sorry, love," he laughed. "It's just-" He never got to finish. She drew back and her knuckles connected with his jaw bone. If she hadn't been sitting on him, he would've slid at least a few feet.
"Insensitive prick." She crawled out from under the table and stood, searching the room for her friends.
"Aw, come on, Andrea." Spike had gotten out from under the table and was standing next to her. She ignored him, instead walking quickly toward Buffy, Willow, Xander and Anya, who were under a staircase.
"Are you two okay?" Buffy asked. "We didn't see you when the earthquake started."
"We got under a table," Andrea supplied, still not looking at Spike. "We're fine. How about you guys?"
"We're good."
"Spike, what happened to you?" asked Willow, frowning.
"Yeah, your jaw looks bruised," agreed Buffy. "Did you get hit by something?" He smiled.
"Yes. Andrea's fist."
"What?" They were clearly confused by Spike's response.
"She decked me." Andrea glared at him, attempting to halt further explanation. Buffy looked questioningly at Andrea, who chose not to respond. "She was scared, weren't you, pet?" She still said nothing. Spike looked at the Scoobies. "Now she's not speaking to me. It was just an earthquake, love." It was the way he said it that made her respond.
"I'm from Canada. Earthquake is not in my vocabulary. Wind, snow, beer, hockey. These are things I know. The ground is not supposed to move." He was still smiling as he soothingly caressed her arm. She shrugged off his touch. "Don't touch me."
"I think it's cute, baby."
"Don't patronize me, asshole. And don't call me that." It was clear that Buffy found Andrea's distress almost as funny ass Spike did, but was trying much harder to conceal her smile.
"Come on. We should go to Giles's apartment. See if he's okay."
***** Chapter 7: All Shook Up *****
She stepped inside Buffy's house and entered the living room. Spike rose when he saw her, taking in the sight of her quickly, his strikingly blue eyes flickering over. She inhaled sharply when tingles formed everywhere his eyes touched. He smirked, as if reading her mind.
Willow sat on the couch, oblivious to Andrea's presence. "What are you reading?" Andrea asked. The red-headed witch glanced up from the novel she'd been engrossed in.
"Tara and I joined a book club at the university. The reading assigned this time is called 'Hunted.' It's by a woman named Stephanie Goodwin. It's an awesome book. Ever heard of it?" Andrea stifled a laugh.
"No, sorry," she lied. "What's so great about it?"
"This woman grows up in a really dysfunctional household and she's, like, a CIA agent on this huge case. The president's trying to cover up that vampires are real. It's really funny in parts. Lots of action. It's amazing how the author captures the physical characteristics of vampires and their mannerisms, when she probably doesn't even realize the truth of what she's writing."
"Maybe she does," Andrea suggested. Spike glanced at her strangely. "Everybody ready to go?" she asked, hurriedly changing the subject. Buffy came in from the kitchen.
"Yep, all set." Andrea's gaze flickered over the room and she frowned.
"Where's Dawn?"
"At a friend's house."
"Okay. Let's go." She moved out the door, digging her car keys out of her pocket. Willow and Buffy excitedly hopped in the back of the black Firebird convertible. Spike slid in to the front seat, running his hands over the smooth leather.
"Nice wheels. Who'd you have to kill?" He was only half joking when he asked. Backing out of Buffy's driveway and heading for The Bronze, she answered softly.
"I've worked very hard for everything I have, Spike." He was taken aback by her defensive response. "Never said any differently, love." He might have touched her then, might have gently brushed away that blonde hair that had fallen adorably over her forehead, if Buffy and Willow hadn't been carrying on a conversation directly behind them. But they were, so he didn't.
Andrea stayed silent for the remainder of the drive to the club, listening to Willow and Buffy discuss the band playing that night. Surprisingly, it was one she liked.
She pulled into the near-empty parking lot behind the nightclub. Evidently, people enjoyed walking in this town. Not too bright, considering its underground inhabitants.
The interior of The Bronze was packed with kids their age, dancing, having fun. Typical nightclub scene. They found an empty table and decided to wait for Xander and Anya to arrive before getting drinks. It shouldn't be long anyway. It was almost 7:00, the time they'd agreed to meet.
Seven? Had she really been writing for that long? Jesus, talk about focused.
Andrea let her train of thoughts drop when one of her favourite songs came on. It was 'All or Nothing.' Originally by O'Town, but these guys seemed to be doing well with it, considering it was only the intro. She must have voiced her opinion out loud, because Spike rose, leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Wanna dance, love?"
"Sure." This was probably a bad idea. Oh, well. Too late now. He had taken her hand and was leading her out onto the dance floor. He turned to dace her, smirking in an annoyingly satisfied way. He slowly drew her arms up and pulled them around his neck. She tried to stay a respectful distance away from him, but he would have none of it. He pulled her soft body flush up against his hard chest, not leaving a breath of space between them. He nuzzled her silky hair with his nose, inhaling her scent.
Alright. Too could play this game. Andrea laid her head down on his shoulder, accidentally-on-purpose brushing her moist lips against his neck. He inhaled sharply. Hadn't been expecting that. If he'd had a pulse, it would have skipped a beat, then quickened considerably.
They had turned this into a can-you-top-this game in which the object was to drive the other person crazy. Oh, well. He had started it, after all. Control your body's responses. Think of fat men. Old ladies. Anything but the feel of Andrea's curves against your body.
The song ended and she pulled away, but Spike kept his arms around her waist, not allowing her very much room. His gaze flickered over her face, catching the desire that flashed through her eyes. She licked her lips. She did that a lot when she was nervous.
Then the ground began to shake.
They looked around, searching for the cause of the earthquake. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he assumed it was natural. This was California, after all. He saw the fear in Andrea's eyes as he pushed her gently under a table and dove in after her, to guard her from falling debris. She instinctively crawled up next to him and he protectively wrapped his arms around her.
Lights, drinks crashed to the floor. Screams rang out around them. He wasn't sure, but he thought Andrea was shaking. Of course, that could have been a result of the earthquake. Amazing. She could kill demons without blinking, but the ground moves for twenty seconds and she was under a table sitting on his lap. Although, he happened to be enjoying that last part. All it took was an earthquake to bring out the vulnerability in her.
The shaking stopped and the screaming quieted. He brushed her hair tenderly away from her face. "You okay, pet?" he asked softly.
"The ground moved, Spike. It moved. Nobody bombed it, it just moved. No, I am not okay. I am a grown woman, hiding under a chair, hugging a vampire. I am not okay!" His chest was shaking softly. "Are you laughing at me?"
"I'm sorry, love," he laughed. "It's just-" He never got to finish. She drew back and her knuckles connected with his jaw bone. If she hadn't been sitting on him, he would've slid at least a few feet.
"Insensitive prick." She crawled out from under the table and stood, searching the room for her friends.
"Aw, come on, Andrea." Spike had gotten out from under the table and was standing next to her. She ignored him, instead walking quickly toward Buffy, Willow, Xander and Anya, who were under a staircase.
"Are you two okay?" Buffy asked. "We didn't see you when the earthquake started."
"We got under a table," Andrea supplied, still not looking at Spike. "We're fine. How about you guys?"
"We're good."
"Spike, what happened to you?" asked Willow, frowning.
"Yeah, your jaw looks bruised," agreed Buffy. "Did you get hit by something?" He smiled.
"Yes. Andrea's fist."
"What?" They were clearly confused by Spike's response.
"She decked me." Andrea glared at him, attempting to halt further explanation. Buffy looked questioningly at Andrea, who chose not to respond. "She was scared, weren't you, pet?" She still said nothing. Spike looked at the Scoobies. "Now she's not speaking to me. It was just an earthquake, love." It was the way he said it that made her respond.
"I'm from Canada. Earthquake is not in my vocabulary. Wind, snow, beer, hockey. These are things I know. The ground is not supposed to move." He was still smiling as he soothingly caressed her arm. She shrugged off his touch. "Don't touch me."
"I think it's cute, baby."
"Don't patronize me, asshole. And don't call me that." It was clear that Buffy found Andrea's distress almost as funny ass Spike did, but was trying much harder to conceal her smile.
"Come on. We should go to Giles's apartment. See if he's okay."