***********************************TrAPPeD**********************************
Four: One-Card Draw
By Annie
2003-03-13
****************************************************************************
1.30 p.m.
Buffy had been fighting a tough fight for the past few hours not to show just how hungry she was, but as the ache in her stomach grew so did her intolerance with him. And as he cut the deck of cards he had retrieved out of one of the pockets of his duster with a loud "rrrritsch" for the hundredth time she couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"Would you stop it?!" she snapped and he smirked.
He had been waiting for that for a while now.
"What?" he asked, parting the deck into two equal piles in either hand. "This?" he added as he let the cards blend, releasing one side of each into the "rrritsch" that was getting on her nerves.
"If you don't stop it right this instant I'll tear it into shreds and you'll have nothing to play with anymore," she warned and he grinned.
"I'll have you, love," he remarked and her gaze turned subzero.
"You will never 'have' me," she assured and he raised his eyebrows before getting to his feet.
She struggled with her heart, concentrating on keeping the rate down though it was stubborn and as he took a step forward it skipped a beat. She couldn't help but draw a small breath in anticipation for the fight that was surely coming. But then he stopped before her and the pause that followed made her wonder exactly what was up now.
He raised his right hand, which was holding the deck, as if to show it to her before he asked:
"Wanna play?"
"With you?" she asked and he blinked before looking demonstratively around the room, then he turned to her again and asked back:
"Is there someone else here that I missed?"
She bit her jaws together.
"I'm not playing any kind of game with you whatsoever," she replied to his former question and when he merely arched his scarred eyebrow she gave him a look. "I'm gonna stay at my side of the room, you stay on yours."
He tilted his head slightly to one side, then put one heel down and dragged it across the space of floor separating them - creating a dark line in the dust.
"We can still play," he said and she stared down at the line and then up at him.
"Cute," she said, sarcastically. "Really clever. But my answer's still 'no'."
"Why?" he asked, getting that self-assured air about him that made her want to reach up and pull him back down to earth. "Scared of losing?" he added tauntingly.
She crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head to get her long locks placed behind her shoulders before she met his eyes.
"I never lose," she replied with as much cockiness as he would ever produce.
Once again he tilted his head slightly to one side, observing her.
"Neither do I," he stated and she smiled.
"'Cause you cheat," she said knowingly and he rolled his eyes at her.
"Everyone cheats, Buffy," he retorted. "In life everyone tries to get their share as bloody quick and painless as possible. Sometimes they skip the painless, but that doesn't mean we all don't want what should be coming our way."
"In life, you say?" she asked. "And in cards?" she added and now a diabolique grin spread on his lips as he held the deck up to her again.
"In cards it's as raw as it gets. Win or lose. Claim and take, or back down and see-never-again," he replied and she couldn't believe how that could make any sense at all - but it did.
"Well," she started, about to turn from him and once more decline when he said:
"One-card draw. As easy as it gets: ace's are high, higher card wins, we state what the other lose before we draw a card each."
She stopped, then met his gaze again.
"All right..." she finally consented, nodding slowly.
He nodded as well, holding the deck up.
"What do I get if I win...?" she mumbled to herself, observing him for a few seconds thoughtfully and then she smiled. He didn't like that smile, nor did he like the sudden gleam flickering in her gaze. "Your lighter," she stated firmly and his eyes grew.
"N-..." he started, but she cut him off.
"Your rules. Your turn."
And it WAS his turn, he reminded himself. If he won this it might actually help him in the deprivation of her sanity. Or at least her faith in herself. Over the course of the past two hours a plan had formed in his head. One that really made him feel rather sick, the thought of actually being close to her made his stomach turn, but it was the one thing he knew would bring her to her knees. If he could seduce her...
Oh, the sweetness of that triumph over her.
"I win - we play another game," he therefore stated and she blinked, seemingly surprised by the simplicity of his demand.
"Okay," she said.
The rush of the moment caught up with her as she reached out a hand to lift a part of the deck. What kind of game would he want to play? A flash of hands entangled in hair, and mouths about to meet, sent a shiver of sudden discomfort down her spine and she stopped herself, looking up and resting her eyes in his. The wondering gaze in them seemed to say "scared?" and it pushed her to complete the movement with a defiant glare up at him.
Taking a small stack of the cards she turned it and looked at it.
Queen of Hearts.
Hah! Beat that, she thought, trying to keep a poker face as she looked back at him.
He moved his left hand and did as she just had, lifting a stack of the cards up by means of his fingertips and then turning it to him.
"Ace of Spades," he said and her eyes grew slightly.
Her expression tightened and he knew that he stood as the winner.
"Let me see that," she grumbled, reaching out a hand and grabbing the cards out of his.
Staring at the card in question her shoulders slumped slightly, then she raised her head and gave him another glare.
"You cheated!" she stated and a small smile curled his lips before he shrugged.
"Can you prove it?" he asked and she simply threw the cards at him before turning from him.
"This makes the draw... not countable," she said. "Let's just forget about the whole thing."
"Sure," he replied and she turned back to him, sheer shock on her face. "When pig's fly," he added with another small smile and she tried to actually dust him with her gaze.
It didn't work, she was sad to notice.
"You can't actually believe that I'm just gonna be fine with this," she muttered now and the smile turned into a smirk.
"Buffy, I didn't cheat," he defended. "You'll have to trust me on that. If you had won I sure as hell wouldn't 've liked it, but I wouldn't have made such a fuss about it. Seriously. Just admit defeat and turn yourself over into my humble hands. I promise, I'll be gentle."
At the words "defeat" and "hands" the Slayer shuddered. How the heck had she gotten herself into this?
"I won't ever trust you on anything," she now shot. "And I'm not making a fuss; I'm just saying. And I will never go anywhere near your hands so there's no need to sugarcoat it."
"You like it rough?" he asked and her mouth opened by itself to reply to that before she shut it, giving him a dark look.
What the hell was he doing? In every other word she thought she could detect some sort of... trace of... a link to what seemed to be hinting at something... What the hell was he doing?! Or...was it her? Was she reading a bunch of things into it? But, what would that say of her? It wasn't like she was so starved that she would ever hunger for his... Oh, she couldn't even think the thought.
Though the analogy brought her back to the harsh reality of the burning need for food within her and she closed her eyes.
"What's this other game you wanna play?" she sighed, wanting to get her mind off her current state.
He cocked an eyebrow.
"Interested?" he wondered and her eyes shot open.
"No!" she replied, with emotion. "I'm just..."
"Hungry," he nodded and she found herself suddenly simply staring at him. "Yeah, I know. I can hear your stomach talking," he added and she grumbled.
Great. Now he'd remind her of it all day - or however long it would take for the other's to find her - and she wouldn't have a moment's peace.
"Here," he now said, walking up to the refrigerator box and her eyes widened as he opened it.
"I may be reaching the point where I could eat bugs," she protested, "but I won't ever get to where I'm actually able to drink..."
She trailed off as he brought out a plastic box as well as a plastic bag. It didn't look like a vampiric kind of meal. He closed the lid and brought the objects over to her. He practically threw them into her arms and she caught them with a small, annoyed glance his way before she sat right down on the floor and tore the lid off the box.
"Fish," she said, staring at the cold, but cooked, meal before her. "Why would vamps store actual food in their lair?" she mumbled.
"You know, some of us actually still enjoy the taste," Spike replied matter- of-factly and she looked up at him again. "Found it under the blood bags," he added at her still questioning gaze. "You gonna eat?" he finally sighed, taking a seat on the mattresses and she looked down at the food again.
"It might be poisoned," she mused.
"Give me a sodding break," he grumbled, aggravated. "You think I'd get rid of you - after all I've been through - by poisoning you?!" he added and she raised her eyebrows as she had looked up at him again.
Then she turned her head back down to the food.
"If you don't eat it you'll probably die anyway," he remarked. "Your friends seem to be taking a while longer than you thought, aren't they? Don't eat - die in pain. Eat - and live for another hour."
"You know," she said, putting the box aside and facing him, her eyes growing suspicious. "I just might've tasted it, but you actually routing for me to do it and not shrivel up and die makes me..."
"Oh, please!" he exclaimed with a snort. "Are you gonna blame the end of the world on me as well? Whenever it decides to hit?"
"You know, being locked up with you IS the end of the world as far as I'm concerned," she retorted. "I've put up with this whole situation for far too long, and I'm done!"
"YOU'RE done?!" he asked, voice growing loud and he rose to his feet at the same time as she did. "You think this is my kinda fun? Huh?! You think I wanted to be stuck in some crummy old basement with the hate of my un- life?! We can't even fight 'cause then I feel like my sodding head is being torn off my shoulders! So what do I do? I try to make the best of it," he added, meeting her in the middle of the floor as they both had moved forward.
"And how IS that exactly?" she asked, tilting her head back slightly to be able to face him completely, her eyes showing green thunder. "By some little devious plan, I'm sure. What? The food was the set off of a chain reaction? Poison me, render me weak, make me dead and then you can drink my blood? You want it that badly, Spike?"
"Hey, I haven't touched that food! This is just... an eye for an eye - in a sense. I came to you for help when I was wasting away from the no-killing deal I never signed. I help you now. Debt is paid and I NEVER have to do it again," he replied, his jaw line tight as he met her eyes without any intent of standing down and she did the same.
The atmosphere was moving with something close to a small tug that neither one of them could really understand. There was something there, but none of them had any intention of pretending that it was. They hoped it would just give up, turn around and slip out the way it had come.
"Even if you didn't do something to the food," she finally spoke, taking a step back, "that doesn't mean THEY didn't."
"I'm not gonna try and bloody persuade you to eat if you'd rather starve yourself," he replied, turning from her and walking back up to the mattresses.
Throwing himself on them he placed his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling.
She bit her jaws together as she watched him for a few seconds, then she looked back at where the box and the plastic bag lay. Noticing the bag held some sort of vegetables she walked up to it. Carrots. Unpeeled. She bit her lower lip before turning slowly to approach him in the same manner. Stopping by the side of the mattresses she looked down at him with a hesitation in her way that he had never seen on her... Except that night when he came to offer her his help fighting Angelus. That night she had kept her eyes on him with the same tentative wonderment as she right now held in her gaze.
"Do you have a knife?" she asked.
He stared at her and she made a small wave with the vegetable in her hand as an elaboration. He shook his head to her question. She turned and walked back to where she had sat before, sinking back down on the spot she eyed the carrot in her hand before she wrinkled her nose. She then brought it to her lips and parted them, taking a bite of it.
She ate almost carefully, though once the taste of the carrot seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary she was actually grateful for it. She ate another as well and then a small piece of the white meat of the fish before sealing the lid of the plastic box tightly.
Taking both of them up to the fridge she put them back in there and then closed that lid as well. Walking up to the wall beneath "her" window she sat down and leaned against it, resting her head back and closing her eyes.
Why hadn't they come yet?
Why was she still in there, with HIM? She thought she would've liked being locked up by herself more than having him there with her. He was so frustrating. Getting on her nerves and entangling her thoughts. Filling the room with his irritating presence so that she couldn't escape him, no matter what she tried.
Why hadn't they come yet?!
***
05.47 p.m.
"Show me the way to go home... I'm tired and I wanna go to bed... I had a little drink about an hour ago and it got right to my head... Bom-bom-bom. Show me the way to go home. I'm tired and I wanna go to bed. Well, I had a little drink about an hour ago and it got right to my head. Bom-bom-bom. Show me the way to."
"Shut up!" Buffy exclaimed, throwing one of her boots at him.
It hit him dead center on the forehead and he stopped the singing he had been keeping up for nearly eight minutes. A repeating of the same part over and over and over and over. He twisted his neck where he still lay on the mattresses to be able to look at her where she was pacing.
She had removed her boots an hour earlier, after complaining about them hurting for nearly half of that.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist," he said, rolling over on the side to keep watching her as he prompted his head up in one hand.
"I'd put them over my head if it kept me from hearing you sing," she shot, stopping and looking back at him.
"Oooh," he said, slowly. "You gonna hurt a blokes feelings."
"Which bloke? I only see you and you're not one of those," she retorted and he raised his eyebrows.
"Ouch, love," he mumbled with a small smile and she ignored the sudden swirl in the pit of her stomach as her eyes slid down over his torso where the fabric of his black T stretched over the obviously taut muscles of his arms and upper chest.
Closing her eyes she turned and began to pace again.
She had to get out of there.
Now.
"Stop calling me that," she grumbled, putting one hand up by her forehead and rubbing it gently.
"What? ...Love?" he asked, sitting up before rising to his feet.
"Yes," she answered; tone short and impatient. "Stop calling me that."
"What's the matter?" he asked, voice lowered in that unsettling way again and she stopped, once more turning her head to him.
"What do you think?" she asked. "Something's seriously wrong. Giles was the one who told me I should check this place out last night, he KNOWS where I am. If they were looking this'd be where they'd start. They're not looking, Spike. And I just... can't figure out why."
He grew thoughtful at that, forgetting that he should use her distress to his advantage at the fact of them being trapped for a while longer than even he had expected.
"Well, it's not like we're gonna be down here forever," he then stated carelessly and her eyes grew disbelieving.
"What's to say we're not?" she asked and he once more grew quiet as that question sunk in.
**************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** ******************
Oh, wonderful you are! I loved my stack of reviews! *claps hands in joy* Thank you so much!
Special thanks to wendy, Lady Icon Draco, LILI(for both the first and second), wolf116, MindOverMatter, msu and Heather! Really great to hear from you and that you like it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
MindOverMatter - just had to respond a little. If you'd like me to explain anything about the story that you think is confusing, please, don't hesitate to email me! And the box she opened was a refrigerator one. You know, it's like a fridge only a large, white, box variety? Thanks ever so and I hope you keep reading!
Oh, and also, more hardcore Spuffiness is for sure up ahead - I mean, how could it not be? However, to me the bantering, the fighting, the hating and the confusion is as much Spuffy as them going at it like rabbits or having slow make-out sessions. I'm sorry if some of you think it's taking too long, but I'm just the tool - the story knows when it's ripe for them to...you know, find each other. ;)
Thanks again and please review, the deal writer/reader still stands! ;)
A.M.L, Annie.
Four: One-Card Draw
By Annie
2003-03-13
****************************************************************************
1.30 p.m.
Buffy had been fighting a tough fight for the past few hours not to show just how hungry she was, but as the ache in her stomach grew so did her intolerance with him. And as he cut the deck of cards he had retrieved out of one of the pockets of his duster with a loud "rrrritsch" for the hundredth time she couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"Would you stop it?!" she snapped and he smirked.
He had been waiting for that for a while now.
"What?" he asked, parting the deck into two equal piles in either hand. "This?" he added as he let the cards blend, releasing one side of each into the "rrritsch" that was getting on her nerves.
"If you don't stop it right this instant I'll tear it into shreds and you'll have nothing to play with anymore," she warned and he grinned.
"I'll have you, love," he remarked and her gaze turned subzero.
"You will never 'have' me," she assured and he raised his eyebrows before getting to his feet.
She struggled with her heart, concentrating on keeping the rate down though it was stubborn and as he took a step forward it skipped a beat. She couldn't help but draw a small breath in anticipation for the fight that was surely coming. But then he stopped before her and the pause that followed made her wonder exactly what was up now.
He raised his right hand, which was holding the deck, as if to show it to her before he asked:
"Wanna play?"
"With you?" she asked and he blinked before looking demonstratively around the room, then he turned to her again and asked back:
"Is there someone else here that I missed?"
She bit her jaws together.
"I'm not playing any kind of game with you whatsoever," she replied to his former question and when he merely arched his scarred eyebrow she gave him a look. "I'm gonna stay at my side of the room, you stay on yours."
He tilted his head slightly to one side, then put one heel down and dragged it across the space of floor separating them - creating a dark line in the dust.
"We can still play," he said and she stared down at the line and then up at him.
"Cute," she said, sarcastically. "Really clever. But my answer's still 'no'."
"Why?" he asked, getting that self-assured air about him that made her want to reach up and pull him back down to earth. "Scared of losing?" he added tauntingly.
She crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head to get her long locks placed behind her shoulders before she met his eyes.
"I never lose," she replied with as much cockiness as he would ever produce.
Once again he tilted his head slightly to one side, observing her.
"Neither do I," he stated and she smiled.
"'Cause you cheat," she said knowingly and he rolled his eyes at her.
"Everyone cheats, Buffy," he retorted. "In life everyone tries to get their share as bloody quick and painless as possible. Sometimes they skip the painless, but that doesn't mean we all don't want what should be coming our way."
"In life, you say?" she asked. "And in cards?" she added and now a diabolique grin spread on his lips as he held the deck up to her again.
"In cards it's as raw as it gets. Win or lose. Claim and take, or back down and see-never-again," he replied and she couldn't believe how that could make any sense at all - but it did.
"Well," she started, about to turn from him and once more decline when he said:
"One-card draw. As easy as it gets: ace's are high, higher card wins, we state what the other lose before we draw a card each."
She stopped, then met his gaze again.
"All right..." she finally consented, nodding slowly.
He nodded as well, holding the deck up.
"What do I get if I win...?" she mumbled to herself, observing him for a few seconds thoughtfully and then she smiled. He didn't like that smile, nor did he like the sudden gleam flickering in her gaze. "Your lighter," she stated firmly and his eyes grew.
"N-..." he started, but she cut him off.
"Your rules. Your turn."
And it WAS his turn, he reminded himself. If he won this it might actually help him in the deprivation of her sanity. Or at least her faith in herself. Over the course of the past two hours a plan had formed in his head. One that really made him feel rather sick, the thought of actually being close to her made his stomach turn, but it was the one thing he knew would bring her to her knees. If he could seduce her...
Oh, the sweetness of that triumph over her.
"I win - we play another game," he therefore stated and she blinked, seemingly surprised by the simplicity of his demand.
"Okay," she said.
The rush of the moment caught up with her as she reached out a hand to lift a part of the deck. What kind of game would he want to play? A flash of hands entangled in hair, and mouths about to meet, sent a shiver of sudden discomfort down her spine and she stopped herself, looking up and resting her eyes in his. The wondering gaze in them seemed to say "scared?" and it pushed her to complete the movement with a defiant glare up at him.
Taking a small stack of the cards she turned it and looked at it.
Queen of Hearts.
Hah! Beat that, she thought, trying to keep a poker face as she looked back at him.
He moved his left hand and did as she just had, lifting a stack of the cards up by means of his fingertips and then turning it to him.
"Ace of Spades," he said and her eyes grew slightly.
Her expression tightened and he knew that he stood as the winner.
"Let me see that," she grumbled, reaching out a hand and grabbing the cards out of his.
Staring at the card in question her shoulders slumped slightly, then she raised her head and gave him another glare.
"You cheated!" she stated and a small smile curled his lips before he shrugged.
"Can you prove it?" he asked and she simply threw the cards at him before turning from him.
"This makes the draw... not countable," she said. "Let's just forget about the whole thing."
"Sure," he replied and she turned back to him, sheer shock on her face. "When pig's fly," he added with another small smile and she tried to actually dust him with her gaze.
It didn't work, she was sad to notice.
"You can't actually believe that I'm just gonna be fine with this," she muttered now and the smile turned into a smirk.
"Buffy, I didn't cheat," he defended. "You'll have to trust me on that. If you had won I sure as hell wouldn't 've liked it, but I wouldn't have made such a fuss about it. Seriously. Just admit defeat and turn yourself over into my humble hands. I promise, I'll be gentle."
At the words "defeat" and "hands" the Slayer shuddered. How the heck had she gotten herself into this?
"I won't ever trust you on anything," she now shot. "And I'm not making a fuss; I'm just saying. And I will never go anywhere near your hands so there's no need to sugarcoat it."
"You like it rough?" he asked and her mouth opened by itself to reply to that before she shut it, giving him a dark look.
What the hell was he doing? In every other word she thought she could detect some sort of... trace of... a link to what seemed to be hinting at something... What the hell was he doing?! Or...was it her? Was she reading a bunch of things into it? But, what would that say of her? It wasn't like she was so starved that she would ever hunger for his... Oh, she couldn't even think the thought.
Though the analogy brought her back to the harsh reality of the burning need for food within her and she closed her eyes.
"What's this other game you wanna play?" she sighed, wanting to get her mind off her current state.
He cocked an eyebrow.
"Interested?" he wondered and her eyes shot open.
"No!" she replied, with emotion. "I'm just..."
"Hungry," he nodded and she found herself suddenly simply staring at him. "Yeah, I know. I can hear your stomach talking," he added and she grumbled.
Great. Now he'd remind her of it all day - or however long it would take for the other's to find her - and she wouldn't have a moment's peace.
"Here," he now said, walking up to the refrigerator box and her eyes widened as he opened it.
"I may be reaching the point where I could eat bugs," she protested, "but I won't ever get to where I'm actually able to drink..."
She trailed off as he brought out a plastic box as well as a plastic bag. It didn't look like a vampiric kind of meal. He closed the lid and brought the objects over to her. He practically threw them into her arms and she caught them with a small, annoyed glance his way before she sat right down on the floor and tore the lid off the box.
"Fish," she said, staring at the cold, but cooked, meal before her. "Why would vamps store actual food in their lair?" she mumbled.
"You know, some of us actually still enjoy the taste," Spike replied matter- of-factly and she looked up at him again. "Found it under the blood bags," he added at her still questioning gaze. "You gonna eat?" he finally sighed, taking a seat on the mattresses and she looked down at the food again.
"It might be poisoned," she mused.
"Give me a sodding break," he grumbled, aggravated. "You think I'd get rid of you - after all I've been through - by poisoning you?!" he added and she raised her eyebrows as she had looked up at him again.
Then she turned her head back down to the food.
"If you don't eat it you'll probably die anyway," he remarked. "Your friends seem to be taking a while longer than you thought, aren't they? Don't eat - die in pain. Eat - and live for another hour."
"You know," she said, putting the box aside and facing him, her eyes growing suspicious. "I just might've tasted it, but you actually routing for me to do it and not shrivel up and die makes me..."
"Oh, please!" he exclaimed with a snort. "Are you gonna blame the end of the world on me as well? Whenever it decides to hit?"
"You know, being locked up with you IS the end of the world as far as I'm concerned," she retorted. "I've put up with this whole situation for far too long, and I'm done!"
"YOU'RE done?!" he asked, voice growing loud and he rose to his feet at the same time as she did. "You think this is my kinda fun? Huh?! You think I wanted to be stuck in some crummy old basement with the hate of my un- life?! We can't even fight 'cause then I feel like my sodding head is being torn off my shoulders! So what do I do? I try to make the best of it," he added, meeting her in the middle of the floor as they both had moved forward.
"And how IS that exactly?" she asked, tilting her head back slightly to be able to face him completely, her eyes showing green thunder. "By some little devious plan, I'm sure. What? The food was the set off of a chain reaction? Poison me, render me weak, make me dead and then you can drink my blood? You want it that badly, Spike?"
"Hey, I haven't touched that food! This is just... an eye for an eye - in a sense. I came to you for help when I was wasting away from the no-killing deal I never signed. I help you now. Debt is paid and I NEVER have to do it again," he replied, his jaw line tight as he met her eyes without any intent of standing down and she did the same.
The atmosphere was moving with something close to a small tug that neither one of them could really understand. There was something there, but none of them had any intention of pretending that it was. They hoped it would just give up, turn around and slip out the way it had come.
"Even if you didn't do something to the food," she finally spoke, taking a step back, "that doesn't mean THEY didn't."
"I'm not gonna try and bloody persuade you to eat if you'd rather starve yourself," he replied, turning from her and walking back up to the mattresses.
Throwing himself on them he placed his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling.
She bit her jaws together as she watched him for a few seconds, then she looked back at where the box and the plastic bag lay. Noticing the bag held some sort of vegetables she walked up to it. Carrots. Unpeeled. She bit her lower lip before turning slowly to approach him in the same manner. Stopping by the side of the mattresses she looked down at him with a hesitation in her way that he had never seen on her... Except that night when he came to offer her his help fighting Angelus. That night she had kept her eyes on him with the same tentative wonderment as she right now held in her gaze.
"Do you have a knife?" she asked.
He stared at her and she made a small wave with the vegetable in her hand as an elaboration. He shook his head to her question. She turned and walked back to where she had sat before, sinking back down on the spot she eyed the carrot in her hand before she wrinkled her nose. She then brought it to her lips and parted them, taking a bite of it.
She ate almost carefully, though once the taste of the carrot seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary she was actually grateful for it. She ate another as well and then a small piece of the white meat of the fish before sealing the lid of the plastic box tightly.
Taking both of them up to the fridge she put them back in there and then closed that lid as well. Walking up to the wall beneath "her" window she sat down and leaned against it, resting her head back and closing her eyes.
Why hadn't they come yet?
Why was she still in there, with HIM? She thought she would've liked being locked up by herself more than having him there with her. He was so frustrating. Getting on her nerves and entangling her thoughts. Filling the room with his irritating presence so that she couldn't escape him, no matter what she tried.
Why hadn't they come yet?!
***
05.47 p.m.
"Show me the way to go home... I'm tired and I wanna go to bed... I had a little drink about an hour ago and it got right to my head... Bom-bom-bom. Show me the way to go home. I'm tired and I wanna go to bed. Well, I had a little drink about an hour ago and it got right to my head. Bom-bom-bom. Show me the way to."
"Shut up!" Buffy exclaimed, throwing one of her boots at him.
It hit him dead center on the forehead and he stopped the singing he had been keeping up for nearly eight minutes. A repeating of the same part over and over and over and over. He twisted his neck where he still lay on the mattresses to be able to look at her where she was pacing.
She had removed her boots an hour earlier, after complaining about them hurting for nearly half of that.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist," he said, rolling over on the side to keep watching her as he prompted his head up in one hand.
"I'd put them over my head if it kept me from hearing you sing," she shot, stopping and looking back at him.
"Oooh," he said, slowly. "You gonna hurt a blokes feelings."
"Which bloke? I only see you and you're not one of those," she retorted and he raised his eyebrows.
"Ouch, love," he mumbled with a small smile and she ignored the sudden swirl in the pit of her stomach as her eyes slid down over his torso where the fabric of his black T stretched over the obviously taut muscles of his arms and upper chest.
Closing her eyes she turned and began to pace again.
She had to get out of there.
Now.
"Stop calling me that," she grumbled, putting one hand up by her forehead and rubbing it gently.
"What? ...Love?" he asked, sitting up before rising to his feet.
"Yes," she answered; tone short and impatient. "Stop calling me that."
"What's the matter?" he asked, voice lowered in that unsettling way again and she stopped, once more turning her head to him.
"What do you think?" she asked. "Something's seriously wrong. Giles was the one who told me I should check this place out last night, he KNOWS where I am. If they were looking this'd be where they'd start. They're not looking, Spike. And I just... can't figure out why."
He grew thoughtful at that, forgetting that he should use her distress to his advantage at the fact of them being trapped for a while longer than even he had expected.
"Well, it's not like we're gonna be down here forever," he then stated carelessly and her eyes grew disbelieving.
"What's to say we're not?" she asked and he once more grew quiet as that question sunk in.
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Oh, wonderful you are! I loved my stack of reviews! *claps hands in joy* Thank you so much!
Special thanks to wendy, Lady Icon Draco, LILI(for both the first and second), wolf116, MindOverMatter, msu and Heather! Really great to hear from you and that you like it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
MindOverMatter - just had to respond a little. If you'd like me to explain anything about the story that you think is confusing, please, don't hesitate to email me! And the box she opened was a refrigerator one. You know, it's like a fridge only a large, white, box variety? Thanks ever so and I hope you keep reading!
Oh, and also, more hardcore Spuffiness is for sure up ahead - I mean, how could it not be? However, to me the bantering, the fighting, the hating and the confusion is as much Spuffy as them going at it like rabbits or having slow make-out sessions. I'm sorry if some of you think it's taking too long, but I'm just the tool - the story knows when it's ripe for them to...you know, find each other. ;)
Thanks again and please review, the deal writer/reader still stands! ;)
A.M.L, Annie.