Part nine:
Willow groaned as she opened her eyes. The sunlight in the room burned her eyes and she squinted. She tentatively touched her throbbing head and decided she should renounce drinking forever. She focused with difficulty on her alarm clock which read 11:30. Looking around the dorm and Buffy's empty bed she reasoned that if Buffy had slept here last night, she was long gone by now. The events of the previous night flashed in her mind. She turned red and put her hand to her head. She winced in pain as her hand came in contact with her eye. What the hell? She got up quickly and rushed to the mirror. She was shocked to find that her eye was swollen and bruised. Sunglasses it is.
After leaving the cemetery last night, Spike had walked her back to the dorm and stumbled off into the night. She wondered how far it would of gone if Buffy and Angel hadn't showed up. At least she had been sober enough to recognize their voices. That would have been quite a scene to behold. Spike straddling her behind a gravestone and herself smelling like cheap booze. That surly would have ended with a pile of dust where Spike used to be. She sighed to herself and wondered what the hell was she thinking? Spike was a vampire, evil to the core and quite proud of the fact. He had killed dozens and dozens of innocent people, plus two slayers to top it off. She felt like she was betraying Buffy.
But she had never been kissed like that before in her life. It was pure passion…drunken passion but passion none the less. It had felt like he wanted to consume her, own her soul and every part of her body. She wanted him so bad it burned. She had never wanted Oz like that, she had loved Oz. Their relationship was like a summer's day and sunshine. Any relationship she might have with Spike would be like a sunny day in hell. She rolled her eyes at herself for even thinking a creature like Spike would be interested in her for a relationship. He had loved Dru, but she wasn't anything like Dru. First of all she wasn't a crazy bitch, or a sexual freak, and the obvious fact that she wasn't a vampire. Oh, God, what if he wanted to make her one! Willow remembered all to well the freaky individual her vampire counterpart had been. Yuck! Plus she really liked the sun…and puppies. She bet Spike had eaten a puppy…oh, God. And how gross would blood taste? Suddenly her hangover caught up to her and she ran quickly to the bathroom as her stomach turned in protest of the colorful visuals her mind was providing for her.
Doyle sipped a glass of brandy as he looked over the work Willow had done on the soul binding spell. She was an intelligent little lass. He could see what Spike saw in her. That and she was a bit of a stiffener, too. He couldn't help but worry about her, though. She had a lot of power. He could feel it vibrating off her if he stood close enough to her. It added to her allure. He felt as though she hadn't always been so strong, as if she had been quite weak in her not so recent past. He had seen was sudden power could do to people. It made them cocky. Cast a few difficult spells and you soon feel addicted. He knew about addiction and it hit best when someone was down.
He wondered where the werewolf character had disappeared to. He vaguely remembered Cordi saying that Willow had been heavily involved with him. That wasn't too long ago either. Suddenly the whole Spike thing made sense. She was on the rebound. This wasn't gonna end good. Spike seemed completely smitten with her, what would happen to her if she suddenly changed her mind? He was a very dangerous person even if he seemed to of changed for the better. Doyle furrowed his brow in concern. If he hurt her, Doyle would probably kill him.
The front door opened as Willow tentatively walked in. Doyle looked up at her questioningly as he spotted the big black sunglasses she wore. She was carrying a bunch of books in her arms and didn't notice him sitting on the back of Giles' couch.
"Want help with those?" he asked her.
She cried out, startled by his voice and dropped her stack of books. They crashed to the floor and she hurriedly rushed to pick them up. He knelled down to help her and inspected her out of the corner of his eye.
"Thank you," she said breathlessly, "I didn't see you there. I'm kinda out of it on account of me not getting much sleep last night… you know college dorms." She finished with a nervous laugh.
She looked up when he didn't respond, and found him staring at her.
"What?" she asked confused.
"Angel's going to smell him on you," Doyle replied softly.
"What-" she began to ask when he stopped her.
"I'm only part demon, you know, and I can smell it on you," he explained surprising himself by admitting his true nature to her so easily.
"You're what?" she asked surprised.
"Part demon, that's not important now. Okay?" he said quickly, "If you want to keep your little tryst a secret, we need to get you out of here for a while. Angel knows Spike's smell…being his sire and all."
Willow looked utterly defeated. Doyle sighed thinking about how truly young she was.
"Come on we'll go to Bickford's or something. I'll buy you coffee. You look like you were partying a little too much last night," he winked at her and helped her stand up, "Leave the books here, you've already made a lot of head way on that spell, a few more hours won't hurt."
She put the books on the desk and let him lead her out to Angel's car.
"So when are you gonna show me that shiner?" Doyle asked her abruptly while Willow poured a huge amount of sugar into her coffee.
She sighed and slowly pulled her glasses off her nose. She looked away from him nervously as his eyes widened at the extent of her black eye. He lifted her chin gently with the tips of his fingers to get a better look at it. He whistled though his teeth.
"Who the hell hit you, the hulk?" he asked hoping she didn't Spike. He really didn't feel like kicking his ass, or more like it, getting Angel to kick his ass.
"Some stupid scaly guy at Willy's," she responded matter of factly.
"I hope you mean he had really bad psoriasis," Doyle replied after almost choking on his sip of coffee.
"No, scales, green ones. Spike kicked his ass," Willow said wistfully.
"Willow, I know I don't know you very well but…" Doyle began slowly.
"If you're gonna ask me out, this kinda a bad time for me," Willow said with a smile.
Doyle felt his face get hot which was a reaction he wasn't expecting himself to have, "No, actually I just wanted to make sure you understand what you're getting yourself into."
"What ever do you mean?" she replied innocently. "The fact that I'm all tingly over a cold, blood sucking vampire? I know the drill. I mean I live on a hell mouth, you know…"
Doyle looked uncomfortable and stared down into his coffee. Willow sighed feeling guilty.
"Look, I'm sorry. I just am really confused right now," she said quietly and touched his arm softly.
He looked up at her surprised with her willingness to make physical contact. She held his gaze for a few minutes and a strange thought swam though his brain. He shook his head to clear it out.
"I just want to make sure you're going be okay… Spike may appeal to the side of you that wants danger, but there's a good reason why he seems dangerous," Doyle told her with concerned eyes.
"I know…" Willow sighed, "I was on the receiving end of a very sharp glass bottle to the neck threat of his once. I'll be careful."
Doyle nodded his head, "You don't have to answer me but I was just wondering exactly what happened between you two. You don't get his scent all over you by playing cards with the stiff."
Willow looked offended for a minute then replied, "Nothing."
He shrugged and sipped his coffee.
"So, um, are you and Cordelia, you know?" she asked him.
"No, I wish," he chuckled surprised at himself for offering yet another part of his life so easily to her, "I just recently told her I half demon. She thinks I'm a fixer upper or something."
Willow suddenly looked really guilty.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Doyle asked concerned.
"No, it's just; did she ever tell you about Xander?" Willow asked hesitantly.
"She doesn't talk much about Sunnydale," he replied in a disappointed voice.
Willow smiled, "You said you heard a lot about me, though."
"Angel, mostly," he explained.
She nodded and took a deep breath, "Well, Cordelia and Xander used to date."
"Uh-huh, so what's her problem with me then?" he asked jokingly.
"I'll get to that," she continued as Doyle gave her a worried look, "Well, as far she was concerned she took a big risk with him because well, she was popular, and Xander, not so much."
"Ah," he responded trying to grasp the high schooler's way of thinking.
"Xander and I are very good friends. We have been since forever ago. About a year and a half ago, Xander and I were held captive by a certain blonde vampire."
"And you still like this guy? You are one understanding lady."
She smiled. "Anyway, long story short, we were locked in the basement of a burned out factory feeling a very real sense of impending death and we kissed. Cordi and my boyfriend at the time, Oz," Doyle noticed a flicker of pain in her eyes as she said his name, "busted in to rescue us at that very inopportune moment."
Doyle waited for her to continue as she looked into her coffee mug with a melancholy frown on her face.
"She also got a lovely rod shoved though her abdomen a few minutes later when the stairs collapsed as she tried to run away from what she saw. They broke up and she vowed to never date another 'fixer-upper' again."
Doyle sighed heavily. "I get it now…"
"If it makes you feel any better I think your wearing her down," Willow offered.
"She so damned strong willed," he mumbled.
"Just a bit," Willow quipped and finished her coffee.