A/N: Woohoo! Long chapter! Six pages! I just couldn't resist the idea for
this chapter. Oh, and I promise that the title of this story will come into
play eventually. It is relevant ;)
Oh, and I don't own Bubbleicious gum.
~*~
Chapter 3: Gum Popping
Spike spent his next few evenings pacing the graveyard alone, staking the occasional vampire or falling into an open grave. That could get annoying after a while. And as much as he had once enjoyed putting people into their own graves, he had never liked being in them himself- even if it was open. Having to dig yourself out once was enough to scar a guy for life- err, unlife.
He sighed and walked into his crypt, which he had left open for a while in hopes of getting rid of the overpowering smell of Mountain Air. It had receded a little bit, much to his pleasure. But leaving the door had done something that did not pleasure Spike at all- a breeze had covered part of his floor with dirt that had undoubtedly come from the pile of soil sitting next to the open grave he'd fallen in that night- the one in front of his crypt.
Now, Spike had never been one to clean- even in life. His mother had been very clean and he had found no need to clean up anything, as she had did it for him. Drusilla had been fairly clean as well and once again he had found no need to clean anything himself.
So the thought of using a broom didn't immediately come to mind.
He kicked at the dirt a little bit, but it didn't seem to want to leave. He knit his brows and kicked at it some more. The dirt just moved around and seemed to grin up at him mockingly. He knelt down and tried to sweep it out with his hand, to no avail.
"Geez Spike, don't you ever clean?"
He was on his feet in an instant, poised and ready to fight.
"Finally snuck up on you, huh? I'm good." Buffy grinned madly, eyes twinkling in delight.
"Oh, it's you. I was expecting somebody big and toothy. So you really didn't sneak up on me- I just mistook you for a demon, that's all."
"Uh-huh." She eyed the pile at his feet. "Do you collect dirt?"
"What? Oh. No. Just left my door open a bit too long, it seems."
"Do you have a broom? I'm sure that'd be much easier than fanning it out with your hand or kicking it. I was waiting for you to start yelling at it to get out."
"That was my next plan of action, yes." He said sarcastically, nodding. "So what brings you here? Information? Need me to kill something you can't take on yourself? Going to announce your undying love?"
"No, no, and definitely not. Just wanted to see if you were going to patrol."
He shook his head and chuckled. "Slayer, you're a git."
"What?"
"You can't make up your sodding mind about anything, can you? First you're going to kill me, then you're not. You want information, you don't. You want me to protect your family, you want me to stay away from them. You want me to come in, you don't. You don't want my help, but you want me to patrol with you. You think I'm all right, but you hate me. What does a bloke have to do to understand you?"
She blinked at him and he shook his head again. "Never mind."
"Do you want to borrow a broom?"
"Uh..."
"Come on." She motioned for him to follow, which he did, of course, however confused he was. "If Giles doesn't have one at The Magic Shop, I'm sure mom will lend you one."
"I'm not supposed to go near your house, remember?"
"I didn't say you were allowed in. I can hand it to you through the door, go up to my room, and enjoy a Spike-free environment."
"Need I remind you that you were the one who came and bothered me?" he asked as they stepped out onto the street.
She didn't say anything.
~*~
"Do you have anymore gum?" Buffy asked just as they turned the corner that would lead them to the shop.
Spike had forgotten he was even chewing any, which surprised him since the flavor was still burning horribly on his taste buds.
"Err- no."
The Magic Box was quiet when they got there. Not to say that it wasn't full of people, but it was quiet. Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara, and Giles were enthralled with whatever materials they were looking over. Dawn emerged from the back room carrying an amulet of some sort and snapping bubblegum.
Buffy strode into the back room of the shop confidently while Spike hung back at the door. Nobody else present seemed to notice he was there.
He watched Tara begin to blow a large pink bubble. It slowly got bigger and bigger until she had to sit up straight in order to not get it stuck to the pages she was reading. Anya reached forward and popped it, grinning widely and laughing when the gum stuck to Tara's nose.
Xander chuckled and began to blow a purple bubble. Willow looked up from her book to see how big Xander's would get. It popped just before it would have become roughly the same size as Tara's. Willow smiled and worked her own gum around before she too began to blow a bubble.
Spike swallowed and tried to make himself invisible. This could not be happening. There was no way that that oddball thought he'd had back in his crypt was actually happening. If the rest of his little nightmarish thought actually came true he would be stunned and after the embarrassing results that would undoubtedly come after they found out he couldn't pop gum, would probably change his name, move to some other town, and take up fortune telling.
Which didn't sound fun at all. He couldn't really see himself wearing a horrifying outfit and headgear, talking in a wispy voice, operating in a small room littered with tarot cards and candles, looking into a crystal ball.
No. Definitely not.
His curiosity got the better of him and he looked to see how Willow was progressing. Her bubble (which was red) was nearing the size of her head, and seemed to have the potential to grow bigger if Tara hadn't popped it. Spike picked up a book and put it up in front of his face, pretending to read it, all the while sneaking glances over the top of it to see what was going on.
Buffy came out of the back room with a look of determination on her face. She was not carrying a broom, much to his dismay, and stopped to ask Giles where he'd hidden the one he used to sweep the shop each night.
Spike was quite surprised when Giles got up, blowing a medium-sized blue bubble. Once it had popped, he took off his glasses and yawned.
"What do you need it for, Buffy? I daresay that I won't want it back if you use it as a stake."
"No, I just need it to sweep out Spike's crypt."
Xander's eyes snapped up with glittering anticipation. "You killed Spike? Great! I vote for a wild party with a large banner declaring his absence."
Spike cleared his throat. Suddenly all eyes, save Buffy's, were on him. "Better be careful who's around when you talk, Harris."
"You're not dead? Damn."
"That's what I think every single time I see you."
"Stop it, you guys. I'm so not in the mood to listen to you two argue." Buffy stated from behind the counter, where Giles was cautiously handing her the broom.
"Why are you sweeping out Spike's crypt?" he asked, cleaning his glasses.
"Because he doesn't believe in cleaning and it's getting difficult to barge in there and kick his ass with all that dirt blocking the doorway."
Everyone seemed to take this as a reasonable explanation.
Dawn snapped her gum rather loudly and everyone looked at her. She began to blow an orange bubble that was slowly getting bigger. It grew until it was just a little bit larger than her head, nearly transparent because it was so thin. It popped, leaving her face covered in orange stickiness.
"Dawn wins this round, but the war is far from over." Xander commented before looking back to his book. "Unless Buffy or, like this would ever happen, Spike, can beat her."
Buffy shrugged. "Worth a shot. Pass me some gum."
Tara reached into her bag and pulled out a large pack of Cotton Candy flavored Bubbleicious. She tossed a piece to Buffy, who caught it with great ease. She turned to Spike, an unsure look on her face, and tossed him some.
"Uh, no. See, I don't-" Spike began.
"Aw, is poor wittle Spikey scared?" Xander taunted.
"No. I'd just rather not look as embarrassing as you do, what with that bit of gum in your eyebrow." He retorted.
Xander ran his fingers over his eyebrows quickly before narrowing his eyes at Spike. "Chicken?"
"N-"
"Then go ahead."
"I've nothing to prove to you."
Buffy shushed them, concentrating heavily on blowing her bubble. It was a purply color and a little bit gritty since she hadn't been chewing the gum long. It was for this reason that it didn't get very big. She shrugged and began chewing again.
"Well, gotta go. Good luck with the research. Oh, and Dawn?" she turned to her sister, "Willow and Tara are going to take you back to the house. I'll be back by two, alright?"
Dawn nodded solemnly. Buffy, carrying the broom, crossed the room, opened the door, and nodded her head for Spike to follow. He put the book back in its place, fixed Xander with a horrible glare (which was returned), and followed her out into the street.
"What was that all about?" she asked quite suddenly.
"What?" he folded his arms over his chest and continued to follow her back to the graveyard.
"You and Xander. I mean, usually you guys are all arguey, but- over gum?" she slowed her pace a little so that she walked beside him.
"Yeah, over gum. He's a ponce."
"You argued back... why wouldn't you blow a bubble?"
Spike lifted a scarred brow. "Buffy. I don't do those things."
She stopped on the corner of Main Street and Tracy Street, waiting for all the traffic to go by before they crossed the street. "Why not?"
"What do you mean 'why not'? I'm a vampire. I don't pop gum."
"Whatever. But if I didn't know better, I'd say you were scared."
He dropped his arms to his side and let his eyes show a little bit of anger. "Scared? Me?" he shook his head. "I'm not scared of anything."
"Then why won't-"
He sighed heavily. "Swear you won't tell?"
Buffy nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Girl Scout's Honor."
He sighed again and braced himself. "Because... because I don't know how."
She burst out laughing just as the crosswalk lights told them it was safe to cross. Spike stepped down onto the pavement, half-embarrassed and half- angry. Buffy put her hand on his leather-clad shoulder for support as she walked beside him, laughing hysterically.
"It's not that funny." He said.
"Yeah it is! You, Spike, can't even blow a bubble in your gum? Mr. I'm-So- Mighty-Because-I'm-A-Vampire can't even pop his gum!" this sent her into another wave of laughter.
He stopped just as they stepped up onto the sidewalk in front of the very drugstore he'd bought all of his anti smoking supplies. "Yeah. That's right. I don't know how. Never found any use for it."
"Never found any use for it? It's fun. That's its use."
"Fun? Blowing air into a sticky substance until it pops and gets all over your face is fun?" he inquired skeptically, crossing his arms again.
She nodded. "Yep."
"How's that?"
"I'll show you."
"Wh-?"
Before he could finish his question, she'd grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him toward the graveyard.
~*~
"Okay, so, first of all- spit out that gum." Buffy instructed, sitting next to Spike on top of his crypt, broom leaning against the doorway below them.
"What? Don't I need gum to pop it?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. But that's the wrong kind of gum. Use the stuff Tara gave you. It's easier to learn with- stretchier and all that."
He sighed and spit out his gum. "You know what you're doing."
Spike dug into his coat pocket and pulled out the now slightly smashed piece of gum Tara had tossed to him in The Magic Box. He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth, stuffing the wrapper back in his pocket. He began to chew.
"You have to chew it for a little while before it's good enough." She said, leaning back on her hands to look up at the stars while she waited.
"How do I know what it's good enough?"
"There's no more sugar granules in it. Is that Polaris? I can never tell." She pointed to a brilliant star, nudging Spike with her other elbow.
"Oh, uh..." he looked up, brows knit in thought, "yeah. I think so. Think my gum's all chewed up too."
"Alright. So, move the gum right behind your teeth and part them just enough for you to stick your tongue through. Like this." She followed her own instructions and looked toward him.
He copied her actions, having a little bit of difficulty. She stuck her tongue through her teeth, letting the gum form a thin coating around it. He tried to the do the same, but had to make a few attempts before he got it right. She blew, letting the gum form a bubble.
He tried but accidentally spit his gum onto his right pant leg. Buffy laughed heartily as he picked it up and put it back in his mouth. He repeated all of the steps up until the blowing part. Slowly and cautiously, he blew into the gum.
It began to form a small bubble, which popped almost immediately. Buffy clapped a little bit and Spike chuckled. She stuck her tongue out to blow another bubble.
"You have a cute tongue, Slayer." Spike grinned.
She rolled her eyes and continued on with her bubble blowing. Spike practiced, leaning back on his elbows and watching her out of the corner of his eye. This was one of the few times she didn't notice- not that he cared. She was very cute, sitting there blowing bubbles and studying the stars.
A few minutes later, she broke the silence. "We ought to go sweep out your crypt. It's 1:45."
She hopped down before he could protest, so he followed. She snatched up the broom and moved inside. She swept some of the dirt out the door as an example before she handed the cleaning utensil to him. She began to laugh again.
He looked very weird. A punk-rocker vampire with bleach blond hair, all black clothing, and a leather duster. Standing there. With a broom. Too funny.
"Bring the broom back as soon as you're done." Having stopped laughing, she left. She needed to get home before two- before the others started worrying about her.
Spike leaned on the broom handle and smiled to himself. Even if he'd ended up cleaning out his crypt with a nancy-boy broom, it was worth it. She'd spent an evening with him, despite her loathing, teaching him how to pop gum.
He was still chewing it, thinking perhaps he'd never stop. He knew he had to eventually, of course, but he wanted to savor the flavor of that gum until it was gone, leaving him only with the memories of that night.
He swept the rest of the dirt out and spent the rest of the night grinning and chewing his gum.
Oh, and I don't own Bubbleicious gum.
~*~
Chapter 3: Gum Popping
Spike spent his next few evenings pacing the graveyard alone, staking the occasional vampire or falling into an open grave. That could get annoying after a while. And as much as he had once enjoyed putting people into their own graves, he had never liked being in them himself- even if it was open. Having to dig yourself out once was enough to scar a guy for life- err, unlife.
He sighed and walked into his crypt, which he had left open for a while in hopes of getting rid of the overpowering smell of Mountain Air. It had receded a little bit, much to his pleasure. But leaving the door had done something that did not pleasure Spike at all- a breeze had covered part of his floor with dirt that had undoubtedly come from the pile of soil sitting next to the open grave he'd fallen in that night- the one in front of his crypt.
Now, Spike had never been one to clean- even in life. His mother had been very clean and he had found no need to clean up anything, as she had did it for him. Drusilla had been fairly clean as well and once again he had found no need to clean anything himself.
So the thought of using a broom didn't immediately come to mind.
He kicked at the dirt a little bit, but it didn't seem to want to leave. He knit his brows and kicked at it some more. The dirt just moved around and seemed to grin up at him mockingly. He knelt down and tried to sweep it out with his hand, to no avail.
"Geez Spike, don't you ever clean?"
He was on his feet in an instant, poised and ready to fight.
"Finally snuck up on you, huh? I'm good." Buffy grinned madly, eyes twinkling in delight.
"Oh, it's you. I was expecting somebody big and toothy. So you really didn't sneak up on me- I just mistook you for a demon, that's all."
"Uh-huh." She eyed the pile at his feet. "Do you collect dirt?"
"What? Oh. No. Just left my door open a bit too long, it seems."
"Do you have a broom? I'm sure that'd be much easier than fanning it out with your hand or kicking it. I was waiting for you to start yelling at it to get out."
"That was my next plan of action, yes." He said sarcastically, nodding. "So what brings you here? Information? Need me to kill something you can't take on yourself? Going to announce your undying love?"
"No, no, and definitely not. Just wanted to see if you were going to patrol."
He shook his head and chuckled. "Slayer, you're a git."
"What?"
"You can't make up your sodding mind about anything, can you? First you're going to kill me, then you're not. You want information, you don't. You want me to protect your family, you want me to stay away from them. You want me to come in, you don't. You don't want my help, but you want me to patrol with you. You think I'm all right, but you hate me. What does a bloke have to do to understand you?"
She blinked at him and he shook his head again. "Never mind."
"Do you want to borrow a broom?"
"Uh..."
"Come on." She motioned for him to follow, which he did, of course, however confused he was. "If Giles doesn't have one at The Magic Shop, I'm sure mom will lend you one."
"I'm not supposed to go near your house, remember?"
"I didn't say you were allowed in. I can hand it to you through the door, go up to my room, and enjoy a Spike-free environment."
"Need I remind you that you were the one who came and bothered me?" he asked as they stepped out onto the street.
She didn't say anything.
~*~
"Do you have anymore gum?" Buffy asked just as they turned the corner that would lead them to the shop.
Spike had forgotten he was even chewing any, which surprised him since the flavor was still burning horribly on his taste buds.
"Err- no."
The Magic Box was quiet when they got there. Not to say that it wasn't full of people, but it was quiet. Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara, and Giles were enthralled with whatever materials they were looking over. Dawn emerged from the back room carrying an amulet of some sort and snapping bubblegum.
Buffy strode into the back room of the shop confidently while Spike hung back at the door. Nobody else present seemed to notice he was there.
He watched Tara begin to blow a large pink bubble. It slowly got bigger and bigger until she had to sit up straight in order to not get it stuck to the pages she was reading. Anya reached forward and popped it, grinning widely and laughing when the gum stuck to Tara's nose.
Xander chuckled and began to blow a purple bubble. Willow looked up from her book to see how big Xander's would get. It popped just before it would have become roughly the same size as Tara's. Willow smiled and worked her own gum around before she too began to blow a bubble.
Spike swallowed and tried to make himself invisible. This could not be happening. There was no way that that oddball thought he'd had back in his crypt was actually happening. If the rest of his little nightmarish thought actually came true he would be stunned and after the embarrassing results that would undoubtedly come after they found out he couldn't pop gum, would probably change his name, move to some other town, and take up fortune telling.
Which didn't sound fun at all. He couldn't really see himself wearing a horrifying outfit and headgear, talking in a wispy voice, operating in a small room littered with tarot cards and candles, looking into a crystal ball.
No. Definitely not.
His curiosity got the better of him and he looked to see how Willow was progressing. Her bubble (which was red) was nearing the size of her head, and seemed to have the potential to grow bigger if Tara hadn't popped it. Spike picked up a book and put it up in front of his face, pretending to read it, all the while sneaking glances over the top of it to see what was going on.
Buffy came out of the back room with a look of determination on her face. She was not carrying a broom, much to his dismay, and stopped to ask Giles where he'd hidden the one he used to sweep the shop each night.
Spike was quite surprised when Giles got up, blowing a medium-sized blue bubble. Once it had popped, he took off his glasses and yawned.
"What do you need it for, Buffy? I daresay that I won't want it back if you use it as a stake."
"No, I just need it to sweep out Spike's crypt."
Xander's eyes snapped up with glittering anticipation. "You killed Spike? Great! I vote for a wild party with a large banner declaring his absence."
Spike cleared his throat. Suddenly all eyes, save Buffy's, were on him. "Better be careful who's around when you talk, Harris."
"You're not dead? Damn."
"That's what I think every single time I see you."
"Stop it, you guys. I'm so not in the mood to listen to you two argue." Buffy stated from behind the counter, where Giles was cautiously handing her the broom.
"Why are you sweeping out Spike's crypt?" he asked, cleaning his glasses.
"Because he doesn't believe in cleaning and it's getting difficult to barge in there and kick his ass with all that dirt blocking the doorway."
Everyone seemed to take this as a reasonable explanation.
Dawn snapped her gum rather loudly and everyone looked at her. She began to blow an orange bubble that was slowly getting bigger. It grew until it was just a little bit larger than her head, nearly transparent because it was so thin. It popped, leaving her face covered in orange stickiness.
"Dawn wins this round, but the war is far from over." Xander commented before looking back to his book. "Unless Buffy or, like this would ever happen, Spike, can beat her."
Buffy shrugged. "Worth a shot. Pass me some gum."
Tara reached into her bag and pulled out a large pack of Cotton Candy flavored Bubbleicious. She tossed a piece to Buffy, who caught it with great ease. She turned to Spike, an unsure look on her face, and tossed him some.
"Uh, no. See, I don't-" Spike began.
"Aw, is poor wittle Spikey scared?" Xander taunted.
"No. I'd just rather not look as embarrassing as you do, what with that bit of gum in your eyebrow." He retorted.
Xander ran his fingers over his eyebrows quickly before narrowing his eyes at Spike. "Chicken?"
"N-"
"Then go ahead."
"I've nothing to prove to you."
Buffy shushed them, concentrating heavily on blowing her bubble. It was a purply color and a little bit gritty since she hadn't been chewing the gum long. It was for this reason that it didn't get very big. She shrugged and began chewing again.
"Well, gotta go. Good luck with the research. Oh, and Dawn?" she turned to her sister, "Willow and Tara are going to take you back to the house. I'll be back by two, alright?"
Dawn nodded solemnly. Buffy, carrying the broom, crossed the room, opened the door, and nodded her head for Spike to follow. He put the book back in its place, fixed Xander with a horrible glare (which was returned), and followed her out into the street.
"What was that all about?" she asked quite suddenly.
"What?" he folded his arms over his chest and continued to follow her back to the graveyard.
"You and Xander. I mean, usually you guys are all arguey, but- over gum?" she slowed her pace a little so that she walked beside him.
"Yeah, over gum. He's a ponce."
"You argued back... why wouldn't you blow a bubble?"
Spike lifted a scarred brow. "Buffy. I don't do those things."
She stopped on the corner of Main Street and Tracy Street, waiting for all the traffic to go by before they crossed the street. "Why not?"
"What do you mean 'why not'? I'm a vampire. I don't pop gum."
"Whatever. But if I didn't know better, I'd say you were scared."
He dropped his arms to his side and let his eyes show a little bit of anger. "Scared? Me?" he shook his head. "I'm not scared of anything."
"Then why won't-"
He sighed heavily. "Swear you won't tell?"
Buffy nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Girl Scout's Honor."
He sighed again and braced himself. "Because... because I don't know how."
She burst out laughing just as the crosswalk lights told them it was safe to cross. Spike stepped down onto the pavement, half-embarrassed and half- angry. Buffy put her hand on his leather-clad shoulder for support as she walked beside him, laughing hysterically.
"It's not that funny." He said.
"Yeah it is! You, Spike, can't even blow a bubble in your gum? Mr. I'm-So- Mighty-Because-I'm-A-Vampire can't even pop his gum!" this sent her into another wave of laughter.
He stopped just as they stepped up onto the sidewalk in front of the very drugstore he'd bought all of his anti smoking supplies. "Yeah. That's right. I don't know how. Never found any use for it."
"Never found any use for it? It's fun. That's its use."
"Fun? Blowing air into a sticky substance until it pops and gets all over your face is fun?" he inquired skeptically, crossing his arms again.
She nodded. "Yep."
"How's that?"
"I'll show you."
"Wh-?"
Before he could finish his question, she'd grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him toward the graveyard.
~*~
"Okay, so, first of all- spit out that gum." Buffy instructed, sitting next to Spike on top of his crypt, broom leaning against the doorway below them.
"What? Don't I need gum to pop it?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. But that's the wrong kind of gum. Use the stuff Tara gave you. It's easier to learn with- stretchier and all that."
He sighed and spit out his gum. "You know what you're doing."
Spike dug into his coat pocket and pulled out the now slightly smashed piece of gum Tara had tossed to him in The Magic Box. He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth, stuffing the wrapper back in his pocket. He began to chew.
"You have to chew it for a little while before it's good enough." She said, leaning back on her hands to look up at the stars while she waited.
"How do I know what it's good enough?"
"There's no more sugar granules in it. Is that Polaris? I can never tell." She pointed to a brilliant star, nudging Spike with her other elbow.
"Oh, uh..." he looked up, brows knit in thought, "yeah. I think so. Think my gum's all chewed up too."
"Alright. So, move the gum right behind your teeth and part them just enough for you to stick your tongue through. Like this." She followed her own instructions and looked toward him.
He copied her actions, having a little bit of difficulty. She stuck her tongue through her teeth, letting the gum form a thin coating around it. He tried to the do the same, but had to make a few attempts before he got it right. She blew, letting the gum form a bubble.
He tried but accidentally spit his gum onto his right pant leg. Buffy laughed heartily as he picked it up and put it back in his mouth. He repeated all of the steps up until the blowing part. Slowly and cautiously, he blew into the gum.
It began to form a small bubble, which popped almost immediately. Buffy clapped a little bit and Spike chuckled. She stuck her tongue out to blow another bubble.
"You have a cute tongue, Slayer." Spike grinned.
She rolled her eyes and continued on with her bubble blowing. Spike practiced, leaning back on his elbows and watching her out of the corner of his eye. This was one of the few times she didn't notice- not that he cared. She was very cute, sitting there blowing bubbles and studying the stars.
A few minutes later, she broke the silence. "We ought to go sweep out your crypt. It's 1:45."
She hopped down before he could protest, so he followed. She snatched up the broom and moved inside. She swept some of the dirt out the door as an example before she handed the cleaning utensil to him. She began to laugh again.
He looked very weird. A punk-rocker vampire with bleach blond hair, all black clothing, and a leather duster. Standing there. With a broom. Too funny.
"Bring the broom back as soon as you're done." Having stopped laughing, she left. She needed to get home before two- before the others started worrying about her.
Spike leaned on the broom handle and smiled to himself. Even if he'd ended up cleaning out his crypt with a nancy-boy broom, it was worth it. She'd spent an evening with him, despite her loathing, teaching him how to pop gum.
He was still chewing it, thinking perhaps he'd never stop. He knew he had to eventually, of course, but he wanted to savor the flavor of that gum until it was gone, leaving him only with the memories of that night.
He swept the rest of the dirt out and spent the rest of the night grinning and chewing his gum.