A/N- I know, I know! I'm sooo sorry it took so long! It's just, this time of the year is the most busy one! But the good part is, school's almost over! ... Almost. Before that, there are tons of exams... so please, try to understand!

Please tell me what you think of this chapter. I worked a lot on it, and it was so hard to write. And I'm not sure I completely like it, so please, review!

Spike's jaw dropped.

That was fake. It wasn't real. It was a nightmare. He pinched himself and flinched.

"Ow!" He cursed under his breath. Okay, that had hurt. So he wasn't dreaming. Still, he didn't like the image in front of him.

Dawn was hugging this man -that wasn't him- in a very intimate way. And she had just called him Connor.

A bell rang inside his head. Connor? As in Puff's son? As in the one who... that...? Ew. He shook his head. And then looked up. They were still like that. Hugging. He couldn't stand it. It was about time he broke that up. He cleared his throat in a very loud way.

Dawn looked up, startled. She looked up at Connor, and saw him watching her, confused. Then, as if remembering he was there too, she looked at Spike, who was glaring at the guy.

A look of panic crossed her blue eyes, before she covered it quickly.

"Spike," she said, casually, "this is Connor. Connor, this is Spike."

The two men shook hands, squeezing hands a little bit harder than they should. Or at least Spike did, since Connor didn't really know who he was.

However, as the son of a vampire, Connor knew how to recognize such creatures. A look of shock, concern, and confusion crossed his features.

He looked at Dawn. "He's a vampire," he muttered.

Dawn moved uncomfortably. Spike had heard Connor mutter, and Dawn knew it.

"Yeah, I'm a vampire, mate. You've got a problem with that? I understand you were raised by one."

Connor glared at him. "First, I'm not your mate. Second, I wasn't raised by a vampire. I was raised by my own. And third, even if I was, Angel has a soul."

"Angel, huh?" said Spike, raising an eyebrow, "No Daddy? So Peaches doesn't get along with his son, after all?"

"Spike," said Dawn, warningly, "stop it."

Connor didn't seem to mind, though. He even was smiling in an ironically kind of way. "No, we don't." Then, turning to Dawn: "I don't suppose he has a soul, does he?" he said, not trying to keep his voice down.

Dawn looked at Spike. "No, he doesn't." Then she turned to Connor. "But I told you, he's okay."

Connor raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You're friends with him?"

Spike could've punched him for the way he said the word friend, and the way he looked down on him. But the git wasn't worth the pain it would cause in his head. Besides, Dawn was watching.

Dawn looked at Connor intently. "Yes, I am. He's one of my closest ones, as a matter of fact." She spoke slowly and clearly, as if to make sure the words got through him.

"Well, you know what you're doing," he said, calmly, but glaring at Spike, "still, I'm shocked. After all, he ain't any vampire. He's William The Bloody."

Spike would've been proud, or even flattered, if he didn't disliked the bloke so much. Still, he couldn't help but make a comment about it. "Heard about me, have you?"

"Well, you're quite popular back in LA. Angel hates you, Cordelia hates you. Hell, a few minutes ago, I even thought all Summers girls hated you, too."

Spike looked at Dawn, shocked and confused. The girl's eyes widened. "Connor!" she hissed at him. The boy just shrugged, glaring with a triumphal look at Spike.

"Dawn?" Spike whispered to her. She just looked at the floor, not knowing what to say.

"Dawn!" a thick voice cut the air. "These drinks aren't getting served by their own," Luke's voice was calling from the other side of the club, "so I suggest that you come here and do it for them!"

Spike saw Dawn let out a sigh of relief. She risked one last glance at them, before walking away.

That hadn't finished, though. He planned on having a talk to the girl as soon as he could get her alone.

Meanwhile, he occupied himself on glaring at the man in front of him. Connor glared back.

Pale-blue eyes glared at gray ones for what seemed like hours. Then, as if he had gone mental, Connor started to laugh. Hysterically. Spike was annoyed by this, and glared even more. This made Connor to laugh harder. They fell in an endless circle: Connor laughed, Spike glared.

Until Spike finally had it. "What the hell is so bloody funny?!" he almost yelled.

Connor finally managed to control himself, though a few chuckles escaped while he talked. "Okay, look. There's nothing between me and Dawn, if that's what you're so worried about."

I'm not worried about that, you idiotic asshole, I'm worried about the history, Spike though, bitterly. The history you and her share, and I bloody don't. He didn't tell him this, though.

"I'm not worried about you." That, he did say.

Connor rolled his eyes. "Self centered, are we?"

"Whatever." Spike really didn't want to talk to the son of the most annoying persons he knew, who, besides everything, happened to had a past with Dawn.

He turned around and started walking to the exit. He'd talk to Dawn some other time, but right now he really needed to get out, away from him.

His luck wasn't the best, though. In his way out he bumped into Dawn, who instantly guessed his intentions of leaving.

"Where are you going?" she asked, confused.

"Home."

"But it's still early."

Spike shrugged.

She bit her bottom lip nervously. "Spike?" The question shined in her eyes, and he almost lost control. Almost.

"Look, I'm just tired, okay?" he said, a little bit more harshly than he meant.

She looked at the floor, then at him. "I just... I thought that... well, I-" Spike looked at her intently. He knew what she was talking about, but his pride took the best of him. She sighed. "Nothing. Forget it."

He looked at her a little bit more. Then, he took off.

Almost in the exit, he looked back. Dawn was already chatting with Connor again.

He had been jealous. He saw it now. Making his way through the empty streets, as rain started to fall.

And now, it was driving him crazy. The thought of Dawn with Connor, back in the club, or back in her dorm, or wherever they were. He shouldn't have left, but if he hadn't, it would've been very likely that the chip in his head wouldn't have stopped him from doing some physical damage to the git.

But he just couldn't stand there, in the middle of the street, doing nothing. That couldn't be healthy. Not that he got ill or anything, he was a vampire after all, but anyway.

He lit a cigarette and started walking back to the club. As the smoke came in and out of his un-breathing lungs, he started to relax a little.

A thunder sound far away. It would start raining soon. As he reached the club, he noticed that it was late now. The crowd outside it had began to disperse. But it was still open. He thought Dawn might still be there.

He walked past the crowd towards the back door; Ernie already knew him, anyway. But when he reached it, Ernie wasn't there. He looked at the door, hesitantly. Then he snapped. I'm a vampire. I'm evil. I don't care about rules, he said to himself. Shrugging, he pulled the door open and made his way in.

The crowd inside the club was very mild by now. A couple of drunk people lying on the floor. Some couples making out in a corner, and a few others dancing lazily. Luke was still there. And in the moment he heard the door open, his head shot to it. Spike saw the barman's eyes roll when he saw him.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked, rudely.

"Haven't come to see you, that's for sure," Spike answered in the same tone. "Where's Dawn?"

Suddenly, a nasty grin appeared in Luke's face. "She already left. Like an hour ago," then, his grin widened and a scary glint shined in his eyes, "with a dude. A tall, dark-haired, handsome guy. They looked really friendly, if you know what I mean."

Spike's eyes narrowed. Then, without saying another word, he left.

It didn't take long for Spike to lit another cigarette. He had stopped smoking so often since he had starting hanging with Dawn again. She said she was trying to quit it, even if she didn't smoke a lot, and Spike smoking all around her would be a temptation. But there was no way he could calm down, think straightly, without a cigarette right now.

The rain started falling twenty minutes after Spike had left the club. What started as a mild rain, suddenly became a storm.

Spike found himself suddenly soaked. And so was his cigarette. He cursed to himself. He didn't even try to lit another one. There was no use.

Spike wandered like that for what seemed eternities. The street was now almost empty. The rain kept falling, hardly, and it was now really late. Almost dawn. He couldn't really see the sun rising, for the clouds kept away any sight of it, but he could tell nonetheless.

He head back lazily to the crypt. A feeling of emptiness stayed in his stomach all the way back.

About half dozen of beers later, and a few of brain cells less, Spike realized that he might had made a mistake. Maybe -just maybe- if he hadn't let his pride got the best of him, and he had stuck around in the club, and just ignored Connor, then, maybe, Dawn wouldn't have left with that bloke.

But nah, it was his drunken cells speaking, that couldn't be right. Of course, he happened to think better when he was drunk.

But his head hurt way too much, and the rain clouds had gone by now; so, at the moment, there was nothing much he could do. Well... there was the telephone he had installed, and only used to call her, but it was so far from where he was laying right now.

How much more he slept, Spike never knew. It had been a long time since he last slept all day long. The small watch attached to his wrist, ticking beneath his ear, told him it was already 8:30, or so.

He sighed and sat up. He put on his black duster and headed to the door. But a thought stopped him mid way. Maybe he should call. He wanted to make a nice impression, now that he had to, and didn't want to appear rude by just showing up in her dorm door.

He grabbed the phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?" an eager voice replied.

"Um, hi. Is Dawn there?" he said, awkwardly.

"Oh, it's you." The voice sounded disappointed. Spike recognized it as Alicia's.

"Huh?"

"Spike, right?" she said.

He nodded, until he remembered that she couldn't see him. "Yes."

"Uh... Dawn isn't here," she said, kind of awkwardly.

Where could she had gone? It wasn't a working day for her, and she had classes the next day. She wasn't the kind that stays home, though, but anyway. "You know where she went?"

"Uh... well," Alicia said, uncomfortably. Or at least he thought she sounded like that, "She... she went out, with a friend."

Spike felt his stomach sink. "Connor," he muttered coldly, more to himself than to her. Still, she heard.

"You know?" she said.

Spike closed his eyes. "Yeah... you know at what time she'll arrive?"

"Er, no. I don't think she'll take much longer, though. You want me to tell her to call you?"

Spike thought for a moment. "No. But could you tell her I called?"

"Sure." There was something in her voice. Was it... pity?

"Thanks." Then, they hung up.

*-*-*

It just wasn't the same as it used to be. And after a whole day spent with Connor, she should know. It wasn't like he wasn't nice or something like that -he was, he has such a gentleman and funny and everything-, but it just wasn't the same.

Maybe she had grown out of his seriousness, even if he got a little funny and teasing sometimes. Or maybe she had changed and he hadn't.

Or maybe who she really wanted was Spike.

It wasn't that she didn't like Connor, but maybe she didn't like in that way anymore. She knew what she wanted. She wanted Spike. Then why was she here? Why did she let him go last night? Why was she lying to Connor? She knew why he was here, what he expected from her. He expected something that she couldn't give, because Spike had already taken it. Then, why was she putting them both through this? Why had she agreed to go out with Connor, in the first place?

She had to be honest. With Connor, with Spike. With herself.

Connor was talking, but she wasn't paying attention. Of course, eventually he noticed that.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked, concerned.

She sighed deeply. Then, looked at his beautiful gray eyes, shining. She couldn't do this. Not now, anyway.

She looked away and shook her head. "No, I'm just a little tired. Maybe we should head back, I've classes tomorrow."

He nodded, and they starting walking away in silence.

A/N- Wow! I never thought I'd finish this chapter. I've been writing it for more than two weeks... seriously! I just couldn't finish it... but now it's done. I hope you enjoyed it. Oh, yeah, and also I know I made Connor too cheaful and friendly and that he's really like so serious, but just pretend that he's grown up now, and changed a little, right? Right.

Don't get angry or anything... but I think the next chapter will also take a long time to get up, I have exams coming up, then final exams and in top of it all, is the opening of our school play, so we're mad with rehearsals and costumes and all of that. Please don't kill me! I swear it'll be up as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, review!