Star Struck
Author: Callie
Summary: If you don't know what the story is about by now then I feel deeply sorry for you.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Distribution: If you want it you can have it.
Authors Note: Here's the second part of Chapter Four ~ The Date hope you like.
Feedback: I crave it….feed my habit.
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Chapter Four (part 2) ~ The Date
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(Friday 6:32 pm)
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Spike leaned back in the chair, his eyes roaming the ceiling, looking for anything to distract him from the searching eyes of Buffy's parents.
After he had finally gained his voice back after seeing her he had been unable to resist kissing her.
The biggest mistake of his life.
The second he pulled away from Buffy her mother had sent the girls upstairs to get something and escorted Spike to the living room, Buffy's step father following closely behind him.
He quickly shifted his eyes to Joyce when she cleared her throat demurely.
"Now, William. It's clear to me after that little…display at the door that you and my daughter are closer than Rupert and I had anticipated. Now, if I may be so blunt in asking, just how far your relationship has gone?" Joyce cut right to the point, her smile warm although her eyes held a edge that Spike hadn't seen on his first visit.
He nervously cleared his throat, suddenly wishing that he hadn't worn his duster, it was suddenly very hot in the house. "Well, Mrs. Summers, I can honestly say that I have never taken advantage of Buffy nore do I intend to." He relented, hoping that it was enough for the couple.
It wasn't.
"That's very comforting, Mr. Edwards. But I'm afraid that my wife and I are still a bit on edge. You are older than Buffy, much older in fact, and as a celebrity I admit your record is seemingly well, but we don't know you very well, and even though she may think she does, Buffy doesn't know you very well either. Especially if you two have or are planning on being intimate." The older British man said, a protectiveness for the blonde in his voice. It made Spike smile.
"Well, no disrespect sir, but I am only 23 years old, 24 in august, and as I understand it Buffy will be 18 very soon. So she's not a little girl. And yes, I do have a very clean record, no drugs, no violence but I'll be the first to admit that I have gotten a bit pissed on occasions. And I do have rather nasty habit of smoking. But I am generally good guy. Now as for the idea that Buffy doesn't know me, I would disagree. Contrary to what you might think I'm not all about sex. Me and your eldest have had quite the time to chat . And that was all we did. I admit we have shared the occasional kiss, as you've seen, but that's all. I know she's not experienced and I'm not going to make her or pressure her into anything, she's too special for that." Spike said this with the air of a man discussing the weather.
Joyce and Giles looked both shocked and pleased, but before they could respond they heard thundering foot steps from the stairway. Buffy stood at the bottom, her jacket over her shoulders her hands on her hips and a pout on her face.
"If your done torturing him now can I have him back please…we're gonna be late." She said sullenly, her pout extending when they all laughed.
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(Friday 7:15 pm)
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"So then Jessie said 'You're shitting me. There is no way that he asked you out.' Willow just smiled and the next morning Jessie came to school and never said another word about it. Turns out Willow had Oz call him that night at home and ask him if wanted to sit in a recording session with you guys. He still can't speak in complete sentences in front of Wills. Did you know they've been on seven dates in the past week and half? I swear when you guys start touring next month she's gonna bust a vein. I think she really cares about Oz. It's gonna crush her." Buffy's angelic voice drifted off, she turned her head away from him and stared out the window. Her thoughts going back to what her Mom had said earlier that day.
She sighed inwardly, then shook herself, she didn't want to think about what would happen when Spike stopped calling her. She was with him now, which was of the good. She'd wait to be all depressed when it happened.
"Hey can I flip on the radio?" She asked Spike, turning her head to look at him and catching him staring at her. "What?" She asked self-consciously.
"Nothing. Just thinking how lucky I am to be out with such a beautiful woman." He answered honestly.
Buffy rolled her eyes and snorted despite the flattered blush that crept up her neck.
"Yeah. I'm the 17 year old Sunnydale High cheerleader reject going out to the movies with one of 'the 50's sexiest men alive' and you're the lucky one. Maybe in the bazaar world." Buffy teased gently, reaching over and flipping on the radio. Spike was so distracted by the cleavage that her position revealed to realize what she was doing until he heard her burst out laughing as the sounds of the CD filled the car.
Spike froze.
Buffy howled.
And Justin Timberlake continued to attempt to sing.
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(Friday 7:45 p.m.)
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"I can top that. Third grade. I ha the biggest crush on the guy next door, Riley. So one day when he was at work I skipped school, mowed his lawn, watered his flowers and fed his dog. So when the guy gets home he sees his choppy lawn, drowned plants and his dog throwing up, then he runs into the house call 911 and demanded to know who vandalized his home. I was so humiliated I stayed in my room for weeks and I never waved at him again. Eventually he moved away, thank god he never found out." Buffy trailed of giggling slightly even though her cheeks were flaming at the memory of the guy yelling to the top of his lungs about hoodlums.
For the past half hour, ever since Spike begrudgingly admitted to being a shameful closet N*sync fan, they had been exchanging 'Most embarrassing Moments'
"There was this one time, me and Dru were out at this fancy restaurant in Beverly Hills and I remember it was right after the first album was realized and I was getting quite a bit of attention. And since Passions had just aired for the first time that week, Dru was pretty much ignored. Well after about the seventh squealing teenage girl cam up asking for my autograph she was pretty pissed. So finally up comes this model type woman, and she just completely brushed Dru off, trying to really lay on the charm. So here she is smirking at me and all that stuff and meanwhile Druscillia is spitting fire, I think I actually saw her eyes turn yellow at one point. Then as the girl was leaving she spins back around really quick and just plants this hard kiss right on my lips. I was to shocked to do anything. When she finally did leave Dru told me to go fuck myself and stormed out of the restaurant. It took me three weeks, seven dozen roses and a new car just to get her to except my phone calls." Spike chuckled loudly as he remembered the petulant look on Dru's face when he finally got her to meet him for dinner. She had milked it for all it was worth.
Buffy seemed to read his mind. She sighed and looked at him. "She really had you, didn't she?" He turned to face her quickly, searching her face for disgust or pity. But all her eyes expressed was curiosity. He sighed loudly and shook his head. "Yeah, she did. I was with her for five years. But it only took her five minutes to make me devote myself to her completely. She was older than me, beautiful, exotic, and sexy plus my Father hated her. All reasons for me to worship her. She was in college when I met her. Me and Lindsay had just started the band and I had been rejected by my high-school crush, Cecily Adams. When I first met her she was so mysterious and was always talking in riddles, her eyes far off. At the time I thought it was endearing, now when I see her around, it's just disturbing."
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(Friday 8:55pm)
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Buffy grinned as the car sped past the brightly lit buildings. L.A was actually pretty cool when you got down to it. It would never compare to the pollution-free air of good old Sunnydale but it did have its appeal.
She and Spike had talked rapidly all the way to the city. But for some reason, Spike had gotten a bit quiet when they turned off onto the exit that led to LA He seemed almost nervous. Which seemed really odd to her, considering he hadn't been nervous at any other time that they had been together.
Every mile that they passed he seemed to get a bit paler and quieter, only responding to her questions and comments with simple a 'yeah, sure' and 'that's nice' or once when she asked him what was wrong he had said 'glad to hear it, pet'.
"So," Buffy said, once again trying to make conversation, "What movie are we going to see?" But that obviously was the wrong thing to say because he seemed to start choking on his own tongue. "Spike? What's wrong with you?" She asked with a cross between annoyance and concern.
He cleared his throat and smiled weakly, keeping his eyes trained on the road in front of him. The traffic seemed quite heavy for so early in the evening. "Well, pet. See that's the thing, we, uh, we're going to see 'Sweet Home Alabama'." He hinted, waiting for her to make the connection. It didn't take her that long.
"Wait a minute. That's isn't supposed to come out for like two months." She stated confused. Spike nodded slowly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed heavily. "Yeah. That's right." But that's all he said, not wanting to admit what an idiot he was.
Buffy let out a chuckle, then licked her lips, turning to face him, her knee propped up on the leather seat, her face amused, her eyes however weren't all that happy. She laughed lightly again, winced slightly and pursed her lips. "Okay, we're going to a movie tonight, in L.A, that doesn't open in theaters for almost two months? I'm in a car with one of the most famous men in America, on a Friday night and we are on our way to see a movie that hasn't been released yet. Hmm. So I have two options here. Either I ate way too much chocolate before bed last night or you forgot to mention one very important detail to me. Now I'm thinking that it was the latter because I'm allergic to chocolate and I haven't had any dreams since I was twelve. So, Spike, what do you think? Am I have a once in a life time dream after eating something that makes me break-out or did you just royally screw me over?" Buffy's voice never once cracked, her smile didn't leave her face, but every second her eyes got a little bit darker.
Spike laughed harshly, then tried to cover it up with a loud cough.
"Well, luv, that's the thing. We, um, we're going to a, uh, Premiere. So, um, Surprise!" Spike admitted sheepishly, still looking at the road, refusing to even spare a glance at Buffy.
"Surprise?" Buffy repeated numbly. She couldn't believe it. There was no way she could believe that she was on her way to a Hollywood premiere. With a fucking rock star, no less. " So, when you called me, and asked me out. You just happened to forget to mention to me that we were going to a major event? It just slipped your fucking mind?" Buffy asked, her voice rising with every word.
Spike turned to her quickly, shocked by her harsh language. Then he seemed to think better of it and put his eyes back on the road. "Luv, you have to understand, I didn't tell you because I thought it would be better if you thought it was just a regular thing. I know how nervous you get. I didn't want you to be self-conscious." He tried to explain, but that seemed to set Buffy off even more.
"You actually think this is better on me? How fucking dense are you? I got dressed for the MOVIES! Not for a major Hollywood event, you prick. You don't wear this," she said loudly, gesturing to her new outfit 'to a Premiere, you wear this,' she once again pointed at her clothes," to the mall! You wear a nice, ten thousand dollar dress to a premiere, not a outfit that cost 100 dollars." She flopped back down into the leather seats, her shoulders slumped her face contorted to keep from crying. She had never been so humiliated.
"Buffy, sweetness, look I know your pissed that I, well, lied, but you look smashing, pet. And no one there will be wearing a dress that cost ten thousand dollars. If they are then their bloody stupid. Everyone there will be dressed just like you and me. I swear it." He promised. "But if you want we can always make a quick stop and I'll get you a dress that'll cost so much it'll make my credit card melt. How about it?" He asked, his face serious, his eyes twinkling with humor.
Buffy chewed on her tongue, refusing to laugh, to crack a smile. She was mad, she would not smile. "I should hold you to that." She warned, still trying to fight a smile. Spike looked over at her, his brows raised in question. Finally she could fight it anymore and she cracked a tiny smile. "Maybe later." She said with a roll of her eyes. Spike sighed with mock-relief, making her laugh.
"I'll go, I'll make with the nice and try not to make a ass out of myself, but you just remember, you owe me big." She warned, her face serious. Spike mock-saluted her, then sighed inwardly, relieved that yet another apocalypse had been avoided.
He concentrated on the road for a few more minutes, enjoying the silence of the car for a while then he took a deep breath and spared her a side ways glance. "Now…about that party…."
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Friday 9:15 p.m.
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The black desoto pulled up further in the line of black limo's and Porsche's. After Buffy had stopped screaming, she had began to hyperventilate, then she had threatened to castrate Spike, then finally, once again she had caved and agreed to attend the party after the premier. But Spike had to swear to be totally honest with her from now on.
Then she had asked him if he had any more deep dark secret's about tonight that she needed to be forewarned about. Spike was very relieved to find that he hadn't lied about anything else.
And finally they had arrived at the Theatre and Buffy had begun to get nervous again. They're were so many people here. Hundreds, thousands maybe. Camera's were flashing everywhere, she could see the red carpet rolled out, leading to the entrance, and saw celebrities, stopping to take pictures, answer questions and a few stopped to sign autographs.
So far she had counted seven stars from her favorite Daytime television line up. Twelve musicians she listened to all the time, including Gwen Stephani with her fiancée' Gavin Rosedale, and Jewel. It was so amazing. People she had read about in magazines, and watched on t.v were now twenty feet in front of her.
When she saw Reese Witherspoon step from the car in front of them, and heard the thunderous applause she turned to Spike quickly and started to panic. "I can't do this. I can't go out there, with them!" She practically shouted, pointing to Reese and her husband Ryan as they paused in front of a large group of reporters to take a series of photo's.
"I mean being around you is one thing. I mean your cool, and funny, and treat me like a human. Their gonna laugh at me. It'll be worse than my flop at the school talent show last month. I can't do it. I'm 17 years old. I live in Sunnydale. I go to high-school, for Christ sakes. There is no way I can…" She stopped suddenly, her eyes wide.
They had finally pulled up to the stop, and the ushers were about to open her door. "Oh, shit." She whispered, locking her door on impulse. Spike chuckled at her then grabbed her hand, kissed it softly, and smiled. "You'll be amazing, luv. Don't worry. I promise you that they'll love you. Now I'm going to get out, come around and open your door. When we get out we'll walk down the carpet, now you are sure to be asked questions, and no doubt that the reports will want your picture and there is no way to escape the camera's, but just remember that your beautiful, you look amazing and you'll be just fine. It'll be over soon." Without waiting for her response, he took off his seat belt and opened his door, climbing out of the car. Buffy plastered herself against the seat, took a few quick breathes, closed her eyes and unlocked the door. When Spike opened the door for her she grinned up at him wearily, fighting the urge o puke all over his shoes, and climbed out of the car, with his help.
As warned, the crowed went wild. And shockingly Buffy could tell it wasn't just for Spike. The reporters immediately ran toward them, demanding to know her name, what her relationship with Spike was and who designed her outfit. Buffy clung to Spike, and burst into a fit of giggles.
She couldn't help it, it was so funny. These people fawning all over her because she was in public with a rock star. She couldn't wait to tell Dawn.
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Friday 9:25 p.m.
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Buffy smiled as she and Spike finally waved good-bye to the last reporter and they made it into the safety of the theater. She looked up at Spike and laughed. "That was so crazy. How do you do that all the time? I swear I've never had to repeat myself so many times before. I now think that every reporter in the free world knows what my shoe size is. " She said jokingly.
Spike smiled, gad that she'd taken to it so well. He was mainly surprised that she hadn't exploded when that one reporter asked her if she was just Spike's replacement for Dru. But she had handled it well, saying in a calm voice that she was no one's replacement for anything.
"You get used to it eventually, pet. I've been doing it for almost five years, after a while it becomes a habit. Just smile, know what to say and what no to say and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible." He said seriously. Buffy grinned and leaned a bit closer to him.
"Well, I'm just glad that I'll only have to do it once. No more public stuff for me." She said softly, knowing that this was more than likely the last time she would see Spike. After all they did start a year long tour in less than three weeks.
"What makes you say that, luv?" He asked a frown marring is chiseled face. She just looked up at him, a sad but amused smile on her face. "Common sense." She said simply, then before he could respond she eagerly pointed out a seat for them near the back and headed for it, leaving him to stare at her back confused.
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Friday 11:05 p.m.
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Buffy fastened her seat belt with a smile, snuggling back into the leather seats, he mind replaying the movie as Spike climbed into the drivers seat.
"Can you believe that movie?" She asked him excitedly. "It was so cool. Oh, I love that part at the end when she just dumped that rich, ugly guy and she's up by the front of the altar and she turns around and scream 'If you're a friend of the bride, stick around, She's gonna find her a groom." That was so funny." She laid back in the seat again with a blissful sigh. Then shot up again. "And that guy was so cute. I mean especially when he was all greasy and stuff. And did you see his eyes. How blue were they? I swear he could hypnotize you with those things. And he was so sweet and funny. And his southern accent was to die for. He sounded so country. " She sighed dreamily and once again sunk down into the seat a smile on her face.
"He wasn't that cute." Spike grumbled under is breath, a unpleasant scowl on his face. Buffy looked over at him, confused. "Huh?" She asked, having missed his words.
"Oh, nothing. Glad you enjoyed the view. After all, that's what we went for, so you could drool over the actors." He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and pulling his car from the line and onto the busy street.
Buffy grinned suddenly. She made a tiny 'awww' sound and giggled when he glared at her. "Your jealous." She said triumphantly. Spike looked offended. "I certainly am not." He insisted unconvincingly. "Oh, Spike, sweetie. I was just being a girl. You do realize that I'm 17. Basically I'm just a big ole' hormone bomb, any guy with in tight jeans and smile is gonna get some attention." She assured him smiling when he glared at her.
"Oh, you are just so funny, pet. Bloody hilarious." He groaned when she laughed, then he slammed down onto the gas, passing several cars. When Buffy squeaked it was his turn to laugh.
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Friday 11:30 p.m.
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Buffy's eyes almost fell out of her head as she looked up at the huge mansion in front of her. She had seen it before, in magazine's and on Crib's, of course but it looked ten times bigger then on t.v.
She groaned when once again Spike opened her door for her, helping her from the car.
When she saw the fence around back, closing in around the sounds of laughter and talking she sighed inwardly, it was gonna be long, long night.
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Friday, no wait Saturday 2:45 am
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Buffy looked up at the dark house. There was no way they were asleep. She knew it was a trap. They just wanted the house to look all innocent so she'd just come in thinking she was off the hook for coming home almost three house late.
She just knew they were sitting on the couch, scowls on their face's, waiting to attack the second she tried to sneak in.
She turned to look at Spike, smiling sheepishly. "Well, it's now or never, I guess. Time to face the horrible, music. This is gonna be ugly." She started to open the door, when Spike grabbed her wrist. She turned to look at him confused. "Don't I get a good-bye?" He asked with a pout.
Despite her fear at going into the house she smiled and leaned in to kiss him. She just gave him a soft, chaste kiss on the lips, but Spike had other idea's. He quickly turned the kiss from innocent to passionate. He grabbed the back of her head, playing with her hair as his tongue invaded her mouth.
Buffy, apparently deciding 'to hell with it', reinforced his demands with some of her own. She quickly left her own seat, coming over to share his.
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Saturday 3:15 am
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Buffy sighed miserably as Spike's car pulled away from the curb. Now there was no way to avoid it. No possible way for her to be distracted by his lips. She had to go into the house of doom and face her parents.
She had to suffer the consequences of coming home 3 hours late. She didn't bother to make opening the front door quiet, knowing that they would be waiting and would hear her no matter what. And as predicted, the second she stepped into the entrance hall of the house, slipping off her shoes, the living room light snapped on, her mother and Giles suddenly came into he vision. And they did not look pleased.
Joyce was the first to speak. "Well, Elizabeth, I'm so pleased that you were finally able to pry your lips away from William to join us."
Buffy winced. She walked slowly into the living room, sitting in the arm chair, opposite the couch in which her parents were sitting on.
Giles was the second to speak. "I hope you had a very good time, Buffy. Because it was the very last time you will see the outside world for a very long time."
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Saturday 12:34 pm
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Dawn looked at the door in front of her sadly. She hated to do it. She really did. But she had to. She couldn't let Buffy find out on her own. It would crush her if she showed up at school on Monday and was told by one of the other kids. It was her duty as a little sister to break it to her. And then be there to pick up the pieces.
She slowly raised her hand to knock. Cringing when the door swung open to reveal a glaring Buffy. "What?" Her sister barked. Apparently she hadn't taken to the whole grounded till marriage then very well.
"Um, Buffy I think, I know that you need to see this." Dawn stuttered, holding out the stack of papers for her sister to see. Buffy rolled her eyes, snatching the papers from Dawn's hand, and stalking back into the room and falling back onto her UN-made bed.
Dawn followed, her breathing erratic.
Buffy looked over the first paper, at first not really processing the words and pictures in front of her.
Then it hit her. Her. It was her. On the front page of every newspaper from here to New York. She was spread across the front page. Her. In her red halter and leather pants, clinging onto Spike like some two-dollar whore. Her smile cheesy and false.
The headlines read from 'Rock Star's newest conquest' to 'The Rich and Tasteless' one reporter had apparently stooped so low as to call her 'Hollywood's Latest Tragedy'.
She looked up at Dawn, her eyes brimming with tears. She blinked them back, then looked down at the papers that were now spread across her bed, then randomly grabbed one. She quickly skimmed through the article words like 'tamp', 'whore', 'gold-digger' and many more catching her eye. But her heart nearly stopped when she read the one line that really caught her mind was a quote…not one of the many things she had said to reporters last night, but something Spike had said.
It read:
'We have a exclusive quote from the singer himself. At last night's all-star premiere, William 'Spike' Edwards admitted to 'Star' reporter's that "I'm only with her for a 'good time'" he said with a very vulgar look and a wink. It's obvious to us and to many fans of the star that Buffy Summers is nothing more than a quick fling and will more than likely to be old news before the week is out.'
Buffy looked back up at her sister, a scowl on her face, all tears forgotten. "That son of a bitch."
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~TBC~
Now I warned you that there would be no sun shine and daises didn't I?
I can explain why this chapter is so extremely late. I have had a very busy and complicated week. I started my first job yesterday and have been in a very strange and complicated legal matter since Sunday. I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, but I figured I'd better post it so the hate mail would stop.
The next chapter should be up sometime next week.