Spike walked slowly, hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat, smiling to himself. He heard her soft cries over in his head and kicked his boot against the sidewalk. He'd had to fight the urge to continue touching her...he'd teased her almost to her breaking point and knew that if he'd continued his ministrations, she would have given in. But he cared about her, respected her.
He felt for her in a way he never felt for Buffy. Sure, he could have, if Buffy would have let him. He adored her. But Dawn adored him, and he was starting to feel for her in a way he had only felt for his Dru. Not as strongly, of course...no one could ever compare to her, but, if anything, it was stronger than his feelings for Buffy.
Plus, he added to himself, I actually get on well with the Nibblet, which is more than I can say for the Slayer. I can talk to her...I care about her. Need her.
This was new to him; sure he wanted her, had feelings for the girl, but needed her? The thought was foreign to him. He wasn't saying he loved her; that was a big step, and he wasn't one of those wankers who professed their love to every girl they felt something for. In all of his hundred and twenty-eight years, he'd confessed to loving three people; Cecily, back when he was too young and stupid to know what love was...he cringed, remembering his life as a poet, thinking, Imagine if I hadn't died...Then his thoughts turned to Dru, his killer, his savior, the one he'd loved more than anything. He cursed the sodding Slayer for driving her away...
The Slayer, Buffy, the most recent love of his unlife, who rejected his feelings like the plague, as if they might somehow contaminate her, claiming that they weren't even real. Damn bitch, trying to tell him how he felt. He still loved her, he knew that, but that love was fading...he had never really been in love with her; not the way he had been with Drusilla. That was love...Spike wondered if he could ever have anything like that with the Slayer's little sister...a few months ago, that would have been laughable, but now he wasn't so sure...
He ran a hand through his hair, trying to sort out his emotions. He noticed he had ended up near the Bronze and decided to stop for a drink.
As he stepped inside, the blaring music a drastic difference from the tranquility outside, his thoughts returned to Buffy. He knew she would never accept his feelings towards her sister. He saw the way she tried to protect Dawn from everything...and she wouldn't even let herself get close to Spike. There was no way she would let the Nibblet. He knew he'd find a way though; if he was anything, it was persistent. He wasn't going to let the Slayer stand in the way of what he wanted, especially when he knew Dawn wanted it, too.
He sipped on his beer, glancing around at all the people, dancing, drinking, talking. He thought to himself, I'm sitting here brooding like Angelus with his bleeding soul! I could be enjoying myself.
With that, he finished off his beer, spotted a pretty redhead standing all alone, and stalked gracefully towards her, the pulsing rhythm of the music in his ears. When she noticed him, she smiled shyly and he grinned slowly, thinking, perfect. He licked his lips and looked at his unwary victim. She was wearing tight fitting jeans and a sparkling top. She had curves in all the right places, and her clothes accentuated her slender form. From her manner, he could tell she was shy, but at the same time he sensed that he could have a very good time with her.
"Hello, gorgeous," he murmured in his most seductive voice. Her smile grew wider and she blushed. "What's a pretty thing like you doing here all alone?" He feigned a look of sympathy.
"Oh, I'm not," she replied, obviously excited by his attention. "I'm here with friends. Are you British?" she added as an afterthought.
"Course, luv. But I do regret having spent so much time over there, when I could've been here with women like you." He brushed his fingers lightly against her arm. She glanced down at his hand and her eyes widened, then she looked back up at him and bit her lip. Nervously, she brushed a strand of flaming hair behind her ear and tried to smile.
"Y' know, I bet my friends wouldn't mind if I.....left for a while. We could hang out."
He noticed her eyes wandering over him approvingly and smirked. He wasn't sure if she had the same thing in mind as him, but he wanted to do more than 'hang out'. He grabbed her hand to lead her away, then turned back to her.
"What's your name, pet?"
"Oh, me? My name's Dawn."
His grin faded. "Right. Dawn, is it? Well, nice t' meet you Dawn..." he released her arm. "I'd ask you t' dance, but...my girlfriend's waiting," he said, all traces of seduction now gone.
The girl looked hurt, and he couldn't help thinking that back in the old days, someone like her would have been dinner. Spike turned and pushed past the crowd of people thronging around the exit. As he breezed out into the night, he thought, Can't even have a dance anymore without being reminded of Nibblet. Then, he thought about how he would've much rather danced with his Dawn anyway.
* * *
Dawn lay in her bed, her entire body still tingling from Spike's touch. She sighed, somewhat regretful about not letting him continue his caresses. It had felt so good; she had never imagined kissing could feel that way, making her tingle in places other than her lips...
She reached up to toy with her necklace, a habit, and found it gone. Fearful, she sat up and looked around. She felt around on her bed and checked on the floor. Finding it nowhere, she began to panic. As she searched all over her room, she found Spike's silver lighter near her window. She paused, pocketing the small reminder of him and continued her search. After several fruitless minutes she sat on her bed, devastated. Where could it have gone? She'd had it...she'd been wearing it...
She thought about doing a locating spell, but was too tired. Can you do a locating spell on objects? she wondered. Maybe she'd ask Willow to do one...tomorrow. She turned out the lights and crawled under the covers, inhaling the still lingering scent of Spike. She twirled the lighter in the air, keeping it suspended with the power of her thoughts, and for the first time in over a month, wondered about her newfound power and how it came so easily to her. The thought was a simple one, but it stroked a burning curiosity within her, and suddenly, she had to know. She fell asleep with the question on her mind, the lighter in her hand, and images of Spike behind her closed eyes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Once again, thanks for all the reviews. I got lots! Luv you all!! I only got one negative review for the last chapter so it mustn't have been that bad....I'll continue to post, you continue to review....deal??
I stole the "Hello, gorgeous." from an episode in Season 4, possibly my most favorite Spike quote ever! Spike and his gorgeousness....*sigh*