(A/N: LOL!! Sorry for scaring you guys with my previous notes. I can be a lil' insane and well, evil sometimes **snickers** Anyway, thank you for the reviews and don't forget to keep doing it, kay ;) )

Chapter 9: A Spark Of Jealousy

A month went by real fast and Buffy thanked heaven for that. She couldn't stand running into Angel with his wounded puppy eyes. Her mind kept blaming her for breaking his heart so cruelly. But come to think of it, it was Angel who gave her the ultimatum and she didn't really have many choices.

She never filled Spike in on the real reason for their break-up. Fortunately, he never pushed her to talk about it either. That was one of the things she loved about him. He believed that whenever she was ready, she'd come around and pour her heart out to him.

On the other hand, Spike kept shooting death glares at the brunette whenever he saw him. If it weren't for Buffy who made him promise not to harm him, he would have sent that git to hospital by now. Nothing could terrify him but Buffy's anger explosion. He knew he was whipped, even though they weren't a couple. But he cared for her too much to make her not talk to him for months.

As the time for Angel and Drusilla back to their countries came up, Buffy gave a brief goodbye and an awkward hug to Angel on his last day. Spike didn't even bother to see Drusilla for the last time since she was too busy making out with as many guys as she could before she left. 'That slut!' Buffy seethed when she caught her kissing a guy hungrily near the girls' bathroom.


*****

Spike was reading a newspaper on the couch with the telly on. He flipped the pages several times until he found something remotely interesting to read. He chuckled at the headline, 'Real life ugly duckling. A mother gave birth to 7 babies at once, 6 normal and 1 with four arms'.

Buffy saw the brief smile pass over Spike's handsome face. He seemed to enjoy his reading and she grinned wickedly at that. She just looooved making Spike annoyed when he tried to relax. She walked quickly towards him, jumped and crashed herself on his lap, making the newspaper crumple. Spike, who didn't see it coming, jumped a little from his seat, then groaned at Buffy's amused face.

"Hey, what's up?" Buffy's grin widened from ear to ear. Her arms clung to his neck.

"Buffyyy...Can't you see I'm reading here??" Spike was already irritated.

Buffy looked at the crumpled newspaper he was still holding for a brief second. Her face turned to look innocent.

"Wow! I didn't know you read the newspaper. Is this some kind of the new and improved Spike?"

"Nooo...it's the kind of I'm-trying-to-enjoy-my-time-so-sod-off Spike!" Spike gave a fake smile.

Buffy scrunched her eyebrows as if she were thinking of something serious. She then shook her head at him. "Hmm....I haven't heard of that kind of Spike. Is it new? Where did you get it?" Buffy's face now turned into a fake excited one.

Spike groaned again, he tossed the newspaper to the coffee table in front of him. "Buffy, what do you want?" He was getting real impatient, his face had a bored look on it.

"Nothing..." Her face turned to be innocent again. "Well except this party going on this Friday at the Bronze and I don't have anyone to go with since Willow is obviously going with Xander and I so do not want to be their third wheel and since you're free...so, come with me!" Buffy finished her overly long sentence with a hopeful wide smile, displaying her perfectly white teeth.

Spike heaved his sigh. This chit was impossible! If she weren't practically family to him, he would have thrown her out of his house before she could finish her babble. He hung his head down but was soon held up by Buffy's hands on each side, turned to face her.

"Please Spike...pleasepleaseplease..." She pleaded, her hands shook his head momentarily, making his face crumpled. Spike just rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I'll go with you."

"Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Buffy kissed his chiseled cheek real hard, causing Spike to scrunch his face.

"Now move! My show is on!" Buffy moved from Spike's lap and put a couch pillow on it for her head to rest on. Spike instinctively mussed her strands with one hand while his eyes glued on the screen.


*****

The music was thumping really hard, making every patron's eardrums crack.

The male singer was screaming at the top of his lungs while he squinted his eyes, covering his eyeballs from the overly bright stage lights. The club was mostly filled with over-raging hormone teenagers. Every single corner of it was occupied by couples sucking face.

Buffy squeezed herself into the crowd as she made her way to the teen couple that was seated around the table, near the stairs. She held Spike's hand tightly as he trailed behind. She surely anticipated with tonight's event by dragging him along to make sure he wouldn't miss the excitement she felt. One of the bands that were playing tonight was her favorite one. It was called 'Dingoes Ate My Baby'.

"Hey, you made it!" Willow piped up when she saw her two best friends had arrived.

"'Course we did. Has my 'band' played yet?" Buffy secretly wished that she'd arrived before the club opened. She wouldn't miss her favorite band for the world.

"No, not yet. But I think it's their turn now." Willow tilted her head to point to the stage where the next band had just walked on and was preparing for their gig.

"OOH!! YAY...GO OZ!!!" Buffy squealed as she cheered at the electric blue haired boy who was holding his bass guitar. The said person looked up and smiled briefly at her.

Everyone in that table was smiling at her behavior. They knew she had a crush on the blue spiky haired musician ever since they had their first gig at the Bronze. Too bad he already had a girlfriend. Buffy looked around the packed club. His girlfriend must be here somewhere. She never missed his gig at all, just like Buffy never missed it either. She smiled briefly as soon as she spotted a shoulder length brunette on the table right in front of the stage. Damn, she always got the best view! Feeling someone staring at her, she turned around and smiled back at the blonde head. She whispered briefly at her friend's ear, then hopped down from the stool and started walking towards Buffy.

"Hey, B! You're here. Looking good tonight!" She offered a wide grin to her. Buffy flashed a grin back.

"Thanks, Faith! Wouldn't miss your boyfriend's gig for the world!" Buffy tried to find courage to introduce herself to the band since they had their first gig, and she did. The members of the band were quite nice to her, especially Oz. Even though he never had many expressions to be shown, he was still her favorite one. She was a little upset when he introduced his girlfriend, Faith. But she'd gotten over it once she found herself quickly blend in with her. The slim figure, who was one inch taller than her, was an easygoing woman. She never tried to scare her boyfriend's fans away or threaten them. Instead, she simply gave a warm smile to every fan her boyfriend introduced.

The rest of them turned their heads to the stage as the band started playing the tune. Faith excused herself to go back to her original seat. "I'm gonna go for a smoke. Be back in five minutes." Spike announced it straight to Buffy's ear, knowing that the music empowered the club, it would be impossible to say something if it was not right to her eardrum. Buffy only nodded, her eyes still attached on the stage.

The drum sound was blaring throughout the club once the hard rock music was tuned. It had been more than ten minutes, she realized. Where could he be? He usually went straight to their table once he finished one good long fag. He knew Buffy was allergic to cigarette smoke, that's why he went outside for her sake. Another ten minutes passed and the band just ended its last song. Where the hell was he? Buffy looked around as she asked the teen couple in front of her.

"Have you seen Spike? Where is he?" she muttered under her breath. The teen couple that was gazing into each other's eyes broke their contact.

"No. He'll be back soon," Xander said casually. He draped an arm around his girlfriend's seat as he leaned back to his own. His eyes started searching around for the bleached boy, attempting to help his friend, who was in wonder.

Willow, on the other hand, stared at the worried blonde girl. 'What was she so worried about?' She stepped out of her wonderment after she spotted the peroxide head approaching a beautiful blond figure. "There he is!" Willow stopped her best friend's search, pointing at the black clad boy with her tiny index finger.

Buffy's gaze followed the angle her friend's finger pointed and landed on the person she'd been worried about. Her lips broke into a smile but soon twisted into a frown. There, Spike was making his way to a slender blonde head. The girl who was approached gave a coy smile to him. He leaned forward to whisper something in her ear and she laughed at it.

Buffy puckered her brows at the scene. She knew he ended his last relationship earlier than she did. But wasn't it too soon to start a new one?? No. This wasn't about it. This was about something else. What was it?

She kept staring at them while they were deep into conversation. That blonde girl certainly looked nice. Unlike Drusilla, with only one glance, Buffy knew she'd never like her. This girl was totally opposite of Drusilla, so she didn't have the right to hate her. She was quiet sweet and Spike seemed to enjoy her companionship. But then, there was still this thing...this thing that made Buffy feel the need to hate her. Her blood was beginning to boil. Her face burned slightly red, but not from flushing. It was from anger. But why?? Then there was a tinge... a tinge of... jealousy??? Waaaitttt a minute!! Where did that come from?? Buffy felt a frustration from her inner monologue.

She grabbed her purse and got up. "I'm going home." She stated without looking at the teen couple.

"Shouldn't you wait-"

"No." She cut Xander off while she stomped her boots towards the exit door. Xander stared at her retreating form, then glanced at the blonde couple.

"Do you think she's...?" His voice trailed off.

"Yeah, I think she is." Both Willow and Xander chuckled at the petite blonde who was vanishing through the exit door.

to be continued