Giles had kept Willow there for hours, trying to find references to any sort of demon or sorcerer or mythical thing that could affect souls. She'd looked over all sorts of webpages, and hacked into the data-bases of the Council of Watchers. She's had no luck, and they had reluctantly concluded that it had to be some sort of Dru-reference, a metaphor for something else. Giles had decided that he would try to find some information of the actual curse. Perhaps if they knew if it could be broken, if there were any clauses or loopholes, it would give them some idea what to look for.
Willow eventually made her escape from the library, staggering home at a very late hour, more very early morning than late by then. She let herself into the house, and collapsed onto her bed, not even bothering to take off any more than her shoes. Exhaustion claimed her, and she sank into sleep without any protest. If she dreamed, all memory of any fragment was gone in the morning.
School was a blur to her the next day. By the time it was over and Giles told her that she didn't need to help research tonight, the only other thing she could remember was that Buffy was still all cranky about Dru trying to talk to Angel. She managed to get home safely, and drank some juice while trying to work on her homework. She managed to finish the math, but the history defeated her, all the dates swimming together into a confused soup.
Considering how tired she felt, Willow considered the idea of not going to the coffee house. A few hours sleep and everything would be good... Shaking her head slightly, she decided that instead, she'd just go early and have a few coffees to drink instead. Coffee usually made her jittery and hyper, maybe in her current state it would manage to make her wake up? As added incentive, maybe that guy would be there again. That was the final deciding factor. Willow checked in the mirror, wanting to be sure she didn't have juice on her shirt or anything like that. She wore a fuzzy light blue sweater over a pair of faded blue jeans, no juice stains anywhere, good. With that final check, she was out the door headed for the coffee house.
Willow made it to the coffee house early enough that there was a choice of seating available. Buying herself two coffees, she moved to a small table in a little nook, a place that left her out of the main areas. She would still be able to hear the poetry, but it wasn't really a seat for people that wanted to be seen. It was actually a good place to study on the nights that there wasn't poetry readings. She began drinking her coffee, hoping to be awake for the evening, and hoping that he would show up again.
While Giles made determined efforts to learn as much as he could about the curse placed on Angel, he sent Buffy out to patrol, insisting that just because things had been fairly quiet did not mean all was well. He had also pointed out that things usually got quiet right before some powerful evil attempted a large scale plan.
There had been a frustrating amount of argument. Buffy had been hoping to go to the this poetry thing that Owen had mentioned. He was cute, and he seemed to like her, so Buffy had wanted to drop in and spend some time with him. But Giles was insisting that there was something going on, some big evil that had him all worried. She had finally relented, hoping to run into Angel on her patrol.
Buffy was pleased to find Angel lurking in one of the cemeteries. He had the expression that said he'd been brooding again. Buffy smiled at him taking his hand in hers, and smiled. "Hi there. Come here often?"
They had continued Buffy's rounds, although Angel was dwelling on the strange warning from Dru. Buffy was paying much more attention to Angel than watching for dangerous vampires or demons. Every time she was near him, she felt warm inside, and there was this humming feeling in her bones. It had to be love, it had to be a sign that they were perfect for each other.
After a while of walking, with Buffy holding Angel's arm, his other hand resting on hers, they found something a bit more active. Buffy could feel approaching vampires, their presence this irritating feeling, like her bones itched. She could hardly wait to kill them so she could resume her time with Angel.
A group of five minions attacked, young enough that they were reckless, still convinced that they were invincible. They snarled menacingly as they attacked, calling Angel a traitor to his kind, and thinking that Buffy was small enough that she couldn't possibly be a real threat. As they fought the minions, killing them with only minor injuries to themselves, Buffy and Angel's almost happy mood from earlier was broken, crumbling a little more with each punch and dodge.
By the time the last minion fell to the ground in a scattering of dust, Buffy was quite reminded that she was a Slayer. She didn't get to have a normal life, she had to go fight evil. She might not live long enough to find Mr. Right and have little children and a nice yard with flowers. She could be killed by some big evil, and there was a chance that anyone close to her could be injured trying to help her in her fight. Overall, it was a depressing thought. It wasn't helped by Angel's quiet statement.
"You're bleeding."
Looking up at him, she realized that he wasn't quite facing her, instead looking at the scattered dust of the minions. She felt a slight chill of unease when she realized that he could probably smell the blood. One of the more unsettling aspects of his being a vampire. She tried to smile at him. "It's just a little scrape. I'm gonna go home and take care of this and head over to the Bronze. Want to meet me there?"
Buffy smiled at him, and left the cemetery to get ready for the club. She'd patrolled, she'd slain some vampires, why not go dance a little, have some fun? She didn't have forever, why not have some fun while she could?
End part 15.
Angel watched as the last minion fell to dust. With it went the last shards of his little fantasy, that he and Buffy were just a normal, living couple out for a romantic moonlight stroll. He'd been trying to imagine that they were both normal, that she didn't have a destiny that would likely see her dead before twenty, that caused her to fight horrible evil, a destiny that meant he should be her mortal enemy. He'd pretended that he didn't have centuries of blood and pain on his hands, that he had a right to be happy, to try to find love and joy with a golden girl like a breath of sunlight into his dark world. He'd pretended that everything in him didn't tense when she was near him, as if his demon didn't howl for her blood
He could smell her blood right now, rich as fine brandy, laced with power and strength. She'd been eating a bit much sugar again, and could use a bit more iron, but if he tasted her, she would be wonderful... The thoughts reminded him just how human he wasn't, and the words were a soft murmur. "You're bleeding."
He knew she heard him. He could tell from the way she had tensed, just a little bit when he'd spoke. When he'd reminded her that he was a vampire. She'd tried to hide it, saying that she wanted to go dancing, inviting him to meet her there... But he knew that part of her didn't want that, didn't want to be near him. The part of her that made her the Slayer didn't want him anywhere near her, especially when she was bleeding. He watched as she made her retreat, although she'd disguised it well.
He might as well go home now. His almost good mood had been broken, he still had no idea what this dragon that Dru had mentioned was, was it a creature, an emblem, the name someone was using, or most disturbingly, could it be something that would cost him his soul? He shuddered, not from cold but from the thoughts of what would happen if his soul fled his body. He would try to kill Buffy, and torment her and her friends. Partly because it would hurt Buffy, partly because Xander and Cordelia just annoyed him. What about Willow? What would happen to Willow if his demon had free reign and several decades of frustration to burn away? Dismayed by the thoughts of what might happen to the cheerful, innocent redhead, he began his walk home.
He was brooding, both unhappy that Buffy had wanted to get away from him, and troubled by Dru's warnings. He didn't understand them; she hadn't made sense to him. He was certain that her visions had been easier to follow before...
"Hello, my Angel. You don't look very happy. Miss Edith says you've been playing with the taffy girl again. Taffy isn't good for you, it will rot your teeth, and then they will all fall out, and you won't be able to drink anymore." Dru was standing there, in another long pale gown. She was carrying her doll in her arms.
"Dru. Why did you come to Sunnydale, Princess?" He barely realized that he was regaining some of his Irish brogue, reminiscent of his time before. He had the feeling that whatever had brought her here was important, that he needed to know.
She tilted her head slightly, looking at him as if trying to see into his heart, or his thoughts. "It was time to go away, the fairies didn't want to play with us anymore. Then, I heard the little whispers... My Daddy was over the mouth, only you aren't my daddy anymore. Are you still my Angel, not-daddy? Will we have tea and cakes, and the little letters? They come in the little brown bags, and have such pretty colors... red and yellow and green and orange and brown."
Angel frowned, completely baffled by this mention of letters. What could that possibly be? The mouth... she had known he was over the hellmouth? "Dru, how did you know I have my soul back? And what's this about a dragon?"
Dru smiled, and walked over, placing her hands on his shoulder and hip, leaving Miss Edith resting on a tombstone. She began a waltz, leading him through the steps of the dance. "I hear little whispers in my sleep, the ghosts and moon and stars talking about their secrets. It was the little gypsy's granny, she was very cross with you and Mummy, so she did something, something very bad to hurt you both. Mum became very mean, she hurt princess and Spikey. I saw a dragon come along, and eat your shiny soul, and you were very naughty afterwards... You did very bad things, and there was fire and pain. I have to make certain the dragon doesn't eat your soul up."
Angel was trying to make sense of her words. The gypsy's granny... He flashed back to the gypsy girl that he and Darla had killed, and how her clan had cursed him with his soul. Something bad that had hurt him, oh yes, that had been painful. He hadn't realized that anything had happened to Darla as well. It sounded as if he was in danger of either loosing his soul or having it taken or eaten, leaving him evil again. Something about fire and pain that had made no sense. Dru didn't want his soul gone. That was unexpected.
"Dru, why is Spike here with you, what's in it for him?" There had to be something. Did Spike want to take over Sunnydale now that the Master had fallen? Would Buffy have to fight his childe?
Dru giggled, amused at her Angel's worries. "Spikey wants his new princess, the tree. He isn't mine, you know. I only borrowed him for a bit so that he'd be here for her when it was time. Now, it's time."
Angel could only try to puzzle out her words before whatever she was speaking of happened. Spike's princess, a tree. Spike was here to get someone? Spike and Dru weren't together anymore? He was feeling more confused all the time, especially by the way he was feeling so protective of Dru.
End part 16.
Spike wanted to see Willow again. Even if it meant going to poetry readings. He wanted her to be his, to have her charm and caring and passions all for his very own. If it meant going to hear people read poetry, then so be it. She was worth hearing bad poets. He was contemplating her brilliant green eyes when something attacked him. It was large, and green, with scales, and it seemed to want to kill him.
Spike fought back, and here were numerous blows exchanged, dodged or blocked before he finally managed to snap the thing's neck. His lip was spilt open, and his eye was already bruising, and he was certain that there were other bruises forming over his body as well. His leg had been ripped open, leaving him with a limp. His clothing was stained with his own blood and the greenish fluid that had flowed in the veins of his attacker.
Bloody hell, now he had to go change before he could meet Willow at the poetry readings. If he showed up like this... well that would just be a very bad idea. Things should go better if he didn't show up covered in red and green blood. He hurried back to the factory, cursing the green scaled thing and any relatives or descendants it possessed for interfering in his efforts.
By the time he'd returned to the factory and changed into a set of clean clothing, he knew he'd be late. By the time he'd made his way to the coffee shop where the readings was happening, he was almost an hour late. An entire hour.. he was worried that Willow would have given up on him, that she would think he never wanted to see her again. That she could have already left, or that there would be no seats anywhere near her.
He made his way into the building, moving through the people without to much difficulty. He was looking for Willow, and after a few very long minutes, he saw a flash of red from the corner of his eye. He discovered that it was Willow, tucked into this odd little corner, a bit off the normal path of people. He carefully made his way over, and found her at the little table, the second chair empty, and three empty coffee mugs on the table in front of her.
"Hey there, little red. Mind if I sit?" He wanted to see her look at him, wanted her to smile and blush and say that of course he could, or stammer or something.
She looked up, her eyes having this odd look that combined tiredness with jumpiness, and he realized that she had been drinking the coffee in an effort to stay awake. She looked at him, her eyes widening as she noted his split lip and swelling eye, and her mouth formed a silent startled 'oh'. She gestured with her hand, which trembled slightly.
He collapsed into the chair before she could rescind her invitation. She was looking at him, as if trying to puzzle him out, maybe trying to figure out how he'd been injured. There was something he couldn't quite read in her eyes, so many emotions.
"Forgot my manners the other night. I'm Spike. New to the area." He wanted her to like him, to talk to him, and he'd finally realized that he hadn't even remembered to introduce himself to her.
She looked at him, a little half smile on her lips. "I'm Willow. Too many coffees... umm are you English? What happened to your face... oh, that didn't sound nice, umm are you okay?"
Spike grinned a bit, the expression pulling on his lip and making him stop with a small wince. "Ran into some guy... don't know what his problem was, but he decided to try to beat me up. Got a few good hits in, he did. I'm well enough, don't think he'll be bothering me again." Spike edited his story slightly, leaving out the fact that the 'some guy' had been a green demon, and that he didn't think he'd be a problem again because he'd killed him.
She nodded slightly, looking thoughtful at his words. "Umm there's coffee or hot chocholate... tea if you want, I know Giles couldn't manage without his tea, but you aren't Giles, and you didn't even actually say if you were British... and I think I'm babbling again. umm shutting up now." Willow was blushing slightly, looking into her coffee cup as if it held the secrets of the universe.
"Originally British, from London, although I've done a fair bit of traveling. Not to much of a coffee person... you mentioned hot chocolate, do they have the little marshmallows to put in it?" He wanted to answer her questions, to make her talk to him. If she talked with him and enjoyed their talks, she would like him. Seeing her nod, he gave a smirk, "I'll just go get me a cuppa then, how about I take those empties up for you?"
The rest of the evening went fairly well in Spike's opinion. He learned that she hadn't got very much sleep last night, as she'd stayed up late trying to get some research done for a special project at school. She had said that she was sorry if she sounded a bit loopy, it was just not enough sleep and to much caffeine combined in her system. She'd smiled at him, a big, brilliant smile without the reservations and hesitation he'd expected. She was tired, she was less reserved, she was lovely...
He followed her home again, trailing her into the shadows to be certain that she made it home safely. He saw her go in the front door of her house. Spike didn't see her go out the back door, intending to look at the stars. Nor did he have any idea what would happen to her next.
End part 17.
Willow went into her house, her first thought that she should go to bed, she was tired. Then she remembered that there was supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. She let herself out the back door, moving into the back yard and sitting down so that she could watch for the falling stars. She was sitting there, naming the constellations as she waited, when a voice spoke, letting the redhead know that she was not alone in her yard.
"Can you tell me the name of that big bright star over there?" A voice spoke, softly accented, a woman's voice. A voice that Willow had never heard before.
She turned, eyes wide, and looked to see who or what was in her yard. There was an almost familiar dark haired woman in a long pale dress, holding a porcelain doll in one hand, and a small bag of M&M's in the other. A moments startled thought placed where the woman's face looked familiar from. She had seen her picture only a few days ago. "Drusilla?"
Smiling, Dru sat down beside Willow. "I'm glad you know who I am, little tree. You're part of the reason that we came to Sunnydale, you and my not-daddy. He's not the same as he used to be, you know." Dru was looking at Willow, her expression intent.
Willow turned the vampire's words over in her head, part of her wondering if she was going to die. "That bright bluish one is Venus, not actually a star. Umm I was going to watch the meteor shower tonight... your not-daddy... Oh! You mean Angel, because your Sire was Angelus, and now that he has a soul he isn't quite Angelus anymore, so he's not-daddy now?"
Dru grinned, pleased that the tree had understood her so clearly. "Yes. He keeps playing with the taffy girl, but he shouldn't, too much sugar will rot his teeth out. I don't think he's going to listen to me this time, will you help me?"
Willow looked at Dru, trying to decipher this last group of words. "Taffy girl... that Angel plays with... Buffy? You don't want... no, you wouldn't want him with Buffy, I mean she's the Slayer, so she shouldn't really be trying to have this thing with Angel but she says that he looks really good, which I have to admit he does, and so she wants him and really, how many people are going to say no to someone like Buffy, and I know about too much sugar, I tell Xander that all the time, but he's more of the too many donuts and twinkies kind of guy. and I'm babbling now, aren't I?"
Dru laughed, trying to keep all of the tree's words straight and orderly. She couldn't, because they just spilled out, all trying to race away, and only barely connected to each other. She liked the tree already, and knew that she would be very good for Spikey. "Oh... I like you, little tree. Have some of the little letters. Can you help me keep the taffy girl from my Angel? I dreamed of a dragon eating his shining soul, a yellow dragon that lived over the mouth and hunted in the darkness... we mustn't let not-daddy's soul be eaten up by the dragon. Swallowed up in gold and fire... it would be very very bad."
Willow's eyes widened at Dru's words about her not-daddy's soul and the dragon that would eat it up. "A yellow dragon... that hunts over the mouth by night... Do you mean Buffy? Because this is the hellmouth, so that would be the mouth, and she's the slayer so she's supposed to hunt vampires, which of course means nighttime on account of fatal sunburns... but she doesn't eat souls. That would be very bad and wrong and... do souls have calories? What would they taste like anyhow? and umm right, we were agreeing that it would be bad for Angel to loose his soul."
Dru looked at the tree, and they pondered things for a while as the stars fell from the sky. It was a wonderful show, and very pretty. They ate the M&M's, and pointed out particularly impressive falling stars to each other.
Eventually, the stars stopped falling, and Willow went back into the house, trying to think about what Dru's words had meant. Somehow, Buffy was the dragon, but what did the fire and gold mean? It was important, she knew that much...
Sleep claimed her, and she pondered no longer.
End part 18.
Dru had gone back to the abandoned factory where she and Spike were staying. She had talked with the tree, and they had watched stars fall. She'd warned the tree about the yellow dragon, hoping that the tree could help try to prevent disaster. The stars were warning of the terrible things that would happen if her not-daddy's soul was gone. There would be pain and chaos and the night would ring with screams and there would be danger stalking them. There would be fire and pain and horrible agony to her Angel if his soul was gone, and it would be all the sticky taffy girl's fault.
The Tree would be so good for Spike, she was sweet and kind and so good at figuring things out. She would be loyal, and would welcome all of Spike, not just the darker parts like mummy had done. She liked to eat the little letters, and she watched the stars, and she had such strength inside of her. People could trust her, and she would help them, wouldn't turn away from them. Little Tree had promised to try to prevent the nasty dragon from eating up her angel's soul.
Dru found Spike pacing and muttering when she got back. He was concerned about how to win the tree's heart for his own, and wasn't certain if the tree liked him or not. Silly Spike, of course the tree liked him. He was also worried about the nasty Slayer, and wanted to make certain that she didn't find them. He had reason to fear, the moon had told her that the dragon wanted to swallow her up, burn her until there were only ashes and memories left. Nasty dragon was jealous that she'd talked to the shining Angel...
She then realized that her Spike, her knight in tarnished armor had been injured, and she fussed over his eye and his leg, asking if he'd had someone nicely healthy to eat afterwards. How was he supposed to keep her safe, or keep his tree safe if he was injured? She knew that he'd wanted to keep things secret from the tree for now, wanted to keep it a secret that he could only play in the darkness. Dru wondered how long the secret would stay hidden before the little tree heard it's voice whispering in the shadows.
Willow woke up, and her eyes had the slightly gummy feeling of insufficient sleep. She had gone to listen to the poetry, hoping to see the mystery man, who turned out to be named Spike. Then, she had watched the meteor shower with Dru...
Upon realizing that she had spent a few hours last night talking with the insane vampiress that Buffy was currently trying to kill, Willow sat up and almost fell out of bed. Dru, vampire, insane and psychic... Dru had been the warning about Angel's soul, they had talked about that last night, she knew they had. There had been something very very important in their discussion last night... not the m's or the names of stars... they had talked about her not-daddy who lived on the mouth. She had said who the dragon was... if only Willow could remember.
As she showered and brushed her teeth, she wracked her brain, trying to remember everything about her talk with Dru last night. Dru had actually seemed pretty nice, and not completely incomprehensible at all. She had said that she warned Angel about the taffy girl, which was Buffy. She had talked about her doll, Miss Edith, and how Miss Edith told her secrets about the future.
She had said that the yellow dragon guarded the mouth, and hunted by night. The mouth was the hellmouth... which meant that the yellow dragon was Buffy. Willow smiled, pleased that she had remembered that as she got dressed. Dru had said she had seen the yellow dragon eat her not-daddy's soul in fire and gold. Willow was still a bit uncertain as to what the fire and gold part could mean, but she was pretty certain that Dru meant that somehow, Buffy would do something and somehow be responsible for Angel loosing his soul, which Dru thought would be bad. She really needed to see Giles as soon as possible. He definitely needed to get a copy of the curse, they needed to know if there were any clauses or loopholes or expiration dates of some sort.
She made her way to school early, hoping that she could talk to Giles about it. Maybe Miss Calendar could help? She was a techno pagan, and had all sorts of magical people that she had connections to online, that was how she'd helped with Moloch. Willow had a feeling that she could be a great help trying to find information on Angel's soul curse. Dru was afraid the dragon would eat Angel's soul in fire and gold, and Willow had a feeling that there was only so much time before that happened. She felt it was urgent to know all they could before that time, hopefully they could prevent the dragony gold fire thing from happening.
End part 19.
Giles was a bit startled when Jenny Calander came into the library just before school on Wednesday. He rather enjoyed seeing her, in fact, they had been tentatively dating, a few weekend picnics, a music concert... the woman had dragged him to see monster trucks. There was definitely an element of the unpredictable to her. But, she looked like she was here for a purpose. He wanted to know what that purpose was.
"Jenny? What brings you to the library? Not that you aren't perfectly welcome or allowed... err..." Giles' surprise at her presence made him ask, and then he stammered as the question fell awkwardly into the library.
Smiling slightly, the dark haired woman answered. "Willow. She said there was a particularly... hmm... shall we say a particularly interesting research topic you were working on and she thinks I might be of some assistance."
Nodding, Giles murmured "Of course, yes, why didn't I think of it... you would have those connections with those people online..." He waved her over towards his office, and gestured to the teapot, offering her a cup. "There seems to be a possible threat of some sort to Angel's soul. We were hoping to find out what was going on and if there was some particular clause or loophole in the spell."
Jenny froze, her eyes going wide and her face pale as Giles words soaked into her mind. "A threat to his soul? From what?"
Giles gave a slight shrug, indicating that he wasn't certain, and frowned into his teacup. "We haven't been able to determine that."
Willow walked in, her eyes still dark ringed from not getting enough sleep. "Actually I had a few thoughts on that. I think we need to look into the spell... curse... ritual thingy that was originally used to anchor his soul to him. Angel said that he heard about the possible threat from Dru, the psychic childe of Angelus, his evil umm previous self. He said she doesn't always say what she means in a way someone else would understand. So... umm I thought maybe it might mean something happening to break the spell. So... umm we need to get as much information on and about it as we can, so we can look for loopholes, conditional clauses, expiration dates... if then else statements... oh, that's computers, sorry... umm I hope you get the idea?"
Giles had heard Willow's theory before. It had made as much sense as any other possibility when attempting to decipher the words of a madwoman. He was already pulling the books that he thought might have some useful information, and muttering to himself that spells and mystical clauses should be a bit easier to find than dragons.
Jenny looked at Willow, and whispered "Dragons? What's that about?" She then moved towards the computer, and spoke a bit louder, pitching her voice so that Giles would hear. "I don't know how much luck I'll have, but I can try a few sources to try to get some information."
Willow had grabbed a book, and sat near the computer. Looking at her teacher, she explained. "Angel said that Dru talked to him. He said she had said her doll, umm apparently she thinks her doll talks to her, anyhow her doll had warned her to come here before the yellow dragon ate his shiny soul. We were pretty worried about that statement."
Jenny spoke again, considering Willow's words. "If this Dru person listen to her doll, why are we so worried?"
Willow lifted a book, yet another Watcher's journal in reply. "According to this, she's not just crazy, she's psychic. She can see things before they happen, and find things that she shouldn't be able to find. So, the psychic vampire says that something could take Angel's soul away. We, naturally, want to find out what this something is so we can keep it from happening."
Jenny nodded, her mind following possibilities already. "That makes sense I suppose. I'll try to get what I can about the soul curse. If there's any sort of weak point in it, or a clause of some sort, it would be best to know before it..or he bites us."
The research continued, with serious effort going into tying to find anything that would give a hint about what might cause Angel to be parted from his soul. Willow was also considering her talk with Dru, which she knew Giles would consider an extremely foolish and dangerous thing to have done. The dark haired vampire hadn't even looked like she was considering hurting her though. She had said that Angel was part of the reason she'd come to Sunnydale, no, wait, Dru had said we. She hadn't come alone, and Willow didn't think that she'd simply meant Miss Edith. So, Dru had someone with her, probably another vampire or vampires. It might be good to know who else had come to Sunnydale, and what the other reason was.
End part 20.
Willow had eventually had to go to class, and while she went to learn about geometry and biology and struggle through gym class, Giles continued searching through books, and Jenny continued to try to persuade people online. They were searching for anything that could help. Giles had found a book that discussed assorted shortcomings of other gypsy spells, and he was searching through it in hopes that it would give an idea what sort of thing to look for with the soul curse. He was simply appalled by some of the dreadful clauses and conditions that had been placed in some of these spells.
Jenny was attempting to convince her uncle to send her a copy of the curse. She had told him there was a prophecy that might mean the curse would be broken, which would be a terrible thing, especially for the Kalderash clan. If it could be averted, was it not worth that chance?
She was hoping that the curse could remain intact, and that no-one would have to learn that she wasn't who she'd claimed to be. That nobody would learn that her real name was Janna Kalderash, and that she had been sent to make certain that Angelus continued to suffer. She had come here to watch him, to make certain the curse held and his existence was torment, but... didn't that mean the curse had to stay in effect? How could he suffer if the spell was broken? Nor did she think it meant she wasn't allowed to try to find some semblance of happiness, which she thought she might have a chance for with Giles.
She had also gotten the strangest impression that Willow had been hiding something. That she had somehow known more than she was telling. But that was a ridiculous idea, not only was Willow terrible at keeping secrets, how would she have learned anything about this anyhow? Walked up to the insane vampire and asked her? The idea was absurd. Obviously, she had been spending to much time worrying about her own secret, she was suspecting everyone of hiding things now.
No, she was much more concerned about the fact that Buffy was having this odd sort of almost relationship with Angel. Buffy was a Slayer, it was her chosen destiny to fight evil, to kill demons and vampires, not take them to dances and go to movies with them. Angel had a horribly bloody past, how could he make Buffy happy? Did he even deserve a chance for happiness with the blonde girl? The part of her that was loyal to her family was most insistent that he should never have a chance at happiness, should never know a moments peace. The part of her that was Jenny Calander, a computer teacher that Angel had saved, wasn't so certain. Angel with his soul seemed like a decent enough person, for a vampire. Why did his whole existence need to be an agonizing torment?
There was something nagging at her mind though, something from the stories that her grandmother, now no longer among them, had once told her. Gran had told stories of the clan's history, of their powerful workings and their cunning exploits. There had been something that she had said about the cursing of the vampire Angelus. Something about... how had it gone? 'Cursed with his soul, that his every moment be agony and pain for him', yes, those had been her words. How would the spell insure that every moment was agony? What would happen if for just a moment, Angel wasn't in pain and torment?
Something deep inside, her magic or intuition perhaps, had a feeling that there was trouble here. That this warning about Angel's soul was serious, that it was an effort to prevent disaster. That if they couldn't prevent it, there would be horrible things to come. She also had the feeling that the whole 'eternal torment' thing was part of it. If there was something about Angel being in eternal torment, would his experiencing a moment where he wasn't in torment break the spell? Could it be that simple?
She began to pray that it wasn't, especially when she considered some of the glances that Buffy had been giving Angel. The vampire was handsome, even Jenny had to admit that, and Buffy had feelings for him. Buffy had passionate teenage feelings and desires, and one of them was to not see the vampire that she cared for suffering.
She needed to read the spell, to learn if there was something so simple in the wording. If the spell could be broken that easily... there had to be something that could be done. Some way to fix it, change the wording... maybe anchor the soul independently of the curse, so that even if the curse was broken, he wouldn't become evil again? hmm that sounded like a good thing to work on, especially with the possibility that his soul could be... separated from him. She shivered at the idea.
End part 21.
Willow knew that she should be focusing on her geometry. She should be paying attention to her classes, and not thinking about her talk with Dru while they watched the meteor shower. But her mind kept turning back to last night. Both the poetry reading where she'd sat with Spike, yes, she had finally learned his name, and her talk with Dru. Dru was definitely a bit loopy, but not that bad, certainly she was no harder to understand than Harmony or Cordelia could be at times. Dru had seemed rather friendly. She had acted like Willow was her friend, and had asked for Willow to help her try to keep Angel and Buffy apart.
Part of Willow agreed with the dark haired vampiress: The Slayer and a vampire together was just all sorts of wrong. Another part of her, the part that was Buffy's friend didn't want to try to break up her friend's sort of relationship. But... if Buffy was the yellow dragon that would eat Angel's soul, that meant that it would be very bad for them to stay together. The whole thing was making Willow's head hurt. She decided that as a compromise, she would try to push Buffy towards Scott or Owen, at least until they could find more on Angel's curse.
Buffy would probably be just as happy with Scott or Owen as she was with Angel, probably happier since she wouldn't accidentally hurt them with her cross if they got to close. Besides, didn't she always say that she just wanted a normal life? No offense towards Angel, but dating a 242 year old vampire was NOT normal. Scott was pretty normal, and Owen was also pretty normal, in a shy poet sort of way. If it hadn't been so obvious that he had a thing for Buffy, and for the fact that she couldn't talk coherently to boys, she might have considered trying to have coffee or something with Owen.
Owen wasn't on her mind anymore though. Neither was Xander, whom she'd had a crush on forever. Her dreams were filled with Spike now. He was handsome, sexy and mysterious, and he had the whole bad boy rebel image going. He was definitely worth starring in a few dreams, although he would surely have someone of his own, someone just as interesting and attractive as he was. Willow was certain that his whole dangerous impression wasn't all show, he had the feeling of danger about him, and there was something about his eyes... they seemed older than his face. Kind of like Angel's did, or like Dru's had last night.
Willow suddenly felt a cold suspicion flow through her, leaving her feeling chilled and completely awake. Could Spike be a vampire? She had only seen him twice, and both times were after dark, but that wasn't enough to go on. Yes, he was pale, but not everyone went to beaches and courted sunburn, she didn't and she wasn't a vampire. Maybe she should try to read some more of that book on Angelus after school tonight.
She left the researching to Giles and Jenny..umm, Miss Calander. She was certain that they wouldn't mind the time alone, they seemed to have their own sort of relationship going on. They could use the time together. She had a vampire to read up on. There would be more about Dru, and she might even find something about the curse in there as well.
She went home, going up to her empty room in her empty house. She sat down, and pulled the book out from under her dresser. She continued reading about Angelus. The more she read the more she understood why it would be bad for him to lose his soul. He had been ruthless, arrogant. He'd left a trail of death and destruction as he'd traveled with his Sire, Darla. Willow was startled to recognize Darla as the blond vampire that had been dressed as a Catholic school-girl during the harvest. Hadn't Buffy said that Angel had killed her? Staked her in the back with a pool cue? That had to have been..harsh.
She found the point where he'd turned Dru. She read how Angelus had slaughtered her family and chased her to a convent, how he'd slaughtered the nun's and turned Dru inside the convent sanctuary, as if mocking the power of God. How he'd broken her mind, and left her unstable, claiming that the moon sang, and the stars spoke to her.
It was enough to give person nightmares, and she understood how the Watcher's Council had been so afraid of him. Angel wasn't anything like that, not in any important ways at least. He didn't torture people to death for annoying him, he wasn't feasting on the blood of people, leaving death and chaos at all the high class social events. Yes, he was handsome, and intelligent, but... he wasn't the same as Angelus. Thankfully.
Willow turned the page, reading about how there was tension between Darla and Angelus and Dru. Apparently, Darla had been jealous of the time Angelus had spent with his childe. The answer to this had been... oh dear, they had turned found someone, and Angelus or Dru had turned the young man to be Dru's playmate. His name had been William Exeter, and there was a picture and a brief description. He'd been an aspiring poet, of a decent family and well educated. The picture looked almost familiar.
Willow pulled out a sheet of typing paper, and carefully traced over the shape of William's face. She didn't draw in his wire framed glasses, and made his hair very short and pale, instead of what was probably light brown. Something was teasing at her mind. She put a simple collar on the picture, like a tee shirt would have, and darkened in the section that would be the shirt. She then very carefully put a small scar over his eyebrow, and looked at the resulting picture.
Spike's face was on the paper, looking thoughtful, the very same expression he'd had before he'd told her about his friend, the broken hearted poet.
End part 22.
Willow sat there for a long time thinking. Spike was a vampire. Spike was William, who was either the childe of Dru or Angelus, the book had been unclear on that. He'd had a history with Dru, and probably with Darla and maybe even Angelus. He was a soulless vampire, and he was here in Sunnydale, probably with Dru. Possibly involved with Dru. How could she compare to that? She'd met Dru, and the woman... vampire... Dru was lovely. Probably also strong and passionate as well. Darla was dead, so she wouldn't be competition... assuming that there was even a chance that Spike was interested.
What was she to him? Was she a distraction? Some sort of game to amuse himself? She didn't want to think that, he'd seemed like he'd enjoyed talking to her, like he wanted to spend time with her. He hadn't threatened her, or tried, well, anything at all with her. Maybe he could be interested in her... or maybe she was deluding herself because of a hopeless crush on a sexy dangerous stranger.
Willow sighed to herself. Things were getting very complicated. What was she certain of? First off, Dru was a vampire. She'd talked with Dru, and thought the vampiress had seemed pretty nice. Dru was Angelus' childe and didn't want Buffy with Angel. Buffy and Angel had this whole complex thing going. She thought that Spike was incredibly sexy. She was worried about Dru. She was worried about the idea that Angel could lose his soul. Angelus was described as very bad and dangerous. She was getting a headache trying to figure this all out.
Willow flopped over on her bed, pulling the pillow over her face. She didn't know what was going on. Spike was probably a vampire. He might be plotting some sort of game involving her, or maybe just maybe he liked her. She definitely liked Spike so far. Dru was saying that the dragon would eat Angel's soul, and that Buffy was the dragon. Buffy wanted to kill Dru because Dru had talked to Angel. Scott and Owen both had things for Buffy. Buffy didn't like being the Slayer because she wanted a normal life. Her thoughts were going around and around in her head, leading her nowhere.
She sighed, knowing that the whole mess wouldn't go away if she ignored it. She couldn't do anything about Buffy being the Slayer and wanting a normal life. She could make certain that Buffy knew that Scott and Owen, both fairly normal human guys were interested. She could try to learn if there was some clause that might let Angel's soul go away. She might run into Dru again, and then she could ask if it was something the gypsies did that would let the dragon eat the soul of her Angel. As for Spike... she would just have to see if she ran into him again. She didn't know if she wanted to see him again because of her feelings for him or hoped not to see him again in case it was all some plot or diversion so that he could kill the Slayer. Well, that wasn't quite true. The truth was that she both wanted to run into him because she was interested and was afraid that it was all a game to him.
She really hoped that he might actually like her, even if only a little. Even if it was too much to hope that he might dream about her the way she was dreaming about him. She could admit to herself that she was having improbable lusty thoughts about Spike. Even if he was a vampire, she was still having her naughty thoughts. She would just have to see what developed, and if he made any efforts to either use her against Buffy or to hurt her, or if he made any efforts to let her know about the possibility that he was a vampire.
Buffy had once told her to try the philosophy of Carpe Diem - Seize the Day, because you never know what tomorrow would bring. Well, it hadn't worked very well then, but she intended to try again. She was going to see how things turned out with Spike, vampire or not. After all, Buffy had no room to talk if he was, because Angel was a vampire himself. Right... she would have to see what Spike did, if he was a vampire, if he was involved with Dru... if he could possibly want his very own Willow.
She fell asleep at a reasonable time that night, and dreamed of vampires. She dreamed of the horrible things Angelus had done. She dreamed of Dru, asking her to keep her not-daddy safe from the dragon that wanted to eat his soul in fire and gold. She dreamed of Spike... dreamed of him as a vampire, rejecting her for Dru, dreamed of him killing her, dreamed of him taking her as his own in scenes that would have been too heated, too steamy for even the trashiest romance novel. She even dreamed that he wasn't a vampire at all, just a pale skinned British guy... that still wanted her. She dreamed many things, all focused either on the book she had been reading, or on the events of the past few nights.
End part 23.
Willow had nothing of particular interest on Thursday at school. There was a quiz in biology, and she had a study group during lunch so she could help some of the other students with the geometry. One of the football players, a big guy named Keifer slipped her a Hershey bar as a thank you for the tutoring. He was actually a much nicer guy than he wanted people to know, and very grateful that she was willing to help him pass his class. He also had a girlfriend at another school.
No, the part of the day that Willow was looking forward to was the poetry reading at the Espresso Pump. She enjoyed the poetry, even if she didn't have anywhere near the confidence to read things in front of an audience, or a talent for poetry for that matter. Spike might be there as well.
Spike fully intended to be there. He wanted to spend time with Willow, wanted her to like him. Maybe he could ask if she had any plans for the weekend, he could suggest something... Dru was smiling, like she knew a secret. As Spike was searching for his other boot, he noticed that smile, and for some reason, it was worrying him.
"Dru? What's the smile about, ducks? The stars tell you about something interesting? Tea party go well?" He wasn't certain he'd like the answer, but he had always been curious, possibly too curious.
Dru smiled at him. "I have help to keep the taffy girl away from my not daddy. She promised to try to keep the dragon from eating his soul... We watched the stars and ate the little letters." Suddenly, Dru paused, and looked puzzled by something. "Spike, what's a Twinkie?"
Spike froze, wondering where Dru had gone. He had a feeling that it was important. Who or maybe he should ask what had she been talking to? Where had Twinkies come into things? "Twinkies are these little snack things, with a cream filling... probably rot your teeth out." He frowned, wondering where his boot could have gone. "Dru, have you seen my boot around here?"
"It's hiding over there, under the pipes. I found a fire fairy last night, and we watched the stars fall. She's nice. Go listen to the poetry, I promised tea and cakes for Nancy and Cathy." Dru smiled at her Spikey. He felt worried about the tree, and wanted her to spend time with him this weekend.
Spike pulled his boot out from under the piping, shook it to make certain it was empty and put it on his foot. Dru had talked to 'a fire fairy' about her not daddy and his soul. She said the fairy would help with the taffy girl... the Slayer? How would this fairy help with the slayer? Did he really need to worry about that when he could think of Willow instead? Maybe he should try to think of how to keep Willow from learning that he was a vampire and running for the Slayer to stake him. Hmm not getting staked was always a good thing.
Shrugging a gray striped button up shirt over his tee shirt, Spike left the area they'd converted to living quarters. His thoughts were focused on Willow: the sparkle in her green eyes, the shine of her red hair, her smooth pale skin, the delicious way that she looked when she blushed. He paused to grab a small, brown wrapped package from a piece of machinery as he left to go see her. It was Thursday; there would be another poetry reading.
He was trying to deny it, but in a little corner of his mind, there were verses forming, comparing the sparkle of Willow's eyes to fine emeralds, comparing her smile to the light of the sun. She was so... Willow, and there was something about her that made him want to pick up a pen and try to write poetry praising her virtues and beauty. He was doing his best to pretend that that little corner of his mind had left with his heartbeat. So far, his willpower was losing, but at least he hadn't wrote any of it down, yet.
It would be far safer to stick with presents. Gifts of actual objects, flowers, chocolate.. tonight, he was taking her a small bag of coffee, a nice gourmet flavor with a hint of almond, the same thing she'd been drinking Tuesday. If he gave her things, she would know he was interested, but it wouldn't expose his bad verses. He wouldn't be risking quite as much potential embarrassment. Sighing, he had to admit that Willow was making him feel emotions he hadn't experienced since he'd been alive. He was longing for her; admiring her... he was petrified that she'd reject him, for one of a number of reasons. Maybe she didn't like bad boys, maybe he scared her, maybe she didn't like blond, maybe she had someone - no, he'd heard her talking to the Slayer, she didn't have anyone. Maybe she'd find out what he was and run screaming... he was nervous, and worried about how she would react. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
Right, there was the local coffee house, and with luck, Willow would be inside. Probably tucked out of the main area again. He squared his shoulders, telling himself that he was Spike, he was the big bad, he didn't get nervous. With that mantra going through his mind, he entered the building.
End part 24.
Willow was sitting at the same little table that she'd been at on Tuesday, when Spike had actually told her his name. She wanted to see him again, and wasn't certain what he wanted from her or with her. Not that she hadn't entertained a few fantasies answering those questions, but seriously... why was he in Sunnydale? He was attractive, and interesting and yeah, she definitely wanted him. Willow tried to make herself think logically about the matter, instead of going off along naughty tangents.
So... if he talked to her again, if he seemed interested... what should she do? Well, she definitely was interested, so she wanted to spend time with him. Maybe she could suggest something for them to do? What could she suggest... suddenly, a thought occurred to Willow, and the resulting smile was full of mischief. He wanted to pretend that he was human? Let's act like he's human... she would suggest a normal daytime get together, like a lunch picnic... at the beach. It should be interesting to see how he reacted to that one.
She was watching the entrance, hoping that he would show up. Now that she actually had a plan... oh, please let him show up... and want to sit with Willow. She noticed that there were some empty seats tonight; he wouldn't have to sit with her if he didn't want to. Oh, what if he'd only sat with her because she'd had the only empty seat? What if he didn't want to spend time with her after all? What if...
Spike came into the coffee house, carrying a small brown package, something wrapped in brown paper. He glanced around the room, as if looking for something..maybe someone? He located Willow, and she could feel his eyes on her, could tell from here just how blue they were. Hesitantly, Willow lifted her hand in a shy little wave. Smiling, Spike made his way over to her table, and sat in the empty chair across from her.
"Evening Willow. I brought you a prezzie." With those words, he slid the package across the table towards Willow.
Willow was astonished. Not only did he want to sit with her, he was bringing her a present? She could hardly wait to open it... she hardly ever got presents from anyone. Glancing shyly at him to see if it was okay, Willow slid her finger under the tape, carefully separating the tape from the paper and beginning a slow process of unwrapping. He was watching her, with a smile as she opened his present. There was a hint of something else in his eyes, not confident at all, something..almost nervous? That had to be her imagination, why would he be nervous?
Carefully opening her present, she found a half-pound bag of the almond coffee that she'd been drinking Tuesday. He'd actually noticed what type of coffee she was drinking. He'd given her some of the coffee as a present... he was watching her, waiting. She blushed slightly, and looked up to his blue eyes. "Thank you, it's my favorite."
Spike grinned at her, looking considerably less nervous, if he'd actually been nervous to begin with. He looked a bit more relaxed in his seat. "So... got any plans for the weekend?"
Willow blinked a moment in surprise. He was asking..was he asking her out? Oh, wow... he was asking her out! Wait... plan, she had a plan. Smiling shyly, Willow answered him. "I was planning to go to the beach for lunch on Saturday, at about one... but other than that, I didn't have anything in mind."
She was watching him carefully, trying to determine what sort of interest he had. Was it 'I want a snack' interest, or 'I want a girlfriend' interest? He gave a small shudder at her mention of lunch at the beach. She wouldn't have noticed it unless she'd been watching for a reaction. So, she had been right. Spike was William that had been turned to be with Angelus' childe Dru. He was a vampire..he definitely wouldn't want lunch at the sunny beach. What would he do now? How would he respond? Would he make an excuse? Maybe he'd suggest something else they could do together?
Spike looked thoughtful at her suggestion. "Much as I'm tempted, I have to pass on lunch at the beach. I need to get my car worked on, and the only spot they had open... well, I can't make a one-ish lunch date. Hmm there's a little public concert thing on the beach at about nine in the evening, some local bands... I should be able to pick you up and we could go to that, if you'd like?"
Willow beamed with delight. He did want to go out with her! And okay, vampire, but still... he was gorgeous and interesting, and he seemed to like her. Maybe he hadn't come out and told her yet, but... she'd give him time. After all, that probably wasn't the best way to start a relationship, telling the other person that you were an undead blood drinking person that would spontaneously combust in the sunlight. He was watching her, and Willow realized that she hadn't answered him. "Umm the concert sounds good. Shall I meet you here, and then we can go to the concert?"
"Sounds like a plan. Now, I have no idea if these bands are any good... but I thought maybe... we could go find out. I'll pick you up here at 8:30?"
End part 25.
Friday's classes dragged on for Willow. Buffy was feeling excited, and kept telling her how exciting her plans were, how happy she was. Scott had asked her out, and they were going to go to a little restaurant for dinner and then a concert tonight at the beach. Willow got to hear all about that news in exhaustive detail, on several occasion through the day. Willow had encouraged this, mentioning that Buffy had said that she wanted a nice normal guy. She had made a few remarks about how nice it would be for Buffy to have a nice normal dinner with a guy for once.
It wasn't until she had her computer class that the potential danger of Buffy's plans occurred to Willow. There was only one concert at the beach tonight. Scott was taking Buffy to it, but.. Spike was also taking Willow. Would Buffy sense Spike, try to do something about Willow being there with a vampire? Maybe there would be to many people, and Buffy either wouldn't sense him or would be unable to pinpoint who the vampire was? She was certain that it would be bad to hope for some sort of demony diversion to keep Buffy from interrupting Willow's date.
Her best hope was that Scott would keep Buffy so occupied that she wouldn't have time to investigate some odd feeling from that way in the crowd. Hmmmm would she have to try to keep Spike away from Buffy? If he was trying to hide his vampirism from her, he should want to avoid contact with the slayer, but if his whole goal was to use Willow to get close enough to hurt Buffy... she would find out soon enough. A sudden thought made her frown in curiosity... did Spike know that Buffy was the slayer? Most vampires and demons seemed to have no trouble identifying her, but...
Well, she would find out how to keep Buffy and Spike separated soon enough. Scott would probably help keep Buffy focused, purely by wanting to stay with her. Hopefully, Spike would stay with her, not try to fight Buffy... or eat the other concert goers. All she had to do now was figure out what to wear to the concert.
Across town, Dru was amused. Spike had talked to the little tree, and come back muttering about beaches and picnics and concerts. Was there going to be another lovely concert with all the smiling funny tasting people? Spike had eaten one of them once, and spent hours watching his hand with this odd smile on his face. They had done silly things, and so had anyone that ate them. Do not eat the flower's children for vegetables are not good for vampires.
Spike was taking the little tree to concert tonight. He hadn't told her why he didn't want to play on the sunny beach. Spike was trying to hide his other face from her, to keep her from knowing all of him. She didn't think it would work for very long, the tree was very smart.
Miss Edith was whispering to her. Whispering that the taffy girl had caught a boy in her stickiness. This boy was trying to impress the taffy girl, and he was taking her away for the evening. For a moment, Dru wondered why Miss Edith was telling her this. Why did it matter if the taffy girl had another boy caught in her thrall? Then, she realized that if the taffy girl and her boy were away, she could go find her Angel. She could talk to her angel without having to hide from the taffy girl that wanted to kill her.
Dru laughed in delight. Spike was taking the little tree to hear the music, and the taffy girl would be away from not-daddy. She could talk to him safely, and maybe... hmmm if she knew that the taffy girl wouldn't be able to interrupt, maybe she could actually make her not-daddy listen to her. He kept trying to disappear when she talked to him. At this rate, she would have to hit him on the head and chain him down to make him listen to her. Her daddy would have liked that, but he would have been very angry with her for hitting him. But he wasn't her daddy anymore, he was an angel now, with a shiny soul and everything...
Yes, Spike would take his tree to the concert, and maybe they would talk. The tree would feel better if she knew that Spikey wanted her for his very own. The poor boy would be with the sticky taffy girl. Dru shivered at the idea of anyone wanting to spend their night with the sticky taffy. Best of all, she could go talk to her Angel in safety, because the dragon wouldn't be hunting for her. Tonight would be good.
End part 26.
Finally, it was time for Willow to go to the Espresso Pump to meet Spike. They had made plans to go to the concert. After what had felt like hours of debate, Willow had settled on a light green sundress that had a print of little leaves over it. She had added a pair of small gold hoop earrings, and a gold chain with a small locket that she'd been given for her birthday one year. It had a willow tree engraved on it's front, and was designed to hold two small pictures inside. It didn't have any pictures in it, but she had always liked it. After a bit more debate, she had left her hair loose.
She was now waiting for Spike, sitting at a little table, right by the window. If he showed up, he would see her sitting there. Willow had arrived there a bit early, which gave her plenty of time to worry and think of all the things that could happen, if he showed up, and all sorts of reasons why he might not show up, ranging from Buffy found and dusted him, to he has a girlfriend (like Dru), to the idea that he'd never intended to be here in the first place.
She was pondering what to do if it had all been a cruel joke when there was the squeal of brakes outside, catching the attention of many people. Someone was definitely not a safe and considerate driver, and they were close to here. Glancing out the window, Willow saw an older car, black, with the windows spray painted black, and parked - or at least stopped, at an angle, the front right tire actually up on the curb. It looked as if whoever had been driving had narrowly missed hitting the parking meter. The driver's side door opened, and Spike stepped out, looking completely unconcerned about the shocked looks he was getting from several people.
Willow smothered a giggle, and stood up from her seat. Still trying not to laugh, she walked out the door, ready to go to the concert. "Hi Spike. Umm, you certainly made an entrance..."
Spike looked at her, and simply stood there for a few moments before speaking. His blue eyes had widened at the sight of her, and his gaze didn't waver from her. After a few moments of standing there, watching her, he held out his hand, speaking to her. " 'Ello Red. You look marvelous tonight. Let me give you a hand here..."
In a manner befitting a gentleman, Spike held out his arm and escorted Willow to the passenger side of his car, and he opened the door for her, so that all she had to do was sit down in the car. Willow was still smiling, but had managed to stop her half smothered giggles. He then carefully shut the car door for her, and glared at the still gaping crowd. "What, none of you ever saw someone pick up a lady for a date? It's rude to stare, you bloody pillocks."
That said, he went around to the drivers' side, and hopped into the car, flashing a smile at Willow, who had carefully fastened her seatbelt. "Seatbelt, Red? Should I be insulted?"
Willow blushed at his question. "Umm I heard you... park your car. I thought maybe it might be good to have the seatbelt on... maybe prevent the evening from being cut short by whiplash?"
Willow could feel her face warm as she blushed. For the millionth time, she wished that she didn't blush so easily. As and alternative to watching Spike watch her blush, she looked at the floor of his car. She hadn't been certain what to expect from the outside of the car, but she'd been a bit nervous. The floor was surprisingly uncluttered. There was a box full of music tapes, and she could see some of the name of the artists on them. Sex Pistols, Billy Idol, something with a dark red paper and no visible words... Curious, she opened the lid a bit more, looking to see what else he had. There were more tapes, from a great variety of people: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, one by Elvis Presley, someone called ChumbaWumba, a few names that she didn't recognize, Beethoven, Bach, Madonna, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Poison, Def Leopard.
"So... umm the concert at the beach. Shall we, y'know, umm go to the beach now?" Willow looked up from her examination of the tape box, still blushing. She smiled, trying to look confident about the situation.
"Right... concert at the beach... that was what we were planning on doing this evening." Spike had this little smirk on his face. Still wearing that smirky little grin, he started the car, and backed away from the coffee shop.
Willow realized with sudden worry that she couldn't see out the windows because of the spray paint. He'd probably done it to keep the sunlight out, but.. oh dear. Maybe it would be best not to see out the windows as he drove. The engine roared as he headed off, presumably to the beach. Willow hoped that she wouldn't get carsick from Spike's driving.
End part 27.
Spike was half certain that this could only be a dream. He'd been pleased when Willow had let him talk her into a Friday evening concert instead of a Saturday afternoon picnic, but this wasn't quite what he'd expected. He'd gone to pick her up, driving with his usual unconcern for normal traffic patterns and the mental state of anyone watching him. He'd arrived at the coffee shop, and she'd stepped outside. The sight of her... she looked glorious. Dressed in this flowing little dress that hinted at her curves without actually showing more than a hint of cleavage. Her skin was pale and smooth...her eyes were gleaming, although it had been with amusement at his arrival. Her long red tresses and a necklace that fell just below her collarbones were the only concealment for her throat, and it was a lovely throat indeed. Pale smooth skin over a slender column, her pulse easily discernable... she looked amazing, and smelled delightfully of Willow... she smelled delicious.
There had been a part of him that had wanted to taste her right there in front of the coffee shop, to sink his teeth into that pale throat and let everyone know that she was HIS. The problem was that she wasn't his yet, and trying something like that would certainly be bad, not only for his chances with Willow but also for his long-term survival. He had just stared at her, memorizing the sight of her.
Then, he'd actually remembered to move, and he'd helped her into the car. They'd drove off towards the beach, and he was reminding himself over and over that his Willow was mortal, she was young, he should restrain himself, there would be no carrying her off and ravishing her. No matter how tempting the idea was.
Words and phrases were turning themselves over in a corner of his mind, comparing her skin to porcelain and pearls, her eyes to precious gems and summer leaves... her smile to the sunrise. There was consideration of meter and should there be a rhyme pattern? Perhaps a sonnet in the traditional form? Could mere words capture her grace and charm on paper? He could feel his fingers itching for a pen, a quill even, so that he could try to put words to her grace. He resisted the urge, instead offering his hand to Willow, half lifting her from the car. He let his hand stay on hers, feeling how fragile the bones of her hand felt to him, how her hand fit just so in his.
Willow and Spike made it to the beach without any accidents or collisions with anything, either stationary or moving. This was a pleasant surprise to Willow. Spike drove fast, the music had been loud, although since it had been something that Willow had enjoyed, she didn't plan to complain about that. She couldn't see out the windows, and she had found herself desperately hoping that Spike could.
They had arrived at the beach. Safely, in one piece, and with no carsickness on Willow's part. That was a tolerable start for the evening as far as Willow was concerned. Spike opened the car door for her and gave her a hand out, an oddly gentlemanly behavior, one that reminded her that he had once been a well educated poet instead of the bad boy rebel vampire that stood before her. Willow smiled at him, although she was fairly certain that he knew it was partly relief that the car ride was over.
Spike leaned in and spoke quietly, the breath of his words tickling her ear. "Relax, Red. I've never accidentally killed anyone with my driving. Wouldn't dream of starting with you."
Willow had to giggle a bit at the phrasing he'd used. He'd never accidentally killed someone with his driving... what about killing them on purpose? Oh, that was a bad thought, definitely not something she should be laughing about. He still had her hand in his, and it gave her this odd fluttery feeling in her stomach, not quite the same as ordinary nervousness. They began to walk towards the concert area, and Spike still held her hand in his. She could feel that while his hand wasn't hugely bigger than hers, it was larger, and his hand had a few hard calluses in a few places. She wasn't quite certain where they had come from, nor was she quite certain that she wanted to ask, but it was a nice feeling to let her hand rest inside of his.
They carefully made their way to the concert, still holding hands. Willow still had this delighted little smile on her face, and her eyes were shining with happiness. They could hear the final sound checks as they arrived at the concert area, and the first band was preparing to perform. Both were hoping that this evening would go well, hoping that this could be the start of something wonderful.
End part 28.