Chapter 25
"Shh!" Willow giggled to Tara as she opened the front door, the stage whisper she used came out almost louder than if she'd spoken normally. "We have to be quiet – Buffy's probably in bed asleep by now." Tara looked at her watch, which showed the time to be just after midnight and nodded emphatically to her girlfriend before pointing down the stairs.
"I need a drink of water, are you coming?"
"Sure."
The two girls tried to tiptoe down the stairs to the living room rather unsuccessfully, Which could have something to do with the two, no three, bottles of wine we've drunk tonight, Willow reflected before tripping down the final step and falling into the living room.
Buffy looked up from the book she had been reading, slightly startled by the sudden appearance of a somewhat inebriated Willow. The redhead smiled sheepishly and picked herself up off the floor as Tara entered the room somewhat more gracefully.
"Hiya Buffy! You have a nice night?" Tara asked her.
"Oh, you know. Watched a bit of TV, read some." She indicated the book she was holding, trying not to blush. For some reason she didn't want to mention her talk with Spike. Even though nothing had actually happened, the mere thought of their conversation seemed to be able to set her face ablaze. "You?" she asked nonchalantly, trying to deflect attention away from her.
"We had a great time!" Tara enthused. "Might have drunk a little too much though..." she trailed off.
"Glad you had a good time. Ooh – I was wondering if you two wanted to go on a shopping spree tomorrow?" Buffy asked eagerly – determined to have something to do this weekend. Willow and Tara glanced at each other awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, Buffy. We kind of have plans..." Willow told her friend, tone tinged with regret. Buffy tried to hide her disappointment.
"That's okay. No big," she said with a smile. "Maybe Xander wants to do something..."
"Don't you know?" Willow asked, slightly surprised.
"Know what? There was something that I was s'posed to know?" Buffy asked quickly, wondering if she'd been told and had forgotten.
"Xander took Anya away for the weekend. He didn't actually say as much, but I think he might be going to propose to her!" Willow declared excitedly.
Buffy pouted. "Now that is something I would have remembered. Which can only lead me to the conclusion that nobody told me. Okay, it's official – I am the only one round here with no life!" She stood up and walked across the room. "That's it, I've had enough. I'm going," she declared as she flounced up the stairs. The two other girls followed her into her bedroom.
"Buffy, it's after midnight. Where exactly are you intending to go?" Willow asked as she watched her friend pull random clothes out of her wardrobe and stuff them haphazardly into the bag she'd pulled from under the bed.
"Leeds," Buffy said simply as she zipped up the bag.
"You're going to see Spike? Do you even know where he lives?" Willow couldn't believe that her friend was actually going to leave in the middle of the night to drive somewhere she'd never been before.
"I have his address," Buffy thought for a second. "And I have to use your computer to download the directions. It'll only take a minute and then I'll be going." She marched purposefully towards Willow's room, the two astonished girls in tow.
"Does he know you're coming?" Tara asked.
"No. So I guess it'll be a nice surprise for him, won't it?" Buffy decided as she pressed print.
"So, let me get this straight, you're going to leave Manchester in the middle of the night and drive through the dark some 100-odd miles..." Willow began. Buffy looked at her piece of paper.
"Actually, according to this, it's only 57 miles..."
"Some 57 miles," Willow amended. "To a house you've never been to, to spend the weekend with a guy who doesn't even know that you're coming?" Willow's tone was incredulous now, but her whole speech had been said as she followed Buffy to the front door of the flat.
"That's about the size of it," Buffy said with a smile as she walked out of the door and closed it behind her.
Buffy pulled over to the side of the road and switched on the overhead light as she peered at what now seemed like a fairly flimsy bit of white paper.
She hadn't really let herself think about what she was doing when she left the flat in Manchester almost an hour ago. She'd been pissed off that she suddenly seemed to be out of the loop – her so-called friends seemed to be completely wrapped up in their own lives and relationships and Buffy suddenly felt left behind. She'd just had to get out of there and Spike had been the first person she'd thought of.
After all, he had been practically begging me to visit him.
But now, it didn't seem like such a great plan after all. It was past 1am, the streets were dark and deserted and she had no idea where she was. Spike was bound to be in bed asleep and Buffy didn't want to contemplate what she would do if she couldn't wake him when she finally arrived at him flat.
She peered again at the map and at the streets around her as she tried to get her bearings. These damned English streets are so confusing – the directions just don't make sense she declared, not for the first time.
Finally she managed to work out where she was and pulled off again, satisfied that she was going in the right direction.
It was a very tired Buffy that pulled up outside Spike's flat half an hour later. She dragged herself out of the car, picking up her bag as she locked it, and walked towards the front door, double checking the address as she did so – she had no great wish to wake up some complete stranger in the middle of the night.
She took a deep breath and then lifted a fist to knock on the door.
There was no answer.
She bit her lip nervously as she wondered if he was in.
Of course he's in, stupid – you spoke to him less than three hours ago. What kind of a person goes out at 11 o'clock at night?
She decided not to answer that one.
Buffy knocked again, louder this time and stood nervously on the doorstep, contemplating the thought of the possible drive home.
She was pulled out of her despair by the sound of footsteps at the other side of the door and she smiled when she heard the familiar grumble.
"What the bloody hell? Do you even know what bloody time it is?"
Spike wrenched open the door and stopped his tirade mid-flow as he stared at the petite figure on his doorstep. His mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide as he searched for something to say.
"My, my. We are grumpy tonight, aren't we?" Buffy said teasingly as she pushed past him and into his flat. He yielded to her without a word. "I said that I'd think about it. Well, I did – and here I am. Aren't you pleased to see me?"
"Shh!" Willow giggled to Tara as she opened the front door, the stage whisper she used came out almost louder than if she'd spoken normally. "We have to be quiet – Buffy's probably in bed asleep by now." Tara looked at her watch, which showed the time to be just after midnight and nodded emphatically to her girlfriend before pointing down the stairs.
"I need a drink of water, are you coming?"
"Sure."
The two girls tried to tiptoe down the stairs to the living room rather unsuccessfully, Which could have something to do with the two, no three, bottles of wine we've drunk tonight, Willow reflected before tripping down the final step and falling into the living room.
Buffy looked up from the book she had been reading, slightly startled by the sudden appearance of a somewhat inebriated Willow. The redhead smiled sheepishly and picked herself up off the floor as Tara entered the room somewhat more gracefully.
"Hiya Buffy! You have a nice night?" Tara asked her.
"Oh, you know. Watched a bit of TV, read some." She indicated the book she was holding, trying not to blush. For some reason she didn't want to mention her talk with Spike. Even though nothing had actually happened, the mere thought of their conversation seemed to be able to set her face ablaze. "You?" she asked nonchalantly, trying to deflect attention away from her.
"We had a great time!" Tara enthused. "Might have drunk a little too much though..." she trailed off.
"Glad you had a good time. Ooh – I was wondering if you two wanted to go on a shopping spree tomorrow?" Buffy asked eagerly – determined to have something to do this weekend. Willow and Tara glanced at each other awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, Buffy. We kind of have plans..." Willow told her friend, tone tinged with regret. Buffy tried to hide her disappointment.
"That's okay. No big," she said with a smile. "Maybe Xander wants to do something..."
"Don't you know?" Willow asked, slightly surprised.
"Know what? There was something that I was s'posed to know?" Buffy asked quickly, wondering if she'd been told and had forgotten.
"Xander took Anya away for the weekend. He didn't actually say as much, but I think he might be going to propose to her!" Willow declared excitedly.
Buffy pouted. "Now that is something I would have remembered. Which can only lead me to the conclusion that nobody told me. Okay, it's official – I am the only one round here with no life!" She stood up and walked across the room. "That's it, I've had enough. I'm going," she declared as she flounced up the stairs. The two other girls followed her into her bedroom.
"Buffy, it's after midnight. Where exactly are you intending to go?" Willow asked as she watched her friend pull random clothes out of her wardrobe and stuff them haphazardly into the bag she'd pulled from under the bed.
"Leeds," Buffy said simply as she zipped up the bag.
"You're going to see Spike? Do you even know where he lives?" Willow couldn't believe that her friend was actually going to leave in the middle of the night to drive somewhere she'd never been before.
"I have his address," Buffy thought for a second. "And I have to use your computer to download the directions. It'll only take a minute and then I'll be going." She marched purposefully towards Willow's room, the two astonished girls in tow.
"Does he know you're coming?" Tara asked.
"No. So I guess it'll be a nice surprise for him, won't it?" Buffy decided as she pressed print.
"So, let me get this straight, you're going to leave Manchester in the middle of the night and drive through the dark some 100-odd miles..." Willow began. Buffy looked at her piece of paper.
"Actually, according to this, it's only 57 miles..."
"Some 57 miles," Willow amended. "To a house you've never been to, to spend the weekend with a guy who doesn't even know that you're coming?" Willow's tone was incredulous now, but her whole speech had been said as she followed Buffy to the front door of the flat.
"That's about the size of it," Buffy said with a smile as she walked out of the door and closed it behind her.
Buffy pulled over to the side of the road and switched on the overhead light as she peered at what now seemed like a fairly flimsy bit of white paper.
She hadn't really let herself think about what she was doing when she left the flat in Manchester almost an hour ago. She'd been pissed off that she suddenly seemed to be out of the loop – her so-called friends seemed to be completely wrapped up in their own lives and relationships and Buffy suddenly felt left behind. She'd just had to get out of there and Spike had been the first person she'd thought of.
After all, he had been practically begging me to visit him.
But now, it didn't seem like such a great plan after all. It was past 1am, the streets were dark and deserted and she had no idea where she was. Spike was bound to be in bed asleep and Buffy didn't want to contemplate what she would do if she couldn't wake him when she finally arrived at him flat.
She peered again at the map and at the streets around her as she tried to get her bearings. These damned English streets are so confusing – the directions just don't make sense she declared, not for the first time.
Finally she managed to work out where she was and pulled off again, satisfied that she was going in the right direction.
It was a very tired Buffy that pulled up outside Spike's flat half an hour later. She dragged herself out of the car, picking up her bag as she locked it, and walked towards the front door, double checking the address as she did so – she had no great wish to wake up some complete stranger in the middle of the night.
She took a deep breath and then lifted a fist to knock on the door.
There was no answer.
She bit her lip nervously as she wondered if he was in.
Of course he's in, stupid – you spoke to him less than three hours ago. What kind of a person goes out at 11 o'clock at night?
She decided not to answer that one.
Buffy knocked again, louder this time and stood nervously on the doorstep, contemplating the thought of the possible drive home.
She was pulled out of her despair by the sound of footsteps at the other side of the door and she smiled when she heard the familiar grumble.
"What the bloody hell? Do you even know what bloody time it is?"
Spike wrenched open the door and stopped his tirade mid-flow as he stared at the petite figure on his doorstep. His mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide as he searched for something to say.
"My, my. We are grumpy tonight, aren't we?" Buffy said teasingly as she pushed past him and into his flat. He yielded to her without a word. "I said that I'd think about it. Well, I did – and here I am. Aren't you pleased to see me?"