Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Buffy…or any related characters…Why? Because Joss is too selfish to share, watch, when I create my own hit show, I won't share with him either. Man, I don't really own the plot either because it's largely based off of the drama, Stairway to Heaven.
Chapter 32
If love was meant to be between two people,
Then they will always find each other,
No matter how long it takes,
No matter how far,
No matter how many obstacles stand in the way,
In the end, they will always end up in each other's arms.
And the voting so far goes like this:
By Moonlight: 3
Caught: 1
Thanks for reviewing: friends205, Elizance, MaLooLa, Amandamanda3, Angi, spuffyfan-1, Kimber, Soulful-Spikes-True-Love, spikegothicchick, spikesbabyblues, Cho-Freak-Dragon, Mita427, ekmw511, hotspike7, James Lee, dancingbymoonlightfan, electricgurl, shitaka, TikigirlK16, naiya-isis, Enema, Courtney37, and chazza.
sigh A lot of people hated me after the last chapter. I'm sorry I did that to you guys…oh well…on with the story eh?
"What's the difference between a boyfriend and a friend anyways?" Buffy asked as they walked around the empty amusement park together.
"There's a lot of difference," Spike told her, "With a boyfriend you can hold hands, but with a friend you can only link arms."
Buffy snorted. "That's stupid."
"Oh really?" Spike asked. Buffy smiled and nodded. "Then let's see you come up with something better!"
"Fine then. Uh…with boyfriends, it's harder to keep promises, but with friends, promises are never broken." Buffy paused, "Oh! And when a friend gives you a present, you keep the present forever, but when a boyfriend gives you a present, you have to give it back after you break up."
Spike shot her and odd look, and they both laughed. They emerged out into the streets where Spike flagged down a taxi for her. "Your carriage awaits luv."
Buffy quirked an eyebrow, "What? You're not going to 'escort' me home?"
"Buffy…pet…sorry to break it to you, but friends don't drive friends home. It's clearly stated on page 56, article- "
"Shut up Spike because on page 74, it clearly states that good and nice friends drop their friends off when they are cold and alone, and penniless." Buffy retorted.
"Alright! I'll take you home then." Spike gave in as he headed for his car.
"Actually, you can just give me some money for the taxi…" Buffy suggested.
Spike sighed as he pulled out his wallet. He pulled out a $5 dollar bill. "Is this enough?" he asked with a smirk on his face.
Buffy mockingly glared at him, and Spike handed her several more larger bills. "You better pay me back," Spike warned as he held the door open for her.
"Of course I will! And you better not tax me or charge interest or something." Spike and Buffy grinned at each other. Neither one wanting to look away, but the impatient taxi driver yelled at Buffy, demanding whether or not she was going to get in. "Well…I better go." Buffy told him as she got in. Spike stood there on the sidewalk, and watched as her taxi drove away. He waved his arms vigorously in the air like a dumb git…hopelessly in love.
"We can be friends…" he said to the cold night air, "Friends…"
Buffy entered her house with a smile on her face. Perhaps it was because she kept replaying the kiss over and over in her head like some love struck high school teen. "I'm home!" she called. She was just about to head up the stairs when her father Xander came out.
"Where were you?" he asked angrily. "You could've at least contacted us or tell us that you were coming home late! We were so worried about you!"
"I'm sorry…" Buffy apologized.
Then Glory came storming into the room. "You!" she screeched. "Where did you go? You were with William weren't you?!" Tears began to fall from Glory's eyes. "Today was my engagement! And you ruined it!" Glory fell to her knees and began to sob hysterically while Xander attempted to comfort her.
Maybe she should've pitied her, but she didn't. Buffy's emerald eyes grew hard. "Where is it?!" Glory demanded. "GIVE IT TO ME!" she pushed Xander away from her as she stood up.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Buffy yelled back.
"The ring! Where is it?!" Glory screamed again as she latched herself onto Buffy's arm.
"I don't know what you're talking about…let go of me!" Buffy roughly pulled Glory off of her arm, sending Glory to the ground, falling a total of three steps.
Darla happened to walk into as Glory fell. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed as she helped Glory up.
"I love Spike." Buffy said, trying to keep her voice steady and calm. "I love him a lot…but it's over now Glory. You're the one engaged to him."
Glory continued to cry. "But he loves you." she wailed.
Buffy clenched her teeth to keep herself from crying. "That's your problem." she replied coldly. "It's your job to love him…and then maybe he'll love you back."
"No! Buffy, please! I love him a lot…I really do! Can't you just let him go? Please, give him to me!" Glory begged.
Buffy was almost shocked by this: Glory, on the ground, begging and groveling for her to stop loving Spike? She would laugh if she was a mere spectator…but she wasn't. "What a disaster…two sisters loving the same man. Whatever shall we do?" Darla interrupted, almost sarcastically.
Buffy glared at Darla. "SHUT UP!" she roared.
"BUFFY!" Xander hollered angrily. "Don't talk to your mother like that!" he scolded.
"Don't call her my mother!"
"Do you know how sad she was when you were gone? She was the worst out of all of us!"
Buffy didn't even bother reminding him that she was an actress for soap operas. She didn't even bother mentioning Spike either. "Did she go through the same pain as Angel?" Buffy asked, her voice now quieter. "No one even thought about him. No one even came looking for him. Did you guys even try?"
"Of course we did…" Xander's voice trailed off. What else could he say? Darla and Glory both froze. They were both afraid that Buffy was going to tell him about how she had been living with Angel the past year or so, and how he had gotten tossed in jail. They both relaxed as Buffy added nothing else. If Xander found out…he would research…and he would discover who got Angel thrown into the jail…
"You're so blind," Buffy said as she headed for the door. "I won't return until I find him, and when I do…I'll bring him back."
Spike parked his car in the driveway, and turned off the engine. He gripped the steering wheel hard, and banged his head against it. "Bloody hell Spike. Get a hold of yourself." he chided. Sighing, he got out of the car, and saw Angel sitting on the curb in front of his house, waiting for him.
Angel immediately got up as Spike got out of his car. "You." he said, almost venomously. "What are you doing to Buffy? You promised to make her happy you dumb bastard, yet you get engaged with another woman?!"
Spike clenched his fists, and he strode closer to him. "Watch your language you stupid prat. It was your fault…your bloody fault! All you had to do was tell me in the first place who she was, and all this…all this shit wouldn't have happened!" Spike yelled angrily. Before he could use his better judgment, he clocked Angel right in the jaw, sending Angel to the ground.
Angel wiped the small trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth, and stood up. "Go ahead. Hit me again…hit me as much as you want." Angel dared.
Spike held his fist up again, but turned away, and punched the hood of his cars engine. He left a dent in it, and his knuckles began to bleed. "Who the hell are you?" Spike yelled, still facing the car. "Who are you, and why did you do this to Buffy?" Spike turned around, and gripped Angel by his upper arms. "Why?! Of all the soddin' people in this world, you did it to Buffy…I want to know why!"
Angel's dark eyes looked away from Spike's blue ones. "I did because I loved her. I wanted her to stay with me."
"THEN WHY DID YOU SEND HER TO ME?!" Spike screamed as his hold on Angel's arms became tighter as he fought the urge to cry.
"Because I can't make her happy," Angel said quietly. "But you can. Even as Elizabeth Johnson, she never forgot you…please make her happy…please." With that Angel ran off into the dark. Spike stood there, with a slightly dazed look on his face. He fell to his knees, and began to weep.
He wept for causing Buffy so much pain, and he wept because he did not know what to do now. He wanted to make her the happiest woman in the world…but did she still love him?
Buffy was walking through the lobby with her face shoved into a blank sketchbook, sketching away furiously when she bumped into something…or someone. She looked up and found a pair of crystal blue eyes staring down at her. She smiled warmly at him as he smirked back. "You really should watch out where you're going pet," he jokingly chided, "Not all people are friendly when you run into them."
Buffy closed her sketchbook and put away the pencil. "Haha, very funny, and how are you doing on this fine day Mr. Cornelius?"
"You make me sound like an old git. I forbid you to call me that ever again," Spike grumbled. "What're you doing tonight?" he asked.
Buffy eyed him suspiciously. "Why?" she asked.
"Oh nothing really. I just know of this restaurant that I'd like to take my best friend out to," Spike said, trying not to choke on the words 'best friend.' They tasted and sounded strange. In his mind, he replaced the word best friend with lover. Then he felt someone slip an arm through his, interrupting his not so innocent thoughts on what he would do to Buffy if he had her all alone in a room.
"Hi William, Buffy." Glory gleefully chirped. "So William, what are you doing tonight?" she asked. "You better not have any because my mom is cooking the most delicious meal tonight."
"Actually I was going to meet up with a friend for dinner," Spike told her, running his hands through his hair. Glory's face fell. "But I suppose that love is more important than friendship. I'll pick you up after work ok?"
A smile lit Glory's face. "Ok! I'll call my mom." Glory, still latched onto Spike's arm turned around to leave.
Spike mouthed a 'See you later' and winked at Buffy as they walked off. Buffy smiled as they walked off. Maybe they were better off as friends. She giggled as Spike waved vigorously as he continued walking off, and every time Glory glanced at him, he would put that arm on her shoulder. Buffy headed for the elevators smiling. Spike looked over his shoulders and smiled to see Buffy walking off. Gawds she was beautiful.
Buffy exited the building only to find out that it was pouring outside. She stood near the swinging doors, and looked up at the sky, trying to figure out how good her chances of getting to the subway station without getting completely soaked were. They didn't seem to be too good. Buffy glanced at her watch. Well, it was now or never. She braced herself for the cold, but found that she was completely dry.
She looked to the side, and grinned to see Spike there, holding an umbrella over them. "Where are you going?" Spike asked her.
"It's alright. I don't need a ride." Buffy told him.
"You're so full of yourself Buff. Who ever said I was going to give you ride? Going to the subway?" Spike continued, grinning cheekily as he followed her with the umbrella. As she began to pick up her pace, he threw an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close to him. "Can't have you getting wet now."
Buffy glared at him, and pulled away, and found herself in the rain. Spike pulled her to him again. "I told you."
"You're such a pig," Buffy muttered. "And you walk to slow!" With that Buffy ran out into the pouring rain.
"Hey!" Spike yelled as he ran after her, only to find out that running with an open umbrella wasn't extremely wise. "You're all wet," Spike told her as he pulled out a silk handkerchief. Buffy looked up at him in surprise as he dabbed her face dry with it. "Here, you might need this later." He added as he gave her the handkerchief.
Buffy's hand slowly closed around the silk cloth. She didn't take her eyes off of Spike's face, not even for a moment. He then placed his hands on her shoulder, and turned her around. He then shoved her, "Go!"
Buffy wrinkled her nose, and walked off. She looked behind her and smiled to see Spike still standing there, watching her. She quirked an eyebrow, and then watched as he walked off, spinning the umbrella around, and earning odd looks from people. She went down several escalators to get to the right subway train.
She waited as the subway whizzed past her, and screeched to a stop. The doors slid open and people bustled in, but Buffy stood there, with a curious look on her face. She then turned around, and began running up the escalators yelling Spike's name.
Spike stopped at the subway station exit, and looked out at the rain, and then at the umbrella in his hand. People shoved past him and hurried out into the rain as he stood there. He then began running back the way he came, yelling for Buffy.
Buffy hopped over the ticket machine, and ran up another escalator, only to see Spike going down the opposite one. Buffy continued runninig up, as Spike ran up an escalator that was going down. He eventually made to Buffy, panting. "Buffy," Spike said slowly as if savoring her name.
"Spike…" They both smiled at each other as Buffy held out his handkerchief, and as Spike handed her the umbrella. They stood there, smiling at each other. They were lost in another world, one where they could be together…
"Be careful," Spike told her.
"I will…you too." Buffy replied as she brushed past Spike and went down the escalator again. Spike watched her go away. 'Friends,' he thought, 'At least we can be friends…'
Buffy walked down the street, in a part of town that she hadn't been in for a while. She took a deep breath and stopped in front of the door of one of the houses. She closed her eyes, and raised a hand to the door knob. 'You can do this!' Buffy told herself mentally. But it wasn't working. "Just do it!" she hissed at herself.
Buffy quickly placed a hand on the doorknob and turned…only to find it locked. She cursed silently and tried it again. She then knocked on the door, and waited a few minutes for an answer, but none came. She peered into a window, and saw no one, so she settled down onto the steps and waited for someone to come.
Angel shuffled along down the street, his hand aching, as usual. He was about to cross the street when he saw a familiar head of blonde hair sitting on the steps of his house. Buffy…He cursed, and hid behind a tree in a neighbor's yard, and watched her from a distance. He willed himself not to cry, but felt a tear slip down his cheek.
"Are you sure you don't want anything else?" Darla asked Spike.
"I'm fine Darla, I've stuffed myself enough as it is." Spike paused, and glanced up at the stairway, "Is Buffy not home yet?" he asked.
Darla's smile faltered, "Oh my…it's getting late, perhaps you should be getting home by now." she said quickly.
Spike shook his head, "No I'm fine. Do you have any beer around here luv?"
Buffy trudged on home. It was dark now, and Angel nor Giles had shown up. She stood outside the gate to the driveway, and saw Spike's car parked outside. She bit her lower lip, and walked back the way she came, and headed for the park. She was confused right now, these thoughts of hers…she kept wanting more from Spike…more than friendship, but he was engaged…they were just friends.
"I should be lucky that we can still even be friends…after what I've done to him," she told herself as she bit back tears. She had been crying too much lately…
"You know, I can understand Buffy's behavior perfectly well. She feels like an old maid, with her younger sister getting married before her and all. Such matters are simply bound to cause jealousy if you know what I mean. We need to set Buffy up, how about with that man she lived with for several years…?" Darla rambled on.
Spike could hardly hear her. All he could see was Buffy's face…and he pretended that she was sitting next to him now, and that he was engaged to her…He poured some more alcohol down his throat, and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head, expecting to see Buffy and was surprised to see Glory. "William…I think that you've had enough to drink…" Glory began.
"Nonsense luv. I am just peachy," Spike assured her in his slightly slurred voice. Despite his comment, he called Riley and told him that he needed to be picked up.
Riley tapped his hands on the leather cover of the steering wheel and waited for the light to turn green. He looked around, and saw a familiar head of blonde sitting on a bench with her back to the street. I wondering what she's doing here, he thought to himself. Making a mental note of where she was, he sped away the moment the light turned green.
Riley looked into the mirror to see Spike sullenly looking out the window. "Spike…you alright there?" Riley asked. Spike merely bobbed his head slightly. Riley then parked on the side of the road.
"I may be drunk Riley, but I know this isn't where I live," Spike said as Riley opened the car door for him. Spike was about to take a more 'drastic' mode of action when Riley pointed to the right. Spike slowly got out of the car without any more protests. Riley smiled to himself, and got inside the car again.
"Oi, Buffy! What are you doing out here by yourself all alone at night?" Spike yelled.
Buffy didn't even need to turn around. "I told you I had to meet someone," she said, quietly as she felt the bench creak as he sat down next to her.
Spike smirked and withdrew his hands from the warmth of his jacket pockets. "It's real cold out tonight luv, and your hands look sort of blue to me, and frostbite isn't all that nice," Spike commented casually as he placed one of his hands over hers.
"I better go now," Buffy said quickly as she tried to stand up, but found that his hand tightly holding onto hers.
"Come on now Buff, I'm drunk, can't you stay just for a little bit? Friends do that for each other you know…besides, I'll sing you a pretty song."
"Spike…"
"There was a girl named Buffy, she got a little huffy, when her friend Spike, wouldn't let her go home, and because she had to listen to him drooone…wasn't that a good song?" Spike asked.
"I really have to go Spike," Buffy said again, a little more urgently.
"Don't go! I'll sing you another one. Buffy was a pretty girl- "
"Good night," Buffy wretched her hand out of Spike's hand, and began to walk away.
"Buffy! Come back!" Spike hollered as he shakily stood up. He began to take wobbly steps, and fell down. Buffy heard him fall, and despite her resolution to keep on going, came back and tried to help him up. "Is this what you wanted Buffy?" Spike demanded loudly, slightly angered from his fall.
"Here, I'll help you up Spike…" Buffy said softly.
"We can't be friends Buffy, and you know it." Spike continued, as he stood up again, only to fall over after a few steps. Buffy rushed to help him again, but he was too heavy this time. She felt his cold hand stroke her cheek, and began to cry.
Spike swung the racket and missed again, and toppled over. Riley rushed over to help him, "You alright there Spike? That's about the seventh time in the last twenty minutes you've fallen," Riley commented.
"I'm not alright…if I were then I wouldn't be in this state," Spike said, almost bitterly. "I'm like this because it hurts," he added.
Riley sighed. "It'll be alright, you two have been friends since you were young and you two will always be good friends."
"But things have changed Riley, too many things," Spike said as he sat up and hung his head.
"I see no difference," Riley told Spike, "The only difference is that two have grown up."
Spike looked up at Riley, "Can you find some information on Aidan Giles for me?"
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
"And tell him that I want different dresses. The dresses they have for me right now make me look too old…and I don't like that!" Darla ranted to her assistant. "Also tell him that- " Darla stopped mid sentence as she spotted a familiar figure leaning against her Mercedes. "On second thoughts, just go…NOW!" she snapped.
"Bossing people around, and yelling at everyone still?" Angel commented as he raised his head up.
"What are you doing here?" Darla demanded.
"I was just wondering when I could come by and visit you at home sometimes," he replied airily. "So when are you free?"
"Hah!" Darla spat, "Come anytime you want. The pleasure will be all mine."
Angel's dark eyes turned stormy. "You know that the truth is going to come out soon don't you? I'm going to tell everyone everything."
Darla began to laugh. "You think that anyone will believe you? You're the one who lied to her about her identity and hid her from the world for several years. That and no one will believe that nothing 'happened' between you two."
"Nothing…happened…" Angel said in a clipped tone. "Believe me, the truth will be revealed, and we'll just see if you're still laughing then. Once the truth comes out, you'll get what you've been deserving for a long time." With that, Angel turned around and walked away.
"Go ahead you bastard! It's your word against mine! No one will believe you!" Darla screeched after her son's retreating back. She then slammed the driver's door as she got inside, and immediately picked up her cell phone as she drove angrily. Her mood obvious by the way she drove. "Hello?" she yelled into the phone. "Yes, I told you to buy only paintings done by Aidan Giles!"
Angel was about to rip his hair out. Her words kept ringing in his head, 'No one will believe you…' It was true though, more so than he wanted to admit. "But I promised you Buffy…you made me happy, and I will make you happy too."
"How pitiful, you have no one to talk to so you talk to yourself," an all to familiar voice commented. Angel whirled around, and found himself face to face with Drusilla. "Miss me?" she asked as she gutted him. Angel let out a strangled noise as he fell to his knees. "Tie him up…and let's go," Drusilla told her men as she looked around. She cracked her long and slender fingers tipped with bright red nails, and got inside the black van.
"If he's not home, I really am going to go there everyday until he does," Buffy grumbled, almost angrily to no one in particular. A black van sped past her, but she continued walking. She walked up the front steps of the house, and knocked on the door. "Angel, if you're home, you better open the door!" she yelled. "Giles? Angel? Anyone?"
Spike looked up from his papers as Riley walked in. "Spike, I uncovered some…things about Aidan Giles, and they're not good. He also does not seem to be in a good position at the moment."
Spike's eyebrows furrowed as he put down his pen. "Explain."
"I told you to paint!" Drusilla yelled as she kicked Angel again. Angel flew back several feet before landing on the cold and smooth cement floor with a thud. Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth and nose, and he had bruises all over…and it had only been half an hour. "You have been given plenty of time to repay your debts, but your time is up Angel, now paint."
"Now I see why you always wear heels," Angel said cheekily as he sat up. He refused to give in…they would not win.
"You want more?" Drusilla asked, her eyes blazing, but not a strand of her long dark hair was out of place. Her red nails glinted in the dim lighting of the warehouse. "I suppose that there's no use being nice to you…you won't comply with my wishes." Two men came and hoisted Angel up onto his feet while holding each arm.
"Do you know what happens when people do not agree to my terms when I'm nice?" Drusilla asked, her face mere centimeters from Angel's. Drusilla paused for effect before continuing, "I get offended," she announced. "And do you know what happens when I get offended?" she asked again.
"Go beat up innocent painters?" Angel spat venomously.
"No, I get angry, and I treat them…angrily." Drusilla threw another punch, square on his jaw. Angel fell down as the two men let him go. She took slow strides toward him, each step and click of her black leather boots echoing loudly in the cold warehouse. She was about to break his hardly healed wrist again when all the doors of the warehouse were flung open.
"Put your hands up in the air!" a loud and booming voice came.
"Shit, it's the cops!" one of the men yelled. Drusilla took one look at Angel, and ran up the stairs to the other level of the warehouse, closely followed by several others.
"They're going up the stairs, sergeant," a police officer yelled.
"Get down son," another officer yelled as he shoved one of the men to the ground. The sounds of hand cuffs clicking shut were heard.
"We've got the victim here sir. Paramedics are definitely needed." Men with a stretcher came running in. "Bruised badly, perhaps some internal bleeding, and maybe a broken rib bone or two," the paramedics yelled to Riley as Angel disappeared behind the closing doors of the ambulance.
Spike sucked in his cheeks as the ambulance went blaring away. "Riley," he said as he turned his head, "Take care of that poof for me will you?"
Riley nodded, "I'll make sure that no one knows where he is."
Several days later…
Buffy stepped out of the elevator and headed for her office, only to be stopped by Riley. "Spike would like to see you."
Buffy raised her eyebrows in slight surprise. She emerged out into the amusement park. She stood in front of the mural that Angel had painted, and waited patiently. A few minutes later, she saw a familiar head of bleached blonde walking towards her. "Spike!" she exclaimed as she walked towards him.
"You know what Buff? I get scared sometimes when I see you stand in front of this mural," Spike confessed, almost sheepishly as he ran his hand through his hair. Buffy looked at him confused. "It's because I don't know if you're thinking about me or…" Spike paused, he was tempted to call him 'poof' or 'peaches,' but knew that Buffy wouldn't enjoy it, "Or…him." Spike faced Buffy. "Buffy Anne Summers, how about you give me a single or something to tell me that you're thinking about me?" he asked with a smile.
Buffy made a face. "What do you want me to do? Stand on one leg or something?" she asked as she balanced herself on one leg. To prevent herself from tipping over, she hopped.
Spike chuckled. "Or maybe you could do this luv," Spike balanced himself on one leg and threw his hands up into the air.
"That's too hard!" Buffy complained as she tried, giggles lapsing from her lips.
Spike then looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed, his face etched with seriousness. "Then don't think about me from now on luv…forget about me." As if being controlled with a remote control, tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
"That's not even funny to joke about." Buffy said huffily, trying to blink back the tears.
"You know pet, I thought that if I found you, that everything would be okay. Everything would turn out to be perfect…just like you, but it's funny how life works isn't it? It's all ironic if you ask me." Spike looked at Buffy again, his eyes sad. "You look tired, take the rest of the day off."
"No, I'm fine…" Buffy insisted.
"You probably need a vacation don't you? I have a nice cabin in the woods, how about I send you there? You would like that now, wouldn't you? I'll have a car pick you up tomorrow morning, alright pet?" Spike handed her a letter and a set of keys.
Buffy glared at him angrily. "Is this why you wanted to see me?" she demanded, her voice rising in volume. "So you could give me…this?"
"I don't even know if I'm doing the right thing," Spike said as he sighed.
"What?"
Spike looked at her, and hugged her without warning. He pressed her close to him, as close as he could, smelling her hair, and feeling her in his arms. How he wanted to hold her forever. "I'm scared luv…scared that if I send you, that you won't come back." He then released her. "I'll be going now."
((A/N: So does everyone like hate me now? And to those of you who thought that the last chapter was the final one, you're wrong!! I will announce when the last chapter comes…ok? But anyways…hope this wasn't such a crappy update, so much crud has been happening…and school…the devil…and the demons of life! Anyways…don't hate me!))