Chapter 6

"How long have you two been seeing each other?" Alyssa asked Spike later that night in the kitchen while Buffy was out. She wanted to get to know her savior better.

"For about a month now, but we've known each other for years." Alyssa nodded.

"Was it like a love at first sight thing?" Spike smiled at her.

"Yeah, something like that." Alyssa nodded again.

"That's really cool; I can tell how much you guys really love each other. It's great that you have that." Spike nodded also.

"You'll have that soon, bit. You're what, 15?" Alyssa shook her head.

"16," she corrected and he nodded again.

"Okay, 16 then. What I mean is you're still young. You have plenty of time to worry about that." Alyssa shrugged.

"I guess." She stated even though she wasn't sure. He just pushed a plate in front of her.

"Eat your sandwich, love. We'll talk later." She nodded and did as he said. She was eating in silence when the back door opened and Willow walked in. She smiled when she saw them.

"Hey, guys. What are you up to?" She wondered.

"We were just talking. You want a sandwich, Red?" Spike asked and Willow shook her head.

"I'm not really hungry. I was just gonna head upstairs. Getting kinda tired." Spike nodded as Willow walked out of the kitchen. Alyssa finished her sandwich and got up to put the plate in the sink.

"I guess I better go join Dawn and get started on my homework." She said as she gave Spike a smile before she left the kitchen also. Spike was cleaning up a few things when the back door opened again and Buffy walked in. Spike looked up at her and saw how tired she seemed. She gave him a small smile and walked into the kitchen, limping a little. He then realized something as he looked at her and walked closer to her.

"Where are you hurt?" He asked her.

"What are you talking about?" Spike rolled his eyes.

"I can smell your blood, Buffy. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" Buffy sighed and sat down as she lifted up her pants to show him a long bloody gash on her leg. He inspected it before looking back at her. "What happened?" He asked her and she sighed again.

"I wasn't paying attention, okay? I didn't see the demon's claws until they were in my leg. I'm fine though and I killed the demon, so no worries." Spike nodded and helped her up even though he was still worried.

"You should probably take a bath." He said as he helped her up the stairs. She turned to look at him.

"Are you saying that I stink?" He smirked at her.

"Well, now that you mention it." She hit him playfully on the arm.

"I so don't stink, mister. If you could handle the burger smell last year with no complaints then you can handle anything." Spike nodded.

"You're right about that. You don't stink; I just figured a bath would make you feel better." Buffy nodded also and knew that was what he meant. They got to the bathroom and Buffy walked inside. She turned to look at Spike.

"Just so you know, I'm locking this door. I would rather bathe alone tonight." She said as she closed the door leaving him standing there to stare at it.

"Right, well I'll just let you do that then." He said as he sighed and walked away. He went to Dawn's room to hear the girls talking and laughing inside. He smiled at that and was happy that they have become such good friends. He knew that Alyssa didn't really have any and the girl needed a friend. She was a sweet girl and didn't deserve the life that she had. She sometimes reminded him of himself when he was human. He didn't really have any friends then either and he would always get teased for his poetry or just about anything really. He listened to them for a little while longer and then headed into Buffy's room which was now his room, too. He just sat down on the bed and waited for her to be done with her bath while he thought about how much his life has changed.