Chapter 2
by Zzilly14
Angel couldn't believe his ears. "You don't care? I thought your love with Dru was eternal."
"Well, she had a change of heart." Spike paused. "Actually, I was the one who did the changing."
Angel stared into Spike's blue eyes and let go of him in shock. "How?"
Buffy appeared on the scene, stake in hand. "What's going on? How what?"
The dark-haired vampire looked at the Slayer and shook his head. "Just let him go, Buffy."
"But evil vampire!" she protested, pointing at the bleach blond. "In front of my house!"
Spike laughed. "Love, the only evil thing here is my smoking habit."
"Angel?" she asked, looking at her boyfriend.
"He has a soul."
Buffy burst into laughter. "Are you kidding me? Another vampire with a soul?" As the giggles tapered off, she shook her head. "He's lying. It's an act. A big... bad... act. Right?"
"He didn't even tell me. I can see it." Angel looked at Spike. "How'd you get it?"
"After I killed Slayer Number Two back in the 70s, Dru and I went to Africa. Heard the next Slayer was there, and I thought Dru should have a chance at bagging one."
"For some reason I'm not impressed," Buffy interrupted. "Can I kill him yet?"
"Sod off, Slayer. I'm not done yet. Anyway, we found the village where this girl was at, yeah? Turns out she wasn't all there. A little crazy, she was."
Angel laughed, "The perfect opponent for Drusilla."
"The Slayer cursed us with voodoo or some such thing. Somehow Dru escaped... but I didn't. I couldn't even move. The villagers tied me up to a pole and I thought they were going to burn me."
"Too bad they..." Buffy began, but Angel placed his fingers on her mouth.
"Then this bloke wearing feathers screams in my face, and suddenly everyone was dancing around me, chanting. I could hear the Slayer's voice distinctly among the noise: 'Return, return, return!'"
"And?" Angel prodded.
"And I blacked out as they started untying me from the pole. When I woke up, I wasn't the same vampire. The villagers gave me pig's blood to drink until I felt ready to leave."
"What happened to Drusilla?" Angel asked.
"The bitch left the country... went to Prague, I think, for some fun. Ended up getting burned at the stake by an angry mob. Served her right, the evil bint."
"What about the crazy Slayer?" Buffy wondered.
"She... she was the one who took care of me the most while I recovered from my guilt. Made sure I had enough blood to keep me. Recited nonsense poetry..."
Angel grinned, "Like you used to?"
"This guy's a poet?" Buffy grinned.
Spike rolled his eyes as he lit another cigarette. "Formerly. Even after I was changed I continued writing the bloody stuff. But I stopped when Ayanna..." He paused sadly.
"You loved her," Angel realized.
"Still do," he replied, throwing the cigarette onto the sidewalk. "I was there when it happened, you know. Watched her die. And there was nothing I could do about it."
Buffy's heart began to ease. "I'm sorry."
He looked into her green eyes and smiled softly. "It's alright,
Bit. I've moved on."