Chapter 2: The Little Things
6 months after graduation…
New York City
It's the little things that made Spike's heart to ache. There was a TV show that Buffy and he loved, a song that they danced to, a word that made them laugh. After losing Buffy he pretty much wallowed in his sorrow at his house the rest of the summer. He didn't even leave to say goodbye to her when she went to the airport to go to California. He didn't want to be there to say goodbye, he wouldn't have known what to say to her; how to say goodbye.
Things got a little bit better when Spike started NYU. He hung out with his roommate, Angel, and buried himself in his studies. Spike started going to frat parties with other students and met some nice people. However, when a girl got a little too flirty with Spike he just walked away. His heart still belonged to Buffy and he had no intention of giving up on her.
"So…tell me about this Buffy girl." Angel said to Spike. They were both eating lunch at the university cafeteria, finished with one of there classes they had together. Spike was pretty much keeping quiet the whole time while they ate.
"Huh?" Spike looked up at Angel with a dazed look on his face.
"Buffy…that girl from your hometown…tell me about her." Angel said and took a sip out of his pop can.
"I don't want to talk about it." Spike mumbled and looked down at his food and stabbed his fork at his salad.
"Come on! Tell me!" Angel begged, "When we go to parties you don't dance with any girls at all! Once they get all flirty with you take off running. So it has to be this Buffy girl that is making you this way or…well you're turning gay or something." Angel said.
"I'm not gay!" Spike said. "It's just…"
"The Buffy girl huh?" Angel asked.
Spike nodded silently.
"High school sweetie?" Angel asked.
"I guess you can put it that way…we knew each other for a long time." Spike said and sighed.
"You break up with her or…?" Angel asked.
"No…well…she didn't really want to break up with me…but she said we had too." Spike explained.
"Sounds like she broke up with you." Angel said and took a bit out of his burger.
"Whatever…it doesn't matter." Spike said, "She said we should break up so we don't have to hold on to anything…she wants me to date other people…experience other things, even though I don't want to."
"But she's right…you shouldn't hold onto the past…it's time to let go of high school…and that means letting go of her. Being with her will just remind you of high school. It's time to be in college." Angel said.
"Yeah I guess…but why can't I just let go of high school but NOT let go of her?" Spike asked Angel.
"I don't know…" Angel said, "Maybe she wanted you to find yourself…maybe she wanted to find herself too…become stable…sew your wild oats or something like that."
Spike shook his head. "I have no oats to sew…" Spike mumbled.
"Trust me man…it hurts now…but later, you will not regret her breaking up with you. You'll want to be thanking her." Angel said and got up from his seat and took his tray of food away with him. Angel left Spike with his thoughts.
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Los Angeles
Buffy thought of him all the time. When she was typing on her computer, she thought of him. When she ate with her new friend Fred, Buffy thought of him. When Buffy woke up in the morning and when she went to sleep at night she thought of Spike. She wondered if he was hurting like she was.
"I'm going to the library…what to come with?" Buffy's roommate Fred asked.
"Umm…no…I'm fine here. Besides..."Buffy smiled, "You probably want to be alone with Wesley."
"Buffy please!" Fred exclaimed and started to blush and smile.
"Oh come on…you know you like him!" Buffy said.
"Well…" Fred tried to come up with a come back but when she could she just gave Buffy a look and left the room. Buffy laughed at her roommate's cuteness. Fred reminded Buffy of Willow a little. Buffy missed Willow and wished her friend didn't have to be so smart and get to go to a great school like Princeton.
Buffy walked over to her nightstand and opened the draw to her nightstand and pulled out picture of her friends back in New York. Oz, Xander, Cordelia, Willow, Spike, and Buffy were in the picture at the Statue of Liberty. The photo was taken a few months before graduation when the whole gang decided to skip school and go to the city. Buffy remembered the day like yesterday…
"Cheese!" everyone exclaimed at the camera. The photo was taken by a random stranger.
"Thanks." Buffy said to the stranger and took her camera back.
"How come we don't come here a lot? We really take New York for granted sometimes." Xander said as he put his arm around Cordelia and looked out off the Statue of Liberty.
"Because, Whelp, this is what tourist do…" Spike said as he wrapped his arms around behind Buffy as they stared off at the edge.
"Yeah but we are doing the tourist thing today." Willow said with a smile.
"We already did Empire State Building, Time Square, and Rockefeller Center…what more is there?" Spike asked.
"Central Park." Buffy turned around to face Spike and put her arms around his neck.
"And what? Get mugged?" Spike asked.
"No one would mug us with you around…you look like a tough guy." Buffy smiled.
"But I don't know…they might not see me and look at Xander and think direct target to get the geek." Spike said and looked to Xander.
"Ha-ha…very funny." Xander said.
Buffy continued to stare at the picture and frowned. She missed her friends and wished she could wake up everyday and it would be that day.
A knock at the door made Buffy come out of her thoughts. She put back her picture and went to open the door and was greeted by two very large men.
"Ms. Buffy Summers?" one of the guys asked with a British accent.
"Uh…yes." Buffy said and looked back and forth between the guys.
The guys exchanged a quick glance and one of the guys pushed Buffy down to the floor and pinned her down. The other guy quickly kicked the door shut behind him and took out a bottle and a rag and put some of the stuff from the bottle into the rag. The other man covered Buffy's mouth, trying to keep her from screaming. The guy with the bottle and rag kneeled down beside Buffy and covered Buffy's mouth with the rag and kept it there until Buffy passed out.
The two men got off of Buffy, stood up, and looked at her. There was a knock at the door and one of the men answered it and saw two more men. The two men entered and saw Buffy lying on the floor.
"This her?" One of the men asked with a British accent.
"Yes this is Buffy Summers." One of the men said.
"Good…pick her up and get her in the van…we have to be on our way to Sunnydale at once." The man said. He seemed to be the leader of the three British men. "Call Mr. Giles and tell him we got the new Slayer." The man said while looking at Buffy.
"Yes, Mr. Travers." One of the men said.
TBC....
