Chapter 2

Buffy was exhausted as she walked into school the next day. Her mother took longer at the gallery than she said she would and she hardly got any sleep. She loved her sisters, but sometimes they were a bit too much to deal with. She saw her friend waiting for her by their lockers and she walked over. "Please tell me you have some aspirin?" She asked and he gave her a smile.

"Rough night I take it. You don't look so good." Buffy glared at him.

"Tell me something I don't know." He held up his hands in surrender and pulled out a bottle of aspirin from his locker. He handed it to her and she gave him a small smile as she took it from him. "You're a lifesaver, Spike." He smiled in return.

"Yeah, that's what all the ladies say." She rolled her eyes as they walked to their first class. "So, what happened this time? We missed you at the Bronze last night." Buffy nodded.

"I was stuck babysitting the demon spawn, so I couldn't make it." Spike nodded in understanding.

"You could have called me and I would have helped." Buffy shook her head.

"No, I had everything under control. I'm so going to the Bronze tonight though. I need to get out of that house before I go crazy." Spike smiled and put his arm around her as they continued to walk.

"How about after the Bronze you come stay at my place for the night? You could probably use some sleep." Buffy stopped to look at him.

"I would love that. Are you sure?" Spike nodded.

"Yeah, my dad's out of town and I have the place to myself. Gets lonely sometimes, so I could use some company." Buffy smiled at him.

"I'll have to ask my mom, but I'm sure it would be fine." She said as they finally got to their class. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I so love you for this." She stated as she walked into the classroom. He stood there for a second and touched the spot where she kissed him. He then smiled as he walked into the class and sat down in the seat next to Buffy. He watched her as she was talking to their other friends Willow and Xander. She seemed to be feeling better as she laughed at something Xander said. Her whole face lit up and Spike had to smile also. He has been friends with Buffy pretty much forever. Both of their mother's were friends in college, so Buffy and Spike basically grew up together. Spike felt saddened for a moment as he thought of his mother. He was 12 when he lost Jenny from a brain tumor. He remembered he would spend days in his room just crying his eyes out. Buffy would come over every day to try and cheer him up and only she managed to be able to do that. He smiled again as he watched her. She would always be the most beautiful girl to him even when she was having a bad day. He has been secretly in love with her for as long as he can remember and she had no idea. He didn't want to tell her how he felt because he knew how important their friendship meant to her and he wouldn't want to do anything to ruin that. He still dated and had a few girlfriends, but they would never compare to Buffy. He would find himself comparing every girl to her which is why those relationships never lasted. He was never in love with any of them. He thought he could have fallen in love with Drusilla, but that changed when he found her with someone else. Faith was a little too wild even for him. She only wanted sex and he wanted more than that in a relationship. He only dated Harmony because she looked like Buffy. He broke out of his reverie when he noticed Buffy trying to get his attention. "Hey, you okay? You were zoned out for a second there." Spike looked at her and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking." He explained.

"Thinking about what?" He shrugged and didn't want her to know what he was really thinking about.

"Nothing for you to worry about." Buffy nodded and accepted his answer as they both turned back to the front of the class and tried to pay attention to the teacher.