Chapter 4

Buffy snuck out of her window the next night and climbed down the tree. She smiled at Spike when she saw that he was waiting for her. He took her hand and they headed over to his rental car. They got in and drove off, not knowing that they were being watched by a nosy teenager.

"Okay, I officially suck at this." Buffy said with a pout as they finished playing a game of pool, where Spike kept beating her. He only smiled at how cute she looked when she did that.

"It takes practice. I've been playing since I was 12." He said and that made Buffy wonder about something.

"How old are you anyway? I can't believe I never thought to ask." Spike smiled at her again as he walked closer to her.

"How old do I look?" Buffy shook her head.

"Oh no, I'm not even going to guess. That would probably get me into trouble." Spike laughed this time and decided to tell her.

"I'm only 20, pet." Buffy sighed in relief when she realized that he wasn't that much older than her. "What about you?" He asked suddenly and Buffy forgot that he didn't even know how old she was either.

"I turn 18 next month." She told him and Spike nodded.

"So, what do you want for your birthday?" He wondered as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Surprise me." She whispered and Spike then pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. He just met her, but he already couldn't get enough of her. There was something special about this girl and he wanted to get to know everything about her. He pulled away when she needed to breathe and then grabbed her hand.

"Let's get out of here." He said and Buffy nodded as she let him pull her away.

They were both walking the streets hand in hand, neither knowing what to say to start a conversation. Buffy was about to say something, when she noticed a familiar person in the distance. He noticed her also and gave her a smile as she walked over. "Hey, Riley." Buffy said and his smile got bigger.

"Hey, Buffy. It's good to see you again." She nodded and then noticed the dark haired woman standing next to Riley. He decided to introduce them. "This is my girlfriend, Faith." He said as he looked at Buffy and then Faith. "This is Buffy; she's the one I told you my parents were trying to set me up with." Faith nodded as she looked at Buffy.

"It's nice to meet you, B." She said and Buffy smiled. This girl seemed to be his exact opposite and she now understood why his parents tried to set him up with someone else. She had more in common with him than she thought.

"Same here, this is Spike." She said introducing him. She wasn't really sure about calling him her boyfriend yet. "I see our parents are exactly the same." Buffy said and Riley agreed.

"Yeah, they don't think Faith is good enough for me. They're constantly trying to set me up with someone, but I don't really go along with it. I'm the only one that gets to choose who I want to be with. Not that I didn't like you or anything, Buffy." Buffy held her hand up.

"Don't worry, I get it. They've been doing the same thing to me for as long as I can remember. We should be able to make our own decisions." Riley nodded in agreement.

"You're right about that. We should really get going now. Maybe I'll see you around?" He said and Buffy nodded.

"Maybe, good luck with everything." She told him and he gave her another smile before he then walked away with Faith. Buffy turned to Spike, who has been quiet the whole time. "You okay?" She wondered and he only gave her a smile.

"Yeah, so that's the bloke they want you to marry?" He asked and she nodded.

"I'm afraid so, but I'm so relieved he has a girlfriend." Spike silently agreed as he put his arm around her. They then walked away, once again hand in hand.

They made it to her house a little while later and Spike was finding it hard to let her go, even though he knew he would be seeing her again. He really hoped anyway. "This keeps getting harder." She whispered as she looked into his eyes. He knew what she was talking about, without even having to ask.

"I know what you mean. Just letting you go even for one night is bloody killing me." Buffy nodded as she started to feel tears in her eyes.

"I wish we didn't have to hide." Spike agreed as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Maybe someday we won't have to." Buffy shook her head and wished she could believe that.

"They'll never understand." She sounded so broken that Spike only wanted to hold her and never let go.

"You have to believe that things will change. They won't always be so hard." He told her and she gave him a small smile.

"I wish I had your confidence." Spike smiled in return.

"You have plenty. I'll see you tomorrow, love. You'll know where to find me." He said as he finally let her hand go. The tears fell down her face now as she watched him walk away. She just wiped her eyes and started walking to her house. She snuck in her window and once again found Dawn waiting in her room. Buffy sighed as she stepped inside.

"You have to stop making a habit of this, Dawn." Buffy said and Dawn crossed her arms over her chest.

"Where were you tonight?" She asked and Buffy didn't feel like dealing with this right now.

"Stay out of my business." Buffy stated as she sat on her bed, but Dawn wasn't finished.

"I saw you with that guy, Buffy. You can't hide anything from me." Buffy's eyes grew big at that.

"You were spying on me?" She said and Dawn rolled her eyes.

"I got bored. You know, mom and dad would freak if they found out that you have been sneaking out to meet a guy. Especially one that looks like that." Buffy moved closer to Dawn and was willing to plead with her, which is something she would never normally do.

"You can't tell them, Dawn. I've never asked you for anything before. Please, don't tell them. They'll make me stop seeing him if they find out." Dawn was surprised to hear the fear in her older sister's voice. She sighed and sat down on Buffy's bed.

"Fine, spoil my fun. I won't tell them." Buffy smiled now and hugged Dawn. She pulled away after a few seconds. "Okay, stop with all the mushiness. You so owe me." Buffy nodded and kept the smile on her face.

"Thanks, I knew you couldn't be all that evil." Dawn glared at her older sister.

"Don't get used to it." She said as she stood up and walked out of Buffy's room. Buffy kept smiling as she changed her clothes. She got in bed and looked up at the ceiling. Maybe her sister wasn't so bad after all.