Chapter 8

Spike pulled away and looked at Buffy, with a confused expression on his face. "What was that for?" He asked her and she suddenly felt nervous.

"It seemed like a right thing to do at the time." She replied and Spike shook his head.

"I don't want you to feel sorry for me, Buffy. I didn't tell you all that for pity." Buffy took a deep breath before she answered him.

"It wasn't because of pity, Spike. I've actually wanted to kiss you for a while now. I just figured that you wouldn't want me to, I never thought you actually liked me." Spike nodded and felt glad that she really wanted to kiss him.

"I'm sorry for everything." He told her sincerely.

"I'm sorry, too. We both made a lot of mistakes in the past. This is our chance to start over." Spike nodded and gave her a smile.

"I think I can do that." He stated as he then placed a soft kiss on her lips. Buffy smiled when he pulled away.

"So, let's do this right. How about we go out tomorrow night? I can't take another date from hell and I have a feeling that you'll be different." Spike nodded again and still couldn't believe that any of this was happening.

"Well, you're right about that. Does 8 sound good to you?" He asked her.

"Sounds like a plan." Spike smiled as he stood up.

"It's a date then. I'll pick you up tomorrow." Buffy nodded as she stood up also. Spike then thought about something else. "What about Katie? Who's going to watch her?" He wondered.

"My mom can watch her." She said and Spike nodded as he headed to the door. He turned back to her one more time and placed a kiss on her cheek. He then gave her another smile and walked out of the house. Buffy smiled also as she closed the door and rested her head on it. She had a feeling it was definitely going to be a date to remember.

"I don't have anything to wear." Buffy stated as she looked through her clothes. She was beyond frustrated at this point.

"Buffy, you need to calm down. Spike won't care what you wear. I still can't believe you guys are actually going out. This is so great." Willow said and Buffy let out a sigh as she sat on her bed.

"I don't know, Will. If you told me a few years ago that I would end up going out with Spike, I would have probably laughed in your face. I just want this to go well. I really care about him; I think it might be more than that. He's been really great to me and Katie these last few weeks and I just really want things to work out." Willow nodded and went over to Buffy's closet. She then pulled out a silk, beige dress and showed it to Buffy.

"What about this one?" Buffy raised her eyebrows at the selection.

"That's the dress I wore to Prom." She told her friend.

"I know that, but it would be perfect. Spike loved you in this dress." Willow told her and Buffy didn't know about that. She hardly talked to Spike at all at Prom. She was still surprised that he was even there.

"What if it's too fancy? I don't even know where we're going." Willow placed the dress on Buffy's bed.

"It's not too fancy. You will look great and it's not like you have anything else to wear." She said and Buffy sighed as she grabbed the dress.

"Okay, I'll wear it." Willow smiled and gave her friend a hug.

"I think I should go now. I want all the details tomorrow." She said with her resolve face and Buffy nodded.

"Thanks for the help." She replied and Willow gave her one more smile before she left the room. Buffy watched her go and then turned her gaze back on the dress. She hoped it was a good choice.

Buffy fixed her hair when the doorbell rang. She took one more look at her reflection and then went to answer the door. She was shocked when she got a look at Spike. He was actually wearing a nice suit instead of his duster. She couldn't remember ever seeing him without it. He gave her a smile and she could definitely tell that he liked what he saw. "You look amazing, love. Is that your Prom dress?" Buffy was stunned that he remembered.

"Yeah, it seemed like the right choice. You look really nice." She said and noticed him blush a little at the compliment. He only held up his hand where she noticed he had a bouquet of flowers.

"These are for you." Buffy smiled as she took the flowers from him.

"They're beautiful, I'll be right back." He nodded as she went into the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase. She went back to join him and grabbed her jacket before she left the house. They walked over to his car and he opened the door for her. Buffy wondered where this sweet guy has been hiding all of this time. She smiled as she got into the car and he walked to his side. He got in and started the car. He then took off to his destination.

Buffy and Spike were talking and laughing later at dinner. They were at an elegant Italian restaurant. She almost coughed on her water because she was laughing so hard. "I can't believe you did that." She said as she tried to control her laughter and Spike only shrugged.

"It was a dare. I'm not one to back down from a dare." Buffy shook her head and took another sip of water.

"I still can't believe you ran around school naked. No wonder you were kicked out." She said and he shrugged again.

"I wasn't kicked out for that. There were a lot of things I got in trouble for, but I'm not like that anymore." Buffy grabbed his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

"I know you're not. I've seen you with Katie and I can tell how much she means to you." Spike held her hand tighter as he looked into her eyes.

"She means as much to me as her mother does." He said quietly and Buffy felt touched as she leaned closer to him and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. She pulled away and saw the surprise on his face.

"Thank you," she replied and Spike smiled at her. He knew she was talking about more than what he said. They got back to their dinner and Buffy thought about everything that has changed. She knew that she finally made the right choice for once.