Chapter 4

Harmony and Buffy walked into Cordelia's house the night of her party and looked around. Willow couldn't go because she suddenly caught a cold and had to stay home. Buffy realized that she really didn't want to be there, but she decided to make the best of it. "Okay, there's Cordy. I'm gonna go talk to her. You are not to talk to me when I'm around my friends, got that?" Harmony told Buffy and she rolled her eyes.

"Believe me, there's no chance of that happening." She replied and Harmony nodded as she walked away from Buffy, without saying anything else. Buffy looked around at all the couples dancing and she really didn't know anyone. "What am I doing here?" She said to herself as she walked around and tried to stay out of everyone's way. She was looking around to see if Spike was there, but she wasn't having any luck. She then noticed that Cordelia was now talking to two guys and wondered where Harmony was. She only shrugged and decided to go outside for some fresh air. She stopped suddenly when she noticed that Harmony was making out with Spike. Buffy felt tears in her eyes as she ran back into the house and up the stairs. She found an empty room and closed the door. She leaned her head against the door and finally let the tears fall.

"Harmony, what are you doing?" Spike said as he pushed her away.

"I'm giving you what you want. I know how you feel about me, Spikey. We can get out of here and go somewhere a little more private." She said in a seductive tone and Spike shook his head.

"I think you have the wrong idea. Is your sister here?" Harmony looked angry at that question.

"Why does that matter? She's probably inside somewhere causing trouble. Let's just forget about the brat and get back to what we were doing." She said as she ran her hands over his chest and he stepped away from her.

"I have to go." He said as he ran by Harmony and headed into the house. He had a girl to find.

Buffy was now sitting on the bed, with her face buried in her hands. She didn't know how she was going to face Harmony now. She only knew that she felt sick with the thought of the two of them together. She looked up when she heard someone knock on the door. "It's occupied!" She yelled and hoped they would go away. She had no such luck when someone opened the door and walked inside. She was surprised when she saw that it was Spike. He gave her a smile and closed the door behind him.

"I had a feeling I would find you up here. This is where I would be if I wanted to get away." She crossed her arms over her chest and suddenly felt cold.

"What are you doing in here? I figured you would be somewhere with Harmony." Spike raised his eyebrows and moved closer to her.

"Why would I be anywhere with Harmony?" He wondered and Buffy tried not to cry again.

"I saw you two outside. You looked pretty cozy to me." Spike shut his eyes tight when he realized that she saw them. He then opened his eyes to see the hurt on her face. He sat down next to her on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"She kissed me when I came here. I didn't have much of a warning. I stopped her and I'm sure she knows that it won't be happening again." Buffy looked confused now.

"Why did you stop? I thought you liked her." She said and Spike was trying not to laugh.

"What gave you that idea?" Buffy shrugged and looked away from him.

"Harmony told me that you did. She said her friend overheard you saying how much you wanted her." Spike did laugh this time and Buffy looked at him in confusion.

"I think I know what conversation was overheard. Her friend got it wrong, love. I wasn't talking about Harmony." He suddenly looked nervous before he said the rest. "I was talking about this other girl and I guess she got the wrong idea. I didn't mention any names; just that she had blonde hair." Buffy nodded and looked away again. She was relieved knowing that he wasn't interested in Harmony, but there was still someone else that he liked. She let out a sigh and Spike looked at her in concern. "You alright?" He wondered and she gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just really wishing that I wasn't here right now." Spike agreed and then grabbed her hand, pulling her off of the bed. She raised her eyebrows and he smiled at her.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He told her and she nodded as she let him pull her out of the room.

They were walking along the beach an hour later because it was a favorite spot for both of them. They managed to leave the party without anyone noticing. Buffy figured that Harmony wouldn't even miss her. They stopped to stare out at the water and Buffy took a deep breath. "I love the ocean. I always come here at night when I know hardly anyone would be around. It's always so beautiful at night." Buffy said and Spike agreed as he looked at her. He took a moment to stare at her, while she was entranced by the waves crashing in the ocean. He had his chance to tell her how he felt when they were at the party, but he chickened out. Instead making her believe that he was interested in someone else, but he couldn't believe that she would ever think that he was interested in Harmony. Spike could hardly stand the bint and he didn't like the way she treated Buffy. The girl deserved better than that. Buffy looked away from the ocean to catch him staring at her. She felt her breath catch in her throat at his intense expression. "What are you thinking about?" She wondered and he then realized that he had enough. It was time to tell her the truth, most of it anyway. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and gave her a smile.

"You, Buffy. I'm always thinking about you." He told her and Buffy was definitely shocked at that statement.