Chapter 25

Buffy smiled when she got to her house and found a small box at the front door. She picked it up and walked inside, not opening it until she reached her room. She sat on her bed and then opened the box to reveal a beautiful, silver necklace. Spike was just full of surprises. She put the necklace on and went over to her mirror to check it out. She didn't expect him to give her anything until Christmas, but she wasn't about to turn away the gift. She'd have to be crazy to do that. She was brought out of her reverie when Spike walked into her room. "See, I used the door this time. Aren't you proud of me?" He asked her with a smile and she gave him a smile of her own as she went to hug him.

"You are the sweetest guy in the whole world." She told him and Spike was confused as he hugged her back.

"If this is the response I get, I think I'll continue to use the door." Buffy pulled away and kissed him on the lips.

"Thanks for the necklace. It's very beautiful." Spike grabbed Buffy's arms gently and pushed her away, so he was looking into her eyes.

"You lost me, love. That's not from me." He said as he pointed to the necklace that she was wearing. "I haven't made enough to pay for your present yet." It was Buffy's turn to be confused now.

"You didn't leave this at the door?" She asked and he shook his head.

"If it was from me, I would have given it to you in person." Buffy then realized that the necklace didn't come with a note. She figured Spike would have written something.

"Wait, I found a rose in my locker today. You didn't put it there?" She wondered and Spike shook his head again.

"I'm not going to return to a school that I don't go to anymore to put a flower in your locker. Again, I would have done it in person." He explained and Buffy then went into her backpack to take out the rose and the note that she found in her locker.

"This was with it." She said as she handed him the note and watched as he read it. He really didn't look happy.

"Who the bloody hell is this from?" He asked her like she was supposed to know the answer.

"I don't know, I thought it was you." Spike calmed down when he noticed how scared Buffy looked. He threw the note away and wrapped his arms around her.

"Do you know of anyone that it could be from?" He asked her in a softer tone and she shook her head.

"I have no idea. I'm not exactly popular; I don't know who could have given me this." She said as she took the necklace off and placed it back in the box. She didn't want anything to do with it anymore. "I'm scared, Spike. This person has obviously been following me around. They knew how to get into my locker and they know where I live." Spike grew angry as he held her tighter.

"If I find out who it is, I'll make him pay for ever laying eyes on you." He stated and Buffy shut her eyes tight as she continued to let him hold her, neither knowing what to say after that.

"Not only are you dating the hottest guy ever, but you now have a secret admirer. You're so lucky." Dawn said after Buffy told them what happened.

"This isn't a good thing, Dawn. This guy has been following me. It's just really creepy and I have no idea who it could be." She explained and Dawn didn't really think about that.

"Sounds like you have yourself a stalker. I had one before, so annoying. I felt all flattered and everything, but the poor guy just wouldn't take the hint. Oh, maybe it's the same guy. He probably realized he couldn't get anywhere with me and decided to move on to my sister. God, how desperate will some people get?" Harmony said and the other two girls stared at her. "Not that he'd have to be desperate to want you or anything." She said to try and make it sound better, but Buffy just rolled her eyes. She then turned back to Dawn.

"What am I gonna do? I'll be constantly worrying about this at school now. I don't want some guy to be watching my every move." Buffy claimed as she sat down on her bed, suddenly wishing that Spike didn't already graduate.

"Maybe you could find a guy and pretend like you're with him, so the creepy guy will back off. You'll have to find a really big guy though. Like someone on the football team." Dawn told her and Harmony actually agreed with that idea.

"Yeah, like that'll happen. I'm not exactly popular with the jocks. I would never lower myself to actually pretend to be with one of them anyway. No, this is just something I'll have to handle on my own. Maybe it's not as bad as I think. I'm probably getting all worked up over nothing. We'll soon be out of school for winter break and this whole thing will probably just blow over. I'll just ignore it. He'll probably realize that I'm not interested and leave me alone." Buffy said more to herself than her sisters. She really wished she could believe that.

Buffy walked the halls of Sunnydale High the next day and tried not to feel afraid. She knew she was making herself crazy and tried to put the supposed stalker out of her head. She was headed to her locker and not paying attention, when she bumped into a hard chest. She would have fallen down if it wasn't for the strong arms that were now holding her. "Sorry about that, didn't see you." He said and Buffy raised her head to look at him. He was tall and definitely not bad to look at, but she couldn't seem to recognize him. She shook her head when she realized that he spoke.

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't really paying attention." He gave her a warm smile and then let her arms go.

"I guess that happens. I'm Riley Finn, I just moved here about a month ago. I still don't know my way around all that well. This is a bigger school than what I'm used to." He said and Buffy nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, don't worry. I've been here for almost 3 years now and I still manage to get lost. I'm Buffy Summers, by the way." He shook her hand and let it go after a few seconds.

"Right, I've seen you around." He told her and Buffy didn't know why that statement suddenly made her nervous, but she just shook it off.

"Well, I should really be getting to class now. Maybe we can talk again later." Buffy said and really wanted to be elsewhere at the moment. He seemed like a nice guy, but looks could always be deceiving. She was finding it hard to trust anyone right now.

"Yeah, count on it." He replied with a friendly smile and then walked off in the other direction. Buffy sighed in relief and continued the walk to her locker. She just really wanted the day to be over.