Chapter Five
Buffy watched in shock as Spike blocked a left hook and then landed a left kick to the vampire's head. Who knew tall, blonde and clueless was so flexible? Finally Spike staked him through the heart, leaving nothing but ashes. Buffy stayed in place with her mouth slightly open. Spike brushed off his jacket and caught a glimpse of a foreign body.
"Buffy?" he asked, hesitantly. He slowly walked towards her as she stared at him in awe. "I know what you thought you saw."
"I thought I saw you fighting a vampire," she said bluntly.
"It may have looked- what?"
"What?" Buffy asked, confused.
"How do you know about vampires?"
"How do you know about vampires?"
"I asked you first."
"So? I asked you second and two's a bigger number," Buffy said triumphantly. "Look out." Buffy pushed Spike out of the way as a vampire approached. He blocked her backhand but she followed through with a round-kick, hitting him in the face. The vamp growled as he spun to the left. Buffy whipped out her stake, blocked his right hook and then jabbed the stake into his chest. She skipped the snappy retort and went back to playing 20 questions with Spike. "What are you doing here?"
"How did you do that?" he asked with a combination of astonishment and uncertainty in his voice.
"Go home Spike."
"Why?"
"Because you shouldn't be here."
"And you should?"
"Yea. This is kinda what I do." Buffy walked past him and continued on her way, hoping he would leave the cemetery and head back to the rock that he called home.
"No way," he said in amazement as she passed him.
Buffy turned around, unsure as to what he meant. "What?" Her eyes glanced from side to side, trying to see if a "cool" looking demon decided to show up.
"Are you The Slayer?"
Buffy eyes widened in shock and aggravation. "How do you know about The Slayer?"
"No way!" he exclaimed. "This is too much. I figured The Slayer would be…," Spike held his hand up as if to say taller, "not you."
"Well you figured wrong. And again I ask as to how you know all of this."
"I read about it."
"You read?" Even more shocking.
"Into every generation a slayer is born. A Chosen One. She'll have extraordinary strength and ability to kick demon ass." Spike looked at her in a completely different light. He had a huge smile on his face. "Do you have the super human strength and abilities?"
"This is really freaking me out."
"Who's your Watcher? You do have a watcher right because every Slayer comes with a watcher to teach them to fight and all that stuff."
"I know what they do."
"Is it someone I know? Someone in the school? Does anybody else know? I know no one is supposed to know for fear of them getting' hurt but you hang out with Red, Xander and Oz a lot and it would be hard to keep something like that under wraps. Oh, does your mom know?"
"Breathe between sentences," Buffy insisted. "I don't want to have to be responsible for your unconscious body." Buffy continued her patrol with Spike right on her tail. "Stop following me."
"It's not everyday you find out someone you know is the Slayer."
"Are you part of a fan club or something?"
"You're the Slayer, I'm sorry but that's hard to wrap your head around."
"You have no idea," Buffy said to herself as she peered from side to side.
"So who knows?"
"Spike," Buffy said, stopping in her tracks. "I really don't need this. Just go home and I'll see you at rehearsal."
"No, I want to talk."
"Ya know for all you know about the Slayer I'm surprised you're purposely pissing one off."
"I got an idea. How about I ask you a question, you answer honestly, then you ask me a question that I'll answer honestly, and we'll go back and forth."
"Because I don't want to ask you anything."
"Oh come on there has to be somethin'." Buffy gave him an angry look combined with an oh-please. "Okay, then I'll start. How long have you been the Slayer?" Buffy stopped walking and looked to her right; her Slayer sense was kicking in. "Buffy?"
"I'm not playing this game." She walked in the direction of her inkling, which led her out of the graveyard and down the street. She heard someone scream and she ran in the direction. Spike tried keeping up behind her.
The vampire was drinking away at the girl's neck as she continued screaming. "Hey!" someone yelled. The vamp stopped and looked up. "Have you even considered all the work she's gonna have to put in to covering up that hickey?" He growled at her, offended she thought it was okay to interrupt his midnight snack. The girl took advantage of the distraction and heaved herself out of his arms. She started crawling away as she attempted to get to her feet but the vampire wasn't ready to let her get away. Buffy ran in and did a roundhouse kick to his face. He tried to punch her but she grabbed his right hand, twisted it to his side and snap kicked his abdomen.
Spike saw a strange girl come running out of an alley at her full speed. He ran towards the dark passage, knowing that's where he would find Buffy. Sure enough there she was, fighting with a guy in a leather jacket, a white wife beater and dark jeans. Are those cowboy boots? Buffy landed against the brick wall from the vamp's punch. He went to kick her but she caught it before impact and flipped him to the ground. With a quick jerk of her stake, the vampire was history.
Buffy brushed herself off and noticed Spike was still there. "Stop following me."
"How long have you been the Slayer?"
Buffy gritted her teeth and walked past him. "Actually, I want to ask something first."
"Why do you get to go first?"
"Because I can extraordinary strength and ability kick your ass." Spike held his hands up in defeat and continued walking with the Slayer. "Why are you a jerk?"
"What?"
"You heard me. Why are you a jerk?"
"How am I a jerk?"
"We used to be friends until you became too cool to hang out with me," Buffy reminded him.
"I'm the one who ruined it? Someone's forgetting the time when I came into the library to talk to her and she said she never wanted to see or talk to me again."
"And someone's forgetting giving me the brush off the night before because he was out with his new rebel friends. I waved to you and you just turned away."
Spike looked down at the ground as he replayed the events she explained. She was right. He did give her the brush off. He remembered why he did it but he couldn't tell her that. "I don't know why I did it."
Buffy rolled her eyes and turned down another street. "That doesn't count as an answer."
"I guess I was just trying to be cool." He ceased when she stopped in her tracks and faced him.
"You ignore your friends just because you want to be cool?"
"Do I need to bring up the lemonade stand incident?"
"That is completely different."
"How?" Spike inquired
"One, we were seven and two I wasn't trying to be cool."
"So you usually throw lemonade in your friends face because he said Jenny Baker looked tacky?"
Buffy clenched her jaw. You deserved it. She was one of the coolest girls you could meet. I mean nice. She was nice. It had nothing to do with her popularity. "What about the Easy Bake Oven debacle."
"Oh come on you were trying to cook mini muffins with a fifteen watt bulb."
"So you just crank the kitchen oven to three fifty and burn the muffins and the muffin tin?"
"I guess so."
Again with the storming off but she knew she wouldn't get rid of Spike that easily. "Are we done?"
"Nope. How long have you been slaying?"
"Three years," Buffy replied quickly.
"Three years? So you've been slaying since you were-"
"Fifteen."
"Rough."
"You have no idea." Buffy turned down Revello Drive, looking forward to her comfy bed and no more Spike. "How long have you been slaying?"
"Six months."
"Why?"
"Sorry, my turn. Who knows that you're the Slayer?"
"My mom, Willow, Xander, Oz, Giles and you."
"Giles? You mean the librarian? Why would he…" The puzzle pieces started to come together in Spike's brain. "Bloody hell. He's your Watcher isn't he?"
"Sorry, my turn," Buffy said with a smirk. "How did you find out about vampires?"
"During summer vacation me and Daren Bond were out at a bar and this girl took him out into the alley. After like five minutes I was wondering what happened to him because I know it wouldn't take him that long to-"
"Skip this part," Buffy quickly intervened by cringing and holding up her hands.
"Anyway, I saw him lying on the ground dead with two puncture wounds in his neck. What else could I think? So I started taking karate and kick boxing classes so I could fight them."
"Did Daren have green hair? Kinda in a Mohawk?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I killed him. Well, I staked him."
"So is Giles your Watcher?"
Buffy let out a sigh and replied, "Yes."
"Wow. Stuffy librarian playin' Yoda. That explains how you got the part of Juliet."
"Excuse me? He didn't cast the play. As far as the school knows he was out visiting his family and not out on a Watcher's trip."
"Why ya doin' the play? Isn't it gonna to be hard doin' the play and slaying and homework?" Spike kicked at a rock on the sidewalk.
"Well somehow the homework part gets done in between the training and patrolling and I can fit some line reading in there."
"Never knew you had so much on your plate. I'd go bloody insane."
"Yea well it comes with the job description." Buffy stopped in front of her house, subtly giving Spike the signal to leave. Then telling him, "This is where you no longer follow me."
"Right. Well g'night. Don't let the vampires bite."
"Haha, funny." Buffy walked up her steps and put her hand on the doorknob. She watched Spike reach his door and open it. Before he turned to give her a look she went inside. She couldn't help but smile. He may have started off annoying but in the end they actually had a pleasant conversation. Well as pleasant as vampires and slaying go.
