Growing Pains

Chapter 1: Spike

Spike stalked through the dark streets of Sunnydale, California. The quiet, quaint little town seemed even more deserted than usual as the young man cursed upwards into the black, starless sky. The source of his anguish was the same as it often was these days. Drusilla. The stupid bint could whine for England and it was really starting to get on his nerves.

She had gone on and on about putting his friends first all the time and not having any time for her. She'd practically accused him of neglect. When he'd finally relented and changed his plans; he found her at the Bronze, flirting with anything that had a pulse. Instead of talking about things rationally, Spike's temper had gotten the better of him; as it often did. He hurled a couple of harsh words her way, threw a drink against the wall and stormed out. Explosive. That was the best way to describe their relationship.

Spike leaned against the cold, brick wall and fished in the pocket of his black, leather duster for his fags, cursing again when he realised the packet was empty.

"I wish you wouldn't smoke those," a timid voice beside him said.

Groaning, Spike turned to see Willow Rosenberg, who was dressed in her trademark t-shirt and denim overalls, with her school bag slung over her shoulder, getting tangled in her long, wispy red hair. Willow was the smartest and nicest girl he knew, but when it came to social confidence, she was completely lacking. She offered him a little grin and a wave. Just over her fuzzy pink back pack, Spike noticed Xander Harris; class clown and chief slacker. He was shuffling awkwardly, in his scruffy jeans, red and white checked shirt and tatty brown boots that were dancing with grains of gravel. It was very unusual to see one without the other; the pair had been friends since they were four years old. The bond between them was unbreakable and there wasn't a single thing they didn't know about each other.

"Oh bloody hell! Can't a fella get a moments peace!" Spike snorted before calming slightly at Willow's flinch, "taken up stalking as a pastime have we?" he asked sarcastically with a raised eye brow.

"Hey!" Xander exclaimed, "Watch it, bleach boy,"

Spike folded his arms and stared hard at Xander, the beginnings of a smirk forming on his face and a glint of admiration in his eye. The two guys hadn't exactly gotten off to the best start, but had soon bonded over their shared protectiveness of the girl, who now stood between them.

"For your information," Xander continued, "Willow was worried." The young brunette was also worried but that wasn't the manly thing to admit to, "that was quite the show you put on back there," he concluded.

"Yeah," Spike said rolling his eyes, "well, I don't do refunds."

"It was my innocent and unsuspecting drink that paid the price for your little theatrics," Xander retorted, earning him a back hander from Willow. She stepped forward gingerly and looked at Spike, who seemed to be softening slightly.

"You know we're both here…" Willow trailed off, suddenly finding an interest in the floor, "I mean it's none of our business…but… we're both here… if you want to…"

Xander cut her off before she could go any further, "I believe what my babbling friend is trying to say is, you've got a mouth, we've got ears and as your long suffering friends, we are contractually obliged to listen.

"Yeah," Willow perked up again, "we're good with the listening."

Seeing the genuine looks of concern in their eyes, Spike started to calm down and inwardly scolded himself for his earlier outburst, after all it wasn't their fault, "thanks," he said simply, avoiding their gaze.

"Yeah…well," Xander said, "let's not make a big deal out of it."

The next few moments passed in silence. Spike leaned on the wall, flicking his lighter lid up and down, Xander went back to shuffling with his hands in his pockets and Willow's beady little eyes darted between the two as she played with a loose thread on her sleeve. It soon became apparently clear that Spike wasn't going to divulge anything. It was typical of him to keep things bottled up inside. Unable to take it anymore, Willow spoke up, "so, new neighbours moved in yet?" she asked, tactfully changing the subject.

"Don't know, Red. Supposed to move in today," Spike started before looking back at Xander, a wicked thought forming in his mind, "they can't be any worse than the last lot, hey Harris?"

Xander paled at the thought, "Harmony!" he shuddered, causing Willow to laugh and Spike's smirk to grow even bigger. Harmony Kendal was the Queen B of Sunnydale High School; she and her band of cheerleaders made it their mission to make Willow and Xander's life a living hell. They succeeded too, until Spike showed up. Willow was never quite sure if it was because she fancied him or because she was afraid of him. Hell, Willow had been afraid of Spike when she first met him. The young girl cast her mind back.

It was six months into their sophomore year at Sunnydale High and Willow, not for the first time, had found herself pinned up against the lockers, with Harmony threatening her. Then, she felt Harmony being pulled away and heard a commanding British accent telling her, none too politely, to sod off. Willow remembered staring up at her rescuer, he was tall, with bleached blonde hair and a black leather duster covering his red shirt and tight black jeans. Willow thought he looked very intimidating and ended up squeaking at him.

"Hello cutie," he said smiling at her. It was then, Willow noticed his eyes, big, blue eyes and she felt instantly reassured. She had introduced him to Xander, who was initially jealous of the new friendship. Thankfully, this didn't last long and the three of them had been firm friends ever since. Not that the boys would ever admit to it, they pushed each other's buttons something rotten but Willow could see through the charade. There was a definite level of admiration and they always had each other's back. It wasn't long after this that Harmony was humiliatingly dethroned by the arrival of Cordelia Chase.

Willow came out of her thoughts, as she realised Xander was still rigid at the mention of Harmony's name. She giggled again and looked at Spike, "I think you broke Xander," she said. Spike waved his hands in front of the teenager and got no response, which delighted him. He walked around and lightly smacked Xander on the back of his head; instantly bringing him back to reality.

A cold gust of wind shot out of nowhere, blowing Xander and Willow's hair everywhere; Spike's was sleeked back with so much hair gel, that it didn't move. Willow shivered, so Xander offered her his coat and suggested they stop at the espresso pump on their way back home. After all, it was still fairly early and it was the last weekend before school started back up. The two started to walk off, when Xander turned round and yelled expectantly at Spike, "Yo! Captain Peroxide…you coming?"

An unnoticed grin flashed on Spike's face as he sauntered after his two friends.