Chapter 4
Mysterious Ways
"Dawn, for God's sake, would you please change this infernal racket?" Giles yelled over the din as he paused in mid brush stroke, whipping off his glasses with his free hand and staring at the girl.
Buffy, Willow, Xander and Oz all shared a collective chuckle as they continued painting their respective sections. It was close to five and the gang had been at it since ten this morning; a tedious but organized process of paint, eat, repeat. They were due for a dinner break anytime now and Dawn had grown a bit restless; deciding to nominate herself deejay for this block of time.
The young girl froze mid turn; rolling her eyes at the older man's complaint.
"Nobody else seems to mind this song," she chirped innocently, skipping back to resume her painting duties as another plasticine, bubblegum pop song blasted through the speakers.
As enticing as the sensual panting and moaning from "I'm a Slave For You" was; Spike had to agree with the older man's eventual weariness of having now listened to the entire Britney Spears' oeuvre.
"Speak for yourself, Nibblet," Spike snickered as he crossed the room and shoved the stop button on the stereo.
"Thank God," Giles sighed as a mixed chorus of jeers and confused groans rang out.
Spike ignored them as he rummaged through the available c.d. collection in search of more suitable music.
"Why'd the tuneage go all stoppy?" Buffy chirped, galloping over to Spike's side.
"Be a whole lot happier when my albums get here," Spike muttered, still flipping through the mediocre selection.
It'd been two weeks since he'd accepted Buffy's offer to move in. Since then he'd made all the necessary arrangements to resituate himself and adjust to his new life here in Sunnydale. The first of which, getting all his necessary possessions from back home. He knew he'd been pushing his finances by having all of the junk shipped overseas; but at least he wouldn't have to budget rent into his expenses. He still couldn't believe Buffy was letting him stay for nothing. Of course, she'd already explained to him that Angel had set her up for the rest of the year free of charge, so why should he have to pay? It's not like the landlord could evict them, the bill had been paid off. He still felt a bit awkward, being indebted to the girl via Angel. It was a concern he'd have to rectify at a later date, though.
He had been the one to suggest the painting party. Buffy expressing her dislike for the stark, Angel-era residue of the apartment. And if he could work off some of his guilt-ridden debt at not having to pay rent; then he'd help the chit feel better about living there. So, after double-checking with the management and receiving an affirmative; the new flat mates set about organizing the event to christen both of their fresh starts.
Together they'd chosen a moss green color for the amorphous dining/living room space and up into Buffy's loft bedroom area, agreeing to leave the kitchen and bathroom alone.
And since Spike had agreed to convert the former office/study room into his new space; Buffy allowed him to choose whatever color he saw fit. He'd gone with a deep navy blue; masculine but not too serious, rich but not too dark. He liked deep, intense shades. He'd almost considered a blood red tint before Buffy petulantly vetoed the idea; reminding him that their shared space was in no way part-brothel.
Dismissing her tantrum on the grounds that her reneged involvement was actually rather cute; Spike chose the navy blue instead, receiving a surprising comment from the tiny blonde girl that the color complimented his eyes.
"Bloody hell woman, do you own any music recorded before 1995?" He groaned, his search for acceptable ambience proving fruitless.
Buffy scoffed in mock offence and shoved him out of the way, yanking the c.d. booklet from his hands.
"So says the man who likes the Sex Pistols for their meaningful lyrics," she sneered playfully.
Spike growled as she rummaged through the folder; producing a silver disc from the back of the book. "Got a beef with U2?"
"There's a pun in that somewhere," Spike snickered as Buffy smirked and traded in the discs.
"Much better, thank you," Giles sighed as the beginning guitar of "Mysterious Ways" came on.
Johnny take a walk
With your sister the moon
Let her pale light in
To fill up your room
You've been living underground
Eating from a can
You've been running away
From what you don't understand...
Look
Oz started tapping his foot as Willow hummed along; keeping a hold of her paintbrush in one hand to allow her free one to drop into Oz's. The sprightly young man caught his girlfriend's gaze out of the corner of his eye. They smiled shyly and resumed painting.
She's slipping
You're sliding down
She'll be there
When you
hit the ground
Xander was the first to drop his brush; bravely grabbing Buffy by the waist and whisking her to the center of the room, spinning around with a flourish.
The rest of the group followed suit, effectively abandoning their posts to simply enjoy each other's company. Spike twirled Dawn as they belted out the chorus.
It's all right, it's all right, all right
She moves in mysterious ways
It's all right, it's all right, all right
She moves in mysterious ways
O-o-oh
"Take it, Ripper!" Spike cheered as the even the older man got caught up in the sing a-long.
The gang laughed as partners switched in a tizzy of tangled limbs and clumsy turns. Xander and Willow performed an adapted version of the Snoopy dance as Oz dazzled the crowd with a stunning rendition of the Robot. Dawn waltzed with Giles despite the ill fitting tempo.
Johnny take a dive
With your sister in the rain
Let her talk about the things
You can't explain
To touch is to heal
To hurt is to steal
Buffy and Spike were locked in a heated staring contest as they shimmied close together, his hands ghosting over her hips before she shoved him away in playful dominance at the next verse. Shaking her head and wagging her finger teasingly.
If you want to kiss the sky
Better learn how to kneel
"On your knees boy," she mouthed along to the song as Spike dropped to the floor and slid like a rock god to her feet, smirking all the way.
She reached for his hands to pull him up as she shot him a wink before spinning around and allowing Willow to steal her away.
She's the way - She turns the tide
She sees a man, inside the child
Yeah
The blonde couple continued shooting each other flirtatious scowls and smirks as they danced with everybody but each other from then on; somehow enjoying the self imposed barrier the rest of the group provided.
It's all right, it's all right, all right
She moves in mysterious ways
It's all right, it's all right, all right
She moves in mysterious ways
Love
It's all right, it's all rig—
The music stopped abruptly and the unknowing group faltered; stumbling into each other as they all looked up to see the source of the sudden interruption.
The tall figure stepped away from the stereo against the wall and came into fuller view.
Dawn gasped as Xander and Oz bashfully dropped their arms from their previous mock tango. Giles slowly removed his glasses as Spike grimaced with an audible sigh. Willow swallowed the lump in her throat before shooting Buffy a nervous glance.
Buffy merely blinked before barely whispering, "Angel?"
To Be Continued...