Betrayal

Chapter 14

When Spike awoke he felt a raging headache. He opened one bleary eye. "Fuck!" He had drunk a lot more than normal the previous night. If he had been human he would probably be in hospital getting his stomach pumped. He concentrated hard and tried to remember what happened the previous night. Did I shag Faith? He turned around in the bed and saw it was empty. No I don't think so. It was coming back to him bit by bit. He had been out with Faith killing some demons. Slaying was thirsty work and the two of them had ended up in a bar. After several drinks they decided to head to a nightclub instead. There was a lot of flirting and banter. Spike had always been careful to keep his distance from her before. Although Faith and Buffy were civil, he knew the two slayers had an acrimonious history. He had liked her well enough except for that time he saw her and the Scoobies turning on Buffy back in Sunnyhell. He hadn't really got to know her until Cleveland though. They had become fast friends and even a lovelorn idiot like him could fail to notice she was gorgeous. He hadn't planned it but he had ended up kissing Faith in the night club. It had been too long since he had any company in his bed. It was a heated kiss. Perhaps spurred on by the adrenaline of a fight well fought their kisses became more frenzied and their hands began to wander. They broke apart to give her a chance to breathe. She had looked fetching with her swollen lips and mussed hair. She was wearing a strange expression that he couldn't read. Normally he prided himself in being able to read people well. When he had reached for her again she surprised him by pulling away. "Damn if I don't want to jump your bones." She had sighed. "I'm sorry, Spike. I think this was a mistake. I have a rule that any guy who gets between my thighs is thinking about me and only me." Then she had given him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "If you ever get over B, give me a call."

Even though he had broken up with Buffy it appeared the bitch was still interfering with his sex life.

Spike was brought back to the present by the doorbell ringing. The noise served to worsen his alcohol induced headache. He pulled the blanket up and buried his head in the pillow. Maybe they would go away if he didn't answer? The person ringing was persistent however and continued to ring the bell incessantly. Fuck. He stumbled out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. He didn't bother putting on a t-shirt and went to the door. He was surprised to see Faith standing there. She had a bag with her and he could smell pigs' blood. "I brought you breakfast. I figured you wouldn't be in the mood to go shopping."

"Thanks," he said. "Come on in."

"I can't stay long. Gunn and I are on the way back home and thought we better drop by before we left. He's parking the car."

It was awkward and it was ridiculous. He decided he better do something about it before Gunn walked in. "About last night – let's just forget it ever happened."

She nodded. "Yeah – you couldn't handle me Blondie."

"Probably not – you minx."

She laughed at that. "We're good then?"

He smiled. "Friends."

Spike had left the door ajar and Gunn's voice preceded him into the room. "You Brits can't drive. Some idiot almost took the wing mirror off my rental."

"Charlie, do you really want to get me started with what's wrong about the bloody US of A?"

When Gunn noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt he pretended to shield his eyes. "Do you have to walk around half naked?"

"Faith not's complaining," he pointed out. He turned to Faith with a leer. "Are you, pet?"

"God no. I'm definitely not complaining." Was he imagining it or did she look uncomfortable despite the smile on her face? He thought it looked a little forced.

"I'm peckish. Do you want some breakfast?"

Spike had become quite domesticated living with Buffy. Even though he was living here alone he still kept a lot of human food.

"Coffee would be fine," Gunn said and Faith nodded.

One the way into the kitchen he went into his bedroom and pulled on a t-shirt. Gunn was in the kitchen when he came out. He had put the kettle on.

He was leaning against the wall. "So what happened after I left you last night?"

"We killed a few more vamps and we went for a few drinks." He decided to be purposefully vague. It was none of Gunn's business what had transpired the night before.

Gunn gave him an appraising look. He looked like he was struggling whether or not to say something. "You do realise she has a bit of a thing for you."

The vampire was taken aback by that. His eyes opened wide as another revelation hit him. "And you have a thing for her, Charlie."

He didn't respond but Spike knew he was right and he couldn't believe he had missed it all this time. All the strange behaviour made sense now. He felt like such an ass now. There had been a time when he would have been willing to use a woman's feelings for him to get what he wanted, but the soul had put paid to old Spike. Still, it was good for the ego to know a beautiful woman fancied him.

Gunn and Faith didn't stay very long. They made some plans to hook up some time soon. He sprawled himself out on the sofa and decided some mindless tv would be just the cure for his hangover. He watched Jeremy Kyle lecture and shout at his guests. It was tamer than Jerry Springer but no less entertaining. His unlife would be the ideal fodder for bad reality telly. He may not have much self-respect but at least he wouldn't stoop that low. His doorbell rang again. He wasn't expecting any guests. It better not be any sales person or he might seriously consider biting them. When he opened the door the last person he wanted to see was on the other side. "Buffy, what the fuck do you want?"

It was almost as if he sensed that he was thinking about her. She didn't answer his question just pushed past him into the apartment. Her lips were pursed and her fists were balled. She was obviously angry for some reason.

"I don't have time for games, Slayer. You might get the tantrum over with as I want to go back to watching the telly."

"I saw you," she hissed. "I saw you with Faith last night."

So the bitch was jealous? Serve her right. "What of it? It's not like I owe you anything."

"Were you trying to hurt me? Well congratulations, because you succeeded. Is that was it was all about? Hmm whose bones could you jump that would hurt me the most?"

"Not everything's about you, Buffy. This was about me and what I needed."

"Are you telling me hurting me never crossed your tiny, little mind?"

His eyes narrowed into slits. "Well thinking on it now, maybe it was a bonus. You stand there on your high horse and tell me I'm a bastard, but I'm not with you anymore. Besides, I didn't shag Faith."

She opened her mouth to speak but he put his hand up to stop her. "She was the one who turned me down, so don't think it means anything."

He could see how deeply his words were hurting her and he felt satisfaction at the pain he was causing.

He made a scoffing noise. "To think that I loved you. You're a bitch, Buffy. You only care about yourself. Your rugrat's won the Lottery with you and Peaches as parents- the girl who couldn't look after her little sister and the man that let his son be taken into a hell dimension. I'm not sure which is worse."

Buffy slapped him hard across the face. "You!" she spluttered, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Seeing the look on her face he was instantly contrite. It was a very hateful thing to say and he knew it. "Sorry, Buffy. I-"

She didn't want to hear it. "You made it perfectly clear what you think of me. I think I will leave now."

Spike was grateful she was leaving. As soon as she left he rested his forehead on the door. Buffy Summers was once his be all and end all. "Not anymore," he swore.

The following day Spike came to an important decision. He had been mulling this over but the events of the previous day had made his mind up for him. He needed to move on and it was impossible to do so here. He had stubbornly tried not to let his break up with Buffy ruin his life here. However, truth be told he probably would have left already had Giles not offered him the job of training the slayers. He would never tell the bints but he was right proud of them and fond of them too. Nevertheless, while he was busy and enjoyed his new job it didn't change the fact that his undead heart was broken. Buffy was everywhere he looked. There were reminders of their relationship in every place he went. Angel's arrival didn't help. The last thing he wanted was to see the two of them playing happy families. He knew Dawn was going to be upset but she would understand. He would miss her so much. He would never have gotten through this without her. He picked up his cell phone and brought up her number. "Hi Bit," he wrote. "I really need to talk to you. Could you call over later? Don't worry. I just need to talk." His phone beeped a minute later with a reply. He smiled fondly. Dawn was rarely without her phone. He opened the message. "See you in an hour," it read.

Dawn arrived as promised within the hour. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Hi Spike." She looked him up and down. "You look like crap."

He smiled sheepishly. "I was out getting bladdered last night."

She rolled her eyes. "The smell of alcohol off you kind of gives that away."

"Ha bloody ha. You should take to the stage Nibblet. You'd make a fine comedienne."

"I know," she announced with a smirk and a bow.

He laughed. "Would you like something to drink?"

"A cup of coffee would be lovely."

They walked into his kitchen together. He turned on the kettle for her drink and went to the fridge to get the blood Faith had dropped off earlier. He poured it into a mug and set it to reheat in the microwave. Once both drinks were ready he sat down at the table and gestured for her to do the same.

"So you called me here for a reason. "What's the sitch?"

"I've been thinking-"

"Dangerous."

"Hey!" He swatted her arm lightly. "I'm trying to have a serious conversation here."

She pretended to zip her lips.

"I need to get away for a while. I've been digging my feet in and determined not to let the whole thing with Buffy ruin my unlife here. The thing is I need to move on and I can't do that here."

She looked at him sadly. "I get it. I really do, but I'll miss you."

He raised a brow. "You're not surprised?"

Dawn had been sad to hear he was leaving but she was supportive to his decision. She had pointed out to Spike that there were probably other places that Giles could send him instead. After she had left he decided he decided to go to the local bar for his weekly game of poker. He was passing the Council headquarters on the way and he decided now was as good a time as any to deliver the news to Giles. The Watcher always worked late on a Thursday and there was a good chance he would still be there. He looked up at the window where Giles' office was and sure enough there was a light on in the office. He headed inside and walked through the empty corridors. When he finally arrived at the office he knocked hard on the door and without waiting for an answer walked right in. "Hullo, Rupes."

Giles sat up suddenly. "Spike. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah – I'll get straight to the point. I need to get out of here. I can't stay here any longer watching Buffy and Angel playing happy families."

The man put down the book he was holding. "Oh, I can hardly say I'm surprised. I was expecting this. You've developed quite the fanclub among the girls; they will be sorry to see you go."

Spike was grateful he was making it easy for him. "Thanks," he muttered gruffly.

"I have a suggestion. Some of our other young slayers could benefit from your expertise and if you would be amenable we could do with you travelling to a few of the bigger centres to implement some of those training tactics you put in place here."

"There's no need."

"On the contrary there's every need. We could do with your expertise."

Spike held out his hand to Giles. "Deal."

Maybe this was what he needed to finally move on and find himself again.

To be continued….