Changing Lives by Mabel Marsters

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Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One

“Um…I’d better be going home,” said Spike reluctantly when the breakfast dishes had been cleared away.

“Would you like a ride home?” asked Joyce.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll walk,” replied Spike, “Thanks for having me stay over.”

“It was my pleasure, Spike.”

“I’ll go and get your bag,” offered Buffy.

“I’ll get it,” said Spike.

Joyce smiled as the two of them went up the stairs. She was pleased that they looked like they were getting on better together. She knew from her conversations with Rupert that Spike wasn’t the trouble-maker that both she and Buffy had first thought. He’d just been through some bad times and made a few wrong decisions.

Ooooooo

When they got to the bedroom they looked at each other properly for the first time that morning. Spike opened his mouth to speak but found the thought of her seeing him naked made him tongue-tied. For once he didn’t blush or drop eye contact. He just leaned forwards and kissed her.

When they parted both of them were a little breathless.

“Mm,” said Buffy, smiling up at him.

“Mm?”

“Yes, that was lovely.”

He grinned at her and tilted his head on one side, “Lovely, huh?”

“Yep.”

“That’s good. I wouldn’t want to disappoint.”

“Oh, trust me, I don’t think you’ll ever disappoint me,” replied Buffy with a cheeky grin of her own.

“Wot do yer mean, ever, disappoint?” asked Spike, eyes twinkling.

Buffy slightly flushed as she recalled Spike’s aroused body, confirming Spike’s fears.

“Um…Buffy…did you come into my room this morning?” he asked.

“Me? Your room? No!” said Buffy, hearing the lie to the words as she said them.

She risked a glance at Spike; he was struggling not to laugh at her discomfort, his own forgotten.

“Yer sure about that?”

“Oh, okay! I came in to get a blouse. It’s not my fault you were laying there all naked!” she cried, “I saw your pyjamas. I didn’t know you’d be flat on your back with the sheets around your ankles!”

Now it was Spike’s turn to blush.

“Bloody hell, Buffy!”

Soon they were both laughing helplessly.

Ooooooo

Spike wandered slowly home. He’d arranged to meet up with Buffy the next morning before the start of class. He smiled to himself as he remembered their kisses.

“Who looks like the cat that’s got the cream then?”

The voice startled him out of his reverie. He looked up.

“Angel,” he groaned as the quarterback stood right in front of him.

“I saw you with Cordelia at the dance. She was supposed to be my date,” growled Angel.

“Thanks, Cordy!” “Yeah well, she asked me, okay?” said Spike, amazed at how even his voice sounded. He knew he’d been lucky by getting the first punch in that day and didn’t want to risk a repeat.

“You think you’re clever, don’t you? Dating her then moving on to Buffy the next night. I saw you turn her away. She even ended up dancing with that geek Xander,” snarled Angel.

“For God’s sake, Angel, I haven’t moved on. I was never ‘with’ Cordelia - she just asked me to the dance is all,” protested Spike, trying to walk past him.

Angel put a hand on his shoulder. “If I don’t get back with Cordelia, you’re so dead.”

“Heard that before,” replied Spike, shrugging off his hand and walking away.

“Dead, English; you’re fucking dead,” yelled Angel.

Spike just kept walking.

“Bloody all I need,” he muttered sourly, but he soon cheered up again as his thoughts returned to Buffy.

Ooooooo

“Hey Rupert, I’m home,” called Spike as he walked in and took off his duster, hanging it on a rack near the door.

Rupert put down the book he was reading and glanced over to Spike.

“Did you have a good time then?”

He was rewarded with a broad grin.

“Yeah, it was great.” Spike sat down in the spare armchair.

“You certainly look a little more enthusiastic than the night before,” noted Rupert.

“Well, I told yer that it wasn’t a proper date; just something I couldn’t get out of doing,” replied Spike.

“Oh? So was last night a proper date?” teased Rupert, smiling as Spike flushed.

“Um…well…I was there with everybody,” stuttered Spike, wishing he could stop this blushing thing.

“So did you enjoy seeing Oz’s band play?” said Rupert, changing the subject and giving Spike a reprieve from his embarrassment.

“They were good,” said Spike.

“That doesn’t sound very convincing. I thought you liked the songs Oz plays when he comes over.”

“I do,” replied Spike, “but they only played half of their set and none of Oz’s songs before Devon just upped and left.”

“Oh, poor Oz. That’s not very responsible of Devon, is it? Letting them down like that.”

“Thing is, they got another singer and carried on,” said Spike.

“Another singer?” asked Giles, “Did they just pull someone out of the audience? How odd.”

“Not exactly, see, Oz asked me,” said Spike quietly.

“You?” Giles was incredulous, kicking himself when he saw the look on Spike’s face.

“Yeah,” he muttered.

“I’m sorry, Spike. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I’m just surprised that you got up on a stage and performed. You won’t even let me listen to you sing when Oz is here.”

“Oz was desperate not to let everyone down, so I couldn’t say no.”

“So did you enjoy it?” prompted Rupert.

Spike’s wide grin returned, “Yeah, it was bloody amazing! I was terrified of going on but once I was up there… The guys want me to be their new lead singer,” enthused Spike.

“Well done, you,” said Rupert.

It seemed that he’d been more than right about Oz being good for Spike. Being in the band might just be the making of him.

“Thanks, I’m going to go and e-mail Rich,” said Spike as he disappeared into his bedroom.

Ooooooo

Spike followed Monica into her office. It was Tuesday and time for his counselling session. He was in a great mood; things had gone well with Buffy at school. He’d been nervous that she might have changed her mind but yesterday she’d greeted him with a kiss that had caused a few nearby kids to shout ‘get a room!’

“Good morning, Spike,” said Monica once they were settled in their seats, “What’s all this I’m hearing about you?”

“Wot’s all wot?”

“Come on, don’t be modest. I heard you – what was the phrase – rocked at The Bronze on Saturday.”

“How did yer hear about that?” asked Spike, eyes wide.

“A girl I had a session with yesterday wouldn’t stop talking about it,” replied Monica with a smile.

“Yeah?” Spike grinned.

“Apparently she thought you were really hot, especially once you’d taken off your jacket,” said Monica, laughing as Spike flushed just as she’d predicted he would.

“Um,” muttered Spike, looking down, “Not so sure about that.”

“Spike, you really have to stop putting yourself down and learn how to take a compliment,” said Monica, “You’re obviously confident enough when you’re up on stage so try bringing a little of that off stage with you too.”

Spike looked up at her, “I do try to but…before the …um…accident I just used to try my best to be invisible, really. Kind of weird to hear stuff like that.”

“The bleached hair and leather jacket don’t look like an attempt to fit in, let alone appear invisible.”

“Yeah, I know. When I came over here I wanted things to be different, so I made sure I looked different,” replied Spike honestly.

“What was so bad about your life that you wanted it to be different?” asked Monica gently.

Spike thought for a time before he answered. He couldn’t tell her it was because of the constant bullying by Angel.

“I reckon I thought who I was, wot I was before, was gone. I didn’t want to look in the mirror and see who I used to be. The scar,” he said touching it with his fingers, “reminds me of what happened everyday anyway. I still miss my mum…um, all of them, yer know.”

She watched him carefully as he spoke, “You will, Spike, but it will get easier, less painful in time,” she said sympathetically, “It seems like you’ve made some good friends now.”

Spike smiled, “Yeah, I ‘ave. Oz is great, he’s just so laid back – well apart from when Devon had walked out. It was funny to see him wigging out.”

“Wigging out?” chuckled Monica, “You’re starting to sound like a native!”

“It does sort of rub off on yer when yer hear it all the time,” said Spike, this time trying to emphasise his ‘English’ accent.

“So who else are you friends with? Not just Oz surely?” asked Monica, recalling that he’d referred to Oz’s friends as people not friends when they’d last spoke of them.

“There’s a group of us - Oz’s girlfriend Willow, Xander and Buffy. Oh, and since I’m now in the band I reckon I’ll be hanging out with Pete and Joey too,” said Spike happily.

He’d never before been able to count so many as friends. Let’s face it, for pretty much his whole life he hadn’t had any friends at all.

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