"You're gonna live in the small room over there. I know it looks like a closet, but it's a room now." Xander pointed as we followed him into his apartment. "You do not get to touch my food, I get the first shower in the morning, and if I use up all the hot water, that's your tough nookies. And I hate this plan." The male waved his arms before pointing. "Are you keeping up, or do you need some kind of English to constant-pain-in-my-ass translation?" He clapped his hands together while looking at the vampire still standing in his doorway.
"Invitation." Buffy gestured.
"Is there something more emphatic than hate? Can I revile the plan?" Xander asked, and I slid my hands into my jacket pockets while shifting on my feet. "Fine. I invite you in....nimrod."
"I don't want your sodding food anyway." Spike walked in and headed straight toward the room Xander had pointed out.
"I just don't understand when his problems became your problems." Xander lowered his voice while leaning toward me. "More specifically, mine."
"The school basement is making him crazy, we can't just leave him there." Buffy replied.
"Why not? Crazy basement guy is better than stalking Aud guy."
"It's true. You guys aren't- You're not starting up again with the whole-" Dawn looked at me.
"No." I shook my head. "He's totally off his rocker, and things are different now. He has a soul."
"Yeah, uh, what does that mean exactly that Spike is all 'soul having'?"
"I don't know, honestly, but he's been through a lot-" I was cut off by a hand on my arm.
"Aud, I'll go. This clearly can't work." Spike stated while looking at Xander.
"It will. Hey, it already is! You've been out of that basement for about....half an hour and you've already stopped talking to invisible people."
"Bollocks." He shook his head.
"Okay, there was that one episode in the car, but-"
"No! Bollocks to the whole thing." Spike raised his shoulders while putting his hands into his pockets. "I don't need you mollycoddling."
"I'm not coddling." I furrowed my brows while the blond just looked at me. "Just....go to your closet." Popping off, I then walked out of the apartment.
~
"So, what is it?" Dawn asked me during my lunch break as we sat out on the bleachers and the football team was running drills.
"What's what?"
"Last night you said you weren't helping Spike out of pity. What is it?"
"Valid question." I drank from my soda, unable to really answer since I myself wasn't sure.
"Is sitting there drinking soda some kind of a zen non-answer?"
"No." I sighed. "I don't know what I'm feeling. Sometimes I just want to punch him, and other times...."
"Do you love him?"
"I do. But there's something else. I'm not sure what it is."
"Look, I'm just trying to understand." Dawn gestured while turning more towards me. "I mean, first you say Spike irritates the Hell out of you, but secretly, you two were doing it like bunnies, and then Spike says he'd die for you....but tries to make you go all dark side and against your friends."
YOU ARE READING
Unknown Factors (Book One)
Fanfiction[18+; Use an age indicator in YOUR BIO to confirm you're 18+ if you want to follow/comment or you'll be blocked for safety purposes] Despite Giles's efforts to let his adoptive daughter have a happy life, he couldn't quite stop the Watchers Council...
