The Male Slayer - A Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fanfiction

II. Things Have Changed (Chapter 6)

James arrived at the same spot in Main Street where he met Julie. About five seconds after he stopped walking, a black car pulled up with blacked-out windows.

The backdoor opened to reveal Julie, "Is it done?" 

"Yeah, the Initiative is gone." James responded, putting his hands in his pockets. 

"Okay, get in." 

The two were driven back, by one of the many Council chauffeurs, to Los Angeles. The car ride was silent, neither one of them spoke. Once they arrived at the hotel that James had stayed at during his previous tenure in LA, Julie stopped him.

"We leave for London in the morning, you'll have to stand before the Council. I'll vouch for you, but I can't do any more that that." she told him. James nodded and, without a word, headed up to his room, taking the stairs. 

As he walked up the many flights of stairs to reach his floor, he stopped and leaned against the wall, tears running down his face. The realisation had set in that, once again, the future that he had envisioned for himself had changed drastically within the space of a couple days. Willow wasn't 'his' anymore. He had to come to terms with that and move on, however he knew it would be hard.

As he continued up the stairs and along the hallway to his door, he knew he had to stay away from Sunnydale until he had gotten over her. If he saw her now, it would be impossible for him to move on. 

"James." Julie said, poking her head out of her room. 

James head shot up, "Yeah, no, I'm fine." he said, opening the door to his room quickly and slamming it shut once he was inside. 

He collapsed into bed, falling asleep almost instantly to the calming sounds of LA's nightlife, creeping in through the open window. 

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"What does she mean to you?" Spike asked him, sitting across from him on Buffy's bed. James looked around and realised he was in Buffy and Willow's dorm room, sat on Willow's bed. 

"A lot, it's comforting to know that I'm not alone." James responded, looking down at his hands.

"I feel alone sometimes." Spike started, then stopped himself.

"What? What's wrong?" 

"Nothing, it was just stupid." Spike said, standing up with his hands behind his head. 

"It wasn't stupid. You know, if you're having doubts, you can talk to me." James told him sincerely.

"I have to know..." Spike sat back down, staring James in the eye, "...do you really care about me?" 

James didn't know what to say, he looked around the room, hesitating. "I..." 

Spike stood up again, "Right, I see. Follow me." 

James stood up and followed Spike as he opened the dorm room door and headed into Giles' living room. 

"Spider! Stop it, Anya!" Xander howled, leaping on the couch in fear. 

"With what? All I have is this battle-axe!" she replied, holding it up. 

"What's going on?" James asked as Anya jumped onto the couch with Xander. 

"James, the spider! It's under the table and it's huge!" Xander screamed at him. James moved over to the table and got down on all fours, peering under. 

"Hey." Willow said, waving at him. 

James looked back at Xander and Anya, "Guys, it's just Willow."