Disclaimer: Joss, he is god of the Buffyverse, I play in it, that’s all.

Author’s note: *hugs* to the fabulous Aribelle who beta’ed this chap and provides such fab feedback!

Thanks to idk, Max, Spacelord, Wulfie, EAS, Marzbar, murph, peyton, and Steph for the fab reviews!
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Chapter 6: Not Listening

Spike sat calmly in Buffy’s final class for the day, her tummy pleasantly full. As the class filled up, and the volume around him reached a pitch, Spike was surprised to feel a hand on Buffy’s arm. A flash of white teeth and a toss of shorn blond hair greeted Buffy’s green eyes as Spike stared down the person that dared touch his Slayer.

“Buffy, you are looking particularly gorgeous today,” came the male voice. “I heard you broke up with Riley in the caf. If you need anything, shoulder to cry on, someone to get the idiot out of your system, you call me, k?”

It took Spike a moment to process just what had happened. He had been hit on. Spike looked down at Buffy’s note book to see a scrawled phone number and dorm room.

Spike looked at the clock. Two more hours to go...
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Buffy entered her house and shut the door with haste. Spike's body was smoking from the run from the sewer grate. One of the things on the con list of being in a vampire’s body, she thought.

Another being what she was going to have to do to get Spike’s tummy from making the rumblies. She walked to the fridge, taking out a pitcher of blood. Why did mom decide to put the stuff in a pitcher?

Carefully replacing the pitcher, Buffy took her glass of blood back into the living room with the intent to watch more TV. Maybe it was the vamp taste buds Spike was sporting, but the blood didn’t taste all that bad.

Resisting the urge to begin an inner monologue rant with herself, Buffy sipped her blood and propped Spike's feet up on the coffee table. She was about to drift off into peaceful oblivion when she heard the front door open and was tackled to the ground, her assailant hitting her glass of blood and knocking it off the coffee table.

Look up from the floor Buffy instantly recognised her attacker.

Riley.

“You piece of shit vampire! You made her do it to me! You’ve got some weird thrall over her!” Riley shouted, raising his fist.

Buffy put up Spike’s hands in defence. “What are you talking about Riley? What happened?” she asked.

He answered her with his fist, coming down on Spike’s nose.

“Ow!” she yelled, trying to push him off of Spike’s prostrate body. Every time she tried pushing him away another sharp pain would plant itself in Spike’s head.

Gah! The chip!

Riley raised his fist again, this time connecting with Spike’s stomach.

“Riley! Stop please!” she begged, attempting to get out of his reach, scrambling across the floor. “I’m not...”

Riley’s fist connected with Spike’s jaw, cutting off Buffy‘s words. Before she could get Spike’s mouth in working order again Riley was straddling Spike’s torso, clutching a stake poised to strike.

“This will be the last time you get your filthy hands on my girl!” roared Riley.

Spike’s eyes went wide, as Buffy’s brief life flashed in her mind. She firmly believed that Riley was going to kill her, or err, Spike.

“I’m not Spike, Riley! I’m Buffy!” she yelled holding his arm back.

“I should have staked you the moment I found out they were harbouring vamp trash like you!”

They struggled against each other, each vying for the stake.

“Riley! Will you please listen! I’m Buffy!” she shouted through the now swelling lip on Spike‘s face.

“Why? So you can work your thrall on me too?” the soldier asked.

There was a crash of furniture and a thump of things being dropped, distracting Riley for a moment, his grip not loosening though.

“Buffy!” greeted Riley, as if he was a good dog looking for a treat.

Buffy was never so grateful to see herself than at that moment. She relaxed, letting Spike push Riley off of his body.

“Buffy?” Riley asked as if curious why she had pushed him.

Spike sent a few choice punches towards Riley’s jaw, more than making up for the bruises that were forming on his face. Then, after a swift kick to the soldier boy’s side, Spike turned and helped the Slayer up.

“You alright Slayer?” asked Spike looking over the wounds Riley had inflicted on his body.

The look on her face was just so concerned, so compassionate that she fought hard to keep Spike’s eyes from crying.

“I’m ok,” she said. “Thank you for coming to my rescue,” she whispered. “He was really gonna kill us.”

“I don’t understand why you keep saving him Buffy, he’s evil!” spat Riley. “He’s using thrall against you! Why can’t you see how he’s corrupting you?”

“Solider Boy’s never been fond of me pet,” he noted, brushing back Buffy’s long blond hair that was inhibiting his view.

“That’s an understatement,” muttered Buffy, feeling Spike’s face for bruises. “What the hell is wrong with you!” she yelled at Riley. “What the hell do you think you are doing barging into my house and attacking Spike’s body. What did he do to you? Gah!” Buffy threw up Spike’s hands into the air. “I’m so mad at you right now! You don’t go around beating on people who can’t defend themselves!”

Buffy looked down at the blue shirt she had dressed Spike’s body in that day to find that it was covered in blood.

“And look at his shirt! This was clean this morning! I’ll never get the blood out!” Buffy’s gaze shifted to the carpet under her feet. “You are so in trouble when my mom gets home!” said Buffy, Spike’s finger pointing to the large red stain on the floor.

Riley had a confused look on his face, his eyes darting between Spike and Buffy. His eyes finally rested on Buffy’s body.

“Buffy babe, please, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I know that he has to be behind it. You would have never said those things to me if he wasn’t in control of you! Let me kill him and we can go back to the way things were!” Riley pleaded.

“Get this through your thick head Riley. I’m Buffy,” she said pointing to Spike’s chest. “And that is Spike” she said pointing to herself. “And said what things?” asked Buffy turning towards Spike in her body, putting Spike’s hands on his hips, a Buffy pose if ever there was one.

“The wanker was getting all friendly, not takin’ hints. Told him I wouldn’t be givin’ it up to the likes of him,” explained Spike.

Spike’s blue eyes focused on Riley. “You tried to sleep with Spike?” asked Buffy incredulous. “YOU TRIED TO SLEEP WITH SPIKE!!!” Spike’s masculine voice reached a pitch he had never heard before. “How could you?” she wailed.

“Buffy!!” protested Riley, walking to wards Buffy’s body then forcing himself to step towards Spike’s body. “I didn’t know you were in Spike’s body! I’m sorry I hit you. God, if only you had told me! I should have been the first person you called! How did this happen? What did he do?”

“It’s all about him again?” she asked.

“He’s evil, Buffy, he’s a vampire!”

“Oh really, Riley? ‘Cause the fact that I was sipping blood before you started pounding the crap out of me? That totally slipped my mind!”

“Buffy, I didn’t know it was you!”

“Whatever Riley,” said Buffy touching Spike’s swollen lip. “Just get the hell out of here. I can’t even look at you without getting mad.”

“No,” stated the soldier. “I’m not leaving you here with him. Who knows what he’s going to do! He broke up with me in the middle of the cafeteria!”

“You broke up with MY boyfriend?” asked Buffy of Spike, her ire focusing in on the vampire trapped in her body.

“No, not really, just told him to leave me the fuck alone!” explained Spike. “It’s not like I wanted all this to happen!”

“He’s trying to ruin your life Buffy! Masquerading as you! God knows what else he got up to!” yelled Riley.

“Oh let’s see shall we,” came Joyce’s voice from the hallway, picking up the bag that Spike had dropped when he came in to rescue Buffy. She took out Buffy’s note book and began flipping through the pages. “Hmmm, English notes, very sinister.”

Spike couldn’t help the cocky smile that was spread across Buffy’s face.

“Spike, did you eat lunch today?” asked Joyce with concern, ignoring the look Riley was shooting her.

“Yes, mum, though had to go back to the dorm room to get away from Soldier Boy there,” said Spike pointing.

Joyce nodded and carried on into the house, giving a pointed look to Riley. “Riley I think it would be best if you came back for Buffy for your date as planned. Giles said that they should be switched back by then, and I really don’t want an upsetting scene in my house again.”

Riley nodded.

“You better come back with apologetic jewellery too,” said Spike, hands on hips giving the solider boy a glare.

Wisely, Riley refrained from saying anything to that.

Both Slayer and Vampire watched the commando leave the house, sullen and without a word, just a few furtive glances at Buffy’s body. The door closed and Spike turned to face his body, mad.

“You are still going to go on a date with that pillock when he essentially beat you?”

Buffy got all quiet and looked down at Spike’s Doc Martin’s for a moment before looking into her own eyes resolutely.
“One word Spike...Harmony!”

Spike raised one of Buffy’s eyebrows confused as he watched her walk off.
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Truth was, though, that Buffy didn’t know what she should think. She needed Willow’s opinion. She couldn’t think of anything else except she needed to talk to Willow and the fact that Spike had just stopped her boyfriend from dusting her.

Spike had saved her.

Or had Spike saved his body?

Buffy looked down at the blue shirt she was wearing which was still covered in blood. With a sigh she trudged upstairs, leaving Spike and her mom talking amicably in the kitchen to get a new shirt.

Buffy had pulled Spike’s black tee over his head when she heard a sound that sent a shiver up her spine...her mom’s flirty laugh.

Panic surged through her for a brief moment. Spike was her vampire. Her mom was all new to the vampire thing! She tried to dismiss the weird possessive and jealous thoughts from her brain, only to be confronted with the ‘Riley hit Buffy’ thoughts once more.

“Riley wasn’t listening, he was just furious, right?” Buffy asked herself, Spike’s voice resonating through her empty bedroom.

That’s not an excuse, came her inner voice.

She tended to agree with inner Buffy.

“He had no business beating on Spike anyway!” she growled.

She didn’t know it but she flashed fang at the empty room.

Spike’s my vampire!
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Buffy trudged downstairs still mad at Riley and eagerly awaiting the time when she was back in her own body, so she could yell at him in her own voice.

Spike’s vampire hearing picked up the laughter coming from the kitchen. Her mom and Spike were obviously having a good time.

“And you were left there holding a plate of chicken wings?” asked her mom of Spike as Buffy entered the room.

Disappointed that she hadn’t stumbled on some illicit conversation between Spike and her mom, Buffy sat down at the island.

“So when is Giles coming to get us all unswitched?” Buffy asked. “Is it going to be before or after I have to drink blood again?”

“I have cow for dinner...” supplied her mother.

“Cow?” asked Buffy with a raised scared eyebrow, Spike’s blue eyes sparkling.

“Cow blood for who ever is the vampire tonight and steak for the other two of us.”

Buffy nodded for a moment. “Hold on! He agreed to stay for dinner?“ Buffy turned Spike’s blue eyes to face herself.

“Of course he did!” noted Joyce as if it would have been obvious. “You and Spike are sharing bodies! He’s family now! He can come by for dinner whenever he wants!”

Spike winked a green eye at Joyce with a smile.
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tbc...