You Haven't Even Begun by Oracleholly

Chapter #1 - 1 - Daydream

A/N: Written for Prompt Set #2, Prompt #3 (Daydreams) for Joss100. Beta'd by Spikeslovebite. This is a continuation of "You Think You Know What's To Come." One minute she’s trying to be a good student. Really. You know, trying to actually pay attention to the teacher, trying to ignore Cordelia Chase and her crew, and desperately trying to forget her recent confusion about Angel. What was his deal anyway? He’d said he was there to help, and sure, he gave her information, but it irked her that he stayed so mysterious. The next moment she found herself staring at the fake wood-grain of her desk, lost in its swirls. Buffy found herself walking along a cobblestone street in an unfamiliar place. For some reason, even though she’d never been, Buffy believed that she was somewhere in Europe. Even though the mid-afternoon sun filtered overhead, the alley in which she walked cast long shadows. At the end of the little street, she could see nothing – only total darkness. Her heart raced with a mixture of both fear and expectation. Without even checking to see if she had any weapons, Buffy entered the darkness. However, as soon as she stepped inside, the scene changed. Suddenly she was back in ‘their’ crypt. Even though she hadn’t dreamed of this place in about a year, she immediately knew where she was. Looking around, she discovered more cobwebs and dust. She was alone and cold. And then she wasn’t. Familiar tingles raced up her spine. He was here! In fear that she was wrong, she refused to turn around. Then two pale, beautiful, strong hands reached around and placed themselves on her stomach. She was pulled back into his strong embrace. “I missed you,” she whispered. “Did you now?” he answered, licking the lobe of her ear. “Where were you?” “I’m always here when you want me to be.” “It’s been so long.” “Too bloody long, luv.” He turned her around to face him, and Buffy found him to be as captivating as before. She saw the fire in his eyes, and she lifted her chin and parted her lips in response to his gaze. With a hungry growl, her vampire plundered her lips. “Slayer.” “Buffy…” How did he know her name? “Buffy… snap out of it.” “Willow?” What was Willow doing in her crypt? “Miss Summers, if you would delight us by returning to the land of my History class and answer my question, I think we would all be grateful.” Huh? Suddenly, Buffy’s eyes flew open and she realized she was still sitting in History class. She wasn’t in the presence of her vampire. And the teacher had just asked her a question. Oh God, everyone was staring at her. Buffy looked worriedly over at Willow who had the strangest expression on her face. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she tentatively asked, “What was the question?”

Chapter #2 - 2 - Emotion

A/N: Written for Prompt Set#2, Prompt #4 (Emotion) for Joss100. Beta by Spikeslovebite. Buffy ran to the bathroom after History class, her cheeks aflame with total embarrassment. She locked herself in the farthest stall and plopped down on the toilet. Oh God! She’d kept getting weird stares for the rest of the class, and she’d no idea why. A pair of feet appeared at the edge of her door. Buffy never believed she could ever be so thankful to see a pair of red Keds in her whole life. However, she just wanted to wallow in her misery alone. So she kept quiet, hoping that Willow would take the hint and go away. “Buffy? Look, it’s just me. No one else is in the bathroom. I’m missing my next class, and you know I don’t skip class. What happened to you in History? It wasn’t a Slayer thing was it? ‘Cause the sounds you were making…umm. Buffy?” Willow’s feet disappeared and Buffy heard metallic scrapping across the floor. The next thing she knew, Willow’s head appeared over the stall. “Okay, so I know that you’ve not fallen prey to some demony toilet.” “A demon toilet, Willow?” Buffy almost smiled. “Hey, we are on the Hellmouth. Stranger things and all that,” Willow said. “I guess…but ewww. And what did you mean sounds?” Buffy’s eyes grew wide. I made sounds? Oh God, oh God, oh God. “Umm…that’s a yeah. Wanna talk about it?” “A world of no.” “Oh,” Willow responded, disappointment etched across her features. “Will, it was sort of like a Slayer dream, but without all the nifty ability to, you know, actually be asleep…in the comfort of my bed and not surrounded by people.” “Do all your…um…Slayer dreams…er…are they so…you know?” Willow’s face blushed beet red, almost matching her hair. Hiding her face in her hands, Buffy realized exactly how she must have sounded. “No! Oh no. They don’t. In fact, usually they are like nightmares or they sort of give me a hint at what’s gonna happen. Not had one like this…since…” Buffy stopped talking. “When, Buffy?” “Last year, not long after Merrick found me. Had this incredible dream with this total hottie and it was…” Willow watched as Buffy drifted off into dream world again. Snapping her fingers in front of her friend’s face, Willow called out, “Buffy…Buffy?” “Oh sorry, Will. It’s just that I’ve not dreamed of him in like a year. I thought it was some sort of fluke. It had felt so real you know. And today, in class, I was just staring at my desk and I found myself back there…at our…” Buffy realized what she was about to say and who she was about to say it to. That would not be of the good. “At our…what, Buffy?” “Our place. Just like any ol’ place I guess,” Buffy said, permanently clamming up on the issue of where. “So what’s he like? Is he like Angel?” Willow inquired. “Oh no, nothing like Angel. Angel…well, Angel is Angel. My va-dream guy is totally different. He’s got the most incredibly blue eyes, and a body that should be sculpted. But then that would mean others would get to see it too and that would make me a jealous Buffy. And I’m not pleasant when I’m jealous Buffy.” “So no sculpting of Buffy’s dream guy. Check,” Willow offered, smiling. “Oh, Will. I don’t know what to do. I mean; I don’t even know if this guy exists. A part of me believes he does, and yet, I know I’ve never really met him. What if I’m just making this up?” “Do you think you should talk to Giles about it?” Willow suggested. “Oh no! I can’t talk to Giles about him,” Buffy almost hyperventilated at the mere thought of saying to Giles, ‘So in my dream, I make with the sweaty, hot kissage and touchage with a vampire.’ “I so can not tell Giles.” “Okay, okay. It was only a suggestion. I mean you said it felt like a Slayer dream, and well, Giles is your go-to guy with the Slayer knowledge.” “I know Will, but it’s Giles,” Buffy said, emphasizing her horror with dramatic hand gestures. “He’d be all cleaning of the glasses, and Will, it would be like if you asked your mom about sex.” “Yeah, I get your point. Okay, so maybe I could help with the secret research. Maybe we can find your guy?” “You think so, Will? That would be so great,” Buffy said. Willow’s brow suddenly creased. “But Buffy, what are you going to tell Angel?” “Nothing. He doesn’t need to know,” Buffy responded. “But I thought just last week you were down with the Angel hotness,” Willow replied. “Look, sure, Angel has that mysterious vibe going for him, but that can be annoying. Besides, if my guy is real, then I’ll deal with it then.” “So you’re just going to go all Scarlett O’Hara on this?” Willow asked, obviously not pleased. “Huh?” “You know… you’ll be all ‘I’ll think about it tomorrow’ and stuff.” “Yeah, I guess I am, Will. I can’t put the basket before the horse,” Buffy said. Willow rolled her eyes. “That’s cart before the horse, Buffy.” “Oh, so the basket?” “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” “Well, that too, then.” “I still think you are being silly about this and totally unfair to Angel,” Willow said. “Will, Angel and I aren’t like an official couple. He’s never asked me out on a date. In fact, all he does is sometimes show up and tell me something cryptic. Now, that a boyfriend does not make. So, why should I tell him about my dream guy?” Buffy asked. Then taking a breath, she continued, “Let’s just start on the research and see if we get anywhere. If we don’t, then and only then, I’ll think about telling Giles. There’s something about Angel I just don’t trust, Will. I can’t put my finger on it. But it’s there.” “Okay. This time I won’t give you my resolve face,” Willow said. “Your resolve face?” Buffy queried. “Yeah, you may be the Slayer and all, but I have the power of my resolve face.” Laughing, Buffy said, “Well, as long as you use that power for good.” More somberly, Buffy asked again, “So I made noises?” “Oh, yeah. I thought Xander was about to fall out of his seat.” “Oh, God!”

Chapter #3 - Hot

A/N: Previous chapters can be found either in the memories or at my prompt table. Thanks go to Blacknblue 2 for the lovely betaing. Prompt Table Where the bleeding hell am I? One minute Spike was watching Drusilla corner some unsuspecting tourist, and the next he’d been whisked away to some cemetery that he damn well knew he’d never been in before. So why did it strike a chord of familiarity with him? Wait. That mausoleum. It seemed familiar, as if he’d seen it but through a different perspective. Turning around and surveying the graveyard, he noticed the odd site of the sun shining brightly down on the street not fifteen yards away from him. Yet, it was inky black where he stood. He chanced a glance at the sky to try to figure out the time, but that didn’t help him. The moon shone through whisper-thin clouds. Suddenly, he sensed something tickling about the edges of his consciousness. Everything here was all sixes and sevens, and he wanted no part of it. Still, what flitted about on the periphery of his senses haunted him. It, too, seemed awfully familiar. His feet, through no conscious thought of his, moved of their own volition towards the familiar. He passed several graves until he found himself seeing the Master grab and throw a petite blonde cavalierly into a dug grave. Bastard didn’t even have the decency to bite her and kill her. The Master seemed satisfied about something and then disappeared. When did he learn that trick? Curious, Spike made his way over to the grave. His walk turned into a run as he watched the grave bury its victim and a tombstone erected. He dropped to his knees and began frantically digging — why, he didn’t know. He felt compelled to do so. It was important somehow. Spike couldn’t hear the girl’s heartbeat, but he could hear clawing. She was trying to dig herself out. He searched his short-term memory…yes, the girl had been very much alive when the Master tossed her in…no draining…no giving of blood. No, she couldn’t have been turned…unless she was some other kind of demon he’d not personally come across. Still he dug. Finally, a dainty, pale hand reached out for his through the sod. He took a hold of it and pulled. She sputtered her way out of the dirt, but to his amazement, her clothes appeared perfectly unsoiled, as well as her shampoo-commercial hair and her face. Her face. Her beautifully delicate vampire visage. Her eyes searched his own. Then suddenly, she flung herself in his arms. He knew he wasn’t showing his demonic visage, but really now, no one just throws themselves into a stranger’s arms. Right dangerous. “Thank you. You saved me!” she exclaimed. Perplexed at how right she felt and fit in his arms, he with great reluctance grabbed around her elbows and shoved her back. She was on fire. Her heat seared him. She may appear to be a vampire, she may even register like one, but whatever she was – a vampire wasn’t it. He realized he’d missed whatever she had been saying to him, but then caught her saying, “Got to find the boy. It’s only like 2:00 in the afternoon. It can’t be night. Why do I feel funny?” She stopped talking and blushed. Spike grew hard at the cuteness of it. What’s she doing to me. I’m not some soddin’ schoolboy. Got wicked princess to find. But she’s adorable. “Pet. I need you to do something for me,” he spoke for the first time. “What’s that?” she asked innocently. “You need to shift your face. Not that your face isn’t adorable right now, but gonna attract attention,” Spike said. She apparently had no bleeding clue what he was trying to tell her. His jaw tensed in aggravation. “Luv. You’re showing your vamp face.” “I’m not a vampire! I can’t be!” The girl appeared horrified. Delicate fingers that he knew would just feel damn good around his cock searched her own face, feeling her ridges and nose. “Oh God! Oh God! You’ve gotta stake me before I hurt someone! Please!” What the bloody hell?! “Stake you? No, pet. Not going to stake you. Why would you think that? Just concentrate and feel your bones shift.” He watched as she did so and… She was a vision. She was all sugary sweet, marshmellowy, vanilla ice-cream and apple pie with the promise of hedonistic nights. Swallowing hard, he tried to explain it to her. She appeared to be a vampire, but she was too hot. Her body was at a perfectly human temperature. “You think it’s a spell?” she asked. “Could be, luv.” He gently caressed her right cheek and pushed back her hair. “I don’t see any marks, pet. Did he bite you?” “No. I don’t think so.” “You would remember it if he did. This might be magic. Bloody hell that would explain how I’m here…wherever here is.” He held up her hand before she could interrupt. “One second in Vienna with Dru and the next I’m here with you.” He vamped in sudden anger. “Bloody magic and its consequences. I’ll rip the throat out of the witch or bastard who did this! I’ll tear out their heart and feed it to dogs. I’ll strew out his insides and wear them for garters.” “Ewwww.” Spike turned an incredulous eye toward the chit before him. He’d almost forgotten she was there. Now, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She stood before him in a fighting stance wielding a stake. Where did that come from? Wonder if she hid it under her skirt. And just as he was about to ask…he promptly found himself back in Vienna watching Dru drain that damn tourist.

Chapter #4 - Cold

A/N: Thanks go to the lovely Blacknblue_2 for the beta. Prompt Table Buffy awoke in utter darkness. Damp, cold dirt surrounded her, smothering her. Somehow she managed to claw out and up. Why was she down here? For a few seconds, she couldn’t think of any reason. Then realization and horror dawned on her…the Master. He threw her down into an open grave. When she got out, she was so going to kill that ugly bastard. Just as soon as she figured out how she stepped out of the hospital and almost into the graveyard. It had to do something with that boy, but she couldn’t concentrate. She had to keep digging. Buffy needed help, and no one knew where she was. Suddenly she heard something on the other side of the dirt. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but dirt rushed inside, making her gag. So, she continued her actions, hoping that whoever or whatever on the other side would do the same. If it turned out to be some vamp that she had to stake…well, then she’d give him or her a head start before doing her duty. So close! Buffy could almost taste the subtle traces of air and knew she was almost free from this grave. She thrust her hand up and felt the comforting sensation of nothingness. No dirt…nothing in her way. A hand took hold of her own, and she was pulled from her would-be tomb. She glanced back and saw a grave marker. No, she didn’t want to see what it said. Instead, she patted down her clothes — clean? and smoothed down her hair. She didn’t feel any dirt in it. Way weird. Buffy then focused on her savior. He was absolutely gorgeous. His hair reminded her of Billy Idol, and she stifled a giggle that was threatening to erupt. So, Buffy began, much to her chagrin, babbling and thanking him at the same time. ******* Buffy lay on her bed, Mr. Gordo tucked under her chin. Willow had just left and now she was forced to actually think about all that had happened to her today. That little boy had been almost killed by his baseball coach, and the trauma of it had opened up his nightmarish world. Giles said that everyone had been forced to live out their nightmares. Buffy now knew that Xander had a clown phobia, Willow had stage fright, Giles feared that he would fail her and she’d die. She’d always feared being buried and having to crawl out of her own grave…oh and being a vamp. And while she’d take a big no on the repeat of digging out of a grave again, being a vampire didn’t go the way she thought it would. Sure, there had been that moment where she had gazed a little too long at Xander’s neck. The hunger was there, but she was able to control it. She’d still been her. No, it wasn’t like anything Giles had told her. Giles always said vampires have no souls…that the human goes away and a demon takes over their body. Yet, she still felt like her…was it because she wasn’t really a vampire? Then why did that gorgeous vampire try to help her? He’d been almost sweet. She’d not even known he was a vamp until he got so mad about everything maybe being under some spell. It had taken her by surprise when he vamped, but when she really thought about it…it shouldn’t have. He’d talked to her about feeling her bones shift in her face – which had been uber-weird with a gross factor of eight. He looked for marks on her neck. His hands had been so cold, but gentle. He even tried to make her feel better. What kind of vamp was he? Were they all like him? Or was he just special? If her nightmare was about becoming a vampire, then why did he show up? If he was having a nightmare, what was it? Meeting a Slayer? Before he was all vanishy, he looked surprised, disappointed, and a little sad…but fearful…no, he hadn’t been afraid of her. He didn’t belong in her nightmare. He was far from any nightmare…he was dreamy. He was almost like…oh my God! Buffy closed her eyes tightly and searched her memory. Her eyes popped open wide again. “My vampire!!!!” she declared to her empty bedroom.