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5 Exchanges
 
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Chapter 5 - Exchanges

The day had been surprisingly easy. Buffy had gone by her teachers’ offices and informed them of her situation. Their reactions had quickly gone from concerned to completely accommodating. And that was mostly that. It was easy for Spike to sit relatively unnoticed in the large auditorium classrooms, a borrowed notebook and pen in his hand. Buffy had glanced behind her once, only to see him doodling. If anyone paid attention to him at all in the sea of faces, he seemed like just another slacker who had only now decided to show up.

It was oddly easy to forget that he was there. Spike seemed to be pretending not to know her for the most part. He opted to sit a row or two up and behind her, and after a class was over, he would wait until she started to leave and then trail after her.

Since he didn’t seem inclined to speak to her, at lunch she went about her normal business and made her way to the usual outdoor tables where she met Cordelia. She quickly spotted the other girl, who was looking into a small hand mirror and re-applying her makeup.

“Hey,” Buffy said, sliding in across from her.

“Whoa, Buffy. Didn’t expect to see you here today.” Cordelia closed the mirror and pulled her sunglasses back down. “Not after you called me yesterday. What, have you got a death wish?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “I’ve got a bodyguard.”

“No way.”

“Total way. Sorry I didn’t call you back last night, but things were busy.”

Cordelia lifted her glasses and looked around suspiciously. “So where is he?”

“Good question.” Buffy glanced around and spotted Spike leaning against a tree and smoking a cigarette. “Over there. ” She pointed. “The guy with bleached hair.”

“Oh my,” Cordelia drooled. “Wait, why isn’t he like right at your side?”

“He says it’s easier to watch me, and therefore watch for anyone trying to get me. It’s like a whole ‘be aware of the area’ thing.” Buffy shrugged.

“Well, you can sign me up for the next kidnapping.” At Buffy’s blank look, she said, “C’mon, that guy is total and complete hotness. Are you blind?”

“No,” Buffy admitted. “But come on, he’s got to be over thirty.”

“When you’re that hot, it doesn’t matter,” Cordelia stated with conviction.

“Besides, he’s here to do his job and nothing else.”

“Uh-huh.”

Cordelia took a sip of her latte, and there was a short silence. Then Buffy leaned in slightly.

“I saw him in a towel.”

“Shut up. You lucky bitch! Were you spying?”

“No! At least, I didn’t mean to. I just walked in, and he was…there. It was completely embarrassing. Can we please talk about something besides Spike? I’d like to pretend I have a normal life.”

“Okay, okay.” She paused. “So I guess this means that shopping is out of the question this week?”

“I’m thinking yes. God, can you imagine him following us around the mall? And the downtown stores would be even worse.”

“I don’t know,” Cordelia said wistfully. “I think I’d let him follow me anywhere.”

Buffy glared at her.

Cordelia threw her hands up. “Okay. Shutting up.”

-----

After a non-eventful day of class, Buffy drove herself and Spike home. He promptly disappeared upstairs, and she went into the living room to watch TV.

A short while later, Buffy found herself moping around the kitchen trying to decide what to eat when she heard the doorbell ring.

She was halfway down the hall when Spike came thundering down the stairs. He grabbed her arm and whirled her around. “What the bloody hell are you doing?”

“Getting the door! What’s your damage?” she demanded.

“Are you off your bird?”

“Oh please, what’s the big—” Buffy suddenly paled, cutting herself off. “I completely just said that, didn’t I? I might as well just gift-wrap myself. Ugh, what’s wrong with me?”

He let go of her arm. “Nothing’s wrong, pet, you’re just used to thinkin’ normally, that’s all.”

Spike regarded the door for a moment and then proceeded to it himself.

“Oh, so you’re still gonna open it just like that?” she asked as he reached for the knob. “Glad to know I’m in such good hands.”

“I know who it is.”

He opened the door to reveal a thin brown-haired girl holding a paper bag. “Hi, Spike,” she said, handing it to him. “Here you go.”

“This the good stuff?”

She nodded. “He doesn’t like it, but Wesley knows this guy at the hos—house kitchen,” she finished awkwardly. “Well, see ya.” She gave a little wave and then turned toward her car.

“So?” Buffy asked as he shut the door.

“Dinner.”

“We do have food here, you know. What is that, anyway?”

“Takeout.”

“Well, obviously.”

“Wings. Fries.”

“We would have ordered out.”

“It’s a…benefit. Free food delivery.”

He started up the stairs.

“You don’t have to stay up there all the time, you know,” Buffy said. “We’ve got plenty of room, and you’ve got run of the house. You could eat those in the kitchen like a normal person.”

“Could.”

“Hey, if you knew who it was, why didn’t you let me answer it?”

“Didn’t know who it was till I got down here, now did I?”

“Whatever.” Buffy went back to the kitchen, not taking the time to wonder how he could have known after coming downstairs.

-----

Spike turned the lock to his door and opened the bag. He pulled out the Styrofoam container that did indeed contain fast food, and then he dumped out the rest of the bag’s contents.

A bottle of beer, two bags of blood, and a thousand dollars in cash that had a note from Wesley attached. I’m holding the rest for you. Tell Fred if you need it.

Spike pocketed the money and picked up the bags. Slipping into game face, he drained both in quick succession. Then he wadded them in the paper bag and threw it in the trash.

He reached for the container and sat down. Then he paused for a moment. He supposed it couldn’t hurt to eat the kitchen.

-----

Buffy had her head buried in the pantry when she heard the sound of a stool being pulled out.

Spike was sitting at the counter, a fast food container opened in front of him. “What?”

“Nothing.” Buffy shrugged.

“So, where are the folks?”

“Dad usually works late, so he’s hardly ever here. And Mom’s schedule is just weird. Sometimes she works a lot, sometimes she doesn’t. So it’s just me. And you,” she added.

He started to eat. After a minute, he said, “So time to level with me, love. Anyone at all you know that might be out to get you?”

“Nope.”

“Angry lovers that dear old dad doesn’t know about?”

“Nope.” She took a Coke out of the fridge and leaned against the end of the counter. “I mean, I’ve dated, but there was only one serious guy.”

“He the type to snap?”

Buffy laughed. “Riley? Please. Besides, he’s not even around anymore. We had a high school thing, you know? It just wasn’t going to work in the real world.”

“And that Cordelia bird? She your only chum?”

“Yeah. I had other friends in high school, but we drifted. And somehow I never made any in college. I’m just unfriendly Buffy, I guess. But what’s it matter, anyway?” she asked, changing the subject. “It’s not your job to figure out who’s doing this.”

“I s’pose not.” He went back to his food. “Just be nice to know what I’m lookin’ for.”

“I mean, the guy you work for is doing that, isn’t he?”

“Dunno. I s’pose.”

Spike looked at her carefully out of the corner of his eye. He had no idea what she assumed or what she’d been told, but he wasn’t going to bring up the fact that there didn’t seem to be anyone trying to figure out who was behind her attempted abduction.

“I don’t think it’s anyone I know,” she said slowly, tracing the speckles of the countertop with her finger. “I mean, doesn’t that usually build up, like with trying to get my attention first? Creepy dead-end phone calls and weird presents on the doorstep?” She paused. “And random wackos don’t have two-man teams and a getaway van.”

“You’ve thought about this.”

“How could I not?” Buffy looked up. “Ransom is the thing that makes the most sense.”

There was a short silence.

“So can I have a few fries?” she asked.

He pushed the box in her direction. “Help yourself.”

Buffy took several French fries and munched in silence. Then she had a swig of her drink. “I’m going to watch TV. You coming with, or are you going back to hiding in your room?”

Which was how Spike found himself in the living room an hour later, sitting with Buffy on opposite ends of the massive couch. At first they had argued over what to watch, but had eventually settled on Guiding Light, which Buffy had recorded. It wasn’t Spike’s first choice, but it wasn’t half bad, he decided.

-----

A/N: For anyone wondering if Spike has the Gem of Amara, yes he does. :) Which more will be said about later.
 
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