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The peaceful town of SunnyDale is sent into a panic when someone tries to kidnap a student - William Pratt, known as Spike by anyone who doesn’t want their face punched in. Andrew Wells is pretty much a nerd, but he’s the one to be there when Spike needs help, so he and Spike might actually be friends now? Buffy Summers couldn’t be happier with Faith Lehane’s heroics when things get really bad. Will Spike’s friends banding together help him find out who’s stalking him?

(So I wrote a fic originally based off of this true story. )

Andrew nursed his sprained wrist on ice. He’d hurt it playing dodgeball. It was only about twelve, and he was getting out of school having left gym early, so really, it was a win win situation. He was sitting outside of the nurse’s office waiting for his mom to pull up. He heard the nurse telling someone else that their parents would be called, and looked up. He tensed up, scooting to the very edge of the bench when he saw who was leaving the nurses office and heading towards the bench. Spike. Andrew nodded at the boy as he sat down on the other side of the bench. Spike was wearing his usual back leather coat,his bleach blond hair slicked back like Billy Idol as always. Andrew had been pushed against his locker plenty of times by the boy now sitting beside him. Spike and his gang of buddies were pretty much established as the school’s gang of bad kids. Angel, Darla, and Drusilla. The girls always wore really slutty outfits which was super hot, with their, well, like their boobs and stuff. Angel and Spike both wore leather jackets and lots of hair gel which Andrew totally found really stupid and not at all attractive.

“Hi, Spike,” he said. “Hi.” Spike said, without really looking at him. “So, uh, did you get hurt too?” “What?” Spike looked at him with piercing blue eyes. “No.” “What happened?” Andrew asked. “I got caught smoking, alright? Are you bloody happy?” He trailed off, staring out the window. Spike’s British accent didn’t turn Andrew on at all. Nope, not even a little. “Cool,” Andrew said. Spike rolled his eyes. A car pulled up. It was a red pickup truck. Andrew recognized it as Spike’s dad’s car, not because he paid attention, definitely not that, he’d just seen Spike get picked up in it before. “Bleedin’ hell,” Spike muttered. “What?” “Just thought it was my mum’s turn to pick me up,” Spike said. “That’s all.” “Oh,” Andrew said. It was common knowledge that neither Spike or his mom, the cashier at the local bookstore who was actually really nice, wanted Spike’s dad to have any kind of custody. That was the kind of thing that everybody knew about in a small town like SunnyDale. “See you around mate,” Spike said. Mate? Andrew didn’t have butterflies from being called Spike’s mate. Not at all. “See you,” Andrew said. Spike walked out through the double glass doors. Andrew leaned back in the bench. He was planning on going over to Jonathon’s house to play dungeon’s and dragons after school. His mind was already drifting to the game when he heard something he’d never heard. He heard Spike yelling out in fear. He stood up fast, and spun around looking out the window. Someone had their arms around Spike’s mid section, and was trying to pull him towards the pick up truck. Andrew ran towards the doors on instinct, but hesitated. He was not going to be strong enough to overtake a big guy like that on his own. “Hey!” he yelled. “Somebody help!” The nurse came out of her office, saw what was happening and started dialing security. The guy was big, and he was making progress getting Spike closer to the truck. Whoever it was had a black ski mask on so it was impossible to see their face. Andrew didn’t know how much he’d be able to do, but he took a deep breath and ran outside, and towards the struggle happening in the school parking lot. Luckily, two security guards came just as he made his way halfway across the parking lot, and pushed past him. The guy let go of Spike, jumped in the pick up truck, and drove off. The security guards helped Spike back inside, and Andrew followed. Both boys were told to sit on the bench again.The nurse explained that she’d dialed 911 and the police were on their way. “Are you okay?” Andrew asked. He wasn’t sure what else to say. Spike looked even more pale than usual. “Yeah,” he said, but his voice was shaky. Andrew patted Spike on the shoulder. He expected to be shaken off, but it didn’t happen. Instead, Spike seemed to relax a little at his touch. The police arrive before Andrew could think anymore about that. Andrew walked outside with Spike. The police asked both of them a lot of questions. Spike seemed to be in shock, and Andrew filled in a lot for him. He explained how Spike had headed towards the pick up truck, thinking it was his Dad. He explained how whoever was in the car had grabbed Spike. “How did he know to use the exact same car as my Dad?” Spike asked, suddenly. The police didn’t have answer for that. As they sat with the Police, Spike asked if he could call his mom and they said of course, and he stepped off to the side a little with his cell to his ear. Andrew’s mom arrived a few minutes after the police. She jumped out of her car and ran over to Andrew, grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him towards her. “Andrew, are you alright baby?” she asked. “Yes, Mom,” Andrew said, pushing her away, embarrassed. “I’m fine. Let’s just go home.” “You’re free to go home,” a police officer said to Andrew. “Just call us if you remember any other details.” “Wait!” Spike said. He hesitated as Andrew stared at him, waiting. “Can I uh, can I have your phone number? My mum is really late now and I can’t get ahold of her, and I’d just feel better if I-“ “You can come home with us!” Andrew’s mom broke in. Andrew wanted to be swallowed up by the art, maybe by some kind of mouth of hell or something. His mom could be so embarrassing. “Mom, Spike doesn’t want to-“ “Yeah,” Spike interrupted. “That’d be lovely, Mrs. Wells.” Andrew’s jaw dropped. No way. Popular, feared, athletic, Spike wanted to go to his house? What kind of alternate universe was he living in? “Okay,” one of the police officers said. “Just remember, we’re a phone call away.” Spike nodded. Both boys climbed into the back seat of Andrew’s mom’s tan mini van. Andrew explained everything that had happened as Spike tried again to call his mom. He tried to call several times, and finally shoved the phone onto the seat next to him. “Do you want me to drive you to your mom’s house?” asked Andrew’s mom. “Uh yeah,” Spike said. “I’m sure maybe she just forgot or something.” They drove to the apartment complex, and parked. Spike got out of the car. “Andrew, why don’t you go with your friend?” asked Andrew’s mom. God, could she be more embarrassing? “Yeah,” Spike said. “I wouldn’t mind that.” Andrew shrugged, and got out of the car. He followed Spike to the apartment, and Spike punched in a code. They walked up the stairs in silence. As they walked down the hallway, Andrew noticed that it wasn’t exactly the cleanest place. Actually, he couldn’t help but notice a lot of weird stains on the carpet. Spike came to a numbered door and pulled a key out of his pocket. He opened up the door. They walked inside, and both froze. Spike moved first, running towards the limp figure of his mom. She was laying on the ground, a puddle of blood forming around her head. “Holy death star…” Andrew breathed. “Call 911!” Spike said in a shaky voice. Andrew dialed 911, his own hand pretty shaky. He then called his Mom. Spike relaid the code of the building to Andrew’s mom, and she hurried up to meet them, Andrew letting her in the room when she reached the apartment. It seemed to take forever for the police to get there. The person on the other end told them not to try and stop the bleeding, so Spike took an old dishrag and held it agains the wound of his unconscious mom’s head. When the EMT people got there, they took away Spike’s mom in the ambulance, and Spike rode with them. Andrew and his mom followed behind. “That poor boy,” Andrew’s mom said. Andrew had to agree. When they got to the hospital, they followed the EMTs carrying the stretcher inside. No one, not even Spike, was allowed to follow them past a door labeled “Emergency Room.” Andrew’s mom went over and sat down on a chair. Spike just stood in front of the door, looking shell shocked. Andrew stayed beside him. “She’ll be okay,” he said. He didn’t really know what else to say. “Right,” Spike said with a sniff. He blinked, and looked at Andrew with desperation. It was like he was willing himself to believe Andrew. Spike waked over and sat down beside Andrew’s mom, and Andrew followed. He sat down next to Spike. It was awkward silence for a while. Andrew wasn’t sure how long. He wanted to pull out his phone and play Pokemon but his battery was almost dead so he kept it tucked in his pocket. They all jumped a little when a familiar voice pulled them back to reality. “Spike?” Andrew and Spike both looked up. It was Dawn Summers. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Don’t worry about me, little bit,” Spike said. “Did you finish that paper on Romeo and Juliet?” For the first time since he’d been grabbed by that big scary man he looked calm and collected. Andrew knew it was faked though. After all, that big guy had nearly pulled him into the car. Before Andrew had bravely come to his rescue. As Spike and Dawn chatted, he found himself recreating the scene in his head. Spike, afraid and helpless, grabbed by a horrible brute of a man. And Andrew, brave and noble, rescuing him by overtaking the man with brute strength. He’d totally bested the kidnapper, and taken Spike into his own, more welcoming arms. Then, Spike had leaned in, their lips almost touching and - “Hello?” Buffy Summers, Dawn’s older sister, was waving a hand in front of Andrew’s face. “Huh?” Andrew asked. “Earth to Andrew,” Buffy joked. “I said it was nice of you and your mom to take Spike home. It’s lucky you guys found Mrs. Pratt as soon as you did.” Mrs. Pratt. That was funny. Andrew had never taken the time to consider that Spike actually had a last name, or that Spike probably wasn’t his real name. Wait, how did Buffy know that? Buffy was head of the cheerleading team. Spike was, well, known for skipping class to smoke cigarettes. Her crowd didn’t really mix with his.They were both popular, unlike Andrew, but in different ways. “It’s crazy,” Buffy continued. “I’m just so glad I found my mom in time.” “Yeah, me too,”Spike said. Andrew studied Spike’s face. He said it like he was a member of the Summers family, like he cared as much about Joyce Summers as Buffy and Dawn. “The doctors said she might not have made it if I didn’t come home when I did.” Buffy’s face paled. “She was just laying there on the sofa.” “I just talked to the doctors B,” said another familiar voice. Faith Lehane had come from across the waiting room to meet them. She wrapped her arms around Buffy’s neck from behind. “Your mom’s gonna be able to come home tomorrow.” Buffy’s face flooded with relief. “That’s awesome,” she said. She turned to grin at Faith. “And that gives you and me tonight, to do whatever we want.” Buffy winked, and Faith smirked. Andrew got it. He knew how it was not having your parents home. You could do anything - even stay up all night! He figured they would probably be able to turn their TV up as loud as they wanted. Cool for them. “Gross,” Dawn said, rolling her eyes. Andrew wasn’t sure what was gross about a sleepover party, but he didn’t really understand freshman girls, being a sophisticated sophomore himself. A doctor approached their small group, and tapped on Spike’s shoulder. Spike turned looking hopeful. Buffy, Faith, and Dawn walked away, and headed down a different hall, probably towards Mrs. Summers’ room. “Your mom is going to be just fine,” the doctor said. Spike nodded, and Andrew saw the small amount of color that Spike had return to his cheeks. “You can go see her if you want.” Spike stood up fast, and the doctor held up a hand to slow him down. “She’s conscious now,” the doctor said. “But we do want to keep her overnight for observation. Do you have someone you could stay with?” Andrew was pretty sure Spike would either bring up the name of his girlfriend, Drusilla, or his best friend, Angel. He wasn’t expecting Spike to look towards him and his mom. But it happened all the same. Spike looked at Andrew’s mom with a question on his face, and Andrew’s mom caught on fast. “Of course, you’d be welcome to stay with us if you want,” she said. “Thank you,” Spike said. He then followed the doctor away leaving Andrew to puzzle over Spike’s suddenly very new attitude towards him.

“Yeah, man, you heard me right,” Andrew said into he phone. Spike was in the shower, and his mom was sitting int he living room watching TV so he had his room to himself. He was sitting on his bean bag, underneath his row of X Men movie posters. “Someone tried to abduct him?” Jonathon asked, sounding amazed. “And you saved him?” “I was a total hero,” Andrew confirmed. “And that’s why you’re ditching our game night?” “Whatever,” Andrew said. “I have to be a good host.” “Rescuing him from an abductor isn’t good enough/“ “It was pretty cool,” Andrew said. “I came to his rescue before the security guards, or the police could even get there, and he was on his knees, sobbing, kissing my shoes and thanking me.” “Wow,” Jonathon said. “Yeah,” Andrew replied. “So Warren came to my house,” Jonathon said. “Again?” Andrew asked. “Yeah. My mom had to tell him to leave, he wouldn’t listen to me.” “He has some serious issues,” Andrew said. His own mom had called the police last time Warren showed up looking for him. “What did he want this time?” he asked. At first, Warren had just wanted to be their friend. That was kind of weird in itself, sense Andrew and Jonathon weren’t exactly the most popular kids in school. Still, Warren had been new in town, and he’d seemed alright, so Andrew and Jonathon had invited him over for a Doctor Who marathon. Well that was when it started. After the marathon, they’d been ready for bed. But Warren couldn’t shut up about all the reasons the Daleks should have killed The Doctor. He was also pretty critical of all the companions. It was like he wanted the good guys to lose. “Again with the experiments,” Jonathon replied. “Again?” Andrew asked. After the Doctor Who marathon Warren had been obsessed with getting them to do experiments with him. He had some crazy ideas. He wanted to do things like build a robot girlfriend for himself, and freeze ray. Impossible stuff - or at least, impossible in real life. Basically, Andrew and Jonathon were pretty sure that Warren was super unhinged and needed some kind of serious help. “Hey, you don’t happen to have an extra pair of uh, sweat pants?” Andrew dropped his cell phone. Spike was standing in his doorway, shirtless, with a towel around his waist. “Yeah,” he sputtered. “Hello?” asked Jonathon’s voice from the floor. Andrew hurried over to his drawers. He started digging around in his drawer. He was a little too zealous though, and he knocked the drawer to the ground. Clothes spilled everywhere. Spike walked over to him, totally smooth. “Let me help you with that,” he said. They worked together to pick up the mess of folded shirts, shoving them back into he drawer. Spike opened up the bottom drawer and pulled out a pair of sweat pants. “Thanks, he said. “I’m going to go get changed into these.” He left the room, leaving Andrew to pick up his cell phone and close the drawers. “Hey,” Andrew said. “Spike just came into my room. He wanted my comfort. A shoulder to lean on in this difficult time. I had to be there for him.” Jonathon was snickering. “Hey, what’s so funny?” Andrew snapped. “Dude,” Jonathon said. “I heard him asking you to borrow sweat pants. And let me guess, your drawer fell and that’s what that crash was.” “Shut up!” Andrew whined. “I have to go.” He hung up the phone, bitter, and went out to the living room. Spike was sitting there watching the TV show Passions. “Passions is on?” Andrew asked. “That’s an older show.” “They’re doing a marathon,” Spike said. Andrew wasn’t the biggest Passions fan, but Spike was, after all, his guest. He sat down on the couch beside Spike. “So, what was that with you and Buffy?” Andrew asked. “I didn’t know you two hung out.” “Yeah,” Spike said. “Not so much in school. They’re family friends though.” “Really?” “Yeah. To be honest, when my parents were going through their divorce, things got kind of rough. Joyce offered me a job at her art gallery. I was able to help support me and my mum because of her. I don’t work there anymore - I don’t think she could afford me long term to be honest, but I’m still close with the family. Spent a lot of time over there when my parents were fighting a lot.” “Oh,” Andrew said. He was surprised by all the sudden sharing. “Yeah,” Spike said. “I tutor the little bit in literature now.” “You?” Andrew asked. He didn’t mean for it to come out so surprised, it just did. Spike raised his eyebrows. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m good with English, you got a bloody problem with that?” “No,” Andrew said, shaking his head fast. They watched the rest of the show in silence, partially because Spike kept shushing Andrew.

* * * “Your mom’s going to be okay?” Darla asked. They were sitting outside in the grass in front of the school. “Yeah,” Spike said. “Poor baby,” Drusilla aid, stroking Spike’s cheek. He forced a smile to reassure her, and petted her long brown hair. Angel and Darla were sitting cuddled up against a tree and he and Dru were sitting across from them. “I’ll be fine, pet,” Spike said. It wasn’t true. He was on edge. Terrified. He wanted Andrew there. He’d feel safer if Andrew were by his side. “That’s scary,” Angel said. “The guy even had the same car as your dad.” “Yeah,” Spike said. “Well I talked on the phone with my dad this morning. It was his car. Whoever this creep was stole his car. He’s been at the police station since early this morning, apparently.” “They’ll catch whoever did this,” Angel said with that cocky confidence that only Angel could have. Spike was jealous of that. Now, with the fear that whoever this was could be coming back, he was more jealous of Angel’s demeanor than ever. Angel probably wouldn’t even be afraid in Spike’s situation. “I’m uh, I’m going to go have a smoke,” Spike said. “We don’t mind,” Darla said, rolling her eyes. She was a year older than them, and bought Spike his cigarettes. “I just want to be alone right now.” Actually, he wanted the opposite. He wanted Andrew with him. Maybe it was because Andrew was the only person who’d been with him when this happened. Or maybe it was because of how nice to him Andrew had been. Maybe it was because Andrew had been the one to call the police about his mom. Spike didn’t know. He just knew he wanted to be around the kid. He walked away from his friends. Andrew was right where Spike had expected to find him during the lunch break. The library - home of the nerds. Spike was tempted to turn right back around. Then he thought of how comforting Andrew’s hand on his shoulder had felt, and thought better of it. Andrew was sitting there reading some old looking book, something about demon folklore. “Hi,” Spike said. “Oh,” Andrew said, glancing up. “Hi Spike. Do you want me to leave, or give you my lunch money or -“ “What?” Spike interrupted. Right. He’d kind of been a bully. “No,” he said. “I just wondered if you uh, wanted to eat lunch together?” God he could be such a daft wanker sometimes. He wanted to hit himself in the head. Eat lunch together? Andrew was probably about to laugh in his face, and he’d deserve it. Instead, Andrew shrugged. He carefully put a bookmark with a picture of some alien probably from some nerd movie into the book. Andrew pulled out a lunch box with pictures of spaceships on it. Spike normally would have made fun of it, but instead he sat in the seat at the library table across from Andrew. “Mr. Giles, do you think I could keep this book a little longer?” The old librarian poked his head up from behind the desk. Who knew what he’d been doing down there, probably dusting old books that no one was going to read anyway. “Of course,” the old bloke replied with a smile, cleaning his glasses. “It’s wonderful to have a student with such an interest in the occult volumes.” “Yeah,” Andrew said. “I just think it’s really interesting to read about demons and stuff.” “Quite so,” the librarian replied. He went back to doing whatever he’d been doing. “I uh,” Spike began awkwardly. “I wanted to thank you. For before. Yesterday was a rough day.” “Yeah, of course,” Andrew said. “Have you talked to your mom today? Is she okay? Or, is uh, the whole attack situation related to whoever that creepy guy was?” “They don’t know,” Spike said. “But I’m pretty sure there must be a connection. Too much of a coincidence. Wish the bugger hadn’t been wearing a ski mask. I just want to know who the fucker is.” “Yeah,” Andrew said. “I would too.” “Hey, Andrew!” called a voice. Spike turned around. It was a guy Spike vaguely recognized. He had short black hair, and he was taller than Andrew and better built, but Spike still recognized him as a nerd. “Oh,” Andrew didn’t seem excited to see the guy, which was weird because Spike had assumed they were friends. “Hi Warren.” “Listen man, I -“ Warren stopped, upon seeing Spike. “Oh, hello Spike,” Warren said. Spike right away disliked this guy. It wasn’t because he was a nerd. There was something about him. He gave off a bad vibe. Spike instantly positioned himself in front of Andrew, leaning casually agains the table but glaring at this Warren guy to let him know the move had been calculated. Maybe this was an enemy of Andrew’s or something. Andrew was definitely shrinking back in his chair the closer Warren got. “Listen, Andrew,” Warren said. “Can I talk you.” It wasn’t a question, and Warren glared at Andrew like Spike wasn’t even there. “No,” Andrew said. “I told you Warren, I’m not doing any of your weird science projects. Your ideas are impossible.” “C’mon man,” Warren said, like Andrew hadn’t even spoke. He gestured for Andrew to follow him. Spike stood up taller. “I believe he said he didn’t want to go with you,” Spike growled. “What are you, defending his honor?” Warren scoffed. He looked at Spike like he was looking at gum on the bottom of his shoes. Spike disliked this guy more every second. “Oh bugger off,” Spike stepped forward, getting ready to shove Warren. Just then Buffy Summer showed up. She shoved Spike and Warren apart like it was nothing. She glared at both of them. God, she could always make Spike feel like he was a child under the disapproving gaze of an adult. “Giles,” Buffy said. The librarian resurfaced from behind the desk again. “Oh, hello Buffy,” Giles said. “Did you forget you’re coming over to dinner?” “What?” Giles asked. Spike rolled his eyes. Why Joyce continued to see old sod, he reckoned he’d never understand. “Oh yes,” Giles pretended to remember. “Absolutely.” Buffy met Spike’s eyes, and they shared an exasperated eye roll. “On my way.” “How’s your mom?” Buffy asked Spike. “Still in the hospital,” Spike replied. “I’m going to see her as soon as school lets out.” “And Spike,” Buffy asked. “How are you?” The way her tone changed was amazing. It was clear she really cared about the answer. Spike would sell his soul for this girl. “I’m alright,” he said. He was lucky to have a friend like Buffy. She nodded, like she didn’t believe him but was willing to drop it for the moment. She and Giles left. The rest of the day dragged on. Spike was glad when the last bell finally rang and he was able to leave the big building that was something like Hell. He took the bus to the hospital. He thought about asking Andrew’s mom for a ride again, but he didn’t want to ask too much. So he took the bus, and ran from the bus stop into the hospital, his leather coat billowing around him. The coat was something he and his mom would’ve never been able to afford. It was a gift from the Summers family from last Christmas, and he’d cherished it ever since like the sentimental sap that he was. “Hi mum,” he said as he entered her room. She was laying in the bed, looking ever so fragile. He went over to sit beside her. “How are you?” “I’ve got a bad headache,” she admitted. “But I’m better. I heard you and your little friend might’ve saved my life.’ “Nah,” Spike said although he thought it might’ve been true. “Do you know who did this though?” he asked her. She shook her head against the pillow, looking worried. “They were wearing a ski mask,” she said. “I heard what happened to you though,” she looked like she was getting ready to cry so Spike took her hand in his. Of course, that really got her going. Good going Spike, he thought to himself. “I’m alright,” he insisted. “Did you write me a poem?” she asked. “Mum…” “You know how I love your poetry William. Indulge an old lady in a hospital.” ‘You’re not old.” “You’re avoiding the point.” He sighed. Of course he’d written her a poem. “First of all, it’s Spike,” he began. “Oh right,” she said. “I’m sorry.” He was sure she didn’t mean to sound so condescending. Hey, it wasn’t his fault she’d decided to name him the most old fashioned, easy to make fun of name of the century. Willy Pratt, why not just name him “Desperate for a shag” “”Horny and friendless.” “Second of all,” he continued. “I did write you something.” He pulled the crumpled paper out from the pocket of his leather coat and held it in front of him in the light. Of course the ink was all smeared. He sighed, and reached into his book bag for his glasses. Last time he’d worn them in front of anyone other than his mum Drusilla had snuck off to kiss Angel and blamed it on him looking too much like a failed write. She always knew how to really hurt him. She didn’t even know he wanted to be a writer but feared he’d be a failure. She just said it. You always hurt the ones you love, he reminded himself. He pushed the thoughts of Drusilla’s unfaithfulness from his mind. He focused on the piece of paper and his mother in front of him. Effulgent in the dark light, Reachable, but unreachable at once, Impossibly different from me, But a source of comfort, Oh but if I could hold the hand Of such a nice presence. “That was lovely,” his mum said. She clapped her hands. Spike crumpled up the paper and shoved it into his pocket. “It wasn’t,” he said. “Effulgent. God what kind of bloody awful writer am I?” “You’re wonderful writer William.” Spike decided to change the subject. “When are they letting you out of this hellhole?” “Not tonight I’m afraid.” Spike turned to see who had spoken. It was a male nurse with dark brown hair. He had a name tag that said Ben. “What?” Spike asked, upset. “I’m sorry,” Ben said. “She’s in good hands here though, I promise.” Spike sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought for sure you’d be able to come home tonight.” “Its fine,” she said. “I hate to think of you in the apartment alone though. Do you have a friend you could stay with?” “Yeah,” said Spike. “I’m sure I could find someone.” He supposed he could always stay at Angel’s. He really didn’t want to though. He didn’t want to deal with Angel right then. He left the hospital feeling no better than he had going in. He just wanted his mum to be able to come home with him. He didn’t want to stay at a friend’s house. If he had to though, he knew who’s house he wanted to stay at. He pulled out his phone, and dialed the number he’d just put in the night before. The phone rang twice before a chirpy answer. He was just wandering the streets of SunnyDale, and he felt nervous. He just wanted to be near a comforting presence. He was looking around nervously for anyone suspicious or different. “Hi, you’ve reached Andrew, sorry but I can’t come to the phone right now. Leave a message.” A familiar sound played. Oh God, where did Spike recognize it? Of course, he realized. It was the bloody Star Wars theme song. How the hell Andrew had managed to get it as the dial tone at the end of his voicemail greeting, Spike hadn’t a clue. “Andrew,” he said. “It’s Spike. Call me back.” He hung up, and kept walking. He wasn’t sure where to go. Staying with Angel was his last resort. He was already on edge with a creepy stalker having tried to abduct him. The last thing he wanted was to stay with someone who always managed to make him feel small. Then he remembered he did have another option. He dialed the number, waiting. “Hello?” “Buffy.” “What’s up Spike?” “My mum’s still in the hospital. Can I come over?” “Of course. Giles is over for dinner. We’re having fried onions, my mom’s making that onion flowery think you like.” ‘I’ll be right over,” Spike said. He did love that meal. More than anything, he was ready for being surrounded by familiar faces.

* * * Faith held the lame bouquet of roses in front of her, considering throwing them away. She didn’t want to be corny. Still, Buffy sometimes kind of liked corniness. Fuck it, she thought. She could be corny for the Buffster. She walked the familiar path to her girlfriend’s house, imagining Buffy’s face when she saw the roses. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out, rolling her eyes when she saw who it was. ‘Stay safe.’ That was all it said. She swiped her finger across the screen typing “666” in to open up the phone. She replied ‘k’ to the text. Wes was too old to know that this was basically the younger generation’s equivalent of ‘fuck off.’ Faith had moved in with her family friend and tutor Wes when she turned fifteen. It was pretty much the best thing that could have happened to her. Getting away from the heavy presence of her mom’s alcoholism and anger at her absentee dad had seemed like pretty much a pipe dream. Until Wes came along and he and Faith grew close. He was alright, really, for an old dude. Sure he could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he really cared about her. She glanced up, and saw Spike walking along. She waved her hand, and he nodded at her. The two of them weren’t exactly best of friends, but they were cool with each other. They were both close with Buffy, and they shared a love for punk rock music and horror movies that Buffy didn’t have so that had sort of bonded them. “How’s my favorite vampire doing?” Spike asked. He rolled his eyes. She never got tired of teasing him about his parlor skin. “Really,” she asked, getting semi serious. “How’s your mom?” “Still in the hospital,” he said. “I’m sorry,” she replied. “S’ok,” he said. “She’ll be fine. I’m just heading to Buffy’s. Don’t really fancy being alone just now.” “Sure,” Faith agreed. She didn’t think she would either if someone had tried to kidnap her. “I’m headed there myself.” Spike took in the bouquet of roses in her hand and smiled. “She’ll like that,” he said. They walked in comfortable silence for a couple of blocks before Spike froze. Faith looked around. It was a sunny afternoon, and everything seemed pretty normal. This was SunnyDale after all. Everything was always pretty normal, minus the recent kidnap attempt and attack of an old lady. “What?” she asked. “There,” Spike said. He nodded at a red pickup truck. “That’s my dad’s car.” “What?” Faith asked. “The one that was stolen?” “That’s the one,” Spike confirmed. “Shit,” Faith muttered. She fumbled in the pocket of her leather pants for her phone. She found it, and dialed 911. The wait time for a 911 operator seemed way too long as the two of them stood frozen on the sidewalk. Faith wasn’t sure what to do. She wasn’t used to emergency situations. Her biggest trouble was usually getting out of trouble with Buffy when she said something too offensive, or with Wes when she slacked on school work. Just as Faith was thinking they should really get the hell out of there, someone grabbed her from behind. She swung back her foot on instinct, and slammed it into the crotch of whoever it was. They fell over, doubled over in pain, and she grabbed Spike’s arm, running, her phone still to her ear. “911 how can I help you?” a voice answered. Faith glanced behind her to see that whoever it was was still laying on the ground groaning. They were wearing a ski mask so it was impossible to tell what they really looked like. She and Spike ran all the way over to Buffy’s street as she explained the situation to the dispatcher.

“You’re ditching us for Spike?” Willow whined, as if they hadn’t hung out every day that week. “Yeah, c’mon Buff,” Xander complained. Buffy rolled her eyes. The three of them were sitting on Buffy’s porch eating junk food. Buffy’s mom was resting on the sofa inside with Dawn. She was finally back from the hospital, thank God. Buffy felt bad for Spike, partially because she knew what it was like to have your mom stuck in the hospital. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to be attacked by a big scary stranger. “Xander, I know Anya wants you to call her. She couldn’t shut up about it during lunch. Willow, go apologize to Tara.” “But-“ Willow began. “She’ll forgive you,” Buffy said. “It’s weed, not heroin. Just tell her you’ll never smoke it again.” “But I like it.” “Oh you badass you,” Xander teased. “It’s medicinal,” Willow defended. “Tara does it too.” “She’s mad because you went to school high,” Buffy said. “You just need to slow down.” “It’s not like you can hurt anyone or end the world with weed, she’ll calm down,” Xander agreed. “Just talk to her.” “Right,” Buffy said. “Now I’m going to go call Spike again, she should almost be here soon. He was really shaken up. He tried to hide it, but I could tell.” “Okay,” Willow said. “Tell him I said hi. I’m uh, I’m gonna call Tara.” Xander and Willow walked away, chatting. Buffy watched them go, and pulled out her cell phone. She went to recent calls and taped Spike’s number. He picked up on the first ring. “Hey,” he said. “i’m just turning the corner.” She looked up, squinting in the afternoon sun. Spike was making his way over, and he looked seriously freaked. Buffy was surprised to see that he wasn’t alone. Walking beside him, and looking equally freaked out, was Buffy’s girlfriend. She hung up the phone, and hurried over to them. She pecked Faith on the lips, and the three of them walked towards the house together. “Is everything okay?” Buffy asked. “Big no,” Faith replied. “The police are on their way.” “What happened?” “We were attacked,” Spike said. “Oh my God,” Buffy said. “Are you both okay?” “Yeah,” Spike said. “Thanks to your girlfriend.”

Faith kicked Spike in the knee. She hated how easily her face got flushed. She couldn’t help it. When Buffy looked at her like that, she just felt warm. “Is that true?” Buffy asked, turning to Faith as the three of them went to sit on the porch steps. Faith felt her cheeks flood with blood again. “And oh my gosh, what?” Buffy was looking at the roses in Faith’s hands. Faith handed the roses over, not meeting Buffy’s eyes. Buffy grabbed her cheeks and forced her to look her in the face though. Faith saw the overwhelming love in Buffy’s hazel eyes. It was strange to be loved this much. No way she deserved it. Buffy kissed her hard though, and she forgot about not thinking she deserved love. As always when Buffy kissed her, Faith forgot about everything except the beautiful girl with her arms around her neck. When Buffy kissed her, she felt like she was worth something, no, like she was worth everything. The world disappeared when Buffy Summers kissed her. Spike coughed a little, and they broke apart. The sound of sirens made them all perk up. The police pulled up The officers got out of the car and The three teenagers stood up and hurried over to the police cars. The officers were getting out. Joyce and Dawn came outside to see what was going on. “We’ve dispatched a team of officers to the street you gave us,” an officer said. “Are you all oaky? Who made the call?” Faith and Spike took turns explaining the situation while Buffy tried to convince Dawn to get back in the house. Joyce was too busy asking her own questions to help with convincing Dawn. “Go on in, alright little bit?” Spike said. Dawn sighed and walked back into the house. The only person she really seemed to ever listen to was Spike. Which was stupid, and Faith was a little bitter about it. Dawn liked her, but she didn’t listen to her the way she did Spike. Faith was pretty sure Dawn saw her as a cool aunt, but not an aunt to actually take advice from. Which was maybe good, since she would have let the kid watch R rated horror movies and listen to music with cussing which probably would have sent Buffy over the edge. “Do you think this could be related to the other missing person?” one of the officers asked the other. Faith held up her hands. “Hold up,” she asked. “Other missing person?” The officer turned to her. “Do any of you know Andrew Wells?” “Andrew is missing?” Spike looked even more pale than usual, and his blue eyes were filled with fear. Faith’s specialty wasn’t always people, but she was pretty sure that’s how she would’ve looked if Buffy went missing.

“You’ll never get away with this!” Andrew yelled. He was tied to a chair.. Whoever had grabbed him as he left school had put a blindfold on him, so he couldn’t see who it was. He struggled against the ropes, but it was no good. He could hear footsteps pacing in front of him. His heart was racing in his chest. This was the end. He was going to die, he was sure of it. “I’m getting away with it,” snapped a voice. It was a familiar voice. Andrew tried to place it. “No!” he said. “You won’t. The police will come, and, and they’ll arrest you and some guy will rape you right in the butt!” “Shut up”! snapped the voice. “Holy face of Boe,” Andrew breathed. No way. It couldn’t be. “Warren?” “What?” Warren tried tomato his voice deeper. “No.” “Warren,” called a woman’s voice from what sounded like above them. The top of the stairs, Andrew realized. So he was in a basement. “Are we in your basement? he asked. “No!” Warren said. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice again. “I mean, uh, no.” “Warren your father and I made dinner, what are you doing down there?” “Is that your mom?” “No!” “Warren who’s down there with you? Does your friend want to stay for supper?” “Help!” Andrew yelled. “He’s crazy!” “What?” the woman called. “Don’t come down here mom,” Warren yelled. “We’re busy.” Footsteps. Someone was coming down the stairs. The blindfold was pulled off of his eyes, and Andrew was looking up at an angry woman. It must have been Warren’s mom. “Warren?” she snapped, turning towards her son. Sure enough, it was Warren. he was holding a ski mask in his hands. “A ski mask?” Andrew asked, bursting with realization. “Oh my Zeus, you’re the one who stole Spike’s dad’s car and tried to kidnap Spike!” “What? No,” Warren scoffed. Warren may have been good at science, but he was no good at acting. “Why?” Andrew breathed. Warren’s mom had her hands on her hips as she turned towards her son, also waiting for an answer. “Because,” Warren whined. “I wanted to do experiments. I wanted to learn about human anatomy. And he and Jonathon wouldn’t be my friends!” he pointed accusingly at Andrew. “Warren,” his mom said. “How many times do I have to tell you? No human experimenting in this house!” “But mom-“ “Untie that boy. And you’re grounded for a month.” Grumbling, Warren turned and untied Andrew. Someone was banging on the door. Warren had finally untied Andrew, and Andrew ran for the stairs. He ran out the front door and directly into a police officer.

Andrew felt like he had been sitting in the police station forever. He was finally allowed out of the questioning room after he’d started not at all crying, just like, his eyes had been watering a little, and pleaded with them to give him a break. He’d told them everything he could. At this point, he really didn’t care if Warren was arrested. He just wanted to leave this state and hopefully never come back. Waiting in the open area of the police station, he saw him. Spike was standing there in his big leather coat, with his hands in his pockets. Spike didn’t see him at first. When he did though, his face lit up. Andrew made his way over to Spike, but there was no way he could have predicted what happened next. Spike flung his arms around Andrew’s neck. Andrew gasped. Spike was strong. He was gasping for air before Spike loosened his grip and grabbed his face, looking him in the eyes. “Hi Spike,” Andrew said. Then Spike slammed his mouth against Andrew’s, and Andrew leaned into it without a thought. When they finally broke apart, Spike looked worried. “Hi,” Spike said in a shy voice. Andrew leaned in for another kiss. Just as their lips met, he head a loud sob. He forced himself to pull away from Spike. His mom was standing there, tears streaming down her face. She was smiling though. She ran over and hugged Andrew. “Thank God you’re okay,” she said, kissing his cheeks. “My baby is okay.” “Yeah mom,” Andrew said. “I’m okay.” “Sorry to interrupt you boys,” she said, backing away. “I was just so worried.” “I know mom,” Andrew said, hugging her. Warren ended up getting sent to juvenile hall for the rest of his high school career. He was seventeen, and the court decided to try him as an adult because his crimes were so serious. He didn’t get any jail time, but he did get an assault charge on his permanent record. Andrew and Spike spent a lot of time together after that. They didn’t jump on the “boyfriends” label right away, because neither of them were quite ready for that. Drusilla wasn’t as upset as Andrew had thought she would be. It turned out she and Darla were having a secret affair behind both Spike and Angel’s backs. Spike and Andrew went on a couple of somewhat awkward double dates with Buffy and Faith. Andrew actually became really close with the Summers family too. It turned out that Dawn was really into Legend Of Zelda, and he started playing it with her almost every weekend. Andrew helped Spike out with math because it turned out his good looks and knowledge of English literature did nothing to help him when it came to numbers, but most of their tutoring sessions ended up as make out sessions. At prom Buffy won the title of Prom Queen and Faith won “class protector” because she’d been the one to call the police when Andrew was kidnapped and she’d apparently kicked Warren where it hurt and saved Spike from getting kidnapped. It was a great high school experience, and in a few years they would all attend Tara and Willow’s wedding, and about ten years later Xander and Anya’s. In the police station though, Andrew didn’t know any of that about the future. all Andrew knew was that he couldn’t be happier. He was safe, Warren couldn’t harass him or Jonathon anymore, and Spike actually liked him. That last part was the hardest to believe, but Andrew wasn’t questioning it just then. He was basking because wow, things couldn’t be better of him in that moment.