Chapter Four: Chinese and Chips

“You’re a little early,” Coach Marren commented as they entered the gym. He was bent down over a bag of footballs. “Class doesn’t begin for another ten minutes.” He looked up, and spotted Spike. “Ah, Mr. Williams?”

Spike swallowed and nodded, looking apprehensive. Buffy nudged him gently before retreating.

She watched the two of them talking through the glass in the door. The frown slowly left the coach’s face. Spike began to look slightly less afraid and more ashamed. After several minutes, the other students started to arrive and Buffy took that as her cue to re-enter. Spike and Marren finished talking and, looking relieved, Spike made his way over to her.

“Was that as bad as you thought it was going to be?” Buffy enquired.

“I’ve got a detention tonight.” They both sat down with the other students. “But he said, all things considered, he won’t take it further unless I skip class again.”

“There, you see? I told you he was okay.”

Spike smiled at her. “You were right. Thanks, Buffy.” He paused. “He did make an interesting suggestion.”

“What?”

“Well, I mentioned I did swimming and he wants me to try out for the swim team. What do you think?”

Buffy shrugged. “Are you good?”

“Don’ know.”

“Well, it can’t hurt to try. And if you got on it, I think it would be good for you.”

Spike gave a shy grin at her encouragement. “Well, maybe I will try out.”

The conversation ended as the last student hurried into the gym with their shoes still undone. Coach Marren stood up and addressed the class with, “Now, today, class, we are going to be doing dodgeball …”

“You know, Buffy, there is really no need to put yourself out,” Giles said to her as he took a stack of books out of her hands. “I can manage fine by myself.”

“It’s okay. I like to help.” Buffy had been assisting Giles with his shelving since school had ended, while Spike was in detention. “How long do you reckon Marren will keep him?”

“Not too long,” came Spike’s voice from the doorway. “Buffy, what’re you still doin’ here?”

“Waiting for you.” Buffy turned to face him. “We were going to go round the town, remember?”

Spike stared at her, a small frown on his face. “Don’t you have to meet your sister?”

“My sis – oh, damn!” Buffy clapped a hand to her mouth in horror. “I was supposed to pick her up with Mom straight after school!”

“You’d better run,” Spike advised.

“We’re done here; I can drive you to the station,” Giles offered.

“Oh, yes please. Crap, I can’t believe I forgot! Mom’s going to be so pissed off …”

Joyce and Dawn had left the station by the time Buffy arrived there, so Giles drove the three of them back to Buffy’s house, where she was opening the door almost as soon as he had stopped the car.

“Do you want one of us to come in with you, explain -” Giles began.

“No, really, it’s fine.” Buffy grabbed her bag.

“You sure?” Spike asked. “It’s my fault you missed -”

“I’m sure. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Buffy promised. “That is if Mom hasn’t killed me.”

“All right. Bye, Buffy.” Spike waved as Buffy fought with her keys and the two of them drove off.

Taking a deep breath, she let herself into the house. “Mom?”

“Where on earth have you been, young lady?”

Buffy gulped. Joyce did not look at all pleased. “I’m really sorry, Mom. A friend was in detention and -”

“It’s not me you have to apologise to. What kind of welcome is this to Dawn?” Joyce gestured towards the stairs, and Buffy looked up to see a young girl of about eleven hovering part of the way up.

“Hey,” Buffy breathed. “You’re Dawn?” Her sister nodded. “I’m Buffy.”

Joyce heaved a sigh. “I suppose I should let you girls have some time alone.” She nodded for Buffy to go over to Dawn. “I’ll start on dinner.”

There was an awkward pause after Joyce had gone into the kitchen. “Have you seen your room?” Buffy finally asked. Dawn shook her head. “I’ll show it to you now, if you want. This your case?”

“Yeah, that’s mine.”

Neither girl spoke as Buffy carried Dawn’s suitcase upstairs, Dawn herself following a little way behind.

“Still smells a bit painty,” Buffy admitted as she pushed Dawn’s bedroom door open, “but it’ll fade soon. And I don’t know if Mom told you yet, but the furniture hasn’t arrived, so for now you have a camp-bed – although, if that’s not okay, you can borrow my bed till yours arrives, and I’ll sleep in here if you want.” She looked back at Dawn, who didn’t seem to have heard anything she had said, and was staring at her walls with her mouth open. “Um … you like it?”

Dawn found her voice. “I love it.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Buffy set the case down on the floor. “We weren’t really sure what you were into, and Mom had this idea of a “dawn” theme.” On one wall was painted a sunrise, with the opposite wall a midnight blue night sky complete with stars, and the other two walls identical gradients of one to the other. While Buffy was at school, Joyce had hung matching blue curtains.

“It’s beautiful.” Dawn gazed around. “Was this a professional job, or did Joyce do it?”

“We did it together.”

“Wow.”

“Look, Dawn. I … I’m really, really sorry about not meeting you. I already had plans to see a friend, and then he got detention, and I just sort of got confused and completely forgot. I know it’s not the best start, and I really want to be a good sister, not a crappy one.” Dawn smiled slightly. “Do you think you can forgive me?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Everyone makes mistakes. I forgot my grandma’s birthday four years in a row.”

“Birthdays are something everyone forgets. It’s not quite the same.”

“Her birthday was exactly a week after mine, and exactly a week before Christmas.”

“Oh.” Buffy grinned. “I see your point.”

The two of them giggled, and Buffy began to feel less nervous. It was a bit like talking to Willow. Maybe having a little sister wouldn’t be too bad.

“Okay, Dawn, your turn. Top five … foods.”

For Dawn’s first night, she, Buffy and Joyce were having a sleepover in the living room. It was late and all three were in pyjamas and a nest of blankets, munching their way through a mega pack of Oreos.

“Trust you to think of food, Buffy,” Joyce teased.

“Easy-peasy,” Dawn said. “Oreos, Oreos, Oreos, Oreos and Oreos.”

“That wouldn’t have been at all influenced by the Oreos you happen to be eating right this minute, would it?” Buffy pointed out.

“So what if it is?” Dawn shrugged. “I love them. Your turn, Joyce.”

“Chicken pot pie,” Joyce said. “The way my mother used to make it. Strawberry shortcake. Pizza. Chocolate chip cookies. And …” Joyce paused, thinking hard. “Smoked salmon.”

“Okay Buff, your turn to list.” Dawn smiled at her sister, who bit back the “Don’t call me Buff” response she said to anyone but Xander.

“Cheese, Chinese food, barbeque food, apricots, and Nutty Berries.”

“What are Nutty Berries?” Joyce and Dawn asked simultaneously.

“They’re a kind of cookie Spike Williams makes. He’s a new guy at school.”

A knowing look spread over Joyce’s face. “Oh yes?”

“They’re made with nuts, berries and chocolate chips, and they’re the best cookies I’ve ever eaten. Spike really knows how to cook.” Buffy helped herself to some more Oreos.

“So what’s this Spike guy like?” Dawn asked.

“He’s Giles’ godson, actually. The school librarian,” Buffy added for Dawn’s benefit. “He moved from England a few months ago to live with him and has just got into the school.”

“Is he cute?” Dawn said with a grin on her face.

Buffy looked from her to her mother, who looked as if she knew the answer. “I suppose so. Maybe.” She paused. “Okay, okay, yeah he’s cute. Practically all the girls in the class were trying to catch his eye all day.” She smiled. “He doesn’t seem to notice though.”

“Is he nice?” Joyce asked.

“Don’t really know him that well yet,” Buffy said, “but he’s nice to me at any rate. I was going to show him round town this afternoon, but obviously plans changed, so I guess I’ll be doing it tomorrow. Dawn, maybe you could come too.”

“Really?” Dawn said. “I don’t want to get in the way -”

“Don’t worry, you won’t. I know Spike wouldn’t mind. Actually, I think you two would get on really well.” Buffy smiled reassuringly at Dawn.

“That reminds me, girls,” Joyce said, helping herself to another Oreo. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to the Junior High School about a place for Dawn yet, and I’m sure she would rather not be stuck at home on her own all day while I’m at work.”

“I don’t mind,” Dawn offered.

“I imagine you would get bored pretty quickly, honey, and besides, you’re only eleven – I would feel much happier if I knew you were with someone. My idea was that you go into school with Buffy.” The girls looked at each other, and Joyce continued, “I’m sure the teachers wouldn’t mind if you sat in on the could take something quiet to do at the back, and who knows, you might even learn something to impress your new teachers with when you start school properly.”

“I don’t know.” Dawn didn’t sound convinced. “I don’t really want to move around classes all day.”

“You could sit in the library,” Buffy said suddenly. “It’s nice and quiet, and Giles never comes out into the real world so you wouldn’t be on your own. He’s really nice, not like a stranger at all, and Mom, you know him so your mind would be at rest.”

“That’s a good idea.” Joyce smiled at Buffy and turned to look at Dawn. “What do you think, Dawn?”

She considered. “I wouldn’t mind doing that.”

“Well then, I’ll call the school in the morning and check if it will be all right. I’m sure it will be.”

Not surprisingly, the Summers’ all overslept the next morning. Joyce was turning the kitchen upside-down looking for cereal and Buffy was getting dressed when the doorbell rang, so Dawn answered it.

“Er, hello,” said the boy standing there. “You’re Dawn, right?” She nodded. “Is Buffy here?”

“One moment. Buffy!” Dawn yelled upstairs. “There’s a cute guy at the door for you!”

Buffy’s footsteps sounded on the stairs and Dawn turned back to the guest, who was blushing furiously. “Are you Spike?”

“Yeah, that’s me. How did you -”

“She said you were cute. Also that you’re English. It didn’t take a lot of deduction.”

“Dawn!” Buffy appeared in the hall, fully dressed. “Spike, what are you doing here?”

“Well, Giles and I -” he gestured to the car sitting outside “- have to go past your place to get to school and wondered if you’d like a lift. Plus, I wanted to give this to your mum by way of an apology.”

There was something large and heavy in his arms, covered in tin foil.

“Come in,” Buffy said. “We’re not quite ready yet. Mom, Spike’s here,” she called into the kitchen. “He’s brought you a present.”

“Me?” Joyce entered the hall, cereal box in hand.

“Hello, Mrs. Summers.” Spike smiled at her and uncovered a family-size pie. “This is for you, to say sorry for yesterday.”

“That’s very kind of you – Spike, isn’t it? – but I’m not entirely sure what …”

“Well, Buffy was waiting for me when she was late home. I just felt a bit guilty, and when I feel down, I cook. I wanted you to have it – well, all three of you, really.”

“It smells amazing, Spike. That’s so thoughtful.” All three of them inhaled deeply. “What kind of pie is it?”

“Turkey and ham.”

“You know, I don’t think we’ve ever had that before. Come through to the kitchen and help me clear a space for it …”

“Mom, can Dawn and I go with Giles and Spike to school?” Buffy called after them.

“That would be perfect,” Joyce replied. “It means I won’t be so late to work. Go on then, have a nice time. Spike, maybe you and your godfather would like to join us for dinner tonight? I’m sure three of us won’t be able to polish off this pie all by ourselves, even with Buffy.”

“Mom!” Buffy said indignantly.

“Thanks for the offer, Mrs. S, but I couldn’t intrude. And the pie will keep for a little while. Enjoy it.”

“We will,” Buffy assured him, “if it’s half as good as your cookies.”

By this time she, Dawn and Spike were making their way to the car, waving to Joyce at the same time. “That reminds me,” Spike said. “I’m almost there with the recipe. But you’ve got to promise not to pass it on to anyone else. In fact, memorise it and then burn it to be on the safe side.”

Buffy laughed as they got into the car.

Spike was invited to join Buffy and her friends’ table again for lunch. Within only a couple of days, he was beginning to feel as if he was one of them. Dawn, who had been reading in the library all morning, sat down next to him and eyed his lunchbox for several minutes before he offered her a cookie.

“Thanks!” she said brightly, biting into it. “Mm! Buffy, you’re right, they’re lovely!”

Spike raised his eyebrows at Buffy, who smiled and shrugged.

He was getting to know the group by now. Buffy liked food as much as he did, was incredibly quirky and had a heart of gold. Willow was fairly shy but could be ferocious. She was also unbelievably smart. Xander, he wasn’t so sure about – the guy fancied himself as a comedian, but Spike had a feeling that he disliked him and was just not voicing it. Oz, however, he liked. Quiet, with a dry sense of humour. He was clearly smitten with Willow and she with him. Their romance was subtle, though – unlike certain couples, they were not big on public displays of affection. No, it was the way they looked at each other that Spike envied.

Perhaps, one day, he and Buffy might be looking at each other like that, he thought. The more time he spent in her company the more comfortable he felt with her. And she actually respected him as a person, which made her a step above Drusilla. Of course, that was not saying much, but Spike was optimistic.

Oz’s puppies were beautiful. He had picked one out to keep, but the rest had to go and Spike spent over an hour with them. In the end, he decided on the one that reminded him most of his late Retriever, Di – the friskiest.

“She’s gorgeous,” he murmured as the young dog licked his nose. “They all are.”

Oz nodded. “They are a beautiful breed.”

“I’m thinking I should call her something snowy. Seeing as she’s an American Eskimo. What do you think, girl?” Spike directed as the puppy. “What would you like to be called?”

She jumped out of his lap and ran towards the bookcase, crashing into it. It rocked, and Mrs. Osborne leapt forward to stop it from falling on top of her. Spike quickly retrieved the puppy and glanced down at the book that had fallen on the floor – a volume of fairy tales.

“Perfect,” he grinned. “Snow White.”

“All right, I agree. But,” Giles said firmly, “on several conditions.”

“Name them,” Spike said, grinning like a maniac.

“Condition number one: you are completely responsible. Walking, feeding, the works. If you need a second pair of hands on the odd occasion I will help, but I don’t want to find that I am doing everything.”

“You won’t. Condition number two?”

“Condition number two is – vet’s bills excluded, I know you wouldn’t have a hope of paying them yourself – you pay for everything. That means serious budgeting, Spike.”

“Giles, I don’t have any money.”

“Condition number three: get a Saturday job. If you can’t find one that will cover all expenses, then I’m sure we can negotiate, but the dog will be yours and as an independent adult -”

“I get it. So, is that a yes then?”

Giles sighed. “Get the job first. I’m sure Oz won’t mind keeping – what’s her name?”

“Snow White.”

“Snow White until then.”

Spike hugged his godfather tightly, in an unusual burst of emotional display. “Thanks, Giles. I won’t let you down, I promise.”

“Buffy, what do you want me to order?” Joyce asked, entering Buffy’s bedroom. “Oh, sorry, honey. I didn’t realise you were on the phone.”

“It’s okay,” Buffy said. “Guess what? Giles said yes. Spike’s getting a dog.”

“I’ve got to get a job first,” Spike said, reminding her over the phone. “But yeah, he’s agreed.”

“I think you should celebrate. Tell you what, Mom’s ordering Chinese takeout; why don’t you and Giles come over?” She looked up at Joyce, who merely raised her eyebrows.

“Oh, I love Chinese. One second.” Buffy heard muffled conversation in the background, and then Spike spoke to her again. “Giles says if it’s okay with your mum.”

“Is that okay?” Buffy directed at Joyce.

“I suppose so. Ask them what they want.”

Buffy relayed the message, and after a moment of discussion, Spike asked politely for aromatic duck and crispy chilli beef. As Joyce was jotting it down on her paper, Spike said to Buffy, “Does the place you’re ordering from do chips?”

“It’s a Chinese takeout, Spike. Why do you want chips with -”

“Sorry, I mean fries,” Spike corrected himself. “If you’ve never tried them with Chinese, you haven’t lived.”

“I don’t think they do,” Buffy said, thinking it was not a combination she would have thought of.

“Do you think your mum would mind if I made some?”

Half an hour later, Buffy, Spike, Joyce, Giles and Dawn were sitting down to Chinese and English chips. Spike had brought the oil that he had fried them with in a bottle, and wouldn’t tell when asked how what he used was different from the standard.

“It’s called a secret recipe for a reason,” he told them. “Took me months to perfect it.”

“Well, it was worth it,” Dawn said. “These are the yummiest ones I’ve ever had, whatever you call them.”

Spike had barely known the gang for a fortnight before he felt he had always been a part of it. His life back in London seemed far, far away, and he felt more at home in Sunnydale than he had anywhere else. He had been quickly accepted as one of the group, and he had somehow managed to worm his way into the hearts of Buffy’s close family as well.

The trials for the swim team arrived, and Spike tried out. He was accepted, despite not really having believed he would be. When he confided this in Buffy, she just smiled in understanding and assured him that he was better than he gave himself credit for.

Out of all of his friends, she was the one he was closest to and had even confided some of his past with. They considered each other good friends, but he wanted more.

I’ve got to bide my time, he told himself. Wait for the right moment. Then be cool and natural about it. You can do this.

Several right moments came and went and in the end, Spike found the words coming out of his mouth at the worst possible time.

Out of all the things he hated about P.E, dodgeball was one of the top on the list. Even though the balls were soft, it was still unpleasant if one hit you. Spike, in an attempt to dodge one flying towards his head, tripped on another one rolling across the floor and fell over backwards.

“Ow!”

For a moment, he was slightly dazed from his head hitting the floor. All he registered was the beautiful blonde leaning over him. “Spike, are you okay?”

He grinned, as if slightly drunk, and said, “Buffy, will you go out with me?”

A number of different emotions flew across Buffy’s face, too fast to count, let alone identify. Before she could otherwise respond, Spike shook himself and realised with horror what he had done. A blushing Buffy helped him to his feet as sniggers ran through the gym.

“Mr. Williams, are you all right?” Coach Marren asked, breaking the tension. “You hit your head pretty hard.”

Spike felt a bump rising already on his head. “I’m not sure.”

“You had better sit out of the rest of the game. Go and get changed.”

He walked slowly back towards the changing rooms, wondering if he had just ruined the friendship he had with Buffy. He was just about to go inside, however, when he heard his name being called behind him.

Spike turned. “Buffy?”

She caught up with him. “Yeah. Look, Spike, I couldn’t let you go off without -”

“You don’ have to say anything, pet. I know when I’m not wanted.”

She stomped her foot in frustration. “You’re really stupid, you know that, don’t you? I never said no, okay?”

“You didn’t have to. It was all over your face.”

Buffy sighed. “Spike. Look. I’m not saying no. But … I can’t really say yes either. Not right now, okay?” Spike nodded, hope beginning to return, and she continued. “I had a bad experience a couple of months back and I’m just not ready to date again yet. But, in a while, who knows.” She smiled at him. “I want you to know that I like you and, if I start dating again, it might well be with you.”

“I understand,” he said, resisting the urge to jump in the air and whoop.

“I’m not saying yes or no. I’m just saying, please postpone the question.”

“That’s fine by me,” Spike said softly. “That’s actually more than I hoped for.”

“Oh, you.” Buffy pulled him into a hug. “I’ll let you know when you can ask again, okay? In the meantime – I really appreciate your friendship. So don’t go away.”

“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away, pet,” Spike grinned.

TBC …

AN: For those waiting for some actual action or mystery to show up - it'll begin in the next chapter. I promise.