Chapter Text
Lainey Kennedy walked across the dark campus, heading towards the library; it was her night off and she was going to visit her best friend, Olivia, who she knew would be working late. Olivia Martin was one of the librarians for the college who was a skilled researcher, specializing in ancient texts; she was also well versed in many things supernatural due to her consistent interaction with it through Lainey, who was a bartender at a local demon bar known as Willy’s Place. The two girls had very different personalities. Olivia was studious and quiet, not a huge fan of the night life. Lainey, on the other hand, was an insomniac who worked late hours or went out partying and spent most of her days reading, sleeping, or helping Olivia with research. But despite these differences, they remained best friends.
As Lainey was walking, she spotted a guy who appeared to be punching a tree while ranting to himself; he had platinum blonde hair, a leather jacket, and tight jeans. Lainey slowly approached him,
“Excuse me, sir, are you okay?”
“Bugger off!”
Now, Lainey did not take kindly to being talked to in that manner and she let very few people get away with it.
“Didn’t anyone teach you not to be rude to someone just trying to help?”
Suddenly, the man turned to her, fire in his eyes as he looked her over like prey.
“Didn’t anyone teach you it’s dangerous for little girls to go walking alone after dark?” he inquired, stalking towards her.
Lainey crossed her arms over her chest, staring him down.
“I doubt anything I encounter out here could scare me.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that, pet,” the guy replied, morphing into what Lainey recognized as the form of a vampire; she just gave him a bored look. Dismayed, he morphed his face back,
“Great. Now I can’t even scare petite co-eds.”
“You think I’m petite?” she said, grinning.
The man gave her an annoyed look before slumping down in the grass against a tree; Lainey sat down next to him,
“Don’t take it personally. I just see much scarier stuff at work every day.”
“Where do you work?” he asked incredulously.
“Never you mind that. Now, since you have threatened me, I feel it is only fair I know your name.”
“Spike,” he said, extending his hand.
“Lainey,” she replied, “now, you have clearly had a bad day. I don’t live far from here and I wouldn’t mind company tonight. So, you should come over. I’ll make you a drink and you can vent about this girl.”
“How do you know it’s about a girl?”
“It’s always about a girl.”
The two of them stood up and walked to her little apartment, about three blocks from the campus. She unlocked the door and went inside; turning around, she saw him standing awkwardly at the door.
“Oh, right, sorry. You can come in.”
Smiling, he stepped across the threshold, taking in her apartment.
“So, you live here all alone then, love?”
“Yeah. I’m not here very often so I don’t need much space. What would you like to drink?”
“Whiskey, neat, if you got it,” he said, sitting on the couch.
Lainey poured them each a glass of Jameson and joined him, handing him his drink. They sipped in silence for awhile before Lainey finally spoke up,
“So, what’s her name?”
“Buffy.”
“The Slayer?”
“You know her?!”
“I’ve heard her name tossed around at work quite a bit; never met her though. And no, I’m not telling you where I work. So, what’s the problem?”
“Well, I’m crazy about her; I’d do anything for her.”
“And she doesn’t reciprocate?”
“I used to think she did. But today she pretty much told me she’s just been using me for sex. Now, don’t get me wrong, she’s a great shag, but I want something more.”
Spike paused, looking up from his whiskey.
“You’re not going to laugh at me now are you?”
“Not at all.”
Spike then looked at her suspiciously.
“Why not? Most people do. Call me nancy boy for wanting more than just the physical.”
“Because I’ve been in your shoes. My ex-boyfriend did the same thing.”
“At least you were in a relationship with him.”
“Yeah, that made it so much easier when he left me.”
“I’m sorry, pet. So what happened there?” Spike asked, taking another sip of his drink.
“Well, he spent three years trying to get into my pants, finally succeeded, and then dumped me one month later. I was just the one foolish enough to call it a relationship. And the one foolish enough to continue letting him booty call me after we broke up. Thought maybe if I kept answering his drunken 2am calls, begging me to come get him, just maybe he would fall in love with me again. But eventually he decided I wasn’t even good enough for that.”
“What a wanker! Can’t even bloody see the perfect thing in front of his eyes,” Spike said, gesturing to Lainey, “if you ask me, he sounds like a boy and what you need is a man, love.”
Spike put his arm around Lainey’s shoulders, his fingers tracing up and down her arm; Lainey promptly stood and took her glass to the kitchen.
“I didn’t invite you back here so we could hook up.”
Spike got off the couch and joined her in the kitchen, putting his hands on either side of her on the counter.
“What’s wrong with having a little fun?”
Lainey turned around, her face only inches from his,
“Because, when two people have that kind of fun, someone always ends up falling for the other one and getting hurt; and that someone is usually me.”
She poured them each another drink then brushed past him to sit back down on the couch. He took his whiskey and joined her. The conversation drifted into other topics and Spike eventually had to leave, noticing that the sun was about to start rising.