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Edges of My Mind
by Tami
Prologue
Spike’s Crypt
Spike sat in his armchair staring at the blank television. He held a bottle of alcohol loosely, bracing it against his thigh. The previous hour kept his mind occupied. He had seen Riley exit Buffy’s house and had followed him to a warehouse where there was a large nest of vampires. Spike knew what it was: the equivalent of a vampire whorehouse where humans willingly went and paid to be bitten for the rush.
Spike smirked at the thought of finding soldier boy in there getting suck jobs from a two-bit fledgling. The Slayer’s human, corn-fed boy-toy wasn’t as wholesome as she thought he was. Maybe Buffy should just stick to dating vampires that way if they ever cheated on her she could just stake the bastards. She had become a right uppity bitch since Peaches took off for Los Angeles.
He missed his Sire desperately. Yes, the bleedin’ ponce had a soul and was a white hat nowadays, but that didn’t stop the dull ache in his chest where his heart should be. He knew deep down the reason why he had fallen in love with the Slayer. She was a connection to Angel and his unsouled counterpart. She was all he had left of the dark vampire since he no longer had Drusilla around.
Spike pulled out the cork and sighed as he lifted the bottle to his lips. He was about to take a swig when his door burst open and Riley Finn stomped through it. He corked the bottle once again and set aside.
“What took you so long? Guess it takes a while to get back to full strength after those bites,” Spike called out in a mocking tone.
Before Spike realized it, Riley was in front of him. He grabbed the blond by the shirt and hauled him up out of the chair. Spike held up his hands as if to ward Riley away from him. “Hey! Let’s be reasonable about this!” Spike growled out.
Riley turned and slammed him up against a pillar. He glared at the vampire who had been a thorn in his side for a year. Spike was always sniffing around Buffy. Instead of trying to kill him like she would any other vampire, she had let this one live and he had developed an obsession with her. He fancied himself in love with the Slayer. Wondering what kind of influence Dracula, Spike and that other vampire, Angel, who had a soul no less, had over Buffy is what sent him to that rundown warehouse to begin with.
Now the bleached bloodsucker let his secret out to her and ruined his chances at the first meaningful relationship he had in his entire life. If it was so meaningful, why did you seek out the dregs of the vampire society to drink you? , his inner voice asked. Oh, shut up!, he answered back.
“You may have noticed, Spike,” Riley said just before he punched Spike in the face, “I left reasonable back about three exits ago.”
“Look, I'm not the one who got you into this. Don't kill the messenger,” Spike said in his defense. He loved to push people’s buttons, but maybe he had taken this one a little too far even if Buffy needed to know her boyfriend was stepping out on her with vampires!
Riley scowled at that. This thing is what cost him his relationship with Buffy. The little demonic fuck was going to get what was coming to him. Brandishing a stake, he pulled his arm back and plunged it into Spike's chest.
“And, why the hell not?” Riley spat angrily.
Spike gasped what he thought would be his last breath. It seemed as though time had ceased to be while his life as a Victorian gentleman and as a vampire flashed before his eyes. His regrets with Cecily and the missed opportunities that could possibly be in the future to set things right with Angel dragged through his mind. He bid a silent farewell to his Sire and Drusilla. He was jolted back to reality when the pain of being stabbed in the heart registered through his dead body.
“Ow! Bloody hell! Oh God!” Spike yelled. Then he looked down at his chest in surprise and whispered “Hey.” Why haven’t I dusted yet?
The searing pain grew when Riley yanked the stake out of his chest. Spike clutched at his chest in pain and stared in confusion at the stake. The right of things was that stakes, decapitation, fire and sunlight killed vampires. So, why wasn’t he able to fit into an ashtray yet? What the hell kind of game was Riley playing?
“Plastic wood grain,” Riley explained when he saw Spike’s confusion. “Looks real, doesn't it?” The soldier grabbed Spike’s shirt again and pulled him closer. “Don't think I don't know what's goin' on with you, Spike.” he said evenly as they glared at each other. “Stay away from her! Or we'll do this for real next time.” he warned.
Riley smirked as he patted Spike on the cheek and walked away. Spike released an inaudible sigh of relief and leaned back against the pillar panting. He was still clutched his chest to stem the blood and ease the pain, but even so, he started to chuckle at the turn of events. He chuckled at the audacity of this mortal using a plastic stake on him, at the idea that this boy knew what Buffy really was and what she needed. He was sure not even Buffy herself knew the extent of her power, let alone the lab rat standing in front of him. Hearing Spike’s chuckle, Riley turned to glare at the vampire.
“Oh, man,” Spike said, still chuckling, “you are really under it, aren't you?”
“Under what,” Riley spat angrily.
“Look at you. All afraid I'm hot for your honey,” Spike sneered.
Riley walked back toward Spike menacingly, “Because you are.”
“Well . . . yeah,” Spike agreed. Not that he was hot for her lithe body, although that was a bonus. She was his remaining link to Angel. “But that's not your problem. Even if I wasn't in the picture, you're never gonna be able to hold onto her,” he said with a satisfied grin. Angel had marked her before Dracula, so the fight over who had rights over the Slayer was between that gypsy bastard and his poof of a Sire. That didn’t mean, however, that he couldn’t get a taste of her in the meantime.
Riley put his hand over Spike's hand that covered the wound and pushed harder causing Spike to cry out, “Otherwise! Bloody hell!”
“Maybe I didn't almost kill you enough.” Riley said threateningly.
“Come on,” Spike growled in pain, “you’re not the long haul guy and you know it.”
“Shut up!” Riley said ominously.
“You know it or else you wouldn't be getting suck jobs from two-bit vampire trulls,” Spike pointed out through the haze of pain radiating from his chest.
True, he was a vampire and therefore used to pain; but, a stab through the heart like he just received made him want to scream. Angelus had taught him a great many things, and showing that kind of weakness to your enemies wasn’t one of them. His Sire would be so proud if he knew how well Spike was holding up under the circumstances.
Riley on the other hand was looking annoyed at Spike’s revelation. Was he so bent about Buffy’s attraction to Dracula, Spike and Angel that he had lost sight of what he really gained from the experience? He had found out that it wasn’t the bite that enthralled a person. It was the feeling of your blood being pulled, sucked out of your body, leaving you helpless to resist. It was the clarity in that moment that someone was deeply connected to you; someone was ingrained into your psyche that held you suspended. When that hit him like a ton of bricks, he released Spike.
Spike continued panting. He wavered on his feet and smirked lazily at Riley. “The girl needs some monster in her man . . . and that's not in your nature . . .” he said as he pushed himself away from the pillar. Still holding his chest, he staggered to sit in his chair. “. . . no matter how low you try to go.”
Spike sat back with an expression of pain etched across his face as Riley paced around the crypt restlessly. Spike reached for his bottle and began to remove the cork again. For all outward signs, he was ignoring Riley’s impression of a caged animal.
“You actually think you've got a shot with her?” Riley pondered the question out loud than really asking it.
“No, I don't.” Spike answered honestly while removing the cork from the bottle, “A fella's gotta try though. Gotta do what he can,” he mumbled offhandedly as he took a swig.
“If you touch her . . . you know I'd kill you for real,” Riley threatened.
“If I had this chip outta my head, I'd have killed you long ago.” Spike replaced cork, "Ain't love grand?”
Spike tossed the bottle to Riley, who caught it and removed the cork again. He sat on a nearby coffin and took a sip. They stared at each other as they shared the bottle. Their mutual hatred for each other was palpable in the room.
Spike knew that Riley was leaving town and this little visit was a going away present before he left. In a few days, when he healed, he would shake it off and move on. There was no sense in dwelling on things like this when you had eternal life.
Riley, on the other hand, was plotting his revenge against the vampire who had broken up his relationship with the first girl he ever loved. He knew he couldn’t do anything now. Buffy was too close, and she would know what Riley had done. But, if Spike followed his threatening advice, in no time, the vampire and slayer wouldn’t be so friendly and he’d move in and take his shot. |
