Chapter Text
It was too late in the streets of Sunnydale to be safe; everyone should know that by then. He often wondered how there were not more deaths, seeing how foolish the locals were. Of course, he used to be the one to kill them, not so long ago -in vampire standards at least- but, hell, right in that moment, it gave him the chance to let some steam off. Always look for the silver lining.
He grabbed the girl that had been about to be turned into a meal for five vampires in the alleyway, pushed her away from the group, and wiggled his shoulders, getting ready for the fight.
"I suggest you run, pet." Spike briefly looked over his shoulder at the trembling thirty-something woman, but she seemed to be frozen.
Great.
The vampires lunged at him, forcing him to dodge and try to strike a few times. Fortunately, they were inexperienced vamps, probably the reason why there were five of them for one petty human. Noobs.
Still, fighting all five of them at the same time was complicated at best. Where was the Slayer when he needed one? Well, not needed, but she could be helpful. After all, that was her job.
His pleas seemed to be answered when two of the vamps left him to fight someone else, judging by the sound of fist and feet crushing against muscle and bone. He managed to get his stake out and dust one of the noobs still hell bent on beating him, earning him a break and watching over his shoulder to the Slay...
What the hell? That was not the annoying tiny blonde Slayer that punched him as a hobby. This one was brunette. Wait, there was another Slayer, he knew that much, a brunette one, but... wasn't she in jail? With the girl's back facing him, he couldn't be sure of who she was, but she moved like a pro. Yet, he could see her hits where more strategic than strong, getting her opponents out of balance so she could dust them with the stake she took out of the waistband of her jeans.
He was brought out of his assessment by one of "his" vamps lunging at him again. He easily sidestepped, kneed him in the gut and then in the face, taking advantage of the idiot clutching his head to stake him.
The last one seemed to be the leader of the little band, judging from his bigger size and better fighting style. He was stronger than the rest, landing a strong punch to Spike's jaw, which made him put on his game face, snarling at the giant. He dodged the next punch aimed at him and kicked the vamp, sending him stumbling backwards. Spike stalked forwards, wanting to finish the bloody bastard already.
One way or another, he wasn't sure how, the hulk sized vamp managed to kick him in the gut and send him flying to the trash cans and wall, his head hitting the bricks with a bone crushing sound and acute pain.
He couldn't see anything but black spots for a couple seconds, and when he recovered enough to see a blurred image, he found the mute vamp in front of him, ready to take the final blow.
Ow, bloody hell, was he really gonna go out like that? A noob vamp in an alley? No huge threat, no boss demon, no slayer. A noob. Well, shit.
Suddenly, the vamp exploded into a cloud of dust, raining down on him, and he could see a silhouette where the giant had been, holding a stake high, still on a fighting stance.
And there was silence. No signs of a battle but the dust that covered the ground, no sounds but the ragged breathing of the girl in front of him.
He could see her face now, his sight clearing up, and he knew it was not the brunette slayer. Her hair was dark, long and wavy, falling down messily over a red, white and black CCR merchandise crop top. His eyes fell to the dark high-waisted jean shorts, following the endless legs until they reached a pair of military style boots, black. Her face was clean, no makeup, just a pair of light grey eyes and slightly red skin due to the fight. He could make out a few freckles on the bridge of her small nose, but they were almost unnoticeable due to the flush.
The girl took a couple steps forwards, getting her stake back in her waistband and held a hand out for him.
"You okay?" Her words came out a bit raspy, still trying to control her breath, while she regarded the man on the floor.
Spike raised an eyebrow. She must have seen his game face, now gone, and she obviously knew about vamps, who else would have a stake on their pants? So, why was she helping him? Was it a trick? Was she waiting for him to stand up to end him?
Wary of her intentions, the neutered vampire accepted her hand and when she pulled him up, he noticed that he was only a few inches taller than her. He immediately stepped back, intently watching her.
When she noticed he wasn't going to answer, she looked around the alley. The other woman had run away at some point during the fight, and they were all alone.
She sighed, glanced back at him for a second and smiled tightly, a tiny curve on her lips.
"Take care of that head. Bye." She waved her hand lightly and walked towards one end of the alley, where he could see a suitcase and a huge duffel bag on the floor. New in town, then?
She took both bags and walked out of the alley, looking back at him once before disappearing on the corner.
Who the hell was she? Should he tell the Scoobies?
Nah, if she stayed, they would probably find out at some point.
The walk from the motel to the store only took about five minutes, but with the heavy paper bag in her arms and the several stops she was making on the way, familiarizing with the streets, she had already wandered for ten minutes when she came to a halt to avoid crashing into someone.
"Sorry." She glanced up at the person, the man, in front of her. She had seen him before. In the alley, a couple days earlier. The vampire who fought vampires. Bleached blond, razor sharp cheekbones, all black clothing, leather and military boots. Kinda hard to miss. She had noticed him pulling a woman away from a group of vamps, and decided that, until she saw him attack humans, he was on the good side. She knew not everything was black and white, heck, she'd lived in the grey area for a while, and knew not all demons were evil. Some were actually good, really good.
Still, he looked familiar. She felt like she had met him before the alley, before she arrived in Sunnydale. But how? Where? When?
"Huh. It's you again." He looked surprised to see her again. He was carrying a similar bag in his arms, the top of a bottle of some kind of liquor sticking out of the bag.
"Yup, me again. Is your head OK?" She tilted hers, looking towards the back of his skull.
His eyebrows furrowed, confused. What the hell was she going on about? Did she know about the chip? "What the bloody hell are you talking about?" It came out worst than he had intended to, but there was not going back.
"Your head. You took a bad hit. I heard it crack the other day. I know that with the vampire healing and all it's not a big deal but still..." She averted her gaze, a bit put off by his tone of voice. Why did he snap like that?
"Oh." His face relaxed and it made him look a lot younger. The girl immediately noticed his change of demeanour. He didn't seem to be annoyed anymore. "Oh, yeah, it's OK."
"Good." She nodded, a bit uncomfortable, a shifted in place, her arms starting to tire from holding the shopping. "Well, I guess... Uhm... Bye." She walked around him, but someone had other plans, as she immediately crashed into another boy in a skate, sending her bag flying and her tumbling backwards. Luckily, an arm caught her before she fell. The boy simply hollered an apology and left in a rush, leaving her groceries lying on the pavement.
She looked over her shoulder, seeing it was the good vampire's hand holding her, and smiled lightly at him. "Thanks." He only nodded while she kneeled to gather her things back into the paper bag.
Soon enough, the man joined her, leaving his bag aside and helping her, yet he almost immediately stopped. He was holding a box of instant baby cereal with a bemused expression, seeing another three identical boxes in the girl's hands.
"Do you have a kid or a day-care centre?" He questioned, glancing up at her. He enjoyed the girl's response, blushing furiously while she picked everything up and shook her head. "Babysitter?" She shook her head again, the redness of her face increasing, again making her freckles less noticeable.
"I really like this stuff..." She took the package from him, trying not to meet his gaze, already seeing him smirk from the corner of her eye. "And it's really convenient." She defended, looking up, seeing his smirk grow.
"Convenient, huh? Sure, love, whatever." He dismissed, flicking his hand and taking his things again.
"It is!" She insisted. "It's not like I can properly cook in the motel room. I only have to pour some water on these and I have a meal. Way better than noodles, if you ask me." She huffed, clutching the bag to her chest.
"I'm not judging you, pet. Everyone has their guilty pleasures." He winked at her, making her blush again. He was thoroughly enjoying this. She was a beautiful girl, and making her react like that made him feel like back in the day, when he was feared and desired.
"I might have a slight addiction." She conceded, shrugging, and smiled back at him. The blush receded, and the freckles popped out again. "It's Ally, by the way."
"What?" He tilted his head, confused at the sudden turn.
"Ally. My name." She explained and looked down at the bag. "I'd hold my hand out but... they're busy." She grinned sheepishly at him, making him unconsciously smile back.
"Spike." Her eyebrows shot up, but didn't comment on it.
"Nice to meet you, Spike. Guess I'll see you around."
She walked past him, smiling one last time, and he watched her leave.
It was nice, being treated like a person for once. It'd been a long time since someone was kind to him. She was already his favourite person on the evil killing side.
Ally. He'd remember that name.
Spike was still at the Bronze, after the troll's attack, the Scoobies had just left to go after it, when he caught a familiar scent in the dust and hormone filled air. He turned around to find Ally walking in, helping people on the way, getting injured ones out from under beams and wooden pieces. He once again noticed she didn't have the strength of a Slayer, so he joined her when she tried to lift a beam to get a teen girl out.
"Hey. What happened?" They faced each other, the teen being tended to by some of her friends.
"Troll."
"You're joking." She scoffed, sending him a disbelieving look. Seeing him dead serious, her face fell. "Troll? Where is it now?"
"He left. But he's being taken care off." Spike shoved his hands on his duster's pockets, looking around to see if someone else needed help and wasn't being taken care of. Wait, what the hell was he doing? He was the Big Bad, he was a vampire. Sure, he killed demons, but that's just because they were the only thing he could beat to a pulp. Bloody chip.
"Oh, well..." She hugged herself, uncertain. She was not used to knowing there was a monster out and not going after it. Letting others take care of it. "It doesn't even seem to really surprise you." She noticed, both walking towards the exit, side by side.
"This is the Hellmouth, pet. There's been werewolves, zombies, all kinds of demons, and even Dracula a few months ago." Her head whipped towards him just as they got out, a cool breeze greeting them.
"You're kidding." Although not as convinced as in their last encounter, she really expected him to say he was. "Huh." She looked forwards, her eyes lost, trying to process the information. "So this is the Hellmouth?"
"Thought you already knew that." He watched her from the corner of his eye, taking it all in. Ally seemed to know where she's going, letting her feet guide her, he simply accompanied her.
"Uh, no, not really. I was just passing by and noticed an awful amount of vampire attacks, be it on the street or by checking obituaries. The death rate here is immense." She murmured, almost as if she was talking to herself.
"Hellmouth." It's a one word explanation, but it's enough.
They walked in silence for a short while, occasionally seeing signs of the troll's path in the form of broken street lights and trash cans. Until, that is, it suddenly started raining, making Spike curse and scowl, getting the girl's attention.
"Shit. Uh, I better run. See you around, Spike!" She took off, sprinting, trying to avoid getting completely wet by sticking close to the buildings.
So she was in the Hellmouth. Talk about coincidences. It could be a sign, a sign that killing monsters was what she was supposed to do. After all, she had never really wanted to leave, to stop slaying. She had trained so hard... She was never going to have a normal life, she knew that. Still, she had left to give it a try, because she didn't want to disappoint him.
Not slaying disappointed her. It felt like throwing away all the time she had spent preparing for this. She was meant to be doing this!
Maybe, she could stay in Sunnydale for some time, do what she did best, and in a few months... She might go back, see how things were.
He was going to be disappointed if he knew she had just been slaying. He had told her to travel, meet new people, try living away from the constant battles. He didn't understand that that was not what she wanted.
She had to help people. She had to fight evil. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing.
Well, the Hellmouth was the perfect place for her then.
Loud chatter took her out of her reverie. She was near a plot filled with trailers, teens coming out of them, walking around with big bags hanging from their backs. What was that place?
She spotted a young girl, around fourteen, sitting near a thin tree, a notebook open on her lap.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt." Ally approached the girl, whose eyes shot up at hearing her voice. "Uh, sorry. What is this place?" She pointed towards the trailers, making the girl turn her head, looking bored.
"High school." She shrugged, focusing on her schoolwork again.
High school? What kind of town had a high school like that?
"It's just temporary." Ally turned around when she heard another girl talk next to her. She was pale for a California town, big blue eyes looking at Ally, long brown hair similar to hers falling down her back. "The actual high school was blown up, so we have to be here while it's rebuilt." She explained, her baby blues fleeting towards the white blocks that served as classrooms in annoyance.
"Well, that sucks." Ally agreed, getting a tiny smile out of the teen.
"Yeah. So, are you a new student?"
"No, no. I'm just new in town. I don't go to high school anymore. I'm Ally." She held her hand out to the teen, thinking about the fact that once again people thought she looked younger that she really was. Yeah, not by much, she was only eighteen, but still...
"I'm Dawn." The girl smiled up at her, shaking her hand vigorously. "Sorry, I have to go to class. It was nice to meet you, though." She waved her hand happily at Ally, making the eldest girl shoot a smile back and wave.
She liked that kid.
A vampire was thrown over a gravestone, his back crushing against the hard edges before flipping over it. Ally jumped on top of the gravestone, stake in hand, to see the vamp starting to get up. Her chance. She lunged at him, burying the pointy wood in his back, beneath his left shoulder, before he had stood up. The vampire turned to dust underneath her hand, knuckles white from gripping the stake tightly.
"Good fight, pet." She heard, making her lift her eyes to find the bleach blond vampire watching the scene.
"There's still a lot of room for improvement." She shrugged, humbly, noticing he had another paper bag with yet another bottle sticking out of it. It had been almost a week since they last met, at the Bronze, and she had been busy to really go out. She had rented an apartment, moved -which wasn't really that hard since everything she owned was still in her bag or suitcase-, and hadn't gone out to find the evil things lurking around until that night. "What are you doing here with the shopping?" He wouldn't take his groceries when he went patrolling, would he?
"I live here. Well, there." He pointed towards a crypt not far from them, made of grey stone and quite creepy looking.
"Really?" She raised her eyebrows, surprised. Did he really live in the cemetery? In a crypt?
"I'm a vamp, love. What did you expect? I even got a telly, you'll see." His chest puffed and he nodded in the direction of the little 'house', proud of his home.
"Sorry, it's just... I kinda forget you're a vampire sometimes." She tried to hold back a smile, feeling the tug in her lips, but not wanting to offend him.
He glared at her, more like pouted, yet he couldn't really get angry. "Well, don't. I used to be the Big Bad, you know." He stalked towards the entrance and pushed the door open, holding it for her to go in.
"It's hard to really see that when you are such a gentleman." She teased, walking past him and looking around the room. It was a mixture of homely and creepy, what with the tomb and the... well, it was a crypt. Still, the telly, the armchair in front of it and the little fridge on the corner felt welcoming. There was even a blanket on top of the... tomb. Yeah, welcoming. "And they say chivalry is dead."
"Can be evil and a gentleman." He argued, setting his bag down next to the fridge and crouching. She could see bags of blood inside, most probably from some animal, and some cereal on top of the appliance. "Sit down if you want. Turn the telly on. Passions is about to start."
She snorted, making him glare playfully while she did just like he said. Once she sat on the armrest of the chair, he came back with a bottle of whiskey in his hand, offering it to her first.
"No, thanks, I don't really drink alcohol." He sat next to her, legs spread wide.
"Your loss." He shrugged and started drinking straight from the bottle, eyes set on the screen. "So you're done for the night?"
"Guess so. I've been walking around trying to find evil crawlies for a couple hours now." She leaned back, getting more comfortable as the opening music from that cheesy TV show played. "Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did."
She rolled her eyes, catching him glancing at her for a second before taking a gulp of the whisky. "You know what I mean. And you only have to answer if you want to, I won't get offended at anything."
"Like you could make me say anything I didn't want to." He smirked, looking at her with a sense of superiority that made her want to smack him.
"Don't be so sure." She smirked back, then both stared back at the TV. "Can I come here every now and then? I don't really know anyone in this town, and even if I did, with the whole slaying thing... It's a bit difficult to find..."
"Yeah, don't worry. Just knock and don't come too early during the day, my sleeping schedule might be a bit different from yours." He joked although he felt a strange satisfaction at knowing she wanted to spend time with him. "Are you staying then? Taking permanent residence in the Hellmouth?" Tearing his eyes from his favourite show, he looked up at her.
She nodded, hugging her middle area with a relaxed expression. They both had a friend then. Weird mix, a vampire and a wannabe slayer, watching a cheesy TV show in a crypt.
She finally took the time to go for a run during the day, in need of some vigorous exercise to get her mind off negative thoughts. Her life was good right then, she shouldn't dampen her mood by remembering the last few months. Everything turned out right, more or less, and she was in a new town, with a new apartment, a new friend and, overall, a new life. Sure, she missed her old friends, but...
Everything is going to be OK.
Everything is going to be OK.
Everything is going to be OK.
That was her mantra. She kept repeating it, muttering while she ran, trying to replace her old memories with new ones. Like the night with Spike a few days back. They sat, talked a bit, watched TV. It almost felt like they had been friends for a long time.
Her thoughts were brought to a halt, just like her, when she noticed the teen girl walking a few steps ahead of her, backpack on, most likely going back home from high school.
"Dawn?" She called, taking her earbuds out and smiling at the familiar face. The kid immediately smiled back and waited for her to catch up. "I didn't expect to see you. Going home?"
"Yeah, I just got out of school. I thought it was never going to end." Dawn sighed, starting to walk again. "And I have a ton of homework to do."
"It can't be that bad." Ally laughed at the teen, taking slower breaths. "I'm sure there's something you do like about high school." She winked and the girl instantly took the hint.
"Boys." She giggled and blushed lightly,
"See, there's something good." Ally felt very comfortable with the teen. Maybe because she hadn't had teen friends in a while. Hell, years, and it felt good to talk to someone naive. It was refreshing. All her friends had been older than her since she was thirteen.
"You said you don't go to school. Did you drop off or graduate?" The teen crossed the street, the other girl following her, nearing her home.
"Graduate. I actually liked studying. Don't look at me like that." She warned at the look the youngest shot her.
"How old are you?" Dawn frowned, unable to understand how someone can like school, classes, etc. Sure, Willow, but...
"Eighteen. You?"
"Fourteen." The teen suddenly felt intimidated, glancing at her companion from the corner of her eye. "I guess you think I'm just a kid, and all that..." She'd heard that so many times from her sister.
"No, I think you're nice." The other corrected, smiling warmly at the kid. "I don't really know many people here, but you're among my favourites so far."
"Really?" Dawn stopped, holding back a smile, already in front of her house.
"Yeah. See you soon." She waved and started running again, happy to have someone else to build new memories with.