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Been Here Too Few Years	By : addielogan Category: > Buffy/Spike(William) > Buffy/Spike(William) Views: 18659 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Buffy had hoped that perhaps things had
calmed down at the school since the day before. Maybe the paparazzi had all
gotten the message she was staying at Spike's and would decide they'd have a
chance of getting much juicier pictures if they stayed there instead of at the
school.
She wasn't so lucky. If anything, it had
gotten worse. Police officers were both escorting students into the building
and pushing paparazzi back. The angry parents who had been calling now appeared
to have taken it a little closer to home, as Buffy saw more than a few marching
into the building.
And the local news stations covering the
"pandemonium," weren't helping in the least.
The second she was spotted, she was rushed,
and Buffy was grateful a police officer reached her first, keeping everyone
else away as she made her way into the building.
Another group of cops was inside, making
sure the only people coming into the school were ones who had a legitimate
reason for being there.
Buffy wanted to cry. The entire school was
in chaos, and it was her fault. She'd come here to help these kids, and instead
she was disrupting their lives.
But it had to get better soon, right?
Eventually, the media would get bored with this story, and she could get back
to doing her job. She just needed to hold out until then.
The front office was as crazy as she'd ever
seen it, the phone ringing constantly. She knew since this was her fault she
should probably be offering some sort of help, but instead she slipped back
into her office and shut the door as she waited for her first appointment of
the morning.
As she did, she tried to concentrate about
something other than her swarm of stalkers. There was that party of Spike's
tonight, but it had her nervous, too. What if she couldn't fit into that part
of Spike's life? She knew she got along with his band�Brian excluded, but she
never had liked him anyway�but what about the other people who were likely to
be hanging around? And what did they think of her with all of this going on?
Buffy hated worrying about these things. She
was back with Spike, and she wanted it to be all happiness. She wanted to be
able to live her life with the man she loved without having to worry about who
was going to say or do what.
With a whimper, her head went down to her
desk, only to shoot back up when she heard a knock at her door. "Come
in!"
Her first appointed of the day, Peter
Nichols, poked his head around the now-partially opened door. "I'm a
little early. Is that okay?"
"Sure, Peter, it's fine. Come on
in," Buffy replied, forcing her smile forward.
Peter walked in and shut the door, then sat
down in the chair in front of Buffy's desk, setting his bookbag
beside him. Buffy clasped her hands in front of her. "So, Peter, what did
you need to talk about today?"
Peter smiled. "Actually, I wanted to
talk about you."
Buffy blinked, though she felt dread
starting to creep into her stomach. She didn't like the way this boy was
looking at her. "Me?"
"Yeah, you." Peter leaned over the edge of his chair and unzipped
his bookbag to pull out a magazine. Buffy's feeling
of dread immediately got worse. He flipped it open and dropped it onto Buffy's
desk. She drew in a deep breath as she looked down at the pictures of her,
hanging all over Spike.
"Put that away," Buffy said, her
tone clipped.
"That is you, isn't it, Miss S? I gotta
say, I've never seen a teacher get so�freaky before. It's sorta hot." He
winked.
"I think you should go back to class
now, Peter," Buffy replied.
"What, you only go for rock
stars?" he asked, holding out his arms as if he were somehow something to
look at.
"Leave my office," Buffy said
curtly.
Much to her relief, he did, though Buffy was
pretty sure she heard him mutter something offensive under his breath on the
way out. She was already too tired to deal with it.
Her gaze darted to the magazine, and she
picked it up, her stomach turning as she began to read the article. Whoever had
written it had put a sensational spin on everything, working to make what she
shared with Spike look twisted and sordid.
And to go with it were the pictures� She
felt violated to have been observed like that, someone taking what should've
been a moment between her and the man she loved and using it for public
consumption.
The weight of it all suddenly seeming too
heavy, Buffy began to cry.

***
*** ***
"You know what they're telling me
upstairs, don't you? They're telling me to tell you to break up with this girl
before you're showing up on the 'Where Are They Now' special Scandal
Edition."
Spike looked across the desk at his
publicist, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. "I'm not dumping Buffy,
Lorne."
Lorne held up his hands. "Whoa,
whoa, lemon drop. Tone down the hostility a notch or ten, would you? I
didn't say that's what I was saying.
I said it's what they're saying. I,
on the other hand, am a hopeless romantic."
Spike's eyebrow went up. "So you're not
going to try to make me leave Buffy?"
Lorne waved his hand dismissively. "No way! As a matter of fact, I can't wait to meet the
girl. She must really be something for you to be willing to put up with all of
this."
"She is. She's everything," Spike
replied.
"Truth be
told, I'm glad you got rid of Eve," Lorne admitted, leaning back in his
chair.
"Everyone keeps saying that,"
Spike muttered.
Lorne laughed. "Well, of course. That
woman was�" He stopped and shivered. "Gave me the heebies. I mean, I know PR from a relationship like
that is like a publicist's wet dream, but I for one would rather work for my
buck."
"Well, it's looking like you're going
to have to work a good bit for it now," Spike said.
"Eh, don't worry about it, sweetcakes," Lorne replied, waving his hand again.
"I've already got your version all nice and ready for the press. I think
you're absolutely right about Eve being the one who leaked the story to those
camera-wielding vampires in the first place, and I think it's time we give her
a taste of her own medicine. I've got dirt on her the likes of which you
wouldn't believe. Lindsey McDonald's publicist and I play racquetball on
Thursdays. All you have to do is give the word and I turn this right around,
give her a taste of her own medicine."
Spike paused for a moment, contemplating
Lorne's offer. Did he really want to try to beat Eve at her
own game? He had no doubt that Lorne could do it. Questionable clothing
choices aside, the man was a damn good publicist. He'd saved Spike's ass many
times in the past. But should he do this to Eve now, or should he be the bigger
person and turn the other cheek?
Then, he thought about Buffy and how upset
this all had her. She'd been run out of her own home.
"Do it."
Lorne rubbed his hands together, genuine
glee in his eyes. "Okay then. You run along to your next interview, and
I'll see what I can do about making little Miss Hart think twice the next time
she tries to ruin someone's career."
Spike smiled. He knew this probably wasn't
the most mature choice in the world, but damn if he didn't feel right good
about it.

***
*** ***
Buffy was more than ready for the day to be
over. As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of classes, she was ready to
leave. Screw extra office work; she could make up the time later.
However, as soon as she stepped out into the
hall, Robin was waiting for her. "Miss Summers, can I please speak to you
in my office?"
Dread curling in her stomach, Buffy merely
nodded and followed Robin. He shut the door behind them, the sound making her
jump, then pointed to a chair. "Have a
seat."
As soon as they were both seated, Robin
began to speak, giving her no chance to ask what this was all about. "I'm
sure you're aware that your presence on this campus has become somewhat of a
disruption, Miss Summers."
Buffy didn't like the way he was calling her
"Miss Summers." She knew she'd said their relationship needed be just
professional from now on, but this seemed to be taking it too far. And his
tone�it was suddenly so cold. Like he wasn't the man she'd known at all.
"I'm sorry this is all going on, Robin.
I didn't think it would be like this."
"Then what exactly did you think?"
Robin yelled, making Buffy jump in her chair. "You've been going out in
public and draping yourself all over a rock star who
already has the attention of every tabloid out there!"
Buffy flinched, her eyes tearing. "I
wasn't thinking about that. He's just Spike to me�"
"Well, you should've thought about it.
You're supposed to be a role model for these kids, Buffy, and unless their life
goals don't extend past being in a music video, you're not doing that."
Robin took a deep breath. "I've been discussing the matter with the School
Board. They want your resignation."
Buffy felt as if all of the air had been
sucked from the room. She'd known things were bad, but somehow, she hadn't
really been expecting that.
Now she realized she probably should have.
"Robin, please, I know things are strained
between us right now, but you can't let them do this to me," she said,
hating begging but seeing no other choice now. "I love this job�those kids
mean so much to me. And I'm good at it, too. You know that, Robin�I know you
do. Can't�can't you tell them that? Please, I can't lose this."
"I don't see how I can. As long as
you're a tabloid target, you're going to attract unwanted attention to the
school."
"I'll do better," Buffy promised.
"I won't let pictures like those show up anymore, I swear."
Robin sighed. "Buffy, the only way I
think I can do that for you is if you end things with Spike."
For a moment, all Buffy could do was stare.
Then finally, she asked, "What?"
"As long as you continue to have this
sort of relationship with Spike, I can't guarantee anything to the School
Board. Hell, I can't guarantee anything to myself."
Buffy pulled back. "What is that
supposed to mean?"
"Just that I'm very
surprised by your behavior.
However, I think I could be willing to move past it all�and convince the School
Board to as well�if you ended things with Spike and proved your head really is
in the right place when it comes to this job. Maybe then with just a suspension
and some time to allow all of this to blow over, you could come back to work
again and not cause anymore of these sorts of problems."
"I love Spike," Buffy said.
"And we're not� There's nothing wrong with our relationship. The tabloids
have been twisting things, Robin! I'm not like they're saying I am."
"None of that matters. What matters is
the sort of presence you're going to be in this school, and right now, things
are not looking good." He met her eyes. "Buffy, I can't help you if
you're not willing to do what needs to be done to get your career back on
track. Either you end things with Spike or you might as well just hand in your
resignation."
"I�I don't� I�can't�"
"What do you really want from life,
Buffy? A fast, dangerous relationship with a rock star or the career you've
worked so hard to build?"
Buffy swallowed, the whole situation hitting
her in a rush and making her unable to think straight. "Can I just go home
right now?" she asked, her voice small.
"Yeah, go home. Take the evening to
think it over. We can discuss it in the morning."
Buffy nodded and stood, though she stopped
when Robin called her name.
"I hope you make the right
decision."
Her only response was another nod before she
left his office.

***
*** ***
So, what did you think of that? Please take
a moment and let me know!
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Been Here Too Few Years