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Chapter 9:

Spike cut my hair. I wasn't going to let him, but for some reason he's insanely stronger than I am. He's so tiny and yet he's stronger than I am. He said I looked a little too… old school. Whatever that means.

He cut it though. My hair. I liked my hair long and he cut it. He seemed hesitant to do so. I guess it might have something to do with the time travel and what have you, but did it anyway.

Then he went through someone's clothes. They were all my size, which I was going to question, but he ushered me into the bathroom and handed me some clothes before I could ask anything. He gave me a purple shirt.

Kind of like the clothes he wears only… different. This shirt was more formal then the clothes he wears. It felt nice too. Soft and silky. He gave me some odd pants as well. They were a bit chaffing, but I put them on anyway. Spike said they were leather. This made me a bit confused. I've seen leather before, but it's sturdier than this and not used for clothing.

When I was done getting dressed he handed me some shoes as he muttered something about poofy shoes and told me to put them on. He then handed me a coat made of leather and told me to put it on.

"Something's off. Must be the hair." Spike says as he drags me into the bathroom.

He sits me down on the toilet and looks through the cabinets. It's clear that he's looking for something, but I don't know what. When he finds it he smiles almost victoriously and squirts something into his hands.

"Now, I don't really like this poofy hair gel, but… he makes it look good so you should be able to make it look good too." He says.

I don't know who he's talking about, but suddenly I feel hands in my hair. Soft hands that are kind of massaging my scalp and lifting it up in tufts. I look up to see Spike biting his bottom lip his face a mask of concentration.

He seems to have changes himself. He's wearing tighter black pants and a nice black shirt. Instead of his normal slicked back hair it's free and in wavy… spikes. I wonder if that's how he got his name.

"Okay there. All pretty again." He says before he ushers himself out of the bathroom.

I look in the mirror. I do look nice. I guess I could get used to the hair. I walk out of the bathroom and he's standing with his back to me.

"Are we going to go now?" I ask. He turns around a pencil looking thing in hand. I look at his face. He's got smudges of black stuff around his eyes.

"Sure, just let me get my duster." He says as he goes over and picks up the coat he's always wearing.

He pulls out his cigarette and a lighter, he should me it and it's really fascinating. He lights it and starts to smoke it. his cigarettes look very different from the cigarettes where I come from.

"So where are we going?" I ask.

"This club I know. It's a pretty cool place. not like The Peppermint Stick, but it's a nice place." Spike says.

"What's the Peppermint Stick?" I ask.

"It's for big boys only. Now let's get going. Don't want to miss all the fun."

This club… it's like no place I've ever been to. People are… dancing is what Spike said, but it looks more like having sex in public. It's kind of nice to watch, but I've been sitting here for a little over twenty minutes now and I don't know how to act.

Spike seems to be in his element here. He's chatting with the bartender and he even got the man to give me a drink. I was extremely happy with that. I haven't had a nice whiskey in awhile. Not since I drank all of it in the apartment.

"Hey sexy. What's your name?" I turn around to see a girl a little shorter than myself with long brown hair and showing a lot of skin.

She'd be considered a harlot from where I'm from, but it seems to be the style here. She's wearing a very revealing top and a short skirt. Her skin is tan and she has a wide smile on her face. She's got the same black stuff around her eyes that Spike does. I wonder if everyone has that stuff around their eyes.

"Liam." I say.

"Interesting name. And the accent. That's just… delicious." She says and she's practically purring at me.

"I'm from Ireland." I say and I feel a bit out of my element, but I can charm with the best of them.

She smiles and giggles a bit.

"How old are you?" She asks me.

"Eighteen." I say. I would have answered properly, but Spike said that no one talks like I do.

"Isn't that a bit young to be in a club like this?" She asks.

"Spike got me in." I say.

"Really, Spike get you a drink too?"

"Yeah, he talked to the… bartender."

"Do you think you could get me a drink?" She asks and she's moving closer to me. Her breasts are right against my chest. I smile at her.

"Well, I don't know. Young lass like yourself wants a drink. Who am I to turn you down?" I say. She giggles again. I turn to the bartender and ask him for a drink for my new lady friend.

She's talking about something. I don't know what really. I've been paying attention, but it's new technology stuff I don't know about. She doesn't seem to care much. She just keeps pressing against me in a very pleasant way.

I don't know where Spike went off too and I'm almost to the point of not caring when he returns. He gives the girl a look, licks his lips and grins lavishly at her. She's pouting slightly.

"That your friend?" She asks.

"Yes, this is Spike. Spike this is…" I don't remember if she told me her name or not. By the look on her face she didn't.

"Names Amber." She says.

"Pleased to meet you, ducks. So you being treating Liam here to the good ole fashion American way of life." He says and he's smirking at her while he takes a sip of his drink.

"You could say that. Where you from?" She asks her smile wide.

"Hail from merry old England." He says as he pulls out a cigarette.

"You gotta meet a friend of mine. Names Brianna. She loves British guys and badasses. Pretty boys too. You fit the bill." Amber says.

"And what about you, pet. How'd you like your men?" He asks her. She smiles at me.

"Big and hunky all tall and dark and handsome." She says.

"That right. Well this friend of yours. Sounds like a nice girl and all, but I'm not interested." He says as he blows smoke in her face. She looks a little angry.

"Why not. Come on. She's a total babe. Long blonde hair. She's taller than I… got bigger tits too. She just broke up with her boyfriend and she's feeling a bit down. I'm sure you could make her… feel better." Amber says.

I watch the interaction with amusement. Spike's turning down a girl. One that I'm sure is probably just as sparingly dressed and pretty.

"Sorry, but I don't just fuck any pretty little thing that walks past me. Certainly wouldn't buy a drink for someone that loose." He says and he blows smoke in her face again. This time she's seriously pissed off.

"What you think you're too good, pretty boy. Sure you're hot, but you're not the shit." She says to his face. He seems unaffected by all of it. She's got a pretty bad mouth on her.

"I just think a chit should have more about her then big tits. Not that that isn't fun every once in awhile, but any girl willing to spread her legs for a bit of conversation ain't worth my time." Spike says.

She looks furious. She gets up in his face as much as she can because she's at least an inch or two shorter than he is.

"You calling me a whore?" She asks her voice sounding a bit shocked.

"I didn't say you, but the way you were trying to pimp out your friend like that… didn't seem very ladylike." Spike says.

She glares at him.

"Well you can stick ladylike up your ass. Don't tell me guys aren't just as bad. Your friend there was about ready to bend me over bar counter." She says.

I frown. I was not. I have a little more self control then that.

"That so. Well he's young. Overrun with hormones and whatnot. Why don't you just walk your pretty little ass over to the next dickhead willing to buy you a drink." Spike says. She glares at him for a little while longer before storming off. Spike just rolls his eyes at her dramatics and goes back to his drink.

"You didn't have to send her away. She was good company." I say.

"Yeah, she probably thought you had cash. Gotta watch some of these girls, Liam. They aren't all as innocent as the ones back where you're from." Spike says. He sticks his cigarette in a tray and goes back to his forgotten drink.

"I haven't had sex in all the time that I've been here. do you know I would go out every night and at least manage to touch a girl." I say.

"Yeah, and it gets you into trouble." He mutters.

"What?"

"Nothing. Look you didn't want her. She was… used goods."

"I think I should be able to decide who I want to take to bed or not. Who are you to tell me any different?" He stares at me for a little while before looking straight ahead.

"I'm the guy that's keeping your ass alive right now. You wouldn't last five seconds in the real world. You'd probably end up dead." Spike says.

"And why do you care so much? What's so important about me? Are you a relation of mine or something?" I ask.

He tenses a bit. He couldn't be related to me… he doesn't look anything like me. There's no similarities whatsoever. I know it's been a long time, but there's not way he could be related to me.

"It's a little more complicated than that, ducks. Just know that you're important to the future." He says.

"Well I can't accept that. Either you start telling me answers right now or I'm leaving." I say in a strong voice.

"No you won't."

"Yes I will. If I don't start getting some answers I will leave." I say. He looks over at me clearly registering the seriousness in my face.

"Go ahead. Leave. See if I care." He says as he storms off.

I'm angry so I leave the club. I'm walking outside, I don't really no where I'm going. I don't have any money and it takes me all of two seconds to realize this was a bad idea. I turn back to go to the club when I hear a scream coming from the alley. I decide to go down it and see what was going on. That's when I see it.

I should go look for him. I shouldn't have left him like that. He probably went outside. It would be stupid of him, but he probably did it anyway. I can't have him dying on me so I follow his scent outside and into an alleyway. There's a vamp sucking the life out of a girl and Liam is just standing there like he's frozen.

The vamp has his back turned to Liam and the girl is looking at him with pleading eyes. He doesn't know what to do. I walk up to the vamp and pull him off the girl. The girl falls haplessly to the ground and I turn around to find the vamp. He's got Liam in a hold fangs ready to sink into Liam's neck.

"This yours?" The vamp asks. I growl at him.

The vamp sniffs at Liam and Liam closes his eyes. I can tell he wants to scream.

"Smells sweet. Kind of innocent." The vamp says his voice above a whisper.

"Get your hands off of him." I say.

"He looks kind of familiar though. Like I've seen him some place before." The vamp says as though I hadn't even talked.

"You touch him and your dead." I say as menacing as possible.

"I'm already touching him." The vamp says his grip on Liam tightening.

At that moment he stuck his fangs in Liam's neck and I heard the slightly whimper of pain that emitted from Liam's mouth. He was biting his lip to keep from screaming.

Something snapped and I grabbed the vamp off of Liam and began pounding on it. I don't know why I didn't just take out the stake that I had stashed in my duster. I wanted to make him pay. How dare he touch Liam? He should have known that I was a master and that I'd kill him on the spot.

Instead he decided to play with fire. I can hear Liam gasping for breath and it still doesn't seep through my rage. I can feel blood on my hands. Warm blood from the girl and from Liam. This vampire… I should kill him, but I can't. Not until I feel something gripping on my shoulder.

It's Liam. His eyes are wide and he looks frightened. He's holding his neck and trying to keep from bleeding. The vamp just tore into his neck. I take out the stake and finish off the vampire. Liam doesn't even register that the vamp turned to dust as he keeps trying to stop the blood loss.

"I… it's not stopping." He whispers.

"Shhh it's going to be okay. Just move your hand." I say. He lets go of his neck. It's a pretty bad bite and the bloods flowing really strongly.

"I… we… I have to go… you have to stop the bleeding." He whispers.

There's probably not enough time to get him to a hospital. I can't turn him that would be bad. So I do the only thing that I know to do in this situation.

"What are you doing?" He asks.

I'm licking his neck. Vampire saliva has healing properties and all that rot. I'm trying not to focus on the taste of his blood. It's rich, slightly different from Sire blood, but still the same.

Still tastes like Angelus. After a few licks the blood stops flowing, but there's still an angry wound. I pull away from him his eyes are closed and slightly heavy. It must be the blood loss.

"What… what about the girl?" He asks. I look over in her direction. She seems to be gone. I walk over to her and check her pulse.

"She's dead." I say.

"What… what was that thing? It… it bit me." He says and he's swaying a bit. I walk over to him and hold him around the waist.

"Come on. I should take you back." I say.

"I feel tired." He says.

"Yeah it's the blood loss. Look I'm going to get you back home."

"What about the girl." I look over at her again.

"Someone will find her."

"But shouldn't we tell someone. I mean I know that… thing is gone now, but we can't just leave her like that." He says in a pleading tone.

"I'll tell Wesley to take care of it. Meanwhile I should get you back to the penthouse. You need to rest." He doesn't put up much of a fight after that and follows me to the car.

I'm lying on a bed right now. I think it's the same bed I've been lying in since I've been in this strange time. I try to move my head when I wince in pain. I remember that thing biting me and then I remember Spike… licking my neck.

It felt nice and soothing as if he were working some kind of magic. The blood had stopped flowing, but my neck still hurt. I moved my fingers to touch it, but came in contact with cloth.

"I had someone patch you up." I turn in the direction of the voice. Spike is sitting at my side in a chair.

"Oh, um… thanks… for saving me." I say because it's only polite to thank the person that saved your life. He smiles at me and says

"No problem." He's still got blood on his face. Could be the… things blood or it could be mine.

"I'm… I'm not going to die right. You got the bleeding to stop… how did you get the blood to stop?" I ask.

"It's a trade secret." He says secretively.

"That thing… it bit me. What was it?"

He tenses up. I can see it.

"That thing was… it was a… the thing is…" He's stalling and I want to smack him.

"Just say it. I'm not going to doubt you. I mean this whole thing is bizarre." I say.

"It was a vampire." He says.

A vampire. Immediately I want to deny it, but that thing bit me and was draining my blood. It drained that girl's blood too. It made sense that it was a vampire. Spike had staked it through the heart and it had just… disappeared.

"Did you… the girl…"

"I told Wesley about it. He said he contacted the police and they're going to find that girl's family." Spike says his eyes a little downcast.

"How many… I mean do you always deal with… vampires."

"I see them from time to time."

"Is that what Wesley was going out to kill? Vampires?" I ask.

"No Wesley was going out to kill demons." He's clearly not nervous about telling me anything anymore.

"Demons…" I whisper.

"I know it's a lot to take in. That's why I didn't want you running off by yourself. Things… things are going to want to hurt you and you're not equipped to deal with that." I stay silent. He looks like he wants to hit me.

"Why am I so important. You won't tell me why." He sighs and I pull myself up a bit so I can see his face.

"You just are. If I tell you anymore than that we could both be in very deep trouble."

"Why are you protecting me? Don't you have better things to do? A lass or something."

"Nothing like that."

"There's gotta be someone in your life. You turned down that one girl in the club tonight." He smirks at me.

"Did I ever tell you that you're to smart for your own good?" He starts to play with his lighter and is quiet for a little while. The silence is almost deafening.

"There is someone. I mean, there was… it's sort of complicated, Liam. I just haven't really gotten over… this person. They were special to me you know." He says.

I don't really know about that kind of stuff. I've never been in love myself. I am fairly young and there's still plenty of time for all that even if father says that I'll never amount to anything.

"I guess… still it doesn't explain why you're taking care of me."

"This person… they'd want me to take care of you. I know you don't understand any of it, but it's important that you stay alive and live your life. I can't tell you why though. You might try to change things." Spike says.

I nod because maybe knowing would be a bad thing. Maybe having that much knowledge would just hurt me rather than help me.

"Okay, I guess I can live with only knowing partial truths." He smiles at me.

We sit there for a little while before a frantic Wesley bursts into the room.

"Spike!" He screams.

"Yeah, what?" Spike says noting the look on Wesley's face.

"We have some… visitors." Wesley says.

"What kind of visitors?"

"Visitors from Sunnydale."

Chapter 10

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