Katherine groaned into her hands and Jinx growled beside her as they both watched Spikes’s new dog bark at the window. She raised an eyebrow at the kitchen, Spikes’s music bleeding into the living room, unfazed by the dog’s erratic barking. Katherine picked up a dog toy off of the floor and threw it at the wall beside Damon, hitting it hard enough to break the toy and leave a crack in the wall.
Damon jumped back whimpering, and Spikes rushed out of the kitchen, dish towel in hand. She rushed over to her dog, patting his head until he calmed down again.
“Did you have to scare Damon again?” Spikes asked as she walked up to Katherine, hands on her hips. “It’s not like he was chewing up any of your stuff this time.”
“His consistent barking over squirrels running by outside is going to make me deaf, and nothing makes him stop,” Katherine crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke, “That seems like a fairly good reason to scare the dog to me, and Jinx agrees.”
“He’s been around for six months now, Kitty,” Spikes groaned as she took a seat beside Katherine, “He’s a good boy; he’s just kind of dumb. Besides, Jinx hates him so her opinion doesn’t count.”
Katherine sighed and rolled her eyes, “He’s alright I guess.”
She laughed when Damon jumped onto the couch, his tail wagging in Spikes’s face. Spikes wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him backwards onto her lap.
“By the way Kitty, Xander is going to be stopping by soon,” Spikes kept her eyes on Damon as she spoke.
“Seriously? I thought we agreed on twenty four hours notice before he can stop by,” Katherine groaned. She leaned back on the couch before looking at Spikes.
“He just text me ten minutes ago asking if he could drop by and see me for a little bit,” Spikes ran her hands along Damon’s side.
“So he’s going to hook up with you and leave again basically?”
Spikes snarled and finally lifted her eyes to meet Katherine's. “Will you quit it with your puritanical hang ups over my relationship?”
“I’m sorry,” Katherine rolled her eyes. She lifted Jinx into her lap, running her fingertips beneath the cat’s collar, “I just don’t like the way he treats you. It’s like he just wants a fling, while you want an actual relationship.”
“You don’t know what I want, Kitty,” Spikes growled. Katherine met her gaze with a glare as she stood from the couch, Jinx still in her arms.
“Whether I know exactly what you want or not, doesn’t change that you need to have a serious talk with Mohawk-Guy. You two are not on the same page, and that I am positive of,” Katherine walked out of the living room, leaving the door open after she left. Spikes caught sight of his headlights in the window, but she wasn’t smiling. Katherine’s words repeated themselves in her head. Spikes shook her head, and stood to open the front door. She was only thinking about Katherine’s words because she had just said them. She inhaled as she stared into a mirror, practicing her grin before she open the door. Spikes sighed as she gripped the doorknob and waited for him to knock.
…
Spikes laid on her bed and watched Xander pull his pants back on. She leaned over, pulling his carton of cigarettes from the pocket of his leather jacket.
“You know I’m actually considering quitting,” Spikes muttered softly. She pulled one of the cigarettes out and placed it between her lips, “Kitty just makes it such a pain in the ass to smoke. Doesn’t really seem worth it anymore.”
“Okay,” He pulled his shirt on, leaving it unbuttoned as he turned to face her. His eyes looked her over briefly before resting his lips against her temple.
“You don’t care?” Spikes said as she sat up straight.
“Why would I?” Xander sat down on the bed and shoved his feet into his boots, “We’re not human. It’s not like it affects your health, so I don’t particularly care if you do or don’t. Is that a problem?”
“I guess not,” she let the unlit cigarette fall from her lips and onto the bed, “But I just wanted us to be on the same page.”
“I’m not going to quit just because you might, Spikes,” Xander picked up him carton of cigarettes.
“That’s not really what I meant,” Spikes got onto her knees and moved closer to Xander. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer. She rest her lips on his collar bone, “I care about you. Whether it’s something we particularly care about or not, I do feel like we should communicate a bit more.”
Xander grinned, his hands resting on her bare waist, “And what is it you want to communicate about?”
“Us,” Spikes said it softly, but Xander still tensed.
“I thought we were fine with things the way they are,” He growled, his hands dropped from her waist.
“We are fine, Xander. I just mean for the future,” She was quiet as she spoke, she kept her eyes off of his, “I know you aren’t the romantic type and I don’t expect you to be. I just want to know you’re as invested in this as I am.”
“Kat, said something didn’t she?” Xander rolled his eyes and turned away from Spikes.
“Don’t call her that. She hates that,” Spikes whispered and followed after him.
“Do you want to go out for dinner on Valentine’s day?” Spikes stopped and stared at him with wide unblinking eyes. He turned around, hand rubbing the back of his neck, “It’s in three days. Romance isn’t my thing, but I can try. If that’s what you want.”
Spikes grinned and wrapped her arms around Xander’s neck. She kissed his cheek before taking a step back, “It’s more than I hoped for, thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” Xander bent over and kissed Spikes’s forehead. He pulled her into his arms and gently bit down on the nape of her neck, “Not until after dinner at least.”
Spikes shuddered and held back a giggled. Xander kissed her briefly and made his way towards the door.
“You’re sure about this. That you want this too?” Spikes stood in her doorway, grin plastered on her face. Xander stopped at the glass staircase that led to the living room. He looked back at her with a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes, “Of course, Carissa.”
…
Katherine shivered as she stepped out of her car. She threw her jacket over her shoulders as she walked to the cliff edge, a smile on her lips as she stared over the edge at the water below. The water around the city were murky and black, but she watched with fascination as the waves crashed against the wall of earth.
She inhaled deeply and looked up at the city across the water. Skyscrapers glistened with the midday sun, the early winter carnival was in full swing, and on a hill separate from most of the city was the graveyard. A chill ran down her spine and she quickly averted her eyes from the graveyard and looked back to the water below.
“Kat?” Katherine felt her heart fall to her stomach at the sound of a familiar male voice. He called again but she stood frozen, her shaking hands gripping the railing.
She heard him get closer, and for a moment she wondered how much it would hurt to jump from the edge.
“Kat?” His voice was breathless as he grabbed her shoulder, forcing her face him. His eyes filled with tears as they met hers, “It is you.”
Katherine stood motionless as he wrapped his arms around her. She stood completely still as he cried, his grip tightening for a moment before finally taking a step back.
“Where did you go?” He wiped tears from his eyes as he took a step back, a grin now plastered on his face. “After I heard about what happened to your dad, I went straight to your house but it was almost completely burned down. I tried to call you but the line was disconnected.”
Katherine stared at him, her hands shaking. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t seem to find the words.
“I was so scared. The news kept saying only one body was found, but I was so scared you died to,” He wiped tears away from his eyes. He stepped forward and gripped her shoulders.
“Are your parents with you, David?” Her voice was hoarse as she cut off his words.
“No, they’re in the city though. They’re going to be so relieved to see that you’re okay,” His hand slid down her arm as he took her hand with his own and tried to pull her away from the cliffside, “You would not believe how upset they were when they heard the news-”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Katherine hissed and pulled her hand from his, “I have to go home, and you need to forget you saw me.”
David turned to look at her. His elated grin had been quickly replaced by a menacing look in his eyes, “What?”
“I left to get away from you people,” Katherine hissed. She took a step back, her backside hitting the railing, “I have no intention of you dragging me back now.”
“To get away from us people?” David’s voice started to get louder as he spoke, “You might want to clarify because I seem to be out of the loop. Last that I had checked I did nothing but love you and support you.”
“You wouldn’t understand David!” Katherine cried out, pressing against the railing.
“Why because I’m a stupid human?”
“You know that’s not how I feel about that.”
“Then explain it Kat!” David screamed, “Explain to me why you threw away a year long relationship without actually saying a damn word to me. Explain to me why you need to get away from me. Explain what the hell I did wrong because I thought we had something special.”
“I have to go David. Please, please don’t do this,” Tears filled Katherine’s eyes as she slid along the railing away from him.
“You owe me an explanation at the very least Kat,” David grabbed her hand, “You vanished without a trace. I’d hardly call it unreasonable for me to want to know why.”
“Please let go of me,” She whispered. Her arms shook and she kept her eyes on the ground. David released her hand. His hands crossed over his chest as he let out a small sigh.
“I guess I’m the idiot for assuming you’d be happy to see me.”
“David, stop that. You’re not an idiot,” Katherine took a step closer to him.
“If you had missed me, or cared for me at all then you would have found a way to talk to me,” David shook his head, his eyes on something in the distance, “Or at least give me the decency of a real break up.”
“My father was murdered, David. We had to leave. There wasn’t time,” Katherine groaned.
“It’s been almost two years, Kat. I’m sure you could have found an opportunity.”
“Please stop calling me Kat. I don’t go by it anymore,” Katherine wiped at her eyes before tears had the chance to fall.
“What is wrong with you?” David shouted, taking a step back, “How could you possibly think that is a priority right now?”
“I can’t do this, David,” Kat whimpered as she took another step away from him., “I have to go.”
Katherine ran through the snow. She ran into her car without looking back and drove away. She felt dizzy, her breathing labored as she pulled up to her home, collapsing on the patio steps as tears cascaded from her eyes. She couldn’t run anymore. That’s the thing about the past. No matter how fast you run, no matter how far you go. You’re going to have to face it one day, because it will always catch up to you. Always.
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