Willow rolled her head back and stared at the ceiling in frustration. She wanted to scream- they'd done it to her again. None of them showed her any consideration anymore. Hell, sometimes she wondered if they'd ever appreciated her and the things that she did for them. Looking back at the task in front of her, she sighed heavily.

"Witch," Spike began. "Is there a problem?"

Willow glanced at the vampire for a second before shaking her head. "No," she stated a bit too firmly.

Spike smirked at her. "Yeah, all right," he said.

Willow's mind raged. He was staring at her with that all knowing glare that he'd perfected over the years. He knew, he had to know what was bothering her, and he was going to use it- exploit it to make fun of her. Willow pushed down the wave of self-pity and let anger take over instead. She pushed her chair away from the table and glared at Spike.

"Shut up," she hissed.

"Excuse me," Spike asked, annoyed. "What exactly have I done?"

Willow squinted at the vampire. "You're here. I'm here. No one else is here. And I'm mad. No, furious- I'm furious! And, I want to be pissed off, okay?"

Spike laughed loudly. "Fine with me, pet. But, can I ask why you're suddenly so angry?"

Willow shook her head. "It's not sudden. I've been angry a while now. It's just that tonight, they ... you always ... ugh!"

"Red?" Spike asked.

Willow was staring at the floor, and from the smell of salt in the air, Spike knew she was crying. He hated the fact that she felt this way- not that he didn't understand her frustration. He was a Master Vampire, and he was stuck living in a bloody Watcher's home, forced to drink animal blood out of a coffee mug! He supposed that he should be grateful that they didn't chain him to the bathtub anymore. Or tie him into that damn chair. They had other ways of getting him to stay now- Soldier Boy's threats to hand him over. Willow's tears intensified bringing Spike out of his thoughts. Getting up from the couch, he walked over to where she sat and pulled up another chair.

"Red?" he asked her again.

Without even realizing what she was doing, Willow launched herself into Spike's arms. The surprised vampire wrapped himself around her and held on tight. He didn't know why she was in his arms, but he damn sure liked it.

"Why do they treat me like this?" Willow asked as she pulled away from him.

Spike guided them over to the couch and sat them down. "Why does who treat you like what?"

Willow looked at him with wide, sad eyes. "Buffy, Giles, and Xander. Why do they treat me like this?"

Spike, already knowing what the witch was talking about, decided to play dumb in hopes of seeming more understanding. "What have they done, pet?"

Willow thought for a moment before speaking. "They take advantage of me all the time! Take tonight for example. Olivia is in town, so Giles decided to take her out to a nice restaurant. Buffy and Riley are off doing who knows what, and Xander and Anya are probably off playing some twisted sexual game. The thing is, none of them even asked me if I had plans before they told me I needed to be here research this Quishah demon and to baby-sit you."

Spike's eyes flashed yellow. "I do not need to be baby-sat."

"You know what I mean!" Willow insisted, ignoring his flash of anger.

Spike conceded the point and nodded. "So, you had plans?"

Willow chewed her bottom lip. "Well, no. But they could have asked. I do know that I don't want to be here. I mean, you being here, and me being here with you- that's not bad at all. I just don't want to be here."

Spike thought for a moment about the meaning behind Willow's words. "You don't mind being with me?" he asked.

Willow shook her head. "No. You're actually good company when Buffy and Xander aren't around. Oh, and when you're not trying to kill me."

Spike smirked. "You wouldn't have stayed dead, little one."

Willow met his eyes. "I know," she said.

It was then that he saw a flash of the spark that had made her attractive in the first place- that fire that had drawn him in. He saw who she was- and all the power she possessed. It was intoxicating, and he didn't understand why no one else saw it. Spike held her gaze for a few long moments before taking her hand and standing up. "Come on."

Willow began to protest, but changed her mind when she saw the look on Spike's face. "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here," Spike said.

Willow gasped and stopped moving, her mind flashing back to the game she and Buffy used to play. "What?"

Spike turned and met her gaze once more. Confused, he asked her what she was questioning.

"You said ... you said anywhere but here. Did you mean it?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, what of it?" Willow said nothing, she just pulled the blond vampire closer to her. Their faces were inches apart when she finally spoke. "Take me away from here, Spike."

Closing the distance between them, Spike captured her lips in a quick kiss, shocking Willow speechless.

"As you wish," he said quietly.

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