Choices
Chapter Two

“You turned me.”

 Spike grimaced at the words.  The boy still hadn’t looked up from the mug he still held in his hands.

“Had to pet, you wouldn’t have made it.”  He started toward Xander, worried.  He hadn’t expected this.  He reached out toward the boy’s shoulder, but recoiled when he looked up suddenly.  His face showed his new nature clearly.

“Why does that not bother me?”  he asked, “It should bother me.  I should be very angry right now.  Instead, I’m just hungry.”

“I could get you another mug.  It’d have to be pig’s this time…”

Xander thrust the mug into Spike’s hands, shaking his head, “You actually live on this stuff?”

“Doesn’t satisfy, does it?” Spike smiled, understanding. “You need the pain, the passion of the kill.  But, for good little boys like us, it’ll have to do.”

“For you, it’ll have to do.  But I can feed.” Xander smiled an evil little smile, and that smile cut Spike to the core.  What have I done! What if I can’t control him! Spike panicked.

Xander started to walk away, only to be picked up and slammed against the wall. 

“Look, whelp.  You’re mine.  Now, I wasn’t always an obedient childe either, but I promise you one thing.”  Spike glared at Xander, his eyes briefly flashing yellow, “If you go chasing after innocents, you’ll give the Slayer real good reason to want to kill you.  I don’t want that to happen.  I don’t want her to have to dust her best friend.  So if you hurt anyone in this dump of a town, I’ll be the one to stake you.”

He backed up when the boy nodded.  He stood back and watched Xander closely.  He’s still afraid of me.  He’ll have to get over that.  He chuckled, and then when he saw Xander’s pout, he laughed aloud.

“It’s not that bad, pet, honestly.  You can get your jollies elsewhere, you know.  Why do you think I go out of me way to help the Slayer?”

“Hmm, Let’s see,” Xander held up one finger, “One: You get paid.”  He held up a second finger, “Two: You want to get in her pants.”

Spike laughed again.  “Touché.  But, I also enjoy the fight, the maiming, the occasional torture, the kill.” He licked his lips, as if savoring the thought.

Xander nodded, “Okay, okay, I get your point.  You do know that she’s gonna kill you when she sees me, right?”

“I know.” he smiled.

“And that doesn’t worry you?”

“Nope.”  Spike sprawled out onto the couch, picking up the remote. “If you’re still hungry you can fix your own supper. You’re a big boy after all.”

---

Xander studied his sire from the corner.  He still wasn’t accustomed to his new strengths.  With only the dim light of the television, he could see everything in the room in perfect detail.  He still felt that he should be more bothered by his new change.  After all, he had once hated everything of demonic nature simply because it was a demon.  But he couldn’t hate himself, and he did still feel like himself, just without the inhibitions that had always plagued him and no guilt for anything he had done or thought of doing.  And he couldn’t hate Spike anymore either, because now he knew what it was like.  He could feel both sides tugging at him, the demon and the human.  He understood.

Spike was yelling at the television, complaining of idiotic characters.  Xander had never seen him like this, with his masks dropped, when he wasn’t attempting to be the cool, evil, punk-rock vampire.  It was interesting, this new Spike.  This was a version that he thought he could not only stop hating, but could actually grow to like. He’s actually kind of cute.  Ugh! Cute? I did not think that.

Spike looked over at Xander to see him making a face of absolute disgust. 

“What’s wrong, luv?  Has it gone bad?”  he gestured toward the mug on the table.

“Hmm?”  Xander started, “Oh, that.  No.  It’s fine.”

“Why the face, then?”

“Oh, nothing, just a thought.” Xander frowned.

“Oh, I see,” Spike teased.  “Stop that brooding before you turn into my bloody sire!  Get over here and watch some telly.”  He patted the cushion beside him playfully.

Xander turned even paler than he already was.  “Uh, okay.” Better not let on. “If I get to pick what we watch.” He smiled.

           “Okay, pet, but don’t get used to it.”