Buffy Logo 'Crush'
Story Code '5ABB13'

by David Fury
Buffy

Buffy and her friends are at ‘The Bronze’, which is celebrating its re-opening after the destruction caused by Olaf the Troll. Spike is also there, but when he tries to talk to Buffy she tells him that they are not friends. Spike sullenly leaves and Xander offers to buy drinks, but is incensed when he realises that Spike has stolen his money from the table. Willow admits to Buffy that she is still suffering from the teleportation spell she used on Glory; Buffy begs her friends to forget about the Beast for one night, and, seeing Ben, thanks him for helping Dawn. Xander attempts to berate Spike for stealing from him, but Spike is too busy watching Buffy talk to Ben. Meanwhile, a train pulls in to Sunnydale station, but the porter becomes concerned when no-one alights from the carriages; he boards the train and is horrified to discover that all the passengers have been murdered - and then something attacks him. Buffy arrives home and thanks Giles for watching over Dawn and her mother; Giles recommends that Buffy treat Dawn the way she always has, prompting Buffy to yell at her sister for taking her blue sweater. In his crypt, Spike is fondling said blue sweater when Harmony appears and tries to seduce him; he is uninterested until she suggests role-playing, and so he makes her pretend to be the Slayer. At University, Buffy has just admitted to not doing her assignment when she suddenly snatches a newspaper, drawn to the story about the train. Spike emerges from an underground passage to his crypt, only to find Dawn waiting for him; as they talk, Dawn admits she likes how he is blunt and honest with her. Spike replies that the others are trying to protect her from reality, but almost chokes when Dawn says she feels safe around him. Buffy arrives home to a worrying Joyce, concerned because Dawn has not come home. Buffy goes in search of her sister, and is surprised to find her at Spike’s crypt; on their way home, Buffy scolds Dawn for hanging out with Spike, thinking that Dawn has a crush on him. Dawn denies it, instead commenting that Spike is in love with Buffy. Buffy is stunned. The next day, Buffy and Xander investigate the train, but are unable to find any clues; Buffy tells him about Spike, which Xander puts down to a fleeting fancy. Buffy arrives home only to find Spike casually chatting with her mother and sister in the kitchen; the vampire tells Buffy that he is there to take her to the train murderers, and a short while later the two of them are parked in a car, staking out a warehouse. Buffy now feels incredibly awkward around Spike. Seeing two vampires enter the warehouse, they go in after them, but the creatures flee as soon as they see Buffy, who then realises that they have been nesting there for a while. Buffy accuses Spike of setting it all up as some kind of weird date; he reveals the truth about his feelings, convinced that the two of them could have a relationship, and knowing that he loves her. Disgusted, Buffy flatly states that there can never be anything between them, and then storms out. Rejected once again, Spike returns home and discovers Drusilla waiting for him. She tells him of recent events concerning Angelus and Darla in Los Angeles, and can sense the chip in Spike’s head, which she believes he can overcome. Harmony interrupts them both, accusing Drusilla of leaving Spike in a terrible emotional state, but Spike grabs her by the throat and throws her across the room, telling her that he has decided to change. At home, Buffy is discussing Spike with her mother and Willow when the latter encourages her to meet Spike one more time, to ensure that she has burnt all bridges between them. Spike and Drusilla arrive at ‘The Bronze’ and spy a couple up on the catwalk kissing; Drusilla breaks the girl’s neck and throws the body to Spike, and as she drains the boy, she watches Spike eagerly feeding on the still-warm corpse. Searching underneath Spike’s crypt Buffy is horrified to discover a shrine devoted to her, decorated with dozens of photos and a mannequin wearing a blonde wig; emerging inside the main section of the crypt she encounters Spike, but is then knocked unconscious by Drusilla, armed with an electric cattle-prod; Drusilla passes the prod to Spike, but he promptly uses it to knock her out as well. Buffy eventually comes to and finds herself chained to two pillars, with Drusilla chained to a column opposite; Spike appears and proclaims his love for Buffy but she recoils in disgust. Drusilla realises that Spike has been in love with the Slayer for over two years, and it was this shadow hanging over him that caused her to leave him. Spike tells Buffy that he will stake Drusilla as proof of his love for her, but Buffy just insults and scorns him; Spike loses control, blaming women for all the injustices done to him, and agreeing that a relationship with Buffy is hopeless. He is then shot in the back with a crossbow - Harmony has overheard everything, and begins criticizing him on how badly he has treated her; the two of them fight, while Dru and Buffy use the distraction try to work their bonds loose. Drusilla attacks Buffy first but the Slayer uses her chains as leverage, enabling her to fight back; Spike knocks Drusilla aside and frees Buffy. Knowing that she has lost Spike forever, Drusilla slips away, while Harmony tells Spike he will never see her again and storms off. Buffy knocks Spike across the room, slamming him into his Buffy shrine, destroying it. Still desperate to talk about the two of them Spike catches up to Buffy just as she is about to enter her home, but Buffy warns him to stay away from her, her family and her friends. Spike makes to follow her into the house, but Willow has performed a revocation spell on his invitation to enter the house - he can no longer enter, and Buffy slams the door in his face.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn), James Marsters (Spike), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Mercedes McNab (Harmony), Charlie Weber (Ben), Juliet Landau (Drusilla), Amber Benson (Tara), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Frederick Dawson (Porter), Greg Wayne (Student), Joseph DiGiandomenico (Matt), Walter Borchert (Jeff), Asher Glaser (Boy in Bronze), Jennifer Bergman (Girl in Bronze), Nell Shanahan (Waitress)
Directed by Daniel Attias

TX (US): 13th February 2001
TX (UK - Sky One): 6th April 2001

Notes:
*Featuring Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Anya, Tara and Dawn