Her Saving Grace, 1/?, Spike/Fred, R

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Talk about cutting it close; it's ten where I'm at on the east coast, so I'm just squeezing this in.

Title: Her Saving Grace
Rating: R
Pairing: Spike/Fred, mentions slight Fred/Wesley
Spoilers: Angel S5
Chapter: One of ?
Prompt: #16 of tamingthemuse: Trail of Breadcrumbs
Warnings: Character death (not the permanent variety)
Summary: An accident one night changes Fred's entire world. Shunned by the people who should care the most, she turns to the one person who does care, and finds something beyond friendship.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Seriously. Not even my mind these days.

If there's anything wrong with the chapter, please let me know. I can't even really see the screen at this point, I'm so not awake. Just give me a holler? I'll try to be better with feedback, I promise. I'm so sorry to everyone who's commented on my previous things and hasn't gotten a response; I've read them, and they mean a lot to me.

The others eventually found out about Fred's not attending the party. Lorne kept going on about everything she'd missed, and even Gunn had seemed less Mr. Lawman and a little more like the man she'd loved once upon a time. Maybe the party had been a good thing; maybe she should've gone.

Angel was even smiling the next day, and she was even sorrier she'd missed his lightening up the night before. When he found out that she hadn't been there, he immediately told her that they were going to head out that very night to handle something for a clan who enjoyed patronizing at a nearby club. “You need to come with us,” he said, gracing her with a soft tone she'd missed and crushed on for a short time. “We'll have fun as Angel Incorporated again, like the old times. We need you there.”

The only one who still seemed as distant and different as he'd been for some time now was Wesley. He stiffly nodded at Angel's words, and Fred tried giving him a sweet smile, hoping that would cause him to loosen up just a little.

Nope. Still as uptight as he usually was.

It frightened her a little, the way he was. She wished she knew what had brought this on from him.

“You ready, girl?”

Fred glanced up at Gunn, who was waiting in the doorway. His tie wasn't nearly as tight as it usually was; she'd take what she could get.

“Now, I'm supposed to have you home by nine,” he said sternly, but he started to grin even as he said it.

She glanced at the clock, then back at him. “Then you might as well leave without me; it's a quarter to nine right now.”

He chuckled and held the door open for her as she stepped out. The heels were a little difficult, not nearly as nice as the simple tennis shoes she'd worn the night before in the lab. She'd danced in those shoes for Spike.

The heels looked a lot more like they were club-shoes, though, as did her short red skirt and her white lacy top. It wasn't the 'cool' outfit that most of the people there would be wearing, but she didn't feel comfortable in the darker colors. Her favorite shirt was a faded out, light yellow t-shirt that had a glow in the dark flower and bee. She'd gotten through many long nights of studying with that t-shirt.

“C'mon; let your hair down for one evening,” Gunn complained as they stepped out into the cool night. She shivered, wishing the cold didn't reach her bones so easily.

“I let my hair down sometimes,” she said, reaching up instinctively to feel her small bun. So she wasn't going to be winning the cool girl of the evening award; she didn't even know what she'd do if she got that award. Not that they made an award for it, because that would be silly. Plus, there'd be a lot of bloodshed among the losers. Women could be very brutal sometimes.

She shook herself and slipped past the car door Gunn was holding open. She gave him a sheepish grin as she did so, knowing she'd been standing on the sidewalk for a few moments, lost in her thoughts.

He simply chuckled and shut the door, hurrying around to the driver's side.

Half an hour later found Fred in the deepest corner booth she could find, wincing at the music and wishing she could put her hands over her ears. She knew it wouldn't help, though; if anything, it would just make the pounding worse.

The bass was going through her bones, making it tough to sit still without feeling as if she'd rattle apart. The vibrations seemed to start in her very marrow, then continue on until her bones felt as if they were going to break apart. It hurt and it was frustrating, because she was just as committed as the others were to being there now. She shouldn't have come.

Lights flashed everywhere, and the music seemed to get even louder, to try and get over the voices and insane laughter of the people within the club. Glasses clinked on tables and against numerous other glasses people had before them, and drinks flowed heavily. She hated to think how these people were going to feel the next morning.

She'd stuck with a Pepsi herself. The bartender had given her a funny look, but he'd at least given her the drink she'd requested. She didn't care if it wasn't cool; she wasn't going for that award for the cool person. She'd already had this conversation with herself.

“Boy, are you the perfect picture of bored.”

Fred blinked and glanced up. A young man smiled at her from where he stood in front of her table. “Personally, I'm a little bored, too,” he went on, sipping at a light and bubbly drink that looked too much like champagne for her tastes. “I'd rather be back in the university's lab working on my project.”

“Your project?” she asked, finding herself inching more towards him. He seemed like the single solid thing in this entire club, the one focus that remained still while the rest of the world around them bustled and hurried on.

“Yeah; it's just a question about simple theoretics. I think I've got the formula figured out, but taken in context with what I've experimented with...and your eyes just got so wide. I'm sorry. I'm probably boring you even further,” the man said, laughing easily.

Fred grinned in reply. “Actually, it sounds like something I'd be interested in. I'm really into the whole lab scene myself.”

“Really?” the young man asked, looking surprised. “How lucky am I? I didn't think anyone in here would be interested in that sort of thing.”

“Well, I definitely am,” she assured him, deciding to act on a sudden impulse. “Would you like to sit down with me? I'd love to talk with you some more about your project.”

He gave a slow grin, and it felt a little cold for some reason. “I'll make you a deal. You come dance with me, let me show off to my friends that I got to dance with the prettiest girl here, and I'll tell you all about my project. Sound good?”

Fred bit her lip hesitantly. The floor for dancing didn't look at all like the ballet or waltz stage it should be. Bodies pulsed to the beat, sweat and glistening skin shimmering under the colored lights. Girls showed their skin and selves confidently, and the guys reveled in it. That definitely wasn't something she was good at, or really wanted to do. “I don't know...”

The young man shrugged, heading for the dance floor. “Come find me if you change your mind. I was really hoping to be able to explain about my calculations that have to do with several factors in the realm of dimensions, but...” With one last look at her, he headed onto the floor.

She didn't want to dance. It was not something she'd wanted to do. Maybe with Gunn or Wesley, or even Lorne, but she didn't know where they were. In the back or in another booth discussing law and politics, she would bet. She'd been just fine with her Pepsi, thank you very much, and the dance floor was the last place she wanted to be.

But the young man seemed to actually speak a language she knew well: the language of science. His eyes had glowed with the subject, and he'd caught her attention. She could talk with him about a subject she knew something about, a passion they apparently both shared. She hadn't done that with someone for too long; the guys did their law thing, and she did the geeky-girl thing. She felt left out sometimes.

Here, though, for one night, she wouldn't. She could have fun, live a little.

Slowly she slid out of her booth, before pulling herself up. She gazed at the sea of bodies bouncing and gliding to the beat. In the middle, she could see the young man gazing at her, giving her that slow smile again.

She stepped forward, entering the dance floor with hesitation. Still, there was a prize at the end, something better than a beat that shook her to her core and made her ears hurt. Science and physics and the way things worked, and she could have someone to talk about it with if she could just make it through the people.

She finally made it to the middle, only to not find him there. She frowned, glancing around. He was nowhere to be seen.

“You looking for someone?”

She turned to see a young blonde woman shaking her hips to the beat. “Um, yeah; I was looking for...I don't even know his name. He was talking to me about...um...”

“Oh, the lab guy,” she said, nodding. “He mentioned trying to get the prettiest girl in the club onto the dance floor. He had to grab the phone; a buddy of his said something about finding a thread of types...? It sounded like a bunch of gibberish to me, but he seemed really happy about it. If you're looking for him, he's just down the hallway at the pay phone, talking about some thread and dimensions. If you like that type of stuff, he's just down there.”

Like it? She'd love it. She turned to find the hallway, and stopped when she saw the darkened corridor. There were a few dim bulbs hanging in the ceiling, but besides that, it didn't look nearly as awake and colorful as the main room was. If she was honest, it looked forbidding and ominous.

She could see a couple of people hanging out in the hallway, smoking and chatting. Maybe it was the hallway with the bathrooms and telephones.

It was a creepy hallway, though. It didn't look very safe.

Despite her misgivings, Fred found herself heading towards the corridor. The thread the girl had mentioned...it sounded like something mystical and scientific, something she'd read about in several books. A thread that held all dimensions together, a single thing that tied them all into one universe.

The promise of theoretics, calculations, dimensions, and threads...they were all a trail of breadcrumbs that kept leading her deeper and deeper into the club. At the end, there was bound to be a house of sweets and a feast of knowledge. That's how the fairytale always went, at any rate.

By the time she reached the hallway, the people within it had left. Cautiously she crept down it, not seeing any telephones. Then where was...?

“Hey, back here.”

She jumped a little, before she saw the young man waving at her. “I've got to run,” he explained, looking sheepish. “My friend's found something incredible. I can't talk right now; I was really looking forward to it, though. Maybe we'll meet up some other time?” Then he headed out the back door.

“Wait!” Fred called, hurrying down the hallway and out after him. “I don't even know your name! How do you...”

She gasped as she was yanked through the doorway and slammed into the outside wall of the club. Her eyes stared into yellow ones, and the young man licked his lips, showing off his fangs. “You were easy,” he said, chuckling. “I was told you were a pretty bright girl, and I'd have to play this right. Guess I didn't have to, huh?”

Fred screamed, but his hand quickly pressed over her mouth. “I didn't get to explain my theories yet,” he said, pouting. Her eyes darted to each side, desperately searching for a way out, or someone that might pass by and help her.

There was no one. She'd forgotten about the part in the fairytale after the house of sweets: the villain living within it.

“See, I have this formula. Take a girl, add in some boring conversation that catches her, and all of that equals one single thing,” he said, grinning. “My dinner.”

He lunged forward so fast, she didn't even see him. She felt him a moment later, his fangs digging into her neck, shooting pain throughout her and making her want to pull away. The sting was sharp, too sharp, and tears welled in her eyes. The blurred vision she had began to darken, and she blinked, trying to stay awake.

Trying to stay alive.

Her heart was thudding hard in her chest, getting more painful as it slowed. Her lungs were taking in short and light breaths, and they weren't enough to get the oxygen flowing through her veins again. The pain in her neck began to lessen and dull out, and the pulsing from the club was replaced with a rushing roar in her ears.

Her eyes closed, too heavy to stay open anymore. Her heart thudded a few more times, and the last thing she felt was the brief sensation of falling.

~Nebula