Dawn's eyes were still on the floor when he began to talk, and she actually did listen closely. Slowly, she began to understand him. Her eyes slowly rose to his, and by the time he finished, she was watching him. She raised a hand to her cheek absently, and felt a tear there. Wiping it away, she hesitated for a long moment, letting the silence deepen, and lengthen.
Finally, without a word, the teenager stepped over to him slowly, taking his lighter out of her pocket. She reached out and slid her hand into his, the lighter between their palms, and kept her hand there.
"I know it hurt to tell me...but I had to know. Spike..." She waited until he turned to look at her. "Do you have any idea how much you meant to me? We trusted you. I trusted you. You were my best friend...and when I found out about what you did...so soon after losing my other friend, it just...it hurt, so much." Her eyes welled up with tears. "I lost both of you. It was like...losing my mom and Buffy, all over again."
She shifted, then moved in close, sliding her arms around him for a tight hug. Resting her cheek against his chest, she closed her eyes, just breathing in his familiar scent of leather and tobacco. She had missed this a lot more than she thought.