The following Monday afternoon during lunch, Buffy explained the bet between her and Spike to Cordelia, the one person who could potentially keep Buffy from being crowned Homecoming Queen.
“So you’re basically asking me not to run this year, aren’t you?” Cordy asked, crossing her arms.
“You’ve been crowned the last two years- do you really need a third plastic tiara to put on a shelf?” Buffy asked.
“Do you really need the ‘plastic tiara’?” Cordy countered, and Buffy sighed.
“Please do this for me, Cordy,” Buffy replied. “I’d really like to prove Spike wrong, and wouldn’t you feel a lot better knowing that you took him down a notch, too?”
“What happens if you both win?” Cordelia asked. “Is it a draw?”
“There’s no possible way he’s going to win,” Buffy replied, laughing. “He’s a jerk- no one will vote for him.”
“Well, you’ve got the three lunkheads that follow him around everyday,” Cordy said. “And all of the girls that he’s ever dated, or slept with, or-”
“Will you help me or not?” Buffy cut in, not wanting her friend to keep droning on.
“And what will I get out of it if I do?” Cordelia asked, opening her water bottle.
“The satisfaction of knowing that your friend is cooler than Spike Giles,” Buffy said.
“I already know you’re cooler than him,” she replied, sighing. “But fine, I won’t run this year.” Buffy grinned and hugged her. “But we need to start campaigning to make sure you win.”
“‘Campaigning’?” Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow. “This isn’t a presidential election.”
“No, it’s a popularity election,” Cordelia replied. “And I’m making damn sure you win, because if you don’t, then there was no point in me being nice and letting you run instead.”
“Alright, so how do we start this, then?” Buffy asked. “Posters, giving out free stuff, talking to people to spread the word?”
“That’d be a good start,” Cordy said. “Come over after school and we’ll come up with some plans, okay?” Buffy nodded, grateful that Cordelia would be on her side. “So, what are the terms of the bet? What do you get if you win?”
“I…I don’t know,” Buffy answered, frowning. “We didn’t actually discuss that yet.”
“Well, I’d find out,” Cordelia said. “Because if all you’re getting out of this is that crown, I’m going to be upset.”
* * *
“You know, Spike, I think this is a bunch of crap,” Lindsey said, looking at his friend during lunch. “How the hell do you expect to beat Buffy? She’s got a good portion of the school on her side. What makes you think people are going to vote for you?”
“Or maybe they’ll vote for both of you,” Wes suggested. “Wherein which, you’ll have to dance with her.” Spike made a face and waved it off.
“I highly doubt people will vote for the both of us,” he replied. “We’re two very different people.”
“Yeah, but most of us still remember how good of friends you used to be,” Gunn said. “How close you two once were.” Spike looked at him. “You made a damn cute couple in junior high- what’s saying you wouldn’t now, too?”
“Don’t even go there, Charlie-boy,” Spike replied. “We’re both not going to win.”
“But what happens if you do?” Lindsey asked, and Spike shrugged. “Then this was all a waste. I’m not devoting my time to helping you out if it’s just going to be a waste of time.”
“It won’t ‘be a waste of time’,” Spike said, crossing his arms. “Besides, don’t you think seeing Buffy’s shocked expression when I win will be worth it?”
“Yeah, but how do you propose winning the title of Homecoming King?” Wes asked. “Do you have any plans?”
“A smear campaign would probably do the trick,” Lindsey said, looking at Spike. “And charming the school’s less popular girls would get you fairly far, too.”
“You can use info from when you guys were younger against her,” Gunn said. “Anything embarrassing or ridiculous that would make people think twice about her.”
“So you guys are going to help?” Spike asked, looking at his three friends.
“Damn straight, we’re going to help,” Lindsey said. “It’s time to take Buffy down a peg or two.”
* * *
After school, Buffy and several of her friends went to Cordelia’s house to discuss plans to help Buffy win.
“Okay, but I’m still not hearing enough ideas,” Anya said, looking at the girls sitting in Cordelia’s living room. “Let’s think outside the box.”
“We’ve all known him for years, but you know him the best, Buffy,” Willow said. “Do you have anything you can use against him?”
“Are you saying I should play the game that dirty?” Buffy asked, looking around, noticing that everyone nodded. “Alright, I’m sure I can come up with some stuff.”
“You know he’s going to try appealing to the underclassmen,” Cordelia said. “Especially girls.”
“We all know how charming he can be, and young girls definitely will fall for whatever he says,” Anya said. “You should try working your magic on the guys.”
“The football team is already voting for you,” Cordelia said. “Riley is spreading the word.”
“If we can get their girlfriends in on it, too, that would be a pretty good amount of votes,” Buffy replied.
“I talked to Jonathon Levinson, and he said he’d come up with some really cool posters for you,” Willow said. “Andrew and Warren seem amp-ed to help you out.”
“Probably because Spike and his friends have picked on all three of them for the last three years,” Anya replied.
“Who else should we target?” Cordelia asked, looking around.
“The marching band,” Willow suggested. “There’s a heck of a lot of people in it.”
“And the cheerleaders,” Anya added. “There are tons of them, and you know that none of them like Spike a whole lot.”
“But shouldn’t we try going for the people who might vote for him?” Buffy asked. “Not just the people who will probably vote for me?”
“And anyone that would fit in the ‘swing-vote’ category,” Willow replied. Buffy ran her hands through her hair.
“This is a lot more work than I thought it’d be,” she said quietly.
A/N Once again, I’d like to thank everyone who has reviewed the last two chapters- you all blow me away:) I hope you enjoyed chapter 3, and chapter 4 will undoubtedly be posted tomorrow!
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