The sun was mercifully not beating down as Buffy stood next to Fred clad in shorts, a shirt and running shoes along with every other girl standing on the track.
The cross-country head coach was a younger woman with California surfer girl looks. Her nearly platinum hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and a baseball cap on top. She was currently talking to a small girl with curly carrot-color hair, her face contorted in displeasure.
Fred tugged on Buffy arm, motioning for the blonde to follow her. They walked up to the coach and waited till the petite girl stomped off, looking angry.
“Coach Adler?” Fred said hesitantly.
The woman shook her head, watching the redhead go. “Kerry’s quitting.”
Fred’s face fell and a frown appeared. “Oh,” she said, “is everything okay?”
“Fall play,” was the coach’s response before she turned to face the two girls. At the sight of the unfamiliar blonde in front of her, the woman frowned. “Are you on the team?”
“Actually,” Buffy began, “I just moved here a few days ago and was wondering if I could still join the team.”
Coach Adler shrugged. “Sure. I don’t see why not. We’re starting out on the track with warm-up and then doing a four-mile loop. Let’s see how you do.”
With that, the woman stepped forward and whistled loudly, alerting the rest of the girls. “All right everybody, stretches!”
Buffy and Fred complied, sitting down with their legs stretched out and reached forward. Buffy watched as the fairly large group of runners imitated the stretch. A couple of girls were eyeing Buffy, looking a little confused.
“Okay everyone, we’re going up Wilson, across Appleton, down Bridge and then back here,” Adler explained and led the group with an easy pace till they were a block from the school. Then everyone took off on their own pace, some running ahead while others lagged behind.
Buffy and Fred kept up near the front, keeping their pace even while the brunette was telling Buffy about the previous year’s meets.
“We did pretty well at the Lodger Meet but we didn’t make it to State,” Fred told her as they turned up on Wilson.
“Really? How come?” Buffy asked, increasing her pace slightly.
“Remember Kerry?”
Buffy nodded, easily recalling the girl who’d stormed off. “Yeah.”
“She’s one of the really good runners but she couldn’t go because she had an audition in LA.”
Buffy’s eyebrows rose. “Not exactly the most reliable teammate, is she?”
Fred shook her head. “Nope.”
The pair kept running and Buffy found herself watching the houses, their perfectly manicured lawns with sprinklers running. It wasn’t quite hot enough outside to actually run underneath the spray to cool off, so she skirted the droplets that strayed out onto the sidewalk.
“Hey,” Fred said suddenly, nudging Buffy lightly. “It’s Gunn and Spike.”
Buffy looked up to see a mass of runners heading towards them, obviously all guys. Gunn and Spike, however, had broken off from the group slightly and were running along the grass to avoid the girls coming at them.
“Hey Fred!” Gunn called out and then added, “Hey Buffy.”
Briefly, a look of surprise flitted across Spike’s face. “I didn’t know you were on the team,” he mumbled, his voice echoing his surprise. Earlier when Buffy had told him she was staying after school, he’d blindly assumed it was to hang out with Willow. Now that he knew she was on the cross-country team, a distinct recollection of her mentioning running came back to him.
“You didn’t ask,” Buffy replied simply as the four began running in a line.
“Did you have fun at the Bronze last night?” Gunn asked, “I didn’t see you later. Wills said you left kinda early.”
At the mention of her previous night, Buffy winced a little, remembering the run-in she’d had with those two creeps.
“Um, it was pretty good,” Buffy allowed, giving him all-too-brief smile.
Spike, noting the nervousness on her face, cocked a single brow. “Just pretty good? You came home late, figured you must have had a bloody good time.”
Buffy shot him a glare. “Yes. My night was pretty good. Great even.” She turned to the brunette by her side with a grin. “I even met a really cute guy.”
Fred giggled. “Really, where?”
“Outside of the Bronze. He walked me home,” Buffy said, her voice slightly smug as she shot Spike another look. So there, she thought with triumph.
“Are you gonna see him again?” Fred asked eagerly, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“I guess. He gave me his dorm number. Maybe I’ll call some time.” Buffy couldn’t keep her own excitement out of her voice. She was kinda looking forward to seeing Riley again. He’d been so nice and sweet and funny…he was just what she needed.
“Dorm?” Fred repeated. “He’s in college?”
Buffy nodded. “Freshman at UC Sunnydale. Speaking of which, how does a small town like this have a university?”
“Mayor wanted it,” Gunn replied, “It was a big thing a few years ago. Somehow the Mayor got approval and a lot of donations. It’s small but nice. They have professors from UCLA and other smaller colleges near by who come to teach.”
“Cool,” Buffy responded though she was wondering why a guy from Iowa would want to go to a local college like UC Sunnydale.
Soon, Buffy was picking up her pace while both Gunn and Fred hung behind. Spike was still keeping his pace, just up ahead of Buffy.
She sprinted up to him and started running besides him. He turned, giving her a look. “What?” he demanded.
“Computer class project,” Buffy responded, “do you have a partner?”
“Why?” Spike asked.
“Well I thought it would be easier if we were partners. We live in the same house and it’s easier for us to get together and work on it,” Buffy explained, waiting for his answer.
Spike didn’t reply right away and instead picked up his pace a little. Buffy just kept moving beside him. “If you don’t want to just say so,” she snapped, “I thought it would be easier since it’s a long-term project.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Fine.”
“Good,” she shot back and they lapsed into silence once more.
After a minute, Spike let his gaze rove over her, watching her run. She had a good form and had obviously not been lying when she said she ran a lot.
Now it was Buffy’s turn to demand, “What?”
“Nothing,” Spike said defensively before reluctantly admitting, “you’re a good runner. Nice form.”
“Thanks,” Buffy responded warily, watching him with narrowed eyes.
Spike rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, I was just…” he trailed off and muttered, “Giving you a compliment.”
“Right,” Buffy said sarcastically, “because you’re so nice.”
“No,” he said slowly, “because it’s true. You know what? Never mind.” He instantly picked up his pace.
Buffy just ran faster, keeping up with him. “Are you saying I’m a better runner than you?” she asked slyly.
Spike scoffed. “No! I’m saying you have a nice form. Not, ‘you’re the best runner here’.”
She knew she was goading him but she couldn’t help it. “So,” she began, drawing the word out, “let’s prove it.”
“By doing what?” Spike asked as the turned the corner.
“A race,” Buffy replied, a smirk tugging at her lips. Her eyes glittered with excitement at the very prospect. She was always competitive and stubborn and Spike was exactly the same.
Spike eyed her. “Are you serious?”
“What? Afraid you’ll lose?” Buffy provoked, picking up her pace once more. Spike immediately started running faster, making Buffy struggle to keep up with him.
“Deal,” he said with a smirk of his own and took off.
Buffy put almost all her energy into her legs, listening to the steady pound of her feet hitting the cement. Faster, faster, faster, the mantra repeated itself in her head. They were nearly head-to-head, moving past the other runners and the coach.
Gunn’s eyes narrowed as he watched two distinct figures sprint ahead. “Hey,” he said, interrupting Fred, “isn’t that Buffy and Spike?”
Fred squinted at the sprinters. “Omigod,” her eyes widened in surprise, “it is. What are they…” she trailed off, watching them disappear down a hill.
Gunn chuckled and started running faster. “They’re racing. I gotta see this.” Fred quickly followed and they ducked the thoroughly confused runners, trying to follow the two blondes.
Spike could see Buffy out of the corner of his eye. Her face was red and sweaty, her short ponytail gone, strands of hair sticking to her face. Her eyes were narrowed and focused and she was drawing up on him. Damn.
The only sound they could hear was their labored breath and the sound of their shoes hitting the sidewalk.
Buffy pushed herself harder, briefly wishing she’d recently bought a new pair of running shoes. Her skin was hot and flushed and her shirt and shorts were uncomfortably sticking to her sweaty skin. Not that Spike looked that much better. His hair was now in curls, the gel gone and his shirt damp and clinging to his abs.
Oh, who was she kidding? Buffy broke down, confessing to herself the one thing she’d been avoiding. He looked hot. Sweaty Spike was far more attractive than he should be.
Buffy could see the school about a half-mile away and took as deep a breath as she could and started full out sprinting. Spike, seeing the change in her stride, followed suit as the final stretch lay ahead of them.
Her legs felt like lead, perspiration was running down her face, back and pooling in her bra, which was really gross, but dammit, she was going to win. The school was only a few blocks ahead of her now, and she pushed herself to her top speed, ignoring her body which was screaming ‘Stop! Stop!’
She was nearly at the school when Spike, with one final burst of speed, brushed past her. Oh no you don’t, she thought, glaring at his back. With all the strength she could muster, Buffy let herself practically fly past him, and on to the school grass where she collapsed by the track.
Not even a second later, Spike collapsed next to her. For a moment they laid there, both breathing too hard to speak.
“That…” Buffy managed between pants, “was awesome.” She sat up a little, resting back on her elbows, tipping her head back as a small smile tugged on her lips.
She turned to see, with much surprise, Spike had a small grin of his own on his lips. “Yeah,” he admitted, “it was.”
“And I,” Buffy felt the need to point out, “won.”
Spike didn’t respond for a moment as he sat up, copying Buffy’s pose. “Fine,” he grumbled, “you did. But only by a half-second.”
Another silence settled between them before Buffy fell back down and let out a groan. “Oh god I’m never getting up again.”
Spike let out a weak chuckle as they lay there, waiting for the rest of the group.
*************
“Welcome to the team, Buffy,” Coach Adler congratulated her after practice. At first the woman seemed angry but she reluctantly grinned a little when she found out Buffy won.
“You have the kind of determination I need on this team,” she told the blonde and handed her the required paperwork.
“Thanks,” Buffy said gratefully and slowly made her way to the locker room to shower and change.
Fred was waiting there for her. “Don’t tell me,” she said with a grin, “you’re on the team! And on varsity!”
Buffy nodded, breaking out into a wide smile. “Yep!”
Fred impulsively leaned forward to hug her new friend. “This is so exciting! I can’t believe you beat Spike though. But he didn’t seem all that upset.”
Buffy shrugged. She’d been wondering about Spike’s reaction as well. When the rest of team had showed up, they’d both pried themselves off the field and stumbled over to their respective teams.
She’d barely said two words after their brief discussion immediately after they’d finished. Which also begged the question, where was her ride home? She’d be assuming a lot to think Spike would have waited for her.
Once Buffy had showered and put on her clothes, she walked out of the locker room, shielding her eyes from the sun, looking around half-heartedly to see if Spike was there.
“Summers!” She knew that voice. Buffy turned to see Spike standing by his car. “Come on,” he urged and Buffy followed, dazed.
The drive home was fairly quiet, but Spike hadn’t been rude, just civilly polite. He’d asked whether she’d made the team or not and Buffy had responded equally polite.
At the house, Buffy went up to her room and quickly changed into a pair of light-weight gray sweatpants and a simple light blue T-shirt. Leaving her hair up and damp, Buffy trudged back down stairs where Spike was standing by the counter, holding up his keys and money.
“My dad and your mum are still at the gallery,” he informed her and then gestured to the money. “They left it for us. Hungry?”
Surprised at his offer, she found herself nodding. “Yeah,” she paused as she slipped into her flip-flops and followed him out the door, “where’re we going?”
He smirked at her. “Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”