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DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters.
...



"I've never seen you this nervous."

Buffy looked up and accepted the water from Xander. It was true, she was nervous. Usually by this time, she was almost giddy in anticipation. Instead, her nerves were so racked, she was almost sick to her stomach. She tried to collect herself, but her thoughts were moving a hundred miles an hour. It didn't help that she keep checking the crowd for a familiar platinum blond.

Xander continued. "For once, Willow is calmer than you."

Willow looked up at that and smiled. "I'm getting over this stage fright thing." Tara gave her a small smile.

"Hey, it's time." An employee of Kilos stood before them and pointed to the stage.

Willow, Xander, and Tara ran to the stage and began to warm up. After a minute, they began to play. Buffy always came onstage a little while later. She glanced at the crowd, attempting to feel their mood. From her angle, she could make out their faces. A blond movement caught her eye. Spike was sitting near the back, a pad of paper in his hands. There he is, she thought. Taking a deep breath, she bounded onstage and joined the band.

Her heartbeat increased, partly because of the cheer of the crowd and partly because she knew Spike was out there. As she stepped up to the microphone, her budding excitement swallowed her fears of the review. Her voice didn't waver as she sang, and she didn't miss any notes on her guitar.

"Yeah!" Buffy cheered into the microphone.

Xander yelled in approval. Willow slowly shook her head at him, causing the crowd to laugh. Buffy spun to face her friends.

"That's Xander on drums." He rattled a bit on the set with Buffy's introduction. "Willow's on the keyboard and Tara's playing bass," Buffy continued. Raising her guitar over her head, Buffy turned to face the audience. "I'm Buffy."

For the rest of the evening, Buffy was on a roll. The whole band was on top of their songs, and the crowd was great. She'd almost forgotten about the review.

As she played the final cords, she remembered her dream. The nervousness that she felt all week came rushing back. She couldn't wait until the next day to read the review - she needed to know about it now. She scanned the audience and found Spike staring right at her.

Her mind was consumed with him. When her fans rushed to her as she walked off stage, she had to force herself to talk to them. She needed to get to Spike before he left. When she finally had a break, she quickly walked to his table. It was empty. After a quick search of the club, she came to the realization that he was nowhere in the building.

...



Buffy bounded down the stairs the next morning intent on getting the paper. Dawn was reading it at the kitchen table.

"Hey, I was reading that!" Dawn protested when Buffy grabbed it and tossed pages to the floor.

"I just want to read something." Buffy found the column and began to skim it. The more she read, the angrier she became. Dawn rested her chin on Buffy's shoulder and read it, too.

"Sounds like he liked the band." Dawn stood and walked to the refrigerator.

Buffy gave her an incredulous look. "What are you talking about?" She glanced at the paper to find one offending sentence. "'There's nothing special about how Buffy sings or plays her guitar. If it wasn't for the comradery she has with the rest of the band, and the fact that they seem to be in tune with the needs of the crowd, I would recommend that she find another career.'"

"But, he gave you a B minus." Dawn shrugged. "And the whole review was missing his usual bite."

"Good morning, you two." Their mother walked into the kitchen and took a glass from the cabinet.

"Mom, read this review." Buffy thrust the paper at her, pouting.

Joyce glanced at the column and smiled. "Oh honey, your band is in the paper." She filled her glass with orange juice while she read. Taking a sip, she handed the paper to Buffy. "Sounds like he liked the band."

Dawn smirked at Buffy. "I told you."

"No. Did you read the whole thing?" Buffy tried to hand the paper back, but her mom pushed her hand away.

"I read it. Now, you're just giving me a headache."

Buffy pursed her lips, perturbed. "Maybe you have to be in a band to understand," she sniffed.

The Scoobies and Giles would see it from her point of view.

...



"I think he liked us." Willow handed the paper back to Buffy.

Buffy turned to glare at Dawn, who snorted. Was everyone blind? Even Giles thought the review was good.

"Hey, I've never gotten a grade this high." Xander pointed to the B minus on the review.

Giles sighed and cleaned his glasses. "Buffy, he said that you had talent. All you have to do is work on your singing and playing."

Buffy gaped at Giles. Work on her singing and playing? "Listen, he obviously wrote this just to bug me."

"Which seems to have worked," Giles mumbled.

"But, we need to put this review behind us," Buffy said, ignoring Gile's comment. She crumpled the review and tossed in the wastebasket on the other side of the room.

"Okay."

"Sure."

"Whatever." Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Well, now that we've concluded the Spike drama, I think we need to talk about a new band that's in town." Giles stood and paced the room.

"You mean the Initiative?" Tara quietly asked.

"Yes. They've been getting a lot of gigs, and they already have a big following." Giles stopped and turned to Buffy. "They're playing at Kilos next Saturday."

"Already? They must be good." Buffy bit her lip.

Giles paused. "Maybe. I haven't heard anything about them, except that they are associated with Walsh Incorporated. I think their lead singer is the son of somebody important in that company."

"Do you want us to check them out?" Xander asked.

Giles nodded. "Since your gig that night has been canceled, you'll be able to see what the talk is all about."

"Why did the Bronze cancel us anyway?" Tara softly asked.

"They said they accidently overbooked Saturday night." Giles paused. "That's never happened to us before, but I'm sure it was a one time mistake. But, we can take this as an opportunity to check out the competition."

Buffy nodded and looked forward to seeing this new band. She also hoped to run into a certain critic.

...



Buffy shook her head as Dawn bounced in her seat. It wasn't everyday that Dawn came with them when they weren't playing, but her mom wasn't feeling well and wanted to spend the evening in a quiet house. Buffy reluctantly let Dawn come to Kilos.

The stage lights changed, signaling that the show was about to start. The place was packed, and the crowd started to cheer as the band ran onstage.

"Hey, isn't that Toddie from the Sparks?" Willow pointed to the bass player.

Buffy thought the brunette man looked familiar. "I think it is. Did he join this band before or after they broke up?"

As the guitarist, drummer, and bassist played, Buffy thought they sounded pretty good. Suddenly, the excited shrills from a few females pierced the air, and a hulking man calmly walked out on stage. The lead singer, Buffy thought. Nodding her head in time to the music, she settled to hear him sing.

He was awful.

Buffy glanced at the rest of the table and saw that it wasn't just her. Everyone had either a confused or cringed look on their face.

"Maybe, he's just nervous," Willow said just loud enough for Buffy to hear.

Buffy wasn't sure about that. The lead singer had a cocky presence that made Buffy think that he was used to people praising him.

"That was a little number I wrote called 'Pretty Daisy'," The lead singer said, oblivious to the lack of applause after his song was finished. "My name is Adam, and this is my band, the Initiative!" The music started up again in an upbeat tempo. Again, Adam's singing was bad.

Buffy looked out into the crowd. There were a few people who seemed to enjoy the music, but many looked bored. One person caught her eye. Spike was starring at the band with a look of disbelief. The current band forgotten, Buffy's anger at Spike returned.

She pulled out the crumbled review from her pocket. "Excuse me, I'm going to get something to drink."

She made her way over to his table and crossed her arms over her chest. Spike looked up at her in surprise. Thrusting the review in front of him, she waited to see what he had to say.

Spike glanced at the column. "I'm a little busy right now, Love. But, if you want to thank me for the review, I can think of some ways to do it later." He curled his tongue and arched his eyebrow.

She snatched the review back, stuffing it in her pocket. "I'm not here to thank you, you idiot. I'm pissed off!"

"Now, what would cause such a pretty thing like you to be so upset?"

"You know why I'm mad." She gritted her teeth.

"I do?"

"You wrote this on purpose."

"Of course, I did. That's how I get paid."

"No, I mean you wrote these words just to..to...You know what I mean!"

The corner of Spike's mouth raised in a lazy smile. "What did you expect from me? I'm a critic, not a fan. It's in my nature to be harsh. If you want to make it big, take the column as free advice."

His nonchalant attitude infuriated her. With a huff, Buffy returned to her table.

"I thought you were getting a drink," Dawn commented.

"I changed my mind." Buffy tried to watch the rest of the show. Free advice indeed.

TBC





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