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

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"Why are you making us go to this?" Xander threw his head back with a groan.

Buffy cast him an annoyed look in the rear view mirror. "Riley wants us to come see the Initiative. So, everybody pretend they're good."

Willow shifted in her seat. "Maybe we can figure out why they're so popular."

"I still say they're paying people to come." Xander smiled. "I hope so - I could use some extra cash."

"I don't think even Walsh Incorporated has that much money. Something else is up." Tara softly spoke up from the back of the car.

"You don't think it's mind control, do you? Because I like my mind the way it is." Xander almost sounded worried, before breaking out in a grin.

Buffy laughed. She was glad Xander, Willow, and Tara came with her. Spike had refused to come, but she understood why. If Maggie Walsh caused Buffy to lose her band, she wouldn't want to come to one of their shows, either.

As she pulled into the parking lot of the Bronze, she brimmed with jealousy. The lot was full. Why did the Initiative get to play here, while the Scoobies were stuck playing at tiny bars?

Inside was just as packed as the outside lot. Riley had saved them a table, so they didn't need to search for one. He couldn't stay around, though, so with a kiss he left Buffy to go work. Xander and Tara went to get drinks.

Buffy turned to Willow, happy to have her alone for a minute. "Riley has this friend, and I was thinking that we could go on a double date." When Willow didn't say anything, she continued. "I know you probably aren't over Oz, but you don't have to think of this as a real date.."

"I'm already seeing someone." Willow looked at her hands.

"You are? Who is he?" Buffy felt hurt. She thought Willow could tell her anything. She forced herself to keep her smile. "Maybe we can.."

Willow placed her hand on Buffy's. "Buffy, I'm with Tara now."

Buffy tried to say something, but her tongue was tied. Willow's seeing Tara?

"But, you're straight," she blurted. She immediately regretted her choice of words.

"Apparently, I'm not." Willows eyes began to mist. "I need to.." She stood up and hurried into the women's room.

"Willow.." Buffy whispered.

Xander stopped in front of the table and glanced at where Willow ran. "What happened?"

"I said the wrong thing." Buffy laid her head in her hands.

Tara set her drink on the table. "I'll go talk to her."

Buffy watched Tara go into the restroom. She didn't mean to upset Willow, but she would never had thought that they two of them were dating. Tara and Willow had grown close, but Buffy just assumed Willow felt Tara needed a friend. Willow used to be very shy in high school, and being in the band helped bring her out of her shell.

"Anya, what are you doing here? And with Spike?" Xander's voice broke into Buffy's thoughts.

Buffy tore herself away from watching the restroom door to see Anya sit down next to Xander. Spike smiled a little and also sat at the table. Buffy felt a little better that he came - his presence was a comfort. She chided herself, though. Spike shouldn't make herself feel better.

"I need to talk to Willow." Buffy stood up in order to walk to the restroom.

Spike cocked his head to the side, his smile gone. "Don't go on account of me."

"Buffy said something to Willow that upset her." Xander shrugged. "Some girl stuff, I suppose."

Buffy shook her head slightly. "I have to talk to her," she repeated, walking past them.

She didn't like the fact that the first thought she had seeing Spike was that he'd understand. She could do this without him. Willow had been her good friend for the past five years. She didn't feel closer to anybody else, except maybe Xander. For the first time, she felt shut out of Willow's life. She had to try and change that.

Tara was holding Willow in the restroom and met Buffy's eyes when she walked in. She didn't seem to condemn or judge Buffy.

"Willow, I'm sorry." Buffy clasped her hands together. She took a deep breath. "I was just surprised. I'm happy you found someone. I really am."

Willow looked up from Tara's shoulder with tear stained cheeks. "Thank you." She smiled weakly.

Buffy hesitantly walked over to Willow and hugged her. Tara stood back and watched them with a small smile. Most of the guilt had disappeared, but Buffy felt deep down that things weren't the same as they were before. She pushed that nagging feeling away. Everything will get better with time, she thought.

Willow sniffed and pushed away from Buffy. "Hey, let's get back before they start playing."

Buffy was happy to see that Willow was attempting to be her old cheerful self. "Let's see if they've improved," she said with a laugh.

The three of them returned to the table. Spike looked bored, while Anya and Xander were arguing.

"You're supposed to buy me a drink. That's what men do on dates." Anya pouted.

Xander shook his head. "We're on a date? I didn't even know you were coming, and you showed up with Spike."

"He just offered me a ride." She turned to Spike. "You said he'd be happy to see me. He doesn't look happy."

Spike only shrugged. "He's a fool if he can't be happy to see you, luv."

Buffy narrowed her eyes and sat down next to him. "Why are you here? I thought you said you'd rather eat your own entrails."

"I changed my mind. Wanted to see why they keep bringing in the big crowds." Spike took a drink from his beer and made a face. "American beers."

Buffy picked up her own drink and took a sip. The ice hadn't melted yet, even though Xander bought it five minutes ago. "I hope you're not planning on doing anything during the show."

He raised his eyebrow, amused. "Like what?"

"Boo. Heckle. Things like that."

Spike chuckled. "You think I'd do something like that?"

"Well, you can't give them another scathing review."

"No, I can't." Spike turned in his seat to face the stage. Buffy closed her eyes. Is tonight, "put foot in mouth" night? Well, she wasn't about to apologize to him. She glanced at the rest of the table to see if they thought she should, and found that they were all occupied with each other. Willow and Tara were quietly talking to each other, and Xander was trying to get his wallet back from Anya. She felt left out of her friend's lives.

Riley sat down on the other side of her, and she felt the happiest she'd ever felt to see him. She ignored the fact that it was only because she was lonely. Spike glanced at Riley and looked back at the stage. It annoyed her that he was ignoring her.

"I just realized that tomorrow night is the first Saturday since we started seeing each other that we are both off." Riley smiled at Buffy.

Buffy smiled and didn't mention that not having a gig on a Saturday night, especially nowadays, wasn't a good thing, but he seemed happy. "The Initiative isn't playing tomorrow?"

"It's Maggie's birthday. She and Adam have plans."

Spike mumbled something, but Riley didn't seem to hear him.

"I was thinking that we should do something." Riley leaned in close. "We haven't spent much time alone."

Buffy was aware that Spike stiffened beside her. He was never going to like Riley because of Maggie Walsh, but that was his problem. Riley wasn't Maggie or Adam.

"I'd love to," she replied with a smile.

With the roar of the crowd, Riley settled back on his seat. Oh, boy, Buffy thought. The band was playing one of the songs she heard them play at Kilos - a catchy, generic song. Adam, however, surprised her. It was if they had gotten a new singer who looked just like him. His voice was like velvet, and it brought shivers to her spine. To say she was impressed with the improvement would be an understatement.

The rest of the set was the same. Adam sang beautifully. Something was up. She looked to Riley to see if he suspected anything, but he was just smiled even more at her. Willow and Xander had confused looks on their faces. Spike was turned away from her, so she couldn't see what he was thinking.

Riley left during the last song, so he would be there to help out when they finished. Spike turned and glared at him as he walked away.

"That's not Adam singing." Spike drank the rest of his beer.

"Are you accusing them of pulling a Milli Vanilli?" Buffy pushed her own suspicions aside. Riley couldn't be involved in something like that. "You're just bitter because you got fired."

Spike narrowed his eyes. "Maybe you can't see the truth because of Riley."

Willow touched Buffy's arm from across the table. "Adam did improve a little too much."

"No." She shook her head. "There has to be another explanation. Maybe he was just nervous last time or had a cold, or maybe the sound system was bad."

"Maybe," Willow said softly.

"Well, what do you think?" Buffy turned to Xander and Tara.

Xander held his hands up. "I don't know. He sounds much better than he did at Kilos."

Tara shrugged with apologetic eyes. Buffy turned away from all of them to watch Riley carry a speaker off the stage. He saw her and smiled. They were all wrong, she told herself.

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Buffy tried to block out the clanging with her pillow, but it was no use. Could her mother and sister be any louder? She mentally listed sleeping in on Saturday as another reason to move out. Throwing on a robe, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

Her mom and sister were giggling as batter oozed out of the waffle iron. Buffy felt a tinge of jealousy at their closeness. Ever since she lived in a dorm for a year, living at home hadn't been the same.

"See, I told you that was too much batter." Her mom grabbed a fork and scrapped the batter off the side. She looked up to see Buffy. "Hey, you're a awake."

Buffy ran a hand through her hair and smiled a bit. "You guys were making too much noise."

"Do you want a waffle?" Her mother opened the cabinet to grab her a plate.

Buffy shook her head as she sat at the table. "No, I'll just have some juice."

Her mother frowned. "You really should eat more."

"She's probably hung-over." Dawn plopped her plate on the table and began to pour chocolate syrup on the waffle.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm not hung over, I had one drink last night." She crinkled her nose at Dawn's waffle, which now included a sliced banana. "It's a wonder I ever get hungry when you eat like that."

Dawn took a bite and smiled like the Cheshire cat. "Yum!"

Joyce sat across from her daughters. "Since you're off tonight, I thought we could all do something - like go out to eat, rent cheesy movies, talk about boys."

Buffy smiled. "I have a date with Riley tonight. Maybe we could do something this afternoon."

"I have to work at the galley this afternoon. We're having a new exhibit Monday, and I need to help set it up." Joyce sighed. "I feel like we never do anything together anymore. You're so busy with school and the band."

"I know, mom." Buffy rubbed her forehead. Her mother wasn't trying to make her feel guilty, but sometimes it felt like it.

"Well, Dawn and I can do something, then."

"I'm going to take a shower." Buffy left the kitchen, trying push away the nagging feeling that she should spend that night with her family.

For the rest of the day, Buffy kept busy. There was studying and homework to catch up on. She also tried to play her guitar. Spike had encouraged her to try different things, and not to just practice the same old styles. She found herself wondering what he was doing instead.

Shaking her head, she put her guitar down. It was a good time to go to the store like her mom had asked earlier. She wasn't getting much practice done with Spike on her mind.

It wasn't a very long grocery list, mostly essentials. As Buffy headed towards the milk, she caught a glimpse of a man with bleached hair. She shook her head. Now you think you see Spike everywhere, she chided herself. He lives in another town, so he's not going to be at this grocery store. The man turned, and Buffy froze. It was Spike.

Tilting her head, she watched him pick up a block of cheese and examine it. She walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "What are you doing in Sunnydale?"

He turned to her, surprised.

"Buying food." He held up his basket.

"I can see that. Why aren't you buying groceries at a store near your home?"

"I am." He smiled at her confused expression. "I got a place in the complex down the street."

"You moved here? Why?" Her stomach did flip flops at the idea that she'd see him more often.

"I had to drive forty five minutes each way when I came here." He shrugged. "My lease was up, anyway, so I decided to move. I finished moving this morning."

"Just like that." Buffy grabbed a bag of cheddar cheese cubes and put it in her basket.

He gave her a lazy smile that set her heart racing. "I think we'll see each other a lot more, now."

He was much more pleasant when Riley wasn't around, she thought. Buffy inwardly groaned. She wasn't going to get him off her mind if she kept running into him. He was making things complicated, and she wanted to push him away. "Well, I need to get home. I have a date in a few hours."

He pursed his lips. "Have fun." He placed the block of cheese in his basket and walked away.

Buffy's heart twisted, and she felt like she was betraying Spike. Spike knew Riley had nothing to do with his column, though. It's his problem, she told herself, trying to push the guilt away.

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TBC - review please





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