Chapter 1:
April 1999
With her lunch tray in one hand and silverware in other, Buffy continued to wait as Gary Miller picked up a third dessert in the front of the line, holding up traffic for the rest of his starving peers. She figured by the time Gary got around to paying lunch would be over.
“…I swear to god, Kennedy, if you don’t come to practice today I will ruin your life for the rest of time…”
Buffy turned around and directing her attention to Ms. Cordelia Chase dressed in her red and yellow cheerleading outfit waiting in line with the rest of them. Today was pep rally day, which meant it was ‘do as Cordy says’ day. The bossy brunette was barking commands on her cell phone as she stepped out of line and told one of her closest lackey’s to get her lunch.
“Get me a milk and banana…if they don’t have milk get me water…if they don’t bananas—“
”So, Buffy…”
Buffy looked back at her redheaded friend standing next to her, the sound of Cordelia’s voice was still hovering in the background.
“You start to do the senior poll yet?”
Buffy rolled her eyes and took a small step forward; she looked around the crowd of students in front of her and noticed that Gary was at the checkout. ‘Thank the lord’ she thought to herself.
“No…tempted to just throw it away…” Buffy muttered, “Seems rather clique to do…where are we Beverly Hills 90210? Cause I don’t see Luke Perry anywhere.”
“Don’t throw it away!” Willow whined, “I wanted you to do it with me…”
Buffy raised and eyebrow at her friend, “Willow, you actually are FOR this stupid poll? It’s a popularity contest.”
“It’s fun though…we can vote against all the people we hate…” Willow smiled evilly; the little redhead turned her head around and eyed Cordelia and the Cordettes.
“Ya…true…but does no one remember the senior poll of 94’, Worse Dressed turned out to be Susan Young…her dad lost his job that year and her house burned down. I can’t believe Snyder would actually allow this poll to continue after that.” Buffy remarked as she grabbed a milk carton.
“Well they aren’t letting Worst Dressed make an appearance in this poll…” Willow said as she shuffled through her books and notebooks in her hands. She opened one of her folders and pulled out the poll to show it to Buffy. “Most Athletic…Biggest Flirt…Biggest Ego…”
“That one is still sort of cruel.” Buffy said as she asked the lunch lady for a piece of lasagna.
“Most Likely to Succeed…Most Likely to Win the Nobel Peace Prize…” Willow continued.
“Aren’t those two sort of the same thing?”
”Most Likely to—“
”Most Likely to be a Pest, winner Spike Giles.” Buffy grumbled.
”Huh?” Willow looked up from her paper to see the bleached blonde haired man, dressed all in black, standing in front of Buffy grabbing an apple and a slice of cake.
“Spike, what the hell…you totally cut.” Buffy complained.
“Cool it Summers…wasn’t going to wait in that fucking line all day long…” Spike said as he moved back the end of the line to grab something to drink before going to the cashier.
Buffy stepped in front of him to block his path.
“Move it Sunshine.” Spike took a step to the side, Buffy mirrored him.
”No, I’m not letting you go…” Buffy argued.
“Umm…people starving back here.” A student called a few feet away.
”Shut up!” Both Spike and Buffy said.
“Go back to the end of the line Spike.” Buffy said as she took his apple out of his hand and put it back in the pile of fruit.
“What are you, the lunch monitor?”
“What are you…biggest… bleach prick?”
“Good come back love.”
Willow stepped between the two blondes, “Umm…Buffy, why don’t we just go pay for our lunch?”
“Ya…listen to Little Red.” Spike smirked as he reached over and grabbed his apple; he pocketed it in his black leather coat and then went to grab another one.
”Are you stealing food?”
“They’re like 49 cents Summers.” Spike rolled his eyes and brushed past her to the exit.
Buffy let out a frustrated growl, “How did Jenny and Giles get to have such a menace like Spike for a son?”
“He only does it because he knows it pisses you off.” Willow muttered as she grabbed herself an apple as well as an orange.
“He only does it because he has mush for brains.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So Summers, give anyone else a ticket for displaying improper lunchtime line manners?” Spike asked, causing everyone around the round table to stop conversing, turn to Buffy’s scowling face, and giggle.
Of all the boyfriends Buffy had to be with, she had to pick the one that was friends with the royal idiot. When Buffy turned to him she noticed he too was laughing along with the others. Under the table she gave her boyfriend a sharp kick in the leg.
“Owww…”
Spike chuckled at the petite fireball, “Easy love, don’t take all your frustration out on innocent bystanders…don’t want to bruise the boy.”
”Angel…would you please control the thing with the funny looking hair.” Buffy said to her boyfriend between her teeth.
Buffy guessed that Spike had sharp hearing, because he instantly commented on her remark, “Why don’t you come over here and control me yourself.”
“Layoff Spike” Angel sighed.
Spike rolled his eyes and turned back to his own girlfriend Drusilla, leaning in close to her and whispering into her ear.
“Why do we have to sit here?” Buffy complained quietly as she shielded her lips with her hand, hoping that the bleach wonder on the other side of the table, who still was glancing over at her, couldn’t hear her this time.
Angel sighed, “What’s wrong now?”
”What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Umm…hello, I don’t like to be picked on in front of everyone…not my idea of a good time.”
“It’s playful teasing…you know Spike--”
”Ya, I do know Spike. Knew him since he moved down the street from me ten years ago, and it turns out he’s still the same old booger brain as he was back then…apart from having different hair.”
”He’s harmless…”
Maybe so, Buffy thought, but she still didn’t like him.
“So Buffy, senior poll…you do it?” Xander Harris, another one of Buffy’s friends who was the table, decided to change the subject.
“No…” she shook her head with a sigh, “Probably won’t either…it’s a stupid poll that is meaningless and a waste of time.”
“Thanks Buffy…as one of the editors for the school newspaper and had to print off three hundred copies, I thank you.” Anya, Xander’s girlfriend scowled.
‘Oopps…’ Buffy cringed, she forgot about that.
“Sorry Anya…”
”Wait it go Summers, way to make your friends feel good about themselves.” Spike smirked.
Buffy turned to him and gave him a glare, “Shut up jackass-in-the-box.”
Spike only continued to smile in satisfaction, draping his arm around Drusilla and holding her close.
“Anya, didn’t you complain a day ago you thought it was stupid too?” Xander asked.
“Well…after making me do all that stupid work it doesn’t seem so meaningless now….so, you all better vote!” she threatened and pointed to everyone with her finger.
“Where were you when I was registering students to vote a few months ago?” Willow asked Anya.
Willow’s question went unanswered; everyone pulled out their senior polls and a pen and started circling names without thought. All except for Buffy and Spike.
“Aren’t you going to vote?” Willow said as she looked up at the blonde duo, noticing they weren’t doing anything, except for glaring at one another.
“No…” they both said simultaneously.
“Oh come on…its fun!” Xander smiled.
Willow checked over his shoulder, “Xander…you voted for yourself on almost half the categories.”
”So? Come on, like you aren’t doing the same?” Xander made a grab for Willow’s ballot.
“Hey!! That’s confidential!” Willow complained.
“You voted for Oz for Best Smile?” Xander gave her a humorous look.
“Shhhh!!!” Willow covered his mouth with her hand and looked around the cafeteria.
“Hey Rosenberg, I believe you got your paws on my mans lips.” Anya complained.
Willow rolled her eyes and snatched her paper back and muttered, “Oz has nice teeth.”
“Is there a nomination for Biggest Mouth on that sheet?” Buffy spoke up as she looked back over at Spike, “I believe that honor undoubtedly goes to Mr. Giles over here….”
Spike gasped, “You think my dad has a big mouth.”
”That’s it…I’m out of here…” Buffy got up with her tray in hand and book bag on her shoulder.
“It’s going to hurt his feelings when I tell him, pet!” Spike called out after her. Once she was half away towards the exit, he rose from his seat and decided to continue his fun of pestering Buffy by following her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
1 month later…
“What’s wrong Summers, no sense of humor?” Spike asked as he and Buffy traveled from the school parking lot to the school’s main doors.
“I’m not riding with you tomorrow.” Buffy complained.
“Sure you are…” Spike waved her threat off, “You do everyday.”
”Not after your little stunt.”
”What? I unlocked the door for ya.” He said in an innocent little voice.
“Then locked it again…” Buffy looked down at her top and saw that it was soaked.
“But then I unlocked.”
”Eventually…after ten minutes of ‘keep Buffy locked out in the rain’, seriously it’s like your ten years old again.”
“When did I ever do that to you?”
”Umm…do I need to remind you of the time you locked me out of your house after it started to thunder and lighting?”
“What? I didn’t know you were out there and I’m scared of thunder.”
”You were thirteen and scared of thunder?!”
The blonde duo started to walk down toward their group of friends that was standing near Buffy’s locker. Everyone was present minus Angel and Drusilla.
“I was ten…”
”Liar.”
”Bitch.”
”Hey Willow…” the annoyed tone in Buffy’s voice disappeared instantly, her happy face automatically went on as she addressed her best friend.
“Hey…” Willow smiled nervously.
“What’s up?” Buffy glanced at Willow then at Xander and Anya.
“Nothing…” Xander bit his lip as he glanced between Buffy and Spike.
“Looks like whelp has a secret, lucky for me…I don’t give a care.” Spike said as he walked around the group and went off to find his girlfriend.
Buffy groaned and shook her head at the retreating bleached boy, “I got to get myself a new ride to school.”
“Ummm…Buffy, the senior poll is posted in the school newspaper.”
”Oh really…” Buffy laughed, “Who got Biggest Ego? Please say Spike.”
”Umm…no…” Willow handed Buffy the Sunnydale High School paper.
“Biggest Ego was a tie…your boy toy Angel and Parker got that honor.” Anya smiled.
“Let’s go Anya…far far away…” Xander pushed his girlfriend down the hallway as he watched through the corner of his eye as Buffy continued to flip through the paper.
“But I want her to see—“
”Let’s go make out in the closet.” Xander interrupted.
”Okay…” Anya didn’t put up a fight anymore and willingly left in a hurry with Xander.
Buffy glanced up from the poll to see Xander scurry off, “What’s up with him?”
“Umm…I got to go too…need to see Giles in the library…need a few books…”
”Oh…well make sure to tell him—“ Buffy didn’t get a chance to finish, Willow was already gone.
“Strange…” she muttered to herself as she shook her head at her friend’s behavior and glanced down at the poll.
Buffy skimmed through the list of names in the right column, not bothering to look over at the left column at the list of categories. She came across some of her friends’ names, noting that they got some kind of recognition. Buffy decided she would look back later to see what they actually won. Right now, Buffy was looking for her own name. Surprisingly, she found it at the very bottom. However, it wasn’t alone. She did a double take at the name placed right next to hers.
‘NO WAY’ she thought as she saw Spike’s name right next to her, ‘It HAS to be a typo…the only way his name would be next to mine is if the category was ‘Most Likely to Kill Each Other...’
When Buffy glided her finger over to the left column to see what they were both listed for, she opened her mouth and screamed.
There, in black in white, for the whole student body to read…
‘Most Likely to Marry… Buffy Summers and Spike Giles’
TBC….