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Chapter 1: Meet Buffy Summers

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Buffy Summers was a teenager that now resided in the small town of Sunnydale, California. She had lived in Los Angeles with her Mother, but they recently moved because her mom, Joyce met a local of Sunnydale; they fell in love and married soon after.

At the young age of ten, Buffy’s parents divorced. Her father ran off with his secretary-barely half his age-and now lived somewhere in Europe. She hadn’t seen him since the day he walked out. A part of her was hurt by that, but another was excited for a new life she would have in Sunnydale.

Joyce and Rupert Giles- who preferred to be called Giles- met while at an art history museum. Buffy thought nothing of their first interaction because her mom had never bothered to date up until that time. That was why she was a bit surprised to be standing in a house, owned by Giles, living in Sunnydale just two days after the wedding.

Giles was now her step-dad and she figured she was okay with that. She had never seen her mother so happy; and if she had to move to the small town of Sunnydale to keep that smile on her mother’s face, then it suited her just fine.

Buffy also didn’t mind because after her father ran out she got involved with the wrong crowd. She didn’t participate in their foolish antics but she had been blamed for the burning of the school gym. One of her ‘friends’ had thought it would be funny to start it before an assembly meeting. As Buffy ran to stomp it out, her ‘friend’ had already ran away. She was the only one in the room when the principal raced into the gym. He gave her no time to explain herself and within the hour she was expelled.

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Buffy groaned at the sound of her alarm clock. For the last week she was able to skip school because of the recent change and move. However, vacations can’t last forever. She climbed out of bed just as her mother came to check on her.

“You awake, sweetie? If you’re ready in thirty minutes, Giles can drive you to school so you don’t have to walk.”

Buffy mumbled something along the lines of ‘yes, mother’ then went to her closet. She studied her abundance of clothes with the most important question ever- ‘What should she wear for the first day of school?’ She chose a white tank top with a blue, partially buttoned up dress shirt and black pants. She would tie the dress shirt at her waist to give herself an edge. After a shower, she put her outfit on and starred at herself in the mirror. She hoped the outfit would come off as popular, yet approachable and friendly. Not knowing what to do with her hair, she pulled it back in a partial ponytail leaving her bangs to fall to the side. Shuffling out of her room she put on her black boots with the chunky heels, and barely grabbing two pieces of bread she hopped into Giles’s car.

You could tell he was a librarian because the scattered books in the back seat and even on the floor where her feet now were. She sat dutifully though, not complaining knowing soon she would get her license to be able to drive herself around. Buffy recently turned sixteen but hadn’t bothered her mom with that yet; she’d be nice and wait until things settled down.

“Do you have everything you need, dear?” Giles asked, after only receiving a nod from Buffy he continued, “Would you like a ride after school? I am able to drive you home if you don’t want to walk.”

Buffy smiled, trying to be nice even though she didn’t know her new step-dad well enough, “Sure. That would be nice.” Giles smiled happy to see Buffy responding and pulled into his parking space.

Buffy stepped out of the car and frowned. She thought it would completely different from L.A but there were still the popular kids standing by the door gawking at the others around them; they were snapping their gum, pointing their fingers and laughing. Buffy used to be in that crowd until rumors had gotten around about her dad’s affairs. Buffy let out a sigh, glancing around at the others. There were a few that she would call nerds, sitting down on the benches with their gadgets keeping them busy. Then still another group of biker kids who were using their skateboards and bikes to do tricks showing off for the girls around them. She saw a few couples that had their arms around each other. She gave a slight shrug and started moving, realizing that standing next to her step-dad’s car wasn’t going to help her make any friends.

Giles gave her a friendly wave as they went their separate ways. Buffy could hear his voice as she followed a distance behind him. He was greeting everyone he passed and got an equally cheerful greeting in response. He seemed to fit in very well at the school. She continued walking towards the door, minding her own business when a boy collided into her. When she turned she witnessed his very ungraceful fall backwards on his skateboard as he avoided the railing on the front steps. A flash of red zoomed by her and went to kneel in front of him.

“Xander! Are you ok? That was a close one. You almost didn’t keep your head.”

Xander ran his hand through his hair with a slight grin although he looked embarrassed, “Yea. That last turn was a doozy.”

Buffy found herself smiling at the two even as the red head introduced herself, “Hi. You must be the new girl. I haven’t seen you before. My names Willow.”

She offered her hand and Buffy took it. “Yup, new girl at your service,” she took an elegant bow. “I’m, Buffy.”
Willow laughed then hit the brunette on the shoulder because he was still gawking at Buffy.

“Introduce yourself!” The brunette continued to stare so Willow offered his name, “He’s Xander. We’ve been friends for forever. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to him.”

Buffy giggled as Xander snapped out of his daze, “Best friends ever since you offered me that yellow crayon.” Willow blushed making her cheeks match her red hair.
“Do you know your schedule yet?” Willow asked. Buffy shook her head and Willow, again, gave a genuine smile. “Come on. I’ll take you inside to see the Principal.”

Buffy entered the Principal’s office not knowing what to expect. The last time she had entered one she’d been expelled. Now she got anxious every time she thought of a principal.

A secretary ushered her in. “Come in. Mr. Flutie will be with you shortly.”

She rubbed her sweaty palms together as she sat down across from his desk. He entered the room with a stern look and pulled her transcript out. After shuffling through them, he finally spoke.

“Buffy Summers, sophomore, late of Hemery High in Los Angeles. Interesting record, quite the career…” then to Buffy’s surprise, he ripped them right down the middle. She felt a little hope enter her as she watched, “Welcome to Sunnydale! A clean slate, Buffy, that's what you get here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what it says on a piece of paper, even if it says--- “ Buffy cringed as he started to reassemble the piece of paper. Obviously he had found her ‘pyro record’. “Whoa…”

Buffy felt nervous as she tried to find something to help her case, “I know my transcripts are a little…colorful.” It was the best word she could come up with to describe the last few months of her life in L.A. Mr. Flutie looked at Buffy and then at the transcript, collecting tape to put it back together.

“Do you think, uh, 'colorful' is the word? Not, uh, 'dismal'?”

Buffy felt her defenses go up. She wasn’t that bad of a student. She got good grades and had no issues until the last few months of her school career. She tried to stand up for herself, “It wasn’t THAT bad!” Mr. Flutie didn’t look impressed and definitely not convinced.

He stared at the transcripts in shock, “You burned down the gym!”

Buffy looked sorry, “It wasn’t all me. I know it looks bad but I swear I was trying to put out the fire. Some other kids started it and I was left with the mess. It won’t ever happen again.”

Mr. Flutie held up his hand to stop her ranting, “Buffy, don't worry. Any other school might say 'watch your step', or 'we'll be watching you'... But, that's just not the way here. We want to service your needs, and help you to respect our needs. And if your needs and our needs don't mesh...” He gave her a look tapping the red “Dismissed” that was stamped across her transcript. She nodded, trying to appear hopeful even as the principal nodded, “I’m sure we will be just fine, Buffy. Your step-father has excellent things to say about you and I look forward to seeing you fulfill them.” Buffy gave him a thin smile as he beamed one at her even as his eyes were threatening. “As I said before, welcome to Sunnydale!”

Buffy scampered out of the office and accepted the small piece of paper with her schedule on it. She was nervous but this was a new start; it was a fresh start to her high school career. This time things would be better. This time things would be right. She would just have to work extra hard to make sure of that.

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Buffy ended up fitting in nicely with her new friends, Xander and Willow. Willow was a shy girl who had a secret crush on Xander. He on the other hand was too busy dating, Cordelia to even notice. Buffy had to admit, she never did care for Cordelia. She had invited Buffy to try out for cheerleader when she found out that Buffy had been head of the cheerleading squad in L.A. Turned out that Cordelia merely wanted her to audition so she could laugh and deny her. Buffy had left rejected but then after seeing how the squad was made up of the girls who were bullies at school, she decided she didn’t want to be a part of that anyway. They were always making fun of Xander, and others like him, and were always giving Willow a hard time. They mostly left Buffy alone but she found it difficult to like someone who would bad mouth a person as soon as they turned their back and sometimes before that point.

Cordelia was no different only she liked to hide her relationship with Xander. Buffy wished them all the luck in the world, secretly knowing luck wouldn’t fix their issues. Cordelia was too shallow to keep a guy like Xander. He was judgmental as well but was really one of the good guys. He would protect anyone he cared about, even getting into fights he could barely walk out of to protect someone; he had a huge heart. Willow on the other hand, was a computer geek. She spent her free time playing computer games, doing research and got along great with Buffy’s new step-dad since she loved the library as well. Overall, the group got along well and was inseparable. Who knew that within just four months, Buffy would have a new school, a new group of friends, a new house and even a now complete family. Buffy thought her life was complete but little did she know that within a few days, her whole world would be turned upside down by someone who went by the name Spike.

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Chapter 2: End of the School Year Dance

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Before Buffy knew it, the school year was almost over. She had made it through her sophomore year without any faults. She became very good friends with Willow and Xander. She developed a special bond with them. She knew she could trust them with anything. The end of the school year dance was shortly arriving and she couldn’t be more excited. The freshman and sophomore’s weren’t able to have prom and thankfully, after a fuss from the popular people, the principal agreed to have a dance at the Bronze for them. It would be considered a formal occasion and dates were allowed. The only problem with that was that she was dateless. She didn’t find any of the boys at Sunnydale High attractive or interesting. Thankfully Xander had broken up with the horrible, Cordelia Chase and was now dating Anya, a very vocal and abrupt girl but very nice. During the school year her and Willow had gone out on one of their many girl dates and met Oz, her now current boyfriend. He was in the band The Dingoes Ate My Baby that were playing at the dance.

Luckily the band planned to play fast songs for most of the night. After they played, the karaoke would start and later the gushy love songs would start-which is when she planned to make her exit.

Buffy looked out the car window and waited for her friend. Her, Anya and Willow were going shopping for the perfect dress. She and Anya started chuckling when she ran so fast out of her home that she nearly tripped. She managed to catch her barring’s and continued to the car at a much slower pace.

“Good one, Wills.” Buffy and Anya said together after Willow sat down and closed the door.

“Ha-Ha. Very funny,” Willow smiled and laughed with them. “Ready to go shopping?”

Buffy had become very close with Giles. He was a good man and treated her and her mother well. He was nice enough to give her weekly allowances to help her pay for the dress she would get today. She also saved the birthday money him and her mom had given her. She had a few hundred dollars to spend.

“I am so excited! I’m used to dances all the time in L.A. This is the first one all year.”

“Me too,” Anya chimed in, “Only I don’t know what to wear. What would Xander like?”

“Anya, he’s going to love anything you wear,” Buffy responded.

“Yeah. I’m nervous too. What’s Oz going to like?” Willow’s bit her lip as she thought about it.

“Same for you, Wills. He’ll love anything--”

“---You don’t need to worry because you don’t have a boyfriend, Buffy.” Anya was nothing if not blunt. Buffy brushed it off though. She knew that Anya never meant anything she said as hurtful.

Willow looked over at Buffy. “I want a pink dress- a pink dress with tons of lace and ruffles. It is a Victorian themed dance, after all. Ruffles and lace is Victorian, right?”

“Yes, milady, they are,” Buffy giggled. “I want the dress that I feel most beautiful. I’ll know it when I put it on.”

Anya gazed out the window and then quickly bounced in her seat to face her friends. “I’ve got it! I want a white dress with the ruffle thing and blue trim because that Xander’s favorite color. I want it to be long enough to cover my shoes and my hair will be tied with a blue ribbon. Xander will want to ravish me in a dress like that. He’ll give me many orgasms,” she paused at the girl’s sudden looks of shock. “What?”

After she heard Giles clear his throat from the front seat she understood their looks. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “Woops.”

Giles pulled into the parking lot and the three of them eagerly jumped out from the car.

“I’ll be in the Barnes and noble having a coffee,” Giles said. “Just come get me when you’re ready.” The three girls disappeared into the dress shop hoping to find something perfect to wear.

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Willow, Anya and Buffy took turns standing in front of Buffy’s mirror of her vanity. Willow’s parents were gone traveling, as they often did, leaving her closest friend alone. Willow spent most night at Buffy’s and so tonight would be another one of those nights. Anya had come over after school that day to get ready for the dance. Her aunt was a chaperone so had to arrive to the dance early which left Anya without a ride. Giles, being good-natured, had invited her to be taken by him.

Buffy grinned when she looked over her dress and her friends.-they looked stunning. The three of them crammed in front of the mirror to finish the last of their makeup. Willow had chosen a soft pink dress with white ruffles. The dress was a high neck dress unlike Buffy’s low cut red dress that was made of silk and very shiny. Anya had found her perfect white dress with blue trim. It had a low round neck which made her breast stand out which officially sold her on the dress. They had all gone as far as to get corsets and silk stocking to complete their Victorian ensembles.

Earlier in the day, the girls had taken turns curling each other’s hair. Willow’s red hair had been curled into long ringlets and she had pulled her hair up onto her head, making the ringlets fall across her cheeks. Buffy had chosen a half updo with long ringlets. She had also temporarily dyed her hair darker for the occasion since Anya had decided to go blonde so her hair didn’t clash with her white dress.

The girls heard Giles yell, “You girls ready to go? You don’t want to be late.”

The three giggling girls walked down the stairs as Buffy grinned at her step-dad, “Don’t you know it’s good to be fashionably late?”

Giles shook his head at Buffy but the grin planted on his face told her he appreciated her humor. The three girls collected their clutches that matched their outfits and after dozens of pictures taken by Joyce, had gingerly sat in the car eager to start the evening.

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We were both young when I first saw you

Anya’s face shined with joy as she danced with Xander. She had never been to a dance before because she was very sheltered by her parents. They had passed away a few months ago and that was what brought her to Sunnydale. She now lived with her aunt and uncle. Buffy and Willow were dancing close to the stage so her friend could be close to Oz. Willow was anxiously waiting for ten when Oz would be able to spend time with her.

Everyone was enjoying the loud and fast music. The band itself was amazing and hardly even took a chance for a break. They were playing three hours of straight music and Oz’s voice still sounded great.

A guy met Buffy’s eyes from across the room. She had never seen him before so she figured he was someone’s date. There were some others outside the school there but most were students.

Buffy smiled shyly at the guy, meeting his blue eyes with her green and then shyly looked away as his gaze from across the room became too intense. When she looked back up, the guy was not where he was before and despite Buffy’s attempts, she couldn’t find him again. As the next song started, Buffy found herself lost in the music, forgetting about the blue-eyed sexy guy who had caught her interest.

I close my eyes and the flashback starts

Buffy was hot and sweaty by the time ten rolled around. She hadn’t allowed herself the pleasure of taking a break, knowing at ten she wouldn’t be able to dance much. One thing Buffy loved about dancing is how she lost herself in the music and forgot for a moment she was who she was and instead imagined herself as a professional dancer. The music would fill her mind and she would just move with the beat.

Others had told her that she was a good dancer and thought it was because of the cheerleading she had done for years, or perhaps it was because of the one year of ballet lessons she had taken when she was younger. People would be surprised to find out it was actually because of the years she took in karate. It taught her self-discipline and to be in tuned with the way your body moves naturally.

When ten o’clock finally rolled around, she watched as Willow disappeared further into the dance floor with Oz and Xander and Anya fell into a slow dance. It left Buffy as the fifth wheel. This had been Buffy’s planned exit time but she needed to take the time to say goodbye to her friends. Right now though, she needed air and a drink. She pushed her hair from her face again She sipped her drink as she walked towards the balcony.

I’m standing there on a balcony in summer air

Searching for some kind of cooler air, Buffy climbed the stairs to the balcony. The doors leading to the outside were flung upon to allow the slight breeze in. A large industrial fan had been set up there to help draw in the cooler air to create even more of a breeze.

See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns

Buffy leaned over the edge of the balcony, looking at the dance floor below. The room was filled with numerous couples-all the women in flowing dresses. It was a beautiful sight. The song was a slow song, allowing for the closeness some couples craved after a busy night of fast dancing

She let out a sigh, resting her glass over the edge allowing the fan to blow her hair from her face. She continued to look on at the couples that seemed to be so in love. They held each other close as they swayed to the woman singing about love on stage.

Buffy had never been in love and found herself musing over the happy couples. She felt as though she didn’t belong to that world.

See you make your way through the crowd

And say hello, little did I know

Buffy glanced down from the balcony to see the young man from earlier who had caught her eye. He was definitely sexy and handsome. He had bleached blond hair that was slightly curly. The curls made her have the urge to run her fingers through it and mess it up. She watched as he raised his eyebrow towards her with a slight grin and made his way up the stairs to where she stood alone with her body overlooking the crowd. She held her breath, nervous since she hadn’t been looked at in that way ever. It made her feel exposed but in a good way.

She planted a smile on her face as the young man finally reached the top of the stairs and smirked at her.

She whispered, “Hello” and smiled as he greeted her back.

“ ‘Ello. Not dancing anymore?”

Buffy shook her head, thankful that the breeze had at least made her less sweaty so her hair bounced instead of sticking to her face. Buffy leaned forward a bit as the young man did the same so they were resting their elbows next to each other on the railing, “I was dancing all night and needed a break.”

“You deserved one with your dancing skills. I was watching you all night. Name’s, Spike.”

Buffy melted at his British accent. She had never heard such an amazing accent on someone before. She could listen to him all day and night and never grow tired of it.

“My name is Buffy. Pleasure to meet you, sir,” she curtsied.

“Pleasure is all mine, my luv,” he grinned. “So care to have the next dance?”

Buffy giggled nervously as she nodded her head. Spike took her hand in his and led her down the stairs. The song was another slow song and Buffy gasped as she felt herself being pulled against Spike so close she could have sworn every inch of her touched his body. She rested her head on his shoulder, feeling the cooler leather under her hand.

He wasn’t dressed in Victorian style clothing but instead in a long leather trench coat covering black jeans and a red tight shirt. She felt herself take in a deep breath and forced herself to let it out gently not wanting to get too light headed. She could feel his chest through his shirt and she could feel how in shape he was.

She was so engrossed with fantasizing that she barely heard Spike as he asked her, “New here? I haven’t seen you around before.”

“Well I moved here at the beginning of this school year. I’m a sophomore at Sunnydale High. I’ve never been to the Bronze before.”

Spike let her lean back so they could meet each other’s gazes. His intense blue eyes met her green ones, “I go there too but I’m a junior. I get to head out into the deep dark world year after next, only I’m putting off going to college.”

Buffy nodded intrigued by him. She felt his hands rubbing slight circles over her hips not seeming intimidated by the amount of clothing she had on. It was as though he were trying to get to her skin rather than deal with the extra layers she had put on. She felt her head swim as he pulled her closer still, “So what do you do for fun if you don’t come here?”

Buffy wasn’t sure how to respond. She didn’t want Spike to think she was uncool. Usually she went to the mall or hung out at Willow’s house. Where was the cool and adventure in that?!

Buffy bit her lower lip as Spike chuckled, “That wasn’t meant to be a hard question, luv.”

Buffy felt embarrassed as she admitted, “I don’t do much for fun. I never did get to know the fun places to hang out because my friends and I just hang out together. I usually just go to my friend’s house and we like to watch movies.”

Spike grinned. “You should go to the movie theater sometime. It’s a great place to hangout. They have the local arcade there and play new and older movies on occasions. Would you like to go sometime with me?”

Buffy felt her heart race as she leaned forward to nod in agreement, “I’d like that…a lot.”

Spike smiled at her, a gentle sort of smile but it still managed to take her breath away, “Me too, pet.”

Buffy blushed at his names for her. The rest of the dance was spent in a comfortable silence as she enjoyed the way he smelt and felt against her body. When the dance ended, it went into a faster pace song. Buffy almost groaned as he broke the contact but still held her hand.

He led her from the dance floor asking, “Want to go for a walk somewhere? This band isn’t as good and karaoke will only be worse. The outside air will be cooler…”

His eyes searched hers and she nodded. “I have to go tell my friends. Wait here?”

Spike nodded ordering a drink to go and ordering another diet coke for Buffy.

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Chapter 3: A Walk in Paradise

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Buffy went to Willow, “Oz is bringing you home, right?”

Willow’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, “Oh yes. Doesn’t he look amazing tonight? He’s ordering drinks for us. Are you leaving now?”

Buffy was tempted to admit she was leaving with someone but another part of her wanted to keep this sexy junior all to her. She decided to just play it safe. “Yeah, Giles is coming for me in a few. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need a ride.”

Willow looked past Buffy as her eyes glazed over slightly. Buffy knew Willow was definitely in love with Oz. It shown in her face every time he entered the room, smiled at her or someone even mentioned his name. “I’m just fine. Oz will take good care of me. Look, here he comes now with our drinks.”

Buffy smiled eager to get back to Spike and leaned towards her friend’s ear, “Have fun, but not too much fun.”

Willow giggled and gave a wave to Buffy. The blonde disappeared to make sure Xander and Anya were alright with her leaving. She found them sitting together in a booth, talking. She sat down across from them.

“You guys going to be ok with a ride tonight?”

“Anya’s aunt will take us home when the dance is over. You’re leaving now, Buff?”

Buffy nodded even as her eyes met Spike’s from across the room. He toasted her with his drink and she felt herself grow warm with excitement, “Yea. Giles is on his way. Have fun!”

Anya smiled at Buffy as Xander gave a slight wave. “We will, Buffster. “ Buffy practically sprinted back to where Spike was holding her drink and her coat. She looked at him curiously and he answered without her even asking, “I watched you walk in and saw which coat was yours, Buffy Summers.”

Buffy smiled and put it over her arm because it was too hot to wear. Not only was the room hot but Spike was still making her feel overheated. She drank up her drink in a hurry, setting her glass down and watched as Spike took a shot of whatever he had been drinking and finishing it in one swallow. He even looked great drinking. She felt her knees go weak as he held out a hand towards her. “Shall we go?” Buffy had no choice but to fall in step beside him as he wrapped one arm around her waist, guiding her out of the Bronze for the night.

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Less than ten minutes later, Buffy found herself on the back of a motorcycle being taken to Sunnydale Park. It was near a cemetery but surprisingly so peaceful. Since all the younger people were at the dance, they had the park all to themselves. Spike led her to the gazebo in the center of the park, allowing her to sit down in the breeze. She longed for less clothing but couldn’t see how she could remove anything without coming off as easy.

She frowned as she looked down and Spike chuckled. “I don’t know what all you have on under that dress but if you want, I’ll turn around and you can take some of those bloody layers off. You have got to be hot in that.” Buffy’s frown deepened as he continued, “I don’t mean for you to strip. I’m not going to shag you, at least not tonight. I just wanted you more comfortable. I’m not sure why your class thought 1800s was a great year for the style of dresses. You look amazing but the layers and the heat, they don’t mix, luv.”

Buffy took the coat he offered and watched as he turned around. She slipped the coat over her to protect her modesty and then lowered the stocking down her legs. Struggling with buttons was her next feat. Buffy managed to get enough undone so she could loosen the petticoat under it leaving that drop to the ground. The dress seemed huge to her now but it allowed for air. She managed to get the dress re-zippered leaving herself in only her corset, which she needed to not have the dress showing off her breasts and the dress itself. She didn’t even bother to slip on her shoes as she removed the coat and sat down.

“You can turn around now.”

Spike shook his head as he sat down next to her and noticed the pile of clothes she had next to her. “I don’t know how those girls back then bloody well did it. I imagine most would die from heat exhaustion with no air conditioning available.”

Buffy grinned. “All they did was lay about and fan their faces. That’s probably why there was no fast dancing so that they didn’t pass out. Besides, passing out can be romantic, as long as a gentleman was there to catch her.”

“Like being rescued as a damsel in distress” Spike laughed. “Somehow passing out on the bleeding floor and busting your head wide open doesn’t seem so romantic to me.”

Buffy adjusted her dress that was bellowing out around her ankles as she moved closer to him. Eager to change the topic she opted for another safer topic. “So what do you plan to be when you grow up?”

Spike chuckled and Buffy felt embarrassed having worded it that way. Spike didn’t seem to mind as he answered, “I’m thinking of being an English major. I’ve always wanted to write for a living but I’d hate to be stuck with newspaper articles or history books only. I want to write adventure novels and science fiction but I know the money isn’t to be had with that. I was tempted to be a self-defense instructor so that all my karate training doesn’t go to waste but I don’t want it to seem like a sodding chore. It’s something I do to escape life, not to make a living.” Buffy still was amazed by his accent as she struggled to keep up with the conversation and not disappear into dreamland. She came back to earth in time to hear him say, “So what about you, Buffy? Got any dreams?”

“I want to be a counselor,” she smiled. ” I love helping people.”

Spike looked surprised. “What made you decide you wanted to do that?”

Buffy hesitated for a slight moment before deciding that she trusted Spike enough, “I went to counseling for a few years after my parents were divorced. The counselor I had was wonderful. I trusted her and she would always listen. She understood how I felt and seemed to respect my feelings even when I was confused as to why I felt them. I want to help people like that.”

Spike was quiet for a moment and she wondered if she had gotten too personal but then he smiled slightly at her as he cocked his head to the side, “You would make a great counselor, Buffy.”

Buffy practically swooned from hearing the way he said her name. He made her name sound like it was heavenly. She noticed as he took her hand and carried her items to the back of the motorcycle where he placed them into a bag that was tied to the back.

He then kept her hand in his as he started to walk by her side. She felt the breeze pick up and they continued to walk. As they walked, they talked about where he was from.

“I’m from England as you probably figured. I was born there and lived there for the first ten years of my life until my dad became ill. He died and my mum picked up our stuff and took us both to California where her parents were from. After searching for a house, she found the one we live at in Sunnydale. It’s a nice house, quiet and such- much different from the bloody amazing cobblestone roads and the smell of salt in the air from the ocean that is in England.”

He explained how he had visited England only once since he had come to Sunnydale. His grandparents were in England still. Buffy felt no fear after an hour of her walk with him. She was intrigued and amazed the more they talked. He had such a bad boy appearance but was gentle around her. He led her through the woods to a small garden near the school that Buffy never knew existed. Spike smiled at her as he watched her gaze around at the beauty of the garden under the tiny spot lights placed for walking at night. The flowers were beautiful even in the night sky especially with the moonlight gazing down on them.

Buffy looked at Spike who looked at her, and in the moonlight in the garden, she knew she would remember this night always as the night she fell in love.

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@}-'--, --'--, --'--, -{@

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At a quarter of 2:00, Spike drove Buffy home. She stood up, shaking her skirt slightly so it was hanging down by her ankles rather than tucked up in her waist, which is how Spike had arranged it so it didn’t get stuck in the wheels. She smiled at him as he removed the extra clothing from the bag behind his bike and handed them to her. Then he took her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. It was Buffy’s first real kiss. She felt her heart race and her head soared as she clung onto Spike. When he finally released her, she knew she was flushed and breathless.

She swayed slightly as Spike smiled at her and whispered, “I’ll be by tomorrow night at 7:00 for the movies. Be ready luv and wear something more appropriate for a motorcycle-no more big fluffy skirts, yeah?”

Buffy giggled. She was thrilled with her night, perfect. She turned around and walked to the front door but paused and turned back. The smile on his face was still there and he seemed to glow. When she made it inside she looked out the window and back at him once more. He gave her a wink then got on his bike to drive away. Buffy just about floated to her room, barely pausing to tell her parents goodnight.

That night she dreamed of Spike.