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The silence became deafening when Giles announced that Buffy and Spike would have to convince an audience of millions that they were completely in love.

Spike felt uncomfortable about the idea but intrigued at the same time. They had barely talked at all after their kiss and he couldn't help but wonder if she were acting so distant because she actually felt something when their lips met.

Xander cleared his throat and stood up, finally breaking the silence. "Giles, don't you think this is a little far fetched? To say that Spike and Buffy are an unlikely couple is an understatement. How do you expect them to pull this off?"

"Yeah." Willow agreed. "They aren't even attracted to each other. Well, maybe Spike is but what about Buffy? There is no way she could make out with someone that she is sickened by in front of TV cameras. The thought of it probably disgusts her."

"Thanks so much Red for those words of encouragement." Spike rolled his eyes.

"Sorry Spike." Willow replied nervously. "I was just trying to make a point."

"I think Spike is very attractive." Anya chimed in. "If it were me, I'd have no problems. I would gladly make out with him for the greater good."

"Uh, Anya!" Xander exclaimed. "Fiancée sitting right here."

"Oh right, I almost forgot the male pride." Anya walked over and sat on Xander's lap. "Xander however, is much more attractive and I would much rather spend my nights caressing his body than investigating demons with Spike." Anya smiled and Xander looked humiliated.

"Ok! Everybody stop!" Buffy interrupted. "What is all this talk about making out? Giles, what are you getting me into?"

"I've seen a few of those shows, Buffy." Xander said before Giles had a chance to speak. "They can get pretty racy. If you want to convince America that you two belong together you are going to have to be prepared to lay it on pretty thick."

"So, what you're saying is that Spike and I have to pretend to be pleasantly in love twenty four hours a day for three weeks?" Buffy asked.

"Twenty hours actually." Giles corrected. "This particular show is a little more lenient than some of the others. They let you have 4 hours a day of free time without the cameras on. Between the hours of one and five in the morning you will be free to be your normal selves."

"There is no way this is going to work." Buffy argued. "Spike and I fight way too much."

"Um, maybe you could use that to your advantage." Tara suggested after thirty minutes of silent observance.

"What do you mean, Tara?" Willow asked.

"Uh, well, sometimes fighting can equal passion. That may be something that attracts the audience. Maybe you two don't have to change much of anything. Well, except for the fact that you guys will have to kiss and stuff." Tara added shyly.

Buffy blushed at the thought of kissing Spike again. Even though no one knew about it, she still felt like she was under a spotlight.

"Ya know, the bird may be onto something." Spike added, pointing at Tara. "It would kind of be like that show Moonlighting. That David and Maddie had quite a relationship and they did nothing but fight. They had great chemistry. It was one of my favorites."

"First of all, how are we going to convince anyone that we love each other if all we do is fight? Secondly, Spike, you watch too much TV" Buffy said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Spike looked wounded. "Well, I don't hear any suggestions coming from you, Slayer."

"That's because this is ridiculous!" Buffy said, frustrated.

"Buffy, please." Giles said calmly. "I know how unhappy you are about this situation but there is definitely something out of the ordinary here and my intuition is telling me that it needs to be investigated. Look on the bright side, you won't have to worry about doing any slaying for three whole weeks until you win this thing. Think of it as a vacation."

"Well, if I have to be stuck with Spike for three whole weeks there may be one vampire that ends up getting slayed." Buffy pouted. She sat down and crossed her arms over her chest like a little girl that didn't get the toy she wanted. "Fine. If it's really necessary, I'll do it."

"Great! Thank you, Buffy." Giles said, then diverted his gaze toward Spike. "What about you Spike? Are you in?"

"If the slayer is willing, then so am I." Spike said, trying to hold back a grin.

"Good, then it's settled then." Giles sighed in relief.

"What do we have to do first?" Buffy asked.

"We need to go over the basics." Giles responded. "First of all you have to remember that you are not supposed to know each other. Basically, you are two people set up on a blind engagement." Giles then glanced over at Spike. "And Spike, you've got to stop calling her Slayer and start referring to her as Buffy and in return Buffy will start calling you William."

"No way! I don't want to go by that sissy name again. There was a reason I changed it ya know. If I can't keep my name then the deal is off. Besides, the name Spike gives me more character."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Just let him keep his stupid nickname so he stops whining."

"Hey!" Spike yelled. "I'm not whining but if I have to be stuck in a house with you for three weeks, I'd at least like to keep my dignity in tact."

"Spike, you look like a Billy Idol clone. You have no dignity." Buffy shot back.

"I'll have you know, Slayer, that Billy stole his look from me. The hair and the leather was all my idea." Spike smirked.

"Yeah." Buffy chortled. "Like that's something to be proud of!"

"That's enough!" Giles yelled in aggravation. "Stop acting like adolescents and let's get back to business. You two are going to have to try to co- exist without ripping each other apart every time you try and have a conversation."

Both Spike and Buffy looked down in shame as a result of their immaturity. Giles could make any one of the gang have that reaction whenever he started scolding them like a father.

"That's better." Giles said after five seconds of silence. "Now, if I may continue." He gave a stern look at the entire room. "While you two are on this mission, we will be visiting you a few times a week while the cameras are off to update you on the goings on. We will all be keeping a stern eye on the situation and one of us will visit regularly to let you know how you are doing compared to the competition. There will be two other couples that you must outdo. By giving you the inside scoop on how their relationships are going, you should have no problem keeping up with and surpassing them."

"When do we leave?" Buffy asked calmly.

"You will need to pack your bags straight away. We'll need to head out tomorrow evening." Giles answered.

"Fine." Buffy said softly. "Are we done here? I wanted to go in the back and train for a while."

Giles nodded and Buffy traveled to the back to let out her frustrations on the punching bag.

After three minutes of one-sided sparring, Spike walked into the training room and casually leaned against the wall, tilted his head slightly to the side, and watched her kick the hell out of the punching bag.

She stopped as soon as she noticed he was there. She sighed heavily and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off her brow.

"What do you want, Spike? Isn't being stuck together for three weeks bad enough? Do we really have to be around each other now too?"

Her words stung him but instead of being hurt he became angry.

"You better get over this holier than thou attitude you've had around me lately because if you don't, we're never gonna win this thing." Spike scowled.

Buffy remained quiet and the look on Spike's face softened. He walked over to the mats that were piled up in the corner and sat on them.

"Uh, about that kiss..." Spike started but Buffy spoke before he could finish.

"That kiss meant nothing." She said coldly. "It was because of the spell and nothing more. I hope you remember that during our little excursion because it seems we are going to have to get a lot closer than I'd like to. Let me just say right now to avoid any confusion, that anything we do within the next three weeks won't be anything more than a bizarre form of acting. Don't take anything I do or say to heart."

Spike glanced up at her determined expression. He stood up and walked toward her until he was a foot in front of her.

"If that kiss meant nothing then why have you been ignoring me ever since it happened?"

"I haven't been ignoring you. I'm avoiding you just as much as I always have."

"Give me a break, Slayer. I thought we were becoming friends."

"Friends? That's a bit of an exaggeration don't you think, Spike?"

"You have asked me almost every night for the past few weeks to patrol with you. We've had a couple of friendly conversations and have even had a few laughs. Do you always act that way toward people you despise?"

"Maybe I do." Buffy said crossing her arms across her chest in that way she always does whenever he starts to get too close to the truth.

"I think you're scared." Spike observed her.

"Of what?"

"Of what you felt that night while I was kissing you. You enjoyed every second of it. You wanted it just as much as I did and you're afraid that you are gonna feel that way again the next time we kiss because this time you won't have a spell to hide behind."

He took one step closer to her and looked deep into her eyes. She stared back, never flinching, her jaw clenching in a cross between determination and nervousness.

"We're going to have to do a lot of pretending during the next few weeks, Buffy." Spike's voice got lower and Buffy blinked wildly at the use of her name. "I know the difference between fantasy and reality. I also know when someone is enjoying kissing me. You enjoyed it then and you'll enjoy it next time too. I promise you that."

Buffy swallowed hard and Spike backed away watching her still silence. He turned and walked out of the training room, leaving her with her own thoughts.

She could have kicked herself for staying silent. She wished she could have mustered up the strength to verbally fight back. Instead, she said nothing because as much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was too paralyzed with fear that every single word he had just said to her was true. Deep down she knew that it was and because of her silence, he now knew it too.

To Be Continued.....





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