Waking up in a strange bed in a strange house was something Buffy wasn’t used to. Light streamed in through the windows and people -- lots of people -- were moving around in the hall, walking up and down the stairs and milling about downstairs. She groaned and put the pillow over her head. She was going to have to get used to the noise, the early risers, and worst of all, the tiny twin-sized bed.
“Up,” Faith ordered as she pulled the blankets off her. “Man, you need a new set of pajamas.”
Buffy threw the pillow at her but she was smiling now. “What’s wrong with my pajamas?”
Their other roommate came in with a towel on her head. Faith pointed to her. “Look at Fred, here. She’s quiet and shy, but even she has sexier nightclothes than you do. Right, Fred?”
Fred took a moment to check out Buffy’s pajamas and nodded. “Sorry, Buffy, but I think Faith is right. Penguins are not very sexy.”
Buffy pouted playfully as she made her bed. “I wasn’t going for sexy. I was going for comfort.”
They all went to the door when they heard a commotion downstairs. Harmony rushed up the stairs, her hands flailing. “The camera crew is here!”
The three of them backed into the room and Faith slammed the door. They quietly changed and put their makeup on. Faith sang the words “Riding on the Metro” out of tune over and over again while Fred hummed the Star Spangled Banner.
After the rose ceremony last night, the luggage had been brought in and the girls were left to figure out where they would be sleeping. Cordelia had gotten the first impression rose and for some reason she thought that meant she was in charge. Faith got in her face and told her to back off. She called Fred and Buffy over and told them to grab their things. They’d followed her up the stairs as the some of the other girls glared at their backs. Faith found the one room with only three beds and told them to park their stuff on the beds they wanted and she’d take the remaining one.
“I figure if I’ve got to be stuck in a house full of crazy bitches, I want to be in a room with the ones I can stand to be around,” Faith had told them and then grinned.
“So,” Fred said, breaking Buffy out of her thoughts, “who do you think is going home next?”
In all the excitement, Buffy wasn’t even sure who had gone home last night. She’d gotten a rose and she knew that Fred and Faith had gotten them as well. Then there was Cordelia who’d gotten the first rose. She’d seen Harmony this morning. That left ten other girls. She’d watched them get called up and get a rose, but she couldn’t remember names.
“It’s too early to tell, but I hope Cordelia and Darla go tonight,” Faith said.
“Cordelia’s a bitch,” said Fred with as much feeling as they’d seen from her. Faith raised an eyebrow at Buffy and then they both started laughing. Fred blinked and then said, “What? She is.”
“I totally agree, but I wasn’t expecting that out of your mouth,” Buffy said as she applied mascara.
“The thing about Angel,” Faith said, getting serious, “is that it’s hard to tell what type of girl he likes. I mean, look at us. The rail thin, skinny yet pretty and smart girl.” She pointed at Fred then pointed at Buffy. “The beautiful, blonde, nice girl, with a few slight curves. And then there’s me: the totally smoking hot chick from Boston with all the right curves.”
“With a little attitude thrown in for good measure,” Buffy said playfully.
“Damn straight.”
There was a short knock on the door. “Everyone decent?”
Buffy’s heart skipped a beat at the English accent and then she immediately felt guilty that she was so excited to see the camera guy. In their contract, they had given permission for cameras to roll in their bedrooms and just about everywhere in the house was a camera zone. Buffy brushed her hair one last time as Fred rushed to open the door.
“Good morning, ladies.”
He spoke to them all but he looked at Buffy. His direct gaze confused her. She knew the signs of when a guy was interested in her and Spike was sending them all her way. Her heart beat a little faster. He raised the camera and asked them how their first night in the house had been. Buffy felt the blush on her cheeks and the curious stare from Faith. She grabbed her vanity case and excused herself, edging by Spike at the door, and walked briskly to the nearest bathroom. Relieved to have it all to herself, she shut the door and locked it.
After avoiding her reflection in the mirror while she brushed her teeth, she finally looked up and whispered, “You’re here to fall in love with Angel, not start something with one of the cameramen.” She pointed at her image in the mirror and copied the look she remembered her mother giving when she’d been naughty as a child. “’Cause that’s wrong. No matter how hot he is.”
~ * ~ * ~
Spike stepped out of the crew break trailer after lunch, took a moment to stretch and then walked over to the equipment tent and found his favorite camera. “Time to go back into the lion’s den, mate,” he told himself.
Last night, they’d had a meeting with those in charge and were told to decide amongst themselves who would be staying for the long hours, because they didn’t need everyone for the remainder of the season. The first night, they always needed more crew. Many of the cameramen had families that they wanted to see during the week, so he’d volunteered to be one to stay on. He was sharing a trailer with two other cameramen and a full crew would show up every day at 8:00 a.m. and stay until 6:00 p.m. It was up to the crew staying to catch all the action in the house on the off-times and also to catch the reactions when someone came back from a date with a rose or had their bags taken away.
He was also scheduled to do some location shoots for a few of the dates. The one thing he requested was not to do any of the ones where they went flying. He shivered just thinking about being in a plane or helicopter.
For the remainder of the episode shoots, he’d be bunking with John and Carlos. They were good guys, and they’d had a great time last night, placing bets on who would win the whole thing and who would go home next.
He entered the house and Andrew, the production assistant, directed him towards the backyard. “Someone strongly suggested that they get in their bikinis and go for a swim,” the young man said, rolling his eyes.
Spike frowned at him, but then figured out what the problem was when the guy looked him up and down. He had no problem with another person’s sexuality, but how a guy didn’t get turned on by a pool full of hot birds with tiny bits of cloth over their important parts was beyond him. He quickened his steps and turned on the camera. It was days like this that he loved his job.
“Oh, good. You’re here,” one of the directors said. “Go relieve poor Carlos over there by the Jacuzzi before his eyes pop out of his head.”
Spike strolled over and grinned down at the full Jacuzzi when he noticed Buffy in the steamy, swirling water. “Hey, Carlos. Ray says it’s time for you to take a break.”
Carlos was practically drooling and Spike laughed at him as he backed up. Then his eyes widened and Spike shouted a warning, but it was too late. All heads turned when they heard the big splash. The girls erupted in boisterous laughter, but Spike did his best to keep the camera from shaking and hold in the laughter. He forced himself to think of the dressing down Carlos was going to get for toasting a twenty-thousand-dollar camera and it sobered him right up.
Soon, he was concentrating on his work. The girls in the hot tub had just agreed to take turns telling each other what they did for a living.
“I’ll start,” Cordelia said with a smug grin. “I’m a cheerleader for the Sacramento Kings basketball team. Oh, and I’m an actress too.”
In her charming southern accent, Fred said, “Oh, that’s so much more glamorous than what I do. I’m just a microbiologist.”
“Impressive,” Faith said with feeling. “I’m a private detective, but I mostly work missing persons cases with the police department.”
When it was her turn, Buffy smiled at the other girls and said, “My job’s not as impressive as the rest of yours. I’m an assistant manager at the Bloomingdale’s department store at the Stanford Mall.”
“Wow!” Harmony said. “Are they hiring? ‘Cause I’m a receptionist, but I’d love to see what was in before it hit the stores and get deep discounts on high fashion.”
“We’re not hiring right now, but I’ll let you know,” Buffy said with a genuine smile.
A bright smile that reached her beautiful long-lashed eyes. Spike stood up when he realized that he was about to sigh because of the girl. Get your act together, mate. This isn’t high school.
Cordelia stared at Faith intently. Spike could almost see the wheels turning in her head. A smug smile played on her lips. “Now I get it.”
Faith glared at her. “Get what?”
“Why you are even still in the game,” said Cordelia.
“What? Because Angel is a private detective too?” Faith asked.
Everyone stopped talking when the first date invitation arrived, diffusing the tension that Cordelia’s comment had created.
The dates were very important and not everyone would get one. During the week that would make up the second episode, there would be a couple of one-on-one dates and one group date. Everybody wanted a one-on-one date, but it was a risk as well, because of the roses. If you got a rose on the date, you were going to the next week. If you didn’t get a rose, you were going home right after the date. And only Angel could decide to give a rose or not.
On group dates, he would give a rose to just one girl. The others would get to come back to the house and hope to get a rose at the end of the week. It was just more difficult to get quality time alone with the bachelor on a group date. Those that didn’t get an invitation for a date could only hope that Angel had liked them so much that he didn’t need to take them on a date to know he was going to give them a rose at the ceremony. The best they could do was to try and get a few minutes alone with him when he visited the house.
Fred got the first invitation for a one-on-one date and came back with a rose and starry eyes. The next day, six girls, including Buffy and Faith, went on the group date, but it was Gwen who got the rose. On the third day, Darla came back from her one-on-one with the rose and got everyone pissed off when she rubbed it in their faces. The last one-on-one date was with the oldest woman in the group, a lawyer named Lilah. She came back with a rose and after confiding to Cordelia that she’d gotten the first kiss, the news spread like wildfire.
Angel showed up for the rose ceremony after his date with Lilah, but spent some time talking with all the girls alone first. Spike was busy outside with the stationary camera that pointed towards the women. When it was Buffy’s turn, she smiled at Angel and when he asked her if she was disappointed to not get the rose from the group date, she smiled and shrugged.
“It hurt a little. I thought we’d had a good time and I really enjoyed spending those few minutes alone with you. But at the same time, I knew it was a one in six chance.”
Spike couldn’t see Angel’s face but he knew by the tone of his voice that the man was serious. “I want you to know that I really like you, Buffy. Do you want to stay?”
“I would love to stay.”
Angel took only fifteen minutes in the framed photo room before he came out, ready to give the roses. He called Buffy’s name first and she seemed really pleased. She stood with Darla, Fred and Lilah and waited with her long stem rose for the other names to be called. There was a delay when one of Cordelia’s heels broke off her shoe and they had to get her a new pair.
Spike leaned against the wall near the girls holding roses and unabashedly watched Buffy. She looked incredible in a purple dress. However, he didn’t know if he quite liked the plunging neckline. She had a beautiful upper body, but it somehow felt wrong that she’d expose it to the world. His body began to heat up when Buffy started staring back at him. He raised an eyebrow at her then gave her a short nod. She blushed and then looked down at the rose in her hand.
The cameras rolled once more and the Bachelor gave a rose to Cordelia, Lily, Faith, Kate, Michelle, Kari, and last, he called Harmony. She squealed and jumped up and down. The three women left without roses said their goodbyes. A few minutes later, the champagne was handed out for Angel to give the final toast of the night.
Soon after, he hugged them all goodbye and left. Most of the girls were in high spirits and they called out to Buffy when she went to go upstairs. He kept the camera focused on her as she politely declined and walked up the stairs with the long stem rose hanging loosely from her hand. He zoomed in on her face when she got to the top of the stairs, turned and stared down at the camera. She smiled shyly and tucked of lock her hair behind her ear, and then she walked away, disappearing into her room for the night.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I have just finished writing chapter fifteen of this story, just to give you an idea of where I am with it. Thanks to all of you who have been reading and leaving reviews. You make my day and make it impossible for me to stop writing fan fiction. :)
Chapter End Notes:
Keep an eye out for chapter six to show up here within the next four days. I could be wrong, but I think you all are going to like it. :)