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.
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.
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.