It was just another normal day in Sunnydale. Which means the usual demons, vampires, and other evil monsters that make up the day-to-day life of a slayer. Tonight, Buffy was hanging out at the Bronze with her friends, hoping that no apocalyptic demons would show up in the next few hours and ruin their fun evening. There was a new band playing, and the room was packed with people, all glad it was a weekend. Xander danced lamely by himself and yelled to the group, who were sitting around a table, to come join him.
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Spike had just left the butcher's shop and was wandering around the cemetery when he got a strange feeling. He turned around to see if someone was following him, but saw no one. He listened for the sonar-loud heartbeat of an unsuspecting passerby, but the cemetery was quiet. Still, the feeling bothered him, and he began walking, though he didn't know what he expected to find.
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At the Bronze, the group sat comfortably around their table discussing a recent exam they hadn't done too well on. Buffy glanced uneasily over the crowd of dancers, most of whom she didn't know. Willow noticed her nervousness. "No evil lurking today, Buff?" she asked, looking hopeful.
Buffy shrugged. "Not that I'm hoping to find any," she said, still searching the crowd, "but nothing very Hellmouth-y has gone on lately, so I should be ready for when it does, right? …oh!" she finished disappointedly. They all followed her gaze to see what had caused the sudden exclamation. They shared a slightly annoyed look when they realized who had just strolled in the door. Riley looked concerned as Buffy sighed, rolled her eyes, got up from her cozy place by his side, and went to find out what the peroxide-blonde vampire was up to.
If they had been anywhere else she would have just punched him in the face, but she didn't feel like attracting unneeded attention. "Spike, not that I care, but why are you here?" She wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.
He raised his eyebrows. "What, aren't I allowed to hang out with my friends?" he said sarcastically.
She glanced back to the table where Riley and the other watched them curiously, then focused her attention back on Spike. "You don't have friends" she reminded him "and I don't have time for this." He didn't respond. "I'm trying to have fun. And for that to happen, you need to be somewhere that's away." When she glanced up him, she realized she'd lost his attention a while ago. She stared at him a little angrily for a moment before turning around towards the dance floor to see what he was staring at.
She scanned the crowd of teenagers dancing in the sporadically flashing lights, until she noticed two girls dancing near the stage, highlighted by the strobe light behind them. They were dressed rather revealingly, and had gathered a small mob of the male partygoers. Buffy didn't have to wonder if they were why she couldn't keep Spike's attention. Spike glanced back at Buffy for a moment and grinned. "Shows what you know." She scrunched her eyebrows together disapprovingly, willing him to just leave. His jaw tightened. "Sod off." They glared at each other for just a moment before she decided it was a lost cause and marched away.
Spike took this opportunity to take a better look at the two girls. The blonde had wavy hair that was a little past her shoulders, and her large, bright eyes stood out in her light complexion and soft features. She wore a black shirt, a dark red print, knee-length skirt, black hose, and heels. The brunette was a few inches taller, with a naturally dark complexion. Her hair was shoulder-length, very straight, with an almost reddish tint to it She had noble-looking features and wide, dark brown eyes. She wore a pale pink shirt with spaghetti straps, a black skirt, and black knee-high boots. They were clearly enjoying the attention they had gathered, but they seemed more to flaunt themselves at the men rather than flirt with any of them in particular.
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Buffy was annoyed, but she knew there was nothing she could do to get rid of the harmless vampire without causing a scene. She thought about the two girls Spike had gone after, and had a scary memory of when she and Faith had pulled the same trick a few years earlier. True, it was fun to torment the guys like that, but it got old fast.
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Spike had begun to make his way through the crowd toward the small group of eager fans the two girls had accumulated. The one with blonde hair suddenly turned and looked straight at him, smiling faintly, and both were caught off guard for an short instant. She seemed flustered and focused her attentions back on the guys dancing around her and her friend. Intrigued by this strange connection, Spike leaned over to ask a man standing next to him who was staring at the girls also. "Who are they?" He didn't get an answer, so he elbowed the man. "Do you know?"
Neither of the men dared to avert their stares; the man just swallowed hard and blinked a few times to try and focus his thoughts. "They… I heard they were new around here," he stuttered, nervous under Spike's fierce stare. Barely pausing to glare at the man for not being more helpful, Spike resumed pushing his way through the crowd. The brunette was now dancing rather closely with a muscular man with light brown hair. He craned his neck to see if the blonde was taken now, too. When he got close enough to get a clear view of her, he froze in his tracks. Her light, wavy hair caught the flashing lights in spectacular ways, and she seemed to blend the music to herself and make it a part of her attitude. Just when he thought he had gained control of his senses, she turned her head and aimed a lazy, sideways grin right at him for a too-short moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On her way back to the table, Buffy glanced again at the dance floor, trying to pinpoint what had been causing her strange, apprehensive feelings. Something caught her eye and she looked a second time. There was something definitely odd about the round security mirror on the wall above her, and she stared hard at it for a minute. Her eyes got wide as she glanced back from the crowd to the mirror and back. She swallowed hard and hurried back to the table where her friends waited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Despite some surprised and offended looks from some of the other men, Spike pushed his way towards these mysterious girls. A short, muscular boy had edged up to the blonde and was dancing extremely close behind her. Her friend noticed Spike's arrival, and the two girls shared a look. The blonde didn't turn to look at Spike, but instead kept dancing with the boy, obviously ignoring Spike.
Not appreciating the other boy's presence, Spike pushed through the crowd until he was standing next to the two. The boy gave Spike a arrogant grin, and was surprised to find himself a second later flat on his back on the floor. The girls tried to conceal their laughter. Spike, stepped up to the blonde and put his hand around her waist. She looked a little surprised by his directness, but she let him pull her close to his chest. Her friend was helping the boy up off the floor, blocking his view of her and Spike. The blonde took this opportunity to lean close to Spike and whispered to him, "wait for us outside." She let her fingers trail down the flap of his coat as she backed away from him.
Spike smiled slightly, then stepped away, with a mischievous look in his eye. The boy was now on his feet again, rubbing the back of his head. The two girls acted sympathetic and worried, and the boy clearly enjoyed their attention. Spike chuckled to himself, and headed to the door.
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Buffy rushed up to the table and began searching through her bag. Her friends watched her, curious. "Ah-hah" she said, and pulled a mirror from the bag. She held it up and stared hard at it as her eyes got even bigger. She glanced behind her again at the dancers, and took a deep breath. Everyone looked puzzled.
Willow finally spoke up. "Buffy, what is it!?!"
"Willow come here" she answered, not moving. Willow glanced at the others before getting up to stand beside her friend. She looked over Buffy's shoulder into the mirror, not sure at first what she was looking for. After a moment, her expression changed to one of confusion, and she glanced behind them, then back at the mirror.
The casual observer wouldn't have thought twice about the large amount of people at the Bronze that evening. But the view from the mirror was a little different. Including Xander, there were less than a dozen people in various places around the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy and the gang had decided to tell Giles about what was going on before trying anything drastic, so they got Xander and left as quietly as possible. People were still arriving, but the group just walked out, trying not to be noticed. As they got outside, they let out one huge sigh of relief.
In their haste to get somewhere safe, not one saw Spike standing in the alley, watching as they left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike had just left the butcher's shop and was wandering around the cemetery when he got a strange feeling. He turned around to see if someone was following him, but saw no one. He listened for the sonar-loud heartbeat of an unsuspecting passerby, but the cemetery was quiet. Still, the feeling bothered him, and he began walking, though he didn't know what he expected to find.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Bronze, the group sat comfortably around their table discussing a recent exam they hadn't done too well on. Buffy glanced uneasily over the crowd of dancers, most of whom she didn't know. Willow noticed her nervousness. "No evil lurking today, Buff?" she asked, looking hopeful.
Buffy shrugged. "Not that I'm hoping to find any," she said, still searching the crowd, "but nothing very Hellmouth-y has gone on lately, so I should be ready for when it does, right? …oh!" she finished disappointedly. They all followed her gaze to see what had caused the sudden exclamation. They shared a slightly annoyed look when they realized who had just strolled in the door. Riley looked concerned as Buffy sighed, rolled her eyes, got up from her cozy place by his side, and went to find out what the peroxide-blonde vampire was up to.
If they had been anywhere else she would have just punched him in the face, but she didn't feel like attracting unneeded attention. "Spike, not that I care, but why are you here?" She wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.
He raised his eyebrows. "What, aren't I allowed to hang out with my friends?" he said sarcastically.
She glanced back to the table where Riley and the other watched them curiously, then focused her attention back on Spike. "You don't have friends" she reminded him "and I don't have time for this." He didn't respond. "I'm trying to have fun. And for that to happen, you need to be somewhere that's away." When she glanced up him, she realized she'd lost his attention a while ago. She stared at him a little angrily for a moment before turning around towards the dance floor to see what he was staring at.
She scanned the crowd of teenagers dancing in the sporadically flashing lights, until she noticed two girls dancing near the stage, highlighted by the strobe light behind them. They were dressed rather revealingly, and had gathered a small mob of the male partygoers. Buffy didn't have to wonder if they were why she couldn't keep Spike's attention. Spike glanced back at Buffy for a moment and grinned. "Shows what you know." She scrunched her eyebrows together disapprovingly, willing him to just leave. His jaw tightened. "Sod off." They glared at each other for just a moment before she decided it was a lost cause and marched away.
Spike took this opportunity to take a better look at the two girls. The blonde had wavy hair that was a little past her shoulders, and her large, bright eyes stood out in her light complexion and soft features. She wore a black shirt, a dark red print, knee-length skirt, black hose, and heels. The brunette was a few inches taller, with a naturally dark complexion. Her hair was shoulder-length, very straight, with an almost reddish tint to it She had noble-looking features and wide, dark brown eyes. She wore a pale pink shirt with spaghetti straps, a black skirt, and black knee-high boots. They were clearly enjoying the attention they had gathered, but they seemed more to flaunt themselves at the men rather than flirt with any of them in particular.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy was annoyed, but she knew there was nothing she could do to get rid of the harmless vampire without causing a scene. She thought about the two girls Spike had gone after, and had a scary memory of when she and Faith had pulled the same trick a few years earlier. True, it was fun to torment the guys like that, but it got old fast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike had begun to make his way through the crowd toward the small group of eager fans the two girls had accumulated. The one with blonde hair suddenly turned and looked straight at him, smiling faintly, and both were caught off guard for an short instant. She seemed flustered and focused her attentions back on the guys dancing around her and her friend. Intrigued by this strange connection, Spike leaned over to ask a man standing next to him who was staring at the girls also. "Who are they?" He didn't get an answer, so he elbowed the man. "Do you know?"
Neither of the men dared to avert their stares; the man just swallowed hard and blinked a few times to try and focus his thoughts. "They… I heard they were new around here," he stuttered, nervous under Spike's fierce stare. Barely pausing to glare at the man for not being more helpful, Spike resumed pushing his way through the crowd. The brunette was now dancing rather closely with a muscular man with light brown hair. He craned his neck to see if the blonde was taken now, too. When he got close enough to get a clear view of her, he froze in his tracks. Her light, wavy hair caught the flashing lights in spectacular ways, and she seemed to blend the music to herself and make it a part of her attitude. Just when he thought he had gained control of his senses, she turned her head and aimed a lazy, sideways grin right at him for a too-short moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On her way back to the table, Buffy glanced again at the dance floor, trying to pinpoint what had been causing her strange, apprehensive feelings. Something caught her eye and she looked a second time. There was something definitely odd about the round security mirror on the wall above her, and she stared hard at it for a minute. Her eyes got wide as she glanced back from the crowd to the mirror and back. She swallowed hard and hurried back to the table where her friends waited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Despite some surprised and offended looks from some of the other men, Spike pushed his way towards these mysterious girls. A short, muscular boy had edged up to the blonde and was dancing extremely close behind her. Her friend noticed Spike's arrival, and the two girls shared a look. The blonde didn't turn to look at Spike, but instead kept dancing with the boy, obviously ignoring Spike.
Not appreciating the other boy's presence, Spike pushed through the crowd until he was standing next to the two. The boy gave Spike a arrogant grin, and was surprised to find himself a second later flat on his back on the floor. The girls tried to conceal their laughter. Spike, stepped up to the blonde and put his hand around her waist. She looked a little surprised by his directness, but she let him pull her close to his chest. Her friend was helping the boy up off the floor, blocking his view of her and Spike. The blonde took this opportunity to lean close to Spike and whispered to him, "wait for us outside." She let her fingers trail down the flap of his coat as she backed away from him.
Spike smiled slightly, then stepped away, with a mischievous look in his eye. The boy was now on his feet again, rubbing the back of his head. The two girls acted sympathetic and worried, and the boy clearly enjoyed their attention. Spike chuckled to himself, and headed to the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy rushed up to the table and began searching through her bag. Her friends watched her, curious. "Ah-hah" she said, and pulled a mirror from the bag. She held it up and stared hard at it as her eyes got even bigger. She glanced behind her again at the dancers, and took a deep breath. Everyone looked puzzled.
Willow finally spoke up. "Buffy, what is it!?!"
"Willow come here" she answered, not moving. Willow glanced at the others before getting up to stand beside her friend. She looked over Buffy's shoulder into the mirror, not sure at first what she was looking for. After a moment, her expression changed to one of confusion, and she glanced behind them, then back at the mirror.
The casual observer wouldn't have thought twice about the large amount of people at the Bronze that evening. But the view from the mirror was a little different. Including Xander, there were less than a dozen people in various places around the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy and the gang had decided to tell Giles about what was going on before trying anything drastic, so they got Xander and left as quietly as possible. People were still arriving, but the group just walked out, trying not to be noticed. As they got outside, they let out one huge sigh of relief.
In their haste to get somewhere safe, not one saw Spike standing in the alley, watching as they left.