This fic will be told documentary/video blog style in Andrew's POV. Video footage is put in italics. In-universe, Andrew updates his vlog on Thursdays. This one-shot is the "highlight reel" of his first two months.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.


Episode 1: Introduction.

Thursday, September 4

Good morning, YouTube! My name is Andrew Wells and this is my first week as an intern at Wolfram and Hart Publications. I am working in the new media department, editing trailers for Robin Wood's bestselling book series Rhonda, The Immortal Waitress. But as part of my portfolio, I had the idea to document my internship for anyone looking to see what it's like to work in the publishing industry and I will start by introducing you to the people I work with.

Angel Seeley

"What exactly am I supposed to be doing again?" Angel asked.

"Just introduce yourself," I said.

"Okay. I'm Angel Seeley. I'm the regional manager here at the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart Publications. I'm currently in the process of promoting Robin Wood's Immortal Waitress series. The movie version of his first book hits theatres everywhere on Halloween night and there's going to be a big party next month in celebration of that. We went to the Hollywood premiere of that movie last month and critics said that it's a sure-fire hit, but my main concern is getting the people interested in the original source."

Angel leads me through the office.

"I guess I'll introduce you to everyone around here," Angel said. "This is Harmony, our receptionist."

A woman with curly blonde hair flashes a smile at the camera. Her laptop is decorated with unicorn stickers. Another woman with long brown hair approaches the reception desk.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"I have a video blog. On YouTube," I said.

"Oh!" She looked at the camera with an interested smile.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Cordelia Chase

"Okay. I am Cordelia Chase. I am a sales supervisor here at Wolfram and Hart. I have been working here for the past five years. I take care of making sure bookstores always have our clients' creations in stock."

"And are you good friends with Angel?"

"Oh yeah. He and Wesley and I go way back."

Wesley Wyndham-Pryce

"I've known Angel and Cordelia since college. Angel and I were roommates and the three of us started working for Wolfram and Hart after we finished college. Now he's the regional manager, I work for the accounting division, and Cordelia, as you know, is a sales supervisor."

Charles Gunn

"I'm Charles Gunn. Most people call me Gunn. I work in human relations. I look for new employees."

Gunn is my supervisor for this internship. He's a pretty hands-off person, though.

"Thanks again for letting me document everyone as part of my portfolio project," I said. "I wanted to ask if there are any recent hirings."

"Well, there is Buffy Summers. I hired her for the assistant sales rep position. Cordelia is her supervisor."

Buffy Summers

"So Buffy, you are one of the new kids in this block, am I correct?" I asked.

Buffy nodded. "I started working in sales a few months ago. I just got out of college and was just glad that I could stop working at the local Doublemeat Palace."

"And how are you getting along with everyone? Gunn told me that you currently assist Cordelia."

"Cordelia can be a bit...demanding at times, but it's usually just on Tuesdays and month ends. I usually just sit at lunch with Tara, who works in graphic design. She's quiet and a great listener. We also share a table with Fred, who works in IT, and William, who's one of the editors here."

Tara Maclay

"So what do you do here?" I asked.

Tara couldn't really look the camera in the eye and decided to look at me instead.

"I design book covers a-a-and advertisements promoting events such as book signings. I-I also do work with the web layout for the company's site."

"Do you always sit with Buffy during lunch?"

Tara nodded. "Spike and Fred sit with us, too."

William Anson AKA Spike

"So why do they call you Spike?" I asked.

"It's an old college nickname," Spike said. "Had a punk rock phase in college. Wrote a lot of poetry. Still do, sometimes."

"Can you show me?"

Spike shook his head. "Can you edit that part out?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I prefer the DIY look. It feels more authentic when it's not too polished. How come you work as an editor?"

"It's my day job. Poetry isn't much of a market. I'm not much of a teacher and I like writing."

I nodded. "So tell me about how you get along with everyone else here."

Spike's voice narrates over the b-roll. The office lunch room shows the cliques. Angel is sitting with Gunn and Wesley. Wesley gazes lovingly at Fred. Harmony passes by Spike and winks at him, only to receive a glare from Cordelia. Spike is sitting at a table with Tara and Fred. Buffy walks into the lunch room. She smiles at Angel, hoping to get his attention, totally oblivious to the way Spike is looking at her. Tara and Fred, however, notice and start whispering to each other.

"Everyone's alright, I guess. Kind of reminds me of high school sometimes. Angel's the big man on campus and sits with Wesley from Accounting and Gunn from Human Resources. Cordelia kind of has a Devil Wears Prada complex, but she has her good days. Mostly spends time with Harmony. Tara and Fred are my best mates here. And Buffy...she's been a nice addition to the company."

I noticed that his smile inched up a bit when he mentioned Buffy's name. I think I found what I want to document for this internship.

###

Episode 3: Human Relations

Thursday, September 18

Thank you, gentle viewers, for the questions you sent me last week. I am going to draw a question out of a hat and ask this question to my fellow co-workers. And your question is… "Ask them about relationships."

Charles Gunn

"What is Wolfram and Hart's policy on inter-office relationships?" I asked.

"It's not against policy to date co-workers," Gunn said. "I know that Angel has gone out with Buffy for lunch today and he sometimes takes Cordelia out for dinner. But it's my job to make sure that the inter-office relationships don't affect their performances."

Tara Maclay

"So I hear Angel is dating Buffy and Cordelia," I said. "How do you think they feel about him?"

"C-Cordelia likes Angel…" Tara said. "And I think Buffy does, too, but A-Angel isn't exactly the commitment-making kind."

Angel and Buffy are pulling into the office parking lot in the afternoon. It's after lunch and Angel and Buffy just had coffee together.

I decided to ask around if what Tara said about Angel was true.

Fred Burkle

"Does Angel always take new employees out for lunch and coffee?" I asked.

"Angel is always nice to new employees," Fred said. "Treats them like family, spoils everyone rotten. I started working here about a year ago after five years of torture over at the Pylea Technical Institute. For my birthday, Angel gave me a gift certificate and I had the best spa day a girl could ask for. The thing is that he's been divorced for about two years now and the reason he can't commit is because he's looking for a good mom for his son."

Wesley Wyndham-Pryce

"What was Angel like before he started working for Wolfram and Hart?" I asked.

"Angel had a son with his college sweetheart, Darla. They were married, but Darla started showing her true colors after Connor was born. She had an...addictive personality and she became a threat to Connor and to Angel. The divorce hasn't been easy on Angel, but I try to help him out, as best as I can."

Angel Seeley

"I'm at this point that I want to settle down," Angel said. "I know that everyone talks about my dating life behind my back. I'm just not sure who I want to commit to."

"Who are you currently dating?" I asked.

"Right now, I'm trying to decide between Buffy and Cordelia. Cordelia and I have been friends since college, but it's also been great getting to know Buffy."

"Why did you wait until now to start dating Cordelia?"

"To be honest? I had no idea she saw me as anything other than a friend."

Cordelia Chase

"Angel goes out with a different woman every two weeks. Has been doing that since the divorce was finalized and Darla was sent to a psychiatric institute. First he went out with this girl, Nina, then Michelle, then a lawyer named Lilah, some army brat named Faith...And now he's going out to lunch with the new girl! I'm just glad that he and I go on dinner dates or I would be looking for any excuse to...persuade Buffy to resign."

Buffy Summers

"My relationship history isn't really all that much to talk about. Pike decided we were better off as friends. Owen was too reckless. Scott turned out to be gay. Parker was only after one thing and Riley cheated on me. Not much is going on right now aside from Angel and me going out a couple of times. It's just been lunch or coffee, though, nothing serious."

Spike Anson

"My first crush was Cecily, but she was never interested in me. Called me beneath her. Then there was Drusilla Keeble...I thought for sure she was the one. But she wasn't one to settle down. I wanted commitment and she decided to seek her pleasures elsewhere. As for right now...I know that Harmony's holding a torch for me, but she's not my type. Unicorn stickers should have an age limit."

"And what about Buffy?" I asked.

"Why are you asking me about Buffy?" Spike asked.

"You always hang out together...when she's not having lunch with Angel."

Spike grumbled and folded his arms. "If you ask me, she's too bloody good for him."

The video ends with Spike walking Buffy to her car. It's clear that there's serious romantic chemistry between the two of them.

###

Episode 6: Turnabout In Tears

Thursday, October 16

Greetings, gentle viewers. The thing about having a job is that sometimes, it can get really stressful. Sometimes, making these videos is the only things I have to look forward to. But I'm not the only one having a hard time right now.

Buffy Summers

"Cordelia has been seriously breathing down my neck this whole week! I didn't really want to do a camera confession about this, but I can't take it anymore. She has been going over my time sheets and sales charts, looking for the smallest mistakes. She has been asking me not-so-discreetly to sign this write up."

Buffy holds up the write-up to the camera and continues.

"I refuse to sign anything. But the temptation to quit is seriously burning me up. And even though Angel and I have gone out to lunch a couple times these past few weeks, it hasn't really led up to anything. I actually missed out on dinner because I had to work late Friday night."

Cut to Tara's office. Tara and Spike are going over Robin Woods's latest manuscript and collaborating over a design for the cover. Tara was on the phone with Robin when Buffy walks in, with her face wet with tears. Spike shuts the door in the camera's face, so the sound coming out of Tara's office is muffled. Buffy talks to Tara about Cordelia with tears streaming down her face. Spike goes to Buffy and hugs her. Tara and Spike give Buffy what looks like an encouraging talk with and Buffy hugs both of them.

In other news, I hear that Fred and Wesley are going out now. So at least there's that. Hopefully there will be better news next week.

###

Episode 9: Mischief Night

Thursday, October 30

Greetings, gentle viewers. As you know, for the past few weeks we have been planning the company's annual Halloween costume party, held at the Caritas Nightclub tomorrow night.

Today, I am going to ask everyone what they're going to dress as for the party because there's a costume contest going on. The first place prize for best costume is a Kindle E-reader. Second prize is a movie night gift basket. Third prize is a $50 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.

Buffy Summers

"I'm not quite sure what I'm gonna be dressing as for the party. But I know for sure that I want to turn Angel's head and make a seriously good impression."

Charles Gunn

"My girlfriend and I are gonna dress as characters from the Marvel universe. Angel's more of a DC fan and we fight a lot over that. You watch the show Agents of SHIELD, right?"

"Every Tuesday," I said.

"Cool. I'm gonna go as Deathlok. He was badass and awesome!"

"And what's your girlfriend going as?"

"Elektra. She likes the comic version more than the movie."

Fred Burkle

"I'm hoping for my costume to win most original, if there's a category for that in the contest," Fred said. "I am a huge fan of this movie series about titans and Greek gods and one character I was drawn to was the goddess Illyria. Wesley is planning to go as Apollo, so I think it's a perfect match on that part."

Everyone else here is keeping their costumes a secret until tomorrow. I plan to go as a ghost, unseen by everyone as I document the goings-on at the party. So tune in tomorrow night or Saturday morning for a special episode of Project Intern, which I will entitle "Special Halloween Edition."

###

Special Halloween Edition: Tricks and Treats

Friday, October 31.

Happy Halloween, gentle viewers. I know that it's technically November 1st, but I just came back from the party and I promised that I would share the goings on of the party, so here we go….

Caritas Nightclub is packed with everyone from the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart publications. Harmony is dressed as Madonna in the Material Girl music video. Gunn is at the bar, sharing drinks with his girlfriend. Wesley and Fred are out on the dance floor. Fred is almost unrecognizable. Her hair and eyes are electric blue, she has blue makeup on her eyes and her skin is ghostly pale.

"I wish to do more violence," Fred said, glaring into the camera.

Wesley whisks Fred away from the camera. Tara is talking with the nightclub owner, Lorne. Tara is dressed as an angel.

"What's your costume?" I asked Lorne.

"I'm a sports mascot," Lorne said. "Pylea Technical Institute Green Demons."

The camera turns to see Buffy walk into the party, dressed as a vampire bride.

"You look radiant, Miss Summers," I said as I approached her.

"Thanks, Andrew," Buffy said. "Nice ghost sheet."

"You can't go wrong with the classics."

At this point, I start to narrate over the party footage.

It didn't surprise me one bit that Spike showed up to the party dressed as a vampire that complemented Buffy's costume. But just as the two of them noticed each other, Lorne started playing a slow song.

Angel leads Cordelia out onto the dance floor. Angel is dressed as Green Lantern while Cordelia is dressed as Hawkgirl. Buffy runs to the bar to get a drink. To her surprise, Spike appears at her side, dressed in a long black leather duster with a red shirt, black jeans, and heavy black boots. He offers to pay for her drink in exchange for a dance. I narrate over the footage of their dance.

As they danced together, I could almost imagine the story: Buffy is a runaway bride turned into a vampire scorned. She falls in love with Spike, a devil-may-care vampire with the heart of a poet.

The growing interest in Buffy's eyes is clear, even with the dim lighting. After the song finishes, Spike notices me and leads Buffy to the camera. Cut to the VIP room, where it's a lot quieter.

"You still doing those camera confessions?" Spike asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Go for it."

"Buffy, I don't know if you know this, but I write poetry sometimes," Spike said, looking at Buffy.

"I think Tara told me something about that," Buffy said. "But I thought that was just a college thing."

"I don't really share my poetry, but lately I found some inspiration."

Buffy blushed. "Oh?"

Spike digs into his pocket and pulls out a folded sheet of paper. He unfolds it and reads the contents to Buffy.

It's one thing to admire a beautiful lady

When I'm standing at a distance

But even being in the same room

Makes it overwhelming

How beautiful she is when she smiles at me

And yet how hard it is for me to look at her

I'm scared that she will see right through me

Too awestruck at her presence to tell her how I feel

I wish I could tell her about her beautiful golden hair

Her shimmering emerald eyes

How the light changes when she walks into a room

And how when she cries, it's like a beautiful sunshower

At night, I lie awake and ask myself

"What could that beautiful woman be thinking?

Does she look at me the way I look at her

Or is she simply acknowledging a friend?

Does she look with admiration?

Or indifference?

Even though I could feel her gaze,

Am I really what these she sees?"

Buffy looked at Spike in surprise and could only reply with a passionate kiss.

"So does that mean you're free tomorrow night for dinner?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Buffy said. "Yes, I definitely am."

The two of them leave the VIP room for the dance floor again as another rock ballad starts to play. I continue to narrate over a montage.

So the rest of the party went pretty well. Cordelia apologized to Buffy for the lashing she gave two weeks ago. It seems like she and Angel had a fight and she took it out on Buffy. Buffy forgave Cordelia and Angel quickly figured that she moved on.

Fred won the prize for best costume, since she put the most work into it. Buffy won second place because her costume had a lot of wow factor. Harmony won third place and gave the gift card to Spike because she wasn't much of a reader.

Later on, I found out that Gunn heard about Spike's poetry confession and talked to him about publishing his poetry as a collection. We'll see if it sells well, given the market. Until next Thursday, this is Andrew Wells wishing everyone a Happy Halloween.


Happy Halloween everyone! Please favorite and review!