The rest of Rose's day had went well too. She'd gotten through her classes in a slightly giddy cloud. When she was done and had taken a shower, she set about prepping for her date. She lived in a single dorm room and half her clothes were still packed away in boxes. It took her half an hour of just digging through her boxes of clothes. What to wear? She's heard the Bronze was pretty casual, so nothing to fancy. So, sexy? Would that seem too desperate?

She finally settled on a slightly-above-the-knee plaid skirt and dark red blouse. She looked in the mirror and she looked good enough. She looked away before she could tell herself that she didn't look good.

Now it was time to tackle the makeup. That was a whole other affair. She flicked on her makeup mirror to low lighting. She put on her foundation, powder, minimalist eyeshadow and black eyeliner. She stared at her reflection, pondering over what to put on her lips. Ah! She dug into her train case, selecting a black tube of lipstick with silver designs. She smiled, her favorite, Hellraiser. It was a beautiful deep, but not over-powering red. Plus, she liked the name. As she started applying it to her bottom lip, she hesitated. It was faint at first, but she felt it coming; the feeling of being watched. She glanced around her room, but she knew no one was there. She tried to ignore it, and continued applying her lipstick. A soft, mocking laugh reverberated through the room, making her jump. Shaking slightly, she capped the lipstick and closed her eyes. An expression of extreme concentration came across her face, "Go way," she said definitively. The laugh came again, but it sounded farther away, all right, I'll let you play for now, but don't forget about my turn. Rose opened her eyes again and took a deep breath. She tore off her outfit and went back to digging through her boxes.

Willow and Buffy sat at their usual table at the Bronze, sipping their drinks. They were waiting for the rest of the Scoobies to come. Willow was the first to see Xander and his date. They both looked nervous, but in the good way. She nudged Buffy and nodded in their direction.

"Hey guys! This is Rose," Xander introduced the shy girl at his side. "Rose, these are Willow and Buffy," pointing at them in turn.

"Hi," Rose said, smiling, and giving a little wave. She was wearing a dark red tank top and a black shrug over her shoulders, and a jean skirt that went down to her knees. Willow couldn't help but notice how cute she looked up close, and gave her a famous Willow smile.

"Well, Xan, shouldn't you get Rose a drink?" Buffy winked at Rose as Xander stuttered, of course, of course, and ran off to get something for her. "C'mon Rose, take a seat!" Buffy patted the chair across from Willow.

Xander was half way to the bar before realizing he hadn't asked Rose what she wanted to drink. Crap! He turned back and saw the three girls talking and laughing. He should've known it was trap! They were surely telling Rose numerous embarrassing things about him! The fiends! Who knows what things they were telling his date! But, there he was, standing awkwardly half way to the bar. He decided to continue to go get a drink and to swagger as smoothly as he could to sweep Rose away from the cloud of lies his 'friends' were clouding his date with.

Up in the shadows, Spike watched the whole thing. He snickered wickedly at Harris's conundrum. There probably was no need for him to drop in, he was going to screw things up all on his own. He sucked on a straw leading down into a brown paper bag.

"So where ya from Rose?" Willow asked.

"Oh, I'm from San Francisco originally, but I grew up in Napa Valley. I went to Northern California University freshmen year," she said shyly.

"Really? Then why'd you come all the way down here?" Buffy asked as she took another sip of her drink.

Rose shrugged, "I just wanted some place more quiet I guess." There's some irony is she'd ever heard any, thought Buffy.

"Well, thank you ladies for keeping Rose company, but how about a dance?" Xander asked as he offered Rose a soda. She smiled, took a sip, and glanced at the two other girls.

"Dun worry about it, you two go have fun," Buffy waved them off.

As the two of them moved to the dance floor, Willow turned to Buffy. "She seems really nice, cute too," she took a sip from her drink. Buffy nodded in agreement.

"Got to love Xander's swagger," she smirked.