Chapter 2: End of the School Year

Before Buffy knew it, the school year was almost over. She had made it through her sophomore year without any faults. She had only her two original friends but they were great friends.

She was excited about the end of the year school dance. Since freshmen and sophomores don't get proms, the Principal had agreed to have a dance at the Bronze. It was to be a formal occasion and dates were allowed. Buffy had no date though. Xander and Cordelia had broken up but Anya had quickly taken her place so he was bringing Anya had his date. Even shy Willow had met someone this past year named Oz. He was in the band that was chosen to play for the school dance. So The Dingoes Ate My Baby would play seven until 10, playing all fast dancing songs. Then after ten, the night would switch to a mixed collection until eleven and then the rest of the night until people left would be filled with karaoke.

Buffy wasn't a good singer so planned to be gone by a little after 10. She didn't have a dance partner to share with the slow dances as Xander and Willow had so she figured she would make her excuses and leave at that time.


Willow raced from her house to Giles's car noticing Buffy and Anya were both already in it. Willow grinned, "Ready to go shopping?"

Buffy nodded, "I just got my allowance and even saved some of my birthday money from a few months ago for this dress. I'm excited."

Anya shrugged, "I don't even know what to wear." Anya was from Australia so she was new to the states. Buffy had invited her with them to go dress shopping because Xander had begged her to. He had said that Anya knew no one and Anya's parents had died a few months ago. Anya had been whisked away to Sunnydale to live with her grandparents who she barely knew. She had a hard time fitting in not seeming to understand the way life worked. The gang had learned quickly that Anya had been completely home schooled and sheltered therefore her knowledge of the outside world was limited.

So there they were heading to the mall in the car. Willow looked over at Buffy, "I want a pink dress. A pink dress that has a lot of lace and ruffles. It's supposed to be a 1800s dance so it should work nicely."

Buffy beamed at her, "I don't know what I want. I just want to look pretty."

Anya gazed out the window, "I want a white dress with lots of ruffles with blue trim. I want it to cover my shoes, which will be white, and I'll tie a blue ribbon in my hair. Xander will want to ravish me when I look like that. He'll want to give me many orgasms…What?"

Willow and Buffy were staring at her and Giles cleared his throat thankful as he pulled into the parking lot. The three girls eagerly jumped out from the car and Giles smiled at them, "I'll be in the Barnes and Noble having a coffee. 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 on the top of her dresser. Willow's parents were gone traveling as they often did leaving the girl behind so Buffy had invited her over to stay. It was what they had done all year long. Only tonight, they were trying to get ready for the dance!

Anya had come over after school that day to prepare 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 of course invited her to be taken by him.

The girls looked lovely even as they applied the last of their makeup on their faces. 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 accented her breasts much to her delight. The girls had even gone as far as to get corsets and silk stockings for the night to complete the 1800s costumes.

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 surround her face. Buffy had chosen a half up do with long ringlets. She had also dyed her hair darker for the occasion since Anya had decided to go blond to highlight her 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, "But 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 tiny purses that matched their outfits and 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 hadn't been to a dance before but she was a natural. Willow stood near the stage dancing with Buffy awaiting eagerly for ten to happen when Oz would be able to join her. For now 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 3 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 definitely hot and sweaty by the time 10 rolled around. She hadn't allowed herself the pleasure of taking a break knowing at 10 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 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 perhaps that 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. She couldn't believe it was because she was in karate for years back in L.A. It taught self-discipline not dance moves. Either way, dancing seemed to come natural to her.

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 need to take the time to say goodbye to her friends. Right now though, she needed air and a drink badly.

She pushed her hair from her face again and walked to the bar ordering a diet coke. Being only 16, she was just too young to drink and this place was known for its carding. She sipped on the drink and 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. It wasn't chilly by any means but there was at least air moving through the balcony to help. 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 people dancing in dresses and they seemed to flow across the floor. 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. All the beautiful 1800s dresses flowed with the suits of the guys. People looked surprisingly comfortable as they held each other close as the lady singing sang about love.

Buffy had never been in love. She found herself musing about the way the lights from the ceiling had made it appear that every couple was in love even if they really weren't. For the first time in the evening, 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 just made her long to run her fingers through it and mess it up.

She watched as he raised his eyebrow towards her with a slight grin as he made his way up the stairs to where she stood alone with her body overlooking the crowd.

Buffy held her breath nervous since she hadn't been looked at in this way in all her life. 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."

The young man nodded, "You deserved one with your dancing skills. I was watching you all night. Name is 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."

Spike grinned, "Pleasure is all mine, my luv. 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 1800 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 boy did it feel great.

She barely heard Spike as he asked her, "New here? I haven't seen you around before."

Buffy nodded, "Well I moved here at the beginning of this school year. I'm a sophomore at Sunnydale High. Never been to the Bronze before."

Spike let her lean back so they could meet eyes. 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 it off going to college."

Buffy nodded intrigued by this older young man. 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 for this 1800 style dress.

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 really take the time to have fun. Usually she went to the mall or hung out at Willow's house. Where was the fun 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. I usually just go to my friend's house and we like to watch movies."

Spike grinned, "You should go to the movie theater sometimes. It's a great place to meet people and watch movies. 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."

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 moaned in protest as he broke the contact but luckily for her, he 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.