Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I appreciate them! Soon, I promise a drunken buffy scene, at Flame's request. ;)

Chapter 6

Buffy looked at the small room and smiled. On the bed, she had the quilt she had made with her mother. A faded photograph of her family was tacked to the wall. She touched it lightly, and a smile came to her face as she thought of the day that it had been taken. It was just months before her dad had died. It was the only photograph she even had of her family all together, and the worn edges showed the love it had received over the years.

Her clothing was all packed away, but she secretly hoped to be rid of it soon. On the dresser, there was a cosmetics case, the only gift she had received after graduation. It was filled with all sorts of cosmetics, none of which she knew how to use, or where they went. The trunk had been taken out to the living room, and she draped a pretty scarf over top of it to make a small table for the room. Liam had hovered over her for nearly an hour, before she finally shoved him from her room so that she could unpack. Spike merely laughed about it as he watched.

Finally, Buffy emerged from the room, and hung hesitantly in the hallway as the guys played cards at the kitchen table. She leaned into the wall, and studied the two for a moment, looking at them objectively. Liam had grown tall and broad, and he wore his dark hair long and shaggy, brushing against his shoulders. His deep brown eyes, a trait from his father, were bright with happiness. On his face, he wore thick side burns, and a short goatee. Just above his lip, he had a small thin strip of a mustache, as well.

Her eyes moved over to Spike, and took in his appearance again. He had changed so much from the shy boy she had known before, and had grown into a man. His look was rather different, but she didn't mind so much. After all, she looked like a throw back to the 50's, herself. Before stepping out of the hall, she went into the impossibly small bathroom, and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hands slid upward to the ponytail holder in her hair, and pulled it out. She raked her fingers through it, and let the long sleek hair get mussed for the first time in what felt like years.

She studied herself in the mirror, and then looked down at the skirt and blouse. Sighing, she just shrugged, and went out to see the guys. They had finished the game in her absence, and had cracked open a bag of chips. Spike looked up and smiled towards her, and then slide over on the couch, so there was room for both of them. Liam came out of the kitchen holding three soda bottles, and handed one to her, then the other to Spike. Buffy took the bottle and slowly walked towards the couch.

Spike threw a trademark grin at her, and then looked back at he television, where a baseball game was on. After a moment of indecision, Buffy sat on the edge of the sofa, and nervously watched the television. Her brother she was comfortable around, but Spike was a new situation for her, regardless of them having been friends for all of five minutes before.

After watching the game for a few more minutes, Buffy was able to relax, and she slid back on the sofa, until her back was against the cushion. While she fidgeted, Spike watched her from the corner of his eye. She had been so perfect to him when they were children; inviting him to join their group, and being so much like one of the boys. Without fully realizing what it was at the time, Spike had grown a good sized crush on little Buffy, and had missed her when she had left so many years before.

Now, however, she had grown into a lovely young woman. Her hair was golden, her skin pale, and her eyes large and luminescent. Her voice was soft and musical, and every time Spike looked over towards her, he felt a tug in his chest, and another in his pants. Crude, he thought, but truthful. Shifting in his seat, he eased the strain on his pants, and turned his gaze back to this American past time of baseball.

*

Willow hurried up the stairs to the garage apartment, swinging a bag over her shoulder as she pushed her long hair from her face. These damn bell-bottoms are to tight, she thought, as she sucked in a breath before making it to the top. The hip hugging jeans rode low on her body, and her belly was bared under a long layer of fringe on her top. The ivory blouse came to just under her breasts, and the fringe that came around the shirt ended at her hips. Willow's bright red hair was ironed flat as a pancake, and brushed unevenly at her waist.

She knocked once, before opening the door and coming through. Since Liam had come back a few years before, most of the same group of people had gravitated towards his apartment, and he had an open door policy. As long as it was unlocked, most the people just came and went as they pleased, sometimes using his pad to crash after a fight with the parents, or coming over after school and work to relax. Willow had been no different, and had even gone on a few dates with the muscular guy.

Willow shut the door behind her, and dropped the bag in front of her with a sigh as she sagged back against the door. She closed her eyes as she breathed in deeply, then became aware of the silence, and opened her mouth. She glanced to the side, and saw that Liam, Spike, and Buffy were all staring at her. Smiling weakly, she picked up the bag, and walked towards them.

"Hey guys…" Spike finally just laughed quietly, and turned back to the game, while Liam let his gaze drift appreciatively over Willow's form. The few dates they had been on were fairly innocent, but the last time they went out as a group, Liam and Willow has seemed a bit chattier, a bit closer, and way flirtier. Willow felt her cheeks flush as she felt Liam watching her, but she shook it off and turned to Buffy.

"Buffy! Oh jinkies! I've missed you so much!" Buffy was up in an instant, and her small form was being hugged by the red headed fireball her friend Willow had become. Willow pulled back and looked at Buffy's clothes and frowned. "I had a feeling this was the case. Don't worry, girl, I have some choice clothes with me. Come on, make over!"

Buffy giggled as Willow dragged her into the back bedroom. As they disappeared, Liam stared at Spike. "Hey, stop making drawing designs on my sister!"

Spike brought his gaze back to Liam's, and he scoffed. "Wanker, as if. I wasn't drawing designs on anyone. Can we get back to the game?" Spike turned back to the television, and blocked out the urge to glance at Buffy's door again. Liam snorted at and turned towards the game as well.

*

Willow had dumped out several pairs of hip hugging jeans, some with bright fabric on the bells, a pair with rainbow stripes racing down the sides, and one pair of white ones with small pink hearts stitched on the pockets. Along with the pants, there were several shirts, all of them scandalously bearing, compared to what Buffy was used to.

"So, start trying some on, cause we need to shop, and I am not going anywhere with you dressed that way. Ang- Liam said he was going to give you some bread to buy some threads with." Willow yammered on while sorting several of the tops, and pairing them with the jeans that they looked the best with. Buffy was blushing brightly, as she grabbed up the pair of white ones.

"Um, Wills? Which top goes with this one?" Buffy stared at the conglomeration of colors on the bed, and cringed at her own lack of knowledge about the clothes.

Willow dug through the pile, and came up with a white gauzy peasants top with long bell sleeves, and rainbow embroidery on the front. The hem of the shirt was bunched with elastic, and had a small ruffle under it. Buffy eyed the shirt wearily, then grabbed it, and headed towards the door. "Where you going?" Willow asked her, confused.

"To the bathroom, to change." Buffy said self-consciously.

"You can change in here, Buff, I won't look. Besides, we used to take baths together." Willow laughed teasingly as she turned around to paw through the clothes she brought with her. After a brief hesitation, Buffy quickly shed the outdated clothing, and pulled on the low waist, hip hugging, bell bottom jeans. Her hands reached over her belly with a blush, before frowning.

"Willow? What do I do… my… um… the waist is lower then my…" Buffy said in embarrassment, trailing off at the end.

"Huh? Oh! OH! Just tuck them in. Then, tonight, we can get you some proper undergarments. Just shove em down into the waist of the jeans."

Buffy did as she was told, then pulled the shirt on. It came to a stop about 2 inches above her navel, with the jeans ending an inch under her navel. Blushing, she wrapped her arms around the flat planes of the bared skin. Blushing brightly, she walked to Willow, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Willow, I'm not so sure about this…"

Willow turned around and beamed at her friend. "No, Buffy, you look gorgeous. Come here, I'll prove it!" Willow grabbed her hand, and before Buffy could stop her, she dragged her out to the main room. Liam looked up and stopped talking. Spike looked up, and thought his mouth has fallen off. Liam's first move after staring at her was to turn to Spike.

"Tell me again what you are not doing, Spike!" Buffy blushed and finally moved her hands from covering her belly.