A/N : Anyone who has seen the movie '10 Things...' will know the real Spuffyness of this fic will be a little while coming. I have a little more setting up to do before there are more Spike/Buffy scenes but I hope you all stick with the story til then. So far the response is so great, and I'm really glad everyone seems to like this so much.
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 3 - Extreme Dating

"So if x is... No, y can be calculated by... Oh God, I hate this!" Dawn complained frustratedly throwing her pencil down and putting her head in her hands.

She wasn't exactly deficient when it came to school work, but Math was not her strong point, most especially algebra. It was only the third day back at school and already her homework was driving her crazy!

"Er, hey" said a voice and Dawn glanced up to see a shy looking boy smiling and waving slightly at her, "Can I maybe sit here?" he asked nervously, gesturing to the seat across from her.

"Depends" Dawn said seriously, "You know anything about algebra?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh yeah" he enthused, "You want some help?" he offered thrilled when she nodded and pulled out the chair beside herself, hoping he'd take it.

"I'm Dawn by the way" she introduced herself as he took the offered chair.

"I know" he smiled, causing her to do the same, clearly he'd noticed her, "Oh, and I'm Andrew" he said suddenly, realising he hadn't said that yet.

"Okay, Andrew" Dawn nodded, "What do you know about simultaneous equations?" she sighed, as she pushed the book across the table at him. He glanced at the letters and figures on the page before beginning to explain.

Within a half hour Dawn was understanding and getting each and every problem right first time.

"Wow, that's incredible" Dawn almost laughed, "I mean, last year, I barely scraped a pass in Math, and now... You made it so easy, fun even" she smiled.

"Math is fun" Andrew grinned, "And it's all around us, important to everything" he pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess" Dawn shrugged, not really bothered about anything else this guy had to say. He'd helped her get her homework done, that was all the mattered, now he was superfluous to requirements.

"So if you ever need any more help" he said as she put her books away in her bag, "I'm totally here for you"

"That'd be great" Dawn smiled, realising this could be a regular deal, this guy helping her out when algebra got a little too rough. Hell she could probably even get him to do the work for her if she tried, though she probably wouldn't be quite that dishonest.

She was out of her seat and ready to walk away when Andrew spoke again.

"Now I helped you with your homework" he said hopefully, "Does that mean you're free tonight?"

"Does it...? Oh" Dawn said suddenly realising what this guy actually meant. He wanted to date her, well, that wasn't so weird, several guys did, but the only one that really mattered to her was Connor, and even that was a pointless situation due to her mother's new dating rule.

"Andrew, that's very sweet but..." she began only to be interrupted.

"I know your Mom has real strict dating rules and all" he told her, "but I was thinking maybe if we called it a study date, for the Math, maybe we could still, y'know go out?" he suggested, looking so painfully hopeful that Dawn almost felt bad for him.

"Actually, the rules changed, but not enough to make a difference" she said grumpily, "I can date, but only if my sister does"

"Ah, the tempestuous Buffy" Andrew nodded knowingly, "She is a little difficult, I have seen"

"A little difficult?" Dawn scoffed, "It's like one day she was Little Miss Popularity" she sighed as she took her seat once again and explained, "And then the next thing you know she's hanging with Faith, bitching at Angel... she just changed so much" she said sadly, not just upset by the fact her sister no longer got along with people in school, but because she barely gave her the time of day anymore either. They'd been so close as kids but the last couple of years things had just been different, and not in a good way.

"I know your sister is kinda extreme" Andrew nodded, "but I'll bet I could find a guy to date her" he said with a smile, glad when Dawn started to grin too.

"You could find a guy for Buffy so I could actually get a date?" she asked hopefully, "You'd really do that for me?"

"Well, duh!" Andrew rolled his eyes, "I would fight Darth Vader light-sabre-less for you" he admitted in earnest, at which Dawn made a face.

"That's... sweet, I think" she said awkwardly, backing away a little.

This guy was cute enough but a little weird. Still Dawn was willing to make nice if he was prepared to help her out with her problem. If he really could find someone stupid enough to want to date Buffy, she might actually get a chance to go out with Connor Angelus, and that would be a dream come true.

"I cannot believe you agreed to that" Xander laughed as Andrew told him of his agreement with Dawn, "You actually think you can find a guy that would take Buffy Summers out on a date?" he chuckled, "And even if you could you really think she'd say yes? Man, you're weird" he said, shaking his head as he dug in his locker for the book he needed.

"I have to do this, Xand" Andrew sighed, "Dawn is... she's just so perfect, I have to make her mine, and this is the only way"

"Andrew" Xander sighed as he slammed his locker shut, his book found, "No woman is perfect, and even if she were, you're talking about doing the impossible here. Nobody likes Buffy enough to dare to ask her out"

"You told me you did once" Andrew reminded him, "Like her that much, I mean"

"Yeah, once" Xander agreed, "But that was years ago, like Freshman year, before she went psycho. Now... there is no way I would ever, ever..." he paused as he looked across the hall and saw Buffy standing there with Faith in her short skirt and knee high boots, tipping her head back as she laughed at a joke, making her gold hair flow around her shoulders, "Yeah okay so she's still gorgeous" Xander sighed, "And if I wasn't such a coward I would ask her out but, there is no way, absolutely no way..."

"Please, Xander" Andrew begged, "I can't ask anybody else" he told him, "I barely know anybody else, and she might even say yes"

As he stared at the girl he used to adore, Xander actually considered doing it. It'd be perfect if she said yes, and there really was no reason why she shouldn't, she'd probably be grateful to date anyone since her mother's ban had prevented it for so long. Besides, he liked the idea of annoying Faith.

Back in Freshman year, before she and Buffy had gotten to be friends, she was a major predator and had played most of the boys in school. One night after overhearing a conversation between Buffy and Xander, one of his feeble attempts at getting the blonde's attention, Faith had swooped in to get herself some fun. She used the boy terribly for one night of passion, the first he'd ever had with anybody, before discarding him and really never speaking to him again.

"Oh you will pay for that" he said to himself, "When Buffy dates me, you'll feel so stupid" he muttered as he strode across the hall, "Hi" he said, tapping Buffy on the shoulder to get her attention.

"What do you want?" she asked, rolling her eyes. She thought this guy had given up his crush on her years ago.

"Hey, I, er... I heard this rumour" he laughed nervously, "That your Mom made a new rule, that you can date now, and I was, well, I was wondering..."

Xander got no further as Faith bust up laughing and drowned out his stuttered words.

"Oh, no way" she choked as she tried to speak through her chuckling, "You seriously think B's gonna go out with you?" she checked, which caused Buffy to laugh a little too.

"Sorry, Xand" she said, slapping him on the shoulder as she walked away, "Not if you were the last man alive" she smirked, as Faith followed her down the hall, still laughing.

"That didn't go so well, huh?" Andrew said nervously as he came over to Xander. The taller boy gave him a look that said it all, "Sorry?" he offered and the brunette shook his head.

"It's not your fault, not really" he sighed as they walked down the hall and through the doors to outside, "I should've known better than to think Buffy would want to date me out of every guy here"

"There must be someone she'd want to go out with" Andrew said, looking around, "I promised Dawn I'd find someone"

"Andrew, even if you could find someone she'd actually say yes to" Xander told the boy, "He'd have to be some guy. We're talking complete lack of fear"

"Like him?" Andrew grinned as he gestured towards a guy across the way, wearing a black leather coat. He sat on the back of the bench with his Doc Martens planted firmly on the seat, a cigarette in one hand and a book in the other.

"Are you kidding me?" Xander choked, "That guy?" he gasped.

"He looks tough enough for Buffy" Andrew shrugged.

"Yeah, but didn't you hear the rumours?" his friend asked, "They say he got kicked out of his last school for burning down the gym, and the one before that for stabbing the horticultural teacher with pruning shears!" he explained, "The guy is all five acidy flavours of bad to the bone"

"We said we needed someone extreme to date Buffy" Andrew reminded him, "and there isn't anybody else"

With a deep breath he made to walk towards the bleached blond but his friend pulled him back.

"No, not Spike Jackson" he said firmly, "You just can't ask him to date Buffy, he... y'know what they say that book is?" he asked Andrew who shook his head, "Some say it's like the bible of the devil, some others say he's reading up on how best to kill us all. He's a complete psycho, man"

"Everybody has a little good in them, Xander" his friend told him wisely, "You shouldn't judge books by their covers"

Before his friend could answer, Andrew was crossing the ground towards Spike who didn't appear to notice his approach, despite the fact he'd sensed him coming from several yards away.

"Er, hi" the boy said nervously, and Spike glanced up at him, "So, yeah, I was wondering..." his sentence disappeared into a cough as cigarette smoke was blown into his face.

"Piss off, runt" Spike snapped, closing his book with a snap too close to Andew's nose.

By the time the boy had stopped coughing up a lung and could see through his watery eyes, Spike was walking away, black leather coat swooshing around his legs as he went.

"Oh yeah" Xander said as he came over to Andrew and slapped him on the back, "That went real well"

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : Apologies that this chapter is so short. More coming soon!