Chapter Six-The Party

A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret

Dawn woke up before Cordelia and went down to the kitchen. She got herself some cereal and sat at the bar.

"You're up early." a male voice came from behind her.

"Yeah, I normally am." Dawn answered.

"Really..." the voice made an appearance. It was Connor. He covered her mouth with his own. He slowly ran his hands up and down her back.

"Get a room." Oz joked from the couch. Both of the younger teens all but jumped out of their skin.

"Oz…when did you get here?" Dawn asked, pulling away from Connor.

"I sleep here." Oz answered.

"You weren't here last night when I went to bed." Dawn protested, pretending the whole 'Connor' thing never happened.

"Yeah Xander kinda snores and it woke me up." Oz answered.

"That sucks." Connor commented, trying to insert himself into the conversation. "Angel just recently started sleep talking. He normally only does it when he has 'inner-turmoil' or whatever."

"Buffy does that too, it's soo weird. Oh but with out the inner turmoil thing…she just does it." Dawn observed and the three burst into laughter. "Well I'm gonna go get Cordy before the sun rises.

"Good luck." Oz said and Connor reached out to squeeze Dawn's hand. She ignored it and walked away. His hand fell down to his side in hurt and annoyance.

"Don't tell…she's not ready yet." he told Oz, walking over to the couch.

"It's fine. I'll keep it to myself." Oz assured him.

"So…are we gonna practice all of today?" Connor asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, and Xander wants us to make a 'special' song for the girls." Oz informed him.

"That's cool." Connor said. "Do we have any ideas for this song?"

"That's why I'm up." Oz explained. "But we're not playing it until our next gig
or so."

"Good, I have too much on my mind to try to memorize a song right now." Connor sighed.

Dawn and Cordelia emerged from the stairs. Dawn was wearing brown shorts that read 'SunRise Karma Café' in pink and a pink tanktop. Cordelia was wearing crimson shorts that read 'Goddess of Love' in light blue and a matching tank.

Dawn rushed over to Connor, threw her arms around him and kissed him. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, still a little hurt from before.

"Sorry for being such a bitch…about us." Dawn whispered to him. "We can tell everyone once things are settled." Connor nodded his forgiveness and agreement. They kissed again.

"Ok, sorry to spoil this touching moment and stuff, but, Dawn, we gotta go!" Cordelia interrupted dragging Dawn away.

"Bye!" Dawn said, blowing Connor a kiss.

Oz chuckled as Connor plopped down next to him, sighing; love struck.

"Hey!" Connor objected. "If it were Willow you'd be the same!"

"Hmmmmm…" Oz scratched his chin as he made a 'thinking' face. Both of themlaughed.

Willow came down the stairs rubbing her eyes.

"Gosh, what time is it?" she asked, hoping that it was at least after six.

"5:56." Oz answered. "Get a good night's sleep?"

"Mmmm…sorta. I'm normally up a whole lot earlier." Willow mumbled, still rubbing her eyes. She plopped down on the other side of Oz. Connor grabbed his bass out of the corner of the room and began practicing.

"I can't wait till the party tonight." Willow said, waking up a little more.

"Yeah it should be cool." Oz agreed, nodding.

"Are you gonna have any time to hang or are you guys just gonna be playing the whole time?" Willow asked, more awake now.

"Well, you see, the host is kind of alternating between us, another band, and some cds, so yeah we'll have time to hang."

"So we can dance? Like everyone, not just you and me, but you an me can still dance, but its cool that we can hang out and have fun and you guys don't…have…to…play…the whole time." Willow babbled. Oz smiled and nodded and Connor suppressed a laugh.

"Well I think me and Connor are gonna go practice. Tell Angel and Xander that we're in the basement." Oz told her and stood up. He grabbed his guitar and thetwo boys headed downstairs.

"No amps until after Giles and Jenny leave for the day." Willow called after them.

On The Beach

The sun had risen and Dawn and Cordelia were heading towards town. Cordelia had heard about a café and she wanted to try it out. Of course Dawn agreed. It was a little café in the middle of town called, 'The Lighthouse Café.' They walked into the little shop and were greeted by a cheery woman. She was short, plump,and very tan. She had twinkling green eyes and frizzy greying brown hair. She waved them in from behind the counter. There was instrumental jazz playing quietly in the background.

"Come on in dears!" the lady said happily. There was only one other customer in the shop and he was hidden behind a large newspaper. The lady ushered them to a table far away from the man.

"What'll it be for you gals?" she asked, pulling out a small notebook.

"Um, I'll have a Dutch chocolate muffin and a French Vanilla cappuccino." Dawn answered after glancing down the menu. Cordelia agreed on the same thing, except with a strawberry muffin.

The lady scribbled their orders down and headed to the back.

The man behind the newspaper cleared his throat loudly and shifted. The girls glanced at each other and laughed.

Suddenly the man took down his newspaper.

It was the creepy guy from Rite-Aid. He folded up his newspaper and sat down next to Dawn. She held back a scream. He placed one of his hands on her leg.

"You two sure do spend a lot of time together." He commented slyly.

"Don't touch her!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"What, do you own her? Is she your little sex bunny?" he spat.

"No!" Dawn shot back.

"Come on, save your girlfriend. Kiss her or I will." He threatened, grabbing Dawn by her hair.

"She's not my girlfriend." Cordelia protested. Dawn whimpered and looked pleadingly at Cordelia. The man lowered his lips closer to Dawn's. She opened her mouth to scream.

"Make a sound and both of you will get hurt." He warned. He leaned closer for the kiss and then the waitress came out from the back. He let go of Dawn and quickly stood up.

"The name's Joe. I'll be seeing you girls again, very soon…" he cackled and ran out of the restaurant.

"Here ye' girls are." The lady said, setting down the drinks. "Just ignore him, he's the town loon."

"Thanks, ma'am." Cordelia said. She smiled as the lady walked away. She turned to Dawn with a look of concern on her face. "Are you ok?"

"I thought I was gonna…I have never been so scared in my entire life." Dawn said quietly and sipped her drink.

"I am so sorry…" Cordelia said, taking a bite of her muffin.

"It's ok…it wasn't your fault." Dawn said, a little coldly.

"I'm sorry…I was scared too…I don't know what I was thinking." Cordelia said.

"When?" Dawn asked.

"When he was going to kiss you. I could've stopped him." Cordelia said.

"No, its fine." Dawn said, mentally forgiving Cordelia. She was probably scared
s well.

"He just…can't find out where we're staying." Cordelia said quietly.

"What if he already knows?" Dawn asked, biting her lip.

"He doesn't…I hope." Cordelia assured her. The two finished their food in silence and paid. They went outside taking the long way home.

At the House

Willow and Buffy sat down watching TV and pigging out on goldfish.

"The snack that smiles back; goldfish!" Buffy sang and popped the snack into her mouth. Snoopy and Beans were racing in circles around the couch while Turtle and Fuzzball just slept under the coffee table. Suddenly Buffy's cell phone rang.

She jumped to answer it, glad for something to do. 'A little overly excited…' she told herself.

"Hello?" she asked into the phone.

"Buffy." The British voice on the other line answered.

"Oh! Hi Spike!" Buffy exclaimed, smiling brightly at Willow. Willow smiled back and gave a 'thumbs-up' sign.

"What are you doing tonight, luv?" Spike asked.

"Actually I'm going to a party." Buffy explained.

"With your boyfriend." Spike finished quietly.

"No, I don't really have a boyfriend." Buffy told him. Angel wasn't her boyfriend. He had a girlfriend. Darla.

"Oh really?" Spike said cheering up a bit.

"Yeah really…you know, we can hang out tomorrow night though, maybe, if you want." Buffy suggested shyly.

"Yeah, there's a party tomorrow night and you should come. We would have fun." Spike insisted.

"Uh, sounds awesome." Buffy agreed.

"So we're on for tomorrow night, pet? Tell me again where I should pick you up." Spike asked.

So Buffy gave him the address and hung up. She and Willow beamed at each other, grasped each other's hands, and began bouncing around the room.

Six Hours Later

The four girls walked from store to store around the town.

"Oh my gosh! Let's get henna tattoos!" Cordelia suggested as they walked by a small tourist shop.

"Oh yeah, for the party tonight!" Willow agreed.

"And tomorrow." Buffy said slyly.

"What's tomorrow?" Dawn asked.

"Buffy's got a date!" Willow burst out.

"Oh my gosh! With who?" Cordelia prompted.

"This guy I met…his name is Spike." Buffy said dreamily.

"Oh details!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Well, he's tall, platinum blond, gorgeous blue eyes, kind of has this 'bad-boy' air about him, and he has this sexy British accent." Buffy gushed.

"Like Giles?" Cordelia asked, making the same observation as Angel.

"That's the second time someone has said that." Buffy scowled.

"So…tattoos?" Willow asked as she began walking into the shop.

"Yeah!" Dawn agreed and they all walked in.

The girls stood in front of a large board with pictures of all the things that they could get done.

"What should I get?" Dawn asked.

"Oh get that one! It's sooo you!" Cordelia said pointing to a picture of a small sun.

"Where should I get it?" Dawn asked.

"On your shoulder blade." Buffy suggested. "Then you could wear that halter top we bought yesterday."

"Good idea!" Dawn agreed and stepped up to one of the people working there. She explained what she wanted as the other girls chose their designs.

"Now me…what should I get?" Cordelia asked.

"Uh…how about you get that butterfly?" Willow suggested, pointing to an intricately drawn butterfly with little swirls going off to the sides, indicating that it was mean for either your stomach or your lower back.

"Oh its beautiful! I'll get it around my belly button!" Cordelia exclaimed. She rushed over to tell another one of the workers what she wanted.

"Ok Will, since you're so good, find one for me." Buffy joked as the two girls continued looking.

"Oh get this one!" Willow exclaimed. Buffy looked to where she was pointing. It was a heart that was being pulled two different ways.

"It definitely is me." Buffy said sadly.

"It was just an idea, You don't like it. I'll find something else. Something better." Willow assured, noticing Buffy's tone.

"No, I love it. It says so much about me." Buffy said. "Thanks Will."

"No big." Willow shrugged. "Let's go."

"What about yours?" Buffy asked.

"Already picked it. Where are you putting yours?" Willow asked.

"On my ankle." Buffy answered.

"That's awesome!"

Twenty Minutes Later

"Willow, why did you choose yours?" Dawn asked as the girls stood inspecting each other's tattoos. Willow's was on the small of her back. It was ocean waves with tiny dolphins jumping through the water.

"Because I had just seen dolphins leaping through the water when Oz asked me to go to the party with him." Willow answered, blushing.

"AW! That is so cute!" Dawn giggled and was joined by the two other girls. Willow's face turned a ferocious red as she smiled shyly.

"I just love him so much!" Willow sighed.

"Are you two like…going out?" Buffy asked, unsure.

"Well, I don't know…I mean he asked me to go to the party…but I'm not sure. Can you ask?" Willow asked excitedly.

"I can find out." Cordelia said, smiling smugly.

"How?" Buffy asked suspiciously. Cordelia kept smiling. Dawn caught on.

"How?" she asked wide-eyed.

"Connections." Cordelia assured them.

"Great." came from all three of the other girls. Willow's reaction: excited. Buffy's reaction: glad. Dawn's reaction: annoyed.

"This is so awesome!" Willow said bouncing around.

"Ok, ok, but we have to go home to get ready!" Cordelia interjected.

"Yeah, we all have to take showers, do our hair and makeup and nails!" Dawn added.

"We hafta get going!" Buffy agreed, and the four girls walked out of the store and practically ran home.

They arrived back home at three and were greeting by two hyped-up dogs, and loud music.

"Fooood!" Dawn groaned as they walked to the second story.

"Ok, here's the game plan. I'll make some sandwiches, Buffy and Dawn go pick out your outfits, help each other, Cordelia go shower. Then we'll all eat. Then Dawn will shower while Cordelia and I pick out our outfits, then Buffy will shower, then me. In the meantime we'll be deciding on hairdos, makeup, and nail colors." Willow instructed.

"Yes sir!" Buffy said, saluting Willow and marching up the stairs.

"I vote peanut butter and jelly." Dawn said as she followed her sister.

"Well aren't you bossy." Cordelia joked and followed her best friends up the stairs.

"I'm just taking charge." Willow said to herself.

Four Hours Later

The girls had themselves all done up and they looked gorgeous. The entire time they were getting ready they had music playing so it was almost like they had their own TV show. Or a movie. Just as Willow had gotten out of the shower the guys stopped playing so they could get ready. After all, the party started at eight and it was seven. And they hadn't eaten all day.

"Poor them…all they will have is cold water…the end of my shower was cold." Willow said shaking her head.

"They probably won't even take showers." Cordelia said in disgust.

"True…they only have an hour to get ready." Dawn agreed.

"But they'll be hot!" Buffy exclaimed and the girls began laughing. They were all in Cordelia and Dawn's room with all the makeup and nail polish scattered around the floor.

They were finished with everything and were just beginning to clean up.

Willow's auburn hair was swept up in a clip with a few curled tendrils falling around her face. She was wearing a floofy purple skirt with a blue sash tied around the top. She had a dark blue tank top on, matching the sash. Cordelia and Buffy had decided on her nail color: purple to match the skirt. And Dawn did makeup. She was really good at it actually. Willow had a shimmer about her whole face and there was a little dark blue on her eyelids, but nothing too dramatic…I mean it was Willow. And she had a light pink gloss on her lips.

Cordelia had her hair in a half-pony tail. Two pieces of raven black hair fell around her face, giving it shape. She was wearing a tight black tube top and a short jeans mini-skirt. She had a smoky eye shadow and clear polish on her nails. She also had a reddish brown lipstick on, nothing too obvious.

Buffy had her hair down and straightened. She was wearing a pink halter top and low slung blue-jeans. She had a little light pink eye shadow brushed on her eye lids and pink nail polish. She had a light pink shimmer on her lips.

Dawn had her hair down and curled, falling a little lower then her shoulders. She wore a tight top that only had one sleeve going over the shoulder without the tattoo. The shirt was a 'midriff bearing' shirt that was filled with random neutral colored swirls. She had on dark almost black hip-hugger jeans that almost didn't cover her. Needless to say, Buffy didn't approve…

"Dawn there is no way I am letting you out of this house looking like that!" Buffy argued, looking over her little sister's outfit.

"I think I look hot!" Dawn objected giving her sister a dirty look.

"Well I think you look like a baby prostitute!" Buffy yelled.

"Come on! We're on vacation!" Dawn cried.

"That doesn't mean you get to waltz about the streets naked!" Buffy shot back.

"I think that since it is vacation and Joyce…your mom…wouldn't ever let her wear that outfit, its only fair that she gets some use out of it." Cordelia said, taking Dawn's side.

"Yeah you wouldn't want to waste money, Buffy." Dawn said crossing her arms.

"Fine." Buffy gave in with a sigh. She and Willow walked out the door and Dawn was about to follow when Cordelia pulled her back.

"Dawn." Cordelia said with a smile.

"Cordelia." Dawn said nodding slightly.

"Do you think you could ask Connor to ask Oz if he's going out with Willow?" Cordelia pleaded.

"I knew it would come down to this." Dawn sighed under her breath, then answered: "Sure."

"Good! Now let's get to that party!" Cordelia squealed and they rushed down to the rest of the group.

At The Party

All eight teens walked in together, the boys on one side carrying their instruments, and the girls on the other either helping with the amps or the drum set. They got it all up on stage and the guys got set up. So far only the host and about fifteen of his friends were there…the party didn't start for half an hour.

"So how is this gonna work again?" Cordelia asked the host, acting as spokesperson for the band.

"Well, let's see it's lasting from nine PM to two AM so here's what we'll do. Your band…Dingoes Ate My Baby, will play from nine to eleven. The other band, G.O.T.R, will play from eleven to one. And then we'll play normal music for about an hour." the host said nodding.

"G.O.T.R.?" Willow asked. "What does it stand for?"

"No idea…I mean I did know, but it's gone. I had it written somewhere…oh well." he shrugged. He turned away and walked to the bar.

"I can't believe he rented out this entire…hang out place!" Buffy said.

"Well there's going to be over two hundred people attending this party." Xander said as he approached them. They all look at him wondering why he was there before the rest of the band. "I'm lead singer, remember?"

The girls nodded.

"How in the world does he afford all this?" Willow asked her cousin.

"No idea…he's the Trump the second…or something. But he has one of these EVERY Thursday. Can you believe that? And since we're playing at the first one, we get in free the rest of the summer." Xander replied.

"That's awesome!" Buffy exclaimed. Xander winked at her. She shook her head with mock disgust.

"Well we have about half an hour to chill. Let's get some drinks." Oz said as he and the rest of the band approached the group. The friends agreed and they went over to the bar.

"I would like the non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri." Cordelia said as she pointed to the board above the bartender's head.

"I want the same." Willow agreed.

"I want a non-alcoholic pina colada." Buffy said.

"Oh me too!" Xander said, putting his arm around Buffy. She smiled at him like he was her cousin instead of Willow's.

"I want that blue thing." Dawn said as she pointed to a drink under the 'non-alcoholic' section of the board.

"I'll just share that with her." Oz said and winked at Connor. Everyone had been a little shaky still about the two and it was the least Oz could do to take some of the heat off. He just hoped Willow wouldn't get mad.

Connor nodded. "I just have that stuff that looks like water but isn't."

"Same here." Angel agreed.

"Is that all for ya?" the bartender asked as he began making the drinks.

"Yep." Angel answered.

"Are you guys one of the bands?" he continued.

"Dingoes Ate my Baby." Oz told him.

"Interesting name." the man observed as he handed out the two strawberry daiquiris.

"Yeah…so how much do we owe you?" Cordelia asked pulling some money out of her bag.

"None, you're the band." the bartender told them as he set out the rest of the drinks. "Enjoy."

"Thank you Mr. …" Willow began.

"Willy…you all can call me Willy." he informed her and turned.

The group all shrugged at each other and inhaled their drinks, the party was supposed to start in five minutes and the band was supposed to be playing before anyone came in. The guys rushed up to the stage and the girls waited for the music.

As soon as the music started the girls started dancing and cheering. Soon the place is filled with partygoers dancing and talking and singing and just hanging. The girls stayed at the front of the stage cheering their friends on.

There were a lot of scantily dressed girls leaning up on the stage reaching out to touch the guys, but all the guys already had a 'girl' of their own to be looking at.

Only an hour into the party and a bunch of guys were drunk and running about the place like clowns. Girls were dancing with other girls and guys. Friends wereplaying pool, hanging on the couches or just making out in the corners.

Suddenly Buffy felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped as she spun around. It was Spike. His platinum blond hair was hidden under a black hat.

"Dance with me?" he asked as he grasped her hand.

"Sure." she smiled and walked with him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"This is the party I told you I was going to…my friends are playing." Buffy said over the music, pointing up to the band.

"Really…that's interesting…because my band is playing as well." Spike informed her. He pointed over to a bunch of punk guys sitting in a corner, practically in their own little cloud of smoke.

"Wow, I get to see both of you play." Buffy said.

"Yeah…both of who?" he asked suddenly. He spun her around and danced to her back. She lifted her arms up and put them around his neck.

"Oh my friends and their bands." she lied covering up the 'both angel and spike thing'.

"Oh that's cool. Me and my band are about to go on in half an hour, so we better spend our time wisely." he stated and spun Buffy around again. Within seconds they were grinding against each other, faces so close that they were almost kissing.

"Where'd Buffy get to?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh, some guy whisked her away, now they're off dancing." Willow told them, not taking her eyes off Oz.

"Oh right, so she just abandons Angel." Cordelia said slyly. She still sorta had that thing for Angel and since Xander hadn't talked to her at all…

She began dancing like a hooker, just to get his attention. But nothing could. He had his eyes locked on someone else. And that someone else was dancing with his girl. His Buffy.

'That guys is gonna find out.' he said to himself. But like Connor, everything had to be an argument, even if it was with the other him. And no he was not schizophrenic.

'Buffy isn't yours. You have Darla.'

'Darla isn't here. Buffy likes you.'

'Maybe since you have Darla, she's just going to get over you and move on to him'

'Well I'll dump Darla, I just don't want to see Buffy with him'

'You don't even know who 'he' is!'

'Yeah, but there's this familiar feeling…maybe when I see him up close…'

'Don't kid yourself.'

'I'm not'

'Just stop talking to you and start paying attention to what you're doing.'

And that was the end of his inner conversation. But he still couldn't believe that Buffy was dancing so closely with some guy she didn't even know.

Unless it was…

"Spike." Angel growled. Where had he heard that name before?

They finished the song and said their goodbyes for the night and cleared off the stage as the host welcomed the next band.

"That's me." Spike whispered into Buffy's ear through the silence of the space between bands.

"Good luck." Buffy sighed to him. When he let go of her she almost fell down. Needless to say she was getting over Angel and falling for Spike…and she was falling real fast.

The guys went to greet the girls and the next band started off with a slow dance. Cordelia grabbed Angel quickly, despite her conscience. It was just screaming, 'WHAT ABOUT BUFFY?' But then again, Buffy hadn't had much heart when she had just left the girls to go dance with some guy.

Willow and Oz paired up as well as Dawn and Connor. Buffy had no choice but to go with Xander. Not that he was so bad, but she really wanted to dance with Angel.

"We saw you dancing with that guy." Xander told her. "Angel didn't look happy."

"It's not really his business, doesn't he have a girlfriend?" Buffy shot back.

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you, I was just wondering who he was." Xander explained.

"It was my new boyfriend…Spike." Buffy told him.

"That name…it rings a bell…it sort of…I think Angel had a friend named Spike once." Xander said, thinking hard.

"No, I told Angel about Spike already and he didn't seem to recognize him." Buffy explained.

"Really…" Xander thought.

Three Hours Later

The party had ended half an hour ago and somehow the group of friends found themselves on cleaning duty. As soon as the host went into the bathroom the teens got out of there.

"I'm sooo tired." Dawn whined. She was walking next to Connor, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her waist. Buffy was getting a piggy-back ride from Angel, and Oz and Willow were walking hand in hand. Apparently Oz did think they were going out. Of course Willow agreed with that.

Cordelia and Xander were walking on either side of the group, neither of them leaning on each other.

"Yeah I'm exhausted." Oz agreed.

"The pickles…I should've gotten Corona…pineapples…" Buffy mumbled. She had fallen asleep on Angel's back, worn down from all the excitement of the day.

The seven still awake teens laughed.

They finally arrived at the house at three AM and were greeted by two worried and annoyed parents.

"Do you children have any idea what time it is?" Giles exploded.

"I want everyone in bed except for Willow and Xander…you two are going to get a good talking-to." Jenny said, not as loud as Giles.

"Yes ma'am." Cordelia whispered and the six teens ran up to their rooms. They were too tired to discus anything and went to sleep right away.

Meanwhile Xander and Willow got in some hot water and were sent to bed. Let's just say neither of them would be having too much fun until Tuesday.

Yep they were grounded…and on their vacation too!