Chapter 7- First Dates
A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret...And...Sorry for the wait. I'll post two chapters as an apology...Do you forgive me?
Jenny and Giles both woke up at around the same time, ten AM. They both went through their normal morning routines: Jenny showered, dressed, put on her make up, and went downstairs to greet the kids. Giles brushed his teeth, changed his clothes, grabbed his books and went downstairs to say goodbye to everyone.
Well, since Jenny beat him downstairs like she usually did, he was greeted by an unexpected surprised. Jenny had her purse and was getting ready to leave.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. "You have to watch Willow and Xander."
"No, you have to, I'm going shopping, I haven't gone at all since we came." Jenny objected.
"Oh yes you are, I already have plans." Giles said firmly.
"To what? Go to that musty little library to eat scones and wear tweed?" she shot back.
"No. To research some things we've discovered." Giles said calmly.
"Like what?" Jenny sighed, already giving in to defeat.
"Well…I'll tell you tonight…it's not something to be discussed…right now." Giles said and left without eating. Jenny rolled her eyes and sighed, setting her purse down. 'Well he'll have to watch them tomorrow…I can't do it every day.' she assured herself. She went back upstairs and changed into some workout clothes.
"If I can't get some shopping done…maybe I can work out some." she said and stuck a 'Denise Austin; Buns Of Steel' in the DVD player.
She finished the 'beginners' section of the workout in ten minutes; the estimated time. She wondered where all the kids were, and why they were still asleep. Then she remembered. It was the whole reason that she was home instead of out shopping.
"Kids." she muttered and changed the disk to 'Denise Austin's: Hit the Spot; Thighs' It was another ten minute workout. By the time she finished that one, she was sweating and needed a drink. She poured herself some ice water and drank it as the DVD ran through the credits. When it was done it returned to the main menu and beach music blared through the speakers. Jenny ran over quickly to turn it down, but just decided to switch the disk. She put in 'Denise Austin: Six Minute Waist Trimmer' It would be her last one for the day.
She finished off her water while the commercials ran through and a warning about health issues and how you couldn't sue if you got hurt using this tape.
So she finished her last exercise and went up for another shower. By the time she finished it was eleven. So she decided to start lunch. She was interrupted by the dogs.
So she fed the dogs and decided she would let Cordelia, Dawn, and Bunny take them for a walk when they got up.
"Who gives their child a name like bunny?" she asked and shrugged. She wrote in on a post-it note and stuck it on the fridge. She then started making lunch.
She made a pitcher of lemonade and a pitcher of Kool-Aid. Then she started working on the food. Hot dogs and baked beans. Sounded good to her. She started making the beans and set a timer for when they would be done. She then went up to her room and changed into her bathing suit. She went out and started grilling the hot dogs and getting a tan.
She finished the hot dogs and brought them up just as the timer went off. She set the dogs on the counter and got the beans out. It's rather ironic how Beans is also the name of one of their dogs, don't you think?
She ate her hot dog and went out on the deck to start tanning.
The smell awoke the first of the teens…and of course it was Xander. He rushed downstairs to eat his food, but decided he should probably wake everyone else up too. He started with Oz…who just so happened to not be in his bed.
"Wonder where he went…" Xander muttered and moved on to Angel and Connor.
"Up and at 'em Sleepy Heads!" he called, startling Connor awake. Connor was a pretty light sleeper, so he was easy to wake up. Angel on the other hand…
It took both Connor and Xander to wake him up, flipping the mattress so that he fell off the bed and clear onto the floor. He finally woke up.
"Now for the girls!" Xander said. The room resounded with 'no!'
"Or not. Let's eat!"
"You cooked?" Angel asked.
"Nah, they were just there when I woke up." Xander explained.
"So they just magically appeared cause that's what Xander was hungry for?" Connor asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"Yeah…pretty much." Xander answered nodding. Connor and Angel exchanged looks then headed downstairs.
When they got down there, the saw Oz, sleeping soundly on the couch, holding his pillow over his head.
"Wake up bud." Xander said, shaking his friend awake.
"I'm here…what's cookin'?" Oz asked.
"Hot dogs…and they're already cooked." Xander answered and smiled his goofy smiled. Oz chuckled and the boys grabbed their food and ate.
About halfway through the meal the girls came down.
"Hey Bunny, you, Dawn, and Cordelia have to walk the dogs." Xander said, holding up the post-it.
"Oh my gosh, when is she going to get through her brain that her name is BuFFEE not BuNNEEE?" Cordelia asked, exasperated.
"What about Willow?" Buffy asked.
"Me and her are grounded." Xander answered, stuffing yet another hot dog in his mouth. Buffy sighed and put her hands on her hips. Now, in case you people haven't figured it out, Beans and Snoopy are attached to Buffy meaning…
Good job, yes they are running in circles around Buffy's legs, yipping like lunatics.
"Well we might as well take them on their walk." Dawn said, her voice scratchy from disuse. She and the other girls went upstairs to change.
"I wonder if they change in the same room." Xander said aloud.
Angel cleared his throat to hold down a laugh, and he, Connor, and Oz exchanged looks.
"What? What'd I say?" Xander asked. He shrugged then went back to talking to himself.
"Do they watch each other change? Maybe I could switch bodies with Willow and watch Buffy change. Or better yet…be Buffy…and look at myself naked." Xander continued.
Angel's face changed from amused to annoyed and Connor and Oz continued trying to hold down their laughs. Suddenly a snicker escaped Connor's lips and he quickly covered it with a cough, therefore making Oz laugh harder, his face turning red. Xander, who was totally oblivious to the fact that he was actually speaking and the fact that Oz was about to die, continued to talk. Angel's face finally turned back to one of amusment.
So the girls came back downstairs and Willow was left with the guys to keep herself entertained so they all decided to watch TV until the other girls came back.
So Buffy, Cordelia and Dawn leashed up all four of the dogs and started off on their walk.
"Let's stop at Rite-Aid to get some stuff for the 'Girl's Night' on Sunday." Buffy suggested.
"NO WAY!" Dawn objected and Cordelia quickly agreed with her.
"Ok, ok, don't kill me, we'll just go to CVS." Buffy said, putting her hands up in the air in surrender.
"Good. That's much better." Cordelia said, smiling. So the went into CVS and Dawn was left outside to watch the dogs. It was a 'no dogs allowed' sort of place.
So Buffy and Cordelia had to make it snappy.
"Here's what we do. You get drinks and nail polish, I get snacks, cameras, and magazines, then we meet at the register? Got it? Good." Cordelia said and went to the snack aisle. Buffy shrugged and went back to the drink section.
Cordelia looked through the snacks and grabbed a couple bags of different types of chips; Regular, Barbeque, Sour Cream and Onion, Salt and Vinegar.
Then she grabbed a couple boxes of Chips Ahoy and Oreos. She moved on to the magazines. She picked out a couple of magazines for the guys and a couple for the girls. And she moved on to the cameras. She picked out eight and decided that if anyone wanted another one, they'd just have to pay for it themselves. She headed towards the counter.
Buffy was standing in the back, already holding five huge bottles of drinks, she had two orange Fantas, Coke, Sprite, and Gingerale. She pulled out a Root Beer and a Dr. Pepper and a Diet Coke and went over to the nail polish.
She couldn't decide which ones she liked best and since they were all only one dollar each and Cordelia was paying for them, she took one of each. She rushed up to the counter before she dropped anything. Then Cordelia emerged from an aisle and paid for everything.
"Would you girls like bags for this?" the lady behind the counter asked.
"Yes please." Buffy said nodding. Cordelia glanced out the window and saw Dawn being dragged across the parking lot by the dogs who were chasing a sea gull.
"Save your sister." Cordelia commanded as she pulled out her credit card.
"Oh Jeez!" Buffy said and rushed out to help Dawn.
"Your total comes to 63.50." the lady said. Cordelia handed her the card and picked up all the bags. The lady handed her back the card and Cordelia stuck it in her pocket and left.
By the time she got out there, Buffy had control of the dogs. Dawn came over and grabbed three bags, Buffy took one, and Cordelia had the other three.
"Let's get home." Dawn said, sounding worn.
"I agree." Buffy said. And the three headed home.
When they got home everyone was sitting on the couch watching TV. It was Scooby Doo.
"We're home!" Cordelia called and put all the bags down on the counter.
"What'd you get?" Xander asked as he hopped up and shuffled over to the bags.
"A bunch of stuff for the next few nights when we won't be able to go anywhere." Buffy said setting her bag down and taking the dogs off their leash.
Dawn set her bag down as well and plopped down on next to Connor. Buffy shot her a suspicious look, but waived it off.
"I know what we should do." Oz said as he switched off the TV.
"Oh good it doesn't involve cartoons." Cordelia sighed.
"What is it?" Willow asked.
"I can play my guitar and we can all sing…songs that we know." Oz said as he picked up his guitar.
Everyone agreed. They started out singing together and then it turned into solos, going around the circle.
First Cordelia sang. She had a lot of…spirit. She definitely wasn't the worst singer, but she wasn't the best.
Then Buffy sang. She had a beautiful voice…she didn't go real high or anything, but she was a good singer.
Then Willow sang. She was pretty good, but she didn't like singing, or being the focus of attention, so her part ended quickly. Then it was Oz.
He sang real softly, but he was good, and he also ended his part quickly.
Then it was Connor's turn. He sang, and he sang pretty well, glancing every now and then to Dawn who was beaming proudly.
Then it was Dawn's turn. She also had a very small part, but a very pretty voice.
Then Xander. He began singing. He was so good that the whole room lit up. Then it was Angel's turn. He didn't sing. Everyone looked at him expectantly.
"I don't sing." he said simply.
"Come on! Do it for me!" Cordelia begged, flashing him a smile. Buffy felt annoyance wash over her. Cordelia had been flirting with Angel a lot lately and it was getting on her last nerve.
"No." Angel said firmly.
"Pleeease." Buffy tried and made a puppy-dog pout face. He gave in and began singing.
Immediately everyone wished they had just left him alone. He was a terrible singer. But he was smiling like he didn't even know he was bad. Buffy almost felt sorry for him, but they were having so much fun that it didn't really matter.
They went around a couple more times, singing a couple songs, and finally finished. By this time they all drank a couple cans of soda and were halfway through their second bag of chips.
"Well I think its time we finish our championships!" Xander said, standing up and stretching.
"Yeah, I am sooo gonna beat you." Connor said as he stood. Angel and Oz followed and each grabbed a bag of chips. Connor grabbed a bottle of soda and Xander grabbed a few plastic cups out of the cabinet.
"Yeah right…I am the King." Xander objected.
"I thought you were the Prince…" the voices faded as the guys went downstairs.
"So…who's up for a swim?" Willow asked. All of the girls agreed and changed into their bathing suits. They splashed around for an hour or so and finally went into the hot tub to calm down a little.
"I can't wait until seven!" Buffy gushed.
"What's at seven?" Dawn asked.
"My date, silly!" Buffy answered hitting Dawn lightly on the arm.
"Oh my gosh. It's five already…we still have to plan and get you ready…and you have to take a shower and oh no!" Willow said, glancing at her watch.
"Oh wow…its that late already?" Buffy asked as the girls jumped out of the hot tub and rushed inside.
"Yeah! Now go take a shower and we'll get everything ready!" Willow urged as she, Cordelia, and Dawn disappeared into her and Buffy's room.
"Ok…" Buffy agreed as she pulled out the dress she wanted to wear. It was cream colored with cherries and cherry flowers all over it. It was short and had spaghetti straps.
Buffy went into the shower and the other girls went to work.
When they were finally done planning, they sat down on the beds, discussing what they would do.
"How about we watch the 'championship' then go to the movies?" Dawn suggested.
"Good idea, except me and Xander can't leave the house." Willow said.
"Oh yeah…" Dawn sighed.
"Well, we can watch their video games and then go rent some movies from blockbusters." Cordelia said.
"Oh that's good!" Dawn agreed.
"Then we can swim when it gets dark! In the pool, I mean…not the actual ocean." Willow said nodding. The girls agreed on their plans for the night, and turned on some music.
Buffy came in, her hair wrapped up in a towel, wearing the dress. Willow ushered her to a seat.
"Ok, Buffy, keep your eyes closed the whole time!" Willow said. "Girls…lets get to work."
Cordelia did her hair, Willow did her nails, and Dawn did make-up. Cordelia brushed through Buffy's wet hair and blow-dried it. Since Dawn couldn't do anything until Cordelia was done, she helped Willow paint the cream colored base-coat on all of Buffy's nails…toenails included.
Cordelia, after finishing with the blow-dryer, began curling Buffy's hair. Not actual curls, but soft waves. She let a few chunks hang out and pulled the rest into a low ponytail.
"It says, my hair looks good without me spending hours working on it." Cordelia announced. "And I am done for the night."
Dawn then went to work on the make up. She put a very little amount of blush on her sister's cheeks, not enough to make them a different color, just enough to give them sparkle. Then she put on a little light red eye shadow and red lipstick. Once again, it was nothing overdone, just a glossy red. Then she put some mascara on, and also declared that she was done. Willow was also done, and was very proud of herself. All of Buffy's nails were cream colored and on either of her big toes, there were two cherries.
The girls smiled proudly as Buffy opened her eyes.
"Wow! I look great!" she smiled. She picked out her shoes, and sat waiting for the nail polish to dry before she put them on.
"Here…you might need this." Cordelia said, handing her a stick of gum.
"Gee, thanks Cordelia." Buffy said sarcastically as she popped the gum in her mouth. Downstairs the doorbell rang.
"Don't let Angel open it." Buffy said. Willow raced down to get it. She and Angel were at almost the same place, but Angel got to it first. Willow stopped dead in her tracks and ran back up to Buffy to tell her.
"William." Angel growled.
"Angel! Just to let you know, I go by Spike now." Spike told him nodding.
"Is that something that the other band made up for you?" Angel asked coolly.
"No, it's something I made up myself." Spike said.
"Why are you here?" Angel asked.
"Vacation…now where's my—" Spike started but stopped as he saw Buffy descending the stairs.
"Spike." she said smiling.
"Buffy…you look gorgeous." Spike said in awe. Angel spun around to see her, and he also was taken by surprise. Both of them stood staring at her.
"Buffy I'm not sure if you should be going out with-" Angel began to tell her.
"I don't care. I don't care what you think. I don't even know you that well, and I don't want you telling me what I should and should not do." Buffy interrupted and walked down to Spike's side.
"Fine." Angel said and turned away.
"We'll talk later." Buffy promised as she shut the door.
"Angel…interesting bloke…how'd you come about living with him?" Spike inquired.
"Well…he's my friend. How do you know him?" Buffy asked suddenly.
"Used to be my friend. Then he wouldn't let me sing. I can't play any instrument so I couldn't be in their stupid band. He's all forehead you know?" Spike told her, stealing a look at her. She smiled and hugged him around the waist as the walked. Spike kept his arm around her protectively.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Party." he answered as they stopped at his motorcycle.
"This is yours!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah…you like?" he asked, a mischievous glint in his cerulean eyes.
"Yeah its…awesome!" she squealed. "I can't wait to tell Cordelia…"
"She one of the girls you were dancing with last night?" Spike asked as he hopped on the bike, putting a helmet on.
"Yeah…she's the one that likes to flirt with my…with Angel…she likes to flirt with Angel." Buffy told him.
"Your Angel?" Spike prompted.
"No, I meant…I was going to say my friend, but he's her friend too, so…" Buffy lied. Spike seemed to buy it. She got on the back of the motorcycle and also put a helmet on. She put her arms around Spike's waist and he started the bike.
The went zooming down the empty street, down for almost fifteen minutes.
"Where are we going?" Buffy asked again.
"Somewhere special." Spike said laughing.
Finally he stopped the bike in the middle of nowhere and removed his helmet, pulling Buffy off. She also took off her helmet.
"Where are we?" she asked, a little scared now.
"Just wait." he said and put his arm around her. He walked her down the road a little ways and there was a small restaurant on the side of the road. It was an old fashioned diner. On top it read, 'The Soda Jerk' Buffy smiled in delight and kissed Spike on the cheek.
"It's so cute!" she squealed excitedly.
"I thought you'd like it." Spike said with a half smile. They walked in and sat down at an empty table.
"Oh my gosh! This is so…well…there are no words for it…" Buffy sighed.
Spike held her hands over the table and waited for their waitress. She came wearing a light blue outfit and a little hat.
"What'll it be for you kids?" she asked smiling.
"Oh! I haven't even looked at the menu!" Buffy said, letting go of Spike's hands.
"Ok, well I'll just get drinks for now." the lady said smiling. Her nametag read Joanne.
"Ok…well I want that Coke thing…the vanilla one." Buffy said pointing to a drink on the menu.
"One Vanilla coke for the girl…how about you?" she asked turning to Spike.
"I'll have the same." he said winking at Buffy. His eyes…his smile…his everything just sent tingles up her spine. She smiled back shyly and hid her face behind a menu. Spike smiled slyly.
At The House
"Ok, Jenny is just up in her room. So if you guys need anything…well she is your mom…and aunt." Dawn said as she, Cordelia, Angel, Connor, and Oz prepared to leave.
"Yeah so we'll get some good movies to keep us occupied a while and then go back down for more video games." Connor assured them and he and Dawn stepped outside.
"I'm really sorry that we have to leave you guys here." Oz said, kissing Willow on the forehead before he stepped out.
"Yeah…but we'll all have fun together!" Angel assured and followed his friends.
"What they said." Cordelia said and rushed out behind them.
"So…how bout a good game of Go Fish." Xander suggested.
"Sure…just like good times." Willow nodded and grabbed a deck of cards.
At The Diner
Buffy and Spike's food arrived and they ate in silence except for occasional conversation such as;
"Where are you from?"
"How old are you again?"
"Are you busy on Tuesday?"
Et cetera. They finished their food and decided on an old fashion desert…sharing a chocolate milkshake.
While they waited Buffy used this time to really appreciate Spike. He had electric blue eyes, twinkling as if they were holding a secret. Perfect teeth and a mischievous half smile. High cheek bones that accented his face. Usually he had his hair slicked back, but tonight it was curly and just hanging around his face. She almost immediately decided that she liked his hair best like that. He was holding her hands over the table again. He had perfect hands. His nails were painted black and he had a few bracelets on. He also had a few necklaces on. On was a lock. She briefly wondered about it, but just decided it was because of his punk friends.
Little did she know, he was doing the same for her. He almost couldn't take his eyes of her beautiful green eyes. The perfect smile. Golden hair. Nice body. And best of all, she just had this adorable way of acting all the time. She seemed to always be smiling and having fun. He loved the way she would let him hold her hands and just look into his eyes…
Both of them snapped out of their thoughts when Joanne came back with the milkshake.
At The House
All the teens were downstairs playing video games…still working on the championship. Right now it was brother against brother.
Angel and Connor were battling it out, and they couldn't even stay seated. They were hopping about the room. Everyone was having a blast, taking pictures, and wishing Buffy was there.
"Oh you're going dooown!" Connor yelled smiling.
"Like hell I am!" Angel objected. Everyone was gathered around the screen.
"I play winner!" Dawn said, hoping it would be Connor.
"Well you're gonna be playing against me." Angel told her confidently. He winked at her quickly. Bad move. Connor won.
"I play Connor!" Dawn said as she took the controller from Angel.
"Go Dawn! Go Dawn!" Willow and Cordelia cheered.
"No way, Connor is so gonna win!" Angel said.
"Yeah right…well try not to be embarrassed when you get beat by a girl!" Cordelia warned.
At The Diner
Spike paid for the food and he and Buffy walked out of the diner, arms around each other. Buffy started towards the car, but Spike pulled her back.
"Now where are we going?" Buffy asked.
"It's a surprise." Spike whispered as he put a hand over her eyes. He led her somewhere; arm tight around her waist to make sure she didn't fall.
She heard the ocean and he moved his hand from her eyes. They were in a little cove at the ocean. It was totally dark and Spike switched on a flashlight.
The light reflected off the water and sent ripples of light on the walls of the cave.
"It's beautiful!" she sighed.
At The House
They had finished the championships and somehow Oz had managed to win. They were all sitting on the family room floor playing pictionary as one of the movies played. They had plastic cups and chips scattered everywhere.
"Uh…it's a monk!" Cordelia shouted as she studied Dawn's drawing. Dawn shook her head frantically.
"5…" Xander said, stating the seconds left.
"A nun!" Willow tried. Dawn shook her head again.
"3…" Xander said.
"Priest?" Cordelia said.
"Yes!" Dawn laughed.
"Dude…who would pick a priest?" Connor asked. Dawn punched him lightly.
"My turn!" Xander exclaimed excitedly. He picked out a card and grinned evilly. All three of the girls exchanged looks.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Willow commented.
On The Beach
Spike and Buffy walked hand in hand along the beach, not going in the water because Spike didn't want to ruin his new combat boots.
"This was…amazing…to say the least…but it's getting late…and I really should be getting home." Buffy said bitterly, she wanted this night to last forever.
"Hafta get back to your Angel?" he half joked. Angel was the last thing on her mind.
"Angel…nope." she said shaking her head.
"Ok, well you're right, its almost midnight." Spike said. They walked back up to his motorcycle and sped off back to the house.
At The House
"I hear a motorcycle." Xander said.
"Spike has a motorcycle…I think that Buffy's finally home." Angel agreed.
"Let's go break up anything that might happen." Xander said with a serious look on his face.
"Yeah, lets." Angel confirmed.
"All you have to do is start singing real loud when you see them start to kiss." Xander joked.
"Hey!" Angel protested laughing. They opened the door just as Buffy and Spike were about to kiss.
"Whoa!" Angel said, forgetting everything he was about to say.
"Didn't mean to interrupt." Xander joked.
"Well…I'll see you soon Buffy." Spike said and kissed her on the cheek. He didn't want to have Mr. Forehead standing there when he had his first kiss with Buffy. He strode off and hopped on his motorcycle and drove away.
"Hey guys." Buffy said as she pushed her way through and joined everyone in the living room.
"Now that Buffy's here, we can go swimming!" Xander said. Everyone rushed up to their rooms to change into their bathing suits.
And so the teens swam until Giles got home and made them go to bed, where everyone had a restful sleep.
So far, being grounded wasn't that bad.
