A/N: I was so HAPPY to see that this is garnering a generally positive response! I want to thank everyone who reviewed, they gave me confidence that perhaps I am doing two of my favorite TV characters justice. And I should mention that this is indeed set in my ManhattanVerse series, and kezztip so sagely pointed out. Hope you like this chapter, what with the record store and all…

"I wish it would snow," she said, as they walked down the street. Spike glanced at her, and then decided to venture into the mind of Jackie Burkhart.

"Why, Burk?" He had decided to call her that. Jackie was too… personal. He didn't do personal. Whenever he did personal it got him into trouble.

"Because snow means that the holidays are coming," she said. "And I can then immerse myself in the holiday season and not have to think about Steven, or my future, or any of that."

"Oh, I suppose that makes sense," he said, smoking a cigarette. "I get what you're sayin'. Snow means cold, which means that people get depressed and I use that to my advantage."

"How so?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"Never mind," he said. They stopped outside the record store, and she held her arms around herself.

"It hasn't snowed yet and I need it to," she said. "The one year that I need it to snow it just won't do it. It's snowed everywhere else in the world, but not Point FREAKING Place."

"That's too bad," Spike said. "Is this his place?" She nodded, and turned her back to the window.

"Yeah. I can't look."

"Why not?" She didn't answer, and simply held her back to the window.

"That's him," she said, pointing over her shoulder. Spike looked in the window. He was handsome enough, though he looked like he was pretty angry at the world. Kicked around by life, all that. "And that blonde on the couch is HER." Spikes eyes drifted to the woman on the couch. She wasn't that attractive, and CERTAINLY didn't compare to Jackie in beauty.

"Her face is crooked," Spike said, and Jackie laughed a little bit. "Okay, so what do we do?"

"We just walk in together, I get my album, you get yours, we talk, we laugh, you make me forget that they're staring and glaring at me," she said.

"Should I snog ya a little bit? Make em jealous?"

"Ooh… But no. I'm not into games anymore," Jackie said. "I'm mature now. Games got me into this."

"Games could get you out," he teased, and she snorted. "Fine, no snogging."

"Come to think of it, I don't even know what 'snogging' is," she said. "But thanks. I could really use the support."

"'S not a big thing," Spike said. "Okay, Burk, are you ready?" She nodded, and they entered the store.

Hyde looked up and saw his ex walk into the store. His chest clenched a little bit, and he damned himself for allowing it to do so. She hadn't come in for a long time, and he was just getting used to her absence. But then she returned. And wait, who was that guy she was with?

"So what other punk are you into?" she asked as they strolled to the punk section. Spike shrugged, and they began flipping through the albums.

"I like the Ramones, and the Clash," he said. "But being from England, the Sex Pistols are my favorites."

"Hello, the Clash is from England too," she said.

"They conform too much. I'm surprised you knew that, though," he said.

"Well the Sex Pistols just gave up, what does that say?" she asked, looking at album covers. "Oh, that's lovely." She pointed at a naked woman posing in such a way that it was SOMEWHAT left to the imagination.

"I think so," Spike said, smirking. "And they gave up because they didn't want to please anyone but themselves."

"… Like me!" she said, and Spike laughed.

"Though, love, I doubt that when people see you they think 'Sid Vicious'." Hyde and Sam were looking at them, no doubt surprised that this little rich girl was hanging out with a British Punk. He smirked a little.

"Don't you have a record of them if they're your favorite?"

"Dru broke it in the fight," Spike said, and got mad just thinking about it. "Bitch. Sid signed it for me too!'

"That's too bad. She sounds like a total skank," she said, and found a copy of the album. "Here's one!" He nodded, and laughed a little.

"Yehhhh, that's the one," he said, and she pulled out a marker from her purse. "What are you, Mary Poppins? What else you got in that bottomless pit of a purse?" She arched her eyebrow at him, and then began to write on the album. She held it up for him. 'To Spike. I'm punk and angry. Love, Sid.'

"I don't think he would say 'love, Sid'."

"Well what did he say before?"

"Come to think of it, it wasn't very legible…"

"So mine's better then."

"… Why can't I argue with that?"

"Because I'm cute."

"Yeah, that must be it. Okay, now to ABBA, is it?"

"YAY!" she cheered, jumping up and down a little. She grabbed his arm, and dragged him to the disco. "Ugh, they don't carry enough disco in this store."

"Because you're the only one in town who listens to it," Hyde finally said, feeling that she had ignored him long enough. She turned, and crossed her arms.

"You know that isn't true," she said. Spike pointed at the records, and she nodded. "You're right, just ignore him."

"Who is this?" Hyde demanded. Jackie continued to take no notice of him, and kept looking through the albums.

"Oh, here's the ABBA!" she said. "So Spike, what do you-?"

"His name is SPIKE?" Hyde asked.

"Yeh, what's it to ya?" Spike demanded. No one insulted his name.

"I guess it's nothing, I just thought that Spike as a bad ass name went out with Butch and Rocko," Hyde said. I'd like his sense of humor if he wasn't directing it at me, Spike thought, and kind of smirked.

"And I thought that aviator sunglasses went out when Elvis died on the toilet, but here we are," he retorted.

"Burn!" Jackie exclaimed. Spike chuckled at her spiteful elation, and turned back to his new friend as she flipped through ABBA records.

"Is this the one, Burk?" he asked. She looked at it, and shook her head.

"No, it's VERY specific," Jackie said. "Like, it's just called 'ABBA'."

"So it's their first one?"

"I guess."

"That's not really new then, is it?"

"It's new to me! EEEE!! Here it is!!" She grabbed it, and showed it to Spike.

"Yeah, it's their first album," Spike said. "How old hat."

"But 'Mamma Mia' is on it," she huffed. "Come on, you're from Europe, you know how cool they are!"

"Ha!" he scoffed. "I know how awful they are." She swatted him, and pulled him to the front with her. "Why do you gotta hit-?"

"Steven, I'm buying these two records," Jackie said.

"You don't have to buy my-."

"Spike, please, let me buy it for you," she said, putting a hand on his lips again. So bossy, he thought, and shrugged. "I know that your little singer didn't sign this one, but it's still, well, loud music. And I signed it, which should make it that much better." He nodded in defeat, and Hyde rang up the two records, glowering all the while. He didn't like the way Jackie was looking at Spike, and he REALLY didn't like the way Spike was looking at Jackie.

"Is she leaving?" the woman on the couch asked, flipping through a magazine. "Or is the skinny screechy pathetic convention meeting here this year?" Jackie looked crestfallen, especially when Hyde sort of chuckled. Hyde didn't even know why he chuckled.

Until this point Spike thought that maybe this Steven fellow had picked the stripper for her personality. Now he was under the impression that he was just an idiot. Well, this won't do, Spike thought, and looked over at Sam.

"Who's the bint?" Spike asked, knowing full well. "I thought that the hookers were near the truck stop outside of town." Jackie burst out laughing, but then covered her mouth. The woman stood up, and glared at Spike and Jackie.

"Hey man, that's my girlfriend," Hyde said, though not very adamantly. Spike feigned shame.

"Oh, sorry mate, a right lovely girlfriend you have too," he said, and shot Jackie a 'YIKES' look as he grabbed the records. Jackie stifled a grin, and Hyde walked out from behind the counter, miffed. Though he wasn't sure if it was because this guy had insulted Sam or because Jackie was so taken with him.

"Jackie, I'm not stupid," he said. "I know that you aren't dating this guy. He's just some punk you paid off so he would come in here and act like your boyfriend to make me jealous. And do you know how I know this? Because he seems smart enough to know not to get involved with you." Jackie held her lips in place, but Spike could tell that she was extremely hurt by this comment. He had to put an end to this. He put himself between Jackie and Hyde.

"First off, mate, you don't know anything about me," Spike said, surprised at the anger in his voice. "Second off, you don't have the right to talk to a paying customer that way. And thirdly, I guess that in the end I should thank you for being such a jerk, because now this charming bird is in my life." And with that, he planted a long kiss on Jackie's lips, catching her off guard, but she played along quite well. After he was done snogging her, he smirked at Hyde and his stripper.

"Come on, love, let's go listen to some ABBA," he stated. He put an arm around Jackie, and she raised her eyebrows at Hyde.

"I guess we're off," she said. And with that they turned, and left the record store. As soon as they'd left the view of the two in the store, Jackie began jumping up and down squealing that girly squeal of hers.

"Was that snogging?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Wow!"

"Did we do good?"

"That was AMAZING!" she exclaimed, tapping his chest with her hands. "Ohmigod, Spike, I finally have this album and you TOTALLY stood up for me! I can't believe you called her a prostitute!" Spike laughed, and shoved his hands in his coat pockets, oddly enough, in a sheepish manner.

"'S'nuthin," he said. "Well, I'm glad I could help you, but-." She then began crying. "Christ, what is wrong with you now?"

"I don't get it!" she said, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I didn't even do anything to either of them and he just… unleashes meanness! He used to love me, and now he treats me like I'm lower than the scum of the Earth!" Spike groaned, and wanted to go snap the jerk's neck. He wouldn't think twice about it, but instead he put an arm around Jackie, much to his dismay. Getting attached to a girl who you could have had for dinner, way to go, William. He pat her shoulder in a effort to calm her down, but she threw her arms around him. Oh hell, he thought, but slowly and reluctantly embraced her too. He then noticed a sign in the record store window that caught his eye. 9:00 SHOWING, NOVEMBER 17th. DAWN OF THE DEAD. He felt a sneaky grin spread across his face.

"Hey Burk, I have an idea," he said, letting her go.

"What's that?" she sniffed.

"It'll take your mind off that jerk in there," he said. "Where's the movie theater?"