A/N: Holy CRAP I've left out disclaimers on both the first two chapters!! I feel like such an idiot and or thief! Heh, oops. Anyway, I know that perhaps Spike just insulting Sam isn't REALLY enough, but I use her later in the ManhattanVerse, so her death isn't really an option. But I DO have a solution that I think people may find favorable in this chapter… Thanks for all the reviews, and on we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own 70S SHOW nor BUFFY, but if I owned Spike I wouldn't have treated him so unfairly (::cough:: Marti Noxon ::cough::). I also don't own DAWN OF THE DEAD.

She led him to the theater, and looked up at the marquis.

"9:00 showing, November 17th. DAWN OF THE DEAD," she read, and then threw her hands up in the air. "NO."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean NO! I didn't see it with my friends when it came out, and I'm not going to see it now!" she exclaimed, and tried walking away, but he caught her arm in his hand. "Spike, I HATE horror movies!"

"They're good for the soul, Burk, you're gonna love it," he said.

"What's to like?" she demanded.

"Zombies trashing a shopping mall and therein satirizing consumerism?" he asked. "What ISN'T to like?"

"I happen to be a main follower of consumerism, and I would thank you NOT to compare me to flesh eating MONSTERS!" she snapped, stomping her foot on the sidewalk. He grabbed her shoulders, and smiled reassuringly.

"I'll pay for your ticket and popcorn, and you're going to enjoy yourself," he said. "You're going to love this movie."

"What makes you so sure?"

"For one thing, I'm pretty sure there are zombies in it that look JUST like that bitch in the record store," he said. In reality he didn't know. She shifted her eyes, and then groaned.

"Dammit, Spike, you KNOW that I can't say no to that," she said, and he laughed a little. "Fine. But I want a soda too. And I hate you."

"No you don't."

"No, I don't." He nodded, and they walked to the box office.

They were the only people in the theater.

"Great, no one in this town appreciates good cinema," Spike said, and Jackie munched on her popcorn. "George Romero is one of the great filmmakers of our time, and no one in this lousy town is even here to revel in his genius!" Jackie rolled her eyes, and put more popcorn in her mouth.

"Spike, Romero makes zombie movies. I don't think that you can compare him to someone like Coppola, or Kubrick, or Hitchcock," she said as she chewed, and he shot her a look. "What? I'm just saying-!"

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Well by now you should know that you're going to get it whether you like it or not," she said, and he took some of her popcorn. "Hey! That's mine!"

"Well by now you should know that I'm going to eat some whether you like it or not."

"Lay off my popcorn!"

"I bought it!"

"For ME."

"You're pretty self absorbed, aren't you?"

"Well DUH." He paused, then took more popcorn, and she moaned. "I hate scary movies. At least I can yell and scream and no one will be here to be bothered by it."

"Except me."

"I told you horror movies AREN'T my thing," she said, and ate more popcorn maniacally. "I think that maybe I should go-." She stood, and Spike pulled her back down.

"Sit, love, you won't get hurt in a movie theater," he said. "Don't be scared, it's just a silly movie." She sighed, and he nudged her arm.

"I promise you are going to have a good time, Burk," he said. She nodded, and ate more popcorn. "You're like a black hole with that stuff." She threw some at him, but couldn't help laughing as the lights dimmed.

"Oh no, here we go," she muttered. But she felt better than she did at any other horror movie. She looked over at Spike, who was entranced in the film as it projected on the screen. She felt herself smiling, and put the popcorn between them. He looked down at her, and saw a coy smile on her face as she watched the action.

She did yell a lot during the movie, be it about the characters bad choices, or in fear as the zombies claimed victims, but that was okay. At least she was having a good time. And she was quite a chatter box:

"Well that just doesn't seem responsible to me. Running around a mall with zombies outside, I don't know…"

"So wait, he's a policeman, a survivalist, AND a hobby abortionist? What DOESN'T he do?"

"Oh, well that was dumb. Way to be like Icarus, Roger!"

"Aw, that's sad. Is it bad that I feel bad for the zombies now?"

"Zombie pie fight?!" On that last one, Spike clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Would you stop talking?" he snarled.

"Oh calm down, you've seen this," she muttered, shoving his hand away.

"You're ruining the suspense!"

"Oh WHAT suspense? The stupid zombies are lumbering around like they're halfway comatose!"

"Real zombies aren't that slow," Spike said, absentmindedly. She looked at him, and then giggled a little bit.

"Heh, yeah, REAL zombies are marathon runners," she said, and laughed. "God you're funny!" He laughed a little too, and made a mental note to not be so forthcoming.

"I don't get it," she continued. He looked down at her. "I don't even know anything about you, and I'm acting like I've known you forever." He smirked.

"You're just caught up in the mystery that is Spike," he said. She shrugged.

Once the movie ended, they walked out of the theater. She was holding her breath, and exhaled disappointedly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I was hoping it had snowed," she answered.

"Oh, bad luck," he said. "So where shall we continue this date?"

"It's a date now?" she retorted. He hadn't really thought about it. Was he really on a date with a 19 year old rich girl who had never experienced the cruelties of the world beyond cheating and bastard like beaus? Practically innocent in most ways was not what he looked for in a girl, but then of course with Dru he was a complete ghoul in every sense of the word. With Jackie he was… somewhat normal. He never realized his desire to be normal until that moment of his vampirism.

"Sure, Burk. What's the last date you had?" he asked.

"The last real date? I don't know," she said. "But now I pick what we do. And it won't be a gross zombie movie."

"You loved it."

"… I did NOT," she said, but smiled a little bit.

"Fine, you pick."

"Um…. Well, stores are closed, so shopping is out of the question."

"What a pity."

"You don't mean that. And, of course, The Hub is closed too, so we can't go there," she said. "Omigod! I have the best idea! Where's your car?"

"By the bar," he said. "Why?" She grinned, and jumped up and down again. "Christ, why are you hopping now?

"Do you have skates?"

"Skates?"

"You know, ice skates."

"Now why would I have ice skates with me?"

"Donna may have some of Eric's, let's go to her house."

"Are we going skating?"

"… Yeah!"

"Christ."

"Oh stop your whining, if the zombies could do it so can you."

"The zombies weren't skating, I'll have you know," he said, following her to his car. "They just sort of walked on the ice rink by accident! They were slipping and falling and-."

"And you're more coordinated than a zombie, Spike," she said, pouting a little bit. He pursed his lips. How dare she pout? He could resist Dru when she pouted, barely. But Jackie's pout was formidable indeed. It was convincing, yet sensual… He growled, and nodded.

"Fine! We'll go ice skating!"

"Yay!"

"You're a sneaky one, Burk."

She directed him to Donna's house, and insisted he come and meet her best friend. She knocked on the door, and a pretty blonde in a blue robe opened it, followed by a gawky looking man.

"Jackie, it's eleven thirty at night, what do you… Who's this?" Donna asked, eying Jackie's guest.

"Donna, Eric, this is Spike," Jackie said, presenting her new friend to her old ones. "Eric, I thought you'd be here. Do you have any ice skates Spike can use?" They walked into the kitchen, and Eric and Donna were still taken aback by Jackie's date.

"Um, yeah, they're in my garage," Eric said.

"Didn't you take yours to your new place?" Donna asked.

"No, they're still in your garage," Jackie said. "This is perfect! Only one stop and then we can go skating! Eric, come with me and help me find yours, Spike, Donna, you stay here. Chat!" She scampered to the garage, Eric following, and Donna and Spike were left alone in the kitchen.

"So… I'm Donna," she said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Hey," he said, and they shook hands.

"So are you and Jackie… You know," she said. "... Dating now?"

"Me and Burk? No," he said. "We just met and hit it off... Okay, so I guess we're on a 'date', but it hardly counts." Donna laughed a little bit.

"Sorry for laughing," she said. "But, you two hitting it off just seems funny. She usually doesn't talk to, um, punks." He smiled, and laughed a little bit.

"I can see how you'd be surprised."

"But," Donna continued, "this is the happiest I've seen Jackie in awhile. So, I guess you really did hit it off."

"She's a fun bird," Spike said. "She's very…"

"Peppy," Donna finished. He nodded. "Yeah, she's been pretty down lately. But tonight she…you've done something." She laughed a little at the end of that statement.

"Something…. Good?" he ventured. She smiled, and nodded.

"I think so, yeah." He wasn't used to doing good things, so he felt uncomfortable with that statement, and how it made him feel. He wasn't used to feeling good about something like that. "You seem pretty cool. Jackie could use that right now."

Jackie pranced back into the kitchen with two pairs of ice skates. Eric followed, kind of cowering behind Donna to avoid Spike.

"I hope these fit you," she said, and handed him a pair of hockey skates. "Do you skate a lot?"

"Ummm, no," he said.

"Well you're in for a fun time!" Jackie said. "Let's go! Thanks, Eric!"

"You're welcome," Eric said.

"Call me tomorrow, okay?" Donna asked. Jackie nodded. "Nice to meet you, Spike."

"You too, Donna. Eric," he said, as Jackie pulled him out of the kitchen. Donna watched them walk to the front, where his car was, and Eric whistled.

"Well there was something I never thought I'd see," he said. Donna nodded, and the phone rang.

"Now what?" she asked, and grabbed it off the wall. "Hello?"

"Was that Jackie and that weird guy leaving your place?"

"Hyde?"

"Was it?"

"Uh, yes," Donna said, looking out the window towards the Foreman's house. "Where are you?"

"Kitchen. What did he say to you? What did he say to her?"

"Are you stalking Jackie now?" Donna asked. "Hyde, if you still care about her why don't you just talk to her?"

"I don't!" he protested. "Aren't you, as her best friend, concerned about her safety?"

"Hyde, there's nothing to be worried about," Donna said. "Spike's a cool guy from what I can tell, and what's one little date?"

"It's probably all part of his master plan to-."

"Oh yes, ICE SKATING is part of his master plan to kidnap her and do horrible things to her," Donna said, sarcastically. "You have it so bad for her still and yet it just comes out as anger. Would you please get a clue, Hyde?"

"Whatever, Donna, I find it sad that I'm the only one who's worried about this stranger and his intentions-."

"Goodnight, Hyde." She hung up, and shook her head at Eric. "I'm sick of this back and forth they're doing. If he wants to be with Sam, he should be with Sam, but if he wants to be with Jackie, he should do that."

"It's Hyde," Eric said. "He doesn't know what he wants."

Hyde walked to the fridge after Donna hung up on him, and poured himself some juice. He had tried not to think about Jackie getting on with her life, but somehow it seemed inevitable. When she had dated Fez it hurt, but it wasn't like she was really moving on. She was still stuck in their group, clinging to it for dear life. But now, with the arrival of this mysterious stranger, it seemed as if it signaled an actual change. As much as he told himself, and Donna, and Sam, that he was over Jackie and didn't care what she did with herself, this whole Spike situation really riled him up. And he was worried. He got a vibe off the guy that just seemed dangerous. Not artificially dangerous, but actually dangerous.

Jackie was climbing in Spike's car, and then pointed at the Foreman's house.

"That window up there is where Steven and Sam sleep," Jackie said, a little sadly. "Of course bad luck goes with that room anyway, cuz Eric's sister Laurie used to sleep in it. So clearly it's possessed or something." Spike nodded, noticing the tree that was growing right up into the window, and got a really cruel idea.

"So I think I left something in Donna's kitchen," he said. "I'll be right back, you can start the car."

"Okay!" With that, Spike ran to the Pinciotti backyard. As soon as he was out of sight, he leapt over the fence and jumped into the tree with his vampyric jumping skills. He stopped at the window, and looked in. Sam was there, sleeping, but Hyde wasn't with her. Probably getting a midnight snack or something, Spike said. This is perfect! I could wake her up, convince her to invite me in as if it were a dream, and then get a snack before going to Jackie's place. He licked his lips a little bit, but then thought about it on a deeper level, something he didn't do when considering his victims. As much as he wanted to make a midnight snack out of Sam, he knew that Jackie wouldn't approve, no matter how much she hated the woman. It would probably go something like this:

'You're a vampire?'

'Yeh. Want me to eat Sam?'

'You can do that?'

'Yeh.'

'Oooh. Yes! I mean, no. Well… no, don't do that.'

Driven by a need to please Jackie (a feeling he didn't like one bit), Spike just decided to do the next best thing. He knocked on the window. Sam sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and looked at him. She looked more confused than normal, and Spike waved at her. She waved back, slowly, and Spike then put his vampire face on. His eyes turned yellow, his face contorted, and his fangs were that much more prevalent.

"Evening, Samantha!" he called through the glass, and she screamed. He let out a roar, and pretended to begin opening the window. Samantha's terrified screams echoed through the house as she ran out of the room, and Spike jumped from the tree as the lights in the house began to turn on. He put his human façade back on, and strolled back to the car, quite proud of himself. Jackie was bopping to the 8 track, and Spike grinned at her.

"Are you dancing to Black Sabbath?" he asked.

"Is that what this is?" she asked, holding the 8 track box up so she could see it. "Oh, I guess I was." He burst out laughing.

"God you're weird."

"Find whatever it was?" she asked as he climbed into the car.

"Yeah, guess my lighter just fell from my pocket," he said, and she shrugged as they drove away. She was blissfully unaware of how hysterical Sam was at the moment, telling Hyde and Red and Kitty about the monster in the window. Heh, Spike thought. If Jackie had been able to understand, she'd of really appreciated it.