A/N: This was a funny episode, and it was fun to write the chapter for it. Stay tuned for Chapter 8 and the reappearance of the First! Happy reading!
(Note: Some dialog taken directly from the episode.)
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its characters are the property of Joss Whedon.
Crazy how it feels tonight
Crazy how you make it alright, love
You crush me with the things you do
I do for you anything, too
Sitting, smoking, feeling high
In this moment it feels so right
-Dave Matthews Band, "Crush"
One of the things Buffy liked about working at the high school was having lunch with Dawn. It gave them some much needed "sister time" together, and it allowed Dawn to spill anything that might be bothering her at the time. Currently, what was bothering her was love. Specifically, her friend Janice's torrid love affair with a senior boy. According to Dawn, they'd already broken up numerous times and were now back together yet again.
"I just don't understand it," the teen huffed in frustration, "Why would someone keep going back to a guy they don't even like?"
"That's a good question," Buffy murmured. They were sitting outside on the bleachers while the football team were going through practice; not that either of them was interested in the football team. They were just taking advantage of the sunny day.
Buffy picked up her soda can and took a long sip through the straw.
"Is sitting there drinking soda some kind of a zen non-answer?" Dawn asked.
Buffy smiled and pushed her sunglasses up so she could meet her sister's eyes. "Look, I really don't have a simple answer for you. Love can be...complicated."
Dawn let her head fall back in exasperation. "I mean, none of it makes sense," she decried, "Not just Janice and that tool she's seeing, but any of it. I mean, first Spike says he'll kill you, then he's suddenly all in love with you. And then you say Spike disgusts you, and now you two are doin' it like bunnies. Xander stood Anya up at the altar, and now he says he still wants her? It's all so crazy."
Sensing that this conversation was in danger of spinning out of control, Buffy checked her watch and declared, "Oh, I should really get back. You coming with?"
"I just don't see why people bother," Dawn continued while her sister picked up her purse and got ready to return to the counselor's office, "I-I mean, you put all this energy into chasing and having and brooding, and I just don't understand these relationships where you all do insane things."
Buffy patted the girl affectionately on the shoulder. "Bye, rant girl."
Dawn barely even noticed the woman's departure, too caught up in her rambling, "Well, you could, like, paint a beautiful mural on every ugly wall in the world, and then you could paint a beautiful mural on every ugly mural in the wor—"
The girl froze mid-rant as her gaze fixed on one of the football players. He was a tall, blonde guy with nice cheekbones and perfect hair. He'd finished with practice and put his letter jacket on, and now he was taking a drink from his water bottle, dousing his face with some of the liquid to help cool off. Dawn's eyes were riveted on him the entire time he followed his teammates off the field. So caught up in the bewitching sight of him, she didn't notice she was leaning in his direction until she slipped off the edge of the bleachers and fell to the ground with a startled yelp.
Buffy noticed that Dawn seemed preoccupied with something when they got home that evening. Dawn spent at least an hour up in the attic rummaging through boxes, only to hide away in her room until Buffy finally managed to drag her downstairs for dinner.
The next day, Dawn returned home from school in tears. The teen burst through the front door and dashed upstairs to lock herself in the bathroom. Her loud sobs could be heard even from downstairs.
"What's up with her?" Xander asked, having stopped by the house for an evening of movies and takeout.
Worried, Buffy went upstairs to find out what was wrong. It took some cajoling, and a lot of fits and starts, but she managed to piece together what happened between bouts of wailing. Dawn had apparently developed a strong crush on a boy on the football team sometime between yesterday and now, and had tried to get his attention by trying out for the cheerleading squad. A plan which had apparently backfired, since Dawn had absolutely zero experience in cheerleading.
"Come on, Dawnie," Buffy coaxed for what felt like the hundredth time, "Come out. Dawn, sweetheart, it's not that bad."
Hallelujah, she thought as the bathroom door swung open. Dawn glared at her through puffy, reddened eyes, her cheeks gleaming with tears. "How would you even know?" the girl snapped, "RJ's never gonna notice me now."
Buffy shrugged. "From what you said, I'm sure he already noticed you. I mean, with the falling and the...spirit! Spirit!" she hastily blurted, too late to stop the door from slamming shut again. "He—They said you were spirited, right?"
"Go away!"
"Dawn," Buffy sighed. She glanced to her left as movement heralded the arrival of Xander and Spike. Spike leaned against the wall to the right of the bathroom door while Xander hovered behind Buffy's left shoulder.
"Things a lot better, I see," the carpenter remarked.
"I don't think tonight's gonna be good for videos, Xand," Buffy said apologetically.
"Right, with the wailing and the crying. Still better than a cozy evening by my lonesome. Shall I order a pizza?" he offered, "Don't teens in a snit like pizza?"
The door flew open and revealed a righteously indignant teen. "It is not a snit! I-I finally met him—the guy of my dreams, okay—and I blew it," her eyes widened in horror, "RJ hates me now."
Buffy frowned as she noticed a pile of fabric on the bathroom floor behind the girl. "Dawn, what is that?"
"Just the end of my life!" Dawn stormed past her and headed straight for her room.
"Remember when she used to have a crush on me?" Xander reminisced, "I miss the much cuter me crush."
Buffy entered the bathroom and knelt down to examine the pile of rags Dawn had left behind. "She tore up my cheerleader uniform!"
"I don't believe it," Spike glared at her accusingly, "You had a cheerleader uniform and didn't tell me?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. She gathered up the remains of the uniform and carried it with her to Dawn's room, Spike and Xander trailing after her. Luckily, the door had been left open this time. Dawn lay facedown on her bed.
"You shredded my outfit."
"I'll buy you a new one," Dawn muttered.
"It's not the point. I don't want a new cheerleading out fit."
"Well, let's not be hasty, luv," Spike broke in. Buffy threw him an exasperated look, then shoved the ruined uniform into his hands. When her back was turned, Spike immediately foisted the garment off on Xander, who scowled, but kept quiet for the sake of Buffy's comforting Dawn.
The blonde sat on the edge of the bed and touched her sister's shoulder. "Dawn, I'm sorry that you feel so bad. But in the morning it won't seem so terrible. You don't even know this RJ. Not really."
Dawn sat up to face her. Her expression was completely sincere. "I do know him. I know his soul."
Spike rolled his eyes.
"Really? Dawn, he wasn't even on your radar yesterday," Buffy pointed out.
"It's the jacket," Xander's odd statement drew everyone's attention to him, "It's true! Something about the big letter on the chest. Makes girls get all swoony and crushy. I saw it all the time in school. You couldn't just pin any old felt letter to your coat and get play. Not that I tried." He grinned nervously. Something in Spike's grin told him he'd just given the vampire plenty of new fodder for future mockery. Dammit.
"It isn't a crush," Dawn insisted, "It's love. I love RJ."
"Again, since yesterday," Buffy argued as gently as she could, "Dawn, it's awfully fast."
"What, you telling me I don't feel what I feel?"
"No, of course not," Buffy shook her head, "I believe that you think it's real. It seems real to you."
Spike winced. Buffy had said as much to him back in his stalking days. He knew Buffy meant well, but the words still came off as condescending. Spike wasn't surprised by Dawn's reaction.
"Know what?" the girl scoffed, "Maybe I don't want advice from the dysfunction queen. You have no idea how I feel. You have no idea what real love is. Maybe if you did you wouldn't make fun of me this way."
Buffy drew back, hurt by the teen's harsh words. "Dawn, I'm not making fun of you."
"Just go. Leave me alone." With that, Dawn threw herself down on the bed again, ignoring her older sister.
Realizing there was no point in further talk at this time, Buffy stood and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.
"Dawnster's really got it bad," Xander remarked.
Spike threw a sympathetic arm around Buffy's shoulders. As they all made their way back downstairs, Buffy sighed in regret and said, "I sounded so patronizing. How did that happen? I mean, I'm not that much older than her. I should remember what it was like!"
"Honestly, I don't think there's anything you could say to make her feel better," Spike replied.
"For once, I agree with Captain Peroxide," Xander said, earning himself a dirty look from the vampire, "Dawn just needs to cry the heartache out 'til the next guy she crushes on comes along."
"Right," Buffy muttered, hating the fact that there was nothing she could do to ease her sister's pain.
The next day Principal Wood asked Buffy to stop by his office. When she got there, she was surprised to find Dawn already there. Apparently, the girl had been talking to one of the football players and he took a nasty spill down some stairs. He would recover, but his injuries would prevent him from playing for a while. What really troubled Buffy was the fact that the guy accused Dawn of pushing him. There was no evidence, just a he said/she said situation that couldn't be proven one way or the other. Dawn didn't act guilty, so Buffy was inclined to believe her. Until Wood mentioned that he'd have to call Coach Wheeler and tell him the bad news about his starting quarterback.
"At least he's still got RJ to take over," Dawn offered just a touch too eagerly. Buffy's neck prickled in suspicion, which only made her feel guilty for thinking her baby sis could be somehow responsible for the accident.
Her ambivalence stayed with her the rest of the day and into the evening when she and her friends all met up at The Bronze for a rare night out. She, Spike, Xander, Willow, and Tara were all collected around one of the club's larger tables, enjoying the first of what they hoped would be many rounds of drinks. Spike's hand stroked the back of Buffy's neck, soothing away the tension he felt in her. Buffy gradually started to relax and she nodded along to the live band's music.
One of the figures out on the dance floor caught her eye. Buffy straightened in her chair, staring intently at a tall young man wearing a letter jacket. "I think that's the guy," she declared.
The others followed her gaze.
"What guy?" Tara asked.
"The one who, according to Dawn, is the, quote, 'smartest, funniest, coolest, hottest, and having-the-thickest-boy-eyelashes boy in school,' unquote," Buffy answered in a wry voice.
Spike was decidedly unimpressed. "Looks like every other pretty-boy jock. Dawn could at least be more original."
"Check out the fan club." Willow indicated RJ's dance partner, a scantily-clad girl with curled brunette hair. Her suggestive dancing left little to the imagination.
Xander leered. "Daddy like."
Buffy uttered a derisive snort, "What's that shirt made of? Paint? Glad Dawnie isn't here to see her precious boyfriend getting all thrusty with some slutbag hussy—"
The girl turned around, giving all of them a clear view of her face. Five sets of jaws fell open at the sight of Dawn grinding away with the quarterback.
"Bloody hell..." Spike gaped.
"Oh. Oh, no!" Xander stammered in horror, "I wasn't— When I was lookin', I wasn't— Oh, god..."
Willow leaned over and muttered to him, "Right there with ya."
As soon as Dawn stepped off the dance floor, Buffy went to confront her. Even over the noise of the crowd, Spike's enhanced ears picked up the ensuing argument between the two sisters. It was pretty bad. It was like Dawn had suddenly reverted to her bratty phase, only with extra cattyness. When Buffy refused to let her back onto the dance floor, Dawn angrily snatched up her jacket and stormed out of the club.
Spike sighed, downed the rest of his drink, and went to join Buffy as she made to follow the girl. Wouldn't do to have Dawn stumble across some opportunistic vamps while walking home in a snit.
As soon as they exited the building, they discovered Dawn rolling around on the ground with another girl, screeching and pulling each other's hair. Buffy and Spike hurried to separate the girls. Buffy grabbed Dawn, while Spike grabbed the other girl.
"Okay, first with the lap dance, now with the catfight," an exasperated Buffy sighed, "Hey, wanna get drunk and barf next?"
Dawn struggled in her sister's grip. "Let go of me! This isn't finished."
The other girl yelled, "I'll never let you have him, bitch!" She viciously kicked Spike's leg, making him release her with a loud curse. "RJ is mine! I mean it, stay away from him!"
"Bloody hell! Crazy bint got me with the pointy toe!" Spike hopped in pain.
Buffy looked at her sister. "Well, at least someone agrees you shouldn't be dating this guy."
Needless to say, Dawn was grounded for her behavior. But she was only half the problem. Buffy was determined to confront the other half at work the next day.
"I'm gonna make sure RJ doesn't come anywhere near Dawn from now on," Buffy stated with determination as she and Spike got ready for bed.
The vampire smirked, watching Buffy change into her nightgown while he sat propped against the headboard. "Sorry I won't be there to see you run that pup off with his tail between his legs."
Buffy threw him a cheeky smile. "Well, at least you can tune in," she said, sending him a mental nudge through the link, "Feel me getting all righteous and then satisfied when I send that little player packing."
Spike chuckled, imagining the whole scenario. The boy would underestimate the petite blonde, think she was weak and easy, and then Buffy would lay down the law and the boy would learn she was not a woman to trifle with.
When Spike "listened in" on the link the next day, things seemed to play out the way he expected, at first. He experienced Buffy's anger towards the boy, her anticipation at taking him down a peg. But then something weird happened. There was a sort of a skip, like an old-fashioned record needle slipping a groove, then the link was awash in sexual arousal so intense it damn near made Spike's knees give out. What the hell?
This wasn't a natural emotion. The link crackled with magic, making the hairs on the back of Spike's neck stand on end. Rage boiled up in him; that sodding pup used a love spell on his Slayer!
Spike grabbed the phone and stabbed the buttons, nearly breaking them in his ire. He called Willow and Tara on their cell phones and told them about Buffy's condition. The witches skipped their afternoon classes and rushed home. Much to Spike's annoyance, Willow had also brought Xander and Anya along for some reason. Damned if he knew what good they could do in this situation.
The second Buffy and Dawn got home, Spike and the Scoobies cornered them.
"Buffy," Spike said through gritted teeth, "do be specific and let a fella know what the bloody hell happened today with the boy."
Buffy drew herself up. "RJ's not a boy. He's a strong, brilliant, sensitive man, and I adore him with every breath in my body."
"Whoa..." Xander breathed.
Dawn gaped at her sister in betrayal. "What! Y-You can't! I love RJ! Besides, you've already got Spike," she pointed at the vampire.
Buffy laid a hand over her heart. "My love is bottomless, Dawnie. I can have more than one soulmate."
"Oh, for god's sake!" Spike exploded, "It's a sodding love spell!"
Buffy turned her wide eyes to her sister. "You hear that? You're under a spell. Oh, poor little Dawnie."
"But we're working on it," Willow hastened to assure anyone before Spike could yell anymore, "It'll be better soon."
Anya nodded agreement. "Yes. Soon neither one of you will be in love with this boy."
Both sisters stared at her, aghast. "He's not a boy," Buffy repeated, while at the same time Dawn cried, "What do you know about our love? It's true and real. This isn't magic, this is my heart."
"Look, I kn-know this feels terrible," Tara said, gently guiding them to the couch, "but it isn't real. Try to hold on to that."
"Did you hear that?" Buffy asked the teen, "It isn't real. You're just crazy."
"It is so real!" Dawn exclaimed, "I love him. You knew how I felt—like I'd finally found something—and you betrayed me."
The woman blinked in surprise, "I betrayed you? You're the one that constructed this elaborate fantasy about you and my lover. Did you want me to tell you that he's in love with me? That your little crush is hopeless?"
"He's not your soddin' lover!" Spike snapped.
"It's not a crush!" Dawn's voice approached a shriek.
"Okay, guys," Xander tried to step in, "Time out! Let's, uh, take a few minutes to simmer down."
"You're not supposed to do this!" Dawn accused, ignoring Xander's attempt to mediate.
"Why? Because he's younger than me?" Buffy countered, "Y'know, I'm extremely youthful and peppy!"
"No. 'Cause you were the one I trusted." Dawn shouldered past her and ran up the stairs. The door to her room slammed a moment later.
It was beginning to sink in for Buffy that things had gotten out of hand. "Dawn, wait!" she hurried after the girl.
Spike remained where he was, fists clenched in impotent rage. The others wisely edged away from him.
"So!" Xander clapped his hands, "Let's get to work so we can cure these crazy little lust puppies."
"Love spells," Anya tsked, "People forget how dangerous they can be."
"Hey, been there," Xander smiled, reminiscing, "Good times."
While Xander, Anya, and Tara researched love spells and counter-love spells, Willow got out her trusty laptop to find some poop on RJ. Buffy trotted downstairs a moment later. "She's locked her door. That spell has her good and loopy."
"Here's something," Willow spoke up, "Info on one RJ Brooks."
Buffy rushed to her side. "Ooh! Let me see! Is there a picture?"
Xander, leaning over the redhead's shoulder, shook his head. "Family stuff. Hey, I knew his brother. He was a big jock at Sunnydale High, too. A couple of years ahead of us. He used to stick chewing gum in my hair."
"Great. So you two got history." Spike snatched up his duster and put it on. "Let's go."
Xander blinked in surprise. "Uh..." Seeing the determined scowl on the vampire's face, he decided it was best not to argue. "Sure, lemme just get my jacket."
As soon as the two men were gone, Buffy turned to Willow with an eager smile and said, "Now look for a picture."
As they approached Lance Brooks's the address, which they'd gotten from Willow's computer, Xander warned Spike, "I'm just sayin', we're—we're tangling with a powerful spell here. And we don't know what the deal is, so keep an eye out if this guy looks twitchy. And don't let this guy charm you, either. He had everyone around him practically kissing his ring back in high school."
Xander rang the doorbell. A moment later, the door opened to reveal a pudgy guy with splotchy skin, wearing a pizza delivery uniform. "Yeah?"
Spike quirked a sardonic eyebrow at the astonished carpenter.
Once Xander made the introductions, Lance invited them inside. It was clear the man was still living with his mother; the furniture was outdated floral print and there were doilies and cheesy knickknacks everywhere. Lance got them each a beer and he and Xander engaged in some tiresome small talk that Spike barely managed to get through without cracking.
"Construction, huh? That's awesome. So, what's up with RJ? How's he doin' at the old alpha mater?"
Spike stifled a groan. That's alma mater, you twit.
"Uh, good," Xander answered awkwardly, "It's just...I know a girl that might be goin' out with him, and I was wondering—"
Brooks held up a hand, "Got it. You wanna know if he's a good guy. Truth is, he's the best. Followin' in my footsteps."
While he nattered on, Spike got up from the floral couch and wandered over to a set of shelves sporting little angel figurines and family photos. He grimaced and turned the hideous figurines so they faced away from him, then scrutinized the pictures.
"You might not know it now, lookin' at me with a couple extra pounds, but back then, I was quite the guy," Lance declared, almost smug-sounding.
"Yeah. I gather that RJ is pretty popular, too," Xander fished.
"I gotta tell ya, there was a time I was worried about RJ," Lance ruefully shook his head, "Used to be all into comic books, Model UN, geek stuff. No offense, Harris. One time, I found all this poetry under his bed. Turns out, he wrote it. Then he, uh—what do you call it—blossomed! That's what it was like."
Before Xander could ask his next question, Spike suddenly said, "You're wearing your brother's jacket. Here in this picture."
Brooks turned his head to look at the photos Spike pointed at, both of them featuring the brothers in heroic football poses, like matching bookends. "Oh, no, dude. He's wearin' mine. That jacket was with me all the way through high school," he grinned, "Gave it to him when I graduated. Right before I started over at the Pizza Barn. I'm in the management program."
Spike's and Xander's eyes met in mutual suspicion. "So, Lance, where did you get the jacket?" Xander asked.
"Oh, Dad gave it to me," he answered carelessly, "Made a big deal about it, too. How he met Mom wearin' that jacket. She was a former Miss Arkansas. Very hot in her day."
"Wow! That's wonderful," Xander jumped to his feet. They'd definitely heard enough; no way could that be mere coincidence. Not in their bizarre world. "Boy, it's gettin' late."
Brooks straightened in his seat, realizing his company was about to abandon him. "Hey, you guys don't have to take off if you don't want to. I-I got sort of a rumpus room set up in the basement. There's air hockey and a mini-fridge. We could party."
An older woman's voice called out from another part of the house, "Lance, do you have guests down there? There's little boxes of raisins if you want snacks."
Spike and Xander immediately headed for the door. "We really gotta go."
"Holy crap. And I thought my life was sad," Xander declared on the drive back.
"Makes you feel all smug and superior, don't it?" Spike said.
The carpenter grinned, "Oh yeah."
"Reminds me of this one ponce I knew, back when I was human," Spike mused, "Used to make fun of my poetry. Said he'd rather have a railroad spike through his head than listen to another verse."
"Mm-hmm," Xander nodded, sensing where this was headed, "And, uh, what happened to him?"
The vampire shrugged, "After I was turned, I tracked him down and drove a railroad spike through his head." He grinned. "Good times."
Xander took a moment to absorb that gruesome aside. "So...you wrote poetry, huh? Any good?"
Spike scoffed, "God, no! I was bloody awful."
Disaster had struck while they were gone. They returned to the house to find everyone except Willow and Tara was gone. The witches seemed to be fighting over a bunch of crystals.
"I can't let you do this!" Tara cried.
"Give them to me!" Willow shouted.
The guys hurried over to break up the fight. "What the hell are you doing?" Xander cried.
"Proving I love RJ the most," Willow retorted, much to her friend's dismay.
Tara hurried to explain, "RJ came by. He w-wanted to see Buffy, b-but Willow and Anya answered the door instead."
Spike groaned, guessing the rest, "And they fell under the bugger's love spell."
"It's not a spell," Willow denied, "I love RJ, and he's completely devoted to me."
"Wil, honey," Xander explained patiently, "RJ's a guy."
"Well, I did notice that, yeah," she huffed, "That's why I wanna do my spell. 'Cause, y'know, he doesn't have to be. Now gimme my stuff. I don't have much time."
"Much time for what?"
"Buffy and Anya and Dawn are all out trying to prove they love RJ the most," Tara answered.
Spike frowned, "And how are they gonna do that, exactly?"
"Well," Willow said, "Buffy's gonna kill Principal Wood—"
"Fine, okay!" Xander interrupted, "Let's start there."
Tara hastily gathered up everything she needed for a locator spell, then they all piled into Xander's car. "I-It'll take a while for me to set the spell up," Tara said.
"I can track Buffy," Spike said. His brow furrowed in concentration, then he began directing Xander to where he sensed Buffy was going. Looked like the principal was in the habit of working late; Buffy was headed for the high school.
"Merciful Zeus!" Xander exclaimed when they reached the school's parking lot. Buffy was standing on the lawn, pointing a rocket launcher towards the lit window of Principal Woods's office.
"Where the hell did she get that?" Spike wondered.
"There's a military armory in town," Xander explained, "We've, uh, borrowed stuff from them before."
Seeing that time was of the essence, Spike opened the passenger door and leapt from the still-moving car. He ran at vampire speed across the lawn and tackled the Slayer before she had a chance to set off the rocket launcher. Wrestling the weapon from her, he started running back towards the waiting car, Buffy hot on his heels.
"Spike, bring that back! I need it!"
Xander had parked the car. He and Willow stood beside it while Tara sat on the ground with a map in front of her. A magically-induced light glowed on the map's surface, indicating the next spell-struck girl they needed to find.
"What are you guys doing?" Buffy asked, momentarily distracted.
"Locator spell. Human variety," Tara replied, "Almost done."
"I've got a principal to kill," Buffy stated, impatient, "What's going on? Who are we looking for?"
"Dawn," Xander told her. He frowned at the little moving light. "Looks like she's headed for the railroad tracks."
"Why would she go there?" Willow asked.
Spike and Buffy felt the same sense of dread come over them. Knowing how prone the teen was to dramatic gestures... "We'd better hurry," Buffy said, getting into the car without a moment's hesitation.
They almost didn't get there in time. Even with her Slayer speed and agility, Buffy only rescued Dawn from a grisly death by the skin of her teeth. "This is a plan?" she shouted at the girl over the roar of the passing train, "You're gonna steal RJ by being trisected?"
"What, am I gonna compete with you?" Dawn retorted, "You're older and hotter and have sex that's rough and kill people! I don't have any of that stuff. But if I did this, then his whole life he'd know there was someone that loved him so much they'd give up their life. And it would be true...forever."
Buffy stared at the girl, horrified. "Dawn, no guy's worth your life. Not ever."
"RJ is. And don't say he isn't. Look what you were willing to do."
"Dawn, I would give him to you in a second if I could," Buffy declared, meaning every word, "That's how much you're scaring me."
Dawn looked at her, uncertain. "But I—I thought you wanted him...for you."
Buffy wrinkled her nose, shook her head. "Nah. Well...yeah. My god, that boy is hot." She shook herself. "Sorry. I think I might be under a spell, here."
The teen smiled. "I hear ya."
They used Tara's locator spell to find out where RJ was, then Xander and Spike went to get what they needed. They found the boy walking downtown with a pretty girl whose foot was in a cast. Luckily, he was wearing the letter jacket.
The two men crept up on the young couple, hiding around the corner from them behind a storefront.
"Now, you're sure you understand the plan?" Xander whispered to the vampire beside him.
Spike rolled his eyes. "I think I got it, yeah. 'S not like we're plottin' the sodding invasion of Normandy," he grumbled.
Xander counted to three and they rushed out of hiding. Xander grabbed the startled boy and held him while Spike yanked the jacket off him, then the two of them ran off into the night, leaving the confused and irate teen behind. The victorious pair returned to the house where Spike immediately shoved the jacket into the already lit fireplace. As the garment caught fire, Spike felt the spell's hold on Buffy fade.
"That, my friends, is the smell of sweet, sweet victory," a satisfied Xander proclaimed.
"Also burning cotton-poly blend," Anya added. She had returned home a few minutes after the rest of them, looking slightly winded, but otherwise unharmed. The former vengeance demon shook her head in disgust. "This tool gets this jacket from his brother, who got it from their father, and we'll never know where he got it. That bites."
Xander cheerily quipped, "Welcome to the Hellmouth, where even outerwear isn't safe."
Dawn slumped in the couch, remorse etched on her youthful features. Buffy went to sit beside her. "You okay, Dawnie?"
"I'm just so... The way I acted. The way I talked to you... I feel so stupid. All over a spell."
"Get ready to feel even stupider when it's not, Bit," Spike told her with a rueful grin, "Speakin' from ample experience, here."
The girl smiled at him. "Worked out for you, though."
"It'll work out for you, too," Buffy said, reaching out to grip her boyfriend's hand. "You just need to give it time."
Dawn didn't look all that convinced, but she put on a brave face.
"Hey, Anya," Willow addressed her best friend's ex, "You never told us what you 'can't believe you almost...'"
Anya frowned in feigned confusion. "Who, now?"
"No, you can't be the only not-embarrassed one," the redhead insisted, "What did you do?"
Anya thought fast. "I, uh, wrote a poem. An epic poem comparing him to a daisy, a tower, and a lake."
At that moment, the song playing on the radio ended and a news blurb came up, "And now the latest on Sunnydale's late-night bandit, who is still at large. A masked thief held up a number of—"
Anya quickly switched the radio off. "Okay. Great. Ice cream! My treat?" She grinned.
If anyone had any suspicions, they thought it best to keep them to themselves.
Spike lay in bed, wondering what was keeping Buffy so long. He'd felt an undercurrent of excitement from her and knew she was holding something back. It frustrated him a little, but at least she wasn't feeling guilty anymore. For the last few days, the link had fairly vibrated with her constant, silent apologies to him. Didn't matter how many times he told her there was nothing to forgive, since she'd been under the influence of a spell. She still felt guilty.
But now there was something else, and it drove Spike crazy trying to figure it out.
He sensed Buffy's approach and tensed in anticipation.
"Close your eyes," her muffled voice ordered from outside the door. Sighing in impatience, Spike did as he was told. He heard the door open and shut, then Buffy said, "Okay. Open them."
His eyes opened, then almost bugged out at the sight before him. A grinning Buffy stood at the foot of the bed dressed in a skimpy cheerleader outfit. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, her midriff exposed, and she was holding pompoms in both hands.
"Well? What d'you think?" She bounced on the balls of her feet.
Spike's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he finally found his voice. "I think you are the best bloody girlfriend ever."
Beaming, Buffy waved her pompoms and executed a high-kick, giving Spike a tantalizing glimpse of the string thong she wore under the microskirt. "Give me an S! Give me a P! Give me an I—aiee!" Buffy squeaked as Spike suddenly grabbed her around the waist and dragged her onto the bed. "Spike!" she laughed, "You didn't let me finish my cheer."
"So, finish it," he leered, reaching under the skirt and tearing away the filmy underwear.
Buffy giggled. "Gimme a K. Gimme an E. What's that spell? Ohh..." Her head rolled back as Spike's head disappeared beneath her skirt. She reached for him, forgetting that she was still gripping the pompoms. They rustled as they brushed against his bare shoulders. "Go team," she moaned.
Spike laughed in delight.