Buffy Summers showed up a couple of minutes early for her one o’clock meeting with her editor and boss Lilah Morgan. When Buffy was hired as a music reporter last fall for “Young and Hip” magazine, she instantly jumped on the chance, hoping to take a crack at journalism along with getting a minor amount of praise for her work.
After her mother’s death, she took her younger sister Dawn in and began to take care of her, even though she was already eighteen. The two sisters got along well enough, and on the weekends, Dawn accompanied Buffy to concerts and interviews that she conducted with small-time bands. They spent less time together when Dawn began taking classes at UC-Sunnydale and traded in time with her sister for parties and boys. Buffy found herself to be rather lonely on weeknights and was hoping that Lilah would assign her another project, hopefully a big one that would require a lot of time. She never could have expected what opportunity her editor was going to pitch to her that afternoon.
* * *
“Hello, Buffy,” Lilah said as she opened her office door, letting her employee walk in. “That was a fabulous article you wrote last week about that one band. What was their name again?”
“Mass Confusion,” Buffy supplied, sitting down on a chair across from Lilah’s desk. “They were a little too hard rock for my taste, but they were pretty good.”
“I was told that they’re on the cusp of becoming mainstream,” Lilah replied. “You might’ve played an integral role in that happening.” Buffy simply smiled. “It seems like a lot of the bands you’ve reported on have become famous almost overnight. That must make you very proud.”
“Yes, well, it’s not all because of me,” Buffy said humbly. “They all deserved their big break. I’m just happy I was able to interview them before it happened.” Lilah laughed.
“Well, I suppose you’re wondering why I called you in here today,” she said, clasping her hands and resting them on her desk. Buffy sat up straighter, anxious for Lilah to explain. “Have I ever told you that my cousin is the manager for a band in town?” Buffy shook her head, surprised. “Yes, it’s true. My cousin Liam O’Connor is the manager of a band called Dingoes Ate My Baby.” Buffy smirked at the name.
‘Who would name their band something so asinine?’ she thought, willing herself not to giggle.
“I think my sister has seen a couple of their shows,” Buffy said. “What about them? Do you want me to set up an interview session with them?”
“Yes, but it’s not going to be like all of the other interviews you’ve conducted before,” Lilah said with a hint of excitement in her tone. Buffy was surprised- Lilah never showed that many emotions.
“What will make this one so different from the others?” Buffy asked hesitantly.
‘It’s got to be something big if she’s being so cryptic about it,’ she thought.
“Well, the band is going on tour for a couple of weeks,” Lilah began to explain. “They’re hitting fifteen cities across California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Nevada, and the magazine is interested in a reporter following them and writing about life on the road.” Buffy froze. “I’d like to give you the assignment, Buffy. I think it would be a great opportunity for you to get out and experience touring with a fairly unknown band. What do you say?” Buffy was beyond stunned.
“You want me to go on tour with this band?” she asked, trying to process it.
“It’ll give you a greater insight into what it means and what it takes to become mainstream,” Lilah said. “I wish I would’ve had a chance like this when I was your age- it might’ve allowed me to branch away from my roots here.” Buffy managed a weak smile. “What’s wrong? You don’t like the idea?”
“No, I think it’s fabulous,” Buffy said quickly. “I just don’t think it’s a good assignment for me. I mean, I have a couple of other bands I’m supposed to interview soon, and I’ve got to take care of Dawnie, and I-”
“Not to sound like a bitch, but you don’t have anything,” Lilah cut in. Buffy raised an eyebrow, surprised at her editor’s blunt words. “I can hand off your future interviews to other reporters, and I don’t see why you’d use Dawn as an excuse not to go because as far as I’m concerned, she’s not really even a part of your household anymore, now is she?”
“Dawn still lives with me,” Buffy said sternly before ducking her head and sighing. “I just don’t see her a whole lot.”
“And besides that, she’s eighteen, Buffy,” Lilah pointed out. “She can take care of herself for less than a month, can’t she?” Buffy nodded. “So, will you take it, or should I start looking for another music reporter?” Buffy looked at her boss with a defensive expression and stood up.
“I’ll take it,” she answered. Lilah nodded and waited to smirk until Buffy left her office.
‘That’s the best way to get an employee motivated for their job- allude to replacing them,’ Lilah thought before dialing her cousin’s cell phone number.
* * *
After getting off of the phone with his cousin, Liam ‘Angel’ O’Connor looked at the band sitting in front of him- Xander Harris was the drummer, Daniel ‘Oz’ Osborne was the bassist, and William ‘Spike’ Crawford was the lead singer, along with playing the bass guitar occasionally. He had managed them for over a year, and finally, they had enough funding to go on a small tour throughout the surrounding states. Angel had asked his cousin Lilah to recruit Buffy Summers, an infamous music reporter in Sunnydale, to go with them so that maybe the band would skyrocket into more fame quickly, thus making all of them, including Angel, rich. In his mind, it was the greatest plan he had ever come up with.
When Lilah called to confirm that Buffy would be joining them, he couldn’t be more pleased with himself. Now it was time to convince the band that it was the right decision for them to make. He knew one member in particular wouldn’t be happy at all with the new arrangement.
“So, what’s the big meeting about, Angel?” Xander asked, mindlessly tapping his drumsticks against his legs.
“Well, do you remember when I mentioned possibly having a reporter follow us on tour?” Angel asked. All three men nodded. “I found one, and she has agreed to come with us and write about the band and how the tour goes.” The three men in front of him looked at each other.
“You’re having some bird travel with us?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow. Angel nodded. “Are you crazy? You want some girl to follow us around and write about us?”
“I think it’ll do wonders for the band’s popularity,” Angel explained, crossing his arms.
“Yeah, maybe it will, but the girl could expose some of our secrets or could write us up as being complete wankers,” Spike pointed out. “Having a reporter follow us isn’t a wise idea. Haven’t you seen ‘Almost Famous’?”
“That’s actually where I got the idea from,” Angel answered. Spike groaned and looked down.
“It’s not bloody right to have some girl shadow us for three weeks,” Spike said. “I veto your decision, mate.”
“What about you two?” Angel asked, looking at Oz and Xander. Xander looked at Spike and frowned.
“I don’t see why not,” he said. “Maybe she’ll do us some justice and make us sound like real rockstars.” Oz nodded in agreement and shrugged. “I think you’ve got two votes for it. Sorry, man.” Spike sighed.
“Fine, we’ll have the reporter chic come with us,” Spike said, looking at Angel. “But if she gets in the way or causes any trouble, I’m sending her packing. Understand?”
“Yes,” Angel answered. “I’ve been told that Buffy Summers is nothing but professional. Maybe she’ll even make you act like more of a gentleman, Spike.” Everyone but Spike laughed at that. He shot Angel a look. “Come on, man- what’s the worst that can happen?”
***************************************************************************
A/N Alright, here’s my latest attempt at writing fan-fiction on my own. It’s loosely based off of the movie “Almost Famous”. If you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. Tell me what you think so far of chapter 1, and if I get enough support, I’ll post chapter 2 tomorrow. I want to say thanks to everyone who’s been reading and/or reviewing “Fireworks” – Ashlee and I are glad that everyone seems to really like it!:)
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!