Buffy prayed for an earthquake, a tidal wave, an alien abduction - anything that would prevent her from ever seeing Spike again. She did not regret kissing Spike. Oh no, she was sure she had been born for that. She just didn’t know how she was supposed to face him now. She had heard too many bad things about co-stars who get involved, and they were just now starting to be friends. What if they had ruined that? It would almost be worth it though, just to feel his lips on mine again. Buffy smiled sadly, but knew that it was for the best. She had to be strong; she was strong, especially after being through crappy relationships before. She didn’t want another one. I just want naked Spike on my bed, ready and waiting for me… I have to take a cold shower.

She rushed into the bathroom and got into the shower stall, hoping to satisfy the lust she felt by herself.

* * * * *

“How in the hell did that chit get into my head so soon? Just two days ago I hated her guts, didn’t want to see her ever again and now here I am, trying to figure out an excuse to stumble into her room and fuck her silly.” Spike muttered to himself as he readied his things to go to the shower. The image of Buffy looking up at him, shocked eyes filled with want for him, lips swollen from kissing and then running out, her fine ass swaying quickly to get away from him.

I won’t let it happen. She’s been burned, I’ve been burned. We’re both working toward establishing a name for ourselves in movies, and this is wrong. This can’t happen. We could ruin the movie - AGAIN - if we get involved and break up. I can’t kiss her and hug her and have sex with her and… AUGH!

Spike quickly stripped off his swimwear and rushed to the shower stall. With the water pounding down his back he brought himself off, the name of the girl he couldn’t let himself have falling from his lips.

* * * * *

Buffy emerged from the shower a little calmer than when she went in. She had stayed under the spray for so long that her fingers and toes were wrinkled and pink. Maybe she would be less tense around Spike, now that she had taken care of the problem they had started with their kiss. Now if she could just avoid him for the nest two months.

Buffy sighed and suddenly shook her head. I’m an adult. A controlled, able adult who can keep her emotions in check. This is going to be fine!

She dug through one of the drawers in her room for her Disc Man and put her ear-buds in, hoping to drown out any more thoughts of the bleached wonder. The Chicago soundtrack started blaring in her ears and she went about putting on her makeup in the bathroom, focusing on the music.

She started to get into the beat and bobbed around the bathroom as she cleaned up from her shower, throwing towels over the rack, shoving her makeup into it’s case. She danced into the bedroom in her fluffy, complimentary hotel robe, which she let drop to the floor so she could get dressed. She picked out a pair of blue jeans, black camisole and white men’s button up top to go over it to wear for the day, and after dressing she went back to dancing around the room. She grabbed her brush and started singing to ‘Cell Block Tango’, taking the part of Velma that Catherine Zeta-Jones played.

She started dancing around the massive room to the music, remembering some dance steps she learned for plays in university. She started to sing even louder, getting into the part, picturing herself on a stage with the bright lights and hundreds of people staring at her. She missed the thrill of live performing, hot lights, rushed stage cues, but now she was on to better things. She came to Velma’s big solo and started singing in earnest, speaking along with the lines before reaching the singing.

“They had it coming! They had it coming! They had it coming all along! I didn’t do it! But if I’d done it- how could you tell me that I was wrong?” She twirled her way across the room, kicking every now and then, grinding in that Cabaret way. Her still-wet hair slapped across her face as she swung around, her hairbrush still in her hand.

She whirled around to face her bedroom door and shrieked, dropping the brush to the floor. “What are you doing here?”

“Sorry, luv, didn’t mean to startle you.” Spike smirked at her, leaning against the doorframe. “I knocked but you obviously didn’t hear me. I could hear you from the hallway, so I tried the door.”

“Um, right. Uh- sorry… I-I- I’m never-“ Buffy fumbled, embarrassed that he had caught her in one of her silly moods, especially writhing and swaying as she was. Her cheeks flamed more.

“Quite the show you had going on there. Including the voice.” Spike smiled genuinely at her. Buffy just shook her head and walked past him to the bathroom. He stood in the doorway, watching her brush her hair furiously. “I take it you did some musical theatre at some point.”

“Just a couple of times. Nothing major.” Buffy took out her hairdryer and drowned out any attempt he had of persisting in the conversation. He didn’t give up so easily however.

“Ever consider trying to cut a demo?” He asked when she shut off the hairdryer.

“Nope. I don’t sing in public for anything other than an acting job. Never going to.” She told him, squeezing some styling product into her hand and smoothing it through her hair. Spike had the urge to reach out and run his fingers through her man after her but kept his mind on the topic at hand.

“Never say never, luv.”

“Never,” She retorted, brushing past him into the bedroom.

“You’re in for a surprise, pet,” he murmured so she couldn’t hear him.

* * * * * *

“Like I told you, I think you might be kind of bored this afternoon. You won’t even get to hear a lot of the songs we’re doing tonight cause we’re not doing a full rehearsal, just a run-through. But there will be a couple other women here for you to hang out with. Girlfriends of other members of the band,” Spike told Buffy as they got out of the car they had taken to the club.

“So you bring your girlfriends to all your gigs?” Buffy asked as he paid the driver.

“The others do. I don’t. Haven’t had anyone to bring in awhile.” He flashed her a genuine smile as they reached to door and he opened it for her. Her insides twisted a little at that but was distracted by the total darkness that surrounded her as she stepped from the patented California-only bright day into the nightclub dark building.

“Here he is!” Someone yelled from the other end of the club. As Buffy’s eyes adjusted to the black she could see some guys setting up instruments on a stage surrounded by tables, the small dancefloor behind them.

“It’s about damn time you got here, Giles.” Someone else yelled, as he jumped from the stage and waited for them to come to him.

“Sorry. I got behind in the time,” he told the grinning man, none too apologetically.

“Behind in the times, maybe,” the guy chortled, an obvious dig against Spike’s look. Spike took it in good spirit and rolled his eyes before turning to Buffy.

“Buffy meet Kevin, Kevin, this is Buffy Summers. She’s my co-star in the movie I’m in,” He introduced them. “Careful of Kevin, he’s… just watch out for him.”

Kevin grinned and took Buffy’s hand to kiss the back. “Such a pleasure to meet a beautiful lady such as yourself. As beautiful as the stars themselves.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Buffy said politely, taking her hand back. “Always nice to know there are still guys who use cheesy pickup lines like that to remind girls of what they aren’t missing.”

“Oooh! Burn!” Came a chortle from the stage. Kevin just grinned at Buffy. The other three members of the band came to meet Buffy as well, all shaking her hand in turn.

“Meet Aaron, Steve and Charlie. Aaron’s on drums, Steve plays keyboards and some guitar, Charlie plays guitar, a flute-like instrument, and the piano and Kevin and I play guitar. Guys, this is Buffy. She’s my co-star in the movie I’m filming.”

“The one you ditched us for, huh?” Charlie teased.

“If I got to work with her, I would have too!” Kevin exclaimed. Everyone just rolled their eyes at him.

“Alright. Over here is where you’ll watch us from with Anya and Amy.” Spike told Buffy as he led her away from the guys and they returned to setting up their equipment.

“Don’t you guys have someone to set all this up for you?” Buffy asked.

“For our concerts we do but for these gigs we like to keep it small, and because it’s local. We don’t need a lot of fuss. OK, Buffy, this is Anya,” he told her, directing her attention to the blonde and brunette sitting at the table. “And Amy.”

“Hi.” Buffy smiled at the two who looked at her curiously.

“Hello there. I’m Anya.” She held out her hand to Buffy who shook it. “Are you here to watch the boys?”

“Yes, I’m sitting in on today’s performances.”

“Good, good. Just remember to stay away from Aaron. He’s my boyfriend. I like his penis very much.” Anya told Buffy with a straight face. Buffy just turned to Spike with an odd look. He laughed and whispered in her ear.

“She’s ‘armless. Just play dead, try not to give off the smell of fresh meat and she’ll leave you alone.” With that he left her standing at the table, watching the two girls and being watched.

“Is Spike giving you many orgasms?”

* * * * *

“So?” Charlie asked when Spike got up on stage to tune his own guitar that the guys had brought with them.

“So what?” He avoided Charlie’s gaze.

“What’s the deal, Giles? You don’t just bring a co-worker with you on outings. Who is she?” “She’s Buffy. She’s a friend who I’ve gotten to know over the past couple of days by decree of the studio heads for fear of getting fired.” Spike explained.

“Right.” Charlie nodded as the others listened in. “That’s why you aren’t at all on edge about performing tonight with as little practice as we’ve had in the past month, making sure she’s integrated well with everyone and you’ve got this stupid, goofy look on your face.”

“Spill, Spike. What’s up?” Aaron asked him. Spike sighed and sat one on of the speaker boxes.

“That’s just it, I don’t know what’s up,” he replied, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “She makes me want to throw her across the room one second and then the next I want to kiss her senseless. And she’d let me too, if she didn’t have her own hang-ups. Which is another thing. Maybe. I don’t know. Can’t be a thing when I don’t know what we are, right?”

“Sounds like Giles has it bad,” Kevin laughed. “What’s she like?”

“She’s… amazing. Fire and ice, tranquil and a spitfire, makes me laugh and want to scream at the same time. She’s just plain amazing. And she’s got a good right hook,” He chuckled to himself, rubbing his nose lightly.

“I mean what’s she like in the sack, man,” Kevin teased. Spike just shook his head, and stood up. This was the signal for everyone to finish their work. Charlie stayed behind.

“Look, man,” he started. “If she’s that great don’t let her get away. Just- don’t get mixed up with another Dru, ok? Cause we need you. I need someone to keep Kevin from landing in a Mexican jail because he followed some jail-bait back to her car.”

“I hear you, Charlie. And don’t worry, mate, she’s better than Dru ever was. Certainly too good for me,” Spike told him, his gaze falling on Buffy sitting at the table, her cheeks suspiciously red.

“So a mean right hook, huh?” Charlie asked, following Spike’s eyes. Spike grinned.

“You have no idea.”

* * * * *

“So how long have you and Spike been together?” Anya asked innocently, for the third time since Buffy sat down, in the third, and most direct, way. Buffy just sighed and looked at Anya wearily. Anya shrugged in response. “Tact is for suckers.”

“I’m not dating Spike, remember? We’re friends, co-stars, acquaintances, merely passing each other on the road of life...” Buffy reminded her.

And again Anya didn’t believe her. “Please. I’ve been around here, with the band, for a long time now and I’ve never known Spike to bring a girl to a performance, let alone for the rehearsal. Something must be cooking between you two.” She persisted.

“And again, I had to come because the movie producers made us spend two days together. This is Spike’s day to decide how we’ll get to know each other.”

“I’m still not convinced.” Anya decided, sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed. Amy just sat in her chair, silent.

Not knowing what else to say Buffy sat back as well and tuned into the band, doing a sound check. They had been rehearsing for over and hour now but Buffy had barely heard anything over Anya’s direct questioning. She admired the blonde’s willingness to say anything but her direction was a little personal. She didn’t want to think about potential Spike orgasms or his penis. Not out loud anyway. But she was a little worried about Anya’s insistence that she and Spike were together, even though Buffy denied it at every opportunity. If Anya was this sure and she had only known her for an hour maybe she was right in saying that Spike didn’t bring anyone else here and this was something more. She hoped that it wasn’t but she would have to talk to him now to make sure he understood her position. It was better for both of them that they didn’t open that can of worms.

“Alright guys, that should be good for now. Let’s go get some grub!” Spike announced a few minutes later as they finished a song. There was a general tone of agreement among the whole group.

“Hey, what’d you think?” Spike asked as he jumped from the stage and headed straight to Buffy.

“Have to admit that I was a little distracted so I’ll have to catch the whole thing tonight.” Buffy admitted, rolling her eyes in Anya’s direction who was distracted by Aaron. Spike just smiled and took her hand to help her out of her chair.

“Did you get the third degree?” He asked, not letting her hand go. Buffy pulled it away carefully and pushed her hair over her shoulder.

“More like the third degree cubed. She’s… outgoing.” Buffy laughed.

“Yeah, that’s Anya. Never been on to shy away from the really important things. Like sex and penises.” Buffy nodded in agreement. “Course, they are important things to some people, I suppose. I’m more interested in things pertaining to the opposite sex, especially tiny, volatile blondes but-“

Buffy cut Spike off. “Spike, we need to talk.” With his eyebrow raised he nodded at her to continue. “This,” Buffy gestured between them. “Can’t happen. I mean, it could, but it won’t. Because we’re costars and we are trying to make a good movie, you know? I’m just getting to know you as a friend and this whole innuendo thing you have going is a little unsteadying. Maybe I’d acting like a prude, I don’t know but I just want to do really well with this and I like being your friend, cause you’re nice, once you get to know you. I’m sure you know that. But that’s beside the point. I just- don’t feel comfortable with the remarks and suggestions. I- I… I’m babbling.” Buffy took a deep breath and looked up at Spike who was staring back at her with an amused look on his face.

“I’m sorry Buffy. I didn’t realize that my comments made you so uncomfortable. I just- I’m… I – like being your friend too, so I would never want to do anything to harm that. I’ll try to be on my best behavior.” Spike told her, wincing as he stumbled a little. He wanted to tell her that he liked her. He didn’t know how she would react to that however so it might be best to let things play out on their own. She was rattled by him though, he knew that, and not necessarily in a bad way.

“Good. Good, that’s very good.” Buffy nodded her head. “We’ve worked hard to get where we are right now and that’s important.”

“You’re right, it is. Hungry?” He asked. Buffy stared at him for a moment before saying she was. He gave her a quick smile to go round up the others, leaving her to think.

That was easy. Too easy. Or just easy enough. Maybe he doesn’t have a thing for you, that kiss was all just a misunderstanding and he just wanted an easy out. She didn’t think he would agree to tone down his Romeo act so easily. She also wasn’t sure how she felt now that they were going to be just friends. Am I disappointed? She wondered to herself. Nah, I asked for this and I got it, simple as that. I don’t have to worry about feeling funny around him now.

Spike smiled at her from across the room where he was talking to Anya and Aaron as the others got together. Buffy felt her breath hitch as she watched him, his hair gleaming under the dim lights, his blue eyes electric to her, even though she was really too far away to see clearly, and his smile warming her from the inside out.

Oops, Buffy thought weakly as they all started to leave the club to go to dinner. Only you Buffy, only you.

* * * * *

“So this guy decides to run to the ladies room before she gets there and take EVERY single roll of toilet paper he can, just so he could get revenge on her,” Kevin laughed, pointing at Spike. The whole table roared, in hysterics for the past half hour over memories of band exploits.

“The crazy chit gave us a terrible review. What else was I supposed to do? Sit there and take it?” Spike covered himself, looking around the table for support. His gaze fell on Buffy, across from him and wiping a tear from her eye from laughing so hard. He took a deep breath when he looked at her, wishing he could kiss her again, or even just hold her hand. But she had made her feelings perfectly clear that afternoon when she’d asked him to cut out the suggestive comments that he’d been making to her. It wasn’t something he did to be a rude or uncouth guy, it was his way of flirting. He knew that she liked it because she had responded to it time and again, but now she asked for it to stop. So he would. And wait for her signal.

“At least none of you got hurt in any of our pranks,” Aaron grumbled, good-naturedly. Seeing Buffy’s confused expressions he explained, “The guys decided that they needed some form of initiation for me when I joined, as I was the last guy. So they got me to agree to do this stupid ‘trick’. They got me to pull down my pants, get a piece of toilet paper the length of my body and stick it between my butt-cheeks. The set the paper on fire and I had to drink a glass of beer before the fire reached my ass. Sounds easy, right? Cause the fire would reach a plateau and burn slow enough for me to chug the beer. What I didn’t realize till after I had blisters on my ass is that they were standing behind me splashing beer on the paper. Assholes.”

Everyone laughed again, besides Anya who snuggled into Aaron. “If I had known you then I would have kissed it and made it better.” She told him. Aaron smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her, eliciting a groan from the other guys in the band.

“Come on!” Kevin threw a piece of bread at the kissing couple. “Get a room.”

Kevin and Anya separated, Anya looking more that a little perturbed. “It’s not like it wasn’t ten times worse when it was Spike and Dru.” Kevin said. A silence fell over the table at that and Kevin turned red, realizing what he’d said.

Spike rolled his eyes. “Guys, bugger off it. It’s not like you can avoid talking about her or us completely. She happened, we happened, it’s not a secret. We make mistakes and move on.”

“Yeah, but what about…” Kevin made a motion with his head in Buffy’s direction. Both Spike and Buffy rolled their eyes this time.

“Guys! We’re not dating! Co-stars, friends, strangers in the night. It’s what we ARE. I swear, you all are worse than a dog with a bone. We aren’t dating.” And likely never will, Spike lamented internally, but laughed with the others. Buffy stayed silent, wondering what would have happened if she had let things go the way they had been ad they’d gotten even closer.

No point in wondering what could have been. Focus on what is. She gave herself a little pep talk and snapped back to reality.

“Spike, were we going back to the hotel before you had to go back to the club?” She asked. He nodded and stood. The left the table, left money for the bill, and told everyone they would be back in a little while so they could change.

As soon as the blonde couple left the rest of the table looked at each other. Anya was the first to speak.

“I’ve got fifty that says they’re going to be giving each other orgasms by the end of the week.”

“I’ll take that bet. I say it’ll take a month.” Steve threw his bill in the middle of the table. Everyone else anted up, choosing the date they thought Spike and Buffy would finally cave. The sparks between the two were so hot it wasn’t a matter of if they got together, it was when.

“Okay, we go to the club, you go up on stage, do your thing for a few hours, then what?” Buffy asked as they walked out of the hotel later in the evening to head back the club. Buffy had decided to play casual cool in a pair dark blue jeans and a black halter top with a small clutch big enough to carry her cell, pepper spray and some money, since the club wasn’t a real dance club, just a small hotspot to go to listen to bands. Spike was dressed down as well, for comfort and to perform, in a pair of jeans, sneakers and a red t-shirt. When Buffy asked about the duster and combat boots he'd told her that his image was on vacation for the night. She'd laughed.

“Then we go home and go to bed, luv. Early call time for the set, right?” he said as they got into the cab they had called.

“No after parties? No wild shindigs to celebrate?” Buffy teased him.

“Not for a gig like this, not for a 9 am call time for the set, not at my age,” Spike told her.

“’At your age’. You fool. You’re only- what twenty-five?” Buffy poked him in his ribs.

“Lived more in these twenty-five years than a lot of people.” He looked almost sad and Buffy wanted to squeeze him tight, tell him it was going to be okay... but she couldn’t. Not after the rules she had laid down for them that afternoon, and not after vowing to herself that she wouldn’t muddle things up for them on the set.

“Well, tonight you can show me a little bit of that living that you have done, up there in the spotlight,” Buffy said, to try to lighten the mood. Spike turned to her and studied her for a moment before giving her a small smirk.

“I think I can do that.”

* * * * *

Buffy got to see all the behind the scenes stuff that she wanted as performance time neared for the band. They were calm and cool, whereas Buffy was nervous for them. She had never really been to any kind of concert in her life as Sunnydale was so small so even this little show was a big deal for her. The members of ‘Band of Buggered’ milled about, chatting with their small entourage of girlfriends and managers and stagehands, the club owners and some lucky fans who got backstage. Spike tried to stay by Buffy’s side as much as possible but his job kept him away. Instead she talked with Anya and Amy and took in all the new sights and sounds.

“Alright luv, we’re on. Just go out, sit back and enjoy.”

“Well break a leg, ok? Can I say that? Is that okay to say?” Buffy asked, worried she had jinxed them. Spike just laughed.

“It’s fine. But there is something you could do to make it better,” he said, slyly. Buffy narrowed her eyes.

“What?”

“Kiss for luck?” Spike grinned. Buffy rolled her eyes at him, but before he turned, defeated, to follow the rest of the band to the stage she gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Happy?” she asked.

“Getting there.” He disappeared into the darkness of the backstage area as she let Amy and Anya lead her back to the front where their table was.

Spike had a grin on his face the whole time they took their places on the stage. He had already started to break down her defenses, which tickled him pink. He’d get through to her eventually and she’d realize how easy it was to want to be with him.

* * * * * *

The screams of the girls in the audience were making Buffy’s ears ring. Not that she didn’t understand why they were screaming. Spike was hot. He was on fire. He made her want to jump him here in front of the four hundred or so fans that there were here. He strutted across the stage like he owned it, he sang as if he was ravaged with need for the subject of his song and he was sweaty and glistening under the hot lights. His whole persona had changed. He was not the attentive, persistent guy that she had grown used to in the past forty-eight hours, but a snarling, swaggering bad-boy dreamboat. He worked the crowd well, talking to them, laughing with them, making them scream for more.

“Yeah, but have any of them really kissed you? Made your toes curl and your blood boil? Made you want to scream so loudly from want and need that you’d wake up the neighbors and then kiss you past caring about it?” She remembered him telling her this just today, before they had shared that amazing kiss that would have ended up who knows where if Wes hadn’t called.

She was having fun. Spike and the boys made sure that they gave an entertaining performance and sang all of the audience’s favorite songs. They didn’t really have a set schedule that they were playing by so whatever people yelled out, they played if they could. Anya and Amy got into it as well, not just yelling up songs but comments that were meant to make the band blush. Some of the other people in the audience looked at their table with envy, knowing that they had some connection to the band, others looked on with pure hatred for the same reason. Buffy had stayed quiet for the most part, talking with Anya and Amy and finally getting to enjoy the show that she had missed at the rehearsal.

They had been performing for about an hour when Spike decided to single Buffy out of the crowd. He didn’t point her out or say her name to embarrass her but he dedicated their song “Dangerous” to her, or rather the ‘only chit who could ever take me down with a swing of her mighty fist or within three seconds of opening her mouth’ to which he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, implying something more insidious than what he actually meant. He shot a quick look her way and grinned so that she knew that she was the focus of his declaration. Anya and Amy just looked at her with knowing looks, and giggled.

I don't think you know my name
I think you'd leave me standing in the rain
Pretty little girl, got a thing for me
But you'd cut me open and let me bleed

That little shit, Buffy thought, not upset by it, knowing it was all in good fun. She was flattered, really, that he had done it. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to get back at him. Once he started his next song, laughing and joking with the crowd she stood up before he started to sing and yelled out very loudly, “Ooh baby! Take it off!”

Spike grew very red and almost missed his cue, but managed to make it through the song, the whole time staring at her as she tried hard not to laugh. She wasn’t sure if it would work because she knew that he probably got these requests all the time, what with him being so hot, but coming from her she thought it might throw him for a loop- which it did quite successfully.

I’m driving in your car
I turn on the radio
You’re pulling me close
I just say no
I say I don’t like it
But girl you know I’m a liar
Cause when we kiss
Ooh Fire

He played to the audience with this song, dropping his voice low and sexy, staring at certain people with a piercing gaze.

Romeo and Juliet
Sampson and Delilah
Baby you can bet their love couldn’t be denied
My words say split
But my words they lie
Cause when we kiss
Fire
Fire

“You are bad! You made me fuck up the song!” He pointed at her from the stage, laughing at her as the audience hooted and hollered. Buffy blushed but laughed along with him. Amy and Anya grinned at her, laughing as well.

The three girls laughed and talked amongst themselves as the band set up for their next song. The stage went dark and haunting piano music filled the club. Buffy looked up, expecting to see Spike singing but saw only Charlie on stage, performing solo. Out of the shadows Spike appeared to her right and took a seat at their table.

“Enjoying the show are we, luv?” Spike asked grinning at her. Buffy giggled at him, humored that she had made him uncomfortable.

“Hope you had your fun. Cause you’re up next luv.” He told her and her face dropped.

“What?” She asked, her face dropping.

“You’re going to sing.”

“Uh, no. I’m not.” She informed him.

“Yeah, you are. It’s either that or I embarrass you to death for the rest of the night. I’m sure I can come up with a few nuggets of information for the crowd to feast on.” Spike quickly clarified his statement when he saw her face pale when she thought he would tell everyone her secrets that she had told him last night. “Nothing like that, pet. I’m thinking more along the lines of how many lines you flub up, how long you have to spend in the makeup chair, how much you love making out with me when we’re filming. And I know there are some reporters in the audience.”

“You jerk, you wouldn’t!” She playfully punched him when she saw his grin. “I cannot go up there and sing.”

“Sure you can. You get to pick the song as long as we can play it. You’ll be great. And the other girls have done it.” He gestured to Amy and Anya who were looking on with interest. “It’s all in fun, luv. Come on up and shake your thang.” Spike’s attempt at cool was diminished slightly by his English accept.

“I can’t sing.”

“I’ve heard you sing, luv. You’re good.”

“But some people do it better than others.”

“Only according to the person listening. Come on. It’ll be a lot of fun. Come on up and let loose. You know you want to.” His voice dropped low, becoming sexier than ever, which Buffy found hard to resist.

“I might suck.”

“You might be really great.”

“I might embarrass you.”

“You might make us all proud.”

“I might shove your nose into your brain.”

Spike bit back the comment of ‘I might kiss you’ so hewouldn’t get her fist in his face, and smirked instead. “Come back stage and we’ll pick you a song.”

Buffy hid her head in her arms, patted on the shoulders by Anya and Amy. “You’ll be great Buffy.” Anya encouraged her. Amy just nodded. “We’ve all done it,” she continued. “You’ll rock the house.”

“Yeah, but I might make it crumble to the ground.” She told them as Spike took her hand and led her backstage. Aaron and Kevin hooted when Buffy was brought backstage, “Fresh meat!”

“Guys, lay off, eh?” Spike warned them. Buffy was unsure of how to react to this situation. She was scared out of her wits for having to go up on stage in front of everyone but at the same time she was excited at being able to try to wow everyone, most importantly Spike. She had done extensive training with musical theatre in college, as she’d told him, so she knew she could hold her own, getting up on stage in front of anyone, especially cold, was daunting.

“What are you up to, luv? We can play just about anything and make it sound half-decent.” Spike told her.

“Um, I’m really not sure. I just sing along to whatever is on the radio usually.”

“OK, well let’s see what we can do then.” Spike said as the group began throwing out a few suggestions. Finally, ten minutes later and three Charlie-sung songs later they decided on the song that she would sing.

Buffy suddenly got butterflies in her stomach as she realized that she would be up there in front of four hundred people. Sure, millions saw her movies but if she screwed up there the flubs went to the blooper reel, usually never to be broadcast publicly. Just go out there and do your thing. Suck it up, princess! You were in front of more people than this in college!

Spike knew that Buffy was uneasy at the thought of going out on stage with them, but he had confidence in her. After the sample he had witnessed in the hotel room he wanted to see how she did when the pressure was on. Unless she cracked and then that would just be embarrassing. Don’t think like that mate! Watch her go out there and leave your mouth hanging open.

The rest of the band hustled out to the stage, leaving Buffy waiting in the wings, waiting to be called out. The crowd went wild at the sight of them only increasing Buffy’s anxiety. These people had come here for them, not her.

“Alright, ladies and gents. We have a special surprise for you tonight. As many as you know, we like to put unsuspecting guinea pigs on the spot here, and tonight is no different. This time however, we have someone you might have all heard of to rock the house. So put your hands together for one Demon Hunter, Buffy Summers!” Spike announced into the microphone. The crowd gave a healthy applause, with some hoots and hollers from the male audience members when they saw Buffy step into the spotlight. She smiled at them tentatively but as soon as she took her position at the microphone calm fell over her.

I left a man
Asleep in the nude
His name in my pocket
With lipstick and rouge

Buffy’s voiced dropped, low and seductive as the band took their cues from her to start the song. Spike just watched her, as she wrapped her hand around the microphone and crooned into it, in a way that made him strain dangerously in his jeans. His guitar thankfully covered that part of his body, making his situation less embarrassing.

Everything I’ve ever wanted
What a lovely pie you’ve baked
Is anybody listening?
Why the painted bird never flies away
It’s just an ordinary morning
It’s just an ordinary day
And I’m just an ordinary woman
Slipping away

She was really doing it. She owned the crowd, she owned the band. This was her stage at that very moment.

The walls have been talking
About me again
I’m good for a joke but when I awoke
The dream didn’t end

She strutted around a little, pausing by Spike to sing to him, tempting him, hypnotizing him with her hooded eyes and sensual moves. His pants became painfully tight as he watched her saunter back to the microphone stand, a little sway to her walk.

Now every time I turn around I’m only Sleeping John
Is anybody out there?
And the wounded bird still sings Ooh
It’s just an ordinary morning
It’s just an ordinary day
And I’m just an ordinary woman
Slipping away
Don’t you want to slip away

She gave all she had to finish the song, which brought thunderous applause and catcalls from the jazzed audience. When the song finally ended Buffy blushed harder than she thought she ever had, slightly embarrassed that she had slipped into the role of sultry singer so easily. Well being an actress, isn’t that the point you moron?

“Alright guys, we’re going to take a short intermission. Don’t miss us too much.” Spike murmured into the mic, eliciting another round of applause before ushering Buffy offstage where he grabbed her around the waist and twirled her around. He set her down and looked deep into her eyes, the spark from her performance still hovering around them, increasing their heartbeats. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the rest of the band and Anya and Amy.

“Woo! That was amazing Buffy! Where’d you ever hide that voice of yours? Hell, where’d you learn that voice?” Charlie whooped.

“Theatre in college,” she told him.

“Wow. Ok guys we have to figure out what’s what for the next set.” Charlie changed the focus back to business, which drew a sigh of relief from Buffy. She just wanted to come down off her high and recall the thrill of being on stage, especially with Spike.

OK, so the two day, stop hating each other experiment was a success Wes. Now, how do we stop from liking each other more than we should? Buffy wondered to herself, watching Spike out of the corner of her eye as she tried to squelch the voice inside her that told her to jump his sexy bones. Yeah, I’d say we’re crossing over into the naughty liking area. Oh boy.

“What the hell was that?” Charlie asked Spike as the band packed up their equipment.

“What are you talking about?” Spike avoided Charlie’s gaze.

“Will.” Charlie laid his hand on the other man’s back to get him to still his motions. “She’s something, isn’t she?”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Spike chuckled, sitting on an amp. Charlie sat beside him on another amp as Steve, Kevin and Aaron same to stand with them. “She’s… fire. She’s ice and fire all in one. She’s passion and calm mixed with temptation and quick wit and –“

“Whoa man, we get it. She’s cool.” Steve cut him off before he could go on further.

“No, you don’t get it. She’s everything in the world and so much more. She’s… amazing.” Spike said with a silly grin on his face.

“How long have you known her, again?” Kevin asked.

“Almost a month. But we’ve only been able to get along for the past couple of days.” Spike said, almost dreamily.

“Right. Well, anything’s better than Dru, I guess.” Kevin reasoned, which earned him an elbow in the ribs from Aaron.

Charlie shook his head at the bunch. “Look, if she’s all that you’re saying she is than she’s ok in my books. It’s been far too long since you showed interest in anyone, let alone brought them to the club to watch us.”

“Well, that was actually by decree. It was shape up or ship out from the director. So here we are.”

“Lucky coincidence or surprise meeting of the minds?” Charlie asked.

“Little of both, I think. I knew that I had felt something since I had ran into her, literally, in the hallways that first day,” Charlie nodded, remembering the story. “But everything else made me want to tear my hair out. She was rude, mean, spiteful, mouthy, not willing to give me a chance at all. I had just about given up on her. Especially after she clocked me good Thursday.” Spike rubbed his nose, slightly embarrassed at telling the guys she had got a good shot in on him.

“Little scrapper, is she?” Steve chuckled. Spike laughed along with him, thinking about the tiny tiger he had on his hands.

“Yeah, that’s putting it mildly.”

“So what changed?” Charlie prodded. He was happy to know that Spike had finally found someone he felt strongly about again. It had been a long time since Dru. There had been a few meaningless flings here and there but Charlie knew that Spike was really looking for that special someone, or at least someone who wouldn’t be gone the next morning. The fact that he had been doting on her all day, making sure she was comfortable, had someone to chat with, brought her up on stage to sing and then was dumbfounded by her performance said a lot. It took more than a sexy girl and a wiggle in her walk to turn Spike’s head nowadays.

“She dropped her walls and I stopped being a pig.” He smiled. Not a smirk, or a grin but true, bonafide Spike smile. Yup, this girl is here to stay, Charlie thought. “She just… knocks me off my feet with a look, a sound, a mere breath.” Spike trailed off at the looks in the faces of the men around him. “Yeah, I’ll cut out the poetry.”

“Well you’ll have to bring her around again when you’re not so busy being Mr. Big-Shot Movie Star so we can get to know her better. She’s already hit it off with the girls, which could be bad for us, if she turns out to be as hard on us as they are.” Steve pointed to the three girls, still sitting at the table laughing over something.

“I’ll do that. Lets get this stuff packed up so we can go home. Mr. Big-Shot Movie Star has a nine o’clock call time on set.” Spike said, standing up. Guy time was over.


* * * * *


“Talk to you later Buffy!” Anya called as she and Steve made their way out of the club. Buffy waved and smiled, finally beginning to come down from the night. It was almost three in the morning and everyone had finally gone home but for she and Spike.

“I called the cab, it should be here soon.” Spike told her as he led her to the side entrance of the club backstage. There were some die-hard fans still waiting in the front for some of the band members to emerge so they could sign autographs but Spike decided to spare Buffy that, as it was late and they both needed to get back to the hotel.

“I don’t know how you do this. I mean, I’m tired and I didn’t really do anything today. But you were up there singing and performing all night. Then we have to get up tomorrow at an ungodly hour and keep going.”

“We do this every night when we’re on tour, luv. This is nothing. After we were nominated for the Grammy we went on a worldwide tour for a year. I don’t think I got more than five hours of sleep a week for the whole year.”

Buffy just shook her head, as they opened the side door. “You can keep it. I much prefer my filming schedules. Erratic at times, but keeps me sane.”

“You? Sane? Ha.” Spike joked with her. They were just through the door when he stopped. “Crap. I forgot one of my songbooks.”

“You go ahead and I’ll wait here for the cab.”

“Luv, it’s after three in the morning in LA. I’m not leaving you here. Just come with me, I’ll just be a second.”

“And then we’ll miss our cab and we’ll have to call another to get a half decent one and it’ll take forever. I’ll keep the door open and I have mace in my bag. Hurry and I’ll be fine.”

“Buffy-“

“Go. Mace, see? I’ll keep the door open. Go,” She repeated. Spike looked like he was about to argue with her again but she scowled at him and shook her can of mace. He nodded and took off quickly, not wanting to leave her there any longer than necessary. Buffy wasn’t worried. She took self-defense and she did have the spray. There was no one in the alley anyway.

The air was heavy and thick, signaling rain. She hoped it would wait until the cab came to open up on them. But not even rain could make her upset at that point. Tonight had been a lot of fun. In high school she had been a social butterfly, always out and about but since she had been focusing on her acting she really didn’t have time or friends to go out with anymore. In university she had tried to get involved in some activities but after her relationship with Parker she kept to herself a lot, only hanging out with Willow and a few other girls from her dorm. It had not been a bad way to spend her short time there because she focused more on her studies. Tonight had meant a lot to her though, just to get out and do something with real people. And Spike had been electric. So vibrant and wild on the stage, wooing the ladies but always seeming a little out of their reach. A bad boy who could not be tamed. That was a far cry from the fun, obnoxious, flirty Spike she had seen before tonight. The stage act was just that- an act.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice someone walking up the dark alley until they cleared their throat. Buffy jumped, on guard and cursing herself for not being more cautious. She gripped her mace tighter, ready to let the person have it if they made a move. But they just stood there.

“Buffy? Buffy Summers?” They took a step closer, allowing their face to be lit by the single bulb over the door. He was tall, and hulking, incredibly built. He looked familiar but she couldn’t place him in her momentary state of surprise.

“Don’t come any closer.” She said, edging back towards to door.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just saw the show and thought you were great, was walking by and thought I saw you. I wanted to say hi. I don’t know if you remember me.” He stepped back a little, so as to reassure her and put his hands up.

“Um,” Buffy studied his face, trying to recall where she had seen him but came up blank. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”

He just laughed. “I understand. We were seatmates on the flight here from New York last month? You had the tension with a side of fear from the flying and I had the moron entrée and annoying soup?”

Buffy laughed as she remembered. “Oh yeah. I remember you now. I mean-“

“No, it’s ok. I was a dork. I was just so excited to meet you. It was a nice surprise to see you here tonight, as unexpected as it was. I never in a million years thought I would see you up there with ‘Band of Buggered’.”

“Well, stranger things have happened, right?” Buffy gave a small smile. He smiled back, a big, toothy grin from ear to ear. He stepped forward cautiously.

“I’m Riley. Riley Finn.” Buffy just nodded, not offering her hand to him.

“Nice to meet you. Did you enjoy the show?”

“Um… not quite. To tell the truth I really don’t like the band. My friend had tickets and dragged me along. It was worth it though, just to see you up on stage. You were amazing.” Riley looked at her with such adoration that Buffy felt a little uncomfortable.

“Thanks.” Buffy stood, watching him warily as he gazed at her. He seemed nice enough but the way he was looking at her gave her the wiggins.

“Do you need a ride? Is that why you are waiting? I have a car, I could take you anywhere you wanted to go, anywhere.” Riley offered.

Buffy just smiled a little. “No, that’s fine. Spike and I are waiting for a cab. Thanks anyway, though.”

“Spike? The guy who sang tonight?” Riley’s face fell at the mention of Spike.

“Yeah, Spike. He’s starring in the movie I am shooting with me.”

“Why are you going home with him? Are you two together?” Riley asked, anxious.

“No, we’re just catching a cab together.” Buffy told him slowly.

“That’s good. He just isn’t right for you. You’re so perfect, and he has had a questionable past. Not right for you at all.”

Buffy didn’t know what to say to that. “Well, uh-“

“That’s why it was such a shock for me to see you singing with him. You’re so much better than him. Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home? I can get you there in just a second.” Riley took a step closer, adoration all over his face. Buffy took a step backwards, moving closer to the door, getting read to spray him with mace if she had to, but he didn’t even notice.

“You know, that’s really ok and I should be getting inside now-“

“Do you want to go out sometime? I know this great little place, not too far from here. It’s always open, we could go now! You’d love it! It’s the perfect place to sit and talk.” Riley looked hopeful and took another step towards her.

“Um, I really can’t. I’m not looking for a relationship right now. I have- I have to get inside. I’m sure that Spike is waiting for me.” She shuffled back farther for the door to get inside the building.

“He shouldn’t be around you, you know. He doesn’t deserve to be around you.” The tall man moved quicker than she expected to her side, hulking over her, looking menacing in the dim light. “You need someone to treat you like a princess. Someone who won’t leave you in a dingy alley for any freak to come along and hurt.”

His hand reached out to touch her but he jerked it back when a car pulled up, headlights blinding them both a little. Also at that moment Spike came out of the door and ran into the still stunned Buffy.

“Buffy? Are you alright?” Spike laid an arm across her shoulders as he noticed Riley standing far too close to her for his liking.

“I’m fine. The cab is here, lets just go.” Buffy said hurriedly. She just wanted to get into the car as fast as possible and leave this overly concerned giant behind. Spike ushered her to the cab, casting a wary glance at Riley who stood, glaring at Spike.

“Buffy,” Riley called out. “If you ever want to get in touch with me I am attending school at UCLA. I’m in dorm so the residence office can track me down for you.” He flashed a winning smile at her, completely oblivious to her discomfort.

Buffy didn’t look at Riley as they got in the cab and drive away. If she had she might have noticed the hardened look of hatred on his face, aimed directly at the back of Spike’s head.


* * * * *


“So what was that?” Spike asked when they were on the road back to the hotel.

“Damned if I know.” Buffy replied, shaken from the encounter.

“Who was he?” Spike asked, trying to hide the note of jealousy that crept into the question. When Buffy didn’t reply right away he looked closer at her and noticed she was pale and shivering slightly.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay, luv. We’re gone. He’s back there, it’s okay. I should never have left you there alone.”

“I’m fine, Spike. Really. I just didn’t expect that.” Buffy wrapped her arms around herself to try to stop the shivering. Spike moved closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, hoping to warm her a little.

“Tell your manager about that, eh?”

“About what? He was just an over excited fan.” Buffy tried to brush it off but when she didn’t push away from him he knew that the encounter was more than just an ‘over excited fan’.

“It’s good to let them know what’s going on, you know that. I’ve dealt with more than a few rabid fans who want to have my babies, or send me their underwear. That’s cool and all, but when they start to reach out beyond that, letters and phone calls, tracking you down- that’s when you have to nip it in the bud. Please, just tell me that you’ll call your manager in the morning?” Spike had true concern in his voice so Buffy relented.

“Fine, but it wasn’t that big a deal. He just- wanted to go out for dinner.” Buffy started to calm down as her adrenaline stopped pumping through her veins, and the shivering stopped but neither made a move to separate.

“Captain Cardboard is what that one was. Just a Midwestern farm boy, looking to score big with a city gal.” Spike told her.

“How do you know he was Midwest?” Buffy asked him.

“Just a guess. He looked like the whole-wheat, well brought up type. They’re the ones that tend to go psychotic too.”

“Gee, Spike. Thanks for trying to make me feel safe.” Buffy said sarcastically.

“No worries, luv. I’ll protect you I’ll be a manly man for you, defend your honor and all that.” Buffy just laughed and pushed away from him slightly. Spike internally mourned the closeness and warmth from her body.

“Oh dear. Left to the defenses of Spike Giles. What would I ever do with myself, having such a big strong, ‘manly man’ around?” Buffy snickered. Spike leaned in close to whisper to her.

“I’m probably more of a man than Captain Cardboard, if you catch my drift, luv.” Buffy just shook her head at him, too tired and drained to correct him innuendoes and changed the subject.

“Crap. It’s raining.”

“Don’t like the rain, luv?” Spike asked.

“Not when it frizzes my hair.”

“Oh, poor princess. Do you melt just like sugar too?”

“More than likely.” Buffy grinned at him.

“Well rest assured luv, I wouldn’t tell anyone if your hair frizzes. You know,” he mused. “I’ve always had this kind of fantasy about the rain.” Buffy just raised her eyebrows.

“Not like that! Get your mind out of the gutter! Have you ever danced in the rain?”

“Can’t say as I have.”

“Me neither. But I’m waiting for it.”

“For what exactly?”

“For that moment when someone throws away all their inhibitions, grabs my hand and just dances in the rain with me. Like I’m the only one in the world, like I’m the only one who matters. They don’t care about what others say or think when they see two nuts dancing in the rain. Someone who is secure enough to dance alone but wants to share it with me. It’s also how I want to sing.”

“In the rain?”

“No, like I’m singing only to one other person. There’s just them and me, one-on-one. No preconceptions or expectations about who I am or what I do. Someone there who wants to be with me no matter what. Someone who is brave enough to dance alone but wants to dance with me.” He finished with a wry smile, slightly embarrassed at sharing such a crazy and simple dream with her, but at the same time a seed of hope grew in his heart. Would she offer? After these past two days of growing closer and discovering more about each other and putting themselves to the test would she offer?

Buffy bit her lip, wondering if that was a hint that he wanted her to be the one to dance with him. She couldn’t though, not after the speech she had given him. And this sounded serious. Like he was asking for someone she wasn’t, that she couldn’t be for him. He was hot and drove her crazy in more ways that one but that did not necessarily equate a relationship. And relationships were luxuries she couldn’t afford at the moment as she was trying to get her career moving.

“When you find that person, I hope they make you very happy.” She cautiously replied, feeling instant regret.

Spike’s seed of hope shriveled a little, as did his ego but he gave her a trademark smirk. “So do I, luv.”


* * * * *


“So what happens tomorrow?” Buffy asked as they reached her door at the hotel.

“What do you mean?”

“Are we suddenly all buddy-buddy or do we keep some sort of distance? Do we keep going like we are right now, or do we want to seem somewhat professional on set?”

“Nothing unprofessional about what we’re doing right now.”

“No, I guess not. I guess it’s just going to seem weird that the two people who were physically fighting two days ago are suddenly friends.”

“I wouldn’t say so. And besides, who cares? Wes will be more than happy that we’ve worked it out and lets face it, this means a better environment for everyone on set. I imagine there was some tip-toeing around us at times in the past month.”

“Yeah, I feel horrible about that. We were so nasty to everyone.” Buffy thought back on her behavior in the past month and almost turned crimson, especially when she thought of her actions towards the man standing in front of her. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For the past month. Everything. The nasty comments, hitting you, thinking terrible thoughts about you.”

“We’ve already talked about this Buffy, it’s over. We’re all good, starting over. Like you said, we’re friends.”

Buffy smiled and nodded. “Yes, friends. Good.”

“And as friends, it would be wrong for either of us to discuss anything that we talked about in the past two days, right?” Spike asked her, thinking about his confession in the car. If that got out to the tabloids he’s have every crazy person in the country trying to grab him and throw him into a thunderstorm.

“Of course. It goes without saying. Pal.” Buffy grinned as she chucked him on the shoulder. Spike grinned.

“Ok, buddy.” He reached out to pat her shoulder, but once his hand landed there it didn’t move. Spike and Buffy stared at each other, gazes locked. The sight of Buffy from this morning in the water, in a two-piece bathing suit, her lips parted from their kiss flashed before his eyes and Spike almost groaned at that memory. He knew he couldn’t do this, Buffy didn’t want him to. She had told him so. Then why wasn’t she pulling away, why did she just stand there, staring at him, her lips again parted slightly, just aching to be kissed?

Buffy stood, paralysed by Spike’s gaze. She felt her face grew hot, her lips parting, waiting for him to lean down and kiss her. She knew that this was wrong, but at that very moment she wanted to throw the rulebook out the window, take him downstairs and do the rumba in the rain. But that couldn’t happen. Not after she had made her guidelines abundantly clear, not after telling him they were friends, not after anything. This just couldn’t happen, no matter how much she wanted it.

“Spike, wait.” Buffy whispered, coming back to reality and realizing his lips were mere inches from hers. “This-“

“Can’t happen, I know.” He pulled away and backed up a couple steps, allowing her some personal space. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Just a – momentary lapse in our faculties, right?”

“Er- yeah, if that’s what you call it.”

“Okay, so I’m going to turn in. It’s way late and I have to be up by at least seven thirty.” Buffy fumbled with her keycard, pulling it from her purse.

"Right. So do you want to share a car in to the set?” Spike asked, as he backed up towards his own door.

“Sure. Um, I don’t think I’ll be eating before I get there, so how about we meet in the lobby at eight thirty?” Buffy asked as she opened her door.

“Right, no problem. See you then. Have a good sleep.” He told her softly.

“You too.” She replied, just as soft.

Buffy closed her door tightly, as if hoping every ounce of strength she put into it would build her resolve against the bleached wonder in the room next to her. She walked into the bedroom, pulling off her clothes as she did and flopped on the bed in her bra and panties, thinking about Spike. She called the front desk to request wake-up call before drifting off the sleep, not even bothering to get under the covers.

Spike mirrored her actions in his own room, except he stripped down to lay totally naked on his bed. Somehow he would have to resign himself to the fact that anything between he and Buffy wouldn’t happen. She wouldn’t allow it. Or wouldn’t allow herself anyway. So he either had to break down her walls, or live with it. Live with never being near her, touching her, tasting her- ok that’s it. Spike Giles has never backed down from a fight, and that’s that. So SHE will just have to live with it.

Spike drifted off to sleep, dreaming of ways to get Buffy to fall for him.