Battle of the Bands

by: Fashiongrrl

SUMMARY: Vampires in Love, the hottest new band around meets local CA band the Scoobies, and trouble ensues when the two lead singers clash. Spike, Wesley (well think a young Wes), Xander, and Riley are in Vampires in Love. Andrew is the band's manager and Spike and Wes are brothers. Buffy, Willow, Faith, Anya, and Tara are members of the Scoobies. They're an all-girl, local SoCal band that is still searching for that big break. Through a series of lucky breaks we see how Vampires in Love teams up with the Scoobies. But can Buffy and Spike learn to get along before they wreck their concert tour and their careers?!

RATING: PG-13

A roar erupted through the MTV studios in downtown Manhattan as popular and lovable (and sometimes a bit annoying) VJ's Harmony Kendall and Warren Meers took the stage. It was that time again for MTV's "Total Request Live," counting down what teeny boppers thought were the most fabulous videos and music of the moment. Usually it consisted of fairly talented singers with some vanilla songs about love and life and loss, with a dance thrown in for good measure. And then some days, a band would come along with real passion, real talent, and actual lyrics that meant something, and start something comparable to small wave of Beatle-mania but for a new-millennium generation. This week the new "it" band was none other than Vampires in Love.

"Hey everyone, we're coming at you live from Times Square in the Big Apple! We're counting down your top 10 most requested videos of the day, and later on Reese Witherspoon will be stopping by to tell us about her new movie Legally Blonde 2. But we've got some breaking news for you first!" Warren said.

"Oh my gosh, TRL viewers, have we got like the biggest surprise for you!!! This is like the best thing ever!!!" Harmony chirped into her microphone.

"That's right kids! We have for you today a super duper extra fabulous world premiere video, exclusively from our favorite new rockers, Vampires in Love!!!" Warren exclaimed.

"And ladies, you know how good Spikey looked in that last video," Harmony said, fanning herself with her hand. "I've seen this video and let me tell you... wow... I'm speechless!"

"Harm, is that even possible for you?!" Warren joked.

"You're just jealous of Spikey, Warren! They are so hot! Am I right girls and yeah I know a few of you guys are thinking the same thing!" Harmony bantered, turning and engaging the audience as any good VJ was required to do. The crowd started to shriek and cheer wildly, obviously very taken by the band.

Warren assumed a rather serious face and looked at Harmony. "Yes Harmony, I really am so jealous. Can you blame me? Spike gets to play alongside those superfine hotties Xander, Wes, and Riley," he deadpanned.

"Warren!" Harmony giggled, playfully smacking him on the arm. She put up a hand starting the countdown. "Anyways! Here you go guys. Check it out, coming at you in 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1. It's the new song by Vampires in Love. This is 'Bitten by Love!' Woooohoooo!!!!"


Meanwhile...

Somewhere across the country, well not just somewhere but Sunnydale, CA to be precise, Buffy Summers made a face and said, "Ugh, Dawn! Will you turn that crap off? It's just another boy-band trying to be as good as *NSYNC," she paused and sighed dreamily (hey a girl's got to have her vices), "-- which will never happen anyways. And get out, we've got to rehearse!"

"Buffy! Hey!" Dawn yelled, clamoring for the remote and snatching it from her older sister's grasp. "Do you realize you just turned off Vampires in Love?" she shrieked, snapping the TV back on.

"Vampires in who?"

"Shhhh!!!" Dawn said while flailing her arms wildly at Buffy. "After the video!" she finished, turning and once more becoming transfixed by the TV.

Buffy stared the screen, which featured four cute guys walking along a city street, obviously depressed about love or something. Eh… interesting I guess, she thought as the camera panned upwards to catch the lead singer's startling blue eyes and white blonde hair as he crooned a sad melody.

"I'm bitten by love
Tragic as it seems
You're stuck in my head
I can't force you to leave

I'm bitten by love
Buried by heartaches and screams
I'm bitten by love
Do you know what I mean?"

"I'm bitten by love, and it's killing me..." sang Spike Edwards, lead singer of Vampires in Love, worming his way into the every girl's heart across the world. He cast one last hollow yet soulful glance at the camera before the video faded to black.

"Oh my God! Aren't they the best?!" Dawn exclaimed, falling backwards on the sofa with her hands to her heart.

"Why were they dressed like freaks?" Buffy mused, noticing the band's costumes for the first time.

"Freaks? Whatever, I think it's very original. Besides, it's their thing, Spike's a vampire, Riley's a soldier, Xander's a pirate and sometimes he's 007, and Wesley always wears a suit -- kind of like the Beatles, or a really hot librarian. And he's Spike's little brother."

Buffy raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Ok, Village People much?"

"No! They're not meaningless disco-pop. Their lyrics have meaning and soul and they really rock! Plus I doubt they're gay. Spike is dating Drusilla Rayne, the soap opera star from 'The Young and the Hopeless.' And I think Xander dated Cordelia Chase, last year's Miss America or something a while back. She dumped him and totally broke his heart, how could she be that stupid to dump Xander Harris? I don't know about Wesley, but I think Riley's engaged to some girl named Sam from his hometown in Iowa. They're high school sweethearts, isn't that the cutest thing ever?!" Dawn spilled out in one breath.

Buffy shot Dawn a 'you're a weird little sister' look while quipping, "Yeah... too much information."

"What?! I heard about them last year when they were just struggling to make it. Just like you guys! I have a wide variety of musical tastes like Matthew Good Band, they're not even on MTV! They're on Much Music in Canada -- well before they broke up. I don't just listen to what MTV tells me to do. Oh shhhh, shhhh be quiet! Commercial's over!"

"Yeah, that's nice. Now get out, the girls are coming over to practice in a few minutes! Go bother someone else."

"But Buffy --"

Buffy folded her arms across her chest and struck an older sister pose once more, "Or you can stay and help set up if you want. Carrying the drums in, hooking up really loud amps, really heavy amps..." Buffy interrupted her sister's whining.

Dawn shot up out of her chair, listening to the silence. "Huh? Did you hear that? I did! Is that Mom calling, yeah I'd better go see what she needs!" Dawn said, scampering out of the room.

Buffy sighed, "Sisters!" She turned her attention back to the TV where Harmony and Warren were gushing over the Vamps' upcoming tour. "They're not that good! Who am I kidding, they are that good. How the hell are the Scoobies ever going to get recognition like that?" Just then the phone rang.

"Hello? Hey Oz! How are the Dingoes doing? You know we're all coming to see you at the Bronze this Saturday. Mmm-hmmm. Wait, the Troika's sick, so what are you guys going to do?" She listened for a moment before continuing. "Oh wow that's awesome, sure we can totally fill in for them! Let me just run it by the guys, well minus Willow because I figure she already knows. Mmm-hmm, that's fine -- we can meet tomorrow to discuss the details. Excellent. Thank you guys so much! See you later, bye!"

Finally, things are starting to look up! Buffy thought to herself as she sat on the edge of the sofa. Hey, hey we're the Scoobies! And we're coming to take over! Buffy smiled, watching a commercial for Vampires in Love's latest album. Today Sunnydale, tomorrow the world!

"Right this way, messieurs. We have our premiere table ready for you in by le Jardin des Fleurs Exotiques, right next to our enchanting replica of the Fontaine de la Concorde!" the very snooty and impeccably dressed owner of Chez Francois said as he escorted Spike Edwards, Wes Edwards, Xander Harris, and Riley Finn to their table for lunch.

Riley leaned over and whispered to his Vampires in Love bandmates, "Guys, this is really nice, but does anyone know what the hell he's saying?"

Xander replied, "We're in a French restaurant, so I'm going out on a limb here, but my guess is he's saying something -- oh I don't know, French?"

Riley rolled his eyes at Xander's ill-fated joke and said, "Thanks, I didn't quite get that."

"He said we're going to be sitting in the Garden of Exotic Flowers next to a replica of the Fountain in Place de la Concorde in Paris. You two had better brush up on your French before we plan a European tour!" Wesley supplied, grinning at the two.

The proprietor of Chez Francois turned and motioned the four to their table. "Please have a seat, gentlemen. As you already know I am Francois and may I say 'Welcome to Chez Francois!' We are honored you have chosen to join us pour dejeuner. Your server will be joining you in a moment. But please feel free to let me know if you need anything, we are here to make your dining experience as wonderful as possible. Bon appetit!"

"I'm guessing pour dejeuner probably means 'for lunch?'" Riley added after the owner of Chez Francois walked away.

"Well aren't we smart, Captain Cardboard!" Spike said, clapping his hands with mock amazement. Riley shot him a dirty look and said, "Shut up, Spike!"

"Hey, did you guys just hear that?" Xander said.

"Hear what?" Riley and Spike said at once.

"He called us gentlemen! Us -- gentlemen! Can you believe that?" Xander said in amazement.

"I know! Four months ago we wouldn't have even been allowed to wash the dishes here," Wes agreed.

"Pffft, are you kidding? I don't even think they'd have let us look through their soddin' trash bin!" Spike replied sitting back in his chair and folding his arms behind his head. He paused to look around before he said, "This place is rather posh, isn't it? I wonder if they got any onion blossoms. Those things are bloody fantastic, all doughy and fried!"

The boys sat back admiring the decadent ambiance created by the richly decorated red tablecloth, the gold-rimmed plates and matching flatware, the crystal wine goblets, the brilliant flora of the garden, and the string quartet in the corner adding a hint of Vivaldi to the background. Star treatment everywhere, international recognition, uncountable wealth, in short the life of a rock star -- this is what life at the top meant, and the Vampires were finally getting their taste of it, quite literally.

A server came by, quickly filling up their glasses with mineral water and leaving a basket of freshly baked rolls on the table. The foursome picked up their menus and started to examine the specials du jour. It turned out that dining was quite a serious affair to the French. Even a simple meal such as lunch could consist of several courses including salads, soups, cheeses, breads, the main course, and of course the essential French wines and desserts.

"Hey Riley, the menu's in French too. Think you can handle it?" Xander asked with mock concern.

Riley rolled his eyes in reply. "Thanks, Xander. But I think I got it."

"Ustedes son locos! Es solamente un idioma extranjero, no es la ciencia del cohete!" Wesley said to them in Spanish, showing off his flair for all things bookish.

"I think that's enough with the college-talk for now, Wes. I'll have to show you up with my knowledge of Spanglish later on," Xander joked once more.

"Hey now, where's the waitress? I'm feelin' a bit peckish!" Spike interjected, rubbing his stomach absentmindedly.

Just then their server appeared, eyes widening as she realized whom she'd be waiting on. Obviously she'd heard of them. She smoothed her apron with one hand, and then nervously tucked away a strand of hair behind her ear. Quickly regaining her composure she said, "Hi! My name is Amy, and I'll be your server today. Our specials today are canard a l'orange, pastilla au canard, and poached salmon with potatoes. For dessert I'd highly recommend you try the red fruit soup with vanilla custard, the chocolate tarte with coffee sauce, or our famous creme brulee. Can I start you off with something to drink as well?"

"Amy, luv, do you think you could recommend a good wine for me and my buddies Xander and Riley? Bite-sized over there'll take a Coke," Spike said in the dutiful role of an older brother as he pointed to Wesley.

"I'd like to suggest a 1998 Bordeaux. How does that sound?" Amy replied.

"I don't know. How does it sound? I've never actually heard wine talk. I've heard wine make people talk, but never the wine itself," Xander quipped, giving her a boyish grin.

Amy laughed. Between Spike's use of the word "luv" and Xander's smile, she was having a hard time keeping herself from jumping up and down and screaming like a little girl. She reminded herself to thank Marco later on for calling in sick, otherwise she'd have been enjoying a very boring day off. She quickly jotted down their lunch orders and went on her way. Two servers came out a few moments later with a course of salads, soups, and cheeses.

"My God! Would you look at this food? This is enough to feed an army of werewolves," Xander surmised.

"Forget the food, did you seen who else was here when we walked in? I could've sworn I saw Jennifer Aniston and What's-his-name in the corner, at the table next to Ozzy and his kids!" Riley exclaimed.

"Hey look over there, isn't that Gwenyth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz walking in?" Xander said, trying to be discreet.

All of a sudden Wes piped up, "Brad Pitt?" Xander and Riley turned to look at him, slightly confused. "What? You said Jennifer and What's-his-face -- I can only assume you mean her husband, Brad Pitt."

"Oh that Jennifer! I thought you were talking about Jennifer Lopez, uh I mean, J.Lo or something like that? Jen and Brad are here, where?" Xander said, craning his neck for a better view.

"Doot, deedly doot, deedly deedly doot doot doot!" Their stargazing was interrupted by the noise of a cell phone. All four reached for their phones, trying to decipher whose was ringing insatiably. Spike came out the winner. It was none other than the essence of his existence, the lovely, temperamental, and slightly psychotic Drusilla Rayne. He excused himself from the table and headed for a more private corner of the restaurant to take the call.

"Hello? Drusilla! How are you pet?" Spike exclaimed.

"I am... what am I, Spike? Perhaps... perhaps I am, effulgent? Yes? Yes! That is it! I am effulgent," Drusilla said in her characteristically elusive speech. Spike had long ago become accustomed to her roundabout way of talking and actually found it rather charming.

"Splendid! Now tell me, to what do I owe the honor of this call? Shouldn't you be in front a camera right about now?"

"I'm taking a break. They're filming someone else right now, someone rather ghastly, hideous even," she pouted. "But anyways, Mummy has a lovely surprise for Daddy!"

"Oh, a surprise? What is it then, luv?" Spike asked.

"No, no, no! Naughty boy! I can't tell you just yet. First you have to tell me how much you miss me, my dark prince," Drusilla said. All of a sudden Spike heard giggling and another voice. He heard Drusilla said, "Get off me! You're absolutely impossible, I'm on the phone!"

"Of course I miss you, Dru," Spike said a little on his guard, very curious as to what was making Dru giggle like that in New York City. "What was so funny just now, pet?"

"Hmm, that? That was just Ms. Edith. She's being wicked and naughty," Drusilla explained.

"Your agent is being naughty?" Spike asked, very confused.

"Not that Ms. Edith, the other one! My doggie! Silly, silly bad dog!" She replied, eager to change topics.

"But I could have sworn I heard another voice in your --" Spike began.

Drusilla cut him off, "So you do miss me then? Good. I'm coming to LA this weekend, and I'll be able to see your next show!"

"Really? That's bloody fantastic! I can't wait to see you, pet. If you're lucky I might just shag you silly," Spike said, immediately lighting up at the prospect of seeing Drusilla. He listened a few minutes more, getting all the details from him girlfriend. "Uh-huh. Okay, got it. I'll see you this weekend, luv. Okay, mmm-hmm. I love you, too. Bye!"

Dru was coming to see him this weekend! He was on a high as he walked back to his table and took his seat. Spike returned in time to hear Riley say, "No way, Ben Affleck was way better off with Gwenyth than he is with J.Lo!"

"I'd have to disagree, Riley. Jennifer Lopez is much hotter than Gwenyth, she sings, she dances, she acts, plus she's got her own clothing line and fragrance collection. And she's funny; she worked with Jim Carrey on 'In Living Color.' Did Gwenyth ever do a comedy show?" Xander disagreed.

"Okaaaaayyyy. I think someone's been watching a little too much 'Entertainment Tonight!'" Wesley joked.

"I have not! I'm just saying that -- hey look, is that Will Smith and Jada?" Xander said, craning his neck once again.

"Xander! Sit down before you hurt yourself, Droopy Boy!" Spike said, grabbing his friend's arm and dragging him down into his seat. "And what's with you all anyways? Can you stop being all googly-eyed over those bleedin' movie stars for a second? It's pathetic!

Wesley spoke up, "As I recall Spike, wasn't it just last week you yelled at the mailman because your copy of Soap Opera Digest was a day late? You could've just gone online to see what was happening on 'Passions.' You've got the website listed in your Favor--"

Spike quickly clapped a hand over his brother's mouth, hastily saying, "Ha! Yeah, bloody good joke, Wes! You got me! You know I don't watch that soddin' excuse for television."

Riley turned to Xander and said, "You know, Xan, I just don't get it anyways. Julian should never have gotten Teresa pregnant. Why would Teresa every sleep with him in the first place? How stupid a storyline is that?"

"Are you daft, man?! That wasn't the story at all! They were both drunk! Julian was the great poofter who got Teresa hammered, married her, and then shagged her which was worse since she was engaged to Julian's son Ethan when..." Spike trailed off, embarrassed at being caught red-handed by his little outburst as his bandmates burst out laughing.

"Oh Ethan!" Wesley said to Xander, very melodramatically.

"Oh Teresa!" Xander replied, equally melodramatic, as they fell into a mock soap opera hug. Spike burst out laughing and threw a roll at them.

"Shut up you, wankers! Anyways, I've got news! Drusilla's coming to LA this weekend and she's going to be at our show," Spike said.

"Drusilla?" Xander said, uneasily. She may have been Spike's girlfriend, but she was not an easy creature to get along with.

"Hey that's great! Sam said she might be in town this weekend, they can sit together at the show," Riley said, trying to be helpful.

"Drusilla's coming to the show, is that right? Great, great, that's just splendid! Well that is if she actually makes it this time. What was her excuse last time? Oh that's right, her dog got sick again. And what was it before then? Her car broke down so she couldn't get to JFK and catch her flight. I can't wait for her to get here. We'll have such a marvelous time," Wesley commented rather dryly. It was no secret that Wes wasn't as fond of Dru as Spike thought everyone should be. Drusilla didn't have a reputation for being a very agreeable or very kind person for that matter, especially when she and Wesley were near each other.

"Wesley," Spike warned.

"What? I said I can't wait to see Ms. Bloody Sunshine and Dead Roses!"

"Wesley Wyndham-Pryce Edwards, you're being nice to her this time or else. No more throwing water on her or holding crosses and shouting 'Back! Creature of the night!' She's not a bloody vampire, she's my girlfriend! Understood?" Spike said, pointing a threatening finger at his brother.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say big brother." Wesley said, as their main courses arrived.

"Wahoo, Dru's coming. Great news. We're all happy for you, Spike!" Xander said, "Now I don't know you guys, but this food is getting cold and I'm getting -- what's that word -- um, peckish. Yeah, peckish. Now shut up and eat!"

"Best idea you've had all day, Xan!" Spike agreed.

"Hey guys, my midterms aren't for another week, can't I have just one glass of -- " Wesley began.

"No!" came the simultaneous response from all his bandmates. The 4 friends laughed and started to eat. They'd finally made it to the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous stage. Life was good, the food was great, and Xander, Wes, Riley, and Spike were on top of the world.

"Are you sure they'll be able to find us?" Daniel "Oz" Osborne asked nervously. He looked over at his bandmate Devon Winters, lead singer of the hottest local band in Sunnydale, the Dingoes Ate My Baby. It was Tuesday morning and the two were seated in what could also be called the hippest daytime establishment in Sunnydale -- the Espresso Pump coffeehouse.

Devon sat rather precariously with his chair tipped on its back 2 legs, "window-shopping" as he liked to call it, watching members of the female persuasion float by him. "Dude, you do realize we're sitting like 3 feet from the door?" Devon said, laughing at his overly anxious friend. The Dingoes had been doing local shows in California for the past few months, so chances for Oz to see his girlfriend Willow Rosenberg were few and far between.

Oz sat tapping his fingers impatiently, glancing at the door every few seconds. They'd gotten into town late last night and Oz could barely contain his excitement at seeing Willow. He'd called her and Buffy yesterday to ask if they could fill in for the Troika when the Dingoes played at what could be called the hippest nighttime establishment in Sunnydale, or perhaps the only nighttime establishment at all -- the Bronze.

"Do -- do you think she'll like it?" Oz asked for the fifth time that day, pointing to his hair. Notorious for dying his hair every color under the sun, it'd been quite a while since Oz was last seen with his natural red color. Last time Willow saw him he'd been sporting an electric blue dye job, but this time he'd opted for something a little more basic and gone with jet black. Oddly enough, it suited the fair skinned rocker and made him appear even edgier than before.

"It's hair. What's not to like?" Devon smiled, amused by Oz's anxiety.

"Well at least it looks better than yours," Oz shot back.

Devon sat straight up in his chair, running a hand through his own light brown locks. "What do you mean it looks better than mine? I look good. Didn't you see those girls over there checking me out?" he said, his vanity shining through.

Oz shrugged, dismissing his friend's comment with a simple, "Whatever." He grinned inwardly, loving the idea of making Devon squirm. Devon took off for the bathroom to find a mirror. Oz looked up to see Buffy and Willow entering the Espresso Pump. "They're here," he called after his friend as he got up to embrace his girlfriend.

"Hey," Buffy said, pulling up a chair. "Sorry about the lateness, I'm kind of getting the hang of this driving thing."

"She drove all by herself, and didn't hit any stop signs! But she almost ran over an old lady, oh and a puppy, and she almost hit a mailbox, and … and I'm going to stop talking now, because hey there were no casualties! Nope, Buffy's like super-safety girl." Willow said, stopping in the middle of her ramble as Buffy shot her a look.

"Thanks for the encouragement, Wills." Buffy said with a wry smile tugging at her lips.

"So Buffy, driving, huh? Scary." Oz commented. He pulled up a chair for Willow next to his.

"Yup, I'm finally licensed and everything. Only took me like 4 years. Who knows, maybe I might even own a car one day, like when I'm 50." Buffy joked.

"Hey call me next time you're out driving, so I know to stay off the roads!" Devon said, joining the group.

"Hey! Very funny, Devon. It's good to see you, too." Buffy got up to give him a hug. She was glad to see some of her old friends again. It'd been a quite some time since she'd seen the Dingoes and since they'd jammed with the Scoobies. She and Devon reminisced as they walked off to get coffee, letting Oz and Willow have a few minutes to get reacquainted.

After moving to Sunnydale from the ultra chic Los Angeles at the beginning of her sophomore year of high school, Buffy found that most of the activities she'd enjoyed at her old school like cheerleading, math team, and student government just were not cutting it for her here at Sunnydale High. She realized that her passion was music and found her niche playing violin in the school orchestra. Feeling the steel strings beneath her fingers and the cool yet brisk movement of the bow helped her forget why she'd had to leave all her friends and the town where she grew up after her parent's messy divorce. She'd found a friend in a quiet cellist by the name of Willow and the two were inseparable from that day on. After playing violin in the orchestra for a year, she turned to something a little more modern and so began her love affair with the guitar.

In a high school full of cheerleaders, class presidents, jocks, and band geeks, there had been very few real rockers. Most people were listening to rap, pop, or even worse techno-pop. Willow had introduced her to Bronze and Buffy started to get involved with the local music scene. She'd met the Dingoes one day and immediately bonded with Oz. Buffy was lucky to have met him when she did since she was determined on buying an electric guitar that week. Oz gave her some well-needed advice and told her to start off with something far easier, the mellow acoustic guitar. He helped her along with her lessons and taught her everything she'd ever wanted to know about rock music. Buffy brought Willow along to a Dingoes concert one night, and Willow was immediately sold on learning to play bass when she saw Oz's fingers flying across the strings like magic, and so began Willow's silent love affair, or perhaps obsession, with Oz.

Buffy got to know Devon along with Owen Thurman and Charles Gunn through Oz. Gunn and Willow had been friends since the 8^{th grade, when he'd rescued Willow and her books from the wrath of a puddle -- a puddle Willow had been steered towards by a number of so-called popular kids during lunch one day. Willow had attended school with the other two members of the Dingoes ever since elementary school but finally got the chance to know them as well. The world of rock music enticed Buffy and Willow to try to form their own band, but they knew a lead guitar and a bass just wasn't enough. The girls met their friend and Scoobies' drummer Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins before senior year, and with help from the Dingoes, the girls' had a foundation for a band.}

Oz, Buffy, Willow, and Anya decided to attend UC Sunnydale, while the other members of the Dingoes took off for other parts of California. Anya's love of all things concerning money led her to a combined Finance and MBA program, all the while trying to find the right man, the right job, and the most cost-effective set of drums for their band. Oz majored in Computer Science while minoring in Music Theory, because while his parents liked his music, his father was adamant that no child of his was going to escape college without a science degree. Willow found her place as an Electrical Engineering major, and became interested in the Wiccan religion through her roommate Tara Maclay and the two started a campus Wicca group. Buffy's extra-curricular interests actually coincided with her field of study -- Anthropology and History, with a focus on ancient civilizations and weaponry. She'd been a disciple of the martial arts since she was a child, and she felt that the human body was perhaps the greatest weapon of all. She found her way into a Kung Fu class and there she met Faith Giovanni.

Anya, Buffy, and Willow kept rehearsing and playing small local shows, but knew they weren't complete yet. The rest of the members of Buffy and Willow's band were right under their noses. Tara was a Music major, studying classical piano and Faith, well Faith was never quite sure what she was studying one semester to the next, but she played a wicked rendition of "Purple Haze" and "When I Come Around" on the guitar. Things fell into place quickly after that when Faith and Tara were invited to join the band. The girls adopted the name "the Scoobies" soon after, when Oz likened the camaraderie in the group to that of the Scooby Gang from the old "Scooby-Doo" cartoons of the 1980s.

While things were starting to move with the band, Willow and Oz began to have some special chemistry of their own. The two had grown closer during college, and one night while studying, during one of those perfect movie moments set to U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me" they looked into each other eyes and something sparked. The world stopped or maybe it spun madly on it's axis, but it whatever it was, while Bono sang "hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me" the two leaned in for a kiss and the rest was history.

"Look, mocha-y goodness for all," Buffy said as she and Devon returned with coffee for the four of them.

"Yay! Coffee! She got coffee! I like coffee! I drink coffee!" she paused to take a breath and continued. "Ok, sorry for the bounciness, just kind of having a major happy right now," Willow beamed.

"It's ok, Wills. Bounciness is definitely allowed considering how long you've had to play Penelope. Oh but don't worry Oz, no suitors have come around!" Buffy laughed, handing her friend a cup.

"Never thought I'd hear the day when my love life was compared to the The Odyssey," Oz replied.

"That's Buffy, all smart with the literature references lately. She even decided to pick up some Steinbeck lately. And that's no party, mister," Willow said.

"I remember. I think I read the back cover of one of his book's for a book report in English," Oz reminisced.

"Academic miscreant! Wait, I think I like that. Almost as much as I love your hair! Did I mention I liked your hair before, because I really do," Willow replied, giving Oz a kiss on the cheek.

Buffy smiled, looking fondly at her friends. She turned to Devon and asked, "So what have you guys been up to for the past month? How's the tour been going?

"It's been so hectic, running around like crazy. We did a bunch of shows in Cali, couple in Nevada, oh, got to play in a club in Vegas once -- a small club, but still a gig in Vegas. And we did about 5 shows up in Canada," Devon began.

"I think we're getting ready to hit up the East Coast soon and do some major promoting," Oz continued. The Dingoes had released their first album, Monsters Ate My High School, on an indie label, something that had been a long time coming.

"Oooh, pretty soon you could be on TRL or performing at the Grammy's. All those fans screaming, wouldn't that be neat? And you could get a cool place in New York. And I'd come visit you, and when people would ask where I was going I'd say on 'just into the City' and people would ask 'what city?' and I could say 'New York, to visit my rock star boyfriend,'" Willow said, dreamily. The coffee and sugar obviously had their desired effect on her.

"Or it could even be me traveling to New York, visiting my rock star girlfriend once you make it big," Oz said, putting an arm around Willow and giving her an affectionate kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, that's a big 'if' we're talking about, Oz. Why do you think Buffy's been reading so much? There's little else to do. I'm buried in paperwork with my master's thesis and Buffy's stuck in limbo at her job," Willow replied.

"Oh Wills, I forgot to mention, so last night my mom tried to convince me to take my GRE's and apply to grad school like you. Apparently she's got this thing about me getting a PhD and being a curator of a museum like she is. Like that'll ever happen! But no, wait, I'm not going to be all negative-Buffy here. I mean hey, we're playing with you guys on Saturday. So that's good news," Buffy said.

"I think the last show we did was at the Sunnydale Retirement Home and that was volunteer work for their Spring Carnival. All we've been doing in practicing and getting no where of course," Willow added.

"Come on guys, it can't be so bad. We're definitely grateful you'll be playing with us on Saturday! I think we'd better start ironing out the details," Oz said, pulling out some papers from his backpack.

"But wait, where are the rest of the girls. Are they joining us later?" Devon asked.

"Nope, not now. Tara wasn't feeling well so she had to stay home. Stomachache. Anya's at work counting out her money, and Faith's at the gym teaching an extra Kung Fu class since one of the trainers called in sick. So that means you're stuck with us," Buffy replied.

"What about Owen and Gunn? Why aren't they here?" Willow asked, referring to the two other members of the Dingoes Ate My Baby.

"They're driving down on their own. Last show we had was at 14 Below in LA so Owen met up with a few of his friends and decided to stay over for another day. Gunn is visiting Kendra and well," he paused to look at his watch, "right now I'm guessing she's making wedding plans. They ought to be down by tonight or tomorrow, so we'll be cool in time for the show," Oz informed them.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on a second!" Buffy said.

"Gunn and Kendra! When did this happen?!" Willow said, following Buffy.

"Well he's been planning it for like a month or so, I think." Devon said.

"Awww!" Buffy and Willow chorused. Kendra had been one of Buffy's and Willow's friends from college. Kendra had moved to LA to attend graduate school at UCLA after finishing up at UC Sunnydale. One semester in college, the Dingoes played on the UC Sunnydale campus and the girls naturally brought some of their friends along and Kendra and Gunn hit it off instantly.

"I can't wait for Gunn to get here so we can bug him for details!" Buffy said.

"But first, we've got to figure out the plans for Saturday," Willow reminded them. When Willow put on her resolve face, that was it. No one was allowed to get side-tracked until a project or meeting was done.

"Here's the plan, we're supposed to go on at 8:30 pm, so that means doors will open at 7:00 pm. You guys get the 7:30 to 8:15 slot as an opening set," Oz began.

"So that means something like 6 or 7 songs? That sounds manageable," Willow mused, jotting down some notes.

"I think we've got enough material for a good set at the Bronze. Do you think we could throw in that new song we were working on?" Buffy asked, turning to Willow.

"I think so, but we're going to have to do some minor tweaking and major practicing to get that one show-ready. We'll have to ask Faith and Tara since they're singing with you," Willow replied.

"How about set up time?" Buffy asked.

"Okay, so for this gig we're supposed to be here around 4:00 pm, to set up, run through a last minute rehearsal, and do a sound and lighting check. Since you guys are joining us, how about we move it up to 3:00 pm?" Devon suggested.

"That sounds good, but would it be possible for Old Man Snyder to let us into the Bronze on Friday so we can get a feel for what's going on? Last time we played at the Bronze was for that 'Battle of the Bands' concert last year. I still can't believe the record exec from RCA picked a high school band over us. We were so much better!" Buffy said.

"I know, those losers hadn't even hit puberty yet! But you guys know as well as we do how hard it is to make it into the business," Devon said.

"I know, I know," Buffy said. "But sometimes I just get so frustrated. I mean we've been practicing so long and it feels like --"

"Like we're going nowhere fast," Willow finished.

"Exactly," Buffy said in agreement.

"All right, so 3:00 pm at the Bronze on Saturday. Sounds good. I'll talk to Snyder and twist his arm a little to get you guys in there for a few hours on Friday," Oz said.

"Thanks, Oz! Isn't he the bestest boyfriend ever?" Willow said, giving Oz a hug.

"No competition here," Buffy said, pointing to Devon.

"Hey! That's not funny Buffy. We went out for like 2 days, remember?"

"Yeah I remember, 2 of the longest days of my entire life. What can I say, you're just too much of a player for me, Dev," Buffy giggled.

Devon rolled his eyes and smiled at his friend. "Anyways, so set up is out of the way. What else?" Devon said.

"Is there anything special we're going to need besides our instruments and our amps?" Buffy asked.

"Hold on, Anya needs to bring her kit," Willow commented. "If we end at 8:15 and you guys start at 8:30, is that enough time to get her drum set off stage?"

"That won't be a big deal. We worked it out with the Troika so that in small venues we set the kits up on platforms with wheels, all by ourselves of course seeing as we have a lack of roadies. We keep Gunn's set backstage while the Troika plays, and then just wheel their kit back and ours forward when we're ready for our set," Oz supplied.

"Just make sure to lock the wheels, runaways drums sets are not fun to chase!" Devon laughed.

"And Tara's piano? Oh wait, the Bronze has a piano right? So we're set. We've just got to run it by Tara to make sure she won't mind, and that the piano there is in tune," Buffy finished.

"Faith, you, and I need to bring our amps and guitars of course. Anya needs her kit. Tara probably is going to use the piano at the Bronze or a keyboard if worst comes to worst. Lighting is taken care of, sound is done, looks like most of the logistics are done," Willow said as she scribbled a few more notes on her list.

"Almost, there's still a little paperwork to do so you guys will actually get paid by our promoters," Oz said handing some papers across the table to Buffy.

"Ok, what you guys need to do is go ahead and read that over, and all of you have to sign it. Plus you've got to get your manager to sign it as well. Is your mom still taking care of some of that stuff?" Devon asked.

"Yeah, she does what she can," Buffy answered. "But one of her assistants at the museum, Robin, has been a really big help. He's been taking care of a lot of the management type issues lately."

"And the fee itself?" Willow said.

"Snyder and our promoters set the Troika's billing at $500 a show, so I'm assuming that's what you'll get," Devon said.

"Wow, pretty nice. I just wanted to make sure I had a ballpark idea in case I have to haggle with that little man later. He's such a pain in the ass, especially when he's drunk and wants to 'hang' with us 'young kids!'" Buffy said, giggling at thoughts of the owner of the Bronze.

Willow clapped her hands with glee. "Oh this is totally gonna rock! Way better than my cousin's bat mitzvah!"

"Willow! I thought we all agreed never to mention that again." Buffy joked, blushing slightly at the very embarrassing memory of that gig.

"Oh!" Willow clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes growing wide. "I didn't just jinx us, did I?"

"No, no! Don't worry, hon. You guys are fine. I have my good luck charm, well my other good luck charm besides you Wills," Oz said. He put a hand in his pocket and took out his lucky pick from a Ghost of the Robot show they had attended while in high school. "You're totally jinx free," he said as he hugged her again.

"It's getting late. Do you guys want some lunch? The Espresso Pump has some pretty good subs and pizza," Willow said, handing everyone a menu.

"Sounds good," Devon said.

Buffy sat back to think for a moment while Oz, Devon, and Willow tried to decide what to get for lunch. She and the girls had been through so much, they'd even finished college and gotten real degrees, but most bands would have and should have made it by now. Their friends were getting married or getting jobs or just doing something. She was a 23-year-old going nowhere fast. The Scoobies couldn’t put their lives on hold forever, hoping that someday they'd get recognized. She and Willow had talked about it the night before; either something happen soon or the Scoobies were going to have to hang up their instruments. Of course they could play on the side, while working, while having families, while doing other things, but it just wouldn't be the same. They'd worked so hard, but they knew the struggles of the music industry. Yet, if just one person -- just one -- thought they were good enough to make it, that's all it would take.

Spike was at the bottom of the world. He wanted to die. Or cry. Or sleep. Or something. Or break stuff. Yeah break stuff, that option sounds good...

Andrew was checking his watch as he up and down the hallways, madly searching from room to room. Fifteen minutes! Fifteen fucking minutes! He ran his fingers through his hair, messing up the previously perfectly gelled locks. He was under an insane amount of pressure, his hair was turning into a mess, and where the hell was Spike? More importantly, they had ten minutes. Ten fucking minutes. Luke had more time to get out of the Death Star after he blew it up, thought Andrew. The Green Room! Smart Andrew, real smart, why didn't you check there first? He glanced at his watch again. Fourteen and a half minutes to curtain, and counting. Fourteen and a half fucking minutes.

Andrew skidded to a stop in front of the Green Room of LA's Grand Hyperion Plaza. He yanked open the door, murmuring a prayer. He'd better be in here!

A loud crash erupted as a crystal vase sailed neatly over Andrew's head and smashed into the hallway behind him.

"Ah, Spike?" said Andrew, manager of Vampires in Love.

"What? Can't you see I'm busy?" Spike barked midthrow. This time a lamp collided with the floor. Pieces scattered left and right, reminding Spike of how he felt inside at that moment. "Bollocks! Bloody hell! Bloody ... bollocksin' ... soddin' ... bitch ... whore," he said, scrambling for the right words. His hand grabbed an ashtray, preparing to slam in into the floor.

"SPIKE! Okay, Spike, give me the ashtray right now, mister!" Andrew shouted, stamping his foot for emphasis. Spike looked at it, shrugged haplessly and handed it over. Andrew turned to put it on the soft, while Spike spun around and grabbed a bottle off of a nearby table, tipping his head back and taking a healthy swig of the clear substance inside.

"Good!" Andrew said turning back around. He surveyed the scene, feeling as if he were going to faint. There was Spike, slumped in a chair, bottle in hand. "What are you doing? Get up right now! YOU'RE ON STAGE IN TWELVE MINUTES! TWELVE FUCKING MINUTES, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" he shouted. He put a hand to his forehead, rubbing his face as he said to himself, "This stress is definitely not good for me. I should've been an accountant like my mom wanted me to be!" He looked over at Spike again, "Oh my God! Spike! Is that vodka on your breath? Very cheap vodka?" His hands flew to his hips as he assumed a very irked posture, and he said in a hushed and pissed tone, "Spike, have you been drinking?"

"Wassit to you, Andy? Imabloodysoddinwanker," he said, his words running together. He let the bottle slip to the ground as he leaned forward and put his head in his hands, pulling at his hair. "My life is over! Better yet, unlife. Without her, I have no life!"

"Her?" Andrew paused as he thought for a moment. "Drusilla? Hey! And don't call me 'Andy!' I hate that."

Just then Xander entered the room and surveyed the damage. He immediately recognized the problem. "Whoa! Bleach boy, something wrong with Dru again? Because you know, there's like a billion people just dying to see us in a few minutes."

"Issnofair! Issnofair!" Spike mumbled.

"Spike, it's going to be okay!" Xander said, kneeling in front of Spike's chair, trying to look up at his face and gauge how drunk Spike really was. Spike sat straight up. Judging by his appearance Xander was able to tell his friend was slightly buzzed. Not a good sign, but a relief nonetheless. He would still be able to play, if they could only get him out there. This wasn't going to be easy. But then again, it never was when it came to Dru.

"She's supposed to be with me!" Spike said, emphasizing each syllable. He got up and started pacing. "She's supposed to be mine, forever! Forever, dammit! Me and Dru, Dru and me. She's like my 'Nancy'!"

"She's a nancy? I thought that was some kind of British insult or something," Andrew said.

"Sid and Nancy, you dolt! She's the Nancy to my Sid Vicious," Spike said. Andrew stared back in confusion.

"Sid Vicious, big punk rock icon and overall bad ass from the 70s or 80s. I forget which," Xander supplied.

"But now I'm Sid Wanker!" Spike wailed again, tears starting to form in his eyes. He turned away from his companions, trying to fix his hair in the mirror in order to make an effort to hide his emasculating emotions.

Xander started to say something, but Andrew jumped in instead. He sat Spike down in a chair in front of the vanity table in the room, flipping on the lights surrounding the mirror, and handed Spike a tissue.

"Spike. Hey, Spike it's going to be okay. Look, you've got a legion of adoring fans out there right now, many of them female, and you look …um. Well okay, right now you don't look so good, but give Jonathan 30 seconds with you and you'll look fabulous! C'mon, this is a really big deal. Don't forget, Wolfram Industries is backing this concert. If they like what they see, they'll fund your entire tour! I'm sure Drusilla will make it to the next show, but if you don't get out there right now, there isn't going to be a next show," Andrew finished.

"You don't understand. She didn't say she wasn't coming. She..." Spike began, his voice starting to waver. He jumped up and began to pace once more. "She, the bitch, she broke up with me. Ripped my bloody heart out, stomped on it, dragged it across the floor, and fed it to wild dogs!" he said, exaggeratedly pantomiming the motions in his words.

"Oh. Ah..." was all Andrew could think to say. He looked at his watch. Ten minutes. He sighed and thought, Spike is going to kill me with annoyance. Hey, kind of like that one really bad episode of "X-men" where... He snapped back to attention at the sound of Xander's voice.

"You've got to get out there. Please? If not for my sake, remember Riley and Wes are out there too. Drusilla always comes back, remember? Soap stars are all so melodramatic," Xander said.

"You don't get it! She said that she didn't want me. Dru said 'You taste like ashes, Spike. I have to find my pleasures elsewhere, Spike'," he replied, mimicking her voice. "This is it. She doesn't want me, and I have no idea why. She wouldn't even give me a real bloody reason. Just said she didn't have time for this anymore. I was always so good to her, and now this," Spike said quietly. He stared at his black nail polish, unsure of what else to do.

"Where is Dru going to be tomorrow?" Xander began.

"Tomorrow? Still in New York, they're in the middle of shooting a couple of big scenes for next week," Spike replied, not really following Xander.

"Exactly. Drusilla is still going to be in New York. On set. You know exactly where she's going to be, she's not about to take off over night. She's got work and probably a hair appointment or something like that. Tomorrow, first thing, you fly out to New York and straighten this out. She's at least got to talk to you. You don't just end a 3-year relationship like this, and she knows that. There's going to be media frenzy and chaos, and Dru's not the type to stand for rumors that could potentially hurt her image. She's like Cordelia was, a little too vain for her own good," Xander suggested.

Xander looked over to see Spike listening intently. The bleached rocker nodded his head slowly as Xander's words sank in. Spike knew Dru wouldn't be thrilled about being on the front page of Star, or the Enquirer, or the top headline in "Entertainment Tonight" if it was going to make her come out looking like the bad guy.

Xander continued, "Look, this could be our first major tour. We've worked so hard to get here. All those hours of practice and all the rejections and days when we were ready to give up -- it all comes down to this moment. We're almost there, but this is the last step and we've got to take it. We really need you, Spike, all jokes aside," Xander pleaded with his friend.

Spike listened intently and thought for a few seconds before he said, "Andrew."

"Yeah, Spike?" the manager of Vampires in Love said, ready to move.

Spike sighed, "Where's my guitar?'

Andrew got up, heaving a sigh of relief that Xander had been able to do remedy the situation, at least for now. "On stage, with the other instruments! Everything's set up. I got the smoke machine you wanted, the lighting won't be in your face like it was in rehearsal, and the people from Wolfram are going to be in the front row."

"Spike, here drink this!" Xander said, thrusting a cup of water at his friend as they hurried to get ready in the little time they had left.

"Breath mints!" Andrew said, tossing some at Spike.

"No one's going to be close enough to --" Spike began.

"Just put them in your mouth! It'll cover up the vodka, and the menthol will soothe your throat so you can sing," Andrew said.

"Menthol. Heh, could've just used my smokes for that," Spike said bitterly, popping a couple in his mouth. He did a quick touch up of his stage makeup, trying not to think of the nicotine patch stuck to his arm.

"Seven minutes, guys!" their stage manager Vi called out, sticking her head into the room. "Xander, we fixed your amp. There was a loose wire, but it's not going to be a problem anymore."

"Thanks!" Xander said as she walked away.

"SEVEN MINUTES! Ahhh!!! This is bad, this is so very, very bad!" Andrew yelled.

"Andrew! Shut up!" Xander said, grabbing their manager by the shoulders. "It's going to be okay, don't make me have to slap you! This is not a problem, see, Andrew? Our stuff is on stage, Spike's already in costume --"

"Andrew, we're going to have a little chat about these horrid costumes," Spike said, turning and pointing a finger at his manager.

"I cannot believe Wolfram had to see us playing at that costume party the record company did when 'Bitten by Love' hit Number 1 in Europe," Xander said, fixing his tie. He was dressed as 007 tonight.

"And what's with this stupid jewelry I got to wear? I feel like Elizabeth Taylor!" Spike said, motioning to the necklace he wore. Harry Winston Jewelers was trying to promote it's latest line of men's jewelry and had thought Spike would be perfect for it, little to Spike's knowledge. Andrew, being the good manager he was, had jumped to the chance for the band to do a little marketing and promoting for the band.

"Cheer up, Liz. At least you're not stuck wearing a tux. I feel like I'm going to the prom all over again," Xander replied.

"Spike, Xander, we're not having this argument again right now. Just get out there and play. Oh wait, here!" Andrew grabbed some cologne and hairspray, spraying Spike with both.

"Give me that you nit!" Spike said, grabbing the hairspray, or what he thought was hairspray. "Don't touch my hair!"

Xander quickly grabbed the cologne out of Spike's hand and replaced it with the actual hairspray. "Here Captain Peroxide, now hurry!"

"Don't call me that, Xand-man!" Spike said, mocking his bandmate's self-proclaimed nickname. He picked up a couch cushion and aimed it at Xander.

"Excellent! Good energy, guys! But don't waste it here, do that on stage! Now go forth, live long, and prosper!" Andrew said, glancing at his watch. Five minutes! Just five minutes!

"Prosper? Oh did you see last night's 'Star Trek?'" Xander started.

"Yeah! It was great! Wait, wait! Xander, out! Spike, out! Get out there and shake your bon-bons!" Andrew exclaimed, pushing them out the door and following them backstage.

On stage, Wesley had his guitar in hand and Riley was already positioned behind his drums. Spike and Xander ran in breathlessly, grabbing up their guitars. Wes gave Xander a puzzled look, to which Xander mouthed back, "Drusilla!" Wesley and Riley both said, "Ah!" with a knowing look. The band members and stagehands quickly did a final sound check, making sure everything was plugged in and ready to go.

"Okay guys, ready?" Spike said, turning around. "Hands in!"

Spike, Xander, Riley, and Wesley all faced each other in a circle, putting their hands into the center. "1 -- 2 -- 3 -- Vampires!" they said, warming up.

"Let's do this thing!" Riley exclaimed.

"Break a leg, hell break them both!" Wesley laughed, very excited and very nervous.

Spike laughed at Wesley's traditional pre-performance phrase. "Thanks, Droopy Boy," he said quietly, glancing at his friend.

"Anytime, William," Xander said, fingers gripping his guitar, smirking at the use of Spike's real name. Spike grinned back.

The curtain went up to reveal a tsunami of screaming fans, all there to see the Vamps. Spike stepped forward, grabbing the mike with both hands and brought it up to his lips. "Hello, Los Angeles! We are Vampires in Love, and we're here to have a bloody good time!"

"Are you all ready to rock?!" Riley shouted out. A scream, something akin to the Beatles first appearance on "Ed Sullivan" was all the reply he needed. He put his drumsticks up in the air and counted off "One, two, three, four!"

Andrew watched from the wings as Vampires in Love struck their first chord, the drums kicked in, and the guys started to sing. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his watch, 8:00 pm on the dot. Showtime

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