It was six weeks since William had first walked into Rippers garage with a wad of bills in his pocket and a nervous expression on his face. Now, here he was, sitting on the concrete floor of the building wearing a pair of overalls that were covered in grease as he worked on various pieces of his bike that were spread around.

Ripper had cut him the deal that he'd promised, giving him a good price on a beautiful piece of machinery, that had in the past been his own transportation. The older man had given William a pair of overalls and a place to keep and work on the bike that was in need of some repair in the beginning. Since then a few things had gone wrong as William learnt to ride it, and that had been a complicated process in itself. Learning to control a machine like this was not something you could learn in an afternoon, and there were several bruises and wounds he'd had to find ways to hide from his mother.

Dawn was the only person other than Ripper that knew the entire plan of how William was to be transformed and sweep Buffy off her feet. She'd come to the garage a few times when he'd been working on the bike and she claimed to like Ripper too, since he made her laugh. The younger Summers had also watched as William had originally tried and failed to handle the bike on a piece of land just outside of town. He always felt extra self-conscious when she was there, but it was like a part of Buffy being there, supporting him in his endeavour.

It was last week when he'd had a really good run, Ripper had shown him a few cool moves and Dawn had piped up that she'd like to ride with William. At first he refused completely to have her on the bike with him, frightened for her safety, but Ripper assured him it would be okay 'if the kid wears a helmet and holds on tight'

'Besides' Dawn had commented, 'you're gonna want to take Buffy on this thing, you have to get used to passengers'

William had given in and let her ride with him, finding once he got into what he was doing he quite forgot she was there. Of course, he knew it would be totally different if Buffy was there.

"You clean that for much longer you'll wear the bloody thing away" Ripper commented and William realised he'd been so lost in his thoughts he'd been polishing the same spot for the past ten minutes.

"I was just thinking" he told the man, "Dawn told me Buffy and her friends were going to the Bronze on Saturday night, some huge event...it'd be perfect for my 'debut'" he air-quoted, frowning when he realised he'd picked up the habit from the young brunette girl whom he'd seen so much of lately.

"You'll do fine, mate" Ripper assured him, as he lit a cigarette and watched the boy work as he'd taught him, "The way you ride that bike, you're a natural, almost put me to shame. 'Sides, the little girl believes in you"

"Dawn is sweet" William nodded, concentrating on the bike, "but it's Buffy that really concerns me. I've done all this for her and in a few days time I could find out it was completely not worth it"

"Do you love her?" Ripper asked and William suddenly looked up, slightly shocked by the question. He liked Buffy a lot, he was sure of that, but could it be real love? To do all that he was doing though. Would he do all that, change himself completely, if he didn't love her?

"Yes, I believe I do" he said eventually with a smile.

"Then even if she laughs in your face" Ripper said, kneeling down beside him, "She'll have been worth all the effort, right?"

William slowly nodded, knowing it was true.

"Y'know" he said after a moment, "if I was half as cool as you I don't think I'd be half so nervous"

At that, Ripper only blew out the smoke from his cigarette, and laughed.

- - - - - - -

Today was the day. As soon as William woke up he started to panic, but nothing could go wrong, he knew that. His mother was going out for the afternoon with a new friend and probably wouldn't be back til late. Dawn was to arrive shortly after Anne's departure to help him get ready and then he was headed to the Bronze. Somehow the youngest Summers was to make sure Buffy was in the parking lot when he was about to get there so she would see his spectacular arrival.

The morning dragged along until finally lunch was had and then Anne said goodbye to her son and left the house. William leaned back against the front door and sighed. 'Any minute now...' he didn't even manage to finish the thought as a knock on the door made him jump.

"I waited around the corner until I saw your Mom leave" Dawn said as soon as William opened the door and let her into the house. He was silent the whole time, and Dawn could tell it was because he was nervous. She was a little worried herself about how all this was going to work out, but she kept smiling and promising it would be fine.

"I had kind of a brainwave" she told her friend as they headed into the living room and she sat down on the sofa without a care.

"Why don't I like the sound if this?" William sighed as he sat down beside her and watched her hunt through the contents of her bag.

"Would you just trust me?" she stopped briefly to look over at him and roll her eyes "I already told you we have to do something with your hair so..." the last word hung in the air as she produced a small box and handed it to him.

"Oh God" he groaned as he read the name of the product and looked at the picture on the box of a person with almost white-blond hair!

"Come on Will, blond hair will look so great on you" Dawn pleaded with him. She had to try and cover for the fact that she'd meant to buy black dye and accidentally picked up the wrong thing when Andrew came into the store and caught her eye. She really wasn't going to tell William about that.

"My mother will go apoplectic" he sighed, leaning back on the sofa with his eyes closed. Dawn looked puzzled.

"Okay, I don't even know what that is" she admitted "but if it's bad I have it covered" she assured him with a nod as he opened his eyes and looked over at her questioningly, "This stuff is totally temporary, disappears in four to six washes" she pointed at the writing on the box that said just that and William rolled his eyes at her.

"Well, I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow...and here I thought it was a girls excuse for staying at home on the weekend"

Dawn giggled at that before turning more serious.

"Well if you stood up to your Mom and weren't so freaky about not wanting anyone to know this mystery guy is you we wouldn't have so much of a problem" she pointed out, shifting the blame from herself onto him.

"I already told you, Buffy wants mysterious" he snapped, before his voice dropped along with his expression "besides if she really knew it was me she'd just laugh"

"Doubtful" Dawn snorted into a laugh, remembering how good William looked in those clothes they'd got for him before and how well he could handle the bike he'd bought - Buffy was going to be blown away! "But still, if you're going to be a different person there's two other things we need" she told the young man next to her "First you're the only guy around here with a British accent"

"Already taken care of" he grinned, "I may not be too good at your average American intonation but I can sound different, she wont guess it's me" he'd been listening carefully to the way Ripper at the garage spoke. He had a rough and much cooler accent than William's refined one but after spending so much time talking with him, the boy was sure he could imitate it quite well.

"Okay that leaves the second thing" Dawn told him.

"Which is?" he prompted when she fell silent, slightly worried that they'd forgotten a major point.
"You don't have a name" she told him simply.

"Oh, yes" William frowned, completely deflated, "Now why didn't I think of that" he sighed as he stood up and looked decidedly like he was going to start pacing.

"Don't panic" Dawn said, getting up from her seat too, grabbing his arm to stop him from moving "just go fix your hair and change your clothes and I'll hang around here and try and think of something" she told him "Any problems just yell, okay?"

William smiled down at her and nodded.

"Thankyou for all your help Dawn" he said sincerely "you've been a good friend to me"

"No problem" she smiled, trying not to blush. Okay so William wasn't the coolest guy in the world, but he was kinda cute and fun to hang with, and he'd just complimented her - a compliment from a guy was something special. "Now just go, I wanna see what you look like" she said, giving him a shove towards the stairs. As he ascended to his room, Dawn flopped back down on the couch and grabbed a magazine from underneath the coffee table. She rolled her eyes as she realised it was most definitely William's mothers and that she would not find anything interesting to read in it at all. Popping her gum, she reached for the remote and flicked on the TV. Just because she was fifteen, that didn't make her too old for cartoons, right?

Upstairs William had showered and changed into his black jeans. He left his top off as he read the back of the box of hair dye and glanced up at himself in the bathroom mirror. It was true to say he'd never been particular fond of his natural hair colour and style but what Dawn was asking him, or more like telling him, to do was a little more outrageous than he'd thought about going.

'Oh well' he thought to himself, 'for the love of Buffy...' as he readied himself to dye his hair an obscene shade of blond.

Later there was hair gel and the rest of his clothes, the black T-shirt, red shirt, and finally his boots and leather duster. Standing before the full length mirror, he hardly recognised himself, but he did like what he saw, he only hoped Buffy would be as impressed as she ought to be.

"So, er, what do you think?" he asked nervously as he stood in the doorway to the living room. Dawn was so engrossed by the TV that she hadn't even heard him come down the stairs. She'd helped herself to a packet of popcorn from the kitchen and she almost choked on the piece in her mouth as she finally turned her head and saw William standing there, looking nothing like the boy who'd gone up those stairs a short while ago.

"Wow" she breathed, eyes wide as saucers. She thought he'd looked good before, but now, there just were not words for how gorgeous he truly was.

"Well, say something" he urged her, very uncomfortable just having her stare at him with her mouth hanging open like a fish.

"I don't know what to say" she admitted, "You look amazing"

It was all William could do not to blush at her words, and the way she looked at him was highly disconcerting.

"Er, so, now we just need a name" Dawn realised as she shook her head to return to her normal state, a state in which she was not drooling and looking like a moron "It has to be something totally cool" she told her friend a he sat down in the armchair nearby and she flipped off the TV.

"Any ideas?" he asked hopefully, confessing he really hadn't given the matter any thought at all.

"Well, Brad Pitt is cool" she considered "but you don't look like a Brad" she realised with a frown "How about Johnny? Or Orlando...it was just a suggestion" she added grumpily as she saw the unimpressed look that settled on his features.

"There are millions of names in the world, this is going to be impossible, isn't it?" he moaned, unable to believe that something so important had slipped his mind - he had to have a name!

"Well, maybe it shouldn't be an ordinary name" Dawn considered, looking excited by the prospect of thinking up something completely outrageous that Will could use for a name "Like there was this gang where my cousin lives and the leader was nick-named Razor" she told him.

"Razor?" he echoed with some distaste and the girl nodded.

"He liked blades and..." she realised maybe the name wasn't so perfect when he continued to look at her in a more and more disgusted way "well, he wasn't exactly a nice guy" she admitted.

"Anything less blood-thirsty?" William asked her with a slightly amused expression now, she really was trying to help, and Dawn was very entertaining even when she was scaring him with her strange knowledge of the world.

"Er...oh, I got it, Spike!" she suddenly yelled with excitement. William was back to the distasteful look.

"As in the dog from Tom & Jerry?" he asked her with a frown, at which Dawn rolled her eyes again.

"No, as in your hair" she told him "Since you put the dye and the gel on it it's kinda sticking up" his hand went straight to his head which was not necessarily the best plan ever and Dawn realised maybe telling a guy with an image problem that his hair was sticking up wasn't quite the confidence boost he needed "plus Spike could also mean railroad" she said quickly "and there was this guy once on the TV who got this railroad spike and shoved it through this other guys head..."

"Does your mother know you watch this sort of thing?" William interrupted, momentarily forgetting his hair and Dawn took the opportunity to get to her feet and drag him up too, getting his hands away from his head so she could fix the damage he'd done.

"That's not the issue" she told him as she straightened out his hair for him "Point is, it has violent tendencies without being totally obviously 'bloodthirsty'" she air-quoted the word he'd used before "and y'know" she grinned, taking a step back to study him "some girls might think there was another reason for a nick-name like Spike..." she trailed off, looking away and trying not to giggle too much.

"I don't think I..." William frowned, not understanding til he saw the look on the young girls face and the direction in which her eyes were travelling "Dawn!" he half-yelled in shock.

"Sorry" the girl put her hands up in mock-surrender and backed up a couple of steps "but those jeans are kinda tight"

William warily eyed his lower apparel, wondering what on earth he was getting himself into. Dawn felt bad for making him even more self-conscious than he already was.

"Look don't worry about it" she said, making him look at her "You look good and Buffy's going to love you, especially on that bike"

"It's getting late" William breathed out slowly, trying to stay calm, he had to be cool, that was the point! "I guess it's now or never"

Dawn nodded, as she stepped towards him.

"Good luck" she smiled, reaching up to kiss his cheek briefly, both of them trying not to go pink afterwards "I'm gonna go home before she gets suspicious, the girls are all meeting at our house before we head to the Bronze" she rolled her eyes as she headed for the front door and let herself out "See ya later, Spike" she called over shoulder and he smiled at her use of his new name.

"Bye, Dawn" he called back right before the door clicked shut and he headed into the hall. Eyeing himself in the mirror there, he took a final deep breath.

"Well, here goes nothing..."

"I am so in the mood for this party tonight" Cordelia gushed as she flicked through the many dresses in her friends closet, in an attempt to find the remaining girl something to wear.

"Should be a blast" Faith agreed as she watched Willow finish working on Buffy's hair. The blonde had been down since the Summer and although she'd been a little better of late she wasn't her usual happy self yet. The girls were determined to get the old Buffy back. They knew it was totally over between her and Angel, that much was evident by the amount of time he spent with Faith, but still the leader of their gang was much less a leader and much more a distant follower of late and the girls thought just maybe if they could make her look good enough then she'd feel good too. Then hopefully they would all have fun at the party and she'd be better.

"What do you think Buff?" Willow smiled as she encouraged her friend to look in the mirror and Buffy nodded that she liked the way her hair had been curled and pinned up on her head, leaving just a few lose strands hanging down to frame her face.

"And I think we have a winner in the outfit scheme of things" Cordy announced, bringing out a little black number guaranteed to get Buffy some male attention if nothing else.

"What's the big deal with this party, you guys?" Buffy eyed them all suspiciously, and they looked at the floor and each other to avoid her gaze. They'd been rumbled. They'd been too obvious in this whole 'you must enjoy the party' thing.

For once in their lives, the girls were pleased to see Dawn who came crashing into the room, allowing them to escape from explanation for now at least.

"Hey guys" the young brunette grinned, "So, we're partying tonight, right?"

"You are so not coming along!" Buffy said sternly as she took her dress from Cordelia and headed for the adjoining bathroom to change.

"Mom says I can, so..." she stuck out her tongue as an end to her sentence. Dawn's highly original and adult response was received with a huff from her sister and giggles from the other girls who still thought she was completely lame despite the fact her entrance had delayed a rather awkward conversation.

"I think we're gonna have a great time tonight girls" Dawn grinned, "don'tcha think so?"

"Oh yes Dawnie" Cordelia mocked her, "We're gonna have a super-fun time!" she clapped her hands together, bouncing on her toes and grinning in a very over-the-top manner, making Faith burst out laughing as Dawn looked like she might cry and ran from the room.

Sometimes the littlest Summers wondered why she wanted to be one of them, but she knew that was just the way it was when you were popular, you had to make fun of your friends sometimes, at least it seemed that way to her. Still, Willow was always much nicer and no matter how cool William was sometimes he was always really sweet too.

Poor William. Tonight was very much make or break for him, and Dawn had this nasty feeling, given the mood her sister had been in lately, that it could well be the latter. William would be at Rippers by now, she realised as she checked her watch, and there he'd wait until she called his cellphone. He wouldn't pick up, it was just a signal so he could start the journey to the Bronze and with any luck he would arrive almost the same moment that Buffy and the gang did. Dawn had more than one plan to slow down or speed up her sisters arrival if need be, there wasn't one thing they hadn't thought of. It could be that after tonight William was accepted into the gang and it was Dawn's greatest wish that the same could happen for her. Right now, after what had just happened with her and the girls, she doubted it ever would.

- - - - - - -

"Come on Short-stuff!" Faith yelled angrily, as Cordelia revved the engine of the car, "Quit messing around and get in the damn car!" she was the least accepting of Dawn out of the whole gang and hated having to wait around. As kids, Faith and Buffy had never really gotten along and it had only been as they grew older they developed respect for each other and later a friendship. Still, Dawn reminded Faith of how Buffy used to be - a whiny little brat, and that's why she disliked her so much.

"Come on Dawn!" Buffy called with annoyance from the back of the vehicle, as the girl punched two more buttons on her phone before climbing into the car between Willow and her sister.

"It was an important call" she said grumpily, stuffing the phone into her bag and Cordelia rolled her eyes. Like Buffy's sister knew anyone worth calling!

- - - - - - -

"Looks like I'm on" William sighed as he stuffed the ringing cellphone back into his pocket and mounted his bike right outside of Rippers garage. The man himself stood along aside and smiled.

"You'll knock her bloody socks off" he grinned, wiping grease from his hands. He really did have every faith in the boy, he'd put in so much effort, he couldn't possibly fail now. William smiled to himslef as he pulled on the large sunglasses to hide his face and revved up the machine beneath him. As the engine growled into life a similar animalistic feeling shot through his body.

"Fella could get used to this" he realised.

He was Spike now, with the confidence to do anything, he realised as he headed off, tearing up the road as he went. Like this, he felt powerful, almost immortal, helped by knowing that he was about to blow Buffy away. He cried out at the moon with a grin on his face as he tipped the bike up on it's back wheel and sped towards the Bronze.

- - - - - - -

"Dawn! What the hell are you doing?!" Buffy yelled to her sister, the only person left in the car now, scrabbling along the back seat.

"I dropped...something" she lied, pretending to search the back for the car for some mystery item "Wait up, I'll just be a sec" she urged, hoping for once that the gang might actually hold on for a minute, if they went inside before...

"What's that sound?" Willow's brow furrowed as she strained her ears and looked around. It was like a humming, maybe an engine, getting closer.

"Got it" Dawn grinned as she climbed out of the car, glad to see the gang of girls still standing there waiting for her, eyes and ears alert to track the sound they heard and try to identify where it was coming from, not knowing that Dawn knew precisely what they were hearing.

"Look" Cordelia pointed into the relative darkness as a blinding light shone through, soon to be revealed as the head lamp of a beautiful and dangerous looking motorcycle. On top of the machine was a figure in black and a flash of red, long leather coat flying out behind him as he rode, and bright blonde hair that shone in the moonlight.

Buffy's mouth dropped wide open like a fish, as the man and the bike sped past them, going up on it's back wheel as it rounded the corner of the building.

"Who was that?!" Cordelia gaped in shock. Even from this distance that man looked fine, and boy did he know how to handle a motorcycle.

"I dunno..." Faith shook her head. Even she was kind of impressed, and usually guys weren't all that impressive to her. They were all pretty much the same, only good for one thing and not all of them were too good at that...

The moment of silence was shattered again as the motorcycle and it's rider reappeared from the other side of the Bronze, tearing up the ground. He zig-zagged passed the girls before heading back the way he came, only to take a sharp turn right in front of an oncoming black car, and go up on the back wheel again as he cut past it with just inches to spare.

"Who the hell is that idiot?!" Angel fumed as got out the drivers side of the car and slammed the door, almost hard enough to break the glass.

"I don't know man, but I say we find out" Xander shot daggers from his eyes at the biker that seemed to have the girls hypnotised as he screeched his tyres around the corner of the building once again.

Angel, Xander, Oz and Andrew made to move forward to go and investigate but a voice off to the left stopped them dead in their tracks.

"Well, if it isn't Angel and his fairy dust club" a patronising tone caught the gang's ears and they knew there was only one guy who would dare to talk to them like that.

"Get lost Walsh this ain't your turf" Angel bit out, really not wanting to deal with this right now. As much as he and his gang ruled the Bronze and Sunnydale High, Adam Walsh and his bunch of rejects dominated at the nastier club in town, The Fish Tank, and the rival school from just outside of Sunnydale.

The leader of the gang just laughed, turning toward the girls.

"Y'know you girls could do so much better than these boys" he leered, as he and his friends moved towards them "You need real men for real action" he grinned as the guy on his left got closer to Buffy.

"Hey Summers" he smiled somewhat dangerously and Buffy shook her head in disgust. It was Riley Finn, a guy she'd known when they were kids. He'd been a nice guy then, ridiculously nice to the point of boring and geeky. Then he went to the other high school and joined up with Adam's gang - now he was just scum.

"Get lost, creep" she snapped, stepping back into the line of her girl friends.

"That's not exactly friendly now is it?" he reached a hand out to her face and she knocked it away.

"You heard what she said man, now back the hell off" Faith snapped in an angry tone. Willow looked petrified as the rival gang's members all came towards them. Faith and Buffy were tough, always had been, but she wasn't and although Cordelia knew how to swing her heavy purse at the head of attackers, there was no way the four of them, plus little Dawnie, could beat back five large guys.

"Oh this baby wants to play" one of them leered at Faith who gave him a smack in the jaw for his trouble. Angel knew then the guys had to make their move before the girls got hurt.

The fight was on as Angel spun Adam around and laid into him with punch after punch. Xander was soon in on the action, and despite his quiet nature Oz was an animal in a fight, especially where his girl was concerned. Even Andrew did his best to help, though he acquired more bruises than he caused.

Faith wanted a piece of the action but the other girls held her back, fearing for her safety. As Willow and Cordy struggled to calm her down when she saw Angel take a hit, Buffy found herself pinned to the wall by Riley who had easily outwitted Andrew and left him on the ground to bleed.

"Now where were we before we got interrupted?" he said, leaning into her, she managed to push him away but that only made him more determined to have his way. As he made to advance on her again and Buffy realised she had nowhere to go, she heard the sound of the motorcycle engine off to the side. Riley stepped back to see what was happening and the bike cut expertly between him and Buffy, the rider standing as he drove and kicking the boy squarely in the chest, sending him flying.

Temporarily winded, Riley lay on the ground, grasping his chest and gasping for air. His friend Graham glanced over to him and then looked up at the leather clad guy on the bike as he went up on the back wheel and skidded around the parking lot.

"That dumb ass is gonna pay" he said, giving Xander a hard shove and turning, just as Riley got himself off the ground and managed to yell to the gang;

"Change of plan boys" he pointed to the new target.

Adam nodded as the gang looked to him.

"Seek and destroy" he agreed as they ran back to their car leaving the battered remains of Angel's gang behind.

The motorcycle pulled some fancy moves across the ground, weaving in and out of the people and cars, staying a good distance away from Adam's car until he was finally caught in a corner. He expertly backed up, looking like he was finished. Just as the guys were clambering from the car, he sped forward and jumped over the hood. Realising they'd been tricked they swore colourfully as they jumped back into their vehicle and sped away behind the retreating motorcycle.

By this time the girls had run to see if Buffy was okay and the blonde herself was hypnotised by the disappearing tail light of the motorcycle, and the man atop it that had saved her.

Anyone else taking for granted that she needed saving from an idiot like Riley Finn would have pissed her off to no end, but this guy was different. This was the one she'd been waiting for. If it wasn't for the fact all her friends were there and were telling her they'd seen it too, she'd have thought she was dreaming.

The guys got themselves up off the ground, Andrew had a couple of nasty cuts and bruises, but nothing that wouldn't heal inside a couple of days. Angel was pretty sure he had the beginnings of a black eye and Xander was limping slightly. Oz had scraped his knuckles but other than that the guys were just winded, and only their pride was suffering terminal damage.

The girls turned to see them approach and Angel saw Buffy's glazed expression. He didn't look at all happy as he snapped;

"Shows over" putting an arm around Faith's shoulders and encouraging her to come with him he added "Let's get inside"

They disappeared into the building and Cordelia turned to see Xander behind her.

"Hey babe" he gave her a lopsided smile. She kissed him as he leant on her and they too went into the Bronze.

"Oz, are you okay?" Willow fussed her boyfriend as he came over "and did you see that guy?"

"I'm fine" he smiled at both her concern and her excitement "and yeah, I saw. Kinda cool. You okay?" he checked hugging her.

"I am now" she assured him as he kissed the top of her head and they followed on into the club.

Dawn was already fussing over Andrew, and helping him towards the front doors, secretly elated about the impact William, or more accurately Spike, had on her sister. At the same time she was sort of worried that Adam's gang would catch up with him and hurt him. She knew their reputation and had just seen what they'd done to Angel and the gang who were supposedly pretty tough...

"Buffy?" Dawn called back as she realised they were at the doors and her sister hadn't followed.

"I'll be right there" she called absently, still straining her eyes to see the biker that had come and gone, to hear the engine in the distance...

Surely it wasn't possible for this guy to be real, he was straight out of her dreams! The black leather coat flowing out behind him, the cool moves on that gorgeous motorcycle, and that bleached blond hair was just incredible. She'd seen him and then he was gone. She was so disappointed that she hadn't even gotten a chance to ask his name. Somehow it was worse to know her dream man was real and yet not be able to have him.

With a dejected sigh she turned to head into the Bronze where she knew her friends would be waiting. Right by the doors, she turned back, wondering if she was imagining the sound of the engine behind her. She wasn't and there he was in all his bike-riding-and-black-leather glory.

"Looking for me, luv?" he asked with a smirk as her mouth fell open of it's own accord.

"I was" she forced out, hardly able to believe this was happening, that this guy was real and he was talking to her! "Who are you?" she blurted out, replaying it in her head to make sure she hadn't sounded like an idiot - she figured she was okay since he continued to smile at her.

"Name's Spike" William told her with a tilt of his head, finding it so simple to be 'cool' when she was acting this way, looking at him like he was a God "Was wonderin'" he asked her "you wanna ride with me?"

All Buffy could do was smile and nod slightly in answer to his question. He was truly incredible on that bike and she'd go anywhere he was willing to take her. She was about to open her mouth and give a real answer when a sound in the distance caught both their attention. Cop cars, Buffy knew that sound only too well, Angel and the gang had come close to being caught fighting in the street once or twice before. There was blood on the pavement around them and if the police found Buffy and her mystery man there it'd be all questions and accusations. Knowing Angel the way she did and how jealous and weird he got, he was likely to get her new 'friend' into trouble. William was also a little afraid of getting picked up by the law.

"Another time, pet" he promised Buffy, reaching out to brush his fingers against her cheek "That's a promise"

She shivered in a delicious way at the simple touch as he revved the engine and she saw the two police cars arrive, blocking the exits to the parking lot. It was too late, Spike would get caught and it'd be all her fault because he'd come back to see her!

"I..." she began but he cut her off.

"I'll see you" he promised as he rode off at a terrific speed, headed straight for the cop cars right as the men began to climb out.

Buffy watched as Spike made the bike fly over the cars and land on the other side before speeding away out of sight. Two policeman got back in their car to go after him whilst the others stayed and looked over at Buffy. Dawn ran out from the Bronze and grabbed her sisters arm.

"Buffy, get inside" he half-dragged her into the building. Spike had been incredible tonight and she was proud of him and the effect he'd had on her sister, but she couldn't let Buffy get in a conversation with the cops and have any part of the gang dragged down-town.

The final thought of both the Summer sisters as they hurried into the club was 'I hope Spike is okay'

To Be Continued...

For once in Dawn Summers life, she couldn't wait to get to school. All day Sunday she'd wanted to call Spike, but she knew he didn't want his mother to know about his secret identity. He was a nice guy and getting him into trouble was not an option, especially now when things were just getting interesting.

The youngest Summers knew her friends timetable pretty well and skipped second period to go and find him in the library where she knew he'd be during his free.

'Yep, there he is' Dawn thought to herself as she peered around the side of a bookcase at William, now looking very much his geek-self. Still, since he'd ditched the glasses and got some slightly more fashionable clothes, he did look kinda hot.

"Hey Spike" she grinned as she practically leapt out at him. William physically bounced in his seat at the surprise, before pulling Dawn by the hand into the seat beside him, encouraging her to be quiet.

"Okay so libraries are quiet places, but let's not go to extremes Spike, I only said hello" she frowned as she put down her book bag.

"It's not that, Dawn" he told her in a whisper "but you cannot call me Spike in public, not when I'm not..Spike" he explained somewhat badly but she knew what he meant. She rolled her eyes as he looked around, checking no-one had heard.

"Y'know, if I didn't know better, I'd never believe you were the same person" she sighed, "but hey, I guess that is kinda the point..."

"It was kind of the point" he corrected and she frowned.

"Okay, you lost me" the brunette confessed, flipping her hair over her shoulder and leaning forward on the desk as they whispered their secrets, "What do you mean by the was?"

"The way I see it, Spike made a good impression on your sister" he began, causing Dawn to laugh.

"A good impression?" she echoed, "Will, you have no idea! She didn't talk for like an hour, she was so totally dazed, and when we finally got her to speak it was Spike this and Spike that and do you think he's okay, do you think he got away from the cops...hey actually" she suddenly had a thought, "how did you get away from those cops?"

"Really thought I wasn't going to for a while there" he admitted, before a decidedly cocky smirk settled on his face and a touch of his 'Spike voice' came through, "but I pulled a couple of choice moves, took a route down the back alleys, there was no way those cop cars were gonna make it"

"You loved it didn't you?" Dawn grinned as he finished his little narrative and he looked slightly embarrassed when he answered.

"The whole night was something else, but the best five minutes were when Buffy looked at me" he admitted, "No-one ever looked at me that way before, it was like I was all she ever wanted.

"You are" Dawn agreed immediately, "or at least Spike is"

"We're the same person Dawn" William pointed out as the girl dug through her bag for her books as the librarian walked past and shot her a look.

"You're so not the same" she said, giving up on her book searching as soon as the staff member was gone, "No offence intended but you're not half so cool looking today...I dunno why you can't leave your hair blond at least, it looked so much better"

"It'd give away my identity" he reminded her, "although I was thinking, maybe I should do it anyway"

"Dye your hair?" Dawn asked hopefully but William shook his head.

"No, admit my identity" he told her quietly, "to Buffy, to everyone"

"She'll freak!" Dawn exclaimed, "They all will. William, why when we've worked so hard, would you wanna go and throw it all away?"

"Because it's all a lie" he said sadly, "and I don't want my relationship with your sister to be based on lies"

"There is no other way!" Dawn tried to explain, getting extremely agitated about this, "If you don't have the lie-based relationship, then you don't have a relationship at all!"

William looked kind of upset by what she'd told him and Dawn hated to know she'd caused the sad look on his face. He really was a nice guy, and she didn't understand why he didn't want some nice average girl that might actually date him, instead of Buffy the impossible sister!

"I still think I should tell her" he sighed, closing the book in front of him. He really hadn't been reading it properly anyway.

"Then go ahead" he was surprised to hear Dawn say as she got up from the seat, swung her bag over her shoulder and hurried away. When William turned he saw Willow entering the library, Oz on her left side and Buffy on her right.

"Hi" he greeted them. The only one who answered was the red-haired girl, whilst her boyfriend nodded in his general direction and Buffy half-smiled. They all went to sit at the next table until Willow looked back at William and seemed to convince the others the should take pity on him.

"You mind if we join you?" she asked with a bright smile and when he said he didn't they all took seats at the table.

Again William pretended to read his book, as the other three seemed to be doing homework or something. He stole glances at Buffy but her head was mostly down, concentrating hard on her work. The next time he looked she was also glancing up and he was thrilled when she gave him a small smile, which he returned.

"Buffy?" he dared to call back her attention, glad that Willow and Oz were discussing something quietly and not actually listening to what he and Buffy were saying.

"Yeah?" she answered as she looked over at him again with a puzzled expression.

"I was wondering, do you, I was...erm....did you have a nice weekend?" he asked instead, mentally kicking himself for being such an idiot. Where had that confidence gone that he had when he was Spike?

"Yeah, it was great, thanks" Buffy told him, a little unsure as to why he was asking, they usually didn't talk to each other much, especially about social stuff, "How about you?" she felt like she ought to be polite and ask him the same.

"It was...splendid" he smiled, collecting up his books and excusing himself from the table. Buffy watched him leave and shook her head. He really was just a little weird.

Outside the library, Dawn grabbed him as he tried to walk past.

"I'm guessing since I didn't hear the screaming from here, you didn't tell her" the brunette smirked, an expression William was pretty sure she'd got from Ripper.

"No, I didn't" he admitted, "Maybe it'd be easier if Spike told her"

"Now there's an idea" Dawn nodded, "Give her the best date of her life and then come clean, she can't be mad at you, she'll already be in love with you, right?"

"In love with me?" he coloured at the very idea, "I think that's a little strong, Dawn, she's only met my 'alter-ego' once" he air-quoted, an action he was ashamed to say he'd gotten from her.

"Will, she's been in love with the mystery guy since way before he was you" she tried to explain, "now that he's you and you're him, she'll still love him and therefore you and the other you as well when she finds out you're him"

William tried not to laugh at her, the girl really was trying to help, but she'd lost him with her little speech from practically the beginning. The bell rang before he had a chance to comment anyway.

"I guess I'll see you later" he told her, heading towards his next class.

"Count on it, Spike" she said quietly in the empty hall, causing him to shoot her a look. Still, William walked to class with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. Maybe Buffy was already in love with Spike, and if she wasn't, she very soon would be.

- - - - - -

At the end of the school day, William went into his house still grinning, ideas for the ultimate date Spike was going to take Buffy on filling his head. Dawn had seemed perfectly serious when she said that her sister was in love and William was more than sure he felt the same about her. The only small problem being, Buffy was in love with a man that technically didn't exist...his smile turned to a frown as he entered the kitchen where his mother was making a snack.

"Hello, son" she smiled, before noticing his expression, "Oh, whatever's the matter?" she asked as he sat down heavily on a stool by the breakfast bar and she took a seat the other side.

"It's nothing really" he shrugged, knowing that this time he was unable to confide in his mother. With all his other problems, he'd always gone straight to her for advice and comfort, was it really any wonder that his class-mates back in England had nick-named him Mummy's boy and Poofter? He smirked as he thought, they wouldn't be saying that if they'd seen him Saturday night.

"William" his mother sighed, putting her hand over his on the worktop, "You're hardly ever at home anymore, you spent hours in the bathroom on Sunday, and we never really talk anymore...you would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?" she asked worriedly.

William got up from his seat, moving round the counter to kiss his mother on the cheek.

"I'm fine, Mum, I promise" he told her with a smile. He loved that she cared really, he just needed her to understand, "but I'm a big boy now and I s'pose I'm just growing up is all"

Mother and son shared a smile before he bounded off up the stairs to dump his bag and visit the bathroom, before heading back down to the kitchen to eat. There wasn't much homework that he really had to do tonight and he really wanted to go over to the garage to check on the bike. It'd got a couple of knocks Saturday night and Ripper had said he'd have a look if he had time, but William knew it'd ultimately be his responibility to fix anything that was broken. He only hoped Anne wouldn't make too much fuss when he mentioned going out again tonight.

- - - - - -

"Now here's a bloke that caused quite a stir" Ripper grinned as his young friend strolled into the garage.

Thankfully William's mother hadn't asked too many questions when he'd said he was going out to see a friend, he figured she was just pleased that he actually had friends these days "Seems the cops had more of an idea where you were going than you thought" the older Brit told the boy, whose expression went from smirking to panicked in seconds.

"They came here?" he asked worriedly as he walked across the room with Ripper to where the bike was waiting for him.

"Yeah, asked if I'd had anyone with a bike in here for service or whatever" the older man didn't seem at all phased by the police visit. Unbeknownst to William, he'd had a few run-ins with the law when he was young, and they really didn't scare him.

"And you said no?" William checked, causing Ripper to roll his eyes as he pulled on the tarp that covered the machine.

"Course I said no, you pillock" he almost laughed at the panic on Will's face "Still, they had a look around, couldn't prove the bike here was the one they were after, and then they pissed off again"

William sighed audibly, staring down at the bike and running a hand over his face and back through his hair.

"Why am I doing this?" he asked rhetorically, but Ripper had an answer. He pulled something from his back pocket and held it up for the boy to see.

"Cos of a certain blonde you've got the hots for?" he suggested. William smiled at the photograph being held in front of his face, the one picture of Buffy that he owned.

"I wondered where I'd left that" he said, taking it from his friend and continuing to stare at it, mentally reminding himself to thank Dawn again for all her help, the picture in particular.

"She is a beauty" Ripper told him, a hand on his shoulder. He knew the effect a pretty girl could have on a young man. Years ago, he had been just like William, though these days he'd never admit it.

"She's everything, and I love her" the young man blurted out without thinking, trying not to blush as he pushed the photo into his pocket out of sight. "You think I'm crazy?" he asked Ripper who was now back under the hood of a Chevy where he had been when William came in. The older man shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe" he agreed "but love does that to you, I should know" he added with an eye roll. William went over to lean on the side of the car and watch what he was doing.

"You always say stuff like that but you never explain it to me" he pressed, Ripper just looked up and smirked that smirk of his.

"And neither will I" he laughed, throwing an oily rag at the boy, who thought fast and caught it just as Dawn walked on.

"Hey!" she smiled brightly at her two favourite Brits. They both smiled back.

"Hello, pet" Ripper greeted her "How's things?"

"Pretty good" she told him "in fact better than good right now. Spike, I had this great idea" she enthused as she moved over to where he was standing.

"I told you not to get into the habit of calling me that when I'm not dressed that way" he shifted uncomfortably as Ripper shot him a look, this was the first he'd heard of it.

"Spike?" he echoed "Now there's a name. Buffy like that kind of thing does she?" he asked with a look that was decidedly filthy. William continued to look uneasy.

"Well I had to have a name" he said in his defence "besides her last bloke was called Angel"

"Say no more" Ripper held up his hands in mock surrender and went back to his work. Angel? Now that was a real Nancy-boy name! He thanked his lucky stars that the kids hadn't found out his real name. Ripper sounded cool and dangerous, Rupert was a ponce's name.

"Spike, will you listen, I have info" the youngest Summers was determined that her friend was going to listen to her, even if she had to physically bounce up and down to get his attention.

"Okay, Dawn, what it is?" he smiled at her enthusiasm, as she took a deep breath and launched into her ramble.

"Okay, so, my Dad was totally spazzing cos he part owns this new-agey fake magic store in town and one of the shop assistants quit today without notice, and the lady, Tara, who works there can't cope alone" William really couldn't understand where this was going, and he didn't have time to ask, since Dawn didn't seem to be stopping to draw breath yet "Point is Dad fast shuffled Buffy into working Friday after school, cos Amy, the girl who quit, used to do Thursday and Friday afternoons, and I got picked for Thursday, anyway, I figured if I was around on Friday too, you could show up and totally sweep Buffy off her feet. She could go out with you, I could cover the store with Tara, and everyone would be happy!" she ended with a big grin, showing no signs of being out-of-breath and William would have found the fact incredible if he wasn't still trying to process all the information he'd just been given.

"The kid talks bloody fast" Ripper observed with a chuckle "but what she says makes some sense"

"Seems like it" William grinned as he finally realised the girl had the perfect plan worked out for him "Dawn, you're amazing" he announced, acting on impulse and kissing her on the cheek, making her blush seven different shades.

"Er, I gotta go" she said quickly, practically running for the door. Ripper laughed loudly, clapping William on the back of the shoulder.

"If you can get Buffy to like you half as much as she does, I think you're onto a winner mate" he said, still laughing as he walked away to his small office.

"Yeah" the boy said absently, thinking solely of Buffy right now "Friday night, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna sweep her off her feet" he smiled, turning back to his bike and preparing to fix it up for his big date.

It was Friday lunchtime at Sunnydale High School and the dominating gang of Seniors were just taking their places around the usual table.

"And it was like, hello, how could you out vote me?" Cordelia complained as she took her seat between Xander and Buffy. She'd just finished a meeting of the Prom committee, and she was not happy about some of the decisions that had been made "It was all that stupid Marcie's fault, like she should ever be on the committee in the first place!" she continued as many of her friends rolled their eyes and surpressed their laughter, Cordy really did get far too involved when it came to things like Prom. "Anyway we finally got it figured out" she sighed, picking up her fork and taking a mouthful of salad. More than one person figured they might actually get a word in now, but they were wrong as she swiftly swallowed and went on to her next important topic "So anyway, Bronze tonight for clothes conference?" she asked the girls "You know I have an allergy to shop bought dresses but there's still a chance you girls might pick out a colour that'll clash with my outfit and I don't want to have to avoid you all night, especially since it's the last big event before Prom"

She was referring to the traditional Pre-Prom party that was held each year for the graduating Sunnydale High students, at the Bronze. Just one week before the actual event, it was everyone's last chance to make final arrangements with their friends and partners, and a far less formal affair than the Prom itself.

"Don't sweat it Cor" Faith shrugged, stealing some fries from Angel's plate to the left of her, laughing when he playfully slapped her hand away "We'll be there for your little conference, no big deal"

"Guys, you know that I can't" Buffy piped up from the other side of the table, looking uncomfortable. The more time she spent with her friends lately, the less she felt she belonged. They were all coupled up and constantly talking about topics that didn't interest her like they used to, plus her mind was often elsewhere thinking of Spike...

"Oh yes, Buffy has to go sell rabbits feet and newts eyes to freaks tonight" Angel laughed at his own joke as Faith tried not to join in.

"C'mon guys" Oz admonished "it's not her fault"

Usually the guitarist didn't say anything during this type of conversation, but he felt his girlfriend's shoulders tense beneath his arm when Buffy was getting insulted, and he refused to sit by whilst Willow got upset.

"Some of the books in the store are actually pretty cool" she said, smiling at Oz for helping out her friend "all about spells and the origins of witchcraft and stuff"

"Oh come on Will" Xander rolled his eyes "that stuff is for weirdoes"

"Speaking of..." Cordelia half smiled, elbowing her boyfriend to get his attention.

All eyes moved across the room to see a familiar student coming towards their table. Buffy lowered her head to her plate as William approached. She couldn't say she liked him exactly but he wasn't all that bad and Angel and the gang always gave him such a hard time. She didn't like to see the pain in his eyes when they were so mean to him, it made her feel all the worse for not being nicer to him herself.

"Hey William!" Angel called out "How's life in the geek lane?" he smirked.

"Fine, thankyou" the boy grinned, as if the question had been purely innocent. Angel frowned.

"What's he so happy about?" Xander looked between the grinning boy as he disappeared and his friend who was looking decidedly confused.

Andrew, who had been silent til now, had a possible answer to that question.

"Maybe he's got a girlfriend or something?" he suggested, and there was a pause before almost everyone else at the table burst out laughing at the very idea. All except Buffy, who shared a look with the boy beside her. It seemed neither of them understood why that was quite so amusing, but then they were the only two single people at the table.

- - - - - - -

After school, Buffy walked to the Magic Box alone. She knew it would have been faster to get Cordy to drop her off in the car, or less lonely if she'd taken up Willow's offer of walking with her but she couldn't deal with the company right now.

Thoughts of Spike were driving her to distraction. Although it was a dream come true meeting him the way she had, it was a complete nightmare not knowing when or if she'd ever see him again.

As Tara showed her around the store, pointing out the shelves of spell books and history books, and showing her how to work the cash register, Buffy found her mind was still only half on the topic at hand.

"Okay, I think that's everything" Tara said finally with a warm smile on her face "Any questions, just ask"

"'Kay" the younger girl answered absently, like she hadn't really heard a word. Tara reached out a hand to her arm.

"Buffy?" she said with a slight frown "Look I know you don't really want to be here and your father kind of made you but I really do appreciate the help" she smiled again and Buffy felt bad. Tara was a nice lady and she didn't want to be rude to her. She was a good ten or fifteen years older than Buffy though she didn't look more than five, and she'd been her and Dawn's favourite baby-sitter when they were young enough to need one. She was always so kind and willing to listen and help out, it was a long time since they'd really talked, but right now Buffy didn't even know where to begin.

"It's okay, Tara" she nodded, putting her hand over the older woman's "I don't mind being here so much, it's just...well, my mind is on other things is all" she shrugged.

"Anything you need to talk about sweetie?" Tara asked with a concerned look on her features. Buffy forced a smile.

"No, honestly" she shook her head "I'll be fine"

It was over an hour since Buffy had arrived at the Magic Box and she was already seriously bored. There weren't all that many customers, and it seemed to her that Tara could cope with those that there were on her own. Maybe it was usually busier, perhaps today was just a slow day. Whatever the reasons, Buffy wanted to be elsewhere, but not just in a random place, she wanted to be with Spike. She was sitting on a stool behind the counter with her elbows leaning on the top, daydreaming about the mystery man she had met just once but who had haunted her dreams for months before and every moment since.

The jingling of the bell above the front door broke her from her silent reverie and Buffy sat herself up straight, expecting to see a customer as she looked over. Instead, she saw her annoying little sister.

"Hey!" Dawn grinned as she bounced into the store.

"Dawn, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked accusingly. Why would she be here when she didn't have to be?

"I came to see Tara" the brunette snapped back, the smile slipping from her face as she wondered for the fortieth time why William was even trying to get her sisters attention. Buffy could be such a total pain!

"Why?" came the blonde's next question as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Because she's my friend!" Dawn replied, as if it were obvious "She's nice to me, and she doesn't treat me like a kid" she emphasised each word as if Buffy were stupid, obviously implying that her sister was guilty of the aforementioned crimes. Buffy either didn't notice or simply didn't care as she rolled her eyes.

"She's in the basement fetching mandra root...or mantra root?" she frowned not really knowing what she was trying to say "Whatever" she waved a dismissive hand "she's down there"

With a begrudgingly given 'thanks' the younger sister stomped around the counter and down the stairs to the basement. Buffy sighed in frustration and decided to try and find something in the store to take her mind off Dawn and her annoyingness as well as Spike who she would probably never see again anyway.

Her back was to the door as she scanned a row of books, trying to find something, anything, that looked remotely interesting. She only half heard the bell over the door again and so did not turn until a slightly aged man called to her.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

She turned and smiled her best shop assistant smile, and the customer didn't seem to notice it was fake as he returned the look.

"Er, which of these candles creates a more...romantic mood" he asked her from across the room.

Buffy walked around the counter and turned her back to the door again as she looked at the scented candles on the shelf.

She sniffed at the wax and read the label on the bottom of one.

"Lemon Seduction..." she said to herself, repeating the process with the second candle in the row "Essence of Slug..." she wrinkled her nose at that one, "I think..."

"Excuse me Miss" he sentence was cut off by another male voice behind her and tapping on her shoulder.

"Just a sec, I..." the words died on her tongue as she turned around and came face to face with the man she'd been daydreaming about "Oh my God" she gasped, swallowing hard as she tried to take in what was happening.

"Hello, Buffy" Spike smirked at her shocked expression.

"You know my name?" she said in a dreamy voice that she couldn't identify as her own. Suddenly she felt very young and shy, in a way she never was with other guys.

"Excuse me, Miss?" the older man who wanted a candle was calling for her attention again but Buffy didn't even notice and it seemed Spike didn't either as he answered her question.

"Naturally, and you remember me it seems" his smirk turned into a real smile when she nodded madly.

"Of course I remember you, Spike" she smiled back at him, wanting to say something clever or just move off the spot, but finding it impossible whilst he was standing there, looking all hypnotically gorgeous and totally edible.

"Y'know I seem to remember something else being said that night we met" he tilted his head as if he were thinking about it, before he continued "something about you riding with me, was it?" he smirked again and Buffy thought she was going to burst with the thrill of it all.

"Are you serious?" she breathed, completely ignoring the customers attempts to get her attention.

"Bike's outside waitin'" Spike gestured towards the door "What'd'ya say, pet?"

"Are you going to assist me?" the by now irate patron of the magic store asked, and Buffy only really noticed because Spike looked over at him.

Looking down at the candle she held in her hands she turned briefly to shove it into the customers hand.

"Take the slug" she said, annoyed at the interruption "she's not gonna sleep with you anyway!" she said somewhat nastily before turning back to Spike and smiling "Let's go"

The literal man of her dreams opened the door for her and they left the Magic Box, Buffy feeling as if she was floating on Cloud 9 already.

With a look of disbelief and anger, the customer threw down the candle and stormed out of the shop just before Tara and Dawn appeared from the basement.

"Buffy had to leave?" the older woman frowned at Dawn's revelation "Why?"

"Tara, can you keep a secret?" the youngest Summers whispered, despite the fact the shop was empty.

"Of course, sweetie, what is it?" Tara asked as they sat down on the two stools behind the counter.

"Well" Dawn began "it's kind of a long story..."

Outside Spike handed Buffy a helmet and climbed onto the bike that was parked there as he'd promised. Buffy climbed on behind him and was suddenly petrified, not so much about being on the back of a motorcycle, she'd done that before, but being with this guy she never thought she'd meet til a week ago, and doubted she'd ever see again even then.

"Where to, luv?" Spike turned to ask her and she shook her head.

"I don't care" she answered honestly, "Surprise me"

"I can do that" he nodded, his smirk returning as he thought to himself what a surprise it'd be when he revealed who he really was. He revved the engine and shouted over the noise, "You better hold on tight to me" he told her, "Don't wanna lose you half way there"

Buffy was more than willing as she wrapped her arms tight around his waist, like she never wanted to let go - truth be told, she really didn't. The engine revved again and William thought he was going to be sick from the excitement and nerves as Buffy held on tightly to him and he pulled the bike away from the kerb. He knew exactly where he was taking her and he had a million things he wanted to say to her - finally it seemed he was going to get the chance.

"So glad we finally got that decided" Faith rolled her eyes as she came to stand by Angel. She was talking about Cordelia and her insane babbling about the Prom, as well as the Pre-Prom party, and what each of them would be wearing, etc. Faith figured they all looked good in anything, so what was the big deal? All she wanted to do was have a few drinks and get some lip-lock time with Angel, who was currently thoroughly engrossed in watching Xander beat Andrew at pool.

Annoyed by the fact he'd yet to pay her any attention she moved from his side to stand in front of him and wrapped her arm around his neck, before crushing her lips to his. His mind was soon far away from the pool game he'd been watching as he kissed her back.

"I've been thinking about that since you first walked in" Faith grinned when they parted for air, "and a whole lot more besides" she whispered in his ear, her hand sliding to places that told him precisely what she meant.

"Hey guys" Willow interrupted, much to the annoyance of both of them, "We were just thinking, it's pretty much dead in here tonight and we thought maybe we could head over to the Magic Box to see Buffy? She's probably totally bored all by herself"

"Plus, I wanna get this whole dress colour fiasco cleared up tonight!" Cordelia threw in, naturally the most important thing in the world to her was the fashion.

"I just slaughtered Andrew at pool" Xander grinned coming over to his girlfriends side, "So I have no problem with the leave-age"

"I guess it'd be cool to see all the magic tricks and stuff" the shorter boy shrugged as he put down his pool cue and joined the gang.

"We were kinda making plans, guys" Angel hoped the boys took the hint even if the girls didn't. It was Cordy however who seemed to understand best.

"Angel, you and Faith can have sex whenever" she snapped, grabbing the girls arm and hauling her towards the exit as the rest followed, "For once in your life think with the brain that's north of your belt and have a little consideration for others" she reprimanded as the gang headed out to the parking lot and their cars.

- - - - - - -

"So, Buffy has n-no idea that this guy is W-William" Tara frowned a little when Dawn finished her story "Isn't that a little, er, d-dishonest?" she asked the girl who looked thoughtful before answering.

"Not so much" she shrugged, "I mean, okay, so Will's not being totally honest about the Spike thing but Buffy did want a mysterious guy" she explained, "plus he is totally going to tell her soon"

"Well, so long as they're both happy I guess that's the main thing" Tara considered as Dawn wandered off to investigate something she'd spotted on the shelf that looked interesting, and the bell rang over the door indicating a customer had arrived.

As Tara dealt with the latest Magic Box patron, Dawn sat herself down behind the back shelves, re-arranging the conjuring crystals into rainbow order since she was so bored. She couldn't seem to stop her mind wandering to Spike and Buffy, and a smile spread on her face. As much as her sister bugged her, she was kinda glad that Spike made her happy and he really was the coolest guy ever. It was weird how William, this completey ordinary, kinda geeky guy, could transform himself so completely into a totally drool-worthy hunk. Those words led her mind onto another guy who she wished she could be seeing tonight at the Bronze instead of being stuck here. Both William and his Spike persona were great, but her heart had been set on another for a long time now. It seemed her own love-life, at least the one she wished she had, would have to wait though. Today was about Spike and Buffy and she really hoped they were having a good time.

- - - - - - -

"Wow" Buffy gasped as the bike finally came to a halt, "That was amazing" she enthused as her helmet was removed and she flung her blonde hair out into the setting suns rays. Spike propped up the bike but made no move to dismount. It seemed that as yet neither he nor Buffy were willing to move and let up the closeness they had where they currently sat.

"You do know that you're incredible, right?" Buffy grinned madly at him as he turned to look at her. She blushed a little when she realised quite what she'd said, ducking her head down and hiding behind her hair. Spike reached out a finger to lift her chin.

"Well, I gotta say pet, you're pretty special yourself" he smiled as her embarrassment increased.

"So" she said finally, "where are we, exactly?" she looked a little lost as she glanced around and Spike climbed off the bike, offering his hand to her as she did the same.

He led her to the edge of the precipice on which they stood, putting her in front of him and pointing down at the view.

"We're on top of the world" he whispered in her ear and she realised she was looking out at the town, the whole of Sunnydale laid out at her feet like a toy village. She smiled in wonder as she leaned back against him, his arms encircling her waist.

Despite having only met him once before in reality, in her dreams she'd spent so many nights in this man's arms. Buffy was not the least bit scared to be out in the middle of nowhere with this stranger, nor did she worry about being close to him. Inside her head they'd stood together like this before, they'd danced and laughed and kissed and more. Now it was reality and she couldn't be more thrilled.

Behind her Spike was also smiling. There was no way William could ever have imagined how easy it would be to pull off this persona. In these clothes, with this hair, and this attitude, and that bike that he rode, it made him into a whole other person. A person that Buffy liked a whole lot more than she did his real self. Someone she wanted to hold and be held by, someone she trusted. It was as if a spell had been cast on her, but then he felt as if the magicks had claimed him too. He had no idea how simple it was to be Spike, the embodiment of everything Buffy ever dreamed of. Gone was his shy looks and blushes, replaced with power and attitude he'd never had before.

"It's so beautiful up here" Buffy sighed, breaking his train of thought as she turned in his arms to look at him. They were mere inches apart and the smell of her perfume was making his head swim.

"You're not wrong" he smirked and the girl looked away.

"I was talking about the view" she reminded him, knowing he meant herself, "It's like a scene from a romance novel or a poem or something" she rambled on, so unsure what she was supposed to say or do. In her dreams talking wasn't their strong point, though what they did do involved a lot of lip action... "Why did you bring me here?" she asked suddenly interested to know. Spike was silent for a moment as he ran his fingers through her hair making her shiver delightfully.

"I wanted to be alone with you" he admitted, "somewhere special"

"Anywhere is special when I'm with you" she blurted out, "You're all I've ever wanted"

"Same here, luv" he told her, wondering how the hell he was controlling himself so well. His head and his heart were going into overdrive, but if she was telling him all this about how she felt, he knew now was the best time to do the same.

"I want to give you the world Buffy" he said softly, "I want to but I can't"

"You don't have to" she silenced him with a finger on his lips, "All I want is you, standing right here just like we are now"

Spike smiled slowly as he moved her hand away from his face.

"Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, enwrought with golden and silver light..."
Despite the fact he tried to squash it back down the words rose in his throat and demanded to be spoken.

"The blue and the dim and the dark cloths, of night and light and the half light..."

William and his stupid bloody poems were about to ruin the moment Spike realised too late.

"I would spread the cloths under your feet, but I, being poor, have only my dreams..."

No, he was wrong it seemed. Buffy was apparently mesmerised by the beautiful words as her eyes followed the movement of his lips to the last word.

"I have spread my dreams under your feet, tread softly because you tread on my dreams"

By the time he finished, Spike's voice was nothing but a whisper and he momentarily panicked when Buffy didn't say a word. Deciding it was now or never, Spike called on every once of courage he had and leaned in to kiss her. Her eyes fell shut right before his lips touched hers, she'd obviously anticipated his next move.

In all honesty Spike hadn't meant for it to be this way, one sweet moment was all he expected but before he knew where he was Buffy's arms were tightening around his neck and she was deepening the kiss that he had initiated. Letting themselves surrender to what they felt for a moment, they kissed with some passion before finally feeling the need to breathe.

"Wow" Buffy gasped, when they broke apart. For a moment Spike was at a loss for anything more intellectual than that himself, but his bravado came rushing back when he realised just what an effect he had on this girl.

"That 'wow' for the poem or the kiss?" he asked, his smirk re-appearing fast.

"Both" Buffy smiled, her breath finally coming back to her, "Those things and everything...tonight is perfect" she said, smile disappearing as they both turned much more serious. This time she moved first, as they began to kiss again, both of them unaware of what was happening in the town down below.

- - - - - - -

The bell over the door of the Magic Box jingled just ten minutes before closing. Tara was surprised and a little worried when four guys in black leather jackets all strode in. She calmed down some when she saw the four girls behind them, and recognised Willow as the shy little girl that hung around with Buffy and liked to visit the store sometimes.

"Blessed be" Tara smiled politely at the group, "C-can I help you?"

"We're looking for Buffy" Cordelia told her, "She said she was working in this...establishment" she said, looking around the jars of chickens feet and bat wings with some distaste.

"Oh, she's not here" Dawn grinned as she appeared from the door to the back, "She had to go out"

"I thought she had to work tonight cos you did it yesterday?" Willow frowned, "Wasn't that the deal?"

"I-it was" Tara nodded before Dawn cut in again.

"Guys, she got like totally swept off her feet by Spike!" she smiled wildly, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Spike?" Cordelia echoed, "That guy with the motorcycle?" she checked. Dawn nodded, still grinning like an idiot.

"Well way to go B" Faith laughed, "I was starting to wonder if she batted for the other side if you know what I'm saying' but seems she was just waiting for Mr Perfect"

Angel looked severely P.O.ed by now. Whether it was because Faith was calling Spike Mr Perfect or because Buffy was out joy-riding with that idiot, even he wasn't sure, but he knew he wasn't happy.

"She's only met the guy once, right?" he asked dangerously and Dawn nodded.

"I guess" she shrugged before asking, "Why does it matter?"

"Sounds kinda freaky" Xander chipped in, "Some mystery guy taking her off into the night, when she hardly knows him"

"But Buffy wouldn't go if she thought he was dangerous" Willow reasoned, her grip on Oz's hand tightening as she started to worry.

"Sometimes it's hard to make the right judgement" her boyfriend told her gently, "He might seem like a nice guy but not be"

Dawn wanted to tell them it was okay, that it was just William and that Buffy was totally safe with him, but she'd promised not to let his real identity get out, not yet. Tara looked at her with troubled eyes, and the young teen felt a little sick. If the gang decided to go after Spike, with Angel in one of his moods, it would not end well. Though she was pretty certain Ripper had been teaching Spike a little about fighting during the time he spent at the garage, Angel and the guys were not to be messed with, and four against one were not good odds to play.

"Guys, Buffy'll be fine" she tried to convince them, "I mean, she knows how to take care of herself"

No-one seemed to be listening to her - no change there then. Angel turned to Tara.

"You know where they went?" he asked her.

"N-no, I'm sorry, I don't" she shook her head, feeling more than a little worried now.

"We'll drive around, take a look" he told the gang as they all headed back towards the door, "Hopefully they didn't go too far"

Before Dawn could say another word they were gone and Tara hurried to lock the door behind them.

"I hope you were right about this guy being decent, Dawnie" she said with a troubled expression.

"Tara, we don't need to worry about Spike hurting Buffy" she shook her head, "but we should maybe worry about Angel hurting Spike..."

"It's crazy" Buffy said softly, still revelling in the feeling of being wrapped in Spike's arms, "but I don't want this to end" she admitted.

"Everything has to end sometime, pet" he told her, kissing the top of her head, "'Cept my love for you" he whispered against her hair. He held his breath waiting for her reaction to that. Slowly her head rose from his chest and she looked up at him with a surprised yet seemingly pleased expression.

"You love me?" she checked, almost unable to believe it. She never truly thought she'd meet the man of her dreams but it was beyond madness to think that if she did he'd actually love her so fast, if at all.

"Said so, didn't I?" he smirked at her expression until she shook her head.

"Not entirely" she pointed out, knowing she was only being picky about this because she really wanted to here those three words, to have this scene play out like it had in her head a million times before.

"Buffy" he said softly, gently pushing her hair back behind her ear, "I love you" he said sincerely and the poor girl was almost in tears she was so thrilled.

"I love you too" she admitted with a shaky smile, "and I know it's ridiculous cos I hardly know you but...I can't help it"

She reached up to kiss him, arms tightening round his neck and pulling him closer as he held her tight to him by the waist, his other hand in her hair. When they pulled away minutes later he frowned.

"You're so cold, you're shivering" he realised, and she smiled when he opened up his coat and wrapped her inside it with him, holding her tightly beneath the stars.

"It's not the cold that's making me shiver" she admitted in a whisper against his chest.

Spike just smiled, not commenting on what he heard. He was having the night of his life but despite what Buffy said it was getting cold, the night was drawing in and he had to get her home soon or her parents would freak, so Dawn had said.

"Come on, luv" he said a little sadly, "It's late, I think I should be getting you home"

"But it's not so late...oh my God" she gasped when she moved to look at the watch on his wrist, "It really is so late" she realised, "but I don't want this to end" she told him, practically throwing herself at him for another kiss which he gladly gave her.

"S'not the end, luv" he promised when the kiss ended and they stood close together, foreheads touching, "It's only the beginning"

- - - - - - -

"Great, just how I wanted to spend my evening" Cordelia rolled her eyes as she stopped the car, "Staring at Angel's tail pipe"

"Weird" Faith smirked, "That's exactly what I had planned" the look on her face making it very clear what she meant.

"Oh gross, Faith, even for you" the girl driving looked appalled before turning back to keep her eyes on the road.

Angel, in his infinite wisdom, had decided the gang needed to go and find Buffy, wherever she was, just because she'd gone joy riding with some mystery guy named Spike. Angel drove the guys in his car and Cordelia drove the girls right behind.

So far they'd been past every possible place in town that two people might go on a date and so it seemed they were going to give up. Cordy sighed as the red light turned green and Angel's car pulled away allowing her to do the same. It was getting late and she just wanted to go home and sleep. Late nights were all very well when you were at a party but driving around in circles was making her crazy.

"You okay, Will?" Faith called into the back seat where her red-headed friend was looking a little pale.

"I'm fine" she lied, "I'm just...Do you think we should be worried that we can't find Buffy?" she asked. Faith shook her head.

"Nah, B can handle herself" she reasoned, "'Sides, who says she wants to be found? I'm thinking her and the bleach boy, secluded spot, revvin' up their engines real good" she grinned. Cordelia looked ill.

"Oh please, Faith, not everyone is sex-obsessed!" she pointed out. The dark haired girl just laughed.

"Maybe you're not" she shrugged, "but then maybe that's why Xander's always so cranky lately"

Just as the two girls were going to launch into a major fight Willow yelled for the car to stop and Cordelia pulled up sharply, realising that Angel's car in front had already stopped just a couple of feet up ahead.

"Now what?" she grumbled, craning her neck to see, "Oh, I think we got trouble" she realised when she saw what the guys had clearly caught sight of.

- - - - - - -

When Buffy caught sight of the school as she and Spike whipped past on his bike, she knew the adventure was almost over. Soon she'd be back at her house, back in reality, and there was no telling if and when she'd see Spike again. Despite the fact he professed to love her and she knew she was totally in love with him, there were no guarantees he'd come back once he left her on her doorstep tonight.

All too soon the bike stopped moving and the exhilarating night was over.

"Home sweet home" Spike told her, but her grip around his body tightened.

"I know" she sighed, resting her cheek against his back, trying to memorise every detail of the moment, the feel of his body, the smell of his leather coat...

With a further defeated sigh she loosened her grip on him and got off the bike. She stopped on the kerb looking up at her house, a place she really didn't want to be when the other option was Spike. His arms wound round her waist from behind and she leaned back against him, eyes closed as he kissed her neck.

"You sure this has to end?" she asked in a whisper, "You have no idea how long I waited for this night and now..." she sounded so sad and he couldn't bear it, especially when he felt the same. He spun her round and kissed her soundly, silencing her in the most exquisite way. A moment later when their lips parted she pushed herself further into his arms, wanting him just to hold her a little while longer.

The 'date' was over, and she'd been impressed by the show, but William knew it was now or never if he was going to tell her the truth. Suddenly he felt horribly guilty for not doing so sooner.

"You're the one shivering now" Buffy giggled against his chest and he brought one hand up to his sunglasses.

"It's because" he said softly, "there's something I should tell you..."

"What?" she asked, still with her head buried in his chest.

Spike was two seconds away from revealing himself to be William when he saw headlamps in the distance, and the streetlights illuminated two cars coming down Revello Drive.

"Bugger it!" he cursed, sounding too much like Ripper for his own liking, "We've got company, pet" he told her, shoving his sunglasses firmly back on his face and wishing Angel and his gang could just have left them alone!

"Oh God" Buffy groaned when she turned and saw the gang approaching. She turned back and found Spike was already on his bike. "Where are you going? You cannot be afraid of them!" she yelled as he revved the engine.

"Not a chance, sweetheart" he shook his head, "but it's not worth the fight right now" he told her.

"But when will I see you again?" she cried as he turned the bike to leave.

"Next Saturday" he told her with a final look, "Party at the Bronze, pet. I'll meet you out front"

Buffy frowned as he pulled away from the kerb and was gone.

"How does he know about the Pre-Prom party?" she asked herself as she turned back towards her house, only to be confronted by all seven of her close friends clambering from their cars.

"Hey guys, what's up?" she asked, as if she didn't know. Angel looked so angry he might burst at any second.

"Buffy, what the hell did you think you were doing riding off into the sunset with that...that jerk!" he demanded to know. The blonde he was addressing was far from amused.

"He is not the jerk in this situation!" she shot back, "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going inside..."

"You're not going anywhere!" Angel told her, grabbing her wrist as she tried to walk past into the house. She shook him off with ease as Xander grabbed his friends arm and told him maybe he should calm down.

"What is this really about, Angel?" Buffy wanted to know

"I see that Spike guy hanging around again, he's dead!" was his only answer and Buffy shook her head, wanting to get to the real truth.

"Is it because I've moved onto something better, whilst you're stuck humping Faith?" she said nastily.

"You better watch your mouth B" the dark-haired girl stepped forward, all leather pants and attitude, but Buffy wasn't phased and Angel only made things worse with his response.

"Maybe I just don't like losers messing with my girl"

"Your girl?" Faith and Buffy said in unison, both equally shocked by that comment, but Buffy didn't care enough to listen anymore and she hurried towards the house. Willow went after her.

"Buffy, we were just worried about you" she told her friend, the expression on her face backing up her words.

"Maybe you were Will" Buffy shook her head, "Maybe even Cordy and Oz a little, but Angel's just a jealous moron, and the rest follow his lead" she said sadly, "I'll see you tomorrow" she promised as she went up the stairs and into the house.

When Willow got back to the gang, Cordelia had Xander and Andrew in the car with her already and Oz was debating what to do for the best, as Faith cursed and yelled at Angel and he tried to apologise as best he could.

"You okay, sweetie?" Oz asked his girlfriend and she nodded, saying she just wanted to go to bed. He kissed her briefly and she ran into the house next door. Oz climbed into the back of Cordy's car and she drove the boys towards home.

Angel continued to pursue Faith who was angry as hell and wanted the whole street to know about it as she yelled and cursed at him some more.

"You're an asshole, Liam O'Connor! I dunno why the hell I thought I ever loved you!"

"You what?!" he called behind her, so stunned he stopped walking. Faith stopped too when she realised she'd blurted out the one thing she never meant to say aloud to anyone.

"Nothing, I didn't say nothing" she tried to cover as she stopped beneath a streetlight, her back still to him as she ran her hands through her hair and sighed.

"I heard what you said, Faith" Angel told her as he caught up to her and reached a hand out to her arm. She half-heartedly pulled away but he easily turned her around to face him.

"Baby, I'm sorry" he sighed, trying to make her look at him, "I just don't wanna see Buffy get hurt...doesn't mean I don't love you, cos I do" he told her. She laughed painfully.

"Like hell you do" she scoffed, and he brought his hand to her chin, turning her face and making her look at last.

"I do" he swore to her, "I do" he said again, suddenly realising that in some ways that was the real truth.

When he leaned in to kiss her she didn't pull away or lash out at him. They both knew tonight would go from here just how they'd planned it in the first place. It was a weird kind of love they had, but it was better than being alone.