A/N: To my super beta Luxferi and everyone who has left a review: Thank you guys! :D

* * *

Inside the Bronze, a band was playing on stage and the place was packed with teens. On the dance floor, Buffy was dancing to herself, oblivious to the boys who were trying to get her attention. She swayed her hips to the beat, raised her arms above her head and closed her eyes. She let herself get lost in the music, forget about the her duties, the recent killings.

She smiled.

* * *

The first thing Spike noticed as he entered the club was the Slayer on the dance floor. And she was the Slayer, Spike realized, even when it came to dancing. The other girls seemed like clumsy 10-year-olds in comparison, and the boys? He didn’t even want to think about it. Spike went closer, circled the dance floor and went over to the bar. The whole time he kept his eyes on the dancing girl in front of him.

She shone.

That was his only thought. Her movements drew him in and his gaze traveled over her body along her perfect curves. She seemed to be in her own world, dancing only to herself, and it made her shine.

* * *

”That guy is staring at you.”

Cordelia had came up to Buffy, who was still dancing, and gave her a sceptic look. The brunette’s expression was almost like she couldn’t believe that a guy was looking at her blonde friend, or like she believed that Buffy had paid him to do so. Buffy smiled in response.

”Yeah?”

She was completely aware of the man who was staring at her. She’d felt his presence behind her ever since he entered the club. How she could distinguish him, from the others of his kind, she did not know, but she could feel his gaze practically burning holes in her back.

Buffy was just about to turn around when Cordelia squealed.

”Don’t look!”

Buffy giggled. ”So what does he look like?”

”He’s…stuck in the 80’s.” Cordelia pondered. ”But I mean…he’s got that whole bad boy thing going on. He’s hot..”

”Yeah?”

”Oh yeah. Definitely salty goodness.”

”Really?”

Buffy smiled to herself. It was funny to talk to someone about Spike who didn’t know what he was. Cordelia didn’t know that he was a killer, that he was a vampire, or that he was dead. She only knew one thing: he was hot. It seemed so simple, almost like those first times when Buffy had met him without knowing anything about vampires and slaying. For once she felt like an ordinary teenage girl gossiping about the latest hot guy, and it was liberating.

Cordelia winked suggestively in Spike’s direction and put up one of her best smiles.”Maybe I was mistaken. He was probably looking at me.”

”No he wasn’t.”

”What do you know? He was definitely looking at me.”

”No he wasn’t!”

”Excuse me? I saw him first.” Cordelia gave her one of her notorious ’who-do-you-think-you are’ glares, but it didn’t cover up her growing irritation.

”Watch this,” Buffy said as she turned around and walked off the dance floor.

* * *

Spike grabbed his drink off the counter and when he turned to look at the dance floor again he couldn’t find Buffy. Her friend was standing there still watching him, but the blonde seemed to have disappeared. Or at least he thought so until someone tapped him on the shoulder and he spun around, startled.

”Are you going to watch me all night or are you gonna to ask me to dance?”

Buffy was hoping he would do the latter. It was hard to imagine Spike dancing to this upbeat kind of music, but it sure would show Cordy something; her and Spike together. The mental image of Spike jumping up and down to the music in his punk attire, forced Buffy to suppress a giggle. But maybe a slow song would come on and he could take her in his strong arms again? After everything that happened she needed someone to make her feel better, and Spike had that special ability.

”To dance?” Spike gave her a disbelieving look as he arched one eyebrow.

”You know, dance? When you move your body to the music...” Buffy swayed before him to show him what she meant.

”You call this music?”

He wasn’t going to do it, he wasn’t going to dance with her. She could tell because of how he was doing the sceptic thing; eyebrow raised and turned everything she said into a question. It was probably because she’d been so businesslike to him before, and made him eat that blood, but she needed to show him that she couldn’t accept that he was killing. At this point she regretted being so harsh, what she wanted most of all– needed, was to lean her head against that chest and have him comfort her. But she couldn’t exactly ask him for that.

She needed to change strategy.

”Mhm,” Buffy said as she closed the distance between them and fiddled with the edge of the red open shirt that he wore over his usual black T-shirt.

”Buffy, what are you doing?” he asked, amused, as she ran her hand over his chest.

”Depends…” Buffy said teasingly. ”Are you going to give her something to gawk at?”

It was a dare and it was bold. Buffy hoped she knew what she was getting herself into, but his reaction was nothing like what she had expected.

Spike frowned, but soon realized Buffy was talking about the brunette on the dance floor who was still eyeing him all over.

”What did you tell her?” he asked, his tone slightly accusing.

”Nothing, ” Buffy said innocently and looked deep into his ocean blue eyes.

”You must have bloody well told her something, she’s staring like a fish. Is this some kind of bet-”

”Shhh,” Buffy silenced him as she put one finger over his mouth and leaned in to let her lips take its place.

Buffy had no idea how she dared to do what she did at the moment. She only knew that her lips connected with his, and seemed to move on their own, and that there were butterflies swirling in her belly. It felt good. It wasn’t the comfort she had wished for; it was better.

He’d missed this. Her lips, so deliciously soft and warm. Her body so close to his. He could smell her scent again. It was richer and more sweet than he remembered, than that girl’s scent in the alley. He’d only kissed her once before, and it had been brief, tentative: this was different. She was taking command, pressing herself against his chest; nibbled on his lower lip.

Spike moaned and placed his hand on her chin to pull her closer. At the first opportunity Buffy slid her tongue into his mouth; to dance with his. Teasingly she tasted him, felt the blood and the alcohol at the tip of her tongue, but it did not bother her. The rest of the world seemed to melt away, leaving them as one in their own universe. Hungrily their tongues battled for dominance until Buffy had to take a step back and breathe.

Both were panting as they stared at each other and regained their sense of reality. Buffy’s lips, those plump pink ones that Spike couldn’t take his eyes off, curled up into a grin. Buffy took a couple of steps backwards, still grinning before she turned around and rejoined Cordelia and her friends.

Spike looked down at his crotch.

“Bloody hell...”

* * *

“That’s Spike?” Cordelia asked incredulously.

“That’s Spike,” Buffy answered with a secretive smile.

“Oh my god, you have to tell us how it was!” Willow cried excitedly and was almost bouncing as they walked out of the club.

Buffy hadn’t been aware of both Willow and Xander watching along with Cordelia when she had walked up to the vampire. Willow, in her typical innocent girly way, was almost as excited as Buffy was, but Buffy didn’t let her excitement show. Xander didn’t share their joy: he’d left the club as soon as he saw Buffy’s lips connect with Spike’s. Willow said he was just being silly and unreasonably jealous, but it still made Buffy feel guilty. She knew Xander had had a crush on her last year, but she thought he’d gotten over it. She didn’t want to upset him further, they weren’t exactly talking as it was.

“That’s Spike,” Cordelia stated. “I guess for a corpse... he looks good.”

“Oh yeah,” Buffy agreed.

“So..?" Willow asked, "Tell us! Was he a good kisser?”

“He was... amazing.” Buffy giggled and Willow joined in.

* * *

Later that night, Buffy was in her kitchen preparing a midnight snack, and humming softly to herself. It was the new song by ‘Dingoes Ate My Baby’. Buffy remembered their name since it was so silly, but also because Willow had refused to dance that night, she just wanted to sit at the table to watch the band’s bass player. Buffy smiled as she thought about the dreamy look in her friend’s eyes. Buffy knew a crush when she saw it.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Buffy frowned. Who would come by this late? She remembered the night before, and Spike’s late visit, but he’d knocked on her window, he wasn’t stupid enough to use the front door. Or was he?

Buffy was still holding the ice cream carton she had planned to eat before patrolling, as she opened the door and revealed Xander standing outside.

“Xander? What are you doing here?”

“Buffy.”

“Do you know that it’s three o’clock? In the evening. Morning, whatever.”

“Buffy-” Xander said only her name, but he sounded so agonized, so desperate, that Buffy froze.

“What happened?”

“Jenny. Jenny’s dead. He killed her.”






A/N: So I've got myself a livejournal, for updates and such: nemo-88.livejournal.com Go ahead and friend me if you like, I'm feeling very lonely at the moment... :P