Buffy left the Magic Box after she completed her errand. She was amazed at how different it looked before Giles had bought the store. Buffy couldn't believe she actually missed the place, but so many things had happened there that it was hard to imagine life without the shop. Buffy perked up when she heard the shopkeeper, Mr. Bogarty, talking about trying to find a buyer for the shop. He mentioned that the store had a bad reputation for the owners ending up dead. So, he was having a hard time selling it even though he made a lot of money wit the business. Maybe she could talk Giles into buying the store early. He seemed a lot happier when he owned it.
Showtime for Riley, she thought to herself. She repeated Spike's words from when she left Giles' apartment. She wandered down the street towards the dress shop while she kept an eye out for Riley. Wonder what kind of dress Spike would like me to wear for the wedding? She thought.
One easy to take off of your luscious body, echoed through Buffy's mind. Spike grinned from his place at Giles' home. He and the Watcher were getting along all right, but Spike couldn't keep himself from letting Buffy's thoughts wander into his mind. He was a little worried about Riley's reaction to Buffy later, and he wanted to be sure she was safe.
Buffy giggled a little since she had not realized that Spike would hear her while she wasn't in close proximity to him. She stood outside the dress shop window. Once again, the beautiful gowns in the window memorized her. In fact, she didn't even notice that Riley had found her until he began to speak.
"Hey Buffy. What's up?" Riley said. He tried to get the young blond's attention for a couple of minutes before she finally answered him.
"Aren't they beautiful?" Buffy asked. Her eyes flitted from one gorgeous dress to another. Buffy never even looked at the young man attempting to get her attention. The realization that she would be married in every way soon had her enraptured. They weren't going to let anyone stop them this time.
Riley took a good look at the dresses in the window and gulped audibly. "Uh...yeah ... sure, a bit fancy for school though, don't you think?" he mentioned He sounded a tad unsure of himself.
Buffy turned to look at Riley. She now wondered what she had ever seen in him. He was attractive, in a farmboy kind of way, but he didnt hold a candle to Spike's good looks and lean, lanky body. Buffy giggled to herself, Time to drop the bombshell.
Why is she looking at wedding dresses? We weren't that serious yet. Riley worried his way through his thoughts.
"Riley, I really like you. If things were different, you know, I think we could be more than friends..." Buffy started to say. She reached out to touch his hand in sympathy. A small jolt from Spike halted that action in a hurry. She tried to send reassuring thoughts to her mate via their connection.
"Friends?" Riley asked in a perplexed little tone, "What do you mean, Buffy?" He had thought he'd connected with the petite co-ed. It felt like he had the start of a relationship with the girl.
"Yeah. We can be friends. So, I want you there for the "Big Day"," Buffy continued on. She craned her neck to look up at Riley. The crink in her neck made her appreciate how perfectly her and Spike fit together.
"Big Day?" Riley questioned. He was still perplexed beyond belief. What was going on with her? They had gone on the picnic earlier that day and she had seemed so receptive. He was very confused.
"I'm getting married, but I promise we'll still be friends," she said. This time she ignored Spike's little warning zap, and grabbed Riley's hand.
Riley stared blankly at Buffy. Married? How? Who? His day was moving from strange to bizarre.
Buffy hated to see the look of confusion on Riley's face, but she wasn't travelling down that road again with him. "I know it sounds kinda sudden, but we've known each other for several years now. It's really crazy, I know." She sighed softly. "We fought the whole time, but there was always this fire and passion behind it. I just woke up one moment and realized that he was the right guy for me. In fact he's perfect for me."
"Does he have a name?" Riley asked. He pulled his hand away from Buffy. He seemed worried that the craziness would rub off on him. He'd never heard something as absurd as going out on a date with one person earlier in the day and being engaged to someone else by nightfall.
"Of course, he has a name, silly. His name is Spike," Buffy replied. She turned to look at the dresses again.
"Spike? What kind of name is that?" It was obvious to Riley, even though he had never met the other man, that the guy had some kind of identity problems. He was a psyche major after all, even if his night job was for the military. Anyone named Spike has to have issues."Oh, that's just a nickname. His name is really William, but everyone calls him Spike. He did some inventive torture with railroad spikes one time," Buffy replied with a giggle. If that doesn't scare him away...
Slayer, careful what you tell him now or he will have you in a cell so fast your head will spin, Spike carefully chided Buffy through their thoughts.
Buffy tried to soothe Spike's concerns. She had a feeling that the easiest way to get rid of Riley would be to make him think she was looney. He hadn't believed she would have any connection to 'sub-terrestrials' when they first met. She doubted his thoughts would thinks now, either.
"Who is this guy? Does he go to UCSunnydale?" Riley asked while he tried to get a handle on the conversation. He'd never seen Buffy with anyone on campus aside from Parker. He knew those two weren't an item anymore.
"Who Spike? Nah, he went to Oxford about a century ago, majored in English literature and philosophy. He is totally old. Well, not as old as my last boyfriend," Buffy laughed airily. She waved her hand in the air in a dismissive way.
"Okay, I am going to go now. Go far, far away. Good luck, Buffy." Riley walked away. The whole time he shook his head. Boy, I thought she was mysterious. She is just weird and crazy. How did she ever get a nice normal friend like Willow.
Mission accomplished, honey. He thinks I am a weirdo that dates old men now. Be right back. Xander and Anya should be there with the demons soon, Buffy sent to her mate. She popped into the dress shop where she quickly bought a cake topper. She remembered doing that last time. She then headed to the variety store for some blood red fingernail polish that she used to make the groom's mouth a little red.