Buffy loved the sound of the bass thumping throughout the club as she walked in. The DJ was currently playing Lady Gaga's "Just Dance." Her friends came with her, since it was Ladies Night at the Bronze. Faith, Fred and her twin sister, Illyria, Willow, Tara, and Anya were all up for a good time. She could already hear her mother and her sister in her head, with her mom worrying about staying out past midnight again and Dawn calling her a bimbo, but the pounding beat of the song soon drowned out any regrets.
I stay out too late
Got nothing in my brain
That's what people say, mmm-mmm
That's what people say, mmm-mmm
Buffy walked towards the dance floor, spotting Cordelia and her sorority cronies at a table, whispering to each other as she passed by them. Probably talking about the drama that was the Lowell House Party, in which some boys from Delta Zeta Kappa were calling her easy because she slept with Parker around the start of the year only for things to end up as a one-night stand, then dating Riley for about a month before he cheated on her with Little Miss Society Lady Samantha Whatsherface.
Of course, the real irony of the situation was that Cordy was in a majorly serious relationship with Mister Big Man On Campus himself, Angel Galloway, AKA her high school ex-boyfriend. Shows what kind of taste she had in men.
I go on too many dates
But I can't make them stay
At least that's what people say, mmm-mmm
That's what people say, mmm-mmm
As Buffy and her friends started dancing, a new song started to play. If anyone from UC Sunnydale asked, Buffy would say that she wasn't exactly a fan of Taylor Swift. That country-pop singer was always Dawn's favorite. But Buffy had to admit that she seriously loved the song she was dancing to.
But I keep cruising
Can't stop, won't stop moving
It's like I got this music
In my mind
Saying, "It's gonna be alright."
After all, weren't things always okay in the end?
'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Buffy let herself get lost in the music, shaking her hips and shoulders, using all the moves that Faith taught her in her hip-hop dance class. Little did she know that from the shadows of the club, somebody was watching her dance.
I never miss a beat
I'm lightning on my feet
And that's what they don't see, mmm-mmm
That's what they don't see, mmm-mmm
He always admired her from afar. They knew each other in passing, but couldn't exactly call themselves "friends." This was the first time he saw her dancing and he couldn't take his eyes off her.
I'm dancing on my own (dancing on my own)
I make the moves up as I go (moves up as I go)
And that's what they don't know, mmm-mmm
That's what they don't know, mmm-mmm
She wasn't bumping and grinding the way all the other girls in the club were. She actually used her feet and tapped out to the rhythm, even as she was jerking her arms and legs around. She let the music tell her what to do. She was poetry in motion. And he couldn't wait to see if he can dance along with her.
Of course, Buffy danced like she was the only one in the room.
But I keep cruising
Can't stop, won't stop grooving
It's like I got this music
In my mind
Saying, "It's gonna be alright."
'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
The guys in the club starting approaching the girls. Buffy told her friends that it was okay if they found guys to dance with so long as they all went home together. Willow and Tara were already at a table, sharing a drink with each other. Faith was sizing up Angel, who was fuming from a fight with Cordelia. Fred and Illyria pulled a couple of guys from the bar while Anya was being pursued by Buffy's old friend, Xander, and Buffy's professor, Giles.
Guys were approaching Buffy, too, but she didn't want any of them.
Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
As Buffy kept dancing, she looked up at the club's balcony and saw Riley there with Little Miss Society Lady. Buffy felt all resolve starting to leave her, so she kept dancing in the hopes of shaking it off.
Shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off
Hey, hey, hey
Just think while you've been getting down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world,
You could've been getting down to this sick beat.
My ex-man brought his new girlfriend
She's like "Oh, my god!" but I'm just gonna shake.
Unfortunately, the spotlight was straight on her and Samantha Whatsherface was pointing her out. But the song wasn't over yet.
And to the fella over there with the hella good hair
Won't you come on over, baby? We can shake, shake, shake
Buffy looked around for someone, anyone to dance with. Then she finally saw him. The guy in the black leather duster with the bleach blonde curls. Gathering up every ounce of inner strength she could muster, she did a come-hither gesture to the hottie.
As the bridge of the song came to a stop, the man in the shadows stepped into the light, eyes wide with shock as Buffy pulled him by his jacket and kissed him.
Yeah ohhh
'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate (haters gonna hate)
I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Spike's eyes closed as he felt the softness of Buffy's lips against his. He wasn't expecting a kiss right off the bat, but he knew it had something to do with whoever she was looking at. He was out in the hopes of finding Drusilla, so he knew the kiss wasn't real. But oh the taste of her lips. He could drink of her for days.
Buffy didn't mean for the kiss to go as long as it did. But whoever she was kissing was good. His lips were soft, but his body was nice and firm. Her hands trailed down his chest and felt a set of tight abs hiding under his shirt.
As Buffy let go of the kiss to let herself breathe, she looked up at the balcony and saw Riley's eyes roll with disgust. She looked back at the guy she kissed, into his bright blue eyes, and decided then and there she didn't give a single shit what Riley thought. She kept staring into the alleged stranger's eyes and realized that she recognized him. Wesley's cousin, William something. Except he called himself Spike.
"I hope you don't think I do this to every guy I meet," Buffy said. "I was just kind of in an emergency situation."
"Hey, I didn't mind." There was a sexy gleam in his eyes, that confident bad boy look that made her heart pound. And he stuck out his tongue a little in a way that made her want to shove that tongue down her throat. But before she could get another word out, she felt herself being twirled and dipped. Buffy giggled as she stood back up and continued dancing with Spike.
Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break (mmmm)
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake (and fake, and fake, and fake)
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
The two of them danced together, making conversation as they kept shaking to the beat. As the song came to an end, Buffy held Spike's face in her hands and kissed him again. She let their tongues play, felt arms wrapping, but the song came to an end all too soon.
Shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off
As another song started playing, Spike and Buffy broke out of the kiss and went to a table to make some actual conversation. It turned out that the two of them were already acquainted. They were both in English Lit, with Spike taking the class on a grad school level. Buffy's friends flocked to their table, introducing Buffy to the guys they found.
Hours later, the DJ called out for the last song of the night, a song from days gone by called "Closing Time." Buffy and Spike were one of the few people left in the club, so lost in conversation they were for God knows how long.
"So you wanna take me home?" Buffy asked.
"After one last dance, luv," Spike said.
Spike pulled her to the dance floor and the two of them shared a slow, loving dance.
A few years later, the two of them would share another slow, loving dance. This time, with Buffy dressed in white and Spike dressed in a tux. The song they danced to, however, wasn't the song that played when they first kissed, or even the song that closed out the night when they first met, either. It wasn't even "Wind Beneath My Wings," no matter how hard Buffy tried to deny how badly she wanted it to be "their song."
Instead, it was a song that Spike wrote and had his friend Oz sing. It was a cheeky song laced with innuendos, but it sounded sweet when sung by Oz. The two of them sang it softly to each other, lost in their own world, just as they were the night they first kissed.
"Look at me, looking at you, looking at me, looking in your eyes…"