Buffy, Willow and I walked into Giles' apartment to see Giles and Xander sitting together.

"Hello, people," Willow told them.

Xander seemed surprised to see me. "Hey, Zo. Assassin of Zonia."

Giles held up the sketch of the commando guy I had told them about.

"It's my late night storm trooper pal," I told them.

"It's--it's just for reference, you know," Giles told me. "But fairly accurate you'd say?"

I nodded. "That's your man."

"Your man, actually," Giles told us, looking from Buffy to me. "You two are patrolling tonight, right?"

I nodded. "Right."

"Wrong," Buffy told me. "I told you I am taking you to the party tonight. Hopefully, a 'no fighting, no biting' kind of deal."

"Look, somebody's got to find out who these people are," Giles told us.

"Giles, we live in a dorm now," Buffy told him. "The girls in our hall want to party, Zoey needs some cheering up. Willow and I are going to take her."

"She's dealing," Willow told them. "We're helping. It's hard. Ergo, party. You two can take patrol. Now, if you'll excuse me, we need to go find something to wear tonight."

Willow and Buffy pulled me out of the house.

  ~~~~   

Buffy, Willow and I were sitting in Psyche class.

I was trying to get my pen to work, hands covered in ink. "Stupid pen." I looked at the smudges over my paper. "My notes."

"Ballpoints can be tricky," Willow told us.

"I'll see you all tomorrow," Walsh told us.

Buffy, Willow and I stood, walking out, into the hallway.

"I noticed Riley left off Oz's name today in roll call," Willow told me.

"Yeah," I agreed. "He's not in school anymore. He dropped out. Looks like he's gone for good."

Buffy and Willow looked at me sadly. 

I walked along more quickly.

  ~~~~   

I was lying down in the dorm room, sighing.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I told them. Riley walked in, closing the door behind him. "Oh, Riley. Hi."

"Hi," Riley told me. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

I turned the radio off. "What's up?"

Riley looked nervous. "Right to the point. Okay. I was thinking of asking out Buffy."

"She's not here," I told them.

"I know," Riley told me. I saw Buffy's open bag of weapons on the floor by her bed, slightly alarmed. "See, I don't know that much about Buffy." I stood slowly, stepping cautiously over to Buffy's bed as to not drag attention to what I was doing. "But I'm interested in what she likes, and so far, well, the only thing that I know she likes is you, and Willow."

I scooted the bag under the bed with a foot easily. "What--what do you want me to do?"

"Just tell me something," Riley told me. "Anything. Just give me a clue to... something that will start us talking, you know?" I sat on my bed. Riley sat on Buffy's. "I'm thinking that 'how about them Broncos' won't really cut it."

"Okay, say that I help, and you start a conversation," I told him. "It goes great. You like Buffy, she likes you. You spend time together, feelings grow deeper, and one day, without even realizing it, you find you're in love. Time stops, and it feels like the whole world's made for you two, and you two alone, until the day one of you leaves and rips the still-beating heart from the other, who's now a broken, hollow, mockery of the human condition."

Riley looked a bit put out. "Yep, that's the plan."

"I figured it was," I told him.

"Oh, look, if you want to tell me to go to Hell, that's okay," Riley told me. "Maybe this is the last thing you want to talk about. I just feel that, well, I've never courted anyone like Buffy before. I don't think I've ever met anyone like Buffy before."

"Trust me, you haven't," I told him. "But why should I trust you?"

"Just sort of hoping you'd think I have an honest face," Riley told me.

"I've seen honest faces before," I told him. "They usually come attacked to liars."

"All right," Riley told me. "I guess I'm not gonna win here. And I appreciate you wanting to protect your friend." He stood. "I guess, uh, she kind of brings that out in people."

Riley walked toward the door.

I hesitated. "She likes cheese."

Riley turned back. "What?"

"Well, I'm not saying it's the key to her heart, but Buffy?" I asked. "She likes cheese."

Riley nodded. "That's a start."

"She has a stuffed piggy named Mr. Gordo, loves ice capades without the irony, and she and Willow are dragging me to this party tonight at the Lowell House," I told him.

Riley sat next to me on the bed, encouraged. "Oh, you're going? That's my house. I live there."

"Well, it'll give you a chance to interact," I told him.

"Hey, does she ever talk about me?" Riley asked. "Like, has she ever said..."

I shook my head. "Sorry."

"That's discouraging," Riley told me. "Still, I feel like I have a fighting chance with my new accomplice."

"I'm not your accomplice," I told him.

"No, no, of course not," Riley told me.

"I'm not," I told him.

"You're not," Riley agreed.

"We're clear?" I asked.

Riley nodded. "We're clear."

  ~~~~   

Buffy, Willow and I walked into the party at Lowell House.

Willow looked at me. "Looks cool."

I looked around. "Uh-huh."

"Look, we could go," Buffy offered.

"No, no," I told them. "We're here for fun. I, uh... I kinda wanna be partier Zoey again. You know, the one that danced all night, and--and--and actually loved to be single because she felt like nothing could hold her down. I actually miss that Zoey."

"We do, too," Willow told me.

"Come on," Buffy told me. "Bring that Zoey back." I managed a smile. "Oh, look. Some of the guys are here already."

I found who I was looking for. "I'm gonna grab a soda. You guys go ahead. I'm gonna catch up."

"Okay," Buffy told me.

Buffy and Willow walked into the party.

I walked toward Riley, leaning against the divider that was between us. "Okay, she's wearing the halter top with sensible shoes. That means mostly dancing, light contact, but don't push your luck. Heavy conversation's out of question."

"So, what do I do?" Riley asked.

"Ask her to dance," I answered in a duh voice. 

Riley nodded nervously. "Right. Dance." He turned to face me. "Wait. No."

I turned to face Riley. "What's the matter?"

"I can't dance," Riley answered.

I gave him a seriously look, annoyed. "Then talk. Keep eye contact. Funny is good, but don't be glib. And remember. If you hurt her, I will beat you to death with a shovel." Riley looked at me in confusion. "A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend." I smiled, patting him on the arm. "Have fun."

"Anybody tell you you're really intimidating?" Riley asked.

I nodded, looking down. "Once or twice."

Riley took a nervous drink, walking toward Buffy, making his way through the crowd toward her. "Excuse me. Hi."

"Hi," Buffy told him.

"Um... Buffy..." Riley trailed off, looking at a loss. "You do the reading on chapter 9?"

Buffy gave him an amused look. "Uh-huh."

"Wow," Riley told her. "Some, theories, huh?" Buffy barely nodded, weirdly. Riley held up a cube of cheese on a stick. "Cheese?"

  ~~~~   

Buffy and Willow were dancing on their own.

Riley and I were sitting on a couch.

Riley was glum. "I can't believe it. I choked."

I nodded. "You really, really did."

"You don't understand," Riley told me. "I'm good at things. That's what I do. Work hard, apply myself, get it done."

"Well, you failed extremely well," I told him. 

Riley sighed. "That's a great comfort to me."

"You need to relax," I told him. "I mean, you're not proposing. You're just making contact, getting a reaction. Any reaction is okay, except projectile vomiting. But, what are the chances of that..."

I heard a Dingoes Ate My Baby song start to play, looking away, depressed.

Riley noticed. "Are you okay?"

I took a deep breath. "This song..." 

"Oh, yeah, it's a tape of some bands from last year's party," Riley told me. "Associations?"

I nodded. "Big."

"Bad?" Riley asked. I nodded barely, avoiding eye contact. Riley looked toward the DJ. "AJ!"

Riley made a cutting motion over his throat.

AJ nodded, changing the music, ignoring the murmur of protests from the crowd.

I looked at Riley. "Thank you. Now go find Buffy."

"There's no hurry," Riley told me. "I mean, if you want to talk..."

"No," I told him. "I... I'm just gonna go." I stood, grabbing my jacket, sighing. "I want you to find Buffy and tell her that I left to go do some of our extra curricular activities and not to worry about me. Which, at least, will give you something to say."

"Thanks," Riley told me.

"You'll do fine," I told him, walking out of the house, leaving.

Xander ran toward me. "Zoey! I've been looking all over for you. We need..." He looked around at the partiers on the outside of the house. "Need to talk, uh, not here. And, uh... And Buffy."

I nodded, sighing.

  ~~~~   

Buffy, Xander, Giles and I were in Giles' apartment.

Spike was back.

"What is wrong with him?" I asked in frustration. "Spike fights me here on campus, and then he follows me and Oz to LA to get the gem back, and now he follows us back to get revenge now that he knows that Angel destroyed the ring?"

"He's resilient," Giles told us.

"It's my night off and Zoey's night of dealing," Buffy told us.

"We have to assume that Spike's main target is the two of you," Giles told us.

"Fine," I told them. "You know what? He's worn out his welcome. Tonight, I kill him."

"You have a plan?" Giles asked.

"I am the plan," I told them. "I took the ring from him here in Sunnydale, I took it back from him in LA, and gave it to Angel so he could destroy it. Pretty sure he's mostly mad at me. I go alone. No arguments. Lead him away from the popular places and give him what he wants." I looked at Buffy. "You go back to your night off. I needed something to get me a little more to myself anyway."

I turned to leave.

Buffy stood. "Oh, wait, wait. Take this."

Buffy handed me a flare gun.

"A flare gun?" I asked. "Buffy, if I find Spike, I'm staking him, not signaling ships at sea."

"You get into trouble..." Buffy trailed off.

"Okay," I told her. "I'll flare."

"And I'll come a-running," Buffy told me.

I walked out, leaving.

  ~~~~   

The commando guys were in the dorm hallway outside of our dorm room, restraining Spike, putting a bag over his head. 

"Bag and tag it," Commando 1 told them. "We're gone."

Commando 2 looked at Willow.  "Sir, civilian could have turned."

"Leave her," Commando 1 told them.

"We can't neglect quarantine, sir," Commando 2 told them.

Spike broke free, grabbing a gun from Commando 3, using it to hit him and Commando 1 in the head, making them fall back. He groaned, yelling in pain. Commando 2 pushed Spike against the wall. Spike pulled out an emergency fire extinguisher, using it to hit Commando 2 in the head, making him fall. Spike groaned in pain. Commando 1 tried to shoot Spike with a stake gun. Spike used the fire extinguisher to protect his heart and chest. The CO2 gas was released from the extinguisher as a result, releasing it all through the air.

Willow crawled toward our room.

"Stop her!" Commando 3 told them.

Commando 2 grabbed Willow. "She's contained."

"Contain this," I told them.

Commando 2 turned to face me.

I shot off the flare gun, the flare bouncing around the room, blinding everyone momentarily.

The commandos were overwhelmed because of their night vision goggles. They pulled them off instantly.

I ushered Willow into our room, closing the door.

Commando 1 grabbed me, pushing me against the wall, trying to kick me. I rolled out of the way, turning to face him. Commando 1 tried to punch me. I ducked to the side. He tried to backhand punch me. I raised an arm to block the move, punching him in the face.

Buffy pushed Commando 2 against the wall, punching him repeatedly in the chest and stomach.

Spike ran past us toward the door.

"Hostile's escaping!" Commando 3 told us.

"Move!" Commando 1 told them.

Commando 1 and Commando 2 pushed Buffy and me back to back.

Spike shattered through a window, falling to the ground outside.

I grabbed a chair from nearby, using it to hit Commando 1 in the head, making him fall to the floor.

Buffy roundhouse kicked Commando 2 in the chest. He tried to punch her. Buffy caught his arm, flipping him to the floor.

Commando 1 stood, stopping the others from making another attack. "Abort!"

The commandos ran out, leaving.

The lights turned on.

The doors unlocked.

Students walked out of their dorm rooms into the smoke-filled hallway.

Buffy and I ran toward Willow.

We looked around, walking into our dorm room, closing the door behind us.

  ~~~~   

According to Willow, Spike had tried to kill her, had tried to feed off her, or had tried to turn her into a vampire, but he couldn't hurt her, in any way. The reason why he kept groaning in pain when he had been fighting against the commandos had been because of whatever the hell had happened to him.

I didn't know what was happening, but some freaking answers would be nice.