TITLE: “One Thing Leads to Another”

AUTHOR: Alessandra “Pamela”

EMAIL: destructo-girl@...

RATING: NC17 overall

DISTRIBUTION:  My sites… anyone else, just ask.

PREVIOUS PARTS: Can be found at my site - http://destructo-girl.com

FEEDBACK:  I would love it if you were so inclined. :)

SPOILERS:  This takes place after “The Gift” except Buffy didn’t die.

SUMMARY:  Buffy and Graham run into each other and find out they get along *really* well.  But will their loyalty to Riley keep them apart?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” characters or situations (I will even give my story ideas to Joss in exchange for a day on the set).  I am borrowing them, without permission, and I mean no harm to them.  They all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox, and Warner Brothers.  I wrote this purely for entertainment and not at all for profit.

NOTE: This has not been beta read, so please excuse any mistakes. 

***

“Dawn!” Lisa hissed.

Dawn rushed to her friend’s side, “What is it?”

“He came!”

“What?”

“Graham!  He just walked in,” Lisa explained.

Dawn peered out the curtains that Lisa had slightly parted and saw that Graham was indeed standing just inside the doors at the back of the auditorium.

“Oh boy,” she bit her lip.

“What?” Lisa asked, “This is just how we’d planned.”

“I know,” Dawn replied, “But I hadn’t really taken into account the whole Buffy wanting to kill me factor.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it!  Think he will find them?”

***

“Maybe I should just go buy a Wonderbra and get a job at Hooters.  Granted, it’s not a big respect-garnering job, but I could make good money off of horny guys,” Buffy grinned.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Riley replied quickly.

Buffy chuckled, “You don’t like that idea?”

“No, having you earn your living being ogled by men is not my dream come true,” he answered.

“But what if I seriously wanted to do it?”

“Seriously?  Well, I won’t lie… I wouldn’t be thrilled.  It would probably bother me, but I’ll back you up with whatever you want to do.”

“Really?  That’s so sweet.”

“Really,” he nodded.  “Well, maybe not if you decided to go work in one of those legal brothels in Nevada.  I can handle guys looking at you, but not touching.  That would exceed my limits as the understanding and supportive boyfriend.”

She smiled, “Works for me.  And if it helps, I have no plans to go anywhere near any brothels.  Or even strip clubs.”

“Good, that’s a relief,” Riley joked.

“Uh… hi…”

The two of them looked up and saw Graham standing next to the end of the row of chairs they were seated in.

“Graham,” Buffy replied, surprised.

“Hi,” he said, then added, “Judging by the look on your face, I am guessing Dawn didn’t tell you she called me last night and asked me to come see her play, did she?”

Buffy shook her head, “No, she didn’t.  Oh, but it’s cool.  I’m glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, me too,” Riley agreed, gesturing to the empty seat at the end of the row, which happened to be on the other side of Buffy, “Why don’t you sit there?”

“Okay.  You’re sure you don’t mind?”

“No, not at all,” Buffy assured him.

Graham sat beside Buffy awkwardly, inwardly wishing that he’d just lied and told Dawn he had to work or something.  He never should have let guilt get him into this situation.  Now he would have to watch Buffy with Riley all night.

Buffy gave him a small smile.  “It’s good to see you again.  It’s been a while.”

Graham couldn’t help but return the smile as he remembered the other reason Dawn had been able to convince him to come.  Even if he had to see her with Riley, he’d really missed Buffy.

“Yeah, you know, I kind of feel bad, like I am monopolizing Buffy’s time.  You guys hung out before I got back and now you never see each other,” Riley said.

Buffy and Graham both averted their eyes, feeling a rush of embarrassment at the truth behind their lack of contact lately.

“I just didn’t want to intrude.  You two have a lot of catching up to do,” Graham answered quietly.

“You wouldn’t be intruding, would he, Buffy?”

“No, of course not.”

“Maybe we can all do something together soon,” Riley suggested.

“Okay,” Graham nodded, unsure of how he felt about that.  Riley was his best friend and Buffy… well, he wasn’t sure what she was to him, but he definitely enjoyed spending time with her.  He just didn’t want to have to endure watching them kissing or groping.

Before the awkward conversation could continue, the lights dimmed, signaling the beginning of the play.  Grateful for the escape, Buffy sat back and focused her attention on the stage, trying to forget the fact that she was seated between her boyfriend and secret former lover.

***

“What?” Dawn asked, noticing the stares she was receiving from the other three people at her table as she poured ketchup all over her nachos.

“You’re really going to eat that?” Riley asked.

“Sure, it’s really good.  Want to try?”

“No,” he answered quickly, “but thank you.”

Buffy just smiled and shrugged at he and Graham, “Dawn likes to eat on the wild side.”

“And I am starving.  I was so nervous about the play, I could hardly eat a thing all day.”

“Well, you did great,” Buffy told her.  “I’m very proud of you.”

“I wasn’t surprised; I knew you were great when I helped you practice for the audition,” Graham said.

“You helped her run lines?” Riley asked, surprised.  He hadn’t realized Graham had been quite so involved with Buffy’s life.

“Graham and I are very good friends,” Dawn grinned, hoping it would bother Riley to know that his best friend was closer to his girlfriend’s sister than he was.  Not that she got the impression Riley was dying to be her best bud, but if he was close to Dawn he would score more points with Buffy.  “Speaking of, you know, next week is my birthday and Buffy says I have can have people over.  Graham, you will come, won’t you?”

“Uh,” he looked at Buffy to see if she seemed to not want him around, but didn’t find anything on her to make him feel unwanted.  Nodding, he replied, “I’d love to.”

“Great!”

“Hey Dawn, do I get to come to your party too?” Riley asked, jokingly.  He figured since he was Buffy’s boyfriend that it went without saying.

Dawn nodded, “I guess I have to let you come, since you’re Buffy’s love puppy.”

“Dawn!” Buffy reprimanded, “That was so rude!”

“I was kidding!” Dawn defended, an innocent look on her face, “Riley knew that, right?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, not sure if he really bought it.

“I’m sorry if you thought I was serious, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” the brunette replied, giving him a sugary sweet smile.

“I’m fine,” he nodded, “No hurt feelings here.”

Dawn considered making a pointed comment about how sensitive he was before he left Buffy, taking everything personally and all that, but Buffy wouldn’t buy the ‘I didn’t mean it’ act again.  Still, she’d managed to have quite a bit of success that night and Graham would be coming over for her birthday, so she would have more chances to meddle soon.

***

After their meals were finished, they all sat around the table in the restaurant making conversation as they digested, but Dawn and Buffy were soon yawning, ready to go home and go to bed.  Riley excused himself to go use the restroom, followed by Dawn, leaving Buffy and Graham alone at the table in awkward silence.

Buffy looked up at him and smiled, “I have been meaning to thank you.”

“Thank me?” he asked.

She nodded, “Riley told me how you explained about my mother before he came to see me when he got back.  I really appreciated it.  It was nice to not have to tell him myself.”

“Oh,” Graham replied, suddenly feeling like maybe warning Riley hadn’t been a loss for himself after all.  “It wasn’t even a decision for me, really.  I just knew it was the thing to do.”

“Well, I am really glad you did,” she said.

Not really wanting to go there, but knowing he had to, Graham broached another subject.  “Uh, about… the past few months.  You know, the stuff we did.”

“Yeah?” Buffy asked, wondering what he would say next.  That they ought to tell Riley and be completely honest.  That they should never tell Riley and protect him.  That he realized he loves her and wants to be with her.  She wasn’t sure *what* she wanted him to say, though.

“I figure it’s probably best if we keep it to ourselves.  It would only hurt Riley to know what happened and it’s not like he *needs* to know, right?  We aren’t going to do it again.”

Buffy shook her head, “No, we won’t.  I know we said we wouldn’t before and we still did, but now Riley is back and we’re together.”

“Right.  It wasn’t wrong before, but it would be wrong now.  The best thing to do is just leave the past in the past.  Riley will never find out.  You and I are the only ones who know and if we don’t tell him, who can?”

***

“Riley has no clue that they had something going on?” Lisa asked as she and Dawn flipped through magazines in Dawn’s room.

“Not as far as I can tell.  I guess Graham and Buffy both want to keep it to themselves.  They haven’t said a word to me.  Of course, they don’t know that I know.”

“Do you think they’re still doing it?”

“Nah,” Dawn shook her head, “Buffy won’t cheat on Riley.”

“I still think it would be so cool if the guys got in a fight over Buffy.  So romantic!” Lisa smiled.

Dawn laughed, “Man, Buffy would be furious.”

“Not me, I would love it,” her friend said.

“I can’t believe I have to tag along with them on their date tonight,” Dawn sighed.  “Buffy used to *hate* it when my mom tried to make her take me with them and now she is inviting me herself?”

Lisa shrugged, “Maybe Riley had the idea.  He probably figured it would make him look better to Buffy.”

“Maybe…” she sighed again, “I just have to keep reminding myself that this is for the greater good.  As much as I detest the idea of having to spend an evening watching Buffy with Riley when I know she is better off with Graham, she needs me to make getting back together with Riley impossible.”

The other girl nodded, “Even if she doesn’t know it.”

***

Dawn’s mind worked furiously as Riley and Buffy made light conversation beside her in the semi-full movie theater.  She was all about plotting to ruin the date but hadn’t come up with any ideas so far.  She did have to pat herself on the back for choosing a girlie movie to subject Riley to.  Too bad Spike wasn’t around; the two of them could share a big laugh about the military man actually paying to see ‘The Princess Diaries’.  Of course, Buffy ate that right up, adoring Riley even more for not even complaining when Dawn announced that was the movie she wanted them to watch.  But still, Riley had to endure a fate worse than a chick flick, which definitely made this little date less than perfect.

When a couple sat in front of them, Dawn got an idea.  The man sitting in front of her partially obstructed her view of the screen, so she decided it was the perfect opportunity to get Buffy to switch seats with her… which would put Dawn in between Buffy and Riley.

“Buffy, can we trade seats?” Dawn quietly asked her sister, “I can’t see over this guy’s head.”

“I’ll switch with you, Dawn,” Riley offered.

“Oh, that’s okay,” she quickly replied, “it’s easier if Buffy and I do it.”

“Dawn, you’re the same height as me.  If you can’t see, I won’t be able to either,” Buffy pointed out.

“Okay,” Dawn sighed, begrudgingly trading seats with Riley, annoyed that her attempt at screwing things up had only gotten him more points with Buffy.

***

As Dawn pouted in the backseat of Riley’s car – which wasn’t nearly as cool as Graham’s, in her opinion – she reflected on her lack of success that evening.  All she had managed to do was make Riley see a movie that he would never in a million years choose to watch, one that he really didn’t seem to mind watching.  He had even said nice things about it.  So basically, she had failed.  Lisa would be so disappointed.

In the front seat, she observed Riley reach over and clasp Buffy’s hand, sharing a tender smile with the elder Summers girl.  She wrinkled her nose as she imagined their cheesy goodbye… and then it hit her that she had one more chance to muck things up.  An idea quickly came to her and she clutched her stomach, moaning loudly.

Buffy turned around in her seat to look at her, concern etched on her face.  “What’s wrong?”

“My stomach hurts,” Dawn lied.

“It’s probably from all the candy and popcorn.  I told you that stuff was bad for you.”

“We’re almost there Dawn, just sit tight,” Riley told her.

Riley was soon pulling into the driveway and opening her door for her.  It was then that it hit her that Riley really was a pretty good guy.  He loved her sister and *usually* treated her well.  She felt a pang of guilt for plotting against him; after all, Buffy could do a lot worse.  But then she reminded herself that as nice as Riley was, Graham was better for her sister and Buffy deserved the best.  She loved her sister more than anything and if she had to screw over a nice guy, so be it.

Climbing out from the backseat, Dawn made sure to clutch her stomach and look like the might vomit at any second.  She hurried to the front door with Buffy and Riley at her heels.  After Buffy unlocked the door, Dawn rushed in, only to find her sister wasn’t following.

“Give me a second, okay Sweetie?”

Reluctantly, Dawn nodded and Buffy closed the door.  She’d been so close!  Trying to think of something else she could do, the teen peered out one of the windows beside the door, spying on Riley and Buffy.

***

“I’m sorry, I know tonight has been less than stellar,” Buffy smiled apologetically.

“What are you talking about?  I got to spend the evening with you.  Even a trip to the dentist will qualify as a great way to spend my time if you’re with me.”

“Are you saying tonight was the equivalent of a trip to the dentist?”

“Not even,” he grinned.  “The movie was… not something I would ever choose myself, but I actually liked it.  As much as a manly man like myself can enjoy a film about a princess, anyway.”

Buffy chuckled, “Don’t think I don’t appreciate what a good sport you were.  It means a lot to me that you let Dawn come with us and didn’t complain once, about anything.”

“Why would I?  I like Dawn and I missed her a lot.  Not nearly as much as her big sister, of course.”

Buffy grinned and took a step closer, somewhat unconsciously giving Riley her permission to make his move.  He opted to accept her invitation and closed the distance between them, moving his head down so that their lips would meet…

Until the door opened and Dawn, in an act of desperation, appeared.

The two quickly stepped back, turning their attention to the teen.  “Buffy, are you coming?  I feel really bad.”

“Yeah, go upstairs and I’ll bring you something to drink, okay?  I think we have ginger ale,” Buffy replied, then looked at Riley, “Want to come in?”

“Actually, I have to get to bed soon.  I have an early day at work.”

“Me too,” she sighed, “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure,” Riley nodded, “Feel better, Dawn.  Bye you two.”

“Bye,” Buffy said before closing the door.

Dramatically, Dawn trudged up the stairs, still clutching her stomach as though she was in great agony.  Once she was alone in her room, she allowed herself a small victory dance before slipping on her pajamas and climbing into bed so Buffy wouldn’t suspect anything.  The night was far from a total disappointment!

***

“I can’t believe you are leaving Lisa and I alone tonight,” Dawn frowned at her sister’s reflection in the bathroom mirror as Buffy curled her hair.

“Why?” the blonde asked, “Lisa’s mother said it was fine.”

“Yeah, but we could do something bad without you here to supervise and get into trouble.”

Buffy smiled at her, “No you won’t.  I trust you and I know you wouldn’t want to disappoint me.”

Dawn pouted; she had really gotten here there.

Running a brush through her curls, Buffy looked at her sister, “Do you not want me to go out with Riley tonight?”

The younger girl looked up and met her sister’s eyes.  She knew that she could very easily tell Buffy she wanted her to stay home and maybe she would.  But she also knew she couldn’t.  Buffy didn’t deserve to feel guilty about leaving her and that’s exactly what she would be doing.

“Nah, I just like to give you a hard time.  You know, make you worry all night about what we’re up to,” Dawn said with a small smile.

Buffy turned around and grinned at her, “Won’t happen.  Like I said, I trust you.  Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go get dressed.”

As her sister left her alone in the bathroom, Dawn sighed.  Riley had gotten sneaky this time.  He had found out that Lisa was spending the night and used it to his advantage, asking Buffy to go out to some super fancy restaurant with him so he knew it would be just the two of them.  It would have served him right if Buffy had brought both girls along!

***

“They’re going to kiss,” Dawn complained to Lisa as the two of them sat in front of the TV, half-watching MTV while Buffy finished getting ready for her date upstairs.

“You’re sure?”

She nodded, “I told you, they almost did the other night and the only reason they didn’t was that I interrupted.  Riley’s taking her to some fancy restaurant tonight, very romantic, I know they’re going to kiss.”

“Well, it’s not a good thing, but it’s definitely not sealing the deal.  On a scale of bad, with ten being marriage, kissing is like a one and a half.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Lisa assured her.

The doorbell rang and both girls jumped up and rushed to the door.

“Remember, we have to be nice to him.  Nobody can know that you have any objections to him dating Buffy,” Lisa reminded her friend.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Dawn agreed grudgingly before opening the door and plastering a half-hearted fake smile on her face, “Hi Riley.”

“Hi Dawn, Lisa,” he replied with a warm smile on his face.  He was all decked out in a nice suit and carrying a bouquet of red roses.  “How are you two doing?”

“We’re great,” Lisa grinned, “Come on in!”

Riley stepped into the foyer, “I guess Buffy’s still getting ready, huh?”

“Yeah, she takes forever,” Dawn groused, then screamed at the top of her lungs, “BUFFY!”

Riley looked taken aback as Lisa shot her friend a dirty look.  While she wasn’t being openly hostile towards Riley, he would have to be an idiot not to notice that she wasn’t being very friendly.  And a glance at Riley’s face proved that he definitely wasn’t an idiot.

“You brought Buffy roses?  That’s so romantic!” Lisa smiled.

“Thanks,” he responded, “Buffy’s very special to me, and I want to show her that.”

“Aww,” Lisa sighed, feeling like she could melt in a puddle.  It was like a scene out of one of her romance novels.

Dawn had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes.  Leave it to Lisa to completely forget their goal.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Buffy announced as she rushed down the stairs while digging through her purse to make sure she had her keys.

As soon as she came into Riley’s line of sight, she took his breath away.  As far as he was concerned, Buffy was the most gorgeous woman on Earth, from her hair styled in a French twist with loose tendrils framing her face to her black strappy sandals on her feet.  She was wearing a simple black spaghetti strap dress that fell to just above her knees and managed to show enough skin to have him salivating, yet still covered enough to make him wonder what he was missing – despite the fact that he had been in a position to know *exactly* what he was missing on more than one occasion.

“You look so beautiful,” he said honestly as she climbed down the last few steps.

A wide smile spread on her face as she blushed slightly, “Thank you.  You look very handsome.”

“Buffy, you really do look great,” Lisa added.

“Thanks, Lisa… Dawn helped,” replied Buffy, twirling around for her sister to see the final results.

“I did good,” Dawn smiled.  As much as she hated this, Buffy really seemed to be looking forward to her date with Riley and she really deserved to have a good night.

Remembering the roses in his hand, Riley held them up, “Uh, I got these for you.”

Buffy took them and grinned, “That’s so sweet, thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” he told her, “Were you ready to go?”

“Here, I’ll put those in water for you,” Lisa offered.

Buffy handed her the roses, “Thanks.  Okay, you two, you know the rules, so behave yourselves.  If you need anything, you can call Mrs. Pearson or me.  I wrote down the restaurant’s phone number and put it on the refrigerator.”

“Do you have my cell phone number?” Riley asked.

“Yeah, that’s on the fridge too,” Buffy nodded.

After giving her sister a peck on the cheek, she took Riley’s arm.  “Have fun, you two.”

“You guys too,” said Dawn, with all the enthusiasm she could muster, which wasn’t much.

As soon as the door closed behind Buffy and Riley, she sighed and followed her friend into the kitchen, “You were *so* not helpful.”

Lisa bit her bottom lip as she found a vase and put some water in it, “I know, it’s just… Riley’s so nice and he adores your sister and he’s pretty easy on the eyes.  I’m just not sure that breaking them up is such a good idea.”

“It *is*,” Dawn insisted, “Yeah, Riley’s great, but so is Graham and *Graham* is the one that Buffy should be with.  He suits her better.”

“How can you be so sure?  Buffy’s an adult and it’s *her* life.  Don’t you think she knows what is best for herself?”

“No!  Lisa, trust me, Buffy tends to make screwy decisions when it comes to love.  There are a lot of reasons why she is dating Riley and it’s not because she’s in love with him.”

“But they went out for, like, a year.  That was before Graham, so it wasn’t because she felt guilty.”

“Things change!  Buffy was busy worrying about my mom and I, and Riley got all upset because she wasn’t obsessed with him so he bailed on her.  Remember that, Lisa?  He left Buffy.  Graham has been here for Buffy through a lot of stuff that Riley missed,” Dawn sighed, “I know I am not being entirely fair.  I can’t really credit Graham for not leaving because it’s a different situation.  And I know I can’t completely blame Riley for not being here for Buffy when Graham was.  But the fact of the matter is Riley has done some stuff that, to me, proves he’s not the one for Buffy.  He’s not strong enough to be what she needs and I think Graham is.  She’s my sister and I know her.  Graham is the one for her.  You have to believe me.”

Lisa nodded slowly, “I believe you.”

“Good,” Dawn grinned, hugging her friend.

Lisa set the vase on the counter, “Come on, it looks like we need to start coming up with ideas.”

“Do you think they’ll kiss tonight?”  Dawn asked as they walked back in the living room.

“Judging by the way they were looking at each other?  I think we’d better stay up until Buffy gets home.  Otherwise they may end up in bed together.”

“Crap,” Dawn groaned, flopping down on the couch.

TBC...