Spike had watched Xander's performance from the audience, having been the first performer himself. He was good. He was damn good. Better than Spike would've expected him to be, anyway.

He watched Helen finish the evening off with a faint smile of appreciation, and then made his way backstage again to congratulate Xander, but he'd missed him. He shrugged and headed outside to get some air and have a smoke, and that was when he found Xander curled up at the base of a tree. "S'wrong?" he asked, dropping into a crouch at Xander's side. "You did a good job in there."