R.J. Brooks

R.J. Brooks was a Sunnydale High student and the younger brother of Lance Brooks. He was portrayed by Thad Luckinbill.

Biography
R.J. was a Sunnydale High student at the time of its reconstruction and a classmate of Dawn Summers. He owned an enchanted quarterback jacket, which he inherited from his brother, Lance, who, in turn, got it from their father. The jacket caused women within a close proximity to fall in love with the wearer.

Dawn fell in love with R.J. one afternoon as she ws sitting on the benches near the field. She noticed R.J. putting on his jacket and drinking water, falling instantly under the spell. Later that day, Dawn approached him while he he was talking with his friends (teammate O'Donnell, girlfriend Lori and fellow cheerleader Cheryl, but he subsequently brushed Dawn off. In order to get him to notice her, Dawn tried out for the cheerleading team the next day, but only succeeded in making a big fool of herself in front of R.J.



The following day, Dawn overheard O'Donnell boasting to R.J. that he had gotten the quarterback position. To ensure R.J.'s position as quarterback, Dawn pushed O'Donnell down the stairs, and is subsequently sent to the principal's office, where she denied her involvement in O'Donnell's accident. Later, R.J., impressed with Dawn's standing up to Principal Wood, asked her out on a date. The two of them went to The Bronze that night; however Buffy was there to witness them dancing very closely, and confronts Dawn privately.

Dawn leaves, and then faces Lori outside The Bronze. After a brief catfight, Lori leaves, warning her to stay away from R.J.

The next day, R.J. was sent to Principal Wood because of his tendency of getting girls to do his homework for him. R.J. faced Buffy, who fell for him as he put on his jacket. The following day, Buffy pulled him out of class and brings him to a vacant room, where they nearly have sex, if not for Dawn's appearance. After running into Xander, Dawn got him to interrupt Buffy, finding him already on top of R.J., before they actually do anything.



While Xander and Spike interrogated Lance, R.J. arrived at the Summers' house. Willow and Anya, who answer the door, fall for him too. The girls argued over R.J., and decided to prove their love for him. Willow began to perform a spell to turn R.J. into a woman to fulfill her sexual preference, while Anya went off to rob a bank. Buffy decided to kill Principal Wood, and Dawn, realizing she would never have R.J., layed herself across the train tracks in order to give her life for love. Save for the robbery, all the girls were stopped by Xander and Spike, who then stole R.J.'s jacket and burned it.

Trivia

 * It is unknown whether or not R.J. is aware of his jacket's appeal, because the context implies both answers are possible, although the script more or less confirms that he isn't.
 * Every time a girl falls in love with R.J., the theme song from "A Summer's Place" plays in the background.
 * At the time of filming, Thad Luckinbill (who plays R.J.) is 10 whole years older than Michelle Trachtenberg. He's also two years older than Sarah Michelle Gellar.