AN: Thanks to Patty for helping with this. It turned out a lot better with her help.

***********

Willow Rosenberg took her best friend, Buffy, to buy her first computer. Buffy was a little wary about getting a new computer, since she barely knew how to use the one at their shop, but Willow had promised to help her with that.



They had been in business together for a few years now, and it was a huge success in the Wiccan community. Their little shop sold everything from antiquarian spell books to mandrake root. Anya, their clerk, brought in a great deal of business. Both Buffy and Willow were fond of her, even though she tended to focus a little too intently on profit instead of customor satisfaction. In fact, her love of money sometimes bordered on greed. She inventoried the cash drawer several times a day, and had once gone to the absurd extreme of taking it's contents home with her, insisting that she didn't trust banks to provide enough security. When her employers found out about it, they'd put an immediate stop to her actions, but kindly, since Anya was a friend.



Buffy was apprehensive about getting on the internet. She heard about a lot crazies out there, and she didn’t want anything to do with that scene.



“Oh, Wil, I’m not sure about this,” Buffy said, browsing the desktop computers at Best Buy.



“There’s nothing to it Buffy. You hook it up, and you go from there. It’s not a big deal,” Willow replied, examining the laptops. “Here, how about this one?” Willow showed Buffy a Sony Vaio with excitement. “It has Pentium 4.”



“Like I know what that means,” came Buffy’s sarcastic comment, with a role of her eyes.



“Oh come on. This will be good for you,” Willow told Buffy as she was walking away to get a sales associate. "I mean, this IS the computer age, Buff. Do you want to fall

behind everyone else?"



“Willow.” Buffy tried to stop her friend, but it was no use, she was already gone. “You know best,” she muttered as she turned to go to the DVD’s. She had faith in Willow to pick the right thing for her.



As Buffy turned the aisle, she stopped abruptly when she saw the most perfect man she’d ever seen. He was tall, blonde, and gorgeous. He was wearing a black tee-shirt and black jeans, snug in all the right places. He turned to see Buffy staring at him and flashed her a charming smile. Buffy shyly smiled back, and walked down to the next

aisle.



She continued browsing, occasionally stealing a look here and there. This went on for several minutes, until she started to get enough nerve to go over and talk to him. Unfortunately, Willow found her first.


”There you are. I’ve been looking all over the store for you. I’ve got your laptop and printer up at the service desk.”



Buffy hadn’t been paying attention. She was trying to watch the cute guy in the next

aisle.



“Buffy!” Willow tried getting her friends attention.



“Hmm? Did you say something, Willow?”



“Yeah, everything is up at the service desk. They are waiting for us to check out.”



“Ok,” Buffy said reluctantly, still wanting to stay and look at the god in the next aisle, but when she looked over, he was gone. Oh well, guess it wasn’t meant to be. She shrugged her shoulders and followed Willow up to the check out line.



********

In the car on the way back to their apartment, Buffy was thinking about the guy at Best Buy. She really did feel some kind of connection to him, but it could be that she hadn’t been with anyone since Parker. Wasn’t much to brag about there, she laughed inwardly.



Her first lover, Angel, had abandoned her right after they slept together. She had waited a long time to give herself over to him, only to have her heart broken. She wasn’t sure she could do it again, but this guy, she felt like kicking herself for letting him get away.



Willow noticed that Buffy was unusually quiet as they pulled up to the curb. Their apartment was an old three story brownstone. Buffy and Willow lived on the second floor.



Willow put the car in park. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”



“No, nothing.” Buffy turned towards Willow. "It's just...have you ever had a connection with someone that you've never even met?"



“What do you mean?”



“I saw this guy at Best Buy. So totally NOT my usual type. He was tall, blonde, and gorgeous,” Buffy described, dreamily. “I was about to go up to him, when you came over, then before we left, he was gone.”



“Aww, I’m sorry honey.”



“I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”



"Don't worry, Buffy, if it was meant to be, you'll see him again." Willow smiled. It had been so long since Buffy had shown interest in a man. She really hoped that happiness would find her friend this time.



"Willow, did I tell you what a great friend you are?"



"Nope, not today, but feel free to say it anytime you feel like it."



"Well, you are." Buffy hugged Willow.



"We're never going to get this hooked up, if we're sitting in the car," Willow joked.



"Oh yeah, right, let's go inside," Buffy giggled.



The girls turned, grabbed their purchases, exited the car, and headed up to their apartment.



*********

While Willow was setting the computer up, Buffy went to Sam’s Diner to pick up their dinner. They ate there frequently, since neither of them cooked. About the only thing they could do was boil water for macaroni and cheese. When they didn’t feel like eating at Sam's, they ordered out from various other places, such as Max’s and Emma’s, which was just down the road from them.



It was at Sam’s Diner that they'd met Xander Harris. Every time Willow and Buffy went in, he had been their waiter, and he'd asked Willow out after Oz had left her for another

woman.



After going out with Xander, Willow met Tara, who was co-owner of Sam’s Diner, along

with Riley and Sam Finn. She was still seeing Xander, but her heart belonged to Tara. Xander didn’t mind, it was one of his fantasy’s to be with two women at once, although Tara was all business at the diner. At home it was a different story.



When Buffy walked into the diner, she was immediately greeted by her good friend.



“Hey Buffster!”



“Xander,” Buffy said surprised to see him. She didn’t think he’d be working tonight. “How are you today?"



“Great, now that you’re here, he said. "How's my Willow?"



“Good…she took me to buy a computer today, and she’s home now setting everything up. She assures me I’ll be computer savvy in no time."



“That’s my girl!” He grinned from ear to ear.



Riley had been bussing a table, and staring at Buffy. She began to feel uncomfortable, and wanted to leave as soon as possible.



“Can you check to make sure my order is ready? Suddenly I don’t feel so much like chatting right now.” She gestured with her head over to Riley.



Xander understood. “I’ll go check on that for you,” he excused himself. He didn’t want to leave her there, but he figured that Riley wasn’t going to try anything in public. If he did, I’d kick his ass.



Once Xander was gone, Riley came over to Buffy, leaning up against the counter and

leering at her. Xander hurry up. He stepped closer to her, close enough to kiss her. Oh my god what an ass. I can’t believe he’s doing this right with his wife 10 feet away. What a lech. Buffy was appalled. She stepped back and and got ready to slap him, when Xander came walking up with her order.



“Hey Buff, got your goodies here,” He handed the bag over to Buffy. Riley stepped back suddenly, leaving them alone.



She waited till Riley was in the back before speaking. “I’m glad you came when you did.”



“I’m sorry about that. He’s a jerk. I don’t know why Sam puts up with him.”



“Why does any girl love the man she’s with?” she queried.



“She must find some redeeming qualities in him,” Xander joked.



Buffy laughed, “Yeah, I’m sure she does…well, I better get going. Willow is gonna start to worry, and you know how she gets."



“Don’t want to hold you lovely ladies up. Tell Will, I’ll be over later. Tara won’t be coming with, she's sick or something, so she’ll be over tomorrow.”



“Will do,” Buffy hugged Xander. “Bye.” She walked out of the diner, to her car and drove home.



**********

TBC

“You will not believe what happened at Sam’s,” Buffy said, entering the apartment and closing the door behind her.



“What’s that?” Willow called from the office, down the hallway.



Buffy kicked off her shoes, set her purse down and walked towards the office. “Riley, that snake!" She walked into the office. “He almost made a pass at me. Thank god for Xander. He was there before anything could happen.”



Willow turned her chair around. “Are you serious?”



“Oh yeah, if Xander didn’t come when he did, I would have slugged Riley.”



“You should have.”



“I don’t want to think what he would have done to me, right there.”



Quickly changing the subject, Willow got up from the chair. “Everything is all set. I just used the AOL service from the shop.” Willow said, triumphantly. She was excited about doing this for Buffy. She hoped that Buffy would find someone to chat with, maybe even a nice guy she could meet, and date some day.



“I don’t know if I’ll get on to the internet.” Buffy opened the bag, pulled out a chicken salad for Willow and handed it over to her friend, then Buffy pulled out a hamburger and cheese fries for herself. “Oh, I forgot the sodas. I’ll be right back.” She set down her food and left the office to go to the kitchen. A few minutes later, she returned with two diet cokes, and handed one to Willow. “Before I forget, Xander said he’ll be by later and Tara is home sick.” She took the wrapping off the hamburger and took a bite.



“Aww, Tara is sick? Maybe I’ll give her a call later. Here, sit down, check things out. I’ll guide you all the way.”



Buffy reluctantly sat down. “I set up a screen name for you. All you have to do is sign on.” Willow said in between bites.



Buffy clicked on the AOL icon and the sign up screen popped up. “Slayer?” Buffy turned to look at Willow with her brows knit in confusion. “Why’d you choose that?”


”I don’t know. It just sorta popped into my head. We can always change it later, if you want.”



Buffy shrugged and clicked on the sign on button. It went through the steps of signing on and then the ‘Welcome’ blared, startling them both. They hadn’t quite expected it. “It takes a little to get used to,” Willow laughed.



“So, now what?”



“Whatever you want…you can look up stuff for the shop…maybe even...find a date,” Willow hurried her statement.



“A date on the internet? Willow that’s just …crazy.”



“Is it?” Willow believed that love could be found anywhere, whether it be online or meeting some body in a bar. “Anya met her husband on the internet.”



“Yeah, but aren’t they divorced?”



“No…just separated. She thinks she can go after Xander now.”



“I stand corrected. Willow, I’m not ready to find love on the internet.” Buffy grabbed her food and left the office.



Who was she kidding? She wasn’t ready to find love at all. She’d been hurt so badly by Angel, and didn’t know if she’d ever be able to find anyone again. The only guy that even looked twice at her was Riley, and he gave her the wiggens. Although, there was that cute guy at Best Buy. I can’t believe I let him get away. I’ll probably never see him again. God, I’m such an idiot. I don’t even know why I bother.



She went into her bed room, sat on her bed, and turned her TV on. Her room was the most comfortable spot in the whole apartment, she thought. The walls were cream in color, carpet was also a creamy color and the bed was fit for a queen, it was so huge. It had been decked out with tans, browns and black and everything had intricate designs on it, something that Buffy had designed herself. If she hadn’t gone into business with Willow, she’d planned to be an interior designer.



She wasn’t really watching the TV, so she missed seeing that the guy she was intrigued with was anchoring the local news. When the commercial came on, she turned the TV off and finished her meal.



There was a knock to the door an hour later, and Buffy went to get up, but she heard Willow get to the door before she did. It was Xander. He was staying the night.



Buffy decided to get to bed early, since she had nothing better to do. Willow and Xander would be another story.



*********

Later that night, Buffy couldn’t sleep because of the noise in Willow’s room. Xander was a bit loud during their love making. Usually Buffy had ear plugs, but tonight she forgot to wear them, and she was paying for it.



“Ahh!” She rolled over, turned on the light, and kicked the sheets off of her. “I should have just put my damn ear plugs in. CAN YOU BE ANY LOUDER?”



Of course once she said this, Xander got louder. She quickly got out of bed, and started for the bathroom, but she thought about getting on the computer instead. Maybe it’ll pass the time, she thought, turning the other way, and heading down to the office.



Buffy sat down on the nice leather chair, pulled herself up to the desk, turned on the computer, and waited for it to load up. When it finally did, she clicked on AOL, clicked the sign on and waited for it to work through the dial up procedure. When she was finally online, she didn’t exactly know what to do, so she just started fooling around and clicking on whatever.



Soon, she stumbled into a chat room. It wasn’t like how she expected. It was lots of people propositioning people for sex. She didn’t like that, so she went to the next chat. It seemed a little bit better.



Buffy worked up the nerve up to say hi, and someone said hi back to her. She got freaked and she was about to sign off, when that person IMed her. Okay, what do

I do now?



The person said "Hi" once more, and she decided to say it back.



Slayer: Hi

Spike29: Hello yourself.

Slayer: How are you?

Spike29: Doing just fine. You?

Slayer: I’m new at this. I am really not sure what to do.

Spike29: It’s ok. I haven’t been on the internet very long either.

Slayer: You seem to be doing just fine.

Spike29: Why, thank you. J

Slayer: You’re welcome.



“God I can’t believe I’m doing this," Buffy said out loud.



Spike29: May I ask you a few questions? If I get too personal, just tell me and I’ll back off.



Buffy hesitated for a few moments before answering.



Slayer: Ok, shoot.

Spike29: What is your age?

Slayer: I’m 26.

Spike29: You are female, right?

Slayer: Yeah. Are you male?

Spike29: Very much so. Where are you from?

Slayer: California. Born and raised.

Spike29: Oh wow, what a coincidence. I live in California now.

Slayer: You’re not about to ask if we could meet, are you? Cause I don’t

know if I could do that. I gotta get to know you first.

Spike29: All in due time, love.



Just the sound of that send shivers down her spin.



Slayer: Would you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Spike29: Let’s see, where do I begin? I'm 29 and single. I’m originally from England. I just moved out here not more than 2 months ago. I am a journalist. I’ve traveled all around the world…I just felt the need to settle down and was offered a job at the local news station. I couldn’t pass it up.

Slayer: I've always wanted to go to England.

Spike29: Perhaps I could take you sometime.

Slayer: Perhaps.



Buffy suddenly felt shy, and changed the subject.




Slayer: What kinds of things have you covered?

Spike29: This and that. Won a Pulitzer.

Slayer: That’s great.



Buffy looked at the time. It was late. Time flies when you’re having fun.



Slayer: I better be going.

Spike29: Could we do this another time? I really enjoyed chatting with you.

Slayer: Sure I had a good time.

Spike29: Before you go, can I ask your name?



Should I give him my name? I don’t know. I don’t know how far I want this to go. I wish I could have met that guy in Best Buy…Just do it, Buffy. He probably doesn't anywhere near you. And what if he does? It’s not like we’re ever going to meet. This is just harmless fun. I’m gonna do it. I had fun chatting with him. I hope he doesn’t think I am a dork.



Slayer: It’s Buffy.

Spike29: Is that you’re real name?

Slayer: You don’t like it?

Spike29: It’s cute. I’m sure you're cute too.

Slayer: Thank you. What’s your real name?

Spike29: My name is William, but friends call me Spike.

Slayer: Spike?

Spike29: Yeah, it was a childhood nickname I acquired in the orphanage.

Slayer: Oh

Spike29: That surprises you?

Slayer: Yeah a little.

Spike29: To most people, it does. Well, it was nice chatting with you.

Slayer: I guess I’ll talk to you later.

Spike29: Yeah, bye.



Buffy felt a connection with this guy. She liked him and wanted to talk more with him. He seems really sweet. I hope he’s for real.



Slayer: Bye



She quickly wrote down his screen name, because she wasn’t sure how to add him into hers. Maybe Willow could show her in the morning. For now, Buffy shut down the computer and went back to her room.



Buffy stopped at Willow’s door. All was quiet, for now. She then proceeded to her bedroom. When she arrived, she sat on her bed, opened up her drawer, pulled out the ear plugs just in case, slid back into back into bed, and pulled the blanket over her. Buffy was content and fell fast asleep.



******

The next morning Buffy was the first one to awake at 7:30 a.m. She made her way into her bathroom, brushed her teeth, removed the ear plugs, and then took her shower. Half an hour later, she was dressed in a red tank top with black slacks and went to pick up

breakfast.



When Buffy returned at 8:30 a.m., Willow was just getting out of bed. She followed her friend to the kitchen, hopes of getting some coffee in her, to wake her up. Wonder what William is doing right now?



Buffy handed Willow her morning coffee and sat down at the kitchen table to eat her donuts. “Good morning.”



Willow set her coffee and donut down on the table, yawning and stretching, still in her PJ’s.



“Morning, Willow.” she said before taking a bite out of the donut.



“These are good,” Willow acknowledged. “Where’d you get them?”



“Krispy Krème. They just opened up a shop down by Sam’s.”



“Oh wow, I hadn’t even noticed.” Willow took another bite.



As the girls were finishing up their donuts, Xander walked into the kitchen. He needed his morning coffee or he would be a grouch.



“Hi, honey, here’s your coffee,” Willow handed him his cup.



“Huh? What?” Xander asked, confused. “Oh coffee. Yum.” He took a drink. “Thanks honey.” He saw the donuts. “Oooh donuts.” He grabbed one and greedily ate it as he left the kitchen.



“Men,” Willow giggled.



“You can't live with them, and you certainly can’t live without them.” Buffy sipped her coffee. I need a man. I could go for the man at Best Buy, or maybe for William. Oh god, I don’t know what I’d do if I had to chose between them. There was a connection between us. I don’t want to screw it up. At least if I don’t get to meet the Best Buy man, I can meet William.



***********

It had been busy all afternoon at the Magic Box. Willow had been helping a customer who was looking for lavender, but she couldn’t locate it anywhere.



“Anya,” Willow called out.



“I’m right here," Anya said, stepping out from the backroom.



“Jonathan is looking for lavender, but I can’t seem to find it."



“Oh, that’s because I moved it.”



“You moved it? Why didn’t you say anything?”



“I thought it would sell much better by the window.”



Anya took Willow and the customer to the front of the store and proceeded to show them where the lavender was. “Here it is.” Anya was very chipper and bright as she located the herb.



Willow turned to the little dark haired man. “Jonathan, here’s your lavender. Take this up to the counter and Anya will help you.” She handed the herb to him, and he was so shy he forgot to say thank you and just nodded.



When he left, Willow went over to Anya, who was putting the copy of the receipt in her folder, so at the end of the day, she could count up all the sales.



“Anya, what else have you changed around here without telling us?” Willow asked, crossing her arms over her chest, looking highly annoyed.



“I only changed things so that we’d make more money. Money is important. Very important.” Anya pointed out. "Isn't it?"



“Well, yeah...but ask first! .” Willow went to her office. She stepped in and closed the door behind her. “Oh my god, that Anya.”



“What’d she do now?” Buffy had been chatting with William, and quickly signed off without saying good bye. She hoped that he’d understand. She turned around her to chair to give Willow her full attention.



“She’s moving the merchandise around.”



“I know. I’ve told her not to do that, but she’s insistent we’ll make more money. She thinks this little store is going to make us a million dollars." Hope he’s not mad that I did that. I’ll have to get back online and apologize to him.



“If she can pull that off, she can move anything she wants.” Willow turned around and went back out to the front to face Anya.



Buffy quickly turned on the computer once again, and signed back on AOL. Luckily, he was sill online and he imed her right away. She felt relieved; she didn’t know what she would do if he wouldn’t keep chatting with her.



Spike29: Everything ok, love?

Slayer: Yeah, sorry about that. Willow, my business partner/roommate, just came in. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say about you.

Spike29: Eventually you’ll have to tell your friends, if there’s more between us.

Slayer: I know and I will, when and if things progress. Right now, I like that this remains a secret between us.



William was quiet for a few minutes and Buffy wondered if maybe she'd said too much.



Slayer: Are you there?



Another minute passed before he said anything.



Spike29: Sorry, pet.

Slayer: Where’d you go?

Spike29: Miss me?

Slayer: Well, yeah maybe, but I was worried I said too much.

Spike29: Nah, you didn’t. You were just being honest. I like it.

Slayer: I try to be. Lies cause too many problems.

Spike29: Don’t worry love. I’d never lie to you. And I keep my promises.

Slayer: That makes me feel better.

Spike29: Well, I think better be going. My boss may catch me.

Slayer: Will you be online later?

Spike29: For you….you can count on it. ;)

Slayer: J

Spike29: I’ll be seeing ya, love.

Slayer: Bye

Spike29: Bye, pet.



Buffy closed down AOL. She really wanted to meet this guy. She'd never dreamed she’d actually find a friend or a boyfriend online this quickly. I still would like to meet the guy from Best Buy. I wish there was some way to find him. It would be kinda pointless to hang out at Best Buy, hoping he’d be there…Willow is right. If it was meant to happen, it’ll happen, either way, I’m sure I’ll meet one of them.



At closing time, Anya brought in an addition $400.00 to the existing $150.00 they'd brought in that morning. They made more that afternoon than they had in a long time. That was all due in part to Anya. If she hadn’t moved things around, things wouldn’t be selling what they had. Buffy and Willow were happy to have Anya around, even though she could be a pain sometimes. It was worth it.



Before they could leave for the evening, their latest shipment of herbs and spices arrived, and they had to make sure that they were stocked in the back room. Once that was done, Willow and Anya left, leaving Buffy to lock up.



************

Willow had a few errands to make before meeting Buffy at Sam’s Diner. She had to pick up Tara and Xander; he stayed at the apartment all day, lounging around on his day off. Tara lived about a block away from Buffy and Willow, so it wasn’t a big deal for her to go back that way.



Buffy went directly to the diner, hoping to get a good seat when she pulled up. It looked pretty quiet to her. She put the car in park, stepped out, and walked inside. It was empty save for a man sitting in the far corner, near the restrooms. Must be because of the new sports bar down the block. What was it called?? Oh yes, it’s Gunn’s. I wish I can talk to William right now.



She went for the booth in the corner by the window. Riley walked up to her as she was getting comfy.



“Can I help you?”



“I’ll take a diet coke while I’m waiting.”



“Sure thing, sweet cheeks,” Riley said, walking away.



“What an ass,” she said under her breath. She picked up a menu and began looking it over, hoping that her friends would arrive soon. The moment she'd formed the thought, they all walked in.



“Hey,” each echoed as they took a seat in the booth.



Riley came back with her drink and took their orders. Fifteen minutes later, their food came.



“I’m so hungry,” Xander intoned before digging in.



An hour later, the friends had finished up their meals and were ready to go home. Xander and Willow wanted to go back to Tara’s place. She didn’t mind. As they slid out of the booth, Willow told Buffy they were heading back to Tara’s and that she’d see her at The Magic Box in the morning. Buffy paid the check as quickly as she could, and drove directly home. I hope he’s online tonight.



When she got home, she went straight to her room, changed, and then popped a DVD into the player and watched a movie until she fell asleep.



She woke up two hours later, right away thinking of William. She so wanted to chat with him, so she hurried to the office, hoping that he’d be online. As soon as she signed on, he had IMed her right away.



Spike29: Hello Buffy, love. Nice to chat with you again. How are you?

Slayer: I’m fine. How are you?

Spike29: I didn’t think you were going to get online tonight. I was beginning to miss you.

Slayer: Aw, that’s sweet. I missed you too.

Spike29: I thought about you all day long.

Slayer: You did?

Spike29: I would really like to meet you. I want to get to know you better, Buffy.

Slayer: What would you like to know?

Spike29: Anything you want to tell me.

Slayer: Just ask.

Spike29: I want to know everything about you, but I don’t know where to begin.

Slayer: I guess I can start. I live and work with my best friend, Willow. We own a magic shop. She and her girlfriend are into Wicca. If I hadn’t gone into business with her, I’d gone into Interior Design, but its fun. She keeps me on my toes.

Spike29: Have you designed anything?

Slayer: Yep. I decorated my apartment.

Spike29: Little miss fix it.

Slayer: Tell me what you look like.



Buffy just blurted it out. She was so excited about talking with this man; she had to know what he looked like.



Spike29: Getting a little ahead of ourselves, pet?

Slayer: I just want to get an idea of what you look like.

Spike29: I’m about 5’11; I have blonde hair, and blue eyes. You?

Slayer: I’m 5’2. Also, blonde. Green eyes.

Spike29: You sound lovely.

Slayer: You don’t sound too bad, yourself.

Spike29: Why thank you, pet.

Slayer: William?

Spike29: Yes?

Slayer: Could we meet?

Spike29: Isn't it a bit soon?

Slayer: It is, but I’ve been hurt before and I don’t want to be hurt again.

Spike29: I’m sorry, pet.

Slayer: I’m already starting to like you, William.

Spike29: If you’re ready, we can meet any place. Your choice.

Slayer: How about my shop? I should be there late all this week. I’m going over the books and we got a new shipment in. My partner has plans with her girlfriend and her boyfriend all this week. Our clerk, Anya, doesn’t like working overtime, so that just leaves me.

Spike29: All by your lonesome?

Slayer: I like working alone.

Spike29: Where is the shop? I’ll see if I can make it like Thursday.

Slayer: We’re downtown on Main Street. You can’t miss it. It’s called The Magic Box.

Spike29: I think I know the place. I’ll let you know if I can make it.

Slayer: All right. It’s getting late, so I should go.

Spike29: See you later, then.

Slayer: Bye.



Buffy shut down the computer and went to bed.



*************

A few days had gone by and Buffy went in early.Lots of work needed to be done, but the thing she wanted to do the most was chat with William. She didn’t want to push it too much, fearing she could drive him away, but she didn’t want to lose him, like she did with the guy at Best Buy. I feel so stupid that I couldn’t go up to him and just say hi. We could have already been dating and who knows what else, Buffy thought as she unlocked the door to the shop. She stepped in, closed the door behind her, and walked to her office, feeling fresh and pretty in her new navy blue suit.



Buffy sat down at her desk and began her paper work, but she just couldn’t get William out of her mind. She had to talk to him. He hadn’t been online since the last time they spoke. She turned on the computer, hoping that he’d be on, but he wasn’t. Where are you?



She suddenly felt sad, but she put that aside to continue her work. It had to be done; otherwise Willow might go Dark Magic Willow on her.



Later on that day, Buffy was alone at the shop. Anya had called in sick and Willow had to go out of town to purchase a special product that the company couldn’t ship it for some unknown reason. This left Buffy overwhelmed with all the customers. She couldn’t even do any of the work she wanted to. She thought about closing up for the day, but decided to stick it out; it wasn’t much longer until closing time. Then she could go home, relax and chat with William, something that she’s wanted to do all day long. She'd checked several times, but he wasn’t online. He must be really busy today.



When it was getting slow towards the end of the day, she tried to get working on the books. Just before she sat down, she heard the bell on the door go off. Can’t this day ever end? Buffy trudged back into the front of the store.



“Hi, can I….” She stopped when she realized who it was. “Oh, it’s you, Riley.”



“Hi.” He walked closer to her.



“Can I help you with something?” Will you just leave already?



“I wanted to apologize about my behavior at the diner.”



Is he trying to flirt with me?



“Yeah, well don’t worry about it.”



He walked closer to her. “Maybe we can get together some time.”



Oh god, he IS flirting with me! Yech!



She started to feel uncomfortable, so she began to walk around behind the counter to distance herself from him. "I don't get together with married men, Riley. Please leave

now so I can close up."



Riley leaned over and grabbed her arm.



“Wait a minute!" he said loudly. "I want to talk to you."



She looked at his hand and then back up at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”



“Look, I came here to apologize.”



“You did. Now let go of me.” Buffy tried shaking her arm out of his grip, but he wouldn’t release it “I mean it, Riley," she said shrilly. "Get your hand off me!"



He leaned in to kiss her on the lips, she turned her head quickly. "Leave me alone!"



Riley didn’t listen. He forcibly kissed her, but she was able to push him back. “WHAT PART OF GET OFF ME DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?” She tried not to sound frightened, but there was still a quiver to her voice.



“Come on, Buffy...I just want to kiss you." He tightened his fingers on her arm, pain-

fully. "Just...hold still a little..."




"You're hurting me!" She strained to get away. "I'm...I'm warning you...."



“Oh, yeah?" he laughed a little. "Or you’ll do what exactly?”



“You heard the lady!” Unnoticed by Buffy, a man had entered the shop. Grabbing

Riley's shoulder, he pulled him away from her. "Hands off!"



“This is none of your business!” Riley said, obviously surprised at the man's

strength.



Buffy was too scared to speak. Riley's body blocked her view and she couldn't really

see who was trying to rescue her.



“It’s my business when a slim ball hits on a lady after she said NO!”




A what?



Riley took a swing, but the man blocked the hit and punched him dead in the face, sending him flying into a display case.



Buffy's jaw dropped. Anya's gonna have a fit when she sees that! was

her first thought when she saw Riley lying amidst the rubble of merchandise

raining down on him.



Her rescuer turnd to look at Buffy, who was visibly shaking.



“You ok?”



Hey...it's Best Buy guy!



Buffy just shook her head. She looked him up and down, trying not to stare bla-

tantly. He had on combat boots, black jeans; snug in all the right places, and a black tee-shirt that showed off all his muscles.



Riley was struggling to stand, wiping the blood off his mouth, staggering back.



The other man saw from the corner of his eye that Riley was actually coming back for more, and he quickly turned around, hitting him once more in the face. Riley again staggered back.



“I suggest you get your arse out of here. I don’t want to have to hurt you in front of

this lady, but make no mistake...I will if it becomes necessary."



Something in his tone got through to Riley. Rising inelegantly to his feet, he

left.



The man watched him go, then turned to Buffy.



"I'm all right," she assured him. "Thank you."



He smiled at her. “Come sit down.”



He pulled out a chair from their table. Spotting a bottle of water on the counter, he grabbed it and offered it to her. “Would you like some water?”



She nodded, taking the bottle in one shaking hand.



Buffy took a few sips and set it down on the table. He pulled up another

chair and sat next to her. “I don’t think that pillock will be bothering you again, but

if he does, then you just let me know."



“Thank you, but you don’t need to protect me.”



She stood up and began to walk away but he grabbed her arm, preventing it. Oh, not this again. Please don’t do this to me, not again. “Don't," she said sharply.



He pulled back “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…what I wanted to say is…I'm sorry. I

should introduce myself,” he finally said, a little nervously. “I’m William.”



For a moment, it didn’t register with her that this was the William she’d been chatting to online. “It’s nice to meet you William, but I want to close up and go home."



She started to walk away again, but was stopped.



“Buffy? You ARE Buffy, aren't you? I'm William….Spike29!”



“William?” She asked, but it wasn’t so much a question.



“That's right," he smiled.



“I saw you in Best Buy,” they both said at once.



She looked up into his eyes. She could get lost in them; they were the prettiest blue she’d ever seen. Finally, she'd found him, and she wasn't about to let him slip

away again.



“I can’t believe it. Willow was right.”



“What, love?” William looked into her green eyes. Like sparkling emeralds

they were. He could get lost in them if he wanted to. He'd finally found the

girl he hadn't been able to stop thinking about.



“If it was meant to happen, it'll happen. She told me that."



“She’s very perceptive.”



They just stared into each other eyes, until William broke the silence.



“Would you like to get out of here and go have coffe or something?"



“Sounds good," Buffy said, heading for her office area."Just give me a few minutes.”



Even though she didn't really know him, she felt at ease and secure in

a way she'd not felt with any other man.



When she returned, she stopped and watched him looking around the store. Suddenly, she got the feeling that she would be with this man for a long time. He would never hurt her, and he’d always protect her. She smiled at the idea. "I'm ready."



William and Buffy walked down the street to Emma's and ordered coffee.



They were still talking when the sun came up.



The End