High School Outcasts

1

Buffy Summers was just about to leave the school building, happy to finally be able to go home. About a month ago, her mother had decided that it would be a good idea to leave LA for good and start a new life here in this little town called Sunnydale. Buffy had begged and pleaded with her, not wanting to leave her school and all her friends. Back in LA, Buffy had been one of the most popular girls in the whole school, and her mother had promised that she would make lots of new friends here in no time. Yeah, right…

It didn’t take long before she realized that her mother couldn’t have been more wrong. As the new girl at Sunnydale High, she was a nobody. The first day, no one even bothered to talk to her between classes. Then one girl – Cordelia Chase – had walked up to her and introduced herself, offering to show Buffy around. She had been relieved, thinking that maybe she would fit in here after all. Cordelia had even gone so far as to ask Buffy to come to a party with her, and she had been thrilled at the idea of possibly making new friends. But as soon as they had gotten to the party, Cordelia had left Buffy by the door to go and hang out with her real friends.

The next day, Buffy had questioned Cordelia about it. The dark-haired girl had crossed her arms over her chest and explained that she had never intended to hang out with Buffy all night. ‘I figured that if I brought you to the party, you’d get some friends of your own and get off my back’, had been Cordelia’s exact words. It turned out that she had only approached Buffy because one of their teachers had insisted. Buffy had been more hurt than she wanted to admit, but refused to let it show. She couldn’t understand how the people here could be so different from those in her old school. Then she realized that it wasn’t exactly true. Back in LA, Buffy had been one of the popular kids, one of those who’d get to decide who was cool and who was not. And here, others had already decided for her.

Eventually, Buffy had managed to get a couple of friends of her own, or two, to be more accurate. Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris – also considered outcasts, like her. She really liked her new friends, a lot, and she would just have to accept the fact that she would never be Miss Popular at Sunnydale High. At her old school, she had been the girl everyone looked up to. But deep down, she had known how shallow her friendships with the other girls had been. Here, for the first time, she felt like she had friends she could really talk to, and not only about clothes and boys. Willow and Xander actually seemed to care about what she had to say.

Now she grabbed her bag and closed the door to her locker, hurrying towards the large doors leading out from the main building, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, and found herself standing face to face with Riley Finn. Buffy gave him a questioning look. Riley was in her English class and as far as she knew, he didn’t even know she existed. So what was he doing here?

“Hi, Betty, right? The new girl? I thought I should introduce myself.” Riley smiled, politely. “I’m…”

“It’s Buffy. I know who you are, we’re in the same class. And I’m not exactly new anymore, I’ve been here for a month.” Buffy was not too impressed by this guy so far. She hoped he would just go away so she could go home. It had been a long day, and she was tired. Not to mention the fact that she had way too much homework to do before her mother would allow her to meet up with her new friends.

Riley’s smile disappeared and he looked a little taken aback. Then he let out a nervous laugh. “Right, of course. Listen, I was just wondering if you wanted to go out with me some time this weekend. I’d really like to get to know you better.”

Buffy hesitated. Riley was one of the popular guys, and going out with him would probably do wonders for her social life. But she wasn’t really interested in him. Sure, she didn’t even know him, but he seemed… boring. And it didn’t seem right to go out with a guy just so people would notice her. Back in her old school, she hadn’t cared much about other people’s feelings, but something had changed since she had moved here. Now she realized how cruel people could be. And she didn’t want to be like that anymore. Yet, a part of her still longed to fit in.

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know, Riley. Can I think about it? I have a lot of homework, and…” She blushed, suddenly feeling like the most boring person ever. Homework?! How cool was that? Why couldn’t she just have said that she had made other plans?

Fortunately, Riley didn’t seem to care. “Sure, no problem. I’ll tell you what…” He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “How ‘bout I’ll just give you my number? Then you can call me when you’ve made up your mind.” He wrote the number down and held out the paper, which she accepted after a moments hesitation. Then he smiled again. “See you around, Betty.” Before Buffy got the chance to say anything, he was already gone.

Buffy shook her head as if to clear it, trying to take in what had just happened. Riley Finn had just asked her out. It wasn’t like she had actually decided to go, but still, she couldn’t wait to tell Willow. No matter what she may think of him, this was definitely one of the most exciting things that had happened to her since she had moved here. Except for one thing, of course, nothing could compete with that. There was this guy she had met at the party, and for some reason, she hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind since.

Unfortunately, the guy in question didn’t seem to have a clue about how she felt. That, or he was simply not interested. Buffy used to see him around and she had even talked to him a couple of times. But he always seemed nervous around her, looking around as if he was afraid someone would see him talking to her. Buffy couldn’t understand why. She had never seen him talking to anyone else, and when they had a class together, he always sat alone in the back. For some reason, it didn’t seem like he had any friends at all. So why did he act the way he did, like he was ashamed of being seen around her?

Deciding that trying to figure him out would only give her a headache, Buffy sighed and turned around, eager to get outside. That was when she accidentally bumped into someone, and managed to drop all her books on the floor. Torn between yelling at the person in front of her for getting in her way, or apologizing for being such a klutz, she finally realized who it was. The irritated expression on her face disappeared, and she couldn’t stop the silly smile from appearing on her lips. “Hi, William!”

He quickly dropped to his knees and picked up her books, then handed them to her with a shy smile. "Here. Sorry 'bout that." Then he opened his mouth, as if to say something more, but seemed to decide against it. Instead he just turned around to leave.

"No, it was my fault. I..." Buffy stopped and her smile disappeared when she realized that he was already gone. Letting out a miserable sigh, she slowly started walking, finally leaving the school building. Alone.


TBC

2


The next day, Buffy ran into William again, this time just outside the library. She smiled, nervously. "Hi."

“Hello, Buffy.” William looked down at his feet. Buffy waited for him to say something more, but he remained quiet. Her smile faltered a little, but she refused to give up. He had been so nice when he had walked her home from that party, all those weeks ago, but whenever she ran into him at school, it seemed like he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. A sudden thought occurred to her – most of the people she had met here in Sunnydale so far considered her to be a loser, what if he felt the same way? Could he really be ashamed of being seen talking to her?

For some reason, she didn’t think that was the case; he didn’t seem like the type who listened to gossip, judging people without really knowing them. Maybe he was just shy. She made a new attempt of starting a conversation. “So, are you heading for the cafeteria? I’m supposed to meet up with Willow and Xander for lunch, wanna join us?” Holding her breath, she waited for him to answer.

“Oh. Um…” William looked genuinely surprised. Then he gestured towards the large doors, leading into the library. “Actually, I was gonna skip lunch today. Didn’t get my homework done last night, thought I’d better catch up. I'll just grab something to eat later.”

“Oh, of course. I understand.” Buffy put on a strained smile, trying not to let her disappointment show. “Well, I gotta go. I’ll see you in English class.” He just nodded. “Right. Bye.” She hurriedly left, suddenly eager to get away. To tell the truth, she didn’t know why she kept pushing. It was obvious that William wasn’t interested in getting to know her better; she should just stay away from him. But she couldn’t help herself. It wasn’t like she was in love with him or anything; she didn’t know him well enough for that. But there was something about him that just caught her attention; for some reason she felt like they actually had something in common, even if she didn’t know what it was. And it was very confusing.

Having reached the cafeteria, Buffy peeked into the crowded room in search for the familiar faces of her friends. Immediately spotting Willow’s red hair in the crowd, she let out a sigh of relief, happy to finally get to be around some people who wouldn’t treat her like a pathetic outsider. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last very long. Because in less than forty minutes, she would have to go to history class. Alone, as usual.


*~*~*

William kept staring at the spot where Buffy had been standing, a longing expression on his face. She had actually talked to him again, and as usual, he couldn’t think of anything to say. For some reason, his mind became completely blank whenever he was around her, probably partly because she was just about the only person in the whole school who actually bothered to speak to him at all. In fact, he couldn’t understand why she kept approaching him; she should have noticed what a boring git he was by now.

Being around Buffy Summers was both wonderful and painful at the same time, wonderful because every time she spoke to him, he could pretend, at least for a little while, that someone actually cared about him. Not that Buffy was just anyone; he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind since the first time they ran into each other at the party where he had made a fool of himself by declaring his undying love for Cecily Underwood. Who he, ironically, hadn’t given another thought since the moment Buffy had walked into his life.

It was also painful, because he knew that Buffy would never find out how much he had already come to care for her. In fact, he didn’t want her to find out, because the moment she would, she would probably never speak to him again. Why would she want someone like him to chase after her, when she should be able to get any guy in school if she wanted to? He was probably the last guy on earth she would ever be interested in. Buffy was sweet, kind, and beautiful, and he couldn’t bear the thought of her rejecting him like Cecily, or even worse; laughing at him. Which she probably would, should she ever find out how he really felt about her. Because no girl would be interested in a loser.

Of course, he would gladly settle for just being her friend. He still had a hard time to take in the fact that Buffy had actually just asked him to join her for lunch, and a part of him had desperately wanted to say yes. But there was just no way he would put himself through the torture of entering the cafeteria until most of the students had already left, not even for Buffy. Having learned that lesson the hard way, years ago, he spent most of his free periods at the school library. At least there they would leave him alone.


*~*~*

Buffy slumped down on the chair, silently willing the class to be over. Unfortunately, it had just started. She hated history class more than anything, mostly because neither Willow, nor Xander would be there. Luckily, they had most of the other classes together. But in this room she was left alone, with no mercy. And she hated every minute of it. When the teacher started talking, she knew she was looking forward to yet another hour of pure hell.

“I want you to team up in pairs for our next project, starting… right now.” The teacher – Mrs. French – had a firm look on her face as she gestured for them to do as she said, and Buffy closed her eyes in despair. Not this, anything but this! She knew all too well how things would end up. Ducking down in her chair, she did her best to appear as invisible as possible. Although, she was afraid it wasn’t working. And of course, it turned out that she was right.

“Miss Summers! Didn’t you understand what I was just telling you?” Mrs. French looked straight at her, arms crossed over her chest, and Buffy wished the floor would open up and swallow her.

Trying do ignore the huge lump forming in her throat, she lowered her eyes. “Yes, I did.”

The older woman opened her mouth, then closed it again with a nod, understanding dawning on her. “Oh, I see.” She looked out over the class. “It seems like Miss Summers hasn’t found anyone to work with. Maybe someone could…?” Leaving the rest of the sentence hanging, she kept looking at the other students, an expectant expression on her face. The room had suddenly become so silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Embarrassed beyond words, Buffy desperately tried to keep the tears from falling. “No, it’s okay. I actually prefer to work alone.”

“Really?” Mrs. French didn’t look convinced. “That will mean a lot more work for you.”

She forced a smile. “I don’t mind.” The teacher nodded, writing something down on her note-pad. Buffy let out the breath she had been holding. What she wouldn’t do to be anywhere but here.


TBC

3


William remained in the gym for as long as he could after Coach Marin had finally informed them that the class was over, hoping most of his classmates would’ve already left by the time he entered the locker room. He hated gym class more than anything, mostly because once it had started; there was just nowhere to hide. In most of the regular classes, his teachers used to pretty much leave him alone; ignoring the fact that he hardly ever said anything out loud. He always got his homework done on time and usually did very well on the written tests, and for most of the teachers, that seemed to be enough. But the gym class was different. Here, he would actually have to be a part of things.

For as long as he could remember, he had never been able to fit in with the other students. He didn’t have any friends, and he had long since accepted it. It was okay most of the time, though, since most of the other kids used to simply ignore him, which suited him just fine. But in here, he was completely exposed, never able to just slip into the room and hide somewhere in the back. In here, he was left at their mercy. And it was always the same thing. He always got picked last; no one ever wanted him to be a part of their team. Yet, the actual class wasn’t even the worst part.

Slowly, he opened the door leading into the boy’s locker room, letting out a sigh of relief when he found it seemingly empty. He quickly showered and pulled on his clothes, eager to get away. It was the last class of the day; finally he would be able to go home. Just about to leave, he heard a noise behind him, and spun around. His heart started beating faster when he realized that he hadn’t been alone after all.

“Willie!” Liam Angelus grinned, widely. “Just the guy I was looking for.” Two other guys – Parker Abrams and Charles Gunn – were standing next to him, grinning madly as well. William swallowed. Liam had been the thorn in his side for years. Luckily, they didn’t have that many classes together. Now the much taller, dark-haired boy crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. “What’s the matter, Willie? Afraid we’re gonna beat you up? We wouldn’t do that, right, guys?” He looked at his friends and laughed.

William took a deep breath, trying not to let his fear show. “What do you want?” Over the years, Liam and his friends had beaten him up more times than he could remember, for no other reason than the fact that they seemed to enjoy it. Needless to say; he usually tried to stay as far away from them as possible, knowing that they would never give him a chance to fight back. Lucky for him, he was used to pain by now.

“What do I want? Well, let’s see…” Liam seemed to think about it for a moment, then snapped his fingers. “Oh, right! How ‘bout this? I seem to remember seeing you talking to Dru the other day. What do you have to say about that?”

Eyes widening, William recalled the beautiful, yet peculiar girl who had approached him after class a couple of days ago. She hadn’t made much sense; talking about stars and sunshine, and he had felt more than a little uncomfortable around her. Then she had left, and he hadn’t really given it much thought since. Now he gave Liam a confused look, not understanding where he was going with this. “She’s the one who came up to me, I just…” He stopped, gasping as Liam’s fist hit him hard in the face.

Liam’s eyes were cold. “See now, I know that’s a lie. Because my Dru would never bother speaking to a loser like you.” He paused. “Ah, I get it! Having a little crush on my girlfriend, Willie? Is that it?”

William just stared at him, mouth open. “What?”

Leaning over to whisper something to his friends, Liam then turned back to William, a cruel smile on his face. “Here I thought you were gay, and now it turns out you’ve been after my girl all along! Think she’s hot, do you? Tell me, does she make you hard? Make you want to rip off her wet little panties and suck her cunt?”

“No!” William was appalled that Liam would talk about his girlfriend that way. Even though he found Drusilla to be a little eccentric, to say the very least, he was still horrified by Liam’s choice of words. As far as he was concerned, talking about any woman like that was highly inappropriate.

But Liam just laughed. “Really? You don’t wanna fuck her, then?” His friends laughed as well, until Liam gestured for them to be quiet. Then he looked at William again, an expectant expression on his face. “Well? Do you?”

“No.” Shaking his head, William took a step back. “I’ve got to go.”

“Not so fast.” Liam grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving. Then he glanced at Gunn. “Go guard the door. Make sure no one comes in.”

Gunn had stopped laughing. Hesitating a little, he looked from Liam to William, then back to Liam again. “Come on, dude… Just hit him a couple of times, so we can get out of here. No one’s gonna come in, anyway.”

Letting go of William for the moment, Liam gave his friend a threatening look. “What was that? I told you to go guard the fucking door, didn’t I? Do as I say!”

“I’ll do it.” Parker gave Gunn a smug look and headed towards the door.

Liam looked annoyed for a moment, still glaring at Gunn. Then he suddenly grinned again, nodding in acceptance. “Fine. You’ll get to watch.” Before Gunn could ask him what he meant by that, Liam had turned his attention back to William. “Guess you are gay after all. Prefer cock before pussy, do you?”

William shook his head again. “Please… Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Why?” Liam chuckled. “What can I say? I just really don’t like you.” Swallowing again, William realized that Liam had him trapped in the corner. Even though he was used to the pain, he would never get used to the fear he always felt before his tormentor actually started with the punching. For some reason, Liam seemed to enjoy his fear more than the pain he caused him.

“Guess what?” Liam went on, pleased to see William practically tremble in front of him. “Today’s your lucky day.” He started to unbuckle his belt.

Gunn’s eyes went wide. “Dude, what the hell are you doing?!”

Liam kept his eyes on William as he slowly started to pull down his jeans. “I’m just gonna show Willie here how it feels to have a cock in his mouth. And I bet he’ll really enjoy it, too.” He raised a brow at William. “Won’t you?”

Before William could say anything, Gunn grabbed Liam by the arm and pulled him a few steps away. “You’re crazy, man; I don’t wanna be a part of this! Hitting him is one thing, I guess, but this…” He glanced at William, who was still huddling in the corner, then turned back to his friend, his face a mixture of wariness and disgust. “If you think I’m gonna stay here and watch, then you better think again. I’m out of here!”

Liam glared at Gunn, furiously, before grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. “You pathetic little piece of shit! I was just going to scare him, think I’d actually go through with it?!” Gunn wouldn’t meet his eyes, obviously not sure of what to think. Realizing that his pants were still hanging by his knees, Liam quickly let go of his friend and pulled them back up. Then he gave William one last, hard look. “If you so much as look at Dru again, I’ll fucking kill you.” Ignoring Gunn completely, he walked past him and headed for the door. “Abrams! Let’s get the fuck out of here!”

Hesitating for a moment, Gunn remained in the locker room as the other two left. He glanced at William again, who had yet to move an inch. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it again. With an apologetic shrug, he quickly slipped out of the room as well. William let out a shaky breath, relieved that it was over, at least for this time. He waited a couple of minutes to get his emotions under control and for his heart to stop beating like a sledgehammer inside his chest. It didn’t take long before the fear and humiliation had submitted for a much stronger feeling – hate. Hate towards Liam. He made a silent promise to himself that one day, he would get his revenge.


TBC

4


“Miss Summers, could you please stay for a moment? I’d like to have a word with you.”

Buffy had to suppress a groan when the teacher called out for her, just as she was about to leave the classroom. Now what?! She’d just been through another hour of pure hell, wasn’t that enough? After she had been forced to tell Mrs. French - in front of the whole class - that she wouldn’t mind working on the project alone, she had felt more humiliated and embarrassed than ever before. No one had said anything out loud, but judging by the somewhat guilty glances she had received from her classmates, not to mention the quiet whispers and giggles, it was obvious that everybody knew the real reason – that no one wanted to work with her.

Letting out a sigh, Buffy slowly headed towards the teacher’s desk, waiting for the other students to leave the room. She just wanted to get out of here. History was her last class for the day and she couldn’t wait to leave the school area. She was supposed to meet up with Willow and Xander after school and was really looking forward to see some friendly faces after this.

When the last student had left the classroom, Mrs. French leaned back in her chair and looked at Buffy. “I asked you to stay because I have something I’d like to discuss with you. It’s about the new history project. I know you said you wanted to work alone, but…”

“I do! Really.” Buffy put on a smile she hoped wouldn’t seem too strained. “I actually work much better alone, always have. Ever since…”

“Miss Summers…” The teacher interrupted her, a serious expression on her face. “That may be true, but that’s not the way I had planned this project. I didn’t want to say anything in front of the other students, but I’m afraid I have to insist for you to have a partner like everybody else.”

“Mrs. French, please…” Buffy gave the woman a pleading look, suddenly feeling like she was going to cry. “I promise I’ll get the job done, just don’t force me to…”

The teacher ignored her interruption and went on. “I have a student in one of my other classes who is just about to start on the same project. It seems like he hasn’t gotten anyone to work with, either. I would like for the two of you to work together. His name is…”

Buffy paled. “No, Mrs. French… Please, can’t you just let me…?”

“…William Pratt.”

“William?” Buffy became silent, staring at the woman with big eyes. Swallowing, she waited a moment so she wouldn’t sound too eager. Hoping her voice would sound normal, she finally nodded. “Okay.”


*~*~*

William hurried across the school parking lot, eager to get away. His face was still burning where Liam had hit him, and he knew he would have a huge black eye in the morning. At least his nose had stopped bleeding now, but his glasses had broken and he sure didn’t look forward to explain to his mother what had happened to him this time. Thank God it was Friday; that way he wouldn’t have to go back to school again for a couple of days. This hadn’t been the first time he got beaten up in school and he had definitely looked worse then this, but he knew exactly how his mother would react.

He supposed he had gotten away easy this time, though, there was no way of telling what Liam would’ve done to him if Gunn hadn’t interrupted. And that made him even more furious. He would never stand a chance against a git like Liam and he knew it. Liam may just be a big, stupid bully, but he was stronger than him and not to mention the fact that – unlike William – Liam had a lot of friends. Friends, who would gladly do just about anything he said.

Suddenly he heard someone calling out for him, and froze in his tracks. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Buffy hurrying over to the parking lot, heading towards him. Hesitating for a moment, he then decided to ignore her and kept walking. He didn’t know what she wanted, but it didn’t matter. Right now, he just wanted to get out of here, and the last thing he wanted was for Buffy to see him like this. She was the only person in the whole school who didn’t treat him like a pathetic loser, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Buffy was new in school, and he prayed that she had yet to notice what a total outcast he was. Although he was relieved that it was only Liam and his friends who used to give him a hard time – the rest of the people in school usually just ignored him – he didn’t want Buffy to find out that he didn’t have any friends at all. Then she might realize she was just wasting her time with him and move on to someone who was actually worth talking to. Or even worse; she might start feeling sorry for him. He didn’t want any sympathy or pity from her.

“William, wait!” Letting out a tired sigh when he realized that Buffy hadn’t taken the hint, he slowly turned around. She gave him an uncertain smile. “Hi. I saw you leave, and…” The smile disappeared and her eyes widened when she noticed his face. “God, what happened to you?”

Closing his eyes for a moment, he searched his mind for something to say. Unfortunately, he came up with nothing. Looking down at his feet, he just shrugged. “Nothing. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you on Monday.” Then he started to leave, but she put her hand on his arm to stop him. He sighed again, this time in frustration. “What?!”

She looked slightly taken aback. “I’m sorry, I…” Now it was her time to look away. “I just wanted to talk to you about something. But if this is a bad time…” She shrugged, obviously trying to keep the hurt out of her voice.

William realized that he had hurt her feelings, which only made him angrier. He knew it was wrong to take his anger out on Buffy, but it was already too late. After all, she was here. She should’ve just stayed away from him. A part of him wanted to apologize, but then he would have to explain. And he just wanted to leave. “Just get out of my way.” He pushed past her and hurried away. For a moment, he almost thought she would follow him, but he refused to look back. Instead he just kept walking.

It didn’t take long before he started to feel guilty. Buffy hadn’t done anything wrong, why did he have to lash out at her? She had just tried to be nice, and he had been rude to her. Why did his life have to be so bloody complicated? Now he had probably ruined any chances of him and Buffy ever becoming friends; he wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to speak to him again. Although, it was just as it should be, he thought. He just wasn’t meant to have any friends; he would always be alone.


TBC

5


“I’m sorry, Buffy.” Willow gave her a sympathetic look as she sat down on the edge of Buffy’s bed, her elbows resting on her knees. “Let’s just face it; guys are poop-heads.”

“Hey!” Xander glared at her, a hurt expression on his face.

Willow let out a nervous giggle. “I meant to say; guys are poop-heads, except for Xander! ‘Cause… he’s not. A poop-head, that is. Right, Buffy?” Xander rolled his eyes and turned to look at Buffy.

“What? Oh.” Buffy nodded, an absent look on her face. “Right. Of course.”

Xander slumped back in his chair. “Thanks, Buff. For a second there, you almost sounded like you meant it. I’m touched.”

Buffy finally snapped out of her thoughts, giving Xander an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Xander, I...” She glanced at Willow. “What were we talking about?”

Willow gave Xander an assuring smile before turning back to Buffy. “I was saying how stupid guys are and you pretended to be listening.”

“Hey, I was so listening, I wasn’t pretending!” Buffy pouted a little. “Much.”

“You’re moping.” Xander gave Buffy a firm look and she lowered her eyes. “I don’t get it. It’s just a stupid history project, it’s not like it’s the end of the world. If the guy doesn’t wanna work with you, that’s his problem. You just do your part.”

“Xander!” Willow gave him a look of disapproval. “It’s not about the project. Are you really that blind?” Xander looked confused, but didn’t say anything.

“Willow…” Buffy sighed. She could feel a headache coming up.

Willow ignored her. “Xander, Buffy has a crush on William.”

He just stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. “Right! Good one, Will!” When he realized that neither of the girls looked amused, he became silent. He glanced from Willow to Buffy. “Okay, you’re serious.”

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, a cold look on her face. “Mind telling me what’s so funny about that?”

“Nothing!” Xander raised his hands in an apologetic gesture. “It’s just…” He hesitated. “I’m just a little surprised, that’s all. I mean, you’ve never said anything.”

Letting out a sigh, Buffy got up and started pacing the room. “It doesn’t matter. He’s not interested – end of story. Can we please change the subject?”

“You know what you should do?” Xander got up as well and walked over to her. “Start dating someone else! Someone you know and trust, and…”

“That’s a great idea!” Willow started bouncing up and down on the bed, a huge grin on her face. “Buffy, I’m sure William’s just shy. But if he sees you with someone else, maybe he’ll come around. I bet he’ll be really jealous. And then, he’ll have no choice but to ask you out. Xander, you’re a genius!”

The pleased look on Xander’s face disappeared. He hadn’t suggested that Buffy would start dating someone to make William jealous. He wanted her to forget about her little crush completely and move on. Preferably with him. He was convinced that if Buffy would just give him a chance, they would be perfect together. Being friends was nice and all, just not enough. He wanted more. Ever since he had first laid eyes on Buffy, he had known she was the one. Unfortunately, it was obvious that she had yet to come to the same conclusion.

Buffy didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know, Will. I’m not really interested in dating someone else. And besides, even if I was, who would want to date me? Let’s face it; I’m not exactly one of the most popular girls in school. Quite the opposite.”

Xander took a deep breath, realizing it was now or never. He tapped her gently on the shoulder to get her attention. “Buffy, if you’re interested, I would be happy to…”

“That’s it!” Willow interrupted him, jumping up from the bed. “It’s perfect!”

“It is?” Xander looked surprised.

“Guys…” Buffy still didn’t look very happy with the idea. “Really, I don’t think…”

“Of course!” Willow ignored Buffy and looked at Xander, eagerly. “And I think we both know who would be perfect. Xander, are we thinking of the same guy here?”

“Um…” Xander got a goofy grin on his face. “Maybe. If you’re thinking of…”

“Riley!” Willow let out a squeal.

“…me!” Xander’s face fell and his eyes widened when he realized what Willow had just said. “I mean, me… also think that Riley would be… perfect. Cause he’s such a… a…” He desperately tried to come up with something positive to say, although, on the inside he was screaming. “He’s tall.”

Willow looked confused for a moment, then nodded. “Right.” She turned to Buffy. “What do you say, Buffy? We know Riley’s interested in you, since he’s already asked you out and given you his number. Why don’t you give him a call?”

Buffy opened her mouth to tell Willow it was a terrible idea, then closed it again. Was it really so bad? Not that she was actually interested in Riley Finn in any way, but maybe it could be fun after all. At least she would get out of the house and be able to take her mind off of William for a couple of hours. And Riley was really popular; if the people in school would see her with him, maybe they wouldn’t think she was such a loser anymore. Also, Riley was one of the few guys in school who had actually bothered to be nice to her. And if he wanted to go out with her, well, she would be doing both of them a favor.

Still, she didn’t want to date Riley; she wanted to date William. Maybe Willow was convinced he would be jealous and finally see what he was missing, but Buffy wasn’t so sure she wanted him to think that she was interested in another guy. Maybe she should just try to talk to him again on Monday. Clearly he had been upset about something today, but maybe it hadn’t been about her? Maybe they could talk, and he would explain. Maybe…

“Here’s the phone. You want us to leave while you talk to him?” Willow handed her the cordless phone, an expectant look on her face, and Buffy sighed. She knew Willow just wanted to help; the red-head knew how much she hated being an outcast in school. Not that Willow herself was any more popular, but it was obvious that she didn’t care. Willow liked school, and was perfectly happy with just her small circle of friends. That was, if two people could really be called a circle.

Buffy hesitated for a moment, then took the phone from her friend, her mind made up. She would make the call, all right. And she would go out with Riley if he still wanted to. But she would make it perfectly clear from the beginning that she wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship. And the first thing she’d do on Monday was talk to William. Now she gave Willow a grateful look. “Thanks, Will. I would rather be alone, if you don’t mind. I’m nervous enough as it is.” She forced a smile. It wasn’t a complete lie. She was nervous, just not for the reason Willow might think. The truth was, she still wasn’t convinced going out with Riley was the right thing to do.

But Willow nodded in understanding. “Of course. Xander and I’ll be right outside.” She glanced at Xander, who didn’t look happy at all but obeyed.

As soon as her friends had left the room, Buffy reached into the pocket of her jacket, immediately finding the small, crumpled note with Riley’s number. Taking a deep breath, she started dialing. She could hear the ringing on the other end, and waited. Suddenly someone picked up. “Hello?”

“Riley?” Buffy’s heart started beating faster; for some reason she had almost hoped he wouldn’t pick up. But he had, and there was no turning back now. “Hi, it’s me.”

Silence. Then she heard him clear his throat. “Betty?”

Buffy let out a nervous giggle. “Yeah. I mean, name’s Buffy. But it’s me.” She couldn’t understand why Riley seemed to have such a hard time remembering her name. Waiting for him to say something, she frowned when he remained silent. “Hello?”

“I’m sorry.” He suddenly sounded amused. “I’m still here. What can I do for you?”

Now she was confused. After all, he was the one who had asked her to call. “Um…” She was starting to feel uncomfortable, but hoped he wouldn’t be able to tell. “I was just calling to let you know I’d love to go out with you. That is, if you still…” Her voice trailed off when she heard him mumbling something and then started laughing. “Riley?”

“Sorry, I was talking to someone else.” Riley chuckled a little. “You said you wanted to go out with me?”

A part of Buffy really wanted to say no. “Yes. If you want.”

“Actually? I don’t. I’m flattered, but I’m already seeing someone.”

For a moment, Buffy was stunned. “What? But…”

Riley laughed again. “It was a joke; I just wanted to see if you’d call. Seriously, did you really think I wanted to go out with someone like you? Well, nice talking to you. See you in school, Betty.” And with that, he hung up on her.

Buffy just stared at the phone in her hand while her mind tried to register what had just happened. It had just been a joke? Suddenly she felt like she was going to be sick. Either that, or she would start crying. She had never felt more stupid and humiliated in her entire life.


TBC

6


The moment Buffy stepped through the doors leading into the school building, she felt like everybody was staring at her. For a moment, she was convinced that the whole school for some reason had found out about the cruel joke Riley had played on her a couple of days ago. Although she realized that was probably not the case, she still couldn’t quite shake the feeling that everybody was laughing at her behind her back, and wished that she could just crawl under some rock and hide there for the rest of the day. Or possibly for the rest of the school year.

Suddenly, she remembered that she had planned to talk to William, but decided that it could wait until after lunch. She still wasn’t quite sure where she was standing with him, and right now, she just wanted to find Willow and Xander before class. Grabbing a couple of books from her locker, she slammed the door closed and turned around to go look for her friends. Too late, she noticed the two girls who had walked up behind her, just waiting for her to turn around, and bumped right into one of them. She gasped as she lost her balance and managed to drop all of her books on the floor. Embarrassed beyond words, she immediately dropped to her knees, trying to gather her belongings before anyone would accidentally step on them.

The two girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes, neither making the slightest move to help her. One of them; a long blonde with a lot of make-up and expensive looking clothes, crossed her arms over her chest. “So, you think you can steal my boyfriend?”

Finally scrambling to her feet, Buffy stared at her in confusion. “What? I don’t know what you…”

“Excuse me; did I say you could speak?” The girl glared at her, and Buffy closed her mouth, abruptly. She went on; “Let me tell you something, bitch! You’re nothing. My sweetie-bear wouldn’t look at you if you so were the last girl on the planet!”

Despite her anger and humiliation, Buffy had to cough to keep from laughing. “Your sweetie…?”

“Riley!” The girl looked furious. Buffy vaguely recognized her as one of Cordelia’s friends, and desperately tried to remember her name. Melody? No, Harmony. Her eyes widened as realization hit her. This was Riley’s girlfriend? Buffy couldn’t help but thinking that the two of them really deserved each other.

Now she took a deep breath. “Listen, I don’t know why you’d think I was, but I’m so not interested in Riley. Believe me.” She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah? You’re lying! I was there when you called him. Did you really think he would ever go out with you?” Harmony turned to her friend. “Talk about pathetic!” The other girl nodded.

Buffy swallowed. “Look, he was the one who told me to call in the first place. I didn’t know he was seeing someone. And I didn’t even…” She stopped, deciding that she didn’t owe this girl any further explanations. That was clearly Riley’s job.

Harmony snorted. “Yeah, right! Why would he do something like that?” Buffy opened her mouth, but she went on; “Face it, geek! You’re just a big loser and Riley doesn’t want anything to do with you. Stay away from him!” Before Buffy could say anything else, Harmony pushed past her, deliberately knocking the books out of her hands again. The other girl burst out laughing, then hurried after her friend without a word.

Buffy just stared after them as they left, tears of humiliation welling up in her eyes. Once again, she dropped to the floor to pick up her books. Both students and teachers were passing in the hallway on their way to their classes, but after a quick glance in her direction, they all simply ignored her. She kept her eyes on the floor, not wanting to see them laughing.

“Buffy?”

She froze in her tracks when she heard a familiar voice. Oh God, she thought, please not this! Was there just no end to her humiliation? Swallowing hard, she finally looked up, right into a couple of beautiful, blue eyes. “William?”

“Hey.” He had a concerned look on his face as he slowly walked over to her. “You okay, pet?”

She just stared at him for a moment, and that was when everything just snapped. Furiously grabbing her books, she quickly got to her feet, glaring at him. “Do I look okay to you?!”

He looked taken aback by her outburst, taking a step back. “Sorry, I just…”

“I’m late for class. Excuse me.” Too embarrassed to even look at him, Buffy simply stepped past him without another word. In her eagerness to get away, she accidentally stumbled, and managed to break the heel of one of her shoes. Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she let out a furious cry. “Dammit!” Then, much to her horror, she simply burst into tears. This was just too much.

“Buffy? Are you…?” William hesitated, suddenly not sure of what to do. Buffy had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want to talk to him, but now she was crying and he didn’t have the heart to just walk away. Finally, he walked over to her and awkwardly patted her shoulder. “It’s okay. Don’t cry.” He paused. “Here, let me help you.” He gently took the books from her arms, relieved when she gave him a grateful look through the tears. “Um, you were heading for class? I’ll walk you.”

“No.” He gave her a somewhat hurt look, and she hurried on; “I mean, thanks, but I think I’ll just skip it. I’m late, anyway, and…” She wiped at her eyes and finished with a shrug; “Don’t want anyone to see me like this.” She rolled her eyes at his confused expression and gestured to her face. “Hello? Raccoon eyes, here!”

He couldn’t help but chuckle, but when he noticed the death glare she gave him, he hurried to apologize. “Sorry, luv. But really, you don’t need to worry. You’ll always look beautiful.” As soon as the words had left his mouth, he blushed and silently cursed himself for being such a fool. He did not just say that! Not that he didn’t mean it because she really did, but still.

Buffy stared at him, trying to figure out if he was just messing with her. But he looked sincere. She gave him a small smile. “Right. Sorry for yelling at you before. I just…” Then she stopped, not sure of how to explain.

But William gave her an assuring smile. “I get it. Bad day, eh?”

She let out a deep sigh. “You could say that.”

He nodded. “Know what that’s like. Had a few of them myself.”

Buffy gave him a curious look, but he didn’t say more so she decided to let it go. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah?” William looked a little surprised.

She nodded. “Yeah. I tried to talk to you when we ran into each other the other day, but…” Her voice trailed off as she wasn’t sure of how to go on.

“Oh.” Remembering their last encounter, William had the decency to look ashamed. “Look, I’m really sorry ‘bout that. I, um…” He hesitated.

“Let me guess? Bad day?” Buffy smiled a little.

He found himself smiling back and nodded. “Something like that.”

“Well, then I guess we’re even.” Buffy suddenly felt much better. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all.


TBC

7


“She said what?” William and Buffy were sitting at a small table in the school library, speaking quietly, although they seemed to be the only two people there for the moment. Now William glanced at Buffy, a confused look on his face.

“I told you, Mrs. French wants us to work together with the history project.” Buffy suddenly felt nervous. She had been really happy about the idea, but what if William didn’t want to work with her? Clearing her throat, she couldn’t help but add; “I told her I wanted to work alone, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“Oh.” William looked away. “Sorry you got stuck with me then.”

“What? No!” Buffy blushed and looked around the large room, lowering her voice as she went on; “God, I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t mind working with you at all.” She was horrified that he would think she was disappointed by the arrangement and felt a desperate need to assure him otherwise.

William didn’t look convinced. “Really, Buffy, I understand. You don’t have to…”

She interrupted him. “William, there’s no one in the school I’d rather work with. I mean it.”

Now he looked more shocked than ever. “Why?” He hesitated. “I mean… I’m sure you’d rather work with one of your friends.”

Swallowing, Buffy looked down at her hands. So, he didn’t consider her a friend after all. Suddenly she felt very uncertain about the whole thing, not to mention stupid. What was she supposed to tell him now? That no one had wanted to work with her, but she was actually okay with that because she’d had a secret crush on him for weeks? Yeah, right! Like that wouldn’t scare him away for sure. She took a deep breath, still not meeting his eyes. “If you don’t want to work with me, just say so.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

William’s eyes widened. Was she kidding? The idea of spending more time with Buffy both thrilled him and scared him at the same time, that much he had to admit, but when she had first mentioned the project, it had taken just about everything he had not to start jumping for joy. Now she suddenly looked miserable, and he realized it was all because she thought that he was the one who didn’t want to work with her. ‘Say something, you git!’ he told himself desperately, suddenly fearing that she would just get up and leave. He swallowed, nervously. “No, I’d love to be your partner!” Then it was his turn to blush. “For the project, I mean.”

Buffy’s face lit up, and William couldn’t help but feeling oddly proud of the fact that he was the reason behind that beautiful smile. He realized then that he would do just about anything to see her happy. “Really?” As he nodded, he noticed that she watched his face closely, obviously trying to see if he was serious. Then she smiled again, looking relieved. “Great! When do you wanna start?”

“Um…” He thought about it for a moment. “How about after school?” Then he hesitated. “Unless you’ve already made other plans?”

“No, after school’s just fine. Your place or mine?” She was beaming at him now, and he found himself grinning like an idiot.

“Either’s fine with me. You decide.” He glanced at his watch. “Sorry, but I’ve got to go, or I’ll be late for my next class.”

Buffy nodded. “Sure.” Then an idea occurred to her and she got a hopeful look on her face. “Hey, I was thinking… you wanna meet up for lunch later?”

His smile faltered a little. “I, um…” Suddenly feeling very self-conscious, he kept his eyes on the floor. “Maybe some other time. I need to come back here and, um… study.” He mentally rolled his eyes for not being able to come up with something more interesting. Surely Buffy would think he was the most boring person ever.

She was disappointed, but didn’t object. Instead she nodded again, putting on a somewhat strained smile. “Of course, I understand. I’ll see you after school then?”

Relieved that she was willing to let it go, William let out the breath he had been holding. “Absolutely.” The innocent words ‘I’ll look forward to it’ almost slipped out of his mouth, but he was able to stop himself, not wanting to sound too eager. The truth was, he could hardly wait for school to be over for the day, even more so than usual.


*~*~*

William felt his heart skip a beat when he found Liam waiting for him by his locker. For a moment, he seriously considered just to keep walking, but he quickly decided against it. He may not stand a chance against a bully like Liam, but he refused to run the other way like a bloody coward. Besides, he needed to get his books for the next class. Taking a deep breath, he slowly made his way over to his locker. Just when he was about to open it, Liam stepped between him and the door, a wide grin on his face. William glanced at his watch; he really didn’t have time for this.

He didn’t bother to hide his irritation. “Do you mind?” Liam raised a brow, but made no move to step out of the way. William let out a sigh. “What do you want?”

Liam’s grin became even wider. “Funny you should ask. I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

William couldn’t imagine what that git could possibly have to discuss with him, but he suspected that whatever it was, it wouldn’t be of the good. Unfortunately, he also realized that he probably wouldn’t have any say in the matter. Still, it didn’t change the fact that he was already late for class. Much to his relief, Liam appeared to be alone this time. “Yeah? It’ll have to wait. I need to get into my locker.” He almost added a ‘please’ before remembering that he had made a promise to himself to never show any sign of weakness in front of that bastard again. Not that he really expected to be able to live up to that for very long, but he was still furious at Liam for what he had put him through the other day in the locker room. And right now, anger was a good thing. It kept his fear away for the moment.

“Okay. Wait!” Liam pretended to be thinking hard, then smirked at William’s raised brow. “No.”

“Oh, for the love of…!” William glared at his tormentor, both annoyed and frustrated. “Just tell me what you want and sod off!”

“Cocky today, are we?” Liam looked amused. “I wonder why. Don’t suppose it has something to do with that blonde, pretty thing I saw you with earlier?” Seeing the look on William’s face, Liam chuckled. “I see. What did she do? Give you a blow-job? Let you go down on her and suck her sweet little pussy?” Laughing at William’s shocked expression; he waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m only kidding. Really.”

William wanted to kick Liam’s face in for talking about Buffy like that. But before he got the chance to say anything, Liam went on; “Because no girl in her right mind would ever let you touch her, let alone stay and wait for you to take it out of your pants.”

Trying not to let Liam’s cruel words get to him, William crossed his arms over his chest and looked Liam straight in the eyes. “When you said you had something to discuss with me, I didn’t realize it was about my bloody sexual life. Maybe I’m not the one who would enjoy…” He raised a brow. “How did you put it the other day? Oh, right. Having a cock in my mouth.” Shocked by his own words, William had no idea what possessed him to speak to Liam like that and he knew he would pay for it, but right now, he didn’t care. He’d had enough, and it was time to let Liam know it as well.

For a moment, Liam just stared at him, mouth open. Then his eyes narrowed and he took a step closer. “What did you just say to me? Are you accusing me of being a fucking fag, is that it?”

William swallowed, but refused to back away. He realized that he was probably in big trouble, and would be even more so if he showed even the slightest sign of fear. Still, he had noticed a sudden look of uncertainty on Liam’s face, and as long as that was still there, he might have the upper hand, at least for the moment. He glanced over his shoulder and realized that people had started to gather around them, obviously eager to see what would happen. Seeing Liam gritting his teeth in fury, William just wanted to run away. But at the same time, he wanted nothing more than seeing Liam finally get what he deserved after everything he had put him through over the years. So, he remained where he was.

Liam looked around them, also noticing their audience. The brief moment of insecurity had passed, and he grabbed William by the collar of his jacket and slammed him hard into the lockers. Then he took a step back and raised his fist, about to strike. William didn’t know how he did it, or where his sudden strength came from, but he managed to dodge Liam’s punch and slammed his own fist into the dark-haired boy’s face, causing him to stumble back and grasp at his bleeding nose, a shocked expression on his face.

William’s eyes widened when he realized what he had just done, but couldn’t help feeling strangely proud of himself. That was until he heard a throat being cleared behind him and slowly turned around. Suddenly he didn’t feel so good anymore. And when Principal Snyder gestured for him to follow without a word, William felt worse than ever.


TBC

8


“Buffy, wait up!”

Buffy stopped at the sound of Xander’s voice and turned around, giving her friend a questioning look as he came running towards her. “Hi, Xander. What’s up?” She smiled, although it came out a bit strained, and glanced at her watch, realizing she was already late. Holding back a sigh, she hoped William wouldn’t mind waiting a few more minutes.

“I just…” Xander stopped; panting for a moment, then gave her a goofy grin. “Just wanted to ask you if you wanted to meet up at the Bronze later tonight. Willow couldn’t make it, but I thought we could…”

“Sorry, Xander, I really can’t.” Buffy interrupted him, trying not to let her impatience show. “I told you at lunch, remember? I’m studying with William tonight.”

“Oh.” Xander’s smile disappeared. “You didn’t hear, then?”

Buffy had no idea what he was talking about. “Hear what?”

“Oh, boy…” Xander sighed. “How can you not have heard? It’s all over school.”

“Well, it’s not like anybody here actually bothers to talk to me,” Buffy snapped. “What’s all over school?”

“Um…” Xander hesitated. “Apparently, William got into this huge fight with Liam Angelus and got sent to the Principal’s office. Rumors say he got expelled.”

“What?!” Buffy stared at him in shock. “When did this happen? Is he okay?”

“Liam?” Xander frowned. “Well, except from a possible broken nose…”

“William!” She glared at him.

“Right!” Xander let out a nervous laugh. “No idea.” Seeing the look on Buffy’s face, he hurried to add; “I’m sure he’s just fine, though. So, about tonight…”

“Hey, guys!” Willow came up behind them. Her smile faltered a little when she saw Buffy’s expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Willow!” Buffy had never been more relieved to see the red-head in her life. “Thank God, you have to help me. I need to find William…”

“So, you heard?” Willow grimaced. “Personally, I’m sure Liam had it coming. It was totally unfair how…”

“You knew, too?!” Buffy rolled her eyes. “Never mind. Willow, please tell me you know where William lives?”

Her friend gave her an apologetic look. “I don’t. Sorry.”

Buffy looked at her in disbelief. “But you’ve lived in Sunnydale all your life!”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean…” Willow hesitated. “I don’t really know him, Buffy. It’s not like we’re friends or anything.” Buffy let out a sigh and turned around to leave. “Wait!” Willow grabbed her arm to stop her. “I don’t know where William lives, but I know someone who does.”


*~*~*

“William? Is that you?”

William sighed, closing the front door behind him. He had hoped to be able to sneak into the house without his mother noticing, but naturally, there was no such luck. Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked into the living room, bracing himself for what he know was about to come. He found his mother lying on the couch, a blanket draped over her legs. “Hey, Mum.”

Struggling to sit up, Anne Pratt gave her son a disapproving look. “I got a most unpleasant phone call from your principal. Care to explain to me how you managed to get expelled for the next three days?”

Sighing again, William slumped down into a chair. “If you talked to Principal Snyder, you already know what happened.” He paused, lowering his voice as he muttered; “His version of it, anyway.”

“I’d like to hear it from you.” Anne crossed her arms over her chest. “Is it true that you punched another boy in the face?”

William rolled his eyes. “Yes. But…”

“William…!” Anne started coughing. Gasping for air, she took a small sip of water from a glass standing on the table next to the couch. Ignoring William’s worried look, she went on as soon as she could speak again; “In case you hadn’t noticed, William, I am not well. I have enough to worry about as it is; I don’t need any more trouble from you.” She drank some more water. “Why are you doing this? It’s the same thing almost every day; you always come home with bruises or a black eye, but I want it to end, now. I thought I had raised you better than that. No more fighting, do you hear me?”

Swallowing, William nodded. “Yes, Mum.”

Anne sighed. “Just go to your room.”

William opened his mouth to object, then decided against it and left the room. A part of him wanted to tell his mother the real reason behind the fight with Liam, but he just couldn’t get the words out. The truth was, he was ashamed. He knew his mother considered him a troublemaker, mostly because that was what he had led her to believe. He didn’t want her to find out how the other kids used to pick on him all the time, how he didn’t have any friends at all. Partly because he didn’t want her to worry about him, but also because he didn’t want her pity. Not to mention the fact that she would probably be disappointed in him.

Now he remembered that he was supposed to meet up with Buffy after school, so they could start working on the history project. She was probably waiting for him right now, and there was nothing he could do about it. He didn’t have her number, and it wasn’t like he could go back. And by the time he was allowed back in school, Buffy would probably be furious at him for standing her up without an explanation. Sighing miserably, William stepped into his room and closed the door quietly behind him.


*~*~*

“Excuse me, Mr Giles?” Buffy walked up to the librarian, a polite smile on her face.

The man looked up from the pile of books he was stacking on one of the large shelves and returned her smile. “Miss Summers. What can I do for you?”

“Actually…” Buffy hesitated. “I was told you might be able to help me. Mr Giles, I…”

“Please, just call me Giles,” Giles insisted, still smiling.

“Oh, okay.” Buffy wasn’t sure how she felt about that; she wasn’t used to addressing a teacher without their title. Still, the man seemed nice, she already liked him. She cleared her throat, although she didn’t know exactly how to go on.

Luckily, Giles beat her to it. “I saw you in here earlier today, with William. Do you have classes together?”

“Um, yes.” Buffy nodded. “We’re doing a project together.”

“Ah, that’s nice.” Removing his glasses, Giles started cleaning them with the edge of his shirt. “Did he tell you I’m his uncle?”

“No, but Willow did.” Buffy glanced around the library, realizing it was almost empty, just like before. For some reason, she got the feeling people didn’t come in here much. Or if they did, they didn’t seem to stick around after they had found what they’d been looking for. “Actually, that’s why I’m here. I was wondering if you could give me William’s address. I need to go see him.”

Giles hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “I see. Of course.” He paused, not missing the obvious relief on Buffy’s face. “Let me write the address down for you.” He hurried over to the counter. A moment later, he handed her a small piece of paper, which Buffy gratefully accepted. It was time to go see William.


TBC

9


Having no problem finding William’s house, Buffy took a deep breath before finally ringing the doorbell. She really hoped he wouldn’t mind her showing up at his doorstep like this, but she just had to go see him. Suddenly the door swung open, and a blonde woman – looking to be in her early forties – was standing in front of her. It had to be William’s mother, Buffy realized; the resemblance was impossible to miss. She smiled, nervously. “Um, hi. My name is Buffy Summers and I’m a friend of William’s. Is he here?”

The woman looked surprised for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, he is. Please, come in.” She took a step back, allowing Buffy to enter.

“Thank you, Mrs. Pratt.” Buffy stepped through the door, following William’s mother into what she realized was the living room and looked around. “You have a beautiful home.”

“Oh, thank you, dear. But I insist; please, call me Anne.” Anne smiled, although a little uncertainly. “Do you go to school with William?”

“Yeah.” Buffy nodded. “We’re doing a history project together. I was supposed to meet up with him after school, but…” She hesitated, suddenly not sure of what to say. Had William told his mother about what happened?

“I see.” Anne sat down on the couch with a sigh, understanding dawning on her. “I’m sorry, Buffy, was it?” Buffy nodded and she went on; “There was an incident at school today…” Now it was her turn to hesitate, clearly uncomfortable.

“I heard about that.” Buffy’s polite smile faltered a little. “That’s why I came here. I wanted to see if he was all right.”

“Oh.” Anne shook her head, suddenly looking a little annoyed. “You don’t have to worry about William, he is just fine.” A pause. “This is not the first time something like this happens. William has a habit of…” She looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. “… getting himself in trouble.”

Buffy frowned. “Mrs…” She corrected herself; “I mean, Anne. I’m sure what happened wasn’t really his fault.”

Anne looked up, a disbelieving expression on her face. “He punched another boy in the face, unprovoked!”

For some reason, Buffy was finding that very hard to believe. “Did he tell you that?”

“The principal called.” Suddenly Anne looked very tired, leaning back into the couch. “William never tells me anything.”

‘Did you even bother to ask him?’ Buffy wanted to ask, but decided against it. Instead she just said; “Can I see him?”

For a moment, Anne just looked at her, then nodded. When she didn’t say anything else, Buffy was just about to ask where to find him, but suddenly the older woman spoke again; “You seem like a nice girl, Buffy. Are you two close?”

Buffy wasn’t sure of how to respond to that. Of course, she wanted them to be, but truth to be told, she didn’t really know William that well. Yet. Seeing her hesitation, Anne gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry; I realize that doesn’t concern me. I just…”

“No, that’s not…” Buffy suddenly couldn’t help but feeling a little sorry for her. “Actually, I haven’t lived here in Sunnydale that long. But William has been very nice to me so far. In fact…” She blushed. “I think William’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.”

“Really?” Anne looked surprised, but at the same time a little touched. Then she cleared her throat. “Well, I won’t keep you any longer. William is upstairs; his room is the second door to the right.”

“Thank you.” Buffy took a step towards the stairs, then stopped. “What did Liam do?”

“Liam?” Anne got a confused expression on her face, then nodded. “Oh, the other boy? According to Principal Snyder, nothing.”

Buffy bit her lip, looking down at her feet. “And according to William?” When all she got was silence, she finally looked up.

Anne swallowed, looking ashamed. “I didn’t ask.”

Nodding, Buffy was quiet for a moment. She had suspected as much. “I think I will.”

The woman was just about to say something, when she started coughing. Gasping, she reached for a small bottle of pills on the coffee table and quickly swallowed a couple of them down. Buffy watched her, a concerned look on her face. “Are… are you okay?”

Closing her eyes for a moment, Anne struggled to get her breathing under control. Then she glanced at Buffy, giving her a strained smile. “I’m fine, dear. You just go see William.” Buffy hesitated for a moment, then nodded and headed towards the stairs.


*~*~*

There was a knock on the door and William looked up from the book he was reading with a frown. His mother never came up to his room anymore; ever since she got sick, walking the stairs was too much of an effort for her. “Come in.”

The door opened, slowly, and Buffy was standing in the doorway. “Hi.”

Eyes widening, William quickly shoved his book down in a small drawer in the bedside table. “Buffy? What are you doing here?”

Her face fell a little. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to impose. I can just leave, if you…”

“No!” He jumped up from the bed, taking a hesitant step towards her. “I was just surprised. How did you, um…?”

“Oh, I talked to Giles; he gave me your address.” Buffy smiled a little. “So, what were you reading?” For some reason, she could almost swear she saw him blushing.

“Nothing, just a book.” He glanced at the drawer, then quickly changed the subject. “I’m sorry; I know we were supposed to meet up after school. I…” He looked away, not wanting to meet her eyes.

“It’s okay, I heard.” Buffy took a step into the room. “Are you okay?” He looked up then, a surprised expression on his face. Finally he nodded. Buffy looked relieved. “What happened?”

William shrugged, not sure of what to tell her. He couldn’t help but wonder just exactly what it was she had heard. It couldn’t be too bad, he figured, since she was still here and all. Then again, maybe she had come to tell him that she didn’t want them to work together after all. He swallowed. “What did you hear?”

“Only that you punched Liam Angelus in the face and possibly broke his nose.” Buffy paused. “Is it true that you got suspended?”

He was silent for a moment. “Yeah. Only for three days, though. It’s only fair, I suppose. Did a stupid thing and now I’m paying for it.” He shrugged again, still not looking at her.

“Why?” He looked a little confused, so she hurried to explain; “Why did you hit him? What did he do to you?”

Walking over to the bed, he sat back down. “Doesn’t matter.”

Buffy frowned. “Of course it does.” Then realization hit her. “It was him, hurting you the other day, wasn’t it? When I ran into you outside of school?”

He felt ashamed when he remembered how he had snapped at her back then. And even more so when he realized she had just figured out the reason behind it. No point of denying, he thought with a sigh. “Yes.”

She walked over to the bed, sitting down next to him. “Was it the first time? I mean, has he hurt you before?” Suddenly she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer to that. She had a feeling she already knew. Hearing Anne’s voice inside her head – “This is not the first time something like this happens. William has a habit of… getting himself in trouble.” – Buffy felt a lump form in her throat. Maybe his mother was partly right after all. Only Buffy was convinced William was not the one causing the trouble.

William glanced at her. “Couple of times.”

“Oh.” Buffy was quiet for a moment, then made a decision. Taking a deep breath, she finally went on; “You wanna hear the real reason Mrs. French made me work with you?”


TBC

10


“What do you mean?” William gave her a confused look, not understanding why Buffy would suddenly change the subject and bring up the history project. Sure, he had wondered why the teacher had decided to make them work together, but he didn’t see what that had to do with anything. “You said you wanted to work alone, but Mrs. French…”

“No.” Interrupting him, Buffy looked down at her feet, clearly uncomfortable. “I said I told Mrs. French I wanted to work alone. The truth is, no one wanted to work with me and I was too ashamed to tell her.” She closed her eyes, still remembering how humiliated she had felt in the classroom. Although she had Willow and Xander, she didn’t think she would ever get used to being treated like a loser by the rest of the students in school.

“Oh.” William was shocked, to say the least, by her confession. To him, Buffy was one of the most amazing girls he had ever met and he found it hard to believe that the rest of the world wouldn’t see it as well. “I’m sorry, I…” He stopped, realizing that he had no idea what to tell her. The old cliché ‘I know how you feel’ might be true, possibly even more so than he wanted to admit, but he really didn’t think it would make her feel any better. He wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he wasn’t sure of how she would react to that. The last thing he wanted was to scare her away now.

“It’s okay.” Buffy finally looked at him. “I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, that’s not why I told you. I just…” She hesitated before finishing with a shrug; ”…wanted you to know.”

Finally he understood why she had told him about this. He didn’t have to tell Buffy that he knew how she felt. By telling him, Buffy had wanted him to know that she knew how he felt. She had wanted him to know that he wasn’t alone, that she knew all too well how it felt like to be a victim to the bullies in school, being one herself, only in a different way. And suddenly he realized that there was nothing to be ashamed of, for either of them. Because none of them had done anything wrong. He swallowed. “Thanks. For telling me, I mean.”

Buffy managed a small smile. “You know, I meant what I said before. There’s no one in the whole school I’d rather work with. I’m actually glad things worked out the way they did.”

Before William had even realized what he was doing, he had taken her hand and squeezed it gently. “Me too.”

Her face was a mixture of surprise and happiness. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’m really glad you came here, Buffy. I’m glad we’re friends.”

“Friends?” Buffy suddenly felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. Forcing herself to smile, although it came out more than a little strained, she nodded again. “Sure, I feel the same way.” Nothing could be farther away from the truth, of course, and she knew it. But if the only thing William wanted from her was friendship, she would just have to learn to accept it. Even if it would kill her inside. Suddenly she just felt like crying.

William didn’t miss the brief look of disappointment on Buffy’s face when he had said the word ‘friends’, even though she was quick to cover up. He had said it deliberately, not daring to hope she would return his feelings, but at the same time wanting to see how she would react. And he hadn’t been disappointed. Could it really be true, that she wanted them to be more than just friends? A part of him still didn’t dare to believe so, but still, that look on her face… For the shortest of moments, Buffy had almost looked crushed.

Now he didn’t know what to do next. Should he tell her how he really felt about her? What if he was wrong? Maybe she didn’t like him that way after all. Suddenly he recalled how he had poured his heart out to Cecily at the party all those weeks ago, the first time he had met Buffy. He could still hear Cecily’s hurtful words when she had rejected him, and didn’t think he could go through the same thing all over again. Of course, Buffy wasn’t Cecily, of that he was fully aware. There was no way Buffy would laugh at him, but still, he was too afraid of another rejection.

But if he was right about her feelings for him and didn’t say anything, they would both be miserable. He really didn’t like the idea of that. Sighing, he finally made a decision. “Buffy…” He took a deep breath, almost losing his courage when she looked at him, a questioning look on her face. “Actually, I…”

“William? Could you come down here for a moment?”

He stopped at the sound of his mother’s voice, calling him from downstairs, and let out a frustrated sigh. Glancing at Buffy, he gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry; better go see what she wants. I’ll be right back.”

Buffy nodded. “Sure. I’ll wait right here.” He opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something more, but obviously decided against it and left the room. Buffy was both disappointed and a little grateful for the interruption. She had no idea what William had been about to tell her, but she thought he had looked a little nervous. Suddenly, a horrifying thought occurred to her. What if he had somehow found out how she really felt about him and was trying to find a way to let her down as gently as possible? Her face paled a little. God, what if he had just been about to reject her when his mother called?

Suddenly, Buffy got the urge to leave before William would get back, to run as far away as possible. Of course, running wouldn’t change the fact that she would have to talk to William again sooner or later. Maybe she could convince him that he was wrong, that she didn’t have any feelings for him after all. She supposed she could live with the fact that there would never be anything but friendship between them, although it would probably hurt for a long time. But she was terrified that her true feelings would scare William away. She would learn to live with them being just friends if she had to, but the thought of him not wanting to be around her at all almost broke her heart.


TBC

11

Completely unaware of Buffy’s inner struggles, William hurried down the stairs, a little annoyed by the interruption. He had just been about to tell Buffy how he felt about her, now he supposed it would have to wait. Of course, if he was wrong and she didn’t feel the same way about him, he figured it was a good thing since he really wasn’t in a mood for being rejected right now. Then again, when would he ever be? Sighing, he walked into the living room where his mother was waiting for him. “What’s wrong?”

Anne gestured for him to sit down, sighing when he remained standing. “There’s nothing wrong, William, I just wanted to speak with you.”

William raised a brow. “Can’t it wait? I have company.”

Smiling a little, his mother nodded. “Yes, I got the pleasure of meeting your friend. She seems like a very nice girl.”

“She is.” William hesitated, not sure of what else to say.

“William…” Anne looked at him for a moment, obviously not sure of how to go on. Then she took a deep breath. “I never asked you what really happened in school today. I would like for you to tell me.”

He was silent for a moment, not having expected something like that. Then he shrugged. “You know what happened. Got in a fight, and…”

“Yes, I am aware of that.” Anne interrupted him, a soft expression on her face. “But I have a feeling things might be a little more complicated than that. Am I correct?”

William didn’t know what to say. Anne rarely asked for his side of the story in a situation like this, and even if she would, he would just shrug it away. The truth was, he didn’t want his mother to know about the hell he had to go through every day for mainly two reasons; he didn’t want her to worry about him, and more importantly; he was ashamed. Of course, deep down he knew that he was not the one to blame for how other people treated him, but still, he wanted his mother to be proud of him. And who would be proud of having a son who was a pathetic outcast with no friends? Well, he supposed that he had one friend now. And wasn’t that bloody typical? When he finally had found someone who wasn’t ashamed of being seen in his company, it simply wasn’t enough for him. He wanted more.

Noticing his hesitation, Anne went on; “Buffy suggested that the other boy may have been the one who started the… incident. Is that true? And if that’s the case, why didn’t you say so?”

He stared at her in disbelief. “Right. Was I supposed to say anything before or after you sent me to my room?”

Anne looked ashamed for a moment. “You could have told me…”

“There’s nothing to tell!” William was starting to get annoyed. He didn’t want to have this conversation, especially not now, with Buffy waiting for him upstairs. “I screwed up, okay? Again. ‘Cause that’s what I do, right?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

For a moment, Anne looked like she might cry. Then she shook her head. “I never said that. But you never talk to me. I just want to know what’s going on with you.”

“Trust me, Mum.” William gave her a cold look. “You really don’t.”


*~*~*

In the meantime, Buffy was nervously pacing the room, waiting for William to return. To tell the truth, she was nearly panicking, having no idea how to act around him now. A little voice inside her head kept telling her that all she had to do was be honest with him, then everything would be okay. A part of her knew that she was being ridiculous, but she just didn’t know where to go from here. She knew exactly what she wanted, but surely William wouldn’t feel the same way? The more she thought about it, the more convinced she got. After all, he was the one who had told her how happy he was that they were friends, why would he say that if he wanted there to be more between them?

She had come to realize that he was a bit shy, though, but she had practically been stalking him since the first day they had met. He had to be at least a little bit aware of the fact that she liked him. Right? Buffy sighed. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Another disturbing idea suddenly occurred to her. What if she had been too pushy? So pushy that she had managed to scare him away? Maybe that’s why he had said that thing about being friends, to give her a polite hint that she was just wasting her time? Suddenly she didn’t know what to think.

Before she had moved to Sunnydale, Buffy would never have been this insecure. But she was not the same person anymore. Back then, she had been self-assure and confident, feeling like she really was somebody, somebody special. The kind of girl any guy should be proud of being allowed to hang with. But here, it was quite the opposite. Riley’s cruel little joke the other day had been the last straw, suddenly she felt like the most pathetic person ever. And she feared that it was just a matter of time before William would realize just how worthless she was as well.

Making up her mind, she grabbed her school bag and headed for the door. Just as she reached for the handle, the door opened and William was standing in front of her, a surprised look on his face. “Are you leaving?”

Buffy opened her mouth, then closed it again, having no idea what to say. Finally, she nodded. “Yeah, I should get going. It’s getting late, and…” She glanced at her watch. It was four-thirty. Blushing, she finished with a shrug; “I don’t wanna be late for dinner. My mom would freak out.”

“Oh.” William looked disappointed. “What about the project?”

“The project?” Buffy looked at him in confusion before silently cursing herself for her stupidity. “Right, the project! Um, how about we meet up again tomorrow? Then we can decide, you know, who should do what.” She forced a smile. “I bet we’ll get an A on this.”

He gave her an uncertain look. “Buffy, is something wrong?”

“No! Why would you think…?” Buffy stopped, seeing the hurt and confused expression on his face. Sighing, she closed her eyes for a moment. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. Maybe the truth would be better after all. She bit her lip, nervously, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, she made a decision, dropping her bag on the floor and walking back into the room. She stopped by the window, looking out so she wouldn’t have to meet his eyes. “William, we need to talk.”


TBC

12



“Oh, okay.” William waited for Buffy to continue, certain that whatever it was, it wouldn’t be of the good. Because no good news ever started with the words ‘we need to talk’, of that he was very much aware. He frowned when she remained quiet. “Buffy?”

After almost a minute, she finally spoke, her back still turned towards him; “I don’t know how to say this. I…” She hesitated, obviously not sure of how to begin.

“Say what?” William didn’t know what to think. Buffy seemed genuinely nervous, he just didn’t understand why.

Buffy finally turned around, slowly. “You said you were glad we’re friends. I am, too. But…” She stopped then, keeping her eyes on the floor. Inside she was screaming with frustration. Why did this have to be so hard?

William remembered the look on Buffy’s face when he had mentioned the friend’s part. He had thought she looked disappointed, but maybe he had been wrong. Maybe it had never been about that at all. Suddenly, all he could hear was Cecily’s hurtful words again, taunting him, just as clear had she been in the same room. ‘Did you really think you had a chance with me, William? Get real! Who would ever want to go out with you?’ The heartless bitch had immediately told all of her friends about his pathetic declaration of love at that dreadful party, and he could still hear them laughing. But what if she had been right?

Suddenly he couldn’t believe he had actually thought Buffy would ever return his feelings. And had he really just been about to do the same stupid mistake all over again; telling a girl how he felt about her? Thank God he had been interrupted before he would have made a fool of himself again! Suddenly he thought he knew what Buffy was going to say. She hadn’t been disappointed like he had first thought, she had been upset, maybe even disgusted. And why wouldn’t she be? Being friends with someone like him was probably the last thing she wanted. Only she was too nice to laugh in his face, or yell at him for making such a stupid assumption, so she would have to come up with a polite way to let him down. No wonder she seems nervous, he thought, bitterly.

Of course, if William had just stopped to think about it for a moment, he might have realized that if that was the case, Buffy wouldn’t have bothered to come over to his house in the first place. And she had never shown any signs of not wanting to be seen around him in school, or anything like that. In fact, it was quite the opposite; she had always been the one to approach him and not the other way around. Not to mention the fact that Buffy had just moments before confessed something to him that she probably hadn’t shared with many people, if any at all, and all to make him feel better. But still, he had heard enough about what a loser he was over the years to actually believe it. The thought that whatever Buffy was trying to tell him could actually be something positive, never even crossed his mind.

He took a deep breath, desperate to keep his emotions under control when he spoke. “Never mind, I know what this is about.”

Buffy got a surprised, yet worried look on her face. “You do?”

“Yeah.” He forced a smile. “And you don’t have to worry about it. Just forget I said anything.”

“Um…” Now she just looked confused. “What did you say?”

“You know, about being friends.” He looked down at his feet. “I won’t bring it up again.”

“Oh.” For a moment, Buffy just stared at him, blankly. Forcing back the lump in her throat, she first thought that he was having second thoughts about what he had said before; that he didn’t want them to be friends after all. A thousand thoughts rushed through her mind at the same time; was it because of what she had just told him, would he be ashamed of hanging out with a loser like her, had she really been that wrong about him? Then she noticed the miserable look on his face, and couldn’t help but wonder if the whole thing was really just a huge misunderstanding. Only one way of finding out, she thought, and before she had even thought it through, she blurted out; “William, I like you!”

“Huh? I mean, what?” William stared at her like she had suddenly grown a second head.

Buffy gulped, nervously fidgeting with the edge of her shirt; “I mean, of course I like you, otherwise I wouldn’t even be here, right? But I really like you, you know, like you-like you.” He opened his mouth, but she went on before he could say anything; “And I realize you probably don’t feel the same way about me and if you really don’t want us to be friends, then I’ll stop bothering you, but I want you to know that what I really want is for us to be more than just friends and I guess what I’m trying to ask is…” She stopped briefly to catch her breath before finishing; “Do you wanna go out with me some time?” He opened his mouth again, but she raised her hand to stop him and added; “But, you know, only if you want to. No pressure.”

Feeling like his head was spinning; William kept staring at her for a moment, dumbfounded. “I’m sorry, did you just say…?” He shook his head, as if to clear it. “Never mind, I must be going crazy. Because surely you didn’t just say…” His eyes narrowed and he looked at her, closely, like he was trying to read her mind. “Buffy, what did you just say?”

She almost giggled at the completely bewildered expression on his face, but too much was at stake for her to actually dare to be amused. Instead she inhaled, shakily. “Tell me you don’t feel the same way, and I’ll let it go. I promise I’m not gonna start stalking you or anything…” She paused, frowning. “More than I already have.”

“No!” He quickly walked over to her and put his hand on her arm, afraid that if he managed to say the wrong thing, she would leave and never come back. “Really, stalk me any time!” Then it was his turn to frown. “That didn’t come out right.” She shook her head in agreement. Taking a deep breath, he went on; “Buffy, are you serious? You’re not messing with me?”

Giving him a confused look, Buffy shook her head again. “Why would I be messing with you? And feel free to answer any time, by the way. I’m just freaking out here, but no big deal...”

“Oh, right. What was the question again?” Finally realizing that she was indeed serious and that she actually did return his feelings, he couldn’t help but tease her a little. It was either that, or jump for joy and start reciting bloody poetry. Though he quickly gave her an assuring smile as she glared at him. “Sorry, pet. But don’t you think you’ve gotten the whole thing a bit backwards?” She looked confused, so he hurried to explain; “Not that I’m an expert or anything, but isn’t it usually the guy who asks the girl out on a date?” He held his breath as he waited for her answer, a small part of him still half expecting her to take it all back.

Now it was Buffy’s turn to smile. “Yeah, I guess. But I got tired of waiting.”

“Is that so?” He smirked. “In that case, let me do this all properly. Buffy, would you like to go out with me Friday night?”

“Hmm…” She pretended to be thinking hard, then couldn’t help but giggle. “I’d love to.”


TBC

13


When Friday finally came, for the first time since she had moved to Sunnydale, Buffy just couldn’t stop smiling. She was happier than she could remember ever being before and knew it was all because she and William had finally cleared the air. Excited about their date, she wished school would be over as quickly as possible, but at least she would get to see him before that, since he was finally allowed to come back to school. She had practically bounced out of bed this morning, causing her mother to raise a brow in surprise at her daughter’s sudden eagerness to get to school. Now she hurriedly grabbed her books from her locker and glanced at her watch, hoping to find William before her next class would begin.

When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she spun around with a wide smile on her face, expecting to see William behind her. Her smile faltered and her eyes widened when she found herself looking into the brown eyes of Liam Angelus. Frowning, she gave him a questioning look. Liam smiled at her. “Hi. You’re Buffy, right? The new girl?”

Buffy rolled her eyes, annoyed at the fact that people still saw her as ‘the new girl’. She had been here for more than a month already. Now she gave Liam a suspicious look. “Yeah, I’m Buffy. Why?” Liam had never bothered to speak to her before, but she had seen him around school and knew who he was. And more importantly, she already violently disliked him. After all, this was the guy who had gotten William in trouble.

Liam looked a little surprised at her reaction, but quickly covered up. “I was just wondering if you wanted to go out with me some time this weekend. Like go to the movies or something. We could…”

“Sorry.” Buffy interrupted him before he could finish. “I’m busy.”

He seemed to be taken aback, obviously not used to being interrupted. Then, when her words started to sink in, he looked confused. “I never said which day. How can you know you’re busy?”

Buffy looked him right in the eyes, a cold expression on her face. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not interested.” Then she spotted a familiar face in the crowd, and her face lit up. “William! Wait up!” Without bothering to look at Liam again, she hurried past him and headed towards her guy.


*~*~*

“Dude, that was pathetic!” Gunn chuckled as he and Parker made their way over to Liam, having witnessed the whole thing from a distance. Although, he quickly stopped laughing when he saw the angry look on Liam’s face. “Sorry, man.”

“I don’t see why you’d even bother to talk to her in the first place.” Parker looked bored. “That girl’s a loser, everybody knows that. She…” He gulped as Liam furiously grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pushed him up against one of the lockers behind them. “I’m sorry, okay! Forget I said anything!” After glaring at him for a moment, Liam let go of him, and Parker nervously looked around, hoping no one had seen him being manhandled by one of the most popular guys in school.

“You two better shut up if you know what’s good for you!” Liam gave them both a warning look. “And I’ll have you know; that girl wants me. She’s just nervous around me. And who could blame her? She’s a nobody compared to me. I’d be doing the bitch a favor by going out with her.” Parker nodded in agreement, not wanting to get shoved against another locker. Gunn didn’t look as convinced, but wisely kept his opinion to himself.

Suddenly Parker realized who it was Buffy had ran over to. “Hey, look who she’s talking to!” Liam glanced over his shoulder, eyes darkening.

Gunn looked as well, laughing a little. “Guess he’s not gay after all.” Seeing the expression on Liam’s face change into pure hate, he quickly changed the subject; “So, did you guys hear the rumors about Cordelia Chase and Marc Duncan? Someone actually saw them doing it behind the…”

“Abrams!” Ignoring Gunn completely, Liam turned to Parker. “Meet up with me here after next period. Bring Chad and Mitch. We’re gonna have another little talk with Willie-boy.” Parker nodded in understanding.

“Wait a minute, dude.” Gunn looked from Parker to Liam. “What are you gonna do?”

Parker glanced at Liam before turning back to Gunn, grinning widely. “What do you think?”

Gunn sighed. “Can’t you just leave the guy alone?” Seeing the looks on Liam’s and Parker’s faces, he hurried to add; “I mean, why bother? He’s just a loser, right? Why waste your time?”

Parker opened his mouth, but Liam beat him to it. “You’re absolutely right. Let’s forget the whole thing.” Seeing how Parker started to object, Liam raised his hand to stop him. Then he turned back to Gunn. “Look at the time; you should probably go to class. See you after lunch.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Gunn shook his head. “I mean it, Angelus. I won’t be a part of this.”

“Don’t worry.” Liam’s mouth twisted into a cruel smile. “You won’t be.”


*~*~*

“Buffy! There you are.”

Buffy smiled when she saw Willow and Xander heading towards her. “Hey, guys! What’s up?”

“Lunch!” Xander got a goofy grin on his face. “Let’s head to the cafeteria before all the good seats are taken.”

“Actually…” Buffy hesitated. She was supposed to meet up with William, but decided they could all have lunch together for once. “We have to wait for William. I told him we’d have lunch together.”

Willow just smiled, noticing the happy expression on her friend’s face, but Xander looked surprised. He was silent for a moment before he spoke; “Really, Buffy, do you think that’s such a good idea?”

Buffy gave him a confused look. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, think about it.” Xander went on; “You wanna be popular, right? I just don’t see how hanging around with someone like William would get you any cool points.” The moment the words left his mouth, he felt like the biggest jerk in the world. He didn’t have anything against William, quite the opposite. He was well aware of how other people were treating him, and to tell the truth, it made him feel sick. But the thing was, he knew how Buffy felt about William. Of course, a part of him knew he should forget about his pathetic crush and just accept the fact that Buffy was his friend. But still, it wasn’t that easy.

Now both Buffy and Willow stared at him like he was the lowest creature on the entire planet, and he felt even worse. Desperately trying to save the situation, he let out a nervous laugh. “Never mind, I didn’t mean it. That was a stupid thing to say, I’m sorry.”

“You better be.” Buffy glared at him. “Look, Xander, I’m only gonna say this once. I like William. I like him a lot. And he’s gonna be around a lot from now on. If you have a problem with that, then maybe you better stop and think about how important our friendship is to you. Because I never wanna hear another comment like that. I mean it.”

Raising his hands in an apologetic gesture, Xander gave her a pleading look. “I don’t have any problems with that. Really, Buffy. I said I was sorry and I meant it. You won’t hear anything negative about William coming out of my mouth again, I promise.”

Buffy still didn’t look pleased, but nodded. Before she could say anything else, a throat was being cleared behind them. Annoyed by the interruption, she turned around, only to stand face to face with one of Liam’s friends; Charles Gunn. Letting out a groan, she realized that the day was only getting worse by the minute. She glared at the interrupter. “What do you want?”

Gunn already looked nervous, and even more so after seeing her reaction. “Look, I know we don’t know each other, but…”

“God!” Buffy threw her arms up in the air in frustration. “I already told your friend I wasn’t interested. He sent you over to talk to me now? How pathetic is he?!”

“What?” Gunn looked confused for a moment, then shook his head. “No, that’s not why I’m here. I just…” He hesitated, glancing at Willow and Xander who were listening closely, before turning back to Buffy. “Can I talk to you in private? It’ll only take a moment, then I’ll leave you alone.”

Buffy opened her mouth to tell him there was no way, but something in his eyes stopped her. She didn’t know why, but he seemed to be sincere. Sighing, she nodded and took a couple of steps away from her friends, Gunn following. Then she crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, what is it?”

“Um…” Gunn glanced around; like he was afraid someone would see him. “You’re friends with William, right?”

Giving him a suspicious look, Buffy nodded. “Yes, I am. Why?” Before he could answer, her eyes narrowed and she went on; “You better leave him alone, or…”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me.” Gunn interrupted her, looking genuinely hurt. He glanced around again, then lowered his voice; “Just so we’re clear, you did not hear this from me.” Eyes widening, Buffy nodded again, waiting for him to continue. When he did, he didn’t look directly at her. “I just thought you should know that he might be in trouble.”


TBC

14


For the first time since he could remember, William practically ran out from the classroom instead of waiting until the rest of his classmates had left, like he always did. He was supposed to meet up with Buffy outside the cafeteria so they could have lunch together; she had asked him when they ran into each other this morning and he hadn’t been able to say no. The truth was, he didn’t want to say no. Ever since Buffy’s confession the other day – when she had admitted that she liked him and then ended up asking him out – he had been walking on clouds. And tonight, they were going out on their first date. He was both nervous and happy at the same time, and he had a feeling she felt the same way.

He usually avoided the cafeteria these days, having too many unpleasant memories from that place, but didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to spend more time with Buffy. In fact, he missed her already and couldn’t wait to see her again. Heading towards the other side of the school building, he suddenly got the feeling he was being followed. Glancing over his shoulder, he sighed when he immediately recognized Liam, Parker, and two other guys who seemed vaguely familiar. ‘Great, now what?’ he thought, more annoyed than worried. He didn’t have time for this, and he sure wasn’t in a mood.

“Look, guys, it’s Willie!” William had no problem recognizing Liam’s voice, coming from behind him. For a moment, he considered simply ignoring him and just keep walking, but years of experience had taught him that doing so would only make things worse. If Liam and his friends had their minds set on giving him a hard time right now, they wouldn’t give up until they had gotten what they were after. That was the reason he – after a brief moment of hesitation – decided to stop and turn around, slowly.

“What do you want?” William realized that he sounded much more confident than he really was, and hoped that was a good thing. He couldn’t help but add; “How’s the nose?” and didn’t even try to hide the smug note in his voice. A part of him asked himself what the hell he was doing, realizing that humiliating his tormentor in front of his friends was probably the worst thing he could do in a situation like this, but nevertheless, he refused to back down. He was sick and tired of always just standing there, silently accepting whatever those bullies decided to say or do to him.

Of course, before he had met Buffy, he would never even have considered fighting back, in any way. He realized now that he had found a way to turn off all his feelings and emotions a long time ago, not really living, but just going along. Somewhere along the way, he had just stopped caring. But things were different now; for one thing, he was not alone in the world anymore. He had found someone who cared about him, someone who actually liked him. And that made him feel, not only happy, but alive, in a way he couldn’t remember ever feeling before. For the first time, he actually dared hoping that maybe he wasn’t doomed to a life in loneliness and despair after all.

His hopeless and pathetic crush on Cecily, before he had met Buffy, didn’t even come close to how he felt now. Because somewhere deep down, he had always known that his feelings back then would never be returned. A part of him had known that Cecily would reject him, even before he made a fool of himself by pouring his heart out to her. And more importantly; whatever feelings he had thought he had for Cecily could never compare to how he felt for Buffy now. Thinking about how much time he had spent chasing after that stupid bint made him cringe, he should have known better than to torture himself like that.

Having lost himself in his thoughts for a moment, reality came crashing down on him when Liam grabbed him, roughly, and pushed him up against one of the lockers behind him. “I’ll wipe that smug look off your face, you pathetic loser!” William refused to show any sign of fear, which only seemed to make Liam angrier. The dark-haired boy looked slightly taken aback for a moment, but then obviously decided to change his tactics. Liam took a step back, and when he spoke again, he sounded a little too calm for William’s liking. “I saw you talking to that cute, blonde girl before.”

William frowned. “So what? You jealous?” He had no idea what possessed him to keep talking to Liam like that; knowing that by doing so, he was pretty much asking to get beaten up. But for once, he didn’t care. And it felt really great. Until the moment Liam’s fist hit his jaw, causing him to see stars. Stumbling back a little, he managed to remain standing.

Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t actually think she likes you, do you?” When William didn’t answer, he laughed. “Oh, you do? Then you must be even more stupid than I thought. Seriously, anyone can see she’s just playing with you. It’s pathetic. But then of course, that’s you, Willie-boy.”

Although William knew there was absolutely no truth in what Liam was saying, he would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that hearing those cruel words still hurt, a lot. He knew he needed to stay strong, not letting Liam get to him, but a small part of him would always doubt himself, thinking he could never be good enough. And he also knew Liam truly enjoyed playing with his insecurities like that. But now he realized that it was up to him, whether or not he should just keep accepting it or not.

He glared at Liam. “Name’s William. And you’re the one who’s pathetic.” As to explain, he gestured towards Liam’s three friends, standing a few feet away, just waiting for a sign from their leader to jump in. “Can’t do anything without your bloody mates there to back you up, can you? What’s the matter, afraid I’m gonna break your nose again?” ‘Don’t do this', a small voice inside his head pleaded. ‘There’s no need to piss him off more than necessary.’ But he just couldn’t help himself; after all the years of being bullied by this guy, he had finally had enough and it was time to let Liam know that. Of course, he would prefer coming out of the whole thing in one piece. Which was, judging by the look on Liam’s face, not very likely.

Liam stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then snorted. “Yeah, right!” He paused before nodding. “All right, if that’s how you wanna do this. Just you and me, then.” Noticing the uncertain expression on William’s face, Liam suddenly looked very pleased with himself. “Let’s continue this outside.”


TBC

15


“Hey, Buffy! Where’s the fire?” Riley Finn chuckled as Buffy nearly ran into him, not paying any attention to where she was running in her eagerness to find William. She hadn’t been able to find him anywhere, and now, the only place she hadn’t looked for him was outside the school building. According to Charles Gunn, Liam and his friends had their minds set on ‘having a little talk’ with William – which Gunn had explained meant beating him up. She wasn’t entirely sure why Gunn had felt the need to let her know, but he had, and for that she was grateful. Now, needless to say, she needed to find William before those bastards did. She so didn’t have time to deal with Riley right now.

Deciding to simply ignore him, Buffy tried to step past him, but Riley put his hand on her arm to stop her. She glared at him. “Let go of me.”

Riley quickly raised his hands in an apologetic manner and let out a nervous laugh. “Relax; I just wanna talk to you.”

Buffy stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Please!” Riley gave her a pleading look. “Buffy, I…”

“Wow!” Buffy interrupted him, a sarcastic note in her voice. “He remembers my name! I’m impressed.” She paused. “No, actually I’m not. You’re a jerk, Riley. Give me one reason why I should listen to anything you have to say.”

“Look, I’m sorry.” Riley looked down at his feet. “About the other day, when you called me. I owe you an explanation…”

“Yeah?” Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. “Really not interested.”

“I didn’t mean it.” Riley sighed. “Harmony was there and I didn’t know what else to say. I didn’t want her to find out…” He hesitated. “I panicked, okay? But it wasn’t a joke. I really wanted to talk to you. I’m sorry.”

Buffy snorted, not believing what she was hearing. “Are you serious?!”

“Well, yeah.” Riley finally looked at her. “I feel really bad about what I said to you then. I just want you to know that I was serious when I said I wanted to go out with you.”

He sounded sincere, and for a moment, Buffy didn’t know what to say. Then she shrugged. “All right. Whatever you say.” She had been both hurt and humiliated, but now she realized that she didn’t care anymore. Riley meant absolutely nothing to her and she couldn’t care less about what he – or any of his shallow friends for that matter – thought of her. William’s opinion was the only one she was interested in. She started to leave, but Riley was obviously not done.

“Wait!” Riley puffed out his chest and smiled widely, certain that he had immediately been forgiven. “If you still wanna go out, I’m free tomorrow night.”

“Um…” For a moment, Buffy didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. “Aren’t you still going out with Harmony?”

“Oh, well…” Riley laughed a little, then cleared his throat. “Let’s just say we have a very open relationship. We’re both allowed to see others if we want.” A pause. “Though I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t tell her. But you two aren’t that close anyway, right?”

Buffy just stared at him, dumbfounded. Was he for real? Did Riley actually expect her to jump for joy at the fact that he still wanted to date her after the way he had treated her. It would have been almost funny, had it not been so incredibly pathetic. She shook her head in disgust. Riley and Harmony really did deserve each other, she hadn’t been wrong about that. Realizing that he still waited for her to answer, she put on a feigned smile. “Riley?”

Still smiling, he cocked his head to the side. “Yeah?”

“I wouldn’t go out with you if you were the last guy on earth. Face it, Riley; you’re just not man enough to satisfy me.” His smile disappeared and the shock was evident on his face. With her head up high, Buffy stepped past Riley and left him staring after her in disbelief. And this time he didn’t try to stop her.


*~*~*

“Not so cocky now, are you?” As Liam snickered, William started to wonder what he had gotten himself into. They were standing behind the main school building and there was no one else in sight. He couldn’t help but wonder what the hell he had been thinking, following Liam out here. Coming here was clearly a mistake; he was not a fighter. Even if Liam would stick to his words and leave his friends out of this for once, he didn’t stand a chance against the much larger guy. Sure, the other day he had been lucky enough to punch Liam in the face before he got the chance to understand what was happening, but it had simply been just that; luck. And it wasn’t likely he would be that lucky again.

Seeing his hesitation, Liam took a step closer, a challenging look on his face. “You know what? I’m feeling awfully nice today. I bet you’re having second thoughts about coming out here. How about we forget the whole thing and I’ll let you walk away?”

Raising a brow in surprise, William gave Liam a suspicious look. What kind of game was that git trying to play now? There was no way Liam would walk away from a fight, especially not with him. William’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Liam, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

“I’m serious.” Liam chuckled. “We don’t have to do this.” He paused. “All you have to do is beg.”

William stared at him in disbelief. “What?” Liam kept approaching him, slowly, and William found himself, against his will, backing away. The worst thing he could do now was show any sign of fear.

“You heard me.” Liam’s smile had disappeared. “You want out of this? Then you’ll have to beg me. Get down on your knees and beg me to leave you alone, and I might just be nice and do that.” A pause. “For today, that is.”

“You want me to…?” William finally understood. So that was Liam’s plan; today he would settle for just humiliating him. He snorted, knowing that hell would freeze over before he would ever beg Liam for anything again. Crossing his arms over his chest, he shook his head, firmly. “Not bloody likely!”

Liam looked annoyed for a moment. Then he nodded. “All right.” Without warning, he pulled back his fist and slammed it into William’s face, causing him to stumble back. Angry that he managed to remain standing, Liam grabbed William and shoved him back, hard, against the brick wall behind him. Dazed from hitting his head against the wall, William struggled to keep his balance, not wanting to give Liam the satisfaction of taking him down before he even got the chance to defend himself. But when he failed to block another blow against his face, he knew that he had already lost. As he slid down against the wall, he could only hope that Liam, for once, would get it over with as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Liam had other ideas. Letting out a growl, he kicked William in the stomach, causing him to gasp for air. Then he smirked. “You should’ve just gotten down on your knees willingly. Cockiness will get you nowhere, Willie; you should know that by now.”

William ran the back of his hand under his nose, wiping away some of the blood streaming down his face before looking up at his tormentor. “Go to hell.”

“Think you’ve got that wrong.” Liam crouched next to him on the ground, so they were on the same level. Then he leaned so close that their faces were nearly touching. “Because I’m the one who’s going to make your miserable life a living hell.” As if to emphasize his words, Liam hit him again, this time on the jaw. “Come on, Willie!” He let out a cruel laugh when William winced in pain. “Beg me to stop!”

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, William glared at him. “Never!” Liam pulled back his fist again and he braced himself for another blow, but it never came. Blinking in confusion, he realized that someone had just pulled Liam away from him.


TBC

16




Stumbling over his feet in surprise, Liam lost his balance and fell. A sharp wave of pain went through him, causing him to groan, and he realized he had managed to twist his ankle. But the shock of seeing who the traitor was, who had just stopped him from beating William, made him forget all about the pain, at least for the moment. “You?!” He stared at his so-called friend in disbelief and fury.

“That’s enough.” Gunn sounded almost sad. “I can’t let you beat the shit out of him like this. He hasn’t even done anything, and you know it.” He glanced at William, about to scramble to his feet. “You okay, man?” William nodded, obviously surprised.

Liam tried to get up, but the pain in his ankle was too much. “Fuck! That hurts!” He glared at Gunn in accusation. “If I were you, I’d run. Because when I get back on my feet, you’re gonna wish…”

“Oh, shut up, will you?!” Gunn was clearly not impressed, nor the least bit intimidated by the threat. “I’m not afraid of you. In fact, I should’ve done this a long time ago.” He paused. “For years, all you had to do was say ‘jump’, and I’d ask how high. But guess what, Angelus? I’ve had enough.” He turned back to William. “You can get out of here, dude.”

William hesitated. Then he slowly walked over to Liam, still on the ground, looking down at him with disgust. He turned to Gunn. “Thanks, mate. But I think I’ll stick around for a while.” He glanced at Liam, who still seemed to be in a state of shock, obviously not used to people talking back to him in any way. A part of him just wanted to leave, but he knew this opportunity was too good to pass up. When would he ever get a chance like this again?

Gunn gave him a doubtful look. Then, understanding finally dawning on him, he nodded, knowing that if their roles had been reversed, he’d probably do exactly the same thing. So, instead of objecting, he just turned around and left, ignoring how Liam called out for him.

“Gunn! You fucking asshole, get back here!” Liam stared after him for a moment, then did another attempt of getting to his feet. But William stopped him, easily, by immediately kicking his other leg away from supporting his weight, causing Liam to land flat on his back. Cursing and growling in fury, Liam managed to pull himself up in a sitting position. He gave William a threatening look, which probably would have been a lot more intimidating had he not been forced to sit on the ground, looking up at his former victim. “Touch me again, and…”

William interrupted him, letting out a bitter laugh. “What are you gonna do? Glare at me?” Liam opened his mouth, but William surprised them both by kicking him again, this time in the stomach. “Did I say you could speak? Until I do, you just shut your mouth.” He kicked Liam again, just to prove his point, chuckling coldly when the dark-haired boy gasped for air. But on the inside, his violent actions almost made him feel sick. He didn’t enjoy hurting other people like Liam did, but he knew that if he was ever going to win this battle, he had to make Liam think he did.

Luckily, Liam was smart enough to stay quiet, much to William’s relief. Thinking fast, he took a step back, allowing Liam to catch his breath. Then he smirked. “What’s the matter, mate? Not so cocky now, are you?” He paused, pretending to be thinking hard. “Let’s see, what am I gonna do with you now?”

Liam still seemed more angry than afraid, but a slight shadow of fear appeared on his face, only for a moment, but still. Then it was gone, and he glared at William again. “You’re just a fucking loser. Why are you doing this?”

“Why?!” William stared at him in disbelief, then recalled Liam’s words to him, last week in the locker room. “What can I say? I really don’t like you.”


*~*~*

Buffy ran across the school yard, looking wildly around her. She was terrified of what Liam would do to William, not able to stand seeing him get hurt by that jerk again. If only she hadn’t run into Riley, then she probably would have found him by now. Still, she couldn’t deny the fact that the look on Riley’s face when she had turned him down had been priceless.

Now she remembered Liam having the nerve to ask her out as well. Buffy snorted. Like she could ever be interested in him. Aside from being an abusive bastard, his forehead was way too big. And his hair grew straight up, making him look stupid. She wished she had kicked him in the balls instead of just walking away. Well, it wasn’t too late for that, she decided bitterly. If Liam had so much as touched William by the time she found them, she would make sure that pig wouldn’t be able to have children, like ever!


*~*~*

“I wouldn’t move again if I were you, mate.” William was relieved, yet a little surprised when he realized that he sounded perfectly calm. A part of him wanted nothing more than to beat Liam into a bloody pulp, finally being able to get his revenge after all the pain and humiliation he had suffered by Liam’s hands over the years. Still, he knew that simply kicking Liam’s ass wouldn’t solve anything, even though it would probably make him feel a whole lot better.

“Look, you pathetic piece of shit, we both know you’re not gonna do anything. You don’t have it in you.” Liam started to get up, a challenging expression on his face, as if to dare William to stop him. Clearly, the pain in his ankle was starting to wear off. He got a smug look on his face when he saw William’s hesitation.

Before even realizing what he was doing, William quickly kicked Liam again, this time hard enough for him to let out an unmanly cry of pain. “I told you not to move, you stupid wanker!”

Liam almost doubled over in pain, pressing his hand against the side of his chest. “Fuck, man, I think you broke one of my ribs!”

William let out a cold laugh. “No, I didn’t. If I had, it would hurt a hell of a lot more. Believe me, I know.” A pause. “Though, if you move again before I’m done with you, I’ll show you what it really feels like.”

Staring at him for a moment, as if to decide what to do, Liam finally slumped back against the brick wall in defeat. Then he glared at William, who was starting to suspect that this guy was simply too stupid to be afraid of anything. “You’ll be sorry for this. Because when my friends are done with you, you’re gonna wish you had never been born.”

Ignoring that comment, William crouched down next to Liam. “You know, I vaguely recall something you said last week. What was that again? Oh, right. You wanted to show me what it would be like to have a cock in my mouth. Guess what?” He paused, looking directly into Liam’s eyes. “Looks like our roles have been reversed.” He got up, as if to unbutton his jeans.

Finally he got a reaction. Liam’s eyes widened and he quickly glanced around in panic, although not so much to look for help as to make sure no one was watching them. “You wouldn’t!”

“Sure about that, mate?” William stared at him, happy when Liam was the first to look away. Then he snorted. “Knowing you, you’d probably just enjoy it. And I really wouldn’t. So, I guess I have to come up with something better.” He raised a brow. “Any suggestions?”

Liam was quiet for a moment. Then he sighed. “You win, all right? You got me. I won’t mess with you again. Just let me go.”

“All right.” William crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “All you have to do is beg.”


*~*~*

Buffy put her cellphone back down in her pocket, staying quietly behind the corner of the building where she had been standing for the last couple of minutes, watching William finally give Liam what he deserved. She had been about to rush over to him the moment she saw him, but soon realized that it was in fact William who had the upper hand. So she had hesitated, not sure if she should interrupt him, figuring that this was something William needed to do by himself. Now she watched her boyfriend leave Liam on the ground and walk away, back towards the main building.

She almost called out for him, desperate to make sure he was okay. Then she glanced at Liam, still on the ground and glaring after William with a look of pure hate on his face. Slowly, he pulled himself up, brushing himself off and looking around, obviously hoping no one had witnessed his humiliation. Buffy sighed. She would have to wait a little longer before she could go find William. There was something she had to do first.


TBC

17


“Bye, Mom! Don’t wait up!” Buffy held her breath as she grabbed William’s arm and headed for the front door, praying that her mother would take the hint and let them leave the house without any further embarrassment. But unfortunately, Joyce had other ideas.

“Not so fast, honey. I’d like to have a word with you before you go.” Joyce smiled at William before giving her daughter a firm look. “It’ll only take a moment.”

“Mom! We really have to go!” Buffy cringed at the whiny note in her voice and glanced at William, who only seemed to be amused. She let out a sigh and followed her mother into the kitchen. She should have known that it had been too good to be true; it was no secret that her mother had hated every single guy Buffy had dated back in LA, but for some reason, she and William had seemed to get along just fine so far. Strangely, her mother had seemed to be smitten by William from the moment he had walked through the door to pick Buffy up for their date. Then again, William was nothing like those other guys.

In the kitchen, Joyce made sure the door to the living room was closed and turned to her daughter, lowering her voice. “Buffy, I have to ask. I couldn’t help but notice…” She gestured towards her eye and glanced at the door, a concerned look on her face. “William is not a trouble-maker, is he? I mean, he seems like a nice boy, but…”

Buffy sighed, suddenly annoyed. Of course her mom would notice William’s huge black eye, and of course she would assume the worst. Next thing she knew, Joyce would probably ask if William had a criminal record. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her mother. “William’s the sweetest guy I’ve ever met. He would never start a fight. It was not his fault.” She paused. “If you don’t believe me…”

“Of course I do, sweetie.” Joyce looked relieved. “I was just a little concerned, that’s all. You know I only want what’s best for you.”

“You don’t have to worry, Mom.” Buffy smiled. “I don’t think I could ever find a better boyfriend than William.”


Fifteen minutes later, Joyce was standing by the door, watching them leave. She blinked away a few tears and smiled to herself. Her daughter had looked so beautiful tonight; all grown up. Of course, Buffy had been out on dates before, lots of times, but this was different. William was such a nice, normal boy; he and Buffy made a perfect couple. And one day, William would be a wonderful son-in-law. Her smile grew wider. Some people might say that it was way too soon to think like that, but Joyce didn’t care. She knew she was right. There were certain things a mother just knew.


*~*~*

“I’m so sorry about the third degree earlier.” Buffy glanced at William as she took a sip of her diet coke. They had arrived at the restaurant about an hour ago, and so far, everything had been absolutely perfect. But she still felt the need to apologize for her mother’s behavior. Sure, William hadn’t seemed to be offended at all, and Buffy thought he had handled the situation very well, but she had been beyond embarrassed when her mother had insisted on him spilling practically his entire life story.

William gave her a shy smile. “I like your mum, she’s a nice lady. And you can’t really blame her for wanting to know a bit about the bloke who’s suddenly dating her daughter. I don’t mind.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “At least she didn’t ask you about your intentions.”

For a moment, they just sat there in comfortable silence and enjoyed their dinner. Then William spoke up. “Um, if you’re not busy or anything, my mum would like for you to come over to our house for dinner some time next week.” He looked a little embarrassed. “Guess she wants to get to know you. But if you think it’s too soon…”

“No.” Buffy gave him an assuring smile. “That’ll be great.” She was a little surprised, though, having gotten the impression that William and his mother weren’t very close. But maybe they were both trying to change that. She really hoped so.

“Good.” William looked relieved. He was quiet for a moment. “Look, about what happened at school…” Then he hesitated, not sure of how to go on. He had told Buffy all about the fight with Liam, but for some reason, he had a feeling there was something she wasn’t telling him. And that made him a little nervous.

“Do we really have to talk about that?” Buffy grimaced. “We’re having such a great time; I don’t wanna ruin it by bringing up bad things. And I’m getting angry just thinking about that jerk.” She reached out a hand towards his face, gently running her fingers over the bruised skin around his left eye. “I can’t believe he did that to you.”

“Yeah, well…” William shrugged, not wanting to meet her eyes. “I bet he doesn’t look much better than I do right now.” Liam hadn’t exactly gotten away from the fight unharmed, either. But Buffy already knew that.

Buffy smiled a little, still stroking his face. “You’ll always look handsome to me. Even with your face covered with bruises.” She blushed. “In fact, it makes you look kinda sexy. Dangerous.”

William rolled his eyes, a teasing note in his voice. “So nice to hear that me getting my ass kicked turns you on.”

Buffy’s smile disappeared. “That’s not what I…”

“I know, I’m sorry.” He interrupted her, giving her an apologetic look. “Was just kidding. Bad joke.”

“Really bad.” Buffy pouted a little. “You know I can’t stand the idea of you getting hurt.” She paused. “But it’s over now. He’s not gonna touch you again.” Seeing the look on William’s face, she hurried to add; “I mean, you showed him, right? Now he knows better than to mess with you again.” She smiled.

William wasn’t as convinced, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to upset Buffy, but he was quite certain that nothing had changed. Sure, maybe Liam would leave him alone for a couple of days, but sooner or later, things would go back to being just the same as before. Liam and his friends would keep tormenting him until the day they would all graduate, and there was not much he could do about it. Sure, he could keep trying to defend himself, but as long as he didn’t have any friends and Liam was one of the most popular guys in school, he just didn’t stand a chance.

Buffy was unaware of William’s depressing thoughts, wishing he could have seen the look on Liam’s face when she had left him. Of course, she felt a little bad for not telling William what she had done, but she figured it was for the best. She just wasn’t sure he would react very well if he found out. Sure, she had just wanted to help him, hopefully succeeding, too, but maybe his pride would get hurt and she didn’t want that. Because she was pretty sure no guy wanted to be saved by a girl.


TBC

18


The following week went by quickly, Buffy and William being almost inseparable, and before they knew it, it was Friday again. They had been working together on the History project every day after school, either at William’s house or at Buffy’s, and last night, they were finally finished. Buffy had never thought she would enjoy working on a school project that much, remembering how reluctant she had been when Mrs. French had first told her about it. Of course, back then, she didn’t know she would be working with William.

Her mother had been impressed as well, happy that Buffy finally seemed to take a school project so seriously. Of course, Buffy didn’t tell her that she and William didn’t just study during all the hours they spent together; sometimes there were some serious smooches involved as well. But as Joyce went on, Buffy just smiled and nodded, agreeing that working hard and doing well in school was most important.

Buffy had been kissing and making out with guys before, back in LA, but she could never compare those so-called relationships with what she now had with William. For one thing, she had never really enjoyed being too close with those guys, even though she had to admit that kissing was kinda nice. But she hadn’t wanted to take things further than that, simply because it didn’t feel right. And she had never before met a guy she felt so comfortable with that she would even consider going all the way and sleep with him. Her old friends used to talk about sex all the time, but Buffy had never understood what was so amazing about it. Of course, she never said that out loud.

But being with William was different. For some reason, she just couldn’t get enough of snuggling with him, and when they finally kissed for the first time – on her bed, surrounded by their text books and all her stuffed animals – Buffy felt like she had somehow died and ended up in Heaven. It was such a cliché, sure, but she couldn’t help but feeling like she was bouncing around on little pink clouds. And whenever she was around William, she just couldn’t stop smiling. Fortunately, William clearly felt the same way.

Tonight, they would first have dinner with William’s mother and then meet up with Willow and Xander at the popular night club; The Bronze. They had spent some time together, all four of them, at school during the last week, and it had turned out that William and Xander actually seemed to get along quite well. Willow had told Buffy over the phone one night that Xander apparently had started dating a girl from his Algebra class, called Anya Jenkins, and although Buffy was happy for him, she was also incredibly grateful. She got the feeling that Xander used to have a crush on her, which made her feel very uncomfortable. So naturally, him dating someone else was a huge relief.

Now she rang the doorbell, waiting for William to open. It had only been a couple of hours since she saw him in school, but she already missed him. She had never felt like that with any other guy before, either. Smiling to herself as the door swung open, she figured that was how it was supposed to be when you were in love with someone.


*~*~*

William couldn’t help but feel like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop; things had just seemed to be a little too good to be true lately. He supposed he just wasn’t used to good things happening to him and suspected that it would take some time before he would really dare to believe that his new-found happiness would last, that all the wonderful things that had happened lately might just not be temporary after all.

Surprisingly enough, Liam and his friends had actually stayed out of his way after the confrontation outside of school a week ago. William had never expected them to completely leave him alone after that day, but when he mentioned that to Buffy, she hadn’t seemed surprised at all. Instead she had just smiled, saying something like ‘See, I told you! You totally showed him!’ He hadn’t been that convinced, but maybe she was right after all.

Speaking of Buffy; the two of them had spent practically every day together for the last week. At first, things had been completely innocent, both of them being almost too shy and insecure for their own good, but as the time went by, they both became braver around each other. He had put his arm around her shoulders when they had decided to take a break from studying and watch a movie, and she had given him a soft peck on the cheek when he had offered to go get her a soda, but it took another three whole days until their first real kiss.

However, after that first fumbling attempt of taking their relationship to the next level, everything had changed. Suddenly, they just couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. William’s mother, who had gotten much better during the last week, had mentioned something about going away to visit her sister the following weekend, leaving William alone in the house. But after seeing her son and the pretty blonde girl only grow closer and closer, Anne had jokingly threatened to send William’s uncle – Rupert – over to check on them, claiming she was still way too young to become a grandmother.

As he had blushed, furiously, William suspected that she was only half joking and assured his mother that she had nothing to worry about. Still, the idea of spending the whole night alone with Buffy made him more excited than he could remember ever being before. And judging by the huge smile on Buffy’s face when he had told her, she felt exactly the same way.

The relationship between William and his mother had also gotten better lately; he had made an effort of actually talking to her, and for the first time, he felt like Anne was genuinely interested in listening to what he had to say. Of course, he hadn’t told her everything that had been going on at school over the years, but at least he had given her some hints. The relief of finding out that her son was not the troublemaker she had thought quickly got replaced with guilt as Anne started to realize how horribly wrong she had been.

So, needless to say, William’s life had definitely changed for the better over the last few weeks. It had all happened so fast; one day he had been an outcast, feeling practically isolated from the rest of the world, and the next, Buffy Summers had entered his life. And from that moment, nothing was the same. He also knew that she felt the same way; they had both saved each other. Their relationship was still new, but William didn’t doubt for a moment that the love he already felt for her was real.

The shrill sound of the doorbell finally snapped him out of his thoughts, and he hurried towards the door. Even though Liam and the other bullies finally seemed to leave him alone, he knew that he would always be considered a loser by most of the kids in school. But that thought didn’t bother him much anymore. Buffy had insisted on him getting to know her friends, and he found, much to his surprise that Willow and Xander were really nice. And what was even more surprising, they seemed to genuinely like him as well.

Although he knew that Buffy’s life had changed drastically since she had moved to Sunnydale, it was obvious that she was happy here. And he felt oddly proud, knowing that he was one of the reasons behind her happiness. Buffy had clearly accepted the fact that her days as ‘miss popular’ were over; they would both probably be known as ‘the high school outcasts’ until the day they would graduate. But they couldn’t care less. Because they had each other.


TBC

19


~epilogue – 10 years later~


“I can’t believe we’re actually back here after all this time.” Buffy Summers-Pratt looked around the large room, her eyes searching curiously through the crowd of people. She smiled as her eyes landed on the huge banner hanging from the ceiling. “Look at that, can you believe it? It’s been ten years since we graduated!”

William glanced around the gymnasium before turning back to his wife. “Yeah, and I definitely recall you saying something back then about never setting your foot at this place again.”

“Well, it is our high school reunion.” Buffy pouted a little. “Besides, you’re the one who said we should go. Which I have to admit surprised me, since you hated this place just as much as I did.”

“How could I hate this place?” William placed a soft kiss at the top of her head with a playful smile. “It’s where I met you, isn’t it?” Buffy beamed at him and he let out a happy sigh, still having a hard time to take in the fact that he and Buffy were now married, and had been so for the last five years. And what truly amazed him was that their love just seemed to grow stronger each day. Now he cleared his throat, almost shyly. “Look, there’s Willow. Let’s go over and say hi.”

Buffy’s face lit up as she spotted the red-head, standing alone by the bar. “Willow!” She hurried over to her old friend, William following.

“Buffy, William!” Willow smiled warmly at them, hugging Buffy first, then William. “I’m so glad you guys made it.”

“So, where’s the whelp?” William looked around the room.

Willow’s smile faltered a little. “Oh, Xander’s not coming. He said he wouldn’t feel very comfortable around all these people, especially not after that…” She hesitated. “…thing, you know?”

Buffy gave her a look full of understanding. “You mean the ‘leaving Anya at the altar-thing’? Not his best idea, huh?”

Willow nodded in agreement. “I feel really bad for them. Can’t imagine what they must be going through.” She shook her head, sadly. They had all been a little surprised when Xander had finally proposed to Anya Jenkins, who he had been dating on and off since high school, but that was nothing compared to the shock when he suddenly panicked and ran off at the day of their wedding.

“Have you talked to Anya?” Buffy now asked, curiously.

Willow shook her head, looking a little ashamed. “We weren’t exactly friends or anything. I mean, she was Xander’s girlfriend, but…” She shrugged. Buffy nodded, knowing that Willow had never really liked Anya in the first place.

After a moment’s silence, Willow cleared her throat. “Oh, there’s Amy, I haven’t seen her in years!” She raised her hand and waved at a tall woman with curly, brown hair.

William put his arm around Buffy’s shoulders. “Want a drink, pet?” She nodded with a grateful smile and he turned towards the bar, waving his hand to catch the bartender’s attention. Buffy took a step after him, about to follow, when she accidentally bumped into someone. Her eyes widened when she immediately recognized the blonde woman in front of her. And judging by the cold look on the other woman’s face, she recognized Buffy as well.

“Oh, look!” Harmony crossed her arms over her chest, raising her voice to make sure everybody would hear. “It’s the high school outcast!”

Before Buffy got the chance to respond, William turned around, giving Harmony the look-over and snorted, clearly not at all impressed. “Oh, look!” he mimicked Harmony’s high pitched voice. “It’s the high school slut!” Harmony opened her mouth, then closed it again, staring at him in shock. Then, as people around them started to laugh, she turned around abruptly and stormed off without a word. William rolled his eyes and handed Buffy her diet coke. “Here you go, luv.”

Buffy gave him a kiss on the cheek. “God, that was just great!” She shook her head in amusement. William looked pleased, but didn’t say anything. Buffy went on, giggling; “Looked like she was here all by herself. And did you see her finger? No ring! Ha! I’m married to a famous writer and I bet that skank Harmony couldn’t even get a date for tonight!”

William grimaced, looking away in embarrassment. “I’m not that famous, pet.”

“Are you kidding?” Buffy stared at him in disbelief. “Your latest novel’s been on the top-ten bestseller list for seven weeks now. I’m telling you, it’s just a matter of time before people will line up outside our house, screaming for your autograph.” A grin spread on her face as William blushed.

“Hey, William. Buffy.” A deep voice interrupted them and they turned around. William smiled at Charles Gunn and shook his outstretched hand. Gunn returned his smile and shook Buffy’s hand as well. Then he glanced at the slender woman standing next to him with a proud smile. “This is my wife, Winnifred – Fred, darling, this is Buffy and William.” Fred smiled, shyly.

“So…” Buffy glanced at Gunn. “Have you heard anything from Liam Angelus lately? I don’t see him here tonight.” She gave William’s hand an assuring squeeze, not wanting to bring up bad memories, but too curious not to ask. She had seen Liam around town a couple of times over the years, and every time he had recognized her, he had immediately lowered his eyes and hurried away in the other direction.


~flashback~

Buffy hurried over to Liam, who had just gotten to his feet. His eyes narrowed and he looked annoyed when he saw her. “What are you doing here?”

She smiled sweetly at him. “I just thought you and I should have a little talk.”

He gave her a suspicious look. “About what?”

“William’s a very good friend of mine.” Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. “From now on, you’ll leave him alone.”

For a moment, Liam just stared at her, mouth open. Then he burst out laughing, his humiliation only moments before clearly forgotten. “Really? Is that a threat, princess?”

Buffy didn’t dignify that with an answer. Instead she just pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and held it up in front of him. Liam’s smile faltered and he gave her a confused look. “What’s that?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s called a cell phone, Liam. I happen to have some really interesting pictures here I think you should take a look at.” Liam just looked at her, blankly, so she went on, a sarcastic note in her voice; “Oh, here, let me help you. I didn’t realize you were too stupid to know how to flick through some pictures.”

Liam glared at her, furiously, and tried to snatch the phone from her, but Buffy pulled her hand back and held it just out of his reach. “Not so fast. Before you get any stupid ideas, like trying to erase the pictures before you give me my phone back, you should know that I’ve already sent every single picture to my personal e-mail address.” A wide grin spread on her face. “Don’t you just love technology nowadays?” She handed him the phone, still smiling.

He flicked through the pictures without a word. Finally, he looked up. “Now what?”

“Hmm…” Buffy took her phone back, a thoughtful expression on her face as she watched one of the pictures of Liam and William she had taken earlier. She tilted her head to the side. “I guess I could make a video out of these somehow and upload it on YouTube.”

Clenching his fists in fury, Liam took a threatening step towards her. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Or…” Buffy went on, ignoring his interruption completely. “I could show them to Andrew Wells.” Liam stopped and stared at her, a blank look on his face. “Tucker’s brother?” He still looked confused and she rolled her eyes. “The editor of the school paper! I bet he could come up with a wonderful article.” She paused, dramatically. “’Famous high school bully, trembling in fear in front of his former victim’. How about that for a headline? Your friends are so gonna love to see this new side of you, don’t you think?”

“You fucking bitch…” Liam stopped, obviously at a loss for words. Then he slumped back against the wall behind him with a defeated sigh. “What the hell do you want?”

Buffy stared at him in disbelief. “Are you stupid or something? I already told you; I want you to stay the hell away from William.”

Liam snorted. Then he was silent for a moment. “Fine.”

But Buffy wasn’t finished. “Same goes for your friends. If any of you touch him, hell, if you so much as look at him funny again, the whole school’s gonna find out how William kicked your ass and made you cry like the pathetic little wimp you really are.” She gave him an expectant look. “Well? Are we clear?”

At first, Liam didn’t answer. Then he practically hissed the word out, through gritted teeth. “Yes.”

~end flashback~


“Liam?” Gunn looked a little surprised. “We haven’t exactly stayed in touch over the years. I see him around town every now and then, though. Rumor says he’s dating the owner of the new beauty salon at the mall.”

William stared at him for a moment. Then he burst out laughing. “Oh, you’ve got to be joking!” Gunn shook his head, a grin spreading on his face as well.

Buffy looked from William to Gunn, frowning. “What’s so funny?” Then she remembered something. “Wait. Isn’t that the place where you…?” She gestured towards William’s newly bleached blond hair. He nodded, still chuckling. Buffy was even more confused. “But didn’t you say the owner of that place was…?”

“A bloke named Lorne. Really nice guy.” William tried to stay serious but failed, miserably. “Oh bloody hell, this is just hilarious!”

After making some more polite small talk with Gunn and Fred, William grabbed Buffy’s hand and pulled her with him out into the long corridor outside the gymnasium, insisting there was something he wanted to show her. Following him, though, a little suspiciously, Buffy giggled as he gently pushed her into one of the bathrooms, locking the door behind them. “Finally alone,” he whispered huskily in her ear.

“William!” Buffy rolled her eyes as he gave her an innocent look. “Don’t tell me you just brought me to the ladies room to make out! What are we, fourteen?”

He pouted, slightly. “Are you telling me you don’t want me?”

She opened her mouth, then let out a moan as he started tracing soft kisses down her collarbone. “Okay, that’s not fair.”

William couldn’t help but smirk, knowing exactly what it took to convince her. “Like this, do you, pet?”

“Mm-hmm.” Buffy let out a happy sigh and ran her fingers through his hair as he let his lips brush against hers for a brief moment. She parted her lips, slightly, allowing their tongues to meet. Suddenly, she pulled back. “We can’t do this! What if someone…?” Her voice trailed off as William’s hands found their way under her shirt, slowly running over her soft skin. “William, what about the reunion?”

“Sod the bloody reunion!” William pulled back a little so he could slip out of his leather duster, letting it fall to the floor. “I just want you.”

“I want you, too, Will.” Buffy pouted a little. “But we’re in a bathroom at our old school. Not exactly my idea of romantic.”

“I don’t know.” William put a single strand of hair behind her ear. “As far as I’m concerned, I could make love to you down in the sewers, and it would still be nothing but romantic.”

Buffy smiled. “Aww, that’s very sweet.” Then she frowned. “Or really, really gross. You do know that’s never gonna happen, right?”

He chuckled. “Just saying, it doesn’t matter where we are, luv. As long as we’re together, how could anything we do ever be any less than perfect?”

She thought about it for a moment. “Huh. Either that made perfect sense…” He raised a brow, giving her a hopeful look. “…or you’re just so horny right now that you’re ready to say whatever crap you can come up with so you can get laid.”

William mock glared at her, pretending to be deeply offended. “Crap, you say? Tell me something, pet. Last night? All the naughty things I whispered in your ear as you came, was that crap as well?”

Their eyes met and Buffy almost blushed as she recalled the hours and hours of steamy love-making last night. Although she and William had been together for ten years now, she still didn’t think she could ever get tired of him. Or the sex, for that matter. Suddenly, it had become very hot in the small bathroom. “Well…”

“Admit it, luv…” Without warning, William slid his hand under her black skirt and under her silky thong, causing her to gasp. “You love the things I do to you…” He started rubbing her clit, slowly. “…the way I touch you…” He slid one finger inside of her, followed by another. “…in all the right places.”

“Oh, God…” Buffy closed her eyes, a soft moan escaping from her throat.

This time, William didn’t even try to hide his smirk. It was safe to say that he had learned a thing or two over the years; he knew exactly what Buffy liked. “I can make you feel so good, kitten,” he breathed into her ear. “You want it, don’t you?”

“A world of yes!” Buffy’s eyes snapped open. “You’re evil.” He gave her a sexy grin that made her knees go weak.

“What can I tell you, baby? I’ve always been bad.” Buffy let out an amused snort at that and he rolled his eyes. “You want this or not?” She gave him a sweet smile and pretended to zip her lips closed. “No need for that.” William looked her deep in the eyes and curled his tongue behind his teeth. “I wanna hear you scream.”

For a moment, she just looked at him. Then she started tugging at his pants, almost desperately. As he took a step back to make it easier for her, he had to bite his lip to hide a smile. “Thought you wanted this to be romantic?”

“We can do romantic any time.” Buffy batted her eyelashes at him and put her hand right on his crotch, thinking that two could play that game. It was now his turn to gasp. “Now… I just want you to fuck me!”

“That right?” He was grinning widely now. “Your wish is my command.”

As soon as Buffy had pulled his pants down all the way, William quickly kicked them to the side. Then he took her hand, gently pulling her down on the floor with him, using his duster as a blanket. Buffy immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, crying out with pleasure as he easily slid into her. She grasped his shoulders tightly as he started thrusting inside her. “God! Whatever you do, don’t stop!”

William pulled his head back so he could look at her, his eyes dark with desire. “Don’t think I can make it last very long, kitten.”

“Don’t care.” Buffy pulled him closer again. “Just keep going!” He did, and she threw her head back with a gasp as she started to feel the familiar feeling building up inside her. She let out a pleading whimper. “Please, William, I’m gonna…”

He started thrusting faster and faster, never slowing down, and she was not surprised when he came with a roar, only seconds after her. Afterwords they just lay there in silence for a moment, panting. Then William gently cupped her cheek and kissed her, with so much passion that it almost made her weep. “I love you, Buffy.”

“I love you, too, William, so much.” They just looked at each other for a moment, then Buffy giggled, still a little out of breath from the kiss. “I guess you were right after all.” He gave her a questioning look and she explained; “It was very romantic.”

“And here I just made that crap up. Can’t believe you fell for it.” She slapped him hard on the arm. “Ow! Just kidding, luv!”

Buffy glared at him, trying to stay serious but failing. Instead, she ran her fingers through his blond hair. “I love your hair this way.”

He caught her hand and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles before she could loosen the gel and make his hair all curly. “Thought you hated it.”

“I never said that.” She squeezed his hand. “It just took some time to get used to. I didn’t see why you had to make such a drastic change, that’s all.” Then she smiled a little. “But I have to admit, it makes you look really hot. Kinda dangerous.”

“Yeah?” William got a pleased look on his face. “Maybe I need a new name to go with my new look.”

“Don’t you dare!” Buffy let go of his hand, giving him a stern look. “Bleached blond hair and leather duster – fine. But if you start dressing all in black and call yourself Spike or something, then you’ll be sleeping on the couch, mister.”

“Spike, eh?” William looked thoughtful for a moment. “Kinda like it.” He laughed as she gave him a warning look, firmly shaking her head. “Kidding, pet. Come on.” He got up from the floor and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. “School’s out for bloody summer. Let’s go home.”


The End