Chapter One
Buffy turned when she felt a tap on her shoulder, expecting to find William's smiling face behind her.
“Hey there Buffy,” a deep, masculine voice purred.
All the blood rushed to Buffy's face as she stared, dumbfounded, at the young man in front of her. I can't believe he knows my name.
Realising he was waiting for her to say something she attempted to kickstart her brain again. “Umm, h-hi Angel,” she stammered. Nervously she tucked her long, brown hair behind her ear, trying to smile without drawing attention to her braces.
He gave her a slow, sexy smirk and she felt her insides flutter. “I was just wondering if you have a date for Riley's end-of-school party tomorrow night.”
“Oh.” Buffy felt embarrassment fill her as she answered, “I kind of haven't...umm...been invited.” She swallowed heavily as she stared at him, hope blossoming unbidden in her chest. Could it be that he's really going to ask me?
Angel looked shocked at her admission. “You really haven't been invited?” When she shook her head he continued, “Wow. I guess that must be because you're such a geek.”
Suddenly laughter erupted from the other side of the hall and Buffy realised that Riley Finn and his girlfriend Cordelia Chase had been watching them the whole time.
Buffy looked back up at Angel to find him trying half-heartedly to contain his mirth. She bit her bottom lip and cast her eyes down as she fought the tears that pricked the back of her eyes. The spark of hope that had glimmered so briefly in her chest died painfully.
Angel took her hand in his and she cringed, filled with shame as a delighted shiver ran up her arm. “We'll try not to have too much fun without you.” With a leer he placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.
“Leave her alone Angel.” Buffy started as William's voice sounded behind her. With a jerk she pulled her hand from Angel’s, thankful for her best friend's timely arrival.
Angel simply snorted in the face of William's anger. “What are you gonna do about it Billy Boy?” he laughed. “Torture me by reciting one of your poems?”
The three friends started off down the hall, still laughing, when another girl joined them. “What have you been up to my Angel?” she asked as she greeted her boyfriend.
“Just playing with the lower beings Dru. You want a turn?”
Druscilla Black cast her eyes briefly over Buffy before her gaze landed on William. Buffy heard William gasp when Dru gave him a small enigmatic smile before declaring, “This one's time has yet to come.”
William was frozen, barely able to breath under the intense gaze of this dark beauty. Unable to resist, he let his eyes wander down her curvaceous form. He longed to touch her smooth pale skin; to run his fingers through her long, black tresses. If only…
Without another word, Dru turned and led the group out the front door of the school.
After they were gone Buffy took a deep breath and turned to look at William, only to find him still staring at the door through which Dru and the others had disappeared.
“Will?” She waved a hand in front of his face. “Earth to Will.”
Snapping out of his trance he mumbled, “Huh...what?”
Buffy laughed and shook her head, before returning to the task of cleaning out her locker. “Come on Romeo.” She smiled as she took his arm and started to lead him out of the building. “School's over for the summer, which means a solid few months of freedom from those vultures, and there is much ice cream to be eaten.”
**********
A few weeks later Buffy Summers stood in front of her mirror, staring at her perfect teeth. The braces she'd been wearing for the last 18 months were finally gone. Her flawlessly straight pearly whites gleamed. Now if only I could change everything else, she thought to herself. Looking at herself with a critical eye she saw dull brown hair pulled back in a plain ponytail. Her face was pretty enough but nothing to make guys drool. She never really bothered to learn how to apply make-up properly, and so rarely wore it. Her body was slim, with all the right curves, but she was always self conscious about it and spent most of her time in baggy clothes so as to not draw attention to herself. All in all it was a pretty dowdy package as far as she was concerned.
Suddenly William appeared in the mirror as he moved to stand behind her. “What's wrong Buffy?” he asked, concern marring his features.
Buffy sighed unhappily. “I was just wondering what it will feel like to graduate from high school without ever having been on a date.”
“What are you talking about? You've still got another full year to go. You'll have plenty of dates before you graduate.”
Buffy turned to look her friend in the eye. “That's what I've been telling myself for the past two years Will. The way things are going it's never going to happen.” Her eyes turned watery and she hurried to brush away the tears. “I'm a helpless case.”
“That's ridiculous pet,” William scoffed. “You're smart and you're gorgeous. Just because Angel O'Connor is too dunce to see a good thing when it's staring him right in the face–”
“Angel O'Connor is an arsehole,” Buffy interrupted.
William flashed her his 'how stupid do you think I am' look. “You may know full well what a prancing git he is but that doesn't stop you from wanting him to want you.”
Buffy's face went up in flames as William voiced her secret wish. She'd had no idea anybody knew she had a crush on Angel. But she figured she probably should know better than to think she could get anything past William. They had been best friends since the first day of high school.
“Well what about you,” she countered. “You've been mooning over Druscilla for months now.”
It was William's turn to blush as a silly grin appeared. “I can't help it. I just feel this connection between us. Like if only she took the time to get to know me, we could really mean something to each other. You know?”
Buffy smiled gently. “Yeah, I know. I don't know that Druscilla would be right for you, but I know what you mean.” With a great sigh she flung herself down on her bed. “Oh Will. We make a great pair don't we?”
William groaned aloud in dismay and stretched out beside her. “Yeah pretty much. It's not like people like them will ever notice a pair of dorks like us.”
They looked at each other, understanding and comfort passing easily between them.
Buffy started to giggle. “Don't you wish we had a magic wand and we could be all beautiful and popular and then Angel and Dru would fall all over themselves vying for our attention.”
William chuckled at the visions that filled his head. “Somehow I don't think that sort of change happens overnight.”
Buffy's giggles died abruptly and she looked at William, suddenly scrutinising his light brown curls and wire-rimmed glasses. She sat up, turning to face William on to bed, “Maybe not overnight. But what about over say, a couple of months?”
William frowned in confusion, responding with a very eloquent, “Huh?”
Jumping up from the bed Buffy began to pace as she got excited by her idea. “We have two months before we go back to school. That means we have two full months to turn ourselves into date worthy material.”
William looked at her warily. “You really think we should change who we are?”
“No silly,” Buffy replied, rolling her eyes. Plopping back down beside him she made her case. “You know as well as I do that the sort of stuff that makes kids popular is all superficial surfacey stuff. It's all about the hair and clothes and attitude.
“Will, we don't have to change. Just what we look like, and how we react to the popular crowd. Braces made my teeth look better, this is just taking that further.”
Seeing that William's brain was ticking over as he thought about it Buffy fell silent, a big grin lighting up her face.
Finally William looked up and Buffy felt her excitement growing at the new sparkle she saw in his eyes. “Do you really think we could do it?”
Giggling happily Buffy threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug. “Absolutely. Oh Will this is going to be great.” Pulling back she looked him in the eyes before saying, “Just remember, we are two of the brainiest kids in that school. If we can't pull this off then it's just not possible.”
Finding her excitement contagious William smiled and gave a decisive nod. “Alright love. You've convinced me. I'm in.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hi guys. This is my very first high school fic. I got so excited when I first had this idea that I had to share it. I hope you enjoy. This story is dedicated to those of us who were actually considered nerds in high school and would have loved to do the whole make over thing and been seen differently. Thanks to Brat for taking the time to look over this chapter and encouraging me to post.