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"Dawn, quit staring." Buffy turned to face her younger sister.

"That's the guy who was cutting everyone's grass this summer?" Dawn was watching him pull into the driveway and park next to her mom's car.

Buffy looked at William. She hoped that she hadn't gone overboard with the makeover, as William feared. Was she correct that a change this big would draw positive attention? Maybe she just liked a little badness in her man.

"Buffy! Can you take your sister to school?" Her mom interrupted her thoughts as she rushed over to her car. "I'm running late, and you're both going to the same school this year, so..."

Buffy gaped at her mom, but then motioned Dawn to William's car. She still felt guilty for driving her mom's car two weeks ago. So far her mom didn't know about the accident. She was glad it happened in the middle of the night without the witness of her neighbors. Well, except for William, Xander, and Willow.

"Thank you for not arguing." Joyce said as she backed out the driveway.

Buffy suppressed a groan. She wanted to be cool the first day of school, not look like a mom-mobile. She looked over at Dawn, who was bouncing up and down with excitement, and rolled her eyes. She walked over to the window on the driver's side of William's car. "Is it all right if she rides in the back seat?"

***

Dawn ran to some friends after William parked the car. He looked around nervously and eyed Buffy. She seemed calm. But then again, she was always calm. 'Why wouldn't she be calm? She wasn't the one who had the big makeover,' he thought. She walked over and took his hand. A little shock went through his arm, and he closed his hand around hers.

As they walked through the campus, he saw Willow and Xander. He waved at them. Willow looked a little confused at first - then her eyes widened. She nudged Xander and he looked up in surprise.

"William?" Willow gawked at him after Buffy and William walked over.

"What did you do to your hair?" Xander started to laugh. William started to feel uncertain.

"You think it's too much? Buffy suggested it." William touched his hair and looked at Buffy.

Buffy looked into his eyes and smiled. She ran her fingers through his hair. "It really brings out your eyes and cheekbones." William's heart skipped a beat.

"Oh! You're dating now! This explains why you were so avoidy last week," Willow said looking at their clasped hands.

"How? Why?" Xander stopped chuckling and looked from William to Buffy.

"I just saw something in him after the accident two weeks ago." Buffy gazed at William. His breath caught when Buffy looked at him like that, but then he remembered that it was part of the act.

Buffy suddenly turned to Willow and Xander. "Please don't mention my mom's car to anyone. I don't want it getting back to her."

"Your secret's safe with us." Willow glanced at Xander. "Right, Xander?" After a pause, Xander nodded.

William realized that it was working. They believed Buffy's story. It wasn't that far from the truth, though. Buffy did see something in him - his money.

William noticed that Buffy was looking over at the red oak on the other side of the campus. Harmony was standing under the tree with her other friends, as they did every morning before school. Buffy told Willow and Xander that she would talk to them later. She squeezed William's hand. "Now the hard part."

William let himself be led away. His nerves started up again. All he wanted in high school was under that tree. His life was going to be different.

***


After Buffy and William left, Xander turned to Willow. "Do you think Cordelia can be in a car accident in front of my house?"

Willow rolled her eyes.

***

"Who's that hottie with Buffy?" Harmony gaped at the man who was currently holding Buffy's hand. He was the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen. His hair was platinum and gelled back with a slight curl that couldn't be tamed. He was wearing black jeans and boots. She could make out his muscular arms through his red t-shirt. Even from the distance, Harmony could tell that he had great cheekbones.

"New guy?" Holly quirked her eyebrow.

Buffy and William stopped in front of them. "Hey. You know William." Buffy raised their joined hands and lowered them.

Harmony was confused. The only William she knew was a geeky boy. This guy was anything but geeky.

"Harmony, it's the same William." Buffy smirked at her. Harmony wondered how Buffy knew what she was thinking. She looked closely at the guy and still didn't see any resemblance. 'Maybe Buffy is referring to a different William,' she thought. 'One I never met before.'

"Oh my God." Holly was hesitant. "He looks different."

'OK, well, Holly seems to recognize him,' Harmony thought. She was conflicted on whether to accept this new guy or not. On one hand Buffy, who was more popular than herself, accepted him. On the other hand, Cameron, Dodd, and Gage were looking at William with narrowed eyes. Holly seemed to be waiting until there was an agreement among the group.

Buffy took a deep breath and held her chin up. "Yes, I think he looks great now. He's so independent and cool. He does what he wants."

Harmony thought that maybe she should accept him and spoke up. "Well, he is good looking." Her face suddenly fell when she noticed Cordelia walking towards them. Cordelia was the most popular of all of them. Whatever she says, goes. Harmony decided to wait to see what Cordelia thought.

Cordelia stopped in front of William and looked him up and down. She slowly walked around him and took in his appearance.

"Buffy, whatever you did to William, I love it!" Cordelia gushed. Buffy smiled.

"How did you know it was William?" Harmony asked. She still couldn't see a resemblance, but if everyone else said that he was the same guy, then she would think it was the same guy.

"I recognized him." Cordelia turned to Harmony. "You have to see beyond the clothes." Harmony nodded. Cordelia could be so wise.

"You two coming to the party on Saturday?" Gage asked, looking at Buffy.

"Of course." Buffy looked at William and raised her eyebrows.

***

William was ecstatic. The moment Cordelia approved of him, everyone else was his friend. Every time he walked into a classroom, more than one person motioned for him to sit next to them. Even people outside Buffy's circle wanted to be near him. For someone who was usually ignored, this was a big change.

He knew it would be like this.

***

Xander watched Willow wave at William, who was at the Cafeteria entrance. William wasn't in any of Xander's morning classes, so he hadn't seen him since before school. William looked around before walking over.

"Hey." William fiddled with his notebook. "I'm actually waiting for Buffy."

Xander was disappointed. The three of them had always eaten lunch together.

"Well, you should eat with her." Willow smiled. "How was your day so far, being the boyfriend of Buffy?"

"Different. People I didn't even know came up and talked to me."

"That must have been weird. Oh! We're going to the Bronze this Saturday to see this new band. You wanna come?"

"Saturday? I'm going to this party with Buffy." William played with his notebook again. "The Bronze sounds like fun, though."

Xander remained silent as Willow talked to William about the party. Willow had spoken to him earlier about being sarcastic towards William. She told him that William needed to be happy with someone, and so he should be happy for him. He wanted to be, but he was afraid that he was going to lose his friend.

"William!" Buffy was calling William from the other side of the cafeteria. William gave Willow and Xander one last smile and headed towards Buffy. Xander stabbed at his lunch and was silent for the rest of the lunch period.

TBC





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