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"I want to go, too." Dawn crossed her arms and looked defiantly at Buffy.

"No. We're shopping for William, not going to whatever stores you want." Buffy gave her sister a look. "And after what happened last winter, I'm not letting you go to a store by yourself."

William looked between the two girls. He could tell that they were sisters, but there were some differences. For one thing, Dawn, at fourteen, was already taller than Buffy. Her eyes were blue, Buffy's were hazel. She was also a brunette, while Buffy was a blond. Then again, William thought, Buffy may actually be a brunette, too.

Buffy had wanted to shop for clothes for the party the next day. He had already worn all his "cool" clothes to school during the week. She had suggested that they go to the mall after school. Buffy's plan was to drop Dawn off at home first.

Now, Buffy and Dawn were arguing. They were always arguing. Being an only child, William didn't know if it was normal for siblings to argue this much. He also didn't know personally many people with siblings. Willow and Xander, the two people he knew the best, were also only children.

"Fine. I'll just tell Dad you're using his credit card to buy your boyfriend stuff." Dawn smirked at Buffy.

Buffy turned to Dawn with a glare. William knew that he needed to say something before it got worse.

"Maybe she can help pick out clothes." William lightly laid a hand on Buffy's arm. Dawn broke out into a big grin.

"Fine." Buffy's eyes narrowed as she continued to look at Dawn. "But if you even think about stealing anything, I'm going to tell mom this time." Buffy, then, threw her book bag into the back of William's car.

William let out the breath he was holding. The fighting had stopped for now.

* * *

It was dark by the time they got back from the mall and dropped Dawn off at home. Buffy had wanted to help him with his new clothes, so she asked if she could go over to his house. In all truthfulness, she just wanted to spend more time with him.

"William, is that you?" a middle aged woman walked out of the kitchen towards them. "Where have you been? I was worried."

"We were at the mall. I'm sorry, I should have called you." William lightly pulled Buffy over to stand beside him. "This is Buffy."

Buffy gathered that the long-haired woman was William's mother. She carried herself with grace as she walked over to Buffy.

"You're Joyce Summer's daughter." His mother smiled at Buffy. She seemed to have overcome any worry that she had for her son. She turned to William. "So, this is the girl you dyed your hair for."

William looked to the ground, but he was smiling. "But you will always be number one," he looked up and said with a grin.

Buffy was amused as William and his mom continued to tease each other. He wasn't embarrassed by his mom like other teenagers, including herself. He truly wanted her to be happy and seeing the way she smiled at Buffy, she wanted happiness for her son.

He walked over to the couch. "We can look at the clothes, here," he said. Buffy realized with amusement that he didn't want to use his bedroom. Either his mother wouldn't approve, or he thought his mother wouldn't.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you two need anything." William's mother gave them both a smile before she left the room.

"What's this?" Buffy picked up a photo album that was on the coffee table. "Baby pictures?" She teased.

"Those are pictures of my old home in England." William sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him. Buffy took his cue and sat down. The album was filled with pictures he had taken of his old house and neighborhood.

"Are you going to go back someday?" Buffy asked as William showed her the pictures.

"I was going to next summer, but I probably won't have enough money." He continued to point out different pictures to Buffy.

Buffy turned to William. "You were saving the money for a trip back home?" She stopped his hand from turning a page. "I don't want you to give that up for me." She hadn't thought that he might have been planning on using the money for something important.

"I can go to Europe another time, but I only have one year of high school left." William looked Buffy in the eyes. "I want this."

"Are you sure? I can pay you back instead." Buffy looked at him, not sure if he was serious about the popularity, or still covering for her. "It might take me a while, but I'm sure I can..."

"No," he interrupted passionately. "Please, let me have this."

Buffy's heart skipped a beat at his abruptness. He really was doing this for the popularity, not just to help her out. Her guilt subsided, because he would rather have a new life with her friends, than the trip. Strangely, though, she felt disappointed.

* * *

Buffy stopped William outside his car, before they walked up the lawn to the party. She turned him to face her and attempted to loosen some of the curls he had flattened under mounds of gel. William closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling of her fingers in his hair. He never had a girl touch him as much as she did, and they weren't even dating.

After Buffy seemed satisfied with her work, she took his hand and lead him to the house. He was about to go to one of the parties that he only dreamed about. He could see what the popular kids did during school, but he really didn't know what they did when school was over. During this first week he had spent that time with just Buffy.

The house was full of kids. The circle that Buffy belonged to wasn't that big, though it was considered the exclusive group. When they threw a party, everyone that was even remotely popular came. William still wasn't sure how it worked out, just that Buffy's group of six people seemed to be at the top of the hierarchy. There were other popular kids at the school, but they weren't considered part of the clique. Many of them were just happy to be invited to whatever party the clique was throwing. He couldn't remember who was throwing the current party.

William followed Buffy's lead in the house. When she stopped to talk to a group of people, he did the same and hoped that whatever he said was cool enough. When Buffy went to get a soda, he also took one. He noticed that she wasn't drinking any alcohol, but other kids were. Nobody else seemed to notice, though.

"William, do you want a beer?" William turned to see Cameron holding two beers and smiling at him. William looked over at Buffy, and she shrugged her shoulders. William took one of the beers and sipped it.

"What do you think of the party, so far?" Cameron asked.

"It's great. I'm having a lot of fun," William replied. He winced, not sure if that was the cool thing to say. Buffy glanced at him, and then turned to Cameron with a big smile and talked about the party. William admired how at ease she was with people.

Later, she pulled William to a quiet hallway. "Relax. Just go with the flow and don't worry about what you say." Buffy smiled and squeezed his hand. "You're doing fine."

After that, William decided to just relax and enjoy the party. It was getting easier the more he drank. At this point, most of the other partygoers were pretty tipsy themselves. William had never felt so carefree. He was talking a lot more and to people he had never seen before. William, who usually stuck to the walls at school dances, was suddenly dancing with abandon.

* * *

Buffy watched William dancing and shook her head and smiled. She was glad that he was enjoying himself. After he stopped wincing or looking at Buffy every time he said something, it was easier for him to fit in. He also wasn't that bad of a dancer.

"Wow. How much has he had to drink?" Cordelia chuckled.

"About two beers." Buffy smirked at Cordelia. "I think he needed an excuse to let go."

"Buffy!" William called out to her and stumbled over. "I've never felt this great." He put a hand on her shoulder to steady himself.

"Wait until tomorrow morning," she said with a smile. She wondered if he would actually get a hangover. Cordelia was looking at him with an amused look on her face.

Buffy noticed that most of the party had left. Those that were still there, except Cordelia, were passed out or sitting in small, quiet groups. That was usually her cue to leave, since she never liked staying the night at these things. She suspected that Cordelia felt the same way.

"I think you need to drive." William's voice was slurred. "I'm drunk," whispered loudly.

"You sure are." Buffy patted him on the shoulder. She could hear Cordelia laughing as she walked William out the door.

* * *

Willow woke up the next day in a good mood. Last night at the Bronze was the most fun she'd had in a long time. The bass guitarist, Oz, for the new band had actually talked to her and Xander. She really liked him.

She thought that William would have had fun, too. Thinking of William, she wondered how much he enjoyed his party. She was also curious as to what happened at those things.

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was ten o'clock. It seemed late enough, so she decided to give him a call.

"Hello?" William's voice was mumbled.

Willow brightened when she heard his voice. "How was the party? Was it as fun as you thought?"

"Willow." William took a few seconds to answer her. "Can I call you back later today? I think I need to recover some more first."

Willow winced when she realized that she had woken him up. She decided to make a light joke out of it instead. "Oh, it was that fun?" William didn't answer her, and she wasn't sure if he was still awake. A little unnerved, she decided to end the phone call. "Okay. I'll talk to you later today."

Willow's mood was a little dimmed. He had never refused to talk to her before, even that time when he was sick with the flu. Maybe when he called her back, he would be more talkative.

Later that night, as Willow was getting ready for bed, she noticed that he hadn't called her back.

TBC





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