[Reviews - 9]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 3259 times

- Text Size +




Buffy was happy. She had spent most of the previous day with William. Ever since the party on Saturday, he didn't appear to be shy anymore. He was openly talking to her now.

He had so many opinions on different subjects. She never had an intelligent discussion with anyone, except for talking to her mother about art (and that was more to appease her mom.) William made Buffy feel smart - like her opinions on things mattered.

She wondered if this is how William had spent time with Willow and Xander. She found herself a little jealous, which surprised her. Usually, she and her friends were the object of envy, not the other way around. Many people would love to be in William's place right now.

William had done a good job fitting in with her friends at the party. Buffy had even felt confident enough to leave him alone with some of the group. He had learned to not worry so much about what he was saying, and if he had nothing to say, to just keep quiet. That technique worked for him. It appeared that when he had something to say, it was important. Though, Buffy noticed, he hadn't actually brought up anything really important.

As Buffy and William walked towards the school, Buffy saw Willow and Xander first. Thinking that William wanted to speak with them, she led him towards his friends. She was finding that they were interesting, too.

"Hi!" Buffy stopped in front of Willow and smiled. "How was your weekend?"

Willow perked up. "It was great! We saw that new band - they're all students here. Oz, the bass guitarist even came over to our table afterwards. "

Buffy was happy for them. It actually sounded like a fun night. She continued to talk about the band and Oz. Even Xander interjected a few thoughts. She noticed, however, that William hadn't said anything and kept glancing around. She thought that maybe he wished he had gone to the Bronze,too and didn't want to talk about it.

Suddenly, William was tugging on Buffy's arm. She looked up to see Cameron and Harmony looking at them from across the school yard. Buffy waved and turned back to Willow to continue her conversation.

"We should probably go," William finally said. Buffy stopped talking and looked at him. He looked nervous. 'He's afraid to be seen talking to Willow and Xander', she realized.

"We'll talk to you guys later." Buffy decided that she'd explain to William later that he could still talk to his friends and be popular. Right now, she thought that they should go over to her friends before he became too nervous.

* * *

"He didn't say anything to me," Willow said sadly. "I thought that maybe he just forgot to call me back yesterday, but I think he just doesn't want to talk to me."

Xander looked at her downhearted face and grew angry. He didn't understand why Buffy talked to them, but for some reason she did. He knew that William was starting to feel too good to talk to them. William had almost panicked when he saw the clique and couldn't wait to get away from them. Just one week with Buffy's crowd and he was turning into one of them.

He didn't want Willow to feel worse, so he tried to cheer her up. "I'm sure he's just got a lot on his mind. They did come over here first."

* * *

At lunchtime, Buffy caught up with William before he entered the cafeteria. "You can still talk to your friends. It won't hurt your new popularity."

William just gave her a doubtful look. "You might be able to get away with talking to anybody here, but I have to be more careful." After a pause he said, "I don't want to give up my friends, but they aren't helping me."

"They're your friends! You can't just cast them off." Buffy saw the tormented expression on William's face. "Did somebody tell you to stop talking to them?"

William sharply looked at her. "It doesn't matter. If I want to truly fit in, I need to watch who I hang out with." He pushed by her and entered the cafeteria.

Buffy stayed outside the cafeteria for a few minutes. Just this morning, she was so happy with him. Now, he was dumping his friends for people who wouldn't have given him a second look if it hadn't been for her.

"Are you okay?"

Buffy looked up to see Cordelia looking at her with one eyebrow raised.

"I'm fine." Out of all her friends, Buffy knew that Cordelia generally cared about her. It was usually hidden, and most people just saw the shallow bitch. Even so, she wasn't going to explain her worries with William to her.

Deciding that she might as well eat lunch, Buffy followed Cordelia into the cafeteria. "Are you going to the beach party Friday night?" Buffy asked her, knowing well enough that Cordelia was going.

"Of course. I assume you and William are?" Cordelia turned to see Buffy nodding her head.

The beach parties could get pretty wild. Maybe it was the mix of alcohol, skimpy swimsuits, and a place that couldn't be trashed, Buffy thought. William was excited about going. 'At least he's happy,' she thought.

* * *

Buffy hadn't mentioned Xander and Willow since Monday. William was glad, because he felt guilty whenever he thought about them. He rationalized that they would understand and possibly do the same thing in his shoes. But if Buffy talked to him about it, he realized that what he was doing was cruel. He didn't want to think about that. He also didn't want to think about the disappointment he had seen in Buffy's eyes on Monday.

The sun hadn't set when Buffy and William arrived to the beach. Since it was still light out, some of the kids were swimming in the ocean. Others were setting up a bonfire. It was a private beach, owned by Gage's family. Someone's older brother had gotten them kegs of beer.

Buffy had suggested that he wear swimming trunks, since everyone eventually went into the water. He was glad that he had spent the summer cutting grass, thus getting a nice tan. William wondered what kind of swimming suit she was wearing under her clothes. He could barely make out the swimsuit under her white tshirt, but he could tell it was a dark color. He hoped it was a bikini.

"Do you wanna swim while it's still light out?" She asked him. He nodded his head, anxious to see her with just the swimsuit.

She looked at him for a moment and then walked over to an empty spot on the beach, where she dropped her things. After removing her clothes, his breath caught when he saw that she was indeed wearing a bikini. He thought she was perfect. Her blue bikini bottom settled low on her hips. She wore it with a matching top. She raised one eyebrow and then walked to the shore and dove in.

William quickly removed his t-shirt and sandals and followed Buffy into the water. She was swimming away from the shore, and he decided to follow her. It seemed that they were both pretty good swimmers.

"Buffy!" William said when he finally caught up with her. Every time he started to catch up with her, she swam harder. "Wait up."

Buffy started to tread water. She glanced at the party and back at him. She didn't say anything, but just watched him.

"Where are you going?" William was slightly panting from the swim. "The party is back there." He tilted his head towards the others.

"I'm taking advantage of the light and going for a swim. If you want to go back to the party, go ahead."

She was acting different, William thought, and he was worried. "It's not safe. There's nobody out here."

There was a small smile on her face. "Does that mean you want to swim with me? To keep me safe?"

"I'd rather you came back with me to the party." William thought he saw a scowl cross her face before she nodded and started to swim back towards the party.

* * *

Buffy was feeling annoyed. She knew that at least one of her friends had convinced William to stop talking to Willow and Xander. It had been bugging her all week, but she never said anything. When she arrived at the party, she was suddenly so angry that she needed to swim it off before anybody noticed.

The swim had calmed her down, but the anger was building up again. William was easily swayed by her friends. Since they were all drinking, it let William be less inhibited. He had gotten very drunk. What had been cute when he thought he was drunk last Saturday, now wasn't.

He was loud, he was daring, and it didn't help that he was encouraged by everyone else. At one point, Cameron had shook up a can of beer and sprayed it on everyone. Harmony had squealed. Not to be outdone, William had grabbed two cans of beer and did the same thing. When it was all over he ran his hands through his beer drenched hair until it was standing up straight. Everyone cheered.

Buffy had seen enough. He was acting just like the others. They had never bothered her before, and Angel had acted much worse when he was drunk. Maybe it wasn't that they were drunk - maybe she just now realized how mean they could be. Or maybe it was because she had known a better side of William - a side of William that she missed.

She walked over to the water to rinse the beer off of her. It was dark, so she wasn't going for a swim. She just sat down and let the waves lightly lap at her legs. After a while she was deep in thought, blocking out the sounds of the party.

Someone plopped down next to her, disrupting her from her thoughts. She turned to see William looking up at her from the sand with a big grin. The side of his face was covered in sand.

"Gage said I should try out for the swim team in the spring. I think I will, since it's too late to join the football team." He frowned. "Why are you over here?"

"I had to wash the beer off."

"I need to wash myself off, too," he slurred and began flinging his arms towards the water.

"William, sit up and I'll help you." The fact that William had actually left the party to come over to her, cheered her up a bit.

"Spike."

"Excused me?"

"My name is Spike now." Buffy just stared at him. "I decided it's a cooler name. The others are already using it." He pointed to the rest of the party.

Buffy couldn't help it, she started to giggle. "Why 'Spike'?"

"My hair. It stands up straight in spikes." William's expression changed to one of seriousness. "It's also sounds tough and people who hear my name will know that I'm bad."

Buffy stared at him. At first, it seemed ridiculous that anyone could mistake him for a real bad boy. But then, she remembered how he pushed his own friends away in order to be more acceptable by the in crowd. Then there was the way he was willing to do almost anything tonight to get the crowd's approval. If he thought being tough would get them to like him, he could be willing to do anything to keep up that image.

William must have misinterpreted her staring, because he suddenly sat up and had her pressed into the sand. "I like you, Buffy," he said.

"What are you-" Buffy was cut off when he pressed his mouth firmly against hers. Buffy immediately pushed him off of her.

Buffy had thought about kissing him before. There were many times when they were alone, and she wondered what he would do if she just gently touched his hair, his cheek, then leaned over and brushed his mouth with hers. However, Buffy was still confused about his behavior. She wanted to be reassured that he was still the same guy she wanted to kiss last week.

"I think I need to drive you home," Buffy said, refusing to look at him.

TBC





You must login (register) to review.