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Chapter Four

Buffy knocked on the door quietly, giving a little gasp of surprise when it jerked open almost immediately. William stood in front of her in faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair was still damp from the shower he’d obviously just had and it curled softly over his forehead. Hmm yummy, she thought idly before dropping her eyes to the ground to hide her ogling.

“Hey pet. Come on in.”

Smiling her thanks Buffy walked into the apartment. Curiously she looked around, half expecting to find little more than one old armchair and a small black and white TV. Instead there was a plush three-seater couch and a large TV set sitting in an entertainment unit. Spying the large refrigerator in the nearby kitchen Buffy reminded herself that it was more likely to contain half-eaten pizza and off milk than bags of pig’s blood. William. This is William, not Spike. She frowned when she realised she didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed by that fact.

Turning to William, she smiled softly. “You have a nice place.”

William nodded. “Yeah it’s not bad. Comfy. Close to work. Coffee?”

“That’d be great.”

As William went about making the coffee Buffy continued to familiarise herself with the dimly lit living room. Apart from the couch and entertainment unit there was a coffee table and a small stand beside the couch for the telephone. The remainder of the room was dedicated to what was clearly William’s passion. Books. The walls were lined with bookcases that overflowed. Extra piles were stacked in front of them. Coming closer she was amazed at the variety she found amid the chaos. Fantasy. Science fiction. Thrillers. Classics. Dictionaries. Style Guides. Writing manuals.

“Are you a big reader love?”

Spike had appeared holding two steaming mugs, a biscuit barrel tucked under one arm.

“No,” Buffy replied. “Never had the time.”

They sat on either end of the couch and Buffy accepted her coffee, sipping it tentatively. They were silent for several minutes, neither quite sure what to say next.

Finally, indicating the mountain of books, Buffy asked hesitantly, “Are you a writer or something?”

William smiled wistfully. “Someday. I hope.” He sat his coffee on the low table in front of him and opened the biscuit barrel, offering it to her. “I studied literature and creative writing in college. Now I’m doing the whole starving writer thing. Except for the starving part. I manage a bookstore not far from here.”

“Have you ever published anything?”

He nodded proudly. “A couple of short stories in magazines. And I’ve won a couple of short story competitions. Now though I’m working toward publishing a novel.”

“And do you, umm, do you write other forms as well?”

William’s face turned stony as he looked at her with those intensely blue eyes. He was obviously upset by her question. “No.” He held her gaze firmly, as if to make sure she understood him completely. “I don’t write poetry.”

Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat, confused once again by William’s refusal to identify in any way with the vampire. It had seemed a perfectly logical question to her. She had based Spike on William after all. Desperate to alleviate the tension in the room Buffy drained the last of her coffee in one large gulp, spluttering when the hot liquid scalded her mouth.

“Buffy are you alright?” The lack of expression on William’s face was quickly replaced by concern as he scooted forward to pat her on the back. “I’ll get you some water.”

He was halfway to the kitchen when Buffy got her voice back. “Have you got any beer?”

A few minutes later Buffy was taking a long pull on her beer when she heard William chuckle. “Take it easy there pet, something tells me this beer has a bit more of a kick than the stuff you drank in Sunnydale.”

“That depends.” Buffy grinned. “Will it turn me into a cave woman?”

William frowned. “Excuse me? A cave woman?”

“Yep. This bartender at the College was angry about how the students treated him. So he brewed this magic beer that turned whoever drank it into a Neanderthal.”

William stared at her in shock for a full minute before asking, “What happened?”

Buffy’s forehead wrinkled in bafflement. “Actually I don’t really remember much about it. Apparently I saved a bunch of people from a fire, oh and I hit Parker over the head. Man I wish I could have remembered that part cause it would have been sweet.” She giggled. “Apparently I sniffed Xander a lot too. I think he decided that we had compatible genes or something based solely on that.”

William snorted. “He was after you from the moment he laid eyes on you from what I heard.”

Buffy shrugged, blushing at the reminder of Xander’s long-ago crush on her.

“Who was Parker?”

She grimaced, still embarrassed by her naivety in sleeping with him. “Oh, nobody important. Just a guy I met at college.” Changing the topic she reached out to take William’s hand in hers. “Thank you.”

William finished his beer and placed the bottle on the table beside hers. “For what pet?”

“For not pretending I’ve been asleep for six years. My parents, they don’t mention Sunnydale at all. They only talk about me being in the hospital.”

William shook his head. “No.” He stroked her cheek softly, brushing her hair back behind her ear. “Your body was at the hospital. But your mind…” He touched his fingertips to her forehead as he spoke. “…it was somewhere else. You lived there for so long. I couldn’t visit you there, as much as I wanted to, but I won’t try to pretend you weren’t there.”

Buffy nodded. “I did. I lived there.” Sadness enveloping her as she remembered all that she’d left behind.” I…I ate the food and drank the water. I graduated high school and worked in lousing jobs. I felt the pain of my mother’s death.” Tears began to cascade down her face as she spoke. “I fell in love and had my heart broken. I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. I had friends and enemies and I had…I had a sister.” Buffy’s voice broke and she fell sobbing into William’s arms. “Oh God Dawnie.”

William clutched her small shaking body against him. He would have done anything to stop her pain, but at the same time he knew she needed this release.

For a long time Buffy cried as if her heart would be broken forever. “I miss them,” she whispered when at last the tears subsided. “I miss them so much.”

**********

A long while later Buffy sat snuggled in William’s embrace. Her head lay comfortably on his chest. They spoke in low voices, the darkness shrouding them as if hiding them from the rest of the world.

“Wait a second. The demon was how big?”

“About two inches.”

“The great fear demon that had an entire frat house worth of students screaming to the rafters was two inches tall.”

Buffy smiled. “Uh-huh. Had a lot of trouble cleaning him off the bottom of my shoe though. For such a little guy he was grossly sticky.”

William laughed quietly. “I can understand why you name him as your most easily defeated foe. Alright then, what about the hardest. That Glory chick?”

Buffy shook her head, snuggling a little closer. “Angel,” she whispered sadly. “Even jumping off that tower after I beat Glory, I was okay. I knew it was what I was meant to do. But killing Angel…that was the hardest thing I ever did.” A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye and she brushed it away. “I loved him so much.” Not wanting to go down that path any further Buffy turned the question back on him. “What about you William? Have you ever been in love?”

She felt William’s chest rise and fall as he sighed. “No, not really. I’ve had a couple of girlfriends over the years but…nothing serious.”

“Really?”

“Well I thought I was falling in love once but…the girl…she had to go away. My life went on, but I never forgot about her.”

Buffy raised her head to look at him, a bittersweet smile on her lips. “You’re sweet,” she told him quietly. “I know I don’t remember you but…from what my Mom tells me, I think I must have been falling in love with you too.”

William smiled wistfully. “We were so young Buffy. Just 16 years old. But I reckon we would have been a great couple.”

Buffy returned her head to its warm spot on his chest. “Me too.”





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