Title: Sweet Sixteen
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks!
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William and Buffy are
teenage neighbors meeting for the
first time.
(For Deb. She knows why.)
Part twenty-seven....
~~~~~~~~~~
"Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me..."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Did you find out anything?"
"Uh-huh....come over here."
William followed Buffy across the lunchroom to
a small alcove where no one was sitting. They
placed their trays on the table and sat down to eat.
"So..?" William urged. "What happened?"
Buffy sighed, placing her napkin carefully in her
lap. "Well...the night of the dance, Anya told us that
she was ready for....you know."
William nodded. "For the having of sex, I remember."
"Yeah, well....they didn't."
"I remember that, too."
He remembered it all too clearly. The ice in the air
for the rest of the evening had almost been visible.
Anya had wanted nothing to do with Xander, and
after he'd spent a good half hour begging her to talk
to him, he'd gotten angry to the point where he'd
wanted nothing to do with her, either.
William had done his level best to keep Buffy
away from the table for the duration of the dance,
not wanting to have her evening spoiled by their
rancor.
He'd steered her over to have the photographs her
mother wanted taken, then pulled her out onto the
dance floor for several songs.
When the band had taken it's scheduled break, he'd
held onto her hand and wandered around the room
with her, stopping to talk with various friends and a
couple of the chaperoning teachers.
Oz and Willow, also picking up on the tension, had
pretty much followed the same course, leaving Anya
and Xander at the table to fume alone.
Although they'd managed to keep things on track at
the dance, by the time the limousine dropped them
off at Buffy's house the mood of the evening was
irretrievably broken. The girls had gone to Buffy's,
while William and Oz had returned to the pool house,
no breakfast out, no moonlight swim.
Xander, upon stepping out of the limo, had turned his
back and walked off, refusing to answer when William
had called after him.
At that point, Anya had burst into tears and ran off
into the house. Willow and Buffy had no choice but
to kiss their dates goodnight and follow their friend
inside.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Say "nighty-night" and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me..."
~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy took a bite of her sandwich, then wiped
her mouth carefully with her napkin.
He could tell she was collecting her thoughts and
probably having an internal debate as to whether
or not she should tell him the unpleasant details.
Since he didn't want to push her in either direction,
he held his peace and waited for her to speak.
"Anya made a reservation at the hotel next to the
country club...where we went for dinner?" she went
on, handing him a bottle of apple juice.
William twisted the tight cap off for her and handed
it back. "Mm-hmm."
"She told Xander about it and they went over to the
hotel...and everything was going fine until...."
These pauses in the conversation were maddening,
but he still said nothing and let her go at her own
pace.
"They were.." Buffy lowered her voice. "...getting
undressed and then Anya went to get her purse...she'd
brought some con.....some protection."
William smiled just a little as Buffy's cheeks turned
red at the thought of uttering the word 'condom'
out loud. "That was sensible," he said quietly, stifling
his urge to laugh.
"Maybe," Buffy said, "but when she turned around,
she saw Xander taking a....taking one out of his
wallet. He'd brought them, too!"
He waited, and waited, for the 'crisis' part of the
story...but Buffy seemed to be through. Puzzled, he
shrugged, "So....what happened?"
"Well, Anya was furious, of course," she said,
taking a drink of her juice. "So, she left...and you
know the rest."
William was truly perplexed. Something was
definitely missing from this story.
"I'm not following you, love. Why was she furious?"
"Because....HE brought condoms." She whispered
the last word.
"Yeah, I got that part. But why was she mad?"
She set her juice bottle down on the table,
looking at him as though she couldn't believe
what he'd just said. "Because," she said again,
"he had condoms in his wallet. He...he just
assumed that they...that they would be....doing
something."
Leaning his elbow on the table, William rested
his chin on his fist. "But they WERE going to be
doing something," he pointed out.
Buffy looked even more incredulous. "Yes...but
HE didn't know that. So why did he bring them
to the dance? And why did he have them in the
first place?"
Now it was beginning to make sense. "Buffy,"
he laughed. "That doesn't mean he was taking
it for granted that they'd have sex. He probably
carries them in his wallet all the time."
The remark was a tactical error on his part.
She sat back and folded her arms across her
chest, and he saw immediately that he wasn't
doing himself any favors with that explanation.
"Why would he do THAT" she asked, "if he
wasn't expecting something or already doing
it with someone else?"
William was beginning to wish he'd just gone
ahead and joined in her indignation from the
get-go, condemning his friend without a fair
trial by a more impartial jury...one that had
nothing to lose.
Unfortunately for him, he was too far into it
to turn around.
"I'm just saying," he tried to explain, "that it's
a good idea to be prepared. It's not just him.
All guys do....."
Another big mistake. He knew exactly what was
coming next.
Buffy's eyes widened. "Do you?"
As a matter of fact, he did, but fessing up to it
now didn't seem like a particularly good idea. Like
driving a car into oncoming traffic, it was counter
productive behavior that could get you killed. "Me?"
he hedged.
"Yes, you."
The next time he saw Xander, William decided,
he was personally going to kick his ass up and
down Main Street.
"Buffy." He reached for her hand. "Why would
I do that? I'm in love with YOU, and I can wait
until the time is right."
This was all perfectly true, and he was pleased
and a little relieved that he hadn't been forced
to admit the WHOLE truth, or lie to her.
"So you don't have one in your wallet?"
Goddamn it!
"No. I don't have one in my wallet." Still not a
lie, since they came in strips of three. He hated
himself for the small deception, but it was for a
good cause.
Then to his immense relief, the bell rang,
signaling the end of lunch break.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Stars fading, but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger til dawn, dear
Just saying this...."
~~~~~~~~~~
He found Xander in the boy's gym.
Sitting down on the bench beside him,
William opened his locker and grabbed
his PE clothes. "Hey."
"Hey."
"You okay?"
Xander looked at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why
wouldn't I be?"
"No reason." William stripped, then pulled his
shorts and tank top on.
There was a long pause, then, "Is this about
me and Anya?"
"Now that you mention it." Observing him
out of the corner of his eye, William tried to
keep his face steadfastly neutral.
Xander stood up and put one foot on the
bench, then the other, tying his shoes with
a yank that almost snapped the laces. "How'd
you find out?"
"Anya told Buffy, and...."
"SHE told YOU." Sitting back down on the
bench, Xander threw his jeans and t-shirt
into his locker, slamming the door with an
echoing 'clang'. "She's got a big mouth,
doesn't she?"
William tensed. "Be careful, Xander," he
said quietly, turning to look at his friend with
serious intent.
Returning that look for a moment, Xander
then glanced away. "Sorry," he muttered.
They sat without speaking for a moment
before Xander burst out with, "I do NOT
understand women. What the HELL do they
want from us?"
"Well, I don't know about most women,"
William said, "but I know that Anya DIDN'T
want you whipping out that giant economy
size box of Trojans you've got in your bedside
table."
"Hey, I didn't have the box, okay?" Xander
protested loudly. "I just had a couple."
William looked at him skeptically.
"All right, I had six."
"Six? Talk about being over confident."
"Oh, shut up." Xander said irritably, then
sighed. "So.....what do I do now? I apologized
a dozen times and she won't give a fucking
inch."
"Grovel," William advised without hesitation.
"Beg. On your knees, if you have to."
"You're not serious."
"It's your only hope."
"No way!" Xander shook his head. "I am NOT
gonna grovel. Harris men DON'T grovel."
William closed his locker door. "Then say goodbye
to her."
"All right, I'll grovel."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave your worries behind you
~~~~~~~~~~
Her mother picked Buffy up early for a dental
appointment, so William was alone when he
pulled his car into the driveway of his uncle's
house.
Parked along the curb was a limousine. It was
a smaller version of the one they'd hired for the
dance, and the driver stood next to it, leaning
against the door as he examined a newspaper.
William stood in the driveway for a moment, staring
at the limo, then at the house, then back at the
limo. For some reason he couldn't quite define,
it made him uneasy to look at it.
"Can I help you?" he asked the driver. The man
looked up briefly, then shook his head, no.
Inexplicably, William's heart rate increased. The
closer he got to the back door of the house, the
harder it pounded in his chest.
Pausing for a moment, he grasped the handle
and opened the door.
There was a middle aged man sitting at the
kitchen table, sipping tea. He looked up when
William stepped into the room, smiling as he
rose to his feet. "Hello, Your Grace. It's so good
to see you again."
~~~~~~~~~~
"But in your dreams, whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me...."
~~~~~~~~~~
TBC......
(A-ha! What do you think of THAT?)
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