He was fascinated by the slender fingers of her hand as she fiddled with the pen. The shiny, pink sheen of her nail polish gave him the strangest urge to pick up her hand, take her finger into his mouth and taste it on his tongue. It looked edible, a color suited for bubble gum and candy. She brought the pen to her lips and bit it lightly, deep in thought, scanning the page she was reading. He looked down at his notes quickly.
"William?" Buffy waved said fingers in front of his face. "Where did you go?" She laughed.
He shook himself out of his daze. "Sorry, pet. Daydreaming, I guess." He pulled her notebook towards him and inspected what she'd written.
Her handwriting was bubbly and childish, like the outward behavior of the girl herself. William knew she wasn't stupid or air-headed, even from the small amount of time he'd spent with her but glimpses of the sharp-witted mind beneath the surface were few and far between. She girded herself with the mantle of the cheerful, carefree teenage future prom queen candidate and rarely let it slip.
Wuthering Heights wouldn't have been on his preferred reading list, had he a choice, but he'd read the book aloud to his bedridden grandmother the last summer he'd spent with her and they'd discussed it at length as they progressed through the novel, which was one of her favorites. She was a retired professor who could no longer attend her regular book club due to her ill health and she missed the conversations and company. Her eyes were failing, robbing her of her favorite pastime; she liked him to read her to sleep in the evening, the soothing cadence of his youthful, strong voice comforting her. He knew the book well.
He sighed when he saw what Buffy had written. "You aren't serious." He made a face and read. "'Cathy was an idiot to let Heathcliff go and marry Linton. Linton wasn't nearly as hot even though he was rich. Plus he was a wimp.' This is utter rubbish and you know it." He rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses. "I meant it you know, when I said I wouldn't do your work. Won't read the books for you or write the essay." He had a sudden flash of empathy for Giles. He was beginning to understand the librarian’s odd reluctance to assist Buffy.
She looked at him contritely and pouted those gorgeous lips. "I'm sorry, is it bad?"
"Oh, that's enough of that. I know you aren't dumb and I'm not either. I said I'd help you, but doing that," he jerked his thumb contemptuously at her face, "isn't going to get me to change my mind about cheating for you. So you'd better decide if you really want my help or you want to go it alone or get another tutor."
"Oh no, William, please," she grabbed his arm and he froze, staring at her small fingers that were actually touching him. "Please don't give up on me. I can do better. It's just," she frowned, "you know we have to read them aloud in front of the class."
Suddenly, it made more sense. He thought he understood the problem. She didn't want to get up in front of her friends and sound too intelligent, like a book geek. She was trying to find a way to complete the assignment and not attract undue attention from her friends in the process. She'd erred far too much on the latter side, in his opinion. "Buffy," he said gently, "if you're going to pass, you'll need to do much better than this."
She removed her hand and he felt the loss immediately. "I know. But it's stupid and I ought to be able to say it is. Cathy was an idiot for leaving Heathcliff. She loved him and he loved her and they could've married and lived happily ever after instead of both missing each other to the point they were crazy and ending with both of them dead. She was an idiot,” she repeated and took a breath. “I meant it when I wrote that," she looked at him defiantly.
"Well, they weren't really the happy ending sort, I think, even if they had married." William commented, amused by her ardent stream of babble.
She reached for her copy of the book and flipped through the pages. "Here," she said, "read that part. That part right before she dies, when she sees Heathcliff one last time. See, I read the book. I did."
He surprised her when he began to read it aloud, his voice low and smooth, his accent…she shivered. His accent was well, hot. Why hadn't she noticed what a great voice he had? 'He can read to me anytime,' she thought suddenly and was shocked at herself. 'This is William, remember? Tutor guy - focus!'
"You teach me now how cruel you've been - cruel and false. WHY did you despise me? WHY did you betray your own heart, Cathy? I have not one word of comfort. You deserve this. You have killed yourself. Yes, you may kiss me, and cry; and wring out my kisses and tears: they'll blight you - they'll damn you. You loved me - then what RIGHT had you to leave me? What right - answer me - for the poor fancy you felt for Linton? Because misery and degradation, and death, and nothing that God or Satan could inflict would have parted us, YOU, of your own will, did it. I have not broken your heart - YOU have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine. So much the worse for me that I am strong. Do I want to live? What kind of living will it be when you - oh, God! would YOU like to live with your soul in the grave?"
"See! Heathcliff agrees with me that she's stupid," Buffy said, feeling justified by the passage, "He's really mad at her and it's obvious he agrees with me and HE even loves her!"
"Oh, but he's not most angry with her for his own sake, pet, he forgives her that - more for hers and he doesn't say she's stupid, he calls her cruel and betrayer. She betrayed herself as well as him when she married Edgar. See here..." William read on a few lines below her selection.
"It is hard to forgive, and to look at those eyes, and feel those wasted hands,' he answered. 'Kiss me again; and don't let me see your eyes! I forgive what you have done to me. I love MY murderer - but YOURS! How can I?"
William said the phrase, 'kiss me again' and Buffy leaned towards him unconsciously. 'He should do that for a living,' she thought, impressed, 'Be one of those guys who records books or something'. The words flowed effortlessly and he imbued them with such passion.
Buffy straightened and grabbed the book back from him, finding the line she wanted. "I'm not the only one who thinks she's a moron. Nelly hates her too! She wishes her dead!"
"She's fainted, or dead,' I thought: 'so much the better. Far better that she should be dead, than lingering a burden and a misery-maker to all about her."
He laughed at her fervor and she flushed and glared at him, stung, thinking he was laughing at her.
"Not laughing at you, luv," he explained. "See? You can get into a passionate discussion about the book. You just need to put it into uh…fancier wording, yeah? You could choose to do a character study on Catherine and how stupid and selfish she was and how it affected those around her. Something like that anyway."
"I can't believe you don't think she's an idiot." Buffy said, tapping her pen in irritation.
He was getting his books together, the bell was about to ring. "Never said I didn't! I do think she's an idiot. Not one of my favorite characters." He smirked at her and left. "See you later."
'That smile was bone melting,' Buffy thought. 'He has a really, really nice smile,' she reconsidered her wording, 'no, not nice, sexy.' But reconciling William, of the floppy, curly hair and glasses, and 'sexy' was too much for her. She shrugged it off and ran to class.
William could still feel the imprint of her fingers on his arm as he hurried away. 'Ponce,' he thought disgustedly, but the uneasy feeling stayed with him as he slid into his seat before the second bell rang and he could still feel her touch lingering...