“Miss Summers, could you please stay for a moment? I’d like to have a word with you.”
Buffy had to suppress a groan when the teacher called out for her, just as she was about to leave the classroom. Now what?! She’d just been through another hour of pure hell, wasn’t that enough? After she had been forced to tell Mrs. French - in front of the whole class - that she wouldn’t mind working on the project alone, she had felt more humiliated and embarrassed than ever before. No one had said anything out loud, but judging by the somewhat guilty glances she had received from her classmates, not to mention the quiet whispers and giggles, it was obvious that everybody knew the real reason – that no one wanted to work with her.
Letting out a sigh, Buffy slowly headed towards the teacher’s desk, waiting for the other students to leave the room. She just wanted to get out of here. History was her last class for the day and she couldn’t wait to leave the school area. She was supposed to meet up with Willow and Xander after school and was really looking forward to see some friendly faces after this.
When the last student had left the classroom, Mrs. French leaned back in her chair and looked at Buffy. “I asked you to stay because I have something I’d like to discuss with you. It’s about the new history project. I know you said you wanted to work alone, but…”
“I do! Really.” Buffy put on a smile she hoped wouldn’t seem too strained. “I actually work much better alone, always have. Ever since…”
“Miss Summers…” The teacher interrupted her, a serious expression on her face. “That may be true, but that’s not the way I had planned this project. I didn’t want to say anything in front of the other students, but I’m afraid I have to insist for you to have a partner like everybody else.”
“Mrs. French, please…” Buffy gave the woman a pleading look, suddenly feeling like she was going to cry. “I promise I’ll get the job done, just don’t force me to…”
The teacher ignored her interruption and went on. “I have a student in one of my other classes who is just about to start on the same project. It seems like he hasn’t gotten anyone to work with, either. I would like for the two of you to work together. His name is…”
Buffy paled. “No, Mrs. French… Please, can’t you just let me…?”
“…William Pratt.”
“William?” Buffy became silent, staring at the woman with big eyes. Swallowing, she waited a moment so she wouldn’t sound too eager. Hoping her voice would sound normal, she finally nodded. “Okay.”
William hurried across the school parking lot, eager to get away. His face was still burning where Liam had hit him, and he knew he would have a huge black eye in the morning. At least his nose had stopped bleeding now, but his glasses had broken and he sure didn’t look forward to explain to his mother what had happened to him this time. Thank God it was Friday; that way he wouldn’t have to go back to school again for a couple of days. This hadn’t been the first time he got beaten up in school and he had definitely looked worse then this, but he knew exactly how his mother would react.
He supposed he had gotten away easy this time, though, there was no way of telling what Liam would’ve done to him if Gunn hadn’t interrupted. And that made him even more furious. He would never stand a chance against a git like Liam and he knew it. Liam may just be a big, stupid bully, but he was stronger than him and not to mention the fact that – unlike William – Liam had a lot of friends. Friends, who would gladly do just about anything he said.
Suddenly he heard someone calling out for him, and froze in his tracks. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Buffy hurrying over to the parking lot, heading towards him. Hesitating for a moment, he then decided to ignore her and kept walking. He didn’t know what she wanted, but it didn’t matter. Right now, he just wanted to get out of here, and the last thing he wanted was for Buffy to see him like this. She was the only person in the whole school who didn’t treat him like a pathetic loser, and he wanted to keep it that way.
Buffy was new in school, and he prayed that she had yet to notice what a total outcast he was. Although he was relieved that it was only Liam and his friends who used to give him a hard time – the rest of the people in school usually just ignored him – he didn’t want Buffy to find out that he didn’t have any friends at all. Then she might realize she was just wasting her time with him and move on to someone who was actually worth talking to. Or even worse; she might start feeling sorry for him. He didn’t want any sympathy or pity from her.
“William, wait!” Letting out a tired sigh when he realized that Buffy hadn’t taken the hint, he slowly turned around. She gave him an uncertain smile. “Hi. I saw you leave, and…” The smile disappeared and her eyes widened when she noticed his face. “God, what happened to you?”
Closing his eyes for a moment, he searched his mind for something to say. Unfortunately, he came up with nothing. Looking down at his feet, he just shrugged. “Nothing. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you on Monday.” Then he started to leave, but she put her hand on his arm to stop him. He sighed again, this time in frustration. “What?!”
She looked slightly taken aback. “I’m sorry, I…” Now it was her time to look away. “I just wanted to talk to you about something. But if this is a bad time…” She shrugged, obviously trying to keep the hurt out of her voice.
William realized that he had hurt her feelings, which only made him angrier. He knew it was wrong to take his anger out on Buffy, but it was already too late. After all, she was here. She should’ve just stayed away from him. A part of him wanted to apologize, but then he would have to explain. And he just wanted to leave. “Just get out of my way.” He pushed past her and hurried away. For a moment, he almost thought she would follow him, but he refused to look back. Instead he just kept walking.
It didn’t take long before he started to feel guilty. Buffy hadn’t done anything wrong, why did he have to lash out at her? She had just tried to be nice, and he had been rude to her. Why did his life have to be so bloody complicated? Now he had probably ruined any chances of him and Buffy ever becoming friends; he wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to speak to him again. Although, it was just as it should be, he thought. He just wasn’t meant to have any friends; he would always be alone.
TBC