“I’m sorry, Buffy.” Willow gave her a sympathetic look as she sat down on the edge of Buffy’s bed, her elbows resting on her knees. “Let’s just face it; guys are poop-heads.”
“Hey!” Xander glared at her, a hurt expression on his face.
Willow let out a nervous giggle. “I meant to say; guys are poop-heads, except for Xander! ‘Cause… he’s not. A poop-head, that is. Right, Buffy?” Xander rolled his eyes and turned to look at Buffy.
“What? Oh.” Buffy nodded, an absent look on her face. “Right. Of course.”
Xander slumped back in his chair. “Thanks, Buff. For a second there, you almost sounded like you meant it. I’m touched.”
Buffy finally snapped out of her thoughts, giving Xander an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Xander, I...” She glanced at Willow. “What were we talking about?”
Willow gave Xander an assuring smile before turning back to Buffy. “I was saying how stupid guys are and you pretended to be listening.”
“Hey, I was so listening, I wasn’t pretending!” Buffy pouted a little. “Much.”
“You’re moping.” Xander gave Buffy a firm look and she lowered her eyes. “I don’t get it. It’s just a stupid history project, it’s not like it’s the end of the world. If the guy doesn’t wanna work with you, that’s his problem. You just do your part.”
“Xander!” Willow gave him a look of disapproval. “It’s not about the project. Are you really that blind?” Xander looked confused, but didn’t say anything.
“Willow…” Buffy sighed. She could feel a headache coming up.
Willow ignored her. “Xander, Buffy has a crush on William.”
He just stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. “Right! Good one, Will!” When he realized that neither of the girls looked amused, he became silent. He glanced from Willow to Buffy. “Okay, you’re serious.”
Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, a cold look on her face. “Mind telling me what’s so funny about that?”
“Nothing!” Xander raised his hands in an apologetic gesture. “It’s just…” He hesitated. “I’m just a little surprised, that’s all. I mean, you’ve never said anything.”
Letting out a sigh, Buffy got up and started pacing the room. “It doesn’t matter. He’s not interested – end of story. Can we please change the subject?”
“You know what you should do?” Xander got up as well and walked over to her. “Start dating someone else! Someone you know and trust, and…”
“That’s a great idea!” Willow started bouncing up and down on the bed, a huge grin on her face. “Buffy, I’m sure William’s just shy. But if he sees you with someone else, maybe he’ll come around. I bet he’ll be really jealous. And then, he’ll have no choice but to ask you out. Xander, you’re a genius!”
The pleased look on Xander’s face disappeared. He hadn’t suggested that Buffy would start dating someone to make William jealous. He wanted her to forget about her little crush completely and move on. Preferably with him. He was convinced that if Buffy would just give him a chance, they would be perfect together. Being friends was nice and all, just not enough. He wanted more. Ever since he had first laid eyes on Buffy, he had known she was the one. Unfortunately, it was obvious that she had yet to come to the same conclusion.
Buffy didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know, Will. I’m not really interested in dating someone else. And besides, even if I was, who would want to date me? Let’s face it; I’m not exactly one of the most popular girls in school. Quite the opposite.”
Xander took a deep breath, realizing it was now or never. He tapped her gently on the shoulder to get her attention. “Buffy, if you’re interested, I would be happy to…”
“That’s it!” Willow interrupted him, jumping up from the bed. “It’s perfect!”
“It is?” Xander looked surprised.
“Guys…” Buffy still didn’t look very happy with the idea. “Really, I don’t think…”
“Of course!” Willow ignored Buffy and looked at Xander, eagerly. “And I think we both know who would be perfect. Xander, are we thinking of the same guy here?”
“Um…” Xander got a goofy grin on his face. “Maybe. If you’re thinking of…”
“Riley!” Willow let out a squeal.
“…me!” Xander’s face fell and his eyes widened when he realized what Willow had just said. “I mean, me… also think that Riley would be… perfect. Cause he’s such a… a…” He desperately tried to come up with something positive to say, although, on the inside he was screaming. “He’s tall.”
Willow looked confused for a moment, then nodded. “Right.” She turned to Buffy. “What do you say, Buffy? We know Riley’s interested in you, since he’s already asked you out and given you his number. Why don’t you give him a call?”
Buffy opened her mouth to tell Willow it was a terrible idea, then closed it again. Was it really so bad? Not that she was actually interested in Riley Finn in any way, but maybe it could be fun after all. At least she would get out of the house and be able to take her mind off of William for a couple of hours. And Riley was really popular; if the people in school would see her with him, maybe they wouldn’t think she was such a loser anymore. Also, Riley was one of the few guys in school who had actually bothered to be nice to her. And if he wanted to go out with her, well, she would be doing both of them a favor.
Still, she didn’t want to date Riley; she wanted to date William. Maybe Willow was convinced he would be jealous and finally see what he was missing, but Buffy wasn’t so sure she wanted him to think that she was interested in another guy. Maybe she should just try to talk to him again on Monday. Clearly he had been upset about something today, but maybe it hadn’t been about her? Maybe they could talk, and he would explain. Maybe…
“Here’s the phone. You want us to leave while you talk to him?” Willow handed her the cordless phone, an expectant look on her face, and Buffy sighed. She knew Willow just wanted to help; the red-head knew how much she hated being an outcast in school. Not that Willow herself was any more popular, but it was obvious that she didn’t care. Willow liked school, and was perfectly happy with just her small circle of friends. That was, if two people could really be called a circle.
Buffy hesitated for a moment, then took the phone from her friend, her mind made up. She would make the call, all right. And she would go out with Riley if he still wanted to. But she would make it perfectly clear from the beginning that she wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship. And the first thing she’d do on Monday was talk to William. Now she gave Willow a grateful look. “Thanks, Will. I would rather be alone, if you don’t mind. I’m nervous enough as it is.” She forced a smile. It wasn’t a complete lie. She was nervous, just not for the reason Willow might think. The truth was, she still wasn’t convinced going out with Riley was the right thing to do.
But Willow nodded in understanding. “Of course. Xander and I’ll be right outside.” She glanced at Xander, who didn’t look happy at all but obeyed.
As soon as her friends had left the room, Buffy reached into the pocket of her jacket, immediately finding the small, crumpled note with Riley’s number. Taking a deep breath, she started dialing. She could hear the ringing on the other end, and waited. Suddenly someone picked up. “Hello?”
“Riley?” Buffy’s heart started beating faster; for some reason she had almost hoped he wouldn’t pick up. But he had, and there was no turning back now. “Hi, it’s me.”
Silence. Then she heard him clear his throat. “Betty?”
Buffy let out a nervous giggle. “Yeah. I mean, name’s Buffy. But it’s me.” She couldn’t understand why Riley seemed to have such a hard time remembering her name. Waiting for him to say something, she frowned when he remained silent. “Hello?”
“I’m sorry.” He suddenly sounded amused. “I’m still here. What can I do for you?”
Now she was confused. After all, he was the one who had asked her to call. “Um…” She was starting to feel uncomfortable, but hoped he wouldn’t be able to tell. “I was just calling to let you know I’d love to go out with you. That is, if you still…” Her voice trailed off when she heard him mumbling something and then started laughing. “Riley?”
“Sorry, I was talking to someone else.” Riley chuckled a little. “You said you wanted to go out with me?”
A part of Buffy really wanted to say no. “Yes. If you want.”
“Actually? I don’t. I’m flattered, but I’m already seeing someone.”
For a moment, Buffy was stunned. “What? But…”
Riley laughed again. “It was a joke; I just wanted to see if you’d call. Seriously, did you really think I wanted to go out with someone like you? Well, nice talking to you. See you in school, Betty.” And with that, he hung up on her.
Buffy just stared at the phone in her hand while her mind tried to register what had just happened. It had just been a joke? Suddenly she felt like she was going to be sick. Either that, or she would start crying. She had never felt more stupid and humiliated in her entire life.
TBC