[Reviews - 499]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 6006 times

- Text Size +



Banner by Alissa.


Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to OkDeanna for the beta-reading and advice. Please review!
Sunnydale, California 1997

“I don’t think so, Buffy.”

“Oh come on, Will!” Buffy adopted a pouty expression and pleaded, “It’ll be fun.”

William frowned. “But you just said that it was scary.”

“Exactly.” She grinned and bounced up and down. “So we can watch it?”

William was genuinely confused. “But being scared isn’t good. Why would you want to be scared?”

“Don’t be a chicken, Will. Scary is cool.” Buffy held up the movie again and gave him an eager grin.

Sighing, William nodded his consent. “All right Buffy, if that’s what you want.”

William woke a few hours later to find Buffy kneeling beside his sleeping-bag. “Buffy, what’s wrong?” He blinked sleepily.

“I had a nightmare.” Buffy bit her lip. “Can I sleep with you?”
His brow furrowed. “Really?”

She nodded.

“You mean… in my sleeping-bag?”

“Please, Will. I’m scared.”

He shrugged, scooted over and held up the top his sleeping-bag so that she could slide in.

Twenty minutes later, Buffy, safe finally from all imagined terrors, was fast asleep. William was not as fortunate. He lied awake wondering why he agreed to watch the scary movie when he’d known it was a bad idea. I’m older, he thought irritably, and I knew better. Why, he questioned as he often did, do I let her talk me into this stuff?

Oxford, England 2008

Buffy awoke panting and sat straight up. “Oh wow…. whoa!” She muttered breathlessly and shook her head. Still vividly remembering the dream that had startled her enough to wake her, she blushed crimson. Glancing quickly around the room, she was assailed with images that seemed all too much like memories.

Buffy whimpered once, screwed her eyes shut and began to rationalize.

Okay, she thought, so I had a sex dream. That’s not a big deal. I’ve had them before. She nodded to herself and continued her internal pep talk.

Dreaming about sex with Will doesn’t mean anything, she thought with a fresh blush. I was just thinking about sex because of my chat with Willow and then I haven’t seen him in a long time and so of course I was thinking about him too, and I’m sleeping in his bed and it’s not a big deal. I’m not perving on my friend, she insisted, it was just a dream.
A little voice that she didn’t want to acknowledge kept insisting that it had been a really hot dream.

Looking over at the clock, Buffy realized that she was supposed to meet William on campus soon. She pushed herself off the bed and hurried into the bathroom to get ready. She took a quick, cool shower, and running a brush through her long hair, she pulled it into a simple ponytail. Heading back into the bedroom, she avoided even looking at William’s bed and focused instead on selecting a pair of khaki pants, a black halter-top and a pair of silver hoop earrings. Finally, she pulled on a pair of low-heeled brown boots, grabbed her denim jacket and walked into the kitchen to grab some juice.

Seeing his note on the refrigerator made her smile. He’d explained the rather simple directions at least three times the night before and had pointed out the building when they’d taken a walk on her first day there. Yet, William had still felt the need to draw her a little map. She looked it over while she drank her juice and with a sigh, tugged it down and slid it into her pocket. If she didn’t take it and got lost, she knew that he’d never let her live it down.

She left the apartment with time to spare and adopted a leisurely pace as she walked towards the campus. It was a sunny day and the streets were rather busy with people taking advantage of the weather to run errands or get in a good work-out. Determined to keep her mind from revisiting the images of her naughty dream, Buffy busied herself with people watching. She smiled as the accented words spoken around her reminded her that she really was far away from home. She liked thinking of herself as world traveler. It made her feel bold and grown-up.

A group of punk kids caught her eye. She’d never really found the look too appealing before. If asked she would have said they generally wore too much black, too much make-up and didn’t get enough sun. Today she found herself reconsidering the appeal of pale skin and bleached hair. It worked for William. She could acknowledge that her friend was attractive, she thought, it was just a fact. She wasn’t being pervy. She studied a leather jacket worn by a young man with blue streaked hair and pierced eyebrows and wondered how William would look in one like it. When the black leather jacket her mind had dressed him in morphed into black sheets, she quickly turned to watch a couple of young girls walking a dog instead. There, she thought, much safer.

Twenty minutes later, she found the door to the office that William shared with the Lit Department’s other teaching and research assistants. Stepping in, she saw that he was talking with an older man and was about to step back out when he saw her and smiled.

“Buffy, come meet my advisor.” He waited for her to come closer before continuing. “Buffy this is Dr. Giles. Giles, this…”

“Is the oft-mentioned Buffy,” he completed William’s line and reached for Buffy’s hand. “Welcome to Oxford, my dear. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that William here speaks very highly of you.”

Buffy shot William a surprised glance before returning the other man’s smile and handshake. “Thanks, Dr. Giles.”

“Oh, please, just Giles is fine. William tells me that this is your first visit to England. So how are you finding Oxford?”
“It’s nice. I haven’t really seen much yet. We went to the pub.” She shrugged. “Mostly we’ve just been visiting. Oh, and I got to meet some of Will’s friends.”

Giles grinned. “Ah yes, the entourage…and what did you make of his darker half?” Seeing her confusion, he added, “Liam?”

Buffy shook her head. “I didn’t…I met Andrew and Jonathon. Who is…”

William broke in abruptly. “She’s really just arrived. I haven’t had a chance to…”

“Ah. Well then, Buffy, you’ll have to get back to me after you’ve met William’s partner. They make quite the odd pair.”

William clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. “Hey, Buffy, I just need another few minutes with Giles.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few bills. “Would you run downstairs and grab us a couple of sodas? I should be ready to go when you get back.”

Buffy nodded dazedly and took the bills. She paused just before entering the hallway and turned back to the two men. “It was um…it was very nice to meet you mister… Giles, I mean.”

“It was a pleasure, Buffy, and I do hope we have a chance to chat some before you leave. I’ll bet you have some wonderfully embarrassing stories about my prize pupil here.” He smiled warmly and watched her head off down the hall for a moment before turning back to William. “And she has no idea that you’re in love with her.”

William was shocked. “What? I mean, I don’t…”

“Oh come on then, it doesn’t take a genius. You introduced her to Jonathon and Andrew, but not to your best friend, the best friend who is reputedly able to get any girl he wants. It’s a bit obvious chap. You want her, you haven’t told her and you know that she is exactly the type that Liam goes for.”

William stared at him for a moment. “Right then… advice?”

Buffy walked away in a daze. Her mind reeled.

Darker half, partner, pair… Liam.

William was gay!

Buffy shook her head. It explained so much, his apparent lack of interest in girls back home and the awkwardness he’d had when he’d told her that things with Drusilla were done. She wondered if he’d always had the feeling, if that was why he’d been so shy growing up. Mostly though, she wondered why he had never told her.

Did he think that she would feel differently about him? Had he been trying to test the waters by introducing her to Andrew and Jonathon? Had he spent the evening trying to gauge her reaction and then decided not to share the truth with her?

She bought the sodas and headed back upstairs. She decided that she wouldn’t tell him that she’d figured it out. Instead, she would just work on making sure that he knew that she loved him either way. She hoped that once he felt secure, he’d tell her the truth himself.

That’s it, she thought, I just need to remind Will that he will always be my best friend.





You must login (register) to review.