Three hours and a can of paint later: the shed was finally painted, a baby blue, to match the house. After a water house fight to lighten the mood, the three females showered and changed their clothes. Just as they settled down to enjoy a late lunch and watch a house repair television show, Hank returned home.
Joyce went to greet her husband, both of them disappearing into the kitchen. Dawn glanced at Buffy, from the sofa, hoping their Mother would agree, finally, to let them out of their grounding.
Sure enough, Joyce entered the room bringing along with her a cup of tea as she sat down in between the two girls on the sofa.
Joyce looked to her youngest, then spoke gently but firmly, “Ok, your grounding is over young lady. You two have been so helpful around the house that Hank and I have been talking, and have decided to let you, Dawnie, have Janice over tonight to watch movies and have pizza. Only with the agreement that you have all your homework done and have Janice home before 8,” she turned to her eldest. “You, Buffy, can go out tonight with the agreement that you also have your homework done and are home before 10,” Joyce wrapped an arm around each of her daughters as she continued to talk to Buffy, “I also want you to agree to never play hero again, and instead, come get me and Hank if a similar situation ever arises.”
From behind, Hank spoke up towards Dawn, entering the room with perfect timing, holding a cup of coffee in his hand, “And with speaking about that situation, I want you, Dawn, to agree that you will not go ‘parking’ with a boy and will not be alone with boys.” He walked up to the couch, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You are only 15 years old and need to be responsible before we can trust you dating alone. So for now your friends will come here so we can make sure you are safe" he paused, giving his daughter a look. “Agreed?”
Both girls nodded, hoping to hide their excitement. Dawn was the first to get up, rushing around to give everyone a hug.
“I’m going to go finish my math now and call Janice to tell her she can come over in half an hour!” Dawn squealed as she ran up the stairs.
Buffy smiled at her sister's antics, then turned to her Mother.
“So I can go to the Bronze?” she asked hopefully.
Joyce nodded in response, giving Buffy a tight hug. Hank bent over the couch to follow suit, but the angle made it a bit awkward. Also, Buffy wasn’t used to getting hugs from her Father.
“We are just so worried about you, sweetie. Hank and I want what is best for you, and having you start fights and getting into trouble all the time, isn’t being the best you can be. We want you to be happy and safe and not have to worry about you,“ she gave her daughter a stern look. “Can you try to not disappoint us?”
Buffy nodded in agreement, her head down in shame. “I’ll try Mom and Dad.” She lifted her head up to smile at her parents, letting them know that she spoke the truth.
Her parents smiled as Buffy got off the couch and turned to leave.
“I’m going to go get ready. I already finished my homework earlier.” Buffy said, not looking back to see their reactions.
She still had her math homework, but she was determined to bring that with her. Her drawing would just have to wait, because tonight is party time!
Buffy twirled in her mirror as she admired her ensemble. She was wearing a red skirt that was short and molded to her butt. It showed off her legs that were sporting a tan thanks to her work outside. She had chosen a half sleeve black shirt that hung off her shoulders showing off her back. She had been amazed by the amount of clothing in her wardrobe that wasn't in her original Sunnydale closet. Apparently here she liked to shop and did it well.
Now grinning at her reflection she decided she was hot. She not only looked hot, but she felt hot. She felt sexy.
She usually tried to dress appropriately back home, rarely wearing skirts unless she wasn’t patrolling.
Patrolling in skirts was often impossible to fight well in and resulted in her clothes being ruined. She hated getting blood and goo all over her nice clothes. At least here, she didn’t have to worry about that.
After she was dressed, she gathered her math homework. Just as she picked it up, the poetry that William had dropped in her car had fallen out. She had almost forgotten about his poetry.
With a smile, she sat down to read over his work. She tried her best to imagine it was Spike’s voice reading it to her. The poem was so similar to his style of writing, having heard him read a few pieces to her before she could easily recognize it. He always used such amazing words, like, effulgent or radiant, and his writing was always so descriptive. But Spike didn’t write the poem, William did, and she still liked it.
Buffy let out a dreamy sigh as she stuffed the poem back into her math notebook, making a vow that she would stop by on her way home to give it to him. Maybe then, he would share a piece or two with her. It was a good thing that he still had his British accent as William.
Buffy had only enjoyed a few short hours of dancing and having fun with Xander and Willow. The fun stopped when Anya showed up, resulting in turning Xander into a sulky young man who preferred to sit at the table, doing nothing but stare at his ex-girlfriend. Anya was doing a pretty good job of making him jealous, too. She was sitting at the bar, chatting with a random guy, throwing the occasional pity glance at him.
Buffy was beyond bored with the situation, and Willow wasn’t doing any better. Her friend was bored because she Tara hadn’t showed up. Willow hadn’t really expected her to and Buffy had managed to get nothing done in terms of her homework. She had spent the whole evening trying cheer up her two sulky friends.
She was sitting at the table with her two friends, but finally, the silence became too much for her. She wanted to go home, but before she did, she would make a stop at William’s usual spot in the woods where he would watch the stars. She couldn't resist checking to see if he was still there.
Before she got out of the booth she turned to her friends, “I’m gonna head home and do some homework for tomorrow. I have some math still yet to do, and I’m not getting much done here. You guys want a ride?” After she received two head shakes, she continued, “See you tomorrow at school.” She gave them a wave, then walked away.
She was thankful that she was finally leaving. The energy between the two of her friends were seriously bringing her down. At least they had gotten in three hours of dancing before Anya had arrived.
She drove past William’s spot, only it wasn’t really William’s spot. She just got into calling it William’s spot because that is where she had found him before. He was always in the woods near the high school staring up at the stars dreaming. This time he was there, just like she hoped, writing in his poetry book.
She breathed a sigh in relief as she sat down next to him, causing William to jump in surprise. He stared at Buffy in shock, mouth hanging open.
“Hi.” Buffy greeted with a smile.
William stuttered out a quiet, “H-Hi B-Buffy.”
“How are you?”
William continued to stare at her in shock, his eyes darting downward to land on her notebook. Suddenly his eyes snapped up to meet hers, a look of relief on his face, “You need help with math?”
Buffy bit her lower lip and nodded, and William sat down next to her, appearing more comfortable knowing she just wanted help. He sat down, opening her book that she had placed on the ground between them and together they worked out the problems.
There were so many differences between William and Spike, but the biggest one was patience. William seemed to have a lot of patience. He went over the same problem, numerous times, until she was able to solve it herself. By the time they had finished, she was so excited, because she totally understood everything, and was confident that she would ace the test.
She put her notes back in her notebook, but before closing it, she pulled out William’s poem, hoping to give it back to him. She handed it to him, but frowned when he seemed nervous.
“W-where did you get these?” he stuttered, his face turning red.
Buffy smiled shyly, “You dropped them when you left my car the other day, when I dropped you off outside your Mother’s house,” Determined she pushed the papers further into his hand, urging him to take them back, “I didn’t want to embarrass you by handing it to you at school.”
William timidly grabbed the paper out of her grip, then tucked it back into his folder as Buffy asked timidly, “Can you read some to me?”
William shook his head, disappointing Buffy, “I don’t read my poems to anyone. They’re not very good.”
Buffy wished that she could tell William that he was wrong. His writing was so similar to Spike’s that she knew his poems to be good plus she had enjoyed the one he had written. She didn't want to admit she had already read it though breaking his confidence.
Instead she asked, “What are they about?”
William shrugged, obviously embarrassed and wanting to change the topic, “Beauty, nature, love…everything Romantic poetry is normally about.”
Buffy sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to answer her question directly. She would let the topic go for now.
She decided to do something she, regrettably, never did with Spike,“Thank you for your help with math. I never understand that stuff and the teacher goes so fast.”
William smiled slightly and she found herself comparing Spike to William again. Knowing that wasn’t fair, she sighed as she stood up, collecting her notebook and book with her, “Thanks again for your help and I’ll see you school tomorrow.”
William looked up at her and whispered, “Goodbye, Buffy.”
Buffy turned around, getting into her car and drove away, wondering why when William had an obvious crush on her, why he wasn’t more like Spike and willing to be around her? Instead, he seemed flustered and awkward and distant.
Once home, she parked her car, jogged up the sidewalk, and went inside. She waved to her parents as she passed the living room, then wandered up the stairs, determined to think about William, and how to get through his wall of shyness, tomorrow.