My apologises for the corniest cheers ever, but being English, I have no idea about cheerleaders and stuff....since we don't have them over here.
Enjoy...
Chapter Seven
The repetitive beat of the music, mixed in with the incessant shuffling of pom-poms was making Buffy’s head hurt. She sighed, stepping out in front of the girls and nodding, lifting one arm into the air.
Following her lead, the other began to follow the steps, kicking once up into the air before placing their hands back on their hips. Again, nodding, Buffy cringed as the girls began to yell.
“D! E! M! O! N! S! Gooooo Demons!”
With this, each one kicked up into the air, jumping and waving.
Normally practise made Buffy extremely happy, but right now, she just wanted to get away from this place.
She was currently trying to avoid both William and Angel, device a new cheer for the team, and was suffering from period pains.
Could her cycle be any more inconsiderate?
Of course, cheer practise got her out of her English lesson, so it wasn’t all bad. She’d been so nervous about facing William that she’d been completely relieved when Cordy found her and informed her about their practise.
She did have a note, however, that she needed to pass in to Miss Baker before the class was over, but she was putting it off.
“Next cheer girls, okay?” Looking over at Gunn, who was only their to get out of his lesson, Buffy nodded. “Track three.”
Bending her knees, Buffy heard the ruffling of poms as the girls again followed her lead. The music started, and each one of them through their poms into the air, catching them and striking a pose to the beat of the music.
As the beat required, they all stood up straight and began their cheer.
“Here they come, a-huffin’ and puffin’
They’re not called the Sunnydale Demons for nothin!
Don’t care who you are, or where you’re from,
They’ll rip you into pieces, sparing none.
We’re the best, we wear the crown,
Go, Demons, go! Take them DOWN!”
The girls jumped and waved their pom-poms, smiling falsely, kicking and cheering like they did every week, trying to get the crowd in the mood for the game…in the mood to win.
Happy with that, Buffy sighed and stepped forwards, wiping her forehead and nodding. She wanted to go now, and so she smiled at all the girls.
“Well done.”
A few of the girls frowned, but only Harmony stepped out of place and challenged their head cheerleader.
“What about the other cheer?”
Buffy knew exactly what Harmony meant, but she just widened her eyes and shrugged.
“Which cheer?”
Rolling her eyes, Harmony found a spot in the middle of the hall to go through the routine.
“Angel, Angel! He’s our man!
If he can’t do it! NO-ONE can!”
Before Harmony could continue, Buffy interrupted her. “We aren’t using that one.”
This time it was Cordelia who challenged Buffy. “Why? Because you’re angry at Angel?”
“No…because it’s tired.” Buffy answered, throwing her poms down on the floor. “I have a note to give to Baker…I think we’re done here so I won’t be back.”
She didn’t care as Cordelia rolled her eyes, she just grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder, getting as far away from the gym as quickly as she could.
* * *
Having deposited her bag and uniform back in her locker, Buffy walked towards her English class with the note in her hand.
Although she knew that she wouldn’t even dare to look at him, she knew that William would look at her, and so she ran her fingers through her hair a few times, making sure that she looked presentable.
In her hurry, she’d bypassed a shower, planning to get one as soon as she got home, but all in all she looked alright.
As she got to the door, she reached for the handle, and suddenly felt winded.
Looking through the glass, her eyes had landed upon William, sitting alone and wounded in the front of the classroom.
He was writing their work up, but occasionally he’d lift his head to read something from her notes, and the site of his bruises and cuts made her heart twinge.
Both his eyes and the bridge of his nose where bruised, indicating either a head-butt or a well-placed bruise, and Buffy watched as instinct caused William to fix his glasses – this movement only causing him pain.
His wince must have been audible, because a few of the people sitting around him looked in his direction.
A light blush covered his cheeks, and Buffy almost gasped.
Stepping backwards, Buffy crumpled the note by her chest, feeling her back hit the concrete behind her. Closing her eyes, she slid down the wall, letting her head rest on her knees.
“What am I going to do?” she whispered.
* * *
After her moment outside of William’s classroom, Buffy had decided that it was best to go home. With little persuasion, Cordelia had driven her, and even offered to sit for a while…but Buffy had insisted that she was fine, and so Cordelia had left.
After a quick shower, Buffy had made the short trip to Angel’s house, sitting with his mom until he got back from school.
It had always amazed Buffy how a nice woman like Jenny Calendar could have possibly given birth to a jerk such as Angel, but Jenny always swore that Angel had retained his father’s pig-headedness, and that it was no fault of her own.
In all truth, Buffy had preferred sitting in the kitchen and chatting with Jenny, to being with Angel, and Jenny had pointed out that, while she didn’t mind, it did seem slightly odd.
Today, however, Buffy met Angel at the door. He seemed surprised to see her, but smiled and nodded in the direction of his bedroom.
“I think we need to talk, Buff.”
Agreeing, Buffy headed up to his bedroom to wait for him while he greeted his mother. A few minutes later he appeared in the doorway, shrugging out of his football jacket and laying it carefully over his computer chair.
“I thought you were mad at me.” He stated as he walked towards her, sitting down next to her on the bed and flashing a little smile.
It was when he looked at her like that, that Buffy remembered why she cared so much. Years ago when he’d been cute and kind, always trying to impress her, trying to win her. That was when she felt for him.
Shaking her head, Buffy sighed. “I am. I think…I don’t know.”
Only nodding, Angel let his fingers trace the pattern of his bed sheet, before looking up at her through his thick, dark eye lashes.
“You have every right to be, baby…I shouldn’t have hurt your friend. I just got so angry when I heard that he’d kissed you, and I lost it. It wasn’t until you tried to stop me that I realised what I was doing.”
He brushed her hair behind her ear and touched her face gently.
“Can you forgive me, sweetie?”
Nothing confused Buffy more than this. She’d expected to be angry with him, and to make him beg for her forgiveness, but he was being nice.
Seeing her frown, Angel sighed and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I can understand if you don’t want to talk to me just now. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you.”
His look was so sincere, that Buffy’s eyes widened. “Oh Angel…”
Leaning forwards, Angel pressed his lips against her own, kissing her softly like he used to when they first started to date. Letting the feeling wash over her, Buffy sighed, opening her mouth to welcome his tongue.
It didn’t take long for Angel’s kiss to become more forceful, or for him to push her backwards to lay on his bed. Moving his lips to her neck, Angel let his fingers find her legs, working his way up her thighs, thankful that she was wearing a skirt.
“Angel, we can’t…” Buffy whispered, trying to push his head away from her. Ignoring her, Angel continued to kiss her neck, his fingers still finding there way underneath her skirt. “I’ve got my period right now, Angel.”
Suddenly sitting up, Angel shook his head and stared at her incredulously. “What the hell are you here for then?”
Frowning, Buffy fixed her skirt. “What do you mean?”
His look was completely sincere and almost innocent as he said, “If we can’t have sex, why are you here?”
Realisation hit Buffy like a tonne of bricks, and she stood up, backing away from him. He was lying. Everything he’d just said was complete shit. He really did only want her for one thing.
“My God! You asshole!” Pacing, Buffy ran her fingers through her hair, waiting for her heartbeat to settle again. “I thought you were being sincere! You were talking complete BULL and I ate it up like some kind of idiot!”
Looking over at Angel again, Buffy stopped pacing and turned to him, glaring. “No more. This? You and me…it’s over.”
Not hanging around to here his excuses, Buffy fled from his house, cursing herself for ever believing a word he said, and for almost becoming lost in his lies, when just blocks away William was hurting.
* * *
Joyce Summers stared across the dinner table at her daughter. Buffy had seemed so distant recently, too lost in her own world to even consider letting her family in on it. It didn’t worry Joyce too much…she remembered what it was like to be a teenager.
“Something wrong, honey?”
Buffy looked up at her mom wide-eyes and mid-chew. It was rare that her mother inquired about her, or called her ‘honey’, but she was willing to take all the attention she was offered.
“Mom…if there was a guy, and you kind of…got him into trouble…what would you do?”
Thinking it over, Joyce stabbed at the steak with her fork and shrugged. “Well, firstly I’d apologise.”
Nodding, Buffy smiled. She could do that. She doubted that they’d ever be as comfortable as they’d been before, but if she could just salvage their friendship, and regain the tiniest bit of trust…then everything would be alright.
* * *
Gathering her courage, Buffy raised her hand and knocked on the front door. It was late, she knew, but she only wanted to speak to him for a moment, and then she’d leave.
When the door swung open, Buffy had expected to see William, but instead she was met by an old-ish lady, wrapped in a large blanket and with a nice smile.
“Hi, sorry to bother you, but is William home?”
The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she turned towards the stairs. “It’s a bit late in the evening dear, William is up in his bedroom.”
Having expected this, Buffy nodded. “I know, but I’d really like to speak with him, just for a minute if that’s alright.”
The woman looked about to accept, but before doing so, she leaned forwards.
“What is your name?”
As Buffy answered, the woman’s smile faded and a stony expression fell into place where it had been. The woman’s eyes now seemed to cold, and full of anger.
“Buffy. You’re the girl that got my William beaten up? How dare you come here…”
Stepping backwards instinctively, Buffy began to shake her head in denial. “No, I…I didn’t…”
Before the woman could respond, William appeared at the doorway and gently took hold of the woman’s shoulders.
“Mother, come inside. You’ll catch yourself a cold.”
Looking from the woman to William, Buffy frowned. Surely this woman was too old to be William’s mother? She looked to be approaching sixty.
The woman let her son lead her back into the house, and Buffy waited patiently for him to come back. Again she found herself running her fingers through her hair, worried about her appearance.
“Sorry about my Mum…she can be a little hard-headed at times.”
Looking over at William who now stood, once again, in the doorway, Buffy shook her head. “No, she’s right…”
He didn’t seem to have an answer to that, so Buffy decided that he also thought it was her fault. Looking at her shoes for a moment, Buffy again gathered her courage before looking up at him again.
“I came to apologise. It was one thing, what happened…but leaving you like that…I’ve been trying to find excuses for it all day, and I don’t have any.”
Stepping out onto the porch, William leaned on the barrier looking out into the street. He shrugged. “You have a reputation to uphold.”
…and although this seemed like reason enough to him, Buffy was angry for it. “No. That is no excuse. My reputation doesn’t compare…not to seeing you like this. I was running away from my feelings.”
He looked at her now, all curious yet innocent. “Feelings?”
“Yes, feelings….and don’t look at me that way. You must have known…I just…I didn’t know how to deal with what it all implicated. Everything I’ve ever felt in my life was artificial, like I was forcing myself to feel it because it was good for my reputation.”
She paused, shaking her head and brushing her hair out of her eyes. “…and then there was you. You made me feel warm, and real, and smart. It scared me…”
William understood exactly how she felt. When he was with her, he was confident and loud, and unafraid to really be him. No-one else had ever made him feel that way, so comfortable in such a short time.
He listened as she continued.
“And believe me, I’m not telling you this because I expect a relationship. That is the last thing I expect after the way I treated you…but…if you wanted…I could settle with friends.” She held her breath.
William studied her. All he’d ever wanted with her was a relationship, but she was right. They couldn’t handle one right now. They’d been through too much to even try and think about each other in that way, but he was sure that in time…
“Friends it is.”
Smiling, Buffy released her deep breath and nodded at him.
“…friends…”
To be continued…
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