It was a day like any other for William Pratt. He was sitting behind the counter at the local bookstore where he worked with the newspaper spread out in front of him, looking through the ad’s for a place to rent. Normally, he would be diligently ringing up customers or restocking the shelves, but today the store was dead so he figured it’d be okay to get something accomplished while he waited for his shift to end.

The store was owned by his uncle Rupert and he’d been working there since he’d moved to Sunnydale from London five years ago. He had been a sophomore in high school at the time and had just suffered the loss of his mother, his only remaining parent, his father having passed when he was an infant. His mothers brother had been living in America for the last few years, and as his only remaining family, he had been sent to live with him.

It was the summer before his junior year of college, and even though he was a shy introverted young man, he was trying to turn over a new leaf and move to an apartment close to UCSunnydale in order to have more of the “normal” college experience. Closing himself off from the world by only focusing on his studies and barely leaving his uncle’s house was not what he wanted for his life any longer.

He was so engrossed in looking through the paper that he failed to here the bell chime alerting him to customers entering the store. He was in the middle of circling an ad he found the most appealing:

ROOMMATE WANTED
2 BEDROOM APARTMENT W/ 1 BATHROOM KITCHEN AND LIVING AREA
RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER FROM UCSUNNYDALE
COLLEGE STUDENT PREFERABLE – ANY GENDER
CALL THIS NUMBER FOR MORE INFORMATION

The sound of someone very close clearing their throat jolted him to attention.

“Sorry to interrupt you, but I’m kind of running late.”

The voice belong to the girl he had spent his high school years pinning away for, and being caught so by surprise all he could do was stare at her. Her name was Buffy Summers and she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever set his eyes on. Of course she never knew he even existed, much less what his name was.

“William? Are you okay?” She asked worriedly when all he did was stare at her with his entire face starting to turn beat red.

“Y-y-you know my name?” Was all he could seem to manage to get out, so completely surprised that she did actually know it, though she had never said a word to him in the 5 years they had attended school together. He immediately slapped his hand over his face at how utterly stupid that must have sounded. His glasses were knocked askew from this and clattered to the ground.

Before he realized what was happening, Buffy was behind the counter, picking up his glasses, and cleaning them off for him.

“Of course I know your name, we went to school together since high school! I’m sorry for startling you though. Here are your glasses, good as new!” She said and she handed them back to him and resumed her place on the opposite side of the counter.

“N-no don’t be s-s-sorry, I sh-should have been paying better attention to the c-c-clientele. Please forgive me and let me get you rung up and on your way.” William finally got out, happy that his stuttering let up as he went.

“Thank you, I’m just running late for my shift at the diner, but I had to stop for this book before I went.” Buffy said as she looked at him intently as he rung up her purchase.

“OH! That’s my apartment! Are you looking for a place to live William?” Buffy asked in surprise as she glanced down at the ad he had circled in the paper.

“Um, well I am- that is to say-uh I was looking to move closer to campus. If I had known it was your apartment, I wouldn’t have circled it.” When he looked up at her face after he said this however, he began to backtrack. “Not that I wouldn’t want to live with you –that is- I just figured y-y-y-you wouldn’t have b-been interested in, um living with uh me.” He hurriedly finished.

“Actually William, I think that might be a great idea, I was so worried I’d end up getting a complete stranger when I put out that ad. My last roommate just moved away and if your interested maybe you can come by tomorrow morning to look at the place and you can let me know if you want to live with me.”

Williams mouth was hanging open, astounded that she would WANT to live with him. He was at a loss for words.

“I’ve got to run though, to catch my shift, but I’ll see you tomorrow? Around 10am?” She said as she started to make her way towards the door. All he could seem to do was nod as she walked out of the shop.

William sat there, completely stunned at what had just transpired. The girl who had haunted him since he had first moved there had just invited him to come look at her apartment. Even more, she wanted to live with him.

Maybe his life was about to turn around after all.

Buffy was lying in bed, trying to unwind from her long shift at the diner that night. It was 2am in the morning and what better way to unwind then with someone’s head between your legs?

As Buffy was writhing on the bed, under the ministrations of an expert tongue, she was also thinking of her run in with William earlier. She had always had a thing for him in high school. Since he had moved to their sleepy little Californian town, she had seen behind his shy exterior.

Behind the glasses that, she had an inkling he didn’t really need, he had the most vibrant blue eyes she had ever seen in her life. She had never dared approach him in school because, truth be told, he intimidated her. He was just so smart, whenever he was called on in class for an answer, not that this happened too often, but whenever it did, he had the most eloquent, interesting things to say.

Of course, none of the other students had seen it that way, and any of his answers were accompanied by low snickers. Though he usually averted his eyes to his desk while his face would start turning red, Buffy had noticed on more then one occasion a flash in his eyes before he averted them. Yes, there was much more to William Pratt then met the eye.

“Yes, uh, right there baby….so good.” Buffy moaned as one finger was inserted into her dripping pussy and her clit was being teased by a wicked tongue. She couldn’t help but wish it was William doing this to her.

She knew she should give that fantasy up by now. It had been 5 years and this afternoon had been the first time they had even really talked at all. He had never even glanced her way in high school, but that didn’t stop her from wanting him.

It had started out as just an interest at first, since she’d had a boyfriend. Angel O’Conner was the typical shallow jock that also happened to be the most popular guy in school. At the time, Buffy had counted herself so lucky, that out of all the girls in the school, all the cheerleaders, he had wanted to date her. She hadn’t been a social leper or anything; she just wasn’t into cheerleading or the popular clique.

She had always been more of a free spirit, and all she had needed were her two best friends Willow and Xander, so being popular really hadn’t been that important. Free spirit or not, as a 15 year-old girl, you still got all giggly and excited when a good-looking guy like that asked you out.

“Please…..please, touch me where I need it, no more teasing.” Buffy was panting hard as the tongue continued to circle her clit, even as a second finger joined the first lazily pumping in and out of her.

“Where is that exactly?” A husky voice murmured as brown eyes connected with her green ones.

“Uh you know, don’t stop….please” Buffy was writhing, trying to get any friction she could, as the two fingers inside of her slowed down to an excruciatingly slow speed and the brown eyes just stared into hers, waiting for her say what she needed.

“My clit! Please…suck it in your mouth! Fuck me like you mean it, baby, you know what I want.” Buffy gasped as the fingers started suddenly going much faster and a big smile flashed before her eyes before her clit was lightly sucked into a warm mouth. Her head tossed to the side and her eyes screwed shut as she moaned and panted, but her mind returned to William and the day her interest turned into full out lust.


***


Her and Willow hadn’t been troublemakers by any definition of the word, but when you’re a senior in high school, pranks are somewhat expected.

It started out rather innocently. They were just going to sneak into the boys locker room when no one was in there and fill Xander’s locker with tampons. Just thinking about the look on his face when he opened it and a dozen tampons flew at his face was more than priceless.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan. They had snuck in and were relieved to see the locker room completely empty. They quickly went to the locker they thought was Xander’s. This was confirmed when they opened it and his backpack and clothes were hanging inside. No one else in school wore the Hawaiian shirts that Xander unsuccessfully attempted to make into a fashion statement. They set the tampons up and were just closing the locker when they heard the door that connected to the gym open. They had looked at each other with wide eyes and ran for a place to hide so they wouldn’t be caught.

Luckily there was an indention in the wall right next to them where athletic equipment and a big laundry cart for dirty towels were kept. They quickly ducked behind the cart, trying to muffle their giggles as they heard a lone pair of footsteps making their way to the set of lockers they had just been standing in front of.

Buffy peaked around the cart to see William with a towel slung low on his hips opening his locker, which was two down from Xander’s.

She had always known there was more to him then there seemed, and boy was she right. Underneath the baggy clothes he wore he was hiding a surprisingly toned chest and torso. You could probably wash laundry off of the six pack he was sporting. He wasn’t overly bulky like Angel was. Instead he was compact and covered in lean muscles beneath pale skin that seemed to glow under the locker rooms florescent lights.

Buffy hadn’t realized that her breathing had started to become shallower as she drank in his beauty. Before she knew it was happening, he was no longer sporting the towel around his hips. If she thought he was impressive before, then she was definitely caught off guard at how impressive he was completely nude. Though she only had a side view of him and not a whole lot to compare to, he was much more well-endowed than Angel. That’s not even mentioning the fact that he wasn’t even aroused!

Before she knew it, she was being pulled back behind the laundry cart by Willow, who was attempting to mime to her to be quiet since her breathing had gotten quite loud. After she had gotten it under control she had heard a locker slam closed, a soft thud of a towel being flung into the bin above her, and retreating footsteps. As she peaked around the cart again, all she caught was his retreating back as he pushed the door open and exited into the hallway.

It was all a blur after that as Willow grabbed her arm, and pulled them both out of the boys locker room. Buffy was distracted the whole rest of the day, through all her classes, with the image of a naked William burned in her mind.


***

After that day, Buffy had broken things off with Angel, not feeling right dating one person while all her thoughts were about being with another. She had been the brunt of ridicule by the jocks and cheerleaders after that, since Angel had spun a story about her being awful in bed and that he had done the dumping.

She hadn’t really cared about all that though; it had died down after a few weeks when the next big scandal had come up. Since that day, no other man could live up to the pedestal that she had put William on. It was just a shame that he barely ever acknowledged her.

She was probably too pushy earlier when she had told him to come by to look at the apartment. He obviously had lost any interest in it the second he found out it was hers. She couldn’t help it though, not only would she not have to live with a stranger, it would be William. Just the possibility of living with him and maybe catching another glimpse of him sans clothes was too good to pass up. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, right?

She hadn’t even really needed that book she had stopped in to buy, it had just been an excuse to see him, he same reason why her route to work usually took her past the bookstore every day.

She could feel the tension start to build to a crescendo inside of her. Three fingers pumped away furiously and her clit was being suck on with a vengeance. Buffy’s moans filled the air of the quiet apartment as she got closer and closer.

The hand that wasn’t busy pumping in and out of her pussy made its way up to grab her left breast and pinched the hardened nipple between its thumb and forefinger. She shouted out her pleasure at the combined sensations.

Just as she could feel her inner muscles about to clench down on the fingers insider her, they slowed and hooked upward to rub the spongy mass inside of her. The mouth on her clit let go for a second to say in a rough whisper, “Say my name, baby. Say who makes you feel so good.”

The mouth returned to her clit and sucked one more time hard, teeth raking lightly against it. That’s all it took as Buffy came apart completely with a scream.

“FAITH!”

William looked down at the newspaper clipping in his hands and then up at the door in front of him, triple checking that this was the right apartment. He’d been standing there for at least ten minutes, not able to muster up the courage to knock.

The decision was made for him, however, as the door open and a girl walked out, head turned toward the inside of the apartment as she yelled her goodbyes.

“See ya soon B – oophf!” She had continued to move without looking forward and before William knew what was happening, she had run straight into him.

“I’m s-s-so terribly sorry,” William said as Faith collected herself and looked up at him.

“No problemo, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you here to see B?” Faith asked as she subtly studied him.

“No-uh I mean- if you mean Buffy, then yes,” he struggled to say.

“Hey B! You got a sexy visitor at your door! And I’m not talking about me!” Faith shouted into the open apartment. She then turned back to him and said, “I’m Faith, maybe I’ll see you around or something.”

As she said this, she licked her lips and all he could seem to get out was, “P-p-p-pleasure to meet you, I’m William, I’m j-j-just here looking at the apartment.”

“It’s cool Willy! I’ll see you around, just let yourself in, B’ll be out in a second I’m sure.” And with that she smacked his ass and sauntered off down the hall.

William was so surprised by her action that all he could do was stand where he was with his mouth agape, watching her retreating form.

That was how Buffy found him as she came towards the door wearing only a towel, water dripping onto the carpet.

“William are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” Buffy said as she took in his shocked expression.

His head sharply turned at the sound of her voice, but if it was possible, his jaw dropped open ever more at the sight of her standing there, dripping wet, in only a towel. What I wouldn’t give to be that towel.

“William? William!” The sound of her calling his name jarred him out of his stupor and he tried to regain himself.

“Y-yes. Sorry to worry you, I just ran into your friend, Faith. Interesting bird,” he said in a more steady voice as he tried valiantly to only look at her face.

“Oh no, what did she say? Let me apologize for her, she can come off as being a lot to handle,” Buffy said as she waved him into the apartment and he closed the door behind him.

“It’s quite alright, just took me by surprise,” he said as he looked down at the ground, trying not to notice what great legs she had as water droplets continued to run down them.

“Oh, alright,” Buffy said, not looking all that convinced that Faith hadn’t said or done something inappropriate. “I’m sorry that I’m not dressed; I didn’t realize what time it was. Please feel free to look around the living room and kitchen or have a seat on the sofa. I’ll just go throw some clothes on.”

With that, she disappeared through a doorway into a hall where he assumed her bedroom was. He almost protested when she said she was going to put some clothes on. He didn’t mind the towel one bit.

As he waited he idly looked around the room. The apartment opened up to a big open room. On one side was the living room, couches to the left of the door with a flat screen TV mounted on the wall the door was on. The TV was by far the focal point of the room, since the couches were angled towards it and it was on a wall where you could still watch it across the room from the kitchen. The couches looked like they were well loved and may have been from a second hand store or garage sale. They were a faded, as if they used to be green, but now looked more of a muddy sage. They surrounded a rectangular coffee table that was painted black and had some visible rings on it from glasses that hadn’t been propped on top of anything. The door was in a little alcove so that there was no wall on the right side, just one perpendicular that held the doorway for the hall that Buffy had exited through.

Past the living room was the kitchen. The two rooms were separated by a counter that came out halfway from the wall. The kitchen wasn’t big, but it had all the necessary equipment; dishwasher, microwave, oven with a stove on top, good sized refrigerator, sink with a drying rack next to it. There were cabinets above and underneath the counter, which was long enough to give enough room for preparing food. A small table with three chairs was against the same wall as the doorway to the hall. These also looked like they had seen better days. One of the chairs looked like the legs were a bit uneven so that when you sat in it you’d rock and sway. They had once been painted black, but looked as if they could use another coat because the paint had started to thin in places.

All the walls were painted a cream color, probably good for hiding any dust or dirt. The windows all had cream colored metal blinds attached for privacy. No curtains to make the room feel more finished, however. There also weren’t any pictures of family and friends on the walls or tables. There was a scenic picture in a plastic frame above the table in the kitchen. It was of a valley with a mountain towering above it, leaving parts of it in shadow. The mountain had two peaks and in between them was the most exquisite sun set. The sun was red, but left trails of orange, pink, and purple in an almost midnight blue sky.

From what William could tell, everything looked good to him. They were both still in college so an apartment full of mismatched furniture was fine. Nothing better then Buffy in a towel, however.

With that thought, he heard muffled footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around the see Buffy coming toward him wearing shorts and a tank top. Her wet hair must have been towel dried since it no longer looked sopping wet, and had been pulled up into a messy bun.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Obviously Buffy and punctuality are unmixy things.” She joked as she stopped in front of him.

“It’s alright, luv, don’t fret over it,” he said, liking the way she was staring up at him and the strong smell of vanilla wafting towards him.

Buffy blushed slightly, liking that he’d called her “luv”, but also internally scolding herself knowing he didn’t mean anything by it.

“Have you looked around out here? The appliances in the kitchen are in pretty good working order, or I assume they are. I can’t really cook; I have a tendency of burning water,” she said as she looked around the kitchen and then back at him.

“This is a very nice apartment. I can cook and everything in here looks great, maybe I can cook for you sometime? Save you money on take-away?” William asked slightly bashful, thinking he sounded rather forward.

“That would be great. There’s only so much Chinese food you can eat before you feel like you’re about to turn into an eggroll.” Buffy laughed, excited that he sounded like he wanted to live there with her, “let me show you the rest of the place, there isn’t much to it, but it’s cozy, ya know?”

William nodded and followed her down the hallway that she had come from. There were four doors lining the walls. There was also a picture of The Beatles crossing the street, an elongated version of the Abbey Road album cover, on the opposite wall between the second and third door. The walls were still painted that cream color from the outer room.

“Okay, so this is a storage closet, I usually keep cleaning stuff in here, sometimes some odds and ends too,” Buffy said as she opened the first door they came to. Inside were some different cleaners, a broom and waste pan, and a vacuum. There was a window next to the closet so everything was easy to see. This window also had the cream blinds attached, and like the other windows they were pulled up halfway so that the whole apartment was showered in sunlight.

Buffy closed that door and went to the next one, across the hall and a little down from the first.

“This would be your room. You can paint the walls any color you want and there’s another closet for your clothes inside,” she said as she opened the door and walked in.

He followed in behind her to see a good-sized empty space with a set of windows across from them and another doorway, what he assumed was the aforementioned closet, further in and on the same wall as the door leading to the hall.

“This is very nice, probably about the size of my room at my uncle’s,” William said.

“Oh, that’s good, I was afraid you’d think it was too small,” Buffy said then turned to walk out, “only two more rooms to go!”

William shut the door behind him as he made it back into hallway and followed Buffy past the Beatles picture to the next door on the same wall.

“This is my room. It’s pretty much identical to the other one, except for all the mess and clutter,” Buffy said as she opened the door to show him, looking slightly embarrassed.

William glanced inside and saw a full size bed that was unmade, nightstand, dresser, vanity, books scattered around along with clothing, and a small flat screen TV that was mounted on the wall opposite of the bed.

“No worries, luv. I’m sure if I move in, my room will look very similar in no time,” he said, trying to reassure her. He was also taking in as much of the room as he could, loving having a glimpse into her private sanctuary. Her comforter, that was slightly askew on her bed, was furry looking and a bright orange color. The sheets underneath along with her pillow cases were a bright pink. She also had blinds on the windows right next to her bed that were aqua blue. The walls were white, which suited it since there were splashes of bright color everywhere else and if they were yet another color, it might give one a headache from all the chaos.
Buffy shut her door and moved down the hall to the end. She was also embarrassed at how little girl-like her room must have looked to him.

“Finally, this is the bathroom. It’s not much, but it gets the job done,” she said as she opened the last door and he saw a pretty standard bathroom inside.

There was the vanity with the sink in the middle, cabinets underneath, a mirror above on the wall that looked like it opened up into a medicine cabinet. Next to the vanity was a toilet bowl and next to that a bathtub. The shower curtain was pulled to the side and a faucet was visible on the wall for a shower. The tiling on the shower walls and bathroom floor was done in black and white with painted white walls for the rest of the room. The shower curtain and floor mat were the only vibrant thing in the room. It was a blue, purple, and green tie-dye curtain with a blue shaggy rug next to the tub. Droplets of water clung to the tiled walls and inside of the shower curtain. These were the signs of Buffy’s recent shower, and William couldn’t help the picture of her in the shower, water streaming down her that flashed in his mind. His imagination was good enough to try and fill in the blanks that her towel had covered.

“Looks fine to me. Seems like you do a good job keeping it nice and tidy.” Was all William could think to say, trying to clear his head of the image of naked Buffy.

“Thanks. I try to keep up on the cleaning. So that is the grand tour, what do you think?” Buffy asked, slightly nervous that he might have decided to keep looking at other apartments.

“I think it looks great, luv. Do you have a lot of other people looking? You could let me know when you decided who the best fit was,” William replied, not confident enough to come right out and say he’d love to live there.

They had walked back into the living room and Buffy turned around to look at him.

“Actually, you were the first person to look. If you’re interested, I think I can stop looking now,” Buffy said, holding her breath.

“Well if you’re sure, I’d be more than happy to live here.”

Buffy had to hold back her squeal at his reply.

“Great! You have no idea how much of a relief this is, to be able to find someone so fast,” Buffy said, to try and cover up her excitement, “you can move in whenever you want, I’ll give you the extra key and write down all the information for you on rent and utilities that we’ll split.”

“Terrific, I’m quite relieved myself. Since school will be starting back up in a couple weeks, I’ll move in as soon as I can to be ready for the semester. I can’t thank you enough, Buffy, for letting me live here,” William said sincerely.

Inside he thought he might explode. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought that one day he’d be living with Buffy Summers. Despite the fact that she’d probably picked him because she had zero interest in him and could easily live with him like she would some other girl, he couldn’t be happier.

Maybe there would be much more half dressed Buffy to ogle in his future.

He supposed he could suffer through that.

A week later, Buffy found herself standing in the doorway to William’s room. Instead of looking at a bare, empty space, it was full of furniture and freshly painted. She took in how the walls were now a hunter green and all the furniture that seemed to compliment it.

She hadn’t seen him much during the week while he moved in since their schedules had conflicted, but had noticed his belongings slowly filtering into the apartment. One day, she’d come home and noticed an X-Box connected to the TV in the living room and a set of coasters on the coffee table. The following day there were new pictures on previously bare walls and masculine toiletries in her very girly bathroom.

He was currently laying against the pillows on his bed, engrossed in working on his laptop. Since he hadn’t noticed her standing there yet, Buffy took the opportunity to study the area he had made into his own. It was obvious that he liked earth tones, and they did suit him very well. All the furniture was made out of a grainy, darkly stained wood. His comforter was tan with dark brown pillow cases and, Buffy assumed, the sheets underneath were the same brown. He had placed tan wooden blinds on the windows for privacy and his desk and dresser were against the walls giving him more floor space. His desk was directly across the room from his bed and it had a shelf on top that was probably meant for a printer but he had opted to put a small flat screen TV on it instead.

She decided it was time to make her presence known and gently knocked on his open door. William started at the unexpected noise, finally looking up from the computer screen in front of him.

He smiled at her as he motioned her to come in. She entered and turned around in a slow circle to see everything he had done from a better view.

“You’ve really done a great job in here; I can’t believe it’s this different in just a week,” Buffy said as she stopped spinning and pulled his desk chair out to sit.

William glanced around with a satisfied smile before turning back to her. “It was a lot of work; I can’t help but be glad it’s all done.”

“Did you take all this furniture from your uncle’s house?”

“No, actually, I decided to buy a new set so I didn’t leave him with a barren room to host guests. I’ve wanted a bigger bed for some time now, it’s nice to have more leg room,” William replied, wiggling his bare toes to make his point.

“I did the same thing when I moved here. I had only ever known what a twin size was like before then. Once I got my full, it took me an entire year to explore the wonders of more space. In a twin you learn not to move unless you want some bonding time with the floor,” Buffy laughed and shook her head.

“I can’t even imagine the tortures of a twin! I had a full and I feel spoiled in comparison, especially now with a queen,” William replied and stretched out a little further.

After a moment William added, “While we’re on the topic, my uncle said that once he purchases new furniture for his living room, we are welcome to any of the old stuff before it gets tossed.”

“Oh, that would be great! Please make sure you let him know I really appreciate the offer.”

They sat there for a few minutes, not really knowing what else to say. Buffy started to fidget around in her seat and William was looking everywhere but at her.

Finally, remembering an important topic she had needed to bring up to him, Buffy said, “Faith stays the night once in awhile. I hope that’s okay with you.”

William was a little startled by this drastic change in subject, but got his thoughts together pretty quickly.

“I suppose that’s not a big deal. I wouldn’t want you to change your habits merely because I moved in.”

Buffy looked a little relieved at his answer, but felt the need to explain the situation to him.

“It only usually happens on nights when we both work the night shift, sometimes when she works it alone too, but that’s rare. Faith lives with her father; she doesn’t have enough money to move out. Whatever money she makes she tries to stash it away, but….well you see, he’s an alcoholic. He’s usually passed out during the day, but if she comes home from work late he’s usually up and mean. He would be very aware of her at that point and besides demanding what money she has so he can buy more booze; he really enjoys knocking her around.”

Buffy said all this steadily, looking William straight in the eyes. It was a lot of information to be told about someone he barely knew, and he hadn’t been quite prepared for it. It was obvious that Buffy cared about Faith a lot. Pain radiated from her eyes as she talked about he friend’s home life.

William had trouble combining this information to the picture of the confident girl sashaying down the hall after slapping him on his rear.

“I’m sorry to dump all this on you, but I wanted you to understand why you’ll probably be seeing a good amount of her even though she doesn’t live here,” Buffy finished as she looked down at the floor.

“It’s quite alright, luv. I don’t mind her being here; it’d actually be nice to get to know more people. I don’t really have any close friends,” William said bashfully. He didn’t want her to feel bad for him or anything, simply wanted to put her at ease and possibly turn the subject a bit.

Buffy was a little shocked by this announcement. Sure, she’d never really seen him with anyone, but she’d never thought he didn’t have friends.

“That’s all going to change- it already has changed. I hope you think of me as a friend. I want to get to know you more William. That is, if you wanted to spend time with me,” Buffy said, not sure what his response would be.

“I would like that very much, Buffy,” William replied, meeting her eyes to let her see his sincerity.

Buffy couldn’t stop the big smile from curling up her lips.

Seeing this, William went ahead and asked her something he had previously been too nervous to. “Would you like me to cook us something for supper tonight?”

“That would be wonderful! Oh – I don’t really have any food in the kitchen. Probably only a carton of milk that’s about to go bad and a moldy chunk of cheese in the refrigerator,” Buffy said apologetically.


“Not to worry, luv. I stocked the kitchen when I moved in. We have more than enough food for the next week or so. I also threw out that moldy cheese. Figured it could die in the waste bin in peace,” William said, smiling at her.


Buffy laughed at this, liking his sense of humor.

“I can make some pasta and chicken in alfredo sauce with some veggies thrown in,” William offered. He was thrilled he had been able to get her to laugh.

“That sounds delicious! I think my mouth is watering at the thought of a home cooked meal!” Buffy said as she stood up and rolled the chair back under his desk.

“Let me finish this up and then I’ll be off to the kitchen to start,” he said, turning back to his laptop.

“Whatcha doing?”

William looked back up at Buffy as she stood next to his bed wearing an openly curious expression. “I’m pre-ordering the books I need for this semester at the bookstore on campus. Don’t rightly feel like searching around and fighting other students for them.”

“That’s a really good idea! I should do that, I never thought to before. I usually go the first day of classes and accept the bruises on my arms from getting elbowed out of the way.”

William looked at her in shock, “That’s just unacceptable! I’m all done here, if you like; pre-order your books now and I’ll go start on supper.”

Buffy smiled at William and said, “Thank you, I think I’ll take you up on that! Hey, maybe we can go pick them up together? I don’t have to work on Wednesday.”

“That sounds like a good idea, pet. I’ll leave you to it then.”

William was smiling as he headed for the kitchen.


***

After Buffy had finished pre-ordering her books, she closed up William’s laptop and put it back on his desk as she left his room.

She found him in the kitchen with all the ingredients he’d need for their meal laid out neatly on the counter. He was leaning over, half-way in a cabinet, trying to wrestle some pots and pans out.

Buffy knew she should probably go over there and give him a hand, since his struggle was in an attempt to make her dinner, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. The view of his butt he was presenting her with was way too good not to enjoy.

Before she could look away, William finished his struggle. He turned around holding a pot in one hand and a large pan in the other. A funny look crossed his face at catching her staring at him, but before he could say anything she walked over to the food sitting out on the counter and asked, “What can I do to help?”

William shook his head quickly, as if the act would clear it of any thoughts he was having.

“Can you cut up the broccoli and chicken breasts into chunks while I heat up some water and put together the alfredo sauce?” William asked as he set the pan aside and started filling a pot up with water.

“Yea, no prob. Cutting I can do.”

They silently worked to get everything together. It was a comfortable silence for the most part; Buffy had so many things she wanted to learn about William but figured she could wait until they were finished making dinner since she was pretty attached to her fingers.

It amazed Buffy to watch William cook. It seemed so effortless how he whipped up the alfredo sauce from scratch. He put the pasta in the boiling water and added the chicken to the skillet to brown.

Feeling a little useless since she had finished cutting everything up at least ten minutes ago, Buffy got plates out, setting the little kitchen table.

Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting across from each other with steaming hot plates of food before them. Buffy had made sure to move the rickety chair to the middle so neither of them would get stuck sitting in it.

They started quietly eating until Buffy took her first bite and couldn’t stop herself from announcing, “This is fantastic! How’d you learn to cook so well?” She was trying not to talk with her mouth full, but continued to eat as if she were starving.

“I used to cook dinner for my mother every night,” William said softly, looking down at his plate.

“I didn’t mean to bring up a bad subject, we can talk about something else,” she said quickly, knowing that his parents’ deaths were the reason he had come to live with his uncle.

“No, it’s okay. I just miss them,” he said this just as softly as his last comment, but this time he looked at her, “My dad used to work a lot, so he wasn’t ever home for supper. My mother was always very frail so I learned to cook for the both of us when I was still very young. It started out with cooking with her, and then one day it was just me while she’d instruct me from the table.”

“Thank you for telling me. I think your mother would be very proud of how well you cook now,” Buffy said as she placed her fork down and reached out to touch his unoccupied hand.

They sat like that for what felt like hours. Buffy’s hand covering his was just a friendly gesture of reassurance, but William felt a spark go through him the second she touched him. He was afraid to move, not wanting her to take her hand back.

After a few more minutes Buffy did take her hand back, a blush creeping up her cheeks. She felt foolish for holding on for so long, but couldn’t seem to tear herself away.

She cleared her throat and changed the subject to school, asking him what his major was.

“English. I like to write, so maybe I can do that professionally one day. Get some short stories or even a novel published,” William replied, grateful for the change in topic, “what’s your major, luv?”

“Psychology, with a minor in sociology. I want to help people, and I think I’m pretty good at listening,” Buffy answered.

They continued on like this, talking about what teachers they’ve had and what classes they hated the most.

Buffy admitted she tended to butcher the English language up and usually got pretty bad grades in any writing class she’d ever taken. William wasn’t so big on mathematics, but figured he wasn’t going to need it for anything besides counting change and he’d already mastered that skill working at the store.

They continued to talk about random things that popped into their heads as they cleared the dishes together and loaded them into the dishwasher. After the kitchen was clean, they made their way over to the couches to watch some TV together. During their conversation they had discovered that they both enjoyed watching reality TV.

Buffy turned the TV on and found that the new episode of Jersey Shore was on. They sat on either end of the couch directly facing the TV and began making fun of the show as they watched it.

“I swear, if that Snooki girl gets any more orange, she’ll be confused for an oompa loompa!” William laughed.

Buffy started laughing with him, shaking her head, “No, her hair’s the wrong color! If it were green, then she’d look like one!”

“No, luv, the hair doesn’t matter. She’s got the skin and the height, that’s all that matters,” William shot back, “I keep expecting her to break out into song like in the movie, but I don't think she's smart enough to find a rhyme for syphilis."

Buffy was hysterical, between bursts of laughter she said, “What if when she’s attempting to make out with some guy and it looks like she’s about to suck his face off, he’s internally singing? Something like: oompa loompa doopidy dee, hope she doesn’t try to eat me!”

They were both rolling on the couch with that. When they had finally calmed down they were silent for a bit as the show came to an end.

“I should probably head to bed,” Buffy said, “I’m supposed to work the morning shift at the diner.”

William let out a sigh, sorry to see the night end. “Yeah, I need to work in the morning too.”

With that he heaved himself off the couch, and then turned around to offer Buffy his hand. After he pulled her up, they stood facing one another for a moment, both frozen at how close they were standing. William was the one to break the spell as he took his hand back and started walking towards his room. He wasn’t sure what was going on, between catching Buffy staring at him in the kitchen earlier and the two touches they had shared after that. He didn’t want to make more of it then was really there, but he couldn’t help that his confidence grew slightly.

Buffy followed behind him and stopped as he got to his room.

“Well, goodnight William. Thanks again for dinner, it was delicious.”

William blushed imperceptibly and nodded. “It’s nothing, luv. ‘m happy you enjoyed it. Sleep well.”

Buffy smiled at him as he entered his room and closed the door behind him. She continued to make her way down the hallway to her room to begin her nighttime ritual.

By the time she was laying in bed, sleep seemed like an impossibility. Her mind continued to race for hours reliving the night they’d shared until finally she fell into a fitful sleep.

It was the Saturday before school started again and Buffy was running around, straightening up the apartment for the little impromptu party she was throwing.

A few days earlier, when she and William had gone to go pick up their books, she had asked him if it would be alright if they had some of her friends over to close out the summer and reign in the new school year.

Since she worked the morning shift and wasn’t working again until tomorrow afternoon, she was readying the apartment for some fun times. Not many people coming, just Willow and Xander with their significant others, Oz and Anya. Faith was also going to stop by after she got off her shift at ten. William said he really didn’t have anyone to invite over, but was delighted to meet her friends.

William was just entering through the front door as she was setting up the folding table he had brought with him when he moved in.

“Do you need any help with that, luv?” William quickly came over to assist her in setting up the table between the back of the couch and the kitchen counter.

“Thanks! How was work today?” Buffy smiled at him and she dusted off her hands.

“It was rather boring, actually. Not many customers to help today. What do you use this table for anyway?” William was looking rather dubiously at the aforementioned object. He’d never been invited to a party before and had no idea what would go on.

“It’s for beer pong, of course. Can I tell you again how happy I am that you had a table to bring? It definitely beats making Xander take the closet door off its hinges to prop on top of two kitchen chairs, that’s for sure!” Buffy remembered how it had always been a production getting the game together before.

“Beer pong?” William carefully sounded out the words as if it were a foreign language to him.

“You’ve never played before? Oh, it’s lots of fun. It involves ping pong balls and cups set up like bowling pins slightly filled with beer.”

“What would be the point of this? Do you play for money?” William had no idea what she was talking about and was wondering if she was feeling alright. This game didn’t sound like it made a lick of sense.

“No, you play to make the other team drink!” Buffy said in a voice that implied ‘duh’, “Here let me try to explain it to you so you’ll be ready to play once everyone gets here. You can be on my team because I’m awesome.”

For the next half an hour Buffy explained to William the rules of the game. She set up empty cups on each side of the table in order to visually make him understand better.

“Can we maybe try and play one round together so I can put it all together?” William asked, understanding this strange game slightly better.

They only had a six-pack in the apartment, but Buffy had told her friends it was a BYOB, so there was much more on the way.

After playing a few rounds, and finishing off their beer, William had a much better understanding of the game. It turned out that he was actually pretty good at it once he got the hang of it.

People were going to start arriving in a few hours so Buffy and William washed out the cups they had been using and straightened out the rest of the apartment together. William had turned on some music while they were cleaning. Buffy had scrunched her noise up when she first heard the punk music blaring out of his speakers.

“I definitely wouldn’t have pegged you to listen to this type of music,” Buffy said to him in distaste.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, this stuff is great! Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ramones….they’re bloody classics!” William announced, surprised she obviously lack good music taste.

Buffy had never heard William talk so passionately about something before so she dropped the subject. If it was good enough to get that kind of reaction out of him, then she guessed she could give it a try.

By the third song, she was bopping around the room to the beat. Once her cleaning was done she went to her room to browse the internet until people started to arrive. William took that as a sign that they were done, so he went over and turned the music off.

He couldn’t have been more surprised when he heard her voice yell out from her room, “LEAVE IT ON!” and as an afterthought, “PLEASE!!!”

William laughed a bit at this; proud at himself for getting her hooked on his music and turned it back on.

***

Buffy was researching and downloading the music that William had been playing when her phone started ringing and vibrating next to her. The display said: WILLOW.

“Hey Will, what’s up?” Buffy yelled into her phone since the music was still blasting. The only reason the neighbors weren’t complaining was because mostly college kids lived in this building and were all blasting their own music.

“We’re out in the hallway. We’ve been knocking on the door for five minutes, but I guess you couldn’t hear,” Buffy barely heard Willow say. She rushed out of her room, shouted into William’s that their guests were here and ran out to the living room.

She turned off the music and went to open the door. On the other side, four faces stared back at her.

“I’m so sorry guys! I didn’t realize the music was too loud to hear the door over!” Buffy stepped out of the way for Xander and Oz to move through first. Each had their arms loaded down with a case of beer.

“You should really be more alert when you have people coming over, Buffy. This was rude. But it was nice to watch their muscles bulge while they were holding the beer,” Anya said as she walked past Buffy, “so I can’t really be too upset over it.”

Willow was the last through the door and just smiled at Buffy.

“What were you listening to? Did not sound like your usual Britney Spears.”

“Oh, it was William’s music. I actually liked it a lot after I decided to give it a chance. When you called I was researching the bands and downloading the music onto my iPod. I guess I just got caught up in it. So are you ready to party?” Buffy closed the door behind Willow and they headed over to where Anya was standing next to the kitchen, watching Oz and Xander load up the refrigerator.

“Do you think you guys brought enough beer?” Buffy asked as she took in all the beer they’d brought.

“Gotta be prepared for some major partying, Buff. You should know this by now.” She heard Xander’s voice filter out from inside the fridge.

Buffy heard a throat clear from behind her and turned around to see William standing awkwardly in entrance to the hall.

“Oh! Where are my manners today? Guys, this is William! William, you might remember Xander and Willow from high school. This sexy blonde next to me is Anya, Xander’s better half” – a shout of “HEY!” came from inside the fridge but everyone ignored it-“and this is Willow’s boyfriend Oz.”

Xander made his way out of the arctic and shook William’s hand after Oz released it. Anya had smiled at William as she examined him.

“You have sexy blue eyes,” Anya said bluntly. Xander gave her a betrayed look and William’s face was beet red, “it’s a shame they’re blocked by your glasses.”

“Uh-um th-thank you?” was all William could think to reply. Anya just shrugged, grabbed a beer and went to settle herself on the couch.

Willow and Buffy went to sit with Anya, beers in hand, as the guys milled around the kitchen talking.

Xander handed William a beer of his own for which he nodded his appreciation.

“So….ugh how have you been William? It’s been a while since high school…” Xander trailed off, at a loss as of what to talk about.

“Oh, I’ve been well; this is probably the most interesting thing to happen since high school really. I know that must sound utterly pathetic though.” William really didn’t know what else to say either, admitting that his life had been so mediocre was rather embarrassing.

“Don’t worry about it, man,” Oz said with a wave of his hand, “was that your music we heard playing when we were waiting for Buffy to open the door?”

Happier with this new topic, William took a drink from his beer before answering, “Yeah, I was forcing Buffy to listen to it. At first she seemed displeased, but upon listening to it, her music taste may have just improved.”

“I heard The Clash playing, that’s some good stuff. I’m surprised Buffy even gave it a try, she’s mostly Top 40,” Oz replied, impressed with William’s taste.

“That was an X-box I saw connected to Buffy’s TV, wasn’t it?” Xander broke in with his own line of conversation, not having much to say about music.

“Um, yeah. I’m really into all the Call of Duty games. I like playing live with people I don’t know,” William replied, not phased by the change of subject.

“Oh, man! I love those games too! Maybe we’ve played against each other before,” Xander was really happy he’d brought this up; this was his kind of conversation.

All three got really heated in talking about video games after this and exchanged gamer tags so that they could play each other live in the future.

As they continued talking and drinking, William felt more and more comfortable in their company. It turned out that Xander and William also shared and interest in comics. Xander was thrilled over this information since none of his other friends were into them at all.

By the time beer pong was suggested, William had gotten used to Anya’s bluntness and the dynamics of the group. Oz had talked to him about music some more once Xander started setting up the game; they had a lot of the same favorite bands, as it turned out.
For the first time in his life, he felt like he fit in.

***

An hour later, the boys had decided to abandon beer pong. Xander wanted to play X-box instead. William and Xander were playing a game together with people from around the world while Oz watched contemplatively.

Anya and Buffy were in a heated game of beer pong when Faith entered the apartment. The boys didn’t seem to notice her appearance as she sauntered over to the girls.

“Hey there, sexy girl,” Faith said as she went to give Buffy a kiss. Buffy turned at the last second and Faith ended up kissing her cheek. Faith gave her a confused look, but let it go for now, not the kind of thing you hashed out in public at a party.

Instead, Faith gave both Willow and Anya hugs before she went over to say hello to the boys. Willow and Anya were both looking at Buffy curiously, having seen this exchange. They had never seen her not openly affectionate with Faith and were wondering why all of a sudden she seemed shy about it. They didn’t say anything though and Buffy and Anya returned to their game.

“Hey boys, how goes it?” Faith asked as she plopped down on the couch next to William. They had seen each other only one other time since their initial meeting, but they were a little more comfortable with each other.

William and Xander barely looked away from their game and mumbled ‘hey’s’ to her. Oz saluted her with his beer and offered to get her one.

“You’re the man, Oz,” Faith replied as she sat back and got engrossed in watching the game.

Oz came back over with Faith’s drink and it wasn’t long until Oz was watching the game again and Faith was yelling things at the screen.


***
It was one in the morning by the time Buffy was able to drag Faith away to talk. The boys were still playing video games and Anya and Willow had made their way over to watch as well.

Faith hadn’t been ignoring Buffy, but she was definitely being chilly with her. Buffy knew she had to try and smooth things out between them before it got worse. She couldn’t honestly understand why she had turned away. It had been a knee jerk reaction at the time, but she regretted it as soon as it happened.

“So care to explain what the hell is up with you, B?” Faith was not one to skirt around an issue.

“I don’t know, I’m so sorry baby. I didn’t mean to turn away, I have no idea why I did,” Buffy was looking at Faith earnestly, hoping she’d forgive her.

“Is there someone else?” Faith asked suspiciously.

“NO! No! Of course there isn’t! I would never do that to you!” Buffy was shocked that Faith would even ask her that.

Sure she had always had a strong attraction to William, and sometimes she thought what if, but didn’t most people wonder that at times? It didn’t mean she would act on it, she was with Faith. She hadn’t told William that fact yet because she had been focusing on getting to know him first and building up a friendship. She would never be ashamed of what she had with Faith. If it wasn’t for Faith—well she wasn’t going to get into that now. She needed to focus on damage control.

“Then what is it? Did I piss you off or something?” Faith was still not dropping it. As Buffy thought for a moment the silence between them was deafening, or it was until the sound of the toilet flushing broke it.

“No, you didn’t do anything. I was just being stupid. My hormones are a little off; I think I’m going to get my period soon. You know how much I love you,” Buffy pulled Faith to her and kissed her passionately to show her how much she meant those words. They broke away for a second, panting and Buffy continued, “you know I wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for you.’

This seemed to be what Faith needed to hear as they went back to kissing.

***

William was really enjoying himself with Buffy’s friends. He felt like he was part of something, and that feeling was amazing. He was happily buzzed and still playing the game with Xander when his bladder made itself known. He paused the game and handed it off to Oz who seamlessly resumed it as William headed for the bathroom.

As he was passing Buffy’s open door, he could hear her inside talking to Faith. He was so focused on his mission to relieve himself that he did not pay it any mind.

He sighed out his relief once he had finished, feeling so much better. He flushed the toilet before he went over and washed his hands. His buzz had waned with his relieving himself, but that was a problem easily solved by their loaded fridge.

He was exiting his bathroom when he heard Buffy say, “You know I wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for you.”

As he came up on her door he saw her in a passionate embrace with the last person he expected.

His dream girl was kissing another girl! Said other girl was now grabbing his dream girls’ breast and making her moan! As shocked as he was by this turn of events, he felt himself get instantly hard at seeing them caress each other, lips sealed together.

After another moan came out of Buffy, William came back to himself and started moving down the hallway again, not wanting them to catch him staring like a moron.

He headed into the kitchen for another beer. It was also an excuse to try and get control of his body. He was unable to get the image of them out of his head, however. It was a very bittersweet feeling he was experiencing. On one side, he was upset at finding out that not only was Buffy taken, but she was taken by another woman. He had thought he’d had slim to no chance before he knew she was gay, now he obviously had no hope at anything but friendship. But on the other, he could not seem to stop himself from being incredibly turned on by the prospect of seeing them together.

When he finally got some control over himself, he headed back to his seat on the couch. He sat quietly for a minute, sipping his beer before saying, “Buffy and Faith are-”

Anya cut him off before he could finish, “Did they make up? I hope so, they’re so good together.”

“Yeah, I hope they did too,” came from Willow.

William had no idea what they needed to make up from, but it was obvious to him that it was common knowledge they were an item, “Looks like they have.”

William was quickly scouting for a snack in the kitchen a week later. He had only been leaving the sanctuary of his room for classes, food, and nature’s call. The brief run-ins he’d had with Buffy over the last week had been awkward to say the least. He didn’t know how to act around her and every time the image of her in a passionate embrace with Faith would come to the forefront of his mind. At that point he’d usually stutter something out, God only knew what, and rush away from her.


It also didn’t help that, that same image made it very difficult for him to fall asleep at night. It seemed to be the first thing he saw when he closed his eyes with a stereo of accompanying moans to fill his ears. He was a boy in his prime and it was sheer torture.


“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you William,” Buffy’s voice came from behind him and he jumped a foot high. He’d been so lost in thought and his search for something to eat that he’d failed to hear her come up behind him.


“Why didn’t you?” William turned around to face her. He had contemplated acting like he didn’t know what she was talking about, but decided at the last minute to hear her out.


She looked down at her feet, not able to meet his eyes, “I don’t know. I was stupid and wanted you to get to know me before I told you.”


William was slightly insulted by what she’d implied, “Did you think I’d judge you because of who you were with? That I’m that superficial?”


“NO! I’m sorry, this isn’t coming out right. Maybe I was worried of you judging me, but it’s not because I thought you were like that. It’s just I really enjoy your company and I was afraid you’d act differently if you knew. Since me and Faith got together we’ve gotten all kinds of different attitudes directed towards us. Not that I cared what other people think, but it did matter to me what you thought,” Buffy was finally looking at him and her eyes were conveying so many things to him; regret being the most prominent

.
“You were right, I would have acted differently,” William wanted her to squirm a little bit; he knew how harsh what he said sounded.


“Oh. I-oh,” Buffy was at a loss for words.


“I wouldn’t have been making moon-eyes at you for one thing. It wouldn’t have stopped me from living here though, or forming a friendship with you,” he said.


William’s eyes went a little wide when he realized what he’d just revealed to her. He’d been so upset by her assumption that he’d become another person completely for a minute. He’d said exactly what he was thinking and acted like it didn’t bother him, until his eyes betrayed him.


Internally, Buffy’s stomach did a little flip at him revealing he’d had a crush on her. She tried to push it aside and not be too disappointed at the fact that he no longer felt that way. She was with Faith, after all, and even though she’d always been aware of William, she would never betray someone she loved. She never would have guessed he’d liked her at all; that anybody would or did was shocking.


“Can you forgive me for not giving you the benefit of the doubt?” She hoped he would, she wanted to be a part of his life, if he still wanted to be her friend.


“I think so. I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you, I didn’t know how to act or bring it up because you didn’t know I saw you two at the party,” now William was a little bashful for not handling the situation all that maturely.


“Yeah, I was confused at first but then Willow said she was glad we had made up and that you had been the one to tell her.”


“If you don’t mind me asking, what did you need to make up for? You both had seemed fine before that.”


Buffy shook her head.


“Just another stupid thing on my part. I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately,” she said.


William let the subject drop at that, not wanting to pry.
“Well if we’re going to successfully do this being friends thing, know that if you ever need to talk, you can say anything to me.”


“Thanks, William. It’s more than I deserve,” Buffy was grateful for how amazing he was, “so do you want to order a pizza? I’m starving.”


Sure, she’d purposely kept her relationship from him for a little while and he’d been hurt by that, but he didn’t understand why she didn’t think she deserved to be forgiven or have a good friend to talk to. He refrained from commenting on it, and just made a note of it for the future.


“Pizza sounds good, luv.”


***


It was early October and William was puttering around the kitchen putting together his breakfast before he had to get to class. Time had seemed to fly after his conversation with Buffy and getting back into the groove of school work had taken up a lot of his time.


Things had certainly changed considerably for him, however. He had a standing X-box game with Xander on Sunday afternoons and other days they would play live with Oz. Around campus, all of his new friends would say hello to him if they passed by and that was something he really enjoyed. He had gotten used to never talking to anyone except teachers in class or customers in the bookstore. It was nice to have people that were happy to see him.


Finally, having gotten his bowl of cereal together with milk and a cut up banana, William sat down at the little kitchen table. He heard one door open and close, the sound of bare feet on the carpet, and then another door open and close. William knew it was probably Faith since Buffy didn’t have any morning classes on Fridays. They had gotten in late the night before from their shift at the diner. William had been in bed at the time but he hadn’t been asleep, so he’d heard their return to the apartment.


Buffy and he had become very close friends since they had made up over pizza and spent time together whenever they were free. They had their weekly TV schedule down pat by now. The best part of watching TV together was the heckling they did. In hindsight, they probably sounded like those two old men from the Muppets, but it wasn’t like anyone else was around to witness their behavior.


He heard the toilet flush down the hall and the sink turn on. He knew his quiet time was coming to an end but didn’t mind since it had become common for them to have breakfast before morning classes when Faith stayed the night.


“Hey there Will, how’s it hanging today?” Faith’s voice cut into his thoughts as she came into the kitchen and started pouring herself some cereal.


“I’m well, how are you,” William asked as he ate the last bite of cereal and let the spoon clatter in the bowl.


“Five by five. You doing anything tomorrow night?” Faith sat down across from him and munched on her breakfast.


“I don’t believe so. I have to work until noon, but that’s all.”


“Well B’s working from ten to six and then we were all going to the Bronze. It’s going to be a ‘before mid-terms start and we’re all incredibly stressed out’ kind of theme. Are you interested?”


William had never been to the only club in town, but he had friends now so why not? “Sure,” he answered as he brought his empty bowl to the sink. Mid-terms never were a cause of stress for him, but he figured he’d just go along with it.


“No offense, but you’re not gonna wear those baggy clothes, are you?” Faith said bluntly with her mouth full.


William looked down at his clothes but didn’t understand what her problem was with them.


“C’mon Billyboy, I’ve seen you walk back from the bathroom after a shower. You’re body is bangin’, why do you cover it up?”


William was thankful his back was to her since the knowledge of her checking him out had his face tinged red.


“Um-thank you?”


“It’s cool. But you can’t go to a club dressed like that is all I’m saying, besides the fact that you don’t NEED to act like you have nothing worth showing off. How bout tomorrow me and you have a little shopping adventure?” Faith walked over to him with her own empty bowl. They traded and she put his in the dishwasher.


“I guess that would be alright,” William said softly, he wasn’t sure what to do with all the compliments she was throwing his way.


“Don’t you want a girlfriend?”


“Well-um- yes, that would be nice, I suppose,” William had gotten used to Faith’s bluntness over the last month, but sometimes she said things that still caught him off guard.


“You suppose? Have you ever even gotten laid?” Faith asked crudely.


“Yes,” William said as a shadow passed over his face. Faith saw this and filed it away as just another piece to the puzzle that was William.


“Well then it’s settled, we are buying you a whole closet full of new clothes tomorrow and I will be your wing-gal at the Bronze!” With the conversation closed, Faith took her dish back from him, loaded it in the dishwasher and made her way back to Buffy’s room to get ready for class.


***


They had been in the mall for four hours by the time they decided to take a breather and get something to eat in the food court. William was relieved to be able to set down the many bags he was carrying. When Faith had said closet full, she hadn’t been exaggerating.


“Can I mention again how hot you’re going to look tonight?” Faith said as she approached the table with a tray full of food for both of them.


“If you say so,” William said off-handedly, past tired of shopping.


“When we get back I’ll lay out which outfit you should wear and then I’ll help you do something with that hair.”


William was getting a little aggravated, he wasn’t a toddler, he could dress himself. And there was nothing wrong with his hair! It wasn’t overly long, just a little floppy in the front.


“I do appreciate what you’re trying to do, Faith. But don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?” William asked between clenched teeth.


Faith gave him a big smile; she liked the spark she was getting out of him.


“Now that you bring it up, we have one more stop before we leave. We are getting you contacts,” Faith said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.


“Now, why do I need contacts? I like my glasses! They-well they’re functional!” William winced at how lame that sounded.


“You need contacts because you have the bluest eyes I think I have ever seen and your glasses hide them,” Faith explained patiently as if she were talking to a four-year-old, “that is just a sin in itself.”


William grumbled and continued eating his lunch. He didn’t want to admit that maybe she was right about the glasses thing.


***


Buffy was exhausted from spending the last eight hours on her feet. All she wanted was to curl up in bed and take a nap until it was time to get ready for some bronzing.

As she passed William's door she heard what had to be him and Faith arguing about something. Faith had told her about their shopping trip today and Buffy couldn’t have been more proud of her girlfriend for spending some time doing something nice for William.


Normally she’d probably be curious about what they were so vocal about behind his closed door, but at that moment she was too tired to care. She made it into her room, stripped herself down and flopped into bed.


She was having a nice dream about being a waitress in the future where you’d wear jets on your feet so you didn’t have to walk when she was pulled away from it by the feel of someone kissing her.


She opened her eyes and smiled at her girlfriend who had moved under the covers to join her.


“Wake up sleeping beauty, it’s time to get ready,” Faith whispered in her ear as she was simultaneously feeling her up.


“But I don’t wanna,” Buffy pouted, “I’m comfortable right here.”


Faith gave her another kiss and then jumped out of the bed before they got distracted.


“Nope, it’ll be time to go soon and I have done too much work on Willy today to end up not going.”


“What did you do to the poor guy? I vaguely remember hearing you two fighting when I came in,” Buffy got out of bed and headed for her closet to look for something to wear.


“Oh, he was just being a wimp about putting in the contacts.”


“Contacts? You made him get contacts?” Buffy was surprised and attempted to picture what he’d look like without his glasses on.


“Of course I did. Those baby blues are going to be his ticket into numerous girls’ panties. You know, once he realizes he has the power to make that happen,” Faith didn’t see the look of dismay which passed over Buffy’s face at her words.


“I know you mean well, babe, but don’t be too hard on him. He’s a good guy,” Buffy dropped her outfit on her bed and went over to her vanity to start applying make up.


“That’s exactly why I’m doing this. He deserves to be happy and get his freak on, just like everyone else.”


Faith admired her girlfriend as she got herself ready for a night out. She had already applied her own make up so after she had gotten out of Buffy’s bed all she’d had to do was put her clothes on. Now, she was lounging on the bed as Buffy finished up, wearing tight leather pants and a red tube top. Her red heels had been kicked off at the foot of the bed.


“He’s waiting out in the living room with the gang; they arrived right before I came in to wake you. I can’t wait till you see his transformation!”


If Buffy was honest with herself, she couldn’t wait either. She pulled on a short denim skirt and then a green sleeveless top with a plunging neckline. In order to enhance the neckline even more she put on a long silver necklace the looped at her neck and came straight down to rest between her breasts. She gave Faith a nod towards her door, signaling she was ready, as she stepped into her nude color heels that made her legs look miles long. Before she could turn the doorknob, Faith turned her around for a searing kiss.


“I love you, you know?” Faith said before letting her go. She had a strange look in her eyes though, almost as if she were apologizing for something.


Before Buffy could analyze it, it passed and she responded, “Of course, I love you too.”


They exited Buffy’s room together; her heartbeat picking up in anticipation of seeing what William looked like.


***


William felt like a git. He was sitting on the couch, waiting with Xander, Willow, Oz, and Anya for the girls to finish getting themselves ready. Even though everyone told him how great he looked, he felt vulnerable and stupid. Faith had made him wear a pair of tight, dark blue jeans with a form fitting black wife beater and a plain silver chain around his neck. He didn’t feel like he had enough clothes on; even Xander had on what looked to be a bowling shirt. Okay, so maybe he didn’t have it that bad after all.


The contacts had bothered his eyes at first, but now he barely noticed them and he did have to concede that losing the glasses wasn’t such a bad idea.


She had slicked back his light brown hair with some gel, but let a few stray curls fall onto his forehead. He didn’t look half bad, but he was uncomfortable with all the praise. He was certainly not going to boost up Faith’s overly inflated ego by letting her know she may have been correct on all counts.


He heard the door open down the hall and Faith shout out: “It’s time people!”


He turned towards the hallway and sucked in his breath at how amazing both girls looked. It definitely was not fair to mankind to lose out on that kind of beauty. Buffy looked at him and stopped for a minute to take in his new look.


The most beautiful smile he’d ever seen spread across her face and she said, “Wow, William, you look really good.”


“Oh course he does! He got schooled by the master,” Faith said before he could reply to Buffy’s compliment.


Faith came over, put her arm through his, and led him to the door. As they walked out she leaned over and whispered to him, “Brace yourself for a wild ride.”

William sat at a table close to the dance floor as he watched his friends enjoy themselves to the beat of the music. They had gotten to the club two hours earlier and after getting drinks, finding a table, and some lively conversation, they had all decided it was time to dance. William had opted to guard the table in the meantime, not wanting to embarrass himself since he’d never danced before.

He was nursing his fifth beer and starting to feel comfortable in a place so foreign from what he was used to. He could feel the beat of the music vibrating through the chair he was sitting in.

Ever since he had begun his friendship with Buffy, he had actively tried to think of her as just that. Watching the way she moved out on the floor, her skin glimmering under the colorful muted lighting and her short skirt riding up her thighs, he couldn’t stop the way his body reacted. Even with her grinding her butt into her girlfriend didn’t curb his lust.

There had to be more than a handful of guys in the establishment feeling exactly as turned on as him, but he was only looking at one half of the whole. Together they made a very tempting image to any man who had ever had dreams of watching two beautiful women together and even being a part of it. Perhaps if the players had been different, William would have been affected more, but all he could see was the petite blonde moving her body in ways that should be illegal.

Tomorrow, he’d blame this lack of self control on the alcohol he’d consumed, but right now he could admit to himself that there was nothing he wanted more than this woman in all her glory. The song ended and the next thing he knew Oz and Willow were seated beside him once more. Xander and Anya were still out dancing but Buffy and Faith were on their way back to him.

“I’m going to head to the bar, you want?” Oz’s voice broke him out from his daze of watching the approaching women.

William looked down at his half filled bottle and shook his head, “I think I’m good for now, thanks though.”

Oz just nodded and headed to the bar to get Willow and him another drink.

“Are you having a blast Willy?” Faith asked and she finally reached the table with Buffy in tow.

“Yes, this place is really something.”

“From where I’m standing it doesn’t look like you’re having that much fun sitting here all by yourself while we’re all getting our groove on, AND you aren’t even trying to flirt up any girls! You know you have multiple sets of eyes checking you out! Guys and girls, you could take your pick,” William looked around at Faith’s claims and sure enough a few women averted their eyes when his connected with theirs. A scrawny looking blonde man by the bar just kept staring at him with a dreamy expression on his face, even when William caught him. Feeling uncomfortable, William averted his eyes instead.

“Don’t push him into something if he’s not ready, Faith. Give the guy a break, let him enjoy himself how he wants to,” he heard Buffy say and he continued scanning the club.

“They really are looking at me,” William said quietly, amazed at how true it was.

“Damn right they are; I did a good job! Say, I’m gonna go hit the bathroom, do you mind dancing with Buffy while I’m gone? She wasn’t ready to stop dancing when I pulled her off. After I come back I can help you meet some ladies,” Faith turned and headed for the bathroom as soon as she finished her sentence, not giving Buffy or William a chance to object to her suggestions.

“You don’t have to dance with me William, we can just stay here and people watch,” Buffy said, not wanting to force him to do anything.

“But you want to dance, don’t you, luv? I don’t really know how but I could give it a try,” William said before he could really think about it. He knew it was wrong but his mind was flashing to the image of her dancing like she was a few minutes ago, but this time with him.

Buffy’s face lit up at his words. She really did still want to dance and the fact that he’d give it a shot for her was beyond sweet of him.

“Don’t worry; I’ll have you dancing like a pro in no time!” Buffy hopped off her seat, grabbed his hand and dragged him to the center of the crowded floor.

As Buffy started moving her hips to the rhythm of the techno song playing, William just stood there stiffly watching her.

“Come on, Will, loosen up a little! Start to move your body,” Buffy instructed him as she continued to sway.

William started to move slightly, but it was not a natural movement at all. He jerked around, joints stiff and missing the beat completely.

Buffy watched him agonizingly flail about before she decided to step in and guide him.

“Here, move with me,” her voice was husky as she moved up against him and wrapped one arm around his waist.

Soon, their hips were moving in unison, but William’s upper body was still. He was shocked at how close together they were suddenly and the way she felt pressed up against him.

His brain was still hazy from drinking and once his initial shock wore off his body began to relax. Buffy felt the tension leave him and wrapped her arms around his neck instead. He reacted to her position change by holding her around the waist as they continued to sway together.

He could feel her breath at his neck and the scent of her hair filled his nostrils. The smell of vanilla was slightly tangy as it was mixed with perspiration from her exertions. Suddenly, he felt her thigh wedge in between his. Their movement suddenly became more erotic as they ground up against each other, lost in the music and the way they felt. William turned his face to see Buffy’s eyes at half mast as she moved against him.

Her thigh was rubbing up against his erection as their eyes locked. Their faces were only millimeters apart, but neither made any move to close the gap or to end the spell they were under. Their breathing was heavy and suddenly audible as the music evaporated, making way for a much slower, softer song.

Buffy snapped out of her daze as the music changed. She extracted her body from his and put some space between them in the middle of a crowd of slow dancing couples. Buffy couldn’t believe she’d allowed herself to lose it like that with him. Between the feel of his body and her lack of sobriety, she hadn’t been thinking clearly at all. Worse, it was in a completely public place where everyone, including her friends and girlfriend, could have been watching. She quickly glanced over at their table and was relieved to see that none of her friends were even glancing in their direction. Maybe she was making more out of this then it was.

She gave William a tight smile as he was looking at her with a confused expression. Yup, definitely making too much out of this.

“You’re a natural William,” she said after a minute, her smile becoming more genuine, “I actually have to go to the bathroom, but I’ll meet you back at the table? Thank you for dancing with me.”

All he could do was nod and say, “Anytime, luv,” as he made his way back to their group.

Buffy headed in the opposite direction and into the ladies room. She went to the sink and splashed some cold water onto her face. She was drying herself off with a paper towel when she heard a moan and heavy breathing coming from the only occupied stall of the three behind her.

Her face colored as she realized what must be going on in there when the next cry of pleasure rang out. An uneasy feeling passed over her as the cries continued to grow in intensity. She couldn’t explain why she felt apprehensive all of the sudden; it was just one of those gut reactions that didn’t seem to make sense. She quickly threw the used towel in the trash and exited the bathroom. When she was several strides away from the door a laugh erupted from her lips as what had just happened caught up with her; the anxiousness leaving her with increasing distance between herself and the restroom.

She made her way over to her friends and saw William sitting to the side listening intently to whatever the other four were discussing. She came up to his side and said, “You will never believe what just happened to me!”

William’s head swung around, not having heard her approach him over the argument of ninjas versus cowboys, “What happened, pet?

“Faith’s not back yet?” Buffy now realized that her girlfriend was absent from the table and continued offhandedly to herself, “she wasn’t in the bathroom, maybe she went to the bar.”

“Yeah, must’ve luv, so what happened?” William hadn’t seen Faith since before their dance.

Reminded of the initial topic she snapped back to the present, “So I was just about to leave the bathroom when I heard moaning and groaning coming from one of the stalls! Can you believe that? I didn’t think that happened outside of reality television!” she told him excitedly, obviously amazed at what she’d been exposed to.

“What happens outside TV?” Faith had just appeared out of the crowd carrying three Miller Lite bottles. She handed one to Buffy and Spike before she took a swig of her own. See, she was at the bar.

“Bathroom sex in a packed club,” Buffy said as she took a drink of her own beer and studied her girlfriends face.

“I’ve never been in the loo when it was happening, but it bloody well seems like an eventuality the way everyone is dancing,” William said.

“Why? Did it just happen or something?” Faith asked, not sounding as interested in the subject as Buffy and Spike were.

“Yeah, I just stopped in the bathroom to freshen up from all the dancing sweat I’d accumulated and BAM something that didn’t sound like what happens around a toilet going on right behind me!”

“Whoa there, Buffster! What’s this about bathroom sex, and where do I need to sign up?” Xander entered their conversation as Willow rolled her eyes at him.

“It’s not too surprising in a place like this, just like Billy said,” Faith turned to face her girlfriend, “Come on, lets go dance some more.” Without another word the girls put their beers down and made their way back out on the floor. Buffy was surprised Faith completely brushed the subject off but chided herself that she was definitely letting her imagination run wild.

Xander looked at the faces of his other friends “Did I say something wrong?”


***

Not very long after the bathroom sex conversation, everyone was back on the floor again except for William. The night was drawing to a close and he was just relieved he hadn’t made a bigger fool of himself.

“Someone as gorgeous as you shouldn’t be sitting all alone,” a sultry voice said in his ear, “Mind if I join you?”

William turned and his eyes met with a pair of deep brown, “Um- sure –that would be quite alright.”

“Oh, and you have an accent. I didn’t think it was possible for you to get sexier,” she said as she moved the seat next to him closer before she sat and ran her fingers in patterns over his upper arm.

“Oh-um- thank you, too kind of you to say,” William was so startled by this complete stranger that had approached him out of nowhere that he was having trouble speaking properly, “’m William.”

She took his proffered hand and rubbed her thumb along the back of it, “Kennedy. The pleasure is all mine.”

***

Out on the dance floor Buffy and Faith were dancing much the same way they had before. Faith’s eyes landed on their table and narrowed as she watched a woman all over William. From her perspective he seemed to be more then holding his own with her. The woman’s eyes caught hers for a moment and flashed; Faith’s narrowed even more in return.

“Oh, look, William met someone,” Buffy’s face was hidden from Faith due to their dancing position. There was a knot in her throat as she said it that luckily Faith couldn’t hear over the music. She also noticed the woman seem to look directly at them, “Do you know her?”

“She looks familiar, must have see her around, maybe at the diner. Can’t place her though,” Faith stepped back from Buffy and turned her girlfriend around, “Babe, I forgot something I needed to do at home. I think I’m gonna head out but I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

Buffy’s brow crinkled at Faith’s sudden announcement, she never went home this late. The sinking feeling she had over William increased at the seriousness in her girlfriends tone, “But what about your father?”

“He’ll be fine, I got to go though,” Faith kissed her and headed toward the side exit to the alley.

Buffy was still confused at the abrupt change of plans but pushed it to the back of her mind as she made her way over to William. There was no reason why she should be feeling the way she was, it was a complete over reaction.

A pang of went through her when she noticed the woman touching William every chance she got. She had no right to feel that way so she quietly sat down on the chair across from the pair and picked up her abandoned beer.

“Buffy, where did Faith go?” William had noticed her approach and was surprised she was finished dancing mid-song and alone.

“She said she had to take off because there was something she had to do,” Buffy said more confidently then she felt and noticed the woman across from her glaring at her, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s no problem,” the woman said, but it was obvious to Buffy from her eyes that it was exactly the opposite, “it was great meeting you William, I hope to see you again.”

She placed a lingering kiss on his cheek before disappearing into the crowd. William had a shocked expression on his face and Buffy couldn’t help the nervous giggle that escaped her lips, “Geez William, you work fast.”

William snapped out of his stupor at her giggle and rolled his eyes at her, “Really, luv, I didn’t do anything. I have no idea why she came over here in the first place.”

“Well, duh, it’s cause your hot!” Buffy said before she could think, and then blushed along with William, “I mean, why wouldn’t someone want to get to know you?”

“That’s nice of you to say but-,” Buffy cut him off before he could talk down on himself.

“No, it’s not just me saying it, it’s a fact. You look great tonight, not that you didn’t before, but maybe more approachable. You are a fun, interesting person and I can’t see why other people wouldn’t recognize that.”

“Thank you,” was all William could think to say, not wanting to get her worked up again when he tried to brush off her claims.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” Buffy changed the subject to something safer.

“It’s been bloody fantastic, luv,” William answered as he remembered their dance together.

Buffy thought he must be thinking about the stranger that had hit on him, but was glad that he’d gotten out of his shell a bit.

“I’m so glad! I’m getting kind of tired, would you mind if we headed home?” Buffy asked as she let out a yawn.

“Not at all, I’m pretty knackered myself,” William said at he stood up and pulled her chair out for her.

They waved to their friends who were still out dancing and made there way to the door.

***

Faith was standing in the alley next to the club when she was shoved against the wall and a set of lips crashed against hers.

She pushed the person off of her with a glare, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Do you know how close we came to getting caught tonight?”

Kennedy rolled her eyes, “Oh, c’mon, your little Buffy is clueless.”

“She was in the bathroom! She heard us! It was too close, we’re getting careless. You weren’t even supposed to come here tonight, but you couldn’t resist. I even allowed what happened in the bathroom. And then what the hell were you trying to pull with William? Trying to get a rise out of me in front of Buffy?” Faith was furious at this point and the havoc that was almost wreaked.

“I was just having a little fun. That guy is as good as being a virgin; he has no idea how to handle a woman. But you do, don’t you baby?” Kennedy said huskily as she molded her body back against Faith’s, their lips almost touching.

“We can’t do this anymore. I don’t want Buffy to get hurt, she’s important to me,” Faith said as her resolve began to disintegrate.

“What do you see in her anyway? She’s so inexperienced and naive. Aren’t you tired of playing teacher, Faith? You know we’re much more evenly matched in the pleasure we can give,” Kennedy’s tongue darted out to lick Faith’s lips.

“We need to stop,” Faith whispered as Kennedy dove in for a passionate kiss. Faith’s restraint broke and she grabbed Kennedy’s head, to pull her closer, combing her fingers through the long brown hair. Their bodies tight together and Faith’s solidly against the wall. She raised her left leg to wrap around Kennedy’s hip, bringing their bodies closer yet.

Kennedy tore her mouth away from Faith’s violently and nipped her bottom lip before saying, “Then why don’t you stop?”

Faith felt the need to have their mouths connected again, “I don’t know, I can’t seem to.”

Kennedy brought their lips back together, satisfied with that answer, “Then let’s go back to my place and continue this.”

For the first time in William’s life, school was actually flying by. It was the Friday before Thanksgiving break; midterms well over with for this semester. School always felt like it took forever, so he attributed this speedy semester to having friends and living with Buffy. There was never a dull moment with her, he thought with a fond grin.

He sat on one of the couches that replaced the old mismatched, dingy ones. His uncle gave them these when he bought new furniture a few weeks ago. They were comfortably overstuffed in a rich navy. He also provided them with his old coffee and side tables which were made out of a dark, glazed wood. The best part being that they actually matched each other, unlike the old ones. Everything was slightly larger than the last set and allowed William to surround himself with all the material he needed for the assignment he was engrossed in. He hunched at the edge of the couch over his laptop that was propped in front of him on the coffee table.

Buffy worked the night shift this week, so the apartment was quiet for him to get ahead of his work. He typed away diligently for several hours until he finally pushed up from the couch to move his legs, one of which having been asleep from lack of use. After a nice long stretch, he headed towards the kitchen at his stomachs angry growling. As he gathered all the fixings for an omelet he thought about how much his life had improved.

The gang dragged him out quite often for what they affectionately called “Bronzing”. He even danced with a few girls that approached him. He still was not used to receiving any attention from the opposite sex. Buffy’s constant support got him through all the tough situations that would have had him blushing crimson while making a hasty exit only a few short months ago. She was a big help with his growing confidence, which became more apparent now whenever he led a girl out on the floor and boldly pulled her into him with his hands low on her waist as they moved together.

The dancing was a good distraction because he still couldn’t stop himself from feeling more than just friendly towards Buffy. It did not help the situation any that they were almost inseparable as of late. They’d become obsessed with AMC’s The Walking Dead, and turned into a ritual every Sunday night at 9 o’clock. You would find them huddled on the couch together, eyes glazed over, absorbed in the drama on screen.

It all started the weekend after midterms; Faith was MIA so they spent the whole time camped out in the living room watching episode after episode on Netflix. They finished two and a half seasons in the span of two days, amid numerous empty cartons of takeout that had become casualties of their marathon. William enjoyed Walking Dead night the best because as much as Buffy loved watching all the gore, she tended to grab his hand when something jumped out at them or bury her head in his side when somebody died. He knew it was wrong, enjoying how much they touched, since it was all very innocent, but something sparked in him every time they were close. He now thought of Sunday as “their night”.

Faith was around noticeably less since that first night at the Bronze; hardly ever staying the night anymore. When she was around she’d been distracted, making excuses to leave or go to sleep early.

William knew Buffy grew increasingly upset by the distance forming in their relationship. At first, it was just from sad looks she would get while out with the gang, seeing them all happy with their own significant others. Looks that she probably didn’t realize she was making, or that anyone noticed. She finally opened up to him on the subject a few nights ago when they’d been watching a movie in the living room.

***

“C-c-can we turn this off, p-please? I don’t know w-why I p-p-picked it in the first place.”

William was startled out of pretending to be absorbed by the movie at the sound of soft crying from the girl lying on his lap. They frequently cuddled together as their comfort level with each other had grown. Sometimes William couldn’t help but notice how nice she felt pressed against him or, in this case, how close her face was to his naughty bits. He actually had just been picturing the Queen of England in a bikini, jet skiing on the backs of two crocodiles so that Buffy would stay unaware of how much he enjoyed where she was situated. Now, hearing that she was in obvious distress while he was trying not to get aroused, he felt like a shit.

He quickly reached over to stop the movie then pulled her up by the shoulders.

“Luv, what’s wrong? Why are you upset?” William asked her as he looked her in the eyes; his brow crinkled in utter confusion.

“I’m sorry, I’m being all irrational-emo girl, but I just can’t watch Love Actually when I feel like my own life is crumbling apart. I feel like Emma Thompsons character; trying hard to work on her relationship as her husband gets more distant. I know I’m probably just stressed out and making too big a deal out of nothing, but I can’t watch a movie that has all these happy endings in it, feeling this crummy.” Buffy blurted this all out in one breath, panting for air as soon as she finished.

At this point, William’s mind quickly put together all the events of the past few weeks that fit in with why Buffy would be upset enough to come apart like this. He pinpointed all the times Faith was around, he could count them on one hand, and the way Buffy had an underlying sadness behind her eyes lately. He desperately wanted Buffy to open up with him. He’d been holding off asking her what was bothering her for weeks hoping she’d come to him. No one should be carrying all these feelings around inside; they were obviously hurting her. Wanting to be that shoulder she could cry on, he let her go as he stood up from the couch.

“I’m here for you, Buffy. Let me make you some hot cocoa. We’ll have a nice sit down where you can tell me everything that’s upsetting you.”

He made his way across the room toward the little kitchen. Buffy followed along behind him and sat at the kitchen table to watch him gather up what he needed for her cocoa.

“How’d I get so lucky, landing a roommate like you?” Buffy broke the silence as she got up from the table, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. She leaned her forehead against his back, sighing.

“That’s nonsense, pet. I’m the lucky one. Moving in here, building a friendship with you has been the best thing to happen to me since I became a Californian. Maybe even longer.” William said as he faced her. Shaking off the vulnerability in what he had admitted, he added. “Now go on, have a seat, tell ol’ Will what’s troubling you. Your cocoa will be right up; mini marshmallows an’ all”

With a soft smile on her lips at his words, Buffy started talking as she made her way back to their tiny kitchen table.

“I don’t know when it started, but it feels like Faith is pulling away from me. Maybe I’m just imagining things, we’ve all had a lot on our plates between work and school, but I just have this gut feeling. We haven’t,” Buffy hesitated for a second. With a blush staining her cheeks she rushed on, “well, we haven’t fooled around or anything in weeks. If she spends the night that’s all it is, we just sleep. Since we became a couple, I’ve never felt like I was an obligation to her, like I do now. I don’t think she even wants me anymore.”

Buffy finished on a sob, not being able to push down her emotions any longer. It helped finally telling someone how she was feeling. She avoided bringing up the subject at all with Faith because she was scared at what she might find out.

William set two steaming cups of cocoa down on the table. He also offered her a napkin so she could blow her nose.
“Luv, if you feel like there’s something wrong in your relationship, you need to tell her you feel this way. Communication is important with every kind of relationship. You’ll only feel worse if you keep how you’re feeling all bottled up inside.” William said to her as he grabbed her hand across the table, rubbing soothing circles on the back.

Buffy looked down at their joined hands, fingers intertwined, before asking, “You don’t think I’m just overreacting? Making a big deal out of nothing?”

“No, luv, I don’t. Even if there is a simple explanation for whatever is going on to make you feel this way, your feelings are justified. You said you’ve never felt this way since you became a couple, so there is a reason you’re feeling it. Sit her down and tell her, see what she has to say about it.”

“You’re right, Will. Thank you so much for listening to me blubber. I’m so glad you’re in my life.” Buffy said as she squeezed his hand.

“It’s no problem, luv. I’m glad you’re in my life, too. Now c’mere.” William said as he let go of her hand to lift his arms in invitation for a hug. Buffy giggled as she made her way around the table and into his arms.

She stayed seated in his lap as they finished their cocoa and talked about plans for the upcoming holiday.

***

After William finished his breakfast-for-dinner, he spent a few more hours working on his creative writing project. When he was satisfied with the work he had done on it, he closed everything down and cleaned up the mess he had made in the living room.

It was passed 12 o’clock in the morning by that point and Buffy probably wouldn’t be home till around 2 o’clock. Feeling bone tired, he decided not to wait up for her tonight as he collapsed on his bed.

***

William rolled over in bed to see his alarm clock blaring 3:00 AM into the darkness. He had woken up from a sound sleep by natures call. He got out of bed and made his way towards the toilet. He hazily noticed Buffy’s door cracked open with a light on as he passed but was more focused on his current mission. She was always quiet when she came home late so he never heard when she returned.

After he finished, bladder feeling joyously empty, he made his way back down the hall. This time as he was passing her door he heard a noise inside. It was soft, but it stopped his forward motion immediately as he looked in the door to see if she was still awake. His heart stopped initially but quickly started racing at the image that assaulted him as he moved closer to the opening.

Buffy laid spread eagle on her bed, completely naked, with the covers kicked to the floor. She was panting heavily; one hand tweaking and pulling her pebbled left nipple as her other hand was buried deeply between her flawless thighs. She let out another noise, this time louder than the one that had originally caught his attention. If he hadn’t been hard at the sight of this goddess pleasuring herself, the sound alone would have done it. It was a raspy, needy moan as her breathing hitched up at what she was doing. In a trance, drunk on the dirty vision in front of him and all that bronzed skin covered in a light sheen of sweat, he didn’t realize that he had begun to enter her room.

The door creaked open as he bumped it aside. Buffy stilled her movements, eyes opening to look straight at him. Snapping out of his stupor, William turned beet red under her gaze while he backed up jerkily and apologized for disturbing her privacy.

“No, wait.” He heard her say behind him as he was about to make a hasty exit. “Don’t go Will. I was thinking about you.”

He stopped dead in his tracks, almost knocked over by her words. He turned around slowly, not able to completely process what she had just admitted. She was in love with Faith; surely that was who she had to be thinking about. They may be having troubles, but him…..? Could this really be possible?

She was now sitting up on the bed in all her naked glory, not at all self-conscious of what she was putting on display for him. He couldn’t look away from her body, all smooth skin and perky, perfect breasts. The look in her eyes was primal as she zeroed in on the evidence of his arousal, making itself known in his loose fitting flannel pajama pants.

“What about Faith?” He could kick himself for bringing up her girlfriend when she was looking at him like that, but he needed to know she wasn’t just pulling his leg on this. It would make sense if she were trying to embarrass him more for barging in on her.

“I’ve always thought about you, always wanted you, William. Come here, be with me.” Was her only reply and she continued to look at him and slowly licked her lips.

As if they had a mind of their own, his feet started carrying him towards her, only stopping when he was directly in front of where she was sitting on the bed. She smelled amazing; the mixture of ever present vanilla along with her own musky scent was intoxicating. If it was even possible, he got harder as he watched her very slowly bring the same fingers that were buried inside of her a few minutes ago up to his mouth. Without any thought, he sucked the two digits into his mouth and immediately moaned as the taste hit his senses. She tasted like honey, all sweet with a tang.

Before he discerned what was happening, she had risen up to her knees and replaced her fingers with her mouth. It was all moving so quickly, after the initial moments of watching her had felt like an eternity. The kiss started out slow, just a touch of her lips against his before he was able to register it in his addled mind. Soon he was responding back to her, arms wrapping around her waist to pull her body closer to the edge and flush against his own. He could feel the warmth of her skin through his t-shirt, her breasts flattened against his hard chest.

It was all so fabulously sensual; the feel of her against him, their mouths melding together along with the lingering taste of her still on his tongue. They were kissing passionately as she pulled him down onto the bed, tongues dancing together within his mouth. His hands encircled her tiny waist until she impatiently pulled one up to squeeze her breast. Molding it around in his hand, it was the perfect volume of supple flesh. His fingers moved to her nipple, taking over where she had left off, pinching and twisting the hardened peak.

He began kissing down her throat as he felt her grab him through his sleep pants. He pulled back from her skin for a moment to groan at the feel of her hot hand on his most sensitive part. He quickly regrouped to continue working his way to her breasts, licking and sucking on the one his hand had left neglected. She pulled his pants down slightly, freeing him from the confines, so she could grasp him skin to skin. His breathing escalated even more when he heard her moan as she glided her hand up and down him deliberately.

“Bloody perfect you are, luv. Can’t believe this is happening.” He moaned in between licks.

“You’re wearing too many clothes. I want to see you, you feel so good. So big and thick. Can’t wait to have you inside of me.” She moaned as she let him go, much to his dismay, and began pulling his t-shirt over his head. He pulled away from her to pull it off over his head to disappear somewhere behind him. In the next instant, his pants gone as well, they were laying side by side panting and staring at each other fervently.

“Like what you see, pet?” William said huskily, his tongue coming up against his teeth in a very suggestive way. Internally, he was marveling over being so bold.

“God, Will, you’re everything I thought you would be and more. You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.” Buffy said in wonder as she gazed him top to bottom, stopping at his impressive erection. She started running her fingertips in tantalizing patterns around his chest.

“This is a dream come true, pet. You’re so beautiful; I want to lick you from head to toe. Taste every part of you.” William said as he pulled her to him again, attacking her partially open mouth. His hand meandered its way down her curves to the apex of her thighs. He could feel the heat of her before he even touched. He glided his finger through her silky curls, bypassing her clit completely. She let out a low moan, pushing closer into him. He dipped his finger shallowly in her dripping pussy, using the fluid to circle back towards where he had previously neglected to touch. Before he gave her what she wanted, he brought his finger back up to his mouth, breaking off their frenzied kissing to lick her juices off it.

“Needed another taste. You’re addicting, luv. Can’t wait to gobble you up.” Will growled with a menacing look in his eye, getting ready to do just that.

She took him by surprise as she pushed him flat onto his back with an agonized moan. Before he could stop her, she had plunged herself down on his engorged length in one motion. They both let out loud groans at her sudden action, him not expecting to be completely sheathed inside of her and her not realizing how deliciously full he’d make her feel.

“T-That’s the most bloody…amazing…uh-thing I’ve ever felt.” William staggered out, gasping as he tried to reign in his control. “But I wanted to devour you first, luv, make you feel good.”

“Oh God, Will, I feel more than good. Incredible. I’ve never felt so spectacularly stretched in my life. Ugh you feel so good, so deep.” Buffy moaned as she started to bounce up and down on top of him.

He was in a daze, couldn’t believe what a lucky bastard he was to see the girl of his dreams unraveling on top of him; up to the hilt in her. He flipped her over so he was on top, gradually pounding her into the mattress. At this rate he wasn’t going to last long, she was wreaking havoc on his system. He bent his head and took a breast in his open mouth, tonguing the nipple. Her panting grew louder at the duel sensations as she twined her fingers through his hair, holding his head in place. Without thinking, he bit her nipple between his teeth, just hard enough to hurt. That was all Buffy needed to come apart in his arms, internal muscles clenching down around his rapidly plunging cock.

“WILLIAM!!” She screamed as wave after wave of bliss crashed over her.

Just as the sounds of their pleasure were at an incredible crescendo, right on the verge of his release, the headboard hit the wall like an explosion in the night.

William shot up in his bed, out of the most erotic dream of his life. He was panting hard, his pants tangled up at his feet with a hand firmly gripping his throbbing cock. As his brain started to function through the red haze of blinding lust, he vaguely realized the noise that had jarred him wasn’t a headboard hitting the wall, but the front door slamming shut. Just as he came to that conclusion, he heard loud moans coming down the hallway outside his closed door followed immediately by a thud against its connecting wall.

“Oh Faith, yes! Yes baby, touch me, missed your...guh…touch so much!”

He heard Buffy’s voice shout out right next to his door. Heavy panting and the sound of lips smacking together filled the former silence of the apartment; echoing inside his closed off room. Instantly, his brain filled him in with a Technicolor depiction of what the scene must look like outside his door. He moaned softly as his fisted hand, still holding his aching length, resumed what he’d been doing while dreaming.

Throwing his head back down on his pillows in the pitch black room, he continued to work himself over to the sound of the girls wildly tearing into each other. Despite his own loud panting, he could hear soft thuds on the floor that he assumed signified the removal of clothing. His imagination raced on to take him to the edge of release once again.

He was too far gone to care what a pervert he had become.