I hope not to post it more than once.. I had some problems with the pc, sorry!!!

Hey, I’m back again with a new story! I promise to update the other one as soon as I can! :)

WANTED,…

Author: Lu
Pairs: there’s a time for everything…
Disclaimer: I know these characters don’t belong to me (sigh..)
Plus, I also quoted lyrics from songs by blink-182, GOTR, Greenday, etc..

WARNING: This is my first Spuffy Fantasy.
Forget the plot ‘ Buffy and William meet- Buffy can’t stand William- but then it’s love ‘
You’ll understand what I mean!

Thanks to: Maribel, as always and also Shippy for this part ( I hope you’ll want to help me with the others, too, otherwise thank you for all you did so far! :) ) Girls, you’re doing such a great work!!!!!

Rating: PG 13/ NC 17

Summary: Music, love, laughter.. and more!

Chapter 1

< I wonder if today I’ll see him… oh, c’mon! You haven’t seen him for months, why should you meet him just today? And you know it’s even worse if you see him… well, it’s not that at the moment I’m in the seventh heaven..
Ugh, where did I wrong? Was I too aggressive? No way! What have I done, after all? Just an innocent SUPER DECLARATION that day, at the station. We had even been talking for a while, I thought that was a good sign; only that the pathetic excuse for chat, lasted no more than two minutes, is the only thing that’s been left to me of him.
Going through all this trouble for what? For him to tell me his name? What a joke! As if I didn’t know his name already! After all the times I heard him talk with his friends, of course I knew his name! By the way, will he figure out I was the same girl who’d been pretending to ask him for information the week before?>Buffy Summers thought, sitting at her desk, with her head on the huge book of Psychology, where neither the easiest Freudian defence mechanism seemed to enter her mind.

Maybe because she was too distracted and confused, confused as the spirals she scribbled on the book, almost without realizing that, as she was lost in her thoughts.

< Why didn't he tell me anything the first time he saw me after my totally reckless deed, , not even a ‘hi’? Maybe, he didn’t because he was confused or scared, poor guy! Or simply, even if I don’t wanna admit it, the real reason is that he doesn’t care about me at all, so the only solution is to forget him! Throwing away the sketch I did of him after seeing him that day would be a huge step in the right direction. C’mon, keeping it in my drawer and watching it every now and then, how pathetic! It’s not a drawing it’s just a stupid piece of paper.. yeah, a stupid piece of paper that looks like him so much.. I’m not that bad after all..>


Suddenly, the ring of her mobile took her mind off her thoughts.
There was no need to look on the display screen to figure out who it was, because the personalized tone had already given her the answer.
It was Willow Rosenberg, her best friend, although they‘ve known each other for no more than three years, since Buffy had moved to Sunnydale with her mother, Joyce.

The two girls had lot in common, as much as they were completely opposites, but that somehow complemented each other.
They were inseparable , they listened and comforted each other, and together they worked for their dream: to create a punk-rock band.
Buffy was the guitarist, although she had been playing just for a year, without ever taking a single lesson, but she was good.
Willow, with the nice and powerful voice she possessed, could be nothing but the lead singer, although Buffy had fun been the secondary leading voice.
They both wrote their own stuff, and there were some songs where it was Buffy the soloist.
They ‘only’ needed a bassist and a drummer to complete their band, and although they had published an ad in the local newspaper to find them, Lady Luck hadn’t knocked at their door.. not yet.

Buffy pushed the button to answer the ring, and after a few minutes it was her home-phone ringing; but she knew who it was even before picking up the receiver.
“Hey!” Willow’s voice greeted her.
“Hi, Will, Wassup?”
“Well, I can’t complain, exams aside..”
“You’re telling me! I don’t know if I’ll ever manage to pass this one..”
“Oh, c’mon, Nerd, who are you kidding? You’ll pass it with high marks!”
“Don’t make fun of me, Will: * me* , a Nerd? Aren’t you Miss Top-grades!”
“Enough of that story! I already told you it was the easiest exam of the world, and you could copy as much as you wanted! Anyway, stop talking about school, I didn’t call you for that. Remember the ad? We’ve got a reply”
“Really, what happened?”
“A guy who plays drums contacted me, he said he has been playing for about a year, maybe less.. Anyway, he would be very interested..”
“Have you told him we are just girls?”
“Sure, it’s the first thing I told him!”
“And he didn’t laugh at us?”
“Quite the contrary, he was even more intrigued, and although he doesn’t know us yet, he said that he already roots for us!”
“Tell me you’re not joking! Wait, I got it: I bet he’s a whelp, or he could be our father..”
“Look, this time it’s a good one, he also talked about exams and University, so he’s of our same age more or less.. unless he’s a teacher, but I don’t think so!”
They both burst out laughing.

“Anyway, seems you two had a long chat!”
“No chat, just tons of SMS. Anyway, my dear, this afternoon we’ve got a date with him.. he lives here, too, isn’t that a bout of good luck?”
“Yeah, and I see he hasn’t lost any time! So, ok, we’ll meet later , you, me, and… By the way, what’s his name?”
“Gee, let me think about it.. he told me at the beginning but I forgot.. and I have already deleted all the messages .. I’m sorry, Buffy!”
“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll find out today, no problem! See ya, thanks for the very good news, bye!” Buffy greeted her, hanging up.
That good news had taken her mind off her obsession, and maybe finally she would manage to ‘digest’ some pages from her Psychoanalysis textbook.

******************************* ( In the Meantime)

< Here’s his name: William! Why couldn’t I remember it before? Well, I’ll tell her later.. I don’t think it’s that important..>

Willow couldn’t even begin to imagine how important it would be to her friend.
Truth was that she knew everything about Buffy’s crush, although obsession would be a better name for it, but due to the fact that every time she talked about him she had fun calling him Mr. Ice, for the way he had reacted after she had introduced herself to him.. how could Willow know that his real name was William?

TBC

p.s. Hope you’ll like it!

Thank you sooo much!!!
Ladies and Gentlemen, here’s William!

Chapter 2

Time had run out, Willow would be there in two hours or less, and Buffy had done anything but throw all her clothes on the bed, searching for something nice to wear.
She didn’t understand why she was so nervous, it wasn’t a date, but something told her she had to look the best she could.
Finally, she chose to wear a pair of tight jeans with a green tank top, a little bit low necked, letting her long blond locks fall behind her shoulders in soft waves.
Yeah, she looked very good!
After she finished getting ready, she left her home, meeting her friend who waited inside her car.

“I hope everything will be fine!” Buffy wished, getting off the car once they arrived.
It was full summer, so there wasn’t any parking trouble, because the town was almost empty.
“Calm down once for all, I already told you this is the drummer we need, there’s no need to get agitated!”
“I know, but it’s stronger than me.. I have an odd feeling..” she tried to justify, as they headed towards the square.
“Guess where I told him to wait for us..” Willow tried to distract her.
“ .. in front of our Driving School! It’s an original place, so we can’t go wrong!”
“You have a big imagination; lucky for us it’s closed.. I wouldn’t like to meet again with our terrible former driving teacher, Mr. Giles… Do you remember him? Brrr.. “
“Yeah, anyway, we are here, and I see someone from afar, maybe it’s him! By the way, now I remember his name, you know?”

“William!!!” Buffy exclaimed, between enthused, scared, and incredulous, recognizing the so impossibly bleached hair that could only belong to a person.
After all, that was the first thing she had noticed about him, and she immediately liked it; and then she had extended that list endlessly, day after day.

“How did you know it? That’s just his name!”
“No, Willow, you don’t understand..” she tried to explain, getting more and more nervous.
“.. it’s not any William, it’s him!! It’s Mr. Ice!”
Her only answer, Willow burst out laughing.
“Hey, what’s so funny?”
“Well, it’s a joke from fate, my dear! And don’t you dare trying to escape, it’s too late, I bet he has already seen you.. and look, he didn’t run away, maybe it’s a good sign..”
He was just few meters from her, and Buffy chose to follow her friend’s advice.

“Hi, you’re William, right? I’m Willow, the girl of the ad ..” she greeted him, shaking his hand.
Buffy decided to face once for all those deep blue ocean eyes that seemed to stare at her for hours with an interrogative air.
“Well, hi! Yeah, I know what you are thinking now: the world is small, isn’t it? Whatever you like it or not.. I’m the guitarist! If you want I won’t talk with you, unless it’s extremely necessary, I’ll keep myself as far as I can from you.. as far as the cable of the amplifier allows me to when we’ll play anyway. You won’t even notice me, but please, stay!” he said in one go, forgetting that little indispensable deed called ‘to breathe’ !
William smiled cockily at her .
“Why should I leave? After all, I’m the one who answered the ad..”
“Yeah, but you couldn’t begin to imagine .. me! C’mon, you know who I am, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do: you’re my admirer!”
“So, that’s how you see me!?”
“How did you think I saw you, pet?”
Buffy almost passed out due to the huge emotion.

< How.. how did he just called me? C’mon, Buffy, don’t flatter yourself, I bet he calls tons of other girls like that..>

“Uhmm.. I don’t know: as a crazy neurotic obsessed fanatic? Something like that..” she answered, after her mental sparring match.
William burst out laughing.
“Well, that case I add: a little bit paranoid admirer.. who is bloody good to disappear for ages..”
“ Me?! It’s * you * the one who disappeared! I haven’t seen you at the station anymore since that day..”
“I didn’t order you to meet me on my last day of class!”
“Ah.. I couldn’t know that! You should have told me that day, instead of running away after two minutes..”
“Hey, put yourself in my shoes! You don’t receive such a declaration everyday! I was a little confused and surprised, I was sure it was a joke from my friends..”

“Hey, hey, stop, truce! You’ll end up fighting, and I need both the guitar and the drums!” Willow interrupted them.
“We aren’t arguing, don’t worry.. it’s just clearing-up-time!” Buffy calmed her down, and then she resumed talking with William.
She was terribly enthused due to that meeting, but her will to know was stronger.
“That explains the incident on the station, but you saw me once, after that, and you did nothing..”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. It’s just .. that I saw you weren’t alone, so maybe it wasn’t the right time..”

Buffy couldn’t believe it: she had managed to find a guy more complex-ridden than her.
“ Ok, I forgive you. What about starting it all over as friends?” she suggested with a smile.
“Sounds good, friend!” he smiled back, shaking her hand with the same handshake that made them introduce to each other back to that turbulent day.

< Yeah, friend.. a friend who finds you irresistible, wonderful, and risks a heart attack every time you talk to me or smile to me…> Buffy thought.

“Ok, let’s talk about important stuff: we gotta meet to play, or at least .. the first time Buffy and I will play, you just watch, just to get the general idea and decide if you wanna belong to our band or not, what do you think?”
“Ok, it’s perfect. When do you wanna do it?”
“Look, we usually play every weekend, mostly at Willow’s because she has less neighbours than me, and her parents are much more tolerant. Besides, when we record, her radio equipment is better than mine. So, it’s ok for you next weekend, let’s say.. Saturday afternoon .. sounds good?” Buffy suggested, trying to appear as natural as possible, when she was so agitated she didn’t even remember her own name anymore!
“Yeah, this weekend I’m free, just give me the directions and I’ll be there!”

“Why don’t we try this: you come here, Buffy meets you and she drives you to my house, she has done it so many times that she could do it even with her eyes closed .. well, she’d better keep them open though!” Willow replied, laughing.
“Sure, it’s a good idea, that way I can memorize the road. Is it ok for you, pet?” William asked her, looking deeply into Buffy’s green eyes that sparkled as diamonds just for being the object of his look.
“No problem for me!” she answered with a smile.
“But maybe it’s a problem for you, do you love the risk that much?” Buffy exclaimed sarcastically.
“Why? Are you such a disaster at the wheel?” he wondered, concerned for his own safety.
“No, well, c’mon, I have given a ride to Will many times, and as you can see she’s still alive and in one piece, I’m still alive and in one piece.. is that enough as a guarantee?” she chuckled.
“Hell no! Anyway, I’ll take the risk. So, I guess we’ll see on Saturday. Bye, Willow. We two meet here, is it 3:00 p.m. okay for you?”
“Fine, I’ll arrive dead on time!”

“I just hope *we* won’t arrive *dead*!” William laughed.
“Ha, ha, what a witty guy we have here!” Buffy struck back sarcastically.
“Well, now I gotta go for real. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have time enough to make my will before getting inside the car with you!” he laughed again, departing.
“If you carry on this way, I’ll make you get off my car at half-way!” she summoned him from afar.
He turned once again.
“It means that I’ll be mislead.. but safe!” he struck back, waving his hand to greet her, and she did the same.

< Ok, I figured it out: he must have always the last word, so I’d better give up!> she thought amused.

She didn’t know if she should hate Willow or thank her for her idea: she, in a car, with him.
Just at the simple thought she felt like she was going to faint!
But she had got to do her best not to show up badly with him.
She spent another hour with her friend, and then she came back home, thinking about the whole afternoon.
She still couldn’t believe it!
It was Tuesday, so there was just four days to Saturday, but she already know they would have seemed four terribly long days to her.

TBC

Thank you, and sorry for late, well, this is kinda long and fun as chapter, hope you’ll like it!

Chapter 3
(There’s a little tribute to BTVS, and one to… just read to find out!)

“Finally! It’s Saturday!” Buffy exclaimed as she jumped on her car, ready for that important meeting.
The agitation was so much that she couldn’t manage to put the gear correctly.
“No, this is not good!” she told herself out loud, as she parked.
It wasn’t the fist time she drove, of course; but she knew very well what was the reason of her distraction.
And that reason was waiting for her in front of her former driving school, and had walked towards her as soon as he had seen her from afar, as he finished smoking a cigarette.
“Hey there!” she greeted him, smiling.
“Hey there!” he answered with a smirk, stepping over the cigarette.
There was a deep silent, and Buffy didn’t like it at all, so she decided to break it, resorting to her sense of humour once again.
“So, have you written your will in time before getting in the car with me?” she asked sarcastically, as she showed him the way to her car, not very far.
“Sure, and I also paid my last respects to my family and friends!” he laughed, jumping in.
“Fine, let’s go!” she exclaimed determined, gradually releasing the friction and stepping on the gas.

She wasn’t agitated anymore, she felt at her ease with him.
She hadn’t had trouble with junctions, and even the traffic lights had been kind to her: she had always found green light.
After seeing him chat with his friends, Buffy was sure that William was a quite talkative guy, and she wasn’t wrong.
During the trip, they had talked a lot, mostly he had asked her a lot of questions about the band.
“So, tell me, how was it born?”
“Simply, for fun, and due to a little bet ..”
He questioned her with his eyes, so she explained better.
“The day of my exam for driving licence I was so nervous that I had promised Willow that if I passed it, just for the joy of it I would write a song about how much hard and stressful it is to drive! So, I passed the test, and I wrote the song, and surprisingly something nice came out.. maybe we’ll make you hear it, it’s our warhorse!” she smiled.
“A song about driving , it’s very original, can’t wait to hear it!”
“After that, inspiration hit me and I wrote other songs, about everything, and ten Willow also began writing. But I’m the one who arranges all the songs..”
“Bloody Hell, you’re great! You must be playing for ages..”
Buffy burst out laughing, she was amused by his colourful intercalary; she had already heard him talking like that, but that was the first time.. without eavesdropping!

“I bet you’ve been playing drums for longer than I’ve been playing guitar , it’s just been one year, for me, more or less, without ever taking a single lesson, I just read tons of handbooks, downloaded tabs from the web, listened to piles of CD, trying to imitate my favourite artists, and step by step I made some progress! That’s my secret, William!”
He smiled to her.
“You know, if you want you can call me Spike!” he said.
“What?!”
“All my friends call me that..”
“Spike, you said. Uhmm.. what’s the connection?” she asked curious, without taking her eyes off the road.
“Well, pet. I also don’t know exactly why.. Uhmm, maybe for my little tendency of killing people, torturing them with railroad spikes..” he commented, with a deep dark voice.
Buffy shivered, not due to his answer, of course, but to the way he had called her again.
William burst out laughing.
“No, seriously, it’s just due to the way I arrange my hair, you know, spiked.. “
Buffy could have filled him with compliments about his hair and its against nature color, but she just smiled at him.
“Well, Spike, if this is confidence-time, my friends often call me Slayer.. wanna know why? I gained this nickname back in high school days; my former Principal Snyder has tons of stories to tell, let’s just say that due to my rebel behaviour and my tendency of ditching school, especially History lessons, I was almost going to be kicked out! And I lost count of all the times he called me to his office, keeping saying endlessly ‘Miss Summers, you are just the slayer of all the rules and the peace of this school!’ “ she explained, trying to imitate the man’s tone.
“And since that day my friends called me that, especially when I’m up to one of my tricks!” she concluded, turning at the junction.
“Slayer, eh? I like it!” he commented with a smirk.
In the meantime, Buffy had trouble deciding if he turned her on the most when he called her ‘pet’ or the new entry ‘Slayer’, and finally she chose, she liked them both the same!

There was a deep silence between them, and they both didn’t like it.
This time it was William breaking it.
“A song about a driving licence.. I’m still thinking about it.. it’s the first time I’ve heard about a song like that, it’s odd!”
“You know, maybe it’s because my driving licence was a kind of obsession for me, failing the practice exam the first time..”
“What does it mean FAILING? Bloody Hell! And you tell me now!” he startled concerned, as she was parking, finding the road free.
“Don’t think I failed because I passed with red light or I didn’t respect the right of way. I just did a little mistake while parking. Have you ever heard about someone dying because she hit the sidewalk with a tire, or even worse, she had forgotten to right the tires?” she joked, as they both undid the safety-belts and got out.
“C’mon, at the end I wasn’t that bad. I’m not a danger on four wheels, am I?”
“Well, let’s say that you’re still alive and whole, I’m still alive and whole..” he mocked her, laughing.
“You are so impossible!” she laughed, punching his shoulder playfully.

Buffy had told him an innocent lie: the song about the driving licence wasn’t the first song she had written; but she would never dare to tell him that the very first one was about him, nonetheless!

“Hey, what are you doing outside? Come in!” Willow invited them, seeing them arrive from her window.
The two obeyed and Buffy who knew that house very well, showed William the way to the living room.
Once they were there, Buffy took her guitar, connecting it to the amplifier that William had gently offered to bring for her.
As she verified that all the strings were tuned correctly, Willow cleared her throat , as William, seated comfortably on the sofa, observed patiently their preparation.
The girls were ready.
Buff started the intro of the first song, but she was immediately interrupted by a very enthused William.
“Hey, but that’s ‘ Liar’, by Ghost of the Robot! That’s wonderful!”
“Wow, so you know the GOTR?” Buffy asked surprised.
“If I know them? They’re one of my fave bands, I know al their songs… but I’d better shut up and let you go on..” he said, sitting again.
The girls resumed playing, and they did a very good performance, as the ones after that, alterning the covers with their own songs. And that made a good impression to him, especially the one about driving licence.
In fact, he filled them with compliments, after their show, as he sipped one of the drinks Willow had put on the table.


“I’ve the feeling I’ll bloody enjoy playing with you, you have such a cool sound!”
“Thank you! So, do you accept?” Willow asked, trying to hide the excitement for finding a drummer, finally.
“Hell yeah, I do! Can’t wait to hear your songs when I arrange the drums. It will take a while, but I’m sure we’ll do a great job!” he assured them.
“About the covers, it will be easier, I already know what to do!”
“Ok, we’ll see. Well, for now I guess that’s all. When do you wanna meet us again?” Willow wondered, as Buffy had left to bring her stuff inside the car.
“Next weekend, I’m free, and before you ask, I tell you, you two are welcome to my house, I’ll give you the address!”
“Fine. In the meantime, if you wanna listen to our songs, here’s a cassette with our recording. Plus, I’ll give you all the lyrics in this folder, ok?” Willow suggested, giving him those things.

“Ok, I’m ready, we can go. Thanks for everything, Will!” Buffy exclaimed, coming back to catch her passenger without noticing what he held in his hands.
They got in the car.
They talked during the ride through about the performance.
“I really have to thank you, you know?” she exclaimed, all of the sudden.
“Uh! For what?” he asked astonished.
“Well, because you are the first person that has managed to recognize a song played by me by the intro.. Willow generally doesn’t recognize it, not even if I sing while I’m playing it!” she laughed.
“I can recognize someone who has talent !” he confessed smiling.

“Hey, I was thinking … what if I drive you home? So, you can explain me the way to arrive there?” she changed subject.
“Why are you so interested? Confess, you want to know where I live, so you can come in the middle of the night under my window to serenade me!” he struck back, without loosing the umpteenth chance to mock her.
But finally he agreed with her.
“You, silly!” she laughed.
“I just thought that the better way to learn the road is to drive you there personally, because if you began explaining me the route by the phone I would end up lost, I’ve got a terrible sense of direction!” she justified, as she followed all his indications, and finally she arrived to his house.
“See? I live here. It’s not that difficult, is it?”
“Hell no. You just had to tell me it was near the graveyard, even if.. Gee, isn’t it a little bit gloomy as place?” she commented.
“Yeah, I admit it. It’s kinda unusual. Wassup? Are you scared?” he teased her.
“Hell no! it was just a statement!” she justified.

< You are kidding? I wouldn’t complain even if you lived in a crypt!> she thought smiling.

“So, you won’t have trouble the next time?”
“You could find out tonight… I learned the route, I have the guitar… after all you put this idea of the serenade in my head, it’s your fault!” she joked.
“Then, I’ll take the risk and prepare a bucket of icy water, I warned you, ah, ah! Bye, Slayer, see ya next Saturday, and thank you for everything!” he greeted her, approaching to kiss her cheek before getting off the car.
“ Bye…Spike!” she struck back in a whisper, setting the car in motion.
She took the wrong road three times before arriving home, but she didn’t seem to care.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

That evening, after recovering from her little shock, Buffy decided to dial that more than familiar number.
“Hey, Will, wassup?”
“Well, William is a good crowd! Now we are the one that gotta see him in action!”
“Yeah, but something tells me that he will be very good!”
“Sure, seeing how impartial your opinion is..” Willow commented sarcastically.
The phone prevented her from seeing how much Buffy had blushed after that witty remark.
“Well, try to understand! Anyway, we could give him our cassette, so he could train a little bit!”
“What if I tell you that I already thought ‘bout it? Plus, I also gave him the folder with all the lyrics?” Willow informed her.
“You’re great! Hey, wait, no, .. what do you mean with ‘all the lyrics’ ? All, just all of them?” Buffy asked, panic-stricken.
“Well, yes, C’mon. He will learn all the songs, and then he’ll give them back to us, don’t make a fuss!” her friend tried to calm her down without understanding the reason of such agitation.

“That’s not the point! Can’t you see? You gave him all the lyrics! The cassette doesn’t have all the songs, but in the folder he’ll also find ‘Shadow’, do you realize it?”
“Damn, I didn’t know, Buffy! I didn’t check before, sorry! Anyway, be calm, maybe he won’t understand you wrote it for him!”
“Oh no, sure. Just because it talks about the train he caught, and me catching it with him, spying every single move of his, without him noticing me, nooo why should he ever think it’s about him?” she commented, between ironic and desperate.
“Right, I’m sorry, forgive me!” Willow apologized, feeling guilty somehow.
“It’s not your fault, just mine. I was the one putting that sheet in the folder, when you insisted so many times for me to separate the completed songs from the works in progress! Maybe, he hasn’t read it yet. You know what? I’ll dash by his house, get in furtively and take the sheet off the folder!” Buffy exclaimed, not very convinced.
“I think it’s too late, now. Eh, eh, it seems that the Slayer strikes again! Maybe it was fate that he read it! You’ll see how he behaves on Saturday, maybe he didn’t even read it, due to the fact that it wasn’t on the list of the songs to play. Anyway, pretend to ignore everything!” Willow advised her.
Finally, Buffy resigned herself.
“Maybe you’re right, Will. We’ll see!”

TBC

Thank you so much, I swear I’ll update the other story , too, as soon as I can. :)

Chapter 4

“What? Tell me I misunderstood!” Buffy exclaimed at her mobile, as she headed towards her car.
“I’m sorry, but you heard correctly; don’t come to get me because I can’t meet you now. I’ll arrive about half an hour later..”
“And you would leave me alone with him for half an hour?! Will, what kind of friend are you?”
“A friend that has a very urgent mishap, that I can’t really do nothing about! You’ve already explained the road to me, I’ll just arrive a bit later, no problem! In the meantime, try to agree with him about the drums and guitar, even if I’m the one taking the final decision!” Willow chuckled.
“Ok, so.. I’ll get going. * Sigh.* Alone! Well, you’ll have me on your conscience for at least thirty minutes, happy?”
“Ok, see ya later!”
“Try to arrive as soon as you can!” Buffy begged her one last time, ending their conversation.

She had already parked in his street.
She had taken her stuff out of the car and stood in front of the gate, unsure if to ring the bell or not.
When she read the nameplate she was about to laugh.

< William Leather, so that’s his surname! Leather.. he, he, it reminds me of the beautiful leather coat he wore all the Winter through.. Gee, it fitted him to a T, it made him look so…. No, stop this dangerous thoughts, or I’ll end up jumping him! Maybe, I’d better go.. I’ll send him a SMS telling that Will and I arrive later, and now I’ll fly away..> Buffy thought, and she was about to go, when…

“Hi, pet, you’re on time, as always!” William greeted her.
Ironically, he wasn’t at home, but he was coming back from the end of the street, and he had probably seen her dilemma in front of his bell.
“Hi, William! It’s not my fault, but Willow will meet us later.. she told me at the lat minute, otherwise I would have come later, too. Anyway, if you want, I’ll really come back later..” she tried to justify, panic-stricken.
“Do you really believe I’m scared of letting you in my home just because we are alone? Come in, you’re welcome!” he invited her, opening the gate and showing her the way.
“Plus, there’s something I gotta ask you..” he added, mysteriously.

< Why am I afraid I already know what the question is?> she thought, as she got in his house for the first time.

It was very pretty, large and comfy.
There was a door half closed that showed a part of his drums, that must be his playing room.
“You know, I read all your lyrics…” William informed her, as he looked for the folder.

< Ouch! Here we go! That’s what I dreaded!> Buffy thought, trying not to show the huge anxiety that was devouring her.

“Really?” was all she managed to say.
“Yeah. And there’s a song that intrigue me a lot, ‘Shadow’. I was wondering.. did you write it?”
“Of.. of course n. not!” she stuttered.
“Will wrote it. That girl has such an imagination, eh?” she went on, playing with her hair.
“Uhmm. I don’t know why but I don’t believe you much, pet!”
“I don’t know why, but I already know you wouldn’t believe me! So, I guess it’s useless to tell you that every reference to places, people or facts is purely casual..” she struck back, showing him the most innocent of the smiles.
“ You guess right!” he smirked.
“Ok, ok, I confess, what can I say? You inspired me so much that I wrote a song about you, it was stronger than me, and if you really wanna know I’m as scared as you!” she explained.
“I’m not scared at all, just flattered!” he confessed, passing a hand through his bleached hair, pretending to brag.
“Flattered?!” she repeated incredulously.
“Exactly. No one had ever done such a thing for me before, you know? It’s very original, and impressing! It’s a pity that the song is not recorded on the cassette.. hey, since you’re here and we have a bunch of time.. why don’t you play it for me, live? I’m sure you’re the soloist!” William suggested her with a deep voice.
“Here? Now? Well, you know, now I only have the electric guitar and this song is better with the acoustic one.. “ she explained, wishing that he didn’t figure out that was just a pathetic excuse.
“I got you!” he exclaimed, departing and coming back with an acoustic guitar that looked almost new.
“You can use this one. And don’t even try to say it’s not tuned, because it’s tuned correctly, you have no more excuses, Slayer!” he said, giving her the guitar.

< You said it, I’m gonna slay my reputation! Well, I just have to give in..> she told herself, feeling like a prey in a trap.

“Ok, ok, I’ll play it. It’s just that I didn’t know you also play the guitar!” she admitted, studying the object meticulously.
“In fact, I don’t . It’s just an useless gift from my friends, it’s not that I don’t wanna learn how to play it..” he admitted, smiling to her.
“Well, Spike, I can help you if you trust me, and maybe you could teach to me how to play the drums… I loved them, you know? Although I’ve never tried to play them..”
“Deal! But now, play, c’mon, I’m curios, that’s my song somehow.. I have all the bloody rights to hear it!” he tried to persuade her once again.
Without a word, Buffy took the guitar and started the sweet riff that was the intro.
During all the performance, they had been looking at each other, although the major part of time Buffy had lowered her gaze, but only to make sure to pick up the right chords; she couldn’t allow herself to do such an important performance wrong!

“Wow!” William exclaimed at the end.
“Did you like it?” she asked, eager to know the answer, but the guy’s smile seemed to have already answered to her.
“I bloody like it! It’s beautiful, and I have still trouble believing that you wrote it just thinking of me..” he confessed, sitting next to her.
There was a question he was dying to ask since the day she had rushed (that’s the right word!) into his life; but the sudden ringing of the bell didn’t allow him to satisfy his curiosity.

“Who can it be?” he wondered out loud, going to open the door, almost resigned.
“Hey, there! I’m here, too!” Willow greeted him from the gate.
Hearing her friend’s voice, Buffy had come close to the door.
“Hey, I thought you’d arrive later!”
“Me, too, but at the last minute I managed to hitch a ride! It’s better this way, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,, it’s better this way..” Buffy repeated in a whisper, sighing.
She couldn’t blame Willow, after all she had insisted a lot to persuade her to arrive as soon as possible.
“C’mon, William, it’s your moment! Let’s see what you can do!” Buffy incited him, once they reached his playing room, as he sat at the drums.
After few seconds of concentration he started the most energetic intro, involving all the parts of the drums with a hectic rhythm.
The girls were astonished and they couldn’t manage to stop clapping their hands.
“Thank you, thank you! And that was only the preview, are you ready now? Let’s start!” he incited them, rolling the drumstick between his fingers.
He wanted to show off the better he could.

The few songs they played together left them stunned: there was a perfect harmony among them, and there had been just a few of corrections that impeded them to reach the pure perfection, but at least they came very close to it.
“Now that I know better what your rhythms are, I’ll work on that, and next time we’ll do it even better!” he assured them, walking them to the door.
“I have no doubt about it! You’re great!” Willow said with huge enthusiasm.
“You, too! By now we’re a team, sweethearts!” he exclaimed, hugging both of them, and that brought Buffy’s heart close to heart-attack!
“Can’t wait to find a bassist, too! It will happen, soon or later! For now, let’s keep playing here, after all I live alone, so it’s not a problem for me!” he informed them.
“Can’t wait for next weekend!” Buffy admitted, as she headed towards her car with her friend.

----------------------------------------------------------------

“Did you really play that song for him? I can’t believe it!” Willow exclaimed after Buffy’s tale.
“Gee! If I had known before, I would have stayed outside for another half an hour.. maybe I interrupted something..” she teased her.
“Maybe.. who knows? Wait, no.. no, I don’t think so! He liked it, he was flattered, but there’s nothing more. After all, now we are only friends, aren’t we? And that’s enough for me..”
“C’mon, shut up! Who are you kidding? Every time you look at him your eyes turn into two hearts!” Willow mocked her, trying to imitate her in an excessive way.
“You really know me, I can’t hide anything from you, eh?”
“Truth is that you didn’t even tried to hide it! Buffy, you have such a huge crush for him that you’ve reached the point no return !” her friend stated, before getting off, once they had arrived to her home.
“Do you think I’m hopeless, Will?” she asked, unsure.
“Quite the contrary; I’m sure you have good chances with him, I’ve got this feeling, you know?” he friend assured her, greeting her.

TBC

Eh, eh, my turn, now! :) I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 5
(This is my personal tribute to blink-182. I could have chosen any other hand, and maybe is not very credible .. but sorry, it was stronger than me!)

< You shouldn’t be so prejudiced about a person! When she introduced herself I thought she was nothing more than the classic bimbo al make-up and no brains, just like those three silly geese , Drusilla, Darla and Harmony! I thought she got off with everyone she met, instead.. Bloody hell! She has so many good qualities I don’t know where to start with the list! I could have had her since that day, but now.. maybe she has taken her distance, maybe she’s got another boyfriend.. not that she has ever mentioned one.. that’s it, alright bloke, you are the same old stupid! Stupid and coward, yeah, because you don’t even have the bloody balls to take the phone and ask her out, you can’t even find an excuse … I don’t know.. an advice about how to tune the drums with a song of theirs! She has almost turned the world upside down to meet me! But I can’t turn back time, things are this way, I’ll see her next weekend. Five days to go and.. and what? Damn me and my bloody pride; if only I could admit that I was wrong about her the firs time, that I’ve finally figure out what a beautiful person she is … Ok, stop with all these thoughts, let’s just think about passing this sodding exam!> William thought, as he headed towards the station, frustrated between the will and the fear of confessing to Buffy what he had finally realized were his feelings.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how close that chance was.
********************************************
Just behind him, Buffy was going upstairs.
Her ruffled hair trapped in a pale imitation of a pony tail and her half closed eyes were a clear sign that she hadn’t awoken completely, after all it was only 7:00 a.m.
Anyway, for her seeing William was more effective than a hundred alarm clock ringing at the same time.
Taking advantage of his distraction, she arranged her hair the better she could, letting some locks frame her face, and she took her pocket mirror out of her bag, to assure herself that the eyeliner and the mascara hadn’t left any tracks.
Then, with incredible naturalness she headed towards him.
“William! Hi, I didn’t expect to find you here!” she greeted him, smiling.
“Hey, pet! Is there air of exams for you, too?”
“Lucky for me, no. I just gotta register a mark. When I have an exam everyone figures it out, I walk with my face buried in the book, almost without seeing where I’m going to. I never take my eyes off the book… and heaven help those who try to distract me..”

< Sure, there are exceptions!> she thought.

“I don’t stay here calm and carefree with the stereo head phones in my ears as now!” she explained, smiling.
“Yeah, I should have known better. By the way, tell me, what are you listening to?”
“Well, although I adore Ghost of the Robot madly, first of all I’m a wild fan of blink-182..”
“Swear it! I’m crazy for blink-182, too! I had been at their concert, I know almost all their songs..” he revealed, as they got on the train that had arrived.
During the trip they enumerated their favourite songs of that band, discovering that the two list were almost identical.

“We could perform some of their songs, too!” he suggested, as he was about to get off the train.
“Don’t dare say it, not even joking! Willow can’t stand them.. unless.. do you want to sing? I’ve got the feeling that you are a very good singer, too..” she confessed.
“Uhmm.. why not? Can you play any song of theirs?”
“From the first to the last one, second voice included!” Buffy exclaimed at the top of excitement.
“With a second voice as yours I just can’t refuse! I already know it will be a success, so much that if we send our demo to the blink they’ll want us in tour with them!” William laughed, and then he became serious.
“Hey, I’ve got the afternoon free, so if you’re free, too, we could play at my house… What do you say?”
“Ok, it’s all right for me!”
“Perfect. We meet at about 3:30 p.m. Please, go over the songs, we gotta do a nice work!” he greeted her, as she waved her hand to him from the window.
She was wrong, now she was at the top of excitement.

< In a certain sense I got closer, it’s almost a date, ok, it’s not the same, but it’s something!> William told himself, departing satisfied.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The line at the University wasn’t too long, so Buffy had enough time to go over the songs and arrange herself before going to the house of the guy that had got into her head and her heart and seemed to have no intentions to get out.
She couldn’t imagine that in the meantime he was also in front of the mirror training, having the same anxiety to appear the best he could at her eyes, looking nervously to his watch.
“It’s 3:30 p.m., she’ll be here in a heartbeat!” he thought out loud.
William was right: after a minute he heard the desired ring of the bell that announced the girl’s arrive.
“Hi, Buffy, c’mon, get in!” he invited her cordially, but she almost stumbled through the stairs, it was the first time he used her real name.

“So, how was the exam?” she asked.
“ It went fine, after al it was a piece of cake! The arts degree is close, and after two bloody years that I failed to complete my course within the prescribed time.. I deserve that!”
“I’m just at the second year of Psychology, while Willow chose Informatics, that was kinda predictable, she is a computer genius! Well, if it’s all a piece of cake for you, I’ll give you my undergraduate’s record book so could you go to the ‘pastry shop’ again and pass for me my terrible Psychoanalysis exam?” Buffy joked.
He laughed.
“You’re fun, you know?”
“Really? Thanks! You’re fun, too, and it’s not easy that when a guy is so beautiful he is so fun, too!”

< Oh, my god! Tell me that I just thought the last part, I didn’t say that out loud to him..> the girl thought, paralyzed by the fear of what she had done.
So paralyzed that she hadn’t even noticed the pleased smile on the guy’s face.

< So, she find me beautiful! Maybe.. she didn’t forget me after all, but I’d better pretend I heard nothing..> William decided, before turning to her.

“What do you say if we start? C’mon!” he suggested, taking her mind off her pessimistic thoughts.
After a while they were ready to start, and when they ended the first song they both noticed the extreme harmony their instruments and also their voices had blended with.
“Uh! We’re quite good, eh?” he stated, smiling.
----------------------------------------------------
They played for almost one hour, then they mutually agreed to take a break.
Buffy took advantage of that to extort a little drums lesson from him.
“C’mon, trust me, I won’t create any troubles!”
“Ok, if you insist.. but you gotta take it easy, step by step. Come on, I’ll show you one of the first exercises I did..” he invited her, showing her a small sequence, beating two different parts with a different rhythm.

The extreme easiness he managed to do that with fooled Buffy.
“It seems pretty easy..” she murmured taking his seat.
But soon that ‘It seems pretty easy’ turned into a ‘Gee, it’s impossible, there’s no way I can do that, how the hell can you do that?’ as she tried uselessly to perform the two different rhythms.
William watched her laughing, losing count of all the times the drumsticks had slipped from her hands.
“You’re so clumsy, Miss It-seems-pretty-easy!” he made fun of her between laughter.
“Hey, genius, do you find it so fun? Well, I’ll make you stop laughing!” she warned him.
“Just how?”
“Go take your guitar, it’s my turn to give lessons. You asked for it, my dear!” she threatened him.

TBC

Sorry for this huge late!!


Chapter 6
( The tribute goes on.. but it bears fruit!)

After tuning the sound of her guitar as less electric as possible, Buffy showed William a short sequence of chords that the boy repeated very laboriously.
“Now, let’s try to play something, ok? What about ‘Waiting’, by Greenday? You should know that song, it’s on our play list.”
The guy nodded and she showed him the first verse.
She knew very well that wasn’t a song that a fledgling player could play, but at that moment Buffy just cared about one thing, revenge!
In fact, she realized amusedly that the time it took for William to play the first verse was twice as much the whole playing time of the song.

She expected a sharp retort from him, but he surprised her, he stopped playing and sat close to her, putting her in trouble with a simple question.
“Why did you fancy me so bad?”
The girl decided to stick to generalities, mostly because the list of the reasons would last for hours.
“Due to all the reasons in the world, and due to none in particular!” she answered, visibly embarrassed.
“Gee! I gotta write this sentence somewhere!” he exclaimed, amused and flattered.
“Anyway… you can even use the present tense..” she confessed, wishing she could take back what she had just said.
But what was done was done.
“Uhmm.. good to know..” he commented, getting closer to her, and she was completely lost in his blue eyes.
“… because there’s another verb I want to turn into present tense..” he went on, with a smooth voice, caressing her hair.
“Wha.. Wha.. What?” Buffy stuttered, flashing him a half smile.
“I’ll kiss you!” and as William said that, his lips were inches from Buffy’s and she parted them after a moment of uncertainty.
Their mouths began a slow and long mutual exploration, increasing the intensity minute by minute.

He was the first to stop, but only to see her reaction.
Buffy’s green dreamy eyes had already answered him.
“Wow!” William exclaimed, passing a thumb over his lips.
“I’ve been waiting a lifetime/ for this moment to come..” Buffy sang.
“I was sure we were having fun.. Don’t tell me you already want to resume playing that song..” he commented almost deluded.
“A world of no!” she chuckled, skimming his lips with hers.
“Although it’s a paradox to say that.. ‘Waiting’ can.. wait!” she added, entwining her fingers with his and leaning her head on his shoulder, noticing how the white T-shirt he wore with a pair of tear blue jeans not only sketched out his sculpted abs, but also set off his tan.
She stayed like that, her eyes half closed, wondering if she was dreaming.

“C’mon, pet, why don’t you tell me?” the blond guy exclaimed, breaking the silence as he caressed her face with the back of his hand.
“Tell you what?”
“How bloody stupid I am not to figure out immediately how special you are!”
“William, no one had ever told me a more beautiful thing! Anyway, I’d never tell you that you’re stupid.. only that it took some time for you to realize things!” she joked, hugging him.
“Well, now that I’ve realized that, I’ll have to make up for lost time..” he declared, giving her the umpteenth kiss.
“Have you thought about that? If Will and I had never published the ad, or if you had never read it.. what would have happened?”
“Probably we would have never cleared things up, and even if we met casually you would have kept living with your convictions, I would have kept living with mine.. bloody terrible! Don’t want to think about that!” he commented, wrapping his arm around her waist.
“Coming back to the present, don’t even dare to get busy tonight, because I want you only for me, and I won’t accept any excuses… got me?” he pretended to threaten her.
“I got you! What a pity.. the other twenty paramours of mine will get upset when I tell them that I can’t go out with them..” she joked, acting worried; just before claiming William’s lips once again.

And he was the first to stop again, enlightened by an idea.
“Follow me!” he suggested, almost dragging her by the hand.
“Don’t tell me we’re gonna resume playing..” she pleaded.
Although she loved her guitar, at the moment playing it was the last of her thoughts.
Instead of taking her to the playing room, William took her into his bedroom.
That alarmed the girl, but William immediately figured out that she might have misunderstood his intentions.
“Don’t worry, I’m not that kind of guy! It involves music, you’ll understand..” he calmed her down, as he impatiently looked for one of his countless CD that were scattered everywhere.
Sure, William wasn’t what you call a tidy boy, but Buffy didn’t seem to care, as she observed him curiously, seated on a made too quickly bed.
In the meantime, he had inserted the CD in the record player, pushing a button to take off the singer’s voice and putting the song in stand by.
“You know, pet, I’m not as good as you are writing songs, but I can dedicate one to you..” he confessed, as he inserted the jag of the microphone, ready to perform.
“Besides, drums aren’t the most suitable instrument to sing along with.. so, I need this.. I hope you’ll like it!” he explained, pushing the ‘play’ button, and she immediately recognized the song he was about to dedicate to her.
A song she was crazy for; ‘Wasting Time’ by blink-182, her favourite.
And he knew it because she had confessed it to him that morning on the train.
Buffy adored William’s smooth voice. She had been listening to it all afternoon, maybe it was a little bit croaky due to the tons of cigarettes he smoked; but that didn’t meant it wasn’t fascinating.. quite the contrary!
William was careful not to play the part.. without much poetry, as she was bewitched by the words:


I’M WASTING TIME THINKING ABOUT A GIRL
STEALING HER AWAY FROM HER WORLD
SHE AND I WOULD RUN AWAY
I THINK OF THE THINGS I’D SAY
WE’D TALK ABOUT IMPORTANT THINGS
AND I PICTURE IT IN MY DREAMS
[….]

AND MAYBE I COULD IMPRESS HER
BY BEING IN A BAND
MAYBE IF I ACT REAL THOUGH
SHE’LL LET ME HOLD HER HAND
MAYBE I COULD WIN HER HEART
BY WRITING THIS SONG ABOUT HER

SOMETIMES I SIT AT HOME
WONDERING IF SHE’S
SITTING AT HOME
THINKING OF ME
AND WONDERING IF I’M
SITTING AT HOME
THINKING ABOUT HER
OR AM I JUST WASTING MY TIME?

William stopped the song, mostly because the second verse was anything but romantic!
He looked at her, smiling, and she smiled back, ecstatic.
No words were necessary to express the joy and the surprise William’s gift had given her.
“Wow!” was all Buffy managed to say as she sat close to him, linking her hand with his.
“You don’t talk much, eh? I’ll take that as ‘Excellent, wonderful, fantastic, you’re amazing!’” he joked and then he kissed her forehead.
“I’m sorry to say this, but it’s late, I really have to go. See ya later, at the Square, ok? Poor me, how will I resist this two or three hours without seeing you?” she said, pretending to be desperate.
“It will be bloody hard, but I’m sure you’ll manage!” he smiled, helping her to put her stuff in the car.
“Bye, and don’t kill the car, Slayer!” he made fun of her, raising her chin with a finger.
“I’ll just hope I’ll arrive home with the car intact! Gee, Spike, between kisses and that song.. you really stunned me!” she smiled, kissing him goodbye, before getting in the car.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buffy ran up the stairs unconsciously humming the song William had dedicated to her, arousing Joyce’s curiosity.
And she had also noticed her daughter’s dreamy eyes.
Heading towards her room as a fury, determined to throw on her bed all her wardrobe searching for something nice to wear for the more than special occasion, Buffy realized she had forgotten her mobile on the desk.
“I’m so distracted. That’s why I haven’t heard a ring all the day long!” she thought out loud, switching it on.
After a few seconds the typical sound warned about the arrival of a message, and then of another one.
On the display there were two senders, the first was William, and the second was the service with the list of the numbers that had called her while her cell was off.
Obviously, it was the first virtual envelope the one she opened first, pleased and touched by the William’s words.

‘Is it my impression, or since you left the minutes last hours? Lucky for me, there are only 131 minutes for us to meet, now 130.. Can’t you see how much I miss you? A kiss, Spike.’

“Oh, he’s so sweet! But I’ll answer later, I don’t want to sound banal..” she decided, confining herself just to make a ring to him to let him know that she had read it.
She liked his nickname, his friends must be geniuses, Spike fitted him to a T.
She opened the other message, where both Willow’s cell and home numbers reminded her of the fact that that she hadn’t called her all the day long.
A second later she had already dialed the number of her home with her cordless, eager to tell her the big news.
“Hey Will wassup? Yeah, I know that it’s not nice to disappear the way I did for the whole day, but you can’t even begin to imagine what happened..”
“I’ve been trying to find you so I could tell you what happened to me, well, to all the band…”

So, Willow told her friend in the slightest detail how finally someone had contacted her for the bassist ad, and how she had found out that this guy attended not only her same university, but also her same faculty, even if he had failed to complete his courses within the prescribed time.. but close to the degree, and that knowing she was there too, he had preferred not to show up that morning, but to go directly to her house to see the band performing and then to decide what to do, just as William had done.

TBC

I hope you’ll like it
And from now on.. there will be hyper sugared spuffyness!! But it won’t stay like that ‘till the end.. ih hih ih I’ve warned you!! >:-D

Hi , sorry again for this huge late!

Chapter 7

Buffy was excited by the news, but as she stared at her watch, she realized with growing terror that listening to Willow’s tale had taken her a lot of time, and she couldn’t stay any longer.
“So, as we said, you will let William know, right?” Willow asked.
“Sure, no problem, I’ll warn my *boyfriend *!” Buffy answered, lingering to the last word, determined not to stop their conversation without hinting something to her friend.
“What? What? WHAT? Have I heard right? C’mon, spit out!” Willow incited her, visibly happy for her.
“I’d do that more than willingly, but now I gotta go..”
“What? You can’t keep me on the tenterhooks like that after what you told me! What have you got instead of a heart? A stone?”
“Right now, I have a clock that tells me that if I don’t hurry up I’ll be late for my date with Spike…”
“Who?!”
“Sorry, I meant William. It’s just that his friends call him that; it’s cute, isn’t it?”
“There is not a single thing about him you don’t find ‘cute‘!” Willow commented, and even if she couldn’t see her, Buffy knew that she was rolling her eyes in resignation.

“Anyway, wow, so you two are already at ‘date phase’ ?” Willow resumed talking.
“Yeah, and hey, look at the positive side, if you wait ‘til tomorrow you’ll have a richer report..” she tried to persuade her.
“Ok, you won, but tomorrow I wanna know * everything *, got me? Good evening.. and try to breathe sometimes!” she mocked her.
“Ha, ha, very funny, Will! Anyway, you are a friend, thank you! See you tomorrow!” she greeted her, hooking the phone.

---------------------------------------------------------
There were ten minutes left for 9:30 p.m., the time of her first official date, when Buffy arrived at the square; she was surprised and also flattered due to the fact that William, maybe as eager to see her as well, was already there, waiting for her.
“Hi, baby, you look amazing!” he greeted her, approaching without wasting time to give her a very passionate kiss.
“Mm.. you don’t look bad yourself!” she answered, without breaking the contact.
They realized that all the people around them were watching them curious and visibly envious of their passion, and they figured out that the square wasn’t the most suitable place for certain displays.

William lead her to his car, a black Desoto.
When she saw it she burst out laughing.
“Ha, ha, funny, good joke! Now, show me the real car; you told me you like period cars, but this one dates back to postwar period!” she made fun of him.
“Hey, no one can insult my Desy, I’m very fond of her, and I wouldn’t separate from her for anything! Apologize immediately with her!” he summoned her, pointing at the vehicle.
“You are kidding?” she said, but his tone made her think about anything but a joke.
“Ok.. I’m sorry.. Desy..” and she made a huge effort not to laugh again.
“.. you are a very nice car, really!” she went on, wondering who was the craziest one; William for ordering her to ‘apologize’ to his car, or she for obeying him!
“That’s better!” he smiled, opening the car door for her, and then he put himself behind the wheel.


William drove perfectly, without ever taking his eyes off the road, although sometimes he allowed himself to look at his girlfriend, smiling.
After a while they arrived, although she wouldn’t mind if the journey had lasted longer.
William had decided to take her to a place, and, no matter how long she had been in Sunnydale, Buffy not only had never been there, but she even ignored its existence.
It was called the ‘Bronze’, and it was a kind of disco-pub with two levels.
It was crowded by people seeming to have a lot of fun.
On the stage there was a band playing.
“Spike, it’s wonderful!”
“I knew you would like it! You know, I come here very often, but with you tonight is as I came in for the first time!” he smiled, hugging her.

They sat at a table and started talking about everything.
Sometimes, Buffy stopped to enjoy some songs she was able to recognize by the first notes.
Her enthusiasm was contagious.
“Do you imagine us becoming famous, with our songs on the radio? Or maybe, making a video?” William dreamed about, holding her hand.
“Well, why not? After all, I managed to have a date with you, we are together, so I guess there’s nothing I can’t do if I wanted!” she answered.
“Bloody Hell! Am I really so unreachable?” he exclaimed, coming closer to her.
“Not anymore!” she laughed, sealing her lips with his.
The night passed quickly and as a real gentleman, William drove her home.

“Bye Spike!” she said, getting closer to him.
“Oh, I almost forgot, you have finished being the lucky one among women! Willow has found a bassist, there’s no need to say that it’s a * male* bassist, because if it was a girl I wouldn’t want her in our band!” she made things clear.
“Hey, Slayer, are you jealous?” he teased her, kissing her again.
As soon as the girl take her breath, she answered.
“Mm.. maybe! Anyway, she wants us to go her house on Saturday, so she’ll introduce him to us!”
“Then again, I could be the one not wanting him in the band!” he said pretending to pout.
“You have nothing to worry about, my big jealous boy!” she made fun of him, ruffling his hair playfully, before kissing him goodbye.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
The morning after, taking advantage of the fact that neither she nor Willow had classes, Buffy went to her friend’s house, as promised.

“.. and that’s all!” she ended her detailed tale, her eyes sparkling just at the memory.
“Gee! And you say ‘that’s all.’? It seems like a fairytale romance, something that happens only in the movies, but I’m really happy for you, you deserve it. I know how much you cared and care about him!”
“Yeah, thanks, you’re so kind. It’s that I’d like you to find your soul mate, too!”
“You are kidding? You know how much more difficult I am in my taste for guys!” Willow complained.
“Never as much as me!” and they both laughed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
It was the fateful Saturday.
The two girls were outside on the porch, as William was patiently putting together the parts of his drums in Willow’s living room.
Everything was fixed, everyone had tried their best to look as professional as they could with the new potential member of the band that would arrive soon.
Buffy couldn’t help noticing how her friend kept rolling one of her red locks between two fingers.
“Am I wrong or you’re a little bit nervous?”
Willow startled, tugging her hair harder.
“Ouch! No, well.. yes.. just a little bit. I guess it’s pretty normal.. aren’t you nervous?” she tried to justify, as she couldn’t stop watching every car passing in the nearby.
“Well, not so much. Anyway, I guess there’s more.. tell me the truth.. are you nursing any hopes?” Buffy teased her.
“My dear, you’re wrong. I’m sure that he’ll be very ugly, that’s why he didn’t want to meet me at the University; I just hope he’ll be a good player. Maybe he is very good, but then he’ll change his mind and he won’t want to play with us anymore; or we’ll made a very good impression to him, but * we* won’t want him because he’s a duffer!” the redhead replied, without taking her eyes off the road.
“Oh, Will, if pessimism was made of money you would be a millionaire!” Buffy made fun of her.

Willow’s silence puzzled her.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Don’t tell me you are angry!” Buffy wondered observing her, and finally realized that her friend was distracted by something she had seen.
And that something was nothing but a boy with large shoulders and black hair with too much hair gel, driving a red Cadillac.
“Earth to Willow, hello, hello?” Buffy tried to take her mind off, waving a hand in front of her.
“Oh, oh, boy! I have just seen the eight wonder in the world! I might have taken too much sun.. and now I have visions..” Willow thought out loud, recovering from the shock.
“Visions or not, your eight wonder has just got off the car and he’s heading here, so either you have a new neighbor and you didn’t know, or that quite attractive dude is our soon-to-be bassist!” her friend informed her, approaching the gate.

TBC

So, have you already figured out who is this guy? I guess so… ;)

Sorry for this huge late!!
Eh, eh !So, no one guessed who it was.. uhmm .. it’s odd, I was sure it was pretty clear! ;)
Whatever, let’s go:

Chapter 8

“Gee, it can’t be! I should have known and dress myself better, arrange my hair better… I’ll tell you what, I could have had plastic surgery on my face, too!” Willow stated, getting agitated.
“Shut up, you’re a sex bomb, my hot redheaded friend!” Buffy reassured her, dragging her to the gate.

“Hi, girls, I’m not late, am I?” the brunette greeted them.
“A world of no, you’re perfectly on time!” Willow smiled to him, opening the gate.
“Fine. I had some trouble finding the address, it’s been a while since I went anywhere around here..”
“Let me remind you that you insisted on meeting us here; considering that you don’t even live nearby, it was kind of a given, wasn’t it?”
“Did you thought that I would commute between Los Angeles and Sunnydale everyday? I have a flat nearby, of course!” he explained, smiling.

< How did that stupid question come out from my mouth? Of course he has a flat.. yeah.. but since he got off that car… I don’t even know what ‘ Of course ‘means anymore.> Willow cursed herself, hiding everything with a smile.

“Well, I usually go back to my hometown on weekends, but I like this town, too, Willow!”
“How do you know my name? I mean, sure, you know because you read it on the ads, but how do you know that I’m Willow, and not my friend?” she wondered curiously, as her dark green eyes were magnetized to the dark brown deep eyes of the boy.
“You know, believe me or not, I know you by sight; I always see you go around on the corridors, but you have never noticed me.. engrossed as you are reading a book or chatting with your friends!” he pretended to blame her, smiling, as she cursed herself twice for not ever taking a look around.

< How could I miss such a hottie?>

“Am I wrong, or someone just arrived?” William popped up, hearing a male voice that wasn’t his, hugging Buffy from behind kinda possessively to send a clear message to the newly arrived man.
But the brunette had barely noticed Buffy, busy as he was talking with Willow.
The other member of the band’s arrival took him down to earth.
“You must be the drummer..”
“Yeah, and I also have a name!” the other struck back, a little bit rudely.
“William Leather, buddy!” he introduced himself with an energetic hand shaking
“Angel DeSoul!”

< Angel, that’s his name! I’m such an idiot, that was the first thing I should have asked him. I hope he won’t get upset for that!> Willow cursed herself for the third time, repeating his name into her mind… she didn’t know why, but in that moment Angel seemed the most beautiful name in the world to her!

“So, you must be Buffy..” he went on, looking at the blonde.
“Right, Mr. Perspicacity!” Buffy made fun of him, and then she shook his hand.
“Buffy Summers, nice to meet you!”
“And we two already know..” he trailed as he smiled at Willow who smiled back, although she didn’t manage to hold his gaze for more than two seconds.
“Fine, presentations are done, let’s go practice; Will, bring our guest to the living room, so we can start the mini-concert!” Buffy suggested, eager to start.

Willow followed her advice and they all were ready to show Angel their worth.
Too bad that the lead singer was afraid to lose her voice, or worse.. miss a note.
After all, she had never performed for such a special someone. Suddenly she understood Buffy’s anxiety before meeting and playing for her William. She almost envied the calm that seemed to characterize her friend in that moment.
And it was right, Buffy had already passed the most important exam in her life, now it was Willow’s turn.
After a shaky beginning, she performed the repertory as good as she could, although every time she met Angel’s look, she was sure she would lose her voice.

The few songs that the three had chosen followed one another with a frantic rhythm and the show ended.
“If to be part of your band there’s a contract or something, just give me a pen and tell me where I gotta sign!” Angel exclaimed, clapping his hands.
“Well, it’s simpler than you think, just say yes.. and welcome, buddy!” William informed him.
“So, in that case.. hell yeah, I say yes!”
Without the two guys noticing, Willow asked her friend to pinch her, because she couldn’t believe that what was happening wasn’t a dream.
“Believe it, Will, everything is real!” Buffy reassured her, as she put her guitar in the guitar case.

Taking advantage of one of Willow’s moments of distraction, Buffy parted with William to the other room.
“Honey, someone’s got a scary crush!”
“Here it is, I knew it! You already wanna leave me for that.. that..” a very jealous William snapped, but she cut him before he could end up his sentence.
“Silly, silly boy, you haven’t understood. I’m not talking about me. There’s just and only you for me, I thought that was clear to you! It’s Will that only has eyes for him, and something tells me that they are meant to be together..” Buffy explained.
“Truth is that.. someone should investigate him a little bit, you know.. to find out if he isn’t already engaged, or what his tastes for girls are..”
“Sure, but .. hey! Why are you looking at me? Bloody hell, forget it, Slayer, I’m not bloody gonna stalk him!” William grumbled.
“I didn’t ask you to do that! Just find a way to chat with him in private. You guys work like this, you talk about motors or about women, or am I wrong?”
“Enough! I’m feeling deeply insulted for all the male kind!” William replied, crossing his arms and acting insulted.
“Insulted or not.. will you do that, Spikey?” she begged him, making puppy eyes, massaging his shoulders, giving little kisses all over his neck and going up to his chin.
“Mm.. well, if you ask me like that.. you know I can’t say no to you..” he murmured.
“I’ll find a way, pet!” he promised, kissing her.

When they came back in the living room, they found Willow busy tidying the room with Angel that had gently offered to help her.
They both halted when they saw the two blondes.
It was almost time to say goodbye, but looking absently out of the window, William found the occasion he was looking for.
“Bloody hell! Don’t tell me that the wonder parked outside is yours?” he exclaimed, turning to Angel.
“You guessed right. Do you like it?”
“If I like it? I’ve always dreamt about having one!”
“Hey, that’s great! If you want, I can lend it to you for a ride!” the brunette suggested, throwing the car keys at him.
“You’d better come with me, so you can explain the gears and such; after all, we’re done here ..” he said, dragging him to the exit.
“Well, bye, see you next time. Thank you for the hospitality! As soon as I come home I’ll train hard, I won’t let you down!” Angel assured, managing to throw a last look at Willow.

No one noticed the understanding gaze William and Buffy exchanged.

TBC

Hope you’ll like it

I edit it because my wonderful beta is back eh eh..


Chapter 9

“Here we go, jewel!” William exclaimed, turning the key, after setting the rear view mirrors and locking the safety belt.
With great ability he managed to extricate from the parking area and go to the principal road.
“And you said this is the first time you drive this car. It seems that you haven’t done anything else in your whole life!” Angel congratulated with him, losing the anxiety that had overwhelmed him by the thought of lending his beloved car to a perfect stranger.
After a general speech about their experiences on four wheels, William decided it was time to hit the mark.
“I’m curious to see how you’ll perform. Anyway, the meeting point is still there. As you could see, I left my drums, mostly because taking them back and forth to Willow’s and assemble them, would be a bloody sweat!”
“I guess so, you did the right thing. By the way, you’re a great drummer, really! But I’m kinda good too, with my bass, and I’ll prove you all that!” Angel assured, almost bragging.

William rolled his eyes, that way he risked not to conclude anything.
“I’m happy you enjoyed our show. Have you seen how good my Buffy is with the guitar?” William resumed talking, as the car ran on the road and the wind ruffled his hair.
“Yeah, she is really good, although the one I liked the most is Willow, she has such an incredible voice, she’s born to sing..”

< Ha, ha, I hit your ship, buddy!> William thought, ready to ‘attack’ again.

“Sure, and you haven’t take your eyes off her even for a moment.. just to see how beautiful * her voice * is!” the blond commented sarcastically.
Angel’s unintelligible stuttering corroborated his theory.

< Your ship is hit and sunk!> William smiled, enjoying his victory.

“I had the feeling that you liked her, you know, it was pretty clear!” William made him notice, without taking his eyes off the road.
“ Oh, no. Did she notice that, too? Damn me!” Angel cursed himself.
“I really don’t understand you, you know? You fancy her, and you don’t want her to know? Why don’t you ask her out?” the other guy suggested as he parked the car near the square.
“Are you kidding? C’mon, why should a girl like her even waste her time with a guy like me? And don’t dare tell her something!” the brunette threatened him.
“Calm down, I swear I won’t tell a thing to Willow..” William assured, turning the car off and getting off.
“Well, I guess that’s enough, I’ll walk home, there’s no problem. Thanks again, and don’t worry, I’ll be as silent as a grave..”

he thought, waving him.

< I wish!> Angel thought, putting himself behind the steering wheel.

Something told him that he shouldn’t have trusted William.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That evening, Buffy had a date with her boyfriend, and as she sipped a coke at the table of what had become their local par excellence he spitted out everything to her.
“Honey, you’re great! I’ve got a detective as boyfriend!” she exclaimed, hugging him.
“Wanna know the best part? I don’t even like Cadillac, I was just improvising a little bit..” he revealed, kissing her forehead.
“So, I’m dating a phenomenal actor; what is Hollywood waiting for?”
“I wonder the same thing. Well, as I wait for the nomination, why don’t you give me something that for me it’s more important than any award?” William whispered in her ear, giving her a hot kiss.

< So, detective, actor.. and now I’ve found out he’s a great poet, too. I’m such a lucky girl!> she thought, kissing him.

“After all, I should have known better that it was just a ploy.. you’d never betray your Desy..” she made fun of him, playing with his hair.
“Anyway, I knew there was something between them, but as shy as they are they won’t ever talk to each other. Maybe, they would if they were stuck together into an elevator, or.. “ Buffy commented, and then she became thoughtful.
An idea was forming in her mind.
“Or what? Am I wrong or my Slayer is plotting something?” he asked.
By then he was getting to know her very well.
“Maybe.. For now, we’ll just leave things as they are, mostly because we still have to perform together, just for once at least, but after that.. maybe I’ll get them to declare each other ..” the girl answered mysteriously.
“Bugger this! I give up understanding you! Well, now we’d better go, it’s late, and tomorrow I must get up bloody early.. sodding meeting with teacher at bloody 9:00 a.m.!” William grumbled, getting up to pay the bill, as she headed towards the exit.
“By the way, what’s your thesis about?” Buffy asked as William and she were heading to the Desoto.
“It’s about Vampirism in Literature; don’t ask me why, I know it’s kinda odd.. Maybe the graveyard next to my house inspired me..” William explained as they got inside.
“Anyway, I’ll sleep for you, too! Tomorrow, I have no classes until the afternoon!” she put the boo in.

After a few minutes they arrived to Revello Drive.
“Poor Spikey.. maybe I’ll be good and get up very early, too..” she went on, kissing him goodnight before getting off.
“Naaah, on second thought, I guess I’ll lay in bed ‘til 11:00 a.m. at least!” she had fun jeering at him, sticking out her tongue to him, playfully.
“You’re terrible, but I love you too bloody much so I can’t hate you!” he answered with a smile, before setting the car in motion and disappearing into the darkness.

< Oh, my god! Ok, calm down, Buffy, it was just a funny remark.. and ok, maybe he had too many beers.. and he didn’t even noticed that he did.. BUT HE TOLD ME THAT HE LOVES ME!!> Buffy thought.

That sentence had shocked her and she spent at least ten minutes on a kind of paresis, standing at the front door, aware that there was a clear connection between the lock and the keys she held, but without remembering what this connection was.

TBC

This one should be fun.. at least I wish! ;)

Chapter 10

Days flew by and it was finally time to test Angel’s skills.
Willow paced around her house restlessly and after she had changed her clothes for the fourth time, Buffy had locked her room, hiding the key so she wouldn’t be able to change for a fifth.
William had fun strumming on Buffy’s guitar, being very careful not to untune it.
It wouldn’t be that bad.. if only he hadn’t turned the amplifier as high as possible!

Suddenly, despite the defeating din by the bleached blond, Willow managed to hear the ring of the bell and she dashed towards the door as a flash.
Buffy and William approached not to lose the whole scene.
“Hi, Angel! How was the trip?” she smiled at him, cursing herself when she remembered that he had a flat at Sunnydale.
“Well, I wouldn’t call it ‘a trip’ because it lasted about five minutes, but anyway, yes, I did, there was no traffic on my way over!” he smiled as she lead him to the front door.

“I can’t wait to hear you play, something tells me you won’t let us down!” she admitted enthusiastically.
“You know, I’ve been playing since I was thirteen years old, now I’m nearly twenty nine.. what do you think? Have I learned something?” he answered with false modesty.
They had got in the room, but neither of them seemed to notice the blond couple that manifested their presence immediately.
“Oh, what a nice scene, you’re just missing the heart-shaped background!” William commented, showing his great taste for sarcasm, as he sat at the drums.
“If you two are done losing into each other’s eyes, we are ready to start!” Buffy added, wearing the strap of her guitar.
Their witty remarks hit the mark, because both of the brunette and the redhead to blush instantly.
“No, guys, what do you think? I was just trying to be a hospitable person!” Willow justified, smiling sweetly to Angel, and then she turned to Buffy and William, throwing daggers at them with her eyes.
“By the way, you need a lesson or two about hospitality, you haven’t greeted him yet!” she added.
“Hi, Angel!” they exclaimed at unison as two little kids scolded by their teacher.
Angel limited to wave at them, amused by the situation.

“So, now, can we bloody start?” William snapped, he wasn’t famous due to his patience.
Angel got ready and stood near the lead singer, what a coincidence!
After a general moment of concentration, Buffy and Willow started in perfect synchrony the first song in their play list , ‘Valerie’, an odd choice for two reasons: first, if two girls sang a song like that it could be ambiguous, but they liked it too much; plus, they had changed the lyrics a little bit, making it a tale in third person; second, in the original version, Ghost of the Robot played that with two guitars, but it was good even using just one.
Angel immediately showed his talent and the cover came out perfectly.

After performing the first song without any mistakes, in the next song the brunette was so self confident that he played an improvised solo that left the girls speechless.
William noticed that, and not wanting to be less, since so far he had been the main attraction, in the middle of the third song he started doing the same with the drums, almost as a challenge.
And Angel picked up that challenge, striking back with his bass, and the two boys carried on that way with a more and more frantic rhythm, until they gave in exhausted.

“This song was supposed to last nothing more than three minutes, but your absurd yen for competition made it last over five minutes!” Willow made them notice.
“Anyway.. this solo thing seems to be fun.. maybe I’ll also try.. “ Buffy commented letting her fingers flow through the frets of her guitar, but before she could pinch the chords with her plectrum Willow stopped her.
“Please, Buffy, be good, at least you! Otherwise, guys, I’ll begin doing vocalizations and trills for ten minutes!” the redhead threatened.
“But we won’t do that, for two simple reasons: first, I’m not very good to improvise, it’s enough that I can pass from a chord to another one without any mistakes; and second..” the blonde said, looking at her friend with a conspiratorial look.
“.. because unlike you boys, we two don’t act as three years old kids!” Willow ended the sentence.
“Look, he was the one that started this!” William justified, pointing at Angel.
“But he copied me!” Angel struck back the same way.
“That’s the point, three years old kids!” Buffy exclaimed, rolling her eyes, as Willow and she wondered if the two guys were really twenty seven and twenty eight years old.
“Anyway, Angel, I guess you’re definitely in the band now! What if we tell you that you two are both equally good, can we go on?” Willow asked, the boys nodded and finally they resumed playing.
Between all the elements there was an amazing tuning, now they were a band!

William and Buffy had had fun watching the several looks Angel and Willow had exchanged when one of them was sure the other wasn’t looking.
No matter all the efforts the two blondes had done to leave them alone, every attempt had failed miserably, mostly because Angel and Willow didn’t feel really alone.
But at the moment to say bye, Willow took a deep breath and taking advantage of the fact that William and Buffy were outside putting their stuff in the car, she came closer to Angel before he left.
“Don’t tell William, otherwise he’ll kill me. And so will Buffy, but.. for me you’re the better player!” she admitted, ducking her head to avoid his gaze.

she added, but only into her mind.

“Thank you, Willow, you’re too kind.. so, it will be our little secret. I’ve already told you, but I’ll repeat it, you have an amazing voice.”

he thought with a half smile, before saying bye.

They both were plenty satisfied for achieving their little goals.
But that way they would never stir things up.
There was just one thing to do, and Buffy had already thought about that.
She couldn’t have carried out her plan immediately, mostly because if she had dared call off the first rehearsal together Willow would have never forgive her, no matter the reason why she had done that.
But they had played together once, and it was a success.
Now she was free to act.
And the proper chance came the weekend after.

It was her turn to drive, and, in time as always, Buffy parked in front of William’s house, as he, taking advantage of that beautiful sunny day, although fall would come soon, waited for her sat at the table outside in his garden.
“Hi, light of my eyes!” she greeted him, showing her romantic side.
“Hi, pet!” he answered, running into her and kissing her as they hadn’t seen for ages!
“Have you seen what a beautiful day? Tell me, Spikey, do you really want to be inside four grey sad walls and play?” Buffy asked, after taking her breath.
“Why? Have you got a better idea, Slayer?” he asked her curiously.

TBC

Hope you’ll like it

Hi again! Sorry for late!
Thank you so much, Beth!
And once again.. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!!! :)

Chapter 11

“Uhmm, you know, there’s that lovely place called ‘beach’.. are you interested?” Buffy suggested winkling.
“Well..” William murmured, with a hint of uncertainty.
“Ok.. I’ll try to make things clearer for you!” she exclaimed resolutely, taking his hands in hers, and putting them as they were two pan scales.
“So, do you want to stay home and play songs that we can play any other day, even when you know that Willow and Angel desperately need to be alone..” and saying that, she exerted a light pressure on his right palm, just as she had put a small weight on the pan scale.
“.. Or maybe, you’d prefer to enjoy a sunny afternoon with plenty of fun and relaxation just with me, completely alone, faraway from town. In such a beautiful day that we probably won’t see again before next spring..” she went on, approaching to his ear and nibbling his lobe.
“Oops, I forgot to tell you that I’m already wearing a flaming red * very scanty * bikini that tends to become a little bit * transparent* if it gets wet?” she whispered, he gasped at that and she already knew she had won.
In fact, after she finished telling him this, he didn’t need any pressure on the other hand because he spontaneously lowered his left hand in an excessive way compared to the right one.
And then, quick as a flash, he inserted a hand into Buffy’s neckline and peeped inside.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” she exclaimed, a little bit puzzled due to his impetuous reaction.
“I was just trying to find out if you were saying the truth, Sunshine!” he justified, raising his eyebrow with a sexy smile, two things that put together, added to the new pet-name he had just given her, were a huge shock for Buffy!
“Just give me the time to put on my swimming trucks and I’ll be right back!” he said, rushing into his house as Buffy waited beside the car, although a part of her wanted desperately to go with him and watch that show.
But she didn’t have to fight her animal instincts for long, because William came back almost immediately. They got inside the car and she speeded towards the beach.

After few minutes, they arrived to the junction they always crossed to go to Willow’s house.
“Listen, we can still change our minds. As you can see, I’ve brought the guitar with me. So, if I turn to the right, we’ll go practice our songs with Willow and Angel; if I turn to the left, we’ll go to the beach..” she made him notice, just before flicking the indicator.
“Oops, I’ve indicated I’m turning on the left. I’m such an absent-minded girl… Well, there’s no turning back anymore..” Buffy joked, pretending to be sorry.
“You’re incorrigible!” William smiled.
“Yeah, but I love you so much that you can’t hate me!” she surprised him, rearranging the same sentence he had used with her. But what really had astonished him was the easiness with which she had told him, because no matter how many times and in how many ways she had made him understand that she loved him, she hadn’t been able to tell him before.

After driving for about half an hour, they finally arrived to the beach, parked the car and after sending a SMS to Willow with the most believable excuse they could think of, they got off the car.

************************************************
“Seems no one deserves the Punctuality Award today!” Willow thought out loud sarcastically, looking at her watch as she made sure that the house was tidy and clean.
It was twenty minutes past 3:00 pm and no one was there yet.
Finally she heard a car parking in the driveway, she went to the window to see who it was and anxiously realized that it was a red Cadillac.
She would have been more at her ease if William and Buffy had arrived before Angel, but she would have to try to overcome her shyness.
“Hi, Angel!” she greeted him with unusual casualness, going towards him to open the gate.
“Hi, Willow, sorry for being late, but you have no idea how bad was the traffic today!” the boy justified, smiling at her.
“No problem. Plus, I’m not really in position to throw stones, I swear I must be the most latecomer girl in the world!” Willow confessed, knowing it wasn’t true, she was more punctual than a Switzer watch but she decided that a little white lie wasn’t so bad if it could make him feel better.
“And I’m the most latecomer guy and I swear I don’t do it purposely. But look at the positive side, if we two had a date we wouldn’t have trouble about the time..” the boy joked, sure that she would become defensive and change topics as quickly as she could.
Instead, Willow only nodded, smiling at him.

Angel meditated.

Willow meditated.

Angel had connected the jag to the amplifier and then began doing the sound check, when the typical ring warned Willow about the arrival of a SMS to her mobile and that took their mind off the track they had been taking.
“Oh, no!” Willow exclaimed after reading.
“Wassup? Bad news?” Angel asked, a little bit worried.
“Horrible news, listen..” the girl informed him, reading it out loud.
“’Hi, Will, it’s Buffy. William and I got a flat tire while we were coming to your house. We had to stop at half way, since I didn’t have a spare. I’m afraid we won’t be able to meet you today. We are very sorry, hope you’ll understand. Bye.’” she ended.
“Damn, that is so bad!” the boy exclaimed, taking the jag off.
“There’s no sense in practicing, if it’s just you singing along with me playing the bass..” he explained, pulling the bass into his case.
“Right..” the redhead commented upset, although it made her feel better to see a bit of sadness in the brunette’s look, too.
She couldn’t let him go, she had to make up something... and fast!

*********************************************
William and Buffy had chosen the most isolated area in the beach.
They took off their shoes and decided to take a walk on the shore mixing it with hot kisses, as the foam of the ocean lipped against their ankles, soaking the edge of William’s jeans slightly.
Buffy didn’t have that problem, because she was wearing a miniskirt.
“Bloody hell!” the peroxide blond cursed when a bigger wave soaked him up to his knees.
“Someone chose the wrong outfit..” she singsong.
“You’re right, I should had wore one of your skirts, but then I’d needed a tank top to match it with... and don’t forget that you would have had to lend me the right shade of lipstick, too..” he joked, speaking with a high pitched voice.
“Silly!” she laughed, punching his shoulder playfully.
“Why don’t you simply take off your pants?”
“Uh-Uh, you sure are bold, pet!” he chuckled, making her blush.
“Nooo, don’t misunderstand! You know what I meant, wet jeans; take off jeans; stay in boxers. It seems a pretty clear concept to me!” she defended.
“What if at the last moment I had decided not to wear anything under my jeans? You know, that way there’s more freedom...” he teased her slyly, but she grabbed him by the waist of his pants, and began undoing the belt.
“Than let’s see if my boyfriend... is an exhibitionist!” she said, lowering the zipper and pulling down his jeans.
“Well, it seems you are not!” she declared, finding out that he wore a pair of dark blue boxers, kinda large (maybe not to ‘betray’ himself!) that seemed to have as goal to enhance his eyes.

William looked at her puzzled.
“I was just trying to find out if you were saying the truth, Sunshine!” she quoted his previous words purposely, trying to mock his accent.

TBC

And things between our dear blondies might get hotter.. but just a little bit.. ;)

Thank you so much blondiebear, alright ! I have a new reader!! ;)

Chapter 12 ( slightly NC 17)

******************************************************

“I’m sorry for making you come here for nothing. But, well, even if we won’t be practicing, you could stay if you want to. We could watch a movie. What do you think? I rented a movie and I was saving it for tonight, but nothing and no one prevents us from watching it now!” Willow suggested.
“I very willingly accept! Honestly, I don’t feel like going back home so early, and I’ve never liked sunny days that much... plus, I never say no to watching a good movie!” he said enthused, sitting on the sofa. And once she had inserted the videotape into the video recorder and pressed ‘play’, Willow sat beside him.
It was a horror movie, Willow’s favorite kind of movies.
There were werewolves, witches, and vampires in it.
She was used to see those scary scenes without being shocked at all, but Willow had chosen to play the part of the frightened girl, and that had allowed her to get closer to the boy as the first suspense scene played.
Angel wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and then he had lowered the hand until he wrapped it around her waist, to pull her closer to him.
Behind the tender contact and stolen glances laid all the words that they were dying to say to the other, but couldn’t because they were afraid of being rejected.

*******************************************************
William and Buffy sunbathed lazily over the sand.
The girl had decided to show off her red bikini and the boy couldn’t wait to test if it turned see-through when it was wet.
In fact, after acting like two lizards for almost one hour, he suggested her a cool bath and she accepted gladly.
They swam for a while, and then William pulled her until they were behind a reef, sure that no one would see them there.
The water level allowed him to touch the seafloor with his feet, but she couldn’t do the same, so she floated, hugged to him.
He began kissing her tenderly, skimming her lips with his. Then he wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer to him and deepened their kiss, and she returned it with all the passion she could muster.
Soon, one of his hands left her hips, undoing the laces of her bikini from around her neck. He kissed her shoulder and kept going down to her breasts, he kissed every inch of her salty skin, and he had fun as he teased one of her already hard nipples with his tongue.
He smiled at her reaction, repeating the same ministrations with the other breast.
After that, he tied on the upper part of her bikini again. Buffy cupped his face with her hands and kissed him for a long time, and then she went up, behind his ear, a very sensible part of him.
Buffy descended kissing down his chest, trying to follow the same path he had with similar success, because now it was William the one moaning.
“Oh, Buuuuffffyyyy..”


When she felt him caressing her sensually over her slip, and then skimming one hand under the lace, the girl became rigid, mostly because she felt against her a... more rigid thing.
“Oh, god, Will... li... am… what are you dooooing?” she asked breathlessly, too shocked by her emotions as she felt his hardness closer and closer, although they both still wore their swimsuits.
He raised her chin with a finger and gave her a sweet but impetuous kiss.
“Wassup (kiss), pet (kiss)? Haven’t you ever (kiss) tried to do it into the water (kiss)?” he whispered between kisses, pulling her closer to him.
She stopped kissing him, but remained in his arms anyway.
“Actually, I’ve *never done it *, that’s the point!” she admitted, avoiding his gaze and blushing embarrassed, sure that he would laugh at her inexperience although she was twenty-one years old.
But he didn’t react how she had feared.
He gently kissed her forehead.
“Does that mean that... I would be the first??” he wondered with a very sweet smile.
“Yeah. Pathetic, aren’t I?” she denigrated herself.
“Don’t say that, not even joking, Sunshine. That does nothing but make you more lovely and special. I want our first time to be wonderful, I swear I won’t force you and I ‘ll wait for you to be ready...”
“But… I’m... ready...” she stuttered with uncertainty tainting her voice, and William noticed it.
“No, Buffy. I feel you are not ready. You are just saying that to please me, and I thank you for that, but I know you don’t want to, not this way and not now. Don’t worry, I respect you and you’ve already given me so much already, baby!” he reassured her, coming off the water and running towards the nearest shower, turning the water trap to icy water, to help him calm down his excited temper, as she thanked Heaven for giving her such a treasure of boyfriend, he was the real rare pearl.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That evening Buffy was in her room holding her cordless as she dialed Willow’s number, but she stopped before dialing the last one.
On one hand she was dying to know if something important had happened between Angel and her, but on the other she feared she’d get a negative answer.
What if her idea was useless? And If it did nothing but making things worse, putting her friend in an embarrassing situation, would Willow forgive her then?
Anyway, her sixth sense had never failed her so far; she just hoped this wasn’t the first time it did.
The sudden ringing of the phone took her mind off her paranoia.

“Hello?” she answered waggling, sure of whom it was.
And as always, she was right.
“Hi, Buffy! So, did you get your car fixed? You didn’t call me back, so I was worried. That is not the way to treat a friend!” Willow accused her slightly.
At the beginning, Buffy hadn’t understood what Willow was talking about, but then she remembered the excuse William and she had invented.
“Uh! Yes, you’re right, Will, but you know... with everything that happened, I forgot to call you when we came back. Sorry again, but anyway, now it’s all ok!” the girl confessed, beginning to think that things maybe hadn’t gone as she had planned.
“Ok, it’s ok, I forgive you. Mostly, because today I’m so happy that nothing can make me lose my good mood!” Willow admitted.
Her friend’s words filled Buffy with hope.
“Uh-Uh. What happened that’s so special?” she asked, eager to know.
“Well, let’s say that maybe it’s my lucky star that made you have trouble with the car. You know, I was alone with Angel, and...”
“And?” Buffy wondered curiously.
“... he was about to leave, but I suggested that we could watch a movie together...”
“Yeah...”
“... he accepted, so we sat on the sofa...”
“Go on...”
“There was a moment of suspense... so I decided to play the scared girl and I hugged him!”
“Well done, my genius friend!”
“Yeah, and you know, he didn’t seem bothered. And then, suddenly he pulled me to him and let one hand slip...”
“ Where, where?” the blonde incited her, dying to know the answer.
“... onto my hips, wrapping my waist with his arm. We stayed like that for the rest of the movie. After that, we talked about the movie a little bit. And then it was late, so he had to head back to his home...” Willow commented with a touch of regret.
“That’s all?” Buffy’s snapped, feeling a little disappointed.

TBC
Hope you’ll like it

Thank you so, so very much!
This chapter should be fun... at least I hope it is...


Chapter 13

“It was such a perfect plan..” Buffy muttered, but her friend heard her.
“What did you just said?”
“Who? Me? Nothing..”
“Oh no, Buffy, please tell me that you really had trouble with your car!” she summoned her, starting to suspect something.
“You see..”
“Buffy.. or should I call you * Slayer *?” the redhead exclaimed with an accusing tone.
“Ok, there wasn’t any trouble with the car, William and I decided to leave you alone on purpose. In fact, we...”
And Buffy confessed everything about the plan to her friend.
“He and you... WHAAAT?! Can’t you see what you two did? I was about to have a heart attack while you two were having fun at my expense!” she snapped.
“Well, no, but c’mon, you know it was not so bad! Anyway, before you go grabbing the sharpest knife you have and rushing to my house to slit my throat ... look, you have to accept that this plan has borne some fruits! Angel showed a certain interest in you... so, it was worth the risk, didn’t it?” Buffy made her notice.
“Uff. Ok, you win! My thankfulness is stronger than my desire to kill you!” Willow conceded as she laughed.
“You know, after all we spent such a nice afternoon... Who knows? Maybe in some time…” the redhead trailed hopefully.

< And with another little push in the right direction from a certain someone and me...> the blonde thought with an evil smile.

“Whatever, but don’t you dare ditch another day of practice, you naughty guys! So, did you have fun?”
“Willow, you know what? I’ll be at your house in twenty minutes, so we can talk in person. I have a lots of things to tell you and I don’t want you to receive a scary phone bill over this but mostly because… I don’t want my mom to hear us talking,”” she explained lowering her voice.
“Ok, Buffy. No, wait, I’ve got a problem, my house is all messy because my parents are packing their stuff. They’re leaving early tomorrow for New York and they’ll be staying there for a while... so, we can’t have the privacy that we need here at this moment. I have an idea though, why don’t we meet at our favorite place?”
“Ok- then, I’ll see you at the ‘Magic Box’ in about half an hour!” the blonde hung up the phone.

------------------------------------------------------
Three quarters of an hour later, the two friends sat at their table in the ‘Magic Box’, the biggest Pizzeria-Ice cream Parlor-Sandwich Bar in town and also their favorite meeting place.
“Let me see if I got it straight... it’s Saturday night, and you’re not spending it with William?!” Willow mocked Buffy as she took a sip from her chocolate milkshake.
“He’s hanging out with his friends, and it’s only fair, we spent the whole afternoon together... we can’t be joined by the hip all the time, you know?” she explained, taking a spoonful of her huge ice cream with cream and strawberry.
“And... that doesn’t annoy you a little bit at least?” her friend teased her, because she knew how jealous Buffy could be.
“Grrr! Don’t even make me think about it! You know, at the beginning I was half tempted to go out and slay all the female population in Sunnydale and its vicinities, just to prevent him from glancing at another girl... but then, after thinking it over, I decided to trust him, after all he says he loves me and has shown me he indeed does. I’ve nothing to fear. Besides, he said he wants to introduce me to his friends and I can’t wait to meet them!”
“Well, this is becoming quite serious!” the redhead exulted.
“Now, tell me in detail all that happened this afternoon!” she summoned her.
“I’ve already told you we went to the beach. We start a nice walk along the seashore hand in hand. You know, the usual stuff, but then...”

------------------------------------
“I can’t believe it! He really did those things to you while you were in the water?” Buffy nodded. “Oh, my God, if Angel did that to me... I swear I would lose control and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to stop like you did...” Willow chuckled excitedly at the thought.
“You know, a part of me wanted to let go, but he realized that the other part wasn’t ready yet... and he respected me. It’s true... I want it to be special with him, I want to give him my whole self without reservations and just following my instincts... that definitely don’t go in the same direction my brain goes!” Buffy explained, laughing at the last part.
“It’s just that that wasn’t the right moment, and when the time comes, I’m sure I’ll know that’s it!”
“Well, in the meantime you could keep him busy with some… diverging...” Willow suggested mysteriously, because she knew a lot more about that stuff than her friend..
“Do you remember what happened with Parker? I just thank my lucky star for not having sex with him, mostly because later I found out what an idiot he was!” the red head asked.
“How could I forget? The depraved scum made advances on half the girls on Campus... and thank God, I was on the other half!” Buffy commented sarcastically.
“Yeah. Lucky for me I realized in time the mistake I was about to make. The point is... well, you know... he taught me something...”
So, Willow told her everything that Parker had taught her, and Buffy almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
But she was sure she would be making her William very happy as soon as she had the chance.
-------------------------------------------------------
Buffy searched a certain number in the names of her mobile, she pushed the ‘ok’ button, confirmed the option ‘call’ and waited for the phone as the phone rang about ten times.
Finally, someone picked up her call.
“Hal… lo?” William slurred.
Probably he had just woken up… that is if he even had his eyes opened.
He didn’t even care who had called him, his only goal… was to localize the source of the hellish sound to make it end, as he cursed himself due to two simple reasons: his consolidated habit to keep his mobile on 24/7, but mostly for his choice of the polyphonic ring-tones, because to be awaken by ‘From the inside’ by Linkin Park, on level 5 of ringing-volume wasn’t the most pleasant experience!

“William, it’s me.. you weren’t still sleeping, were you?” the girl wondered, as that doubt took place into her mind.
“Oh, it’sss you, peeeeeet..” he slurred, mostly because at the moment his unconscious associated her not to a sweet pet, but to a croaking carrion crow that had interrupted his blissful rest.
“It’s wonderful to woke up to the sound of your voice, but.. BLOODY HELL! Buffy, it’s * Sunday* and it’s * 8:00 a.m. *! At least on this day I’d like to ignore the existence of this bloody time of the day!” he snapped, but at least now he was completely awaken.
“Yes, I know, love, sorry, but this is an emergency... plus, there will be plenty of other Sunday mornings…” she justified.
“What happened?” he asked without alarming much, because he knew that for Buffy even the most insignificant event could be an emergency.
“Our plan to put the two chronic big shy people together didn’t work a hundred percent. We need a plan B and we need it fast, before tonight, it’s fundamental. The classes are about to start so otherwise we’ll have to wait until next weekend, and it’s not sure that Willow’s house will still be free, because her parents could have come back by then, since they didn’t tell her when they would be back...” she explained hastily, with an agitated tone, but the silence on the other end made her suspicious.
“William... are you still there?”
“Uh! Yes... yes... but I’m afraid I just heard up to ‘two chronic big shy people’, and I’ve got lost in the delirium of the last two minutes...” he yawned because sleepiness was claiming him once again.


“Ok, I’ll explain everything to you later. I’ll be at your house at 11:00 a.m., please be ready, I’m counting on it. In the meantime think of a nice message that will make them understand their intentions, because we’ll be sending it with some red roses, I know of a place that delivers on Sunday...” she started to speak excitedly once again, as he confined himself to nod with a long moan and tried to figure out from where she got all that energy that early in the morning.
“Ok, so, see you later. I know getting up early annoys you, but I’ll make you forgive me, you’ll see... I love you!”
William heard really well the last sentences.
“I love you, too...” he whispered, blowing a kiss to her before ending their conversation.

< ... and I’ll love you even more if you let me sleep again! > he thought, resting his head on the pillow and wondering why his girlfriend had became insane all of the sudden.

TBC

Hope you’ll like it!

Thank you!!

Chapter 14

Buffy didn’t even need to ring the bell, because William had already seen her from his window and he had run to open the door for her.
“Hi, honey. So, did you thought about it?” she asked, getting into his house as a hurricane.
“ What are you blathering about?” he replied, a little disappointed because she didn’t give him any kisses.
“The message we have to write. I’ve already told you about that on the phone!” she said, becoming increasingly nervous.
“First, tell me what the hell do we have to do with the message and the flowers... because I haven’t understood a bloody thing, yet!” he snapped.
“Leaving them alone is not enough, we need strong action! So, we’ll send roses to Willow from Angel, with a romantic message inside. And then we’ll send Angel a similar SMS to his mobile pretending it’s from Willow. And if everything goes as planned... tonight our dear shy friends will move heaven and earth to be together!” she explained with a smirk.

“It’s such a perfect plan, but there’s only one problem, pet. How the hell will ‘our’ Willow send a SMS to the dude? Sure, I know you could send it from the WEB, but, first, that kind of SMS doesn’t always reach its destination and, the second and more important fact, if the SMS doesn’t come from Willow’s mobile Angel would be very suspicious,” Spike made her notice, wondering what she was searching inside her bag.
“Do you mean * this * mobile?” Buffy smiled, wavering her friend’s mobile at him.
He questioned her with a look.
“Poor dear Willow, she has been looking for it since yesterday, she is pretty sure she must have lost it at the ‘Magic Box’; you know the place where she and I always go, don’t you? Let’s just say that I’ve temporarily borrowed it from her... and there you have it, a fool-proof master plan!” she justified.
William pulled her to him, kissing her behind her ear.
“You’re evilly genial.. and genially evil, Slayer!” he whispered, blowing on her lobe. Buffy shivered, his warm breath was driving her crazy.
“Mm... will you be my accomplice, Spike?” she wondered, already knowing the answer.
“Always, luv, always!”
He kept kissing her descending on her neck, nibbling it gently, until passion overwhelmed him and he ended up leaving a... very noticeable hickey.
“William!” she exclaimed, between blaming and moaning, parting from him.
“It’ll take a lot of make up to cover that up, I hope my Mom won’t notice!” she complained looking at the hickey on the mirror, but she couldn’t help smiling at him.
She turned and pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Did you say red roses? Did you know they’re the symbol for passion, pet? But all the roses of all the shops in the whole town would never be enough to show you mine... come here and I’ll show you on my own!” he exclaimed, bending to kiss her with more and more passion, slipping one hand on her back to pull her closer towards him.
“Mm... Wil (kiss)... li(kiss)... am(kiss)...that’s perfect!” Buffy parted from him, opening her bag to pick up a notebook and a pen.
“C’mon, write it here, before you forget!”
“Write what?” he asked, without understanding what was wrong with her all of the sudden.
“The sentence you said before, it’s perfect! We just need to change it a bit, and take the ‘pet‘ part away, course. That’s just for me, you know I’m very fond of it!” she smiled at him

They found a most suitable version of that message, and then Buffy gave the flower shop’s number to William.
“Let’s send fifteen red roses, I don’t mind about the cost!” she told him as he dialed the number.
“Hello, is this ‘The Council’ Flower Shop? Alright, I need to send fifteen red roses with the following message. Are you ready to copy it? Good. ‘Willow, do you know that red roses are the symbol for passion? But all the roses of every shop in the whole town would never be enough to show you mine...” he patiently dictated to the girl on the other end.
‘... I know that your house is parents’ free, so... maybe tonight I could pay you a visit and show you on my own... Don’t make any other engagement, baby. I’ll be there at 9:30 p.m.; let’s quit with the games...’ That’d be all, , ah, and it’s signed by Angel. What? Do you think this Willow is a very lucky girl?” he chuckled.
“Anyway, this is her address: Willow Rosenberg...” William added as Buffy kept wondering why the hell he was smiling so much on the phone.
“So did you say that you could deliver it this afternoon? Great, you’re wonderful! Oh... thank you, you have a very nice voice, too! I’ll stop by your shop to pay later, ok? Bye!” he smiled once again, hanging up the receiver.
He saw Buffy staring at him, with her arms crossed and a dark expression clouding her face.
“You must have talked with Kendra... I swear that girl flirts with everyone! Anyway, forget it, *I’ll * ´stop by her shop to pay...” the blonde snapped.

< That way I’ll be able to tell her where to get off and she’ll learn not to act so flirty with * my * boyfriend! > she thought furiously.

“Wassup, pet.. are you jealous?” William teased her, pinching her sides and lifting her into his arms, sitting on the sofa with her on his lap.
“You bet, cutie, you are only mine!” she smiled, sealing her lips with his to ‘mark her territory’.

“Honey, listen to this SMS and tell me if it’s ok: ‘Hi, Angel, you know... my house is parent’s free tonight and I’m feeling so lonely. Why don’t you come over to my place? Maybe... this time we won’t end up just seeing a movie... I’ll be waiting for you... at 9: 30 p.m. Stop playing. Willow.’ So?”
“Well, I guess that is precisely what it’ll take to reach our goal...” William smiled.
“But...” he went on, but it was too late, because by the words ‘precisely what it’ll take’ Buffy had already sent the message.
“... Did you thought of the possibility of Angel calling to confirm the message, know more about the date... or stuff like that?” William said.
“Damn no, I didn’t thou...”
Buffy hadn’t even finished and the sentence when Willow’s mobile began ringing as it flashed ‘Angel’ on the display screen. ’.
The blonde could already see her plan crashing down, but the ringing stopped almost immediately.
“Lucky for us, it was just a call to let her know he read it!” she exclaimed, sighing with relief.
“Anyway, I’d better switch it off, just to avoid any other undesired calls, maybe Will’s parents... or worse, Willow herself!” she stated, pressing the ‘switch off’ button until she saw the display screen go black.

“The plan is done, now it’s up to them. We just have to wait!” she went on, glancing mischievously at William.
“Would you like to make the waiting a little more... interesting?” she mewled, smashing him on the sofa and crawling upon him slowly.
“Uh-uh! What are you planning, kitten?” he asked, raising his scarred eyebrow.
“I’ve told you, I must make you forgive me for being so annoying before...” she whispered, rubbing herself against him as he closed his eyes, inhaling the vanilla scent that covered her.
“You are a little too dressed up though,” she warned him, straddling him, and before he could realize what she was planning to do, she’d ripped open his shirt, making all the buttons come off.
“Hey! I liked that shirt!” he found the strength to protest as he tried to keep his hormones in control.
“Don’t whine, baby. I’ve seen your closet and it’s full of red shirts like that one! But if you want it so badly, I promise I’ll buy you a new one!” she struck back, caressing his chest.

TBC
The Spuffy moment goes on in the next chapter… but you’ll have to wait, because I’m evil, ihihih !!! >:-D

Thank you!

Chapter 15 (NC 17!!!)

Buffy took one of his nipples in her lips, tracing it with her tongue as she played with the other one with her hand, twisting it between her index and thumb.
William seemed to enjoy that a lot.
“Oh, yes… baby, that’s it!” he murmured.
She was kissing every inch of his exposed skin, scratching it lightly with her nails.
She descended to his waist.. and pouted.
“Uff, you’re still too dressed!” she pretended to complain.
He raised his eyebrow to ask her if he had heard right and when he saw her nodding he began undoing his belt. With a quick move she blocked him bringing his arms over his head.
“No, honey, you don’t have to do anything. I’ll take care of everything!” she smiled, kissing him as she took off his belt, undid the button of his jeans and slowly began lowering the zipper.
“Love, I’m taking a little step at a time, before arriving to * that*, so… you’ll just have to be patient...” she assured him, pulling down his jeans and discovering something she didn’t expect.
“So, this big bad boy doesn’t like underwear...” she teased him, caressing with a hand his already hard virility.
“Not wearing iiiiiiiiiit!” he moaned.
“It’s better this way.. you won’t make me waste time!” she went on, slipping her hand back and forward * there*, increasing the rhythm.
“ B…U..F..F..Y!!” he screamed, as he began losing control.

< If this is just a little step for her..> he thought maliciously.

“Uh! It seems you’re getting pretty excited,” she chuckled, without stopping her caresses and she resumed kissing him, starting with his forehead and descending to his nose, his lips, his chin, his neck, his chest, his abs, his stomach, his belly... “So, what will you do when I do what I’m gonna do?” she murmured to him, as she kept descending.
“Buffy... if you don’t want to do that… you don’ have TOOOO…..!” he tried to tell her, but forgot everything, completely losing control once she reached her goal.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
“Oh Buffy, you’ve been marvelous, pet!” he whispered, once he was dressed again.
She smiled, and before she could realize it, she found herself with her back on the sofa with William pinning her.
She got alarmed, dreading that he wanted more, but he seemed to read the fear in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, love, remember? Just ‘little steps’…” he reassured her, bending over her face.
“... Anyway, my kitten, is there anything I can do to repay you?” he asked, looking deeply into her eyes, as one of his hands slipped under her T-shirt.
She raised her eyebrow seductively.
“Mm.. honestly.. I’ve got an idea or two..” she chuckled as he kissed her behind her neck.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was the fifth time that Willow checked her house out to be sure that everything was in perfect order.
She stopped by every mirror she found to verify that blue miniskirt and baby blue sweater she had chosen to wear showed off her curves and a proper amount of cleavage.
The doorbell rang interrupted Willow’s endless ritual. She opened the door, gazing at her watch: 9:30 p.m.
When she saw Angel she almost passed out. He wore a pair of elegant black very polished shoes, black classic trousers, a black shirt lightly unbuttoned and a black sweater around his shoulders.
She decided that black definitely fitted him to a T!
She had always seen him wearing jeans and colored T-shirts... not that she didn’t like to see him like that, too, of course.


“Hi, Angel!” she greeted him with half smile, inviting him in.
“Hi, Willow!” he smiled, examining her from her head to shoes, fully approving her choice of clothes.
“You kept your word: it’s exactly 9:30 p.m.!” she said trying to break the palpable tension between them.

< What a witty girl! It was her telling me to stop by her house at this time...> the brunette thought as he sat with her on the sofa.

They kept staring at each other without talking.
Suddenly they both decided to say something, right at the same time.
“Which movie did you chose for tonight?” he wondered.
“I haven’t thanked you yet for the roses!” she exclaimed.
They looked at each other shocked.
“I didn’t rent any movies for tonight... you seemed to have other intentions...” she answered a little bit maliciously, despite her confusion.
“Roses? What are you talking about?” the boy narrowed his eyes, as puzzled as her.
“Angel, why are you saying that? You sent me red roses with a message...” and she shivered again, as the first time she had read it. “..where you said you would come to my house? By the way, I’m curious, how did you know that my house was parents’ free?” the girl asked.
“What?! Look, *you* told me that, in the SMS you sent to me this morning... and I swear I never sent flowers to you...” he explained.
“Ah-ah, you’re wrong! That’s impossible, I don’t even have my mobile anymore. I lost it yesterday when I went out with B…”


Realization hit her, and she became so red with rage that her face seemed like a continuation of her hair.
“Grrr! I bet they did it again!” she roared.
“Hey, what’s wrong now?” the boy exclaimed, pacing back and forward, trying to figure out what had happened
“It’s just that Buffy and William have this absurd idea that there could be... something between you and me, but this time they’ve gone too far! I’m gonna find them and skin them alive!” Willow snapped, heading towards the door.
“I don’t think that’s such an absurd idea...” Angel commented with unusual calm.
“First, I’ll tear their hair out one by one, and then... what did you say?” the girl stuttered, forgetting all about her plans of vicious revenge as soon as she heard his words.
“Willow, listen. Yes, it’s true, I didn’t sent those flowers to you, I didn’t give you any explicit signals about me liking you...” he went on, approaching slowly to her. “... but I wish I did! And not just since we’ve met here!” he added, taking another step closer until he had her pinned with her back against a wall.
“Angel, you... don’t have... to tell me... this just to be… gentl...” she tried to protest, but he shut her mouth with a tender kiss, that became passionate when he felt her part her lips and wrap her hands around his neck, caressing his hair and pulling him to her.

“Did you think * that * was me just being gentle?” he smiled, when after an eternity they parted.
“I... you... wow!” was all the girl managed to say, still too dazzled by the kiss, as she passed a finger over her lips.
“Willow, I’m crazy about you since the first time I saw you walking around the corridors... but I thought I wasn’t the kind of boy you’d like...”
“Angel, too many years of study have made you insane. I’ve liked you since the first time my eyes met yours, and I wish I would’ve noticed you before, at University... Anyway, * I * was sure I wasn’t your type. I couldn’t dare to expect so much...”
“Well, I can tell that study has the same effect on you, too! Can’t you see that? We’ve wasted so much time...” he whispered.
“Liking each other, without the other one knowing about the other’s feelings and vice versa...” she went on, and then she lost herself in his brown eyes, that had darkened almost until they were black by desire.
“No more games!” they whispered at the same moment, resuming their passionate kisses.

TBC


Well, we’re at the middle of this story!
In the other half there will be more action, music and tons of ‘new’ (they’ll all belong to Joss&Co.) characters!
Are you ready for that? But most of all... are you ready to change your mind about those two very shy people? ;)

Thank you for supporting me so far! Hope you’ll still do! ;)

Thank you so, so very much!!!! I’m very happy you like it!
Eh eh do you find odd the Willow/Angel pairing??? Ihihihhi can’t wait to show you the very odd other pairings I’ve created! ;-P

Chapter 16 (NC 17!!!)

Angel pushed Willow against the wall even more as she wrapped one leg around his waist, without breaking the contact between their mouths.
“Angel..” she said, parting from him just to catch her breath. “It happens that the only true fact in this whole story is that my house is parents’ free.. wanna take advantage of that?” she murmured, undoing the sleeves of his sweater and throwing it on the sofa.
She unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt and that was enough for her to slip her hand inside and caress his chest, teasing one nipple with her fingers and then the other one.
He didn’t answer, he just lifted her in his strong arms, ran upstairs and rushed towards the first room he saw, mostly because by then he wasn’t thinking with his brain anymore!
Luckily, Willow’s brain still worked well enough to realize that it was her parents’ room.
She jumped down from his arms and dragged him away from there as fast as she could.
“Anywhere but there!” she explained as she led him to her bedroom. “Here’s just perfect!” she said, jumping on him again, clinging even more than ivy to a wall.
“If you want, you can kick the door open... it excites me!” she chuckled, and Angel obeyed, without even bothering to close it.
No one would’ve come in on them anyway.

He resumed kissing her greedily, laying her on the bed under him.
The kiss became hotter until the boy parted from the girl’s lips, descending on her neck, nibbling at her throat and discovering amused that it seemed to be a very sensible part of her body.
He was determined to discover if that was the only spot that drove her crazy, so he kept descending to the hollow of her breasts, making Willow moan even more.
Too bad that the neckline was too chaste for him and he couldn’t have the access he craved.
“Willow… would I be going too fast... if… if I take it off?” he asked hesitantly.
She sat up on the bed, taking it off for him and throwing it away, without caring about where it fell off.
“Is that enough as an answer?” she smiled, as he admired her blue bra clad breasts.
He resumed the attack on them, but Willow stopped him.
“Hell, no, my friend! If you want to carry on... there’s a token you must redeem!” she chuckled, unbuttoning the rest of his shirt and letting it slip from his shoulders.
Angel couldn’t do anything else but enjoy the girl’s boldness.
“Where is the shy girl that almost was ashamed to say hi to me?” he teased her, caressing her breasts through the fabric, as Willow kept wondering how it would be without the bra... if she was already in ecstasy this way.
“Oooooooooh, and you just were Mr. Bold right from the start, weren’t you?” she struck back, pushing him with his back on the mattress, as she straddled his already hard virility. “You know, it’s enough to have just a little bit of intimacy... and I also can be a * very sociable * person, let me show you!” she said, kissing his chest and descending towards his belly.
She was about to go further, but Angel jumped on her, deciding to get rid of her bra, to ‘torture’ her without any mercy.
“Oh, Aaaaangeeeeeel, please go on..”
He stopped sucking at one of her nipples to answer.
“Don’t worry, baby..” he said, as a nasty hand slipped quickly under her skirt, caressing her tights and pulling down her slip. “ Now you’re my bass, and I’m gonna play you for a very looong time!” he warned her with a sneer that was worthy of someone with the name ‘Devil’ and not ‘Angel’!

After recovering from the emotion that had almost worn her out, Willow realized that she wasn’t wearing her skirt anymore.
She challenged Angel with her look.
“No, these are not the rules of this game, you’re still half-dressed, but you won’t stay like that for long!” she ‘threatened’ him coyly, taking off his shoes and aiming at the zipper of his jeans.
This time it was her driving him crazy.
When they were both completely nude, he laid her down and covered her with his body.
“Angel... you know... this will be my first...” she stuttered embarrassed.
“Oh, sorry... I didn’t know...” he justified, parting from her, albeit unwillingly, taking a deep breath before saying a very hard sentence for him. “If you don’t want to... we don’t have to...” he added, grabbing his jeans, but she prevented him from putting them on again.
“But I want to, I want you to be my first, I don’t want anyone else...” she smiled at him, as he crawled back on her slowly.


----------------------------------------------------------------
Willow woke up the morning after, as joyful as ever.
But when she opened her eyes her happiness diminished.
Angel wasn’t there anymore, he must have left after she’d fallen asleep.
That wasn’t the kind of post-first-time awakening she had planned, but she also had to remember that her parents hadn’t told her when they would be back, they could come back next week... or they could cross the threshold at any moment.
It was always best to be prudent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Buffy didn’t know what to expect.
She hadn’t heard from Willow since last afternoon and she certainly didn’t want to be the first to call. But after spending the whole morning without having any news from her, she had called her home once she was back from the Campus, but no one had answered.
She would like to go to her house, but she feared that something hadn’t gone as planned.
The sudden ring of the doorbell took her mind off that.
She opened the door, surprised when she found Willow standing in front of her, mostly due to the daggers that she was throwing at her with her eyes.
“Buffy, how could you dare?” she exclaimed, coming in roughly.
“Willow, what...”
“Don’t try to hide it, I know William and you had a hand in playing such a dirty trick to me yesterday...” she went on as the blonde got more and more alarmed. “And you should have heard Angel’s rant, he was furious! He felt insulted and fooled, he said it’s over with us and that we can look for another bassist, because he quitted! Are you happy now?”
“But... it can’t be... Willow, please, forgive me. I was sure I had done a favor to you, I don’t understand... plus... he fancied you, William told me that...” Buffy confessed in the heat of the moment.
Willow had to make a huge effort not to burst out laughing.

< My dear conspirators... how long have you been plotting this?>

“No, Buffy, I won’t forgive you. You let me down... and I’ve never felt as humiliated as I did yesterday. I’m just here because I want my mobile back. I know you took it. You owe me that at least!” she added coldly.
Buffy gave it back to her immediately, without saying a word.
“Fine, and now I guess we’ve nothing more to say to each other!” Willow concluded, leaving and shutting the door, as Buffy was still trying to figure out what had just happened.
After a minute, her mobile warned her about an incoming SMS.
She opened and read it, beginning to smile: it was from Willow.

‘It was so fun, you should have seen your face, you were paler than a white sheet! I’m outside on the porch, and I’m waiting for you so I can tell you the REAL version of what happened. ;-P’


Buffy ran to open the door, happy to see her friend smiling at her again.
“You are a witch!” the blonde snapped and then she smiled at her, too.
“What? Did you thought you were the only one who could fool people? Plus... you deserved it!”
“Ok, you’re right. Now, less jokes and... SPIT OUT!”
So, Willow told her about the previous night in every slightest detail.

TBC

I know, I know, tragedy!!! There wasn’t any Spike/William in this chapter... but he’ll come back very soon eh eh !!

Thank you so very much!
Eh eh. You know, Willow and Angel will have to face lots of trouble.. but that’s not gonna happen in this story, here our dear brunette is a very good guy, trust me! ;)

Well, This should be one of the funniest chapters.. at least I wish it is! ;-P

Chapter 17

“Gee, Willow! William and I thought you two needed a little push .. But well, it seems that Angel gave you a push. And it was a big one, too!” Buffy exclaimed maliciously, after listening to her friend’s tale, as they sat on her bed.
They could make such confidences, because Joyce had gone shopping.
“You’re so gross!” Willow accused her, blushing instantly.
“No, I’m just realist!” the other struck back, sticking her tongue out to her.
“What about William and you? Still nothing?” the redhead asked.
“We haven’t gotten to your level yet, but yesterday I put all your advices into practice … and I can tell you that for now that’s enough for him!” she commented, smiling at the memory. “Things between us are perfect this way, there’s no need to rush. We’ve already talked about that!” she said.
“So, when are you going to see Angel again?” the blonde girl changed topics quickly.
“Tomorrow night, I can’t wait!” her friend sighed.
“Really? Where are you going to go?”
“We’re going to a cinema to see a movie... Well, ‘see’ isn’t the proper word, if you get my meaning.”
“Will! Behave... or you two will end up being the real show!” she made fun of her. “William and I are going out tomorrow night, too. So, since you’re here, why don’t you help me find something nice to wear?” she went on, opening her closet and throwing all her clothes on the bed one by one.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Tuesday at 9:30 p.m., a familiar black De Soto parked outside Buffy’s house.
The girl looked at her image reflected on the mirror one last time before going out, while Joyce looked at her suspiciously, disapproving the way she was dressed.
She knew it was useless to argue with Buffy about that for the umpteenth time. Her daughter would win the argument in the end, considering how stubborn she could be.
Since Joyce and Buffy’s father had divorced, she had done nothing but spoil her daughter... and this was the result.
The woman placed herself in front of the window to observe her daughter as she got in the gorgeous guy’s car.
She had been hanging out with him for several weeks and Joyce had already realized everything that was going on with them, after all she had been a young girl, too!
And she also knew that soon Buffy and her would have a long chat about it.

Buffy greeted William with a quick kiss, and then she fastened her seatbelt, pulling down her very short baby blue miniskirt... just enough to leave something to imagination.
William looked at her with great interest, drinking her image from the Chanel shoes that were the same colour of her skirt up to the white T-shirt with a round neck she wore.
“Uhmm... yeah, it would be good enough for her...” the boy grumbled mysteriously, before setting the car in motion, as she asked what he had meant with that sentence.

-----------------------------------------------------------
They arrived at The Bronze and sat at a table, and that was another thing that made Buffy suspicious.
“Why did you choose a table for six?”
“C’mon, pet, it’s a table just like the others!” he replied, as he stared at the entrance, almost as if he was waiting for someone.
And it seemed he did, just a minute later, Buffy saw him wave to two couples that had just got in and they answered to his wave.
“Pet, I told you that I would introduce you to my friends, didn’t I? Well, today is the day!” he explained calmly as the four people approached to their table.
“What? Now?! You promised me you would tell me before. I’m not ready now, I’m not dressed properly! I could’ve arranged my hair better; I don’t know what to say... I’ll end up making a bad impression…Why didn’t you tell me before, why, WHY?” Buffy responded nervously.
“That’s why I didn’t!” the blond boy rolled his eyes.
“Look at you, you’re so tense. I’m not gonna introduce you to the President, they’re just my friends! Calm down, they’d never judge, you’re perfect the way you are and you don’t have to worry about anything. Just be yourself and they’ll adore you!” he assured her, as his friends reached them.
Buffy watched them one by one. There were two brunette guys, kinda attractive, one of them wore glasses that gave him an intellectual air and he was hugging a blonde girl that had a very sweet smile; the other guy seemed to be more carefree and he had his arm wrapped around a beautiful brunette girl that seemed to have come out from a fashion magazine.
The two couples watched Buffy with great attention .
“Buffy, these are Wesley and Doyle, my classmates at the University, but also my closest friends. We are just like brothers!” William said as the two boys shook Buffy’s hand. “And these are Tara and Cordelia...” he went on, introducing the two girls to her.
“Finally we meet the famous Buffy that has conquered our dear Spike’s heart!” Tara smiled at her, making the bleached blond blush... and that was an almost impossible thing to do!

“I wonder how the half-crazy girl will react when she finds out about you two... she won’t be too happy...” Wesley exclaimed as William annihilated him with a glance, beckoning him to stop without Buffy noticing him, because she stared puzzled at his friend.
Tara had already figured out Spike’s expression (this is the power of woman’s intuition!) and she pushed her elbow into her boyfriend’s stomach to prevent him from talking more than he should.
Danger had been avoided, but then Doyle had the great idea to continue with what Wesley had begun telling, before Cordelia, as keen as Tara, could stop him.
“Oh, C’mon, you told us the story about the girl that introduced herself to you and that always took your same train although her classes started later, and that she did it just to see you. Wait, how did you use to call her? Yeah, that’s right, Station Maniac!” the boy concluded, satisfied.
“You know what? I know that that poor half-crazy girl will be pretty happy that Spike and I are together... and she won’t even hate me, wanna know why? It happens that * I*’m her!” Buffy informed him, crossing her arms over her chest, as everybody glared at Doyle.
Buffy threw daggers with her eyes at William, who felt like a kid caught with his hands inside a pot of cookies.
“You told me you didn’t see me like a fool!” the blonde girl snapped at him.
“Well, I lied...” he admitted with the most innocent smile. “After all, if I have to be honest, you scared me a little bit the first time we met...”
“Yes, but ... *Station Maniac *?!” she questioned him, visibly insulted.
“Shut up, what could I say? And wasn’t I *Mr. Ice *?” he replied, balancing the scale.
“But... you... how...” she tried to ask, astonished.
“Let’s just say that Red chats a lot!” he revealed with a smirk.
“Willow, you’ll pay for that!” Buffy swore under her breath.

“So, you are the intrepid girl of the station. Well, I find that to be a very brave move, you have all my respect!” Tara smiled to her.
“And mine, too, but mostly for the shoes you’re wearing, they’re awesome! You’ve gotta tell me where you bought them, no wait... on second thought... I think one day we should go shopping together!” Cordelia said enthusiastically, and Buffy nodded smiling.
The brunette turned to her friend.
“Tara, you are a lovable girl with a golden heart and everything... but my dear, you have such an antique taste!” Cordelia stated, with a pitiful look, wondering why Tara liked those so long and flowing dresses so much.
“There’s someone who seems to like me just the way I am!” Tara shrugged, kissing her Wesley.
“Coming back to what we were saying, you know, Buffy, I can’t stand people who believe that it’s always the man the one who must make the first move!” Cordelia added, and then she turned to Doyle. “I’m pretty sure that if I hadn’t made the first move, only God knows when you would’ve made an advance to me. I guess I would have grown very old waiting for you!” she teased him, pinching his side before kissing him.
“It’s not true, Cordy, it would’ve taken me just a little more time, that’s it! You know I always have to take my time for everything!” the boy justified.
Buffy chuckled, she was glad not to be the only one to make a move first.

“And you? Did you also had to make the first move with him?” she asked Tara pointing towards Wesley.
“Oh no, the story of Wes and me is totally different, Spike set us up... he had figured out immediately that we would be a perfect match, and he wasn’t wrong!” Tara explained, looking at her fiancé.
“My Tary is right, Spike almost acted like one of those Dating agencies... and believe me, I’m a * very * satisfied customer!” Wesley added, looking at his giggling girlfriend.
“So, yours is a vocation, honey!” Buffy exclaimed, smiling at William.
The others looked at themselves without understanding, as they sat closer to the two blondes.
“You see, Spikey and I helped two friends of ours to declare that they liked each other ... and believe me, that wasn’t easy at all!” Buffy exclaimed, as the others nodded, and then they exchanged an understanding gaze with an evil smirk.
“ * Spikey *?!” they made fun of him at the same time, as William wanted nothing but to slip under the table.


The night went on very pleasantly, until Wesley threw a new topic over the table.
“Spike, I knew you would find a new band sooner or later. You couldn’t resist for long without your beloved music!”
William kicked him under the table.
“Tell me, Wes, have you been studying for years or is your bloody capacity to touch all the *taboo * topics innate?” William snapped exasperated, passing a hand through his hair.
“What does that mean?” Buffy questioned him with an angry tone, putting her hands on her hips.
“Luv, remember when I told you I’ve been playing drums for a little over a year?”
She nodded, but her eyes still waited for the rest of his answer. “Well, actually... I’ve been playing drums for more than ten years! Ok, I lied, but I did it because I didn’t want to make you feel awkward...” he immediately justified.
“You know what? I had some suspicions about that... you’re way too good to be just a fledgling!” she smiled. “So, it seems that you were in another band before playing with us...” she trailed, waiting for the explanation that will surely follow... and wishing he had been in a strictly boy band.
“Yes, more or less... until two tears ago. We were ‘The Bloody’. You know? I picked up the name!”
“I have no doubts about that!” she rolled her eyes.
“At the beginning I played with Xander, a friend from High school and we got along great. He was the bassist and the lead singer, too. My cousin Oz played the guitar, but then he had to quit due to school...” he started to explain. “Riley replaced him. He was Xander’s best friend, but he and I couldn’t stand each other, and the worst thing was that Xander became another person when Riley was around. Riley always wanted to be the leader and Xander wanted to please him. I didn’t feel free to express my opinions anymore, so they kept doing what they wanted. Bloody hell, what did they think? That I had a sodding chip in my brain that made me obey without protesting?” he snapped, as Buffy cuddled him to calm him down.
“You know, I couldn’t go on like that, so I decided to leave the band... and it wasn’t a friendly goodbye! I haven’t heard from them since that day ... and frankly, I don’t even wanna hear about them anymore!”
“The most important thing is that now you are with us... and now you do have freedom. C’mon, have I ever made you my slave?”
William looked at Buffy maliciously with a cocky grin.
“That depends, pet... are we still talking about the band... or about our more * private moments *?” he asked with a silky voice, sneering and raising his eyebrow.
This time it was Buffy the one wishing she could get under the table, as she blushed furiously when she felt William’s friends’ very inquiring looks on her.


TBC

Thank you so much, and sorry for late!!

Chapter 18 (As you’ll notice, I took a lot of stuff directly from BTVS)

Weeks went by and the two couples never forgot to practice together, improving with each passing session. Willow and Buffy had written new songs and the two boys had helped with some of the arrangements. In short, they were becoming a well-integrated group.

Their only trouble was that they had to keep moving their instruments from one house to the other for practices. Well, all houses except for Angel’s flat, because it was a one-room flat, so there wasn’t space there. Plus, it was a rental and the owner of the house didn’t like noise. Angel also had a pretty big and comfy house... but it was in L.A, too far away to even consider using it.

It was an afternoon at the end of November, and Buffy and Willow were waiting for they boyfriends to arrive at Willow’s house for practice as every other week.
“I knew William would be late, because he had to talk with a friend of his, I don’t know what about... Anyway, I didn’t think he would be so late!” the blonde explained, looking at her watch. It was 3: 40 p.m. already and they should have got there at 3:00 p.m.
“I’m not worried, Angel will only arrive to a date on time when one plus one makes three. I still wonder how he managed to do that the first times, maybe he just wanted to impress me!” the redhead laughed, leaving her place in front of the window, as soon as she heard a car arrive.
In fact, it was until she saw Angel arrive high speeding and parking near the gate, with a resounding shriek.
“Do you think that is the way to drive?” Willow snapped, rushing outside as Buffy followed her.
“Well, I admit I was a little bit reckless, but I couldn’t wait to give you the incredible news!” he answered, giving her a quick kiss. “Well... where’s William?” he asked Buffy, since he saw him nowhere.
“He’ll be here soon... at least I hope he will!” she answered, looking at her watch for the umpteenth time.
“Well, in the meantime I can tell you both the news. C’mon, let’s get inside!” he exhorted them.


They didn’t have time to sit down, because the noise of screeching brakes drew everybody’s attention, and they ran outside to see what had happen.
“What is going on? Is it the Worldwide Cowboy Driver Day and someone forgot to tell us?” Buffy snapped, astonished when she realized that the ‘Cowboy’ was none other than her William.
“What, but mostly HOW MUCH did you drink to make you drive as a mad man?” the girl accused him, with her hands on her hips.
“I’m bloody sober, sunshine, it’s just that I couldn’t wait to be here, you have no idea what I’m about to tell you!” the blond justified, locking his car and coming in with the others.
“Well, we’ll keep having no idea for now, because first you gotta listen to me!” Angel reminded everyone, maybe a little jealous due to the fact that now William was the center of the attention.
“Yeah right, honey, tell us the great news!” Willow incited him, ruffling his hair, making Angel extremely annoyed at her.
“How many times do I have to tell you? My hair is off-limits when it’s styled with hair gel!”! he grumbled, fixing it.
“So, I suppose you *never* can touch it then!” Buffy whispered to her friend, chuckling.
“He acts this way now, but under the covers I can play with it as much as I please, even putting one of my hair grips on it and, trust me, my stud lets me do that without protesting!” the other girl answered the same way.
Angel cleared his throat to regain the girls’ attention, and they felt like two schoolmates blamed by their teacher because they chatted during his lesson.

“Well, this morning I met my ex-girlfriend...”
“YOU WHAT?!” Willow rumbled. “Since when do you have an ex? And since when dating her is the most normal thing to do? The hell with your ‘don’t ruffle my hair’, I’m going to shave your head now!” she threatened him.
“No, baby, you misunderstood, it wasn’t a date, it wasn’t something planned...” Angel hurried to clear that point, as Buffy and William tried to picture him bald in their heads. “Anya and I had a little relationship, but it was nothing serious, it didn’t even last for more than three months. We are too different, she is so bizarre, eccentric, chaotic... while I like calmer girls, just like you, my dear love!” he went on, pulling Willow towards him and kissing her. “Although... when you want... you’re anything but calm!” he whispered in her ear, and then he kissed her again, with more passion, forgetting about who was watching them.

“Hey, snoggers, quit it!” Buffy made fun of them.
Willow parted from Angel.
“Well, well, let’s hear * who* is talking now! I had to bear the moon eyes William and you made at each other, and all your simpering ways for weeks and weeks without uttering a single protest. So, if you don’t mind, now it’s my turn!” Willow struck back, rubbing her face against Angel’s as she held him tight.
The brunette resumed talking.
“Anyway, we are still good friends, and she just moved into this town, too, you know. So, she owns an esoteric shop and sometimes we meet on the street, as it happened today...”
“Hey, Gel-Boy, let’s cut to the chase. I really don’t care about the esoteric girl’s stuff!” William snapped, annoyed because he still had to wait to tell everyone what he could hardly hold in any longer.
But since the girls wanted to know what Angel would say, his harsh attempt of interruption brought him to have Buffy’s elbow pinned on his stomach.
Angel was in the limelight.
“Truth is that Anya has a passion for music and she sang in a hard-rock band, ‘The Vengeance Demons’...” Angel explained. “But you’re very much better, baby!” he added immediately, turning to his Willow. “I used past tense because her band split out about a month ago, but the most important part is that they have a private sound studio, and now that they don’t use it anymore, they could sell it to us at a very reasonable price. And also convenient, since it’s located less than ten minutes in car from here!” the brunette concluded.
Willow jumped on him, wrapping her hands around his neck, as Buffy screamed joyfully, but then she became serious and upset.
“Well, I’m sorry for your friend... a band that splits out is always a sad thing...”
“Don’t be sad. Look, Anya was just waiting for that to happen! She had been thinking for a while about a career as a soloist. She already has picked up a stage-name, Anyanka, it sounds so good...” Angel commented, but Willow’s annoyed look made him understand it was better to quit with the ‘Anya’ topic as soon as possible.

“Why aren’t you exulting, Bleached?” Angel turned to William, because the blond had confined himself just to smile after hearing his tale.
“What can I say? It’s good to know that..” the blond struck back, determined not to give him any slightest satisfaction.
“That’s it? Can’t you show a little more enthusiasm?” Angel protested.
“You know, a private sound studio will come in handy, now that we have A PAID GIG!” William informed them, increasing the girls’ cheering screams, who by then, had started jumping up and down as two children.
“Tell us everything, love!” Buffy exclaimed, kissing her boyfriend.
Right then *they * were the snoggers.
“It’s on the Bronze...” William started to explain.
“Yeah, I know that place. Will, I’ve brought you there a couple of times, remember?” Angel cut him off and the redhead nodded.
“Well, that’s better! First, a certain Glory owned it, or as I mockingly called her, the Goddess of Bad Home Perms, you should have seen her, she was so...”
“Now, it’s you the one who doesn’t cut to the chase!” Angel grumbled.
“Touché. Ok, that woman was unbearable and she was very selective about the bands she allowed to play there, in a word, just the recommended ones. But luckily, this summer she left the Bronze in her brother’s hands, Clem, and you know what? He happens to be a big friend of mine. I’ve been trying to persuade him into let us play for nearly a month... and he finally accepted. So, let’s get ready, because next weekend we’ll have our debut there!” William concluded.
The girls were delighted once again.
“William, you’re great!” they exclaimed at the same time. Angel didn’t want to give William the satisfaction of seeing how happy he was, and boy, was he happy!
“Private studio room...” Angel hummed, crossing his arms.
“Angel, you’re great, too!” the two girls added.
“Gig...” the blond hummed back.
Buffy and Willow didn’t know who to hail the most.

“Wait, people, we’re just missed a thing. Clem wants to put a headline board outside the Bronze to let people know about our performance, but we haven’t decided the name for our band, yet...” William made them notice and the others nodded. “So, c’mon, let’s cudgel and do a little brainstorming, because the name has got to be decided today!” William added.
There were some minutes of intense concentration and then Willow talked first.
“I’d like ‘Scooby Band’...” she suggested shyly.
The two boys grimaced in total disgust as Buffy looked at her in disbelief.
“Will... it seems a bit childish... plus, that name makes me think of that stupid big dog... Eeeww! We need something more impressing...” the blonde commented.
“I got it, ‘Hellmouth’!” William exclaimed electrified as ever.
“I don’t dislike it at all...” Angel approved, patting his shoulder.
Willow shook her head in disappointment.
“I said *impressing*, not *violent*!” Buffy stated.
“What about ‘Scourge of Europe?’” Angel suggested.
“What part of ‘not violent’ didn’t you get?” Willow grumbled, rolling her eyes.
“Why... of Europe?” Buffy wondered.
“I don’t know... it ‘s just came out of my mouth...” Angel murmured.
“I liked it, buddy!” William showed his masculine solidarity, patting him back.
“Hey, pet, since you have bloody criticized everything we’ve said, why don’t you try to pick up a name?” William challenged her.
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because fate made us meet... that I think fate chose us... but the name ‘Chosen Ones’ inspire me so much...”
The others looked at her stunned, without saying a word, and Buffy got ready for the tons of bad critics she’d probably get. Instead, she just heard a weak clapping soming from Willow, and then more stronger ones from Angel and William, too.
The blond guy spoke for everyone.
“It fits us to a T, it’s impressing... and easy to remember. Hell yeah, I like it! That’s it, from now on we will be the ‘Chosen Ones’!”

TBC

I hope you’ll still like it. Anyway, just out of curiosity… what name would you’ve picked up for the band? Willow’s, William’s, Angel’s or Buffy’s proposals? ;-)

Thank you so, so much, esp. to Caitie, I’m glad that you’re so happy when I update!! ;-)
Here there will be tons of new people.. but you wont’ like some of them..

Chapter 19

As soon as they had spread the news about the potential purchase of the private studio room, they had to confront different reactions about it; Willow’s parents were very happy by it, of course, since their house was the most requested place for practices. Joyce, Buffy’s mom, on the other hand, was very upset, because the few times they had practiced at her house, she hadn’t been around, so she still hadn’t had the chance to meet the famous William of whom Buffy kept talking about.

In the meantime, Angel had met Anya and after two days the girl was ready to show the private studio room to her potential buyers.

The four guys arrived on time, thanks to a very clever Anya’s device. She knew of Angel’s allergy to punctuality, so she told him she would meet them at 3:30 p.m., when in reality she wouldn’t be there before 4:00 p.m..

Anya greeted them enthusiastically, and after the respective introductions, she led them into the studio room.
“C’mon, there’s no time to waste! Time is money, money that will end in my pockets... and... Uff... into the other former members’ pockets, too!” she exclaimed, snorting at the last part, as the others followed her, wondering if there was a girl who was blunter than her in the whole world.

Once they arrived, Anya drew out the key and opened the door. It was a large room, with a good electrical system and a soundproof wall for the drums.
“As you can see, the drums are already in, so you won’t have to use yours anymore!” Anya said, turning to William.
“Well, but... my drums are my drums…” the boy protested weakly.
“I can’t see where the problem is, all the drums are the same!” she struck back.
“C’mon, honey, don’t tell me that you’re so fond of your drums that you’ve named them… as you did with Desy!” Buffy mocked him, but only William and she knew what they were talking about.
“Of course, not!” he defended.

< I’ll never tell anyone that I call my drums Miss Boom! That’s a secret I’m gonna take to my grave...> he thought as he denied everything.


Anya had showed them every part of the room, and the little room aside, too.
“As you can figure out by the snack and drinks’ machines and by the sofa, this is the ‘break corner’. But since you are two couples... I guess this is going to become the ‘snogging corner’!” Anya exclaimed, making everyone blush, except for Angel who knew her very well.
“So, do you like it? And more importantly, do you want it?” she asked her interlocutors, and after a short consult they nodded, giving her the money, knowing they had made a really good investment.
Anya put the envelope with the money in her bag... after she counted it meticulously several times, of course.

“Oh, I love selling, I was born to sell, it’s my vocation!” she said excitedly as the others smiled at her.
“You know, guys, I’m so good at sales that I could sell saunas in the desert, ice cubes at the North Pole, condoms to a priest...” she went on, scandalizing everyone except for Angel who put his hand over her mouth to prevent her from talking anymore.
“That’s enough, Anya, thanks for the visual! I guess the concept is clear, you are a very, very good seller!” he stated, freeing her mouth again.
Willow took Angel in a corner.
“Well... is there anything that that girl is ashamed to say?” she whispered to him.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing that can make her ashamed!” the brunette smiled to his girlfriend.
William and Buffy looked at Anya amusedly, maybe she was a bit too direct, but she was very pleasant and fun, too.
Willow wasn’t just looking at Anya though; she was analyzing her!
She was really pretty, petite but well proportioned. She had blond/red hair and very expressive bright hazel eyes. Willow knew that Anya was single, but she didn’t see her as a threat. By now it was pretty clear that Angel and her were just friends. Plus, Angel was right; they really seemed to have very incompatible personalities.

------------------------------------------------------------------
They couldn’t resist any longer and they had tested the studio room the day after... and they were very satisfied by the results.

But there wasn’t just music, there was school, too.
William knew it very well, since he had gone to the University the morning after their practice session to return some books to the library and borrow some others for his thesis.
“We’ve been looking for you... for two days. I should have known that I would find you here, always with your head hidden behind a book, you haven’t changed a bit!” a familiar voice exclaimed behind his back.
He hadn’t heard that voice for a very long time, and he didn’t think he would hear it again.

He closed his book, turning and meeting Xander’s gaze. But he wasn’t alone; beside him he saw the unbearable Riley and another guy William had never seen before.

“What the hell are you doing here? I’d never thought I would see you again... and please, notice… I’m not saying this as a positive thing!” the blond snapped, trying to get away from them.
Xander grabbed him by an arm.
“Hey, what is with all this hurry? Don’t you have time to chat a bit with your dear old friends?” the brunette exclaimed.
“You know... I don’t see any friend around here right now...” William struck back.
“Relax, we are here in peace. Truth is that this town is very small and rumors arrive to our ears very quickly.” Riley said. ”We heard that you had found a new band, and then we passed by the Bronze, and we saw the headline board and... Bingo! So, we wanted to know, is it true? Are you a ‘Chosen One’ now?” Riley asked mockingly.
“Yeah, why, what’s it to you? And by the way, my girlfriend picked that name up, and we all like it!” William said, looking at him with hatred, realizing too late that maybe he had talked too much.
“Your girlfriend?” Xander repeated curiously.
“Yes, she is the guitarist…” William confessed, thinking there was nothing bad in saying that. “By the way, tell me, who is this guy? He’s obviously here with you but he hasn’t open his mouth yet!” he changed topics, pointing to that tall boy with brown hair and dark eyes that had yet to speak.
“I’m Ben Double, and I’m their new drummer!” the boy introduced himself to him, shaking his hand vigorously.
“Uh! Well, I’m glad to know that ‘The Bloody’ hasn’t split out!” the blond commented.
“We were sick of ‘The Bloody’! I never liked that name, so I changed it, now we are ‘The Initiative’!” Riley informed him proudly.
After hearing that, William snorted, rolling his eyes.


“William, don’t you think it’s time to forget the past and bury the old grudges?” Xander suggested, smiling at him.
“Okay, I think this sodding argument has lasted long enough…” William nodded.
“Let’s forget all about that and let’s start over. You know what? To celebrate our restored friendship we’ll go see your band’s debut, ok?” Xander went on, stretching his hand to him.
“Why not? Plus, the more crowd we have, the better it is!” William accepted, shaking it. “Ok, guys, now I gotta go... my thesis is calling me! See you on Sunday night at the Bronze, then!” the boy said as he left.

“What’s wrong with you? I’m not going to put up with a whole show by that idiot!” Riley snapped.
“You are so naïve, my friend. We won’t be there as friends, we will be there as... saboteurs...” Xander explained. ”To break the harmony in a group is so easy, it’s like a house of cards, just a little breeze... and everything comes crashing down!” the boy went on.
“Am I wrong... or it’s something involving his girlfriend?” Riley smiled.
“You’ve guessed right, my dear old friend. Something tells me she is his Achilles’ heel. I already have an idea... we’ll just need our girlfriends’ help, which won’t be difficult, they have never liked William, not even in the beginning...”
“Can I know why you hate that guy so much?” Ben wondered.
“It’s a personal matter. He insulted us when he left us in the lurch! But the thing that makes me furious is that when he played with us we just performed at third-rate places... and now... he and his little new band have a gig in the coolest pub in town!” Riley explained angrily.
“And once they are off the ring... that stage will be just for us!” Xander sneered.
“I like that!” Ben sneered.

**********************************
Buffy heard someone ring the doorbell at her house and she went to open. When she saw who stood before her she couldn’t believe it.

“Faith, Andrew, what a nice surprise!” she exclaimed, hugging them.
“Did you really think I would lose your debut, B?” the other girl smiled at her, making herself comfortable on the sofa, as if she was at her home.
Typical of Faith.
“Yeah, Buffy, and guess what? I brought my video camera, I must immortalize this moment, no matter what!” Andrew exclaimed, showing his camera proudly as he sat on the sofa beside Faith, but not before he had asked permission to do so to Buffy.
“Andy, you are obsessed with this video camera! I bet that if you had had one the day your mother gave birth to you, you would have shot the day of your own birth!” Faith made fun of him, starting to play with his blond hair. “Although, I have to admit, sometimes we have lots of fun with that video camera...” she smiled maliciously at him, before dragging him to her and kissing him with passion.


Faith and Andrew were Buffy’s best friends from when she lived in San Francisco, the town where she was born and where she had spent most of her life, before moving to Sunnydale.
All their families lived pretty close, so the three guys had grown up together, and they were inseparable. Even after Buffy moved, they hadn’t lost contact. They paid visits to each other once in a while, mostly during the Summer.
Although Andrew was a year older than them, since they were children the two girls had always submitted him to their wills; mostly Faith, because by punching and beating him every now and then she had turned him into her little slave. And things hadn’t changed not even now that they were a couple.
He was shy, calm and a little bit clumsy, while she was gritty, always ready to start a fight and never letting anyone command her. And yet... their relationship worked very well, since they had been together for almost four years now. In their case it was true, opposites attract!
Buffy and Faith were also very different, as day and night, in every single aspect. Buffy was blond, with a sunny disposition, sociable and petite; while Faith was brunette, with a dark style, very less sociable and anything but delicate! But Buffy knew that under her tough attitude Faith hid a golden heart.
As soon as she had heard about the gig, Buffy had phoned her friends to tell them the good news, but she hadn’t expected a visit from them.

“Well, B, I’m too curious to finally meet the very famous Mr. Ice, whose heart you’d finally captured! Besides, I also wanna see the dude our dear Will put her clutches on!” Faith added.
“Sure, F! If you are so eager to meet them, you both can come to listen us practice this afternoon. Have I already told you that now we have...”
“A-private-studio-room. And this one makes thirty-nine times you’ve repeated that!” Andrew made her noticed, bored.
“Can you punch him for me?” Buffy asked Faith nonchalantly, exchanging an understanding gaze with her friend.
And Faith did so.
“Ouch!” Andrew complained, massaging his shoulder and realizing that things between them were still very much like they were when they were children... and that he was still the one who always got his fingers burnt.

TBC

Hope you’ll still like it! ;)

Thank you so much, Caitie!
And now, as promised..

Chapter 20

Angel, William, Willow and Buffy took a deep breath, as they waited for Clem to introduce them to the crowd. The sound check and practice they did in the afternoon was very good, they remembered every song, they felt alright... so why were they so nervous?
Maybe because it was kinda different to play for two or three friends of theirs that came to see them practice and to be on a stage where at least one hundred people were waiting for them, without mentioning that most of them were perfect strangers…
Clem had already said the name of the band, and they could already hear the clapping and the shouts to incite them. There was no turning back anymore.

They went on the stage, glancing quickly at the crowd that observed them, looking for their friends, waving their hands because they were too electrified to speak, so they immediately started the first song on their play list, a medley of ‘Minority’ and ‘Warning’ by Greenday.
The crowd was very enthusiastic with their applause, and their second cover, ‘Vehicles Shock Me’ by Ghost of the Robot met the same destiny, too.
Relieved, the four guys also started talking and interacting with their crowd. Honestly, only William and Buffy did, because they had the most outgoing personalities. They decided to play some of their own songs, and their listeners seemed to like them a lot.

They had invited all their friends. Willow had asked her classmates at the university, Amy, Kate and Kennedy who had accepted enthusiastically; Anya had accepted Angel’s invitation mostly because she saw this as the perfect chance to pick up a boy.
So she had smartened herself up and she had already analyzed the whole pub, as she drank her cocktail in the most sensual way she could, and finally she had put her eyes on a gorgeous barman with brown hair and red mèches, and she hadn’t taken her eyes off him since then. And her goal seemed to be looking back at her, smiling pleased at the attention.

< If we keep going this way, that awesome stud and I will end up soon doing together that... *gymnastics* I like doing so much!> she thought optimistically.

The loudest screams and incitements came from the central table, where Wesley, Tara, Doyle, Cordelia, Andrew and Faith sat. All of them seemed to be getting along pretty well, after William and Buffy had done the introductions. So, maybe in the future they’d be able to go out on a multiple date, including the two couples on the stage, too.
Between kisses and tenderness they supported their friends animatedly.

At the opposite corner there was another table of six people watching the performing band, but their intentions were very different. Xander hugged a girl with long black hair, as Riley and Ben clung to two blonde girls.
“So, Dru, did you understand? It’s her!” Xander exclaimed, pointing at the guitarist, as the girl in his arms rubbed her face against his.
“There wasn’t any need to point her to me, I had already figured it was her by the way they’re looking at each other... as no one else exists in the world. Oh God, they’re so pathetic!” Drusilla commented, kissing Xander without caring about the people observing them. “What do you think, Harm?” she went on, turning to the blonde hugged with Ben.
“You’re totally right, big sis, I can’t stand them! Plus, she is so insignificant!” Harmony nodded. “Although I owe a favor to William, because if he hadn’t left I wouldn’t have met you, honey!” she murmured, kissing her boyfriend.
“Don’t be so thankful, Harm, this is no time for good feelings! At least not for them. That stage is meant for your band to play on it, and not for those four incompetents, am I right, my love?” the third girl exclaimed, without parting from Riley.
“You just took the words out of my mouth, Darla. I wonder how you manage to do that every time, baby!” Riley commented, kissing her impetuously.
.

“Get ready, girls, the show is almost over!” Xander warned them.
“Right, we’ll keep William busy. You, don’t lose sight of the blonde!” Riley added.
“You already know what you gotta do, don’t you, honey?” Xander went on, looking at his girlfriend.
“Sure, my Captain, we’ve learned our parts perfectly!” she smiled at him.

As soon as she saw the band thanking the crowd and saying goodbye, Drusilla told the other two to get ready. In fact, after the claps finally died, the four guys left the stage.


Xander and the other two guys went looking for William and they found him before he could reach his friends, or worse, his girlfriend.
“Hey, my dear old friend, what a great show! Why don’t you come to our table? We’ll buy you a beer, you really deserve it!” Xander invited him and William accepted, mostly because he rarely said no to a beer.

“So, where are the bloody annoying versions of Huey, Dewey and Louie in miniskirt?” William wondered.
“You should show a little more respect to our girlfriends! Anyway, they’re not here, they have other things to at the moment...” Riley vaguely answered.

******************************************************

Drusilla saw Buffy first, when she headed towards the bathroom to refresh herself after all the playing. That was the perfect chance. Drusilla called out her friend and her sister and they followed her to the bathroom.
Seeing the three girls reflected in the mirror as they stared at her insistently, Buffy turned.
“Do you need something?” she wondered with a forced smile.
“We just wanted to congratulate for the show, you were great!” Darla answered, showing her the same smile. “But compliments are not everything we wanted to give you. We wanted also to show you all our compassion, you poor girl!” she added, making her interlocutor perplexed.
“What do you mean?” Buffy narrowed her eyes.
“Well, you are William’s girlfriend, aren’t’ you?” Harmony exclaimed, looking at her with air of superiority. “It mustn’t be pleasant to share him with all the other girls he has, right?” she asked nonchalantly.
“What the hell are you talking about? And who the hell are you?”
“Didn’t you get it, yet? We are his ex-girlfriends, from when he played in the other band. He cheated on all of us, he flattered us, he seduced us, he used us and then threw us away as if we were a cleaning tissue! He dated all of us at the same time, without any one of us knowing about the others, and when we figured it out, it was too late! The bastard!” Drusilla exclaimed, looking at Buffy with her big deep dark eyes with purple sparkles inside.
“No, it can’t be... he... he’s not like that...” Buffy stuttered, not wanting to believe those words.
“After all, we can’t deny he’s irresistible, and he’s unique in bed, no matter how much I hate him, I can’t regret having sex with him!” Darla went on, already knowing that she had pushed the right button.
“Yeah, you simply can’t forget Blondie Bear! C’mon, admit it, he’s priceless under the sheets! I tremble just at the memory!” Harmony added, fanning herself with her hands, as Buffy dusted her with her look for daring call * her* William with that awful nickname.


But she didn’t answer their questions, so Drusilla hit the mark.
“Oh my God! You two haven’t had sex yet!” she figured out, and Buffy blushed instantly, giving her more precious information.
“Don’t tell me you’re still virgin!” she went on, hitting the mark again.
“That’s why he’s so interested about you. Sure! You’re just a challenge to him, and while he waits for him to win this challenge, God only knows how many girls, true women, he has already shagged. After all, that bastard must have his fun. Let me guess, I bet he tells you he goes out with his friends...” Darla added.
“But it’s the truth, he does hang out with his friends...” Buffy struck back, not wanting to listen to them anymore.
“Poor little girl, what did you think? That you were special to him? As soon as he gets what he wants from you, he will dump you as he did with everyone before you!” Drusilla warned her.
“Stop it, leave me alone, you are just three liar slanderers!” Buffy screamed almost crying, running away as quickly as she could, as the three girls smiled satisfied.

“My Captain will be happy!” Drusilla exulted, clapping her hands happily.
“And you were so smart, how did you realize she is still a virgin? If I didn’t know you better, big sis, I would say that are a seer!” Harmony chuckled.
“Well, my dear, that ‘Blondie Bear’ was genial, you really pissed her off! Only you could think about such a nickname!” Darla smiled and they all laughed.

*****************************************
Buffy came back the main room. The three couples at the central table were having a tender moment, Angel and Willow had gone upstairs to the second floor. Willow’s friend were chatting and Anya was busy flirting with the barman she had aimed at; but William seemed to be nowhere. Before she could be worried though, he appeared behind her back, hugging her.
“Were you looking for me, sunshine?” he whispered.
“Where the hell were you?” she snapped, kinda coldly.
“Well, I was with the guys of my former band. I would have introduced them to you, but they had to go, I don’t know why ... it will be for the next time!” he justified, a little bit puzzled by her sharp reaction.
Buffy seemed to soften at that. It was better to avoid an useless argument anyway, this wasn’t the time for it. This night was a night to celebrate without having bad thoughts. In fact, she took her mind off her gloomy thoughts and enjoyed her night with her friends and William. After all, it was three stranger girls’ word against her boyfriend’s word, and she had decided to trust him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next afternoon they didn’t have classes so Buffy had gone to William’s house. They were cuddling on his sofa, both wearing just their jeans, when the ring of William’s mobile distracted them. Buffy saw him read the SMS he had received with a large smile on his lips and then he threw his mobile on the sofa.
“Luv, I’ll go put my sweater on and take my coat, so we can go out!” he told her, going upstairs.

Buffy kept staring at the sofa.

< Why was he smiling? >

It would take just a second to check his mobile, but it would have meant to violate his privacy.

It was just innocent curiosity; just to be calmer, there wasn’t anything wrong with that. As she was still arguing with herself, she had already grabbed the mobile with one hand, searching for the last SMS he had received, without resisting the temptation of reading it.

‘Hi William, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you! Lucky for me, this week I’ll come to Sunnydale, so we can spend some time together, finally. It seems like an eternity since the last time. I’ll be there on Friday afternoon on the 4:30 train. Go pick me up at the station; I’m counting on that! Can’t wait to see you, and don’t get busy, I want you all just for me. A huge, huge kiss, Dawn.’

< Who the hell is this girl? What does she want from William? But mostly, why did William smiled at the thought of meeting her? > Buffy thought confused, putting the mobile back on the sofa, before his owner came back.

TBC

Ihihih evil cliff hanger, I know.. >:-D

Thank you Caitie and Jessica! ;)
Uhmm.. I’m afraid you may need a tissue after this chapter.. :’-(

Chapter 21

Suddenly, last night’s conversation, the one she’d finally managed to take off her mind, came back insistently.

< ‘It mustn’t be pleasant to share him with all the other girls he has, right?’ No, it’s not true; he’s not that kind of guy. ‘You’re just a challenge to him… After all, that bastard must have his fun...’ Well, it’s true, I haven’t given myself to him yet, what if he was sick of me and was looking for someone else? After all, he has certain needs... that I haven’t satisfied yet... ‘I bet he tells you he goes out with his friends...’ No, he can’t use his friends as an alibi, William would never lie to me... Wait! He lied to me twice already, but it was about two stupid things without importance... but what if this wasn’t the only stuff he’s lied to me about? >

“Buffy, hey? It’s the fifth time I call your name! Can you tell me what you are thinking about?” William exclaimed, he had came back from his room and had tried to get her attention for a while, until he resorted to waving his hand in front of her eyes.
Buffy came back to reality, looking at him, but she decided not to talk with him about what she knew, avoiding what could become a huge argument.
“Uh! Nothing, I was just thinking about my upcoming exams...” she lied. “Let’s go out, it’ll make it better!” she added, taking her jacket.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Will, I think William has another girlfriend!” Buffy revealed to her best friend that same night, as they sat at a table in the ‘Magic Box’.
Willow almost spat out the orange juice she was drinking.
“Oh, c’mon, Buffy, that’s a big piece of bullshit! Please, don’t say it anymore, you know that William is crazy about you!” the redhead laughed, as skeptical as ever.
“No, Will, you don’t know. Yesterday just after our show, three girls talked to me. They told me they were his ex-girlfriends... and that he has tons of women … and that he’s cheating on me as much as he pleases...”
“And you believe three perfect strangers’ words! I bet they invented everything just because they’re envious!” Willow struck back.
“I told myself the same thing, in fact I didn’t give much importance to their babbling. But this afternoon I was with William at his house... well I’ll save you the details, you can figure those out...” she explained, a little bit embarrassed. “Anyway, all of the sudden he received a SMS, he read it with a pleased smile and then he went to his room, so... I’m ashamed of myself for doing this... but I checked his mobile and I read the SMS, and guess what? It’s from a certain Dawn who says that she misses him a lot, that they haven’t seen each other for ages and that she will be here next weekend so she wants him just for her to spend some time together...” she went on, getting nervous.
“C’mon, Buffy, it just seems so odd, I’m sure there must be a logical explanation...”
“It’s what I’m about to find out!”
“Are you planning something, Slayer?” Willow struck back, but she wasn’t using a very playful tone. “I’m serious, Buffy, whatever you’re planning to do, give up, it’s better, you’ll get in big trouble if William discovers you!”
“No, you won’t make me change my mind. I wanna find out what’s going on and I swear I’ll do it!” the blond stated, punching the table with her fist.

----------------------------------------------------------------
It was Friday afternoon, it was exactly 4:15 and Buffy was already patrolling, well hidden behind the sign with the trains’ schedules, on a different railway platform from the one for Los Angeles’ train.

That morning, William had told Buffy he would be busy in the afternoon and that he couldn’t cancel his prior engagement. So, pessimistic as ever, she expected him to pop out from the subway at any moment.

In fact, five minutes later, William showed up, pacing eagerly around the platform.

Buffy trembled at the thought of discovering a bitter truth, but she had to be ready to face him.
The loud speaker announced the arrival of the train, and seeing it approach William stopped in the middle of the platform, looking at every wagon until he found the person he was waiting for, making her see him, too.
With her heart in her throat and a growing sense of foreboding, Buffy saw the girl get off the train. She was extremely pretty, tall, slim and with long light brown hair. She couldn’t be sure, because she was too far away, but she seemed to be very young, too.

“William!” she exclaimed, putting down her suitcase and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Dawn, baby, I missed you so much!” he smiled, holding her tight.

That was a little too much. Buffy decided, crossing over the railways to go to the platform where Spike and Dawn stood.
“William, how could you? So, this is the * business* you couldn’t cancel!” the blonde snapped, glaring at him and trying to show him how upset she felt.
That wasn’t the way the other girl was looking at her though, she seemed to be… amused at Buffy’s display.
“Buffy, look, this is not what you think...” he tried to justify, pulling himself off Dawn’s embrace gently.
.
“No? All I know is that you are in someone else’s arms… and for Heaven’s sake, William! Isn’t she too young for you? She doesn’t seem older than seventeen!” the blonde went on.
“Actually, I’ll be fifteen in few months.. do I really seem to be seventeen? I already like you, you know?” the brunette smiled to her.

Buffy was blind with rage, this girl was stealing her boyfriend in front of her and she even found her likeable? How could she make fun of her like this?
“So, she is the famous Buffy you talked me so much about, isn’t she, Billy?” she went on, turning towards the blond man.
Buffy was perplexed.

< What? Did he talk with her about me? Wait. Crap! What if... if she is… >

The teenager cut Buffy’s thoughts off.

“Nice to meet you, Buffy. I’m Dawn Leather... William’s little sister!” she shook her hand smiling.
“Si... sis... sister?” the blonde stuttered with a weak voice, as she wished that the earth opened up and devoured her from underneath.
“It’s what I’ve been trying to explain, you big jealous bint!” William struck back, his tone was harsh, definitely not the one he used with his typical witty remarks.
“I... I don’t know how to apologize... with both of you! I was so stupid, a complete idiot, a...”
“You know, Billy also told me you have a wild temper, so I kinda expected this reaction from you!” Dawn explained.
Although Buffy still felt like a worm, she was too curious. “Billy?” she questioned her boyfriend with her eyes.

“Well, first, that’s short for William, and second… tell me if he’s not the most perfect Billy Idol look-a-like you’ve ever seen!” Dawn pointed out with a smile.


At any other moment that remark would have make all them laugh hard... but not then.
“Anyway, don’t even try to call me that; she is the only one allowed to call me that, right, Nibblet?” he said, smiling at his sister. But his smile faded out when he looked at Buffy. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m the one who asks the questions now, what the bloody hell are you doing here? It can’t be just a coincidence!” he interrogated her.
“William, please, forgive me, I didn’t want to… I don’t know what possessed me... it’s those three witches’ fault, since I met them...”

“What are you babbling about?” he cut her off.
“You know, after the show three girls came to me, a brunette and two blondes. The brunette told me the worst things about you, she said I shouldn’t delude myself about having a serious relationship with you, because you just wanted to have fun as you did with them, because they were your ex-girlfriends...”
“EX?! They’re not my ex-girlfriends! I’ve never been with... Wait. A brunette and two blondes, right?” he repeated thoughtful. “Sure! That’s why they weren’t there that night. Xander and the others had told me they didn’t come… Instead they were busy trying to confuse you with lies about me... and that Dru... she has always had the ability of an enchantress...” he grumbled.

“What are you talking about?” Buffy wondered puzzled as ever.
“Do you remember my former band? Well, we didn’t split very nicely. I was sure they had come to see us as a sign of peace; instead those sodding bastards stabbed me on the back with the help of those three bloody gooses they pass off as their girlfriends! Buffy, don’t believe them, I never had anything to do with them, and I’ll never will!” he reassured her.
“In fact, I didn’t believe their words, I knew it couldn’t be possible. I wanted to trust you with all my being...” she answered, but she made the huge mistake of talking about a subject she shouldn’t have ever even hinted. “But when I read the SMS on your mobile...”
“YOU WHAT?!” William roared, grabbing her arm. “How could you do that, Buffy? I told you I was busy, why did you have to check it out? I had promised to my sister that we could spend some time together, because we haven’t seen each other for more than six months...” he went on, talking to her coldly and tightening his grip on her arm.

“Forgive me, you are so right, but it was stronger than me. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have ever done it.. sorry.” she said with tearful eyes.
He was hurting her, not due to his grip on her arm, but due to the coldness and the scorn he was looking at her with.
Dawn interfered, pulling him away from Buffy.
“Calm down, William, it’s just a misunderstanding..” she tried to defuse.
“No, Dawn, it’s not that simple, it’s bloody more than a misunderstanding..” he said, caressing her hair tenderly, and then he turned to Buffy again. “.. it’s a matter of trust, trust that you hadn’t in me, Buffy. I thought you were different, that you were stronger; instead at the first bloody stupid thing that happened.. you showed me who you still are: a childish little girl so unsure that she loses herself into paranoia. And with this ground.. I’m not sure I want to create something serious with you..”

Every word of his for Buffy was a stab though her heart, until he said those three faithful words that took away all her hope.
“It’s over!”

But those three words hurt even the boy who had made a huge effort to hide a tear and a sob in his voice.

TBC

I know that now it’s a tragedy :’( , but all I can say is TRUST ME, I won’t let you down! ;)

Thank you so, so very much, Caitie, blondiebear and Jessica , you’re so kind and I’m touched!
Well, I think things will keep getting even worse before they get better... but please, keep trusting me! ;)

Chapter 22

“C’mon Dawn, let’s go home!” William turned to her sister, leaving with her.
Buffy didn’t even have the strength to try to stop him, to call him, to ask him to come back to her as he had disappeared on his way to the subway station.


“It’s all my fault, if I hadn’t come here, if I hadn’t sent you that message…” Dawn blamed herself, her face wet with the tears she’d shed after watching the whole scene.
“No, don’t say that, not even joking! This is not your fault, understood? Come here, Nibblet!” William reassured her, hugging her.
“But... I don’t understand... you seemed to care about her so much...” she went on, sniffing.
“And I still care about her, but after what happened, I just can’t anymore. You know why I reacted this way!”
“Yeah, I know. It’s all about that old story, but you can’t keep thinking about the past!”
“You’re right, but you know how much I suffered ...”
“And how afraid you are of suffering again!” she anticipated him, holding his hand in hers.
“Yeah, but... let’s not think about sad things now! You know that your Big Bro is a hard nut to crack and I will get over this! Plus, I promised you that we would have a special night just for us and you know I always keep my promises!” he pretended to be cheerful, but Dawn didn’t buy it... and to be honest, neither did he.

***************************************************
Buffy collapsed to the ground, shedding all the tears she had and when she had none left, she got back to her home feeling exhausted.
She was relieved that her mother was away on a business trip and she wouldn’t come back until Christmas. She would have comforted her as she always did, but right now Buffy didn’t feel like talking with anyone... not even her best friend, whom she had to call anyway but due to another reason.
“Hello?” Willow exclaimed on the other end of the receiver.
“Hi, Will...” Buffy said... with a hoarse voice due to all the crying.
“Buffy, wassup? Are you okay?” the redhead asked concerned.
“Let’s just say I’ve had better days. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t go to practice tomorrow, I really don’t feel like doing that now... so I’ll go directly to ‘The Bronze’ on Sunday... I don’t think there’ll be any problem if we don’t go over our songs just this once, I already know everything ...”
“Ok, Buffy, yeah, I think so, too. Anyway, Angel just called me, saying that William told him he wouldn’t come tomorrow, too...” Willow explained, and after hearing his name Buffy felt like she was suffocating. “Buffy... everything is alright between you two, isn’t it?” her friend wondered as discreet as ever.
“Will, I gotta go now. See you there on Sunday!” Buffy hung up quickly.
Just one more second and she wouldn’t have resisted anymore. She’d been wrong before, she still had some tears and she shed them all on her pillow.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday night came a bit too fast for Buffy and somehow she had managed to hide everything that had happened from Willow.

As she drove to ‘The Bronze’ in her mind there was only one thought.

< He will be there, of course, so I’ll have to see him again. How am I supposed to do that? I don’t think I have the courage to face him… so talking with him is just out of the question. Plus, he has nothing to say to me anymore, he already said as much the last time we saw each other. Yeah, sure, I was a complete idiot, but... after all he wasn’t so right. Who am I kidding? He was totally right! But I think... he exaggerated by telling me... it... it’s o... over!>

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes once again but she willed them away, shaking her head. There wasn’t time for this kind of thoughts.
She had gotten to ‘The Bronze’ and she’d have to face the harsh reality.
She parked her car, took her stuff out and got into the pub from the back. She found Willow and Angel that were finishing all the preparations.
“Buffy, how are you? I hope you feel better! Why didn’t you come with William?” her friend wondered.
As Buffy was looking for the most believable excuse, the bleached blond made his entry.
“Hi guys. Well, let’s begin this bloody show as soon as possible, because the sooner it ends, the better it is!” he snapped, sitting at the drums without even glancing at Buffy.

The boy had acted like that due to a very simple reason: if he had looked at her, if she had talked to him, if only she had directed one of her bright smiles at him... he would have been under her spell once again... and he couldn’t allow himself to do that.
Angel and Willow looked at each other perplexed, wondering silently what was going on. Whatever it was, it definitely wouldn’t be good for the group.

Their show was about to start. The pub was very crowded with people eager to see their show and hear their music. Their friends weren’t there tonight, but hidden in the crowd were Xander, Riley, Ben and their girlfriends who watched them.
“I don’t understand, you told me that she was shocked, wasn’t she, Dru?” Xander asked nervously. Drusilla confined herself to just nod. “So why the hell are they performing tonight on that stage again as if nothing had happened?” her boyfriend snapped.
“I... I can’t explain that. We did such a nice job... and it seems it was all for nothing!” Darla complained.
“Let’s go, I don’t wanna see another of their shows!” Harmony snorted.
“No, let’s stay, at least at the beginning ... maybe it’s not what we think...” Ben suggested and the others agreed.

Clem introduced the ‘Chosen Ones’ and there were lots of incitements and applauses, even stronger by the people who had seen their first show.
The only different thing was the way the band showed up to their crowd, mostly the two members who were supposed to be the entertainers.
In fact, Buffy confined herself to raise her head without a word to the crowd, she just began the first song playing all the wrong notes, so much so that Willow and Angel figured out which song it was just because they remembered the first song in their play list, so they managed to save the day. And William? He seemed like a zombie and an amoeba would have played the drums with more vitality than him.

The crowd was puzzled, but Xander and all the others laughed a lot about that.
“So, your Princess was good, wasn’t she?” Drusilla exclaimed, smiling to her boyfriend.
“Hell, yeah, you were good! Look how troubled they are, you have destroyed all the concord there was in that band. You were wonderful, girls!” Xander approved, kissing her.
“Just another couple of songs and I bet the crowd will start throwing stuff at them!” Ben laughed.
“Yeah, so let’s get ready. Girls, you already know what to do!” Riley said, bending towards his girlfriend.
“Don’t worry, my love. I haven’t lost sight of him since we’ve got in and I won’t lose sight of him now, you can bet on it!” she reassured him between kisses.
“That stage is going to become yours! You’ll be a success, and tomorrow all my friends will be scarily envious!” Harmony chuckled, holding Ben tightly.

Ben had been right: in the next song, Buffy had gotten so nervous that she broke one of her guitar’s chords; William was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even know what he was doing anymore; the two blondes had confused Angel so badly that he had forgotten an entire bass notes sequence... making it so that Willow sung a lot of false notes.
It was a complete disaster, and the crowd began booing them and yelling them to go away, so much so that in the middle of their third song, the band stepped off the stage, leaving the pub.

Clem was already despairing, trying to entertain the upset crowd, when three girls approached him.
“You know, if you are interested, there are some friends of ours who could go on the stage and play something...” Darla suggested.
“Trust us, they’re pretty good, they’re not scrubs at all... I can assure you that the crowd will like them!” Drusilla helped her friend.
“After all, you have nothing to lose now. Trust us... or get ready to hear their complaints!” Harmony added, pointing to the crowd.
Clem needed desperately a diversion, any diversion and their idea sounded perfect for that.

“Ok, I wanna trust you. You said they’re kinda good, didn’t you? So, tell them to take their instruments and get ready, I’m going to introduce them. By the way, what’s the name of the band?” Clem asked.
“They are ‘The Initiative’, and they are already ready to play!” Darla assured him, as Drusilla had run to let the boys know the news and Harmony went on the stage, taking away the other band’s instruments.

**************************************************
Once, they were outside, all Buffy wanted to do was to get inside her car and forget that terrible night, but Willow didn’t give her that chance.
“No, Buffy, you’re not going to leave so easily. Now, you tell me what the hell is wrong with William and you to make us show up so badly!” the redhead snapped.
“Willow is right: if you have a little skirmish between you two, the band shouldn’t get involved... but what’s done is done, I guess this is the end for the ‘Chosen Ones’. It was cool while it lasted... thanks to you two!” Angel said, looking at them accusingly. “I would add that you should never mix private life with music... but I’m the last one who should talk!” he added, smiling to his Willow and holding her hands.
William and Buffy were about to say something, but the announcement Clem was making interrupted them.

-- Attention please. I apologize with all of you, maybe the Chosen Ones weren’t in the mood to perform tonight, but the show goes on, because we have ‘The Initiative’ here with us, let’s give it up for them! --

Hearing that, William rolled his eyes.
“Those bastards! Bloody Hell, that’s what they wanted!” the blond snapped.
“Those damn witches!” Buffy muttered, beginning to figure out what had happened.
Willow and Angel understood less and less.
“See? That band stole our stage, and it’s all because of your stupid argument!” Willow scolded them.
“I wouldn’t call it ‘stupid argument’, William and I...” Buffy murmured, trembling.
“Buffy and I split up!” William said in such a low voice that the others barely heard him.

Willow got closer to Buffy, and seeing her tearful eyes she figured out that her friend was about to begin crying, so she helped her.
“It was a really bad night for everyone. There’s nothing to do anymore, so Buffy and I’ll go home. Bye, guys!” she said, heading with her friend towards the parking area.
“Buffy, I’m so sorry... I couldn’t imagine. C’mon, you’re free to vent your pain, it will be good for you!” Willow hugged her and Buffy cried on her shoulder, until her sobs and sniffs faded out.
“Buffy, would you like to... tell me what happened, please?” Willow asked tactfully, and wiping her eyes Buffy told her everything that had happened.

“That’s what you were planning when we talked at the ‘Magic Box’! Buffy, I told you...”
“No, Willow, save me your damn ‘I told you so’ dance!” Buffy snapped with an acid tone, but she immediately realized how badly she had reacted. “Oh, Will, forgive me. See? I’m horrible, I’m blaming you and this wasn’t your fault, it’s just my fault, damn me and my stupid unjustified jealousy!” she cursed herself.
“Buffy, stop it, you can’t blame yourself for everything! You know what? I guess I would have reacted the same way you did. After all, you didn’t even know that William had a sister!” her friend assured her.
“Yeah, that’s the point, he has never talked about his family, about his past... he’s so shunning and I don’t know why...” Buffy murmured, resuming her sobbing.
“The only thing I know is that you can’t drive like this. C’mon, give me the keys, I’ll drive you home!” the redhead said and the blonde obeyed, giving her the keys.

“Will, what would I do without you?” Buffy forced herself to smile at her, as they got in the car.
“That’s why best friends exist!” the other girl smiled back, setting the car in motion.

TBC

Don’t worry, this time I’ll be faster with the update, because I know this is such a sad moment :’-( and I want it to end as soon as possible.. Well.. as you wait for the next chapter.. tell me what you think! ;)

By the way, tomorrow I’ll update ‘Simply Absurd’, too! ;)

Thank you, as always!
Now it’s time for some explanations… and there’s a bit of fluff, although it’s still pretty angst, but hold on, please, things will go better! ;)

Chapter 23
( Lyrics from ‘Walk through the fire’ and ‘Going through the motions’, both from the BtVS Musical)

***************************************************************
Angel looked at William as he kicked the wall, cursing for the umpteenth time.
“You know, we don’t know each other that well. In fact, we almost don’t know each other at all, but I’ve always admired you due to two things: how much you cared about the band and how much you cared about Buffy. But now that I see you like this... probably I have been wrong about you!” Angel stated.

William stopped kicking the wall and burst out laughing, but it was a sad, empty and very bitter laugh.
“Spare me the scold, buddy, you don’t know a bloody thing! Do you think that that band is performing there by mere chance now? They’ve been waiting for us to be in trouble to take advantage of the situation. They were my former band, they pretended to be my friends again and then they stabbed me on the back. Wanna know how? They sent those bloody bitches they call girlfriends in a mission to confuse Buffy with fake stuff about me. So, at the first occasion she had she bought all their lies, she didn’t trust me... she checked my mobile out... and she even spied me, don’t you see? I don’t know her like I thought I did... I’d understand if she was a bit jealous, because that’s normal stuff, but she exaggerated, just as...” he rambled stopping all of the sudden.
Angel had listened to him silently, trying to imagine how he would feel if he was in Spike’s position.


“They want the pub? Bloody take it, then! But what right did they have to spoil the thing that I care for the most?” William went on with a low voice and almost tearful eyes.
“Let me guess, now you are gonna head towards the nearest pub and drown your sorrows in alcohol, right?” Angel asked, approaching the blond.
“What are you, a seer?”
“No, I’m just a careful watcher and you are behaving as a guy who is going to get sickly drunk until he barely remembers his name and goes with the first girl his eyes catch a glimpse of!” the brunette explained.
“No, I’m not that kind of man... “ he defended.
“But after you’ve drunk even your soul, you will become that kind of man!” Angel struck back.
“Let’s say I’m gonna do that. How do you think you’ll stop me?” the blond teased him.
“Simple, I’m gonna go there with you, I would keep sight of you all the time long to prevent you from doing something you’ll be sorry for the rest of your life!” Angel answered nonchalantly as they headed to the parking area.

“C’mon, jump in, we’ll take my car, mostly because I won’t let you drive tonight!” the brunette commented.
“I can’t leave my car here; this place is not safe... what if someone stole it?” William got worried.
“Steal that old crock?!” Angel burst out laughing as William threw daggers at him with his eyes, approaching his beloved De Soto.
“Desy, don’t fear, I’ll come back for you tomorrow... and don’t listen to the bloody ponce... he has a terrible taste in cars!” he exclaimed, caressing the hood, and then he got inside Angel’s car, as its owner looked at him as he had escaped from a Madhouse.

-------------------------------------------------------------
It had been four days since that horrible Sunday, four days that Buffy had done nothing but wallow in self-pity. She hadn’t gone to the University, she hadn’t seen or heard from any of her friends, she hadn’t even left her house, she had barely eaten and she had seemed to have lost interest in everything.
But in that moment she oddly felt like doing something, and this something was to take her acoustic guitar out from its case and play. She held it, realizing that it was still perfectly tuned, so she started pinching the chords, moving her fingers on the several frets. The melody came out easily and so did the words.


I TOUCH THE FIRE AND IT FREEZES ME
I LOOK INTO AND IT’S BLACK
WHY CAN’T I FEEL? MY SKIN SHOULD CRACK AND PEEL
I WANT THE FIRE BACK
I WAS ALWAYS BRAVE AND KIND OF RIGHTEOUS
NOW I FIND I’ M WAVERING
NOTHING SEEMS TO PENETRATE MY HEART
I CAN’T EVEN SEE IF THIS IS REALLY ME
AND I JUST WANNA BE ALIVE

She ended the riff and put the guitar back against the wall.
“Well, Buffy, congratulations, my dear, with this creation the ‘Best Happy Song’ award is gonna be yours no doubt!” she said sarcastically.
She was about to get upset once again, but someone knocked at the door.
Although she didn’t want anyone to visit to her, the girl went to open the door and she found Willow and Faith on the threshold, so she invited them in.
“Buffy, I haven’t bothered you lately, because I thought you needed to be alone, but now I’m beginning to get worried about you. You don’t look very good!” Willow commented in concern.
“Well, I didn’t come to see your show once and I find you like this? What did William do to you? If I find him I’ll beat him down!” Faith exclaimed, crocking her fingers.
“So, you didn’t tell her?” Buffy figured out, looking at Willow who shook her head to say no.
“It didn’t seem fair to me...” the redhead justified.
“In fact, it wouldn’t have been fair; I wanna hear everything from the protagonist’s mouth. So, B, c’mon, tell dear old Faith everything!”

------------------------------------------------------------------
“So, see, Faith? The one you should beat down it’s me!” Buffy concluded after her tale.
“And he left you just for that? It seems so exaggerated. I’ll look for that stubborn guy and I’ll scold him as he deserves!” Faith swore, ready to go out, but the blond blocked her.
“No, no, you don’t understand, it seemed exaggerated to me, too, but not to him. I. had never seen him like that... he didn’t seem himself anymore... and the last night we saw each other there was such a freezing atmosphere between us that I remembered why I called him ‘Mr. Ice’!” Buffy said, but hers wasn’t a witty remark.
“I’m sure that things will get better with time...” Willow comforted her, trying to give her some reassurance.
“Things don’t change if you don’t help them change!” Faith brought Buffy roughly back to reality. “And if they don’t change, you must react, B!” she incited her.

“But I can’t live without him, Faith. This is not one of the stupid crushes I had when we still were teenagers, remember? I’m in LOVE with him, with capital ‘L’, and I can’t go on like this...”
“Instead of saying you can’t live without him, try to live far away from him!” the brunette suggested.
“What do you mean?”
“On Saturday, Andrew and I are going back to San Francisco. You could come with us and stay there for a while; coming back to your roots might be good for you. We’ll tell Joyce when you are there, I’m sure she’ll understand...” Faith suggested.
“Go back to San Francisco?” Buffy repeated.
“Yes, after all, you aren’t going to University now, and you have no more practices with the band. Plus, I’m not saying it’s forever, just for a while, you’ll decide when you wanna come back here. We haven’t have any trouble to have you living with us, you know, my house is your house, too... although there’s no comparison between your wonderful house... and our hole!” she commented sarcastically, managing to make the blonde smile. “Anyway, think about it, B, ok?” Faith said seriously as she approached the front door along with Willow who had preferred not to interfere.
“I’ll do. Thank you, girls, it was good to talk with you!” Buffy greeted them, closing the door.

She was about to go upstairs to her room, when she heard her mobile ring.
“It’s a confabulation, then!” she muttered, picking it on the sofa where she had forgotten it.
She looked at the display. It was an unknown number and there was only a way to find out who it was.
“Hello?” she exclaimed, pushing the button to answer.
“Buffy, it’s Dawn, you remember me, don’t you? I would have called you before, but you know my brother, he never leaves his bloody mobile! Due to a miracle, I managed to take your number from his phone book and I had to invent an excuse to talk with you freely, because I don’t want him to hear us...” the teenager explained, rambling.

“Dawn, I’m glad to hear from you again. I was sure I had made a bad first impression when we met...” Buffy admitted, thinking about how she had reacted.
“It’s precisely about that that I wanna talk with you about... You must have thought William exaggerated, but I can assure you he has his reasons, but that’s not something I can explain over the phone, we must meet. Please, can you give me the directions to get to your house, so I can come there on tomorrow afternoon, ok? Please, it’s very important, you’ll understand then...” Dawn informed her.
Buffy agreed, telling her how to reach her house and deciding the time for their meeting.
That call had made Buffy very curious.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day after, Dawn arrived on time, but when Buffy went to open the door, she found she wasn’t alone.
“Hi, Dawn, Tara, you came, too!” she exclaimed, smiling and inviting them in.
“Yes, you know, as soon as I found out what happened between Spike and you, I asked Dawn to let me come here with her. Actually, Cordelia was supposed to come with us, too, but there was a sudden sale in her favourite boutique... you know her!” Tara chuckled, sitting near Dawn on the sofa, in front of Buffy.

“Buffy, on Sunday I didn’t come to see you on purpose, because I knew it could have ended like that... honestly it was even worse than I expected, especially when I saw William come back totally drunk!” Dawn explained.
“D... dr... drunk?” Buffy stuttered, matching that word with the most scariest consequences.
Dawn seemed to read her mind.
“Don’t be afraid, Angel was with him and he looked after him to be sure he didn’t do anything stupid. Funny, we can say he was his guardian... Angel!” Dawn chuckled, as Buffy seemed to be relieved and she made a mental note to ask Willow to give Angel a huge kiss for her.

“Buffy, the point is, my brother is anything but a womanizer!” Dawn justified him. “Well, you know that William and I are English, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do, it was one of the first things he told me, but I had already figured that on my own by his accent... and yours, too!” Buffy smiled.
“You must know that in London, during his last years at High School, William had a relationship with a girl named Cecily who is a year younger than him. Honestly, I still wonder why he liked her so much, but truth is that he was crazy for this girl. At the beginning I would have sworn she felt the same about him...” Dawn started her tale.
Buffy didn’t like what Dawn related at all, but she was very aware that there must have been some girls in William’s life before her, just as she had her past, although she had never had any serious relationship before meeting William.

“When she finished High School, Cecily told him that she wanted to move to Sunnydale to attend the Law School she had chosen, but she didn’t want to leave William. So, he left London on his first year at University just for her, to follow her. That made our father very angry, it was even worse than when my brother bleached his hair for the first time... I’m sure that if he had had a tattoo or a piercing dad wouldn’t have been so mad at him. Oops, sorry, I changed subjects... Coming back to what I was saying, dad and he had a furious quarrel, Billy came off better, but there was a huge price for him to pay, because dad told him that he didn’t want to hear from him anymore and he left him to face his destiny all alone...”
“Oh, no, poor Spike!” Buffy grieved.
“Yeah, I know, but Billy is very smart. He had some money saved from some summer jobs he had done, and once he arrived here, he immediately found a job to pay his studies. Plus, he works at the University Secretary’s Office, too, that’s why he hasn’t gotten his degree yet!” Dawn explained.

TBC

More explanations (but not only that!) in the next chapter…

Thank you so much, alexandrea and Caitie!!! ;)


Chapter 24
(Lyrics from ‘I’m lost without you’ by blink-182)

“I understand. Well, I admire him even more now. He’s such a smart boy, no doubts about it!” Buffy stated.
“Yes, he is. But there was someone else helping him, right, Dawnie?” Tara made her notice.
“Yeah, right. At the beginning, mom tried to help him with the money, but when dad found out, they split and he left us forever. Don’t think it happened just because of that, truth is they’d been thinking about divorcing and dad was looking for any reason to pull it through.”
“I’m so sorry, mostly for you, Dawn. I know what it’s like to grow up without a father...” Buffy said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Anyway... how did things go with that girl?” she dared to ask.
“Unfortunately for him there wasn’t a happy ending. Their first month together was kinda calm, but then William noticed that she was growing more distant and, you know, he’s not stupid, so he immediately realized that there was something wrong and he made her confess. She said she didn’t feel anything for him anymore, that their relationship had lost all its fire... and she even dared to tell him he was beneath her!” Dawn revealed to her.

“WHAT?! After all he did for her, that bastard ungrateful viper without a heart! Tell me where she is, because when I meet her I’m gonna pummel her face!” Buffy growled furiously.
“I understand your need of revenge, my dear, but I’m afraid you can’t do that. When Cecily left William she ran away with a man named Lindsay, it seems that he was her Law teacher, but I don’t know anything more...” Tara told her.

“Poor William, my poor honey, he must had been so heart broken!” Buffy grieved.
“You bet, he fall to pieces, but his pride prevented him from going back to London. He decided to remain here and start over. He had already met Wes and the others in College and had begun hanging out with them. We met later, due to an optional course where there were no more than ten people attending the class… but I don’t think you care about that story!” Tara realized. “And then, William found Xander, too. He didn’t know he had also moved to Sunnydale. So, they created ‘The Bloody’... Spike told you the rest of that story, didn’t he?” she went on.

Buffy nodded eager to know the rest of her tale.
“That kept him distracted for a while, until, due to reasons you already know, he left the band. The point is that Spike had lost his faith in love, he had closed into himself and sworn he would never suffer again due to a woman...” Tara said.
“That doesn’t mean that my brother stopped dating girls... he still did, but it was nothing serious. Wait. I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong, my brother is not that kind of guy. When I said ‘nothing serious’ I meant that they went out for a date, maybe he flirted a little with someone... but nothing more happened. And none of those girls had the honour of having a second date with him, until you came into the picture, Buffy. You won Billy’s heart, and that’s not an easy task, trust me...”
“Maybe, Dawn, but now I’ve screwed everything up. In my defence, I’ll have to say that I didn’t know what he’d been through. My poor love, my heart breaks thinking how much he must have suffered...”


“There’s another thing you don’t know about Cecily...” Tara warned her, beckoning Dawn to go on.
“Yeah, Buffy, you must know that, at the beginning, Cecily was jealous of anyone that might come close to William, in an almost obsessive way. Sometimes he caught her when she spied him, but he was too dominated by her to argue about that. Truth is that... when you did the same thing...”
“Oh, my God, I must have reminded him of her!” Buffy realized startled, bringing a hand to her open mouth.
“Let’s say that he had a déjà-vu and he couldn’t stand to go through all that again, so he reacted that way...”
“.. because he thinks I might end up being like her, but that is never gonna happen... still I acted as a fool and now I’ve lost him!” Buffy burst out crying.

“No, Buffy, don’t talk like that! You two were born to be together, and I won’t allow your beautiful love story to end up so badly!” Dawn protested.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I do know what I’m planning. I want to go away for a while, because I can’t go on like this...”
“No, please, don’t do it... or if you really must do it... you can’t disappear so cowardly, you gotta tell him first!”
“Dawn, he doesn’t even want to see me again, so I imagine he doesn’t want to talk with me either!”
“He doesn’t wanna see you, because he is afraid of suffering again, you have to understand him, but...”
“Do you think I’m not suffering? Just look at me, I’m worn to a frazzle, and if Cordy was here she wouldn’t hesitate to tell me that!” Buffy denigrated herself.


“Dawn is right, you must talk with him, but I didn’t say you have to talk with him face-to-face.. Try to leave a message to him..” Tara suggested.
“You’re right, I owe him that, but I’m going to do more, I wanna do something to impress him, a simple message is not enough. This is the last chance I got to win him back, and if I don’t do this, I’m not worthy of being the Slayer anymore!” she swore.
“What are you planning to do?” Dawn chuckled, happy to see Buffy acting so combative again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
“Will, you were so kind by giving me a ride!” Buffy exclaimed, as her friend waited for the light to turn green.
“It’s not a matter of kindness, it’s a matter of safety, yours! Right now, in your condition, and I’m not talking about the physical one, although to tell you that you’re run down is to tell you nothing; but I mean the anxiety that is devouring you due to what you’re gonna do... well, let’s just say that if I’d let you drive, you would have crashed at the first intersection!” Willow stated. “By the way, are you sure?”
“I am, I just gotta do this. I admit it’s a bit reckless, but for William I’d do anything! He has to hear me and he will, like it or not! Anyway, if the worst came to happen and he doesn’t listen to me... I’ve already packed my bags!” Buffy explained, grieving at the last part, as Willow parked the car.

“I know you so well that I’m not surprised, not even if it’s damn cold and you didn’t even brought your coat!” her friend scolded her, helping her to take her stuff out from the back of the car.
“I don’t wanna wear it, it doesn’t let me move freely, but don’t worry, this won’t take me too long...” Buffy explained, but she felt dizzy and lost her balance, so she leaned on the car.
“Buffy, wassup? Are you ok?” Willow got alarmed, helping her.
“Will, it’s nothing. It’s just that I’m so agitated that I didn’t even eat, and that’s the result! Anyway, I’m fine already!” the blonde reassured her, heading towards her goal.
“Ok, but take care, Buffy! I’ll wait for you here, go and... good luck!” Willow said, getting inside the car.

*****************************************************
“Do you think I’m happy? That I wanted things to go like this?” William exclaimed when his sister opened the ‘Buffy’ topic for the umpteenth time.
“I just think that *you* made this mess, Billy, you must understand that the past doesn’t come back every single time. Anyway, you’re talking about trust... so, did you open yourself with her, telling her what happened before you met her? I bet you didn’t!”
William lowered his gaze, silently and that was enough answer for Dawn.

“See? So, isn’t that lack of trust, too? Tell me!”
“I’ll tell you that it’s late and you’d better go to sleep, Missy!” he tried to change subjects, pointing to the watch that showed them it was almost midnight.
But that meant another thing for Dawn.
“Uff, you sounded like mom just now! Please, Billy, give me a bit more freedom. I’m almost fifteen, so I can stay up until and later than midnight if I want! Anyway, it’s hot in here, isn’t it?” she said, opening the window that was on the street’s side.
That was the signal.
“Hot?! On the middle of December? Are you kidding? Close it immed...”

-- William, remember that talk in my car, when you showed me where you lived for the first time? --

The boy started at the sound of that voice, a more than familiar voice, that came out... just from the street, but he preferred not to go to the window.

-- Well, you’re free to throw me a bucket of icy water if you want, but it won’t stop me... --

“Nibblet, you opened the window and now * due to some mysterious magic*, Buffy is talking to me. And I suppose you don’t know anything about that...”
“Shh! Don’t listen to me, now, listen to her!” his sister made him shut up.

-- If I’m here there’s a reason. I know I have no excuses for what I did, but we can’t go on like this, that’s why I’m leaving Sunnydale tomorrow. Every corner of this town makes me think about you, about us, and I can’t bear it anymore...--

“No! She can’t leave, Dawn, tell her something, make her stay!”
“Me?! Why should I do such a thing? Remember? This is what you wanted, right? So, now you can forget her and carry on with your life!” Dawn struck back. “Anyway, look, she isn’t done talking...” she warned him with a knowing smile.
“Do you mean that...”

-- I’m here to say goodbye to you, because I know that, although you don’t want to show yourself through the window, you are there. So, to say goodbye I chose a song... It’s funny, isn’t it? Everything between us started with a song... and now, maybe everything will end with a song. You know, I’m ready for everything, because I’ve got nothing left to lose, except for you, and I’m lost without you... – she went on, as William listened to her with great attention.

He thought that the girl had already amazed him that first day at the station, but right then he had to admit that he was wrong, because she was amazing him once again with her courage.

Buffy passed the strip of her acoustic guitar over her head and once she was comfortable, she played the first chords of the song she had chosen. Casually, it was a song by their favourite band.


I SWEAR THAT I CAN GO ON FOREVER AGAIN
PLEASE LET ME KNOW THAT MY ONE BAD DAY WILL END
I WILL GO DOWN AS YOUR LOVER, YOUR FRIEND
GIVE ME YOUR LIPS, AND WITH ONE KISS WE BEGIN


ARE YOU AFRAID OF BEING ALONE?
CAUSE I AM, I’M LOST WITHOUT YOU
ARE YOU AFRAID OF LEAVING TONIGHT?
CAUSE I AM, I’M LOST WITHOUT YOU

I’LL LEAVE MY ROOM OPEN TILL SUNRISE FOR YOU
I’LL KEEP MY EYES PATIENTLY FOCUSED ON YOU
WHERE ARE YOU NOW? I CAN HEAR FOOTSTEPS, I’M DREAMING
AND IF YOU WILL, KEEP ME FROM WAKING TO BELIEVE THIS


ARE YOU AFRAID OF BEING ALONE?
CAUSE I AM, I’M LOST WITHOUT YOU
ARE YOU AFRAID OF LEAVING TONIGHT?
CAUSE I AM, I’M LOST WITHOUT YOU

I’M LOST WITHOUT YOU ( X 2)

The song was over.
Buffy raised her gaze hopefully towards the open window, but not only she didn’t see anyone, but she also found out it was closed now. More upset than she’d ever been, she walked back towards Willow’s car, as the tears that had already began rolling down her cheeks as she sang to him, increased, until she couldn’t see clearly anymore.


******************************************
“I don’t understand. That girl, who is the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to you, has just given her heart to you on a silver plate and you don’t do anything, you stay here, still and speechless! How can you be so insensitive?” Dawn scolded him, but William smirked.
“Oh, Nibblet, I’m already doing something, I’m waiting, waiting for the right moment to run to her, because then it will be even more beautiful. If I had done that immediately... it would be so predictable, just like a fluffy sentimental chick flick, and I’m not predictable...”
“No, you’re just evil! Poor dear girl, you are horrible by making her suffer like that...” his sister rolled her eyes in resignation.

TBC

So, are you ready to smile again? ;)
Plus, next chapter will be very, very hot!
After all, I must make you all forgive me… ;)


After all, I must make you all forgive me… ;)

I almost forgot: HAPPY EASTER!!!!

Thanks to everyone! I'm so glad you like it! ;)
Here we go, I guess this is the moment everyone is waiting for since I began this FF, I know, I tortured you a little bit.. but now, after 24 chapters.. enjoy it! ;) Here’s a 10000% spuffy hot VERY LONG chapter, eh, eh!

Chapter 25 (NC 17!!!!!) (Lyrics from ‘Don’t go away’ by Oasis, and ‘Season’ by Good Charlotte (I adore them madly, and I’m gonna use tons of their songs in my other FF, too!))

It was almost sunrise, and deciding that he had waited for long enough, maybe even a bit too long, William left his house, jumping on his reliable Desy. As he crossed the roads, one by one, the radio kept company to him. He had tuned it to a station where, among the hits of the moment, sometimes there was some old successes, too.
A song by Oasis had started, and due to the fact that William didn’t disdain that band at all, he turned up the volume, without exaggerating, after all it was 3:00 a.m. and he was in the middle of a build-up area!
He listened carefully to the lyrics, and they couldn’t have seemed more perfect for his situation.

A COLD AND FROSTY MORNING
THERE ’S NOT A LOT TO SAY
‘BOUT THE THINGS CAUGHT IN MY MIND
AND AS THE DAY WAS DAWNING
MY PLANE FLEW AWAY
WITH ALL THE THINGS CAUGHT IN MY MIND

AND I WANNA BE THERE WHEN YOU ’RE COMING DOWN
AND I WANNA BE THERE WHEN YOU HIT THE GROUND

SO DON’T GO AWAY, SAY WHAT YOU SAY
BUT SAY THAT YOU ’LL STAY FOREVER AND A DAY
IN THE TIME OF MY LIFE
CAUSE I NEED MORE TIME, YES I NEED MORE TIME
JUST TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT

DAMN MY SITUATION
AND THE GAMES I HAVE TO PLAY
WITH ALL THE THINGS CAUGHT IN MY MIND
DAMN MY EDUCATION
I CAN ‘T FIND THE WORDS TO SAY
‘BOUT THE THINGS CAUGHT IN MY MIND


AND I WANNA BE THERE WHEN YOU ’RE COMING DOWN
AND I WANNA BE THERE WHEN YOU HIT THE GROUND

SO DON’T GO AWAY, SAY WHAT YOU SAY
BUT SAY THAT YOU ’LL STAY FOREVER AND A DAY
IN THE TIME OF MY LIFE
CAUSE I NEED MORE TIME, YES I NEED MORE TIME
JUST TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT

ME AND YOU, WHAT ‘S GOING ON?
ALL WE SEEM TO KNOW IS HOW TO SHOW
THE FEELINGS THAT ARE WRONG


DON’T GO AWAY..

The next song cut the end of the previous one, but it seemed to have a determined goal: to make William dive into his memories.

SUMMER AIR REMINDS ME OF
ALL THE FEELINGS OF YOUR LOVE
AND WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN WE WERE TOGETHER
WALKING OUT ALONG THE BEACH
YOU WERE NEVER FAR FROM MY REACH
AND YOU HELD ME THROUGH THE STORMY WEATHER

AND I
I WANNA FALL IN LOVE TONIGHT
AND I REMEMBER WHEN YOU SAID
EVERYTHING WAS GONNA BE ALRIGHT

LAYING ON THE SUMMER GRASS
YOU TOLD ME NOT TO TALK SO FAST
AS I TOLD YOU HOW I FELT
YOU MAKE ME FEEL RIGHT AT HOME
YOU TOLD ME I WAS NOT ALONE
AND YOU KNEW JUST HOW I FELT

I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT IT
I JUST CAN’T GET AROUND IT
I JUST WANT ONE MORE NIGHT WITH YOU


AND I
I WANNA FALL IN LOVE TONIGHT
AND I REMEMBER WHEN YOU SAID
EVERYTHING WAS GONNA BE ALRIGHT


OCTOBER AIR REMINDS ME OF
ALL THE SEASONS OF YOUR LOVE
AND WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN WE WERE TOGETHER
THE SMELL OF FALL IS EVERYWHERE
AND THOUGH IT SEEMS I JUST DON’T CARE
CAUSE NOW YOU ‘VE GONE AWAY

I
I WANNA FALL IN LOVE TONIGHT
AND I REMEMBER WHEN YOU SAID
EVERYTHING WAS GONNA BE ALRIGHT

William finally got to Revello Drive. He turned off the radio and parked the car. Once he got out of the car, he stood in front of Buffy’s front door, ready to ring the bell. He didn’t want to wake her up so abruptly, but it seemed like he had no other choice.
He looked around and realized that maybe he had a choice though: the window of Buffy’s bedroom was open. And, casually, there was a tree with robust branches that were close enough to said window. Although it was something he hadn’t done for ages, William climbed on the tree and with a shocking easiness he reached the windowsill.
Buffy hadn’t heard anything, because she had finally managed to sleep, after turning in her bed frantically and crying most of the night. William approached slowly towards her.
“So, you weren’t kidding, sunshine, you really left your room open till sunrise, although with this cold it doesn’t seem like the wisest idea to me...” he whispered to her, pulling her hair behind her ear.
She instantly woke up, gasping due to the surprise, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“William, it’s really you! Please, tell me I’m not dreaming...” she exclaimed, holding him tight.
“You know, usually people give a pinch, but I’m thinking about something nicer...” he smiled sweetly at her, bending over those lips that he had terribly missed. “Buffy, please, my love, forgive me, I was so tied up to my past that I didn’t figure out what I was about to lose in the present until I almost did...” he admitted between kisses, as she slipped from beneath the sheets, revealing the pink nightdress she wore.
“No, William, it’s you who must forgive me, I swear I’ll never be so madly paranoid again. I’ll never doubt you anymore!” she apologized, still kissing him.
“And I’ll never give you a reason to doubt me...”
“Oh, Spike, I still can’t believe this is not a dream...” she sighed.

He parted from her, getting up, and she got alarmed, fearing that she had said something wrong, but she smiled when she saw him taking her bag and put it on the bed, opening it and starting to throw all her clothes on the floor, one by one.
“You won’t need this packed anymore, because you’ll stay, right, pet?”
Buffy answered by helping him throw her clothes on the floor.
“The only place I wanna be at it’s right here with you, Spike. Honey, I was sure I had lost you forever when I didn’t see you at the window...” she murmured and her green eyes became tearful at the sad memory.
“That’s what I wanted you to believe... So, did I surprise you?” he said, kissing her eyes and wiping away the first tears that had rolled down her cheeks with his thumb.
“Yes, but... you were so evil!” she protested with little punches on his chest.
“Pet, you should know better. I’m the Big Bad!” he sneered, kissing her once more.

“Sunshine, am I wrong… or did you lose weight?” he observed, looking at her concerned. “Well, yeah, a little bit… let’s just say I didn’t feel much like eating in these last horrible days. That’s it! I knew it, now you don’t like me anymore because I’m ugly!” she said, parting from him and covering with the sheet again.
He pulled it away gently, caressing her from her ankles to her shoulders with the most tender smile gracing his face.
“You’re *never* ugly, luv, understood? You’re beautiful, I just want you to recover...” he explained, pulling her to himself. “Oh, my baby, you’re... oh, God! You’re hot, you’re burning!” he exclaimed scared.
“It’s just that I’m burning with desire!” she whispered, holding him tighter.
“No, luv, you’ve got a fever!” he struck back, bending on her forehead. “And it’s pretty high, too, you must...”

Buffy cut him off, pulling him towards herself to kiss him. “I don’t need anything, you’re my medicine, William. I’ve never desired to be yours as much as I’m doing it right now. I’m ready, my love, take me!” she said, trying to take off his leather coat.
But he parted from her, getting up. “First, this freezing air is not good for you...” he stated, closing the window. “And second…” he went on, sitting on the bed again, entwining his fingers with hers. “Can you assure me that *this * is not delirium due to the high fever?” he smiled at her.
“No delirium. I love you, William, and there couldn’t be a more proper moment than this one to show you how much I do, fever or not! The question is, do you want me?”
William burst out laughing. “There’s no doubt, you’ve got fever; otherwise you wouldn’t ask me such a bloody idiotic question!” he struck back, taking off his coat and throwing it on her desk. “Of, course I want you, you can’t even begin to imagine how much I do...” he went on, tickling her nose with the straps of her nightdress.
“Make me imagine, then. What are you waiting for?” she said, rolling onto him and tickling him at the same time, as her free hand unbuttoned his red shirt. “Kiss me, William!”
“You don’t have to ask me twice!” he smiled, ‘attacking’ her lips, letting their tongues start a battle that would have no losers.



Without breaking their lips’ contact, Buffy managed to take off his shirt, but her hands found the fabric of his T-Shirt, instead of his bare chest.
“Uff, you’ve got too many clothes on!” she grumbled, slipping a hand inside his T-Shirt and her hot temperature made him shiver, very similar to the one he made her feel as he began tracing her legs, stomach, shoulders and face with his still cold hands (he came from outside).
“Should I take your nightdress off first, or would you prefer to take off my T-Shirt?” he asked, panting excitedly at the thought of what they were about to do.
“It’s my turn, because once I take this T-shirt off, you will still remain half dressed!” she pointed out, getting rid of his T-Shirt.
She was about to take care of his belt, too, but he blocked her.
“No way, honey. The next move is mine!” he sneered, taking off her nightdress, revealing the red lace lingerie she wore under it. “Wow! Did I ever tell you that red is my favourite colour?”
“Of course you did, but I’ve got the feeling that even if it was green, blue, purple or whatever... it wouldn’t make much difference at this moment!” she teased him.
“Touché,” he smiled, ready to bend over her, but this time it was her who blocked him.
“Now, you’re cheating, it’s my turn!” she commented, as her hands!went back to work on his belt, but he stopped her.
“Tsk, Tsk. What’s all this rush? Do you already want to reach the goal? There are so many things I wanna do with you, first..” he protested, straddling her and undoing her bra in a single move.
“But Spike, we already did thiiii…” Buffy tried to complain, but when he sank his face between her breasts, she was driven crazy with pleasure.
“You’re right, sunshine, we already did this, so why should I go on?” he teased, parting from her, but she pulled him back to her breasts.
“Just dare to stop and I …” she trailed, moaning when William resumed his previous activity, sucking and nibbling at one of her nipples and then the other, as his hand caressed eagerly her womanhood through the lace of her slip.

“Oh, God, Buffy, you’re so hot!” he murmured against the hollow of her neck, and then he traced all her body with small kisses, reaching her belly and descending.
“Oh, Spike, I’m on fire.. and I’m not sure it’s just due to the fever!” Buffy moaned, feeling him pull down her slip as she abandoned herself to his caresses.
William went up to her face again, kissing her with all the passion he could muster, and then he looked at her with the most wicked of all sneers.
“Well, someone must put out the fire!” and before she could say anything, the boy sank his face between her legs.. and she understood nothing anymore!

As soon as she recovered from the strong emotion he conveyed, Buffy helped him kick his shoes off and crawled upon him, undoing that belt she was aiming at since he woke her up, pulling down his jeans after.
“Uh! Summer or Winter, there’s no difference, you just don’t like wearing underwear!” she stated, smiling. “After all, I get to benefit from that...” the girl sneered, cupping his virility and started to caress it.
“Bloody hell, Slayer, this way you’ll end up roasting it!” he exclaimed.
“Oops, sorry!” she apologized, stopping.
“Did I tell you I didn’t like it?” he smirked, so she resumed what she was doing, but when her mouth came to play, William felt as if he was in Heaven... although due to her fever... it reminded him of Hell!
By then, they were both naked, gazing into each other’s eyes.

“Luv, are you sure?” William whispered, crawling slowly upon her.
“Yes, love, I’m reeeeeady!” she assured him, but before she could finish the sentence, William had already started to thrust inside her gently. She felt a slight discomfort at first, which slowly disappeared and then she incited him to increase the rhythm, moving her hips in synchrony with his. And they went on like that for a while.
“Yeeess, Wiilliiam, don’t stop... yeeesss...” she moaned, scratching his shoulders as she fall over the edge.
“Oh, Buuuuufffyyy!” he roared, losing himself into ecstasy.
They kissed panting, and afterwards, they partially got dressed again.
William held Buffy tight, doing something that made her very happy. He opened himself to her, telling her about his family, his past, and she listened to him with great attention, as if it was the first time she’d heard all that, and in a certain sense it was, because she had never heard the tale from the main protagonist.
They talked until morning, and then they fell asleep together.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
“And now, let’s take them off!” a feverish (in every sense!) Buffy exclaimed in the afternoon, turning to a William who was very much in the same condition she was, taking off the thermometer from her mouth and waiting for William to do the same. “So, how much?” she asked him.
“102.3. And you?”
“Ah! 102.6, I’m the sicker one, I win! So, it’s you who must go downstairs, head towards the kitchen and take back two glasses of water. I already have the aspirins in my drawer!” she explained, as he got up, completely dressed again, because he couldn’t allow himself to hang around with just his jeans, sick as he was at the moment. “Just open all the closets at random, you’ll find everything, c’mon, go!” she instructed him.

After a while, William came back with two glasses of water, and Buffy threw two effervescent aspirins inside them.
“Let’s have a toast!” William suggested, as they listened to the swish of their aspirins melting in the water.
“A toast with aspirins?!” she frowned.
“Well, it’s better than nothing at all. It means that when we recover I’ll take you to the most elegant restaurant in town and we’ll have a toast with champagne!” he promised her, giving her the glass.
“Why am I so surprised? After all, I should expect everything from a guy who talks to his car! Anyway, a toast to what?”
“It’s simple. To us, pet!” he smiled at her, and after they’d made their glasses touch each other, they drank their medicine.

“And now, what can we do?” Buffy wondered, kissing him.
“Mm. As sick as I am now, I hope you won’t want me to go back home...” he murmured between kisses.
“Are you kidding? It’s so cold outside, if you went out you’d catch bronchopneumonia. No way, honey, you stay here with me, good and quiet...”
“Uhmm... if I were you, I wouldn’t be so sure about ‘good and quiet’...” he sneered, pinching her hip playfully. “After all, you know what doctors tell sick people, don’t you? Stay warm, take all the right medicines, but mostly... spend lots of time in bed!” he chuckled, jumping over her, so their clothes inevitably ended on the floor once more, as the two blondes made love again.

“Spikey, if we go on like this, I’m afraid we’ll never recover. You know, doctors also say sick people shouldn’t * tire themselves*!” she pretended to complain, as they dressed up again, between bouts of dizziness.
“Look, pet, I’ve never been so happy to have a fever. We could stay sick forever for all I care, I wouldn’t complain!” he struck back, covering them with the sheet.
“Not forever, honey, maybe just for two days, because then mom will come back, and I don’t think she would be very happy if she found us in bed together. Ok, she wants to meet you, but I’m thinking this is not the most proper way!” she chuckled, and then she sneezed.
William pulled her to himself, opening his shirt and wrapping it around, as people do with a pet left in the rain.
“Oooh, poor my baby, you’re getting worse… come here and let me warm you up!”

TBC

Well, did you forgive me ?? ;)

Thank you soooo much, sorry for late!!!

Chapter 26

A couple of hours after, William had fallen asleep, so Buffy had taken advantage of that to take her cordless and call Willow, trying to speak as softly as she could.
“Hey, Will!”
“Buffy! Where are you?”
“I’m home...” she answered in a whisper.
“Alright! So, you didn’t leave!” the redhead exulted.
“No, I didn’t. I got a fever, so leaving while being that sick wouldn’t had been a very brilliant idea...” she explained.
“Oh, so it’s just because of that that you stayed and that must be why you’re speaking so low also, maybe you got a cold, too...” Willow struck back, a little bit upset. “Anyway, I was sure you would end up getting a fever; that will teach you to wear your coat next time!” she scolded her.
“Uff, you sound like mom now! Anyway, yes, I stayed here because of the fever, but also because...”

In that exact moment, William opened his eyes, turning to Buffy.
“C’mon, pet, hang up the bloody phone and take good care of this poor sick boy...” he exclaimed, and from the other end of the line, Willow immediately recognized the voice.
“Buffy, but it’s-it’s...”
“You guessed right!” the blonde exulted, without caring about speaking low anymore. “He’s the other reason why I stayed and the most important one. I swear that next time we meet I’ll tell you everything, but now I really gotta go, bye, Will!” she said, hanging up.
“Well, well, Mister, you wake up quite easily, don’t you?” Buffy commented, looking at him teasingly.
He pulled her towards himself.
“Yeah, I do. Is that a problem for you?” Spike teased her. “After all, you can chat with Red whenever you please... but now, I want you to * chat * with me!” he said, kissing her, and the mutual heat of their lips made them realize they both still had fever.
“Mm... why do I have the feeling that chatting is the last thing you want to do with me?” she chuckled between kisses.

------------------------------------------------------
The day after Buffy already felt better so she invited Willow to come to her house in the morning to chat with her.
“So, Buffy, where’s William?” Willow asked as soon as she came into Buffy’s house.
“He went back home... actually, I had to kind of force him to go, he still was a bit feverish, but my mom comes back from her trip tonight, so...” Buffy trailed.
“Do you mean that you made him drive with a fever?” the redhead asked, puzzled.
“Well, not exactly. Let’s clear things up a bit. First of all, I offered to give him a ride in my car, but he said he didn’t want to leave De... his car here. So I suggested I could drive him in his car, but he said that he’d rather drive with a fever of 104.5 than let me drive his car! Can you believe it? He * doesn’t * trust my driving abilities!” Buffy explained, rolling her eyes.
“Oh, I understand now. And hey, speaking of trust... just tell me how he forgave you, because I’d thought your ‘mission’ hadn’t been that successful...”
Buffy told her friend everything, well... not really everything, but at least 90% of the whole story.
“Oh, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for William and you! I’m sure Angel will be happy, too, you know what? I’ve to give him the good news right now. See you, Buffy!” she said leaving.

About half an hour after, the doorbell rang again and this time it was Dawn.
“Buffy!” she exulted, hugging her with a joyful yelp. “Now you’ve gotta explain to me in detail what happened after your serenade. All I know is that after * two whole days * I saw Billy came back home ill as never before and showing me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen, but he also told me he hadn’t the strength to face my third degree and rushed to his bed to sleep!” the teenager explained, a little bit upset. “So, since I can’t derive information from the first reliable source...”

“You turned to the second!” Buffy anticipated her, getting ready to give her the PG version of what had happened.

“Well, let me see if I got this straight, my brother left home at late night, surrounded by the shadows, and he crept into a girl’s bedroom to try to seduce her… Wassup? Did he turn into a vampire all of the sudden?” Dawn commented sarcastically with a fake concerned look. “Jokes aside, I’m really happy for both of you, and don’t even try to make me have a heart attack again! After all, it’s my big bro we are talking about, treat him very well, I count on that!” she added, approaching to the front door.
“You bet, Dawnie, I know all he has been through, but I swear that from now on I’ll make him forget all that bad stuff!” Buffy assured. “Anyway, thank you...” she added, smiling at her.
“Thank you?! For what? Just because I injected some common sense in my stubborn brother’s head? If people gave me a dollar every time I do that... I’d be bloody rich!” Dawn giggled, before Buffy hugged her.
“You know, I’m an only child, but I’d like to have a sister like you!” she smiled.

---------------------------------------------------------
In the afternoon someone else paid a visit to Buffy, too. She was sure it was her mother but when she opened the door she realized she was wrong.

“Tara, Cordelia, what a nice surprise, please come in!” she invited them.
“You know, we saw Dawn today and she told us that you’d been sick, so we came to see how you’re doing now...” Tara explained shyly.
“For heaven’s sake, Tara, when will you learn to tell things how they actually are without making those pathetic excuses?” Cordelia complained, rolling her eyes. “Dawn also told us about * how* Spike and you made it up! So, my dear, take a deep breath and spit it out, NC-17 version please, because we definitely are older than eighteen years old!” the brunette summoned her, as she stared at herself in her inseparable pocket mirror.
“Again?! I should had taped the story the first time I told it and then just give a copy to all the people who asked me for that!” Buffy rolled her eyes, snorting, but she burst out laughing immediately after. “Who am I kidding? I’ll never get tired of telling this story! Well...”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day after, at early morning, Buffy heard someone rang the doorbell repetitively, so she rushed to open before her mother woke up since she had come back extremely exhausted from her trip the night before.
“Good morning, Candy!” the energetic Faith greeted her, because of the pink nightdress and pink slippers Buffy was dressed with. “It’s such a beautiful day, so I can’t let you lay lazily in your bed!” the brunette went on, rushing in, without even asking Buffy if she could.
Buffy looked at her dumbfounded, wondering why she was there.
“Faith! I was sure you had gone back to San Francisco!” Buffy said, rubbing her eyes.
“Oh, B, c’mon, did you really think that I, after teaching you to fight for what you believe, could suggest you to do the most cowardly thing in the world?”
“So...”
“Sure, I made you believe that I was and at least that ultimatum made you react; otherwise you would still be here, staring at the walls and wondering when things would be okay!” her friend explained.
“Oh, F, you’re unique! What would I do without you?”
“Hopefully you’ll never find that out, B!” she struck back, hugging her tightly.

“Mom will be so happy to see you, why don’t you stay?” Buffy invited her.
“Ok, after all, I’ve got nothing else to do. Since Andrew and your stud’s friends became best friends, he spends more time with them than with me, and I bet Tara and Cordy are not too happy about that either!” Faith snorted, rolling her eyes. “So, since your mommy is back, you can’t hide your bleached stud under the covers anymore!” she chuckled, but Buffy immediately beckoned her to speak lower. “I got you, B, I’ll avoid this minefield!”
“I didn’t say to avoid it, just to talk... lower!” Buffy sneered. “Hey, your witty remark makes me think that Will already told you everything...” the blonde figured out, as she made her breakfast.
“No, she just hinted something to me, and then I let my vivid imagination do the rest, so probably I put a little too much spice in that!” she explained with a sly smile.
“I swear that the original version is very hot and spicy, too!” the blonde justified, feeling a bit insulted in her self esteem.
“Do you mean that your saint’s halo doesn’t blind everyone with its pure and innocent light anymore?” her friend teased her.
“You bet, F, this former saint girl knows her job!” she stated proudly. “So, do you trust your vivid imagination... or do you want a trustful account?” Buffy asked, locking the door of her room just in case Joyce had woken up.
“Ok, B, I’m listening, and I already inserted the NC-17 warning in my mind, so spit it out!”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Gee! Well, I take back what I said before. What can I say? You’ve left me speechless... and you know that doesn’t happen to me usually!” Faith commented at the end. “Anyway, spicy girl, get dressed and hurry, you have a busy day to face. First of all, you’ll have to take your guitar with you and go over all the songs...” her friend instructed her.
“Huh? Why?”
“It’s obvious, this afternoon you’ll go back to your private sound studio and you’ll play with all the others… as long as your bleached stud has recovered, and please, notice, I didn’t meant only from the fever!” Faith sneered maliciously.
“Faith! You never change, do you?” Buffy shook her head, smiling.
“If I ever do, please, kill me!” the brunette struck back.
“Anyway, you heard what happened at The Bronze, didn’t you?” Buffy wondered.
“All I know is that it’s time for you to take back what is yours; that stage belongs to the ‘Chosen Ones’!”
“Uhmm, am I wrong... or are you planning something?”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following Faith’s advices, Buffy had practiced with her guitar all morning long, and then she had called Willow so they could have a joint practice with all the band at their private sound studio, that was a bit dustier than the last time they’d seen it, of course.
Everyone was there when Buffy arrived; even William and Buffy immediately ran towards him.
“Honey, are you sure you are up for this? Yesterday, at the phone you didn’t sounded like Mr. Health to me!” she commented concerned, getting closer to her boyfriend to kiss him, but it was just a way to control if he still had a fever and she was relieved when she realized his temperature was back to normal.
“I feel alright, pet, don’t worry. Yes, ok, maybe yesterday I was a little bit knocked down, but it was nothing that a good night of sleep couldn’t fix...”

the bleached blond thought.

“If you are done with ‘The Health Corner of Doctors Summers and Leather’, the rest of the band would like to start playing!” Angel exclaimed, and Willow nodded.
“Hey, Gel-Boy, since when have you not only found out what sarcasm is, but have you also learned to use it?” William made fun of him, sitting at the drums.
“Never underestimate me, bleached menace; I’m a box of surprises!” Angel struck back proudly, as he put on the strap of his bass.
William looked at him in disbelief, making a drum’s solo to get ready.
“Let’s start; it’s better!” he said, playing with the drumsticks.
“You know, guys, it’s cool to be a band again!” Buffy smiled, as she tuned her guitar.
“At the very end, I think we never stopped being a band!” Willow answered the same way, before they started their first song.

TBC

And now trouble will begin... but for ‘The Initiative’, ihhihihih!!! ;)

Charter 27

They were performing the fifth song of the afternoon, very satisfied by the results of the previous ones, when a certain someone paid them a visit. “Guys, we heard you from outside, you sound awesome!” Doyle congratulated.
“Yes, you’re gonna make an amazing return!” his girlfriend exulted.
“Return?” William repeated, looking at him in disbelief.
“Yes, return, and you can already imagine where it will take place...” Wesley went on, adjusting his glasses.
“You mean that...” Buffy trailed hopefully.
“Anya went to The Bronze to try to persuade Clem into giving you another chance, she’s gonna explain how things really happened; knowing her I guess it won’t be that hard to convince him!” Tara smiled.
“Anya is so wonderful!” Angel smiled.
“Plus, there’s this guy who works at The Bronze and that was gonna help her... it seems that those two are getting pretty close...” Cordelia added.
“I can’t believe it!” Willow yelled into the microphone without turning it off first, so she ended up making everyone almost deaf due to the very annoying and loud whistle. “Oops, sorry, guys!” she smiled innocently.

“Anyway, now we’ve gotta find a way to eliminate the hateful Initiative and their girlfriends ...” Wesley commented, but everyone looked at him shocked. “Uh? Ah, sure, I said ‘eliminate’, but I didn’t mean it literally, of course… Nothing tragic, I was just looking for a device to keep them busy so they won’t make it on time to perform on Friday Night...” he clarified.
“I know them. They would lose their minds for the first girl that goes after them and flirts a little... it would be a good way to get them and their girlfriends, because neither of them deserves the High Fidelity award!” William grumbled.
“I got it!” Wesley exclaimed. “Spike, we saw them, but they’ve never seen us, because you never introduced them to us, thank God, so we could take advantage of that. Think about it: Doy, Andy and I could take care of their girlfriends, and Cordy, Faith and you, honey, could get the three stupid guys’ attention with an excuse... so they will fall in our trap, I still don’t know what trap, but...”
All of the sudden, Wesley stopped, realizing that the others were staring at him in astonishment. “What? You don’t like my idea?” he wondered.
“No, Wes, we like it, it’s just that you seem like a lieutenant general who is planning an attack with his army!” William made fun of him. “Anyway, it’s a very good plan!” he added.
“Really, Wes, I think you have what it takes to be a leader!” Angel commented, slapping his shoulder playfully.
“Yeah, the plan is cool, but... how can we catch them off guard, all together, before they get ready for their show?” Doyle wondered.
“We need someone who plays on our side… but who?” Andrew wondered.

At that exact moment, Anya rushed in, panting due to the run.
“Guys, everything went fine, very fine. I told Clem how things really went and what The Initiative did... He swore he will avenge you!” Anya explained. “And he didn’t mean just to tell them that he’d found out about everything and kick them out of the club, since that’d be too easy for them, no, he won’t tell them anything, so on Friday night they’ll believe it’s a night as the others, instead...”
“Instead?” Willow asked her.
“That’s the point: my stud and he had already planned an excuse to catch them all together before they get ready for the show, but the problem is that we still don’t know how to drag them into another room... like the basement! And their girlfriends are another big problem, too, they are always with them...” Anya snorted.
The others smiled, and she wondered why.
“It happens that Faith, Andrew, Doyle, Cordy, Tara and their leader know how to distract them... but they couldn’t find the right occasion, so... Bingo!” Angel explained.
“Yes, it’s perfect and everything, but... STOP CALLING ME LEADER!” Wesley protested, rolling his eyes exasperated.
“Hey, would-be-Don Juan, when you take care of the brunette… remember this is just a charade!” Cordelia summoned Doyle.
“Honey, how did you know I would choose her?” her fiancé asked, astonished.
“Because you always go for the brunettes, my dear!” she pulled him to her, kissing him deeply.
Faith warned Andrew, too, with a very sweet tone, but the message wasn’t sweet at all.
“Andy, you also know you’d better not identify with the character you’re playing too much... if you care about your life, honey, got me?”
“C’mon, Faithy, you know you’re the only one that I want!” he reassured her, caressing her hair and face.
Tara confined herself to just smile at her fiancé, before talking.
“I know I don’t have to tell you anything, I trust you... but I don’t trust the blonde... I don’t know which blonde you will choose, but it doesn’t change anything!” she snapped.
“You know, I already found my beloved blonde and I won’t ever let her go!” Wesley struck back, hugging her.

Anya was kind of annoyed, so she approached The Chosen Ones.
“Before all of you also leave for MushyLand, take your instruments and play something! If you dare to snog…. I’ll feel left out, since my honey stayed in the club...” she complained, so the others decided to please her, starting a song.
“Wonderful! It seems that you have improved since the last time I heard you play!” she gave it up for them at the end. “Oh, guys, I’m so happy that The Chosen Ones didn’t split!” she admitted as they smiled at her, touched. “I was so afraid you would ask me for your money back because you wouldn’t need the studio anymore!” she added.
“That’s the Anya I know!” Angel rolled his eyes, shaking his head in resignation.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“It was a great idea to set up these appetizers just for us, a few hours before the concert!” Riley congratulated with Clem and the other five people nodded as they kept devouring handfuls of crisps, popcorn and cocktail snacks.
“Well, after the two wonderful concerts you already did, you deserved it! I already told you it’s on the house!” Clem smiled to them.

< If it was up to me I would give you poisoned snacks, why, you little... Grrrr!> Clem thought furiously, leaving.

“Hey you, do something useful and bring us another drink!” Xander ordered the barman, who casually was Anya’s boyfriend.
Although he was dying to punch the annoying bighead who believed, as his friends did, they were three big rock stars just because of a couple of simple performances, the boy obeyed... but not before having the satisfaction of spitting into their drinks!
The boy went out to throw out the garbage, but it wasn’t his only purpose.
“So, my dear actresses, are you ready to come into the picture?” he turned to Tara, Cordelia and Faith who were waiting outside.
“We’ll astonish you with the special effects!” Faith smiled, getting into the club with the others through the main entrance.

The six people who sat at the table saw three girls rush inside as they took a look around, kind of anxiously.
“Girls, you can’t stay here, we open at 8:00 p.m. ...” Clem informed them, appearing at their side.
Without minding at his words, one of them pointed at the three guys, yelling.
“Girls, here they are! I told you I wasn’t wrong!” Cordelia exclaimed, drawing out in hurry a notebook from her bag. The three boys seemed to be amused and pleased, while Darla, Drusilla and Harmony glared at the three strangers. “I absolutely must have your autograph!”
“It’s true, they’re The Initiative! I’m dying to take a pic with you!” Tara said, drawing out a camera from her rucksack.
“I want both things, plus a souvenir, anything... a button of your shirt... or a plectrum of your guitar!” Faith exclaimed enthused, smiling at Riley and approaching him, as he smiled back at her, completely forgetting about Darla.
In the meantime, Cordelia and Tara did the same with Xander and Ben, respectively, getting the same result. In fact, without thinking twice, the boys left with them, under their girlfriends’ enraged gazes.


***************************************** (In the meantime)
“Alright, phase A is done, now it’s time for phase B!” Clem thought out loud, taking out his mobile and dialing Doyle’s number, making it ring just once, because that was the signal for Wesley, Andrew and Doyle to come out and play their parts.

******************************************
“Where are we going?” Ben asked, as the girls were heading towards a specific room.
“We are bringing you to meet some friends of ours, female friends, because they want to meet you, too!” the blonde explained, wishing that Ben stopped caressing her hair as soon as possible.
“So, you came to our show...” Xander commented, putting an arm around Cordelia’s shoulder who made a huge effort not to react.
“Yeah, and you are such a great...”

< I’d better not to say * what *!> the girl thought.

“You know, you are kind of a hottie!” Riley whispered to Faith as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
“I confess, you make my blood boil...” she smiled.

the brunette girl thought, happy because they had finally arrived to the basement.

“C’mon, they’re inside, waiting for you, so we can take our pics all together!” Tara invited them.
“Well, now I wanna think only of you, spicy girl!” Riley said, taking out a pen and looking at Faith’s large neckline without any shame.
“So, on which boob do you want my autograph?”
Before he could even take a breath, Faith grabbed his shoulder, shoving her knee in * his parts * as hard as she could.
“Here is perfect!” she sneered as he crouched in pain.
“Well, your friend seems to be kinda violent,..” Xander commented, pulling Cordelia closer, but she pushed him away furiously.
“So, do you think I’m kinda violent, too?” she struck back, stamping his foot with her dangerous stiletto heel, making him scream and jump on the other feet.
Tara opened the door, grabbing Ben by his sweater and pushed him inside the basement before he could even realize it.
“See? I didn’t even give you the time to say something that would surely be something stupid... So, in a certain sense... I did you a favor!” the girl explained, as the two brunettes pushed Riley and Xander inside, too.
“Hey, what kind of joke is this?” they snapped in chorus, but before they could get out, Clem and Anya’s boyfriend showed up.
“You are not going anywhere. I know everything, you mean double-crossers! You took advantage of a moment of crisis of a guy who once was your friend, without mentioning that * you * created that moment, you disgust me! You know, I like competition, but just when it’s fair, you went overboard!” Clem scolded them.
“If you lock us here, you won’t have a band to perform tonight and you’ll lose lots of customers!” Riley made him notice.
“Haven’t you guessed yet, dumb boy? I already have a band, the best band I could ask for, the one that should have always been on this stage!” he informed them.
“You can’t keep us here; we’ll denounce you for abduction!” Xander threatened them.
“Please, don’t make me laugh, it’s abduction just after twenty four hours... and we couldn’t stand you for so long! You’ll be out by the end of the night... and don’t you dare come back here again!” Anya’s boyfriend warned them.
“Yeah, and forget about performing elsewhere, I’m a good friend of all the owners of the best clubs around, so I’ll let them know how mean, vile and slimy you are!” Clem went on.
“Ah, before I forget... I just wanted to let you know that before... I spitted in your drinks!” the barman confessed, shutting the door and locking them inside.

The three girls had enjoyed the whole scene.
“Well, we did a very good job!” Faith commented.
“You were so great! Gee, there’s nothing I wouldn’t give to have... even just ¼ of your character!” Tara admitted, looking at her with devotion.
“Well, Tara, you know... you have a sweetness... that scares!” Cordelia tried to comfort her.
“I wonder how our guys will deal with those three witches; Darla seems to be the most terrible one... and your Wesley is dealing with her!” Faith changed subjects, turning to Tara.
“If that viper dares put her ugly clutches on MY fiancé, I swear I’ll take a broken glass and use it to disfigure her until not even her own mother can recognize her!” Tara growled, shocking the other two girls.
“Hey, what happened to the sweet Tara we all know and love?” Cordelia exclaimed, looking at her kinda scared.
“C’mon, girls, when it’s just a matter of words... let me be tough!” the blonde smile.

TBC

So, are you ready for the last chapter? And if you are curious... you’ll find out who the mysterious Anya’s boyfriend is! ;)
Hope you’ll still like it!

Chapter 28
(Lyrics from ‘Having a blast’ by Greenday, lots of stuff from BTVS and a little bit from ATS, too!)

************************************** ( In the meantime)

“But... hey... did you see them? They dumped us here... as if we were gonna wait for them to come back from their meeting with their fans!” Darla snapped.
“You’re right; who do they think they are? We have better things to do!” Harmony added.
“So, let’s go do that then!” Drusilla incited them, getting up as the others followed her.
They were almost at the door when Wesley, Doyle, and Andrew stood in front of them, impeding their exit.
“We’re sorry, but... although we didn’t want to eavesdrop we heard everything that happened!” Wesley exclaimed, smiling at Darla that smiled back at him kind of intrigued.
“Yeah, and it seems that your boyfriends are total idiots who deserved to be punished, too, because to leave three beautiful girls as you are alone is a crime!” Doyle said, winkling at Drusilla who had decided to play the fake shy girl.
“So, we were wondering... would you like to spend the rest of the night with us? We could see this as a way to save you from the pestering and annoying accosting of some boring guys!” Andrew added, looking seductively at Harmony as she planned some nice things she could do with the cute blondie.
“Well, actually... you are kind of accosting us right now...” Darla pretended to complain.
“Ok, but at least we are not pestering and annoying guys, are we?” Doyle justified, and the girls giggled.
“Well, let’s go outside, first. Our car is not very far...” Andrew informed them, getting closer to Harmony.
“So, ladies, if you wanna go with us, let’s go!” Wesley invited them, linking arms with Darla as Doyle did the same with Drusilla.

A few minutes after they arrived to Doyle’s Mercedes Benz and that impressed the girls a lot.
“Please, you, first..” Doyle exclaimed, as Andrew and he opened the car doors, letting the girls sat on the back seats, and then they quickly closed the doors, locking them inside.
“Hey, if this is a joke is not funny!” Darla yelled, so loudly that the guys could hear her even through the windows.
“In fact, this is not a joke..” Doyle informed them.
“Although it’s damn fun!” Andrew commented.
“Well, it’s not a joke for my poor car.. I just hope that those three vampiresses won’t spoil my seats with their nasty nails!” Doyle grumbled, kinda worried.
“Ladies, we gotta go now. Enjoy the night and try to get comfortable, mostly because you aren’t gonna go anywhere else before the end of the concert!” Wesley warned them.
“I imagine there‘s no need to tell you that it won’t be a concert by The Initiative, of course!” Andrew added, as the three girls threw daggers at them with their eyes, as they tried to get out and pounded the windows, unsuccessfully.
“See you later, ugly annoying and very noisy geese!” Doyle greeted them, leaving with the others.

“Grrr, they fooled us... and it’s all your fault, you two can’t keep your hormones in control!” Darla growled.
“We? Look, it’s * your* fault, you always get charmed by intellectual guys! A couple of sentences and you lost your mind, putting us into this trouble!” Harmony struck back.
“Enough. Now, let’s just try to find a way to get out of here!” Drusilla suggested, but she surrendered even before trying.
“We won’t ever get out, we’re locked and it’s so small in here... there’s not much space... and I don’t like it at all... My lungs need oxygen, I don’t feel fine!” Darla complained, starting to get nervous and panic stricken.
“Alright, we just missed that. So, tell me, since when are you claustrophobic?” Drusilla asked in disbelief.
“I don’t know... but from now on I decided that I am! So, no one dare talk, there’s not much oxygen, and surely it won’t be enough for all of us, without mentioning that...”
“Look, you told us not to talk to spare oxygen and then you make a never-ending speech!” Harmony made fun of her.
“Shut up, you… you ugly air-stealer!” Darla accused her, hurling towards her to cover her mouth, but the younger blonde bit her hand, making her scream.
“Oh no, it’s terrible, a very serious matter! Poor me, what a tragedy!” Harmony exclaimed desperately.
“Wassup now? Did you go crazy, too?” the brunette grumbled exasperated, since she was already trying to calm down Darla, and it wasn’t an easy task!
“I broke my nail!” Harmony explained as she burst out crying.
“Poor me, whatever did I do to have to be surrounded by such two idiots as you?” Drusilla pitied herself, rolling her eyes and hoping that the concert would end soon.

************************************************
“Lucky for us that was your car; they would never get inside mine!” Wesley commented, as they came back to the club.
“You know, one of the main rules to impress Cordelia is to have a nice car... although she told me that in my case I wouldn’t have needed a nice car!” Doyle smiled pleased.

Their fiancées ran into them, and each one told the other about the success of their respective missions.
“Fine. Now we just have to call Buffy and the rest of the band...” Andrew commented.
“Already done, they’ll be here in a few minutes...” Faith informed him, waving her mobile in front of his eyes.
In fact, a few minutes after, the four guys arrived; and if possible, they were even more agitated than the first time they performed.
“They’ll boo at us again, maybe this time they’ll throw stuff, too!” Angel grumbled, as pessimistic as ever.
“No, they won’t, everything is gonna be alright! Sorry, guys, I don’t have enough words to apologize with you for replacing you with those cheaters...” Clem explained, running towards them.
“That’s in the past, mate. Plus, it seems that they’ve already got what they deserved!” William smiled.
“You can say that again. Anyway, without our three very talented actresses it couldn’t have been possible!” Clem answered, hugging Tara, Faith and Cordelia.
“Oh, we did nothing, and it was fun too!” Cordelia smiled.
“Now you’ve just gotta make your best and I’m sure it will be a success!” Tara incited them, before the band went to make the sound-check.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bronze had a full house and it was time for the show, so Clem went on to the stage.
Doyle, Cordelia, Andrew, Faith, Wesley, Tara and Dawn waited impatiently, standing next to the stage.
“Good evening, everyone, it’s time for the concert you all are waiting for, but let me warn you, it’s not by The Initiative... and don’t expect to see them somewhere else either, ‘cause I think that would never happen...” Clem announced. “Anyway, some old friends came back to play here. Maybe the last time it wasn’t a very good show, but this time they’ll astonish you, I’m sure of that. So, make some noise for the Chosen Ones!”

“Oh no, he made those awful freaks play at his club again. This way he risks a total failure!” a girl in the crowd commented, turning to her friend, but Faith was in front of her and she had heard everything. She turned to her, throwing daggers at her with her eyes. “So, what do you want?” the other girl snapped.

“I just wanted to warn you, because if you dare say such a thing again I’m gonna rip your tongue out as I’m gonna rip your friend’s ears out to prevent her from hearing the crap coming from your mouth!” she threatened her, smiling at her.
Andrew had gone away for a while, but he immediately returned when he saw that his fiancée seemed to be about to begin a riot.
“Uh! No, don’t mind at her, please.. it’s just that.. she is a great fan of the Chosen Ones..” he smiled embarrassed at the two girls, as he took Faith away from them.
“Anyway, let me tell you that you just said a big absurdity, and in a few minutes you’ll be the first one to realize that!” Faith managed to tell her, before Andrew dragged her away.

In the meantime, between weak applauses and looks full of disbelief, the Chosen Ones had gone on the stage.
“I already know what you’re thinking: ‘I bet this time they wont’ even manage to perform a whole song!’” William exclaimed, placing himself at the drums, but Angel cut him off, approaching to Willow’s microphone.

“First of all, I just wanted, in the name of the Chosen Ones, to apologize to all of you, for the fiasco of the last time we were here. But I can swear it won’t ever happen again!” he said, puzzled because William was looking at him as if he came form Mars, and then the blonde spoke to the crowd.
“I can’t believe it. Hey, people! Tonight you are the witness of a big event: Mr. Please-Never-Let-Me-Talk-On-The-Microphone has just told you something!” he exclaimed astonished, as some of the people in the crowd giggled.
“Yeah, he’s right, and come to think about it, when you tell this to your dear ones you all will be able to say ‘I was there’!” Buffy added, starting too feel less awkward.
“I guess that Angel deserves an applause, because he managed to * prevent William from talking*, no matter if it was for just a few seconds, because I can assure you it’s not easy to do such a thing!” Willow said and the crowd chuckled once again, as they began to warm up to the band.
“If it’s just a matter of talking, I wouldn’t worry... the real trouble is if he starts singing. Guys, if Angel does that, I’ll be the first one to tell you to run away for shelter!” the bleached blond struck back.
This time, there weren’t only laughs, but also a girl who screamed. “William, you are wonderful!”

Hearing a perfect stranger call him by his name, the boy got excited.
“Wanna talk about how you play the guitar? Wait. What am I saying? Play?! You just beat it violently and frantically… but let me tell you, it’s not like the poor instrument would start playing good on its own just because you threatened it!” Angel struck back.
“Wow, Angel, you rule, tell him off!” another girl screamed between peals of laughter.
This time it was Angel the one who filled himself with pride.
“Hey, you two, we are not here to do some Cabaret sketches!” the redhead made them notice.
The crowd clapped their hands and a boy incited her.
“Willow, you’re great, scold them!”
“She is right, we are here to play; so, do you wanna listen to us to play?” Buffy interacted with the crowd.
“Yeah, Buffy!” they answered in chorus.
“Anyway, let me tell you a little secret: look, this witty-time hadn’t been planned, it was just pure spontaneity!” the blonde added as she winked at the crowd.

“Ok, but now we are serious, and we wanna start with a special dedication… but it’s not a positive one at all!” William announced.
“Right. I bet that you all have someone you would send to hell very willingly. Well, we have, too, but you know what? We don’t like naming people, mostly because that would be something as mean as they are...” Buffy went on.
“That’s true. Anyway, who knows? Maybe they could hear us right now...” William added, pounding his foot on the floor on purpose, because he was plenty aware of two facts: the first one was that the basement was located just under the stage; the second one was that due to the acoustic system it was impossible for Xander, Riley and Ben not to hear them.
“Alright, this song is for them!” Willow exclaimed enthused, as Buffy started playing the intro, followed by Angel, and then by William, as Willow got ready to sing. Buffy made the secondary leading voice and William singed with them in the chorus.

I’M TAKING ALL YOU DOWN WITH ME
EXPLOSIVES DUCT TAPED TO MY SPINE
NOTHING IS GONNA CHANGE MY MIND
I WON’T LISTEN TO ANYONE’S LAST WORDS
THERE’S NOTHING LEFT FOR YOU TO SAY
SOON YOU’LL BE DEAD ANYWAY

WELL NO ONE ELSE IS GETTING OUT ALIVE
THIS TIME I REALLY LOST MY MIND AND I DON’T CARE
SO CLOSE YOUR EYES AND KISS YOURSELVES GOODBYE
AND THINK ABOUT THE TIMES YOU SPENT AND WHAT THEY’VE MEANT
TO ME IT’S NOTHING (X4)

I’M LOSING ALL MY HAPPINESS
THE HAPPINESS YOU PINNED ON ME
MY LONELINESS STILL COMFORTS ME
MY ANGER DWELLS INSIDE OF ME
I’M TAKING ALL IT OUT OF YOU
AND ALL THE SHIT YOU PUT ME THROUGH

WELL NO ONE ELSE IS GETTING OUT ALIVE
THIS TIME I REALLY LOST MY MIND AND I DON’T CARE
SO CLOSE YOUR EYES AND KISS YOURSELVES GOODBYE
AND THINK ABOUT THE TIMES YOU SPENT AND WHAT THEY’VE MEANT
TO ME IT’S NOTHING (X4)

The song was a success and the crowd jammed, having fun, finishing with a huge clapping of hands and inciting screams. And the next songs met the same lucky fate.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
“Hey, guys, you were F A B U L O U S!” Cordelia exulted, coming towards them with all the others when they finished their show.
“Yes, that was a first class return, my compliments!” Doyle agreed.
“And when you dedicated that song... Gee, you just kicked their asses!” Faith exclaimed, punching the air.
“I saw everything, too, and you were such a force of nature!” Anya commented, running into them.
“So, you came to see us, too! I didn’t see you in the crowd...” Angel said, happy because his friend had also been a witness of their great return.
“Of course I was here, how could I miss such a big event? It’s just that I was behind the stage, eh, eh, this is the advantage of having a boyfriend who works here... By the way, you’ve seen him every now and then, but I haven’t officially introduced him to you yet. Just wait, I’ll be right back!” she informed disappearing with the same swiftness she had previously come and she came back, hugged to her boyfriend.
“Well, guys, this is Lorne, and you are way too many, so tell him your names on your own!” Anya explained, making the shaking of hands start.

“You know, Lorne works here because he wants to save the money to make his dream come true..” Anya informed them.
“Uh? What dream?” Tara asked.
“Well, nothing impossible. I just would like to open a club with Karaoke that’s all mine, because I adore singing, but I adore listening to other people as they sing even more..” Lorne confessed.
“Yes, he says that this way he almost manages to read people’s souls..” Anya went on, holding him tight.
“Exactly. And when I saw my beautiful doll’s one… I just lost my mind!” Lorne smiled, kissing her.
“Honey, are you sure we are still talking about * my soul *?” Anya teased him maliciously.
“ANYA!” a general chorus exclaimed in shock, as they burst out laughing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
The day after in the afternoon, after taking Dawn to the station, with the promise that she would pay another visit to them soon, William and Buffy were on their way home. In the morning Faith and Andrew had also gone back to San Francisco. All those departures were sad, but Buffy knew for sure it wasn’t a good bye.
Suddenly, her mobile rang.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s Willow, I have something to tell you and please when you see William, tell him, too...”
“Actually, he’s already here with me...”
“Perfect. So, we need you to come to the Bronze immediately. Clem just called us, it’s urgent so hurry up, Angel and I are already waiting here for you...” the redhead informed the blonde, hanging up.
“It was Will. She said we’ve gotta go to the Bronze, she seemed so agitated…” Buffy told William, a little bit confused by the call.

A quarter of an hour after they arrived to the club.
“So, Clem, wassup?” William asked, sitting at the table with Buffy, curious at seeing Angel and Willow looking very excited.
“My dear friends, it seems that someone very important noticed you, and he’s very interested to produce you. You know, I don’t know who sent it to him, but he received a videotape of your first performance here... with the whereabouts to contact you...”
Willow and Buffy exchanged a look, because they had already figured out who the responsible was.
“Andrew!” they exclaimed at the same time, making a mental note to thank him, and Faith, too, because the cocky idea of sending the videotape to a producer could only be hers.
“Anyway, it worked, because he saw it and enjoyed your show a lot, so much so that he wants to meet you personally...” Clem explained to the more and more excited band, and then he looked at the window, hearing a car park. “... Very, very soon, because he’s here!” he added.

The four saw a robust man, of about fifty years old, get into the Club.
“Hi, guys, I’m...”
“Quentin Travers! You’re the famous talent-scout of the Powers-That-Be Records. You discovered such talented bands as ‘The Watchers’... “ Angel cut him off, recognizing him as enthused as ever, getting up to shake his hand.
William did the same.
“And ‘The Order of Taraka’ is another one of your discoveries. That’s such a great band!” the bleached blond congratulated the man, as Willow and Buffy had no idea about who Quentin Travers or any of the bands their boyfriends named were.
“And also ‘The Acathla’s Return’ !” Angel went on.
“And ‘The Gem of Amarra’!” William added.
“Hey, hey, guys, calm down! I got the point, you are very well informed. Anyway... am I wrong... or are you challenging each other to find out who knows more about my career?”
“Look, they know you, but you don’t know them!” Willow explained, smiling at him and inviting him to sit at their table.
“Those two can turn everything into a competition!” Buffy explained, smiling and shaking his hand.

“I already liked what I saw in the videotape, and you are impressive in person, too. You all get along so well! Believe me, there are bands that once they are off the stage they almost don’t even remember the other members’ names! Instead, you are really a group, and this is exactly what I’m looking for. Plus, your sound is very good. So, I’m sure we’ll make great things together...” Question explained, it wasn’t easy to figure out which of the four members’ smile was the brightest, even more so when Quentin asked the next question. “Would you like me to screen test you in my studios, not very far from Sunnydale?”

They didn’t know what the future would reserve for them, but they couldn’t wait to find out.
A simple ad made a dream they all shared come true, but it also helped them find true loves and true friendships, too.

So, it is already a big success, isn’t it?

TBC

Yeah, I know, I said it was the last chapter, but this ending sounded way too cold… So, just wait for a 1000% spuffy epilogue!

Thank you soooo much, as always!!!

EPILOGUE

William still couldn’t believe it and as he stood on the stage, his mind drifted back to the previous months, because lots of stuff had happened and all that had brought the Chosen Ones on the crest of a wave.
The screen-test had gone really well, so Quentin Travers hadn’t wasted any time and started a very efficient and successful marketing strategy that had born fruit. Their first album had sold out in all the stores very soon. And shortly after, they were introducing it to America with the ‘Bugger This’ tour, of course it went without mentioning that William had picked up that name.
At the moment he and the rest of the band were at Times Square in the middle of the last performance of their tour. Everyone was trying their best as a very excited crowd incited and yelled their names restlessly.
There was only a song left; it was their hit, the one that would surely earn them a nomination for the ‘Best New Act’ category at the incoming MTV Video Music Awards.
Plus, William loved that song, mostly because at the end there was a drum solo. He never got tired of reading the posters their fans made for them and he was even more excited when he saw a poster only for him. He was lucky, because he caught a glimpse of a few girls in the first row who were holding a big poster and they started calling him out, first with a soft whisper and then louder and louder.
“William, WILLIAM...”
William was very happy and proud of himself: it was music for his ears.
“WILLIAM JAMES LEATHER, WAAAAAKE UUUUUUUUUUP!”

The boy opened his eyes abruptly, sitting on his bed and bringing a hand to his heart due to the big scare.
“It took long enough for you to wake up, my big sleepyhead. I’ve been calling you out for ages!” Buffy exclaimed, kissing him as he still looked at her confusedly.
“Soooo, it was just a dream...” he slurred so low that Buffy didn’t hear him.
William turned to his night table where the clock informed him that it was 7:30 a.m.

“Bloody hell, Slayer, whatever did I do to you that you have you rush in here and wake me up at this sodding time? I’m almost sorry I gave you the keys to my house!” he complained as he wondered what the hell was wrong with his girlfriend to come waking him up so early on a holy Sunday Morning.
“I know it’s kinda early, but it was stronger than me. I was home and I turned the radio on, and guess what? They were airing ‘Once More With Feeling’ in exclusive, can’t you see? I just had to let you know that!” she exulted.
His only answer was jumping off his bed, turning on the radio and tuning it to one of the local stations.
“We’ll hear it again sooner or later!” he said, coming back to his girlfriend.
“Of course, honey. It’s our very first single, so the media will have to publicize it a little bit!” Buffy added, happier than she’d ever been.
“Now, you must explain to me why you were listen to the radio at 7:00 a.m. on * Sunday * nonetheless!”
“I couldn’t sleep, I’m too agitated: we have our first interview with a local newspaper tomorrow and I can’t still believe it’s true!”
“So, you started getting nervous a day before?”
“That’s the way I am, my love, take it or leave it!” she struck back, sticking out her tongue to him playfully, but without even realizing it she found her lips stuck to her boyfriend’s.
“Mm... I’m taking it, I’m taking it...” he murmured between kisses.
“Honey, why are you not nervous? C’mon, not even a little bit? I wonder what the journalists could ask us!” she commented, getting worried.
“Well, it will be nothing compared to your mother’s third degree when you introduced me to her!” William rolled his eyes, and Buffy shoved her elbow lightly in his stomach.
“Hey! Well, we’ll see what your mother tells me... because you know that sooner or later you and me will fly to London and you’ll have to introduce me to her. Dawn has already persuaded her to meet me. See? It’s two against one!” she retorted.
“We’ll see... what if we become so famous that we can’t even take a plane? It wouldn’t be prudent...” he tried to justify.
“Spikey, you’re pathetic, you’ve gotta invent a much more credible excuse!” Buffy chuckled, shaking her head.
“Hey, look, Willow still hasn’t met Angel’s parents at Los Angeles yet, but she didn’t make a big deal out of it! And about Tara and Cordy, they also waited for more than a year before meeting Wes and Doyle’s families!” he made her notice.
“No way! Sooner or later I’ll meet the mysterious Jenny Calendar Leather, her son likes it or not!” Buffy stated impassibly.


“Pet, don’t you wanna know what I was dreaming about before you woke me up?” he changed subjects very cleverly and it worked, because he knew how much she adored hearing about dream tales.
“Spit it out!” she incited him, cuddling against him.
“You, Willow, Angel and I were performing at Times Square; the crowd was crazy for us. It was the last date of our tour... and we even were about to get a nomination for the VMAs...”
“My Spikey dreams about ambitious and exaggerated stuff!” she made fun of him as she played with his hair.
“Everything is allowed in dreams. By the way, right now I have a certain dream... and you can make it come true...” he murmured, laying down on his bed and inviting her with his look to follow him.
Buffy threw herself on the bed... but she ended up kissing... the pillow, because, after hearing the start of their single on the radio station where the DJ was introducing them as a young promise for the Punk-Rock World, William had run to the stereo to turn up the volume, very happy when he heard the drums and his participations in the chorus.
Buffy joined him, sitting on the floor and listening to the radio very carefully because she didn’t want to miss any of her guitar chords and her secondary leading voice mingled to Willow’s.

“My love, do you know what people say about the dreams you have in the morning?” she whispered, kissing him behind his ear.
“Mm.. no, enlighten me, pet..” he purred, and then he kissed and nibbled her neck.
“Sometimes they become true!”

--
THE END

It’s been a pleasure to share this FF with you, thank you all for your support, well, now I can update the other Fantasy story , and that’s what I’m gonna do! ;)