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The next morning Buffy was the first one to awake at 7:30 a.m. She made her way into her bathroom, brushed her teeth, removed the ear plugs, and then took her shower. Half an hour later, she was dressed in a red tank top with black slacks and went to pick up

breakfast.



When Buffy returned at 8:30 a.m., Willow was just getting out of bed. She followed her friend to the kitchen, hopes of getting some coffee in her, to wake her up. Wonder what William is doing right now?



Buffy handed Willow her morning coffee and sat down at the kitchen table to eat her donuts. “Good morning.”



Willow set her coffee and donut down on the table, yawning and stretching, still in her PJ’s.



“Morning, Willow.” she said before taking a bite out of the donut.



“These are good,” Willow acknowledged. “Where’d you get them?”



“Krispy Krème. They just opened up a shop down by Sam’s.”



“Oh wow, I hadn’t even noticed.” Willow took another bite.



As the girls were finishing up their donuts, Xander walked into the kitchen. He needed his morning coffee or he would be a grouch.



“Hi, honey, here’s your coffee,” Willow handed him his cup.



“Huh? What?” Xander asked, confused. “Oh coffee. Yum.” He took a drink. “Thanks honey.” He saw the donuts. “Oooh donuts.” He grabbed one and greedily ate it as he left the kitchen.



“Men,” Willow giggled.



“You can't live with them, and you certainly can’t live without them.” Buffy sipped her coffee. I need a man. I could go for the man at Best Buy, or maybe for William. Oh god, I don’t know what I’d do if I had to chose between them. There was a connection between us. I don’t want to screw it up. At least if I don’t get to meet the Best Buy man, I can meet William.



***********

It had been busy all afternoon at the Magic Box. Willow had been helping a customer who was looking for lavender, but she couldn’t locate it anywhere.



“Anya,” Willow called out.



“I’m right here," Anya said, stepping out from the backroom.



“Jonathan is looking for lavender, but I can’t seem to find it."



“Oh, that’s because I moved it.”



“You moved it? Why didn’t you say anything?”



“I thought it would sell much better by the window.”



Anya took Willow and the customer to the front of the store and proceeded to show them where the lavender was. “Here it is.” Anya was very chipper and bright as she located the herb.



Willow turned to the little dark haired man. “Jonathan, here’s your lavender. Take this up to the counter and Anya will help you.” She handed the herb to him, and he was so shy he forgot to say thank you and just nodded.



When he left, Willow went over to Anya, who was putting the copy of the receipt in her folder, so at the end of the day, she could count up all the sales.



“Anya, what else have you changed around here without telling us?” Willow asked, crossing her arms over her chest, looking highly annoyed.



“I only changed things so that we’d make more money. Money is important. Very important.” Anya pointed out. "Isn't it?"



“Well, yeah...but ask first! .” Willow went to her office. She stepped in and closed the door behind her. “Oh my god, that Anya.”



“What’d she do now?” Buffy had been chatting with William, and quickly signed off without saying good bye. She hoped that he’d understand. She turned around her to chair to give Willow her full attention.



“She’s moving the merchandise around.”



“I know. I’ve told her not to do that, but she’s insistent we’ll make more money. She thinks this little store is going to make us a million dollars." Hope he’s not mad that I did that. I’ll have to get back online and apologize to him.



“If she can pull that off, she can move anything she wants.” Willow turned around and went back out to the front to face Anya.



Buffy quickly turned on the computer once again, and signed back on AOL. Luckily, he was sill online and he imed her right away. She felt relieved; she didn’t know what she would do if he wouldn’t keep chatting with her.



Spike29: Everything ok, love?

Slayer: Yeah, sorry about that. Willow, my business partner/roommate, just came in. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say about you.

Spike29: Eventually you’ll have to tell your friends, if there’s more between us.

Slayer: I know and I will, when and if things progress. Right now, I like that this remains a secret between us.



William was quiet for a few minutes and Buffy wondered if maybe she'd said too much.



Slayer: Are you there?



Another minute passed before he said anything.



Spike29: Sorry, pet.

Slayer: Where’d you go?

Spike29: Miss me?

Slayer: Well, yeah maybe, but I was worried I said too much.

Spike29: Nah, you didn’t. You were just being honest. I like it.

Slayer: I try to be. Lies cause too many problems.

Spike29: Don’t worry love. I’d never lie to you. And I keep my promises.

Slayer: That makes me feel better.

Spike29: Well, I think better be going. My boss may catch me.

Slayer: Will you be online later?

Spike29: For you….you can count on it. ;)

Slayer: J

Spike29: I’ll be seeing ya, love.

Slayer: Bye

Spike29: Bye, pet.



Buffy closed down AOL. She really wanted to meet this guy. She'd never dreamed she’d actually find a friend or a boyfriend online this quickly. I still would like to meet the guy from Best Buy. I wish there was some way to find him. It would be kinda pointless to hang out at Best Buy, hoping he’d be there…Willow is right. If it was meant to happen, it’ll happen, either way, I’m sure I’ll meet one of them.



At closing time, Anya brought in an addition $400.00 to the existing $150.00 they'd brought in that morning. They made more that afternoon than they had in a long time. That was all due in part to Anya. If she hadn’t moved things around, things wouldn’t be selling what they had. Buffy and Willow were happy to have Anya around, even though she could be a pain sometimes. It was worth it.



Before they could leave for the evening, their latest shipment of herbs and spices arrived, and they had to make sure that they were stocked in the back room. Once that was done, Willow and Anya left, leaving Buffy to lock up.



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

Willow had a few errands to make before meeting Buffy at Sam’s Diner. She had to pick up Tara and Xander; he stayed at the apartment all day, lounging around on his day off. Tara lived about a block away from Buffy and Willow, so it wasn’t a big deal for her to go back that way.



Buffy went directly to the diner, hoping to get a good seat when she pulled up. It looked pretty quiet to her. She put the car in park, stepped out, and walked inside. It was empty save for a man sitting in the far corner, near the restrooms. Must be because of the new sports bar down the block. What was it called?? Oh yes, it’s Gunn’s. I wish I can talk to William right now.



She went for the booth in the corner by the window. Riley walked up to her as she was getting comfy.



“Can I help you?”



“I’ll take a diet coke while I’m waiting.”



“Sure thing, sweet cheeks,” Riley said, walking away.



“What an ass,” she said under her breath. She picked up a menu and began looking it over, hoping that her friends would arrive soon. The moment she'd formed the thought, they all walked in.



“Hey,” each echoed as they took a seat in the booth.



Riley came back with her drink and took their orders. Fifteen minutes later, their food came.



“I’m so hungry,” Xander intoned before digging in.



An hour later, the friends had finished up their meals and were ready to go home. Xander and Willow wanted to go back to Tara’s place. She didn’t mind. As they slid out of the booth, Willow told Buffy they were heading back to Tara’s and that she’d see her at The Magic Box in the morning. Buffy paid the check as quickly as she could, and drove directly home. I hope he’s online tonight.



When she got home, she went straight to her room, changed, and then popped a DVD into the player and watched a movie until she fell asleep.



She woke up two hours later, right away thinking of William. She so wanted to chat with him, so she hurried to the office, hoping that he’d be online. As soon as she signed on, he had IMed her right away.



Spike29: Hello Buffy, love. Nice to chat with you again. How are you?

Slayer: I’m fine. How are you?

Spike29: I didn’t think you were going to get online tonight. I was beginning to miss you.

Slayer: Aw, that’s sweet. I missed you too.

Spike29: I thought about you all day long.

Slayer: You did?

Spike29: I would really like to meet you. I want to get to know you better, Buffy.

Slayer: What would you like to know?

Spike29: Anything you want to tell me.

Slayer: Just ask.

Spike29: I want to know everything about you, but I don’t know where to begin.

Slayer: I guess I can start. I live and work with my best friend, Willow. We own a magic shop. She and her girlfriend are into Wicca. If I hadn’t gone into business with her, I’d gone into Interior Design, but its fun. She keeps me on my toes.

Spike29: Have you designed anything?

Slayer: Yep. I decorated my apartment.

Spike29: Little miss fix it.

Slayer: Tell me what you look like.



Buffy just blurted it out. She was so excited about talking with this man; she had to know what he looked like.



Spike29: Getting a little ahead of ourselves, pet?

Slayer: I just want to get an idea of what you look like.

Spike29: I’m about 5’11; I have blonde hair, and blue eyes. You?

Slayer: I’m 5’2. Also, blonde. Green eyes.

Spike29: You sound lovely.

Slayer: You don’t sound too bad, yourself.

Spike29: Why thank you, pet.

Slayer: William?

Spike29: Yes?

Slayer: Could we meet?

Spike29: Isn't it a bit soon?

Slayer: It is, but I’ve been hurt before and I don’t want to be hurt again.

Spike29: I’m sorry, pet.

Slayer: I’m already starting to like you, William.

Spike29: If you’re ready, we can meet any place. Your choice.

Slayer: How about my shop? I should be there late all this week. I’m going over the books and we got a new shipment in. My partner has plans with her girlfriend and her boyfriend all this week. Our clerk, Anya, doesn’t like working overtime, so that just leaves me.

Spike29: All by your lonesome?

Slayer: I like working alone.

Spike29: Where is the shop? I’ll see if I can make it like Thursday.

Slayer: We’re downtown on Main Street. You can’t miss it. It’s called The Magic Box.

Spike29: I think I know the place. I’ll let you know if I can make it.

Slayer: All right. It’s getting late, so I should go.

Spike29: See you later, then.

Slayer: Bye.



Buffy shut down the computer and went to bed.



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

A few days had gone by and Buffy went in early.Lots of work needed to be done, but the thing she wanted to do the most was chat with William. She didn’t want to push it too much, fearing she could drive him away, but she didn’t want to lose him, like she did with the guy at Best Buy. I feel so stupid that I couldn’t go up to him and just say hi. We could have already been dating and who knows what else, Buffy thought as she unlocked the door to the shop. She stepped in, closed the door behind her, and walked to her office, feeling fresh and pretty in her new navy blue suit.



Buffy sat down at her desk and began her paper work, but she just couldn’t get William out of her mind. She had to talk to him. He hadn’t been online since the last time they spoke. She turned on the computer, hoping that he’d be on, but he wasn’t. Where are you?



She suddenly felt sad, but she put that aside to continue her work. It had to be done; otherwise Willow might go Dark Magic Willow on her.



Later on that day, Buffy was alone at the shop. Anya had called in sick and Willow had to go out of town to purchase a special product that the company couldn’t ship it for some unknown reason. This left Buffy overwhelmed with all the customers. She couldn’t even do any of the work she wanted to. She thought about closing up for the day, but decided to stick it out; it wasn’t much longer until closing time. Then she could go home, relax and chat with William, something that she’s wanted to do all day long. She'd checked several times, but he wasn’t online. He must be really busy today.



When it was getting slow towards the end of the day, she tried to get working on the books. Just before she sat down, she heard the bell on the door go off. Can’t this day ever end? Buffy trudged back into the front of the store.



“Hi, can I….” She stopped when she realized who it was. “Oh, it’s you, Riley.”



“Hi.” He walked closer to her.



“Can I help you with something?” Will you just leave already?



“I wanted to apologize about my behavior at the diner.”



Is he trying to flirt with me?



“Yeah, well don’t worry about it.”



He walked closer to her. “Maybe we can get together some time.”



Oh god, he IS flirting with me! Yech!



She started to feel uncomfortable, so she began to walk around behind the counter to distance herself from him. "I don't get together with married men, Riley. Please leave

now so I can close up."



Riley leaned over and grabbed her arm.



“Wait a minute!" he said loudly. "I want to talk to you."



She looked at his hand and then back up at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”



“Look, I came here to apologize.”



“You did. Now let go of me.” Buffy tried shaking her arm out of his grip, but he wouldn’t release it “I mean it, Riley," she said shrilly. "Get your hand off me!"



He leaned in to kiss her on the lips, she turned her head quickly. "Leave me alone!"



Riley didn’t listen. He forcibly kissed her, but she was able to push him back. “WHAT PART OF GET OFF ME DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?” She tried not to sound frightened, but there was still a quiver to her voice.



“Come on, Buffy...I just want to kiss you." He tightened his fingers on her arm, pain-

fully. "Just...hold still a little..."




"You're hurting me!" She strained to get away. "I'm...I'm warning you...."



“Oh, yeah?" he laughed a little. "Or you’ll do what exactly?”



“You heard the lady!” Unnoticed by Buffy, a man had entered the shop. Grabbing

Riley's shoulder, he pulled him away from her. "Hands off!"



“This is none of your business!” Riley said, obviously surprised at the man's

strength.



Buffy was too scared to speak. Riley's body blocked her view and she couldn't really

see who was trying to rescue her.



“It’s my business when a slim ball hits on a lady after she said NO!”




A what?



Riley took a swing, but the man blocked the hit and punched him dead in the face, sending him flying into a display case.



Buffy's jaw dropped. Anya's gonna have a fit when she sees that! was

her first thought when she saw Riley lying amidst the rubble of merchandise

raining down on him.



Her rescuer turnd to look at Buffy, who was visibly shaking.



“You ok?”



Hey...it's Best Buy guy!



Buffy just shook her head. She looked him up and down, trying not to stare bla-

tantly. He had on combat boots, black jeans; snug in all the right places, and a black tee-shirt that showed off all his muscles.



Riley was struggling to stand, wiping the blood off his mouth, staggering back.



The other man saw from the corner of his eye that Riley was actually coming back for more, and he quickly turned around, hitting him once more in the face. Riley again staggered back.



“I suggest you get your arse out of here. I don’t want to have to hurt you in front of

this lady, but make no mistake...I will if it becomes necessary."



Something in his tone got through to Riley. Rising inelegantly to his feet, he

left.



The man watched him go, then turned to Buffy.



"I'm all right," she assured him. "Thank you."



He smiled at her. “Come sit down.”



He pulled out a chair from their table. Spotting a bottle of water on the counter, he grabbed it and offered it to her. “Would you like some water?”



She nodded, taking the bottle in one shaking hand.



Buffy took a few sips and set it down on the table. He pulled up another

chair and sat next to her. “I don’t think that pillock will be bothering you again, but

if he does, then you just let me know."



“Thank you, but you don’t need to protect me.”



She stood up and began to walk away but he grabbed her arm, preventing it. Oh, not this again. Please don’t do this to me, not again. “Don't," she said sharply.



He pulled back “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…what I wanted to say is…I'm sorry. I

should introduce myself,” he finally said, a little nervously. “I’m William.”



For a moment, it didn’t register with her that this was the William she’d been chatting to online. “It’s nice to meet you William, but I want to close up and go home."



She started to walk away again, but was stopped.



“Buffy? You ARE Buffy, aren't you? I'm William….Spike29!”



“William?” She asked, but it wasn’t so much a question.



“That's right," he smiled.



“I saw you in Best Buy,” they both said at once.



She looked up into his eyes. She could get lost in them; they were the prettiest blue she’d ever seen. Finally, she'd found him, and she wasn't about to let him slip

away again.



“I can’t believe it. Willow was right.”



“What, love?” William looked into her green eyes. Like sparkling emeralds

they were. He could get lost in them if he wanted to. He'd finally found the

girl he hadn't been able to stop thinking about.



“If it was meant to happen, it'll happen. She told me that."



“She’s very perceptive.”



They just stared into each other eyes, until William broke the silence.



“Would you like to get out of here and go have coffe or something?"



“Sounds good," Buffy said, heading for her office area."Just give me a few minutes.”



Even though she didn't really know him, she felt at ease and secure in

a way she'd not felt with any other man.



When she returned, she stopped and watched him looking around the store. Suddenly, she got the feeling that she would be with this man for a long time. He would never hurt her, and he’d always protect her. She smiled at the idea. "I'm ready."



William and Buffy walked down the street to Emma's and ordered coffee.



They were still talking when the sun came up.



The End





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