[Reviews - 1197]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 6589 times

- Text Size +




Buffy sat on her bed, unable to stop the sobs that wracked her body. She couldn't believe this was happening. Things had been so good with William—they'd been perfect. Just that morning, they'd been in each other's arms, and now…

She wished she could bring herself to be angry at William. Everything would be so much easier if she could hate him now. But she couldn't. She couldn't even blame him for his reaction. Of course he didn't want to be with her anymore. He was a baron and she was a drunken slut with a criminal record.

No, she didn't hate William. She hated herself.

The knock on her door startled Buffy and she looked up sharply, wiping at her eyes. "Who is it?"

"It’s Giles. I received a call from your school today, and I'd like to talk to you about it."

Shit… Buffy thought. Just what she needed. She'd lost William and now Giles was probably going to send her back to her parents, who would probably stick her in a convent or something… She got off the bed and walked towards the door, trying to calm herself so she could ask Giles rationally to let her stay.

She didn't manage it. As soon as she saw him her tears started fresh and she began to ramble, her words running together. "Please…don't make me go…I'm sorry. I'll be good now, and I didn't mean to, it's just that Cecily was so horrible, and she said and did things, and I know that probably doesn't matter, but I'm sorry, and I don't want to go back to my parents because they'll probably make me be a nun, and I don't want to and…"

"Buffy, slow down," Giles said, holding up his hand. "I didn't say I was sending you anywhere."

"You're…you're not going to kick me out?"

"No. I merely wanted to discuss with you what happened. Would you be willing to go sit in my study with me so we might talk?"

Buffy nodded, still shaking slightly with her tears. "Okay."

Giles reached into his pocket and pulled out his handkerchief, handing it to her. "Come on. It's all right."

Buffy followed him to his study, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief as she did. When they got into the room, Giles pulled a chair for Buffy before sitting in one across from her. "Now as I understand it, you got into a small altercation this afternoon with Cecily Underwood at school. Can you tell me what happened?" Giles asked.

"Yes," Buffy said with a nod. "See, William…"

"William from next door?" Giles interrupted.

"Uh huh."

"And as I understand it, the two of you have been dating, correct?"

"We were," Buffy said, her face crumpling as she said the words. "I'm sorry…I'm just…"

"It's all right, dear child. Take your time, please," Giles said, giving her a soft, warm smile.

"Thank you." Buffy took a deep breath. "William used to like Cecily, but she shot him down. So then he started dating me. And she didn't care about him at all until I got with him, and all the sudden she just has to have him. So she hired a private investigator to dig up all the dirt from my life in L.A. and then gave it to William, who then got all freaked out about it."

Giles's eyes widened. "Wait…she did what?"

"She hired a private investigator to get information on me to give to William," Buffy repeated. "She had everything…tabloid clippings, police reports…"

"Please hold on a moment, Buffy," Giles said, rising from his seat. He went over to his desk, flipping through a thick address book before picking up the telephone and dialing a number. "Yes, Mrs. Underwood, please." Giles glanced briefly over at Buffy as he waited on the phone, then turned away as he began to speak again.

"Yes, Mrs. Underwood, this is Rupert Giles, the guardian of Miss Buffy Summers. Yes, I am aware of that. No, you listen here, Mrs. Underwood—your daughter hired an investigator to retrieve private information regarding Miss Summers that she then distributed to a third party—without either the knowledge or consent of Miss Summers—with the sole purpose of causing Miss Summers emotional and personal distress. I highly suggest you speak with your daughter immediately to curb any of this sort of behavior in the future, or you will be hearing from my lawyers. I have half a mind to take you and your daughter into court over what she's done already." Giles paused for a moment, listening, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I do appreciate it, Mrs. Underwood. I trust there will be no more trouble of this nature. Yes, of course. Good day."

Giles hung up the phone and turned back to Buffy. "You were saying?"

Even feeling as badly as she did, Buffy couldn't help smiling a little. "Thank you for that."

"It was my pleasure. I've never cared one bit for the Underwoods. Ghastly people, the lot of them," Giles replied, sitting back down. "Now, what happened with William?"

Buffy looked down at her hands, twisting the handkerchief. "I think we broke up."

"You think?"

Buffy sighed. "I don't know. It was just all so sudden. We were fine and then Cecily stepped in, and screwed it all up."

"I'm terribly sorry, Buffy. I know this sort of thing can be quite difficult."

"It hurts so much. I know we hadn't been together very long, but I really, really liked him," Buffy said, finding herself unable to keep from pouring her heart out. "He wasn't like other guys I've dated. He was actually…nice to me. He respected me, but now I guess that's shot all to hell." She sniffled.

Giles cleared his throat. "Well, I can't say I know much about teenage girls, never having been one myself, but I do believe that this sort of thing requires some type of ice cream with a ridiculous amount of chocolate in it. I have some in the freezer if you'd like to continue this discussion accompanied by it."

Buffy looked up. "I'd like that."

"Good." They both stood and Giles looked at her for a moment before reaching out, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Your parents needn't know about your suspension, Buffy. It can stay between us. And as for going back to live with them—my home is always open to you. Even when the school year has ended."

Buffy's eyes widened. "You…you actually mean that?"

"Yes. As I'm sure you have noticed, I never married. I am…seeing someone, but she has already done all the child rearing she wishes to do, and has no intention of remarrying in the near future—not that it's particularly something I want myself. But I have longed to have someone in my life that I can look on in a paternal sort of way, and as I see it, you are in as much need of a parent as I am of a daughter. I believe some sort of arrangement can be made."

Buffy felt her tears starting again, although this time for an entirely different reason. She tried to speak, but found herself unsure of what to say. Instead, she threw her arms around Giles, embracing him tightly. He hesitated for a moment, unused to such a gesture, before hugging her back. "Thank you," Buffy whispered against him. "Thank you so much."

"It is my pleasure to look upon you as family, my dear." Buffy pulled away and Giles smiled softly at her, brushing her tears from her cheeks. "Now, how about that ice cream, hmm?"

*** *** ***

William sat alone in his room, the lights off. He couldn't quite wrap his head around what had happened only a few hours earlier. Had he honestly just broken up with Buffy?

Being without her was the last thing he wanted. All he had wanted was a little time to process seeing those pictures before they talked. Seeing her with other men had hit him hard, bringing out the jealous boyfriend in him, and he hadn't wanted to take that out on Buffy. He hadn't wanted to fight with her.

And hadn't that just blown up in his face? He felt like an idiot, cursing himself for his complete lack of relationship knowledge. He didn't know how to handle these things, didn't know what he was supposed to say or do. Then Buffy had taken everything the wrong way, thinking he judged her for things she'd done before they'd gotten together. He didn't. He couldn't. He loved her too much to look at her that way. It had been a shock, but she was still the same person she'd been that morning, and he loved her just as much as ever.

Buffy, on the other hand, obviously believed he did judge her. She'd accused him of thinking of her as his whore and of wanting to break up with her because of his title. How could she think he'd do those things? Hadn't he shown her that she meant the world to him? He'd tried. But he wasn't very good at these sorts of things at all…

He'd thought that Buffy had enjoyed all the time they'd spent together in bed, but what if she hadn't? What if she felt like he was pushing for it too much, that it was all he wanted out of her? Was that what had driven her to accuse him of thinking of her as a whore? If that were the case… William grew pale, feeling suddenly ill. Had he made Buffy feel that way? He knew he shouldn't have given into his body's desires the way he had. He hadn't shown Buffy enough respect. That had to be why she felt this way about him.

And what could he say to her now? Would she believe that he was willing to treat her the way a gentleman should? Of course she wouldn't. She was probably glad to be rid of him, grateful to no longer have to serve his every base desire. She'd wanted someone who didn't treat her the way those men in the pictures had, and William had shown himself to be no better than them. He had treated her as a whore, not as the love she was.

He wanted to find some way to apologize, but knew there was none. He'd been so incredibly foolish and ruined the best thing that had ever happened to him. He ached all over, his chest clenching, but he didn't try to push away the pain. He deserved it after the way he'd treated Buffy.

William looked over towards her bedroom, seeing it dark with the blinds closed. He wondered where she was, and if she was hurting, too. He knew she probably was, thinking of the horrible way he'd behaved towards her, and he hated himself. Buffy didn't deserve what he'd done to her. She had so much pain in her life already with her parents, and the last thing she needed was him adding to it.

He turned his gaze back to the ceiling, sighing heavily. "You're a stupid git, Will," he said aloud. "A stupid, pathetic git."

All he could do was hope Buffy would someday move past what he'd done to her and find someone who wasn't too much of an idiot to treat her right.

*** *** ***

Buffy woke the next morning feeling off. Her body ached and something just felt wrong. And then it hit her in a rush.

She'd broken up with William…

A minute into her day and she was already sobbing. She was grateful for her suspension. There was no way she could face Cecily today.

"Buffy? Are you awake?" she heard Giles call through her door, tapping lightly.

Buffy sniffled, wiping at her eyes. "Yeah."

"May I come in?"

"Sure," Buffy said, sitting up in bed.

Giles opened the door, giving her a sympathetic look. "I thought I heard you crying."

"I just started," Buffy said. "Granted, I've only been awake for like two minutes…"

"Which do you think would help you more, Buffy? Staying in and keeping to yourself or going out and trying to keep your mind off of it? Perhaps some shopping?"

Buffy looked at him incredulously. "Giles, are you offering to take me shopping? 'Cause that's a scary endeavor…"

Giles took off his glasses, polishing them on the edge of his shirt. "Yes, well, if it would help you to feel better, I would risk it."

"I appreciate it. I really do. But I think this is going to be a curl up in the bed and feel sorry for myself sort of day," Buffy replied.

"All right then. But if you change your mind, do let me know. I'll be in the study. If you need anything at all, ring for me and I'll be here."

Buffy gave him a tiny smile. "Thank you. No one's ever treated me like this before. It's almost like having someone care about me."

"I do care about you, Buffy," Giles replied. "I meant what I said last night. No one should have to feel alone in this world. Be they seventeen year old girls or…very old men."

Buffy snorted. "You're not very old. I mean, you don't have to gum all your food or anything."

Giles chuckled. "Thank you. I do appreciate that." He reached out, squeezing Buffy's shoulder. "Do let me know if you need anything at all. Would you like me to bring some movies up here for you to watch?"

"Ooh, would you? I think I have The Princess Bride downstairs."

"Of course. I'll be back in a moment."

Buffy wiped at her eyes, feeling somewhat better even though the hole in her heart that William had left still ached. But at least she wasn't suffering in solitude. For the first time in her life she felt like there was someone who really cared for her.

*** *** ***

I did warn about angst—repeatedly in fact. So if you've gotten this far, you really don't have that much room to complain because it's not like I just threw it in out of the blue… But like I said before, I won't drag it on for a really long time.

Please review!





You must login (register) to review.