Stumbling back in surprise, William stared at the large man in front of him in disbelief. Just his luck, he thought, grimly. Could this day possibly get any worse? As the dark-haired man pulled back his fist, ready to strike again, William instantly reacted and blocked the second punch. “What the bleedin’ hell’s your problem?!” Not waiting for an answer, he jumped his attacker, who was clearly taken by surprise.
Already having a bad day, with Dru and her revelation about the pregnancy, a fight was in fact something he welcomed, although it still pissed him off that this wanker had managed to take him off guard. William had no idea what his reasons were, nor did he care. Instead he kept pounding on the seemingly stronger man until his face was no more than a bloody mess. He wouldn’t have stopped there, but someone stepped between them.
“Hey, that’s enough! Leave, or I’ll call the police.” A heavy-looking bouncer grabbed him hard and pushed him towards the exit. William raised his hands in surrender and stomped off, only to run into Buffy who had just returned from the bathroom.
Her eyes widened when she saw his swollen nose and the blood on his face. “Oh my God, what happened?!”
“M’fine. Come on, pet, we’re leaving.” Taking hold of her hand, William pushed his way through the crowd, leading her out of the club. He stopped just outside, turning to Buffy who was watching him with a wary expression on her face. “Look, I...” he started, but was interrupted by a somewhat slurry voice, coming from behind them.
“Not so fast, you bastard! I’m not done with you.”
He spun around, finding himself standing face to face with the man he had all but beaten into a bloody pulp. William recognized him all too well from school, as one of the guys Drusilla had dated before him. His name was Liam O’Connor, but Dru always referred to him as Angel. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was with her and those ridiculous nicknames. Now he raised a brow. “Be happy to finish our little... talk, mate. If you think you can handle it, that is. Don’t look so good.” He paused. “Second thought, I’d say it’s a soddin’ improvement.”
“William!” Buffy stared at him in shock, having not seen this side of him before. “What the hell’s going on?! You did this?” She gestured to Liam’s face.
“Yeah, well, he bloody started it!” William got a hurt expression on his face, upset that she automatically seemed to assume it was his fault. He sure didn’t need this crap right now. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Liam, who was angrily wiping some of the blood off his face. “You’re off your bleedin’ rocker! What the fucking hell did I ever do to you?”
“Not about me, you pathetic piece of shit!” Liam glared at him, then gestured towards Buffy. “That little slut your new girlfriend? She’s cute. Have you told her how you knocked up your ex?”
Before William even got the chance to react, Buffy took a step forward and slapped Liam across the face. “That’s for calling me a slut, you jerk! And just who the hell do you think you are? This is so none of your business!” She slid her arm around William’s waist, her act making it perfectly clear as to where her loyalties were. It was hard to say who was more surprised by her outburst; William or Liam.
Liam’s shoulders slumped a bit and he seemed to calm down a little. “Look, Dru told me what happened, and...”
“And you, what?” William interrupted him, giving him an incredulous look. “Decided to stand up and defend her honor? Got some news for you, hair boy – there’s nothing honorable about that bitch!”
Liam’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, William was certain that he would punch him again. Then he let out a sigh. “You don’t know her.”
“Oh, and I suppose you do?” William let out a snort as realization hit him. “You’re in love with her.”
Liam scoffed at him, then looked away. “She doesn’t really care about you, you know. She only started dating you in the first place to get back at me.”
William clenched his fists. “Never bloody asked for this! Just want her to leave. Me. Alone!”
Looking a little taken aback for a moment, Liam glanced at Buffy, her arm still protectively around William. She gave her boyfriend a questioning look and when he nodded, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. I need to go back and get my jacket, anyway. But you two better not kill each other while I’m gone.” And she was off.
“You don’t mess with her,” Liam finally said, quietly. “Drusilla, I mean. She’ll find a way to get back at you.” A pause. “Believe me, I know.”
Noticing that Liam didn’t really seem to be interested in fighting anymore, seeing how he was now clearly brooding, William felt strangely disappointed. His fingers were still itching to beat the living crap out of someone, preferably Liam. It was a feeling he was not very familiar with, but this bloke seemed to bring out the worst in him. He and Drusilla, obviously.
“One little mistake,” Liam went on, throwing his arms up in agitation. “That’s all. It wasn’t even my fault. I mean, sure, I slept with Darla, but...”
“Why are you telling me this?” William crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly feeling a headache coming up. “You want her back, is that it? Fine. Good luck with that. Really couldn’t care less.”
Liam looked surprised for a moment, like he had almost forgotten that he wasn’t alone. Then he shook his head. “You don’t get it, Willie. She got to you, and now you’re her new obsession. You don’t walk away from Drusilla. She’s the one who decides when it’s over.” He let out a sigh. “She’s... special, that way.”
“Sure.” William nodded. “If by ‘special’, you mean a complete nutcase.”
“May be so.” Liam was silent for a moment. Then he looked away. “Like I said; you don’t really know her. You only know the side of her she wants you to know. I, on the other hand...” He swallowed.
“What?” William rolled his eyes, still annoyed. “What are you on about?”
“You didn’t hear this from me, all right?” Liam gave him a warning look before he went on; “When Dru was about ten years old, she accidentally walked in on her parents arguing. Turned out her father had been having an affair with another woman. He took off the same night. One week later...” He looked up, his eyes meeting William’s. “...her mother committed suicide. Drowned herself in the bathtub while Drusilla was at school. She was the one who found her.”
“Bloody hell!” William’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s...” He realized that he had no idea what to say. “Oh, fuck!”
“Yeah.” Liam let out a bitter laugh. “Dru told me her mother left her a note. She even showed it to me. This was years ago, by the way, and we were both drunk at the time. She never brought it up again.”
William nodded in understanding, suddenly feeling like his head was spinning. He didn’t want to know about this. He wanted to be able to keep hating Dru for what she had done to him. But he couldn’t help himself; he had to ask. “The note. What did it say?”
Liam watched him for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m not gonna tell you. It’s too personal. Just trust me when I say this. It explains quite a lot about why she’s acting the way she does.”
“Right.” William felt his anger fade. It was all starting to make sense to him now; Drusilla’s strange attitude towards love, her cold behavior, her obvious lack of empathy. She was unable to believe in love, because she had witnessed one of the cruelest betrayals of them all – a father’s betrayal of his family. He inhaled, shakily. “I... I didn’t know.”
“That’s right,” Liam agreed, calmly. “Of course you didn’t. Because she doesn’t want you to know. So don’t even think about running back to her and tell her you’re sorry. She’s not gonna want your pity. I’m only telling you this because she was clearly upset when I ran into her.” William opened his mouth, but Liam wasn’t finished; “She says the kid’s yours, but you guys have been together for what? A month?”
William swallowed. “Six weeks. And she can’t possibly know for sure. I mean, there’s been others.” He lowered his eyes, suddenly feeling ashamed.
“Look...” Liam got an almost sympathetic expression on his face. “Far as I can tell, she might as well already been pregnant when the two of you started dating. But that’s not the point.” He sighed. “You asked if I was in love with her. In a way, I am. But, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, she’s not an easy person to love.”
“Tell me about it.” William was quiet for a moment. “Look, mate, don’t know what you want me to say. I’m sorry ‘bout what Dru’s been through and all, but I’m in love with Buffy. You want her back, I’m not gonna stand in your way. But honestly, she’s the one who can’t seem to let go. Not really sure what to do about it.”
“I hear you.” Liam nodded, a serious look on his face. “But you better figure something out, Willie, before things get even more out of hand. Don’t you agree?”
TBC