Chapter 6:
4 years ago…7th grade, Gym Class…
From the bench behind the fence, Buffy clapped her hands and smiled as Angel hit a high fly ball into left field and started rounding the bases. Once she glanced back down at William, who sat next to her and saw a scowl on his face, she stopped.
“What?” she shrugged.
“It’s gym Buffy, not the bloody World Series…” he muttered
as he watched one of their peers take a chance up at bat.
“There is nothing wrong with cheering him on.” Buffy explained as she scooted down the bench once someone got up to take their turn, “He’s new…needs to feel welcome.”
“He’s already got five bleedin girls all over him; I don’t think he needs a sixth.” William huffed.
“Jealous are we?” Buffy smirked at her brown hair curly friend.
“Of what?”
“That I’m cheering him on and not you…”
‘Just a bit…’ the little voice inside William’s head admitted.
“No” he scoffed quickly, “Just thought you had better taste than him.”
“Oh I see…” Buffy laughed, “Okay then, if he’s so out of my league, give me a guy that is…”
William was a little thrown by what she said; ‘A guy that’s in her league?’ He never really thought about Buffy dating anyone before, the idea of dating in general was always light years away from his mind. He’s 13 years old for crying out loud, sports and more sports were what he eats and sleeps. Sure, he was starting to get curious by the boobs on the cheerleaders, but dating? Dating was out of his league.
“What about Harris?”
“Xander?!” Buffy laughed as she looked out at the boy in question in the outfield swatting at a few bugs and not paying attention to the game.
“Not good enough for you?” William asked.
“He’s like a brother to me Will…” she waved her hand and crossed her legs.
William glanced down at her bare tan legs in her blue gym shorts.
“So I’m a brother to you too?”
Buffy shrugged, “You’re defiantly a pain in my ass, that’s for sure.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a crack of the bat and a bunch of girls screaming for Angel to run faster around third base to home plate.
“Yayyy!” the girls started to yell, they were all standing a few feet away from the bench where William and Buffy were seated.
“I never knew you were so good at baseball…” Harmony Kendal giggled as she touched Angel’s arm and squeezed his bicep.
Buffy rolled her eyes and turned her attention away from her 7th grade girls gushing all over Angel O’Connor.
“What’s the matter Summers, afraid of the competition you have with girls like Harmony?”
“No…” she shrugged.
“Me thinks you are a bad liar Summers.”
“Me thinks you are a dumbass, dumbass.” Buffy mumbled as she got up to take her turn at bat.
Angel, after escaping the swarm of bubble gum popping girls and getting a drink of water, came around the bench and sat down next to William.
“Nice hit…” William muttered.
“Thanks…” Angel said, out of breath and turning his attention on Buffy.
“STRIKE ONE!” the kid playing the position as the emperor yelled.
“Hey Giles, you and Buffy are good friends right?” Angel spoke while continuing to watch the game.
William took his eyes off Buffy for a moment to glance to his side at the boy, “Uh…I—I guess…I mean …not really …”
“Well, do you know if she’s going to the dance next month with anyone?”
“Dance?”
Angel was referring to the middle school dance that had sixth, seventh, and eighth graders attending, it was pretty much the social event of the year for kids their age.
“Ya…does she have a date?”
“STRIKE TWO!!!”
William knew that Buffy was starting to have a crush on this new boy, Angel. He knew if his friend was right here she would say ‘yes’ without hesitation if Angel asked her to the school dance.
“Uh….no…I don’t think she does.”
“Do you want to go with her?” Angel took his eyes off Buffy and looked at William.
“Me?! Me?! What are you kidding…” William looked at Angel in disgust, “Me and Summers….me and Summers? Now that’s a laugh.”
“Why? What’s wrong with her?”
Is there a time in your life that you wish you could take back desperately, a time where you knew sooner or later what you said will be held against you for what will seem like forever? Well, this was William Giles’s moment.
“What isn’t wrong with her? She’s…she’s stupid chit that is stuck up…she’s got stupid commercial shampoo hair and—and—and she’s not really pretty at all.”
There was a brief pause between the boys as the watched Buffy take her last chance at bat.
“STRIKE THREE!”
“A few people said that you took her to the dance last year though...” Angel said.
“Only because I was paid to take her…” William explained as he got up from his seat on the bench and walked away.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After school, William decided to go for a bike ride up and down Revello Drive since it was such a nice day. He needed a little relaxation after the rather odd day he had a school after gym class. With each passing period, more and more girls were giving him some pretty weird looks—the kind of looks that said he hated women. William could have sworn that even Mrs. Beckjord, the lunch lady, gave him a look that said ‘take a hike boy’.
When William rode his bike closer to Buffy’s house he could see that she was out on the porch swing sitting quietly. He smirked to himself before he wheeled into her driveway and came as close to the porch as his bike would allow him to.
“Hey Summers…” he smiled, “Want to race?”
Buffy blinked at him and didn’t say a word.
“Winner gets—“
“Go away William.” She interrupted.
“What?”
“You heard me…leave…”
The young boy was a bit confused, not by the fact that she was ticked off at him but by the fact that he didn’t do anything yet to tick her off.
“What did I do?”
“I said go” Buffy sternly said, tears beginning to form behind her eyes.
“No…not till you tell me what I did—“
“So you were paid to take me to that dance last year?!!”
William almost fell over on his bike, he was so thrown by her outburst.
“What?”
“I’m not pretty?” tear were now actually starting to fall down her cheek.
“Buffy…I—I—I…”
“We’re not good friends?”
“Wait, what? I didn’t say that…I, I said…”
‘I did say that, didn’t I? ’he thought to himself when William remembered his conversation with Angel.
“Well, William…why would you want to ride bikes with someone that isn’t your friend?”
“Buffy wait…no…I didn’t mean—“
“Stay away from me William! I hate you!” she yelled as she ran inside her house and slammed the door.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The bleached blond man that lounged on his bed alone, staring up at the ceiling, had to admit now that middle school was a very dangerous time in his life. Well, dangerous socially. Buffy did eventually speak to him again after that fight but something defiantly changed after he lied about having his dad have to pay him to take Buffy to the dance. Spike wasn’t sure if Buffy began to start to keep her distant from sharing things with him or what, but something was different. Kind of like he lost something…something that he usually got for free was scarce whenever they conversed. Spike wasn’t sure she ever trusted him again after that point.
With a sigh, Spike got up off his bed and decided he needed a smoke.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Spike walked around the block twice before stopping in front of Buffy’s house. He looked up at her window and saw that the light was on in her room.
“Tell hell with it…” he muttered as he walked up her driveway, up her porch stairs, and rang her bell.
Within a few minutes he greeted Buffy in her pajamas.
“Spike…” she seemed in awe that he was there at first but then her eyes widened and she panicked, “What…what…are you—“
“Nice PJs Summers…” Spike couldn’t help himself, snippy remarks was how he broke the ice.
Buffy glanced down at her matching kitty cat shorts and top.
“Getting to bed early are we?”
When Buffy looked up she shot him a nasty glare and started to shut the door in his face. However, Spike stuck his big boot out and let himself in.
“Sorry love…the evilness inside me comes with the coat I suppose.”
“Perhaps you should get rid of it or something…”
“Hell no, makes me look handsome and all.” He smirked.
“Whatever you say…now, what do you want?”
“Guess it would be stupid not to bring up the poll huh?”
Buffy sighed, “Sort of…but I can’t avoid you forever, can I?”
“This is crazy Buffy, you and I both know that it’s a joke…a stupid joke that everyone was in on…”
“Funny, it seems the more I talk to people the more I find that theory to be shot down.”
“How so?”
“Willow and Xander voted for us!” Buffy exclaimed.
“What?!”
“…and I’m guessing Anya did too…”
“Bloody hell…” Spike ran his hand over his face in distress.
“Ya…so after thinking about this for a while, I figured out that there is only one way to solve this…”
“Ya and what’s that?”
Buffy took a deep breath, “You’re going to have to kiss me.”
TBC….