On Monday morning, William explained his conclusions to Rupert. He said that although Buffy changed his appearance, he was too involved with her to end it. Whoever she liked, it had to be some part of him and that was enough. As promised Rupert gave his full support, even though the way William put it made it sound questionable. Rupert really didn’t want to fight anymore, so he would warm up to the girl, as per his new girlfriends’ request. She suggested the idea and it only seemed fair to go through with it, despite part of him hoping William would choose to lead the single life. Buffy was clearly was not a good influence.
But Rupert would play nice for both their sakes.
Before leaving for school, William mentioned that he and Buffy were going to “hang out” when it ended. Rupert responded with his own version of the thumbs up, causing a confused expression on William’s face. Nonetheless, no one could say he wasn’t supportive of his sons’ choices.
……………………
Buffy received quite an earful from her mother over the engagement. Joyce voiced her concerns such as not believing Buffy supported her choices. Buffy, on the other hand, could not help thinking she might support her mother if she wasn’t engaged to a doofus with a jerk for a son while already married. Then, maybe she’d even encourage her.
Angel had spent the remainder of the meeting leering at her and suggestively wagging his eyebrows. Why he thought she would go out with him at that point, she could not imagine. What did she ever see in him? Thinking back, Buffy remembered Dru gossiping about him and fawning over his every move, but only in reference to Buffy. It was never, “he’s so gorgeous, I wish he’d ask me out,” but rather, “he’s so gorgeous, he is going to ask you out.”
She probably planned her downfall way before any of it happened. Buffy wondered if Angel was involved the entire time, or if he eventually caught on or if he was honestly too dimwitted to ever realize he was being played. However it went, Angel certainly wasn’t giving up. It wasn’t hard to see that he would do almost anything for sex.
Oh, the typical teenage boy.
But William wasn’t like that. He wanted sex, she was sure of that, but he wanted someone to be with completely. He didn’t want only the intimate parts, he wanted it all: the personality, the quirks, the humor, even the bad jokes. They were all just as important to him. Buffy thanked whatever power brought the unique boy to her.
Needless to say, it didn’t seem like Angel was going to give up so fast. Whether it was to get into Dru’s pants or her own, Buffy was sure he’d never surrender in a fight. This is why Buffy was shocked when her mother told her the news.
“We’re moving in together!” Joyce exclaimed after her rant on proper behavior in front of company. Buffy’s face lost all color and she started to sweat.
“What?” she whispered in panic.
“George and Angel are going to move in here, in this house, with us. I figure if Georgie and I are going to get married someday we need to see how well we live together.” As Joyce wistfully looked up at nothing, she missed the range of heavy emotions that ran across Buffy’s face. “I am telling you now because I realize that I haven’t been fair to you in the past. It is time for us to communicate better. Who knows? Maybe this change will bring you and I close together again!” Joyce hugged her tightly, but she was too far-gone in thought to process.
Images of Angel living in her house raged through her mind. Him in her bathroom, in the living room, taking her food in the kitchen, stealing the remote for the tv, playing the stereo as loud as possible just to annoy her and one thousand other things he could do. Buffy had never lived with anyone for a long period of time before. Her father was gone, her mother was away and the one babysitter who took care of her went back to Poland when she turned 11. And now she would live in a house full of people.
Things could only go downhill.
……………………
William waited for Buffy in Mrs. Wilcox’s class for what seemed like hours. He needed to explain about his attitude the other night. But when she walked through the door and the light from the windows sparkled on her skin, William forgot what he was going to say.
Buffy sat down, clearly lost in muddled thoughts. She said hi but didn’t look at him or anything for that matter. She just leaned back in her seat , presumably staring at the messages carved into her desk.
“Buffy? Are you ok?” he spoke softly, wanting to pat her shoulder or smooth her hair or comfort her in some way, but deciding against the idea. She looked up at him as if broken from a trance and smiled at him graciously.
“Hi William. Have a good weekend?” Remembering their last conversation, William winced at the way he spoke to her on the phone.
“Yeah. Buffy, I need to talk to you about-“ he was interrupted by a loud shhhh booming from the front of the classroom. Fortunately, it was not entirely directed at him and Buffy. Not heading the warning, William continued. “I need to talk to you about the other night. You, see I promised that-“ a louder shhhh caught his attention because this one was intended for him specifically. He stared at the teacher for a couple of minutes and when she decided he was finally paying attention to her, he continued to speak quietly. “I promised my dad that I would think about our relationship. It’s so new that my dad didn’t know how to handle it. But not wanting to get into another fight about-“
“William Giles!” Mrs. Wilcox’s eyes burned in betrayal. How dare he interrupt her? William knew that it was her job to speak at the class, but he could not help but feel annoyed that she interrupted their conversation.
“Sorry,” he murmured.
“Are you really sorry, William?”
No. “Yes Mrs. Wilcox. Please continue.” Her beady eyes shifted across the classroom checking for other cases of defiance, but after finding none turned back to the blackboard and wrote more about Quentin’s section of The Sound and the Fury.
“I’ll tell you after class,” he whispered as quietly as possible. Luckily, the teacher did not catch on and Buffy nodded slightly in response.
When the bell rang two minutes after the period should have, William continued his explanation as succinctly as he could.
“So, my dad didn’t want us to fight anymore and he wanted to like you or support my choices or something along those lines. Anyway, he made me promise I wouldn’t see you that night. And when you called, I didn’t want to tempt myself to immediately walk to your house and as a result I sounded irritated and angry. I’m really, really sorry about that. I am. I just couldn’t stay on the phone too long. Forgive me?” William gave her his best impression of a puppy dog pout. Apparently it worked because she giggled and kissed him lightly.
“It’s ok, I was upset and then you sounded upset, which made me more upset. It was a thing. But it’s fine, I swear. Consider it forgotten.” Buffy genuinely smiled for the first time since her mother dropped the news of the move.
“What were you upset about?” he said as they made their way out of the room and into the hall.
“Um, remember that jerk Angel I was telling you about? Well, it turns out that his dad and my mom are now engaged and they are moving in with us. She sprung it on me so fast; I didn’t know what to do so I called you. But it’s ok.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you pet. And if it’s any consolation, my da- wait, what?! Angel is moving in with you?”
“That’s what I said, but no one wants to listen to pitiful little Buffy now do they. In fact, Angel and his dad came over for a meeting and he spent the entire time smirking at me. It didn’t make it any better that his dad just kept going on and on about his architecture job. And now I am going to have to live with it 24/7.” William’s face burned with an emotion he couldn’t quite describe. While he could not believe the horrible circumstances, part of him was envious of the kid. He would be close to her all of the time. Then it hit him: Angel could do anything to his girl. He could persuade her back into his arms as he did before. If Buffy once saw something in him that she liked, she could easily find it again in such close quarters.
William vowed to be with Buffy as much as possible to prove his worthiness, beyond a doubt, over Angel. Besides, just thinking about the ponce leering at his girl made him growl. Luckily Buffy did not hear it.
“Then maybe I could be of service, luv,” he responded. “I could come over after school, if you wanted. I could protect you from the big bad Angel,” William teased playfully. Buffy giggled and nodded enthusiastically.
“Sounds great! Meet you by the parking lot.” Buffy kissed him softly on the lips but her body took over. Her blood boiled as she impassioned the kiss and pulled his head closer to her own. William was all too eager to participate, as was made clear when he pushed her up against a row of lockers. It felt like it wasn’t possible to be close enough. No matter how he touched her or caressed her, it was not sufficient.
The two broke apart for air when the second bell rang, marking the start of second period. When her eyes readjusted from the erotic haze, they widened with understanding. She shoved William away and ran as quickly as possible to her next class, which was conveniently located on the complete opposite side of the building. “Gotta go. See you after school!” she yelled as she slid around a corner. The boy chuckled at his girlfriend.
……………………
When the final bell sounded, Buffy and William sighed in relief in their respective classrooms. The both tossed their books in their bags and took off for the parking lot. Buffy was the first to arrive. And when William came out of the door, huffing, puffing and searching frantically for her, she could not help but laugh at his antics. He found her and ran the “awkward-backpack-run/walk” commonly seen during school hours.
“Hi Buffy,” he said, trying desperately not to pant.
“Hey,” she giggled and smiled brightly. “Shall we?” she held out her arm.
“We shall,” he agreed as he linked his arm with hers. As they walked to her car, Buffy imagined them frolicking through a field going la la la la la. William made her glow with happiness. And despite the panic-ridden war zone she was about to face at home, she could not worry because he was at her side.
They reached her car, got in, turned the air conditioning and the radio on softly, and began to drive. After a few streets-worth of comfortable silence, Buffy said the first thing that came to mind.
“So, what happened between you and your dad, anyway?” William looked at her in shock. Buffy inwardly punched herself for the worst segue of the century. “I mean, well, um… you know, I just, never mind.” No one could continue a ramble like Buffy Summers when she was on the case. After a few more streets-worth of uncomfortable silence that could have easily deemed ‘biggest awkward turtle moment of the year,’ William answered her.
“Why do you ask?” It was barely audible, but Buffy heard him.
“I don’t know really. I guess it was just on my mind. And you did say you would tell me someday.” She was stalling on his behalf.
“I just don’t think it matters all that much.”
“But I want to know all about you, William. And who knows? Maybe it will help to get it off your chest or something.” At that moment, he was the epitome of vulnerability. He considered her response, until her came to a conclusion.
“If you really want to know, I mean… I’ll tell you. I just want you to know that I’m different now.”
“I understand and I promise not to judge.” Buffy smiled lightly in his direction and drew an imaginary X over her heart. William took a deep breath and stared at the car roof.
“I guess it all started when my dad cheated on my mom…”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hi! Sorry for the slightly delayed update. It took me forever to write this chapter due to a case of writer's block. But here it is. Please review and enjoy!
Chapter End Notes:
(Hehehe) Stay tuned my darlings ;) I'll update soon, I promise.