William did not know what he had gotten himself into. All he wanted to do was be with Buffy. But as far as he could tell, she was not interested in him that way. He was just digging deeper holes for himself the more she got this “plan” of hers going. Maybe things had gone too far. Maybe he should have told her the truth upfront that he had no feelings for Dru like she though, but instead had feeling for Buffy. In theory, this seemed like a fantastic idea. In reality, William was pretty sure that she would run and perhaps never spend time with him anymore. No one knew the score like William did; in high school, girls like Buffy were never interested in guys like him.
He was not blind. He knew that Buffy was popular and most likely wanted it to stay that way. Wasn’t that part of her plan anyway? To take Dru down without her being connected to it in a negative way? He did not know what to do.
William and his father had issues like any other family, but ever since his mother Jenny left them, Rupert seemed disconnected. Most of all to his son. William did not know what to expect when he brought a girl home: something he had never even attempted before. He did not want Buffy to get the wrong impression of his home life. Not that it was something to brag about, but he and his father were comfortably situated, despite the uncommunicative nature between the two.
And now, Buffy wanted to meet his father. That was why she stood beside him on the steps to his front door. That was why she was staring at him expectantly. That was why he did not think he could open the door.
“William?” Buffy asked softly. William turned around to face her.
“I just want you to know that if you feel uncomfortable at any time, you let me know and we will leave. “ Buffy could see that he was not joking around.
“Um, ok. No problem. Do you anticipate me feeling uncomfortable?”
“No!” he gasped, understanding her meaning. “No, I just mean, well, me and my Dad fight pretty often. I do not want you in the crosshairs of it. If you feel uncomfortable, you let me know. We’re gone.”
“Ok William,” his heart fluttered when she said his name. “So, do we get to have a cool signal or something?” William laughed.
“Like what?”
“Liiiiiiiiiiike… I don’t know, tugging at my ear?”
“Way to be original, luv.”
“Never said I was,” she smiled teasingly. William remembered saying those exact words to his father. Before he could respond, a furious Rupert Giles opened the door.
“William, you get in here right this instant! You are in trouble! You are in so much-“ He then saw Buffy who was suddenly nervous and slowly backing toward her car. “Who is this?”
“Maybe I should just go. I’ll go. See you later William!” But before Buffy reached the car, William called after her.
“No, come back! Please?” She turned to him and saw the pleading in his eyes; she walked back to the steps awkwardly. “Dad, this is Buffy. Buffy this is my Dad, Rupert.”
“Hi.” Buffy shifted between looking at William and his father.
“Um, well, I uh,” Rupert stuttered as he cleaned his glasses, “If I had known William was bringing a friend home…” Rupert put his glasses back on and Buffy could not deny the resemblance of the Giles men and their oversized glasses. “Please, come inside.” He waved them in, giving William a curious glance. He conveyed a look of warning to his father. “Well, I am going to, um, unpack. Downstairs. William will help you if you need anything.” He gave his son a meaningful look.
“Buffy, why don’t you go upstairs. My room is the second door on the left. I will be up in a minute.” William did not blink once as he stared at his father. Grateful to get away from the tenseness that practically vibrated through the room, Buffy nodded once and ran up the stairs. There was a moment of silence, a door slam, then Rupert’s voice.
“Where have you been?! What has gotten into you? I understand that you are upset, but I had no clue where you were! You could have been kidnapped, or, or, or, I don’t know, mugged! This may not be London, but it is still dangerous. I could kill you; I really could for how worried I have been. It has been hours. Hours William! Do you even know how…” Rupert sat down and ran his hands through his hair. William waited for him to finish. “I do not want to be the bad guy here,” he said without looking up. “I do not want this to be like it was when your mother left. Not again.”
“What do you want from me, Dad?” William replied calmly, but he knew his trembling voice gave him away. “Tell me what to do and I will do it. Just like I have always done, right Dad?”
“William…”
“No! You had the floor and now it’s my turn. You think I like this? You think I enjoyed moving here? You took me from my friends, the only other family I had-“
“They were your mother’s family.”
“Who cares?! You took everything away from me! Everything! I am sorry that you ‘feel bad,’ but I just can’t find it in myself to care! Stop pretending that you were worried about me because we both know you weren’t. Just stay out of my life 'less I let you back in it, k?” William sucked in breaths to keep himself from tearing up. He had to get back to Buffy in one piece. “We aren’t buddy buddy anymore so just drop it. I was not out doing drugs or partying; I was making a friend. And see this?” he pointed to his hair. “I bleached it today. Gonna throw me out?”
Rupert said nothing and kept his head in his hands. William continued, “Yeah. That’s what I thought. Go unpack the boxes and don’t think I don’t know what you are doing. You don’t want to unpack them cause you are expecting me to fuck up again! Well, you can rest your weary head cause I am not going to screw everything up this time.” William stamped up the stairs loudly. Nearing the top he slowed and murmured loud enough for Rupert to hear, “This is all your fault.”
Rupert waited for the door to slam shut. Tears stung his eyes and though he tried to wipe them away, they kept streaming down his reddened cheeks. He knew William was right about more than one account. Forcing himself, Rupert went downstairs to be alone.
Upstairs, William was shaking.
……………………
Buffy immediately went to him, but was unsure of what to do when she got there. William leaned against the door and slid down. She could tell he wanted to be alone so she made a move for the doorknob, but William gently grabbed her wrist. “Please, stay,” he spoke quietly. He looked up at her with glassy eyes, begging her not to leave. Buffy could not help but think that his eyes really did seem like oceans, then. She smiled tenderly and bent down to sit with him. After a few minutes, he spoke. “So, I’m guessing it would be presumptuous of me to think you didn’t hear any of that?”
Buffy looked at him guiltily. William shrugged gloomily, “I expected as much. These walls don’t seem very sound proof.”
“Do you… do you want to talk about it?” William continued to stare at the floor.
“Would you be upset if I said no?” She replied that she did not.
“So, I guess we are even now.”
“Even?”
“Yeah… neither of us talked about something important today.” Buffy tried to see what William was staring at on the floor.
Neither of them spoke for a while until Buffy saw something that caught her interest.
“What is that?” she inquired as she tilted her head.
“Oh that. It’s um, my guitar actually,” he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger.
“Can I?” she motioned to it.
“It is all yours, kitten.” She decided that she liked his nicknames for her. Buffy bolted to the giant, black box covered in band stickers. She unlocked the clasps and opened it. A mahogany acoustic looked directly back at her. There were a few stickers on the guitar as well, but none were as predominant as the large, metal spike lining below the bottom string.
“This is great!” she exclaimed. Buffy picked it up out of its casing by the neck. “What is its name?”
“Its name?” He looked at her like she was crazy. “It isn’t a puppy, luv.”
“You have to! Otherwise, you can’t really call it yours.”
“I don’t play very well.”
“That doesn’t matter. You will not get better until you name it!” William started to laugh at her excited expression.
“Alright, then. Why don't you give it a name?”
“Me?” He nodded. “I’ve never named one before. Hmm…” Buffy made the same furrowed-brow-thinking face as she did when choosing clothes at the mall. He chuckled again. “How about… Spike?”
“Spike? What kind of name is that?” William smiled.
“I like it. It feels like a Spike.” Buffy stroked the shining wood. “Besides, you have a sticker of a giant railroad spike on the front, so it seems sort of fitting.”
“Spike it is then.”
“Will you play me something?”
“I told you, I’m not very good.” William looked up at her as she walked toward him, guitar in tow.
“That’s ok. It’s pretty awesome that you can play at all.” When she handed him the guitar, their hands met for a moment. The sudden electric rush that resulted caused Buffy to jump back in surprise. He seemed unaffected, even though he felt it too. Both tried to keep the impulse to touch one another in control. She thought it best to sit on his bed as far away from him as possible.
It did not make the situation any better. Now to make matters worse, William had an image of Buffy on his bed. He did not plan on letting that go any time soon.
“Besides,” Buffy continued, “Dru loves a guy that can play guitar.” This startled him. William had completely forgotten about the point of all of this. Hanging out with Buffy? It hit him hard that it was because of Dru and not him. He placed the guitar on the floor and stood up.
“And you think Dru will love this new look,” William purred.
“Definitely.” He gradually stalked toward her.
“And this,” he ran a hand through his hair, “she’ll love this too?” If Buffy did not know better, she would think he was on the prowl for his prey.
“Yeah…” Buffy said cautiously.
“Because you like it?” He was almost a foot away now.
“Yeah…” Buffy stared blankly at him. “Wait, what?” She was not completely sure what he was getting at, but she continued playing along.
“You think it’s sexy,” he said matter-of-factly.
“It is for Dru.”
“Yes,” William was too close. She could smell his sweet scent and it was driving her insane. “But do you think I’m sexy?”
“I uh, um I-“ Buffy could not form a coherent thought. Suddenly, she was lying down on the bed and William was perched above her, his arms on either side of her head.
“It’s a simple question, luv,” he whispered in her ear. “Do” he stroked his finger down her neck “you,” reached her collarbone “think,” caressed her shoulder “I’m,” continued down her arm until he held her hand in his “sexy?”
……………………
“Yes,” she squeaked. He kissed her hand, tilted his head and smiled knowing he had gotten her hot and bothered.
William did not know what came over him. True, he had had friends back in London, so he knew how to socialize. He had never had a girlfriend though, and was still stuck in the purgatory of second base. Yet, the little blonde creature before him brought out a person within himself he did not know existed. Some kind of id or predator who got what he desired. Want, take and have; those were the only words running through his head a mile per minute as he committed bits of his fantasy into reality.
Buffy smiled uneasily; she was probably just as unused to this side of William as he was. They had not known each other very long, only two days in fact, but it felt like he had known her his entire life.
William did not want Dru. He did not want any other girl. He only wanted Buffy. And his own stupidity dug him into the ditch where she was the only girl he could never have. But, despite all of his doubts, he could not say no to her devious plans, no matter what means they were meant to serve.
William was a romantic.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hey guys :) I hope you all are enjoying this process as much as I am. I've been writing nonstop for that past couple of days and I cannot get enough. There is some angst in this chapter, which I was not expecting to write, but it fits the story well. Secrets will be revealed in due course. Stay tuned and Please Review!