Chapter 3
“Mom wanted me to see if you needed anything.” Buffy rested against the doorway. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” With a sigh, William sat on the edge if the bed, his back towards her. “Your mom’s being very kind to me. I always knew she was a nice lady but...”
“I’m sorry about your mom...I had no idea and I feel so crappy about that.”
“We weren’t talking, no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t tap you on the shoulder and bawl about my mother.”
“You could’ve.” Buffy sat next to him and made no attempt to look him in the eye.
“Sometimes I’d see you in the cafeteria or somewhere else at school and I’d be so mad at myself, that I just let us stop being friends. I know my mom missed you...I did too...I do.”
Buffy swallowed, not sure what to say. Everyday it seemed normal for her to avoid William at school and she made a point to never go outside when he was in his yard. She’d forced herself to make new friends after her birthday party. She’d invited herself to other parties and latched on to a new group friends.
“Seems that we’ll have to get along again, yeah? Who knows how long I’ll be here...I don’t know where I’m going to be shipped off to...I can’t believe I’m a bloody orphan, Buffy.”
“Oh,” Buffy gasped, not realizing that he was now classified by such a term. “William...” She let out a little whine when his sad eyes searched her face. Before she realized it, she took him in her arms and hugged him tightly.
William sighed in relief and then he broke into sobs. Not knowing what to do, Buffy rubbed his back like she had seen her mom do earlier at the hospital. “It’ll be ok, I promise.”
***
“What are you doing?”
“Hush.”
“William,” Dawn scolded. “Buffy’s so gonna kick your ass.”
“No, she won’t because she’ll never know that we’re spying on her.”
“We? There’s no ‘we’ in this.”
“Play nice, bit, or I’ll tell her that you swore.”
“Come on, what are you, five years old? I can swear if I want to, Buffy’s not the boss of me.”
“Sure she isn’t,” William rolled his eyes. “Who’s her friend...a boyfriend?”
Dawn was amused by the pained looked on his face, “You really think she could move on after you? You nearly killed my sister, William.”
“Let’s not be too dramatic, Dawn,” William said, even though he knew she was telling the truth.
“Even if I was kept in the dark about you guys, I know Buffy’s not perfect and I’m sure she did something to hurt you too. Buffy has a tendency to do that. Sometimes I think she enjoys hurting people.”
“That’s not true, Dawn and you know it.”
She blinked, not used to him being stern. “Ok, sorry.”
“This is stupid.” William stopped on the sidewalk and allowed Buffy to walk out of his sight. “I’m not a bloody stalker, let’s go back, pet.”
“Glad you came to your senses, I was worried for a minute.”
“Shut up, princess.”
***
“He’s back, Mom. I know, I know, you told me he’d be back. Stupid William can never stay away can he?” Chuckling softly, Buffy sat in front of the gravestone on the cold white bench. “And he’s hotter than ever too. Damn, you should see him, Mom. He always could make anything look so good—jeans, a t-shirt, you name it...I saw him in a suit today and just sight of him made me get in car accident.” Buffy laughed again, looking up through the leaves of the tree that sheltered her mother’s grave. “Don’t worry everyone’s ok and our cars should be fixed by the end of the week. He’s a teacher now and we’ll be working together and you know, that just asking for trouble. When me and William get together,” Buffy took a deep breath, shivers shaking her body, “who knows what could happen next...”
***
“Dinner!”
“We should...eat.”
“Right.” Sniffling, William pulled away from her. “Oh, look, I got your shirt all wet, pet.”
“What...” Buffy batted his hands away as he tried to dry her chest. “Hey, stop. William, hands!”
“Sorry, sorry...”
“What did you call me,” Buffy asked, pulling up the neckline of her shirt.
“Um, nothing.”
“Pet?”
“Just a-a nickname—term of endearment...” William stood and looked uneasy. “We should go downstairs, yeah?”
“I guess,” Buffy said, confused by the way he was acting.
“Let’s go, Buffy.” He pleaded, taking her hand leading her out of the bedroom.
***
Buffy knew there was something different about him. Even though she avoided him, she wasn’t blind or deaf. He was taller, taller than her now and his voice was deeper. Buffy would struggle not to laugh each time his voice cracked.
I love puberty, she decided as he’d blush and pretend that the cracking was his choice, that he wanted his voice to change mid-sentence.
“I’m letting you both stay out of school until next Monday,” Joyce announced at the dinner table, spreading her napkin carefully over her lap. “While I help with the funeral arrangements and with contacting the family, it’ll be your jobs to move William into the guest bedroom. Bring over whatever you want, William. I want you to be comfortable.”
William nodded.
***
“What’s all this stuff?”
“Stuff.”
Buffy rolled her eyes and she peeked into the box. “You have a lot of crap, William.”
“Wait until we have to move all my books,” he said with a smile.
“I don’t want to, I’m too young to throw my back out.” Buffy sat suddenly, tucking her hair behind her eyes. “Break.”
“You just had a break,” William whined but he sat next to her on the carpet. “I hate being in here now.”
“You hate your room?”
“Yeah, memories...”
“Do you think your guardian will move you somewhere else? It’d be really strange if I didn’t see your stupid face every time I looked out my window.”
“I knew you were spying on me, I’d be certain that you were watching.”
“You’re lying. You are lying right?” Buffy panicked silently. “Sometimes I’d just glance out my window but there was no way that I was looking at you...”
“Sure,” he teased. “Well, I guess I need a guardian first and then I’ll anticipate how they’ll ruin my life.”
“My mom won’t let them do too much damage, she likes you for some reason.”
“And you don’t?”
Buffy frowned, “Is that some kinda trick question?”
“Forget it.” He looked away, a hint of hurt in his eyes.
“You’ve gotten weirder with age, you know that, right?”
“I guess so.”
“Where are you going?”
William stood and he continued to put his belongings in a box. “My break’s over, you can continue to sit if you’d like.”
Grumbling, Buffy stood and she started to work.
***
“Dawn!”
“Up here!”
Careful not to say something stupid, Buffy looked across the street and tried to guess if William was tucked safely in his house. “Um, Dawn--.”
“I’m still here.”
“Holy crap,” Buffy gasped, holding her chest. “Were you hiding or something?”
“Nope.” William came out from the kitchen. “I was getting us water. The pizza will be delivered in, oh,” he looked at his wristwatch, “fifteen minutes. If you get to the door before me, the cash is on the counter.”
“Where are you going?”
“Back up stairs. Dawn and I are in the middle of a nasty game of Battle Ship.”
“Are you cheating while playing a game with my little sister?”
“Me,” William asked, a smile on his face. “Who can cheat at Battle Ship, love?”
“You can. I taught you how.” Buffy followed him up the stairs but they parted and went in opposite directions.
“You wanna play the winner?”
“No.”
“Alright, I’ll knock when the food arrives.”
“Ok.” Buffy went into her room and closed the door.
***
“I think your dolls should go on that shelf and then put the books over there.”
“Don’t get me started again, Buffy.” William crossed him arms and glared. “I don’t own any bloody dolls.”
“You say action figures, I say girlie dollies.” She stuck out her tongue and started to move his things to her liking. “So...for tomorrow...you wanna go shopping for some new clothes later today?”
“I’m not going to the funeral.”
“What?” She looked at him, her mouth open. “That’s not something to joke about.”
“I’m not joking. I’m not going.”
Buffy could tell by his soft, calm voice that he was being very serious. “Ok...what are you going to do instead?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I want to do something my mom would’ve liked, you know—I bet it’s a dumb idea but...”
“It’s not a dumb idea, William.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah.”
“You wanna come with me?”
Buffy took a deep breath, her heart speeding up for reasons she couldn’t figure out. She guessed later it had something to do with the way that William was looking at her. “I want to.”
***
Buffy felt ridiculous but it didn’t stop her from pressing her ear to the wall. She grinned, listening as William mangled his voice to sound like a pirate. He could never play that game without making those funny voices, she remembered. God, he’s such a dweeb. Biting her lip, Buffy continued to listen until the doorbell rang.
***
“You know, I think I’m going to take my pizza to my room.”
“Is that right, kitten?”
“Yup,” Dawn said with a grin. “I have stuff to do.”
“Stuff, huh?” Buffy glared as her sister nodded, unfazed.
“Bye, William.”
“Bye.” After Dawn was out of sight, William said, “She thinks she’s playing cupid.”
“Does she,” asked Buffy, rolling her eyes. “She’s a pest and she always has been.”
“True.” William wiped his face and chewed his pizza slowly. “Should I leave?”
“If you want to.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Then don’t.” Buffy picked at her food, taking off the topping of the pizza one piece at a time. “I figure if we can handle today, we can handle a few hours at work together everyday.”
“You’re right.”
“But just don’t think that you and come in and out of my house whenever you please. Today was fine but tomorrow...things could be different tomorrow.”
“You were always a moody one.”
“Hey,” she complained.
“It’s true and you know it.”
“Shut up,” she said, causing William to smirk. “Just eat your pizza so I can kick you out.”
“You said I could stay.”
“I’m moody, remember?” William looked delighted as Buffy stuck out her tongue. Oh no, Buffy thought.
***
“She liked this spot.”
“Why?”
“Look.” William pointed at the tree. “They carved their initials in it. After my mom would have a few drinks she’d tell me all about her and my father. They’d skinny dip over there.” He pointed again, pretending that he face wasn’t turning red. “Then they’d lay on a blanket here and gaze up at the stars. She said it was very romantic.”
“Sounds like it.”
“Uh, you wanna sit?”
“In a minute,” Buffy said, running her fingers over the carved bark of the tree. “I wish my mom would tell me about my dad. She never tells me good stories about him, only bad ones.”
“My mom was married before she met my dad. It was a brief marriage. My mom wasn’t always from California, you know? She’s from the South but the guy she married brought her to LA. He’d leave her and work for months straight. She met a friend while doing the laundry and then for some reason, that friend gave my mom my dad’s address. They were pen pals.”
“Really?” Buffy smiled, “How long did they write?”
“Two months and then the other guy left and divorced my mom. My parents only knew each other for four months when they married, they had only seen each other twice.”
“What else do you know?” Buffy sat crossed legged on the grass, facing the lake. “Tell me everything you know, William.” Lately Buffy found that she had a healthy appetite for anything that involved love and romance. She watched countless movies and read countless books. William story fascinated her more because the characters were real people.
William joined her on the grass and stared ahead. “I’m don’t know anymore, Buffy. I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok.”
“This reminds me of the time we ran away.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“Buffy, will you talk to me at school on Monday?”
“What do you mean,” Buffy asked, knowing that they didn’t have any classes together.
“Maybe…at lunch?”
“What will the boys do without you?”
“They’ll manage, what about Red and that loud girl, would they survive without you? If you agree to eat with me that is…”
“You know Willow?”
“She also in a book club that I went to last year. Don’t laugh, Buffy. It wasn’t so bad…”
“You’re such a nerd,” she said, smiling. “Willow never told me you went to that.”
“Because I begged her not to, I knew you’d make fun of me….”
“Oh, stop it.” Buffy playfully hit his arm. “Like I made fun of you all the time.”
“You did!”
Buffy laughed out loud as his voice cracked. “I love when that happens. It’s so cute.” William’s head tilted to the side and his eyes were wide. “Stop looking at me like that. I’ll take it back if you don’t—you’re not that cute…mildly cute.”
“Any form of it is fine with me.”
“Stop,” Buffy elbowed him in the side until he stopped looking at her with stars in his eyes. “Stop it now, William or I’m going back, alright?”
"Sorry," he said, clearing his throat. "I was just kinda shocked, that's all."
"Well, stop it, William."
"Ok, ok. So, Monday?"
"Monday."
***
“So, about tomorrow?”
“What about it?”
“Would you mind if I tagged along when you guys take off in the morning?”
“I guess not but don’t be late.”
“And who’s always the late one?”
“Shut up, William.”
“I’ll be ‘round early and I’ll bring breakfast?”
“If you want to...”
“Alrighty. I’ll see in the morning, Buffy. Sweet dreams, love.”
“Yeah, yeah, good night, William.”
***
[Reviews - 183]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 2783 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +