Giles looked at his son and his heart bled. Picking up the box of old vinyl records he thought the poor boy seemed just as lost and lonely as he had been back in London. Even though they had only been here a few hours, the house felt like it could be home - once they had unpacked all the boxes, trunks and packing cases that seemed to be breeding on the lawn. The new house was nothing like the penthouse they had lived in before: this house even had its own swimming pool in the back yard. It was everything he had hoped, a normal three-bed house in a nice quiet district in California three hours away from LA. He knew in his soul it had been the right decision to start a new life in America after all the upset in England, but he hoped his gentle, artistic son would be able to cope with all the changes. He turned and went back into the house and hoped, almost against hope, that the new start would work for the both of them: they both could do with it.
William picked up another box and carried it into the house. He hated how he was feeling, he hadn’t smiled once in the year since his mother had died and now his dad had moved him across an ocean to start again. His floppy brown hair covered his eyes and he misjudged the step, tripping over it just as a gorgeous blond appeared as if from nowhere. She had a cheerleaders uniform dress on and it showed every line of her tight ass. She was perfect in every way: from her bouncy Californian sun-kissed hair to her cute socks and trainers, but something was spoiling the picture of perfection. That was the tears falling from her eyes. William coughed slightly, drawing her attention to him.
‘You all right, pet?’ he asked softly as he put down the box he’d been carrying. He didn’t want to scare the girl; she was already upset and he didn’t want to add to the tears. A crying woman had always made her way straight to his heart.
‘Mmmhhmm,’ she managed to nod, ‘it’s OK, I’m just an idiot.’ She sniffed and looked up at him: her eyes were red from the tears and she looked empty inside.
‘You need help? Have you been hurt or something, Goldilocks?’ he asked, moving very slowly to her side.
‘No, I’m fine, and I only live there, and I’m OK,’ she sniffed, ‘as I said just, stupid.’ She pointed to the house across the street. It was almost identical to the one William was trying to fill with the boxes he was shifting.
She pulled a key out of her bag. ‘Best get in, before I’m in more trouble.’ Her tears were slowing down, and William offered her his handkerchief.
‘Thanks. I’m Buffy, by the way,’ she smiled as she took the offered handkerchief.
‘You could stay here and just talk for a minute, I don’t know anyone here and it would be nice to just talk…’
Buffy nodded and agreed, ‘it would be nice to talk.’ She went to hand the handkerchief back but William shook his head. ‘You keep it, you seem to need it more than me.’
Buffy took a look at the man who had tried to help her. Beautiful blue eyes hidden behind glasses and floppy hair that was a dull blond colour. She also noticed that he filled his jeans well and the teeshirt he was wearing showed the outline of a man who worked out.
‘You just moved in?’ she asked.
‘Yep, came from London; you can tell we are moving by all the boxes.’
‘There were boxes everywhere when we moved from LA, took us weeks to tame them all, you’d just think you were finished when up would pop another one like a bad smell.’ Buffy remembered back the four years since they had moved, her eyes unfocused for a few seconds.
‘Who’s ‘we’?’ he asked. ‘Boyfriend?’ The girl seemed to be too pretty for there not to be a boyfriend around somewhere.
‘No, no boyfriend, that’s what the blubbering was about, the man I thought liked me just wanted to win a bet.’ Buffy thought about it. ‘He’s an ass, I’m glad I kicked him in the shin.’
‘Oouch, that must hurt, remind me not to piss you off.’ He gave a sideways half-grin as he said it.
‘What about you?’ Buffy asked, trying not to let the man get to her too much.
‘No, I’m free and single. Anyone at home to look after you?’ William asked in his gentlest voice.
She shook her head. ‘No, but its OK: mom’s at work for another hour, dad left years ago.’ Buffy looked back up at the man. ‘William, yes?’
‘That’s right, pet.’
‘You going to Sunnydale U?’
‘No, dad starts Sunnydale High next week, straight after the midterm break; and you?’
‘He seems a little old for high school, and I’m a freshman at Sunnydale Uni,’ she grinned at him.
William laughed. ‘He’s a librarian, and is taking over the job from Mr Golden.’ This girl’s sense of humour melded so well with his.
‘How old are you?’ She looked at him cheekily but William noted the tracks of the tears where they had dried on her face.
’25: and you?’ he answered, glad to be able to.
‘18, but I’ll be 19 in a few months. I had better go, I try and have dinner waiting for mom when she gets in, she’s normally so tired.’
‘Can you show me around town this weekend? At least show me where the diner is, so I don’t actually starve?’
Buffy grinned. ‘Yep, no problem, how about Saturday?’
‘Saturday will be great…’
Buffy accepted the hand William offered and heaved herself up onto her feet. ‘Thanks,’ she said as she ran off across the road to the other house. William watched after her, wondering what on earth had happened to him. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would crash through his chest, a few words from a woman he did not know had him behaving as though he was seventeen again. He turned and picked up the box and made his way back into the house, stopping as Buffy called back over her shoulder.
‘I’ll see you Saturday morning!’ she called.
‘Yep, that you will pet…’ he answered and waved to her before picking up the box from the porch and headed back into the house.
‘What’s happening Saturday, Will?’ Giles asked his son, having caught the last part of the conversation.
‘I’m being shown around town by a beautiful woman.’ William’s eyes were still on the door that had closed on the vision.
‘Good luck with that, but we have to get all these boxes inside before dark. Then we can order take-out and settle down with a couple of beers.’
‘How about your good whisky?’ William asked, trying his luck.
‘No, you drink too much to get that bottle; beer will be fine.’ Giles grinned; like father like son, he thought.
‘Great, but a least let me get some spicy wings and a blooming onion. I think I’m going to like living here,’ he said, thinking about the pretty girl he had met.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!