Author's Note: This started off as a short series and quickly grew into a monster. There are 22 chapters so far, with more to come, and I'll make daily updates to catch things up. As always, reviews are appreciated, taken home and made sweet, sweet love to -- please give generously.
**
The Geek
He was sure when you reached the decrepit age of thirty you were almost required to look back on those magical four years of high school with misty eyes and a lump in your throat. You were supposed to yearn for the days when your biggest worry was getting a date to the prom.
High school life was supposed to be one giant, living John Hughes film filled with parties and football games, and various experimentation’s of the illegal and sexual kind –
These were the best four years of your life.
William Hall shut his eyes tightly and held his breath bracing himself for the impact. His tormentors’ cruel laughter nearly drowned out his strangled cry of pain as his denim-encased privates met ‘head’ on with the flagpole.
If these were the best years of his life, he figured he might as well put a hole in his fucking head now and save himself the trouble and misery later.
He writhed around in pain, tears threatening to well up in his eyes. Not from the fact that it hurt so badly: he’d had four years of ‘run-ins’ with the flagpole and had accepted that he might not be able to have children later on in life because of it. It wasn’t even the fact the whole Sunnydale High student body was currently laughing at him, again that was something he’d gotten used to long ago –
It was the fact that there were exactly three weeks left until graduation and not one of his classmates had found it in their hearts to grow up and move beyond the daily routine of ‘Kick the William’.
One eye cracked open and managed to focus from behind the crooked lens of his eyeglasses,
Oh god.
Cecily was there…
And she’d seen everything.
He was so fucked.
"Oh my god, are you okay, William?!"
Both eyes now open, head titled to get a good look at his angel, his savior from humiliation. William took in a huge breath, bottling up the pain, and exhaled loudly allowing a tiny smile to briefly grace his lips.
"Just peachy, Willow," he said, voice strained. "Could use a bit of help, though."
His redheaded angel quickly bent down to help him to his feet, groaning as she picked the surprisingly heavy boy up.
"You really gotta learn how to watch out for that flagpole, Willie. Honestly, on behalf of all men everywhere, I worry your nuts are gonna be black and blue if you don’t start avoiding that thing."
A chorus of laughter erupted at the booming, mocking sound of Riley Finn’s voice. The same voice that had led the charge from whence his penis would never recover for the last four years. The same voice that came out of a dopey, oafish bastard with perfect, floppy sandy-brown hair and a corn-fed smile.
"And you really gotta learn how to grow up, Riley!" That was Willow. Good ole Willow…
"Well, now that the ‘bodyguard’ in the Powerpuff Girls T-shirt has spoken, I guess I’ve learned the error of my ways," the jock snickered.
She really needed to stop doing all of his insulting for him.
William’s ears picked up as he heard the decidedly high-pitched giggles pass him by and his gaze automatically cast downwards to focus on his old, ratty, gray trainers. He just couldn’t stand to watch Cecily, his Cecily wrap her arms around that idiot…
"Come on, you’ve had your fun. The first bell is about to ring."
"Are you sure you’re okay?" Willow asked worriedly.
William nodded his head, a tight smile on his face as they carefully made their way inside of the building.
"Never been better."
**
The Princess
"Oh my god did you see that?!"
Buffy Summers yawned widely and brought a very lady-like, well-manicured hand up to cover her mouth. She didn’t even bother to remove her Ray-Bans; she knew the scene currently unfolding by heart…
Hell, it happened every morning right before the first bell.
"Ohh!"
As if she were some sort of mindless robot, Buffy joined in laughing with the rest of her friends. But inwardly, she cringed for William Hall. The poor guy she had known in the before time, the long, long ago – also known as ‘Pre-High School’. When things like cliques and trendy tables in the cafeteria didn’t exist and life was only about getting up early enough on Saturday mornings to watch ‘Saved by the Bell’ and playing ‘Miami Vice’ in the basement after school.
"You’d think that loser would get a clue and start coming to school a little later." That cultured, British snicker belonged to the one and only Cecily Holmes.
Buffy suppressed an eye roll. Why the hell, are we friends again?
"Spike was always a slow learner," she said casually.
Her eyes widened suddenly,
She just called William…
Spike?!
Maybe it was the brief nostalgia trip her sympathy for the geek had sent her flying on, that caused the nickname of old to come out of her mouth. She hadn’t called him that in so long, mostly because that name meant ‘Best Friends Forever’ –
Something they definitely weren’t going to be –
Ever, ever again.
Cordelia Chase raised a perfectly arched brow. "Spike?"
"William, I mean," Buffy chuckled. "Please forgive my total lapse in sanity."
"We already have," Anya Jenkins grinned. "Remember, we completely excused the fact you used to be best friends with him and kindly let you hang out with us."
Buffy snorted. "That was like the fifth grade, okay. You wanna tell us who your friends were in the fifth grade?"
"Alright, I’m bored," Cecily sighed, "lets go put a stop to this."
The pack of girls made their way over to the infamous spot, giggling, ultra expensive Jimmy Choo heels clicking across the pavement.
"Come on, you’ve had your fun. The first bell is about to ring." Cecily shook her head wrapping an arm around her boyfriend.
Lifting one well-manicured hand to adjust her sunglasses, Buffy looked everywhere but at the hunched shoulders of her former friend.
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!