Chapter 9:

Buffy stared at the empty seat beside her and rested her head in her hands. I think what would be best would be.. if we stayed away from each other.

She wondered why he wasn't here today. She wondered if he really hated her that much to skip school to avoid her. At first she'd been angry with him, for assuming things about her that weren't true. Buffy didn't mind losing her so-called friends. She had only wanted to be around William, and it made her happy. It wasn't ruining her life to be bullied all of a sudden - she could cope. She knew things about Faith and Cordy and all the other girls that she could use against them any time.

But that wasn't important. All that mattered to her right now was William. She wasn't angry any more, that had faded, now she was just miserable. She missed him so much it ached her.

Then the bell rung, it's high-pitched brrrr shocking Buffy. She gathered her things and got ready to leave when she saw William walk past her. She stared at him as he left the classroom, half wondering where he'd come from. She turned and grabbed the arm of one of the students about to leave and asked, "Did William sit up the back today?"

The girl nodded and pointed to a seat in the back corner of the classroom. "He sat over there."

Buffy slumped down in her seat and felt ready to cry. I didn't even notice him. He probably thinks I'm ignoring him and hates me even more.

*

Buffy was walking home through town when she saw Angel and his friends surrounding William and Willow. She approached the scene quietly, listening in horror to the harsh words Angel threw at William. Willow stood there helplessly, looking terrified. Buffy caught the redhead girl's eye and saw Willow mouth, "Help", but Buffy kept walking. She felt William watching her but she didn't care. As she was about to turn the corner she glanced back and met his gaze. His sad eyes bore through her angry ones and Buffy wished she could run back to him and help, but then something else caught her eye.

William's hand, tightly closed around Willow's. She glared at him and stormed off, fighting back furious tears as she made her way home.

*

Freak.. the scars on William's wrists.. freak.. the blood, seeping out.. freak.. William, kissing her, touching her, making love to her.. freak.. the cruel, cruel laughs of Faith and Cordelia.. freak.. Angel, shouting.. freak.. tears flowing down her face.. freak, freak, FREAK!

Buffy bolted upright, scream rising in her throat as she was ripped out of sleep from the terror of her nightmare. Grasping at the sheets, her heart slamming against her chest, Buffy got out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom.

She splashed her face and took a deep breath. You're not a freak. You're so not. You're smart, and pretty.. you're a good person.

But when she looked into the mirror she was a lonely girl, with hollow eyes and stringy hair. Buffy trembled as she stared at her reflection, it almost made her ill. She was ugly. She was a freak.

So she knelt down before the toilet bowl and stuck her fingers down her throat, waiting for everything to come out.

*

It was that way for the next week. Buffy threw up after every meal, more so on the days she didn't see William. On the days when they passed each other in the hall, he would smile at her, she would glare back, but it felt good. To know he still cared, even though they didn't study together, sit together, or do anything together anymore.

Buffy spent every break in the toilets, either crying or making herself sick. She was not only friendless, William-less and failing at school, but she was sick again.

It was Tuesday now. Tears streamed down Buffy's face as she left the stall, to go and wash the taste of vomit out of her mouth. All she could think of was how she still had to endure Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before the weekend came. Not that that was so great - the weekend meant being stuck in the house, with no William sightings, and no schoolwork to act as a distraction.

"Hey Buffy."

Buffy spun around and saw Willow. "Oh.. hi."

"Oh, god, are you okay?" She hurried forward, taking in Buffy's disshevelled appearance.

"I'm fine." Buffy wiped her tears away and forced a smile. "So, you and William, huh?"

Willow frowned. "What?"

"I saw you holding his hand the other day." Buffy shrugged, playing with the waistband of her skirt. "You guys are cute together."

Willow burst out laughing. "Oh my god. Me and William? No way!"

"But.." Buffy trailed off, confused. "I saw.."

"They were bullying him and I grabbed his hand to comfort him." Willow rolled her eyes. "Come on, Buffy. It's William. I love him, but he's just.. not my type. And he's so crazy about you."

"He doesn't want us to be around each other any more." Buffy mumbled. "He thinks he's bad for me."

"Come sit with us." Willow offered. "And then me and Xander will conveniantly leave and you and him can talk it out."

"No.. I think I need to go home, I don't feel so well." Buffy smiled at Willow. "See ya."

Willow watched as she left, expecting to see Buffy walk with a bounce in her step, a bright smile on her face as usual. But today the blonde girl looked different - empty, miserable, her shoulders slumped, her eyes sporting dark rings and blotchy marks from tears. There was something wrong with her, for sure. Willow turned and hurried out of the bathroom, running back to the cafeteria to find William.

*

"Hi, Mrs. Summers, is Buffy home?"

"Of course." Joyce smiled. "She's upstairs, go right on up. It's William, isn't it?"

He nodded and went upstairs to find Buffy. Willow's words rung in his mind. She's not well, I can just tell. She was crying and she looked all ill.

He knocked gently on the door and went in, smiling gently at her. "Hey."

"Go away." Buffy mumbled, knees drawn to her chest, staring into space. His smile faded.

"What's wrong, luv?" He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Willow said you didn't feel so good."

"I feel even worse now you're here." Buffy spat. "Just go away."

"Luv.." He reached over and took her hand. "If you're mad at me, I understand. I was a jerk the other day. I don't want us to stop seeing each other, it just seems like it was hurting you. I'm sorry."

"Just get out." Buffy said through clenched teeth, glaring at him. "I don't want to see anyone. I don't want you to touch me!"

William stared at her for a moment, too shocked to speak. Feeling incredibly naked in front of him, Buffy hissed, "What the hell are you staring at?"

"Nothing." He stood up shakily, eyes downcast. "Buffy, I really am so-"

"Get. The. Fuck. Out." Buffy moaned, clutching her head in her hands.

"Tell me what's wrong." He whispered, pulling Buffy into his arms. "Buffy, please. Something's really wrong with you, I can tell."

"I just.." Buffy started crying again, weakened by his touch, "I thought we could be something. I thought you had feelings for me.. you said you did.. and.. and.."

"I do have feelings for you." William said gently. "But it's never going to work, not while we're stuck here in Sunnyhell. Angel will kill me if I ever touch you."

"You always touch me." Buffy said in a childish tone. "You hold my hand and-"

"You know what I mean, luv." He stood and planted a tiny kiss on her cheek. "We just can't."

Buffy nodded and hugged him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "I know. I'm sorry."

"There's not anything you need be apologising for, luv." He smiled at her. "One day we'll get out of this town and go someplace better for the both of us. I'll sweep you off your feet good and proper, Buffy."

She smiled as she watched him leave, tingling after hearing his soft declaration of love. Even if they couldn't be together now, the promise was enough to leave her happy.

But hours passed and the tingly feeling wore off. She didn't want William later, she wanted him now. Buffy was half-asleep when she stared out the window at the stars, making a silent promise that tomorrow, in the light of day, things would start to change for her and William for the better.

*

 

Chapter 10:

The next day, Buffy found William in the library, and approached him carefully from behind. Planting a soft kiss on the back of his neck, she slid her hands around his waist and inside his shirt a little, whispering, "Hey."

"Hey, luv." He turned around to face her but Buffy held him down, caressing his chest gently.

"I was thinking.." Buffy peppered kisses up and down his neck as she spoke, "Maybe I'll come over tonight?"

"But.. Angel.."

"He's going out." Buffy sat down in the chair next to him and smiled. "I overheard him and Parker talking about it. Big night on the town. So.. can I come over?"

"Sure." William replied shakily, watching as her foot slid up his leg.

"I thought about you all night last night." Buffy admitted. "Did you think about me?"

"Constantly." He smiled at her as she took his hand in hers.

"What time should I come over?" Buffy realized it was only them in this section of the library, and with a small smile playing on her lips, she moved into William's lap. "I could bring popcorn and cookies.. and we could hang out.. and do this."

Running her hands through his hair, Buffy kissed him passionately, pressing her body close to his. Her tongue danced with his and they remained in a fiery liplock until they were both breathless. She pulled back and stared into his eyes, unable to look away. Buffy collected herself after being left completely weak from the kiss and smiled at him, pressing a tiny kiss to his earlobe as she whispered, "I'll see you tonight."

*

He visited his father every second day now. At first it had been every first day, but eventually William had come to realize no amount of visiting Giles could bring him back. And at first it had been a comfort thing - he'd felt safe near his father, whether he was dead or alive. But now William had friends and, of course, Buffy, things were better.

But today when he arrived at Giles' grave, Angel was kneeling down before it. William felt his blood boil and his fists curl, ready to fly at his stepbrother for daring to come here.

Angel glanced up at William, who swore that he saw Angel blush for a moment. His brother stood and faced William awkwardly. "Hi. I didn't know you'd be coming today."

"I come most days." William said quietly.

"I'll go." Angel paused, biting at his lip nervously. "William.. I'm really sorry. For what happened. I really liked Giles, he was a good dad."

"Hmm." William knelt down and placed the single white rose on top of the grave.

"I'm sorry things are the way they are." Angel said, placing a hand on William's shoulder. "We're just-"

"Different people." William finished, repeating words that had been used so often by his stepmother or father, trying to console him.

"Yeah." Angel nodded uneasily. "You want a lift home?"

"No, I'm going to stay a while." William forced a smile. "Thanks anyway."

"See you later, then." Angel paused. "Well, I'm going out tonight, so I'll be back by tomorrow probably."

"Okay." He watched for a moment as Angel left, and sighed to himself. William hated it when Angel made attempts to be nice. Even if they were genuine, they'd be forgotten soon enough, and he'd be the filth of the school once again.

But then again, now there was Buffy. William smiled to himself and remembered her hands caressing his chest, his lips on his, her foot sliding up his leg. He didn't care if he was subjected to endless torture, because at the end of it all, she'd be there to kiss it all better.

*

"Hey." Buffy frowned as she found William outside, sitting on the back step smoking. "I didn't know you smoked."

He shrugged. "My dad used to."

Buffy nodded. "When my dad left, which I know isn't the same thing, but anyway.. I used to sit there reading all his old books even though I didn't understand them. He had a whole library full of these dusty old things he loved and when he left, he didn't take all of them, so I took them for me. I think my mom was really worried about me. I was this seven-year-old who sat up reading books twice my size."

William smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist, letting Buffy rest her head on his shoulder as they sat in silence for a moment. Then Buffy pulled away and gagged. "You stink of sweat and smoke."

"I was exercising." He said, laughing as she pinched her nose. "I'll go take a shower, pet. Come on inside."

"I'll wait in your room for you?" Buffy offered as he made his way upstairs.

William froze for a moment. The painting. She'll see the bleeding painting, you pillock. He turned and shrugged. "Why don't you get us some of that popcorn you were talking about? We can watch a movie, your choice."

Buffy frowned to herself as she heard him shut the bathroom door. A moment later, the shower went on. She vaguely remembered William always barring her access to his room, always locking it behind him or just avoiding letting her in. Buffy started up the stairs, curiosity taking the better of her.

Stop. Bad Buffy. This is his room. It's probably his private place, and you should not be intruding upon his privacy. But before she could stop herself, she'd opened the door and was inside his room.

The floorboard creaked, startling Buffy as she stepped inside. She froze, wondering if William had heard her from the bathroom, but the shower was still going. She breathed out and took in her surroundings, smiling as she immediately saw William in every part of the room. He was in the dark blue walls, the white carpet, the stacks of books piled on the shelves. Even the strips of moonlight crossing over the carpet reminded her of him somehow. Buffy smiled and flopped down on his bed happily.

Then she noticed the paintings, all over the walls, of sunsets over the Sunnydale shores, of horses, of scenery in England. But one in particular caught her eye, and her breath. Buffy stood up shakily and stared at the painting leaning against the wall.

It was her. Her, in the bathroom, naked, touching herself, moaning. Most of her was covered by the steam, but there was enough detail to know exacly what William had seen that day. Buffy stared at the soft paints that illustrated every curve of her body, the ripe swell of her breasts, the soft curls of hair down below where her hand delved. Buffy was so caught up in the painting she didn't hear the shower turn off, or the creak of floorboards as William returned to his room.

"Oh, bloody hell."

She spun around and stared at him, naked except for the towel wrapped around his waist. William stared from the painting to her and said quickly, "It's not what you think. Luv, I swear, I wasn't trying to make you think I'm perverted or obsessed with you.."

"I know." Buffy said quietly, glancing back at the artwork, still in awe.

"Truth is, I couldn't stop thinking of you. I just.. you're beautiful. And I painted you because I wanted to remember you like that forever."

"Okay." She wobbled on her legs slightly and sat down, trying to catch her breath. "It's just.."

"You hate me." He guessed dismally. "Buffy, pet, I swear-"

"I don't hate you." She stared up at him. "I look so.. beautiful. Like you said. I just never.. I would never have.. thought I looked like that."

"You're amazing, Buffy." He said in a mere whisper. "I'm so sorry, though, this was wrong."

"No. I love it." She stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "But.. you know.. just to even the score."

And then his towel fell away.

*

 

Chapter 11:

William stared from the towel on the floor to Buffy. Buffy stared at William - completely naked, completely beautiful. She was fighting for breath when he grabbed her in his arms and kissed her passionately, lowering a hand to her skirt to rip it away. She let out a small cry as he threw her down onto the bed and tore her panties away, his hands moving to touch her in ways William had barely dared dream of.

Buffy moaned, clawing at the sheets as William peppered kisses up and down her neck, his hands exploring between her thighs, tweaking at her clit gently. She arched her back as he stimulated her with impossible expertise and hissed his name over and over as her climax built. William watched her writhe beneath him, and as she came, he kissed her softly and whispered, "I love you, Buffy. I love you so much."

She stared up at him in awe, a smile spreading over her face. "I love you too. I do. I love you, William."

Buffy spread her legs as he kissed from the hollow between her breasts right up to the curve of her chin. Caressing her thighs lovingly, William rubbed himself against her moist entrance, and with a single lift of her hips, Buffy took him all the way in. They moved together, slowly, but passionately making love.

*

"William? You in there?" Angel banged on the door. "Do you need a lift to school, man?"

Buffy bolted upright and stared at the closed door. William sat up and pulled her to him, planting a tiny kiss on her shoulder. "Shhh."

He went to the door and, without opening it, called, "I'm feeling sick. Not coming to school today."

"Okay, man."

William returned to the bed and pulled Buffy into his arms, and they listened as Angel's feet thumped downstairs noisily, punctuated by the slam of the front door. He smiled at her. "You alright, luv?"

Buffy nodded and slid into William's lap. "I feel amazing. Are you sure last night was your first time, mister?"

He nodded, eyes sparkling as he gazed at her adoringly. "I'm glad it was you, kitten."

"And where did wimpy William disappear to?" She teased, running her hands through his hair affectionately. "You turned all wild... like some outlaw.."

"Like some outlaw." He repeated with an amused chuckle.

"Like some bad, mean outlaw. Named.. Spike.. or something." She rested her forehead against his, gazing happily into his eyes. "You really were amazing."

"So were you." He ran his hand down the length of her body. "I never thought you'd want me, Buffy."

"I never thought you'd want me." Buffy pulled away slightly. "Can we talk about something for a minute?"

"Sure." He frowned as she wrapped the sheets around her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... it's just.. you know how Willow thought I wasn't well?"

"Mmm."

Buffy suddenly shyed away from him, too scared of what he'd think if she did tell him. William was clever and caring, but he'd never understand this. And if she explained he'd see it as a case of him messing up her life.

"Buffy?" William took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Tell me what's wrong, pet."

"I started throwing up again." Buffy blurted out. "I know you're mad, you probably hate me, but it was just something that happened."

"Why?"

Buffy frowned. "Huh?"

"Why did it happen?" William said slowly, studying her curiously.

"Because I was depressed." She replied quietly. "I felt alone and I felt ugly and don't get started on me doing something destructive."

"Wasn't going to." William stared at the fading scars on his wrists. "Be a bit hypocritical if I did that, pet."

"So you don't hate me?" Buffy asked in a small voice.

"Never." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "Just talk to me, tell me what happened."

"Everyone else hates me." Buffy said, more to herself than to him.

"Who's everyone else?" William asked gently.

"Faith. Cordy. Amy. Angel. All Angel's friends." Tears filled Buffy's eyes and nothing would make them go away. Several slipped down her cheeks and she whispered, "I love you, and I know that should be enough, just having you, but I thought they were my friends."

"I know, pet." He hugged her and waited for the tears to subside.

Eventually they did, and Buffy returned to her normal bright self. She smiled at William and promised him she was okay, and although he wasn't entirely convinced, it seemed enough that she was smiling for now.

"So.. why's Angel being so nice?" Buffy asked curiously as she rested back in his arms.

"Probably wants something." William muttered as he played with her hair.

"Like.."

"Me to clear his name. Probably has some nasty rumour going around." William shrugged. "Or maybe he just magically grew a heart."

"Maybe he realized girls like sweet, lovely guys like you." Buffy smiled and turned her head, offering her lips to him, and kissing him until her neck cricked.

"Here." William offered and started massaging her neck gently. Buffy snuggled into his arms and succumbed to his healing touch.

*

"You want dinner?" William offered as Angel came into the kitchen.

"Sure." Angel smiled. "What're you making?"

"What do you want?" William forced a smile, along with the words that seemed unnatural to say. Right now all he wanted to do was sock Angel in the jaw and scream from the rooftops that he, William Giles, was in love with Buffy Summers.

"Let's just get Chinese." Angel suggested, punching William playfully on the arm. "Only a week more of freedom before the old lady gets home, huh."

He went and opened the fridge, and paused. "Hey.. Will?"

"Yeah."

Angel lifted an object out of the fridge and frowned. "Did you have a girl over here?"

"No." William said instantly, before even looking to see what the object was. It was a small makeup compact.

"So.. this is yours?" Angel smirked. "You had a girl over!"

"I didn't." William insisted, while inside, he screamed, I had your girl over, you stupid git. You stupid bloody pillock, she's mine now!

"Who was it?" Angel wondered aloud, flipping the compact open. "Red lipstick. Hmm."

"Bugger off, right?" William snatched Buffy's compact away.

"Is it Willow?" Angel asked incredulously. "It is! You had Willow over!"

"Listen, you stupid pillock." William glared at Angel loathingly. "It's none of your bloody business. You can drop the being nice to me act right the hell now as well."

He swore for a moment, Angel looked hurt, but his stepbrother recovered and glared back at William, hissing, "I'm going to make your life miserable, you faggot."

"Mission already accomplished." William snapped and stormed past Angel.

"I'll tell the whole fucking school about you and Willow!" Angel roared after William, furious. "I swear to God, you're finished!"

The threats didn't scare William. He locked his bedroom door and found Buffy, still asleep, curled up in his bed among the sheets, naked. He spooned up beside her and kissed her bare skin lovingly. She's mine. That's all that matters.

*

 

Chapter 12:

"You little weasel." Willow grabbed William's hair and tugged at it. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Ow!" William whimpered as she kept a firm grasp on his hair. "Let me go, Red."

"Why do people think I'm your girlfriend?" She hissed angrily, yanking at his hair again when he didn't answer quickly enough.

"It's not my fault." William insisted. "Angel just thinks you are."

"Why would he think that?"

"Because something happened between me and Buffy." William said quietly.

Willow released him and stared at him with wide eyes. "Huh?"

"She came over the other night and we've spent the past few days together and he found something of hers lying around. He thought it was yours for some reason, probably cos we're friends and he's a total pillock."

"That's all well and good for you! To just dismiss him as some pillock!" Willow cried, glaring at him. "People have been following me around all day singing 'Willow and William sitting in a tree!' It's embarrassing! I don't want people thinking I'm your girlfriend."

"Sorry." William said in a small, hurt voice. "Didn't know I was that horrible, pet."

"I didn't mean it like that." Willow's eyes dropped to the floor and she whispered with a blush, "Thing is.. I'm not the type of girl to have a boyfriend as such. But there is someone who I would like to be my girlfriend."

"You mean that you're-"

"Gay! Yeah." Willow scowled at him. "And because of your little Willow-and-William rumour that you've done nothing to stop, the girl I like isn't so keen on me anymore."

"Who is it?" William asked curiously, smiling at her.

"Nobody." Willow huffed. "And only Xander knows about me being gay, so you keep quiet."

"I wasn't going to say anything, Wi.." He trailed off as he saw Buffy coming. "Isn't she pretty?"

She grinned and hurried towards him, a huge smile on her face. "Guess what?"

"What?" He snaked his arm around her waist as she sat down beside him.

"Hi Wills." Buffy smiled at the redhead and then turned back to William. "I'm on the prom decoration committee."

"When is the prom?" Willow asked curiously.

"Five weeks." Buffy grinned. "And I get to decorate!"

"That's lovely." He kissed her on the cheek and smiled. "Ready to go, luv?"

"You two are cute." Willow said, smiling up at them. "Let's just get rid of these Willow and William rumours. Pronto."

*

"That one's pretty." Buffy gasped as she stared at the dress on the mannequin.

"It'd look lovely on you, pet." William approved in a whisper, nuzzling her neck.

Buffy ducked away and smiled at him. "You're so good to go shopping with. You're sweet and encouraging and if you're bored, you don't show it."

"Okay." A slight frown had crossed his face when she'd pulled away, but William recovered and smiled, pulling her back into his arms. "You should get it, luv. It'd be perfect for the prom."

"I might." She said softly, reaching out to stroke the pink satin, gently easing herself out of William's embrace. "You know, we don't have to go. It's not really necessary."

The frown set permanently on his face. "You want to, though. And I'd like to take you with me."

"It's just a silly dance."

"You're on the committee thing, though. And you want to be queen, luv. And I want to treat you like one for the night."

"You always treat me like a queen." Buffy kissed him on the cheek, but before she did, William didn't miss her eyes darting around to check if anyone was watching.

"You're ashamed of me." He realized, stepping away from her.

Buffy's eyes went wide and gasped, "No! No way. William, don't be silly."

"Are you done in here?" He asked, anger sparking in his voice.

"S-sure." Buffy took his hand and they walked out of the shop together, Buffy worried and William silently seething. "William, I didn't mean that. I just don't think we need to go to a silly dance."

"It wasn't silly to you before." He snapped. "It's just now, that I'd be the one you'd go with, that you feel this way."

"That's not true!" Buffy insisted. "I love you, William. I love you so much."

"If Angel asked you, you'd go." He said through clenched teeth.

"That's not fair." Buffy glared at him. "Maybe I would, though, since he's a lot less babyish than you."

"And he'd help you get prom queen." William said icily. "Dream come true for every girl, isn't it?"

Tears stung her eyes and Buffy stared past him, stating in a wobbly voice, "You have no idea how much I hate you right now."

"Fine. I have stuff to do at home. Like get tormented by Angel and be made miserable." William muttered and handed her the shopping bags he'd been holding for her. "I'll see you later, Buffy."


*

Buffy stormed into her house and threw the bags at the wall furiously, letting out a cry of frustration. She started to march upstairs when her mother appeared from the kitchen. "Buffy, are you alright?"

"Fine." Buffy said through clenched teeth and stomped upstairs. She flopped down on her bed and buried her face in the pillows, curling up into a tiny ball miserably.

"Tell me what's wrong." Joyce said wearily, sitting down beside Buffy. "Come on. Spill."

"Go away." Buffy mumbled dismally.

"No." Joyce cocked her head at Buffy curiously, though she had a fairly good idea of what was going on. Over the past few years, Buffy's tears over Angel could have filled the Mississippi three times over. "Did he do something wrong?"

"I hate him." Buffy muttered. "And I thought he was different. He's always so nice. Everone's always saying how William's so sweet and lovely, blah blah blah. He's just a jerk like all the others."

"Well, I'm sure Ang-" Joyce paused. "Wait. Did you just say William?"

Buffy peered up at her mom sheepishly. "Maybe."

"William Giles?"

"Maybe." Buffy rolled onto her back and waited for the shouting to begin.

"Buffy!" Joyce cried out in horror. "He's Angel's brother!"

"Step." Buffy corrected quietly. "He's only Angel's stepbrother."

"Please tell me it's over with Angel and you aren't seeing both of them."

"It is over with Angel and I'm not seeing either of them." Buffy turned away from her mother and glared at the wall. "They're both jerks. Maybe they don't share blood but they breathe the same air and it must be making them both assholes."

"Buffy!" Joyce gasped.

"Sorr-ee." Buffy pulled the doona over her head and hid away, mumbling, "You might as well leave because I'm done talking about this. And I'm never going back to school. Never."

"Well, then." Joyce pursed her lips, frowning as she thought of what to do. "Maybe I'll just phone William and see if he can help get that Buffy-shaped lump out of bed."

"No!" Buffy yelled, flying out from under the covers. "Don't you dare bring that.. that jerk back here. I hate him! I hate him, I hate him, I hate-- um."

William was standing in the doorway, looking immensely uncomfortable, with a big bouquet of roses in his hand.

"I'll leave you kids alone." Joyce said softly, smiling at William as she passed him on her way out.

"I don't want you to start with you saying you're sorry." Buffy glared at him as he handed her the roses.

"I'm sorry." He smiled, sitting down beside her. "I am, luv, really."

"You made fun of me. You made me sound like a superficial, bitchy slut." Buffy hugged the roses in her arms, sniffing at them as she started to cry, bawling, "These are nice."

"C'mere." William pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I'm sorry, kitten. You don't know how this feels though."

"How what feels?" Buffy sniffled, gazing up at him.

"I feel like I'm not good enough." He admitted. "I feel like I'm holding you back because I'm such a los-"

"Stop." Buffy silenced him with a kiss, whispering as she pulled away, "You aren't a loser. You're the best guy in the whole world, and I am not ashamed of you. I promise."

"Then can you at least let me be near you in public?" William requested, kissing her neck, making Buffy shiver with arousal. "You kept pushing me away this afternoon."

"I won't." Buffy said firmly, running her fingers through his soft locks of hair. "I love you, so much. And I don't care who knows it."

*
 

Chapter 13:

"Boys!" Cecily dropped her bags at her feet and threw her arms around William. "Did you miss me?"

Angel glared at William as Cecily devoted all of her attention to him, and was only more furious when he thought he saw William smirk at him. He cleared his throat, trying to get his mother's attention, but she was still clinging to William.

Eventually she pulled away and gave Angel a quick kiss on the cheek. "How are you, honey?"

"Fine." He mumbled, still glowering at William loathingly.

"Let's get my bags and get a cab home then." Cecily sighed. "I'm exhausted, the flight seemed to last forever."

"Mommy's boy." Angel hissed as they made their way through the crowded airport. "You know you're not really a part of this family. You're not connected in any way now, not without your dad. You're not her real son."

"Yeah, and doesn't it piss you off she still likes me better?" William shot back smugly and strode ahead of Angel to catch up with Cecily.

*

"All in all, I'm thinking of moving back there." Cecily said quietly, glancing at them nervously. "I wouldn't make you boys do anything of the sort, though. Not when you're graduating so soon. Excuse me for a moment."

"Let's just hope some people do manage to graduate." William smirked at Angel. "Nice report card, mate."

"You weren't allowed to look at that!" Angel snapped. "Why the hell were you snooping around my stuff?"

William shrugged, still smiling smugly as he said, "I wasn't. The school sent a letter of concern home the other day."

Angel paled slightly, and said softly, "You can't show mom."

"See?" Cecily sat back down and passed some photographs to William. "This is your father's house in England, remember? You wouldn't have seen it since you were little, but it's beautiful and I think being there would.. well, help me."

"We understand, mom." Angel said in a sickeningly sweet tone as the doorbell rang. "I'll go get it!"

Cecily frowned, and lowering her voice slightly, she turned to William and said, "Is he alright?"

"Just being a wanker." William muttered.

"Pardon?"

"I'm sure he's fine." He said with a smile and they continued eating dinner.

"Hey Buffy." Angel smiled down at her. "Whatcha doing here?"

"I'm here to see William." Buffy said in a squeak. "For.. for the tutor thing. The tutoring. He needs to help me with it."

"Sure. That's why you're here." He reached out and caressed her face gently. "I've missed you."

Buffy slapped his hand away and glared at him. "Go to hell, Angel. Get William for me, please."

"William!" Angel shouted, narrowing his eyes at Buffy suspiciously. "Why the hell are you friends with this faggot?"

"Angel!" Cecily gasped from behind him.

Angel turned around, eyes wide with innocence. "Yes?"

"Apologize to William!" Cecily snapped, jerking her head at William, standing beside her.

"Sorry, man." Angel rolled his eyes. "I was just kidding."

"You boys are impossible." Cecily smiled at Buffy. "Hi, honey. How are you?"

"Good, Mrs. Giles." Buffy paused and frowned. "Is that okay, I mean, with Mr. Giles being gone and all.. are you going back to being Mrs.. umm.."

"Mrs. Giles is fine." Cecily glanced from Angel to Buffy. "I'll leave you kids be, I have some calls to make."

"Okay." Buffy shoved past Angel angrily and grabbed William's arm. "I need help with my maths homework."

They disappeared upstairs together and Cecily turned to Angel, confused. "She's here for William?"

"He's her tutor." Angel sneered bitterly. "We broke up."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry." Cecily stared at William's door, just at the top of the stairs. Closed. Locked. Supposedly for tutoring, but Cecily didn't believe that for a second. Something was not right.

*

"I hate Angel." Buffy said through clenched teeth. "I hate him so much."

"Can we stop talking about Angel?" William pulled her into his lap and peppered kisses over the curve of her shoulder.

"He's such a sleaze." Buffy grumbled, her anger wearing off as he soothed her with soft kisses. Buffy cupped William's face in her hands and smiled at him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He pushed her aside for a moment and pulled a box out from under the bed. "I got you something, luv."

"What is it?" Buffy asked curiously, fingering the black satin bow that held the white gift box closed.

"Open it and see."

Buffy smiled at him and pulled the ribbon away, then flipped the box open. "Oh my god."

"That's the one, isn't it?" He watched worriedly as Buffy pulled the pink satin dress out of the box.

"It is." She said in awe, caressing the fabric. "Wow.. William! You really, really.. you shouldn't have."

"I wanted to."

"I love you so much." Buffy took his hand and guided it to her thigh. "Make love to me."

He slid his hand up her thigh and pulled her panties off slowly as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

*

"Are you going home now, dear?" Cecily smiled at Buffy as the blonde girl bounced downstairs.

Buffy smiled sweetly. "Yes. Thanks for letting me stay so late, Mrs. Giles."

"Did you get your homework done?" Cecily asked curiously.

"All done." Buffy waved goodbye and left. Cecily opened the curtains and gazed after the blonde girl as she disappeared down the street into the black of the night.

Cecily didn't know about Angel, who had fallen asleep after dinner, but William and Buffy weren't fooling her in any way. Homework didn't involve William sneaking out of his room, only in his jeans, on the way to take a shower. Cecily watched as her stepson slipped into the bathroom, a small smile on his face, unaware she was watching from the foot of the stairs. Homework certainly didn't involve locking doors or soft moans or Buffy leaving with her shirt inside out.

This was definitely not right.

*
 

Chapter 15:

"William?" Cecily rapped gently on the door. "Can I come in?"

She waited for a moment as the lock clicked open and William opened the door. "Yes?"

"Can we talk for a minute?" She smiled as he let her into his room, and went to sit down on his bed. "I went to see the lawyers today. They've finalized the details of your father's will."

He sat beside her and frowned as Cecily handed him an envelope. "What is it?"

"It's everything he left you." She paused and took the envelope back, opening it for him to pull out a cheque. "It's quite.. well.. it's very generous, William."

He turned it over in his hands and stared at the number before him. "Bloody hell."

"I know." Cecily smiled at him. "I was quite taken aback as well."

"It's so much."

"Your father planned ahead a lot. He spoke to me about what he wanted for you," Cecily took the cheque and stared at the number, still in awe of it, "This was for you, William. For anything you wanted from life. Education, travel, business, family... he wanted you to be prepared."

"Well I bloody well will be." William realized he hadn't blinked for minutes, and his eyes were completely dry. He blinked several times, but when he opened his eyes, the numbers were exactly the same. "Is this for all of us?"

"No, just for you. He left me a smaller portion of that amount, but it will get me by comfortably enough." Cecily took William's hand and smiled. "You have your whole life ahead of you and he's got you completely set. You can really do anything you like, William, it's an amazing oppurtunity for you."

Fighting the urge to dance around the room and scream joyously, William simply grinned and said softly, still utterly shocked, "Yeah."

"I'll have to ask you not to tell Angel." She sighed and admitted in a low voice, "Your father left Angel something, but only a little bit. Obviously, giving his real son more than his stepson is justified, but Angel won't see it that way. He'll see it as Rupert favouring you. He'll see it as you having all the luck. And the way things are with you two already.."

"I won't tell him, mum. I promise."

"Angel already thinks you're my favourite." Cecily sighed and smiled worriedly at William. "I love him, I do, but he's very primitive. Possessive. And not really a thinker. The school called the other day to say his college applications were all rejected. Which is why I actually wanted to talk to you-"

"No." William insisted, already well aware of what she was going to ask. "No way."

"Yes way. I want you to tutor Angel and help him reapply. He's taking a year off, so he has time, but-"

"No."

"Yes!" Cecily frowned at him. "He is your brother, and don't you pull the step-card here."

"He'd never let me tutor him and I don't want to. Angel and I are diff-"

"Different people, I know." Cecily cocked her head and smiled. "But so are you and Buffy. You're tutoring her."

"That's.. that's different." He stuttered, eyes downcast. "Buffy's a nice girl."

Cecily stood up and frowned at him suspiciously. "You're just her tutor, then."

"Yeah." William smiled.

"Buffy left with her top on inside out last night." Cecily raised her eyebrows. "That wasn't how we tutored in my day. Look, William.. she was with Angel. And now she's with you. Angel and you already have your problems, don't bring Buffy into it. It would hurt both him and you. And I don't think she's worth it, quite honestly."

"I love her." William said quietly and stood up, pushing past her. "I'm going to go down to the bank."

Cecily grabbed his arm and said softly, "William, don't be upset. I just think that it would be better if you and Buffy weren't involved. With Angel and everything.. this is just a teenage fling, you don't need it."

"It's not just a fling." He glared at her and shook her off him. "I do love her, and I don't care what Angel thinks. I don't care if he beats me to a pulp every day for the rest of my life. I'm already a misfit now, I can deal with it for a little longer until I escape this hole of a town. Besides, I love Buffy. She's worth it. And I do need her."

He was storming downstairs when she called after him, "And what if Angel does find out and he does get upset and he does hurt you?"

"If you knew this was happening," William turned and glowered at her. "If you knew he was hurting me, why the hell didn't you stop it? Do you have any idea what I've been going through?"

She faltered, blushing slightly. "Well.. I.."

"I hate Angel." He muttered angrily. "I don't care how much it hurts him or how much he hurts me. I don't."

*

"He gave you how much?" Buffy gave a low whistle. "That's really wow. I mean.. that's really great!"

William grimaced slightly. "My dad'd dead, luv. It's not brilliant."

"Right." Buffy ran her hand over his bare chest in a loving caress as they stared up at the ceiling. "Sorry."

He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "S'alright."

"What are you going to do with the money?"

"I'm going to take a year or two off before I go to college. I've been accepted into a few, but I can defer it, and just relax and get away from everything for a while."

"Sounds nice." Buffy sighed to herself, wishing she knew what life outside Sunnydale was like. Everything here was so boring, so tedious, so bland.. she felt like she was choking on it all. She'd never been outside the town, she'd never seen other countries, let alone other cities. "One day I want to get out of here."

"Come with me." William said softly, rolling onto his side where he could reach her better. He kissed her shoulder and smiled. "We'll go everywhere together."

"You don't want to spend your money on me."

"Yes, I do." He hugged her to him, smiling as Buffy snuggled into his arms. "I want to do everything for you and everything with you."

"Same." Buffy kissed him and smiled. "So.. you're going to spend all the money on travelling and stuff."

"No, luv. I've put most of it into my bank account, but some of that's meant for going away." William frowned. "I hate this place."

"Same."

"I've never fit in." He said quietly.

"Neither." Buffy planted soft kisses over his cheeks and forehead. "We're both misfits. Probably always will be."

William smiled and, as he gently ran his hands over her body, even after all this time still in total awe of how beautiful Buffy was, he said, "I like it that way."

"Me too." She snuggled deep into his embrace and they stayed that way for hours, simply holding each other, together in a close embrace, where they fit perfectly.

*

 

Chapter 16:

"You sent this in as your college application essay." William said bluntly, staring at it in horror, wondering if he'd read it wrong.

"Yeah." Angel shrugged. "It's all about me. That's what they wanted."

"They wanted an essay.." William paused, and put his head in his hands, already exhausted, ".. about passions you have in life. About your beliefs, your opinions, something real. They don't want to know that you've been quarterback for three years and that you were the youngest that Sunnydale ever chose. They don't want to know you've been dating Buffy! I mean, what the hell were you trying to tell them?"

"They asked for an essay about me." Angel snapped defensively, ripping the paper out of William's hands. "This is about me."

"You wanted to get a scholarship to either Westwood, Ellis or South, in either Legal or Psychology." William stared at his brother, completely dumbfounded. "And you decided to tell them about your three years as a football player for a small town's highschool team that loses half the games they play. I can't believe you actually submitted this essay! It's bloody bollocks!"

"Faggot." Angel spat and glared at William.

William stood up, ready to leave, when Angel grabbed his arm and said pleadingly, "Wait. Sorry. Okay? I'm sorry. Just.. tell me what I should have done. What did you write? You got in everywhere you applied."

"I didn't write about the crap you went on about. They're not going to care about all this. I mean.. don't you have some opinions on politics or psychology you could have written about?"

"I don't know." Angel shrugged.

"Look.. you have a while yet to figure all this out, but I'm just going to say.. they don't give a damn about your years as a quarterback or Buffy."

"You do, though, don't you?" Angel said, a quiet rage contained in his voice. "I saw you and her holding hands the other day."

"So?"

"So, what the hell's going on between you and my girlfriend?"

"She's not your girlfriend." William smirked.

"Is she yours?" Angel demanded, slamming his fist down on the table furiously.

"What the hell does it matter?" William snarled, glaring at Angel loathingly.

"If you've touched her, I swear-"

"Yeah, I have." William smiled at Angel. "Buffy and I are together, and there's nothing you can do about it. She's mine, and she loves me."

Angel was silent for a moment, and then a smile appeared on his face. He nodded calmly and said, "So you'll take her to the prom. I'll see you two there."

There was something threatening in his voice as he said it, but William shook the worried feelings away. Angel couldn't do anything. There was no way.

*

"You look wonderful." Cecily gushed as William hurried downstairs. He glared at her and grabbed his cufflinks off the coffee table. She smiled and said gently, "Let me help."

"It's fine." William mumbled.

"I know you're mad at me, honey, but.." Cecily trailed off as she pulled his shirt sleeves up, her eyes fixed on the scars covering William's wrists. "Oh god."

"It's nothing." He insisted weakly.

"I.. I let this happen." Cecily moaned, her fingers tracing over the wounds.

"No, you didn't. You've been a wonderful mum. I don't do this anymore, I swear." William secured his cufflinks and smiled. "I have to go get Buffy now. We'll talk later if you'd like."

He kissed her on the cheek and hurried out the door. Cecily swallowed hard, but she couldn't hold back, and ran to the bathroom to be sick.

*

"William looks really handsome tonight." Willow giggled as she watched Buffy apply another coat of lip balm. "You look gorgeous."

Buffy stared at her reflection in the mirror, illuminated by candlelight, and smiled. Her hair was tumbling down her shoulders in loose curls, her eyes were framed with smokey eyeshadow and liner, and her lips were sparkling with gloss. The dress fitted her perfectly, it clung to her every curve, and made her look girly and pretty yet sophisticated at the same time. Eyes had been stuck on her from the moment she and William had arrived. She grinned at Willow. "Thanks. You do too. I love your hair like that, Wills."

"My date isn't so crash hot." Willow rolled her eyes. "Xander already has punch on his shirt."

"Hey B." Faith came in, smirking at Willow. "Hi, Willow."

Willow blushed and hung her head, shy under the other girl's critical gaze.

"Hi." Buffy replied warily, tucking her lip balm into her purse.

"Nice date." Faith said.

Willow glanced at Buffy worriedly. Buffy arched her back slightly and glared at Faith. "I know. William's lovely."

"Okay." Faith nodded and spilled the contents of her purse out onto the vanity. "Cool decoration, B. It looks really great."

"Thanks." Buffy smiled at Faith and turned back to Willow. "Ready?"

Where you are seems to be
As far as an eternity
Outstretched arms open hearts
And if it never ends then when do we start?

Buffy rested her head on William's shoulder as they swayed together to the rythm of the music. Pressing his lips to her forehead in a soft kiss, William whispered, "You did a beautiful job decorating, pet."

"Thankyou." Lacing her fingers through his hair, Buffy kissed him, melting into his arms.

"Love you." He said softly.

Buffy smiled and brushed her lips against his cheek, replying in a single breath, "I love you too."

I'll never leave you behind
Or treat you unkind
I know you understand..

"We graduate soon." Buffy whispered, caressing his back gently as they danced. "And then we can leave. We can escape. Finally."

"Where should we go?" William asked, touching his lips to her forehead as he held her close.

"Everywhere. Anywhere. I just wanna be with you." She caught his lips in a passionate kiss and they swayed that way together, kissing as they danced.

How does it feel to know you never have to be alone
When you get home
There must be someplace here that only you and I could go
So I can show you how I
Dream away everyday
Try so hard to disregard
The rhythm of the rain that drops
And coincides with the beating of my heart

Buffy sat down on William's knee as Cordelia came onto the stage before all the other students, ready to announce the prom king and queen. William wrapped his arms around Buffy's waist and drew her closer, right into his lap, where she snuggled into him contentedly.

"Okay," Cordy grinned and opened the first envelope, "The Prom King this year, is our favourite guy in the world. You all know and love him.. it's Angel Giles!"

Xander snorted with laughter and William muttered something about 'stupid wankers' as Angel ran up onto the stage, grinning madly.

"And the prom queen," Cordy smiled at the audience and took a deep breath as she tore the silver envelope open. "Wow. The prettiest girl here tonight, and Angel's favourite girl for sure, Buffy Summers."

Buffy froze, unsure what to do. She glanced at William nervously and he smiled. "Go on, pet. It's what you wanted."

She got to her feet and strode to the stage with confidence Buffy wasn't sure she really had. She could feel everyone watching her, admiring her, cheering her on as Cordy placed the jewelled tiara on her head. Buffy swallowed hard and smiled at the crowd, but it was forced. I don't want this. She realized, her head swimming as Angel stepped towards her, smiling.

It didn't take Buffy long to realize as Angel kissed her that William would be leaving. She pulled away from Angel and slapped him, hard across the face, a crack sounding that echoed across the ballroom along with everyone's gasps. She stared at the doors as they slammed shut behind William, knowing she could run but she'd never reach him. He'd be gone by the time she got down from the stage.

Tears ran down Buffy's face and she knew that this wasn't what she wanted. She tore the tiara off her head and started to run, not after William, but away from the nightmare she just happened to be living.

*
 

Chapter 17:

"It's Buffy for you." Cecily held the phone out to William, but he shook his head vehemently and mouthed, 'Not home', to her. Cecily sighed, and for the thousandth time that week, she said, "I'm sorry, Buffy, he's not home."

Turning to frown at William, she said, "Tell me what's gone wrong."

"Nothing's gone wrong." William muttered, staring at his textbook.

Cecily snatched the book away and glared at him. "William, you've avoided school for the past five days, you haven't eaten anything or spoken a word, and you won't talk to Buffy. What's going on?"

"Nothing." He said, shrugging calmly. "I'm fine."

"So will you be calling Buffy back?" Cecily challenged him, crossing her arms. "If not, you'll be seeing her when you go back to school tomorrow."

"I don't want to see her." William snapped. "And I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, can we talk about the.. the.." Cecily took a deep breath and tried to find words as she itched at her own wrists nervously.

"The self mutilating?" He snarled, glaring back at her. "Why can't you just leave it? It's not like I still do it!"

"The fact you did it to begin with is what worries me!"

"Well, maybe if you'd stopped Angel from torturing me these past few years!" William retorted furiously and stormed out of the room.

"Don't you walk away from me!" Cecily yelled, following him determinedly. "Will you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Go to hell." William slammed his door and locked it behind him, determined to keep anyone, and everyone out.

*

Buffy hung up the phone and smiled sadly at Willow. "He's not home."

"Oh." Willow pushed the magazine she'd been pretending to read aside and sighed. "Do you think that.. well.. you know.."

"He's home, and just avoiding me." Buffy concluded. "Yeah. That's it. I mean, I've called him, like, two thousand times and he just happens to not be there every time."

"So maybe you should go see him."

"No. He doesn't want me calling, why would he want me visiting?" Buffy frowned. "I don't get why he's so upset with me. I didn't want Angel putting his slimy lips all over me anyway. And I hit him! I slapped him and I don't think that really gives off an "I'm-in-love-with-Angel" vibe much."

"William didn't see you slap him. He saw the kiss and looked absolutely devastated. And then people started laughing at him so he left."

"Oh, god." Buffy moaned, raking her fingers through her hair. "Do you think he hates me?"

"Maybe you should go see him." Willow suggested as she sorted through Buffy's makeup collection. "Can I use some of this stuff?"

"Sure." Buffy bit down on her lip and chewed on it nervously, staring at the phone, waiting for it to ring. She needed to hear William's voice. She needed him to tell her he was fine. She needed him to hold her and kiss her and promise her they'd be okay. Tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill over, but Buffy blinked them back and jumped off the bed. "Wills.."

Willow smiled up at Buffy. "Yeah?"

"I might go see him. Do you think I should? I really miss him."

"I think you should." Willow agreed. "I should get home, anyway."

"Okay." Buffy frowned and went to look in the mirror. "Do I look okay?"

"You might want to fix your panda eyes." Willow hinted, grimacing slightly. "He'll know you've spent the past week crying otherwise."

"Maybe it'll make him feel guilty for being such a jerk." Buffy said softly, trying to scrub the smeared mascara away desperately.

*

"Oh.. Buffy." Cecily smiled at the blonde girl, blinking back fresh tears that were gathering. "Well.. um.. William's not home right now."

"Yes he is." Buffy said and stepped past Cecily. "I know he is, Mrs. Giles. Can I please see him?"

"He's locked himself in his room." Cecily stared upstairs and sighed. "Maybe you can tell me what happened?"

"Ask Angel." Buffy murmered and hurried up the stairs. She got to William's door and tried to open it unsuccessfully. She rapped gently on it and called out, "William? It's Buffy. Can we talk?"

She listened as the floorboards creaked as William approached the door, muttering something angrily to himself. She braced herself with a confident smile and waited for him to open the door.

"What?" He snapped, opening it only a smidgen, so she could only see a slither of his face through the gap.

"I think we should talk." Buffy said with as much cheer as she could muster. "Can I come in?"

To her suprise, the door swung open and William let her in. Buffy went to kiss him on the cheek but he moved away and frowned at her, asking in a wary tone, "What is it?"

"I miss you." Buffy reached out and stroked his arm affectionately. "I haven't seen you in a whole week."

"That's not my fault." William sat down on the edge of his bed and glared at her. "Anyhow, I thought you'd be busy with Angel."

Buffy sighed, deeply frustrated already, and said slowly, as though she were speaking to a stupid child, "He kissed me. It didn't mean anything."

"Just like what you're doing now means nothing to me." William snapped. "I don't want your stupid apologies, Buffy."

"As soon as he stopped kissing me I hit him!" Buffy yelled.

"You had to wait for him to stop, though." William raised his eyebrows. "If you cared at all about me, you wouldn't have let him touch you in the first place. You wouldn't have let him come within ten yards of you if you cared about my feelings."

"I was in shock!" She said defensively.

"You humiliated me!" William retorted. "People were laughing at me. People thought I was bloody pathetic."

"That's not my fault." Buffy said quietly, her heart breaking when she imagined how he must have felt. "William.. I love you. Please don't think that I wanted Angel for even a second. I want you. Only you."

A moment of silence passed, but it seemed like an ocean of time. Buffy felt like he was dangling her over the edge of a cliff, just waiting for her to really beg and plead with him. Then William spoke, quietly, yet she could see he was still furious.

"Then maybe you shouldn't go around letting my brother stick his tongue down your throat." He said icily. "Now get out."

She tried to protest, but Buffy could only come out with a weak, "No", before he cut her off.

"I don't want to see you again." William frowned at her. "Please leave."

"No." Buffy whimpered, clinging to his arm desperately. "Please.. I love you. Angel doesn't mean anything to me."

"I don't care." William pushed her towards the door, not meeting her eye as he said, "It's not just the fact you let him kiss you. It's not just the fact that I was humiliated. Thing is, Buffy, that this isn't worth it. It isn't worth being with you when you were one of the people who stood by and watch me suffer. You'll never know what it's like. You'll never understand. I can't be with someone who hurts me and humiliates me and doesn't understand me."

"I've tried." Buffy spat out, anger flaring inside her all of a sudden. "I fucking tried! You're just pathetic."

"Get. Out." William hissed, trying to hold back his tears. He didn't know why he was saying these things to her, he was sure he didn't mean them.

"I gave you everything." Buffy cried furiously. "You're just.. you're just a freak!"

With total hatred flickering in his eyes as he glared at her, William slammed the door in her face and locked it. Buffy swore and kicked his door angrily before storming out of the house.

As she walked home, anger burning inside her, her harsh words rung in her mind. You're just a freak! Tears spilled down Buffy's face, and she clung to herself as she sobbed.

Now you've done it, Buffy. You've lost him forever now.

*
 

Chapter 18:

You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. Buffy swallowed hard and stepped into the classroom, bashing straight into William. He turned and glared at her, and Buffy shyed away and hurried to her seat. You can't do this.


He sat down beside her a moment later, but ignored Buffy determinedly. Finally, Buffy turned to him and smiled. "How are you?"

"Don't, Buffy." William said softly, staring at her with cold eyes. "Why do you have to do this?"

"Because, I love you." She checked that nobody was watching, and then leaned over, pressing her lips to his cheek. "And I really want to be with you again."

He put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her away, gently, but it stung Buffy deeply. She felt tears prick her eyes and tried to blink them away but it was hopeless. Buffy buried her head in her hands and pretended to read the text in front of her as she cried.

William turned and saw she was crying, her tears dripping down onto her notebook. He sighed and took her hand in his, glancing around to ensure nobody else was watching. "Buffy, come on, pet."

"Is everything alright?" The teacher inquired, staring at Buffy in concern.

"Can I take her to the nurse? She isn't feeling well." William helped Buffy up and led her out of the classroom. Once they'd left the school corridors and were out in the fresh air, he took her to the bottom of the school oval and sat her down. "Will you stop crying?"

Buffy glared at him and spat, "I'm sorry if some of us still have hearts."

"I'm sorry if mine was broken!" He snapped.

Buffy sighed angrily and, clencing her fists, started, "You're such a--"

"What, a freak?" He cut in, pain lacing his words. Buffy fell silent an stared at the grass, as her fingers yanked at it nervously.

"I didn't mean that." She whispered.

"We just don't work, pet."

"We do so." Buffy's head snapped up and she gazed at him longingly. "You know we work. You're just being a big baby over what happened with Angel."

"How would you feel if it had been me with someone else?"

"But you wouldn't be with someone else." Buffy said quietly.

"Because I'm such a loser." William frowned, staring off sullenly into space.

"Because you're loyal." She kissed him on the cheek and curled up close beside him. "Because you're sweet, and wonderful, and we're in love."

With each reason her lips got closer to his, and finally, Buffy crawled into William's lap and kissed him passionately, clinging to him as though terrified to let go.

"I need you, William." She buried herself in his arms and breathed a sigh of relief as he hugged her closer to him. "Please don't end this. I love you."

"I love you too, luv." He smiled at her. "I'm sorry, pet, I am. Just.. don't let Angel near you again, okay?"

"I don't want him near me." Buffy scowled. "If you don't trust me, this can't work."

"I do trust you." He pressed his lips to her forehead and said softly, "I don't trust him."

"Take me back to class now?" Buffy pulled a face. "I mean, it's maths, but we should go."

"Alright, luv." He helped her up and then pulled her into his arms, hugging her close. "C'mon."

*

"Willow!" Xander called out, dragging Buffy and William behind him as he pushed through the crowds of homebound students to get to Willow.

"Hey guys." Willow grinned. "What's up?"

Xander smiled back at Buffy and William, and turned to Willow, announcing happily, "William and Buffy are sitting in a tree again."

Willow frowned. "Huh? They're right there."

"I know. I meant.. you know.. William and Buffy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S.." Xander trailed off as he saw Angel storming towards them.

"Uh-oh." Willow murmered.

"I smell trouble." Xander said warily. "And cheap cologne."

"Hey, fag-face, you have three seconds to get away from Buffy, alright?" Angel glared at William and grabbed Buffy by the arm, yanking her towards him. She let out a small cry and people passing paused in their way, stopping to watch the latest commotion.

"Let go of her." William warned through clenched teeth.

"No, I don't think so." Angel smirked. "She's mine, or did you forget who she was kissing at the prom?"

Seeing how enraged William was, Xander grabbed Buffy away from Angel only seconds before William hit Angel, his fist connecting with Angel's jaw with force that sent the boy crumpling to the ground. Blood dripping down his face, Angel stared up at William in absolute shock, unable to move.

People started whispering to each other, staring from Angel to William. Someone gasped, "He's crazy," and all eyes flew to William accusingly, but then another said, "Angel had it coming."

Buffy slapped her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle a laugh, but it spurted from her lips anyway. She giggled, burying her face in Xander's shoulder to muffle her laughter. She wasn't sure what was so funny about the situation - Angel was in pain, and although he deserved it, Buffy could see William had done some serious damage. She glanced at William, who looked absolutely horrified with himself, and she laughed harder, relieved as other people joined her. And then William did, and Buffy sagged into his arms, giggles erupting from her as she buried her face in his shoulder.

And then everyone stopped laughing, as a teacher yelled, approaching the crowd angrily, "What the hell is going on here?"

*

"You broke your brother's jaw." Cecily repeated, eyes wide, completely frozen on the sofa as she tried to process the news.

"I'm sorry." William mumbled, struggling to hold in his laughter to the point where tears stung his eyes and blood sept into his mouth, resulting from biting into his tongue too hard.

"You aren't sorry." Cecily spat, standing up and glaring at William. "How dare you?"

"I'm sorry." William repeated, swallowing down hard on his laughter. "I was angry, though."

"You were 'angry'? So you decided to bash your brother's face in?" Cecily shook her head in disgust. "I swear to God, William, I don't know what's becoming of you."

"He's bashed me up for years." William pointed out, his voice wobbling again, which to his relief, Cecily mistook for grief and not supressed laughter.

"William, honey.. I love you. But lately you've been acting so stupidly. Sulking away, lashing out at your brother, and today, you put him in hospital!" Her sympathy for him was gone again, and Cecily was furious as she realized William was laughing. "You little brat. How dare you?"

"Angel's fine."

"I don't care!" Cecily screamed angrily. "You're actually laughing at his misfortune!"

"He's done that to me ever since my dad met you!" William yelled back. "I honestly wish we'd never met you."

"And then he would have spent the rest of his life weeping over that manipulitave, heartless bitch of a mother you had." Cecily snapped.

For a moment, William felt ready to hit Cecily, but he turned his aggression into words instead. "Don't talk about her like that. She was a million times the mother you'll ever be. You've ignored me for years when I've been in pain. You act like you're the one who's suffered! And straight after Dad died, you ran off to England, without a thought as to how I'd cope stuck here alone with Angel."

"Apparently you coped fine." Cecily glared at him. "Of course, this was with Buffy's help. She was Angel's girlfriend and you two went off behind his back! You know, your father always made you out to be this wonderful child. You're a selfish, thoughtless little brat, William."

"Fine." He grabbed his schoolbag up off the floor and headed towards the door.

"You leave this house and I'll never let you back in." Cecily said in the iciest of tones. "You are grounded, William, for a long, long time. Which means no phone, no computer, no car, no-"

"No way. Sods to that." William muttered and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him with force that rattled the windows in their frames. He jumped into his car and revved the engine, heading towards Buffy's house.

*

 

Chapter 19:

"I can't let you stay here forever, William." Joyce frowned at him. "I'm sure your mother is worried sick."

Buffy snorted with laughter. "Yeah. You should hear what she said to him."

"What did she say?" Joyce inquired curiously as she presented William and Buffy with their breakfasts.

"I'll go home soon enough." William assured her. "Thanks, though."

Joyce smiled. "It's alright. I have to go to work, but you kids make sure you stay out of trouble."

"Sure." Buffy smiled at her mother. "Have a great day."

"You too." Joyce called as she ducked out of the kitchen.

Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed as she moved into William's arms. "Thank God she's gone. Now I have you all to myself."

"At least your mother's nice to you." He pointed out sullenly.

"No she's not! She made you sleep on the couch." Buffy pouted and wrapped her arms around him. "I wanted you upstairs, with me."

"Would've been nice, pet. But your mum probably would've castrated me. My mum'll castrate me when I go home, that's for sure."

"Come take a shower with me." Buffy whispered, rubbing his thigh gently. "And leave the castrating until later."

"Sounds good, kitten."

*

William's hands slid over Buffy's wet body as he moved inside her, thrusting slowly as the hot water beat down upon them. She moaned as he pressed her up against the tiled wall, steadying them with one hand, cupping her left breast with the other. William lowered his mouth to her nipple, hard and erect, hungry for his touch. He suckled at it gently, eliciting a cry of pure pleasure from Buffy. She raked her fingers through his wet hair and bucked her hips as he thrust into her harder.

As he pounded into her, Buffy let out soft wails of his name, over and over, as she came closer to climax. Every time she called his name, he'd thrust harder, and finally, Buffy came, screaming his name as her body shook in his embrace. William moaned her name in release and they collapsed against each other.

After catching his breath, he pulled away and stared at her with total love glowing in his eyes. Buffy cupped his face in her hands and smiled. "You're amazing."

"You are." He smiled and kissed her softly.

"You." She insisted.

He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around Buffy as he pulled her out, drying her with a soft caress. She smiled at him as he bundled her up into his arms and carried her back to her room, affectionately nuzzling her wet neck. William laid Buffy down on the bed and pulled the towel away from her, planting soft kisses over her belly and breasts. Buffy smiled, running her hands through his soft locks of hair as his kisses moved further down her body.

This was what she wanted. This was more than she'd ever asked for.. pure happiness. Pure perfection.

*

William returned home at six that night and found Cecily and Angel at the dinner table, both wearing icy expressions. He smiled at Cecily and handed her a bunch of white roses. "I'm sorry, mum."

She visibly melted and smiled at him gratefully. "Thankyou, William."

"S'alright." He turned to Angel. "You alright, mate?"

"Fine." Angel replied gruffly, not meeting William's eye, clearly out of embarrassment.

"I'm sorry for what happened." William said quietly and sat down opposite to Angel at the table.

"Where did you go last night?" Cecily asked curiously as she placed the roses in a vase, admiring them adoringly. "William, these are beautiful."

"I went to B-- um, Xander's."

"He was about to say Buffy's." Angel snapped.

"Did you stay at Buffy's, William?" Cecily asked warily.

"Yes." He shrugged. "Joyce let me stay on the couch."

"I'm going to bed." Cecily stood up and went to kiss William on the forehead. "Thankyou for the roses, honey."

Angel glared at her as his mother went to kiss him. "You're just going to let it go. Him running away. Bashing me up."

"You have a tiny bruise!" William protested. "I didn't break your jaw, I don't know how you came up with that bloody bollocks."

"Goodnight, boys." Cecily said quietly and left the room.

"You're making her miserable." Angel muttered.

"None of this would've happened if you weren't such a pillock."

"Shut your filthy faggot face." Angel hissed.

"I have a girlfriend now, so you can stop calling me that."

"It'll never last." Angel scoffed, smirking at William.

"Did she ever tell you she loved you?"

"N-no." Angel frowned at him. "We weren't ready for that."

"You were together for.. what.. two, three years? And you weren't ready to fall in love." William shrugged. "She's told me she loves me ever since we got together."

"Go fuck yourself." Angel retorted angrily, clenching his fists.

"I don't need to. I'm not pathetic like you, I have a girlfriend to do that." William could sense he'd gone too far before he even spoke the words. Fury flared up in Angel's eyes and he lunged towards William, grabbing him and slamming him against the wall.

"You little son of a bitch." Angel hissed, glaring at William with complete hatred in his gaze. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Let go of me." William snapped, shaking free of Angel's grip. "I don't care, Angel, honestly. I couldn't care any less if you paid me to."

"You've ruined everything." Angel's voice started to waver and, finding the slightest shred of concern within himself, William turned to look at his brother.

"You alright?"

"People think I'm pathetic." Angel said, close to sobbing as he glowered at William. "People think I'm a total loser because somehow a filthy faggot like you ended up with my girlfriend. You don't only get her, you're mom's favourite and you get to go to college and you get to do anything you want because of all the money dad gave you."

"Angel.. are you alright?" William stepped closer to his brother.

"Of course I'm not." Angel really was crying now - tears were falling down his face and, looking totally disgusted with himself, he muttered, "You get everything. How does a loser like you wind up with everything?"

"I.. you.." William was completely bewildered by the change in Angel and sat down beside him at the table. "Look, you'll be fine."

"I won't be." Angel said softly, true pain ringing in his voice.

"You will be, alright?" William patted him on the back uneasily.

"I'm sorry." Angel said quietly, and they didn't speak for the rest of the evening. Now they both were completely confused - they were both still furious with each other, yet they were sitting together companionably, one comforting the other. Even though, for all the years Angel had caused him pain, William wanted to hit him a thousand more times than he already had, and scream abuse at his stepbrother, he didn't. Angel was just as weak as him now, and although William though he'd never understand it, neither asked questions or spoke another word.

Somehow, enough had been said.

*
 

Chapter 20:

"Angel.. Angel was crying?" Xander cracked up laughing. "He was crying?"

"Xander," Willow scolded. "It's not funny."

"It is so! It's Angel. As in brauny, muscly Angel. Angel we're terrified of. Crying!" Xander snorted with laughter again, resting his head on the cafeteria table as he shook with laughter. "What a sissy!"

"What was he crying about?" Buffy asked curiously, stroking William's hand as she held it in hers.

"He said all this stuff about how he was pathetic and how I get everything."

"Like what? Wait, hold on a second." Willow turned and hit Xander on the arm, frowning sternly at him. "It's not funny! People's emotions aren't to be laughed at."

"But it's Angel." Xander sobbed with laughter, banging his fists on the table.

"Angel didn't cry the whole time we were together." Buffy frowned. "Not even once. We broke up like, a thousand times, and he didn't cry. But then again.. that was all trivial. I mean.. not getting into college, that's probably really depressing for him. And what was the stuff about your mom?"

William shrugged and, slightly guilty for gossiping about the whole issue, said quietly, "Mum's been really nice to me since she got back, and she's been ignoring Angel a bit. Guess he feels left out."

"Ha! Momma's boy." Xander wailed with laughter.

"Xander, stop it." Willow glared at him. "How would you feel if it were Angel laughing at you?"

Xander stopped laughing and stared at her in amazement. "Um, Willow.. he's been doing that for years. All of us! William, for being geeky. Buffy, after they broke up. You.. for.. well.. for also being kind of geeky. And me, for just being a loser. He's tormented us for years, and finally, we have a tiny shred of power here. We can tell everyone that Angel Giles is a crybaby momma's boy."

"That's mean." Buffy said softly.

"That's cruel." Willow added.

William frowned at Xander and nodded in agreement with Willow and Buffy. "Yeah, I don't want to do that."

"You people are boring." Xander mumbled and slumped in his seat.

"Well, it's mean, Xander." Willow said, still frowning.

"I'm sorry, are you in love with him?" Xander teased.

"No." Willow stuck her tongue out at Xander. "Angel would need to be a girl for that to happen. And a lot nicer. And a lot smarter."

"And not a crybaby?" Xander turned to William with pleading eyes. "Please? Please, can I just make a few jokes about it to a few people?"

"No." William said firmly.

"Fine, you're no fun." The bell rung and Xander chuckled. "I wonder if Angel's finished with the lunch his mommy packed him. OW! Willow, stop it!"

*

"What do you want to see at the movies tonight?" Buffy asked, eyes shining with affection as she and William walked towards their maths class.

"Don't know, kitten. Just want to be with you." He pulled her to him and kissed her, his lips gently brushing against hers. Buffy shivered slightly and cupped his face in her hands, deepening the kiss as she clung to him in the middle of the corridor.

"Let's not see a movie." Buffy whispered, kissing from his lips to his chin lovingly as she pulled away. "Let's stay home and just.. be together. Like you said."

"Sounds like a plan." He took her hand and they continued walking to class.

"Hey guys." Angel smiled at them as he passed, nodding at them in a friendly way.

Buffy paused in her tracks and stared at Angel as he disappeared down the hall. "What was that? He was almost being nice."

"He was being nice." William said, astonished. "Bloody hell."

"I don't trust him." Buffy said quietly. "He's up to something."

William frowned as they went into the classroom, both equally confused, and even more suspicious. "I reckon so, too, kitten."

*

"Hey Buffy." Angel smiled at her as he came into the lounge room. "Hey Will. What are you guys watching?"

"The Simpsons." Buffy replied quietly, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I'm about to go out, but do you want some popcorn?" He offered, still smiling at them.

Buffy shrugged. "Sure."

Angel headed for the kitchen, humming tunelessly to himself. William turned to Buffy. "I'm gonna go talk to him, okay, pet?"

"Check for bumps on his head." Buffy murmered.

"What are you doing?" William asked as he followed Angel into the kitchen.

"Hmm? Making popcorn." Angel grinned at him. "Butter and salt for you guys?"

"Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice? What's in it for you?"

Angel turned to William with a wounded expression. "Nothing's in it for me. I just want to be nice for the sake of being nice."

William frowned, still unconvinced, and said carefully, with heavy suspicious lacing his words, "It's nothin' to do with trying to get Buffy back, is it?"

There was a long pause, and William demanded, "Is it?"

"Since when are you so insecure?" Angel bit his lip and hung his head slightly. "Right. Look, William.. I know you hate me. I'm just trying to change that, though. I'm trying to be nice and it would be great if you'd just trust that."

"You touch Buffy and I'll kill you."

Angel laughed and shook his head. "Come on, she's crazy about you."

"That is true." Buffy interjected softly, putting her arm around William as she entered the room.

"Damn, I'd better go." Angel smiled at them. "Look, you guys are happy. Why would I disrupt that?"

"Because you're a pillock." William smiled, proving this to be jokingly said.

"And you're a brat." Angel playfully punched him on the arm. "I'll catch you two later."

"That was bizarre." Buffy said, staring after Angel in shock as he left. "Since when did he grow a heart?"

"Don't know." William shrugged and pulled her close. "But we're alone now, luv. That's what matters."

Buffy smiled as he scooped her up into his arms and rested her head on his shoulder. "We graduate next week. No more high school. Not ever. No more jocks and cheerleaders. No more boring teachers or homework."

"Sounds good already." He whispered, pressing soft kisses over her brow.

"Are you still gonna go away?" Buffy asked, fear creeping into her one as he laid her down on his bed.

"If I am, you're comin' with me, kitten." Lying beside her, his arms snug around her waist, William pressed his lips to her shoulder. "I'll be off to England soon, though. See my family and all."

Tensing at the thought of him leaving for even the slightest amount of time, Buffy could only mutter a simple, "Oh."

William turned her in his arms to face him and brushed his lips against hers. "Anywhere I go, I'll take you with me, pet. You're not to worry."

She lost herself in kissing him, though thoughts still fluttered around in her mind. Thoughts of how miserable they'd both been before, of how much they'd suffered. Buffy remembered days of looking in the mirror and running to be sick, afraid she was ugly, inadequate. Now, looking into the glass, all she felt was pride - William made her feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

She remembered his slashed wrists, wounded, bloodied, results of his own self-loathing. The visual proof of his pain was too much to take sometimes - not only the cuts on his wrists, but the hollow, pained look he always looked upon her with. She remembered him locking her out, keeping her away, out of mere fear she'd hurt him or think badly of him like everyone else had. Now Buffy looked into his eyes and only saw happiness, joy.

She sometimes saw the scars, still there, but faded. Simply harsh proof of a painful life that didn't exist anymore. Buffy hoped the scars would one day completely disappear, just as William's problems had. But then again, maybe they'd stay, a memory of how he'd been locked up, sentenced to a life of pain.

And she'd set him free .. just as he had her.


The End