Summary: Buffy Summers, notorious bad girl at home in California, has been sent away to a small town in rural England to live with a distant relative. How can she possibly relieve her boredom? By seducing her shy, impressionable neighbor, of course.
Author's Notes: This isn't a straight PWP, but I doubt there will be much of a plot to it anyway. Just an idea that popped in my head and wouldn't go away. So don't go looking for some deep meanings and themes, 'cause they ain't there.
Dedication: For my favorite diva, 'cause I know she needs a little something to make her smile right now…
Rating: NC-17
Chapter 21
William spent most of the day Friday trying to come up with a way to get Buffy back. He rejected every plan that come to his mind, nothing seeming to be quite the right way to convince Buffy that he wanted her for more than sex and that her past wasn't something he was going to let come between them.
Finally, he accepted what he needed to do. In some ways it was the simplest plan, but it also felt like the most difficult.
He had to tell Buffy that he loved her.
The idea had him in a near panic, even as he tried to look at it rationally. He'd already lost her, so it wasn't as if it could really ruin the relationship further. Maybe it would actually work in his favor and Buffy would want his love—would want to stay with him.
And maybe she would throw his declaration back in his face the same way Cecily had.
It was that fear that made William keep hesitating. Cecily's rejection had hurt, but he knew Buffy's would be a thousand times worse. If she laughed at him and mocked his feelings he didn't think he'd be able to take it.
But would Buffy do that? Was that the kind of woman he had spent the past week with, that he had fallen in love with? He remembered all the times Buffy had urged him to believe in himself, to be strong, to stop thinking he was nothing. No, Buffy wasn't at all cold-hearted like Cecily.
Finally, William had his mind firmly set. He would go to her right then, tell her how he felt. Buffy had made him a man
It was time he started acting like one.
*** *** ***
William took a deep breath when the front door of Buffy's house started to open, telling himself that he could do this—that he had to do this. He looked up at the man who had answered the door, taking a deep breath before he spoke, "Mr. Giles—I do apologize for the late hour, but it is important that I speak with Buffy."
Giles had hoped William would come through after all, and he was certain that's why he was there then. He had every bit the look of a lovesick boy desperate to win back the object of his affections. "I'm sorry, William, Buffy isn't here. She's attending a party with a school friend of hers, a Miss Willow Rosenberg."
"Oh," William said, his disappointment obvious.
"However, if you'd be willing to wait a moment, I could ask my driver for the address of where he dropped off the girls."
Hope returned to William's eyes. "Would you?"
"Of course. Please, come in while I make the inquiry."
William nodded, saying a quick thank you as he stepped into the house. Perhaps this night would go well for him after all…
*** *** ***
As soon as he walked through the door, William remembered why he hated parties. It was too loud, too crowded, and he couldn't find Buffy anywhere. He sighed, just about to start asking around, when he felt a tug on his arm. He turned, frowning at who he saw. "Oh. Cecily. It's you."
"William, I must speak with you," Cecily said, biting her lip in a way William assumed she thought was provocative. If that were indeed the case, William found her to be sadly mistaken. "It is rather important."
"I don't have the time right now, Cecily," William replied, pulling his arm out of her grasp.
"Please, William. Don't make me beg you." She grabbed his arm again, pulling him away from the crowd and into another room. "Does this remind you of anything?" she asked once they were alone.
"No," William replied, annoyed. "Should it?"
"It's much like the situation we were in when you first professed your love for me," Cecily said with a coy smile.
William frowned. He guessed the rooms were somewhat similar. "Then it's also much like the situation where you rejected me—like quite a bitch, I might add."
"I know. Oh, how I regret that night!" She paused, looking into his eyes. "William, I really do love you. I was a fool before, for what I said to you. I didn't mean it, darling!"
William stared at her for a moment. Only a short time ago, those words would have filled him delight. Now they only filled him with nausea. How could he have ever thought this woman was anything special? And Buffy had been right about her eyes. They did bulge in a rather disturbing fashion. He frowned. "Cecily, I…"
Suddenly, Cecily had grabbed him and kissed him. William froze for a moment, her unexpected action putting him into shock. But soon he realized what was happening and pushed her away in disgust, frantically wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Cecily's kiss did nothing to him that Buffy's kisses did, the whole experience being not a thing but unpleasant.
"I don't love you, Cecily," William replied angrily. "I don't even like you. I think you're a horrible, selfish person. What you did to Buffy to come between us was cruel. I have never seen anyone so petty in my life. Any feelings I may have felt for you in the past were based on my own personal delusions, and I can promise you I am quite over them."
"Because of that slut Buffy Summers? Please, William!" Cecily screeched. "She isn't good enough for you. You're a baron, William—she's nothing but a whore!"
Cecily's words made a few things click into place for William. "You told the same thing to Buffy on Wednesday, didn't you?" he accused.
"It's the truth, William. If you can't see it…"
William grabbed Cecily by the arms. "Listen to me, you bloody little bint. You stay far away from Buffy," he snarled, his anger clear in his eyes. "She's better than you'll ever be, you daft cow."
Cecily trembled. "William! You're frightening me!"
"I'll do more than that if you ever come near Buffy again," William sneered. He dropped Cecily and turned towards the door.
"You'll regret this," Cecily said, rubbing her sore arms.
"The only thing I regret is being fool enough to believe I cared for you," William replied.
He went back to the party, searching for Buffy. He asked several people, the general consensus being she had been there but since vanished. And something about Cecily and a fork?
After an hour, William came to the conclusion that she had left. Cursing under his breath, he stormed out of the party, determined to hunt her down, even if it took him all night.
*** *** ***
"I'm sorry I'm being so un-fun tonight," Buffy said to Willow as they both sat on Buffy's bed, an assortment of snack foods between them.
"Don't worry about that at all," Willow replied. "You have the right to be sulky-girl right now. I would be, too."
"Still, you're probably wishing you'd just stayed back at school in the dorms."
"Uh, no," Willow said. "This is my first weekend away from that place all year. I would definitely rather be here than there. Besides, you need a friend right now."
"I do. I'm really glad you're here. I'm not sure I could be handling things too well right now if I was alone."
"You don't have to. I'll…" Willow stopped. "Did you hear something?"
"No. Like what?" Buffy asked with a frown.
"Some sort of tapping." Both girls were quiet for a moment until Willow said, "I heard it again."
"Me, too, that time," Buffy said, rising to her feet. "It sounds like someone's throwing stuff at the window." She walked over, opening the curtains and then the window itself, looking out. She gasped when she saw William standing beneath it. "What do you want?" she snapped.
"Buffy, please, I need to talk to you," William replied. "It's important."
The image of him kissing Cecily played over and over in Buffy's mind. "I have nothing to say to you, William."
"Buffy, please, just give me a few minutes…"
"No! Go away, William! I don't ever want to see you again!" She slammed the window shut and pulled the curtains closed.
Willow had come up behind her when she had heard Buffy yelling at William. "Are you gonna be okay?" she asked softly.
"I…I think so," Buffy replied, even as fresh tears were forming in her eyes. "I can't believe he came here. What, did Cecily turn him down again, so he thought he'd try to see what he could get from his old stand by?"
Willow gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry, Buffy. I really wish William hadn't turned out to be such a jerk."
"Yeah, me, too." Buffy walked back over to the bed, sitting on the edge. "I really thought he was different. He seemed like such a nice guy, and I was really starting to believe that that's what he was. But I guess I was wrong again. Stupid, naïve Buffy, falling in love again even after having her heart ripped out before…" She sighed. "And you know what the worst part is? I still love him. After all of this, my heart should just kick him out, y'know? He's apparently not the man I thought he was, so I should just stop loving him. But I can't. I still want him so badly, Willow."
Willow sat down beside her. "Love sounds rough."
"It is," Buffy said, wiping at her eyes. "It's so tempting to just crawl back to him and beg him to keep me at least a little while longer, but I can't. I did that with Angel, and things only got worse. I have to be strong this time like I wasn't then. I can't allow myself to get walked all over."
"I'll be here with you this weekend, make sure you stay strong," Willow offered.
"Thank you. I really appreciate it. It'll be better having a friend around to keep my mind off of William-y type things." Buffy took a deep breath and let it out. "But would you be disappointed if I was ready to just go to sleep now? I'm worn out."
"Of course I wouldn't," Willow replied. "I'm pretty tired myself, actually."
"Okay." Buffy stood. "I'll walk you over to your room."
Willow got up and followed Buffy out.
*** *** ***
William walked dejectedly back to his house, fighting tears. He was tired of crying, tired of feeling so weak. The tears had seemed to be ever present since Buffy had walked out of his bedroom two days ago and he wished they'd stop. He was feeling pathetic.
He went up to his room, not bothering to turn on the lights as he walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge, facing Buffy's bedroom. The curtains were drawn, closing her off to him. He longed for the days when they'd been open, and not just for the sort of voyeuristic treat Buffy had given him the night they'd met. Everything had seemed brighter with her there, as if the light she exuded pierced through the darkness his life had been before he'd met her. She was radiant, his golden goddess.
"This is the east, and Juliet's the sun! Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who's already sick and pale with grief," William said aloud, his words followed by an almost hysterical laugh. The tears he'd tried to fight off earlier were coming now, and he wiped them away roughly, cursing his heart for breaking.
He saw now that he was an idiot for believing he could simply talk to Buffy and make everything go back to the way it had been. She'd never loved him and losing him seemed to mean little to her. She could still party with her friends. She could dismiss him easily, banishing him from her life without a second glance.
She never wanted to see him again… He'd decided in the beginning that he'd do anything for Buffy, but how could he grant such a request? How could he spend the rest of his life without the woman he loved?
It seemed to be impossible. While he knew that he'd spent much more of his life without Buffy than with, she'd managed to turn his whole world upside down when she'd stepped into it. He couldn't go back to the way things had been before now that he knew the way they could be.
But there was nothing he could do to change it. If that was how Buffy felt, then it was truly over.
William would just have to learn to live without her.
"I trust you young ladies both slept well last night," Giles said as he walked into the dining room where Buffy and Willow were having breakfast.
"We did," Buffy replied, though it was far from the truth. Even with as tired as she'd been, Buffy had found sleep almost impossible after the events of the night. She had tossed and turned, finding any sleep at all only in short, fitful dozes.
"Did William find you last night?" Giles asked. "He came by around nine o'clock, asking for you. I told him you were at the party."
"He was there," Buffy replied. "But he didn't find me—he found Cecily."
Giles gasped slightly. "Cecily Underwood ? Are you certain? He seemed quite determined to speak to you specifically."
"Well, apparently that was before he got all lip- locky with Cecily," Buffy replied. "Because that's what he was doing there."
"Are you positive that's what you saw?" Giles asked with a frown.
"Yes. It's not really something I could forget, Giles," Buffy replied.
"I'm sorry, Buffy," Giles said. "If I had any idea William was going to do that, I never would have sent him. But he seemed so desperate to see you…"
"It's not your fault," Buffy told him. "You had no way of knowing William was going to be such a…" Buffy frowned. "Well, such a seventeen-year-old boy."
"Still, I am sorry. I'm sorry that you're hurting."
"Thanks, Giles, but I really am doing okay. And Willow and I are going shopping later, so I can just spend these blues right away."
Giles had been around long enough to recognize the lie for what it was, but he let it stand for the time being. "All right then. But if you need me for anything, I am here."
"I know."
He patted her shoulder. "I have some work to do, but you can call me if you need to. Have a good day, both of you."
"Thanks Giles—you, too."
Giles walked out of the dining room, his brow creasing as he tried to figure out exactly how William had gone from standing on his doorstep desperate to see Buffy to kissing Cecily.
Something didn't add up.
*** *** ***
"William, darling, are you in here?"
William rolled over at the sound of his mother's voice on the other side of his bedroom door. He guessed it must be Sunday since she'd called and told him that was when she'd be back, though the past couple of days had been pretty much a blur. He said nothing, not wishing to speak to anyone.
"William? Sweetheart?" The door opened, his mother poking her head in. She gasped when she saw her son, hurrying over to the side of the bed, sitting down. "Are you all right?"
"Not particularly," William muttered.
"What happened? Are you ill?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
His mother looked him over, taking in his disheveled appearance and red-rimmed eyes. "You've broken up with your girlfriend, haven't you?"
"She never wants to see me again," William replied. "Never…"
"Oh my poor boy," his mother said, reaching out to stroke his hair. "What happened?"
"I don't know. She thinks I thought something that I don't think at all, and I tried to explain, but she wouldn't listen, and now she's just gone…" William replied, a lump forming in his throat.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know she meant a lot to you. And that the two of you were…very close."
William sat up, looking at his mother in suspicion. "What do you mean by that?"
"William, Kathleen found a pair of women's underwear in your sheets quite a few days ago when she was doing the wash. I assumed they were not yours."
William blushed a deep red. "Mother, I…I'm sorry, I didn't…"
"Dearest, it's all right," his mother said with a small smile. "I'm not going to lie and say it puts me at ease thinking of my teenaged son in a physical relationship, but I'm not so naïve as to think such things don't happen. I was young once myself , you know. I was seventeen when I met your father…"
William's face went from red to pale. "Mother! Please!"
She held up her hands. "All right, I won't say anything else. Just letting you know you weren't really pulling anything over on your mother, young man."
The blush returned. "I didn't mean for things to get the way they did with Buffy. It just…"
"Happened. I know, William. I do need to ask, though—did you use protection?"
William squirmed slightly, unable to believe he was actually having this conversation with his mother. And how was she saying these things with a completely normal expression? "Yes, we did. Buffy uses birth control pills." He looked away from her as he spoke.
"At least you were being responsible. That's the most a mother can really hope for, I suppose." She patted her son's leg. "When did you break up?"
"Wednesday. I tried to find her Friday and tell her how I feel, hoping I'd get her back, but she didn't want to listen. Didn't even want to have me around."
"What did you do?"
"I upset her, I guess, but she misunderstood what I was saying and wouldn't let me explain."
"If it was a misunderstanding, can't you just talk to her, tell her what really happened?"
"Tried. She wouldn't let me." William sighed. "She's not interested in me, Mother. Not anymore. There's a boy back in California, I suppose she still has feelings for him."
"Did she tell you this?"
"No."
His mother frowned. "So how do you know?"
"I just know. I really don't wish to talk about it."
"William, honey, I really believe you need to speak to Buffy, see what you can do to straighten all this out."
"I tried! She won't listen. How can I talk to her if she won't have anything to do with me?"
She pushed his hair away from his forehead. "Try one more time, William. Perhaps she has softened in her anger towards you."
"I've tried enough. I knew she wouldn't stick around anyway. Why should she? I'm just poor, pathetic William the Bloody Awful Poet."
"You are far from pathetic."
"You have to say that 'cause you're my mum," William muttered.
"No, I don't. And I'm not. I'm saying that because I'm the mother of a wonderful boy. And really, I do think you should try to speak to Buffy again."
William looked away. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. How are Winifred and Wesley?"
His mother frowned, but decided not to press the subject any further. The boy could be as stubborn as his father sometimes…
*** *** ***
The first thing Buffy noticed when she showed up at school Monday was how many people looked at her and laughed. She had looked in the mirror before she'd left the house and knew she didn't have anything embarrassing on her. So why were they doing that?
She got her answer when she walked into the building. The halls were covered in papers—photocopied police reports, tabloid stories, and pictures. She snatched one picture off the wall of her in a particularly compromising position and tears formed in her eyes before she crumpled it into a ball, throwing it to the ground in anger. She marched over to her locker, stopping short when she saw what was written on it.
Whore . In bright, red letters.
"Look over there, it's Slutty Summers," she heard someone sneer from behind her. "I heard she was a porn star back in the States."
"I heard she's a total nymphomaniac and tries to have sex with every bloke she sees."
"I bet she has all sorts of diseases."
Buffy refused to turn and look around, even as the girls burst into a fit of giggles. She opened her locker and got out her books before shutting it back and walking with her head up high to her first class.
They would not break her.
*** *** ***
Buffy hadn't been in her first class of the day very long at all before she was called to the office. She sighed, preparing to pack her bags for another suspension—or expulsion. If history had taught her anything, it was that the school administration would always place the blame on her, even when in fact, she was the victim.
She stopped short, her eyes widening, when she walked into the headmaster's office and saw that Cecily was there as well. The headmaster looked up, waving Buffy in. "Please, Miss Summers, have a seat."
Buffy did as she was told, inching to the far side of her chair so she could be as far as possible from Cecily. Just being in the same room with the brunette made her feel ill.
The headmaster cleared his throat, leaning slightly forward with his hands clasped on his desk. "Now, I know that you're both aware of the incident that occurred this morning regarding a redecorating of our halls."
Cecily flipped her hair. "I certainly don't see why I have to be here for that . If Buffy feels the need to advertise her 'talents' in our school…"
"Silence, Miss Underwood!" the headmaster snapped. Cecily slunk back in her seat, fear obvious on her face now. "You are here because surveillance tapes from last night clearly show you not only as the culprit of this heinous, inexcusable prank, but also breaking into the building in order to do it. These are actions we will not condone at our institution. Furthermore, your continued harassment as well as tendency to display personal, private files—that you no doubt obtained in an unacceptable manner—pertaining to Miss Summers has put you and your family in a position to face serious legal action, which would bring nothing but negative attention to our school and distraction to the other students."
"It…it was just a joke!" Cecily protested. "It wasn't a big deal."
"It was cruel, Miss Underwood," the headmaster snapped. "Some jokes are simply not humorous, and this is one of them. What you have done to Miss Summers is horrendous, as is your complete lack of remorse. The qualities you have displayed are not ones that we look for in the girls we educate here. There is an officer waiting outside to escort you to gather your things and then off of campus. You are not welcome back."
Cecily gaped. "I'm…I'm expelled?"
"Yes," the headmaster responded simply.
"You…you can't do this! I'll never get into Cambridge with this on my record!"
"You should have thought of your ambitions before jeopardizing them all with your unintelligent actions, Miss Underwood. It appears that your continued torment of Miss Summers was more important to you than anything else, and you shall now pay the price for such behavior. You are dismissed."
"No! This isn't fair! Buffy attacked me last week, and she only got a three day suspension! How can I get expelled for this?" Cecily screeched.
"Last Wednesday was Miss Summers' first disciplinary problem since arriving here, and in light of recent events, I have no doubt in my mind that she was provoked. This is far from yours, Miss Underwood. Now please, you can either leave campus under your own power or you can be forcibly removed. It's your choice."
Cecily stood up, flipping her hair haughtily. "Fine. I'll leave." She turned to Buffy, her face and voice menacing. "Don't think I'll let you get away with this."
"Miss Underwood!" the headmaster exclaimed. "That threat you just made to Miss Summers is noted should her guardian, Mr. Giles, decide to pursue legal actions regarding your continued harassment of Miss Summers."
Cecily blinked. "What?"
"Means if you don't leave me alone, we're going to sue your skanky ass," Buffy replied with a smug smile.
"And under such circumstances, the matter of breaking into the school may merit further attention," the headmaster added. "In which case, time in jail may be a very real possibility."
At that, Cecily said nothing more, simply paling as she hurried from the office.
"Well, I can't say that didn't just make my morning—'cause it did—but can I ask why I was called to the office? " Buffy asked once Cecily was gone.
"I spoke this morning to Mr. Giles regarding this incident. He said you may wish to be present for the disciplinary actions against Miss Underwood."
"And he was way right," Buffy said. She cleared her throat. "Thank you."
"You were made a victim here, Miss Summers, and for that I am deeply sorry. This is not the sort of environment we wish for our students here. Whatever your problems may have been in the past, you have been an exemplary student since your first day here. Your grades and your attitude have been impressive, and I have noticed in you a kindness that is not present in Miss Underwood or any of her social group. Where they tormented Miss Rosenberg, you have befriended her, bringing out a marked improvement in the girl's mood. These are things we recognize here and reward. Miss Underwood's behavior was nothing above that of a common hoodlum, and that we do not reward. And please, do not hesitate to come to me should anyone harass you further regarding this or any matter. We shall have no tolerance for that at all."
Buffy blinked for a moment. She was a model student? Whoa… "Thank you," she said softly.
"It is my pleasure, Miss Summers. You are a very bright girl, and we are proud to have you here at our fine institution. Now please return to class."
Buffy stood. "Thank you again," she said quickly before exiting the office.
She walked back to class with a smile on her face.
*** *** ***
Buffy went straight to Giles's library after school, finding him there at his desk. "The strangest thing happened to me today," she said, getting his attention. "Granted, this morning as pretty strange finding my life's history plastered to the walls, but after that, I was called into the office to watch Cecily Underwood expelled. Any thoughts on that?"
"I did warn the Underwoods ," Giles replied. "See Buffy, I give a rather large charitable donation every year to the school. Should Cecily have been allowed to remain there, those donations would cease."
"You blackmailed the school to get Cecily out? For me? You're like the coolest dad ever!" Buffy exclaimed, running over to Giles and throwing her arms around him.
Giles's smile was almost embarrassed as he returned Buffy's sudden embrace. "Yes, well, I couldn't allow her to continue in such a manner. It was interfering with your education."
Buffy pulled up, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Bah. You did it 'cause you wanted to get back at Cecily for picking on me."
"Yes, well, I suppose that may have had something to do with it," Giles replied, taking off his glasses.
"See—the best." Buffy kissed his cheek, making him blush. "Really, thank you. For everything you've done."
"I'm happy to, Buffy. And Cecily did have it coming."
"Boy did she ever." Buffy stepped back. "I'll let you get back to your work now. See you later, Giles."
"All right, Buffy. Let me know if you need me for anything."
"I will."
Giles watched Buffy go, hoping this was only the first of things to get better in her life. The other thing he was wishing would correct itself may take more time, but as of that afternoon, steps had been made. He'd just have to cross his fingers and pray that everything worked out for the best.
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