The Slayer & The Poet

Stanza the 3rd

By Sailor Lum

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Disclaimer: The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Same goes for any characters from Angel that should appear. Any other characters are mine and may be used for other fanfic (Just note that they’re mine if you use them.)

Content rating note: This fic is rated PG-13.

Continuity note: Follows Stanza the 2^nd. This story takes place in an AU season 6, in which Buffy didn’t die at the end of season five. This is only important to know for Buffy and the girls’ state of mind since this is set in 1880. Spoilers for “Fool for Love” and a little “Lies My Parents Told Me.”

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1

Buffy, Willow and Tara sat on the bench in their little clearing at the park, waiting for their new friend to show up. The warm spring breeze flowing through the blossoming trees inspired them to sing a little song.

“Three little maids from school are we~ Filled to the brim with girlish glee~ Three little maids from school~” all sang.

“Everything is a source of fun~” sang Tara.

“La la-la la la-la la la la~” they all sang.

“I don’t know the line after that one~” sang Buffy.

“Three little maaaaids~ from school~” they all finished giggling.

“You know, it’s a good thing no one comes back here,” said Tara.

“Yeah,” laughed Buffy. “Hey, Willow, what time is it?”

Willow pulled a small silver pocket watch out of her dress and said “Fifteen past noon.”

“I think I’m going to get up and see if I can spot William coming down the lane,” Buffy said as she got up and then made her way to the edge of the clearing.

“Somebody likes William~” sang Willow.

“You’d better stuff it! Or I’ll come into your room at night and shave your head while you sleep!” Buffy said, a slight flush coming into her cheeks.

“Oooo~ Somebody really likes William,” said Willow, daring to press her luck.

“You’d better not say anything in front of him! I’m serious! Your ass’ll be grass!” said Buffy.

“Buffy, language!” Tara said.

“Oh, what does it matter? He definitely likes you,” Willow said.

“Well, I haven’t decided if I like him that way yet,” replied Buffy.

Willow snorted. “Please.”

“Well, it’s kind of weird and complicated. He’s kind of Spike,” Buffy said.

“And he’s also kind of not,” Willow replied.

“Are you afraid he’ll turn into Spike?” Tara asked gently.

“No. Not unless he gets vamped. Which is not going to happen. It’s just- I don’t know…” Buffy said, sighing.

“Is it because he looks like Spike? W-Well, he doesn’t really look like Spike but he- he has the same body an’ all. Is that it, Buffy?” asked Tara.

Buffy blushed despite herself and said, “Maybe.”

“Oh~ So if you admit you’re attracted to William, it’s like admitting you were attracted to Spike,” Willow offered.

Buffy didn’t answer, but Willow and Tara took her silence for a “yes.”

“W-Well, Spike was attractive,” Tara said.

Buffy turned to face them for a moment and gave them a slightly quizzical expression. “I didn’t think you guys could tell about that.”

“We can tell an unattractive guy from an attractive one. We’re just not attracted to them,” said Tara.

“Ah,” said Buffy.

“Listen, Buffy. You’re thinking about it too much. If you like him and you’re attracted to him, then go ahead and like him. He’s very nice. Why the heck not? - I say,” said Willow.

Buffy smiled and said, “I guess so.” Then she got a stern look on her face and added, “But you still better not say anything! There’s no guarantee he feels the same way, you know.”

“Okay- Buffy- if he loved you when he was- er, you know what I mean- a vampire, I think I think he’ll love you as a human. Besides, even without that information we can tell he’s totally into you. Right, Tara?”

“Right,” Tara said, nodding her head yes.

Buffy gave them a kind of smirk and then turned back to looking for William.

After a few moments she finally saw him. But he wasn’t on the path. He was ducking behind a tree. She saw him pushing his back into the trunk of the tree and trying to make himself even thinner. Then she noticed him looking behind his shoulder and around the tree. She followed his line of sight and her eyes fell upon a group of well dressed ladies and gentlemen, consisting of two guys and two girls.

The first guy was a blonde with a round face and a handle bar mustache. Like the kind those villains in old cartoons had. The ones that would tie the girl to the railroad tracks and then go ‘Curses! Foiled again!” when the hero saved the day. He seemed to be the alpha male of the group. Buffy had an instant dislike for him.

The second fellow was a dark-haired man with a small, close-cut mustache and a suit almost identical to Alpha Blonde’s. He laughed gaily and seemed to be very enthusiastic about whatever the group discussion was.

In between Alpha Blonde and His Right Hand Man was a brunette girl with ringlet curls piled high upon her head. She was talking excitedly to the two fellows and laughing like the head of the high school snob squad. It was that giddy kind of laugh you’d often hear from people in the midst of having a cruel laugh at someone else’s expense and Buffy took immediate dislike to her, as well.

The other girl was the most prim and proper of the three and had dark curls that were piled all upon her head with little curly tendrils hanging down around her ears. She was also the most quiet of the three and for the most part just walked alongside the group, occasionally answering a question or two from one of the others or offering an opinion when asked. To the casual observer, or the love-struck, she might appear to be just a nice, quiet, and incidentally beautiful girl. But Buffy knew better. There was a haughty air about the girl. She was a Victorian Cordelia.

That other one must be the Victorian equivalent of Harmony, then, I guess, Buffy thought. So, William’s avoiding the ‘in’ crowd. Really avoiding them. I bet they’re that group from the party that was torturing him! I wonder which one is Cecily…Probably, the quiet one. Buffy couldn’t see William going for the gabby brunette.

Buffy stayed in the trees and watched the group pass by. She looked over at William’s tree and saw him take a moment to let out a relieved sigh and collect himself. Poor thing! He’s living in fear of those people! Must resist the urge to chase them down and beat the crap out of them, Buffy thought before returning to Willow and Tara on the bench.

“Did you see him?” asked Willow.

“Yeah, he’s hiding behind a tree from a group of Cordelias.”

“Ooh~ Victorian Cordelias! Poor William!” said Willow.

“I think they might be the group from the party,” Buffy said. “I think I’m going to ask him.”

“Oh, I d-don’t know, Buffy,” Tara said. “M-Maybe you shouldn’t. It might just upset him.”

“I know…but I just have to know. It’s killing me~. I hate them.”

“You don’t even know them,” said Tara.

“And I already hate them,” said Buffy, not budging from her position just because it happened to be irrational.

Then Buffy heard a rustling in the trees and shushed the others. “Here he comes.”

“Greet him nicely first,” Tara warned.

They all turned in the direction of the rustling, with smiles on their faces.

2

William poked his head into the clearing and saw the three girls sitting on the bench and smiling at him like they had yesterday. He smiled back meekly and made his way over.

“Hello, William~” Buffy and Willow said in a singsong voice, punctuated with adoration.

William blushed.

Tara sighed and shook her head.

“What?! We said hello! What’s the matter with that?!” asked Buffy, turning to face the source of the sigh.

Tara ignored her for a moment, smiled, and said, “Hello, William.”

“And she’s ignoring me. How rude,” Buffy said turning to Willow.

“No, I must greet William first, and then he must greet us, and then we can discuss a topic,” Tara explained calmly but not without a little exasperation.

“Oh,” Buffy said, turning forward in her seat and folding her hands in her lap. “My bad.”

William’s mouth twitched up into a nervous smile as all attention turned to him again. William could feel the heat of the flush on his face and when he opened his mouth to speak his greetings, no words came out.

“Listen, why don’t we just skip the greeting and you can go ahead and sit down. We’ll just pretend you said hello,” Buffy said, as she rose from the bench and made her way over to William. She grabbed his hand and led him to the bench.

Before he knew it, he was sitting down on the bench with Miss Buffy and the other girls, and Miss Buffy was still holding his hand. Now along with the hot flush on his face he had the fluttery feeling in his stomach and the pounding in his chest. It made him feel dizzy and he was glad to be sitting down.

“Buffy!” Tara whispered. “Buffy, let go of his hand! Let go of his hand!”

Willow kicked the side of Buffy’s shoe with her own, grabbing her attention. Let go of his hand! she sent.

Buffy looked down at her hand holding his and went, “Oh,” and let go. “Sorry, William.”

William rather wished she hadn’t let go, but then again without her hand around his he could think again. Sort of. “Um…uh…th-that’s alright…M-Miss Buffy…” he said.

“Boy, is it hot out here or is it just me?” Buffy asked lamely, taking out her fan and fanning herself with it.

“You look hot too, William,” Buffy added and then turned her fanning in his direction.

“*cough*Freudianslip*cough*” Willow said fake-coughing into her fist.

Buffy kicked her heel back into Willow’s shoe.

The wind blowing onto William’s face and through his hair from Buffy’s fanning did nothing to decrease his heat, but did give him a shiver, nonetheless. She was smiling at him like no woman had ever smiled at him before. She smiled at him like she meant it.

He would have confessed his love right then and there if that doubting-yet-sensible voice in his head hadn’t spoken up. Don’t even think about saying it, you fool! This is only the third day you’ve met with this woman! Are you mad?! Even a woman as nice as Miss Buffy would laugh in your face! Imbecile!

“Buffy, stop that. That’s not right,” Tara said in a soft yet stern voice.

Buffy stopped her fanning and brought her fan down to her lap with a pout. “I can’t fan him, I can’t say hello to him…What can I do to him?!” Buffy asked.

Willow dissolved into a giggle fit. “I’m not even touchin’ that one,” she said and then melted back into giggles.

“And what was wrong with that hello by the way?!” Buffy asked.

“Yeah, I wanna’ know that, too!” Willow chimed in, stopping her giggle fit.

Tara sighed and summoned the last of her reserves. “Okay, well, I said ‘Hello, William’ like a normal person and you two said ‘Hello, William~’ like giggly school girls with a crush.”

“Well, I didn’t mean it that way~” Willow protested. “I don’t know about Buffy, but-”

Buffy shot Willow a killing look.

“Hey, I’m not a mind reader!” Willow said, with mock innocence.

Before Buffy could reply and make things worse, Tara stepped in. “Okay, that’s enough. I think we all owe William an apology. William, I beg your forgiveness for this horrible scene.”

“What horrible scene?!” Buffy and Willow asked.

“The scene that is still continuing at this very moment since you two won’t stifle yourselves and behave. William has hardly been able to get a word in edgewise with you two arguing and sniping at each other and me.”

“Well, William is free to speak. Go ahead, William. Weigh in,” Buffy said.

William had a distinct look of ‘deer caught in the headlights’ about him.

“Okay, we’ll come back to you,” Buffy said, like she was just doing a nice little talk show.

“No.” said Tara. All heads turned her way. “You and Willow have had the floor all day and now it’s our turn. William and I. And you two are going to sit there and be quiet and not speak again until spoken to.”

“Wow,” said Willow, impressed by her girlfriend’s newfound assertiveness.

“But-” Buffy began.

“No. You put me in charge of etiquette and I’m putting my foot down.” Tara gave them a stern, unmoving look.

Buffy and Willow gave each other a look then turned to Tara and made the ‘zip it, lock it, and throw away the key’ motions across their mouths. William gave this action a puzzling look.

“Okay, now scoot down so I can talk to William a little more easily.”

The two girls looked as if about to protest but did move when Tara got up. They pouted as they scooted down the bench.

“Don’t pout. It’s not ladylike,” Tara scolded as she sat down in the spot next to William.

“I again beg your pardon, William. They mean well, but seem to be having a case of poor impulse control today. Please forgive us,” Tara said.

William flicked his eyes between Tara, and the two girls who were now giving him sad puppy dog looks. “Of- of course,” William replied, looking at Tara shyly.

Tara took a calming breath, smiled at him, and then asked, “So, how are you doing today, William?”

“F-Fine… I th-think.” replied William. “And h-how are you?”

“I’m well, thank you for asking.” Tara said. “We’ve brought another picnic today. Would you still like to join us?”

“Y-Yes, it would be my pleasure,” said William. “Um, Miss Tara?”

“Yes?”

“I- I’m not mad at anyone. R-Really. I’m just nervous, because I’ve never been paid this much positive attention by anyone other than my mum. No one’s ever gone through so much trouble for me before. And you’re all so very sincere. I’d much rather have your sincere attempts at making me feel welcome, than the cold but technically perfect politeness I get from my peers.”

Buffy and Willow put their hands to their chests and gave a whimpering “Aww~” sound in William’s direction.

“Thank you, William. That’s very sweet. I think it’s safe to say we’re all very touched,” Tara said.

Buffy and Willow nodded their heads yes.

Tara could sense that Buffy and Willow were about ready to explode from wanting to speak, and so motioned for them to go ahead.

“How could those people at the party be so mean to you?! You’re just the sweetest thing~! Are they just evil, or something?!” Willow exclaimed.

“Well, as someone who was once part of the popular crowd, a long time ago and far, far away, I can say that I think that they’re just blind idiots. With maybe some insecurity issues. Although, they could be evil, too,” Buffy said.

Buffy got a toothy smile from William as he said, “I don’t know about anything else, but I think they’re definitely blind idiots.”

The girls laughed and returned his toothy grin with their own.

“You go, William!” Buffy exclaimed.

“Go where?” William asked.

“‘Go where?’…What a card!” Buffy laughed.

“No, I think he just doesn’t know that figure of speech,” Tara said and then turned to William. “What Buffy means to say is ‘Way to go. That’s the right idea. Keep it up.’ That sort of thing.”

“Ah,” William said, nodding.

“I don’t know about the rest of you,” said Buffy, “but all this social blundering has worked up an appetite. What say we eat?”

3

William sat on the big picnic blanket with the girls, feeling very full and contented with food and company. The girls didn’t pack the supplies away immediately after eating this time, and instead just sat there with him engaging in small talk and pleasantries.

William basked in his feelings of acceptance.

“So, William, did you ask your mom if you were named after any famous poets?” Willow asked.

William laughed. He’d almost forgotten about that. “Yes, I did this morning. She said it was just a name she and my father happened to like.”

“Oh. Well it’s still an interesting coincidence,” Willow said. “You know, I looked up the meaning of the name William and guess what it means…”

“I haven’t a clue. What?” asked William.

“Protector! Isn’t that cool?” Willow exclaimed.

“Cool?” William asked giving Willow a quizzical expression.

“It means ‘neat’ or something like that,” Tara explained.

“Our town had very many interesting expressions,” Buffy said.

“So I’ve come to discover,” William said smiling. “Protector…I like that.”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Buffy said clasping her hands together. “At the risk of getting yelled at by Tara, I have something I want to ask you, William. It might be a touchy subject though. Is that okay?”

“Um, uh, alright…I suppose,” William said, feeling nervousness creep back into his system again. After all, the last time a woman asked him a question like that, it did not end well.

“Okay, I saw you hiding behind a tree from a group of people and I was just wondering if they might have been the people from the party? I’ve been dying of curiosity all day,” said Buffy.

“You- you saw me?” William asked, horrorstruck that she had witnessed his callow hiding firsthand.

Upon seeing William’s horrified expression, Buffy knew that maybe she should have listened to Tara, but it was too late now. Might as well press on.

“Yeah, I was looking forward to your arrival so I peeked out of the clearing to see if I could see you coming down the path. I’m not always big with the patience.”

Willow and Tara snorted.

Buffy shot them an annoyed glance before continuing.

“You looked pretty, um, freaked out,” Buffy finished.

Oh, God! What must she think of me?! William thought frantically. How can I ever recover from such a callow display?! Oh, God~!

“You know, you looked kind of like how you look now…” Buffy said, feeling very bad that she was the cause of this one.

“Okay, Tara, now you can yell at me,” Buffy said, putting her hand to her forehead. “For I am Buffy, Queen of the Moron People. All bow down before my superior stupidity.”

Willow and Tara stifled their giggles, which wasn’t hard to do with William looking like he had just had his guts ripped out and shown to him.

“I think you underestimated the whole male pride aspect. Which we did too, or we wouldn’t have let you ask,” Willow said.

“W-Well, I never really thought it was a good idea,” said Tara.

“I’m sorry, William! I didn’t mean to embarrass you!” Buffy said, feeling frantic to repair the damage.

“We all oughta’ have ‘I’m sorry, William’ tattooed to our foreheads~” Willow said, pointing to her own forehead for emphasis.

“And we all understand~! We don’t think any less of you~!” Buffy continued. “Do we!? Do we, girls!?” she asked.

Willow and Tara shook their heads, “Nuh uh!”

William looked down and held his hand to his chest, shamefaced. “I- I am deeply shamed~! Deeply~! My apologies that you had to witness such a shameful display, Miss Buffy~!”

“Oh, no~!! Don’t be deeply shamed~!” Buffy said. Crap! Crap! Crap! Now what do I do~?!

In desperation, Buffy grabbed William by the lapels and looked him straight in the face. “Please, don’t be deeply shamed, William~! I don’t want to be responsible for that~! I’m begging you~! Don’t be shamed! Don’t be shamed! I’m not ashamed of you so why should you be?!”

For a while there was nothing but silence as Buffy stared into William’s stunned face, her eyes wide and desperate.

“Besides, she’s already seen you cry. In terms of male pride, isn’t that just as bad if not worse?” Willow reasoned.

“I- I suppose that’s right,” William said, casting his eyes aside.

Buffy let go of his lapels with a sigh of relief.

“I suppose it’s not much more possible that you could think any worse of me than you already did before,” William said, looking down, as if all the wind had gone out of his sails.

“William, you’re missing the point,” Buffy said, grabbing his hand and holding it between her own two hands.

He looked up at her with heartbreaking vulnerability.

“I never thought less of you to begin with,” she finished.

Buffy smiled at him and rubbed his hand for emphasis. William flicked his eyes down to his hand in hers, and then back up to her face again. He could feel his own face begin to flush once more.

“I like you, William. You’re a good man,” Buffy said.

“-And a good man is hard to find!” Willow and Tara chimed in.

Buffy gave them a slightly annoyed look.

“You were expecting us to just let that lie there?” Willow asked.

Buffy rolled her eyes at them and then turned back to William. “Anyway, I just feel bad for you, William. No shame involved. I sympathize, and so do Willow and Tara. We just want to- to-”

“-be able to talk with you and be here for you in your time of need,” Willow continued. “Because, we like you-”

“I already said that,” Buffy said.

“You didn’t include us,” answered Willow before continuing to address William. “-And you’re our friend,” Willow finished.

William looked around his new circle of friends and gave them a small but heartfelt smile. “You are true friends,” he said softly.

“That’s right, and don’t you forget it!” Buffy said, as she gave his hand a small squeeze before letting it go. William’s fingers immediately missed the sensation of her hand.

“And I know I’ve hidden from the dominant social group a time or two hundred,” Willow said. “I used to hide from Cordelia behind the water fountain all the time during freshman year. A word of advice by the way, if they catch you hiding, be ready with a good excuse. Otherwise, it’s total humiliation. You could just say you’re resting against that tree out there.”

“And this Cordelia you speak of…she was part of your social circle?” William asked.

Willow laughed. “Oh, no way!” Then she said, “Well, actually she was for a bit. But that’s a long story. Cordelia was the most popular girl in school. The Big Snob on Campus. I, on the other hand, was one of the geeks. Mousy Willow Rosenberg. We were like at opposite ends of the social spectrum.”

“Ah, so she was a school acquaintance,” William said.

“Yeah, and she was a total B’,” said Willow.

“A bee?” inquired William.

“No, B’ as in the letter B. It stands for something,” Buffy explained.

“Rhymes with witch,” Willow added.

Being a poet, William didn’t have to think about it too long before he guessed its meaning. “Oh…I see…” he said raising an eyebrow.

Tara just laughed and shook her head. “Do you see what I have to put up with, William?”

William laughed and he gave her a bright smile.

“So tell us a little bit about your torturers, William,” said Willow.

“Yeah, who’s who in that snob squad I saw you hiding from?” Buffy asked. “I gave them all cute little names in my head, but I’d like to know who they really are.”

“Cute little names? Dare I ask?” William giggled.

“Yes. There’s Alpha Blonde, His Right Hand Man, Snob Squad Mouth and Cordelia The Sequel.”

William dissolved into hysterical fits of laughter. He ended up doubled over, holding his stomach from laughing so hard, with tears streaming down his face. When he was finally able to speak again he said, “Those names are rather apt!”

“So, who’s who and what do they do?” Buffy asked.

“Well, Alpha Blonde must be Charles Gallows. He’s the fellow who read my poetry aloud at the party and led in the mocking of it. He said he’d rather have a railroad spike driven through his head than listen to any more of its kind.”

“Wow, I bet that would have come back to bite him if you’d become a vampire,” Buffy said laughing.

“Oh, God!” William laughed. “I wouldn’t have done anything that ghastly, I hope!”

“You would have if you were a vampire, I bet,” said Willow.

“Well, I’m certainly glad I’m not one, then!” laughed William.

“Yeah, I bet you’d have been a scary vampire, William. Just think if you were passionate about killing people instead of writing poetry. You’d be called William the Bloody for an entirely different reason then!” Buffy said, winking at Willow and Tara.

“Oh, my!” said William laughing. “Oh, my! That would have been simply dreadful!”

The girls tittered and asked him to go on with his descriptions.

“Let’s see…His Right Hand Man would then be Sawyer Atwood. He was also part of the group that actively mocked me at the party. I knew both Sawyer and Charles at Oxford and at boarding school and they were thick as thieves then just as they are now.”

“Bet that was a fun campus,” Buffy said.

William gave her a quick giggle before continuing. “The Snob Squad Mouth-” He broke off for a short fit of giggles. “-must be Sally Pritchett. She’s a notorious gossip. She’s the one at the party that repeated how I was known as William the Bloody, knowing fully that I was well within earshot. I had only just walked around her, in fact, when she said it.”

“What a total B’!” Buffy said.

“Yes. And no one is safe from her gossip. She’s just much more discreet when she gossips about the more popular people and would never gossip about them in their presence. Not where they could hear her, anyway.”

“So, she’s not just a B’, she’s a queen B’,” Willow said.

“Well that leaves us with Cordelia The Sequel. I’m betting she’s Cecily,” Buffy said.

William sighed. “Yes, Cecily Addams. You’ve heard all about her.”

“Yeah, well she’s a B’ too,” Buffy said. “But I can see where you made your mistake in judging her, William.”

William gave her a puzzled look, and raised an eyebrow to let her know he was interested in hearing her explanation.

“If the way she acted in the brief moment I saw her is any indication, she’s all nice and quiet most of the time. Lulling you into a false sense of security. Until you cross her path and then- wham! - Out comes the venom! It’s the quiet ones you’ve got to watch out for, William.”

“Yes, that seems to be the case, Miss Buffy,” William said. “I thought- I thought that she was like me. Shy and polite. And that maybe- maybe she didn’t make fun of me because she liked me. But I was a fool to think such a silly thing. Although…I’m a good man, am I not?”

“Yes,” the girls said nodding their heads.

“Is there something wrong with me then? That she wouldn’t even give me a chance? That- that makes me…beneath her?”

“You are so not beneath her, William! That is total crap!” said Buffy.

William and the other girls gasped.

“Buffy!! Language!” Tara exclaimed.

“Sorry, but that’s what it is! The nerve of that stuck-up…snobby…expletive deleted!! Beneath her indeed! She wishes you were beneath her! She should be so lucky! I’d just like to hunt her down like a dog and kick her into the next millennium! Makin’ a nice man like you cry…that’s not right!”

“It’s the cowboys! I blame the cowboys! They swear!” Willow said, trying to explain Buffy’s vulgarity.

“Oh, Buffy,” Tara said, shaking her head.

“Please! Don’t sully your lips with vulgarity on my account, Miss Buffy!”

“Sorry, I just hate that Cecily Addams so much! I loathe her! With the white hot passion of a thousand burning suns!”

“Goodness!” William exclaimed. Then a smile began to creep onto his lips despite his best efforts.

“Well, William, at the end of our visit, I was going to ask you if you wanted to make this an everyday event, but now I’m not sure you’d want to,” said Tara, sighing with exasperation.

“E-Everyday?” William asked.

“Yeah, since we come to the park at the same time almost every day, we figured we could make a regular meeting of it,” said Buffy.

“A-A standing invitation? Oh, that would be lovely!” William said.

“It would?” the girls asked.

“Yes, I stand by my earlier statement about sincerity verses etiquette.”

“Yay! This means we get to see William everyday! Unless one of us can’t make it; then we send a letter,” Willow said.

“Now we all stand for a group hug!” Buffy said.

The three girls stood immediately.

“P-Pardon?” William asked.

“A group hug. Watch,” Buffy replied.

“Group hug!” the girls exclaimed as they hugged each other all at once.

“See?” Buffy asked.

William stood up, but wasn’t sold on the idea of a group hug. It didn’t seem appropriate to hug just one of the women, let alone all three at the same time.

“Come on, William. It’s not like we’re asking you to have an orgy or something,” Buffy said.

William knit his brow in unbelieving shock that Miss Buffy would even know what an orgy is.

Willow and Tara laughed.

“Well, it’s not!” Buffy exclaimed. “It’s just a nice, innocent, group hug between friends.”

“Um…” William said.

Even Tara could not deny the call of a group hug and all three girls moved forward on William, circling him in a warm hug.

“Group hug!” they exclaimed as they hugged him close.

William was too stunned to hug back. So much womanly flesh pressed against him. And then it was over and the girls began to pack up their picnic. After they were done, they found William in exactly the same spot, just as they left him.

“Maybe the group hug was a bit much,” Willow said.

Unfazed, Buffy said, “So, we’ll see you tomorrow?” She put her hand on his arm and unconsciously gave him an adoring look.

William managed to nod his head yes.

“Okay, we’ll see you tomorrow then!” Buffy said cheerfully.

William nodded his head again and then remembered his manners. “Ladies, it was a pleasure. Until tomorrow,” he said bowing.

The girls smiled and bowed back.

4

William left the little clearing feeling dazed. So dazed in fact, that he didn’t even bother to check to see if anyone he knew was about before leaving the clearing and walking on the path.

She hugged me~! And touched my arm~! And held my hand~! Twice! William replayed every touch given to him from Miss Buffy in his head. And then he remembered that those weren’t the first times she had touched him either. He added the memory of her hugging his arm to her on the first night they met to his memory loop, and sighed.

And I get to see her everyday~! William thrilled at this thought. He enjoyed the company of Miss Willow and Tara as well of course, but it was Miss Buffy he was in love with.

Soon, William walked right by Charles Gallows and the others, oblivious to their reappearance at this side of the park.

They certainly noticed him, however.

Charles spun around and grabbed William’s shoulder, turning him to face the group.

“William! You’re out! We thought you might be dead!” Charles said with a mocking bluster.

“Indeed, William! We were quite worried!” Sally said, curving her lips into a wicked smirk.

“What have you been doing with yourself?” asked Sawyer, in an obviously condescending tone.

Cecily turned her head, refusing to look at him directly. At first she had felt sympathy and a little regret about being so harsh with him, but with all the gossip she’d been forced to endure over the past month, she’d eventually lost her sympathy for him. If only he hadn’t written those dreadful poems~! It’s all his fault I have to endure such embarrassment~! What kind of a fool is he to think he had a chance with me anyway?! Now all I ever hear is ‘How is William? Have you seen William, yet? Neither have we. I wonder if he’s committed suicide over you. Poor thing. Ha ha ha ha ha.’ It’s intolerable!

It took awhile for William to register what was happening. Fortunately, he didn’t have the mental energy to work up much of a panic. Most of his brain cells were still in shock from the wonderfully strange day he’d had.

William blinked at them a few times and then said, “I- I’ve been under the weather,” in a small voice.

“Oh, really?! That’s too bad, William. What did you have?” asked Charles.

A broken heart, you sadistic twit! William thought.

William swallowed and tried to think of something- anything to say. “S-Some kind of flu, I suppose.”

“That must have been some flu~!” said Sawyer, smirking.

“Poor~ William,” Sally said with mock concern plastered on her face.

“I- I’m still not feeling quite up to par, so I really must be going home now,” William said, hoping to escape the conversation quickly.

Charles wasn’t about to let William go so easy. “But, William! You haven’t even said hello to Cecily yet!”

Cecily huffed and walked away from the group, while the rest of the Snob Squad laughed gaily.

William gave them a sour look and found that he wasn’t destroyed like he thought he would be. If this had occurred two days ago he surely would have been, but now he didn’t care so much. It still hurt and he was still humiliated, but he didn’t feel the need to throw himself off the Magazine Bridge. At the very least, he now had friends that cared about him.

“I really must go,” William said as he turned on his heels and walked away.

The Snob Squad laughed like demented hyenas behind him.

5

“Buffy and William sittin’ in a tree~”

“Shut up~.”

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G~”

“I mean it!”

“First comes love~ Then comes marriage~ Then comes a baby in a baby carriage~.”

“Guys~!” Buffy whined.

Willow and Tara cackled.

“You like him~ You love him~ You want to have, like, ten million of his babies~,” they teased.

“What are you?! Twelve?!” Buffy asked.

Willow and Tara continued to playfully tease Buffy throughout the entire carriage ride home.

6

“You were gone a little longer today,” said Anne, smiling at her son who had just returned home and was now standing in front her in the sitting room.

“Yes, I had a lovely time, Mother! And they have given me a standing invitation to meet with them at the park everyday! I think I have finally found a group of true friends to call my own!” William said, beaming down at her. He had decided to gloss over any difficulties.

“Oh, that’s wonderful, darling!” Anne said capturing her son in a hug. “Simply wonderful! You must invite them over!”

William cuddled her close and said, “I will, Mother.” Then he pulled back to face her and said, “But not just yet. It would seem much too forward.” It wouldn’t really, not to them, and they’d accept if he asked, but it was a good excuse to give them some time to work on their etiquette.

“Of course, you’re right. I don’t know what I could have been thinking. You’ve only just begun your friendship with them and they aren’t men, after all,” Anne said, well aware that it was strange for her son to have made friends with a group of all women, and that women did not usually call on unmarried men in their homes.

Then Anne thought of something she’d been meaning to mention yesterday. “William, you mustn’t forget your other social obligations. You need to start making at least some of your regular calls. We can say you’re feeling a bit weak from illness and only have the strength for a few. But you mustn’t appear to be snubbing your entire social circle.”

William let out a sigh. “I know. You’re right, Mother. Perhaps I’ll call on the Pemberton household tomorrow after I meet with my friends.” My friends. It felt good to say it.

“Yes, that would be-” Anne began before a fit of coughing took her.

William quickly brought her a handkerchief and helped her back to her seat on the couch.

“Would you like me to stay a bit with you?” William asked.

“Yes…and would you mind perhaps…playing the piano for me? I haven’t heard you play in so long,” Anne said.

“As you wish,” William replied giving her a small smile.

He made his way over to the piano and began to play ‘Early One Morning.’

7

Buffy lay in her bed that night, staring up at the canopy and thinking about the whole William business. She knew that she liked-him liked him, but she was not about to admit it to Willow and Tara yet. If she admitted it, then it would feel that much worse if it turned out he didn’t feel the same way.

It’s not that she didn’t think he was attracted to her. She pretty much knew that. And she knew he at least liked her as a friend. But she worried she might not be marriage material in his eyes and she couldn’t see him dating or courting casually.

I can’t cook, I can’t sew, and I’m neck-and-neck with Willow for The Worst Etiquette Ever Award. And I swore in front of him. Although I guess that goes along with the whole bad etiquette thing.

Buffy sighed.

But I’m pretty.

Buffy sighed again.

She didn’t think William was so shallow as to fall for a pretty face only. Even as Spike, he liked her for more than her looks.

Oh, God! What if he wants an academic type? Well, I’m toast, if that’s a requirement.

Buffy groaned and rolled on her side.

My only hope is sheer charisma.

Then she sat up in bed, a thought striking her.

Wait a minute~ I barely know him and I’m worrying about being marriage material?

Yup, a voice from somewhere inside her spoke up.

Crap. Oh, no. Not that… Dammit! Stupid love. Why’d he have to be so sweet and adorable~? Now if he didn’t love her back, it would torture her.

Well, I guess I’m going to need some Victorian-style advice, so I guess I’ll have to tell Willow and Tara I like-him like him. But I’m not sayin’ boo about love.

And they’ll probably tell me I have to wait for him to come to me. And I hate waiting.

Buffy sighed once more and then finally began to drift off to sleep.

--- To Be Continued . . .

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