Chapter 8

“Where did you get this?” Buffy asked, fingering the ring on his hand. “It looks really old, and to be honest, kind of ugly.”

He cleared his throat, thinking of what to tell her. “It’s a family heirloom, belonged to my mother. She gave it to me when she passed.”

Buffy glanced up at him, feeling awful for her words now. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know it was that important to you. I shouldn’t have said anything. I guess that explains why you never take it off.”

William nodded, deciding to change the subject. “How are things at school? I only ever see you when you stop by the library.”

“Well, maybe you would see me more if you ever left that place. I don’t know how you can stand being cooped up in there all day, it would drive me crazy.”

He chuckled. “It’s my job.”

“Seems like a waste of a job to me, it’s not like anyone ever actually goes in there.” She silently cursed herself, sitting up in his bed. “Sorry, I can’t seem to stop putting my foot in.”

William pulled her back down to his side, pressing his lips to her forehead. “You don’t have to apologize for saying what’s on your mind. Get some more rest, it’s still pretty early.”

Buffy wasn’t tired, but she shut her eyes and tried to do just that.

William remained awake, finding it hard to look away from her. She had come to mean so much to him in only a few months. He feared what would happen if he ever lost her, but hoped to never find out.


* * * * *


“You know, I’m really starting to love this library. There are so many places to hide in.”

William laughed, making a path down her smooth throat, using his tongue to lick the salt from her skin. “If we get caught, I could be fired. Your school life would be boring without me.”

Buffy trailed her fingers through his hair, bringing his mouth back to hers. “I guess we’ll just have to be very quiet, then. That is if we can manage it.”

He picked her up, holding her against a nearby bookshelf as she wrapped her legs around his waist. William slid his hand under her skirt, pushing her sodden panties out of the way, and slipping two fingers inside of her folds. He caught her squeal with his mouth as she came all over his fingers a couple seconds later.

Buffy panted, resting her head against his shoulder.

William held her close, letting her down after a moment. “See, we can do quiet.”

She slapped his chest, fixing herself up. “You’re just lucky I was right about no one ever coming in here.”

He gave her one more peck on the lips, making his way out of the stacks to see that the place was still just as deserted as ever. “I think we should make more use of the hour by actually getting some studying done.”

Buffy groaned, following him over to a pile of books that occupied one of the tables. She liked what they were doing before a whole lot better.


* * * * *


“You never told me what you wanted for your birthday.”

She shrugged, not really caring to discuss that. “Surprise me.”

William stopped to look at her. “It should be something special. You only turn seventeen once. And when you’re a Slayer…” he trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence.

“Right, I should just count my blessings that I’ve made it this long. I’m not trying to be difficult; I just don’t care to celebrate my birthday. I haven’t had a decent one since I was six; it’s always nothing but a disaster. I would rather just avoid it entirely this year.”

William knew when she wanted a subject dropped, and decided to let it go. They still had three more weeks until her birthday; he would bring it up again later.

“How old was Aria when she died?”

He was taken aback by her sudden question. “She just turned nineteen.”

Buffy nodded, feeling that no more words needed to be said. They just had a nice night out together, one that didn’t end in her staking vampires, and she didn’t want to ruin it by bringing up the past, especially when she could tell how much it still hurt him to talk about.

“Give me your money!” a man yelled, jumping in front of them, a gun in his hand.

William immediately pulled Buffy behind him, even though he could tell she was ready for a fight. Vampires were one thing, but humans with firearms were a completely different situation. “We don’t have anything on us. Just put the gun down, no one has to get hurt.”

He shook his head, raising the weapon higher. “I have to do this, man. I’ve got no choice; just give me whatever you have. I don’t wanna have to use this.”

William stepped closer, possibly making a big mistake in the process, but he didn’t see any other options. “I’ll make a deal with you. Give me the gun, and you can go free. I won’t tell anyone about this. We never saw you, but this isn’t the answer.”

He glanced back and forth between them, his eyes landing on the pretty blonde. “That’s a nice necklace your girl has there. If you hand it over, I’ll let you both go.”

Buffy touched the silver cross dangling from her neck. It was a gift from her grandmother, the only good thing she was ever given and wasn’t about to part with it, not even with this bastard’s threats. “I’m not giving you anything, you sick fuck.”

William glared at Buffy, silently telling her to keep quiet.

“You’ve got a mouth on you, bitch. I’d like to see it wrapped around my cock, while your boyfriend over here watched.”

Buffy laughed. “Is that supposed to intimidate me? You’re pathetic, you know that? Is this how you usually get girls? Wave a gun in their face until they’re scared enough to blow you? Newsflash, asshole, I’m not like other girls.” She attacked him then, trying to get the gun away, but he had a pretty tight grip as he tried to fight her off. Buffy vaguely heard William’s screams in the background, but wasn’t about to lose focus this time. If she didn’t stop this guy, he would only go after someone else, and Buffy couldn’t let that happen.

Before she even knew what happened, the gun went off and their wannabe robber ran away, probably nearly shitting in his pants, which was proof enough that he most likely had no intention of shooting them. She turned back to William, prepared for another lecture, but her eyes widened when she noticed the blood on his shirt. She caught him before he fell, tears stinging her eyes. “No, please, no, this can’t happen to me again. You can’t leave me! I won’t let you!” The tears clouded her vision, but nothing could stop her from seeing what was right in front of her. The bullet lodged in William’s abdomen suddenly popped out, the wound immediately closing, until there was nothing left. It was as if he was never shot at all.

Buffy backed away from him, finally moving her gaze up to his face. With her worry of him dying, she didn’t take notice of the fact that his forehead now had ridges, yellow eyes staring at her instead of the blue that she was so used to. “God, no,” she gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.

William’s face turned back to his human visage, giving her a saddened expression. “Buffy, I can explain.”

Buffy shook her head, moving further away when he tried to step nearer to her, throwing her hand up to stop him in his tracks. “Don’t come any closer,” she said, in a surprisingly calm voice.

“Please, love, don’t be afraid of me. I would never hurt you.”

If it was possible, those words made her cry even harder. “It’s a little too late for that.” With a newly broken heart, Buffy took off into the night.