Buffy looked out the window to her small apartment with disdain. She hated
this place, but her job as a waitress didn't afford much choice in homes.
Her mom had been hounding her to find a new job, and therefore, a new place
to live. Buffy loved the idea, but as she had found out in the past month,
it was better said then done. She had taken to scanning both the job ads
and the housing ads in the daily paper. She had found many great apartments
that way.
Great apartments that she would be able to rent in say, 50 years. She was about to give up when a section caught her eye. It was almost never in the paper anymore, so she was mildly interested. Buffy scanned through the ad quickly. Mid 20's male seeking 2 flat mates to share expenses and large flat. Utilities split 1/3, rent $225 per person. Male or female. 555-3202, 3529 #202 West End AVE, Sunnydale. Apply by phone or in person. Ask for William.
Buffy was more then a bit surprised. She re-read the ad, and looked out the dingy window again. She paid almost $400 for this dump, and had to add on top of that a ridiculous amount for gas and electric. Phone was an extravagance that she had given up on nearly a month earlier, to say nothing of cable TV. She looked at the address again. It wasn't the prettiest neighborhood, but it was a good deal better then this district. She tugged at her lip, and finally her mind decided it was at least worth checking into. It was cheaper then where she was, and so long as the place wasn't a dive, it would be worth having roommates.
She glanced once more at it, and her brow quirked at the word Flat instead of Room. Odd, she thought. Maybe he's British, like Giles. She went into her bathroom, and pulled off her pajama's, and pulled on a thin red sweater. She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, and then tugged a brush through her long hair. She didn't have to work until later that afternoon, so she had plenty of time to stop by.
Buffy locked the door as she left, though she knew she really didn't have much worth stealing. She hurried down the steps, and came out into the slightly chilly mid-morning, and she stopped to glance at her watch. She had just enough time to get to the bus stop before the right bus would arrive. Buffy walked briskly towards the stop, and waited for the West End bus to arrive. It would drive towards the nicer neighborhood, and from there, she could walk to the apartment.
Her eyes drifted casually from person to person on the bus, but she made certain not to make eye contact. Buffy finally just looked out the window and watched as the landscape got better, and the dingy dirty area melted away to clean side walks, and nice buildings. Finally, the bus came to a halt, and Buffy quickly made her way off of it. As she did, Buffy glanced down at the paper in her hand, and made her way towards the right section of the road.
It wasn't far from the bus stop, which was a bonus in Buffy's non-driving mind. The apartment was up on the second floor, but there was a door buzzer to let people in. She looked over the names scrawled in the small places next to the numbers, and she ran her finger down, looking for apartment 202. She found it, and next to it, rather than a name, there was a black line slashing it out. She titled her head to the side for a moment, and then quickly buzzed the number before she lost her nerve.
"Yeah, what is it?" A grouchy voice growled through the intercom a few moments later.
"I'm stopping by because of the ad in the paper? For a roomie?" Her voice was hesitant at first, but she shrugged it off, and pushed away the nervous butterflies in her belly. There was silence for a moment, and Buffy was beginning to wonder if she was already to late to apply.
"Oh, right. Come on up, then. First door on the left up the stairs." There was a loud buzz as the door was released, and Buffy walked up the steps. The door was already open, and a tousled bleach blonde head was sticking out of it. "Right here, ducks. 'aven't got all day." Buffy blushed and picked up her dragging feet, and quickly made it to the stop of the stairs.
"Hi, my name's Buffy, and you are William." She held her empty hand out towards him, and he quickly shook it, and showed her in. His hair was mussed from sleep, and she could tell from his blurry eyes that she had woken him. She glanced back down again to her watch, and felt better that it was already 10:30.
"Yeah, that'd be me. So, needing a place to stay, then? Rent's $225, utilities will come out to about $60 a month total after it's split, and that includes basic phone, internet, cable, gas and electric. You're the first to apply, so you can have your pick of the loft or the bedroom that's left. Loft's bigger, but there's no walls on the one side, so it can be pretty open." He gestured upward, and Buffy's eyes glanced towards the ceiling. The loft had a waist high wall running along the open side, and a set of stairs going up. There was also a sky light over top of it. He was right though; it wouldn't afford her much privacy.
"So, you want?" His voice brought her eyes back down to his, and she noticed for the first time that his eyes were a bright blue, like the sky.
"I. can I look around first? I can already say it's better then where I live now, but.well, I've never had a room mate." William nodded briefly, and pulled her through the apartment. To the left of the entry was a small kitchen. It looked clean, but it also looked very unused. "This is the kitchen, but I'm hardly ever here for a meal, so not sure just what you'll find here. Anything that's in there is left over from my old flat mates."
Buffy nodded as she walked through, and opened a few of the cupboards. She was surprised to see he had quite a few dishes and cooking pots. She smiled at him, and moved on towards the dining room. There was a mismatched table with 3 odd chairs, none of which were the same. On the surface, there were sheets of music scattered about. He shrugged a bit as he shuffled them together into a semi neat pile. She went over and looked at the top one, and sat her newspaper down to pick up the half filled sheet.
"I write songs, you'll find these everywhere."
"Oh, alright." She spoke softly and moved on towards the living room, which wasn't overly large, but still, better then her current place. The sofa was covered with a blue sheet, and an old green recliner sat in a corner. The TV looked to be brand new, with an entire entertainment set up around it. Guess I know where his money goes, she thought. He led her through a short hallway, and pointed out the large bathroom, and his own bedroom.
Coming to a stop before the last door in the hall, he opened it to a semi furnished room. There was a dresser with empty drawers sticking out, a striped bare full size bed, and a small nightstand. She walked in and glanced into the closet, which was a walk-in. Buffy turned and noticed that William's eyes were on hers. He glanced away quickly, and a bored look replaced the strange one he had been wearing.
"I guess I just need to see the loft, but. I'll take the lease. It's about ten times better then the place I'm at now." She brushed past him, and walked towards the stairs in the living room. She stopped and glanced behind her. He was still in the bedroom doorway, his back to her. She could tell his muscles were tense, but he shook his arms out before turning to again catch her eye. Buffy felt herself blushing slightly before she made her way to the loft. Up there, it was filled partially with odds and ends.
William came up behind her, and glanced around. He had forgotten that Dru had left so much stuff when she had taken off. "It mostly belongs to one of the old flat mates. They've been gone so long; I don't think they plan to come back for it. If you want anything in there, you're free to it. If you want the loft, we can go through the junk, and toss whatever isn't needed. Oh, there's also a garage, but I have kind of gotten used to it. Do you drive?"
Laughing, Buffy shook her head no. "Buffy and cars equal bad things. We are very unmixy." She started walking around, and saw that there was some furniture up there, and lots of boxes of clothing. Without really glancing through it, she went over to look over the top of the waist high wall. She looked up, and saw it was only a few feet from the top of the wall to the ceiling. Maybe I could hang some cloth there, she thought. "I think I'll take the loft. It's kinda neat up here. Plus, I'll have room for all my own junk."
William smiled as he nodded, and brought her back down the stairs. He rummaged through the computer desk, and brought up a lease agreement. "I just need you to sign this, so the office has a record of it, and so that you know all the rules." His eyes rolled when he said rules, and he smirked as he handed her the lease. She chuckled softly, and quickly went through the lease before signing at the bottom.
"So, pet, when you moving in?" His accent was more pronounced now, and she glanced up at him from the lease with a smile.
"As soon as I can contract help. I have a month-to-month agreement where I am, so I don't need to worry about it, but I'd like to be out by the end of the month, so I don't have to pay double rent. I. do I have to pay double rent? When do you need rent?" She was suddenly worried, knowing she wouldn't have enough money to cover two payments yet. He noticed the look on her face, and smiled.
"No worries. You can move in now. Rent's not due till the 5th of the month." He said softly, even though he knew he had been planning to ask for rent up front. Oh well, he figured. He needed the flat mates, and beggars can't be choosers. "What kind of help is it that you need, exactly?"
"Well, I think I'm going to get rid of all my bigger furniture, since it's rather ucky, so I'll need help getting it out of the apartment, and over to Good Will or something, and then I'll also need help transporting boxes. One box at a time on the bus could take a long time." Cursing himself even as he offered, William mentioned quickly that he could help transport boxes at the very least.
"Oh, no, that's alright. Xander has a truck for work, so I'll just force him into slave labor. So long as I provide pizza, he'll do it." Without thinking why, he felt a bit of a twinge at the obviously male name.
"Xander?"
"Oh, yeah, Xander's a friend from high school who still lives in town. Most my friends went away for college." He nodded, feeling slightly relieved.
"Ah, ok. Well, pet, any time you want to move in, you're welcome to. I work midnights over at the plastics factory, and 3 afternoons a week, I help out at my uncles shop down town, so I'm really not here all that much, but if you warn me ahead of time, I can try to make sure I'm here. Oh, while I'm at it, here's a key for you. It works on the main door as well as the flat door." He dug around his key chain, and pulled off one of the two spares. "If you think you might lose it, make a copy or two, but don't pass it around, please. I had a mate who felt the need to share his key with just about every friend the bloke ever had. Came home to a house full of strangers on more then one occasion."
"Oh, that's no problem, I really only hang with Xander, and sometimes go to a movie with some friends from work, but really, I usually just stick around home." She smiled somewhat shyly towards him, and then walked towards the door. "I'll stop over before I move in, ok? I don't have a phone, so I can't call to let you know, but I'll make sure you know first. I'd also like to thank you. This helps out a lot. It's so much nicer then my hole, and like two-thirds the price. Anyway, I'll be back in a day or two." She shook his proffered hand, and they parted, both Buffy and William with a smile.
After Buffy left, William smiled despite the early wake up call, and walked towards his table to write some lyrics down that she had inspired in him. He noticed her newspaper on the table, and flipped it open to read. He came to the want ads, and noticed she had several circled, with a few of them crossed off. He glanced through the few she had crossed off. None were anything good, and none were all that great paying, so it made him wonder just what she did now. He also noticed she had gone through a few apartment ads, none of which were in a good area, and all of which were dirt-cheap. He suddenly felt very glad he had placed the ad when he had. He didn't want to think about her in any of those neighborhoods.
********
Great apartments that she would be able to rent in say, 50 years. She was about to give up when a section caught her eye. It was almost never in the paper anymore, so she was mildly interested. Buffy scanned through the ad quickly. Mid 20's male seeking 2 flat mates to share expenses and large flat. Utilities split 1/3, rent $225 per person. Male or female. 555-3202, 3529 #202 West End AVE, Sunnydale. Apply by phone or in person. Ask for William.
Buffy was more then a bit surprised. She re-read the ad, and looked out the dingy window again. She paid almost $400 for this dump, and had to add on top of that a ridiculous amount for gas and electric. Phone was an extravagance that she had given up on nearly a month earlier, to say nothing of cable TV. She looked at the address again. It wasn't the prettiest neighborhood, but it was a good deal better then this district. She tugged at her lip, and finally her mind decided it was at least worth checking into. It was cheaper then where she was, and so long as the place wasn't a dive, it would be worth having roommates.
She glanced once more at it, and her brow quirked at the word Flat instead of Room. Odd, she thought. Maybe he's British, like Giles. She went into her bathroom, and pulled off her pajama's, and pulled on a thin red sweater. She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, and then tugged a brush through her long hair. She didn't have to work until later that afternoon, so she had plenty of time to stop by.
Buffy locked the door as she left, though she knew she really didn't have much worth stealing. She hurried down the steps, and came out into the slightly chilly mid-morning, and she stopped to glance at her watch. She had just enough time to get to the bus stop before the right bus would arrive. Buffy walked briskly towards the stop, and waited for the West End bus to arrive. It would drive towards the nicer neighborhood, and from there, she could walk to the apartment.
Her eyes drifted casually from person to person on the bus, but she made certain not to make eye contact. Buffy finally just looked out the window and watched as the landscape got better, and the dingy dirty area melted away to clean side walks, and nice buildings. Finally, the bus came to a halt, and Buffy quickly made her way off of it. As she did, Buffy glanced down at the paper in her hand, and made her way towards the right section of the road.
It wasn't far from the bus stop, which was a bonus in Buffy's non-driving mind. The apartment was up on the second floor, but there was a door buzzer to let people in. She looked over the names scrawled in the small places next to the numbers, and she ran her finger down, looking for apartment 202. She found it, and next to it, rather than a name, there was a black line slashing it out. She titled her head to the side for a moment, and then quickly buzzed the number before she lost her nerve.
"Yeah, what is it?" A grouchy voice growled through the intercom a few moments later.
"I'm stopping by because of the ad in the paper? For a roomie?" Her voice was hesitant at first, but she shrugged it off, and pushed away the nervous butterflies in her belly. There was silence for a moment, and Buffy was beginning to wonder if she was already to late to apply.
"Oh, right. Come on up, then. First door on the left up the stairs." There was a loud buzz as the door was released, and Buffy walked up the steps. The door was already open, and a tousled bleach blonde head was sticking out of it. "Right here, ducks. 'aven't got all day." Buffy blushed and picked up her dragging feet, and quickly made it to the stop of the stairs.
"Hi, my name's Buffy, and you are William." She held her empty hand out towards him, and he quickly shook it, and showed her in. His hair was mussed from sleep, and she could tell from his blurry eyes that she had woken him. She glanced back down again to her watch, and felt better that it was already 10:30.
"Yeah, that'd be me. So, needing a place to stay, then? Rent's $225, utilities will come out to about $60 a month total after it's split, and that includes basic phone, internet, cable, gas and electric. You're the first to apply, so you can have your pick of the loft or the bedroom that's left. Loft's bigger, but there's no walls on the one side, so it can be pretty open." He gestured upward, and Buffy's eyes glanced towards the ceiling. The loft had a waist high wall running along the open side, and a set of stairs going up. There was also a sky light over top of it. He was right though; it wouldn't afford her much privacy.
"So, you want?" His voice brought her eyes back down to his, and she noticed for the first time that his eyes were a bright blue, like the sky.
"I. can I look around first? I can already say it's better then where I live now, but.well, I've never had a room mate." William nodded briefly, and pulled her through the apartment. To the left of the entry was a small kitchen. It looked clean, but it also looked very unused. "This is the kitchen, but I'm hardly ever here for a meal, so not sure just what you'll find here. Anything that's in there is left over from my old flat mates."
Buffy nodded as she walked through, and opened a few of the cupboards. She was surprised to see he had quite a few dishes and cooking pots. She smiled at him, and moved on towards the dining room. There was a mismatched table with 3 odd chairs, none of which were the same. On the surface, there were sheets of music scattered about. He shrugged a bit as he shuffled them together into a semi neat pile. She went over and looked at the top one, and sat her newspaper down to pick up the half filled sheet.
"I write songs, you'll find these everywhere."
"Oh, alright." She spoke softly and moved on towards the living room, which wasn't overly large, but still, better then her current place. The sofa was covered with a blue sheet, and an old green recliner sat in a corner. The TV looked to be brand new, with an entire entertainment set up around it. Guess I know where his money goes, she thought. He led her through a short hallway, and pointed out the large bathroom, and his own bedroom.
Coming to a stop before the last door in the hall, he opened it to a semi furnished room. There was a dresser with empty drawers sticking out, a striped bare full size bed, and a small nightstand. She walked in and glanced into the closet, which was a walk-in. Buffy turned and noticed that William's eyes were on hers. He glanced away quickly, and a bored look replaced the strange one he had been wearing.
"I guess I just need to see the loft, but. I'll take the lease. It's about ten times better then the place I'm at now." She brushed past him, and walked towards the stairs in the living room. She stopped and glanced behind her. He was still in the bedroom doorway, his back to her. She could tell his muscles were tense, but he shook his arms out before turning to again catch her eye. Buffy felt herself blushing slightly before she made her way to the loft. Up there, it was filled partially with odds and ends.
William came up behind her, and glanced around. He had forgotten that Dru had left so much stuff when she had taken off. "It mostly belongs to one of the old flat mates. They've been gone so long; I don't think they plan to come back for it. If you want anything in there, you're free to it. If you want the loft, we can go through the junk, and toss whatever isn't needed. Oh, there's also a garage, but I have kind of gotten used to it. Do you drive?"
Laughing, Buffy shook her head no. "Buffy and cars equal bad things. We are very unmixy." She started walking around, and saw that there was some furniture up there, and lots of boxes of clothing. Without really glancing through it, she went over to look over the top of the waist high wall. She looked up, and saw it was only a few feet from the top of the wall to the ceiling. Maybe I could hang some cloth there, she thought. "I think I'll take the loft. It's kinda neat up here. Plus, I'll have room for all my own junk."
William smiled as he nodded, and brought her back down the stairs. He rummaged through the computer desk, and brought up a lease agreement. "I just need you to sign this, so the office has a record of it, and so that you know all the rules." His eyes rolled when he said rules, and he smirked as he handed her the lease. She chuckled softly, and quickly went through the lease before signing at the bottom.
"So, pet, when you moving in?" His accent was more pronounced now, and she glanced up at him from the lease with a smile.
"As soon as I can contract help. I have a month-to-month agreement where I am, so I don't need to worry about it, but I'd like to be out by the end of the month, so I don't have to pay double rent. I. do I have to pay double rent? When do you need rent?" She was suddenly worried, knowing she wouldn't have enough money to cover two payments yet. He noticed the look on her face, and smiled.
"No worries. You can move in now. Rent's not due till the 5th of the month." He said softly, even though he knew he had been planning to ask for rent up front. Oh well, he figured. He needed the flat mates, and beggars can't be choosers. "What kind of help is it that you need, exactly?"
"Well, I think I'm going to get rid of all my bigger furniture, since it's rather ucky, so I'll need help getting it out of the apartment, and over to Good Will or something, and then I'll also need help transporting boxes. One box at a time on the bus could take a long time." Cursing himself even as he offered, William mentioned quickly that he could help transport boxes at the very least.
"Oh, no, that's alright. Xander has a truck for work, so I'll just force him into slave labor. So long as I provide pizza, he'll do it." Without thinking why, he felt a bit of a twinge at the obviously male name.
"Xander?"
"Oh, yeah, Xander's a friend from high school who still lives in town. Most my friends went away for college." He nodded, feeling slightly relieved.
"Ah, ok. Well, pet, any time you want to move in, you're welcome to. I work midnights over at the plastics factory, and 3 afternoons a week, I help out at my uncles shop down town, so I'm really not here all that much, but if you warn me ahead of time, I can try to make sure I'm here. Oh, while I'm at it, here's a key for you. It works on the main door as well as the flat door." He dug around his key chain, and pulled off one of the two spares. "If you think you might lose it, make a copy or two, but don't pass it around, please. I had a mate who felt the need to share his key with just about every friend the bloke ever had. Came home to a house full of strangers on more then one occasion."
"Oh, that's no problem, I really only hang with Xander, and sometimes go to a movie with some friends from work, but really, I usually just stick around home." She smiled somewhat shyly towards him, and then walked towards the door. "I'll stop over before I move in, ok? I don't have a phone, so I can't call to let you know, but I'll make sure you know first. I'd also like to thank you. This helps out a lot. It's so much nicer then my hole, and like two-thirds the price. Anyway, I'll be back in a day or two." She shook his proffered hand, and they parted, both Buffy and William with a smile.
After Buffy left, William smiled despite the early wake up call, and walked towards his table to write some lyrics down that she had inspired in him. He noticed her newspaper on the table, and flipped it open to read. He came to the want ads, and noticed she had several circled, with a few of them crossed off. He glanced through the few she had crossed off. None were anything good, and none were all that great paying, so it made him wonder just what she did now. He also noticed she had gone through a few apartment ads, none of which were in a good area, and all of which were dirt-cheap. He suddenly felt very glad he had placed the ad when he had. He didn't want to think about her in any of those neighborhoods.
********