The Bronze was packed for a week-night and William hated it when it was like this. He sat in a corner writing in his journal and waited for his friends to return from the dance floor. He caught a glimpse of Buffy and his heart filled with delight, until he saw that hulking idiot Angel following her off the floor. He did not and never would trust the Master Vampire. William didn't like the way he looked at Buffy and he especially didn't like the way that the vampire looked at him, there was hatred and mistrust and something else that William couldn't, and didn't want, to name.
The couple approached the table, flanked by Xander, Cordelia, Oz and Willow. They were all slightly out of breath and smiling happily. William beamed at the humans and werewolf but glared at the vampire. Aside from the fact that Angel was a pompous, big-fore-headed git who used far too much hair gel, he was also a vampire. A vampire and a Slayer, was just wrong.
"What have we got here, Willy?" Angel sneered at him, grabbing William's journal.
"It's William." he gritted out "And the book's none of your business, give it here!"
"Now, now! I just want a peep at whatever has you so enthralled, okay? So sit down Slay-boy." Angel pushed William into his seat in the booth and turned a page. His eyes widened and an amused grin appeared on his face. "Well, isn't this interesting."
Angel gave William a chilling smile and "Don't be shy." he said then looked down at the page before him and began to read "My heart expands, 'tis grown a bulge in it, inspired by your beauty, effulgent." he looked up after the last word and repeated with a laugh "Effulgent?"
Angel began chuckling to himself while the other Scoobies looked awkward and upset on their friend's behalf. "You're such a big meanie!" Willow declared, pulling the journal from Angel's grip and handing it to William.
"I have to go." William said gruffly and stood up from the table without saying any goodbyes. Buffy frowned and followed after him. She put a hand on his arm and waited for him to face her.
"I'm going to ask you a very personal question and I don't want any bull. D'ya understand me, Will?"
He nodded enthusiastically and Buffy continued with a sigh. "Your poetry, it's... they're... not written about me, are they?"
"They're about how I feel." William said.
"Don't you dare dodge the question, are they about me?" Buffy persisted stubbornly.
William took a deep breath, it was now, or never. And this time the Slayer chose now. "Every syllable."
"Oh, God!" Buffy cursed.
"Oh, I know... it's sudden and... please, if they're no good, they're only words but... the feeling behind them... I love you, Buffy."
"Please stop!" Buffy pleaded quietly, all her fears now confirmed.
"I know I'm a bad poet but I'm a good man and all I ask is that... that you try to see me-"
"I do see you. That's the problem. You're nothing to me, William. You'll only ever be a friend, a dear friend perhaps but never more. I just can't love you like that."
She shook her head sadly and walked back to Angel, leaving William devastated and alone. Hot, angry tears filled his eyes. He stormed out of the Bronze and into the darkness outside. He marched back to the flat he shared with Giles and pulled the duffle bag and suitcase from under the bed. Dashing around the room and the rest of the flat he grabbed all his stuff and shoved it into the case and bag. He wiped angrily at his face before writing a quick letter to explain everything to Giles. Leaving his keys on the table he took a last look at the place he'd called home for the last few months and slammed out of the building. No more would he be pushed around, he was a Slayer goddammit! No more would he meekly sit by and watch life dwindle away. No more!
Giles,
I'd just like to thank you for all that you have done for me in the past while; I haven't and will never forget that. You've been like a father to me; and my mother and I shall always be indebted to you for that.
I have gone home to mum. I'll continue my Slayer duties back home, don't worry about that. I have a duty and I won't shirk it. For some reason the Powers chose to make me their first male Slayer, I can't comprehend why, but I digress.
This is in no way your, Red, Wolf-boy, the Cheerleader, the Whelp or Joyce's fault. Buffy made me see something tonight, I don't blame her either. My eyes are open and I noticed a few things. I still have growing up to do and I don't think that I'll become the man I want to one day be, in Sunnydale.
I'll miss you all terribly but they now have this fun thing called a telephone so I'll expect regular updates. Take care of yourself, Giles. And the others, I can't be there to watch them anymore. I'll keep an eye on things back home, don't fret, everything will be fine.
Send them all my love,
See you soon (hopefully),
Yours most sincerely,
Lord William Pratt, the eighth. (Will) xxx
When Giles returned that evening to find his other Slayer had up and left he was very shocked but knew that William knew himself enough to make such a decision. The boy was right, he still had growing up to do and in the Watcher's opinion England was a far more suitable location to do so than California.
Willow and Xander were utterly distraught when he told them of William's departure the next day. Cordelia made a poor attempt at a sympathetic noise then left the meeting early to make a hair appointment. Oz sat there stoically as usual but was really upset on the inside, he had so much in common with the male Slayer and had grown to depend on the other boy as his sole confidant, besides William was the one who encouraged him to approach Willow far sooner than he would have if left to his own devices.
Buffy blamed herself even though they all emphasised how it wasn't her fault and pointed out that William didn't feel any animosity towards her. That night she cried for hours in a self-pitying, guilt sob-fest. Joyce was as saddened as the rest if not more. She had taken William under her wing and been like a second mother to the boy. She loved him dearly and hoped that he'd keep safe.
Life went on in Sunnydale. Drusilla rolled into town with her doting childe, Lucas. The vampire she'd turned in the nineteen-twenties kidnapped Angel and used him to restore the insane vampiress. Ethan came to town and turned everyone into their costumes. The Scoobies fought the various demons that were attracted to the Hellmouth. Angel reverted to being Angelus and set a rampage upon the town. Buffy defeated the Judge and teamed up with Lucas to defeat Angelus. The two kin of Angel left Sunnydale and Buffy ran away in the hopes of escaping her personal demons, in hopes of forgetting the love that she had sent to hell.
The next year when Buffy had been returned to Sunnydale she learned that William had been contacting the others less and less. When Faith turned up in town the Scoobies all grieved the apparent loss of the male Slayer. Joyce, Willow and Xander took it the hardest. Joyce had lost the lad she thought of as a son, Willow had lost the intelligent bookworm who understood her better than anyone else in the world; Xander had lost another best friend to demons. Buffy's guilt became overwhelming. And Giles, well, he refused to accept it, and worried the others immensely. He never mentioned William again, never talked about anything that could lead to memories of the boy, never entertained conversations where someone else could possibly say his name.
And again life had to go on; Faith's slippery slope into evil was another devastating blow. The new watcher showed up with Faith, she was a young, ebony haired woman with a beautiful face, named Alison who became a solid member of the Scoobs. Alison and Giles quit the Council after the botched Cruciamentum. Angel returned from hell and hovered around them for the rest of the year, never getting too close, yet Buffy fell even more madly in love with him. The SAT's were approaching and the Scoobies tried to enjoy their last year of High School. The Mayor's sordid life was uncovered and his teaming up with Faith was a hard blow. Buffy was horrified to learn that Angel was leaving her. Faith got her comeuppance and the Sunnydale seniors faced the Mayor at Graduation.
William, or Spike, as he was now known stepped off the bus and looked around at Sunnydale for the first time in almost two years. He sighed as he remembered the good and bad memories that this town held for him, then shook his head. He was Spike now, confident, snarky, cool. He didn't have to worry about what the people of this town thought of him any longer, and yet he did.
He gathered his luggage and made his way towards the high school. It was a surprise to see only burnt-out reminders of Scooby-central. He wondered what else had happened since he'd left.
Night was swiftly approaching and he decided to find the apartment he'd booked online before heading out on patrol. He'd see Joyce and Giles tomorrow, and maybe the others, but his surrogate parents were his first concern. He had absolutely no desire to see her again, not after the fateful night of his departure.
"Ready ta Bronze it, Buff?" Willow asked of her friend and roommate.
Buffy span away from the mirror on her desk and smacked her freshly painted lips. She patted her hair and straightened her halter neck. "Yup." she replied but without much enthusiasm. Nothing was the same since Angel had left but she'd had enough of wallowing.
Willow gave her a gentle smile of sympathy. "You feeling any better?"
"It's getting easier, Wills." Buffy sighed. Willow wrapped an arm around her best friend's slender shoulders and cuddled her. Buffy revelled in the support of the young witch; she didn't know how she would have dealt without Willow.
"C'mon, let's go get our funk on." Willow said with a goofy smile. The two girls laughed and headed out the door.
"Where do you want me to put this, mum?"
Joyce turned around to look at the pretty vampiress. Brody looked younger than Joyce's own daughter and yet she had seen the Industrial Revolution, the Boxer Rebellion and both World Wars.
"In the back room is fine, sweetie." Joyce said with a warm grin. Brody nodded and hurried to do her bidding. 'Sweet girl' Joyce thought, she didn't remember Buffy offering to help with the heavier deliveries before. But, she supposed, her little girl had a lot on her mind now, college, slaying duties and Angel's leaving.
Brody re-entered the room and sat down on the bench beside Joyce where she was looking over a stock list. Joyce stroked her hair as the little vampiress yawned and leaned against the wall.
"I'm glad the Powers picked me to be your guardian." Joyce suddenly revealed.
Brody's misty, grey-blue eyes snapped open and she looked over at Joyce. "Glad they made me your daughter." she replied, delighted that she now had family. "Are you going to tell Buffy about me?"
There was no accusation in Brody's voice but Joyce wanted to assure her that she was in no way ashamed of the girl. "It's not that I don't want her to know, sweetie, but it's gonna be a lot for her to handle."
"Hey, I understand, my cousin Angel really screwed her over. She's not gonna be too happy about having another Aurelian Vamp shoved into her life like this. God… I can't stand that git, the gall of him!" Brody growled.
"How I agree with you, darling." Joyce sighed and stood to put away the paperwork in the Gallery's office. She returned a few moments later and locked the door behind her. Brody switched off the lights and took Joyce's hand to lead her through the cluttered space with her superior eyesight. Joyce locked the front entrance then and they started towards her car. "You want me to drive you home?"
"No, it's okay, mum. I'll do a quick patrol on my way." Brody said.
Joyce placed a hand on her shoulder and a kiss on her cheek. "You should go out, have some fun. You deserve it."
"Okay." Brody grinned bashfully and ran into the night at full vampire speed. Joyce looked after her daughter and frowned. Brody needed more friends; it was starting to worry her. No mother liked to see their child lonely and as nice as Clem was, her daughter was all duty and no play; it wasn't healthy.
Spike sat down at the bar and his eyes widened in surprise when he turned from ordering his drink to see a familiar face. There was a baggy-skinned demon sitting in the seat next to him, cradling a ginger ale.
"Robert!" Spike exclaimed happily "What are you doing in Sunnydale?"
The demon faced him and gave him a funny look. "I'm not Robert, my name's Clem." suddenly realisation dawned on him and he smiled back at Spike "You're the male Slayer that my cousin, Robert was telling me about. You're back in town for good?"
"Yeah, that I am, mate. I'm Spike." he said offering Clem his hand. His two years as a Slayer in a big city like London had allowed him to see the grey in life and now he had many demon friends.
"Nice to meet you." Clem smiled.
"So, Robert's cousin, ey? What're ya doin' here today then?" Spike inquired in a friendly manner.
"Oh, I'm waitin' on a girl." Clem replied with a grin. He loved saying that and watching the look on people's faces when she walked in. They weren't a couple or anything but it was funny to watch jaws drop whenever she approached him. Her skin may be hideously tight but Clem could see how beautiful she was, inside and out. As well as having a pretty face she had a kind heart that shone through, took you in and protected you.
"Oh yeah?" Spike questioned, in a genuinely interested tone. He had gotten on really well with Robert and thought that the same would probably apply to Clem.
"There she is." Clem said with a nod of his head in her direction.
Spike craned his neck to see what Clem's companion would look like but the crowded dance floor of the Bronze obscured his view. He settled back in his chair and decided to be patient when he caught sight of the Scoobies. He ducked his head down but watched them from the corner of his eye.
"Hey, Spike." Clem was saying "I'd like you to meet Celeste."
Still distracted by the glimpse of his old friends, minus the girl who'd broken his heart, he briefly looked over at Clem and the girl next to him. "Yeah, hi. It's nice to meet y-" Spike stopped abruptly when he saw her clearly.
His mouth hung agape as he stared unabashedly.
