Part 13


William needed air. No, correction, he needed a cigarette, a drink and then he seriously needed to hit somebody. Hard. It didn't matter who. No, actually it did matter who, in fact it mattered a lot. As his long legs moved angrily down Main Street, William's troubled mind filled with visions of his fists punching Liam Angelus' head right through the nearest wall.

**How can I love you when I can't even remember you** Buffy's frightened voice echoed deep inside his head as he moved away from the gallery as fast as the muscles in his legs would allow

**But you remember that bastard, Angelus?**

**So now what, you're suddenly in love with him all over again? The next thing you'll be telling me is you let the sod back in your bed**

**You already have, haven't you. Dammit Buffy, you're sleeping with the bastard again**

**That's none of your business**

As William's thoughts turned to Liam worming his way back into Buffy's bed, his heart raced, frantically pumping the bitterness he felt into every cell of his body.

"Bloody bastard" William cursed in frustration. As he continued down the street, his foot struck out at an empty coke can lying in his path and sent it spinning across the pavement with the full force of his anger.

For Will, it didn't matter how much distance he put between him and Buffy, her painful words continued to crush his broken heart with every new step he took.

**I can't be sleeping with you... I'm married.... **

"Yeah, don't I know it" He mumbled to himself and stepping off the pavement, he quickly crossed the road.

As he headed in the direction of Willie's bar, the other pedestrians on the street quickly moved out of the troubled young man's path.

"Hey! Wait! Where do you think you're going?" A female voice called and although William heard the question clearly, he made no attempt to slow down.

"William!" Her voice called again and the cold sharp tone left little doubt in his mind that there would be real trouble if he didn't answer her.

**Tough luck. Bitch**

Without slowing, William threw his reply over his shoulder.

"I'm really not in the mood to play happy families right this minute. So just Piss off and leave me alone" He muttered harshly and intending to put as much distance between them as possible, he increased his stride.

The blonde woman following him was small but she moved swiftly and within a few seconds she had caught up and moved along side.

"For a poet you really use the most charming language." She purred sarcastically, and from her vantagepoint she couldn't fail to notice the anguish radiating from his lean body.

As the neon sigh advertising Willie's bar caught his eye, William ignored his unwanted companion and turned sharply towards the entrance.

"Dammit, William! Will you slow down?" she finally snapped, as her small heels struggled to keep up the hurried pace.

"Okay, you want charming, how's this for charming" Finally losing his temper, Will spun a U-turn and glared dangerously into the woman's pale blue eyes " I'm having a really bad day, so please, do us both a favour, and...." He sighed deeply and decided not to finish the insult. From the determined look on her face it would have been a complete waste of time anyway.

As he started to turn away again, a small, well-manicured hand reached out and came to rest lightly on his arm.

"Stop acting so damn pathetic and just tell me where you're going?"

At the fleeting look of pain that flickered in his eyes, the woman's voice softened slightly.

"Honey! It couldn't have gone that badly" She cooed as her long fingers slid softly across his bare arm.

The fair-haired man, with thunder in his dangerous eyes glared for a few more seconds and then shook off her unwanted hand.

"After what I've just done, I think I deserve a bloody stiff drink. Nah, make that the whole fucking bottle." William turned his head towards the neon sign and could almost taste the cool beer he desperately needed.

"There will be plenty of time for that later. Just tell me what happened at the gallery?" The female snapped back, impatient for an answer to her question.

With a sigh, William shook his head. Suddenly needing a cigarette, he reached into the back pocket of his jeans only to remember the empty packet he had earlier tossed away at the gallery.

**Don't touch me**

The moment he thought of the gallery, the memories of Buffy pushing him away returned and once again his fragile mood turned black.

As if reading his mind, his companion pulled an unopened carton of cigarettes from her jacket pocket and carelessly threw them at him.
Without a word, William caught the packet, ripped off the top and after lighting up; he drew the thick smoke deep into his lungs. As the nicotine entered his blood stream, and set to work at soothing his nerves, Will let out a deep sigh of relief.

"I take it you saw her?"

The woman's cool words cut through the calm haze that had formed inside his head and immediately returned the tension to his body.

"You know damn well that I saw her, you cunning bitch. After all, you were the one who told me where she was going to be" William shot the reply back and returned the cigarette to his mouth.

"And did she believe you?" The female asked coldly, but she couldn't stop the delighted smirk on her face shinning through her cool show of indifference.
Everything was going better than she had dreamed possible. Buffy being left alone at the gallery so soon had been a godsend.

At the question William's eyes narrowed.

"And why wouldn't she believe me, Darla?" He took a step forward but the much smaller woman just blocked his path and refused to move.

William tilted his face closer; and a small muscle twitched in the side of his jaw as dared his companion to argue with him.

"You told her everything we agreed and she believed you?" Darla's eyes lit up in delight.

" I told her the truth" As he replied to the question, William exhaled a mouthful of smoke right in the woman's smirking face.

The insult was ignored.

"The truth?" Darla laughed cruelly, as she ran the two words over her tongue.

" Well, I guess it's the truth as your twisted mind sees it. My dear boy, before her accident, Liam's little cheerleader never gave you so much as a second glance, and we both know it."

The second she saw William flinch she knew she had struck a raw nerve.

"My relationship with Buffy is none of your God damn business" William growled through clenched teeth.

The female smiled.

"So you keep telling me."

The disbelief in her voice wasn't lost on either of them. Darla drew in a deep breath and when she met his blue eyes again her expression was deadly serious.

"Honey, I really don't care whether you were screwing the bitch or not, just make sure you convince *her* that you were."

Dropping what was left of his cigarette to the floor, William ground it out with the toe of his boot.

This time it was his turn to smirk.

"Don't worry about me, I'll have Buffy eating out of the palm of my hand before you know it"

**And then I'll really screw her on that office floor ** He added as a silently afterthought.

At the prospect, William smiled for the very first time since leaving the gallery.

Darla watched as the light returned to his cool eyes and with a sigh of disbelief, she shook her head. It still amazed her that he could possibly love the skinny blonde girl who had made her life hell for so many years. But it didn't matter; in fact it actually helped with her plan.

"You're sick, Will, and you're welcome to the little bitch. As long as she stays away from Liam, I really don't care what happens to her. But I promise you this; I'm not losing Liam Angelus again, not for anyone. If Buffy Summers gets in my way this time, amnesia will be the least of her problems "

Darla smiled, but her eyes were so hard William almost shivered. When she spoke again she left him with little doubt how deadly serious she was.

"If she crosses me one more time, I'll crush her like a bug"