A/N: I realized that I neglected to mention that I own nothing and am but a peon. All hail Joss as the creator of all things Buffy. Ok, with that said, I would like to thank MissKittyFantastico, Chasingstars and Joanna for their reviews. I am warm and fuzzy now!
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Chapter 3: The Gentleman's Rogue
William Giles was mad. No, not mad, his feelings went far beyond those of mere anger. He was full-out-in-a-rage-wanting-to-kill-something-with-his-own-hands pissed. His assistant had left in tears, and anybody that tried to breech the confines of his office was summarily and abruptly sent packing. No one was safe. Complete strangers in the hallway of the law firm where he worked were subjected to his tirades for their dared intrusion into "his" hallway. His office resembled a hurricane site. Papers and glass shards littered the floor like a minefield. Pictures were taken off the wall and destroyed. Everything she bought to "brighten up" his office was promptly trashed. William now sat in the middle of the chaos in a state of shock. She dumped him. The bloody bitch dumped him for that nancyboy poofter. Even worse than that, she'd done it over the soddin' phone.
"Stupid bloody bitch," he muttered and then surveyed the damage of his temper. Impressive, he thought and ran his hands through his white-blond hair. He noticed his knuckles were bleeding and absentmindedly thought to clean them up.
The door to his office flew open, and William's friend Xander strode in. "Hey Spike good news…..good God in heaven, what the hell happened here?"
William just looked at Xander and muttered "Drusilla."
"Oh shit, man! What happened? You two get into the mother of all scraps?" Xander asked. He walked the small oval office and surveyed the destruction. Not half bad, he thought, but decided that Spike really didn't need to hear that right now.
"She dumped me. She fucking dumped me over the fucking phone." William's once dissipated anger began the rapid ascent into fury again.
"OUCH! Over the phone! Damn, now that is one harsh bitch," Xander said as he came full circle to sit in front of William again. In all honesty, Xander never did care for the raven-haired beauty. She was a stunning contrast to Spike though, Xander thought as he looked at a picture that had been ripped from the frame. Dru, with her dark hair and maniacal eyes and Spike, bleach blond with eyes the color of the sky during a summer storm. Yes, as a couple they were a striking pair. But even though she was gorgeous, Dru was cold and untouchable as well. She reminded Xander of a sculpture or a piece of art in a museum; you admired it from afar, you commented on its beauty, but you never really got the chance to touch it. Plus the girl was certifiable, seriously possessive and horribly jealous. Because of this, Xander did not see much of Spike during the relationship. Spike needed to protect her and cherish her and Dru was selfish enough to let him, then leave him hanging. Xander hated that such a woman got her claws into his best friend, but Spike would hear nothing against Dru. That issue became a bone of contention between the two friends, and Xander eventually stopped saying anything at all. Now, Xander could seriously see himself rejoicing at this latest development, but again, he doubted Spike would appreciate the gesture just yet.
"No, wait it gets even better," William said. "She dumped me for that poofter Liam."
"She picked that bastard over you? Wow, that sucks. Now is a good time for you to say to yourself, 'ding-dong the bitch is dead' and then get piss-ass drunk," Xander replied. He knew that it sounded cold, but he didn't have any clue how to help Spike. His own family was the definition of dysfunctional and it was the friendship he had with Spike that had saved him. Seeing his almost brother like this threw Xander for a loop.
"That sounds bloody fantastic and everything mate, but I think I am just gonna get my cases and pack it in for the day," William replied. "I'll clean this up tomorrow."
"Oh no, no, no my dear friend, that is where you're wrong." Xander said. "It just so happens that I am your best friend, and as such, it is my duty to get you drunk beyond reason while we commiserate about the selfishness that is the female gender. After such commiseration, I call you a cab and you go home and sleep it off. Only after observing this sacred male ritual will you be able to start the healing process. And, if you end up with a woman tonight, consider yourself on step two."
"And since when is that a sacred male ritual?" William asked dryly. Xander continued to ramble and William felt his humor return. William had known Xander for his entire life, and whenever he was in a funk, it was usually Xander who brought him out. He even christened William "Spike" after they had snuck into a biker bar during their senior year of high school and decided they needed "tough" sounding names to fit in with the crowd. Now, Xander always referred to William as Spike. It caught on and most people called him that. Except for at the office, where his dad insisted that such a name was "unbefitting of his position and upbringing". Thinking about his father made William grimace, and he tuned back into what Xander was saying.
"…this really hot girl named Calypso, and last time I went, Robert hopped up on stage and tried to dance with her!" Xander burst out laughing, and William chuckled as well.
"See, you're laughing, a good indication of the willingness to begin the healing process. Once the drinking commences, full healing is almost guaranteed," Xander said. "Now, let's go so I can get a good seat."
They walked to the parking lot and got into Xander's Black BMW. The club, Xander explained, was meant to be for "gentlemen" and therefore, outside the city limits where common people presided.
"That sounds like my dad talking," William said, bringing the conversation to a halt. An oppressive silence hung in the air as William thought of his father. Edward Giles was a snobby Englishman who was a firm believer in separation of the "common" and "elite" classes. He'd tried to instill the same principles in William, but to no avail. In fact, the only time Edward ever acknowledged William while he was growing up was to berate him for his "common" behavior. Such behavior was worse than all of the seven deadly sins combined.
Xander couldn't take the silence. Traffic was barely crawling forward and not talking was unnerving him. He wanted to help Spike somehow, but he still wasn't sure how. "Spike, you remember when we snuck into that biker bar?"
William smiled. "Yeah, mate, we were still in high school, thinking we were the original badasses and could take on anything."
Xander laughed. "Yeah and I decided that William was a wussy name, so I told you that you were now Spike."
William laughed. "I couldn't think of anything, so I called you X and hoped that it sounded tough enough."
"Yup, and then we drank whiskey until three in the morning and then spent a good portion of that day praying to the porcelain god," Xander said and laughed as well.
"Not such badasses after all, I guess," William replied.
"Good times, well, kinda good times," Xander said.
Another memory was brought forth and then another. William and Xander laughed as they reminisced about their misspent youth. Both were children of the "upper class" as referred to by their parents. The Harris and Giles families were very close, so the boys grew up together and William thought of Xander as his brother. They were basically raised by William's nanny, a hardass woman who instilled in them manners and respect. With such parents as theirs, it seemed almost mandatory that they rebel as often as possible. William bleached his hair white and Xander pierced anything and everything. They wore nothing but black and were kicked out of school on a regular basis. Their parents, knowing little about children and even less about teenage boys, chalked it up to a "phase" and decided it would pass. Besides, such consideration of their children cut into precious "social time". Both boys snuck out of the house on a regular basis. For William, it was to escape the loneliness. For Xander, it was to avoid his father's flying fists after a night of drinking. Sneaking out of the house soon led to late nights at bars as well as late night rendezvous with whatever girl was the "flavor of the week". William was 15 when he lost his virginity, Xander, 16. In school, they were the bad boys; girls wanted them and boys feared as well as envied them. All the while, William secretly kept journals which he filled with the thousands of stories and ideas that ran rampant through his mind. No on knew about them except for Xander. They were a decidedly "unbadass" thing, so William made sure no one in the world knew of their existence. Actually, even Xander didn't know about them until mistaking one for class notes. William founding him halfway through the notebook and was ready to kick some ass until Xander told him that he never knew that he had such talent. William swore him to secrecy and Xander complied, never telling a soul about the huge talent cloaked under the black leather duster. In return, William never told a soul about the true cause of Xander's black eyes.
Graduation came and by some miracle of God, both boys graduated with their class. After graduation, it seemed that a light was finally turned on inside the brains of Williams' parents and they remembered their son. He wanted to go to college and write, perhaps be a journalism major. The night he announced that, a row like no other erupted in the Giles household. He was a Giles and Giles's were lawyers, end of story. No amount of cajoling or pleading changed his father's mind, and William finally bent under the pressure. The badass of Ravendale High was brought down by his father. He protested, citing his grades as inadequate. William soon found that money erased his high school misdeeds as well as not-so-astounding grades. Now, at 25, he was a lawyer in his father's firm and almost a guarantee for partner someday. His dad couldn't be happier, William seriously considered shooting himself.
Xander's parents were a different story. Their indifference to their son continued after high school, and it seemed that Xander was destined to follow in his father's footsteps. At William's urging, however, he applied for college and, surprisingly enough, was accepted. A business major, Xander now owned his own restaurant and enjoyed his life immensely. He knew how much William hated his job and what his life had become and he urged him to break away from his father and write, but nothing he said could change William's mind. To William, a lawyer was a good, respectable and secure job, something to be envied, not disliked.
They arrived at the club, and the conversation ceased as the men climbed from the car and entered into The 1st Amendment Gentleman's Lounge.
