A/N : As I mentioned before, my little rota for how I update my fics is kinda going out the window this week since I seemed to be inspired to write things in the wrong order, I'm sorry if this bothers anyone. Thanx so much for the support on this fic, specifically Moonjava, Daniel Wesley Rydell, LiLi, pltnmdancer, Freezyboncoolipants, Brunettepet, funkydevil206, greyicewater, Cay4Spuffy, and xmadbrilliant, for the latest reviews. I'm so into writing this story right now, so I hope you like this new chapter...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 3 - The Dinner
It was ten minutes past dinner time and no-one could find Buffy. Giles and William had naturally arrived in the dining room on time and waited for the girl, glancing at their watches every minute or so, the older man polishing the lenses of his glasses for something else to do. Several of the staff had been sent to look for her, but since she was neither in her room nor at the dinner table, and the house was so huge, it was difficult to know where to begin.
At length she arrived in the doorway and Giles smiled, standing up to greet her as his nephew did the same.
"Ah, Buffy, there you are" he said as she came into the room.
"Yep, here I am" she shrugged, as she entered, now wearing tight black pants and a low cut black top that left little to the imagination. William suspected he was one of few people who knew why she'd needed to change her clothes, or why her hair was newly blow-dried, "What are you looking at?" she asked him, almost nastily as he realised he was staring. Though a large part of him knew he should not have expected a properly dressed lady to arrive at the dinner table, he hadn't really expected this either.
"Oh, nothing, really" he looked away fast when he was reminded that he was staring "You, er, you look very...nice" he opted for eventually, wondering if she'd take that as a compliment or an insult. How did one speak to such a person at this? He'd never met anyone like her.
"Not exactly what I was going for but okay" she smiled in amused fashion as Giles pulled out her chair for her to sit down. She noticed he was trying not to stare too, as were a couple of butler-type guys to the side, "What? You expected me all dressed up for dinner?" she asked with a look of disbelief, "I don't think so" she scoffed as she made herself comfortable on the seat. She didn't exactly sit like a lady either.
"That's quite alright, Buffy, you look just fine as you are" Giles managed a small smile, though he was completey thrown by the girls looks and behaviour these days, "Indeed, I believe it has become somewhat of a habit for William and myself to dress smartly for a meal..." he rambled a little, feeling quite strange sitting between these two young people who had a habit of looking at each other strangely, "You two have met I understand"
"Yeah, we kinda...bumped into each other" Buffy admitted with a half-smile, remembering her little trip on the stairs.
"Indeed we did" William nodded, also recalling it with a smile. It wasn't often he got the chance to have a female in his arms, in fact, not counting the brotherly hugs he gave his sister, he didn't ever.
"So, er, Buffy" Giles was desperate to make some kind of conversation, "How were you Aunt and Uncle when you left? They were well I hope?" he asked her as she picked at the black nail polish on her fingers.
"I guess" she shrugged, "We don't really spend much time together"
"Ah yes, I suppose he is rather busy being Mayor" the Englishman nodded, starting to understand a little as to why Buffy had turned out the way she had. With her parents gone and her Aunt and Uncle not willing to give her the time of day, was it any wonder she become a little wild over the years? "How about your cousin? It's Faith, isn't it?" he tried to show an interest but the girl was not forthcoming, and barely glanced up from her hands when she answered.
"She's...Faith" she told him, "You can't say much more than that"
Giles closed his eyes and sighed quietly, removing his glasses and wiping the lenses. William's eyes seemed to fixed on Buffy, whilst hers were permanently down at her nails as tiny pieces of black polish got flicked over the table and floor. Giles was just too nice to ask her to stop it, and to be honest a little afraid of causing an argument.
The silence was broken by Willow and another girl bringing in the food. Since it was just the three of them it was just a main course and dessert today. For dinner parties when the long table was full to capacity and there could be anything from three to six or seven courses, more people serving and all dressed impeccably smart for the occasion, still Giles suspected Buffy wouldn't have cared that she looked so out of place.
The look on her face when Willow put the plate down in front of her today was enough to let the red-head know she was not impressed, though the serving girl knew for a fact it cost a fortune.
After ten minutes of watching her push the food around the plate and not eating it at all, Giles shared a look with William and decided to say something.
"You're not eating, Buffy?" he asked as casually as he could, careful not to sound accusing in any way.
"I have this policy about not eating things I can't identify" she said smartly, dropping her fork down with a clatter, and sitting back in her chair looking both annoyed and bored. William wondered absently if she really was feeling those two things or if she just liked people to believe she was so that they paid her some attention.
"Oh, er, well..." Giles wasn't sure what to say to his God-daughter and it was clear his nephew wasn't going to wade into any kind of conversation with her.
"It's okay" the girl sighed, "I'm not hungry anyway" she promptly went back to peeling the polish from her fingernails, glancing up every so often to see if William was still staring at her.
She kind of liked that he wanted to look at her. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to being wanted by guys, there were few in Sunnydale who hadn't tried to make a move on her, or would've done if they had the guts. She figured William was likely to be in the second group, just wouldn't have the backbone to take her on, but then if after a couple of weeks in this place she got bored, maybe she'd make the first move and teach him a few things she was pretty sure he didn't know about girls.
It was on one of the occasions when she was glancing up and yes, he was still staring at her, when she caught sight of something over his shoulder and her face hardened. William wondered at first if it was his looking at her that had made her so angry but when she promptly got up from the table and stalked past him be figured perhaps not.
"Is everything alright, Buffy?" Giles asked with a slight frown as she stormed past him and beyond the table to the old fashioned fireplace.
"No" she said flatly, grabbing a framed photo from the mantle.
"Ah, yes" the older man nodded, realising what she'd spotted, "William, the people in that photograph behind you are Joyce and Hank" he explained to his bemused nephew, "Buffy's parents"
"My dead parents" she emphasised, a cold look on her face that made William shudder. She looked ready to commit murder on anyone who dared look at her, not really the reaction one would expect from a girl when her deceased parents were mentioned.
"They were lovely people" Giles smiled at the memory of his two dear friends, clearly not noticing Buffy's expression, "You look uncannily like your mother you know, Buffy" he told her and she turned to him with anger evident in her eyes.
"Not because I want to" she spat, throwing the picture to the floor with a crash as the glass splintered and smashed into a hundred pieces. As Giles opened his mouth to speak, Buffy stormed out the door, almost barrelling into poor Willow who came in carrying a tray with three desserts on it.
"Someone should go after her" William said immediately, planning on going himself. Giles nodded as he stood up.
"Yes, I suppose so" he sighed, putting his napkin on the table and making to leave.
"Actually" his nephew said quickly, placing hand on his arm, "I thought perhaps, someone nearer her own age?"
Giles glanced over at him and sat back down with a nod of understanding.
"Ah yes, of course" he agreed, "Willow would you mind awfully?" he asked the red-head who almost threw a strawberry mousse in his lap from the surprise.
William closed his eyes and sighed. He'd wanted to be the one to go after Buffy, heaven knows what he would have said to her, but he would've loved the excuse to talk to her again, especially alone.
"Me!" Willow's mouth hung open with shock, "Erm, well I..."
"You are of her age, my dear" Giles almost pleaded with her, "and female obviously, and from her home country. I confess I don't really know where to begin with her" he explained with a shake of his head. Giles was not the sort of person who could order people to do things, even those who worked for him, but he did do a rather good line in pointed suggestion, William observed.
"But I don't even know her" Willow shook her head, really not wanting to face the angry blonde. People like her did not get along with people like Buffy. Willow was an ex-geek turned semi-cool middle of the road girl, whilst Buffy was, well, someone who she would like to avoid as much now as she did when similar people were around at High School.
"I don't exactly know her myself, truth be told" Giles explained, removing his glasses to polish the lenses on his handkerchief, "She was just five years old when I last saw her and she's changed so drastically from the sweet child she once was" he put a hand on Willows arm and gave her a hopeful smile, "It would mean a great deal if you could do this for me, Willow"
An incredible attack of guilt coursed through the girl as she considered all the great favours this man had done for her and her family, by employing them all and giving them a home when no-one else would. He wasn't asking much of her, just wanted her to talk to his God-daughter and check she was okay.
"Okay, Giles. I'll go" she nodded, managing a half-smile as she headed for the door.
Working on the assumption that Buffy would probably run to her room, Willow went there first. When she arrived outside the door she heard movement inside so she knocked. After two minutes with no response, she tried again and opened the door herself when no reply came.
"Miss Summers?" she called awkwardly as she entered "Er, Buffy?"
"Leave me alone" said a voice in the dark and dingy room. The curtains at the two large windows were drawn at one and parted just slightly at the other, as Buffy sat on the large sill looking out between the gap at the cloudy sky and rain as all the light disappeared from the world for another day.
"I just wanted to make sure you're okay" Willow ventured a little further towards the sillouhette in the window, not daring to suggest turning on a light or anything for fear of getting her head bitten off.
"Like you care if I'm okay" Buffy scoffed, still not looking at her visitor, "You don't even know me"
"Mr Giles knows you" Willow reminded her, before realising he just told her to the contrary, "well, he did, and..."
"He doesn't care either" the blonde interrupted sharply, "Nobody does"
"That can't be true" Willow shook her head. There was such anger and bitterness in the other girls voice, a girl who was just a few months older than she was. Life should be so full of fun and possibilities for people their age, but it seemed Buffy didn't feel that way.
"Don't get me wrong" she said, turning at last to look at Willow who stood stuck to the spot as he was addressed, "it's not like I'm bothered. I just don't see why I should sit down there and pretend like I belong" she explained, "Truth is I don't belong anywhere" she turned back to the window then and Willow rolled her eyes in the dark.
"You think I feel like I belong here?" she said, walking over to stand beside the other girl, "I'm not a high class British person like Giles and his friends either, but I like it here now...I got used to it" she told her. Buffy laughed then but it was little improvement on her previous state since there was no humour present at all.
"This is so not me" she shook her head, getting up from her seat and walking into the centre of the room, "this room, this stuff..." she ran a hand along the wall and around a couple of paperweights on a cabinet beside it.
"I'm sure Giles wouldn't mind if you changed a few things..." Willow told her, just able to make out an interested look appear on Buffy's face, followed by a dangerous kind of a smirk as she reached for the edge of the old-fashioned wallpaper and tore a great strip away, "Maybe you could ask first" the other girl said quickly, panicking as Buffy reached for the edge of the paper to pull some more off.
"If it bothers you" she said smartly as she prised the edge of the paper away from the wall and tore at a huge strip, "you ask"
Willow watched with wide eyes as Buffy made her way along the wall, ripping large amounts of wallpaper away as she went. The red-head backed up towards the door.
"I should probably just go" she mumbled.
"Don't let the door hit you on your way out" Buffy called over her shoulder and Willow paused in the doorway, not just astonished but a little affronted by Buffy's attitude.
"Despite what you think" she told her, "Giles is a nice man and he does wants to help you out"
Buffy spun around, leaving the wallpaper alone for a moment as her eyes flashed angrily in the dark.
"I don't need anyone's help" she said haughtily, "Not yours, not Giles, no-ones. Okay?"
"Okay" Willow nodded more sad to see a person behave that way than truly scared of her temper anymore.
As the younger girl disappeared out of the door and down the stairs, Buffy tore more paper from the room, ripping at it with abandon until an entire wall was practically bare. She stood back then and looked at the mess she'd made. In the dark silent room, she sank to her knees, and cried.
To Be Continued...
A/N2 : A little insight into the pain behind Buffy's wild behaviour. We'll get to the further Buffy/William interaction soon and of course there will be an eventual William-to-Spike transformation but it's gonna take a little time. Reviews would be very good in the in between time, thanks :-)