A/N : This story just seems to flow out of me with little effort needed at all. Here's hoping the large quantity does not mean the quality goes down. So far you seem to be liking it and I wnat to thank all the reviewers of the previous chapter; Baby Girl Gellar-Green, Daniel Wesley Rydell, ness345, Moonjava, Demonica Mills, Cady Monroe, Freezyboncoolipants, funkydevil206, XspikeXbuffyX, Anyanka0705, Sugarsun, Brunettepet, spuffygrl11, chanel 5, Spikez-babe91, EMBER91, and Ape18. Here's hoping that you'll all keep reading and enjoying this.
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 5 - The Water

William simply didn't know where to look as Buffy stripped off her pants and pulled her top over her head. He had very little experience with women and their lack of clothing, unless you counted Dru in her rather disturbing naked-loving phase. Of course it was simpler when his sister was involved, she was family, but now Buffy, a non-relation who he found very attractive was stripping off all her clothes right in front of him and even when he turned away like a gentleman should, his imagination went into over-drive causing his body to react in the expected manner.

"Buffy, I really don't think..." he began but she interrupted.

"For once in your life, William, stop thinking about it and just do it!" she told him and out of force of habit he turned to answer her, just in time to see the girl now dressed in nothing but black lace underwear, diving headlong into the lake.

He stared open mouthed unable to comprehend what was happening. Normal people did not strip off and jump in lakes, nobody he knew would ever...

"You just gonna stand there?" Buffy asked as she held herself steady in the water, just her head and shoulders showing now which William was grateful for. At least he could remain calm if he just kept the images of her mostly naked body from his mind.

When he gave no answer to her question Buffy shifted in the water so more of her body showed. She knew what kind of effect she must be having on him, though diving in the lake had not been purely an excuse to take her clothes off and turn him on, that was just an added bonus. She had the weirdest feeling that with a little persuasion William could be this incredible guy, and since she had nothing better to do this Summer, she intended to find the wild part of the geek and bring it to the surface.

"What's the matter?" she called to him, pushing her dripping hair back out of her face, "Can't you swim?"

"Of course I can" he answered her quickly, "but I...that is to say..." he mumbled, fingers fumbling without the edge of his other sleeve and eyes trained on his feet.

"You're not scared are you?" Buffy challenged him and William's eyes snapped up immediately, "I'd hate to think you were some kind of chicken" she continued seeing his reaction and liking it. She was far from the first to say these things to him, he'd been through it all before she was certain. She herself had taken her fair share of verbal abuse, being called a freak and a weirdo and a slut. William was teased and bullied for different reasons clearly, but treated appallingly none the less. It hurt him but she could tell it also made him angry, though he tried not to show it.

"I'm not afraid" he told her firmly, tilting his chin and Buffy smirked.

"Prove it" she told him smartly, a little surprised that it took just a moments hesitation before he began to remove his jacket and shoes. He spent quite a while fiddling with the buttons of his shirt, unable to identify whether it was his fear or excitement making him shake so much. Far from the confidence Buffy had, Will was certain that every visible part of his body was blushing as he unfastened his pants. He hesitated and Buffy felt bad for him suddenly.

"I won't look" she told him, turned herself around. She remained with her back to him just as long as she thought it would take him to be undressed, then quickly turned back wishing to survey the scene as it were.

Buffy gasped a little at the sight that met her eyes. Inside his clothes it was impossible to tell, but now standing there in nothing but his boxers and the light of the sun, William really was built kind of well. Far from being skinny and unattractive as a lot of geeks she'd seen before were, he was a pretty decent specimen of a man and the blonde swallowed hard as she watched him dive into the water a few feet from her.

She recovered quickly from her shock and swam over to him, still smiling at the pleasant discoveries she was making about this guy. Immediately William became uncomfortable again, knowing that beneath the water his body was mere inches from hers.

"So William Rayne" she smirked, as he backed up against the rocks at once side of the water, "I don't scare you at all?"

He swallowed hard at her closeness and desperately tried to control southern regions of his body that refused to comply.

"Of course not" he lied.

Buffy smiled, trying not to laugh at how difficult he was finding it all. She didn't scare him in a bad way she could tell, but it bothered him having her so close. She correctly guessed that he'd probably never behaved this way in his life, and definitely not with a woman. She looked at him then as if to study him and he flinched slightly when she reached out a hand to him.

"Your hair looks better like this" she told him, forcing a few stray pieces back like the rest. The water had flattened out his curls and Buffy liked how cool he looked with his hair all pushed back off his face. William had his eyes closed, finding that her fingers in his hair were really not helping his situation in the slightest. He wondered if she knew how she was thrilling him and making him suffer at the same time.

"I'll bet you'd look good as a blond too" he heard her laugh slightly and felt her hands go away so he opened his eyes in time to see her swimming away, "Well, come on" she urged him and he followed her across the lake into the more sunny half.

"Xander?" Giles called as he caught sight of someone walking passed the door of his study.

"Yes, sir?" the boy replied, hovering by the entrance to the room, frowning a little when he realised his employer was staring out of the window but also waving him over to join him.

"I do believe we have intruders" the older man told Xander, pointing down towards the lake where two figures could be seen, slightly hidden by the trees from this angle.

"You want me to call the police?" the brunette asked, squinting his eyes and trying to focus on the people in the water.

"Oh good Lord" Giles suddenly gasped as a male and female came across the water into the sunnier and more visible part of the lake, "That's William and Buffy!" he said, absolutely stunned.

Xander's expression was very similar as he considered the implications of what his boss had just said. On closer inspection he could see that he was right, but what on Earth had possessed quiet, kinda geeky, Giles-clone, William to go diving into the lake? He assumed the only reason could be his bathing companion.

"This is just..I cannot believe that..." Giles was so flustered he removed his glasses and gave them a good polish as he turned away from the window. Xander didn't know what to say for the best and was having a hard time pulling his gaze from the stunning figure of Buffy Summers as she played around in the water.

"This is simply not acceptable" Giles said at last, heading for the door in a hurry as he replaced his spectacles on his nose, "I will not allow that boy to turn into his father" Xander heard him mumble as he disappeared from sight.

"Y'know I've been meaning to ask" Buffy smiled, pulling herself up to sit on the edge of the lake when she tired of swimming. William fought all kinds of inappropriate reactions to her appearance and pulled himself up on the edge beside her, "How did a guy like you, all prim and proper, end up with this?" she asked him, reaching out to run two fingers across the scar that split his left eyebrow.

William shied away from her touch, looking out across the water instead of at her. He'd been avoiding letting his eyes rest on any area below her neck as it was but after that question he couldn't bear to meet her eyes either.

"It was nothing" he lied, and Buffy frowned as he got to his feet and began putting his clothes back on, despite the fact he was soaking wet and probably ruining his shirt and pants by doing so.

As Buffy watched, open-mouthed, William picked up the remainder of his things and headed back towards the house without her, stopping only briefly as he passed by her, mumbling some kind of thanks for the swim.

Angry and upset at being denied an answer and being walked out on when she was just starting to have fun, Buffy threw herself back into the water, holding her breath as she held herself under for as long as she could. When her natural survival instincts made her come back to the surface and breathe she found an angry face staring down at her.

"Buffy Summers, what on Earth do you think you're doing!" Giles demanded to know, "Are you out of your senses!"

"Do you care?" she replied as she moved over to the side and pulled herself out right by her clothes. Giles looked away as she pulled them on and appeared at his side a moment later, dripping all over the place.

"Buffy, I do not understand you at all" he said tiredly, "You shout and yell at the slightest thing on your first day here, spend the following three locked in your room and now you're risking life and limb diving into filthy water, whilst encouraging my dear nephew to do the same" he complained.

"I never asked to come here" she said somewhat angrily, "I never asked for any of this"

"Given the choice what would you ask for?" he asked the girl, wishing she would just give him something to work with, an idea of how he could communicate with her, "If you do not wish to be here, where is it you want to be?"

The kindness in his eyes balanced the slight anger in his voice, to the point where the nicer emotion outweighed his annoyance. Buffy surprised herself with her admission.

"I want to be in LA" she shrugged as she turned to walk back to the house, "With my Mom and Dad"

William headed straight for the en suite bathroom to his bedroom to wash away the dirty lake water that covered him, as well as a few memories Buffy had brought to the surface. Of course it was far less easy to rid his mind of those but he had to try. The scars he bore on the inside from years of bullying and teasing, those he might have been able to talk of, those had mostly healed. No matter how much the line that marred his face healed, it would always be he most painful scar he possessed and one he never spoke of to anyone, he thought as he stepped out of the shower and studied said scar in the mirror.

The frown he wore turned into a half-smile as he pushed his hair back off his face as Buffy had. She thought he looked better with it like that. Maybe he should buy some gel and try something different, it was time for a change...

A knock on the bedroom door startled him slightly and he called through to ask who was there.

"The crazy girl that dives in lakes" came the reply and he almost laughed at that. Buffy really hadn't meant to upset him, he was sure. There was no way she could know what she was really asking him.

"Just a minute" he called as he grabbed the outfit he'd selected and pulled it on. The only pair of jeans he owned now covered his legs and a dark blue shirt complimented the brightness of his eyes. Subconsciously he was dressing for Buffy but he told himself he just felt like a change for himself.

With a deep breath, William opened the door and found the little blonde girl on the other side, also now in fresh clothes and clean hair though she hadn't bothered to dry it much it seemed.

"Hey" she tried to sound nonchalant but inside she knew she'd come here to see if he was okay and maybe even apologise if he really was upset, "I was, er...y'know" she shrugged, feeling decidedly uncomfortable. She didn't do words like sorry. She wasn't the caring and sharing type, but some unseen force drew her to this guy called William Rayne and whilst it kind of scared her, she liked it too.

"Do you, erm" William shifted awkwardly, glancing at his feet and back "Do you want to come in?" he found himself asking, though he knew he must be unhinged.

Buffy only nodded, slightly surprised at his offer as he moved and opened the door wider and she came inside.

As he closed the door, William realised something rather frightening. Despite the promise he made to himself just moments ago in the bathroom, that he would never be convinced to tell anyone the story from his past that brought so much pain, he had the strangest feeling that before the afternoon was out that Buffy would know every detail...

To Be Continued...