Author's Notes: This chapter has been slightly edited to keep the rating low. The original version can be found on my website.
Chapter 3: And look at those leather pants she's wearing.
Xander gazed at the back cover of the small paperback, memorizing the picture of the author. The face seemed almost familiar, although he'd never seen him before. There were no pictures of William himself on his web site, and this was the first picture he'd ever seen of the man whose words touched his heart and moved him deeply. He traced the curly brown hair and wire-rim glasses with a fingertip. William was smiling in the picture, and Xander wondered what had been running through his mind at that moment.
With a sigh, he stuck the book in his back pocket and pulled out his keys, opening the door to the small building under the outdoor stage. Turning on the lights, he emptied the de-humidifier and filled the cooler with ice, then grabbed a broom and his walkman and headed up to the stage to sweep off any debris.
He hummed to himself, sweeping off the leaves and dirt that had collected overnight, keeping an eye out for any graffiti that might've appeared as well. Once the stage was swept off, he started hauling up lumber and began work on the rest of the stairs and loft.
Around ten o'clock Faith dropped by, armed with double mochas and brunch. They sat together on the front of the stage, watching people walk through the park. "Still on that health kick, eh?"
Faith munched on granola. "You are what you eat."
"Then I should be sweet and rich by now." Xander elbowed her, stealing one of her apples.
"In your dreams." she said, elbowing him back. "Lemme see the book." He handed it over and she studied the photograph. "Cute, in a dorky sort of way."
"Blasphemy!" Xander snatched the book back, mock-swooning at the picture. "He's beautiful."
Faith laughed, tugging the book out of his grasp. "You're right. He'd gorgeous. How could I be so blind?" she humored him.
"Heathen." he huffed, drama-queen style. "What, do you lesbians get special sunglasses when you come out, only letting you see the hotness of girls?"
Faith grinned as she spotted a curvy blonde with a peroxide punk next to her walking down the path that ran next to the stage. After a moment she realized Xander had asked a question. "Sorry, I got distracted. What were you saying?"
He shook his head, hiding the grin. "Nothing. I see you will never change your evil sinful wicked ways."
"Damn straight." she replied, nonchalantly checking out the blonde. After a moment it became obvious the blond couple were headed straight for the stage, and Faith turned to Xander. "What do you say - I'll take the girl and you can have the guy?"
He chuckled. "Can you try thinking about something other than sex for one minute? And what makes you think she'd even be interested? They're holding hands; she's probably straight."
"So is spaghetti until you heat it up." she winked. "And look at those leather pants she's wearing. Those aren't walk-through-the-park-with-my-boyfriend pants. Those are I'm-out-in-public-and-might-potentially-score pants. And my love life is besides the point. What I want to know is, hypothetically, if the opportunity came up, would you do him?"
Xander eyed the figure in question. Worn black motorcycle jacket hung on a lean frame, faded blue jeans clung and left very little to the imagination. The sun lit his tousled blonde locks and glinted off of the piercing in his left eyebrow. He liked small and compact bodies, but... "I've never been a fan of the punk look. You know that. Give me a dork in glasses any day."
"Mmmhmm." Faith said, only half-listening. "You've so got to expand your horizons, babe. A leather ride can be so nice."
"""
"There he is." Buffy whispered as they approached the stage. Spike looked calm on the outside, but she could tell that he was panicking, so she squeezed his hand briefly before letting go. "Buck up, tiger. Go and get him."
"What if he doesn't like me?" he said quietly, out of earshot of the stage.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "He loves your poetry, that's obvious. We know you have similar interests, so what is there to be freaked out about? Just start a conversation with him. It's easy."
"If it's so easy, why don't you do it?" Spike grumbled, then groaned. It had come out sounding like a dare, and Buffy never backed down on dares.
"Fine." she said, then strode forward, waving a little to catch the man's attention. He looked up at her, and she smiled brightly. "Alexander Harris, right?"
"Um, yeah." he said, not recognizing her. "It's just 'Xander'."
Buffy reached out her hand and he shook it automatically. "I'm Buffy. From the bookstore last night?" she saw him remember, his smile suddenly wide and warm.
"Oh yeah." he replied, and gestured to the dark-haired woman beside him. "This is my friend, Faith. Faith, this is Buffy. She helped me get that book."
Faith held out her hand and shook with Buffy. "It's a pleasure to meet you." she said, letting her voice carry a sensuous edge.
Buffy blushed, ending the handshake a moment too soon. "Same here." she replied, a little shakily. She glanced back at Xander. "So, fancy meeting you here. Do you work with the theater?" Cheeky chit, Spike thought to himself. She knew darn well he did.
"Yeah, I'm the stage manager." Xander nodded. "Are you interested in Shakespeare?"
"It's okay, but my friend Spike here," She grabbed Spike's arm and tugged him forward into the conversation, "He loves Shakespeare." Spike stumbled for a moment before regaining his footing, offering a shy smile.
"So, how d'you like that book?" Spike tried his hand at conversation. Hey, if Buffy could do it...
Xander smiled back. "It's great. Have you read his poems before?"
"Actually, I have." Spike wasn't sure why he wasn't admitting that he was William, but something made him hold back. Probably that wall of insecurities that Buffy and Willow harped about every once in a while.
Xander shook his hand. "Wow, it's so cool to meet another Barstow fan off of the Internet." His smile quirked. "It's like fate or something, running into each other like this."
"Yeah." Spike knew he could easily get addicted to that smile. "Fate."