"What!" Rupert Giles stared at the phone in shock.

"You heard me, Rupert. I can't take it anymore! He's coming to live with
you." Julia's voice sounded tinny over the line, the overseas connection
not exactly the best.

"Julia, this isn't exactly the best time. I *am* in the process of
moving, you know."

"Look, Ru, he's your child too, and..." there was a hitching breath, "I
just don't know what to do with him. I can't...I can't deal with this."

"Deal with what? Julia!"

"I put him on the plane this morning, he's scheduled to arrive at the
airport in Portland tomorrow afternoon at 2:34." Julia's voice grew
softer. "I'm sorry, Rupert. I hate to...foist him off on you like this.
I know it's not convenient for you."

Rupert sighed, feeling a headache well up behind his eyes. "Julia...can't
you at least tell me why? This *is* a bit of a shock, you know."

"I-I know. But I can't...I can't talk about it now."

"Great. Bloody great. Julia, I haven't even *seen* the boy since you
took him and left me 8 years ago. We barely know each other! A few
letters and the occasional phone call do not a father/son relationship
make."

"Look, he *needs* you, Rupert. He needs his father! I can't be that for
him. It's...it's best this way."

Rupert groaned, reaching for a pack of cigarettes. He tapped one out,
lighting it up and taking a deep drag on it.

"You're smoking again, aren't you?"

"Bloody hell yes, I'm smoking! What do you expect from me?" Defiantly,
he took another drag.

"I thought you quit."

"I did." He inhaled again, then stubbed the remainder out. "Julia, I'm
due at my new post in a week. Couldn't this have waited a bit?"

"No!" Julia took a deep breath. "No, it couldn't. I'm sorry, Rupert.
Truly I am. Besides, this will work out fine. You can get him enrolled
at that school in...where was it you were going again?"

"Sunnydale, Julia. It's in southern California."

"That's right. Sounds like a splendid place, Ru. I'm sure he'll love it
there."

"Julia..." Rupert hesitated, then continued, "I don't...I've not had much
practice being a father, Jules. I don't know if I can do this."

"Have faith in yourself, Ru. You'll do fine." There was some muffled
conversation in the background. "Rupert, I have to go now. I'm late for
a meeting. Don't forget, 2:34!"

"Jules, I--" There was a click as the line disconnected. Groaning,
Rupert dropped the phone, not bothering to hang it up. "Bugger it all,"
he muttered, looking around the shambles of his apartment. Packing boxes
were stacked along the wall, waiting to be filled with the multitude of
books and assorted knick-knacks he'd accumulated over the years of his
stay in the states. "Bloody awful timing. Damn it!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Rupert made his way through the bustle of the airport. "Sorry," he
muttered as he bumped into someone. "Oh pardon, do excuse me." He
suppressed a snarl of annoyance. //Damned bloody Yanks!//

Finally, he made it through the crowd, and looked up at the listing of
incoming flights. He couldn't hold back a groan when he saw that the
flight he was waiting for was due to be about an hour late. He rubbed his
temples tiredly. What with scrambling to get most of the packing done,
then rushing to make it to the airport on time, he'd managed to build up
quite the headache. And not, to top things off, he would be forced to
wait in this...madhouse!

Sighing, he once more pressed through the crowd, heading over to the
terminal where his son's plane was scheduled to arrive. He dropped down
into a chair, staring uninterestedly at a television that he couldn't even
hear due to the noise level around him. Still, it was something to do.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the plane arrived. Rupert stood,
awaiting his son's exodus from the terminal. When he saw him, though, he
stood in shock.

He had pictures, some of them quite recent. But in *none* of them did the
boy look like *this*!

Quite frankly, the boy looked absolutely...wretched. His light brown hair
hung limp and tangled, blue eyes were dim and appeared sunken due to the
dark circles under them. Pale, thin form more suitable to a starving
waif. He looked like someone's malnourished, abused puppy. One that had
been tossed onto the street after being beaten.

//Christ, Julia. Why didn't you *say* anything?// Swallowing hard, he
stepped forward.

The young man looked up, eyes flickering slightly in recognition. He gave
a polite nod. "Da," he acknowledged rather impersonally.

Rupert nodded back. "W-William." There was an awkward pause, then he
cleared his throat. "Well, best pick up your luggage, then."

Part Two  

"Well, this is it. For the next few days, anyway. Sorry about the
clutter." Rupert motioned for William to enter, and the boy did so,
glancing around with only mild curiosity. "I suppose you can store your
luggage out here; it would be rather pointless to unpack anything but the
essentials."

William shrugged and hauled one of his bags across the room, dumping it
unceremoniously against the wall. Rupert followed suit with the two
smaller bags that he was carrying.

Rupert frowned at what really was a small amount of belongings for a
sixteen year-old boy relocating to a new country. "Are these all your
things?" he asked.

William settled himself into an armchair, curling his legs up under him.
"Most of it," he answered briefly. "Mum..." he paused, jaw clenching.
"Mum said she'd send the rest once I 'get settled'." He sneered as he
mimicked her words.

"I see." He sighed. "Do you...want to talk about it?"

"No." William glowered at him, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Ah. All right then." Rupert nodded. "Well, I believe there's still a
bit of food left in the kitchen, you're welcome to make yourself some tea
if you wish. I just need to make a few calls." He walked slowly into his
bedroom, fighting the urge to make a hasty escape. He closed the door an,
picking up the phone, dialed a number that had become familiar with him
over the last few weeks.

After a lengthy conversation with the manager at the apartment complex
that he was moving to, he was able to change his lease to cover a
two-bedroom place instead of the single bedroom apartment he'd originally
signed for. The rent increase wasn't too terribly high, which was a
relief, but thing were most likely going to be a bit more cramped than
he'd planned.

Having completed his call, he left the bedroom, walking out to find
William sitting at the table eating a bowl of tomato soup. The boy looked
up as he approached.

"I, um, thought I'd get something to eat," he told Rupert quietly.

"Sensible idea. I'll join you." He fetched himself a bowl and filled it
with the remainder of the soup. As he ate, he observed his son curiously.
The boy looked positively exhausted, an impression emphasized by the
giant yawn he was unable to hold back.

Rupert cleared his throat. "I'm sure the flight tired you out. Why don't
you have a nap in the bedroom while I get back to packing up out here."

William nodded, picking up his now empty bowl and carrying it over to the
sink. Yawning again, he shuffled into the other room.

Rupert shook his head. Finishing his own soup, he sighed and got back to
packing.

~~~~~~~~~~

William flung himself onto the couch with a tired groan. His father
joined him, handing him a steaming cup of tea. "Thanks."

Rupert nodded. "I must say, I forgot how tedious this moving business
was. You were a great deal of help getting everything in here, William."

William blushed, looking at the floor.

Smiling, Rupert looked around his -- *their* new apartment. It had taken
the better part of two days to get everything carried in, unpacked, and
arranged satisfactorily. He'd also arranged to have another bed delivered
for William's room, since he only had the one, and wasn't about to spend
another night on the couch. "Well, we have almost a week before the
school year starts. I suppose we'd best go in tomorrow to get you
enrolled."

"Oh. Yeah." William didn't appear to be too enthusiastic about this.
The prospect of starting over in a new school, where he didn't know
anyone, was daunting. And if anyone ever found out about...

"William?"

He glanced back up at his father. "Yeah?"

"Your mother never mentioned exactly why she felt it best for you to come
live with me. Did you want to talk about it yet?"

His face immediately closed off. "No," he replied bluntly.

"Ah. Well, then." He sat there uncomfortably, sipping his tea.

After a moment, William relented with a sigh. "Look, Da...it's just...I
don't want to talk about it now, ok?"

"Of course. But William? Whenever you feel comfortable, I'm here to
listen. I won't judge."

William snorted. He shifted on the couch, finally jumping to his feel.
"I'm...I'm going to go to bed now. I'm still really tired."

Rupert nodded, and watched his son move quickly to his bedroom, closing
the door firmly behind him. "What happened, William?" he whispered sadly.

Part Three  

"Just meet me in the library after classes, all right?" 

William nodded, then watched his father make his way through the bustle of 
people into the school. He stared down at the class schedule in his hand as 
he began to walk determinedly through the crowded halls. Not looking where 
he was going, he bumped into another student walking by, and his armload of 
books went cascading to the floor. He stammered out an apology to the girl, 
who shot him a dirty look before continuing on her way. With a sigh, William 
bent to gather his things. 

A broad hand entered the scope of his vision, picking up one of his folders 
and handing it back. William took it gratefully, tilting his head up to 
thank his benefactor. He froze, tongue-tied. 

"Got it? Hey, you're new here, aren't you? I'm Xander." 

William gulped, staring fixedly at Xander as the other boy continued to hand 
him his scattered belongings. 

"Hello? Anyone there?" Xander felt a twinge of worry as he received only a 
blank stare. He waved a hand in front of glazed eyes. 

William blinked, then blushed furiously, wrenching his eyes away from 
Xander's face to stare at the floor as he fumbled around for the rest of his 
things. "Um, I'm W-William," he finally answered. 

Xander grinned. "Cool accent." 

They stood, and William fidgeted nervously as he avoided meeting Xander's 
gaze. 

"Hey, need any help finding your classes? You look kinda lost." 

"Oh, I...um, I was..." 

"Here." Xander deftly plucked away William's schedule, scanning it. 'First 
period, History, room 126. That's just down the hall." He handed the 
schedule back, laying a hand on William's arm and guiding him to the right 
classroom. With another wide grin, he said, "Here you go. Good luck!" 

William watched as Xander moved away, trying to get his breathing back under 
control. He looked down at his arm, which still burned with the impression 
of Xander's hand. He closed his eyes. //Not again. Don't let this be 
happening again.// 

His eyes popped open again at the sound of a throat being cleared beside him. 
He flushed as he realized he was standing in the middle of the doorway, 
blocking it quite effectively. Quickly, he went inside, making his way over 
to an empty seat. 



The bell for the end of class rang. While other students laughed and chatted 
with their friends as they exited, William quietly gathered his books 
together. 

"Hi, you're new, aren't you?" came a bubbly voice next to him. "I'm Cordelia 
Chase." A slim hand was held out to him. 

William took it hesitantly, giving it a quick shake. "William Giles," he 
answered. 

"Oh, wow, you've got an accent! That is *so* cool! Where are you from?" 
Cordelia walked in step with him as he left the room. 

"England." 

"You know, I've always thought accents were sexy." She batted her eyelashes 
at William, who remained oblivious to her flirting. She frowned, but 
shrugged. "Well, the important thing to remember about coming to school here 
is, you gotta hang with the right people. You stick with me, and I can get 
you into the cool crowd. Otherwise, you might end up with the losers." Her 
smile became predatory. "Speaking of losers..." 

William gave a small smile to the girl at the water fountain. It 
disappeared, though, as he listened to what Cordelia was saying. 

"Willow. *Nice* dress! It's good to know you've seen the softer side of 
Sears." All this was said with the same smile plastered on her face. 

William looked at Cordelia, confused. 

Willow took a step back, glancing down at her dress. "Uh, we-well, my mom 
picked it out," she said timidly. 

"No *wonder* you're such a guy magnet." Her expression turned nasty. "Are 
you done?" 

Willow looked at the water fountain, then back at Cordelia. "Oh." She 
backed up, turning and hurrying away. 

William frowned as he watched her go. 

Cordelia rolled her eyes, turning to face William. "You wanna fit in here, 
the first rule is: know your losers. Once you can identify them all by 
sight, they're a *lot* easier to avoid," she said with a laugh. 

William just stared at her, not quite believing what had happened. He shook 
his head. "Um, I...I have to be going. I don't want to be late." 

"Oh. Sure. Maybe I'll see you at lunch then." Cordelia sighed as she 
watched him walk off, a dreamy expression on her face. 



It was finally luchtime, and William made his way out to the courtyard. He 
spotted the girl from the fountain sitting nearby, and made his way over to 
her. "Um, hi. Willow, right?" 

She looked up from her lunch, startled. "Why? I-I mean, hi. Uh, did you 
want me to move?" 

"What? Oh, no." He moved around to the other side of her, sitting down. 
"I'm William, by the way." 

"Hey, William." 

"Actually, I was wondering if you might be able to help me with a few 
subjects. I'm not familiar with some of this, and I heard that you were the 
one to ask for help. For tutoring." 

Willow brightened noticeably. "Oh, I could *totally* help you out. Like, if 
you have sixth period free, we could meet in the library." 

"Ah." He looked away, uncomfortable. 

"Is that not good? There's a new librarian this year, and he won't mind. 
He's really cool. I heard he used to be a curator at some British museum." 
She paused. "Or *the* British Museum, I'm not sure." She continued 
cheerfully, "But he knows *everything*, and he brought all these historical 
volumes and biographies, and am I the single dullest person alive?" She bit 
her lip. 

"Oh, no. Not at all. I just...I already knew that." 

"Really?" 

"Um, yes. He's...well, he's my father." 

Willow blinked. "Oh." Cocking her head, she said thoughtfully, "I guess 
that makes sense. You're both English, and new, and--" 

"Hey, you guys busy? Are we interrupting? We're interrupting." 

William caught his breath as the boy from earlier -- Xander -- hopped over 
the ledge to sit between him and Willow. He barely even noticed the other 
person who joined them. 

"William, this is Jesse and that's Xander." 

Xander smiled. "Aw, me and William go way back. Old friends, very close." 

William tried not to imagine being 'very close' to Xander, forcing himself to 
focus. "Um, it's, uh, it's nice to meet you." 

Jesse sat. "You know, we wanted to welcome you, make you feel at 
home...unless you have a scary home." 

William sat there, bemused. 

Xander leaned in closer. "So, tell us about yourself. What do you do for 
fun?" 

Jesse broke in, "Do you have any dark, painful secrets you'd like us to 
publish?" 

William could almost feel the blood drain from his face. "Um...no. Nothing 
very interesting at all. Really." 



Rupert looked up from his books. "Ah, William, you're early. Done already?" 

William shook his head. "No Da, I have this period free, I'm meeting someone 
here to study. Willow." 

"Willow. Yes, delightful girl. Quite intelligent too, so I've heard." He 
smiled at his son fondly. "Do I detect a bit of interest, here?" 

William's face closed off. "No." He frowned, stepping away from his father. 

Rupert blinked. "Oh. Well, I didn't mean to offend you. I simply thought 
that you might appreciate a bit of privacy." 

"And why would you think that?" William asked harshly, eyes narrowed. "You 
don't know anything about me." 

"Well it's certainly not for lack of trying on my part. You can be 
remarkably uncommunicative when it suits you." Rupert couldn't fathom what 
had gotten the boy so worked up. 

"What do you want me to tell you?" William hissed angrily. "You want to hear 
all my deep, dark secrets? Want to know all about *why* I don't want 'a bit 
of privacy' with Willow? With any girl?" He panted, fingers clenched hard 
on the books in his hands. "Shall I tell you about how I'd rather dream of 
all the cute boys I've seen today? Is that what you want to hear? That your 
son fancies blokes?" He snorted. "Why the bloody hell do you think Mum 
washed her hands of me?!" He slammed his books down and spun around, 
stalking out of the library. 

Rupert stood there for a moment, astounded. Shaking himself, he hurried 
after his son. "William..." 

As the doors swung shut, Xander crept out from between some stacks of books. 
He stared at the door, eyes wide. "Woah," he whispered. 

Part Four  

William sat on the couch, bouncing his leg nervously. He knew he was in 
trouble. Besides the fact that he'd sworn at his father, he'd also ditched 
the rest of school, hurrying back to the apartment before he managed to break 
down and start bawling in public. 

Oh yeah. He was in trouble. He just hoped his father wasn't the type to get 
too 'physical' with his punishments. Although, his mother did seem to be 
drawn to that sort of man... 

He gulped hard as he heard the doorknob turn, cringing down into his seat. 
He would have hidden out in his room, but experience told him that doing so 
usually only got him in even more trouble. 



With a weary slump to his shoulders, Rupert entered his apartment. He hadn't 
been able to catch up with William after the boy's...announcement and 
subsequent departure from school grounds, and had been forced to return to 
the library for the remainder of the school day. He could only hope William 
had decided to come home instead of running off somewhere. 

He glanced around, briefly closing his eyes in relief when he saw a tuft of 
hair peeking up over the top of the sofa. He straightened, calmly making his 
way across the room, were he set his briefcase down on the floor. He stared 
at William for a long moment, not saying a word. 

William slouched down even further under the weight of his father's stare. 
He brought his knees up, wrapping his arms around them and partially hiding 
his face. He refused to look up. 

Rupert sat at the other end of the sofa, steepling his fingers together in 
front of his face as he calmly regarded his son. "Well," he began softly, "I 
really do think we should talk now." 

William ducked his head down even more, tousled hair hiding his face from 
view. "I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. 

Sighing, Rupert reached out to brush the hair away from William's face, 
freezing when the boy flinched violently away from him. "I'm not going to 
hurt you," he assured the boy in a soft tone before gently completing the 
movement, exposing William's pale face. "William...talk to me. Please." 

Sniffling, William shrugged slightly. "'Bout what?" he muttered. 

Rupert smiled. "I don't know. How about your mother? Or if you'd rather, 
what about how your classes went." He chuckled lightly. "Maybe you'd like 
to tell me about all the cute boys you met today." He had certainly been 
surprised, to say the least, by the revelation of his son's...inclinations. 
But he wasn't about to let a thing like that interfere with his relationship 
with the boy. 

William flushed. "I...I didn't mean..." He sniffled some more as tears 
welled up in his eyes. "I can't help it," he told Rupert in a broken voice. 
"I-I *try* not to, but I can't..." He gasped in a lungful of air. "And Mum, 
she found out, and went off her rocker, and I wasn't even *doing* anything. 
We just kissed a little because I wanted to try it, and he was really cute 
and he liked me, and then she saw us, and-and..." He swiped a hand across 
his runny nose. "I just..." His voice was a mere whisper, laced through 
with dejection. "I didn't want you to hate me too, Da." 

Determinedly, Rupert scooted closer to William, pulling the unresisting boy 
into his lap, arms wrapped firmly around him. "I don't hate you, William. 
Nothing you could ever do would make me hate you." 

William relaxed against him, burrowing his face into the fabric of his coat. 
"You're not...disgusted? That I'm q-queer?" 

"Your...your sexual preferences, whatever they may be, have no bearing on how 
I feel about you. I may not have a lot of expertise in parenting, but I'm 
certainly not going to-to put conditions on my love for you." 

"You...love me?" 

Rupert snorted. "Of course I do. And I won't have you talking about 
yourself like there's something wrong with you, understood?" 

William nodded, smiling tremulously. "Yes, sir." 

"Good. I'm glad we have that settled." He continued to hold his son, 
rocking ever so slightly. After a moment, he tilted William's face up, 
wiping at his tear-stained cheeks. "So," he said with a smile. "What's all 
this about cute boys?" 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Lunchtime again. William sighed in relief, glad for the break from classes. 
It was only his second day here, and it was lasting a lifetime. At least he 
felt somewhat more comfortable around his father, now that his big secret was 
out. He couldn't believe how calm and understanding Rupert had been, 
especially since his mother had ranted, raved, and practically disowned him 
when she'd walked in while he and Brian were...experimenting. It's not like 
they'd even had any clothes off or anything! 

"William!" 

His head jerked around, and he saw Willow waving at him, smiling cheerfully. 
With a matching grin, he made his way over to her, pulling out his lunch as 
he sat down. "Willow. Um, sorry about yesterday, I--" 

"Oh, no problem. Mr. Giles...I mean, your dad, he said you went home early 
'cause you weren't feeling well. That's totally understandable. We can make 
up for it today...I mean, if that's good for you. Is that good for you?" 

"That's fine. Thanks." There was something about Willow's perky babbling 
that drew him in, making him feel at ease. His eyes sparkled happily as he 
watched her gesture emphatically as she spoke. Once he realized that she 
didn't even really need a response, he took a bite of his sandwich, nodding 
as he listened intently. 

"Hey, and we meet again!" Jesse jogged up to them, flopping down into an 
empty seat. "Oh god, you will never believe it. She talked to me. 
*Cordelia* actually talked to me!" He sighed, a dreamy smile fixed on his 
face. 

"I don't think 'You're standing in front of my locker, loser' actually counts 
as conversation, man." Xander joined them, ducking the swat Jesse aimed his 
way. "Hey guys," he said to the others. 

William swallowed his mouthful of food hastily. "H-hi Xander," he replied, a 
slight flush staining his cheeks. He ignored the strange look Xander gave 
him, fixing his gaze on the remainder of his sandwich. 

Xander shook himself. "So, who's up for a night at the Bronze?" 

"Bronze?" William looked up at him questioningly. //Oh god, he's got such 
beautiful eyes...// 

Xander blinked, momentarily frozen by the clear blue eyes that seemed to gaze 
at him...adoringly? He looked away, clearing his throat. "Y-yeah. Um, it's 
uh, it's a club across town. *The* club. It's pretty cool." 

"Yeah, they've got great music." 

"I'm up for it." Willow brushed her hair behind her ears, grinning at 
William. "So? Gonna join us?" 

"Oh. Well, I'll have to ask my father, but...it's sounds like fun." He 
peeked over at Xander from beneath his bangs. 

Xander swallowed. "Well, on that note, there's, uh, this...thing that 
I'm...supposed to be doing. "So...catch you later!" He stood, quickly 
making his way back into the building, oblivious to the startled looks his 
hasty exit prompted. He was too caught up in a whirlwind of thoughts. 

//He was looking at me. Not, like, normal looking. Like, the way Jesse 
looks at Cordelia. And he's gay. And he keeps watching me. And he's gay. 
And he's always blushing when I'm around. And he's *gay*.// He leaned 
against a wall, dragging in deep, calming breaths. 

//Chill out, Xand-man. You're probably just imagining things. And so what 
if he *was* checking you out? You're a very handsome guy, totally worth 
checking out. It's not like he's gonna jump you.// Xander frowned. //I 
don't think.// He shrugged. //Besides, if he were a girl, I'd *definitely* 
be doing some checking out in return. He's got great eyes. And those pouty 
lips that girls would kill for. And the cutest ass, all tight and curvy 
and--Ah! I was not looking at his ass!// He banged his head back against 
the wall. 

//I am *so* not thinking about a guy's ass. Oh god, what's wrong with me?// 
He let out a tiny whimper. //Control, Xander. Get yourself under control. 
Girls. Soft, bouncy, gropable girls. And breasts! We like breasts, don't 
we?// He straightened, scolding himself harshly. //No more checking out of 
male anatomy. Even if you do want to find out just how soft his hair really 
is.// He smacked himself, drawing several odd glances from nearby students. 

Chuckling nervously, he resumed his trek down the halls. //Girls. Lots and 
lots of girls...// 

Part Five  

William paced his room, waiting for his father to get home from the meeting 
he'd gone to after school. He really wanted to go to that club with Willow 
and the others, but knew he'd need to get permission first. He hoped Rupert 
didn't have any sort of objections to this sort of thing. His mother would 
never allow him to do something so crass as visit one of those 'breeding 
grounds for trouble' as she so eloquently put it. No, *her* son had to stay 
firmly ensconced at home studying, so he could keep his grades up, get into 
Oxford, become a raging success in his field of study, then eventually settle 
down with a girl she picked out for him and raise a set of lovely, perfect 
children that would be a credit to their bloodlines. 

//Guess my being a poof rather cut into those plans, didn't it?// He smiled 
humorlessly, still able to hear his mother's screech of absolute outrage and 
horror when she'd walked in on him and Brian. //Not that the sounds we made 
were any more manly. Best classified as shrieks, I'd imagine.// 

Still, his father seemed to be a fairly easy-going type of person. And he 
was making an effort to befriend his estranged child, so he probably wouldn't 
choose this moment to go all domineering and strict on him Probably. 

Hearing his father finally arrive, William took a deep breath to compose 
himself. Leaving his room, he quietly made his way out into the living room. 
"Da, I was..." His voice trailed off when he saw that no one was there. 
"Da?" 

Rupert stuck his head out of his bedroom. "I'm sorry, did you call me?" 

"Yeah, I um..." William glanced down at the floor. "I wanted to ask you 
something." 

"Oh, well all right. Just give me a moment to change and I'll be right out." 

"Sure." William groaned as his father disappeared again. He sank down onto 
the sofa, head in hands. "Just bloody well ask him, you ponce. The worst 
that could happen is he says no." He waited nervously for a few more minutes 
until Rupert came back out. 

Rupert examined his jittery son, hiding an amused grin. "Now," he said, 
making William jump slightly, "you wanted to speak with me about something?" 

William nodded. "Oh, yes, I uh..." he trailed off. 

With a wry shake of his head, Rupert went into the kitchen. "Why don't you 
help me make dinner while we talk?" he suggested. 

William stood hastily, following his father. "What are we having tonight?" 

Rupert's voice was muffled by the refrigerator door when he answered. "Well, 
I thought we'd do a terribly American thing and have -- ah-hah!" He emerged, 
brandishing a package of ground beef. "Hamburgers!" He moved to the stove, 
tearing open the plastic wrap and forming patties. "Could you get the 
skillet? It's in that cabinet down there." 

William carefully eased his way past Rupert and found the skillet, setting it 
on the stove. The burgers were soon sizzling merrily, and Rupert turned his 
attention back to William. The boy in question busied himself with opening 
the package of buns he'd retrieved from the breadbox. "Da? I was 
wondering...could I, um, go out with some people to a club tonight?" 

"Tonight? Well, there is school in the morning, and..." Rupert saw how 
William's face fell in disappointment, and continued, "and I suppose if you 
don't stay out too terribly late, and have your homework finished before you 
go, then it would be all right." 

William blinked, then turned to stare at his father. "Y-You mean it? I can 
go?" 

"Certainly. Just try not to get into too much trouble, all right?" He 
smiled gently. "I'm joking." 

"Oh." William gave Rupert a hesitant grin that soon stretched across his 
face. "Thanks, Da," he said softly. 

Rupert reached out and gave William a one-armed hug, then cleared his throat. 
"Get the plates, why don't you," he said in a gruff voice. 

At the table, Rupert watched in amusement as William tried to eat his burger 
neatly. It was doomed to failure, however, what with the ketchup, mustard, 
mayonnaise and tomato slices adorning it. 

Finally, William gave it up, contenting himself with not making *too* much of 
a spectacle of himself. 

"So, who are you going to be going with?" 

William swallowed, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Um, well I'm going to 
meet Willow and a couple of friends of hers. Um, Jesse and X-Xander." 

Rupert raised an eyebrow as William stumbled over that name, his cheeks 
picking up a deep red hue. "I see." He watched as William ducked his head 
down, intently examining his dinner. "Ah yes, Xander. I do believe I've 
seen him; he has the distinction of being one of the few students who has 
actually used the library on occasion." A bite of food, slowly chewed and 
swallowed, then, mischievously, "So, is he one of the 'cute boys' you 
mentioned?" 

William choked on his mouthful, grabbing frantically for his glass of milk. 
He gulped it down, avoiding his father's knowing stare. When he'd regained a 
small part of his composure, he peeked up. With a tiny, bashful smile, he 
said quietly, "He is rather...pleasant-looking." 

Rupert chuckled. "Well, I'm sure you'll have a very enjoyable evening." 

William just smiled dreamily as he finished his burger, mentally counting 
down the minutes until he'd see Xander at the Bronze. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

William walked through the noisy, crowded club, doing his best not to jostle 
too many people. He scanned the floor, relieved when he saw Willow sitting 
in a stool at the bar. He carefully made his way over. 

Willow looked up from her drink, a huge smile appearing on her face. 
"William! You made it!" 

Taking a seat next to her, William smiled back. "Yeah, Da said it was fine 
as long as I don't stay out too late." 

"Cool." She bounced in her seat as she spoke. "Hey, want somethin' to 
drink? Lots of caffeine goodness, good for the soul." She waggled her own 
soda at him coaxingly. 

William quirked an eyebrow, refraining from pointing out that she seemed to 
have consumed enough caffeine for the both of them. Instead, he just nodded, 
and was soon served with a drink of his own. 

William watched him sit, absently sipping at her drink while she nibbled at 
some peanuts from a bowl on the counter. "Anyway, Xander should be here 
soon." Her face softened as she said his name. 

William noticed, and felt a pang deep inside. He tried to hold back a look 
of despair as he asked, "So...you and Xander. You're...together? Like, 
dating?" //Of course they are. He's a gorgeous, funny guy; why wouldn't he 
be with a great girl like Willow? What, you thought he might be waiting for 
you or something? Git.// He was so caught up in remonstrating himself that 
he almost missed Willow's response. 

Willow shook her head. "Oh no, we're just friends. We used to go out, 
but...we broke up." 

William blinked. "Oh. Um...why?" 

Seriously, Willow answered, "He stole my Barbie." At his incredulous 
expression, she giggled. "We were five," she explained. 

Letting out a breath that was pure relief, William nodded in understanding. 
"Oh." 

"I-I don't actually date a whole lot...lately." She shrugged, trying not to 
seem too upset by that, but her casual attitude was a bit forced. 

William scooted his stool closer. "Why not?" 

Willow blushed a little. "Well, when I'm with a boy I like," she told him, 
"it's hard for me to say anything cool, or-or witty, or at all." A bashful 
grin. "I-I can usually make a few vowel sounds, and then I have to go away." 

Snorting softly, William mumbled under his breath, "I know how *that* is." 

"What?" 

William cleared his throat. "Oh, I uh, um...it can't be that bad." 

Nodding, Willow gazed at him earnestly. "No, it is. I think boys are more 
interested in a girl who can talk." 

He smiled at her. "I think you can talk just fine," he informed her 
definitively. "You have a lovely voice, and you're quite intelligent, too." 

Willow laughed and punched him lightly on the arm. "Well hey, you're pretty 
smart yourself. Just...gotta get the hang of Americanized stuff." She 
shrugged. "Besides, the whole dating thing? It's probably easier for 
you...since you're a guy and all." 

William glanced down at his drink uncomfortably. "Yeah. Really easy." 

"I mean, sure you seem a little shy. But you are kinda cute, and with the 
accent and everything, you'll probably have lots of girls after you." She 
perked up. "Cordelia seemed to like you a lot." Then her face fell. "Um, 
not...that that's necessarily a god thing." 

William gave a shy grin. "I wouldn't want to steal her away from Jesse, 
after all." 

Willow clapped a hand over her mouth as she burst into a fit of giggles. 

"And how's my Wills tonight?" Xander came up behind Willow, slipping an arm 
around her shoulders to give her a hug. 

William caught his breath. Briefly, he imagined that Xander was speaking to 
*him*, calling *him* that name in his husky voice. He sighed then, letting 
his eyes surreptitiously travel down the length of Xander's body. 

Xander released Willow, peering out the corner of his eye at William. //Is 
he staring at me? Oh god, he's staring at me, isn't he?// Nervous, he took 
the Willow method of defense -- random babble. "Hey Will, how's it 
hangin'--er, goin'? Oh wow, wouldja look at that. Will and Wills; two of 
you! You don't mind if I call you Will, do you? Because I can stop if you 
don't like it or something. That's cool with me. And look, you guys have 
drinks! I'm thirsty too. I'm getting a drink. You want anything? No? Be 
right back." He hurried off in search of the elusive beverage. 

William stared after him, baffled. He glanced back at Willow. "Does he do 
that a lot?" 

Willow's forehead wrinkled. "Usually only when he's really nervous or upset, 
but I don't know what could have happened to get him in a mood like that. 
Huh." Then she winced. 

"What?" He twisted in his seat to see what Willow was staring at. 

Willow sucked a breath in as the scene unfolded. Jesse walking confidently 
-- for him -- up to Cordelia, presumably to ask her to dance. Being shot 
down rather brutally. "Ouch." Willow nibbled her lip, aching for her friend 
as she saw him staring forlornly after Miss Popularity when she flounced away 
with her groupies. "Poor Jesse." She nodded, determination written on her 
face. "This calls for chocolate. And maybe some judicious brainwashing. 
But definitely some chocolate." Standing, she looked over at William. "Be 
back in a sec. Don't panic, I can see Xander on his way back here now." She 
gave him another smile, then headed off to drag Jesse out of his wallowing. 

William forced himself not to turn and look as Xander moved toward him. He 
gulped about half his drink, trying to quell the flock of butterflies that 
seemed to have taken residence in his stomach. 

"Back again. Man, good drinks are hard to find around here." Xander 
chuckled as he stood next to Willow's vacated seat. "Hey, where'd she go?" 

William pointed to where Willow had dragged Jesse over to an empty chair, 
seating him and plying him with chocolate obtained from questionable sources. 

"Oh. Run-in with Cordy?" Xander shook his head, tsking. "Guy has seriously 
got to get past this phase before he ends up permanently traumatized by 
rejection." 

William frowned slightly. "Why?" He flushed as Xander stared at him. "I-I 
mean, don't you think that...maybe, well, opposites could attract?" 

"Not *that* opposite. She's evil, I tell you." 

William stared at his hands, clutched around his glass. "You can't help who 
y-you're attracted to," he whispered. He felt his cheeks grow even warmer 
with the weight of Xander's eyes on him. 

"Um, no. I...guess not." He stared at William, transfixed. //He looks so 
cute all red and embarrassed like that. Embarrassed. Bare-assed. I 
wonder--ack!// Now it was Xander's turn to blush as he frantically drank 
down his soda. Weakly, he took Willow's seat, determined to get his brain 
firmly under control. 

Part Six  

William trudged tiredly into the apartment. He mumbled a greeting to his 
father, who was sitting nonchalantly on the couch reading in an attempt to 
make it appear as if he weren't waiting up for his son. William just 
stumbled past him into his room and collapsed onto the bed. He managed to 
kick off his shoes and squirm out of most of his clothes, wriggling his way 
under the covers. 

He yawned. It had been a pretty decent night. He didn't think he'd made too 
much of an idiot of himself in front of Xander, and once Willow had plied 
Jesse with liberal amounts of chocolate and dragged him back to some 
semblance of happiness, they'd all had a blast just talking and taking turns 
dancing. With Willow, of course. It was still fun, though. And William 
tried not to imagine what it would be like to have Xander dancing with him, 
brushing up against him as they moved. 

Curling around his pillow, William fell asleep with a smile on his face. 


##### 
William tossed and turned in his bed, punching his pillows in frustration. 
He looked up as the door opened. 

"Trouble sleeping?" Rupert asked. 

William sighed and nodded. 

Rupert walked over, sitting on the edge of his bed. He reached out a hand to 
push the hair away from William's face. "Shhh. Just close your eyes. 
Relax." 

William sighed and did as he was told, sinking down into the mattress. Warm 
lips brushed lightly across his forehead as fingers continued to comb gently 
through his hair. Then a mouth pressed against his own, tongue snaking out 
to trail over his lips. 

William's eyes flew open, and he stare up in amazement at Xander, who loomed 
over him wearing nothing but a goofy grin. 

"I know how to relax you," he whispered, bending down for another kiss. 

William moaned, letting his mouth fall open to admit the questing tongue. He 
reached up to tangle his hands in Xander's hair, pulling the other boy down 
on top of him. 

Xander pressed his body to William's, his larger form covering him like a 
blanket. He nudged William's legs apart, slipping a thigh between them. 

William gasped and arched up, rubbing his cock demandingly against smooth, 
lightly furred flesh. He used his own tongue to map out the interior of 
Xander's mouth, twining it about its mate. 

Xander reached between them, grasping William's pebbled nipples between his 
fingers, pulling and twisting at them to provide a delicious torment. Every 
time he brushed over the sensitive peaks, William whimpered into his mouth, 
begging for more. 

William rocked his hips over and over, the friction on his cock making him 
burn with need. "Please!" he gasped out. "Xander!" 

"My Will. So beautiful." Xander nibbled at Williams’s earlobe as he spoke, 
his words sending warm puffs of air into the other boy's ear, making him 
quiver in ecstasy. 

"Yes...yours, Xander. Want you so much." He pressed feverish kisses along 
Xander's collarbone as he continued to hump up against his thigh. There was 
a hardness pressing against his belly, leaving a damp, sticky trail. With a 
breathless cry, he wrapped one of his legs around Xander's waist, shifting to 
bring their erections into alignment. A shudder went through his entire body. 

"That's it, Will. Cum for me. Cum for me, my sweet William." Xander thrust 
down against William, plastering their bodies tight together, cradling the 
smaller boy in his arms as their bodies moved together sinuously. 

With a small cry, William bucked upward, his orgasm bursting out of him as 
Xander continued to whisper husky endearments in his ears. He felt a warm 
splash against him, smiling in satisfaction as Xander groaned out his name 
when he came, then collapsed onto him. He hugged the larger body to him, 
refusing to let go. "Stay. Please...stay." 

"Always. My Will." 

The words tickled at his ears, and William fell into a deep sleep. 
##### 


Waking, William blinked, eyeing the fuzzy room in confusion. He stretched 
and sat up, growing stiff at the odd sensation surrounding his groin. In 
trepidation, he lifted the covers, letting out a mortified groan when he saw 
his underclothes plastered to his genitals, dried semen flaking off the 
fabric. 

Blushing furiously, he leapt out of bed, tugging the soiled garment off and 
bundling it up before stuffing it under a few other dirty items in his 
clothes hamper. //God, I can't *believe* I just did that!// He hastily 
donned some fresh clothes before hurrying to the bathroom, where he proceeded 
to shower and remove any trace of his...indiscretion. //This is *so* bloody 
embarrassing! Oh dear lord, don't let Da find out about this.// He 
seriously considered volunteering to do the next load of wash just to make 
sure Rupert didn't discover the glaring evidence of such an intensely private 
and potentially humiliating incident. 

But...he could still feel those strong hands skimming over his body, the 
heated torso sliding against his, the taut, firm muscles that his own fingers 
had caressed. And mostly, the thick, hard length of the other boy shoved up 
against him, branding him with its trail of fluid... 

Ruthlessly, William turned off the warm water, gasping as he was doused with 
the resulting icy stream. He glowered down at his erection, which slowly 
shriveled. //Stop *thinking* about it!// He repeated that over and over as 
he finished his shower and raced back to his room. 

Rubbing at the gooseflesh that covered him now, he slowly dressed for school. 
He wondered how he was going to make it through breakfast having to stare 
across the table at his father, while inside, he just wanted to crawl back 
into bed and try for another dream. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

William frowned as he walked past group after group of people huddled 
together, whispering furiously. Distracted, he bumped into someone, spilling 
his things. With a sigh, he knelt to collect them. 

"We gotta stop meeting like this." Xander grinned as he handed William a 
book, then blinked in confusion as the other boy turned beet red, not meeting 
his eyes as he took the item back. Then he shrugged and helped William 
finish. "Hey, did you hear?" 

William shook his head, a lock of hair falling over his forehead to obscure 
his eyes. "Hear what?" 

Xander gulped, eyes wide. He slowly reached a hand out to the bit of hair, 
itching to brush it away and reveal luminous blue eyes once more. He 
snatched it back unnoticed, however, when he heard Willow and Jesse coming up 
behind him, chattering non-stop. 

Willow latched onto Xander's arm. "Did you guys hear? It's awful. One of 
the girls found a *body* stuffed in her locker!" 

William inhaled sharply. "A b-body? A dead one?" 

Jesse nodded excitedly. "As a doornail. Cool, huh?" 

Willow smacked his arm. "It's not cool, it's awful! How would you like to 
be killed and stuffed in a locker?" 

Grinning, Jesse replied, "Well, it *was* in the girls locker room...Ow!" He 
rubbed at his arm. "Watch it, I bruise easily!" 

Willow rolled her eyes. "Anyway, all the gym classes today are canceled, so 
I'm gonna spend that period studying in the library. Anyone wanna join me?" 

Xander chuckled and made a little cross with his fingers. "Back! Back evil 
fiend! Tempt me not with your heinous deeds!" 

William giggled softly at Xander's antics, earning him a wide grin from the 
other boy. It was almost like the grin Xander had given him in that dream, 
right before... 

"Are you ok?" Jesse stared in fascination as William again acquired a deep 
red hue. 

"Hey, leave him alone. It's seriously wiggy to have dead people popping out 
of lockers, you know. It probably didn't happen to him much back in 
England." Willow slung an arm around Williams’s shoulders, shooting Jesse a 
glare for his insensitivity. 

Xander stroked his chin, deep in thought. "You know, actually, it's rather 
disturbing how often stuff like that seems to happen around here--Ow!" Now 
it was his turn to rub his arm and shoot Willow a dirty look. 

"You're gonna scare him off. Stop it!" To William, she said, "Ignore them, 
they tend to talk before they think...or talk *instead* of thinking." 

Xander gasped, clutching at his chest. "Oh, you wound me!" 

Jesse followed suit, swooning dramatically. "Cruel, cruel wench!" he cried, 
a hand slung over his forehead. 

Willow sniffed haughtily and, nose in the air, proceeded to drag William down 
the hall with her, away from the insanely laughing duo. 

Part Seven

"So, does that really happen a lot?" 

Willow glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. "What, them acting like 
total dimwits? Frequently." She giggled. 

"Um, that too. Actually, I meant about the bodies. You...get a lot of 
that?" William held the library door open for her, motioning her to go ahead 
of him. 

"Thanks." She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Well, kinda. I mean, 
people tend not to dwell on it too much, but...weird things happen here. Not 
just here at school, that's a given. But...Sunnydale has its seamier side." 

"That's not exactly what one wants to hear about the town one has just moved 
to." 

"Yeah, I can imagine it's not very reassuring." She set her books down on a 
table. "Hi Mr. Giles!" she called. 

Rupert's head popped out from behind a row of books. "Ah, hello Ms. 
Rosenberg. What brings you here so early?" 

Willow shrugged. "Dead body. Gym canceled. Free period. Studying." 

Rupert blinked. "I...see. Ah, William, hello," he greeted his son with a 
soft smile. 

"Hi, Da," William responded. 

"Well, I'll let you two get back to your studying while finish shelving these 
books." He cleared his throat, then disappeared into the stacks once more. 

Willow sighed as Rupert left. "Your dad is so cool," she told William. 
"He's not all nosy and in your face. I mean, it must be pretty weird to have 
your dad working where you go to school." She blushed a little. "He's not 
that bad looking, either." 

William choked, then went into a fit of coughing. When he recovered, he 
gaped at Willow. "You're...you're not serious!" 

"What? He's pretty decent for an older guy." 

"He's my *father*!" 

Willow rolled her eyes. "Well, it's not like I'm planning on dating him or 
something. I was just saying..." 

"Don't...please." He shuddered, ignoring Willow's giggles. "Books. Study. 
No talking about...that. Or *thinking*. Or ever, *ever* bringing it up 
again." 

Willow shook her head, a huge grin on her face. "Fine," she conceded with a 
sigh. "You're such a baby." 

William stuck his tongue out at her, pulling back sharply when she made a 
grab for it. 

"Watch it, buster," she warned with a mock glare. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

"I'm going now, Da." William walked past Rupert on his way to the door. 

"Is your homework finished?" 

"Da!" he protested. "It's Friday, I have all weekend to do that!" 

"Well, there's no sense in leaving it for the last minute." Rupert glanced 
at his pouting son, and grinned. "I'm joking, William. Go. Have fun. 
Don't see anything too scary." 

William smiled back and gave him a wave goodbye before slipping out the door. 



William met Willow on the way to the theater, and they walked together. 
"What are we going to see?" 

Willow shrugged. "Jesse and Xander will probably want something awful and 
bloody. I'm pushing for sweet and romantic. We'll probably compromise and 
see something funny instead." 

William blinked. "That's an...odd compromise." 

"Oh, not for us. Trust me. You haven't even *seen* odd." 

Smiling, he asked playfully, "Should I be scared?" 

"Oh, petrified." She bounced as they neared the theater. "Oh look! There 
they are!" She dragged William with her as she hurried over to the other 
boys. 

Willow's prediction proved to be true. After a friendly debate over the 
merits of gory horror versus sappy romance, they came to the decision that 
comedy was the way to go. They managed to purchase their tickets, raid the 
snack bar, and make it into the auditorium where their movie was playing just 
as the previews started. 

Xander and Jesse immediately headed for the front row, but Willow hung back. 
"Oh, come on guys!" she hissed. "You always make me sit down here. I wanna 
go up to the top row." 

"It's too far away," Xander hissed back. "You don't get the same experience." 

"I also don't get a major crick in my neck!" Her arms crossed. "I'm not 
outnumbered this time," she warned, eyes narrowed. 

"If I may interrupt," Jesse broke in. He pushed his way between them. 
"Could we settle this *before* we get thrown out? Or...why don't we let 
William pick?" 

William blinked as all three turned to him. "Um..." He shrugged 
uncomfortably. "We can sit in the middle?" 

"Ah, the man with a plan." Xander slung his arm over William's shoulders. 
"Willow, lead the way." 

They filed up the steps and found themselves seats, settling down as the 
lights dimmed. Snacks were hastily distributed, then traded around when 
Jesse complained that he hated jujubes and somebody better switch with him. 

The movie proved to be a hit, leaving the boys weak with laughter, and Willow 
giggling breathlessly. Afterwards, they decided to swing by the ice cream 
parlor for yet more sugar before heading home. 

As a group, they strode down the nearly deserted sidewalk. Xander managed to 
engage William in a spirited discussion on whether or not pistachio ice cream 
was better than walnut fudge, with Willow egging them on. 

Jesse added the occasional comment, but mostly just listened in rapt 
fascination. Suddenly, he stumbled, catching himself on a wall. Looking 
down, he noticed his shoelace had come untied, tripping him up. With a sigh, 
he bent to tie it again. By the time he stood and brushed himself off, the 
others had moved far ahead, not having noticed his pause. 

He hurried to catch up, breaking into a slow jog. As he rounded a corner, he 
nearly crashed into the girl standing there. 

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking. You're ok, aren't you?" 

Jesse grinned at the pretty young woman. "Sure, everything fine here. How 
about you? Anything broken?" 

"No, I'm all right. Um, I am a bit lost, though. I'm...new to the area." 

Jesse was eager to be helpful, especially to someone as sweet as this girl 
seemed to be. "Well, I can point you in the right direction; where are you 
trying to go? Oh, I'm Jesse, by the way." He held out a hand. 

"Darla." A slim, pale hand met his in a cool grasp. 



Xander glanced back, pausing. He cut Willow off as he asked, "Where's Jesse?" 

They all looked back at the dimly lit sidewalk behind them, swallowing hard. 
"Jesse?" three voices called as one. 

There was no answer, and William shuffled nervously. "I...I have a bad 
feeling. I think we should go back." 

"Right." Xander grabbed one of Willow's hands in his own, and she in turn 
took hold of William. Hastily, they began to backtrack their route. 

A few minutes later, they had found no sign of Jesse, and Willow was on the 
verge of tears. Then William turned sharply, pointing at a nearby alley. 
They all held their breath, listening. 

A muffled yell caught their attention, and they surged forward. The scene 
they came upon left them gaping. 

"Jesse!?" Willow choked out, wondering who the blonde girl that had her 
friend pinned up against the wall was, and where Jesse had met her, and why 
they were making out here. 

It was Xander who saw the panicked look in Jesse's eyes, and he grabbed hold 
of the woman's shoulder. "Hey, lady, get off!" 

The woman tore her head away from Jesse's neck, wheeling around. Bloody 
fangs greeted the trio, and yellow eyes burned with malice. Willow covered 
her mouth before she could shriek. 

"What the fuck--?" Then Xander shook himself. "I said, back off!" 

William searched the alley, finding a jagged bit of broken crate and hefting 
it menacingly. This earned him a venomous hiss from the...creature, who 
narrowed her eyes in brief consideration before releasing Jesse, shoving him 
toward Xander and then racing off. 

Xander caught his friend, holding the shaking boy as he watched the creature 
disappear into the shadows. 

"Jesse, are you all right? What happened?" Willow rushed forward, checking 
Jesse over for injuries. 

Jesse nodded, then winced, reaching for his neck. He heard Willow gasp when 
he pulled away bloody fingers. "She bit me," he said in a voice tinged with 
disbelief and a touch of hysteria. "I was just trying to help, she said she 
was lost. Then she dragged me into this alley, turned all freaky-looking, 
and *bit* me. What the hell *was* that thing?" 

"Um, guys?" William waited until they looked at him. "I think we should get 
away from here. Inside somewhere, and get a bandage or something on Jesse's 
neck." 

Jesse gave a weak nod. "Man, I'll vote for that plan. Someone help me up?"

The group stumbled into the ice cream shop, Xander and William propping Jesse 
upright while Willow hovered protectively. It was interesting how none of 
the patrons currently in the shop even looked at them askance, behaving as if 
nothing out of the ordinary was happening. 

Willow bit her lip, brow furrowing as she studied Jesse, who was holding a 
hand clamped over his neck. "We should get that fixed." 

"I'll take him to the lavatory to clean up," William volunteered. "You and 
Xander should find us a table and...act normal." 

"Wait a sec, shouldn't we report this or something?" Xander glanced at his 
friends quizzically. 

"Woah. No way man! Do you have any idea how much trouble I'd be in if my 
parents got a call from the cops? Huh-uh, no thanks!" Jesse's face was set 
stubbornly with his refusal. 

"Jesse. Come on." William smiled at the others, then dragged Jesse to the 
restroom. Once inside the small room, he grabbed a handful of paper towels 
and wet them under the faucet. 

Jesse watched for a moment, then hopped up onto the counter. He picked 
distastefully at his shirt, which had acquired a small bloodstain near the 
collar. With a shrug, he pulled the shirt off over his head and soaked the 
spot under the stream of cool water. 

"I'll get that." William took the shirt and set it aside for the moment, 
then tilted Jesse's head back. Carefully, he dabbed at the blood-encrusted 
bite, apologizing softly when Jesse hissed in pain. Finally, he stepped back 
and looked at the wound. "Well, I haven't any bandages, but it's stopped 
bleeding, and if you keep your collar pulled up, it shouldn't be too 
noticeable." 

"You think?" Jesse twisted around to look in the mirror, wincing at the 
livid bruising that surrounded the twin punctures. "I dunno. Looks kinds 
obvious to me." 

"Well, there's not really any other choice, you know," William commented 
softly. He threw away the soiled napkins, then pulled out some new ones and 
began to work on Jesse's shirt. 

Jesse studied William intently as the other boy scrubbed at his shirt. "So, 
William." 

"Hmm?" William continued with his task, listening to Jesse distractedly. 

"You like Xander, don't you?" 

William's arm jerked, knocking painfully into the wall. Hissing, he rubbed 
it, trying to calm his racing heart. "Um, well, yes. I mean, I l-like all 
of you." 

Jesse sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but not the same way. You look at 
Xander like he's dipped in Hershey's syrup and you're a starving chocoholic." 

William flushed a bright red. His hands shook as he smoothed out the damp 
but mostly clean shirt. "I...I d-don't know what you m-mean." He refused to 
look up. 

"Bullshit." That made William's head snap up incredulously, and Jesse glared 
at him. "Don't lie to me, William. I may be an idiot sometimes, but I'm not 
blind." 

A look of utter desolation washed over William's face. His legs collapsed, 
and he slumped to the floor. He wrapped his arms around his knees and 
started to rock gently. 

Jesse hopped off the counter and knelt next to him. "Hey, what's wrong? 
It's ok. I mean, I'm not gonna get all phobic on you just 'cause you have 
the hots for a guy. Come on, talk to me." 

William sniffled wretchedly. "I didn't mean to," he whispered brokenly. "I 
just...he...it's..." 

Jesse slung an arm around his shoulders. "Dude, chill. It's not the end of 
the world. I mean, at least you didn't have some freaky chick gnawing your 
throat out tonight!" He snorted with laughter. "Now granted, Xander 
wouldn't be *my* first choice for fantasy material, but...each to his own." 

With a groan, William tilted his head back. "You don't understand. Just 
seeing him makes me feel..." He sighed, a dopey smile flickering into 
appearance. 

"Crushing on the Xand-man, huh?" Jesse smiled. "Well, you could do worse I 
guess. At least you don't have a thing for Larry." 

William looked confused. "Who?" 

"Eh, the requisite school bully. Has the whole dumb jock thing goin' on." 

"Oh. No, it's just...him." Another sigh, this one with a note of sadness. 
"But...Willow likes him too, and they've known each other a lot longer. Plus 
she's a girl. Why would he want *me*?" 

"Dude, just between us, those two are *not* gonna hook up." He stood up, 
grabbing his abandoned shirt and slipping it back on. "She's like a sister 
to me and Xander. He'll never see her as girlfriend material. Besides, them 
as a couple?" He shook his head. "Talk about your bad ideas! Willow's too 
stuck in the hero worship phase, and Xander...well, I don't think he's as 
uninterested in you as you think he is." 

William wiped at his nose as he stood. "W-what do you mean?" 

"William, my friend...the boy was *totally* checking out your ass at the 
theater tonight!" 

William blinked, then blushed again. 

"Word of advice? Don't rush him. He's not used to people liking him, other 
than me and Willow. He he's definitely not used to people *liking* him, if 
you know what I mean. Just...keep giving him those shy little looks you do 
so well." With a huge grin, he slapped the other boy on the back, herding 
him toward the door. "Oh, and a little ass wiggling probably wouldn't hurt, 
either," he advised as they left the restroom. 



Willow and Xander looked up from their mega-banana-splits as the other two 
came up to their table. They both scooted down, and Jesse sat next to 
Willow, leaving the vacant spot beside Xander for William. 

Xander firmly ignored how the pinkish tinge lingering on William's face 
seemed to make him glow, and instead examined Jesse. "Hey man, nice bruise." 

Jesse smiled and tenderly prodded the discolored skin. "Think I can get away 
with calling it a hickey?" 

Xander rolled his eyes and snickered. 

"Looks more like you were mauled." Willow squinted closely at the mark. 
Once she had assured herself that Jesse was relatively fine, Willow smiled 
and handed him a spoon. "Here, I got mine without nuts since you're 
allergic." 

Xander grinned and shoveled a mouthful of ice cream topped with hoards of 
peanut bits into his mouth as he tossed William a spoon as well. "Dig in," 
he managed after he swallowed. "I got extra Hershey's syrup." 

William almost cursed his fair complexion as he felt himself blushing yet 
again. Absently, he wondered if he'd ever get that reaction under control. 
He tentatively dipped his spoon into the sweet concoction, darting a glance 
across the table. Jesse was staring at him with a mischievous look, waggling 
his eyebrows as he stared at the chocolate sauce dripping off William's 
spoon. Giving the other boy a halfhearted glare, William defiantly shoved 
the spoon into his mouth. 

Somehow, Willow and Jesse managed to finish theirs first, and got up to 
dispose of their trash. William and Xander each gulped down their last 
mouthful, then eyed the lone maraschino cherry. "Mine," William claimed 
quickly, and went for it. But Xander had the same idea, and the two laughed 
softly as a brief spoon war ensued. 

"Quit goofing around you guys," Willow admonished good-naturedly. "We'll be 
waiting by the door." 

Xander took advantage of William's momentary distraction and scooped up the 
cherry. He popped it into his mouth, chewing it with a blissful look on his 
face. When he finished, he smirked at the glowering boy next to him. He 
stuck out his tongue. "Ha! Stole your cherry!" 

William's breath caught, and he froze in his seat. He watched all laughter 
fade from Xander's face. When Xander inched closer, he swallowed hard. 

Xander could hardly breathe as he stared at William, watching as those pale 
eyes darkened with some nameless emotion. He licked his lips and leaned 
toward him. 

"Guys! Come on!" 

Willow's voice broke the spell, and they sprang away from each other, 
completely flustered. Quickly, they scrambled out of their booth and over to 
their companions. 

Willow was completely oblivious to what had happened, but Jesse had to 
restrain himself from pinching the redhead. He had been sure something was 
about to happen. Then he shrugged. Better it not happen in public the first 
time, he supposed. But if he had to, he'd find a way to lock those two into 
a room together. A *small* room. 

Part Nine

Darla made her way deeper into the sewers, cursing softly over the loss of 
her prey. She felt a tingling between her shoulder blades, and glanced 
behind to make sure she wasn't being followed. Sensing nothing there, she 
turned back, shrieking when she collided with the large man in front of her. 
"Luke!" She gasped, and a hand flew up to rest over her chest. "I *hate* it 
when you do that!" 

"Darla," Luke responded disapprovingly as he looked her up and down. "You 
were supposed to bring an offering for the Master. We're almost at Harvest!" 
With arms folded, he glared at her. 

Darla withered under his burning yellow gaze. "I-I had someone, but 
then...there were others. They attacked me...they had weapons...stakes!" 
She gazed up at him beseechingly. 

With a sneer, Luke dismissed her. "You go. I'll see if I can't find 
something...suitable." He watched her dart off, then carefully exited the 
maze of tunnels, emerging in a darkened alley. Cocking his head, he listened 
closely. With a predatory grin on his face, he followed the faint sound of 
shoes slapping against pavement. 

He hid in the shadows until his chosen prey drew close. Snarling, he pounced 
on the unsuspecting man. 

Luke laughed, amused at the fight the human put up. He quickly subdued him, 
and tightened an arm around his neck. "You are strong," he hissed in the 
terrified human's ear. "But I am stronger." 

The man whimpered and continued his futile struggles, clawing frantically at 
the immobile arm that was slowly cutting off his air. 

"You can't stop us. Nothing can stop us." Luke squeezed harder, smiling as 
the man's jerky movements grew weaker. A look of almost religious ecstasy 
passed over the vampire's face as he waited for the man to lose 
consciousness. 

"And like a plague of boils, the race of man covered the earth." He began 
his recitation with a look of disgust that soon grew to one of anticipation. 
"But on the 3rd day of the newest light will come the Harvest. And the blood 
of men will flow as wine...and the Master will walk among them once more. 
The earth will belong to the Old Ones, and hell itself will come to town." 

He released the human, who slumped to the ground, only his faint breathing 
betraying the fact that he still lived. Luke easily hoisted the limp form, 
and started back toward the sewers. "Amen." 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Jesse peered intently at the doors to the library, then straightened and 
walked inside. He glanced around curiously, wrinkling his nose at the musty 
smell. There didn't appear to be anyone around, so he leaned up against the 
counter, arms folded. 

"Can I help you?" 

Jesse jumped back with an aborted scream, wheeling around frantically. 

"I say, are you quite all right?" 

"Don't *do* that!" Jesse held a hand over his pounding heart as he glared at 
the librarian. 

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Er...was there anything I could help you with?" 
Rupert squinted. "I say, is there something the matter with your neck? 
Perhaps you should go see the nurse." 

"No, no, I'm good." Jesse slapped a hand over his neck and backed up a step. 
"Everything's good. Just, you know, waiting for some friends. To...study." 
He managed not to cringe as he said the word. "With the...book things..." 
He blinked and stepped quickly over to a table, plopping himself down in a 
chair. After tugging his collar up further, he folded his hands and 
attempted to appear studious. 

"I...see..." Rupert watched the boy for a moment, then, with a shrug, 
returned to shelving books. 

Jesse drummed his fingers impatiently as he waited. The whole 'library' 
concept was pretty alien to him, and the place was giving him the creeps. 
His relief at the appearance of Willow and William was almost palpable. 

"Hi Mr. Giles!" Willow chirped brightly as she made her way past him. 

"Ms. Rosenberg. Lovely day, isn't it?" 

Willow choked slightly. "Um, yeah. Wonderful day." With a fake smile on 
her face, she groped for a chair next to Jesse. 

Rupert didn't notice, however, his attention already having been fixed on his 
son. "William. Here to study I presume?" 

"Um, yes Da. We're...all studying for a...a test." He glanced down, 
shuffling past his father and taking a seat at the table across from Jesse 
and Willow. 

"Well, good luck." With a nod to them, Rupert disappeared into the stacks. 

Jesse gaped at William. "Woah, he's your *dad*? Isn't that, like, freaky or 
something?" 

"No," William answered with a rather confused look. "Why would it be?" 

"Oh. Um...no reason." He winced when Willow elbowed him in the ribs. 
"Would you *quit* that?" 

Willow blinked at him innocently. "Quit what? And where's Xander?" 

Jesse glared at her for a moment before answering. "He had to stop by his 
locker. He should be here in just a minute." 

William grinned briefly at the mention of Xander, then glanced at Willow, 
resuming what must have been a previous conversation. "So...all that 
information you found is just...open to the public?" 

Willow blushed. "Um...well...i-in a way. I sort of...stumbled on a few 
things when I accidentally decrypted some of the county's security systems." 

"Someone's been naughty." Xander pushed through the doors and strode into 
the library. He bounded over to the table. "Hey, my buds!" He sat next to 
William, sprawling out in his chair. "So, what's the what?" 

"Ok, first off...keep it down!" Willow fixed Xander with a stern look. 

"Oh, sure. Low-key. Gotcha." He made a zipping gesture over his mouth. 

"Right. Anyway, William and I were digging around online and stuff, and we 
found some things out." 

"Well, spill." Jesse leaned forward eagerly. 

William looked around covertly, then got up and hurried over to a bookshelf. 
He extracted a rather large volume, which he deposited on the table. 

"'VAMPYR'...you're kidding, right?" Xander was obviously skeptical. 

William shook his head. "I found this earlier, and skimmed through a few 
chapters." He visibly went into lecture mode. "According to this, eons 
ago, demons walked the earth. It was their domain. But in time, they lost 
their purchase on this reality, and the way was paved for man. Of the Old 
Ones, all that remained were vestiges...certain magics...creatures. And 
vampires." 

Xander scoffed. "Ok, this is where I have a problem. See, because we're 
talking about *vampires*. We're having a *talk*...with vampires in it." 

"Well, isn't that what we saw last night?" Willow folded her arms stubbornly. 

"Hey, all I know is that freaky chick was trying to suck my blood out!" 
Jesse shuddered and reached up to feel his neck. 

"Yeah, but--" 

"So, vampires are demons?" Jesse interrupted Xander, addressing his question 
to William. 

"Well, the book tells that the last demon to leave this reality fed off a 
human...mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed...infected by the 
demon itself." William cleared his throat and handed the book to Xander. 
"He bit another, and another. And so they walked the earth...feeding. 
Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind." He 
paused, then went on hesitantly, "Waiting for the animals to die out...and 
the Old Ones to return." 

There was silence as everyone digested this information. Then Willow spoke 
up, "Anyway, after we hit on the vampire thing, I...researched the hospital 
and morgue statistics. Do you know how many people were either wounded or 
killed by 'barbecue forks' in the last year?" 

"Barbecue forks? What, did someone's Uncle Pauly get a little too drunk at 
the annual family picnic?" 

"I doubt that was really the cause," William interjected softly. 

"Yeah. I mean, how many people even *own* one, much less go around stabbing 
themselves or others with them? Anyway, there were over 200 separate 
incidents like that, with the majority of them being 'cause of death', not 
just injuries." 

Xander held up a hand. "So...you're saying Sunnydale is infested with 
vampires?" 

William and Willow exchanged a look, and Willow nodded. "That's our guess." 

Jesse gave a rather weak snort. "And you thought living here would be dull," 
he told William. 

"One more thing," Willow added. "The body in the locker yesterday? Guess 
what the records list the cause of death as?" 

"Lemme guess...Uncle Pauly?" Xander made a stabbing motion with his hand. 

Willow nodded bleakly. With a sigh, she folded her arms on the table and 
rested her chin on them. "I...I think that covers everything." 

Xander let the book drop onto the table, and he stood up, pacing in 
agitation. "Except for one thing...how do we kill them? One of these things 
attacked Jesse...no way am I letting it get another shot at any of us!" 

Jesse nodded emphatically. "Hell yeah. I wanna know how to get rid of these 
suckers. No pun intended there." 

With a frown, William picked up the book and replaced it on the shelf. "Are 
you sure we should be contemplating something like this?" 

"Well, I for one am not anxious to go into dark places full of monsters, but 
I *do* wanna help. Like Xander said...no one can go after one of us without 
a little bit of payback." Willow's expression was fierce. 

"All right. Fine. So...more research?" 

Willow gave him a determined nod of agreement. Then a thought struck her. 
"Jesse, is there anything else you can tell us about what happened? Anything 
that might help?" 

Jesse thought carefully, reviewing the previous evening's events carefully. 
His face brightened. "You know, she was babbling something about offerings 
for some 'master', and something about a 'harvest'. Think that means 
anything?" 

"We'll see what we can find." She moved over to where the computer was, and 
logged on to the Internet "William, c'mere." 

William pulled a chair up next to her, looking at the monitor over her 
shoulder. 

"So..." Jesse began backing out of the library. "Does this mean I can go 
now?" 

Willow waved a hand distractedly. "Meet after school. By the fountain." 
She pointed out something on the screen to William, who pulled out a pad 
of paper and began taking notes. 

Jesse yanked on Xander’s arm. "Man, let's get outta here before we get 
sucked into that evil researching thing!" 

Xander grinned at him, and the two boys quickly walked out of the library. 


Part Ten

"Are you guys sure we wanna do this?" Willow looked around for confirmation. 

"Hell yeah," Jesse replied emphatically. "I'm not gonna sit inside like a scared little kid...I wanna be able to go out and have fun!" 

"Besides," Xander added, "we've never had any problems at the Bronze. Ouch! Damn it!" He glared at Jesse. 

Jesse glowered back at him. "Thank you *ever* so much for jinxing it there, Xan! Geez, why don't you just *advertise* for trouble!?" 

"I *so* didn't jinx it! Tell him, Willow!" 

Willow just sighed. "I'm not getting involved in this...again!" She handed a squirt gun to William, who stared at the object curiously. "Holy water," she explained to him, then passed out similar items to Xander and Jesse. 

"Hey Wills, do we wanna know where you got this from?" Jesse snickered at the mental image of Willow sneaking into some church and siphoning out the containers of water. 

"Oh, hush," Willow scolded. "Did you guys bring the stakes?" 

"Yep." Xander unzipped his backpack and let a pile of the sharp objects clatter onto the table. "See Willow, I told you me and Jesse would learn something useful in that shop class!" He grinned proudly. 

"Great. That about does it. Except...William, got your stuff?" 

William nodded and produced three lighters, which he passed to Willow. "Da always has extra of these. He says he's quit smoking, but he still has a fag occasionally." 

Xander choked. "A-A what?" 

Willow rolled her eyes. "A *cigarette*, Xander. That's what they're called in England." 

"Oh." Xander chuckled nervously. "I just...um, I thought you meant...never mind." He took one of the lighters, flicking it on experimentally. "So," he said loudly in an attempt to cover his embarrassment, "What good are these little things gonna do?" 

William smiled and took out another lighter. With his other hand, he pulled out a travel size bottle of hair spray. He backed up a few steps, flicked the lighter on, and spritzed the tiny flame. 

"Woah!" Jesse and Xander jumped back, gaping in awe at the ball of fire that was produced. 

"The only problem," William explained clinically, "is that it takes both hands to do." He shrugged. "It's the best I could come up with this quickly, though." 

"Works for me." Jesse snatched a lighter and held a hand out for a bottle of hair spray. He stared at the items with just a tad too much excitement on his face. 

"Don't go pyro on us here, Jesse," Willow said with a fond grin. 

"What???" Jesse gave her an innocent look, then stuffed the lighter and hair spray into his pocket. 

Willow sighed. "Boys," she muttered softly as she shook her head. 

"Geez Jesse, way to make like the homicidal maniac." Xander punched his shoulder lightly. Then, he ever so nonchalantly grabbed his own lighter and hair spray and tucked them away. He cleared his throat. "So, let's get going!" 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

"See? I told you nothing would happen there. And you guys were worrying!" Xander threw an arm around Jesse's shoulders as they walked down the alley away from the Bronze. 

"Willow!" Jesse whined. "He's doing it again! At this rate, we'll be lucky to get home alive!" 

"Well, it probably doesn't help that the two of you are advertising our presence to anything that might be out there! Stop making such a racket!" Willow glowered at the rambunctious boys, who pouted at her, but fell silent. 

"You have a lot of experience with that, don't you?" William spoke quietly to her as they quickly made their way down the street. 

Willow snorted. "They're just a couple of big kids, really." Then she smiled softly. "I love 'em, though. Wouldn't know what to do without them." 

William glanced ahead. They'd managed to fall back a little from the other two, so he took a chance and asked her quietly, "You...you *really* like Xander...don't you?" 

Smiling sadly, Willow answered, "Is it that obvious." She sighed. "I...I've had the biggest crush on him for *years* now. But...he never notices. I mean, I know he cares about me. It's just, I think he sees me like a sister, you know? And...I don't know how to ever get him to see me as, well, *me*." 

"It...it must really hurt. To think about him ever being with...someone else." William stared fixedly at the pavement as they continued walking. Willow was fast becoming one of the closest friends he'd ever had, and no matter how deeply he felt about Xander, he couldn't bear the thought of hurting Willow by being with him. Not that he though he stood much chance anyway, no matter what Jesse had said. 

Willow sniffed softly. "Yeah. A little." She shrugged. "Ok, a lot. But...he's my *friend*. And, no matter what, I just want him to be happy. Even if it i-isn't with m-me." She wiped at her eyes, then continued brightly, "I just hope that whoever he ends up with can love him like he deserves." 

"Yeah," William agreed under his breath. 

A high-pitched shriek wrenched their attention back to their companions. They immediately reached for their weapons when they saw Jesse sprawled out on the pavement. Over him was a man -- vampire? -- who had his arm around Xander's throat, and was glaring at them with yellow, glowing eyes. 


Part Eleven

The vampire merely laughed when they pulled out their stakes. "I'm *so* scared," he hissed, and he held Xander in front of him to block any of their attempts. He began to drag Xander back into the shadows with him.

Xander struggled, slamming his elbow back forcefully. The vampire merely grunted in annoyance and tightened his grip.

Carefully, Willow and William stepped apart and started to circle the vampire from either side. "Let him go," William demanded, eyes narrowing in anger.

"Why should I? He'll make a wonderful offering for the Master. He's smells so young and sweet." He growled softly and licked up the side of Xander's neck, making the boy shudder in disgust.

From his position on the ground, Jesse managed to reach into a pocket and pull out his squirt gun. His actions went unnoticed by the vampire, who was concentrating on what seemed to be the more imminent threat of the other two humans. With a vengeful grin, Jesse aimed and sent a stream of water into the vampire's eyes.

Howling, the vampire flung Xander away and clutched at his burning face. He stumbled back blindly, groping for some defense against this unexpected attack.

"Stay down!" Willow shouted at Jesse. She ran forward, flicked on her lighter, and sprayed the hair spray through the flame towards the vampire. Then she too dropped to the ground.

The vampire's agonized screams reached a crescendo as his clothing caught on fire, burning fiercely. With one last shriek of impotent fury, he exploded into a cloud of dust.

Panting, the four stared in shock at the small scorched mark left on the pavement. "Woah," Jesse whispered. "Way rad."

"Is everyone ok?" Willow stood and brushed off, checking for injuries.

Xander groaned pitifully. "I think me and this wall got a little too intimate," he grunted, holding a hand over his forehead.

William rushed over and pried his hand away, gasping as blood began to stream from the cut. "We-we have to get you someplace where we can clean this up." He replaced Xander’s hand, hoping to stem the flow.

Willow and Jesse crouched beside him and stared at Xander. 'That's bleeding a lot," Willow said in a worried voice. "But I-I'm sure you'll be ok," she hurried on, hoping to reassure Xander. "Head wounds always bleed a lot, it's *totally* natural. But, um, yeah, we should get a bandage or something on it."

"Dude, you live closest," Jesse said to William. "Got anything at your place to fix him up with?"

William nodded. "Da has a first-aid kit in the lavatory, it should have whatever we need."

Jesse stood and helped Xander to his feet. "Ok then, here's the plan. You take Xander home with you, get him fixed up. I'll walk home with Willow, since she lives across the street from me." Taking in Xander's pale, shaking state, he asked, "Will your dad be ok with Xander staying the night? I don't think he's gonna be able to make it all the way back to his place. Especially not alone."

"I-I think so. But...what should I tell him?"

Jesse blinked. "Oh. Good point. Um...can you sneak him in? If he leaves just after sunrise, no one will ever even know he was there."

William swallowed nervously. "I...suppose so."

"Are you sure we should separate?" Willow asked, not wanting to leave Xander when he was injured.

"I think we need to get off the streets as soon as possible, and this is the best way." Jesse slung his arm around Willow's shoulders. "Don't worry, he'll be fine in William's capable hands. And I, my dear lady, will protect you."

Willow gave him a wan smile. Stretching up on her tiptoes, she kissed Xander's cheek quickly. "You be safe, ok?"

Xander nodded, then clutched at his head with a whimper. "Sure thing, Wills," he whispered.

"Ok. We'll meet tomorrow during lunch in the library again. Is that good?" She waved goodbye as William slowly led Xander away.

To distract her, Jesse groaned loudly. "The library? *Again*? I'm gonna catch something if you keep making me go there."

Willow looked at him, a smile playing about her lips. "Libraries are fun," she told him firmly. "There's books, and learning, and--"

"No more!" Jesse clapped his hands over his ears. "Make it stop!"

Giggling, Willow punched his arm playfully. "Come on, give 'em a chance," she cajoled. "I'll give you chocolate."

Jesse brightened. "Chocolate? Well, why didn't you say so? Lead on!"

Their joking banter continued as they walked, and the emotions left over from the vampire attack slowly began to fade. Then, Jesse stiffened. He cocked his head, then jerked Willow into a shadowy recess. "Shh!" he hissed when she tried to protest.

They stood in absolute stillness, listening to the faint footsteps grow louder as they approached their hiding place. When the footsteps paused, Jesse let go of Willow, readied his squirt gun, and jumped out.

The man whirled around. "Is there a problem here?" he asked, eyeing the plastic gun closely.

Willow stepped out and joined Jesse. "Yeah, there's a problem. Why are you following us?"

The man held up his hands. "Don't worry, I don't bite." He studied Willow closely. "I thought you'd be taller. More muscular and all that."

Willow gave Jesse a confused look, wondering what the man meant by that.

"What do you want?" Jesse asked, taking a step forward to place Willow behind him.

"The same thing you do." He kept staring intently at Willow.

Frowning, Willow tossed her hair out of her face. "And what's that?"

The man leaned forward. "To kill them," he said in a low voice. "To kill them all."

Jesse began backing up, herding Willow behind him. "Look man, we don't want to kill anyone."

The man gave a humorless laugh. "Didn't look like it earlier."

They froze, gaping in astonishment. Then Willow found her voice. "He came after us first. W-We just want to be left alone."

"Do you really think that's an option?" He snorted. "You're standing at the mouth of hell...and it's about to open." He gave another quiet laugh. "Don't turn your back on this. You've got to be ready."

"What for?"

"For the Harvest."

"Quit with the cryptic bullshit, man. Who are you?" Jesse fixed the man with his most intimidating stare.

"Let's just say...I'm a friend."

Willow spoke up over Jesse's shoulder. "Yeah, well maybe we don't want any more friends."

A bitter smile was directed at them. "I didn't say I was yours." In near silence, the man spun around and strode quickly away.

Left alone again, the two stood close together. "Can we go home now?" Willow asked in a tiny voice.

"Yeah." Jesse stared off in the distance to where the man had disappeared. "Yeah, let's get you home."

~~~~~~~~~~

William struggled to hold Xander upright as he fumbled for his key. Finally, he managed to open the door without Xander sliding to the floor, and he pulled them inside. He seated Xander on the couch, then ran for some paper towels, which he urged Xander to hold against his forehead. Then, he went back to the kitchen to read the note he'd seen on the refrigerator door. He breathed a sigh of relief.

A hiss of pain dragged him back to the couch, and he knelt beside Xander. "I'm going to get the bandages and things, I'll bring something for the pain too."

"God, thank you. You are a kind, wonderful person." He slouched down into the cushions. "Should I go hide somewhere now?"

William shook his head. "Da left a note, said he had to go to some meeting at the school. Something about the...the body in the locker. He won't be back until late."

"Oh. Good. Drugs? Can I please have drugs now?"

"Right." William left, returning quickly with the first-aid box. He gave a couple of aspirin to Xander, grimacing when the other boy swallowed them dry. Then he sat next to Xander and turned on the lamp by the couch. "Lean this way," he instructed.

Xander shifted sideways, practically falling into William's lap. He looked up with a goofy grin. "I didn't know you were twins," he mumbled insensibly. His eyes flickered back and forth. "You both have really pretty eyes, though."

William gasped and went rigid. Then he shook his head. "You're hurt," he said quietly. "Let me see that." With a clean cloth, he dabbed at the cut, apologizing when Xander flinched. He was relieved to find that, although the cut was rather long, it was shallow. By this time, the blood had slowed to just a sluggish trickle now, and William soon had Xander's face cleaned up.

"Mmmm, soft hands," Xander whispered almost inaudibly as he inched in closer to William.

Panting softly, William applied the antibiotic cream with shaking hands. He really, *really* hoped that Xander didn't move just a few inches closer.

The front door sung open, and the main light was switched on, brightening the room considerably. "William, are you still up? I was -- good heavens!"

Stricken, William gulped hard and stared up at his father. "Da! I, ah...it...it's not what it looks like!"

Xander reached up a hand and covered William's mouth. "Shh," he told him. "Loud noises bad. Quiet now."

Rupert removed his glasses to give them a quick polish. He replaced them, sighing when nothing about the scene had changed. William was still sitting on the couch, Xander curled comfortably in his lap, open first-aid kit and bloody cloths littering the neighboring cushions. Concerned, he bent over Xander. "Xander, are you all right?"

Xander smiled up at him. "M'good Mr. Giles." His eyes flew wide, clearing abruptly. He jerked himself out of William's lap, almost falling off the couch in the process. "Mr. Giles!" He glanced over at William. "I...um...that is..."

"What happened?"

William flushed. "Um, see, there was...actually...um...he fell?" He bit his lip nervously.

"He fell?" He looked at Xander. "You fell?"

Xander gave him a weak nod, smiling half-heartedly.

"I see. William? Is that the truth?"

William shifted awkwardly under his father's disapproving stare. "Sort of? I mean...um...no?"

"Mm-hmm." Rupert peered at Xander's injury, then affixed a couple of butterfly sutures to it. "Would you like to tell me the real story, then?"

"N-not really." He cringed at the harsh look that provoked.

Rupert shook his head in disappointment. "Xander, what is your parent's number?"

"555-3920" Xander whispered, giving William a look of sympathy.

Rupert left to use the phone. When he returned, he almost smiled at seeing Xander listing to the side, eyes once more glazed and heavy-lidded. "You'll stay the night here, I've already told your parents." He wasn't sure if Xander would really understand him, but the boy nodded before curling up against the arm of the couch. "William."

Hesitantly, William stood. He watched as his father got out an extra blanket and pillow, tucking Xander in. Then he followed him into the kitchen.

"I don't like being lied to," Rupert informed his son in a hard voice.

William stared at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"I'm assuming something happened while you were out with your other friends this evening?"

William gave a jerky nod.

"All right then. I want you to go to bed now. We'll talk tomorrow." He stared at him meaningfully. "*All* of us. And I don't want to hear any more lies."

"Yes, Da." He swallowed, fighting back tears as he backed out of the room. He paused by the couch, a hand reaching out to brush tentatively through Xander's hair.

"William. Bed. Now."

William heaved a sigh and trudged to his room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Willow and Jesse walked into the library. They stopped in their tracks when they were confronted by the librarian's level stare. "Um, hi Mr. Giles," Willow offered. She edged past him and took a seat at the table.

Jesse hurried after her and sat next to Xander. "Dude, what's up with him?" he whispered.

"Busted," Xander whispered back. "He wants to know. *Everything*."

"Oooh." Jesse winced. "We telling him the truth?"

"Have to. Have you seen William try to lie to his dad? It's not a pretty sight."

"That's gotta suck. How's your head by the way?"

"Still attached. Not sure if that's a good thing though. Remind me not to introduce it to any more brick walls."

"Gentlemen...if I may?" Rupert stood at the head of the table, arms crossed as he examined the group of youngsters. "I know something happened last night. I want to know what," he told them sternly, "and I want the *truth*."

No one spoke, and Rupert sighed loudly. "Ms. Rosenberg?"

"Me?" Willow squeaked. "Why me?"

Rupert just stared at her.

With a reproachful glare at her silent companions, Willow started.



Rupert looked up from his examination of Jesse's neck. "You're being absolutely serious?"

Willow nodded. "Cross our hearts."

"Yeah, don't these look serious to you?" Jesse poked at the partially healed fang marks on his neck. "Let me tell you how *not* fun it was trying to explain *that* to my parents."

"Plus, you know, we have some research we did." Willow pulled out a notebook and offered it to him. "Just some preliminary stuff, we've only been looking into it for a day or so now."

Rupert sank down into a nearby chair. "This is unbelievable," he muttered. "My god." He stared at his son in horror. "What kind of place have I brought you to?"

"The mouth of hell." Jesse flinched at the glares sent his way. "Hey, it's what that guy said last night, not me!"

"What guy?"

Jesse frowned. "What, we didn't tell you?"

Xander drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "No. No, you didn't. Would you please tell us now?"

"Well, Willow and I met up with this seriously weird guy on the way home last night. he seemed to have a real yen for Willow. Kept eyeballing her."

"Seriously creepy," Willow chimed in. "And he saw us with the vampire earlier."

"Anyway, he said we were on the mouth of hell, and had to be ready for the harvest." Jesse frowned. "That chick from before was talking about a harvest too. Think it means something?"

"And this master guy. Both the vampires were talking about a master. And I *really* didn't like the sound of being an offering for whoever 'the master' is." Xander blanched as he remembered the inhumanely cold tongue snaking up his neck.

"I think there's really only one thing we can do at this point." Rupert shook himself and stood purposefully. "I had wondered why there were so many books dealing with magic and other arcane subjects in this library. I'm sure one of them must contain *something* of use."

Jesse groaned and let his head thump down on the table. "Not more research!" he wailed. "It's not fair!"



"How do porcupines have sex?" At the strangled fit of coughing that followed this query, Jesse looked up from his book to see a group of bemused faces studying him. "What?" he asked defensively. "It's a valid question!"

Rupert managed to recover his composure. Steadying himself with a deep breath, he asked, "Is there...some particular reason you ask?"

Jesse shrugged. "I just wondered."

Xander leaned across the table, a mischievous grin o his face. "Tell me, Jess-man. Do you often think about the mating habits of various animal species?"

Glaring, Jesse retorted, "Sorry Xan, I try not to *ever* think about you like that." He slanted a glance over at William, giving him a naughty wink that drew a faint blush from the flustered boy.

Xander noticed the brief exchange and felt a twinge of...worry? ...jealousy? ...anger? He brushed it off uncomfortably, resloved to believe it was just a lingering result of his head injury.

"Besides," Jesse continued, "you can't tell me it doesn't make you wonder too. I mean, think about all those quills! Ouch! I feel sorry for the guy porcupines." He frowned and gave Willow a stern look. "You realize this is all your fault, don't you? You *drag* me into this...book-filled place that has all these brainy vibes practically *beating* at me, and see what happens? I start *thinking*! Seeking actual...knowledge!" He shuddered.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Be brave, Jesse," she said solemnly. "It's good for you. Builds character."

Jesse stuck his tongue out at her.

"The female lays her quills down flat against her body during the a-actual act to keep from impaling her mate." William felt his cheeks heat up again as the group transferred their bemused gazes to him.

Rupert removed his glasses and asked in an amused voice, "Do I want to know how you acquired that bit of information?"

"I read it in the 'National Geographic'!" William defended himself. He glowered at Willow and Xander, who were giggling softly. "I did!"

A bell rang loudly, signaling the end of lunch period. There were groans as Rupert loaded everyone down with books to take home and study, but they left with a minimum of fuss. Rupert stopped William on his way out. "I still think you and I need to have a little chat," he told him firmly. "Your behavior last night left something to be desired. I wouldn't make any plans for going out this evening."

"Yes, Da." William sighed and trailed out after his friends.

Part Twelve

William sat nervously, shifting as the unyielding wood began to numb his backside. He nibbled at his bottom lip, watching as his father paced silently in front of him. Kitchen, turn, pace, living room, turn, pace, pause and glower, pace. Back and forth.

Finally, he couldn't stand it any more. He sat up straight and tried to look as determined as possible. "Father, I understand that you're upset, but I couldn't very well leave them to fend for themselves! I think that--"

Rupert held up a hand, interrupting William's impromptu speech. Very quietly, he said, "I am not upset that you felt the need to help your friends. I am not even too terribly upset over the fact that the four of you decided to-to arm yourselves and venture out even when you knew what could very well happen. What I am upset about is that you felt the need to lie to me!"

"But I--"

"William Alastair Giles, you will sit there, and you will listen to me, is that understood?"

Eyes wide, William nodded.

"I will tell you right now that there are few things you could do that I would consider to be worse than lying to me. Now," he pulled a chair over and sat next to William. "I understand that you must have thought it would be easier not to tell me the truth. Certainly, you must have thought I wouldn't believe you anyway. But...you didn't even try, William." Rupert sighed and combed his fingers through his hair.

"With all honesty, I must admit that I would have found the truth difficult to swallow. I'm just disappointed that you didn't give me a chance." He faced his son seriously. "What the four of you did was dangerous, and poorly thought out. Someone could have been seriously hurt. You could have been hurt." Rupert removed his glasses, setting them carefully on the table. Head bowed, he rubbed his eyes. "I couldn’t stand it if you were hurt, William."

William swallowed. Taking a deep breath, he slid out of his chair and knelt next to his father. "I'm all right, Da. Willow's terribly smart, and she and I found out as much as we could before we went out. We weren't defenseless. And now that we know what goes on around here at night, we'll be able to stay even safer."

"That's what you thought last night, too, wasn't it?" Rupert shook his head. "Even then, with all your precautions, your friend Xander managed to get injured. Can you honestly tell me that won't happen again?"

William shrugged. "No, but--"

"William, tell me something. When you saw that Xander had been hurt, that he was bleeding and you had no idea how badly off he was...how did you feel?"

William blanched. He swallowed hard, his hands shaking as he brushed his hair out of his face. "I...I felt..." He struggled for words, finally admitting in a forlorn whisper, "It hurt."

Rupert reached out and pulled William to him. "How do you think I'd feel if anything happened to you?" he asked fiercely, holding William tight.

Shuddering, William wrapped his arms around his father. "I'm sorry, Da," he said miserably. "I didn't...I didn't think about..."

"Hush. I know." Rupert rocked his son tenderly. "I just want you safe, that's all."

They sat together in silence for a while, until finally William spoke up again. "Am I still in trouble?"

Rupert snorted. "Yes you are, young man."

"Oh."

Rupert gently set his son aside and reached for his glasses. He put them on and stood, arms crossed as stared at William thoughtfully.

"Are you...you're not going to thrash me...are you?"

Rupert winced at the slightly tremulous tone. "No. I'm not. However, you are grounded for a week." He held up a hand, ticking off each point on his fingers while he spoke. "That means no television, no phone calls, no going out with your friends. It also means that during your lunch and free period at school, you will come straight to the library to study. You will also come to the library after classes are done and wait for me to take you home. When you are home, you will either be in your room studying, in the living room studying, or at the table studying." He'd run out of fingers by now, but that didn't deter him in the least. "If you manage to run out of schoolwork, I'm sure I can find something else to keep you occupied. Do I make myself clear?"

William shut his mouth and nodded. "Yes, Da."

"I also expect you to be in bed, lights off, by 10:00. That goes for the weekend as well."

"Yes, Da."

"Once the week is over, I fully expect you to tell me explicitly where you and your friends intend to go. You will keep reasonable hours, and you will not, under any circumstances, go anywhere alone after dark. If necessary, I will come pick you up, or I will give your friends a ride home. Understood?"

"Yes, Da," William agreed.

"Good." Rupert gazed at his son, who was sitting miserably on the floor. "William, stand up." When he had done so, Rupert pulled him into a fierce hug. "I just want to keep you safe, son," he said in a suspiciously husky voice.

William hesitated a moment before burrowing into his father's embrace. "Are...are you still mad at me?"

Rupert sighed. "No, I'm not mad. But if I ever find out that you've lied to me again..."

William shook his head. "I won't. I promise."

"Well then." Rupert cleared his throat. Pulling away, he clapped William on the back. "Let's see about dinner then, shall we?"