ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES
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BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
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Adult ++
Chapters:
210
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Category:
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
11,881
Reviews:
182
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
A WILLIAM BY ANY OTHER NAME...
CHAPTER 162 – A WILLIAM BY ANY OTHER NAME...
OCTOBER 11, 2009
SATURDAY
11:00PM
JULIAN
Bringing her tea with her, Buffy tried to settle down on the couch to watch something, anything on television.
“Not looking over there, not looking at the desk,” she told herself yet again, but two minutes later, like a moth to a flame, Buffy once again logged onto the computer, as she’d been doing almost hourly since hearing Dawn had talked to William last night. She’d been relieved that Dawn had talked to him, but what he’d said had left her both depressed and angry. At the moment, the former was prevailing.
‘You have 5 emails waiting to be sent,’ the AOL message told her.
She looked at the letters she’d written thus far to William.
FIRST LETTER:
Oct. 10, 2009
11:45pm
Dear William,
Dawn just told me she spoke to you. How can you think I’m relieved that you’re gone? I’m not relieved! I miss you! I’m worried about you! I love you!
I love you.
Please, call me or email me. I need to hear it from you that you’re alright.
Love always,
Elizabeth
SECOND LETTER:
Oct. 11, 2009
12:30am
Dear William,
Dawn just told me she spoke to you, and I was relieved. Not that you’re not here, but that now I know that you’re not lying on the side of a road dead somewhere!
How dare you think I’d be relieved otherwise?
Did the whole year we spent together mean nothing to you? Do you think I could fake loving you?
I may have lied to you about your past, but I never lied about my loving you!
Elizabeth
THIRD LETTER:
Oct. 11, 2009
3:00am
Dear William,
I can’t sleep. I keep hoping you’ll be back online now that I know that you’re somewhere with a computer (Dawn called me tonight after she spoke to you).
I was so relieved to hear that you were alright.
I am not relieved that you’re not here with me. I will NEVER be relieved about that. EVER.
But I need to hear it from you that you’re alright. Please, call me, write me, email me.
I need to hear from you.
I miss you.
Love,
Elizabeth
FOURTH LETTER:
October 11, 2009
4:45am
Dear William!
How dare you leave me for my own good, then think I’m relieved?
You’re an idiot if you can think this, believe this!
I hate you!
Me!
FIFTH LETTER:
October 11, 2009
12:00noon
Dear William,
I heard from Dawn that you IM’d with her. I was so glad to hear that you were alright.
I am NOT relieved that you’re gone.
I will NEVER be relieved, until you come back home.
I love you.
Please call me, write me, or email me. Preferably call.
I need to hear your voice.
I miss you.
I need you.
I love you.
Always,
Elizabeth
Buffy deleted all the others, and tried again.
SIXTH LETTER:
October 11, 2009
11:30pm
Dear William,
I don’t understand anything anymore, no matter how hard I try.
We love each other, yet we’re apart. At least, I still love you.
I know that you had a horrible thing happen to you, and you must feel a terrible injustice was done to you as well - by me, which made it all the worse.
I’m so sorry, William. I don’t want you to hate me. Please don’t hate me. You’ll never know how much it hurts me, to think that you may.
You trusted me, and I let you down, though I’d only wanted to protect you after you’d come back. I only wanted us to have a second chance to love each other. I wanted us to have a real chance to be happy, without having to fight the forces of darkness, or each other this time around.
Pretty much failed at that, didn’t I?
I know you don’t want to be here with me anymore, but please William, call me and let me know how you are. I just want to hear it from you.
If you can’t call, then please write or email.
Love always,
Elizabeth
Buffy pressed send.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OCTOBER 11, 2009
SATURDAY
11:00PM
SAN MARCOS
He’d seen the bar a couple of times before when the university’s student lots had been all filled, and he’d had to park on one of the side streets. It was just a little pub, discreetly sitting between a couple of off-campus student apartment buildings. It was the sort oace ace that would mostly cater to the local clientele, a place to sit and unwind, flirt with the opposite sex, and get pleasantly smashed.
Luck was on his side, as he found a parking space only a block away and big enough for the DeSoto, when someone pulled out. The night air was cold, as he walked the block to the bar, but the duster blunted it just enough to make it feel comfortably cool. He smiled at his good fortune for having found it.
As he rounded the corner, he could already hear the thrum of the music coming from the bar. He stopped, shrugging his shoulders to adjust the coat a bit before entering. From the door, he could see a long bar off to the right side, a rather small dance floor to the left, and tables and booths in the middle. A huge fisherman’s net hung from the ceiling, containing various shells, starfish, and other sea life, and there were mounted fish on the walls.
As William stood there taking it all in, it only mildly registered that the momentary lull in the volume of conversations had to do with him, as the patrons checked out the newest arrival As As he made his way to the bar, a large man stumbled into him, spilling some beer down his new coat and onto his shoes.
“Watch where you’re going!” William said, without thinking.
“Who do you think you’re talking to asshole?”
William gulped, as he looked up at the menacingly large man now glaring at him, thinking that his face was suddenly going to get awfully familiar with the man’s meaty fist.
William’s eyes narrowed, and he clenched his jaw as his body tensed, waiting for what surely was about to follow this exchange, when the man suddenly seemed to change his mind.
“Um...hey man, I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he said, grabbing some napkinf a f a nearby table, despite their loud protests of those sitting there, then proceeded, to William’s astonishment, to wipe the beer off of his coat.
“There, how’s that? Are we good now?” the man asked, venturing a small, nervous smile.
William only nodded dumbly, as he walked to the bar and found a seat.
“What’ll it be?” asked the bartender.
“Jack...um...sorry, Guinness draught,” William said, deciding he’d be better off drinking something less likely to get him drunk, since he was driving.
William handed him a five, when the bartender came with his drink, but he refused it; “The man over there, said it was on him,” he said, pointing to a nearby table. William followed the man’s finger until he saw the man who had bumped into him. The man held up his drink, tipping it towards him in mock salute, and William did the same.
Shaking his head, he took a long pull from his beer, looking into the bar’s mirror, watching the action behind hi dan dangerous looking man wearing all black, with a shock of platinum hair gazed back.
He stared hard until a bitterly amused smirk replaced the wide-eyed disbelief on his face, as it dawned on him just why, he’d been the recipient of nervous looks, apologies, and a free drink.
A harsh laugh erupted from William, causing those nearby to look towards him, but he paid them no mind. Almost mockingly, it seemed that by his looking more like Spike, the very thing he’d been running from, he was now getting something he’d rarely ever been able to get on his own, especially of late. Respect.
He downed the beer, and ordered another one, insisting on paying for his own this time around.
“Three dollars, or do you want me to run a tab?” asked the bartender, setting down the beer, and taking the empty glass.
“Tab’s fine,” answered William. He had no other place he needed to be, no place at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1:30am
“Be back,” he told the bartender, excusing himself.
“I hate this fucking town!” he heard a familiar voice, as the door to the restroom swung open. He stiffened, as he came face to face with Tommy and Ralph, who were exiting. They stared at him for a moment, before stepping aside to let him enter.
Tommy looked at Ralph, “Dude, who was that? He looked familiar.”
Ralph shrugged, “Never saw him before.”
“No, I think I know him from somewhere.”
“Do you care? You want a date or something?” Ralph asked, grinning.
“Fuck you!”
William’s heart was pounding and he let out a sigh of relief, realizing that they hadn’t recognized him. He finished up and went back out to the bar, hoping that they wouldn’t be anywhere around.
Unfortunately, they were standing not too far from where he took his seat. He saw Tommy glance over at him a few times, then look away.
“Another Guinness?”
“That’ll be...” William started to say normally, then cleared his throat. “Make it a Jack Daniels, on the rocks,” he said, disguising his true voice in a much more working class accent.
The bartender gave him a strange look, but didn’t say anything.
“Think I’ll pay my tab now,” he said, when trinkrink came, “how much do I owe you?”
“Twelve dollars.”
William gave him a ten and a five, and motioned for him to keep the change. The bartender gave a short nod, and went off to wait on other customers.
As he drank, he kept glancing at the mirror to see where Tommy and Ralph were, and was glad to see that they’d disappeared from view. He finished up the drink, and decided to leave by the back door, which he’d noticed when he’d visited the restroom earlier.
The backdoor opened up onto a small deck, probably used a lot during the summer, but now deserted, or so he thought. As William started towards the rear gate, which led to the alley, he heard a scuffling off to the right side of the deck, which was in darkness, but the voice was unmistakable.
“Come on Alison, I you know still want me,” the voice said, as bodies banged into the deck’s railing.
“Stop it Tommy! I told you it was over,” said an angry female voice.
, be, because I’m not a college boy anymore?” he said, as he pushed his body against hers that much harder.
“No, because you’re an idiot!”
A loud slap, followed by a cry made William flinch, but he steered himself and started toward the darkened corner.
“It’s over when I say it’s over slut! Grab her arms Ralph! It’s time I teach this bitch a lesson!”
Ralph’s back was to him, as William whipped him around, quickly dropping him to the deck with a sucker’s punch. He then turned his attention to Tommy, “I believe the lady asked you to leave her alone,” William said, willing his voice to be as steely on the outside, as his h was was pounding on the inside.
Tommy viciously pushed Alison away from him, as he glared at William. She stumbled and fell against the railing a few feet away, her eyes fearful as she looked from William to Tommy.
“I know you, don’t I? Who are you?”
William pulled himself up as tall as he could, “Name’s Spike,” he said in a cold voice, “and you don’t know me, but I know you.”
“That right?” Tommy asked, as he started advancing towards William. “Well, when I’m done with you, there won’t be anything left of you to know!”
With that, he charged. William, although drunk, easily dodged his punch, causing the man to stumble forward to the other side of the deck. By the time he turned around, William was ready for him, and landed a hard blow to his face, causing Tommy to fall. He was on his feet in a minute, and launched himself anew into William. A crowd had gathered, as the two men fell onto the deck, and proceeded to pummel each other. By now, Ralph had gotten up, and tried to get into the fight, but others held him back.
Tommy fought hard, but William fought harder, landing the most blows, and managing to get to his feet.
“Get up you coward!” he said, stepping back as Tommy struggled to get to his knees.
The crowd cheered him on, yelling for him to punch him while he had the chance, but William wouldn’t do it, not while he was down. He wanted Tommy to know just who was going to come out on top of this fight, fair and square.
Tommy rose, staggering to his feet, trying to land a blow to his opponent’s stomach, which William neatly dodged. The next one took so so his opponent thought, when William doubled over, gasping for air. A leer plastered on Tommy’s face, his knee came up, just as William rose, stepped back, and delivered a bone crunching left hook to Tommy’s face. Tommy went down, and it was over.
William bent over the barely conscious Tommy, who held his hands over his nose moaning, and grabbed him by the collar, “Don’t you ever let me see you here or any other place in this town again, you got it, you tosser?” he hissed at him.
Tommy nodded.
“What was that?” William said, pulling his fist back.
Tommy flinched, “Okay! Please! No more, I got it! Please!”
William smirked, and pushed him back as he released his hold on him.
Some of the patrons went to Tommy’s side, even as a round of applause went up for William. Some of them patting him on the back, as he suddenly sagged as the adrenaline surge went out of him.
Alison stood off at a distance with the friends that had surrounded her, watching and waiting. “Excuse me,” she said to them, when the crowd around William had thinned out.
He had his back to her, when she put her hand on his arm. “I...I wanted to thank you,” she stammered, as he turned to face her.
He shook his head, “No need; don’t like to see any man hurt a lady,” he said, turning away.
“But I know who you are!”
William stiffened, and turned back to face her, but didn’t say anything.
“What I mean, is that I’m so sorry about what happened that day in the cafeteria, and later in front of my dorm. I always knew in my gut that Tommy was a bully, but I didn’t want to believe it, know what I mean?”
She continued when William didn’t say anything, “Love is like that...it makes you hide the truth from yourself, and only believe what you want to believe. But the day him and Ralph beat you up, I broke up with him. I...I just wanted you to know that, and to thank you for tonight. You didn’t have to come to my aid, you didn’t...”
William put his hand on her arm, “It’s alright. Really. I didn’t hold you responsible for what those stupid gits did to me,” he said, his voice low.
She let out a sigh of relief, “Thank you; for everything.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, releasing her arm. She gave him a small smile, then went back into the bar with her friends.
Tommy had been carted off by his friends, and soon afterwards, almost everyone else drifted back inside. William, more than ready to leave, started for the alley. Just as he reached the gate, a voice stopped him.
“Pretty good fighting skills you got there, William.”
William turned around to see the woman he’d met earlier in the drug store.
“Thanks...”
“Miranda,” she said with a smile. She looked back towards the door, then discretely pulled a flask out of her purse, offering it to him.
“Miranda,” William echoed, accepting the flask and taking a long gulp, as he eyed her, curiously. The liquor burned on the way down, but he didn’t mind; he welcomed it.
“Where’d you learn to fight like that?” she asked, taking a drink herself, before passing it back to William.
“I used to spar with my...” he stopped, realizing how it might sound to say that he’d learned to fight best when sparring with another woman, even if that woman had been The Slayer. He doubted Miranda had ever heard of a slayer, “friends.”
“I see. Well, you did real well; that kid had a good ass-kicking coming to him. Scumbag tried to force himself on me one night as I was walking home. I kicked him in the balls!” she said, grinning. “Never bothered me again!”
“Wanker!”
“Yeah, whatever you said!”
He grinned back, taking another drink.
“Look William, I got to get back to my ‘posse’ inside, but I just wanted to let you know that you did good. Also, if you’re interested, I might be able to offer you a job at the bar I work at.”
“Doing what?” William asked, surprised.
“Not sure, why don’t you come by and I’ll see if we can fix you up.”
“I don’t know,” William said, shaking his head, “I don’t think so.”
She shrugged, “It’s up to you, but seriously, I could use another pair of hands, arms, eyes, whatever. I think you’d like it. Anyway, if you’re interested, you’ve got the address, right?”
William nodded, “Yes, I still have it,” he said, trying to hand her back the flask.
“You keep it, I have more. Consider it a reward from a fan,” she said winking, as she turned to go back into the bar.
“By the way,” she said, turning back towards him, “I see the ‘look’ is working out for you. Oh, and love the name, too. Spike,” she said, winking once more, before disappearing inside.
William stared after her dumbfounded for the second time that night, then walked to his car.
Although he was beginning to ache from the punches he’d received that night, he was still a bit giddy as he let himself into his apartment and got ready for bed. He couldn’t help grinning, as he thought of Tommy. For once, he’d prevailed over a bully, and it had felt great!
Not just prevailed, he’d beaten the crap out of him!
Still in good humor, he turned on the light in the bathroom to wash up, and saw himself in the mirror once again. Though not shocked any longer, the smirk faded as he studied his face, sobering up. It was still his face, bruises and all, yet there was something different about it; less innocent perhaps; or maybe it was deeper than that.
Innocent, now that’s a concept whose time has surely passed, he thought, snorting. His hands came up, as he brushed his hair back from his forehead, and winced as some pulled away from a cut near his hairline, causing it to start bleeding a bit. He hadn’t even noticed it until then. Glad for the distraction from any further troubling thoughts, he concentrated on cleaning it up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting on the side of the bed, he set the clock to make sure he’d wake up on time to feed Charley. As he did, he glanced at Elizabeth’s necklace and ring, and his fingers ghosted over them for a moment, before turning off the lamp.
Sighing, he put his hands behind his head, staring up at the darkness. Soon he was asleep, dreaming of innocent looking faces, which hid the monsters underneath.
END CHAPTER 162
A/N Sorry to take so long beteen updates. Tricky stuff getting William to go where and how I want him to go. Couldn't just have him fall into a bottle of bleach and a long, black duster, now could I? LOL
Thanks as always to my Beta Judy, who helps me out of the writing doldrums, and is honest enough to let me know when something I put on the proverbial writing flagpole just doesn't fly . :)
OCTOBER 11, 2009
SATURDAY
11:00PM
JULIAN
Bringing her tea with her, Buffy tried to settle down on the couch to watch something, anything on television.
“Not looking over there, not looking at the desk,” she told herself yet again, but two minutes later, like a moth to a flame, Buffy once again logged onto the computer, as she’d been doing almost hourly since hearing Dawn had talked to William last night. She’d been relieved that Dawn had talked to him, but what he’d said had left her both depressed and angry. At the moment, the former was prevailing.
‘You have 5 emails waiting to be sent,’ the AOL message told her.
She looked at the letters she’d written thus far to William.
FIRST LETTER:
Oct. 10, 2009
11:45pm
Dear William,
Dawn just told me she spoke to you. How can you think I’m relieved that you’re gone? I’m not relieved! I miss you! I’m worried about you! I love you!
I love you.
Please, call me or email me. I need to hear it from you that you’re alright.
Love always,
Elizabeth
SECOND LETTER:
Oct. 11, 2009
12:30am
Dear William,
Dawn just told me she spoke to you, and I was relieved. Not that you’re not here, but that now I know that you’re not lying on the side of a road dead somewhere!
How dare you think I’d be relieved otherwise?
Did the whole year we spent together mean nothing to you? Do you think I could fake loving you?
I may have lied to you about your past, but I never lied about my loving you!
Elizabeth
THIRD LETTER:
Oct. 11, 2009
3:00am
Dear William,
I can’t sleep. I keep hoping you’ll be back online now that I know that you’re somewhere with a computer (Dawn called me tonight after she spoke to you).
I was so relieved to hear that you were alright.
I am not relieved that you’re not here with me. I will NEVER be relieved about that. EVER.
But I need to hear it from you that you’re alright. Please, call me, write me, email me.
I need to hear from you.
I miss you.
Love,
Elizabeth
FOURTH LETTER:
October 11, 2009
4:45am
Dear William!
How dare you leave me for my own good, then think I’m relieved?
You’re an idiot if you can think this, believe this!
I hate you!
Me!
FIFTH LETTER:
October 11, 2009
12:00noon
Dear William,
I heard from Dawn that you IM’d with her. I was so glad to hear that you were alright.
I am NOT relieved that you’re gone.
I will NEVER be relieved, until you come back home.
I love you.
Please call me, write me, or email me. Preferably call.
I need to hear your voice.
I miss you.
I need you.
I love you.
Always,
Elizabeth
Buffy deleted all the others, and tried again.
SIXTH LETTER:
October 11, 2009
11:30pm
Dear William,
I don’t understand anything anymore, no matter how hard I try.
We love each other, yet we’re apart. At least, I still love you.
I know that you had a horrible thing happen to you, and you must feel a terrible injustice was done to you as well - by me, which made it all the worse.
I’m so sorry, William. I don’t want you to hate me. Please don’t hate me. You’ll never know how much it hurts me, to think that you may.
You trusted me, and I let you down, though I’d only wanted to protect you after you’d come back. I only wanted us to have a second chance to love each other. I wanted us to have a real chance to be happy, without having to fight the forces of darkness, or each other this time around.
Pretty much failed at that, didn’t I?
I know you don’t want to be here with me anymore, but please William, call me and let me know how you are. I just want to hear it from you.
If you can’t call, then please write or email.
Love always,
Elizabeth
Buffy pressed send.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OCTOBER 11, 2009
SATURDAY
11:00PM
SAN MARCOS
He’d seen the bar a couple of times before when the university’s student lots had been all filled, and he’d had to park on one of the side streets. It was just a little pub, discreetly sitting between a couple of off-campus student apartment buildings. It was the sort oace ace that would mostly cater to the local clientele, a place to sit and unwind, flirt with the opposite sex, and get pleasantly smashed.
Luck was on his side, as he found a parking space only a block away and big enough for the DeSoto, when someone pulled out. The night air was cold, as he walked the block to the bar, but the duster blunted it just enough to make it feel comfortably cool. He smiled at his good fortune for having found it.
As he rounded the corner, he could already hear the thrum of the music coming from the bar. He stopped, shrugging his shoulders to adjust the coat a bit before entering. From the door, he could see a long bar off to the right side, a rather small dance floor to the left, and tables and booths in the middle. A huge fisherman’s net hung from the ceiling, containing various shells, starfish, and other sea life, and there were mounted fish on the walls.
As William stood there taking it all in, it only mildly registered that the momentary lull in the volume of conversations had to do with him, as the patrons checked out the newest arrival As As he made his way to the bar, a large man stumbled into him, spilling some beer down his new coat and onto his shoes.
“Watch where you’re going!” William said, without thinking.
“Who do you think you’re talking to asshole?”
William gulped, as he looked up at the menacingly large man now glaring at him, thinking that his face was suddenly going to get awfully familiar with the man’s meaty fist.
William’s eyes narrowed, and he clenched his jaw as his body tensed, waiting for what surely was about to follow this exchange, when the man suddenly seemed to change his mind.
“Um...hey man, I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he said, grabbing some napkinf a f a nearby table, despite their loud protests of those sitting there, then proceeded, to William’s astonishment, to wipe the beer off of his coat.
“There, how’s that? Are we good now?” the man asked, venturing a small, nervous smile.
William only nodded dumbly, as he walked to the bar and found a seat.
“What’ll it be?” asked the bartender.
“Jack...um...sorry, Guinness draught,” William said, deciding he’d be better off drinking something less likely to get him drunk, since he was driving.
William handed him a five, when the bartender came with his drink, but he refused it; “The man over there, said it was on him,” he said, pointing to a nearby table. William followed the man’s finger until he saw the man who had bumped into him. The man held up his drink, tipping it towards him in mock salute, and William did the same.
Shaking his head, he took a long pull from his beer, looking into the bar’s mirror, watching the action behind hi dan dangerous looking man wearing all black, with a shock of platinum hair gazed back.
He stared hard until a bitterly amused smirk replaced the wide-eyed disbelief on his face, as it dawned on him just why, he’d been the recipient of nervous looks, apologies, and a free drink.
A harsh laugh erupted from William, causing those nearby to look towards him, but he paid them no mind. Almost mockingly, it seemed that by his looking more like Spike, the very thing he’d been running from, he was now getting something he’d rarely ever been able to get on his own, especially of late. Respect.
He downed the beer, and ordered another one, insisting on paying for his own this time around.
“Three dollars, or do you want me to run a tab?” asked the bartender, setting down the beer, and taking the empty glass.
“Tab’s fine,” answered William. He had no other place he needed to be, no place at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1:30am
“Be back,” he told the bartender, excusing himself.
“I hate this fucking town!” he heard a familiar voice, as the door to the restroom swung open. He stiffened, as he came face to face with Tommy and Ralph, who were exiting. They stared at him for a moment, before stepping aside to let him enter.
Tommy looked at Ralph, “Dude, who was that? He looked familiar.”
Ralph shrugged, “Never saw him before.”
“No, I think I know him from somewhere.”
“Do you care? You want a date or something?” Ralph asked, grinning.
“Fuck you!”
William’s heart was pounding and he let out a sigh of relief, realizing that they hadn’t recognized him. He finished up and went back out to the bar, hoping that they wouldn’t be anywhere around.
Unfortunately, they were standing not too far from where he took his seat. He saw Tommy glance over at him a few times, then look away.
“Another Guinness?”
“That’ll be...” William started to say normally, then cleared his throat. “Make it a Jack Daniels, on the rocks,” he said, disguising his true voice in a much more working class accent.
The bartender gave him a strange look, but didn’t say anything.
“Think I’ll pay my tab now,” he said, when trinkrink came, “how much do I owe you?”
“Twelve dollars.”
William gave him a ten and a five, and motioned for him to keep the change. The bartender gave a short nod, and went off to wait on other customers.
As he drank, he kept glancing at the mirror to see where Tommy and Ralph were, and was glad to see that they’d disappeared from view. He finished up the drink, and decided to leave by the back door, which he’d noticed when he’d visited the restroom earlier.
The backdoor opened up onto a small deck, probably used a lot during the summer, but now deserted, or so he thought. As William started towards the rear gate, which led to the alley, he heard a scuffling off to the right side of the deck, which was in darkness, but the voice was unmistakable.
“Come on Alison, I you know still want me,” the voice said, as bodies banged into the deck’s railing.
“Stop it Tommy! I told you it was over,” said an angry female voice.
, be, because I’m not a college boy anymore?” he said, as he pushed his body against hers that much harder.
“No, because you’re an idiot!”
A loud slap, followed by a cry made William flinch, but he steered himself and started toward the darkened corner.
“It’s over when I say it’s over slut! Grab her arms Ralph! It’s time I teach this bitch a lesson!”
Ralph’s back was to him, as William whipped him around, quickly dropping him to the deck with a sucker’s punch. He then turned his attention to Tommy, “I believe the lady asked you to leave her alone,” William said, willing his voice to be as steely on the outside, as his h was was pounding on the inside.
Tommy viciously pushed Alison away from him, as he glared at William. She stumbled and fell against the railing a few feet away, her eyes fearful as she looked from William to Tommy.
“I know you, don’t I? Who are you?”
William pulled himself up as tall as he could, “Name’s Spike,” he said in a cold voice, “and you don’t know me, but I know you.”
“That right?” Tommy asked, as he started advancing towards William. “Well, when I’m done with you, there won’t be anything left of you to know!”
With that, he charged. William, although drunk, easily dodged his punch, causing the man to stumble forward to the other side of the deck. By the time he turned around, William was ready for him, and landed a hard blow to his face, causing Tommy to fall. He was on his feet in a minute, and launched himself anew into William. A crowd had gathered, as the two men fell onto the deck, and proceeded to pummel each other. By now, Ralph had gotten up, and tried to get into the fight, but others held him back.
Tommy fought hard, but William fought harder, landing the most blows, and managing to get to his feet.
“Get up you coward!” he said, stepping back as Tommy struggled to get to his knees.
The crowd cheered him on, yelling for him to punch him while he had the chance, but William wouldn’t do it, not while he was down. He wanted Tommy to know just who was going to come out on top of this fight, fair and square.
Tommy rose, staggering to his feet, trying to land a blow to his opponent’s stomach, which William neatly dodged. The next one took so so his opponent thought, when William doubled over, gasping for air. A leer plastered on Tommy’s face, his knee came up, just as William rose, stepped back, and delivered a bone crunching left hook to Tommy’s face. Tommy went down, and it was over.
William bent over the barely conscious Tommy, who held his hands over his nose moaning, and grabbed him by the collar, “Don’t you ever let me see you here or any other place in this town again, you got it, you tosser?” he hissed at him.
Tommy nodded.
“What was that?” William said, pulling his fist back.
Tommy flinched, “Okay! Please! No more, I got it! Please!”
William smirked, and pushed him back as he released his hold on him.
Some of the patrons went to Tommy’s side, even as a round of applause went up for William. Some of them patting him on the back, as he suddenly sagged as the adrenaline surge went out of him.
Alison stood off at a distance with the friends that had surrounded her, watching and waiting. “Excuse me,” she said to them, when the crowd around William had thinned out.
He had his back to her, when she put her hand on his arm. “I...I wanted to thank you,” she stammered, as he turned to face her.
He shook his head, “No need; don’t like to see any man hurt a lady,” he said, turning away.
“But I know who you are!”
William stiffened, and turned back to face her, but didn’t say anything.
“What I mean, is that I’m so sorry about what happened that day in the cafeteria, and later in front of my dorm. I always knew in my gut that Tommy was a bully, but I didn’t want to believe it, know what I mean?”
She continued when William didn’t say anything, “Love is like that...it makes you hide the truth from yourself, and only believe what you want to believe. But the day him and Ralph beat you up, I broke up with him. I...I just wanted you to know that, and to thank you for tonight. You didn’t have to come to my aid, you didn’t...”
William put his hand on her arm, “It’s alright. Really. I didn’t hold you responsible for what those stupid gits did to me,” he said, his voice low.
She let out a sigh of relief, “Thank you; for everything.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, releasing her arm. She gave him a small smile, then went back into the bar with her friends.
Tommy had been carted off by his friends, and soon afterwards, almost everyone else drifted back inside. William, more than ready to leave, started for the alley. Just as he reached the gate, a voice stopped him.
“Pretty good fighting skills you got there, William.”
William turned around to see the woman he’d met earlier in the drug store.
“Thanks...”
“Miranda,” she said with a smile. She looked back towards the door, then discretely pulled a flask out of her purse, offering it to him.
“Miranda,” William echoed, accepting the flask and taking a long gulp, as he eyed her, curiously. The liquor burned on the way down, but he didn’t mind; he welcomed it.
“Where’d you learn to fight like that?” she asked, taking a drink herself, before passing it back to William.
“I used to spar with my...” he stopped, realizing how it might sound to say that he’d learned to fight best when sparring with another woman, even if that woman had been The Slayer. He doubted Miranda had ever heard of a slayer, “friends.”
“I see. Well, you did real well; that kid had a good ass-kicking coming to him. Scumbag tried to force himself on me one night as I was walking home. I kicked him in the balls!” she said, grinning. “Never bothered me again!”
“Wanker!”
“Yeah, whatever you said!”
He grinned back, taking another drink.
“Look William, I got to get back to my ‘posse’ inside, but I just wanted to let you know that you did good. Also, if you’re interested, I might be able to offer you a job at the bar I work at.”
“Doing what?” William asked, surprised.
“Not sure, why don’t you come by and I’ll see if we can fix you up.”
“I don’t know,” William said, shaking his head, “I don’t think so.”
She shrugged, “It’s up to you, but seriously, I could use another pair of hands, arms, eyes, whatever. I think you’d like it. Anyway, if you’re interested, you’ve got the address, right?”
William nodded, “Yes, I still have it,” he said, trying to hand her back the flask.
“You keep it, I have more. Consider it a reward from a fan,” she said winking, as she turned to go back into the bar.
“By the way,” she said, turning back towards him, “I see the ‘look’ is working out for you. Oh, and love the name, too. Spike,” she said, winking once more, before disappearing inside.
William stared after her dumbfounded for the second time that night, then walked to his car.
Although he was beginning to ache from the punches he’d received that night, he was still a bit giddy as he let himself into his apartment and got ready for bed. He couldn’t help grinning, as he thought of Tommy. For once, he’d prevailed over a bully, and it had felt great!
Not just prevailed, he’d beaten the crap out of him!
Still in good humor, he turned on the light in the bathroom to wash up, and saw himself in the mirror once again. Though not shocked any longer, the smirk faded as he studied his face, sobering up. It was still his face, bruises and all, yet there was something different about it; less innocent perhaps; or maybe it was deeper than that.
Innocent, now that’s a concept whose time has surely passed, he thought, snorting. His hands came up, as he brushed his hair back from his forehead, and winced as some pulled away from a cut near his hairline, causing it to start bleeding a bit. He hadn’t even noticed it until then. Glad for the distraction from any further troubling thoughts, he concentrated on cleaning it up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting on the side of the bed, he set the clock to make sure he’d wake up on time to feed Charley. As he did, he glanced at Elizabeth’s necklace and ring, and his fingers ghosted over them for a moment, before turning off the lamp.
Sighing, he put his hands behind his head, staring up at the darkness. Soon he was asleep, dreaming of innocent looking faces, which hid the monsters underneath.
END CHAPTER 162
A/N Sorry to take so long beteen updates. Tricky stuff getting William to go where and how I want him to go. Couldn't just have him fall into a bottle of bleach and a long, black duster, now could I? LOL
Thanks as always to my Beta Judy, who helps me out of the writing doldrums, and is honest enough to let me know when something I put on the proverbial writing flagpole just doesn't fly . :)