Author's note: Enjoy, scrumptious readers. ;)

Beta'd by talented dawnofme and Mabel Marsters.


Chapter 6


Buffy stared out the classroom’s window, the teacher’s droning voice but a background noise. The sun was shining today, the rays chasing away the scattered clouds. When she was a child she used to just lie on the ground in the backyard and stare at the sky, tracing the distant clouds with the tip of her forefinger, making up the names for each of them. She loved it. The feeling of being so small against the vast overwhelming solidity of the universe, knowing with such certainty that there had to be something bigger, something powerful guiding her every move. It felt safe. Knowing that she had a path she was supposed to follow.


Then her parents got divorced and they moved away to Sunnydale. Buffy couldn’t find it in herself to care about social status when everything she knew to be safe and true kept crumbling beneath her feet. Anything she dared to put hope in drifting away like a puff of smoke. She had been so alone up until the point she met William. Wonderful, shy, mysterious William. He was so different from her and at the same time so alike, yearning for someone to chase the loneliness away. Hesitant to let anyone in.


They had spent the whole weekend just talking, lips stealing kisses in between, innocent caresses making her blood boil and rush. Buffy found herself always craving to touch William in some manner. She loved raking her fingers through his thick hair. Felt her heart swell when his eyelashes fluttered and how his lips parted as she kissed a spot just beneath his jaw. He talked of his mother, of what his life had been like after she passed away, his eyes heavy with a sadness Buffy wanted to erase.


The girl sitting next to her--whose name Buffy couldn’t recall--poked her in the ribs with her elbow, and Buffy’s attention snapped back to the teacher just as he glanced at her with a suspicious expression. She remained neutral, not averting her eyes from the teacher’s probing gaze. He turned back to the board again, his voice lulling her to daydream again. She stopped herself, unwilling to face the headmistress for being inattentive in class.


That woman wigged her out.


*******


After the last class, William sat in the library, immersed in poetry. His heart soared, blood singing in his veins as it always did when he got lost in the world where emotions lived and breathed even though its creator had been long dead . He wished he could wield the words in such fashion, so fluid and beautiful. Whenever he tried to voice his feelings, he sounded nothing but clumsy.


Pushing the book away, he sighed and took off his glasses, rubbing his tired eyes with the palms of his hands before placing them back again. He didn’t even need the glasses for anything but reading; still he wore them everywhere he went. They were a safety blanket that offered him the chance to hide his eyes. Just like the ridiculous hair that kept falling into his forehead. William liked it that way. It prevented people from seeing into him. He always wore his heart on his sleeve, doing nothing but offering it to be crushed, to be broken into shards that would cut his insides. His mother had always told him gazing into his eyes; one could catch a glimpse of his soul.


Warm little hands suddenly covered his eyes and William almost jumped in his seat.


“I knew I’d find you here. Don’t your eyes hurt from all the reading?”


“A little bit,” he admitted.


“Here, I’ll make it better.” Buffy smiled and took off his glasses. She had a habit of doing that every time they were together. It left him feeling vulnerable when she gazed into his eyes like that. Drinking him in for all he was. How could she not find him lacking? She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his brow, lingering for a few wonderful seconds.


“Mmm, much better,” he murmured.


“I’m not finished.” She winked at him and lifted her fingers to gently massage his temples. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment. When Buffy touched him like he mattered, it stirred a need so powerful in William he wanted to both turn away and let it drown him.


“It feels brilliant.”


“Just call me magician Buffy.”


He opened his eyes and bit his lip before circling her wrist with his fingers and kissing her palm. “Thank you. I could have you do that to me every day… magician Buffy.”


She poked out her tongue at him, leaving him momentarily dazed from the sight. His mind immediately ventured down the path of what it felt like to twine his own tongue against hers.


“And I’d be happy to, but only if you scratch my back,” Buffy said.


“Anything you want. You know I can’t deny you anything.”


“Oh yes. You’re the best! I officially declare you my personal scratcher slash the best kisser ever.”


William grinned. “Been called worse. And I promise my unending dedication to both tasks.”


Didn’t she know he was already her slave, willing to crash to his knees and do anything she asked of him? It scared him sometimes, the magnitude of passion dwelling in his heart. The intensity of his feelings would surely bring him to destruction. Condemn him to love so much without it ever being returned. Once Buffy saw how much he yearned for her affection, it would scare her away. Wouldn’t it?


She graced him with a breathtaking smile and took his hand. “Want to come with me somewhere?”


His heart fluttered at her question.


'I’d go anywhere with you. I’d follow you to the bowels of Hell if I had to.'


“Alright,” William said and the hand slipped away. He missed the contact already. “Just let me gather my things.”


“Bookworm.”


William shrugged and returned her smile as he put the books into his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. Buffy glanced at him seductively as she headed out of the library. Hopeless to do anything else, he followed.


*******


“Where are we going?” he asked, relishing the feel of her palm rubbing intimately against his.


“Hmm… oh, here’s great, I think.”


William glanced around the empty corridor and his brow furrowed when Buffy let go of his hand in order to peek into what seem like a janitor’s closet. Then she smiled at him, eyes dancing in mischief and tugged at his tie to pull him in.


His breath quickened as she rested her palms on his chest and pulled the door closed before she pushed him against it with a wicked gleam in her gaze. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” she said.

William gulped.


“Ehm… to close yourself in a room full of cobwebs and detergent?”


She giggled and pressed herself against him, kissing his neck. His arms wound against Buffy’s waist. “Not exactly. More like, molest my boyfriend in a dark closet.”


William’s heart melted even as the temperature in the small room suddenly seemed to get much higher due to her teasing kisses on the sensitive skin beneath his jaw. “I-I’m your… boyfriend?”


“Only if you want to. Do you? I mean, want to?”


“Bloody hell, yes!”


Buffy giggled again, the sound he loved so much making the butterflies in his stomach flap their wings even faster as he blushed at his too eager response.


“I had no idea you even knew that term.” Her hands stroked his heaving chest as she rose on her tiptoes and pressed a chaste kiss on his mouth. “Now, less talky and more kissy.”


William grinned against her mouth. “Your wish is my command.”


“Always such a gentleman,” Buffy said, though there was nothing gentlemanly about the way he kissed her in the next moment.


William kissed her as if the world was ending and this was the last moment, the last chance to feel. His hands slipped from her waist to her hips, gripping them as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. His lips dragged against hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth with irresistible sensuality that made Buffy want to surrender to him and never let go. To let him devour her.


She clutched at the front of his white shirt, needing something to hold onto as he languidly proceeded to kiss the sanity away. The tips of William’s fingers on her hips brushed the side of her buttocks, making her burn and crave. Needing to touch his skin, Buffy loosened his tie and undid the first two buttons to caress his smooth firm chest. He shivered under her fingertips, letting out a gasp. Their heavy breaths filled the restricted space, the soundtrack of their desperate desire for each other.


Not knowing their panting and moaning could be heard outside, it stunned them when the door was suddenly yanked open and they both tumbled to the ground with Buffy on top. Two girls that had opened the door stood there laughing at their predicament. William blushed furiously as the girls told them to ‘go get a proper room’ and left them, their laughter trailing after them down the empty corridor.


Buffy groaned against his throat and rolled off him with effort. “Well, that was embarrassing.” She snorted then erupted into fits of uncontrollable giggles.


William glanced at her, lying next to him, her cheeks flushed from the effect of his kisses and mirth and he couldn’t help but join her.


Right at that moment, everything felt perfect.


********


“I don’t think we should be doing this,” William muttered and rubbed the back of his neck.


“But I’m hungry,” she said with a pout. God help him, he couldn’t tear his eyes off those lips.


“Alright, but let’s hurry.”


Buffy grinned and slipped through the door leading to the school kitchens, William following close behind. Trying to maneuver successfully and without drawing attention to the fact they were sneaking in when they already should be in their beds proved to be quite a challenge. Adrenaline rushed through his veins as he peered around the darkness.


Then Buffy turned on the flashlight and a thin stream of light pierced the darkness to settle on the various pans and dishes scattered around. This must have been the craziest thing he’d ever done. If someone caught them they would be in a world of trouble, yet with Buffy at his side, William couldn’t find it in himself to care.


Feeling a sudden rush of alien confidence, William stepped closer to her and slipped his hand into hers before leaning in to kiss her cheek. Buffy turned to him with a sweet smile on her lips and squeezed his fingers.


“Ready to steal some midnight snack, Will?” she asked and tugged him towards a big freezer.


“This is kind of exciting,” he whispered. “Alright… let’s steal.”


“You’re so bad,” she said, and he just smirked. He knew she was just teasing, not making fun of him like anyone else.


“The baddest, baby,” he confirmed in a serious voice and Buffy stifled a chuckle.


She opened the fridge and they perused the contents. With a muffled squeal and a jump, Buffy reached out and snatched a box of strawberries. “You know, I think the kitchen ladies keep all the good stuff to themselves. That’s not very fair, is it?”


“Yeah, I say we liberate it.”


“Good plan.”


They took out the fruit and a can of whipped cream that obviously wasn’t meant to be given to the students. Sitting on the floor and reclining against the counter, William glanced over at Buffy, his stomach clenching as it always did when he was near her.


“You’re a very bad influence on me,” he said.


“Hmm… I do believe I am.” Buffy took out a strawberry and sprayed it with whipped cream before putting it into his mouth. William bit into it and a trickle of juice ran down his chin. Before it could drop on his white shirt, Buffy moved close to him and licked it off. William swallowed audibly and licked his lips. “The crime sure tastes delicious though,” she said, popping a strawberry into her mouth.


“Uhh… you’re torturing me on purpose, aren’t you?”


“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”


William lifted his eyebrow then his eyes fixed on the positively sinful way she was eating and closing her eyes in pleasure before he averted his gaze. What he wanted was to bury his fingers in her hair as he tasted her, rather than the fruit.


Buffy turned to glance at him, smiling wickedly and he realized she must have known exactly what she was doing to him.


'Vixen.'


Before he could chicken out, William leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She drew him closer and teased the seam of his mouth with the tip of her tongue before he allowed her entrance. The way she tasted had him moaning into her mouth. Strawberries, whipped cream and Buffy. Something he could feast on for the rest of his life and never want more.


Through the haze, William heard faint footsteps outside the door. He broke the kiss and fumbled to turn off the flashlight right before the door swung open. Her taste still lingered on the tip of his tongue. Buffy stared at him with wide eyes as the footsteps got closer. They both held their breath, her fingers squeezing his to the point of pain.


As the fridge opened, the light illuminated the thin silhouette of Miss Bennett, and William felt the blood drain from his face.


TBC