Chapter 4
Buffy wasn’t sure what she’d gotten herself into. As she and Wesley walked from the video store to the campus dorms, he very eagerly explained to her the wonder of Dungeons and Dragons. It was very confusing, and a little scary, and she was suddenly unsure if this was how she wanted to spend her evening.
“We’ll have to roll your stats first to see your character abilities,” he was saying, speaking animatedly with his hands as she stared at the ground while they walked. “Would you consider yourself lawful good or chaotic neutral? You seem to be one of the two.”
“Chaotic what?” Lord, the terminology! Elves, dwarves, handbooks and dungeon masters, constitution and charisma and twelve-sided dice and what the hell kind of drugs was he taking?
“To determine your alignment, we must find out what your moral and ethical perspective is. Dungeons and Dragons isn’t simply a game. It utilizes every aspect of a character to make it more realistic. I find that playing a character more suited to your actual personality is the most entertaining while William prefers the fantastical. Andrew, no matter what, will always play a mage in homage to Gandalf the White. It will also help to determine what race you will be, what sort of creature and so on. Do you like incantations?”
Buffy blinked, her eyebrows arched in the middle and she shrugged apologetically. “I…I have no idea what you’re talking about, sorry.” She folded her arms and let out a long puff of air, her eyes wide as they walked on. Maybe she could come up with a reason to leave. Except that she kind of wanted to see William. Not that she had a crush on him or anything. She just wanted to…get to know him. As a friend.
Wesley sighed and nodded slightly. “I suppose you wouldn’t. It’s no bother. William and I will simply have to teach you everything.” He lifted his fist to knock on William’s door once they arrived, speaking to her over his shoulder. “William is a fantastic teacher. Don’t worry, you’ll be a pro in no time, I guarantee it.”
He knocked once and the door opened a fraction, exposing a wide blue eye, a bare shoulder, and a set of trembling fingers that curled around the edge of the door. The one exposed eyeball darted in Buffy’s direction, grew even wider, and then moved back to Wesley. Buffy tried to peek inside, but William hurried to say, “Just a minute!”
Then he slammed the door shut.
Wes and Buffy stood stunned in the hallway while they awaited his return. They could hear him moving around frantically inside and he shouted through the door, “Sorry, I’m not dressed! I’ll just…uh…hang on!”
Buffy snickered quietly and chewed on her lip. After another minute passed, Wesley grew impatient and pounded on the door.
“How long does it take to dress, man? Open up!”
William finally opened the door, wearing a white undershirt and blue jeans and looking very uncomfortable in them though he looked pretty decent in Buffy’s opinion.
“I can’t find my blue shirt,” he said, running his hands through his hair anxiously and turning around, still looking on the floor for the garment and not inviting them inside. Wesley helped himself in, however, so Buffy followed him a bit awkwardly, feeling as if she was intruding on him.
“I’m sorry to just barge in on you without warning, William. I can go if you—”
“No!” both men shouted in unison. Buffy flinched a bit at the volume of their voices.
“You aren’t a bother at all,” Wesley said. “Tell her she isn’t a bother, William.”
He swallowed and gave her a strange little smile as he said, “Not a bother at all. P-please stay?”
Buffy really couldn’t say no to that face, not when it was the first time she’d really seen all of it since he didn’t have his glasses on. William’s face was very expressive, she noticed. She also noticed a sharp set of cheekbones and one hell of a bottom lip. He looked worried that he might have offended her and he chewed on the corner of his mouth a bit and really, there was no way she was leaving now.
“Ok. I’ll stay. But if you want me to go, you just say the word and I’ll scoot.”
William’s shoulders sagged in relief and he nodded slightly before he turned around and walked to his dresser to retrieve his glasses. Buffy looked around the tiny room, trying to decipher just what sort of a person William was. He was very tidy, save the shirts that spilled out of his closet and onto the floor from his frantic searching. She smiled as she looked at his twin bed with the plaid comforter and bright blue sheets. It looked like a little boy’s bed set and she thought it was adorable. She pictured him as a little boy wearing Spiderman Underoos.
“Would you like something to drink?” Wes asked her.
“Um, sure.”
Wesley nodded and said, “I’ll be right back.” He glanced at William with a frown and then quickly exited, leaving them alone.
Buffy looked over at William who was sitting at his desk, his eyes trained to the floor. There wasn’t a single item on his desk or the shelves above it save his computer and a cup filled with pens and pencils. No books, no trinkets, nothing. She thought that to be a bit odd.
There wasn’t much on the walls, either, except for a Clash of the Titans movie poster and a few first place ribbons that he’d won for something. “What are these for?” she asked him, pointing to the ribbons on display.
William’s head lifted and he looked at her, and then quickly looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh…those are…it’s nothing.”
“They aren’t nothing if it’s first place. Come on, I’d be bragging if I had first place ribbons.” She smiled encouragingly, hoping to drag out some kind of conversation.
“They were…they were for a science fair. Y-y-you probably don’t care about that.”
He still wouldn’t look at her. Oh, she hoped Wesley would return soon because William obviously didn’t want her there and was just being polite. She felt like an idiot and she wished she had something intelligent to say since he was so smart and what was she doing here? Her smile faded.
“Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t know anything about that,” she said quietly, dropping her head to inspect her nails idly.
“I-I-I…I didn’t mean that y-y—”
She quickly looked up at him again, finding him with his eyes closed in frustration and the muscles in his jaw ticking slightly. Then he opened his eyes and said slowly, “I didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t know anything about science. Just that it would probably bore you to tears if I…if I told you about the things I’ve built.”
She sat down on the edge of his bed across from him, noticing how he straightened up in his chair when she did. “I like learning about stuff,” she said shyly. “Just because I’m not smart like you and Wesley, that doesn’t mean I’m not interested to hear about those things.”
William was horrified. Not even five minutes had passed between them and he’d already managed to insult her intelligence. “Buffy, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean—”
“Look who I found in the hallway!” Wesley said as he entered, unknowingly putting an end to the awkward tension in the room. William sighed as Buffy stood up abruptly to greet them when Andrew came up behind Wesley.
“Hey, Buffy,” he said, smiling and waving timidly.
“Hi. Andrew, right?” she said with a bit of uncertainty. She was glad that they arrived when they had because she had a feeling the longer she and William were alone together, the more he would realize how little she could contribute conversationally to his interests.
Andrew’s smile grew and he bowed. “That it is. Hey, Will.” He turned to his friend and smiled, taking Buffy’s seat on the bed.
“Andrew.” William picked at a thread on his jeans, frustrated that he’d already managed to fuck it up with Buffy.
Wesley handed Buffy an ice cold can that he’d retrieved from the vending machine in the hall and she took it gratefully, hiding her smile that he’d purchased a grape soda. She hadn’t had one of those since she was about twelve years old. She cracked it open and took a sip. “Thanks, Wes.”
William’s eyes darted back and forth between Buffy and Wesley, wondering why she’d referred to him as Wes. Nicknames meant something good, didn’t it? Fuck, he was so clueless. If Wesley was moving in on Buffy, he was going to murder him.
The four of them were silent for a few minutes, no one quite sure what to say. Andrew was easily bored, however, and couldn’t take it any longer.
“This is really lame. You guys wanna play Uno or something?”
Buffy burst into unladylike laughter and the three boys looked at her in confusion. She covered her mouth with her soda can as she tried to stop her fit of giggles.
“I’m sorry. It’s just…” She chewed on her lip, her eyes darting to each of them. They looked embarrassed and a little uncomfortable and she felt guilty for giving the wrong impression. It was only that they were so nervous and timid around her and the suggestion to play a card game struck her as insanely hilarious, due to her own nerves. “Sorry.” She cleared her throat and reined it in.
Wesley sighed. This was going dreadfully and if he was reading the expression on William’s face correctly, he hadn’t made any progress with Buffy while he’d gone to retrieve her soda. While he was out, Wesley made the wise decision to halt any and all efforts to get Buffy into a game of D&D since she didn’t seem too keen on the subject. But now that that option was gone, he was at a loss. There wasn’t anything more romantic than role-playing in the many available realms of Gygax and Arneson in his opinion, but it seemed the lady had other interests. He might never understand the vast complexities of women.
“We could watch Lost,” Andrew said. “I missed last week’s episode because I had that stomach flu.”
“What’s Lost?” Buffy asked, taking a loud sip of her soda.
The three boys gasped loudly.
“Gentlemen, excuse me while I bite my tongue,” Andrew said.
“You are joking, right?” Wesley looked appalled.
“Buffy,” William said, “you’ve never watched that show?”
She shook her head cautiously, afraid that she’d made a huge mistake somehow, but thankfully William didn’t seem to be as mortified as the other two. In fact, he slowly stood up and walked to his closet to get something, smiling to himself. He made a lot of noise while he was in there, looking for the item he had in mind as the other two men bombarded her with questions.
“Have you been living under a rock?”
“Are you completely insane?”
“Do you not like the most awesome of awesome things that ever awesomely existed?”
“Are you against romance and good writing and fantastic scenery and wonderfully complex character development and twists and turns and Dominic Monaghan?”
Buffy swallowed, her shoulders coiling upwards protectively from their interrogation. “I’m sorry. I just don’t watch a lot of television. I’m a movie kind of person, I guess.”
William emerged then, a tiny little triumphant grin on his face and a large DVD box set in his hands. He stood only a foot away from Buffy, which he was quite proud of himself that he’d managed that small feat, and he said, “I’ll make you a deal.”
“Ok,” she said, a slow smile growing on her face.
“You have to watch the very first episode of Lost from start to finish without interruption.”
“That doesn’t sound too hard.”
He grinned. “You are only allowed to watch the first episode. That’s it.”
Andrew smiled slyly, understanding the test he was putting the fair maiden through. If she survived this one challenge, she would truly be a warrior. He lifted one eyebrow in appreciation for his very wise sage of a comrade.
“So, what’s the deal?” She folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side, unaware that she was flirting with her eyes.
William’s face flushed a bit and he blinked rapidly when she bit her lip and smiled up at him but he somehow, by the power of the force, was able to speak. “I-If you are able to resist watching the second episode after that, if you aren’t even the slightest bit intrigued or desperate to chapter forward to find out what happens, I will give you fifty dollars and personally make you a first place ribbon stating your strength.”
She really liked it when William spoke so easily with her as he did just then. Maybe he didn’t completely hate her.
“And what if I’m unable to resist? What’s my punishment?” Her hands were now clasped behind her back and she swiveled her hips from side to side.
William sat down because he had a feeling his knees were going to wobble. “I…um…”
“William will take you to dinner!” Wesley said excitedly, proud of his brilliant plan.
“No!” William shouted in horror, missing the hurt expression that flashed on Buffy’s face. “I-I mean, of course Buffy wouldn’t want—”
“Shake on it.” Buffy stuck her hand out and lifted her chin.
William swallowed the lump in his throat for the fiftieth time that evening as he tried to get it together, looking at her extended hand and her defiant glare. “You d-don’t have to…I-I mean, I’ll understand if you don’t want—”
“William. You made a deal with me and I accept the terms so put your God damn hand in mine and shake it.”
His eyes widened at her brash tone but he caught the glimmer in her eyes that told him she was only teasing. With a brave sigh, he put his hand in hers.
As the two blonds locked eyes and shook hands, Andrew jumped to his feet and shouted, “Let the test begin!”
* * *
The four of them were huddled on the floor of William’s room against his bed in front of the television. The lights were off, the surround sound was turned all the way up, and Andrew loudly munched on a bowl of popcorn as they watched the first episode.
“Man, sometimes I wish I’d never seen this show just so I could watch it all for the first time again,” he said wistfully.
“Shh!” Buffy said angrily, waving her hand in front of his face. She was hunched forward, her eyes glued to the screen and her heart was racing.
Wesley and William smiled at one another, knowing that they’d won her over. Then she jumped and said, “Holy shit! What the fuck was that? Was that a T-Rex? What was that noise? Oh my God!”
When William opened his mouth to answer, she slapped him gently on the shoulder to quiet him so she wouldn’t miss the dialog on the screen. He chuckled silently and sat back, content simply watching her become more and more invested in the plot. He couldn’t believe it. She was in his dorm room, hanging out with his friends and watching one of his favorite shows. She was still wearing that skirt from earlier in the day. She’d sat on his bed. Good God, he was done for.
But then he remembered Wes telling him that she was upset about something earlier, that she was weepy and teary-eyed. He wondered what had happened to her because she seemed perfectly fine right then. Perhaps he’d get the scoop from Wesley later.
As the last scene ended and the famous booming noise that indicated it was over sounded through the speakers, Andrew hurried to pause the screen. The three men turned to look at Buffy with bated breath.
“Oh, hell no!” she shouted. “That’s where it ends?”
William smiled. “Yup.”
“But! They can’t…you can’t! I have to…no!”
“Can she resist the urge?” Andrew said, twirling an imaginary curly mustache like an evil scientist.
“It is uncertain how she will react,” Wesley said, leaning forward as they stared at her with silly grins on their faces.
William, whose cheeks were currently stinging from all the grins said, “What’s the verdict, Buffy? Can you go the rest of your life without seeing the second episode?”
“Hey, that’s not fair! You just said I had to resist it tonight, not forever.”
“That was the deal.” And William was feeling a little bit cocky when she pouted. And not from confidence, either. He lifted his knees up to hide the evidence.
She growled in frustration, her eyes landing on the remote in Andrew’s hand. “Well, I have to find out what the hell killed the pilot, don’t I?”
Buffy snatched the remote from Andrew and started the second episode, mumbling to herself, “Stupid Matthew Fox from Party of Five and Merry or Pippin or whichever dickface hobbit you were!”
“I think she likes it,” Andrew whispered loudly.
“It appears the specimen is reacting…positively to the stimulus,” Wesley said.
“I hate you guys,” she said, grinning widely as she leaned back against the foot of the bed, readying herself for the answers that were sure to be found in the second episode.
William watched on with a beaming smile on his face, lacing his hands behind his head. She was unable to resist, which meant he didn’t have to fork over fifty bucks. And then his smile turned into a face of absolute horror when he realized the other part of the deal.
He was going to have to take Buffy to dinner.
Oh God!