Title: Sweet Sixteen Author: Pattyanne snapkik@yahoo.com Disclaimer: I only own the story Feedback: Yes, please Rating: Will vary. This part PG13 Summary: AU (my first) Everybody's human. Spike and Buffy are teenage neighbors, meeting for the first time. AN: If you're trying to picture what Spike looks like in this fic, think beginning season 7, without the tormented expression. I can't help it, I just loved his hair that way. He may bleach it later in the story..or he may not. I'm not sure yet. Part Three ~~~~~ "Today I'm gonna ride away And feel the sun throughout my hair Finally free to be who I want to be Who that is, I don't really care.." ~~~~~ "Mr. Giles' nephew is certainly a handsome boy, don't you think?" Buffy paused in her unpacking, and stared out the window for a moment. It was a hot and cloudless day, and the sky wasn't nearly as blue as his eyes. Joyce moved around the room, picking up each item of clothing Buffy unpacked and tossing it into her laundry basket. She smiled at the sight of her daughter, who had apparently forgotten the rest of the world for a moment. "He's very polite, too," she went on. "Last week, he came out and helped me carry all those bricks for the patio. He wouldn't let me pay him, either. He's been well brought up, you can tell." "Mm-hmm," Buffy murmured, as she wandered over to open her bedroom window. "He's...nice." It was all Joyce Summers could do to keep a straight face. She had seen Buffy's expression when William had appeared on the scene, and had all but heard the twang of cupid's arrow as it whistled through her daughter and nailed that young man right in the heart. "Do you think we should invite him to your birthday party?" she asked, keeping her voice deliberately casual. "Yes!" Buffy said loudly, turning to face her mother. "I think we should. It's the...neighborly thing to do." "I agree," Joyce replied. She watched as Buffy stared out the window, and marveled at what a beauty her baby was growing up to be. Beautiful, and sweet natured as well. She'd had no worries whatsoever about bringing Buffy to Sunnydale, and moving her away from everyone she knew. Her daughter made friends easily, and Joyce was certain that by the end of the first week of school, Buffy would have a new group of kids to hang out and have fun with. "Maybe we should have him bring some friends with him," Joyce added. "He hasn't been here terribly long either, but I'm sure he's met some of the kids around the neighborhood." "Good idea," Buffy said absently, then turned to look at her mother. "Do you want me to do any chores today, Mom? Anything?" Joyce shook her head. "No, honey. You just relax and get settled in. We'll worry about chores another day." "Are you sure?" Buffy persisted. "I could...um...water the grass, or..pull weeds or something. I don't mind!" Buffy had never in her life volunteered so eagerly for yard work, and it made Joyce smile inwardly, knowing the reason behind this sudden burst of energy was a handsome English boy with blue eyes and a charming smile. "Well," she said with a shrug. "I suppose you could do a few things in the back yard, if you want to. The dandelions are trying to take over the lawn, and you could trim the rose bushes." Buffy nodded. "I can do that! Just let me change." ~~~~~ "Cuz I've got friends who love me Blue skies are above me My blonde hair is everywhere Sweet sixteen, gonna spread my wings Sweet sixteen, it's my chance to shine ~~~~~ Buffy searched her dresser drawers for clean clothes. She found a pair of black denim shorts and pulled them on, then donned her red halter top. After touching up her make up, she brushed her hair and tied a red bandana around it. Satisfied with her appearance, she practically skipped downstairs and out to the garage. She grabbed the hedge trimmers and an empty pail, then headed for the back yard. Peeking through a gap in the fence, she spotted Mr. Giles' nephew stretched out in a lounge chair by the pool. He was wearing the same cut off shorts he'd had on when she'd met him, but he'd removed his t-shirt to sun bathe. "Oh....wow." He was so cute. She loved those messy brownish blond curls he'd kept pushing out of his lovely blue eyes, and she'd been briefly envious of his beautiful bone structure, especially the high arch of his cheekbones. It was so much more attractive than her own rounded cheeks which, to her mind, made her look babyish. But, now...with his shirt off like that...Buffy could see that there was a lot more to admire about this boy than his good looking face. He had a lean, but well built upper torso, with a layer of muscle at his abdomen that you could probably bounce a quarter off of. His biceps were well developed, without being overly muscled, and his arms looked strong. She watched as he lifted a can of soda and took a deep swallow. He had a soft and sensual looking mouth, and she'd never wanted to kiss a boy so badly. Forcing herself away from her little spy hole, she began working at the weeds in her mom's garden. Ten minutes later, when it appeared that William Darlington wasn't noticing her presence, she grabbed the hedge trimmers and went to work on the roses. "Ouch!" she said loudly, deliberately pricking herself on a thorn. Her ruse worked, because a few seconds later, he appeared at the back gate. "Are you all right?" he asked. He seemed sincerely concerned, and Buffy felt a brief moment of shame for the subterfuge. A VERY brief moment. "Oh, yeah...I just stuck myself on a thorn," she replied, continuing to work the clippers. William reached over the back of the gate and pulled the latch. He removed the clippers from her hand and examined her thumb, wiping away the tiny drop of blood. "Does it hurt?" he asked, glancing up into her eyes. "Um...no. Not really." Buffy shook her head. With a smile, William lifted her hand and kissed the small wound. "Poor baby," he murmured. Buffy wouldn't have noticed, or cared, if she'd cut her thumb completely off at that point! "It's all right," he went on. "See..it's already stopped bleeding." Although she was tempted to give her thumb a good hard squeeze to get the blood flowing again, she re- sisted the urge. "Thanks," she murmured. "You're welcome." His gaze captured hers, and a mutual zing of electricity bounced back and forth between them. Buffy felt a drop of sweat tickle it's way down her back, and she wiped her forehead with her free hand. "It's really hot today," she said, falling back on inane small talk about the weather. "Yeah, it is," he agreed. "But I like it that way. I love the sun. Didn't see a lot of it where I'm from," he added, releasing her hand. There was a brief silence, then William pointed across the fence into his yard. "Would you like to come over and use the pool?" he asked, mentally crossing his fingers and toes in the hopes that she would say yes. It worked. "Yeah, that would be great," Buffy said, nodding enthusiastically. "Um....I'll go change." She bent over to retrieve the hedge clippers, but he stopped her. "I'll put it away for you," he offered. "In the garage?" "Yeah, that's fine," she said, gesturing with her hand. "So...I'll just...um...be right back...don't go away!" Although she walked calmly into the house, when the door closed behind her she set an all time "Buffy Speed Record" for changing. She dropped her discarded clothing in the middle of the floor, and wriggled into her white bikini. It was her favorite bathing suit, as it contrasted so nicely with her light summer tan. Pushing her feet into her sandals, she whipped off her bandana and rebrushed her hair. Then, calling out her intentions to her mom without waiting for a reply, she pelted downstairs and found William waiting for her by the patio door. ~~~~~ "Sweet sixteen, discovering So much more to life Sweet sixteen..." ~~~~~ They played in the pool for the rest of the afternoon. The California sun beat down on them, heating their skin, but the water was deliciously cool as they swam and splashed about. At one point, Spike went into the pool house and came out with a cotton blanket. Spreading it out in a shady spot on the lawn, he watched as Buffy climbed out of the pool and picked up an over sized towel to dry off with. When Buffy had come out of her house wearing a skimpy white bikini bathing suit, he had nearly choked on his tongue, briefly surprised to find that it wasn't hanging out of his mouth. He'd actually been forced to jump right into the water immediately, in the hopes of quieting down the disturbance her appearance was causing in the inseam of his cut offs. She had kicked off her sandals and stood at the shallow end of the pool, watching as he swam clear to the other side of it. After regaining a small amount of control, he'd invited her to join him in the water. Now, she plopped down beside him, squeezing her wet hair in the towel, then dabbing up the drops of water sparkling on her chest. Spike dropped to his knees on the blanket. Buffy smiled at him. Slowly becoming aware that he was blatantly staring at her, he shook himself out of his lustful intent. "Want something to drink?" he offered. "Sure," she nodded. Spike swallowed hard. "Soft drink?" "All right." "Any particular kind?" Christ! He sounded like a bloody waiter. "Mmm...I don't know." She thought it over. "What kind do you have?" He searched his memory, trying to call up the image of what he'd seen in the refrigerator earlier. "Coke," he said. "Um...lemon-lime...some kind of orange soda..." "Coke is fine," she interjected. "Right!" He jumped to his feet and nearly ran into the house. Spike rummaged around in the refrigerator, extracting two cans of Coke. Forcing himself to return at a slower pace, he saw Buffy laying prone on the blan- ket, her cheek resting on her folded arms. And...she had untied the back strap of her bikini top! His brain function took an immediate nose dive, as all the blood circulating through his body instantly rushed to one highly sensitive location. Taking a deep breath, he sat down beside her and silently held out the can of soda. Buffy lifted her head and smiled, accepting his offering. "Thank you." "You're welcome," he replied automatically. Popping his can open, he downed a huge swallow of the cold beverage. "Your back yard is really nice," Buffy observed, opening her can and taking a sip. "With all the bushes and trees around the pool and all. Kind of looks like a jungle." "You can use the pool anytime you want," Spike blurted out without acknowledging her comment. "Oh! Well...thanks," she said, pleased by his offer. There was a brief moment of silence, then he looked at her, studying her face. "So...you've got a birthday coming up?" Buffy nodded. "Yep. Sixteen at last." She hesitated and said, "My mother's having a party for me..." "Yeah, so I've heard." "She said I could invite you. Do you think you would.." Is the sky blue? Does the earth revolve around the sun? Hell, yes! "I'd like that," he said, smiling at her. "Sweet sixteen." ~~~~~ "Drivin' down to the club where we go to dance Radio blastin' and the top is down Ain't nothing in my way Except the traffic of L.A. " ~~~~~ "Is it supposed to be this high?" Spike laughed, treading water in the middle of the pool. "It's not THAT high." Buffy continued climbing the ladder to the top of the slide. "I think I'm getting a nosebleed," she reported as she sat down, holding on to the rails. As far as she was concerned, the slide seemed ridiculously high and way too steep. It was practically straight down. Lifting one hand to shade her eyes from the sun's glare, she peered out over the water. "Are you still down there?" she inquired. He chuckled again. "Just give yourself a little push. It's not that bad." "That's easy for you to say," she replied. "You're already there." She began to push off, then stopped. "I think I've changed my mind." "Come on," he coaxed her. "Where are your stones, girl?" "I must have left them in my other pants," she said. "I'm gonna get down and go look for them." "Chicken!" he called out teasingly. She drew up one foot to begin standing, but it slipped on the slick fiberglass. Losing her grip on the handrail, she shot down the slide with a loud yelp. When she surfaced, Spike asked, "You okay, luv?" Buffy could tell he was trying to not to howl with laughter. Determinedly, she swam to the side of the pool and climbed out. "Buffy? Please, don't leave. I'm sorry I...." "I'm not leaving," she said, heading back up the ladder. "That was fun! I want to do it again!" ~~~~~ "I want to know what it feels like I need to see it from the inside I can taste a bit of what I will find So much more to life Sweet sixteen..." ~~~~~ TBC