By: PetiteMiel 

Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Angel/Spike or more properly Angelus/William 
Somewhat AU with some elements of cannon altered to suit my needs. Meaning William begins life within this story as a human. Who can say if that will change?
Graphic sex, violence
Disclaimer: These characters are NOT mine. I'm only borrowing them. All BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon, ME, UPN, WB etc.etc.etc. 
Poems found in this work are not my own. The poem read by William is entitled 'Because I could not stop for Death' and was authored by Emily Dickinson. The title of this story was derived from that poem. The poem read by the bully in the Bronze is called 'A valentine to my wife' and it was authored by Eugene Field. I have made some slight changes to the second poem to fit the needs of the story. 
Other Points of Interests: Buffy still works for the council. Angelus has never been souled and the initiative is still functioning in Sunnydale. 
 

Chapter One:
 

Buffy sat fidgeting with her leaky pen as she listened to Professor Alden drone on and on, reading what had to be the longest poem ever written. She had thought this class would be fun, but she was beginning to see why there had been so many vacancies. She had needed something to distract her from all her Riley woes and, since this class didn't seem to require too much mental prowess, she had signed up thinking it an easy pass. The only question now was whether or not she would survive it. Glancing around the room, she stared at the half comatose students, happy to note that she wasn't the only one being put to sleep by the professor's ramblings. Most of the other students appeared to be doing anything but listening -- with one notable exception. 

Two rows up, Buffy spotted William. She couldn't remember his last name, but she had seen him once or twice around campus. He sat staring avidly at the professor, engrossed in the poem she read. Studying him for a moment, she took in his sandy brown hair and his beautiful blue eyes. He had a handsome face with cheekbones most models would kill for and pale skin that seemed to confirm her thought that he probably spent most of his time indoors. She smiled to herself as she watched him nibbling at his bottom lip, the word adorable coming to mind. 

The student beside her rose from his seat, interrupting her musings, and she realized that class had ended, but she didn't move. Instead she sat watching as William got to his feet, collecting his things. For the first time she noticed that he wasn't particularly tall but then neither was she, she thought to herself as she continued to study him. The light blue, denim jeans he wore fit snuggly over his narrow hips and muscular thighs, flattering his slender frame. Buffy's eyebrows rose slightly as he turned, bending over to retrieve his back pack from the floor, giving her a nice view of his well toned ass. She found herself suddenly wanting to reach out and grab it and she turned around in her chair, somewhat shocked by the bold thought. 

A moment later she stood up, collecting her own things, preparing to leave as William walked down the stairs toward the front of the auditorium. Her eyes followed him as he came to a stop in front of the desk and spoke with the professor, giving Buffy another opportunity to observe him. She noted with a smirk that his ass was not the only thing about him that appeared to be well toned as his dark- blue, button down shirt did nothing to hide the hard lines of his upper body. She could tell that he was muscular even though he was slight, and she found herself wondering what he looked like underneath those clothes. He turned at that moment and caught her eye and she felt herself blush, her thoughts betraying her. Forcing her notebook quickly into her own back pack, she swung it around her shoulders and rushed from the room.

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The Bronze was crowded when William got there, and he was prodded and bumped repeatedly as he made his way toward the small sofa that sat toward the back of the large open room. He really didn't like coming here but his mother insisted that he not stay home so much, telling him that he should spend time out with his friends. The only problem was that he really didn't have any friends to speak of. 

They had only moved from England a short time ago, and he had spent a good deal of that time settling his mother into their new life in America. His father's passing had devastated them both, and his mother had not wanted to stay where she would constantly be reminded of their life together. William had immediately arranged a transfer to U.C. Sunnydale and, after selling the house in England, they had left their old lives behind.

Sunnydale had been an odd choice in his opinion, but his mother had been insistent. She only knew one person in the states, she had said, and he was in Sunnydale. William smiled to himself as the memory washed over him. He had always thought of his mother as a strong woman but, after his father's death, she had been shaken to the core. She had seemed so lost and without direction. The idea of moving to the states had seemed to rally her spirits and he had chosen not to argue with her about the final destination when it seemed she was finally starting to act her old self again. They had arrived on Rupert Giles' doorstep two weeks later. His father's old friend had been pleased to see them both and they were soon sorted with a new flat and a new life just waiting to be lived. 

William leaned back against the soft cushions of the couch as he pulled his notebook from the pack he always carried it, intending to work on his poetry. He would have preferred to spend time in the library where it was quiet, but the Bronze was a better place to study people so he endured the loud music and the crowds. Glancing about the room, he searched for inspiration when he suddenly spied a girl from his poetry class. He watched her dancing with her friends as he slipped his wire framed glasses on and felt himself pulled in that direction. He didn't know her name but he had seen her looking at him earlier that day, and it had been somewhat unnerving. She was very pretty with long blonde hair and, if he wasn't mistaken, green eyes. It was hard to see from that distance but he was almost certain they were green. Rising from the couch he took a seat at a nearby table, watching as she and her two friends danced about the floor. She laughed suddenly at something one of them said and he found himself smiling at the sound. Taking his pen from his pack, he began to write. The words came quickly and he gave them no thought, totally caught up in the moment.

Suddenly the pad was grabbed from his hands and he turned to see a hulking figure staring down at him. 

"What are you doing here, Willy boy?" He looked over at the football player and his two friends. They were nothing more than brutes and bullies, and William had encountered them before. He had thought that men of their age would have grown out of this need to torment others but, sadly, they appeared to be stuck in some sort of causality loop, he thought to himself, a rueful smile crossing his lips. They had made it their job to make him as miserable as possible since his arrival at school, and that had been another reason why he preferred the library to the Bronze.

William thought the larger man's animosity might have stemmed from the fact that his girlfriend, Cecily, had come to him for tutoring. He was an excellent student and, not wanting to rely on his mother for spending money, he had gone to Mr.Giles for help. The older man had arranged for a tutoring job the very next day, and William had been happy to take on the task. Henry, the leader of this little brigade, was extremely jealous according to Cecily, and the fact that she flirted mercilessly with William right in front of her boyfriend didn't help matters.

"I asked you a question. What are you doing here?" William was brought back to the moment in a rush as Henry grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him roughly off the stool. The smell of stale beer assaulted his senses and he was sure that the ruffian was drunk. 

"I was just writing, but I think I'll be going now." He answered quietly as he tried to pull himself loose, but the other man held on tight. 

"Writing more of that poetry shit you're always spouting to Cecily, you mean." It was clear that he was looking for a fight but William was convinced that any disagreement could be settled peacefully if the people involved only took the time to work through their differences. That feeling unfortunately wasn't shared by the Neanderthal standing before him. 

"Here, let's see what you wrote." His assailant flipped the notebook over, glancing at the delicate script, and started to read it aloud. 

"Accept, dear girl, this little token, 
And if between the lines you seek, 
You'll find the love I've never spoken, 
The love my dying lips shall speak.

I look at you as you make merry,
O'er am'rous ditties rhymed in jest,
But in these word (though awkward -very),
The genuine article's expressed."

William tried to grab the notebook away from him but the taller man held it out of his reach. "Please don't -- that's very private." William pleaded as the others began to laugh at the sentimental prose. 

The music had died down and a small crowd started to gather at the sound of the laughter. Buffy turned, seeing William, and made her way through the crowd, Xander and Willow hot on her heels. 

"You know that's pretty good, Willy boy." The larger man taunted, pushing William into the waiting clutches of his friends. They held his arms fast and he struggled to free himself, but to no avail. 

Pulling the glasses from William's face and depositing them on the bridge of his nose, Henry continued to read, trying to affect an English accent, but failing miserably. 

"You are as fair and sweet and tender, 
Dear green-eyed little sweetheart mine, 
And though, a callow youth and slender, 
I asked to be your luv through time.

What though these years of ours be fleeting? 
What though the years of youth be flown? 
I'll mock old Tempus with repeating, 
I love my luv and her alone!" 

He laughed at the words but there was no mirth in it. 

"Please stop. I'll leave if you'll just give that back to me." William tried to get loose once more, but the two men holding his arms had no intention of setting him free. 

"Is this what you read to her? Huh?" The large man asked angrily as he took William's chin in his hand and pulled his face forward. William jerked it away a second later. Not waiting for an answer to his question the other man just turned back to the poem.

"And when I fall before his reaping, 
And when my stuttering speech is dumb, 
Think not my love is dead or sleeping, 
But that it waits for you to come. 

So take, dear luv, this little token, 
And if there speaks in any line 
The sentiment I'd fain have spoken, 
Say, you will at last be mine."

William continued to struggle against his captors as their leader finished the poem.

"Did you write this for Cecily? Is this why she broke up with me you little shit?!"
The crowd stood silently watching the three men so intent on embarrassing William in front of them but none made a move to help him. They were too familiar with Henry and his goons to interfere lest his wrath be aimed at them. 

"I think that's just about enough. Why don't you boys go find some one you own size to play with?" Buffy said as she stepped from the crowd, placing her hands on her slender hips.

"Well, why don't we just play with you instead?" The football player leered, tossing the notebook to the floor. William was tossed aside as well as the men holding him suddenly loosened their grip and he went sprawling to the ground. 

"Why can't they ever just go quietly?" Buffy wondered softly to herself as the inebriated man grabbed for her. He never saw the punch coming -- and, even if he had, he would have been too slow to stop it. Henry fell to the ground in a heap as Buffy rounded on the other two bullies. They stared down at their friend and laughed but their laughter died away a moment later when they found themselves lying beside him on the floor. She removed the glasses from off the big man's nose and stood over them, shaking her head.

William stood staring at the scene before him. His face was a mask of confusion and total humiliation at having been rescued by this slip of a girl. She had meant no harm but she had done more to embarrass him in those few seconds than the other three had in the whole time he had known them -- and they had been trying a lot harder. He thrust his notebook into his back pack quickly, trying not to let the tears he felt brimming his eyes escape. He had already been made a fool of; he would not also be seen as a total wanker by crying in front of everyone there. 

"Hey, you forgot your glasses." Buffy called to him as he scrambled through the crowd to the exit but he didn't stop until he was outside in the cool night air. He swallowed hard and turned toward home, wanting to put this nightmare of an outing behind him. 

The door to the Bronze opened a moment later and a tall, dark haired man walked slowly out into the alley. He spied his quarry making his way toward the cemetery and breathed in deeply, catching the boy's scent as he strolled along after him.