William paced his room, waiting for his father to get home from the meeting he'd gone to after school. He really wanted to go to that club with Willow and the others, but knew he'd need to get permission first. He hoped Rupert didn't have any sort of objections to this sort of thing. His mother would never allow him to do something so crass as visit one of those 'breeding grounds for trouble' as she so eloquently put it. No, *her* son had to stay firmly ensconced at home studying, so he could keep his grades up, get into Oxford, become a raging success in his field of study, then eventually settle down with a girl she picked out for him and raise a set of lovely, perfect children that would be a credit to their bloodlines.

//Guess my being a poof rather cut into those plans, didn't it?// He smiled humorlessly, still able to hear his mother's screech of absolute outrage and horror when she'd walked in on him and Brian. //Not that the sounds we made were any more manly. Best classified as shrieks, I'd imagine.//

Still, his father seemed to be a fairly easy-going type of person. And he was making an effort to befriend his estranged child, so he probably wouldn't choose this moment to go all domineering and strict on him Probably.

Hearing his father finally arrive, William took a deep breath to compose himself. Leaving his room, he quietly made his way out into the living room. "Da, I was..." His voice trailed off when he saw that no one was there. "Da?"

Rupert stuck his head out of his bedroom. "I'm sorry, did you call me?"

"Yeah, I um..." William glanced down at the floor. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh, well all right. Just give me a moment to change and I'll be right out."

"Sure." William groaned as his father disappeared again. He sank down onto the sofa, head in hands. "Just bloody well ask him, you ponce. The worst that could happen is he says no." He waited nervously for a few more minutes until Rupert came back out.

Rupert examined his jittery son, hiding an amused grin. "Now," he said, making William jump slightly, "you wanted to speak with me about something?"

William nodded. "Oh, yes, I uh..." he trailed off.

With a wry shake of his head, Rupert went into the kitchen. "Why don't you help me make dinner while we talk?" he suggested.

William stood hastily, following his father. "What are we having tonight?"

Rupert's voice was muffled by the refrigerator door when he answered. "Well, I thought we'd do a terribly American thing and have -- ah-hah!" He emerged, brandishing a package of ground beef. "Hamburgers!" He moved to the stove, tearing open the plastic wrap and forming patties. "Could you get the skillet? It's in that cabinet down there."

William carefully eased his way past Rupert and found the skillet, setting it on the stove. The burgers were soon sizzling merrily, and Rupert turned his attention back to William. The boy in question busied himself with opening the package of buns he'd retrieved from the breadbox. "Da? I was wondering...could I, um, go out with some people to a club tonight?"

"Tonight? Well, there is school in the morning, and..." Rupert saw how William's face fell in disappointment, and continued, "and I suppose if you don't stay out too terribly late, and have your homework finished before you go, then it would be all right."

William blinked, then turned to stare at his father. "Y-You mean it? I can go?"

"Certainly. Just try not to get into too much trouble, all right?" He smiled gently. "I'm joking."

"Oh." William gave Rupert a hesitant grin that soon stretched across his face. "Thanks, Da," he said softly.

Rupert reached out and gave William a one-armed hug, then cleared his throat. "Get the plates, why don't you," he said in a gruff voice.

At the table, Rupert watched in amusement as William tried to eat his burger neatly. It was doomed to failure, however, what with the ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and tomato slices adorning it.

Finally, William gave it up, contenting himself with not making *too* much of a spectacle of himself.

"So, who are you going to be going with?"

William swallowed, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Um, well I'm going to meet Willow and a couple of friends of hers. Um, Jesse and X-Xander."

Rupert raised an eyebrow as William stumbled over that name, his cheeks picking up a deep red hue. "I see." He watched as William ducked his head down, intently examining his dinner. "Ah yes, Xander. I do believe I've seen him; he has the distinction of being one of the few students who has actually used the library on occasion." A bite of food, slowly chewed and swallowed, then, mischievously, "So, is he one of the 'cute boys' you mentioned?"

William choked on his mouthful, grabbing frantically for his glass of milk. He gulped it down, avoiding his father's knowing stare. When he'd regained a small part of his composure, he peeked up. With a tiny, bashful smile, he said quietly, "He is rather...pleasant-looking."

Rupert chuckled. "Well, I'm sure you'll have a very enjoyable evening."

William just smiled dreamily as he finished his burger, mentally counting down the minutes until he'd see Xander at the Bronze.

~~~~~~~~~~

William walked through the noisy, crowded club, doing his best not to jostle too many people. He scanned the floor, relieved when he saw Willow sitting in a stool at the bar. He carefully made his way over.

Willow looked up from her drink, a huge smile appearing on her face. "William! You made it!"

Taking a seat next to her, William smiled back. "Yeah, Da said it was fine as long as I don't stay out too late."

"Cool." She bounced in her seat as she spoke. "Hey, want somethin' to drink? Lots of caffeine goodness, good for the soul." She waggled her own soda at him coaxingly.

William quirked an eyebrow, refraining from pointing out that she seemed to have consumed enough caffeine for the both of them. Instead, he just nodded, and was soon served with a drink of his own.

William watched him sit, absently sipping at her drink while she nibbled at some peanuts from a bowl on the counter. "Anyway, Xander should be here soon." Her face softened as she said his name.

William noticed, and felt a pang deep inside. He tried to hold back a look of despair as he asked, "So...you and Xander. You're...together? Like, dating?" //Of course they are. He's a gorgeous, funny guy; why wouldn't he be with a great girl like Willow? What, you thought he might be waiting for you or something? Git.// He was so caught up in remonstrating himself that he almost missed Willow's response.

Willow shook her head. "Oh no, we're just friends. We used to go out, but...we broke up."

William blinked. "Oh. Um...why?"

Seriously, Willow answered, "He stole my Barbie." At his incredulous expression, she giggled. "We were five," she explained.

Letting out a breath that was pure relief, William nodded in understanding. "Oh."

"I-I don't actually date a whole lot...lately." She shrugged, trying not to seem too upset by that, but her casual attitude was a bit forced.

William scooted his stool closer. "Why not?"

Willow blushed a little. "Well, when I'm with a boy I like," she told him, "it's hard for me to say anything cool, or-or witty, or at all." A bashful grin. "I-I can usually make a few vowel sounds, and then I have to go away."

Snorting softly, William mumbled under his breath, "I know how *that* is."

"What?"

William cleared his throat. "Oh, I uh, um...it can't be that bad."

Nodding, Willow gazed at him earnestly. "No, it is. I think boys are more interested in a girl who can talk."

He smiled at her. "I think you can talk just fine," he informed her definitively. "You have a lovely voice, and you're quite intelligent, too."

Willow laughed and punched him lightly on the arm. "Well hey, you're pretty smart yourself. Just...gotta get the hang of Americanized stuff." She shrugged. "Besides, the whole dating thing? It's probably easier for you...since you're a guy and all."

William glanced down at his drink uncomfortably. "Yeah. Really easy."

"I mean, sure you seem a little shy. But you are kinda cute, and with the accent and everything, you'll probably have lots of girls after you." She perked up. "Cordelia seemed to like you a lot." Then her face fell. "Um, not...that that's necessarily a god thing."

William gave a shy grin. "I wouldn't want to steal her away from Jesse, after all."

Willow clapped a hand over her mouth as she burst into a fit of giggles.

"And how's my Wills tonight?" Xander came up behind Willow, slipping an arm around her shoulders to give her a hug.

William caught his breath. Briefly, he imagined that Xander was speaking to *him*, calling *him* that name in his husky voice. He sighed then, letting his eyes surreptitiously travel down the length of Xander's body.

Xander released Willow, peering out the corner of his eye at William. //Is he staring at me? Oh god, he's staring at me, isn't he?// Nervous, he took the Willow method of defense -- random babble. "Hey Will, how's it hangin'--er, goin'? Oh wow, wouldja look at that. Will and Wills; two of you! You don't mind if I call you Will, do you? Because I can stop if you don't like it or something. That's cool with me. And look, you guys have drinks! I'm thirsty too. I'm getting a drink. You want anything? No? Be right back." He hurried off in search of the elusive beverage.

William stared after him, baffled. He glanced back at Willow. "Does he do that a lot?"

Willow's forehead wrinkled. "Usually only when he's really nervous or upset, but I don't know what could have happened to get him in a mood like that. Huh." Then she winced.

"What?" He twisted in his seat to see what Willow was staring at.

Willow sucked a breath in as the scene unfolded. Jesse walking confidently -- for him -- up to Cordelia, presumablyy to ask her to dance. Being shot down rather brutally. "Ouch." Willow nibbled her lip, aching for her friend as she saw him staring forlornly after Miss Popularity when she flounced away with her groupies. "Poor Jesse." She nodded, determination written on her face. "This calls for chocolate. And maybe some judicious brainwashing. But definitely some chocolate." Standing, she looked over at William. "Be back in a sec. Don't panic, I can see Xander on his way back here now." She gave him another smile, then headed off to drag Jesse out of his wallowing.

William forced himself not to turn and look as Xander moved toward him. He gulped about half his drink, trying to quell the flock of butterflies that seemed to have taken residence in his stomach.

"Back again. Man, good drinks are hard to find around here." Xander chuckled as he stood next to Willow's vacated seat. "Hey, where'd she go?"

William pointed to where Willow had dragged Jesse over to an empty chair, seating him and plying him with chocolate obtained from questionable sources.

"Oh. Run-in with Cordy?" Xander shook his head, tsking. "Guy has seriously got to get past this phase before he ends up permanently traumatized by rejection."

William frowned slightly. "Why?" He flushed as Xander stared at him. "I-I mean, don't you think that...maybe, well, opposites could attract?"

"Not *that* opposite. She's evil, I tell you."

William stared at his hands, clutched around his glass. "You can't help who y-you're attracted to," he whispered. He felt his cheeks grow even warmer with the weight of Xander's eyes on him.

"Um, no. I...guess not." He stared at William, transfixed. //He looks so cute all red and embarrassed like that. Embarrassed. Bare-assed. I wonder--ack!// Now it was Xander's turn to blush as he frantically drank down his soda. Weakly, he took Willow's seat, determined to get his brain firmly under control.

*****
Part 6:

William trudged tiredly into the apartment. He mumbled a greeting to his father, who was sitting nonchalantly on the couch reading in an attempt to make it appear as if he weren't waiting up for his son. William just stumbled past him into his room and collapsed onto the bed. He managed to kick off his shoes and squirm out of most of his clothes, wriggling his way under the covers.

He yawned. It had been a pretty decent night. He didn't think he'd made too much of an idiot of himself in front of Xander, and once Willow had plied Jesse with liberal amounts of chocolate and dragged him back to some semblance of happiness, they'd all had a blast just talking and taking turns dancing. With Willow, of course. It was still fun, though. And William tried not to imagine what it would be like to have Xander dancing with him, brushing up against him as they moved.

Curling around his pillow, William fell asleep with a smile on his face.

#####

William tossed and turned in his bed, punching his pillows in frustration. He looked up as the door opened.

"Trouble sleeping?" Rupert asked.

William sighed and nodded.

Rupert walked over, sitting on the edge of his bed. He reached out a hand to push the hair away from William's face. "Shhh. Just close your eyes. Relax."

William sighed and did as he was told, sinking down into the mattress. Warm lips brushed lightly across his forehead as fingers continued to comb gently through his hair. Then a mouth pressed against his own, tongue snaking out to trail over his lips.

William's eyes flew open, and he stare up in amazement at Xander, who loomed over him wearing nothing but a goofy grin.

"I know how to relax you," he whispered, bending down for another kiss.

William moaned, letting his mouth fall open to admit the questing tongue. He reached up to tangle his hands in Xander's hair, pulling the other boy down on top of him.

Xander pressed his body to William's, his larger form covering him like a blanket. He nudged William's legs apart, slipping a thigh between them.

William gasped and arched up, rubbing his cock demandingly against smooth, lightly furred flesh. He used his own tongue to map out the interior of Xander's mouth, twining it about its mate.

Xander reached between them, grasping William's pebbled nipples between his fingers, pulling and twisting at them to provide a delicious torment. Every time he brushed over the sensitive peaks, William whimpered into his mouth, begging for more.

William rocked his hips over and over, the friction on his cock making him burn with need. "Please!" he gasped out. "Xander!"

"My Will. So beautiful." Xander nibbled at Williams’s earlobe as he spoke, his words sending warm puffs of air into the other boy's ear, making him quiver in ecstasy.

"Yes...yours, Xander. Want you so much." He pressed feverish kisses along Xander's collarbone as he continued to hump up against his thigh. There was a hardness pressing against his belly, leaving a damp, sticky trail. With a breathless cry, he wrapped one of his legs around Xander's waist, shifting to bring their erections into alignment. A shudder went through his entire body.

"That's it, Will. Cum for me. Cum for me, my sweet William." Xander thrust down against William, plastering their bodies tight together, cradling the smaller boy in his arms as their bodies moved together sinuously.

With a small cry, William bucked upward, his orgasm bursting out of him as Xander continued to whisper husky endearments in his ears. He felt a warm splash against him, smiling in satisfaction as Xander groaned out his name when he came, then collapsed onto him. He hugged the larger body to him, refusing to let go. "Stay. Please...stay."

"Always. My Will."

The words tickled at his ears, and William fell into a deep sleep.

#####

Waking, William blinked, eyeing the fuzzy room in confusion. He stretched and sat up, growing stiff at the odd sensation surrounding his groin. In trepidation, he lifted the covers, letting out a mortified groan when he saw his underclothes plastered to his genitals, dried semen flaking off the fabric.

Blushing furiously, he leapt out of bed, tugging the soiled garment off and bundling it up before stuffing it under a few other dirty items in his clothes hamper. //God, I can't *believe* I just did that!// He hastily donned some fresh clothes before hurrying to the bathroom, where he proceeded to shower and remove any trace of his...indiscretion. //This is *so* bloody embarrassing! Oh dear lord, don't let Da find out about this.// He seriously considered volunteering to do the next load of wash just to make sure Rupert didn't discover the glaring evidence of such an intensely private and potentially humiliating incident.

But...he could still feel those strong hands skimming over his body, the heated torso sliding against his, the taut, firm muscles that his own fingers had caressed. And mostly, the thick, hard length of the other boy shoved up against him, branding him with its trail of fluid...

Ruthlessly, William turned off the warm water, gasping as he was doused with the resulting icy stream. He glowered down at his erection, which slowly shriveled. //Stop *thinking* about it!// He repeated that over and over as he finished his shower and raced back to his room.

Rubbing at the gooseflesh that covered him now, he slowly dressed for school. He wondered how he was going to make it through breakfast having to stare across the table at his father, while inside, he just wanted to crawl back into bed and try for another dream.

~~~~~~~~~~

William frowned as he walked past group after group of people huddled together, whispering furiously. Distracted, he bumped into someone, spilling his things. With a sigh, he knelt to collect them.

"We gotta stop meeting like this." Xander grinned as he handed William a book, then blinked in confusion as the other boy turned beet red, not meeting his eyes as he took the item back. Then he shrugged and helped William finish. "Hey, did you hear?"

William shook his head, a lock of hair falling over his forehead to obscure his eyes. "Hear what?"

Xander gulped, eyes wide. He slowly reached a hand out to the bit of hair, itching to brush it away and reveal luminous blue eyes once more. He snatched it back unnoticed, however, when he heard Willow and Jesse coming up behind him, chattering non-stop.

Willow latched onto Xander's arm. "Did you guys hear? It's awful. One of the girls found a *body* stuffed in her locker!"

William inhaled sharply. "A b-body? A dead one?"

Jesse nodded excitedly. "As a doornail. Cool, huh?"

Willow smacked his arm. "It's not cool, it's awful! How would you like to be killed and stuffed in a locker?"

Grinning, Jesse replied, "Well, it *was* in the girls locker room...Ow!" He rubbed at his arm. "Watch it, I bruise easily!"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Anyway, all the gym classes today are canceled, so I'm gonna spend that period studying in the library. Anyone wanna join me?"

Xander chuckled and made a little cross with his fingers. "Back! Back evil fiend! Tempt me not with your heinous deeds!"

William giggled softly at Xander's antics, earning him a wide grin from the other boy. It was almost like the grin Xander had given him in that dream, right before...

"Are you ok?" Jesse stared in fascination as William again acquired a deep red hue.

"Hey, leave him alone. It's seriously wiggy to have dead people popping out of lockers, you know. It probably didn't happen to him much back in England." Willow slung an arm around Williams’s shoulders, shooting Jesse a glare for his insensitivity.

Xander stroked his chin, deep in thought. "You know, actually, it's rather disturbing how often stuff like that seems to happen around here--Ow!" Now it was his turn to rub his arm and shoot Willow a dirty look.

"You're gonna scare him off. Stop it!" To William, she said, "Ignore them, they tend to talk before they think...or talk *instead* of thinking."

Xander gasped, clutching at his chest. "Oh, you wound me!"

Jesse followed suit, swooning dramatically. "Cruel, cruel wench!" he cried, a hand slung over his forehead.

Willow sniffed haughtily and, nose in the air, proceeded to drag William down the hall with her, away from the insanely laughing duo.

*****