What Dreams May Tell

by
Authoress Nebula

Part Five

The introduction was something Xander would’ve expected from one of his text books: dry, boring, very wordy but basically saying nothing.

The next two pages were filled with everything Xander already knew about Spike. Name, favorite weapon, two Slayers under his belt, yadda yadda yadda. All the same old stuff, until…

Xander stared at the words in front of him. ‘William the Bloody was supposedly quite different from his former human self. Born in 1858, his given name was William James Atherton.’

NOW he was getting somewhere. Xander bit his lip. If William was born in 1858, and died in 1880…that would put him at 22 at his death. Yeah, the William from his dreams would definitely fit that age range.

No pictures. Damn. But at least he had a real name to go by now. William James Atherton. It definitely sounded Victorian.

His parents, apparently, had been sort of well off. That would have placed him in the middle class category, like Alexander. His father’s profession was quoted as ‘unknown’, and had died when William had been eight. His mother had died the night after William had.

He’d gone to school, and then had gone on to a university to become a businessman. William hadn't been married, and had had no children to bear his name. Maybe because he was looking at the wrong gender for that, Xander thought with a grin, then mentally smacked himself. He didn’t even know if William had been interested in him. Alexander. This time warp stuff was making his head hurt.

After William and his mother had suddenly vanished/died, the house had been sold, but while people had been cleaning it up, they’d found several journals full of poetry. Xander’s eyebrows shot up at that. Poetry? The Big Bad had written poetry? He couldn’t contain the snicker at the thought of Spike sitting and writing sonnets of sunlight and daffodils.

Most of the poems, it had seemed, had been titled ‘For Her’ or ‘About Her’ or ‘Her Beauty’. One poem finally named this mysterious ‘her’ as Cecily, an upper class lady whom he was reported to have been in love with.

Xander blinked, sitting back. William had been interested in a girl? That hadn’t come up in the dreams yet. Then again, not much had. Yet. “That’s good news,” Xander told himself. “You don’t want Spike after you, because hello? Spike’s a vampire, and yeah, not gay here.” He still couldn’t help frowning at the hurt that indescribably washed over him.

Continuing on, he found a few descriptions of the place where William had lived, before he finally reached the best part: the description of the person himself. ‘A picture on the mantel of the downstairs fireplace showed a photo of a young man with light, wavy tresses and thin spectacles. His smile was that of an innocent young man, not that of a deranged killer. It is believed that William the Bloody’s change to Spike was due in part to Angelus, whom Spike traveled all over Europe with.’

Xander reread the passage several times, before he finally admitted to himself that the William from his dreams was indeed William the Bloody, Scourge of Europe.

He whimpered and banged his head against the desk behind him. Great. Just great.

He glanced up at the clock, then realized he had half an hour left before they returned. He stood and put the book back in the drawer, then stopped. Half an hour? That would be enough time to check something out online, wouldn’t it? Like, say, the family tree website Willow had been telling him about last week? Knowing Willow, it was bookmarked and easy to find. So all he had to do was head over to the site, punch in William’s name, and presto, lineage and quite possibly a photo.

“Are you sure you’re all right, Giles?”

Xander froze. “Dammit,” he muttered, glancing up again at the clock. They were twenty minutes early. He shoved the drawer shut, then hurried out to the main library.

He could see the three heading down the hall towards him, Willow and Buffy on either side of Giles. “I mean, you took a lot of sand to the eyes,” Willow continued sympathetically. “Maybe we should quickly head over to the nurse’s station for something to wipe your eyes with? Um, eye drops?”

They were trying to give him time. He hurried to the back, trying to open the window. It creaked as it slowly slid upwards, putting his nerves on edge.

“I assure you Willow, I’m quite fine. The demon is dead though, Buffy?”

“Yeah, it’s dead. I basically told it to GET OUT and it followed orders. Not. So I had to resort to violence.”

Xander grinned despite the situation. Nice warning, Buff. The window creaked open a little further, allowing him to get a leg through.

“Yes, well, you did a fine job of it, I’m sure. I heard noises, but being temporarily blinded with sand didn’t allow me to see anything.”

“I’m really sorry, Giles. But if I hadn’t pushed you out of the way, the demon would’ve thumped you!” Willow said.

The window slid all the way up. Xander quickly pushed himself through, then with a grimace shoved away from the ledge, just as the library doors opened.

“I do appreciate you saving my life,” Giles said kindly. “Let me get one of my handkerchiefs, and then we should be able to go home.”

Xander let out a soft groan. Okay, the next time he decided to sneak into the forbidden drawer of books and almost get caught, he wasn’t using the window for an exit. “You okay down there?” Buffy whispered from above him.

Legs not broken, check. Arms not broken, check. Head not cracked open, check. Groin undamaged, check. He let out a sigh of relief and rose to his feet. “I think I’m good.”

“Good,” Willow said, giving him a smile. “Find anything about you-know-who?”

Xander nodded. “Yeah. I’ll give you guys the full scoop later.”

“And did you find anything else out about vamps and stuff? You know, the good stuff?” Buffy asked hopefully.

Xander shook his head, before he began to grin. “Unfortunately not, but I do know how to get into the drawers now…”

Part Six

Tipping his hat to another lady, Alexander continued to make his way down the street. He wanted to reach the grocer’s and head home as quickly as possible. There were certain people he just didn’t want to meet with, and he was most likely to do so on the path he was now on.

Right before he turned the corner, he could hear the snickering. He sighed, already knowing what lay in store for him. Turning the corner, however, he was greeted with a much different sight than the one he expected.

Two ‘gentlemen’ were looming above a hunched over figure, his arms crossed around himself as if for protection. The two men only attacked verbally, but it was enough to make the smaller make cringe and flinch, which caused the men to laugh.

Alexander clenched his fists. How many times had he himself been the victim of their tormenting? Saying things no gentleman should ever say, not even in the midst of a battle? He stormed over, ignoring his brain when it began yelling at him, asking him what on EARTH he was doing? “Ah, I see the ladies from the corner turned you down again?” Alexander said casually. Apparently, he was going to try and get himself killed.

The two men turned to him, eyes widening in shock, then narrowing in rage. “You forget your place, boy,” one of them hissed.

“I’m sure it’s still quite a few levels above you. In fact, I’m to wonder if there aren’t even more levels between us. I wouldn’t doubt it,” Alexander said with a smirk. His brain was still pleading with him to keep his mouth shut.

“Big words for such a little boy,” the second one sneered.

“Says the man who’s acting like a bully from the schoolyard,” Alexander retorted.

The second one started forward, but his companion stopped him. “Later Thomas,” he hissed. Thomas continued to glare at Alexander, before turning and storming off, his partner right behind him.

Alexander watched them go, and waited until they were out of sight before releasing the breath he’d been holding. “You are an absolute idiot,” he muttered under his breath.

“An idiot I’m very grateful to keep running into,” said a quiet voice to his right. Alexander turned in surprise, only to find himself gazing into familiar blue eyes.

William looked away first, and it was only then that Alexander realized that the smaller man had been cradling books to his chest. “I’ve not many friends, as I’m sure you’ve noticed,” William mumbled, his cheeks turning bright red.

Alexander decided he didn’t like the red on his face. “Then that makes two of us,” he said softly, causing William to look back at him. He gave him a kind smile, then asked suddenly, “Which way were you headed before those two clods showed up?”

“Down towards the market, which would then lead to home.”

“You’d be traveling the same way as me then; I’m off to the grocer’s. Would you care for some company?” Alexander almost bit his lip. Was he being too forward?

From the small smile that appeared on William’s face, apparently not. “I would, actually,” he said.

Alexander’s returning smile was just as happy as William’s, though it was slightly larger, to say the least.

Xander slowly opened his eyes and took in the modern bedroom. Posters on walls? Check. Clothes thrown everywhere? Check. Country CDs on his desk? Check. Okay. Back in the future now.

Then why did he still feel like speaking like a Victorian?

“Bah humbag,” he grumbled, pulling the covers over his head. He just wanted to wish that none of this had ever happened.

But he couldn’t forget about the hesitant smile or the mesmerizing blue eyes.

The next day at school didn’t present any opportunity for a genealogy check on William, so Xander bit the end of his pencil and waited.

During that day and the next, he told the girls about what he’d found out, and his latest dream. “Go Xander!” Willow had said when he’d told her about the bullies.

The redhead had also promised to help him onto the genealogy site. “At least you’ve got a name,” Buffy had offered. “That’s a pretty good start, Xan.”

A good start that would get him nowhere unless he managed to get on the internet. Unfortunately, Giles seemed only happy enough to go on about some sort of new demon in town. Ugh.

“What did you say the demon’s name was?” Willow said, looking up from her book.

Giles told her, and Xander rolled his eyes. Completely unpronounceable, of course. He wouldn’t have expected anything else. Willow seemed to recognize it, though.

“Oh, I saw that in the other book, the one with the red and black striped binding? It said something about it having, um, particular eating habits. Something about how it ‘blessed’ the food it ate before it, well, eats it. It makes an odd sort of mark on the person, doesn’t it?”

Giles nodded, frowning slightly. Encouraged, Willow continued ahead. “A mark that would be really easy to find on the deceased? Like, one I could probably find in the morgue?”

Giles brightened considerably at that. “Of course, an excellent idea Willow. You mentioned something about there being access to the coroner’s office from the computer?”

Willow nodded and stood to head to the machine, but on the way gave Xander a wink. Xander’s eyes widened. She was going to get him net access, right under Giles’ nose.

He seriously owed that girl chocolate for everything she was doing for him.

Buffy noticed the wink and realized what Willow was going to do. “Which book did you say, Wills? I don’t remember seeing one like that. Maybe you should show me. Xander can look through the site while you’re translating the fancy English into good old American for me.”

He owed both girls chocolate. And pounds of it.

Giles nodded. “You two might as well continue researching. Xander, do you feel comfortable enough around that thing to look for the marking?”

Xander nodded and grinned. Giles trusted the computer about as far as he could throw it. “Yeah, no big G-Man. I can handle it.” He scooted his chair over to the computer and stopped, realizing he still had no clue how to get to the genealogy site. He glanced up at Willow, who was typing furiously. “Um, Wills? What did you say the markings looked like?” he asked, his eyes pleading with her.

Willow reached out and grabbed his chair, dragging it over in front of the computer. She moved the mouse and clicked on an open browser for the internet, then clicked a few icons in the browser to reach the favorites folder. With a single click she had him at the genealogy site. “The marks are just like this,” she said, clicking another browser up, and showing him the coroner’s site. She showed him how to go between the browsers using the minimizing button, then with a look that said ‘Find it and tell me later’, she stood and headed over to Buffy, who was waiting expectantly by the bookshelves.

“Truckloads,” he murmured to himself, smiling. “I owe those girls truckloads of chocolate.”

Minimizing the window for the coroner’s site, he headed over to the genealogy site and quickly typed in ‘Atherton, William’ in the search field. He clicked the search button and waited, flicking his gaze over to Giles. The Watcher was currently going through several demon books while sitting in his office, his face showing his obvious frustration. Xander turned back to the computer, then blinked.

Two hundred and fifty-two matches. ‘William’ had apparently been the family name. Heading back up to the search field, he typed in ‘Atherton, William James’ this time, hoping that would dwindle down the number.

It brought the count down to four. He clicked on the first link, disappointed that there was no picture. He then noticed the birthday and quickly went back to his main search page. He wanted 1854 as the birth date, not 1654. The Athertons were a very old family, then.

The next two showed no pictures either, though neither description fit his William. As the words ‘his William’ went through his mind, he stubbornly told himself that it was only on account of the dreams. That was it.

“Well, you must be the William I know,” Xander said to the final link as he clicked on it. “Though I would’ve preferred having had a…”

And there William was, just like the book had described him. “Picture,” Xander breathed, leaning forward. The book had done the picture absolutely no justice.

Wavy hair which was obviously a lighter color, even though the picture was black and white. He was dressed in a fine suit, and his spectacles were nowhere to be seen.

But oh, his smile…it was nothing like it had been in Xander’s dreams. There it had been hesitant and shy. Here it was broad and beautiful, full of confidence and happiness. Xander swallowed at the emotions that one smile was giving him. They were ALMOST like the feelings Xander had had when he’d caught sight of Buffy for the first time.

That was enough to make Xander shove away from the computer. He was NOT gay! He did NOT have these feelings for guys. No, no, no!

But his smile…his eyes…

Xander groaned and buried his face in his hands.

“Xander? Is everything all right?”

Xander sat up in time to see Giles coming towards him, a frown on his face. One glance back at the computer showed him that the genealogy site was still up. He quickly scooted back to the computer just as Giles reached him. “What’s wrong?” Giles asked, glancing at the screen. “Wait, what is that?”

Xander squirmed in his seat. “It’s…”

“A very nasty looking mark, yes,” Giles said, giving Xander a concerned look. “I had no idea that it was that…horrid looking, Xander. Are you quite sure you’re all right?”

Xander managed to nod. “Just a little gruesome, that’s all.”

With a sympathetic smile Giles headed back into his office. “It is at that. But with that one mark, we know that the demon is out in Sunnydale. We should find it at once before it does that to more people.”

He continued to nod after Giles until the older man was out of sight, then promptly let his head fall onto the keys. That had been too close.

“Demon hunting? Now that’s my kind of thing,” Buffy said, quickly hopping away from the books. She glanced over at Xander, who gave her a quick thumbs up. She grinned, turning to give Willow a small nod.

‘Thank you,’ Xander mouthed to both girls.

Their grins told him he was most welcome.

Part Seven

“Mother?”

When he received no reply, Alexander quickly set the purchased meal down on the wooden table and headed up to his room. Hearing voices coming down the hall, he ran the last bit into his room and nearly slammed the door shut in his hurry. He'd had such a lovely afternoon, and he really didn't want to have it spoiled by his parents.

Alexander gave a happy sigh and took a seat at his desk. He'd walked with William for an entire five blocks, and it hadn't taken long for the shy blonde to open up and talk. He had an incredible way with words, and a well-honed wit that had kept Alexander in laughter. William himself had admitted to not sharing his wit often, and Alexander had told him he should. “You really do have a way with words,” he'd said. “Why not share it?”

William had merely shrugged. “I've never really had anyone to share it with. Acquaintances have been the most I've had for 'friends'.”

“Not anymore,” Alexander had said, stopping outside the grocer's. William had stopped as well, giving him a puzzled look. “You're my friend now. At least, I would like to have the honor,” he'd added.

Reaching for a pencil and his notebook, he envisioned the look that had come across William's face. Surprise, awe, and then the largest smile Alexander had ever seen him show. “The honor is all mine,” William had said, before he'd offered Alexander his hand. The two had shaken hands, then William had gone, leaving Alexander with a fantastic feeling. 'He touched my hand,' had been his mantra all the way home from the grocer's.

With a smile Alexander sat forward and began to draw.

Xander blinked, glancing around the room before pondering that last part. He'd been an artist? HE had been an ARTIST? No. No way. Xander had taken an art class before, and his drawings had been pathetic. There was no way he could draw.

But he supposed that if he'd been inspired enough, he would've tried to have drawn something. Like William's smile. Xander had to agree with his past self: William had had a hell of a smile. It had been better than the one in the picture online.

Xander's eyes widened. “I'm SO not thinking what I think I'm thinking,” he said to no one, before he pulled the covers back over his head, as if that would keep the thoughts out.

Taking his lunch outside was a rare treat; usually they were stuck inside the stuffy cafeteria with the creepy lunch lady. But today the outdoors had been so nice that Snyder had agreed to let the students eat where they wanted to. Xander was sure the only reason they'd been allowed this rarity was because Snyder wanted to eat in his office, without hearing the students walking past his room to reach the cafeteria. But Xander wasn't about to complain.

He quickly ate his lunch, his mind drifting to more important things. Like the dream from the night before. He'd gotten a glimpse of the drawing Alexander had been busy with, but then the dream had ended. He could still feel the pencil in his hand, the light way he'd held it, the simple strokes turning into something much more beautiful than Xander could've imagined.

So that was why he was now sitting underneath one of the trees, away from the girls, away from everyone. He wanted to try something, and he had ten minutes to do so. Stealing another glance at the girls (who still didn't know where Xander had gone) he pulled out his notebook and a pencil. He opened to a blank page, then sighed. “You really are insane,” he muttered to himself, but he closed his eyes anyways. He had to try.

He began to clear his mind, pushing away his usual thoughts, such as slaying, homework, and the Twinkie in his backpack. Once his mind was as blank as it was going to get, he focused on William. Nervous glances from behind spectacles. Unruly hair. Big, blue eyes. And then, that winner of a smile.

Slowly Xander opened his eyes, glancing at the paper before him. He brought his pencil up, remembering to keep a light grasp. He started with tiny strokes, going back and forth. Sunken cheekbones were the most prominent thing Xander could remember, so he lightly pressed the lead tip down, sliding it across again and again while moving the pencil down.

He began to dip his pencil, going up and down, then starting at the beginning point and repeating the actions. And then the eyes; there was no way he could capture those just right. He decided to try anyways, and made light indentations in the paper so they could be easily erased if need be.

RIIIING!!

Xander jumped, glancing over at the girls. Buffy and Willow were heading back to the school, chatting all the while. Lunch was over? But he still had at least ten minutes!

A quick check to his watch made him realize that no, his ten minutes were quite over. “But I didn't even start,” he moaned, putting his pencil away. He began to close the notebook, but the image underneath stopped him. He hadn't really looked at what he'd been drawing: he'd been too busy trying to draw at all.

William's face smiled at him, hair just as unruly as Xander remembered it being. His eyes had no spectacles to hide behind, but it didn't matter.

Xander had drawn the picture Alexander had drawn the night before.

“Whoa.” He blinked, staring in shock at the image. He'd only been trying to try. He hadn't expected to succeed.

The silence reached Xander's ears, and quickly he jumped to his feet, grabbing his things and running to the high school. History of the late 19th century awaited him, and for once, he didn't want to miss it.

Part Eight

“You were outside, right?”

“We couldn't find you!”

“Why were you hiding from us then?”

“You must've heard us...”

“Whoa, whoa, WHOA!” Xander exclaimed, bringing Willow to a halt. “Calm down you two. Yes to Buffy's question, I was outside. No, I wasn't hiding from you guys. I was conducting an experiment.”

Eyebrows raised from both girls. “It couldn't have been a scientific one,” Willow teased. “You spend all your creative energy avoiding the ones we DO have.”

Xander glared at her. “Ha ha, my sides are splitting. But I did conduct an experiment. Of sorts.”

“And the results?” Buffy inquired.

Xander glanced around. Buffy heaved a sigh and grabbed his arm. “Fine. The library then.”

“Is Giles there?” he asked.

Buffy stopped at that, giving him an odd look. “Giles lives there, Xander. Why?”

Willow's eyes lit up. “This has to do with William, doesn't it?” she said, grinning when Buffy caught on.

“Yes it does. Quit smirking,” Xander grumbled, adjusting his backpack again. “Do you want to see what happened or not?”

Buffy and Willow nodded anxiously. “We'll find an empty classroom then,” Willow said, heading down the hallway. “We'll keep out of Giles' way then.”

“Or maybe he'll keep out of ours,” Buffy said, nodding down the hall. Xander turned to see Giles and Jenny talking outside her classroom. From the looks on their faces, they wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, especially since school was done for the day. Exchanging knowing grins, the Scoobies changed directions and made their way to the library.

Xander hurried through the doors, throwing his backpack onto the table. Buffy and Willow kept glancing from him to the doorway, as if waiting for Giles to appear. Xander continued to dig through his things, pushing various papers and textbooks out of the way. He'd put it in here...

“Ah HA!” Xander said triumphantly, pulling the drawing out. He laid it on the table for the girls to see, and frowned when they merely blinked. “Well?” he asked.

“It's William,” Willow said simply. “I'm glad you managed to find an image of him, but you didn't need to print it out for us.”

Xander's grin returned. “I didn't print it out.”

It took them a few moments to get it, and when they did, their eyes widened to the size of saucers. “You drew this?!” Buffy squeaked. “At lunch? All of this?!”

Willow merely stared.

“All of that,” Xander confirmed. “It's something Alexander did last night, and I...I had to try it. To know if Alexander was me, or...you know, not.”

Willow continued to stare.

“Alexander was a hell of an artist, then. And so are you,” Buffy added after a moment, giving him a grin. Xander blushed but returned the grin.

Willow just stared.

“Well, Wills? What do you think?” Xander asked, turning to his friend. Her wide eyes and non-responsiveness were starting to concern him.

He needn't have worried. “How did...but it's...you...you just...” she sputtered, before taking a deep breath. She exhaled, then said calmly, “You did a really good job, Xander. I'm just surprised because the last picture you drew, it was a stick person making fun of Mrs. Hodgins.”

Xander grinned at that. “With fangs, don't forget.”

“Why draw William?” Buffy asked, frowning. “Why not try to draw something you could see now? Like us or something?”

Willow turned a questioning gaze on him. “I told you, it's what Alexander drew last night,” Xander said. “I just kept the image in my head. But this proves it! I'm really Alexander. Or, I was.”

But Willow wasn't listening. “Alexander drew William? Did he draw anyone else?”

Xander frowned. “Um, no, but what does...”

“Was this how William actually looked in one of your dreams?” Buffy asked, glancing down at the picture. “Smiling and stuff?”

Xander's frown deepened. He didn't like where this was going. “Yes, but again, what...”

“Why would he draw William?” It was Willow's turn to look down at the image.

Avert, avert! WAY too close to feelings Xander didn't want to look at, and why the hell were they asking in the first place? “Uh, Alexander must not have had very many, um, friends! And he was probably practicing, and William's face was the only thing to remember at the time, you know how your mind can just go 'blank' like that, right?”

“He's really cute,” Buffy said, smiling down at the picture.

“Yeah, I know,” Xander said without thinking. His eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth, as if he could stop the words from coming out.

Too late. Both girls' heads whipped around towards him, staring at him, shocked.

Whoops.

Feed the Author