Chapter 10: Oh Sheet!
"This is too much." Willow fumed, her fingers still fumbled while pulling her clothes back on.
"I don't get it, Red, you said his name but who is this tosser? " Spike asked, confounded by her odd behavior.
Ripper continued to stare at the man. He guessed that he was oddly familiar, the nose for instance. He squinted in the darkness . .that knowing smirk. Ripper chuckled as he finally recognized the man. "Bloody hell! It is Ethan! What have you been up to, mate?"
"Nothing as interesting as you." Ethan drawled, eyeing Willow. She gave him a forbidding scowl. "I must say, it's nice to see you again, dear girl."
"Go to hell." Willow said with false sweetness as she finally managed to put her clothing to rights. She slipped out from behind Ripper and Spike and walked determinedly down the alley.
"Where do you think you're going?" Ripper called.
"Away from all of you!" She huffed, not even turning around to speak to them. Like errant school boys they filed in behind her, following her to the destination of her choosing. She stopped and swung around. "What are you doing?"
"Following you, pet." Spike said amicably.
"Just wanted to make sure you were safe." Ripper added.
"Truthfully, I was hoping you might take off some more of your clothes." Ethan said with what she supposed was rakish charm. It didn't work.
"Listen up! If you're British and blond, get the hell away from me!
"Uh, Red?"
"Bleached blond counts, Spike."
"Ducks? I'm not a blond." Ethan insisted.
She looked at his hair, he was right. "Okay, if you're a lech then."
"I beg your pardon!"
"Yes, you should! Actually, all three of you fall into that category!"
They all looked at the ground sheepishly, not following her further. "Thank you! And goodnight!"
Willow stomped her way to the end of the alley. As she started to round the corner, a green-eyed young man jumped out from behind a dumpster. "I've been looking for you!" He announced in what he hoped was a booming confident voice.
"Really? You may have to take a number." Willow eyed the young man. He stood with his hands on his hips, legs spread wide. He felt it was a very imperious stance. He failed to recognize the that it was also a poorly balanced one. Willow corrected that misconception. She planted one hand in the middle of his chest and pushed, sending him onto his haunches. She grinned as he looked up at her, stunned. She reached inside where her glamour was still in effect and flashed him her vampiric features over her shoulder as she strolled out of the alley. "Bored now."
*********
Giles gasped as he finally woke up. Good Lord! Ripper and Spike and Willow. Then Ethan showed up. . .Christ! And he'd actually seen Willow's . . . "Oh dear!" He said with feeling. Can I even look at the girl again without blushing?
"Giles? Are you here? I really need to talk to you." Willow cried as she shut his apartment door behind her.
He could hear her footsteps echoing on the steps that led to his bedroom."Uh, y- yes, Willow. I-I'll be right th–"
"Giles!" She wailed as she entered his bedroom and sat down next to him on the bed. She was so disturbed by her own behavior that she failed to recognize his state of undress and obvious agitation. "It was horrible! Well, not all of it, but. . .never mind. Ethan Rayne is here and he was. . .looking at me. It was eww! And scary at the same time."
Giles clutched the sheet to his obviously naked body. This was almost more than he could bear. "I can see you're upset, Willow. If you would give me a moment, I could–"
"He's making me act this way, I'm not normally like this. We've got to send him back!" She said as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I couldn't agree more." He said as his hand groped for a t-shirt that was flung on the chair by his bed. Giles was so unnerved and Willow was so upset, they failed to notice the door opened again and the sound of two sets of footsteps. "Willow, I need to get dres–"
Buffy and Xander had followed Willow, Ripper and Spike out of The Bronze but failed to locate them. They had finally noticed Willow coming out of an alley. They had called to her but she looked very angry and didn't seem to be in the mood to talk. Wisely, they had followed after her at a discrete distance. Now, they could make out the sounds of a muffled argument.
"I mean, who does he think he is? Groping me in some. . ." She stared at the bed suddenly. "Oh, God! You know, don't you? Ack! You've seen me naked! Naked in front of Giles!"
"Well, because Ripper is me, the young me that is, so I was rather–"
"You felt me up, Giles! How could you?" She screeched. Willow was actually angry at herself but she needed someone to blame. Spike couldn't be held accountable, after all, he was a vampire. Shagging in an alley was probably a dull night for him. Ethan hadn't touched her, but she'd like to slap that arrogant smirk off his face. Ripper wasn't here but his older counterpart was.
Xander and Buffy had just arrived outside the door and had pressed their eager ears against the surface, listening intently.
"How could I? You were the one dressed like a trollop, pressing yourself against me. Can you blame me for taking what you offered?"
"What I offered?! What you were dying to have from the moment you met me. And I'm not a trollop, pervert!"
"I didn't say you were one, I said you were dressed like one!"
Xander and Buffy stared at each other in open-mouthed horror. Giles and Willow had been having an affair for years! "It must have started in high school." Buffy whispered, still in shock.
"Blech!" Xander groaned. He'd known that Willow had been messing around with younger, cuter Giles. . . but tweedy, old Giles? "She's lost her mind."
Giles was speaking again. "I'll admit it, I pursued you but you were willing! You wanted me as much as I wanted you."
"I'm gonna be sick." Xander mumbled.
"Me too!" Buffy agreed, leaning against the door, clutching her stomach.
