Ch.1
Lexie:
The clock on the nightstand read 6:00. Glancing at the window she could see that the sun rising even through the blinds and curtain. She sat up stretching and looked across the room at Lizzie who was sound asleep. Sighing she slowly got out of bed and stretched again. She made her way to her dresser, bottom drawer up: socks, underwear, jersey shorts, three sports bras and two tank tops. Reaching the top drawer, she pulled out her purple pouch and walked out the door.
Cracking the restroom door, she reached through the small opening and turned on the light before entering. Paranoia. Walking up to the sink, she set up everything she needed, first and most important were her pills. Pulling out each bottle, she placed them in a perfect row and filled up a Dixie cup with water. Opening three of the four containers, she placed the pills in her hand and swallowed them all at the same time. After putting them away, she quickly got ready and walked back to her room.
"Five more minutes," Lizzie mumbled when she tried to wake her up.
She walked back to her bed and made it, once satisfied, she put on her sneakers and saw that five minutes had passed. She tried to wake up Lizzie again, but she wanted five more minutes. She set the alarm to go off in six before making her way downstairs.
The alarm was going off as she entered the room, eating an apple. Lizzie shot out of bed and turned off her alarm.
"Lexie, the whole point of summer vacation is that we get to sleep in. It's a vacation!"
"I'm sorry, you said you wanted to go jogging. I will ride Aries." She said plainly, not caring what she wanted to do. She was just being courteous.
Lizzie sighed. "No, it's cool. I'll go for a walk tomorrow."
She didn't reply, she already told her it would be fine if she didn't go; she'd much rather ride Aries either way. She grabbed her makeup bag which contained her toiletries and left to brush her hair and teeth. When she got back Lizzie was barely putting on her shoes.
She lightly jogged in place as Lizzie stretched out a little. Once she was ready, they took off jogging into the back fields, neither saying a word. If you saw both of them together it would be hard to believe they were sisters, let alone related or twins. Lizzie at least looked like their other sisters, but Lexie looked completely different. They even had polar opposite personalities. They weren't even close for two girls who were the same age and shared a room their entire lives.
Elizabeth or Lizzie was the older of the two and the second prettiest according to the people who knew them. She had curly twirly chocolate brown hair and eyes. She was tall, skinny, bold, witty, charming, playful, smart, and always easily made friends.
Alexandra, Alexa, or Lexie was just plain. She was literally in the middle, with two older sister and two younger sisters. She had auburn hair but it was a little on the dark side and her eyes varied between light green and olive green. She was a bit fuller, curvaceous, and shorter than her sisters. She was intelligent, willful, quiet, introverted, reserved; and she got through life with her security blanket: pills.
They lived in Meryton, which as a town in the county of Lamboten and a couple of miles from the city itself. Their neighbors and most of the town knew that James and Rose Bennet had five girls, two of which were twins. Jane was the beautiful one, with blue eyes and straight blonde hair. Lizzie was the outgoing one and there was a spark about her that made everyone love her. Alexa was only known because of her talent on the violin and because she attended Silver Magnet High. That might have been what made them all the more interesting to people, plus it was a small town. Silver M. was known for its academic's program but most importantly it was a school for wealthy children. She was there on a scholarship where she learned to play the piano and violin.
Kitty was a year younger than her and then there was Lydia, the baby along with Rose's favorite. Rose was a trophy wife and a stay at home mother, while their father worked hard to provide for them. They weren't rich but they lived in a four-bedroom home in the country side with a small stable in the back.
She could honestly say that there were only four people in the world who knew her and that was only what she let them know. Nobody apart from them, her family, and school knew she took pills, or that she suffered from any sort of problems. They just knew she was odd, shy, and awkward.
Appearances were everything to Rose, and Alexa was just too plain and too depressing, so she did everything she could to keep others from noticing. Lexie could never recall a time when she referred to Rose as anything but Rose, except in public. In public she was mother. Rose had never been a mother to her and she knew that Rose didn't like her. Not that she ever tried to hide it, she often expressed it in the privacy of their own home.
According to Rose she was nothing but a mistake, an accident, something that should have never been. She was a huge inconvenience and was somehow responsible for ruining her figure. It was also obvious that Lexie was out of place in their family photos, the only one she slightly resembled was Kitty, so of course she belonged. Rose often called her a pebble in her shoe and scolded her for embarrassing the family; but all the world saw was how proud she was of Lexie, and why wouldn't she be? Lexie was at the top of her class, she was an excellent violist and a great piano player.
Her father's feelings towards her seemed to be pretty much the same but she did love him, even knowing he distanced himself from her. His favorite was Lizzie and everyone knew it, they were almost alike in temperament and attitude and spent much time together. To him Lexie was nothing more than a trophy daughter, something to brag about much like Rose. The difference between them was that he at least held her in some esteem. He was proud off all the work he put into her, she was going to be successful and he was going to be responsible for it. He didn't care much for Rose or pay too much attention to her and his youngest daughters. To him they were all silly, loud, vain, and had horrible manners. Though he grew to dislike Rose he would never leave her. She was after all still beautiful and took care of everything and everyone. He was too proud and cared what others thought, but he didn't care at all that Lexie took pills he was the one that encouraged it. To him she was better this way than how she was before them.
She had always felt different, knew she was different. She knew that *life was pain, only pain; dark depressing loneliness that eats at your soul. She didn't believe in love; it was just a fairytale. Love didn't work for her parents, she didn't expect it to work for her. She knew it would never work for someone like her. The only thing she expected in life was disappointment. She learned a long time ago to stop hoping and stop wishing. She hardly spoke to her family and strangers and when she smiled it was always awkward and sad.
At three she was already playing what sounded like music on the piano; instead of random incoherent notes like Lizzie and Jane did. But her father didn't care enough then to notice that she was advancing faster. It wasn't until she and Lizzie started school that they were both skipped ahead and placed in the same grade as Jane. She was still advancing faster than her peers and sisters and when she reached third grade her teacher gave her a test.
Before she knew it, she was offered a full scholarship to Silver M. Her father forced her to change schools between the school year, warning her not to waste the opportunity she was given. 'This is a blessing, you need to take full advantage and work hard. Don't let me down.' She remembered Rose wanted Jane to trade places with her, Jane was less likely to embarrass them and she was beautiful, even at a young age. She'd become popular and catch a rich boyfriend, even then Rose was thinking about marrying them off. Her thinking was that Lexie would bring them further shame when it reality it was Rose who was the embarrassing one. At every single one of her school gatherings or events, all she did was brag about how great Lexie was, how beautiful her other daughters were, and what a great loving husband she had. Once she finished talking about those things, she'd move on to the latest gossip happening, always overreacting. Her father didn't help anything, he saw it all as a big joke, he'd always mocked them but never correct their behavior; only Lexie's.
Her family didn't help her make any friends, they only helped isolate her further. She focused all her energy into getting the best grades, staying at the top, and excelling at the violin. She was alone, Lizzie wasn't there to protect her from the bullies, and she didn't have Jane to comfort her and tell her things would be ok; even if she knew it was bull. Things were only ever fine for a while until they would pick on her again. She learned it was better to stay quiet, stay hidden. Dr. Stone was the only one she ever told about the bullying, she didn't want to complain, she never complained and she suppressed so much of her feelings. She was well aware of all her accomplishments but she never bragged; they meant nothing to her they were just how she found her escape.
By the time they returned from their jog everyone was in the house was awake. They both showered and got ready for the day, joining the rest of the family for breakfast. It was another usual day, her father was reading the paper with a huge plate of food in front of him, Jane and Lizzie were sitting next to each other talking secretly about who knows what, and Lydia, Kitty, and Rose were talking about the latest gossip. The Bingley's. A rich family that would be moving down the road several miles away from them in the Netherfield Estate. The most interesting thing was that they had a son and daughter who were Jane's age, and they were going to attend Meryton High with the rest of the Bennet girls.
There was a mention of a welcome party that Lucas's would be throwing for them, Rose was going on and on about how they all needed to make a great impression but she was glaring directly at Lexie. She gave a curt nod and continued eating the big plate Rose gave her. She began thinking of ways to get out of going, parties weren't her cup of tea and with her parents she could never do anything right. She didn't understand why they didn't just leave her at the house. It didn't take long before Rose started nagging their father to go and welcome them when they arrived. By the end of breakfast, he had enough, refusing only angering Rose. Not that it stopped her from complaining and arguing, knowing that wouldn't change his mind.
She found herself waking up the same time the next day, following the same routine, except for waking Lizzie up. Lizzie was going to go on one of her walks and she was going to ride Aries. It was a pretty hot day for early fall and after letting him run as fast as he wanted, she led him towards the small pond to let him cool down and drink some water. She felt hot and sweaty looking at the water, it looked so cool and inviting.
She made a quick decision to strip to her panties and undershirt before jumping in. She was right, the water was nice and cool against her skin. The great thing about living out here was that there was no one around for miles. She submerged herself under the water and began sinking, staying under as long as she could. Surfacing, she heard the sound of a snap freighting her. Looking towards the shore, close to Aries, she saw a man standing there frozen in place as he stared at her. Even from the distance she could see that he was tall and big with black wavy hair.
He glanced down and his body language said he was embarrassed, staring at something on the ground. She glanced and saw her clothes folded in a neat pile. Hoping he would leave she stayed where she was but they couldn't stop looking at each other.
"I'm sorry," he finally said.
"Please place my clothes near the edge." She asked once she swam closer.
He quickly grabbed her clothes and did as he was told before he turned around and took several steps forward. She quickly jumped out, keeping her eyes on him the whole time.
"Thank you," she said once she was dressed.
He turned to face her and she could see how handsome he was. He was at least a foot taller than her and he had broad shoulders. His eyes though, she couldn't take her eyes off of them. They were an intense bright blue that seemed to just pierce through you. She couldn't think of the color at the moment.
"I'm sorry," they both said shyly and looked around them, finding their surroundings interesting. She thanked him once again before she started walking towards Aries.
As she and Aries made their way back to the house, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She realized that she didn't even get his name, nor had she ever seen him before, she'd remember his eyes. Looking around she realized that they were near the Netherfield property and concluded it must be Charlie Bingley.
Darcy
Despite having arrived late last night, he still found himself waking up early. He'd always been an early riser, waking up exactly at dawn. He knew the Bingley's were still asleep when he got downstairs and after eating a bowl of cereal he decided to walk around and explore.
After walking about two miles, he saw a pond about another mile away and he began walking towards it. When he was in front of it, he couldn't help but admire the water and the scenery. He heard a horse neigh making him look around and he saw a horse off to the side with a saddle, but no rider. As he approached it, a twig snapped under him and he heard something disturb the water. He turned and saw a girl that wasn't there before, swimming in the middle of the pond. She didn't say anything, she just kept staring blankly at him. At first he couldn't understand why she hadn't moved until he looked at the ground and saw her clothes. He became embarrassed at the thought of catching her naked.
Realizing she wasn't going to say anything or move, he apologized. She didn't say anything but swam closer. He quickly did as he asked and placed her clothes closer the edge, wanting to give her some space and privacy, he walked away a good distance. He didn't have to wait long, he turned and quickly looked her up and down. She was a good foot shorter than him, and through the clothes that were clinging around her body he could tell she was chubby and curvaceous. Her eyes were a light green and her auburn hair went past her waist, but he thought she was rather plain.
They exchanged apologies before se mounted her horse and took off, he stayed behind enjoying the view and fresh air. He really enjoyed being out here, it was different from home but it was still nice and open. Even the house they were staying at surprised him. He wondered what school would be like and what the year would bring before he headed back. Not once did he give the girl a second thought until he realized that he didn't get her name.
Mr. and Mrs. Bingley were awake by the time he got back. He was making himself a cup of coffee when Charlie and Louisiana came downstairs, still in their pajamas. He was reading the paper as they ate, speaking about how they slept. He hardly ever spoke to them, he wasn't really much of a speaker, at home he ate alone plus he was still adjusting to the idea of living with them. It was strange being part of a family, his mother passed away 10 years ago and his father was always working. He practically raised himself and Georgie with the help of Mrs. Reynolds. Georgiana was only two years younger than him but they were close. She attended boarding school to purse her talent on the piano.
When Mr. Bingley informed his father that they were moving to the country in Texas; his father seemed more than happy to send him with them. The reason was so he could finish the school year with Charlie. He was just happy that he wasn't going to live with his Aunt De Bough who lived about an hour away in Lamboton. She happened to be a history teacher at Meryton High, and he was already going to have her for a class. It took the promise of several visits to her home, and his placement in her class to finally get her to stop trying to get him to move in with her.
Caroline finally walked in, souring his mood. He always had to be on high alert around her, even in the presence of her family. He turned the page and brought the paper closer to his face, shielding him from her staring. They kept talking, but he didn't care enough to listen to what they were saying, as long as he didn't hear his name, he didn't care.
The doorbell rang announcing the arrival of the movers, once everything was unloaded and they were settling in; the doorbell rang again, this time it was two of the neighbors. James Bennet and John Lucas came to introduce themselves and welcome them. Mr. Lucas invited them to a party he was having in their honor to welcome them. Luckily for him Mr. Bingley wasn't going to be able to go, yet he unfortunately accepted on behalf of the rest of them. Once the women heard about it, they needed to go to the city and go shopping.
'Just because they lived in the country didn't mean they had to dress like it.'
Welcome?
Today was the welcome party and Lexie managed to avoid arriving with her family. Rose dragged her to the mall with her, and her sisters (who were enthusiastic) to buy new dresses for the party. She didn't understand why she had to come; Rose often just bought the damn thing for her and made her wear it. It wasn't like she was going to have a say in it anyways. She made sure to tell her that she had to practice and wouldn't be arriving with them. She didn't even care. Her main concern was making sure Jane and Lizzie looked their best hoping one of them could catch Charlie's attention. at best she hoped they would befriend the girls, or that their families would become friends.
She had planned it perfectly and arrived just in time not to seem rude to the party. She was glad that Hurst was able to bring her. It wasn't like it mattered, no one noticed her come in. Looking around she didn't find Mary, Jane, Lizzie or Charlotte, so she made her way to the refreshment table. As she got closer, she saw Lizzie off to the side alone. She was about to walk up to her when she saw the boy from the pond. It didn't look like he wanted to be there either, or the guy with blonde-red hair was annoying him.
Making her way to Lizzie, she needed to pass them. The closer she got, the more she could hear them even with the music playing and people talking.
"Darcy," said the unknown boy. "You can't just be a wallflower all night. You have to get out there, get to know people. Dance!" He commanded, irking her.
"Charlie, your sisters are busy at the moment and in case you didn't notice you are dancing with the only pretty girl here. I-"
"I know! Jane is so beautiful, she's almost an angel." The short guy said. "But there are plenty of pretty girls here. Look there's Elizabeth, Jane's sister. She's just as pretty, ask her to dance." He lightly shoved him.
"She's OK," he stressed the word, "but not pretty enough for me. Nobody else wants to dance with her why should I?" He coldly stated. "I'm not in the mood to dance, go back to your 'angel' and leave me alone." She could pick up the anger in his voice.
Charlie shook his head disapprovingly and walked away.
She saw Lizzie look around the room before she rushed off to Charlotte's side. She could tell the way they were looking at Darcy and laughing at him, that she overheard them as well. She wasn't that far away from them, but she knew that Lizzie was slighted. She made a quick decision not to tell anyone she was there. Making her way to a dark corner she stood there, observing everyone.
Jane was now dancing with Charlie, Lizzie with Charlotte, she didn't see her father or the other men. She finally saw Mary, who was sitting down reading a book. She couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her lips. Rose was drinking with the other mothers and laughing out loud while Kitty and Lydia shamelessly flirted with the guys, being silly.
The majority of her time went to looking at Darcy, she couldn't help but look at him. He kept to himself at the opposite wall from her until a tall beautiful blonde girl walked up to him. She was as beautiful at Jane, but wore too much make up for her liking. Her nose was stuck in the air but it was the way she was looking at the others that made her look like a snob. The scowl he had on his face deepened, making her conclude he didn't enjoy her company. He kept moving her hand away from him and she knew they weren't dating, and she found herself smiling again.
He didn't look like he was paying attention to her, he seemed to be focusing on something. He wouldn't stare at it long but he couldn't stop turning his head and eyes to someone. She followed his gaze and saw him staring at Lizzie. Of course it was. The smile disappeared from her face. Eventually he gave a soft smile as he watched Lizzie dancing, he obviously was just getting annoyed by Charlie. Her thoughts were anything but pleasant when she was being pestered but she never had the guts to say anything, it was just better to keep your mouth shut.
She no longer wished to be there and she glanced around the room once again. No one was looking for her, meaning she could leave. She felt bad for ditching Mary, but someone might have noticed. She didn't want to meet anyone, she didn't want to have to pretend to be happy and force a smile. She didn't care and it wasn't like anyone noticed if she was there, she'd hear all about the Bingley's tomorrow either way.
The Lucas's house was about a mile and a half away, or a mile if she took the back field. Luckily the moon was bright enough to illuminate the sky. Walking alone in the dark didn't faze her and she got there rather quickly. As she settled into bed, she couldn't stop thinking about the handsome boy with icy-blue eyes. Darcy.
Will was in a horrible mood and really didn't want to go to the party tonight. Not only did he hate being around people he didn't know, but Georgie sent him an email. Though it read on a happy note, he could read between the lines; she was still upset and recovering from the Wickham incident. How he hated that man. No not man, scum of the earth; he despised him.
Part of the problem was he knew he was to blame as well; he was just as responsible for her pain and misery. Had he only told his father, maybe just given him a warning, all their problems could have been avoided. He was never going to be able to forgive himself for what happened to Georgie, just thinking about that day made him angry and depressed.
He was now stuck in a room with all these people, who didn't know anything about him other than he had money. These people who weren't even on the same circles as him, were passing judgment on him. He knew Charlie was going to ditch him to make friends with the others and he had to put up with Caroline. Every single party they were at together was the same, he would try to stick to himself but she would eventually catch him and cling to him the rest of the night. Her arm would snake around his and she would parade him around, making sure everyone saw them together. Then he had to dance at least one dance with him, otherwise she wouldn't stop pestering him about it. He always danced with Louisiana as well hoping it discouraged her but nothing he did ever worked. He knew not that they lived together it was only going to get worse, he even slept with his door locked.
It wasn't that Caroline was plain, she was beautiful even without all that makeup she caked on but that was all she had going for her. She was vain and a huge snob for someone who barely came into real money. Of course she would make the ideal girlfriend, but he knew she slept around, of course everyone his age did that but he wanted more. Caroline never disagreed with him about anything, she could be singing praises about one thing and he could disagree and she'd change her mind in an instant. She only liked him for his money and name, his good looks didn't help and she was like every other girl he ever met who wanted into his wallet. Her constant flirting was sickening, the things she said irked him, and she just tried too hard. The only time he got a break was when he was alone or around her father.
A women let them in and as they walked into the living room the whole room went quiet. A song had just ended and everyone turned to look at them before the whispering started and a new song began. Mr. Lucas quickly walked up to them and before he knew it they were being introduced to the entire neighborhood. As he passed them, he could see women fixing up their daughter's appearance, messing with their hair. Some were even pulling the fronts of their dresses down. Mostly he could hear them talking about how rich the Bingley's were, how elegantly they were dressed and looked. He even heard his name. 'Darcy had more money than them, try to dance with him.' His mood was getting worse by the minute and they hadn't even been here long. He was the only one not smiling, he could tell from Caroline's smug face she was happy she out dressed them all.
They were being led to a girl and a woman, his daughter Charlotte and his wife. As they got closer to them, a woman appeared out of nowhere with two girls next to them. He hardly acknowledged them as they were introduced. By now he was beyond caring; he wasn't going to become friends with these people anyways.
The mothers began speaking, Charlotte and Louisiana left and Caroline tagged along with them. Charlie was asking one of the girls to dance already, the prettier of the two and left him alone with Elizabeth. She began speaking to him, even tried getting him to dance but he knew she'd eventually leave if he didn't pay her any attention. He didn't want to get her hopes up.
Making his way to a dark corner, he stood there alone watching everyone but thinking about Georgie. Half an hour passed and no one had bothered him so far. In hindsight he wished he would have come in his own car but he was living with them. His mistake was making his way to the refreshment table where Charlie spotted him. He couldn't understand why Charlie wanted him to dance, he didn't need a wingman. His pestering was only adding to his mood and said the first thing he thought that would get him off his back. Charlie looked shocked but didn't bother to stay with him, he went looking for Jane.
He saw Elizabeth pass by him with a huge smile on her face as she made her way to Charlotte. He saw her whisper something in her ear before they both turned to look at him and laugh their heads off. It was then he got a good look at her. She wasn't as beautiful as Jane but she was a natural beauty, she didn't even have much makeup on. He regretted what he said as thought of her hearing him crept into her head, she was only a few feet away from him at the time. But she wouldn't be laughing if that were true. The more he looked at her, the more beautiful she became, she had the most beautiful laugh and her eyes.
It didn't take long for Caroline to find him, as per usual she snaked her arm around him and kept trying to touch him, but he wasn't having it today. She kept dropping hints about dancing but he still wouldn't give in so she began criticizing everyone around them. He remained quieter than usual and she eventually got frustrated and left. He just couldn't stop looking at Elizabeth, he was intrigued by her but he didn't know why.
When she finished dancing, he saw her make her way towards Jane and Charlie who were with Mrs. Bennet and he followed her. Getting closer, he heard Mrs. Bennet call Charlotte 'rather plain,' as Elizabeth tried to hush her up. By the time he got there, she was boasting about how beautiful Jane was, making both girls blush. Mrs. Bennet just kept going on and on and he wondered if her daughters were anything like her.
He made his way back to his corner and kept observing. Charlie spent the rest of the night by Jane's side, the mothers drank and got loud, forgetting the fact that there were kids here. He saw two girls around Georgie's age hanging out with older guys and flirting with them. They even had the most annoying laugh. By the time he arrived home he was mentally exhausted. As he settled in, he couldn't stop thinking about Elizabeth's sparkling brown eyes.
*South Park Goth Kids
