A/N: This is the rewrite of We Don't Talk Anymore, some things have remained the same, others have been changed so you might recognise some of the same writing as before. This is still a short story, most likely to be completed within ten chapters but less than fifteen if I go over ten. It's a modern-day setting, sometimes characters might seem OOC and some things have been changed from canon, EG: Charles is an only child and Caroline is not a Bingley.
Ages are as follows: Charles and Will are twenty-four. Jane, Richard and Anne are twenty-three. Elizabeth and Charlotte are twenty-two.
Disclaimer: The usual applies, sadly I'm not Jane Austen.
Rating is M as this story will be a little emotional and covers an experience that I struggled with a few times. So usual warnings apply: don't read if you can't deal with difficult experiences, don't read if you don't like M rated stories.
We Don't Talk Anymore
Chapter One
It was seven o'clock on a crisp Friday evening in late September in the city of Portsmouth. At this time of year, the city was welcoming back the large number of rowdy students for another academic year at the university. This week was famously known as 'fresher's week', which saw a large percentage of the students queueing outside the various nightclubs down Guildhall Walk, wanting to take advantage of one-pound drinks and free entry into all the clubs, the photo booth and props at The Fuzzy Duck and the small mechanical bull that was used for student nights at Yates'. While most students were taking advantage of a cheap night out, a navy-blue taxi drove around the corner away from the clubs and stopped outside a pub. The brunette woman sat in the back of the taxi brushed a loose strand of her wavy hair behind her ear and handed over the only five-pound note in her purse to the driver, telling him to keep the change as she stepped out of the car.
Elizabeth Bennet looked up at the bright red sign above the door of the pub, named The Fleet, and bit her lip nervously. She contemplated what was awaiting her inside, knowing that if she didn't step inside she would get an earful of nagging from her sister. She had promised she would come, knowing it had been six months since her last 'Fleet Friday' and the last time she had properly got together with all her friends. Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward into the pub, the door closing squeakily behind her.
Her bright green eyes scanned the crowded room, the sound of loud conversations filling her ears until she saw the person who had been texting her on and off throughout the day, nagging her to come once her paperwork had been filled out, waiting for her at the bar. She walked through the various crowded tables, weaving in and out until she reached the bar and tapped the woman on the shoulder. The blonde woman turned, smiling brightly at her.
"I was wondering when you were going to get here," the woman greeted, her eyes scanning her up and down, "Still wearing your work attire?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and let out a light laugh, hugging the woman briefly before the two turned back to the bar.
"I didn't have time to change if you wanted me here at seven." Elizabeth stated.
"You could have left at five like everyone else at the office."
"I had some paperwork to finish up."
"At this time on a Friday evening?" the blonde questioned.
"Jane, don't start this again." Elizabeth said quietly.
"It's a valid argument Lizzy. I'm your sister and I'm allowed to be concerned about you." The blonde pointed out.
The bartender came up to the two of them and asked for their drinks order. Elizabeth ordered her usual glass of house red and topped up her sister's rum and coke and waited as the bartender walked away to prepare their drinks. She turned to face her older sister, letting out a light sigh. What was supposed to be a peace offering by turning up for a catch-up with her sister and friends on a Friday night was now starting to make her feel like she should have made up an excuse and returned to the two-bedroom flat she rented in Gunwharf Quays. The last thing she wanted was to be lectured about her lack of social life and commitment to her work.
"It's been a busy week Jane, that's all." Elizabeth tried to assure her sister, hoping that Jane would take the line that was becoming more like a motto.
Jane raised an eyebrow at her, brushing a blonde curl behind her ear.
"It's always a busy week for you, Lizzy. You haven't been home for a Sunday roast with me, dad or Lydia for about a month now." Jane muttered.
"Jane, work is great for me right now. I thought you'd be happy for me. I've worked there for fifteen months and I've already been promoted twice. I started out as an assistant and now I'm working on the same floor as Charles. Business is great, I love my job. I'm fine." Elizabeth insisted.
"You're not 'fine' Lizzy. You work too hard and never relax. You haven't done girl's night, shopping trips, dinner out, cinema in weeks. That's the problem. You make plans and then bail because you're too tired or you're stuck at the office. For once it would be nice if I didn't have to nag you to come to Fleet Fridays." Jane argued.
"What do you think tonight is for?" Elizabeth asked.
"To catch-up with the group about things other than work. Charles has already filled us in on what's going on at Longbourn & Co." Jane replied.
"I thought he might've done." Elizabeth sighed.
The bartender placed their drinks on the bar with the two sisters thanking him as the two of them headed over to one of the booths in the far-left corner of the pub that was filled with a group of people that Elizabeth had been friends with since childhood. A woman sat on the end got up from her seat and hugged Elizabeth tightly, her short brown hair tied up into a messy bun and her blue eyes lit up excitedly in greeting.
"Long day at the office?" Charlotte asked teasingly.
Elizabeth nodded.
"Something like that. But I'm here now." She replied.
"You should've left at five like I did Lizzy." Charles smiled, standing up with his empty glass to head up and order another drink.
She watched as her red-headed friend gave Jane a kiss on the cheek before hugging her briefly. Despite working closely with Charles at Longbourn & Co., a property development company, she rarely got the chance to speak with him during office hours and she pulled a lot of overtime, offering to finish everyone else's deadlines when work needed to be done.
"Maybe next time." Elizabeth replied with a smile.
Charles left the group and walked up to the bar to order himself another drink when Elizabeth gave the others in their friendship group a quick hug before sitting in the empty space next to Charlotte. The people who sat around her had been her friends since she had been old enough to walk, having been neighbours and grown up on the same road since they were children. Charlotte Lucas, Charles Bingley, Anne de Bourgh, Richard Fitzwilliam and the Bennet girls had been through every stage of life together up until now. They had played together as children, went to the same primary and secondary schools, had attended university together (well, at different year stages, there were age gaps between them all). It was a tradition really. Their parents and grandparents had all grown up together, passing down the tradition of friendship and trust to each generation that had been born. First had come Charles and William Darcy, then Anne, Jane and Richard had been born a year later and then Elizabeth and Charlotte a year after.
Being back in The Fleet made Elizabeth silently reflect in fondness at the memories she and her friends had created in the pub. During the week she would do separate things with each of her friends, dinners with Anne and Jane, girl nights in and shopping trips and lunches with Charlotte, lunch with Charles and Richard, dinners and drinks with Will, but Fleet Fridays were when they all came together as a group. It didn't matter if she or her friends had met any of the others separately during the week, they still came together on Friday nights and made memories. Their weekly rituals of meeting at the same table at the same time every Friday evening had been happening since she had turned eighteen. They would vent about their work weeks when Charles and Will had graduated from university first and gotten their jobs. The Fleet had been where they would have quiz nights, it was their first stop on a night out clubbing down Guildhall Walk, it had been the place of so many laughs and so many talks. It had been the first place they had gone to when Charles had proposed to Jane eighteen months ago even though they were still nowhere on settling on a date for their wedding.
"So, Anne was just about to fill us in on her latest date." Charlotte informed her.
Nothing new there. Anne was always informing them on her latest date. She was just as hopeless as Elizabeth was in the love department.
"A date eh?" Elizabeth teased lightly.
Anne closed her eyes beneath her small circular framed glasses as her cheeks turned the lightest tint of pink; moving her hands to cover her glasses as she nodded her head.
"It didn't go well." Richard added with a chuckle.
"No?" Elizabeth asked.
"Nope." Anne sighed.
"What happened?" Jane questioned.
Anne took a large swig from her glass of wine as she opened her eyes.
"He was perfectly nice. Very charming and cheeky, he has this amazing smile but…" Anne trailed off.
"But…" Charlotte pressed.
"He's a little narcissistic." Anne groaned.
"How?" Elizabeth requested, drinking some of her own wine.
Anne cleared her throat.
"I can take looking in a mirror and I can even take using the forward-facing camera on your phone if you've got something on your face. But he kept using a spoon to check if he had something stuck in his teeth and bragging about the nose work that he had done and how much better looking he is now. He also kept twirling a longish bit of hair around his little finger and telling me how much he loves his hair!" Anne complained.
"Oh Annie!" Charlotte laughed sympathetically.
"I'm awful, aren't I? I always moan that I want to meet someone but there's always something that puts me off on the first date!" Anne moaned.
"You aren't awful," Jane assured her, "You just haven't felt that connection with anyone yet."
"Like Jane said. You will find someone eventually, it just takes some people a while. Besides, if you don't meet someone I'd like to be the one to buy you your first cat." Richard teased.
"Aww that's so nice of you Rich, thank you, dear cousin." Anne replied sarcastically, picking up her glass once more and pressing the rim to her lips.
"Right I'm going out for a smoke, anyone coming?" Richard asked.
Charles re-joined the group, placing his glass on the table as he gave Jane another light kiss before he accompanied Richard and Charlotte outside for a cigarette; leaving Jane, Elizabeth and Anne at their table.
"Ignore Richard, you know what he's like." Elizabeth assured Anne, trying to cheer her friend up.
"I'm going to end up alone surrounded by cats, aren't I?" Anne asked hysterically.
"No, you won't." Jane promised.
"Easy for you to say! You and Charles have been together since he left university three years ago!" Anne cried out.
"But to be fair Annie, they've been crazy about each other since sixth form." Elizabeth argued lightly.
"That's true." Anne mused.
As she listened to her sister and friend continue to chat about their lives, with Anne chatting about her potential promotion as the deputy head of care at the care home she worked at as an adult nurse, Jane discussed how her new bunch of early years children were settling into their first year of formal education, her thoughts drifted to her own non-existent love life. While it was nothing new that Anne had yet to form a relationship past a few dates, she couldn't exactly comment on it. Her longest relationship had been with one of her housemates when she was in her first year at university, but it had only lasted for six months and her last relationship had been a mistake. After she had landed a job as an assistant at Longbourn & Co. she had decided to date her colleague, George Wickham and well…that relationship had ended badly and even to this day, George was still a bad smell that lingered around the office.
And the most recent man she had slept with a year ago…
But before she could dwell more on the subject, they were joined back at the table by Charlotte.
"Where's Charles and Rich?" Anne asked.
"Outside. We have an extra body joining us tonight." Charlotte squealed, bouncing up and down on the spot with excitement.
"Who?" Elizabeth asked, frowning in confusion.
Charlotte nodded her head in the direction behind her, causing Elizabeth, Jane and Anne to look behind her and instantly she felt surprised at who was walking back to their table with Charles and Richard. She felt her heart beat nervously against her chest as the man walking towards them kept his eyes fixed on her, his brown eyes so warm and welcoming as they had always been. He was just as tall as she remembered, his curly brown hair cut a little shorter than she remembered from their last meeting.
Anne leapt from her seat, scrambling around the table until she flung her arms around her cousin's neck and hugged him tightly. Next was Jane to greet their long-missed friend. But Elizabeth remained sat in her seat. Feeling completely stunned.
"Will, it's so good to have you back." Jane said warmly as she released him.
And while William Darcy smiled at her sister, his eyes remained locked on to hers. She could see his smile, how his eyes lit up when he looked at her. The same way he had looked at her for as long as she could remember. She could remember every single detail about him, it wasn't exactly like she could forget one of her best friends in a hurry, as hard as she tried to forget about him. The sound of his musical laugh, that smirk he got whenever he found something amusing that she found annoying, the way he teased her back without hesitation, the long conversations that they used to have that would last hours. The way they would call or text every day. The way he hugged her tightly whenever she'd had a bad day or was feeling vulnerable.
The way his lips moved over hers. The way his naked body felt pressed up against hers. The way he kissed her so passionately but so lovingly that expressed his pent-up desire for her. The way they'd made love together…
No Lizzy. Don't go back there. It won't do you any good. Keep that door in your mind firmly closed and a lid on your emotions.
They'd only had that one night together. One amazing, loving night together that had screwed things up between them. He was a journalist, working for the local paper when thirteen months ago he'd been offered a job with the BBC to film a documentary about life in Thailand. It would require nine months of traveling and filming, but he promised to stay in touch. Until they'd had one night together. They had crossed the line of friendship and when he had offered to stay with her, she'd insisted he go because it was an amazing opportunity.
"Opportunities like this don't come around this often."
And she'd stood by that. Will had told her he would be back and forth between London and Thailand and he'd given her the number for the London office if she needed to get in touch with him if she couldn't reach his mobile phone. But he'd promised that they would talk about a possible 'more' between them when the time was right. Well, emails, calls and texts happened whenever he was able to do so but then she'd left him a message at the London office after not being able to get through to him. Will had never called her back and when she needed him the most he hadn't been there…
Well after she threw herself into work to distract her from the pain and confusion she felt. She'd tell herself that they weren't compatible, it was a mistake to fall into bed with him and now she had to face the consequences. She'd tell herself that he regretted their night together, just something she told herself to get through the difficult days. The truth was she'd thought about Will every day for the past year because she couldn't get him out of her head. But every day that passed she slowly accepted a little more that Will was experiencing this amazing, different world and he was meeting new, wonderful people and he might not have room for her anymore.
And now here she was, sat in their regular pub with her friends watching as he took a seat between her and Anne as if nothing had happened and they were on good terms. She tried not to react as she felt his leg rest next to her right one, his hand reaching for hers and giving it a light squeeze underneath the table.
"It's good to be back." Will breathed with a sigh of relief.
"You finished up with the filming?" Charlotte asked.
"It took a little longer than we had anticipated. Things kept going wrong and equipment failed to work so we had to get replacements and we needed approval before replacing the equipment. But I got to explore Thailand for the first time, so I suppose that was a plus, even if WIFI and signal is a bit crap out there. So, my apologies that emails, calls, text messages have been limited and my presence on social media has been non-existent." Will replied.
"Your visits home were short." Richard commented.
"I only had a certain amount of time that I could travel to Portsmouth, I saw you three months ago though." Will said defensively.
"And your new lady love?" Anne asked, nudging him in the ribs.
Will sighed and rolled his eyes.
"She was never my girlfriend. I shot her down." Will explained.
"So why was she adding me on Facebook and introducing herself to me as your girlfriend?" Anne quizzed.
"Because she's a nutcase!" Will stated.
Elizabeth said nothing but shifted uncomfortably in her seat, draining the rest of her wine in a large gulp. It was one thing thinking she could slide back in to Fleet Fridays when she had thought it would just be the others. But sitting with Will…she needed some space.
"So, are you back for good now?" Richard asked.
"Yeah. I needed to get back to normal life. Thailand was amazing, I met some wonderful people and I learned a lot. But it wasn't home." Will replied.
"Well it's good to have you back." Charlotte smiled.
"I need another drink." Elizabeth blurted out quickly, rising from her seat and moving her hand out of Will's grasp.
She scooted past Charlotte and walked up to the bar with her empty glass, waiting for the bartender to take her order. Her heart was hammering fast in her chest, she felt like the air was getting thinner and thinner as she tried to take deep breaths. Seconds behind her was Will, standing next to her at the bar; their elbows touching as he folded his arms on the bar next to hers.
Just breathe Lizzy.
"It's good to see you, Lizzy." Will said quietly.
"You too." Elizabeth replied, letting out a panicky breath.
She saw out of the corner of her eye that he was frowning slightly, as if confused as to why she was so shocked to see him. Well it was a shock. She hadn't even thought he would turn up tonight, she hadn't even known he was back in the country, she had just assumed he had fallen in love with travelling and being in a different country, learning all these new things and meeting new people. She got it. Experiencing something that Will had experienced could change your whole perspective, making it easy to move on from your old life when you were doing and experiencing something different. And being around him again was difficult for her to handle.
What she had been through…going through that by herself had been confusing, isolating and painful. She had really needed him, and she felt selfish for resenting him not being there with her through it, she felt angry with him for being in a different country and then she felt guilty for feeling angry because she had told him to go in the first place.
"Lizzy…are you alright? You're acting a little weird." Will pointed out.
Looking at him, she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. He looked worried and confused but she couldn't do this here. Not now with the bar being crowded and their friends sat a little way away from them.
"I'm fine." She said, her voice a little high pitched and squeaky.
"You're not fine-"
"I really wish people would stop telling me how I feel. I said I'm fine. I'm fine. So, stop telling me that I'm not fine!" Elizabeth snapped.
The bartender came up to take her drink order and busied himself with preparing it as she pulled the money out to pay for it. Will let out an amused chuckle.
"What?" she hissed.
"You're still defensively stubborn." Will smirked.
God, he was frustrating. Just like he always was when he found something amusing that she found irritating.
She felt her phone vibrate in her bag, pulling it out she unlocked her phone and read the spam text message from her network provider offering her a discount for a pizza takeaway in Fratton. Pressing the lock button, she looked back up at him.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"My landlord. There's a problem with the plumbing so I've got to get back. Apparently, he's lost his key and needs me to let him and the handyman in and discuss the problem." Elizabeth lied.
She watched as his face fell and nodded his head stiffly.
"We'll have to catch-up soon, properly." Will said softly.
Giving him a small smile, she nodded her head quickly.
"Sure. We'll do that. Soon."
Not giving him the chance to reply, she hurried away from the bar and went back to the table.
"What's up Lizzy?" Charlotte asked.
"Sorry guys, my landlord just texted me. He needs me back at the flat because of a plumbing issue and he's lost his key, so I have to go let him in and discuss the issue with him." She apologised.
Elizabeth felt a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach as she watched her friend's faces fall into that familiar look of disappointment. She hated this. She hated lying to them, but she needed to get out of here and process the fact that Will was back home now. But she didn't know how to be around them and him anymore. What she did know was that because she had crossed that line with Will, her friendships weren't what they used to be. She and Will had agreed not to tell anyone else about their night together until they had spoken thoroughly about everything, she hadn't even told Jane. If she told Jane she knew her sister would gush positively about her and Will and push for double dates and discussions about the future when they weren't ready to think about those things.
"Okay. Sorry you have to go." Anne said quietly, pulling a sad face.
"I know, me too." Elizabeth sighed.
"We'll catch up soon." Charlotte smiled.
Nodding her head, she hugged her friends goodbye before walking out of the pub and pulled out her phone and pressed the Uber app to request a taxi. Just as her request had been confirmed, she heard her sister call her name.
"Lizzy, you can't keep running off like this." Jane stated.
Turning to face her sister, she tried to act like nothing was wrong. That she wasn't anxious and all the pain she had bottled for the past ten months wasn't threatening to come unscrewed and overwhelm her.
"Jane, can you not argue with me right now? I have to get home." Elizabeth said quickly.
"You promised you would stay tonight!" Jane yelled.
"And I'm sorry for the inconvenience Jane. But I have to go-"
"You know what, I'm getting tired of all the excuses. Things never used to be this bad but whatever is going on with you…you aren't dealing with it the right way. What happened Lizzy? Why are you shutting us out? Why have you stopped having a social life?" her sister questioned loudly.
Not wanting to get into anything with her sister here, she shook her head.
"Jane, now is not the right time or the place for you to yell at me." Elizabeth said quietly.
"When is the right time Lizzy?"
She shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't come out and tell her sister everything that had happened. Not now. She needed some space and time to get her head straight.
"I don't know Jane. I wish I could tell you when the right time is here…" Elizabeth said desperately.
But before her sister could yell at her even more on the subject, her Uber car pulled up outside the pub and waited for her to get in.
"I've got to go, Jane. I'll talk to you soon." Elizabeth promised quietly.
But Jane said nothing in reply, she just nodded her head and went back into the pub whilst Elizabeth sighed heavily, that pang of guilt that had formed in the pit of her stomach had somehow now developed a fist and was tugging at her intestines. She felt horrible leaving things with her sister like this. Looking at her Uber driver, she opened the door to the car and climbed in; heading back to the quiet atmosphere of her flat and hopefully the peace she needed to start sorting her head out.