Author's Note: Hiya, guys. A thousand apologies for being MiA since so long, life's been crazy busy. And it is my last year of university so it will continue to be so for some time now. Basically, let's just forget about any updates on Hello, Princess!, okay? I'm probably going to pull it all down and rewrite it or something if I get a chance; I'm not really sure, tbh. I feel like I'm better off doing one-shots and maybe short follow-ups of those instead of taking up the responsibility of writing a fully fledged chaptered fic which I might not be able to finish. Anyway, this is something I typed up on my cell; it's sort of inspired by real life events? Ha. It isn't properly edited so let me know if any mistakes pop out. I also honestly don't know why the title is what it is, it just is. But. Read it. And hopefully like and review it?
In which our favourite couple have their first argument
'No. Shush. Belle, it's okay, it's just the stupid fireworks,' she tried to calm down her six months old kitten who was running around the apartment, her fur on end, like she usually did when she was scared.
Elizabeth, her carer - for "owner" was such an insulting word towards herself and her darling baby, she did not own any living creature let alone this adorable furry being who made her life brighter - picked her up and cradled her in her arms. She brought her too close to her face which turned out to be a mistake. Another bunch of fireworks being set off, more noise and now Belle was waving her paws about and one sharp nail came in contact with her face. Elizabeth winced in pain and dropped the kitten who landed perfectly on her four feet and walked away. She wondered over her clumsy actions and a cat's ability to ... but quickly shook her head. She could feel her right cheek growing sticky; the cut must have been quite deep if so much blood was pouring out.
She did trim Belle's nails twice a month. It really wasn't her fault if she had ended up with a kitten with extra sharp nails that seemed to grow overnight. Maybe she should start making it a weekly habit. But right now she needed to clean up and see just how bad it was.
The brunette walked to her bathroom and peered into the mirror above the sink. There was a streak of blood, very red blood, on her cheek. She hurriedly grabbed a couple tissue papers and mopped it up to see the injury better. She sighed. It looked pretty deep. And it was still bleeding even though the flow had slowed down. She splashed water on her face, trying to properly clean up. Then she took a piece of tissue, folded it up in squares and held it next to her cut, applying pressure to stop the flow while she looked into the medicine cabinet for whatever items she could use. She emerged a couple minutes later with a bottle of disinfectant, cotton swabs and a pack of Band-Aids. She knew she should probably head to a doctor and get it checked just in case but she really could not be bothered. This wasn't the first scratch and it wouldn't be the last. She couldn't rush to a clinic every time Belle decided to act up or there was an incident. She was not badly broke but she couldn't afford these extra expenses either. She was, after all, just a third year university student with a part-time job that didn't pay her much.
Elizabeth threw the now bloodied tissue in the waste basket and set about to fixing herself up. A dab of disinfectant which stung a lot more than she was expecting it to, covering the cut with a Band-Aid, and she was done. She looked at the mirror in front of her once again. It did look okay, nothing serious. Shrugging, she put the things back in their respective places, washed her hands and exited the bathroom to see where her naughty kitty had wandered off to.
She didn't have to look for her - Belle really could find the best hiding spots when she was in the mood. The kitten walked to her and started rubbing herself around her carer's legs, aware that what she had done a few moments ago had hurt her. Elizabeth bent down to pick the bundle up but was careful not to bring her too close to her face. The fireworks had stopped and Belle was no longer antsy now but she knew she should let this wound heal before she let herself be inflicted with another. She was also aware that this realisation would be short-lived; she'd be back to nuzzling the kitten in just a little while. But for now she really needed to get ready to visit her parents and leave on time before her paranoid mother started leaving her voice-mails.
...
'DUDE. What happened to you?'
Elizabeth inaudibly sighed. Smiling outwardly, she explained, 'Side effects of having a furry, four legged creature with claws for a companion'.
She hoped he wouldn't ask any more questions. She didn't remember how many times she had already relayed the story to all her friends, acquaintances and even random passerby's. It had all been okay when she had been using the Band-Aid. Everyone had ignored the injury. But now that she had removed it, she was being stopped by everyone and drilled about its existence.
'But -,' Adrian continued but she interrupted him before he could ask about the whys and hows.
'Hey, sorry, gotta run. I have to get a book from the library before someone else gets their hands on it.' Laughing, she hurriedly walked away, keeping her head low, wondering if she had an extra Band-Aid in her bag. If she put it back on, surely it would stop all the queries. However, it was not to be as she saw her bleached hair friend approaching. This time she audibly sighed because she knew it would not be taken in an offensive manner.
'Hi, Sarah.'
'Oh my GOD, ELIZABETH! What did you do to yourself?' the blonde questioned, her eyes running over her friend's face which had quite a visible and deep scab on the right cheek. A little bit of worry, a bit of amusement in her eyes.
Always dramatic, that one, and Elizabeth needed a distraction so she carried on with the show.
'She clawed me! She clawed me.' Elizabeth fake sobbed. 'I love her so much and she got into one of her fits and….' Inwardly, the woman smiled. This was fun. She should apply for the drama society, put her talent to work. She looked at Sarah who was trying to hide a chuckle. Aware that her friend knew she was just playacting, she continued, 'I love her so much. So much'. She rubbed her eyes. 'It's not her fault. She was just tensed. She only does this when she's tensed.'
Sarah played along and moved forward to hug her friend. She rubbed her back, all the while trying to hold in her laughter but Elizabeth could feel her shake. The hug was broken soon, however, as a guy with jet black hair, wearing a brown leather jacket brushed by them. More like charged straight into the two, nudged them apart, and then walked away without apologising.
'Jerk,' Elizabeth muttered.
'Yeah,' Sarah agreed. 'How dare he ruin such a poignant moment? Look at you! Victim of domestic abuse and he doesn't care at all.'
The brunette laughed again. 'Sorry, it's just everyone's been asking me about it and I'm tired of telling people what happened. It was Belle.'
'I figured. Give me some credit; I've known you since quite a while now.'
'Yeah, well, doesn't seem like it. We are meeting after how long exactly? Come with me, I do have to go to the library. You don't have a class right now, do you?'
'Nopeee,' she replied, popping the p. 'Let's go.' And, hand in hand, they went.
...
'YOU! What is wrong with you?' It was the same rude man who had bumped into her earlier.
Elizabeth wondered if she should bother replying. Maybe he wasn't talking to her, he didn't even know her. Well, she knew she didn't know him even though she was sure she had seen him around the campus before today's events. His faced looked familiar. A face which was turned towards her, jaw clasping and unclasping - something she normally found attractive but not when it was an insane man screaming at her for no reason at all. A vein in his forehead had started to throb now.
She walked forward; hand raised and did something which surprised them both. She touched the vein, and the man stiffened and immediately stepped back. But she continued to stare at it, fascinated, even though the man was now more confused than angry and the vein was nowhere in sight.
Recovering her senses, she removed her hand and folded her arms. The man seemed to relax a little. And then he opened his mouth again. 'Are you mad?'
She had been looking at his eyes and black, floppy hair and sculpted jaw but the moment he opened his mouth, the fascination vanished into thin air. He may be pretty on the outside - and, yes, she was fair-minded enough to admit he was pretty... well, gorgeous really - but so far all he had managed to do was show a distinct lack of manners. And piss her off.
'Excuse me?'
'Oh, she's slow, too,' he muttered under his breath but she caught the comment and glared at him.
She turned to leave. She didn't know him, all he had done was insult her and she really did not owe him any answers. So she walked away. Well, she tried to. She would have succeeded if he hadn't held her arm in a firm grasp. Strangely enough, his touch was soft. She wouldn't have to worry for lasting bruising. She shrugged, it would be better to get this done and over with.
'Yes?' This said in a suffering voice.
The man was silent but his spoke volumes. If looks could kill…. This time it was he who lifted his hand and gently brushed it under the scab, careful not to touch it. And for that she was grateful. It didn't pain anymore but still hurt slightly if she laughed too hard or if her hand came in contact with her injury. But why was a stranger touching her? And she was about to ask him just that before she remembered that she had done the same thing to him. She did, however, move back, displacing his hand from her person.
'Why?' he asked and she wondered what he was on because she didn't really do drugs but for Those Times this one could come very useful as long as there someone sober to look after her. The man was completely out of it!
'I'm sorry?'
'Do you like being abused? Aren't you an independent, educated woman? Do you not have a job? I could give you a job. Is it money you want? I'll give you money. Why are you with her when she treats you in such a way? Are you so utterly incapable of being on your own that you refuse to leave her even if she treats you like shit?' He was on a rant now. Going on and on about things which made no sense, amusing her and - at the same time - making her angry as well. But he carried on and she continued to listen, finally deciding that no, she would not like to meet up with his drug provider. She didn't want to make such a fool of herself even with her friends.
'Are you done?' was all she said because, really, he had asked him a bazillion questions so, of course, she had to respond back with a question of her own.
'Yes.' He was fuming. Actually fuming. She could see him clenching his hands into fists, unclenching them and back again. Clearly, he needed someone who would look after him.
'It was Belle,' she said except, of course, it didn't make any sense to him.
'I know,' he said with the voice of a man drained out of all patience. 'Are you bisexual? Please tell me you aren't a lesbian. Even though...' and he stopped before finishing his thought.
'Belle is my cat,' she bit out, now thoroughly annoyed. 'And I'm not in the habit of discussing my sexual preferences or my manner of living with complete strangers considering it's none of their business.' She smiled grimly.
'Oh,' was all he said, right hand sifting through the full head of black hair.
'I don't know if you screamed at me because you're high or just because you're ... you but -.'
'I'm not high,' he managed to get out.
'Well, can't blame it on the drugs then. I'd say it was nice to meet you but it really wasn't. Let's just agree to walk in the opposite direction if we ever come across each other in the campus. Good bye.'
'But...,' he tried but couldn't seem to form a full sentence.
She waited for a couple minutes for an explanation but when she saw the man just continued to give her blank stares, she turned around and walked away. All she wanted to do was go home and cuddle with the devil who had unknowingly been the reason behind the drama. Not that she would ever blame her.
As Elizabeth Bennet strode forward, William Darcy remained rooted at the spot trying to figure out how he had so perfectly managed to muddle up his first actual meeting with the girl whom he had liked from a distance since oh-so-long.
He sighed. Clearly, he needed help. He thought of his sister and all the teasing that he would have to suffer through if he told her about the incident. But Gia was probably the only one who could give him advice on how to fix the situation. And he really needed all the help he could get. With that thought in mind, he started walking towards his car, a smile on his face as he remembered how it had felt when she had willingly touched him. He shook his head, he was turning into a sap, but the action didn't have any effect on the smile. It only grew brighter and with hope in his heart, he climbed into his car and drove away.
Author's Notes: Dun, dun, dun. First thing I'm publishing after almost two years. Oops. Here's to writing more in the future. And to getting more reviews. ;) Also, I know I kinda, sorta suck at getting back to you guys but I have a half written follow-up of Of Movie Nights and Pillow Fights lying around somewhere since many of you had asked for it. I'm going to try and get to that now. But if anyone has any ideas for a sequel to this one-shot, feel free to drop a review and/or a PM and if inspiration strikes… who knows?