Darcy's love? Chapter 1: Picnic in the Park, a pride and prejudice fanfic

Pride and Prejudice

A/N: I know the idea of gender switching isn't very original, but I just wanted to have some fun. Hopefully it'll turn out ok…

A/N: updated for some grammar:)

Disclaimer: don't really know if it's needed or not since this story is public domain, but just in case... I don't own anything.

Chapter 1

"Hey, Lewis! How's it going?" asked a tall young man with bright blonde hair, deep blue eyes and a light tan. He was wearing blue jeans and a polo shirt as he strode over to where the bookstore's manager stood correcting an employee.

"Hello, James! I'm just helping a new employee figure out what's what," Lewis smiled as he tugged his older brother into a hug. Lewis was almost as tall as James; he always joked about it, and told people he was 5'12" as opposed to 6'0". He had short, messy brown hair with dark brown eyes. He wasn't your picture perfect model, like James, but he was extremely handsome as well, and he had his pick of the girls. "I haven't seen you for a couple of days, nursing keeping you busy?"

"Yeah, but that's not all," James was grinning in a mischievous way that Lewis wasn't quite sure he was comfortable with. "I have been actively involved in a sort of party that you're invited to, you wanna come?"

"Is it a beer pong party or a black tie affair?" Lewis was extremely hesitant about going to parties. He had had his fun in high school and some in college, but parties weren't really his thing. He didn't mind socializing with people, he actually quite enjoyed it, but people didn't necessarily go to parties to socialize as much as they did to get drunk and/or have sex. Neither of which was high on his list of priorities. He didn't really care for black tie affairs either, the people were often too stuffy and the clothes made it hard to relax and have any fun.

"Neither, this is a family style rib-off hosted by my hospital, in one of the picnic areas in Central Park. Our whole family is invited really, I just thought I'd give the news to you first. It's a great way to have fun with old friends, like the Lucases, meet some random new acquaintances, eat lots of good ribs from all of the restaurants competing…" James looked eager and excited about going. Lewis had perked up when he heard about the Lucases going. He was good friends with their son, Chris.

"Alright, count me in. It sounds like it might not be too bad." Lewis was starting to look forward to it almost as much as James was.

"Remind me precisely why I am going to this rib-off again?" Whitney Darcy spat the word with utter disdain.

"Because you spend far too much time working and not enough time just playing and having fun," replied her good friend, Chelsea Bingley. Chelsea was a career woman as well, but she didn't spend every waking hour obsessing over her job. And to be fair, Whitney didn't either, but she did spend an inordinate amount of time working. Chelsea was getting concerned for her friend because she hadn't seen her over the past few weeks after they had moved here from Chicago. Chelsea had heard about the charity event through her work, she was an administrator in health care, and she had decided that Whitney was way past due for some fun with friends. "Besides this is a charity event, the money donated will go to the local children's hospital. It'll be good for the community if you go."

"I don't see why I can't just write them a check and be done with it. You know how much I detest social affairs. My time could be much better spent at the office," Whitney was a young and rising power player in the major publishing corporation of Darcy and DeBourgh. Her mother and her aunt had cofounded the company and risen to fame and fortune within two decades of its inception. It was now even more renowned than Random House and Simon and Schuster. She dedicated her life to her work and she loved what she did. She would often get stressed out, but in the end she still enjoyed coming up with ideas, meeting with clientele, and the challenge that it was to climb the ranks while being a woman.

"Because you want to spend more time with me and deepen our friendship while relaxing and perhaps meeting some new friends as well. You also want to do this because if you don't, I'll give your cell phone number to my brother, Linus, who's been hounding you for a date these past ten years," Chelsea smiled when she saw the look of disgust that passed on Whitney's face when her brother was mentioned. Linus was extremely handsome, rich, and intelligent, but he was also an extremely arrogant and annoying prick who Whitney just couldn't stand. He was also going to meet them at the party, but Chelsea couldn't quite bring herself to tell Whitney that just yet…

"Ahhh, that's the reason I came, blackmail, and from my best friend too," Darcy replied with slight venom in her voice.

"Bah! Cheer up and stop your whining, who knows? Maybe you'll even, dare I say, enjoy it?" Chelsea teased as she tried to get her good friend to lighten up a bit.

"Alright, alright, but if you try to set me up with some random guy again, I'm never doing this again. Even if it means putting up with your brother for the rest of my life, got it?" Whitney was smiling now though and Chelsea knew that she just teasing her back… well, mostly anyway. "I don't exactly see why you're so obsessed with me finding a guy anyway. It's not like they're all that great."

"So what, you want to be alone all your life?" Chelsea asked pointedly.

"I'm not alone now. I have you, my close friends, occasionally my coworkers, and my family whom I love dearly. I have no need for a man to make me happy. Besides, a man would merely get in the way." Darcy looked nonchalant and bored as she answered her friend. They had had this conversation a few times before.

"Not necessarily, what if he's an extremely qualified business man who's just as smart and as good as you are?" Chelsea knew her friend's standpoint well, but she could never stop herself from at least trying to get Whitney to be less cynical.

"That would be hard to find, but I concede your point, that man may not get in the way, but he would still require a lot of time and effort that I would much rather place on my work. Besides, I could never satisfy a man fully because I am an independent woman who refuses to rely on anyone. Men are always looking to be the dominant party in the relationship, whether or not they are dominant over your wages or over your heart, they always want you to depend on them for something. They want to believe that we women could not possibly live or be happy and whole without them. They have to find some way to rule over us after all. And if they aren't, they are most often fools with no mind of their own."

"You sound more like a bitter old crone than a vibrant young 27 year old woman. Some men most definitely want an equal relationship with their wives. They like women who will challenge them to become better and can stand up to them and speak their mind. Besides you've never even had a boyfriend, so where do you get off on preaching to me about boys?" Chelsea was amazed at how vehement her friend could be on a subject she should know very little about.

"Well pardon me Miss Fall in Love Every Week With a New Man, but my coworkers have told me enough stories of how they were cheated on by their husbands or boyfriends merely because the man wanted a woman he was more 'comfortable' with, i.e. a Stepford Wife. And yes, some men will opt for an equal relationship, but have you ever heard of any man who would accept a relationship where the woman was in a position of power, without feeling emasculated? Men need power, they thrive on it. They are far too insecure to allow the woman to have any advantage."

"I don't believe you, Darcy. Not all men are like that and you know it. I believe that you are perfectly capable of entering into a mutually beneficial relationship with someone and I believe that there is a man out there who won't put up with this nonsense and prove you wrong. I think you'll both need each other."

"Ha! If there is such a miracle man I would probably scare him off before he even got within ten feet of me. You know how atrocious my social skills are." Darcy was teasing her now and not being entirely serious. "Men need us to need them, and you know I'll never stand for such nonsense."

"Whitney, people are not meant to live alone. We are built to need each other to survive,"

"We already went over this I'm not alone, I have you." Darcy's face was so kind and sincere that Chelsea was truly touched. It was very rare for Darcy to ever show any emotion at all, and Chelsea treasured their friendship just as much as Darcy.

"What will happen when I get married? You won't be able to spend near as much time with me then." Chelsea asked this as much to make a point as out she did out of curiosity.

"I'll work, and I have other friends and family too, ya know." Darcy's voice had lost the softness and had returned to normal. Her face was, once again, an unreadable mask.

"I still believe that one day you are going to fall for a man so hard that you will be willing and capable of laying down your great pride to admit that your life would be much better off with him than without him." They arrived at the party before any more could be said on the subject. Chelsea knew that Whitney was a strong, capable, and independent woman who could very easily find happiness while remaining single. In fact, she knew that she already had, but Chelsea also knew that she had a great potential to love others and she thought it would be a total waste for her not to share it intimately with another person. She just wished that a person tough enough to break down even Darcy's barriers would show up soon. She hoped that he would show Whitney that love could equal happiness instead of the pain and frustration that she appeared to believe it to be.

"Here it is, parking for the event is on the left," James pointed it out to his father, who was driving the van full of Bennet boys and his wife to the party.

All seven of them piled out of the van and helped their mom carry the food she had gotten together to help feed the people at the event. The restaurants would be providing the main course but volunteers would be bringing fruits, salads, desserts, and whatever snacks they were willing to contribute. It was the first time the hospital had ever done anything like this, and if this year's event was a success, it would probably become an annual thing. The money would go toward children who had cancer but didn't have enough coverage to pay for it all, and it would also go towards research for cures. The restaurants had a chance to advertise and win notoriety as well.

Lyle and Kent, the two youngest, went off in a hopeful search for girls and booze as soon as they put down their load of food. They were both eighteen, but they already had a major penchant for any kind of liquor they could get their hands on. They were empty headed, but mostly harmless. Mark, the middle child, brought out a book to read and blatantly ignored everything and everyone else around him, while James and Lewis went to talk and greet their friends. Chris Lucas had arrived a few minutes earlier and as soon as he and Lewis saw each other they rapidly got together and started talking about everything important that had happened since they got together last week.

James went over to talk to his friends from work, when his friend, Dr. Bruss, introduced him to the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had long flowing red hair and bright blue eyes that lit up when she smiled. She was wearing a dark blue satin blouse that hung loosely over her delicate frame and complimented her eyes, with tight black jeans. She was about 5'9" and her pretty black high heels made her legs look even longer. "This is my good friend Miss Chelsea Bingley. I often work with her company when we file insurance claims. Miss Bingley, may I introduce my good friend and one of the best nurses at our hospital, Mr. James Bennet."

Chelsea looked at him in relative awe for a couple of seconds, taking in his thick blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Even in a t-shirt and jeans this man was a beauty. "It's a real pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bennet," she practically gushed as she shook his hand.

"The pleasure's all mine Miss Bingley," James returned, being a little more eager than necessary to shake her hand. The two of them hit it off right away and Dr. Bruss let them be. He had known his coworker for quite some time, and he had never seen him that excited to be introduced to anyone. James and Chelsea had been talking excitedly for about 15 minutes time when Chelsea looked up and saw Whitney quietly drinking the iced tea that had been served and studiously avoiding almost everyone.

"James," they were already easily on a first name basis and very comfortable with each other, "I would like to introduce you to my best friend," Chelsea walked him over to where Whitney was standing and said, "Whitney, I want you to meet this young man I just met, his name is James Bennet. He's very sweet and I think you'll like him. James, this is my best friend in the whole world, Miss Whitney Darcy."

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Bennet," Whitney tried her best to put a smile on her face that didn't look forced or pained.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Miss Darcy," James replied. His sweet disposition and trusting nature allowed him to believe that her pathetic attempt at warmth was real and his return smile was as genuine as hers was not. Whitney soon relaxed a little bit around him though, after she saw that he seemed to be a genuinely kind and thoughtful person.

Lewis was thoroughly enjoying himself while talking to Chris about his shop and what books were soon coming in, when James came by and interrupted him. "Lewis, you have to come meet Chelsea. I just know you'll love her, and she's got a nice friend who I think you'll like too. She seems a bit quiet, but once she gets to know us, Chelsea says she's really fun. Come on," James practically pulled Lewis' arm out of his socket as he led him back to the two girls. Lewis hadn't seen his brother this excited in a long time. To any other person, he may have merely looked like he was just having a good day, but telltale signs, like how he had yanked his brother's arm and how he was walking a little bit faster than normal, told Lewis that he was genuinely interested in this Chelsea girl.

As soon as Lewis saw her, he prayed that she was the friend and not the girl his brother wanted. Her long dark brown hair fell over shoulders in gentle waves, and her eyes were a beautiful rich brown shade that reminded him of dark chocolate. She was wearing a black long sleeve top, with sleeves that were fitted to her shoulders and the top half to her bust, but hung loose at her hands and her waist. It was almost long enough to be a short dress. She had on long black dress pants that were tight enough to show her form, but loose enough to leave a little to the imagination. She had a small black purse with a thin shoulder strap hanging near her elbow. Her elegant wrist was graced with a watch on a thin gold chain and a gold necklace with a black teardrop pendant hung from her neck. The red-head was pretty too, but he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the brunette beauty before him. She was a bit overdressed for the occasion, but it didn't seem like it bothered her all that much.

She had been engaged in conversation with her friend and had not noticed his very obvious staring, for which he was grateful. He was rather startled when he saw a random tall man with the same red hair color as the brunette's friend come up and try to put his arm around her. She lightly pushed him away and he could just barely hear the stern tone she reprimanded him with, which gave him hope. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when his brother introduced her as Chelsea's friend, and as a Miss Darcy. The man was apparently Bingley's brother Linus, and he could tell by watching them interact that Linus had no chance.

After the introductions were over, Chelsea said she wished to introduce James and Linus to a few other friends of hers. She winked at Lewis as she left and guided James and a disappointed Linus away. Lewis was grateful to her at first, but when about thirty seconds went by and neither had said a word to each other, he started to feel a little uncomfortable. "So… what do you do for a living?" he asked, trying desperately to kill the awkward silence.

"I work for a publishing company, and you?" she was trying hard to figure out some way to leave him while at the same time remaining relatively polite.

"I manage a bookstore. My brother will even come in and help out some-" Miss Darcy's phone immediately started to ring, and she pulled it out from her purse.

"I'm really sorry, but this is a call from work and I have to take it," though from the way she said it, he could tell she was more relieved than sorry.

Geez, he thought, what a rude bitch. He was slightly pissed off, but he thought that maybe she was just having a bad day. He might give her another chance…

As Darcy hung up her cell phone, she took a deep breath and felt herself relax. She had walked towards the outskirts of the party and had found an unoccupied bench. She just sat there and enjoyed the cool breeze lilting through the park. She always felt at peace when she was alone, it gave her time to just breathe and think. She was able to sift through her problems and find answers she hadn't looked for previously. She loved solitude almost as much as she loved her dear friends.

After a while Chelsea came up to see her and sat down next to her. "I was wondering where you ran off to," Chelsea sat next to her friend and temporarily slid out of her high heels. "Why don't you come back and mingle, instead of stupidly sitting around like this?"

"You know how much I hate talking to strangers, besides I don't really see anyone here worth talking to," Darcy replied as she scanned the crowd. By this time there were about a thousand people milling about and socializing. It had been a major success.

"You're kidding me! I've met plenty of nice people and some very fine looking men too, I might add," Chelsea winked suggestively at her friend, but Darcy would have none of it.

"You were talking to the only handsome man here," Darcy said teasingly as she looked at Chelsea.

"Tell me about it, he's easily one of the handsomest and kindest men I've ever met!" Chelsea squealed with joy. "But his brother, that he introduced, was a fine looking man too, right Darcy?"

"He's tolerable I suppose, but he seemed like such a bore that I had to pretend a solicitor's call was from work just to get away," Darcy shrugged as she replied.

"Darcy! I can't believe you! That was so mean. You probably didn't even give the poor fellow a chance, did you?" Chelsea was shocked and a little angry that her friend could be so cold sometimes.

"Chelsea, you already knew I was not a socialite before you came here. You are wasting your time with me. You should probably get back to your friend and enjoy his smiles while they last, right?" Darcy felt a little bad that she had disappointed her friend. After all, Chelsea just wanted her to get out and meet people, but she was so happy with the friends that she already had, she really didn't see much need to strive for new ones. Chelsea walked away in a huff and tried her best to enjoy the rest of the day, but she was genuinely concerned about Darcy and her apparent obsession with introversion.

Chris Lucas and Lewis had been walking around the party visiting with people and having a good time for a while, when they decided to walk away for a breather of fresh air. They had been walking in companionable silence for a few minutes when they heard voices up ahead. Lewis saw the agreeable Miss Bingley sitting down next to her friend on a bench facing away from them. She was asking her a question of some sort, and as they came closer, he clearly heard Darcy say, "You know how much I hate talking to strangers, besides I don't really see anyone here worth talking to." Lewis was slightly shocked and more than a bit affronted at her assault on his friends and family.

"You're kidding me! I've met plenty of nice people and some very fine looking men too, I might add," as Chelsea winked, Lewis smiled a bit as he realized how much he liked the woman.

"You were talking to the only handsome man here," At least she's not completely blind, Lewis thought.

"Tell me about it, he's easily one of the handsomest and kindest men I've ever met!" Chelsea squealed with joy. "But his brother that he introduced was a fine looking man too, right Darcy?" At this, Lewis grinned and waited for her reply.

"He's tolerable I suppose, but he seemed like such a bore that I had to pretend a solicitor's call was from work just to get away."Okay, now I'm officially pissed off. Chris looked over to see his friend pale with anger and he laid a gentle hand on his arm. They had both stopped moving by now.

"Darcy! I can't believe you! That was so mean. You probably didn't even give the poor fellow a chance, did you?" Lewis felt a little better that he was being so kindly defended, but he was definitely over any infatuation he had had with Miss Darcy. He couldn't believe the ugly words that were coming from those beautiful lips…

Darcy turned around and looked him in the eye, "Sorry, did I wound your pride?" her voice was biting in its blatant sarcasm. She didn't even seem surprised that he'd been listening.

"Hardly, come on Chris." Lewis walked away so frustrated he couldn't help clenching and unclenching his fists a few times.

A/N:Please Review:) Constructive criticism appreciated.