Soli Deo gloria

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own The Lizzie Bennet Diaries or Pride & Prejudice.

So a drive by is when you (plus maybe a friend or two) walk or drive past a place just to get a look at the guy you like. I've been prone to the drive by recently. Looks like Jane Bennet was also.

Jane was pleasant and kind and polite to everyone she met. She was sweet and good—to everyone. Like, everyone. She performed all sorts of wonderful little things for her sisters, her parents, Charlotte, the mailman (she remembered his birthday and left one of her signature cookies, snickerdoodles, in the mailbox for him); only those well versed in the moods of Jane Bennet could tell if and when she showed anyone any particular kind of treatment.

So, Jane would never go out of her way to go look at an alleged hot guy who just moved into the neighborhood. If her mother asked, she would have baked cookies and gone over to welcome him to the neighborhood properly. But her mother didn't ask and Jane didn't presume and so it never happened. Everything just went on normally—Jane returned home from her ill-paid fashion job and got entangled into one of Lizzie's new endeavors—she was doing a video blog, which was fine, though Jane found it a little amusing that Lizzie was taking this opportunity to impersonate Mom and gossip about their lives. She let it go and didn't give much thought to the alleged hot single rich man whom her mother was sure was going to put a ring on her finger and went about her life as normal—got to work on time to get yelled at and get caffeine jitters from the excessive pots of coffee she made, and returned home to find Lydia hopping up and down on their driveway.

"Lydia! It's so good to see you," Jane said, getting out of her car.

"No, no, get back in! We need to go—NOW!" Lydia said, bouncing into the front seat.

Jane's eyebrows furrowed but she willing obliged. "Lydia, what happened? What's going on? Are you in trouble?"

"Silly, nothing like that," Lydia said, her red hair whipping in front of her face as she buckled herself in before looking in the mirror, making duck faces at herself. "It's just that there's this super awesome sale happening at the mall and it's like, limited time only and whatever, so we have to get there before the store closes!"

Jane sighed, just a little. "Lydia, any other time I would love to go to the mall with you, but it's been such a long day and I think I need a couple of minutes—"

"Mom's waiting to pounce on you at the front door. I think she's planning a plan so cunning that even Lizzie hasn't gotten wind of it yet. But I have," Lydia said slyly.

Jane, concerned, said, "What is it?"

"She may have plans to stick a wrench under your hood to mess up your car and have you break down right in the vicinity of a certain newly bought house," Lydia said coyly, looking up at her big sister from under innocent eyelashes.

"Oh, dear," Jane said, looking away. She looked at the front door. "She was really going to do that?"

"Dad's currently talking her out of it. Lizzie's turning into an antisocial turtle at the library and you need to stay away from home until he's done. I totally call mall haul!" Lydia squealed.

Jane met Lydia's eyes and said slowly, "Lydia, there's no super mall sale, is there?"

Lydia groaned. "No, but I totally don't want your car broken. I need rides sometimes!"

"Okay," Jane said, "maybe I can go inside and reason with Mom—"

Lydia scoffed. "Since when has reasoning with Mom about potential SILs—sons-in-law, BT-dubs—ever gone in our favor? How many times? Big fat zero. Sorry, sis."

Jane thought it over and saw Lydia's hurried, but rational reasoning. "All right. Let's just cruise around the neighborhood then."

"Oh, thank God," Lydia said. "Anything to get out of the house."

"Are you procrastinating from homework, too?" Jane wondered.

Lydia was too focused on her texting to answer.

"Lydia," Jane said in a concerned and disappointed tone of voice.

"I'll get to it when we get back. It'll get done, totes. Whatever," Lydia said in a dismissive voice, not meeting Jane's eyes. She threw her phone into her tiny pink purse and said, "I texted Dad to let us know when the coast is clear. In the meantime, let's totally swing by Netherfield and go hot-guy-watching! It's like bird-watching, but with totally hot guys!"

Jane, on full-alert, said, "No, no, Lydia, we are not doing that." Tired, Jane, in makeup mussed from a sweaty long day, so did not want to emulate her mother and go staking out a private citizen, even if the private citizen was young, rich, and maybe a totally hot young man.

"Come on," Lydia groaned. "Nothing ever happens around here, and this might just be the something to spruce things up! Besides," she said conspiratorially, "imagine if we did see him and didn't say anything and Mom didn't know."

"Lydia, that would be unfair to Mom. So, if we did talk with him, and I'm not saying we are, we'd have to tell her," Jane said.

"Okay, fine," Lydia said.

Jane mused this over, biting her lip. Contrary to what Lizzie thought, Jane actually was interested in what this Bing Lee was going to be like. Rumor has it that he was attending the Gibson wedding, and she knew her mom was going to push her on him (or him on her—her mother wasn't picky); forewarned was forearmed. "Just . . . don't tell Lizzie," Jane said. She was sure that Lizzie was immediately disapprove, thinking she was giving in to Mom's ridiculous wishes. Jane was an independent, smart, ambitious woman—and it so happens that she would be very interested in a nice young man, career or not.

Lydia, preening like a bird, said, controlling her excitement, "My lips are sealed."

So there was a chance that Jane Bennet, with her boy-crazy little sister in tow, cruised down their street to Netherfield with the windows down and their eyes peeled.

"I'm an expert when it comes to the Guy Drive By," Lydia went on to explain, like this wasn't her older sister she was talking to. "You have to make the decision to either engage in conversation or just totally look cute and unattainable. I'm assuming we're doing the last one, right?"

Jane nodded. "I want the first introduction to be in front of Mom. It'll be real and I won't be lying to her, then."

"Okay, sure. Whatever. You do you," Lydia decided, who normally went with the first approach. She was half out of the open window and Jane said, "I thought we were being subtle, Lydia."

"It doesn't hurt to draw his attention. All of my previous drive bys haven't really gotten good results. I got the back of his head. He's got black hair." Lydia studied her sister's hair. "Black-haired-slash-ginger children."

Jane, eyes focused on the road, said, "You're as bad as Mom."

"Says the girl who's driving by the new neighbor's house for a glimpse of him," Lydia pointed out. "Just keep driving and I'll let you know if there's a sighting."

"Wait, you've done drive bys by Netherfield?" Jane wondered.

"Yeah, like, tons. Not because I'm interested in the guy—he sounds kinda snooty—he's all yours, Jane, believe me—as oldest, you get first pick—but Mom's totally intent on getting a look at him, and is willing to pay me for it." Lydia showed off her purse. "Which is why I now have totally cool new goods!" Lydia turned to peek out the window, saying, "Hasn't Mom heard of social media? If she just said the word, he'd be cyber-stalked within seconds."

"We're, um, trying to keep Mom from discovering Lizzie's videos, and I think searching 'Bing Lee' will bring them up," Jane warned her. Lizzie had asked her and Lydia to keep it hush-hush around the parents, and while both sisters agreed, Lydia did well with a little reminding.

"Fine," Lydia said, a little annoyed, before she squealed and said, "OH MY GOSH, THERE HE IS! Unless that's his super hot butler or the friend he brought with him. No, it's him, Jane! He's totally good-looking, just like his sister!"

Jane didn't stop the car, didn't park, barely wavered. But, cruising at a mere ten miles per hour, she glanced past Lydia. She saw past the gate a man approaching the doors to get the mail. She saw the face of an honest, kind looking man, and he was undeniably handsome. Jane felt just a little flutter in her heart. She blinked and tried to convince herself that he didn't somehow entirely see past Lydia and look at her directly in the eyes. She couldn't convince herself that the truth wasn't true. She held his gaze for so long until Lydia waved a hand in front of her face, saying, "That was so weird. I thought you were gonna pass out or had forgotten how to blink or something. You okay?"

"Yeah, um . . ." Jane said. She recovered herself and said, "We—we have to get out of here, before he comes up and talks to us or something."

"Hmm, like you totally wouldn't want that, huh, Jane?" Lydia smirked.

Jane, eyes focused on the road, sped up and turned out of the neighborhood. Lydia, turning around, said, "He totally watched our car until it disappeared. That's gotta be like, love at first sight, right? Oh my gosh, he's totally in love with you, Jane!"

"Lydia, let's not jump to conclusions," Jane said calmly, even as she hid her thumping heart from Lydia. "It was just a look. We'll get to talk to him on Saturday. It's all fine."

Lydia sighed happily and said, "I don't know how long I can keep this a secret from Mom, Jane. You know I just love exciting stuff and telling people exciting stuff!"

"Lydia," Jane said in a firm voice that was almost stern, which was totally un-Jane-like.

Lydia sobered. She mimed her fingers running across her lips and said, "Lips are sealed."

Jane nodded. "Thank you."

They did end up driving to the mall, and Lydia did go shopping with her drive by money, but Jane barely saw the cheaply made clothes draped haphazardly over mannequins. She didn't feel her weary bones or remember her makeup was mussed and that she just wanted to rest. She only saw bright eyes and a kind face and felt an unmistakable ache for Saturday to come as fast as it could.

Oh, Jane, you are gone, girl.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!