Not mine, not making money, obviously. okay. this is just a trial chapter of a longer fic that i've had in mind for a while. testing the waters, in a manner of speaking. i'm iffy about the title, but like i said, a test run of sorts. the current title is homage to the greatest hp fanfic author, in my opinion, SinandSmile, aka . cheers!

The sun rose over the already busy New York skyline. Cars sped in the streets, women in business suits and six-inch heels walked, briefcases in hand, and bike messengers rode around impatient business men on their expensive cell phones.

Elizabeth woke up from her deep slumber, rolled over, and glanced at the clock. Six thirty a.m., the sophisticated silver machine read. Fifteen minutes until it would ring with the morning weather report. Lizzy rolled over again to face the window that stretched across the wall of her room. Sunlight streamed into the twentieth floor of her apartment building. She got out of bed, stretched, and turned off her alarm clock so it wouldn't ring at its appointed time. She did not need it today, apparently. She walked out of her room, walked the three feet across the hallway of the duplex, and opened the door to her sister's room.

Of course, Jane's bed was empty and Lizzy could hear the hiss of the shower through the bathroom door. Jane had always been an early riser. She dived onto her bed and waited until Jane came out of the bathroom, immaculately dressed in a white oxford tucked into a navy blue pencil skirt, her long, wavy blonde hair wrapped in her favorite yellow towel.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" she greeted Lizzy cheerfully. Always the morning person, Lizzy thought wryly to herself. She half grinned and then waved to her sister, who proceeded to ask her the same question that she asked every morning.

"Do you have a job today, Lizzy? I have one later, at two, so if you don't have an early one, do you want to get breakfast?" she asked as she sat down at the small vanity and started to apply various creams and such onto her already perfectly glowing skin. Prep for the heavy makeup she would have to wear later that day.

Elizabeth and Jane Bennet were high profile models. Two sisters as two models was a rare find in the City that Never Sleeps, but the fact that these two were in the industry together was not so surprising. The classically beautiful Jane, with here wavy blonde hair that fell in between her shoulder blades, her navy blue eyes, Gisele-like bone structure, and eight inches on their mother's five foot one, had been scouted at their local mall back in Hertfordshire. She had been reluctant at first, but when her favored sister had offered to move to the Big Apple with her, pushing her along the way, she agreed to go to her first go-see with Teen Vogue. Quite the feat for a regular girl in her first year at community college. Lizzy, on the other hand, had just graduated high school and was eager to leave her childhood home, her silly sisters and overbearing mother.

She readily packed her bags to be with Jane. And there, at Jane's first ever photo shoot, the one that she had practically dragged Lizzy to in the guise of her manager, one of the models fell violently ill (it was later determined that her manager had forgotten to mention her wheat allergy) and Lizzy was suddenly pulled into the hair and makeup room, being asked to fill in for her. Lizzy was not conventionally beautiful, not like Jane, though they somewhat resembled each other. She also had wavy hair, though it was chocolate brown, a little curlier, and slightly longer. They had similar bone structure, and she was but an inch shorter than her older sister. It was her eyes that really sold her to the photographer on that day. The photographer, whom Lizzy and Jane would forever be indebted to, said that her emerald green eyes were amazing. The best that she had ever seen, and that it was lucky the other model had fallen ill.

Indeed it was, because on the March cover of Teen Vogue, the two sisters, up and coming models Jane and Elizabeth Bennet, made their grand entrance into the modeling world. And as you know, in the industry, it is not about what you can do, but who you know. The photographer that gave both of them their first ever job, Dianna Campbell, ended up marrying the sisters' uncle, Edward Gardiner. This gave them connections like none other, and here three years later, they were able to pick and choose their jobs. So the question "Do you have a job?" was actually a quite common one in the Bennet sister duplex.

"Yes, Jane, I would love to get breakfast with you. I'll get dressed," Lizzy answered, rising from the rumpled bed.

A half hour later, Lizzy came out to the living area in dark skinny jeans and a lavender shirt with a deep v-neck. Her favorite t-shirt.

"Being flat chested compliments you, Liz," her sister laughed. "That dip goes nearly to your sternum. I'm surprised that mother hasn't called yelling to you about modesty and propriety," she laughed again. Lizzy joined her in laughter as she swung her favorite Marc Jacobs bag over her shoulder and opened the door to the main hallway.

"You know, sometimes I feel as if I simply wear the clothes I wear to piss her off. Only, it doesn't seem to work as well as I'd like," she said mock-thoughtfully as they walked out and she locked the door.

"Where would you like to go for breakfast, Janey?" she asked her sister as they stepped into the lobby. "I'm sure it's somewhere hugely expensive. We only eat breakfast out when you need to break the news that mother is about to visit," she said slyly, eyeing her sister's reaction of surprise, then resignation.

"Guilty as charged," she answered back, blushing. "But how about that little café on Park?" she asked, smoothly changing the subject.

"Sounds excellent. You're buying," Lizzy said as turned, looking truly like a typical New Yorker in her five inch Jimmy Choos, calling a cab. Jane shook her head at her younger sister. Never a dull, secretive moment with her perceptive sister.

They walked into the little café and got in line behind business people waiting to order their morning coffee. Lizzy turned to her sister expectantly.

"So," she said mock-conversationally, "tell me, Janey, why is mother dearest coming to visit us?" she asked. Lizzy knew that their mother rarely ever left the comfort of the country suburb of Hertfordshire, and was incredibly thankful for that fact.

"Promise not to be angry with me, Lizzy, but she's coming to pick us up," Jane said slowly, watching her sister's face for a reaction. Lizzy's face slowly morphed from confusion, to mild irritation, to the beginnings of fury.

"What?" she asked venomously, "Why the hell are we going back to Longbourn?" she spat, thinking unkindly of the house they had grown up in. Jane ordered food for them both, their usuals, and earl gray tea lattes for both of them. Lizzy's favorite. Smiling and thanking the cashier, she carefully ignored her sister until they were sitting at an empty table next to the front window.

"You know I wouldn't drag you back without reason Liz…" she said quietly. "Mom told me some interesting news about their new neighbors, though," she paused, a smile coming up on the corners of her mouth. "Guess who lives across the street, in Netherfield," she grinned.

"I don't give a flying fuck who they are."

"Charles Bingley and William Darcy," she whispered. Lizzy's eyes went wide and her right hand came up to cover her mouth. It looked quite comical to Jane, Lizzy's delicate hand, a little pearl ring on her pinky, a large turquoise stone on her ring finger, and an ornate golden giraffe on the length of her middle finger. The one that Lizzy said she wore so "at least it's pretty when I flip someone off."

"You're lying to me," she said flatly, narrowing her eyes.

"I am not, Liz," Jane laughed. "I know, I didn't believe our mother when she told me, either."

"They manage the largest law firm in England."

"I know."

"They're titled British celebrities."

"Well, celebrities in their own right. Not through their titles."

"They and Richard Fitzwilliam make up Poetry on Fire!"

"Lizzy!" Jane finally interrupted her sister, "I know! Hugely accomplished, amazingly famous titled Lords. I know!" She looked at Lizzy hopefully. "Now do you see why I told our mother that we would go home for a week?"

"A week—"

Jane smoothly continued, as if she had not heard her sister speak, "Charlotte's family is hosting the gala in honor of Hertfordshire's fiftieth year as its own city. They are going. We are invited. And we will possibly be able to meet them, but we will also be able to see our old friends. Lizzy conceded that this would be an acceptable course of action. She grinned a little bit.

"Do you mind if we walk to the studio," she asked, gesturing to the modestly tall building across the street. Jane looked at her skeptically.

"How much time are we talking about?" she asked as she looked at her delicate gold wrist watch.

"Not much. I turned down the jobs I was offered this week, and I thought I would be able to put in a few hours there. I just need to tell them I won't be coming in after all," she paused, thinking, "And, it wouldn't hurt for us to grab a couple of dresses out of The Vault," she added as an afterthought. Jane nodded, understanding and grateful.

"Good. Those dresses will be something, I'm sure of it. And right after my shoot, we're leaving, and it will be to the car with Mom for a couple hours. Bring your sketch book," she said, staring directly into Lizzy's eyes, daring her to challenge the plan.

"Fine. But don't think that I'm above taking a couple of Dramamine so I can call asleep for those couple hours," Lizzy said begrudgingly.

continue? yes? no? tell me what to do! i'd like to know if anyone is actually interested.

-ifshoneydukes