Appearances May Often Deceive

Disclaimer: I do not own Pride and Prejudice, its characters, names or its locations.

Chapter 2

It had been three weeks since John met Katie, and they have seen each other practically every day since. I have never seen my brother act this way before. Every single conversation starts with Katie and I, Katie said, Katie did the funniest thing, Katie's so smart, Katie's so beautiful, Katie, Katie, Katie. The guy is in love. Not just love, but totally head over heels for this girl. I should be really annoyed that he can't go two minutes without talking about Katie, but he deserves to be happy. John is the greatest guy I know and I'm happy that he found the girl of his dreams.

"Katie's bringing her brothers to the party tonight, along with Amelia," John said while driving to the Lucas' Annual 4th of July party.

I groaned, "Not that bitch again! Why can't she just stay home!"

"You know Mike, I got to spend time with her while she was visiting Katie. She's really not that bad. I think she's really nice. I know what you told me she said at the Bar-B-Q, but maybe she was just having a bad day," John said.

"A bad day? What? Are you going to use PMS as an excuse for her acting like a stuck up snob?" I asked incredulously.

"No, but Katie told me she is just quiet around strangers. She said once Amelia really knows someone, she opens up and is a completely different person," John responded.

"That's why Katie is so perfect for you. You both try to see the good in people. Katie is so sweet that she probably hangs around Amelia because she is some kind of angel of mercy. Taking pity on poor friendless Amelia," I remarked.

"Katie and Amelia grew up together. Their parents live next door to each other, and Katie says they're inseparable. They're practically sisters," John said.

"Poor Katie, being stuck with Amelia her entire life. No wonder she moved away from her," I said with a smirk.

"Don't say that. Katie is smart and sweet. I trust her judgement, and I know she wouldn't have Amelia as a friend, unless she was worthy of her friendship. Actually, this is the first time in their entire lives that they haven't lived within a two-mile radius of each other," John replied.

"If I were Katie, I would have ditched her when I went off to college," I said with a smile.

"They actually chose the same college so they could room together. They also moved to Meryton together and shared an apartment. Until Amelia bought a townhouse and Katie moved here," John replied informatively.

"Where'd they move from?" I asked. I thought they had grown up in Meryton.

"A little town called Pemberley, about an hour north of Meryton," John replied as he parked the car.

We walked in to see the party was in full swing. Yeah, I know we're always late. I guess that's why I got five watches for my birthday this year. Anyway, Matt's band was playing. Unlike me, he always practiced his guitar. I think he is hoping that being part of a band will help him score with the ladies. They don't seem to be attracted to his know-it-all, intellectual persona. At least by performing, he won't spend the night getting shot down. He can't stand Chris and Leo constantly harassing him about be unable to get a girl. In the corner I spotted Chris and Leo, beers in hand and their new flavors of the week. I believe their names are Denise and Sandra. I don't know why I even bother to try to remember their names. They'll probably be replaced in a couple of days.

Then we saw Amelia and Katie standing near the refreshment table, so we walked up behind them. I heard Amelia ask, "So when can I have my cell phone back?"

Obviously she had more important things to do then be here. "At the end of the night. And you won't get your laptop and briefcase back until the end of the weekend. Now you are here to have fun. No work, got it?" Katie told her.

"Yes, mom," Amelia replied in a defeated tone.

"Good. Oh hi John, hey Mike," Katie turned and saw us.

John gave her a kiss on the cheek and said hi to Amelia. Amelia managed a hello and didn't say anything else.

"My brothers and sister-in-law are here. I would like you both to meet them," Katie said excitedly.

I saw Amelia grimace when Katie mentioned her brothers. She probably thought we weren't good enough to meet them. What a stuck up little bitch! Anyway, I couldn't wait to meet them. I'm sure they're as much fun as Katie. I saw Charlie and he came over and followed us. Katie brought us to a table in the corner of the room, where two men and a woman sat eating. "These are my older brothers, Carl and Louis. And this is my sister-in-law Heidi, Louis' wife," Katie said with a smile.

They all greeted us, and we sat down. Louis and Heidi just continued to eat, while Carl took control over the conversation. Carl was a lawyer and loved to talk. His most favorite subject being himself, as we soon learned. He quickly started to go on and on about all the cases he had won. He went on to give us all the boring little details of each case. How he had found some loop whole, or the other lawyers were so intimidated by him, that they settled out of court. I can't see how anyone could be intimidated by this skinny guy, dressed in a polo shirt and khakis. Now he was giving us the details of a murder case he had helped out on. Is it just me, or aren't all these things supposed to be confidential anyway? Aren't lawyers supposed to keep all the details of their cases hush, hush?

"Well you'll never believe why the DNA didn't match, it because of a genetic condition called Chimera . . . " Carl started.

"Oh, that's when a person has more than one kind of DNA," I said.

Everyone suddenly looked up and actually started to pay attention to the conversation. Like me, everyone else had kind of zoned out, and was only half listening to what Carl had been going on about. When Carl said Chimera, that is when he had gotten my attention. Carl was absolutely floored that I happened to know about this, "So you read the Harvard case study as well then?" he asked in an unbelieving voice.

"No," I replied.

"Well then, how did you hear about it?" he asked in a snotty kind of way.

"All My Children," I replied.

Amelia made a gasping type sound, put her hand over her mouth and turned to look the opposite direction. I could see her cheeks getting red, and when she looked back at me, I could see amusement in her eyes. I guess she was trying to stop herself from laughing.

"All My Children, as in the soap opera?" Carl asked with wide eyes.

John was giving me a questioning look, like when did I start watching soap operas? So I looked at him and said, "What? Mom had it on the other day when I was eating a sandwich."

John only lifted one eyebrow so I continued, "Hey, it's better then staring at the wall while I'm eating."

"So do you get all your scientific information from soap operas?" Carl asked with a smirk on his face.

"No, I get a lot of it from watching CSI," I replied with a smile.

Amelia started to cough, but I could tell she was trying to cover up her laughter. She must obviously think I'm an idiot. She was the only one to react that way. Everyone else was just looking at me, probably not knowing what to think. I don't care. I think Carl is a jackass, and Louis and Heidi are too quiet for me to think anything about them at all.

"I think I'm going to get something to drink. Anybody want anything?" I asked while getting up.

Everyone replied in the negative, so I walked over and got myself a beer. When I looked back at the table, I saw Carl try to put his arm around Amelia. The moment he did, she got up and walked over to throw away her paper plate. Instead of returning to Carl's side, she stood next to Mrs. Lucas and watched the band perform. When the song was over, Matt came up to me.

"Bro, will you fill-in for me for the next couple of songs? I really need to go to the bathroom, and there's a line," he remarked.

"I don't know. What are they going to play?" I asked.

"Don't worry. They won't play any song you don't know. Just tell them the ones you know by heart, and they'll choose one," Matt replied.

"Okay," I said as Matt headed to the bathroom.

As I walked over and picked up Matt's guitar, Leo ever so tactfully screamed from across the room, "Yo Mike, you gonna play?"

I just nodded at him. I didn't want to cause more attention by yelling back. But Leo doesn't know the meaning of the word subtle, especially when he's been drinking. "Good, Matt just plays all that sappy stuff. Play something with a beat. We want to dance!" he yelled out from across the room.

I noticed the room had gone silent, and all eyes were now on me. I turned to the members of the band and asked if they all knew a particular song. They did, so we started to play Sweet Home Alabama. I even sang back-up. I knew the only way to get Leo to shut up, and everyone to get over his little outburst, was to play something with a beat. While I was singing, I noticed Amelia was still standing next to Mrs. Lucas, and she was staring at me with a blank face and her intense eyes. I think the little bitch was trying to intimidate me. Well I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. No one intimidates me. So I just stared right back. I just kept looking straight into her eyes. She kept it up during the next song too, and I'm not one to be out done, so I wouldn't break eye contact with her. When the song was over, I went back to get another drink. That's when Charlie found me.

"So what was that all about?" Charlie asked with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" I replied.

"What's up with the two of you?" Charlie gestured towards Amelia and continued, "You were staring at each other the entire time you were singing."

"Are you kidding me. She was probably trying to intimidate me. And the only reason I looked back, was because I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction," I said.

"It looked like you were singing only for her, and she seemed to enjoy it," Charlie said with a smirk.

"You're crazy. You need glasses," I said starting to get a little annoyed.

"Okay, what about when we were at the table," Charlie said with a smile.

"What about it?" I asked. What in the hell is he talking about?

"You made her laugh," he said simply.

"She was laughing at me, not with me," I remarked.

"No, she wasn't. She thought you were funny," Charlie replied.

"I wasn't trying to be funny, and nobody else laughed," I stated.

"I did, but you didn't see or hear me, because all your attention was focused on her. And I saw her listening to every word you said. She didn't pay attention to anybody else," Charlie said with a knowing smile.

"You're out of your mind," I stated simply.

Just then I heard Leo and Chris. I turned around and noticed they were playing some kind of drinking game with their dates, and were starting to get a little rowdy. People were starting to stare. One person in particular happened to be Amelia. Oh great! More reasons for her to look down on me. "I better do something about them," I told Charlie, while gesturing to Chris and Leo.

As I passed by Mrs. Lucas and Amelia, Mrs. Lucas stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder and said, "You played beautifully Michael."

"Thanks," I replied, but she continued.

"Amelia here was just commenting about your skills," Mrs. Lucas remarked. Oh, really. Well this should be interesting.

"So what was Miss Darcy saying?" I asked Mrs. Lucas, but couldn't help but eye Amelia as I spoke.

"I said you were great. You are very talented," Amelia replied. She can't really mean that. She's probably just trying to act nice in front of Mrs. Lucas.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"I noticed neither of you has had a chance to dance yet. You should really go out there and have a good time. You'd make a lovely pair," Mrs. Lucas said while winking at me. Oh great! First my dad, and now Mrs. Lucas. What is so wrong with being single anyway?

"Well I was actually on my way to speak to my brothers," I said, "And I'm sure Amelia wouldn't want to dance with me anyway."

I was about to leave when Amelia spoke, "I'd be happy to dance with you. I mean . . . if you want to?"

Whoa! What is she doing? I just gave her the perfect out and now she wants to dance with me? Oh, I get it. She's just agreeing because of Mrs. Lucas.

"Well I'm not a good dancer, and I really have to go talk to my brothers. Please excuse me," I said.

I made my way over to Chris and Leo and didn't look back. I was finally able to convince them to take their dates and their drinking game outside. Besides, the fireworks would start in a little while anyway. As we were waiting outside, people slowly started to flood out of the house. Two of those being Carl and Amelia. I noticed that Carl was shadowing her, and she was trying to dodge him at every turn. I found it amusing at first, but then I found it just plain, old pathetic. Carl could not just take a hint. He was an embarrassment to males everywhere. Carl would try to put his arm around her, or his hand on the small of her back, and she would step forward or to the side to dodge him. It looked like he thought it was a game, like she was actually flirting with him. He would smile every time she did it. What he didn't seem to realize was that she wasn't shivering with anticipation of his touch. It was more along the lines of revulsion.

When the fireworks started, I was standing a couple of feet away from John and Katie. I was looking up as the dark sky was being painted with color. I heard a sigh and looked down to see Amelia was standing in between John and I. She had finally ditched Carl, and was gazing up at the lights with a slight smile. I think this is the first time I have ever seen her content. I wouldn't go so far as to say happy, but she looked to be at peace. I turned back up to finish watching the fireworks light up the sky.