Ta-Da! Another chapter! See, I told you all I was back:) I just want to say thank you to all of you who have favored, followed, and/or especially those who reviewed this story. It means a lot to me that you took your time to read my story rather than all of the others for some part of your life. It's pretty darn cool. I realized while writing this chapter that from the time that I started this story I switched from being Elizabeth's age to being Darcy's age (sophomore to senior) pretty weird, huh? I shan't talk much further, as the next chapter is coming up. I'll tell you now, it isn't that exciting but just wait until the next chapter... Mwahahaha!
Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Pride. And. Prejudice.
I used to be before a Miss Elizabeth Bennet came into view, he thought to himself. "I think that she may like you, but I don't know because she never really shows that she does. Jane seems to be more into other things rather than you when you two are together."
"Thanks Darce."
"Butterflies in My Stomach"
Butterflies in my stomach,
Soaring up high,
The way you make me feel,
I could never deny.
When you smile at me
It brightens up my day.
But when I look at you,
You seem to turn away.
I try to reach to you,
My scream is loud yet quiet.
I'm floating on a cloud,
Then suddenly its night.
Realization shoes me something,
You will never see,
That day by day your love
Is what I need to breathe.
-Someone
Elizabeth dashed away from the poetry classroom as quickly as she could go. She wanted to further herself away from Darcy and the mess of the poetry class. Finding some refuge at her locker, she started to reorganize her bag to the way she liked it. She heard footsteps coming towards her. Looking up she saw Jane in a full fledge run directed straight at her locker.
"Where's the fire, Jane? And running in those shoes, really?" Elizabeth said as her sister came to a stop in front of her. Jane looked down to her nude Mary Jane pumps and shrugged.
"Charlie, girlfriend, maybe, he likes me, exciting," was all that Elizabeth made from her sister's squeals of joy that were mixed with a soft panting from her run. Jane had a large smile on her face, and golden curls were falling from the knot that she had on the top of her head framing her face in an angelic way, or so Elizabeth thought.
"Ok, what? I didn't hear anything that made sense there. It was a whole bunch of jibberish to me," Elizabeth laughed.
"I think that Charlie really likes me and might ask me to be his girlfriend soon! Isn't that exciting?" spewed Jane.
"Uh, of course it is. Why wouldn't he like you silly?" said Elizabeth while pulling a few more text books from the depths of her locker.
"I'm just me Lizzie. Nothing exciting, plus he's probably used to seeing girls like Caroline's friends. I'm not like that," confessed Jane. Elizabeth looked at her with disbelief; Jane scared that she wasn't beautiful enough for Charlie, inconceivable! "Are you about ready to leave?" Jane tried to change the subject.
"This conversation isn't done yet," Elizabeth said, while putting on her backpack. With the shut of her locker they left. Elizabeth got many hellos and waves as the pair walked through the school.
"Well, aren't you miss popular? Why haven't I seen this before?" said Jane with an eyebrow raised in curiosity, the second question more for herself than Elizabeth.
"Um, you know. I like talking to people in class. It just gets so boring during class when the teacher keeps teaching the same exact thing over and over so that everyone has heard it four times, especially for those who don't listen. I just sometimes start conversations with the people next to me, and for some reason they spill everything to me," Elizabeth explained. She tried to steer her and Jane away from where Charles and Darcy were, hoping that Jane didn't see them. However, much to her dismay Jane did.
"Come on Lizzie," Jane whispered.
"So much for leaving," muttered Elizabeth.
"What was that?" Jane asked, pushing some hair behind her ear shyly. It was an interesting transformation Jane took when Charles was around, Elizabeth observed. She went from her usual bubbly self to a shy quiet person. Occasionally the real Jane would show through, but it seemed only when herself and Darcy would argue.
"Nothing," Elizabeth said. "Hi Charlie!"
"Oh, hello Elizabeth! Hi Jane," Charles replied, getting more excited with the arrival of Jane. "What are you two lovely ladies doing?"
"Leaving, soon or so I hope," Elizabeth said looking at her sister for reassurance on this.
"Yeah, we have family coming over tonight, yay," Jane said in a very unenthusiastic voice. She was creeping closer to Charles.
"Haha, that sucks. Like a lot of family is coming or just a few?" Charles asked. Elizabeth watched him scoot a little farther away from Darcy and a little closer to Jane. She smiled at this. Jane really did like Charles, and it seem like he liked her. Elizabeth hoped that Charles would ask Jane to be his girlfriend, there wasn't a nicer, sweeter girl than Jane at that school, and from what Elizabeth knew about Charles they would make a perfect couple.
"We have family coming?" asked a confused Elizabeth.
"Uh, yeah, Uncle Claudius, Aunt Gertrude, and Collin. Remember Mama complaining about how the house was a mess and she had the worst interior decorating of any one in the neighborhood? With that blank look, I'm guessing not."
Elizabeth nodded, "I just try to ignore her when she speaks. It's better for the both of us this way."
"I understand ya. I try to ignore Caroline when she speaks to me, too. I try to get Darce here to do the same thing. Apparently he thinks that it's 'not the gentleman thing to do,'" said Charles in an attempted Darcy voice. The girls were buckled over with laughter at Charles' bad impersonation. Darcy gave Charles a look of disappointment.
"I don't sound that horrible do I?" asked Darcy.
Elizabeth opened her mouth to answer, but Jane shoved her and replied, "No you don't, Will."
"Good. Because I'd hate if I sounded like that, ugh I would annoy myself," Darcy said. Jane grabbed Elizabeth's arm and gave it a squeeze. Elizabeth was about ready to burst with things to say to Darcy.
"I think that we should be heading out now. Mama's going to want us to help with the cleaning and cooking for dinner. I guess we'll see the both of you tomorrow. Bye," said Jane.
"Later, and Jane check your phone tonight. I'll text you to make sure you're alive," Charles said with a wink.
Elizabeth just nodded at the guys and followed after Jane. Before she had gotten completely out of ear shot she hear Darcy telling Charles that he was "in too deep" and "would regret it."
"Jane, wait up!" Elizabeth said as she raced down the hallway, thankfully it was cleared out as it as 15 minutes after the final bell had rung.
The car ride back to their house was quiet, as each of the girls were thinking about what had transpired at the end of the day. A Maroon 5 song slipped through the speakers of the car, but neither one of them sang. The engine stopped and they were home.
"Hey, we're home," Jane announced as soon as they entered the house. They threw their backpacks down on the already overflowing bench besides the door that they had just entered.
"Oh, good you're home. I have been cleaning this house from top to bottom, and your father keeps telling me that 'the house looks fine.' It does not look fine and it shall not look just fine it must look impeccable! He has no compassion for my
poor nerves!" Mrs. Bennet ranted.
The two girls looked at each other, Jane had a look of pity for her mother whereas Elizabeth looked amused. "Sorry Mama, I just have a bunch of work to do so I can't help out. You know, AP classes and all don't make for much free time."
"Liar," Jane whispered through her teeth so their mother couldn't see nor hear what she was saying.
"Oh, you use it too," Elizabeth retorted. It was true, Jane had used that excuse various times when Mrs. Bennet wanted them to go somewhere silly and Jane didn't want to. Elizabeth knew that she had won because Jane said nothing more and Mrs. Bennet started to talk to Jane about what they still needed to clean and what was supposed to be cooked. She snatched her backpack of the bench where she had just thrown it and hurried up the stairs.
Once in the sanctuary of her room she took out her homework. First it was pre-calculus; actually it was always pre-calculus as her teacher took delight in assigning them very large quantities of homework every week and didn't always get around to teaching them everything. She took her calculator, pencil and oversized eraser and began.
"LIZZIE! Come down here at once, and look presentable!" screeched Mrs. Bennet.
Elizabeth looked at the clock. It had been an hour and a half since she had started her homework and she only got through five problems; there were thirteen. "Coming!" she yelled back. Looking in the mirror, she decided to contain her curly mess in a quick side braid before running down the stairs.
At the bottom of the steps was her family along with three more people. As much as she was annoyed with parts of her own family, Elizabeth loathed all of the people that were accompanying her family on the ground level. They had to go to all of the family get-togethers and such, but they technically were not related. Her grandfather had adopted Claudius, and so he was her adopted uncle.
"My, Elizabeth you've grown. I'd say you're now nearly the size of what Collin was when he was eight!" boomed Claudius.
Elizabeth grinned, or at least she hoped it looked like she grinned, and there was an odor that smelled horrible coming from one of the three; she guessed it to be Collin. "Hi, Uncle Claudius, Aunt Gertrude. It's so nice to see you again!"
"You too deary," replied Aunt Gertrude in a squeaky voice. "I say that it's been too long since I've seen all of you! It's a good thing that we home school Collin, or else we may never see you all! I mean you guys never some see us."
"We would love to come see you in the city, but Thomas here refuses to go there. I swear he's a hermit of a man," complained Mrs. Bennet with her hands thrown into the air with exasperation.
"My dear, you guessed wrong. We don't go into the city because of your poor nerves. With all of the noise and such, I thought that you wouldn't want to go there. Plus I've read many articles on the city's pollution effecting the skin and aging process of women," Mr. Bennet skillfully crafted. Kitty let out a laugh, but Elizabeth covered it with a cough.
"Oh, sorry. I feel as though I'm coming down with something, so don't mind me if I cough," Elizabeth explained after getting dirty looks from Mrs. Bennet, Aunt Gertrude, Uncle Claudius and Collin.
"Let's have you take your things to the guest bedroom and Collin, we'll have you sleep in the basement," commanded Mrs. Bennet.
After they were gone the five girls broke into giggles. "Why are they even here?" Kitty asked when the giggling stopped.
"I think Mama said something about Collin's harp lessons? Or maybe there was a concert or wedding he had to play at. I really don't remember, all I remember her saying was that they were coming and something about Collin's harp in two weeks. Also, Mama wants us all to learn to play old classical instruments," Jane explained.
"TWO WEEKS! That's like forever, and like Kitty would actually learn to play an instrument?" Lydia joked.
"Not like you'd do much better," Kitty replied in a hurt voice.
"Oh hush you two. We all learned how to play the piano, we're good. You can't get too much better than that!" Elizabeth said. Mary and Jane agreed.
"Cousin Elizabeth?" Collin said while coming up from the basement.
"Scram!" Lydia yelled; Mary, Kitty and Lydia ran while Jane just moved to another room to overhear the conversation.
"Uh, yeah?"
"I just want to say you look exquisite, like a rare orchid," Collins breathed. The cologne that he was wearing came into full smell to Elizabeth; she had guessed right.
"Thanks?" questioned Elizabeth looking for a way out of the conversation.
"I was hoping that tomorrow you might take me around town to see all of the sites. I know this place to be smaller than the city but I hope there is at least one thing of interest here. However, nothing can compete with our landlord, Ms. Catherine de Bourgh's art collection. I have heard from many that it is to rival the Smithsonian's collection. She also has the largest collection of Stradivarius instruments," Collin boasted.
"I have school tomorrow. And speaking of that I have some pre-calculus homework I have to do. Plus a poem to write. I don't want to get behind on that!" Elizabeth turned and ran up the stairs, not even looking to see if Collin was still there. It was going to be a long two weeks with them.
Like it? Hate it? Think aliens exist? Review it! Well, I plan on rewriting most of this because looking back I realize how pitiful my writing is... So watch out for the alerts if you get them and read them to see what has happened. I hope you all are having a great summer, and see you all next chapter!
~Write-to-be-Me
P.S. I usually hand out previews to those who review *wink wink*