Recap of Previous Chapter: During the next month, Lizzy becomes more comfortable around Will, but Will is suddenly being left out of all the big jobs that would get him close to Wickham's operation. Darcy takes her to meet his partner, who turns out to also be his cousin Richard. Richard gives Darcy some information he heard from a source, but Lizzy recognizes it as false and both try to convince Darcy to take her information in order to get closer to Wickham. He refuses, on the basis that it will put her in danger. Before they leave, she overhears a conversation between the cousins that sounds like Darcy might actually have feelings for her. They meet up with Wickham, who lets them know that Ray told him about the cabin and invites them all out to spend the weekend together.
Lizzy tensed in apprehension. She knew, as soon as Wickham invited them like it was his place to do so, that they were going to end up going. There was no way Will would pass this opportunity to bond with Wickham out of town. As much as she didn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a drugged up and bored psychopath - because it was impossible not to be bored sooner or later in the middle of a cabin with no cable, only a VCR- like anyone had tapes anymore- as much as she didn't want to go, she knew they would be going.
"What do you think, sweetheart?" Will addressed her like she had a choice in the matter. "You feel like roughing it this weekend?"
She glanced at Wickham. "Why not?" she replied causing Wickham and Ray to exclaim their excitement. "Sounds like fun."
"Ray, Sherrie, and Jade are heading to the cabin to get it ready for this weekend." Darcy informed her, leaning down to give her a chaste kiss before taking his seat next to her in class. The 'kiss hello' was a habit she had started after overhearing a conversation between him and his cousin wherein he said something that could be taken to show he may actually have feelings for her. Between his quiet and brooding Darcy side and his affectionate, if fake, Will side, it was understandable hard to know where he stood, so she came up with a way to push his comfort zone to see his reaction. She had started kissing him hello and goodbye when they were in the presence of other people to test her theory- which was that if he and his cousin were discussing another girl, any intimate contact from Lizzy would make him uncomfortable. A man as loyal as Darcy would never be able to stand unnecessary kissing if his heart truly belonged to another. To her relief and delight, he had picked up on her greetings without comment and casually initiated kisses with her when they met as Will and Lizzy.
"Getting it ready?" she repeated, secretly flushing with pleasure. This was the first time he had kissed her when it wasn't strictly necessary– they were still undercover here, but in a classroom full of people who didn't need convincing. "Does that mean making it somewhat habitable?"
"One can only hope." He lifted one shoulder while arranging his notes and book, seemingly distracted. "I know you're not exactly thrilled to be going this weekend," he started, giving her a regretful look. She shook her head dismissively. She didn't need to hear, once more, how grateful he was that she was helping him out.
"Don't worry about it. It might be fun." She replied, trying to sound chipper. A weekend away with Darcy would have been fine with her, even with Ray and Sherrie; if only Wickham hadn't invited himself and his girlfriend along with them. She couldn't help but feel ominous about this weekend, but that didn't mean she had to show it and make Darcy feel guilty the whole time. "The water is probably too cold to swim in still, but the hot springs will be nice. There are a lot of trails that go off the cabin and to some cool sights."
"How big is it, the cabin?" Darcy asked curiously.
"A good size for some cabin no one really owns, or no one can remember the owner of." She replied, then wondered if he was asking about the amount of available beds. "It's got two bedrooms and a pull out couch in the living room. The only benefit of sleeping in the living room is that you sleep in front of the fireplace, so you're nice and toasty while the rest of the cabin freezes." Lizzy explained. Darcy's brow furred, so she went on to reassure him. "Wickham will get the master bedroom, of course, but I already told Ray that we get to have the second bedroom."
"How did you manage that, when they have to do all the work cleaning it out?" Will wanted to know, though he looked pleased. She smiled.
"It wasn't hard- Ray hates the cold and wanted to sleep near the fire; but I also promised him he had our vote on whatever he suggested this weekend; swimming, hiking, whatever. He gets a little manic with the outdoorsy stuff when we get out there." Lizzy explained. Darcy gave a look of approval for the trade, but didn't respond.
They had both openly acknowledged that they would be sharing a bed this weekend without actually having discussed it. Lizzy was trying to remember if the second bedroom had a full sized mattress or a queen; she prayed it was a queen. She was all for testing her theory of whether or not Darcy liked her, but being shoved into a small bed together for the weekend was a whole different level of closeness she wasn't ready to deal with.
She was surprisingly calm about the whole thing, but suspected that had something to do with the fact that she didn't exactly mind being forced to share a bed with him. Above all, she trusted him, and that made it hard to worry about what would happen. If it were any other man she had only known a few months she suspected she would be freaking out at the prospect of sharing a bed together, but it was Darcy - a man who, in the short time they knew each other, had already beat the crap out of two guys who dared touch her uninvited. Hell, he might even have feelings for her, and she could fully admit to being more than platonically interested in in him.
Since the others, sans Wickham of course, were cleaning the cabin out and changing the sheets and things like that, Darcy told her he volunteered them to bring the food and any other gear they might need. So, after class, Lizzy directed him to a local camping warehouse where they browsed the aisles to make sure they had all the supplies they needed. As they browsed, Lizzy noticed one more difference between them; while Darcy methodically checked the aisles for anything useful, Lizzy wondered off and came back with interesting, if impractical, items.
"Check it out, bear mace." Lizzy showed him.
"I don't think the bears are out of hibernation yet." Darcy replied, frowning over skillets. "Also there are only black bear in this area, and they are notoriously afraid of humans."
"Oh." Lizzy looked down at the bottle, then wondered off again. A minute later she was back "Will, look, a straw that filters the water for you." She held it up, reading the back to see how it worked.
"I think the cabin will have plenty of fresh water." He smiled at her. She sighed, then wondered off again.
"Fire starter." She said with a gleam. "For the grill and campfire. It's waterproof. Smart, huh?" This time he took it from her, reading the back of the box with a serious frown. She fidgeted while he decided, already bored.
"This might be useful." He said, adding it to the cart. She gave him a triumphant smile.
They checked out shortly afterward. Most of the items were cookware, but he also got a plastic cooler, charcoal for the grill, lighter fluid, and the fire starter Lizzy had picked out. They stopped by the supermarket afterward to pick up paper towels, paper plates, plastic cups and silverware, toilet paper, ice, and enough food for a few days. Lizzy also talked him into getting ingredients for s'mores. The only thing left was drinks; Wickham had promised to provide the alcohol, which probably meant he would get Ray to do it, but that also meant Will and Lizzy were done shopping.
"Did you finish your paper for Psych?" Lizzy asked him on the way home. He frowned, but that didn't tell her much.
"Almost." He finally replied. "I need about a page more."
"Tsk." She shook her head with a teasing smile. "I finished mine yesterday."
"Yeah well, it's the quality of the content, not the quickness of the writing." Darcy quipped back. She turned to him, mouth agape.
"Are you suggesting that you wrote, or- I'm sorry" she paused, holding her hand up and taking the time to correct herself, "are planning on writing a better paper than I did?"
"That's ridiculous." He shook his head.
"Damn straight." She agreed.
"How could I know it's better than yours before I write it?" he pointed out. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Uh, which one of us has a 4.0 GPA, and which one of us cheated off me in math class?" she reminded him. He rose an eyebrow, taking a moment to turn to her with an uncertain look on his face.
"You made that story up." He said slowly, as if afraid for her sanity.
"Irrelevant." She held her hand up.
"Relevant." He countered with a huff that might have been a laugh or might have been a dismissive sound. She shook her head.
"Irrelevant." She replied confidently. "Besides, Mr. Hinshaw loves me. He thinks I'm brilliant. I'm definitely getting a better grade than you."
"He calls you Rebecca." He said, exasperated. She hid a smile; it was really too easy to get him agitated.
"Psh. That's just how we joke." She said dismissively, lying through her teeth. He rolled his eyes, but didn't respond. She was quite for a few more minutes then asked him. "What did you get on your geology quiz last Monday?"
"An A." he responded shortly.
"Yeah, but what number grade?" she persisted.
"A 93." He replied, glancing her way. She grinned and he rolled his eyes again, looking back to the road and pulling up alongside her building. "Irrelevant."
"Relevant," she replied, still grinning.
They unloaded the perishables and the ice, but left everything else in his car. Tomorrow was Friday and they both had a few classes, but they planned on leaving right after school ended. They would all meet up at Wickham's place, and then caravan from there. Ray and Sherrie were going to ride with Wickham and Jade instead of taking the motorcycle the whole way there, but Darcy said they would take his car because of all the supplies they were bringing. Lizzy was glad that if something were to happen they had their own mode of transportation out of there and back into the city. The drive itself was going to take two hours, which meant that even by the earliest they could leave the city they would get to the cabin just as the sun was setting. Ray and Lizzy knew the way well, so they weren't worried about finding the place in the dark, but that also left out most of the activities they could do. Lizzy knew Wickham was bringing drugs and alcohol, so she guessed they would spend Friday night drinking, smoking, and watching a movie. No plans had been set, however; they all seemed to want to play it by ear.
After putting the bags of food and ice in her fridge, Will pulled out his psychology book and laptop, giving her a look as he began finishing his paper. She smiled at him, but headed to the kitchen. Since they had taken to hanging out at her place so much lately, she had made an effort to keeping the kitchen stocked of food. She was also getting used to Darcy's habits, so she didn't even bother to ask him before making them some sandwiches; a club with everything on it for him and ham and cheese for her. She poured a handful of chips onto the two plates and grabbed them both a drink from the fridge before making her way back to him. Without comment, she set his meal down in front of him and sat next to him on the couch to eat hers.
"Thanks." He said appreciatively. He pushed his laptop back slightly and pulled the plate in front of him. "Want to watch something?" She had just taken a big bite of her sandwich, so she simply pushed the remote at him in reply. She wasn't surprised when he found an episode of Law and Order and left it there without comment.
After they finished eating, he went back to writing his paper and she went into her bedroom so as not to disturb him while she returned a call to Jane.
The sisters caught up in what was new in each other's lives since last week, and Lizzy thought to remind her that they were going out to the cabin this weekend; she didn't acknowledge the fact that she wanted Jane to know in case something were to happen, but she found herself becoming more apprehensive as the time got closer.
"I remember you saying something about it. That should be fun." Jane paused. "It's your first weekend away with Will, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Lizzy replied, feeling slightly surprised as she realized she was more concerned with spending the weekend with Wickham than Will. If it weren't for him, she would have been vacillating between excitement and apprehension at the thought of spending a weekend away with Will, even if he were only her fake boyfriend.
"I'm glad things are going so well with him, he seems like a really good guy." Jane commented.
"He is." Lizzy agreed. She couldn't help but think how she would one day have to pretend they broke up, and how Jane would be sympathetic and regretful for her failed relationship. She would want to take her out in an effort to cheer her up, or have long talk on what had gone wrong. Lizzy shook her head; she would deal with that when the time came around, there was no use in worrying about it now. "Speaking of good guys, how is it going with Charles?"
"He's good." Jane said simply, but Lizzy could well imagine the smile on her sister's face. "I'm meting his family this weekend. Well, his two sisters and his brother in law. "
"That's sounds good." Lizzy replied, having no real experience with this level of relationships. "Meeting the family, he must be getting serious?"
"I think so." Jane replied, too humble for a direct answer. "Charles also wants to host a diner for everyone in a few weeks; well, us and our sisters. Do you think you could come? I'm sure you could bring Will, too."
"Of course." Lizzy replied. She was eager to spend more time with Charles, who seemed to be getting close to her sister. She also knew Jane was eager for her boyfriend and sister to get along; Lizzy had a habit of not liking a lot of her boyfriends because she didn't think they were good enough for her sweet sister. In the few moments she had met Charles, he seemed nice enough, but she was ready to spend a good amount of time in his presence, especially in the presence of people who knew him his whole life. "I'll talk to Will and see if he's available, but put me down as a definite."
They talked details for a few more minutes, then Jane had to start making dinner and let her go. Lizzy peeked out in the living room to see Darcy still hunched over the laptop, so she decided to call home and catch up with her other two sisters as well. She got Lydia first, who was crabby from her two month sentence, of which she still had about two more weeks left on. Lizzy promised they would go out as soon as she was free, as long as it was okay with Henry and they didn't repeat what had happened last time.
That perked Lydia up; she spent the rest of the time talking about a part time job she got down at the local coffee shop just to get out of the house and have a little freedom, and this boy she worked with that she thought was cute, but who was too scared, in her opinion, to ask her out and how that was kind of a turn off. Lizzy made all the appropriate replies, and told her that if she really enjoyed spending time with this guy she could arrange a group outing and see if he was less shy that way. Lydia thanked her for the idea, and passed the phone over to Cat, apparently eager to put that plan into action. Lizzy didn't have time to remind her that she was still grounded, and that she might want to wait a few weeks before Cat was on the phone, worrying about her latest grade on her English paper.
Cat was always better at math and struggled with English, so Lizzy advised her to take advantage of the help the college offered, to find a writing tutor who would look over her next paper before she turned it in and help her revise it to her professors standards. She even offered to look over her papers, but warned her that a tutor would probably be able to get back to her quicker. Cat thanked her, sounding less desperate and overwhelmed. They spent the remainder of the time talking about a club she was thinking about joining, one that her friend was a member of. Lizzy told her to make sure she had the time on her plate before committing to one more thing, and to maybe go to an introductory meeting to see what it all entailed. Cat thanked her again for her advice and tentatively asked if she could call her after the meeting so she could discuss the pros and cons.
"Of course." Lizzy said just as Will appeared in the doorway. "You can call me anytime, you know that."
"Thanks Lizzy." Cat said in a rushing manor. "I'm sorry I'm being such a freak about everything."
"That's Lydia talking." Lizzy told her firmly. "Everyone freaks out their first semester of college. You'll be a pro in no time." They hung up shortly after that, Lizzy encouraging her once more to give her a call during the week.
"Catherine?" Darcy guessed, still standing in the doorway, arms crossed and leaning against the frame as if there were an invisible shield holding him out.
"Yeah." Lizzy said simply, eyeing his stance. She patted the empty space next to her on the bed with a teasing smile on her face. "I'm not going to jump you, you know." He frowned at her teasing, but didn't move. Inwardly, she sighed. It was always one step forward and two steps back with him.
"Ray texted me. They all made it back into the city, but he said they're exhausted, so it's just us tonight." Darcy let her know. He gave her a slow blink after the statement and she realized how exhausted he must be. She felt guilty and let him know he didn't have to hang out with her, he could go home and rest. He hesitated long enough for her to realize he was put off by her dismissal.
"I see." He replied. "If that's what you want."
"You've been running around all week, with Wickham and school and me." She shrugged. She couldn't help but be reminded of something Charlotte had said a while ago- that he was making an effort to keep her as happy as he was keeping Wickham and Ray. "You don't need to… to propitiate me."
"Propitiate?" he scoffed.
"It means-" she began to explain but he threw a hand up to stop her.
"I know what it means." He scowled at her. "Do you really think I'm making an effort to win your approval so... what? You'd be more incline to help me? Or because I'm so afraid you'll betray me that I have to take action to assure you're happy with our arrangement."
"Of course not." She replied, standing to cover her wince; it sounded terrible when he said it out loud. "I was just trying to be considerate. I thought you might like a night free to relax, especially since we'll be at the cabin all weekend."
"If that's what you meant, then why isn't that what you said?" he countered, hesitating a moment before turning to head down the hall, continuing his biting words. "If you're the one who wants a night off, you can just say it."
She followed him, of course; instead of calming him down, however, she found herself taking offense at the way he was blowing things out of proportion. "All I said was that I am aware you have a lot on your plate, and if you have the chance for a night off you are well within your right to take it." They made it down the hall and he had turned slightly towards her, a scowl still prominent on his face. "You don't have to babysit me all the time."
"Babysit you?" he asked, his words chillingly cold. "Is that what you think I'm doing here?"
She frowned right back at him, hesitating only a moment before asking, "Isn't it?"
He shook his head in apparent disbelief, fists clenching at his sides. He opened his mouth to sy something, then abruptly shut it once more. "Fine." He finally growled, picking up his laptop and school books and shoving them carelessly into his backpack. "I guess since I'm not needed, I'll take the night off."
"You don't have to." She rolled her eyes, the closest she was able to apologizing. "It was just a suggestion."
"I'll pick you up in the morning." He growled at her before shutting the door firmly behind him. Lizzy sat stock still for a long moment, wondering how things how deteriorated so quickly.
The next morning, true to his word, Darcy picked her up in the morning for school. They followed their morning routine, he had picked her up and they ate breakfast together at Charlotte's diner before going to school together, but things were tense and awkward between them and he had been unusually quiet. Let's face it, he was always quiet and slightly aloof. This morning he had been… a little more distant, a little less relaxed. It was the best way to describe it. Lizzy had tried to talk to him about their fight, but Darcy was characteristically less than exuberant on that subject, or really any subject she brought up. In the end, she fell into silence and hope that things would improve once they were thrust into the company of Wickham and Ray and he had to change form Darcy to Will.
After their uncomfortable morning together, they separated as she went to physics and he went to auto mechanics. Afterwards, they would have an hour break before meeting up for their shared psychology class. Generally they always met in the cafeteria, but today Darcy was keeping his distance. She vacillated between anger at his brooding and a willingness to do or say whatever it took to make things right between them again. After determining he wouldn't show, Lizzy made her way across campus to her next class. It didn't start for about another hour, however, so she was taking her time. It was one of the first nice days all year, and she had high hopes that the weather would hold for their weekend away in the woods. Darcy and she had already packed the car this morning and they planned to meet up with everyone at Wickham's so they could caravan together.
Lizzy exited one building and headed across the parking lot to cut through the culinary building. She knew from a friend in the program that they were working on pastries this month, and she hoped to get lucky enough to be able to help taste test one or two. Just as she was about to turn into the side door, however, she heard someone behind her call out her name. She turned, hand on the door, to see Richard, Darcy's cousin and partner. Her heart sank at the sight of him; something terrible must have happened if he was willing to risk blowing Darcy's cover by coming here.
"What's up?" she asked, hurrying over to him. "Is… everything okay?" Even here, where it seemed no one could be overhearing them, she was cautious.
"Everything's alright." Richard assured her in a comforting voice. She left out a breath. "Sorry to have freaked you out, but I thought we might be able to talk, and this is the only place I could catch you free."
"What did you want to talk about?" she asked, curious. Her heart still beat fast, but it was returning to normal at the knowledge that nothing was wrong.
"Hope in." he tilted his head. "Let's drive around a bit."
She shrugged and made her way around the car. If he was as paranoid as his cousin, she figured he just wanted to make sure they couldn't be overheard, and although being seen in the same car as him held its own kind of danger, the windows were tinted and her school life and her home life rarely mixed.
As she slid into the passenger seat, she realized this was Darcy's car, the one she had seen him in before he went undercover.
"So you and Darcy switched cars." She commented, because he still hadn't broken the silence even though he was the one who confessed to having wanted to talk to her. He seemed to be making a loop around the school, driving slowly.
"Yeah." He chuckled. "He got my PoS and I get to ride around, sitting in a seat that warms itself." He took a few fries out of a brown paper bag sitting between the seats, then pointed a finger at her "Don't tell him I brought food in his car." He added with a stern look.
"I have a feeling I won't be telling him about this little clandestine meeting at all, or am I wrong?" Lizzy guessed. He sighed, wiping his hand off on his jeans before reclaiming the wheel with both hands.
"Look, I know you don't know me as well as Darcy, but please believe me when I say I hate keeping things from him, and I wouldn't ask you to unless I thought it would help his case." Richard explained. "We're partners and we have to trust each other explicitly, or we can't rely on one another, and secrets, as you can imagine, make it hard to trust."
"So what I'm understanding is that this is really important, or you wouldn't be asking me to do it." Lizzy replied.
"Exactly" Richard nodded, looking slightly relieved.
"Okay, but you haven't actually told me what you're asking me to do, or keep from him, or whatever prompted this speech." She pointed out.
"Right." Richard frowned. "Listen, I know Darcy doesn't want to use your information, because he thinks you might be put in danger."
"Yeah, he's made that perfectly clear." Lizzy sighed, then realized what he just asked. She squinted at him, though he didn't meet her gaze. "Why do you ask?"
"But you're sure no one would think you were the one to pass on the info." Richard ignored her question.
"If Darcy did anything to The Family or The Riders, people would think he got the information from Wickham, not me. Besides, like I said before, I don't go around blatantly asking for insider information. People either mention it in passing, or I overhear it, or hear it because everyone in the neighborhood knows."
"So, what would you say if you gave me some information, and I passed it onto Darcy, telling him I got it from a source?" Richard asked slowly.
"I'd say if Darcy found out he'd be pissed" was the first thing that came to mind. She didn't mention how he was already mad at her, and how piling on one more thing did not make her comfortable.
"True. But he'd be mad at me, not you." Richard assured her.
"Ok, but what about trust, and partners, and all the stuff." Lizzy wondered what the point of the speech was.
"He wouldn't be that pissed." Richard laughed a little. "He'd just be mad we went behind his back, but as long as everything turns out okay, he can't be too mad."
"Well, alright. I guess this could work." Lizzy shrugged, ignoring the uncomfortably feeling that told her this was not a good idea. After thinking it over, Richard was right; as long as nothing backlashed onto her, which was all Darcy was afraid of, what could go wrong? The reason she was hesitant was probably due to the fact that she didn't even know how to make amends with him about this small little fight they had last night, over which she wasn't even sure what he was so mad about.
Richard pulled up to the same spot he dropped her off at and wrote down some notes as she told him that she heard from someone in the Family that The Riders were planning on intercepting a shipment of Wickham's he was going to receive next week. She didn't know how many there would be, but guessed at least five.
"Thanks for this, Lizzy. The faster we can get him to a high ranking position, the faster all this will be over." Richard told her, a hand on her shoulder and a charming smile on his face.
"Just as long as you tell him it was you're idea." Lizzy replied. Picking up her backpack and opening the car door.
"Of course. Besides, it's not like he's going to get mad at you." Richard replied with a knowing smile. She frowned at him, debating whether to bother asking what he meant, or take the time to correct him. She checked the time and decided to just head to class. They exchanged goodbyes and she made her way through the courtyard, bypassing the culinary building and taking a moment to mourn the loss of her potential pastry.
By the time she got to class he was already there; he looked up with a frown on his face when she walked in. She wasn't exactly late; class hadn't even started yet, but she was usually there before now and he let her know with a look of displeasure that her absence was noticed. Despite wanting to make things easy between them again, she frowned right back, chafing at his attitude.
"Where were you?" he asked quietly as she sat down. His voice wasn't demanding, but his frown made it seem like he was irritated with her, and she reacted to that rather than his tone.
"I was waiting in the cafeteria, were we always meet before class." She shot back, an utter lie. Truly, she had realized immediately that he wouldn't be coming, and left to take her chances on pastries instead. His frown deepened, but he also looked away with a bit of a guilty expression. She felt drained from the tension between them and tried to think of something light to say to break it, but class started before she could think of anything.
When class was over, they made their way to his car where they would then head over to Wickham's to meet up with the rest of the group on the way to the cabin. Just before they got into the car, she grabbed his elbow to stop him. He turned to her, a surprised look on his face.
"Look," she started, biting her lip. "Can we just forget whatever it was that happened last night and go back to normal, I mean, you know, normal for us." She added with a weak smile. The surprise melted off his face, but his expression remained neutral. "I really don't want to drive two hours in total silence with someone who's pissed at me for reasons I'm still not a hundred percent on, let alone spend a weekend sharing a room with one."
"Point taken." He replied, still looking grave. "Let's just forgot last night happened and start over."
"Let's not start all over." She grinned at him, still hoping to pull a smile from him, or at the very least lighten his expression slightly. It took a minute, but after looking down at her unwavering grin he couldn't help but pull the side of his mouth slightly upward. It was small, but she took it.
"Okay now that that's settled, let's talk driving mix." She continued, shoving her backpack into the already stuffed backseat before slipping into the passenger seat.
"Driving mix?" he asked, mirroring her actions.
"Yeah, you know." She started, fastening her seatbelt. "Driving tunes. Road trip music. We can't just sit in silence the whole drive."
"Heaven forbid." He murmured. She looked up examining the console to give him a look.
"Well it looks like we'll have to old school it with his CD's, cuz there's no AUX plug for my mp3 player." She commented, pulling out a CD case from between their seats. "This seems like an odd collection for you." She commented after a minute. "A lot more classic rock than I expected."
He glanced over as if just realizing what she had, then shook his head. "It's not mine." He said simply, but Lizzy understood; of course it would be Richards. She was a little disappointed at the lost opportunity to learn what kind of music he was into, but quickly got over it as she focused on getting him involved in the choosing process.
"Whatever you want to listen to is fine with me." He assured her.
"That's not how it works." She shook her head dismissively. "You have to have a say in it, or it's not fun."
"How does not having full control over the music equate to being less fun?" he wanted to know.
"Ugh, Darcy," she bit her lip as soon as the name was out of her mouth, and though she didn't need it, he gave her a sharp look of warning. They were safe, alone in his car; but that was just the luck of being in the right place. It had been a long time since she had slipped and called him by his real name, but he was acting so much like Darcy all day that that was how she was mentally identifying him. "Will-" she corrected herself without comment.
There was no time for any further private conversation – they pulled up to Wckham's house where Ray, Sherrie, Jade and Wickham were outside packing his car. Will and Lizzy got out of his car and joined up just as they were stacking the last of the overnight bags in the trunk. They all greeted Will and Lizzy when they caught site of them. Lizzy gravitated to Sherrie while Will exchanged hand slaps and playful, fake punches with Wickham and Ray.
"How's it going here?" Lizzy asked. Sherrie had a irritated look on her face.
"Ugh. That Jade girl is getting on my nerves so bad." Sherrie said, uncharacteristically quiet. "She think she's hot stuff cuz she's boning Wickham? Please." She let out a huff of air and rolled her eyes. "Like he ever have a girlfriend last more than a month."
"True." Lizzy agreed, happy Sherrie had someone else to complain about. She would want Lizzy to side with her to exclude Jade this weekend and while Lizzy had no hard feelings for Jade, she was looking forward to not being at odds with Sherrie. Since she and Will had become an item, Sherrie had not so subtly tried to drive a wedge between them. Lizzy had actually been dreading what Sherrie might do, but if her focus was on Jade, than Lizzy would do whatever she needed to do to keep it there. "I bet her name isn't even Jade."
Sherrie turned to her, eyes bright. "Probably not." She tsked, but eyed Jade with renewed suspicion. "Girl I wish we were riding with you guys." She turned towards Will's car, but the backseat was packed full of equipment and food, and there was obviously no room. "At least we have all weekend together."
"How was the cabin when you guys saw it?" Lizzy wondered. Sherrie threw up her hands dramatically and launched into a story of how horrible the condition was and how much they had to do but how it was now at least livable.
"And Ray is like a damn little kid again." Sherrie looked to her boyfriend; her tone was irritated, but the look on her face was indulging and affectionate. "Talking about hikes and caves and all this nonsense. I said 'Rico, I ain't never been out of the city my whole life, you better take it easy on me this weekend'." She shook her head. "He don't care, he want to become Davy goddamn Crockett."
"That's Ray." Lizzy laughed lightly. "It won't be so bad. He can't get up to too much in only two days."
"Come on girls, let's hit the road." Ray said, coming around the side of the car, eyes bright with excitement. "Daylight's burning." Lizzy and Sherrie exchanged looks, hiding smiles.
"See you there." Lizzy said with a look of sympathy for the Hispanic girl. She trailed Will to his car, feeling grateful once more that they were taking a separate car.
"Okay," she started as soon as they were buckled up and ready to go. "So, Rock's greatest hits, or Best of the 80's?" she held up two CD's.
Will groaned.
Authors notes: Sorry for the delay, and sorry this chapter is so short; I know a lot of you are eager to read what happens at the cabin, but with finals coming up I haven't had much time to write. I appreciate all the notes of encouragement and hopefully after this week is over I will have a chance to sit down and write the next chapter and post it a lot faster. Rest assured I have the rest of the story plotted out, and just have to write it; there's no danger of abandoning it halfway through. As for this chapter- I've read through a few times and caught some mistakes, but if there are some I missed please forgive me, I'm a little bit brain dead as anyone who goes through college finals can attest to.