Chapter 10

I laid in bed hours later, trying desperately to fall asleep but to absolutely no avail. Instead, I was left to look at the ceiling and contemplate Will Darcy.

He was by far the most infuriating person I had ever met. I can't remember ever being more confused. He hated me. He disagreed with everything I said. He thought I was little judgmental brat. And somehow that all adds up to...a kiss?

I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. I knew he may have been attracted to me, initially, but, Jesus, that was before he actually got to know me. And, yes, I picked up on the fact that he was horribly jealous of Wickham but I figured that was just because he didn't like being reminded that I rejected him.

So, was it just an attraction? A need to prove he can get any girl he wants? Or...does Will Darcy -

"Hey," I heard Charlotte whisper from the loft across from mine, "are you up?"

"Yea," I answered, "can't sleep."

"Thinking about..." she trailed off. I simply nodded my head, knowing she couldn't see me but she seemed to understand. There was a small silence.

"What was it like?" she asked quietly. I sighed in response. How does one sum up a kiss with Will Darcy?

"It was," I paused, still finding the words, "it was like something right out of a book."

The words just hung there, both of us processing. I could hardly believe them myself.

"Wow, Lizzie," she said simply. I appreciated that Charlotte understood how confusing the kiss was for me, and that freaking out and being girly would only make it worse.

"So," she questioned timidly, "what does this...mean, exactly?"

"I wish I knew," I sighed, "I wish I knew what it meant for him."

More silence.

"What I do know," I continued, "is that I like Wickham. And that Will and I would never work."

"Lizzie," it was Charlotte's turn to sigh, "how on earth can you know that if you never give the boy a chance?"

I heard her turn over away from me, having said her piece. I returned my gaze to the white ceiling above my face. There is no way in hell I am getting any sleep.

We stood in the doorway of what looked like the house I had been in last night, the only difference being that this house looked like a bomb hit it. Red solo cups, shot glasses, kegs and array of other collegiate items were strewn across Will and Charles's abode.

"I guess the cleaning service is lacking," Charlotte joked.

"Darcy already called, they're coming tomorrow," Charles grumbled, finally stumbling in to greet us.

"Of course," I answered in a tone of judgment, out of pure habit. I had come to the house against my will wanting to simply sit in the corner and comment on absoluetly nothing and at all costs, avoid Will Darcy. But it seems that I really can't just shut up. Lizzie, you had one job.

We had been invited back to the scene of the crime to discuss our upcoming camping trip. Charles had been chirping about it for a solid month now. He wanted an old-fashioned, by-the-campfire, getting-eaten-alive-by-bugs in the mountains camping trip. To be perfectly honest it sounded like a nightmare waiting to happen but being that I am always up for new experiences and Charlotte is always up for hanging out with our new upperclassman friends, we had agreed. Of course, that was before the incident. But Charlotte, of course, would rather kill me in my sleep before allowing me to get out of it. So, here I am, back in the house of the man who had drunkenly assaulted my face last night to discuss a trip where I will be stuck in the middle of no where with same said man. Yay.

"How you feelin'?" Charlotte asked Charles with a smile, knowing full well that he was far from good health.

"Oh," Charles grumbled, grabbing his head, "please, Char, not so loud."

We both just chuckled.

"Here," he gestured towards the stairs on the left of the house, "we're all upstairs. We managed to keep everyone out of Will's room last night, so, it doesn't look like a train wreck."

I gave Charlotte a pointed look to which she responded with a roll of her eyes which I took to mean: Get a grip, Lizzie, it's his bedroom not the second circle of hell.

Climbing the stairs, I felt my heart drop to my stomach. Charlotte may think I am being too dramatic but I couldn't help feeling anxious at seeing Darcy after last night. Will he say anything? Will he ignore me? Does he even remember after the state he was in? All these questions left me with no idea how to act. And, of course, if I was being absolutely honest, a part of me wanted to kiss him again, if only just to make sure the feelings I had toward it last night weren't just the product of excitement and the one wine cooler I had or if they were in fact signs of something more.

Upon reaching the door across from the top of the stairs, we could hear the voices and music coming from the rest of the group. Charles reached for the doorknob and I felt myself take an involuntary gasp of breath. Oh my God, who are you?

Once inside, I quickly scanned the room for him. I saw Judy, Carey and some girl I had never seen before playing some kind of card game in the middle of the room and Cam and one of his lackeys using some kind of game console on the big screen at the corner. But no Darcy. I felt foolish, being so obviously anxious. That is, until, I realized that I was standing in the doorway of Will Darcy's bedroom.

The thought, for some unknown reason, caused a blush to slowly creep over my face. There was the standard desk, posters on the walls and an inviting queen sized bed. However, what intrigued me the most was the large, cluttered bookshelf on my right. Attempting not to pry, I surreptitiously glanced at the tattered spines, worn down from use, I presumed. All of my favorites were present and some even I had never heard of. I brought my hand to my mouth, studying the amazing sight before me when the sound of Charles's voice caught my hear.

"Lizzie. Lizzie!" he yelled. I turned to see everyone had congregated in a makeshift circle near where the three girls had been sitting before and were all now staring in my direction. This, of course, now included Will Darcy. Shit, so much for being nonchalant.

"Sorry," I looked down, sitting at the point in the circle furthest away from Will, throughly embarrassed. I didn't dare attempt to look at him but from what I could tell, he was avoiding my eye as well.

"Right," Charles began, "well, from the research I've done I think the best weekend to go is the one of the 17th. It'll be right before the weather gets too cold and I doubt the park will be very crowded. Does that work with everyone?"

"Um," I spoke up, confirming I had the dates right in my head while also noticing that Will did not look up from his phone when I spoke, "actually, that won't work, that's the week my older sister is visiting. Unless, of course, you wouldn't mind me bringing her along."

"No, of course, I would love to meet her and the more the merrier," Charles smiled, always the nice guy, "I expected Wickham would be joining us anyway."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Will raise his head.

"Yea," I looked down again, feeling awkward, "well, camping isn't really his thing."

Will made a noise then that could only be described as a snort. By instinct, I glared directly in his eyes. He glared back unfailingly and with that look he seemed to answer all the questions I had been so worried about before arriving: Yes, I remember. And although the alcohol may have given me a little more confidence, I don't regret a single thing I said. Or did.

The room had fell into an awkward silence, perhaps waiting for me to tell Will off. But I, instead, said nothing and looked down yet another time.

"So," Charles continued, "we're all in agreement. Darcy, Cam and I will drive and everyone is in charge of getting their own gear. We'll leave that Friday at around five and arrive back on campus late Sunday afternoon." We all nodded in assent.

"Alright," the girl I didn't know spoke loudly, I hadn't noticed before but she was a little drunk, "now that business is out the way. Let's play shall we?" She began shuffling the black cards her, Judy and Carey had been using before and placed a large wine bottle in the center of the circle.

"Play what?" Cam asked, also tipsy.

"Truth or Dare," Carey answered, rubbing her hands together, "Drunk Truth or Dare, I should say."

"I don't think I can do it," Charles groaned, he looked like he was about to puke.

"Please, Charles," Charlotte waved him, already settling down in the circle to play, "everyone knows the best cure for a hangover is to get drunk again."

I was in tears watching as Cam attempted to give Charlotte the least sexy lap dance I had ever seen. Rosa, the girl I didn't know who I had learned is Cam's on-again-off-again girlfriend, was far gone as was most of the rest of the group, save Charlotte, Charles, Will and I. The fact that I was able to watch a sober Charlotte experience Cam gyrating on her lap made me almost forget that Will Darcy had said practically nothing all night.

We clapped as Cam took a bow and kissed Charlotte's hand.

"Alright, alright," Charlotte announced, reaching to spin the wine bottle, "show's over who's next, huh?"

The wine bottle spun and spun until, to my horror, it stopped pointing directly at me. The whole group "ahh-ed" and giggled devilishly as I turned bright red. I had never been good at this game.

"Um, truth," knowing full well I wasn't up for some of the dares the black cards were coming up with.

"Boring," Cam yawned, grabbing for his beer. Charlotte shushed him and drew from the truth pile.

"Lizzie," she prompted, "if you could get anything you wanted from a significant other, what would it be and why?"

"Please, make it sexual so this is worth our time," Cam laughed, earning more shushes from the rest of the girls. I guess they were anxious to hear my answer.

"Well," I thought, knowing almost immediately what I would want, "I think I would like a letter. Like an old-fashioned, hand-written love letter. With e-mail and texting, they seem totally outdated but I've always - I don't know." I trailed off. I looked up to see Charles smiling at me.

"Oh my God," Cam sighed, "none of this girly shit, please."

"Piss off, Cam," Charles smacked him lightly, as I quickly spun the wine bottle, wanting the subject to change from my embarrassing romantic fantasies immediately. It landly squarely on Charles. I mouthed a helpless "I'm sorry."

"Truth," Charles answered quickly, grinning at Cam.

"Ok, Charles," I drew a card, "have you ever kept a secret for a friend? If so, tell us."

The group "oo-ed" as everyone's attention turned to Charles.

"That's ridiculous, it's a secret for a reason," he began, outraged by the 'truth', "besides, I don't even think I have one."

"What about that one for Will? Making us run out in the middle of the night and take down all those ugly posters. Sworn to secrecy for nothing if you ask me." Cam took another swig of his beer, totally unaware of what he had just done.

Charlotte, Judy, Carey all looked at me as I watched Charles lower his head, essentially confirming Cam's admission. I couldn't help but look to Will. His knuckles were white, he was gripping his bottle so tightly but he didn't avoid my eyes as I looked imploringly at him. It was Will? Will took down every single one of those posters...for me?

"Charles, you're taking too long," Rosa complained, also unaware and spinning the bottle effectively moving the game along. I was still in shock when the neck of the bottle pointed itself at Will himself.

"Yes, Darcy!" Cam exclaimed, "I've been waiting for this!"

"Dare," Will answered calmly, still looking into my eyes. God, those eyes.

"Will," Rosa picked up a 'dare' card, "you are dared to kiss the person that the opposite end of the bottle is pointing towards." The entire group immediately looked at the empty wine at the center of us, except for me. I knew exactly where it was pointing.

"Ohhhhhhhhh, shit!" Cam practically screamed, unable to hide his giddiness at the fact that Will and I are being forced to kiss. Charles and Charlotte had looks of concern written for the both of us on their faces while the rest of the group just watched on intently, curious as to who would object to the dare first, me or Will.

But I didn't object. I found my body being driven by that part of me that wanted nothing more than kiss Will again. I slowly moved across the circle, looking at Will's expression, searching for any sign of objection on his face. He simply looked at me, I'm guessing surprised at my willingness himself.

I stopped short of his lips, hesitating. My face flushed as I remembered the speed, the heat, the intensity of our kiss the night before and it's stark contrast to this moment, one that felt like it was in slow motion. I languidly looked at Will's supple lips as I licked my own. I felt my heart race and my stomach flutter as I looked into his eyes, looking one more time for confirmation that he wanted to do this too. As much as he had tried to remain stoic all night, he was unable to hide from me then just how much he desired another moment like last night's. The lust in his irises gave him away.

I slowly closed the space between us and had to fight back the moan that began to rise in my throat. It wasn't the drinks. It wasn't a fluke. In fact, the feelings I had last night paled in comparison to what I was experiencing now. My whole body felt like it was a naked live wire as Will's lips moved over mine. My hand moved to stroke the stubble on his chin. It longed to run through the fine, locks of his hair but suddenly I was very aware of the fact that we had an audience. Will seemed to notice as well, as we seemed to part mutually, albeit regretfully.

"God damn, get a room," Cam scoffed, grabbing Rosa's ass and pulling her into his lap.

I could feel the stares from the rest of them. I felt hot. Like I couldn't catch my breath. Suddenly, I had to be somewhere, anywhere other than Will Darcy's room.

Without another look at him, I turned to Charlotte and pulled her up from the circle.

"I have to get out of here," I begged, looking pleadingly into her eyes.

"Lizzie -" I silenced her with a look. She sighed and made our excuses to the group, coming up with a story about some project that we had totally forgotten about. I couldn't bare to look at Will, or even Charles. I felt like I was standing there forever until Charlotte finally gestured to me to lead the way out, a job I gladly obliged to.

I took a deep breath of the fresh, early autumn air when I finally got out of the house. I hadn't realized until then that I had felt like I was suffocating in that room.

"Thank you," I whispered to Charlotte, truly grateful.

"No, thank you," she answered, wrapping her arm around me.

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"For following my advice. I don't know what I just saw in there but it looked a hell of lot like you giving Will Darcy a chance," Charlotte answered with an apologetic smile, not wanting to burden me more.

I wanted to argue but for once I could admit that Charlotte was right. I can't deny it anymore. I'm attracted to Will Darcy. And I have no idea what to do about it.

A/N: Another kiss! I couldn't resist, the other one was just too fun to write and y'all's reactions were fabulous. A lot more is in store for our favorite couple. Thanks as usual to all you readers, followers, favoriters and reviewers. Please, please, please let me know what you think of this chapter! Much love :)

P.S. I hate to do this another time but it is again very late and if you will forgive me I am going to have to wait until the next update to answer those reviews! So sorry, I love you all.