A/N: For those of you who've seen the Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden version of P&P, you'll notice I've sort of added and modified a scene from the movie to this chapter because I loved the scene and it added an extra E & B interaction, which we all love!

All characters belong to S. Meyer, and major plot line belongs to J. Austen.


A&A Chapter 12

To Mr. Darcy it was welcome intelligence - Elizabeth had been at Netherfield long enough. She attracted him more than he liked… - Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 12

The next day, Alice and Bella both agreed that it was time to call Renee and have her come pick them up. But Renee, who'd been expecting the girls to remain at Netherfield at least a couple of more days, refused to come get them. Her answer was therefore not a positive one, at least not to Bella's ears, since she was extremely anxious to get home. Renee ignored her daughters' pleas, and instead informed them that she could very well do without them for a couple of days more, and went as far as to suggest that should Jasper ask them to stay for the rest of the summer, they should certainly agree to. Bella though, was totally against staying any longer, and greatly doubted that they'd be asked anyway. She hadn't missed Tanya and Irina's dirty looks and hushed whispers behind her back. And as much as she disliked them, the fact was that they were Jasper's cousins and Bella was the guest. The last thing she wanted was to overstay her welcome.

Therefore, she spoke to Alice that morning and convinced her to ask Jasper to take them home.

"Alice I won't keep you and Bella here against your will," Jasper responded to Alice's request over breakfast. "But I do think you should consider staying one more day, at least. You've only just recovered." The way he looked at her, his expression anxious and concerned, cracked Alice's resolve.

"Yes, Alice," Tanya agreed. "You must stay until tomorrow morning!" She then looked around the table and to her great dismay found Edward gazing not-quite-covertly at the other house-guest, immediately making her wish she could take back the words she'd just spoken, for her dislike and jealousy of one sister far outweighed her affection for the other.

But Jasper wasn't as happy at the news of the sisters' departure from Netherfield.

"Are you sure you feel well enough to leave?" he asked Alice one more time. "Maybe you should stay through the weekend at least?"

Alice smiled gratefully at him, but as much as she wanted to stay, she also knew that if she gave in to his pleas, Bella would strangle her when they were alone. "Thanks Jazz, but really, I'm fine. And my mom really wants us home." Her voice cracked slightly from the lie.

To Edward, Alice and Bella's imminent departure was welcome news. Even now, as they sat around the breakfast table discussing the sisters' leaving, he found he couldn't take his eyes off of Bella. The way she cut her pancakes into perfectly square, even-sized pieces, chewing each piece at least five times before swallowing; the way she took a sip of her orange juice after every third bite, the way a few wisps of hair had escaped her loose pony tail, falling in her face and taunting him, making him wish he could just reach over and tuck them behind her dainty ear. No, she'd been at Netherfield long enough. She attracted him much more than he liked. He found himself entirely too attuned to every move she made. And Tanya, even now he could feel Tanya's eyes traveling between him and Bella, burning an envious hole into Bella's delicately pale face. Over the past forty-eight hours, Tanya had become increasingly nasty to Bella, and even more unpleasantly teasing to himself than usual. He therefore resolved, as he indulged in what he'd decided was his last open admiration of the girl, to ignore Bella for the remainder of her stay at Netherfield. He would make sure he did nothing to lead her into hoping she'd had any effect on him or his emotions, fully aware that if he'd somehow raised her expectations in catching his attention, his behavior in the next twenty-four hours would either confirm her hopes, or crush them.

Forcing himself to tear his eyes away, he turned his attention to his own pancakes, absently swirling and twisting the uniform size pieces into the thick brown syrup on his plate, unable to build up any sort of appetite.

"Edward, is there something wrong with your pancakes?" Tanya asked, a snide smile on her face. "Do you find them hard and bland this morning?"

Edward shrugged. "I don't seem to have an appetite this morning," he answered indifferently.

"Oh really?" Tanya said. "Well that's such a shame, because our little Bella herself prepared these pancakes from scratch this morning. Didn't you Bella?" Bella simply smiled in response. "I myself find them to be a bit on the dry side, but…it was definitely cute of her to try."

Edward stiffened, suddenly taking a closer look at the pancakes before him and wanting desperately to dig into them. But reminding himself of his new resolve, he knew this would send the wrong message.

"So are you going to try them Edward?" Tanya asked offhandedly.

Edward looked up at Bella. She was watching him with a bemused smile, her eyes teasing him, daring him one way or the other. He could easily put a square of the pancakes in his mouth, savor it and tell her how delicious it was, because somehow he knew it would be. Or he could…

Edward scraped his chair across the floor, the sound reverberating around the large, formal dining room, and ringing loudly in his ears. He stood up quickly, wiping his mouth with his cloth napkin and throwing it on the table.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not hungry," he exclaimed, before marching out of the room.

Later that evening, Edward lay hidden in the small library, counting the hours and minutes until the morning, when Alice and Bella would be gone and not letting himself think about whether or not he wanted the hours to pass. He attempted to read his book diligently, almost succeeding in losing himself in the imaginary world of wizards and warlocks when the door to the library suddenly opened, and a distracted Bella walked in, not noticing his presence at first.

"…wasn't for Alice, I'd freakin' bike it home right now," she mumbled, letting the door close behind her and resting her body against it, raising her head in exasperation and momentarily closing her eyes. As if sensing eyes on her, they suddenly shot open again, landing immediately on where Edward lay, staring at her with his book completely forgotten.

"Oh! Sorry," she murmured quickly, straightening herself up and off the door. "I didn't realize anyone was in here. I didn't mean to disturb you."

Edward was about to respond, to tell her that she wasn't disturbing, to ask her why she seemed so upset, to offer to move over and give her space to sit with her own book, but he said not a word, reminding himself of his resolve. Instead, he turned back to his book and completely ignored her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her remain still, in the same spot for a few seconds, before finally moving and making her way to the small stack of book shelves, not saying another word. Silently, she perused the shelves, picking up books, leafing through them for about five minutes each and then putting them back, until more than half an hour later, she seemed to finally find one that held her attention. Still perfectly silent, she turned around, and out of the corner of his eyes he saw her facing him, and every muscle in his body ached to look up, to bring his eyes to her, but he fought the feeling down, and after a few seconds, Bella turned on her heel and left the room without another word to Edward.

In the morning, after breakfast, Jasper brought the Ferrari to the front of the house and Alice and Bella walked out, one with a heavy heart, and one feeling lighter and more carefree than she had all week. Tanya and Irina walked out with them, Tanya suddenly much more pleasant than she'd been in days. She hugged Alice warmly and told her she'd miss her and promised to visit, as well as extracted a promise from Alice that she'd visit again soon. Her spirits were so high that she was even able to turn to Bella with a half-convincing smile.

"Bella, it was great having you here. I hope to see you again soon."

Bella smiled back politely. "Thank you for your hospitality Tanya. We had a wonderful time." Both women regarded themselves with not-very-well-hidden animosity before turning away, Alice and Bella made their way to Jasper's car.

Jasper stood waiting, holding the passenger side door across from the driver's seat open for Alice. Curiously enough to Bella, Edward stood stiffly just off to the side of the car. And as Bella approached and raised her eyes to his to give him an obligatory polite good-bye, he quickly moved forward and opened the door to the back seat for Bella. His hand shot out so quickly - searching for hers - that she'd given it to him before she even realized what she'd done, and he took it gently, guiding her into her seat. The indescribable sensation that traveled up her arm, making every nerve ending from the top of her head to the tips of her toes tingle, shocked her, and she had to repress a startled gasp. Yet quickly it was all over, and Bella was in the back seat of the car, unsure of what had just happened. And Edward, Edward strode back into the house, just as stunned as Bella at the electric shock he'd felt when he'd touched her, his hand still humming with electricity as he opened and closed it to make sure the flames hadn't burned it off.

Renee wasn't very happy to see them home. She chastised them for their rush at returning and assured Alice she'd get sick all over again and this time wouldn't have a doctor and his friend at her every beck and call. Their father, although much more reserved in his comments, was actually glad to see them home; he'd really missed them. The evening meals had become dull and ridiculous without Alice and Bella, who were the only two sane people in the family group.

How do you cut your pancakes? Leave me reviews and let me know.