YAY! Now, we get somewhere interesting. You have no idea how hard that chapter was to write. There was nothing to talk about in it, and I was facing writer's block. But now that I've climbed over that little problem, let's get rolling! Also, I'm working on creating another story for after this one. NOT a sequel, but a completely different story with a completely different plot! You'll have to read that one when I post it! It's called, Of Gucci and Wall-mart.

Also, it's come to my attention that I've blatantly disregarded my grammar and punctuation. Mmk people, I'm apologizing for any grammar mistakes in advance! I check them all, but I hope no one expects perfection. I'm sorry if you guys love grammar, and I'm totally thrashing it or something, but I can't stop writing this story just because of it, not when I'm more than half way through with it. Besides, what in the world is a beta? I'm 14 people! Don't expect me to know things!!!

Mmk, and also, if you're going to review, and you're going to inform me that I suck then (though this may be asking a whole lot of you people) if you would explain why I, suck so much, then it would be able to clear up the very confused look on my face. And it would let me know why I suck so much, so I could better myself for chapters, and stories to come. Thank you for your wonderful review, it really helped me. It made my day, in fact.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Lizzie was eating breakfast with her aunt and uncle when they were asking about Jane.

"How's she been?" Her aunt Gardiner asked worriedly as she buttered her pop tarts carefully. Lizzie glanced up from her cereal, Captain Crunch, and winced visibly.

"She moped for a little more than a month before she snapped." She muttered, feeling horrible as she realized that in the couple of weeks she had been in NYC, she hadn't called her sister at all. "After that, she threw herself into the dating world. I think she was hoping for someone else to capture her heart like he did."

"Anyone so far?" Her aunt prodded gently.

"None. They've all been bounce backs. Now, she's in Manhattan interning for some lady." Her aunt Gardiner was really worried about this little ounce of information.

"Charles Bingley of the Law firm with William Darcy?" Her aunt asked cautiously. Lizzie nodded slowly, wondering where her aunt was getting at.

"He's in Manhattan, checking in for their law firm there. There was a scandal with one of the lawyers there trying to take money from the vault at the bank."

"How much?" Her Uncle Gardiner asked as he flipped his paper over, handing Lizzie the comics.

"Ten thousand for him, and another ten for his girlfriend." Her aunt replied as she glanced at a frozen Lizzie. Lizzie had the day off, so she had been planning to shop for some clothes, but now she wanted to call her sister.

Walking out of the house, she grabbed her cell phone, and her I-Pod, and started out on a jog towards the small park nearby her aunt's house. It wasn't like the one by her apartment, but it suited her exercise. All Lizzie needed was some time to think, and jogging had always suited her just fine.

First things first though; Lizzie called her sister. The phone buzzed in her ear as she took the walk where there were a lot of trees next to the path, and she waited until her sister's light and friendly voice answered happily, "Lizzie, I was waiting for you to call!"

"Jane, how've you been?" Lizzie asked with masked worry. Jane laughed, and assured her sister that everything was fine, and that she didn't need to worry.

"I'm older than you Lizzie, I can take care of myself!" said she teasingly as Lizzie jogged slowly, trying not to drop either electronic devices that she was juggling in her hands.

"Why would I worry? Who said I was worrying?" Lizzie asked, much to the amusement of her sister.

"Lizzie, I know you almost as well as you do. There's nothing to worry about, I'm more concerned about getting to work without getting lost!" Jane exclaimed. There was a slight silence where Lizzie waited patiently for her sister to spill her dirty little secret that she knew Jane was hiding.

Lizzie," Jane whispered, and her voice cracked. "I saw… I saw Ch-Charlie." Lizzie stopped jogging altogether, and raised an eyebrow in shock. She had expected Jane seeing him at least once, but now that it was confirmed, it hit her all the more harder. She had never felt more pity for her sister than she did right then, and it hurt that the time Jane needed her the most, she wasn't there to comfort her.

"How'd it go? How'd it happen?" Lizzie asked sympathetically as she started walking so she could steady the guilt she felt. Jane laughed slightly, and just that noise let Lizzie know that it had affected her more than she cared to say it did.

"I saw him in the street. I swear though, it was nothing big. I hardly recognized him, Manhattan is a really large city, and everything's so diverting." Jane said absentmindedly. Lizzie scoffed, but her sister pressed the matter.

"It's true! I swear to you! I'm as over him as anyone could ever be over someone. If I saw him again, I wouldn't feel anything but gratitude. If you don't die from it, it makes you stronger, doesn't it? Besides, it's better to have loved and lost then never loved at all." Jane said lightly when she realized she couldn't hide anything from her sister, but was still trying. Still, Jane thought miserably, I wish that I had never loved at all. Lizzie sighed, but decided to let Jane get away from hiding her feelings… for now.

"But, I have to get back in there! There's a small child who likes eating the clay, but… No Tucker, you cant' eat that! Got to go Lizzie, I love you!" Jane exclaimed, and the phone went to the dial tone after a few moments. Grumbling slightly at her sister getting out of the conversation, Lizzie burst into a fast paced jog through the small trail, and burst into dog walk part of the park.

If Jane had seen Charlie, Lizzie knew that her sister had probably spent at least an hour wallowing (if you don't know what that is, message me, and I'll explain it to you.) and then had a small venting session before going back outdoors. Jane was more passive aggressive than other people, and would go out of her way to avoid someone because she hated confrontations. Taking this to mind, Lizzie wanted nothing more than to jump in the rental car she had, and drive to her sister to comfort her. Grumbling beside herself, Lizzie upped the speed, and vented her emotion while she ran.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

"Oh, come one, it wasn't that bad!" Blaise exclaimed as Will grumbled angrily as he cooked breakfast. The night before hadn't ended well, and Will was still beating himself up about it. Emma had tried to console him; she said that Lizzie wouldn't harbor resentment about it, but nothing they said made his words any better.

"So, you're basically saying that because of a low social status, you've spoken ill of people?" Lizzie asked after she had gotten past the sudden flutterings in her stomach. Will merely leaned back, and laughed.

"Don't tell me that you've never spoken ill of someone because they were rich. You're prejudice against others based solely on your first meetings of them! You see one rich man, and assume the others are the exact same." Will retorted with hint of anger flashing in his eyes. Lizzie laughed right out, much to the amusement of Blaise and Emma.

"I don't think badly of Emma, and even if this is surprising, I don't think too badly of Blaise either." Lizzie said as she took a drink of her water. She was beginning to get annoyed with the way Will kept looking at her, but was too proud to back down and look away just yet.

"I'm not rich!" Blaise helped his cousin with his statement, but Emma butted in.

"You are too, you idiot of a brother. If I'm rich, you're rich, and I'm bloody well rich as it is." She joked as Lizzie winked at her good-naturedly. Will glared at both of his cousins, but kept going on.

"Other then these two blokes, you can't say you see anyone who is very wealthy is in your limelight. Honestly, you probably think the whole lot of us is stubborn, stuck up fools."

"Apart from Blaise, Emma, and Charles Bingley, yes, I do." Lizzie confessed happily, "And I'm not too proud to say it! Nor am I embarrassed either!."

"What about Caroline Bingley?" Emma asked with a smirk as she downed a shot. Blaise scooted the tray of alcohol away from his sister, not wanting her to get drunk.

"I don't know, how about we ask Will? He seems to be on quite good terms with her." Lizzie sneered as she saw him visibly pale at the mention of the snake. Lizzie hadn't heard anything about or from Caroline ever since they had up and left, but she wanted to see the reaction of bringing the family up. She wasn't disappointed.

"Let me assure you, our good terms come from my being friends with Charles." Will snapped stiffly as he tugged on his collar, hating the glint in Lizzie's eye.

"And how is Charlie doing these days? I haven't heard from him in awhile."

"He's perfectly fine, I assure you. Couldn't be happier, in fact." He added, but then regretted it the moment he saw Lizzie's face turn from mischief to anger in a split second. What had he said? All too soon, he realized that by tacking that sentence on, he remembered the confession Lizzie had told him in the wine closet about Jane suffering for a little more than a month. By saying that Charlie was happier, it implied that Charlie was the bad guy who had played her sister, and not the other way around.

"I'm afraid I have to go. It's getting late, after all." Lizzie exclaimed stiffly as she stood up, interrupting Pattie's consistent stare at Peter, who was staring straight back in an infatuated sort of way.

"We'll keep in touch." Emma said brightly as she scooted out of the way to let Lizzie by. Smiling warmly at Emma, Pattie, and Blaise, Lizzie scowled at Will before leaving gracefully, but quickly.

"It makes it seem as though Charlie's a horrible person." Will grumbled as he cleared the table with a swift anger. Blaise protested as his half eaten omelets was taken and scraped to the trash can, and his face fell considerably when he saw a greasy package of bacon fat tossed on top of his omelet. Guess he couldn't save it from the trash can now. What a waste of a perfect breakfast.

"Charlie's too nice for his own good." Blaise commented as he finally got up to pour himself some orange juice.

"Yes, this means that he didn't play her sister!" Will stated in annoyance as he turned the dishwasher on, and leaned against the counter.

"But you played her for him." Blaise said quietly as he adjusted his tie, carefully avoiding necessary eye contact with his cousin. Will was openly seething as he glared daggers at his cousin, daring him to say anything else.

"I… it- it was for his own good!" Will suddenly blustered as he got up, and paced furiously; he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Was it for his own good or for your own good?" Blaise asked hesitantly. Will stopped pacing, and glared straight out at his cousin, who returned the look evenly, but not in anger.

"She was playing him! And besides, she's not good enough for-"

"HIM? For god's sake man, you're going after her sister, and you're saying she's not good enough for him! Your income far exceeds his, and you're going after Lizzie, who's the sister of the woman who's not good enough for HIM?" Blaise snapped angrily as he downed his orange juice. For once, Will was silent. Blaise gave a quiet, grave chuckle as he turned and walked out of the room.

"I rest my case." He said simply as he walked down the hall and out of the door like someone else not too long ago. Will ground his teeth in frustration, and ran a hand through his hair. Had he really ruined her life? Had he made it seem as if Charlie was a heartless man who preyed on innocent women?

Grumbling, he shrugged on his jacket, and grabbed his cell phone as he left. He walked down the stairs, not wanting to take the elevator, and got down to the lobby in record time.

"Going somewhere, sir?" The lobby man asked kindly as he walked out quickly, grumbling under his breath as he did so.

"Yes, no need for the limo, I'm walking."

"W-walking, sir?" The man asked weakly as he saw the Italian suit he had just picked up from dry cleaning. Mr. Darcy didn't bother to give an answer, and merely kept walking, taking care to try and find someplace that would let him think properly.

Was it wrong to separate Charlie from Jane? Probably not (in his opinion) but to then go after her sister would probably be bad in the situation. Charlie had no idea that Will liked Lizzie at all. Of course, thinking about it, why did he like Lizzie anyway?

"Bad taste in clothes, low connections, low rank, silly sisters, stoned father, insane mother, and barely any sense of a business world." He muttered as he walked down the street. "She also loves to argue with me. What woman in their right mind would argue with me? Lizzie Bennett, that's who."

But was Lizzie Bennett in her right mind? Seeing her mother, Will doubted that at first, but then concluded that no one so pretty (perhaps except Caroline Bingley) could be as insane as Lizzie's mother.

How was Charlie, anyway? Was he still moping about in that annoying way, and refusing to ask people out because he didn't want to move on? Will had been worried at first; Charlie refused to get out of his own room to bathe. Sooner or later, he had ventured out, but hadn't dared to actually go on a date for fear of losing the memory of Jane Bennett.

"The way he goes on about her it would be a cold day in hell when he forgets her." Will grumbled as he suddenly glanced up, and he stared in wonder at where he was. It was a semi-nice neighborhood, with two story houses lined next to each other in red brick paint. More old fashioned, but Will had to say that the architect knew what he was doing when he designed the neighborhood.

Looking around and wondering how he had gotten there, Will spied a park nearby, and walked over to it, pulling out his cell phone as he did so.

"Call Charles Bingley." He said into his blue tooth as he situated himself.

"Charlie Chaplin, how may I help you?" Someone asked dully as he heard the unmistakable sound of Caroline in the background, screeching.

"What would you do if I was a CEO, and had heard you call yourself Charlie Chaplin? Do you think you would be taken seriously or professionally?" Will barked as he heard Charlie yell in the background, "CAROLINE, SHYADDUP OR LEAVE!"

"I have caller ID, Will." Charlie muttered with a laugh as Will had to give into that. Laughing, Will asked how his friend was, and listened as Charlie made some excuse or another.

"I'm perfectly fine, Will. I haven't realized how diverting Manhattan could be! Even if you run into certain people… er, it doesn't matter! You can easily find something else to take your attention." Charlie stumbled slightly on his words when he said, "certain people," and Will called attention to it immediately.

"Certain people, Charles? Who did you run into?" Will asked as he felt the chilled breeze of New Year's Eve whistle through the trees nearby.

"Oh, you know… just old friends." Charlie blanched when he heard Will snort in disbelief.

"I ran into Jane." Charlie rushed the words out quickly, and Will went cold, dead silent.

"When, and where?" He asked angrily.

"We were coming back from Caroline shopping, and she looked so pretty… no, she was an angel! But she seemed so sad, Will, did I hurt her?" Charlie asked with remorse creeping into his voice as he remembered the encounter.

"Of course you didn't! She was the one trying to get your money, why would she be sad?" Will snapped as he heard his friend's words. He knew Charlie was most likely going to try to run into her again, and see how she was doing. Fat chance of that, Jane had always seemed a closed book to Will.

"The deepest emotion I've ever seen from her is sadness. She really seems torn up about something." Charlie muttered thoughtfully. Will ground his teeth silently and fumed. He tried to think up something to divert his friend from thinking about that Jane girl too much, and get him from going to find her.

"She's merely upset that her plan has failed. By the way, Charlie, Blaise and Emma are in town with me right now. They came for Christmas." Charlie was about to comment on Will's first comment when he thought better of it, and commented on the last part. He knew that if he was going to talk about Jane, it couldn't be around Caroline, or Will. If it was around either of them, or any acquaintances of theirs, they warned Will and Caroline about it. No, it was better to talk about her to a couple of his friends who hadn't been in the situation, and could easily help. I know it's better to have loved and lost, he thought miserably as he leaned back into his chair. But I wish that I had never loved at all.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Will hung up a few more minutes later; feeling slightly better as he knew that he had momentarily distracted Charlie from discussing Jane. It was something that bothered him; the way that Charlie kept bringing her up. It made him feel like Charlie was ready to take her back just as long as she showed more feeling. With a groan, he felt his phone vibrate, and he picked it up lazily with a slurred, "Hello?"

"Don't tell me you're drunk."

"Blaise, what you do you want?" Will snapped irritably as he adjusted his seating arrangements; waiting to judge his cousin's mood.

"So angry dear cousin? I thought you wanted to talk to me!" Blaise exclaimed. Will rolled his eyes as his cousin's idiocy, but made no comment on it. That was the thing about Blaise. After having a dramatic exit after an argument (Blaise wouldn't stick around after an argument, and also thought that an exit was very fun to make) he would come back sooner or later and not have to talk about it.

"Charlie saw Jane." He commented to Blaise. Blaise went quiet, and thought about it.

"How's she been taking it?"

"Lizzie told me, accidentally of course, that she had moped about for about a month before going outside." Will said. He did feel slightly bad about that, but his friend's safety from money hunters far exceeded his pity to the poor.

"You ever going to tell Lizzie that it was you who made Charlie leave her?" Blaise asked into the awkward silence. Will shifted uncomfortably before answering. While he was about to answer, he saw one of the most stunning things in the world running his way. She was gorgeous, simply said. She was slightly tanned, even in the winter, and even with the chilled air, she wore knee high shorts, and a short sleeve workout shirt. Her curly hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, but Will could still tell that her dark brown hair was long. Her eyes though, they seemed to change color with the way the light hit them.

And then it hit him. That was Lizzie Bennett! Damn, he cursed to himself, The only person I see that makes me stop in mid-sentence is her! She had her I-Pod earphones on, and was clearly enjoying the scenery as much as he was enjoying her. He could hear his cousin on the phone trying to get his attention, but the only thing that caught his eye was the person running towards him.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Lizzie took on a brisk jog, enjoying the way the air hit her face, and the cool wind blew her hair back slightly. Though it was almost New Year's, it hadn't really snowed yet in New York, and Lizzie hoped that it would snow soon. She loved snow.

As she took around a corner, she could see a few kids playing around, and a man sitting on a bench. He was really cute; with thick black hair that stood out as if he had run his hands through it many times. If it was one thing that Lizzie liked about guys; it was their hair. Their hair had to be nice, or she wouldn't like them.

Turning up her music a little bit louder, she picked up the pace, noticing that the guy in question was staring at her. He held a cell phone in his hand, but he wasn't talking into it. He only had eyes for her. Feeling flattered, but slightly creeped out as well, Lizzie picked up the pace more so that she could get by him faster. As she passed though, she turned her head the other way, but distinctly heard,

"No, I'm not going to tell her. Some things are better left unsaid. Besides, with the way you keep coming onto her, how am I supposed to have any chance?"

Lizzie had to laugh at this, and unbeknownst to her, the guy heard her laugh. His face turned red, and he promptly hung up the phone. Lizzie kept running, and took the turn that would lead her to her family's house, and took a chilled breath.

----- ----- ------ ----- -----

"No, I'm not going to tell her. Some things are better left unsaid. Besides, with the way you keep coming onto her, how am I supposed to have any chance?" Will snapped as he saw her pass by him. He could distinctly smell lavender and amber, but dewed grass as well. It was a nice smell, but when he heard her laugh as she ran past, he realized that she hadn't recognized him, but was laughing at what he had said. Turning slightly red in embarrassment, he hung his cell phone up, and leaned back.

He knew she hadn't recognized him because if she had, the usual sardonic eyebrow would have been raised, and she would have most likely stopped and said something snide. At least, that's what he had hoped. Will hoped that if she had recognized him, she would have stopped and said at least something. He knew that his cousin would demand to know why he had been hung up on, but wasn't at present ready to call back and apologize. With a groan, he realized that he was going to most likely spend the New Year's with either a teasing Blaise and Emma, or no one.

Will took a deep breath as he realized that he wanted to spend New Year's time with Elizabeth Bennett. There, he admitted it.

"Give it up man; she doesn't even realize you like her!" He growled angrily as he stood up promptly, and strolled along the walkway. But why didn't she? Just the night before, he had implied that he liked her! Hell, he had implied that he was infatuated! But she had only changed the subject, deeming his action nothing deep enough to pry into! Did she think that he was joking?

But maybe he was delving too much into her actions. Will sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, and cursed himself for thinking of her too much. It was not as if she read into his actions.

But what would happen –he thought with a stern set jaw- if she found out he liked her? Would she laugh? Would she go out with him if he asked her? Would she marry him if he-

"What the hell?!" He all but shouted as he realized where his thoughts were leading. A small group of teenagers snickered as they saw the strange "dude" freaking out in the middle of the walk. The girls looked at him appreciatively, and one tried to say something to him. That is, until her boyfriend grabbed her by the waist, and drug her away possessively.

Why would his thoughts lead him to that? What did he do to deserve his once organized thoughts and plans suddenly ripped up and thrown away by one girl who didn't even realize she was doing it? Was god trying to tell him something, or was the devil himself messing with a mere mortal's life? Whatever it was, Will resolved to change his ways, and avoid Miss Bennett at all costs.

Not that he cared or anything.

----- ----- ----- ----- ------

Lizzie realized around 9:00 that she would be spending New Year's alone. Her aunt and uncle went out to dinner, and a babysitter had already been arranged.

"That way you can enjoy the New Year dear." Her aunt had said with a smile as she put on her coat, kissed her niece and walked out of the house gracefully. Lizzie stared after her aunt and uncle before deciding that she couldn't stay in the house all night. That would be considered blasphemy, especially on a night like this one!

The stars (or what could be seen of them) were actually standing out more than usual, and the moon brightly stood out against the dark sky. The wind from earlier that day had blown any dreary clouds that might have threatened snow, and it left a crisp feeling in the air. Lizzie took a deep breath as she plowed through the small traffic to the bars. There was one bar that appealed to her, and Lizzie stepped into the place with a feeling of homecoming. Her friends had owned a bar similar to this one, and seeing the dingy TV's where the game was on let much of the loneliness dissipate.

Settling down, Lizzie ordered a Glass Tower (vodka drink) as the guy next to her ordered a Blood on the Sand. The place was crowded with sports fans, and lonely looking people, and Lizzie let herself chill out as she took a sip of her drink. Remembering the last time she had gotten drunk, Lizzie then ordered a glass of water to go along with her drink. No need to wake up on someone else's couch with them then fixing her pancakes.

"I'll have a Hurricane (A/N- rum drink) and give the lady another one of her drinks." A deeper baritone voice said as someone took the place next to her. He was cute in a strange sort of way. His smile was too wide for Lizzie's taste. It was as if he couldn't bear to let himself relax. His eyes darted to the door, to the TV set, to the floor, to her, to the drinks; he was certainly jittery.

"No, I'm fine." Lizzie protested as the bartender pressed a drink to her. The guy winked at her, and even his wink seemed fishy. The guy on her other side was grunting into his drink, and looked at her angrily when she pushed hers back.

"It's New Year's Eve." The fishy man commented lightly as he saw her take a drink of her water, and she then held it in her hands.

"Yes, you're perceptive, aren't you?" She asked with a sardonic grin. She knew that Will would have chuckled at that-

Why was she thinking of Will Darcy anyway?

"Yes…" His voice trailed off as he reached a hand to the small of her back carefully. Feeling his hand on her, Lizzie shot board straight, and pushed him away from her angrily. Grinning, the fishy man shrugged off the rejection, and sidled slowly away. Getting up quickly, Lizzie departed from the bar suddenly very out of spirits. Why did perverts have to go and ruin a comfortable evening like that?

Lost in her thoughts, Lizzie didn't hear someone following her in the darkness of the evening. She took a small turn and walked towards the park where couples sat together and watched the stars. She saw a small candy store next to the park, and sidled towards it, still thirsty.

Walking inside, Lizzie's eyes roamed the sodas, slushies, water, and was finally happy to see that they had coffee. Feeling slightly better (on a night like this, Lizzie was easy to please) she paid, and walked out of the store.

Walking around the side of the store, Lizzie felt a sickening agony sweep over her when she suddenly felt two strong arms grab her by the neck, and slam her into the wall.

----- ----- ----- ----- ------

MMk, there's another cliffy for you! Don't kill me, and I'm sorry it has taken so long to update!!! My father saw my sad lethargic attitude, and decided that chores would help me get happy…

So now, we have a Lizzie in danger! What will happen?? Who will save her?? Will

her coffee get spilled???

You know, the only way to find out would be to-

Yes, you took the words right out of my mouth. That button down there? Yes, press it. The author asks you!! I 3 you guys!!