Again, this chapter was written with the help of my partner in crime, Kete. She's my soul mate, sweetheart and slave.
I hope this chapter 'satisfies' your 'needs'... teehee! Oh, I'm so funny!

"Previously on Bittersweet: Will and Lizzy almost kissed. Will asks her for something more but she rejects him (it's not you, it's me bullsh*t). This results in him leaving the cabin and joining his sister in Italy.

Chapter 14 – Homecoming

WPOV

I won't lie; I was miserable. Being rejected always hurt, I was sure, but being hurt by Ben hurt more than words could ever express. It was as if I had been stabbed in the heart. It didn't make it any better that I kept twitching the knife in my wound, thinking about that incident over and over and over again. What if I had said this instead of that? What if I had done this, not that? What if she had said yes instead of turning me down?

Being stuck on an aeroplane alone, with only my thoughts as company was not helping. It gave me too much time to replay everything in my head.
I should have been happy. I was going to see my sister, whom I hadn't seen for about six months. But Georgie rarely made it into my thoughts during that flight.

Instead, Ben's words flowed through my head repeatedly.

I don't want you.

I couldn't believe she had said that. We had almost shared something special and, instead of rejoicing in it, she chose to spit in my face.
Anger was starting to kick in. I could never hate her for anything she said or didn't say, but I definitely felt annoyed. I knew I had no right to but there it was. If those were truly her feelings, I really was better off without her. At least that's what I told myself.

When I landed in Milan I felt worse than before. Georgie was waiting at the gate along with Gran and Grandpa. They all had smiles on their faces, but Georgie's slowly faded as I came into sight. I doubted I looked as bad as I felt but apparently I looked bad enough to make her worry.

Georgie hadn't changed much since the last time I had seen her. Her blonde hair had grown a little longer and she seemed to have grown a little longer. The latter might have had something to do with the fact that she was wearing high heels. My baby sister was wearing high heels. Will the misery never end?

Gran and Grandpa still looked the same. It was as if they never got older. They remained happy, smiley and warm. Despite everything that had gone wrong in their lives, they could always find something to be happy about. I always wished I could be more like them.

I was greeted and embraced by them all. Gran hugged me the tightest, as always.

"How was your flight?" Grandpa asked and offered to take my bag. I politely declined his hand and dragged it myself.

"Long," I replied.

"Come on," Gran said and threaded her arm through mine, "let's get you home. You can rest and we'll talk tomorrow. Sound good?"

I nodded. I really did feel tired.

As soon as we got to their white mansion I went into the guestroom and fell straight onto the bed. Sleep found me quickly.

…

"Are you alright?" asked Georgie as soon as I walked into the kitchen the next day.

"Good morning to you too," I said and opened the cupboard with the bowls.

"It's noon," she corrected, "but that's beside the point."

I sat down and poured cereal into my bowl.

"You weren't supposed to be here until Monday," she continued. "Did something happen?" I said nothing. "Do you want to talk about it?" Again, I remained quiet. "Is it Lizzy?" My spoon fell into my bowl with a loud clink. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I said and resumed eating.

"It doesn't sound like nothing," she said and took a seat by the table, right in front of me. "You can tell me, you know."

"I know," I said. "I just don't want to."

"How am I supposed to help then?"

"I never said I wanted your help!" I said loudly, angrily. She said nothing in return. After a while in this fashion had passed I apologised. Again, she said nothing. "I told her… I told her how I felt– feel," I amended, "and she rejected me."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Did she give a reason?"

I snorted. "She said something about me being better off without her and that we're too different to–"

"Different?" she interrupted. "You two are so alike, it's scary. Sure, you don't share many interests but you're both stubborn and unwilling to listen to reason."

"Thank you, Georgiana, I feel so much better," I said sarcastically.

"I think she's full of it. She's probably just scared," she said wisely.

"Scared?"

Georgie nodded. "She might get hurt. Or she might hurt you. I think this shows the depth of her feelings for you." When did my sister become a philosopher? "It's quite romantic when you think about it," she finished dreamily.

Sometimes I simply cannot understand girls. And when I say sometimes I mean most of the time. But Ben wasn't like any other girl I had known. She was smart and funny, she didn't mind making a fool out of herself to make somebody smile. She was everything I always wanted. Everything I'd always want.

Gran and Grandpa walked in. Grandpa started the coffee machine while Gran came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks."

It wasn't a complete lie. I felt well rested and a bit more peaceful. Ben had entered my dreams but no memory of the other night followed. Only happy thoughts came with her.

…

The stay in Italy wasn't a long one, and it was rather useless when I thought about it. Nevertheless, it was fun and I wouldn't take it back. Gran and Grandpa showed me around the village during my stay. Never before had I consumed so much cheese. Every farmer around every corner let us taste their new, homemade cheese. What was I supposed to do, say no? Are you out of your senses?

Georgie went home with me. Gran cried at the airport as she told us goodbye and I almost stayed behind.

The plane ride home seemed eve longer with Georgie as my company. Instead of repeatedly telling myself off, I had Georgie. And, boy, did she tell me off. "You should have kissed her! I don't understand that whole Hollywood romance schmuck about slowly leaning into a foot-raising kiss. You're just supposed to grab her, gently, pucker up and kiss the life out of her!"

Yes, the plane ride home was much better.

When we arrived at Heathrow my parents hugged Georgie tightly, completely disregarding me... their son. At first Georgie laughed and hugged both of them back, but after a while she was starting to lack oxygen.

"Mom," she croaked. "You're choking me."

Without letting her go, my mother replied with tears in her eyes, "I haven't seen you for six months so I believe I have every right to suffocate you."

My Dad shook his head and pried his wife's arms from Georgie.

"Come now," he said, "we're happy she's here but let's keep her alive, alright?"

I laughed and rolled my eyes. They seemed to notice me then. My mother hugged me tightly and my father gently clapped me on the shoulder.
The first thing I did when we came home was to go upstairs to my room. I didn't bother to turn on the lights, I simply put down my bag and looked around the familiar room. I glanced out the window at the view straight across from me. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her. She was laying in her bed, reading. I longed to climb over to her, take her into my arms and make her change her mind. Instead I unpacked, leaving the lights off. I couldn't control myself, I kept glancing at her.
Why did she have to say no?

I finished unpacking and, without meaning to, I found myself just staring at her. She was so beautiful, so eternally not mine.

...

Dinner was ready by the time the Bennet's arrived. When I opened the door to greet them I hardly noticed Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Kitty or even Jane. I only had eyes for Ben. She, however, didn't seem to notice me, or she was choosing to ignore me. She was pulled into a bear hug by my little sister. She seemed to be caught by surprise but she quickly composed herself and hugged Georgie back. When they released their embrace, Georgie went to Jane and Kitty and embraced them both. During that time, Ben stood silent. Her smile was slowly fading and she finally met my eyes. It lasted only seconds, as I couldn't bear to look into her eyes for too long. They reminded me too much of that night. There seemed to have been sorrow but her words had been hurtful. I desperately wanted to believe I had seen a flicker of regret during that fateful conversation, but I knew I was only fooling myself.

"Could you pass the salt, please?" asked my father once we had gathered around the dining room table. The salt in question was placed in front of me but I couldn't move. Beside me sat Ben. She was fidgeting and biting her lip. "Son?" Dad tried to get my attention. "The salt." I reached for it, and so did Ben. Our fingers touched and we both snapped our hands back as if we had been burned.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, people!" exclaimed my sister, got up, reached for the salt and handed it to our father before taking her seat again.

There was silence through the rest of dinner. Alright, I'm lying, but there might as well been. All I could hear was my own heavy breathing and fast beating heart. I was actually worried for a while that Ben could hear it too.

"Coffee in the living room?" suggested my mother. The adult party agreed heartily while Georgie and Kitty only muttered their consent. Jane, Ben and I were silent.
The parents sat close together, probably speaking about something important, apparent by the look on their faces and their hushed voice. Georgie sat on the floor with Kitty, and Jane took a seat next to her twin. I was left standing, pondering where to sit. The option was the floor, or next to Jane. I went with the latter and took my seat silently.

Ben didn't pay any attention to me, she only continued to speak to her sister. I felt uncomfortable sitting there with no one to talk to and nothing to do. All of the sudden, Jane turned to me.

"So," she started conversationally, "you're starting work tomorrow."

I was rather surprised she had spoken so I hesitated before replying. "Y-yes," I stuttered. I had no idea how to continue the conversation, despite that I desperately wanted to.

"So am I," she said.

"But I thought you didn't start until next week."

"That was the plan but Mr. Kent called me yesterday and asked me to start earlier."

"Is that even legal?"

"Must be. Probably some loophole in the contract that says he can basically control me," she attempted to joke.

"Let's hope not, they're sure to use it to their advantage. Last year I worked for Mr. Halloway and he made me do his laundry! He realised his mistake, though, when his laundry came out light green."

She was laughing now. "You're kidding!"

"Am not," I said, smiling. "But I'll tell you this, Mom taught me how to separate my laundry when I was younger so there was no accident that a green sock slipped in with his whites."

"That's so cruel," she said through her laughter. I chuckled along until I looked at Ben. I only saw her profile. She was looking down, a small smile playing on her lips.

"I'm actually very excited to be starting a bit earlier," Jane said after her laughter subsided.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Less time spent with hormone crazed sister and her squealing friends," she said in a stage whisper, nodding her head towards Kitty. This elicited another chuckle from me.

As the evening went on the parents moved themselves to the large dining room table and sat there, discussing their serious matters. In the meantime, Jane had moved to the floor to talk to Georgie and her younger sister. This left Ben and me alone on the couch. My palms began to sweat when I realised this. I sincerely wanted to speak to her but I had no idea what to say. I knew she wouldn't start up a conversation on her own but, as she had once said, the silence was overbearing.

"You start work on Monday, right?" I asked, barely managing my shaky voice.

She looked up, surprise written on her face.

"Um, yeah," she mumbled but offered nothing more.

I took a deep breath, summoning up the courage to speak. "Listen, Ben," I said quietly so no one could hear. "I don't want things to be this way between us. I want to understand why you said no, but I don't. I doubt I ever will but I don't want this to ruin what we had. I'd rather have you as a friend... as only a friend than not at all." I paused. "I don't want to lose you."

She sat and stared at me during my speech, dumbstruck. The silence was killing me. I prepared myself to be let down again.

"You'll never lose me," she whispered and smiled shyly.