((A/N And so the plot begins to move once more. Break for me has begun and I'm hoping to finish this within a year from when I first started but so the plot begins. As a Christmas present I'm posting links to the potential Wedding Dresses for Lizzy and Jane. Have fun guessing which one I'm gonna pick!))
A few days later found Lizzy watching Charlie and Jane say good-bye at the gate. Or trying not to watch. A glance at her watch made her yelp and reach forward to yank her sister from her beau's grasp, "She loves you, but if we miss our plane I will kill you." Jane pulled from her gasp to peck a stunned Charlie on the lips before they took off down the tarmac. They raced towards their Gate, ignored yells of protests as they blew past travelers weaving through the crowd. The sisters stopped gasping at their gate with five minutes to spare. They moved right onto the plane, nodding in acknowledgement of the cheerful, 'Enjoy your flight'. Lizzy fiddled with her ticket stub practically shredding it in her nerves. This was her first flight since she left for school and she found herself missing Will's way of calming her down just by being near her. She studiously avoided looking out any of the windows as she settled back against the chair and tried to relax. The flight was short, and she'd be back home and on solid ground soon enough.
A few hours later, Lizzy and Jane were walking through the familiar airport. Lizzy did her best to avoid the memory of the last time she had been in here. It was impressive some times how different a few months could make her. A loud pitched squeal split the air and Lizzy felt herself being crushed against Jane. She barely recognized Mary where she stood, having grown slightly taller and looking much different. They stood there for a moment before Mary pulled away, "We should go, Kitty's in the car and who know's what mischief she's getting in to."
"Kitty's in the car?" Lizzy echoed in disbelief as she yanked her large suitcase over her shoulder. "Kitty's in the Front Seat of the CAR?"
"She's actually a really good driver," Mary said quietly, as they stepped out into the snowflake sprinkled air.
"Awesome," Lizzy said still vaguely disbelieving. They saw the car, Kitty waving cheerfully from the front seat in front of a long line of cars. Guiltily they threw their suitcases in the trunk in record time and tumbled into the car. Kitty barely waited for the doors to shut before they were off, easing onto the nearby highway for the half hour or so drive back to the house. Lizzy had disappeared into her thoughts as Kitty and Mary cranked up the radio and began to sing along. It took Lizzy a moment to realize that Mary was singing along with modern in style music. She blinked and decided to save this discussion about Mary's potential brain transplant later. Instead she and Jane look at each other, shrugged, and joined in.
They pulled into the house, the removal of the key leading to a sudden deafening silence. They giggled as their older neighbor across the street stuck her head out her door and shook it before retreating against the cold. In the silence their Mother's dulcet tones could be heard through the large bay window as she wailed about how her poor girls must have died in a plane crash for them to be this late. Lizzy hung back for a moment, taking the time to look at her home. The dusting of snow lightened everything from the grass to the roof. A huge pine tree stood in the bay window, its rainbow lights twinkling out at the rest of the neighborhood. Icicle lights hung from the wrap around porch and fake candles stood in every window. She smiled as the smell of cookies wafted out the door and was swept into her father's arms. She was almost overwhelmed by the smell of home and her father's soap and she grinned into his striped sweater.
"Hey Dad," She said grinning into his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and lead her inside. Jane was currently being strangled by their mother who was dressed in her usual red and green clothing that she adopted for the three weeks leading up to Christmas.
"Where's Charlie?" She was squealing as Jane turned steadily redder.
"He had an exam mother," Lizzy said in an attempt to spare her twin, "He'll be back tomorrow."
"Oh you should have just stayed the extra day, you could have come home with him." Lizzy rolled her eyes and Jane began to explain why that wouldn't have worked.
"I see months away havent' changed her as much as it's changed Kitty and Mary," Lizzy said to her father as she settled on the couch, ignoring her huge suitcase in the foyer.
"Yes the amount of intelligent conversation in the house has increased considerably in the past few months. And it's Katie now, not Kitty," Mr Bennet said thoughtfully as he looked at his two younger daughters. Lizzy blinked in surprise as thte change of nickname and studied them as well. Mary had on a pair of fashionable grey cargos and a tight band tee shirt. Her scraggily brown hair had been cut into a stylish pixie, showing off her delicate features that reminded Lizzy of Jane. Kitty no Katie on the other hand was wearing a pair of jeans that while skinny didn't look like they were painted on. She wore what used to be a bigger baggier tee shirt but she had cut it and sewn it so that was funky and asymmetrical. She wasn't wearing any make up and the shirt was tastefully cut. They were talking cheerfully and joking around as they took the cookies on the sheet from the oven and replaced them. Lizzy had never noticed this kind of closeness between them before, perhaps between Katie and Lydia. She stood, grabbing her bag and brushing past her mother who still had not released Jane to chuck it into her room. She debated unpacking but the smell of cookies drew her back downstairs where Jane, Mary and Katie were icing sugar cookies.
Lizzy pulled up a stool to the island and grabbed a icing tube as Mary mixed a batch of chocolate chip ones.
"So how have you guys been?" Jane asked first, looking at her younger sisters through her lashes. Lizzy could tell her twin had noticed the change in their sisters as well.
"Good," They answered in unison and giggled. Jane and Lizzy blinked in shock as their sisters finally noticed their bemused expressions.
"Lydia's been acting really bitchy lately," Kitty began, her face darkening at the thought, "So Mary and I started hanging out."
"Katie's helped me with my clothes and my admitted social ineptitude," Mary said as she mixed flour into the dough, "oh shoot," she yelped as it fell out of the measuring cup with a poof of white.
"And at first Mary was just helping me with my classes," Katie picked up after they giggled at a white coated Mary. "But the more we hung out the more we liked it. I'm doing well in my classes and I've even joined Science Olympiad with Mary," She said tugging at the altered shirt. It was a pale blue with the words Science Olympiad emblazoned across the chest.
"And Katie's been hanging with some of my friends from there," Mary said, giving up on getting the white out of her shirt, "You should see her, she's taken the nerds by storm." Katie flushed lightly, "Especially Marcus," Mary teased as Jane and Lizzy nearly cricked their necks to look at Katie.
"Crushing on a nerd are we?" Lizzy joked at the deep red flush on her sister's cheek, "I'm so proud. They make the best boyfriends."
"Yeah," Katie said dreamily before she jumped, "I mean…" She sighed, "Just don't tell Lydia, I'd never hear the end of it. If she ever came out of the room."
"She's probably just pissed about something, or is being hormonal," Lizzy said with a dismissive shrug, Lydia's numerous temper tantrums playing in a slideshow in her minds eye. Her sisters seemed to be thinking along the same lines judging by their winces. After a moment their conversations turned to more cheerful subjects including Jane's and Katie's love life. By the time dinner rolled around almost six dozen cookies were made and iced and almost a dozen had been eaten. Lizzy giggled, completely high on sugar as her phone suddenly made the Tardis sound. Katie and Mary raised a brow at her sudden movement for the phone as she flipped it open to a text from Will.
Landed Safe, will talk to you soon Georgie says hi!
Lizzy looked up to her sisters staring at her with a raised brow and she felt her cheeks growing hot under their stares. "What?" She muttered.
"Who was that?" Katie's look was sly as she smirked at her sister.
"Will," She said shortly, unwilling to go down this path with her sisters. Jane seeing her discomfort distracted her sisters with vague hints about their Christmas presents. Their mother wandered aimlessly into the kitchen as she called upstairs for Lydia to come down for dinner.
Kitty frowned as her mother stomped up the stairs muttering about how Lydia was going to come down for Christmas Eve dinner. "She hasn't eaten with us in days. Just sits in her room and watches tv." Kitty muttered to herself as she slid into her chair. Lizzy frowned concern beginning to rise in the pit of her stomach, "How long…" She began before an earsplitting shriek echoed down the stairs. When they ran upstairs they found Mrs Bennet crying hysterically over a note in her hand and Lydia's empty room.
((Not the most cheerful way of ending the chapter buuuut whatever. Happy Holidays to everyone!))