Lizzy felt like the rest of the tour passed fairly smoothly. She showed Gina the cafeteria ("though usually we all just eat the QuickaShack. Now I'm not just saying this because I work there…"), the library ("my PERSONAL favorite place on campus.."), the STEM building ("I only know it 'cause some of my friends are there.."), and finally took her back to the main building, where most classes were held.

The whole tour, Will Darcy was… surprisingly not-an-ass. He would disagree with her, debate her on all opinions, but he would do so in a way that made it clear he was JUST stating his opinion. He wasn't rude about it at all, and he actually brought up some pretty good points. Will was starting to become someone.. Elize could almost see herself… becoming friends with. Yeah. That sounded right. Being friends.

"Ughhh," Gina groaned, "I can't believe I have to wait until FALL to go here."

"Well, you have to be accepted first," her brother replied, sensibly.

"Oh I was already accepted. I'm on the waitlist for a dorm."

"..."

"William? William, breathe!"

Will looked like he had been hit with a frying pan. Lizzy covered a giggle as he staggered back (dramatically). "WHAT?!" He shouted, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"

"Eh," Gina shrugged, "Didn't seem like a big deal."

"THAT IS A VERY BIG DEAL OH MY GOD."

Gina turned to Lizzy, grinning. "Isn't it cute how excited he gets?"

"Very," she smirked.

William immediately blushed and got a hold of himself. "I… I am just very happy for you," he choked out.

"I can tell," Gina and Lizzy said archly, in perfect unison. They looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

"Oh my God," Lizzy said, still choking on giggles, "I can tell we're gonna get along JUST fine."

"I'm glad," Gina smiled. Will watched the exchange with a silly little half-grin. He looked inexplicably pleased. Then he furrowed his brow.

"Wait, a dorm?" Will said, just catching up, "We have a condo in town; why aren't you using that?"

"Oh. I, um…," she grinned sheepishly, "I know you're gonna be staying in town for a while… and.. I… wanted to get the full college experience. Ya know?"

Will looked like he didn't know, but kept his mouth shut. Lizzy broke the ensuing silence, not willing to suffer through another awkward pause.

"So, you're staying in Haertford for awhile? Any.. particular reason?"

Will glanced at her. "My job. New project."

"Okaayyy…," Lizzy tried again, "What do you do?"

"Corporate lawyer for Austen. Real estate company. I'm working with a colleague of mine to start some project in town. Haven't gotten all the details yet."

"Cool," she responded, not really knowing what else to say. Then she realized they were approaching the first floor starting point, and subsequently, the end of the tour. And then she smiled.

"Well, if you're gonna be hangin' around, I'll probably see you more around town! Don't be a stranger, Will!"

As she was saying this, her head was turned towards him, and she was attempting to go up the small staircase into the main building. Her heel caught on the first step, and broke under her. She was rocketing towards the sidewalk, when strong hands wrapped around her waist and neck, and suddenly she wasn't falling anymore.

Lizzy looked up into Will's face, inches away from hers, breathing hard. His breath tasted like lemonade and minty gum. He had caught her in a dip, with her fingers clutching at the front of his shirt, and one of his hands tangled in her curls, cradling her head. They stared at each other, for a second.

"I HEAR WEDDING BELLS," a deep voice (though currently in falsetto) rang out from across the way.

Will turned red again, and Lizzy groaned a laugh. He set her down gingerly, and Lizzy stood with her weight on her not-broken shoe.

"Hey Mr G," she said, rolling her eyes in an affectionate sort of way.

"Now Lizzy," the older man said, wagging a finger at her teasingly, "Don't go missing your shifts to run off with a new boytoy."

She shouted a laugh, not noticing her 'boytoy's.. almost... wounded expression at her vehement denial. "God no! I was just giving a campus tour. Frankie was out sick."

"Oh, is he okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine. Anyway, meet Gina and William Darcy! They're new to town, and gonna be staying a while."

"Aah," Mr G said, putting out his hand, "Well, I'm Mr Don Gardiner. I own the convenience store in Haertford."

"Pleasure to meet you," said a shaken Will, deftly putting his hand in the man's.

"Anyway, sorry to break up your tour, I was just looking for my clerk."

"But I don't have a shift today until 6:45?"

Mr G waved his hand. "Ah nah, I wasn't talking about the store. Ronnie's waiting for you though. He had a bad day, and wanted his favorite gal to cheer him up." He winked at Lizzy, completely unaware of how Will's face clouded over.

"Oh sure, I'll be right there," Lizzy said, "Tell him I'm comin, okay?"

"Will do. Have fun with the newbies! Glad to have you in Haertford, miss. Sir."

With that Mr G tipped an imaginary hat, and started to saunter off, only to stop short when a voice from the stairs caused him to turn.

"OH, Liz, there you are! I was wondering where you had gone."

Dr Jenna Lawrence had come out to find the tour group, fidgeting with her skirt and smiling nervously, when she too, stopped short, captivated by something (someONE) behind them.

"H-hi..," he said.

"Hello," she said, blushing. Neither could stop staring at the other.

"Pardon me asking, miss, but.. have we met?" Mr G asked, his eyes wide.

"No, I don't believe we have," she smiled shyly. "I'm Dr Jennafir Lawrence, but all my friends call me Jenna."

"My name's Don… Don Gardiner. All my friends call me 'whatshisface'."

Dr Lawrence giggled like a schoolgirl, and tucked her hair behind one ear. "I think I'll just stick with Don."

He beamed at her, enchanted. "That sounds perfect."

Lizzy, watching the exchange with no small amount of wonder and amusement, turned back to the Darcy siblings. "Wow, okay," she said in a stage whisper, "I.. think that concludes our tour."

Gina grumbled a good-natured pout. "Ughh, I wish classes would just START already! I love it here."

Lizzy chuckled. "Actually, you might be in luck. Merriton offers some summer programs you can sign up for! If you do them, not only will you be on campus with extra homework over the summer, but you'll see ME around!"

She flipped her hair and struck a pose. Gina laughed, but looked genuinely interested. "That sounds awesome! When can I start?"

"Here, can I see your phone? I'll give you my number and send you the info later tonight."

Gina patted her pockets, then looked up, crestfallen. "Oh God, I forgot it at home…"

"Uh, don't worry," Will interjected, "You can put it into mine."

"Cool," Lizzy smiled, taking the device from him. She had memorized the password the last time she had seen him, just in case he passed out before Charles came, and so she punched in the code with no hesitation. 3W4I-8L9L. She giggled to herself. If you made the numbers into keypad lettering, it could be FWII-TLZL. Rearranged, FITZ-WILL. Clever.

She looked up, and caught both Darcy siblings looking at her with a mix of awe and shock. "...what?" She asked.

"HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?!" Gina screeched, before getting her voice under control. "I- I mean… William NEVER tells ANYONE his passcode. Even ME."

"Oh." Lizzy grinned. "Want me to tell you it?"

"No!" Will said hurriedly. "D-don't tell her."

"Okay," she shrugged, "And by the way, I'm not a hacker or anything. You just gave it to me when you threw up last week."

Gina giggled. "God, William. You must have been REALLY out of it."

"Yeah, he was," Lizzy grinned back. "Aaaand, here. My number." She handed the phone back to Will. He took it without breaking eye contact. His eyes were telling her something, but she didn't know what.

She cleared her throat. "So, um, I should probably get going…"

"Can I walk you back?" Will asked, strangely eager.

Lizzy glanced at him bewilderedly. "Um, yeah, sure. It's like 20 minutes though.."

"Great," he said, turning to Gina, "Meet me back at the condo later, okay?"

"Okay," the girl chirped, giving Lizzy a weirdly knowing smile, "See you around, Lizzy!"

"Um, bye," Lizzy replied, but the blonde was already gone. "Soooo," she said, turning awkwardly to the taller man. She held up the heel that had broken off her shoe. "I don't think I can walk real good right now."

He looked at the heel, eyebrows knitting together. You could almost see the cogs and wheels turning inside his brain. Then Will's dark eyes flicked back to her, and he grinned somewhat sheepishly. "Well, uh.. you can take off your shoes and wear mine."

Lizzy glanced at his feet dubiously. "I don't think you're my size."

He coughed, possibly to hide a laugh. "I know, but since I'm wearing padded socks..." He ignored her lifted eyebrows, "I'll be able to walk on the sidewalk without shoes— no problem. You, however, won't. Even if you slide around in them a lot, at least you won't get cut by broken glass."

Lizzy was about to fire back that Haertford was a really nice city, and there WAS no broken glass just LYING in the street, but then he was already sliding off his loafers, and she realized he was being.. sweet…. in a pushy sort of way.

"Fine," she sighed, slipping on the much-too-big shoes, after taking off her now useless heels, "But let the record show I'm not happy about it!"

Will smiled at her, fully. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

By the time she looked up though, his face had already reverted back to stoic, and the soft tone was gone. "Alright, ready?"

"Ready," she said. Lizzy tried not to notice how warm the loafers were, and how little she minded it.

"Then let's go."

And with that, they were off.