A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 10: Your arrogance, your conceit

The Hunsford was pulsing with life this Saturday night in Seattle. It was easy to tell this place was popular amongst the university students, and Ana, Charlie, and Jose all had to squeeze their way through the large crowd of people so they could get to the bar and order some drinks.

"We should go find a table," Charlie yelled over crowd of people once they got their beers, and Ana nodded in agreement. The three of them wended their way through the crowd before eventually finding a recently-vacated table in a corner that was a bit quieter.

"Phew, it's really packed in here," Charlie let out a breathless giggle as they sat down. She was wearing a cute off-the-shoulder purple shirt with smokey eye makeup and her normally straight hair in curls around her shoulders.

"Yeah. It should be pretty crazy once the dance floor opens up," Ana grinned. She was wearing a cute pink halter top and skinny jeans with high-heeled ankle boots, and smokey eye makeup similar to Charlie's. Jose was wearing his usual polo shirt tucked into khaki pants, though in an attempt to look like he fit into this "cool" crowd, he undid the top button of his shirt so his collar popped out a little more.

"Yes, I do believe dancing would be a lot of fun at this establishment," Jose smiled widely, gazing at the people around him. "I am a pretty exceptional dancer, if I do say so myself. Anastasia, could I trouble you for joining me on the dance floor for the first song?"

Ana exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Charlie. "Um… that's okay, Jose. I was just joking, I wasn't really planning on dancing tonight. Plus, I don't really want to leave Charlie at the table all alone."

"Oh… well, yes… that would be rude of us. My apologies, sweetheart," Jose stammered, glancing guiltily over at Charlie. She gave him a tight smile, but didn't say anything, and Ana wished fervently Kate was by her side right now.

Ana thought about her sister, and hoped she would be okay tonight knowing that Elliot didn't want to see her. Kate was visiting her friend Liza at the moment, and she seemed happy to be doing that, though Ana wished she still could've come out tonight. Elliot was still giving her the cold shoulder, however, and Ana supposed there was nothing to be done about it.

Ana, Charlie, and Jose drank their beers and chatted for the next few minutes, talking about what they wanted to do tomorrow. Jose offered to show Ana around the Lady de Bourgh art studio, but before Ana could think of an excuse not to go, she happened to glance over at the front door the moment someone she recognized walked in, and it caused her to almost choke on her beer.

What the hell is Christian doing here?

He was with another man, who was a bit shorter and had a buzzcut. Christian himself was looking casual and handsome in a black collared sweater with the sleeves rolled up and dark wash jeans. Ana could only stare at him in shock and confusion as he and the other guy made their way through the crowd and over to the bar.

"Is that Christian?" Charlie asked, noticing what Ana was looking at.

"Yeah, it is," Ana said in a tone of surprise, turning back to her and Jose. "Why the hell is he at a college bar on a Saturday?"

Charlie's eyebrows were raised as she glanced between Ana and Christian, but the barest of smiles reached her lips as she brought her beer to her mouth, her eyes fixed on Ana. "No idea."

Before Ana could say anything else, she heard someone approach their table:

"Ana… what a surprise."

Ana turned to see Christian standing there, gazing down at her with his hands in his pockets.

"Christian," Ana greeted him politely, raising her eyebrows. "What a coincidence. What are you doing here?"

"My cousin William is in town for the week, so I thought I'd take him out for a drink tonight," Christian explained. Ana wanted to ask why they chose this bar in particular, but at that moment, the other guy approached them carrying two beers.

"Everyone, this is my cousin William," Christian introduced him to the table. "William, this is Ana, Charlie, and Jose. I met them while Elliot and I were in Portland a few weeks ago."

"Nice to meet you all," William smiled widely. He wasn't as handsome as Christian, but Ana thought he had a very charming smile.

"Would you guys like to join us?" Charlie offered politely.

"Sure, thank you," Christian said, he and William grabbed a couple empty chairs nearby and pulled them up to the table. Ana shot her friend a discreet look before scooting down the table to make room, and Charlie smirked back at her.

The five of them chatted for the next twenty minutes or so. William was very friendly and engaging, similar to how Elliot was, and Ana felt glad he was there since Christian offered little to the conversation. It was rather annoying, since Christian was seated right next to her, and she could feel his eyes directly on her whenever she was talking.

Charlie mentioned she had to go to the bathroom, and Ana quickly followed, leaving the others alone at the table to talk. The two of them made it into the bathroom where Ana was finally able to complain openly to her friend:

"God, can you believe our luck?" she asked spitefully, walking over to the sinks to check her makeup in the mirror. "Of all the bars in Seattle Christian could have taken his cousin to, he has to take him to the one we're at. And on the same night too!"

Charlie giggled as she walked up beside Ana to check her own makeup in the mirror. "I don't think it's a coincidence, Ana."

"What do you mean?" Ana glanced at Charlie with a frown. "You think he came here on purpose?"

"Elliot knew we were coming here tonight, so it's possible he mentioned it to Christian," Charlie said fairly. "Christian's motivation for coming here is obviously you, Ana. Have you really not noticed how much that man has been staring at you all night?"

"Seriously?" Ana rolled her eyes. "Christian doesn't like me. The man barely talks to me, and I've hardly been very nice to him."

"I suppose so," Charlie said, in a tone that indicated she wasn't convinced. "But still… it's quite a coincidence he's here tonight."

Ana didn't say anything to that, but she still thought Charlie's assumption about Christian was preposterous. Ana decided not to dwell on it too much as she and Charlie emerged from the bathroom to walk back to their table. They noticed some pop music had started to play and people were converging onto the nearby dance floor.

"Charlie! Will you do me the honor of dancing this song with me?" Jose asked the moment she and Ana approached the table.

"Oh, um… sure Jose," Charlie said, smiling politely. "Excuse us, everyone."

Jose and Charlie made their way across the bar toward the dance floor, and Ana took a seat across from Christian and William.

"So is your friend Charlie and that Jose guy dating?" William asked, nodding toward them as they walked away.

"Yeah, they are," Ana said, trying to hide her grimace.

"Wow. I mean, that's cool. I just never would've guessed that," William said in a tone of surprise.

"It happened pretty recently," Ana explained. "My family has known Jose's family for years, when he came to visit us in Portland a few weeks ago, that's how he and Charlie initially met."

"Oh, I see. Christian mentioned he met you guys in Portland around that same time too," William said, smiling over at his cousin. "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah, just about," Christian nodded.

"So let me guess…" William turned to Ana with a grin. "He barely spoke three words to anyone while he was there and was super awkward, am I right? Christian hates being in public."

Ana smiled back, enjoying William's playful teasing of his cousin: "As a matter of fact, he was pretty quiet. The first time I met him we were at my dad's birthday party, and all he did was stand by himself in a corner and not talk to anyone."

William laughed at that picture of his cousin, and even Christian offered a smile. "Oh my God, I can totally see Christian doing something like that! What's wrong with you, dude?"

"I'm not good at meeting new people," Christian said defensively. "Especially in casual settings, like at a party. I'm more used to business settings, otherwise I don't know what to say or how to conduct myself, and I tend to go quiet and keep to myself."

"Well, maybe you should practice more," Ana suggested, and Christian looked at her. "It's like playing a musical instrument - a lot of people struggle with being in social settings, but the more they do it, the easier it becomes."

"And do you speak from experience, Ms. Steele?" Christian asked with an arch smile, and Ana couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't think your cousin trusts me," Ana said to William, who smiled. "When I go to parties, I do try to meet new people, and sometimes it can be a struggle. It's something I work at, and I know that it's a thing a lot of other people have to work at too."

"Well, it's good to know I'm not the only one with personal flaws," Christian smiled.

Ana saw that he was staring directly at her once again, but before she could ask why he was looking at her like that, she heard his phone ring with an incoming call. He frowned before picking it up and looking at the caller ID.

"It's my CFO," he said, getting to his feet. "I should take this. Excuse me."

Ana and William watched as he turned and walked toward the door, weaving his way through the crowd before disappearing in the distance. William turned back to Ana with a small grin. "If it's a work call after hours, he's probably going to be gone for at least twenty minutes."

Ana raised her eyebrows with a chuckle. "Wow, that long?"

"Yeah. The dude's a busy guy, but that's how he's able to earn a boatload of money," William said. "But I'm not complaining… he said all drinks are on him tonight, so he can take as many work calls as he wants."

Ana couldn't help but giggle. "Since he's so rich, I almost wonder why he decided to take you to this hole-in-the-wall college bar for drinks rather than a place that's more high-brow."

"Oh, I think he mentioned Elliot had wanted to come here tonight," William explained. "I'm not sure why exactly, but it doesn't matter anyway since Elliot isn't feeling well tonight and couldn't make it."

Ana blinked, feeling a weird pit in her stomach as William said that. "Oh."

"Just between you and me," William went on, leaning in slightly so Ana could hear better. "I think Elliot's just moping around, and that's why he didn't want to come out tonight."

This immediately piqued Ana's interest, and she stared at William with her eyebrows raised. "Really?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "From what I understand, about a month ago there was this girl he was super into, but it turned out she was a gold digger or something, and he had to let her go."

Whatever Ana had expected William to say, this definitely wasn't it. "I'm sorry, what?" she sputtered after a moment. "A gold digger?"

"Yeah," William affirmed. "Elliot's company is worth a lot of money, so there are plenty of women out there who want him just for his bank account. It kind of sucks, but that's the reality."

Ana tried to hide her anger over this grossly inaccurate portrait of her sweet, kind-hearted sister. "And did you ever meet this girl?" she asked, her voice restrained. "How do you know for sure that she was a gold digger?"

William seemed to realize Ana was offended by what he'd said, so he quickly tried to backtrack: "Well, I mean, I don't know if she was actually a gold digger. I've never met her, but Christian seemed convinced enough that she didn't have Elliot's best interests at heart. And Elliot eventually listened to him, though he's clearly not very happy about it."

"Christian?" Ana couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, it was Christian who had to convince him to leave her," William said. "He told me so himself."

Ana fought to keep her expression normal, but inside her head was spinning and her heart was pounding a frenzied rhythm. She couldn't believe it… Christian had broken up Kate and Elliot!? And he had done it deliberately! How could he have done that? He'd met Kate, how on earth could he think she was a gold digger?

She then thought of Jack and what Christian had done to him, and Ana's anger seemed to grow exponentially as she realized the truth. Christian Grey was nothing more than a hateful son-of-a-bitch who enjoyed destroying other people's lives for no reason other than to make him feel better about himself.

"Hey, are you alright?" William asked, clearly noticing Ana's pale expression.

"Um… yeah. Yeah I'm fine," Ana said, quickly clearing her throat. "I just remembered I have to speak to Charlie about something. Excuse me."

She got to her feet and walked toward the dance floor to where she knew Charlie and Jose were, but a moment later, she almost collided with the two of them as they were making their way back to the table.

"Hey Ana," Charlie smiled, but her smile faded as she looked at her friend's face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm getting a migraine," Ana lied. "Is it alright if I head back to your place right now? The crowds and music here are kind of making it worse."

"Of course," Charlie said quickly. "Jose and I were getting tired anyway. We'll head back with you."

Ana agreed, and the three of them went back to the table to grab their things and say goodbye to William, who looked surprised and disappointed to see them go. Ana hardly cared though… all she cared about at the moment was getting the hell out of here as quickly as possible before she broke down.

They walked out the front doors and headed for Charlie's car, and Ana was thankful she didn't see Christian anywhere as they left.

A/N: An unexpected turn of events… but for all you P&P fans out there, you can probably guess what's coming up next!

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