Longbourn High – Chapter 6

Author's Notes:

Here it is, at long last. After over two months of waiting. Chapter 6 ofLongbournHighis finally done!

Sorry for the delay. I actually started this shortly after the last chapter came out, but I had a mild case of writer's block. Then, I got swept up in the end of the semester/holiday rush madness. Then.. Well, those are pretty much my only excuses.

Anyway, I'll try to get chapter 7 out in a shorter amount of time. This was a transition chapter and those are always hardest for me, so, hopefully, it'll all be downhill from here. There will probably only be one, maybe two, more chapters after this one.

I saw there were a couple of questions in the reviews, so I'll address those now.

As far as this story goes, Sisterde Bourghis a nun who lives in a convent, but she has also kept her family's house and holds gatherings there. If that's against the rules (as you can see, I don't know much about this sort of thing), then we'll just say she doesn't have a problem with bending them to her advantage.

Lynn isn't dating George yet. You can take notice of the word yet though..

As far as the ending of this story goes, I think everyone reading this knows where it's going. It'll be slightly different than the book in the sense that I think sixteen/seventeen is too young for people to get married though.

Also, if you're wondering what I'm doing after this fic, I've actually started a modernization of Emma. I don't know how far I'll go with it though. So far, it's more comedic than this story and has a pop culture twist that might interest me enough to keep going. If it never makes it onto this site, then that probably means I've abandoned the idea..

I think those were all the questions. If I missed anything, sorry!

As always, thanks for all the reviews! I still can't believe how many there are. It makes me feel bad for taking so long to finish this chapter..


Lizzie couldn't sleep that night.

No matter how she situated herself on the bed or how many sheep she counted or how far under her covers she went, her mind refused to slow down to a rate that allowed it to rest.

It was a well-known fact in the Bennet household that Lizzie hated confrontations. It baffled her parents. How could someone so opinionated, so outspoken at times, be upset when she got into an argument? It made perfect sense to Lizzie though. Sure, she liked letting people know what she thought, but she hated being angry. She hated making someone else angry. All in all, it was just a horrible situation for her.

At least, that's what Lizzie told herself. Why else would she still be awake at this hour of the night?

Finally, at half past three, Lizzie grew tired of tossing and turning. Wrapping her blanket around her shoulders, she padded softly across the room and turned on the computer. Jane rolled over, mumbling quietly at the sound, but quickly fell back asleep. Lizzie couldn't help envying her sister.

Lizzie had just started her fourth game of spider solitaire when a window popped up, asking whether she would accept an instant message.

Blinking, Lizzie frowned at the box as she ran through her mental directory of screen names. Charlotte's sister, Maria, was the only person she knew who was ever online at this time of the night, but that was only during the summer and the screen name didn't look like one Maria would choose.

After a moment's debate, Lizzie decided to accept the message. At the least, it would give her a few minutes of entertainment, even if its sender did turn out to be a nuisance.

ycradrm: Hi, Lizzie. It's Will.

Lizzie stared at the message for a moment, her eyes wider than ever. This was just her luck. Why couldn't he have just been a harmless nerd who wanted to convince someone that his favorite movie was worth seeing?

ycradrm: I hope I'm not bothering you. Anna gave me your screen name and since I saw you were on…

mslbennet: Actually, you are. I was in the middle of a paper.

Lizzie felt a brief pang of guilt as she read what she had written. She wasn't normally so quick to lie, but, in her mind, this situation justified it. She had said everything she needed to say to Will Darcy. Any other retorts that came out of her would simply be repetitive and garbled in her sleepy state of mind.

ycradrm: I'll make this short then. Anna also gave me your e-mail address. So, I'd appreciate it if you would check your mail soon.

Automatic Message: ycradrm has signed off –

Lizzie's eyes remained on the box for nearly a minute before she clicked out of it. Her fingers trembling slightly, she typed in the information needed to bring up her inbox. Sure enough, Will's e-mail was at the top of the page. Lizzie bit her lip lightly as she debated her course of action. On the one hand, she was tempted to delete it. Why should she willingly put herself through the agony of furthering her problem with Will? On the other hand, she was dying to know what he had to say. In the end, her curiosity one out, as it always seemed to, and she opened the message.


Before you hit delete, please hear me out. I promise not to waste too much of your time.

As tempting as it is for me to forget about your ignorant comments last night, I can't bring myself to do so. I don't know exactly what led you to those opinions, but I think it's safe to say that I have some idea.

George Wickham.

The name rings a bell for you, I'm sure.

I don't know how much of the truth you've heard, so I'll start at the beginning.

George and I go way back. Our fathers were best friends growing up and hoped that we would follow in that tradition. So, I spent a good portion of my childhood with George. If I wasn't spending the weekend at his house, he was at mine. We continued on that way until Mr. Wickham died a few years ago.

And, this is where my story will start to differ from George's, I bet.

Before his death, Mr. Wickham made a few financial mistakes. I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say that his family is still feeling the pain caused by his debts.

I'll give George this much. Out of all his relatives, he's suffered the most from his father's stupidity.

We were fourteen when Mr. Wickham passed away - just a few months away from starting at Pemberley. With their father gone and his debts exposed, the Wickhams couldn't afford George's tuition anymore. My father couldn't stand back and watch this take place, so he pulled some strings and anonymously put together a scholarship for George.

Mrs. Wickham was smart enough to figure out what he had done, but I don't think George ever did. At least, I hope he didn't. If he did, then he's an even bigger jerk than I give him credit for being.

I'm guessing that you think I ruined George's life by getting him expelled from Pemberley. He didn't waste any time spreading that rumor around my school, so I'm assuming it made its way to yours. I don't know what he told you about his expulsion, but I can guarantee that it's a lie. Technically, George wasn't expelled from Pemberley. He just lost his scholarship.

In this sense, he was right – I am responsible for his leaving school.

The whole thing started last fall when George came over for dinner one night. Afterwards, we hung out in the den and did our homework. Anna was there as well. She's always liked him well enough, but that was the first night when I started to notice her feelings had turned into a crush.

Time went on and I didn't think about it anymore. Anna has always had small infatuations with boys, but, luckily for me, she's too shy to act on any of them.

George, on the other hand, is anything but shy. He saw something in Anna. For her sake, I hope it was something other than the obvious, but I think that would be giving him too much credit.

They started going out last April. As far as I could see, it was just a casual relationship. I had enough to deal with myself, so I tried not to worry too much.

That, as it turned out, was a mistake. My parents went away for a week, leaving me in charge of Anna. I'd been planning on staying at school late one day, but ended up leaving earlier than expected. Anna was home when I got there – I could tell from the music coming out of her bedroom. As I walked up the stairs, I began to get the feeling that something was wrong. There were two voices inside. One belonged to Anna. She sounded scared, to the point of crying. I took off running when I heard that.

The first thing I saw, when I burst into her room, was George. He was standing topless by her bed, his arms grasping her shoulders. Anna's buttons were undone and her blouse was slowly sliding off. Her fingers were fumbling shakily with the fabric in a desperate attempt to remedy her appearance. I took one look at her face, at the tears that were starting to fall, and acted on instinct.

George was on the ground before he knew what had happened.

I grabbed Anna and took her downstairs. She told me what had happened on the way. She had invited George over to watch a movie and he took it to mean something else. Once Anna was settled in front of the TV, I went back upstairs to clean up the mess. George was just starting to get up when I walked in. He grabbed my arm to steady himself and began spouting apologies and explanations. I knew it was all rubbish, but I didn't bother saying so. He wasn't worth it.

For his family's sake, I decided not to make a big deal out of the situation. I just told him to go, that I never wanted to hear of him looking at my sister again. When my parents returned, I told my father what had happened. He agreed that I had acted wisely. There wasn't any need to tarnish his family's name over this issue. Instead, my father quietly arranged for George's scholarship to be taken away.

And, so, there you have it. The real reason why George Wickham's presence no longer darkens the hallowed halls of Pemberley Prep. My only regret there is that he has now been inflicted upon your school.

If my memory serves me correctly, there was one other accusation that you made which I felt the need to clarify. You brought up my role in Charlie and Jane's break-up. While I won't deny that I was a factor in it, there are some things you should know before placing the blame on me.

First of all, my goal was never to hurt your sister. If I had thought that the break-up would cause her any real pain, then I would have done things differently.

I don't know what you heard, exactly, but my role in this situation wasn't as active as you seem to think. I'm not saying that makes me any less guilty, but I think it's important to note.

I've never supported Charlie and Jane's relationship. From what I saw of it, it didn't seem to have much depth. If I'd realized that either party was taking it seriously, then we wouldn't have this problem now.

I won't deny that I've had my share of concerns about their relationship. Many of them had to do with Charlie and his relationship habits. Charlie's the type of guy who falls in love with every pretty face he sees. In my eyes, Jane fit perfectly into the mold that Charlie's girlfriends always fall into. So, why should I have thought this time was any different?

When I started to see that Charlie was actually pursuing a serious relationship with Jane, I'll admit that I did try to stop him. I don't mean to offend you by saying this, but I didn't know anything about your family at the time. The way your youngest sisters act in public doesn't do anything for your family's reputation. It wouldn't have been the first time a gold-digger came after a Pemberley student. Also, it seemed like the relationship was moving too quickly. Too much, too soon. Charlie has a lot going on right now. College applications, admissions interviews, plus our usual extracurricular. He was falling behind on all of it.

I talked to Caroline about it and she echoed my concerns. He was slacking off at home as well. She'd been taking care of his chores for weeks and was getting sick of it. She suggested that we work together to break them up, but I turned her down.

If there's anything I feel guilty about in this situation, it's that I knowingly stood by and let Caroline manipulate Charlie and Jane. While I did not support her decision to meddle in her brother's love life, I didn't do anything to stop her either.

As for my part, I encouraged Charlie to spend more time with his sister and on his extracurriculars. I hoped that would be enough to make him be less infatuated by Jane. And, from what I can tell, it did. Charlie knows how crucial the next few months are going to be. Deep down, he knows where his priorities have to lie right now. I merely helped him remember.

And, with that said, I'll stop talking your ear (or eyes, as the case might be) off. It's late now and I have to get up early for school. Besides, I think I've said everything that needs to be said. If you have any questions, you know where to find me.

- Will

PS – Good luck on your paper.


With a mother like Mrs. Bennet, it is impossible to grow up without having some knowledge of the aches and pains that one can wake up with. In fact, Lizzie couldn't remember a morning when her mother did not manage to bring up the fact that her back was out or her neck was stiff or that she was this close to getting arthritis.

"Oh, to be young again," Mrs. Bennet was constantly heard saying. "Enjoy your knees now, girls. You'll hate them when you get to be my age."

When Lizzie woke up on the morning after the dinner at Sister de Bourgh's, she finally understood what her mother was talking about. Lizzie's neck was so sore that it took her nearly a minute just to sit up. Once she was finally in a position that could be described as sitting, Lizzie rubbed the base of her neck with one hand while trying to snap it into place with the other.

"Morning, Liz," Jane chirped as she returned from the bathroom. "You better hurry or we're going to be late."

"I don't think I can move," Lizzie moaned, shifting slightly in her chair.

"No wonder," Jane's head shook sympathetically. "Why'd you sleep there last night?"

Lizzie blinked at her sister for a moment while the events of the previous evening flooded her mind. The emotions that came with them were strong enough to make Lizzie forget about her neck. "Oh, er," Lizzie mumbled. "My pillow felt too soft."

Jane's features shifted into an expression of disbelief. "Right… Well, the shower's free now. That should help your neck."

If she felt up to nodding, Lizzie would have sent a grateful one in her sister's direction.


"And, then, flying purple people-eaters came out of nowhere and tried to devour us all."

"Really? Are you sure they weren't pink? Sometimes those colors can get mixed up, you know."

"That you hear," Charlotte pointed an accusatory french fry in her friend's direction.

"What're you talking about?" Lizzie shrugged defensively. "I've been listening."

"You have, have you?" Charlotte laughed. "So, you really do like stealing Jane's socks, then?"

"What about my socks?" Jane asked as she sat down at the girls' table.

"Lizzie likes to steal them," Charlotte told her.

"Really? And, all this time I thought it was the dryer."

"Ok, ok, I get it," Lizzie moaned as their giggles calmed down. "I'm sorry, Char. I was trying to listen. I'm just not with it today. I got, like, five minutes of sleep last night."

"I thought you got two and a half hours," Jane reminded her.

"This morning, she said two hours," Charlotte chimed in.

"It was down to an hour and a half after third period," Jane added.

"In History, she-"

"Stop it!" Lizzie cried, her head in her hands. "I can't hear myself think!"

"Someone's cranky," Jane mused as she stood up. "Anyone want anything?"

"Find Lizzie something with caffeine," Charlotte replied, reaching into her purse. "It's on me."

Jane took her money, patted Lizzie's back consolingly, and started off towards the vending machines.

"Liz-" Charlotte started tentatively.

"Is she gone?" Lizzie asked.

"Who?"

"Jane," Lizzie replied as she lifted her head off the table. She glanced across the room to where her sister was waiting in line. "Here, look at this before she gets back."

Charlotte took the sheet and scanned it for a moment before looking up. "What is this?"

"Just read it," Lizzie insisted. "We can talk during study hall."


Lizzie had never been one to take advantage of a situation, but she had to admit that it paid off to get along with her teachers. As soon as Mrs. Gardiner had finished calling roll, Lizzie and Charlotte raised their hands and asked to be dismissed to make photocopies. Without even a moment of hesitation, their teacher handed them each a hall pass and they were free.

"So?" Lizzie whispered as the girls strolled through the school.

"The guy likes to babble," Charlotte commented. "And, the way he talks.. Who says rubbish? Hasn't he ever heard the word cr-"

Lizzie waved her hand impatiently. "Do you think he was telling the truth?"

"I guess," Charlotte shrugged. "I mean, why would he lie? It would just make you hate him more, right?"

"I guess," Lizzie said thoughtfully. "But, maybe, he just hates George that much."

"Why don't you ask Anna about it?" Charlotte suggested.

"I couldn't do that. If it is true.." Lizzie shook her head slightly. "She would've been thirteen at the time.."

"What a creep," Charlotte concluded.

"I'll talk to George about it," Lizzie decided. "See if he reacts when I bring up Anna's name."

"Want me to do it?" Charlotte asked. "He might be less guarded around me."

"Nah, I think this something I have to see for myself."


"Liz!" Lynn shrieked as soon as she saw her sister enter the gym. "Did you come to cheer me on?"

"Hey, Lynnie," Lizzie said casually. "Actually, I was just stopping by to see George. Is he around?"

"The team just finished," Lynn pouted. "You missed a good practice. Katie and I were practically drooling."

"Katie?" Lizzie raised an eyebrow. "So, you're speaking again?"

"We weren't speaking?" Lynn frowned. "Oh, yeah. That was ages ago."

"Right," Lizzie nodded. "Well, I guess I'll go wait outside the locker -"

"Ooh, Lizzie!" Lynn grabbed her sister's arm suddenly. "I didn't tell you yet, did I?"

"Tell me what?"

Lynn bounced up and down a few times while she tried to transform her thoughts into words. "It's official! We're going to New York next month!"

"What?"

"The tournament, remember?" Lynn could barely contain her excitement. "All our fundraising paid off!"

Lizzie covered her ears for a moment while Lynn let out a shriek. "So, I guess you're excited?"

"Are you kidding?" Lynn squealed. Her smile faltered briefly as a thought occurred to her. "Katie said she doesn't think I'll be allowed to go though. Mother will let me, of course, but Katie doesn't think Father will."

"He might not," Lizzie said gently. "It is kind of far away and-"

"He has to let me! I'll die if I can't go!" Lynn moaned. "Can you talk to him, Liz? He'll listen to you!"

"Why don't you wait and see what he says first?" Lizzie suggested quickly, her eyes flickering after a group of boys who had just left the locker room.

"But-" Lynn was cut off as her sister took off into the hallway.

"George!" Lizzie called after the boys.

"Lizzie!" George turned around to face her. After nodding for his friends to go on, he strode over to her spot. "I haven't seen you around lately. How've you been?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old," she shrugged. "What about you?"

"I've been good," George grinned. "Busy, but good."

"I heard about the tournament. You must be excited."

"Yeah, it should be fun," George nodded. "So, what're you up to today? Don't you have band practice or something?"

"It ended early. I was just going to go get some coffee while my sisters are in practice," Lizzie said, a demure smile crossing her face.

Just as Lizzie had hoped, George took the bait and they set off for a café down the street. The café was a favorite of nearly everyone at Longbourn High, but, to Lizzie's relief, it was almost empty that day. After placing their orders, Lizzie claimed a booth in the back of the room while George waited for their drinks.

"I didn't realize you were such a caffeine addict," George commented, his eyes bulging slightly at the size of the mug he placed in front of Lizzie.

"I'm not normally," Lizzie replied. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."

"Ah," George nodded knowingly. "Insomnia or schoolwork?"

"Insomnia."

"It happens to the best of us."

"Yeah," Lizzie fumbled slightly with her mug, causing the liquid to come dangerously close to her sweater. She was surprised at herself. After hours of planning out exactly what she was going to say, she found herself at a loss for words.

"So, your sister looked good the other night."

"What?"

"At the game," George clarified. "Lynn has the potential to become a great cheerleader."

"Oh, right," Lizzie agreed.

"Is something wrong, Liz?" George frowned. "You seem kind of out of it."

"I'm just tired," Lizzie assured him. "I guess my lack of sleep's catching up with me again."

"Do you want me to drive you home?" George asked, a concerned look crossing his face.

"I'll be fine," Lizzie decided after a moment's debate. "I think Jane's still around, so she can drive if I'm not up to it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah.." Lizzie took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. It was now or never. If she didn't bring it up now, she would lose the nerve and…

"I'm glad I ran into you today," George said suddenly. "I was just thinking about you the other day, actually. You've always been such a good listener."

Lizzie's eyes snapped open. "Are you ok?"

"I've been kind of down lately," George confessed. "Alex, the girl I was seeing, dumped me."

"Oh," Lizzie said softly. "I'm sorry. What happened?"

"Her parents decided to send her off to boarding school," George said. "And, I guess she didn't want to keep up a long-distance relationship."

"Her parents just decided to send her away?" Lizzie asked, a bit of skepticism leaking into her voice.

"Yeah," George shifted slightly. "Nice folks, huh?"

Lizzie bit her lip as she studied his expression. She wasn't sure if it was her exhaustion speaking, but there definitely seemed to be more to the story than just that. "I met a girl from Pemberley yesterday," Lizzie told him. "She said she knew you."

"Really?" George asked. "Who was it?"

"Anna.. Anna.. something," Lizzie snapped her fingers as though she was trying to remember. It was amazing how easy it was to lie sometimes. "She's kind of short, blonde hair, freshman."

George's eyes flickered towards the table for a moment before meeting her stare. "Oh, I think I know who you're talking about. She's a nice enough girl, a little obsessive though."

"Obsessive?"

"Yeah," George nodded. "She had a thing for me last year. She kept sending me notes and calling my house and hanging up. Stuff like that."

"Really? That must've been annoying."

"It was," George leaned forward conspiratorially. "I felt bad for her. She convinced herself that I would go out with her if she hounded me. So, I finally decided to throw her a bone and go on a date or two."

"That was nice of you."

"Yeah, well, I'm a nice guy," George grinned impishly at her.

"So, what happened next?"

"Next?"

"After you went on a date or two."

"I told her I just wanted to be friends. She didn't take it well, as you can imagine," George replied. "I don't know what happened, exactly, but she must've told her brother I tried to take advantage of her because the whole school was talking about it the next day."

"Did you? Take advantage of her, I mean."

"Are you kidding?" George let out a loud guffaw. "Of course not! She was all over me. I was the one who was taken advantage of!"

"You poor thing," Lizzie said icily.

"What?" George asked. "You don't believe me?"

"I find it hard to believe that Anna would do anything like that," Lizzie said calmly. "She struck me as a very sweet, down-to-earth girl."

"Appearances can be deceiving," George reminded her.

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Lizzie snapped before gulping the rest of her coffee and getting up.

"What? Did I miss something?" George stood up, baffled.

"I have to go meet my sisters," Lizzie said, reaching into her wallet. She pulled out a few dollars and tossed them at him. "There's no need for you to pretend to be a gentleman and pay for me. That should cover my order."


Without so much as a glance over her shoulder, Lizzie strode out of the café and started the journey back to school. It was amazing how much faster this trip went. On the way down, she had been forced to fill the time with minor details about her life and other similar bits of conversation. Now, she was alone with just her thoughts for company.

And, there were a lot of thoughts. At first, there were too many to coherently express here. Slowly, but surely, though, they calmed down to a rate that allowed Lizzie to fully comprehend what had happened.

Will was right. George was a jerk.

There was no way to get around that fact.

Lizzie closed her eyes for a moment and leaned against a tree across from the soccer field. She couldn't believe she had been so wrong. She had trusted George. She had liked him. Why had she liked him? Was she that gullible? Was she just as silly as Katie and Lynn?

And, what gave George the right to treat girls this way? Lizzie felt a lump build up in her throat as her thoughts turned to Anna. There was no way that she could believe the other girl was capable of what George had accused her of.

His story was obviously a lie, she realized. The whole school had supposedly talked about what happened with Anna. And, yet, somehow, Charlie seemed oblivious as to what had caused Will to hate George. If Charlie was even half as good of a friend as Lizzie thought he was, there was no way he would be nice to a guy he knew had treated his best friend's sister that way.

Lizzie's mind refused to stop spinning as she resumed her stroll. Why was this bothering her so much? She had been wrong before and the odds were good that she would be wrong again. So, why was she dreading Thursday so much? She doubted that Will would confront her about what had happened. Had her pride been hurt so badly that she couldn't stand to look at him?

Why did she feel the urge to call Will and apologize? This didn't change anything. Sure, he had been right about George, but that didn't change who he was. He was still the same guy who had been disgusted by her because of her curly hair and silly band-aid. He was still the same guy who could not allow his best friend to be happy. He was still the same guy who had been horrified by his feelings for her.

And, where on earth were her sisters? Lizzie glanced at her watch as she approached their car. They should've been here by now. Ok, she was a few minutes early, but they should've sensed that she needed to go home and crash. They'd practically had to carry her into school that morning, after all.

Trembling slightly, Lizzie let out a frustrated groan as she situated herself on the hood of the car. She was tempted to leave without her sisters. They could afford to take the bus every now and then.

"Lizzie?" A tentative voice called out from behind her.

Lizzie turned around in time to see Mrs. Gardiner approach. "Hi, Mrs. Gardiner," she greeted as cheerfully as she could manage.

"Is everything all right?" Mrs. Gardiner wondered.

"Yeah," Lizzie said swiftly.

"Are you sure? You haven't seemed quite like yourself today."

"I'm just a little under the weather," Lizzie assured her.

"You shouldn't be in school, then," Mrs. Gardiner said with a smile. "No need to pass it on to the rest of us."

"I don't think it's contagious," Lizzie laughed.

"That's good to know. I don't think I could handle catching the flu again this year. You can only sit through so many hours of daytime television before your brain rots."

"Good point," Lizzie agreed.

"Well, I better get going," Mrs. Gardiner said, shifting her briefcase to her other arm. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lizzie."

Lizzie bit her lip as her teacher started to walk away. "Mrs. Gardiner," she called impulsively as she jumped off the car.

"Yes?" Mrs. Gardiner froze in her tracks as Lizzie jogged up to her.

"I just.. I almost forgot," Lizzie ran a shaky hand through her hair. "I'm really sorry, but.. But, um, I'm not going to be able to help out at the center anymore."

"Oh," Mrs. Gardiner frowned slightly.

"My life's just getting incredibly busy," Lizzie babbled. "The SATs are coming up and I'm starting a prep course for them. Plus, I have band practice. We have a million concerts for the holidays. And, I'm thinking about trying out for the indoor soccer team.. And, I just don't know if I'll be able to devote the sort of energy to the center that it deserves."

"It's fine, Lizzie," Mrs. Gardiner assured her. "I know that other things can come up. I was a little surprised, but it sounds like you have a lot to handle right now."

"I do," Lizzie nodded numbly. "I really.. If you want me to stick around and train a replacement, I can do that."

"That won't be necessary. Penelope should be able to work without an assistant, for the time being at least," Mrs. Gardiner said.

"Oh," Lizzie nodded. "That's good to hear. I really am sorry about this."

"Don't worry about it," Mrs. Gardiner said kindly. "And, just so you know, you're always welcome to come back and visit, Lizzie."

"I will," Lizzie promised.

"You should probably go. I think your sisters are getting impatient," Mrs. Gardiner nodded at a point behind Lizzie's shoulder.

"Oh, right," Lizzie took a step backwards. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Good night!" Mrs. Gardiner called as Lizzie hurried back to the car.

"Finally!" Katie hopped from one foot to the other. "It's freezing out here!"

"It's not actually freezing," Mary pointed out.

"Well, it feels like it," Katie corrected herself.

"You have the keys, don't you?" Jane asked.

"Yeah," Lizzie tossed them to her. "I think you better drive though."

"I can't wait until I can drive," Lynn sighed. "Then, I can come and go whenever I want."

"You already do that," Mary moaned as the girls climbed into the car. "We live on your schedule, Lynn."

"Oh, like, we never stay late because the Latin club's having a meeting," Lynn scoffed.

"Are you feeling any better, Liz?" Jane whispered, her voice barely audible due to the argument that had erupted in the backseat

Lizzie bit her lip for a moment before answering. She hated keeping things from her sister, but Jane would be better off not knowing about what Will and Caroline had done. And, as for George, this wasn't the right time or place to go into that.

"Not really, but I will after I get some sleep."

"Good," Jane smiled. "I was worried about you today."

Lizzie returned the smile before directing her attention to the outside world. Her eyes flickered from building to building, person to person, desperately seeking for something to focus on. She knew she couldn't run from her problems forever, but, if she didn't find a way to push them aside, she was never going to sleep well again.

And, if there was one thing Lizzie was sure of, it was the fact that there was no way she could survive another day like the one she'd just been through.


Next Time on Longbourn High:

Lynn goes to New York and George reaches a new level on the jerk scale.