I can't find, oh the right romantic line
But see me once and see the way I feel
Don't discard me just because you think I mean you harm
But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal

-Elton John, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"

CHAPTER NINE

This story is exhausting, isn't it?

Watching the interplay between Frankie and Eddie, the relentless game of cat-and-mouse that they've got going on… their chemistry is so insane that it blinds the both of them to what is actually going on. From the outside looking in, it's near impossible to understand why these two didn't just get it over with and jump each other right when they met. It's exhausting just to watch, I can't even imagine what it was like to live it.

It's almost over, I promise.

Stay with me now…

Frankie sat on a barstool at the edge of the bar, a glass of champagne in her hand, watching as Jane and Charlie danced and feeling a sense of déjà vu from the wedding she had just attended, only this time she wasn't counting the minutes until she could leave. In fact, she was smiling as she watched Jane and Charlie, who looked so blissfully happy to be dancing together, celebrating their engagement.

"They look pretty happy together, huh?"

Frankie turned around and wasn't surprised to see Eddie sitting down in the chair next to hers. He had been almost a constant present the entire night.

"They are happy together," Frankie replied, looking at Charlie and Jane again. "It's like, I look at them and it makes me happy, even though I really have no reason to be happy."

"What do you mean, you have no reason to be happy?"

She looked back over at him. "I just meant that their happiness is contagious. I'm really happy for them," Frankie said, covering her tracks somewhat. That hadn't been what she meant, but Eddie didn't need to know that. The song that was playing ended and a new one started up, and Frankie couldn't help her breath catching when she heard what it was – "Songbird" by Eva Cassidy.

"What?" Eddie asked, apparently noticing her intake of breath.

"Oh, I uh… I just… I like this song," she said with a bashful smile.

"Well then," Eddie said, standing up. Frankie flushed red as he extended a hand to her. "Would you like to dance with me?"

"Oh, you don't have to do that, I was really just making conversation about the song…" she trailed off when Eddie continued to stand there with his hand outstretched. He didn't say a word, but he apparently wasn't taking no for an answer, so she stood up and took his hand. He led her out to the dance floor, and her sense of déjà vu increased, but this time, Eddie's fingers were wrapped tenderly around her own, and he wasn't yanking her behind him. They reached the dance floor and he turned, putting a hand on her waist and holding her right hand in his. They slowly started to sway to the music, and Frankie could feel a question rising in her mind. She gulped. She had to know.

"So… before, at the wedding… why did you ask me to dance?" she asked. His shoulders shrugged underneath her hand.

"Why did you say yes?"

Frankie bit her bottom lip. She didn't really have an answer to that. She could blame it on the champagne… but she'd really just wanted to be close to him. Eddie cleared his throat.

"I've been meaning to talk to you since I came into town," he said. Frankie's mouth went dry.

"Oh really," she managed to get out. She looked at the wall over his shoulder, attempting to avoid his gaze.

"Yeah… I got your letter, and I just wanted to, um… talk to you about it."

"What's there to talk about?" she asked.

"Frankie," he said softly. She looked up at him. "I wanted to thank you," he said. That caught her attention.

"Thank me?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah… um, I didn't believe you, at first… y'know, when I first read the letter. I mean, I read it, and I didn't understand why you would make up a story like that, and I was still holding out hope that you were wrong, and that Gabriella was a good person…" Eddie chuckled and looked away as he shook his head. "She dumped me. I asked her about what you said, and all I wanted was confirmation from her that it was all lies… she made up some excuse and left, and I haven't heard from her since then. I did, however, see her at the movie theater, making out with some guy in the back row."

Frankie sighed. Her emotions were conflicted. Part of her wanted to say "I told you so," especially since he had just admitted that he hadn't believed her at first… but she also felt bad for him, that he had fallen victim to Gabriella's manipulation.

"I'm sorry, Eddie," she said, sympathy winning out. Eddie shook his head.

"No, don't apologize. I should be apologizing to you. I can't… I can't imagine what it must've been like for you, and I'm so sorry I didn't believe you."

Frankie swallowed hard. "It was high school, it was a long time ago."

"That doesn't matter," Eddie insisted emphatically. Frankie brought her eyes up to meet his.

"Forget about it, Eddie," she said with a smile. "I'm a strong girl, I made it through just fine. I'm just sorry that you had to get mixed up in all this."

Eddie shrugged. "I'm just glad I found out before…" He trailed off, looking at something behind Frankie.

"What?" she asked, turning around so she could see what he was looking at.

"Zach… Zach is over there, kissing your friend… what is her name?"

Frankie turned back around, smiling. "That's my friend Carly Lucas," she replied. "I set the two of them up."

Eddie looked back down at her. "Really," he said.

"Yeah… the two of them are actually pretty similar, and uh…" Frankie swallowed. "Well the thing is, I realized that you were right about the way I treated Zach. I mean, I felt guilty at the time, but when you said it to me, I just… I felt a lot more guilty, so I wanted to make it up to him."

"Wow," Eddie said, looking at Zach and Carly again. They had turned slightly so that she could see the two of them dancing too. "They look happy."

"Yeah, they do."

Eddie looked back down at her. "I wanted to apologize to you about that, too… I was wrong to jump down your throat about that. I wasn't in the situation, and I know that Zach can be kind of clingy and desperate sometimes… I mean, he's never asked me out, but I imagine I'd have a hard time rejecting him too." Frankie giggled. "So… I'm sorry for all that, for being such an ass to you, and um… I was hoping maybe we could be friends?"

Frankie smiled. "That'll be a change," she remarked. Eddie chuckled.

"Yeah, it will be. I mean, I'm not gonna lie, even if we are friends, I enjoy our verbal thrashings too much to be like, nice to you or something."

Frankie laughed again. "Well that's good, cuz I have a feeling that without the verbal thrashings, we'd be just plain boring."

"Good. Glad we're on the same page." The two of them laughed for a moment before settling into silence. Eddie pulled her closer, and Frankie laid her head on his shoulder without really realizing it as the two of them continued dancing.

"Okay. See that guy over there?" Frankie asked, pointing to a chubby guy in a flannel shirt, lounging around in the opposite corner of the room. She and Eddie were sitting at a table, laughing as they talked about the other guests at the party. She couldn't believe how much fun she was having with him.

"Yeah…" he replied.

"That's Jack Greene, Jane and I went to high school with him and his sister… okay, in 10th grade, he got busted for making out in the storeroom with our librarian," she said, barely getting the words out because she was laughing so much. Eddie's jaw dropped for a moment before he started laughing loudly with her.

"Wha… him? Look at him!"

As if on cue, they watched as Jack looked around, then discreetly smelled his armpits. Frankie and Eddie burst into laughter again.

"Well, it's not like the librarian was a stone fox," Frankie said. "I think she was about 48 years old at the time."

Eddie leaned back in his chair, resting his hand on his stomach as he laughed. "Oh man… that's good stuff. Are you guys actually still friends with him? Why'd you invite him here?"

Frankie scrunched her nose. "Well, unfortunately Jane is still friends with his sister, who's a little weird too, and I didn't want to invite his sister and not him, so…"

Eddie scoffed. "I wouldn't've invited either of them," he said, taking a sip of his drink. Frankie giggled. Eddie put his drink down and smiled over at her.

"Look at us… we're actually having a conversation," he observed.

"I know… it's weird."

"Next thing you know we'll be having some deep, in-depth heart-to-heart about our hopes and dreams and all that junk," Eddie said, laughing. Frankie laughed as well before looking back out at the dance floor. The deejay was playing a fast dance song, and she saw Eddie's parents dancing in the middle of the floor.

"Aw, Eddie, look!" she said, elbowing him. They both watched as Mr. Bennett spun Mrs. Bennett around, the two of them almost toppling over when she ran into him. Frankie giggled, watching the Bennetts laugh, but when she looked back at Eddie, she saw that his cheeks had tinged red.

"Wow… that's embarrassing," he murmured.

"What? Why? It's cute! Look how much fun they're having!" Frankie insisted.

"Look how drunk my mom is!" Eddie said, imitating Frankie's voice. Frankie giggled again when she saw Mrs. Bennett plant a wet kiss on her husband right in the middle of the dance floor.

"Oh geez, seriously, do I need to go out there and get them?" Eddie said. Frankie swatted him on the arm.

"Stop it. They're cute." She paused, her eyes glazing over slightly as she watched the Bennetts dance. "It must be nice to see your parents still happy and in love after all these years." At that remark, Eddie's attention turned from his parents back to Frankie. He cleared his throat.

"So… if you don't mind me asking…" he started. Frankie looked over at him. "I mean, you don't have to answer, but I was just wondering…"

"About my dad?" Frankie finished for him. Eddie nodded. "It's okay, I don't mind answering… he left, when I was 10. He was always really self-centered, and when he got rich with his business, he decided he didn't need my mom or my sister or me anymore, so he left. He sent child support checks once a month, and he paid for my and my sister's college education, but I pretty much haven't seen him since. He wants nothing to do with us. My mom kept his name, because my sister and I did, and she wanted everyone to know that we were family, but…" she trailed off.

"Wow," Eddie said softly. Frankie nodded.

"Yeah… Grace took it really hard. She was only 5 when he left, and I think that might be why she's so shy and insecure… she has always thought that it was something she did that drove our dad away, which is crazy, but… I don't know. In situations like these, it's hard to see the truth. All you can see is how it made you feel."

"How did it make you feel?" Eddie asked. Frankie brought her eyes up to meet his.

"Me?" she asked. Eddie nodded. Frankie shrugged. "I uh…" She swallowed. "Angry. It made me angry. I never understood why he left, and I never will, and all I feel when I think about him is anger."

The two of them were quiet for a minute after that. Frankie was thinking about how embarrassing it was that she'd just spilled her guts to Eddie when they'd only decided to be friends a few hours ago, while Eddie was busy gaining a bigger understanding of who Frankie was. He knew she'd never say it, but Frankie's dad was the reason that she wasn't in a relationship, and didn't appear to want to be in one. She wasn't just angry at her father, she was angry at men in general. Not only did her dad leave her for money, basically, but she worked in a field where she was surrounded by filthy rich corporate executives, who were probably all cookie-cutter versions of her father. Their attention was drawn away from their thoughts when they saw that the Bennetts had started up a game of Limbo on the dance floor. Frankie smiled at Eddie again.

"Count yourself lucky," she told him. He smiled at her.

"I do," he said. The two of them fell into silence again before Frankie cleared her throat and changed her subject.

"So you know my deep dark secret now… what's yours?" she asked. Eddie chuckled.

"Deep dark secret? I have no deep dark secrets."

"Oh come on, there's gotta be something," she cajoled him. He looked thoughtful.

"Actually…" He trailed off, smiling shyly. "Well now I feel dumb."

"Don't," she said. He looked up at her, then looked back down at his fingers, circling the rim of his drink.

"I'll work at Bennett Construction for awhile, but it's actually been a goal of mine to start my own business."

"Really," Frankie said, surprised. "What kind of business?"

"Actually, a bar," he said. "Now, don't laugh… I know that bars aren't exactly your kind of establishment-"

"I'm not laughing," she cut him off. "Go on. What kind of bar?"

"Well, see, there are all kinds of different bars… karaoke bars, sports bars, uptown, classy bars, dance clubs/bars, and so on… but no one has really successfully combined all of those different styles. That's what I want to do. I have some ideas… but what I want to do is make a bar that literally anyone would want to go to, where anyone can go and have an honestly good time." He stopped talking and looked at Frankie, who could've sworn that she saw something glimmering in his eyes… hope maybe?

"I think that's great."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, really. Any kind of entrepreneurship is a brave move, and a bar can be a really great investment, especially if you have the right kind of atmosphere, right location, et cetera, et cetera. I think you should go for it."

Eddie didn't say anything, but just smiled at her. "Yeah?"

"Definitely." Eddie didn't say anything for a moment.

"Thanks, Frankie… that means a lot," he said quietly. They sat there for a moment before a voice interrupted them.

"Hey guys." Frankie looked up to see Jane standing next to them, pulling a chair out.

"Hi Jane… how's the party?"

"Wonderful… thanks again for planning this, you guys. So amazing," Jane said emphatically. Frankie smiled and reached over, patting Jane's hand. "However…" Jane raised an eyebrow and Frankie swallowed a groan. "…you guys look like you're having an awful lot of fun over here, just the two of you." Frankie felt her cheeks redden.

"Yes, news in that department," Eddie said before Frankie could say anything herself. "Frankie and I are friends."

Jane raised both her eyebrows. "Friends, huh? That is a new development. You two sure you can handle that?"

Eddie smiled at Frankie. "Guess we'll find out."

Frankie yawned when she woke up, light spilling in through the blinds of her old bedroom that she was sleeping in. She rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 10:00 AM, which was way later than she normally slept, but she had stayed late at the hotel until everyone left, and then she had to make sure everything got cleaned up, so it had been a late night. A slow, easy smile came to her lips when she remembered what had happened the night before, and an image of Eddie smiling genuinely at her lingered in her mind. She closed her eyes.

But before she could allow herself to indulge in the images for very long, a nagging thought in the back of her mind yanked her out of it. She sighed, opening her eyes and staring at the ceiling. She didn't want to lose the control. She'd just gained back the control in her life, she was finally starting to feel like herself again, and she didn't want to lose it, especially if Eddie was just going to bring her life crashing back down again.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called, sitting up in bed and pulling the sheets closer to her body. The door opened and Grace was behind it.

"Morning," she said, walking into the room. Lydia was close behind her, and hopped up onto the bed.

"Hey, morning Gracie," Frankie greeted, her voice thick with sleep. Grace walked over and sat at the end of the bed next to Lydia, petting the top of her head.

"What time did you end up getting home last night?" she asked. Frankie rubbed her eyes.

"Oh, I don't know, I think it was around 3:30 or so," she replied.

"Wow… so the party was a pretty big success, huh?"

Frankie smiled. "Yeah… I'm so glad everyone who RSVPed came… well, there was like, one or two people who couldn't make it because of the weather, but most everyone was there, and Jane and Charlie were totally surprised, which makes me happy."

Grace smiled at her sister. "I'm surprised you even noticed that the party was a success… you were pretty wrapped up in Eddie Bennett."

Frankie groaned and flopped down onto the bed behind her. "Not you too, Gracie! Jesus, does everyone feel like they need to inform me of my attraction to him?"

"Ooh, so you ARE attracted to him!"

Frankie bit her tongue, literally. "I didn't say that."

"Sure you didn't."

Frankie sat back up again. "Can we change the subject?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "Fine… I came up here cuz Mom says you need to get up… Grandma and Grandpa are going to be here any minute… and by the way, change of plans… they brought our dear Great Aunt Cathy."

Frankie let out another groan. "What? Seriously, that old hag?"

"Frankie, she is our great aunt," Grace scolded.

"Yeah right, don't pretend like you like her or something."

"I'm not… but I don't think you should call her an old hag." Frankie stuck out her tongue. "God, and I'm supposed to be the little sister?" Frankie giggled before hitting Grace square in the face with a pillow as Lydia barked.

An hour later Frankie emerged from her bedroom, showered and dressed, and made her way downstairs where she could hear her grandparents' voices. She walked into the living room, seeing her Grandma and Grandpa sitting on the couch, chatting with her mother. Violet and Richard Darcy were her father's parents, but her mother had always placed huge importance on family, and had always told her daughters that just because their father didn't live with them anymore didn't mean that he wasn't still family. Luckily, Violet and Richard were of the same opinion, and continued to see Grace and Frankie even after their son decided to make himself disappear.

"Hi Grandma, hi Grandpa," she greeted them, going over to the couch and hugging her grandparents.

"There's our little Frankie. Were you hiding up in your room?" Violet asked.

"Yep. Hi Grandpa," Frankie replied as she hugged her grandfather. Richard, a man of very few words, simply smiled at his granddaughter.

"So… Grace told me that Aunt Cathy is here," Frankie said, trying to keep her voice sounding upbeat as she sat down next to her grandmother. The same rule applied to Cathy – her grandfather's sister was still family – but Aunt Cathy's not-quite-sunny disposition made it a lot more difficult to tolerate her.

"Yes she is, she was going to go visit Bill & Amy in Virginia, but there was a change of plans, so she's here with us for the holidays," Violet said, giving her granddaughter a warning look. Frankie smiled shyly, shrugging as if to suggest that she was completely innocent of anything Violet was thinking of. "And I should tell you… she's brought along a surprise for you."

Frankie's smile disappeared. "A surprise?"

As if on cue, Aunt Cathy walked through the door. She was an older woman, in her late 80s the last time Frankie checked, but stubborn as an ox, especially when it came to her dignity. She was wearing a very old-fashioned Christmas dress with a sweater draped around her shoulders, her gray hair pulled back so tightly into a bun that her eyebrows were practically slanted backwards. Frankie mustered up a smile.

"Hi Aunt Cathy, merry Christmas!" she greeted her pseudo-cheerfully. Cathy smiled, or what was her version of a smile anyway – her nose wrinkled, and the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly.

"Merry Christmas, Francesca," she greeted her stiffly. Aunt Cathy was the only member of her family who had never called her Frankie, and never would – after all, it was a boy's name, as Cathy constantly reminded her. Cathy moved further into the room, and Frankie noticed for the first time that there was a man she had never seen before following her. He was tall and fairly good-looking, wearing an expensive suit and was clearly way overdressed. "Francesca… this is Carl Bingley, he's a friend of the family. Carl, this is my niece that I was telling you about, Francesca."

Frankie froze.

Leave it to Aunt Cathy to try and set me up with a stranger on Christmas.

Carl was walking towards her, and Frankie felt an elbow in her side from her grandmother. She recovered enough of her manners to stand and smile politely as she shook Carl's hand.

"Francesca… it's a pleasure to meet you. Your aunt has told me so much about you," he said, smiling at her. Frankie smiled back.

"Nice to meet you too, but please… call me Frankie." She could feel Cathy shooting daggers at the back of her head, but she ignored it. Violet scooted over so that there was room for Frankie and Carl to sit next to each other on the couch, and Cathy sat down in an armchair opposite them. Grace entered the room holding a box of Christmas tree ornaments, which she started hanging on the tree, shooting a teasing grin at Frankie. Frankie glared at her sister menacingly.

"Francesca," Cathy said, drawing her attention back to the ridiculous situation at hand. "Carl is joining us for the holidays because his job prevents him from taking the time to go visit his family."

"Oh really," Frankie said dryly, not in the least bit interested. Carl smiled cockily.

"Yes, I'm a lawyer in the Chicago Attorney General's office, and I really don't have the luxury of taking time off."

"That must be quite trying for you," Frankie said in a monotone voice. Emily sat up straighter and cleared her throat, obviously recognizing the potential disaster at hand.

"Oh, Frankie, I completely forgot, I need you to go out to the store to grab a bottle of wine for us to take over to the Bells tonight… did I tell you that they invited us over for dinner?" Frankie's mom informed her. Frankie's eyes widened.

"No, actually, you failed to mention that," she said. Emily smiled slyly.

"Yep… dinner at the Bells… should be fun," she said with a wink. Frankie tried her best to ignore her.

"Okay, well, I'll go right now," she said, standing up. Carl started to stand as well.

"Please, let me come with you," he said.

"No! I mean…" Frankie cleared her throat. "No, please, Carl, sit. Relax, it's your holiday, remember? I'll be back in just a few minutes." She shot him a semi-polite smile before hurrying out of the house.

Dinner at the Bells… interesting indeed.

"Hello Hello! Come on in, everyone, please come in," Mrs. Bell greeted the Darcys at the door that night. Frankie swallowed her butterflies as she entered the house along with the rest of her family… and Carl. She watched as Mrs. Bell hugged her mom, shook hands with her grandparents and Aunt Cathy, and kissed her sister and herself on the forehead. Mrs. Bell ended up standing in front of Carl. "I don't know you," she said with a laugh.

"Abigail, this is Carl Bingley, Aunt Cathy brought him along to celebrate the holidays with us. Carl, this is Abigail Bell," Emily introduced the two of them.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Bell," Carl said politely, shaking her hand.

"You too, Carl… always a pleasure to have new faces around here."

Frankie smiled and watched the two families interact but at the same time, looked around in her peripheral vision for Eddie. She sighed, wishing that she wouldn't do that, but it seemed to be beyond her newfound control.

"Well come on in, take your coats off. We're going to have a full house tonight, but it should be fun," Mrs. Bell said as she took Emily's coat. Frankie started to take her own coat off.

"Let me help with that," she heard from behind her. She knew immediately whose hands were helping her coat off her shoulders, and the thought of it made her heart beat faster. She turned around, seeing Eddie smile as he folded her coat over his arm. She noticed that Carl had turned too, a forlorn look on his face as he eyed Eddie.

"Thanks," she said.

"My pleasure," Eddie replied. The number of people standing in the small foyer caused the two of them to stand very close together, and Frankie had the distinct feeling that they were being watched by at least half of the people in there. Eddie apparently noticed the same thing, backing away from her and clearing his throat.

"So… Jane and Charlie are still reeling from that surprise we gave them," he said with a smile. Frankie smiled back.

"Good… I'm so glad it worked out," she said.

"Yeah, me too. You really did a good job with that."

"Hey now, I can't take all the credit. You did help, remember?"

Eddie gave her a skeptical look. "Yeah right, if by 'help' you mean 'antagonized and made fun of you.'" Frankie giggled.

"Who is this young man?" Cathy's voice interrupted their friendly banter. Frankie resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"This is Eddie Bennett, and his brother Charlie, Charlie is Jane's fiancée… and these are his parents, Matthew and Carrie, and his sisters, Maggie and Kelly. Bennetts, these are Frankie's grandparents, Richard and Violet, and her aunt Cathy, and Cathy's friend Carl Bingley," Mrs. Bell introduced everyone, and there was another round of "hello"s and "how are you"s before the group finally made their way from the foyer to the living room.

"So… Charlie, what is it that you do?" Aunt Cathy was asking as everyone was getting settled. Charlie looked a bit taken aback, but Frankie wasn't surprised in the least. Aunt Cathy knew that Emily and Mrs. Bell were best friends, and had known Jane for as long as Frankie had, and Aunt Cathy did this kind of interrogation with everyone who came even remotely close to her family.

"Oh, well, my dad owns a construction company, and I work there. Eddie does too, we uh… we both work there," Charlie stumbled over his words. Frankie hid a giggle behind her hand at the look on Charlie's face – he was clearly nervous and knew he was being interrogated, but confused as to why exactly he was nervous, considering Aunt Cathy wasn't even related to Jane. Aunt Cathy's gaze rounded on Eddie, who was standing next to Frankie.

"A construction company, hmm?"

The color drained from Frankie's face. She recognized Aunt Cathy's demeanor, the way she was looking down her nose at the Bennetts… all of a sudden, the situation wasn't as funny anymore.

It was going to be a long night.

A/N: Yaayy! Thanks for reading and reviewing, everybody! For those who have read this before, the changes are very obvious in this chapter... Carl Bingley is a completely new character, and I took out the character of Frankie's dad... I had wanted to do something similar to this from the beginning, but I didn't just because there are so many characters in these family scenes and I didn't want to confuse anyone, but I decided to go for it, lol. So if you're confused about who's who at any point, let me know and I'll try to clarify. Also, the character of Carl for anyone who is interested... he's kind of a combination of Caroline Bingley and Anne DeBourgh, because in the book, both of those characters were either trying to get with Darcy or were being set up with Darcy... so yeah. Anyway, keep reading and let me know what you think, especially those of you who know the changes! Thanks!