Will

Will tried to remember why he had asked Charlie's sister, Caroline, to go to Casey's party with him. With her bony hip poking him as she pressed herself closer to him in the backseat of the car, he was having trouble remembering. Oh yeah, because he had felt really bad about how upset Charlie was when he had told him that he didn't think Jane was at all interested in him. Charlie had been sure that Jane liked him but when Will had asked him to give an example of an instance when Jane had shown more interest in him than in any other boy she knew, Charlie had been stumped. Jane was friendly with all the boys and had never indicated that she had any feelings for Charlie in the two years they had known each other.

Charlie had been quite low and had refused to go to the party at all. At this, Will had suggested he ask Maya. She sat next to Will for math class and had confided in him that she had a boyfriend who lived in another state and that she was miserable about having a long-distance relationship, but was resigned to finishing the last year of school before moving to be with him. Will thought that she was the perfect date for Charlie; she just wanted to enjoy herself at the party and wouldn't expect anything from him. Charlie had needed some persuading but had finally agreed when Will said he would ask Caroline to go with him.

Caroline was a year younger than Charlie but wasn't at their school. Charlie's father had made it big in the stock market a few years back and had moved to a large new house here a couple of years ago. He had planned to put both his children in private schools but Charlie preferred to go to the local high school. Since Charlie's grades were always good, his father had agreed. Caroline had joined a nearby private school and become even more of a snob than she had been before.

Will lived some blocks away from Charlie and they had met soon after Charlie moved to the neighborhood. Will had practically no friends since he had never been very sociable and after his father decided to have him home-schooled, he had not bothered to keep in touch with his old classmates. Becoming friends with Charlie had been one of the main reasons that Will had persuaded his father to let him join regular school again. His sister Georgiana had also been enrolled in a small private school – fortunately, not the same one Caroline went to, although he didn't think any place could make shy and sweet Georgie into a snob.

"Will!" Caroline's high voice pierced into his thoughts. "We are there!"

Casey's house was in a nice middle class neighborhood. It was a pleasant white house with a large backyard which was decorated with lights for the party. "Hey there!" Casey greeted them as they came to the door. "Come on in, and help yourself to the refreshments."

Maya dragged Charlie to dance and Will found himself standing around the side with Caroline hanging onto him. He was really regretting having asked her. He knew that she had a crush on him and had always tried to discourage her. Now that she thought he had finally noticed her, she was going to be unbearable. He had told her that they were only going as friends but she didn't seem to regard that.

Will suddenly noticed Liz Bennet entering with Jane. He felt his heart thumping faster – he hated himself for the way he reacted around her but he couldn't seem to control his body's reactions. She was looking gorgeous today with her dark brown hair loose and curling around her shoulders and wearing a red dress made of some clingy fabric that draped itself around her curves. And he couldn't help looking at those curves again. He brought his eyes up to her face only to notice her staring straight at him. He felt hot and embarrassed. She gave him a defiant glance and turned around to talk to Jane.

He wondered why she had looked at him like that. Charlie had told him she was irritated that he had tried to get partnered with someone else for the project but he had hoped she was over that. It was just that it was really difficult for him to work with her – he kept getting distracted. He couldn't focus on the project when her hair fell over her eyes and he found himself wanted to move it back ... or she came close and he found himself breathing her perfume in deeply. Sometimes he couldn't listen to what she was saying because he got lost in her sparkling blue eyes. He really needed to get over this. He couldn't get involved with Liz – it would just be for a few months and wasn't worth it. He needed to focus on his studies; he expected to be going to Harvard next year. He knew Liz got fairly good grades but he didn't expect that with her background, she would be looking at getting into any of the Ivy League schools. He didn't see that they had a future together and he didn't want a short-term relationship. He would just have to avoid much contact with her until the school year was over.

Caroline tugged on his arm. "Who is that girl you were staring at?"

"You mean the one with the pretty blue eyes," he blurted out before he could stop himself. Caroline narrowed her eyes. "Uh ... that's Liz Bennet. We are working on a science project together. In fact, I was just thinking about the project."

Caroline didn't look convinced but she dragged him off to dance. Although he hated dancing, he did not want to make conversation with her so he allowed himself to be led off. He wished that he could dance with Liz and hold her close to him. He threw a backwards glance at Liz as he went and noticed that she seemed to be urging Jane to do something.


Will was tired when they got back to Charlie's place after dropping Maya home but when Charlie suggested he come up to watch a movie together he agreed. Charlie had been subdued on the drive back and Will figured he wanted to talk.

Fortunately, Caroline's mobile rang as soon as they got in the house and she went to her room to fill her friend in on her evening. Will couldn't have taken any more of her that day.


After about ten minutes of watching the first Lord of the Rings movie, Will was beginning to feel very sleepy. He wasn't as much of a fan as Charlie was, he preferred reading the books to watching the movie.

Suddenly, Charlie spoke. "Will, did you notice Jane today?"

"I saw her coming in with Liz but didn't speak with her."

"She was looking lovely. She was wearing a white dress ... she looked angelic. I wanted to dance with her but each time I went near, she would suddenly move away before I could speak with her. If it had been anyone else, I would have thought they were avoiding me. But it's not like Jane. I did speak to Liz though. She said she didn't realize Maya and I were going out. I told her we were just friends and then she got a funny look in her eyes. Will, do you think that Jane may like me, after all?"

Will wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want his friend to get hurt. Charlie was an emotional and straight-forward soul and he felt it his responsibility to keep him from getting involved with a girl who didn't care for him.

"Charlie, for the next week, I'm going to observe how Jane behaves around you, very carefully, and if I do notice any sign that she does like you, I'll tell you!"

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, that would be good. I really do like her, Will."


Will turned off the lamp and lay in bed trying to sleep. He found his mind full of thoughts of Liz. He'd seen her dancing a slow dance with Colin from school and had found himself clenching his fists to stop from punching Colin. He knew he had no right to feel jealous. Hell, she didn't even like him and probably would be shocked that he was fantasizing over her. Why was he getting so obsessed with her? He wondered if Charlie felt the same way about Jane. If so, he thought they needed to stay clear of both those girls. Hopefully, after the science project was over, it would be easier.

When Will finally fell asleep, the last thought in his mind was that he would be able to spend time with Liz next week while working on the project.