Authors Note: Heyo! I'm back and ready to roll! I know Charlie was way out of character there in the last chapter, but I had to stop Lizzie's babbling with out being awkward somehow! (But… it's not like that wasn't awkward either! :\) And Charlie was just begging me to write that!

Now, it's time for this chapter's Chapterly Quotes With Caitlin! This quote is from Chapter 6:

"He [Darcy] wished to know more of her, and as a step towards conversing with her himself, attended to her conversation with others." ~ Jane Austen

DISCLAIMER:

~Me~ Well! It seems we have a problem.

~Stormy~ You mean you not yet owning Pride and Prejudice?

~Me~ Wow. You know a lot for a cat. *trying to change the subject* How do you even know

what that is? You don't even know how to read!

~Stormy~ Pu-lease. I know much more than I let on. Such as the fact that you haven't ever

seen a PG-13 movie by yourself in the theater.

~Me~ No one's supposed to know that! Gosh darn it, Stormy! And I will get the rights! Mark my

words!

So…you heard my kitty; I don't have the story rights, so I don't own anything that you

recognize. *sad*

Thanks for the reviews! Since I don't really have a deadline in collaboration with the number of reviews anymore, I have no idea how long it will be between chapters. When I get out of school, I should be able to update much faster, but since that isn't until May 21st, I will probably only have 2 more chapters posted. Maybe one. Sorry! :(

I have like, no time to write unless it's at school. So sorry about that! Keep reviewing! Here is chapter four!

CHAPTER FOUR: ATTEMPTING CONVERSATION

Elizabeth went into the ballroom again, with her face carefully devoid of any emotion. Scanning the area, she saw Kit and Lyddie flirting with different guys, but still college seniors. She turned, searching for Char, but found herself staring THEO in the chest. Dang, he's tall, she thought. With a chilly greeting, she turned, and started to walk off. In her mind, he didn't deserve her attention. She felt a hand grab her arm. Lizzie turned with a 'Finally!' and grinned at Char. Only it wasn't Char. It was THEO.

"What do you want?" she growled in exasperation. "First, you glare at me for no reason as soon as I arrive; keep running into me – literally! – humiliate me in front half the town; and now you put your hands on me?" Her voice was steadily rising so by the time she finished, she was almost shouting. "Get off of me! What right do you have?"

She yanked her arm free and stalked off. She left the ballroom and tried random doorknobs in the adjoining hallway until she found one that was unlocked. Pushing it open, she stumbled into a bedroom. It was beautiful.

There was a four poster bed, with royal blue sheets and pillows. The walls were painted robin's egg blue. There were paintings on the walls of oceanic scenes. She started roaming the bedroom, staring at the pictures. It was then she noticed that it seemed to be occupied. The bed was made, but there were suitcases on it, half open, and partially unpacked. Oh, dang. What if the person who lives here comes back? Omigosh! What if it was THEO's room? Or Charlie's? That would be almost just as bad! Lizzie started to panic. She rushed out of the room, only to run into someone else. It was THEO. Of course.

"What were you doing in my bedroom?" he asked, looking over her shoulder at the ocean room.

In another British accent.

What's with all the handsome guys in my life having British accents? And two-thirds of them are butt-faces! It's like it's a conspiracy! Out loud: "Uh, this is your room?" she asked, quickly shutting the door behind her. "I think you're mistaken. This can't possibly be your room."

"And why not?"

"Because…um…the…room is, uh…" she frantically tried to think of a reason. "Because… ooh!

Because I would never go into your room willingly unless I was dead! Ha!" she grinned triumphantly. THEO looked at her with one eyebrow raised. Gosh, he looks so good. Why does he have to be a butt-face?

"If you are dead, you have no will to speak of. Someone would have to carry you if you were dead. And I would never allow a dead thing in my bedroom in the first place. So that makes absolutely no sense."

"Great. You don't just kill a girl's cover up story, ya know. And there are probably hundreds of dead things in your room right now."

"Insects do not count, and I already had the room completely removed of any type of pest whatsoever before I moved in."

There was silence for a while, THEO and Lizzie just staring at each other in defiance. Well, Lizzie was staring in defiance. THEO was staring at her with absolutely no expression. Finally Lizzie spoke again. It was starting to get uncomfortable.

"Why are you here? You keep following me!" THEO seemed caught off guard with that question; but he recovered quickly.

"It is really none of your business what I do in my own house. A more appropriate question would be what are you doing in my bedroom?"

"It's really none of your business what I do with my own life, THEO," she hissed in sudden anger, surprising even herself. Why did I get so angry around him?

"Theo? Who is Theo? My name is not Theo, it is William." Lizzie's eyes widened in surprise. Whoops. I guess I got so used to calling him that in my mind that I called him THEO-

"No one." Lizzie answered quickly after the initial shock of her saying his acronym out loud. "I… got you confused with someone else." THEO – er – William looked skeptical, but Lizzie plowed on. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find my friend." she said coldly "I haven't seen her since I had the pleasure," she spat the word, "of seeing you for the first time, and she must be frantic. Goodbye." William reached out to stop her again, but seeing her face, stopped in mid-reach. He slowly pulled his arm back, as if frightened of startling her and setting her off.

"Wait. Charles was looking for you. That is why I came searching for you."

"Charles? I don't know a Charles," Lizzie snapped. "Now leave. Me. Alone!"

"I believe he prefers to go by Charlie?" William persisted.

"I'm not feeling well, so I am going to go home now. Tell what's-his-name I left. Now, goodbye!" she spat. Will was taken aback. What in the world did he do?

Seething, Lizzie stalked back to the ballroom where she was grabbed again.

"WHAT NOW? I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" She shouted, whirling around with her best death glare plastered on her face.

"You did? When? Before we got here? I don't remember that…"

"Oh my gosh, Char! I'm sorry, I thought you were Will!"

"Who? Oh, did another idiot try to hit on you again? Is he ok? You didn't put whoever-it-was in the hospital, did you?" Char asked. It wasn't unusual for men to flirt with Lizzie. It was unusual however, for one to walk away unscathed. Lizzie snorted.

"Wish it were that simple. Will is the co-owner of Netherfield Acres. He…did some things that I got pretty mad about and…I gave him a little talking-to. He refused to listen, and so I almost had to use force, but…then he backed off."

"What things did he do?" Char queried. She wriggled her eyebrows.

"Ugh, you're disgusting!" Lizzie laughed "He humiliated me. Got it? That's all. Well, first he gave me the death glare for no reason, then he humiliated me. After stalking me half the party."

"Well, that sucks. Hey, I saw the cutest guy, and he…" Char chattered on, linking her arm through Lizzie's. Tuning her friend out, Lizzie pondered the night so far. What was Will's deal? Why did he glare at her, then follow her for half the party? When Char paused for breath, Lizzie broke in.

"Hey, Char? Do you mind leaving early? I kinda wanna go home. If you don't want to, I could probably call Jane."

"Huh? Oh, no that's fine! I'll just grab a friend's car and drop you off. I'm gonna be staying a little while longer, because of that guy I was talking to you about. Are you feeling ok?" Char laid the back of her hand on Lizzie's forehead. "Your temperature seems normal. Is it Will? Is that why you wanna go home?"

"I told him I would be leaving, 'cause I wasn't feeling good, and now my head really does hurt. Karma." Lizzie laughed quarter-heartedly. You know, like half-heartedly, but not…never mind. Char promised that she would get the car, and scampered off. Yes, scampered. While Char was off searching for the friend that would sacrifice their car – her driving was a hazard to your health – Lizzie sat down on an empty chair. Sighing, she squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her temples with her fingertips, trying to sooth her headache. She wondered what Jane was doing now, and then her thoughts wandered back to her friends in Wichita.

She had moved to Wichita as soon as she graduated from college. She had majored in English Literature, specifically the 19th century. Her family had wanted her to stay in Louisville, but she refused. Mostly because she wanted to get away from her mother and younger sisters. She loved the literature of the 1800's because it was so…realistic! In all the modern romance books, the guys are all hot, rich men, or hot, poor cowboys; and all the women were gorgeous, and hated guys and/or had a horrible/abusive past. How the heck was that realistic? She also loved the idea of a gentleman. So she immersed herself in 19th century literature, specifically Jane Austen's works. Her favorite was Persuasion. She loved that even after years of misguided actions, Anne and Captain Wentworth were able to be together again. But back to her friends. As soon as she settled down in her apartment, there were some students and teachers that came over to welcome her to Kansas. She immediately became friends with some of the upperclassmen. After all, they were her age. And over time, the other professors had come to accept her. When she decided to visit her family, all her classes were immensely disappointed that she would be leaving. They understood her, and vice versa. They were also determined to hate their sub. As Lizzie knew what it was like to sub, she had tried to discourage all types of that behavior.

Char eventually came with a pair of keys to a car.

"It isn't much," she said cheerfully "but it'll run. I think."

Lizzie's jaw dropped when she saw that big chuck of metal. She thought it might be red, but the coloring could also be from all the rust splotches, too.

"Uh, are you sure about this?" She asked tentatively. "Maybe I should drive home. And you could drive back! And I'd be alive…" she muttered the last part so Char couldn't hear her.

"Nah, I'll drive! You need to rest! I'll be as quick as lightning."

"Yeah, I know. That's what I'm afraid of. I would like to have all my limbs intact when I go home."

"I have been practicing! I don't do two-wheel turns anymore!" Char proudly said.

"Still, can I please drive? I'll feel much better knowing when to lean." Char looked reluctant. Then she slowly reached out her hand and deposited the keys in Lizzie's hand. And off they went.

Author's Note: Yes, I am aware that I said that Lizzie was 20 and out of college. But remember in the first chapter, that I said she was the smart one? Well, she skipped a few years of school. That's why she's teaching college students older than her! Cool, huh? And becoming a lit teacher in a university/college is what I wanna do when I grow up too! Specifically Jane Austen literature. :D

Yeah, I know that might be counted as making a Mary-Sue, but... ;P

Oh, and Pride and Prejudice doesn't exist in this world, that's why I didn't make it her favorite book.

So! Tell me: good, bad, OK, I suck, I'm amazing, I need to crawl under a rock and disappear; what? TELL ME YOUR DEEPEST, INNERMOST THOUGHTS ON THIS STORY! I got time to read

reviews, no matter how long or short it is! And they always motivate me to write faster *hint hint* :) And I was wondering if I should keep doing the Chapterly Quotes with Caitlin. You can say 'yes' or 'no' in the reviews! See ya next chapter! JaneAusten, signing out!

PS: I have already started to write chapter 5! So the update should be quicker than others!