A/N:This must be a miracle I'm updating so quickly. I just got on a role and suddenly this was written. Hope you enjoy.
When Lizzie woke up the next morning it was to find herself utterly disorientated with waves of nausea racking her body and the distinct feeling of a jackhammer hammering at her head and turning all her thoughts to mush. The room she found herself in was plush and luxurious with the comfiest pillows she had ever felt. She would've appreciated this if her head wasn't hurting so much and if she wasn't trying to figure why she had passed out in a room that wasn't her own.
She remembered Gigi and dancing and the karaoke bar. Of course she remembered the alcohol, far far too much of it, but that train of thought was causing the nausea to bubble up some more so she tried to remember something else. She figured that she must have crashed the night at the Darcy residence considering the fancy bed that she was lying in.
Another memory swam to the surface at that moment, a memory of Darcy illuminated in dim light and oh no no it couldn't be true. She'd kissed him. She must of because she remembered Darcy and she remembered kissing someone and she knew that Gigi wouldn't have let her kiss anyone at the bar. And if she was being totally honest with herself she remembered kissing Darcy not just anyone. She remembered how he tasted and his hair and she knew she must have kissed him. But then she had woken up alone and humiliated in the spare room.
God how much must he hate her now? The guy had a checklist of what made an accomplished women and she doubted throwing yourself at someone drunk made it on the list. In fact she could see his embarrassed face swim into view as he said… he said.
She couldn't believe it. She could remember him telling her he did like her but pushed her off him. As in it was in the past that he liked her. She couldn't blame him considering the awful things she had said about and to him. It was incredibly ironic considering Lizzie could now feel something for William Darcy (although she wasn't quite sure what). She would have to settle on being just friends although she wasn't even sure he would want to be that anymore. Only friends didn't try to stick their tongues down their friend's throat.
Damn it. She was horrifically embarrassed and she never ever wanted to leave the comfy confines of the guest bed if it meant she would never have to see Darcy again.
A sharp quick knock sounded through the room causing Lizzie to sink even further under the covers and let out a muffled groan.
"Good morning Lizzie." Gigi Darcy said sympathetically, although still far too perky for the night they had last night, slipping into the room. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I'm dying of both a hangover and embarrassment." Lizzie moaned, still beneath the duvet.
"Aw poor Lizzie," Gigi cooed as she perched on the edge of the large bed, sounding refreshed and not at all like it was the morning after a night of drinking. "But you have nothing to be embarrassed about we all get drunk sometimes. You can just blame it on my bad influence."
"Listen Gigi," Lizzie said, risking sticking her face up out of the blanket. "Have you seen your brother yet this morning? I mean, has he said anything about me?"
Gigi raised an eyebrow.
"No he hasn't said anything about you?" Gigi said. "Why? Should he have anything to say about you?"
"No." She replied too quickly. "Just he helped me find the guest room last night and he is my boss so I worry that I said something or you know he thinks less and he is my boss so…"
Her sentence trailed off awkwardly as she realised she sounded absolutely ridiculous repeating herself and rambling on. In short she sounded guilty of something.
"He hasn't said anything no." Gigi reassured with barely contained glee and amusement. "But if he does I'll be sure to let you know."
Lizzie nodded gratefully before burrowing back into the bed.
"Okay then well, there is coffee and food in the kitchen when you're ready and up for it." Gigi sighed, standing up and dropping the topic knowing she was going to get nothing else from the middle Bennet. "The bathroom is through that door if you need it."
"I think I'm going to get a shower." Lizzie said, throwing the covers off herself and sitting up gingerly as if testing she could still do it. "Thanks though Gigi, seriously for everything."
"You're welcome Lizzie Bennet." Gigi said, grinning as she sauntered from the room with a definite sense that her brother and her friend were hiding something from her. And she was determined to get to the bottom of it.
()
William Darcy also woke up with the odd mixture of embarrassment and guilt fermenting in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't a particularly pleasant way to wake up in the morning and he honestly both dreaded and revered seeing Lizzie again in the morning. He just wanted to know once and for all if Lizzie remembered and if she would hate him once again. He knew it was ridiculous but the past few weeks that she had been working with him he had almost felt like they could have become friends. Like they were friends or at least on the path to it. But if the two sober kisses hadn't ruined it then him continuing to kiss her and take advantage of her when she was drunk would have ruined it even more.
He woke up far earlier than Lizzie had and therefore was completely showered, dressed and ready to brood over his pot of organic black coffee when Gigi came bounding out of the guest room. Darcy looked up quickly, jolting up from his thinking as he assumed it was Lizzie leaving the room. He quickly looked back down when he realised it was his sister but the damage was already done.
"What's up big brother?" Gigi said cheerily, snagging a pop tart from the open case on the kitchen counter.
"Nothing much Gigi, I'm fine. How are you? I trust you had a good time last night?" Darcy sighed, taking another sip from his mug.
"Oh I'm fine Will, me and Lizzie had a great time." She took a bit out of the tart, her eyes sparkling as she swallowed. "A really great time, in fact I'm surprised we didn't wake you when we got in it was quite late."
Darcy stiffened just a fraction, such a small gesture that no one would have noticed unless they knew him as well as his sister, before shrugging not looking up from where his eyes were trained on the counter.
"Really? Because Lizzie mentioned something about helping her to the guest room."
Darcy froze again, his coffee halfway up to his mouth, and he turned to look at his sister.
Gigi was bouncing up and down on her chair with excitement as she picked at the rest of the pop tart. He dark eyes alive and scrutinising his every action to get proof for one of her ridiculous (or actually not so ridiculous) theories.
"Yes Gigi she opened the wrong door so I showed her the right one. That's all." Darcy sighed.
"Right." Gigi said, swinging her legs back and forth. "Then why was Lizzie asking me if you had said anything about her?"
"Maybe she was simply worried in that state that she had said something improper. But she didn't Gigi so I can assure you and you can assure her that nothing happened. I put her to bed that is all." Darcy said but not all together convincingly enough for Gigi.
"That's what she said." Gigi replied, her eyes still letting on that she thought they were both full of shit. But she was willing to drop it for now.
"Right, so you have nothing to get excited over Gigi." He sighed, picking up a nearby newspaper and immersing himself in it.
"Whatever you say William." Gigi said in a singsong voice, slipping of her stool and brushing imaginary crumbs from her hands. "But this isn't over yet."
With that parting remark she flounced out of the room with a smirk on her face and slipped through into her own room.
Darcy just grumbled at his younger sisters remarks and turned his attention back to the paper and tried to act as if he wasn't listening for the guest room door to open.
()
Lizzie was stuck between wanting to avoid Darcy and her inevitable embarrassment for as long as possible and feeling guilty that she was overstaying Gigi (and by extension her brother's) hospitality. Still she felt much better after her shower, it seemed to wash away some of the grime that oozed out of her pores, but now she was completely ready with half dry hair and the clothes from last night she couldn't bring herself to leave the room.
It was stupid as she worked with him so knew that she would have to confront whatever had happened sometime. But still she couldn't bring herself to turn the knob and leaved the relative comfort of the room. It seemed even worse somehow to do it in yesterday's clothes with her hair still partially wet.
Still, she had to leave the house somehow and doubted she was going to be able to sneak out without seeing at least one of the Darcy's.
So she turned the knob and braved the outside world.
"Lizzie." Darcy said, looking up abruptly from his now empty coffee cup. "How are you feeling? I hope that our facilities were satisfactory."
He was doing it again: over compensating to make up for the awkwardness and guilt bubbling inside him.
"They were lovely thank you. You have great water pressure." She replied stiltedly, wincing at her own words.
"I'm very glad. There is some more coffee in the pot if you want it or some breakfast." He replied, gesturing at the pot in front of him. "I'm sure I can find you something more nutritional than Pop Tarts too, those are one of Gigi's indulgence."
"Lydia's too." Lizzie replied, smiling awkwardly. "You know what maybe just some tea?"
"Of course we have chamomile, green, blackberry, ginseng and normal."
"Wow, that's quite a collection." She replied, eyes wide as he scooted away from the table.
"No don't worry about it I can get it." She scooted awkwardly around him to get to the cupboard.
"If you're sure I-"
"Don't worry I got it-"
"Okay as you wish, not that cupboard the other-"
"Thanks." Lizzie grabbed the pale green packet of chamomile tea hoping it would soothe her frizzled nerves.
"Ah you're welcome." He cleared his throat if only to have something to do, and glanced awkwardly and where Lizzie was trying to pour water in the kettle.
"The mugs are in the cupboard next to you." He said, this time he really did stand up. "I'll get you one."
He wasn't thinking as he leant over her to open the cupboard but he almost froze when he did at their bodies in such close proximity. His chest was pressed up against her back ad she took an audible intake of breath when he touched her. He could smell her hair and it brought back memories of the night before, her hands on his back and her lips on his. He grabbed the first mug he saw and scooted away as far as possible, letting out a little awkward cough just to fill the silence.
"There you go." He nodded, and placed it next to her and moved to sit back on his stool and pretend that nothing had happened.
Lizzie considered where the best option to sit would be before deciding that it would be awkward to go out of her way to sit anywhere other than next to Darcy. Therefore she settled to just scoot the stool a little further from him.
"So," She began, taking a sip of her chamomile despite its boiling hot temperature so it would give her a second to think. "I just wanted to say sorry about waking you last night. The whole night is sort of a blur but I remember you showed me the guest room."
"Ah, as I am fond of saying Lizzie Bennet it was my pleasure." He said, his mind working at a million miles per hour just to try to process what she was saying. Did that mean she didn't remember? It would be a blessing and a curse if she didn't. It would mean that she might not hate him as much as she could do but it also meant it would have to carry around the guilt. Also, another small part of him, wanted her to tell him she remembered it and loved it and him and wanted to kiss him again and again and again. But of course he knew that he was being highly irrational and that would never happen in a million years.
"I was just wondering if I said or did anything stupid?" She said, purposefully not looking him in the eye. "You know, seeing as I can't remember?"
She swore she must have a masochistic streak that she was following this line of enquiry when she should probably just forget it but she couldn't help it. She needed to know what he would say.
"Nothing Lizzie." He replied, knowing that it was better in the long run that she didn't know what had happened. "I just put you to bed when you walked it the wrong room. You have nothing to worry about."
She nodded and gripped her tea tighter, it was stupid but she felt a small amount of disappointment trickle down her spine at his words. She knew it was stupid. That it was better if he thought she didn't know what happened and that they both forgot the whole embarrassing debacle. Still relief and disappointment swirled in her stomach as she tried to quench it with a gulp of chamomile tea.
()
It was only later that night, when Lizzie was in her own bed, that she started to remember more and more of what happened the night before. Her eyes shut and her head buried beneath the covers as if she was hiding from herself and the truth as the images came flashing through her head.
She remembered kissing him properly now. Remembered how he had woken up wearing nothing but boxers and she had basically thrown herself at him. How somehow she had ended up straddling him on the bed her hands slipping beneath his boxers. She would never be able to face him again. It was embarrassing. It hadn't just been a kiss it had been a full on assault she had raged on him. She skipped past the fact that he kissed her back in her mind putting it down to sleep and felt full waves of embarrassment and guilt envelop her.
She would never be able to face him again.
His feelings were in the past. He had told her that much himself that night from what she could remember. It was in the past, at least his feelings were. Lizzie's? She wasn't so sure about that.
A/N: Sorry for the lack of any romantic situations in this one but with what I've got in store for the next chapter will more than make up for it. Please review I really appreciate every one I get.