Chapter Five
Libby and Jane were sat, deep in conversation regarding all things winter ball. Naturally Jane had been the first person that Libby had sought out after the little drama that morning and they were now deep in discussions,
"Why is it actually called 'Winter Ball'? It's in the last week of september, it's technically still summer?" Libby asked, and Jane shrugged,
"Who knows? Anyway, dresses; we'll have to take another trip to town this Saturday, eugh, it doesn't leave us much time though given the ball is Sunday evening. If we don't find anything we're screwed!" Jane chattered,
"We'll find something, our school is a twenty minute bus drive from the centre of Hollywood, I'm sure we'll find something in all the-" She didn't get any further, because the door burst open and in strutted Lottie,
"Elizabeth Bennet!" She cried, walking over and plonking herself down in an empty armchair next to Libby and Jane in the busy common room. This was becoming something of a habit.
"Lottie, before you start I think-"
"YOU'RE GOING TO WINTER BALL WITH WILL FUCKING DARCY!" She practically yelled, and Libby groaned as several other people currently residing in the common room looked around,
"Well, thanks for not making a big deal about it." She replied sarcastically, "It's not like that."
"What?" Lottie asked, confused, "Did he ask you to winter ball or not?"
"Not." She replied sincerely trying to ignore Lottie's shocked expression,
"It's rather...complicated..." Jane explained as Lottie pulled her chair closer,
"Long story short, Caroline was being all clingy and...Caroline, interrogating Will about what colour tie he was wearing, what designer tux he was wearing, you know how she is and he was just floundering and I felt bad and...before I knew what I was doing I was announcing to the entire class that he couldn't go with her because he already had a date." Lottie just stared at her, "Yeah, well, I never actually said he was going with me, Caroline jumped to that conclusion all on her own but...then he was all 'well we'll actually have to go together now' and I bet he hates me even more than he did before now because-"
"He never hated you, Libby." Jane interrupted, and Libby scoffed as Jane continued, "No, I promise, according to Chuck it's actually quite the opposite..."
"He does always stare at you." Lottie agreed thoughtfully,
"Come on, this is ridiculous, he's just being nice because he knows how much Chuck -his bestfriend- likes you." Libby explained, rolling her eyes because there was no way in hell that Will Darcy liked her. And she didn't want him too either. Did she?
"How did he react? Was he pissed about it or did he seem kind of happy, like, it had saved him from actually having to ask you?" Lottie asked reasonably and Libby shrugged,
"I don't know...I guess he wasn't mad...at all. He was pretty cool with it. Like...really calm and-" she momentarily flashed back to that morning
"I mean we'll actually have to go together now, but I can think of worse things." he'd done that thing where he smiles and you can hear it in his voice while his aqua blue eyes twinkled and not because of the light.
"Has he asked for your number?" Jane asked, beaming at her friend,
"Yes, but only because we're doing this bloody project together." Jane and Lottie exchanged knowing looks,
"This is ridiculous!" She exclaimed, "Will Darcy doesn't like me, god, why would he like me?"
Will and Chuck were in the middle of a band practice, they had a gig coming up at the next baseball game and had a couple of new songs to go over.
"Will, mate." Patrick Fitz, the bands drummer called, "I heard you were taking that british chick to Winter Ball...oh, what's her name, gorgeous, with the long legs and brown eyes."
"Libby." Will said quietly,
"Yeah, that's the one! It true?"
"Er, yeah." Will said, shrugging, causing Chuck to slap him on the back,
"I knew it! I fucking knew it you sly dog! Can't believe you didn't tell me!" Chuck laughed,
"Knew what?" Patrick demanded,
"That he liked her. He's had the hots for her since she put him in his place first night back."
"Woah, she's the one from the Cops party? Ha! Will mate-"
"I do not have the hots for her, Charles." Will reprimanded, folding his arms and looking around the small practice room, "She is...beautiful..." he continued, a slight blush creeping over his cheeks, "but that's besides the point; I'm sorry to disappoint you but I didn't actually ask her."
"Huh?"
"She was trying to save me from the clutches of Caroline and in doing so put us both in a rather compromising position. Not that I minded. I would have probably wound up asking her anyway, this just saves me the trouble." He explained, "Now come on, we've got one last new song to get done before curfew in..." he checked his watch, "twenty minutes." They all turned the pages of their music until they came across the new song Will had written, "Fine Eyes"
"This wouldn't happen to be about her, would it?" Patrick queried and Will just rolled his eyes, refusing to answer the question.
The week passed uneventfully, rumours were flying regarding Will and Libby and Winter Ball, and Chuck finally asked Jane (who said yes). Libby and Will met in the library on Wednesday to talk about their project, deciding that, given Will was out of school on Friday for a gig and the meeting with the bands manager that Libby would discuss their choice with Miss Simmons and that the play they were going to adapt was The Taming of the Shrew.
Saturday rolled around and Libby, Jane and Lottie got on the earliest bus into town for a full day of Winter Ball shopping.
It was when they were in the dressing room at Macy's that Jane finally broached a subject her and Caroline had been discussing,
"Do you think anything will, you know, happen tomorrow?" She asked, as Libby came out of her changing cubicle wearing a knee-length jet black strapless dress,
"What do you mean?" She asked distractedly as she adjusted the skirt,
"You should go with that one, it's beautiful," She noted of the dress Libby was wearing.
"Completely, you look stunning Libby." Jane agreed,
" And you know, between you and Will, do you think he'll like kiss you or anything?" Lottie pried, as she admired her reflection in the short, tight blue dress with the sweet-heart neckline she was trying on, even though she'd bought her dress two weeks previously,
"Hahaha, no." Libby laughed, "I'd be surprised if he even actually asks me to dance."
Lottie and Jane exchanged a glance, "I think I'm going to go with this one, Janie, I think you should go for the long green one."
"Yeah, I really loved that one, okay. Seriously though, Libby you really don't think anythings gonna happen?"
"I'm positive." She said, then her phone went off and she tugged it out of her bag in the dressing room,
"who's it Fromm?" Lotttie chided as Libby replied,
"Will" she conceded, "but only because he wants to work on our English project this evening."
"what have you said?"
"yes...it's just homework, guys calm down, we're just gonna finish planning our story."
Six hours later and Will and Libby were alone in the deserted library, it was getting late and everyone had either gone to bed or gone to the common rooms, they'd been working for an hour, the basic outline for the script was almost done and there was just one last thing to agree on,
"William!" Libby yelled, standing up and throwing her pen down. Will suppressed a smirk at this,
"Elizabeth, I just don't see the point in making them kiss." He said, folding his arms and cocking his head at her, his gaze just as intent as ever. He could tell that the use of her full name hadn't gotten past her,
"Argh!" she cried, striding around the table to stand directly in front of him, "It just…they just…do!" she said, "If we're basing this on a play with romance in it, then there needs to be romance!" At this, Will regarded her, before taking another step forward and looked at her tiny frame,
"There's romance in it, Libby. It's just… subtler. More in keeping with the play."
"Are you suggesting that I'm not subtle?" she demanded icily, her soft brown eyes growing cold as she looked up at the boy before her and laid down the challenge.
"No, Libby, not unsubtle, but you don't always need to hand everything to the audience on a plate." He replied calmly, as he thought about how beautiful she looked when she was pissed off with him, and about how much he enjoyed arguing with her,
"You…I…I so am subtle!" She finally exclaimed indignantly. Will couldn't help but chuckle at the look on her face,
"You are many things, Miss Bennet, but subtle is not a word I would use to describe you."
"At least I'm not too prissy to bloody well kiss someone I'm not dating…for a play!" she yelled, taking another step forward so that they were practically occupying the same space,
"Prissy?" He laughed, because she just looked so damn adorable stood in a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top as she screamed at him. And then, Elizabeth Bennet exploded; there was just something about the way that he was looking at her,
"William Darcy, you are such an arse! I can't believe that you're being so bloody difficult about this! It's just a kiss! What's wrong with having them kiss?" her fine brown eyes were blazing and her face was just inches from his; his sparkling blue eyes as intense as ever. And then her face fell slightly, "Or am I just too 'brain dead' for you to want to kiss?" she said quietly, not breaking their gaze, faces simply a breath away as their hearts pounded.
And then his lips were crashing against hers as what little restraint he had left snapped, his hands encircling around her tiny waist and pulling her tightly against him as her kissed her fiercely.
She was completely taken aback at first, but the moment he pulled her to his chest she realised what was happening. And he tasted like coffee.
She kissed him back with just as much passion, her anger completely gone by this point as her hands snaked around his neck and tangled in his dark hair. finally they broke apart they were both grasping for air, Libby just staring at the boy stood before her as he ran his hands through his dark hair, his perfect aqua eyes dark with lust,
"Too 'brain dead' to kiss?" he asked her quietly once he could speak, his gaze intense, "Jesus, Libby, what you do to-" he didn't get any further, because Libby's lips were on his again as she pushed him against the wall, his hands inadvertently roaming over her body. She moaned slightly into his mouth as their tongues brushed and sighed as he pulled her tighter against him,
"God, Libs," he groaned, lifting her easily so she could wrap her bare legs around his waist, his hands travelling all over her petite frame leaving a trail of fire on her skin, "You have no idea…no idea how long."
When they finally separated in order to catch their breath, Libby leaned her head against his forehead,
"Now do you see why I cannot kiss you in front of Miss Simmons?" he asked, his voice low and husky and Libby doesn't think he's ever looked so damn sexy, "I wouldn't be able to control myself, God I'm struggling to hold onto what little willpower I have left now." He breathed sharply as he let her down, her thigh grazing his hard manhood. He hissed and there was a pause as their eyes locked. Libby laughed lightly then, her gaze gleeful, "Maybe we should get back to work, because other wise I think this would end in a way that neither of us are ready for." She said, going to stand up but he pulled her back and pressed his lips to hers, she responded eagerly before he broke the kiss and smiled,
"You should get to bed, Libs." He smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow evening." She nodded, shooting him a shy smile as she grabbed her books and left, her mind completely all over the place. He'd just kissed her. Will Darcy had just kissed her, like really kissed her, the sort of kisses that make you forget reality exists. She was smiling like a crazy person as she hurried down the darkened hallways bak towards her room. Jane wasn't going to believe this. Jesus, she didn't believe it. There was no way that had just happened. No fucking way that Will Darcy wanted to kiss her. Was there? He'd tasted like coffee.
A/N - hi guys! I just wanted to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who's reading an reviewing this piece, it's had such a great response and I love you all! I'm not sure if you guys may think this last bit was a little premature and, to tell you the truth I hadn't originally planned on putting this in yet, but I'm not sure, it felt right...anyway, I hope you like it and leave a lovely little review! xxxx