Jerry!!!" Elle screamed and flew at him the way in the same impulsive manner she had shown the only other time Will had met his match.
After hugging Jerry and exchanging a few wisecracks about how short his hair was, she seemed to remember Will, who wasn't leaning quite so nonchalantly against the sink
"Jerry, this is Mr. Darcy, a divorce lawyer like myself; - and Mr. Darcy, this is Jerry Hopkins - his profession is quite obvious"
"I know you, don't I?" Jerry came across the room to shake his hand "Are you the owner of Darcy Credentials?"
"No" Will shot back quickly with a glance in Elle's direction "That is another Darcy family business."
Jerry understood immediately.
"You must be Will then?" he asked, trying to figure out why he felt like an intruder in a room with his best friend.
"That's me" Will agreed sullenly
Why has the atmosphere in the room suddenly turned colder?? Jerry secretly wondered. Well – he consoled himself – if the atmosphere is like this, make use of it.
He turned back to Will, pretending have remembered something
"Ah, you're that Will I've been hearing rumors about." He stopped, and waited for his words to sink in, before turned to Elle with an insinuating glance.
"Georgie and Tom told me about you two."
They'd done nothing of the sort (Tom and Georgie) and had merely been playing a racing game ferociously on Tom's Xbox and pointed him in the direction of the kitchen when he mentioned Elle.
Tom had winked at him and wished him luck, saying the kitchen would be pretty heated, but Jerry had thought that was because Elle hated Will.
His own eyes had told him differently now, and he, the famous and ever brilliant Jerry Hopkins, felt like he was intruding on two people's personal space.
However, the 'brilliant and famous' Jerry has a personality that carries him through all situations, and this one was no extraordinary situation
"So... what are you two doing for dinner tonight?" he asked, perfectly aware of what a reaction it would cause.
He was not disappointed.
Darcy, who was drinking at the time spluttered everywhere, and Elle's face froze...
"What - What - What do you mean, Jerry?" she asked after an awkward moment where Jerry was having difficulty keeping his countenance.
"Date. Where are you going? What Restaurant? Can you fit me in?"
Both parties in the kitchen let out a strangled laugh.
"Mr. Hopkins" Darcy started
-"Jerry"
--"ER, Jerry, there is no need to worry. Elle's all yours; I'm not trying to take her away from you"
That turned the tables on him. Pretty darn fast.
Jerry's face was a picture! He pointed at Elle; and them himself, completely lost for words.
He tried to run his fingers through his hair - a Jerry personality trait, and scowled when he remembered he had a soldier's haircut.
"Me? Her? Us?" he asked "What? You think that Elle and I are an item? Us?"
Darcy nodded
"Aren't you?"
Jerry and Elle broke out into hysterical laughter, while Darcy just watched them with a disapproving look on his face
"When you're quite finished...." he started
Jerry shut up and looked Darcy in the face
"Elle is my best friend. It is possible to have a best friend of the opposite gender you
know! We have been friends ever since we were the only two to laugh when I called Miss Philadelphia in that stiff disgusting old school, Miss Soft-Cheese."
Elle stiffened, expecting Darcy to be shocked and horrified, but to her surprise, he smiled, conjuring up the image
"And she was the only one to agree to snowballing the principal on his wedding day before church" Jerry grinned evilly, so changing Darcy's smile to an outright grin.
"That's mean" he grinned
"OF course it is" Jerry agreed "But it doesn't make it any the less funny!"
"So you are not an item?" Darcy asked; and while Elle completely missed the look of relief, Jerry didn't and grinned again "I'm sorry, I just presumed"
"That's okay mate" Jerry slapped Will on the back "No harm done, I suppose. Apart from the slandering of Elle's perfect image; the implicating that we had done something we didn't, and the murderous look on your face the first time we met, no harm done!"
"Murderous look?" Elle asked, while Will wanted to close Jerry's mouth. Very badly.
"I have no idea what he's talking about Eli---" he started, but was cruelly cut off
"--You know, that murderous and green look of jealousy?" Jerry started, and carried on, in spite of Will's deliberately deathly looks.
"Yes?"
"Well, that was the look that he had when you ran and hugged me" Jerry finished with an extremely smug smile on his face.
Will looked (and felt) green.
Elle looked confused; there was a warm fuzzy feeling inside when she thought of the possibilities of Will being jealous. That really confused her.
Jerry was looking from one to the other and seriously contemplating leaving the room to let them sort it out, but Elle anticipated his move and put an arm on his sleeve to pull him back into the room.
"Jerrrrry" she stretched the syllable as long as she possibly could to put the most amount of pressure on him "Since you're so concerned about joining us for dinner, why don't you take 'us' out to dinner"
Darcy began to look a little uncomfortable. Elle deliberately didn't notice
"I can speak for myself and Darcy that we'd love to spend some time in your company and find out - - - - - " she cut herself off abruptly as Jane wheezed into the room, Charlie on her arm
"Jerry! I haven't seen you in ages! What have you done to yourself??"
She let go of Charlie and went over to Jerry kissing him on the cheek. Jerry went very, very, red, and Elle stiffened before realizing that Darcy had done exactly the same thing beside her, staring at Jane with a suspicious look in his eyes.
Charlie was looking from Jane to Jerry very confused, before Elle explained
"Jerry is an old family friend who has just joined the army. We haven't seen him in ages. Jerry Hopkins, meet Charlie Bingley Darcy, Charlie, meet Jerry"
There was no less than complete and utter pain on Jerry's face as he shook hands with Charlie, who on the other hand was frank and open, and happy to make Jerry's acquaintance.
"Jane, can I have a word?" she asked under her breath as she passed her. Without having to discuss it further, the twins left the room, smiling apologetically at the boys.
"Are you alright Elle?" Jane asked kindly "You looked fried back in there with Will and Jerry"
"Jane" Elle said and Jane turned sharply at the tone in her twin's voice
"Lizzy!" she used the name that Elle had grown out of "What's going on that I don't know about" She took one look at Elle's face and gasped.
"What's up with Jerry?"
Elle didn't ask how she knew; she'd known things like that for years, just by glancing at Elle's face. While it annoyed her at times, it saved her from having to explain things.
"JaneIdon'tthinkyoushouldkisshimhe'sinlovewithyou"
"Lizzy...?"
Elle exhaled sharply
"Just don't kiss Jerry" she said, going red because she knew what was coming next
"You're together? Finally? Oh, I knew that you two would get together sometime!! Oh Elle!!"
"Jane!" Elle interupted her sister from hugging her "Jerry and I are most definitely NOT together"
Jane stopped, looked round and back at Elle confused
"What on earth do you mean? If you're not together, why don't you want me kissing him?"
Elle rolled her eyes at no-one in particular, and proceeded to get mad
"You work it out" she said coldly
"Lizzy! What did I do? All I did was give him a kiss on the cheek, why won't you let me? Are you in love with him?"
"Of course not" Elle scoffed
"Then what?" Jane was very perplexed
"Because HE LOVES YYYOOOOUUUUU!" Elle suddenly screamed.
***
In a room a few feet away, three men had been crowded by the door listening to what had promised to be a very interesting conversation. Well, Will had turned green around the gills when he'd first heard Elle's request, but had enjoyed the ensuing conversation with glee.
When Elle made the last shocking announcement to Jane, Charlie turned round and looked at Jerry.
"Technically" Jerry said, in a way that reminded Will very much of Captain Jack Sparrow "I never said that"
He paused and looked at the twins, and decided to move away from them before bodily harm was done to his person.
"Look Charlie, I'm not trying to take her away from away, right? Will, I'm not trying to take Elle, and I won't tell anyone you like her" This last statement had the completely desired effect, as Charlie completely forgot about Jerry and turned on his brother
"You like Elle? Since when?"
"Oh please" Jerry interupted "Why am I getting a deja-vu feeling?? Charlie, I'm posted to Iraq in four days, I'm not going to get between you and Jane, I'm one of these people that is destined to die in the army. I'll leave it on that melodramatic note.
He slammed the door behind him, and stomped down the hall towards Elle and Jane. Jane appeared to be sobbing her eyes out, and Elle was looking very uncomfortable.
"I'm off Elle. Next time you have to, don't parade my secrets out to perfect strangers, and especially I meant DON'T TELL JANE" His hard expression melted when he saw the look on Elle's face. He hugged her.
"Take good care of yourself little sis! Cya around, Jane"
The last Elle saw of him, was his dimpled smile as he turned to say goodbye before turning that corner.
"Is he gone?" Jane asked, not looking up from where she was sitting, her head in her hands
"Yes" Elle sniffed
"Then let me tell you this, blind little sister. You are gullible, and he is a liar. That guy doesn't love me one little bit, and trust me on this, as I should know. He lied to you, Elle
Elle sat down
"I don't think so.." she started
"Oh please!" Jane interrupted "Trust me on this... how did he tell you he loved me?"
Elle related the conversation she'd held with Jerry
"Well, then, Lizzy. It's obvious why the guy is leaving; and why he'll probably never come back"
Elle leaned back on the cough and exhaled, biting on her lip. She turned so she could see her sister's face properly.
"Jane" she started patiently "Mom is wayyy too old"
Jane sniggered, and looked at Elle
"Do you seriously have no idea? Jerry is your most platonic friend, right? 'You' have certainly had no qualms about your feelings toward him; they were just feelings for someone like a brother. Jerry, on the other hand is completely different. He's going away cos he knows you'll never love him"
Elle always held afterward that it was the heat and - privately - to Jane, Will Darcy in short-sleeves, (that was the only thing that ever made her weak at the knees, she said. In everything else she was STRONG) but everyone else knew that it was just sheer shock.
She fainted clean away.
Will and Charlie came out of the kitchen with such speed at Jane's announcement, that they saw the whole thing.
"Water?" Charlie asked his girlfriend. She smiled kindly and nodded
While his twin was off getting the water, Will picked Elle up and put her on a couch.
After a few minutes, she opened her eyes, and looked straight into Will's concerned blue ones. She sighed audibly, and pulled her hands up so she looked like a saint lying flat out praying
"What are you doing Elle?" Jane asked with amusement in her voice.
"I'm praying the earth opens up and swallows me up"
"For fainting?"
"No, Jane, dear. For fainting in front of Mr. Smarty-Pants Darcy. No offence Charlie"
* * *
Then she fainted again.
She came to a few minutes later in Will's arms.
"Not happening!" she groaned, and then imploringly into his face: "Please tell me I'm dreaming"
Will smiled, and Elle felt like the sun had just come out
"Elle, calm down, I've got you. Is your room this one?" he gestured toward a room with a pink door.
"Yeah" Elle was secretly enjoying lying against his chest "'What happened?"
"You fainted again" Will said, smirking
"Oh, shut up!" Elle said, pleased at his easy camaraderie all the same "Why did I faint. I never faint."
"I took my shirt off" Will joked, and had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud when Elle nodded and closed her eyes again
"That must have been it" she said "Too bad I can't remember"
"Elizabeth!!" Will bit out, trying to keep himself from howling with laughter "Those few words were spoken in jest, my dear!"
If she was discomposed, she showed no sign, and nodded sweetly again, her eyes remaining closed
"So were mine"
He deposited her on her bed, and left the room making her promise not to faint again. [I mean, honestly, some people are just made for each-other, aren't they?]
But Elle didn't sleep, she spent the better part of a couple of hours staring at the ceiling and thinking about Will Darcy.
But Will, that rascal, banished her completely from his thoughts the minute the clock struck five.
That was because, when the clock struck five, he drove straight into the side of a red lorry descending down the sliproad, and everything went black.