Author's note: Thanks for reading/reviewing/faving/following! I really appreciate it. Pineapple0215 asked what Bingley does as an occupation that he's doing an internship… ahh sorry I thought I put that in there but I must have just been planning it out and didn't actually explain it when I wrote the chapter. The way I see it, Lizzie and Jane are both in their early 20s, while Bingley and Darcy are a bit older. I'm not sure if the book ever said what their occupations were, but for this fic I figured they'd probably be doing either business or law. Mostly that was backstory to explain why Bingley had moved to the area, so it's not necessarily an extremely important detail. but I hope that explains that though! Thanks for asking, and seriously if at any point there's something that doesn't make sense or needs to be more fleshed out let me know. I really want to use this to improve my creative writing :)

It was a new day, and everyone–nearly everyone–was downstairs eating breakfast. Mrs. Bennet wasn't exactly an early riser this morning due to the excessive amount of alcohol she consumes the previous evening. Still, she made her way downstairs to gossip with the girls before she had to head out to run some errands.

"Sleep well, Mom?" Lydia asked with a smirk.

"Can you just pour me a cup of coffee, dear?"

Lydia did as asked, adding two teaspoons of sugar but leaving the drink black.

"Here you go," she handed her mother the cup.

As Mrs. Bennet sat down, Jane finally appeared in the doorway. She had a large smile upon her face and her dimples appeared upon her cheeks.

"Ooh, what's going on? What are you smiling about?" her mother prodded.

"I just had a nice time last night is all." Jane replied, helping herself to one of the muffins from the middle of the table.

After breakfast, Jane and Lizzie finally had a few moments to themselves. Lizzie was eager to hear more about Mr. Bingley and if Jane really did like him as much as it seemed she did. Once the dancing started the previous evening, Lizzie spent most of the remaining time talking with Charlotte. Jane, however, danced with Mr. Bingley several times. They had gotten home fairly late, so the girls didn't have a chance to talk before they collapsed into their beds, exhausted.

"He just seemed so perfect, Lizzie," Jane said. "He was an absolute gentleman: funny, friendly, kind, and just good-mannered. He seemed so put-together and different than any other guy I've ever met or had a crush on."

"Plus, there's the fact that he's really good-looking. That doesn't hurt either," Lizzie added.

"I couldn't believe he danced with me for what seemed like half the night! I didn't expect that, not from a guy I'd just met."

"Why wouldn't you? You need to give yourself more credit; I don't see why any guy wouldn't want to dance with you. Anyway, I definitely approve, and I certainly think you should try to get to know him better if you have the opportunity. He seems much better than some of the other guys you've liked."

"Lizzie!"

"Well, it's true. Sometimes it seems like you go out with people because you're too nice to turn them down. You only see the good things, but to a fault."

"I just don't like to judge a person's character too quickly, that's all."

"I know, but sometimes it seems as if you are blind to the faults of others. Not everyone is as good as you make them out to be. What did you think of Mr. Bingley's sister Caroline? I didn't think she was nearly as friendly as he was."

"Well, not at first. I did get to talk to her a little, and once she opened up more she was friendly enough. She's a bit younger than her brother, and she's going to be going to university here while Charles is doing his internship with Mr. Brown. I think it'll be nice to have some new faces in town."

Lizzie just nodded in agreement and didn't press the subject any further. She supposed that as long as her sister was happy then she would be happy for her.

"And what did you think of his friend? What as his name again?" Lizzie asked.

"Mr. Darcy? I'm pretty sure Charles said his first name was Fitzwilliam, but that he preferred to go by Will," Jane explained. "I didn't really talk to him, but he seemed nice enough, though maybe a bit shy or something. I don't think he dance with anyone at all; I guess he's a bit of a wallflower."

"Yeah, he did seem a bit… closed off." Lizzie had meant to say pretentious or arrogant, but didn't feel like talking about what she had overheard and how she had been snubbed. She let it go for now and the two girls headed out. They were on their way to meet up with Charlotte to run some errands. Though, of course, the subject of their discussions would most certainly be about the previous evening.

"I overheard him talking to Mr. Robinson, you know," Charlotte explained. "Mr. Robinson asked how Charles was enjoying the party, and whether he thought there were some good looking young women in the room, and which young woman he thought was the best looking. And do you know what Charles replied?"

Jane looked at Charlotte with what seemed like genuine curiosity.

"He replied almost immediately with your name, Jane! I really do think he likes you!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Overhearing that was far better than what poor Lizzie overheard Mr. Darcy say. Oh, to be only tolerable! What a rotten thing to say!"

"Oh, Lizzie!" Jane said, "It's such a shame. When I was dancing with Charles, I told him to tell his friend to ask you. He was very handsome, though his behavior severely diminishes that fact."

The girls' conversation continued on about the rest of their prior evening. They commented on the other people they had spoken with. Though Charles Bingley, his sister, and Mr. Darcy were the only new acquaintances, it had still been some time since the girls had spoken with some of the other people at the dinner party. It was all businessmen and neighbors, but these people had become almost like their family. The neighborhood was very close-knit, and everybody knew everybody. The only downside was that this meant everybody knew everybody's business as well.

Over the following couple of weeks, the new additions to the Netherfield Estate were able to get to know the Bennets and other residents a bit better. Caroline Bingley and her friend Mrs. Hurst who was staying briefly had grown to enjoy the company of the Bennets–for the most part. They were civil with Mrs. Bennet, but generally speaking the youngest sisters were found to be more annoying than anything. Caroline was closer in age to Elizabeth and Jane, and so she to become better acquainted with them.

Jane found this to be very flattering, and she, too, wished to become friends. At any rate, Caroline was Charles' sister; spending more time getting to know her meant that Jane would also occasionally end up running into him. She tried not to let her feelings run rampant; it wasn't like her to make her affections known publicly or for her to go chasing after guys she had feelings for. Jane was old fashioned in that regard, and she did everything by the book.

This didn't stop Charlotte from throwing her thoughts into the mix, "You have to remember that this is the 21st century, Jane. If you have feelings for someone then you shouldn't hide it! If he doesn't think you're interested then he'll move on and find someone else who he knows is."

Lizzie defended her sister, "Well, I can tell what her feelings are for him. He must be blind if he doesn't see it too."

"You're her sister, though. He doesn't know her disposition as well as you do. You know that she's just a bit shy, but all he sees is that she's not returning his flirtations. She needs to reel him in and then she can take the time to get to know him better. In today's dating scene you have to take initiative and make a move yourself."

Lizzie sighed and simply nodded. However, she knew she could never force Jane to come out of her shell if she wasn't ready to. She had high hopes that things would work out between her sister and this Charles guy; they seemed like they'd make such a good match.