After the previous nights talk with Charlotte, Lizzie was left nothing short of dazed and confused. She fussed around the house without a purpose, her mind too caught up and she thought herself like a spring, winding itself tighter and tighter until it would burst. So though it was so surprise when she did burst, it was still met with frustration.

Lizzie decided that she would make lunch, and in hindsight she thought it probably wasn't the best idea for her use the stove when she was so obviously preoccupied. Lizzie hardly knew what she was doing, and before she knew it, the eggs had burned and started off the fire alarm. Quickly, she pulled the pan off the stove, but the sudden movement had caused one of the hot eggs to fall on her bare foot. Though the yoke was cooked through and made no mess, the egg scalded her and she howled in pain. She hobbled over to the sink and put water on the hot pan, which let off a lot of steam.

Charlotte came running in coughing with a fire extinguisher and sprayed it wildly over Lizzie and the stove. Lizzie yelled as the foam hit her, which made some go in her mouth. Soon enough the smoke died down and Charlotte stopped coughing, but Lizzie was spitting out the foam in the sink, muttering as she did so.

"What happened Lizzie?" Charlotte asked, astonished.

Lizzie washed out her mouth with some water, spat it out, and replied negatively. "I guess I was distracted."

"You've been distracted all morning," Charlotte huffed, offering her friend a towel to wipe off the foam on her clothes. "Will has called to tell the firefighters not to come running! Will you tell me what's going on?"

"No," Lizzie said shortly. "I'm going for a walk."

"With foam all over your clothes? And is that a burn on your foot?" Charlotte asked, her eyes wide. Lizzie didn't answer, only slipped on a pair of flip flops and left the house.

"It's okay, I don't even notice it," she hollered back from halfway down the driveway.

"But you will later! We need to put some cream on that!" Charlotte yelled back, but Lizzie only waved in response and continued to strut briskly down the street. Charlotte nodded her head in disapproval and shut the door, resigned to wait until her friend came back.

Lizzie hadn't lied when she said her foot didn't hurt at that very moment, but it did start to cause her problems after she had walked for about ten minutes. Every step caused her pain, and she started to hobble. Turning back, she accidentally stepped on a twig with her good flip flopped foot, and her knees buckled. Letting out a cry of frustration and pain, she saw no other option than to sit on a nearby bench and wait for the stabbing pain in her good foot to go down.

Five minutes later and the stabbing ache in her foot had not quelled, she began to curse herself. 'Why was I stupid enough to leave the house without my cell phone?' she thought angrily. Lost and alone, she leaned her head on the back of the bench, her head still swimming in thought.

She was brought out of her trance by the short toot of a horn, and she was stunned to see that the person in the car was none other than Fitsy.

"What're you doing here Lizzaroo?"

"I burned by foot," she smiled apologetically.

He laughed. "So you decided to take a walk...? Come here, I'll drive you home." He opened up his passenger door and Lizzie limped over to him. "So what happened?"

"I was distracted and dropped an egg on my foot," Lizzie said casually, looking carefully for the first time at her burn.

"Wow, that reminds me of the time I was out with Willy- boy, ya know, Darcy, and he wanted to set a trap for a rat. So he put an egg on a wooden container and set up a trip wire. Well wouldn't you know, the next day he went to check on it and tripped over the trip wire and fell straight into the egg!" he chuckled.

The story stunned Lizzie, who thought that Darcy couldn't possibly have made a mistake since he was born. And to imagine the tall, dark, man tripping and falling over into an egg? It was too much! She busted out laughing, her laughs blending with Fitsy's.

"Will's a good guy. Why, he was telling me a few days ago that he helped one of his friends out of a... difficult situation."

This quelled Lizzie's laughter almost instantly, her heart seizing up in fear for some strange reason. She froze, conflicted as to whether or not she should ask the question that was echoing in her mind. "Who?" she croaked.

"His old childhood friend, Charlie Bingley, the actor! I'm sure you met him, he was there too wasn't he?"

Lizzie paled, certain now of what was coming. Her breathing shallow, she forced herself to continue. "Could you elaborate on... difficult situation?" she asked quietly, picturing the intimidating figure of Darcy in her mind, the person she least expected to ruin her sisters life, yet the more she thought about it, the most likely. It hadn't been Caroline at all, no she didn't have enough influence in Charlie's life to tear him away from Jane. But Darcy had. Lizzie had seen the extreme trust that Charlie had in Darcy, and she felt angry, confused, and a bit betrayed.

"He told me that he broke up a relationship between his friend and some girl."

Her worst suspicions had been confirmed. Fitsy was blissfully unaware that this gossip was hurting Lizzie, keeping his eyes on the road and speaking casually. Lizzie wished she could be so blissfully ignorant, but how could she when she knew that the man she'd just started getting use to was responsible for her favorite sister's broken heart? She turned her head toward the window, determined not to let Fitsy know that anything was wrong. "Why?"

"Something about the family. Sorry sugarplum, don't really remember. Why's it so important?"

The insult to her family hit her hard. Though they were loud and embarrassing, Lizzie never expected that to be the reason for the separation. "I- uh, no reason." She was staring out of the dashboard intently now, and for the first time Fitsy got a good look at her.

"Liz, you're pale! What's up?"

"My foot. Just my foot," she replied, her eyes closed. Her mind was running again, the brief distraction of her burned foot over. Her brain whirled with ways of confronting him, making him apologize, bringing the two crushed teens together again. But she wasn't sure she could do it. She would of course, for her sister, but she couldn't stop thinking of how tall he was, how he looked down on the world. It would be hard to get through to him, she knew. Even if Lizzie couldn't get him to apologize, she would most certainly get more information as to why he would sabotage the relationship. To her, family wasn't a suitable answer.

The rest of the car ride was spent in forced conversation, with Fitsy knowing something was wrong but still being too much of a man to guess. He didn't think it was anything he said, so he just figured it was a female thing and kept to safe topics like the weather, school, and films.

Lizzie was greeted by Charlotte's glare. "So, what happened?" she asked with narrowed eyes as Lizzie leaned on Fitsy and hobbled up the driveway.

"I stepped on a big twig with my other foot, I think it might be bleeding, I haven't looked." Because she had other matters to think about.

"Well, serves you right," Charlotte scolded. "Could you bring her inside, Fitsy, and lay her down on the couch so I can treat her feet?"

By this time Lizzie was up to the front door. "No problem," Fitsy replied good-humoredly and lifted Lizzie up. Lizzie wasn't in the mood to laugh at the sudden action, but she did smirk when she realized it was exerting for him. He placed her down on the couch and stood up, clearly trying to calm his heavy breathing. "D'ya need me for anything else?" he spoke slowly, trying not to pant.

Charlotte was trying to hide a smile as well. "No, I think we're all set."

"Okay then, let me know how she is," he nodded his head to Lizzie and swiveled around, leaving the house.

Charlotte chuckled a little. "Alright, I'm going to get everything to make try and prevent any infections. Who knows, you might have gotten one anyway, running away like that!"

Lizzie waved her hand, not in the mood for criticism. "I'm sorry, I just needed some air."

Charlotte nodded and left the room, returning with a first aid kit. "You are bleeding a little on the bottom of your foot, but the flip flop got the most of it," Charlotte surmised, showing Lizzie the flip flop with a hole in the middle of it. "It's not a deep cut. As for the burn, it looks more second degree." Lizzie hissed when Charlotte put the disinfectant on the cuts, but remained quiet as she bandaged them. Charlotte glanced up when she was done. "You look distracted. What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." Lizzie wasn't sure yet if she wanted to tell Charlotte what she learned, and thought it best if maybe she waited until she talked to Darcy.

"Yeah, okay. Let me know when you want to tell me." Charlotte left the room with the first aid kit, muttering as she went.

'Darn it," Lizzie thought. 'She knows me much too well.'

***

She had a rough night, with all of the thoughts wandering around in her head it was nearly impossible for her to go to sleep. She had dreams of dark strangers, of a sad china doll she could only guess to be her sister the next morning, and of wailing twins that could only be her sisters. There was also the red queen of hearts briefly, which could only have been Caroline.

So it was no wonder that the next morning she woke up cranky. She was in fact so irritable during breakfast that Caroline left the house in a huff explaining something about food shopping. Lizzie then turned on Collins, so he left for the church in a bumbling mess. With no ride and nowhere to go, Lizzie was left to read a book and watch television and wait for her temper to quell. After about an hour or so of doing nothing, her anger fully dissolved, she was beginning to get bored. There was no one to talk to and midday there wasn't anything interesting on TV. She was about to put in a movie when the doorbell rung.

Figuring it was Collins that forgot to grab his keys before he left she called out, "Be there in a sec!" Well, whoever it was, she was grateful for the interruption and turned off the DVD player and the TV.

Her anger returned in full throttle when she saw who was on the other end of the door, however. There was Darcy, standing there, tall as ever, but looking more vulnerable than she'd ever seen him. 'Serves him right, probably come over to apologize," she thought grumpily. She realized that she'd been staring at him for longer than normal, and stood a bit straighter. He just stood back at her, in a short sleeved plain white shirt, awkwardly stiff. He ran a hand through his hair and his eyes swept over her angry face.

"Er, may I come in?" he asked quietly.

"Will and Charlotte aren't home," she answered coldly. His lips pressed together and his brows furrowed at her tone.

"No, I wanted to talk to you. I was wondering if I could- uh, have lunch with you." He lifted a bag that she hadn't noticed before and saw 'Subway' written in green letters. Her expression softened, and she stared confusedly back at him, her eyes drifting between the plastic bag and his face.

"Of course," she replied after a moment, her emotions conflicting. "Thank you, we can have it in the kitchen." 'Stupid! Tell him you never want to see him again after what he did to Jane,' one side of her argued. 'But he looks so awkward. And he brought me lunch,' the more confused side of her protested. 'Wait for the right moment, then I'll bring it up,' Lizzie decided finally.

They sat down on the wooden chairs around the small breakfast table, and Darcy took two six inch sandwiches out of the bag. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just got you chicken. I saw that you liked the chicken my godmother served, so I knew you weren't a vegetarian. I..." he trailed off.

"Chicken is... very nice." She smiled a little at him.

He coughed. "And I only put lettuce on it."

"I like lettuce," she replied back quickly.

"Yes..." he looked at his unwrapped sandwich. Lizzie looked down at hers too and suddenly jumped out of her seat.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked in a rush after his quizzical look.

"Water, thank you."

"You're sure?" she asked, walking over to a cabinet and pulling out two glasses. "We have milk, orange juice, soda?"

"Water's fine," he answered her distractedly. Lizzie filled up both glasses with water and sat back down. Darcy hadn't started on his sandwich, and neither had she. She wasn't about to be the first to take a bite, though she was hungry, and waited awkwardly for him to start eating.

"So Will, why did you come-?"

"Well I went out this morning, really bored, and wanted to spend some time with someone. But Fitsy was out doing something, and everyone tries to avoid my godmother if possible, and I figured I might as well go and find you. I was getting hungry and wanted to have something out so I went to Subway." He was rambling and he knew it. This was probably the most words Lizzie had ever heard him say, and his rushed quiet tones startled her.

"Well, that's very nice but-"

"I love you," he whispered. She paused, confused as to if he had said what she thought he said.

"I'm sorry... what?"

He took a deep breath. "I know that you're not quite up to the social standards that I'm used to, and we run in very different circles but I can't stop thinking about you." Lizzie said nothing, her cold sandwich forgotten as she stared. "Everything you do fascinates me," he said in a compelling whisper. "I'm not asking for your love now, just give me a chance."

Instead of touching her, his words angered her, the memories of her sister's tears popping up in her head. She thought of George, she thought of Jane, and she thought of Charlie. None of them deserved Darcy, and neither did she. She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Well I'm sorry but- What do you mean, 'social standards'?" her tone was polite but her eyes were dangerous.

Darcy on the other hand was stunned. He had basically spilled his heart out, and he got a question? "I only meant that-"

"Yes, I know what you meant. You think you're so much better than everyone else, don't you?" Lizzie wasn't sure where all this aggression was coming from, but the words spilled out of her mouth with such a strong anger it surprised even herself.

Darcy swallowed, anger finding its way on his face. "You've thought this through, haven't you?" he spit out, clearly hurt but also furious.

"How can I give you a chance when you clearly haven't done the same for anyone else?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean my sister and Charlie!" she shouted, letting out weeks of aggression in that one sentence. Darcy's face softened a little but the anger did not leave his eyes.

He was silent for a moment, mulling over his answer. "I thought it was obvious that she wasn't as... eager for a relationship as he was."

"Well, you thought wrong then! She's shy!"

"So is Charlie! I watched her carefully and her actions-"

"She hardly tells me anything, let alone boys! And I'm her favorite!" she cried. She was flaming, who did Darcy think he is to take a relationship into his own hands? Who was he to decide how other people feel? He was quiet for a second, her retaliation sinking in. She seethed inside before beginning again. "And I would imagine that your taking matters into your own hands had nothing to do with money-"

"Of course not, Charlie has enough money for an army to live comfortably! However..."

"What?!" her head snapped up at his pause, her eyes now slits.

"It's just your family-"

"What about them? Charlie didn't have a problem with them!"

"No, it wasn't that! It was the fact that they seemed to enjoy embarrassing themselves at every moment, and not taking anyone else into account!"

Lizzie knew this, she'd even thought it to herself a few times, but she'd never thought that someone would have the indecency to bring it up. And she would never have thought it would have been a factor in ruining Jane's relationship with Charlie. She was stunned, his words sinking in slowly, clouding her mind. Though she felt the same, her one thought was to defend her family. "All of them?"

"No," he replied, his eyebrows furrowed. "You and Jane are the only sensible ones."

This quieted her, and Darcy's evident concern for Charlie's reputation annoyed her. It wasn't any of his business. Yes, her family was embarrassing but none of the other boys seemed to have a problem with it. George didn't have a problem with her family! Then she thought about the terrible things Darcy had done to George. "And what about George?"

The mention of George brought a newfound wave of rage through Darcy and his eyes narrowed even more. "Well, what about him?" he asked, his voice lower than she'd ever heard it, his tone no longer level and even.

"You've ruined his life as well!"

"Oh, is that what he told you? Good for him, he still knows how to lie. You know, some things never change."

"I'll bet he told me more truth than you have!"

"Is that what you think of me? Dishonest?" He emphasized each of his words carefully, his tone still dangerously quiet. "Well, I'm sorry you're so bitter but I can hardly be held accountable for your misfortunes." He was speaking like a duke and he knew it, but the words just spilled from his mouth.

"My misfortunes? I think I'm doing well, thank you. At least I'm not selfish and cruel, the things that stood out to me about you from the very second I looked at you!" she was screaming now, so loud the neighbors probably heard it. She stood up, longing to be taller than him for just once, refusing to feel inferior. "And because of it, you are probably the last person in the world I could ever see myself with!"

His jaw clenched and his eyes relaxed, finally realizing where he was and what just happened. He looked at her face, studying every part of it, and at last determining that she was serious, that these were not just hasty words thrown out just to hurt him. Because of this he stood up. "I'm sorry for disturbing you," he said, not looking at her any more. Without another word, he left. The sound of the door closing echoed throughout the house.

Lizzie didn't move for five minutes, just staring at her uneaten peace offering.