Greetings all! This is my very first fan fiction although I have read a ton of it. This story is definitely a work in process although I have already written 30,000 words so hopefully I will be able to post with some regularity. As I am a first timer, please review, give feedback, etc. I will post a few chapters up front so you have a sense of where the story is going. I don't have a beta and would welcome on. Thanks :)
The girls entered the restaurant, set their things down at a table and got in line to order their unique combination of noodles, veggies, sauces, and tofu or chicken. It didn't take long for Jane to be pulled into a conversation with the attractive red head in line behind them. Charlotte and Lizzy were used to the male attention Jane frequently received and lost themselves in their own conversation. Jane, ever the hostess, decided to introduce her new friend, Charlie, to the girls.
"Charlie, let me introduce you to my friends and roommates Lizzy and Charlotte. We are out celebrating with LIzzy. She got some great news today." Jane said.
"What's the news? I would love to add my congratulations." Charlie responded quickly not wanting the conversation with this angel to end.
"Of course! Lizzy just heard today that she has been awarded a paid internship at the New York Times for the summer. We are so very proud." Jane added, her smile beaming with pride for her friend.
"Oh, they just want to make sure that when I am a reporter I write nice things about them in the paper." Lizzy joked with her friends. "That's why they are buying me dinner too." Lizzy added with a wink.
"Congratulations Lizzy. It is great to meet you. You must be quite a writer to get such an internship." Charles added. "Charlotte it is nice to meet you as well. We are waiting on my sister, who is a senior at Wellesley College. She is always running late and well, my friend Darcy and I were too hungry to wait any longer so we got in line. Oh, excuse me, let me introduce Darcy. He is such a big tall fellow, you wouldn't think that I would forget him but he is so quiet that sometimes I do." Charles joked.
Darcy smirked but then, extended his hand forward and did the honors himself. "Congratulations on your internship. The New York Times, that is quite impressive." Darcy said, looking intently at Lizzy. He then turned to Jane and Charlotte. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well. As you have now witnessed, Charles has the ability to strike up a conversation with just about anyone and I didn't want to interrupt. I knew eventually he would remember that I was here with him and would do the honors," Darcy added.
"Yes, clearly you needed your friend to make the introductions. I am sure someone as tall as you, with your presence, is in need of a shorter companion to help you along." Lizzy teased.
Darcy was taken aback and let out a burst of laughter. He had just met this woman and she was already giving him a hard time.
"So, what brought you out here to this fine establishment on a dreary night like tonight?" Charlotte piped in.
"Honestly? My sister is having her kitchen renovated at her apartment in Wellesley, not that she ever cooks. She invited herself over for dinner at Darcy's but we, um, thought it would be better to meet her out at a restaurant. She has very specific tastes and so we figured this would be the best place because then she could pick exactly what she wanted to eat," Charles responded.
"Well, that is why we like this place too," Jane soothed. "Everyone has their own tastes and this place accommodates all kinds of preferences. It is perfect in that way."
They were moving quickly through the line and they had shifted places so that Jane and Charles were next to one another. For the first time in a very long time, William Darcy found himself next to a woman that he wanted to keep talking to. What was that about?
"So uhm, did you always know you wanted to work for a newspaper?" Darcy asked Lizzy.
Lizzy smiled. This man next to her seemed almost a little shy and she had really liked his cute dimples when he had laughed earlier. She smiled to herself when she considered how awkward he seemed yet really genuinely interested. With these thoughts swirling in her mind, she decided to answer with a sincere answer rather than simply being flip – her standard when she sensed people weren't really interested. "I guess so. My papa would always leave the newspaper on the kitchen table in the morning and I would read it while I was walking to school. In the evenings, when I was done with my homework I would hang out in the kitchen of our restaurant and we would discuss the articles we found the most interesting while he was cooking. It was always a little chaotic in the kitchen but I guess it was a way to spend time with him each day. A newspaper attempts to capture the most important bits of what is happening in the world every single day. My family never travelled anywhere and yet my papa and I learned so much about the world through the newspaper. So, ever since I was a little girl I wanted to write for a major newspaper so I could have some impact on shaping people's understanding of the world, even if they couldn't get on an airplane or talk to world leaders themselves." Lizzy shared. "Like today, there were stories about the continued upheaval in the government in Thailand, new requirements to videotape interrogations by the Justice Department to improve integrity of investigations and protect suspects and witnesses and a lovely write up of 36 hours in a village in Uruguay."
William just stared at her. How old could she be, 20 or 21? Most girls at that age were in college because they were supposed to be there. Many, or at least the vast majority he had met, were completely absorbed in themselves, and had little understanding of the world around them. And if they did, it was about some random issue that all of their friends were focused on. Few had such passion to know about the world around them and few had such specific goals and had seen them through to get such an impressive internship. Even at Harvard, there were lots of girls who knew a lot more about shoe and handbag brands then what was on the cover of the New York Times. Darcy was about to ask her another question, when he felt someone tugging at his arm. Caroline. She had made it after all.
"William! I am finally here. The weather is dreadful and it took me forever to find a place to leave my car. Why did we come here? Charles, you should have picked a restaurant with valet parking, at least. And, who wants to eat in a basement? What were you possibly thinking? Come on, let's leave and eat somewhere respectable. William, I am sure you agree with me." Caroline said in a huff.
William looked over to Lizzy and saw her smirking. Was she laughing? He tried to disentangle himself from Caroline, looking over to Charlie to see if he could help distract Caroline but no such luck. Charlie was lost to his new angel Jane. He sighed. He had no desire to leave the restaurant. He was perfectly happy here getting to know this bright and beautiful girl filled with passion about the world around her.
Ignoring Caroline's pleas to leave he took another tack, "Hi Caroline, allow me to introduce you to Lizzy, Charlotte and Jane. They are here to celebrate Lizzy's summer internship at the New York Times."
"Nice to meet you," Caroline said quickly looking them over. She took in Lizzy's outfit, probably from Target or H&M she surmised. Nope, no threat there. The other girl, Charlotte, was certainly dressed better but was so plain that she was certainly no threat and her brother seemed totally into the blonde one. Darcy wasn't really into blondes anyway she assured herself.
They continued to move through the line and Lizzy and Charlotte began making their selections speculating between themselves that they had lost Jane for the evening. Lizzy looked over to see how William Darcy was doing keeping himself disentangled from Charles' sister. She was trying to figure out if they were dating. It seemed like Caroline certainly was into him but he wasn't reciprocating. Lizzy could hear the continuing tirade from Caroline about the food, the service, the décor: it never seemed to end. She started to laugh when she heard some of the restaurant staff going off on Caroline in Spanish. She joined into the conversation sympathizing with the staff in her parent's native tongue. Growing up working in a Mexican family restaurant, if there was anything she could relate to, it was rude American customers.
When she started speaking in rapid fire Spanish, Darcy and Charles both looked up. The laughs Lizzy got from staff seemed to break some of the tension that was building from Caroline's rude tirade. While she didn't speak the language, Caroline was sure they were making fun of her. "What is it you are saying? You know it is rude to speak in another language. We are in America. You should learn to speak the language, stupid immigrants." Caroline huffed.
Charles turned bright red and Darcy looked at his feet. They were clearly mortified. Well, so much for breaking the tension. Lizzy actually felt sorry for both men. She felt a little bad about making fun of Caroline, but not really. Lizzy looked over to the staff she had been chatting with, rolled her eyes, and plastered a bright smile on her face as she looked over to their line companions. "Oh Caroline, I am sorry. You are right, that was terribly rude. The men had noted your hair, voice and manners and I was merely complimenting them on their good taste. I am sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable." Lizzy didn't tell the exact truth but the statements bore enough relation to elements of conversation she rationalized.
"Oh, of course, why thank you," Caroline preened.
The tension largely broken, Jane looked over to Lizzy with a silent plea in her eyes. She wanted to have them all sit together. Oh well, she wasn't paying, and she was intrigued by the quiet, blue eyed man next to her in line. As long as this Caroline person didn't dominate the conversation she could enjoy her meal with their new companions just fine. At any rate, she and Charlotte knew how to entertain themselves with absurd characters and Caroline presented a prime example. It could be fun, Lizzy reasoned. She smiled back to Jane assuring her it was fine to extend the invitation.
"You know, given this is a celebration, a party of six would be more fun than a party of three. Would you like to sit all together?" Jane asked.
This was exactly what Charles was hoping for. He was simply trying to figure out how to ask. "Oh that would be perfect! Right Will?" Charles enthused.
William would do just about anything to dilute the presence of Caroline and the ability to spend dinner with the adorable woman with the bright eyes sounded perfect to him. "Sounds great. We would love to celebrate with all of you." Darcy added. "I'll go over and speak with the host."
Given it was a Monday night, the restaurant was fairly empty so they readily accommodated the change in tables. Jane and Charles sat next to one another in the corner, seemingly oblivious to the others in the room. Lizzy decided to take pity on William who seemed to be challenged to untangle himself from Caroline's hold. Was she an octopus? She seemed to always have an arm on him and he did not look happy. So, she took the middle seat opposite Jane forcing Caroline to choose a seat that could not be next to Darcy.
Walking up to the table, Caroline remarked, "Oh Libby dear, please move over so Will and I can sit next to one another."
"It's Lizzy." She responded.
"Oh yes, of course, well, can you move over?" Caroline said again.
"Well, actually, since we are celebrating my new internship, I thought it would make sense for me to sit in the middle. That way I can easily talk to my old and new friends." Lizzy said sweetly, a grin plastered on her face. She looked over to Will and winked.
Will thought this was a brilliant plan and allowed a small grin to cross his face.
Charlotte slid into a seat next to Lizzy on one side and William quickly took the other. It wasn't a perfect seating arrangement. Caroline was still across from him but it was better than many other options so William was not going to complain. "Thank you," he murmured.
Taking in the grin, he really does have nice dimples, she thought.
Once settled, their meals were brought over to them. Everyone at the table seemed happy with them. Even Caroline's complaints were at a minimum.
"So Lizzy, Caroline and I are from New York. If you need help finding a place to live this summer let us know. We can certainly help you." Charlie offered.
"Oh definitely, there are many places you will need to avoid and Charles and I know the right neighborhoods." Caroline added.
"Thanks but actually, the internship comes with housing at the NYU dorms for the summer." Lizzy answered. "I am really excited to explore New York. I have never been and I can't wait to hop on the subway and walk the various neighborhoods."
Caroline was incredulous. "You have never been to New York?"
"Nope. Actually, I have never really been outside of Boston, except for track meets around New England that I attended in high school. My family owns a restaurant and it is a seven-day-a-week operation so we never really travelled. Besides my papa has a very strong aversion to travel so we tend to stay close to home. But I have a travel bug and I can't wait to explore." Lizzy answered.
The table got quiet and Lizzy realized that this was once again a place where she differed from everyone at Harvard. She knew nothing of the world outside aside from what she had read in newspapers and books. It wasn't her fault and yet every time things like this arose, she simply felt inferior. Like she would never measure up.
"You have accomplished a lot for someone who has experienced so little." William Darcy said.
Lizzy wasn't sure what to make of that statement. Was she supposed to be honored or defensive? Fortunately, Jane stepped in, as she always did to smooth things over.
"By the time Lizzy is 25 she will have likely circled the globe more times than the rest of us. She is the most inquisitive of the lot of us and I know she will bring a well informed and well researched perspective to everything she writes." Jane enthused. "I was starting to think of dessert and we had promised Lizzy that we would go to Burdick's. Do you want to join us?"
Before Caroline could put in a word about the poor weather or whatever excuse she might use, Charlie jumped in, "We would love to come. I love Burdick's!"
The check arrived and Caroline handed it to Will who immediately placed his Amex inside the folder returning it to the waiter. Jane and Charlotte started to protest but both Charles and Caroline insisted that William always paid. They reached a compromise when William agreed that Jane and Charlotte could pay for dessert at Burdick's and Lizzy promised to order a large spicy hot chocolate if William got one too.
Trudging through the dreary night they walked into a brightly lit chocolate shop and ordered up their favorite drinks. Jane and Charlie exchanged contact details and they all bid a good night to one another after they had all eaten their fill of chocolate.