Darcy was at his workplace and was scribbling on the keyboard inside his cabin. He had been working extra hours to make up for all the pending work and he decided to not take any pause until it was done. And that's when, his phone buzzed. It was a notification.

It was from Lydia…Lydia Slake. He couldn't believe that everything would happen so quick. Not even 24 hours had passed since he had that conversation with Toni. It was an email from her.

A bartender or a match maker.

Heya!

(Darcy instantly felt a pinch of cringe reading that word.)

So, he read it once again.

Heya,

(Still not okay!)

I'm not the best at first encounters. But here you go, I'm Lydia. I'm writing this during my break at the office. I can already feel the anxiety of you reading. But hey, at least, it was decent of me to not text you right away and reach through the email first. I have heard a great deal about you from Colonel.

Anddddd... I really haven't got anything interesting talk about other than when can we meet? Today or tomorrow? Today, my friends are coming over around 7-ish so, if you're not into meeting a lot of people, then, hop over to my place tomorrow evening.

See ya then!

Lydia

Xoxo

Darcy glanced at his wristwatch. It was 3 in the afternoon. He literally couldn't believe what he had just read. What on earth was happening! As he went back to his inbox once again to check the name of the mailer and it said Lydia SLAKE. He didn't have much of a pleasant feeling with this slake.

His expressions, getting more tensed. It seemed like he was either unhappy with it or there was a problem with it. He clicked it off and clicked on it again as if some way, he would see something else and then clicked on the refresh button.

He sat there, staring at the email, reading it over and over. The words "See ya then!" and "Lydia".

He stood up and went straight over to Charles's cabin and he was munching on a cookie whilst watching The Hangover. As he saw Darcy barge in, his laughter faded slightly but still keeping his eyes on the screen.

"Are you playing me or what?" Darcy asked him calmly.

"What?" Charles didn't remove his earplugs yet but did seemingly lower the volume.

"The email. Did you do it?"

"What email?" Charles looked as if he was about to get fired.

"I see..." Darcy uttered, wandering, not completing his sentence.

There was some silence. Charles closed his laptop and took off his earplugs standing up to face him.

"What is it?" Charles, slightly concerned.

Darcy took out his phone and showed the email to Charles. Five minutes passed and Charles was still reading it, his frown getting deeper.

"What's taking you so long to understand?"

"I mean it doesn't say that she fancies you or wants to hook up with you anywhere."

"Yeah, no one's as desperate as you, it appears."

Hooking up with anyone or even dating was the last thing on his mind. His true motive had nothing to do with it.

"Would you like to join? Tonight?" Darcy asked

"But it doesn't say my name?"

"Her friends are joining. It doesn't say their name too."

"Oh yeah yeah …but what if I get uncomfortable with all those new faces."

"I'd rather be worried about those new faces getting uncomfortable due to your presence." Darcy didn't bother listening to his response and quickly added right after, "Be at my place around 6."

Darcy took his phone from Charles's hands and put it back in his pocket.

"Ok, at sharp 6 but on one condition, I'll do what I wanna do."

"I got no interest." Darcy spoke while exiting his cabin, closing the door behind him.

It was 5:30 pm and he was in his closet, picking out his clothes. It was oddly surprisingly how familiar this evening felt to the one where he left for Colonel's party but he wanted today to be better than that. He reached for something different, not white this time. A deep blue shirt, almost black if there weren't enough lights. He put it on and raked his fingers through his charcoal black hair, slightly greased with some hair cream, pushing them backwards, creating an affluent and mysterious air around him.

EVERYTHING was different today. Even his cologne which was a bit spicier. He even felt different today. His heart would skip a beat unknowingly, and unexpectedly whenever he would think of the course of the future events and a rush of excitement engulfed his senses like he was smoking on the most intoxicating cigar which was the most alienated feeling he had ever felt.

Charles was surprisingly late today which Darcy kind of did expect because although, he was never late but to annoy, especially Darcy, he can reach any limits, even if it meant sacrificing his own comfort. He had a knack to be a pain in the ass.

To be the most punchable person on the planet tonight, thought Darcy.

And the bell rang, it was 6:40.

Darcy opened the door, expecting to get surprised for some odd reason, as if it was not gonna be Charles. But it actually was him.

"I know I'm late. I really was contemplating coming or not." Charles spoke with the kind of straight face which never really expressed if he was happy, sad or neutral but Darcy pushed through him.

"It's alright. We are heading out now." Darcy was already locking his apartment.

"Wow...you're really pumped for this."

"We're late, because of you. And I would hate to make a bad first impression."

Charles brust out laughing. "Bad impression?" Charles raised an eyebrow, scrutinizingly and continued "as if you care!"

"I do." Darcy pursed his lips together, in a plain voice, not making eye contact with him. God, this was so fake and laughable.

"Yeah yeah..." Charles snorted in disbelief "Cut the crap already!"

Darcy let out a grin and didn't consider explaining any further to be such a good idea. They both got in Darcy's white Cadillac.

"So, you like her or what?"

He was putting on his seat belt, looked to his side at Charles, wide eyed.

"I don't know yet." He started the engine and car went on steadily.

"I don't understand you." He took Darcy's phone which was kept in the storage space.

"Put it back." He snapped at Charles in an instant, with his eyes still on the road.

"First answer the goddamn question." Charles raised his voice this time.

"I can do what I want." He pushed the accelerated a tad bit, pausing for a few seconds, "without having to explain it to anyone, not even you, especially you." Darcy looked at Charles.

Charles shut his mouth finally. Silence fell over entirely. The muffled sounds of the engine overtook the light music humming inside the car. Charles fished out his phone and started scrolling through something and then, after sometime, he muttered, "Why didn't you agree for Caitlin?"

"Because I wasn't attracted to her." He answered almost right away.

"I think she was attractive."

"Not for me."

"Everybody thought she was."

"I'm not EVERYBODY."

There was again a pause.

"Okay..." Charles took that in, analysing "and what about Nelly?

"She had an obsession with Broccoli."

"Broccoli?" Charles rolled his eyes at Darcy for saying that.

"Yeah."

"No, you're ridiculous."

"I'm allergic to it. Don't act like you don't know it." He was so annoyingly calm that it irked Charles even more.

"What about Iris?"

"Iris?" Darcy looked to his right, over to Charles, in disbelief. "She never said she liked me. She was disgusted by me. She never even..."

"Finally, you didn't lie for once." Charles laughed.

"So, Lydia has no quirks that puts your interest out."

Charles managed to find a Rubik's cube out of the storage box and played with it mindlessly.

"I told you I am not interested in her" Darcy intended on saying that he doesn't like her, "YET."

"I'm gonna say it your face. You may have the face of a good ol dog. But you, Darcy, are a dirty little hyena and I have known you long enough to understand all these dirty little secrets of you. You haven't dated in goddamn seven years and the guy who has no patience for dating is talking the crap about interest and liking and dating?"

He took a deep breath, not wanting to face Charles. He was right though and he did know Darcy well enough. Maybe not the best but still close enough to spot his lies. Darcy wasn't even trying to convince Charles at first, but now, he wanted to tape his mouth so that he cut off his interrogation midway. He didn't expect Charles to put him in the spot.

That was the thing about Darcy. He never really felt hyper or panicked due to anything in life. Not even when Colonel borrowed his car and got the hood completely crashed. Somehow, he knew that he will put it together. But tonight, the ride was becoming heavier with every minute passing by. Maybe because he didn't like to be so out in the open about his life, about certain things or because Charles was probably right about all his assumptions and he indeed was lying.

But to his delight, they had reached the venue, at Lydia's place. It was a suburban house. Darcy parked the car and spoke before stepping out, "I know you're curious. I guess, you'll find out tonight."

Through the sidewalk, they strolled down the paving stones. Reaching the wooden doorway, it was adorned with wall mounted lights and Charles reached for the doorbell.

A pale red haired woman burst out of the door, she had freckles on her nose.

"Hey Lydia." Charles spoke

"Oh, Lydia's inside. I'm Charlotte, her friend." Her voice, a bit high pitched.

A faint sound peeked through the opening of the door, seemed like someone was blasting the song creep inside.

They both stepped inside, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity and the house smelled of lemon cakes, wood and soap. There it was, a massive round coffee table around which only one person sat, now two when Charlotte joined too on the tan leather sofas.

Darcy examined and she was nowhere to be seen. Both Charles and Darcy greeted Lydia. He nodded, pursing his lips as if he was done here, done with all this, reluctant to even sit now.

They both were just settling down onto what seemed like a vintage leather couch and that's when, the bell rung. Lydia glanced at Charlotte. Darcy looked at Charles, forgetting for a second that he didn't know about his mental upheaval and took out his phone, and went straight to the notepad section.

Charles peeked into his phone, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

Darcy couldn't help but have his entire attention focused onto who was it at the door. And out the door came a really tall guy, who wasn't just tall but also quite broad and also chubby. He had round thick rimmed glasses like Harry Potter and waved at everyone. He was William.

"Looks like Crabbe." Charles muttered into Darcy's ear.

Darcy let out a snorted chukle.

Twenty minutes had gone by and Darcy was doing something he thought he'd never imagine and that is to listen to Charlotte, William, and Lydia talking about their love for animals.

Charles had yawned like six times throughout the entire discourse and when Lydia caught him do that, she made a face as if he was a scavenger or vulture preying on innocent animals. Charles smirked right after, putting her off even more.

They had vodka bottles on the table and what it seemed like was a game.

"So, what're you playing?" Charles asked

"It's dare or drink." The pudgy boy, with a thick voice and a distinct accent spoke.

Three, two, one and an empty bottle was pinned to the centre of the table by Charlotte, to spin it around. And then, it started spinning and stopped at Lydia.

"Lydiaaaaaa!" Charlotte screamed.

"Please guys, don't make it be hard, you know." Lydia smiled shyly, looking at Darcy who was still looking at the bottle for some reason, lost in thought.

Charles knocked at his back to get his attention.

"Don't lose it already." Charles said to him, smiling "I know you hate it."

And he did hate it.

Without her, coming here, playing the game he probably had only played twice in his life and that too, a decade ago seemed so stupid and useless to him.

All of it, a waste!

He already could feel how worse it can get to and just when his mind began exploring (without his permission) as to what are the odds of Elizabeth not showing up here and why didn't he even think of it?

It was like he had been starving for four hundred days and he finally got something to eat but it was broccoli but he would have to eat it anyway. He had to make this choice in order to get close to her which now was a doomed one.

"I think you should do a little, you know..." Charlotte hesitated "dance."

Lydia looked at Charlotte who was smiling and winked at her.

"Dance with..." Lydia looked over to Darcy.

"The person who wins the contest. A mini contest." Darcy's voice settled in the environment, a bit strange and commanding, creating uncomfortability.

Charlotte blinked at Darcy, analysing something which made him slightly uncomfortable and he didn't even want to face Lydia.

"Well, there's rock, paper, scissors. Easy and quick." William spoke, cutting the silence.

"Yes... Yeah!" Darcy felt like he dodged a bullet.

"So, it's between me and..." Charles pointed at Darcy, looking over to Lydia who shrugged her shoulders in diapproval and Charlotte nodded mechanically.

"Fine. Let's do it." Darcy turned to Charles, his back facing Lydia.

Darcy stared at Charles, not blinking, trying to explain him something by his intense gaze.

To win….

The contest began and Darcy won the first round and everyone cheered. He gritted his teeth against disturbing clamor. It felt like the entire destiny was against him tonight, even his own buddy.

Darcy stared differently, strangely, unconventionally into Charles's eyes so that he gets the hint ANYHOW!

Charles's smile faded and Charles knew something was up.

Thank the heavens!

The second round commenced and Darcy put out his hand as paper but Charles didn't.

"What happened?" Lydia asked, her voice slightly shrill.

Darcy looked at Charles, knowing that he always came up with the wierdest knacks. He knew what Charles was upto.

Today, he felt proud of his odd ways and cunning wits.

The second round began again and somebody yelled 'DON'T CHEAT'. It was Lydia again.

Charles came with scissors and won this round. Darcy's eyes glinted, impressed by Charles once in such a long time.

Charles tapped on Darcy's shoulders, "It's okay, man." He comprehended Darcy's plight, "it's my turn to dance now." He stood up but Lydia looked terribly upset.

"Hey, you haven't finished the last round yet." Charlotte spoke, halting Charles in his steps.

He sat down again, for the last round, Darcy flexing his hand.

"Don't get paper this time. You'll lose again." Lydia spoke.

"What?" Charles scowled at her and she simply ignored him as if he didn't exist.

The third round began and Charles got scissors and Darcy got the paper again. If it weren't such a life and death situation for Darcy, he would have burst out laughing and so would Charles.

Lydia got off from her couch and demanded Darcy to face her.

"I told you not to go with paper. Come on. That was so obvious! Not even a toddler would do that. Can we do that again?" She looked at Charlotte and William for approval who sat in silence and Charlotte looked down at the table.

Darcy, not wanting to look at her for long enough, blurted out, "FINE."

Never. Never in a million years, Darcy thought.

The third round began once again and Darcy looked slightly annoyed, Charles could tell. He knew he didn't like her. Charles went with the scissors and on Darcy's end, it was STONE.

He won but terribly LOST.

"Oh, WOW...YOU WON!" Everyone screamed, maybe Charlotte, William or Lydia. Darcy wasn't the least bit interested.

Just as when everyone cheering and clamoring and as Lydia got off the couch and came towards Darcy, a thunder roared and hushed everyone.

"Is it about to rain?" Charlotte spoke timidly

"Yes it is raining." William returned from the restroom, panting, collapsed on the couch like a huge bag filled with milk.

That's when someone's phone rang. It was Lydia's. She picked it up and went out of the room.

"Should we get going?" Charles asked Darcy but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I think, a couple of people are about to join us. You know, after meeting up with them, you can decide thereafter." William said.

"I don't believe anyone will show up in pouring rain." This was the first time Darcy interacted with someone in the room, the new faces.

"Yeah, I think he's right." Charlotte spoke, putting her head down, feeling deflated.

Darcy wondered if she was also waiting for someone eagerly just like he had been but her thoughts were dismissed right away when Lydia entered.

"Was it Shawna?" Charlotte asked her

"Yes." Lydia said.

Was Elizabeth even her friend, Darcy wondered. What did he get himself into?

"She cancelled the plans. Her car broke down and the rain just made everything worse." Lydia explained with an uninteresting tone, "and Elizabeth got to her house around 6, thinking that they will reach here together, but there's no way now because it started raining."

Elizabeth… did he hear that correctly? To confirm, he looked around at everyone's faces, as if that might unveil something. Finally, at least, he heard her name. He wasn't quite sure if he heard everything that was said after Elizabeth. It affected his being more than the alcohol.

"What had they been doing all this time?" Charlotte complained

"How would I know?" Lydia, getting annoyed.

"What if I go get them?" William proposed and Darcy looked at him, with the last lingering glimmer of hope.

"There's a thunderstorm outside. Are you nuts or what?" Lydia was always frustrated, it seemed to Darcy or maybe he couldn't see the bright sides of her.

Maybe he was partial but the thing was, he didn't do anything on purpose.

Even her voice was a turn off now. He found her so annoying.

"So, shall we now?" It was Lydia, extending a hand towards Darcy for the dance.

He looked at her, reluctantly extending a hand towards her which she grabbed and smirked in a way which Darcy didn't like. But he didn't like anything here anyway….

None of it felt good, warm or even average.

Charles was almost half asleep on the couch but he sat up when he saw Darcy was about to dance.

Darcy wasn't a typical romantic guy. Dancing and all was out of his normal and Charles knew it.

He put his hand on her waist feeling more distant as close he got to her, moving his body robotically to the rhythm of the song, trying his best to not let their bodies touch. He ended the dance midway, removing his hand from her waist and her smile faded slightly and then, entirely. Then, he applauded and so did everybody else and got back to his seat.

"How did it feel?" Charles asked and he ignored him.

Nobody seemed to be interested in the game anymore. Certainly not Darcy and Charles was already dozing off. Charlotte and Lydia went towards the kitchen and called out to William.

Darcy didn't want either of them to ever return.

"Charles!" Charles was sleeping but he woke up almost immediately as if, waiting for Darcy to wake him up.

"Wake up!"

"We're leaving?" Charles answered groggily

"No...not yet. But you were right."

Charles didn't say anything for five seconds. He rubbed his eyes.

"About what?"

"I didn't think it'd be this hard. I had to tell someone."

Darcy felt weak for the first time in so many years. It wasn't something he liked and certainly felt like it was so unlike him.

"I know they're boring but this is your plan to get tonight to become interesting."

"I'm ... I've hidden something from you." Darcy said hesitantly feeling strangely awake all of a sudden.

"There you go! Spill it out." Charles was half asleep. Listening but also not.

"It's about me." Darcy said.

"Obviously it's about you, you fool!" Charles yawned after speaking, staring at Darcy with sleepy eyes but also a faintest but if suspicion somewhere.

"I have fallen." Darcy looked at Charles, "for someone."

"I'm not joking." He added quickly after.

"Fallen? For who?" Charles said and just as when Darcy was about to say something, he cut him off and continued, "Wait, I thought you despised her. Ohhh is it the other girl? What's her name?" Charles began to think.

"No. Not her. Nobody here. I'm in love with someone else." It felt so frightening to say it out loud. So scary. He felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach as the words left his mouth. He hadn't even said her name.

Charles looked at him in disbelief as if his face had just been punched.

"LOVE…YOU!" Charles spoke louder than he should have, speaking as if accusing Darcy of something.

Darcy had no answer to it.

"Cool…" Charles picked his words carefully when he observed something shift in Darcy's countenance. Something so tender and pure that, for a moment, despite of all the ways he believed Darcy to be, he must know what was up with him, he continued, "might I know her name?"

Darcy had never been in love but Darcy was also not quite himself as well.

Elizabeth… his mind had been chanting on a loop like a sacred prayer. Why it felt so…uncomfortable to get it out?

"Fine. If you don't wanna tell."

"Elizabeth." Darcy spoke, turning around instantly to observe his surrounding as if they were ought to change with this revelation.

"You're in love with someone you've never met? I'm curious, how does that happen?"

"I did. But I won't go all story mode. I really don't care. I just wanted to get it out." Darcy turned the other way, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone "I can't think straight. If I don't see her soon, I might not be able to function properly. I wish there was a way to stop this but I am losing my goddamn mind."

He took a deep breath, instantly regretting if he said too much.

Charles nodded, not saying anything for sometime.

"When did this happen?"

"Colonel's night."

"Ohhhh...it makes sense now." Charles took a pause before bursting with questions again, "why didn't you tell me before? I would have set you up, man!" He patted on his shoulder.

Darcy was about to say something but William barged in alongside Lydia and Charlotte. They were chatting amongst themselves, not noticing Charles and Darcy as if they suddenly became invisible. Charles was still shaking his head slightly, looking at him every once in a while, not quite sure of what he heard.

Darcy didn't pay any heed to their conversation however, if any one of those three said Elizabeth, he felt like all the air had been sucked out of him.

"I think Shawna is going to be here in a bit now that the rain has stopped." Charlotte said

"Yeah, but only her because George came to pick her up, he had some dinner plans with Elizabeth."

The name GEORGE banged against his head and he felt light headed, in the worst way possible.

Darcy looked to his left at Charles who pursed his lips, nodding in approval.

The dreadful assumption about George was unfortunately true.

The rest of the conversation went past Darcy. What was the point anyway?

He couldn't and wouldn't register anything, as if in a state of numbness.

That night, Charles witnessed something he had never seen.

Darcy's eyes looked blank and he wasn't the same Darcy that came over to this house.

With every moment that they spent in that gloomy house, his eyes appeared more lifeless and defeated than he'd ever witnessed them to be.