Someone Like You

Victoria Lynn

Jump to new as of August 2, 2001
Jump to new as of August 16, 2001
Jump to new as of September 10, 2001

Chapter 1

Posted on Friday, 22 June 2001, at 2:32 a.m.

"Charla?"

Will looked over at the smiling blonde sitting in the passenger seat of his new silver Mustang convertible. She was humming along to the radio and grinning like she had just won the lottery. Will didn't know if he'd be able to handle such enthusiasm this early in the school year, let alone this early in the morning.

"Charla?" He repeated, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Yeah?" She replied absently, taking out a small comb to brush her hair.

"How is it possible?" Years of knowing this girl and Will still couldn't figure it out.

"How is what possible?"

He shook his head, disbelieving still. "It's 6:45 in the morning and it's the first day of school. How can you be so damn cheerful? It's just not right."

Charla looked over and rolled her eyes, as she was apt to do when Will made the most absurd observations. "It's the first day of our senior year, so of course I'm cheerful. Your not being similarly cheerful is what is not right, if you ask me."

Will shook his head again, but refrained from further conversation for the duration of the car ride while Charla was content to fix her makeup and hum with the radio. They soon pulled into the parking lot of Pemberley High and, despite himself, Will let out the tiniest of sighs of anticipation. Okay, he admitted to himself, this isn't so bad. Another nine months and I'm out of here. Another nine months starting from today.

He pulled into his parking spot near the front of the 200 building, a space reserved for the ASB President which he happened to be. There were only a few other cars in the lot for it was early and school didn't start for another half hour. For the past two years he had been driving Charla and him to school every morning, always early at her request. And no matter how much he grumbled, Will woke up every blasted morning and drove their lazy butts to school like a good friend would.

He looked over his shoulder to where his younger sister Georgie was slumped over in the back seat. Poor girl, he thought. She had been so excited last night for her first day of high school that today she was plum tuckered out and slept through the whole ride there.

"She'll be okay, right?" Charla asked, closely examining the sleeping girl.

"I think so." But Will looked doubtful. I hope so, he corrected himself silently.

"If you want, I'll take her around campus today, show her the ropes."

Will smiled softly. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks Char."

"No problem. I'm more that glad to do it."

"I hate this place already." Elise mumbled as she parked her car in front of their new school.

The place was a sprawling open campus; the classes held in five different buildings spread out over the school's fifty or so acres. There were eight tennis courts, two gyms, track field, baseball field, football and soccer field, volleyball courts, swimming pool, and much more. Elise had read the brochures her mother had chucked in her general direction a few days before with a "Elise, darling, you're going to Pemberley High this year, and that's final."

Elise had ceased to be surprised at her mother's frighteningly unpredictable personality since they had moved to California from Washington a few weeks ago. Since then, she had ceased to be surprised at anything her mother did. She was growing increasingly aware that Fanny Bennett was more than just eccentric; she was certifiably insane.

Well, what else does a daughter think when her mother moves her and her brother from their childhood home just a month after their father's death?

"It's not so bad." James said, ever the optimist. "I'm sure it's a perfectly fine school."

"It's not the school, it's everything... God, I hate this place. I hate mom for doing this to us." She made a swift kick at a nearby trashcan, causing it to teeter on its edge and tip over. She knew she was coming ridiculously close to tears and hated herself for it.

James took his twin sister into his arms without a word, knowing how utterly useless and distraught she felt in a situation she could not control. He knew because he felt that same ineffectiveness, too. "Come on, Elise. Don't cry on me now. It's the first day of school, remember?"

She sniffled. "I'm not crying. Look, I'm fine now." She pushed away from him. "See, I'm smiling." Elise offered him a half-hearted attempt at a grin, but he wasn't fooled for a second.

"We'll get through this." He stated firmly, taking her by the arm. "We'll survive, just like we always have. Together."

"Promise?"

James chucked his sister on the chin. "Promise. Now smile. We don't want these people to think of us as the 'Weepy Twins From Washington', right?"

"Of course not." Elise replied, feeling much better than she had in days.

"Good morning everyone, and welcome to another school year!" The peppy blonde teacher announced from the front of the classroom. "If you'll all get into your seats, we'll get started right away. My name is Mrs. Gardiner and this is AP English. Please check your schedules and make sure you're in the right room."

Will settled into his desk, looking forward to the day more than he had half an hour ago. Well, slipping down to the Starbucks a block away had a way of bettering a person's outlook on things. He looked about him, nodding towards familiar faces and taking in the few unfamiliar ones. Already three years at the same school and he'd thought he'd know everyone. Apparently, he was wrong in that assumption.

There was that pretty brunette in the front row. Maybe this year wasn't going such a waste, after all.

"What're you smiling at, coz?" An obscenely upbeat voice asked him.

Will grinned and looked up into the unbearably cheerful face of Richard Fitzwilliam, his cousin on his mother's side. He was almost as bad as Charla when it came to life, always happy about everything. Indeed, if Will weren't in a state of caffeine-induced bliss, he would have decked the guy, blood relation or not.

"Nothing. Sit down." He indicated the desk next to him. "Are you in this class?"

"Obviously." Richard flung down his backpack with enthusiasm.

Will scrunched his brows in thought. "But you barely passed Brit. Lit. last year. How'd you get Lucas to sign your rec. sheet?"

"Charm, coz. All it takes is charm." Richard whipped out a notebook. For someone who looked forward to school, he was a terrible student. Still, the teachers loved him. Will didn't understand it.

"Ooh, an empty seat! How lucky!" A high-pitched voice cooed on his left.

Will cringed. Oh god, anyone but her.

"Hey Willy. Looks like I'm sitting next to you." Caroline Bingham purred - well, at least that's what he thought she was doing. "It must be Fate." She giggled. Caroline was one of those annoying people that believed in Fate only when it suited her purposes. She saw the empty seat as another indicator to her destiny as the next Mrs. Darcy. "We can be Lit. Journal partners! Isn't that just fantastic?"

Richard grinned knowingly. Will visibly blanched.

Senior year was already turning for the worse.

Chapter 2

Posted on Sunday, 24 June 2001, at 11:13 p.m.

The only thing that distracted Elise from her personal problems was schoolwork. If anything, she was deeply committed to doing her best at everything. Of course perfectionism did have its downfalls, but that just made Elise work even harder to make sure everything she did was even more faultless. Which was theoretically impossible being as the state of faultlessness is in and of itself finite and cannot be surpassed. But Elise was one of those stubborn types that didn't like to be told that possibilities had a limit.

This aspect of her life was the only thing she had a shred of control over. If she didn't succeed in doing this one little thing for herself, she didn't think she had a right to live. What was the point in existing as a completely useless human being, anyway?

"You're working too hard." James plopped down on her bed.

Elise was lying down on her stomach, poring over her AP Political Science book for the third time that day. Leave it to her to be studying on a Saturday the fourth week into school. James didn't like the look of things.

"Stop for a second, will you?" He poked her shoulder.

Her response was to shove him off the bed. He didn't like that, but it was her room and she had a right to do whatever she wanted since he was the intruder of her personal space. James cleared his throat to get her attention. His sister ignored him.

Something wasn't quite right.

"Would you please just listen to me?"

Elise finally deigned to give her brother her attention. "I'm busy here."

"Really? Gee, I hadn't realized." James put in sarcastically. Their normally open and friendly relationship had been strained of late. And he didn't know what had caused her to all of the sudden close him off.

Elise immediately looked apologetic. "I'm sorry for being such a pain, Jamie."

"You're hiding." He stated plainly.

She was appalled. "What?"

James had an uncanny ability to really see inside of people, especially inside of her. Elise supposed that sharing a womb for nine months had something to do with it. But that didn't mean that she didn't find it annoying her brother could sniff out her troubles like a bloodhound.

"You're hiding behind your work, and don't deny it." He accused in a deceptively calm voice. "It might have worked on mom, but you can't fool me. Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong." She hedged.

James stood silently, wondering how she could lie directly to his face.

"It's none of your business." She pouted, knowing she was fighting a losing battle.

He hadn't planned on missing dinner, but if she wanted a fight, she was going to get one. Patting his growling stomach, James reluctantly sat down on the carpeted floor. He was ready to wait it out all night if necessary.

Despite herself, Elise laughed. "Oh, Jamie. You do crack me up."

"Give." He said. "Come on, you know I'm a good listener."

"Fine. It started with this incident a few days ago..."

A week previous...

"Did you see what she was wearing? I mean, Dickies and Doc Martins are so 1990s. And whoever said color streaked hair was okay should be taken out back and shot." Caroline Bingham observed in a not-so-soft voice that was meant to be overheard. A group of fellow cheerleaders turned student council members (just because it would beef up a rather lame college résumé and not because they cared a wit about the school) cackled in agreement.

"Seriously." A girl named Louisa Hurst replied, tossing her blonde ringlets to the side.

"I mean, totally." Lydia Benton added, feeling that some sort of response was needed to Louisa's inane one-word comment.

"And did you see her talking to Charlotta Lucas? I mean, talk about sad."

The girls nodded in agreement. Little did they know that the object of their discussion was only a few feet behind them, hidden by the blue lockers that lined the building.

Elise bristled. At first she thought Caroline - head cheerleader, popular, all-around loved woman on campus - was talking about someone else, since a lot of other students at school dressed like she did. But when Caroline made the comment about Charlotta Lucas, Elise realized they were talking about her.

How dare they make fun of Lottie? Elise fumed.

Before she had a chance to march over and give them a piece of her mind, Will Darcy passed by and the group of tittering girls burst out into excited welcomes, inviting him to have lunch with them since he was, after all, the ASB President and the best looking guy at Pemberley High. According to Caroline, Will was her property and just as good as hers, once he got it into his thick skull that she was really the best thing to come along in years. According to the rest of the female population, Will was fair game.

He assessed them coolly and politely refused their offer. Since it was Wednesday, he had an ASB meeting in the SAC (Student Activities Center - basically an office that deals with anything ASB and sells to students whatever needs to be sold, i.e. football tickets, sweatshirts, yearbooks, etc.), but thanks all the same.

Caroline put on a sad face. Will stood his ground. The day he had lunch with Caroline Bingham and her posse was the day he sold his soul to the devil. No way was he going near that group of people.

In a last ditch effort to keep him there, Caroline latched onto his arm.

"Oh Willy, always so dedicated to school. But we need you to settle something for us, ok? Me and Louisa were having a discussion about Elise Bennett; I say she's terribly rude, conceited, and thinks she's all above us just because she's from Washington, but Louisa said she's just shy and that's why she doesn't talk much. What do you think?"

Elise Bennett? Who on earth was she? Will tugged at his arm but Caroline had him in a death grip.

He gritted his teeth. "Look, if I said she was rude and conceited, would you let go of my arm.

Caroline gave him a sugary smile.

He hated to do this, but he was already ten minutes late to the meeting and they were talking about what was left of the ASB budget from last year. "Fine. Yes, Caroline, I do agree that Elise is rude, conceited, and whatever else you claim her to be."

"And would you ever date her?" Caroline asked sweetly.

"Of course not." Will grumbled, hating the way the other girls nodded in agreement. He knew what kind of person Caroline was, and he hoped to god that Elise wasn't some poor, friendless freshman. Once Caroline said something about a person, the student body took it as law. He had a bad feeling about this.

"So you agree that she's the last person you'd ever see yourself with, right?"

He wanted to smack her. "Will you just let me go?"

"Willy." Her eyes gleamed maliciously.

"Fine, I - " He started, but whatever he intended to say was drowned out by sudden, high-pitched screams of surprise and indignation.

Standing only a few feet away with a running water hose - conveniently left by the school caretakers - was Elise. The girls closest to her were already wet. And in the next few seconds, Caroline was screeching and Will was drenched, head to toe.

"Rude enough, for you?" She asked, then turned off the water and walked away.

The girls sat there, moaning and wailing. Caroline was about ready to explode. And Will, though unexpectedly wet, looked over to where the girl with the hose was last standing.

He had a fairly good idea who she was.

"That little b****!" Caroline growled. "She is going down! Come on, girls!"

Will stopped them. Indeed, the sight of him plastered in wet clothing could have stopped an army, given that the army was composed of women who didn't mind the sight of a fine specimen of the male species. "You're not going anywhere. Go to the restroom and dry off. Then go to class.

The girls stared at him, dazed. Caroline sputtered.

"No buts, Caroline. You all got what you deserved."

He left them to think about his words. Unfortunately, he overestimated their thinking abilities. Most of the girls were still wondering how they got wet. Was it a sudden rain shower?, etcetera, etcetera.

Will went in the direction Elise had gone after she dropped the hose. Why hadn't he realized that she was the same brunette girl he thought was cute in his AP English and AP Statistics class? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

He found her behind the 300 building, leaning on the bicycle racks. She was talking to another girl beside her, her angry voice carrying over the distance. The other girl, dressed in a plain t-shirt and jeans, giggled at her words.

"I don't see how you can laugh, Lottie! The whole thing makes me furious!" She said.

Lottie shook her head. "It's simple, Elise. Look, there's always been them and then us. I've been part of 'us' since freshmen year. You get used to it."

"But it doesn't make it right!" She seethed.

Will approached them carefully. "Elise? Elise Bennett?"

She lifted her head, her eyes flashing. "What do you want?"

"Can I talk to you?" He suddenly felt self-conscious in his dripping clothes.

"I have nothing to talk to you about." She stalked off in the direction of the back parking lot. Lottie shrugged.

Will hurried to catch her. "Please. I want to apologize."

She stopped and turned around. "Save it for someone who cares."

"Caroline shouldn't have said those things about you."

Elise snapped. "I could care less what she says about me. What I have a problem with is her insinuating derogatory things about people who can't defend themselves. Have you even met Charlotta Lucas?"

He stared at her, not too sure what she was going off on.

"She paints! Her work is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She writes, too. And plays the violin!"

Will had some vague idea that Caroline and her group had been blasting Elise's friend before he had passed by them.

"And the fact that you, Mr. Will Darcy, macho-man on campus, ASB President, leader of basically the whole freaking school, are actually friends of these type of people who put down others for their amusement surprises me. I thought you were a person of substance, of intellect, with all your AP classes and extracurriculars. Apparently I was wrong."

Will was getting angry. Where the hell did she get off making absurd judgments about him and his character? "They are not my friends. Caroline Bingham is the last person I would ever refer to as my friend, okay?"

"Whatever."

"And you better do your research before you start accusing me of being someone other than one of 'substance and intellect' as you put it. I've worked damn hard trying to do something good for this school. So if you're looking for a scapegoat to take out all your frustration on, look elsewhere because I am not going to stand here while you belittle my character to my face."

"You didn't seem to have much trouble belittling mine behind my back." She spit out. "Go back to your adoring entourage, Golden Boy. They're waiting for you."

This time when she spun on her heel and walked off, Will didn't follow.

Chapter 3

Posted on Friday, 29 June 2001, at 9:04 p.m.

"How come it hasn't gotten around school yet?" James asked, leaning on the dresser next to Elise's bed.

She wrinkled her brow. "Thursday the whole squad was out 'sick'. And then Friday they had a cross-county competition and didn't come to school. I'm sure it'll be all over school on Monday."

He gave her a friendly pat on the head. "Well, I could say you shouldn't have let your temper get the best of you, but it's too late for that now."

Elise glared at him.

First period Monday morning passed without incident. Will Darcy sat in the last row, brooding. Caroline Bingham sat next to him, preening and every once in a while shooting killer looks at Elise in the front row. Mrs. Gardiner spouted on about imagery in The Scarlet Letter.

Richard Fitzwilliam grinned. Something was definitely up. He always loved a good intrigue.

Reaching her second period AP Political Science class, Elise let out a small sigh of relief.

"Elise?" A male voice stopped her.

She smiled distantly, fearing the worse. "Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Richard." He beamed. "I'm in your first and second period classes." He added when she looked confused.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if I could share your notes? I misplace mine over the weekend, and with the test coming up, I'm not sure what else I can do." He lied.

Elise grew less wary of him. "Oh, sure. Of course you can share my notes."

"Great." He good-naturedly placed his arm around her shoulder and led them into the classroom.

"...so in actuality the political process is a lot more complicated than we at first believe it to be." Elise concluded her mini-speech, biting into her chicken quesadilla from Del Taco.

Richard nodded, scribbling something in his notes. She picked up his notebook, read what he wrote, and made a face. "You have the writing of a three-year-old. How on earth can you even read that chicken-scratch?"

"You learn." He shrugged. "Anyway, thanks for helping me. Hopefully by Friday I'll have everything down."

Richard may have lied about misplacing his notes, but in fact he really did need all the help he could get. And during his impromptu study session with Elise at lunch, he realized she was a lot more than she seemed; a veritable genius, if you asked him.

Yes, definitely one smart cookie.

"Hey, if you want, we could meet during office hours Wednesday. We'll go over the electoral college." Elise offered.

Richard smiled. "Great Thanks Elise, you're a lifesaver. I would ask my cousin for help, but I'm afraid he'll either laugh at me or tell me that I'm not working hard enough. I mean, I do work hard. I just don't seem to get all the stuff."

"No problem. I used to tutor at my old school and I know all about not getting stuff. But you're pretty smart Richard. You just need a little focus, I think."

"Really? Hmm."

He broke into a grin when a familiar blonde happily bounced over to their table.

"Hey you guys." Charla greeted the pair. "What are you doing?"

"Studying for the poly-sci test." Richard shoved over to make room for her. "Charla, this is Elise Bennet. Elise is a closet genius who had just offered to spare a mentally deficient plebeian - aka yours truly - a few shining moments of her time for enlightenment."

Charla rolled her eyes.

"And Elise, this is Charla Bingham. I've known Charla since we were two and shared baths together. Since I have seen her naked, we have no secrets between us and are the best of friends."

She smacked him on the shoulder. "Richard, you should have been spanked when you were a child. I swear."

"Alas, I was deprived of that corporeal punishment. Perhaps in a future lifetime." He gave a melodramatic sigh. Charla sucker punched him again before turning her attention to the girl across from her.

"Bingham?" Elise said. "You're not - "

"For god sakes, no!" Charla interrupted her. "Okay, I mean technically Caroline are like fifth cousins six times removed. But we don't hang out or anything. I'm sorry to say this about anyone, but she's a horrible person."

"True that." Elise agreed. "Today during first period I think she wanted to bean me with her lipstick case, or something."

"Oh don't worry about that. Caroline's like that with everyone, especially with new female students who are pretty." Charla grinned. "I remember the first time I met her. She was just a freshman, like me, but it seemed like she already ruled the roost. Anyway, I bumped into her by accident and she wanted to scratch my eyes out. And it didn't help that I was best friends with her crush; she thought I was competition."

"So what happened?"

"I told her to leave me alone or I would tell him what a mean person she was - though not exactly in those terms."

Elise munched on a chip.

"Needless to say, Caroline's not what one would call a people person." Richard added. "Frankly, the mere sight of her leaves me cold."

"Maybe she's just misunderstood." Charla shrugged her shoulders. "Well, anyway, enough about that. What's this I hear about poly-sci?"

"Elise has offered to tutor me, so to speak." He tapped his notebook.

"Can I come with? We can make it a study session." Charla brightened at the idea. "I have Mr. Phillips fourth period, instead of second like you guys, but we're learning the same stuff. So?"

"Sure." Elise smiled. "When and where do you want to meet?"

"How about Wednesday night at my house? My parents and my older brother will be out so we can have some peace and quiet." Richard offered.

"That sounds good." Elise agreed.

"Can my friend come?" Charla asked. "I'm sure he won't want to, but he's super smart and I could probably convince him to help us out."

Elise nodded. "Even better. The more the merrier."

Charla wasn't a bad student, really. She was sort of like Richard: peppy, loved school, got okay grades. However unlike Richard (and his overall false claims of "working hard"), Charla did try her best but could never manage more than a B+ average.

Will offered to help her study, but she never took him up on it. It wasn't that she thought he would laugh at her or make her feel stupid - because Will wasn't that type of person. It was more because she felt guilty that she would waste some of his valuable time when he should have been studying or doing something else that was important to him. He was busy enough as it was. To burden him with her problems seemed unconscionable.

"How was your day, Georgie?" Will asked, breaking her thought process.

The small blonde in the back seat smiled shyly at them. "Good. Mrs. Irwin's really nice."

"That she is." He agreed. "Have you made any new friends?"

"Uh-huh." Georgie shook her head. "There's Mariah Lucas. She has an older sister named Lottie... Her father's Mr. Lucas and he teaches British Literature at school, you know?"

"Yep, I had him last year. Great person."

"Anyway, she's really nice to me." Georgie said.

They pulled into Charla's driveway. Before she could shut the door Will turned off the engine and followed her outside.

"What're you doing?" She asked as they walked side-by-side.

"Walking you to your door." Will stated plainly.

She rolled her eyes. "Obviously. The question is why are you walking my to my door?"

"You didn't say a word the whole ride back. Is something wrong?" He genuinely looked worried.

Charla hugged him just because she felt like it. "Nothing's wrong, but thank you for worrying on my behalf."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, perfectly." She dug in her pocket for her key. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, anything."Z

"Do you want to go to a poly-sci review session at Richard's on Wednesday?"

Will was surprised. "I always offer to help you study, but you always say no. Why do you want to all of a sudden go to Richard's thing?" He looked a little hurt.

Charla wanted to laugh at his expression, but didn't because it would hurt his feelings if she did. "I don't know. It's more of a group study session, which I think works better for me than if it's just one-on-one. No offense Will."

"None taken, I suppose. What time's the thing?"

She smiled. Richard had told he something of his suspicions after Elise left them when lunch ended. She had a feeling Elise Bennett was the reason Will had been grumpy the past few days.

"Six to eleven. Richard's making dinner."

Will finally grinned a little. "Spaghetti?" He asked.

"Spaghetti." Charla confirmed.

"Count me in, then. I still don't get how Richard can be terrible at everything except making noodles." He shook his head. "The boy's a veritable puzzle, if you ask me."

Charla grinned, knowing full well that Richard was using his limited culinary skills to lure Will into coming.

"Nah. I've got him pretty much figured out." She said softly.

Chapter 4

Posted on Wednesday, 18 July 2001, at 9:30 p.m.

Caroline Bingham was not one to be told what to do - or in this case, what not to do.

She sipped her diet coke through a straw and shrank lower into the front seat of the new Mercedes Benz SLK her father had surprised her with for her eighteenth birthday over the summer. Following Elise Bennett was actually not as hard as she first thought it would be.

"Look, there she is." Louisa said, pointing outside. After waiting two hours after cheer practice, the sight of Elise getting out of orchestra rehearsal was a welcome sight.

"Shh." Caroline reprimanded. "Get down, will you?"

"She can't see us... Hey, where do you think she's going?"

Caroline watched as Elise got into the garbage pile on wheels she had the audacity to call a car. She had been tailing her for the past few days, trying to piece together her schedule. Caroline figured this would be pertinent information in the future for whatever devious thing she had in store for Ms. Hose-A-Lot.

Needless to say, Caroline wasn't too clever with making up names for people. No one could figure out why, though. Her father was a high-paying rocket scientist, her mother an astrophysicist for a nearby prestigious university.

Apparently, intelligence skipped a generation.

"Oh, she's driving away. Hurry up!" Louisa squeeked.

"Hold your horses." Caroline said as she put her car into gear.

A couple minutes later, Elise had pulled up to a pretty two-story house in Devonshire Park - one of the nicest neighborhoods of the city. After following her home from school several times, Caroline knew this wasn't her house. But whose was it?

"Check out the digs." Louisa whistled - but since she didn't know how to whistle, it sounded more like her blowing air through her lips, which was in fact what she was doing.

They watched as Elise disappeared into the front door. Ten minutes later a very recognizable silver Mustang convertible pulled into the driveway. Will and Charla, laden with books, stepped out of the vehicle.

"What is he doing here?" Caroline screeched.

"Nice house." Elise commented as she placed her backpack on the living room floor. There were two long ivory couches that bordered a coffee table made of weathered iron and glass. Her Docs made a hollow echoing sound as she walked across the dark hardwood floor to look around.

Richard watched her from the archway into the main foyer. "I'll give you the grand tour later, if you want. But for the moment being, I've got to head to the kitchen to make sure I don't burn the sauce. Come on."

She followed him into the hallway, made a left, and was greeted with the sight of homey kitchen. The butter yellow walls, pristine ivory tile, and antique fixtures added to the warm atmosphere. Richard donned a forest green apron and wielded a wooden spoon like a wand, shaking it at her.

"Clear a spot and get started on the salad, will ya?" He pointed towards the cluttered counter.

Elise, highly amused, ripped open a bag of prepared lettuce mix and poured it into a large ceramic bowl. Retrieving the wooden cutting board from where it was leaning behind the sink faucet, she began slicing the peeled carrots that were resting next to an empty package of spaghetti.

"Quite the chef, are you?" She smiled.

Richard looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Not really. Besides nuking microwave dinners, this is all I can make. My one specialty: Spaghetti a la Richard. I got the recipe from my grandmother on my mom's side. Here, taste."

He blew on the spoon to cool the sauce and then held it out for her to taste. She did as he wished and almost immediately her eyes lit up.

"Dear lord, this is divine!" She complimented.

He flushed with pleasure. "Thanks... You know, I never tire of hearing that."

"I should think not." She playfully poked him in the arm and then went back to her work.

He drained the pasta and turned off the stove. Arming himself with an oven mitt, Richard opened the oven to see what disaster lay before him. To his surprise, the garlic bread he had been baking didn't burn. "Score one for the Rickmiester!" He congratulated himself.

"By the way, how many people are coming to this thing?" Elise asked.

"Oh, just us four." He answered offhandedly, smiling to himself. "Will has condescended to join our little group, so we should feel honored. He and Charla should be here any minute now."

Before she could ask exactly what Will he was talking about, the doorbell rung.

"Oh, that's them. Be back in a sec." Richard went off to answer the front door.

Elise had a feeling something bad was going to happen. She could hear the sound of footsteps and loud voices as the foyer filled with new people. Surely he wasn't talking about Will Darcy?

"Hey, something smells good!" A new male voice said.

"Glad you could make it, man. I suspect Charla didn't have a had time convincing you to come." Richard's voice said, it getting louder as the group came down the hall.

"Not when there's the offer of free food." Charla piped up. "Hey, is she here already?"

"Yeah." Richard led them to the living room. "Leave your stuff in here. We're eating in the kitchen."

"Who's here already?" The voice asked as they neared.

They appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. Elise, knife in hand, paused mid chop and stared in disbelief as none other than Will Darcy stepped into the room. His face mirrored her shock.

"What is he/she doing here?" They asked at the same time, each scowling.

Richard turned to watch them, an amused expression on his face. He knew they were in the same class, but even that didn't warrant the hostile expressions they shot at each other. "I take it you guys know each other. Well, fantastic!"

Charla smiled and lied. "Hi Elise! I didn't know you knew Will."

"We've met." Elise said under her breath, and then put on an unusually bright smile. "Hi Charla. Will." She tried not to glare as she said his name in greeting.

Will frowned fiercely, not caring what she thought.

"You've been a bear all night." Charla whispered to Will as the group broke for a brief break. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." He answered lamely, sipping his soda. He flipped through the pages of notes that scattered the coffee table, all the while watching Elise out of the corner of his eye. She was standing several feet away, looking out the window.

It was getting late and everyone was tired. Richard stifled a yawn from his position sprawled out on one of the couches behind them. He was set on taking a ten-minute nap before they started studying again.

"Did she does something to you?" Charla pressed on. "'Cause you're usually at least civil to everyone."

"No, she didn't do anything." Except insult my integrity as a human being, he thought darkly. It hurt that someone who didn't even know him had already formed bad opinions about him. Then he remembered that he didn't care what Elise thought of him, and wiped those thoughts out of his mind. "Leave it alone, Char."

"Fine." She stuck out her tongue at him. "But you have several things you could learn from me, you know."

Will raised his brows. Leave it to Charla to lecture him on behaving better. "Like what?"

"How to be nice to Elise, for one thing."

He ignored her subtle prodding. "It's bloody hard being as nice as you, Char. You're nice to everyone."

"Well, there you ago. Another thing you could learn from me."

She looked so determined and absurd, Will laughed. "I'll try."

Elise began to walk back to the table, a grim expression on her face.

"But no promises." He whispered.

"What are you planning?" Louisa asked warily.

Caroline floored the pedal, a malicious smile on her face. "Oh, something."

"Well, what is it?"

Caroline checked the mirrors as she changed lanes, speeding home. "I haven't got it all planned out yet. But it's good. Yeah, really good."

Chapter 5

Posted on Monday, 30 July 2001, at 10:25 p.m.

As it turned out, everyone passed the test. Charla and Elise received A's - Charla was surprised, Elise was not. Richard skated by with barely a B- and was content. Will didn't get a grade because he was in AP Economics this semester and would have AP Political Science during the spring semester. However, he felt that if he had taken the test, he would have passed, no problem.

"Now class. As you all know, I mentioned the Literary Journal project at the beginning of the year." Mrs. Gardiner went down the rows of desks, passing out bright yellow colored handouts. "The purpose of this project is to compose your own personal glossary of literary terms. That way by the time May comes around, you'll be partially prepared for the AP test."

She smiled when she passed Elise's desk. Will looked on with irritation. Who knew Ms. Indie-Queen-Wannabe could write? He silently growled.

"I know you've heard all the rumors from previously graduating classes..."

Elise noticed that several students looked horrified. She wondered what those rumors were.

"However, this is not as hard as it looks. Twenty-five different literary terms each quarter, a total of a hundred terms by the end of the year. No repetitions. You can only use the works we read in class. You'll need a definition, an example from one of our works, and a comprehensive analysis of the term's usage in that example."

The horrified students blanched. Elise started to get nervous. A hundred different terms?

"Fortunately, this year Mrs. Stearns and I decided that partners are allowed."

A huge collective sigh.

"You can have the same terms and examples. That part is the hardest part in my opinion. However your analyses must be different. Cheating or copying from others will not be tolerated. Any questions? No? Fantastic."

"How will partners be assigned?" A particularly brave senior asked.

"Good question." Mrs. Gardiner smiled. "We had Mrs. Want and her fifth period AP Statistics class use random number generators to pair our students. Clever, huh?"

A few students nodded, dazed. Mrs. Gardiner began reading off names.

Elise wished she had had Stats fifth instead of third period. She would have fixed the results so she wouldn't have to pair with Richard (who, though a friend, she couldn't delude herself into thinking he was outrageously brilliant), Will (who treated her like pond scum... not that she treated him any better), Caroline (who no doubt got into the class by mistake), or Bill Collins (who picked his nose).

And out of those four, she really hoped she didn't get Bill.

"Will Darcy and Caroline Bingham."

Will groaned. Oh god, the horror.

"Richard Fitzwilliam and Samantha Rowland."

Richard grinned. Sam had to be one of the smartest girls in school.

"And finally, Elise Bennet and Bill Collins."

A few kids snickered. Bill, the Flemish exchange student, was the grossest student alive. He wore sweats all the time, barely showered, and picked his nose. Not only was he dirty, he was annoying. He talked at the top of his voice, never shut up, rudely interrupted people (teachers included), and had no sense of propriety at all.

Elise wanted to die of shame. "Mrs. Gardiner?" She waved her hand wildly. Come on, think of something. Think! "Bill isn't here today."

"Oh?" Her teacher considered this for a moment.

"Would it be possible if I could do this project alone?" Elise added.

"Well, I don't know. It is an awfully large amount of work for one person..."

"Could I work on the project by myself, too?" Will asked. "Caroline isn't here."

Mrs. Gardnier's face brightened. "I have a great idea. Since both of your partners aren't here, why don't the two of you work together?"

"I - " Elise started.

"We - " Will sputtered.

"I'm glad that we're agreed." Their teacher put in, bubbling with excitement.

Elise and Will looked at each other. Damn.

Will sat down in one of the conference rooms in the Administration Building. Trevor Jacobs - the ASB Faculty Liaison - paced continuously along the large conference table. Judy Liao and Kylee Thomas - ASB Community Representative and Public Relations, respectively - talked quietly to each other.

Dr. Anne de Bourgh had called an impromptu ASB Cabinet meeting.

"What do you think she wants to see us for?" A lower classmen officer asked out loud.

Will shrugged. He and a couple other ASB members knew for weeks something was up. But he wanted to wait until the principal got there to confirm their speculations.

The door burst open. An impressive looking woman in her mid-forties stormed into the room with a purpose. "I'm glad you all could make it on such short notice."

Will nodded. The others followed his lead.

"The district has a problem. And we need you guys to help fix it."

Then Dr. de Bourgh went into a rather lengthy explanation. What had happened was that the school district was running out of funds and currently the only way to circumvent this predicament was to cut back on monetary support of art, music, and science programs in K-8th classes. Mrs. Catherine de Bourgh, the superintendent and coincidentally Dr. de Bourgh's mother-in-law, was adamant that this was the only solution to the school district's problem. Dr. de Bourgh had other ideas.

"Now, the only thing that's holding us back is the property tax bill that's coming up for vote in January. If it gets passed, there will be enough money to keep the programs up and running at the elementary and middle schools. However if the bill doesn't pass, we're in for a world of trouble."

"How can we help?" Will asked.

"That's a good question." Dr. de Bourgh put on a determined face. "We'll need speakers; students, teachers... Every other Thursday night they hold a public session at the City Council. Soon enough the bill and the district's problems are going to be part of their agenda. Our goal is to convince the citizens of our community to pass this bill. Most will be reluctant, but those with children in our schools will want to help out any way they can. We have to use that to our advantage... Now, can I count on you guys to help the cause?"

Will nodded. "Of course. We'll do everything we can to help out."

"Good. That's what I like to hear." Dr. de Bourgh shook his hand. "I'll leave you to brainstorm ideas. It would be a good thing, Will, if you also got together with the leader of the Student Relations Council. Their voice and influence with the students here at Pemberley High could prove useful."

He searched his mind for name of the person she was talking about. Reina Fallon? No, that was last year. "Who's the head of the SRC this year?" He asked the principal.

"A new student. She was Class President at her old school three years running. What was her name? Oh yes, Elise Bennet. Don't worry, you'll like her."

Will could only stare, open-mouthed. He had the distinct feeling that Fate was messing with his head.

"So you have to play nice with Will Darcy. What's the big deal?" James asked, his voice carrying though the walls.

Elise sat on her bed, sulking.

First she got paired with Will for that atrocious Literary Journal project.

And now she had to work with him on behalf of the SRC and the student body.

She knew she should have declined the position at the beginning of the year. Dr. de Bourgh had heard of her good work at her former high school and invited her to head the Council. Elise was flattered. And since it seemed like such a frou-frou thing that would look good on her college application and not require too much work, she was all for it.

Serves me right for accepting, she thought glumly.

"I repeat, what's wrong with Will Darcy?" James poked his head into her room. "I mean, besides the hose incident. He seems like a rather nice guy."

"Pigheaded." Elise responded, listing his attributes she found infuriating. "Arrogant. Snob. Jerk. Haughty. Irritating... those are some words I would use to describe what's wrong with him."

"He's also smart and a good leader." James pointed out. "And that's all that's really important for this property tax bill thing you're working on, anyway."

Elise could really hate her brother sometimes. Especially when he was right.

"Play nice, will you?" He chided.

Elise stuck out her tongue. Stupid school district. Stupid corrupt superintendent - who Elise pretty much figured had taking the much-needed money in the form of an unnecessary pay raise. Stupid Literary Journal project.

Stupid Will Darcy.

Elise kicked her trashcan in frustration.

Chapter 6

Posted on Monday, 13 August 2001, at 3:32 a.m.

James Bennet was the atypical seventeen-year-old male. He didn't hang around the football field to pick up chicks. He didn't hang out in the school parking lot and do skateboard tricks. He didn't hang around the back of the school and talk track or music with the athletes and band junkies. He didn't hang out in the SAC and converse with the preppies.

He dressed like a cross between a punk and an employee of Banana Republic, and the effect was singularly unique. High-class punk chic, so to speak. Clean cut and piercing-less, he, for whatever reason, intrigued the girls of Pemberley High. He was well liked by all, but so far no one had approached him. The cliques were confused as to where he belonged. There really wasn't a support group for outsiders who were too cool to belong to the rejects, but unique enough not to belong to the "in" crowd.

James, himself, liked to think himself an artiste. He loved to paint and draw. He lived for the perfect photograph. He played the guitar and drums religiously. He wrote with a passion.

But he wasn't one of those misguided slackers who imagined surviving on just his artistic interests alone. He was a smart one, just like Elise. However, unlike his sister, he didn't burden himself with AP classes. He was content being the top student in the college prep classes, maintaining an A average, still while having time to pursue his arts with vigor otherwise not dedicated to schoolwork.

"Are you interested in buying a Homecoming mum?" A voice interrupted his thoughts.

He had been chewing on his pen and not paying attention to the world at large.

"Hmm? Whaaa..." Zoom in on the most beautiful girl in the world. Be still my heart.

Looking rather amused at his confused expression, Charla smiled and held up a Ziploc baggie filled with folded bits of construction paper. "Would you like to buy a gram for Homecoming?"

James, while being the atypical seventeen-year-old male, grinned like a lovesick idiot. "What's a 'gram'?"

"You're new, aren't you?" She shook her head, smiling all the same. "A 'gram' is short for 'flower-gram'. The Girl's League is in charge of selling grams for Homecoming, and all proceeds go toward the dance."

"I see." But he didn't, really. Her cute smile and bright gold hair was distracting.

"They're two dollars each." She handed him one of the construction paper pieces from the bag. "I decorated them, myself. Aren't they nice?"

He looked over the white paper decorated with stickers. Normally, he would have thought this silly for a girl. But for her, whoever she was, it seemed to fit quite nicely. He handed over two dollars from his pocket. "Now what do I do with it?" He asked, feeling a little stupid.

"You write a message. On the back write the name of the person you want to send it to and their fifth period class. Give it to any of the Girl's League members and next week, when the mums are delivered, we'll hand them out."

"Char! Come on!" Another girl called to her.

"In a minute!" She told her and turned her attention back to him. "Hey, you're cute, you know?"

He colored, the covered his blush with a fit of coughing.

She laughed. "I'm Charla. What's your name?"

"James... You were right before. I mean, about me being new here... sort of." He bumbled, feeling foolish. "I sound like an idiot, don't I?"

"No you don't... Look, I've got to go." She looked over her shoulder where the other girl was waiting for her. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

James gave her a shy smile as she walked away. He waved the piece of construction paper at her when she looked back. "Yeah, maybe you will."

"Ohmigod!" Charla danced excitedly in front of Richard's car. He looked at her with amusement, but not surprise since Charla was the type of person that danced for no reason anyway. "Oh. My. God." She enunciated each word. She danced some more.

Richard got into his car and waited for her to do the same. After a few minutes she plopped into the passenger seat. "Okay, I give. What's up?"

"I can't tell you! It's a girl thing." Charla poked her head out the window, clearly waiting for any passing girl to talk to.

Richard rolled his eyes. "Are we waiting for Elise, or not?"

"Yeah." Charla answered, distractedly. "She said she's bringing a friend, if that's okay?"

"Fine by me." Richard tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of his Toyota 4Runner. He turned on the radio and tuned to KROQ 106.7 FM to get his daily dose of rock music. Charla frowned at him, but didn't say anything.

She was more of the pop-music type, anyway.

"I can't eat lunch with them!" Lottie very nearly screeched. She swung her duffel bag full of art supplies on her shoulder and grabbed her leather portfolio from her workspace. "Are you nuts?"

"What are you talking about?" Elise looked at her oddly. She'd never seen Lottie in this state.

"I'm talking about me eating lunch with Charla Bingham and Richard Fitzwilliam. There's something completely wrong with that picture, and that would be me! People like them don't mix with people like me." She bounded out of the art room.

"What do you mean 'people like them'?" Elise asked. "And what's wrong with people like you? I'm like you."

Lottie gave her a dubious look. "No, you're not... I don't know. You're different. Like James."

"What about James?" She asked, not knowing what her brother had anything to do with the fact that Lottie didn't want to eat lunch with her.

"The both of you... It's like you fit in and don't fit in at the same time. Me - I don't fit in. But you do, sometimes."

Elise was lost. "So?"

"So, you shouldn't be hanging out with people like me. I mean, Charla and Richard are big people around here. So are Will Darcy and Caroline Bingham, and they all run in the same group. They don't associate with people like me."

"Will you stop this whole 'people like me' stuff? That's nonsense." Elise held on to her arm. "I can't vouch for Will or Caroline since I hardly know them, but Charla and Richard are nice people. Period. They'll like you. Heck, they like me, for pete's sake."

"But you're smart and in all the same classes... I'm not smart. All I know how to do is paint and play my violin." Lottie argued.

Elise had had enough. Charlotta Lucas did not have the most self-esteem, lord help her, but Elise was determined to change all that. "You know what? You can stand here and argue your point for another hour, but it's not going to change my mind. You are coming with me. You are going to like Charla and Richard." She pulled her bodily forward toward the front parking lot. "And they are going to like you because you're a nice person. And then we're all going to be great friends."

Lottie struggled, but it was useless since Elise, though shorter than her, made up for her height in strength and feistiness. "Elise! Let me go!"

"Nope." She spotted Richard's car and waved. Charla waved back.

"I don't think your friend is happy to be eating with us." Richard said dryly.

Lottie poked at her shrimp taco, but didn't look at him. Elise smiled grimly. Things were not progressing as she planned. Apparently Lottie didn't take well to being pressured.

Charla returned from the soda dispenser, capping the brimming cup with a plastic lid. "We've got to get going if we're going to make sixth period on time."

They threw away their trash and quickly drove from Rubios to school. Richard pulled up to the curb in front of the 200 building and dropped them off. "I feel sorry for you people." He remarked with mock sympathy. "Seniors with sixth periods. Poor you guys."

Charla stuck out her tongue. Elise gave him a disgruntled look. Lottie walked off toward the bus stop without another word. Richard shrugged and drove away. A few minutes later he made a u-turn and went back to school. The parking lot was partially empty since a lot of upperclassmen didn't have sixth periods and could leave during lunch. He wove his way through the lanes and parked on the edge of the faculty lot where the bus stop was located.

Lottie was sitting on the plastic bench, facing the street and looking contemplative. Richard studied her for a while before approaching her. She looked startled when he sat down next to her.

"What do you want?" She frowned at him.

Hmm. The girl obviously had problems. "Do you hate me?" He asked point-blank. "Do I repulse you, or something?" Richard couldn't stand the fact that someone didn't like him. It wasn't in his nature to be un-liked.z

"No." Lottie looked away. "I don't hate you... I just don't like you."

It was Richard's turn to frown. "You can't just not like me. I'm a very likeable person!"

"Well, tough." She said, pulling out a book of out her bag and pretending to read.

He furrowed his brow, trying to figure something out. "You don't have sixth period?" He finally said.

Duh. "Does it look like I do?" She gave him an "are-you-stupid" look.

He ignored her hostility. "Do you want a ride home?"

"I'm waiting for the bus." Lottie stated plainly. After a moment, she looked at him curiously. "You don't even know me. Why would you offer to give me a ride home? For all you know, I could be an axe-murderer."

"Well, I guess I'm that type of person. And, anyway, you couldn't be an axe-murderer. Your father's a teacher." He said, as if that explained everything. "He wouldn't allow it."

She smiled, reluctantly.

Richard grinned back. She had a lovely smile, he thought.

"I'll see you around, Charlotta." He said, getting up to go.

"Yeah, sure." She replied, noncommittally.

"I'm not as bad as you think." He added softly, and then got into his car and drove away.

Well, bugger.

Chapter 7

Posted on Saturday, 8 September 2001, at 7:19 a.m.

"You are a menace to society!" Elise said hotly.

Will smiled, reaching over her to push open the door. She walked out and he followed.

"Well?" She spat. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

He shook his head. "I've learned that it's best never to say anything in your presence."

"Oh! You!" She stalked away.

He didn't know what she was so peeved about. So he had mentioned to Mrs. Want that another AP Stats project would help balance out the first quarter's grading scale. So he knew that Elise was logged down with as many AP classes as he and so he just wanted to indirectly piss her off by suggesting a teacher give them extra work. So what? Ha.

"Wait a sec! I have to talk to you." Will bounded after her. Elise kept on walking without sparing him a second glance. "Elise!"

She stopped short of going into the girl's restroom to keep him from following her. "What?"

"ASB's Wednesday lunch meeting this week we're going to address the property tax bill. So be there."

Elise looked at him levelly. "No."

He sputtered. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean, no as in the opposite of yes. As in I am not going to some stupid meeting just because you tell me to. That 'no'."

"But you have to!" He demanded.

She smirked. "You may be in some twisted way the boss of this school, but you aren't the boss of me. So there."

"So where?" He nearly yelled. "You promised Dr. de Bourgh! You promised the students of Pemberley!"

"Oh yeah, Pemberley." Elise sneered. "'Rah, rah, Pemberley Patriots!' Do you seriously think I'm even remotely dedicated to a school I've been forced to attend by my psychotic mother? You must be insane!"

Will frantically fished for ideas. It wasn't like he needed her input; he knew the school and the community tons better than she ever would. But Dr. de Bourgh expected him, as leader of the student body, to set an example and work cooperatively with the people of the Student Relations Council. The SRC was a surprisingly effective and influential group on campus and if they were to get the ball rolling on the property tax bill campaign, Will would need the support of the Pemberley High students.

"Think of the little kids!" He finally said.

She sent him a grimace. "That was low, even for you."

Ah-ha, victory! "Now, now Elise. You shouldn't have shown me this sensitive side of yourself because now I might exploit it and use it to my advantage whenever I want." He teased in the manner of someone who knew he could get away with it now that he had the upper hand.

She wanted to slap him. But she really did have to go pee. Nature won.

"You'll regret this."

Will smiled. "I doubt it."

She rolled her eyes.

"Remember: Wednesday at lunch." He had to say one more time. Take it all if Elise Bennet actually cared about children she didn't even know! He would have never have guessed her the motherly type. Interesting.

"Yeah, yeah."

There he was. Again! Lottie looked over her shoulder and Richard was a few feet away, talking to another student. For some reason, it felt like wherever she was, there he suddenly seemed to be. It had never been like this before; she had never acutely felt the presence of another person as she did now with Richard.

This is all in my head, she thought. Why would he be following me? Think about it. Impossible.

But still, she wouldn't put it past Richard Fitzwilliam to follow her in order to annoy her just for the fun of it.

"Oops. Excuse me." Someone bumped into her hard, making her drop her art case. Brushes and tubes of paint scattered over the asphalt ground.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath. The person who had collided into her was now laughing at her expense. She recognized the girl as a member of Caroline Bingham's cheerleader posse - Barbie or Tiffany or whoever. It didn't matter; they were all the same. The girl gave her a snide look and then walked coolly away, as if nothing had happened.

Great. Lottie crouched down and began to gather her errant supplies. To her surprise, a few seconds later, Richard was down there next to her, helping.

"There you go." He handed her the last brush. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Being ridiculed by other, more popular girls was nothing new to her. Lottie just hadn't expected them to take the in-your-face approach in harassing when they had taken to talking about her behind her back for such a long time.

She flicked the dead leaves and dust from her knees and uprighted herself. "Thanks."

"I saw her push you." Richard said, with a peculiar expression on his face.

"You and everyone else. What's your point?" She asked, not a little annoyed with him and the whole situation.

"Well, aren't you going to do something about it?"

She began walking to her next class. He followed. "What would you have me do? Call her out and demand she apologize? Engage in a battle of verbal sparring? I daresay she wouldn't understand half of the things I said to her, let alone realize that treating people like dirt is the wrong thing to do."

"Well - " He started to say, but she cut him off.

"Leave it alone. It doesn't matter... Happens all the time." Lottie pushed open the door to the art room, turning to him for a last look.

"But it shouldn't." He looked somewhat indignant.

"Wealth and consequence seem to turn people's heads. Once they cross the barrier into the popular group, they tend to forget human decency and good manners." She arched a brow at him, daring him to disagree. "Don't worry for me. I'm quite used to it."

Richard let her walk away, contemplating her words.

"Well, maybe that's the problem."

Charla smiled to herself for the umpteenth time that day. She couldn't keep the grin off her face. Eventually, Elise, who wasn't even all that attuned to her friend's usual behavior, noticed something was up.

"Okay, give." Elise said, pointing a carrot stick at her. "You are totally freaking me out."

"What?" Charla asked, beaming.

"Dude. Stop it or I'm eating somewhere else." Elise threatened.

She smiled some more, and then leant in to whisper conspiratorially. "I met someone yesterday."

Elise's eyes lit up with amusement. "Really now? Do tell."

Charla blushed. "He's new here, like you. Kind of a loner, but he's all artsy and completely not my type."

"Why isn't he your type?"

"Well." Charla tapped her chin while she thought about it. "I don't know. He seems kind of shy and reserved... But he's so adorable."

"Who is this guy?" Elise asked.

"His name is James. There look - he's over there." She pointed over to the lean, denim-clothed figure that Elise already knew too well.

She tried to stifle a giggled, but it came out anyway. "James? Shy?... I can hardly believe it."

"Do you know him?" Charla look at her curiously.

"You know that brother I'm always talking about?" Charla nodded. "Well, that James is my James. Man, you're completely crushing on my brother!" Elise grinned, laughing with amusement.

"Really?" She looked bewildered.

"That is so cute. Ohmigod, you guys would make the most charming couple."

Charla looked hopeful. "So you'll put in a good word for me?"

"Heck. I'll praise you to the skies, if need be. But if you're the reason he was acting all out of it yesterday night, then believe me, I really don't have to do a thing."

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