Chapter 25

Lizzy woke up the next morning to a horrible insistent banging on the door of her dorm. She practically fell out of bed as she ran towards the door. Expecting a fireman or RA on the other side of the door when she opened it, it took her a moment to register the steely eyed older woman on the other side of the door. The woman's identity was on the tip of her tongue.

"Miss Eliza," An icy voice matched an equally icy voice as the woman looked down her nose at Lizzy. Lizzy raised a brow at the name, her lips forming a frown and then an O as she remembered who the woman was. "You'll come out here and speak with me at once."

Lizzy considered if she truly wanted to face Lady Catherine DeBourgh in her tank top and long flannel pants, with her hair probably looking like rats nested in the curls. She took a moment to consider that maybe if she took long enough the woman would die of the aneurism that she looked like she was about to have, but with a heavy sigh Lizzy stepped into the hall and shut the door behind her. "There's a lounge down the hall here we can talk." Lizzy lead the way, trying to ignore the way the woman was breathing down her neck. She opened the door, and Catherine swept imperiously by before settling herself on the beaten couch. Lizzy remained standing, her arms crossed over her chest. A glance towards the clock practically made her groan. Its too early for this, she thought as she ran a hand through her hair as she waited for Lady Catherine to speak.

"You must be at no loss Miss Eliza as to why I am here."

"I actually have no idea what's so important that you dragged me out of my dorm at 7 am," Lizzy's temper was fraying the more she tried to hold it in.

"I came here to discuss a rumor that reached me a few days ago. It was so scandalous I immediate set out to make sure that it was untrue and have it stopped," She punctuated the last word with a slap against the arm of the couch.

"If you traveled all this way wouldn't that prove the rumors true rather than false?" Lady Catherine's face grew even more serious and Lizzy was tempted to warn her that if she kept it that way it might freeze.

"I won't beat around the bush then. I heard the most scandalous impossible rumor that you are dating my nephew William Darcy."

Lizzy couldn't hold back the immediate snort of derision at the woman's serious tone. "I'm surprised you drove almost six hours for that!"

"Is there no foundation for it?"

Her mind immediately flashed back to the night before and the kiss they shared. They had spent the rest of the concert stealing glances at each other and they hadn't gotten a chance to talk before the groups had went their separate ways. "I won't pretend to be as blunt as you. You can ask me questions. I can refuse to answer them."

"I refuse to leave without your answer!" The woman swept to her feet and strode forward until her face was barely six inches from Lizzy's.

"You declared it to be impossible." Lizzy held back a grin as the Lady Catherine's face turned an interesting shade of splotchy purple red.

"If its true its because you seduced him away from his family and his duty! Whether its through blackmail or your… feminine wiles you have bewitched him!"

Lizzy felt her temper flare and the amusement she felt was gone in an instant. "If I'm the girl you make me out to be I'd be the last person to say so," She bit the words out as her hands curled into fists.

"Do you know who you're talking to? I am his Aunt and he is engaged to be married to Anne!"

"Then he never would do anything with me. Or is your opinion of your nephew that low."

"I do not but it is a peculiar arrangement," Lady Catherine sullenly admitted.

"If he doesn't want to marry Anne than he has ever right to look at other people and if it happens to me, why shouldn't I say yes?"

Lady Catherine narrowed her eyes and her chest swelled with indignation. "Because dignity, familial pride and honor dictate that he is so far above you, you would be stepping up to marry his stable boy. You're family is ridiculous and word has reached me of your youngest sisters misdeeds."

"That is ridiculous!" Lizzy fumed at the insinuation of her family and at the mention of Lydia's actions. "And if Will doesn't care about them why should you?"

"Once and for all. Are you dating?" Lizzy held the angry woman's gaze before sighing slightly.

"No, we are not." She watched as the tension visibly left Lady Catherine's body and a self satisfied smirk tilted her lips.

"And will you promise to never enter into any relationship with him?"

"I will do no such thing!" Lizzy said coldly. "This conversation is done." She turned towards the door and had taken a step when Lady Catherine spoke one more time.

"If money is what it will take I will give you what you want to quit all friendship with my nephew and promise to never enter into any relationship with him."

"Who do you take me to be?" Lizzy felt herself stand straighter as anger tensed every muscle in her body. "I am not one of your spineless employees you can intimidate. You will not be able to buy me off. Your arguments have done nothing but piss me off and make me quite certain to do everything I can to do to piss you off in turn. So I won't take your money! I won't promise you anything! Now fuck off and let me go back to bed!" With that Lizzy turned on her heel, leaving a gape jawed Lady Catherine behind her as she stormed out of the room and back to her own. She locked the door behind her and sagged against it, the adrenaline from the fight draining what energy she had and she collapsed back onto the bed and fell back asleep.

Across campus Will was treated to the same wake up as Lizzy. He stumbled out of bed and tugged a shirt on over his head. He had spent most of the night going over what had happened at the concert, and what his next move would be. As he stumbled towards the door, he could keep a goofy grin off of his face. He kissed Lizzy and it hadn't ended in a screaming fight. He opened the door and he could almost hear Marlin from Finding Nemo in his head, Good feelings gone. Because on the other side of the door was his very livid purple colored Aunt Catherine.

She was over the threshold before he could even finish registering her presence on his doorstep. "Do come in Aunt," He muttered dryly as he shut the door with a snap. He hoped that whatever diatribe was about to follow wouldn't wake his roommates but his hopes were unfounded as she burst into a fit that was more than enough to wake his roommates and their neighbors on both sides.

"You will not believe what I just had to endure, Nephew! After driving for six hours with the most horrid traffic and driver, I arrived here to squash the vicious rumors that have been going through our circles. And what do I receive? The most impertinent response from the basest chit of a girl I ever had the misfortune to know!"

Will tuned her out until she finished, a practice he had long ago perfected. He waited for her to take a few deep breaths. "What rumors Aunt?"

"The rumors that you are… involved… with that that…. Slut Elizabeth Bennet!"
Will immediately felt his heart stop and his body flush icy cold. "I'm sorry what?"

"That chit spread a rumor around that you two were involved! People have seen you around campus together! How could you do that to Anne, having her hear about you running around with that woman!"

"Anne and I have never been involved. We've never wanted to be involved. In fact if you paid any attention at all you'd know I'm not even Anne's type!" This made Aunt Catherine stop for a moment, her mouth hanging open before she shut it with a snap. "What happened Aunt?"

"I heard the rumors and knew I immediately I had to come and prove them wrong. I went to her room and tried to get her to promise to never enter a relationship with you."

"You what?" Darcy felt his heart stop as he processed what she said. He dropped onto the couch and dropped his head into his hands.

"No matter what I said she wouldn't make any promises to me. I offered her anything, money even and she turned me out with the rudest language I had ever heard."

"You had no right to do that!" He shouted at her. His mind was filled with images of his Aunt insulting and berating his Lizzy. He was surprised to find his vision clouding over red.

"She is still not worthy of you. Who is her family? What is her worth?"

"She is worth much more than you!" He shouted over her and the silence that followed was deafening after her tirade. "No one, not even you, have any say in what happens in my life. Nothing! This delusion of Anne and me is offensive to Anne, her girlfriend and me. So if that is all you have to say to me I bid you a good morning good day and good life. So get the bloody hell out of my apartment." He put a hand in the small of his aunts back and without any further comment firmly shoved her out of the door. He shut it in her face as she turned to exclaim at him and leaned firmly against it and its lock.

"You will bring shame onto your family! Your uncle will never agree to this match!" She continued shouting at him until the campus police came to escort the mad shouting lady out of the building and off the campus. After five minutes he waved his roommates back to their rooms and collapsed onto his own bed. He yanked the shirt back over his head and let it drop to the floor. He ran his fingers through his hair, lying back against the pillows as he tried to calm the red that had settled over his vision. Suddenly he sat straight up as the implications of the conversation hit him. He launched himself out of his bed so fast he tripped over a sneaker on the floor and hurriedly tugged a sweatshirt over his bare chest. He shoved his feet into his shoes and snatched his keys from their place on his dresser as he ran out the door.

It took him almost fifteen minutes to run to Lizzy's dorm building across campus. He swiped his university Id before he remembered that it didn't work on her building. So he was forced to wait until a girl returning from a run around campus let him in after her. He ignored her gaze as it ran up and down his own body but rather gave her a thank you wave and dove up the stairs to Lizzy's room. Skidding to a stop in front of her door he reached out and rapped on it loudly. Will heard the rustle of her sheets and the soft pad of her feet before the door was violently yanked open.

"Listen you old crazy bat," Her voice was sleepy and angry as she stared blearily up at him. She stopped for a moment blinking at him before she smiled, "Oh its you, how's it going?"

"Lizzy," His gaze followed her hand as it nervously rubbed at the back of her neck then skipped down over her tank top and loose plaid pants that were pink and purple. Her hair was a ridiculous mess and it made him want to run his hands through it. "I just got a visit from my aunt."

She flushed a very deep red and her gaze immediately dropped to the floor. "I'm sorry for what I said to her. I just couldn't deal with her anymore."

"No Lizzy," He stopped her before she could continue to babble. "Don't apologize for that woman. If anyone should be apologizing it should be me. I let her suffer under her own delusion for too long. She had no right to come and yell at you, and I truly apologize for what she did."

Lizzy stared up at him and bit her lip, "Will," His gaze dropped to her mouth before flashing back up to her eyes. "These past few months, they've shown me how wrong I was about you. You are the best person I know. The kindest, the most selfless wonderful man I've ever met. I was an idiot to let my prejudice and a first impression blind me to that." She trailed off and took a deep breath before she let what she had been meaning to ask for months out in a jumble, "Basically what I'm trying to say is… I care about you, more than anyone else, and if you'd be willing I'd like to go out with you sometime." He felt a grin stretch across his face. Unable to restrain himself he bent to kiss her.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," He murmured when they finally broke apart, chests heaving. "You beat me to it, but I think after months of doing everything together, and what we've done these past few minutes, we're a bit past the questions. Of course. I'll take you anywhere; I'll do anything you want. I just want to be with you." He had ducked slightly so that he was looking her in the eye as he spoke, his gaze taking in every inch of her face. Her dark blue eyes were sparkling in the weak morning light and her cheeks were flushed a deep rose. She smiled at him, and he wanted to kiss the dimples in her cheeks.

Lizzy hesitantly moved forward stopping close enough for him to feel her breath on his cheek before she kissed him in a soft caress. He felt his skin erupt with tingles as he pulled her closer before she could move away again. It was all the passion of their first kiss, without the fighting that had gone with it. She tugged lightly on his sweatshirt, moving him with her, back towards her bed. They broke apart again flushed and panting from lack of oxygen. She grinned at him and she settled down on the twin bed, and patted the space between her and the wall. He almost had to army crawl his way into the small spot; making her laugh but eventually they were snuggled together on top of the comforter. She curled close to him, her head resting on his chest, feeling it pound heavily through his sweatshirt.

They were quiet together for a fairly long time, going over what had happened in their own minds. Will found his hands gently brushing over her hands and fingers. They were so soft beneath his aside from one callous on the side of each of her index fingers where the reins rubbed against her hands because she hated to wear gloves.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a giggle as he ran his fingertips over her palm.

He grinned at her, "You're hands are so soft." She blushed lightly and kissed his fingertips. "I am still sorry about your aunt."

"You have nothing to apologize for. She was out of line. And I was coming over to you anyway she just moved the time up an hour or so."

"I don't mind. I'm just happy Elba didn't come back tonight. She wouldn't have appreciated any of it." She frowned, "Actually… Elba didn't' come back last night."

"She was talking to Cole last time I saw her." Will stopped and shared a loaded look with Lizzy and they burst into laughing.

"About time," She laughed, "I thought she was never going to notice how into her he was."

"I'm sure everyone else was saying that about you," He teased her. She pouted up at him and he couldn't help but kiss the pout from her lips.

"Come on I'm never going to be able to win an argument if you keep this up." She laughed when they finally broke apart.

"Then I'll just have to keep on doing it."

They had agreed to try and keep their relationship a secret from their friends, just to see how long it took anyone to notice. Also they didn't really want to steal any spotlight from Cole and Elba who were getting teased mercilessly by the group for their impromptu hook up. To escape her roommate, who needed the room even more than she ever had before, Lizzy conveniently started staying over with Will. The first night they spent together Lizzy woke up to the smell of French toast coming from the kitchen. They had had the apartment to themselves, since Cole was with Elba, and Eric and Rob stayed with Rob's family for the weekend. She stretched out, enjoying the soft cotton of his sheets under her cheek. She walked to the door, but a flash of silver caught her eye. She stopped short and approached his dresser. Sitting on its top, right next to his wallet, keys and photograph of Georgiana was a bracelet her father had given her for her sixteenth birthday. She ran her fingers over the soft leather and rubbed her thumb against the circular pendant in the middle.

"I thought I lost this," She said softly as she leaned against the kitchen counter. He froze comically, an apron over his pj bottoms and bare chest, with a plate of French toast in one hand and a spatula in the other.

"You did," He said slowly as he put the plate in front of her. "You left it at my aunts house. I went there, after everything that happened, to apologize and you were gone. But you left that. I kept it in my pocket for months, as a reminder of what you said to me." He leaned against the counter staring up at her. His black hair was tousled from sleep, and she couldn't help but admire the muscles in his shoulders and chest. "I didn't want to forget it. I knew that even if I never met you again, I wanted to be a better person for you." She felt tears prickling at the corners of her eye and the intense pressure at the back of her throat.

"Hey," He sighed out, "I'm sorry if that was too intense for you."

"No!" She cried out and he jumped a bit at her intensity, "I'm not upset, just touched." She reached across the table to brush a hand down his cheek. "I'm just glad you seem to feel the same way about me, that I do about you." He grinned at her and she couldn't help but smile back at him. She leaned across the counter to kiss him firmly. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't hear the door open until Elba's squeal of excitement made them leap apart.

"I knew it!" She pointed a finger at them as she bounced up and down. Cole, standing behind her, looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Will," Cole cleared his throat, "that's Lizzy." Will laughed and Cole looked like someone hit him over his head, "And you were just kissing her."

"Yep!" Lizzy responded cheerfully as she cut a piece of French toast and popped it into her mouth. Elba launched herself at Lizzy and hugged her tightly all the while squealing about how happy she was for Lizzy and Will.

"How long has this been going on?" She finally asked once she had settled down and stopped bouncing.

"About two weeks now." Will stole a piece of French toast off of Lizzy's plate and she smacked his hand with the fork playfully.

"And you didn't say a thing you jerks!" Cole jabbed his finger accusingly at Lizzy and Will. "You sat there and let everyone else make fun of the two of us, while you guys were in the exact same boat!"

Lizzy widened her eyes innocently, "We were just a bit quieter than you guys, and it's not our fault none of you noticed anything different." She glanced at Will and they both tried to conceal their laughter by shoving French toast into their mouths.

"This is just too weird," Cole groaned out as his gaze danced between the two of them. "Let me know when the universe stops reeling," He muttered as he headed in the direction of his room. Elba followed with a cheerful wave and a few seconds later the sound of the shutting door. "So that would be, you and me, Elba and Cole, Jane and Charlie, and Marianne with that guy Emma set her up with." Lizzy shook her head, "Seems like Cupids been on overtime lately." She settled her now empty plate into the dishwasher before kicking it lightly shut with her foot. Will reached out to snag her by the wrist and tugged her towards him and into his arms. His lips were soft and tasted like maple syrup as he kissed her. She sighed against him, unable to stop the grin from her lips. "I could get use to this."

((An: Here we go, the last chapter, aside from the epilogue. Another chapter and it's the first multi-chapter story I'll have ever finished. I'm proud, and I wanted to thank all of my readers for their support. Without you I might have given up on this before now. Thank you and I hope to get the last chapter up in a few weeks.))