"William", Caroline breathed. She retracted her hand from his, and, taking the seat next to him, rearranged herself to face him. Will tried not to recoil as Caroline's hands now rested on his thigh and back. All pleasant thoughts of Elizabeth Bennet were now lost as Will thought of the quickest and easiest way to dispose of his best friend's older sister.

Caroline Bingley was, well, many things. As the older sister of Charlie, she had received every opportunity of exclusive education and upbringing that the Bingley's could afford. Where Charlie received these luxuries with all ease and humbleness however, Caroline believed that these graces were proof that class systems within society were still necessary, particularly in keeping those pesky working class as just that.

On William Darcy were all Caroline's aspirations pinned. From the moment she met him, Caroline hoped that one day, Will might open his eyes, realise his undying love for her, and propose. Years had passed since Will and Charlie had first met however, and while she still believed she would one day become Mrs. Darcy, a small (more realistic) part of her was happy to settle for her husband's undying indifference.

For Will, Caroline was the unfortunate consequence of having Charlie Bingley as a best mate. From the first, Caroline had attached herself resolutely to Will's side. For some men, the thought of a wealthy, attractive woman fawning over them wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but for Will, Caroline was exactly the kind of gold digger that he wanted to protect his family from.

Even now, Will could practically see the dollar signs in Caroline's eyes.

"Hi, Caroline. What a…surprise", Will said, sighing and beginning his mantra for conversation with the eldest Bingley: 'short and sharp, short and sharp'.

"William, I didn't know you were out and about tonight! Why didn't you tell me?", Caroline huffed. Will averted his eyes, looking past Caroline to see her posse of feline looking friends huddling together whispering. He knew that if he gave into a conversation with these women, he would have little chance of ever leaving the bar.

He especially knew that the longer he stayed, the more likely Caroline would angle to get a ride home with him. He had been caught by that move before.

"You see Ana, Katia and Jesa over there? They have all been so jealous of me since we were seen at the Press Club ball together. They haven't been able to talk of anything since! That's hardly surprising though, as if they have anything remotely interesting happening in their lives! Did you know that Katia's brother is getting married to a postal worker? Imagine that, a postal worker!" Caroline's voice was painfully loud and Will cringed, hoping that the poor patrons of the bar wouldn't think that Caroline's remarks echoed his own opinions.

He was just about to tell her so, when she interrupted again,

"Anyway, they're all wondering why my bubby wouldn't tell me that he was looking for some company tonight". Caroline's left hand began sliding in an alarming direction and Will shot out of his seat.

"Sorry, Caroline, this was only a pit stop. Come to think of it, I don't even want this drink." He put the full glass he had been nursing for the last fifteen minutes on the bar and grabbed his keys. "I would offer you a ride home, but I can see you and the other ladies are having a big night."

"Oh no I- "

"-That's what I thought," Will said hastily, desperate to get back to his car. "Anyway, I've got to pick Georgie up from her piano lesson. This was nice, see you soon".

And with that, Will strode out of the room, nodding at Caroline's friends as he exited.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Will had just turned the corner to see Georgie bounding out of her piano teacher's front door. Leaving Southbank, Will had thought of several ways to explain his behaviour to his little sister. Each excuse seemed more pathetic than the last. He definitely did not want Georgie to know the harsh insults he threw at her favourite teacher, but he was equally loathe to lie to her. He stopped at the curb and she jumped in, beaming smile firmly in place. All thoughts of the Progess Interviews vanished from his mind when Will saw how happy Georgie looked.

"Good lesson, then?" He said dryly, noting that his sister looked as though she was bursting with news.

"Yes yes yes, but more importantly than that- I have news!" Case closed, Will thought, shifting gears and driving off with a wave to Siobhan, Georgie's teacher.

"Siobhan said that the VCA contacted her about me. They want to know if I'm interested in applying there! Siobhan said that it would be easy enough to prepare something for the audition, but that she'd talk to me, and, of course, you, but I made her let me tell you but she'll call you to talk about it anyway and I'm so excited I could scream!" Georgie ended her rapid-fire monologue and slumped in the passenger seat with a little sigh of happiness. This was the most elated that Will had seen Georgie in months, and while happy that she was happy, he was severely confused.

Keeping his eye on the road, he asked, "The Victorian College of the Arts? But I thought that was for uni students?"

Georgie rolled her eyes and sat up. Clearly, her older brother was focused on the wrong information.

"Yes, Will, but they also have a campus for senior secondary school. Which means me! Mum and I talked about this ages ago when one of their reps came to my recital last year but… anyways, I'm surprised they even remembered me!"

"How could they forget you, Georgie, you were brilliant." Will said, his eyes still on the road, but head threatening to combust with the new information. "What about Benedict? What about your friends? There's so much that we need to consider."

"I know. And I still need to audition, I mean, if I'm allowed to apply," Georgie's smile began to fade as she began to realise what a change in schools could mean. "And I like my friends at school, but things have been different…lately. I really do like Benedict, though, and I- I've been getting better… speaking of school, how did the interviews go?" If Georgie looked apprehensive, it was nothing to how her older brother felt.

Will shifted uncomfortably in his chair before replying, "Actually I couldn't make all of them. I missed a call from Richard. I thought there was an emergency at work. We've got that press release tomorrow, remember? Anyway, I was halfway to the city before I got in touch with him. Turns out your cousin was desperate to know which colour tie spelled out 'Public Relations Executive'…idiot." Will felt awful for lying to Georgie but he couldn't bring himself to share his conversation with Ms. Bennet. The phone call with Richard, however, was true, only it had happened as Will was taking a shower early in the day.

"I love that Rich is your cousin whenever he comes up with something amazing for the company and when he acts all brain-dead, he's my relation," Georgie muttered.

"It's all in the genes," Will replied, "Anyway, I'll call all of your teachers to apologise and have a quick chat with them."

"Hmm, okay. Just don't embarrass me," Georgie replied serenely, staring out the window. Will loosened his grip on the steering wheel. Georgie's mind was clearly occupied as she forgot to tease him about her literature teacher. "Maybe you can call Siobhan about the VCA too."

"I'll do that. You and I will have a chat after that, once I've talked to your teachers, okay?" Will said, pulling into their driveway.

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Will and Georgie said no more of the VCA that night, even though both were thinking solely of it (for Will, these concerns were interwoven with disturbingly vivid thoughts of a bewitching pair of eyes). The Darcy siblings had a quiet, very late dinner, then decided on a quick game on the X-box before bed. Georgie left the kitchen to turn on the console as Will finished washing the dishes. He was just reaching for the tea towel when his phone rang.

"Will!" Charlie exclaimed, before Will had a chance to speak. Will couldn't help but smirk and stretched over the kitchen counter.

"Who is this?" Will said, in a sombre voice.

"Ha- Ha- Ha. What are you doing Saturday night?" Charlie asked, his voice muffled by the undeniable crunch of potato chips.

"Nothing. Couldn't you have called me after you demolished the chips?" Will asked.

"No time. Listen, come out with Jane and I on Saturday." Now, the crinkle of the foil packet as Charlie balled it up.

"Jane?" Will asked, distracted.

"Yes, Jane! Don't tell me you've forgotten Jane! I tell you I've met the love of my life and you-"

"-Oh sorry, her. Wow, third wheeling huh? Sounds enticing mate, but-"

"Not third wheeling! Did I forget to mention her sister? Jane's bringing her sister along too. I haven't met her yet, but she and Jane are really close".

"So it's a double date? Even worse," Will muttered.

"NO. Just. Come. Eat food with us and communicate occasionally. That's it," Charlie's exasperation was clear. It was the confusion of many who met the two how they had come to be such close friends.

"I don't know…" Will was loathe to speak to strangers at the best of times. Throw in Charlie's habits of nervousness and frenzied talking and they might as well save themselves the embarrassment by cancelling altogether.

"What if I told you that Jane's sister will definitely be coming. So you not coming will make her the uncomfortable third wheel. Being the gentleman that you are, there's no way you could do that to a young lady, could you?" Charlie asked sweetly.

"…I'll be there," Will hung up, "Jerk."

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