Face Down

Disclaimer: If I owned Pride and Prejudice, it would NOT have taken Elizabeth 300 pages to realize she loved Darcy.

Chapter Twenty-Three—Repressed and Uninhibited Feelings

Would you just say something, please just anything?
Because I can't stand that look on your face.
We're in over our heads; we're in over our heads she said
I beg to differ with all your pointing fingers
-Baby, You’re My Bad Habit—Four Letter Lie
--

It had been exactly one year since Lizzy had last seen Will Darcy in the hospital room and she hadn’t seen him since.

Until she saw him on her daily log on to Perez Hilton.

Eleven years later, Perez was still kicking and still writing snide comments and doodling on pictures, especially cocaine dots on the nose.

Lizzy had become addicted to reading Perez when she was fifteen years old and heard about him on the news and ever since then she had checked his web page once a day, enjoying reading his comments about stars like Z-list Miley Cyrus or soccer (retired) studs such as David Beckham.

As Perez’s website loaded Lizzy busied herself with adding some sugar into her scalding hot coffee and taking a bite from her blueberry bagel while she went to her cupboard to take out some snacks to stuff in her purse (hey, she got hungry sometimes).

When she finally returned to her chair in the small kitchen she saw that the page loaded fully. Scrolling down she saw that Perez updated once.

‘WHAT WAS HE THINKING?’

Seeing that this was filed under Icky Icky Poo, Lizzy was expecting P-Nasty to disagree with a male celebrity’s fashion (he had been picking on Tom Cruise lately) but she was a bit shocked to see a picture of Will Darcy and Victoria Cartier staring at her instead. A crudely drawn heart was next to Will’s face while Twiggy had Perez’s signature cocaine spots coming out of her nose.

Raising her eyebrow Lizzy scrolled down to read the article and was shocked to read that Will Darcy had proposed to Victoria two days ago.

We’re betting this will last a year, TOPS. Perez wrote near the end of his article. Or he could do the smart thing and leave her for us!

--

It was a Cartier ring; no surprise there.

Victoria admired the way the three carat diamond ring sparkled when the light hit it just right and marveled at how the beautiful white gold band matched her long, slim fingers perfectly. Her father was right—the ring did fit the person and Will was just amazing to pick the right ring for her.

All her friends had been so pleased when she told them that she was now engaged to William Darcy and Victoria couldn’t blame them. Will was everything a guy should be; smart, funny, engaging, polite, and incredibly cute.

Relaxing on the cream-colored chaise long she brought out her arm again to look at her ring again. The way Will had proposed to her had been so romantic. He had taken her to her favorite restaurant (Frederick’s Madison) and had the ring hidden in her piece of hot chocolate tart soufflé so that when she cut the first piece the glint of the diamond had sparkled in the dim light.

She brought her long legs up so that her blue silk robe fell a few inches, exposing the white skin on her upper things and stroked the large diamond of her engagement ring. Now the question was—where should the wedding take place? Victoria had always fantasized about her wedding ever since her older sister Dee got married when Victoria was ten years old.

Victoria didn’t want her wedding to take place in New York; that was a fact. Everyone that Victoria knew got married in New York, Los Angeles, or Las Vegas and the twenty-six year old was not a conformer. No, Victoria started trends. The leggings that Lindsay Lohan wears religiously? Yup, you guessed it—Victoria started it.

Moving a strand of blonde hair out of her eye she stood up and paced the room a bit thinking of the perfect location for her wedding. She instantly dismissed New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and all the other celebrity choked wedding places. She wanted a place more low-key but still had enough paparazzi to land her either the cover of Us Weekly or Star. Hell, even a little blurb in People would be great too.

Wait, what about Chicago?

Victoria cocked her head to the side and bit her pink lip thoughtfully thinking about the last time she visited the Windy City. The more she thought about it the more the idea appealed to her. She already envisioned the beautiful church behind a deep blue sky with Will standing proudly next to her, looking incredibly handsome in a custom made Armani tuxedo—

She heard the front door open and a shout of, “Torie? I’m home!”

Chicago it was.

--

It was a beautiful day in the Windy City. The sky was a bright blue and the temperatures were holding well into the mid eighties with a light and comforting breeze.

Lizzy, on the other hand, was enjoying herself at Navy Pier at the Chicago Children’s Museum with her two year old nephew Austin. Both of his parents, succumbing to Lizzy’s constant demands to let the child stay with her for the weekend, decided to also take a weekend long getaway to the northern part of Michigan letting Austin spend some quality time with his favorite aunt.

“Lookie Auntie!” Austin cried as he pointed towards a huge, play building. “Big!”

Lizzy laughed as she smoothed back Austin’s thick, duck blonde hair. “That’s right Austin. It is big. Like Auntie’s building.”

“Boom boom!” Austin shouted. “Crash crash!” He made a swinging motion with his pudgy arm and kicked his feet excitedly.

Lizzy rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss to his forehead, admiring his unique baby smell. “No Austin. We don’t crash buildings. They’re nice.”

Austin struggled to get down so that he could go play with the numerous toy buildings. “Crash crash!” He shouted again once Lizzy placed him on the ground and he proceeded to swipe at a building.

Lizzy shook her head in exasperation and pushed the stroller towards him. It was only eleven thirty and yet the boy wasn’t slowing down for lunch or a nap. Not only was Austin the mirror image of Charlie but he seemed to have Charlie’s endless energy.

She would let him play for another five minutes before they had to leave so that Lizzy could feed him. Janie had instructed Lizzy to make sure Austin had his lunch at precisely twelve o’clock otherwise; he wouldn’t be able to go down for his nap. Lizzy wouldn’t mind him staying awake though because she had plans to visit the Children’s Store and buy him some cute new clothes even though Janie and Charlie begged her not to.

What? She liked to buy clothes, especially for cute children like her nephew.

Her thoughts were broken up though by the sound of her phone ringing.

Sifting through her purse she found her phone and saw that it was a number Lizzy didn’t have in her phone book. Wondering who it could be she pressed the green button and brought it to her ear. “Hello?”

Static. Silence.

Frowning and wondering if it was Lydia and Katie playing another Cry Wolf phone prank on her she said, “Seriously guys haven’t you grown up at all?”

“Lizzy?” This voice certainly wasn’t Lydia’s or Katie’s. It was deep, male, and distinctly familiar.

Lizzy’s eyebrows lifted in bewilderment. “May I ask who is speaking?” She asked curiously while keeping a careful eye on Austin.

“It’s Will Darcy.”

Lizzy’s green eyes widened suddenly and her mouth went dry. How did Will get her number? She had it changed years ago and she certainly didn’t give it to Will.

As if reading her mind Will said, “I called Charlie and he gave me your number. Hope you don’t mind.”

Of course I do. Charlie’s going to get his ass kicked.

“Is there a reason why you’re calling?” Lizzy asked.

There was a quick silence and then Will said, “You got quick to the point—”

“What do you need Will?” Lizzy asked in a not so kind voice. “You haven’t talked to me in about nine years and you call me out of the blue? I know you better than that. You want something.”

He didn’t speak for a few long seconds and Lizzy contemplated hanging up the phone but then his harried voice spoke through the phone again. “Look, I’m coming to Chicago soon and I was wondering if you could show me the—finer points of the city.”

Lizzy’s eyebrows nearly disappeared into her bangs as she moved the phone away from her ear and stared at it quizzically. Say what?

“Lizzy?” Will’s voice was audible even a few inches away from her ear.

“You want me to show you around Chicago?” She asked dubiously. “Oh c’mon Will, you’re a big boy I’m sure you could show yourself around my city.”

Will sighed angrily into the phone and Lizzy felt a vague sense of satisfaction knowing that she had caused his anxiety. “Look Lizzy. I’m running out of patience because I have to get to work soon. Will you show me around the city?”

Lizzy truly was enjoying the power she held over Will Darcy. It made her feel very happy on the inside. Smirking she spoke again. “Hmm, I don’t know Will. Maybe. What weekend will this be?”

“Next weekend.” Will said promptly sounding pleased that Lizzy was considering it.

Lizzy thought about the next weekend and remembered that the whole family was coming around to celebrate Francesca Bennet’s fifty-fourth birthday. She was sure she could take a few hours off.

“Sounds fine to me.” Lizzy replied finally. “But it can only be for a couple hours because my favorite man is coming to visit.” She glanced fondly at Austin who was building a tower. Will didn’t need to know that her ‘favorite man’ was her nearly three year old nephew.

There was a long pause again and when he finally spoke again his voice was tight. “Oh really? Who?”

Lizzy laughed again. “None of your business Will Darcy. But now, I have to go. Call me when you’re near the area and we’ll meet up somewhere. Oh, and Will—congratulations on your engagement.”

When Will spoke again he sounded flabbergasted. “How in the world did you find out?”

“Perez Hilton dummy. He seems to really like you.”

--

A week later, Lizzy found herself in Starbucks with an Iced Vanilla Latte and a blueberry muffin waiting impatiently for Will to show up. Checking her cell phone again she tutted angrily and saw that it was now eleven forty-five. Will had promised to be here at eleven thirty and if he didn’t show up within the next five minutes she was leaving.

Rolling her eyes at his tardiness Lizzy scrolled through her cell phone and started to play Solitaire intent on beating her record of fifty four seconds.

She had just finished a full game (in fifty nine seconds damnit!) when the door to Starbucks opened and someone else came in. Lizzy paid no attention to said person because she was too busy trying to fight the clock and so far she seemed to be in the lead.

“Sorry I’m late. Traffic is a bitch around here.”

She continued to not pay any attention figuring that it was being said to someone else but when she felt a hand tap her shoulder she jerked her head up to look into Will Darcy’s eyes.

“What on Earth are you doing?” He asked in amusement trying to look at Lizzy’s phone. “Solitaire?”

“Had to do something to pass the time while you were suspiciously absent.” She said meaningfully and pushed the muffin towards his side of the table. “And I got you a blueberry muffin. Your welcome.”

Will’s face split into a beaming smile as he collapsed into the chair and picked up the muffin. “You’re awesome Liz. I’m starving.”

“I know.” Lizzy smirked as she put her cell phone away. Beating her record could wait. “When was the last time you ate?”

“Hah. I’ve eaten nothing all day today. I’ve always had a bet going on with Charlie that I will eat an entire large deep dish pizza with no help.”

Lizzy raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows incredulously. “So I take it that this will be the only thing you’ll eat all day?”

“Exactly. You need to take pictures to prove it if you don’t mind.”

Lizzy snorted and shook her head while she took a sip of her latte. “I’m getting flashbacks to when we were teenagers. Remember when we all went out to Steak N Shake and you, Charlie, and Fitzie had a ‘how fast can you drink your shake’ contest?”

Will’s lips quirked in amusement. “Hah, oh yeah I remember that. I won didn’t I?”

Lizzy choked back a laugh as she set her latte back down. “Yeah right. You were in the lead until Fitzie, being the asshole that he is, made both you and Charlie laugh so hard that you morons sprayed chocolate and strawberry all over Janie, Katlin, and I. You guys all lost.”

Will cringed at the memory. “Oh yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Fitzie run that fast in my entire life.”

“Well I would too if Katlin was chasing after me.” Lizzy smiled and stirred her latte thoughtfully. “How’s Twig—I mean Victoria doing?”

The raised eyebrows that Will gave Lizzy told her that he noticed Lizzy’s slip but said, “She’s doing well.”

Lizzy nodded her head slowly and shook her latte around to see if there was anything left over. Pouting when she just heard her straw rattle she sighed. “Well guess my business here is done. You ready?”

“Ah yeah. Hold up.” Will scarfed down the medium sized muffin in three bites. “Alright.”

Lizzy looked at him funnily and said, “I do hope you know that you’ll have the biggest stomach ache and you won’t be able to eat that pizza.”

“I’m a Darcy.” Will said arrogantly as they both stood up. “We can eat just about anything and not get full.”

“Whatever you say.” Lizzy said, shaking her head as she led him out of Starbucks and into the heat of the near-afternoon. “Now, you never did tell me why you were coming to the city anyway. Care to explain so I have a notion why I’m stuck playing Tour Guide Lizzy today?”

Will hesitated for a brief moment before saying, “Torie wants to have the wedding here in Chicago.”

Lizzy cocked her head and took this all in for a moment before saying, “Then why didn’t you and Victoria come here and choose the church?”

Will was silent.

Lizzy slipped her sunglasses over her face and turned towards Will, her lips set in an amused line. “Does Victoria know you’re here?”

“No.”

Lizzy chuckled to herself as they continued to walk. “Already lying to your fiancée and you guys have only been engaged for what? Two weeks?” She rolled her eyes but then said, “Is there a reason why you forgot to mention you were in Chicago?”

More silence.

Lizzy wasn’t an idiot though. She could put two and two together and within a few seconds her Northwestern education came in handy. She quirked her lips and said, “It’s because Victoria despises me, am I correct?”

“She doesn’t despise you—”

“But it’s enough for you to sneak behind your fiancée’s back to scope out churches. C’mon Will don’t be a pansy.”

“Well I wouldn’t have to sneak behind her back if you didn’t let it slip that you were my ex-girlfriend.” He added a mock glare to that statement.

Lizzy shrugged. “She needed to know and it was the perfect moment! Let me guess—she grilled you about me.”

“Yeah. She wanted to know everything about you. I felt as if I were playing Twenty Questions.”

“Hmm.” Lizzy said thoughtfully as they rounded a corner. “Did you dissect our bedroom adventures for her too?”

Will’s eyes widened, certainly not expecting that. “What?” He spluttered. “We never—”

“Chill Will.” Lizzy laughed and lightly punched his arm. “Seriously, you’re a lot tenser than you were before. Lighten up man; it’s just a joke.”

“It better be.” Will grumbled as he followed Lizzy. “Otherwise I would be in deep trouble.”

Lizzy snickered and looked up at Will, the sun making her blonde hair even blonder. “I can so tell who wears the pants in that relationship. Wonder what the Class of 2008 would think when they find out that the Great and Mighty Will Darcy lets his fiancée call the shots.”

“I don’t know. Guess you’ll have to wait for the twenty year.” Will smirked as he bumped shoulders with Lizzy who ignored the tingles it left in its wake. “Are you going to your ten year?”

Lizzy snorted in amusement and exasperation. “Hell no. Why do I want to see the people that I absolutely despised in high school? Besides, I already know what’s going up with the people I do like. Charley Leigh moved to England four years ago, got married and has two kids. Annie Bourgh lives in South Carolina working as a fashion designer. And even though I don’t like Caroline or Marissa I know what’s up with them. Caroline actually got married! Shocker I know and Marissa’s a doctor for neurology. Personally, I wouldn’t trust her with my head because knowing her, she’d remember all the crap I pulled on her in high school and she’d mess with my brain.”

Will felt the familiar pang of affection for her as he watched her talk and it just reminded him of the way things used to be when they were teenagers. Sure, he loved Victoria but nobody held a candle to Lizzy Bennet…

“Hey Will, do you mind not staring at my ass?” Lizzy’s amused voice broke through his thoughts and he looked up wildly, cheeks flushing. “Yes I know these shorts show them off but there’s no need. You do have a fiancée and I can’t have her hating me even more than she already does! Now, let’s get moving. If you want to eat pizza without waiting an hour for a seat we need to scope out churches.”

--

“C’mon Will—one more.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes you can! It’s just one more slice!”

“Lizzy, I’ll throw up if I eat this—”

The blonde scoffed and shoved the piece of stuffed crust pepperoni, bacon, and pineapple towards Will. “Where’s the famous Darcy appetite you were bragging about in Starbucks? Be a champion! Finish it! Think of how amazed Charlie will be when he hears and sees that you ate an entire piece!”

Will looked dismayed as he hesitatingly looked at the large slice of pizza. He picked it up and held it to his mouth not sure if he should go for the plunge or wimp out.

His stomach rolled unpleasantly.

However he had his pride and dignity to protect so screw his aching stomach. Glaring at the pizza he opened his mouth and took a small first bite. Lizzy’s cheering gave him the determination to continue and within ten minutes the last slice of pizza was gone.

“Excellent!” Lizzy cheered, thumping her hand on the table excitedly and ignoring the weird stares she was receiving from other people. “Way to go!”

Will hiccupped and felt pizza bile come up from his throat before he swallowed it back down and washed it away with a long gulp of his beer. “Shit.” He cursed. “I feel like crap.”

“You just ate ten slices of pizza! That’s fucking champion! Lizzy snapped one more picture of him and grinned. “I’ll admit, I had my doubts but you proved me wrong!”

“I feel sick.”

“Is anyone in the mood for dessert?” The waitress came up to their table again and plucked the pizza tray away.

“I’m good.” Lizzy replied before looking at a sick looking Will. “What about you?”

Will’s glare was all Lizzy needed to see before she looked up at the waitress and said, “Check please.”

--

The moon was high in the sky by the time Lizzy and Will walked towards the Continental Hotel where Will was staying. Both were laughing hysterically as Will was repeating a story about some guy at work who messed up the entire system in less than fifteen minutes and Lizzy had her arms wrapped around his waist because she couldn’t hold herself up as tears were streaming down her face from her laughter.

“Oh,” she choked out. “That’s classic. Beautifully crafted and executed. I would have paid good money to see that. You seriously just made my night. Tell me he wasn’t fired.”

Will laughed once more before trying to sober up. “He was. My boss nearly had a heart attack when he saw what happened. We all had to work overtime to get it right but damn, was it worth it.”

“Sounds like it.” Lizzy agreed as she wiped away her tears of laughter.

The doorman watched the two in amusement and noted how well the two seemed to interact with each other. Young love, he thought to himself as he thought of his wife. “Enjoying your night?” He called towards the two.

Lizzy and Will both looked up to see the elderly doorman smile at them. “Yeah.” Will called. “It’s wonderful here in Chicago.”

“Best city in the United States.” The doorman said cheerfully as he looked at his watch. “You two should hurry in inside too soon. My shift’s just about to end and we don’t want you guys getting accidentally locked out.”

Lizzy nodded in agreement and looked at Will. “You heard the man. In you go. You have a flight to catch tomorrow morning.”

“Seven a.m. too.” Will rolled his eyes but smiled at Lizzy. “Thanks for showing me around Dizzy Lizzy.”

“Anytime Will.I.Am.” Lizzy lightly punched his shoulder and smiled affectionately up at him. “It was great seeing you again. Come back to Chicago soon.”

“I will.” He stared down at Lizzy before drawing her into a hug, relishing the feeling of her in his arms again. “And thanks for buying me the Pepto Bismol. I might need that tonight for my stomach.”

Lizzy shrugged as she tried to calm her racing heart beat but found it was damn near impossible when her ex-boyfriend was hugging her again. “You were the idiot who wanted to eat all that pizza. And I’ll try to send those pictures to Charlie as soon as I can. But I’m not making any promises. We’re having the Republicans coming to Chicago within a few days for their primary elections and it’s going to be busy at the Tribune.”

Will shrugged and tried to get the enticing aroma of her hair out of his mind. “Ah, it doesn’t matter. But now, I really need to go. See you around Lizzy.”

“Likewise.” Lizzy replied, pulling away from Will and lightly squeezing his hand before turning around to wave down a taxi. “Night!” She called as a taxi pulled up. Opening the door she turned around one more time to wave before she settled into the taxi and shut the door. Will held up his hand and briefly waved watching the taxi speed away into the night and disappearing.

“Pardon me for being intrusive,” the doorman asked suddenly. “But I can’t help but ask if you two were ever at one point a pair.”

“We were.” Will said not caring that he was spilling his past with a man he had met not even two minutes ago. “A long time ago.”

The doorman looked astounded, his white, thick eyebrows rising. “And you let her go?”

“Decision we both made.” Will said. “It was for the best.”

The doorman didn’t look convinced but decided not to pry anymore. “Have a good night sir.” He said finally holding open the door for Will.

Will threw another lingering glance into the now empty street and nodded towards the doorman. “Good night.” He said before entering the hotel and vanishing.

--

Hope you enjoyed! And yes, I do see an end to this damn tunnel so no fears!

And Perez Hilton is the ultimate shit. I will not tolerate anyone saying otherwise because he is THE Queen Of All Media. Bow down to his amazing-ness. (:

--GC