Chapter 29: And The Lovers Will Reunite

Pride & Prejudice is a tale mainly revolving around Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. They meet at a Ball thrown by Mr. Bingley, a close friend of Mr. Darcy. At the Ball, it's established that Mr. Darcy is a proud, arrogant man. Elizabeth holds that view of him, but Mr. Darcy's proudness eventually starts to disappear as he develops feelings for Elizabeth. But she meets Mr. Wickham who tells her how Mr. Darcy was a more or less fraud, jerk, and untrustworthy person.

He tells her that Mr. Darcy had taken over Darcy's father's money and empire after the father had died, but Mr. Wickham was the rightful owner not Darcy. All false. Elizabeth, though, believes Mr. Wickham and hates Mr. Darcy. So, when she gets a proposal by Darcy, she refuses and tells how he had been unjust to Mr. Wickham, unjust to her because of his mean attitude, and unjust to her sister whose marriage Darcy had broken.

But Darcy gives Liz a letter with the explanation. She understands how Wickham was the jerk and Darcy was the good guy. Eventually, they meet up and Darcy helps her find Lydia (young sister of Liz) who ran away with Wickham! At the end, Liz and Darcy are together.

Moral of the story: hear both sides before making up an opinion.

That's my guess, at least.

"Boys and girls, you have all read 'Pride & Prejudice,'" Ms. Spruance, yelled from onstage. All of us students sat in the auditorium seats, staring at her. Of course, we had all read the book, courtesy of taking a Literature class.

I was pissed off at being here. My whole body ached and head hurt, but I guess I had to suck it up.

"Now, we have a spin to it," Ms. Spruance said dramatically. There were some chuckles, nevertheless, the woman continued, "In our play, there will be drama, romance, action, and much more! The major twist is that Elizabeth Bennet will receive a proposal from Mr. Wickham, and she will accept it. Unlike in the original story, Mr. Wickham will actually pretend to have feelings for our Liz not Lydia, the younger sister."

"Interesting," Julian muttered next to me.

I just gave him a look of disbelief. "This is so ridiculous."

"Just listen, Cassie," he said, shushing me.

I played with the drawstring of my hoodie as my teacher kept talking. "Mr. Darcy will be too late with his proposal and reasons. Elizabeth will say no to him. But at her wedding with Wickham, Lydia and Jane will bring out the truth. Everyone will see how big of a fraud and liar Wickham was. Then, Liz will run away and find Mr. Darcy just in time as he is leaving for London."

"And the lovers will reunite," Julian finished with the teacher. I gave him an odd look, but he just smiled.

"Who is the cast?" Lucas yelled in the seat in front of me.

"Good question. I made the cast this morning. For Jane, I have Megan Schlars," Ms. Spruance as she looked at the notebook in her hand. Megan sat right next to me with a surprised look.

"You seem the Jane type," I told her.

She stuck her tongue out at me and said, "You seem the Liz type."

I was about to tell her to be quiet when Ms. Spruance cut me off. "Mr. Bingley will be played by Trevor Smithson. Lucas Crowell as Mr. Darcy. Julian Aylmer as Mr. Wickham. Sorry Julian, but you just have that nice, charming personality--perfect for Wickham," the teacher said with a guilty look.

"Jolly good," Julian answered back. There were some laughs and snickers. Ms. Spruance continued blurting out other cast roles.

"Jolly good," I mocked.

"Are you all right?" Julian asked, meeting my eyes.

"No. I don't want to be here," I told him truthfully.

"Cassie, relax. It won't be long," he reassured.

"Easy for you to say. You aren't the one with eleven stitches," I said flatly. He turned back to look at the stage.

"Agreed." He didn't bother saying anything else. He probably felt bad now, since I got most of them, but we were both in the accident.

I turned to look at Ms. Spruance as well. "Caroline Bingley will be Piper Hurst. Lydia will be played..." I grinned and turned back to look at Piper who had a sour look on her face. She sat right behind me because Megan and Julian beat her to the seats next to me. That's what she got for being late.

"I have to chase after Lucas," she told me flatly.

"You have my sympathy." And I turned back to see the teacher.

"And last but not least, Elizabeth Bennet will be played by Cassandra Evans," Ms. Spruance said as she slammed her notebook shut.

I stared at her. Many snickers went through the auditorium. Lucas looked back at me and gave me a grin. He mouthed, "C.C." I glared right back at him. Megan was laughing silently next to me. Behind me, Piper scooted next to my shoulder and whispered, "you have my sympathy."

I muttered some colorful words as Ms. Spruance told us all to get the script.

"I am not, and I repeat, I will not play Elizabeth Bennet!" I said firmly to my friends as I stood up and went straight to Ms. Spruance.

The woman looked up at me with a smile when I approached her small table. "Here's the script," she said handing me like twenty pages.

"Ms. Spruance, I don't think I should be Elizabeth," I said as calmly as I could. She was my teacher, after all. Disrespect wasn't going to get me anywhere.

"Oh don't be silly, Sandy. You'll be perfect! I need someone who wouldn't go 'gaga' over the males in this play. You seem to be really independent, just like Elizabeth," reasoned my English teacher.

"I am sure Megan or Piper or someone else would be the same as me," I told her, my anger slightly rising.

"Sorry Sandy, I saw you play as the lead role, and I liked it. You are perfect for Liz. It's only a play, Sandy, and one that is for a good cause," Ms. Spruance said in a tired tone.

"But-"

"Sandy, please. I am not asking you to do something you aren't capable of. I have faith in you, and that is why you are the main lead," she said.

"But surely, there are others who will much better-"

"Sandy," she cut me off again. "This is your last year and last play at this school. We have seen many same faces in school plays before. I am trying to get this one to have different people, thus, students from my two Literature classes. You, my dear, will play the lead. End of discussion." She stood up, gave me a gentle but definite smile.

"Great," I muttered as she disappeared.

"My love, Elizabeth," someone said behind me. I turned to find Lucas grinning like an idiot.

"Go away," I said annoyed. "Elizabeth won't be here for a while."

"Sheesh Sandy, joykill. Anyways, you are gonna be C.C," he grinned and pulled my cheeks. Then, realizing what he had just done, he back away with an apologetic expression and ran off. I picked up the vase on the table nearby and chased after him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Lucas kept mumbling. All the people were standing in crowds, making it hard for me to find Lucas.

Finally, he ran and stood behind Julian. Julian gave us confused looks as he stared between Lucas and I.

"He harrassed me," I told the foreigner.

"Gosh, Sandy, I just pulled your cheeks," Lucas said defensively.

"Lucas! Sandy! Julian! Come over here!" Ms. Spruance yelled from onstage.

Regretfully, I put the vase down as I made my way to the stage. Lucas kept his distance from me, but I still smacked him on his shoulder. He winced, holding his shoulder, as if I had really hurt him.

I gave him an odd look, but Lucas kept his eyes on the teacher, clutching his shoulder.

Drama queen.

"All right, now that I have you here, let's begin rehearsals," the teacher said as she clasped her hands, "Just start looking over your dialogue and try to begin memorizing. We will start doing individual scenes tomorrow."

"Can I just die?" I said under my breath.

"Sandy, stop being a debby downer," Piper said next to me.

"Shut up." Since I hadn't said it seriously, Piper hadn't taken it seriously. She just nudged me, nodding towards Lucas and Julian, suggestively. "You don't have to be Elizabeth, that's why you aren't feeling my situation."

"What? Having two good looking guys to pick from is definitely a tragedy," she whispered, rolling her eyes.

"You can have them," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Nah, not my type," she said as she looked at Julian and Lucas who seemed busy discussing something.

"Ah and Gabe definitely was," I said sarcastically.

"Hey! I am trying to learn from those mistakes," she said, smacking me on the arm with her script.

"Of course."

"Ladies, chop chop. Start rehearsing!"

Piper and I wasted no time in following our teacher's order.

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To be honest, the play was a struggle. The third rehearsal was really annoying. It was the first time Mr. Darcy and Ms. Elizabeth meet. There were some changes made to this scene. In our play, instead of Darcy and Bingley just talking, now, they were on the dance floor. Mr. Bingley had forced Mr. Darcy to dance with someone--Caroline, Bingley's sister (played by Piper). But when it comes to switching partners, Darcy and Elizabeth end up in front of each other.

"Sandy, Lucas, zone out people around you and say your dialogues," Ms. Spruance said as she sat to the side.

We held our scripts and began.

"I am finished here, excuse me. I suggest you find a different partner," Mr. Darcy/Lucas told me in an arrogant tone.

"Lucas, take a step closer to Sandy," Ms. Spruance said. Nodding, Lucas obliged. "Next time, be that close before starting your dialogue," she ordered. I looked at Lucas with an annoyed face. I hated the closeness, the promixity, and all that drama.

"Pardon me, sir. But don't you reckon leaving a lady alone here, to be improper and impolite?" I said, trying to look polite.

"Nah," Lucas said, waving his hand. We all stared at him as he went out of character. "Oh, sorry. So where was I? Yeah, got it," Lucas said quickly. "Madame,while it may be improper, I cannot force myself to participate in an activity in which I find no joy in. Seemingly, I do not wish to dance with merely a tolerable partner. Please excuse me."

He walked off with his head held high and hands behind his back, holding the script. He had insulted me to my face. As Elizabeth, I showed my anger and said aloud, "This man's pride will take him down." With that said, I walked off in the opposite direction, and stopped next to my teacher.

"Good job," Ms. Spruance said standing up with a smile. "Now, the first few scenes will be pretty quick. The major stress is on the drama and romance!"

"Sound like a teenage girl," I muttered.

"Hopeless romantic I am, Sandy," my teacher grinned. I didn't say anything and she continued, "We'll start rehearsing the Wickham and Elizabeth scenes tomorrow. Look over your lines, Sandy, Julian."

Julian nodded from the audience, holding his script. Since his scenes hadn't started yet, he had begun memorizing his dialogue.

"See you tomorrow, then, everybody," Ms. Spruance waved, and we all started to pack up. "Sandy, can I talk to you?" she asked in a lowered tone as I began to leave.

"Sure," I said as she pulled me towards the side.

"You're doing great. I just- I am actually- okay, let me re-think," she paused for a second. "Sandy, I know you are not very open about your emotions--aside from your temper. But I want you to work harder at the upcoming scenes. Lots of emotions such as crying will be displayed. I need you to work at those."

"Of course." Either she didn't notice my sarcasm or chose to ignore it, as she went off just like that.

Crying, huh?

I needed to find some onions.

¤》¤《¤

"Hey, Cassie," Julian said as he joined my side. I was walking towards my car in the student parking lot.

"What do you need?" I asked tiredly. He gave me a confused look. "You obviously have something to tell me or ask me."

"You know me so well," he grinned.

"You have exactly two minutes and twenty seven seconds to tell me whatever," I told him as I looked straight.

"I had to talk to you about our deal," he mumbled, scratching his temple. I waited for him to continue. "For friendship love, since Brandon is here and you two seem to get along fine, I don't think there is anything else I can do. Also, you've made an effort to go bit better along with people."

"Point being?"

"Onto the next step now," he smiled, showing off his dimples.

"Which is..?" I trailed off for him to finish.

He hesitated. "I am not really..er..I'm not sure how well this one is going to proceed," he admitted.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Cassie, what's more than a friendship love? Take a guess," he said almost exasperated. He just expected me to know the answer.

"What is it, Julian?" I asked annoyed, as we reached my car. Well, my borrowed car. It was Gramma's, but she let me drive it while mine was in the garage getting fixed.

"Romantic love," he said as he stopped behind me

Then, it dawned on me. No wonder he was expecting me to just realize it. I leaned against the driver's door of the car and thought it over.

"I don't think we'll be getting anywhere with that one," I told him honestly.

"What? No love interests, Cassie? That is shocking." Sarcastic Julian was really new and surprising, to be honest.

"Julian, your sarcasm is unwanted. I'm stating some facts. Cassandra Evans lives the single, happy life." I gave him a proud smile.

"I don't see the 'happy' aspect," he challenged.

My smile faltered, and I frowned at him. "Apparently, we have different definitions of 'happy,'" I shrugged. "And I don't need a guy to be 'happy.'"

"Agreed. But it's nice to have just that person to spend time with," Julian insisted.

"I have plenty of people for that."

"But you like them in their respective roles. Not in a romantic way."

"Julian, why? Why are we having a discussion over this?" I asked. This talk was making me uncomfortable, and I didn't appreciate that.

"Because I want you to know how it feels to love someone," he said. I flinched, slightly. He then added, "In a romantic way."

"I was done with that drama a long time ago," I told him as I opened the car door.

"With who?"

"Some idiot," I shrugged, nonchalant.

"Do I know him?"

"I hate lying, so I refuse to answer your question. Go play cupid with someone else. I'm out. Adios," I said as I settled down in the driver's seat.

¤》¤《¤

》》》Julian's POV 《《《

She was so obstinate about her stand. I watched her leave with one last glance at me. I knew she meant well...but just not in the department I was hoping for.

This step was going to be the most difficult one. Cassie was the epitome of independent. Now, I didn't want her to completely depend on someone else, but having a little bit of trust on others would be great.

Shaking my head, I turned to go back into the school building to find Lucas, and go home. That plan cut short as I saw Lucas come running my way.

"Julian, finally!" he said, out od breath.

"What's wrong?" I asked worried.

"A bunch of things, but I found something that will blow your mind!" he grinned as he handed me the script in his hands.

"What?"

"End of the play, Elizabeth goes and find Mr. Darcy leaving," he began.

"So?" I wasn't catching on fully what he was trying to tell me.

"There's a kissing scene," he smirked. "Elizabeth and Darcy."

I gave him a blank stare and his smile dropped. "You're being real mature, Lucas. Real mature."

"Bruh, no need for the sarcasm," he said flatly. I grinned as I remembered Cassie saying similar words. "I will be kissing Sandy Evans."

"You don't deserve the priviledge," I told him truthfully.

"What? Who deserves it then?" he asked in a challenging tone.

"Someone who might actually care for her," I suggested.

"Like? You? Brandon?"

"Lucas, calm down. I am only joking around. Can we go home? I'm starving!" I told him, changing the subject.

He nodded and we walked over to his car which was only ten feet away. Lucas and I barely talked the rest of the ride, but his earlier statements still dominated my mind. About Cassie.

Who did really deserve kissing her?

I had been spending too much time thinking about that girl. More than I most probably should. Surely, it was all because of the deal.

Just the deal.

¤》¤《¤

Author's Note

Anywho, the moment we've all been waiting for: ROMANTIC LOVE! You all are a bunch of hopeless romantics, I swear. Some of the comments...sheesh. From this point on, the romance will begin :P You're welcome.

How was the chapter? Sorry, if it sucked, but I dont wanna rush it too much.

WHO'S GONNA END UP KISSING CASSIE?????????????? Julian or Lucas? Or both??

What do u think Cassie will do when she realizes there is a kissing scene??

Anyone wanna be Elizabeth? Mind you, ANYTHING, can happen on play day ;)

Vote, comment, and share, please!