The night of the Wild Wallflowers concert found Darcy and Carson sitting in the way back of the Bingley's SUV. As Uncle Henry rolled to a stop in front of the Bennett house, Charlie was sitting alone in front of them.

Charlie wasn't speaking to Darcy at the moment. Lois had found out about her less than excellent calculus test results and they had had a 'serious talk'. Charlie blamed Darcy for ratting her out. Darcy didn't get the chance to tell her that it was her calculus teacher, in fact, who had called up Lois to discuss Charlie's grade.

Darcy had a feeling Charlie was upset about more than just the test results. Darcy continued to avoid the lunchroom like the plague but knew that there were more times than not that Charlie had to eat in the library during shared lunch periods because Gina had made herself comfortable with the Bennett boys and their friends.

Sometimes Jamie followed Charlie when she politely gathered her things and left as Gina sat down. But sometimes he stayed behind and his laughter over some joke or story Gina was telling trailed behind Charlie as she left the cafeteria.

Darcy heard all of this second hand from Carson as Charlie refused to even utter Gina's name. So Darcy let her fume, giving Charlie time to come to her senses.

Her mood was already lightening up as the two Bennett brothers took the two remaining seats in the center section of the car. Jamie took the middle right next to Charlie and Eli took the one to his left, on the opposite side of the car from where Darcy sat.

He glanced back at Carson and Darcy and nodded in greeting, giving Darcy a sly second glance. Gone was her usual formal attire for school and in its place was her worn leather jacket that had been her mom's in the eighties over an old Wild Wallflowers tee-shirt that Darcy had had to dig through the internet to find. It was a rarity considering it was from their days before they were signed to a record label.

Darcy and Carson nodded back in recognition and returned to their own whispered conversation as Henry tried to make light small talk from the front of the car. Carson and Darcy couldn't have participated even if they wanted to as no one would have been able to hear them.

Eli, however, did catch their quiet laughter passed back and forth as they talked and sent a glance or two their way as they drove into the city.

They were their own entourage moving towards the arena, out of the parking garage. Henry and Lois led the pact, Jamie and Charlie walked right behind, barely a breath of air between the two of them, leaving Eli, Darcy, and Carson to bring up the back, Darcy keeping pace with Carson and Eli's long strides in between them.

An arena employee was waiting for them in the lobby just past the security entrance. There were greetings and big smiles passed between Henry and Lois and the employee, someone they had met before apparently on other visits to the arena.

She was now the leader of their group and Henry and Lois followed with the rest of the kids in tow as they were steered away from the bustling lobby and up a flight of stairs hidden behind a door riding 'Employees Only'.

"So," Eli said, his words bouncing off the concrete walls of the walkway they were being led down. "You guys have your own box."

"Something like that," Carson replied.

"Figures." Eli had muttered under his breath but since Darcy was walking right next to him she caught it.

"Our grandfather worked here," Darcy said.

Eli swerved to miss a stagehand pushing a cart of large black equipment boxes.

"He got a job cleaning toilets when he was only 13 after his family immigrated from Portugal." Darcy continued.

"And the private box is what, a thank you for all the clean bathrooms?" Eli asked. Darcy wanted to swipe the smug smile off his face.

"Something like that."

Carson picked up where Darcy had left off, filling in the very important details she hadn't planned to share due to Eli's current mood.

"He worked here for sixty years, running this place as arena manager for the last twenty. When he retired, the arena granted him and his family a private box whenever they wanted. Within reason."

Eli's eyebrows raised slowly. His smile faded away.

Carson was the first of the three of them to follow the crowd through the door leading to their box that was being held open by the smiling employee who was smiling and ignored by Carson as he entered.

"When you say, 'Our grandfather' you mean Carson's, right?"

Eli's question kept Darcy from entering, her steps faltering a step outside the box. Darcy met Eli's gaze straight on.

"I meant our grandfather."

And without another second's hesitation, Darcy entered her family's private viewing box.

In the last week, Darcy had found Eli to run either hot or cold, never anything in between. He was either glaring at her in stony silence or goading her own with infuriating persistence. Sometimes the sparring sessions were met with equal enthusiasm from Darcy, sometimes not. It depended on whether Eli meant his barbs that day for fun and fighting.

She gave him space in the viewing box. It was roomy but not big enough in her opinion as she would have preferred Eli not there at all, and farther away from her than he was if he was going to continue to exist in the same space as her.

Henry and Lois oohed and awed over the spread of food that had been laid out for them and quickly settled into two of the large black leather seats available.

Darcy set up camp right along the edge of the box, watching the crowd as it spread out before her. The opening act ended just as they arrived and so Darcy watched as the crowd milled around, waiting for things to start up again.

"Mom, can Jamie and I go do to the pit?" Charlie asked, only five minutes into their waiting period. The curtains on the stage had closed on the stagehands switching up the set on stage.

"Sure. Just stay together and stay to the edges."

"Will do!" Charlie called out behind her, grabbing Jamie's hand hurrying out the door they had just come through.

Carson joined Darcy at the edge and soon enough, with nowhere else to go and no one else to talk to so did Eli. Again, Darcy found herself between the two of them.

The three of them watched as Charlie and Jamie popped into sight from one of the tunnels leading to the main floor of the arena. They stopped on the fringes, paying attention to only each other.

"How sweet are they," Carson remarked, his tone half-serious, half sardonic, the serious tone hidden underneath the sarcasm.

Darcy let out a huff of laughter, familiar with Carson's aversion to anything even closely resembling public displays of affection, the two of them watching as Charlie and Jamie looked like a real couple.

"What's wrong with the two of them liking each other?" Eli asked. His words were hard and so Darcy did not engage. That didn't help his mood.

"What, is my brother not good enough for your sister or something?"

Carson held his hands up in mock surrender.

"No one said anything like that."

"But it's true. You two don't approve."

"I sure don't. What about you, Darcy? Do you approve of Jamie? You have ridiculously high standards. Does he match up?"

Darcy found herself dragged into the middle of a conversation she did not want to be in. But both boys were looking at her and so she had to respond.

"Those standards are for myself, not Charlie. She's her own person and can date who she likes."

"But you wouldn't date Jamie," Eli said, goading her.

Darcy met his eyes to try and gauge what Eli she would be interacting with tonight. She saw a glint of amusement in his gaze but his words were antagonizing.

"No. Mainly because he's dating my sister."

"And if he wasn't?"

"This is a weird conversation topic, don't you think, Eli?"

"Darcy would never go for someone like Jamie."

Carson just had to butt in. Darcy sighed, aware that the conflict she could see on the horizon and had hoped to avoid was now coming barreling towards them.

"Why not? Is it because of our lack of money or status? We're not good enough for the Bingley's? Or the Williams?"

"No, I wouldn't say that's it at all. Darcy just has very particular taste, it's almost a full-on list at this point. And whoever she decides to spend her energy on has to meet those criteria."

Darcy's face was turning red. She knew it was. She wanted to slap her hand over Carson's mouth to keep him from uttering another word.

"Really? A literal list. Well, we have to hear it. Come on, Darcy. Share with the class."

There was that amusement again. But Darcy had a feeling it was now at her expense. The arena was all but forgotten for Eli. He was resting against the ledge, his back turned to the stage, watching her.

Darcy squared her shoulders, standing up straighter than she already had been. Her arms were crossed in front of her, defense mood activated.

"If I'm going to spend my time on someone, my energy, they have to be intelligent, hard-working, dedicated, well-read, athletic, enthusiastic, kind-"

"I'd be surprised if you've ever met anyone meeting that description. Like, ever."

Darcy met his smirk with a cool glare.

"Maybe I have. Maybe I haven't."

Their staring contest was cut short by the lights in the arena going off, followed by the roar from the crowd rising into the air. The tension remained as Eli stood and turned back to the stage, his stance matching Darcy's.

Flashing lights filled the arena and sound came rushing at them from the speakers. Frontwoman, Bobbie King, jumped into the performance like her life depended on it and the show started.

The three of them stood at the edge of the box for the first song as all around them, the rest of the audience danced and sang along. The three of them didn't move an inch.

Eli broke out of their frozen state and leaned into Darcy to talk into her ear so he could be heard over the music filling the air.

"I'm going down to the pit. I'd ask you to join me but I have a feeling you don't do that kind of thing."

Darcy looked down at the hand Eli had placed on her arm to lean in close. Eli looked down too and removed the hand once he noticed its placement.

It was Darcy's turn to lean in close.

"Well then, wouldn't want to prove you wrong."

They stared at each other for two seconds longer than they should have. And then Eli was gone as if he hadn't been there at all.

Darcy watched the pit, waiting for him to reappear. Her favorite band was currently performing on stage in front of her and yet she was watching one person.

He reappeared and pushed through the crowd to get to where Charlie and Jamie had migrated to. He turned around, looking up at the box, meeting Darcy's eyes as if he knew she would be watching for him.

Darcy had to force herself to look away. The sight of all those crushing bodies pushed together made her nauseous. She was thankful for the space of her family's private box.

But she couldn't keep her attention entirely focused on the show. It was torn between watching Eli in the crowd and looking down at her arm to where he had placed his hand.

She was getting tired of his antics, his unreliability. His presence.

Darcy didn't dwell on the thought too long as the show progressed but she couldn't help wondering what it would have been like if she had swallowed her pride and gone with him. At least tried to join in.

Darcy was tired of this too. This kid who was making her second guess her very nature. This kid who was making her seriously considering pushing through a crowd, risking a panic attack, just so she could watch her favorite band together.

A band he happened to like as well. Something they had in common.

Something Darcy had figured would happen eventually but only once hell had frozen over.

A/N:

The romantic tension. It's too much!!!

Also gotta point out the serious amount of Pride And Prejudice references I keep making. I mean, seriously. That list speech is straight of out the original. It's not plagiarism if you make it your own.

At least that's what I like to tell myself.

And again, gotta shout out that Five Years Of Fame reference. Wild Wallflower fans, what's good?!