Darcy waited. But nothing happened. For three days, nothing but silence. Her brain tried convincing her that she had put her letter in the wrong locker, that she had completely exposed herself and her family's secrets to a complete stranger and that Eli would continue to hate her for the wrong reasons.

But no. She counted. Every day that week at school, she counted the lockers, double-checked when he was grabbing books between classes. It was the right locker. She was sure of it.

And yet, silence.

Miss Austin had them rearrange seats again in her English class so now the two of them sat on opposite sides of the room. If it wasn't for Charlie's continual chatter about her rekindled relationship with Jamie, Darcy would have gone mad trying to decipher exactly what Eli was thinking about her every single waking moment.

It helped that Charlie talked a lot. And frequently. Prom was brought up multiple times as it was soon approaching and Charlie had yet to find a dress. She had also yet to ask Jamie to go with her but that was part of the chatter, her plans for how she was going to ask him.

Lunchtimes were the worst to endure as the library was dead quiet and there wasn't a single sound to distract Darcy from the continual merry-go-round of thoughts ran around her head. By that Friday she was exhausted from being ignored, from overthinking every single word of the long letter, so much so that she was starting to forget what she had even said.

She tried reading a piece the Boston Globe had done on her family's gallery. It had been a big deal when the reporter and photographer had shown up at the studio a few weeks ago to take pictures of the staff and to interview Lois and then Darcy herself. Darcy was just getting to the part where the writer explained how the original manager of the gallery, and one of the few remaining direct descendants of William Pemberley, its founder, had tragically passed away at a very young age, and how, with no one else to run the place, her best friend had stepped up not only to run the gallery but to raise the woman's two children as well.

It was weird reading her life story printed out in black and white for anyone to read. Finally, Darcy's brain had found something engaging enough to think on other than Eli that she didn't notice that someone had approached her table.

It wasn't until they cleared their throat and asked, "Is anyone sitting here?" that Darcy finally looked up and found Eli standing opposite her.

She had no words. For the first time all week, she had not a single thought. Shock had thrown them all out all at once. All she could do was nod.

He took the seat opposite and started eating lunch as if he did this every day. Darcy waited for him to speak, to acknowledge the letter, anything. But he didn't. He pulled out a notebook and then a textbook and started studying while slowly munching away on a packed lunch.

Darcy tried returning to the article but it was no use. She waited with bated breath for any move, gesture, word, anything to come from the other side of the table. It finally did when the bell to end their lunch period rang and Eli packed up. He left with a "See you later" and Darcy was glued to her seat, wondering whether she had hallucinated the whole thing or not.

She kept wondering, all through the weekend. All while working at the gallery the next day. The article had done wonders for business and so Darcy was kept busy most of the day but it didn't stop her from zoning out when she had a free moment to try and remember whether or not Eli really had sat with her during lunch.

Darcy had fully convinced herself it was a dream by the time Monday's lunch period rolled around again. And then Eli appeared to throw a wrench right in the middle of all her hard work. He didn't ask to sit this time but instead took the seat only one away from Darcy's.

She tried to work, to focus, to breathe but couldn't. She couldn't concentrate when he sat there so calmly as if nothing between them had ever transpired. Charlie and Jamie joined them the next day during the junior/senior shared lunch period. The two of them helped ease the tension in the room. Darcy even spotted Eli glancing her way after watching Jamie and Charlie sit facing each other, whispering back and forth. By Thursday, Darcy could breathe during lunchtime. She even laughed at a joke Jamie shared, the first laugh she had experienced among the halls of Meriton Charter.

On Friday, Darcy got up the nerve to ask one of the two questions that had been burning a hole in her brain ever since Eli had sat down to join her in the library for lunch. It was second in line after 'Why?'

"Won't Wickham be mad you stopped hanging out with her?"

Darcy had leaned over slightly, lowering her voice and keeping her tone neutral so as not to alert Charlie or Jamie as to what she was asking Eli.

Eli froze but just for a moment before shaking his head.

"Gina's moved on."

"She has?"

Darcy didn't know how she felt about that. Relieved? Eli was safe if Wickham was seeking attention elsewhere.

"There's this kid, Graham. His parents run this artist's grant for underprivileged students."

"Ah."

Eli didn't need to say anything else. Darcy understood completely. Gina was still at her old tricks.

"I imagine Kit's heartbroken," Darcy muttered after a long moment.

"Not at all," Eli answered.

Darcy looked up from her notebook to meet his eyes. It was the first time since their unfortunate conversation in her great aunt's library. His eyes were softer now, his smile more easily found.

"He still follows her around like a love-sick puppy," Eli said.

"He'll learn. Eventually."

"I hope so."

And that was the most they were ever going to mention Darcy's letter. That was all confirmation she needed. To know that he had read it. That he believed her.

Darcy had a viable excuse not to accompany Charlie and her Aunt Lois dress shopping that weekend. She had a shift at the gallery. She couldn't get out of it. It helped keep the questions of whether or not Darcy was going to prom at bay. For the time being. She hadn't had the heart to tell either Charlie or Lois that she had asked someone. It just hadn't gone well.

Darcy was grateful for her routine Saturday shift at the gallery. It helped her keep a finger on the pulse of her family's business. She didn't mind the small crowds of tourists that had been showing up as of late, bringing with them the scent of fresh air and warm spring sunshine. Summer was just around the corner and everyone in the city could feel it.

If she wasn't working the front desk, or leading tours, Darcy was happy to work in the back, cataloging the shipments they received from her dad with new pieces to display. His email replies were more spaced apart than Darcy would have liked as of late but going through his findings helped Darcy feel connected to him. Whether or not he was going to keep his word of taking Darcy with him on a trip sometime in the future, at least Darcy had the gallery.

That Saturday was busy. The article in the Globe had only added to the waves of tourists that made their way to South Boston to visit the gallery. Darcy didn't get a lunch break until three o'clock in the afternoon when the crowd of visitors had finally thinned.

Eating her lunch up in what they called the crow's nest, a small office space placed high up in the warehouse and above the manufactured white walls, Darcy could see the entire maze of the gallery.

When she reentered the maze, following along the white walls without the need of direction for she had been running through these halls since she was a child, Darcy found the gallery almost completely empty. A few art lovers were taking their time, talking low, wandering through. But the crowds had gone. Just in time, too. They were due to close in the next hour.

"How's it going, Renee?" Darcy asked, slipping in behind the front desk.

"Slow, thank goodness."

Renee was the oldest employee at Pemberley Studios. She had been working there since even before Darcy's mother's time. She was close friends of Darcy's great aunt Katherine and as much a part of Pemberley as Darcy was. Her bright white hair matched the pristine walls and her warm brown eyes shone under the soft white lights overhead.

"You can head home if you want," Darcy said, taking Renee's place behind the main consul. "I've got things covered here."

"Darcy, darling, you are an angel. Thank you, my love." Renee placed a warm wrinkled hand on Darcy's. The article hadn't mentioned the fact that the people at Pemberley had helped raise Darcy and George just as much as Lois. The two of them would have been bored wandering around the gallery on the weekends and during vacations from school if Renee hadn't taken each of them in hand to teach them all about the art displayed on the walls.

"Tell Lois I've sent in the receipts for the day and locked up everything in the office. Frank will be double-checking when he gets in."

"Will do. Give Lloyd my love."

"I will, dear. Good night."

Renee waved over her shoulder as she slipped on her jacket and headed out into the dimming afternoon light.

Darcy went over everything she needed to, checking the signs-in, the reservations for tours set up for the next day, even checking the gallery's email when she had nothing else to do.

She was aware of the sound of footsteps as people wandered around, the high warehouse ceilings echoing back even the softest of sounds. She looked up when a click and a flash went off and she found Eli standing in the doorway between the front lobby and the rest of the gallery.

"Eli. Hi."

He approached, letting his camera hanging back down against his chest, right where it belonged, right where it always was.

"Nice place you've got here."

"Thanks."

He leaned against the front desk, casual as if he was at her family's gallery all the time.

"Did you have a look around?" she asked, not knowing what else to say. The sight of him, outside of school, outside of Meriton, in her favorite place. Her brain did not know how to comprehend what her eyes were telling her.

"I did."

"Oh."

Eli didn't let the awkward silence between them hang too long.

"But I'd love a tour. If you don't mind."

Darcy couldn't help the smile that spread over her face.

"I'd love to."

Eli mirrored her expression and followed her back into the heart of the gallery.

She led him the long way round, going along the outskirts of the maze, making a slow spiral, moving towards the center. The smaller art pieces were along the border. Darcy explained all about how their system worked, how her father traveled all over the world to find new pieces for them to display.

"These," Darcy said, pointing to a display of intricately woven baskets hanging from the wall, "are from a small village in Venezuela called Ye'kwana my dad found while traveling down in South America. It's a very important tradition there. Every child is taught how to weave baskets to pass on the knowledge and the people there spend hours on a single basket. My father bought what he could and all the profits of the sales are sent back to the village. My aunt didn't feel comfortable making a profit off such an honored tradition."

"They're beautiful."

Eli paused in front of them, close enough to appreciate the intricate design. Darcy followed his lead, moving only when he had absorbed all he could from the multi-colored pieces of art.

Darcy knew each piece, each item, the stories behind them. She had to take a deep breath when she got to pieces her mother had discovered, back before she had gotten pregnant with Darcy and George, back when Katherine ran the gallery and her mother could travel with her father to send back new pieces.

"Your mom must have loved this place," Eli remarked after Darcy showed him a display of hand-shaped pottery from Morocco.

"She did," Darcy answered.

"Almost as much as you, I'm guessing."

Darcy could only nod, meeting Eli's eyes for a long moment. She realized they had stopped walking and broke eye contact to keep them moving through the displays.

"What do you love most about this place?" Eli asked.

It took Darcy several steps before she could answer.

"The legacy. Generations of people before me have worked so hard to leave something beautiful behind, to create a collection, a heritage of beautiful things for the world to enjoy. And they've left it all to me."

Eli nodded and their slow pace continued past the stone statues collection.

"The dream is..."

Darcy stopped herself. Eli kept moving along, giving her room and space to find the courage to speak. She couldn't believe that Eli Bennett of all people was going to be one of the only two people living who would know this about her but somehow it felt right to tell him. She had already exposed the rest of her darkest secrets, why not one of the good ones?

"I'm not going to college."

It was no longer a dream when she spoke it out loud. It was a statement, a fact. She had many obstacles in front of her keeping it from being her reality just yet. But she knew, telling it to Eli, she was making a commitment to making it happen.

"You want to run this place instead," Eli said.

Darcy nodded.

"Did you get in anywhere?"

Darcy nodded, then shrugged.

"Northwestern. Columbia. Yale."

"Yes. The second tier schools."

Darcy laughed and Eli smiled as the light sound hopped from one wall to the next down the hallway in front of them.

"And you? Where did you get in?"

"Boston University. Northeastern."

"You applied locally."

Eli nodded.

"I can commute and still work at the store on the weekends. It'll cut down on tuition and room and board."

"Smart."

Eli glanced at her from the corner of her eye. She knew he was inspecting her reaction to his budget-smart college plans.

"I can understand why you wouldn't want to go. To college."

Darcy waited for him to finish his thought, her silence permitting him to go on.

"You have this. You have your dream job, just waiting for you. Why spend four years trying to discover what you already know?"

Darcy couldn't help smiling. Her cheeks were starting to get sore. He had put so succinctly what she had been trying to articulate for the last year. She would have to remember his words for when she sat down to break the news to Lois.

"Will your family let you? Not go to college."

Darcy let out a long breath.

"My Aunt Katherine will support me, I know that. She's all about duty and familial responsibility. I know it scares her that she only has George and myself to carry on her family legacy. I think it would ease her mind to know that I'm committed to this place."

"And your Aunt Lois?"

Darcy's stomach twisted as did her hands at the thought of having to tell Lois. She knew how her aunt felt on the subject. She wanted Darcy to go out into the world, to experience all that she can, to have a full life, to expand her horizons. She didn't understand the pull Darcy felt to this place, to her family, to her father. To her mother.

"She'll take some convincing."

"I'll wish you good luck on that then."

"Thank you."

Without knowing it, she had unconsciously led them back to the entryway, back to the front desk. The gallery was now silent and Darcy knew they were the last people there. Outside the night was growing darker by the minute, the sun setting and dark clouds of spring rain moving in. Darcy glanced at her watch.

"It's getting late. I need to lock up."

"Is it going to take you long?" Eli asked.

"Twenty minutes, maybe. Frank, the nighttime security guard, should be here any moment."

"Then I'll wait for you. I'll just be outside."

"Okay."

Darcy watched as Eli headed outside, glancing back over his shoulder and waving before moving out of view from the glass doorway.

Darcy moved through the motions of turning the lights out, double-checking that no one remained, on autopilot. Her mind kept racing to the front door, to the parking lot outside, wondering, hoping desperately that Eli was out still there waiting for her, that he hadn't changed his mind and left. He might have a train to catch, Darcy worried.

But then Frank showed up, she passed him the keys, ran through protocol, and caught up for a few minutes before she could finally leave the gallery. The doors clicked behind her as Frank locked the gallery from the inside, it's interior glowing in a ghostly low light.

Darcy breathed out and her breath floated up before her face. Before she even had to look to find him, Eli reappeared in her view.

"You ready?" he asked. Darcy nodded and started towards her car. It wasn't far, just down the street as they left the small parking lot kept for visitors.

They didn't speak while walking, the city noises around them doing the talking for them. The sun was now gone and the spring warmth had disappeared with it. Darcy was imagining a hot meal when she got home by the time she reached her car.

"Do you-"

She cleared her throat and tried again, halting by the driver's seat door of her car.

"Do you need a ride home?"

Eli shook his head and Darcy's shoulders dropped.

"I already bought my train ticket home. The station's not far from here. And I like to walk."

"Oh. Yeah. Sure. Okay."

"I'll see you at school, Darcy."

"See you, Eli."

Darcy watched as he headed down the street, his hands in his pockets, his breath trailing out behind him. He glanced back once, then a second time. Darcy smiled when he looked one last time before turning the corner and disappearing.

A/N:

I love this scene.

Fun fact: this scene was one of the first to appear fully flushed out in my mind when I started dreaming up this book.

I knew I needed that pivotal scene where ✨feelings✨ start to change and shift and this appeared out of thin air.

It was like lightning had struck my brain. It made me so freaking PUMPED to write this book.

Your meme.