Arrogance and Judgement (A Pride and Prejudice Spinoff)

chapter 3 | grace's pov

The doorbell rings and the cookout that I forgot about immediately jumps to my mind.
How could I forget?
I immediately jump in the shower and wash my long, brown hair with my signature scent of lavender also making sure not to use Alex's pomegranate body wash. Last time I did that, my hair wasn't the same for the next two weeks.
My quick shower soon ended leaving me to throw on a crop top and light jeans as well as add on some delicately-handed makeup around my blue eyes, which I was able to do with no problem, of course. Before I ventured into the unsafe area that is anything but my comfortable room, I throw on my white Converse and throw my hair up into a ponytail.
Knowing myself, I'm surprised I didn't somehow talk myself into wearing heels. I love them to death even though I'm about 5'9 and don't need them at all. Especially compared to Alex who is about 5'6.
Finally feeling just a splash of confidence, I finally go downstairs.
It takes me two seconds to find Alex but only one to see somebody else. Somebody tall, taller than me, with light eyes, dark hair, and handsome features. He was going towards what looked like the back door. Outside, probably.
I shake it off to go find my family.
"Grace!" I hear my mother say from behind me. Found them.
"Hey," I say, turning around.
"How are you?" she asks, engulfing me in a hug.
"Fine," I smile.
"Rose and Andy are somewhere around here, I'm not sure where, though," she says, releasing me from the hug. Rose is my younger sister at 17 while Andy is my older brother at 22. I'm the middle child at an early 20, my birthday being just last month.
My mother and I chat some more before I ran into Brynn, another one of my best friends.
"There you are," she smiled. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
"I just got done getting ready, sorry," I reply, grabbing a Corona. I don't drink much with me being under 21 but, when I do, it's usually Corona.
"Don't be. I've been around meeting people, mingling. You would be proud," she laughs.
"Alright then, who did you..." my voice trails off as I notice the tall brunette walking in the room with someone who has similar features to the girl that Alex brought home. Jade, that's her name.
This sounds so cliché but, there is something different about him. I don't know what it is. I guess it's just... him.
"Grace? Are you okay?" Brynn asks before she sees who my eyes have landed on.
"Do you have any idea of who that is?" I ask, knowing she's seeing who I am.
"William Darcy."
"How do you know?" I ask, barely pulling my eyes off of him.
"I know my way around people but, I'm more surprised that you don't. He's not exactly famous but, he is known in this city."
"How so?"
"First of all, he's rich as well as his parents. Well, his parents were rich until they died in a plane crash. Him being the only one in his family over 18, his sister only about 16, he was appointed leader of all their bank accounts which generous amounts of money from his parents' life insurance policy have since been added onto. Second of all, he's very into art and drawing. You've probably seen at least one of his drawings online at some point in your life," she explains, totally casual.
"You seem to know a lot about him for not even meeting him," I ask, only half joking.
"His story has been told over and over. Especially by the owners of art museums he has mysteriously donated to," she smiles. "Again, I still don't understand how you don't know his story, especially with the artsy people you know."
"The "artsy" people I know usually know that gossip isn't cool," I laugh.
We both get back to the party, grabbing food, drinking and having laughs as more of my friends come over.
It was only until that one girl, Jade, came by me that William was brought back into my mind, yet I don't know why.
"Grace, I want you to meet someone. I invited him just for you! I think you'll love him," she said, grabbing my wrist and beginning to rush me off to someplace outside.
"Wait, wait, wait!" I say, trying to get her to slow down. "I barely know you! How do you know I'll like them?"
"First of all, it's a he, not a them. Second of all, you can tell a lot about a person by their house, books, vinyl collection, Tumblr page, and housemate."
"But-"
"No 'buts!'" she laughed, proceeding again to drag me along. "Come on! Let's go!"
I finally give up. What's the harm in meeting someone that I'll probably never see again?
That was the thought running through me head as she was running through the sea of people in our backyard until I realized who she was taking me to meet. William Darcy.
Before I had any time to adjust the river of words in my brain into a nice cup of sentences, we had arrived in front of him and the girl who looked like Jade.
"Grace, I would like you to meet my younger sister, Crystal, and a lifelong friend of mine, William," Jade says as his blue eyes catch mine.
"It's nice to meet you," he says, bowing his head slightly, reminding me of the 19th century somehow. Then again, I'd be surprised if things like that didn't remind me of the 19th century.
"The pleasure is all mine," I reply, doing the same. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Julia staring daggers at me and I automatically knew exactly what she wanted: for me to go away.
"Nice to meet you," she said, finally, taking my hand and shaking it.
"Again, the pleasure is all mine. Now, if you excuse me, I must go fine my, um, siblings. I will see you all later, I guess," I say, quietly excusing myself from the situation.