To be named
Chapter 1 : THE FIGHT
"Mom!"
"No!"
"Mom, come on!"
"Rory, I love you angel but all that will totally change if you do not get outta here"
Lorelai opened her eyes to find Rory, standing above her bed holding her favourite fuzzy blue alarm clock in her face.
"Mom, it's almost 7. We're gonna be late and if we're late we don't beat traffic, if we don't beat traffic we won't get there early and if we don't get there early I will rebel! I will smoke, drink, have sexual intercourse with men you don't know and don't approve of and you will hate that and me and we don't want that do we."
"Okay Ror. Number one: all those things you just said, you will never do and won't even try to attempt. Number two: what in the world made you think I will hate you for doing that stuff? I might hold a grudge against you for calling sex that but that will be all"
"Mom!"
"I'm kidding!"
"You really don't think I will do all that stuff?"
"Rory I raised you as my own and… actually go in a closet and don't come out till you're 30"
"Mom!"
"Ah you're killing me here" said Lorelai as she got out of bed
"Thank you, now get showered, get dressed and make yourself look pretty"
"Last time I checked I was the one giving birth to you"
"And you did a good job too" Rory grinned
"Cocky, but true"
"Now I'll be downstairs if you need anything just holla2
"Okay missy"
"Rory?"
"Yeah mom?"
"How far did you get till I called your name?"
"SHOWER!"
"Fine"
Cut to Lorelai and Rory in jeep.
"It is so hot"
"Really I hadn't noticed"
"Really…"
"So hot the steering wheel is burning my hands off"
"How long till we get there?" asked Rory
"About an hour"
"Oh my gosh"
"Are you nervous?"
Rory looked at her mother
"A tad"
"How big is a tad?"
"A bit more than a little I think"
"Gotchya"
"Are you nervous?" Rory asked
"Why would I be nervous?"
"Because your only daughter is going away and may not come back for a very long time and your brain will have very severe side affects due to my absense"
Lorelai laughed
"No but seriously mom, will you be okay?"
"Oh Rory, come on Harvard's not that far away"
Rory gave her a look.
"Alright I admit, it is gonna be weird without you"
"Well what about my trip to washington?"
"That was like 6 weeks, I knew you were coming home and get back into our routine, like always"
"Like watching very old and complicated –"
" – But funny – "
"Movies"
"Eating pizza, chips and candy till our jaws hurt"
"Then washing it down with soda afterwards. In your case beer"
"Aw crap. I'm gonna miss you sweets" said Lorelai
"I'll miss you too mom"
They sat in silence for the rest of the ride, both too sad to say anything. As they pulled up to Harvard Collage Lorelai looked at it from below.
"Wow. Fancy"
"Very"
Lorelai stepped out of the car in opened Rory's door on the other side.
"Mommy"
"You'll be fine"
They made their way to Rory's room and placed her stuff on the floor and bed. Lorelai looked around the room, noticing the other bed was covered with clothes.
"Look' s like you already got yourself a roomie"
"Are you jealous?"
"Not at all"
"Liar"
"What if I don't like her?"
"Well I'm sure you will"
"Or what if she doesn't like me?"
"Are you kidding, you're adorable"
"That I am"
"Again cocky. Look babe I'm sure she'll love you and you'll love her she'll be like your second best friend"
"Who's my first?"
"Do you even have to ask?"
"Kidding"
"Totally not funny my friend"
"Rory?"
Both Gilmore's swung their heads round at the exact same time.
There standing in the threshold of the room was Paris, Rory's close friend.
"Hey!" Rory said as she hugged her friend
"Hi. So, it looks like we're bunking together"
"Dirty"
"Hi Lorelai"
"Hey Paris, good to see you" she said hugging the girl
"You too"
"I'm so glad I'm sharing with you, if I had to share with someone else I don't know what I would've done" she added
"Same here" said Rory
"Well, I'll leave so you can unpack and give you two some alone time"
"Thanks Paris" said Lorelai
She left the room.
Lorelai looked at Rory.
"Oh look at you. All vulnerable and small, yet you are now an adult. Makes me want to watch you grow up all over again"
"Really?"
"No but I thought it would be a good thing to say under the circumstances"
"I agree"
Lorelai and Rory look at each other. Lorelai gives her a sad smile. They hug, for a really. Really. Really. Long time.
"Now are you sure you didn't forget anything cause if you did we can go back home and never come back"
"Mom, I'll be fine"
"Okay"
"Now I'll try and get in touch with you in every spare minute I have kay?"
"Kay"
They hug again.
"Bye Mom"
"Bye sweets"
Luke came waltzing over to where Lorelai was sitting and looked at her. The sunlight coming through the window gave her chocolate curls a kind of golden look to them; her face, also lit, her features fragile to those who see them but do not touch, the blue in her eyes was so much darker than her piercing blue you felt you were drowning in those deep pools. She sat there, looking out of the window, a frown upon her usually cheery profile. Just looking at her Luke was reminded of an angel, an angel who was sad and upset. It pained him to see her like that and he knew the cause of it, heck everybody in Stars Hollow did. The only other time she was this upset was when Rory went to a summer camp when she was nine, so she spent about 6 weeks being a totally different person. When he had asked if she wanted coffee she didn't smile, or give him some joke, comment or movie quote. Just nodded her head, still frowning and just sat there looking out of the window. And today, that was the position he found her in, so he set himself up for something he never thought he'd do - cheer up Lorelai Gilmore.
He coughed into his hand to state his presence, she looked up and gave him a sad smile. God this was gonna be hard. This woman's never unhappy, always smiling, always cracking a joke. This was just unreal, un…Lorelai.
"Hey"
"Hi"
"She'll be back before you know it"
"Yeah I know, it's just it's weird without her here you know?"
"Yup, sure is. But hey it keeps my coffee supply up"
"Hilarious"
"I'm trying here"
"Sorry. I am grateful though, for the amount of time it took you to come up with that. How long?"
"Two days"
"Ah, very good"
Luke looked at her.
"Hey, listen I want you to know something okay?"
"Shoot"
"We've known each other for how many years now?"
"Lots"
"And during that time you've ran to me everytime there was something wrong, whether it was manually or emotionally I was always there. And I'm just telling you now that I always will be, so come and see me anytime you feel like this okay?"
Lorelai felt the tears glaze over her eyes as he said all this but quickly hid them with her usual banter,
"Wow, look at you being all nice. Word might get out luke, you may have to run and hide till this blows over and your fifteen minutes of fame is yesterdays news"
"Lorelai…"
She looked at him.
"I'll think about it"
"Okay" He got up and walked off
"Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks" she smiled. Not a sad smile but a real one, teeth showing and everything. And it was because of him. Duke, the diner man.
This was what he thought when he saw her a week later come into the diner with a huge grin on her face, greeting everyone, and sit on a stool facing him. She was happy because of him and their talk, well at least he thought that was the reason.
"Hey there"
"Hey. Coffee?"
"Of course"
"You seem happy"
"I am happy, and have good reason to be" she grinned
Luke looked at her whilst pouring her coffee.
"And?"
"And what?"
"What is that reason?"
Lorelai looked around the diner and slowly moved her eyes to lock them with his.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yeah"
"Really?"
"Lorelai…"
She giggled.
"Okay I'll tell you. Well last night I was doing my usual thing: being sad, missing Rory, watching a really bad horror movie(without Rory), eating all the stuff you hate(without Rory) and then it happens"
"What?"
Lorelai leaned in closer
"Christopher called"
Luke stalled as he was refilling her cup. Christopher? Calling Lorelai? Now? Why? Why now?
"Huh?" he asked
"Yeah" Lorelai smiled, "He wanted to know how me and Rory…Rory and me…Rory and I? Anyway he wanted to know how we were getting on and then just invited himself down here. Yeah and whilst we were talking he had a strange sound to his voice, you know like odd?"
"Yes I translate our conversations from it everyday"
"Oh my god another joke. You're gonna have to let me write these down and give them as evidence to people that Luke Danes is not only your diner man but also Stars Hollows very own town jester"
"You're funny"
"I try. Anyway Chris said he's coming down here on Friday so that I don't have to face my parents alone for dinner, thank god"
"Yeah"
"I'm so Psyched" she said
"Huh" Luke grunted
Lorelai's head sprung up from her coffee cup.
"What?"
"Nothing"
"Luke come on. We've known each other for years and during that time I have been able to decipher those grunts you make into actual sentences. Now that grunt was a "I'm bothered about something but not saying what it is" kind of grunt, not any other kind. So I wanna know why you suddenly decided to make the "I'm bothered" grunt just as I happen to mention Christopher"
"Do you know how much time, air and energy you put into all that rambling?"
"Luke?"
He sighed,
"It's just that… Lorelai are you sure you want to get involved with him again?"
Lorelai did a double take,
"Excuse you?"
"Well it's just that whenever he comes here, you two get together and then something happens that he can't possibly get out of and takes off. Leaving you looking foolish and your face is down to your knees everytime I see you and…"
"And?"
"And I don't think it's right"
Lorelai took a moment to take all this in.
"Luke? One question?"
"Yeah?"
"What the hell are you doing?"
"What?"
"How is it that you are so impossible to please?"
"Why should Christopher coming here please me?"
"I'm not talking about him in general I'm talking about me being happy! I've noticed all the nice stuff you've been doing for me because I was upset and I appreciate it all but now I'm happy and I figured you'd actually be pleased for me! And next time do not answer my questions with one of your own it confuses me!"
"Lorelai, all I'm saying is that I don't want to see you unhappy again when he leaves"
"What makes you think he's gonna leave?"
Luke was silent.
"What I can't keep hold of a man now is that it? You are such an asshole!"
"Oh I'm an asshole now, a second ago I was impossible!"
"Stop it!"
"Stop what Lorelai?"
"This! Luke, I'm sick of this attitude everytime I mention Chris. You thinking he's gonna leave makes me think he's gonna leave and that goes for all of them! Max, Jason, Alex! I push them away because somewhere in the back of my head is yours and my mother's voices telling me they wont stick around and now I'm sick of it! Well congratulations your kind words have all paid off. Do not expect me in here tomorrow or any other day for that matter. Goodbye Luke!"
And she left. Just like that.
Luke stood, glued to the spot, a bewildered look on his face. Not noticing every set of eyes in the diner had witnessed the fight and were now all settled on him. Luke Danes. Ex-best friend of Lorelai Gilmore.