A Gilmore Girls fanfic

Author: mz lynx

Disclaimer: I own neither Gilmore Girls nor any of the movies that the chapters are named for. I do however own this particular idea and the execution thereof.

AN: I'm slowly - that is, when my schedule allows it - editing this. I'm not changing the contents, just fixing the formating and some mistakes I've spotted.

The Party's NOT Over!

Chapter 1: Oh, What a Party!

Rory looked at the leaving truck, tears in her eyes. It felt like a nightmare. Dean coming to pick her up, Dean disapproving, Dean dumping her, Dean leaving… Vaguely she could hear the boys behind her, and Logan beside her. Trying to be comforting by telling her she'll be alright. Yeah, sure. Dean just dumped me, again, in public, again, and I'll be fine? Don't think so, Blondie. She heard Colin offer her scotch and Finn promise her a show and Logan slightly pushing her to get back in and solve things the way they did – by partying. Well, maybe they were right. Maybe some more champagne would help. And maybe nothing would seem as bad after seeing Finn's "Passion of the Christ". With that thought she turned and walked back inside the pool house.

~*~*~*~

An hour later Rory was willing to admit there was some merit to the boys' philosophy. Finn's "Passion of the Christ" had been almost as bad as Logan had claimed, but something in Finn's eyes made her think that it was done that way on purpose. The scotch Colin had provided her with had been awful – although she had no way of knowing if it was because her grandfather did have "appalling taste" in the matter or if it simply was because it was scotch. The champagne, however… The champagne tasted better and better, and thanks to Logan her glass was never empty. You'll regret this tomorrow, Gilmore, her conscience growled – as always in Paris' voice – only to be drowned in another sip of champagne. Regrets be damned, can't I just have fun? So, I'll have a hang-over. It's not like I haven't done that before. And I deserve one night of fun, don't I? Now, how to make the best of it…? Rory's thought started wandering, until it hit her. The perfect way to turn this night into something spectacular, and just maybe even get back a little at Dean as well…

She turned a little and motioned for Logan to come closer.

"Logan? Don't you think it's time I reconsidered the whole 'pick-a-partner'-thing?" she said in a low voice.

He looked at her questioningly for a few seconds before his eyes lit with amusement.

"Sure is, Ace. So, how do you want to do this?"

"Lorelai-style, of course. Is there any other way?" She laughed quietly, drunkenly, realizing he didn't exactly catch her point.

"Logan, Lorelai-style, as in the other Lorelai, more known as my mother."

He nodded, obviously not quite following her, but still going along for the fun of it. They whispered for a while, and then Logan called for silence.

"Okay men. We have a challenge before us! See this adoring creature here? Apparently she no longer has an escort, thus meaning she's back to picking one of us." He was promptly cut of by whistles, catcalls and hurrays.

"The lovely lady has decided that in order for her to properly make her choice there will be a contest. So, tonight we give you the 'Mr Pool house' competition! The lady will now explain the rules."

Rory stood up; amazingly steady for the amount of champagne she'd drunk, and started "laying down the law":

"First off, only truly available men will be allowed. That means no gays, no married men and no one who's seriously hung up on another girl." She got a few raised eyebrows due to the second demand, but didn't really care.

"Those of you willing to play stand on the right side of the room, that being my right, and the rest of you, please move down to the left corner." She was pleased to see that more than half the boys indicated they were in fact willing to "play".

"Second, the winner will have three dates to impress me. If those three dates work out he will meet my mother and her boyfriend; if they don't scare him off or kill him – and yes, sadly that's not too unlikely – we'll play it by ear from there on."

"Third, all of you have to agree that if you win you will help me make my grandparents never, ever come up with an idea like this", she waved towards them, "again, and make my 'dear' ex-boyfriend regret his actions." Her words were followed by applauds and a "Damn right we will!" from Finn.

"Fourth, if the winner for some reason is prevented from going on all three dates, the runner-up will take his place. Finally, this will be closely following the pageant-formula, meaning that the first part will be a swimsuit-show. There are some suits in the back room, through that door over there, and you have two minutes. Starting now."

The boys started leaving, all except Finn who was looking expectantly at Logan.

"Aren't you going to join, Logan? Surely the lady deserves as much!"

Logan tried to protest, but had to give up when all non-contestants agreed with Finn.

The remaining boys cleared an area in front of Rory, placed a red carpet found in a corner there, and sat down with anticipating grins. Rory's grin matched theirs, and superseded them, since she knew that there wouldn't be enough male swimsuits to go around. This is going to be fun!

~*~*~*~

As she'd expected, Logan had managed to snag a pair of real, male trunks. I wonder what he resorted to in order to get them, she thought to herself. Well, looks good anyway. Not sure he's my type though. Or rather: I'm pretty sure he's not, at least not for real. But for something like this…? Any further debate on whether or not Logan Huntzberger was the man for "the job" would have to wait though; right now there were more boys to be ogled!

After the swimsuit part was over Rory was smiling widely. Most of the boys were fit, well-muscled and still had a nice tan. A nice surprise had been Colin, who'd not only had a nicer body than she'd guessed but who'd also been stuck with a red bathing suit. He'd pulled it off real good, though, and had lost not an ounce of his dignity while wearing it. Another great show had been Finn, who'd actually chosen a hot pink bikini, with hipsters and a balconette bra. He'd completed his outfit with some outrageous sunglasses that looked like they'd been left behind when her mother had left home, and one of Emily's sun hats. He should have looked absolutely ridiculous, but had in fact managed to only look like himself. Whether or not that should scare her was something Rory still debated. The only thing she was sure of was that his body had looked great.

For the second part of the "contest" Rory had the boys parade the red carpet in front of her, including a twirl, and then sit down on a barstool to be interviewed. True to her nature she asked them about their favorite movies, whether or not they read and if then what, and of course how they liked their coffee.

One boy immediately got taken out of competition due to a violent coffee allergy. Who ever heard of something that ridiculous? God, he'd get the itch every time we kissed, and not the good kind of itch either! Too bad, in a way, since he was rather cute, but Rory didn't need a date who might end up in the hospital just from being around her.

Another boy struck out completely after first stating his favorite movie as "The Lord of the Rings", and then admitting to never having read the books. A third told her he simply loved Hemingway, but she rather suspected the boy in question had said "Hemingway" just to sound impressive. Too bad that Rory never had gotten around to liking Hemingway – not even after Jess' patient pushing. Well, that gave her two solid reasons to strike him of her mental list.

Colin surprised her again by being a fan of "the Russians", taking his coffee in the right way – that being just as she did – and loving "The Godfather". Logan's answers were as expected; acceptable but not particularly exiting. Answers that made him a good husband prospect, but not exactly a laugh-fest. Also, she wasn't too sure how he'd make it in Stars Hollow. Finn, however, made her laugh again. "Reading, love? Does the back of the bottle count?" was followed by a fervent speech in favor of not as expected "the Passion of the Christ" but instead "anything Quentin Tarantino, love, really" – and of course Finn's coffee preference was Irish.

Afterwards Rory took her glass of champagne and retreated outside for a pause to think.

"Okay, gentlemen, I've reached a decision. You've all been very helpful, and interesting, and it was really hard to choose just two of you. However, the power of champagne has spoken and I'm glad to announce that the runner-up is… Finn!"

At which Finn stood up, bowed and blew her a kiss, while being applauded.

"But, however interesting Finn was, there was one of you that bested him. I'm very pleased to say that the winner is…"

~To Be Continued ~