Disclaimer: I own very little. Actually, I'm not sure I own anything at all. *scratches head* The plot is mine, I think.
Author: *dun dun* Shay!
Email: tlcforever@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13ish
Spoilers: Season One, Season Two and thus far of Season Three (As of writing this, we were on 3.06, FYI).
Pairing: Chris/Sherry, Chris/Lorelai, Rory/Tristan (because if there's a will, there's a way), Lane/Dave and traces of Rory/Jess
Feedback: Is most definitely welcome.
Authors Note: Okay, before we go any further, let me make this clear. This is a two-part mini-series type thing. There will be two chapters. Nothing more, nothing less. Originally it was going to be one long ficlet, but it ended up when I tried uploading the whole thing as one, it didn't work, so I split it into two. The second part will be posted in a few days, after I've edited, reedited and gone through other prepping type deals. Anyways, here's a few things you'll need to know to read this story..
1. Rory attends Harvard. There, she's a junior.
2. Sherry and Chris never married, realizing that marriage because of a child isn't the way to go. However, that said, they stayed together and still live together.
3. They have a daughter. But due to the fact I abhor the name the show gave the poor kid, I changed it. Sorry.
4. Rory and Tristan met up during their sophomore year at Harvard, during a party or what have you. They've been dating for six months and things are starting to get serious. In fact, she's bringing him with her to meet her parents, for the first time.
And that's it. Now that I've properly bored you to tears, you can read the story. =D
(oh and p/s - please excuse if Jess is completely OC. Its the first time I've tried writing him, so I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet.)
Everybody's smiling / the whole world is rejoicing / and everyone's embracing / except for you and I
******
December 15 - Stars Hollow
Lorelai grinned happily as Luke dragged the fresh smelling evergreen tree into the house and with minimal help from her, setting up into its stand. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she squealed, jumping up and down and impulsively throwing her arms around his neck in pure unadulterated joy.
A lazy smile appeared on his face as he hugged her back ever-so-slightly. "Welcome. I have to get back to the diner. I'm sure I'll see you there later to further yourself into an early grave."
"At least I'll go out with a smile on my face," Lorelai replied, still grinning uncontrollably. The two shared good-byes, leaving her standing there, staring up at the tree in awe. Christmas was a little less then two weeks away and she was beyond excited. Her daughter, Rory, would be home for the first time since classes had started in September and that brought her more happiness then anything. For a second, however, she frowned and bounded into the kitchen, intent on finding the phone. Grabbing it off the table, she headed into Rory's room and plopped down onto her bed, dialing as she did.
"Hello?"
"You have to come home, now."
"Mom, what's wrong?"
Lorelai gave an over exaggerated sigh. "You have to come home and help me decorate the tree. I can't do it by myself, its unlawful."
On the other end, Rory groaned. "Mom, you've done it yourself the past two years, I'm sure you can do it this year."
"I had Sookie helping me the past two years, but she's all busy with the baby now and I'm pretty sure it goes against the commandments to do it all by yourself."
"Which commandment would that be?" Rory asked, humor in her voice.
"Umm, Commandment #13 - Thou shall not participate in Christmas tree decorating by oneself."
"Oh, yeah, that one. Too bad there's only ten Commandments."
"Pfft. Please, you have to come home. I'm lonely and I haven't seen you since September..."
"I'll be there next week, Mom. I have exams this week."
"Fine. Blow off the single most important person in your life for some fancy schmancy school exams."
Rory sighed. "If you can wait a few more days, I'll leave right after my last exam on Thursday and we'll decorate the tree together as soon as I get there."
"Yay. You are so my favorite daughter."
"I am your only daughter."
"All the more reason to love you," Lorelai grinned. "Call me tomorrow, will you? Don't deprive your mother of her only happiness."
"Will do. Love you, Mom."
"Love you too, sweetie."
After hanging up, Lorelai sighed, grabbed her coat and headed out to Luke's.
******
Same time, Boston
"What did your mom want," Tristan murmured, nuzzling his girlfriend, Rory's neck as she hung up the phone.
Rory turned around in his arms, smiling softly. "She wanted me to come home to help decorate the tree."
Tristan grin faded slightly. "Oh."
The tone of his voice wasn't lost on Rory and she frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he shrugged, releasing his hold and settling back onto the couch, among the many school books and notepads.
Rory followed, dropping down onto the couch beside him, the frown deepening. "There's not nothing wrong, Tristan. What's going on?"
Tristan sighed and ran a hand through his ever tousled blonde locks. "Its just.. this is our first Christmas together and I knew you were going home, but you weren't supposed to leave until next week and now you're leaving in a few days, and with exams, we're not going to have any time to spend together."
Dumfounded by the insecurity in his voice, Rory's blue eyes just stared at him for a moment before a smile graced her features. Taking his hand, she met his gaze. "Tris, I know you're supposed to go to Paris with your family for the holiday's, but would you like to come with me, instead?"
The question was asked so lovingly, it surprised them both. Slowly but surely one of his patented smirks spread across his face. "You want to bring me home with you?"
The simple statement was laced with the always present suggestive tone and Rory groaned when he wiggled his eyebrows at her. Smacking his arm lightly, she let out a light laugh. "Ugh, nevermind."
Tristan's face turned serious and he strengthened his hold on her hand. "I would love to go with you, Mare, if it's okay with your mom."
"I'll call to make sure later," Rory replied, leaning up to kiss his lips softly. After they parted, Tristan growled lowly and captured her mouth with his once again.
******
The next day, exhausted and worn out from midterms, Rory let herself into her apartment, sighing in contentment once the scent of coffee began filtering through the room. After a few moments, she poured herself a cup, grabbed a slice of the pizza she and Tristan had ordered during their study session the night before and headed into the living room. There she kicked off her shoes, shrugged out of her coat and hit the play button on the answering machine. Two messages from Lorelai, the first reminding her that she had promised to come home Thursday and the second to tell her that she had talked to Luke and he had confirmed that Jess would also be coming home for the holidays. The third message was from Lane, who was babbling on about something that was life altering but she would tell her when she saw her, the fourth was from Tristan, letting her know he'd be coming over later to study and finally the fifth was from her father, who urged her to call him back as soon as she got the message. Swallowing the last bite of pizza, she grabbed the phone and settled into a large overstuffed chair. Pressing in the speed dial code for her fathers cell phone, she waited for him to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Dad."
"Hey, Ror. You got my message?"
"That's why I'm calling."
Christopher laughed, the sounds of the bustling streets of Boston in the background. "Punctuality. Definitely something you didn't inherit from your mother."
"She'd say the same about you," Rory replied, taking a sip of coffee. "So what's up? How's Sherry and Christy?"
"They're fine. Christy's actually the reason I wanted to talk to you. What are your plans for Christmas?"
"Going home. Participating in all of the crazy Stars Hollow Christmas activities, drinking excessive amounts of Luke's coffee, catching up with Mom, unwrapping hundreds of presents. You know, the usual. Oh, and introducing Tristan to Mom."
"Yikes, good luck with that one, kid. When are you leaving?"
"Thursday," Rory said, pushing a lock of hair out of her face. "Mom insisted I come home early to help decorate the tree."
"Sounds like her. But anyways, Ror, I was thinking.. I know its completely last minute for all of you, but do you think your Mom would mind if we came to Stars Hollow to stay with you guys for Christmas?"
Rory bit her lip as his question. Although Lorelai would never admit it in a million years, seeing him with Sherry and their daughter killed her inside. "Umm.. I don't know, I'd have to ask her. But why Stars Hollow? Wouldn't you stay at your parents house, like you usually do?"
"Had they not called yesterday to inform us that they had sold the house last week and would be in the Caribbean for the holiday's, yes."
"Oh. Well, I can call her and ask and then call you back, if you want."
"That would be great, Ror, I'd appreciate it."
"Okay. I'll call you back in a little bit, then, Dad."
"Great. Thanks again, Rory."
"Bye," Rory said softly before hitting the off button. Through the past few years, since the day her father had left them at Sookie's wedding to be with a pregnant Sherry, she had been reluctant to say anything about her father to Lorelai. She hated to see her mothers face scrunch up as she tried to hide the pain that lived on inside her, hated to know that not being with him, when they had the chance broke her heart. And at the moment, she hated being in the middle, having to be the one to ask her mother if he and the other woman, along with their child could spend the holiday's with them, in their house. But he was her father and she wanted to celebrate Christmas with him and it being so close to the holiday, she knew if she didn't ask, there would be no chance of them finding a hotel and being able to spend it with her. So she sucked in a breath and punched in the familiar number.
"Independence Inn, zis iz Michel."
"Hello, Michel. Would my mother, perhaps, be there?" Rory asked, a smirk, one she had learned from Tristan no doubt, spreading across her face.
The frenchman let out an annoyed sigh on the other end. "One moment please." Rory smiled as she listened to Michel and her mother bicker until finally Lorelai's voice came onto the line.
"Dumpling!"
"Don't ever call me that again," Rory said automatically.
"But it's such a cute pet name! Hey, if I can't call you that, does that mean I can get a cute little kitty that I can call Dumpling?"
"No."
"Mean."
"Mom."
"Rory."
"Mo-om.."
"Ror-ry.."
"Enough."
"Okay, what can I do for you, sweetie?"
Well, here goes nothing, Rory thought as she opened her mouth to answer. "I.. umm.."
"Ah, refreshing to hear such an educational response. Knew there was a reason why I sold my soul to the devil to send you to Harvard."
"Grandma's not the devil, Mom."
"You didn't live with her for sixteen years."
"Not the point."
"Then, my darling offspring, what is the point? Or did you call just to annoy me? Its payback, isn't it?"
"Are you insinuating that I'm annoying?" Rory asked in mock disbelief.
"Hey, if the shoe fits.."
"We wear the same size shoe."
"I'm not annoying."
"I'm sure Luke would disagree."
"Luke-Shmook. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of conversing with my only and eldest daughter?"
Rory sighed and counted to ten before answering. "I.. just got off the phone with Dad."
"Oh."
From yappy to mono-syllables in two seconds flat. Rory felt like smacking herself. She shouldn't have agreed to ask. "Yeah."
"So, what did he want?"
"Well, actually.. he wanted me to ask you something."
"Oh."
"Mom?"
"I'm here, Ror. What did he want you to ask?"
"He.. well, he wanted to know if it would be okay if they came and stayed with us over the Christmas holidays."
There, she had gotten it out.
And there was silence on the other end.
... And more silence.
......And a deep breath.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay. It'll be a little crowded. You'll probably have to sleep in my room, because God knows I'm not letting my only daughter sleep in the same room, let alone the same bed, as her boyfriend, no matter how old you are. We'll put your father and Tristan in the spare room, which you'll have to help me clean out when you get here and then Sherry and Christy can have your room, if that's okay with you."
"Are you sure you're okay with this, Mom?"
There was a pause before Lorelai said anything. "Why wouldn't I be? I know it's been a long time since your father and I have seen each other, but what better time to come together then Christmas, right? Besides, you're our daughter and it wouldn't be fair for me to make you choose who you wanted to spend it with."
"You'll be nice to Sherry?"
"Yes, Rory, I'll be nice to Sherry."
Rory let out a relieved sigh. "Okay, great. So.. I guess I'll see you Thursday."
"Right, Thursday. Love you kiddo."
"You, too, Mom."
Once she hung up, a small, satisfied smile spread across Rory's face. For the first time she was going to have her whole family under the same roof for Christmas. Now she just had to call her father back and let him know.
******
Thursday, Stars Hollow
"Shouldn't you be getting home?" Luke asked gruffly, after pouring Lorelai her third cup of coffee in the past hour.
Lorelai smiled, sipping the warm liquid slowly. "Rory's not gonna be here for another hour."
Glancing around the diner, relieved to find it empty, he took a seat next to her, placing the pot of steaming java just out of her reach. She frowned a little and then gazed back at him. "She's bringing her boyfriend, huh."
"Yeah," She replied wistfully.
"Must be getting serious if she's bringing him home to spend Christmas with you guys."
At that, Lorelai's previous frown reappeared, only intensified. "They've only been seeing each other for a few months."
"I'm sure it's nothing too serious then, Lorelai. Rory's smart, she won't let things move too fast."
That comment seemed to subdue her and she leaned back in her chair. "So, Jess is coming."
"Yup."
"Bringing anyone?"
"You know as well as I do there hasn't been anyone since Rory."
"I just thought maybe.."
"No. Not yet, at least."
"Wow. Kids loyal, I can say that much," Lorelai said. She hadn't put much thought into how Rory and Jess would react to seeing each other again. After dating through Rory's senior year at Chilton and partly into her first year at Harvard, she had come to respect Jess, finally accepting that maybe he wasn't so bad after all. She had actually been upset when Rory had shown up on her doorstep, two weeks before Thanksgiving, tears falling down her face, telling her that Jess had proposed and she had freaked and ran and then a few days later they had broken it off. Things had been tense between all of them for awhile, until the two of them had agreed to be friends. However, they hadn't kept in much contact over the past two years and Lorelai knew for a fact that they had even spoken to one another in well over a year and a half.
"Yeah. I just hope seeing her with this new guy doesn't hurt him too bad."
"Hurt who too bad?" A scruffy voice asked from behind. Both Lorelai and Luke whirled around to see an older, but strikingly similar to what he had been as a teen, Jess standing there, a bag thrown over one shoulder and a lazy smirk set on his handsome face.
Lorelai, surprisingly enough, was the first one on her feet, embracing him. He hugged her back, half heartedly, looking around to make sure nobody was watching. Couldn't tarnish his bad boy rep now.
"Air, please."
"Sorry," Lorelai giggled, releasing him, her eyes taking him in. He hadn't changed much. The hair cut was probably the most noticeable from the last time she had seen him. His dark eyes still held the same mysterious and dangerous intrigue as they had two years ago. He stood a little taller, his face a bit more mature, but all in all looked the same.
"What, no hug, Uncle Luke?"
Luke grumbled something unintelligible under his breath and stuck out his hand. Jess took it, firmly shaking it before enveloping his uncle in a hug. As much as he'd hate to admit it, this man had turned his life around. Had gotten him to finally put some interest into school, which had led him to get into a decent college where he was an English major.
"Welcome home, kid," Luke said gruffly after the short hug had ended and there was a suitable amount of space between them once again.
Just then Lorelai squeaked as she caught sight of the clock. "I've gotta go. Thanks for the coffee, Luke. Bye, Jess," she called over her shoulder, slipping her coat on as she ran out the door. The two men glanced at each other, then back at the door before letting out a simultaneous chuckle.
"Go unpack," Luke ordered, heading into the kitchen. Jess grinned. It was good to be back.
******
"I knew I shouldn't have let you drive," Rory moaned as they passed a sign indicating that Hartford was 120 miles away, though just an hour ago, they had passed a sign that had informed them that it was 55 miles.
"You're too worn out to drive," Tristan adamantly replied, turning left onto another street.
Rory rolled her eyes. "I'd rather suffer driving then be lost now. How can you not know how to get to Hartford? You lived there most of your life."
Tristan gave her a sideways glance. "Yes. But I never drove to Hartford from somewhere else. That's why planes were invented."
"But Tristan, it's pretty much a straight shot. I-90 and I-84, what's so hard about that?"
"Look, Ror, we'll get there, okay? I'm sorry I got us lost, but we are and we have to deal with that, not beat each other up over it."
"Pull over," Rory said suddenly.
"What?"
"Pull over."
"Why?"
"Because we're going to go into that store over there and ask whoever's inside how to get to Hartford."
"I don't need directions."
Rolling her eyes, Rory gave him a pointed look. "Do I need to remind you whose fault it is that we're not at my mother's house already?"
Sighing, Tristan hit the turn signal and pulled into the store parking lot. Rory jumped out as soon as he came to a stop. "I'll be right back," she said before shutting the door and heading inside.
******
"Pick up," Lorelai muttered to herself, pacing back and forth between the kitchen and the living room. "Pick up, pick up, pick - Hi," she stated, startled as a male voice answered her.
"Yes?"
"I'm assuming this is Tristan?"
"You assumed right. I'm guessing you're Lorelai?"
"Smart, you are. Where is my daughter and why are you not here yet?"
"She's in the store.. we had a little trouble."
"What kind of trouble? Is she okay? Is the car okay? Are you okay?"
Tristan had to laugh at that. "We're fine. We just got a little lost, is all."
"Lost? How can you get lost? Rory knows the route better then the back of her hand. Oh, wait. You got lost."
"Ah, yeah. Rory fell asleep and we don't have a map.."
"I'm warning you now, if you get here and there's even one hair on my baby's head that's harmed, I'm going to have some fun dismembering your body and using it to decorate the tree this year. Understand?"
"Completely. We'll be there shortly."
"Good. I'll see you soon, then."
The usual pleasantries were exchanged and Tristan shut Rory's phone just as she reappeared on his side of the car.
"Get out."
"You're not going to leave me here, are you?" He joked, unfastening the seat belt.
"If you're not nice, I will."
"Feisty," Tristan murmured into her ear as he stepped out of the SUV. He felt her body stiffen at the tone of his voice and smirked. "At a loss for words? My, my, my, Mary..."
Rory rolled her eyes and jumped into the drivers seat. "Whatever, Tristan. Get in."
"Dirty."
"Perverted."
"You said it, not me."
"Ugh! Just get in the damn car, already."
Grinning to himself, Tristan made his way around to the other side of the car and hopped in.
*******
Lorelai literally catapulted off the couch when she heard a car pull into the driveway and the bickering voice of her daughter and the man whom she knew to be Tristan. Not even bothering with a coat, she flung the door opened and flew down the porch steps.
"Mom!" Rory cried upon seeing her and the two rushed into each others arms, resulting in a fall into the snow. However, they never let go of each other as the struggled to stand up and turned to face Tristan, who was watching with a bemused look on his face. Reluctantly, Rory released her mother and snuggled into Tristan's side, smiling with a mixture of pride and hesitancy.
"Mom, this is Tristan. Tris, this is my mom."
Lorelai gave the young man the once over, her heart racing a little at the realization of how much he reminded her of Christopher. But that thought ran from her head as soon as he extended his hand.
"Nice to finally meet you, Lorelai."
Taking the proffered hand, she smiled brightly. "You, too, Bible Boy. Come on in, you two, we've got work to do," she added meaningfully.
Tristan shook his head in amusement as he watched Rory and her mother race into the house, laughing the entire way. Grabbing their bags from the back of his car, he followed them inside.
*******
"We do good work," Lorelai announced as she collapsed besides Rory and Tristan on the couch, staring up at the Christmas tree, now fully decorated, that adorned the room. It had since turned into night and they had left the lights off, opting instead for the soft glow of the Christmas lights.
"We always have," Rory agreed, leaning tiredly up against Tristan's shoulder. She yawned and Lorelai watched as he gently brushed some hair away from her face and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
Tristan glanced up and met her gaze, his cerulean eyes shining with love. Love for her daughter and she felt herself gulp. This man, he loved her daughter. And from what she had witnessed between them today, she was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. And that scared her. With Dean, so many years ago, it had been okay. Dean had been safe. It had been a high school romance, there wasn't much to be threatened by. With Jess, it had been a little different. He had been not as safe, and their relationship had lasted through high school, into college. The proposal had been threatening, but Rory had turned it down. But this man, something about him was threatening. Not that she didn't like him. He was well mannered, well read, intelligent, witty, funny, loved her daughter with his entire being and handsome to boot. But he also had the power to take Rory away from her forever. Not in the sense that she would never see her daughter again, but in the sense that the love they shared could turn into something more, something far greater then she had had with Dean or Jess. And that frightened her more then words could say.
"I should probably put her to bed," Tristan whispered, glancing down at the now softly snoring Rory.
Lorelai merely nodded. "Her, her bedroom is through there. I'll get some blankets and pillows for you."
Tristan smiled as he gathered Rory in his arms, kissing the top of her head as it came to rest on his shoulder. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his soft sweater. Slowly and carefully he made his way through the kitchen into the room Rory had grown up in. Glancing around, he chuckled to himself. The room was so.. Rory. There was no other way to explain it. Gently he laid her down on the bed, bringing the blankets up to her chin and kissing her nose lovingly. "Night, Ror," he whispered before exiting the room.
******
The next day, the Gilmore household was alive earlier then most had ever witnessed. They had a lot to do to prepare the house for the three extra people who would be joining them the following afternoon, including the huge project that was clearing out the spare bedroom. But first, as it was every morning, there was the dire need to head out to Luke's. So after everyone was showered and dressed, the three headed out. Tristan and Lorelai talked, joked and laughed all the way there, and Rory was happy to see them getting along, but inside fear was making itself a home.
Her mother had told her that Jess was already in Stars Hollow the previous day. That alone made her nervous. She had only seen him once since she had turned down his proposal and they had only spoken to each other four times, at the most. According to Lorelai, Jess hadn't dated since then and that fed her apprehension towards bringing Tristan to Luke's. But there was no way around it. She still cared for Jess, but what they had in the past was just that - the past. It was behind her now and she was focused on her future with Tristan. No matter how hard it was, he was just going to have to accept that.
"Hey, you okay?" Tristan's voice cut through her thoughts and she gazed up into his concerned eyes. She couldn't help but smile as she slipped her mittened hand into his.
"I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"There's only one cure for that," Lorelai announced, smiling brightly. "Luke's - Coffee!" She said loudly as they entered the diner.
Luke, who was standing behind the counter, taking Kirk's order, rolled his eyes. After thoroughly insulting Kirk to the best of his ability, Luke grabbed three mugs and the coffee pot and carted them over to the three of them. "You're up early."
"Very observant," Lorelai said, her smile brightening as she watched him pour the steamy brown liquid into the cups.
"Rory. Good to see you again," Luke greeted as the younger Gilmore gazed up at him lovingly when he placed a mug in front of her.
"You too, Luke. Oh, this is my boyfriend, Tristan. Tris, Luke."
The two shook hands and Rory glanced around wearily for Jess. "He's still asleep," Luke commented, catching her look.
"Oh."
"Yeah. Well, what do you want, today?"
Lorelai looked thoughtful for a moment. "Pancakes with a side of bacon and a side of sausage."
"Because clogging your arteries first thing in the morning is the right thing to do. What about you two?"
"I'll have the french toast with sausage," Rory said with an affirmative nod.
Tristan, who was thumbing through the menu glanced up at Luke. "I'll have the vegetarian omelet."
A look of surprise crossed Luke's features and he nodded approvingly. "Smart kid. I like him."
"Me too," Rory murmured, reaching over and planting a kiss on his cheek.
Luke cleared his throat and Rory turned, her face paling when she noticed Jess standing at the bottom of the stairs.
*******
Jess was rooted in his spot at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes glued to the scene before him. Lorelai watching him with an apologetic look on her face, Luke staring at him like he was expecting him to blow up at any second, an unknown male, eyeing him curiously and Rory, gazing at him fearfully, her blue eyes wide with surprise.
He had come down just as Rory, the one woman he could imagine spending the rest of his life with, lean across the table and kiss the unknown blonde guy on the cheek. Rory was sweet and everything, but she wasn't the type to just go around and kiss random guys on the cheek, so he cleverly deduced that there was something going on between them. He should've expected it, though. Rory was the one who had turned him down, not the other way around. There was no reason she should still be single after all this time. Besides that, she was beautiful, intelligent, funny, kind, caring and just about everything else a guy could ever want in a woman. Swallowing his pride, he made his way over to the table.
"Hey."
Some color returned to Rory's face and she smiled wearily. "Hi, Jess."
Lorelai seemed to take it upon herself to relieve them of some of the tension, so with an exuberant voice, she demanded to know where her breakfast was. Tristan shook his head in amusement, though keeping an eye on Rory and Jess, someone he hadn't been informed of prior to, Rory grinned at her mother, Jess let out a chuckle and Luke rolled his eyes before heading back towards the kitchen.
"Why don't you join us," Rory invited, glancing up at Jess shyly.
Though every ounce of his body told him to decline, he nodded. "Sure."
Once he was seated, Rory felt a sharp nudge on her lower leg and turned to look at Tristan. He gave her a pointed look. "Oh!" She gasped. "Umm.. Jess, this is Tristan. Tris this is an old friend of mine, Jess."
Tristan nodded towards Jess. "Hey."
"Hey."
The following silence was damn near unbearable and Rory couldn't take it anymore. Standing up, she turned to address Jess. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Jess nodded, stood and followed her up the stairs. "What's up?"
Rory studied his face for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For.. just.. everything. I know it's my fault that things are weird between us and that we're not together and that you hate me, so I'm just.. I'm sorry."
"I don't hate you, Rory."
"You don't?" Rory asked, looking up at him through lowered eyelashes.
Jess inwardly groaned at the way she was looking at him. "No, I don't."
She seemed to contemplate this for a moment before nodding. "Okay. Good. Thank you."
The stood in silence for a few minutes, watching each other, waiting for the other to say something.
"So, what's the story with this Tristan guy?" Jess finally asked. He had to know. Had to know how serious it was.
Rory smiled wistfully, almost as if she were a million miles away. "Tristan is..."
"Is he your boyfriend?" It came out colder then he had intended, but Rory didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
"For how long?"
Rory paused before answering, somehow knowing that he needed to know the answers. "Almost seven months."
".... He treats you good?"
"Yes."
"You love him?"
There was a long pause after that question, both holding their breaths. Rory didn't know what to say. She *did* love him, however, she had yet to actually utter the words to Tristan, but she couldn't lie to Jess. He would see right through them.
Jess, on the one hand, wanted and needed to know. But on the other, he didn't want to know. Didn't want to know if she had found someone else she loved like she had loved him.
Finally a strangled "yes" was uttered and they both stood there, staring at each other.
"Well.. umm.. congratulations then," Jess managed to choke out.
Rory wanted to thank him, but it didn't seem right. Instead she surprised them both and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Jess. I'll always love you, but I'm not in love with you anymore," she whispered in his ear before letting him go and disappearing down the stairs.
Jess stared at the doorway, long after she was gone. She had moved on. And he was just pathetically hanging on to memories. Silently he vowed to himself he would let go of her during this trip. Let go and move on with his life.
******
If you like, review. If you don't like, review. If you hate it, review. Just please, be constructive with your criticism. Part 2 will be posted on Thursday. Thank ya :)
- Shay