Title: Nine Months

Title: Nine Months.

Author: Professional Scatterbrain

Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libellous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

Rating: R

Couple: Rory Gilmore/Tristan DuGrey

Summary: Tristan returns to Chilton, and to the game, but Rory's not playing.

Note: Tristan left later on in Rory's first year at Chilton, so therefore the whole nine-month thing works (a little hint, it's a metaphor for the fic). After Tristan left Rory formed a fledgling friendship with Paris, Louise and Madeline, and by the time senior years rolls up there good friends, well, most of the time at least. Everything that happened with Dean and Jess happened except it happened all before senior year. At the end of the year before Rory told Jess she loved him, and he left suddenly straight afterwards.

I made Chilton darker, because I found the whole picture perfect school depicted on the show nice, yet unrealistic. I tried to model it around my High School, showing the competitiveness, the cruelty, and self delusion within my environment. I go to a girls' school though, so the guy thing still might take me a while to work out. Suggestions would be nice as this is my first GG fic.


Chp 1: Back.

Nine months.

That's how long he had been away.

That's how long it took him to get his life under control for the first time in well . . . ever. But definitions of control differed from person to person. He preferred to think he found some restraint.

Nine months until his parents forgot his sins and pulled him back into the world that had fucked him up in the first place.

Nine months until his parents got fed up with getting their public relations department to make up new reasons why he was sent to a 'boarding school'.

He doubted his 'loving' parents even looked at his reports, his awards, and the letters of congratulations the few impressed teachers sent home. He wasn't like his older brother or sister. He wasn't perfect like them, and that's why he was never noticed unless they couldn't turn a blind eye any longer. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, nor was it a good thing. It was his life, and by now he viewed the fact with a cool indifference.

It was the start of senior year. And he was back at Chilton. 'Why?' he asked himself. He should have been back at military school. He could control himself there. Well, in comparison. There were no temptations other than the obvious. Girls were always an easy option that allow himself to forget for a few moments. He had always used them, it was part of the game he played, and it didn't stop at Military School. It was the same in high society, as it was in army barracks; a game of power.

Military school was good. It was a break, and it was work at the same time. It was a new environment where money didn't buy success. He had to prove himself for the first time. It was a challenge, and he hated failure. Maybe that's why he did so well there.

The place had been filled with kids like him, trouble makers, kids that parents couldn't be bothered to deal with, guys that played with fire and got burnt, most of them poor little rich kids like him. Lots like Chilton actually, but without the option to get what he wanted without question. That made it more fun in the end. Harder. But then again, everything was a game in his life.

Tristan DuGrey still couldn't decide if Military School had changed him. Apart from the surface differences both schools had an aura of fakeness, an image of respectability yet under the surface there was a strong undercurrent of carelessness and inattentiveness that every student held deep within them. After the first few social event Tristan concluded that a change in himself had taken place. The rooms filled with fraudulent people, cold stilted conversation, self-serving wannabe politicians/business people, and haughty skin deep personalities made him feel as if he was suffocating. But it was his environment, conditioned by a life of decadents he knew nothing else.

It didn't matter, none of it did.

But it was the life he led.

He was naïve to believe it would change so easily.

Rory Gilmore tried not to keep looking out of the class room window. It was a perfect day. Light azure sky, bright white light that she loved, and air softly scented with fresh cut grass. Too beautiful to be stuck in school. How could she be expected to learn? From her left she heard Paris snicker, the blonde obviously caught her best friends gaze.

"Rory, Rory . . ." she chanted in her mock annoyed voice.

Through the past year the two girls had started a tentative friendship. After a while they passed the underlying competitive nature they both shared (well, for the most part). They were a great deal alike. Intelligent, witty, sarcastic, and obsessed with coffee. But Rory never let herself admit Paris was exactly the person she would have become if her mother married Christopher all those many years ago. Paris also pushed the same thought to the back of her mind, knowing envying Rory on her close relationship with her parents only made her see just how lonely she was with a mother and father that never talked to her or understood her.

"I'm listening." Rory replied, blushing a little at being caught out. Luckily the teacher hadn't noticed, but both Madeline and Louise had, and they made disappointed faces at Rory, making her laugh.

"Miss Gilmore, would you care to share what you think is so funny?" questioned the teacher, a look of disapproval shone through her shrew like eyes, making Rory shrink in her chair.

"Nothing . . . sorry Mrs. Jackson." She managed to mumble out, not looking forward to where this conversation was leading.

"If it's nothing maybe you should go to the coordinators just to clarify why you are disrupting my lesson." She said turning her back to the class.

Rory sighed to herself. Picking up her books, she glanced over at Paris and smiled a little when the blonde whispered, "I'll let you borrow my notes after class."

It was a small, yet significant gesture from Paris, a girl that prided herself on not asking or giving help. She believed that everybody had the ability to get whatever they wanted as long as they worked for it, and by allowing Rory to borrow her notes it showed a consideration of a girl that Paris had once considered an opponent.

Walking out of the classroom she overheard hushed laughter, and she inwardly cringed. She still wasn't used to this school. Though she had made a friend in Paris, Rory still knew she was unwelcomed in this school. She was not from money, old or new. Though her grandparents bank balance was one of the higher in school, few students knew that fact, while basically everyone knew about her mothers fall from grace, and used it against her when it suited there needs. It was a battleground in Chilton, and the world of social elite, and Rory felt like she was fighting a losing battle.

Paris, Madeline, Louise, and her Grandparents convinced her each weekend to attend parties and functions held by the wealthy families. She didn't like the way she fitted at these affairs. Like it was all too easy, as if she was contradicting her mother by not feeling the same way she did. It wasn't like Rory had a ball or anything, but it was natural, and it was becoming easy. And the worse thing was, she was getting used to it.

Sitting outside the coordinators' office she pulled out the mandatory book she carried with her as she noticed the office was empty. Yay, now she would miss all of her legal studies class just because the coordinators decided to go walkies on her. Sighing she sat down, leaning against the wall and began reading.

It would be a long wait.

Walking up the hall, flanked by talkative coordinators, Tristan felt like he was an animal on display in the Zoo. First day back in this hell hole and he was getting the grand tour by the puppet ringleaders. Only months before they were the same ones whom recommended Military School. And now they were patting themselves on the back, congratulating themselves on how smart they were. All they needed to swoon were some exemplary grades, a few swimming records and medals, and a couple of nice letters from teachers. Too easy. But then again his father could have just as easily bought his way back into Chilton. Lucky him, his son saved him a few thousand dollars. Tuning back into the conversation, Tristan saw they were outside a classroom.

"You'll be placed in Mrs. Jackson's Legal Studies class for the time being. Your father mentioned he hoped we might be able to place you in a business class or economics, but for the time being there are no free placements apart from Legal studies." Mr. Keys said fumbling with his paperwork before handing Tristan a timetable.

Tristan tried not to grimace when his heard the teacher's words. Yet again his father was controlling his life. But now wasn't the time to show weakness, now was the perfect time to piss off his parents, "Actually, I was thinking that Legal Studies would be much more beneficial to my education. Law is such a fascinating area of study."

The other teacher, Mr. Grunions didn't blink an eye, and replied, "Fantastic. We'll leave you here then Mr. DuGrey."

Nodding, Tristan watched them go. It was all so easy, he smirked. It would be worth enduring a year's worth of coma inducing boredom Legal Studies classes just to see his parents' reactions. The hated law, and it would kill them to know there son chose to do a class which focused on it. Maybe he should do a Law Degree and become a lawyer, which would kill them, Tristan thought with a smirk. Maybe this class wouldn't be that boring after all. Stepping into the classroom he was satisfied to hear the laughter, and talking cease. Just like old times, he though with a smirk.

Inside the stuffy coordinators office, Rory felt the overwhelming urge to get out of there as fast as she could, as soon as she could. She was sitting in a chair that was obviously made just that little bit lower that the one the teacher graced, to intimidate the juvenile delinquent. Lucky her. Struggling not to flee she listen to the coordinator drone on about 'Responsibilities', and how 'It was her last year and she should be buckling down instead of slacking off'.

"You do remember you are here on a scholarship Miss Gilmore?" Mr. Keys reminded her sharply.

"Yes sir." Rory replied, biting back the urge to remind him she was on a scholarship which evolved her paying 50 of the school fees, without the help of the 'generous' school.

"Your grades are high, but we both knew they could be higher. In Chilton, grades are what sets you apart from others," he continued on.

Rory didn't miss the underlying meaning of his words. She was only here because she acted an exam and wrote a killer essay. She was here based on a privilege, not a right. Rights were for the students that didn't need to do the essay or exam, they were for people that didn't question whether or not they'd be accepted, they just knew they were in. The ones that didn't need to ask their Grandparents to pay the school fees. Rory was a 'charity case,' excepted only to prove to the critics that Chilton wasn't elitist, when in reality, it embodied the definition. Rory knew she had to work twice as hard to be considered half as good, but it was getting harder.

"Sorry sir, I won't make trouble again."

"I know in Stars Hollow High you can get away with behaviour like this, but not at Chilton."

She talked in class! Mr. Keys was making it sound like she got into a catfight with Paris over who had the better grade. They expected her to fail, and rejoiced at how clever they were to anticipate it when Rory made one wrong move. 'Was it mean to believe the worst of these people?' Rory wondered. Some people, including a certain teacher her mother had got close and personal with had never judged her, or made her feel inferior. But others had. She was the girl that made the others look bad. She had been at this school for over two years, but still considered the 'underprivileged' student. As if she didn't understand what this world was about. Revolved around money, power, and control. And Rory had none of these qualities unless you count her Grandparents.

"We'll be writing about you to your mother you understand."

"I understand."

Like Lorelei would care! Probably be proud of her. Shaking up the institution. Rory couldn't help smiling a little, but covered it up quickly, knowing it wouldn't help her. Her mother was the only person who would find amusement in this situation. It reminded her of the time she had decided to steal Luke's mail cause he refused to give her any coffee. Unfortunately Taylor had seen that act of petty crime and reported them to the post office. How her mother had gotten them out of that fix was a wonder.

"I expect to see you put in more effort this year. And I don't want to hear about you making trouble again."

Rory nodded, and sighed, she had a feeling this would go on for a while. As the teacher droned on she felt her attention wonder, and after a while she totally lost interest in what the snotty teacher was going on about.

"Mr. DuGrey, welcome back to Chilton." Mrs. Jackson said without missing a beat. "There's a spare seat next to Miss Geller."

Waling over to the empty chair he sent a small smile to Paris. She was the only one who had continually written to him while he was away. In that time they had become friends. She had gotten over her crush, and Tristan could see she had matured considerably. Time had treated her well, she was still the same perfectionist, but now she had balance in her life, and other interest apart from getting into Harvard. He valued their friendship more than any in his life, and she felt like a little sister to him. She was one of the truest people he knew, and sometimes that was awful. There was no room for bullshit around her, and he thrived on it. But it wasn't a friendship that fitted into Chilton, it was one that was best away from the confines of the social hierarchy.

"So your back." She said, obviously not surprised, "Would have though you'd slack off for a few days before you graced Chilton with your presence's."

Tristan smirked, "Didn't you know how much I value my education?"

Paris snorted in disbelief.

"Mr. DuGrey, Miss Geller, no talking. I would remind you Miss Geller of your friend's fate when she talked in my class."

Tristan grinned when he saw Paris face twist into a death stare. "Sorry, I was just explain to Tristan about our project on Criminal Law."

Tristan had to give the blonde girl some credit, she knew how to work a teacher. He could just see the wheels clicking over in the older woman's mind. Should she attack or congratulate? Believe or disbelieve? In the end it was always better to leave the incident alone, and move on.

"Ahh, the term project, worth 15 of your final grade. Since everyone had already paired up last week, I'll have to place you in a group." Scanning down a class list her eyes lit up, "This is your lucky day Mr. DuGrey, until you arrived this class was an odd number, that means, you can work with . . . Rory Gilmore as she's working by herself."

Tristan knew Paris was looking at him. She knew the effect the shy brunette girl had over him. Paris had gotten past her jealousy of the new girl he knew, but Paris never really wrote about her. He realised now Paris did that not for her own sake but his. She knew that Tristan, on some level liked and respected the girl, but he would never admit that to himself.

"Would it be easier to work by myself? I don't think I'll achieve much if she's away today." Tristan tried, for some reason not wanting to be close to the girl that effected him so badly.

Maybe he didn't want to see her. Just in case the months they'd been apart had changed, just in case she'd become like the masses of people that inhabited the Chilton halls. If she'd lose her innocence's, if she'd become jaded, and fucked up. But at the same time he had to see her. For the past nine months he'd though about her more than he'd like to admit, she was perfect and sweet, witty and charming in a sarcastic way. And she had a control of him that he resented, knowing he had no effect what so ever on her.

"Miss Gilmore was sent to the coordinators. You can talk to her about the project at lunch."

Tristan sent a look of disbelief to Paris.

Maybe his Mary had change for the better.

It was lunchtime, and Rory had finally escape the coordinators' office with only one after school detention and a letter to her mother. Siting out of the expansive school lawn, Rory chatted idly with Paris while reading a book. Madeline and Louise were by the blonde's side, but Rory had never felt that comfortable around them. The four of them made up a weird friendship ground. The poor kid, the obsessive-compulsive, the slut, and the carefree one. Rory wondered how long it would last. Paris was the only one Rory considered a real friend, and she was the only one Rory had allowed into her world in Stars Hollow.

Lane and Paris had actually become friends. Lane's mother loved Paris. She symbolized a perfect child, religious, good grades, no visible boyfriend, and from a 'good' family. It was funny to see how the two would get on so well. Their conversation was quick and laced with barbs. It was obvious they were two of a kind.

"Rooooorrrryyyy . . ." Madeline laughed as Rory looked up from her book, "You coming this weekend. My house, party, lots of drunk guys for you to take advantage of now you've gotten over Jess and Dean."

Rory slightly flinched at the mention of Dean and Jess. She had messed everything up with them. She and Dean had broken up over Jess, then spent months getting back together and breaking up again. Rory couldn't think of him without remembering the pain that both of them had gone through. Jess, well he was another story. At the end of the pervious year, Rory had told him, that she loved him. He turned and left her standing alone. The next day he was gone. Rory didn't know where she went wrong with him. All summer she had asked herself what she could have done to make him leave. But then one day, she got up, and it didn't hurt as much. Each day had gotten better, and now Rory felt that she was over him. But it still hurt her. But Rory guessed that was just the way life was.

"Where else would I go?" Rory smiled, "Paris, Lane needs you to pick her up. Her mother is trying to make her go to Saturday evening Bible classes. Do your charming act and get her out of it please! Henry has been giving me puppy eyes all this week without his weekly dose of Lane time."

Paris gave her friend an bemused look, "Why do I feel like you use me to get Lane out of her parents clutches?"

"Cause I do?" Rory tried hopefully. "Please? You're the only one that can tame her!"

"Alright, and just so you know, I'm not doing this for you. Henry keeps bugging me after he found out I'm the reason he gets to see his girlfriend without a chaperon."

"How come that sounds so dirty coming from you Paris?" Louise asked cheekily.

Paris retorted by throwing a pen at the willowy blonde. "I have to go talk to my English teacher, I think he made a mistake when he marked my essay."

"Only gave you a high for grammar not a very high?" Madeline asked slyly.

"Yes . . ." Paris said exasperated, then she narrowed her hazel green eyes finally noticing the sarcasm in her friends' voice. "Low blow Maddie."

"Hey! You said you wouldn't call me that anymore!" Madeline whined following the blonde across the lawn and into the school.

"Maddie?" Rory questioned.

"Mad Madeline. Fifth grade party. Paris thought it'd be fun to go to a museum. Madeline thought it'd be funny to free the stuffed animals from the glass cases. Weird girl, even as a kid." Louise said referring to some childhood memory the three girls shared.

Rory suddenly felt out of place. She didn't have that past with them. She wasn't really part of that world. She was allowed accesses to it based on the good scores that had gotten her into Chilton and the money her Grandparents had. Friendship with Louise and Madeline was still something based on material matter. Paris's friendship was not bought, Rory reminded herself. And neither was Lane's. They were true, and real.

From the corner of her eyes she could see a group of guys waving. Louise noticed imminently. And the transformation that took place in the seventeen year old was fascinating to watch. From a relaxed, joking, intelligent girl, she changed into a seductive siren. Her skirt became just that little bit shorter, and showed off her golden skin, suddenly she looked like sex, when moments before she was acting herself, a young carefree schoolgirl.

"Why'd you do that?" Rory asked, as she examined the pretty blonde flutter her eyelashes towards her latest target.

"Do what?"

"They're not worth it. You always end up hurt." Rory said softly, remembering the times she had seen the composed girl nearly in tear each time the dropkick guy she was with used her.

"It's the game Rory, and I like to win." She replied, as if it was common knowledge.

"But you always lose even if you win. Every guy makes you feel like crap."

"It's not them, it's what they say."

"You're better than this Louise. If you stop acting and start being you -" Rory said, but Louise cut her off.

"It's a fun diversion Rory, I thought you knew that by now." She said before stalking over to the group of guys.

Her hips swung, and Rory could see the guys drooling. Unsettled by Louise's words, Rory refused to let them sink in. Returning to her book, she pushed aside all her worries for her misguided 'sort of' friend. Louise was a big girl, she could take care of herself. 'She just had bad taste in men' an inner voice reminded Rory, making her wish she had stopped the blonde from restarting the cycle again.

R&R