Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. I just have a very fertile imagination. This is my take on what could have happened if Rory realized, before Tristan left, that she wanted him to kiss her goodbye. So, the first twenty or so lines are from episode 2.09 - Run Away, Little Boy. All that happens after that, is all mine. Enjoy.


"You broke into Bowman's dad's safe?" Rory asked him, incredulous. She couldn't believe that he'd be stupid enough to do that. Didn't she just tell him that he had a lot more going on for him than Bowman and Duncan?

"Yes." Tristan answered, not really in the mood to talk about it. She wouldn't get it anyway. He didn't even know why the hell he asked his father to come in, just to tell her he was being sent away.

"Stupid." She said, as crossed her arms at her chest. Her mind was working overtime, trying to think about a way to help him. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Yes." He repeated. What more could he say. He knew it was stupid. Hell, he knew that he had no business hanging around those morons. He knew better.

"Well, okay, you can apologize and you can put back the money and you can explain that, I don't know, you were going through something." She said, trying to fix it, but even she knew that it wasn't going to be enough.

"I was, I was going through his safe". He answered sarcastically, and narrowed his eyes at her, trying to figure it out... Why the hell do you care? He thought.

"Why would you do this?" She pressed on.

"I don't know. I guess that's something I can ponder at military school." Yep. That's it. Military School. I guess my father wasn't really kidding. He thought.

"Military school?" She asked, her voice starting to crack. She was trying, unsuccessfully to contain the tears threatening to fall.

"The police are letting our parents handle it, and in my case that means military school in North Carolina." He explained. After all, why would his parents want him around anyway. It's not like he had any relationship with them.

"I don't know what to say." She said, quietly. Her heart was breaking for him. She spent so much time trying to hate him, or avoiding him, that she didn't even notice that she'd actually miss him. That she liked him. Why should she figure it out now, that he's leaving. It's not fair.

"Well, I imagine you're overwhelmed with the relief in knowing that soon I will be gone." He told her darkly. It wasn't her fault that he was unlovable. Why would she like him, anyway. His own parents apparently didn't. No one does.

"I'm so sorry." She said, truthfully. She wanted to hug him. To tell him everything was going to be alright.

"Well, I'm a big boy. I can handle it." He said, wanting to be brave. After all, he wasn't a little kid anymore. He's been looking after himself for years now. He was just stupid enough to get caught.

"There's nothing you can…" She started to say, but they were cut off by his father, calling him from down the hall.

"I gotta go." He said. He looked into her blue eyes, clouded with tears. She looked dejected. He couldn't really understand why. She never wanted him around before, why wouldn't she be glad to know he was leaving. She looked... hurt.

"So, I might kiss you goodbye but, uh, your boyfriend's watching." He said. Damn it. Well, if I wanted her to be mad, it looks like I'm in the right path. Why the hell did I say that? He thought.

He wasn't expecting what came next. She just pulled him by the arm, and tossed him into an open classroom, following him inside. She rendered him speechless with her next words.

"Well. He's not watching any longer." She said, nervously. Her hands were shaking. She never felt so unsure before. But this was it. It was her last chance. He was leaving, and she didn't want to have any regrets. She was not gonna run away crying this time.

"What are you saying, Mary?" Tristan asked, carefully. Surely she wasn't implying what he was thinking. Why would she want him to kiss her now? It didn't make sense. And he'd be damned if he made a fool of himself because of her. Again. As if the party, or the tickets for the concert weren't enough.

"You just said you wanted to kiss me goodbye..." She said, wringing her hands together. Her words were so jammed together that she was sure he had trouble to understand what she said.

"I said might." He smirked. He couldn't help himself. Was it really happening? Was she for real? He was going to kiss her, that was a given, but he'll have some fun first. He'd make her beg.

"Well, are you?" She whispered. She didn't know if the butterflies in her stomach were due to nerves or anticipation. She wanted him to kiss her. She felt her stomach drop just by thinking about it. If she was already feeling like that just by thinking about kissing, what would she feel when he really did it. And she didn't run away scared.

"I don't know." He smirked, but closed the space between them. "Am I? Do you want me to kiss you?" He asked her, bluntly.

"I... I..." She couldn't found her voice, much less put the words together. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure she was going to pass out any minute. And it was not just her hands shaking right now, her whole body was trembling. She was flushed, and hot, and she really thought she might throw up.

"Close your eyes, Mary" He whispered in her ear, thinking to put them both out of their misery. Her knees almost buckled at the sound of his raspy voice, and she did what he asked. She closed her eyes, and waited. She knew that it was only a second, but it felt like hours had passed, until his lips brushed hers in a featherlight caress.

Tristan's heart almost skipped a beat at the sound she made, as his lips met hers. It was something between a moan and a whimper. He groaned into her mouth, used one hand to keep her from moving, but decided against pushing into her, or deepening the kiss.

He wanted to give her a light kiss, something to taunt her, to make her crave him, just as he craved her, right from the start. He wasn't supposed to deepen the kiss, but he was powerless to prevent it. She drove him insane. From the minute she walked into the halls of Chilton, he was hooked.

When he felt that he had totally ravished her, and that she couldn't think straight, he pulled away. He slipped something into her hand and he kissed her one more time, hard and quick, on the lips.

"Take care of yourself, Mary." He whispered.

And then, he walked away, leaving Rory in a daze. She raised her right hand, touching her lips softly, as if to be sure that it was real. She could still taste him on her lips. Reality was slow to intrude. She dropped her hand as she felt the wind being knocked out of her when she remembered where she was.

Oh my God. Dean. The play. She thought. She couldn't believe she just kissed someone. She was dating Dean, and she kissed Tristan. Really kissed him. And, the worst part of it, she was not sorry. She'd kiss him again, if he was not sent to Military School. Then, it dawned on her, what she had done. She had fallen in love. She had fallen in love with the biggest playboy ever. The King of Chilton. She fell in love, and he just left. She had to be a fool.

Then, she heard the door being thrown open, and a spitfire Paris walked in. Rory wasn't even listening to her ranting. She felt herself being pulled along, into the hallway. She saw the stricken look on Dean's face, as if he had figured out what had happened, and he just turned around and walked away.

It must be today's theme, she thought bitterly. It was then that she noticed the tears. Her own tears. She quickly whipped them away, and followed Paris into the stage. She could think about it later.