A Date with Kirk

Chapter 1: The Dare

Lorelei walked into Luke's Diner. Everything was so familiar here. All the faces of the Stars Hollow locals, all the smells and sounds, and even Luke's brisk manner is just accepted as part of the package. Kirk was sitting forlornly in the corner, alone, as usual.
She sat down at her usual spot at the counter. "Hi," she said to Luke as he started scrubbing the counters near her.
"Hi," he replied. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Just a cup of coffee." She said with a sparkle in her eyes. "I feel so sorry for Kirk, sitting there alone day after day."
"Why?" asked Luke as he continued to scrub. "Lots of people sit by themselves."
"It's just that Kirk looks like he expects someone to be there. Like he gets stood every day."
"I wouldn't put it past him," Luke mumbled.
"What was that?" she asked, even though she had heard what he'd said.
"Nothing. He annoys me too. He doesn't order anything. When I ask him what he wants, he just sighs and says give me a few more minutes. Well, pretty soon a few minutes turn into hours and he just took up my table for the whole morning."
"Don't you think we should do something?" she asked.
Luke stopped scrubbing. "What can we do? No, I don't think so. I remember the last time you convinced me to set Kirk up with Gypsy and we all know how that went."
"Oh, c'mon," Lorelei pleaded. "It wasn't that bad."
"Oh, it wasn't that bad," said Luke in a high-pitched sarcastic voice that didn't suit him at all. "It wasn't that bad, his black eye cleared up in a week."
"Well," said Lorelei, knowing she had been beaten. "I still think we should do something. That's right we."
Luke's face suddenly lit up. "I have an idea."
"What?"
"I dare you to go on a date with Kirk."
"What?" Lorelei repeated a little louder this time.
"I dare you to go on a date with Kirk." Luke sat back with his arms folded across his chest and adjusted his red baseball cap. "I'll give you twenty dollars." He saw that Lorelei was still unsure. "Fine then, fifty dollars."
"Done," said Lorelei. She started for the door, then turned around. "Wait, what's in it for you?"
A big grin exploded on Luke's face. "He'll be so busy telling the world that he went on a date with Lorelei Gilmore, that he won't come into my diner anymore."