A/N: New story! This is mercilessly lifted from the Season 4 storyline where Rory thinks that the rando from the laundry room that she asked out is making fun of her to people. But...I threw in Logan. Because that's what I do. Enjoy!

Chapter One

Rory stood behind the tree, watching silently as the first boy she ever loved walked out of the church, new wife clutching to his arm with a wide grin. Rory thought to herself that she'd never seen a happier girl. She'd never seen a happier Dean, either. He laughed, slipping his arm around his newly minted wife's waist and pressed a tender kiss to the side of her head.

Rory looked away, wiping her nose while she scolded herself for being so damn emotional. It's not that she wanted Dean, anyway. He was a part of her past. They'd moved on, both of them. She moved on to Jess, a disappointing relationship culminating in him hightailing it out of Stars Hollow without so much as a phone call. Dean moved on to Lindsay, and now he was married.

Rory walked to Luke's and found her mother sitting at their usual table, a steaming cup of coffee set in front of her.

"You're late," Lorelai said, studying her daughter's face while she sat down opposite her.

"Yeah, I, um, lost track of time. Studying and stuff."

"You stopped at the wedding, didn't you?"

Rory sighed, resting her forearms on the table. "Yeah, I did."

"Are you okay?"

Rory nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears. " Yeah, I am. It's just…he's married."

"Yeah, he is."

"He has his life together, and I just…" she trailed off. "I don't know."

"Hun, you have your life together, too," Lorelai said, reaching over and laying her hand over Rory's. "You're at Yale, and you're doing great. You don't need to be married. Actually, I'm happy you're not married."

Rory shook her head. "No, it's not that. I just feel…" she paused, trying to figure out how to phrase what she was feeling. "I don't know, since Jess…I feel like I've been stuck."

Lorelai paused for a moment, carefully selecting her words. Jess was always a touchy subject between her and Rory, and she didn't want to say something that would upset her daughter. "Are you waiting for him or something? Hoping he'll come back?"

"No," Rory said immediately, and Lorelai relaxed. "I just…I miss having someone. Do you know what I mean?"

Lorelai nodded, thinking of her own dry spell in the man department. "Yeah, I do. Well, maybe you should put yourself out there."

"Out where?"

"The dating world. Ask someone out."

"I can't ask someone out," Rory said immediately.

"Why not?"

"Because, I just can't," Rory said. " I'm not like that."

"Like what? A strong, confident woman?"

"That's not what I meant," Rory returned drily. "I just…do guys like that?"

Luke came up to the table and asked Rory what she wanted for lunch. She ordered a burger and coffee, just like Lorelai, and her mom asked Luke, "Hey, what would you say if a girl asked you out?"

"Why are you asking me this?" he returned.

"I'm trying to convince Rory here that she put herself out into the world and ask someone out."

"I think you should do whatever makes you comfortable," Luke told Rory.

"Sometimes it's good to push yourself outside your comfort zone," Lorelai pointed out. "Risks are good. You took a risk opening this diner, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"And look how good that turned out!"

"I think we're getting off topic," Rory piped in.

"The point is that sometimes taking a risk – like asking someone out – can end up really great," Lorelai said slowly. "Just give it a chance."

Rory let out a long exhale. "Alright, I guess I could try. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

"That's the spirit," Lorelai said with a grin. "And with your looks and smart wit, a guy would be an idiot to say no."

"Your mom's right," Luke said. "You're a real catch, Rory."

Luke walked back to the kitchen and Lorelai said, "He's been really nice lately, right? Like, too nice?"

"I think he's trying to make up for…" Rory trailed off. "You know."

Lorelai's eyes widened. Of course he was being especially nice. His nephew broke Rory's heart and then rode off into the California sunset.

"Right. Of course."

"Anyway, I'll try to put myself more out there," Rory said, straightening in her seat. "Dating. I can date. It can't be that hard."

One month passed, and Rory found that dating was, in fact, very hard. She neglected to realize that her decision to date was contingent on finding someone worth dating. Yale, filled with its intellectuals and cable-knit-legacies, didn't do much for Rory. She found herself asked out by one guy from her Russian Literature class, and they went to an Italian restaurant off campus. The date was so terrible that she couldn't eat pasta for days afterwards.

"We all get clunkers," Lorelai told her that night on the phone. "Don't let it discourage you, babe."

It wasn't the date that discouraged Rory. Even she knew that the experimental bent of dating necessitated a few less than stellar nights out. What really bothered her was the sudden crop of couples that seemed to populate the campus. The weather turned cold and the cuddling couples surfaced, pressed close as they made their way across the blistering cold campus.

Rory watched one of said couples as she waited in line at her favorite coffee kart. The girl actually had one of her hands in the guy's pocket. Rory didn't know what bothered her more, the fact that this was actually happening or that she found it sort of cute.

"Can I take your order?" the coffee kart guy said, drawing her attention away from the couple.

"Oh, sorry," Rory said, stepping up to the kart. "I'll have a medium caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso."

"Alright," the guy said, typing her order into the register. "That'll be four dollars and fifty five cents."

Rory pulled out her wallet from her pack pocket and she frowned when she saw that there were only three singles hastily wedged in the wallet. She forgot that she'd done some damage at the bookstore a few days prior, and she'd never restocked her wallet.

"Um, what is it without the shot?" she asked tentatively.

"Four dollars and twelve cents."

It still was too much and she tried, "How about a small?"

"Three dollars and eighty four."

This was the last time she was ever going out without checking her wallet.

"Um…"

"You can just ring hers up with mine," someone said behind her. She glanced back at a blonde man who was about a head taller than her. He was dressed in a black peacoat, a white oxford peaking out of the collar.

"Oh, you don't have to," Rory said immediately. She could just switch to a regular coffee, like she should have done in the first place.

"For your sake, I think I do," he said with a grin. "I heard a few not too nice sentiments behind me after you changed your order for a second time. This is really for your own personal safety."

Rory grinned sheepishly. "This is so embarrassing."

"Just take the damn drink," someone griped behind them.

"I'll take the drink," Rory said quickly, stepping to the side. He moved up to the kart and ordered her original medium macchiato and a large coffee. After he paid he waited momentarily for his regular coffee and then moved over to where she stood.

"I'm Logan, by the way," he said.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Rory. Thank you for doing this. I'm so embarrassed. I swear I usually always have cash on me. You know, for emergencies and such. But the Yale bookstore had such a great sale on merchandise Monday, and I went a bit overboard."

Logan smirked. "Understandably. Who can resist a good bookstore sale?"

"Right?"

"Anyway, I'm more than happy to help out."

"I'll pay you back," Rory said immediately. "If you give me your dorm room number I can drop it off. Or, hey, are you usually here around this time? Because I am, and –"

"You don't have to pay me back," he said, laughing a bit at her eagerness. "It's only three dollars."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm completely sure."

"Alright," she said, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets. "But, thanks again."

"You are very thankful for three dollars," he noted.

"I'm more thankful for the caffeine, to be honest," Rory admitted. Exams were in a month and she'd already begun her studying. Last night she'd been up late trying to wrap her head around consumer protection laws.

"You're a caffeine junkie, huh?"

"I wouldn't go that far," she began, although in truth he was probably right. Still, she just met him. It was better to not come off too deranged. "But I do enjoy a good cup of coffee."

"Okay," he said, grinning. "Best cup of coffee you've ever had."

Without hesitation she said, "Luke's Diner."

Logan laughed. "Wow, that was fast."

"It's this diner in my hometown," she explained. "Best coffee in all of Connecticut."

"What's the secret?"

"You know, my mom and I have been trying to figure that out for years. Luke won't tell us."

"Hold on, Luke's Diner is actually run by a Luke?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, he owns it."

"I did not see that coming. In retrospect, I probably should have."

The coffee kart guy finished her drink and Logan handed it to her.

"Are you sure I can't buy you a cup here later to make up for this?" Rory asked. "I promise that my wallet will have money in it then."

Logan grinned. "It's only three dollars, remember? Anyway, I have to run to class. It was nice meeting you, Rory."

"You, too."

She watched him walk away, the coffee cup warm between her hands, and on impulse she followed him and said, "Logan, wait!"

He turned around, smiling slightly. "Did they get your order wrong now or something?"

"No, I wanted to ask you if maybe you'd want to get coffee some time. Like, coffee…coffee. Not to repay you. Because we already covered that."

He laughed a bit and replied, "Yeah, we did."

He didn't say anything for a moment, and her heart was beating so rapidly in her chest that she could feel it in her ears. When he finally spoke – after what felt like an eternity – she wished he hadn't.

"I don't think so. Thanks, though."

He turned and walked away. Rory swallowed hard and returned with a strangled, "You're welcome."

Two weeks later Rory had all but forgotten about her ill-fated foray into asking out random boys on campus. She ran into Logan a few times on campus, but she darted away quickly. The longest interaction was at a lecture given by one of the tenured professors, where she sat in the seat farthest from him. She hadn't thought of him much after that until Janet inadvertently brought him up at lunch. Rory and Paris were eating lunch in the cafeteria with Janet and one of her cross country teammates, Laura.

"Oh, do you see that guy in the brown turtleneck?" Janet said hurriedly, pointing her fork over Rory's shoulder. Rory turned, cheeks flaming when she recognized Logan. Paris, who was sitting beside Rory, did the same and said, "Yeah, Huntzberger?"

"Wait, that's the Huntzberger guy?" Rory said in disbelief. She'd heard all about the Huntzberger heir from her grandfather before she even started Yale. And now it turned out that she unwittingly met him. And asked him out.

"Yeah, he's a year above us," Paris said. "I'm not surprised you haven't met him. Apparently he doesn't go anywhere except The Pub."

"Which is where I saw him last night," Janet interjected, casting Paris a look for hijacking the story.

"Oh, far be it for me to interrupt what will surely be another scintillating story of who boffed who."

"Were you not hugged enough as a child or something?" Janet retorted.

Not missing a beat, Paris returned, "Bite me."

"Janet, your story?" Laura prompted.

"Right, anyway, we were all at The Pub and he was telling this hilarious story about this girl who asked him out a few weeks ago. Apparently they just met and she asked him out completely randomly. He turned her down gently – you know, trying to be nice and all that. Anyway, afterwards she suddenly started showing up everywhere. She's, like, stalking him or something."

"Or, they just go to school on the same campus," Paris chimed in.

"It sounds creepy to me, " Janet said. "And, oh, you should have heard his impression of her! It was the funniest thing."

"I think I'm done," Rory said, standing up and picking up her tray. She'd lost her appetite.

"Are you heading back to the dorm?" Paris asked, standing up herself and straightening her skirt.

"No, I have an article to finish. I'll be at the news office."

"Oh, I'll stop there too, actually," Paris said, picking up her tray. "I have a really great idea for an op-ed that I want to run past Doyle."

"Sure. We'll see you guys later."

Rory sat at her desk in the Yale Daily News office, the sound of Paris and Doyle arguing over her op-ed idea serving as a sort of soundtrack as she worked on her piece. Doyle arguments were the norm in the office – even more so since Paris joined the paper. There was never an idea brought by either of them that wasn't met with vocal opposition by the other.

She finished a paragraph and leaned back in her seat, letting herself have a short respite before diving in for the rest of the piece. She picked up her cup of coffee and took a long sip. When she put it down she was surprised to see Logan walk into the office. Paris and Doyle, wrapped up in their argument, didn't notice him.

"I didn't expect to see you here," he said, mouth pulling at a grin. Rory thought of what she'd heard earlier and her anger flared. He looked pretty happy to see someone that the night before he'd categorized as a stalker.

"Why wouldn't I be here," she returned icily. "I'm on the paper. Look in last week's issue. My byline is in there. Above the fold too, buddy. I should be here."

"Okay," he said slowly, smile faltering. "Why do I feel like I should be waving a white flag?"

Rory crossed her arms over her chest, straightening in her seat. "What are you doing here?"

At that moment Doyle must have sensed newspaper royalty in his midst, because the argument halted, and he turned around with wide eyes.

"Logan! What-what are you doing here?"

"Hey there, Doyle. Miss me?"

"Well, of course," Doyle sputtered, walking over to him. He threw an arm around Logan's shoulders, a somewhat awkward gesture due to Doyle's small stature. "What can I do for you?"

"My dad's been on me about not having my byline in any of the papers this year. Think you can scrounge something up for me?"

"Well, Logan, all the articles for this week's issue have been given out already."

"That's fine," Logan said easily. "We'll do one for next week. How about a fun topic, minimal research?"

"You've got it, buddy," Doyle said, laughing in a way that almost looked painful. "Whatever you want."

"Great. Well, I'll see you all later." He glanced at Rory and flashed her a smile before leaving. She sank down in her seat, equal parts frustrated and angry. How could he act like that around her when he'd been saying all those things the night before?

"Whatever," she mumbled under her breath. "Back to the story."

Cloistered off to the side of the office, Doyle and Parie resumed their argument.

The next morning Rory went down to the dining hall for breakfast. She was still dressed in her pajamas, her first class not starting until 11:00. Her plate piled high with eggs and bacon – she decided it was a savory breakfast morning – she padded over to her usual table.

"Hey Ace," a familiar voice said. She glanced back, irritating spiking when she saw Logan. He smiled wide and said, "You aren't going to yell at me now, are you? I haven't had my morning coffee yet."

"Alright, that's it," she snapped, slamming her tray down on the table. "What's your problem?"

"My problem?" he repeated.

"Yeah, I asked you out. Whatever. I'm sure it's not the first time. And, you know, that takes a lot of courage. It's not easy to ask someone out and put yourself out there."

"I know," he said.

"And I haven't been stalking you. We just happened to run into each other on campus a few times, and I've read every article by that professor who gave the lecture on drone strikes. I didn't go for you!"

"Of course you didn't," he said slowly.

Rory stared down at him, confused beyond measure now. "Then why have you been telling people I've been stalking you?"

"What?"

"You were telling some story about a girl who asked you out and then-"

"That wasn't about you," he interrupted. "Believe me, that wasn't about you."

"It wasn't?"

He shook his head. "No, there was with girl in one of my classes who asked me out. I said no and she started showing up at my dorm with cakes and stuff. She hid in my closet wearing nothing but whipped cream."

Rory winced. "Definitely not me."

He smirked. "No, definitely not you."

"Well, this has been sufficiently mortifying," Rory said, beginning to step back towards her table. "Do you think you could not tell people about this? Because that would be great."

Before he answered she turned around and walked straight past her tray toward the exit. She'd be eating a granola bar in her bedroom for breakfast this morning.

A/N: Show your Gilmore Girls and Rogan love with some reviews!