AN: Is set at late S3, after Jess left Rory.

Chapter 1 – Blind Spot

Sad, lonely, insecure, depressed and anxious. Those were just a few of the feelings going through the mind of Rory Gilmore. She was anxious because she wanted this day to be over with, and it had just started. She wasn't even at Chilton yet. She could just imagine how bad her day was going to be, while everyone raved and talked about prom, the dresses, their dates and the size of the limo that would pick them up.

And she wasn't going. Not to any prom.

For several reasons actually, one of them was that she had planned on going to the prom in Stars Hollow, along with her best friend Lane and her former boyfriend Jess, who had left her. The second reason why she wasn't going to any prom for that matter. He had simply left her, he had promised to call her on the bus, which he hadn't and soon after that her mother had told her that Jess had left, and had gone to see his father. At this point, she hated him, while she was so close to loving him. Her feelings had begun to grow for him, in a way that she couldn't explain. Because their relationship hadn't been all bright and shiny, and their were a lot of bumps along the way. Jess had to work a lot, so they hadn't seen much of each other and Rory had studied a lot.

She had never admitted it to him though, because why would she? She wasn't even that sure of it herself either. Did she love him?

All of those thoughts crept through her mind, and atop of that she had to face everyone at Chilton. Paris who was excited for once about a school event, probably because she helped organizing it, and because Jamie would come with her. Though Paris had also admitted that she wouldn't stay till the end, which didn't surprise Rory. If she knew Paris at least a little bit, a stopwatch would be set the minute she entered the room. But that's Paris.

"What's on your mind?" Lorelai asked her daughter as she returned to their table at Luke's. Because it was busy at Luke's, Lorelai had placed their orders at the counter.

"Chilton," Rory admitted. In some way she wasn't lying, but also not telling everything.

"And?"

"Jess," Rory admitted.

"I hate him," Lorelai said. "Ditching you like that. And now you don't have a prom."

"I'm okay with not having a prom. I'm not a big fan of dancing and fancy stuff like that," Rory offered.

"Every girl likes to dress up. Have you not seen 'She's all that'?" Lorelai said. "Even the dorks like it."

"Well it doesn't matter. Because I'm not going," Rory sighed.

"Can't you get a ticket for the Chilton prom anymore?" Lorelai wondered as their orders were placed in front of them.

"I probably could. I mean Paris is in charge," Rory said. "It would probably end up with her giving me a lecture on why I want a ticket a few days before prom though. I don't feel like going through that."

"But you could go," Lorelai said. "You would just need a date."

"I don't want a date," Rory sighed. "I'd probably end up with some dork as well."

"Dorks are not always bad. Remember Ronnie Miller from 'Can't buy me love'?" Lorelai smiled.

"Oh yes, just imagine my date doing the 'anteater' dance," Rory rolled her eyes. "The fun and emberassment I'll have."

Lorelai sighed. "I just want you to have your prom. You only get your final high school prom once in your life. To celebrate your graduation with your classmates, the end of the year. The end of the era."

"I get your point drama queen," Rory smiled slightly.

"Just think about it okay," Lorelai smiled. "I don't want to force you, but I don't want you to eliminate the thought completely either."

"I'll think about," Rory promised as she ate the last bit of her eggs. "I have to go now. See you tonight?"

"Tonight," Lorelai confirmed. "It's your time to order in."

"No problem," Rory said as she kissed her mom on the cheek. "Bye."

With that Rory left the diner, towards the bus stop where the bus already waited to take her to Chilton. What a dreadful day that was going to be.

The day started as she suspected, people were talking and talking about prom and they couldn't stop. By lunch time, Rory thought she had found peace as she sat at her usual table and was about to open a book and put on her headphones when Madeleine, Louise and Paris reached their tables.

"What are you doing here?" Rory wondered.

"Don't be too happy to see us Gilmore," Paris remarked as they all sat down with their lunches.

"I mean, don't you have your own table?" Rory corrected her sentence.

"Some wannabes who want to be popular decided to step up for themselves and snatched our table," Louise explained.

"And you let them?"

"They're pretty big people. I think they could hurt us," Madeleine added. "We can't have a black eye on our prom night."

"And speaking of proms, are you excited for yours Rory?" Louise asked.

"I'm not going," Rory sighed as she focused on her meal and her closed book. If only she could open it and just read in silence.

"Why not?" Madeleine asked.

"I can't," Rory said dismissively.

"Because?" Louise pried for information.

"Jess and I aren't dating anymore," Rory admitted and immediately the two girls pulled out their 'sympathy' face, the face that Rory hated when she got it. Even Paris showed some sort of sympathy.

"I'm sorry," Paris said and the two other girls agreed.

"It's okay," Rory said simply.

"How long have you been over?"

"A week," Rory answered.

"Why didn't you tell anything sooner?" Louise asked.

"Didn't feel like talking about it," Rory admitted. "Nor do I feel like talking about it right now to be honest."

All the girls nodded in agreement, and a silence overcame the conversation.

"So no prom?" Louise wondered.

"No prom," Rory confirmed.

Louise locked eyes with Madeleine, and Rory didn't like the looks they send each other. Madeleine began to smile as did Louise, now Rory really didn't like what was going to happen.

"You can go to prom here," Louise smiled.

"How?" Rory wondered, slightly confused.

"A blind date," Madeleine suggested.

"Fantastic idea,' Louise added.

"More like ridiculous," Paris added into the conversation.

"Yeah, I'm going to pass," Rory agreed.

"Now Rory, we know you got dumped," Madeleine started.

"And we're sorry to hear that," Louise added.

"But everybody should have a prom," Madeleine continued.

"Everybody," Louise emphasized.

"Which includes us," Madeleine pointed out.

"I knew there was a catch, I could have warned you," Paris told Rory.

"Why didn't you?" Rory muttered under her breath so only Paris could hear it. She let out a deep sigh. "Don't you guys have dates already? So you're already going, right?"

"Well," Louise started. "Only if we could arrange somebody for their friend."

"Oh great," Rory sighed once more.

"He's really cute though," Madeleine added.

"And wanted," Louise added as well. "Girls are in line to date him."

"Then why does he need to be set up?" Rory wondered.

"Because they don't go to school here," Louise explained. "They can't really ask somebody to go to the prom with them."

"And they go to Yale," Madeleine added for no apparent reason with a glint in her eye.

"Oh boy, a rich playboy. Lucky you," Paris told her Rory with a fake enthusiasm.

Rory stiffled a small laugh. "If he's that wanted, why doesn't he go with somebody else?"

"Because for some reason even the most pathetic girls here in Chilton have a date," Madeleine rolled her eyes.

"It's like the Twilight Zone. Freaky!" Louise added.

Rory sighed. "So, really give me a reason. Why would I do this again?"

"Because you're our last hope, we've searched the entire week but no luck so far,' Louise explained.

"And now you're single," Madeleine added with a wicked smile.

"And dateless," Louise added.

"And not going to the prom," Rory added.

Louise ignored Rory. "So you'd be perfect."

"We'll arrange you a ticket within no time, so that won't be a problem. It's like fate. Just like in those romantic movies," Madeleine said.

"A Walk To Remember," Louise smiled at the memory of the movie. "Without the deadly ending."

"Or 'A Cinderella Story'," Madeleine suggested. "You could be Hilary Duff."

"Oh boy," Rory sighed.

"Good luck Rory!" Paris told her as she walked away, leaving Rory alone with the two girls.

"So please do it!" Louise begged.

"Please! Please!" Madeleine added.

"I don't think so. Sorry guys," Rory apologized as she walked away, on to her next class, leaving two very disappointed girls behind.

And finally the end of the day came in sight as soon as Rory hit the bus. She had managed to avoid Madeleine and Louise, after they had searched for her after her first class that came after lunch had ended. She had fled to her next class, and after that class she had kept an eye out for the two girls.

When arriving back in Stars Hollow, and at home, Rory pulled out her homework, placed the orders for the night and waited for her mom to come back home, which she conveniently did at the same time the delivery boy came to deliver the food.

"I just love Louie," Lorelai said as soon as she entered the house. "He said he did some extra food in the boxes because we are such great costumers. Why does Luke never do that?"

"He does," Rory said. "We always get more then everyone else in the diner."

"But he never throws in some extra frites atop of the extra frites," Lorelai explained as she placed the boxes on the table.

Rory rolled her eyes. "You're never pleased woman."

Lorelai laughed. "So how was school?"

"It was interesting," Rory told her mother as she opened the first box.

"Do tell," Lorelai said as she sat down.

"I was made an offer," Rory started. "By Madeleine and Louise."

"An offer you can't refuse?" Lorelai joked, as she interrupted Rory.

"An offer I could easily refuse," Rory smiled.

"What's the offer?"

"To have a blind date for the prom at Chilton," Rory said simply.

"And you refused it?"

"Yes I did."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to go," Rory said. "Especially with somebody I don't know. And they only offered this to me because they had to find the friend of their dates a date, otherwise their dates wouldn't go either."

"Who would be your date?" Lorelai wondered.

"I don't know. It's supposed to be a blind date, so I can't really know, can I?" Rory said. "Which is a shame. He's probably not that appealing or something and if I knew the name it would scare me away."

"Maybe it's an old creepy guy," Lorelai commented bluntly.

"That doesn't make me feel better," Rory smiled slightly. "But it doesn't matter. Because I refused."

"Really?"

"Why do you want me to go to prom so badly?"

"Because I just want you to experience everything, and it would be a nice way to say goodbye to Chilton," Lorelai said sincerely. "And I really want to make you a dress real quickly, or buy you one, without grandma around the corner. Still no sleepovers though."

"I didn't have a sleepover with Dean," Rory rolled her eyes.

"Well me and the rest of Stars Hollow will disagree with you on that," Lorelai laughed. 'Besides it will get you some time outside the house. It will be fun."

"Fun? Fun at Chilton?"

"Well it was bound to happen one day. Why not on one of your final days?" Lorelai offered.

Rory sighed.

"And maybe the guy is really cute," Lorelai added.

"I do know that he goes to Yale."

"And we all know that Yale only accepts cute guys," Lorelai smiled, knowing that she was going to win this.

"Or stuck up rich kids," Rory countered.

"Who are very cute," Lorelai added.

"I can't believe you're pushing me into a blind date," Rory sighed.

"Just call either Louise or Madeleine," Lorelai smiled as she handed her daughter the phone.

Rory sighed once more. It seemed like it was all she could do that day. She dialed a number and waited for it to be picked up.

"So Louise, you still need to find that guy a date?"

Author's note:
I still have my other fics. Don't worry. I just needed this to be out there. Please rate and review!