She knocked impatiently at the door to his suite. "Marty hurry up! There's not going to be anything good left for dinner if you don't get a move on," she hollered through the closed door.

She heard a muffled voice on the other side of the door saying what she assumed was, "I'll be right there, hold your pants on!"

She tapped her foot, marking the time until the door was opened. Marty stood on the other side, pulling a jacket on over his sweater. "Sheesh Gilmore, show some patience."

"I don't want to miss anything good," she told him.

"Well then why didn't you want to eat at 5:00?" he asked.

"Dinner at 7:00 is the same as dinner at 5:00, they put all the same stuff out again," she explained.

"Okay. If that's the case, then why are you so worried?" he asked as he pulled his door shut behind him.

"What if there are a ton of people waiting for the 7:00 sitting? We're late," she glanced down at her watch, "10 minutes late. Things could be gone by now!"

"Fine. I'm sorry I'm late. If anything good is gone already, I'll go buy some of whatever it is for you."

"Thank you." She linked her arm through his. "Now hurry up!"

The walk to the dining hall was quiet. Each of them lost in their own thoughts, appreciating the colors of the fall leaves.

"After you," Marty said politely, holding the door open for Rory when they reached their destination.

She rushed into the building, grateful for the warmth. "Do you want the left line or the right line?" she asked as he followed her into the building.

"Uhmm…" he paused as he surveyed his options. "The right side looks shorter."

"Left side it is," she said heading towards the left.

"But I just said-"

She cut him off. "Looks are deceiving. I bet if you take the right side and I take the left, I'll be seated at our table with food before you are."

"What are the stakes?" he asked.

"Loser delivers coffee to the winner tomorrow morning at a time designated by the winner."

"Deal," he said, holding out his hand to shake hers.

"Deal," she repeated. "But, no altering your eating habits to get through the line quicker."

"Fine. Ready? Go!"

She worked her way through the line on the left side, stopping at her usual places to add food. She peeked up half way through to see that Marty was closer to the cashier in his line than she was, but she was determined to prove him right, so she kept her pace, adding things to her tray as she saw fit.

Marty smiled when he looked over and saw Rory still filling her tray as he waited for the cashier to swipe his card. There were only three people in front of him, she had at least six in front of her, she would so be bringing him coffee in the morning. "I like mine black with one sugar," he called to her.

She looked over at him, gave him a knowing smile, and continued in her quest. Her line was moving along at a good pace, she pulled her dining card from her back pocket and put it on her tray, then stopped at the soda machine to add a Coke to her tray. She glanced over at Marty again to see that he hadn't really moved in the last minute or so, and smiled to herself.

Marty began to rap his fingers impatiently on his tray as he stood in line to pay. Rory was gaining on him. There were only three people in front of her now, and still two people in front of him.

"I like mine with cream and sugar," she called to him. They were now even in the line; two people in front of each of them. Marty's line advanced again, and he was sure he had her. But then, disaster: the girl in front of him began counting coins out of her wallet to pay for her dinner.

"Ha-ha!" Rory called to him in a Nelson Muntz type manner. He watched as the cashier swiped her card, and she headed over to their usual table, then he sighed in defeat.

He took his usual seat next to her and prepared himself to listen to her gloat for at least the next five minutes, but instead she merely looked up at him and smiled, then returned her attention to the food in front of her.

"So what time do you want your coffee tomorrow morning?" he asked.

She thought about it for a moment before answering. "7:00 am."

"What!?! Why so early? You don't have class until 10:00!" he exclaimed in outrage.

"Usually that is correct, but Professor Simpson rescheduled one of last weeks classes for 8:00 am tomorrow," she explained.

"But I don't have class til 10:00," he whined.

"Suck it up Harrison. You agreed to the bet and you lost."

"Fine," he huffed. He picked up his fork and began to eat the meatloaf in front of him.

They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes until Marty decided to speak again. "What are your plans for the weekend?" he asked.

"Well tomorrow is Friday night," she started, knowing that he knew just what that meant.

"Are you seeing Dean?" he asked in what he hoped was casual relaxed manner.

"Not sure yet. He's working more than one job right now, so his schedule is a little tricky. What are your plans for the weekend?"

"I've got a catering job tomorrow night, and a paper due Monday."

"Oh crap, I've got that paper due too."

"If you're around Saturday night do you want to take a break from working on the paper and watch a movie or something?" he asked.

"Sure that sounds fun."

They both went back to eating, letting silence rule once more.

"Hey Marty, what are you doing tonight?" Rory asked.

"Just homework," he replied.

"Since you're going to have those extra hours in the morning, do you feel like watching a movie tonight?" she asked with a smirk.

"Instead of Saturday?"

"No. In addition to Saturday," she suggested.

"Uhh, sure. What do you want to watch?" He crossed his fingers and hoped that it was something other than Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory.

"Casablanca."

"Okay. My place or yours?" he asked.

"Tough call," she started.

"You have the better tv," he said helpfully.

"Yes, but I also have Paris."

"Oh yeah. So my place then!"

"Great. After this we can just stop by my room and pick up the DVD," she told him.

"Works for me. Mark's out for the night anyhow, so it'll be nice and quiet."

They finished eating dinner and Rory dug into her dessert. He would never understand how she could eat so much and remain so tiny.

"So what are you writing your paper on?" she asked with her mouth full of ice cream.

"The changes in Hemingway's writing over the years," he told her. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What about you?"

"Not Hemingway. Ugh. Mine is on Jane Austen, and all of the modern day adaptations of Pride and Prejudice," she explained.

"Bor-ring," he teased.

"Yeah, but at least I get to read fun things like Bridget Jones's Diary to compare to Pride and Prejudice."

"Still boring."

She stuck her tongue out at him instead of responding verbally.

"Too much chick lit rots your brain, as evidenced by your lack of witty comeback," he added adding insult to injury.

"Shut up Marty," she retorted.

He chuckled and watched as she consumed the last bites of her sundae. "I'm ready to go if you are," she announced.

"I am," he replied, standing up and grabbing his tray so he could clear it and help the staff out a little. She stood as well, and followed him with her own tray, dumping the remaining food in the garbage, and putting the dishes and tray in their respective places near the can.

He held the door open for her and she stepped out the door, then waited for him to join her. She again linked her arm through his and they crunched their way through the crisp fallen leaves back to their residence hall.

"The DVD is on the rack by the TV," Rory told him as she went to the kitchen to get snacks.

"Got it!"

"Okay, I'll be just a second." She emerged a minute later with a bag full of treats. "I'm ready."

"What have you got there?" Marty asked curiously.

"Red Vines, popcorn and marshmallows."

"You just had dessert!" he exclaimed in shock.

"So what? You can't have a movie without munchies."

"I should have known," he said with a smile.

She shot him a playful glare, "It's the Gilmore way." She flicked her hair over her shoulder and walked out her door, not waiting for him to follow her. "I'll be back later Paris," she called.

He chased her out the door and up the stairs to his room. "I didn't realize that Paris even home."

Rory shrugged, "She's in her room." She stopped at his door, and waited for him to unlock it.

"Mark, are you home?" he called out to his roommate. He waited a minute, then tossed his scarf and jacket over the back of a ladder-backed chair. "Can I take your coat?" he asked Rory as she began unzipping her hip length jacket.

"Sure," she said as she held it out to him. "I'm going to go make the popcorn."

"Okay, you know where the microwave is. I'll get the DVD ready."

"And break!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Is movie time a sport at the Gilmore house?"

"Yep, that and begging for coffee at Luke's."

He snorted, and decided not to voice the dirty thought floating through his mind. I bet all that begging means you're good on your knees. He mentally scolded himself, he should not be having those thoughts about Rory. He turned on the TV, then put the disc in the DVD player. While he waited for the popcorn to finish popping he ran into his bedroom and grabbed a couple of pillows and a blanket from his bed. He tossed one pillow on each end of the couch and set the blanket in between, he knew sometimes she got cold.

Rory rummaged in the kitchen for bowls to pour the popcorn and marshmallows into, finding them just in time to hear the ding of the microwave telling her the popcorn was done. She tore into the bag the second she pulled it from the microwave. "Ouch!" she said, sticking one the burned digits into her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Marty called from the living room.

"Yeah, just burned my fingers," she told him as she walked into the living room with the bowls of food.

"Ah. Well, do you want the left side of the couch or the right?" he asked.

"Either's fine with me."

He plopped down on the left side, propping his feet up on the coffee table. She sat down on the right side, slipped off her shoes and tucked her feet up underneath her.

"Blanket?" he asked.

"Yes please."

He handed her the blanket and she tucked it around her legs.

"Ready for me to start the movie?" he asked as he patted her feet, which were almost touching his leg.

"Mmmhmm," she replied.

He hit play and they began to watch the movie in silence.

Sometime later, Marty woke with a start. He looked down to find that Rory had switched positions at some point and was now cuddled into him, with her head in his lap. And that somehow his arm and automatically found its way around her shoulder. He twisted his head slightly to find out that Rory was asleep. The movie was still playing, so Marty closed his eyes, and let himself drift back off, enjoying the feeling of Rory curled into him.

The loop of the music in the menu woke Rory. She was extremely comfortable in her position, so she remained still as she tried to figure out where she was. That's right, she thought, I was watching Casablanca with Marty. Marty. She felt his arm across her shoulder, and inadvertently snuggled deeper into him.

She could hear that his breathing was deep and even, indicating he was asleep, so she decided it was safe to remain where she was for another moment or two. She took the time to think about the situation. Was this cheating on Dean? She was just so comfortable with Marty. Next to Paris, he was her closest friend at Yale, and given Paris's competitive nature, most of the time she'd rather hang out with Marty. She didn't feel like falling asleep on Marty was wrong, but maybe the fact that she was enjoying it so much was. He just made her feel safe, and not so alone. It wasn't all Dean's fault, but with the number of jobs he was working she hardly ever got to see him.

She sighed loudly and shifted in her position, accepting that she had to get up and go home soon. She rolled onto her stomach to stretch and let her arm float across Marty's legs, at the same time, she felt Marty's hand slide across her back. She smiled to herself, enjoying the feeling, then shuddered slightly as she filled with guilt. She shifted again, back to her side, and then sat up.

"Marty," she said softly, "wake up."

"Huh?" he mumbled sleepily.

"The movie's over. I'm going to head home, and you should head to bed."

"Mmmhmmm," he mumbled again.

She smiled at his sleeping form, and pulled on her shoes. "Don't forget you owe me coffee at 7:00 am," she whispered. She pulled the blanket over Marty, then quietly slipped out the door.

She tried to enter her own room as silently as possible, but given Paris's proclivity to do crafts in the middle of the night, she wasn't all together surprised to find her roommate sitting in the living room wide awake.

"Where have you been?" Paris asked her.

"Watching a movie at Marty's."

"So late?"

"What time is it?" Rory asked in return.

"A few minutes past midnight."

"Oh. We fell asleep watching the movie."

"Sure," Paris said in a disbelieving tone. "By the way, you forgot your phone and it's been ringing all night long."

"Sorry." She grabbed her cell phone off the counter and headed into her room. She glanced down at the display to see several missed calls, some from her mother, and the rest from Dean. She flopped down on her bed and dialed her voicemail. "Hey Kid, it's me, but you probably can tell that. Anyhow, what are your plans for tomorrow night, call me back. She deleted the message and made a note to call her mom back. "Hey Rory, it's Dean. I know you were hoping to spend some time together tomorrow night but I'm picking up an extra shift at Doosey's. I think we could be on for Saturday though so call me back. I love you. She sighed and deleted that message as well. The next two were her mom again - just looking for entertainment, followed by two more from Dean, one received at 11:00, trying to plan for Saturday, and the last at 11:45, Rory, it's me again. Where are you? Why aren't you calling me back? * deep sigh * I've got to go to bed now, I have to work early tomorrow so just call me when you can I guess. I love you. She felt bad for leaving her phone at home. But given the recent spurt of emotion she'd just experienced, it was probably for the best that she couldn't talk to Dean tonight.

She stood up and pulled off her jeans and her sweater, trading them for a tee-shirt and flannel pants. She tossed the jeans in the hamper, and tentatively sniffed the sweater. The sweater needed to be drycleaned, therefore if it wasn't stained or smelly she'd put it back in the closet and wear it another day. She smiled as she caught the scent. It smelled like Marty, likely from being in such close proximity to him. She inhaled deeply again, then folded the sweater and put it in her closet.

Rory climbed back into her bed and stared at her ceiling, silently wondering what was going on with her. Did she really have feelings for Marty? Marty was smart and sweet, he was cute, and he understood her in a way Dean never would. He was intellectually her equal, at least. Something about them just clicked. But maybe it was merely excess hormones needing some place to go since Dean was never around. Dean. Dean was such a sweet guy, and she owed it to him to try to make things work, after all, he gave up his marriage for her. For them.

She rolled over and tried to clear her mind, knowing her alarm clock would be going off in a few short hours, and that she'd be seeing Marty again soon. Maybe things would go back to normal in the light of day.

AN: I know, I know, I can hardly manage updates with any regularity on Winning Back The Gilmore Girls, but I can't control the muse!

Typical Disclaimer: I don't own the show, Willy Wonka, Casablanca, Red Vines or The Simpsons.

A special thanks to both DramaQueen1103 and Miguel51 for reading this in advance, encouraging me to post and naming this fic!

Let me know what you think… do you want to see what happens in the light of day?

S