Laws Of The Less Traveled Road

Disclaimer: I own Austin, Kyle, Evan, Shayna, and Nick. Gilmore Girls is not mine.

Pairing: Trory?

A huge, HUGE thanks to LoVe23 who beta'd this chapter within a few hours when she wasn't even my original beta for this story.

I hope you enjoy:0)

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She groaned as her alarm sounded. She hadn't gotten into bed until after 2am. She couldn't keep doing this. Jeremy was taking all of her energy away, and it wasn't just because he cut into her sleeping time. She'd been overly busy with schoolwork and everything so she didn't have a lot of time to talk to him. When she was talking to him the night before, he made it clear that he didn't like that she didn't have as much time as before to talk to him. Being the person she is, she apologized and told him she'd try harder to make an online appearance every night. She sat up and immediately clutched her forehead as the pain throbbed through her entire scalp.

"Rory! Oh good, you're up." Nick said looking into her room. She groaned.

"Uhh, don't talk so loud." She said frowning. He cocked his head and walked into her room.

"If you don't mind me saying this, you look like shit rolled over twice." He said, taking in her appearance.

"Mmm…thanks." She muttered, burying her head in her pillow.

"Late night?" He asked, amused by her actions.

"You could say that." She mumbled from her pillow.

"How late?" He asked, pulling the pillow from her face.

"Late." She snapped, glaring at him.

"I need more." He said, raising an eyebrow.

"4 hours." She muttered, looking away.

"Of sleep?" He yelled, eyes wide with shock.

"Yea…" She said, still unable to look at him.

"God, Rory! You need more then that! We've got a Bio test today, and you can't be tired for that!" He admonished.

"Bio test? Shit! If forgot!" Rory said sitting up quickly with an alarmed face.

"Are you kidding me? You do realize this test was a quarter of our grade, right?" He said. Although he'd lowered his voice, his tone still held mild annoyance.

"Yes!" she said getting out of bed and searching for bits and pieces that she could put together to resemble her uniform.

"So, what are you going to do then?" he asked softer.

She sighed and looked up at him. "I don't know. I've just been so busy with everything and Jeremy doesn't help any." She said in a defeated tone.

"Help with what?" He asked, not sure what his sister was talking about.

"He got really angry with me last night when I told him I didn't think we could talk so much anymore. I suggested that we might have to cut our talking back from every night to maybe twice or three times a week." She explained.

"And what happened?" He asked, when she didn't offer up any more info.

"He wasn't so keen on the idea." She said brushing her hair. Nick didn't respond. He just stood there and watched his twin. After a couple of minutes, he finally spoke up.

"I know he isn't really any of my business, but as your brother, I think I have a right to know things." He said in a serious voice.

"Okay…?" She said, in a puzzled tone.

"How old is this guy?" He asked.

"20." She mumbled, as she looked for something on her dresser.

"What?" He practically yelled.

"I know, I know. But I'm being smart about it!" She said, trying to placate him. This obviously didn't work.

"You're kidding, right? You're not even 18 yet, and you're talking with a 20 year old guy that you don't even know! I'm sorry, but somehow you saying that you're being smart about this doesn't seem possible." He ranted.

"It's complicated." Was all she offered.

"No it isn't. You're talking to a 20-year-old man…guy…ugh! Whatever he is…that you don't know! Did I mention that if he's a pedophile he could probably track you down and murder you?" He said, still unable to believe what his sister had been keeping from him.

"What are the chances of that?" She asked, annoyed.

"If you have to ask me that question, then obviously you shouldn't be doing it." He responded, still clearly upset with her.

Rory sighed as she lifted her book bag onto her shoulder. "You're not going to stop me, and you're not going to tell mom. Understand?" she asked making sure that he knew she wasn't joking. He shook his head and looked at his watch.

"Come on, or we'll be late for school." He said sighing. She nodded and followed him into the car. The ride to school was silent except for the soft music that was coming from the stereo. Rory's head was leaned against the passenger door window as she concentrated on the side of the road. Her thoughts went to the guy she'd been talking to online.

She'd met him in an online chat room, and he seemed honorable enough that she gave him her personal AIM screen name, and email address. She'd given him her phone number a few weeks after they'd started to talk. As of now, he had yet to call her. She sighed as her brother hummed along to the radio. She knew her brother was only looking out for her, but instead of trying to explain or getting him to calm down, she freaked out on him.

She lifted her head. "I'm sorry," She mumbled. He turned his head briefly towards hers. "I just…I know you're trying to be protective of me, but I'm almost 17, and I can take care of myself." She said in defeat. He nodded before responding.

"I just see trouble written all over this Rory. You need to understand that although this guy might be this amazing guy online, he could also be an ex-convict put in jail for rape, murder, sexual harassment…."

"…Or actually be the nice guy he seems to be." Rory said sternly. Nick sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not going to argue with you on this, and for right now I won't tell mom. Even though I think you're being a complete moron. Also, you know you can borrow my bio outline. Maybe you can use it to help you cram and get something decent on it." He said kindly.

"Thank you." She said, grateful for his help.

"You're welcome." He said. It was silent the rest of the way to school.

By lunchtime, Rory's head was pounding. She stumbled in the hallway as she approached her locker.

"Woah, you okay?" She heard a voice ask. It was Tristan.

"Yea, I'm fine. Just tired." She said rubbing her eyes. He nodded.

"Well, there's a CHAOS meeting today, if you're up for it. Maybe you'll join?" He asked.

She shrugged. She actually hadn't thought about it, but now that he brought it up, she figured she might as well get her mind on something else. She was sure she had gotten a low grade on her Bio test, and she knew she couldn't afford it to be low.

"Are you okay?" Tristan asked, eyebrow raised.

She nodded, "Yea, just a lot on my mind. Not that you'd care. You just want me to join your club." She said, a sudden change in personality. She'd gone from sad to pissed off in less than 5 seconds. He put his hands up in defense.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, so don't accuse me of anything. I need to get to the theatre building. I'll see you in 10 minutes...that is if you decide to grace us with your presence." He said annoyed before he turned around and left. Rory grumbled and sank down to the floor, head in her hands.

"My brain." She whimpered. She lifted her head up slowly after a few minutes and looked around. She frowned and slowly walked to the computer lab. She signed on and stifled a groan when she saw Jeremy's screen name on her buddy list. Within seconds, a window popped up.

Jeremy: Hey babe! I wasn't expecting you on so soon. Wanted to talk to me?

Rory: I didn't think you'd be on. I'm just not having a good day.

Jeremy: Why?

Rory: I was up late last night with you.

Jeremy: Right, well I'm sorry about that. I should've let you go to sleep, and I shouldn't have reacted like that. I've been talking to you for awhile, and I know you like school, so I should respect that. No matter how much I enjoy talking to you.

Rory stared at the screen. He was apologizing? She shook her head.

Rory: It's alright. So what are you doing on?

Jeremy: Just surfin' the web. How about you sweetie?

Rory: Yea same. Just checking my email, wasting time. Ya know.

Jeremy: Sure do.

Rory: I'm sorry, but I need to go. The bell just rang.

Jeremy: Okay. So are you going to be on later tonight?

Rory: No, I have a rough draft due tomorrow and it'll take me awhile to write, if that's okay.

Jeremy: Alright, it's no problem. I'll talk to you later then. Don't study too much or you'll study your beauty right outta you.

Rory: Bye.

Rory signed off the computer and left the lab. She shook her head, trying to wake herself from the dream.

"I could've sworn he was mad that I didn't have time for him anymore." Rory said to herself. She sighed and walked to her next class, stomach growling.

A/N: Sorry about this GIANT wait, and sorry about the chapter not being great. I sorta just got my muse back for this story, so it's no longer on hiatus, just on the low flame. :0/ Not sure when Chapter 4 will be up. Depends when I can write it, and what comes out. I know what I'm kinda doing with this story now, and now I just need ideas of how to execute it, so please be patient:0) Questions? Comments? Concerns? Reviewed? Thanks, Kiki.