'Duck Soup'
Author's note: I have 6 assignments due this week, including one 1500 word essay on racism in Australia (YAY) :( So I don't know if I'll have any time to update again this week! But enjoy this chapter, I'll try and make it longer! AND REVIEW! Because I seriously love every review I get! :D
Dorm life was excruciatingly painful at Yale with Paris and Doyle constantly bickering over the definition of their relationship. Rory hid in her room whenever she was home so they wouldn't once again drag her into a discussion centred on their sex life. It always made Rory queasy whenever Pairs would declare that they were "lovers"…it just seemed like a weird name to title them as. They seemed to fight more than anything, so that didn't exactly conjure up images of love and happiness. She wanted Paris to be happy, sure…but she mostly wanted to be kept far away from anything revolving around Paris and Doyle and the amount of times they participated in coitus every week.
Doyle was her editor. She wanted him to remain entirely professional in her mind, but that was becoming increasingly hard considering the fact that she was constantly running into him in the dorm. It was ridiculous. He even resorted to stealing her food, drinking her soda. Rory found herself being constantly agitated by these facts. She was a Gilmore. Food and drink were two of the most cherished things to her and her mother, and some little guy kept swooping in and stealing her stuff.
The only thing which she was excited for right now was her plans with Marty. Rory had checked the clock nervously. She missed him so much. She'd practically had to pull his teeth out for him to agree to hang out with her, but he did. She was glad because she hated the distance which had formed between them. It wasn't icy or anything, but it was still there. They used to hang out all the time. He was one of her closest friends. She didn't know how things had gotten so…weird between them, but she wanted to change that.
Rory had a range of bowls scattered on the coffee table. She said she'd take care of the food and she smugly thought she'd done a pretty good job with the task. 'Pretzels of the world': San Francisco sourdough, German pumpernickel, chocolate-covered Swiss and wasabi bites. Pizza was also on the way, and Marty had brought leftover food from a function he'd worked at. Everything was ready and pretty perfect for their Marx Brothers experience.
It was awkward at first, as expected, but after Marty swallowed half a bowl of wasabi bites things settled back to their normal patterns and soon they'd reverted back into their old ways. It was nice to just relax for once. Rory was happy that she hadn't run into Logan at the wedding, or after. She hadn't even glimpsed him strolling around Yale. There had also been no run-ins at the paper, which wasn't surprising considering his resistance to being anywhere near the place. God-forbid he could actually write an article for the paper he was supposed to be a part of.
A knock at the door disrupted Marty's rant about the I love Lucy episode. She climb off the lounge and headed for the door, expecting Paris to be back, ranting about the disgusting state of her 'lovers' dorm room. Rory didn't want to experience that for the second time in one day.
When she opened the door however, she was shocked, "Logan?" She questioned.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" She questioned. She wasn't sure how to feel about his unexpected appearance. She hadn't heard from him in a while. She'd purposely refused to answer his calls for the past week or so.
"We're all going to China Palace for food." He replied, looking a little nervous, but still exuding confidence like only a Huntzberger could. "I was wondering if you wanted to come along."
"I can't" Rory replied with a slight shrug, "I kind of have company right now."
Logan's jaw clenched slightly but he managed a convincing smile, "Oh, is it Tristan? We didn't get to finish our chat at the wedding."
Rory smiled, "No, it's Marty." She detected a slight bit of jealousy in his eyes until she mentioned Marty's name. Then it just disappeared as if it were never there. She half believed she'd just imagined it.
"Oh, well more the merrier," He said happily, "He can tag along too."
"Actually," Rory begun, "We kind of just wanted a quiet night in, just watching some movies. Maybe next time though." Logan's face held disappointment but he just nodded, giving her that cute smile he always seemed to be able to throw on his face at a moment's notice.
"Of course, it was late notice anyway," He laughed, "You two have a good night. I'll see you around Ace."
After closing the door Rory headed back to Marty and the couch.
"You didn't have to say no because of me," Marty shrugged, looking a little upset…or maybe disappointed, she wasn't sure, "Not if you wanted to go. We could have gone."
Rory raised her eyebrows, "Trust me. I definitely did not want to go. We have a wide assortment of pretzels just waiting to be eaten and that sounds way better than Chinese food."
They shared a smile.
When Friday night arrived Rory was relieved that she'd get to see her mother, although after spending so much time with Paris and Doyle she just hoped Emily and Lorelai didn't have one of their infamous arguments. Rory didn't know how she'd handle it. She just wanted to have a nice evening with her family.
Emily opened the front door, a smile plastered on her face. Rory was instantly suspicious. Emily Gilmore looked like she was up to something. She'd seen that exact same look directed at her mother countless times before, and she'd learnt to fear a smile like that. Emily looks nice, dressed in a navy blue blouse and making skirt. Her hair was styled the way it had been for as long as Rory could recall. It seemed like nothing ever changed in the Gilmore manor.
"Rory, hello. Come in." Her grandmother said enthusiastically.
"Hi, Grandma." They shared a hug.
"Your mother rang," Emily announced while the maid shed Rory of her coat, "Unfortunately she's stuck at work and can't make it tonight. Though she did send her apologies and promised her and Luke would be here next week." Rory was confused by her grandmother's enthusiasm. She had never liked Luke, and she definitely hated it whenever Lorelai skipped a dinner. She was definitely up to something.
"Oh," Rory couldn't hide the disappointment from her voice. She'd been looking forward to seeing her mother.
"Don't worry," Emily practically crooned, "I decided to extend an invitation to a few friends to come for dinner, that way no food will go to waste." Like she really cares about the food, Rory thought. Her Grandmother definitely had some motive; Rory just didn't know what that was.
"Come, come. I'll introduce you to everyone," Emily led Rory to the living room. The smile never strayed from her face. Her grandmother was really excited about something. Rory realised too late what that would have to be. Emily had tried getting involved in Rory's romantic life a few times now, so she didn't know why seeing him here was such a surprise.
She realised what was going on as soon as she saw his blonde hair.
"Everyone, this is Rory," Emily announced gleefully, "Rory this is Cynthia and Michael Dugrey, and their son, Tristan…who I'm sure you already know." Emily gave Rory a meaningful look and nudged her in the direction of the guests.
"Lovely to meet you Rory. Emily has told us so much about you." Cynthia smiled, appraising her from head to toe. Rory seemed to pass her evaluation.
"Yes, it's nice to meet you," Michael spoke briskly.
"It's nice to meet both of you." Rory replied. At least her manners hadn't abandoned her in her shock. She couldn't believe her Grandma! She'd actually invited Tristan here. Of course, she must have seen them dancing together.
"Cynthia," Emily shared a conspiratory look with the other women, "I've just been dying to show you the new hydrangeas we finally got for the garden."
Cynthia grinned, "Well, we must go take a quick peek before dinner." They both had on their social voices. They seemed too formal. In Rory's world, close friends didn't talk like this. They had inside jokes…not show and tell, "Michael," She said in a soft voice, "Why don't you go join Richard in his study and leave the kids to catch up."
Rory was amazed by them. They were trying to set her and Tristan up, and they weren't even trying to be subtle about it. It amazed her how different her and her grandmothers worlds were. She could never imagine her mother ambushing her like this.
Tristan stood with his hands in his pockets. A smirk was playing on his lips as he watched his parents file out of the room. He didn't even look surprised that they would pull a shenanigan like this. To be honest, Rory wasn't surprised either. She kicked herself for not considering the possibility that her grandmother would be planning something like this.
"They're trying to set us up," Rory said, exasperated, "Why would they do that?"
Tristan shrugged. The smile remained on his face, "I think their picking out china patterns as we speak."
"God, I should have expected this." Rory let out a laugh, "But I highly doubt they want us married."
"Hey," Tristan replied his tone light and joking, "You could do a lot worse." Logan suddenly flashed in her mind, although she had no idea why, "Like that Huntzberger kid." Tristan seemed to read her mind.
"Oh," Rory laughed, "So you're better than him?" She questioned.
Tristan nodded, "Well, of course. I'm taller."
"Maybe I like shorter men," Rory quipped back, a smile on her face.
"What would be beneficial about dating a shorter man?" Tristan grinned, "He wouldn't even be able to reach the top shelf."
"I can buy a ladder." She replied.
"Why waste the money?" Tristan chuckled.
"How did you get roped into coming here anyway?" Rory questioned, "Shouldn't you be out partying? Doing shots off girls or something?" She didn't want to admit that she was actually enjoying herself. She couldn't admit that, right?
"My mother asked me to come with her," He replied, "And once I heard you'd be here…well how could I resist." He glanced at her for a second, "You know, the first time I saw you out of you Chilton uniform was here."
"Ah," Rory sighed, "I remember. Talk about a great party." The sarcasm in her voice was obvious, and it made Tristan laugh. He'd liked her for so long. She'd been Mary…his Mary. He remembered that night, how he had teased her the second he'd walked through the door. Her reactions were always funny.
"I should have given you a birthday kiss back then." He smiled, recalling how she'd looked that night. She had always been so innocent. He always enjoyed that about her.
"Dinners ready!" Emily called.
So this chapter was like 1000 more words then usual! Hopefully all chapters will be like that! Now… I must start my essay! And I must not write anything else for fanfiction until it is 100% done!
REVIEW! :D
