DISCLAIMER
Belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino, the WB, and the CW. I only own the plot. Again, POVS may change, so I apologize for any confusion.
"What?" Tristin asked. No, no, no, no. I couldn't have heard her right, he thought. The doctors had given ther the morning after pill.
"I'm pregnant," Rory repeated. "Tristin, I'm pregnant," she said. Then, she started to cry and he quickly gathered her into his arms and began to make shushing noises.
"I gotcha, Mare. I gotcha," he assured.
"What am I going to do? I'm only sixteen. That's too young to have a child. I---I can't do this," she sobbed.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay. We're all with you. Me, your boyfriend, and your best friend," he reminded her.
"I just keep thinking: maybe if I had done something differently---" Rory began.
"No!" Tristin interrupted. "Don't even go there, Mary. This was not your fault," he told her.
"I think you're going to have to add a 'Magdalene' to that," she said with a sad smile. He shook his head.
"No. You're absolutely not a Magdalene. You're still just a Mary," he insisted. My Mary, he silently added. Oh, if only he could call her his. However, that honor was for Dean. "Hey, you wanna get outta here?" he offered. She shook her head.
"Let's get to our next class. Maybe if I focus on school I won't be freaking out so much," she answered.
"Okay," he agreed, and they walked to class.
"You're late," Ms. Caldecott scolded.
"Sorry, Ms. Caldecott. We had something to take care of," Tristin responded.
"Is everything okay?" she asked in concern, noting Rory's tear-stained face.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Rory lied. Paris watched as Tristin gently helped the girl to her seat, and then sat in the seat behind her. What is up with them? she wondered. Ms. Caldecott continued her lecture and Rory forced herself to pay attention. Tristin also tried to pay attention, but found his gaze drifting to Rory. Was she really all right? After all, it wasn't every day a sixteen-year old girl found out she was pregnant after being raped.
"Mr. DuGray, is there something fascinating about Ms. Gilmore?" Ms. Caldecott questioned.
"Uh, no. Sorry, Ms Caldecott. I was daydreaming," Tristin responded. The woman seemed surprised at the honest answer, but let it go. Paris saw Rory flash Tristin a small and grateful smile. Her eyes narrowed. She wasn't sure what was going on between them and she wasn't sure she liked it. After class, the students went their separate ways. At lunch, Rory got her food, went to a secluded corner, sat down, pulled out a book, and began reading it. Soon, she was so engrossed in her book, that she didn't even notice when someone walked up to her until they pulled her book down. She looked up to see Paris, Madeline, and Louise.
"Can I help you?" Rory questioned.
"What's going on between you and Tristin?" Paris demanded.
"Hello to you too, Paris," Rory deadpanned.
"For someone you claim to despise, you certainly are chummy with him," Paris continued. "And so is your boyfriend for that matter. So, what are you doing? Just stringing both of them along?" she asked.
"Of course not. Not that it's any of your business," Rory responded.
"Tristin is my friend, so it is my business," Paris snapped.
"Paris, will you please just back off?" Rory requested.
"I'll back off just as soon as you tell me why you and Tristin are so buddy-buddy," Paris stated.
"Paris, will you stop bothering her?" Surprised, Paris, Louis, and Madeline turned to see Tristin glaring at them.
"Tristin, I just want to---" Paris started to say.
"You're just being nosy," Tristin interrupted. "Don't you three ever have anything better to do than to poke your noses into other people's business?" he continued. Paris blanched. She couldn't believe Tristin was speaking like this to her. They were friends. They both knew what it was like to have their parents pressure them. And Gilmore had never given him the time of day until recently. So, why was he being so protective of her now?
"Tristin---" Paris started to say.
"Stop being a parasite and leave her alone," Tristin interrupted. A flash of hurt came across Paris' face and Tristin felt a stab of guilt. "I'm sorry, Paris. I didn't mean to be harsh," he apologized. Seeing the sincerity in his face, Paris nodded.
"So, then, what's going on? If something's wrong, we'd like to help," Madeline stated. Surprised, Rory stared at them and then shared a look with Tristin. She nodded, giving her consent. Sure, she and Paris had their differences, but she knew it mostly stemmed from the fact that she liked Tristin in a romantic way even though he didn't feel the same way. Tristin quickly made sure no one was watching and then pulled the girls close.
"Tristin, you're scaring us," Madeline said nervously.
"What's the matter? How bad is it?" Louise added.
"You remember the party a few weeks ago?" Tristin asked. The girls nodded.
"Well, uh---something---something happened to Rory."
"What? What happened to Rory?"
"She was raped." Paris, Louise, and Madeline inhaled sharply.
