Chapter 4 - A Night for Change
"So are you going to tell me what you're doing here, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" Rory's bluntness didn't surprise Tristan one bit. He had been watching her hold back the question for over fifteen minutes, attempting to make small talk, hoping he would offer the information voluntarily.
"I might prefer that second option." He pretended to ponder it for a while. "You beating me... that has possibilities."
"Can you be more of a pig?" She gave him a dirty look, but he could tell it was only for show. There was no real animosity in her voice.
"If you'd been living with a hundred guys for six months without even a single woman, you would be too."
"Somehow, I doubt that that made a difference in your case."
Rory's wit had always intrigued him. He had missed her and the banter probably more than anything else, including women, while he'd been away. Not that he was planning on admitting that anytime soon.
"Sorry Mary, I forgot. You're in love. And love transcends all physical needs." Then, replacing the look of blissfulness with a smirk, Tristan continued, "So, how is bag-boy anyways? Was that whose answering machine you were having a conversation with when I dragged you away?"
Rory's eyes darkened for a second before she answered in her normal light- hearted tone. "That... DuGrey, is none of your business. Now, returning to the formerly evaded question, what are you doing here?"
Tristan chose to ignore the second part of her remarks, focusing on the first instead. "Do I detect a tinge of bitterness in that tone? Don't tell me bag-boy broke up with you again? What is it about the spring and the two of you? Everyone else is looking for a mate, and you two are fighting."
"No, and I'll remind you again that it's any of your business, but DEAN," she stressed that word since Tristan had obviously not bothered to learn his name yet, "did not break up with me again."
Tristan felt his heart drop a little. Here he was hoping that maybe Rory Gilmore was finally single and he could have his chance.
"...I broke up with him."
YES! She dumped him. An unintentional smile brightened his face, and Tristan coughed to make it less noticeable. This was better than he'd thought, not that he would let her see that. "Really? Finally get bored of the one-sided conversations? Or was he just not doing it for you anymore, you know what I mean?"
"Tristan, why am I even discussing this with you?" She was starting to get mad. He just loved it when she got pissed off.
"I don't know. You're just so happy to see me you're giddy and you just can't stop talking. Plus you wanted me to know that you're single because you're desperate to get me into bed." He winked at her. "Don't worry Mary, I won't tell anyone your secret."
She rolled her eyes in response. "Some things never change, do they?"
That surprised him. He had expected Rory to blush with embarrassment the way she'd always used to at implied sexual behavior, but she hadn't. She'd handled it with comfort. And that irritated him. Rory Gilmore comfortable with sex? The thought made him cringe. But, he kept up the banter.
"Some do. I suppose it depends, did you want me this much when I went to Chilton?"
"Only in your dreams, DuGrey." With that the pair lapsed into silence, both distracted by their own thoughts.
* * * * *
She could not believe that she was standing in line for pizza in the heart of the midwest with Tristan DuGrey. It was like some alternate dimension. She couldn't stop looking at his beautiful blue eyes and the rippling muscles that drove her crazy every time he made a gesture. Boot Camp had done him good.
No! This was Tristan. The evil one. Satan. The boy that had made her life miserable for a year, and here she was watching his every move with the intensity of a cat in heat. That had to stop. Sure, he was attractive, she would be crazy not to admit that. But he was also a player, a jerk, and an all around bad guy. A guy she wanted nothing to do with.
So what was she still doing here? Speaking of... why was he here?
"So, I think I will risk it to ask this question for the third time... Why are you in Chicago?"
"Why are you?"
"Sorry. It's not working this time. I am going to repetitively ask the question until I receive a satisfactory answer. And if you refuse to respond, I will be forced to tell that lovely man over there in the pink sweater that you find him extremely attractive." Rory saw Tristan glance uneasily at the man that had obviously been checking him out for the last five minutes.
"You are a vindictive girl. Has anybody ever told you that?"
"Too many to count. Now... do I have to prove it?" She made a move towards the man, and Tristan grabbed her arm.
"Fine.. Fine, you win... Mary. I'll tell you."
"And yet I'm still waiting."
"Okay, it's simple. You and Paris are here to participate in a panel of students taken from a number of schools in the New England area. So am I."
"You're joking? I thought you were at a military school."
"I was, but it's still a school, a very reputable one at that, and coming from Chilton I had an easy heads up on most of the inner city kids there serving JAIL SENTENCES, at least in the academics department." He flinched slightly and Rory pretended that she hadn't noticed. But he got over it quickly as he continued, "So, when the opportunity arose that the top ranked student got to come here, I applied myself. To get out of there for an entire summer, it was worth it. And here I am. Simple as that."
"So you didn't enjoy military school?" Her sickeningly sweet tone was dripping in sarcasm.
"Very funny. I would be deathly afraid of any man that would."
"Oooooh, a DuGrey paralyzed in fear? What would Daddy Dearest have to say about that?"
"Not much actually. Maybe that's why he's letting me come back to Chilton in the fall." Tristan glowered down at Rory's shocked face.
"Are you joking?"
"Nope. He and my mom were so impressed that I had started 'working to my potential' and was awarded this great summer opportunity that they decided I was worthy enough to grace Hartford society with this lovely face once again."
Rory didn't know what to say. Tristan was coming back! She wasn't sure whether to be happy or horrified or maybe a little bit of both. But she had to say something... Think.... Finally she managed to choke out, "Well, I'm happy for you then."
Tristan's happiness faded when he saw the suffocated look on Rory's face. "Sorry to disappoint you. Listen, I'm not really all that hungry, I'm just going to go back to the hotel."
"Tristan, wait!" Rory tried to stop him, but he was already gone.
"Next!" Rory stepped up to the counter to pick up the pizza.
* * * * *
"So, did those movies meet your requirements, Mr. Picky?" She couldn't help but tease Luke a little more about his aversion to the oompas.
"As long as I avoided the short, chanting men with red faces, I can handle anything."
"Ooompas do not chant! They sing." The offended look on her face almost made Luke laugh. Almost.
"Fine. Little singing men with red faces... even better." Rolling his eyes, Luke suddenly realized that movie night was over.... Now what? "So..."
"Coffee?"
"You're gonna kill yourself."
"But it's my house, and you can't withhold what's already been given, now can you? Not so tough without your coffee pot, are ya?" Lorelai taunted him as she led them into the kitchen. Halfway there she stopped and just inches from running into her he stopped. She was looking him straight in the eye, their faces just millimeters apart. "Thanks."
Luke was taken aback by the suddenness of the gratitude. "No problem. It was this or a night with Jess, and frankly I'm starting to get tired of the pocket television."
"Ahhh.... still hasn't grown up. You should have brought it with; maybe my tv could've served as a role model."
"Sorry, but I don't think I want it learning to display images like those."
"So you didn't like the movies?"
"They were all right." An uncomfortable silence ensued as the two of them realized just how close they had gotten during the course of the conversation. The silence seemed to pull them even closer together as their gazes dropped one another's mouths. Lorelai closed her eyes and waited, leaning towards the source of heat on her face... 3....2....1.... ..... Her eyes popped open as she felt the cold rush of air onto her face.
"Listen, it's late and I'd better be going." And he was gone.
Lorelai leaned back against the wall, not having moved for a good two minutes. She was in shock. Had she just almost kissed Luke? Luke?! Backwards baseball cap, flannel shirt wearing Luke. She was nuts. Looking for a punishment.
But he had stopped it. Why? What had stopped him? Had he even wanted to kiss her in the first place? Had she really wanted to kiss him? She wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or offended that he had been the one to stop them. All she knew was that the tears trickling down her cheeks were implying another emotion altogether.
* * * * *
By the time Rory got back to the hotel, she thought Paris would be livid and irrational due to lack of food, but instead she was extremely calm, and almost..... happy. This was NOT the Paris that Rory knew. There was some major explaining to be done here. Rory sat down on the bed, placing the pizza down in between the two of them and laying her hands on top of the box.
"Okay, you are not getting a single piece of this until you tell me who you are and what you've done with the real Paris Geller."
"Why? Do you miss her?"
Paris was making a joke, and smiling!? This was more serious than Rory had previously thought. "Okay, I'm completely serious. What is up? I have never known you to smile for any reason other than inflicting pain on another living being, and due to the fact that you've been alone in this hotel room all night, I am guessing that that didn't happen." Rory glanced at Paris' unrevealing face. "Did that happen?"
"God Rory, you can be such a jerk sometimes. Isn't a girl just allowed to be in a good mood? I'm sooo sorry that my lightheartedness is such a problem. Don't you worry. It won't happen again."
Now that was a tone Rory recognized. "Sorry Paris. I just thought something might be up. I suppose you can have some pizza now." She handed her a plate, hoping to make amends for the earlier crimes.
"...Thanks." Paris took the pizza grudgingly, then glancing around the room as if something had just struck her she asked, "Am I mistaken or did two people leave this room in search of pizza? Why is there only one here?"
Rory tried to evade eye contact. "Ummm... we got in a fight, kinda."
"A fight!? He's been here for like two hours, and you guys are at it already? This is gonna be a great summer, I can tell."
"Hey, nobody asked him to come along, and it wasn't really a fight, exactly."
"So then what was it, exactly?" Paris had a way of making the most innocent statement a demand.
"Well, we were talking like two normal people, if you can believe it. Then he told me he was coming back to Chilton next year and I was surprised. So I was dumb and made some remark like 'That's great for you' and he got upset and left. That's all there was to it." Expecting to be rebuked for chasing the love of Paris' life away, Rory put her hands over her ears, but nothing came. "Paris, did you hear what I said?"
There was an uncommon look of thoughtfulness on Paris' face. "Yeah. You two are hopeless." Then the look flashed away, and the old Paris was back. "So, Jess called."
Rory almost choked on her pizza. She hadn't expected him to actually call her back, especially so quickly. What was he doing home on a Friday night? All this flashed through her mind, but she just nodded, "uh.... ok. Thanks."
There was that look again, that thoughtful, pondering look. Rory felt as though she'd seen it before, but she couldn't be sure. Something was going on with Paris, and Rory was going to figure out what it was. But first she needed to know what caused it... Tristan, the trip, .. Jess? Ugh. Maybe she wouldn't try to figure the mystery that was Paris out. Her thoughts were jumbled enough with Jess and Dean and Tristan. She absolutely did not need to throw another girls' problems into that mix in her head. Things were just nuts...
Rory was still trying to figure out how to brace the subject when Paris blurted out, "So, are you two like together?"
"Me and who?"
"You and Jess." There was a pause in the conversation as Paris waited for an answer and Rory considered it. Seeing that Rory was too lost in thought to remember to speak out loud, Paris started rambling, "When I asked him on the phone what was going on with you two, he sounded like he didn't even know. But there kinda has to be, right? I mean, he was the second person you called as soon as you got here, and in my book, that makes it a little more-"
"I don't know."
Stunned that Rory had interrupted her, Paris just stared at her. "What do you mean you don't know? There either is or there isn't. You either like him or you don't. You either have a 'come-here-so-I-can-suck-on-your-face' relationship or a 'hey-buddy-how-ya-doing' one. 'I don't know' is such a cop-out."
"It's not a cop-out. It's the truth. Besides, why do you care?" Rory was starting to get defensive. Why was Paris asking her all these questions? She had enough trouble trying to answer them when they were coming from her own conscience.
"I don't. It doesn't matter. Just trying to make conversation. But apparently that was a mistake. I am going to go to bed now."
"It's only ten o'clock."
"Well, I'm tired. Goodnight." With that, she flipped off the light and headed towards her side of the bedroom.
Rory sighed and crawled into her own bed. What a day... and what a thought. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she realized what she had done to herself. She was spending the entire summer with Paris Geller and Tristan DuGrey, hours from home at that. What had she been thinking? If this was any indication of what to come, it was going to be a very long summer.
* * * * *
Jess was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been five hours and sixteen minutes since he'd called her, and she still hadn't called back. He pushed the button on the answering machine, planning on listening to her message again, wanting to get lost in the sweet tones that were Rory Gilmore... "Hey Jess. It's me..." Unfortunately, the door slamming and someone stomping into the apartment drowned her out.
"Did you see what Taylor did out there? He has 4th of July decorations out already. It's May 29th for God's sake. I just don't understand why people need to get excited for holidays 6 months before they happen. I mean, putting up Christmas lights before Thanksgiving, Valentines Day at New Years, Halloween in August! Why can't people just be happy with the day it is, rather than pushing to make time go faster? I have half a mind to go rip it all down and shove it in a trunk and dump it in the Star's Hollow River." Luke paused for a breath, obviously intending to continue his mindless rant when heard someone else talking.
"...cuts me off. Okay, call me back. Bye."
"Was that Rory?"
"Yeah. She called a few hours ago." Jess tried to keep the blush off his cheeks, hoping Luke didn't suspect he'd been laying there listening to the message over and over again.
"So, are you going to call her back?"
"Ummm.. It's kinda late." His eyes twitched nervously and Luke noticed the unusual coloring in his face.
"Oh. Yeah. You're right." He sat down next to Jess, obviously in as bad of a mood as he was.
"Went that good huh?"
"Huh?" Luke was pulled out of his thoughts by Jess' simple question.
"Yeah. Great."
And they sat there, side by side, lost in visions of the Gilmores.
* * * * *
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..." Tristan had repeated the word over and over the entire way back to the hotel and continued to do so as he reached his destination. How could he have just left her standing there like that? Calling for him to come back? She had been right about him. He really was a jerk.
"No!" He hadn't noticed he was talking out loud until he saw the few stragglers habitating the lobby staring at him. So he brought it down a few notches and began mumbling, "Great job, DuGrey. Now they think you're crazy. This is shaping up to be one great trip." He punched the button on the elevator with so much force that the plastic casing on it cracked. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Get a grip man. She didn't really do anything."
But she had. She had cut into his heart without warning and without hesitation. They had been having civil conversation for once. Just standing around talking, and laughing. It had been nice. And then he'd made the mistake. He'd told her that he was coming back to Chilton next fall. And she had pounced. Pulled the knife out of her back pocket and attacked.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite so intentional and cruel, but it still felt that way. She had looked like she wanted to die when he'd told her that. Like she wanted to curl up in a corner and give up. As if sharing a school with him was more than enough of a reason to.
Tristan had wanted to slap her, shake her. He had wanted to say something that would cut her the way her words had cut him. But he'd stood there. Silent. Shocked. Hurt. He'd been at a loss, no witty comebacks, no pretending it hadn't bothered him. Because it had. So he'd made the closest thing he could think of to a comeback and bolted. Rushed out of the restaurant with her calling behind him.
Did that mean she was sorry? That she hadn't meant it? No! He had to stop getting his hopes up. She was never going to want him, not the way he wanted her. The best he could hope for was to be a semi-friend, someone she would talk to when devoid of all other company. But he didn't want that, and he didn't know if he could handle that.
He fell backwards on the bed, clutching the small bottle he'd liberated from the mini-bar in his fist and groaned. It wasn't like he really meant to leave her standing behind. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "I wonder if she's mad at me." Uh-oh. If she hadn't meant to hurt him and he'd just run out on her like that, she might be even more pissed than he was. What a great mess this was turning into.
Tristan rolled onto his stomach, having consumed half the contents of the mini-bar. Not even bothering to change his clothes, he drifted off to sleep with one thought circulating over and over in his head. What the hell was he going to do?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
a/n - all right, i know that's a long one but there was a lot of stuff to cover in it. And now that the setting is established, there's gonna be a lot more of the R/T going on. So if you want it, you know what to do. :)
"So are you going to tell me what you're doing here, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" Rory's bluntness didn't surprise Tristan one bit. He had been watching her hold back the question for over fifteen minutes, attempting to make small talk, hoping he would offer the information voluntarily.
"I might prefer that second option." He pretended to ponder it for a while. "You beating me... that has possibilities."
"Can you be more of a pig?" She gave him a dirty look, but he could tell it was only for show. There was no real animosity in her voice.
"If you'd been living with a hundred guys for six months without even a single woman, you would be too."
"Somehow, I doubt that that made a difference in your case."
Rory's wit had always intrigued him. He had missed her and the banter probably more than anything else, including women, while he'd been away. Not that he was planning on admitting that anytime soon.
"Sorry Mary, I forgot. You're in love. And love transcends all physical needs." Then, replacing the look of blissfulness with a smirk, Tristan continued, "So, how is bag-boy anyways? Was that whose answering machine you were having a conversation with when I dragged you away?"
Rory's eyes darkened for a second before she answered in her normal light- hearted tone. "That... DuGrey, is none of your business. Now, returning to the formerly evaded question, what are you doing here?"
Tristan chose to ignore the second part of her remarks, focusing on the first instead. "Do I detect a tinge of bitterness in that tone? Don't tell me bag-boy broke up with you again? What is it about the spring and the two of you? Everyone else is looking for a mate, and you two are fighting."
"No, and I'll remind you again that it's any of your business, but DEAN," she stressed that word since Tristan had obviously not bothered to learn his name yet, "did not break up with me again."
Tristan felt his heart drop a little. Here he was hoping that maybe Rory Gilmore was finally single and he could have his chance.
"...I broke up with him."
YES! She dumped him. An unintentional smile brightened his face, and Tristan coughed to make it less noticeable. This was better than he'd thought, not that he would let her see that. "Really? Finally get bored of the one-sided conversations? Or was he just not doing it for you anymore, you know what I mean?"
"Tristan, why am I even discussing this with you?" She was starting to get mad. He just loved it when she got pissed off.
"I don't know. You're just so happy to see me you're giddy and you just can't stop talking. Plus you wanted me to know that you're single because you're desperate to get me into bed." He winked at her. "Don't worry Mary, I won't tell anyone your secret."
She rolled her eyes in response. "Some things never change, do they?"
That surprised him. He had expected Rory to blush with embarrassment the way she'd always used to at implied sexual behavior, but she hadn't. She'd handled it with comfort. And that irritated him. Rory Gilmore comfortable with sex? The thought made him cringe. But, he kept up the banter.
"Some do. I suppose it depends, did you want me this much when I went to Chilton?"
"Only in your dreams, DuGrey." With that the pair lapsed into silence, both distracted by their own thoughts.
* * * * *
She could not believe that she was standing in line for pizza in the heart of the midwest with Tristan DuGrey. It was like some alternate dimension. She couldn't stop looking at his beautiful blue eyes and the rippling muscles that drove her crazy every time he made a gesture. Boot Camp had done him good.
No! This was Tristan. The evil one. Satan. The boy that had made her life miserable for a year, and here she was watching his every move with the intensity of a cat in heat. That had to stop. Sure, he was attractive, she would be crazy not to admit that. But he was also a player, a jerk, and an all around bad guy. A guy she wanted nothing to do with.
So what was she still doing here? Speaking of... why was he here?
"So, I think I will risk it to ask this question for the third time... Why are you in Chicago?"
"Why are you?"
"Sorry. It's not working this time. I am going to repetitively ask the question until I receive a satisfactory answer. And if you refuse to respond, I will be forced to tell that lovely man over there in the pink sweater that you find him extremely attractive." Rory saw Tristan glance uneasily at the man that had obviously been checking him out for the last five minutes.
"You are a vindictive girl. Has anybody ever told you that?"
"Too many to count. Now... do I have to prove it?" She made a move towards the man, and Tristan grabbed her arm.
"Fine.. Fine, you win... Mary. I'll tell you."
"And yet I'm still waiting."
"Okay, it's simple. You and Paris are here to participate in a panel of students taken from a number of schools in the New England area. So am I."
"You're joking? I thought you were at a military school."
"I was, but it's still a school, a very reputable one at that, and coming from Chilton I had an easy heads up on most of the inner city kids there serving JAIL SENTENCES, at least in the academics department." He flinched slightly and Rory pretended that she hadn't noticed. But he got over it quickly as he continued, "So, when the opportunity arose that the top ranked student got to come here, I applied myself. To get out of there for an entire summer, it was worth it. And here I am. Simple as that."
"So you didn't enjoy military school?" Her sickeningly sweet tone was dripping in sarcasm.
"Very funny. I would be deathly afraid of any man that would."
"Oooooh, a DuGrey paralyzed in fear? What would Daddy Dearest have to say about that?"
"Not much actually. Maybe that's why he's letting me come back to Chilton in the fall." Tristan glowered down at Rory's shocked face.
"Are you joking?"
"Nope. He and my mom were so impressed that I had started 'working to my potential' and was awarded this great summer opportunity that they decided I was worthy enough to grace Hartford society with this lovely face once again."
Rory didn't know what to say. Tristan was coming back! She wasn't sure whether to be happy or horrified or maybe a little bit of both. But she had to say something... Think.... Finally she managed to choke out, "Well, I'm happy for you then."
Tristan's happiness faded when he saw the suffocated look on Rory's face. "Sorry to disappoint you. Listen, I'm not really all that hungry, I'm just going to go back to the hotel."
"Tristan, wait!" Rory tried to stop him, but he was already gone.
"Next!" Rory stepped up to the counter to pick up the pizza.
* * * * *
"So, did those movies meet your requirements, Mr. Picky?" She couldn't help but tease Luke a little more about his aversion to the oompas.
"As long as I avoided the short, chanting men with red faces, I can handle anything."
"Ooompas do not chant! They sing." The offended look on her face almost made Luke laugh. Almost.
"Fine. Little singing men with red faces... even better." Rolling his eyes, Luke suddenly realized that movie night was over.... Now what? "So..."
"Coffee?"
"You're gonna kill yourself."
"But it's my house, and you can't withhold what's already been given, now can you? Not so tough without your coffee pot, are ya?" Lorelai taunted him as she led them into the kitchen. Halfway there she stopped and just inches from running into her he stopped. She was looking him straight in the eye, their faces just millimeters apart. "Thanks."
Luke was taken aback by the suddenness of the gratitude. "No problem. It was this or a night with Jess, and frankly I'm starting to get tired of the pocket television."
"Ahhh.... still hasn't grown up. You should have brought it with; maybe my tv could've served as a role model."
"Sorry, but I don't think I want it learning to display images like those."
"So you didn't like the movies?"
"They were all right." An uncomfortable silence ensued as the two of them realized just how close they had gotten during the course of the conversation. The silence seemed to pull them even closer together as their gazes dropped one another's mouths. Lorelai closed her eyes and waited, leaning towards the source of heat on her face... 3....2....1.... ..... Her eyes popped open as she felt the cold rush of air onto her face.
"Listen, it's late and I'd better be going." And he was gone.
Lorelai leaned back against the wall, not having moved for a good two minutes. She was in shock. Had she just almost kissed Luke? Luke?! Backwards baseball cap, flannel shirt wearing Luke. She was nuts. Looking for a punishment.
But he had stopped it. Why? What had stopped him? Had he even wanted to kiss her in the first place? Had she really wanted to kiss him? She wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or offended that he had been the one to stop them. All she knew was that the tears trickling down her cheeks were implying another emotion altogether.
* * * * *
By the time Rory got back to the hotel, she thought Paris would be livid and irrational due to lack of food, but instead she was extremely calm, and almost..... happy. This was NOT the Paris that Rory knew. There was some major explaining to be done here. Rory sat down on the bed, placing the pizza down in between the two of them and laying her hands on top of the box.
"Okay, you are not getting a single piece of this until you tell me who you are and what you've done with the real Paris Geller."
"Why? Do you miss her?"
Paris was making a joke, and smiling!? This was more serious than Rory had previously thought. "Okay, I'm completely serious. What is up? I have never known you to smile for any reason other than inflicting pain on another living being, and due to the fact that you've been alone in this hotel room all night, I am guessing that that didn't happen." Rory glanced at Paris' unrevealing face. "Did that happen?"
"God Rory, you can be such a jerk sometimes. Isn't a girl just allowed to be in a good mood? I'm sooo sorry that my lightheartedness is such a problem. Don't you worry. It won't happen again."
Now that was a tone Rory recognized. "Sorry Paris. I just thought something might be up. I suppose you can have some pizza now." She handed her a plate, hoping to make amends for the earlier crimes.
"...Thanks." Paris took the pizza grudgingly, then glancing around the room as if something had just struck her she asked, "Am I mistaken or did two people leave this room in search of pizza? Why is there only one here?"
Rory tried to evade eye contact. "Ummm... we got in a fight, kinda."
"A fight!? He's been here for like two hours, and you guys are at it already? This is gonna be a great summer, I can tell."
"Hey, nobody asked him to come along, and it wasn't really a fight, exactly."
"So then what was it, exactly?" Paris had a way of making the most innocent statement a demand.
"Well, we were talking like two normal people, if you can believe it. Then he told me he was coming back to Chilton next year and I was surprised. So I was dumb and made some remark like 'That's great for you' and he got upset and left. That's all there was to it." Expecting to be rebuked for chasing the love of Paris' life away, Rory put her hands over her ears, but nothing came. "Paris, did you hear what I said?"
There was an uncommon look of thoughtfulness on Paris' face. "Yeah. You two are hopeless." Then the look flashed away, and the old Paris was back. "So, Jess called."
Rory almost choked on her pizza. She hadn't expected him to actually call her back, especially so quickly. What was he doing home on a Friday night? All this flashed through her mind, but she just nodded, "uh.... ok. Thanks."
There was that look again, that thoughtful, pondering look. Rory felt as though she'd seen it before, but she couldn't be sure. Something was going on with Paris, and Rory was going to figure out what it was. But first she needed to know what caused it... Tristan, the trip, .. Jess? Ugh. Maybe she wouldn't try to figure the mystery that was Paris out. Her thoughts were jumbled enough with Jess and Dean and Tristan. She absolutely did not need to throw another girls' problems into that mix in her head. Things were just nuts...
Rory was still trying to figure out how to brace the subject when Paris blurted out, "So, are you two like together?"
"Me and who?"
"You and Jess." There was a pause in the conversation as Paris waited for an answer and Rory considered it. Seeing that Rory was too lost in thought to remember to speak out loud, Paris started rambling, "When I asked him on the phone what was going on with you two, he sounded like he didn't even know. But there kinda has to be, right? I mean, he was the second person you called as soon as you got here, and in my book, that makes it a little more-"
"I don't know."
Stunned that Rory had interrupted her, Paris just stared at her. "What do you mean you don't know? There either is or there isn't. You either like him or you don't. You either have a 'come-here-so-I-can-suck-on-your-face' relationship or a 'hey-buddy-how-ya-doing' one. 'I don't know' is such a cop-out."
"It's not a cop-out. It's the truth. Besides, why do you care?" Rory was starting to get defensive. Why was Paris asking her all these questions? She had enough trouble trying to answer them when they were coming from her own conscience.
"I don't. It doesn't matter. Just trying to make conversation. But apparently that was a mistake. I am going to go to bed now."
"It's only ten o'clock."
"Well, I'm tired. Goodnight." With that, she flipped off the light and headed towards her side of the bedroom.
Rory sighed and crawled into her own bed. What a day... and what a thought. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she realized what she had done to herself. She was spending the entire summer with Paris Geller and Tristan DuGrey, hours from home at that. What had she been thinking? If this was any indication of what to come, it was going to be a very long summer.
* * * * *
Jess was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been five hours and sixteen minutes since he'd called her, and she still hadn't called back. He pushed the button on the answering machine, planning on listening to her message again, wanting to get lost in the sweet tones that were Rory Gilmore... "Hey Jess. It's me..." Unfortunately, the door slamming and someone stomping into the apartment drowned her out.
"Did you see what Taylor did out there? He has 4th of July decorations out already. It's May 29th for God's sake. I just don't understand why people need to get excited for holidays 6 months before they happen. I mean, putting up Christmas lights before Thanksgiving, Valentines Day at New Years, Halloween in August! Why can't people just be happy with the day it is, rather than pushing to make time go faster? I have half a mind to go rip it all down and shove it in a trunk and dump it in the Star's Hollow River." Luke paused for a breath, obviously intending to continue his mindless rant when heard someone else talking.
"...cuts me off. Okay, call me back. Bye."
"Was that Rory?"
"Yeah. She called a few hours ago." Jess tried to keep the blush off his cheeks, hoping Luke didn't suspect he'd been laying there listening to the message over and over again.
"So, are you going to call her back?"
"Ummm.. It's kinda late." His eyes twitched nervously and Luke noticed the unusual coloring in his face.
"Oh. Yeah. You're right." He sat down next to Jess, obviously in as bad of a mood as he was.
"Went that good huh?"
"Huh?" Luke was pulled out of his thoughts by Jess' simple question.
"Yeah. Great."
And they sat there, side by side, lost in visions of the Gilmores.
* * * * *
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..." Tristan had repeated the word over and over the entire way back to the hotel and continued to do so as he reached his destination. How could he have just left her standing there like that? Calling for him to come back? She had been right about him. He really was a jerk.
"No!" He hadn't noticed he was talking out loud until he saw the few stragglers habitating the lobby staring at him. So he brought it down a few notches and began mumbling, "Great job, DuGrey. Now they think you're crazy. This is shaping up to be one great trip." He punched the button on the elevator with so much force that the plastic casing on it cracked. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Get a grip man. She didn't really do anything."
But she had. She had cut into his heart without warning and without hesitation. They had been having civil conversation for once. Just standing around talking, and laughing. It had been nice. And then he'd made the mistake. He'd told her that he was coming back to Chilton next fall. And she had pounced. Pulled the knife out of her back pocket and attacked.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite so intentional and cruel, but it still felt that way. She had looked like she wanted to die when he'd told her that. Like she wanted to curl up in a corner and give up. As if sharing a school with him was more than enough of a reason to.
Tristan had wanted to slap her, shake her. He had wanted to say something that would cut her the way her words had cut him. But he'd stood there. Silent. Shocked. Hurt. He'd been at a loss, no witty comebacks, no pretending it hadn't bothered him. Because it had. So he'd made the closest thing he could think of to a comeback and bolted. Rushed out of the restaurant with her calling behind him.
Did that mean she was sorry? That she hadn't meant it? No! He had to stop getting his hopes up. She was never going to want him, not the way he wanted her. The best he could hope for was to be a semi-friend, someone she would talk to when devoid of all other company. But he didn't want that, and he didn't know if he could handle that.
He fell backwards on the bed, clutching the small bottle he'd liberated from the mini-bar in his fist and groaned. It wasn't like he really meant to leave her standing behind. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "I wonder if she's mad at me." Uh-oh. If she hadn't meant to hurt him and he'd just run out on her like that, she might be even more pissed than he was. What a great mess this was turning into.
Tristan rolled onto his stomach, having consumed half the contents of the mini-bar. Not even bothering to change his clothes, he drifted off to sleep with one thought circulating over and over in his head. What the hell was he going to do?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
a/n - all right, i know that's a long one but there was a lot of stuff to cover in it. And now that the setting is established, there's gonna be a lot more of the R/T going on. So if you want it, you know what to do. :)