Disclaimer – If I wished upon a star would I own Gilmore Girls and their characters? No. No, I wouldn't. If I wished upon a star would I be making profit off of this story? No, sadly, I wouldn't.

A.N.- Helloooooo all! I firstly just want to thank everyone soo much for showing so much love for this story. I heard you guys loud and clear in your reviews and have been working on an outline to continue this story, so it won't be plotless. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I was on vacation in Europe and I didn't bring my laptop with me. I hope you guys love this chapter as much as I do!

Review Responses: melliegirl13 – Thanks for the love, and yea, I guess it is sort of a fake out, but in a way it's not. I try to make the end of every chapter be in such a way that if I decided to never update again, I wouldn't be leaving readers on a cliff hanger or expecting more. It would be a sort of ending. I hope you like the style.

Sammie0014 – I'm glad that you would honor me with being the only Tristan/Rory story that you love so far. I'll definitely try to continue to do my best to keep it that way! :)

poetryismyfirstlove – You took the words practically out of my brain! I completely agree! I was sooo upset when they took Tristan off of GG and onto OTH, but Rory was just too judgmental at the time. She needed room to grow into someone that could be comfortable and compatible with Tristan, and sadly I did finally see that growth in their last meeting the night of the play. He called her Mary and she responded like she should have long before: WITH A SMILE AND A BLUSH AND NORMAL TEENAGE HUMOR! Lol. I'm ranting. Sorry. Onto Jess, he was like a bad version of Tristan because bad boy's are cute but they need purpose. Jess had no purpose. Tristan's purpose had been simply to show Rory how to be a teenager, which Logan did very well, but too late. That kind of…rebellion and frivolity came at an age where she could face serious repercussions. It came a little too late and only served to mess up Rory's focused compass. Better her compass be messed up at 16 than in college when it REALLY matters, I say. But eh, I've ranted long enough. Thanks again for the reviews! I appreciate them!

Addicted2ItAll – Thanks so much for the praise! Seriously, the fact that you believe I've done something that so many have tried to do unsuccessfully really gives me faith in my own story. I love that you're loving it and I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Cece – The fact that you used the word "perfect"…I love you. Haha. Thanks for the support!

marinesgirl32 – Awww, thanks, and I hope that I succeed in doing that in this chapter too! :)

AlphaChica, Guests [plural], ringmybella, jalna, LilithFalling, IFiWEREyourLOVER, Billie333, LutzButz2687, Vengikins, sweetgirl23, Anna122, 00-night-eyes-00, Leens, JJsMommy27, Gilmoregirls1197 – Thank you so much to each and every one of you! Seriously, reviews are love, and they encourage me to get through my writers block when I have it or my insecurities about my own writing when they spring up. It makes me so incredibly happy to know that so many of you take time out of your day to read this story and send me a review about it. Each and every one of you rock! Including those who read silently! ;)

/My heart's against your chest, your lips pressed to my neck

I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet

And with this feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now

…This feels like falling in love/

-Kiss Me, Ed Sheeran

Chapter 6 – A Whole New World

You know that moment? The one where you feel like it's just you and the person who lights you on fire in the entire universe? Rory felt exactly like that the moment her lips touched Tristan's. She was in her dreams again, only she was in reality. The two meshed so perfectly that she couldn't decipher where one began and the other ended…it was so intense…so real…so them.

And then the wolf whistles began, and the clapping thundered around them. Rory and Tristan looked up and saw the smirks and envious looks thrown their way, and that moment when they believed it was just the two of them…turns out it wasn't.

"Let the girl breathe, Dugrey!" someone yelled from the crowd, and Rory turned beat red. Tristan saw her color and chuckled lightly.

Rory wanted to run away in embarrassment, but she couldn't. She was all in. She had promised 'no more running.' Instead, she buried her face in his shoulder. She meant it as a tactic to hide her face, but Tristan tightened his hold on her waist. She felt his breath move the top of her hair, and somehow she was burning for him. She ached, but there were too many witnesses.

"Tristan" Rory groaned. She didn't have to explain. He understood the way Paris of Troy with just one look understood Helen needed him in a way that only a woman can need a man.

"Haha, alright guys. Clear the halls, you're blocking traffic" Tristan joked, but everyone listened nonetheless.

Louise, Madeline, and Paris all stood by their lockers for an extra moment. Rory couldn't hear what they were saying to each other, but she saw their eyes. Louise's looked so proud, like she had known Rory could do it—give in, that Rory couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself too. Madeline just smiled that whimsical smile that said, "awww, how cute! Now, what am I wearing tomorrow?" Paris's eyes—heck, Paris's entire face was so confusing to Rory. There were too many emotions running through her face that Rory didn't even know where to begin to interpret, so instead she buried her face in Tristan's shoulder again.

Rory blocked out the world with just his scent filling her senses. She inhaled him, hoping to bring the butterflies in her stomach some peace, but all it did was intensify them.

"You okay, Mary?" Tristan teased, but there was an undertone of insecurity that made Rory look up.

She studied his face for a moment—really looked at him, and finally saw all that he was hiding. It's crazy, because it wasn't in a moment of overwhelming passion, or all consuming grief or anger that broke the barrier between them. Rory had just needed to want to see, and she did. She saw that he was just a boy like she was just a girl: both of them were too insecure for their own good, and the only difference was that Tristan hid his insecurities like a covert agent hid an alias—almost flawlessly, while Rory hid hers in plain sight.

"Are you guys going to leave, or just stand there gazing at each other?" Paris said snidely as she passed them by.

Rory rolled her eyes, and Tristan stepped back. Rory missed the warmth from his body, but there was a weight that had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn't feel as though she had to cling to the moment because she now felt secure that there would be another, and another, and another after that.

"We're going. I think there's a bunny outside that you can terrorize" Tristan poked fun at Paris. It was a sight to see, however, because he did it with a smile and in such a manner that didn't offend or hurt. It was a nice change to see Paris's rough edges countered by Tristan's polish, Rory thought.

As they walked outside Rory felt a different kind of heat inside her chest—trust. She trusted Tristan and she only realized it now, as she let him guide her outside, away from her friends, and into his car.

His car…how to explain the feeling of comfort, and pure relaxation that Rory felt when she slid onto the smooth leather seats? How to describe the intense split-second euphoria that washed over Rory as she pressed play on Tristan's radio and Jay Z's "Venus vs. Mars" blasted through the speakers like firecrackers through the sky?

No one in the world could ever describe those feelings, because Rory was free. She was all-in-all-the-time-there's-no-such-thing-as-an-en d-to-a-rainbow free.

"First reggae, now rap? Should I start calling you Vanilla Ice?" Rory joked. The car sped down the highway, sliding through the lanes like Tristan slid against Rory at night: effortlessly.

"I prefer the Man of Your Dreams, but I'll take what I can get. There's a lot of fun to be had with Vanilla and Ice, Mary." Tristan smirked and Rory could only laugh. Her laughter came from the gut because he was absolutely incorrigible and she loved it.

"Where are we going?"

"The stars"

"Is that code for something or have are we suddenly on the set of Titanic?"

"Only if either of those means I can make love to you properly," Tristan looked at Rory swiftly and he knew he'd won that spar. Rory blushed beet red from the tips of her ears to the swell of her breasts. She cleared her throat, but her mouth had gone completely dry. The images that had flashed through Rory's mind were magnificent and terrifying simultaneously.

Tristan chuckled—a husky sound—and Rory just blushed deeper.

"Relax, Mary, I won't steal your virtue in a car. Promise" he winked, but Rory was prepared for his egotistical comment.

"Don't make promises I might not be prepared to keep." It took everything Rory had to get the words out of her mouth, but once said it had been worth it to see the fire in Tristan's eyes as his face snapped to hers for a moment. A sly smile graced his lips where he conceded defeat gracefully—he had been caught off guard with her comment.

"We're going to Madam La Fleur's" Tristan answered her question with such snobbery that Rory's affronted look was all he needed to bust out laughing, eyes shining like diamonds in the sun.

"Really?" Rory asked unsure, hoping the answer was 'no.' Madam La Fleur was so famous a dressmaker that even Rory had heard of her. Louise loved to get all her evening gowns fitted from her, and every time she did Louise would be denied an allowance for two weeks.

"No, not really. What would we need to go to La Fleur's for?" Tristan zigged and zagged through traffic.

"I don't know," Rory shrugged, but deep down she was disappointed and she wasn't sure why. "I guess, I thought you might be taking me to get a dress made."

"Did you want one made?" he asked seriously. He knew there was a covert conversation going on between them that he wasn't grasping just yet.

"No!" Rory attempted to reassure vehemently. "No, I didn't want a dress…"

"But?"

"But, nothing. I didn't want a dress."

"Yes, but?" Tristan was trying to get to the heart of the matter. He'd had enough subtext with Rory to last him a lifetime. He just wanted truth, no matter how embarrassing it may be.

She wished he wasn't driving so that she could just wrap herself in his arms, and speak. There was a solace that darkness and passion provided that cannot be replaced by any amount of trust or sunshine. She wished they would reach their destination.

Tristan, fed up with the silence on Rory's end, maneuvered the car over to the shoulder of the road and put it in park roughly.

"Are you crazy?" Rory exploded at his action.

"Alright, Mary. You've got my undivided attention. Now, will you tell me why you're upset?" He faced her fully, one arm on her headrest and the other on the counter.

"I'm not upset! Who said I'm upset? Now, will you get back on the road before a cop comes!" Her hands flailed in her dramatics, and Tristan just rolled his eyes.

"I'm a Dugrey. They're not going to write me a ticket. Now, will you just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it or find someone who can? You want a dress, Mare? Cuz I can get you a dress, Mary. I can get you a hundred dresses!"

"I know you can get me a hundred dresses. It's not—that's not—look," she took a deep breath to calm herself. "I know you can get me anything you want, but it's not about what you can do."

His gaze was moving all over Rory's face but he didn't feel any closer to understanding. Confusion made him feel like he was spinning out of control, and, honestly, the feeling was more than disgruntling. "Okay, you're apparently going to have to walk me a little further into your girl logic, because I still haven't reached the appropriate understanding bit that I know I'm supposed to."

"I want you to want to!" Rory exclaimed exasperated. Understanding smoothed out Tristan's features and somewhere between Ellie Goulding's "Burn" and Daughter's "Touch" Rory didn't need explanations or reassurance. She saw the understanding on his face, and it was reassurance enough. She understood too.

"I always—" Tristan broke off. He knew what he felt, and he knew what he wanted to say, but it felt like too much too soon. The words that said 'I always want to give you everything that I can, but I'm worried that if I do that you'll feel caged in. I'm worried of scaring you off. I'm scared of things that I can't even understand let alone explain to you…I'm scared of you,' clogged in his throat. Instead, he ran a hand through his hair, put the car in drive and merged back into traffic.

"Don't be such a drama queen, Mary" he said roughly, but Rory just smiled softly. She understood that there were words that even boys, playing at men, couldn't say until they became men wishing they were back to being boys.

If Tristan would have looked past his shame and fears to Rory's face, he would have seen the galaxy opening up for him. He would have been able to feel the waves of gravity hitting him as she opened up her heart slightly to him. He would have been in awe of what a beautiful moment actually was…but it passed him by, and he was none the wiser.

"So where are we going, again?" Rory asked him as she lowered her windshield. The wind took with it all the tension, and all that was left was Just Tristan. Just Rory. Just the feel of awareness that they each have of the distance from one another.

"Do we need a destination?" Tristan smirked, and self-confidence cloaked him like a long lost brother. He wore it so well that Rory's body's response was immediate. She ached again, and it was delicious. It was still new, and vibrant and Rory didn't think she'd ever get enough of it. She would take this moment, this feeling, over all the dresses in the world.

'Do we need a destination?'

"No. Guess we don't" Rory smiled back, but there was something in her voice; there was something in the shifting of her body that gave Tristan the knowledge of her yearning…and he yearned too.

As the wind rippled through her hair and the sun burned their skins with carefree abandon, Rory realized she was embarking in a whole new world. Because, really, when had it ever been heard of that Rory Gilmore ever went anywhere without a destination?

But they ached…and that was enough for now.

~TBC~

A.N – Sooo, how did everyone like it? Secret time: this is one of my favorite chapters so far. I felt like the transition of emotions flowed, but I could be wrong. This chapter was sort of an introduction to the new stage of Rory's and Tristan's relationship. Sort of like a teaser. Was it too little? Unneeded? Let me know and Review! :D