Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

A/N: Be sure to check out the message at the bottom of this chapter and a big thanks to Alexia for beta-ing. :-)

Social

''Rory.''

Rory lifted her head, her eyes leisurely following the same path, her mind still caught up in the sentences she had just read, though she detached herself from them as soon as her eyes found the person that had interrupted her.

''Madeline?'' she asked, surprised to see the raven haired girl standing in front of her. Rory took a few seconds to scan the cafeteria, looking for Louise. She wondered if the two friends had a fight. Personally, she liked Madeline better than Louise because Madeline was always just a little bit nicer to everyone.

''Can I join you?''

Rory returned her gaze to the girl in front of her, now used to the black Mary Janes with the thick plateau soles and dark eye make-up, and nodded. ''Yeah, of course.''

Madeline threw her one of her cheery smiles before sitting down across from her. ''Thanks.''

Rory watched as Madeline sat down, hiking up her skirt another couple of inches, though she did it for comfort and not to show off. ''So, are you going to Joseph's party?''

Rory looked at Madeline who rolled her eyes at her. ''Joseph Tinsdale?''

''Oh, yeah, I think I have math with him.''

''Yeah, well, he's throwing a party this Friday and you should come.''

Rory shook her head. ''I don't think so.''

''Why not? It'll be fun.''

''I always have dinner with my grandparents on Friday,'' Rory explained, hoping that Madeline would find that enough to drop the subject, but the girl only shrugged.

''So get out of it. It's your chance to experience a real party with beer and rock music and everyone has to experience that at least once in their lives.''

''I'm not exactly that kind of person. I mean, don't get me wrong; I like rock music, but I could do without the beer,'' Rory said.

''It's not about the beer, silly. It's about having fun. Even Paris is going.''

''Because her mom always forces her to go to every Chilton party... Does she have fun?''

''It's Paris,'' Madeline pointed out.

''Point made, but in the party department, Paris and I are more alike than you think. Plus, I won't know anyone there and I'm not going to stand beside Paris all night and watch her look at her watch every minute.''

''You don't have to worry about being the loner,'' Madeline said ''You can hang with me and Louise. You might have fun...'' Madeline bit her lip for a couple of seconds before blurting out, ''Tristan will be there.''

''Isn't he always?''

''Of course. It comes with his level of popularity and he's a social person,'' Madeline said.

''Yeah, social. You know, that actually explains a lot about him.'' Rory smiled. 'Social' was indeed an excellent way to describe Tristan.

Madeline realized what Rory meant and started to chuckle, earning a look from Rory before she started to laugh herself, not believing that she was actually laughing about something so stupid with Madeline.

''Social or not,'' Madeline started as soon as the amusement had faded, ''this time he's only going to the party because of you.''

''What?''

''Promise you won't tell?''

Rory nodded. ''Yeah.''

''Cross your heart and hope to die?'' Madeline asked.

Rory raised an eyebrow. ''Would you?''

Madeline smiled and shook her head. ''No, just don't tell Louise about all of this. I didn't tell her because Tristan said that is was a secret...it was supposed to be a secret anyway.''

''A secret?''

''Yeah, he asked me to ask you to go to the party.''

''Why, I mean, why didn't he ask me himself?'' Rory asked, curious about the answer.

''Isn't it obvious? He likes you and he had me ask you because he's too shy to.''

Rory smiled as she pictured Tristan being shy, something that was impossible, but for some reason she couldn't laugh at it.

-x-x-x-

After her last class, she waited for Tristan at his locker, wanting to confront him with the weird situation at lunch, though Madeline's company at been surprisingly pleasant. She saw him approaching with a girl by his side, though she didn't pay any attention to it and slip away silently like she usually did when she saw that he had company. Tristan caught her eyes with his and said something to the girl by his side who seemed to struggle for his attention a little longer before giving up and walking away, though she couldn't help but throw an icy glare at Rory as she passed her.

''I don't think she likes me,'' Rory commented as Tristan came to a halt in front of her.

''This had better be good; I just refused Cathy Wild a ride...well, both rides actually.''

Rory didn't react to his remark. Her expression remained serious as she looked up at him, quickly letting her eyes glide over his features, wondering if they now seemed different to her, more noticeable maybe.

''Why did you get Madeline to convince me to go to the party?''

''Didn't she give you a reason?'' Tristan asked, his expression just as blank as hers, not wanting to let a hint of an emotion slip through.

''She did. She said that you liked me.''

''Well, I do like you,'' Tristan said, playfully touching the tip of her nose with his index finger before casually opening his locker, pretending to look for a book when really he was afraid that she would see right through his facade with those big blue eyes of hers.

His simple action made her feel as if she was a couple of years younger than him and he treated her like a child because that's exactly how he felt about her, like a child who he needed to protect and guard from all the bad things in the world and she hated it. She watched him grab a book and close his locker, doubting that he even knew how he made her feel; he never really did nor did he ever make her feel like this on purpose.

''If that's all, you will have to excuse me because I'm going to see if I can still catch Cathy.''

He grinned at her before turning around.

''Tristan...''

He silently sighed and turned around, knowing that he couldn't just pretend that he hadn't heard her, though the thought had crossed his mind.

''Why did you ask Madeline to do that?''

''Because I work in mysterious ways,'' he artfully answered, avoiding her eyes as they searched for his.

''Tris...''

''Cathy's waiting.''

''Fine, if she's more important than me,'' Rory softly said, slightly hurt by his behavior.

Tristan sighed and finally looked at her, letting his eyes rest on her face which was partially hidden behind stray strands of hair, though he could clearly see that she was pouting. It was something she had done for as long as he could remember and it made her look irresistibly sweet and even harder for him because he knew that he would hurt her if she did end up going to the party. Still, he knew that it was better to get it over with, as harsh as it may sound.

''Princess, don't do that.''

''Then tell me...''

''Okay, just stop doing that before I can't control myself anymore.'' He had meant for it to come over as playful, but his tone had been too gentle for that. It had almost sounded genuine which was why they both remained silent for a few seconds and just looked at each other, wondering. ''I wanted to ask you...''

''Why? Why is it so important to you that I go to this one? I never go to these parties.''

Tristan shrugged. ''I just thought it would be fun to attend at least one Chilton party with you before we graduate. I know the party itself is pretty random, but I was just looking out for you, you know, making sure that you have enough fun this year.''

Rory smiled at him. ''So why didn't you just ask me?''

''Because I'm a guy and Madeline's a girl.''

''Really because that did make me wonder,'' Rory remarked.

''Come on, would you have said yes if I asked you?''

''Yeah.''

''Would Dean have allowed you to say yes?'' Tristan asked.

''We're friends, he knows that.''

''Yeah, but I'm still a guy.''

''That explains the stubble,'' Rory said as she brought her hand up to his cheek and brushed her fingers against the rough skin.

An internal shiver ran through him, making him feel as if everything inside of him was shaking with the excitement he was experiencing at the moment. ''You know what I mean.''

''So I won't tell him,'' Rory offered, removing her hand from his face, making both their temperatures drop a few degrees.

Tristan raised an eyebrow. ''Are you actually going to lie to your boyfriend?''

''I won't be lying if I just meet you there and tell him that I'm going to a party, Chiltonites only. Now go, I'm sure Cathy is waiting for you.''

She gave him a gentle push before brushing past him and heading towards the doors. Only seconds later, she felt him throw an arm around her and for once she didn't struggle to get away from him. It felt comfortable enough to allow, just this once, of course.

-x-x-x-

As soon as Rory arrived at Stars Hollow, she hurried over to Luke's, knowing that Lane would be waiting for her. She had called her best friend as soon as she had gotten in the bus and asked her to meet her at the diner. Rory saw her immediately as she entered the diner and headed over to her, smiling when she saw that she had already ordered a cup of coffee for her.

''Hey,'' Rory said as she dropped her bag on the floor and sat down across from her friend, instantly reaching for the large cup. She took a gulp. ''I needed that.''

''So there is an emergency,'' Lane said.

Rory looked at her. ''What do you mean?''

''Well, you just said 'I needed that' like you really needed it and when you called me there was something about it that sounded emergency-y.''

''Well, there is none. I just had a confusing day at school and I needed to talk to someone.''

''At least you needed something,'' Lame remarked. ''So, tell me about this confusing day you had.''

''What do you want to hear, the long version, the short one, the in between one?''

''Just go from the top.''

''Well, Madeline ate lunch with me,'' Rory started.

''Reason?''

''Why does she have to have a reason? Maybe we're friends.''

''The day you start hiking up your Chilton skirt to above your knees, I'll believe you,'' Lane said. ''Now, without any further ado, the reason, ladies and gentlemen.''

Rory shook her head and smiled. ''She went on about a party this Friday.''

''One of those Chilton ones?''

Rory nodded.

''Do you guys wear your uniforms at those too or do you have some special party uniform that you wear?''

Rory rolled her eyes. ''Anyway,'' she said, emphasizing the word, ''she told me that the reason why she was convincing me to go to the party was because Tristan had asked her to.''

''Oh, about him, since we're both friends of you, I suggest that we meet one of these days so we can all become friends and maybe something more.''

''He's not Korean, Lane,'' Rory pointed out.

''He can be a blond Korean, those exist, you know. Brad Pitt is Korean.''

''He is not.''

''See how well he hides it?'' Lane said.

''Okay, fine, the next time he comes over, I will invite you over, too.''

''Good answer. Now go on with the story. Why didn't he just ask you to the party himself?''

''Well, apparently he liked me and was too shy to ask me himself,'' Rory continued.

''No offense, but he doesn't exactly sound like a shy person.''

''He isn't, he's just really really social,'' Rory said with the beginning of a smile.

''I have no clue what you're talking about, not even if we are talking in our secret friends code,'' Lane remarked.

Rory shrugged. ''You don't have to. Anyway, I confronted him with it and he told me that he just wanted me to have some fun.''

''That's a pretty decent cover up story.''

''Yeah, only it wasn't a cover up story.''

''You said yes, didn't you?'' Lane asked.

Rory nodded. ''Tristan and I are friends and I know that I normally don't go to these parties, but I figured that I should at least try it once before I graduate.''

''Save your convincing skills for Dean.''

Rory bit her lip before going on. ''Actually, I'm not going to tell him.''

''You're going to the party behind his back?''

''No, I mean, I'm going to tell him about the party, but I'm not going to tell him about meeting Tristan there. And the party is for people who go to Chilton only.''

''How convenient.'' Lane grinned. ''Looks like you've got this all figured out.''

Rory shrugged. ''There wasn't a lot to figure out.''

''Uhuh, all I know is that if you and Tristan hook up at the party, I wanna hear all the details.''

''Lane,'' Rory gave her friend a look, ''there will be no hooking up of any kind. I'm with Dean, remember him?''

''Vaguely, but I don't think Tristan will care who you're with.''

Rory snorted. ''That's why he's so 'social'.''

Lane started to chuckle, though she didn't completely understand what Rory was going on about. ''What?''

''Figure it out.'' Rory stuck out her tongue.

''Maturity is wasted on you, Ror.''

''Blame it on my role model.'' Rory took another sip of her coffee. ''So, I probably need something more fancy than a pair of jeans to wear to this party...''

''We'll go shopping for silk and satin tomorrow.''

''Thanks, best friend.''

''Any time, best friend.''

Rory smiled as she retrieved her phone from her bag and dialed her mom's number. She looked up to see if Luke was near before putting it to her ear.

''Hey, mom, I was wondering if you could get me out of this Friday night's dinner?''

REVIEW! Please? :-) Well, this chapter was kind of a filler, but I hope that it was sill sort of amusing to read and maybe even good. I know, I might be kidding myself. The next chapter will probably be the party that most of you have been waiting for, I think. Just lemme know what you think of this chapter and, though Tristan will go through with the bet (it may turn out horrible or it might turn out just slightly better than I, myself have expected), I was wondering what you think of him and what he's about to do.

This seemed to have become a standard message at the bottom of every one of my fics, but I am just saving you the 'agony' of wondering... Anyway, for anyone of you that cares, I also updated my Roswell fic Alienated, my new Lit Homeboy and I put up a new Trory one parter, Follow My Lead. So, if you have the time or interest... Thanks :-)