A.N/ Hi guys! Thank you so much for all the kind words/all the kind gestures! I feel so happy at the moment so I'm posting this chapter so quickly. This is dedicated to "Jessjunky" . So keep the reviews coming, and I'll post the next chapter a.s.a.p (: x Oh and p.s; the exciting part comes in with the next few chapters so press the review button ! Hehe x

Chapter Seven: Nancy and Dodger;

"Nancy … Nancy." I repeat over and over again until I've got it.

And then it hits me, and I can't believe I didn't figure it out before.

I grab my phone from beside me on the bed and flip up the screen, hoping it won't wake Sookie up from the bright light, which hurts my eyes but I don't mind.

It's 3:30am. I returned inside officially 30 minutes ago, so I know he'll still be up. I flip to his number and pressed the SEND MESSAGE button.

Me: 'So you're bringing up the past, Dodger? I can't believe you still remember that!' I'm tempted to put a smiley face on the end, but in the end I decide against it and press SEND.

Beep! There are those butterflies. 'Can't believe it took you so long to figure it out!'.

Me: 'Excuse me, sir, but are you being mean to me? I might find some way to be busy at 8pm tomorrow night...'

Beep! 'Alright, I'm sorry. :P Loosen up a bit, though, Nancy. I'm off to bed. You should be too. I'll be there at 8 to pick you up. Don't even think about finding something else to do. Goodnight Nancy (:'

Me: 'I won't, don't worry. Goodnight, Dodger'. This time I don't even hesitate to add in a smiley-face and press SEND. And I go to sleep, with nothing and yet everything on my mind.

When the doorbell rings at 8pm exactly, I am so excited I let out a little squeal as I walk over to the door.

I stop before I open it, my hand on the knob, and take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

"You know I can see your shadow through the door, don't you?"

I can't help but laugh as my face turns bright red and I lean up against the door. "No! I totally forgot about that!"

"Well how about you let me in and I'll pretend I didn't see you stop and take a deep breath as if your life depended on how I think you look?"

This only makes my face go redder and I turn away from him, leaning up against the door. "I can't open it now!"

"Oh, come on, Nance."

He can't say this without laughing, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who's laughing themselves silly.

"Nope, sorry." I smile, wickedly.

He doesn't say anything in reply, and I gain my laughter under control. "Just kidding, Dodger! I'll let you in-"

I turn around and wrench the door open and come face to face with … an empty porch?

I eye his car in the driveway behind my own and frown. Where the hell is he? "Dodger?"

"Oh, Nancy, Nancy, Nancy, don't you know anything about locking doors?"

I jump and let out a high-pitched scream as he wraps his arms around me from behind and I accidentally kick him in the shin. "Oh! Shit- sorry!"

He lets go of me and I spin around. "Are you okay?"

Without even pausing he winks at me and makes me blush. "Relax, Nance, nothing can hurt me. I'm Dodger."

We both burst out into another fit of giggles and laughter, and he wraps his arm around my shoulder. "C'mon, we have to go if we're going to get there on time."

"Where's there?" I ask, wrapping my arm around his waist as he pulls the front door shut behind us and we walk down the stairs, over the lawn and towards his car.

"The restaurant." he states simply.

I don't look him in the eye. "You made a reservation?"

"Don't sound so shocked." he says mockingly.

I laugh slightly. "I'm sorry, but I just … I never thought you would make reservations."

He gives me a disapproving look but doesn't say anything as I burst out into a fit of hysterical giggles.


"I'll take you home, if you want."

I want to ask him what my other option is, but I know. On the inside, I know what the other option is and I can't hide my longing. "Well … what if I don't want to go home yet?"

His smile shows me that this is what he was hoping to hear. "I'd say where do you want to go?"

"I want to see your house." I say simply, as if it's no big deal.

His pause is long enough for me to wonder if he's going to say no. "Okay."

We pull out onto the road as he begins driving and he looks over at me quickly, pulling back onto the curb.

"What?" I ask, my eyes widening with confusion.

He leans over and I think he's going to kiss me. I hope he's going to kiss me. His lips get close to mine and his body is leaning over mine, but then he pulls back, just as I'm closing my eyes and I snap them open, embarrassed. "Seatbelt."

I snatch it from his hands, shooting him a dirty look. "I can do it."

"Alright, Nancy, no need to get hostile." he jokes, earning another filthy glare from me, but than I can't help myself and I burst out into laughter, my eyes pooling with tears.

"Thank you for dinner. It was wonderful." I say as we stop at a red light, even though the street is empty like most of the time in Stars Hollow.

He doesn't pause. "I'm glad to see you still eat like a troop."

I blush at the thought. In the restaurant, I knew Jess knows my eating patterns, so I ate my own dish and than finished his for him. "I wish I could still keep the weight off."

He looks at my waist and then his eyes travel back to mine. "You're still super skinny."

"I'm a size ten." I murmur under my breath. "I've never been a size ten."

He taps his fingers against the steering wheel. "Well you know what they say about size tens?"

I raise my eyebrows, signalling for him to carry on and he does. "That they're super fucking skinny."

I laugh and close my eyes as the light turns green and we start driving again. This is the reason why I fell in love with him; because he makes me feel like the prettiest girl in the room.

"This is beautiful," I whisper, looking around the house. And I'm being completely honest. "How long have you lived here?"

What I really want to know is how the hell he got the money to pay for this house while he's on a writer's salary, but I don't, since I know I'd be crossing some sort of line that I can't see but know is there.

"Which one do you want me to answer first?"

"Hmm?" I don't take my eyes off the view of Stars Hollow. We're standing in his bedroom, since he dragged me in here to start with, saying that I had to see the best view in Stars Hollow. He was right.

"How long I've been living here, or how I afforded it?" he asks

I bite my lip and frown, turning to look at him. "Did I ask that out loud?"

He shakes his head. "No, I could read it on your face."

I blush and he smiles, answering both questions. "I've been living here for … six, maybe seven months. And I got the house as a gift."

My eyes bug out of my head. "Who gave you a house as a gift?! I obviously need to be-friend them."

He laughs at my obvious joke. "TJ and Mum came into a run-in with some money, so they thought I could use something permanent, instead of living in the dingy Philly apartment with two other guys."

I smile. "Wow."

He watches my face as I turn and look back at the view. "Its beautiful, isn't it?"

I can still feel his eyes on my face, they haven't moved an inch. "Yeah … it is."

My smile reaches my eyes and I look down at the ground and then at him.

He clears his throat, getting caught out, a light blush spreads over his cheeks and then he turns and heads to the door. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the house."

He gives me a tour, and then the last room is the kitchen, where I fall in love. The whole kitchen is black-marble, accept for the the white cupboards. It's very affective, and I feel the need to be a chef just so I can cook in this massive (and beautiful) kitchen.

The kitchen is probably double the size of our one at home, and I can't help but feel so proud for him. With a beautiful house, he's a published author, and the perfect person.

"Why are you smiling so?"

I lick my lips and look at him. "I'm just really proud of you."

His smile reaches his eyes and he looks down at the ground, clearing his throat as a light blush creeps up his cheeks. "I know I said it before – but it's such a surprise that you came back."

"A surprise?" I press, using my left leg to support all of my weight so I'm leaning towards him rather than away from him.

He doesn't pause for an instant. "A good surprise."

Another smile that makes my stomach clench forms on his lips.

"Good."

I watch out of the corner of my eye as his hands move from behind his back to rest by his sides, and my heart speeds up. If I reach over right now, I could take his hand in mine.

"Rory? Are you okay?"

I blink and turn to look at him. He's watching me with concern etched all over his face and I shake my head. "Sorry, just dazed off for a second."

He laughs and wraps his arm around my shoulders. "Come on, I think I owe you a beer."

"For what?" I ask as he leads me from the lounge-room, where I don't know how I got there, back into the kitchen.

He unwraps himself from me and leaves me at the counter, walking over to the fridge. "For admitting that I was jealous of Dean last night."

"Jealous." I repeat, nodding. "Yeah, I had that with Shane."

His back stiffs, as he stands up straight and turns around, looking me straight in the face, each of his hands clasping a beer.

He hands me one and then takes a step away from me, as if I'll poison him if I touch him.

It hurts but I don't admit it – I know if I do I'll give something away and I don't know what it is I'll give away.

"And now?" he asks as we both unscrew the top of our beers. He chucks the top in the sink and I follow his suit.

I smile, slowly, unsure of myself. "Well, she's not with you any more, is she?"

He pushes his glass to clink! with mine before he takes a sip and then nods slowly. "That's the way I feel about Dean."

And without a second thought, I smile at him and take a sip of my beer.