7. A Promise
The time had gone by so fast - it had been about 7 to 8 hours since Rory had first arrived at Logan's dorm that morning. Logan and his friends had a laid-back, easy-going attitude and outlook about them that had made Rory momentarily forget her distress. Also amazing were the total number of drinking games that they had played. Of course, not all of her problems had gone away that afternoon. Rory still felt a pang of sadness when she thought about Jess' lies that morning, and was reminded every time she saw a prom scene in the movies she had seen that afternoon.
"You okay?" Rosemary asked with concern as they watched the scary prom scene in Carrie. They had switched their movie genre from romantic comedies to action, just to satisfy the boys, to horror movies.
"I'm fine. I just never thought I would be jealous of Carrie." Rory retorted with a sigh.
"Why? Do you think you would look good with blood all over you?" Logan jokingly asked her. "Because I think you'll look much better in blue… it really matches your eyes." Logan stopped himself, hoping that Rory would not take his words as him hitting on her.
To his relief, Rory did not. "Jesus! Huntzberger, could you be any cheesier? I was just saying that because I'm going to miss my prom and while I was never one of those girls who played "Prom Queen" at lunch in first grade, I still wanted to go to my last high-school dance." Rory stated sadly.
"Well, that's ridiculous, you can still go alone, unlike in most TV shows, in real life nobody really cares if you go alone or with a group of friends." Rosemary reasonably pointed out.
"No, all of my friends have boyfriends and dates and I just don't want to be the third wheel and have my classmates babysit me. Plus, the prom at my old high school where my best friend goes has a one ticket rule, and she is going to give it to her boyfriend Dave. Anyway, I shouldn't be so sad about this and should forget about it."
"Hey, Love, I will take you to your prom. I think those high school girls will find me sexy." Finn offered.
"Wow, surprisingly I agree with Finn… it's your prom and I know from prep school experience that it would be at a fancy location." Colin interjected.
"Well, it was kind of a big scandal when Paris, our student body president, and Francie, the senior class president, both got into a fight about having the prom at this fancy place and somehow I got caught in the middle of it." Rory shuddered at the memory.
"Then, the more reason to attend to see if all that fighting was worth it. Although, I do recommend that Logan take you instead of Finn. I don't want him getting in trouble with the female population in case he overdrinks." Again, Rosemary reasonably pointed out.
"Hey, I resent that." Finn retorted back.
"Look, it is okay… I really don't want to impose on any of you to sacrifice your Saturday night for a high school event with no alcohol." Rory graciously tried to give them a way out of their offer to attend the school dance.
Logan hated to see her so sad, and even though going to a high school dance was not his idea of a good time, he would do it if only to put a smile on her face. "Ace, relax, you don't always need alchol to have a good time, I mean Rose is right, you shouldn't miss out on your prom just because your boyfriend decided to be a jerk. Besides, I have a closet full of suits for all those stuffy events that come with the name Huntzberger, and I can buy you a dress if that is also a problem. Plus, knowing all the high school dances that I've been to, I know that there is always something spiked."
"I think you're the first guy who I didn't have to try to convince to wear a suit." Rory smiled.
"Is that a yes?" Logan asked with a smirk.
"Of course, why not, and what's all this business about buying me a dress?" Rory wondered out loud.
"Logan has great taste in clothes for a straight boy!" Rosemary laughed.
"That sounds tempting but I think my mom wants to be included in the fun finding a dress since she didn't have a prom. You'll just have to pick me up around seven and I think we'll go with my friends Madeline and Louise so you won't have to worry about the cost of getting a limo. Although, I have to check with them on their whole color coordinating thing… they have this weird rule that the suit has to match the limo." Rory said in exasperation.
"It's okay, Ace, just give me the color of the limo and the suit will be color coordinated." Logan laughed.
"Logan, are you sure? I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do on my account." Rory asked just to be certain.
"Rory, it's okay, and if you feel guilty you can always accommodate me if my Dad insists that I attend some stupid function in the future." Logan said and he couldn't believe he kept making future plans with a girl that he hardly knew.
"I guess that sounds fair." Rory smiled and she was surprised that her heart had skipped a beat. She did know why but she couldn't like this guy romantically. Of course, he was a player, and after Jess she needed to be more cautious of whoever she would date. She tried to change the subject to avoid her hormonal reaction. "So… guys, what are your plans this summer?"
"Well, Logan, Finn and I are all going to Europe like we usually do every summer, and then, we'll come back and get on Logan's boat and start our journey." Colin piped in excitedly.
Logan felt he could kill Colin since he did not feel comfortable about sharing with Rory his plans for next school year.
"What next year journey?" Rory asked curiously.
"We're all taking a year off and go sailing around the world. Have a little bit of debauchery while we're still young." Colin answered.
"Oh." Rory said. She was surprised at the sudden sadness she had felt. It wasn't her business what Logan did next year, but a part of her was surprised that she was looking forward to having a friend at Yale.
Logan hated seeing the look on her face. "Hey, I'll call you everyday and make sure you're adjusting to Yale properly. And besides, we'll see each other this summer in Europe since you have mentioned that you and your mom were planning on visiting Europe." Logan said while rubbing circles on her back.
Rory tried to put a smile on her face - regretting that she had made Logan feel guilty, "Don't worry about me… sounds like fun, but why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"Well, the plan is still up in the air. My Dad can still veto it… depending on a variety of reasons like if my grades slip or I'm caught in some wild predicament, which is not an uncommon occurrence for me."
"Somehow I'm not surprised, Logan." Rory said trying to laugh, but, her mind was on overdrive - thinking that she wouldn't have much of a support system next year since everybody seemed to be moving in different directions. She saw Colin and Finn drinking and she thought maybe a drink would help her calm her nerves. "Guys, is there anything you would recommend that I can drink?"
"I thought you didn't drink, Ace?" Logan asked with concern. He wished they didn't mention their sailing trip for he knew that as much as she tried to hide it, it did upset her - given how vulnerable she was after breaking up with Jess.
"Well, I'm still a little upset after this morning. I might as well give drinking a try." Rory explained.
"Okay, but don't come bitching at me if you don't like the effects of the alcohol." Logan laughed.
"Alright, Love, I'll give you a crash course of all the drinks there are." Rory hoped that those drinks would numb the mixed and confused feelings that she had been having all day.
*********
It was around midnight after everyone else had left when Logan dragged an inebriated Rory into his room. According to Finn, she had done a few shots and had two cosmos and one drink with coffee in it. Logan felt angry at himself for not keeping an eye on her. She shouldn't have drunk too much. Then again, he felt that he would be a judgmental hypocrite if he stopped her - he had drunk to numb pain on more than one occasion in his life. Plus, eventhough he loved her seriousness, Logan felt that she deserved to loosen up a bit. He tried to rationalize that she was at least safe in his room. He decided that the best way to deal with the situation was for her to sleep it off on his bed.
"I shouldn't have drunk so much." Rory slurred.
"You really shouldn't have, Ace." He said as he laid her on his bed, and started to take her shoes off.
"I mean, I knew he was bad, but a part of me just couldn't help it."
"Yeah, sometimes temptation leads to ugly places." Logan sensibly replied.
"That is the reason why at first I was so scared when I met you… if we became more than acquaintances, if things would lead to more than friendship just like my relationship with Jess before we became a couple. But, then, I realized that it would be so ridiculous to think that you would be attracted to me." Rory started to laugh.
Her statement perplexed Logan, "Why would it be ridiculous? I mean… I'm saying this as a friend, but you are very pretty." 'More than pretty', Logan thought looking at her closely.
"Because you seem to like skinny blondes who are only in it for the sex. I'm a girlfriend girl who is still a virgin… you understand, right?"
"Rory, I would never do anything that would jeopardize our friendship. I promise you that." Logan sincerely assured her. In Logan's mind, she was too good for him and he would never hurt her. Especially now that he was officially told that she was still a virgin. It was not fair for her to lose her virginity to a guy like him. He was surprised that a wave of sadness had washed over him. He tried to focus on making sure she was okay.
"I knew you would agree, because I have to play it safe. Passion and desire are just so overrated they lead to trouble. Oh! God. My mom is going to kill me. She had been trying to reach me earlier and I have not told her where I am." Rory rambled.
"Rory, give me your phone so I can call your mom."
"Okay… her number is saved as 'World's Greatest Mom'… I think she put it in there as a joke when I wasn't looking."
Logan looked inside her bag and took out her light blue cell phone. He didn't have to look through Rory's contact list because Rory had ten missed calls from her mom. He nervously pressed one of the missed calls. He was a bit nervous because he didn't have much experience with talking to a parent outside of a cocktail party.
"Rory," the voice on the other line said anxiously.
"Sorry, Ms. Gilmore, this is Logan, Rory's friend. I don't know if she had ever mentioned me to you."
"First of all, it's Lorelai. Ms. Gilmore makes me feel like I'm my mother, and secondly, where the hell is my daughter?" Lorelai shouted.
"She is here, Lorelai, sleeping on my bed. She broke up with her boyfriend today in the bus. He lied to her about school and graduation. And, she is a little drunk."
"Drunk? Rory never drinks. I was grateful for a second that you made her see the light about Jess. I thought you were better than most guys. But, I guess I was wrong. You're corrupting her." Lorelai yelled.
Logan needed to defend himself. "Look, your daughter needed to vent her frustrations, she was a mess this morning and all I've done is support her like a friend. So, please cut me some slack. I care about her deeply." Logan added sincerely.
Lorelai found some of her anger dissipating upon hearing the earnest statement spoken by Logan and at how much she felt that this guy really cared about her daughter. "Look, I'll cut you some slack, just make sure she comes home tomorrow or I'll hunt you down. I'm dead serious and buy her a burrito from Hector's tomorrow."
"Why a burrito?"
"It's a Gilmore hangover secret cure, and make sure she gets home in one piece or your appendages are gone." Lorelai seriously said.
"I think, knowing her, she will probably call you first thing in the morning."
"Good, because I will hold you to that, buddy. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to call Luke to tell him exactly what kind of loser his nephew is. Take care of my baby."
"I will."
After Logan turned off the phone, he glanced at Rory who was now sleeping on his bed. She looked so angelic and peaceful that he felt his pulse race before he realized that he made a promise to himself and to Rory he would never go after her. He made his way towards the couch trying to ignore the thoughts that kept popping up.
