AN: Guten tag! Here's my slightly late addition to the story. Hope you like it! Thanks, as always, to my lovely beta, Jewels12, who is on her way to becoming an even more powerful Comma Goddess!


Rory plopped her recently cleaned – and even more recently dirtied – laundry onto her mom's ottoman. She explained her visit home by schooling her mom on the impatient and disrespectful laundry room habits of the average college student.

The mother-daughter reunion was briefly interrupted by a whirlwind visit from Lane. Something about okra, the internet, and a grim future. Rory didn't even get to say ten words to Lane before she ran back out the door. Normally Rory might have been disappointed by this, but with her massive amounts of work and laundry to do, she was secretly relieved to have one less distraction this time.

At this point, Rory was anxious to put her clothes into the washing machine, but gave in to her mother's request for a catch-up session. She started by sharing some details of the latest battles between Paris and Janet.

"This war is getting totally out of hand," Rory continued. "This morning Paris turned off my alarm because Janet woke her up. I almost missed breakfast. I ran down to the dining hall in my pajamas and bunny slippers, and of course I ran into Marty."

"Naked Guy."

"Mom," she said firmly.

"What? Why can't I call him Naked Guy? He was, after all, a naked guy."

"Because every time you say 'naked guy,' I picture him naked."

"And that's a bad thing," Lorelai said in a mock-serious tone.

"No, it's just – "

"Aha! So Naked Guy is hot," Lorelai needled as they went into the kitchen and collected plates and shakers for the pizza.

"What?! No, Nake – Marty isn't hot, I just – "

"Awww, poor Naked Guy."

"Would you stop?! I never should have told you that story."

"Fine, fine. So you ran into NnnMarty," Lorelai corrected herself after seeing the warning look Rory was giving her. They settled back down onto the couch and dug in. "And this was embarrassing?"

"Yes. Well, no. I mean, it was at first, but he introduced me to his friends and everyone was cool about it. They teased me, but they weren't mean or anything."

"And these friends of his, are any of them dateable?" Rory slumped back in her seat, her posture signalling her defeat. "What?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm not on the lookout for who is or isn't dateable, okay?" she explained in a weary tone. "I'm interested in making friends, not finding a date."

Lorelai stopped being silly and put her hand over her daughter's. "Honey, it's been five months. It's okay."

"This isn't about Jess!" Rory cried out in exasperation, pulling her hand away. "This is about adjusting to college life. This is about how I study alone and walk to class alone, or sit in class alone. I take all my meals back to my room so that I don't feel alone, but really I am. Everyone is making friends, even Paris. Now I'm finally making some friends, some real friends – not just 'oh we live on the same floor' acquaintances – and all you can talk about is if I think I can score a date out of it."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I really am," Lorelai said softly, hugging Rory to her side. "So you made some friends this morning."

"Yes, I did," said Rory, calming down from her outburst.

"Well, good. I'm happy for you, babe."

"Thanks." Rory paused tentatively, not sure if she should reopen the topic. But she needed her mom to know she meant what she said. "I really am over Jess, Mom."

"Okay."

"I mean, I know I didn't get any real closure, but I figure that one-sided phone call was better than most people get. I definitely don't want to get back together with him, but I'm not mad at him anymore, either. He's not a bad person; he was just messed up, so he… messed up. Yeah, it hurt, but I know it didn't have anything to do with me."

"So, you really are over it."

"Yeah."

"My baby's growing up," Lorelai said, pride and sadness reflected in her eyes as her daughter stood up to put a load in the wash.


Early the next morning, Rory found herself analyzing her past friendships as she drove back to campus. She and Lane had been a perfect match from such a young age. She didn't even remember the exact day she became friends with Lane – it just seemed that they were always friends. But Rory wasn't able to maintain any friendships outside of Lane. Was it because she didn't like anyone else at Stars Hollow High, or because she assumed none of them liked her?

She didn't really make any friends at Chilton, either. They just sort of fell into her lap. Her relationship with Paris had been all business before it somehow developed into friendship. Madeline and Louise were just incidental since they were friends with Paris. The one time she made a concerted effort to put herself out there, it ended in disaster and was the sole reason she didn't even consider joining a sorority at Yale.

So how was Yale any different than Stars Hollow High or Chilton? She had been content before, so why was this bothering her now? Sure, she saw Lane less, but it's not like they had suddenly dropped out of each other's lives. In retrospect, Chilton had been a good transition period for them – no longer seeing each other all day every day, but making time for each other here and there throughout the week. And with Paris, well, now she saw her more than ever. Less Lane and more Paris should even things out, right?

So why did she feel so friendless?

Mom.

From elementary school to high school to Chilton, her mom had always been there, anchoring her through each stage. Of course she still had her mom, but she didn't go home to her every night anymore, and this was the gaping friendship-hole she was feeling.

That's why I never sought out friends before, she realized.

Rory pursed her lips together, mustering up some determination.

You can't be passive about this anymore. No more waiting for people to insert themselves into your life. You're going to have to invite people in. You're not shy, you've just been spoiled. But you're not in Stars Hollow anymore – Yale doesn't revolve around you. If you want friends, you're going to have to do something about it.

She knew from her experience with the Puffs that she wouldn't do anything as random as inserting herself into a group of strangers. But she decided that if she saw any of her new friends in the cafeteria or walking to class, she'd be comfortable joining them.

And when Marty comes by, I can invite him in, introduce him to everyone. And then maybe later all four of them will hang out in our dorm.

Making plans like this felt silly, but that was to be expected since this was far from second nature to her. Eventually she found a parking place and shouldered her laundry bag back to her dorm. She set the bag down by her door and dug her keys out of her pocket. She had barely touched her key to the lock before the door swung open in front of her.

"Jeez!" yelped Rory, jumping back from her bright-eyed and clearly excited roommate.

"I thought it would be you!" the sixteen-year-old chirped. "Janet and Paris just left for class, so I didn't think it would be them. I've been waiting for you to come home. What did you do last night? Was it perfectly scandalous? I'm not allowed to do anything scandalous, but that doesn't mean I can't hear about it, right?"

Catching her breath and swinging her bag into the room, Rory asked, "Tana, what are you talking about?"

"You didn't come back last night and a boy came by this morning to return your clothes. And there was a note." Rory looked down and saw her robe folded neatly on the coffee table with a scrap of paper on top of it that said: 'I owe you one.' Rory was a little disappointed she missed his visit, but ignored that to deal with the matter at hand: setting Tana's clearly wild imagination straight.

"Tana?"

"Yes?" she said excitedly.

"Am I wearing different clothes from yesterday?"

"Yes," she answered, a little bit of confusion seeping into her excitement.

"And did I just walk in with a big bag of laundry?"

"Yes." The decrease in her pitch showed she was starting to doubt her assumptions.

"So how likely is it that I spent a scandalous night in some boy's room?"

"Not very." Her chagrined expression indicated that she had an idea of where this was going.

"No. I went home to do laundry. I spent the night in my childhood bedroom, and trust me, nothing scandalous ever happens there."

"Oh," she said dolefully.

"Sorry to disappoint," Rory said, dragging her bag into her room. When she sat on her bed, she remembered her own disappointment. Oh well, she thought. Maybe it would be better to start by inviting Julie over, anyway.