A/N: Thank you, all of you, for reading my last author's note and reviewing. Not everyone who has this favourited or on alert did review, but you can't have everything, and I really appreciate those of you who did review, and I'd love it if you'd do it again! Doesn't take that long, right? :) I also am really grateful to see you continuing to read - you'll really never know how this ends until we get there. I've outlined the whole story, and there are twists and turns that you won't see coming - or at least, I hope you won't.
I know I've been giving you a lot of Rory stuff right now, and not a lot of Lucas, but that is for a reason. It's critical to the plot that you know a lot about Rory, and Lucas' relationship with her, before his past and the reason for his departure from Tree Hill are revealed. I like to keep you guys in a bit of suspense. You should still be wondering who the girl in Lucas' past is (Brooke? Peyton? Someone else?). And, of course, who the hell Rory is going to end up with in the end. Keep me updated with your questions and opinions. Read on!
He let Rory stay over that night as well, because she was so reluctant to leave the unlikely sanctuary she'd found.
It'd taken a sob-fest from Rory and some light but definitive threats from Lucas in order to get Finn and Colin to agree not to reveal Rory's whereabouts to Logan. Finn spent nearly an hour on the phone with his best friend, patiently telling him over and over that Rory was fine but she didn't want to see him. Finally, he hung up, pitching his phone to the wall. It shattered into more pieces than Rory's had. When he spoke, it was to Rory, through his teeth: "He said that he loves you more than anything, he's infinitely sorry, and he will do whatever it takes to get you back.
Rory physically shrank back, away from his words, finding her solace in Lucas' arms.
Colin and Finn wouldn't leave them alone after their return to the suite. It irked Lucas, but it didn't seem to faze Rory. She just shrugged and told them she was happy to have their company; they could all wallow together.
And wallow they did. She sent all three of them out to various locations (movie store, grocery store, coffee kiosk) and then all four of them settled in the living room for some serious sulking. The boys admirably sat through hours of girly movies – Colin even shed a few tears at one point. He and Finn lazed on the floor, while Lucas sat on the couch. Rory was sprawled out next to him, her feet pressed against his thigh.
It was nearly midnight when Finn and Colin finally passed out. Rory sat up, letting the blanket she'd been wrapped in fall from her shoulders. "They did pretty good," she commented with a small smile. "You, too."
He rested his hand on her delicate ankle. "Chick flicks are a lot easier to endure than break-ups," he reminded her as nicely as possible. "How're you holding up?"
Her hands clutched at the blanket. "It hurts. A lot. But just being here…with you guys…it makes me feel like everything's going to be okay." She bit back a smile, suddenly bashful. "I guess that's my way of saying thank you. We barely know each other, and I feel like this has asked a lot of you."
Lucas shrugged. "I was happy to give what you asked for. I feel like I've known you longer."
She appeared to come to sort of realization, he could see it in her eyes and the way the corners of her lips twitched upward. She looked back at the screen, where An Affair to Remember played. "Ditto," she whispered.
Rory smiled through her tears as the credits rolled. "Such a good movie," she sighed quietly.
Lucas' hand was resting on her leg; it had been throughout the majority of the film. Sometimes his fingers tapped a light pattern against her anklebone, sometimes his hand ran up and down her calf soothingly. She'd stolen a few glances in his direction throughout the movie, and she knew that he was doing it without even realizing it.
She probably should have said something, or cleared her throat, maybe moved her away, but that would have made it awkward. That was the thing: it wasn't weird.
She felt at ease with Lucas, whose eyes made her feel secure and beautiful and deeply…understood every time she looked at him.
Her feelings for him had impossible depth for the short time they'd been acquainted, but they were shallow, too. The boy gave her butterflies and stalled her brain, making her flustered for a moment before her normally impressive vocabulary came back to her. She wanted to chalk it up to flashbacks she was having to the teenage Adonis who'd lusted after her in high school, but she was aware that it was more than that.
She was in love with Logan, though. Or she had been until she'd found out the sordid details that informed her that Logan Huntzberger's love life had consisted of many more girls than the one he claimed to love.
Her mother was right. Rory was terrified. Logan had always been a philanderer, and he'd proved that he always would be. She hated him for it. She also felt like the world's biggest hypocritical bitch for sitting there falling for someone else mere hours after screaming at her (ex)boyfriend for straying.
And yet. Maybe. Maybe she was.
Rory needed to consult her mother, but at the same time, she didn't. Years of Lorelai's advice had prepared her for this moment. She knew what her mom would say. You can't help who you love. You're smart, honey, and I know that you tend to rely on your head, but in the end, your heart decides. Believe me, baby, you'll regret it if you don't listen.
Her heart was unreliable, cryptic and torn. It reminded her of her love for Logan, the man she kept in mind when contemplating her future. It also told her to get over herself and just jump the gorgeous guy who'd been unconsciously stroking her leg for the past have hour already.
"You tired?" Lucas asked her, jarring her from her thoughts. Her voice, laced with love in its purest, friendship form, made her want to cry.
"Yeah, I am." She gestured to her pillow and blanket. "I'm fine sleeping here."
His eyebrows shot up. "You're taking my bed."
"You're taking your bed."
"No."
She couldn't lie there all night in the sheets that held his wonderful smile. Her mind didn't need any more torment. "Lucas. No."
He gave her a small, sudden smile that lit up his face. "You know, Rory, I don't call you by your full name. You can do the same for me; call me Luke. Most people tend to."
Dropping the bed issue for the moment, she shook her head adamantly. "Mm. No, I can't."
His brow furrowed and she nearly melted at how adorably puzzled he looked. "Why not?"
"My mother's fiancé's name in Luke. It would just be weird."
"Why?" he asked, all innocence.
She glared at him. She wanted to say, Because, no matter what you may say or think, there is something intimate about our relationship, and associating that connotation with my stepfather-to-be would be, for lack of a better word, gross, not to mention inappropriate. Instead, she said, "Nice try, changing the subject. I'm not taking your bed."
He leaned back, turning his portion of the couch into a La-Z-Boy chair and laid back, getting comfortable. "I'm not moving."
Two could play that game. "Neither am I."
"Fine."
"Fine."
Rory settled back into the super-soft pillow. "Hey, Lucas?" she asked tentatively.
"Yeah?"
"I told Logan to leave the apartment today for a couple hours so I could get my stuff, but I couldn't go, it was too soon. I need to go tomorrow, though, before I get scared. I need clothes." She sensed him listening, patiently waiting. She asked before she could think too hard about it. "Will you come with me?"
There was a pause in which her mind went wild, accusing her of asking way too much of this nice guy who'd walked into her life at the most perfect and yet most horrible moment.
"Sure," he finally replied with certainty.
"Thanks," she sighed. She stared into the dark, ignoring her desire to be closer to him and forcing herself to think up other topics. A thought occurred to her. "Lucas?"
His second "Yeah?" was more lethargic.
"Are you ever going to tell me about her? The girl that broke your heart?"
There was another long, heavy moment of silence before his firm, "No." He let in sink in before softening the blow of his complete refusal with a kind, almost teasing, "But don't worry about me, Rory. My heart's repairable."
His words made her own heart leap as she pulled the blanket tightly around her, dreading the events of the following day.
There was nothing like confronting the boy who held your heart with the boy to whom you're considering transferring its ownership to by your side.
"Rory! Finn! Get your asses up."
Lucas poured a cup of coffee in the kitchen as Colin struggled to wake their friends.
"Up. Now."
"I hate you," was Finn's sleepy retort.
Lucas walked over and held the mug of black coffee close to Rory's nose. With his free hand he brushed her sleep-mussed hair out of her face. "Up and at 'em, sleeping beauty," he cajoled.
She rolled away from him, batting away his hand with a frown tugging at her lips. "Two more minutes, Logan," she murmured.
Lucas sighed, angry with himself for wanting to kiss a girl who was dreaming about her ex.
Colin, who hadn't heard her muted mumblings, said, "Rory Leigh Gilmore, get off my couch right now."
Her eyes fluttered open and she pouted at them both. "Coffee."
Colin's resolve when it came to her puppy face was much greater than Lucas'. "Only once you're standing," he replied firmly.
"Please, Colin?"
"Don't make me hurt you, Reporter Girl."
"Like you would," she scoffed as she sat up.
"She could take you anyway, mate," Finn contributed. "It's Sunday. Why are we all so determined to be awake?"
"Because it's noon," Colin said flatly.
"What the hell is so special about noon?"
Rory planted her feet on the floor and stood, reaching out with wordless expectation. Lucas handed over the mug.
"It's halfway through the day. Most people get up by that point."
"I'm not most people. I'm Finn."
Lucas nudged Rory's shoulder with his own. "So are we going to do this or what?"
She nearly choked as she tried to swallow. "Now?"
He nodded. "Giving yourself time to mentally prepare seems like a good idea, but it isn't going to help. I think you know that."
Rory sighed and sat back down heavily. "Yeah, I know," she muttered.
"So finish that coffee and then we'll move it, okay?" he asked encouragingly.
"'Kay," she said softly.
Finn was wide awake, but still trying to argue his way to another four hours of sleep. Lucas went back into his room for a moment of peace. He stuck a bookmark in the J.D. Salinger novel that was lying face-down on his bed, and grabbed his keys and his cell. With a rueful glance at his laptop, he idly wondered what the day would bring. He wasn't just waiting for an event to occur, he was waiting for something…inspired.
The vibration of his cell phone as it rang startled him. He groaned as he pulled it out of his pocket and took a look at the caller ID. He was seriously beginning to think that Rory'd had the right idea when she chucked her phone at the wall. He didn't take the call.
"Hey." Rory stood in the doorway of the room, tapping her foot, which was encased in one of his flip-flops – about four sizes too big for her foot. "You ready to go?"
"Sure. You need anything?"
"More coffee would be nice."
"No," he laughed at her misunderstanding. "I mean boxes or bags or anything."
"Oh! I…yeah. I guess I didn't really think about moving in terms of…moving." She swallowed hard.
"I still have some boxes leftover from my trek out here. Are you going to get upset if you have to pack your clothes in garbage bags?"
She smiled distractedly as she shook her head. "No, that's fine. We'll need a car, though. I didn't even think of that. I didn't think of anything."
"Colin said we could take his pimped out ride," Lucas said soothingly, eliciting the quick grin he'd hoped for. 'We're all set."
"Thank you so much for thinking of everything," she said in a rush. "And for coming with me."
He acknowledged her thanks with an understanding nod as he guided her out of the suite, pausing to wave to Colin. "You didn't think I was going to let you take on New Haven alone and dressed like that, did you?"
She blushed when she remembered that she was completely decked out in his clothing. "Of course not."
He drove to Logan's apartment by memory, keeping a watchful eye on the girl in the passenger seat. She was fidgety. She checked out Colin's CD collection, moved her seat forward and backward, turned the air conditioning on and off. The radio provided her with much-needed distraction, and she went through station after station searching for a song she liked. She perked up instantly when she heard Jimmy Eat World's The Middle and turned the radio up.
Lucas liked the song. But, as with most songs that he liked, he had a love-hate relationship with it. Memories, good and bad, intermingled, tangling themselves up in the cheerful tune. The "everything'll be alright" message of that particular song tended to depress him a little considering the attached memories. However, he said nothing, knowing that the encouraging lyrics and upbeat tempo were exactly what Rory needed.
She was still humming when they got out of the car, but her happiness faded when the elevator doors opened on the correct floor. Lucas waited for her to take a deep breath before she gathered the courage to let herself in.
Logan jumped up when they entered. "Ace," he said, relieved. He really did look miserable.
"Don't call me that," she snapped back, shaking open a garbage bag aggressively as she walked directly to her dresser.
Logan winced and then frowned when he spotted Lucas, who stood near the door, waiting for further instructions from Rory. "What're you doing here?"
Rory threw a handful of socks into the bag and answered for him. "Lucas just moved. I thought I could use his expertise."
"Ace – Rory, please don't do this," Logan begged. "We really need to talk. Can we just talk?" He hesitated. "Rory, are you…wearing his clothes?"
"Yep," Rory said, tearing through her dresser as though it had personally insulted her. "We had sex," she added flippantly.
It was hypocritical, but Logan looked utterly devastated at those words. Lucas pitied him the slightest bit. "You're joking," Logan said desperately.
Rory whirled around, and a sock with penguins printed on it went flying. "Of course I am! I would never do that! I'm not you!"
"Rory, please." Logan placed his hand on her shoulder. She immediately stiffened and pulled away.
"Do. Not. Touch. Me," she ground out, her eyes bright with tears. "If you ever loved me, or even cared about me for one second, you'll stop. You'll –"
She was cut off by the ring of Lucas' cell. Great timing, Nathan, he thought, knowing that it could only be his brother again.
Both Rory and Logan looked at him expectantly, pausing in their argument for a moment. "You can get it," Rory said quietly with the smallest and saddest of smiles. She looked touched that he would consider ignoring a call on her behalf.
He smiled back. "No, it's alright."
"No, really. You can get it."
"I know. I just don't want to."
"Well…okay." She pointed to two huge bookshelves. "The bottom shelf on that one and all of the other…those are my books. Will you put them in those boxes?"
Lucas nodded. "I'm on it."
He observed out of the corner of his eye as she pointed a threatening finger in her ex-boyfriend's face. "If you ever meant anything you said to me, you'll let me do this in peace."
Logan looked broken as he backed off. "I'm sorry, Ace," he said softly as he walked backward, toward the door. "I love you, and I am so, so sorry. But I won't let you go this easily." He stepped out of his own apartment with mournful eyes.
Rory sank to the floor by the bed, her head in her hands. Lucas abandoned the books and went to sit next to her. He listened to her sniffle for a moment before he requested: "Talk to me."
"I-it…it would be so much easier if he hadn't said that," she whispered as she wiped her eyes.
"I know," he said sympathetically, rubbing her back.
"I am done loving him," she said fiercely. Blue met blue when she locked eyes with him. "It's over."
He shook off the hopeful feeling that she'd enforced that with him for a reason. "Okay," was all he said.
"So…can you handle the books?"
"Consider them handled."
"Okay." She bit down on her lower lip for a moment. "Let's do this and get out of here."
After he put the last box in the back of Colin's car, Lucas closed the trunk and turned to her. With a wry, sympathetic smile, he offered a hug.
Rory sank into his strong arms gratefully as she exhaled tiredly.
"What can I do for you?" Lucas asked, his lips brushing her hair.
She smiled wearily. "You mean besides being amazing and letting me crash with you for a few days?"
"You already thanked me twelve times," he laughed. "And yes, besides that."
Rory rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes for a second. "Well, since you asked…ice cream. Lots of ice cream."
"Easy enough. You know, for all the drama in your life, you're surprisingly uncomplicated."
She scoffed. "I'm not the surprising one. You've been through hell so many times. You should be really proud of coming out of all of that as sweet as your are."
"I'm sweet?"
She giggled as she pulled back. "That's a good thing!" she insisted.
"Not very macho."
"You're pretty, too," she cooed playfully.
He winced. "Pretty?"
She batted at his chest. "You're gorgeous, you jerk, and you know it."
"Gorgeous?"
Rolling her eyes, she dropped her voice to her most sultry tone and said, "You're hot, Lucas Scott."
She gauged his reaction carefully and was happy to see his grin. "You're kinda hot, too."
"Yeah?" She meant to be teasing, but the single syllable was earnest.
His eyes were honest. "Logan's loss. A big one."
Rory just smiled, deciding to leave it at that. "Ice cream?" she asked with her signature pout.
Lucas gallantly opened her door for her. "Let's go."
She ordered two scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough with a scoop of cappuccino in between, and jokingly mocked Lucas' request for pitiful single scoop of death by chocolate. Secretly, though, she approved. She thought that perhaps, their orders reflected their personalities. Rory asked for fairly traditional flavours, reliable goodness in a quirky combination with a little caffeine thrown in. His treat was dependable, nice and sweet, and a little daring.
Her musings her interrupted by the student in the ridiculous hat who handed over her cone. "Break up?" he asked, eyeing her clothing and shadowy eyes and grouping them together with her huge ice cream order to come to his conclusion.
He looked sincere, so she didn't get petty, simply asked, "That obvious, huh?" She felt Lucas' hand automatically come to rest at the small of her back in a silent show of support. The gesture made her smile.
She suggested that they walk while theyate, pretending to be indifferent to the impressed arch of Lucas' brow when she declared when intention to walk around in her oversized outfit.
"You look anorexic," he commented. She glanced pointedly at her towering ice cream cone and he amended, "Bulimic, then."
"Thanks. You sure know how to pay a girl a compliment."
"Sorry, Rory."
She stuck her cold tongue out at his childishly. "You rhymed. Do you write poetry, too?"
"No, just prose. What about you, editor-in-chief? Do you write creatively, too?"
Rory shook her head wistfully. "Rarely. I love writing, and I always feel confident with the finished product when it's for the paper. Creative writing is harder for me to share. Is it hard for you?"
He nodded seriously. "Very. It's a lot more emotional. It's a lot more difficult to show a piece of yourself to the world. Not that what you do isn't impressive – it is. But when you write a novel it's a whole different kind of attachment."
"I understand."
He looked back at her, smiling in a way that she would treasure forever, its indescribably qualities permanently engraved in her memory. "I know you do."
Back at the suite, Rory dug out some of her own clothes and excused herself to take a shower. To distract himself from the thought of her in his shower, Lucas set out to order some takeout for dinner. He could have much rather cooked, but he didn't exactly have that option. Instead, he perused a Chinese menu he found lying in the kitchen. Colin and Finn had circled their favourites, and he found a couple of other dishes that looked good. He ordered enough for four, knowing that Finn would whine if he came home to find that they hadn't saved him anything.
As though they'd read his mind, the boys burst though the door two minutes later. Lucas had seen that coming. What he hadn't seen coming were the two leggy brunettes they had in tow. They were all a little tipsy, even though it was barely five o'clock.
"Lucas!" Finn cried when they walked in, giving him an unexpected, enthusiastic hug. "Did I ever tell you about the time I went to Martinique?"
Lucas extracted himself from Finn's grasp. "No, you didn't."
"One day…I will. Colin! Get us some vodka!"
Lucas grinned, thoroughly amused. "More of that already, huh?"
One of the girls dragged her hand down his arm. "You could join us, baby," she purred.
"Thanks for the offer," he declined politely.
"He's got a girl already," the other brown-haired, cat-eyed babe informed her friend with a knowing smirk. She inclined her head toward the sound of running water. "Someone's in the shower."
"Who, mate?" Finn demanded boisterously.
"Rory," Colin said knowingly, an accusation in his eyes.
Finn's eyes grew impossibly wide. "You…and Rory…you…and Rory…?"
"No! She just needs a place to stay," Lucas said reasonably.
Finn visibly relaxed, but Colin shook his head. "Yeah, for now."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"For now, you're just a friend giving her a place to live. Look, Rory's a good person. We all know how much she loved Logan. They're both messed up right now, and it's the worst possible time for you two to have a thing going."
"We do not have a thing going," Lucas objected.
Colin's steely gaze told him, in no uncertain terms, to drop the subject. "For now," he repeated.
When she was freshly showered and back in her own duds – a black skirt and a short-sleeved deep green blouse that tied to accentuate one's waist – Rory realized that she missed Lucas' clothes. The smell and feel were two comforts she was not yet ready to go without.
She inspected his closet as she twisted her wet hair back into a bun, securing it with a few well-placed bobby pins. The most comfortable, worn-in piece of clothing was a sweater with faded writing on the back. Keith Scott Body Shop. Rory was tempted to pull it on, but intuitively knew better than to do so. Lucas clearly loved that sweater. Keith Scott was probably a relative. Not his father, but maybe his deceased uncle. She couldn't just throw on a sentimentally valuable sweater. Instead, she chose a hoodie with University of North Carolina emblazoned on it. It was grey, much too big, and perfectly comfortable.
She heard Finn's voice outside the door and smiled. She reached for the doorknob, prepared to go out and join in the conversation, when Lucas burst through the door, shutting it securely behind him.
She let out a laugh in confusion and amusement. "Hey, you okay?"
"Uh, yeah, fine. Finn and Colin just have two very…adventurous girls out there. We need to stay in hiding," he told her seriously.
Rory giggled at his semi-traumatized expression. "But I'm hungry."
"I ordered Chinese already. Maybe we can get the delivery guy to come to the window," he thought aloud.
She raised her eyebrows. "I am not scared to go out there. I'll open the door."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
He seemed to really look at her for the first time, and he smirked. "Nice sweater."
"Oh! Yeah, I…sorry, I should've asked."
Lucas waved her words away. "It's fine, Rory. Looks good."
An automatic blush warmed her cheeks. "So," she said in a pointed change of subject, "you'll let me answer the door to get the food?"
He pretended to consider it. "Yeah, I guess. But if you're not back here in two minutes I'm going to have to come out there and rescue you."
She shook her head, feeling an overwhelming sense of affection. "You don't have to protect me from everything."
He seemed to study her for a moment before he quietly asked, "What if I want to?"
A/N: Review please. It keeps me so motivated. And come on. Really. You know you want to.
