Thanks for the reviews. Here's a new one, kinda short, but the next one will be longer. Promise!

Disclaimer: First page. The title of this chapter comes from City of Devils by Yellowcard.

Chapter 9: It's Hard to Find Angels


"I can't believe I just… broke up with him like that," Rory said.

"You did, though, sweets," Lorelai replied. "They were your grandparents. And they hated the fact that you didn't move on to Colin or Logan. They hated the fact that you'd chosen someone who wasn't society."

Rory shrugged. "It just doesn't seem like me, I guess. Or the me you've told me about."

"I was surprised, too," Lane said. "But I guess I sort of wasn't. Losing Finn had changed you. You'd somewhat turned into a puppet for your grandparents."

Rory looked out the window. The dark sky lit up with lightning. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She didn't know what to think of what she'd just been told. If she and Tristin were so good, then why did they break up? Why did he take her back? Why…

And then she saw it.

A boy singing on a stage, and looking backstage to her. He smiles and as soon as his song is over, he's holding tightly to her. Taking in her wet hair and clothing and kissing her with all he has.

"What happened, when I went back to him?" Rory asked. "Was it raining that day?"

Lorelai and Lane looked at each other. Lane smiled and rested her hand on Rory's.

"We'll let Tristin tell you that part," Lane responded. "But yeah, it was."

"What did you remember, sweetie?" Lorelai asked.

"I think I remembered when we got back together," Rory said. "But, I don't know. Maybe it was just a dream I had awhile back. I don't know."

Lane smiled at her. "We should get going. Is Tristin staying with you tonight?"

Rory smiled and felt a blush creep on her cheeks. "Yeah. That's okay, right mom?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah. You two did it all the time when you went to college."

"Where did I go to school?" Rory asked.

"Yale," Lorelai replied. "It was your grandparents' happiest day."

"They weren't thrilled that you got in with a lacrosse scholarship, but it was Yale, so they could deal with it," Lane added.

Rory smiled. "I can't believe I was an athlete."

"Surprised me," Lorelai said. "That's for sure. But I think it was the fact that Luke always took you to soccer games and lacrosse matches at Chilton when you were little that you got into it."

"So what's the deal with you and Luke?" Rory asked.

"We danced around the dating thing for a few years," Lorelai replied. "We started dating around the time you got into Chilton."

Rory nodded. "I see."

"Luke was crazy about the two of us when we came to town," Lorelai said. "He took care of you, treated you like his daughter."

Rory tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why hasn't he been here?"

Lane smiled. "He wasn't sure how to approach you. I mean, he's never been great with awkward situations. And this definitely would have been awkward for him."

"Oh," Rory said. "What happened with Yale? Do I still go there?"

"Your grandparents took care of it," Lorelai stated simply. "When you're ready to go back, you'll go back."

There was a knock at the door, and Rory grinned. Lane and Lorelai looked to each other with smiles on their faces.

Lane looked through the peephole. "It's Tristin."

"We'll see you tomorrow, okay sweets?" Lorelai asked.

Rory nodded. "See you guys tomorrow."

They exited, and Tristin walked in. Rory threw herself into his arms.

"To what do I owe this?" he asked.

"I remembered something," Rory said. "The day we got back together."

Tristin smiled. "Ah, so they told you about the first break up?"

Rory nodded. "I'm still surprised by it. I mean, breaking up with you because my grandparents didn't like you."

"It threw me for a loop," he replied. "But I think deep down I knew you'd be back. It was new for you. Finn was your first boyfriend, and everyone figured you'd stick with society after that."

She smiled and took his hand. "It was raining the day we got back together."

He looked down at her as she led him inside. "Yeah. You came out to a concert in Philly. I think that surprised me more."

They sat down on the couch and she sat close to him. "I'm really glad I remembered it."

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. He kissed her head tenderly and, cautiously, brought his lips to hers.

Rory smiled and deepened the kiss. Something felt so familiar about it. She couldn't place exactly what it was. And then, something came to her again.

"Is it odd being away from home?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But I think I'll manage if it means you and I can have sleep overs."

He brought his lips to hers and the two spent the night wrapped up in each other's arms.

She slowly pulled away. "I love you, Tris."

He looked into her eyes, so innocent, so naïve. "I love you, too, Mary."

She smiled. "College was fun for us, wasn't it?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We had a sleep over every other weekend. Summer was the best, though."

"Did we spend every minute together?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I think we spent so much time together we got sick of each other."

"Do you think that's why we fought?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe. I think it was more because we were so different. But we always fought, and we always got back together. Sooner or later, one of us would cave. Like I told you, compromise was one of the staples of our relationship."

She smiled. "What happened… the night we got back together?"

"Well," he began. "I was going crazy. For two weeks I'd had to deal with hearing about how we'd broken up. Your grandmother had supplied all the necessary information to the press. So, of course, I had to confirm it."

"I can't believe she would do that," she said.

"You were her only granddaughter," he replied. "She was protective. She likes me now. I think she was part of the reason we got back together."

"Because it was a Friday night?" Rory asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. It had, of course, been raining. I should have figured it would rain. It was April, and I was in Philadelphia. I couldn't get you off my mind…"