Thanks for your reviews: Alenor, Andra-ggfan, cowgirl8016, Curley-Q, iloveChiodosXD, JoPoGirlsKickAss, Juzzy88, Lizzy likes the hot guy, nuttzZ1, Storygirl21, Texas' Sweetheart, That Don't Make me a Bad Guy.! You guys rock! And I'll tell you now that the mysterious father shall be revealed very soon. Chapter 11 to be exact, and I'll try and remember to actually post it quicker than I have been so I stop torturing you. Thanks again.


"I'm guessing you probably hate me right about now." Logan joined Rory as she walked out the front of Chilton. She was almost happy to see him, but then she remembered.

"Why would I hate you Logan? I mean, I thought we were getting along pretty well. Then I don't hear from you again. No note, no call, not even a lame excuse from your friends. Oh, no wait, I got that. Finn was very informative, by the way. You should be proud."

"Okay I agree that wasn't my brightest idea, but my dad made it very clear that when I came home I was going to have to get my act together. When he got me into Andale he told me I was going to start concentrating, and that apparently means no fun for me. No dating, no parties, no flirting even."

"Well thank you for telling me that. But we weren't dating, and I don't think I was flirting, so you're off the hook. You can head back to your school and follow your father's rules."

"But he's gone out of town for a few weeks," Logan continued to explain, brushing aside Rory's comment. "And my mom's a little lax with the rules, so I was thinking I should come and explain myself to you... see if I can get you to forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. I have to go, you have a nice life." She replied curtly.

"Rory, come on. I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry."

"Why is it that every guy I meet does something early on, which they regret and feel the need to apologize for?" Rory asked, turning back around to face him. "Do I have some sign attached to me somewhere? 'Screw up, it's ok, all will be forgiven'?"

"See, I knew you were mad." He was being so calm, it was so incredibly infuriating.

"You had me thinking that my first impression of you had to be a mistake. I thought you were different. I thought you were a nice guy. But you proved me wrong. You should go."

"Remember that first day I drove you home?" he called out before she could get too far.

"Yes, I remember." Of course she remembered that day; it had been a great afternoon.

"Well, I'm sticking to that. You may hate me at the moment, but I'm going to change your mind back again. You can trust me on that, that's a Huntzberger promise." He added before walking away.

Rory watched him go, before rolling her eyes and continuing outside to where her mom was waiting beside the jeep.

"Hey babe. Who's the Christopher Atkins wannabe?"

"His name is Logan." She replied, reaching for the coffee that Lorelai held out for her.

"Is he a friend of yours?" The older woman asked, moving the beverage just out of reach, waiting for Rory to look at her.

"Nope. Not now, not ever. Hopefully he'll realize that soon and stop bugging me." Rory snatched the coffee from her mother with a scowl. She was not in the mood to play games when it came to her caffeine, especially not today.

"Jeez, what's this one done?"

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it. Can we just go, please?" she begged, walking around to the passenger side.

"Sure, we can go, but I wish you would talk to me. Or Tristan. It seems like you've been keeping just about everything to yourself these days."

"No I haven't." Rory retorted, keeping her eyes on the road as they drove.

"Who have you been talking to then? Cause I know that there's got to be a lot going on in your life, sixteen is a difficult age, trust me I remember. But whenever there was something happening, you would always tell me about it. Why did that change?"

"Nothing's wrong, and nothing changed. I'm fine." Why was this so important? All she'd done was say she didn't want to talk about some stuck up rich boy, and suddenly her mom was seriously worried about her keeping all the big issues to herself.

"If you say so," Lorelai replied, turning her attention back to the road. She would try again later.


Rory sat throwing stones at the thin layer of ice over the lake. She had five assignments she was supposed to be doing, but she just wasn't in the mood to be at home. Not with Lorelai giving her 'I'm here for you' looks. As soon she went to bed Rory headed outside to her happy alone place.

It hadn't been her place for a while though, and she was hoping that she would be able to do as her mother wanted, and talk to someone about the things that were on her mind. But Jess wasn't there.

So now she sat alone, attempting to skip stones across the ice, but most of them just landed with a clink and caused a crack. From over her shoulder came a smooth stone, skipping across the frozen water a lot further than any of hers had.

"You graduate already?" Jess asked, causing her to smile for the first time in hours.

"No, not yet. But I figured that I could take a night off from being the perfect student." Rory replied as he came to sit beside her. "My day pretty much sucked, and I wanted to come to somewhere that I loved."

"So, you've been pretty busy with school lately. Any other reason we stopped these little rendezvous'?"

"There was this… Well, I mean, I sort of thought that… No. No other reason." She stumbled through her sentence as Jess studied her.

"Did you want to talk about something?" he asked, as if reading her mind. There was defiantly something there.

"I don't know. I already talked to my friend about this, and I know that it's stupid, but there's this guy…"

"The blonde with the sports car?" Rory could have sworn she saw the quickest flash of jealousy on his face. But it was gone before she could be really sure, and she just didn't have the energy to ask him about it.

"Well, yes. But, not the first one, Tristan's just a friend. But he has this other friend, and at first I just thought I should ignore him, because he was so… Tristan, only worse. But now…"

"It's completely up to you, but I can listen if you want." It looked as if he was struggling to say that. And the only two reasons Rory could come up with were that he either, really didn't care, but just spoke for the sake of it (she knew that couldn't be it though, because Jess only verbalized what he really had to) or he just really didn't want to hear what she was struggling with. "Make up for me being an ass in the market the other day." He added. She knew he meant it as sort of a joke. But it wasn't funny.

"That's just it though. I'm sick of… people being an ass and then turning around and apologizing, like a few words can make up for it all." Rory told him, looking up to see Jess' surprised expression. "Just forget it. I thought this would make me feel better, but…" she moved to get up, but froze when she felt Jess' hand on her wrist. The first thought that entered her mind was that he had never touched her before.

"I am sorry. Whatever that guy did to piss you off… Well I'm kind of glad he did, because it made you come out here tonight." Her wrist was on fire and she couldn't take her eyes off him as he spoke to her. Then he let go.

She didn't know what to say or do. Once she lost contact, she felt as if her world had been tipped upside down. Nothing felt right anymore and the only thing she could think to do was get home. Without another word Rory set off running in that direction, with no idea what was happening to her.


"I hate to be the one to deliver this message," Tristan announced meeting Rory at her locker between classes. "But it was either me or Finn and we were afraid he might mess it up."

"What message?" Rory asked amused. She was slowly getting used to Finn. After meeting the friends that had left him behind in Hartford and having Tristan there to de-Finn some of the things that he said, she was starting to understand a little more about him. He wasn't as annoying and full of himself as he first seemed

"It's from Logan. But remember, just the messenger." Tristan replied, holding up his hands in surrender. Rory nodded and he continued. "I'm an ass-"

"I'm sorry, are you delivering a message from Logan or yourself? Or are you just channeling every guy in my life right now?" Rory asked with a wry smile.

"This is what he told me to tell you. Now, shush. I have to do it right or he'll be mad."

"Ok, continue. Logan's an ass."

"That's right. I'm an ass and I realize that the last thing you want to hear right now is a lame apology, but this is what I need to say, you're different to the girls that I've met in the past, and-"

Rory waved a hand at him, to stop him from speaking. "Tris, I'm sorry, but can you not say this as if it's actually you? It just sounds weird."

"Ok, ok. Gee, you're very difficult to get forgiveness out of." He took a deep breath, mentally running through what he needed to say once more. "Ok, so basically what he wanted me to say was, obviously, that he's sorry. And he would like to take you to dinner as a thank you for holding back while you were mad at him."

"A thank you for… What makes him think that I'll say yes?"

"Well, you see, that's my job. I'm supposed to convince you that contrary to what you were apparently yelling at him on the street, and what I've already told you, that he is in fact a nice guy and totally worthy of your time."

"Right, ok. And how do you think that's going?" Rory asked, becoming more and more amused. This was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

"Not that great, which frankly suits me just fine. I may regret this later, hell, there's a ninety eight per cent chance that I will, but truthfully Ror, he isn't all bad. Also, this is a bonus, if you were to give him one last chance and he screwed it up again, he swears that's it. He'll leave you alone."

"Can I have some time to think about this?" Rory asked, not even sure she should give it that much consideration.

"Yes, of course. Mitchum won't be back for another two and a half weeks, so that's pretty much all the time Logan will have until the next business trip. While his father is in town, Logan is grounded, until further notice."

She had a feeling she would regret this. It wasn't a good idea, but she couldn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth either. "I'll have an answer by tomorrow morning." She told him just as the bell, announcing the beginning of the next period, rang.


"Are you sure you went out with this guy?" Lo looked at her mother very questioningly. "Because it really does sound like you hated him."

"I'm sure. I may be getting on in years, but there are some things that a girl never forgets." Rory replied, satisfied with the answer, Lo signaled for Rory to continue.


Rory sat in the diner, at the same table she and Logan had shared on that first day they waited for their coffees. She had just given her order to Luke and now she was waiting for Logan.

She had spent the previous night sitting out at the bridge again, but she'd been alone the entire time, so she'd returned home and went to sleep. Then in the morning she gave Tristan an answer to deliver to Logan.

Her answer had been more like instructions than a simple one word response though. She had told Tristan to tell Logan to meet her at the diner so she could make a proper decision. She also said that sending his friend in to do the difficult task was childish and she wanted him to prove to her that he really wanted this.

When he walked through the door, she could tell by the expression on his face that she would be leaving there with a date. There was no way around it; she did like him, regardless of the way she had been speaking to him. But she firmly believed that he would only get this last chance. She refused to let him run circles around her any longer. If she didn't like what she saw from this point onwards, that was it, she was going to pull the plug.

"You actually showed up." He looked surprised. "I was half expecting to walk in and find the place deserted. The grisly diner owner, the only one around, all set to harangue me about mistreating you."

"The thought did cross my mind, but I figured I should come up with a new plan of attack, or pretty soon every guy will know just how to work around Luke's and my little tag team."

"Every guy? How many dates have you got coming up?" Logan asked sitting down. "Never mind, that's none of my business. I just came for my answer. As promised I will back off if that's what you really want."

"Well, I thought about it, and I have decided that I'm going to give this one last chance."

"You will? That's great. Ok, so I'll go now, before I say anything to ruin the tiny shred of trust you've given me. But, how about I pick you up at your place, tomorrow night? Seven sound good?"

"Yeah. That sounds great." She quickly wrote her address on a napkin and handed it over. "I'll see you then."

"Who was that?" Jess asked, watching Logan walk out the door and get into his car.

"His name is Logan. We're going out tomorrow." She replied shortly. He hadn't shown up last night, and it wasn't like they had a plan to meet, but still she'd wanted to see him, to try talking to him again. Talking to Jess made her feel good in some weird way.

"Going out, going out? Or will this be another one of those nights where the guy thinks he's in for a nice evening, but in reality all he's going to get is a pseudo-fatherly scalding?"

"It's a date. A real one. This is different than it was with Tristan."

"Is it really? Coz it looks exactly like the last time to me. Only this guy seems, if possible, even more self-righteous."

"I don't really care how it looks to you. I like Logan, and I'm going out with him. Now can I just get my order?" she asked, trying to signal the end of the conversation.

"Do you really? Or did you just run out of reasons to say no?" Jess walked into the kitchen, leaving Rory to mull over his final question. Why was he mad at her? What had she done wrong?


"We went on our date and I really did have a nice time." Rory concluded as Lo looked shocked at what had just been said to her mother. Em was too busy trying to work out if she'd ever seen her daddy in a sports car, or if he would say something mean. She couldn't really imagine either, so she just returned to her coloring in. She had only been half listening anyway, so maybe she had misheard something. She decided she would just ask about it later.

"As much as your uncle Tristan disliked it – I didn't even realize he had a real problem at the time, I thought he was just kidding around – I wouldn't give up. We had fun together and I wanted to keep this boy in my life if I could, because I liked him, and I could tell he liked me back. Which was a lot more than I could say for other people. So, even though we had to be just a little bit sneaky, until his dad forgot about the grounding, it was fun. Of course I couldn't tell my grandparents, because with them being so close to the Huntzberger's it probably would have stayed hidden for about, I don't know, twenty seconds.

"I had to tell my mom though, because even if we were having a difference of opinion about me internalizing things like she thought, she was still my best friend. After she finished teasing me about my 'not friends now or ever' comment, she was very excited for me, your daughter's first boyfriend is a big deal," she added, eyeing Lo carefully. Rory was hoping that when it came time for her daughter's to start dating they wouldn't go through what she and Lorelai had. "A couple of weeks after we started officially dating, there was another party thrown by someone at my school."


She wasn't sure how it had happened, but Lane had somehow convinced her mother to let her out of the house for the night. She would be joining Rory at the party being thrown by one of the students, Rory wasn't even sure she had met them. Logan and his friends would be there as well as Lane's still-secret boyfriend, Henry. Rory had tried talking to Lane about explaining things to her mother, but Lane was adamant. She could not and would not tell Mrs. Kim about this boy. She just liked him too much.

Rory couldn't exactly tell her off for it though; she too was trying to keep her relationship off certain people's radar's so she really didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to that argument.

When the two girls arrived at the party, fashionably late, thanks to Logan, they headed inside and were once again in awe of the home they stood in. It was even bigger than Madeline's.

Within minutes Rory had lost track of Lane, who had been so excited about actually getting to see Henry, instead of just talking to him on the phone, whilst pretending it was Rory, she could barely sit still the whole way there.

What she did find however was Tristan, sitting alone on the balcony, much like he had at the first party she had attended. Only this time he wasn't just smoking a cigarette.

"Mary's here! The party can start." He announced, to no one in particular, a few people walking by the door glanced at him, but then just continued on their way.

"Have you been drinking?" Rory asked, taking a step towards him. He hadn't called her that in a long time.

"Well, yeah. It's a party Mare, what else am I supposed to do?"

"We've been to parties before and you haven't drunk anything other than soda." She replied, not sure if she should be worried about him, or be yelling at him.

"That was when you were at the parties with me. You're here with Logan tonight, so I figured that it probably doesn't matter what I do." He slurred, and Rory wrinkled her nose as she caught a particularly strong whiff of his breath.

"Do you realize how stupid you look right now?" she demanded. Apparently she was going to throw away her concern and just go in for the yelling. "You're probably about one drink away from becoming a slobbering maniac."

"Ah, well. You just go on back inside and enjoy the party. I'm not your responsibility." He waved her away, but she stood firmly with her hands on her hips.

"No. Come on, get up. I'll get Logan to drop you home." She replied, pulling on his arm, but he yanked himself out of her grip.

"I'm not ready to go yet." He growled as she stood, speechlessly, staring at him. This was not the boy she had come to know as her friend. He was acting even worse than when they had first met.

"Well I am not going to leave you out here on your own. You could break your neck falling off this thing... or worse. So get up. I want you to come to my house and sober up."

"No thank you." He replied, turning away from her. Rory walked around so that she stood in front of him again.

"Tris, tell me what's wrong. Why are you acting like this?" she asked, sitting beside him and trying to ignore the strong odor of whiskey.

"I'm not acting like anything. This is me, so if you don't like what you see, then go back to your boyfriend. Oh no, on second thought, you may want to steer clear of him, seeing as he's the one that taught me how to do this."

"I'm going inside now. And I'll give you until tomorrow to explain to me what the hell is going on. You can apologize then too if you want us to continue being friends." She added as she stood up and turned to head inside, but Tristan grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.

Before she had a chance to object, Rory found herself pressed against Tristan as he shoved his tongue into her mouth. She didn't drink, and after tonight she was pretty sure she never would. The whiskey he had been drinking tasted awful second hand. She couldn't imagine it being much better the first time around.

"Stop it!" she yelled at him, pushing back so that he landed on the bench with a thud. "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded. Tristan just sat, staring at her a little dazed.

He stared at her, as if trying to figure out where they were and why she was yelling. She crossed her arms and took a step back. "I'm going to find Finn. Stay here, I'll be right back." She ordered before turning and heading into the party.

Finn wouldn't be happy about his party experience being cut short, but she couldn't really explain this to Logan just yet. It would be ok though. Finn would help his friend, and in the morning, everything would go back to normal. At school on Monday, all would be forgotten.

At least, that's what Rory told herself as she searched the house for the Australian.


"That was the only thing that he ever did that made my mom mad at him." Rory finished as Emma came back into the room. She'd been coming in and out all through Rory's last instalment, going from room to room trying to find things she could draw as she grew tired of coloring in other people's pictures. Rory had had to clam up at times towards the end, but she was pretty sure that her baby hadn't heard anything too damaging.

Lo on the other hand was stunned. "I can't believe he did that. Especially when you were dating his friend. Oh my God."

"I know. But it's not a big deal now. We resolved that years ago."

"Good." Lo replied. She was thinking to herself how different the people in her life were starting to look since her mom had started this story. There was just so much she'd never known.


When Finn dropped Rory home that night – no questions asked as to why she was leaving without the people she had arrived with– he promised to make sure that Lane and a then unconscious Tristan would both make it home safely.

She walked through the front door and burst into tears, causing her mother to make a hurried excuse, hang up the phone, and jump off the couch.

"Rory? Honey what happened?" she asked, pulling her into a hug.

"I don't know what I did wrong." She confessed.

"Did wrong when? You gotta help me here, honey. Drag Mommy along. What happened?"

"Tristan was so angry. He was drunk and mad at me, but I don't know why."

"He was drunk..?" Lorelai repeated slowly, she had trusted this boy with her daughter, but now she was starting to think that had been the wrong choice. "What did he do?"

"He kissed me. But it's ok. Finn's getting him home now. I don't think he knew what he was doing."

"Rory, sit down, come on." Lorelai led her to the couch and they sat down. "Now, start from the beginning."

Rory tearfully explained the whole thing, from when she arrived at the party to Finn checking one final time that she was ok, before driving away.

"Babe, you know what's happening don't you?" Rory shook her head and wiped her eyes. She was confused and upset and didn't understand any of it. "He's jealous." Lorelai explained. "He likes you and he's jealous of Logan."

"But we're all friends. I don't… Oh no." she stopped as she realized what her mother was saying. "I didn't think it was serious. I thought he was just joking around. But he basically told me… What do I do now?"

"You have to talk to him. Get everything out in the open and see if you can save your friendship. Also you need to let me whack him over the back of the head."

"What? Why do you want to do that?" Rory asked, shocked.

"He should have been honest with you from the beginning. Idiot." Lorelai pulled Rory into another hug, "Everything's going to be fine. You'll see. You guys will get through this," she added, rubbing Rory's back.


"She was right. Of course. He showed up late the next day, wearing very dark glasses and apologized profusely. I confronted him like she said I should do and he told me that, yes, he did like me that way. I told him that he was my friend and I didn't want to lose him, but I didn't think that we should spend too much time together while he had those feelings. 'Ok, I'll try and get over it.' He promised."

"And did he?" Lo asked. She'd always kind of wondered if there had been something romantic between the two. She could never work out if it was just in her imagination though.

"Eventually yes. I mean, he wouldn't have married Joy and had Holly if he didn't. I know him, and I am certain he wouldn't marry someone or bring a child into the world if he was still harbouring feelings for someone else."

Lo smiled at that. She was relieved. Of course her parents loved each other, she saw evidence of that every day, Tristan always caused her a little bit of worry though. But if her mom said everything was ok, she had absolutely no reason to doubt her.


AN: I don't know what it is with me and getting these guys drunk. It keeps happening and I can't sem to control it. Let's just blame my parents for now. Anyways, there's the update you've been begging for.