She didn't even notice the stones hitting her window at first. Then when she did the sheer absurdity of it made her speechless. She opened the window and leaned out with a confused expression.
"You gotta be kidding me" she mumbled as she saw Tristan standing there beneath the window.
"What, you didn't have 'In your eyes' on cassette for your boom box?" she asked cynically.
"Very funny. Get down here" he said, without amusement.
"What?"
"Get down here" he repeated.
"It's past 11, Tristan" she whispered.
The house was already quiet and she was about to go to bed herself thinking he wouldn't show up tonight anyway, what with their scare that morning.
He stood there looking up, determined, not changing his mind.
She sighed.
"Why don't you just come up?" she said frustrated.
Tristan arched an eyebrow.
"Your dad probably has laser sensors set up, Rory"
She sighed.
"Fine. Wait there"
She went to her closet grabbing some jeans and a sweater and sneaked out of her room quietly. She didn't think much about what she was doing, it was another one of those automatic things that happened thanks to him.
She went outside, the cool night air hitting her face and she went around the house to where he had been standing earlier. She strained her eyes trying to see in the dark and gasped as she felt his hands suddenly pulling her behind the tree standing by the house.
He kissed her and she melted as soon as he felt his lips against hers.
"Hey" he breathed breaking away to look at her.
She sighed, still lost in the sensations of the unexpected kiss.
"I'm sorry about this morning" he whispered.
"It's okay" she said, not wanting to discuss the subject anymore.
"Were they..."
"Let's not talk about it" she cut him off.
He looked at her, his expression serious.
She met his gaze and he seemed to give in, dropping the subject.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
He looked at her, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Just wanted to see you" he said, uncertain.
She looked at him, then his car parked on the street.
"Let's go" she said, walking past him towards the car, confident as only he could get her.
He stood there, missing a beat, then started behind her.
"Rory, are you sure? I mean, your parents..." he asked concerned.
She turned around and he stopped abruptly, almost bumping into her.
"Since when do you care?" she questioned him, raising an eyebrow.
He let out a long breath, studying her face, his expression calming and a trace of a smile appearing on his face.
"What is it?" he asked quietly.
"What is what?" she asked a hint of frustration upon feeling his piercing gaze.
"You are upset again" he said, stepping closer, his smile widening.
"What makes you think I am upset?" she asked trying to look dignified.
"You get horny when you're upset" he said, enjoying the slight shock he saw on her face.
She huffed turning around to walk towards the car, trying to hide the redness creeping across her face.
"Get in the damn car" she said annoyed, hearing his chuckle as she sat in the passenger seat.
He got in and started the car, not asking where they were going. They sat there in silence for a while.
"So?" he finally said, his voice still amused.
"So what?"
"Are you going to tell me why you're upset?" he said glancing in her direction "or are you just gonna have your way with me?"
"You wish, don't you?" she replied cynically.
He smirked while he watched the road.
"Pretty much, yeah" he replied, going along with the joke.
She leaned back into her seat watching the dark street as they drove.
"What did your mom say?" he asked, his voice suddenly serious, still staring at the road.
She sat there silent, her expression turning grave.
"She thinks I am depressed" she said simply "and that's why I'm running around with you".
Tristan kept his eyes on the road, not even flinching.
Rory looked at him, concentrating on his face, trying to read his mind.
"And what do you think?" he asked, his voice low, but with no apparent emotions.
"I think she exaggerates" she said, turning to face the road again.
A moment passed without either of them speaking.
"You two seem pretty close" he said, a hint of skepticism in his voice.
She turned towards him again. Was there really a bit of worry in his voice? She couldn't tell for sure.
"How is it that you seem to know so much about me and I know nothing about you?" she finally said, changing the subject.
He smiled lightly.
"Why do you feel you need to know?" he asked simply.
"Well... it's just...we're... aren't you supposed to know the one you're with?" her voice was uncertain for the first time this evening.
He looked at her for a little while, long enough for her to get uncomfortable and start to worry about him not watching the road as well.
"I wouldn't know" he said quietly.
She sat there, the meaning of the words sinking in.
"How many girls have you gone out with?" she suddenly asked.
He smirked at the sudden question.
"Why is this important?" he asked coyly.
"I am curious"
He didn't respond.
She stared at him questioning and he squirmed under her gaze. He actually squirmed.
"What does 'gone out with' mean?" he asked uncomfortably.
She couldn't help but smile.
"That much, huh?"
He shifted in his seat, sighing and she enjoyed the fact that she made him feel uncomfortable for once.
"There's been a couple. I haven't exactly had long term relationships..." he talked slow, formulating every word.
"Why not?" she cut in.
He sighed again, running his hand through his hair.
"I guess I don't like annoying questions" he said cynically, then sighed starting over "as I've said before, it's hard to keep me interested"
She stared at him, watching as he drove.
"How come you're still interested then?"
He smiled a light smile again as he slowly stopped the car. Rory realized they were at the lake again. She watched as he turned to her.
"You know I am not good with explaining myself, Rory" he slowly said.
"Try" she replied, her confidence present again.
He sighed. And stared out onto the lake, silent for long seconds.
"I like you" he said slowly, the words coming out with difficulty "I thought I made that clear last night" he went on, still not looking at her.
"Why do you like me?" she continued her questions.
"You ask a lot of questions, you know" he said slightly annoyed and embarrassed.
"Good trait for a reporter" she quipped. Then seeing his frustration added: "And this is how you get to know people"
He sighed, then cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes concentrating on something out on the lake. He opened his mouth and his words came quiet, low.
"I am hard to impress, harder to keep interested, I am indifferent, so if something does get my attention, it means that it has an effect on me" he slowly turned towards her and reached out a hand to pull her into his hold as he went on, his voice getting even lower "I don't like to be pushed into doing things I don't like, including talking about things I don't exactly have a grip on" he went on, his voice suggestive "I have low tolerance for people. But I like dogs. And I like punk rock. And for some reason black and white movies. My favorite color is blue, my favorite food is hot-dogs, I have a sister named Amanda and I once stole a Guns N' Roses record from a store" he stopped for a second, his face only inches away from hers, his eyes sparkling and staring at hers.
He went on, his voice dropping to a whisper "I love my car, but I don't ever clean it, which explains the mess in the back. I hang out with kids that probably don't even know my last name but would stick by me if it ever came to that" he looked at her intently, as Rory's breathing became shallow, feeling his hot breath on her face.
With a small smirk he continued "I lost my virginity at twelve years old, but didn't really enjoy sex till age fourteen. Yes, I've been with a couple of ladies. But the thing is, I became infatuated with this one girl about 3 weeks ago when she walked in on me while someone was giving me a pretty sloppy blow job and the only reason I even managed to cum was because she was looking at me with these incredible blue eyes" he whispered, his voice low, husky, his breath tickling the side of her face.
Rory's breath caught in her chest not only because of the profanity of his words but the sudden excitement she was experiencing.
"And that, Rory Hayden Gilmore, is all I can think of right now that you need to know about me" he finished and his lips moved to kiss her neck.
She smiled and exhaled as she felt his tongue trace her neck. She let him lift her, coming to straddle him and her hands went up to his head, her fingers running through his hair.
His hands went up to her face pulling her down in order to kiss her, but she resisted pulling away slightly.
"Which Guns N' Roses record?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
He smirked as he looked up at her.
"Appetite for Destruction" he answered and pulled her in, this time succeeding and meeting her lips in a bruising kiss.
She gasped feeling his intensity, his lips brushing hers, his tongue attacking her, darting into her mouth. She moaned into the kiss and she felt him respond, pulling her down onto his hips, letting her feel his arousal.
He groaned as she broke away looking up at her, with eyes clouded with want. She steadied her breathing, her face slightly flushed.
"So wait, you like me because I walked in on you while someone was giving you a blow job?" she asked teasing.
He groaned, closing his eyes.
"Seriously, what's with the questions, Rory?" he asked sighing and trying to pull her in for another kiss.
She resisted, a smile creeping across her face.
He groaned again pulling her face close to whisper in her ear.
"You are such a fucking tease" he whispered and his voice sent shivers down her spine.
"All you have to do is tell me" she went on, feigning innocence.
"You didn't leave. You just stood there staring" he said slowly, his voice low, almost cracking from his desire "with those gorgeous blue eyes. And I swear it felt like you were turned on for a second, your eyes..." his voice was only a murmur now and she had to keep herself from kissing him, it turned her on so "there was something in them and it made me want you, made me want to..." he trailed off and pulled her down on his hips again suggestively.
She inhaled sharply and listened holding her breath waiting for him to go on.
His hand went up to the side of her face playing with the lock or hair that came loose from her ponytail and her heart raced feeling his fingers brush against her skin.
"Then when you came up to me in that parking lot after..." he trailed off again and she remembered the day at the ice cream shop, when Dean left her stranded.
"You looked so confident, determined... and so fucking lost" he went on inhaling her scent as he buried his head in the crook of her neck "I know that feeling. It felt like I knew you. I guess that's when I started to like you, but I can't tell for sure. It was scary. How much you felt like me, back when I used to try to fight it" he said, his voice dropping another notch, this time less husky, and more weary.
She sighed remembering the feelings she was running from. The feelings that she could only escape when she was with him, the only person who seemed to know what they were like.
"I felt like... I wanted to... help you or... I don't know. Maybe it can't be helped. But I wanted to let you know I knew what it was like" he sighed and Rory felt herself snake her arms around his neck as if thanking him silently.
"Then when we were here, you reminded me of how much you fucking turn me on" his voice turned husky again and she felt her heart race once more "and I kind of forgot about wanting to help you and just..." he trailed off again smirking and Rory remembered the first time they were together right here.
"Maybe you did help me" she whispered.
He pulled back to look at her again, his face serious again, his eyes dark and sparkling.
"I don't know" he said "it felt like running" he went on "It felt like running up till last night".
She stared in his eyes, his closeness filling her with a warm feeling and she leaned into his chest slowly to hug him tight as he wrapped his arms around her. She heard him sigh almost as if he were relieved and she smiled into his chest, thankful for the calmness that settled over her.