Disclaimer: Amy and Daniel Palladino, along with the rest of the WB, own Gilmore Girls. I'm just borrowing the characters. New Order owns "Turn My Way." Warren Zevon owns "Lawyers, Guns and Money."
A/N2: I'm completely sorry for the lack of update. It makes me just feel sick to know that I've taken this long. Writer's block, however, is a bitch. Thank yous are at the bottom. I feel as though I should start doing that again, as a small token of my undying gratitude to all of my reviewers.
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It had been over a week since Logan and Rory's fight. She had seen Stephanie twice, Colin once, and Finn a grand total of four times. They all seemed to want to cheer her up. She had been confused at first, wondering why they weren't avoiding her like the plague on Logan's account, but when she'd asked Stephanie about it the blond just laughed and told her that Logan didn't dictate their lives. That made Rory feel good, knowing that she had real friends, no matter how embarrassing their conversations were (the most recent being a debate about flavored condoms between Colin and Finn).
It was a week and a half after the fight that Stephanie took Rory out to lunch. She claimed that she wanted to help her forget about Logan. This process consisted of a lot of girl talk, mostly about Stephanie and Tristan.
"So, I've already got Finn's opinion on the matter, but a girl's point of view would be most welcome," Stephanie concluded.
Rory raised an eyebrow. "Finn?"
Stephanie split into an almost wicked grin. "Yes, Finn. He's like a brother to me. We tell each other everything."
Rory stopped mid-bite. "Everything?"
"Everything," Stephanie purred. "Such as, you two kissed."
"He told you that?" Rory yelped.
Stephanie clapped her hands together gleefully. "No, you just did."
"What?"
"You ask a lot of questions," Stephanie sighed. "When did this happen? The night before Christmas Eve?" Rory nodded. "I thought so. There was less unresolved tension, yet more sexual tension, if you know what at all I'm talking about. Don't worry, Logan doesn't know anything- they tell me everything, and I'm sure you'd know by now if he knew. Don't get me wrong, I love Logan to death and back, but he wouldn't know tension if it bit him in the ass. One of his worse faults." She grimaced. "Sorry, I forgot that we're not talking about him."
"It's okay," Rory lied. "It's good for me."
Stephanie brightened considerably. "Great, then you'll talk to him?"
Rory shook her head vehemently. "No, I don't think that will be happening any time in the near future. Or my lifetime."
Stephanie rolled her eyes, but there was a mysterious glint in her eye. "Fine, be that way. Just don't come whining to me when you two get into another fight after you make-up."
"Make-up," Rory echoed.
"You do want that, correct? I mean, I'm getting definite feelings of love off you."
"You're getting what off me? Sure, I probably loved Logan, but no, not now. I don't think we can be together anymore. But I think I'd like to try to be friends with him."
"Okay, sure." Stephanie gave her a fake smile and thumbs up. "You have oodles of fun with that. I mean, it turned out great last time you tried that."
Rory glared at her friend. "Whose side are you on?"
"No ones! I'm neutral! I'm the Switzerland in this battle, England."
"Why am I England?"
"Would you rather be France? It's pretty there. You can go shopping!"
"Who is Logan?"
"Don't make me choose," Stephanie whined. "Fine, no country comparisons. Except for me, because I am the epitome of Switzerland. But seriously, I wish you luck. If you wanna be friends, then don't let my negativity and jaded out look on life get in your way."
"Thank you so much for your support," Rory dead-panned.
Stephanie shrugged, pretending it was nothing. "You're just lucky you have a friend as great as me."
"Your modesty is overwhelming, Steph," a new voice chimed in, pulling up a chair and grabbing a few of Rory's French fries.
Rory slapped Finn's hand, but he held on tightly to his prize, stuffing them into his mouth as quickly as he could. "Ladies and gentlemen, the ever charming Phineas," Stephanie introduced sarcastically.
Finn swallowed the fries with an innocent look. "That was dead sexy, you're just too scared to admit it."
"Oh god, you totally caught me," she replied sardonically. "How'd you know we were here? Stalking us?"
He took a bite of her turkey burger. "Have you ever wondered what that bump on the back of your neck is?"
"Creeper."
Finn just snapped his fingers to get the waiters attention. "Good sir, I'll have a Mudslide, the blond will have a Lemon Drop, and the brunette will take a Chocolate Martini."
"Chocolate Martini?" Rory questioned.
"It's wonderful, darling, simply marvelous. There's a little chocolate kiss at the bottom waiting for you. It's brilliant," Finn assured her, taking a few more of her fries.
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"And then she said that she just wants to be friends with him!" Stephanie groused to Colin and Finn, who were perched on the couch watching her pace in front of them. "I mean, what the hell kind of shit is that? It makes no sense!"
"Maybe you should respect her wishes, love. If she wants to just be friends, let her," Finn suggested.
Stephanie stopped her pacing momentarily to glare at him. "Stop being biased and weigh in as un-objectively as you possibly can be. This is a crucial juncture."
"I think Stephanie's been taken over by the Pod People," Colin stage-whispered to Finn, who snickered.
"Colin, you're an idiot," she snapped. "This is freakin' important. Rory and Logan are both deeply in denial, and need a bit of reassurance that they can, y'know, push through this."
"What if they don't want to?" Finn pressed.
"They want to," she firmly replied.
"Fine." Finn sighed comically. "What do you want me to do? Drug and blindfold them?"
"You're a hoot and a half," Colin said sarcastically.
Ignoring Colin's comment, Stephanie explained, "It would be like an intervention, but with less drinking a la Arrested Development. The last thing we need is drunken mediators."
"Speak for yourself," Finn grumbled while Colin scoffed.
"We'll meet at my dorm room tomorrow about two-thirty, say?" Without waiting for confirmation, she continued, "I'll be sure to clear the area of anything blunt or sharp. Or that could possibly be thrown. You two can bring Logan here."
"I'm guessing all arguments are out of the question at this juncture," Colin quipped.
"Basically," she agreed with a coy grin.
Finn and Colin stood up. "We're gonna go now," Colin told her, briefly squeezing her hand as he passed by her.
Finn tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Your heart's in the right place, pet, but I don't think will work if you just spring it on them like this."
"Jealous pessimist," she accused playfully.
He put his hand over his heart and gave her his best pitiful look. "You wound me right here."
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"Please?" Stephanie begged, unusual for the blond girl who was used to people falling at her feet, sometimes literally. She looked Rory straight in the eye. "C'mon, we can make margaritas and complain about how much guys suck."
Rory raised an eyebrow. "Don't you do that everyday?"
"True, but you can talk this time."
Rory smiled and stood up, stretching her legs. "I'm coming, you win. As long as you don't babble about Tristan the whole time."
Stephanie traced an 'X' over her heart. "Cross my heart, hope to die."
The two girls were halfway to Stephanie's dorm when Rory stopped. "Where are we going?"
Stephanie stared. "My dorm. Obviously. We're just taking the long way."
"Why? Because you don't want me to go past Logan's dorm? What, does he have a girl there already?"
Stephanie silently cursed to herself, knowing Rory of all people would have caught on to something like that. "No, I just figured the last thing you wanted to see was Logan or his dorm."
"But I'm fine with it," Rory protested.
Stephanie linked arms with her friend. "Cleopatra, queen of denial," she patronized.
"Victoria, queen of not letting go, don't," Rory mimicked back.
"Your call," Stephanie replied calmly.
Rory looked at the girl suspiciously, but didn't say anything more on the subject until they arrived at their destination a few minutes later. When Stephanie opened the door, the first thing Rory noticed were Logan, Colin, and Finn sitting on the couch. She detached her arm from Stephanie's and turned on the other girl.
"You planned this!" she accused.
At the same time Logan punched Finn-being the closest to him- in the arm. "I can't believe you did this!"
Finn punched Logan back. "This is for your own good, or so I'm told."
Colin pushed Finn away and began to speak, silencing the feuding Stephanie and Rory in the process. "This is for your own good. Both of yours, actually. Logan's been moping around like some love-sick puppy, and I've heard that Rory has actually drowned in denial. So, kids, you have to work out your own little mess, if not for your own sakes, than for the rest of us."
"And don't try throwing things at each other- I removed everything that isn't bolted down," Stephanie added.
Rory tried leaving, but Stephanie blocked the exit. "Don't even bother; I'm a black belt in Tai Kwon Do- my mother had fears of me being attacked."
"I have nothing to say to him." Rory practically spit the word out with menace. "I said everything that needs to be said last week when he lied to me."
"I didn't lie to you," Logan protested.
"Yes you did! You hid the truth from me. Is that not lying? And you acted like it was no big deal!"
"Because it wasn't!"
"I was actually worried, though in retrospect I'm having trouble wondering I was worried over you."
"Real rich."
"No, that's you, which you have no problems flaunting in my face or anyone else's face, for that matter."
"Can I have a list of all the things that bother you about me, you know, just for reference?" he asked sardonically.
"No, I don't have enough time for that," she retorted.
Stephanie exchanged a worried glance with Colin. This was going the opposite way of where she wanted it to go. Colin gave her a sympathetic smile, but made no attempt to get up in case Logan did something particularly stupid.
"Then can I have the Reader's Digest version? Please, oh please? I don't want one of my faults being that I don't know I have faults." His voice was dripping with sarcasm now.
"There goes number one on the list," she snapped back. "Fine, you want a few of your flaws? You're self-absorbed, you're shallow, you never think of my feelings and you are always trying to buy me, as if I'm one of your other girls who want things, possessions. If you knew me at all-and it's obvious you don't- than you'd know that I don't want meaningless objects."
"You're right, I don't know you. Because if I knew you, I'd know that you are high-maintenance, whiny, you run hot and cold, and that you are self-absorbed also."
Rory had tears in her eyes as she stared at him. "People told me not to get involved with you. My mother, Luke, Marty, but no, I wanted to be independent. I gave up my friendship with Marty because of you. And do you know where it led me? Here. I don't want to be here, with you. That's why I'm leaving. I don't want to be with you and I don't want to be here, this state of mind that is hurting me. I'm leaving, and if you have any common sense at all you will not follow, though I doubt that will be a problem."
She whispered something to Stephanie and slowly opened up the door, turning to her left to go back to her dorm. Logan got up angrily from his seat. "I can't believe you planned this," he hissed to Stephanie.
"Logan, I love you. I really do. But right now, you are bugging my shit," she quietly replied.
He opened the door and stalked out the other way. "That went well," Colin stated.
Finn opened his mouth to say something, but Stephanie cut him off with a stare. "Don't. Just, don't."
"Nice to see how much faith you put in me, doll. I was just going to ask if you were going to go after Ror or Logan," he informed her. "I volunteer for the position of comforting Rory."
Stephanie sighed and laid down across both of their laps. "Fine, fine, whatever. I don't care. I think I'll just stay here and mourn for the death of the relationship."
"I guess that leaves me with Logan." Colin got up, leaving Stephanie to pout at the lack of warmth.
Finn kissed her temple. "Sorry it didn't work out like you wanted, darling. I guess I'm off before she does something drastic like stop drinking coffee or reading a sub-par book."
Stephanie grabbed his hand as he got up. "Its better this way, isn't it? I mean, I don't think they would have been able to survive each other any longer. It was bound to happen. This isn't my fault, is it?"
Finn brought her knuckles to his lips. "Don't worry, this isn't your fault. You did what you thought was right and no one can blame you for that."
She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the pillow. "Thanks, babe."
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Rory wiped her eyes before she entered her dorm, praying to any god that would listen that Doyle wasn't there. Someone must have been looking out for her, because as it turned out neither Doyle nor Paris were anywhere to be seen. The first thing she did was go to the fridge and take out every single carton of ice cream that was there. She didn't even bother to turn on the TV, but instead stared ahead of her blankly as she ate her ice cream.
Within minutes, the door opened. Rory hurried to make it look as though she wasn't wallowing, but Finn was the one that entered. As he already knew what had transpired, she quit her actions. As soon as she made eye contact with him, she immediately burst into fresh tears. Finn sat down beside her and gathered her into his arms, suddenly wondering why he had volunteered for this- he was no good at dealing with crying girls.
"You probably think I'm so mean for saying those things," she hiccupped.
He rested his chin on her head. "No, no, no. I think you spoke your mind, which is brave. If it helps, I think you made the right decision."
She pulled away so she could look him in the eye. "Really?"
"Really really," he answered with a charming grin.
She smiled back despite the tears. "Will you still talk to me?"
"Every day if you want," he promised. When did I turn into such a bloody sap? Even my thoughts scream 'chick flick.' Changing the subject, he asked, "Which romantic movie do you want to watch? A good one that will make you have hope in my sex again, or one that will make you want to kill me at the end? I'm hoping you chose the latter, but that's just me."
She thought a moment. "I don't know. You chose. Do you want some ice cream?"
"I'll get a spoon after I put the movie in," he replied. Rory took another scoop of ice cream and watched Finn walk around the room, helping her get over his friend. She thought it was funny, and even smiled in spite of herself, but didn't let him see it. She wanted him to stay.
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Thank you to….
Freakage- Hee. I thought I was the only one that saw how long his neck was, and I thought people would think that I was completely psycho for thinking that… but yay! Haha. Plus, you feel bad for him, which means that I've succeeded.
LandonLover- You liked the fight? Awesome! Hee. Guys are stupid. I love David & Goliath tees. They completely rock my socks, I must say. How soon are you expecting Rory/Finn? Haha. I'm totally kidding. I'm just messing with you. I have not seen Sin City yet (unfortunately), but I heard Alexis kicks ass in it.
mystripedskirt- Yes! My job is complete all because you did not expect the Stephanie/Tristan. Hee. I love subplots. I put the 'old money' bit in there because I saw a shirt that said that and I thought "It'd be great if Stephanie could wear that." Then I thought, "And it'd be even better if Finn was." Hee. I love Finn.
otownroxx- Yes, they will be together… eventually… evil grin.
Pocahontas83- Love triangles make the world go 'round. I love them. Yes, 5 times. They're both very much in the nymphomaniac range of the spectrum…. I promise, that makes sense somewhere. Haha. Rory is deeply conflicted. Who wouldn't be? Well, I wouldn't because I know what my choice would be, but I can see where she's coming from… and that totally didn't sound conceited… Heh. I love name calling, and I wish I could have had more in the fights, but it just didn't seem… right.
Agel15- Nobody can blame Rory. Though I think I'm making Logan as too much of a bad person, which is always a bad thing. Can I let you in on a secret? I actually do like his character, I just… don't. If that made any sense. I doubt it did, but whatever.
Kellie- I have a friend that spells her name exactly the same way! Oh man, that's great. Haha. Tangent. Anywho, yes, Finn. Finn is… Finn. He's Australian. I love him to death…. Thought I'd throw that out there.
Alicia Jo- I think it's the break up everyone's been waiting for… Hee.
Smile1- Yaya! Your reviews always make me smile, though I think that probably has something to do with your name… subliminal messages, eh?
Bookworms- Ahh! You are my muse! Reviews are awesome, no matter how cheesy. Cheese rocks.
ReeseAnn- Good. Not the running away part, I don't want anyone to run away from my stories… though that'd be pretty funny… but that's because I have an odd imagination… Heh. You actually thought it was scary? Heck yes!
crissy- I think the main reason you don't like Logan in the fic is because I have strange powers of persuasion…or something less self-centered, haha.
More thank yous to Logan13, KeitaWolf, fairieangel, cinemagal, and of course OTHlover04. You are all ten kinds of awesome!