AN: Well I'm glad everybody seems to be happy with my updates! Keep those reviews coming, I forgot how wonderful they are to get the creative juices flowing!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own GG nor do I own the lyrics for SR-71's "My World"
…Does he make you cry? Does he know the way you feel?
Madeline, Louise and Rory were crowded into Rory's room getting ready for their night out, while Lorelai hovered at the door. Rory laughed at her mother who was bouncing from foot to foot almost nervously.
"You can come in mom" She said.
Lorelai clapped her hands together.
"Alright, alright, stop begging!" She exclaimed, bouncing over to the bed and watching Rory put on liquid eyeliner with the same concentration she gave her history homework.
"So where are you girls going tonight?"
Louise shrugged.
"I don't know, there's supposed to be a party…if that sucks we'll just go on the prowl"
Lorelai looked pensive.
"I think I should be far more concerned when one of my teenage daughter's friends says they're 'going on the prowl'"
"Ahhh," replied Rory, not pausing her work on her eyelids, "But you have one of those rare teenage daughters who is neither flippant nor stupid"
Lorelai smiled proudly.
"I knew I did the right thing switching you with that loud baby that cried all the time and couldn't count its toes"
Rory shot her mother a horrified look and Lorelai just laughed.
"Did Rory tell you about her date tomorrow night Lorelai?" Madeline asked, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness as Rory whipped around and flashed her a look.
Lorelai whistled woo-ooo.
"Who's the lucky guy Ror?"
"She's the lucky one Miss Gi…Lorelai"
Lorelai narrowed her eyes.
"Nice save Louise…now who's the guy"
Rory sighed heavily and turned to face her mom.
"Okay mom, but you can't make a big deal out of this…"
"Oh my god…oh my god is it Johnny Depp?"
"What?" Rory asked, flustered, "No mom, it's Tristan DuGrey"
Lorelai gasped.
"Bible Boy? ET? Spawn of Satan?"
Rory rolled her eyes.
"D all of the above, he's taking me to the Hamilton's party tomorrow night"
"What are you gonna wear?"
"The dress I was always going to wear, the orange one"
"Oooh…cute. I've got the perfect shoes"
"Mom it's not my senior prom"
"Rory if this was your senior prom, the living room would be filled with bolts of fabric and we'd still be putting final touches on patterns, staying up all night, cutting pictures of hairstyles out and taping them to the window"
Rory rolled her eyes again and said to the girls in a stage whisper,
"Can you elope for a Prom?"
Lorelai snickered.
"I think you can in Europe" She quipped back before focusing in on the outfit Rory was wearing.
She wore a short, tight black skirt over opaque black tights with a pair of brown, high-heeled, knee-high boots. Her top was a long sleeved mocha-coloured bat-wing jumper cinched in with a wide belt.
"Looking good off-spring"
"Thanks mom" Rory replied as she spritzed her curls with a small amount of hairspray.
"We ready girls?"
"Yup and the Icon said he and Finn are five minutes away"
---
Half an hour later they were at the party being thrown by one of the public schools in Hartford. The Icon greeted kids as he walked in, his arm slung around Rory.
"You look good Princess" He said to her as he handed her a drink.
She gripped his chin with a tiny hand.
"You charmer, you"
The party was good, not as upscale as a Chilton party, but the gang made their own fun anywhere they went, and Rory was positive that the Icon had still managed to find some cheap Charlie to put up his nose. She disapproved of course, but she'd long given up trying to control everything the Icon did.
He had become cockier than usual and was chatting up a local girl against the wall when Finn decided it was a reasonable time to play "Lampshade man" by be-hatting himself with the nearest lamp-shade, wrapping a curtain around himself and standing on the back of the couch in the living room while idiotic jocks cheered him on from behind the keg. Louise and Madeline were chanting with them while Rory rolled her eyes at his promised to stand for truth, beauty, freedom and drinks all around, before tumbling onto the seat of the couch and finding himself, quite opportunistically, in the lap of a willing and able redhead. He winked at Rory and gave her a thumbs up and she decided she needed another drink.
---
The party was shut down soon after and Madeline told them about a new club Tim had spent the weekend before at. She led them down an alleyway, the Icon's girl still in tow, to a back door where they were admitted into a stairwell that curved up and up before it came out into a thumping club.
"This is more like it" Rory cried.
"Yeah this is what I was talkin' about" Louise agreed.
Rory looked around for Finn and the Icon and spotted them already over near the bar. She shook her head and grinned, making her way towards them.
"Hey Ace"
Rory froze at the voice that sent shivers down her spine. Feeling tears well behind her eyes she forced the anger to overwhelm them as she spun on her heel. She knew he'd be smirking and she wanted to beat it off his face.
"What the fuck are you doing here Huntzberger?" She demanded, her voice icy and low.
At the mention of his names Louise and Madeline spun on their heels, rushing to Rory's side. Logan smirked again.
"So cold Rory? I remember when you used to moan my name…turned me on"
"Fuck you"
He grinned and took a sip of her beer, it was all Rory needed as she launched herself at him wanting to claw his beady eyes out. She tackled him to the floor, his beer flying into the wall. He'd never admit but it took every ounce of his strength to keep her from hurting him.
"No Rory!" Louise screamed, bringing Finn and The Icon running.
It was The Icon who pulled an hysterical Rory off Logan who was still grinning. He stood back up, nursing a cut lip where she had managed to get him. His smirk faltered when he made eye contact with the Icon but was back in full force.
"Well, well the whole gang's here…well…not the whole gang"
"Right, that's it" Finn said as he calmly walked up to Logan, throwing a fierce punch.
Louise screamed again as Finn shook his hand out.
"Well I think I'm about to be kicked out" Finn quipped. "Oh well, with the shit they let in here these days, doesn't really bother me"
That last remark was directed at Logan who was being helped up by the bouncer. The Icon sheltered Rory as they made their way out of the club, but none of them could shelter her from the whispered,
"See you soon Ace"
---
The group spilled out of the club.
"What's going on?" the girl with the Icon was asking.
He turned to her as though seeing her for the first time then glanced back around at his friends; a fuming Finn, Madeline was shivering and Louise had tears glistening in her eyes. And Rory, Rory didn't seem to know whether to cry or scream.
The Icon looked down at the girl, Lisa her name was.
"I'm sorry Lis, this night isn't going anywhere, I'm gonna get you a cab"
She smiled at him and twined her fingers with his.
"Come on…surely I can come with you guys?" She asked hopefully.
Rory squeezed her eyes, knowing the tone of voice the girl was about to hear. As beautiful and sweet as the Icon could be, when he turned (and he always turned, except on them) he could be cold and cruel.
"I said no" He told her forcefully as he hailed a cab. "What's your address?"
She told him sullenly, obviously humiliated and he directed the cab that way, handing the driver a fifty.
He turned back to the group.
"Now that problem's taken care of, I say we got to the lake. Come on Princess"
He took Rory's hand, pulling her close enough to him to wrap his jacket around her.
---
Rory was silent for most of the drive to the lakehouse (where they spent most of the summer days), until they'd reached it and gotten their beer and she knew she was free to say it all.
She didn't understand what had happened.
"He's supposed to be in jail" She was muttering, "When did he get out?" Suddenly an understanding dawned on her.
"Did you two know he was out?" She demanded, turning on Finn and the Icon who both nodded.
"Rory, love, it was a juvenile crime, you knew he'd be out within the year"
Rory bit her lip, seeing the truth in that. She'd known it was a good chance when she first heard the sentence.
"I just…I didn't expect to see him"
Turning her face up to the sky she let out a high pitched, angst-filled scream and fell to her knees. Louise wrapped an arm around her.
"You know he'll come back to Chilton" She said miserably.
"He wouldn't" Madeline whispered.
"Of course he would, if he didn't it'd be admitting guilt"
She took a swig of her beer.
"I hate him"
"We all hate him love" Finn said quietly.
Rory looked around at them, her eyes finally resting on the Icon who refused to meet her gaze.
"I know"