A/N: So, per request by all of you I updated as humanly possible (well as humanly possible in my case ;)). I own nothing and I want at least 8 reviews for this chapter because then I have 100 reviews for my first story ever and that is just amazing... Thanks to everyone!!! Caro

10

She was bored. So much that she wanted to strangle herself with her scarf which hung loosely around her neck. Thinking about it, that was a pretty good idea. She could already see the headline before her inner eye.

'Young elite student strangles herself – no one knows why!'

No, that just would not do. Besides if she strangled herself now, she would not be able to finish her dessert, the greatest apple tiramisu she ever had had. And she would not be able to go to Harvard or any other fancy school in this country. Would she be willing to give that up in order to end this torture? Probably not.

Really, could this guy talk about anything else? No, it was 'Lord of the Rings' this, 'Lord of the Rings' that. It was starting to unnerve her. He was getting on her nerves with his stupid grin plastered on his face and that floppy hair. Who in their right mind would cut their hair like this? God, he did not even talk about the books, he had never read them, only the movies were interesting enough for him.

Maybe he could not read and tried to hide it like this. When she had said that she liked Tom Bombadil he just looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

But the tiramisu was great.

She was sure that the date with Finn would have been much funnier, more carefree than this. Dean did not even let her take a breath. Always asking questions and not acting on impulse like Finn would have done.

Her thoughts wandered to Finn. What was he doing right now? He probably had a date as well with that redhead she had seen him with the day before yesterday.

"So, do you think we should head back. Your mom said to bring you back at ten." Dean told. Finn could have cared less what her mother had said and Lorelai would have liked it. The two of them were alike in some ways.

She let her gaze roam through the elegant restaurant he had chosen. At least, he was able to do that. Suddenly, her wandering eyes stopped and stared at the sight in front of her. There he was, the one she would rather be sitting here with. He seemed to enjoy himself.

He looked up, feeling her stare making the tiny hairs at the nape of his neck stand up.

Their eyes locked and she felt herself get lost in those green orbs which would be more blue if she was closer. She wanted to stand up, go over to him and kiss him again. Show him that she wanted him, all of him but she knew that she could never have that from him.

"Rory, are you alright? You know that guy?" Dean asked. It had probably rude to stare at another guy when she was on a date but she did not really care. This 'date' had been a total fiasco so far and she did not plan on having a repeat of this.

She would go back to her books and live in her own little world where did not need boyfriends and dates. How could she not when her only two options were absolutely out of the question? One did not do commitment and the other bored her to death. The perfect boyfriend for her would be a combination of those two. A committed, daring guy who would treat her well and in whose presence she would never think of another boy because he was perfect for her.

She shook her head at Dean and only said "Let's go!".

--

She was not better than him, two days after kissing him she went on a date with some stupid small town dick and it hurt him. Well, at least he knew now that he could still feel something after the numbness he felt in the years after Drew's death.

Rory had been something special, she was not like all those other girls with whom he tried to still the numb feeling in him. She would not have been just a band aid, she would have been able to save him, to restore the old Finn, helping him to get over his brother's fatal accident. When she saw him in the hallway with Trish he thought she saw something in her eyes.

Something that screamed 'I knew you would!' and it left him with a feeling of guilt for hurting the most lovely and innocent girl in this whole school, no, in the whole damn world.

--

Monday at school they avoided each other. Or at least they tried to. They had every class together and the teachers were not helping very much either. Group work, that was all she had to say.

At lunch, she was sitting alone again and she had the feeling that for the first time since she started this school no one would come and sit with her.

But she was wrong like so often in the last few weeks. The two tall blondes of the group came over to her and sat down. They had grim looks on their faces. They had to discuss something with her, something serious.

"Rory," Logan started, she had never talked to him before but that was nothing exceptional. "Rory, we need to talk with you. About...Finn." he told her.

On the inside she screamed 'I don't want to talk about him. Can't you see that he hurt me?' but she only managed to mutter a small "Ok!".

"Rory, you need to help him. He's out of his mind, he's been out with three different girls this weekend, that's a new record even for him, he drank three bottles of tequila on his own..." Tristan wanted to say more but Rory interrupted him.

"Why do you think I want to hear that?" tears filled her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Not in front of them, not in front of the cafeteria and especially not in front of him.

"Because when you look inside yourself you'll find that you care a great deal about him. You want to help him..."

Rory had looked away, not able to see the looks on their faces. How could they ask this from her? She wanted to forget him. That train was long gone.

"I can't..." she whispered. "Yes, you can..." "Stop it, you don't know what happened, Tristan! You weren't there when went to get coffee. It was wonderful, it was everything I ever wanted yet I knew I could only have it in that moment. He isn't ready to give me what I want and I'm not ready to wait for him. As selfish as it sounds but I don't want that. The only thing that can come out of this is pain!" with that she got up spared them one last glance and left the cafeteria.

"That went well..." Logan said as he and Tristan got up to go to their usual table.

Without them noticing Finn had left as well, following Rory out. He had seen the look on her face and wanted nothing more than to comfort her.

He caught up with her at her locker. When she heard his footsteps she started to wipe furiously at her face trying to conceal the fact that she had let the tears fall.

"Rory..." she turned around as she heard his hoarse voice whispering into her ear. She wanted to turn around and hug him, to hear him say that everything would be fine again.

"Rory..."

"What?" she snapped at him. She did not intend to be so harsh but she was mad at him. Mad that he proved her right. Mad that he was such a player. Mad that she just could not let him take her on that damn date. Mad that he made her go on a date with Dean.

He wanted to yell at her that she was wrong, that he could be the guy she wanted him to be and then he thought of Trish. The living proof of her assumptions but that was only because she had rejected him. It was all her fault.

No, it was not. He was wrong. They needed to stop this, trying to protect themselves from each other.

"Forgive me!" he did not know where that came from.

She turned around and stared at him disbelievingly. "Forgive you what?" she asked softly. What was he getting at? In reality, he did nothing wrong, they had no obligations whatsoever.

"Forgive me that I was the person you thought I am, forgive me that I hurt you!"

"Finn!" and suddenly she was in his arms, hugging him fiercely. She never wanted to let go again.

He kissed the top of her head while he held her close. He loved having her in his arms, he loved the way her hair smelled. And knowing himself he would soon love her.

"You want to tell me what happened in there?" he nodded his head in the direction of the dining hall when she gazed up at him.

"I... they wanted...they wanted me to help you. They said that you went out of control the past weekend..." his jaw was clenched. How dare they go to her with this? She did not need to be burdened with this. But she was the only one who could help him now. Everyone had tried in the last years but there had been no one with whom he felt so alive as he did with her.

"Why should I help you? Why are they so worried about you?" she asked timidly. She was afraid that he would shut her out.

"Love, that's a long story..." he shook his head. "I promise you, you'll get to hear it. But for now let's just forget about it!" he kissed her again. Soft and gentle like the kiss in the café and she knew that she would desperately try to trust him in the future.

Maybe this would really help him. To talk about everything, his hopes, his fears, his dreams, the past, the present and the future.

Rory Gilmore would be his savior...