AN: Thanks again to all my readers and my wonderful beta rh-fntc, for putting up with all my rambling emails. I'm just glad that you get me! lol

leh2007 – Thank you and welcome:) Glad you're enjoying so far!

Holy Cross Baby – Thanks! LOL…I'm glad you think so! Gotta keep you on your toes!

princetongirl – Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

rh-fntc – I had to put a mention of Jess in there for you:) Kind of a nod if you will to the fic you wrote for me. It's basically just a hint towards Logan finding interest in Jess' writing. I can't write him at all, plus, I don't think he'd fit well in my fic, but I had to put him in there for you! I wanted to put in that part about the funeral. I hated that he just disappeared and there was no mention of him ever again. I mean, when Dave (Adam Brody) left they still mentioned his name, so why not Tristan. I just thought it was too weird…and of course establish that maybe she did have feelings for him back then. And Dean…yes, I hated that part too…but I had to show that both of them thought of that day, and ya, I wanted her to feel bad about what she said. :)

Spreeaholic1 – Thank you so much! Thanks for reading!

Curley-Q – All in good time my friend, all in good time!

donna79 – I'm glad you liked it. It was a bit hard for me to write…and I was worried about it, so thank you, I'm glad it worked. Took some time…I just thought about my dad's recent funeral…obviously it wasn't the same, but I used the memories to set the mood. And you're right about her keeping out of sight. At my dad's I'd be ok, till someone that I was really close to came up to me, then I'd break down. I felt it would be the same with him…plus, she felt out of place, so she did it for her piece of mind to see how he was doing.

Tonje – Aww thank you! I'm not happy that you almost cried, but it does make me feel good that it evoked that emotion from you. I know how he feels too. It was pretty hard to write. I'm glad that you thought it was well written.

allovertheplace – Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it. :)

Mongoose 187 – Ahhh…thank you…you're the first to mention her reaction…glad you caught it.

RositaLG – Thank you! It means a lot. I know that PJ Harvey part is kind of over done, but it is canon in my fic…I had a bit of a struggle with putting it in since I'd briefly mentioned it with Tristan, but I didn't do the actual flashback. But I had to establish that Rory thought back to that day too, and that she did feel remorse.

Thank you all again. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic so far. Hope you enjoy the next chapter…

Chapter 10

The drive back to Yale was fairly silent, save for the soft sound coming from the radio. The song playing was an old 80s song. Naked Eyes was the name of the group. She loved this song.

She thought it was ironic that it was playing now, at this time. She hadn't heard it in years. She just found it funny that now, when all these memories she didn't realize she had have been bombarding her. Yes, it was ironic indeed.

She looked out the window and watched the scenery as they drove by. She could feel Logan glance at her every so often. She knew he was curious since they'd left the mall, and she hadn't given him an explanation yet. Wasn't sure if she had one to give him. She also knew however, that he wouldn't push.

He knew that she would come to him when she was ready. She smiled at the thought. She loved that even after all that'd happened within the last few weeks, they were still good friends. After the whole Marty incident, it became clear, that that's all they were.

Flashback

She made her way to the apartment, feeling dejected. It'd been a week since the whole Marty/Lucy debacle, and they hadn't spoken since. Oddly enough, it didn't bother her, and knowing that did.

As she opened the door to the apartment, she walked in and saw him by the counter, pouring himself a drink. She looked at him with wide eyes, completely surprised by his appearance. Neither one of them had attempted to make any contact with each other. She certainly didn't expect him to be here now. He looked up when he heard her gasp and gave her a small smile.

He looked at her, and pointed at the bottle. She shook her head to decline the drink. He made his way to the sofa, and gestured for her to take a seat next to him.

She walked over and gently put her purse down. "What are you doing here Logan?" She asked softly.

He sighed and looked up at her. "Ace, I think we need to talk."

She nodded, having an idea of what was going to happen. She'd been thinking about it all week. Things just weren't the same anymore.

"I love you, you know?" He said suddenly. She looked up at him, definitely not expecting that. She looked in his eyes, and saw something she hadn't seen before.

"I love you too." She said softly. "But things are different now, aren't they?" She said, looking him in the eye.

It was now his turn to be surprised. Apparently, they were both feeling the same way.

"Yes. Yes they are." He looked down at his glass, took a sip, then turned to look at her again. "It's not that I don't still love you. I do. With all my heart, but since I've been back from London, it seems that we're drifting apart."

She looked continued to look him in the eye, as tears began to form. "I love you so much. But I think you and I are just growing apart. Going in different directions." He opened his mouth in protest, but she held up a hand to stop him. "I know you love me, and it's been a great ride. But you've got your work, and I've still got school. Being apart has kept us from each others lives, and it feels like we've been trying to fill that hole." She paused to take a deep breath.

"'Trying' being the operative word. It seems that with all the 'trying' we've been doing at mending the gap, we've just made it bigger. I don't want to lose you." She whispered, finally letting one tear drop. Soon after, the others followed. She silently cried as he watched her. Both of their hearts breaking.

"Ace…" He said, reaching out to wipe her tears. His own eyes began to well up as he spoke.

"You're right. And I think this truly shows that our souls are truly connected if we're both feeling and thinking the same exact thing. I don't want to lose you either. You're too important to me. I'd hate not knowing what's going on with you, even if I have to hear about you and Marty, I want to hear it from you!" He chuckled bitterly at that last part.

"What?" She looked up suddenly, tears temporarily forgotten.

"Me and Marty? Huh…" Then realization hit her and she laughed. "Oh my god! You really were jealous?"

"Hey!" Logan said frowning. "That guy was an important part of your life before you and I got serious. I always knew he had a thing for you, and I figured that's why he kept you from Lucy. Seriously, did you not catch the way he was looking at you?" He said clearly frustrated.

"Awww…come here!" She reached over and hugged him. They sat like that for awhile, just enjoying being close to each other. She pulled back slightly and gave him a kiss on the lips.

He returned the kiss, but this was different from any kiss they'd shared. It was full of love and respect, but it lacked passion. It was a kiss of good-bye to a great love, but hello to an even possibly greater friendship. They both pulled away from the kiss, and smiled at each other.

"Yeah, I did notice the looks. But I was with you. And if you recall, I did choose you over him before, and I'd do it again!" She said smiling. They both pulled back reluctantly from their embrace.

"So, friends?" He asked shyly. For the first time since she'd met him, he didn't seem so confident.

She placed a hand on his arm, and smiled. "Friends." Then suddenly she had a glint in her eyes, and he looked at her questioningly.

"I can't believe you thought I liked Marty!" She laughed suddenly. He crossed his arms, getting mad again.

"Hey! Hey!" She said, trying to placate him. "No pouting." She said, pouting, to mock him. He just frowned more, but remained silent.

"Okay, okay!" She laughed. "How about, for our first promise, as friends, we promise to keep each other apprised of what's going on. Regardless of if it's a new relationship, stupid things old friends are lying to their girlfriends about, etc." She laughed.

He laughed in response. "Okay, deal. Promise"

"Pinky promise!" She yelled out, holding out her right pinky.

He just looked at her confused and looked at her extended pinky. She looked at him pointedly then at her finger.

"Oh! Okay yeah, pinky promise!" He finally agreed holding out his right pinky and clasping hers. They did a quick shake, and they both smiled at each other.

"I love you." She said softly.

"I love you too, Ace." He replied.

They sat back on the couch, and regaled each other with what had happened the past week. Both reveling in their lack of awkwardness. Happy that they were still friends.

End Flashback

A week later, she'd moved out of their apartment and moved back in with Paris and Doyle. Logan told her she could stay, but she didn't feel right living in the apartment he'd paid for. She would have loved to stay, but she couldn't afford it. She told him to use it for when he had to come into Hartford, or to sublet it.

"So, Ace…what are your plans this weekend?" He said, breaking of her reverie. He may not have wanted to push her, but the silence was killing him. She smiled, knowing what he was doing.

"Nothing. Just planning on relaxing for once. Since we're not going to London anymore, for Christmas, I have all this time now. Figured I'd make it up to my mom, especially, since this will be our first holiday season with my dad and Gigi. I think we're gonna go shopping for trees today.

"What? Ace, it's a week before Christmas, and you still don't have a tree?" He asked, incredulously.

She laughed. "Logan, you don't know my mom by now?" She gave him a knowing look.

"She wanted to make it a 'family' outing. But I was busy with school, and dad was busy getting Gigi from Paris and getting things straightened out with Sherry, that this was the first time, we all had free of obligations and stress." She explained as it was normal.

"Umm…ok. You're family is so strange. But it sounds like it's going to be a great Christmas." He said smiling back at her.

"Oh, it will be. Mom even said, she was 'holding off the snow'!" She laughed at his expression.

"My mom has this thing with snow. Thinks it's magical. And so far, I've pretty much been around for each first snowfall of the year. It's tradition for her. She can smell it."

At his look of disbelief, she continued. "No really! It's like a special power or something. She's been 99.5 right the times she predicted it was about to snow…and that 0.5 was just delayed by a few hours." She smiled, cheesily.

"As soon as she knows it's about to snow, no matter what time it is, she gets up, gets me up and drags me outside so we can experience it." She rambled.

He smiled at her giddiness. He really missed her sometimes, but it was for the best. Their relationship was actually stronger now than when they were dating. It just seemed easier for them to be completely free and honest with each other knowing they were just friends.

"Logan?" her voice cut through his thoughts.

"Yeah?" He said, glancing at her curiously, before turning back to the road.

"I know you want to know what happened back at the book store." She said, looking down at her lap.

"Rory…" he said, using her real name showing her that he was taking this seriously. She cut him off before he could continue.

"I saw someone I knew." She answered vaguely.

"Dugray?" He asked. She looked up at him in shock. But then realized they were both from Hartford, so it would stand to reason that they'd know each other.

"Oh, so you do know Tristan?" She asked, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Yes, I know him. We're not friends or anything, but we'd seen each other at parties, hung around at a few sub-parties. How do you know him? Was he another ex or something?" He asked.

She chuckled. "Oh no…nothing like that. Although, at the time, he probably wanted to be something like that." She paused, smiling slightly remembering the younger, cocky, former King of Chilton.

She looked up and caught him looking at her, curiously, and she realized she still hadn't clarified how she knew him.

"Oh…we went to high school together. We both went to Chilton." She answered quickly.

"Okay." He mused. "But why the long face." He pressed.

"I…I'm not sure." She said softly, looking out the windshield. "It's complicated. I need to find out some stuff. But I promise, once I figure it out, you'll be third to know!" She smiled at his incredulous glare.

"Third!" He bellowed exaggeratedly, but then grinned immediately. "Fine. I guess cause we all know Lorelai and Paris would kick my ass if you told me first."

Then his tone turned serious. "You're ok though, right? I won't have to kick his as or anything, right?" He asked suddenly. She laughed at his bravado.

"You're so sweet!" She said teasingly, pinching his right cheek. "Look at you, trying to defend my honor! But no. You don't need to do that. I think I may be the one at fault this time. But I'm not so sure. I'm just so confused!" She groaned in frustration.

"Hey…Hey!" He said, placing a hand over hers. "It's ok. It's gonna be ok. And if you need help figuring it out, let me know. I may not know the guy, or know what the essence of your relationship was, but sometimes a neutral observer can help to shed light. Just keep it in mind, k? I'm a great listener, when I want to be!" he said, squeezing her hand in reassurance, and smiling gently.

"Thanks, Logan!" She breathed in relief. Just knowing he'd be around, helped her to breath easier. "I really appreciate it!"

The rest of the drive continued in comfortable silence. He pulled up to her apartment building and parked. He looked out the windshield and up at the decrepit building.

"I really wish you'd just stay at my apartment, Rory." He whined. He really hated this place, and worried about her living there.

"I know, but it's really not that bad. Besides, it's my hood now." She said, smiling widely.

"Don't ever say that again." He admonished. "You are not ghetto enough to pull it off."

She laughed out loud. "Okay. Okay. Never again. I promise!" She said, saluting him. "I'll talk to you later, okay? Thanks again, Logan, for everything."

He smiled genuinely at her. "Anytime, Rory. What are friends for?" He asked.

She smiled back and got out of the car. With a final wave, she made her way into her building. The smile dropped from her face as she remembered why she wanted to go home so quickly. "I hope Paris is still here!" She muttered to herself.

TBC

AN2: I know I said that everything that happened before Merry Fisticuffs was all canon, but I forgot that Rory lived with Paris and Doyle already. But it worked better for this chapter to have her at the loft a little while longer.

Oh! And I hope you all realize by now that the appearance of the song in which this fic is titled for, is basically a running joke in the fic. I'll pretty much throw it in when I see fit. LOL

Thanks for reading…don't forget to review!!