Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls. It belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino, etc, etc. I just enjoy playing in her world and I make no profit from this. I do not own Lost and Delirious either, so don't sue me please.

A/N: This took a while to get right, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I struggled at the beginning, but the last thousand words really came quite naturally. I love the movie I use in this chapter, and I really recommend it to anyone who hasn't already seen it. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for the continued reviews, they really give me great incentive to write more, so keep them coming. Thanks! You guys rule!

POV: Paris.

Gilmore Girls

Eternal Flame

Chapter Eleven

I was amazed that Rory actually managed to fall soundly asleep after everything that had happened to her last night. I, on the other hand, couldn't relax enough to fall into any kind of restfulness. I started to think about what would happen if that jerk showed up at our door looking for Rory. I wasn't sure if he would, but if he did, I didn't think I'd be able to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do. This thought kept me awake for nearly an hour before I finally decided to do something about it.

I eased out of bed as silently as I could, so as not to wake Rory, and then quickly, and quietly, got dressed in some street clothes. I shimmied into my coat and grabbed my handbag before slipping out of the room, the door shutting mutely behind me.

I wasn't entirely comfortable about leaving Rory behind, alone in the dorm, but my errand could not wait. We needed some extra protection, and I though I didn't know where exactly I would find that something extra, I knew that I would.

As it turned out, it was a good job this thought had occurred to me, because when I returned to the dorm, I was just in time to intercept the pig. I had just opened the door when I caught sight of him walking down the hall towards me. I quickly turned to face him, forgetting to close the door in the process, and strode down the corridor to bar his passage.

'What the hell do you think you're doing here?' I challenged him. I gave him my best intimidating Paris glare, but he wasn't affected. Damn it, since when did that stop working?

'Get out of my way,' he replied, not stopping.

I spread my arms out and squared my jaw. 'I'm not letting you past, so you might as well turn around and get out of here.'

He stopped, but didn't leave. 'You don't want to do this,' he cautioned me, and I wanted to slap him for how calm he was. He shouldn't be calm! Not after what he'd done!

'Why? What are you going to do? Hit me?' I dared him.

He narrowed his stupid little eyes at me. 'Despite what you might think,' he said, quite coolly, 'I don't hit girls. This is all a big misunderstanding.'

'Really?' I said, my tone conveying my disbelief.

'Look,' he began, but I didn't let him speak. I didn't need to hear his excuses and lies.

'I don't care!' I shouted. 'You don't get to explain! There is no explanation that will excuse what you did! You're a disgusting, vile little pig, and I hope someday you know what it's like to feel as helpless and defenceless as you made Rory feel last night!'

'Shut up!' He yelled back, his calm façade finally cracking, and revealing his evil underbelly. 'You have no idea what happened last night!'

I was vaguely aware that our stand off had attracted an audience, but that didn't stop me from laying into him. 'I have every idea you ass. Rory told me all about it.'

'She got it wrong!'

'Oh really?' I laughed loudly, staring at him in incredulity, my mind shocked at his arrogant idiocy. 'So she wasn't there? It was some other Rory, was it? She just heard about it and got confused, thought it was her? Sure.'

'Listen bitch,' he growled, 'I just want to talk to her. Explain. This has nothing to do with you. It's between me and Rory.'

'No,' I said, defiantly, 'I'm between you and Rory, and that is not going to change. Comprende?'

I saw the veins in his neck bulge as he tried to hold back his anger. I slipped my hand into my purse and felt my reassuring backup. 'She'll want to speak to me,' he argued.

'Oh yeah,' I said sardonically, 'of course, it makes perfect sense. After all, why wouldn't she want to see you, after what you did to her? Forgive me for not seeing it sooner. Moron!' I couldn't believe the audacity (not to mention stupidity) of this guy. What the hell had Rory seen in him?

He tried to dismiss me from the situation, but I quickly set him straight. Rory was my business. I wasn't going to let him anywhere near her, ever, ever again. So he tried to threaten me. I wasn't surprised. I'd been waiting for it, but that didn't stop me from being afraid. I had my backup, but there was no guarantee it would help me. He was a big guy, and despite his nancy rich boy aura, he looked strong.

Then Rory announced her presence. She called out his name, and I hated the way it sounded. She shouldn't have to think his name, let alone say it. She told him to leave (several times), but he was stubbornly resilient. It took me whipping out the can of mace I had purchased for protection for him to finally get the picture. He left with his tail between his legs – at least for now. I sincerely hoped he would not be back, but I wouldn't put it past him to try again sometime.

Rory thanked me for helping and I assured her it was fine. We left the corridor behind and entered our shared dorm. I shut the door behind us, put my handbag on my bed and removed my coat while Rory questioned me about the mace. After that was taken care of, we ended up having a little heart to heart about Ryan.

I couldn't understand it, but for some reason Rory kept trying to make up excuses for his behaviour. As far as I was concerned, nothing could excuse what he did. It didn't matter whether he was a nice guy or not. She finally admitted that she knew he was jerk, but that just confused me all the more. I asked her why she had dated him if she knew what kind of person he was, but she wouldn't tell me. Yet. I knew she would, so I didn't try and get it out of her. I could be patient, for a little while.

I made sure she knew that.

We sat together on the end of her bed for a while, silently. I was just enjoying the feel of her body pressing against mine. She was so warm, I could smell her particular scent, and it was magical. I wanted to stay that way forever, but I knew that I couldn't, and the longer we sat that way, the harder it would be when we finally separated. So I broke the embrace and moved over to my side of the room.

She followed me with her eyes, no doubt confused by my sudden movement. I turned to face her and smiled reassuringly. 'Hey,' I said, 'why don't we do something special? Take our minds off everything. Just have a Rory and Paris night, pretend like no one else in the world exists.'

I watched as her face broke out in a happy grin. 'Okay,' she said, 'what did you have in mind?'

'Um,' I hummed thoughtfully, trying to think of something.

It had to be something we could do in our dorm room, because I didn't want anyone to interfere. Our dorm would be the only thing that existed tonight. So that narrowed things down considerably. We could read, but that was too much of a one-person activity. Finally, it struck me.

'How about we have a movie night?' I proposed. 'You and your mom used to do that, didn't you? What do you think?'

'I think that's a great idea,' she replied, jumping up off her bed and rushing over to her movie collection. She had brought a TV, DVD player and what looked like every DVD she owned to Yale with her when she moved. The TV had been installed on a stand that stuck out from the wall. Underneath that she had shelved her movie collection, which she was now rummaging through, mumbling to herself.

'Rory?' I called to get her attention.

'Yeah?' She didn't turn around or stop what she was doing.

'Do you mind if I pick one of the movies?' I asked.

She finally stopped and swivelled to face me. 'You brought some movies?'

'Not exactly,' I said. 'I was going to rent it.'

'Oh, what movie? Maybe I have it…'

'Let me see,' I said, moving over to have a look. I did a quick scan, but the movie I had in mind proved to be missing. 'Nope, you don't have it here.'

'Oh.'

'It's fine,' I said, standing up straight again. 'I'll just go get it. I'll be back soon.'

'Wait.' Rory got up as well and started looking through her wardrobe. 'I'll come with you. We need to get munchies.'

'Are you sure?' I asked with concern. I wanted today to be a lazy, relaxing bed rest day for Rory. 'I can get the munchies as well.'

'No offence,' Rory said, smiling disarmingly, 'but I don't trust your munchies buying expertise. My mom and me are masters.'

'Well…'

'Paris?' she interrupted me before I could argue. 'I just really want to get out. Please. I can't stay cooped up in here all day. I won't let him reduce me to living like a turtle.'

'Okay.' I gave in. 'But I'm getting the movie alone. I want it to be a surprise.'

'Fair enough. I'll just be a minute.'

Rory grabbed a quick outfit and retreated to the bathroom to change. A few minutes later she was ready, dressed in a simple skirt and a long sleeved top, which she no doubt picked out to hide the bruises that had developed on her arms. I grabbed my purse and then we set off for the local movie store.

We took my car and I drove into New Haven.

While Rory shopped for munchies, I approached the movie rental counter and asked the girl behind the desk if they had the film I wanted. They did. We didn't have a membership with them yet, but once that was sorted, I got the film and left the store.

I sat in the drivers seat and went to put the DVD in my handbag, when I noticed the napkin with Alison's phone number written on it. In all the chaos of the night before and today, I had completely forgotten about her, but now it all came flooding back to me. My heart started pounding as I took the napkin out and studied the digits written in Alison's own hand. I was overcome with the need to call her.

Rory would probably be waiting for me outside the convenience store by now, but I didn't care. It wouldn't hurt her to wait a while longer. I had to do this now, before I lost my nerve. Fumbling with my cell phone, I finally managed to input the correct number, and with my hands shaking, I held the phone up to my ear and listened to it ring. It seemed to go on forever, but just when I was going to give up, she answered.

'Hello?'

'Hi,' I said, my voice cracking nervously. 'Um, it's Paris, from the… club.'

'Hi. I'm glad you called.'

My heart fluttered at her words. I cleared my throat. 'How are you?' I asked.

'Right now? Oh, I'm great. You?'

'I'm good,' I said. I paused uncertainly, not sure how to continue. This definitely wasn't my forte.

I could actually hear her smiling through the phone when she asked, 'why did you call?'

'Um,' I cleared my throat again, nervously, 'I called…' Come on Paris, I berated myself, you've been through this. You know she likes you. Why are you being so shy? Just spit it out! Ask her! 'I called to ask… ask if you would… like to go out… sometime…maybe?'

'I would love to.'

'…yeah?' I hated how surprised I sounded, but it was done, and I couldn't take it back.

Alison laughed, not unkindly (see, progress, I was beginning to spot those things), and assured me with, 'Absolutely. How about this Friday night?'

'Yeah,' I said, 'that sounds great. Friday.'

'Friday it is. Hey, I don't mean to be rude or dismissive or anything, but I'm actually in the middle of something. I've got your number now, so I'll call you during the week and we can figure it all out, okay?'

'Oh, sure,' I replied.

'I really am glad you called,' she repeated. 'I'll call you soon. Bye.'

'Bye.'

I smiled to myself happily as I put the phone and her number back into my purse. I had a date, on Friday night, with Alison. I had a date! Paris Geller actually had a date. I couldn't stop smiling as I started the car and drove the short distance over to the convenience store to pick up Rory.

She noticed my uplifted demeanour immediately. 'What?' she asked, smiling at me in bemusement.

'Nothing,' I said dismissively. I didn't want to rub her face in my dating success. I tried to erase all traces of happiness from my face.

'Paris,' she said, 'you're not very good at subterfuge, you know. What's got you in such a good mood?'

I looked away, out of the window, feeling guilty now.

'Paris,' she said insistently, 'I'm not going to be mad at you for being happy. Just because I'm not exactly feeling great right now, doesn't mean I want you to be miserable. So tell me, what is it?'

'You're sure?' I pressed.

'Positive.'

'I called Alison,' I announced, and I couldn't help the grin that came to my face, 'we're going out on Friday.'

'That's great Paris,' Rory said, and I could tell she really didn't mind, and that she was happy for me.

'Yeah, it is, isn't it.' It wasn't a question.

Rory looked out of her window as I started the car again. I could tell she was starting to wallow, her brave girl act stumbling, so I tried to distract her.

'What munchies did you get?' I asked, hoping the topic would keep her occupied enough to forget her current woes.

The inquiry seemed to do the trick as Rory turned her head to face me and started to list off the insane amount of sweets, coffees, cakes, and whatnot, that she had purchased for the two of us. As she talked and talked, I started to think it wouldn't be humanly possible for us to consume all of that junk, and by the end I was convinced we wouldn't, but I didn't care because Rory seemed to have forgotten her almost slump. That was all that mattered. I'd OD on sweeties if that were what it took to keep her spirits up.

A nasty surprise waited for us when we arrived back at the dorms.

I saw Rory stiffen beside me as she took in the form of the person leaning against the wall by our door.

He kicked off from the wall and turned to face us fully.

'Jess?'

'Hey,' he said casually, as if it was just a chance meeting on the street.

'What are you doing here?' Rory whispered in disbelief.

'We need to talk,' was all he said.

'I don't think she wants to talk to you,' I said, stepping between Rory and a guy once again. Granted, I didn't hate this one half as much as the other (or at all, if I was honest – I just hated how Rory felt about him).

'No,' Rory interrupted me, 'it's okay Paris. I'll talk to him.'

'What?' I couldn't believe she actually wanted to talk to him, after what he did to her. 'Rory, are you serious? What could he possibly say that could - '

'Paris,' Rory said firmly, and I shut up to listen. 'I need to talk to Jess alone. He's right – we do need to talk. I'll be okay, I promise. Just go inside. I'll be in soon.'

I frowned at her and she met my gaze unflinchingly with her stern face. She wasn't going to change her mind, so I gave in, but not before asking, 'are you sure?'

'I am.'

'Okay,' I said, 'I'll be right in here. Yell if you need me.' I walked past Jess, but stopped before I opened the door and whispered to him. 'Don't hurt her anymore than you already have.'

'Wouldn't dream of it,' he replied, and though the words were somewhat sarcastic, his tone wasn't.

I shut the door behind me and let out a sigh. Would life ever be simple for us? I somehow seriously doubted it.

I struggled not to press my ear to the door and listen in on their conversation, but ultimately I managed not to by moving over to sit on my bed. I would respect Rory's wishes. Despite this, I kept my eyes locked on the door, and my ears open in case she shouted for me.

She didn't.

When she finally entered the room, she was alone.

'Has he gone?' I asked, getting up and approaching her. She looked forlorn and weary, so I offered her my arms and she moved into my embrace appreciatively, resting her head on my shoulder.

'He's gone,' she answered softly.

'Do you want to talk about it?'

'Not really,' she replied. 'Its… its done. Jess and I… we're done…'

'Really?'

'Yeah. Really. We've got closure now, so… yeah. We're done.'

'That's good then,' I said, perhaps stupidly, but really, how's a person supposed to respond in a situation like that?

Rory half laughed, half cried into my shoulder. 'Can we just watch your movie?'

'You still want to?' I asked, making sure she knew that if she didn't want to, I would be okay with that.

'Yeah,' she said. 'I still want to, but just yours, okay? I'm so tired, I don't think I'll make it through the whole movie.'

'Are you sure you want to watch it?' I was starting to feel that my choice of movie wasn't going to be appropriate, considering the events of the evening, and Rory's current mood. She needed a light fluffy movie to take her mind of things, not a bittersweet, complicated drama.

'Why?' Rory pulled out of my embrace to look into my eyes and study my face. 'Is the movie bad?'

'No, not bad,' I answered, 'just… it could be construed as a little… depressing…'

She smiled at me. 'That actually suits my mood pretty well, you know,' she observed, and I couldn't help but agree. 'I don't mind watching a depressing movie. Just don't feel insulted if I fall asleep.'

'I won't,' I assured her.

'What movie is it?'

I grabbed my handbag, opening it up and handed over the DVD case. She read the case while I spoke, 'It's Lost and Delirious. It's one of my favourite recent movies.'

'Lesbians?' she asked me, arching her eyebrows.

'It's more about love,' I argued, 'but yes, it's lesbians.'

Her face took on a wry expression. 'How fitting,' she mumbled, and at the time I mistook her statement, thinking she referred to me and my confession.

'I guess it is. So, you still want to watch it?'

'Yeah, I do,' she said, more enthusiastic than I expected her to be.

'Okay.' I took the movie from her and placed the DVD into the player, grabbed the remote, and went to join her on the bed. She scooted up for me and tucked her legs under the covers. I sat with my back to the headboard, on top of the covers. 'Ready?'

'Ready,' she confirmed.

I hit play and settled back to watch the film.

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but around about halfway though the movie, I noticed that Rory had snuggled up to my side. She had her head resting on my lap. I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat and became increasingly aware of my hands. I didn't know what to do with them. I wanted to rum my fingers through her hair, but I figured that might be inappropriate, and certainly not something she would appreciate, or welcome. I grabbed fistfuls of the blankets to stop myself from giving into my impulses, but as the movie progressed, it became ever more difficult.

When the movie took a turn for the worst, I heard Rory take a deep, sniffling breath. Was she crying? Then I felt the wetness of her tears soaking through my pants, and it was confirmed. She was.

I couldn't help myself now. I raised my right hand and placed it on her head. She stiffened, but didn't say a word. I started to slide my fingers through her hair soothingly and she quickly relaxed. My heart was pumping so fast I thought it might explode. She didn't say a word, or show any sign of being uncomfortable. In fact, it was the exact opposite. She seemed to relax even more as I continued my soft ministrations.

At the time I was sure it was nothing. It didn't mean a thing. The movie had upset her, and she just thought I was trying to comfort her. She was only welcoming my attention because she was tired and saddened. That was what I told myself, anyway. I think maybe I couldn't allow myself to believe differently. That would just complicate things.

My fingers continued to part through her hair all the way until the end of the movie. As the credits began to roll, I finally let them still, but I kept my hand on her head. I thought she might have fallen asleep until I heard her speak.

'It's so sad,' she said quietly, and I could hear the tears in her voice, 'but… strangely… beautiful.'

'You think so?'

'In a very morose kind of way, yes,' she admitted. 'To love someone so much… it makes me feel so foolish. To think I ever thought that I loved Dean. What I felt for him… it doesn't even come close to comparing with what Paulie felt for Tori.'

'It does hurt,' I said softly, 'when you love someone so much, and you can't have them. I don't blame Paulie for doing what she did, I can emphasise, but I can't help but pity her at the same time.'

'You love someone?' Rory asked abruptly, sitting up and looking at me.

I lowered my eyes so she couldn't see them. 'Yes,' I confirmed. 'But they will never love me back.'

'Oh.'

I glanced up and saw Rory looking down into her lap.

'I think what made Paulie so crazy was because she had her girl,' I voiced my thoughts on the movie, 'and then she lost her. I can't imagine how I'd react to that. I like to think I could survive it, but… I'm not sure I could.'

'Thank you for showing me this movie Paris,' Rory said earnestly. 'I think I have a lot of thinking to do.'

'You're welcome.'

She snuggled down back into the bed, pulling the covers up and resting her head on her pillow this time. She was looking up at me as she lay down. 'Stay?' she asked me, still looking up at me.

I nodded and slowly slipped under the covers to join her. My every nerve was tingling as she turned to face me and snuggled into my side again. Her head came to find its familiar place in my shoulder. I tightened the blankets with my fists and tried very hard to calm myself as she hummed contentedly and fell into a peaceful slumber.

'Good night Rory,' I whispered into her hair. She made no response as she slept. I swallowed and buried my nose in her hair, smelling her sweet scent. 'Good night my love.'