I know his crew is kinda shady
Sometimes it gets kinda crazy
But he treats me like a lady, gives me everything I need
He's got mad personality, a side they never see
Rory woke up and was immediately blinded by the light that was shining through the white curtains in Tristan's room. She blinked a few times to adjust her vision before sitting up and looking around, suddenly remembering where she was. She swallowed and tried to control her breathing but it seemed to speed up as she took in her surroundings.
Looking to her side she realized the bed was empty and the pillow not touched. Her heart stopped as she looked at the half-open bedroom door.
She smiled and couldn't help but blush when she fingered the overly large white shirt she was wearing and remembered the previous night and what Tristan had done when he thought she had been asleep. What he had said. She smiled even more and bit her lip, unable to control a boost of giddiness racing through her.
She heard faint talking outside the door and immediately knew it was Tristan and Finn. Had they been there all night? She knew that after Tristan had left the bedroom the night before that Finn had still been there and they had begun talking again as she had drifted off, so she assumed Tristan had been coming in to tell her he was going to be longer, or had something to do with Finn, but she didn't think that they would have taken the whole night.
But that would explain why the other side of the bed wasn't touched.
She took the covers off of her and when the chilly air of the room hit her she was tempted to snuggle back into the bed that had been comfortable and warm last night. It was unusual for her; she had always had trouble adjusting to sleeping in new surroundings.
"I'm telling you it's the best way. It's them or us." She heard Finn's voice say as she walked towards the door. She ran a hand through her hair that was let loose from her ponytail sometime during the night and opened the door.
As soon as she took a step from the room, two sets of eyes were on her. Finn was standing by the couch, his trench coat covering his body with the sleeves up like they always were and Tristan was sitting on the couch smoking. Both wore the same clothes they had the night before. Silence filled the room and she did nothing but stand there awkwardly, wishing she hadn't come out of the room after all.
"Doll, I love the outfit." Finn grinned, his eyes dancing with amusement. She blushed, wrapping her arms around herself.
She bit her lip and looked towards Tristan who was putting out a cigarette, looking serious, his eyes trained directly on her. "You sleep well?" He sat his arm slung over the back of the couch, his expression unreadable while he watched her.
Rory nodded, biting her lip nervously. It was awkward. Yes. She seemed to experience that a lot with Tristan. He must have sensed something because a second later he was getting up off the couch and heading towards her.
"I didn't mean to interrupt…" she started but Tristan just smirked and put a hand around her waist and pulled her close to him. Her heart automatically started beating a little faster.
"You did sleep good?" he asked again, his face only coming inches from hers and his face slightly softened.
"Yeah," Rory replied, feeling slightly better now that she was in his arms. She was unable to control the small smile that was creeping onto her face as he let his smirk slowly slide into one.
"Good." He said, licking his lips. "We're just talking. The only thing you interrupted was Finn repeating himself over and over again."
"Well if you'd listen." Finn said in an exasperated voice behind them and Tristan just sighed and then looked back down at Rory.
"There's some shit in the bathroom for you. Finn brought over a toothbrush. He buys them in bulk and keeps a stash in his apartment." Tristan said with an amused look and Rory smiled and raised her eyebrow over Tristan's shoulder at Finn.
"What?" Finn asked with an incredulous look on is face. "I have a lot of ladies coming in and out and if you think I would let them use mine your bloody insane." Finn defended with a look of disgust on his face.
"Well, you could always think about sticking to one girl." Rory suggested and Tristan laughed at that and bowed and rested his forehead on Rory's shoulder. Finn looked like he had just been smacked. A look of disbelief crossed his face.
"Please tell me you were joking." He said slowly, almost cautiously and Rory grinned as Tristan laughed some more and nuzzled his face into her neck. Finn just sighed and shook his head. "I need sleep. But now I'll probably have nightmares… me with one girl." He repeated as if it were the craziest thing in the world.
Rory grinned and blushed when she looked up to see Tristan smiling down at her, a full fledge smile, all emotion showing through his eyes. He looked tired but a spark in his eyes made him look more alive and human than she had ever seen him.
"I'm going to go…" Rory pointed behind her towards the bathroom as Finn collapsed backwards onto the couch and closed his eyes, a faint whine escaping his lips.
She looked up to see Tristan staring right at her. He nodded his head towards the bathroom as if telling her it was okay. And she did admit, it sounded more like a question than a statement when she had said it.
She nodded awkwardly and then turned towards the bedroom again and walked towards it, feeling his eyes on her the whole way. She turned around quickly when she got to the door, only to see him leaning one shoulder against the wall, eyes still on her, expressionless. For once. Just once, she wanted to know what he was thinking. What was going on in his mind that he kept so hidden. No one was able to make her feel so self-conscious and so perfect at the same time, just by looking at her.
True enough, sitting on the sink was a toothbrush and she took a minute to look around at the bathroom and practically drooled. It had the biggest bath she had ever seen. A huge black porcelain bath sat on one wall with steps to enter it. If there was one thing Gilmore girls indulged in besides coffee, it was a bubble bath. But the rest of the bathroom was the exact same as every part of the house. Black and White. The walls and tiles were both white and everything else was black, from the toilet itself to the sink and cupboards.
Just like Tristan, everything was always either black or white with him. Color was a rarity.
"Oh god." She muttered as she looked in the mirror. She wanted to take back walking out into the living room a few minutes prior. Her hair had escaped her ponytail and was now all mussed from sleeping. Her makeup had faded and her eyes were slightly glossy from just waking up.
After quickly brushing her teeth and her face, she ran her hands through her hair to try and get it to look a bit normal since there was no brush anywhere, not surprising since Tristan's hair always looked hand-combed. She grabbed her shirt from the night before and slipped it on, putting Tristan's shirt she had borrowed into the hamper in the bathroom and crossing her arms for a second and just waiting.
She had just woken up in her boyfriends house. Her boyfriend who was much older and was unknown to her mother. She sighed. Was she just supposed to walk out there again? She walked back into the bedroom and glanced at the bed, deciding it was something to keep her occupied, she went over and fixed the side that she had slept on and then glanced around the room once more before walking out of it.
"Well… I'm leaving now. I must go crawl into my coffin. Don't bother me till the sun goes back down." Finn called as he walked towards the door. Tristan looked up at Rory and she caught his eye briefly before looking down at the floor.
"We'll talk later." Was all Tristan said from his position standing by the window with another cigarette.
"Yes, and we'll go over the same thing we went over all bloody night until you finally realize that I am right." Finn said exasperated. Tristan didn't say anything and Rory stood awkwardly as Finn turned to her. "Sorry for interrupting your night." he said with a smirk and a wink before he opened the door and exclaimed 'home sweet home' before walking across the hall to his apartment.
By the time she turned back towards Tristan, he was already walking towards her. He stopped in front of her, glancing down.
"How's it feel?" he asked, sticking his fingers in the top of her pants and gently pulling them down until they revealed the gauze covering her tattoo.
"Fine I guess. It doesn't really hurt. It's just… sore." She told him and he nodded, walking towards the kitchen.
"Coffee?" he stated more than asked as Rory walked after him. He rarely asked questions, Rory realized. He just ordered or stated things, most of the time he was right, too. Like he didn't have to ask.
"Yes, please." Rory said with more enthusiasm than she meant to and immediately flushed as Tristan turned to her while he poured her a cup and chuckled.
He handed her the cup but before she could take a sip he had an arm around her waist and his lips against hers, causing her to sigh. She set the cup down blindly on the counter next to her and brought her hands up around his neck as she gladly returned the kiss.
"'Morning," Tristan mumbled against her lips and she grinned.
"Good morning." She replied back before Tristan kissed her again and then stepped back, grabbing a cup for himself as she picked up hers and took a drink.
"We gotta clean your tattoo. I got some shit in the bathroom." Tristan set his cup down and walked over to her again, placing a hand over her tattoo, bringing his eye to meet hers, "Are you sure it doesn't hurt or anything?" he asked seriously, though his eyes were soft and filled with concern.
Rory shook her head, breathless from the look in his eyes and inwardly cursed herself to get a hold of herself.
Tristan looked down at his hand and then back up to her eyes before grabbing her hand and leading her down the hall and back into the bedroom, to the adjoined bathroom before he flicked on the light.
Letting go of her hand, he walked over to grab a washcloth and ran it under warm water and grabbed a bar of soap. "We have to clean it first before we put anything on it." he said as he walked back over to her and set the washcloth and soap down on the sink.
"Oh… okay." Rory cheeks instantly turned red as she pulled down on her pants to reveal the gauze-covered tattoo.
Tristan looked at her with a quirked eyebrow, amusement filled eyes. He reached a hand down and with one quick movement, undid her pants and pulled the flap away, revealing the gauze more clearly. "You weren't afraid to do that last night." he chuckled and Rory blushed a deep crimson but just glared at him as he held in a few laughs at her response.
He squatted down in front of her and pulled the gauze away and then brought the wash cloth up over her tattoo and stroked it across it gently, carefully and Rory's heart started to race on instinct. He put some soap on his fingers and rubbed it over the tattoo next, just as gently as he had with the wash cloth and she couldn't stop herself from taking her eyes away from his hands and looking down at his face.
Concentration, care, caution. He concentrated on her, his eyes slightly narrowed on the spot he was tending to. She didn't know how someone so tough could be so gentle but he was. He touched her like he would a newborn baby, with more gentleness than she knew. After wiping the cloth over the soap, to every end of the tattoo and back again, Tristan looked up and met her eyes, causing her breathing to hitch in her throat. His eyes were dark and swirling with emotion.
"It looks good." He said, his voice slightly husky and all she could do was nod as he stood up again, inhaling sharply as he did so and ran a hand through his hair as he took a bottle of antiseptic from the mirror cupboard and a fresh gauze Band-Aid and brought them back over to her where she was standing frozen.
Squatting down again without another word or glance, he started to apply the antiseptic with as much care as he had cleaned it with and then blew gently on it. Instant chills raced from the spot to every corner of her body and she inwardly cursed him, wondering if he knew what he did to her.
"You need to keep this clean, everyday, wash it carefully and then put some more of this on it." he explained, holding up the antiseptic. "No baths or swimming, at least for a week. No prolonged water on it and keep it covered after you do this, but after it absorbs you can take it off. Don't keep the bandage on it all the time." He didn't meet her eyes as he placed the Band-Aid on it and then stood, placing everything back where it came from and washing the lotion from his hands.
"That's it?" Rory asked, her voice coming out low as she redid her pants.
"Yeah." Tristan turned around to face her again, his eyes glancing down to the tattooed area again. "So… no regrets?" he asked, looking back up at her with a raised eyebrow, leaning back against the glass shower door and crossing his arms in front of him.
Rory thought about it for a second, "Nope." She admitted truthfully, surprising herself. She really didn't. She thought she might regret it at least a little, but now thinking about it, she didn't regret it at all.
Tristan smirked. "That's good. Ready to get another?"
"I think this will be good for a while." She laughed then remembered the needle and cringed. Tristan laughed as he stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her pulling her to him, her hands coming up to rest on his chest and then circle his neck.
"Did you even sleep last night?" Rory asked, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck as he looked at down at her.
"No. I had things to do. Not really tired." Was all he said, a hand coming up to tuck her hair behind her ear. He ran his fingers down her cheek as he watched her as if at any second she would break.
Rory bit her lip. "Was it about those guys that you were talking about last night at the party?" she asked and watched him closely for any sign of any kind of emotion but his eyes only turned cold and his hand dropped to his side.
"You don't need to worry about that."
Rory let her hands fall. "It's something really bad then."
Tristan let his head fall back and then looked back down at her. "Like I said, it's nothing for you to even worry about, alright?" He told her again as he moved his lips down to hers but she just turned her head away and then looked back up at him as he held a look of disbelief.
"You know everything about me, why can't I just know something about you?" she asked seriously, hiding back her amusement at the look of shock on his face at the fact that she just refused a kiss from him.
"Because there are things you just don't need to know. You're better off not knowing." He moved his mouth to hers but dodged him again..
"Like what?" she asked, taking a step back and enjoying the pure disbelief and shocked amusement on his face.
"Like things," he glared and then moved towards her again and quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. "Now let me kiss you." he practically growled but she moved her head away again, loving the sudden feeling of control she now possessed for once instead of him.
"Sorry." she smiled and turned around quickly and walked from the bathroom and down the hall to the kitchen, grabbing her coffee and taking a drink to hide her grin.
Tristan walked out after her a second later, staring at her like she was crazy.
"You don't wanna talk. I don't feel like kissing you." Rory stated at his look, surprised by her own bluntness.
Tristan chuckled. "Really." He drawled sarcastically and narrowed his eyes at her, grabbing his cup and taking a drink of his own and then shrugged. "Fine." He said confidently, looking down at her mouth and then looking away and walking over to the couch and sitting down.
Rory grinned at how flustered he got just by looking at her mouth and a boost of giddiness and amusement burst through her.
"Fine." She mimicked and sat on the couch across from him and met his eyes as they stayed staring at her intently. The grin on her face causing him to glare at her. She was quiet for a minute, sipping her coffee as his eyes stayed on hers, an amused smirk on is face.
"You know, Mary, you can sit there all you want and act like it isn't bothering you but you know you want me just as bad as I want you." he said cockily and Rory raised an eyebrow at him. "So you might as well just give up this game and come over here. Now."
"I'm just fine. It seems you're the one who is having trouble over there." She shrugged and looked out the window, a grin on her face and she heard him snort sarcastically. She turned to meet his eyes again, blazing and narrowed at her, only causing her to grin more.
He picked a cigarette from the pack on the coffee table and lit it, tapping his thumb on the couch as he watched her. Rory didn't bother to hide her amusement at how irritated and flustered he was getting as she remained sipping her coffee.
Taking the final drag from his cigarette, he touched the tip to a new one and lit it, inhaling from that one as he tossed the old one into the ashtray.
Rory quirked an eyebrow in his direction and set her empty cup down. "Are you planning on smoking yourself to death?"
Tristan glared at her and just kept smoking another cigarette.
"All you have to do is tell me something about you, seeing as though you somehow know everything about me, it's just fair." she stated, crossing her arms in front of her.
"You don't wanna know, trust me." He said, laughing bitterly as he pressed his second cigarette into the ashtray.
"Try me." Rory looked straight at him as he licked his lips and turned towards the window.
Tristan looked back at her after a moment and shook his head. "You have no fucking clue how hard it is to just sit here." He breathed out and Rory grinned. "No you do, that's why your doing it." he corrected, glaring at her and then sitting up, resting his elbows on his knees."They're just a couple guys that caused us problems before. Now they're back. That's all you need to know." He said and stood up and walked over towards her, leaning down and placing his hands on either side of her head, resting them on the back of the sofa and bringing his lips to hers. "As for everything else, my name's Tristan, I'm twenty-one, and I'm fucking crazy about you." he whispered and Rory's breath caught. His breathing was deep and slow as his face hung over hers. "Can I kiss you now?" he asked teasingly, his breath tickling her lips.
Rory sighed and bit her lip as she looked up in to his eyes. "I guess." She tried to say it like she didn't care but it came out as more of a breathy, hopeful, question.
Tristan smiled widely and she couldn't help but smile herself as he descended his lips to hers, his knee resting by her leg on the couch to prop himself up as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body up to his as they both gave in.
"So you didn't." Louise said slowly, sitting across from Rory in her kitchen as they both snacked on some kind of Mexican chips and dip Louise's cook had made them.
"No Louise. I've said it a hundred times already. We. Didn't. Do. It." Rory said exasperatedly, putting a chip into her mouth.
"So you didn't?" Louise asked again and Rory glared and ignored her.
This had been their conversation since Tristan had dropped her off a half an hour ago. It was now 5:30 and she was waiting for her mother to come pick her up. She was amazed at how fast the afternoon had gone by. It was 4:30 when she finally glanced at the clock and it didn't even seem like an hour yet, sitting on Tristan's couch with him. Surprising her, he ordered pizza for lunch and they just stayed at his apartment all afternoon, the weather not being too great to do anything else. He even had a couple movies that Finn had left at his place. One being The Lord of the Rings, which wasn't a surprise. They had sat back and watched a movie and ate. Not that they actually watched the movie, in fact, they barely looked at the TV at all. She never felt so happy, so carefree than when she was with Tristan. The way he kissed her, she didn't care if he ever stopped. And it seemed like he never got enough of her, which relieved her, because she couldn't seem to get enough of him.
"Wow. Well… I did." Louise smirked. "Jay and I hooked up and let me tell you, I don't care what Mike says, I am not going to pass up that one." She said wistfully and Rory couldn't help but smile at the dazed look on Louise's face.
"I take it you had a good time?" Rory questioned, smiling at her own memories.
"Good time?" Louise repeated. "Ha, after last night… high school parties and high school boys just aren't going to do it for me."
They both looked up as the doorbell rang and Rory smiled and walked to it quickly, already changed out of her clothes from the day before and her bag waiting by the door.
"Hey mom!" She said, embracing her mother in a hug.
"Hey kid. God, how is it possible for me to miss you so much in such a little time?" Lorelai pouted as they stayed in the hug and Louise smirked behind them.
"I missed you, too." Rory told her. And it was the truth. She might have been distracted by the events of the previous night and everything with Tristan, but she still missed her mother.
"Of course you did." Lorelai grinned. "So did you guys have fun?" she asked, looking from Rory to Louise.
"Oh, we had a blast." Louise answered for Rory and grinned widely.
Lorelai narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion. "You didn't sneak out and party, get drunk, dance on tables and hook up with a guy named Albert that had more tattoo's than bare skin and drive a motorcycle did you?" she asked and Rory rolled her eyes as Louise grinned.
"No Lorelai. No guys names Albert." Louise promised and Lorelai grinned.
"You ready kid? I'm dead on my feet so you're going o have to drive." She said, and Rory saw the exhaustion in her eyes even though the sun was already going down.
"Yeah." Rory turned and grabbed her bag from Louise. "See you in school tomorrow." She said before walking with her mother towards the jeep and putting her stuff in, noticing Lorelai had more luggage now than when she left and raised a questioning eyebrow at her mother.
"Some guy was having a buy one get one souvenir special." She defended tiredly and Rory smiled as she climbed into the driver's seat and waved at Louise who was still in the doorway smirking and Rory glared at her as she laughed.
The drive was silent as they drove back to Stars Hollow, Lorelai's head resting on the window with her eyes closed and cursing every time they went over a bump.
"We'll get the bags tomorrow." She said as they walked into the house, "And you can tell me about your night and I'll tell you about mine then too, because if I don't get some sleep, I'm going to collapse on the floor and not even Luke's coffee with revive me." she said as she walked towards the stairs, dragging her feet. "Night Hun."
"Night mom." Rory called, standing in the living room with her arms crossed, looking around wordlessly. So much for telling her tonight, she thought, irritated. She had psyched herself up all day and was ready and now she couldn't.
Sighing, she walked outside and brought their bags in, struggling with Lorelai's and cursing the souvenir vendors, then finally got inside and shut the door, kicking the bags from her way and making her way to her room, tired now herself. She shrugged out of her clothes and into her pajamas and climbing in bed with a book.
"I'll just tell her tomorrow," she promised herself.
"Thank you God for national holidays." Louise muttered as she Madeline, Paris and Rory walked from Chilton at the end of the day Monday, "We have the whole week off!" she said happily. "I love Thanksgiving."
"Yes, for the days off from school, not for the food or the symbol of the holiday itself. And I'm sure you don't love it for the fact that you can help around the community at the soup kitchens." Paris muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Sorry Paris. But the only way I'm stepping foot to volunteer in a soup kitchen on my days off from school, is if you dress like a pilgrim and make it worth my while." Louise said.
Paris scowled and glared at Louise.
Louise's eyes widened. "Oh my god, are you seriously going to?" Louise asked and Rory and Madeline both looked at Paris expectantly.
"Shut up. It's part of the act." Paris growled and they all laughed.
"Well, I'm definitely going to visit there now," Louise promised, her eyes sparkling, "Maybe I'll tell Mike too, he'll want to see."
"Don't even think about it, Grant." Paris warned menacingly but Louise just grinned.
Rory looked towards the entrance to the school and grinned when she saw Tristan standing there, watching her.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Rory called and Paris rolled her eyes while the other two just smiled and smirked as she left.
"Hey." Tristan greeted as she approached him. He set his hand on her hip and held her in place while he placed a quick kiss on her lips. "You ready?" he asked as he handed the helmet.
"Always." Rory replied, taking it from his hands.
"You want coffee? I have to drop you off early cause I have to meet Finn, but I figured we could do something till then." He told her, throwing a cigarette to the ground and helping her onto the back of the bike.
"Sounds good." She told him as she put her hands on his waist, feeling the tensed muscles there and hearing the edge in his tone. He pulled from the school and in a minute they were racing through Hartford, heading towards the small coffee store they had first gone to.
When they pulled up in front she climbed off, leaving her bag and helmet on the back. She watched as Tristan started towards the door, more quiet then usual, more serious than usual.
"Hey." She said, grabbing his hand and stopping him. He turned and stared her straight in the eyes, cold, emotionless, serious. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly, keeping her eyes on his even though she was intimidated and wanted to turn away.
"Nothing's wrong." His voice was low and unrevealing as he looked passed her, over her head, refusing to meet her eyes.
Rory moved closer and squeezed his hand, worry filling her. She knew that something was wrong.
"Yes, there is." She pushed, looking him straight in the eyes. He looked down at her, his eyes meeting hers again and he sighed and brought his free hand up to her cheek, cupping it in his palm and running his thumb across it.
"Nothing's wrong." He repeated, looking her straight in the eyes. "I don't want you worrying, you don't need to know anything about the shit I do alright? I don't want you knowing." He said, bringing his lips to her and kissing her gently, "You're safer not knowing. So forget about it, Mary."
Rory bit her lip as he pulled back, savoring the taste of him and then looking up to meet his eyes with a slight sadness in them and still the worry but she forced a small smile to her face and tugged on his hand as they walked into the shop.
"How was school?" Tristan asked as they sat in a booth, this time, unlike last time they were here, Rory paid no attention to the quieted café or the stares and murmurs and just focused on Tristan and sipped her coffee. He stroked his thumb across her knuckles. This time, unlike last time also, they sat on the same side instead of across from each other.
"Good. I'm glad we have all week off." Rory said, forgetting everything and snuggling into Tristan's warmth.
"So I get you all week?" Tristan teased, kissing Rory right under her ear and she grinned. "You tell her?" He asked and Rory knew exactly what he was talking about.
"She was tired last night, so I'm going to tonight." Rory told him and felt his muscles tense. She turned to look at him, seeing him focusing on his coffee intently. "I promise I am." She told him, bringing her lips to his in a quick kiss.
They finished their coffee and left and Rory rested her head on Tristan's back as he drove to Stars Hollow, today they didn't speed to rush back and make it in time, instead he went the normal speed limit… well, almost normal.
"Call me tonight." Tristan told her as she stepped off his bike. He was already off, waiting on the sidewalk for her.
"You want me to call you?" Rory asked, slightly amused.
Tristan smirked, "Unless you want me to call you, but I figure you can call me when you're done telling your mom and we can set up something to do this week." He stepped closer to her.
Rory nodded, "Okay. But… what if my mom freaks out and locks me in my room, forbidding me to ever see you again?" She joked, but an uneasy feeling fell through her and she started to worry.
Tristan shrugged and wrapped an arm around her tightly, pulling her against him. "I told you to tell your mom cause it's the right thing… but no one is going to stop me from being with you." he told her as he ran a hand down Rory's face and she held her breath, his eyes so intense.
"Tristan..." She said, her voice coming out wavering.
"Hmm?" he asked, looking down at her intensely.
Rory opened her mouth but then shut it, not knowing how to word her emotions and for once wishing that he could just read her like he always did. "Whatever your doing… whatever your meeting Finn for," she started and Tristan kept his burning gaze on her as she stumbled over her words. The close proximity not helping her breathing any as she sighed, "Just be careful." She finally said and raised her eyes to his again and felt her heart stop.
He just stared at her for a moment, disbelief, confusion, amazement swirling in the blue depths of his eyes and he narrowed them, as if trying to see something and then cupped her cheek, bringing his lips to hers in a jolting, powerful kiss that made her legs give from beneath her and practically be held up by his arms around her. His lips were hot and soft on hers, not moving to deepen the kiss and not searching for something more. Just letting them stay there, on hers, just touching hers and savoring the feeling of their mouths pressed together.
He pulled back and looked into her clouded eyes, rubbing his thumb along the angle of her jaw, so much emotion in his eyes that it left her breathless. "I got you." his voice was low, in a whisper and Rory furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion while trying to catch her breath. Tristan still stared directly into her eyes, his breathing as labored as hers. "I have a reason now." he told her and she felt that familiar pure happiness coming through her and an unknown feeling so strong it mesmerized her.
"Okay." She said, breathless herself as he lowered her lips to hers again, holding her chin in place, slowly kissing her unlike any kiss they ever shared. This time, it meant something more. Something she couldn't explain. Something inside of her seemed to break free at that moment and fill her, an unknown feeling that not only made her feel amazed but also scared her.
"Call me tonight." He told her, kissing her quickly, and she never wanted him to stop.
"I will." She said, smiling up at him and he smiled back down at her. Hesitantly he pulled away, kissing her again and walked over to his bike, running a hand through his hair and turning to look at her one more time before starting the bike and driving off.
Rory grinned, unable to control that or the emotions running through her body as she walked back to her house.
Seeing her mothers car in the driveway, she furrowed her eyebrows together in surprise and then walked in, having the confidence and then energy to tell her now, happy that she had obviously come home early.
"Hey mom." Rory said, finding her sitting at the kitchen table with a cup off coffee.
"Hey," Lorelai said back, turning to look at her, her face holding an unreadable expression. "You're home early."
Rory cursed and nodded. "Yeah… you are too." She said, walking over and sitting opposite her and grabbing a cup of coffee.
"Yeah." Lorelai took the last gulp from her cup and then set it down. "The inn wasn't really that busy so I told Sookie and Michel I was leaving early and I figured we could go out and get dinner, talk about our weekends… so I went to pick you up at school." She said, looking straight at Rory and Rory felt her heart drop. She opened her mouth to say something but Lorelai just raised a hand to stop her. "So I get there…" she continued and Rory felt the guilt wash over her and looked down at her cup, holding it tightly. "And I look and wait for you and you're nowhere. So I think, maybe she's still inside… the library? Maybe she had to stay after in a class? Or maybe Paris has gone crazy again… but Paris already left and I can't find you anywhere…" she continued. "So I ask a random kid 'Hey, do you know Rory Gilmore?' and they nodded, so I thought 'score!', so I ask, 'Do you know where she is?' and you'll never guess what they said…" Lorelai said, staring straight at her daughter with hard eyes. Rory looked up guiltily from her cup and felt sick under her mother's stare. "They said 'Oh, she already left with Tristan.'. And I was thrown for a loop; I had no idea what they were talking about. They must have seen my confused face because then they go, 'Her boyfriend'. And at first I thought they must have got the wrong girl, but then they tell me how you are the vice president with Paris Gellar so I knew they were talking about you."
"Mom…" Rory said, her breathing coming slow and shallow.
"How long?" Lorelai asked, keeping her eyes on Rory.
Rory looked down and wished that she could rewind everything and have told her mother when she first met him, no matter the way it turned out. She felt sick with guilt.
"I met him about a month ago. I was going to tell you…" she said but Lorelai cut her off quickly.
"But you didn't." Lorelai said, standing up and making a sarcastic sound. "I can't believe this. I thought we told each other everything!" she said but continued talking before Rory could say anything else. "Now it all makes sense. Your sudden 'buddy buddy' relationship with Louise, and the weird mood you've been in, I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner." She stopped pacing to stare at her daughter. "Who is he?" she asked. "I take it he doesn't go to your school?"
Rory sighed and held back the sudden urge to scream or cry, not at her mother but at her own foolishness. "No. He doesn't go to Chilton… he used to… Tristan Dugrey." Rory said finally. Now, now that she had to, in the situation, she had no idea how to explain everything to her mother.
"Dugrey?" Lorelai asked, a look of surprise and disbelief on her face. "The one who left?" she asked and Rory nodded hesitantly and Lorelai laughed unamused. "It would figure that the kid I automatically hate has something in common with me." She muttered more to herself than Rory. "How old is he Rory?" she asked, looking at the wall instead of her daughter.
"He's 21." She said and Lorelei shook her head. "Mom I was going to tell you, but it was never the right time. I didn't want to make you worry before your trip, and last night you just went to bed. I was going to tell you today but now you already know. God, it wasn't supposed to be like this." Rory said frustrated, standing from her seat also.
"You're right. It isn't supposed to be like this. You're supposed to tell me these things." Lorelai told her, her anger finally coming out.
"Mom, I know. I messed up, but please don't automatically hate him, it was my fault that I didn't tell you. He wanted me to tell you. He got mad when I told him that I didn't yet." Rory begged, desperation and guilt in her voice.
Lorelai shook her head and crossed her arms. "I don't. I don't know him. And if what you're saying is true than I respect him for doing that. You're 18 for god's sake! Do what you want, you're free to date whoever you want," Lorelai threw her arms in the air. "That's not the point. The point is that you didn't tell me. Your own mother. You thought you couldn't tell me."
"I'm sorry." Rorys voice came out choked. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. "I didn't know what you would say. I was scared."
Lorelei shook her head. "I've always given them all the benefit of the doubt. I've always given you the benefit of the doubt. But this… It isn't the fact that you're running around Hartford with a guy I don't know and lying to me Rory, although that is one hell of a surprise to me." Lorelai let out another unamused laugh. "It's the fact that you didn't tell me." she said and Rory could do nothing but stand there.
"I'm sorry, mom." She apologized even though she knew it wouldn't change anything.
Lorelai nodded and grabbed her purse. "I can tell, but it doesn't change that fact that you didn't trust me." she muttered, hurt in her voice. "I would have understood. I may not have welcomed it but I would have understood." She grabbed her jacket. "I'm going to Alex's. I'm just… I just… need some time to think." She walked over, giving Rory a quick kiss on the cheek and walked out the back door.
When she heard the car pull from the driveway she collapsed in the kitchen chair and rested her head in her arms.
She laughed bitterly to herself. Her mother was ashamed she didn't tell her. Not of Tristan, not of the fact that she lied, but because she didn't tell her.
She looked around the kitchen and her mother's words kept running through her head. She walked to her bedroom and quickly changed from her school uniform, and put on some normal clothes.
Writing her mother a quick note and leaving it on the table, she walked from the back door and into the darkening night and made her way to the bus stop.
She needed to get away from Stars Hollow. Just for tonight. She needed to be somewhere else.
Gotta keep it on the down low
I'll never let my mama know
Only call him on my cell phone, only see him after dark
