Poker Faces

Chapter Ten: Cloaked

Disclaimer: I don't own this. C'mon people.

Summary: She hates change. He stays the same. She's lonely. He likes the company. She wants to keep a secret. He'd never tell. It's completely perfect, until something unexpected happens… L/L

A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews, guys. I really, really, really appreciate it.

A few lines are from Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers… Only like 3, but whatever.


"I don't know… I mean, I thought everything was fine. I thought that it was just for sex. I thought it was OK to break a few rules. I thought it was OK. But then… then I woke up and your arm was wrapped around me, and I was sleeping on your side of the bed, and I was warm… and you know, it didn't feel to bad… and now, now I just don't know." She blurted out.

Luke stared at her for a moment, taking it all in.

"It scares me, OK?" She added.

"Don't be scared."

She looked up at him, into his eyes, trying to figure him out.

What she saw, his words, they ending up just scaring her more. She couldn't do this. She could be with Luke… no matter how much she actually wanted to.

She wasn't ready.

She wasn't positive it was the right thing to do.

"I can't help it." She told him. "This is just me." She told him, sighing at the end.

He sighed. He was disappointed. They both knew it. She was a little surprised.

"I know… That's OK." He told her, and she believed him. She believed that it actually was OK. She loved that Luke knew her so well. She loved that it was OK.

"Thank you." She said, at almost a whisper.

He nodded. "We're OK?" He asked, just to make sure.

"Definitely." She smiled.

"Good. Good." He said, nodding, and standing up.

"See you later?" She asked him.

He nodded, put on his shoes, and went out the door.

She sighed. She was still confused. But at least… at least… it was OK.


Sometimes love really sucked. Especially when it's made out of papier-mâché.

She went into the diner, and everything seemed normal. She'd admit that she thought it might not be. She complained about the stupid festival, and Luke laughed at her. He called her bipolar. He didn't seem to care, or act any differently towards her at all.

"Tomorrow, I'm planning on despising everyone that says, 'hey, how's it going.'" She told him. She was drinking coffee, he was smiling at her, and everything seemed fine. Maybe she shouldn't have freaked out so much. Maybe nothing had changed and everything would go back to normal. Maybe they could just be friends right now. Maybe they could just be friends with benefits. Maybe they could give it a try later. Maybe everything really was OK.

Or maybe she spoke too soon.

"Hey, how's it going?" A woman's voice came from behind.

"Oh, now that's too easy." She said.

"Rachel?" He asked, and her mouth dropped open.

"Rachel? You're Rachel?" She asked, and he nodded.

She wasn't sure what it was, but she had this horrible feeling in her stomach, and she didn't like it. Of course, it didn't help that she made a huge fool out of herself in front of this, Rachel. Coffee pots, what was she thinking? God, she was stupid sometimes.

So, she left before she could say anything else that would completely mortify her.

She got home, and sat down on the couch, thinking absolutely nothing for at least 10 minutes. When she finally wrapped her mind around it, she couldn't stop with the questions, and the analyzing.

But, really, what did this mean? Luke and Rachel would probably get together, wouldn't they? Yes. She had told Luke no. Of course Luke would date Rachel. Of course.

She'd have to be supportive. She'd have to be, or he would know. He'd know that maybe she had gotten a little to attached, and she wouldn't be able to look him in the eye ever again if he knew that and didn't feel the same way. He'd know that she may regret what she said before.

She had to be supportive. If she acted jealous that wouldn't be fair. She had the chance. She blew it. She blew it.

She knew it wouldn't be fair to tell him not to date Rachel. She had heard the stories. She knew they had been in love. She knew that Luke might still be in love. She knew it would be completely wrong to tell Luke not to date her. She basically told Luke that she wasn't ready for things to change between them. They had made an unspoken agreement to not let things change, to not… get too attached. She knew that it may not have been exactly what she wanted. But she knew it was the right thing to do at that point in time.

Now, she was changing her mind a little.

So, Luke had a girlfriend. Luke was dating. Luke was dating Rachel.

She had heard only a few things about Rachel. Supposedly, Luke was completely in love with this girl, and she had broken his heart. That was about all she knew. She couldn't image Luke being in love. She couldn't imagine him making public displays of affection, or really, just flirting with any other woman besides her.

Was she jealous? No… No, she wasn't jealous.

Well, maybe a little. But, c'mon. Max was gone, and now Luke would go off with Rachel. She'd be alone. She'd be single, and Luke would be fucking someone else. Didn't she have the right to be just the tiniest bit jealous?

She had been falling for Luke. She had been falling for him. She stayed over his house last night, and now he was ditching her for a woman who had broken his heart.

She wondered if this was how Luke felt when she left him for Max. She hoped not, because it was horrible.

She knew she had been falling for Luke. She knew she had been. She knew it was a bad idea, so she took the option away. Did it matter that she sort of wanted it back, now?

She knew she wanted to be with him right now for the wrong reasons. She knew she didn't want him to be with another woman. She didn't want him to fall for Rachel, before he could fall for her. She didn't want him to get serious with Rachel, before they had their chance. She wanted their chance. They had to have their chance.

But she couldn't tell him this. She couldn't say this to him after she basically told him they couldn't have a chance yet. She just couldn't. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. She couldn't.

She knew falling for Luke was a bad idea. She just wished it wasn't.


She was walking home from Doose's, when they bumped into each other. He wasn't with Rachel, maybe that meant something.

She didn't know why he was making her so nervous, but he was. "Oh, hey." She said, not looking directly at him.

"Hey, where you headed?" He asked, acting as if nothing at all was happening. Maybe nothing was. Maybe Rachel left. Maybe they weren't starting anything. Maybe she'd get her chance.

"Oh, home."

"Oh." He replied.

"So… um… where's Rachel?" Lorelai asked. She just had to.

Sleeping… Jet lag." Luke said.

"Oh, right, right." Lorelai said, looking down at her shoes. She hated to think of Rachel being in Luke's bed. She didn't know why the image bothered her so much, but it really, really did. She had been in Luke's bed. He got that big bed just for her. That's what she'd like to think anyway. It wasn't for Rachel. It was for her.

"You OK?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine… tired, I guess."

"OK."

"So, um… are you two together?" Lorelai asked. She just had to.

"I don't know." He shrugged.

You don't know? Why not?"

"We haven't really talked." He said, wondering if Lorelai would tell him not to. He didn't know where he stood with Rachel. It was Rachel. She had left before. She probably would again . Maybe he shouldn't get attached. Maybe he should keep things the way they were.

"Oh, well, aren't you happy she's here?" Lorelai asked, not actually wanting an answer to that. She didn't like this pretending thing. But it had to be done.

"I guess so." Luke said.

"You guess so? I thought you loved Rachel." She knew she was pushing it. She knew. She didn't care.

"I did." Did? Oh.

"You don't anymore?" She asked, knowing he was getting annoyed.

"I don't know, Lorelai. Why do you care so much?"

"I don't… I just-" She sighed. "Why don't you just go for it? Why not give it a try?" Lorelai asked, repeating similar words that he said to her, when she was considering dating Max. She had to be supportive. She had to act like this didn't bother her. She didn't want to be the vulnerable one. She didn't want him feeling sorry for her. She didn't want to look weak.

"You think I should?" He asked. He watched her face. He wanted to see if she looked disappointed, or if she seemed sad. He wanted to see if she cared at all. But, he couldn't tell. He just couldn't tell.

He wanted her to tell him not to date her. He wanted a reason. He wanted her to be the reason. But he didn't expect she would be. She had pride. He knew that.

She wanted to say no. She wanted to so badly. She didn't want to start something with him now, but she didn't want him being with anyone else. Maybe that wasn't fair, but it was what she wanted.

She was falling for him. She wanted to say no. She really, really did.

"Yes, I think you should." Damn it, damn it, damn it.

"OK." Luke replied.

"OK?"

"Yeah, if you think I should, maybe I will." He told her. She didn't seem to care. She didn't seem to object, so why not? If he had no other reason, then, why not?

She told him to go for it. She didn't want to admit she was jealous. She didn't want to admit that she might want him for herself. She didn't want to be the exposed one. She didn't want to say anything.

So, she told him to go for it.

She just never really expected him to listen. Maybe that was stupid but, she sort of thought he was falling for her, too.


Toot, toot. YES, i love being random. Mmmm nice weather. Yay.

I haven't seen the new episode yet, so Fade to Black probably won't be out until tomorrow or Friday. I was out, and yeah, I just sort of forgot. It's vacation week for me, so I've barely been home. You guys are lucky I already had this chapter written, or you might not have gotten it for a while. But yeah, I'll watch the episode some time soon and then write Fades to Black.

Was the episode good? I hope so. I need some very good episodes before the season finale. Yessss….

So, anyway, I didn't have too much time to edit, so I hope this didn't suck or anything. PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 11:

Puzzle: Luke looked happy. Lorelai doesn't want to be alone. She does something. Maybe it's wrong. Maybe it isn't.

PS- if you guys are wondering how I'm getting these chapter names, I actually have a good explanation... See, I went to thesauras dot com and typed in secret and yes, the chapters are words that I got from it. Wo. The end. Have a nice day.

Please review.

Gracias.