Disclaimer: Same as always.
A/N: Okay, so I know I have been MIA for a while, but now I have finally updated. School has been crazy but today I have a snow day (yippee!) so I am actually able to write. I hope that you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Fourteen
"When is he coming?" Sookie asked a nervous Lorelai. The latter was waiting anxiously in the kitchen, already on her fourth cup of coffee. Sookie was busy preparing food for lunch, her other cooks proving to be one nitch above incompetent. She stole worried glances at her friend, knowing how much it would hurt her to see Max again.
"He should be here any minute. We decided on noon and it's five to noon now. Though when we dated he learned that Gilmores are always late so he may go by that timing or another timing. Or he may be nervous, or-" She stopped herself, smiling sheepishly, "I'm rambling,"
"Yes you are," She sighed, smoothing her skirt.
"I wonder if he's changed,"
"Probably hasn't,"
"I still have his Pushkin," Lorelai said sadly, remembering the beautifully bound book that was residing on her dresser.
"Well, you can discuss all of that today," Lorelai nodded, nearly jumping when Michel entered.
"Lorelai, Max Medina is here to see you. And he desperately needs to have his suit pressed,"
"Thank you for the elaborate description Michel," He smiled wickedly.
"Always here to help," She followed the rigid French man, dreading the sight of her ex. The moment she saw him her breath caught in her throat. His suit did indeed need to be pressed but everything else about him was exactly as she remembered. The dark hair, the easy smile, twinkling eyes. He was back, and with that came all the unresolved feelings that she had not let herself deal with.
"Lorelai, it's nice to see you again," Max replied, giving her a friendly hug.
"You too, do you want to sit down. Maybe order some coffee?"
"Well, coffee is a given," She nodded with a smile, leading him to a table. They sat down, an awkward but comfortable silence following.
"Can I get you two anything?" Sookie suddenly asked, smiling a bit too brightly at them.
"Uh, just some coffee Sook," She nodded vigorously, walking away with the certain bounce that only Sookie St. James had.
"Um, so, you wanted to talk?" Lorelai prompted.
"Yes, well, I've been thinking a lot lately,"
"I thought you always thought," He smiled.
"Well, I've been thinking more than usual lately, about us," He added, causing her to look away.
"What have you been thinking?"
"I miss you. I miss us,"
"It's been months Max and you just miss me now?" He shook his head.
"No, Lorelai, I've missed you since the moment you left. I've been trying to avoid it all, to move on, but I can't. I proposed to you because I loved you. I still love you,"
"Max,"
"I know that this is probably a lot for you to deal with now. I'm sorry for just springing this all on you but I had to tell it. I've been holding it in for so long; I had to let you know," She took a deep breath, steadying the tears that were threatening to fall.
"I need time," She finally managed to say, avoiding his eyes that were looking so tenderly at her.
"I"ll give you as long as you need," She nodded, wiping her eyes.
"Um, I really need to get back to work,"
"Okay, just, uh, call me when you've had more time to think,"
"I will," They got up, hugging briefly.
"Good bye Lorelai,"
"Bye Max," He walked out, just missing the coffee.
"What happened?" Sookie asked, holding both cups. Lorelai shook her head, sitting back down.
"Let's just say I am going to need both of those cups,"
Rory walked out of Chilton, flanked on each side by Madeline and Louise. The two bubbly Chiltonites were anxiously discussing dress options for the Spring Fling, checking with Rory to make sure they were not too slutty. For some odd reason both girls had found themselves attached to conservative men and wanted to keep their attire appropriate.
"Okay, so it is a halter that goes down right to my valley," Rory glanced at Madeline's full chest and shook her head.
"No, as my mother would say; keep the girls at bay," Madeline sighed.
"Fine," Rory smiled, looking out to the parking lot. Her eyes widened when she saw a certain BMW with a grinning blonde leaning against it.
"OMG, is that Logan Huntzberger?" Louise asked, her hands instantly going to her hair.
"I think it is,"
"He's smiling at us!" Louise exclaimed, shooting a seductive grin his way. Madeline pushed her way past them both, surging ahead. Rory shook her head, following her. This was not going to be fun.
"Logan, how are you," Madeline asked with a grin, forcing herself on him for a hug.
"Uh, I'm fine," He looked over at Rory with pleading eyes. She stayed back, deciding to let the scene unfold a bit more.
"So Logan, I heard that you were taken," Madeline continued with a pout, "I hope that's not true,"
"It most definitely is," Madeline moved back, smoothing her skirt.
"Well, isn't that nice? Who is she? I heard she went here but I haven't heard anything. That must be a lie, about her going here, because any girl who has you would be stupid not to brag about it," Logan smirked, looking over at Rory.
"What do you think about that?" He directed at her, causing her to blush. Madeline and Louise both looked at her, surprised.
"You two know each other?"
"You could say that," Logan answered, still smiling at Rory.
"How did you two meet?" Louise asked suspiciously.
"I was her tutor for Latin,"
"Oh," Rory shifted awkwardly, knowing that the two girls would turn on her the moment they found out that she, indeed, was the girl who had taken Logan Huntzberger off of the market.
"Are you here to pick up your girlfriend?" Louise asked anxiously, curious of who this girl was.
"Yes I am, Ace, you ready to go?" He was looking clearly at Rory and both girls turned to her, their mouths agape.
"You?" Rory nodded.
"Yes, I am the elusive girl friend,"
"Ace, you ready to go?" She nodded quickly, eager to leave the awkward situation.
"Yes, more than ready. Bye guys," Both girls muttered inconsiderate good byes as Logan and Rory got into the car. With Chilton becoming increasingly in the back ground Logan let out a loud eruption of laughter. Rory on the other hand was silent, still reeling from before.
"That was priceless. Did you see their faces?"
"Yeah,"
"Their faces literally turned white!"
"Uh huh," Logan looked over at her, noticing her quiet demeanor.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine,"
"No, everything is not fine. You have that deer caught in headlights look. What's going on Rory?,"
"You called me Rory,"
"Well, you're acting strange so that means I can too," She sighed, shifting in her seat.
"Now everyone is going to know,"
"So?"
"You're not going to have to deal with the aftermath but I will. I've been used to being invisible, I've always been invisible. Now...now I'm going to be seen. People are going to treat me differently,"
"Maybe that's a good thing. You don't deserve to be invisible. You're amazing, you deserve to be noticed,"
"I like being invisible," Rory exclaimed, looking out the window.
"People would've found out eventually," He paused, "I was going to wait to tell you later but it looks like now is the right time. I'm transferring to Chilton," She looked at him.
"What?"
"I had some trouble at Andover. Finn, Colin, and I had some trouble. They transferred us to Chilton,"
"What happened?"
"A stupid prank that in retrospect we probably shouldn't have done,"
"When are you coming?"
"One week, see, they would have found out anyway,"
"Not necessarily,"
"What? Would we walk down the hallway and ignore each other? Get fake partners so that no one would ever suspect that we were together?"
"No! Logan, that's not what I meant,"
"Then what the hell do you mean?" She sighed, bringing her hand to her head which had started to ache violently.
"I don't know," Rory leaned her head against her seat and closed her eyes, "I'm just worried about what people will think,"
"Who cares what they think?"
"I do, Logan things are different there. You see a different me than they do. All of them are going to think that I'm not good enough for you and then try to take you away from me," Logan took her hand, squeezing it gently.
"Don't think that. I don't care what they think about you or about us. If anything I'm not good enough for you and I should be worrying. No one is going to come between us. I love you,"
"Do you promise?" He laughed slightly, nodding.
"Yeah, I promise," They drove up to her house, the cheery mood of Stars Hollow not exactly reflecting their own. Rory turned to Logan, feeling stupid for acting out.
"Do you want to come in?"
"Nah, I think I'm going to just go home. I have some stuff to deal with,"
"Okay," She turned to get out but Logan stopped her, grabbing her hand. She turned, his lips catching hers. When they parted both were smiling, foreheads resting gently against eachother.
"I love you Ace," He said softly, trying to convey to her just how much he did.
"I love you too,"
Lorelai grabbed her cell phone from her purse, the cold February air whipping against her face. She knew she shouldn't be doing it, not out in the streets of Stars Hollow, but she had no choice. All day it had been on her mind and she couldn't wait any longer. Dialing the number which she had used so many times before she felt her heart pace quicken with each ring.
"Hello?"
"I thought, I thought some more, and I've made a decision. I want us, I want you,"
"Lorelai-"
"No, I don't need more time I don't need anything. All I need is you,"
"Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out tonight but that response was well worth being interrupted," She smiled, feeling her heart flutter.
"Dinner sounds good,"
"Alright, so I'll pick you up in an hour?" Lorelai caught sight of Luke as she passed his diner. He was taking an order, his sharp profile grabbing her attention. She couldn't help but notice his strong chin and the curve of his mouth. He looked up and caught her eyes, smiling softly at her before casually raising his hand in greeting. She waved back, nearly forgetting about the phone pressed to her ear.
"Lorelai?" Max asked, pulling her away from Luke.
"Oh, yeah, an hour sounds fine,"
"Okay, I love you Lorelai," She faltered, her head turning back to the diner.
"Uh, yeah, I'll see you tonight. Bye Max," She hung up, heading back for "William's Hardware". She could definitely use some coffee.
A/N: Okay...I added some JavaJunkie at the end...kinda. I hope that you liked it. The next chapter is going to be a Valentine's Day one (I know that it was a week ago but I love writing holiday stuff) so be sure to come back for some major fluffy ROGAN! Thanks for reading!