AN: Yes, I know, I has been forever since I updated, but I must have rewritten this chapter a thousand times, and I still don't like it. But, I really want to update. Thank you to all of my reviewers, and maybe you will like the chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 26

"Can we not be the gossip of the day, and take it slower than we did in Stars Hollow?" Rory asked as she and Logan got out of their cars. They finally came to an agreement that it would seem odd to people if they arrived in the same car.

"Then it is practically the same," Logan complained, as he leaned against his car facing her.

"No it wouldn't," Rory said.

"Yes, it would. You agreed to this, so lets do it."

"While my mouth was saying yes, my mind was screaming no."

"So you don't want to do this?"

"No, Yes, I do, but I don't want it to be awkward or have gossip or anything like that. I just want them to know and there never to be a second thought to or there to be questions, or..."

"Ok, so I get, kinda, it's odd reasoning, but I have known you and your mother long enough it is starting to make sense. Now that is scary. Telling these people shouldn't be. It should be a relief, and happy. Steph will go nuts, and Colin and Finn will give me a pat on the back, will maybe not really, but you shouldn't be stressing out about this."

"I know you're right, but I don't like that you are right."

"Why don't we just tell our friends, before the whole entire school. It'll be like a stepping stone."

"I like that idea."

"Would you just like be to tell them about us, and all your kooky conditions?"

"Doesn't that make it awkward?"

"Not if I tell them not to make it awkward, and pull Finn off to the side and tell him to do something stupid every time then is an awkward silence or something like just to get things back. And then Steph will want a girl's night to talk about it and we'll crash it again after I have gone through interrogation."

"Don't you sound excited."

"Come on Ace," Logan said, trying to persuade her.

"Fine, you go tell them, I am going to the newsroom to see what we missed, and then you come and tell me about it and I will tell you what we missed."

"Deal," Logan said, "Now do we shake on it, is there a spit-sandwich involved?"

"Shut up, and go in there and do your half, and tell them I am in the paper finding out what we missed and I will see them in class. And don't let Finn make a remark when you go off to the newsroom," Rory said before walking inside, taking a different route around her friends to get to the newsroom. But she did stop for a moment when her phone went off and she saw that the id was her mom.

"Hey mom, I am hanging up if this is bad news," Rory said.

"Mini-Me! This isn't bad news, it's good news. So I got a call from your grandmother this morning right after you left."

"And this is good news?"

"Well, you know that whole holiday party thing she wanted to plan because I told her to?"

"Yes, I do remember that."

"Well she was swinging back and forth between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And she finally chose Christmas, so we can go to all four dinners."

"Yes! And we should try eating the rolls while we are there."

"I know, should we start slow and only eat them at a few places and jump in and eat them at all of them?"

"All of them, of course. And you need to figure out the napkin thing at Mrs. Kim's."

"I'll work on it."

"Good, I got to go, bye."

"Love you kid," Lorelai said before hanging up.

Rory continued down the hallway to the newsroom. "Hey Mary," Tristan said falling into stride with her. He hadn't bothered her much with Logan and her friends around, but now they were nowhere in sight.

"Go away bible boy," Rory said in a huff and walked quicker.

"I have log legs, I can keep up," Tristan said.

"Don't care."

"Where are your friends?"

"Why do you care?"

"You are usually surrounded by them, and now you aren't."

"It is none of your business."

"Have a falling out?"

"Nope."

"It hurts me that you can't say more than ten words to me."

"See a doctor"

"You volunteer at the hospital, you can be my doctor."

"I push people in wheelchairs," Rory said walking into the newsroom and looked for Paris. She was no there, but there was a stack of papers on both Rory and Logan's desks. Rory picked up both stacks and started to thumb through them.

"Where are you Huntzberger's secretary?"

"No, I'm just here, so I will be a friend and pick them up for him," Rory didn't pay attention to Tristan. She just had to wait until Logan to get there and then everything would be fine and she could go farther into her journalist mode. She forgot Tristan was there until she heard the door close, and lock.

Tristan leaned against the door, "Did you know this door locks?"

Rory looked up, "No, but I subconsciously knew it did because of safety codes."

"Well now you know consciously know it does."

"Oh, how my life is forever changed," Rory said sarcastically.

"Why don't we have some fun?"

"Why don't I work, you leave, and we do nothing."

"Don't be like that."

"This is the way I am, so if you don't like you should go away and pretend I don't exist."

"I don't like that."

"That's too bad, this is the way it is. Now I have work to do, so why don't you leave?"

"I don't want to leave. I like fun. You seem like you need some fun, all this talk of work."

"I missed Friday, I have to make a lot of stuff up."

"Last I checked, neither one of us was attached, so what is stopping us?"

"Check again ET, I am attached to someone."

"Don't tell me you got back together with bagboy. You should know I am so much better than him."

"No I am not with him."

"Then who is it? Wait, don't tell me, you fell for the playboy Logan. We're exactly alike, rich, blonde, hot."

"No, not Logan," Rory said thinking fast.

"Then who? Colin is in for Stephanie, Fin is on a redhead rampage, who is it?"

"Laurie," Rory said the first name that came to her mind.

"A girl? I didn't know you went that way," Tristan said surprised.

"Lawrence Anderson," Rory said.

"That doesn't sound too blue-blooded, would Emily and Richard approve? We already know they like me."

"They just so happen to love him," Rory lied; her grandparent didn't even know he existed.

"Why don't we cut the nonsense and get to the part we both want," Tristan said coming towards her. Rory got up and kept the desk between them.

There was a knock at the down, "Hey, Ace you in there?" Logan's came through the door.

"Ace? You lied to me. You have pet names for each other," Tristan said coming around the desk, but Rory scooted around it too keeping it between them.

"No, that is for my journalist skills, not a pet name." Rory said, walking around the desk in perfect symmetry to Tristan to keep the desk between them.

"Whoever is in the newsroom, I need into find out what I missed, so I don't really care what is going on, but I want you to unlock the door before I get too frustrated and just pick it, and I will find out no matter what," Logan said.

"How long do you think it will take him to pick the lock so I know how much time I have?" Tristan said, gaining on Rory around the desk, before being able to grab her wrist and spin her around.

"Ten second," Rory spat in his face, trying to get out of his grip.

"What a lie, but still plenty of time," Tristan said as he trying to capture her lips in a kiss, but she was being evasive.

"Let go of me," Rory said and she spit in his face.

"Stop, just give in," Tristan said pushing her up against the wall and grasping her head with his hand to pulling in for a kiss.

"You bastard!" Rory tried to slap him across the face, but he grabbed her hand.

"You are the bastard child," Tristan pulled her forward and slammed her against the wall, before trying to kiss her again.

"Ya know, in my world, no matter what is going on, if a girl says stop, you stop and leave," Said one Logan Huntzberger, leaning against the doorframe, "No matter what. And guess what you are going to do. You are going to stop and leave." Logan grabbed Tristan, who was shocked beyond movement, and threw him out into the hallway.

Rory watched from her spot, not moving at all.

"Come on Ace, I am taking you home," Logan came over to her, stooping down to her level.

"But, um..." Rory started.

"No, buts, come on," Logan said, he gently took her into him and walked out to the parking lot, to his car.

Rory had regained her composure and resisted this, "I'm fine, and I can't miss anymore class."

"No your not. You want to pretend you are so you can go to class, but have forgotten, he is in your first three classes. And you will fail any test of people really looking in to your eyes if they ask you if you are alright."

"How do you know?"

"Because as of now in this location since your mother is not here, I am the one who knows you best and I can see it."

"You can not, I am fine, take me back to school," Rory protested as Logan pulled out of the parking lot.

"Call your mother and tell her we are coming home, and to be ready for some wallowing," Logan handed her his phone.

"All of this is unnecessary, I am fine, I want to go back to school!"

"And you are about to break down, give it up, everyone can see it, at least if there were more people around to look."

Rory crossed her arms and was unhappy. In the back of her mind, subconsciously at least, she was thanking him and knew he was right. But she did not concede. She knew he was right. She wasn't all right, but she wanted to be. You don't give up after one try. She didn't need to be treated like a child. She was eighteen, she could do whatever she wanted. But she did concede to him in her mind that he was right in her not wanting to see him and that it would indeed happen if they turned around and went back to school.

"If you don't call her, then I will and she will think it is a hundred times worse than it really is," Logan said, as she had still had yet to take the phone from him, "And I really need two hands to drive."

Rory sighed and took the phone and dialed the number, "Hello," She said unhappily.

"Hey babe, is something wrong, I just talked to you twenty minutes ago," Lorelai answered to phone.

"Nothing is wrong, though Logan seems to think so, and he is taking me home," Rory said annoyed.

"Ace," Logan said looking at her.

"And you are suppose to set up an unneeded wallowing session," Rory added.

"Well, I am show there is a good reason to it. What happened?" Lorelai asked. There had to be a good reason for Logan to be driving her home when she had missed Friday because of him.

"Not really, Logan is just exaggerating a situation and thinks it is worse than it really is, and should just turn around and go back to school."

"No he should not," Logan said.

"Come on, let mommy be the judge and tell me what happened," Lorelai said.

"Well, Tristan..." Rory started.

"I am agreeing with him already if it involves the spawn of Satan," Lorelai cut in.

"Don't interrupt."

"Sorry," Lorelai apologized.

"He decided to corner me in the newsroom and try to kiss me."

"I am feeling there is more to the story, or at least a little bit more."

"The newsroom door may or may not have been lock, which Logan may or may not have picked to be able to help me out," Rory sighed finishing, "And that is about it."

"Well, I know it is bad to go against blood, but the rich are all connected, so I am siding with your boyfriend," Lorelai said after a long pause.

"Mother!" Rory said loudly.

"Well if he was forcing himself on you, I think a good, proper wallowing session should occur, and I happen to know the rule book backwards and forwards, and I created it."

"It wasn't exactly like that, you make it sound a lot worse than it actually was."

"He just had you pinned against the wall and would have had his way with you if I hadn't been coming," Logan muttered to himself.

"Logan shut up," Rory said to him, before turning back to her mom and the phone, "This is not a big deal, stop making it one."

"Why don't you want it to be a big deal, if I were you, I'd use it as a way to get out of Friday night dinner and get s'mores from Luke. You are clearly going against our code of using any reason to get pampered," Lorelai said.

"I am not making it a big deal, because it is not a big deal, we are almost home, good-bye," Rory shut the phone forcefully. "It is not a big deal," She muttered to herself, though she knew Logan could hear her.

"You know what I think," Logan started.

"I don't care what you think right now," Rory said.

"Then I will talk to my car. In fact I'll name her right now. I'll call her Marsha, and don't ask why. Marsha, I think Rory is trying to convince herself that she is ok, even though it is very clear she is not. But if she convinces herself she is ok, then it will make it easier to pretend to the world around her that she is ok. However on the inside she will be breaking down, barely holding it together, but because it is on the inside she thinks no one can see it, so it should be easy to hide. What she has forgotten is that there is a lot of people that surround her that knows her really well and care a lot about her and can see right through the mask she puts on," Logan said talking to his recently named car. Logan didn't need to look at her to be able to tell that she had silent tears running down her face. He didn't need to hear the stifled sobs to know she was crying, but he heard them anyways.

Rory willed herself to stop crying, but the tears never stopped. She knew he was right, and she hated admitting it. But what was so bad about him know her so well? It was the fact that him knowing her so well came with her being deeply attached to him and not wanting to admit that she was really attached to him and was afraid of what might happen.

-----------

AN: So I still hate this chapter, and I wrote most of it on the fly while I was typing rather that what I have written down. And I wanted to continue it to show more, but I think this is a better place to stop and the rest will make more sense together rather than splitting them apart. So I hope that is ok, and expect a pretty long next chapter, but that also means I need more time to type it up around my activities, so there might be another prolonged wait between chapters.