It had been two weeks since the engagement party, the official announcements had ran in the papers, and overall Rory and Finn had been inundated with well wishes. They had heard from people they used to know back in the life and death brigade ,who were shocked to hear they were a couple, but were happy for them. They had also had a more unofficial engagement party for Stars Hollow, and friends who wouldn't fit in at a society party like Jess, Lane and Zach.
The bachelor and bachelorette parties for Colin and Stephanie were coming up. Due to the antics of the guys when they were away on boys' weekends it had been agreed that the bachelor party should be well before the wedding to allow any potential broken bones to heal or haircuts to grow back. Never one to be out done Stephanie decided to have hers the same weekend, as if she was busy she wouldn't be worried about what Colin was up to without her.
Logan was in charge of the bachelor party, which was proving awkward as no one had heard from him since the engagement announcement. It was Monday and the guys were all meant to fly out on Friday afternoon. Colin and Finn decided to call Logan together on a group call. Finn was scared if he called alone Logan wouldn't pick up, while Colin wasn't meant to be planning his own party.
"Are you ready for this?" Colin asked Finn.
"Yep, it's just a phone call, I don't want to have any ill will between us, this is the easiest way to gauge how he will be this weekend. Do you want me to offer to stay home this weekend? I will if you want me to, I can do something else with you later to celebrate the end of your freedom."
"Don't be ridiculous, you are my best friend, you have to be there." Colin said scoffing at the mere suggestion. "Plus we can't cater to any tantrums he may throw."
"Okay, Okay, Now lets call."
Ring, Ring,
"Colin, my man, how are you? I was just about to call you." Logan said, answering the call.
"Hey Logan, I'm good. Finn's here as well."
"Hey mate," Finn spoke.
"Oh hello. What do I owe this group call to?" Logan asked tonelessly.
"We just wanted to check up on plans for the bachelor party? You had said you would call to confirm flights and guest lists but neither of us heard from you." Finn replied.
"Oh yes, that's this weekend. We have the Huntzberger jet for the weekend, and as long as we are under thirty guys we will all fit on it. Finn was meant to organise the hotel rooms."
"Yes I have rooms sorted for everyone, and I have the guest list I can send you if you need it for numbers for any of the other plans we previously discussed." Finn said, they had originally been planning surprises for Colin but now he wasn't sure how that would go.
"I'm sure Colin can send me his friends' names. I probably have most of them already."
"Yes, I would just like to add a few, Tristan, Jess and Doyle."
"Doyle? Like Doyle McMaster?" Logan asked incredulously.
"Yes, we have seen him and Paris a lot recently and we have become good friends so I'd like him to come."
"Really, he's a boring stick in the mud."
"He has held his own everytime we have gone out in Boston or New York," Finn said.
"Oh I forgot how you all have these hidden lives from me now." Logan said snidely.
"Logan, it isn't like that," Finn started.
"Logan, you are both my best friends, you are my best man, we have given you time, can we try and set aside any animosity for the weekend at least?" Colin spoke, trying to smooth things over before the tempers flared anymore.
"For you Colin, I will try and ignore one of the greatest betrayals I have ever suffered for the weekend."
"Logan, if that is your greatest betrayal then you have led a very gifted and privileged life." Finn couldn't resist saying. "That's all I will say on the matter, I tried hard to protect your feelings but this is about Colin, our best friend. I will send you the guest list I have, and what I planned for my half of the weekend. We will see you Friday afternoon."
"Until Friday afternoon then," Logan said sharply, hanging up with no more words.
"Well that went well," Finn said to Colin.
"Scotch?" Colin asked.
"Obviously. If that's what he's like on the phone, what will he do when he sees Jess on the flight? He hated his guts the time he met him at Yale."
"I don't know, but we are friends with Jess now, he's a cool guy and he just broke up with his girlfriend. He needs this weekend of drunken debauchery more than anyone." Colin said, sipping on his glass of scotch.
"I hope it is going better for the girls," Finn said.
"At least Stephanie never invited Summer, she wasn't even willing to pretend she liked her for a weekend."
The weekend arrived and as both groups were flying out on private jets, the boys on the Huntzberger jet while the girls were taking the Hayden jet, they were at the same airstrip. The boys were going to Las Vegas for a stereotypical bachelor party. The girls had debated between Napa Valley and New Orleans before settling on New Orleans. None of them had been there before, and it just happened that the bachelorette fell the weekend before mardi gras.
"Okay Colin you know the rules, no girls, no hookers, no strippers, what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas, okay?" Stephanie was lecturing her fiance.
"Stephanie I'm not stupid, why would I even look when I have you? We are grown men going now, not little boys." Colin tried pacifying his fiancee.
"Where is my lecture Kitten?" Finn asked Rory.
"Do you need a lecture?" she asked him with a raised brow. Jess and Tristan, who were in the background, laughed hard at that.
"No Love, I wouldn't even consider looking elsewhere, it took me this long to get you."
"Good, now behave, I will be too far away to bail you out."
"You too, I know what you girls do for beads over mardi gras." Finn smirked.
"And you won't get to see it. Okay I'm going to get on the plane and check in with the crew, I love you, have a good weekend, let me know you get there safely. You don't have to check in all weekend, you know the drill. Love you, and I trust you. Have fun," Rory said, pulling Finn into her arms.
"I love you, I'll miss you this weeked, I'll probably message you constantly because I will miss you so much. Plus, you are way hotter than any Vegas stripper ever could be," Finn whispered into her ear. He leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss, trying to get the most out of it before spending three days away from her. "I'll run up and steal another kiss before we leave, go get ready."
Stephanie had continued her list of rules for Colin, while Finn had said goodbye to Rory, she was now repeating the rules en masse to the group of men gathered there. Logan had yet to arrive.
"Now remember, if I find out that any of you helped Colin break any of these rules, I will make sure none of you ever get laid again. I know all of your girlfriends and wives." she continued.
"Steph, you need to let the poor man have some fun," Logan said, stepping out of his town car.
"Are we all ready to go?'' he asked, the group of men waiting on the tarmac.
"Yes, I think so," Colin said. "I'm just going to walk Steph to her plane and say a final goodbye."
"Who are you flying with steph?"
"That's Rory's plane," Steph said pointing at the nearby jet, "The girls are all waiting on me, I think we are scheduled to depart before you. Have a good weekend boys, and remember what I said, I will not hesitate to cockblock you all." Stephanie continued talking as Colin led her up the steps carrying her luggage.
Finn ran up the steps behind them, and grabbed Rory in a final kiss, "I love you, have a good weekend baby, I'll miss you."
"Love you too, and I'll miss you." Rory repeated, giving him a final kiss, and pushing him out the door, "Now go get on your own plane limo boy, see you Sunday!"
Once Stephanie kissed Colin goodbye, Rory's crew had the plane ready to go. She told them to go ahead and taxi down the runway. Jessica, Rory's usual flight attendant, had given everyone some champagne as they had boarded the flight.
"Before we take off, I just want to tell everyone to make themselves at home on board, Jessica here will be willing to get you anything you would like within reason, I have ensured that the bar is fully stocked, and we have lots of snacks. Now the rest of the weekend is under Juliet and Rosemary's control, although I will be berating Mr Morgan if we find our accommodation unsatisfactory."
At this all the ladies on the plane descended into fits of giggles like teenagers. Once they were in the air Juliet and Rosemary stood up. "Now as the lovely Miss Gilmore stated, we are in charge for the weekend. For those of you who don't know us, I'm Juliet and this is Rosemary. We have known Stephanie most of her life and therefore have been witness to the on and off lifetime relationship of her and Colin, we all knew they would end up together it was just a matter of when they would finally give in and accept it."
"So we have a few things planned for this weekend, including a scavenger hunt that we all must participate in, we will give out the pages for that once we land and get settled into our hotel. Now relax, and try not to get too drunk on the plane because we are going out tonight!"
All the ladies cheered, and that set the tone for the flight, Rory had arranged for a bigger crew than normal for the flight, she had known that all the girls might be a bit much for Jessica alone, and now watching the champagne flowing, while snacks circulated, she knew that she had made the right decision.
When they landed in New Orleans there was a limousine bus waiting for them all, it took them towards the Morgan Hotel on Canal street. Olivia and Rory checked all the girls in, Finn had booked them four multi-bedroom suites on the same floor to share, knowing that the girls would all be in and out of each other's rooms all weekend. Stephanie, Rory, Rosemary, Juliet, Paris, Lane and Olivia were all sharing the biggest room, a four bedroom suite, Stephanie had a room to herself while the other six split the other three rooms.
As it was after nine when they arrived all the girls agreed to share room service while they changed to hit Bourbon Street for that night. It was agreed that they all wanted to be in a bar by ten-thirty. That night they just wandered up and down bourbon street with drinks in hand, making notes of bars that they wanted to try properly the following night when they would have more time. After checking everything out they headed towards a club, where they were quickly ushered in and given a booth in the VIP area.
"Okay who organised this?" Rosemary asked the group, who all looked around, no one was taking credit for it.
"I think for once, we simply made it in and got given this for all being hot!" Paris shouted over the music, she was excited, Paris had always been part of the smart group or the rich group, never the Hot one.
"Okay who wants to babysit Paris?" Louise asked the group.
"I think you should Louise, you've known her the longest." Rory laughed.
"She's your best friend," Louise retorted.
"Hey!" Lane squealed.
"You know it Kim," Paris agreed.
Rory and Stephanie were both just giggling in the corner, at the antics of their mixed friend group. "This was a good idea, Steph," Rory started.
"What part? Bringing Paris along?" Stephanie asked.
"Maybe not that part, actually no, I have gone on spring break with Paris before, she can party when she wants. I meant having it at the same time as the boys. Leaves much less time to wonder what kind of trouble they are getting into as we are too busy getting into trouble ourselves." Rory said, finishing her statement with a shot of tequila.
"True," Steph agreed, downing a shot of her own. "I think it's time to dance, who's coming with me?"
"Me!" shouted everyone of the girls, and the group of twenty headed towards the dance floor, where they danced for the rest of the evening, occasionally returning to their table for drinks, they avoided all men purposefully avoiding them each time a guy tried to infiltrate their group.
Once they returned to the hotel all of the girls who were sharing Stephanie and Rorys suite agreed it would be a good idea to call the guys, none of which answered, so drunken messages were left on cells, which would not be remembered the next morning.
On the Huntzberger plane all the men were seated, and drinking a mixture of scotch and beer. The group was a mix of life and death brigade guys like Robert and Seth, along with newer members to Colin's friend group like Tristan, Doyle and Jess. Similar to on the girls plane, before take off Logan got up to give a speech.
"Okay, you all know the drill, make yourselves at home on the jet, the bar is fully stocked, I made sure the poker chips and card were out in case anyone would like to get a head start on the gambling for the weekend. For anyone who doesn't know, I'm Logan, best man to Mr McCrae here, I have a few things planned for the weekend. Any issues come to me, if you have any issues with the accommodation that falls under groomsman Finn Morgan's responsibility. Now we will get on our way, and remember 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!'"
The group toasted to that and all broke into smaller groups, some playing poker, some were happy to watch movies and some just talked. They definitely kept the crew busy. Finn and Colin rotated between all the groups making sure to catch up with all their friends, whereas Logan sat down at the poker table with a bottle of scotch and didn't move from there for the entire flight.
They checked into their hotel at ten pm, and similar to the girls, Finn had arranged for a mixture of suites to be shared between the guys. He had mixed it up though and he was sharing with Tristan, Jess, and Doyle, while Colin was rooming with Logan, Robert and Seth. They hadn't thought it would be a good idea to have Finn and Logan sharing a room right now.
"Okay guys, for tonight we are just going to stay in the hotel, between the casino and the hotel club for tonight. Tomorrow we will venture further afield. We do actually have activities arranged for tomorrow that require us to be sober, so if everyone wants to bear that in mind while we are out this evening. Everyone meet back here in thirty." Finn shouted to the group as they all split into their rooms to change.
Finn texted Rory while he was getting changed to go out, he didn't expect a response as New Orleans was two hours ahead of Las Vegas he knew the girls would probably already be in a club.
F: Made it here safely, checked into the hotel. I'm sharing with Tris, Jess and Doyle. Logan is already very drunk and is so far avoiding all interactions with me. I hope you are having a good night baby, I love you. X
Once all the guys met up again, they decided to go for a late dinner in the hotel bar, no one had eaten on the flight, and for some of them it was showing.
Colin sat down beside Finn in the bar, "I think Huntz might need some babysitting, he is bombed already."
"One of us will do it, don't worry, he isn't your responsibility this weekend. We are here to make sure you have fun."
While the boys were discussing how best to handle Logan, Logan had taken it upon himself to sit down beside Doyle, Tristan and Jess.
"So Doyle, how's it going? I haven't seen you since graduation, I was shocked to hear you and Colin had gotten close."
"It's all going good, I'm married to Paris as I think you know, I'm a features editor at the Boston Globe. Yes Stephanie and Paris are friends, so by extension Colin and I have spent a lot more time together recently."
"Sounds like you have it all man." Logan said snidely.
"So Logan, how long have you and Summer been married?" Tristan asked, trying to steer the conversation in a direction that he thought was safe.
"Tristan is it? Summer and I have been married nine months now, the worst nine months of my life," Logan admitted, drunk enough that his filter was failing him.
"Why did you get married then?" Jess couldn't help himself from asking.
"You, I don't know you, have we met? My parents made me marry her. It's not awful, at least she is good in bed."
"Yes we have met before, but it's been a few years. The name's Jess."
"Weird, the only Jess I ever remember meeting was this total douche that my ex girlfriend introduced me to. Sorry man, I'm sure I'll be able to place you tomorrow." Logan said walking away, leaving Jess looking shocked, while Tristan and Doyle openly laughed.
"That was awesome," Doyle said, "he has no idea you are the same person."
"That might be for the best in his current state." Tristan responded. "Should we warn Finn how drunk Logan is?"
"I'm pretty sure that is what he and Colin are discussing, and that it is the reason why we have stopped for food."
After the food, the guys all agreed to skip the gambling for the night and just headed towards the club in the hotel. They were also ushered straight into the VIP section, although for them it was due to Finn being the owner of the hotel. Once they got into the club the single guys of the group rapidly broke off and went hunting for girls on the dance floor, which left a much smaller contingent of guys drinking in the VIP area. Most of the guys were happy to just talk about work and general life, Logan on the other hand kept pointing out girls walking past or dancing near them.
"Logan, we aren't here to get girls," Colin said, after Logan pointed out yet another woman to him.
"You need a final fling Colin!"
"No, no I don't."
"Guys tell him," Logan said, trying to get the group to help him.
"No one needs to tell me anything. I won't cheat on Steph, and I really don't want to anyway. She's going to be my wife Logan! My real wife, not a trophy wife. On that note I am going to head to bed for the night. I will see you all for breakfast in the morning." Colin marched off as soon as he finished speaking.
"Logan, maybe lay off the 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' talk for the weekend, it's pissing Colin off," Finn said, trying to diffuse the situation.
"How about you just leave me alone for the weekend traitor," Logan retorted, pouring himself another scotch from the bottle on the table.
"Ok, I'm going to go to bed now as well, before I say or do something I regret. Goodnight guys," Finn said leaving the club. Many of the guys followed him, knowing that staying with Logan when he was in this kind of mood wasn't a good idea.
"Hopefully that situation doesn't escalate over the weekend," Doyle said to Tristan and Jess as they got into the elevator to go back to their suite.
"Unfortunately, I don't think we will get that lucky," Robert responded, Seth and him had followed the guys out of the club, having seen Logan's mood wasn't going to improve.
"It could be an interesting weekend," Seth said.