Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden Chapter 6
The Jump
The next morning Rory and Steph found ball gowns in their tents. They both put them on. When they exited their tent, they found Logan and Colin waiting on them.
"We are your escorts," Logan told them. "Ace, Steph, you both look great." Logan and Colin led them to the clearing. It had been transformed. All the girls wore ball gowns and the men were dressed in tuxedos.
After they were welcomed to the 108th grand assembly of the Life and Death Brigade, each new member was escorted to a tent. They were interviewed by former members of the Life and Death Brigade. The former members were made up of male and female members that have recently graduated. If Rory had to guess, none of the former members were over 30 years old.
Rory's interview was with Tabitha Anderson. She is a head writer for the Chicago Tribune. She graduated in 2000. She was one of the youngest head writers for the Chicago Tribune. She answered all the questions she was allowed to answer about the Life and Death Brigade. Then she answered all Rory's questions about being a writer. Tabitha explained to her that she got a job as a researcher right out of college. Another Brigadier's uncle works for the Tribute. She told her about him getting her an interview.
When Rory finally left the tent, she felt like she could take on the world. She met up with Logan, Colin, and Steph. They were standing looking up at a structure. It looked to be about seven stories high.
"What are you looking at?" Rory asked. "Who is that on the scaffolding?" Logan turned to her and smiled.
"They are going to jump." He told her. She started laughing.
"I know that this is the Life and Death Brigade, but I didn't think it meant you had to participate in the Death part." She told him. He took her hand.
"I want you to jump with me." He told her. She shook her head no. "Ace, it is safe. Seth has tested it. Come on. Some people live a whole lifetime without actually living. Live a little now. Jump with me."
She looked around at the other activities going on. While she was in her interview she missed the girls playing polo in sedan chairs carried by the guys. Over to her left, it looked like they were having target practice using each other. She looked at Logan again, then up at the scaffolding.
"Will there be any safety equipment?" she asked. Logan smiled, he knew he had her now.
"Yeah, umbrellas and safety harnesses. Come on Ace. Live a little." He told her. She smiled back at him.
"Okay, Let's do it." She told him. He took her hand and they ran to the ladder.
When Rory and Logan landed they were still holding hands. Rory had never felt that kind of rush before. Her blood was pumping hard and fast. She couldn't believe she did that. She couldn't wait to tell her Gran-Mère. This is something she could picture her doing. The rest of the day was entertaining. Rory had members that she didn't know coming up to her and congratulating her.
It was getting time to leave. Logan walked away to gather their belongings so that they could leave. He had been by her side since the jump. A blonde that she remembered seeing earlier, but didn't know her name came up to her.
"I know you think you are special because you jumped with Logan, but you are just one of many. The line forms all the way into next year. He doesn't date freshmen. He didn't when he was a Freshman and he doesn't now. Just thought I would save you some heartbreak." the blonde said. She then turned and walked away.
Rory must have had a strange look on her face because Finn came up to her. He asked her if she wanted a drink from his flask. She told him no. He then asked her what Tricia wanted. She just shook her head and smiled at him.
"Don't let them intimidate you. They are jealous because Logan took up so much time with you this weekend. Let me know if you need to take care of this." Finn told her.
"Take care of what?" Rory asked. Finn smiled at her and walked away shaking his head. There are things that most people don't know about Finn. He appears to be drunk most of the time, but Rory discovered he was sober more than he was drunk. This was just an image he was portraying.
When they got back to campus, Logan asked Rory if she and Steph would like to join a few of the members at the pub. She told him, yeah, but she really wants to shower first. He told her he would pick her up at her dorm in 30 minutes.
When she and Steph got back to the dorm, Marty was waiting on them. Steph spotted him first. She looked at Rory. Rory mouthed 'what are we going to do?' Steph shook her head. When they approached him, he was sitting on a bench outside their building.
"Hey, Marty," Rory said. "Hope you haven't been waiting long. We had a last-minute trip."
"Yeah, You told me you were going to Hartford. Did you get everything done you wanted to do?" He asked. Steph looked at Rory then stepped away.
"I'm going to hit the showers," Steph said looking at her watch. Rory nodded.
"Hey, Marty. I am going to have to cancel movie night. I've got this thing that just came up and I need to take care of it." She told him. He nodded.
"I'll walk you to your door," Marty told her. She nodded her head and Marthy followed her to her dorm room.
"Listen, Marty, This thing that I need to do involves meeting some people at the pub. I don't want you to think I lied to you, it is just….I spent the weekend with them. I kinda need to go with them tonight. It's…something my grandpa wants me to do. I really need to do this." She told him. He looked so hurt, but she didn't know what to do.
"Rory, I just want to tell you that I…missed you this weekend, and I…..like you," Marty said. Rory smiled at him.
"I like you too Marty. You are a good friend, but…..I like Logan." Rory told him. "I'm sorry. I want us to be friends. Can we still be friends?" she asked. Marty put his head down.
"Yeah, I need to be going so you can get ready for your thing at the pub," Marty said as he started to walk away. Rory felt bad for him but this was something she needed to explore. Her feelings for Logan.
In the past, she had not been sure of her feelings for Logan. At first, when she became aware of them, she thought it was just because they were best friends. That was the summer before middle school. That is how long she has had feelings for Logan that were stronger than friendship. She never let on. She dated other guys, but it always came back to him. This weekend confirmed all her feelings. She even thought he might feel the same way. She didn't want to mess this up. She needed to talk with him.
When she got into the dorm, she told Steph what she did. Steph told her that she did the right thing. Maybe after she talked with Logan, she and Marty could talk and still be friends.
Logan picked her up. They decided to walk to the pub. It was not too far off-campus. Colin had already picked up Steph so it was just Rory and Logan. When they entered the pub, Rory saw the group at the back table. Logan had his hand on her back as they walked toward the booth. All of a sudden Logan's hand was not on her back. When she turned to see what had caused Logan to remove his hand, she was swept up in a bear hug. She fought back till she heard him speak.