By the time Lorelai got to the boardwalk, the sun was fully set and the lights were bright and shinning. People were swarming the entrance of the boardwalk and Lorelai hesitated slightly when she saw the massive crowd on the actual strip. It wasn't that Lorelai had social anxiety, though that was a small part, it was more like she didn't like dealing with a lot of people at one time. She took a deep breath, trying to get her heart rate to slow down; she remembered the boardwalk having people on it. but for some reason she never remembered this many!
Once Lorelai was sure she wasn't going to pass out from a little panic attack, she moved forward towards the entrance, trying to avoid the people rushing past her. But of course, she somehow got pushed to the side of the entrance, a group of young girls giggling and staring lovingly at the high school boys that were leaning against the boardwalk sign, trying too hard to look cool. With a frustrated sigh, Lorelai paused in her pursuit to make it to the strip, deciding that standing by the parked motorcycles was a better option than getting stepped on by the puppy eyed girls again.
Lorelai looked over the bikes that she stood in front of, laughing slightly at the irony of the 5 bikes being parked in the tow away zone, though clearly no one cared enough to ticket them. One of the few friends she made out in New Jersey was a big motorcycle fanatic; she loved to restore old bikes and sell them off. Lorelai didn't understand the girl's fascination with the death traps, but she would hang out in the little make-shift garage in her backyard shed, watching her pull apart bikes just to put them back together again, almost like a mechanical had offered Lorelai a ride once on the back of her bike, assuring her that she would be perfectly safe, but Lorelai politely refused, stating that she would feel more safe inside of of a crashing plane then she would on the back of the bike. However, her small time with her friend proved to rub off on her, seeing how Lorelai was somehow able to recognize that the bikes were vintage and kept in very nice condition.
After spending a few more moments looking at the bikes, she figured it was safe to emerge into the moving sea of people, the young girls now on the other side of the entrance of the boardwalk. Once Lorelai was under the bright lights of the games and food stands, she felt as though she was 12 again, the smells and noises all bringing back childhood memories. She stayed as close to the railing as she could get, figuring that it was easier to dodge the people sitting on the metal bars then it was to dodge the kids and people running out of the shops that lined the other side of the strip. The more Lorelai looked around, the harder it got to hold back the giggles that threatened to rise up her throat; it appeared that Santa Carla's fashion was stuck back in the 80's and 90's, mohawks and bright colored jackets, along with more leather then necessary clad the by-passers, but Lorelai didn't mind, at least she would be able to blend in with her thrift shop outfits better then she had in New Jersey.
Pausing, she glanced up and down the boardwalk, eyebrows pulling together in lost confusion. She had remembered there being a comic book store somewhere, her and Sam used to go all the time back in the day and she was hoping that it was still somewhere around here, but she couldn't seem to remember if it was farther up the boardwalk or not. Figuring that it was better than wondering aimlessly, she walked into one of the shops, hoping the owner or at least a worker would be able to help her out. She quickly crossed the boardwalk, moving out of the way of people and apologizing the entire way before pausing at the brightly lit store. As she moved farther inside, she was pleasantly surprised that it was filled with old cassette tapes, records, VHS, and DVDs. "Can I help you find anything?" Lorelai turned, startled at the voice that came directly behind her. A woman was smiling kindly at her, her hair cut very short and outfit consisting mainly of a large sweater and a flowing skirt. Lorelai didn't even see the woman when she walked in, nor did she hear her come up behind her.
"No, well yes, maybe?" Lorelai blushed, mentally smacking herself, but the lady just laughed, nodding her head for Lorelai to continue. "Ok, let me start over. I used to live around here and just recently move back. I was trying to find a particular store, but it seems that I might have gotten a tad bit lost. Im trying to find the comic book store?" A look crossed over the lady's face, but it disappeared before Lorelai could figure out what emotion it was, a smile quickly coming back in place.
"Its actually farther down the boardwalk. My son loves going there, so of course I would have to know where it is." Lorelai sighed in relieve, glad that it was still around. After thanking the lady, Lorelai walked out and continued her search for the comic store, face lighting up when she saw it just ahead. The moment Lorelai walked in, the scent of the old pages filled her nose, making her feel at ease. She thought back to Sam, how he was the one who got her into the hobby of comic books. Lorelai loved to read actual books and of course she enjoyed the occasional nerdy movie here and there, but comics were never really her favorite, seeing how there were too many plot lines that she couldn't seem to follow. But the more she visited the store, the more she realized that it had the same atmosphere as a normal bookstore, which made her feel calm enough to scan through the comics.
As Lorelai was running her fingers though the comics, she saw someone freeze. At first she was going to ignore the person, thinking that he was just shocked to see the girl in the comic store, but the longer he stared, the more agitated she became. However, the moment she turned to confront the person, he quickly turned and began to walk out of the store. Even though she didn't see the boys face, Lorelai felt as though she knew him. He had dirty blond hair that was pulled back, and a long colorful jacket blew out behind him as he walked out of the store. Mentally, she knew it couldn't be Sam, but there were too many similarities that she couldn't push out of her mind, at least they were enough to cause her to rush after the boy, just about sprinting down the boardwalk after him. Once they reached the entrance, Lorelai stopped, panting slightly. "Sam!" The boy paused, turning around to face her. Lorelai frowned, eyebrows pulling together. She knew that Sam would have been taller than this boy was by now, but it was worth a try. But when she saw his face, she was more than confused. The boy was Sam, she had no doubt about that much; he had the slicked back blond hair and the bright blue eyes and the fashion sense that was still stuck in the 80's, but there was a problem. He looked exactly as he had 4 years ago when she had left Santa Carla. Now she knew that it was impossible, Sam should had been 18 by now, but this boy in front of her was 14 years old and looked the same as the day that she left. Lorelai took a step back, startled by the persons appearance in front of her. A different boy appeared behind 'Sam', looking over the girl in front of him. She was looking at his brother like she knew him, but Michael knew that that was impossible.
"Can I help you?" Lorelai looked up at the boy, scanning over his features. He was wearing a dark leather jacket and had curly dark hair that looked long enough that if it was straight, it would have fallen into his eyes and over his shoulder, and he had a single earring handing from his left ear. Lorelai shook her head, giving him a small smile.
"No, i'm sorry. I thought he was someone else." The two boys nodded but before they walked off, Lorelai could have sworn she saw something in the younger boys eyes, a recognition of sorts, but he turned before she could dig deeper into the look. Lorelai shook her head, mentally cursing herself for embarrassing herself like that. Lorelai let the boys get some distance before she started walking to the entrance as well so that she could start her walk back to her house. As she began to walk, she saw that the motorcycles that she had past on her way in all had riders now on top of them, each one looking as dangerous as the bikes they were perched upon.
The first bike had a platinum blond rider, dressed in a long leather jacket with a second one underneath, a cigarette perched between his lips and scruff on his face, his icy blue eyes looking over Lorelai as she hesitated at the boardwalk sign, looking over at them. The next rider was tanner then the others there, with long black hair and dark eyes that stared at her intently, his leather jacket open to reveal his toned chest with no shirt. Behind him sat a little boy with shoulder length hair, a small smile on his face as he whispered to the boy Lorelai mistaken as Sam who sat on the bike next to him. 'Sam' Sat behind another blond, though this guy's hair was long, falling down his back, a smirk directed at Lorelai, a mesh shirt under a long coat with white pants. The third rider looked younger, more innocent than the others, with blond curls that fell into his face and green eyes shinning brightly in Lorelai's direction, smile hidden behind his hand he held up to his mouth. The fourth rider was the boy from the boardwalk, though a girl sat behind him. She looked about her age, with slightly tan skin and wild curly long hair and dark eyes, dressed as though she was a gypsy. She looked at Lorelai with something like concern, eyes darting between her and the boys that were staring at her.
Bracing herself, Lorelai took a deep breath before walking past the bikes and the riders, jumping slightly when the bikes jumped to life, causing small laughs to echo through the group. Just as she was almost past all of them, a voice that she recognized as being Sams; she needed to stop thinking of him as her old friend, but she couldn't help it.
"Hey, just to let you know," Lorelai paused, looking past the other riders over at 'Sam', a small smile on his face as he ran his hands through his hair. "My name is Sam, if that makes you feel any better." Before Lorelai could respond, the motorcycles roared past her and disappeared down the street. Lorelai mentally cursed at herself, shaking her head as she leaned against the metal railing where the bikes were just parked. Maybe if she was like other girls, with their revealing outfits and makeup caked on their faces, maybe then she would have had enough confidence to approach the dangerous riders, to flirt with them and sound less crazy when she said that she thought the kid was her long lost friend from her childhood.
Taking a deep breath and pushing thoughts out of her head, Lorelai dusted her pants off and shrugged her shoulders, walking down the same road that they boys just recently drove down. She didn't know what time it was, but she did know that if it was too late, her father would get worried; after all it was the first night that she was back home. But when she walked through the door, silence greeted her; it wasn't a bad silence, it was more of a calming one, and she could only guess that this was what she would come home to, not that she minded. It was better than coming home to a drunk step father or a mother who ignored her.
After taking a quick shower and changing for bed, she made her way into her room, worn out from the days activities. Taking a glance at the bay window, she decided to keep the big windows wide open, letting the soft ocean breeze drift into her room, causing her to shiver in the thin nigh shirt and shorts she wore. Crawling into bed, Lorelai let the sounds of the waves wash over her as she closed her eyes, salt water drifting into her nose and four pairs of different colored eyes flashing through her mind as she started to fall into a deep sleep.
Authors Note: Incase anyone was confused, I did have Marko's hair as described shorter than it was in the movie. I felt as if it would stand out too much nowadays and he would be the only one who would care enough to sort of follow through with "fashion changes" where as the other boys wouldn't care enough to cut or style their hair differently.
