Rory was listlessly lying on the couch fanning herself with a magazine. Fate dictated that the air conditioning in the Gilmore household would die a horrible death in the middle of the longest heat wave the town had ever seen. While Lorelai was lucky enough to be able to escape to the climate controlled inn, Rory was stuck in the house waiting for the repair guy. She jumped up hopefully when the doorbell rang. She swung the door open to reveal...Tristin.
"Oh, it's only you," she sighed.
"Why so cheery?" he asked. "By the way, you look like hell." Which was actually pretty far from the truth, he admitted to himself. True, her face was flushed...and her hair, though pulled up in a ponytail, was escaping from it's rubber band in tiny, curling tendrils...and her tank top and shorts clung to her from the heat...and her eyes flashed hotter than the sun...she had never looked better.
"The air conditioner has been broken since yesterday afternoon, I got the worst night's sleep ever because of it, and it's even too hot to drink coffee! This is my own personal hell," she pouted.
"So why don't you just go to Luke's or the inn or Lane's?"
"I'm waiting for the repair guy to come so we don't have to suffer through another night of this. So what are you doing here?"
"I was bored," he shrugged. "So bored, in fact, that I'm willing to wait here in this hell hole with you until the repair guy comes."
"What's in it for you?"
"You have to entertain me once the repair guy leaves," he smirked.
"Fair enough, I guess." Secretly, Rory was pleased to see Tristin. Since they had become friends and he had started coming over to hang, she had gotten used to his constant presence. She even missed him when he wasn't around. Not that she would ever tell him that. Best to keep the ego in check.
"So what's your favorite color popsicle?" Tristin asked.
"Definitely...green. Yeah, green." As she had gotten to know him better, Rory found that one of his most endearing quirks was his randomness. Sometimes she wondered what went on in his mind. But then she thought that maybe it was better she didn't know.
"I don't know. I think I'm more of a blue kind of person myself."
"I'm sorry, this isn't going to work out. I don't think I can be friends with you anymore."
"I guess I'll have to seek elsewhere for companionship."
"Don't bother. No one else would tolerate you."
"But you being the virtuous, kind hearted soul that you are, took me in..."
"What can I say? I'm a regular saint."
"...and showed me the true meaning of friendship..."
"Just like one of those cheesy after school specials."
"..only to chew me up and toss me out over a minor disagreement..."
"The plot thickens."
"...forcing me to take drastic measures...and..."
"And what?"
"...and..." he repeated.
"And?" she prompted.
"...and ax murder her in her sleep."
"Wow, all that over popsicles."
"It's a crazy world we live in," he stated sagely.
Before Rory could respond, there was a knock at the door. Rory opened the door and practically shoved the poor repair guy into the basement. "Thank God!" Rory smiled. "We can get out of here as soon as he leaves."
An hour later, the repair guy finally had the air conditioning functioning. But it was going to take awhile for the house to get cool. "Alright, let's blow this popsicle stand!" said Tristin.
"Where to?" asked Rory.
"It's a surprise," he said mysteriously.
They walked amiably to Tristin's house where he retrieved his car. He was grateful that his parents had insisted he hold onto one of his cars. They drove out of Stars Hollow and took off down the highway toward Hartford. Tristin had the windows down and the radio cranked up. He looked over, to see Rory's head out of the window. The wind whipped more of Rory's long hair loose from the ponytail. He laughed. She was letting loose and having a great time.
The car slowed to a stop in front of a convenience store. "Come on," said Tristin, hopping out of the car.
Rory followed suit, wondering what he had up his sleeve. As soon as she walked in the store, it all made sense. Over in the corner, like an oasis in the middle of the desert, stood the iced cappuccino machine. Rory walked up to it and gazed at it lovingly. "Oh coffee," she said tenderly. "How I've missed you."
Tristin stifled his laughter. He picked out two of the largest size cups and filled them up. He took them over to the counter and paid, Rory following him like a lovesick puppy. Her gaze never wandered from the cup that held her life's blood.
Back in the car, Tristin put his cup in a cup holder while Rory dug right in. "Where are we going now?" she asked between gulps.
"You'll see."
Rory was surprised when the car pulled onto the highway heading back towards Stars Hollow. "We're going back?"
"You're a quick one," he said wryly.
"There's nothing in that town that I don't already know about."
"We'll see about that," he smiled secretively.
The car passed the "WELCOME TO STARS HOLLOW" sign and drove to Tristin's house. "Wait here for a sec." He disappeared into his garage and returned with a white plastic bag.
"What's in there?"
"You know, some people believe that patience is a virtue."
"They've obviously never met you."
"Come on!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the car. They walked toward the center of town. Upon arriving at Luke's, Tristin made Rory wait outside while he went to get "something".
A few minutes later, a cold stream of water hit Rory squarely in the back. She turned around and was delighted to see a sprinkler directly in the middle of the pavement outside Luke's. "A sprinkler!" she said excitedly. Tristin and Rory chased each other through the drops of water, not caring that they were within range of the unofficial gossip club's unofficial headquarters, Miss Patty's dance studio, or that they were fully clothed. Within fifteen minutes, the majority of the town's little kids had joined them, along with a few adults.
Miss Patty stood outside the door of her dance studio, a pleased smile on her face. She watched the crowd of people frolicking in the middle of town, particularly the two that had started the whole thing. Talk about a heat wave...