Rory walked down the hallway. She was already having a bad day and now she had to go to her next class. Yesterday her teacher assigned them study partners and told them that today they would spend the class helping each other study. And of course, she was paired up with Tristan. Did the teacher do this just to torture her? Rory saw a red notebook lying on the ground. She looked around to see who the owner could be, but there was nobody there. She bent down to pick it up. A heart had been drawn on the cover. Curiosity got the best of her as she opened it up on her way to her locker.
Rory stopped when she got to her locker. She leaned up against it and began to read the first page of the notebook.
My innocent victim
Eyes like ocean stream
Pure and untouched
She'll be mine until I throw her away
With the rest of them
*Wow* Rory thought. That sounded awful. Maybe she could just bring it to the lost and found. Rory opened her locker and put away her books that she no longer needed. She also put away the notebook. Then she got out the books she needed for her next classes. She was about to close her locker when she decided to take the notebook back out and bring it with her to her next class. The dreaded class where she would be forced to spend 40 minutes studying (fighting) with Tristan.
Chilton Classroom
Tristan DuGrey was searching frantically through his backpack. How could he have lost it? That notebook had his most private thoughts. Things he couldn't say that he had written down on paper. Well at least whoever found it wouldn't know it was his. Only she'd know. All the poems were about her. The truth of his feelings for her was contained in that notebook. It had started out as a game, but then she did something to him. She somehow made him fall for her. With every strand of amazing brown hair that she tucked behind her ear, with every time she nervously bit her lip, with every innocent look out of those bright, blue eyes, even with every bitter word directed at him, he fell harder and harder. He was brought out of his daydream when the very girl he was thinking of appeared in front of him. Rory Gilmore. God, she was perfect.
"Hey, Tristan." Rory said as she walked up to him. She was making an effort to be pleasant so that working with him would be less of a problem.
"Why hello, Mary." Tristan said with his usually cocky attitude. "Exicted about studying with me?" He asked her as he gave her his world famous smirk. *Why did I just do that?* He thought to himself. *I always act like a jerk.*
Rory was annoyed that she tried to be nice and he was a jerk. Like always. "Well even if I was, all the excitement would have been drained out of me when you once again forgot my name.
Tristan tried to make ammends. As Rory started to walk off to her seat a couple rows behind him, he grabbed her arm. Rory turned around. She was about to yell at him, but stopped herself when she saw the genuine smile on his face as he looked up at her from his seat.
"I didn't forget your name, Rory. I could never forget your name. The name of the only girl in this school who I actually enjoy argueing with."
"Well, I'm glad you enjoy trying to make me angry."
"That's not what I meant."
The bell rang.
"Whatever, Tristan" she said as she went to take her seat. That's when he noticed it. That red notebook with the heart of the front. Right there on top of the other books in her arms. *Oh no. This isn't good. This isn't good. Or is it? Maybe if she realizes how much I like her, she'll start to think of me differently.*
Chilton Library
Tristan and Rory sat down at a table and spread their study materials out. Tristan had asked the teacher if they could study in the library where it would be more quiet. Since they were both such good students, the teacher allowed them to. Now Rory was upset that she was alone with Tristan. They're were no other students in the library, and the librarian was sitting behind the desk reading.
"So, Rory, where should we start?" Tristan said as he opened his book. Rory gave him a puzzled look. *Uh, oh.* he thought. Maybe she's going to yell at him about the poetry.* Wait, he had it with him last period, so she must have found it before she came to this class. Maybe she hasn't even read it yet.
"You called me Rory."
Tristan let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Yeah, well, I figure since we hafta study together, we could at least be civil."
"Ok, then let's study." They started going over everything that was going to be on the test. By the time they finished covering everything, there was still 15 minutes left in the period. Rory wanted to take out the notebook and read more of it, but she didn't want Tristan to ask her what she was reading. So she got up and went to the shelves to look for a new book to read. She didn't notice Tristan had followed her.
She scanned the shelves for something good. She noticed a book by an author she liked on the top shelf. Rory reached up for it. She couldn't get it. She stood on her tiptoes, but she still couldn't get it. She didn't want to call the librarian over for help so she started to jump and try getting it. After a minute, Rory felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped jumping. The hand reached up and easily got the book down. She turned around.
"Thanks, Tristan."
"No problem." He smiled at her as he handed her the book. "Jane Austin. I love her work."
Rorys was surprised. She didn't really see him as the type who enjoyed to read. "Really? Have you read this one yet?"
"Nope, but when you're done tell me if it's good. I'm sure if you like it, it's worth reading."
"Okay, I will." Rory walked off to check out the book. She brought the book over to her favorite chair in the library. She sat down and began to read.
Tristan watched her for a minute. Then he walked up behind her, put his arms on the back of the chair, and leaned over her shoulder. "Good so far?" he whispered in her ear.
Rory was startled. She jumped and her shoulder hit his chin. She turned around. "Oh, I'm sorry." she said as she put her hand on his chin.
Tristan's breath caught in his throat when she touched him. "It's okay. I'm fine. So...good?"
"I dunno. I only got to read a page of it."
"Okay, okay. I can take a hint." he said as he walked off. Rory went back to her book. Tristan sat at a table and watched her. Just looking at her made him want to write about her. He wanted to write what he felt when he looked at her. How beautiful she looked curled up in the chair, relaxed and engrossed in the book. But he couldn't, because she had his notebook. *I better get a new one* he thought.
On the Bus
Rory sat on the bus thinking. The end of her day actually turned out good. Tristan was pretty nice to her. It seemed like he was acting different. Rory had brought the red notebook home with her, but she was too busy thinking about Tristan to remember to read it on the bus. He was such a mystery to her.