Tristan was puzzled. "Here?" All he saw was a field and a lake, and a path between the two. The path had a few benches along it.
"Yep." Rory got out of the car as soon as Tristan parked it. She grabbed her coffee and ran to the path, leaving Tristan behind, trying to catch up with her.
"So, what's so special about this place?" he asked her, as he caught up to her while she was walking down the path. He noticed the huge smile on her face as she seemed to be breathing in her surroundings.
"I dunno, it's just so quiet and peaceful. I love watching the ducks swimming" she told him, pointing to the lake.
They sat down on a bench, drinking their coffee. Neither of them said a word as they looked out at the beautifully calm lake.
Rory wasn't talking because she was too busy arguing with herself. *Why did I bring Tristan here? What was I thinking. Now I'm stuck with him, with no one else around. But just look at him.* She caught herself staring up at him, studying all his features. *He's watching the lake. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he's happy. And he's smiling, not his usual smirk, but a real smile. He's enjoying this just as much as I always do. He looks like he understands the greatness of being out here. But still, it's TRISTAN! This place just seems too private and cozy. Bringing him here probably made him think that I see this as a date. Do I see this as a date? No, of course not. It's TRISTAN! Then why am I here with him? I could of just sat down in Luke's and had coffee with him, nothing special. That would have been fine. That would have showed him I want to be friends with him. But I brought him here. Why did I bring him here? Did I want to bring him here because it's private? I don't know what I was thinking. But it's just so nice here and he's really enjoying it. I should enjoy it too. I mean, I always enjoy it here. Why should this time be any different, just cause I'm with Tristan? It's shouldn't. Right. Maybe I could even enjoy it more, now that I have someone special to share it with. Woah, Rory, what did you just say?! Tristan is NOT someone special! Is he? I dunno, maybe he is. He's the only one who seems to understand why I like coming here. Wait? How do I know if he understands? For all I know, he could be sitting there, plotting something evil to do to me for bringing him here. Talk to him. I just have to talk to him. Say something. What can I talk about? Coffee. No, that's crazy. Think, Rory, think. Oh God. What is wrong with me? Just talk to him. Say something, anything. Alright, here goes.*
"Tristan?" Rory practically whispered.
He immediately turned to her. "Yeah?"
"Do you like it here?"
"Oh my God, Rory, I love it!" Tristan's face was beginning to light up. "It's so beautiful. It's incredible. It's so peaceful, like it's bringing me to a different world, Where I don't hafta think about school or my parents constant fighting." *Okay, shut up, DuGrey. She doesn't really care she's just trying to make conversation.* Then he looked at her. She was smiling at him, geniunely interested.
"That's exactly why I come here. To get away from everything." *Wow, he really does understand.* Tristan smiled at her. Rory noticed it was getting dark. She looked up at the sky and noticed it was starting to fill with stars.
Tristan followed her gaze upwards. "What?" he asked, not understanding why she was staring at the sky.
"Come on!" Rory squeled excitedly, grabbing his arm and pulling him off the bench. She threw her empty coffee cup in a trash can beside on of the benches, and Tristan followed suit. Rory dragged him into the field. Tristan could bearly make his legs work once he felt her hand on his arm. It was a good thing she was pulling him. Rory seemed uneffected by the contact, but actually she felt a tingle crawl up her arm when she touched him.
Rory ran into the middle of the field and layed down on her back, staring up at the sky. Tristan tilted his head to the side and looked down at her. *It's amazing how beautiful she is, and how much joy she gets out of such a simple thing.* He layed down next to her.
The two layed there for a while, stargazing, just enjoying each other's company. When Tristan turned so he was laying on his side, staring at her, Rory got nervous. Finally, she couldn't resist the urge to turn over on her side and look at him. He was smiling at her. She smiled back.
"What are you thinking?" she asked him.
"Just how much I'm enjoying this moment."
She smiled at him. "Me too." She noticed Tristan was edging closer to her. *God, he smells good. No, stop. Don't think like that. Think of something else. Coffee. Coffee smells good. It makes me want to drink it. Just like Tristan smells good. It makes me want to kiss...* Rory didn't finish that thought. But she couldn't tell if she stopped because she realized what she was thinking, or because of the fact the Tristan's face was now only a few inches from hers. Rory froze. She didn't know what to do. Finally, she panicked and pulled away the second before she knew his lips would touch hers. She began to regret this when she saw the hurt look on Tristan's face. She gave him a comforting smile and reached out to put her hand on his cheek. "Come on. We better go" she told him softly.
Tristan melted at her touch. Rory got up to leave and he missed the feeling as soon as her hand left his cheek. "Oh, right. Sure." He got up and followed her out of the park.
Rory didn't know what she was doing as she reached out and took his hand in hers. Tristan was surprised at this, but he smiled warmly at her. Rory tried to appear calm, even though she was freaking out. "What the hell am I doing? I'm just encouraging him.*
When they got to Tristan's car, he was sad to have to let go of her hand. He opened her door for her and then got in himself. *God, I'm so stupid.* he thought. *What was I thinking? I don't believe I tried to kiss her. That was way too soon. I hope I didn't scare her away.*
Rory was also thinking to herself. *God, I'm so stupid. Why didn't I let him kiss me? I should of let him kiss me. Wait, what am I saying? Why would I let him kiss me? It's TRISTAN.* She thought the last sentence, just as she had thought it and said it many times already that night, but this time when she said it, she smiled. Yes, it was Tristan. The incredibly gorgeous guy who seemed to like her. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe she should get him before someone else comes and steals him away. But maybe this was all just a way for him to try to make her fall for him. Maybe he was still playing the game. How would she know if he truly cared about her? What if this was still just a game to him? But his smiles have been different than the smirks she was so used to seeing. Her mind went back to the poems. *Now that guy really cares about that girl.*
Tristan was watching her out of the corner of his eye. She looked deep in thought. "What are you thinking?" He remembered what she had asked him earlier.
"That I had fun tonight and I think that it really is possible for us to become friends." She wasn't gonna tell him what she was really thinking. Rory noticed Tristan's face fall when she said "friends".
"Yeah me too" Tristan told her, trying to hide the hurt in his voice.
*Oh, so he just wants us to be friends. He's so confusing!* Rory thought.
They drove the rest of the way back to Rory's house in silence. When they got to her house Tristan walked Rory to her door. "Well I had a great time."
"Yeah, we should hang out more often." Rory couldn't believe what she was saying.
"Definately. Well, bye" Tristan said as he slowly turned around to leave.
"I'll see you tomorrow!" she called after him. Rory stood on her porch, watching him drive away. Now, she was more confused than ever. She thought she might be starting to like him. But she couldn't tell if he liked her. She thought that maybe it was all part of his game. Not knowing what to do, Rory started to cry and turned to go in her house.