Chapter 2

She was going to be in so much trouble.

For the first time in a very long time, Rory Gilmore had missed a day of school. Not only had she missed a day of school, she'd miss a day of school at Chilton. She didn't even want to think of what she'd have to deal with when she went back tomorrow. Nazi teachers, and a back up of homework that would scale a week of homework in any normal school. She couldn't help it though. She had woken up with a splitting headache, that very shortly after turned into a full blown migraine. Her vision in her left eye was completely gone, and she had managed to bump into every wall, sharp corner and piece of furniture on her left. That wasn't the end of it though. With a migraine usually comes much more than a killer headache. Throughout the day she had vomited so many times she lost count, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

Sleep, of course, never came.

Rory Gilmore wasn't lucky enough for an easy way out such as sleep at the moment. Her thoughts had to be preoccupied with school and overly dramatic thoughts of being held back, or kicked out because of this one day missed. She knew she was being paranoid, that she would be fine and she would be able to make up whatever tests and assignments that were handed out today, but the small twinge of guilt still lingered in the back of her head. She should have just gone to school.

And puked on everyone. That possible public humiliation wasn't nearly as bad as any other she could think of at the moment, and at least she could aim it at someone. Paris perhaps would be a good choice. She smiled softly at the thought, sure she would be laughed at and probably called stupid childish names like "Regurgitation Rory", or "Upchucker", but that didn't matter. Her breakfast would have been blanketed all over Paris, and she would have to stand there, fighting the urge to throw up herself. That could even be better, if Paris actually did spew all over the cafeteria, and have it land straight on Tristan.

She rubbed her forehead and made a small groan. This must be a really bad migraine if she couldn't think of anything better than daydreaming of starting a vomit party at her school's cafeteria. It still would be pretty cool.

Forcing herself into a sitting position, she pulled her blankets with her and wrapped them around her slender shoulders. The worst part of the migraine was over. She no longer felt like chucking herself off a bridge, and her vision was back. The small, annoying throb of a headache still remained, but compared to the 'ax buried deep in her scull' like feeling that she had before, the throb was a definite welcome.

Pushing herself off the bed, she made her way out her door and into the kitchen. The thought of food still made her stomach do flips, so she settled for a rather large glass of water. She had been lazy enough today, she had to get out and do something. Take a shower and go into town or something. She had to admit, the thought of wasting a completely good sick day on staying in doors and laying in bed sounded pretty lame. She was after all, a 16 year old girl, and all 16 year olds wanted extra time off from school. She had already finished all her homework from the day before, and thought of studying made her the aching inside her head pound harder in protest. So she decided to chuck it all aside and be normal for once. She was feeling better, and the crisp air outside would most likely her feel much better.

Throwing the blanket on the couch, she made her way upstairs and into the bathroom. A quick shower and then she'd be on her way. She undressed gingerly and stepped inside the shower. Turning the water on a little hotter than she normally would, she let her head rest against the tile walls and allowed the water to stream down her neck and back. Slowly, she could feel the remaining traces of her sickness dripping out of her. The kinks in her neck and tense muscles in her shoulders slowly faded away, leaving nothing but a content relaxing laying upon her.

No one could deny that any teenage life was hard. Growing up and learned the facts of life was never any fun, and no one took any joy in having to learn while getting their highschool education, and discovering the birds and the bees. Life at Chilton was tough. The work was doubled, the tests were harder. The kids were more cruel and the teachers were less sympathetic. It didn't help that she didn't have any friends there, and that towards the end of each day she'd watch the clock in her glass, counting down the seconds till it was time for the bell to ring and she could leave. The one hour drive there and back was never a big problem with her though, because she could always manage to finish some homework assignments or catch up on her reading.

Then there was Dean. Sometimes she wondered exactly why she told him she loved him. Inside, she knew she cared deeply for him, and that he would always share a special place inside of her heart because of all the things they had experienced together. But love? That was huge, and you don't just go flinging those words around like they're unimportant. So, did she love Dean? Yes, in a way. The way that you love your best friend. She supposed the only reason she had said she loved him on that day was because she was tired. Tired of the pity looks, tired of the worried glances. Tired of doing her best to avoid him. She was tired of being alone. So, she said what she knew would get him back into her arms and it had worked. She knew it was what he wanted to hear, and it would be all he needed to hear for them to be back together.

She just threw the words around like they were nothing. She felt guilty. Knowing each day after that, he believed he was in love, and that she was in love back. Could she have done anything worse to hurt him?

Obviously they meant a great deal to him, but that was almost 6 months ago. She could tell he didn't look at her the same way. They had become a routine around each other. Everyday, every week, the same things, over and over. God, why did she say she loved him?

Why did she say she hated Tristan?

Again, she only said it cause she knew it would make Dean happy. Knew Dean would believe that. And again, it had worked. She had managed to hide her sideways glances towards Tristan as Dean hugged her to him, and she felt as if she was going to burst. She had just lied, twice and she was hurting both of them. Tristan's hurt was instant, Dean's was progressive. Rory Gilmore was dangerous when it came to feelings, she decided, and the best thing to do would be to get out of an already dying relationship, and stay out of relationships until she was able to handle them.

She wasn't blind to the fact that Tristan was beautiful. She was a girl and she did have eyes, and anyone with eyes could see that Tristan was extremely attractive, she just had a way of hiding that face inside her. Witty comebacks and sarcastic lies were always good at keeping on lookers in confusion when it came to her feelings for Tristan. Of course, there was the small fact that her feelings for Tristan were complete mush inside her, and she herself had no clue what they were. There was good somewhere in Tristan. Somewhere hidden behind the mounds of ego, anger and fear.

If only someone could save him from it.