:: Help Me ::
10 Things I Hate About You
02 : Help me
by inmyeyes


(After the last bell. Chilton)

"So what time shall I pick you up?"

"What?"

"You know, Homecoming."

She gave him a look that clearly meant that going with him had never been an option for her.

"You are going with me, aren't you?"

"You never give up, do you?"

"Is that a yes?"

"No."

"Well then, was that a no?."

She deliberately ignored his question. "Why don't you take one of your fan club members? I'd sure they'd be more than happy to go with you," she reasoned.

"I might as well take a blow-up doll."

Rory snickered at his comment. "Ok then, take my advice... go ask a girl who has substance."

"Yeah but-"

"Oooh, how about I help you? Y'know, get a date?"

Tristan laughed at the absurd idea. "I don't need help getting a date, Rory."

She gave him an evil look that silenced his laughing. "You know what I mean. I'll help you pick a girl. Someone with substance and all that jazz."

"Remember the last time you tried to set me up?"

The grimace that settled over her features was sign enough that she hadn't forgotten what had happened when she tried to set Tristan up with Paris. "Well," she said defensively, "That was different."

He still didn't look convinced. "I don't know, I don't think that's a good idea."

Rory stuck out her bottom lip, pulling out the pathetic puppy-dog look that she hoped would convince him to go along with her plan.

Inwardly, Tristan groaned; the butterflies that were ever present in his stomach whenever Rory was around were flipping madly. He ran his hand through his already tousled hair, admitting to himself that he would eventually give in to her. Because she had that kind of power over him. But he wasn't going down without a fight. His mind whirred as he tried to find a reason to deter her,

"I told you, I like somebody else." The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he had said the wrong thing. The wrong reason. 'Good one, DuGrey. Why don't you just put up posters around the school declaring how crazy you are for her? You couldn't be any more obvious.'

He needn't have worried; Rory was as clueless and unassuming as ever. He couldn't stop the small flare of hope when her face fell slightly especially when the expression was coupled with her somewhat dejected exclamation of "Oh...". When Summer's name didn't pass through her lips at all, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. At least she didn't think that he still wasn't over her.

"Why don't you ask that girl then? The one you like?"

Tristan shook his head ruefully. "I don't think so, Rory."

"But-"

"Ok fine... I'll let you help me find a date," he gave in, trying to stop her line of questioning. He gave in, just like he knew he would.

He had to smile when he saw how delighted she was, and how eager she was to help him out. It was a bittersweet feeling though, realizing that the girl he wanted would happily be pairing him up with another girl. One good thing that he hoped would come out of this was that they'd be able to spend more time together, away from Chilton's stuffy hallways and the watchful eyes of its students. Away from his image, away from Paris, away from all the reasons that made her despise him.

He hoped that she'd get a glimpse of how Tristan DuGrey really was.