10 : Taking A Chance
by inmyeyes
(Saturday afternoon. Gilmore
House)
"Tell me again where you're going?"
"I'm going to the mall."
"And tell me who you're going with?" Lorelai grinned.
Rory rolled her eyes, knowing what her mother was up to. "Like I told you, 5 seconds ago, I'm going to the mall with Tristan."
"Tristan?" Lorelai feigned surprise. "Hot Tristan?"
"Do you know any other Tristans?"
Lorelai shrugged. "I dunno, maybe you're hiding other hot Tristans from me. Since you know, good looks are not necessary information."
"Mom!"
Lorelai put her hands up in mock surrender. "Fine, fine... I'm off to Luke's. I'm due for my half hourly dosage of the miracle drug. See ya later, kid."
"Bye Mom... don't give Luke too much hell."
Lorelai laughed evilly. "No promises!" she called out as she left.
*****
There he was, standing in front of Rory Gilmore's house... to pick her up to go to the mall. It was almost like a date.
'Wishful thinking, DuGrey. That's just wishful thinking.'
He didn't like to admit it, but he was nervous. This would be one of the first times they would spend time together, just the two of them. It was stressful, it was nerve-wracking, it was pressurizing... and it was wonderful.
Just him, and the girl of his dreams. What more could a guy ask for?
Well, there was a lot more he could ask for, but he figured it would all come in time. With Rory, everything took patience. He had to give her time to come around, to see him as he was, to want to spend time with him and to want to be with him.
He wanted her heart, her soul, her mind, her body... everything. But he had to give her time to be ready to give it to him willingly.
He wanted her to want him, the same way he had wanted her for so long.
And all this time he was going to spend with her was a big step.
*****
(Hartford mall)
"Ok, so what's our plan of attack?"
"Attack?" Tristan cocked her eyebrow in amusement.
"You know... so many stores, so little time."
Tristan laughed. "Well, I need to get something from Barnes & Noble."
"Great. Barnes & Noble it is," she agreed. Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and proceeded to drag him in the direction of the bookstore.
*****
(Mall. The Gap)
"So, what do you think? White? Or blue?"
"I think I like the white shirt better," Rory decided.
"Yeah, it's more-"
"Pensive?"
"Damn, I was going for thoughtful," Tristan said in mock disappointment, then joined Rory in her laughter. He placed the two shirts back on the rack and almost yelped in surprise when Rory began tugging at his arm. Hard.
"C'mon, let's go," she whined. "I see a Starbucks. I need coffee. It's been 3 hours and 37 minutes since my last cup."
Tristan let her pull him there and watched as she blissfully accepted her cup of coffee by the barista and practically inhaled the liquid.
"Woah, woah... not so fast, tiger," he warned, pulled the cup away.
"Trissstan! I need that!" With the expression on her face, Tristan half-expected her to stomp her foot and pout.
"Don't drink it so fast."
She smiled innocently and held out her hand. The moment the cup was back in her hands, she gulped it down, smiling triumphantly at the look on Tristan's face. "Don't worry, I do it all the time."
Tristan heaved a loud sigh, but when Rory looked at him, he was smiling widely. "Why am I not surprised?"
*****
(That evening. Stars Hollow)
"And this," she gestured to the gazebo they were standing in, "is the middle of town."
After spending a few hours at the mall, Rory offered to take Tristan around the town to show him the sights. The tour itself had lasted barely half an hour, but Tristan loved to see the animated look on her face while she showed him the town that she clearly loved.
"It's a great place," Tristan remarked. "Quirky."
Rory chuckled. "Oh, you have no idea. You should come by when we have one of our festivals. It's a riot."
They sat on the steps of the gazebo, watching the activity around the town; both content with the comfortable silence enveloping them. Both were lost in their own thoughts.
"You know, you're not as vile as I thought you were," Rory commented, smiling brightly as Tristan turned to face her.
He laughed lightly. "So, I was evil and vile?"
"Present tense, DuGrey. Still evil and vile," she replied. Almost as an afterthought she added, "Just not as much as I thought."
"Wow, what a reputation to live up to." Sarcasm laced his voice. His voice turned teasing. "Yet here you are. With me."
Rory shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a sucker."
The two laughed, as silence descended again. Meanwhile, a hard battle was fought in Tristan's mind. Slowly, tentatively, he moved his hand closer to Rory's and after a slight hesitation, he gently laced his fingers with her. He waited in bated breath, almost expecting Rory to pull away.
Rory tried to calm her racing heart as she felt her hand engulfed by his. It was a warm, fuzzy feeling, having her hand in his. She kept her eyes away from him, knowing very well that if her eyes caught his, she would blush like crazy. Still, to reassure him that it was all right, she lightly squeezed his hand.
A few minutes later though, she felt him tug on her hand, and lightly pull her up to stand in front of him. They were standing considerably far apart, hands still clasped together, yet Rory somehow felt overwhelmed by him.
Words fell from her lips as she tried to ignore that feeling. "I know you can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed but can you ever be just whelmed?"
"I think you can in Europe."
Rory wanted to laugh, but the sound broke off as Tristan took a step closer to her, setting her senses on fire.
"I had a great time, Rory Gilmore."
"Me too," she whispered.
Tristan reached out to lightly cup her cheek, and Rory anticipated feeling his kiss for the second time. She could almost see it happen, could almost feel it. He moved his hands into her hair, cradling her head lightly. He leaned in, and kissed her... on her cheek.
Rory almost sighed in disappointment.
He pulled back slowly, but didn't move away from her. "See you on Monday." With one last, slow smile, he turned and walked to his car.
Rory sank down on the steps, her mind in a daze.
*****
(Later that night. Gilmore house. Rory's room)
She couldn't stop thinking about him. He made her head hurt from all the analyzing she had to do, she was as confused as ever... and she couldn't help reliving that moment when they had kissed at Madeline's party.
He was slowly, but surely driving her insane.
She had come to an inevitable conclusion: it seemed like she was falling for the enemy.
Damnit, how had this happen? Why did this have to happen? She would have been perfectly happy, despising him and everything he stood for. She would have been perfectly happy putting up with his thinly-veiled innuendoes and verbal barbs.
Yet, a part of her told her that she would be perfectly happy to share everything with him. She would be perfectly happy to talk with him, laugh with him, tease him and watch him smile. She would be perfectly happy to be able to hug him for no reason at all. She would be perfectly happy to know that all his kisses were just for her. She would be perfectly happy to lose herself in him.
Damnit. This was not supposed to happen. She was not supposed to care.
*****
(Outside)
He had been sitting in his car for the last 15 minutes, trying to get the nerve to knock on her door. The light in her room was shining, so he knew that she was still awake. All he had to do was knock on her door and ask her.
He had to take a chance.
That was how he came to be standing in front of her door barely 3 minutes later, ringing her doorbell and praying that it was Rory, not Lorelai, who would open the door.
Rory tried to hide her look of surprise. "Couldn't stay away, Tris?"
He looked down at his shoes. "Something like that," he mumbled.
Rory's brow furrowed as she watched Tristan. He wasn't acting like himself. His hands were jammed in his pockets, his eyes were downcast and gone was his confident demeanour. "Is everything all right, Tristan?" She led him to the seat on their porch, holding onto his hand reassuringly.
He took a breath. "Yeah, everything is fine," he said. He turned his hand so that he was able to hold hers. "I just had to ask you something."
"You drove all the way from Hartford at this time just to ask me something?"
"It's important. To me."
"Ok, far be it for me to stop you. Ask away." With a light tone, she added, "This better be good, Tris."
'This is it, DuGrey. Don't screw it up.'
He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. "Would you do me the honour of being my date for Homecoming?"
Rory's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Excuse me?" she stuttered out.
Tristan wearily ran a hand through his already messy hair. "I'd like you to be my date for Homecoming."
'Damn Tristan and his unpredictability!' She was flabbergasted. She didn't know what to say, what to do.
Tristan's heart sank as minutes passed without any kind of response from Rory. "It's ok, Rory. You don't have to say anything. I understand," he said softly, untangling his hand from hers and standing up. He had to leave. He had to get out of there. "I thought that I should at least have tried. And I did."
Rory looked at him, and saw how he was desperately trying to hide the hurt. He was smiling slightly, but his eyes told her how affected he really was.
"Uh... I guess I should go," he awkwardly said. He seemed to pause a little, as though waiting for something from her, but when nothing came forth, he turned on his heel.
"Tristan!" Rory jumped up, and ran after him. She stood in front of his still form. His expression was carefully neutral, not betraying the hope that he had felt when she had called out his name.
"You keep on surprising me," Rory admitted. Tristan didn't say anything, but merely looked at her, trying to gauge what she was going to do, and say. "And this is probably the biggest surprise of all." The question was weighing on her mind; she had to ask. "Why me?"
"Why not?" he countered. He saw that she wasn't satisfied with his answer. He took another chance. "Because you're the one that I want."
"Surprise #2," Rory mumbled, not able to process the information that he was revealing.
"Look Rory... let's just end this misery. Let's not drag this out. We'll just forget this ever happened." He felt drained and tired. He needed to leave.
This time, it was Rory who decided to take the plunge. "We can't forget this," she protested, holding onto his arm. "Not when we'll be at Homecoming together."
"Don't play with me, Rory," he warned. "Don't agree to go with me just 'cos you feel sorry for me. I don't want that."
Rory shook her head vehemently. "Tristan, I want to go with you." She laid her hand on his cheek and sought his eyes. Her voice took on a tender quality. "Don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want."
"It's me who feels I don't deserve what I want," he revealed. He gently pulled her hand away, lay a soft kiss on her palm and backed away from her. "I'll see you on Monday."
For what seemed like the millionth time, Tristan left her confused.
