10 Things I Hate About You
13 : Fixing A Broken Heart
by inmyeyes
(Monday. Chilton)
She wished the the earth would open up and swallow her whole.
She had the worst weekend ever. After calling her mom to pick her up at Chilton, she was silent the whole way home. She knew her mom saw the tears that were falling silently down her cheeks, but Lorelai had the sense to know that Rory didn't want to talk about it.
And she didn't talk about it. Not even when Lorelai prodded, and begged, and tried to bribe her with coffee. She didn't cry during the entire weekend though. She meticulously finished all the homework she had, cleaned her room, did the laundry and wished that Monday wouldn't come.
But it did, and there she was at her locker, trying to ignore the looks and whispers around her.
This time, it was Rory who was avoiding Tristan. It was almost like a replay of her first few weeks at Chilton, when she did all she could to stay out of everyone's way. Now, all she wanted was to stay out of Tristan's way.
This time, it was Rory who found a folded piece of paper in her locker, bearing the words 'We need to talk. Meet me after school.' in Tristan's familiar scrawl. The paper was scrunched up and disposed of in a nearby bin.
*****
(The next day. After school. Chilton courtyard)
The moment she stepped out of Chilton's front doors, she saw him leaning casually against the wall where he could clearly see her walking out. The look in his eyes, though, betrayed his nonchalant stance.
"Leave me alone, Tristan."
He fell into step with her. "We need to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you," she said in a clipped voice. "And there's nothing that I want to hear from you."
"Give me five minutes," he pleaded, laying a hand on her arm. "Hear me out - and then I'll leave you alone."
She ventured a look at him and saw the pleading in his eyes. Reluctantly, she let him lead her to thei- no, it wasn't their bench.
"Make it quick," she mumbled, sitting as far as possible as she could.
Tristan sighed, running a hand anxiously through his hair. "What happened at the dance, Rory? I'm confused. One minute we're all right- no, we were much more than all right... we were great. Then suddenly..." He saw her jaw tense but she didn't say anything.
"Did you get the note I left you?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you meet me yesterday?" he asked, his voice strained. "I've been thinking about this the whole weekend and I really-"
"Like I said, I have nothing to say to you."
He shook his head, his voice insistent. "I think you have a lot to say."
"I've put the entire incident out of my mind," she lied, managing to keep her voice even. "Don't flatter yourself by thinking I'm upset about it."
She kept her voice averted and missed the flare of frustration that leaped in his eyes. "Cut it out, Rory! Stop playing games - just be straight with me!"
Her smile was wry. "How ironic," she stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "All I've ever wanted was for you to be straight with me and now you expect me to do that for you."
"Since when have I not been straight with you?" he demanded.
Rory jumped up, her eyes flashing. "Ever since the moment I met you, we've been trapped in this silly little game... and I don't even know the rules! And then after that one kiss, things just suddenly changed. Then we're friends... and I thought that the game-playing was over." She stopped her tirade for a moment, breathing deeply to try to calm herself. When she spoke again, her voice had lost some of the fight it had. "I thought we were at least friends. But-"
"We are friends," he cut in.
"I should have known better. Guys like you don't like girls like me. It just doesn't happen."
"But Rory-"
Her voice sounded sound and weak. "Do you know how much it hurt to hear that all I ever was to you was a dare, a challenge... a conquest, another notch on the belt of the mighty Tristan DuGrey?" She sat down on the bench wearily. "I'm not you, Tristan. I can't pretend that things don't affect me, that my feelings aren't hurt."
"What makes you think that I don't hurt?" he countered.
Rory snorted in derision. "You're the world's biggest manipulator. Everyone thinks you're so terrific- but it's all one big scam. You're a walking lie."
"Thanks a lot," he muttered sarcastically.
"It fits, does it?" she said, maintaining the harsh edge to her voice. "You set out to charm me, seduce me into liking you.. into caring for you, just to prove a point-"
"I did not!"
"Whatever you said, or did was just so you could prove that you could make a conquest of me. Every single thing you did was calculated to make me fall in love with you."
"Everything I said was the truth, Rory," he insisted.
She didn't listen. "You'll be glad to know that you won," she said softly, losing the strength that had fueled her tirade. She had to leave. "Good-bye, Tristan."
*****
He held up his end of the bargain- he left her alone. It was more difficult than ever, but he did it.
After they had 'talked', he couldn't get her words out of his mind. He finally pieced together what had possibly happened. It seemed like Rory had overheard some people talking about them, and about his bad intentions towards her or something to that effect. If he ever found out who said that about them....
But it didn't really matter who had said it, what mattered was that Rory overheard it... and she believed it. He realized that that was what hurt the most; that she believed gossip over his own words, that she was so quick to jump to conclusions, that she still thought ill of him in the back of her mind... that she still didn't really trust him.
But, he conceded, it wasn't all her fault. He had given her good reason to doubt him after all that he had put her through when she first came to Chilton. He couldn't expect her to just forget that or put it aside. It was just that he thought that they had come to the point where she had developed some semblance of trust in him. It was funny how she thought that they were friends, but she didn't extend to him the trust and belief that a friend would give to another.
It frustrated him that he couldn't really do anything to rectify the matter. He knew Rory well enough, and he knew that seeking her out and tryng to reason with her wouldn't do any good while she was still obviously upset.
He couldn't do anything... but he couldn't just give up either.
*****
(Friday. Chilton)
"Why do you keep on trying?" came the familiar voice behind him. She had heard about the display at the dance, and she was perceptive enough to see the tension between the two. It was clear that despite whatever that had happened, he still felt strongly for her.
He tore his eyes from Rory's departing figure as she walked out of the classroom and tried to mask the pain in his eyes before turning around. Had it been anyone but Paris, he would have been able to pull off his nonchalant act. But she knew him, and she could see through him whenever he tried to hide something. Especially if he was trying to hide something.
"I have to try."
She almost wanted to smack Rory for making his usually bright eyes so despondent and resigned and for putting that desperate glint in his eyes. He smiled sadly at her, and she wanted so much to reach out and hug him or... console him, or something because she knew exactly how he felt.
"Anything worth keeping is worth fighting for, Paris."
"And when do you stop fighting?"
"You don't," he stated simply.
As he strode away from her, she wanted to point out that she never had the chance to fight for him. It was a battle that she knew she'd lose, a battle that she had to give up.
There was no contest when it came to Tristan DuGrey's heart.
*****
'You're pathetic,' she chided herself, burying her face in her pillow, trying to drown out the song playing on her stereo.
"Hey Rory, I don't think death by pillow is the way to go," Lorelai pointed out, leaning against the door frame.
"Go away," said Rory's muffled voice.
"What's with the Brian McKnight tribute?"
"Just felt like it," Rory stated, turning around and leaning against the headboard of her bed. She crossed her arms and dared her mother to challenge her.
"That's odd... considering you've never listened to Brian McKnight before," Lorelai commented, mimicking Rory's actions and smiling slyly.
Rory didn't back down. "Well, I thought I'd start. There's always room for some sappy R&B ballad on my CD rack."
Lorelai strode into the room, sitting on the bed next to Rory. "You've been listening to this song on repeat for the last few hours. No wait, you've been listening to this song for the last few days. Something's wrong." Rory's silence convinced her that something was indeed amiss. Lorelai scrutinized her daughter, coming to a conclusion. "You're wallowing, aren't you?"
Rory's tone was defiant. "I am not. I don't wallow." She saw the knowing smile on her mother's face and groaned silently, knowing that she was going to eventually tell her what had happened.
"Sure, ok, you're not wallowing," Lorelai conceded, but her tone implied that she didn't believe a word of what Rory was saying. Her smile turned evil. "So, you're reading Pride and Prejudice again?"
Rory knew exactly what was being insinuated. "It's a good book," she insisted. "One of my favourites, you know that."
Lorelai looked mildly offended, but Rory knew it was an act. "Of course I know it's your favourite!" The mock anger dissolved and the evil grin was back in place. "So, what's happening with Darcy and Elizabeth?" she queried.
Rory cast her eyes down, smiling sadly. "Things are falling apart between them. She thought that he was wonderful, and she thought that she could really come to care for him.. and he told her that he thinks he falling in love with her-"
"Ok, tell me again about the part where things are falling apart?" Lorelai asked, confused.
"Elizabeth found out that Darcy was just going out with her on a dare, just to prove a point that he could make her fall in love with him, that's what happened."
Rory saw the shock on her mom's face. "Yeah, that was my reaction," she mumbled. Moments later, she was engulfed in her mom's arms.
"I'm sorry, babe. I really thought he liked you."
"Yeah, I did too," Rory said softly. Lorelai pulled away and wiped away a stray tear that had fallen.
"Did you guys dance to Brian McKnight or something?"
Rory laughed lightly, but it came out sounding forced. "Yeah, we did." She paused, letting the memory of being in his arms wash over her. "I'm pathetic," she concluded, shaking her head slowly.
"No, you're not," Lorelai disagreed. "You're just wallowing."
Rory caught her mom's eye and tried to smile. "Yeah, I guess I am."
*****
A.N : Like I said... it's kinda anti-climatic. Ack. Kinda trite, and overused. I'm sorry -hangs head in shame- I tried.
