10 Things I Hate About You
14 : Wrong Made Right
by inmyeyes
(Monday. Lunch time. Chilton)
"Is everything all right?" came the worried voice from beside her.
Rory closed her locker door and sighed wearily, meeting Alexia's eyes. "Everything's just peachy."
Alexia frowned when she caught the heavy sarcasm lacing Rory's words. "What's wrong?"
"Everything."
"What's wrong with you and Tristan?" she asked carefully, knowing that something had happened between them at the dance. When Rory didn't answer, she tried again. "You know that you can tell me what happened, right?"
Rory nodded. "Yeah, can we go someplace more private?"
Minutes later, the two were seated in an empty classroom; Alexia waiting anxiously to hear Rory's side of the story whilst Rory dejectedly lay her head on the table.
"What happened with Tristan?"
"What makes you think this has got to do with him?"
Alexia smiled. "I know something happened at the dance. I wasn't there when it happened, but I heard about it."
Rory groaned. "Great, people are talking about it."
"What else did you expect? Tristan is a hot topic," she pointed out. "Anyway, what really gave it away was the mopey expressions on both of your faces. Tristan looks as though his dog just got ran over by a truck and you look as though you've just found out that coffee production has been stopped."
"Don't joke about the coffee," Rory warned weakly, trying to lighten up the conversation.
Alexia chuckled. "The point is, the two of you look miserable... and I just wanted to know why."
"Whatever that was between us is gone.. it wasn't serious. It was just a game," Rory sighed.
"How do you know?"
"I heard some people talking about it... I think it was a few of Tristan's friends. Something about how he has always wanted to get me to go out with him because he dates all the new girls and how they were surprised that he succeeded with me." Rory shrugged, covering her face with her hands. "I dunno. I don't want to remember it."
Rory didn't see the frown that marred Alexia's delicate features. "Ok... so let me get this straight. You heard some stuff, believed it, then fought with Tristan over it." She paused. "Rory, you should know better than to believe gossip."
"It's not just gossip!" Rory cried. "From the moment I stepped into Chilton, Tristan has been bugging me to go out with him, acting as though it was an honour that he was even considering me to be the next girl on his arm. How am I supposed to believe that what I heard isn't true when every thing he has done since I knew him tells me that it is?"
"People change, Rory."
"Not Tristan."
Alexia examined the morose girl and saw how frustrated and how torn up she was. "Why are you so eager to cast Tristan in the role of the bad guy?" she asked softly. Before she could say any more, the bell rang, signalling the end of their lunch break. Rory jumped at the chance to end the conversation.
"Thanks for listening, Alexia," she said, picking up her bag. "I'll see you later. I need to get to Calculus."
Without looking back, she fled the room.
*****
(Monday afternoon. Luke's)
"Oh daughter of mine, you need to snap out of this funk you're in," Lorelai declared. "Here, have some coffee."
Rory leaned her head on the table, sighing heavily. "I don't want coffee."
A dramatic gasp was drawn from Lorelai who took back the cup that she had offered. "Blasphemy!" She cradled the cup protectively.
"I just don't feel like having coffee," Rory explained.
"I've failed as a mother!" Lorelai wailed in mock despair.
Rory ignored her mother's crazy ramblings. "I hate Chilton."
"It's ok, Mini-Me. You can handle it. It's just Chilton."
"And hell is just a sauna."
There was a rare moment of silence while the two of them were lost in thought.
"Can I transfer out of Chilton?" Rory asked, half-jokingly.
Lorelai took a chug of her coffee and shook her head. "Nope, the transaction is non-transferable. We've already sold our souls to the Devil."
"Maybe we can get a refund if-"
"Nope. Hell does not give refunds."
"But I need to get away from Chilton!"
"No, you need to get away from Tristan," Lorelai corrected.
"Same difference," Rory muttered.
"What's new in the Cold War, anyway?" Lorelai queried.
"Nothing. Everything's good. I don't see him unless we're in the same class."
"So, you hide out the library," Lorelai stated.
Rory just shrugged.
"You can't keep avoiding him forever, you know," Lorelai pointed out.
Rory was insistent. "Yes, I can. I'm good at it."
"No, you can't. One day you're gonna want to slam him against the lockers and kiss him senseless."
Rory snorted in derision. "More like bash his head against the lockers."
Lorelai shrugged. "All I'm saying is... you're gonna have to work this out. You need closure, little one."
"I have closure," Rory protested.
"Sure, you do," Lorelai said disbelievingly. "That's why your Brian McKnight tribute hasn't ended."
"I hate you."
Lorelai made a kissy face. "I'm waiting for my kiss, young lady." At Rory's perplexed look, she grinned slyly. "Don't you always kiss people you hate?" Lorelai just laughed as Rory threw her napkin at her.
*****
(The next day. Lunch time. Chilton)
"What's wrong with you, DuGrey?"
The question jarred him from his thoughts and he shifted his eyes to meet his friend's. "Nothing."
"You've been staring at that Gilmore chick," he noted.
Tristan bit the inside of his cheek to stop from telling his friend to stop calling Rory "that Gilmore chick". He didn't say anything but merely shrugged.
"What is she to you? She's just a girl, Tristan... and we all knew that you were just playing her." The statement was punctuated with a laugh. He went on, "It was funny to watch her fall all over you at the dance. She fell for your plan hook, line and sinker!"
Tristan clenched his fists and willed himself to not react. He pushed his chair back and stood up. "I've got something to do before the bell rings. I'll see you later." As quickly as he could, he walked away before he would do something he'd regret. Outside the walls of Chilton, he heaved a sigh of relief and sat himself on an empty bench, savouring the silence. It didn't last long though.
"Tristan, can I talk to you?"
His heart fell when he realized that it wasn't Rory, but the smile that was etched on his face was sincere. "Yeah, sure Alexia. Have a seat."
Alexia went right to the point. "I want to know the truth about what happened between you and Rory."
Tristan tensed at the mention of her name and Alexia noticed the stubborn set of his jaw. "I don't want to talk about it."
"I want to know, so that I can help make this right again," she clarified.
He gave her a questioning look. "Why?"
She smiled. "Because Rory's my friend... and because I see that you really care for her. There was something between the two of you, I could see it."
Tristan sighed. What harm could it do to tell her?
*****
"Why are you doing this?"
Rory's hands stilled as she recognized the venom in the familiar voice and she stifled a long sigh. She went back to putting away her books. "What are you talking about, Paris?" she said wearily.
"You've been a complete bitch to Tristan."
Rory turned to face her and bit her lip to stop herself from saying something mean. "I've not been anything to Tristan, Paris. Isn't that the way you want it?"
Paris' face softened, but only slightly. "He's miserable, you know."
"What makes you think I'm not?" she retorted.
"Give him a chance, Rory."
Rory's look was one of shock... and suspicion. "You want me to give him a chance? Why are you saying this, Paris? Don't you want him for yourself?"
Paris smile was wry. "He wants you, Rory. I can't do anything about that." Then she turned, and walked away.
*****
(That night. Gilmore House)
Her conversation with Alexia had been running through her mind during the last two days. She hated how it made her question herself and her decisions. And then came the weird conversation with Paris. Her mind was muddled, and her gut was telling her that maybe, maybe she had come to a rash conclusion about Tristan.
Sure, he wasn't the best welcoming committee there was at Chilton. He did annoy her to no end, he didn't know when to stop and he could be arrogant as hell. But he could also make her laugh, he kept her on her toes and underneath that cocky veneer, he could be the sweetest guy. Ever since the start of their tentative friendship, he had given her no reason to doubt his intentions or his honesty with her.
Yet, despite all that, it took a piece of gossip to shatter whatever there was between them because she was too quick to believe the worst of him. She recalled the night of the dance and his confusion when she demanded that he take her home. She remembered how genuinely puzzled he was at the change in her behaviour and the panic that she had glimpsed in his eyes when he realized that things were going wrong. And she could clearly see in her mind the earnestness in his eyes when he declared, "I think I'm in love with you."
All the thoughts had been swimming in her mind for the past two days, but Rory wasn't confused at all. In fact, things were becoming crystal clear.
*****
(Wednesday. Chilton)
"I need to talk to you," the two girls blurted at the same time, causing them to laugh simultaneously.
"I have something to tell you," Alexia said urgently. She was too concerned with hoping that Rory would listen to her that she missed the sparkle in Rory's eyes.
"I need your help with something."
Alexia nodded. "Ok. I'll see you after school."
Just then, the bell rang. "Ok," Rory agreed.
Later that day, the two girls met up in an empty classroom, ready to talk.
"What do you need help with?"
"I need you to help me get something in Tristan's locker."
"What are you going to do? Put a stink bomb in there?"
Rory laughed. "No, I'm trying to make things right again."
Alexia's eyes widened is surprised and she had to smile. "What brought this on?"
"I think I might have made a mistake," Rory admitted. "So, I'm trying to make amends."
"I talked to Tristan yesterday."
Rory's eyes snapped up when she heard his name and her heart started thumping wildly. "What did he say?"
"He's still really torn up about what happened, Rory." Alexia noticed how Rory's face fell at her words. "But he still obviously cares about you."
"He's not going to forgive me very easily, is he?" Rory sighed.
"I think you'll be surprised."
*****
(Friday. End of school. Chilton)
He couldn't wait to get away from this damn place. He was sick of all the comments that his friends were throwing around about Rory. He was sick of trying to pretend everything was fine. He was sick of telling everyone to just leave him alone. He ignored the sound of his friends calling his name and made a beeline for his locker. He'd get the books he needed, and then he'd get out of there.
He'd get out of there... and far away from Rory.
It had been almost 2 weeks since the fiasco at the dance but things were still as bleak and dreary as ever. He had hardly seen her around and it was clear that she was doing all she could to avoid seeing him. He had wanted to try and talk to her but the closed off expression in her eyes told him to stay away. Things were not looking up at all.
Every day, he woke up and thought that maybe that would be the day when he'd finally move on from what happened; put it behind him and go back to the normal Tristan that everyone knew. But one glimpse of Rory and all his well-laid plans were shattered. Things were still unresolved between them and until there was some kind of resolution, he'd be stuck in this rut forever. Then again, he said to himself, he'd still be stuck in a rut if the resolution wasn't in his favour.
Not bothering to alter his frowning expression, he plowed his way to his locker and threw the door open.
He got the surprise of his life. "What the hell?"
There was a huge jar of peas on top of his books and there was a note with his name on it taped to the jar.
Smiling to himself, he grabbed
the note and opened it.
'I hate the way you talk
to me.
And the way you cut your
hair.
I hate the way you drive
my car.
I hate it when you stare.
I hate your big dumb combat
boots.
And the way you read my
mind.
I hate you so much it
makes me sick.
It even makes me rhyme.
I hate the way you're always
right.
I hate it when you lie.
I hate it when you make
me laugh.
Even worse when you make
me cry.
I hate it that you're not
around.
And the fact that you
didn't call.
But mostly I hate the
way I don't hate you
Not even close, not even
a little bit, not even at all.
His smile had widened by the time he had come to end of the poem. He let out a small laugh and reached in to grab the jar of peas. He shook his head slightly, amused. He turned around, his eyes searching for her. He found her leaning against a locker a few feet away from his, a shy smile on her lips.
"Waiting for me, Mary?" he smirked, his eyes glinting mischievously.
Rory laughed, and the sound warmed his heart. "My mission in life. But obviously I struck your fancy so you see it worked. The world makes sense again."
For a moment, the pair just stood there, smiling crazily at each other.
"How would you feel if I decided to slam you against the lockers and kiss you senseless?" Rory asked, moving to close the short distance between them.
Tristan chuckled. "Where do you want me?" His breath caught when he found himself between the lockers and Rory and he revelled in the look in her eyes as she slowly leaned into him.
"Oh, you're just fine where you are."
Tristan couldn't wait any more: he leaned down and his lips covered hers. The kiss wasn't long, nor passionate; it was one full of promise of better things to come. It still felt wonderful to the two of them and it was a welcome relief from all hurt and confusion of the past two weeks.
Rory's arms came around his neck as she hugged him tightly to her. "I missed you, and I'm sorry."
Tristan closed his eyes and breathed in her familiar scent. To think that he was just thinking about how hopeless things seemed. "I know, I'm sorry too."
The two pulled away, but Tristan still kept her hand in his.
"So," he grinned cheekily. "Will you go out with me?" He felt her squeeze his hand, but he knew that she was going to give him a smart-ass answer.
"Maybe if we were the last two people on Earth and there were no sheep. Are there sheep?" Rory asked innocently.
They both broke into laughter, but it effectively ended when Rory leaned up and kissed him.
