It was a dark and stormy night... God! I'm thinking in clichés. Tristan was slinking through the deepest shadows of the road on his way to break into a vault with some of his Chilton friends. He had tracked them down at the country club poolroom after the disastrous rehearsal. Calm down DuGray, it's not like you haven't done this sort of thing before. You've done this many, many times. Just keep your cool. Why does it suddenly feel as if my stomach has sunk to the close proximity of my toes? What was I thinking when I started talking about us kissing at the party? That definitely was NOT the way to convince Rory how much I care about her. She asked me NOT to; you're such an idiot Tristan. DuGray! If you can't keep a certain gorgeous brunette out of your mind, you're going to get caught, and that would NOT be cool. Tristan stopped in his tracks. The guys slinking along behind Tristan ran into him.

"What's up with you DuGray? Why'd you stop? Come on, let's do this!"

"Yeah, let's go DuGray. You aren't getting cold feet, are you?"

"What do you mean is he getting cold feet? DuGray never gets cold feet! You better take that back idiot!"

"No, he's right." I'm risking too much by doing this. The old Tristan would've done this because he had nothing to lose, but the new Tristan has lots to lose. I'll never be able to show Rory how much I care about her if my parents send me off to a distant hell hole, because I got caught robbing some vault of valuables I don't want or need, because I couldn't think straight thanks to an incredibly unique, perfect brunette saying, 'I hate him!" A small nagging voice in his mind was saying, 'and you do deserve her?' "I have to go."

I have to find Rory; I have to talk to her. I know I have to take it slow, so I don't scare her away. But I have to get the wheels turning in her mind. Wait! DuGray, you're still not thinking straight! You have a perfect opportunity to start the wheels turning when you kiss her as Romeo! It isn't possible that she could miss the electricity that passes between us when we kiss. Even with only one kiss, I know it's there. Which is why I know she's not just another conquest. This girl is different.

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"Dean, please! Why do you want to come to this play? It's just a bunch of high school students trying to get an A in a class."

"Well, my girlfriend is going to be Juliet, what other reason do I need?" Besides punching in that pretty boys face if he tries anything.

"Please, Dean, I don't want you to come. I don't need any distractions during the performance." Why does he have to be so stubborn about this?

"I'm coming to watch you, so it's pointless to argue." Why doesn't she want me to come? She doesn't want me to see Tristan kissing her. Something is going on with them. She may not admit it, but there is something between them. I have to be there; I can't keep her in my possession if that rich asshole doesn't know I'm keeping my eyes open and on him.

"Fine. I'll see you later." What an ass. The unbidden thought lasted for a second before she banished it, wondering why something told her something horrible would happen if Dean came.

"Bye."

Rory walks toward home and away from the encounter with stubborn old Dean. Gosh! Why does he have to be so difficult? He's insecure about me kissing Tristan. I can see it in his eyes. Little does he know, there is little chance that I will ever fall for Tristan. She'd had a hard day at school too. It took a lot of effort to restrain herself from stabbing Tristan in the back. The play is tomorrow... And we haven't even rehearsed the final scene yet. The final scene... The scene where Tristan kisses me. Why am I worried about Tristan kissing me...? In front of Dean. She had wanted to hurt Tristan in some horribly, painful way when he was spouting off about their first kiss at the party, but a tiny part of herself she hadn't know existed was relieved that was going to be out in the open. So what, why should I care if Dean found out. He HAD just broken up with me. It's not like the kiss meant anything... A tiny part of Rory's brain was telling her she was kidding anyone but herself.

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"Where is that boy!?! He was supposed to be here 5 hours ago, so we could run through our scene 10 times before we got on stage! We go on in two minutes and he still isn't here!" Paris paces back stage looking like she is ready to chew bullets and spit them back out as metal shards of an unknown origin.

"Paris, calm down. He'll be here two seconds before we go on! You know he will." And if he's not, Paris will come up with something. She always does. Where is he anyway? I mean its not like I'm going to cry if he doesn't show up to kiss me, right? Let's stop going down this line of thought Rory, before you fall in a pit you can't climb out of and hurt Dean again.

"And look he deems us worthy to be seen in his presence. About time you got here, boy! You're 4 hours and 59 minutes late! You've got 1 minute to get on your costume, and get your butt on stage with us."

"Nice to see you too Paris. I'll just go get changed now." Tristan looks curiously neutral about Paris' raving, of course he doesn't usually let much get under his skin.

Rory just shrugged her shoulders, pulling on her own costume. Tristan hid his disappointment at Rory's lack of emotion. Of course, there was the possibility that she was using all her control to hide her nervousness about their forthcoming kiss. So, Tristan thought about the chances leading up to this kiss. If I hadn't had an ex in every other group, I probably wouldn't have this opportunity now. Of course, no one pointed out that I had an ex in this group too. Even if Paris and I didn't go out for very long. Maybe Rory would finally figure out how deeply he cared about her. Tristan snuck a glance at Rory in her Juliet costume. God, she's gorgeous. His heart contracted painfully in his chest every time he looked her. How on Earth did I fall for this girl? If I finally fell for someone after all the girls that were no more than another notch on my belt, it shows just how wonderful Rory must be.