"What's to study about this play? Honestly, there's nothing about it that hasn't been said before!" Rory exclaimed as they walked through Stars Hollow.
"This play has a special meaning to each couple who treasures it. Every pair of lovers that has this play in their house has a reason they have it there. Almost every opposites-attract romance is connected with Romeo and Juliet!" He protested.
"Like who?" Rory demanded, stopping in her tracks.
"Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock." Tristan suggested. Rory shook her head.
"No, she dated a rocker before."
"But that time it ended in controversy. She didn't want to go through that again. And yet, she picks Kid Rock as her next rocker."
"But if she has already displayed this sort of bad-ass boyfriend tendency, then what is the point?" Rory asked.
"You are too cynical, Rory." Tristan murmured, shaking his head and they continued walking.
"I guess Paris's debating has gotten to me." Rory said with a shrug. "There was this one guy who cried during the debate when he saw it was Paris."
"Ex-Chiltonite?" Tristan asked.
"Yep." Rory replied.
"He cried?" Tristan asked, his eyebrows raised.
"She is kind of scary." Rory admitted.
"But not scary enough for the courageous defender of the cynics, Rory Gilmore!" Tristan boomed mockingly and Rory giggled.
And she scolded herself for giggling.
"She doesn't scare me because she's a little too pathetic." Rory informed him. "She still has a Portuguese nanny for the love of Labor Day Sales!"
"And Presidents' Day Sales." Tristan reminded her.
"And Presidents' Day Sales." Rory agreed, laughing a bit. "This has been enjoyable."
"Even though we have nothing done." Tristan said with a grin.
"I've got it!" Rory exclaimed. "A debate! We could have a debate!"
"This isn't speech class, Rory, its just Shakespeare." Tristan muttered good-naturedly, rolling his eyes.
"But that would be the whole point. We'd prove the significance in Romeo and Juliet just by debating." Rory explained, rolling her eyes just like Tristan had done.
"I guess we have to do a Paris-worthy research report, then." Tristan told her.
Rory groaned. "Should we check on our WPMs?"
"What?" Tristan asked confusedly.
"Paris thing." Rory muttered. "Didn't make sense to me either."
They both laughed and smiled at each other silently.
"Well, look at the time. It's going to take me forever to get back to Hartford. Have dinner with my grandfather at his friend's house—" Tristan began, and Rory looked at her watch.
"Oh, my God! I'm going to be late!" Rory rushed off towards her house and left Tristan in her dust.
"And you said that it was a benefit and you purposefully show up to the house late! You are my goddess! My angel! My excuse—"
"We're going, Mom." Rory told her, shooting her a look.
"But, since you're late—" Lorelei twirled a lock of her hair around her finger coyly. If only Luke didn't have the excuse to be working at the diner, he surely would have put a stop to this.
Rory groaned. "You can't honestly still remember that deal, can you?"
Lorelei nodded with a wide grin. "I'll go get it out of my closet."
Emily rushed over at the knock on the door. "Janlen?"
"No, it's Muscleman and Porn Star."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Of course, you use the back door now."
"Well, Mommy Dearest, it would be nice if it was opened." Lorelei replied.
Emily turned back to her guest. "I have no idea where your grandfather is, but he's sure to show up."
At that, a bell rang and Lorelei and Rory were still standing on the back landing.
Things had changed since Lorelei had gotten married. Rory was put through less Lorelei-teasing and now, as some sort of gift, the Gilmores/Danes had their own parking spots, and they needed to use the back door in order to avoid the mile walk. But that, clearly, was a Lorelei-exaggeration.
"Do you want to play the Gilmore version of ding-dong-ditch?" Lorelei whispered excitedly. Rory rolled her eyes and followed her mother to tiptoe around the hedges.
"The longer I don't have to be seen in this shirt, the better." Rory muttered.
"Lorelei—" Emily opened the door to see—Nothing.
"Lorelei?"
"Lorelei, is this your idea of some kind of cruel joke?"
"Wow, Mom, not greeting your guests at the door. Rule number seventy-two of finishing school is broken and for once, not by me!" Emily whirled around to see her daughter in the foyer with her granddaughter, smirking.
"Rory, what is that you are wearing?" Emily asked confusedly, and Rory groaned, stomping off to the den.
Tristan admired the portrait of Lorelei the First, and what sounded like a strangled scream interrupted his thoughts. He turned around to see Rory, wearing a bright pink shirt with loud orange letters across the front reading, 'Porn Star'. If it didn't help that the shirt caught your eye quickly, the huge letters made everything worse.
"Never pictured you as one, but I guess that's what I get for drawing quick conclusions." Tristan said smoothly with a genuine smile.
To her surprise, Rory returned the grin, even if it was a halfhearted grin at that.
"If I hadn't been late for getting home, I wouldn't be wearing the shirt." She replied snappily. But she was smiling all the same.
"That is a rather interesting shirt, Miss Gilmore." Janlen DuGrey commented, making the girl jump.
"Excuse me, sir. I didn't see you." Rory said nervously.
"Yes, I did dress to be camouflaged by Richard's den wallpaper." Janlen drawled with a smile. "It's a pleasure meeting you, and by Richard's description, your mother is to blame for the shirt?"
"Partly." Rory whispered, shooting a look towards Tristan.
"Being punctual is important, but—Your mother is most amusing, Lorelei."
"It's Rory. Your grandson seems to have a problem with names, too." Rory zinged.
Janlen gave a very full laugh at this and decided there was much more to this young woman than Richard had let on. No matter how much he had let on. And on. And on.
"Who was that man at the diner, Rory?" Tristan asked, hoping to change the subject.
"My stepfather, Luke. Didn't you catch that?" Rory was sweet in her confusion, and Tristan smiled.
"I am a bit slow on catching on with titles, substances, names.." He replied.
"This we have proven." Rory whispered with a grin.
"Oh, good, you know each other! Janlen, this is my granddaughter Rory. Tristan, Rory, do you know each other from Chilton?"
The two teenagers nodded in response of Emily's question. Lorelei was looking at Tristan oddly, through narrowed eyes and twenty emotions flashed on her face in two seconds. Richard followed close behind.
"In fact, Rory and I are working on an opinion piece for Shakespeare. That's probably why they were late." Tristan said smoothly, winking at Rory. "Right, Rory?"
"No, Mom had us doing laps around the property. You know, work up the appetite?" Rory answered with a wink of her own.
"Well, we're all here, why don't we start dinner?" Emily said suggestively, but Lorelei, Richard and Rory knew that an order was hidden beneath her cheery tone.
Tristan and Rory sat next to each other, kicking each other whenever they thought something was funny and had to suppress a laugh.
"Ow!" Rory hissed. "That hurt!"
"What hurt?" Emily asked confusedly, and across the table, Janlen and Lorelei smiled.
"That Coco Chanel death hurt me badly." Rory lied quickly.
"I know! What an innovative woman!" Emily continued to ramble and Tristan kicked her again.
"What?" Rory muttered.
"I was just saying that Jackie must have drowned herself in Chanel to ignore her husband's extramarital affairs, Rory. I had no idea you'd be so interested." Emily admitted.
Tristan kicked her again.
"It's all your fault, you know." Rory spat.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't bought that stupid tea, my Chanel purse would still be perfectly unstained. But I honestly tried to put it through dry-cleaning." Emily continued to go on.
Rory gave Tristan two quick jabs in the shin.
"Ouch!" He shouted.
"Tris, is there something wrong?" Janlen asked worriedly.
"No, I'm just," kick, "Fine."