"I'm a good person." Rory repeated.
"That you are." Lane chirped in agreement.
"I've got a great boyfriend." Rory reminded herself.
"Great." Lane agreed.
"I'm smart."
"Genius."
"Then why can't I resist him?" Rory demanded.
"Who?" Lane looked up from her 'Henry' scheme. "That was a total three-sixty."
"No," Rory grumbled guiltily, "It wasn't. That's what we've been talking about this entire time."
"Who is he?" Lane asked, still confused.
"That," Rory pointed out the window of Lane's bedroom, at a blonde guy standing outside her house, "Is him."
Lane rushed to the window. "Oh my god!"
"You're not helping!" Rory shouted at her.
Lane was taken aback. This guy really had her wrapped around his little finger.
"And the worst part about it is he thinks I hate him!" She shrieked, hiding her face in one of Lane's pillows.
"Why would he think that?" Lane asked, going over to console her friend.
"I might have mentioned it a few times and acted like a total Paris around him." Rory murmured in reply.
Lane's eyes widened. "You, Rory Gilmore, acted like Paris? And not to Paris?"
Rory nodded and hid her face in her pillow again.
"What is it with the Gilmore women?" Tristan found himself muttering.
"I really don't know, and I live with them." Tristan turned around, and the boy from the diner was standing behind him. "The name's Jess."
"Tristan." He mumbled. "The completely idiotic loser."
"According to Rory, yes." Jess told him, and Tristan's face fell noticeably. "But Lorelei, she's willing to give you a chance."
Tristan looked at him, to make sure this Jess person wasn't lying. "And why would she do that?"
"She learned her lesson about the softer side of bad boys two ways. Through Rory's father and me." Jess patted Tristan on the back. "Keep it up. She doesn't hate you. She's just.."
"Disconnected." Tristan finished for him. "It makes a lot of sense to me."
Jess smirked at him, half-knowingly, half-encouragingly. "Good."
And Jess disappeared back into the diner.
"So, what do you have on your argument so far?" Rory asked after a moment, taking a peek at Tristan's notebook. It was blank. She laughed. "There goes your 4.0, DuGrey."
Tristan blushed a bit. "You're right. This is hard."
Rory smirked at him, leaning back on the couch. "If we don't get the A for content, we will get the A for originality."
Tristan nodded. "You're right."
"So, what are you thinking for your argument?" She persisted, and he smiled a bit.
"Well, I've said that the opposites attract thing has almost always been connected to Romeo and Juliet, right?" He asked, and she nodded. "Well, life plays out a whole opposites attract scenario. Look at you and Dean, Lorelei and Luke.."
Rory looked at him, a little bit confused. "But, they're not, we're not.."
"Lorelei is a former socialite that had a kid when she was sixteen, and now has a coffee addiction. Luke is all against coffee, had no experience when kids or other human beings were involved and is pretty much antisocial. They're not complete opposites, but they don't have much in common." Tristan explained, and he was surprised to see that Rory was paying attention.
"As for you and Dean, there's really not much to say. You are the result of a teenage rendezvous and you go to a prestigious school and a mansion once a week, and he's your average suburban kid. Again, not complete opposites, but.."
Rory smiled. "I get your point, I guess. But what about you?"
Tristan smiled sadly. "The girl of my dreams, is, in a way, the opposite of me, and since she won't have me, I'll probably end up in an unhappy marriage with a girl like Louise."
Rory instantly felt bad. Here she was with an almost perfect relationship and she wanted to get out of it and Tristan had nothing and nowhere to turn.
"What about you? What is the intelligent, cynical Rory Gilmore going to say about Romeo and Juliet?" He asked, a smug smile masking (as always) what he felt.
"I have a few arguments written out, but it'll all be based upon what you say. When you decide what that is." She joked, but he sobered up.
"I really can't decide what to say. You can take the affirmative, if you want." Tristan stood up.
"No, Tristan. I know that somewhere in that brain of yours, you have a connection to your heart. You'll know what to say, you will." Rory didn't know why the words were tumbling out of her mouth.
He nodded. "I guess I need to get some air. I'm going to take a walk, okay?"
He exited the apartment before Rory could say no.
"So, you're.. Somebody." A perky Asian-American girl chirped, falling into step with Tristan.
"Last time I checked." He muttered with a chuckle.
"A Chilton somebody." She continued.
He nodded. "Where exactly is this going?"
"You're a hot Chilton somebody that Rory's working with and can't resist." She finished with a grand bow.
"And you are?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Lane."
"As in the street?"
She rolled her eyes. "As if I haven't heard that one before. Lane Kim, Rory's best friend."
Tristan kept walking.
"Aren't you taken aback at all by this information?" She called after him.
"It's more of a distraction than anything." He murmured in reply.