TITLE: Lost in the Shadows 8
AUTHOR: Jennie
EMAIL: jennieln@pacbell.net
WEBSITE: http://jessifanfic.com/links
DISCLAIMER: College student... need I say more?
PAIRING: Tristan/Rory but will have elements of Dean/Rory, Jess/Rory, and ?/Rory
SUMMARY: This story follows the trials and tribulations of love, sex and friendships of Rory and her close nit group of friends in a time when adulthood is swiftly approaching. Can a friendship overcome a potentially disastrous start?
RATING: R for sexual situations and will be constant throughout the story.
SPOILERS: All of the first season. In this story the second season didn't happen, meaning Tristan never left!
NOTES: Big thanks goes out to my beta'er Jewls13 and of course to everyone who feedbacked. Believe me, it's what keeps me going when I think, 'Hmm, essay, physics work, history quiz… nah, fanfic.'
OVERPROTECTED
Despite her previous concerns, the day had gone pretty smoothly. It had been simply a normal day at Chilton, which on any other day could have been considered hell in itself but compared to the previous day it had been paradise.
Except now. The final bell had rung moments before and she had nowhere to go except to her locker. And at her locker, Tristan would be waiting to have their "talk."
Maybe she could just head home and claim to have forgotten all about meeting him. She could probably do without her history and physics books for one night. People did it all the time.
"Rory," a voice said close to her ear, startling her.
She knew who it was without turning around. "That's the second time today you have scared the crap out of me." Turning, she faced Tristan, proud that her knees didn't go weak as they did before.
He smiled tightly at her. "I thought we agreed to meet at your locker, not mine."
Her face flushed as she realized that in pure stupidity she had been contemplating ditching Tristan right in front of his very locker.
And she was supposed to be the smart one.
"Um, yeah. Just eliminating a step."
He blinked at her not sure whether to take her seriously or not. "Okay." He closed his locker and fidgeted. "Basically, I wanted to apologize."
Rory's jaw dropped. She felt like a fish gaping for air. "Tristan," she hissed, hoping that no one around them could hear. "I came onto YOU. You have nothing to apologize for."
"No, you misunderstand. I'm not apologizing for what happened. I'm not sorry about that. I'm sorry for my past behavior towards you. I was a prick."
Just when you think you have someone figured out, they turn around and shock the hell out of you. Wait—did he just say that he wasn't sorry about what happened between them that night?
He shifted, obviously uncomfortable with his vulnerable position.
"I'm—give me a moment," she stammered. "Still processing."
"Look, I want to rid us of this awkwardness. Do you think we can try to call a truce and be friends?"
Eh? That was definitely the last thing Rory expected. Not that she had known what to expect. And since when were they at war enough to call a truce? They hardly spoke anymore.
Rory hesitated. Did she want to be friends with someone whom she thought she might be beginning to have feelings for? It would be so much easier to simply ignore him and hope that the old saying "out of sight, out of mind" was indeed true. But then again, she didn't want to deny him—or herself—this.
"Friends as in 'call each other every night, give each other manicures' or as in 'if I see you in the hall, I say hi, you say hi back and we go on with our day?'"
He chuckled and scratched the back of his head in the most adorable way. "If you begin to call me every night, I might just have to get a restraining order. But being able to acknowledge you in the halls without eliciting some kind of defensive attack from you might be nice."
Although she was still wary about this tentative relationship, she felt a little better. She nodded and began to walk to her locker, smiling as Tristan comfortably fell into step beside her. "When have I ever verbally attacked you?"
"Let me count thy ways."
"Well, if I did it was only because you provoked me. You have this remarkable way of annoying me more than anyone else can."
"And you, my dear, seem to bring it out in me."
They turned the corner as Rory was about to retort but all thought fled from her mind when she spotted Jess lounging against her locker chatting with a very flirtatious Louise. By all outwardly appearances, Jess seemed to be enjoying it but Rory knew him too well and could tell by the way he kept fiddling with the combination wheel on her locker that he was quickly losing interest.
Jess spotted her and after excusing himself, he quickly crossed to them. "That girl could benefit from some Prozac. A lot of it."
"Jess, what are you doing here? You're not planning on driving me home everyday are you?" Suddenly, she became aware of how the two boys were sizing each other up. "Jess this is Tristan. Tristan, Jess—"
The words were barely out of her mouth when Jess' fist connected solidly with Tristan's check. By the time she had comprehended what was happening, the two were locked together, punches wildly being thrown.
"Stop it!" she cried, ignoring the growing crowd of onlookers. Neither showed any signs of stopping so she literally forced her body between them and hoped that neither would hit her in the process. "So help me God, if I get hurt you both will be hitting new octaves."
With Tristan now behind her panting from the exertion, she shoved Jess backward, ignoring her motherly instincts to baby his bleeding lip. "Jess! What the hell is wrong with you?!" He didn't answer, instead dropping his head. "Outside." She pointed and stomped her foot to punctuate her point.
He didn't move.
"Now."
"But—"
"I'll be there in a minute. Go!" Shoving his way through the dispersing crowd, he stormed outside.
Hesitantly she turned to Tristan, wincing at the swelling of his right eye.
"Not a very good start to our friendship," he joked, painfully touching the side of his face.
"I don't know what got into him. No, I take that back. I know exactly what got into him. He is too damn protective of me. I—shit, I am so sorry Tristan. You may be a jerk sometimes but you never deserved this. It will never happen again, I promise." And then as an afterthought she added, "As long as you stay out of Stars Hollow indefinitely."
Gathering an air of nonchalance about him, Tristan cocked his head to the side. "Not a problem. Just give me a heads up next time, will you?" She picked up her discarded backpack and thanked her lucky stars that the Chilton students had moved on and were no long paying attention to them. "New boyfriend?" Tristan asked quietly.
Rory felt her lip twist. "Good friend."
He nodded and she half-expected him to walk away and never speak to her again. "Does he normally attack guys that talk to you?"
She was about to explain the source of Jess' hatred for him when she saw understanding appear in his eyes. Instead of admitting that she had talked about that night with Jess, she tried to make light of the situation. "Yes, unfortunately I haven't quite housebroken him yet."
"Well, don't take offense or anything but until you do, I won't be coming over for any of those manicures any time soon."
Rory raised an eyebrow. He was quite remarkable. How in the world had she missed it before? Here he was trying gallantly (at least she hoped he had no ulterior motives) to become her friend and Jess had to violently prove his manhood on Tristan's face, yet he remained amiable. Maybe she should ask how he did it.
Before she had a chance, he continued. "As much as I would like to continue this little chat of ours, I think I might need to see a dentist." She suddenly noticed a tint of red in his mouth. "But this is not the end. Oh, no we have far more ahead of us. I will say hello to you in the hall tomorrow, THAT is definite. Until then."
With that, he turned and intelligently went the opposite direction from Jess. Rory found herself staring after him for a few more heartbeats, perplexed. How did she ever miss this side of him?
Somebody slammed a locker shut snapping her out of her reverie. Hoping no one had noticed her odd behavior she rushed outside to Jess.
He was seated on his motorcycle obviously angry with himself. Rory's hand curled into a tight fist, her stomach churning with mixed feelings. She knew that he was only trying to look out for her and a small part of her was flattered that he cared so much but then again, what he did was irreproachable. Maybe if Tristan had been uninvited would what Jess did be all right, but it wasn't.
"Jess, what were you thinking?" she asked softly, lightly cupping his face in her hands and examining his lip.
He sighed and pulled out of her reach. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
Odd response. Not 'I'm sorry I did that' but 'I'm sorry that you saw.'
"What do you mean?" Rory asked suspiciously.
"Look, what that guy did to you was wrong. He knowingly took advantage of you, Ror. Can't you see that?"
She suddenly became very conscious of their surroundings. Without a word, she slipped on behind Jess. "Let's talk about this when we get home."
*****
TBC…
Feedback is greatly appreciated!
AUTHOR: Jennie
EMAIL: jennieln@pacbell.net
WEBSITE: http://jessifanfic.com/links
DISCLAIMER: College student... need I say more?
PAIRING: Tristan/Rory but will have elements of Dean/Rory, Jess/Rory, and ?/Rory
SUMMARY: This story follows the trials and tribulations of love, sex and friendships of Rory and her close nit group of friends in a time when adulthood is swiftly approaching. Can a friendship overcome a potentially disastrous start?
RATING: R for sexual situations and will be constant throughout the story.
SPOILERS: All of the first season. In this story the second season didn't happen, meaning Tristan never left!
NOTES: Big thanks goes out to my beta'er Jewls13 and of course to everyone who feedbacked. Believe me, it's what keeps me going when I think, 'Hmm, essay, physics work, history quiz… nah, fanfic.'
OVERPROTECTED
Despite her previous concerns, the day had gone pretty smoothly. It had been simply a normal day at Chilton, which on any other day could have been considered hell in itself but compared to the previous day it had been paradise.
Except now. The final bell had rung moments before and she had nowhere to go except to her locker. And at her locker, Tristan would be waiting to have their "talk."
Maybe she could just head home and claim to have forgotten all about meeting him. She could probably do without her history and physics books for one night. People did it all the time.
"Rory," a voice said close to her ear, startling her.
She knew who it was without turning around. "That's the second time today you have scared the crap out of me." Turning, she faced Tristan, proud that her knees didn't go weak as they did before.
He smiled tightly at her. "I thought we agreed to meet at your locker, not mine."
Her face flushed as she realized that in pure stupidity she had been contemplating ditching Tristan right in front of his very locker.
And she was supposed to be the smart one.
"Um, yeah. Just eliminating a step."
He blinked at her not sure whether to take her seriously or not. "Okay." He closed his locker and fidgeted. "Basically, I wanted to apologize."
Rory's jaw dropped. She felt like a fish gaping for air. "Tristan," she hissed, hoping that no one around them could hear. "I came onto YOU. You have nothing to apologize for."
"No, you misunderstand. I'm not apologizing for what happened. I'm not sorry about that. I'm sorry for my past behavior towards you. I was a prick."
Just when you think you have someone figured out, they turn around and shock the hell out of you. Wait—did he just say that he wasn't sorry about what happened between them that night?
He shifted, obviously uncomfortable with his vulnerable position.
"I'm—give me a moment," she stammered. "Still processing."
"Look, I want to rid us of this awkwardness. Do you think we can try to call a truce and be friends?"
Eh? That was definitely the last thing Rory expected. Not that she had known what to expect. And since when were they at war enough to call a truce? They hardly spoke anymore.
Rory hesitated. Did she want to be friends with someone whom she thought she might be beginning to have feelings for? It would be so much easier to simply ignore him and hope that the old saying "out of sight, out of mind" was indeed true. But then again, she didn't want to deny him—or herself—this.
"Friends as in 'call each other every night, give each other manicures' or as in 'if I see you in the hall, I say hi, you say hi back and we go on with our day?'"
He chuckled and scratched the back of his head in the most adorable way. "If you begin to call me every night, I might just have to get a restraining order. But being able to acknowledge you in the halls without eliciting some kind of defensive attack from you might be nice."
Although she was still wary about this tentative relationship, she felt a little better. She nodded and began to walk to her locker, smiling as Tristan comfortably fell into step beside her. "When have I ever verbally attacked you?"
"Let me count thy ways."
"Well, if I did it was only because you provoked me. You have this remarkable way of annoying me more than anyone else can."
"And you, my dear, seem to bring it out in me."
They turned the corner as Rory was about to retort but all thought fled from her mind when she spotted Jess lounging against her locker chatting with a very flirtatious Louise. By all outwardly appearances, Jess seemed to be enjoying it but Rory knew him too well and could tell by the way he kept fiddling with the combination wheel on her locker that he was quickly losing interest.
Jess spotted her and after excusing himself, he quickly crossed to them. "That girl could benefit from some Prozac. A lot of it."
"Jess, what are you doing here? You're not planning on driving me home everyday are you?" Suddenly, she became aware of how the two boys were sizing each other up. "Jess this is Tristan. Tristan, Jess—"
The words were barely out of her mouth when Jess' fist connected solidly with Tristan's check. By the time she had comprehended what was happening, the two were locked together, punches wildly being thrown.
"Stop it!" she cried, ignoring the growing crowd of onlookers. Neither showed any signs of stopping so she literally forced her body between them and hoped that neither would hit her in the process. "So help me God, if I get hurt you both will be hitting new octaves."
With Tristan now behind her panting from the exertion, she shoved Jess backward, ignoring her motherly instincts to baby his bleeding lip. "Jess! What the hell is wrong with you?!" He didn't answer, instead dropping his head. "Outside." She pointed and stomped her foot to punctuate her point.
He didn't move.
"Now."
"But—"
"I'll be there in a minute. Go!" Shoving his way through the dispersing crowd, he stormed outside.
Hesitantly she turned to Tristan, wincing at the swelling of his right eye.
"Not a very good start to our friendship," he joked, painfully touching the side of his face.
"I don't know what got into him. No, I take that back. I know exactly what got into him. He is too damn protective of me. I—shit, I am so sorry Tristan. You may be a jerk sometimes but you never deserved this. It will never happen again, I promise." And then as an afterthought she added, "As long as you stay out of Stars Hollow indefinitely."
Gathering an air of nonchalance about him, Tristan cocked his head to the side. "Not a problem. Just give me a heads up next time, will you?" She picked up her discarded backpack and thanked her lucky stars that the Chilton students had moved on and were no long paying attention to them. "New boyfriend?" Tristan asked quietly.
Rory felt her lip twist. "Good friend."
He nodded and she half-expected him to walk away and never speak to her again. "Does he normally attack guys that talk to you?"
She was about to explain the source of Jess' hatred for him when she saw understanding appear in his eyes. Instead of admitting that she had talked about that night with Jess, she tried to make light of the situation. "Yes, unfortunately I haven't quite housebroken him yet."
"Well, don't take offense or anything but until you do, I won't be coming over for any of those manicures any time soon."
Rory raised an eyebrow. He was quite remarkable. How in the world had she missed it before? Here he was trying gallantly (at least she hoped he had no ulterior motives) to become her friend and Jess had to violently prove his manhood on Tristan's face, yet he remained amiable. Maybe she should ask how he did it.
Before she had a chance, he continued. "As much as I would like to continue this little chat of ours, I think I might need to see a dentist." She suddenly noticed a tint of red in his mouth. "But this is not the end. Oh, no we have far more ahead of us. I will say hello to you in the hall tomorrow, THAT is definite. Until then."
With that, he turned and intelligently went the opposite direction from Jess. Rory found herself staring after him for a few more heartbeats, perplexed. How did she ever miss this side of him?
Somebody slammed a locker shut snapping her out of her reverie. Hoping no one had noticed her odd behavior she rushed outside to Jess.
He was seated on his motorcycle obviously angry with himself. Rory's hand curled into a tight fist, her stomach churning with mixed feelings. She knew that he was only trying to look out for her and a small part of her was flattered that he cared so much but then again, what he did was irreproachable. Maybe if Tristan had been uninvited would what Jess did be all right, but it wasn't.
"Jess, what were you thinking?" she asked softly, lightly cupping his face in her hands and examining his lip.
He sighed and pulled out of her reach. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
Odd response. Not 'I'm sorry I did that' but 'I'm sorry that you saw.'
"What do you mean?" Rory asked suspiciously.
"Look, what that guy did to you was wrong. He knowingly took advantage of you, Ror. Can't you see that?"
She suddenly became very conscious of their surroundings. Without a word, she slipped on behind Jess. "Let's talk about this when we get home."
*****
TBC…
Feedback is greatly appreciated!