Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm trying as hard as I can to write these chapters. I really love writing and I love the feedback but my life is so hectic.
PS: This is REALLY rushed! I need to skip around a lot in order to pass the time!
Chapter 5
There he sat in third period English. Where was she? Rory and Louise had about thirty seconds to arrive to class otherwise they would be late. Not that he cared. No, it wasn't his problem to worry about the stuck up snobs who called him bible boy. But all the same...no! He wasn't going to worry about her.
"Hey," he whispered to Madeline, "where are Rory and Louise?"
~Damn my conscience~ he cursed inwardly. Why did he care about them being late?
She shrugged and popped her gum. "I don't know. They'll be here."
He fidgeted nervously and counted the seconds in his head.
~Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four...~
"You are so lying!" Rory squealed as she and Louise walked in.
He inwardly sighed a breath of relief. He followed the girls with his eyes.
"I'm serious! They're going away for three weeks and their not even leaving anyone home to supervise." Louise answered, they sat down just as the bell rang.
"Party?" Madeline asked.
"Of course." Louise answered.
Mr. Medina cleared his throat, the girls lazily turned to their teacher. "The bell had rung thus signaling the beginning of class. Talk after." he said forcefully. "Now, class, as you know we are reading `The Tempest' at a quick pace. I predict us to be done reading aloud in class sometime by the end of next week. Expect a test soon. Alright, everyone turn to page 25, Paris read the part of Miranda and Henry why don't you take Prospero. Louise, please read for Ariel."
Tristan mentally blocked everything out as he lost himself in the words of Shakespeare.
A week later...
"Now my charms are all o'erthrown, and what strength I have 's mine own, which is most faint. Now `tis true I must be here confined by you, or sent to Naples. Let me not, since I have..." Tristan read.
Now, a week later he sat reading as Prospero in the epilogue of "The Tempest." Though he had only been at Chilton for a short time Tristan felt he was already into the swing of things. He even counted Henry as a friend.
"...my dukedom got and pardoned the deceiver, dwell in this bare island by your spell, but release me from my bands with the help of your good hands. Gently breath of yours sails must fill..."
~Damn him! I've been flirting up a storm and he just ignores it!~ Rory screamed silently. ~Okay Davenport, I'm sick and tired of this. You will be my conquest one way or another. No more miss nice girl~ she fumed.
"...or else my project fails, which was to please. Now I want spirits to enforce, are to enchant, and my ending is despair, unless I be relieved by prayer, which pierces so that it assaults mercy itself, and frees all faults. As you from crimes would pardoned be, let you indulgence set me free." he finished.
Max clapped. "Thank you Tristan, good job. Well, that's it, the conclusion to "The Tempest." Now I want you to review during the weekend and be prepared to review on Monday. Test is on Tuesday and then we'll start on another classic Shakespearean play."
The class groaned at this news. Max laughed good-naturedly.
"Well, get used to it, you've got more Shakespeare after that."
The class groaned again and slumped in their seats.
"Yeah, yeah. Well, have a good weekend don't forget the review."
The bell sounded the end of class. Every student hurriedly gathered their things in order to rush off to their next class. As Tristan began to pack up Rory sauntered over to him.
"Hey bible boy." she drawled.
Tristan rolled his eyes and stood up tiredly.
"What do you want Rory?" he asked.
"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come to Louise's party next weekend. You know, maybe we could go together and get to know each other better?" she asked.
"No, I'm not really a partying kind of guy. Plus I don't exactly appreciate the name calling, why would I want to go to a party with my tormentor? I'm planning on catching up on some reading."
"Study, study, study! Is that all you ever do? I've asked you out every day this week and you always give me the ol' studying excuse! Be anymore of a nerd and we'll have to change your name to Urkel."
Tristan flinched at the harshness in her voice. "That's why I don't want to go out with you. You don't know how to be nice."
He left her standing in shock.
The moment Tristan got off the bus to Stars Hollow he breathed a sigh of relief. Another week of hell completed but if it helped him into Harvard it was worth it. His mind was spinning on the way home. A party. He hadn't been to a party since...~Don't go there~ he reminded himself. He shut his eyes and tried to block out the images that flooded his mind. He had tried so hard to move away from his past, he wasn't about to let it all come back just because of one party. He shook his head to free his mind from the thoughts. ~When things get tough only one thing can fix it~ he mused.
"Coffee at Luke's." he said aloud.
Walking across the square he entered Luke's to find his mother bickering, although to everyone else it was considered flirting, with Luke.
"Diane! You've had three cups already! You're lucky I let you have that many! I'm not giving you anymore!"
"Please! Please!" Diane begged.
"No, I'm cutting off your supply!" he made a move to pour the pot down the drain.
"Wait!" Tristan yelled as he sat down next to his mother. "Please, don't pour out that coffee! I've had a bad day and only that ambrosia can salvage it!"
"That bad huh?" Luke asked, Tristan a cup. Diane held hers out and put on the sweetest smile she could muster. Luke rolled his eyes and reluctantly poured her a refill.
"Well, let's see. Paris, as usual is being hard to figure out. One minute she's tossing me death glares and the next she's blushing at one glance."
"Ooh, sounds like she likes you." Diane teased.
"No, no way! From the second I answered the first question in Mr. Medina's class she hated me! There is no chance in hell that she likes me!" Tristan exclaimed.
"Well, she may have developed a crush." Diane argued.
"In two weeks?!" Tristan countered skeptically. "She barely knows me!"
"So what? Just continue sweetie."
Tristan took a deep breath. "Well, then there is Rory and her little troupe giving me a hard time. The work loading is killing me and other than Henry I have no friends."
He slumped down against the counter. Diane patted his back comfortingly. "It'll get better sweetie, just give it some time."
"LUKE!!!" Taylor complained.
"Taylor, what is it this time?" Luke said tiredly throwing his towel down on the counter.
"LOOK! AT! THE! SIGN!" he yelled pointing out the window.
After the yellow crosswalk sign had been replaced Taylor had been suspicious of who vandalized it in the first place. He had since been keeping a close eye on the sign but apparently not close enough. The sign had once again been turned upside down with a large "X" through it.
"I see it Taylor. It's so obnoxious it's hard to miss."
"You did this! Or Jess did! One of you!" Taylor pointed an accusing finger at the flannel-attired man.
"Taylor, we've been through this. Until you have evidence you have no right to accuse me of the crime. Do you know how many people are in this town? Any one of them could have done it!"
Taylor fumed. "This isn't over Luke! I'll get to the bottom of this!"
"Yeah, well you know what? You do that!" Luke called at the retreating back of the grocer.
"Hey, Uncle Luke, safe to come out now?" Jess asked from behind.
"Yeah kid. Did you get rid of the paint like I asked?" Luke asked.
"A little while ago." Jess answered.
"Good. Stay clear of Taylor for a while, he's on a rampage." Luke warned.
"Got it Luke." With that the boy ran upstairs.
Diane sat with her mouth open in shock. "You did it!?" she asked.
"Whoa, Luke's got a bad side." Tristan added.
"Ssh!" he hissed. "Don't announce it to the world."
"I can't believe it! You! Mister nice guy would do such a thing! Twice!"
"Hey, the first time was just Jess." he said in defense.
"Hehe, I like this version of Luke better." Diane nodded in approval.
"Yeah well, don't get used to it. I just wanted to bug Taylor a bit." he smirked.
"Yeah, yeah. You know you loved it." Diane smiled. "We've gotta go Picasso. Later!"
Luke nodded acknowledging their departure and grinned as he watched Taylor animatedly question a random person outside the diner. Shaking his head in amusement he went back to wiping the counter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rory sighed. She walked into the house and went straight for a bottle of water.
"Afternoon Rory how was you day?" Christopher said stiffly as he walked into the kitchen and noticed his daughter.
"Fine Dad." she answered numbly.
"Anything exciting happen today?" he asked.
Rory turned and looked at him dully. He wasn't really listening, instead he was tuning her out as he read the paper and only responding at the perfect places, a skill he had mastered long ago.
"Yeah dad a lot happened. Let's see, a bunch of vampires stormed the school. After they had their way with me they turned me into one of them." she said in mock sincerity.
"Interesting." Chris replied as he read through the business section of the paper.
"Yeah, of course that means I'll have to stay away from most Italian food and not touch any crosses. I guess I should also kiss sunbathing good-bye but it's a small price to pay considering I'll be eternally young. Well, it's time to feed, I'm off to suck the blood out of mom now."
"That's nice sweetie." Chris responded, not even looking at his daughter.
Rory shook her head in disgust and walked out. Seconds later Christopher looked up.
"Wait, what?" he asked, but by then she was gone.
"Rory, I just got a call from your principal..." Lorelai said.
"Mom," Rory interrupted, "how's about we skip the whole lecture that will eventually end in us proclaiming our mutual hate for each other and just talk about this later."
Lorelai, too stunned from the outburst only watched as Rory disappeared up the staircase.
"Lorelai," Chris asked, walking into the room, "Rory hasn't been drinking any blood lately has she?"
Lorelai rolled her eyes and muttered, "I need another drink."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey kid, your awfully quiet tonight." Diane pointed out during their dinner, which consisted of pizza as they flipped through channels looking for something to watch. "Something wrong?"
"No, it's just this thing at school. It's no big deal."
"What? Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? So what is it?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now." Tristan sighed.
"When DO you want to talk about it?" she pressed.
"Just drop it mom." he said moodily.
"Okay, fine, well when you need to talk, I'm here." she said sadly.
"Mom!" Tristan whined. "Don't do the whole, `make Tristan guilty so he'll tell you stuff,' thing."
"Is it my fault that you are my son and I want to know what's happening in your life?"
"Mom I just...I need to talk to Lane first about this one. Please?" he asked. "I'll tell you right after I talk to her tomorrow, I swear. Until then, can we please just...not talk about it?"
Diane was about to protest but closed her mouth at the pleading look her son was giving her.
"Okay, fine." she pouted.
The rest of the night was filled with pizza and TV talk though the whole time, Tristan felt a sense of sadness tearing at his heart.
The next day...
"Hey Lane." Tristan greeted his friend. He sat down on the bench next to her on the gazebo.
"Hey Tris." They sat in silence for the next few minutes. "So, I know you didn't call me at six this morning so we could just sit here and admire the scenery. Spill Davenport."
"Lane, do you still have nightmares? About that night?" he looked at her with sad eyes.
Lane shook her head in frantically. "Tristan please, just don't...don't bring that up."
"You do don't you?"
"Yes." Lane whispered in a tiny voice. "They aren't as often but every now and then I wake up...crying and shaking. Every time, I relive that night."
"So do I." Tristan admitted.
Lane sniffled. "What triggered this conversation?"
"Next week, this girl at my school is throwing a party. I got asked to go but...I don't know."
"Tristan, you have to move on, we both do."
"I don't know if I can. I just...I don't ever want to go through that again."
"I know. Neither do I. But it's been a year Tristan! A year! He would want us to move on!"
"Tell me, have you been to a party since that night? I'm not talking birthday party or town function, I'm talking about a real party. Like that night." Tristan asked taking her by the shoulders.
"No." Lane admitted.
"Why not?" Tristan asked.
"Because..." Lane stuttered, "...my mom won't let me."
"That's bull Lane! You know as I do that there are ways around your mother! You're just as scared of a repeat as I am! So don't talk about moving on!" Tristan yelled.
"Hey!" Lane threw off his arms. "I'm trying okay! I don't see you doing that!"
"Well what do you expect? Huh? You expect me to just go out every night and not care? Just not think about what happened? Just forget about him? Every time I even think about going out that night flashes in my mind!"
"You're not the only one you know! You're not the only one who lost one of their two best friends! Every time someone passes around the word that they're throwing a party I think about it! I can't move on because every time I try the night Dean died flashes through my mind!" Lane yelled.
AN: Hey, okay, I need the support here! If I don't get at least FIVE REVIEWS for this story, it's GONE! Yup, I'll either delete it, end it at a horrible cliffhanger, or I can kill of the characters before anything good happens. I can picture it now...please save me from having to plan evil ways to end this by reviewing. Remember, FIVE REVIEWS, and multiple reviews from the same reader doesn't count.
PS: This is REALLY rushed! I need to skip around a lot in order to pass the time!
Chapter 5
There he sat in third period English. Where was she? Rory and Louise had about thirty seconds to arrive to class otherwise they would be late. Not that he cared. No, it wasn't his problem to worry about the stuck up snobs who called him bible boy. But all the same...no! He wasn't going to worry about her.
"Hey," he whispered to Madeline, "where are Rory and Louise?"
~Damn my conscience~ he cursed inwardly. Why did he care about them being late?
She shrugged and popped her gum. "I don't know. They'll be here."
He fidgeted nervously and counted the seconds in his head.
~Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four...~
"You are so lying!" Rory squealed as she and Louise walked in.
He inwardly sighed a breath of relief. He followed the girls with his eyes.
"I'm serious! They're going away for three weeks and their not even leaving anyone home to supervise." Louise answered, they sat down just as the bell rang.
"Party?" Madeline asked.
"Of course." Louise answered.
Mr. Medina cleared his throat, the girls lazily turned to their teacher. "The bell had rung thus signaling the beginning of class. Talk after." he said forcefully. "Now, class, as you know we are reading `The Tempest' at a quick pace. I predict us to be done reading aloud in class sometime by the end of next week. Expect a test soon. Alright, everyone turn to page 25, Paris read the part of Miranda and Henry why don't you take Prospero. Louise, please read for Ariel."
Tristan mentally blocked everything out as he lost himself in the words of Shakespeare.
A week later...
"Now my charms are all o'erthrown, and what strength I have 's mine own, which is most faint. Now `tis true I must be here confined by you, or sent to Naples. Let me not, since I have..." Tristan read.
Now, a week later he sat reading as Prospero in the epilogue of "The Tempest." Though he had only been at Chilton for a short time Tristan felt he was already into the swing of things. He even counted Henry as a friend.
"...my dukedom got and pardoned the deceiver, dwell in this bare island by your spell, but release me from my bands with the help of your good hands. Gently breath of yours sails must fill..."
~Damn him! I've been flirting up a storm and he just ignores it!~ Rory screamed silently. ~Okay Davenport, I'm sick and tired of this. You will be my conquest one way or another. No more miss nice girl~ she fumed.
"...or else my project fails, which was to please. Now I want spirits to enforce, are to enchant, and my ending is despair, unless I be relieved by prayer, which pierces so that it assaults mercy itself, and frees all faults. As you from crimes would pardoned be, let you indulgence set me free." he finished.
Max clapped. "Thank you Tristan, good job. Well, that's it, the conclusion to "The Tempest." Now I want you to review during the weekend and be prepared to review on Monday. Test is on Tuesday and then we'll start on another classic Shakespearean play."
The class groaned at this news. Max laughed good-naturedly.
"Well, get used to it, you've got more Shakespeare after that."
The class groaned again and slumped in their seats.
"Yeah, yeah. Well, have a good weekend don't forget the review."
The bell sounded the end of class. Every student hurriedly gathered their things in order to rush off to their next class. As Tristan began to pack up Rory sauntered over to him.
"Hey bible boy." she drawled.
Tristan rolled his eyes and stood up tiredly.
"What do you want Rory?" he asked.
"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come to Louise's party next weekend. You know, maybe we could go together and get to know each other better?" she asked.
"No, I'm not really a partying kind of guy. Plus I don't exactly appreciate the name calling, why would I want to go to a party with my tormentor? I'm planning on catching up on some reading."
"Study, study, study! Is that all you ever do? I've asked you out every day this week and you always give me the ol' studying excuse! Be anymore of a nerd and we'll have to change your name to Urkel."
Tristan flinched at the harshness in her voice. "That's why I don't want to go out with you. You don't know how to be nice."
He left her standing in shock.
The moment Tristan got off the bus to Stars Hollow he breathed a sigh of relief. Another week of hell completed but if it helped him into Harvard it was worth it. His mind was spinning on the way home. A party. He hadn't been to a party since...~Don't go there~ he reminded himself. He shut his eyes and tried to block out the images that flooded his mind. He had tried so hard to move away from his past, he wasn't about to let it all come back just because of one party. He shook his head to free his mind from the thoughts. ~When things get tough only one thing can fix it~ he mused.
"Coffee at Luke's." he said aloud.
Walking across the square he entered Luke's to find his mother bickering, although to everyone else it was considered flirting, with Luke.
"Diane! You've had three cups already! You're lucky I let you have that many! I'm not giving you anymore!"
"Please! Please!" Diane begged.
"No, I'm cutting off your supply!" he made a move to pour the pot down the drain.
"Wait!" Tristan yelled as he sat down next to his mother. "Please, don't pour out that coffee! I've had a bad day and only that ambrosia can salvage it!"
"That bad huh?" Luke asked, Tristan a cup. Diane held hers out and put on the sweetest smile she could muster. Luke rolled his eyes and reluctantly poured her a refill.
"Well, let's see. Paris, as usual is being hard to figure out. One minute she's tossing me death glares and the next she's blushing at one glance."
"Ooh, sounds like she likes you." Diane teased.
"No, no way! From the second I answered the first question in Mr. Medina's class she hated me! There is no chance in hell that she likes me!" Tristan exclaimed.
"Well, she may have developed a crush." Diane argued.
"In two weeks?!" Tristan countered skeptically. "She barely knows me!"
"So what? Just continue sweetie."
Tristan took a deep breath. "Well, then there is Rory and her little troupe giving me a hard time. The work loading is killing me and other than Henry I have no friends."
He slumped down against the counter. Diane patted his back comfortingly. "It'll get better sweetie, just give it some time."
"LUKE!!!" Taylor complained.
"Taylor, what is it this time?" Luke said tiredly throwing his towel down on the counter.
"LOOK! AT! THE! SIGN!" he yelled pointing out the window.
After the yellow crosswalk sign had been replaced Taylor had been suspicious of who vandalized it in the first place. He had since been keeping a close eye on the sign but apparently not close enough. The sign had once again been turned upside down with a large "X" through it.
"I see it Taylor. It's so obnoxious it's hard to miss."
"You did this! Or Jess did! One of you!" Taylor pointed an accusing finger at the flannel-attired man.
"Taylor, we've been through this. Until you have evidence you have no right to accuse me of the crime. Do you know how many people are in this town? Any one of them could have done it!"
Taylor fumed. "This isn't over Luke! I'll get to the bottom of this!"
"Yeah, well you know what? You do that!" Luke called at the retreating back of the grocer.
"Hey, Uncle Luke, safe to come out now?" Jess asked from behind.
"Yeah kid. Did you get rid of the paint like I asked?" Luke asked.
"A little while ago." Jess answered.
"Good. Stay clear of Taylor for a while, he's on a rampage." Luke warned.
"Got it Luke." With that the boy ran upstairs.
Diane sat with her mouth open in shock. "You did it!?" she asked.
"Whoa, Luke's got a bad side." Tristan added.
"Ssh!" he hissed. "Don't announce it to the world."
"I can't believe it! You! Mister nice guy would do such a thing! Twice!"
"Hey, the first time was just Jess." he said in defense.
"Hehe, I like this version of Luke better." Diane nodded in approval.
"Yeah well, don't get used to it. I just wanted to bug Taylor a bit." he smirked.
"Yeah, yeah. You know you loved it." Diane smiled. "We've gotta go Picasso. Later!"
Luke nodded acknowledging their departure and grinned as he watched Taylor animatedly question a random person outside the diner. Shaking his head in amusement he went back to wiping the counter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rory sighed. She walked into the house and went straight for a bottle of water.
"Afternoon Rory how was you day?" Christopher said stiffly as he walked into the kitchen and noticed his daughter.
"Fine Dad." she answered numbly.
"Anything exciting happen today?" he asked.
Rory turned and looked at him dully. He wasn't really listening, instead he was tuning her out as he read the paper and only responding at the perfect places, a skill he had mastered long ago.
"Yeah dad a lot happened. Let's see, a bunch of vampires stormed the school. After they had their way with me they turned me into one of them." she said in mock sincerity.
"Interesting." Chris replied as he read through the business section of the paper.
"Yeah, of course that means I'll have to stay away from most Italian food and not touch any crosses. I guess I should also kiss sunbathing good-bye but it's a small price to pay considering I'll be eternally young. Well, it's time to feed, I'm off to suck the blood out of mom now."
"That's nice sweetie." Chris responded, not even looking at his daughter.
Rory shook her head in disgust and walked out. Seconds later Christopher looked up.
"Wait, what?" he asked, but by then she was gone.
"Rory, I just got a call from your principal..." Lorelai said.
"Mom," Rory interrupted, "how's about we skip the whole lecture that will eventually end in us proclaiming our mutual hate for each other and just talk about this later."
Lorelai, too stunned from the outburst only watched as Rory disappeared up the staircase.
"Lorelai," Chris asked, walking into the room, "Rory hasn't been drinking any blood lately has she?"
Lorelai rolled her eyes and muttered, "I need another drink."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey kid, your awfully quiet tonight." Diane pointed out during their dinner, which consisted of pizza as they flipped through channels looking for something to watch. "Something wrong?"
"No, it's just this thing at school. It's no big deal."
"What? Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? So what is it?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now." Tristan sighed.
"When DO you want to talk about it?" she pressed.
"Just drop it mom." he said moodily.
"Okay, fine, well when you need to talk, I'm here." she said sadly.
"Mom!" Tristan whined. "Don't do the whole, `make Tristan guilty so he'll tell you stuff,' thing."
"Is it my fault that you are my son and I want to know what's happening in your life?"
"Mom I just...I need to talk to Lane first about this one. Please?" he asked. "I'll tell you right after I talk to her tomorrow, I swear. Until then, can we please just...not talk about it?"
Diane was about to protest but closed her mouth at the pleading look her son was giving her.
"Okay, fine." she pouted.
The rest of the night was filled with pizza and TV talk though the whole time, Tristan felt a sense of sadness tearing at his heart.
The next day...
"Hey Lane." Tristan greeted his friend. He sat down on the bench next to her on the gazebo.
"Hey Tris." They sat in silence for the next few minutes. "So, I know you didn't call me at six this morning so we could just sit here and admire the scenery. Spill Davenport."
"Lane, do you still have nightmares? About that night?" he looked at her with sad eyes.
Lane shook her head in frantically. "Tristan please, just don't...don't bring that up."
"You do don't you?"
"Yes." Lane whispered in a tiny voice. "They aren't as often but every now and then I wake up...crying and shaking. Every time, I relive that night."
"So do I." Tristan admitted.
Lane sniffled. "What triggered this conversation?"
"Next week, this girl at my school is throwing a party. I got asked to go but...I don't know."
"Tristan, you have to move on, we both do."
"I don't know if I can. I just...I don't ever want to go through that again."
"I know. Neither do I. But it's been a year Tristan! A year! He would want us to move on!"
"Tell me, have you been to a party since that night? I'm not talking birthday party or town function, I'm talking about a real party. Like that night." Tristan asked taking her by the shoulders.
"No." Lane admitted.
"Why not?" Tristan asked.
"Because..." Lane stuttered, "...my mom won't let me."
"That's bull Lane! You know as I do that there are ways around your mother! You're just as scared of a repeat as I am! So don't talk about moving on!" Tristan yelled.
"Hey!" Lane threw off his arms. "I'm trying okay! I don't see you doing that!"
"Well what do you expect? Huh? You expect me to just go out every night and not care? Just not think about what happened? Just forget about him? Every time I even think about going out that night flashes in my mind!"
"You're not the only one you know! You're not the only one who lost one of their two best friends! Every time someone passes around the word that they're throwing a party I think about it! I can't move on because every time I try the night Dean died flashes through my mind!" Lane yelled.
AN: Hey, okay, I need the support here! If I don't get at least FIVE REVIEWS for this story, it's GONE! Yup, I'll either delete it, end it at a horrible cliffhanger, or I can kill of the characters before anything good happens. I can picture it now...please save me from having to plan evil ways to end this by reviewing. Remember, FIVE REVIEWS, and multiple reviews from the same reader doesn't count.