See chap 1 for info.
Authors Note: Sorry, not much T/R interaction in this chapter. And I'm really sorry, but Dean isn't going anywhere for actually, another couple of chapters... :hides in corner waiting for angry people to go away: Sorry! I don't like it either. But don't worry, he'll be gone soon enough. I think. Ooh, and Paris isn't in this Chapter either, but Lane and Louise are!
Chapter Four: ...And I'll be here by your side.
"Dean? We have to talk.... I've been thinking, about a lot of stuff lately, but mostly, I've been thinking about us. Dean, our relationship is going nowhere. We're one of those boring couples that acts like they're married. I think we should....break up." Rory says, looking anxiously into the mirror. "No, that sounds too harsh. I want to be nice, not cruel!"
"Babe? Whatcha doing?" says Lorelai as she comes into the room and flops down onto the bed.
"Mom..." Rory groans. "I can't figure out what to say to Dean when I break up with him. Everything I've thought of sounds dumb or mean. How do you break up with somebody nicely?"
"Sweetie, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." Lorelai says as she lays down on Rory's bed and stretches out. "There is no 'nice' way to break up with somebody. Any way you do it, it's still going to hurt. I still think you should go with my plan."
"Yeah, Mom." Rory says disgusted. "I'm just going to go over to Dean and say, 'Hey, I'm sorry, but aliens have invaded my body and they decided that they don't like you....but they think that Tristan guy is pretty hot."
"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds stupid. It's all about wording Ror."
"Mom, anyway you word it, telling your soon to be ex-boyfriend that extra terrestrials have taken over your brain is going to sound STUPID." Rory says, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Mom, why don't you break up with him for me? You can say the whole aliens line, because you know, you'd love that so much."
"You can do it Rory. I have faith in you. Just be strong. Hey! And look, Frieda Fickle here thinks you can do it too!" Lorelai says cheerfully, holding up a stuffed pig.
"I just—I never thought that I would ever have to be planning my break up speech for Dean. I mean, I thought we'd be together forever. Be a boring married couple that does the same ho-hum thing every, single, tiresome day....Oh my God! It is such a good thing that I'm breaking up with Dean! I'll be free! I'll be able to talk to other boys, not that I do, but I have the right, and I won't have to worry whether Dean will get mad or not."
"No, you'll have to worry whether TRISTAN will get mad or not. So really, you're not going anywhere, you'll just be with a different guy." Lorelai says amusedly.
"Yeah, but think, Tristan is such a flirt, he won't care if I'm talking to Jess, or somebody, because he does it too. And he doesn't seem like the possessive type...I think. But hey, one never knows. Nobody would have ever predicted that he would actually like me, not just want to...you know. Or that I would ever like him back." Rory says, almost forgetting about the task on hand as her mind drifts toward Tristan. And his incredible blue eyes.
"Earth to Rory!" Lorelai waves a hand in front of a starry eyed Rory. Rory looks at her, startled and glares.
"What?"
Lorelai points to the clock. "It's time for you to meet Dean." Rory looks at the clock and groans.
"No, I don't wanna!" whimpers Rory, burying her head in a pillow.
"Have fun!" Lorelai chirps gaily, as Rory gets up and starts heading down the stairs.
"You're an awful, cruel hearted mother! I'm going to call the child abuse hotline when I get home on the grounds that you're taking pleasure out of seeing me...agonize about this."
"Fine, you do that....I have just enough time to hide the phone from you...."
***
Rory walks into Luke's, where Dean is already waiting at a table. He sees her and smiles as he waves to her.
"Hey Rory." Dean tries to give Rory a kiss on the mouth, but she turns and he gets to kiss her cheek.
"Hey Dean." Rory says, running though what she is going to say.
"So?", he looks at expectantly, "What did you need to tell me?"
"Dean....I've been thinking lately. Thinking about us. We're, stuck. Stuck in a rut. We do the same boring things over and over, and it gets tiring sometimes. And then lately I've been so busy with this play, and we've barley even had time to see each other. So what I'm trying to say is...." Rory pauses to try and word it so his feeling don't get hurt, but then realizes that her mom is right, there is no 'nice' way.
Rory looks at Dean and sees his adorable, unsuspecting face creased with worry lines, as he tries to figure out what's wrong, and she realizes she can't do it. She can't break up with him because it would absolutely kill him, and she realizes she's not ready to let go of this relationship yet. She feels safe and contented, and doesn't want to go into unfamiliar territory. So she opts for the easy way out. "I think we should add some diversity to our lives, try some different things. Instead of always doing the same old stuff, why don't we venture out into the world, and see what else there is to do?"
Dean sighs in relief. "Whew! That's it? By the way you were talking, I was afraid you were tired of me! But you're only talking about variety. Okay, I can do variety. Next Saturday, we are going to something totally new and exciting, okay? Leave it all to me!"
Rory looks at his excited face with a sinking feeling in her stomach and she fully understands what she has just done. She forces a smile as Dean talks animatedly, and sighs inwardly.
***
"You did what?" Lane guffaws as she sits on the couch at Rory's house and listens to Rory. "Variety, yeah, variety of other guys!"
Rory shoots Lane an annoyed look. "Guys, will you cut it out? I just, I couldn't do it, when I saw his face and realized that it would be full of hurt when I said that I was going to dump him."
"So what? You're just going to stay with him out of pity while Tristan moves on to somebody who actually wants to be with him?" Lorelai interjects as she comes into the room, carrying sodas for the three of them.
"No!" Rory protests. " Well, yes, but....only until I figure out what I'm going to do! I am going to break up with him eventually, just, not now. The timing isn't right."
Lorelai stifles a giggle and Rory glares at her. "What? It's true!" Rory defends herself.
"Yeah, maybe when Dean dies after being married to you for eighty hundred years you and Tristan can finally get together!"
"Oh, really funny Lane. You could at least offer your supposedly BEST FRIEND some support. But no! You're just like her!" Rory points at Lorelai accusingly, and Lorelai just giggles some more.
"I'm sorry babe. But I can just picture you, trying to break up with him as he sits there, with a dumb look on his face as he tries to figure out what's going on. 'What Rory? You want variety? How about instead of eating at Luke's at five o' clock we eat at five o' one....that's new and exciting!" Lorelai uses what she has named her 'Dean' voice and Lane struggles to control her laughter.
"Yeah, you go ahead and laugh at your only daughter as she is suffering, that's real nice of you." Rory says distressfully.
Lorelai and Lane quiet down. " We're sorry, Rory, really, but you really should have broken up with him. It's just going to hurt him more when you finally DO break up with him." Lorelai says gently.
"But maybe we'll get out of our rut and I'll find out that Dean is the one for me after all? And that Tristan was just a, momentary insanity that I had? Then I won't have to break up with him at all!" Rory says. Lorelai just shrugs.
"Sure, maybe that will happen."
"We're praying for you." Lane adds, standing up. "And I really mean that, I have to get home for Confession. My mom thinks it would be a good idea to get all my sins out." Lane rolls her eyes. "See you later. I'll call you!"
"Okay, bye Lane!" Rory calls out as she starts heading outside.
"What am I going to do Mom? Tristan is going to be so angry when he finds out that I chickened out. He was so excited. Well, actually, that's not quite true. He was actually sort of hesitant. He was all like, yeah, maybe we should wait before jumping into a relationship." Rory adopts a 'Tristan' voice. In her normal voice she says, "Can you believe that? After all this time, now he doesn't want to be with me?"
Lorelai looks at her cautiously. "Well, he probably doesn't want to get hurt again, sweetie. He's afraid you're going to trample all over his precious little heart. I think it's sweet that he's being cautious."
"Yeah you would, it's not YOU he's turning down a relationship with." Rory says scornfully.
"How could anybody turn THIS down?" Lorelai smiles in an exaggerated sexy way and thrusts out her chest, and suddenly a pillow hits her in the face. Rory smiles innocently.
"Hey! You're going to pay for that!"
***
Rory walks down the hallway of Chilton and into the auditorium. Tristan's there, and so is everyone else. Except, Rory notes, Paris.
"Hey Louise. Where's Paris?" Rory says, avoiding Tristan's stare.
Louise looks up from her task of painting her nails. "She's home sick. She actually wanted to come to school, no big surprise there, but she has like, a 103 degree fever, so her care taker made her stay home. She called me up at like six this morning, insisting that I make sure everyone works hard today. I said I would. And it's true! I am working very hard....on my nails. She should have been more specific." Louise laughs, and continues her work.
"Okay, well, thanks for telling me, Louise." Rory takes a seat near them, praying that Tristan won't talk to her today.
"No prob. So are you and your really cute boyfriend still together?" Louise asks without looking up. Rory isn't sure how to answer, and she decides to tell the truth.
"Yeah, we're still together." Rory sighs.
"Oh wow, I didn't think you were, judging by those hot and steamy kisses you've been sharing with Tristan." Louise gives Rory a sly smile.
Madeline, who's also been working on her nails, jumps into the conversation. "Yeah, and you know that Tristan is completely hot for you, right?"
Louise gives Madeline a 'duh' look. "Maddy, you'd have to be living under a rock not to know that."
"I was just saying!" Madeline says in her defense.
Rory takes out her script to start running through her lines. Louise looks at her in disbelief.
"Don't tell me that you're actually going to work on the play today, not when Slave driver Paris is finally absent!" Louise looks disgusted.
"But the play is really soon!" Rory protests.
"And going one day without practicing your lines isn't going to kill you. Come on, you can do your nails. I have more colors, if you want." Louise offered generously.
Rory was about to turn her down, but then she realizes that Louise is right. "Sure, what the hell. Do you have 'Crimson Rose'?"
"That's the spirit." Louise digs around in her handbag and produces a dark colored bottle. "Ooh...try this one, it's called, 'Deceit'"
***
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room,
Tristan looks wistfully over in Rory's direction, where she is busy laughing at something Louise had said.
"She looks so pretty today....I wonder if it's too soon to ask her out." Tristan muses.
Robbie, who is playing Harry Zidler, glances over to where Tristan is staring. "Who, Rory? Man, I thought you guys were already going out, from the way you were kissing her earlier this week."
Tristan turns to Robbie and sighs. "No I wish. Up until recently, she's been involved in another relationship and couldn't stand me. Then we kissed a few times, she found that there was some passion, and now her and Bag Boy, her boyfriend, are history, so I might actually get a shot."
Robbie laughs, and Tristan gets irritated. "What's so funny?"
"It's just that you've always been able to get any girl you've wanted, no problem at all, and now that's all changed. Yet you're still trying hard to get her. You must really want to sleep with her."
Tristan, who had been doodling R+T 4 EVA, on his script, snaps his head up in anger. "Dude, it's not like that. I really like this girl. Yeah, sure, at first, I just wanted to have dirty, animal sex with her, but now..." Tristan glances once more at Rory, who is admiring her newly painted fingernails. She sees Tristan staring, and turns away, embarrassed.
"Now, it's like, I think I could actually have a relationship with her. A serious one. So don't go around saying stuff like that, okay?" Tristan says sternly while glaring at Robbie.
Robbie, who finds the whole thing amusing, doesn't quite believe what Tristan is saying. How can someone so into the whole, 'look at me, I'm free of commitment' suddenly want to get 'serious'? Robbie wants to ask Tristan this, but seeing as though Tristan looks like he could kick somebody's ass right now, he decides to stay silent.
"I'm done waiting! I'm going to ask Rory out for Saturday night!" Tristan declares decisively. He starts to get up and go over to Rory, but the bell rings, signaling the end of class. Rory takes off, and sighs disappointedly.
"Bad timing bells." He glares up at the ceiling and groans.
***
Authors Note: yes I know, it's a weird place to end it, but trust me, Part 5 will be out really soon, I promise. I've already started writing it, and it's pretty good, I think. And my other story that I recently started, Just That Good, will be continued too.....you know, writing that really did help cure my writer's block, so you should go thank it! Lol, I'm just kidding! Don't forget to review, I want to know what everyone thinks! Good, bad, whatever. I'll take it any way I can get it :)
Authors Note: Sorry, not much T/R interaction in this chapter. And I'm really sorry, but Dean isn't going anywhere for actually, another couple of chapters... :hides in corner waiting for angry people to go away: Sorry! I don't like it either. But don't worry, he'll be gone soon enough. I think. Ooh, and Paris isn't in this Chapter either, but Lane and Louise are!
Chapter Four: ...And I'll be here by your side.
"Dean? We have to talk.... I've been thinking, about a lot of stuff lately, but mostly, I've been thinking about us. Dean, our relationship is going nowhere. We're one of those boring couples that acts like they're married. I think we should....break up." Rory says, looking anxiously into the mirror. "No, that sounds too harsh. I want to be nice, not cruel!"
"Babe? Whatcha doing?" says Lorelai as she comes into the room and flops down onto the bed.
"Mom..." Rory groans. "I can't figure out what to say to Dean when I break up with him. Everything I've thought of sounds dumb or mean. How do you break up with somebody nicely?"
"Sweetie, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." Lorelai says as she lays down on Rory's bed and stretches out. "There is no 'nice' way to break up with somebody. Any way you do it, it's still going to hurt. I still think you should go with my plan."
"Yeah, Mom." Rory says disgusted. "I'm just going to go over to Dean and say, 'Hey, I'm sorry, but aliens have invaded my body and they decided that they don't like you....but they think that Tristan guy is pretty hot."
"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds stupid. It's all about wording Ror."
"Mom, anyway you word it, telling your soon to be ex-boyfriend that extra terrestrials have taken over your brain is going to sound STUPID." Rory says, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Mom, why don't you break up with him for me? You can say the whole aliens line, because you know, you'd love that so much."
"You can do it Rory. I have faith in you. Just be strong. Hey! And look, Frieda Fickle here thinks you can do it too!" Lorelai says cheerfully, holding up a stuffed pig.
"I just—I never thought that I would ever have to be planning my break up speech for Dean. I mean, I thought we'd be together forever. Be a boring married couple that does the same ho-hum thing every, single, tiresome day....Oh my God! It is such a good thing that I'm breaking up with Dean! I'll be free! I'll be able to talk to other boys, not that I do, but I have the right, and I won't have to worry whether Dean will get mad or not."
"No, you'll have to worry whether TRISTAN will get mad or not. So really, you're not going anywhere, you'll just be with a different guy." Lorelai says amusedly.
"Yeah, but think, Tristan is such a flirt, he won't care if I'm talking to Jess, or somebody, because he does it too. And he doesn't seem like the possessive type...I think. But hey, one never knows. Nobody would have ever predicted that he would actually like me, not just want to...you know. Or that I would ever like him back." Rory says, almost forgetting about the task on hand as her mind drifts toward Tristan. And his incredible blue eyes.
"Earth to Rory!" Lorelai waves a hand in front of a starry eyed Rory. Rory looks at her, startled and glares.
"What?"
Lorelai points to the clock. "It's time for you to meet Dean." Rory looks at the clock and groans.
"No, I don't wanna!" whimpers Rory, burying her head in a pillow.
"Have fun!" Lorelai chirps gaily, as Rory gets up and starts heading down the stairs.
"You're an awful, cruel hearted mother! I'm going to call the child abuse hotline when I get home on the grounds that you're taking pleasure out of seeing me...agonize about this."
"Fine, you do that....I have just enough time to hide the phone from you...."
***
Rory walks into Luke's, where Dean is already waiting at a table. He sees her and smiles as he waves to her.
"Hey Rory." Dean tries to give Rory a kiss on the mouth, but she turns and he gets to kiss her cheek.
"Hey Dean." Rory says, running though what she is going to say.
"So?", he looks at expectantly, "What did you need to tell me?"
"Dean....I've been thinking lately. Thinking about us. We're, stuck. Stuck in a rut. We do the same boring things over and over, and it gets tiring sometimes. And then lately I've been so busy with this play, and we've barley even had time to see each other. So what I'm trying to say is...." Rory pauses to try and word it so his feeling don't get hurt, but then realizes that her mom is right, there is no 'nice' way.
Rory looks at Dean and sees his adorable, unsuspecting face creased with worry lines, as he tries to figure out what's wrong, and she realizes she can't do it. She can't break up with him because it would absolutely kill him, and she realizes she's not ready to let go of this relationship yet. She feels safe and contented, and doesn't want to go into unfamiliar territory. So she opts for the easy way out. "I think we should add some diversity to our lives, try some different things. Instead of always doing the same old stuff, why don't we venture out into the world, and see what else there is to do?"
Dean sighs in relief. "Whew! That's it? By the way you were talking, I was afraid you were tired of me! But you're only talking about variety. Okay, I can do variety. Next Saturday, we are going to something totally new and exciting, okay? Leave it all to me!"
Rory looks at his excited face with a sinking feeling in her stomach and she fully understands what she has just done. She forces a smile as Dean talks animatedly, and sighs inwardly.
***
"You did what?" Lane guffaws as she sits on the couch at Rory's house and listens to Rory. "Variety, yeah, variety of other guys!"
Rory shoots Lane an annoyed look. "Guys, will you cut it out? I just, I couldn't do it, when I saw his face and realized that it would be full of hurt when I said that I was going to dump him."
"So what? You're just going to stay with him out of pity while Tristan moves on to somebody who actually wants to be with him?" Lorelai interjects as she comes into the room, carrying sodas for the three of them.
"No!" Rory protests. " Well, yes, but....only until I figure out what I'm going to do! I am going to break up with him eventually, just, not now. The timing isn't right."
Lorelai stifles a giggle and Rory glares at her. "What? It's true!" Rory defends herself.
"Yeah, maybe when Dean dies after being married to you for eighty hundred years you and Tristan can finally get together!"
"Oh, really funny Lane. You could at least offer your supposedly BEST FRIEND some support. But no! You're just like her!" Rory points at Lorelai accusingly, and Lorelai just giggles some more.
"I'm sorry babe. But I can just picture you, trying to break up with him as he sits there, with a dumb look on his face as he tries to figure out what's going on. 'What Rory? You want variety? How about instead of eating at Luke's at five o' clock we eat at five o' one....that's new and exciting!" Lorelai uses what she has named her 'Dean' voice and Lane struggles to control her laughter.
"Yeah, you go ahead and laugh at your only daughter as she is suffering, that's real nice of you." Rory says distressfully.
Lorelai and Lane quiet down. " We're sorry, Rory, really, but you really should have broken up with him. It's just going to hurt him more when you finally DO break up with him." Lorelai says gently.
"But maybe we'll get out of our rut and I'll find out that Dean is the one for me after all? And that Tristan was just a, momentary insanity that I had? Then I won't have to break up with him at all!" Rory says. Lorelai just shrugs.
"Sure, maybe that will happen."
"We're praying for you." Lane adds, standing up. "And I really mean that, I have to get home for Confession. My mom thinks it would be a good idea to get all my sins out." Lane rolls her eyes. "See you later. I'll call you!"
"Okay, bye Lane!" Rory calls out as she starts heading outside.
"What am I going to do Mom? Tristan is going to be so angry when he finds out that I chickened out. He was so excited. Well, actually, that's not quite true. He was actually sort of hesitant. He was all like, yeah, maybe we should wait before jumping into a relationship." Rory adopts a 'Tristan' voice. In her normal voice she says, "Can you believe that? After all this time, now he doesn't want to be with me?"
Lorelai looks at her cautiously. "Well, he probably doesn't want to get hurt again, sweetie. He's afraid you're going to trample all over his precious little heart. I think it's sweet that he's being cautious."
"Yeah you would, it's not YOU he's turning down a relationship with." Rory says scornfully.
"How could anybody turn THIS down?" Lorelai smiles in an exaggerated sexy way and thrusts out her chest, and suddenly a pillow hits her in the face. Rory smiles innocently.
"Hey! You're going to pay for that!"
***
Rory walks down the hallway of Chilton and into the auditorium. Tristan's there, and so is everyone else. Except, Rory notes, Paris.
"Hey Louise. Where's Paris?" Rory says, avoiding Tristan's stare.
Louise looks up from her task of painting her nails. "She's home sick. She actually wanted to come to school, no big surprise there, but she has like, a 103 degree fever, so her care taker made her stay home. She called me up at like six this morning, insisting that I make sure everyone works hard today. I said I would. And it's true! I am working very hard....on my nails. She should have been more specific." Louise laughs, and continues her work.
"Okay, well, thanks for telling me, Louise." Rory takes a seat near them, praying that Tristan won't talk to her today.
"No prob. So are you and your really cute boyfriend still together?" Louise asks without looking up. Rory isn't sure how to answer, and she decides to tell the truth.
"Yeah, we're still together." Rory sighs.
"Oh wow, I didn't think you were, judging by those hot and steamy kisses you've been sharing with Tristan." Louise gives Rory a sly smile.
Madeline, who's also been working on her nails, jumps into the conversation. "Yeah, and you know that Tristan is completely hot for you, right?"
Louise gives Madeline a 'duh' look. "Maddy, you'd have to be living under a rock not to know that."
"I was just saying!" Madeline says in her defense.
Rory takes out her script to start running through her lines. Louise looks at her in disbelief.
"Don't tell me that you're actually going to work on the play today, not when Slave driver Paris is finally absent!" Louise looks disgusted.
"But the play is really soon!" Rory protests.
"And going one day without practicing your lines isn't going to kill you. Come on, you can do your nails. I have more colors, if you want." Louise offered generously.
Rory was about to turn her down, but then she realizes that Louise is right. "Sure, what the hell. Do you have 'Crimson Rose'?"
"That's the spirit." Louise digs around in her handbag and produces a dark colored bottle. "Ooh...try this one, it's called, 'Deceit'"
***
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room,
Tristan looks wistfully over in Rory's direction, where she is busy laughing at something Louise had said.
"She looks so pretty today....I wonder if it's too soon to ask her out." Tristan muses.
Robbie, who is playing Harry Zidler, glances over to where Tristan is staring. "Who, Rory? Man, I thought you guys were already going out, from the way you were kissing her earlier this week."
Tristan turns to Robbie and sighs. "No I wish. Up until recently, she's been involved in another relationship and couldn't stand me. Then we kissed a few times, she found that there was some passion, and now her and Bag Boy, her boyfriend, are history, so I might actually get a shot."
Robbie laughs, and Tristan gets irritated. "What's so funny?"
"It's just that you've always been able to get any girl you've wanted, no problem at all, and now that's all changed. Yet you're still trying hard to get her. You must really want to sleep with her."
Tristan, who had been doodling R+T 4 EVA, on his script, snaps his head up in anger. "Dude, it's not like that. I really like this girl. Yeah, sure, at first, I just wanted to have dirty, animal sex with her, but now..." Tristan glances once more at Rory, who is admiring her newly painted fingernails. She sees Tristan staring, and turns away, embarrassed.
"Now, it's like, I think I could actually have a relationship with her. A serious one. So don't go around saying stuff like that, okay?" Tristan says sternly while glaring at Robbie.
Robbie, who finds the whole thing amusing, doesn't quite believe what Tristan is saying. How can someone so into the whole, 'look at me, I'm free of commitment' suddenly want to get 'serious'? Robbie wants to ask Tristan this, but seeing as though Tristan looks like he could kick somebody's ass right now, he decides to stay silent.
"I'm done waiting! I'm going to ask Rory out for Saturday night!" Tristan declares decisively. He starts to get up and go over to Rory, but the bell rings, signaling the end of class. Rory takes off, and sighs disappointedly.
"Bad timing bells." He glares up at the ceiling and groans.
***
Authors Note: yes I know, it's a weird place to end it, but trust me, Part 5 will be out really soon, I promise. I've already started writing it, and it's pretty good, I think. And my other story that I recently started, Just That Good, will be continued too.....you know, writing that really did help cure my writer's block, so you should go thank it! Lol, I'm just kidding! Don't forget to review, I want to know what everyone thinks! Good, bad, whatever. I'll take it any way I can get it :)