part 10 Name: Meg (tenismyidea@hotmail.com)
Sunday. DuGrey Mansion Rory tossed and turned for what seemed like the hundredth time. She glanced at her clock. *Three am* She had only slept for three hours, and it was restless sleep at that. She couldn't keep her mind off Tristan and the day's events. She glanced on her nightstand to the Edgar Allen Poe book Jess had begged her to buy. She grinned slightly then remembered Tristan eating Summer's face. Somehow, he ended up apologizing for it. *But why? He's not my boyfriend. He can have any bimbo he wants.* Smiling, she put her hands to her lips. She was thinking about their little make-out session just a few hours ago. But they were interrupted. By Duncan. *I bet it'll be all over Chilton come Monday morning.* She groaned and flipped to her side. *Obviously, sleep is something I'm NOT going to get tonight.* Rory sighed. Then she heard a noise coming from her nightstand. She turned back over, and saw her cell phone ringing. *What the--?* Grabbing the phone, she searched for the right button. "Hello?" She asked, confused. "Hey. Not sleeping, either?" Tristan asked. "If I was, I'm not now. But no, I wasn't." "Look outside." He said, his voice soft and low. Rory raised up and walked to the window. The ground was covered in snow, and more was falling from the sky. She giggled. "Wow. It's beautiful." "Almost as beautiful as you." Tristan whispered. Rory blushed and was glad Tristan couldn't see. "How original, BibleBoy." She said sarcastically, while sitting on her bed. "I'm known for it. Can I come over there?" "Sure." Rory hung up the phone in time to see Tristan on hands and knees crawling through the small door connecting their rooms. He raised up and walked over to Rory, plopping down beside her. "You tired?" He asked. "Sort of, but no luck sleeping." "Thinking about me?" He grinned, but he wasn't joking. "How'd you know?" She asked, not teasing at all. "I was thinking the same things." "Oh. What are we gonna do?" Rory asked, referring to the kiss. Tristan shrugged and looked over at her. "Anything you want." "I'm confused." Rory stated. She turned to face him and her breath caught. He was in his boxers, and only those. He was soo... muscular and yet so smooth. A small smile formed on her lips. Tristan smirked at her, looking at him as though she had never seen muscles before, as though she had never seen him before. "Mary, you wouldn't happen to be checking me out, would you?" He teased. Rory looked him in the eyes. "If I was, would it bother you?" She joked. "Not at all, Mary." Rory smiled and sighed. "I wish I could sleep!" She pouted. "Let me help." Tristan said, seriously. "Um--well-" "You can trust me." "I know." Rory said, before climbing under the covers. Tristan climbed in beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She put her hands on his chest and rested her head against his shoulder/chest area. He bent his head to where his lips were upon her silky hair. He moaned slightly at the comfort and warmth of this position. She was driving him up the wall, he wanted her so much. "This feels good." He mumbled. Rory grinned and kissed his chest in response which sent tingles through his body. He stroked her back with his arm and softly decided to sing her to sleep. His voice was low and tender. He had such a pretty voice. "Mary, Mary, look at the things you do. I'm half crazy falling in love with you. It wouldnt' be a fancy marriage, we can't afford a carriage, but you'd look sweet, upon the seat of a bicycle built for two." He sang slowly, letting each word flow from his mouth sweetly. When he was finally finished, he heard her softly breathing against him. She was asleep. He smiled at the feel of her in his arms and let sleep overcome him, also. "I love you." He whispered before drifting off to sleep.
"Tristan! Tristan! Wake up!" Rory squealed, jumping on the bed. She had been over to the window to see the ground covered in snow. Tristan rolled over, but still didn't wake up. "Tristan!" Tristan heard an angelic voice calling his name and stirred slightly from his peaceful sleep. "Rory.." He mumbled. "Yeah! I'm here! Wake up!" She turned him over so he was laying on his back, his eyes still closed. Straddling him, she leaned over so her face was close to his. "C'mon Tris!" She kissed his cheek and let her hands rest on his bare chest. He slowly opened his eyes to find Rory on top of him, her face close to his. He grinned and put his hands on her sides. "I like this position." Rory glared at him. "Yeah. Well don't get used to it. C'mon! The snow!" She said, climbing off him and running to the window. Tristan stood up and stretched before making his way to her. He stood behind her and put his arms around her waist and leaned his head next to hers. He kissed her cheek softly and whispered in her ear. "Good Morning, babe." She turned to face him, still in his embrace. "Good Morning." She smiled. Then she looked away from his eyes, her heart pounding. She wanted to tell him something, but was afraid of his reaction. She sighed. "Rory? Is something wrong?" Tristan asked, pulling away from her, trying to look into her eyes. "Uh-can I talk to you?" Tristan sighed. This couldn't be good. "Yeah, of course." He grabbed her hand and walked over to the edge of the bed, sitting her down beside him. She looked up into his beautiful blue eyes and her voice seemed to have gotten lost. Quickly, she found it again and cleared her throat. "Um, about last night..." Tristan glanced away, nervously. "Well... I'm really sorry. I got caught up in the moment, I guess." "Rory, don't apologize." He grinned. "I loved every second of it." Rory smiled a little. "But- I can't- be more than your friend. I don't think we should let that happen again. I know I've said that before, but I really mean it this time. I want your friendship, but, with Chilton and all..." *But what, Rory? You have no excuse. Stop trying to do what you think is right. Follow me, your heart.NO. You are not sensible enough. I can't let myself get hurt. Who says he'll hurt you?* "Tristan, I don't think you are over Summer. And-- I don't want to be played." Tristan couldn't help but feel a little angry at this. "Oh, right. Because you know me. I'm just a stupid sexist jerk who plays girls and can never change. And oh yeah I just can't seem to get over Summer. Ahh- Summer- the love of my life. And I thought you knew me, Rory. Guess not. Friendship? You want that? I really don't know right now. Well, to take my mind off things I might as well go find a few girls and screw up their lives and play them around. Cause you know me, that's all I know how to do. I'm not capable of loving or having a human heart." He spat at her and exited through the regular door. Rory sat there silently, feeling the tears burning her cheeks. Why was she so afraid of Tristan? Why did she feel all this passion when they touched or kissed, then feel worried and anxious at the possibility of a relationship with him? She cried quietly into her pillow until her cellphone started ringing. She picked it up, somewhat reluctantly. "Hello?" "Rory?" She heard Jess's voice come from the other end. "Yeah, it's me." "Are you okay?" "I'm alright. Just Tristan things, you know." "Oh. Do you need me? I'll bring Luke's coffee.." "No, I really want to be alone right now. Thanks, Jess. I'll see you sometime. Sorry." "It's alright, I understand. See ya around, Ror." "Bye." She hung up the phone and fell back into her bed while formulating her schedule for the day.
Tristan sat on the edge of the windowsill and stared out the window. He heard his phone ring right next to him and picked it up. "Tristan." He said simply. "Hey, baby, it's me." Summer chirped over the phone. "Hi. Anything in particular you wanted?" "Just to explain about the other day. Listen, I don't have a boyfriend. I don't know who that guy was at the mall. I'm sorry that we got interrupted." "It's alright. So, Summer, is that the only reason you called?" "No. Well, I was hoping, with you coming back to Chilton and all, that maybe we could give our relationship another shot." Tristan was about to object because of the way he felt about Rory. Then, remembering what she had said, he quickly changed his mine. "You know, I was thinking the exact same thing.." "Really? Oh, this is so great. So, I'll see you tomorrow?" "Right. See ya, Summer." "Bye, hon!" She squealed and hung up. A faint grin made his way across Tristan's face. Come Monday, he would waltz into those stony buildings as the King he always was, with the most popular girl in his arms.
Tristan and Rory had rode together in silence so far and Tristan stole a glance at her. His jaw tightened and he focused his attention on the road. He had given her his heart, and, once again, she had broken it. But this time it didn't include Dean. Rory sighed and looked over at Tristan sheepishly. He was staring hard at the road and looked very angry. He had one hand on the wheel and the other elbow against the window, his hand resting on his temple. She saw his facial expressions change slightly but mainly he was angry. "Tristan?" She called. He dropped his elbow from the window and put both hands on the steering wheel, gripping it tighter, but he remained silent, he didn't even look at her. Rory stared out the window and wiped off a single tear that had rolled down her cheek. Tristan pulled into the parking lot and parked in his usual space, as though nothing had changed. He stepped out of the car and walked off, not saying anything to Rory, or even looking at her, for that matter. He jogged to catch up with Summer, who was entering the building. He stopped her and kissed her passionately right there in front of everyone. Some people started to clap. Everyone was staring at Tristan. Whispers were going around. "He's back!" "The King has returned!" "Ooooh. Summer's so lucky!" Tristan pulled away and walked into school with Summer on his arm, grinning and waving to everyone. Inside, his heart was slowly rebuilding, but it was still causing him pain. Rory stared at the scene Tristan had made before going into school. Things were just like old times. The King of Chilton getting all the honor, and her in the background, being ignored by everyone. She slowly started walking in, everyone else was already in. She walked to her locker, which refused to open, as usual. She sighed and felt a presence, so she looked up. "Well, hello, Paris." "Hi." Paris stated. She was trying not to be too mean to Rory. "Something you wanted?" Rory asked. "How was your break?" "Not so great, actually. Yours?" "Worse than yours, probably." Paris said simply. She was tired of Rory's pitiful drama that was nothing compared to hers. Rory snorted. "Oh yeah? Well, Dean died. It couldn't have gotten much worse until Tristan showed up." Paris suddenly felt a little pang of compassion for Rory. "I'm sorry, Gilmore. Are you alright?" Rory shook her head, wiping off a tear that had rolled down her cheek. "I'll be fine." "What do you mean Tristan showed up?" Paris asked. She knew he was back, but she didn't know Rory had been in contact with him. After all, Tristan was dating Summer again. "I ran into him a few times." Rory shrugged. She didn't want anyone to know about them living together. "Oh. Well, see ya around, Gilmore. Feel better, I guess." Paris said just as icily and walked off. Rory banged on her locker to open, but it didn't. She looked over at the crowd gathering around Tristan, and felt sick. Suddenly, from nowhere, a wave of nausea overtook her and she felt dizzy. She collapsed to the floor, blacking out. A few yards away, some people around Tristan noticed Rory collapse. Tristan was talking to them all about Military School. "Hey, that Gilmore chick just collapsed. Think she's okay?" A random guy asked the crowd. Tristan jerked his head up to see Rory lying on the floor, apparently unconcious. His heart broke and he felt like he might be sick, seeing her there. He wanted to run to her and hold her. But he kept his place firm. "Who cares?" Tristan snapped and continued his story, glancing at her many times. *Why is no one helping her? Dammit.* Summer looked at Tristan curiously. Seeing his eyes and the painful expression he wore when he looked at Tori, or was it Rory? Who knew? She was confused, anyway. She ignored it when he went back to his story, though. Mike Sanderson had been standing in the crowd when he couldn't take it anymore. Why wasn't Tristan helping her? He usually ran to her aid. Mike made up his mind and jogged over to Rory. He knelt down and lifted her top half up in his arms, resting her against him. "Rory? Rory? Can you hear me? Rory? Are you okay?" He gently used his hand to slap Rory's cheeks, trying to revive her. Rory opened her eyes slightly, her vision blurred, trying to know what was going on. "Dean...?" She asked, groggily. "No. It's Mike. Rory, are you alright?" He asked, concerned. Rory sat up suddenly and got to her feet, trying to regain composure. She fell slightly, but Mike caught her and put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her. "Rory? Are you alright?" He asked, again. "Yeah... Yeah... Sorry." Rory shook her head and looked at him. "Are you sure?" Mike asked. "Yeah. Oh, Mike, it's you." She said, finally realizing who it was. "Yeah." "Listen, I'm sorry about the party. I freaked because you look so much like my ex-boyfriend, who passed away about a week prior to the party. I'm sorry about crying." "No, Rory, it's okay." Mike let go of her and glanced at his watch. "It's almost time for first period. Do you want me to help you?" "Yes, please." Tristan watched their interaction from where he was. He wished that Mike guy would stop touching her. He had been holding her when she was on the ground. He averted his attention back to the group and tried to ignore them.
Rory was sitting in class, trying to focus on Mrs.Vanderhart, but was having difficulty. She heard giggling and turned around to see Summer laughing and Tristan leaning in his seat, whispering to her and grinning. She rolled her eyes and faced forward, determined to keep her attention on Mrs.Vanderhart. "So, with that said, class, I will now assign your last literature project of your senior year! You will be put into pairs and be assigned a certain novel, which you will both read. Together, you will analyze it and make a poster on it. I will be handing you a sheet on your novel and requirements for your poster. The theme is war novels. Every pair will have a different war novel. So, the pairs are. Brad and Kate, Louise and Jill, Tristan and Duncan, Summer and Mike, Rory and Paris..." Rory stopped listening after that. She sighed. *Great. I'm with Paris, again. We have to work together.... again.* She sighed again. Then her eyes got wide as a thought came to her. *Oh shit, Oh shit, Oh shit. Together! What if she has to come over? No way. She would come to Tristan's house.. No way! This is all a big nightmare... Calm down, Gilmore, maybe you can make up an excuse and simply go to her house for the whole project. Yeah, Yeah....Okay, focus.* Her thoughts were interrupted by Paris's flat voice. "Rory? Come on. We're supposed to be looking over our sheets together and making a plan. Hello..? Gilmore!" Paris barked. "Sorry, yeah, okay." Rory turned to face Paris and she was handed a sheet identical to Paris's. She glanced at it. Gone With the Wind. That was their novel. "Gone With the Wind?" Rory asked. "I've already read that." Rory's face fell, she was hoping to at least get to read a new book out of this project. Paris snorted. "And you expected them to find a novel you haven't already read? Get real, Gilmore." Rory grinned sheepishly and looked down at her sheet. She began thinking of everything. Characters, plots, themes, settings... Her thoughts were interrupted again by Paris. "Okay, so we obviously need to get together. Tomorrow's Tuesday. I'm free then. What about you? Good. So where are we going to meet?" Paris said quickly. She hadn't even let Rory answer. "Umm..." Rory stammered. "We can't meet at my house because... because my mother and I are having company this week, so how about at yours?" "What? Oh that's just great. No, we can't. They are remodeling my house for the next two weeks. I'm sure we won't get in your company's way or anything. And I AM getting an A, Gilmore. You aren't screwing that up. Got it?" Paris barked. Rory nodded sheepishly. "I usually get rides from Tristan, so, tomorrow you can just go with us." Paris looked at Rory suspiciously then ignored it and went back to their papers.
Rory sighed and pushed herself off her bed. She had been in this room all afternoon. She was scared to go around the mansion by herself. Usually Tristan went with her, but he was currently ignoring her completely. Even on the car ride home, he hadn't said a word, just gripped the steering wheel as though holding on for dear life. She needed Gone With the Wind. There was a library at the end of their hall filled with books, but she was a little nervous to go in there. Tristan had warned her about roaming around at night. But she needed that book. Determined, she exited her room and made her way down the hall. She entered the library and was startled to see someone sitting there. Usually, the house was deserted. The man looked up at Rory. "Well, hello. Who are you?" He asked her. "Rory Gilmore." She said simply. "Ah, yes. Hello, I'm Edward DuGrey. Tristan's father." The man held out his hand and Rory shook it. He was a very attractive older man. His hair was a light brown with a little gray, and she could see where Tristan got his beautiful eyes. He was very tall, too, and had an excellent build, like Tristan. "Is there something I can do for you, Rory?" "Umm. Yes, I was coming to here to see if I could borrow Gone With the Wind. I need it for school..." She paused and glanced nervously around the room. Tristan had made his father sound terrible, but he didn't seem so bad right now. Edward scanned the shelves and found it quickly. He sat down with the book in hand, motioning for Rory to also sit down. She did. "If you are not busy, Rory, might I have a word?" "Sure." Rory said. Edward sighed. Tristan had begged him to be normal around Rory. He hated Tristan's girlfriends. The little tramps. All of them. He couldn't tell if this one was different, although she had an innocent look. "Er- are you- Tristan's girlfriend?" "Oh, no sir, no, not at all. In fact, he isn't speaking to me right now." Rory said quickly. "Oh. How did that come about?" Edward asked, interested. This girl must be something for Tristan to go out of his way and do anything for anyone besides himself. "Well, it's a long story. I'm sure you are far too busy. Besides, it's just a little high school drama. Who cares, right?" Rory laughed nervously. "No, please, Rory, continue. I like to learn what I can about Tristan. He's not too keen on telling me himself." "Erm- well-alright. From the beginning?" Edward nodded. She continued."Tristan and I had a rough start. I was new to Chilton sophomore year and he seemed to think it would be fantastic to make my life living hell while I was there. He teased me and called me Mary and tried to prove to everyone that I would go out with him. When I refused, he didn't stop the tormenting. I tried to be his friend, at least, but just when he would seem normal and nice, he would turn into the egotistical jerk again. He always caused problems for me and my boyfriend, Dean. Then things changed when Dean and I broke up. I attented a party where Summer had publicly humiliated him and found him alone. We talked, and he kissed me. But I ran off crying, for other reasons." Rory blushed and paused. She didn't know why she was trusting this man like this, but she continued. "Then things seemed to get better. We were starting to become friends. He told me he was going to swear off girls. I told him to only swear off the wrong kinds. I said he should go for an ambitious girl with brains. I suggested Paris and he agreed. When that didn't go well, he told Paris I had suggested that they date, and the friendship I had worked so hard to build with Paris crumbled. I, of course, was furious with Tristan and told him off. Later, he decided to ask me to a PJ Harvey concert. I love PJ Harvey, but I refused, because I said I didn't want to date him. He told Paris I was going with him to the concert anyway, and that made me angrier. He followed me and stole my books and said he wouldnt' give them back until I agreed to go with him. I told him to keep the books and found Dean in the courtyard. Long story short, I declared that I loved Dean and hated Tristan. Dean and I began to kiss in the courtyard. In that time, Tristan left my books by the curb and left. The whole junior year we avoided each other until we got landed to be Romeo and Juliet in the kissing scene. He showed up in Stars Hollow and created problems for Dean and I. The night of the performance he told me you had pulled him out of school because of the breaking into the safe incident. He said goodbye to me and then I didn't see him again. Until this year, I was in the car accident with Dean. He came to the hospital to see me. And I admit, I was ecstatic to see him. Then my mom told me of Dean's death and I broke down completely. Those were the worst five days of my life. Truth be told, I never loved Dean in the romantic way, but I was too scared to break it off. I knew I had feelings for Tristan, but I stayed with Dean because it was the easy thing to do. After he died, me and Tristan spent some time together. Eventually, he asked me to move here with him, so he could help me make new Chilton friends. I agreed. Saturday night, Tristan and I kissed. For a long time. We were interrupted by Duncan, and the next morning I told Tristan I couldn't be more than his friend. I thought he wasn't over Summer yet, because earlier that day I saw them kissing. I als Edward stared at her with much sympathy. He could tell this girl meant alot to Tristan from the story she just told. Tristan wasn't the type to wait two years for any girl. He didn't have that kind of patience. This girl obviously meant more to him than anything. "Wow, Rory, that's quite a story. Thank you for sharing with me. I'm sorry it had to happen like this, but maybe things will be better in the future. If you feel uncomfortable living here, you can talk to me and I can help you in any way possible, if you want to go home." Rory sat in silence for a minute, then looked up at him. "Thank you, Mr.DuGrey, but I can't leave until I know things with Tristan are at least okay. He means---" She paused, unsure of what to say. "He means alot to me." She said quietly. Edward smiled at the girl, then stood up and handed her the book. "Goodnight, Rory. I'm glad you're there for Tristan." Edward said, then left. Rory looked after him, then stood up and looked around the large library. She looked up to see a large portrait of Tristan hanging on a wall. It reminded her of the portrait of her hanging in her grandparent's library. She smiled and stared at the portrait before heading back to her room. She stopped in front of Tristan's door and acted before thinking. She knocked loudly. She heard some shuffling around, before she saw a half-naked Tristan before her. He was wearing his boxers. He just looked at her. "Tristan, please talk to me." Rory pleaded. Tristan said nothing but he looked at her, then looked down. He shook his head and closed his door on her. That just made Rory angry. She pounded on his door with both of her fists. "Tristan! Please! Tristan!" She continued pounding, but he didn't come to the door. She leaned against the door and started crying until she fell down at the bottom of his doorframe. She numbly hit the door with her hand, but kept crying. Weeping for a long while, she fell asleep. Tristan, in his room, heard her banging on his door, calling his name. Then he heard her sobbing, and his heart ached, but then his mind got the better of him and he simply ignored her.
Tristan woke up, dressed, and decided to go downstairs to wait for Rory. Leaving his room, he stepped on something. He looked down to see that it was Rory. He jumped back in surprise, then knelt down beside her. Her face was red from tears and she was sprawled on the floor. She had never left this spot last night. He stood up and using his foot, he nudged her. She gently woke up to see him standing there, glaring at her icily. "Tristan...please stop ignoring me." Rory stood up quickly. Tristan just continued to glare at her. "Tristan- I was so wrong- I'm sorry." Tristan frowned and looked away. "I'm with Summer." He muttered and headed downstairs.
Rory sighed and made her way to her locker. Another silent ride to Chilton. She tried to open her locker with no luck. She pounded on it over and over, but nothing worked. Finally, Paris came to her aid, and it opened. "Thanks, Paris." Rory said dully. "Seem a little in the dumps, Gilmore. What's the matter? Tristan not paying as much attention to you now? Summer in the way?" Paris smirked. "As a matter of fact, yes, that's exactly what's the matter." Rory said, just as dull. She knew this would surprise Paris, but she didn't really care. "Really, Rory? I was only kidding." "Well, it's true..." Rory sighed. "So.. you like him?" Rory's eyes got wide, but she simply glared at Paris before walking away. But Paris did not give up. She followed Rory. "So now you're the one making puppy eyes, and he's the one running away? My, My, the tables have turned. I never thought I'd hear you declaring love for someone you said you hated." Paris grinned, but Rory kept walking. Still walking, she looked back to answer Paris. "You didn't hear it. That's not what I said." She faced forward again and continued walking quickly. "Ah- yes, but you did admit you were upset because of Tristan." Rory turned to answer, but she ran straight into someone. It was Tristan. Surrounded by a bunch of guys. She looked up, horrified. "Whoa, Mary, watch where you're going." Tristan said, trying to smirk, but his eyes gave off a deathly glare. He was trying to keep face in front of his buddies. Rory frowned at him. "Oh, so now you can speak to me!! You are such a jerk, Tristan!" Rory shouted. His grin faded and he glared at her before taking a step toward her and grabbing both her arms in his hands, gripping her tightly. "Listen, Ror, I already know how much you hate me. Kindly do not remind me in front of the guys. Understood?" He spat before pushing her away. She glared up at him before bursting into tears and running away. Paris glared at Tristan. She knew he could be cocky, but that behavior to a girl was wrong. "Nice going, Jackass." She stated simply before walking off to class, not going after Rory. Mike looked around the group before running after Rory. Tristan stared after him, but did nothing. "Whoa, T-man, calm down." One of the guys said, seeing Tristan's obvious anger.
Rory was the first one to class. No one else showed up yet. Well, there was still five minutes of lunch left, she reasoned. She looked at Mr.Medina who stared at her. She felt bad for the guy, being dumped by her mom and all. "Hey, Mr. Medina." She greeted. "Hi, Rory, how are things? How's your mom?" He asked politely. "Things are terrible and I haven't seen my mom in a while, so I don't know how she is." "Why? What's the matter?" "Dean died. I haven't seen Mom because I'm staying with an ex-friend." "Oh, Rory, I'm so sorry." "It's okay. I'm fine now. At least I can mention it without crying." "Well, if you need to slip out during class, I'll understand." Mr.Medina looked at her with pity, but quickly adverted his attention as the class started to fill. Some of the guys that had been with Tristan were throwing Rory weird looks. Tristan was back to ignoring her completely. Class began, and Rory did well at keeping her attention focused on Mr. Medina. She felt something hit her back and turned around to see Tristan and some guys throwing things at her and laughing quietly. She rolled her eyes and turned back around. Then she felt a sharp point hit her in the shoulder. "Ow." She said quietly before finding a pencil at the ground near her. Turning in her seat, she glared at Tristan, who was looking at his friends all smug. Like this was his revenge or something. She was so angry, but kept composure. Mr. Medina was watching out of the corner of his eye and caught on quickly. "Mr. DuGrey, would you be so kind as to stop throwing things at Miss Gilmore? Please keep your horomones in check until after my class. Actually, I do not believe you are capable of that. Please go to Mr. Charleston's office, right away." Mr. Medina said, before turning back to the chalkboard. Tristan glared at him and quickly exited the class. Summer looked furious. She was sitting behind Rory. "Gee, sure wish MY mom could sleep with the teacher, then I could get protection like that." Summer muttered. Rory turned in her seat. "Well, Summer, you do have that protection, since your mom has probably slept with every other male teacher. But, don't worry, I'm sure Mr. Medina was next on her list." Rory put on a fake smile, and patted Summer's arm, as though to reassure her before turning in her seat. Tristan's friends all started laughing quietly, but hid it after being thrown glares by Summer.
Paris found Rory and approached her. "Okay...So where's Tristan? Isn't he driving us?" Rory nodded and glanced around for his car. Finding it, she quickly approached it. Paris followed. "Okay, Gilmore, if you two don't really like each other, why is he giving you rides home?" Rory shrugged and turned away. She decided she should tell Paris the truth now instead of waiting for her to put two and two together. She turned back to her. "Paris, listen, don't freak out, you are going to think it's something that it's not. I'm living with Tristan." Paris's mouth dropped. "And your mom went for that?" "She actually teamed up with him to get me to agree." "No. Way." "Yeah, but we're only friends. Okay, so now we're enemies, but things could be worse." Rory shrugged as she saw Tristan and Duncan walking together towards the car. "Oh great." Rory mumbled, remembering Duncan walking in on her and Tristan's little lovefest, which started this fight in the first place. "What?" Paris asked following Rory's gaze. "You don't like Duncan?" "No, it's not that...it's just--something. Nevermind." Rory sighed as Tristan unlocked the car. His silence was worse now than ever because of the incident in class. "Hey Paris." Tristan greeted and climbed into the car. Rory and Paris got into the backseat and Duncan got in the front. Rory decided it might be safe to talk to Tristan with Paris and Duncan there so she spoke up. "Tristan?" He just grunted, so she continued. "I'm sorry about class today." She said, meekly. Tristan made eye contact with her in the rear view mirror, but then quickly turned back to the road. "Whatever." He said.
Paris stepped into Rory's room in the DuGrey Mansioin. Her mouth dropped for the second time that day. "Wow, it's very thoroughly decorated. And he did this for you before you moved in?" she asked Rory. "Yep. That's when we were friends and actually spoke to each other." Rory nodded and glanced at Paris nervously, she wasn't sure if Paris still had feelings for Tristan or not. This might make her angry. "I'm not angry, Gilmore." Paris said in an exasperated tone. "What? How'd you know--?" "Your facial expressions. I took a course on learning to read them, but yours are so obvious, anyway." Paris said matter-of-factly. "Oooh, what's that?" She asked, pointing to the small door. "Erm-- that leads directly to Tristan's room without having to go in the hall." Rory said, quietly. "Oh. Convinient." Was all Paris said. "Rory, have you figured out by now that he likes you? It's been two years of idiosm on your part that makes me want to scream. You're not still oblivious are you?" "Oh- well I guess he used to like me... although I'm not sure, but now he hates me." "Yeah, you can see that by the way he made this room for you and filled it with all this stuff." She said, laughing, and looking at the two large portraits of Tristan. "Ah- still got a bit of an ego, doesn't he?" She added, pointing at them. "Oh yeah." Rory agreed. "The day the ego goes is the day my mom and I stop drinking coffee." Paris threw her a curious glance and Rory just nodded seriously. "So, why is he not speaking to you at the moment, anyhow?" "Paris, we have a project to work on. You're not exactly the type to do gossip over schoolwork, anyway." "Yes, but I want to know. Anyway, this isn't gossip. Gossip is what I hear from Madeline and Louise, not you." "Fine, but don't get angry with some of the--er--details." Rory said and launched into the story. Seven minutes later, Paris's mouth was open for the third time that day. "Soo- tell me again exactly what you said to him that morning. Word for Word." Rory sighed before continuing. "But- I can't- be more than your friend. I don't think we should let that happen again. I know I've said that before, but I really mean it this time. I want your friendship, but, with Chilton and all..." "Tristan, I don't think you are over Summer. And-- I don't want to be played." Paris understood why he was mad. She was analyzing it in her mind. *He's upset because basically Rory said he could never value girls above possessions. And she STILL thinks he's not over Summer. Yeah, that could piss him off-- the fact that she's still totally oblivious. No, I don't think Tristan could just be her friend without seeing that they are going to be together eventually. Pretty much, she said they wouldn't be together ever. That she just wanted friendship. Hell, after two years of chasing her, that would piss me off, too. But it's not my place to correct her, I suppose. She wouldn't believe me, anyway. For being so smart, she can be really stupid.* "Well, Gilmore, he does have his rights to be upset." "I guess." She said, with a sigh. "Let's just...work on our project, okay?" Paris nodded and stared at Rory, thinking hard about her and Tristan.
"Duncan, you have to read this book. It's our project. I know I've already read it, but you have to also. We're supposed to analyze it TOGETHER!" Tristan was angry, apparently Duncan didn't see the point in reading the book if his partner already had. "Alright, T, I'll read it, I'll read it. Chill. First, you have to give me some answers. I know I ain't the smartest tool in the shed, but I'm downright confused." "Fine. What?" "I walked in on you and that Gilmore chick the other day. Maybe it was just me, but you seemed to be getting along just fine then. Now you're with Summer and you don't even talk to Gilmore. What's the deal?" "Nothing, Duncan, her name is Rory, by the way. You see, Rory hates me. That's the deal. Okay? Can we get on with our project?" "But, I mean, I've never seen you so- uptight and nervous about a girl before. You seemed to really dig her, man. And from the looks of Saturday night, she was digging you, too." Duncan grinned and nudged Tristan. "Looks can be deceiving, man." Tristan said quietly, his eyes staring hard at the ground. Duncan felt bad for the guy and decided to just let it go. Lighten the mood a little. "Well, T, what's the name of that band you put together? With some of the guys?" Duncan asked nervously. Tristan's face immediately lit up. He loved music. Especially his own. "Oh yeah! Man, we rule. Our name is The DuGrey/ Cayman Connection. Ya, me and Jesse Cayman put it together. It's awesome. Mainly punk rock with some pure rock but you gotta see it sometime! Occasionally, we'll do a punk cover or something, but it's great. I'm lead vocals 'cause I have an amazing voice and all." Tristan smirked and Duncan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, T, when you get a gig, let me know. I'd love to see that." "Great!" Tristan's mood had improved much more now.
Rory approached Tristan with apprehension. He hadn't said a word to her since Tuesday on the way home and all he said then was 'whatever'. He was alone by his locker, to her great fortune. "Tristan? Tristan, I know you're currently ignoring me, and that's just peachy and all, but could you listen for five seconds?" Tristan turned to her with a grin on his face. She could still make him smile, even when he was really angry with her. "Okay, good. I'm taking the bus today because I'm going to Stars Hollow to spend the afternoon with my mom, but she can give me a ride back tonight. So, I was just letting you know that I won't be going with you right now." Rory said all in one breath. Tristan just nodded. "Okay." And with that, he was gone. Rory sighed and stared after him. She wished they weren't fighting. She missed Tristan.
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I Must Be Dreaming
By: Meg-Soggy-Rice
I originally wrote this for and posted it on stars-hollow.net but i decided to put it here, too. Rory has to get over a tragic event, and is offered a lot of help by someone who really cares, cute story. I wrote it a while back and copied it directly from
Rated: Fiction T - English - Romance/Humor - Chapters: 12 - Words: 35,907 - Reviews: 19 - Favs: 2 - Published: Dec 7, 2002 - id: 1107982
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Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten
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