Disclaimer: It's not my stuff

Pairing: trory

Rating: PG-13

A/N: Thanks...for the feedback. It's my customary procedure to thank you all first. :-) Anyway, although I AM A LITERATI, I think I may actually finish this story for once. Here's the next chapter...enjoy. With school, and all, I might have a few problems updating frequently, but I'll definitely update on the weekends.

If I Fall || Chapter 4

...i remember...

*

A green Jeep parked on the edge of the curb with a piercing screech of tires. Rory was enjoying the fragrance of burning wood in the air while they quickly walked into Doose's. Her mother was babbling about Scott once more (she still couldn't believe the story), and some about Tristan, but Rory was too busy turning her head in every direction, gazing out into the inky, chilly, winter night. Thinking about the dance, that chill, and his nearly boyish smile at the end. She nearly ran into the Doose's door.

"Hey, kid, I want no damaged brain cells. Watch the glass."

Lorelai looked at her, amused and held the door open.

"All right, I'm thinking s'mores tonight."

"Over the stove?" Rory asked, grinning at the prospect.

"Of course! The only real way to roast a marshmallow properly. Besides, what else will we use the stove for?"

"We could cook a Pop-Tart in a pan."

"Eww. Gross. Why?"

"I don't know. Science experiment?"

"I'll get the marshmallows, you get the graham crackers. And don't forget to pick up popcorn, too."

"Graham crackers, popcorn, got it."

Rory headed off in the direction of the cookie/cracker aisle. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Dean standing there. She walked directly into him. A loud crash echoed through the store as the 10 boxes of cookies on the cart beside him knocked to the ground. She bent down to pick them up and found herself face to face with her ex-boyfriend. The memory of the breakup was still fresh in her mind.

"D-Dean." Rory sputtered.

"Rory." He responded just as curtly. Despite that fact that he was the one broke it off, he was obviously upset by it. He just stared at her. Rory shuffled her feet, looking down at the tiles on the floor.

"So," she ventured uncomfortably. "How are you?"

"Fine. You?"

"Good. Me and mom are going to roast marshmallows over the stove." Rory's girlish grin eased the tension, and Dean smiled his own small smile, though it seemed deadened. As Rory reached for the graham crackers, Dean started walking away.

"Well, have fun. At least your stove will get some use. See ya around."

"Thanks. See ya."

Rory smiled a little, glad that they could at least be civil towards each other. But her smile faded when she remembered. Ignoring her thoughts, she picked up some popcorn in the next aisle and met her mom at the check out.

"I saw the Dean encounter," Lorelai whispered as she paid for the groceries.

"Yeah. It was OK though."

"So, no physical fighting? No exciting verbal sparring match?"

"No."

"Boring."

"Mom."

"Sorry. Just thought with the entire Scott drama tonight you might have a dramatic ending to tonight. Video store is our next stop, by the way."

"What if we rent a dramatic movie? Does that count?"

"Memento, here we come."

*

Surrounded by the empty marshmallow bag, wrappers of chocolate, 3 popcorn bags, and various cups filled with milk, water, and soda, the two Gilmores sat on the couch, groaning.

"I think my stomach is going to explode."

"I think Memento is getting old. Hey...that rhymed." Rory just shook her head and ignored her mother's last comment, arguing her case instead.

"C'mon, you cried! It's a good movie!"

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. Those tears are the result of the gigantic pain in my stomach."

"Well, it's your own fault you ate ¾ of the marshmallows."

"It was definitely ½."

"Yeah, ½ of twice the amount of marshmallows that were actually in the bag."

"Ok...new subject."

"Hah! So you admit it."

Lorelai ignored this and looked at her daughter with a glint in her blue eyes, one that only appeared when she was dying to know something.

"What's with you and Tristan?"

Rory laughed almost hollowly. "Tristan?"

"Yeah, Evil Boy? Hottie Man?"

"Nothing. It was a dance. End of story."

"But he came to save you from Scott and everything! He was looking at you like you were a giant cup of coffee."

"Not everyone shares the love."

"Ok, a chocolate bar, then."

"Better. But isn't chocolate kind of a girl thing?"

"You're avoiding my question. Stop trying to fool me."

"You're easily fooled."

"Hey!"

"See? Sidetracked already," Rory smirked.

"Well...you better tell me if something's going on. Or I'll be forced to sneak in your room and read your diary. Do you have a diary?" Lorelai shook her head slightly.

"There's nothing. Trust me on that one."

Lorelai shook her head in disbelief, but decided to let the issue rest. For now.

"All right, Lover Girl. I'm going to bed."

"G'Night."

The two Gilmores headed off to bed. Rory climbed between the sheets, trying not to think about the dance. But her attempts were unsuccessful, and she couldn't help but wonder if her mother had a point as she drifted off to sleep. 'Nahh,' she thought.

*

The next morning, the sun streamed in through Rory's curtains, directly onto her face, casting an orange morning glow over the room. However, the sun wasn't what awakened her at 10:00 in the morning. It was their telephone. Groggily, Rory rolled over, put her pillow over her head, and tried her best to ignore the ringing, but it continued incessantly. Finally, she gave up. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and raced to the telephone in the hallway.

"Hello?" she asked, her voice scratchy and husky with sleep.

"Rory? Is that you?" came the reply. It was Emily.

"Grandma? What's the matter?" she asked, still in her pre-awakened state.

"Nothing at all. Did I wake you?"

"Well..."

"Still sleeping at 10? Hardly acceptable."

"Well, we kind of had a late night."

"Actually, that's what I'm calling to talk about. Last night. I saw you with that boy. The Dugrey boy."

"Grandma, it was just a dance."

"I'm sure," Emily replied smugly. "As I was saying, I saw you two together, and we're such good friends with the Dugreys, so when they asked us to attend their own party next Friday, I told them you and your mother would join us."

Rory's face fell. Despite the hour of the morning, she was definitely able to comprehend. Two cocktail party-Fridays in a row? Sighing despondently, she tried to mask her irritation.

"Well, Grandma, I'll let Mom know."

"Thank you, Rory."

"No problem. Bye."

"Good-bye."

Rory dropped the phone onto it's cradle. Or, she tried. But the phone missed the cradle and slammed against the desk on it's way down to the floor. Two loud crashes echoed in the hallway. Rory winced as she heard her mother stumbling down the hall upstairs.

"Rory? What....heard....ringing....crashes...tell me?" she mumbled as she tripped her way down the stairs, her eyes heavily weighed down with dreams of sleep. When she didn't hear an explanation from Rory, she plowed on to the one coherent thought she could piece together at this hour on a Saturday morning.

"I need coffee."

Rory snorted. "Yes, you do. You're definitely going to need coffee after this one. Let's go to Luke's."

Lorelai nodded slowly an turned and plodded back up the stairs. Her hair was tousled and messy, her eyes nearly shut. Rory heard her stumbling upstairs as she tried to find decent clothes to wear when she walked towards the bathroom, probably to impress Luke, and then Rory heard a loud crash. She shook her head and grinned a little, and then turned on the shower.

*

 "Another one?" Lorelai whined.

"Well, at least we've been forewarned this time."

"You're just happy because Hottie Man will be there," she teased.

"Am not," came the childish retort, accompanied by a pout.

"Rory and Hottie Man sitting in a tree..."

*

The entire weekend was filled with conversations about Tristan. Actually, it was Lorelai prodding about him, and Rory refusing to admit she liked him at all. But the more she thought about the dance, and the more his name came up, the more she started to question where she actually stood. It didn't help that when she went back to school on Monday, he was being seductive as usual.

It was an icy November morning, the kind where everything seems frosted and blue. Rory's breath rose in clouds as she stepped off of the bus, and she carefully walked along so she wouldn't slip. Unfortunately, you can never be too careful, and Rory wasn't paying attention as she climbed the steps to Chilton, both hands on her coffee. She felt her stomach rise as she slipped off the step and  fell backwards. Luckily, someone was there to catch her. A pair of muscular arms shot out to grab her. Rory felt the initial relief, and then the familiar arms and hands around her waist caused a chill. She turned her body around and found herself face to face with...

"Well, Mary. Nice running into you again." An irresistibly seductive smirk played on his features as he whispered huskily in her ear. "And it looks like we'll be doing more of it. I'll see you Friday." His hands slowly slipped away from her waist, his fingers lingering for just a second. Rory was left, weak and speechless once more as he headed down the hall. Frustrated, she shook her head and went to her locker, preparing for another ordinary day.

*

A/N: I know, not a lot of Trory, but it's coming along, I think. Thanks for reading :)