"He spent the night?! How could you let him spend the night, Rory!?"
"I don't know," she says, picking at her nail polish, trying not to cry. It feels like all she's done since Sookie's wedding is cry and feel confused. "It just kind of happened."
"Something like this doesn't 'just happen.'" Rory can hear the sounds of Tristan's pacing. She didn't expect him to react like this. She wasn't sure what she expected.
"Sometimes it does." She thinks of her first school dance with Dean, falling asleep on Miss Patty's beanbag chairs reading.
"Not like this it doesn't. Jess knew what he was doing whether you like it or not. Think about it- did he have a toothbrush with him?"
Rory's silence is her answer.
"Sometimes you are so clueless it scares me."
"I don't know what it is about Jess, but I always end up doing something I never thought I would. Like skipping school or cheating on my boyfriend. It's like I can't control who I am when I'm around him."
"Then you have to start staying away from him."
"You don't understand," Rory mumbles.
"Neither do you. What about when Jess wants you to have sex with him? What are you going to do then?"
"I'm not going to have sex with him."
"I thought you said you can't control who you are around him."
"Can we stop talking about this?" Rory asks, surrendering to the persistent tears.
"Okay," Tristan says. His voice softens at the sound of her crying. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to attack you, I just worry."
"It's fine."
"No it's not, I didn't mean to upset you."
"You were just being honest. And you're right, I shouldn't have let him stay here last night."
"What did Paris say when she saw him?"
Rory laughs.
"She was surprised, but fine with it. She likes Jess. Actually, I think she has a little crush on him."
"She likes those angry types?"
"He's a big reader so they have a lot of literary stuff to talk about."
"He's an angry guy who reads?"
"Yep."
"That's a little weird."
"I know. Then this morning after Jess left, Paris made some comment about how she was surprised it was him and not you spending the night." The moments the words are out of her mouth, Rory regrets them. Tristan laughs.
"Good ol' Paris," he says. "She always knew you had a crush on me."
"What?! I did not have a crush on you, Tristan."
"Sure you did."
"No I didn't."
"Yeah ya did."
"How do you figure that?"
"Madelyn's party. You kissed me back."
"But I didn't start the kiss."
"But you liked it."
"I…shut up."
"That was clever. Consider my argument refuted."
"You're impossible."
"One of the many things you love about me."
"Very true," Rory concedes.
"Well, I have something to tell you."
"What?"
Tristan takes a dramatic pause before saying:
"I'm coming back to Chilton."
"You're kidding."
"Nope."
"That is so great!"
"Yeah…I talked to my dad about it yesterday and he was cool with it."
"Why did you wait until today to tell me?"
"I was going to tell you last night, but…well, Jess-drama."
"I'm so sorry."
"Forget about it."
"Tristan, this is so awesome. My hands are shaking I'm so excited. When do you leave North Carolina?"
"Next weekend actually."
"Wow, fast."
"Thank God."
"You just made my day," she exclaims, so energized she has to get up and walk around the room. "I can't wait to go back to school now."
"That's because you're crazy."
Rory smiles, knowing Tristan is smiling right then too. She thinks about that afternoon at Washington Memorial when she had seen him smile for the first time in months- the crinkled corners of his eyes, the carefree sound of his laugh.
"Hey…I thought you didn't want to come back to Chilton," Rory says.
"Why did you think that?"
"I don't know, maybe because you said so."
"I did not," Tristan argues.
"You did too."
"When?"
"When you were in Washington. I asked if you were coming back and you said you didn't have a reason to," Rory says.
"Oh, well, now I do."
"What changed your mind?" Rory asks. She runs her fingers over the letter he sent her several weeks ago, stares at her name written in his handwriting. The silence that follows her question makes her heart pound. The alarm on Tristan's watch breaks the silence.
"Oh…lunch time," Tristan says. His voice is tight, uncomfortable.
"Yeah, sure."
"I'll call you later tonight."
"Great, talk to you then."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Rory collapses on her bed, hand still jittery, heartbeat throbbing in her ears. She can't believe how badly she wanted him to say he was coming back to Chilton to be around her.