Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, and I'll have you know, my mother has begun investigating twelve step programs for me…she thinks I'm addicted to the internet! lol I wanted to thank one person in particular for their review – jcd1013…thanks for your suggestions; I used some in this chapter, and, no worries. The break up between Jess and Rory will be amicable, if there is one. I've been thinking about it, and I'm not sure I want this to really be a Trory. It may just focus on their friendship – I'm not sure.
I did want to say something else; a couple of people have complained about the time jumps. I put them in the story for a reason, which is, quite frankly, this thing would get way too long and boring if it went along the lines of:
They went to the diner. They opened the door. They walked inside. They turned their heads from side to side. They were looking for an empty table. They saw one. They walked to the empty table. They each pulled out a chair. They sat down. Luke came to the table. Luke asked them what they wanted to eat. They ordered. Luke walked away. Luke cooked their food. They stared at each other. Luke came back with the food. Luke put the food on the table. Luke walked away. They each took a bite. They chewed. They swallowed. They each took another bite.
See what I mean? Very boring. Hence, the time jumps…you guys don't want to wade through crap like that, and I don't want to write crap like that. Just assume, as you do when watching the show, that all of the characters eat their customary meals, go to the bathroom, take showers, etc., unless otherwise stated.
Recap: Tristan came back to Chilton for his senior year. Rory was asked to help him get caught up in the only class they had together. They went to Luke's to study, and Tristan met Jess. The two boys are friendly, if not actual friends. Tristan and Dean literally ran into each other, and Dean still has/had open hostility towards Tristan. Dean then attempted to warn Jess that Tristan has a thing for Rory. In typical Jess fashion, Jess blew off the warning. A few weeks later, Tristan invited Jess, Lane, and Rory to a party. Jess decided not to go, but the girls are attending. Also, there's a bit of a mystery…Tristan told Lane that it wasn't his idea to invite her, but won't tell her who's idea it was. (Okay, lame mystery, but give me a break…first attempt at suspense!) Anyway, that's where this chapter picks up – at Tristan's party.
SECOND CHANCES
WHAT PLOT?
Lane stared around her in amazement. "Wow, Tristan – your house is incredible!!! Rory, is your grandparents' house this big?"
Rory laughed. "Actually, no, it's not. They don't have the rec room, the indoor pool, or the hot tub."
Tristan also chuckled, trying to hide the embarrassment he always felt about his parents' opulence. "My grandfather says that the Gilmores diversified, and the DuGreys solidified. After all, we don't have the house in Martha's Vineyard, or the condo in Paris."
Lane turned to Rory with wide eyes. "Your grandparents have a condo in Paris?"
It was Rory's turn to be embarrassed. "Yeah, but don't get too excited about it; I've never been there, and I don't think I ever will be."
Tristan felt a jolt of remorse…he hadn't intended to embarrass Rory. "So, are we just gonna stand here staring at my house, or are we gonna go in? Since you both are here, I could use your help making sure everything's ready."
Lane shook herself. "Yeah, sure, let's go. So who told you to invite me?"
Tristan opened the door, and walked into his impressive house, calling over his shoulder, "Nice try, Lane. But it's not gonna work. You'll just have to wait and see."
Lane pouted, an art she had learned from Rory long ago. "Aww…that's no fun…at least play 20 questions with me!"
Tristan laughed. "Fine. 20 questions."
"hmm…is this person male?"
"Yes – 19."
"Does this person attend Chilton?"
"No – 18."
"Okay, so that rules out Henry."
Rory interjected "No it doesn't. You should ask if the person who asked Tristan to invite you was asking for himself, or someone else."
"Yeah, what she said!!! Was he asking for himself?"
"No. 17."
Tristan and Lane continued through the 17 remaining questions as they set up for the party, with the end result of Lane being no closer to figuring out the mystery person than when they had started playing.
SEVERAL HOURS LATER
Everyone from Chilton, plus a few hundred other people who just happened to hear about the party from everyone at Chilton, had shown up. The rec room, hot tub, and heated indoor pool were overflowing with teenagers. Tristan had disappeared, playing host/referee to his guests, leaving Rory and Lane to fend for themselves.
"So…swinging party." Lane said somewhat sarcastically.
"Yeah…it would help if I actually knew or liked any of the people here." Rory replied.
"Wanna bail?" Lane suggested.
"Can't – Tristan drove us here, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Well, how about this…we wait another half hour. If the party hasn't improved, we call Lorelai or Jess to come get us."
"Sounds good to me."
"Lane. You came." A male voice said behind them. Both girls turned, and were surprised to see…
"Dave? What are you doing here?" Lane asked, astonished.
"Zach's brother went to Camden Military Academy. He knew Tristan…they still hang out, sometimes." Dave explained. (Zach is a guy from Lane's band, fyi.)
"Oh. Huh. Small world."
"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway…wanna dance?" Dave asked.
Lane looked to Rory for permission.
"Go ahead, Lane. I'll be fine. In fact, I think I see someone I know." Rory lied, knowing how much Lane had missed Dave.
"Great. C'mon!" Dave grabbed Lane's hand, and pulled her onto the crowded dance floor as Rory watched. She sighed, and looked around for someplace unobtrusive to sit and read. She finally settled on a chaise that was mostly hidden by a massive potted tree. (A chaise is a kind of lounge chair.)
"There you are, Rory. I've been looking everywhere for you." Tristan appeared about half an hour later, and sat down on the chaise next to Rory. "I can see you're having a great time," he said, indicating her book.
Rory shrugged. "Lane went off somewhere with Dave, and since I don't really know anyone else here…"
"So he found her. Good. Listen, if you're bored, I can take you home…" Tristan offered, hoping she would turn him down.
"No, that's okay…I'll just wait until Lane's ready to leave. It's been a while since she last saw Dave."
"Alright. Well…do you want to dance? More entertaining than sitting here reading."
"No, thanks…I can't dance." Rory replied apologetically.
"Hey, it's no sweat…c'mon…I'll put a slow song on…they're easy to dance to…you just stand there, and kinda sway."
"Well…okay…" Rory replied dubiously.
"Great! I'll be right back…gotta go change the CD."
"Okay."
A few minutes later, Tristan returned. Taking Rory's hand, he pulled her off of the chaise, and onto the dance floor. There, he put his hands on her waist, and pulled her close. Rory placed her hands on his shoulders, and looked up at him.
As they stood there, swaying in rhythm to the music, Rory spoke. "I can't believe how much you've changed, Tristan. Military school did you a lot of good. What was it like?"
Tristan looked down at Rory, an odd look on his face. "It was…different. I don't know. I mean, all of my life, I was known as a DuGrey. No one cared about what I did, because of my family's name. But…at Camden…no one cared that I was a DuGrey. No one cared that I was a poor little rich boy, who never saw my parents. I mean, everyone there was the same way. Some of the guys hadn't been home in years. Most of them had brothers and sisters off in different boarding schools around the country. One guy actually had a younger brother and two younger sisters that he had never even met. Not a single guy there had a family like the Cleavers, so no one felt sorry for me. I didn't get any special attention at all…except scorn and disdain; they didn't pity me. They scorned me because I pitied myself. As my c.o. put it, 'you can't do anything about who your family is. You can only do something about who you are. You can either destroy yourself, and become exactly like your parents, or you can grow up, and become the kind of man you want your father to be.' I don't know…it made me think. All of my life, everyone loved me. I mean, I was the King of Chilton, essentially. I could do anything I wanted, and get away with it. At Camden…it wasn't the headmaster, or the drill sergeant that you feared. It was the other guys in your battalion, cause if you screwed up, you made them look bad. So they didn't tolerate anyone screwing up, or screwing around. Took me about a month to figure out that I really needed to clean up my act, if I wanted to survive. After that…it didn't take much longer for me to begin actively trying to be who I wanted to be."
Neither Rory nor Tristan noticed that the music had ended during Tristan's speech, or that they were now standing in the middle of the crowded dance floor, just holding each other.
Rory spoke softly. "I see…I'm glad you decided to 'grow up,' as you put it…I'm sorry the lesson had to be so hard."
Tristan shook his head earnestly. "But…that's where you're wrong. It wasn't hard at all. It was the easiest thing I've ever had to do. Coming back here, back to Chilton…that's what was hard. Facing my past. I knew that everyone here would expect me to be just like I was before; everyone would expect me to be a chauvinistic jerk. It's been really hard getting everyone to see and believe that I'm not like that anymore. This is the real me. The person you knew before…that was…I don't know. The counselor at Camden thought it was a defense mechanism. He said that I acted like that to drive away the people I cared about. And it makes sense, in a way. I mean…I never got close enough to anyone to actually care about them, but the ones I thought I could care about were the ones I tried hardest to drive away. Like you."
"Me?"
"Yeah…I mean, at first, you were just another cute girl that I expected to fall at my feet and worship me. When you didn't, it…intrigued me. I started trying to get to know you, but by then, you already hated me. But…even though you hated me, you were still nice to me. You still…tried to encourage me to be better, to be more than what I was. That's why, when I came back, I promised myself that no matter what it took, you weren't going to hate me again. I really need a friend like you, Rory. You see the best in everyone; you don't see who people are, you see who they could be. And you try to get them to be that kind of person."
Rory blushed. "I didn't know I had that effect on you. And, Tristan…I never hated you; I mean, I didn't like you all that much, but hate…that's a really powerful word, and it's one I shouldn't have used. But…the past is in the past. I'd like to be friends, and get to know the new you."
Tristan grinned at her, and then looked around, suddenly aware of their surroundings. "Hey…do you wanna go ahead and get out of here? Go get a cup of coffee or something? We can find Lane and Dave, and see if they want to go, too."
Rory pulled away from Tristan, and glanced at her watch. "Wow – I had no idea it was so late. I think that we should find Lane, but she and I should probably just go home. Rain check on the coffee?"
Tristan nodded. "Sure. Let's go."
They found Lane and Dave making out on the chaise where Rory had been reading.
"Hey, guys." Rory said, leaning over to tap Dave on the shoulder. "Sorry to interrupt, but we really need to get out of here."
Lane sat up, blushing, and looked at her watch. "Oh my god…my mother's going to freak!!!"
Tristan shook his head in disagreement. "You don't have a curfew, remember?"
"Oh yeah…Dave, did I tell you that I love you forever? How on earth did you come up with the plot to get me out of the house tonight?"
Dave looked confused. "What plot?"
It was Lane's turn to look confused. "Didn't you ask Tristan to invite me?"
Dave shook his head. "No…Zach told me that you might be here. I didn't even know you knew Tristan."
Rory, Dave, and Lane all turned to Tristan.
"Okay, if it wasn't your idea to invite me, and it wasn't Dave's, who was it?" Lane demanded.
Tristan looked embarrassed, then grinned sheepishly. "I asked a friend of mine from Camden about how I could get Rory to come. Turns out, his brother Zach is in your band. Anyway, Zach's the one who suggested I invite you, and came up with the plot. He thought that Rory would be more willing to come if you wanted to, too."
"Oh." Lane looked a little hurt, but tried her best to hide it. "Well, thank him for me, will you?"
"Sure. Anyway, we should get going."
"Yeah." Lane responded. She stood up, then turned and kissed Dave. "I guess I'll see you later…Hey! We can have band practice on Friday now! Since I'm supposed to be in Hartford, anyway!"
"Sounds good to me." Dave said with a smile. "I'll let the guys know."
On the car ride home, Lane talked incessantly about Dave, and how great it was that she had gotten to see him, and how cute he was, etc., etc., etc. Rory mumbled her responses, looking oddly distracted, a fact that Lane missed entirely. Tristan, on the other hand, picked up on it right away. I wonder what's on her mind? She's been awfully quiet, ever since…since we found Lane and Dave making out. That's it…she's probably just thinking about Jess. I mean…I kinda got the impression this afternoon that they don't get to spend a lot of time together.
Tristan dropped Lane off first. "Do you want me to go up with you?"
"No, that's okay…I've got my story covered. Thanks again, Tristan – I had a great time tonight!"
"No problem. We should get together to hang out again…with a slightly smaller crowd, I mean."
"Yeah, cool. See ya later! Bye Rory!"
Rory shook herself out of her reverie. "Bye Lane! See you tomorrow."
Lane dashed up the front walk to her house.
Tristan waited until Lane was inside, with the door firmly shut behind her, before pulling away.
"You've been really quiet. What's on your mind?" He asked Rory, concerned.
"Nothing. I'm just tired." Rory lied.
Tristan saw through the lie, but decided not to press it. When he pulled up to her house, he turned to her. "Thanks for coming tonight, Rory. I had a really good time."
"Yeah, me too." Rory said quickly, as she opened her door.
"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Bye!" She called over her shoulder as she rushed up the steps.
Tristan sighed, and once again waited until the door closed behind her before driving off. I'm probably just reading too much into it. I mean…I can't really expect her to want to be best friends right away. As long as she doesn't hate me, I'm happy.
Rory watched from the front window as Tristan sped off. Argh! He makes me so angry! What's he mean, telling Lane that he only invited her to get me to go to his stupid party! And to think…I thought he had changed! He's just as rude as he was before he left! That was some story he had, about needing a friend like me. grrr. I actually fell for it, too! Realizing that she was too upset to sleep, Rory scrawled a quick note for her mother, and went for a walk, careful to close the door quietly behind her, though the temptation to slam it was incredible.
A/N – Okay, that's it for this chapter, cause if I go into Rory's walk, it will end up being waaaaaay too long. Plus, my mom's already starting to bug me about living on my computer again! Oh yeah…no worries, Rory's not going to be attacked, or kidnapped, or abducted by aliens, or attacked by rabid squirrels or wild tree frogs. I mean…she is in Stars Hollow, after all. She's just going for a walk that I might time-jump over. Sorry, I tend to be a little vindictive! Even when I asked for exactly what I got.