A/N – Hey! Okay – Here's chapter 14, at long last! This chapter isn't really collaborated, cuz I'm finishing it at about quarter to twelve, and Princess Heather's already gone to bed. She has class in the morning…boo for her! Yay for me, the college drop out! Lolololol. Anyway, I wanted to hurry up and get this posted, because people have been hounding me for an update, and I didn't want to wait the extra 12 or so hours, to let Heather review it first. (She has actually read part of the chapter, and had no revisions to make.)
I'm guessing that the first 13 chapters happened throughout January and February. So, this chapter is going to be the end of March/beginning of April. (SPRING BREAK!!!!!!) Also, I'm guessing that my goal of 30 chapters is going to be surpassed…I honestly have no clue how long this story is going to be anymore.
One other thing – Talcottville, Connecticut is a town on I-84, about 15 minutes northeast of Hartford. I'm guessing that this is 15 minutes southwest of Stars Hollow. It's a real town, but considering I picked the location off of a map on Mapquest, I know nothing about this town. (The reason I mention this will become clear as this chapter progresses.)
Also, while I sincerely doubt either of these two people will ever read this story or get wind of me stealing their names, Mr. Rathjen was my 10th grade history teacher, and Lane's uncle, Hyo Kim, is named after my dad's next-door neighbor's son.
DISCLAIMER: I own my computer, my camera, my car, (unfortunately, my 3 year old niece took the liberty of banging my external CD-RW drive on the concrete floor to see how many pieces it would smash into, so I don't own that anymore.), a lot of books, a tv, vcr, dvd player, a stereo, lots of cds, videos and dvds, but I don't own Gilmore Girls or any tangible from this story.
Anyway, on with Chapter 14!
RECAP: Um…I honestly have no idea which chapters this one will skip or include, so I'll do an overall recap. In Chapters 1, 2, and 3, Tristan came back, met Jess & Dean, and Dean warned Jess to watch out for Tristan. Chapters 4 and 5 involved Tristan throwing a party, and Rory getting mad at Tristan. 6 was R/J fluff, 7 was a confrontation with the elder Gilmores, regarding Yale vs. Harvard, 8 was Paris convincing Rory to forgive Tristan, 9 was where everyone got accepted to the various colleges, 10 was Lane going to New York for her audition, and Rory telling Lorelai that she was going to Yale. 11 was Lane telling Lorelai and Rory what happened in New York, 12 was Emily convincing Mrs. Kim to let Lane go to the Juilliard, and 13 was Tristan, Jess, and Rory hanging out, Tristan telling Rory he's going to Harvard, and Jess telling Rory that he's going to NYU. I also explained about the alternate universe in which this story takes place.
UNCLE HYO DIED
"Remember, people, your projects are due on Monday, April 7. Spring break does not mean you actually get to take a break. Any projects not completed by the beginning of class will be given zeros."
Tristan rolled his eyes as the teacher droned on, barely able to pay attention. Spring break…it's about time; geez. I'm on a beach…the sun is shining; there's no one around…just me, the sapphire sky, and the turquoise ocean…a seagull cries overhead, disturbing the pristine silence of this place…why won't that damn bird shut up already? Ah…the sounds of silence…Hello, darkness my old friend, I've come to talk to you again…
"Mr. DuGrey."
"Huh?" Tristan looked around confusedly.
"The rest of your classmates left a few minutes ago…are you really so glad to be back at Chilton that you are now refusing to leave?"
"Oh, no…sorry." Tristan sat up, and began gathering his books, noticing with a faint grimace that he had drooled all over his notes, rendering them illegible.
"You might want to get a copy of today's notes from a classmate, considering yours are…" Mr. Rathjen trailed off, chuckling slightly.
"Uh, yeah, right, I will." Tristan flushed, and rushed out of the room.
He headed out to his car, and was more dismayed than surprised to see the small crowd of seniors gathered there.
"DuGrey, dude, what took you so long?" called one of the guys.
Tristan ran a hand through the hair that had grown back. "Would you believe that I slept through the final bell?" He asked sheepishly.
"Must've been some good dreams." A girl laughed suggestively. "Any about me?"
Tristan smirked at her in response. "Wouldn't you like to know…"
"Hey, Tristan!" A voice called from over his shoulder. Tristan turned, and saw Rory walking towards him.
"Oh, hey, Rory. What's up?"
"Nada…except for the fact that Paris once again caused me to miss the bus back to Stars Hollow, and then decided that she was in too big of a hurry to give me a ride."
"Ah, so you're here to beg."
"Well, you are the only semi-friend of mine from Chilton with a car who's still here."
"Don't I feel loved." Tristan replied dryly, hiding a grin.
Rory rolled her eyes. "So, can you run me home, or what?"
"Yeah, sure…as soon as the party around my car breaks up."
Rory glanced beyond him, at the group of the Chiltonites she hated most. "How long do you think that's gonna take?"
"Gimme a second." He grinned impishly, and then turned back to his supposed friends. "Hey, guys – I gotta get outta here, sorry to break up the party."
"Speaking of parties, Madeline's having one tomorrow." A dark haired boy mentioned, before leering at Rory. "Say, Mary, if you're not busy…"
Rory ignored the boy, instead addressing Tristan. "Wanna hang out with me and Jess tonight?"
"Mary, I was talking to you." The boy persisted, reaching out to take Rory's arm.
Shaking off his hand, Rory turned to him. "Actually, you weren't, because if you had been talking to me, you would've called me by my name, which is Rory, not Mary. And, as a matter of fact, I am busy tomorrow night."
"Well, RORY, you should cancel your plans…I could show you a very good time…" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"What, at Madeline's party? Why don't you ask me again tomorrow night, considering my boyfriend and I will both be there."
The guy snorted derisively. "Who, that beanpole guy?"
Rory smirked at him. "I guess you'll have to wait and see if you can take on my guy."
Tristan stared at Rory for a minute, before pushing his way through the crowd. He unlocked the car, climbed in and started the engine. He stood up again, one leg still in the car. "Hey, Rory, you coming, or not?"
Rory grinned, then opened the passenger door, laughing to herself as the Chiltonites made way for the now moving vehicle. "That was smooth." She teased Tristan as they pulled out of the parking lot.
Tristan didn't respond.
After a few minutes, Rory tried again. "Thanks for the ride…I can't believe Paris just stranded me here…I'm thinking about starting up a pool on how long we're living together before I kill her."
"Huh," was Tristan's only response, as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"So, are you busy tonight, or free for a crazy, fun-filled evening in the Hollow, to start spring break off right?" Rory made her third attempt.
Tristan remained silent.
"Okay, what's going on?" She was finally exasperated enough to address the issue head on.
"Nothing."
"That's a load of crap. We were fine back at school, now you're acting like I've got the plague. What's going on?"
Tristan pulled the car over. "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"You, back at school."
"What?"
"With that guy…you basically gave him an open invitation to try to steal you away from Jess."
"No, I didn't."
"Telling him to ask you again tomorrow? Wait and see if he can take on your guy? What else could you have meant by that? I'm here to tell you, he definitely thought it was an invitation."
"So what if he did? He'll see tomorrow that he was wrong."
"Oh really? And what if Jess begs out of the party, like I'm willing to bet he's going to do?"
"He won't. It was his idea to go in the first place. And, even if Jess did beg off, I wouldn't go, either."
"You're still not answering the question."
"Sorry, I must've missed it, then – what question?" Rory's tone was somewhat sarcastic by now.
"Are you really that willing to move on from Jess? As far as I know, you guys are still together, and you're planning on staying together, even after you both leave for college. But you're already flirting with other guys."
Rory sighed, then turned to the window. "I wasn't flirting with him. Yes, Jess and I are still together, yes we're planning on staying together. I was just trying to get that guy to shut up."
"Now you're the one feeding me a line of crap. There are a lot of other ways to shut up an annoying guy; I know, because you used nearly all of them on me, remember?"
Rory shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Tristan, you're reading way too much into this. Can you please just take me home now?"
Tristan watched her for a moment, then decided he had pushed her enough, and, turning forward again, pulled back onto the road.
Rory burst out of the car almost before Tristan had brought it to a complete stop. She tossed him a glance over her shoulder, then dashed into the diner, where Jess was leaning against the counter, reading. She walked straight to him, and threw her arms around his neck. Before Jess had a chance to say anything, she kissed him. Witnessing Rory's actions, Tristan shook his head, then slid into a nearby chair.
After a few minutes, Jess broke the kiss, murmuring, "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought that on?"
Rory grinned impishly back at him. "Can't a girl kiss her boyfriend without ulterior motives?"
Jess chuckled. "A girl can, you don't."
Rory's grin only widened. "I just wanted to surprise you." Suddenly, her grin turned to a pout.
Upon seeing the puppy dog eyes, Jess rolled his own eyes, and pulled away from her. "Addict."
"You say that like it's a bad thing!"
"Not at all." Jess responded sarcastically, as he leaned down to grab a coffee mug.
As soon as Jess had turned away, Rory shot Tristan an "I-told-you-so" look. Tristan just rolled his eyes.
"So, what are the plans for tonight?" Tristan asked.
Jess shrugged. "Luke gave me the week off, so I don't have to work here."
"We could do a movie night." Rory suggested.
Tristan shook his head. "Thanks, but the idea of being a third wheel on a Friday night isn't really that appealing to me."
"So – go break Lane out. Mrs. Kim likes you, remember? The four of us haven't really hung out in a while."
"I don't think the four of us have ever hung out." Jess commented.
"Which only means that we need to."
"Okay, fine, whatever…what excuse can I come up with for Lane? Remember, Zach was the one who came up with the biblical plays before."
At that moment, Lane burst through the door, Dave trailing behind her. "Hi, guys! Jess, two coffees to go, please?"
"You're rather chipper, for someone who has to spend the next week cleaning in her mother's store." Rory said dryly.
"That's because my Uncle Hyo died. Mama's gone to Virginia to take care of the estate sale; she'll be gone all week."
"Uncle Yo?" Tristan asked incredulously.
"Hyo." Lane corrected. "My mother's letting me stay here, so that I can volunteer at a bible camp in Talcottville."
"Is there a bible camp in Talcottville?" Rory asked.
"Yep…I volunteer for three hours, three days next week…the rest of spring break is mine."
"That's cool…so you're free for a movie night tonight?"
"Nope, Dave and I are driving to Hartford for band practice. Just stopped by for some coffee."
"Which leaves me as the third wheel." Tristan interjected.
"Well…" Rory trailed off, unable to think of who else they could invite. She was startled by the sound of her cell phone ringing.
"That's an obnoxious ring tone." Tristan informed her, wincing at the harsh jangling coming from Rory's backpack.
"Hey, at least I can hear it. I'll be right back." She pulled the phone out, and answered it as she headed to the door. "Hello?"
"Rory."
"Paris."
"So, I was thinking that we should get together tonight, and start working on Rathjen's project."
"Paris…it's Friday night, and it's spring break. We have all week to do it. Besides, it's not a group project."
"I know it's not a group project. However, valedictorian and salutorian are still undecided. And, we always do better when we work together on school projects. So, I'll come over and do my project, while you work on yours. We'll be able to bounce ideas off of each other."
"Actually, I already have plans."
"Too bad."
Rory jumped as she heard Paris's voice behind her. "Paris…" She groaned.
"Hey, Paris, what are you doing here?" Tristan's voice sounded behind Rory.
"Ah…I see. Well, then, I'll just go work on the project by myself." Paris turned back towards her car.
"You know, we're just having a movie night. Why don't you join us…we can go over some ideas for the project." Rory said.
"No thanks, I wouldn't want to be the third wheel."
"Actually, I'm the third wheel…you'll be the fourth." Tristan chimed in.
Jess came out of the diner at that point. "So, we ready to go? Oh hi, Paris."
"Hi Jess…I'm ready." Paris replied.
The four walked across the street to the video store, discussing which movies to rent.
A/N – Okay, so kind of a weak chapter, but it's what I've got, and since we've already been working on this sucker for literally weeks, I'm not going to take any more time revising it. I'd appreciate it if you, our loyal readers, would let us know if you want the next chapter to be the movie night, and if you want another party scene. (One of the very early reviews said that parties are too overdone, but, hey, they're teenagers – they're gonna party. I know I did!)
And…I have come to the conclusion that I definitely don't want Hyo reading this…he might get offended that I gave him Kevin Costner's role from The Big Chill.