A/N: I finished Not So Simple Anymore! Yay! So here I am continuing this story!! Woohoo.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* These Summer DaysChapter Three: Not so bad, after all
It was six-fifteen in the morning when the phone rang. "Hello?" grumbled a very disgruntled Rory.
"Hey Rory," greeted the crisp voice of Paris Gellar.
"What do you want?" she replied sleepily.
"I need you to come to the Hartford Post Building today at seven-fifteen sharp,"
"Why?""Do you want a job or not?"
"I want a job," she responded rather reluctantly.
"Good, then I'll see you in an hour,"
"But Par--," CLICK. She had hung up the phone. Groaning Rory headed to the coffee pot and started to make some coffee.
A half-hour later Lorelai came stumbling down the stairs. She noticed a note with Rory's lovely scrawl next to the coffee pot. Rory always was smart like that…she glanced at the note to see what it said.
Hey Mom—Paris called @ like 6:15 this morning commanding me to come to the Hartford post building for a summer job. Hope to be home soon….
Love, Rory
"I wonder what Paris is making her do?" she asked to the coffee pot.
It was seven-twenty when Rory showed up in the conference room Paris had reserved. She opened the door to see both Paris and Tristan sipping coffee.
"Hey," she greeted the two of them sitting down in one of the vacant chairs.
"Rory,"
"Mary," they replied in unison. (Paris with Rory, Tristan with Mary…obviously)
"Tristan, you were nice last night," she scolded.
"Last night, huh?" Paris asked.
"Yeah, I found Tristan in Stars Hollow and when I gave him a brief tour we bumped into Miss Patty, she pinched his ass," Rory said with a laugh.
"Isn't this the first time she met him?" Paris asked and Rory nodded.
"Excuse me ladies but could we please change the subject and preferably not my ass," he said with a sly grin the two girls grimaced at the conceited boy.
"Paris, what are we doing here anyways?" Rory asked ignoring Tristan's cocky grin.
"Well, we have to research the three most influential families of Hartford and guess who they are!"
"Gellar, DuGrey and Gilmore," came Rory and Tristan's monotonous replies.
"Right, now I'm doing all the research for my family so you two can work on yours together. I arranged for you, Rory and Tristan to go to her grandparent's this morning," The two, Rory and Tristan exited the conference room and Paris shut it behind them grinning wickedly—there was no article to be written, no research…but she knew both of her friends needed someone but would they still be to blind to see it?
"I can't wait until I tell my mom this," Rory mumbled rolling her eyes. Tristan laughed while she shot him a glare.
"Let's take my car," Tristan said changing the subject not wanting to be involved with the wrath of Rory Gilmore, she was after all Emily Gilmore's granddaughter and Lorelai Gilmore's daughter. She noticed they were approaching a vintage '68 red mustang and not the mandatory BMW or Porsche that the rest of the Hartford elite always had.
"You know how to drive standard right?" he asked and she looked at him, confused.
"Yes but I'm not the one driving, now am I?"
"Nope, just checking,"
"Okay," she replied happily and so they drove to her grandparent's. Rory rang the doorbell: once, twice, three times.
"Dolly, remember this is the doorbell," Emily Gilmore's condescending tone echoed through the door.
"Daphne," from what Rory could tell, she assumed it was the newest maid of Emily Gilmore's collection.
"Rory, hello!" she greeted pleasantly as the door was opened.
"This is Dolly,"
"Daphne," the maid corrected, again.
"Hello," Rory said softly smiling sympathetically at Daphne. Daphne was surprised at the girl's soft-spoken tone for being related to Emily Gilmore, no less.
"Grandma, this is Tristan,"
"Cecile's grandson!" she said happily.
"Oh dear," came Daphne's whisper. "Daph?" he said slightly confused. "Master Tristan," Daphne greeted curtsying.
"What are you doing here? I mean, you were just at my house this morning…"
"Your mother fired me," she whispered softly.
"What? Why?"
"She said I was becoming too amicable with you and Emma,"
"Emma?" Rory questioned softly and Tristan glanced up surprised she was listening to their conversation.
"My sister," came his brusque reply.
"Grandma, don't you have something's to show us?" Rory asked somewhat stung at Tristan's response.
"Yes, they're up in the attic, darling," she replied. Rory quickly exited the foyer and headed up to the attic.
"Ror, wait up," Tristan said and she ignored him.
"Are you mad at me?" she nodded silently as Rory began to walk up the attic steps. Tristan grabbed her arm and forced Rory to face him.
"I thought I was your friend. I guess not," she whispered. "You know that's not true,"
"Then how come I never knew you had a sister?"
"I never tell anyone about her," he said lowly his voice scratchy already at the guilt that he had been hiding away for years. "I just tell everyone she's off studying abroad in France, which is a lie," he said sadly staring at the floor. "Oh, I had no idea," Rory replied accepting his excuse. "No," he said roughly.
"I want you to know, Rory. She was hurt in a drunk driving accident; she's paralyzed from the waist down. The worst part is that I was that drunk driver. I've apologized millions of times to my parents but they still hate me. They sent Emma off to some boarding school in Europe. She's come back for the summer for the first time in literally years. She was the first to accept my apology but I still can't stop feeling guilty. It's why I became a player. I needed the feeling of being wanted by someone and I had it," he paused finally meeting Rory's soft gaze, it made him want to take back all the things he had just said, he didn't want her pity in the least.
"My sister as I told you came home at the beginning of the summer and was appalled to find out about my long line of conquests. She's so disappointed in me," he whispered. "I've never seen her so upset at me or anyone for that matter, EVER." His was teetering on unsolid ground between crying and holding on. But, members of the DuGrey family never did cry so he didn't really have a choice in the matter.
"But you can change," Rory said softly.
"You think?" he asked his voice painted with hope.
"No," came her hesitant reply and with that word the hope that had been written on his face faded. "I know," she said finishing her sentence much to his surprise and delight.
"What do you mean, you know?" he asked slightly confused.
"Tristan, you did learn my name so anything can happen," she teased. He grinned and began the rest of the way up the stairs to her grandparent's attic.
Maybe this summer job wouldn't be so bad after all….
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A/N: TO BE CONTINUED….