Readers: As you will have no doubt realized by the title of this chapter (I
don't mind waiting while you read it, go right ahead, don't mind me...)
that this is the first ending. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you
what happens or who Rory chooses, but trust me, it won't come as a shock.
I got an extreme amount of reviews for the last chapter (surprising, and
yes, I did lose a bit of my soul, thanks for asking!), so thanks for
everyone who took a few minutes out of their very busy lives to make me
happy. I keep forgetting to mention that I now have an email address up,
so my faithful and friend-less, life-less, 30-years-old-and-still-living-
with-their-parents-thus-exceptionally-lonely reviewers (and I don't doubt
that there are some!) can contact me through a more private means of
conversation. Basically, if you have undying love to confess for me,
there's the place to tell me to avoid ridicule from the general public. To
find it out (and to prompt shameless promotion) just go to my profile.
Okay, I am officially done writing nonsense for this chapter. So, until
next time...adieu!
-authors anonymous
READ THIS: CHAPTER 26 HAS BEEN UPDATED! [April 7] See Chapter 27 for details.
---
Rory lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. She hadn't closed her eyes once from the time she went to bed to the time she woke up. In fact, she hadn't slept a wink all night. Her thoughts were in turmoil. Who would she choose? Here she was, anywhere from 16 to 18 years of age, and she hadn't had a boyfriend in 26 chapters (although, to her credit, she had had several romantic encounters to date).
"What am I going to do?" Rory wondered aloud. "There are so many choices!" Rory realized that she wasn't going to draw a reasonable conclusion without having some coffee in her system, so she got dressed and headed to Luke's diner.
"Hey there Rory, coffee?" Luke asked, so OBVIOUSLY disappointed that the elder Gilmore wasn't sitting next to the younger Gilmore at the counter.
"Hey!" Rory shouted, causing some disturbance in the diner. "This story is about ME! and not my insane Mother's love life. So CAN IT!"
[AN: Jeez, some people...]
"To-go please," Rory replied sweetly. She wasn't in the mood for comic banter with Lorelai's-fated-to-be-future-husband when she had heavy stuff on her mind. Just as Luke handed her the paper cup, Jess bounded down the stairs.
"Hey," he said, running his oh-so-beautiful-hands through his oh-so- gorgeous-hair.
"Hey," replied Rory, unenthusiastically.
"Want to have an oh-so-over-done conversation about an oh-so-overused- author-named-Hemmingway?"
Rory looked up at Jess. Maybe it was a trick of the light, perhaps something in her pancakes (that she hadn't ordered, but was eating anyway), but Jess wasn't oh-so-appealing anymore. Was it that Rory had finally realized his effect on Global Warming? Maybe. Was it that Rory had finally realized how much hair gel he used every morning? It's possible. Was it that Rory had decided to follow her much-neglected mother's advice to stay away from the town's resident "Jack the Ripper"? It is conceivable. Was it that the author decided to save her life by not being barbequed on a rotating spit by all of the Trory fans reading this story? Not unlikely. But for whatever the reason, Rory couldn't stand the sight of him.
"Uh, maybe tomorrow..." Rory replied, after she had thought all of this. Poor Jess. After all, Rory WAS the slowest thinker on this side of the border. "Um, I gotta go. See ya!" With that, Rory was up and away (so to speak).
-
Rory was wondering through the town, nursing her cup of coffee. "One down, two to go..." Rory's wanderings had taken her from Luke's to Doose's market. Which wasn't a very long wandering session, because the market was across the road from the diner, but since no one noticed this, we can move right along. Realizing that Rory was going to need more than a cold cup of coffee to solve her problem, she decided to go inside. As it happened, on her search for chocolate covered marshmallows, Rory ran smack-dab into Dean.
"Rory! Hi!" Dean said enthusiastically, putting down the box of cornstarch he was holding. "How are you?"
"Oh, you know..." Rory said, looking around, still thinking of her chocolate covered treats.
"So Rory, I've been thinking..." Dean started.
"Yes?" Rory prompted. 'This can't be good.'
"Well, I realize now that we haven't really been represented right."
Rory muffled a "huh?" with a tight smile.
"I mean, in all of the stories, you're really a- well, you know."
Rory nodded, not really knowing, but going along with the deranged 'bag- boy' anyway.
"The stories aren't accurate. I mean, why would Jess call me bag-boy? Is he in cahoots with Tristan or something?" Dean started to get more than a bit peeved. "Why is that? And why do I always call you a slut or beat you up?"
'Or both,' Rory thought.
Dean continued without waiting for an answer. "Am I the ONLY one who notices that I'm always a possessive, love sick boyfriend? And don't think that you can't drag me along for chapters on end, apparently you can! How fair is that? Do you know how many times you've said 'I can't, I don't want to hurt him?' to Jess or Tristan, or even Kirk?! It's CRAZY!"
"Dean, calm down!" Rory said, looking around nervously. The last thing she wanted was to be kicked out of Doose's before she'd gotten her chocolate covered marshmallows.
"If you knew all the times I got drunk," Dean said, getting angrier by the minute, "maybe you would rethink all of the breaking my heart you are so inclined to do! Do you know how many times I've either a) gotten into a car crash, b) gotten intoxicated and slept with someone who probably has a disease, or c) slept with someone who goes to Chilton with you? Do you have any idea what happens in the stories? What about your Mother? Why does she like me more than you do? And what about all of that "sexual tension" between me and Jess? What sick bastard thought that up?"
Rory had had just about enough. "What stories? Why are you spewing nonsense? I would have been better off talking about 'The Sun Also Rises' with Jess!" With that, Rory grabbed a bag of marshmallows, and stormed out, making this the second official time she had stolen from Doose's Market.
-
"Phew..." Rory said, once she had successful polished off the bag of candies. While she had been chewing on the delectable goodies, she had successfully forgotten about her pressing problems. Now the weight of her decision had come back to her in full force. With both Jess and Dean eliminated, it left only one candidate...
"Kirk!" Rory yelled, running up to him. "Wait up!"
"Yes?" the man asked, stopping his pursuit of lunch to listen to Rory.
"I just wanted to congratulate you for being an upstanding citizen."
[AN: Heart attack, anyone?]
"Why, thank you!" Kirk replied, touched that Rory had noticed.
"No problem! Now I've got to go and find the man of my dreams (at least for this chapter!) See ya!" With that, Rory was gone.
-
Luckily, Rory didn't have far too go. "Tristan!" she called, running up to the oh-so-sleek-'n-shiny vehicle. "Tristan!"
The man of her desire rolled down the window. "Oh, hey Rory."
'Sigh! Even his greetings are sexy!' Rory thought.
"Tristan, I have to talk to you. Um, do you want..."
Tristan finished her thought, "...To go to an obscure cafe in Hartford so you can tell me your feelings over a cup of coffee? To fly to [Hawaii/Mexico/Paris/Finland] for an impromptu holiday? To have internet conversations declaring our love of each other without even knowing it? To- "
"Uh, actually..." Rory said, cutting him off, "I was wondering if-"
"You wanted to go for a swim? You wanted to fornicate? You wanted to-" Tristan desperately tried to finish for her. After all, they weren't soul mates if they couldn't finish each other's sentences.
"No!" Rory exclaimed, trying to get a word in edgewise. Her blue eyes glittered in the sunlight. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over for a movie tonight."
'Damn it!' thought Tristan, 'I should have thought of that!'
"Tristan?" Rory asked, her blue eyes glimmering with concern.
"Uh, yeah?" Mentally stopped slapping his forehead.
"Do you want too?" Her blue eyes questioning.
"Oh, yeah. Definitely. So tonight." Tearing his eyes away from her blue ones.
"Yeah." 'Oh, he's sooo dreamy!'
"Great."
"Yeah." 'I'm so glad I finally decided!'
"Rory?" Tristan asked, seeing her glazed blue eyes.
'Concentrate Rory! Don't think about tearing off his shirt and licking his biceps...' "Yeah?"
"Are-" Tristan stopped, glaring at the annoying girls who were sitting on the edge of their seats, obviously waiting for a completely TRORYish movie night. Because they didn't realize that it was a SATIRE. "Alright already! We'll skip to the damn movie!"
"What was that?" Rory asked innocently. It was much too easy to get caught in his, um...eyes. Yeah, his "eyes". ---
It was much later that night. The lights were off, pizza boxes and bowls of chips and candy littered the floor and coffee table, and somehow Rory had ended up sitting on Tristan's lap with her hands under his shirts and his tangled in her hair, without noticing. Suddenly, Rory picked up the remote and turned off the television just as {Insert movie star's name here} was about to {Insert movie star's action here} by {Insert something else here} and {Ditto}, except that {Once again now} and {Blah blah blah}, so that {Yadda yadda yadda} would save the {Insert Barnyard animal/s Hollow? It was hard enough finding one within driving distance-"
"Oh Tristan, you're so thoughtful!" Rory cut in, and gave him a huge kiss.
Tristan blushed. "Yeah, well..." Gently, Tristan disentangled himself from Rory and knelt down in front of her. "Rory?"
"Yes?" Rory asked, her voice shaking.
"Will you marry me?" he asked, opening a small box.
"Oh Tristan!" Rory breathed, when he put a white gold ring onto her outstretched finger. The clumps and clumps of diamonds sparkled under the glow of the television and Rory admired the delicate workmanship of the huge diamonds, rubies and emeralds encrusted into the band. It was gorgeous (it weighed nearly 30 pounds, but it was worth the pain) and Rory loved it so much she heaved a huge sigh and kissed Tristan on his cheek.
"Will you?"
"Of course I will!"
"I love you Rory..."
"And I love you Tristan," Rory said, pulling him up beside her. "Now let's watch the sun."
And they sat together, and watched the sunrise.
---
The End! Or is it? PART I
---
FRESH OF THE PRESS: If you got this far a second time, thank you very very much. I really wasn't happy with this chapter, but now I'm appeased, pleased and utterly contented. Again, thanks, and enjoy Part II. -aa
Authors Note: AHHHH! I just read the first 25 chapters again! AHHHH! They're horrible! I don't know how anyone managed to read them and actually liked them! I'm so embarrased!!! GAH! Well, as my nearly 200 reviews dictate, I guess I shouldn't complain. If you love me, by the end of the story there will be 300 (guilt is a fun thing). So, stay tuned for:
THE END! Or is it? PART II
-authors anonymous
READ THIS: CHAPTER 26 HAS BEEN UPDATED! [April 7] See Chapter 27 for details.
---
Rory lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. She hadn't closed her eyes once from the time she went to bed to the time she woke up. In fact, she hadn't slept a wink all night. Her thoughts were in turmoil. Who would she choose? Here she was, anywhere from 16 to 18 years of age, and she hadn't had a boyfriend in 26 chapters (although, to her credit, she had had several romantic encounters to date).
"What am I going to do?" Rory wondered aloud. "There are so many choices!" Rory realized that she wasn't going to draw a reasonable conclusion without having some coffee in her system, so she got dressed and headed to Luke's diner.
"Hey there Rory, coffee?" Luke asked, so OBVIOUSLY disappointed that the elder Gilmore wasn't sitting next to the younger Gilmore at the counter.
"Hey!" Rory shouted, causing some disturbance in the diner. "This story is about ME! and not my insane Mother's love life. So CAN IT!"
[AN: Jeez, some people...]
"To-go please," Rory replied sweetly. She wasn't in the mood for comic banter with Lorelai's-fated-to-be-future-husband when she had heavy stuff on her mind. Just as Luke handed her the paper cup, Jess bounded down the stairs.
"Hey," he said, running his oh-so-beautiful-hands through his oh-so- gorgeous-hair.
"Hey," replied Rory, unenthusiastically.
"Want to have an oh-so-over-done conversation about an oh-so-overused- author-named-Hemmingway?"
Rory looked up at Jess. Maybe it was a trick of the light, perhaps something in her pancakes (that she hadn't ordered, but was eating anyway), but Jess wasn't oh-so-appealing anymore. Was it that Rory had finally realized his effect on Global Warming? Maybe. Was it that Rory had finally realized how much hair gel he used every morning? It's possible. Was it that Rory had decided to follow her much-neglected mother's advice to stay away from the town's resident "Jack the Ripper"? It is conceivable. Was it that the author decided to save her life by not being barbequed on a rotating spit by all of the Trory fans reading this story? Not unlikely. But for whatever the reason, Rory couldn't stand the sight of him.
"Uh, maybe tomorrow..." Rory replied, after she had thought all of this. Poor Jess. After all, Rory WAS the slowest thinker on this side of the border. "Um, I gotta go. See ya!" With that, Rory was up and away (so to speak).
-
Rory was wondering through the town, nursing her cup of coffee. "One down, two to go..." Rory's wanderings had taken her from Luke's to Doose's market. Which wasn't a very long wandering session, because the market was across the road from the diner, but since no one noticed this, we can move right along. Realizing that Rory was going to need more than a cold cup of coffee to solve her problem, she decided to go inside. As it happened, on her search for chocolate covered marshmallows, Rory ran smack-dab into Dean.
"Rory! Hi!" Dean said enthusiastically, putting down the box of cornstarch he was holding. "How are you?"
"Oh, you know..." Rory said, looking around, still thinking of her chocolate covered treats.
"So Rory, I've been thinking..." Dean started.
"Yes?" Rory prompted. 'This can't be good.'
"Well, I realize now that we haven't really been represented right."
Rory muffled a "huh?" with a tight smile.
"I mean, in all of the stories, you're really a- well, you know."
Rory nodded, not really knowing, but going along with the deranged 'bag- boy' anyway.
"The stories aren't accurate. I mean, why would Jess call me bag-boy? Is he in cahoots with Tristan or something?" Dean started to get more than a bit peeved. "Why is that? And why do I always call you a slut or beat you up?"
'Or both,' Rory thought.
Dean continued without waiting for an answer. "Am I the ONLY one who notices that I'm always a possessive, love sick boyfriend? And don't think that you can't drag me along for chapters on end, apparently you can! How fair is that? Do you know how many times you've said 'I can't, I don't want to hurt him?' to Jess or Tristan, or even Kirk?! It's CRAZY!"
"Dean, calm down!" Rory said, looking around nervously. The last thing she wanted was to be kicked out of Doose's before she'd gotten her chocolate covered marshmallows.
"If you knew all the times I got drunk," Dean said, getting angrier by the minute, "maybe you would rethink all of the breaking my heart you are so inclined to do! Do you know how many times I've either a) gotten into a car crash, b) gotten intoxicated and slept with someone who probably has a disease, or c) slept with someone who goes to Chilton with you? Do you have any idea what happens in the stories? What about your Mother? Why does she like me more than you do? And what about all of that "sexual tension" between me and Jess? What sick bastard thought that up?"
Rory had had just about enough. "What stories? Why are you spewing nonsense? I would have been better off talking about 'The Sun Also Rises' with Jess!" With that, Rory grabbed a bag of marshmallows, and stormed out, making this the second official time she had stolen from Doose's Market.
-
"Phew..." Rory said, once she had successful polished off the bag of candies. While she had been chewing on the delectable goodies, she had successfully forgotten about her pressing problems. Now the weight of her decision had come back to her in full force. With both Jess and Dean eliminated, it left only one candidate...
"Kirk!" Rory yelled, running up to him. "Wait up!"
"Yes?" the man asked, stopping his pursuit of lunch to listen to Rory.
"I just wanted to congratulate you for being an upstanding citizen."
[AN: Heart attack, anyone?]
"Why, thank you!" Kirk replied, touched that Rory had noticed.
"No problem! Now I've got to go and find the man of my dreams (at least for this chapter!) See ya!" With that, Rory was gone.
-
Luckily, Rory didn't have far too go. "Tristan!" she called, running up to the oh-so-sleek-'n-shiny vehicle. "Tristan!"
The man of her desire rolled down the window. "Oh, hey Rory."
'Sigh! Even his greetings are sexy!' Rory thought.
"Tristan, I have to talk to you. Um, do you want..."
Tristan finished her thought, "...To go to an obscure cafe in Hartford so you can tell me your feelings over a cup of coffee? To fly to [Hawaii/Mexico/Paris/Finland] for an impromptu holiday? To have internet conversations declaring our love of each other without even knowing it? To- "
"Uh, actually..." Rory said, cutting him off, "I was wondering if-"
"You wanted to go for a swim? You wanted to fornicate? You wanted to-" Tristan desperately tried to finish for her. After all, they weren't soul mates if they couldn't finish each other's sentences.
"No!" Rory exclaimed, trying to get a word in edgewise. Her blue eyes glittered in the sunlight. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over for a movie tonight."
'Damn it!' thought Tristan, 'I should have thought of that!'
"Tristan?" Rory asked, her blue eyes glimmering with concern.
"Uh, yeah?" Mentally stopped slapping his forehead.
"Do you want too?" Her blue eyes questioning.
"Oh, yeah. Definitely. So tonight." Tearing his eyes away from her blue ones.
"Yeah." 'Oh, he's sooo dreamy!'
"Great."
"Yeah." 'I'm so glad I finally decided!'
"Rory?" Tristan asked, seeing her glazed blue eyes.
'Concentrate Rory! Don't think about tearing off his shirt and licking his biceps...' "Yeah?"
"Are-" Tristan stopped, glaring at the annoying girls who were sitting on the edge of their seats, obviously waiting for a completely TRORYish movie night. Because they didn't realize that it was a SATIRE. "Alright already! We'll skip to the damn movie!"
"What was that?" Rory asked innocently. It was much too easy to get caught in his, um...eyes. Yeah, his "eyes". ---
It was much later that night. The lights were off, pizza boxes and bowls of chips and candy littered the floor and coffee table, and somehow Rory had ended up sitting on Tristan's lap with her hands under his shirts and his tangled in her hair, without noticing. Suddenly, Rory picked up the remote and turned off the television just as {Insert movie star's name here} was about to {Insert movie star's action here} by {Insert something else here} and {Ditto}, except that {Once again now} and {Blah blah blah}, so that {Yadda yadda yadda} would save the {Insert Barnyard animal/s Hollow? It was hard enough finding one within driving distance-"
"Oh Tristan, you're so thoughtful!" Rory cut in, and gave him a huge kiss.
Tristan blushed. "Yeah, well..." Gently, Tristan disentangled himself from Rory and knelt down in front of her. "Rory?"
"Yes?" Rory asked, her voice shaking.
"Will you marry me?" he asked, opening a small box.
"Oh Tristan!" Rory breathed, when he put a white gold ring onto her outstretched finger. The clumps and clumps of diamonds sparkled under the glow of the television and Rory admired the delicate workmanship of the huge diamonds, rubies and emeralds encrusted into the band. It was gorgeous (it weighed nearly 30 pounds, but it was worth the pain) and Rory loved it so much she heaved a huge sigh and kissed Tristan on his cheek.
"Will you?"
"Of course I will!"
"I love you Rory..."
"And I love you Tristan," Rory said, pulling him up beside her. "Now let's watch the sun."
And they sat together, and watched the sunrise.
---
The End! Or is it? PART I
---
FRESH OF THE PRESS: If you got this far a second time, thank you very very much. I really wasn't happy with this chapter, but now I'm appeased, pleased and utterly contented. Again, thanks, and enjoy Part II. -aa
Authors Note: AHHHH! I just read the first 25 chapters again! AHHHH! They're horrible! I don't know how anyone managed to read them and actually liked them! I'm so embarrased!!! GAH! Well, as my nearly 200 reviews dictate, I guess I shouldn't complain. If you love me, by the end of the story there will be 300 (guilt is a fun thing). So, stay tuned for:
THE END! Or is it? PART II