Just Pretending... Right?
by Sarah Dawson
Chapter Four: Surprise, Surprise
Spoilers: Same as always, meaning not really.
Pairing: L/L
Disclaimers: Nope. Nada. Nothin'. None of it's mine, it belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino and all of those... you know... other people...
A/N: Okay, just a note; I usually hate it when authors just put the same author's note in each chapter, but technically it doesn't matter because really I've already posted this chapter and I'm just editing. So ha! And this is useful information!
Just to catch you up, this takes place in some make-believe season where Luke, Lorelai and Rory aren't dating anyone and well, since they're practically the only people in the story, that's all you need to know. Yeah, and the whole story's just undergone a huge change, so if you're a bit confused as to why everything's different... there ya go. ~sarah
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"Lorelai!" Emily called from a distance to her daughter, who was talking with Luke as they watched everyone dance.
Lorelai grimaced and pretended not to hear. "So, Luke, how's the diner?" She asked, attempting to ignore her mother.
"Lorelai, it's very rude not to answer when someone is calling your name. I know you heard me, young lady." Emily scolded as she approached their table.
Luke shot a look at Lorelai as she tried not to roll her eyes. "Sorry, Mom." She sighed.
"Mm-hmm. Well, I was going to say that Mindy and James were asking where you two had run off to." Emily sniffed.
Lorelai almost groaned. "What did they want?" She asked, forcing a smile.
"They were wondering if you wanted to go to some... club, or something... after this was over." The woman answered in a disapproving tone.
"Oh, God." Lorelai's eyes widened. "Seriously?" She whined.
"Yes, Lorelai, 'seriously'. And I took the liberty of informing them you would attend." Emily announced, glaring at the couple. "Now, I must go see where your father has disappeared to. Mindy and James are waiting for you by the bar."
Lorelai sighed loudly after she left. "Oh God Luke, I'm so sorry she roped us into this, you don't have to go, I could just go alone, really-" she apologized profusely.
Luke shook his head. "Nah, it's fine." he said, taking a sip of his drink.
Lorelai looked surprised. "Are you sure? Because, really-"
"It's fine." he cut her off.
She looked surprised. "Well, okay. See if that's still what you say in thirty minutes."
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"So, where are we going?" Lorelai asked Mindy, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
"Oh, it's the cutest little club downtown!" The woman gushed. "You'll love it!"
Luke and Lorelai both held back a grimace. "Alright then. Right behind ya!" Lorelai replied with fake enthusiasm.
The couple turned to go back to the Jeep when Mindy grabbed Luke's arm. "No, no, no, you have to go with James! Lorelai and I have gotta go girl-chat!" she giggled. Luke shot Lorelai a desperate look, but she simply shrugged. Mindy and James shared a quick kiss and then turned expectantly to Luke and Lorelai, who exchanged a weird look.
Lorelai looked towards him uncertainly and quickly pressed her lips to his. Both were surprised, but neither pulled away. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her back hungrily. A few moments later, Mindy cleared her throat impatiently. Lorelai and Luke lept apart guiltily, faces flushed.
"Uhh..." Luke began, shoving his hands in his pockets. Lorelai looked down at the ground, blushing. Mindy giggled and pulled her towards the Jeep, leaving a very embarrassed Luke and James standing by the car.
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When they arrived at the club, Lorelai practically attached herself to Mindy, and Luke lagged behind all three, both avoiding the other's eyes.
"Come on, James, let's dance!" Mindy giggled, grabbing her boyfriend and dragging him onto the dance floor.
Luke and Lorelai slowly walked over to an empty table in an awkward silence. "So." Lorelai said tentatively.
"So?" Luke repeated with a small sigh.
"Umm... I was thinking." Lorelai began shyly.
"Gee, that's a new one." Luke drawled sarcasticly.
Lorelai glared at him. "Seriously. Well, I was just thinking that, you know how we're supposed to uh, 'break up' tonight?"
Luke nodded suspiciously. "What, you wanna throw things at me or something?"
"Although that would be cool... No. Um, since Mindy and James are... having such a good time." She eyed the couple warily, who was dancing--horribly--away.
"Yeah?"
"Maybe we could... postpone the break up? Because we wouldn't want to ruin their night or anything." Lorelai asked quickly.
"Right."
"Right. Because, if I was upset, then that would make my... good friend Mindy... upset too. And we wouldn't want that." She added hopefully.
Luke paused. "For their sake."
"For their sake."
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(A/N: In case no one gets it, I fast-forwarded to the next morning here. And let's pretend Lorelai had gotten home too late to talk about the date with Rory yet, k? K. Buh-bye now.)
"Rory! Rory, babe, you gotta get up now!!" Lorelai whispered loudly as she crawled into her daughter's bed.
"Mom??" Rory groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Who died?" she muttered with mild concern.
"Huh?" Lorelai asked, bouncing slightly.
"Mom, it is six o'clock in the morning on a Saturday. I figured nothing short of a death would get you up at this time." Rory mumbled, pressing the pillow against her face.
Lorelai pretended to be offended. "What? I'll have you know that I get up at six every Saturday and go for my daily jog around town!"
Rory couldn't help but burst out laughing. "That's the funniest thing I have heard since Mariah Carey decided to become an actress!" she giggled.
Her mother pouted. "Fine. Hey, now you made me forget what I woke you up for!"
"Oh God no..." Rory moaned, rolling over on the bed.
Lorelai flashed her a smile and shook her shoulder. "Just kidding! We have to go over my night because you didn't wait up for me!" she accused.
Rory opened an eye warily. "Wasn't last night your date with Luke?" she asked wryly.
"It was NOT a date! Hmm, but about that..." Lorelai trailed off.
Her daughter popped up from under the covers. "Ooh, spill!"
"Okay, so last night this horrible woman that my mother used to make me be friends with named Mindy tricked me and Luke into going to this nightclub with her after dinner. And then she made me ride with her and Luke had to go with James, and so of course they kissed and then she expected me and Luke to do it too, so-"
"Whoa! You kissed Luke?!" Rory gasped, interrupting her mother.
"Shh! I'm getting there!" Lorelai scolded. "Okay, so we kissed and, well, it wasn't what I'd thought it'd be like." she confessed.
Rory's eyes sparkled. "You've thought about what kissing Luke would be like?"
Lorelai blushed slightly. "No-- No! Of course not! I, I just meant-- I don't know! Ugh, my point was, it was... nice."
"Nice as in...?"
"Nice as in maybe-it-wouldn't-be-so-bad-if-it-happened-again nice?" Lorelai suggested feebly.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! You're having Dirty Luke Thoughts!!!" Rory yelled.
"No! No, no, no, I'm not! I haven't even told you the dream part yet!!" Lorelai cried defensively.
"Oh my GOD! You had a Dirty Luke DREAM??" Rory slapped her hands over her eyes. "Ew, ew, ew, nasty visual, ew, ew, ew, EW!!!"
Lorelai grabbed her hands. "NO! Get a grip! It wasn't a Dirty Luke Dream!" she protested. "Remember those dreams I had last summer? With Luke and the babies, and the clocks, and the decaf coffee? It was just like that!"
Rory switched gears quickly. "Ooh, really? What happened?" she asked excitedly.
"Well, once again, seriously sexy nightgown, me in bed alone. Then, I wake up and I look at the bed next to me and I yell 'Luke!!' like when I pretend to be mad, and Luke comes into the bedroom, and he's like, 'What's wrong?' And I stand up and push him back into the bed, and then--"
"Ew, ew, okay stop Mom! You said it wasn't dirty!"
"It's not! Just listen; Anyways, I push him back onto the bed and say 'Remember what I said about sleeping late? You've got Saturdays off now and you're going to learn to enjoy them!' And then I get up and go into the kitchen and Luke's been making breakfast, so I get some coffee and then Luke comes back and says 'Wouldn't you rather I make you breakfast?' and I kiss him and say 'That's true.' But then he says my coffee and takes it away! He says 'That's bad for the babies, you know.' And he takes away my coffee and kisses me again!" Lorelai rambled.
"Whoaa. Someone's got the hots for the local diner man!" Rory accused with a giggle.
"No! I mean, seriously no. I do NOT think so. It's Luke--Luke! No way. Uh-uh." she argued.
"Fine, Cleopatra, but I can't think of anything else the dream could possibly mean."
"Cleopatra?--Oh, queen of the denial, ha ha ha. So funny."
"Mom, seriously. Last summer your weirdo dream that was oddly like this one had a meaning, regardless of how much we had to stretch to make it make sense, but this one? I got nothin'."
"Okay, okay, maybe it means that since I don't have a significant other in my life right now, and Luke are doing this pretending thing, I'm wishing I had someone. And then, maybe the him being here on a Saturday means--means... I like spending free time with him! Ya know, because he's my friend and all." she ended quickly.
"What about the babies?" Rory persisted mischievously.
"Uh. I'm upset because you're almost gone to college, so... so I wish I had more time with you! And babies, babies... Uh..." Lorelai tried weakly.
"Uh huh. Sure Mom." Rory smirked. She yawned. "Look, I'm going back to sleep now, so please take your craziness and weirdisms somewhere else, please."
Lorelai pouted, but stood up to leave. "Fine, but... but... Argh!" she muttered in frustration, throwing up her hands.
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TBC... You probably should know that I really do like reviews. And feedback. And any form of communication with the fellow human species. Or non-human species. Whatever! Raspberries424@aol.com...
by Sarah Dawson
Chapter Four: Surprise, Surprise
Spoilers: Same as always, meaning not really.
Pairing: L/L
Disclaimers: Nope. Nada. Nothin'. None of it's mine, it belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino and all of those... you know... other people...
A/N: Okay, just a note; I usually hate it when authors just put the same author's note in each chapter, but technically it doesn't matter because really I've already posted this chapter and I'm just editing. So ha! And this is useful information!
Just to catch you up, this takes place in some make-believe season where Luke, Lorelai and Rory aren't dating anyone and well, since they're practically the only people in the story, that's all you need to know. Yeah, and the whole story's just undergone a huge change, so if you're a bit confused as to why everything's different... there ya go. ~sarah
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"Lorelai!" Emily called from a distance to her daughter, who was talking with Luke as they watched everyone dance.
Lorelai grimaced and pretended not to hear. "So, Luke, how's the diner?" She asked, attempting to ignore her mother.
"Lorelai, it's very rude not to answer when someone is calling your name. I know you heard me, young lady." Emily scolded as she approached their table.
Luke shot a look at Lorelai as she tried not to roll her eyes. "Sorry, Mom." She sighed.
"Mm-hmm. Well, I was going to say that Mindy and James were asking where you two had run off to." Emily sniffed.
Lorelai almost groaned. "What did they want?" She asked, forcing a smile.
"They were wondering if you wanted to go to some... club, or something... after this was over." The woman answered in a disapproving tone.
"Oh, God." Lorelai's eyes widened. "Seriously?" She whined.
"Yes, Lorelai, 'seriously'. And I took the liberty of informing them you would attend." Emily announced, glaring at the couple. "Now, I must go see where your father has disappeared to. Mindy and James are waiting for you by the bar."
Lorelai sighed loudly after she left. "Oh God Luke, I'm so sorry she roped us into this, you don't have to go, I could just go alone, really-" she apologized profusely.
Luke shook his head. "Nah, it's fine." he said, taking a sip of his drink.
Lorelai looked surprised. "Are you sure? Because, really-"
"It's fine." he cut her off.
She looked surprised. "Well, okay. See if that's still what you say in thirty minutes."
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"So, where are we going?" Lorelai asked Mindy, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
"Oh, it's the cutest little club downtown!" The woman gushed. "You'll love it!"
Luke and Lorelai both held back a grimace. "Alright then. Right behind ya!" Lorelai replied with fake enthusiasm.
The couple turned to go back to the Jeep when Mindy grabbed Luke's arm. "No, no, no, you have to go with James! Lorelai and I have gotta go girl-chat!" she giggled. Luke shot Lorelai a desperate look, but she simply shrugged. Mindy and James shared a quick kiss and then turned expectantly to Luke and Lorelai, who exchanged a weird look.
Lorelai looked towards him uncertainly and quickly pressed her lips to his. Both were surprised, but neither pulled away. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her back hungrily. A few moments later, Mindy cleared her throat impatiently. Lorelai and Luke lept apart guiltily, faces flushed.
"Uhh..." Luke began, shoving his hands in his pockets. Lorelai looked down at the ground, blushing. Mindy giggled and pulled her towards the Jeep, leaving a very embarrassed Luke and James standing by the car.
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When they arrived at the club, Lorelai practically attached herself to Mindy, and Luke lagged behind all three, both avoiding the other's eyes.
"Come on, James, let's dance!" Mindy giggled, grabbing her boyfriend and dragging him onto the dance floor.
Luke and Lorelai slowly walked over to an empty table in an awkward silence. "So." Lorelai said tentatively.
"So?" Luke repeated with a small sigh.
"Umm... I was thinking." Lorelai began shyly.
"Gee, that's a new one." Luke drawled sarcasticly.
Lorelai glared at him. "Seriously. Well, I was just thinking that, you know how we're supposed to uh, 'break up' tonight?"
Luke nodded suspiciously. "What, you wanna throw things at me or something?"
"Although that would be cool... No. Um, since Mindy and James are... having such a good time." She eyed the couple warily, who was dancing--horribly--away.
"Yeah?"
"Maybe we could... postpone the break up? Because we wouldn't want to ruin their night or anything." Lorelai asked quickly.
"Right."
"Right. Because, if I was upset, then that would make my... good friend Mindy... upset too. And we wouldn't want that." She added hopefully.
Luke paused. "For their sake."
"For their sake."
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(A/N: In case no one gets it, I fast-forwarded to the next morning here. And let's pretend Lorelai had gotten home too late to talk about the date with Rory yet, k? K. Buh-bye now.)
"Rory! Rory, babe, you gotta get up now!!" Lorelai whispered loudly as she crawled into her daughter's bed.
"Mom??" Rory groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Who died?" she muttered with mild concern.
"Huh?" Lorelai asked, bouncing slightly.
"Mom, it is six o'clock in the morning on a Saturday. I figured nothing short of a death would get you up at this time." Rory mumbled, pressing the pillow against her face.
Lorelai pretended to be offended. "What? I'll have you know that I get up at six every Saturday and go for my daily jog around town!"
Rory couldn't help but burst out laughing. "That's the funniest thing I have heard since Mariah Carey decided to become an actress!" she giggled.
Her mother pouted. "Fine. Hey, now you made me forget what I woke you up for!"
"Oh God no..." Rory moaned, rolling over on the bed.
Lorelai flashed her a smile and shook her shoulder. "Just kidding! We have to go over my night because you didn't wait up for me!" she accused.
Rory opened an eye warily. "Wasn't last night your date with Luke?" she asked wryly.
"It was NOT a date! Hmm, but about that..." Lorelai trailed off.
Her daughter popped up from under the covers. "Ooh, spill!"
"Okay, so last night this horrible woman that my mother used to make me be friends with named Mindy tricked me and Luke into going to this nightclub with her after dinner. And then she made me ride with her and Luke had to go with James, and so of course they kissed and then she expected me and Luke to do it too, so-"
"Whoa! You kissed Luke?!" Rory gasped, interrupting her mother.
"Shh! I'm getting there!" Lorelai scolded. "Okay, so we kissed and, well, it wasn't what I'd thought it'd be like." she confessed.
Rory's eyes sparkled. "You've thought about what kissing Luke would be like?"
Lorelai blushed slightly. "No-- No! Of course not! I, I just meant-- I don't know! Ugh, my point was, it was... nice."
"Nice as in...?"
"Nice as in maybe-it-wouldn't-be-so-bad-if-it-happened-again nice?" Lorelai suggested feebly.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! You're having Dirty Luke Thoughts!!!" Rory yelled.
"No! No, no, no, I'm not! I haven't even told you the dream part yet!!" Lorelai cried defensively.
"Oh my GOD! You had a Dirty Luke DREAM??" Rory slapped her hands over her eyes. "Ew, ew, ew, nasty visual, ew, ew, ew, EW!!!"
Lorelai grabbed her hands. "NO! Get a grip! It wasn't a Dirty Luke Dream!" she protested. "Remember those dreams I had last summer? With Luke and the babies, and the clocks, and the decaf coffee? It was just like that!"
Rory switched gears quickly. "Ooh, really? What happened?" she asked excitedly.
"Well, once again, seriously sexy nightgown, me in bed alone. Then, I wake up and I look at the bed next to me and I yell 'Luke!!' like when I pretend to be mad, and Luke comes into the bedroom, and he's like, 'What's wrong?' And I stand up and push him back into the bed, and then--"
"Ew, ew, okay stop Mom! You said it wasn't dirty!"
"It's not! Just listen; Anyways, I push him back onto the bed and say 'Remember what I said about sleeping late? You've got Saturdays off now and you're going to learn to enjoy them!' And then I get up and go into the kitchen and Luke's been making breakfast, so I get some coffee and then Luke comes back and says 'Wouldn't you rather I make you breakfast?' and I kiss him and say 'That's true.' But then he says my coffee and takes it away! He says 'That's bad for the babies, you know.' And he takes away my coffee and kisses me again!" Lorelai rambled.
"Whoaa. Someone's got the hots for the local diner man!" Rory accused with a giggle.
"No! I mean, seriously no. I do NOT think so. It's Luke--Luke! No way. Uh-uh." she argued.
"Fine, Cleopatra, but I can't think of anything else the dream could possibly mean."
"Cleopatra?--Oh, queen of the denial, ha ha ha. So funny."
"Mom, seriously. Last summer your weirdo dream that was oddly like this one had a meaning, regardless of how much we had to stretch to make it make sense, but this one? I got nothin'."
"Okay, okay, maybe it means that since I don't have a significant other in my life right now, and Luke are doing this pretending thing, I'm wishing I had someone. And then, maybe the him being here on a Saturday means--means... I like spending free time with him! Ya know, because he's my friend and all." she ended quickly.
"What about the babies?" Rory persisted mischievously.
"Uh. I'm upset because you're almost gone to college, so... so I wish I had more time with you! And babies, babies... Uh..." Lorelai tried weakly.
"Uh huh. Sure Mom." Rory smirked. She yawned. "Look, I'm going back to sleep now, so please take your craziness and weirdisms somewhere else, please."
Lorelai pouted, but stood up to leave. "Fine, but... but... Argh!" she muttered in frustration, throwing up her hands.
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TBC... You probably should know that I really do like reviews. And feedback. And any form of communication with the fellow human species. Or non-human species. Whatever! Raspberries424@aol.com...