hola!

quick little shout out to mandie, coffeechick87, and Alicia Jo who

are cramming my inbox with reviews AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT!!!!! wow, i

really need to calm down. that's what eating a bowl of strawberries

coated with way WAY to much sugar will do to you! lol. also thanx

everyone else who reviewed, i love u 2.

***

disclaimer: it still isn't mine (even though i did get my measly allowance

yesterday, but im still 2 broke to buy the show)

***

Chapter 13: The Storm Part 3

***

When Tristan woke up the next morning, the room was still dark,

but his watch read 9 o'clock. It was still pouring outside, even harder

than the night before, and he knew the streets would probably be flooding.

Rory was still asleep on his chest, her soft legs intertwined

with his. Tristan didn't dare disturb her, knowing that he only had a

few minutes left of this heaven before his angel woke and came to her

senses.

Thunder rolled loudly for several seconds, and Tristan felt

Rory stir. He immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

As Rory woke, she didn't hesitate to move out of Tristan's arms,

embarrassed by the way she was holding him. Tristan sat up, rubbing his

eyes in a sleepy manner.

"Morning Mary."

"Morning Briar Rose."

"Who?" Tristan asked.

"Briar Rose? From Sleeping Beauty? You can't tell me you haven't

seen Sleeping Beauty."

"I've seen Beauty and the Beast," he said.

Rory smiled. "Well then, it looks like we'll be watching Sleeping

Beauty as soon as the power turns back on."

"Do we have to?" he whined.

Rory ignored him and got out of bed. "What time is it?"

"Nine," he replied.

"God, I need some coffee," she said. "I can't believe you don't

have coffee in your house. At this point I would even settle for coffee

flavored lollipops I'm craving coffee so bad."

"Spoken like a true addict," he replied. "Hey, you know what, I

think I have some coffee ice cream in the freezer, but it might be

sorta melted."

Rory perked up. "You do?" Tristan nodded, and before he could

say another word, Rory was sprinting down the stairs towards the kitchen.

*****

"So what do you want to do today?" Tristan asked Rory as they

settled down in the living room, her sitting on the couch with the

carton of melted ice cream in her lap and him lighting a fire for light

and warmth.

"Its up to you. God, this is almost as good as real coffee!"

"Were you just calling me God?" Tristan asked, an amused smile

spreading across his face.

"Of course not! You can apply for Godliness when you have real

coffee in the house. Today, however, you are only a saint."

"I'll take that," he answered.

"Well considering the power is out and there is nothing to do in

this house, do you have any board games?" Rory asked, putting the lid

back on the ice cream, saving the rest for later.

"Board games? What are we, in fifth grade or something?"

"They help pass the time, and by the looks of it we're going to

have a lot of time to be passing."

"Fine. There's some in that cupboard over there," he replied,

pointing across the room. Rory got up and went to the cupboard and began

sorting through the games.

"No way," she shrieked. "You have Pretty Pretty Princess?" she

was waving the game in the air like a wild woman.

"Um, apparently. Don't tell me you want to play this," he replied,

taking the box from her hands and looking at the picture of a five year

old girl wearing plastic jewels and a crown.

"Of course I do! Mom and I loved this game. We used to always

fight over who got to wear the crown. I wonder what happened to ours."

"There's no way in hell I would sit down and play a game where

I have to wear a crown," Tristan answered, opening the box and removing

the crown.

"Well, in that case, this will be my second wish."

"What!" Tristan cried. "Are you crazy? You would waste your wish

on something as ridiculous as a board game."

"It's not ridiculous," Rory defended.

Tristan snorted. "Fine. If it means that much to you." He brought

the game over to the coffee table and Rory expertly arranged the pieces.

For the next twenty minutes they collected plastic jewelry while

moving the pieces across the board. Rory couldn't help but smile to herself

at the sight of Tristan wearing an assortment of bracelets, necklaces, and

rings. And he would never admit that he was actually kind of enjoying

the juvenile game.

"I WON!" Tristan cried excitedly as he landed his piece on the

crown spot. He triumphantly picked up the gray plastic crown and placed

it on his head.

"That is where you are wrong, Princess Tristan, because I make

a much prettier Princess than you," Rory said. Tristan had to admit

to himself how true it was, she looked absolutely gorgeous in the

firelight.

"Maybe so Mary, but you must have the crown to be Princess,"

he replied.

Rory smiled and threw herself at Tristan, attempting to grab

the crown which Tristan was holding out of reach. He ran away, holding

the crown over his head. Rory chased after him.

They ran all through the first floor and part of the second, and

the chase would have gone on if Tristan hadn't lost his footing and

tripped in the hallway.

Rory saw the opportunity and flung herself on top of him,

managing to pin him down. She reached to grab the crown, but a glance

at his striking eyes made Rory stop short.

They were blue, so blue- like the sky on a hot summer day.

They were so beautiful, twinkling with amusement. Rory got lost in his

eyes, and the moment.

Before she could even think, Rory was leaning her head down, her

blue eyes never losing contact with his.



*****

Rory's lips were on Tristan's before either of them could

comprehend what was happening. Soft and slow for a moment, but the

kiss rapidly increased with passion. Tristan couldn't think, his mind

was blank. All he knew was this was a mind-blowing kiss, and he couldn't

get enough.

Rory's whole body was tingling from the sensation of Tristan's

lips on hers. She ran her fingers through his soft blonde hair, and

Tristan's hands caressed her back softly. Rory pressed herself harder

into Tristan, begging for more. He rolled over so he was on top of her.

This action snapped Rory back into reality. After all, this

was Tristan she was kissing. Tristan- her friend, old enemy, the one

who broke her heart. She pulled away from his kiss.

"Tristan, we can't do this," her face only millimeters away

from his.

"Yes we can," he mumbled, recapturing her lips in his.

"No, we can't," she said determindely, managing to break away

from his kiss and stand up.

"Come on Rory," he said as she walked away. "Dammit Rory! Why

do you always run?"

She turned around, shocked by the way the last part of his

sentence came out as a frustrated yell. Her eyes locked with his for

a second, but she looked away when she saw the anger in them.



"Don't say that to me Tristan. It isn't fair."

"Not fair? Is that always your excuse. Name one time you didn't

run away," he challenged. She just turned around and started walking to

her room. Tristan stopped her before she got very far.

"Madeline's party, that day at the courtyard. And you put it off

the whole time we practiced for Romeo and Juliet," he said, listing the

incidents where she had run on his fingers. She just looked him in the

eyes before going to her room and slamming the door.

Tristan went to his room and slammed his door as well, He turned

his discman on, the volume on full blast. He shuddered when he thought

of the hatred he had just seen in her eyes.