ahhhhhhh! i slept so late that now i have a major case of insomnia. so

this is posted at like 3 in the morning. lol

o ya, and thanks for all the reviews, i love u guys to pieces!

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disclaimer: i don't own gilmore girls so suing me would be just a big

fat old waste of time

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chapter 16: Moonlight

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Jess watched them laughing from across the table, where he sat

playing with his food wondering why he had agreed to come in the first

place. Its not like he was having a good time with Lori, and to see

Rory and that guy down the table having the time of their lives, it was

just torture.

Rory was glad she had invited Tristan as her date. They were

laughing and joking, making fun of some of the people there and he was

keeping her mind of Lori. It seemed that they always got along outside

of school. Like that day when they went out for coffee, they had a

wonderful time. And tonight they hadn't fought at all. Maybe it was just

the confinement of the walls of Chilton. Maybe the cold, stuffy

school affected everyone's behavior and attitudes. But she liked this.

She really liked being able to talk to him.



She looked across the table to see Luke and Lorelai sitting next

to each other, arguing as usual, but loving every minute of it. Rory

could see the love in Luke's eyes when he looked at her mother. In fact,

she had been seeing it for years, past all the sarcasm and annoyed looks

he always threw. Of course she had always tried to convince her mother

that the sparkles in his eyes were for Lorelai and Lorelai alone, but

in true Lorelai fashion, she ignored both Rory and his eyes.

But tonight Rory noticed the spark in Lorelai's eyes as well, and

she couldn't help but let out a smile of satisfaction. No wonder her

mother had chosen to keep the identity of her date a mystery. She wanted

to keep of Rory's 'I told you so' speeches as long as possible.



*****

"Do you wanna walk the rest of the way to your house?" Tristan

asked Rory as the drove through the Stars Hollow town square. "Its not

that far and it is a beautiful night tonight."

"Sure," Rory said. Tristan parked the car and ran around the

other side to help her out. "Always the perfect gentleman," she said

to him.

He just smiled as she slipped her arm in his and they began the

walk through town.

"What's that gazebo over there?" he asked.

"Just a gazebo," she answered, smiling at his fairly ridiculous

question.

"Can we go sit in it?" he asked.

"Sure, why not." They crossed the street and went inside the

gazebo.

"Too bad there aren't benches all the way around the inside,"

Rory said. "I always thought that was a shame."

"Why's that?" Tristan asked.

"Come on. You can't tell me you've never seen The Sound of Music?

When that Liesel girl and the Nazi boy leap and dance all around her

gazebo? That has to be one of the best dance sequences of all times,"

she said.

"Is that all you and Lorelai do? Watch movies?" he asked.

Rory shook her head. "No. We also eat and drink coffee."

Tristan laughed. "How could I forget?"

"It looks like I'm just going to have to teach it to you,"

Rory said.

"Teach me what?"



"The dance, stupid. Keep up!"

She started twirling around the gazebo, her long dress fluttering

after her. Tristan laughed as he watched her dance, the moonlight

spilling over her shoulders softly. He couldn't believe this was the

same Rory from school. She definitely wasn't the stuffy, uptight person

that she was during school hours.

When she twirled past him, Tristan grabbed her in his arms and

pulled her close. Rory's beautiful blue eyes grew big with shock and

surprise. He was about to kiss her, but then thought better of it.

"What if I told you I wanted to kiss you right now?" he asked,

knowing it was safer to ask her permission than to go for it and end up

having to chase a hysterical girl.

"I would tell you I want to kiss you too," she said softly.

Tristan leaned down to kiss her, and got lost in the sensation

of her soft lips against his.