Authors: Summer and Joan

Title: Whispered Existence

Rating: Changed to PG-13, for now.

Chapter Title: Perfect Pair of Pants

Chapter Summary: Rory meets Alex's friends… and an old "friend."

Dedication: To Marissa, our very first reviewer! Err, and thanks for mentioning Pepe's, lol.

Authors' Notes:

Um, I'm going away Sunday. For a week. Camping. Me, camping? Right… Well, anyway, we wanted to update before I left, so it's a little short, but whatever. I hope you enjoy it.

-Summer, the manic outliner

:tear: I will miss you, lickergirl. No way would I ever let my Dad take me camping. Kath better dance for me while you're gone. Sorry this chapter's so short, we wanted to update before Summer leaves. We changed the rating for now. Nothing R rated is happening for a while. I loooove reviews.

-Joan, the un-nicknamed crazed coauthor

Disclaimer: If we owned anything of any importance, would we be writing at ff.net? Just think about it.

"So… um, what meals do you not eat here?" Rory asked Gregg and Alex, gesturing to the coffeehouse.

Gregg crinkled his nose. "Lunch. We usually have lunch somewhere else. We've both tried to cook once, and it hasn't come out, um, anywhere near good either time."

"Anywhere near edible," Alex put in.

Rory laughed. "Well, I can't cook either so don't worry about it."

Gregg paused. "You know we are eventually going to make you cook, right? Or at least try?"

Rory raised an eyebrow. "You won't be eating that night."

Gregg shrugged. "No big loss. That's why we'll have a big lunch." The three laughed together as they entered the coffeehouse.

"That's what she orders every time we're here. Bottled water! Who else orders bottled water in a coffeehouse? Only Alex, I tell you. She's a weird one." Gregg grinned at Alex from across the corner table.

Alex rolled her eyes, strangely quiet compared to how she'd been the day before. Perhaps she was just tired. "Unlike you, Gregg, I'm not blessed with a fast metabolism."

"One cup of coffee isn't going to kill you. In fact, it may make you stronger. And you need a little meat on your bones anyhow."

"I'd prefer to have a waist, thank you."

Rory watched the exchange in amusement. Alex was the typical girly-girl, only with better comebacks. And Gregg… there was no adjective for Gregg.

Rory was jerked from her thoughts when the conversation was turned toward her. "See, Rory drinks coffee, and she's in good shape. Rory, tell Alex she should have a cup of coffee."

"Okay. Um, Alex, you know, you should have a cup of coffee," Rory said, trying to keep a straight face.

Alex laughed. "Thanks Rory. Since the advice was so original and came from you, maybe I will." She proceeded to slap Gregg lightly in the back of the head. Turning to Rory, she added, "I'm going to lunch with a few friends. You should come. Ooh! And come shopping with me! We can have a girls' day out."

Rory and Alex stepped out of Alex's car, a comfortable Lexus sedan. They had driven the 20 minutes or so to Farmington, where Alex claimed, "the shopping was a million times better."

Looking around, Rory had to admit she agreed. Instead of the thousand Yale merchandise stores, there was a bebe and a BCBG Max Azaria. Not necessarily her stores, but better than Urban Outfitters.

As they entered the store, a saleslady smiled at Alex. As she made her way directly to the sale rack, it became clear it was not her first time in here. Forgoing an olive green miniskirt and some ugly tops, Alex knew exactly what she was looking for.

The perfect pair of black pants.

"They're a necessity!" Alex called from the dressing room. Stepping out, she asked of Rory, "Do these look okay?"

Rory tried to ignore her visible bra. "Look great to me. Turn around."

Alex twirled around. "Should I get them? They're only $110."

"Okay. They're nice enough."

Alex walked to the cash register and purchased the pants with her platinum American Express card.

She turned towards Rory, "Let's go to bebe now. You look like you could use a new skirt."

Pepe's was pretty crowded for a Tuesday afternoon. Rory followed Alex to a wooden booth toward the back of the room, where four people were already sitting.

As she came closer to the table, she could make out the four people more clearly. There were three girls; two blondes and a brunette. The fourth was a guy, who had his arm slung casually over the shoulders of one of the blondes, and they were sitting opposite the other two girls.

Sitting down opposite the couple, she recognized the man. Blonde hair, incredibly blue eyes. A familiar smirk. Tristan DuGrey.

"Hi, Tristan," Rory said, figuring she might as well get it out of the way. Yes, she already knew someone here.

Tristan's head jerked back and he gave Rory a second look. "Whoa. Rory. I didn't expect you to be the roommate Alex told me about, even though she…" He trailed off as the girl, assumedly his girlfriend, snuggled against his arm. "Oh, Rory, this is my girlfriend, Samantha Daniels."

Samantha could've been Tristan's twin. Her hair and eyes were the same color, and she had the same well-bred posture. Her eyes were a paler blue, however, and she didn't seem quite as… alive as him.

Rory smiled easily. "Nice to meet you, Samantha."

Samantha didn't return to the gesture.

Alex cleared her throat and gestured toward the other blonde girl. "This is Claudia Reynolds." On appearance, the girl was the stereotypical blonde. Claudia smiled, holding out her hand.

"Hi Rory," she said sweetly. Rory shook her hand.

"And I'm Madison Burke," the other girl said quickly, before Alex had a chance to introduce her. "Pardon the unisex name, but my parents were never completely in their right minds." She shrugged, her glossy brown curls bouncing a little. "It's nice to meet you, Rory."

"You too."

Rory was surprised at how…different Tristan seemed, He was no longer the cocky jerk he had been at high school. He no longer referred to her as 'Mary.' He even had a steady girlfriend! Sure, she was a bitch, but what should Rory expect from one of his girlfriends? That girl he made out with in front of her locker was like that, too. Was her name Autumn? Some season. Rory couldn't remember.

Not like it mattered. That girl had dumped him at a party. The same one where… No, Rory was not going to think of that embarrassing moment while she was sitting across from his girlfriend. This wasn't the time nor the place. Besides, he looked pretty cozy with Samantha.

His voice interrupted her thoughts, "So, how was Chilton without me?"

Rory rolled her eyes, "Cleaner."

"So, I heard you made valedictorian. Must have really pissed off Paris."

Rory shrugged modestly, "Paris almost got it. The only thing that stopped her was her 96 on the Physics final. I got a 98."

"Oh," he said, "Did you two ever become friends?"

"Yup. Actually, I was vice-president to her president of the student body."

He smirked, "Once I left, no guy to fight over, huh?"

Rory saw Samantha give him a light nudge. "Tristan…" Samantha whined, expectantly.

"Um, right," Rory said, "So, Madison, what's your major?"

After Rory got home, she sat on the LAZ-boy thinking about her lunch. She felt most comfortable, both physically and mentally, in the chair.

Madison had been the most friendly of Alex's friends. She'd told Rory she was from a small town in Georgia, about half an hour from Atlanta.

She was the epitome of a Southern belle. Seemingly sweet and innocent, kind and generous. She'd informed Rory that her major was 'Ethics, Minority, and Gender.' It seemed to fit her perfectly, from what Rory could tell.

Claudia had been fairly open as well. Out of the three, she seemed closest to Alex, often directing her comments toward her or talking about her. She'd said, after a moment's hesitation, that she was undeclared. She didn't see the point in tying herself to one major if she wasn't completely sure that that's what she wanted to do.

Samantha hadn't been quite as accepting. She hadn't been outwardly rude, but she'd seemed wary to Rory. She told Rory her major was French, both the language and the literature.

When Rory'd asked Tristan what his major was, he'd replied coolly, leaning back in his seat, "International Economics." He hadn't sounded enthusiastic, nor upset.

Rory sighed, pushing the chair backward. For some reason, Rory couldn't get his words out of her head.