Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters, the show, or Chad Michael Murray. . . although if it where up to me and I had to pick from one of the three I'd pick the latter.
Another Author's Note: WOW! Thank you so much everyone. I was totally amazed at the response that this story had. . . I mean it turned out better than my other story. I was completely excited about the acceptance, thank you so much. . . you guys have no idea what that means to me. I know that it was a really long chapter and I should've omitted at least three-quarters of it, but I tried to put in some things that weren't exactly on the show. . . what happens now is completely mine.
Minus Dean Chapter 2
Rory sat on her chair for a couple of minutes after the phone call ended. She couldn't believe it! What had she done to herself? Was she some kind of masochist and didn't know that? And then she made a mental note, not to say that in front of Tristan. . . she wouldn't be able to live that out if she said it in his presence.
She needed to organize her thoughts.
She needed to organize her notes.
She needed. . . someone to blame!!!
"MOOOOM! This is your entire fault!!" she stated as she got of the chair and walked towards the living room.
"Excuse me, but how is that my fault?" she asked trying her hardest not to laugh. . . and succeeding.
"It's your fault I called him!!!"
"Really and how's that?"
"This is a direct quote 'that guy that keeps calling you Mary', what was I thinking listening to you about calling him?"
"I don't think it's my fault" Lorelai said, nonchalant.
"Well I think it is"
"Let's go through the steps here, shall we?" Lorelai said as she shifted positions to face Rory.
Rory just grunted as a reply.
"Who was the one that had to consider it? You or me?"
"Me. . . But. . ."
"Wait, you'll get your turn. . . Who looked up the name on the phone book? You or me?" Lorelai said as she flicked question number two on her fingers.
"Me. . . But"
"Nuh uh. You'll get your chance. . . Who dialed the number? You or me?"
"Me, again. . . but" Rory was starting to get a little discouraged.
"Uh huh. . . Who set everything up? You or me?"
"Me. . ." she said, completely loosing all her 'edge'.
"You see my point now. . . I was just an innocent by-stander"
"A not-so-innocent by-stander, you 'planted the seed'"
"That I did. . . but you where the one who let it grow into a beautiful rose-bush"
"You got the rose part right. . . a rose full of thorns!!"
"That was lame!"
"I know. . . but I am under a lot of pressure here."
"So I take it that Bible-Boy is not completely indifferent to you, huh?"
"Oh, no! He is not indifferent to me. . . I mean I have many feelings towards him. Hatred and disgust pretty much top that list!"
"Oh so you admit having feelings for him. . ."
"Yeah. But I think that he won't find that flattering for his huge ego"
"That boy would turn everything around and make it flattering, if he's anything at all like you picture him."
"Tristan DuGrey needs no embellishing, trust me"
"Did you say DuGrey?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"OK, kid. . . pay attention to mommy here."
"O. . . K!" Rory said, not understanding where Lorelai was going with this.
"You say Tristan is a rich Hartford boy, right?"
"Yeah, born and bred. Where are you going with this?"
"Rory, honey. . . if you want to have a chance to plan your own wedding with the guy of your choice, do not, listen to me, do not mention him in your grandmother's presence."
"What? Why?"
"Hartford society, darling" Lorelai said aristocratically "it's simple. . . mom and dad, your grandparents. . ."
"Yeah, I'm familiar with them"
"They probably know the family. . . his family. . . and they'll probably plan everything from 'the courtship' to your 2.5 children and your pet"
"I get a pet!!" Rory said, trying to distract her mother.
"Focus, honey. . . did you understand me?"
"Yeah, mom. . . look, probably this would be the only time that I will have a semi-normal relationship with the guy, and then will be back to him calling me Mary, and me throwing scratching remarks in his direction. . . trust me, the world would have to disengage from it's axis for anything to happen between Tristan and myself."
"I wouldn't be to sure"
"I would. . . and now if you don't mind, the spawn of Satan is coming over and, since we have nothing to offer, I think I should go and get something at the market so I have something to offer him besides tap water."
"But we have Pop-Tarts and. . coffee, you can offer him that"
"And then what would we eat? I'll be back in 15 minutes, ok?"
"Sure. . . bye"
And with that Rory walked towards Doose's Market to get some candy, and chips, maybe some cookies and soda. . . maybe some milk. Maybe some pain killers or whatever would make this day go away faster. Whatever she picked it had to be fast, because time was running out and he would be at her house in about 30 minutes, and she wanted to be home on time. . . to get this over with. Right. Yeah, to get it over with.
~*~
"You went all out here, didn't you?" Lorelai asked as they emptied the grocery bags and prepare everything for their visitor.
"Yeah. I figured that, if we didn't eat everything and -unless he is a Hoover- we won't, we could have a movie night later."
"You think of everything!"
"What can I say. . . but there is no altruistic sense here, it's mostly selfish. I will need a movie night to get 'the stench of this horrible day off of me'"
"I can live with that kind of selfishness"
And they finished setting everything up on the kitchen table.
~*~
As he was arriving to Stars Hollow, he knew that to get on the good side of both the mother and the daughter he had to get something. And he knew exactly what he had to get. Coffee.
He had noticed in the last couple of days, or maybe since Rory's first day, her inclination towards coffee. And he also remembered that that first day at school, when Lorelai had come to pick Rory up, that Lorelai had been bearing coffee for Rory, and –being the smart (and conniving) boy that he was- knew that bringing coffee was like killing two birds with one stone.
Tristan was a natural at winning parents over. He had done it many times. If he could avoid it, he would; but he was the kind of boy that would go the extra mile if needed, just to get another notch to his belt.
And, many girls had used the pretense of studying to get him to come over and he was more that happy to oblige; especially with Rory Gilmore. Although he knew that Rory would not call him to "study" but to study, the real thing, with books and everything. Most likely, her mother would be there; and if she lived up to the hype, that being from a society-name gave you (and especially if you are involved in a scandal such as Lorelai had been so many years ago), he knew that neither one of them were going to be easy to win over. . . but they were not going to be impossible either. He would make sure of that. He was, after all, a DuGrey.
Finally after driving around the center of the town, he noticed that there was a "Hardware Store" that said "Food" on one of the windows. He knew that the odds of a Starbucks in Stars Hollow were slim to none, but then again Starbucks was everywhere. Apparently, everywhere did not include Stars Hollow. After noticing the food sign on the window, he parked in front of it. He got out of the car and into the diner, to get six cups of coffee. He figured two for each one of them was going to be enough. . . and as he was going out of the diner, he figured that to be on the safe side, he should take some doughnuts and a couple of Danish.
As he was coming into the diner the first time, the Stars Hollow gossip mill was starting to move. Everyone was wondering who the mysterious, incredibly good-looking blond boy was doing in town. They could tell by the car, that he was probably a rich boy from Hartford. Everyone was starting to get ideas. Some said that being from Hartford, "he was coming on business sent by his father to see if they could buy the town and build one of those clubs", but everyone dismissed Kirk's idea. Some where a little more accurate, they thought that maybe some girl had met him somewhere and he was coming over to visit or pick her up for a date. But this was dismissed very fast also.
At the diner, Babette and Morty where coming to their own conclusions. This where a lot more accurate, considering that the boy was asking for massive amounts of coffee and doughnuts. And who else but the Gilmore's drank that much coffee and where the number one consumer of such delicious desserts.
As he was coming out of the diner for the second time, with the bag of pastries, Babette intercepted him:
"Hey, handsome. . . are you here on a social call?" Babette asked Tristan in her characteristic raspy-voice.
"Um. . . me?" Tristan asked.
"Of course you, gorgeous. Everyone else in here I know. . . but you, we don't know you. . . so are you?"
"Actually a study session" he said giving the characteristic Tristan DuGrey smile.
"Oh. . . are you coming over to the Gilmore's?"
"Yes, ma'am"
"They're our neighbors. . . great gals, everyone here loves them to death, don't we Morty?"
"Yes, pretty cool chicks" Morty answered.
"Do you go to school with Rory?"
"Yes, Ma'am, I do."
"Babette let the boy go. . ." Luke intervened "you should go. . ."
"Yes, I should. . . um, thank you. . . Ma'am nice meeting you" He said, first addressing himself to Luke and then to Babette.
"Hey, maybe after your done you can come over. . . our house is the Pink house next to Lorelai's. . . you won't be able to miss it"
And with this, he left the diner. And now he had a clear direction to how to get to Rory's. He was smiling to himself at how he had lucked out with that one. He didn't want anyone to tell Rory that he had stopped for directions to get to her house. And now he didn't have to. He drove a little more, and after exciting the town square, he reached the bright-pink house that had been mentioned before. And then he noticed the mail-box with the name Gilmore written across it. He was there.
~*~
Rory was starting to get antsy. The time was almost here. He was going to be at her house in a couple of minutes, and she was starting to get nervous. She had asked over a guy that, for all she knew, tomorrow will start telling stories about how she had phoned him, and asked for help from him. And a high school boy had one thing in mind when it came to study sessions, and wasn't really studying. And she thought that Tristan probably wasn't asked to "come over and study", and do only that very often. She heard Tristan's truck park in her lawn, behind Lorelai's Jeep. As she was sitting by the window in her bedroom, she saw how he got some things out of his truck – his backpack, some to-go cups, and a white bag -, and she saw how he walked over to her front door. She was rooted to her spot in her bedroom.
And then the knock came.
~*~
Lorelai was waiting in the living room for the knock. She had been watching through the living room window. She wanted to see him first thing, when he came over. In a way she wanted to pull the protective-mom act and let him know that she was home so that he wouldn't get any ideas. But, mostly, she was waiting for him, just to see him. Study the horns and tail and see how he blew fire from his nostrils. Some sign that he was as bad as Rory was saying he was.
But when she saw the boy descend from his truck, and saw no flaming nostrils, tail or horns. . . you could've called her stunned. The kid was amazingly beautiful. Not many men fit into a 'beautiful' definition – Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Matt Damon, and Jared Leto – but this boy did. Chiseled features, blond, tall, great arms under the t-shirt. . . definitely beautiful-worthy. Kind of a Brad Pitt look there.
So she ran to the door after the knock came. And after waiting for a minute, she opened it. They didn't have to seem eager to have him there. But Lorelai was. And was even more surprised than she had been before.
"Hello" she said as she opened the door.
"Hello, my name is Tristan DuGrey, Is Rory home?"
"Yeah, I know. . . I'm Lorelai Gilmore, Rory's mom. . . come in, come in" she said as she let him through the door.
"Nice to meet you Ms. Gilmore"
"Oh, no. . . None of that Ms. Gilmore crap, call me Lorelai" she said, as she waved a dismissive hand.
"OK, Lorelai nice to meet you. . . this is for you" he said as he handed her two to-go cups full of coffee.
"You really know how to get into someone's good side" she said, as she took the coffee tray from him. . . "Thank you"
"Well, I figured you were as inclined as your daughter to the beverage. . . and I got these also" he said as he handed Lorelai the bag of pastries.
"Danishes!!" she exclaimed "I missed my Danish today. . . thank you"
"Sure. . . so, um. . . is. . ." but he was caught of mid-sentence.
"Rory. . . yeah, she is here. . . guessed you figured she would ditch the study session? But no, she is very academically-oriented. I'll go get her." And with this Lorelai walked away "Hey Jen, Tristan's here"
Rory heard this from her room. Wrong moment to call her by any other name than her own. "And what is it with the Jen reference?" she whispered to her mother when they were close together in her room.
"Well" Lorelai started whispering also "you left out the part that Bible-Boy has kind of a Brad Pitt thing going for him?"
"Brad Pitt? Are you nuts?"
"Are you blind? The kid is gorgeous"
"I was blinded for a moment, but now I see the light" Rory answered sarcastically.
"Glad to be of service" Lorelai said, and then added "he got us coffee and pastries" she said as she wiggled both things in front of Rory.
"You see. . . he wan you over, with coffee and pastries, he is evil"
"I can overlook that"
"I bet you can, I'm going over there. . . stop drooling! " Rory said and started walking out of her bedroom and towards the living room.
Tristan had already relieved himself from the weight of his back pack, and was walking around the living room, looking at pictures. He stopped at one. Rory was probably around 6, and had a Harvard uniform and pom-poms. He didn't even have to turn around to know she was there. He felt her as soon as she had stepped into the living room. He found that he would pretty much know whenever she walked into any room, whether it was the living room, the classroom, school.
"Nice picture. . ." he said and turned around "do you still have that outfit lying around. . . I would like to see you in it" he leered. And he started walking again, looking at more pictures.
"I would like to see you in a body bag, but that's not happening either" she quipped.
"If it would mean you crying over my body and holding me, I would do it"
"That's morbid!" she stated.
"That's how much I want you", he said and was walking to where she was standing.
"Goes to show you how sick you are"
"So Mary. . . not even your own mother calls you by your name. . . I though you said that she had put a lot of work into it"
"She put a lot of thought into that one, also. . . I have many names. . . I'm like royalty."
"Then you won't mind adding Mary to that list?"
"I would. . . but there's a maximum, and I've reached it. . . there are just so many names that can be printed in a certificate. Sorry!" she answered sarcastically.
"So your mom thinks of me as Brad Pitt, huh?"
"What?" Rory asked a little rattled.
"That's what that Jen reference meant. . . She thinks of me as Brad Pitt and you are my Jen. . ." he said standing really close to where she was, he looked her up and down, and added "But I'm luckier" he finished in a whisper in her ear.
Rory couldn't help but shiver. And she tried to cover it, but to no avail, Tristan had noticed the effect that last comment had on her. For once in their usual banter, she didn't have anything to add to his last comment.
"I've set up the kitchen for us to study. . ."
"Great, so shall we?"
"Yeah" she said and led the way. But he had to go back and get his backpack, and the remaining four cups of coffee. So she walked over to the kitchen and he entered a few seconds later.
"I've got you coffee, I hope it's alright" he said as he placed the coffee on top of the table, and sat down.
She was a little distracted by the gesture. And he said it as if it was the most normal thing to say. As if they had the intimacy of friends. And the other thing that got to her was the fact that he said 'I've got you coffee' which meant that he had been paying attention to what she did. "Um. . . sure. . . thanks"
"I got pastries too. . . but there are only doughnuts left, probably. Your mom seem fond of the Danishes"
"Yes I was. . ." Lorelai said as she came out of Rory's room and walked toward the living room to watch TV.
"Today was Danish day, but we didn't get there on time. . ." Rory explained as if it was the most natural of conversations.
"Do you have a day for every pastry?" he asked curiously.
"Nope, just for Danish. . . they don't bring them every day" she said as she got some stuff on the table. Mostly the things that she bought at the market earlier. She sat on the table next to where he was already sitting. She took a sip of the coffee " Hey this is Luke's coffee"
"I don't know. . . I got it at this place that has a 'hard. . ."
"Hardware Store sign. . . yeah, that's Luke's. You found it, huh?"
"Yeah, after a couple of minutes of driving around the square. Did he ever consider the fact of removing the sign and putting up one that said 'Diner'"
"It's to keep evil outsiders out of the town, and from drinking our coffee" Rory said.
"So I guess that if I found it the town welcomes me, because I'm not evil" he said.
"Nope, just shows that you have great skills to look for stuff that it's not for everyone."
"So I guess I've done it twice in a week"
"What other amazing discovery took place in your week, Tristan?" she asked sarcastically.
"You" he stated simply, as he looked straight into her eyes. She was taken aback by this, and blushed deeply. He just smiled and proceeded to take out some books. "So. . . where do you want to start"
She took a piece of paper, but when she noticed her hand wasn't as steady as she wished they were, she just slid it towards him. "I made a list of the things that I am having trouble with. . . you see" she started to explain to him "from where I left on Stars Hollow High, to where you guys where at Chilton. . . I missed a couple of things, and I am trying to catch up, but it's a little harder that I thought it would be."
"Chilton can be overwhelming" he said matter-of-factly.
"Yes it can. . . so do you think you can help me?", she said as she pointed to the list.
He looked at the list. "Yeah. . . but I will have to ask for something in return" he said as he cocked an eyebrow.
"So close. . ." Rory mumbled "There is no philanthropic side to you, is there?"
"Nope. . . besides it's not as if I am going to ask you to give me a kidney. . . hear me out"
She took a deep breath and stared at him.
"I'll take that as a yes. I am having trouble with English, and I've seen that you read so much, during free moments and lunch, and I was wondering if you could help me with that"
"Um. . ." Rory couldn't believe it, it really wasn't anything bad. "Sure, I guess I can do that for you. . What are you having trouble with?"
"Oh, no. . . It's not just one thing, it's the class in itself."
"So you are telling me that I have to help you through out the semester?" she asked incredulously.
"Yeah"
"But, um . . ."
"Rory, I left everything to come and help you in a moment's notice" he said trying to get her to feel guilty and help him.
"Yeah, but. . . I mean. . . we would have to make a schedule or something. . ."
"Whatever it takes. . . I cannot let my grades slip, my father would have me for dinner the day that happens" he said.
"Ok, I guess I can do that", she said hesitantly
"Great."
"Yeah. . . great"
"So what do you say if we start with. . ." And they started their study session. They went from chemistry, to calculus, to physics, back to chemistry, back to physics. They went on and on for ours.
Rory's notes where almost complete. Tristan brought over photocopies so she could punch holes thru them and placed them in her binder. 'That way you won't be behind. . . read them through though' he said as he handed the notes to her.
They went thru the four cups of coffee Tristan brought with him (but Rory had three and Tristan had one), the cookies Rory bought, the doughnuts, the soda, more coffee, some chips. . . they basically ate everything Rory had bought. When she noticed that, she knew that the movie night was out the window. But she didn't say anything about that. Lorelai on the other hand. . .
"Hey kids, how's everything going?" she asked in her last interruption.
"We are almost done" Tristan answered as he checked the list Rory had made.
"We are?" Rory asked incredulously.
"Yeah, we just have this little detail in calculus about the integrals and we are done."
"Great" Rory said, excited this time.
"Wow! If I knew better, I'd say that you sounded excited about us being done with this"
"Oh. . . then you do know better, because I was"
"So I guess the movie night is still on?" Lorelai asked Rory, just as excited. But then noticed the expression on her daughter face and realized what she had just done.
"Movie night?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah. . . Rory and I planned a movie night for tonight" Lorelai started, and Rory was making signs for her to stop "um. . . would you like to stay with us?" Lorelai asked. Rory just made a face.
"Stay?" Tristan asked, surprised.
"Yeah, you know. . . it involves not moving from your current location." Lorelai said.
"Um. . . well. . . I don't mean to be rude, and thank you for the invitation, but I do have to head home. And I wouldn't like to impose on you."
"You wouldn't be imposing" Lorelai said, and Rory just grunted.
"No, that's OK. . . I have to head home, I'll take a rain-check on the invitation if that's OK?" Tristan said as he got up and fixed his backpack to leave.
"Of course. . . you will have to bring coffee, but it's ok"
"I wouldn't dare coming here not bearing coffee"
"Smart boy, this Tristan" Lorelai said to Rory, who wasn't saying much at the moment.
"Thanks for everything. . ." he said to both Rory and Lorelai "I'll see you tomorrow at school" he said addressing only Rory this time.
"Uh huh. . ." Rory said.
"Good night, Lorelai"
"Good night, Tristan. . . Rory will walk with you to the door"
"Thanks." And Rory and Tristan started walking to the door. When they reached it Tristan opened the door for the both of them and they stepped in to the porch.
"Thanks for coming. . . you don't know what it meant to me, for you to come and help me"
"I don't know what it meant, but you could show me" he said as he stood right in front of her.
"Then I guess you will never know" she said as she stepped back.
"You will come around, Mary. . . trust me"
"You are amazingly self-assured, did you know that?"
"I just know what to do. . . but I did know that, nice of you to notice though"
"Yeah, I'm quite the observer."
"You're quite a lot of things. . . I could list them for you"
But as he was saying this, he heard the same raspy voice he heard at the diner, calling from the side of the house.
"Hey Rory, who's your friend?"
They both looked over and saw Babette, but this time she had reinforcements: Miss Patty.
"Hey Babette. . . this is my school-mate Tristan"
"Hello Babette, Ma'am" he said to Babette and Miss Patty.
"Yeah, I know. . . we've met at the diner today" said Babette "This is Miss Patty" she said introducing the woman next to her. They were now standing next to the stairs in Rory's porch.
"Encantada" said Miss Patty in Spanish, as she extended her hand towards Tristan.
"El gusto es mio (The pleasure is all mine)" he said as he lightly kissed Miss Patty's hand.
"You know Spanish?" Rory asked.
"Yes, I do. . ."
"What a handsome young man you have here Rory. . . are you sure he is just your school-mate?" Miss Patty asked as she measured Tristan up and down.
For once Rory didn't see a guy squirm at Miss Patty's lustful gaze.
"Pretty sure. . ."
"Well, if I were a couple of years younger. . ." started Miss Patty.
"Yo no estoy bendecido con tanta suerte (I am not blessed with that much luck)" he said.
And now, for the first time ever in her life had Rory seen Miss Patty blush.
"Well it was nice meeting you, Tristan. We hope to see you around more often" Babette said. Miss Patty was at a lost for words.
"Yeah, I hope to be around here more often also, Babette" he said as he looked at Rory.
Rory just shifted.
Miss Patty and Babette left the two teens, discussing what had Tristan said to Miss Patty that made her blush.
"I think I've never seen Miss Patty blush. . . what did you tell her?" Rory asked curiously.
"If it made Miss Patty blush, imagine what it can do to you" he said as he stepped closer to Rory now.
"You are right about that. . ." Rory said, and then added "You are dangerous to mess with Tristan"
"Not all the time. . ." he said and stepped even closer to Rory.
Rory needed a change of topic.
"Wow, a truck. I never pictured you in a truck"
"So you have pictured me when I'm not around"
"Yeah, I have. . . most of the times the car has ran you over" she said, and he laughed. And this made her stomach jump a little.
"So I guess there is hope for me, if there are some times that there is no car running me over. . . I can live with that" he said as he looked deeply into her eyes.
"So, why a truck?"
"Escalade 23-inch rims. . ." he stated.
"How very 'Lil Kim' of you. . . are the Bentleys, the Hummers and the Benz' waiting for you at home" she quipped.
"Escalade is made by Cadillac, and my grandfather is very fond of Cadillac. . . so when it was time to get a car for me, I could only think of a Cadillac". He explained.
"I see"
"Yeah"
"Um. . . So, thank you so much for tonight. . . I honestly appreciate what you did for me"
"Sure. . . anytime" he said and then pulled a card from his back pocket and fetched a pen from his backpack "Listen, just in case. . . this is my cell phone number, if you ever need me to do anything for you. . . and I do mean anything for you, just call. Ok?" he said and handed her the card.
"Thanks" she said taking the card from him.
"See you tomorrow, Mary"
"See you tomorrow, Tristan" she said as he was walking away from her.
And with this he unlocked his car with the remote that is attached to the key and proceeded to get in, start it and drive out of the Gilmore's drive way.
~*~
When he left, Rory stayed outside for a while. She had the piece of paper in her hand and she couldn't describe what she was feeling. He was so unbearable, cocky, insufferable . . . did he actually look a bit like Brad Pitt?
Stop asking yourself that, she said to herself, it will just make it harder for you. But he did have beautiful eyes, she was sure of that. Full of many things. Deep shade of blue that would make just about anyone melt. He made Patty blush, for God's sake!! No one had ever done that.
Just goes to prove that he was a guy that she had to stay away. And after today, she would. Of course she would!
~*~
Tristan couldn't ignore the way he felt when he was next to her. Having her so close all afternoon was driving him completely crazy. Who was this girl? Why did she have that effect on him? He was Tristan DuGrey, these things didn't happen to him. He had never been on the receiving end of those feelings, and that threw him off a little. He was always the person that would make those feelings felt on other girls, but girls had never made him feel that way. Ever.
She was so natural, so intense, so attentive, so sweet, and so beautiful. And those eyes, were enough to drive a man crazy. And she wasn't even aware of that. Could that be? Had she never notice how beautiful she was? Had any guy before him, ever noticed that either?
Just goes to prove that she wasn't a girl to be away from. And after today, he wouldn't. Of course he wouldn't!
