Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Author's Note. Many things. First, thanks to everyone for reviewing. I really appreciate it; it means so much to me! Then, a special thanks to crazy4GilmorEGIRLs, Trory4Ever, Rory DuGrey, Ducks, Randi, Chelle, msQTpa2T, ExoticEnigma, ilovegilmoretrory: thank you so much, it means a lot to me to be in your lists. Second, I edited the first chapter of the story, omitting half of it, because (as everyone said) it didn't necessarily have to be there since we all know what happened, right? OK, so now, we continue with the third installment of this story.
Dedication. To the persons listed above.
Minus Dean Chapter 3
Bryce and Josh were two of Tristan oldest friends. Bryce and Tristan had started Chilton together when they where both five, and basically grew up together, with everything that that meant. Joshua on the other hand had transferred private schools from Seattle, when his father got promoted to CEO of some major company branched in Hartford, when he was nine. But Josh fell into Tristan's 'crowd', and grew up with the rest of them as if he had started with them at five. When they saw Tristan at his locker, they decided to approach him.
"So, DuGrey, where were you last night?" Bryce asked him as they reached Tristan.
"Yeah, man, you went MIA on us. . . we called your house and Will told us that you were out" Josh added.
"I had a little pressing matter to take care off" Tristan answered back to both of them as he was opening his locker.
"And we all know what that means" Bryce said as he clapped Tristan on the back. All three smiling knowingly.
"So, who was it?" Josh asked to continue the conversation going.
"Rory Gilmore" Tristan stated simply, as if it was an every day occurrence.
"Do you mean who I think you mean?" Josh asked amazed.
"Yep. . . that girl" Tristan answered as he was pulling his books out of his locker.
"The new Mary?" Bryce asked incredulously.
"The one and only. . . my new Mary" Tristan clarified.
"Do you mean to tell us, that Rory Gilmore, Mary, and you. . ." Josh started.
"Oh, no. . . It has nothing to do with that."
"Then what does it have to do with?" Josh asked confused.
"Pay attention boys." Tristan started, finally meeting the boys' questioning looks for the first time since they started their conversation. "Last night I was studying and she called me, out of nowhere, and she asked me for help. She told me that she was behind in a few things and needed assistance."
"And you being the chivalrous man that you are, helped her. . . and then helped yourself" Bryce finished with a wink.
"Yeah, I helped her. . But didn't help myself" Tristan clarified, going back to pulling books out of his locker.
"You expect us to believe that you and Mary had a whole afternoon together and nothing but a good ol' study session happened" Bryce stated incredulously.
"Yes" Tristan dead panned.
"So you didn't try anything? At all?" Josh questioned him further.
"I didn't say that. . . but I didn't push it, either"
"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Bryce asked.
"Yes, I am feeling quite well actually"
"So you just went over to her house, and studied with her, and then you went home and that's all. . . you helped her out of the goodness of your heart?" Bryce continued. He needed answers to comprehend his friend's stupidity.
"Ah. . . Bryce, my friend, here is where you are wrong. Rory Gilmore, my Mary, is not your average Chilton-girl. Charm is beyond her, it does not affect her the way it does others. I have been asking her out since I saw her. . . trying to convince her in any way I can. So I decided I needed a plan. I needed a way in. And she gave it to me without even knowing. She let me into her house and her town. I have a better knowledge, a better understanding, of this girl now. And I intend to use it to my full advantage."
"Aaaahh, and the true Tristan arrives" Bryce finally comprehended.
"Sorry we doubted you, man." Josh added.
"Don't you guys know me enough by know. . . this girl is not going to slip away from me. I am going to make her wish she met me before she did." Tristan said as they started walking towards class.
"It sounds like a lot of work, though" Bryce finished.
And she is well worth it, Tristan thought to himself.
~*~
Rory descended the bus half a block away from the Chilton's main entrance. She walked into school in a cloud of blue and gray sweaters and blazers. People talking among each other, discussing homework and studying, the newest seventeen and Cosmo issue, and how Leo was dating some model named Giselle something-or-other. Rory on the other hand wasn't talking to anyone, but reading. The girl had amazing concentration and a great sense of direction since she didn't bump into anything or anyone while she was reading on her way into the school and then her locker.
She approached her locker, closed her book and started spinning her combination and opened it. She removed her knapsack from her back and lifted a leg to place her backpack on it and pull out the books that she had taken home the day before and placed them inside her locker. As she was checking her schedule for her first few periods, she heard the now familiar voice.
"Had a good night's sleep last night? Any dreams I might be interested in?" Tristan said as he approached Rory from behind.
"Good morning, Tristan" she said curtly.
At the sound of his name coming out of her mouth like that, even though the tone was totally cold and lacking of any desirable emotion, he still felt some kind of jolt. The way his name sounded coming out of her lips was just a little sweeter. No matter the tone or emphasis she gave to it, listening her say his name was always a sure way to make him smile.
"So, Mary. . . do you love me yet?" Tristan asked as he leaned sideways on the locker next to her.
"The word 'love' can be used in so many ways." Rory answered back.
"So you do love me then. . ." he said leaning a little forward.
"I love many things about you Tristan" she said as she turned to him a little while she placed her backpack at the bottom of her locker. "I love the way when I go home I don't get to see you or hear you, I love the way I don't have all my classes with you, I love the time I spend away from you while you are hitting on someone else. . . and the list goes on and on" she finished with a smile.
"So what you are telling me is that you love the fact that I let you miss me. . ."
"You're like Joey. . . you can turn anything to your advantage, don't you?"
"Yeah, pretty much"
"Wow! That has to take a really big ego and a whole lot of self-assurance. . . I understand why the truck now, you cannot fit that huge head of yours in a sports car." She said as she turned around and continued to pull out more books. . . ones that she didn't need until later or at all, just to keep herself doing something.
"That, and more leg room. . ." he said with a wink.
"You're insufferable"
"Last night we where in 'amazingly self-assured', how could I have dropped so fast?"
"Your like a one-hit wonder when it releases a second song. . . you sink just as fast. . . now if you don't mind, class is starting in a few minutes", she said as she closed her locker and started walking away.
"Oh, but you forget my dearest Mary" he said as he caught up with her "that we have English first period, and as of yesterday you are helping me with this class. . . so I guess that it would be better if we sat together and enjoy the teaching abilities of Mr. Remmy, what do you say to that?"
Hesitating, Rory answered "Um, I guess you do have a point on that one."
"Wow! Such a fast and easy agreement. One could get used to that."
"Well don't." she said as she went into a classroom "This is us."
"Upfront OK with you?" he said referring to the proper desk accommodations for class that day.
"Sure" And they proceeded to walk to the second row next to the window and sat next to each other.
As they sat on their respective desks, Rory pulled out her latest literary acquisition. Tristan wasn't used to seating so close to the teachers, but he found that he had to get used to that if he wanted to be next to Rory some more. . . and he did. He was looking around the classroom, then looking out the window and then looking at the people that were coming into the classroom, and he was bored already. So he decided to strike up a conversation with Rory.
"What you've got there?" he asked referring to the book, as he turned to her.
"Mrs. Dalloway" Rory answered back.
"You will change those reading habits once you start dating me." Tristan stated confidently.
"So you mean to tell me that I'll be reading more, just to avoid you. . . do you think I'll be able to handle it?"
"Handle not reading or handle me? Because I would say yes on both accounts, although the latter might just be a little more fun than you would expect."
"Oh, I have no expectations regarding you." Rory quipped.
"So you think I've reached my level of perfection?"
"Or a level of something, although I'm not exactly sure what."
"I'll take whatever I can. . . there is always room for improvement when you don't know 'exactly sure what'" He said.
"How can you turn that to your advantage. . . I said nothing. . . that was a vague statement if I ever heard one."
"I'm like Joey, remember?" He said referring to her previous comparison.
"I forget" Rory deadpanned.
Their banter was cut short though, because of Mr. Remmy's arrival. They knew that once he entered class, and they both needed to take notes. Tristan because of class and Rory, because of Tristan. What have I've gotten myself into, she thought to herself.
~*~
English, and the rest of the day, went by fairly quick. Rory still had a couple more classes with Tristan, but she avoided seating close to him. She found him a little. . . distracting? No, that couldn't be. . . annoying? That should be closer. Either way, she found that she didn't like the fact that she was a little distracted during class (or the reason of her distraction), and add to that the fact that she was getting death glares all through English by some, or maybe, most of the girls in the classroom, she could even swear that at some moment a girl tried to put a hex on her because she heard her mumble something as she was walking by. She remembered what she had decided the night before: to stay away from him as much as possible.
Tristan on the other hand wasn't going to let her get away as easily. He wanted to be close to her. He didn't want to give her the chance to be away from him. He wanted to be with this girl and he was going to do whatever it took to be closer to her. So when lunch time came, he did the only thing that it had to be done.
As he was coming into the cafeteria, he spotted her. She was sitting alone in one of the last tables, close to the window. As he was walking by, Bryce and Josh joined by Nick and Alex tried to get his attention, but he just gave them a sign that he was going over to some other table and they didn't try to stop him. When they noticed the direction he was heading, they understood.
When he finally reached where she was sitting she had her headphones on and was reading, she was holding a bag of chips in her hand and didn't even notice that he was standing next to her. He took this few seconds to look at her. He pocketed his right hand on his grey trousers and placed the other one on the table.
When she noticed the hand, she looked up the length of the arm and finally rested her eyes on his. He grinned. Her stomach did a little flip, and she made a mental note not to eat more chips.
"Yes, Tristan?" she asked coldly.
"Why are you here all alone?" He asked showing something that looked like concern.
"To avoid. . . some people" she replied curtly.
"Subtlety isn't your forte, is it?" He said as he pulled a chair and sat right across from her.
"Nope, but then again I wasn't trying to be subtle. . . and I wasn't only referring to you. There are more people, besides you, that I would like to avoid."
"Avoidance gets you nowhere." He stated as an advice.
"I know. But being ignored isn't as cracked up to be. . ." she said, sarcastically "besides, I've got my book, my music and my food, so I'm good."
"But you will need friends eventually, don't you think?"
"I've got friends. . . it's just that they don't attend Chilton. Besides, here it's more important an alliance than a friendship."
"You state the truth." He said. Trying a change of topic he dove right in "That's another book. A different one I mean, from the one you where reading this morning."
"You are quite the observant, aren't you?" she said rolling her eyes.
"So tell me Mary, do you ever read something racy, or trashy, or lusty. . . or you prefer to live thru that than read it?"
"We were making progress, and now we are back to square one. . ." she said as she replaced her headphones and went back to her book. He just smiled and left the table to join his friends.
~*~
"Hey, I'm a little worried" said Josh as Tristan was approaching the table they where seating at.
"Why's that?" Bryce said, following his friend's lead.
"I don't know, I smell smoke. . . you know, like when someone just crashes and burns" Josh finished and they all laughed.
"Very funny, guys. . . really. Another one of those and my gut will burst from laughter." Tristan said finally straddling a chair at his friends table.
"We are just stating the obvious." Nick added. "But then again, some wise person or something said that the truth hurts." They all 'oooh'-ed together and laughed, Tristan included.
"Not that easy. . . huh?" Alex asked, referring to Rory. He had always been the nicest one. Sometimes a little dorky, but he was the one that usually gave the advice to all his friends.
"Nope. . . tough nut to crack, that one." Tristan answered Alex.
"Those are always the best ones." Alex said, and Tristan smiled.
~*~
Lunch period was over faster than everyone wanted it to. And the last few periods didn't go by fast enough. But, at last, they did. When the final bell rang, Rory was relieved. The weekend had finally arrived. She felt great about that. She had a couple of hours to spare for today and she was glad about it. This first week of school, she registered, had been the toughest first week of school she had ever gone through. The homework, the catching up, the studying, everything had been dreadful. Add to that, being away from friends and getting used to a uniform and developing a new routine over again, made this first week even worst.
She was glad that it was over, though.
And then she knew that she had thought about it too fast. She wasn't in a safe environment yet. She knew that the moment she saw Paris Gellar walking up to her.
"What do you think you are doing?" she said as she finally approached Rory.
"Is there ever going to be a conversation between you and me that won't start with you asking me for an explanation?"
"What do you think you are doing?" Paris repeated.
"What are you talking about?"
"Tristan"
"What about him?"
"What do you. . ."
". . . think I'm doing?" Rory interrupted her "Yeah, I got that question. I just don't understand what you are referring to with that question."
"Listen Elly May, the fact that you are in this school doesn't mean you belong. It has been pretty clear I think, since you have been here one week and everyone is still avoiding you. . . well all, except for one."
"What is your problem about that? I thought the school and the Franklyn where your domain, but I don't think Tristan is."
"He isn't. . ."
"As a matter of fact I don't think he has even given you a once-over since I got here."
"I am not saying he is mine. You have to respect the fact. . ." Paris started.
"Oh, see. There's the thing. You are talking about respect. Then you are talking to the wrong person. Talk to him about respect. I don't need it." Rory said and walked away, leaving Paris standing where they were. . . fuming.
As she exited the main doors of school and started walking outside towards her bus stop, she saw her bus drive by. She stomped on her foot on frustration, and turned around back to school. But then she decided that if she went back into school, she might miss the next bus. So she decided to go back out to the bus stop and sat there. She pulled out a book from her backpack and started to read.
As she was doing that, she saw a silver sports car stop right in front of where she was seating. Since she didn't know many of her classmates or what they drove, she figured it might be one of them stopping to make fun of her choice of transportation, so she tried to ignore it. When she saw the window roll down, she was a little surprised.
"Need a lift?" He asked from the inside of his car.
"No, thank you. I'm fine." She stated and went back to her book.
"I know you are." He leered.
"Don't you have to go to Muffin of Bambi or someone right now? I don't want to keep you, so be on your way."
"Nah, I saw someone hotter and just called and cancelled."
"Oh, that's sad. She must be heart-broken. But it's never too late to renew your plans. Maybe she doesn't understand what 'cancelled' means, you know? Being such a big word and all."
"Rory, do you need a ride?" He asked again.
"Was that a sign of the apocalypse? Is the world coming to and end? Did Tristan just called me by my name?" She said acting surprised.
"Very funny. So, do you?"
"Like I said, I don't need a ride" she started and then, not wanting to be rude, she added ". . . my bus will be here in a few minutes. But thanks anyway."
He got down from his car and started walking towards the bench. "Rory, I just saw your bus drive by a few minutes ago, so I'm guessing the next one will be here in. . ." he glanced at his watch "about thirty minutes. . . Please, let me give you a ride. It's Friday. Everyone's out of here and so should you."
He was right, it was Friday and she was tired and waiting for her bus would cut into her free time (free time that she deserved!). She hesitated.
"How 'bout this? I offer you a truce. I will try my best not to be a jerk or make any kind of leering comment that would make you uncomfortable during the length of our trip back to your house. It will be a difficult job for me but I will try my hardest. I promise. . ." and then added "Scout's Honor!" and lifted his right hand with his index and middle finger held up.
She hesitated. "OK. But promise. . ."
"I already did."
"Let's go then."
He grabbed her backpack, and they walked the small distance to his car. He opened the door for her, and closed it as soon as she was inside the car. He opened the trunk and placed her backpack in it, and closed it afterwards. And then proceeded to his side of the car.
"Where to, Miss Gilmore?" He asked as he buckled his safety belt.
"Stars Hollow, please" she continued.
"On our way. . . any pressing matter that is waiting for you there, Miss Gilmore?"
"Oh, no. . . Family members, you know the sorts. . ." she continued aristocratically.
"Oh, yes." He said and smiled, not smirked, but smiled. An honest smile. And for the first time, Rory actually found herself paying attention to him. When he smiled, even his eyes sparkled; they turned to a different shade of blue.
"I've never seen you do that, you know?"
"What?" he asked, a little confused.
"Smile, not grin, but actually smile."
"Well, you bring out the best in me."
"What happened to trying your hardest?" she asked, jokingly.
"I said 'no leering comments' I don't remember saying anything of not speaking the truth."
She blushed. She wasn't used to having so much attention from someone. Especially a guy.
"Well, it was nice to see you smile." She added sweetly.
His heart fell to his stomach. He had had many compliments in his life. He was used to them actually. But coming from Rory, it added so much more importance to what it was being said. And the fact that she was paying attention to him, and could tell the difference so early on. . . well, it just made him smile again. She didn't notice this time.
"So, what happened to the truck?" she asked changing the line of the conversation.
"Oh, well. . . I didn't have time to move the cars around this morning, because I woke up kinda late, so I had to take this one." He said, his eyes still on the road.
"Oh. . . and this one's yours also?"
"Um, yeah. . . this one was gift from my grandparents on my mother's side."
"Oh. . ."
"Yeah. . . so tell me Rory Gilmore, notice that I did not call you Mary. . ."
"I noticed. . . go on." She said and smiled again.
"Part of my promise not to say anything that would make you uncomfortable. So, Rory, where do you get your reading habits from?"
"I honestly don't know. . . although I found out just last week, that I share common interests in literature with my grandfather, so I guess that maybe from him."
"What do you mean by 'lately'?"
"Well," she started "we haven't been all that close over the years"
"Because of the, um. . ." Tristan asked a little embarrassed.
"Yeah, because of that. . ." she was glad in a way that she didn't have to explain; but felt a little bad, because he also knew about everything that happened. She turned her head to see outside the window.
And he noticed.
"If you ask me, it shouldn't have been that big of a deal really. But that's how our families have been brought up, right?" He said, understandingly.
She was a little surprised at this.
"Yeah. . . I guess."
"For whatever's worth, I'm glad it happened." He looked at her "Because of, well, you."
She blushed again.
Ever since she had met him, she had thought that what made her uncomfortable around him were the leering and the innuendoes that where laced to every comment he ever directed her way. But this time, he was being nice to her, speaking sincerely. He wasn't calling her Mary. He wasn't smirking, but smiling. He was a totally different Tristan.
"And you're not missing much, really. Sometimes grandparents can be a pain."
"Oh, well. . . I actually like my grandparents. They are nice. A little overprotective, but nice people nonetheless." She said, glad at the change of pace in the conversation.
"So, do you have a favorite book? One that you have read over and over again, and you still say 'wow!'?" He said going back to their previous topic.
"I have so many. . . I loved the classics, the English, the Russians. . . I don't think I have a favorite really. Although if I had to pinpoint one, I would say that anything written by Jane Austen, trite as it may sound, is always a good choice for me. Do you read much?"
"I like reading. . . not as much as you do, but then again I don't think there is someone that loves reading as much as you, but I enjoy it."
"Then why are you having trouble with English?" She asked curiously.
"Well, you see. I like reading, it's the essay part of reading school stuff that I don't like. And then all that writing stuff and everything, I don't like that part. Make me build some kind of model for something, and I can do that well, but writing isn't my thing."
"I understand. But if you don't like writing, how am I supposed to help you in English?"
Busted. Almost. "Well, you see. I figured that if I had someone to push me to do this kind of stuff then I would be fine. And it would be even greater if the person knows what they are talking about." He said. She nodded in understanding. And the umpire yells, SAFE!, he thought to himself.
The trip was almost over. A few more exits (approximately 5 more minutes) and they would be in Stars Hollow and a few minutes after that, at Rory's house. And Rory found herself a little disappointed.
"We're almost there. You are almost out of this misery." He stated with a self-deprecating tone.
"Contrary to my believes, this was actually nice. Thank you, Tristan. Really."
"You are taking this time to thank me so you won't have to put up with anything afterwards, aren't you?"
"You caught that, huh?" she asked as she scrunched her nose a little, and smiled.
"It was a little obvious" he smiled back.
"I went in to fast, didn't I?" she said testing him.
He almost made his lips bleed, from biting them, fighting the urge to say something that would put him back on her bad side. He smiled, as she did. "Yeah, it was a little too soon. Timing is everything." He said, and they both smiled again.
"So, Rory. . . what are you doing right now?"
"Oh. . . Um, well. . . I. . ." She started, but couldn't say anything.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you out, yet. I was just wondering that, since Mr. Remmy, gave us an assignment for Monday, that maybe we could do it right now?" He said trying to score a little more time with the new object of his infatuation.
"Oh, well. . ."
"That way, it would be out of our way. . . and I would be out of your hair for the weekend."
"Um. . ." she pondered and then continued "sure. . . we could get that out of both our ways, right?"
"My thoughts exactly."
"Would you mind if. . ."
"Not at all."
"To what did you just agree to, Tristan. I didn't even finish asking the question."
"Well Rory, I pay a lot of attention. And I know that what you where thinking of is, stopping for coffee. And besides I would never deny anything you ask for."
"Wow. . . you learn fast." She said as she tried to ignore the last part of his answer "Maybe it won't take us that long to work on your English class."
"Oh, that will take me longer. I know that for a fact." He said as he stopped in front of Luke's. As they descended out of the car, he asked "Are you that eager to get rid of me, Mary?"
"You were dying, weren't you?" she asked as she rounded the car, and they both walked inside Luke's.
"Yeah, I was. . ." He said, with a hint of a smile.
"Well, goes to show you that you shouldn't promise things that are that hard for you?" She said as they walked up to the counter.
"Then where's the challenge that makes you keep a promise?" He asked rhetorically "And besides" he added "If I hadn't promised you that, you would have never accepted my offer for a ride and you would still be sitting under that tree in front of Chilton" He stated matter-of-factly.
"So, your promise saved me?"
"Actually no. I saved you." He said pointing his thumb to his chest.
"A couple more of those, and I will promote your sainthood."
"You do that."
"Do you need more time?" Luke interrupted, since he had been watching the banter exchange going back and forward, and they didn't even pay attention "Or could I get you something that will hold you until you are ready to order?"
"Hi Luke." Rory started "We'll get four coffees to go, please. . . although. . ."
"What?" Tristan asked.
"Would you like to stay here for lunch? I know for a fact that there is nothing at home."
Luke growled and walked away from them to service some other costumer, which was calling for his attention.
"If I had known that all it took to go out with you was to give you a ride, I would have done it the first day of school." He said as he leaned on the counter.
"You can starve if you want to. I'm getting my food to go now."
"Are you sure there is nothing at your house that we can whip up?"
"You know how to whip up?" Rory asked incredulously, with a hint of a smile.
"I'm the master at that too. . ."
"Too?"
"Well, there are many things I can do, that I would be more than glad to show you if you are interested." He said as he leaned towards her.
She was dumbfounded for a second, and against her wishes, she blushed at the comment. He smiled.
Luke cleared his throat.
"Have you decided yet?" he said, throwing death glares in Tristan direction.
Tristan turned still smiling and answered to Luke. "I think we are going to stay for lunch"
"You're that kid. . . from yesterday. The coffee kid."
"Yes, sir I am."
"Luke this is Tristan. Tristan this is Luke, known as provider of life at home."
"Nice to meet you, Luke." Tristan said politely.
"You better watch it kid. . . If you slip, I will find out. Now, go sit down and decide what you are going to have, because I already know what Rory is having."
"I'll have the same thing she is having."
"Are you sure?" Luke and Rory asked in unison.
"Yeah."
Luke and Rory just looked at each other.
Rory and Tristan proceeded to sit at a table near the window. Luke went into the kitchen to place their orders.
As they were sitting they saw two familiar figures (to both Rory and, now, Tristan) coming down the street towards Luke's.
They heard the little bells above the door chime, as they came into the diner.
"Patty, look who's there, that handsome kid from yesterday. . . Rory's friend." Came the raspy voice from behind.
Since Tristan had his back to the door, he just flinched and closed his eyes, and when Rory saw this, she waved at them.
"Hey Babette. Hey Miss Patty" she said with a devilish-kind of a smile, as she kept an eye on Tristan. It was his turn to throw death glares.
"Hi Rory. . . Hello Tristan" greeted Miss Patty. But the tone of voice when she greeted Tristan said so many things. . .
"Hola Patty, (Hi Patty)" He said as he lifted himself up from the chair and grabbed her hand and kiss the back of it "siempre es un gusto volver a verle (it is always nice seeing you again)"
"Such a charmer, this kid." Patty said.
"Two days in a row. . . that's a lot" Babette added.
"I guess I just lucked out." He said looking at Rory "If you don't mind I would like to go and wash up. Excuse me." He said and got up and went on his way to the men's room.
"Rory, that kid is scrumptious!" said Miss Patty.
"Yeah, he's a looker, that kid. . . you be careful, or he could break your heart. The ones that look like him always do."
"Well then I'm safe, because I don't plan on going out with him" Rory stated with a small smile.
"Oh, he will find a way to change your mind. . . and you will." Miss Patty added.
"Well, see you around Rory. . . we're here for the coffee." And they both proceeded to order to cups of coffee to go. Tristan would be relieved by that.
When Tristan came out of the bathroom, they were gone. He had taken long in the bathroom, he needed to regroup. After being close to Rory for so long and talking to her in what she might call a 'civilized manner', he had too. It had taken a lot out of him to behave himself properly, but he needed to show Rory that there was more to him than what she thought she knew.
He went to the table and was surprised to see a huge burger sitting on his side of the table, and another one the same size on her side. And she was eating it with her fingers and everything!
"I have to say I am surprised beyond belief."
"And, why's that?" she asked.
"I never thought that I would live to the day that I would see a girl eat a hamburger. . . and add to that, the fact that she has fries and ketchup also." He said as he sat back at the table.
"Well I am not like everyone else you know." She said turning her attention to her burger again.
"I knew that, yet you just confirmed it." He said as he started eating his own burger and fries.
Rory, swallowed. "Why are you so surprised?" she asked, going back to their previous topic of conversation, a little amused by his statement.
"I take it you don't see most of the girls at Chilton."
"They are part of the crowd I am trying to avoid."
"They asked for half an order of salad and eat only half of it. All they drink is water and they exercise twice."
"A week?" Rory asked incredulously.
"A day." He answered as if she should have known that.
"Wow!"
"Wow, indeed."
They went on, eating their food and talking. When they were done, and after an exhausting discussion, Tristan paid for the check and then they where on their way to Rory's house. . . with the initial four cups of coffee.
~*~
When they got to Rory's house they went into the kitchen. Rory carried her backpack and Tristan carried his, a bag with his laptop. . . and the coffee.
They settled back at the kitchen table, just as they had the night before. Tristan pulled out his laptop from the bag and they both started working on their assignment.
Rory had to push Tristan along to make him write the essay. She had pulled her dictionary and, later on, another dictionary with synonyms to make everything easier for him. But then she noticed that he didn't need them, since he had a pretty extensive vocabulary. He pretty much used the dictionary to check on his spelling, since most of the time the 'spell check' on the computer was so unreliable.
When it was around 6 in the afternoon (two hours later than when they had arrived) Lorelai had called and told Rory that she was going to be late, because there had been a little problem at the inn. She had mentioned Sookie and some plate combined with the wrong kind of wine.
Working with him didn't turn out to be as bad as she thought it would be. She thought that the night before had been that way because she had prepared a packed agenda. But it turned out that that was the way he worked. And she liked the pace he had when they were working. It didn't even seem as helping him, since he hardly bothered her.
As it had been the day before, she drunk three out of the four cups of coffee.
Time flew by.
When they both noticed it was almost 7 o'clock. And he decided that he needed to go.
As he was getting ready to leave, Lorelai came in the front door and closed it hurriedly.
"Ror. . . come look!! There's this beautiful silver sports car in the driveway. Who do you think is over at Babette's, with such a fancy ride?" Lorelai said as she peeked thru the window.
"Mom. . ." Rory, who was standing by the stairs with Tristan, was watching amused as Lorelai tried to get a look from her window to Babette's.
"I know you don't care about cars, but this one is beautiful. I mean, the guy must be loaded." She said still not looking at them.
"Some might think that, but I own nothing." Tristan said with an amused smile on his lips. Rory stifled a laugh.
Lorelai turned around to, finally, look at them. "Wow! Talk about getting your foot on your mouth. . . Hi Tristan!"
"Hi Lorelai."
"Hey Mom." Rory finally greeted.
"Why didn't you tell me we had company?" Lorelai asked.
"You didn't let me. Besides the car is in our driveway."
She peeked again thru the window and smiled, a little embarrassed.
"I'm sorry Tristan." She asked apologetically.
"It's OK."
"So are you staying over for dinner?" Lorelai asked. This time, although she got a little glare from Rory, it was a little less intense than the one she had given her yesterday.
"Oh, um. . . we went to Luke's and. . ."
"He is not use to eating like we do." Rory stated.
"How do you figure?" Lorelai asked as she went to hug her daughter and they both looked at Tristan, discussing him as if he wasn't there.
"He made the mistake to ask for the same thing I did."
"Amateurs."
"My thoughts exactly."
"What do we do about him?"
"It would be safe to let him go. He is probably stuffed, still."
He watched the dialogue with a glint of amusement in his eye. In a way he was glad. Glad about what, he didn't know, but glad.
"We have dinner tonight!!!" They both said in unison.
"Dinner? What dinner?" Tristan asked confused, he didn't understand that they had just changed the topic. And then he saw them running around frantically. "Rory?" he asked as he finally got a hold of her.
"I forgot about this, but every Friday we have to have dinner with my grandparents. It's a long story. I am so sorry about this. . ." she stopped to think a little "It's a family thing, but you are welcome to come if you want to."
"Don't worry about it, I should be heading home anyways."
"I'm sorry, I am really not trying to be rude."
"I understand, it's OK." He said as he started to get his things.
"Are you sure you don't want to go? I just feel bad about doing this."
"It's really OK. You don't have to."
"OK! Thanks. Let me walk you to the door."
They started walking to the door and out to the porch.
"Thanks for the help." He said as he stood on a lower step than where she was standing.
"Your welcome. Thanks for the ride. . . and for lunch."
"Your welcome."
"So I guess, I'll see you on Monday." She said.
"Yeah, Monday" He said.
He then leaned in, and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, lingering a little longer than he should have. But when he pulled away from her, he saw that she had blushed.
"Good Night, Mary." He said as he smiled.
"Good Night, Tristan." And his smile faltered a little at the mention of his name. She said it as if she had been saying it all of her life. And then she smiled.
She turned around and went into the house, just as he drove off on his way back to Hartford.
