Authors Note: Fixed up a few little mistakes I made in the last 2 chapters
but they don't have any effect on the storyline at all. People have asked
whether it will be a Trory and yes it will be but with a bit of Dean in it
as well. So read on and let me know what you think.
This chapter continues where the other one finished.
Chapter 3 | The X factor
"Rory wait up!" Tristan called to Rory as she hurried out of their Advanced Biology class.
Rory, cringing inwardly pretended not to hear him and continued to walk through the crowded hallway.
"Rory!" Tristan called again, jogging up next to her.
"What do you want?" Rory snapped at him, turning around with an angry look on her face.
"Relax Rory," Tristan said noticing the look on her face but only infuriating her further.
"You want me to relax? You just embarrassed me in front of the whole class and that's all you can say?"
Tristan rolled his eyes. "Actually what I was going to say is when do you want to finish off our lab report?"
Because of what had happened they hadn't had enough time to finish off their lab reports and Mrs Jamison had given them till their next class to finish it.
Rory tried to muffle a groan; she had been planning on doing it herself.
"Actually, I don't mind doing it" Rory offered as they turned the corner.
"No really" Tristan insisted. "It's my first day in the class, I can't let you do all the work can I?" he said just as somewhere came rushing past them in the other direction, knocking Rory's armful of books to the floor.
"Here . . . let me" Tristan offered bending down next to Rory who was picking up her books.
"I'm fine," Rory said brushing him off when he offered his hand to take a few of her books.
"Don't be stup-"
"I said I'm fine" Rory snapped at him, looking up at him and finding herself staring into his eyes. "Mmmhmmm . . . " Tristan muttered under his breath, staring back at her, Rory unable to tear her eyes from his.
'What the hell are you doing?" Rory thought to herself as she looked into his eyes. "Just look away, turn your head, that's all it takes"
"Rory!" a familiar voice cut into her thought.
"What . . . oh" Rory looked up to see Paris standing beside her and Tristan who were still crouched on the floor.
"Am I interrupting something?" Paris, looking at them two of them with a curious glint in her eyes.
"What? No, why would you be?" Rory said jumping up from the floor. Tristan stood up slowly beside her.
"I gotta go, catch you later" Tristan said, turning around and waling off down the hallway.
"Sorry" Paris apologized with a smile.
"Sorry?" Rory raised her eyebrow confused.
"For interrupting?"
"You weren't" Rory snapped defensively.
"Uh huh" Paris said in that 'I don't believe you' tone. "Just thought you should know there is a debate club meeting tomorrow at lunch okay"
'There's just this thing about him, you know, that 'X factor' thing and whenever I'm around him I just . . . its so hard not too . . . especially when he looks at me like that' Rory thought to herself, 'It was the whole 'X factor' that drew me to him the first time . . . I can't allow that to happen again. I have Dean, I love Dean. That's all that matters' Rory tried to convince herself, not hearing a word Paris had said.
"Rory . . . you know you've been doing this a lot lately" Paris commented when she finally had her friends attention again.
"Doing what?"
"Spacing out whenever Tristan's around, if I didn't know you better, I'd think that you've developed at thing for the guy. . .anyway" Paris laughed on the look of disgust on Rory's face.
"Don't worry, we all think his hot, I mean that's just Tristan, everyone wants him. But" Paris paused, "you have a boyfriend okay . . . so just be careful"
Rory started to speak but Paris cut in before she could, "Debate club, tomorrow, lunchtime, be there," she said walking off.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Rory, you need to tell that boyfriend of your to chill out" Lorelei said the moment Rory walked through the door.
"What?" she asked confused, hanging her blazer up on the stand by the door.
"Dean" His left like twenty messages on the answering machine to 'apologise for the other night', whatever he means by that"
"Oh" Rory said walking over to the bench and pouring herself a cup of strong coffee.
"Just oh? You and Dean had a fight and you don't tell me?" Lorelei asked hurt.
"We didn't have a fight . . .it was just a . . .disagreement" Rory said sitting down at the table.
"Trouble in Paradise, huh?" Lorelei laughed pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting down next to Rory.
"It's not funny" she cried, "his just paranoid"
"Ah . . . so it's about Tristan then" she said stating the obvious.
Rory groaned, "Why do guys have to be so dramatic?"
"Well Tristan does have that certain 'thing about him" commented Lorelei.
"Not you too" Rory said her head in her hands, "So he has that 'X factor' so what?"
"Uh huh! So you do like him" Lorelei waved her finger at Rory as if to say 'naughty girl'.
"No. . . Its just that . . .whenever I'm around him, its like . . .oh you know" Rory said frustrated, unable to put her feelings into words.
"Like you cant help how you feel?"
Rory blushed . . . "well yeah"
"What do you expect Rory, you and Tristan have history you know? And it's pretty obvious to me that that history is not quite over," Lorelei continued talking over Rory's protests, "What you have to decide is whether what you feeling is just the effect of the whole 'X factor' thing or whether its more"
* * * * * * * * * *
Rory rewound the tape on the answering machine and then pressed play again for the third time.
"Hi this is Dean calling for Rory, Call me when you get this message okay, bye" . . . Beep.
"Hey Rory, It's Dean, Look I'm really sorry about the other night . . . umm so yeah, call me okay" . . . Beep
"Rory it's me again, I guess your not home yet, you will call me though wont you"
Rory sighed, the next two calls were hangs ups then Deans familiar voice came over the speaker again.
"Okay so its obvious Rory's not home but there's a good chance that Lorelei is listening to all these messages so if you are 'Hi Lorelei' . . . and um can you delete all my messages okay. And umm yeah I'll call again later" . . . Beep.
Rory smiled at Deans second last message.
"Hey Rory, its Dean. Sorry about the other night, give me a call okay? Cya." . . . Beep Beep Beep.
* * * * * * * * * *
Rory held her breath as the phone rang. Dean picked up after it had only rang twice.
"Hello?"
"Dean . . . hi it's Rory" she said awkwardly.
"Hey . . ." pause.
"So I um, got you message . . .es"
Dean laughed softly, "Sorry about that, I just really had to talk to you, I'm really sorry about the other night"
"It okay" Rory said softly, although in her mind she wasn't so sure. What if what her mother had said was true, that her and Tristan's history wasn't quite yet 'in their history' or so to speak.
"No really, listen I was hoping we could get together tonight" Dean asked.
"I would love to but . . ." Rory began. "Yeah?" Deans asked, Rory could hear the disappointment in his voice.
"I have to finish writing up a lab report, how about tomorrow though, after school?" Rory suggested.
'Sounds good, I'll meet you at Luke's okay?"
"Yeah okay"
"And Rory?" Dean said quickly before Rory hung up.
"Yes?"
"I love you" Rory smiled sadly as she hung up the phone, unable to say the words back.
Chapter 3 | The X factor
"Rory wait up!" Tristan called to Rory as she hurried out of their Advanced Biology class.
Rory, cringing inwardly pretended not to hear him and continued to walk through the crowded hallway.
"Rory!" Tristan called again, jogging up next to her.
"What do you want?" Rory snapped at him, turning around with an angry look on her face.
"Relax Rory," Tristan said noticing the look on her face but only infuriating her further.
"You want me to relax? You just embarrassed me in front of the whole class and that's all you can say?"
Tristan rolled his eyes. "Actually what I was going to say is when do you want to finish off our lab report?"
Because of what had happened they hadn't had enough time to finish off their lab reports and Mrs Jamison had given them till their next class to finish it.
Rory tried to muffle a groan; she had been planning on doing it herself.
"Actually, I don't mind doing it" Rory offered as they turned the corner.
"No really" Tristan insisted. "It's my first day in the class, I can't let you do all the work can I?" he said just as somewhere came rushing past them in the other direction, knocking Rory's armful of books to the floor.
"Here . . . let me" Tristan offered bending down next to Rory who was picking up her books.
"I'm fine," Rory said brushing him off when he offered his hand to take a few of her books.
"Don't be stup-"
"I said I'm fine" Rory snapped at him, looking up at him and finding herself staring into his eyes. "Mmmhmmm . . . " Tristan muttered under his breath, staring back at her, Rory unable to tear her eyes from his.
'What the hell are you doing?" Rory thought to herself as she looked into his eyes. "Just look away, turn your head, that's all it takes"
"Rory!" a familiar voice cut into her thought.
"What . . . oh" Rory looked up to see Paris standing beside her and Tristan who were still crouched on the floor.
"Am I interrupting something?" Paris, looking at them two of them with a curious glint in her eyes.
"What? No, why would you be?" Rory said jumping up from the floor. Tristan stood up slowly beside her.
"I gotta go, catch you later" Tristan said, turning around and waling off down the hallway.
"Sorry" Paris apologized with a smile.
"Sorry?" Rory raised her eyebrow confused.
"For interrupting?"
"You weren't" Rory snapped defensively.
"Uh huh" Paris said in that 'I don't believe you' tone. "Just thought you should know there is a debate club meeting tomorrow at lunch okay"
'There's just this thing about him, you know, that 'X factor' thing and whenever I'm around him I just . . . its so hard not too . . . especially when he looks at me like that' Rory thought to herself, 'It was the whole 'X factor' that drew me to him the first time . . . I can't allow that to happen again. I have Dean, I love Dean. That's all that matters' Rory tried to convince herself, not hearing a word Paris had said.
"Rory . . . you know you've been doing this a lot lately" Paris commented when she finally had her friends attention again.
"Doing what?"
"Spacing out whenever Tristan's around, if I didn't know you better, I'd think that you've developed at thing for the guy. . .anyway" Paris laughed on the look of disgust on Rory's face.
"Don't worry, we all think his hot, I mean that's just Tristan, everyone wants him. But" Paris paused, "you have a boyfriend okay . . . so just be careful"
Rory started to speak but Paris cut in before she could, "Debate club, tomorrow, lunchtime, be there," she said walking off.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Rory, you need to tell that boyfriend of your to chill out" Lorelei said the moment Rory walked through the door.
"What?" she asked confused, hanging her blazer up on the stand by the door.
"Dean" His left like twenty messages on the answering machine to 'apologise for the other night', whatever he means by that"
"Oh" Rory said walking over to the bench and pouring herself a cup of strong coffee.
"Just oh? You and Dean had a fight and you don't tell me?" Lorelei asked hurt.
"We didn't have a fight . . .it was just a . . .disagreement" Rory said sitting down at the table.
"Trouble in Paradise, huh?" Lorelei laughed pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting down next to Rory.
"It's not funny" she cried, "his just paranoid"
"Ah . . . so it's about Tristan then" she said stating the obvious.
Rory groaned, "Why do guys have to be so dramatic?"
"Well Tristan does have that certain 'thing about him" commented Lorelei.
"Not you too" Rory said her head in her hands, "So he has that 'X factor' so what?"
"Uh huh! So you do like him" Lorelei waved her finger at Rory as if to say 'naughty girl'.
"No. . . Its just that . . .whenever I'm around him, its like . . .oh you know" Rory said frustrated, unable to put her feelings into words.
"Like you cant help how you feel?"
Rory blushed . . . "well yeah"
"What do you expect Rory, you and Tristan have history you know? And it's pretty obvious to me that that history is not quite over," Lorelei continued talking over Rory's protests, "What you have to decide is whether what you feeling is just the effect of the whole 'X factor' thing or whether its more"
* * * * * * * * * *
Rory rewound the tape on the answering machine and then pressed play again for the third time.
"Hi this is Dean calling for Rory, Call me when you get this message okay, bye" . . . Beep.
"Hey Rory, It's Dean, Look I'm really sorry about the other night . . . umm so yeah, call me okay" . . . Beep
"Rory it's me again, I guess your not home yet, you will call me though wont you"
Rory sighed, the next two calls were hangs ups then Deans familiar voice came over the speaker again.
"Okay so its obvious Rory's not home but there's a good chance that Lorelei is listening to all these messages so if you are 'Hi Lorelei' . . . and um can you delete all my messages okay. And umm yeah I'll call again later" . . . Beep.
Rory smiled at Deans second last message.
"Hey Rory, its Dean. Sorry about the other night, give me a call okay? Cya." . . . Beep Beep Beep.
* * * * * * * * * *
Rory held her breath as the phone rang. Dean picked up after it had only rang twice.
"Hello?"
"Dean . . . hi it's Rory" she said awkwardly.
"Hey . . ." pause.
"So I um, got you message . . .es"
Dean laughed softly, "Sorry about that, I just really had to talk to you, I'm really sorry about the other night"
"It okay" Rory said softly, although in her mind she wasn't so sure. What if what her mother had said was true, that her and Tristan's history wasn't quite yet 'in their history' or so to speak.
"No really, listen I was hoping we could get together tonight" Dean asked.
"I would love to but . . ." Rory began. "Yeah?" Deans asked, Rory could hear the disappointment in his voice.
"I have to finish writing up a lab report, how about tomorrow though, after school?" Rory suggested.
'Sounds good, I'll meet you at Luke's okay?"
"Yeah okay"
"And Rory?" Dean said quickly before Rory hung up.
"Yes?"
"I love you" Rory smiled sadly as she hung up the phone, unable to say the words back.