Chapter Three
By Dulcey
A/N—Sorry this took so long to get up. Spring break then school kept me busy. Rebecca, I just wanted to thank you for your review. I'm touched that you liked my story enough to take the time and energy to write a review like that, and I hope this doesn't disappoint. –D
The shuttle was late, Rory noted as she sat outside the convenience store with her suitcase. It was supposed to depart for Hartford every hour on the hour, and yet here it was, four fifteen and still no sign of it. Lorelai had offered to drive to New Haven to pick her up, but Rory knew how busy her mother and Sookie were with their new inn, and convinced her that she would be fine on the shuttle. When she got to Hartford, her grandmother would pick her up, and Lorelai would be there for dinner right after she got off work.
Finally the bus arrived, and Rory climbed on, storing her suitcase underneath her seat and retrieving a copy of Pride and Prejudice from her backpack. She quickly immersed herself in the book, scarcely noticing when the bus rumbled to life and pulled onto the road, or when someone plopped into the seat next to her and peered over her shoulder.
"Hey, you've read that already."
Rory jumped in surprise, and turned to see Dean grinning at her. "You scared me!" she scolded him, trying to sound stern but unable to hide how glad she was to see someone from Stars Hollow.
Dean grinned. "I see college hasn't changed you much."
"I've only been in college for a week," Rory protested. "How different did you think I'd be?"
He shrugged. "I dunno. All the girls at my school seem obsessed with fraternity parties and getting drunk every weekend."
"How's that going?" Rory asked.
"What, the frat parties or the drunk girls?" Dean replied. "I suppose they're okay, but I've been too busy trying to keep up with my classes to partake in much of that. I'm really getting a new respect for all that studying you did in high school."
Rory smiled. "Dean, that's great. You should be so proud of yourself."
He blushed slightly and looked away for a moment. "How about you? How's Yale treating you?"
Rory sighed. "Honestly?"
"Doesn't sound like it's going too well," Dean noted.
"I'm sure it'll get better," Rory protested. "Once I get used to being away from home and being in a new city I should be fine. I'm still adjusting, that's all."
"It's still got to be rough," he insisted. "I'll bet you miss your mom."
"Like crazy," Rory confessed. "It's so weird not having her here."
"I'll bet she's going nuts without you too," Dean remarked.
Rory had to smile. "She called yesterday to ask how doing my laundry was going."
Dean laughed, shaking his head slightly. "Sounds like she hasn't changed much."
"She hasn't," Rory confirmed. "At least, not in a week."
"Yeah, I guess," he agreed. "I haven't seen her much since we broke up."
An awkward silence fell. Rory bit her lip and turned to look out the window, not sure what to say. It had been almost a year, and they had been able to go on being friends, but they'd never really talked about what happened between them. Oh, they knew the facts. Rory had fallen for Jess, and started dating him once things were finally over with Dean. Jess was gone now, and while she'd learned a lot about herself through the experience, she still felt badly over how she had treated Dean.
"Yeah," she finally replied. "Wow."
Dean nodded, looking as uncomfortable as she felt. "Yeah. Well, I should really get started on some of my homework…"
"Of course," she agreed quickly. She knew that it was an excuse for him to leave, but she couldn't bear the thought of sitting in this awkward silence with someone she used to be able to talk to so easily. "I'll see you around?"
"Sure," Dean agreed. He stood up and grabbed his backpack, then stopped. "Um, if you ever get too lonely in New Haven and wanted to hang out…"
Rory couldn't help smiling. "Got a pen?"
He didn't, but she found one in her backpack, along with a piece of paper which she ripped in half. They traded phone numbers, then Dean sat back down beside her and brought her up to date on his family, and by the time they were done, the bus had pulled into the Hartford station and Rory could see her grandmother waiting for her, looking absolutely appalled at the fact that she was even at a bus station.
"I'd better get going," she apologized to Dean. "I don't think Grandma can take being here much longer."
"All right," he agreed. "I've got to get down to my dad's office anyhow. I'll talk to you later."
"Talk to you later," Rory echoed. She grabbed her backpack and stepped off the bus to meet her grandmother. Tonight she'd have to have dinner with her grandparents and pretend she liked Yale, but then she'd get to go home to Stars Hollow and see all her friends, and at least she had Dean in New Haven now.
Things were looking a lot brighter than they had this morning.