Author's Note: This is my first Gilmore Girls fan fic, so please be kind.
Couples: Rory/Tristan a bit of Rory/Dean…
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they all belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino.
Moonlit Window
Chapter 3: Dristan vs. The Stock Boy
Rory jumped off the bus and walked down the street, feeling pretty confident that she'd done well on her test. She had a smile on her face, everything felt just great. Just then Lane walked towards her.
"So, what's with the Guy Smiley face?" she asked, walking in step with Rory.
"Hey, I do not have an oblong face, a triangle nose nor do I host my own game show on Sesame Street." Said Rory, in mock offense. Lane laughed.
"You know what I mean, you're smiling from ear to ear, I'm afraid you're going to start dancing in the streets singing "What A Wonderful World," joked Lane.
"I dunno, I guess I just had a good day. I think I did well on my test that I studied until 3am for, so that should be a good reason to be happy, right?" asked Rory. Lane rolled her eyes.
"Ah, you're just too easy to please," said Lane.
"So, what are you doing tonight?" asked Rory, focusing on Lane.
"Well, it's Friday night, I don't have a boyfriend, and if I did my mom would murder me, so I'll probably be locked in my room and frequently checked on to see if I've finished my homework." Said Lane, matter-of-factly. Rory chuckled.
"Sounds fun," said Rory. Lane elbowed her playfully.
"And of course, you're off to another wonderful night at the
Gilmore mansion," said Lane.
"Why of course," replied Rory. "So, how was school?"
"Actually, there was this really weird new guy, I couldn't really see his face, he had a hood on, but he reminded me of that guy at your school. He was wandering around the school but I don't think he goes to Stars Hollow High." Said Lane.
Suddenly Rory stopped in her tracks when she remembered about Tristan.
"What was he wearing?" she asked Lane.
"Slightly baggy dark blue jeans, but not too baggy that he's falling all over himself, the kind that's sort of cute but not ridiculous. A red hooded sweatshirt that was more nice boy who's cold than creepy murderous boy and he had a beige sort of tan coloured ski jacket. It was nice." Said Lane, her hand out as she listed the apparel of the mysterious boy.
Tristan, thought Rory as she recalled what he was wearing that morning.
"Oh no, he's on the loose," said Rory, as she put her hand to her head and rubbed it.
"Who's on the loose? A murderous killer? Is this guy from the 'America's Most Wanted' list?" asked Lane, eagerly.
"That was Tristan you saw," said Rory as they walked over the gazebo.
"But didn't you tell me that Tristan was sent to military school, is he stalking you?" asked Lane, jokingly.
"See, he ran away from school and had no where else to go so he came to my house and he slept over last night. We had a fight this morning and I just assumed he had gone back to North Carolina," explained Rory.
"Wait, so Tristan slept over?" asked Lane, evidently amused by this information.
"Yes, on the couch." Said Rory, getting a bit frustrated.
"And you let him in the house without him attacking you and blackmailing you?" asked Lane, curiously.
"Yes. Lane, he was so desperate." Said Rory, getting a little annoyed with this whole Tristan thing.
"Does Dean know?" asked Lane. Rory shook her head 'no'.
"Dean would be furious, remember the last time Tristan was in Stars Hollow? They were ready to tear each other apart until I came and pulled Dean away." Said Rory.
"You know what? I think Dean was right when he said that Tristan has a thing for you," said Lane. Rory looked at her, her face scrunched up as if she were saying 'Are you for real?'
"Lane, he doesn't have a thing for me. We bicker all the time; he hates me. Besides not having anywhere to go, I'm sure the only reason he came to Stars Hollow was to cause me more misery." Said Rory.
"Ok, go on denying it, but it's not healthy for you." Warned Lane, jokingly.
"I mean, I will tell Dean but I still haven't told my mom yet." Said Rory, pulling on her backpack strap.
"Tsk, tsk Rory. Hiding a boy at your house?" teased Lane. Rory rolled her eyes.
"Tristan is not a boy, he's an arrogant weasel." Replied Rory. Lane laughed then looked at her watch.
"Shoot, I better go home before my mom sends out a search party and starts pasting my face to milk cartons." Said Lane, turning to leave.
"Bye Lane," said Rory, waving to her best friend.
"Good luck with the weasel and with telling Dean! Tell me everything!" cried Lane as she began to run. Rory's good mood was now falling short.
***
Tristan strolled down the streets of Stars Hollow and sighed. It had been sort of boring since he had no one to talk to. He had gone into practically very shop and every time, someone would ask him why he wasn't in school. He had politely replied that he was a tourist and he was there to visit someone. He had gone over to the local high school and had seen how things were like there. It was nothing like Chilton nor his military school. It was small and everyone seemed to know each other. He had walked by the windows and had peered inside to see how everyone interacted. There was something so happy about the town, a bit frightening to him since he wasn't use to people greeting each other so often while walking on the street.
He looked at the time on one of the clocks in a little clock shop that was across the street. 4:35PM. School was out and kids were probably going out to the local diner, he thought sarcastically. As he walked in the direction to Rory's house, he noticed Doose's Market again and decided to go in to get something to eat. As Tristan walked down the aisles he noticed a tall guy with shaggyish brown hair packing beans in a corner. Tristan smiled mischievously as he sauntered over to the boy.
"Why hello, stock boy, packing in the beans today, eh?" he asked, coolly. Dean turned around and dropped the can of beans that was in his hand.
"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Dean, his voice rising.
"Wow, people in this town sure like to ask that, don't they?" said Tristan, leaning on one of the shelves.
"You didn't answer me, why are you here? Don't you have some stupid safe to loot?" asked Dean, walking towards him. Tristan fumed, Rory must have told him.
"Nope, no safe to loot, but I must say that apron is quite lovely on you. Definitely brings out your eyes." Said Tristan, fluttering his eye lashes.
"Get out of here Dristan," said Dean. Tristan yawned.
"You've already used that one, stock boy." Said Tristan, waving his hand.
"Well, you've over used 'stock boy'," replied Dean, giving Tristan a little shove.
"Oh, tough guy eh? Well Rory's not here for you to protect." Said Tristan, his face getting in Dean's way.
"Good thing too, if she knew you were here she'd freak," said Dean, his voice all ruff.
"Ah, but she already knows I'm here. Where else do you think I'm staying?" asked Tristan, knowing that he'd won that round, he quickly walked over to another aisle and started to look for something to eat before Dean tried to break his neck.
***
Rory walked into her house, after a long walk and a short visit to the library. She had needed time to think about what she was going to do about Tristan. And, of course make sure that Dean didn't run into Tristan before she got a chance to explain.
"Mom, are you home?" Rory called out.
"Yes, sweetheart," said Tristan in a falsetto voice as Rory walked into the living room. She rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch.
"Oh, you're still here," she said, she had sort of hoped that he had left.
"Aww… don't enjoy my company Mary? I'm hurt." He said mockingly as he munched on some chips and watched TV.
"Where did you get all that food?" asked Rory curiously, only just now noticing the assortment of junk food that surrounded Tristan on the couch.
"Got it at that Doose's place." Said Tristan with a shrug.
"What?!" cried Rory, panicking. "You didn't run into Dean did you?" she asked, hopefully. Tristan stretched.
"Oh yeah, we had a ball." Said Tristan, his eyes still on the TV.
"What happened?" she asked, leaning closer to him.
"We talked," said Tristan, nonchalantly.
"Tristan, tell me now!" she cried, shaking him. He looked at her, amused.
"Wow, you're definitely cranky when you don't get what you want," he said, grinning.
"Tristan, I'm going to give ya a shiner if you don't tell me," she warned, glaring at him.
"Oh, we had our little boy talk, got some beers and headed to the arcade," replied Tristan, humoring her. Rory glowered at him.
"Fine, he asked me why I was there and I told him I was staying over with you for a fun filled slumber party." He said, facing her.
"No, you didn't…" she began, her heart beating wildly.
"Yup, that's what I told him," said Tristan in a fake cheerful voice. Rory snatched the bag of chips out of his hands.
"Hey! I was eating those," he exclaimed. Rory quickly grabbed his bags and stuffed some of his things inside then headed to the front door.
"Rory, come on," he whined as he followed her to the door.
"Tristan, I told you yesterday that you were only going to stay the night, you're leaving now!" she ordered, opening the door.
"Come on Rory, Dean was going to find out from you anyway," protested Tristan.
"I wanted to tell him, now that you told him he's going to be mad at me," said Rory, her eyes flaring with rage.
"What difference does it make who tells him?" asked Tristan, trying to pull his bag and things away from her as they stood in front of the open door.
"Because when you tell him things you make it seem as if I was hiding something or that something's going on between us." Explained Rory, irritated.
"You could have told him this morning, so technically you were keeping it a secret." Said Tristan, pointedly.
"How did you… forget it. Well, I was trying to figure out the right moment when to tell him, it's called tact, but of course you don't know the meaning!" retorted Rory.
"Hmm… I thought there was something between us," said Tristan, pretending to be hurt.
"Tristan…" she began but suddenly she was aware of someone else, who was standing on the porch, staring at them. "Dean…" began Rory but Dean was shaking his head in disbelief.
"You know, I thought he was lying so I came here to talk to you but I guess it's true." Said Dean, turning around and walking away from the house.
"Dean, it's not what you think," cried Rory, running after him. Dean looked at her, his face sad.
"Rory, you're holding a bag with his clothes in it," said Dean, motioning to the backpack in her hand. Rory quickly dropped it to the ground.
"Hey! Careful with my stuff!" cried Tristan, jogging up behind them.
"Dean, I was trying to tell you about what happened, see…" she began, pulling at Dean's arm.
"Rory, what else is there to say? Tristan is living with you? Are you saying that I should just shrug this off? A guy who has a thing for you, living in your house? A guy that I hate and don't trust?" Dean cried out, obviously very upset.
"It's not like that," cried Rory, pleading him to listen.
"So, he's not living at your house?" asked Dean, challenging her.
"Well, he is here but only…" she tried to explain but Dean didn't listen.
"Rory, you say that you hate him but I'm beginning to think that you enjoy spending time with this jerk." Said Dean, walking quickly.
"Dean, you know that's not true! You need to believe me," she cried. Dean kept on walking.
"I don't know what to believe anymore," he said then ran off, leaving Rory there, staring at him.