AN: THIS CHAPTER IS WAY OVERDUE, SO I'M NOT GOING TO BORE YOU ALL TO
SUICIDE WITH MY RAMBLINGS.
But I will ask one thing that has been bugging me all week long: Why is abbreviated such a long word?
HUH?
WHY?
MOTHER OF MERCY, SOMEONE EXPLAIN THAT LIFE-ALTERING QUESTION!
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The second hand bookstore bell jangled as Rory and Tristan walked in.
The person at the counter had his feet propped up and woke with a start at the sound.
"Welcome," He said, giving a small yawn, and then almost fell off the chair in surprise, "Miss Gilmore! Nice to have you back!"
"I've brought a friend," She said, grinning at him, "Hope you don't mind."
"Not at all! Go, browse, enjoy!" He said, somewhat overly loud.
Rory tugged on Tristan's jacket sleeve as they lost themselves in the small but well stocked store.
"Why is it," Tristan began, as he watched Rory browsing a shelf, "That you go to second-hand book stores when you could afford first editions of anything?"
She shrugged. "I like the atmosphere."
"The atmosphere." He echoed.
"And the feeling of finding a rare book." Her clear blue eyes, unchanged from the first time Tristan had seen her, danced.
"Only you," Tristan said chuckling, "Could be that enthusiastic about books."
She waggled her eyebrows. "Wait till you take me to a café." She told him.
"Ah yes, the coffee fetish."
"Fetish?" Rory wrinkled her nose and Tristan wondered how on earth she could still look cute doing it.
"A quote compliments of Clara K."
"My mom saw you on that yesterday."
"Did I look handsome as ever?" Tristan smirked.
Rory just rolled her eyes. "As much as E.T. could."
"Do I want to know?" Tristan said, as he read the blurb of a book lying on a shelf.
"Evil Tristan." She exclaimed.
"Evil?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Devil incarnate, so to speak."
"Didn't know you thought so highly of me." He grinned.
"I don't." She said playfully.
"Oh?" He considered, "What will it take?"
"Cappuccino at Bella's ought to do the trick." She glanced at him, grinning too.
"I feel used!" He complained, his trademark smirk still ever present.
"Buying that?" Rory asked, staring at the book in Tristan's hand.
He shrugged, "Sure, why not."
They bought the three books to the register and after a few appraising words from the guy at the counter, who Tristan mentally nicknamed Eavesdropping Rick, about their movies so on, they left, Tristan still astonished at how Rory could stay so patient.
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"Where exactly is this Bella's place?"
"Not far. It's the best café in California." Rory exclaimed proudly.
"Is that a fact?"
"Well, no," She admitted, "That was just my opinion."
He grinned at her. "And what a gorgeous opinion it was."
She blushed and gave him a small shove. "Get run over." She commanded, smiling.
"I'd love to, but maybe not today."
"Today seems like a fine day, why, too good to get run over?"
"Hey," He said, his murky blue eyes twinkling, "Your words, not mine."
She pouted. "I can eat my words."
"I would personally love to see that."
"You know, this is strange." Rory said, sobering up.
"What is?" Tristan asked, puzzled.
"That, even after nearly nine years, we can still just....just...." She trailed off.
"...Fall back into the high school days?"
"Well, pretty much except no uniforms, no hysterical Paris and no tormenting."
"Hey, Rory," Tristan said, slightly timid, "I never got to apologize-"
"-Oh my god, did you just call me Rory?" She asked, acting shocked.
He smirked at her. "You're ruining my moment."
"Oh, by all means, go ahead." He coughed. "I never actually did get to apologize for being a complete jackass to you at Chilton."
"And you know I didn't mean it when I said I hated you, right?" Rory said, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"You still remember that?" Tristan asked, surprised.
"When you mentioned P.J. Harvey it kinda bought back memories." She said wryly.
"Well, for what its worth, I am sorry."
She waved a dismissive hand. "It's in the past. But I'm glad it was you who was at my door tonight."
"Don't deny it, Mary," He teased, "You know you wanted Santa to be there."
She groaned, playing along. "I know! Where the hell is that princess Barbie I asked for two Christmases ago?"
He laughed as they entered the small, somewhat unknown café that was Bella's.
Bella, who just happened to be there at the time, was over the moon when she spotted Rory, who was obviously a regular.
They both ordered coffee, with Tristan laughing in amazement at Rory's addiction to caffeine.
They bantered, joked, dug up embarrassing old memories and occasionally flirted, the flirting factor growing steadier as they night wore on.
As they were leaving, Bella winked at Rory, obviously indicating the blond she had walked in with. Rory just blushed and waved goodbye.
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Rory shuffled her feet along the sidewalk, it was a bit past midnight and they were still out walking the streets.
Tristan snuck looks at her often, wondering why on earth didn't he visit her sooner.
But really, he knew why.
He was afraid, wasn't that it?
He was afraid that the girl who consumed his thoughts even after Chilton would hate him, for the annihilation, for the constant teasing, for the awkward situations that he put her through.
But this was great...this was wonderful.
She had welcomed him back into her world as if nothing had ever been wrong, as if he hadn't made life for her in high school difficult.
And in his own way, he was beginning to love her for it.
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As they walked in comfortable silence, Rory glanced at Tristan, marveling at how he still looked exactly the same as she remembered.
The same messy blond hair, the same devilish blue eyes.
But he came back different, maybe it was because of the new atmosphere they were in, or because military school really did change him, but whatever it was, Rory found his personality intriguing.
He had become someone that she wanted to know better.
Don't get her wrong, Tristan Dugrey still had the spark of cockiness about him, but it had been softened somehow, to not seem so annoying and agitating anymore, merely...overly confident.
And as hard as she'd try to deny it, she was enjoying herself a hell of a lot more than she would usually permit.
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Without even realizing it, they had walked back to the hotel. The area was pretty much deserted, save for the two doormen, but the photographers and such had disappeared. Rory, finally noticing this, turned to Tristan and gave him a shy smile.
"So....I'll see you around."
"Oh, I don't know..." Tristan murmured, smirking, "I might call you."
"And you still owe me for that P.J. Harvey incident, and don't you forget it." Rory said, her clear blue eyes dancing at him.
"I would never!" Tristan protested, grinning, "In fact, I'm going to call you first thing in the morning, to make plans."
"Better not be earlier than ten," She warned playfully, "I need sleep, but more importantly, I need-"
"-Coffee." Tristan cut in, smirking.
"Right."
"Right."
"So, I might be seeing you sooner than you hoped." He gave her a cocky smile.
"Hoped?" Rory snorted, "Is it possible that that ego has grown bigger from our Chilton days?"
"It did feel a bit squashy in the cab..." He mused, his eyes twinkling.
She leant up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Tristan was shocked but quickly hid it.
"What was that for?" He asked quizzically.
"For tolerating oompa loompa's to keep me company." She answered finally.
He smiled. "I think someone wants to keep the penguin they stole from Antarticaaa..." He said in a sing-song voice.
She was already prancing up the stairs to the hotel. "Maybe I don't want to hurt the penguin's feelings." She called out, laughing, not turning around.
"Well, this penguin would like to thank you for a enjoyable evening." He said to her retreating back.
She turned around and impulsively blew him a kiss in exaggeration.
He grinned back at her and was whistling the oompa loompa tune as he flagged down a cab.
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AN:
Do you people like those Vitamin C pills? You know, the ones that taste like oranges?
I'M ADDICTED. THEY'RE NEXT TO THE COMPUTER AND (pause) I (pause) CAN'T STOP (pause) EATING THEM. (pause)
So help feed my dependence to these little tasty pills and REVIEW.
THE MORE REVIEWS, the longer I'm on the compu-.....Okay, I think its pretty self explanatory.
But I will ask one thing that has been bugging me all week long: Why is abbreviated such a long word?
HUH?
WHY?
MOTHER OF MERCY, SOMEONE EXPLAIN THAT LIFE-ALTERING QUESTION!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------
The second hand bookstore bell jangled as Rory and Tristan walked in.
The person at the counter had his feet propped up and woke with a start at the sound.
"Welcome," He said, giving a small yawn, and then almost fell off the chair in surprise, "Miss Gilmore! Nice to have you back!"
"I've brought a friend," She said, grinning at him, "Hope you don't mind."
"Not at all! Go, browse, enjoy!" He said, somewhat overly loud.
Rory tugged on Tristan's jacket sleeve as they lost themselves in the small but well stocked store.
"Why is it," Tristan began, as he watched Rory browsing a shelf, "That you go to second-hand book stores when you could afford first editions of anything?"
She shrugged. "I like the atmosphere."
"The atmosphere." He echoed.
"And the feeling of finding a rare book." Her clear blue eyes, unchanged from the first time Tristan had seen her, danced.
"Only you," Tristan said chuckling, "Could be that enthusiastic about books."
She waggled her eyebrows. "Wait till you take me to a café." She told him.
"Ah yes, the coffee fetish."
"Fetish?" Rory wrinkled her nose and Tristan wondered how on earth she could still look cute doing it.
"A quote compliments of Clara K."
"My mom saw you on that yesterday."
"Did I look handsome as ever?" Tristan smirked.
Rory just rolled her eyes. "As much as E.T. could."
"Do I want to know?" Tristan said, as he read the blurb of a book lying on a shelf.
"Evil Tristan." She exclaimed.
"Evil?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Devil incarnate, so to speak."
"Didn't know you thought so highly of me." He grinned.
"I don't." She said playfully.
"Oh?" He considered, "What will it take?"
"Cappuccino at Bella's ought to do the trick." She glanced at him, grinning too.
"I feel used!" He complained, his trademark smirk still ever present.
"Buying that?" Rory asked, staring at the book in Tristan's hand.
He shrugged, "Sure, why not."
They bought the three books to the register and after a few appraising words from the guy at the counter, who Tristan mentally nicknamed Eavesdropping Rick, about their movies so on, they left, Tristan still astonished at how Rory could stay so patient.
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"Where exactly is this Bella's place?"
"Not far. It's the best café in California." Rory exclaimed proudly.
"Is that a fact?"
"Well, no," She admitted, "That was just my opinion."
He grinned at her. "And what a gorgeous opinion it was."
She blushed and gave him a small shove. "Get run over." She commanded, smiling.
"I'd love to, but maybe not today."
"Today seems like a fine day, why, too good to get run over?"
"Hey," He said, his murky blue eyes twinkling, "Your words, not mine."
She pouted. "I can eat my words."
"I would personally love to see that."
"You know, this is strange." Rory said, sobering up.
"What is?" Tristan asked, puzzled.
"That, even after nearly nine years, we can still just....just...." She trailed off.
"...Fall back into the high school days?"
"Well, pretty much except no uniforms, no hysterical Paris and no tormenting."
"Hey, Rory," Tristan said, slightly timid, "I never got to apologize-"
"-Oh my god, did you just call me Rory?" She asked, acting shocked.
He smirked at her. "You're ruining my moment."
"Oh, by all means, go ahead." He coughed. "I never actually did get to apologize for being a complete jackass to you at Chilton."
"And you know I didn't mean it when I said I hated you, right?" Rory said, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"You still remember that?" Tristan asked, surprised.
"When you mentioned P.J. Harvey it kinda bought back memories." She said wryly.
"Well, for what its worth, I am sorry."
She waved a dismissive hand. "It's in the past. But I'm glad it was you who was at my door tonight."
"Don't deny it, Mary," He teased, "You know you wanted Santa to be there."
She groaned, playing along. "I know! Where the hell is that princess Barbie I asked for two Christmases ago?"
He laughed as they entered the small, somewhat unknown café that was Bella's.
Bella, who just happened to be there at the time, was over the moon when she spotted Rory, who was obviously a regular.
They both ordered coffee, with Tristan laughing in amazement at Rory's addiction to caffeine.
They bantered, joked, dug up embarrassing old memories and occasionally flirted, the flirting factor growing steadier as they night wore on.
As they were leaving, Bella winked at Rory, obviously indicating the blond she had walked in with. Rory just blushed and waved goodbye.
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Rory shuffled her feet along the sidewalk, it was a bit past midnight and they were still out walking the streets.
Tristan snuck looks at her often, wondering why on earth didn't he visit her sooner.
But really, he knew why.
He was afraid, wasn't that it?
He was afraid that the girl who consumed his thoughts even after Chilton would hate him, for the annihilation, for the constant teasing, for the awkward situations that he put her through.
But this was great...this was wonderful.
She had welcomed him back into her world as if nothing had ever been wrong, as if he hadn't made life for her in high school difficult.
And in his own way, he was beginning to love her for it.
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As they walked in comfortable silence, Rory glanced at Tristan, marveling at how he still looked exactly the same as she remembered.
The same messy blond hair, the same devilish blue eyes.
But he came back different, maybe it was because of the new atmosphere they were in, or because military school really did change him, but whatever it was, Rory found his personality intriguing.
He had become someone that she wanted to know better.
Don't get her wrong, Tristan Dugrey still had the spark of cockiness about him, but it had been softened somehow, to not seem so annoying and agitating anymore, merely...overly confident.
And as hard as she'd try to deny it, she was enjoying herself a hell of a lot more than she would usually permit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------
Without even realizing it, they had walked back to the hotel. The area was pretty much deserted, save for the two doormen, but the photographers and such had disappeared. Rory, finally noticing this, turned to Tristan and gave him a shy smile.
"So....I'll see you around."
"Oh, I don't know..." Tristan murmured, smirking, "I might call you."
"And you still owe me for that P.J. Harvey incident, and don't you forget it." Rory said, her clear blue eyes dancing at him.
"I would never!" Tristan protested, grinning, "In fact, I'm going to call you first thing in the morning, to make plans."
"Better not be earlier than ten," She warned playfully, "I need sleep, but more importantly, I need-"
"-Coffee." Tristan cut in, smirking.
"Right."
"Right."
"So, I might be seeing you sooner than you hoped." He gave her a cocky smile.
"Hoped?" Rory snorted, "Is it possible that that ego has grown bigger from our Chilton days?"
"It did feel a bit squashy in the cab..." He mused, his eyes twinkling.
She leant up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Tristan was shocked but quickly hid it.
"What was that for?" He asked quizzically.
"For tolerating oompa loompa's to keep me company." She answered finally.
He smiled. "I think someone wants to keep the penguin they stole from Antarticaaa..." He said in a sing-song voice.
She was already prancing up the stairs to the hotel. "Maybe I don't want to hurt the penguin's feelings." She called out, laughing, not turning around.
"Well, this penguin would like to thank you for a enjoyable evening." He said to her retreating back.
She turned around and impulsively blew him a kiss in exaggeration.
He grinned back at her and was whistling the oompa loompa tune as he flagged down a cab.
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AN:
Do you people like those Vitamin C pills? You know, the ones that taste like oranges?
I'M ADDICTED. THEY'RE NEXT TO THE COMPUTER AND (pause) I (pause) CAN'T STOP (pause) EATING THEM. (pause)
So help feed my dependence to these little tasty pills and REVIEW.
THE MORE REVIEWS, the longer I'm on the compu-.....Okay, I think its pretty self explanatory.