Title: Letting Go
Feedback: Yes please.
Summary: (a Smallville/Gilmore Girls crossover) When Clark runs away from Smallville, where does he go? In a weird twist of fate, he finds himself in Stars Hollow, where Lorelai and Rory have just returned from Europe. What starts out as a coincidence slowly becomes a summer that they will never forget.
Rating: PG-13/R
Pairings: Clark/Rory, with Lex/Lana and Lorelai/Dean
Spoilers: Everything up to end of season 2 of Smallville and end of season 3 of Gilmore Girls. For those of you who are unfamiliar with either show, here's the breakdown: Clark runs away from Smallville after his alien father calls out to him and everything in his life had turned to a disaster. Despite his love for Lana, he still leaves without any explanation (along with his red kryptonite ring which turns him into bad Clark), breaking her heart. Lex, on the other hand, just got married but his wife supposedly tries to kill him and the season ends as his plane is crashing into the ocean. In Stars Hollow, Rory has just graduated and is about to go on the trip to Europe with Lorelai but she isn't as happy as she should be because Jess inexplicably left her to go to LA, while Dean, her other ex-boyfriend has just announced his engagement to Lindsay.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Gilmore Girls or Smallville.
NOTE: Something has been brought to my attention something and I'd just like to clarify it. Yes, I do realize that both Dean and Clark are younger than Lorelai and Rory respectively but it just happens to be that way. I love Lorelai and Dean for a lot of the same reasons why I love Clark and Rory. I think there is a lot of chemistry between them that have yet to be explored so since no one is going to write a story about them, I might as well write it myself. Also, I don't have any problems with dating younger men but myself, I'm more into someone close to my age, albeit my own age or older, but you never know when love will strike. I also write this fic because I find Michael Rosenbaum, Tom Welling and Jared Padelecki to be very beautiful and their portrayals of the respective characters irresistible, at least my own personal versions of them in my mind.
****
Part VI - Love and other catastrophes
As Rory unwillingly trudged behind Lorelai towards the living room, she could only imagine the type of torture this night will ensue. She had gone through this before when her mom had impulsively asked Dean over for what turned out be their first date. All in all, it turned out okay but this was a thousand times worse. Not only did her mom invite Clark over even though they weren't even dating, she had to have Dean there as well. She remembered how well Dean took to Jess. She couldn't imagine how he'd react to Clark. Rory just bit her lip, not knowing what to do at this point as she looked back at Clark, unknowingly walking into a lion's den. "I'm so sorry!" she silently mouthed to him as he smiled bravely at her.
This was a new situation for Clark. He had never really been invited over to a girl's house before by her mom. I mean, he and Rory weren't even an item and he was already being introduced to her mom. He had remembered her from the diner for being nice, albeit a little loud at times. He couldn't even imagine what she thought of him now. He just silently hoped that he had made a good impression on her, at least for Rory's sake.
"Um, Clark, make yourself at home." Lorelai exclaimed as she showed him the couch. As she walked by it, she passed Dean as he stood up to whisper in her ear.
"You know, I can leave if you want." Dean suggested, knowing how awkward this night was going to be, without the added awkwardness from before.
"Sit." Lorelai whispered through her gritted teeth she forcefully pushed him to sit with her hand on his shoulder.
"Okay." Dean replied as he sat on one end of the couch while Clark sat on the other.
"Since Dean only bought two pizzas, I'm going to order Chinese food." Lorelai said with a smile as she walked back towards the kitchen, with the phone in hand. "Clark, are you okay with that? Do you have any allergies I should know about?"
"No that's fine." Clark replied politely as he shook his head. "Thank you Ms. Gilmore."
"No..."Lorelai protested as she cringed at the sound. That just reminded her of her mother and she didn't want to be reminded of that tonight. "You can just call me Lorelai. Dean does, so can you."
Clark looked over to Dean as he shrugged his shoulders while Rory just tried to put on a brave front.
He just sat there silent, not knowing what else to say.
"Mom, I think I'll help you." Rory suggested as she followed Lorelai into the kitchen.
As they both reached the kitchen, Lorelai started to dial, trying to not make eye contact with Rory, who looked like she was about to rip her head off.
"Mom why did you do that?" Rory hissed quietly so that Clark and Dean couldn't hear from the next room. "Do you remember what a disaster it was the last time you did this?"
"I'm sorry Rory." Lorelai whispered back, looking completely guilty and remorseful. "I just panicked. I saw you and him out on the porch and it got so awkward, I just said whatever came up in my mind."
"Inviting Clark to movie night is your first impulse?!" Rory exclaimed as she tried to calm herself down.
"Yes!" Lorelai answered back, trying desperately to defend herself. "And how do you know that guy anyways?"
"I
met him yesterday." Rory explained as she tried to deflect the conversation
back to Lorelai. "But that's beside the point..."
As Lorelai looked at the expression on her face, she knew exactly what she was trying to hide. "So that's why you ditched me last night! You were picking up a guy!"
"Hey! I did not pick up a guy mom!" Rory insisted as she was insulted by the thought. "We just saw each other and we just talked mom. Nothing else!" As she looked at Lorelai, she remembered what happened on the porch and looked at Lorelai suspiciously. "You know him don't you mom. You've met him before, right?"
"Briefly...I saw him at Luke's." Lorelai explained, feeling bad for being caught. "Anyways, are you dating him or what? Because it sure looked like I barged in something there."
"No I'm not dating him." Rory replied, taken aback by her comments. "We're just friends. And of course it looked like you barged in cuz you did! Anyways, he was just saying goodnight, that's all."
"With a kiss?" Lorelai teased, trying to make it funny.
"Come on mom!" Rory exclaimed, not amused by her jokes. "That's not funny. I'm not even dating this guy and now you're having him over? It's too much pressure for him."
"Honey, I'm happy that you're making new friends." Lorelai explained as she smiled at Rory. "But what do you even know about this guy? I'm just a little worried that's all."
"Mom, he's fine." Rory insisted. "He was taking a road trip this summer and while he made a stopover here, he decided to stay."
"I wonder why." Lorelai said sarcastically.
"Well I'm sure he'll be wanting to get the hell out of here after this night's over." Rory said with a sigh. "Mom, can you please promise me that you won't embarrass me any further, especially now that he's in our house?"
"I promise. " Lorelai vowed as she crossed her fingers. "I'll be in cool, supportive mom mode, you'll see."
"And mom?" Rory said suddenly as she walked over to her mom. "Why is Dean here? I mean it's bad enough that I have be chaperoned by my own mother but to have my ex-boyfriend here too? Do you remember how badly Dean got along with Jess? With Tristan?"
"Tristan wasn't your boyfriend was he?" Lorelai asked, pretending not to remember.
"No!" Rory replied in shock, not believing what Lorelai was implying. "We weren't even friends and Dean was jealous. What is he going to do to Clark?"
"I don't really think Dean can really take on Clark." Lorelai pointed out. "Look at the size of the guy. Anyways, you do remember that you and Dean aren't even dating, so you have nothing to worry about. However, I did invite him over yesterday and it would be wrong for me to tell him to leave when he was already over and brought the pizzas. He even changed the water bottle."
"He did?" Rory answered as she looked over to the water cooler. "I mean I know we're supposed to be cheering him up after what happened between him and Lindsay but this is nuts. I mean, it almost looks like we're on a double date. Me on a double date with my mom and my ex-boyfriend." Rory said with a shudder.
"Yeah...double date." Lorelai said with a laugh, trying to hide the truth. Little did she know that it wasn't far from the truth. "In the meantime, I'm going to order Chinese while you can see if Clark and Dean have already killed each other okay?"
Rory gave her a look.
"I'd vote for Clark." Lorelai exclaimed with a nod. "Just look at those biceps. I mean we all love Dean but he'd be clobbered in a minute."
"Funny, mom." Rory replied as she went into her room.
"You're going into room so that you can fix your hair right?" Lorelai said with a sly smile.
"No!" Rory denied, not knowing how her mom could always tell. "I'm just looking for something, okay?"
"Maybe you could put on a little lip gloss sweetie." Lorelai continued as she waited on the phone. "It'll make you look extra pretty."
Rory just gave her a dirty look as she slammed the door behind her.
****
The only sound that came from the living room was coming from the tv. It had been left on the whole time as both Clark and Dean just stared mindlessly at it, wondering when Lorelai or Rory would come back into the room to save them. The uncomfortable silence settled between them and neither one could shake it.
Every one and awhile, Dean would shift his eyes towards Clark. He hadn't particularly noticed what he had looked like before except that he was pretty scared when Miss Patty was being herself in front of him. Living in this town for this long, he had gotten used to the daily habits of each person and sometimes he had forgotten how the way he used to feel when Miss Patty would flirt with him. Now it's an everyday occurrence. There was nothing strange about it at all.
As he looked at the guy sitting on the other side of the couch, he now realized how big he was. Dean had always been tall but this guy was built and muscular as well as tall. "I guess this is Rory's new boyfriend." he thought to himself. He didn't exactly know what to make of this guy. Before, whenever a new guy came into Rory's life, he was always jealous. Tristan. Jess. They were all the same. He hated them all. But now, it was different. They weren't together anymore so he had no reason to be jealous. And even if he picked a fight with this new guy, he knew in the end, he could never take him on. He looked alright. He seemed okay. Maybe if they'd actually talk he really know if he was good for Rory. Even then, almost anyone was better than Jess.
Clark tried to concentrate on the movie as they remained silent. It was a long time since he had seen this movie, which wasn't such a big deal since he didn't watch that many movies anyways. He had forgotten much of the plot. All he knew was the car was the time machine and they wanted go 'back to the future.' Still it was hard to concentrate as he sat with a guy he didn't even know. He remembered him vaguely as the bag boy from the grocery but he didn't think he'd ever see him again unless he wanted to buy more food. He certainly didn't think that he'd see the woman from the diner again either. I guess it goes to show how small this town really was. Clark wanted to look at him but he didn't want him to notice. Clark secretly wondered who was this guy in Rory's life. A friend? An old boyfriend? It couldn't be Jess because her mom called him Dean. Rory had only ever mentioned Jess in their conversations, not Dean.
The silence slowly became unbearable for them. What were mere minutes felt like an eternity. They both just silently prayed that Rory or Lorelai could just break the silence because this was getting ridiculous. Couldn't either of them pretend that everything was normal and have an empty conversation? Suddenly Dean took the leap and uttered the words that he had wanted to say the moment he had seen him by the door.
"Don't hurt her." Dean said simply, his eyes still fixated on the television set.
It took awhile for the words to register in Clark's mind but he could understand. "We're not dating. We're just friends." Clark replied, not knowing what else to say.
"Don't hurt her." Dean repeated. This guy probably was okay. Maybe Rory had learned from what happened with Jess. It was a hard thing to think about because in reality he didn't know her anymore. He hadn't known her for a long time now. All he wanted to do was hope that she was happy and that she wouldn't have another Jess in her life to break her heart.
"I won't." Clark simply answered. Even though he had only known Rory for a little while, he knew for sure that he never wanted to hurt her. Everything between them was so good and they just understood each other on a level he never thought was possible. The last thing he would want was to make her resent him. To break her heart. They were friends and maybe if it could just stay like this, maybe their friendship could be different. Their relationship would be different. Neither one of them could ever hurt each other.
"Hey, what did I miss?" Rory exclaimed as she entered the room. Both of them let out a sigh of relief as she walked in.
"It's pretty much the end." Dean explained as he looked over at Rory. "Me and Lorelai were watching it before but we just let it run through. Maybe we could watch the second one instead?"
"Mom, you watched the first one without me?" Rory asked as Lorelai entered the room with a bowl of popcorn in her hands.
"Kinda of." Lorelai admitted as she stood beside Rory. "I'm sorry. You were taking so long and I kept calling you but you wouldn't answer. Anyways, we weren't really paying attention to the movie..." she darted a look at Dean. "Just watched it mindlessly."
"Did you guys get into another fight about the movie?" Rory asked as she furrowed her brow at Lorelai.
"Dean said that the third Back to the Future was the best out of the three." Lorelai lied as she smiled.
"I didn't!" Dean exclaimed.
"Yeah sure Dean." Lorelai exclaimed as she nodded her head, acting as if she really believed him. "You have the hots for Mary Steenburgen. Don't deny it."
"I'm just going sit here and not say a word." Dean replied as settled in, trying to ignore her.
"Clark, which out of the three do you like the best?" Rory asked as she sat on the floor by his feet, while Lorelai sat beside her.
"Um...I don't know..." Clark answered hesitantly. "I...umm...haven't actually seen all three."
Rory and Lorelai just gasped in shock as he had said something sacrilegious, while Dean shook his head, pitying him for making such a rookie mistake.
"You haven't seen Back to the Future 2 or Back to the Future 3?" Lorelai asked as she stared at him, the idea of it completely foreign to her. But from the way he shook his head in embarrassment, she knew it was true. It was bad enough that before Dean had met them, he hadn't seen that many movies but something as the Back to the Future trilogy was just inexcusable. However, she fought the urge to say something sarcastic, knowing that Rory would get mad at her later.
"Don't mind them." Dean said as he looked over at Clark. "They take movies really seriously. They did the same thing to me."
"But look how you turned out." Lorelai as smiled at him. "Not completely reformed but a vast improvement. You should thank us Dean."
"Thank you." Dean said as he rolled his eyes. "Can we start the movie now?"
"Fine, fine." Lorelai replied as she pressed play on the remote control.
****
"You know, all of my life I've always wanted a waffle maker. " Lana replied as Lex was stirring up the waffle mix. She was sitting by the breakfast island that stood in the middle of the immense kitchen downstairs. Lex had sent all the servants home for the night so they were the only ones in the house. Looking around the modern, industrial-styled kitchen, she envied it because she had always wanted a kitchen like this. She also stared at the waffle iron that was sitting on the table.
"Well you wanted dessert so waffles came to mind." Lex said, standing by the island as he continued mixing.
"It's been so long since I had waffles." Lana exclaimed as she smiled. "It reminds me of my mom. She used to make it all the time for me when I was a kid with whipped cream, ice cream and strawberries. " she continued as thought about it. "After my mom died, Nell would make them for me but it wasn't the same."
"Well I know this can't compare to your mom's, but they are still really good." Lex replied. "They are my mom's recipe and if I can remember it correctly, then they will be great."
"I'm sure they will be." Lana replied with a smile.
"The iron hot enough?" Lex asked as he looked over to her.
"Yeah." Lana said as she looked at the green light that was on.
"Okay." Lex exclaimed as he took the ladle he had nearby and poured it into circular waffle molds. Once they were done, he simply closed the top shut and watched the timer. "You just watch until the timer goes off and then you can flip them over and they'll be done."
"When was the last time you had waffles?" Lana asked as Lex walked over to the fridge.
"I don't know. Maybe a year ago, I can't remember." Lex admitted.
"Did you ever make them for Helen or Victoria?" Lana pondered.
"No, Helen wasn't too fond of waffles. And Victoria liked french toast." Lex replied. "Actually, Helen wasn't really into dessert."
"She didn't like dessert?" Lana exclaimed, a little surprised. "That's the best part!"
"I know, but that was Helen." Lex answered, taking a moment to think about her. Her name still pained him.
"Can I ask you something?" Lana said suddenly. She wasn't sure if Lex was up to answering.
"What?" Lex asked as he pulled out two plastic containers.
"I know this is personal and you don't have to answer if you don't want to but...did you love Helen?" Lana asked as she paused for a moment to rephrase it. " I mean, I know that you had to love her in some way to actually marry her, but now, after everything, do you still believe that you loved her?"
"It's really hard to say." Lex said with a sigh as he sat down on the stool next to her. " I mean at the time, I really did believe that I was in love with her, you know. I told Clark once that I've only ever loved two women in my life: my mother and my nanny. Helen was the first woman since them that I had ever loved and when I said I love you for the first time, I really thought that I meant it." He then looked out the window, looking at the darkness around them. "Looking back, I'm not so sure if it was the truth. Maybe we rushed things and maybe I was too much of a fool. For any number of reasons, the bottom line was she didn't love me back. Our whole relationship was based on a lie. So how could my love for her be real?"
"Well you didn't know any of it at the time." Lana pointed out. "How could you have known that she was going to do something like that."
"I knew that she had been working for my dad as a spy, yes but she admitted to it and I forgave her." Lex explained, as if he was reliving it again. "And before the wedding, I had lied to her. I only admitted the lie once she caught me. I pleaded for her to forgive me and she said she did...I guess this was the way she could get back at me...sometimes I don't blame her for trying to kill me."
"Lex, it's never right to try kill someone." Lana insisted. "Helen had no right to do what she did, even if she was angry at you for lying."
"Anyways, what's done is done." Lex said simply.
"Has anyone heard from her yet?" Lana asked.
"From what I've found out, she took a parachute to a remote island somewhere." Lex replied. "She's intelligent. I don't think she'll be found unless she wants to be found."
DING! went the bell as the waffle iron rung. Lana turned towards it as she held onto the heavy handle and flipped it upside down. Opening it up, it revealed two perfectly round waffles. She took a fork to gently lift them off the iron and transfer them to plates while Lex went back to the fridge to get the vanilla ice cream.
"I got Simon to make us some strawberry sauce before leaving." Lex explained, referring to his personal chef. He peeled off the lid to show her them. In the other container were ripe red strawberries, all clean and cut.
As they assembled the waffle cake, Lana suddenly turned to Lex. " I've been wondering for some time..."
"About what?" Lex asked as he passed her a fork, a knife, a spoon and a can of whipped cream.
"Whether I really love Clark." Lana replied as she picked up the can. " Did I say I love you to him because I meant it or because I wanted him to stay?"
"Lana..." Lex began as he sprayed his waffle with his own can of whipping cream. "You can't overthink that. What you and Clark have is totally different from what me and Helen had or didn't have."
"Lex, face it. Before he left, we didn't even start dating. There were a few kisses here and there, some stolen moments but there was nothing official about it. We weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend and I already said I love you." Lana pointed out.
"Not everything has to be official." Lex replied as he cut through the waffle. " Just because you didn't announce it to the world that you were an item didn't mean that you didn't feel what you feel. Life doesn't work out that way."
"If I really loved him and he really loved me, then why did he leave?" Lana asked as she put a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. She paused to swallow and continued. "Wasn't our love good and strong enough so that he wouldn't leave?" she paused again. "I just think if it couldn't stop him from running away maybe it wasn't real to begin with."
"You don't really mean that, do you Lana?" Lex asked.
"Maybe I don't..."Lana replied. "Or maybe I'm just not seeing the truth."
"Don't let what happened to me change the way you think about your relationship with Clark." Lex answered. " Clark had nothing to with his love for you. It was something inside of him. Something that he needed to work out on his own."
"Or maybe he was just realizing something that I'm only realizing it now." Lana suggested sadly. "That although we loved each other, maybe we weren't meant to be together."
Lana grew silent as she looked out at the window.
"Lex, what does it feel like when you're in love?" Lana asked. "Do you feel it immediately or does it grow in time?" She turned her head back at Lex. " And how are you supposed to know when you're in love if you've never felt it before? How do you know if it's real love?"
"I suppose it's when both people feel the same way at the same time, and even without saying a word, they know what the other person is feeling and they're happy because they feel it too." Lex replied. " Nothing in the world matters except for the two of you. You just want to drink each other in and just live and breathe from them. All your worries and fears start to melt away because you know there will always be someone beside you. Bad things may happened and life might tear you apart but deep inside you know that you'll always love them. No matter what. Your love with last for an eternity and nothing can really tear you away from them because you're a part of each other."
They sat there silent, just letting the words sink in.
"I don't think I've ever felt that way about someone in my whole life." Lana admitted as she could hear his words resonate within her.
"I haven't either." Lex replied. "But I just know that it must exist somewhere...I don't know."
"I
hope it does exist too." Lana replied as she looked at Lex, letting the
silence overcome them.
****
"Don't you love it when Michael J. Fox plays his daughter?" Lorelai exclaimed as she pointed towards the screen as he walked down the stairs towards Lea Thompson playing his grandmother. "Nice outfit. Look at the hair!"
"The skirt!" Rory exclaimed through a fit of giggles. "It looks like some puffy shorts than a miniskirt. Mom, do you think that this reflects the coming future."
"God I hope not." Lorelai replied as she squirmed at the fashion faux pas. "It's the worst of the 80s all in one. Hey Dean, would you like to dress like that in the future?" She pointed at the outfit that Michael J Fox was wearing as Marty Jr.
"Umm no." Dean replied as he looked at the tie-dyed baseball cap he was wearing and huge high-top sneakers. "Though the self drying jacket isn't such a bad idea."
"My favourite is the hover board." Rory exclaimed as Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Wouldn't it be so cool if you could fly across water?"
"I know!" Lorelai agreed. "I would kill for a hover board now or some super jet pack thingy so I wouldn't be late for work. Hey, wouldn't it be great if you could have super human power to like go anywhere like that?" as she snapped her fingers.
"Super speed would be really cool." Rory exclaimed. "Or super strength."
"Cause we all know how puny you are." Lorelai teased, pointing at her small arms.
"Hey! You're not Wonder woman either here." Rory pointed out. "It's not like you ever exercise either."
"Amen
to that." Lorelai exclaimed as Dean started to laugh. "Hey, what super
power would you like Dean?"
"Super human strength sounds pretty good." Dean replied. "Though you don't really need that for working at Doose's."
"How about you Clark," Rory asked as she looked back at him. "What power would you like to have?"
Clark just smiled at her, not knowing what to say because of the irony of the situation. "Umm...I don't know...I mean the super speed sounds pretty handy and the super strength sounds great too but you know x-ray vision could be cool too."
"So you could see through women's clothing I bet." Lorelai exclaimed as Clark started to blush. "If she only knew." he thought to himself.
"Hey Rory, are you nervous about going to Yale?" Dean asked as he looked over at her. "I mean it's less than a month away."
"I'm doing okay. I try not to think about it so much." Rory replied as she looked over to Lorelai, who was rubbing her back. "At least it's not so far away from home."
"I still can't believe you're not going to Harvard." Dean exclaimed, thinking about her dream. "But at least you're close by."
"Are you excited about going to Southern Connecticut State?" Rory asked.
"Yeah, but I don't know what I'm going to major in. That is still up in the air." Dean said with a sigh. "But who would have thought that I'd be going to college."
"I always believed you could do it." Rory insisted. "I'm just wondering how you're feeling about Lindsay going there too, now that you guys have broken up."
"She's transferring to another school." Dean explained. "I told she didn't have to but she said she wanted to leave."
"Hey
Clark," Lorelai asked as she looked at him. "Are you going to college
in September?"
Clark looked down, wondering what to say. "Umm.."
"Mom!" Rory exclaimed as she looked at her.
"Hey it's okay if you're not." Lorelai said, smiling sympathetically at him. "I didn't go to college either until recently."
"Umm...it's not that." Clark said with a small smile, gritting his teeth. "You see, I'm still in high school. I'll be a junior in September."
"Clark's 16 mom." Rory added, giving Clark a supportive look.
Dean started to look away as Lorelai tried to process it all without putting him down or try to look like the way she was feeling: complete shock. "Oh!" Lorelai managed a smile. "I didn't realize...I just assumed...Wow, you look really mature for a 16 year old....I didn't even look like that when I had Rory..."
"Mom..." Rory pleaded with her as she nudged her hard.
"God, I'm going at this in the worst way am I?" Lorelai said apologetically. "I'm sorry Clark."
"It's okay." Clark said genuinely with a shrug. "My parents sometimes forget how old I am. It's fine....um, could you tell me where your bathroom is?"
"Um, I'll show it to you." Rory exclaimed as she bounced up from her spot and directed him towards the stairs.
"Thanks." Clark said as he stood up and followed Rory up the stairs.
As Clark and Rory disappeared from her view, Lorelai plopped down on the couch beside Dean, as she looked at him. "Did you know how old he was?" Lorelai whispered as she laid back her head.
"No, I didn't have a clue." Dean replied, trying to stiffle a laugh.
"Hey don't laugh!" Lorelai exclaimed. "He's still a kid."
"I'm not laughing at him." Dean insisted. "I'm just thinking about the way you handled it. Good job!"
"God, I really messed up." Lorelai said with a heavy sigh. "Rory's going to kill me." she looked at Dean as he nodded in agreement.
"Thanks." Lorelai said with resentment as she punched Dean in the arm as he continued to laugh.
****
Rory stood leaning against the wall as she waited for Clark to finish. It was going okay right until the age thing came up and it was awkwardness all over again. For a moment there, she'd thought they would all survive this night intact but maybe she spoke too soon.
As Clark started to open the door, his hands still a little wet after washing them, he was taken aback when Rory started to push him back into the small bathroom and shut the door behind them. "Are you okay?" he asked as she stood leaning against the closed door.
"Just sit for a second." Rory said as she motioned him to put the toilet seat down and sit on it. "I'm so sorry about my mom just there. I didn't tell her about it before and I didn't think it was going to come out."
"Hey it's fine." Clark insisted. "She was bound to find out how old I really was. I think she took it pretty well."
"I guess." Rory replied, smiling bravely for him. "I'm just sorry about this whole night. The fact that she dragged you into the house and forced you into movie night. I mean, everything was going so well and then she opened the door. I swear, I didn't think that was going to happen."
"Hey, it's fine." Clark reassured as he smiled. "I'm actually having fun. I haven't sat down and watched a movie in a while."
"You are?" Rory asked. "Even with my mom rambling on and everything?"
"Your mom can talk a lot, I know." Clark said with a laugh. "But she seems really nice. I like her."
"I know she likes you." Rory explained. "I just think the age thing caught her off guard."
"Well it usually does." Clark replied. "So you've never mentioned Dean before. I assumed you guys went out right?"
"Dean was my first boyfriend." Rory explained. "Kind of like what you and Lana have except we didn't really work out, but we're still friends."
"You guys seem pretty close." Clark pointed out. "He's even close to your mom."
"Well we were, up until we broke up." Rory replied. "But he's still talked to my mom every so often. He's just been hanging out here recently cuz he just broke up with his fiancée."
"Lindsay right?" he asked.
"Yeah." Rory answered. "That's why my mom asked him over tonight. She's been feeling sorry for him and thought he needed cheering up. I thought it was a good idea up until she wrangled you into the house. Did you guys talk when we left the room?" She silently hoped there wasn't any angry exchanges of words.
"No, not really." Clark admitted. "He just seemed to really be protective, that's all. He still cares about you."
"I know." Rory replied. "I care about him too. I just think we are better off as friends."
"So..." Clark asked as he looked towards the door. "Do you think we're brave enough to get out there and join them again?"
"Yeah..." Rory replied with a smile. "But do you think we can stay here for a little while longer?"
"How long?" Clark asked.
"What do you think about forever?" Rory suggested. Clark just smiled as he laughed.
****
"Lorelai..." Dean began as he turned to her. They had been watching silently the rest of the movie, wondering when Clark and Rory would ever come down. On top of that, they were also trying desperately to ignore the events that happened earlier, but Dean couldn't stand the silence anymore.
"No." Lorelai answered quickly, trying not to look at him. "Now is not the time."
"We have to talk about this." Dean insisted as he continued to look at her, while darting his eyes towards the stairs, trying to see if Clark and Rory were going to interrupt them.
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Come on. Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"Stop pretending like everything's fine and that it didn't happen." Dean replied as stared at her exasperatingly. He moved in closer as he whispered in her ear. "We kissed."
Lorelai turned her head towards and glared.
"I kissed you and you kissed me back." Dean explained. "And no matter what you say, it's still a fact."
"Well it wasn't supposed to happen." Lorelai looked at him, trying to articulate what she had wanted to say all night. "It was a mistake."
"I'm sorry I kissed you." Dean said with a sigh, but continued to stare at her intensely. "But was it so bad?"
"No...it wasn't bad." Lorelai said with a sigh, getting frustrated with herself for being pulled in by his doe eyes and innocent charm. "You and I..." pointing at him and herself, "can never happen."
"Why?" Dean asked.
"Because..."Lorelai said as she tried to keep it down. Didn't he see the obvious? "You dated Rory and I'm her mother."
"I DATED Rory." Dean clarified. "Past tense. But didn't you tell me once that our relationship is not going to be affected by what happened between me and Rory in the past?"
"Yeah..." Lorelai said as she rolled her eyes. "But I was talking about being friends, not kissing! Anyways, you're 18...I'm...well you know how old I am."
"34." Dean replied.
"You don't have to remind me!" Lorelai said as she scowled at him. "I'm old enough to be your mother! See? This could go nowhere."
"I'm not asking for a relationship." Dean insisted. "I'm not talking about long-term commitment thing here. I'm talking about something purely casual and fun. No strings attached...isn't that what you were talking about earlier? You wanted to see what it would like just to have no expectations, no heartbreak...none of the bad stuff, all of the benefits? Well I'm your guy."
"Dean..." Lorelai scoffed, trying to deny what she had said. "I was just talking...we were just supposing...it didn't mean anything."
Dean gave her look. He wasn't buying it at all.
"Even if I was THINKING about it, I wasn't thinking about you..." Lorelai exclaimed as she furrowed her brow.
"Why can't this work?" Dean demanded. "We're both looking for the same thing: something fun, non-committal, no strings attached. If we both agree with the terms, I don't see how this couldn't work."
"Well for one thing," Lorelai explained. "What am I supposed to tell Rory? That I'm seeing her ex-boyfriend, but don't worry though cuz we're just 'fooling around'."
"You don't have to say anything." Dean said simply. "This is just between you and me. That's it. Come on! I've spent most of my life being the good guy, the sweet guy who does everything right and not once have I ever done anything spontaneous and just for the hell of it."
"Well, you could do with it any girl you want." Lorelai pointed it out. "You're going to college next month, you'll find a nice girl to settle down with."
"Yeah, I do want to settle down..." Dean agreed. "EVENTUALLY. Now, all I want to do is just see what it's like to do something just purely for me...just something without thinking, just free of all rules..."
He shifted himself closer to Lorelai.
"And yes, I could find some random girl to do this with." Dean began, as he moved his head closer to her. "But I want to do this with you."
"Why?" Lorelai asked, shaking her head at him. She just couldn't understand him. She was old, used, and past her prime.
"I know you." Dean explained. "You're spontaneous, happy, crazy, and funny. I've never met anyone who has much fun with life as you do." He smiled.
She smiled back.
"You drive me nuts with your bits and your rants but you have good heart. You're a great mother to Rory and a good person." As he looked at her with a sigh, he suddenly reached his hand out to lightly brush her hair out of her eyes and touch her face. Lorelai closed her eyes as she felt his fingers on her cheek. "Not to mention that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life."
Lorelai opened her eyes as she looked at her. She heard the words but she couldn't quite comprehend them. Did he really mean it or was he just trying to make her cave. As she looked into his bright eyes and wide smile, she knew he wasn't joking.
"Lorelai, you could teach me so much about life." Dean explained further. "I want have fun like you do. I want to see the world the way you do. Just to go out there and not be afraid, live life like you do, at least for awhile." He slowly moved away from her as he repositioned himself on the couch. "Us...we don't have to last that long...you know I'm going to college next month...all I'm asking is one month...one month. We forget about everything and everyone and just do this. Do something we both want. After, we can continue our regular lives and be who we were before. I'll go to college and do something with my life and you can run your inn and do whatever you want with the rest of your life."
"Dean...I don't know." Lorelai said, unsure of herself.
"Don't think...just do." Dean replied. "I know there's a part of you who wants to try this. I know you do and you're hesitating. Maybe because of Rory, how old I am, whatever. Lorelai, stop thinking of me as a kid. As that stupid kid who was in love with Rory, and who hid behind windows, and picking fights with every guy. I'm not that person anymore. I haven't been for a long time now."
She still sat there, confused as ever. She wanted to say something, but no words came out.
"Just think about it." Dean said simply as he retreated back to his old spot and glared at the tv once more.
Lorelai just shook her head, not knowing really what had happened there but she could definitely feel her heart weighing heavily on her. As she sat there, pondering over his proposition, suddenly Clark and Rory came down the stairs, Rory clearly seeing Lorelai's troubled face.
"Mom?" Rory asked as she walked over to her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Rory." Lorelai replied as she tried to cover up her feelings. "I've just been waiting to go to the bathroom." she said with a smirk. "How long did you guys have to take up there?" she just walked past them as she walked up the stairs, shifting her eyes towards Dean before disappearing upstairs.
****
"Oh my God, get out of there!" Lana yelled as she watched in pain. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman were fighting against time in the cellar as they tried to find evidence against her husband, Claude Rains. They were snooping around in the cellar while her husband was about to go down to the wine cellar. "God, I can't look!' Lana exclaimed as she suddenly hid her eyes in Lex's shirt.
Lex just sat there amused as he rubbed her back. He had suggested watching another movie. Since she hadn't seen most of the movies that Lex had on DVD, she suggested he choose again. Lex, without question, pulled this movie from his collection and insisted that she should watch, at least for posterity's sake. There was no way he was going to let her go through the rest of her life without seeing this movie at least once.
"Lana, they get out okay." Lex pointed out, as he nudged her. "See? He doesn't see them."
Lana opened her eyes and looked at the screen, but she still continued to frown. "But he knows doesn't he?" she said sadly as she watched the husband see the uranium dust they had left behind when they had broken one of the wine bottle containing it. "After all that work, all the trouble they went to, he still found out."
"Well in most film noirs, the truth always comes out." Lex explained.
"But they were in love." Lana exclaimed as she looked at him. "They were in love and then she got wrapped up in this Nazi government conspiracy and she is forced to marry a man she doesn't love so that she can spy on him."
"But don't you see?" Lex replied as he smiled at her. "She did it because she was in love with Cary Grant. She would do anything for him."
"Even sacrifice their happiness?" Lana asked as she looked at him grimly. "Destroying whatever future they could have had with each other?"
"Well in Casablanca, she doesn't end up Humphrey Bogart." Lex pointed out. "She went on a plane with her husband."
"But she still loves Rick!" Lana protested.
"Exactly!" Lex exclaimed. " In spite of everything, all the circumstances, their love still survives. It's neverending."
"I still hate it." Lana exclaimed.
"Well everyone hates it." Lex replied. " But it's a love story that has stood the test of time. I mean, without pain or suffering, you would never really truly appreciate love when you have found it."
"I know." Lana said with a sigh as she rested her head against Lex's shoulder. "I just wish that love didn't have to be so complicated. That it didn't have to be so hard."
"I know, but it always is." Lex replied as he rubbed her arm with his hand and rest his head against hers.
"Can we go back to when they were kissing." Lana asked suddenly. "I mean can we just skip back to the scene where they're kissing on the balcony."
"What about the rest of the movie?" Lex asked as he looked down at her.
"We'll see it." Lana assured her. "I just want to them happy again before the whole world crashes down on them."
Lex just smiled to himself and did what she asked as he rewound back in time.
****
"So what did you think of the movie Clark?" Rory asked as she looked at him.
"It was good, though the time travel thing was really confusing." Clark remarked.
"Well it would have easier to understand if you guys weren't holed up in the bathroom for half the movie." Lorelai pointed out as she looked teasingly at Rory.
Clark just looked on with a reddened face and smiled silently.
Dean just looked at them and let out a heavy sigh. "It's really been great but I have to go now. My parents are expecting me and you know parents."
"I should go too." Clark said politely as he looked at Lorelai. "Thanks for inviting me. It's been really fun."
"You're welcome." Lorelai replied with a smile. "I really hope I didn't scare you off there because you're welcome back anytime."
Clark just nodded as he walked towards the door.
"I'm just going to go now." Dean exclaimed as he reached the front door. "It was nice to meet you Clark." He extended out his hand so that Clark could shake it. Rory smiled as she witnessed the gesture.
"It was nice to meet you too Dean." Clark replied as he firmly shook his hand.
"Bye Rory." Dean said as he reached over Rory to give her a quick hug. As he released her, he took one more quick glance at Lorelai as he waved and tipped his head at her. "Bye Lorelai."
Lorelai waved as she watched him walk away. "Anyways, I have to clean up in the kitchen now so you guys can talk out on the porch if you'd like." She quickly waved goodbye at Clark as she walked towards the kitchen.
"So..." Rory began as she walked outside as Clark followed behind her. "What did you think about tonight?" as she closed the door behind them.
"I told you." Clark replied. "I had fun. How about you? Are you okay?"
"Hey I'm fine." Rory insisted. "I'd probably get over this in like the end of this century."
"Come on." Clark said with a smile. "Tonight wasn't so bad. We talked and I met your mom and Dean and came out of it alive."
"Just barely." Rory said sarcastically.
Clark laughed. "I'm serious. I know you had fun tonight. I could see it in your face. I could see it whenever you're with your mom. You guys click. I mean I've seen a person click with their mother like you do with your mom. It's amazing."
"Yeah it is." Rory admitted. "She's my best friend."
"I can see that." Clark agreed. "So what do you think? Do you think she likes me?"
"I told you she does." Rory assured him. "You even escaped the heart to heart talk she'd usually give all of my boyfriends."
"But we're just friends." Clark pointed out as he paused. "Do you think if we were dating, she'd like me?"
"As long as you can change a water bottle and reach up on high places, you're in." Rory said with a smile.
"That's nice to know." Clark said as he pondered that little pointer. "So...I'll see tomorrow."
"Yeah." Rory replied. She slowly walked over to him as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. He hugged her tightly as he smiled.
"Goodnight Rory." Clark exclaimed as he slowly pulled away from her.
"Goodnight Clark." Rory replied as she watched him walk away.
As she walked into the kitchen, Lorelai could see the wide grin across Rory's face. "Somebody's happy."
"Yeah I am." Rory replied as she walked over to her mom.
"So are you guys going to start dating?" Lorelai asked slyly, as she nudged Rory.
"We're just friends mom." Rory insisted. "He's got a girl back home in Kansas."
"Yeah sure." Lorelai said with a laugh. "But you're here and she's not. I mean, who was hiding up there, locked in a bathroom with him?"
"Nothing happened." Rory insisted.
"Is he a good kisser?" Lorelai tried to pry. "Because he looks like he is. Tell me. On a scale from 1 to 10, where is he? Is he better than Jess? Dean? Tristan?"
"Mom!" Rory said in shock. "I'm not going to answer that!"
"I can't believe you're the older woman in this scenario." Lorelai beamed. "My daughter is seducing a younger man."
"Nobody's seducing anybody!" Rory exclaimed as she walked around Lorelai to get to her room.
"You must have had to stand on your tippy toes to kiss him right?" Lorelai exclaimed, refusing to stop. "Or did he do the gentlemanly thing and bend down to reach you? I mean, Dean is tall but Clark is huge and tall."
"I'm not listening to you anymore!" Rory replied as she covered her ears and closed her door with her foot.
"Come on honey! Give mommy something....anything." Lorelai pleaded though the door.
"No!" Rory cried out as she turned up some music.
****
Lex laid in bed with bleary eyes, half asleep. As he turned onto his side, he could have sworn he could see a figure in the distance.
"Lex, are you awake?" Lana whispered as she stood at the door.
Lex began to wipe his eyes as he tried to focus them to make her out.
"Lana?" Lex asked as he squinted in the darkness, with his head still resting on the pillow.
"I'm sorry..." Lana replied as she was about to walk away.
"Wait..."he whispered as he sat up on his bed and opened his eyes wider. She was in her pajamas and robe as she hesitated to come any closer. "What's wrong?"
Lana stood there, uneasy as she looked at him without his shirt on. It was the first time she had seen him like this and even in the darkness, she could see his well toned, hairless chest which radiated under the moonlight. "Nothing...I shouldn't have bothered you."
"No." Lex insisted as he motioned her to come closer. "It's alright. Come closer."
Lana felt uneasy as she walked slowly towards him with her arms crossed towards the foot of his bed.
Even though her head was down and his eyes were still blurry, she couldn't hide what was obvious on her face.
"You've been crying." Lex pointed out as he motioned her to come even closer. "Just sit." he pointed towards the bed as she reluctantly did as she was told. "Did you have a nightmare?"
"They usually don't bother me..." Lana explained, with her head still down. "It just this one was so real..."
"What was it about?" Lex asked as he could see that she was visibly shaken.
"I can't remember the details...it's all so fuzzy." Lana explained as she touched her forehead with her hand. "I was in room and it had bullet proof window. I was standing there when suddenly I saw my parents being engulfed by flames. They kept screaming at me, pleading for my help but I couldn't get to them. As I kept pounding at the window, I could see more people in the flames: Nell, Whitney, Clark and you..." She paused as the tears began to form again. "I kept screaming and pounding but I couldn't break through. All I could hear were the screams and the cries. The flames just got higher and higher and everyone was just...slowly...burn..." she couldn't finished her sentence as the lump in her throat grew and she started to cry once more.
"Hey," Lex whispered as he edged closer and wrapped his arms around, trying to comfort. "It's okay Lana, it's okay." She just held him tighter as she continued to sob into his shoulder.
Lex began to rock her as he ran his fingers through her hair, steady her head as he whispered into her ear. "It was just a dream Lana...it wasn't real." He kept holding onto her as if she was about to fall. He wasn't about to let her fall. He'd catch her no matter what. The cries began to subside as she started to speak again.
"Am I cursed?" Lana whispered as she still kept her arms around him. "Is that why everybody left? Why everybody eventually leaves."
"Listen to me." Lex explained as he pulled away from her and held her face in hands. "You're not a curse. There is nothing cursed about you. You're a miracle. You're a miracle to me."
Lana just looked at him intensely as she processed those words in her mind. "What if the dream meant something....that something horrible is going to happen and will happen."
"Dreams are dreams Lana." Lex explained as he brushed her hair from her face. "They only exist in your mind...in the real world, we determine our future...we have the power to change our life."
"What if you can't change fate?" Lana asked. "What if we are doomed to suffer and you can only blindly follow our own destiny?"
"I don't know Lana." Lex said, as he couldn't find any other words of comfort. "Fate, destiny and what God has planned for us is beyond me. Still, we have the freedom of choice...you don't have to keep torturing yourself when nothing is prevent you from being happy..."
She just looked at him with such desperation and sadness, he couldn't help but feel his heart breaking for her.
"Clark would never want to see you this unhappy like this." Lex said with a sigh. "And neither do I."
"I just don't know what happiness is anymore." Lana admitted. "I mean I know I was happy before...today was perfect. But then I wake up in a cold sweat and I feel like I don't know myself anymore."
Lex just looked at her with such sadness in his eyes. He didn't know what else to do.
"Tell me what I can do for you." Lex said. He couldn't bear it anymore. "Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it for you. I...I just don't want to see like this."
"Lex..." Lana whispered as she looked up into his eyes. "Um...could I stay with you tonight...I just want to fall asleep again."
"If that's what you want." Lex said as pulled away the covers. Lana slowly crawled towards the bedboard and settled herself into the sheets. As she laid on her side, she turned her head back to look for Lex's left arm. Taking it, she pulled it around herself as Lex laid beside her, spooning her from behind. Without saying a word, she held his arm tightly around her as she closed her eyes, hoping she could fall back into sleep.
Lex let out a heavy sigh as he looked her, hoping that this was enough to drift her back into reverie.
****
She woke up in a startle. Sitting up from her bed, she could hear a noisy rattling coming from her window. "For God's sake!" Lorelai thought to herself as she grumbled towards the window. "Who the hell is throwing stuff at the window? Have you ever heard of sleep!"
She squinted her drowsy eyes to make out the culprit but let out a groan as she saw him. "What the hell!" Standing on her front lawn was Dean throwing pebbles at her window.
"Why are you doing this?" Lorelai mouthed from her window. She looked at him as he motioned at her to come out. "You've got to be kidding me!" she thought to herself as she walked out of her bedroom. "I'm going to kill you!" Lorelai made a special effort to tiptoe slowly down the stairs and walk towards the front door so that Rory wouldn't hear from her room. Luckily, Rory was a pretty heavy sleeper so it wasn't so hard to open the door and walk out to see Dean in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, waiting for her.
Lorelai just sulked as her arms were crossed, waiting for his explanation.
"Thanks for coming out here." Dean whispered as he motioned her to walk out onto the grass where Rory couldn't see them from the window.
"You do realize that it's the MIDDLE of the the night and people need to sleep right?" Lorelai hissed as she fumed at him.
"I'm sorry. I just couldn't sleep." Dean explained.
"So you had to come all the way here to wake me up as well?" Lorelai asked as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Logic doesn't come naturally to you does it? If you can't sleep, just COUNT SHEEP and let me go to bed!"
"Okay, this was not the best idea ever but I need to know." Dean said.
"You need to know what?" Lorelai demanded as she was about to walk back towards the house.
"I want to know whether or not you thought about it or not." Dean clarified.
"Couldn't this wait till morning?" Lorelai replied. "You know, when I'm not half asleep and looking like this?" She pointed at her frazzled hair, stripped pajama pants, t-shirt and robe.
"I don't know." Dean admitted. "You still look good to me."
"Sucking up is not going to get anywhere with me." Lorelai assured him. "Check back with me in a couple of hours when the idea of killing you isn't as appealing as it is now."
"Lorelai..." Dean began, trying to get an answer from her.
"What Dean?" Lorelai asked, as she began to walk away. "I'm tired, I'm sleepy, and I want to claw your eyes out. What else is there to say?"
All of sudden, Dean walked over to her and kissed her passionately on the lips, holding her face in his hands. Caught completely off guard, she didn't know what to do until she started to feel herself slipping and she couldn't help but wrap her arms around him, pulling him closer to her. His lips were so warm against hers as they sucked and prodded with such forcefulness and passion that she had not had in a long time. Then without warning, he slowly pull himself away from her lips, stepping back as he looked at Lorelai, speechless but slightly dreamy eyed as well.
"That." He answered finally as he pull himself further away, breaking free from her grasp. He had come for a purpose and he had finally proven his point. "You're right...we can talk tomorrow."
"What?" she asked as she shook her head, not completely understanding what had just happened there. She just felt dizzy and her legs felt as if they were going to fall right from under her.
"Tomorrow." Dean repeated himself as he continued to walk away. "Just get some sleep."
Lorelai just stood there, in utter confusion as she couldn't form any words. The world was spinning and if she didn't make it to the door right now, Rory would find her helpless in the morning as her legs had completely been reduced to jello.
To be continued.