Rory spent most of the day alone after she and Tristan got back to the house. She would never be able to describe how much he had helped her, how much all of her friends had helped her. The funeral was tomorrow and she was dreading it, for more reasons than were obvious.

Yes, she was dreading going to the funeral of a girl she had been friends with since she had been in diapers, yes she was dreading seeing Dean and Teri, he would probably have his arms around her, comforting her and the there would be Nate, she didn't even want to think about seeing him.

There was a knock on her bedroom door and Rory jumped in fright. She answered it without thinking about how little she was wearing, which happened to be a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top. On the other side of the door stood an open mouthed Tristan. He stood gaping at her for a few minutes until Rory cleared her throat.

'Hey.' He said sheepishly.

'Hey yourself.'

'I just wanted to make sure you were okay, y'know, say goodnight and all that.'

'I'm okay.'

'Are you sure?'

'No.'

'Well, if you need to talk.'

'You'll be the first to know.' Rory smiled.

'Might I just add,' Tristan said to her in a seductive voice 'that you look damn sexy right now.'

Rory blushed, for the first time she noticed the serious lack of clothes she had on. Tristan noticed the blush, leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

'Night Mary.'

*

Rory got up early the next morning. She was completely exhausted, she hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep the previous night and now the reason for her insomnia was a mere few hours away. She threw on a dressing gown and made her way downstairs, in desperate need of coffee. The kitchen was deserted; evidently she was the first up. Sitting at the counter, she waited for the coffee maker to finish doing its job. When it was done, she poured herself the biggest cup she could and sat back down. She pulled the phone towards her and dialled the now familiar number.

'Hello?'

'Hi Mom.'

'Hey sweets. How are you?'

'I'm okay, its weird being back but I haven't seen anyone yet, well not anyone I didn't want to see anyway.'

'What time is it over there?'

'Half six.'

'You're awake early.'

'No I'm not.'

'Be kind, rewind.'

'To be awake early, you have to be asleep, technically I'm up late.'

'So, dread has taken hold then.'

'You could say that, at least I'm not alone, I have Tristan and the others.'

'Since when does Tristan deserve individual recognition?'

'Since I realised that he's a great guy. I would be able to do this without him mom. I even showed him my spot yesterday.'

'No way! I'm not even allowed to see that.'

'I know, I really like him mom.'

'Then what's stopping you from telling him that.'

'Nate.'

'Honey, I don't want to sound cruel but you have to let that go, you let it ruin your relationship with Dean. Don't let it ruin whatever you have with Tristan.'

'Dean ruined my relationship with him, he cheated, I didn't.'

'I know that, but after the whole Nate thing, you and Dean were never the same.'

'And that's my fault?'

'I never said that but if you let Tristan slip away, you will regret it.'

'What should I do?'

'Here's a crazy thought, why don't you tell him?'

'I can't.'

'It's up to you, of course it is but I think you're making a mistake by not trusting him.'

'I trusted Dean, look what happened there.'

'Honey, Tristan isn't Dean and you didn't tell Dean this.'

'Good thing too.'

'I agree but I do think Tristan deserves to be trusted.'

'I'll think about it. I should go, Bessie will be up soon.'

'Okay and tell Bessie I said hi.'

'I will. I love you.'

'Love you too.'

Rory hung up the phone and finished her coffee. She made her way back upstairs, deciding on a shower before the rest of the house was looking for one. As the hot water beat down on her, Rory felt the sleepiness of the early morning leave her; she was alert and thinking about her conversation with her mother.

What if Lorelai was right? Rory didn't deny that her relationship with Dean had changed after Nate came along but that was hardly her fault, sure she had flirted with him but she had also made it clear she was with Dean and that she loved him. She couldn't tell Dean what had happened, he and Nate were best friends, and they still were. Rory had only ever told her family and Amy about what had happened with Nate.

She regretted doing it now, telling Amy had been a mistake, she hadn't wanted to tell her but it was the right thing to do. She and Nate had been going out and Amy was completely in love with him. It had broken Rory's heart to tell her and even now she believed it was the reason Amy had started using.

Rory could feel the tears warming behind her eyes. Quickly she shut off the water and wrapped a towel around herself. She went back into her room and got changed. She turned on the radio, hoping to distract herself; instead a song came on that only served to remind her of what was going on in her life.

* She grew up with the children of the stars In the Hollywood hills and the boulevard Her parents threw big parties Everyone was there They hung out with folks like Dennis Hopper, Bob Segar and Sonny and Cher

She feels safe now in this borough in Fairfax And form the stage I can tell that she can't let go and she can't relax Just before she hangs her head to cry I sing to her, a lullaby.

Everything's gonna be alright, rock-a-by, rock-a-by Everything's gonna be alright, rock-a-by, rock-a-by Rock-a-by *

Rory couldn't listen to anymore; she switched the radio off and stalked back into the bathroom to do her hair. Fifteen minutes later, she came back downstairs to find everybody else eating breakfast. It was seven forty five and the funeral was at nine. She couldn't bring herself to eat anything so instead she poured herself some more coffee. For the most part everyone was quiet; Rory figured they could tell how apprehensive she was. Finally, eight fifteen came and it was time to leave.

The girls got into the limo first, all of them wearing modest black dresses and coats, the guys followed in suits. Lane took one of Rory's hands in hers, trying to give her best friend some comfort. Taking a leaf out of her book, Tristan did the same with her other hand. He gave it a reassuring squeeze and Rory mustered a half smile in thanks. They pulled up at the church and got out. The yard was a sea of black. Rory was the last to get out of the limo. When she did, she instinctively took Tristan's hand. She scanned the crowd and almost immediately spotted her old friends.

The first person she saw was Dean and as she had predicted, he had his arms wrapped around Teri. Standing next to them were Elizabeth and Jane. Michael and Billy joined them as Rory watched and lastly, Nate came. Rory looked at them and then to her friends who were all huddled around her in support and protectiveness lest anyone say anything to her. Elizabeth looked up and saw Rory, she frowned and turned to the others, immediately all eyes were on Rory and the group of teens began to move towards her.

'Tristan.' She said quietly.

Tristan followed her gaze and his brow furrowed. He tapped Alex's arm and immediately all the guys were looking at Rory's old friends, judging by the looks on their faces, they were trying to stay calm out of respect for where they were. Rory looked panicked but had to put on a brave face, they were feet apart now and Rory could tell none of them were happy to see her.

'Rory, long time no see.' Elizabeth crooned not even looking at her; her eyes were firmly fixed on Tristan who only moved closer to Rory.

'What the hell are you doing here Ror?' Dean asked without even a trace of warmth in his voice.

'I came to pay my respects.' Rory replied; her voice even.

'What gives you the right-' Jane began but was cut off by Nate.

'Whoa go easy guys, having Rory back will be just like old times.' He smiled.

Nate moved in, in an attempt to give Rory a kiss on the cheek as a hello but as soon as he came near her, Rory pushed him away

'Don't touch me you creep.' She cried and bolted.

Tristan didn't waste any time in chasing after her but he made sure to bump into Dean on the way.

'What is her drama?' Teri spewed.

'I'm just guessing here but it might have something to do with you losers.' Louise said in disgust.

'Us? Who here is showing p at the funeral of a person we've never met?' Billy spat back.

'We're here for Rory. Unlike you guys, we know how to behave like friends.' Mike replied.

Dean looked like he was about to say something but then on looking around, he thought better of it.

'We'll finish this little conversation later. Now isn't the time.'

'What do you know? This guy showing a little respect.' Brad scoffed before leaving, the others trailing behind, all wondering where the hell Rory and Tristan were gone.

A/N hey all thanks for the reviews on the last chapter and I promise the next will be better and trust me there will be better action between the two groups and rorys secret will come out! You know what to do.