*Schmoozing: mingling
**Blame it on the Weather Man: It's a song. I'm not sure by who.
Chapter 3: Go, Rory, It's Your Birthday
One Year Later..............
[Dean]
Dean walked through the door a month later after work. Ross was sitting in the living room watching a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond.
"Hey," Dean said.
"Hey," Ross replied turning off the TV. "What's up?"
"I hate my job," Dean said. "But, other than that, nothing. Where are your mom and Lora?"
Before Ross could reply Lora came downstairs followed by Rory.
"Please?" Rory said.
"No," Lora said.
"Come on! Tell me!"
"You are getting more and more like Grandma every day."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
Lora ignored Rory and walked over to Dean and gave him a hug.
"Hi, Dad," Lora said.
"Hi," Dean said, kissing the top of her head. "Hello, Rory."
"Hello, Dean," Rory said, kissing Dean and then turning back to Lora. "So, tell me."
"No!" Lora said, going into the kitchen.
"Oh, come on!"
"No!"
"Not even a hint?"
"No!"
"Oh, come on! I'm your mother!"
"How many times do you want me to say 'no?'"
Rory followed Lora upstairs.
"What's going on?" Dean asked.
"Lora went out to get Mom a present for her birthday," Ross said. "And Mom saw the bag and wanted to know what it was. She's been following Lora around for ten minutes."
"Go away!" Lora yelled, once again coming down the steps.
"Tell me!" Rory said.
"I thought you liked surprises!"
"Well, in this case, you're killing me!"
"Well, I'll kill you some more!"
"Tell me!"
"Forget it!"
"Tell me!"
"No!"
"Should we put an end to this?" Ross asked.
"In five minutes," Dean said.
"Got ya!"
Dean and Ross settled back to watch the rest of the show that Rory and Lora were putting on for them. It was always entertaining when situations like this happened. Lora finally shot Dean and Ross a desperate look.
"Hey, Rory," Dean said. "It's your turn to pick the movie for our movie night."
"Fine," Rory said, grabbing her coat. "I'll pick up junk food on the way. You guys order a pizza."
"I'm on it," Lora said, picking up the phone.
Rory ran out the door nearly running into Luke and Lorelai. The six of them got together every Friday night for movie night. They used to attend Friday night dinners at the Gilmore mansion, but Emily and Richard passed away six years ago. Now they replaced it with movie nights to touch base. Tonight, was Thursday and they decided to have two movie nights in a row because it was a birthday week. That was another tradition. If it was someone's birthday, they would have two movie nights a week (A/N: I know that makes no sense, but bear with me).
"Hi, sweetie," Lorelai said, giving Rory a quick peck on the cheek. "Getting a movie?"
"And junk food," Rory said, giving Luke a peck on the cheek.
"You did not just kiss my man!" Lorelai joked.
"But, he's so damn sexy!" Rory joked back. "I'm thinking of leaving Dean for him!"
"I knew it!" Dean chimed in.
The six laughed.
"I'll be back," Rory said, rushing out the door.
"This isn't over!" Lorelai yelled after Rory.
Lora hung up the phone and announced that the pizza was on the way. Lorelai shut the door and the five of them huddled around the coffee table in the living room.
"Okay, first thing on the agenda: presents," Dean said.
They went through all the "who was giving her what" drama and finally they landed on the "game plan" for Saturday. They were throwing a surprise party for Rory. Lora and Ross were allowed to bring one friend. Finally Rory came through the door.
"I got Willy Wonka!" Rory said.
[Ross]
Ross gathered the books he would need for the weekend and Lora popped in front of him.
"You have to stop doing that," Ross said.
"Sorry," Lora said. "I just wanted to let you know that I invited Gavin to Mom's party."
"Okay," Ross said. "Take it up with Dad. Go wait for me at the car."
Lora walked away as Ross slammed his locker shut. Chloe was leaning on the locker next to his. They were friends now, but Ross always felt like there was all this heat between them.
"My locker's under yours," Chloe said. "I'm sorry if I seem impatient."
"It's no problem," Ross said.
"So, your mom's birthday is tomorrow?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah," Ross said. "She's turning 41. And no, it's not bothering her."
"That's great," Chloe said. "Send her my best."
Suddenly Ross was struck with an idea.
"Why don't you come to the party?" Ross said.
"Really?" Chloe's green eyes lit up.
"Yeah."
"I would love to."
"It's a surprise party so, keep it under wraps okay?"
"Okay."
Ross took out a piece of paper and wrote down his address.
"Actually," Chloe said. "I don't have my own car. My family and I share a car and tomorrow is my mother's day with it, so I'll come by bus."
"Okay," Ross said. "I'll pick up at the bus stop."
"That'll be great," Chloe said. "I can't wait. Can you introduce me to your mom?"
"That's why I asked," Ross said.
"Great," Chloe said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She gave Ross a light kiss on the cheek and walked away. Ross stared after her dazed.
"Ross," a hand waved in front of his face. "Yoo hoo! Ross-y! Earth to Ross! Earth to Ross!"
Ross stared at Lora.
"Ross to the moon!" Ross said.
"Sorry," Lora said. "I was just waiting at the car for fifteen minutes."
"Sorry," Ross said. "I invited Chloe to Mom's party."
"Oh, so Mom's party became a social for dates."
"First of all, Gavin's not a date for you. Second of all, you should talk."
"I'd love to debate this some more with you, but I want to go home."
Ross laughed as they went to the car.
[Rory]
Dean let Rory sleep in the next morning and then he took her out to a movie and then to the bookstore. Now, the sun was setting and they were heading over to the bridge outside Stars Hollow High.
"Why are we coming here?" Rory asked.
"You'll see," Dean said.
They finally stopped at the bridge where there was a blanket laid out with a single candle lit with a picnic basket and two plate with wine glasses. A smile broke out on Rory's face.
"You are still sixteen inside," she said, giving Dean a kiss.
"Ugh," Dean said jokingly, shoved her away and wiped his mouth. "I kissed a girl!"
"Or maybe a five-year-old," Rory said, rolling her eyes.
Turned out what was in the basket was a basket that Luke made them, which was what Dean told her. They ate their dinner and Dean gave her a first edition Tolstoy book that she always wanted, but couldn't get because it was hard to find. Then they went back to the house.
"Why is it so dark?" Rory asked, turning on the lights.
"SURPRISE!" half the town was in her house and popped up from behind her furniture.
"OH MY GOD!" Rory shrieked. "You guys!"
Rory turned to Dean. "You planned this, didn't you?" she asked.
"With the help of your kids," Dean said.
Rory pulled all of them into a group hug and then hugged Dean by herself.
"You know, didn't you?" he asked, whispering in her ear.
"Kind of," Rory whispered back. "When the lights were off I had a suspicion."
Dean chuckled. After *schmoozing with many of the guests, Rory ran into Lane and Dave. They were married and ten years ago Lane and Dave moved to California. Rory never really saw Lane, but they kept in touch every day. Now they were here.
"OH, MY GOD!" Rory shrieked.
The two girls hugged and shrieked like they were teenagers again.
"And you say I'm sixteen inside," Dean said, who nearby and talking to Luke.
Rory stuck her tongue out at Dean and turned back to Lane, who looked very huge.
"Are you pregnant?" Rory asked. "You look so huge!"
Lane giggled and patted her stomach. "Six months," she said.
They shrieked again and Dean pretended to be disgusted and walked away. After chatting for an hour with Lane, Rory went into the kitchen to get a drink when she bumped into a red-haired girl.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Gilmore-Forester," the girl said.
"It's okay," Rory said. "Please don't think I'm rude for saying this, but do I know you?"
The girl smiled and tossed her long red hair over her shoulder out of her face.
"No," she said. "But, don't worry I'm not an intruder. Ross invited me. I'm a friend of his. My name is Chloe Larkin."
She stuck out her hand and Rory shook it. Rory automatically knew who she was. Ross talked about her a lot. He never actually admitted to having a crush on her to Rory, but he did to Dean.
"Hi," Rory said.
"I just wanted to say that I'm a huge fan of yours," Chloe said. "I stayed up until four in the morning reading In a Heartbeat and A Flash of Light. They are one of my favorites."
"Thanks," Rory said. "I'm glad you like them."
She liked when she heard feedback from the people who read her books, but she also got a little shy. Chloe handed her a present.
"I got this for you," Chloe said.
Rory opened up the present. "It's the new Eudora Wesley novel," Rory said. "She's one of my favorites."
"I know," Chloe said.
"How did you know?"
"I Googled you."
"You did?"
"No, I'm kidding. I was unsure about what to get you so I asked Ross."
"Oh."
If Chloe did Google Rory, she would've gotten freaked out because it would mean that she was obsessed and Rory didn't want to be stalked.
"You know Ross talks about you a lot," Rory said.
"He does?" Chloe asked, taking a sip of her drink.
"Yeah," Rory said. "And you are just like he described. Pretty and sweet."
"He said that?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah," Rory replied.
"Well, so is Ross."
"Thank you."
"I mean it."
Before Rory could respond, she was called into the living room by Lorelai.
"It was nice meeting you," Rory said.
"You, too," Chloe said.
God, I hope they get together, Rory thought as she mingled with the rest of her guests.
[Ross]
It started raining as Ross and Chloe walked to the bus stop. Ross crunched on an Altoid when as the rain drenched them as they walked. The party was over and Chloe had to go home so Ross offered to walk her to the bus stop.
"I can't believe it's raining," Chloe said. "The weather forecast said it was going to be clear today."
"Weathermen lie," Ross said. "They don't know what to say so they make something up."
"**I'll blame it on the weatherman," Chloe sang.
Ross laughed as they stopped at the bus stop. The Altoid in his mouth was completely dissolved. He stared down at Chloe. Her hair was completely drenched. She looked up at him and smiled. Her blue eyes sparkled. Ross slowly leaned down towards her.
"Wait," she said, digging into her purse and taking out some breath spray and turning away from him. After a few seconds she turned back to him.
"Okay," she said.
Ross slowly leaned forward and softly kissed her, pushing a stray strand of wet hair behind her ear. He felt her fingers go through his hair, which made his scalp feel tingly. Finally, they pulled away and smiled at each other. Before either one could say anything, the bus pulled to a stop. They said good-bye as Chloe climbed on to the bus. He started walking home, but before he went inside, he did a little cowbell hop.
To Be Continued..........
A/N: I know. Kiss in the rain very unoriginal. Blah blah blah. Okay, it's going to stop getting romantic now. I'm going into a Thanksgiving chapter. Chapter 4 is coming soon.
**Blame it on the Weather Man: It's a song. I'm not sure by who.
Chapter 3: Go, Rory, It's Your Birthday
One Year Later..............
[Dean]
Dean walked through the door a month later after work. Ross was sitting in the living room watching a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond.
"Hey," Dean said.
"Hey," Ross replied turning off the TV. "What's up?"
"I hate my job," Dean said. "But, other than that, nothing. Where are your mom and Lora?"
Before Ross could reply Lora came downstairs followed by Rory.
"Please?" Rory said.
"No," Lora said.
"Come on! Tell me!"
"You are getting more and more like Grandma every day."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
Lora ignored Rory and walked over to Dean and gave him a hug.
"Hi, Dad," Lora said.
"Hi," Dean said, kissing the top of her head. "Hello, Rory."
"Hello, Dean," Rory said, kissing Dean and then turning back to Lora. "So, tell me."
"No!" Lora said, going into the kitchen.
"Oh, come on!"
"No!"
"Not even a hint?"
"No!"
"Oh, come on! I'm your mother!"
"How many times do you want me to say 'no?'"
Rory followed Lora upstairs.
"What's going on?" Dean asked.
"Lora went out to get Mom a present for her birthday," Ross said. "And Mom saw the bag and wanted to know what it was. She's been following Lora around for ten minutes."
"Go away!" Lora yelled, once again coming down the steps.
"Tell me!" Rory said.
"I thought you liked surprises!"
"Well, in this case, you're killing me!"
"Well, I'll kill you some more!"
"Tell me!"
"Forget it!"
"Tell me!"
"No!"
"Should we put an end to this?" Ross asked.
"In five minutes," Dean said.
"Got ya!"
Dean and Ross settled back to watch the rest of the show that Rory and Lora were putting on for them. It was always entertaining when situations like this happened. Lora finally shot Dean and Ross a desperate look.
"Hey, Rory," Dean said. "It's your turn to pick the movie for our movie night."
"Fine," Rory said, grabbing her coat. "I'll pick up junk food on the way. You guys order a pizza."
"I'm on it," Lora said, picking up the phone.
Rory ran out the door nearly running into Luke and Lorelai. The six of them got together every Friday night for movie night. They used to attend Friday night dinners at the Gilmore mansion, but Emily and Richard passed away six years ago. Now they replaced it with movie nights to touch base. Tonight, was Thursday and they decided to have two movie nights in a row because it was a birthday week. That was another tradition. If it was someone's birthday, they would have two movie nights a week (A/N: I know that makes no sense, but bear with me).
"Hi, sweetie," Lorelai said, giving Rory a quick peck on the cheek. "Getting a movie?"
"And junk food," Rory said, giving Luke a peck on the cheek.
"You did not just kiss my man!" Lorelai joked.
"But, he's so damn sexy!" Rory joked back. "I'm thinking of leaving Dean for him!"
"I knew it!" Dean chimed in.
The six laughed.
"I'll be back," Rory said, rushing out the door.
"This isn't over!" Lorelai yelled after Rory.
Lora hung up the phone and announced that the pizza was on the way. Lorelai shut the door and the five of them huddled around the coffee table in the living room.
"Okay, first thing on the agenda: presents," Dean said.
They went through all the "who was giving her what" drama and finally they landed on the "game plan" for Saturday. They were throwing a surprise party for Rory. Lora and Ross were allowed to bring one friend. Finally Rory came through the door.
"I got Willy Wonka!" Rory said.
[Ross]
Ross gathered the books he would need for the weekend and Lora popped in front of him.
"You have to stop doing that," Ross said.
"Sorry," Lora said. "I just wanted to let you know that I invited Gavin to Mom's party."
"Okay," Ross said. "Take it up with Dad. Go wait for me at the car."
Lora walked away as Ross slammed his locker shut. Chloe was leaning on the locker next to his. They were friends now, but Ross always felt like there was all this heat between them.
"My locker's under yours," Chloe said. "I'm sorry if I seem impatient."
"It's no problem," Ross said.
"So, your mom's birthday is tomorrow?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah," Ross said. "She's turning 41. And no, it's not bothering her."
"That's great," Chloe said. "Send her my best."
Suddenly Ross was struck with an idea.
"Why don't you come to the party?" Ross said.
"Really?" Chloe's green eyes lit up.
"Yeah."
"I would love to."
"It's a surprise party so, keep it under wraps okay?"
"Okay."
Ross took out a piece of paper and wrote down his address.
"Actually," Chloe said. "I don't have my own car. My family and I share a car and tomorrow is my mother's day with it, so I'll come by bus."
"Okay," Ross said. "I'll pick up at the bus stop."
"That'll be great," Chloe said. "I can't wait. Can you introduce me to your mom?"
"That's why I asked," Ross said.
"Great," Chloe said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She gave Ross a light kiss on the cheek and walked away. Ross stared after her dazed.
"Ross," a hand waved in front of his face. "Yoo hoo! Ross-y! Earth to Ross! Earth to Ross!"
Ross stared at Lora.
"Ross to the moon!" Ross said.
"Sorry," Lora said. "I was just waiting at the car for fifteen minutes."
"Sorry," Ross said. "I invited Chloe to Mom's party."
"Oh, so Mom's party became a social for dates."
"First of all, Gavin's not a date for you. Second of all, you should talk."
"I'd love to debate this some more with you, but I want to go home."
Ross laughed as they went to the car.
[Rory]
Dean let Rory sleep in the next morning and then he took her out to a movie and then to the bookstore. Now, the sun was setting and they were heading over to the bridge outside Stars Hollow High.
"Why are we coming here?" Rory asked.
"You'll see," Dean said.
They finally stopped at the bridge where there was a blanket laid out with a single candle lit with a picnic basket and two plate with wine glasses. A smile broke out on Rory's face.
"You are still sixteen inside," she said, giving Dean a kiss.
"Ugh," Dean said jokingly, shoved her away and wiped his mouth. "I kissed a girl!"
"Or maybe a five-year-old," Rory said, rolling her eyes.
Turned out what was in the basket was a basket that Luke made them, which was what Dean told her. They ate their dinner and Dean gave her a first edition Tolstoy book that she always wanted, but couldn't get because it was hard to find. Then they went back to the house.
"Why is it so dark?" Rory asked, turning on the lights.
"SURPRISE!" half the town was in her house and popped up from behind her furniture.
"OH MY GOD!" Rory shrieked. "You guys!"
Rory turned to Dean. "You planned this, didn't you?" she asked.
"With the help of your kids," Dean said.
Rory pulled all of them into a group hug and then hugged Dean by herself.
"You know, didn't you?" he asked, whispering in her ear.
"Kind of," Rory whispered back. "When the lights were off I had a suspicion."
Dean chuckled. After *schmoozing with many of the guests, Rory ran into Lane and Dave. They were married and ten years ago Lane and Dave moved to California. Rory never really saw Lane, but they kept in touch every day. Now they were here.
"OH, MY GOD!" Rory shrieked.
The two girls hugged and shrieked like they were teenagers again.
"And you say I'm sixteen inside," Dean said, who nearby and talking to Luke.
Rory stuck her tongue out at Dean and turned back to Lane, who looked very huge.
"Are you pregnant?" Rory asked. "You look so huge!"
Lane giggled and patted her stomach. "Six months," she said.
They shrieked again and Dean pretended to be disgusted and walked away. After chatting for an hour with Lane, Rory went into the kitchen to get a drink when she bumped into a red-haired girl.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Gilmore-Forester," the girl said.
"It's okay," Rory said. "Please don't think I'm rude for saying this, but do I know you?"
The girl smiled and tossed her long red hair over her shoulder out of her face.
"No," she said. "But, don't worry I'm not an intruder. Ross invited me. I'm a friend of his. My name is Chloe Larkin."
She stuck out her hand and Rory shook it. Rory automatically knew who she was. Ross talked about her a lot. He never actually admitted to having a crush on her to Rory, but he did to Dean.
"Hi," Rory said.
"I just wanted to say that I'm a huge fan of yours," Chloe said. "I stayed up until four in the morning reading In a Heartbeat and A Flash of Light. They are one of my favorites."
"Thanks," Rory said. "I'm glad you like them."
She liked when she heard feedback from the people who read her books, but she also got a little shy. Chloe handed her a present.
"I got this for you," Chloe said.
Rory opened up the present. "It's the new Eudora Wesley novel," Rory said. "She's one of my favorites."
"I know," Chloe said.
"How did you know?"
"I Googled you."
"You did?"
"No, I'm kidding. I was unsure about what to get you so I asked Ross."
"Oh."
If Chloe did Google Rory, she would've gotten freaked out because it would mean that she was obsessed and Rory didn't want to be stalked.
"You know Ross talks about you a lot," Rory said.
"He does?" Chloe asked, taking a sip of her drink.
"Yeah," Rory said. "And you are just like he described. Pretty and sweet."
"He said that?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah," Rory replied.
"Well, so is Ross."
"Thank you."
"I mean it."
Before Rory could respond, she was called into the living room by Lorelai.
"It was nice meeting you," Rory said.
"You, too," Chloe said.
God, I hope they get together, Rory thought as she mingled with the rest of her guests.
[Ross]
It started raining as Ross and Chloe walked to the bus stop. Ross crunched on an Altoid when as the rain drenched them as they walked. The party was over and Chloe had to go home so Ross offered to walk her to the bus stop.
"I can't believe it's raining," Chloe said. "The weather forecast said it was going to be clear today."
"Weathermen lie," Ross said. "They don't know what to say so they make something up."
"**I'll blame it on the weatherman," Chloe sang.
Ross laughed as they stopped at the bus stop. The Altoid in his mouth was completely dissolved. He stared down at Chloe. Her hair was completely drenched. She looked up at him and smiled. Her blue eyes sparkled. Ross slowly leaned down towards her.
"Wait," she said, digging into her purse and taking out some breath spray and turning away from him. After a few seconds she turned back to him.
"Okay," she said.
Ross slowly leaned forward and softly kissed her, pushing a stray strand of wet hair behind her ear. He felt her fingers go through his hair, which made his scalp feel tingly. Finally, they pulled away and smiled at each other. Before either one could say anything, the bus pulled to a stop. They said good-bye as Chloe climbed on to the bus. He started walking home, but before he went inside, he did a little cowbell hop.
To Be Continued..........
A/N: I know. Kiss in the rain very unoriginal. Blah blah blah. Okay, it's going to stop getting romantic now. I'm going into a Thanksgiving chapter. Chapter 4 is coming soon.