***
[Luke's Diner, 1:23 pm, Friday]
The lunch rush was over. Luke wiped off the last empty table and allowed himself to lean against the counter momentarily. He thought about Lorelai for a moment, carefully avoiding the 'danger zone.' He wondered how the poetry-writing thing was going, and why she hadn't been by for breakfast.
The phone rang. "Luke? It's Sookie. Have you seen Lorelai today?"
"She's not at the inn?"
"No, I was wondering if you'd seen her. Davey's sick and Jackson's out of town and Michael is threatening to resign if he has to be there alone all day. She won't answer her phone or anything."
"Did you try her cell?"
"Yeah, it just rang and rang and finally her voice mail picked up. You don't think something bad has happened, do you?"
"No, she's probably just having a crazy Lorelai day. Caesar is here, I could go check on her if you want me to."
"Could you?" Luke could hear Davey start to wail in the background. "Sorry, gota go. Thanks so much!"
***
Lorelai heard the phone ring for the hundredth time that morning. She reached over and pulled the cord out of the bedroom wall. It was probably him. He would want to apologize. She wasn't even sure why she hated him so much, and that made her hate him even more.
She could still hear the downstairs phone ringing. She pulled a pillow off the bed and covered her head with it. No good, it smelled like Jason. She threw it across the room next to the big garbage bag, covered her head with her arm, and tried to go back to sleep.
A few minutes later she heard the front door open. She wondered if she could get downstairs to the kitchen and find a knife before he saw her. Of course it would be impossible. Instead, she slid under her bed.
The voice she heard calling her name was not Jason's. It was Luke's. ~Luke, what is he doing here? ~ She tried to get out from under her bed If he saw her like this she'd never hear the end of it. Of course she would have to be stuck. Could this day possibly get any worse? She doubted it.
"Lorelai? Are you decent? Lorelai I'm coming in." He stepped into her bedroom. It looked like a tornado had hit. Her bed had been torn apart, everything from her closet and every drawer was on the floor, and a bare foot stuck out from under the bed.
For a moment Luke couldn't breathe. Visions of a sick serial killer raping and strangling her then shoving her under the bed came into his mind. Then he saw her move.
"Lorelai, why are you under your bed?"
"Behuh a tho ewe er Jaon."
"What? Lorelai, come out from there. I can't hear you."
Lorelai managed to turn her head to the side, allowing her to breathe and talk much more efficiently. "Because I thought you were Jason," she said again.
"Oh." Luke pretended to understand, as usual.
"I'm stuck," she said.
"Well there's a shock. You crawl under your bed wrapped in a quilt so you can't even move and now you're stuck." Luke walked over and lifted her bed frame a few inches off the ground, then tried not to laugh as she slid out and leaned against the side of her bed. "Better?" he asked.
Lorelai didn't respond. Her hair was still half wet from the shower from hell, and what was beginning to dry naturally was frizzy and full of static electricity. Her eyes were red and puffy like she'd been crying, and she wasn't wearing any makeup.
"You look like Hell," he said matter-o-factly. "Maybe you should call Rory and tell her that this poem writing thing isn't going to work."
In response, she threw the notepad with her hate poem on it at him. He read it slowly, then his face got serious. "Jason?" he asked.
"Jason." She answered.
Luke had always hated talking to her about her boyfriends. It just reminded him how much he was *not* one of them. But he couldn't leave her like this. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.
"No."
Whew, lucky break for Luke.
"Men suck." Lorelai declared.
"I thought you didn't want to talk about it."
Ignoring him, "Why did I have to be so stupid?"
Luke sat down on her bare mattress. He listened patiently as she related the entire story to him, minus the dirtiest of details. She was crying again by the time she started explaining the garbage bag. After a few moments she asked, "Why did you come over, anyway? Have you turned into some super coffee-making psychic?"
Luke considered letting her believe that, wondering if it would help his chances. Then he ripped his mind out of the danger zone and remembered Sookie's plea.
"Sookie called me. They really need you at the inn."
"Oh, god, the inn." Lorelai turned around and got up on her knees. She looked at the clock on the other side of the bed and saw that it was after 2. Dropping the blanket she started digging through the pile of her remaining clothes.
"Why can't you go like that?" Luke asked.
Lorelai looked down at the clothes she had put on in her lunacy that morning. She was wearing a pair of jeans cut off halfway between her knees and the tops of her legs and a gray sleeveless turtleneck sweatshirt. Luke tried not to notice that she wasn't wearing a bra.
"Maybe it doesn't matter if you look scruffy at work, flannel man, but I need to look professional, thank you very much. You don't have to stick around, you know."
"I'm staying until I know that you and your sorrows are safely at the Dragonfly. I'll wait outside while you change, but other than that I'm staying right here.
Lorelai finally chose a green skirt that went down just past her knees. She kept the same gray sweatshirt on, however. As he stepped outside of her room to allow her to change he couldn't help but thinking, ~She would look good no matter what she wore. No! Bad mind! Danger zone! ~
As Luke stepped outside to allow her to change, Lorelai couldn't help but thinking, ~He is being so nice, I should do something nice for him.~ She allowed herself to look at his butt as he walked out the door.
The lunch rush was over. Luke wiped off the last empty table and allowed himself to lean against the counter momentarily. He thought about Lorelai for a moment, carefully avoiding the 'danger zone.' He wondered how the poetry-writing thing was going, and why she hadn't been by for breakfast.
The phone rang. "Luke? It's Sookie. Have you seen Lorelai today?"
"She's not at the inn?"
"No, I was wondering if you'd seen her. Davey's sick and Jackson's out of town and Michael is threatening to resign if he has to be there alone all day. She won't answer her phone or anything."
"Did you try her cell?"
"Yeah, it just rang and rang and finally her voice mail picked up. You don't think something bad has happened, do you?"
"No, she's probably just having a crazy Lorelai day. Caesar is here, I could go check on her if you want me to."
"Could you?" Luke could hear Davey start to wail in the background. "Sorry, gota go. Thanks so much!"
***
Lorelai heard the phone ring for the hundredth time that morning. She reached over and pulled the cord out of the bedroom wall. It was probably him. He would want to apologize. She wasn't even sure why she hated him so much, and that made her hate him even more.
She could still hear the downstairs phone ringing. She pulled a pillow off the bed and covered her head with it. No good, it smelled like Jason. She threw it across the room next to the big garbage bag, covered her head with her arm, and tried to go back to sleep.
A few minutes later she heard the front door open. She wondered if she could get downstairs to the kitchen and find a knife before he saw her. Of course it would be impossible. Instead, she slid under her bed.
The voice she heard calling her name was not Jason's. It was Luke's. ~Luke, what is he doing here? ~ She tried to get out from under her bed If he saw her like this she'd never hear the end of it. Of course she would have to be stuck. Could this day possibly get any worse? She doubted it.
"Lorelai? Are you decent? Lorelai I'm coming in." He stepped into her bedroom. It looked like a tornado had hit. Her bed had been torn apart, everything from her closet and every drawer was on the floor, and a bare foot stuck out from under the bed.
For a moment Luke couldn't breathe. Visions of a sick serial killer raping and strangling her then shoving her under the bed came into his mind. Then he saw her move.
"Lorelai, why are you under your bed?"
"Behuh a tho ewe er Jaon."
"What? Lorelai, come out from there. I can't hear you."
Lorelai managed to turn her head to the side, allowing her to breathe and talk much more efficiently. "Because I thought you were Jason," she said again.
"Oh." Luke pretended to understand, as usual.
"I'm stuck," she said.
"Well there's a shock. You crawl under your bed wrapped in a quilt so you can't even move and now you're stuck." Luke walked over and lifted her bed frame a few inches off the ground, then tried not to laugh as she slid out and leaned against the side of her bed. "Better?" he asked.
Lorelai didn't respond. Her hair was still half wet from the shower from hell, and what was beginning to dry naturally was frizzy and full of static electricity. Her eyes were red and puffy like she'd been crying, and she wasn't wearing any makeup.
"You look like Hell," he said matter-o-factly. "Maybe you should call Rory and tell her that this poem writing thing isn't going to work."
In response, she threw the notepad with her hate poem on it at him. He read it slowly, then his face got serious. "Jason?" he asked.
"Jason." She answered.
Luke had always hated talking to her about her boyfriends. It just reminded him how much he was *not* one of them. But he couldn't leave her like this. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.
"No."
Whew, lucky break for Luke.
"Men suck." Lorelai declared.
"I thought you didn't want to talk about it."
Ignoring him, "Why did I have to be so stupid?"
Luke sat down on her bare mattress. He listened patiently as she related the entire story to him, minus the dirtiest of details. She was crying again by the time she started explaining the garbage bag. After a few moments she asked, "Why did you come over, anyway? Have you turned into some super coffee-making psychic?"
Luke considered letting her believe that, wondering if it would help his chances. Then he ripped his mind out of the danger zone and remembered Sookie's plea.
"Sookie called me. They really need you at the inn."
"Oh, god, the inn." Lorelai turned around and got up on her knees. She looked at the clock on the other side of the bed and saw that it was after 2. Dropping the blanket she started digging through the pile of her remaining clothes.
"Why can't you go like that?" Luke asked.
Lorelai looked down at the clothes she had put on in her lunacy that morning. She was wearing a pair of jeans cut off halfway between her knees and the tops of her legs and a gray sleeveless turtleneck sweatshirt. Luke tried not to notice that she wasn't wearing a bra.
"Maybe it doesn't matter if you look scruffy at work, flannel man, but I need to look professional, thank you very much. You don't have to stick around, you know."
"I'm staying until I know that you and your sorrows are safely at the Dragonfly. I'll wait outside while you change, but other than that I'm staying right here.
Lorelai finally chose a green skirt that went down just past her knees. She kept the same gray sweatshirt on, however. As he stepped outside of her room to allow her to change he couldn't help but thinking, ~She would look good no matter what she wore. No! Bad mind! Danger zone! ~
As Luke stepped outside to allow her to change, Lorelai couldn't help but thinking, ~He is being so nice, I should do something nice for him.~ She allowed herself to look at his butt as he walked out the door.