Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, blah blah blah...
"There!" Lorelai cried, cheerfully. She stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans. "The sink is fixed!"
"Are you sure?" Emily asked, unsure.
"Try it, Mom."
Emily turned the knob on the faucet and a stream of crystal clear water poured out. "Well," she said, "I guess you did fix it."
"Yep," said Lorelai. "I should probably get home to Rory now." She left the kitchen and went for the front door, her mother right behind her. When she opened the door, a gust of cold wind and snow hit her. Lorelai peered outside, trying to spot the Jeep through the snow.
"There is no way you are driving all the way back home in this weather!" Emily exclaimed.
"What do you want me to do, Mom? Stop halfway there?" Lorelai asked, half-angry.
"Of course not!" said Emily. "You can stay here for the night. I'm not having you killed!"
"Oh no! Not happening!" Lorelai said, closing the door and backing up. "Besides, Rory is home alone."
"She'll be fine. The roads will be cleared up tomorrow, and you'll make it home in time to see her before she leaves for school."
"Fine," Lorelai said, reluctantly. "I'll call her and let her know."
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Rory sat uncomfortably in the armchair, trying desperately to ignore Tristan's meaningful glances in her direction. Why can he not get the picture? she wondered. I'm not sending him signals, am I? She crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight at the television. I can't wait until Mom gets home!
RRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!
"Hello?" Rory answered.
"Hi, honey!" said Lorelai's voice.
"Hi, Mom!" said Rory, cheerfully.
"Um, the roads are like our freezer before we defrosted it, so it looks like I'm going to be stuck here for the night."
"Oh." Rory's voice dropped, but she didn't want her mother to worry, so she continued with a happier tone. "Say hi to Grandma for me."
"I will," Lorelai said. "Are you gonna be okay for the night?"
"Um, yeah," replied Rory. She got up from the armchair and went into the kitchen, out of Tristan's earshot. "Guess who's here."
"Lane?"
"No, Tristan."
"Tristan? The snotty Chilton boy, that Tristan?" Lorelai said in disbelief.
"Yup." Rory pulled a box of hot chocolate mix out of the cupboard.
"Wow!" Lorelai exclaimed. "What's he doing there?"
"He couldn't get to his friend's house because of the weather, so he stopped here and decided to visit," Rory explained. She filled a teapot with water and put it on the stove.
"I see," said Lorelai. "Well, he can sleep on the couch if he has nowhere else to go. I won't be home 'til morning...Do you want me to give you two a ride to school tomorrow?"
"No." Rory pulled two mugs out. "We can take the bus."
"Alright. Love you!"
"Love you, too!" Rory hung up the phone and walked back into the living room. "I'm making some hot chocolate," she said to Tristan.
"Great," he replied. "Was that your mom?"
"Yeah." Rory kept standing there, awkwardly. "Oh, she said you can sleep on the couch. She's snowed in back in Hartford, so she can't make it home tonight."
"Oh."
"I'm going to go check on the cocoa," Rory said and vanished back into the kitchen. The water was almost warm enough, so she poured some cocoa mix into each mug and sat at the table, waiting.
Once she had mixed the cocoa, she brought it back into the living room, setting a mug in front of Tristan on the coffee table. This time, however, she sat next to him on the couch without thinking.
"Thanks," he said, taking a sip of the cocoa.
"You're welcome."
Tristan turned off the TV movie they had been watching and turned to look at Rory. "Why are you afraid of me?"
Rory continued to drink her chocolate. "I'm not afraid of you," she said at last. "I just ---"
"Don't want to get to know me?" Tristan cut in. "I see. You're afraid to get to know me because if you do, you might start to like me."
"What? No, I ---"
This time, Tristan leaned in and kissed her softly. Rory, afraid to pull away, kissed him back. Finally, she broke away.
"Tristan! You can't...I can't! What were you thinking?" Rory exclaimed, confused and mystified.
"Rory, please. Just go with it," Tristan said, encouraging her.
Rory said nothing, but leaned in to kiss him again. How can it be that one minute someone is your complete enemy, and the next they are kissing you? she wondered. The snow falling outside told nothing as the two sat inside, confused by the many feelings they had for each other.
A/N: I'll try to update soon, but in the meantime, why not review what I have so far? :)