Beauty as a virtue
Authors Ramblings: I know it may be confusing, but please bear with me!
Characters in book:
Tristan- Charles Quinn
Rory- Isabella Novalee
Cilia- Lorelai
Vivian- Emily
Victor- Tristan's father
David- Rory/Isabella's Fiancée
More Rambling: I know that the scene about Rory and her uncle confuse a few, if not all, and I just want to clear it up. Yes, I made that scene AU, because
I just wanted to. Lorelai was not an only child in this fic. Sorry…
Oh, and I just want to say, one more time, that there is no such book 'Beauty as a virtue'.
It's all fictional, I wrote the small parts my self. Thank you for asking (wink)
I'm hyped lately, can you tell? =)
Ch 8
Swirling slide of death
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After about ten minutes of listening to Rory's excited rambling (she never been to Six Flags), Tristan insisted that they actually go inside the park. Of course (because it wouldn't be like Rory if she hadn't) she pulled Tristan over to her first distraction, an ice cream shop, but it wasn't ice cream that Rory wanted.
"Do you have coffee?" Tristan asked a guy, who looked at him like he was ridiculous- I might add.
The man gave an incredulous look before saying, "Yeah."
A smile spread across Rory's lips and Tristan watched as her eyes lit up. They ordered the coffee, which Rory finished in a matter of seconds, and Tristan took this moment of weakness to drag her into the park.
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"Oh, no," Rory swallowed hard, shaking her head, "I am not going on that."
"Come on…" Tristan begged, shooting out his bottom lip.
She glared, her hands placed on either side of her hips. "I will not, and you can't make me."
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"I'm so going to kill you!" she shouted as the cart went higher and higher into the air.
He chuckled, and gave her a brilliant smile. "I told you I would get you on one way or another."
She couldn't even glare at him, too busy looking a far way down. "You are dead Dugrey…" she growled.
Tristan nudged her slightly, and unconsciously took her hand in his. "Come on Gilmore, it's going to be f-u-n."
Unfortunately Rory didn't catch the last part of his sentence, due to the velocity of the ride. Yup… and Rory screamed for her dear life.
Flip, drop, flip, turn and click. "It's over…" she let a breath out heavily, holding onto Tristan's hand tightly.
He bit his lip, a small smile forming as he shook his head. And then Rory realized that they were still in the air…backwards!
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"You never mentioned the fact that it went backwards," Rory hissed, relived that the ride was over, but feeling some what proud.
"Well Mare," he pointed to the sign, "it doesn't take a genius to figure out why the roller coaster is called Flash BACK."
She looked at him, a frown on her lips.
He shrugged, "besides I figured you watched the other coasters before it was our turn."
Rory glared, "I would have if I wasn't over your shoulder kicking and screaming."
Tristan smiled at the memory, "Oh yes…Well, I had to get you on somehow."
She gave a soft nod, and closed her eyes momentarily.
"So how do you feel?" he asked, his eyes full of life.
The corners of her lips tugged in a small smile. "Good, actually…"
"See Mare," he squeezed her hand lightly, "it wasn't that bad."
Rory looked down at their laced fingers, and shook her head. "Not too bad at all."
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Much to Rory's complaining but ultimate acceptance, they managed to go on almost every roller coaster in the park…almost.
She stared, in horror, at the sight in front of her. "I am not going on the Super Man ride and…"
"Relax," he chuckled, tightening his grip on her hand, "save the best for the last. I say we hit the water slides, it's getting kind of hot."
A slight blush crept up Rory's cheeks at the sight of their entwined fingers. "Yeah…it is."
"Tristan…" a bubbly voice called, causing Tristan to whip around, "Tristan Dugrey."
"I always knew you would scream my name one day," he quipped, his eyes glistening.
Rory watched as he quickly unlaced his fingers from hers and ran over to the girl, who jumped into his arms with ease. A tinge of emotion that she couldn't quite fathom put a frown on her lips.
"Marissa," her name rolled off of his tongue with delight, and Rory didn't fail to notice this. "How have you been? I haven't seen you…"
"For months," she finished, bringing him into another hug. "I've missed you so much."
"I missed you too," he reached up to swipe a fallen hair from her face, and Rory quickly shifted. "How's my second father?"
"Oh, he's still hyper as ever," the brunette explained, sighing with a smile, "I can't seem to get him to sit still for more than two minutes. I swear Tris, what he wouldn't do to see you right now."
Tristan laughed, and sent her a smirk. "You'll make sure to send him my love? I mean, wouldn't want the guy thinking his other son forgot about him."
"Yeah," she bit her lip, "about that. I'm so sorry for never giving you a call, everything's been…different, you know?"
He nodded a slight sadness in his face. "Yeah, but you better call now."
"I will," she winked, "who are you here with?"
Guilt gathered up in Tristan's body as he looked around for Rory. How could you forget? When he finally spotted her- sitting on one of the nearby benches with what looked like Dip-n-Dots in her hand- he smiled.
"Come on," he led Marissa over to where the shy brunette sat. "You have to meet her."
"Okay," she squealed.
"Rory," his voice was soft, and almost apologizing.
"Yeah…I- um," she started, holding up her futuristic ice cream, "you were busy."
He sent her a silent plea, and then said, "Rory-Marissa, Marissa-Rory."
Marissa's eyes lit up, and she gave Tristan a knowing look. "It's nice to finally meet you Rory," she let slip, and took the girls hand.
Tristan grumbled and his eyes went wide.
Rory looked at the girl and wondered what Tristan told her, but shook it off and smiled. "It's nice to meet you too."
"Yeah, well," she turned back to Tristan, but not before giving Rory a kind smile, "I have to get going, I'm meeting a few friends over by the Batman ride…"
He brought her into an embrace, and whispered in her ear. "I'll get you back for letting that slip."
She inwardly chuckled, and said, "Your Mary is very pretty."
"I know," he smirked and tightened his hold on her, "I'm going to miss you."
"I'll miss you more," she sighed, "but I promise to call, and I'll try visiting soon."
He pulled away, and looked in her eyes. "Send Belle my kisses, please?"
"Always," she beamed, "and I'm sure she'll want to see you soon."
"Don't keep me waiting," he finished before watching her walk off. He turned back to Rory, who easily glanced aside. "Sorry about that, she is a…"
Rory held up her hand, letting a small smile grace her lips. "No need to explain, it's not my business."
Tristan returned her smile, but felt a sting by her words. "Shall we hit the water park?"
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Rory beamed, "That was so fun."
Tristan agreed. "Were doing that next," he pointed to a large- funnel looking slide that went by the name 'Tornado'.
If it would have been any other day, with any other person, Rory would have certainly run away screaming at that moment, but it wasn't…It was Tristan, so she simply huffed and followed him. He grabbed a large tube that fit four people, and started to head for the stairs.
Rory tried hard to not notice the lack of Tristan's hand ever since his encounter with the bubbly Marissa. Why do I care? She brushed it off, but secretly yearned for the touch.
As it was their turn to go on this horrible looking ride, Rory was sure she turned pallid. "This ride should be called 'The swirling slide of death'."
Tristan simply hopped in the tube, motioning for Rory to sit across from him and smirked. "Ah yes, it is terribly scary."
She froze, and glared his way. "You are so not a nice person."
"You love me all the same," he shrugged, and pushed their way into the darkness of the slide.
The drop into the swirling vortex is what gave Rory a mild heart attack- or that's how she would explain it to her mother later. Oh, god. Mom… She almost forgot about their meeting and knew for sure she would be late.
After catching her breath, glad that the ride was over, she frantically bit her lip. "I have to call my mom…"
"Okay," he shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. "Let's go in the locker and get my cell phone."
"I have a cell phone," Rory quipped, grabbing his hand and rushing to the lockers.
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"Mom…"
"Is everything okay? Tristan didn't kidnap you did he?" Lorelai's voice came over the phone.
"No," Rory laughed, remembering she said the same thing to Tristan in the car. "Well, he did lie and say that we were going to a carnival."
"You went to a house party didn't you?" Lorelai cut in, accusingly, "and you didn't invite me?"
"Mom…" Rory wailed and chuckled at the same time.
"Ah, okay daughter of mine," she took a deep breath, "it's the lack of coffee, I'm telling you."
"Why, what happened?" Rory asked with interest.
"Luke cut me off, but don't want to talk about it now," she sighed, "that mans insane."
"Okay," she bit her lip, "well I'm at Six Flags."
"And you didn't invite me?" Lorelai wailed.
"Sorry, I didn't even know we were coming," Rory smiled.
"Tell Tristan that I'm renouncing him as a son-in-law unless he does something really nice for me," she thought for a moment, "like brings me coffee on the way back."
"I will do…" Rory laughed, "As for coming back. You see, were far and everything."
"Wont be home until late, I suppose?"
"You are a genius."
"Where did you think you got it from?" Lorelai gushed, "well anyway, not too late, but I might possibly forget about the time if you made him bring back coffee."
"Will do," Rory said. "And mom?"
"Yes darling?"
"Don't do anything stupid, I'll be home with the coffee."
"I won't."
"Just making sure," Rory bit her lip. "Love you."
"Love you too honey bunches of oats."
"Okay," the youngest Lorelai laughed, and hung up.
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Rory blushed at the thoughts of the day. She savored the memories of Tristan's small touches, of their entwined fingers and of his brilliant smiles directed at her. Maybe that was why she was contemplating their existence as more than just friends.
Now, as she looks down, she could see their fingers laced and it brings a smile to her lips.
Who would have thought that Tristan Dugrey- King of Chilton- would want to spend a day with her, alone- I might add.
It was a pleasant walk back to the car as the day had come to an end. Of course Tristan had dragged her on the Super Man ride, and of course she had screamed the whole time in line. But it was a very refreshing feeling- having Tristan hold her afterwards.
And much to Rory's surprise, Tristan managed to win her a giant Elmo, which she made he lug around- complaints of heaviness.
Yup, it was a very nice day.
Except for something that still ate at her… Who was this Marissa? And why did she cling to Tristan that long? But Rory shook off the thoughts; sure that it wasn't any of her business.
Upon entering the car, Tristan noticed a very puzzled look on Rory's face, and sighed. "What's wrong?" he asked, while throwing the giant Elmo in the back seat.
"Nothing," she replied, biting her bottom lip.
He slid closer to her (if possible) and tightened his grip on her hand. "Tell me, please?"
Rory glared at him, hating to refuse his puppy dog pace- especially when he shoots out his bottom lip. "I don't know."
He frowned in thought, and returned his eyes to hers. "You didn't have fun?"
"No," she said quickly, looking into his eyes, "don't think that. I haven't had this much fun in a long-long time."
His eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Uh huh," she smiled, and said, "promise."
He smirked for a few seconds before replacing it with a frown. "So then what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she shook her head, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. "I was just wondering…"
"Wondering?"
"Wondering about Marissa," she felt stupid as the words flew from her lips, and instantly wished she could take it back.
He felt stupid, instantly thinking he should have known. "Oh," he smiled, "a little jealous are we Mare?"
"No…It's just…"
He stopped her, "She's been my best friend since I was about five. My family was friends with her family and what not. But we were always wanting more than the boring life that our families provided, and with that we got closer."
"Oh…"
"Yeah, and when she moved away I just couldn't stand to be around my family anymore. She was the only thing keeping me at those boring dinner parties, and what not. I miss her more and more everyday, but I know that she feels the same, and that single thought keeps me content."
Rory pondered his words, sounded to her like he was in love and that thought put a frown on her face. "Sorry for asking."
"No, its okay," he said softly, "She's quite giddy isn't she?"
"Yeah," Rory smiled, "that she is."
"Belle, the girl mentioned," he continued with a nod from Rory, "She's my god-daughter."
Relief swept over Rory, and suddenly she was feeling stupid once again.
"Marissa is married to a guy named Charlie," he smiled slowly, "and they have a beautiful three year old. I have to say that I'm quite in love with the little rascal, she's too cute."
Rory turned crimson, inwardly cursing herself. "I bet she is…" was all she could say.
Tristan lifted her chin, wanting to gaze into her beautiful blue eyes, and as she stared into his he lowered his head. The kiss was so soft, and so simple that Rory wasn't sure it happened at all. But as he pulled away, he gripped her hand, reassuring her that it was real and started the engine of the car.
The drive back was silent, and not at all uncomfortable. Rory was still trying to decide what the kiss meant.
"Oh," she remembered, "we have to stop for coffee, can you pull over at Luke's."
"Oh, yeah," he chuckled, "wouldn't want your mom to disown me."
She nodded with a smile, and opened the car door.
"Mare," he started and she shifted to look at him. He leaned over and claimed her lips with his again, but this time letting it linger a little longer than he planned.
At first she was taken aback, but then she deepened the kiss, hoping that it wasn't just her mind playing tricks with her. When he pulled away, she smiled and said, "I should be getting that coffee right now."
He kissed her again, quickly, and smiled. "Yeah, you should."
She stepped out of the car, almost dreamily and entered the diner. "Luke?" she called happily.
Luke glowered at her, "If you've come to get your mom coffee, no."
"No," she bit her lip, "I came for me and Tristan."
"Tristan doesn't drink coffee as I remember."
"Yes he does," Rory lied, "come on."
He sighed, pouring her two cups of coffee. "Tell your mom not to drink it too fast, she won't be getting another."
"You see right through me Luke," Rory smiled, "what happened anyway."
"I don't know," he threw up his hands, "you ask her. I swear that lady is insane."
"Funny," Rory laughed, taking the two cups of coffee and starting to head out of the door, "she said the same thing about you."
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Tristan was almost in a trance waiting for Rory to return. The girl that he liked- possibly even loved- had just allowed him to kiss her, a few times… And this wasn't any ordinary girl, it was Rory…Rory, who usually wouldn't give him the time of day- unless it was to tease him or banter with him. But never in his right mind would he think that Rory would actually feel the same. Okay, so maybe she didn't feel the same, but she had to feel something, right? This thought hit him hard, and he almost didn't notice the intense glare he was receiving from the other side of the window… almost.
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Rambling:
I enjoyed writing this chapter, although I found my words to be poor and a little dry! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, I really appreciate all of them!
Boy! I feel refreshed…
TBC
3 Noi