After about 45 minutes she finally arrived in the Yale parking lot. Her dorm was still in the same building so it wasn't that much different than the year before. When she got to her dorm room she noticed that the door wasn't locked. Had she forgotten to lock it when she had moved her stuff the day before? Maybe her roommate was there a week early. There was only one way to find out. She had to go in. When she opened the door she could smell the aromas of Chinese food and pizza. So, someone really was in her apartment, but who?
After taking a few breaths she finally entered the suite. She was shocked when she saw the person sitting on her sofa. She could barely believe her eyes. What was going on there?
As she approached the sofa she noticed that its occupant was fast asleep. Trying not to make too much noise she sat down and admired the sleeping form. Then her eyes went to the coffee table where she noticed a piece of lined paper filled with her handwriting. Upon further inspection she realized it was the letter she had written to Tristan on her last night in North Carolina. He had probably been reading it while he sat waiting for her in her dorm. What was he doing in her suite's living room anyway? Most importantly how had he gotten in if the door had been locked?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt movement next to her on the sofa. He was finally awakening from his sleep.
When Tristan opened his eyes a pair of deep blue orbs met them. He knew those eyes. They were the eyes of the one girl he had ever loved, the one girl he had ever shown his true self to.
"Well good morning sleeping beauty." The girl greeted him.
"Hey there beautiful." Tristan said in a sleepy tone.
"Last time I was here I'm pretty sure I didn't leave this hot guy on my sofa." Rory said as she shot him a shy smile.
"Hot guy huh?" The smirk was back on his face but never in her life had she been so happy to see it.
"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming."
"Well, I thought I'd surprise you. But if you're not happy with my being here I'm sure I can leave again." As he said this he got off the sofa and slowly walked to the door. He was just kidding with her but he wanted to get a reaction out of her. He just wanted to see how happy she was at seeing him there.
"You thought you'd surprise me huh? And as for whether or not I'm happy well...I'm not happy. I'm absolutely ecstatic. This is the best surprise in the world." She had gotten up right after him and was now standing inches from him.
"I'm glad to hear it Mar." He closed the gap between them as he put his arms around her waist and brought her in for the biggest hug he had ever given anyone. It was almost as if he thought she would disappear if he didn't hold onto her. In a way he was holding on for dear life. His heart was beating a hundred miles a second and he could feel hers beating just as fast. It was as if they were in sync. Having her in his arms again was the best feeling in the world. Although it had only been two weeks since he'd seen her it had still felt like it had been ages. After nearly five minutes of holding on to each other as if the world was coming to an end Tristan had to break the spell they were under.
"I've got pizza and Chinese if you're hungry." It was a silly statement. Since when wasn't she hungry.
"Mmmm food! I kind of like this though." Came her reply. She didn't want to let go for fear that she'd wake up and realize it was just a dream.
"I like this too Mary. I promise that after we eat we'll do this again. We also have to talk. I think there's a lot that we have to talk about." They hadn't mentioned their feelings for each other since they had written the letters. There was a lot to figure out.
"Okay, lets eat." Rory said as she made her way towards the food.
Since there was no kitchen in the suite they decided that they'd eat in the living room in front of the coffee table.
The food was cold but it didn't really matter. As long as they were together that was all that mattered really.
"You still haven't told me what you're doing here Tris. I mean, sure you wanted to surprise me and everything but what happened to that thing you had to take care of at the store?"
"So I lied a little. Is it a crime to lie when it's for a good cause? There wasn't anything important to take care of at the store; it was just an excuse I cooked up so that you'd think I wasn't coming. Do you know where I was when I called you this morning?" While he spoke Rory couldn't help but notice the sparkle in his eyes. She knew that she was the reason why his eyes shone so much and it made her feel all warm inside. She couldn't believe that she, plain and ordinary, Rory Gilmore had such an effect on Mr. Cool and Popular Tristan Dugrey.
"How did you get in here by the way?" That was the one detail that confused her. How could he have gotten in the suite if the door was locked?
"You see, about three days ago I gave this crazy woman a call and told her that I had a surprise for her incredibly amazing daughter. When she asked me what it was and I explained how I was going to surprise you by being here when you finally moved in she agreed to leave a key for me at the bookstore next door. So this morning all I had to do was get here before you and let myself in."
"I can't believe the 'crazy woman' didn't tell me. But now that I think about it, it explains why she's been acting so strange the past few days. She was never able to keep a secret for this long. What did you do?"
"Nothing. She just knew that it would mean a lot to you and to me for that matter. I'm just glad she picked this as her first secret to keep."
Rory picked that moment to start their long awaited talk. She reached over the pizza box and grabbed the letter she had given him the day she'd left North Carolina. After taking a moment to reread the letter she reached into her purse to retrieve the one Tristan had left in her book. She took another moment to reread that one as well. She was really at a loss for words. How was she supposed to start this conversation?
Dear Tristan,
by the time you finally read this I will be on my way back home. I thought that I'd give you these pictures as a souvenir of our fun together. I really suck at saying goodbye and at writing letters so I guess in a way this is my attempt at saying what I should have said to you a long time ago.
Tristan, I've fallen in love with you. There, I've said it. I think those pictures that you just looked at made me finally realize it. When did those feelings start? Well, I think they possibly started back when you first kissed me. I just never wanted to face up to them because I was afraid. Then you left Chilton and I knew that it would never happen for us.
When I first saw you in North Carolina it made me so happy. I couldn't believe how much you had changed and I was so proud of you. Those feelings did come back but with everything that had happened I just couldn't act upon them. In a way I was still blind to how I felt about you. I really thought it was just friendship.
Unfortunately, I faced those feelings too late. Now I'm going back to school and you're living in North Carolina. I just wanted you to know how I feel and I wanted to thank you for making me see that I could have feelings like this again.
Goodbye Tristan,
I will miss you so much.
Love, Rory.
She could feel his eyes on her then. She knew that he was studying her but it didn't really bother her anymore. Maybe he'd see the agony on her face at her loss of words and break the silence. Maybe he'd know what to say. Unfortunately she was faced with his silence. It was heavy. Never in her life had silence disturbed her more. She looked up at him then. His eyes were so full of emotion. Those emotions matched what was written in the letter.
Dear Rory,
By the time you read this you'll probably be at home in Stars Hollow. I just couldn't let you leave without this letter. Ever since we met again in the bookstore I've been agonizing over how to tell you this and I never found the perfect moment before you had to leave. I didn't want to say anything once I found out you was leaving because it might have complicated things.
What I'm trying to say is that I am head over heels in love with you. The truth is that ever since your first day at Chilton I've known that you were definitely the girl for me. Weird huh since I was always annoying you and giving you a hard time? Well, it was my way of getting close to you. I knew that you'd never give me a chance and that we'd never have a decent conversation even if I tried because I was probably the biggest jerk in the world.
When I kissed you at Madeline's party it was the best kiss of my life even if you ran away from me. Was I really that bad? Then when you told me you hated me it absolutely destroyed me. I do know now that it was all because of Dean and that you didn't mean it so don't feel bad okay? When I left Chilton to go to Military school it was the worse time in my life because it meant that I wouldn't get to see your beautiful face every day. It was during that time that I became the person I am today. I knew I had to change for my Mary...you know you'll always be my Mary right?
At Military school I kept on thinking about you every single day. I realized during those months away that if I ever wanted to have a meaningful relationship with a woman that I had to change. So I have you to thank for that. Every night when I went to sleep I'd pray that someday we'd meet again and that you'd see the man I had become.
When I first saw you in the bookstore and you ran away I was scared that I wouldn't see you again. I was scared that you really did hate me. Living with you made me love you even more. Trust me, I didn't think it was even possible. If it weren't for you I still wouldn't even know what real fun is. I know you had to leave and I'm glad that you'll be with your mom again. I just hope that our goodbye wasn't forever.
I love you Mary and I can't wait to see you again.
Love, Tristan
Rory took a few minutes to reread the letter. She had already read it a million times but she just couldn't help herself. It was a great distraction from her lack of words. The words he had used in the letter brought a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. In a way she still couldn't believe it all. He had actually felt that way about her all that time and he had never said anything. Why hadn't he told her? She knew that in the end it was for the best though. She could only imagine what would have happened. With Dean as her boyfriend and Tristan leaving for military school things never would have worked for them then.
Tristan watched her as she read the letter yet another time. He could barely see her eyes as they moved over the words but he could see that they were teary. The small smile on her face was also unmistakable. It brought such warm feelings to his heart to see the feelings written all over her face. It made her smile to know that the words he had written had such an effect on her.
"I really meant all that it says in there Ror. I've had feelings for you ever since I first saw you walk into the doors of Chilton." He said in a low voice just above a whisper. He felt like he had to reassure her that it was all true.
Finally the silence was broken. Only it wasn't Rory who broke it, it was Tristan. Someone had to say something and since she wasn't talking he knew that he had to grab the bull by the horns.
"Tristan? Can I ask you something?" She replied as she looked at him.
"Sure. Ask me anything you want to know and I'll answer the best I can." "Why didn't you tell me before this. Why didn't you tell me when we were at Chilton? Why wait all this time?"
"There's like twenty reasons why I couldn't tell you back in high school. There was Dean. You had a boyfriend and I couldn't really put you in that position."
"Okay but that doesn't really count as an excuse. You could have told me anyways." She knew that he was right and that it would have complicated things but she also knew that there was a much greater reason.
"Number one reason being that you never would have given me the time of day. Hell, you probably would have laughed in my face. I was a jerk with you back then. I was a jerk to mostly every girl I dated and I knew that you saw that." He never would have thought that he'd see the day when he'd call himself a jerk. But in the end he knew that it was the truth.
"So, why'd you really change? I know that you're not the same guy you were back then."
"Like I said in the letter. I changed for you. I knew that if I ever wanted to be with you, that I had to change the person that I was. No woman would have ever taken me seriously the way I was. I changed because I knew that I wasn't good enough for you." She could see a tear in his eyes as he finished his sentence. She knew that everything he was saying was definitely the honest truth. Seeing a tear in his eye actually brought a tear to hers.
"You know that I never really hated you back then don't you? I know now that the way you acted in high school wasn't really the person you were. The teasing was mean sometimes but the attention wasn't all bad." She looked at him then and smiled.
"You liked it when I called you Mary didn't you? And those sex comments really got to you huh?" He just couldn't help but bring it up. He knew that he'd get to see the rosy colour go to her cheeks.
"I like being your Mary. Didn't you know that Marys don't put out?" The look on his face was priceless. It was a mixture or his teasing smile and shock. They both knew that she was no longer a Mary but in a way she would always be his Mary. She just had that innocence about her. It was the innocence that had gotten to him.
They sat in silence for a while, both pondering what had just been said. She had learned a few things from him but he still hadn't heard anything from her. She put her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She had no idea what she was going to say. She so hated not knowing what words to use. So she decided to go the same route he had.
"I really meant all that I said in that letter Tris. There was a huge spark when we kissed at Madeline's party." She doesn't look at him when she says this. Her head is still on his chest and her eyes are looking at the floor.
"You mean you felt it too?" Did he just hear her correctly? Could it really be true that they've both had feelings for each other ever since they kissed?
"Yeah...but they weren't really sparks. They were more like fireworks. You know the ones on the 4th that everyone goes to see. Only this time it was a private viewing."
"Ror, can you look at me for a minute?" He had to see her face. He had to look in her eyes. After all the eyes revealed so much and he wanted to see her reaction to what he had to say.
Slowly Rory turned her head and looked directly in his eyes. She knew that there was a huge possibility that she could get lost in those eyes.
"Rory, I love you." There he had said it. Sure it was written on paper and all but nothing was the same as saying it out loud. He knew that there was a small risk that she wouldn't be able to say it, that she wouldn't be ready to say it but for him the time was now.
As soon as she heard the word she felt like jumping up and down and dancing. It felt so good to finally hear him say those words. So she looked in his eyes and said the only words that she knew would make the moment perfect.
"I love you too Tristan Dugrey."
He couldn't believe that she had actually said it back. He took that moment to look deep in her eyes. His left hand went to her hair while the other pulled her closer. He licked his lips, as he lowered them down to hers. He knew that this was the perfect moment. She put one hand around his neck as the other went in his hair. Just as she saw his get closer she ran her tongue over her lips in anticipation.
When their lips met it was like the whole world had stopped. It was a very sweet and soft kiss at first but it quickly turned into a kiss deeper in passion than they had ever experienced in their lives. She let his tongue into her mouth as she caressed it with her own. She could feel the love and want that he felt towards her. Their heartbeats were beating as one. It was the moment they had both been wanting for since they had met again in the bookstore.
They kissed and held each other that night. Neither one said a word. They were both too content with each other to ruin the moment with words. Sure there was still a lot they needed to talk about but they would have to wait until morning. This moment would go down in history. It was one of the most important moments of their relationship.
Unfortunately there was one important unanswered question in her mind. What would happen after this? What would happen once his vacation was over and he had to go back?
That's it for chapter 25. So sorry it took so long. I was really stuck on this one. I do know that it could have been much better but it's really all I could get out. Let me know what you think. Honesty in appreciated. Some questions will probably be answered in the next chapter.
Runaway mental patient: Although your ideas were great (and it kind of made me want to rethink the chapter) I think I'd rather take the easy way.