Author's note 2004-08-04: I revised this chapter, trying to fight all the misspelling and grammatical errors, I also went more into details, this chapter doubled the number of words from the original chapter (thank to my sweet addiction that is named Raven and to Arlene for always being there and re-read everything countless times).  There might still be some errors and I'm sorry for that but this should be better now.
Didi

Stay
Chapter 3:Where Do We Go From Here?

As Rory opened her dorm room's door, she was welcomed by a steaming Paris, "Where the hell have you been?"

Rory walked over to her bed and answered, "Good morning to you too, Paris."

"Don't do that!  Where have you been?"

"At a friend's place.  I spent the night there."

"Cut the crap Rory, I left the party for ten minutes and you left, I thought you'd come back here but no!  And by the way, you don't know anybody yet, that is beside me.  Where have you been?"

Rory sat on her bed and a magnitude of emotions invaded her.  Finally, Rory focused on being angry, "At a friend's, like I said… but by the way, who do you think you are?  My mom?  No, that would be more the kind of interrogation my grandmother would put me through!"

Paris paced the carpet of the small room, which will probably leave a trail.  After a while, she looked at Rory and ranted, "I forced you to come to a party with me, and bam!" She slapped the nearest desk, "You disappeared, I don't think too much about it at the moment figuring you came back here." She took a couple of steps closer to Rory, "I came back, and you weren't here.  I imagined you in a room, lying in a bath of ice with a kidney removed!"

Rory paced the small room before she spoke, "First, you didn't leave for ten minutes since I was able to dance while I drank your drink and Jamie's and then some more.  Secondly, I don't have to explain myself to you, and thirdly, did you think for a minute that maybe I wanted to give you and Jamie some privacy before he goes back to Princeton?"

Paris sat on her bed softened her tone a little, "Sorry about ditching you at the party, we also wanted some privacy before he had to go."  Paris added, intrigued, "So, who's your friend?"

Rory blushed while she searched through her drawers and was glad that Paris couldn't see her face, "Tristan."

Paris's voice raised a couple of octaves as she asked, "You slept with Tristan?"

Rory faced Paris, unsure of the way to answer, "Technically yes, but no.  You know there is a difference between sleeping with someone and sleeping with someone.  Do I make any sense here?"

Paris lay down on her bed and looked at the ceiling, "I think so. How is he?"

Rory turned around, forgot her underwear for a moment as she tried to seek Paris face, "What do you mean?"

Paris kept on looking at the ceiling; a dream-like expression took over her facial features, "What happened to him for the last couple of years? Why is he attending Yale? What is he majoring in?"

Rory looked at her hands filled with clean underwear, "I don't know."

Paris sat up straight, looking intensely at Rory, "But you just spend the night with him.  You should know something!"

Still searching in her drawers, Rory answered innocently, "He attends Yale and he has in own apartment?"

"And?"

"We really didn't talk much."

"How was it?"

Rory turned to face Paris again, her turquoise eyes filled with innocence, "What?"

Getting frustrated, Paris almost screamed, "Making out with him!"

"Wonderful, but…" The ringing of the phone cut her; she looked at Paris, begging with her eyes, "If it's him, I'm not here Paris."

Paris crossed her arms in front of her then she looked defiantly at Rory, "I'm not your personal secretary Rory.  You should answer the phone."

Rory panicked and tried to find a reason for Paris to answer the phone, "You're off laundry duties if you cover the phone for me."

Paris feigned being uninterested, she asked, "For how long do I have to cover up for you?"

"For as long as I need to figure this out."

Resigned, Paris answered the phone, "Hello? … Well, she's not here now, may I ask who is speaking? ... Well, why don't you hold on a second?  She just came back." She handed the phone over to Rory and quickly left the room smiling.

Uncertain, Rory took the phone, closed her eyes for a second before speaking, "Hello? ... Hi Dean, no, I just had a long evening … I went to a party. … Where are you? ... Why are you in New Haven? ... Well, I could meet you for breakfast and coffee in half an hour … Yeah, I'll meet you at the front gates.  See you soon."  She hung up the phone, took her towels and clothing, and left the room to take a quick shower.

Rory reentered her room and combed her hair while Paris waited for her, a devilish smile on her face, "Tristan called while you were in the shower. He said that he was on his way over."  Paris looked at her watch, feigning to calculate the time slowly.  "He should be here in about two minutes."  Rory didn't say a word, dropped the hairbrush and ran out the door with her hair still wet

Rory ran to meet Dean, she pulled her arms around his tall frame and gladly received the securing embrace he returned her, "Dean, how are you?"

Dean hugged Rory a little more strongly, "Great, where do we go? I've got so many things to tell you."

Rory released Dean from her embrace and started to walk, "We're going to this little coffee shop that I've discovered.  Food is great and coffee is amazing."

Dean followed her and asked, "Is it far?"

"No, we're already there."

They entered the cozy coffee shop and sat at an available table, which was right by the window and really far from the bathroom, just as Rory liked it.  Rory initiated the conversation, "So, how's married life?"

"Great, I wanted to tell you before the news got around Stars Hollow.  Lindsay is pregnant and I'm going to be a daddy!"

Rory remembered how telling Dean how she really felt went the previous time, she decided to play it safe and exclaimed, "Congratulations Dean, you'll be a wonderful father."

The waitress came to take their order and left hurriedly, excited, Dean started to speak. "I can't wait, I just found out yesterday and I just had to tell you.  Lindsay was a little bit hurt that I wanted to tell you face to face but you're one of my best friends so…"

Rory cut him and said, "Tell her that I said it's going to be an amazing baby and that I wish we could try to be friends."

"We are friends."

"I meant me and her."

Dean glanced out the window for a moment, "Okay, I'll tell her that but…" He was distracted by the vision he saw on the other side of the window, "um, Rory, why is Richie Rich standing there looking like he is about to strangle both of us?"

Rory glanced out the window and dropped her head on the table, whispering, "Oh no! Be nice Dean, Please?"

Dean looked at Rory uncertainly, "um, sure…"

Tristan entered the dinner and walked straight to their table.  He looked at Dean and asked, "Hello Dean, I would really like to stand here and go through our usual exchange of insults but right now I would like to borrow Rory for a second, do you mind?"

Dean was confused but said, "Go, I'll just keep on drinking my…."

Dean voice's was still heard while Tristan took Rory's hand and made her stand up; he walked toward the exit and forced Rory to follow him.  Dean looked at them exiting the coffee shop his mouth still open to finish his sentence.

As the door closed and Rory found herself on the sidewalk, she huffed out angrily, "What was that all about?"

Equally angry, Tristan said in a low voice, as he tried to control his anger, "I'd like to know that."

"You're the one who wants to talk! Speak up!"

Tristan asked softly, his eyes fixed on Rory's, "Who am I?"

Uncertain of the way to answer, Rory tried to smile but failed miserably, "Tristan?"

His anger slowly won the battle with his control; Tristan asked louder, "Who am I to you?"

Rory looked at the sidewalks to avoid his scrutinizing gaze and murmured, "I don't know."

Tristan paced in front the diner, his hands moved as he spoke, "I'll tell you since you don't seem to know.  I'm the hopeless guy who is there for you at all times even if you're too oblivious to know it and in your mind I'll always be a mistake that you wish never happened!"

Shocked, Rory finally looked at him, "That's not true!"

He stood in front of her and lost control suddenly, wanting to hurt her, "Maybe you think so but yesterday night if I hadn't come to you, it would have been someone else."

Rory was angry but she raised her head proudly and tried to avoid the tears threatening to fall at his insinuation, "So what?"

Tristan bent down a bit to whisper in her ear, "He might have not understood."

Rory blushed but still asked frustrated, "What do you want Tristan?"

His voice was filled with sadness, "You."

Almost desperate, she asked, "Why?"

"Honestly, I don't know, but I don't want to be kept a secret again."

Rory faced Tristan, sadness in her eyes, "What do you mean by that?"

"You once asked me not to tell Dean that we kissed.  Are you going to ask me to hide last night too?  How many secrets are you going to keep from him?"

Rory sat down on the sidewalk, her back rested on the wall, her voice was sad, "He's going to be a daddy."

Tristan kicked a rock with his left foot and watched it jump on the street.  He wanted to scream at Rory but instead he told her in a low and harsh voice, "Congratulations Rory, yesterday you said you were a virgin."

With tears threatening to fall, Rory looked at Tristan, "I am." Then with bitterness in her voice, she added, "he's married and obviously it's not to me."

She stood up, ready to go back inside but he caught her hand and whispered, "Does that mean I have a chance?"

"I don't know, I need to think about it."

She turned around to look at him, her eyes filled with sadness.  Tristan's anger quickly faded and was replaced by a surprising urge to comfort Rory.  He engulfed her in a warm embrace and muttered softly in her ear, "You know, I won't wait for you forever."

Rory snuggled closer to Tristan, accepting the warm feeling inside her chest.  "I never asked you too."

He held her more tightly, "I know but I can't help it. I'm always hoping."

Rory raised her head to look inside Tristan's eyes, a small smile on her lips; she caressed his cheek with her hand tenderly, feeling the high cheekbone and the unshaved skin, "What am I going to do with you?"

With a smirk plastered across his features, he raised his eyebrow suggestively, "Kiss me right now and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day."

"I can't!"

A sad smile escaped his lips, looking at the window when Dean was watching, he turned his attention back to Rory, "I know, Dean's watching."

Rory tried to free her self from his embrace and that only made him hold her tighter.  Frustrated, she burst out "No, because if I kiss you to get rid of you today, what will you ask for tomorrow?"

Tristan looked intensely in her eyes, with a husky voice he suggested, "A date?"

She returned his gaze sadly, whispering, "I can't."

Tristan let go of her, pacing in front of her.  His shoulder slumped then he said, "Rory, why do you always see the worse in me?"

Rory fidgeted on her feet, not sure if she imagined or detected the sadness in his voice, "I just don't know you."

Tristan paced a little bit more in front of Rory, wanting to hit his head for what he was about to propose, it just sounded too much like begging and a DuGrey never begged.  On the other hand attempting to be a nice guy might get him the girl that never gave him the time of the day.  He faced Rory, forcing hope to flicker in his eyes and pleaded, "Dinner and a movie tomorrow night, we talk, I kiss you goodnight and then I leave.  Just give it a try."

Rory watched him with sadness in her eyes, "I can't, I'm having dinner with my grandparents."

Tristan prayed to the first DuGrey that he was as good as an actor as he could be, raised his arms high in the air and muttered, "Cancel!"

Rory's voice lowered considerably, "I can't! It's part of a deal."

Tristan heard the word 'deal' and his brain started to work out a plan, wanting to know more about the 'deal' and if he could turn it to his advantage, he inquired, "What kind of deal?"

Rory explained in a bored tone, "They pay for Yale and I have to attend dinner with them every Friday night."

Tristan slapped his head in his mind for begging too much, "What about Saturday?"

"Busy."

Tristan decided now that he had humiliated his person enough already and snapped at her in frustration, "You won't even give it a try."

Rory started to pace in front of Tristan, thinking about her options.  Out of impulse, she let out really fast, "I have a class in two hours; I'm off at three, why don't we go for coffee then?"

Surprised, he took her in his arms, holding her tightly; a victorious smile spreads across his face that actually reached his eyes, "You're giving me a chance?" He willed his mouth to stop talking to no effect, "I always knew you'd give in eventually."

"I didn't say that.  We just went backward with everything."  She brushed her lips to his, walked back inside the coffee shop and left him standing on the sidewalk.