Title: Girl Like That
Authors: Mrs. Witter (Jamie) and ChristineCS (Chris, duh)
Disclaimer: Jamie and I, despite the harem we own (we know it creates mass confusion about the ownership thing), do not own Gilmore Girls, their characters, matchbox twenty, their songs or Rob's awesome writing talent so we don't own the lyrics in the chapter title. We also don't own Mark Paul Gosselaar or Emilie De Raven, but you'll have to think about why that is added. We do however claim ownership on our own writing. So consider yourself warned.
Rating: PG – 13
Pairing: Rory/Tristan
Chapter 8: I've been guessing - I coulda been guessin' wrong
Rory doubted that she had done this much dancing since the marathon in Stars Hollow. So it wasn't surprising to learn that she had forgotten how much fun it was. Especially when it was with someone that knew how to dance. But, seriously, it was draining to dance for a long period time.
"Can we take a break?" Rory asked, raising her voice against the music. "For something to drink?"
Cole was about to reel her out for another exaggerated twirl but then smiled at her request and nodded. He hadn't realized he was thirsty until he mentioned it. Rory was pretty light on her feet and he was having a blast dancing with her. He started to lead her off the dance floor. "Of course."
"I sometimes find it amazing that I once danced for nearly twenty four hours straight," Rory told him with a sigh. "Have I grown so old in the past year?"
He grinned as they squashed between people to get to the bar. "You're just dancing with someone that is exceptionally wonderful when it comes to dancing. It's hard to keep up." She slapped him lightly on the arm and he chuckled. "What's your poison?"
"Coke is fine," she answered.
He ordered two Cokes and then located two stools that had just been vacated. They sat down, leaning in closer to hear each other over the music and chatter. "So you once participated in a dance marathon? This town of your sounds…"
"Insane," Rory finished for him with a smile. "It is, but I love it."
The Cokes came and they both took a greedy sip. "Then you must really hate New Haven."
"Actually I haven't seen enough of New Haven to judge whether or not I hate it," Rory reflected. "But what I've seen of it, I like."
"Did you always want to go to Yale?"
She shook her head, a small smile on her face as she remembered the decision making process. "No, actually from the time I was three until very recently I was set on going to Harvard."
"I can't picture you living in Boston. Do you know anyone there?"
"My dad, actually," Rory answered. It was still weird to think of him living so close. "And a friend from school, Paris. She goes to Harvard." She paused and fidgeted. "And my boy-, my ex-boyfriend lives there now."
Ah. He took a sip of his drink again. That's why she had hesitated when he asked her out. He hoped it wasn't complicated. He wasn't good with handling complicated relationships. Case in point? The one with his parents. "I see."
"I'm sorry," Rory apologized. "I tried to leave my baggage with Jess back in Stars Hollow. But it's not really staying put. I'll push it back."
"Don't apologize," he stated with a smile. "It's not like I don't have baggage of my own. What? Did you think that I thought you didn't have any ex-boyfriends?"
She purposefully widened her eyes, "Don't tell me this conversation is going to lead to you telling me that you've had girlfriends."
He knew there was a reason he liked her so much. He grinned and leaned in closer, to whisper in her ear. "Don't tell anyone, but I've had quite a few. None of them compare to you, though."
"I give that a 9 on the smoothness scale," Rory told him. "Very nicely executed, Cole."
He pulled back and smiled again. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually enjoyed having a conversation with his date. "You ain't seen nothing yet. Wait until we get to the part where I say goodnight."
"I'm beside myself with anticipation."
They finished their drink and returned to the dance floor just as a slow song started to play. Couples drew together as the lights dimmed a little. He looked at her tentatively, holding out his hand.
She took it and allowed him to lead her back to the dance floor as Norah Jones crooned over the sound system. "This is a nice night, thanks Cole."
One hand rested on the small of her back and then other clasped her smaller one in his, their bodies touching lightly. He bent his head and smiled. "My pleasure."
As soon as his lips touched her she realized one of two things, one, kissing Cole wasn't as nice as talking to him, and two, it would be a really bad idea to run away from this kiss. It was a habit her mother told her to break, and Rory found it to be rather good advice.
He wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with the kiss. Had it been the wrong time or was she not ready for it? Whatever the reason, kissing Rory was like kissing a cousin. It was too lukewarm. Too…forced. He broke away and looked down at her face to see her reaction. When he couldn't tell what she was thinking, he asked, "Do you want to get out of here?" Maybe they needed to try again, some place less crowded.
"Um, sure." The dance floor suddenly seemed too crowded, and leaving would help fill her desire to run.
Once outside, her turned to her abruptly, surprising her. That kiss had thrown him - and not in a good way. He caught her by her arms and leaned in to kiss her again saying, "I just need to check something."
It was disappointing to her to learn that it wasn't much more warm-and-fuzzy feeling on the second try.
As he dragged his lips away again, he swore softly. "Is it me or was that a really bad kiss?"
"Not really bad…just not really good," Rory said, cringing as she said it. "I'm sorry."
He ran a hand through his hair. "Don't worry about it. The only thing that's hurt is my ego. I must really be getting bad at this."
"I'm sure it's just both of us." No need to place blame on it. Some things just weren't meant to be.
He must've sounded like he was whining. He shrugged, pocketing his hands. He had never been so wrong about his attraction to a girl before. It was just weird. "I guess I just like…being your friend." Wow, that was a new concept.
She smiled, something they could agree on. "I like being your friend too, Cole."
Now that that was settled, he slung his arm around her shoulder and led her to the car. "So this is what it feels like to have a platonic relationship with a girl."
~*~
Vaughn had never actually made out while listening to music before. Not that it was set up for this particular purpose, but still the experience was still sort of cool. It was almost like when you're dreaming and you can hear the music you fell asleep listening to playing in the background, and in some weird, wild way it becomes a part of it. Everything else just falls away.
It had been so long since Tristan had made out, so spontaneously, with someone that he had almost forgotten how exhilarating it could be. Lips melding, teeth nipping fingers touching and skin sliding over skin. It helped that Vaughn was a great kisser. He wondered where a Catholic school graduate had learned to do those things with her tongue.
Touch was one of the most forbidden things at Saint Helene's. So, of course, it was something all the girls were itching to do. So there were secret meetings between the girls and the guys from the boarding school across town. Vaughn had actually participated in very few of these, but what she remembered now was that nothing to could beat the sensation of touch.
Her fingers were pressing softly against the material of his shirt as they lay on his bed and he knew she was debating on whether or not to slip them underneath. He tore his lips away from her and looked down into her smoky violet eyes. "Vaughn?"
Vaughn brought the world back into focus, or at least Tristan's blue eyes. "Hey."
"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned. "You seem…I don't know - "
"Yeah, I'm okay," She licked her lips. "Are you…okay?"
He nodded and lifted his head off the pillow, trying to get up. She got the idea and untangled her legs from his and they both sat up straight, smoothing their clothes and hair. She looked a little confused, he felt like he needed to explain. "I'm so - "
"This has got to be the weirdest night!" Cole muttered as he entered the room, cutting off Tristan's words. He slammed the door behind him and stalked to his desk, stopping when he spotted Tristan and Schuyler on his roommates' bed. "Oh."
Vaughn ran a hand through her blonde curls. "Um, hi, Cole."
She was actually greeting him? He looked at his roommate and arch nemesis, rumpled clothes and swollen lips, and ignored the churning at the pit of his stomach. She must have been deprived of oxygen during her game of tonsil hockey. "Hey. Sorry to interrupt."
"My fault," Tristan said and he slid off the bed, trying to look collected for a guy with lipstick smudged on his lips.
"Yeah," Vaughn picked up her denim jacket off the floor. "I have, like, this class on something medieval at seven." Cole was still in the doorway, blocking her exit. Well this was weird in the bad way. In the way that kind of made her want to run. "Bye, um, Tristan. Cole."
He moved out of her way and she flew out of there like she was late for class – which she couldn't be because it was Saturday. He looked at his roommate and sighed. "We really need to work out a system for that."
Tristan nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Oh yeah."
~*~
She wouldn't obsess. It didn't matter. Rory repeated that to herself as she pushed open the door of her dorm room after she had finished brushing her teeth. So what? She went out on a date. Jess had no hold over her now, not from so many miles away. And it wasn't like she and Cole had had the most perfect date ever. Then why the hell was she feeling so guilty?
Vaughn finished tying her hair in a ponytail before turning around to see Rory walking in. "Morning. You look like you're thinking too hard for this early in the morning."
"No, it's nothing. I just…" she trailed off, unable to form the words to explain. She sighed and rubbed her temple. "Cole and I went out last night."
"Oh," Vaughn replied flatly. That must have been where he had come from the night before. "Where'd Montgomery wine-and-dine you?"
She smiled briefly. It had been a fun night until that kiss. "We had dinner at a cute Mexican restaurant and then he took me dancing. It was nice."
Vaughn really couldn't picture Cole dancing in any other way than that jumping around and wiggling thing he use to call dancing when they were nine. "I'm glad. For you."
Rory sat down on her bed and curled her legs underneath. "That sounds like you're congratulating me on getting married. I wouldn't go as far. In fact, we decided that was our first and only date."
That feeling inside kind of felt like relief, but that couldn't be right. "I'm sorry things didn't work out?"
She laughed, shaking her head. "We're both fine. When he kissed me, it was very…"
Vaughn wasn't sure she wanted to hear the end of this. "Gross?"
"No!" Rory protested not wanting to cast Cole in bad light. "It was like kissing a friend. He thought so too. So that's what we are – friends. He's a real nice guy but he's just not…Jess." Ugh, that guilt was emerging again.
She leaned against the dresser. "I think you need to get Jess down here."
Rory's brows furrowed together. "He's coming."
"When?"
"He didn't say. Figures. He never has a plan."
Vaughn sighed. "Well, do you have his number?"
"I can get it from his uncle," she answered with a shrug. "I don't know if I should call. I mean he did say he was coming and I don't want him to think something of it or anything." She sighed and looked up at her friend. "I'm not making any sense, am I?"
"Not really," Vaughn tried for another angle. "What exactly did he say when he said he was coming?"
"He just asked if he could come see me. He's planning a trip with his father."
"See, he's waiting for you to give him the go ahead," she told her roommate. "So just call him and say 'hey- now would be a good time for you to come up.' If you want an excuse you can say you have less homework or something. I don't know."
Rory took that in. It made sense. "What would I do without you, Vaughn?"
"Mope and pine."
She threw her pillow at the blonde. "Well, what did you do Miss Sunshine?"
"At which time?" Vaughn asked. "After all, you know how terribly busy my schedule...isn't."
"Last night. What were you up to?"
"I hung out with Tristan in his dorm room," she replied. "You'd be surprised at how little there is to do around campus."
"Preaching to the choir. Small town girl, here. Although Stars Hollow was quirky enough with its festivals and tradi - " she trailed off when she realized she was rambling. "So, are you and Tristan getting serious?"
"Uh, haven't really talked about it," Vaughn shrugged. "So not really."
Rory frowned. She expected details. Maybe Vaughn wasn't as comfortable talking about her love life as Lane. "Oh."
"Yeah," they went back to silence. "I was going to go check out the school gym. I don't know if you're into treadmills, and the like, or not."
Oh, she was definitely not into treadmills. Too much muscle straining. But she needed to get out of the room. "Hey, I'm game."
