A/N: I just want to say thanks for the feedback I've gotten! It really helps me out! I'm going to try and fix some of the mistakes I've made. As you can tell, I'm moving this story at a very slow pace. It's only been like 4 day's or so after the test run. I personally like Chapters 5 and on, but bare with me until then...please! :o) Thanks again!
Just a Reminder: ASP's.
Chapter Four: Two Invitations for Fun
The girls walked to Lukes in silence. Rory had a lot on her mind. She hadn't been giving Dean much thought. She's had no time to herself, and she wanted to leave Stars Hollow. The town was too small for her, the gossip too much, and the people too nosey. In the end, she needed to leave. She needed to get out of the area, to have some time to herself, to think everything through, but she didn't know where that invitation would come up.
Lorelai put her arm around Rory and stared at her while they were walking. "What's on your mind? We haven't had a lot of time to talk about you."
"I'm just thinking about things. About how I haven't given anything much thought and how I need to before I'm prepared to face everybody. Everybody as in Dean, or Lindsay, and most importantly myself. That's all." Rory said, staring straight ahead.
The girls walked into Lukes and took two seats at the counter. Lorelai was a little nervous because she didn't know if things would be different. They weren't different the first time, after the kiss at the Inn, but now, they had gone on a date, and kissed, more passionately. But it's not like the town knew about the two of them, so things couldn't be weird around them. They didn't see Luke right away, but knew he'd be out there soon.
"Oh hey guys." Luke said as he walked out of the kitchen with two plates.
"I'll be with you in a second." He said walking away and delivering the plates to a couple in the back. He walked around the counter and stood directly in front of Lorelai, smiling at her.
"Good morning." She said, softly, a little under her breath.
"You too, how are ya doin?"
"No complaints." She said slyly.
"Coffee?" He asked her, still smiling.
"Backwards baseball hat?" She said, cunningly back at him.
"You're funny." He said as he poured a cup of coffee for her and Rory.
"So, what would do you want?"
"Well, I've been putting a lot of thought into this. I would just really love...for the Backstreet Boys to break up. I can't stand turning on the radio and here them squealing. But, I guess for the meantime I'll take chocolate chip pancakes." Lorelai said.
Luke rolled his eyes and turned to Rory.
"Ditto" Rory said right before Luke walked into the kitchen.
Lorelai watched him as he walked into the kitchen. She watched the way he held himself up, the way that he walked, the way that his hand moved as he put down the coffee pot. She watched him very carefully, identifying traits about him that he might not even have realized. She sat there staring, and thinking. She thought things were normal, for now at least, while they were in the public eye.
All of a sudden, Rory's cell phone started to ring and before Luke came out to her to remind her that cell phones weren't allowed, she told her mom she'd be right back and walked outside. Luke came out with two plates of chocolate chip pancakes.
"It looks like you put extra chocolate chips in there, am I right or am I right?" She asked him gesturing to the plates.
"Consider yourself right." He said staring down at the plates.
"Where's Rory?"
"She's outside on her cell phone. We didn't want to bring out the happy in Luke."
"Funny." He started, "Anyways, I had a question to ask you."
"No Luke I will not re-enact the fight from the season finale of The Real World."
"Oh, man...what a disappointment. But anyways, I have this fancy dinner party I was invited to that is for a vendor for the diner, and, well, I was wondering if you would be my...my uh...my date." He finally spit it out while fidgeting with his hands, scared of what she'd say even though he thought he had a pretty good shot of getting her to accept.
Lorelai was surprised...and excited. "Oh, well, uhm, when is it?" She was lost on words, stunned at how she sounded.
"Well, that's the thing. It's tomorrow night. I know it's really short notice, and I'd understand if you don't want to but after how things worked- -"
Lorelai started smiling at Luke. Smiling because of how nervous he was. Smiling because of how he kept rambling. Smiling because she really liked him.
"Of course, I'll go with you. I'd like that a lot."
"Great. It starts at 6. It's over at the Rampant Country Club, so I'll pick you up at around 5:30? Is that okay?"
"Perfect." Rory walked back in and sat down to eat her food which was cold by now. Luke walked backwards into the kitchen while staring at Lorelai. She winked at him, and he turned around and disappeared into the kitchen.
"What was that all about?" Rory asked, looking over at Lorelai who had her eyes focused on the kitchen.
"Oh, Luke just asked if I would be his date to some dinner party tomorrow at the Rampant County Club." Lorelai said nonchalantly.
"Fancy!"
"I'd say so." Lorelai said, still staring off into the kitchen with no particular focus point. "Who called?" Lorelai asked, snapping back into reality.
"It's Lane. She wants me to come over for a little bit, so I'm going to get goin. Are you going to be okay here?" Rory joked.
"Of course I am, Rory. What are you talking about? I'm going to be just fin--"
"I was kidding. Calm down. I'll see you at home." Rory started walking out the door and Lorelai just shook her head and picked up her arm, gesturing towards the door.
"Luke!" She screamed towards the kitchen.
Luke rushed out to see what she needed. "Yeah?"
"I'm going to go. Thought I'd say bye first, but I'll see you tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll see you in the morning, I'm going to have to get to the Inn early if I want to leave before 4:30 on a Sunday. So should I plan on seeing you at 5:30?"
"Lorelai, if you can't get out of work, it'll be no trouble for me to go alone."
"It's no trouble at all. I want to go." She said, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'll see you."
Lorelai put some money on the table and walked out and headed towards her house. She walked passed Kim's Antique's to see if Lane and Rory were outside, but saw no sign of them, so she headed home. Right when she walked in, the phone was ringing, so she ran into the kitchen to find the phone.
"House or horrors. How can I help you?" Lorelai said.
"Lor?" Some man said quietly. Not recognizing the voice, Lorelai continued to joke.
"If I said no, would you believe me?"
"Not anymore. How are you?" The man asked.
"I'm fine. And how are you mystery man?"
"Lor, it's Chris." Lorelai was shocked to hear from him. She was curious to what he wanted, so continued the conversation.
"Christopher." She said softly. "What's...going on? Are you okay?" She stammered out.
"Is it a crime to see how you are doing?" Chris asked sounding aggravated.
Lorelai started pacing around the house for some reason. She hadn't spoken to Christopher for almost two months. She knew he was on some business trip, and dealing with Sherry and the baby, so that explained the lost calls.
"Well howdy-do to you too. What can I do for you?"
"Lor, I'm coming to Stars Hollow. I need to talk to you, and I would like to see you and Rory. Is it okay if I come by when I'm in town. I can stay at your new hotel, or wherever, but I just would like to talk to you."
"Is everything okay, Christopher? Should I be worrying?"
"No....uh...don't worry about it." He said between long pauses.
"Ooh, convincing. You deserve an award my friend. What do you need to talk about?" She asked curiously.
"Nothing, I'll just call you when I'm in town. We'll talk then."
"Intriguing....so, when should I be expecting you?" She asked.
"Today's Sunday? Right? So, I'd say I'll be coming through by Tuesday. I'll call you when I'm close by. Bye Lor. Thanks."
"Uh yeah. No proble--?" She began before hearing the dial tone. He had hung up before she could say goodbye. She was confused. He sounded quiet, and nervous to be talking. It wasn't the same Chris, something was wrong. She was anxious to see him, just to see what he wanted.
"And my mom completely caught us. She knew right when he walked out of my room. It's like she came home purposely to catch me. It was horrible, Lane. She was so disappointed. And I said some pretty harsh comments to her."
"Wow...I can't believe it. After all this time...I mean, I wouldn't expect you to be the one to do that, but Rory we make mistakes. People make mistakes." Lane said, trying to sound sympathetic. But she really meant it. She didn't want to see her best friend so hurt.
"So, what are you going to do about it? Have you seen him since?" Lane asked.
"No, I haven't seen him since he left my house. I don't know if anybody else know's. I need to get out of here Lane. I need to go somewhere, someplace, where everybody else isn't. I need to figure this out with the help of nobody. I just want to go somewhere." Rory started. "I have a crazy idea."
"I'm listening..." Lane said, moving her head accordingly to indulge herself into the conversation.
Rory arrived about 20 minutes later. Lorelai was on the couch eating a bag of popcorn watching VH1's 40 greatest moments of reality TV.
"Uh, hello, great mocking opportunities. Couldn't pass the moment up." Lorelai said when she saw Rorys dumbfounded look. Rory took a seat on the couch next to her mom. She began eating the popcorn and watching the show with her, but clearly, she was not paying attention.
"Mom? I need to talk to you about something." Rory said, grabbing the remote from the coffee table and turning off the TV.
"What's going on?" Lorelai looked concerned.
"I was talking to Lane today. I was telling her how I need to get out of Stars Hallow for a little while, to fully think things out. I need to think about this whole Dean situation on my own."
"Keep going..." Lorelai said, impatiently.
"We're going on a road trip. Lane and I. I'm not sure where we're headed, but understand that this is for me, and it's nothing towards you or anybody else. I need to get out of here for a little while. I need to think things over, and this isn't the place for me to do it. I was thinking of taking up Grandma on that offer to Europe for a little while. But I was with Lane, and her band's taking a break for the summer because the bass players going somewhere or something, and I would much rather be with Lane. Grandma has some problems of her own that she needs to work out also, but I just feel being with Lane would be better. Hey two insane woman that have problems is not a good combination."
Lorelai stared at her daughter for a few moments. Not smiling, not anything. Just looking at her, as if she was surprised.
"Mom, say something." Rory demanded.
"Rory, babe, you can't run away from your problems. If that's why you're leaving, you have to realize that when you get back, things will still be here, waiting for you. But if you are leaving for your own good, because you want to think things over before actually facing them, then I understand."
This time, Rory stared at her mom. She was a little offended that her mom would think she's running from her problems. Clearly, that wasn't what she was doing. It might have looked like that, but Rory was more mature than that. She knew what she would be coming back to, and she thought that going on this trip and thinking these things through would help her be more prepared.
"That's not it, mom. I'm not running away. I'm taking time to get a better view and grasp on things."
"Well then I understand, Rory."
"Are you mad?" "Of course not. If that's what you have to do, that's what you have to do."
"Well, me and Lane were thinking of leaving pretty soon. In about a week. We're not positive where were headed, or how long we're going to be gone."
"Hey, hey. You can't just leave me for the whole summer. Get an estimate. Let me know as soon as you know." Lorelai said. Then all of a sudden she thought of Christopher and her confrontation with him over the phone.
"You're father is coming here on Tuesday."
"What? To Stars Hollow?" Rory asked, with the look of confusion on her face.
"Yeah, he said he wants to see us and that he needs to talk to me. I'm not sure what this is all about, but he told me not to worry. I want you to stick around to see him while he's here. Promise me that much, okay?" She said, looking at Rory who looked sad. Not because her father was coming in, but because of what was going on with her. She looked emotionally drained out. Lorelai knew that she needed this trip, and especially with Lane, her best friend. She felt much safer knowing that she'd be with Lane rather than her mother.
"Anyone but my mother." Lorelai whispered to herself.
"What?" Rory asked
"Nothing. Just mumbling to myself."
Rory leaned in closer to her mom, resting her head on her shoulder. Lorelai kissed the top of her head, and they just lied there for a few minutes.
"I love you, mom. You know I'm going to call. And I'll write you everyday. I promise."
"I'll miss you." Lorelai said, holding back the lump running through her throat.
"I'll miss you." Rory said back.
The girls talked for a few more minutes, and then continued watching the TV show. When it was over, they ordered a pizza for dinner, and invited Sookie over. Lorelai hadn't told Sookie about the going on's in her life, and wanted to tell her before somebody else did. Not like anybody knew that they were a couple, but living in Stars Hollow was a trap.
The girls lounged around until Sookie got to their house at about 6:00. She brought the pizza with her, and they all settled in the living room, sitting around the table eating pizza and watching, "The Breakfast Club." When the movie ended, Rory went into her room giving Lorelai and Sookie some privacy.
"What a great movie." Sookie said, after Lorelai turned off the TV.
"Can never watch it enough." Lorelai paused.
"So. I have some things to talk to you about."
"What is it Lorelai? Is everything okay?" Sookie asked concerned.
"Everything is...perfect. So let's see where do I begin..." The thoughts of the Inn flashed through her head, and when Luke confirmed the date, and when they actually went on the date, and the kissing, and the goodbyes, and the invitation to the dinner. There was a lot to catch up on.
"So I guess it started at the test run. Jason talked to Luke."
"Oh no, what happend?"
"Well..." Lorelai began, "Jason told Luke that we were together still. That we just, 'hit a bump in the road.'"
"So what's the problem with that?" Lorelai gave her a look of stupidity and Sookie continued,
"Oh right, right, that's not true. You hate Jason, continue, please, please."
"Sookie, something's been going on between Luke and I. After the wedding, he asked me to a movie. Remember?" Lorelai continued before Sookie could even answer. "And he confronted me about his conversation with Jason, and he told me how he was mad that after all the trying he's been doing, that I've been with Jason the whole time the whole time. So of course I defended myself, and told him I wasn't seeing Jason anymore. And then he pulled this crap out on me, something about how I was leading him on? I'm not really sure. And before I know it, he's kissing me. So naturally, I kissed him back. I thought it would explain how I felt about him." Sookie's eye's widened as Lorelai continued. "And I pulled away, because, things felt, I don't know...weird, I guess. But it was a comfortable weird. So I leaned in again, and we kissed for a second time." Sookie's eyes opened even wider, as her mouth dropped at the same time. "And then, well then Kirk ran down and Luke had to leave."
Sookie stared at Lorelai for a moment. Taking in everything she just heard. She always knew that Luke and Lorelai would end up together. The whole town did. And to know that it finally happend struck her as surprised, to say the least.
"Lorelai, that's great. I can't believe it, after all this time. It's about time. Are you happy? Is he happy? Are you okay?"
"I'm great. But there's more. We went on a date that night. We saw Casablanca at this theater out in Hartford, it was really romantic. And then we went back to the diner for pie and talked until about 12:15 when I realized I had to go. So he walked me home, and kissed me goodnight, and today he invited me to this dinner party tomorrow, as his date. A lot is going on..." Lorelai sat there, staring at the wall, re-thinking everything that she just said. Re-thinking about the date, and the kiss. Things were good.
"Amazing. Let me tell you. I'm so happy for you, sweetie. If this is what you want." Sookie was nervous that Lorelai would say she wasn't happy. But how couldn't she be? Luke is a great guy.
"I'm so happy. I feel sixteen again. I get nervous when I see him, and scared when I'm around him. Things have gotten a little less nerve wrecking, but that feeling, well, it's-it's, exciting. It's like a constant feeling of anxiousness. It's like I'm always waiting for something to happen. It's great."
"Well then, I'm so glad to hear it. Does anybody else know?"
"No. And that means you can't tell anybody. Please. We just want it to remain discreet until we're settled in our decision."
"What do you mean your decision?"
"Well, I'm actually not sure. But basically, until we've decided that this whole dating thing is going to last, not forever or course, but I mean long enough to make the telling of the town worth it. You know what I mean. I don't want Babette to start chasing me, telling me how cute our kids would be, if it's something that won't last that long."
Sookie laughed. "Exactly."
The girls sat in the living room for a good half hour talking about Lorelai and Luke. About the date, and about the invitation for tomorrow night. It was until Jackson called saying he couldn't get Davey to stop crying that Sookie left.
Lorelai walked into Rory's room and said goodnight. Lorelai was tired, and had to get up early. So she went up to her room, got ready for bed, and took out her journal.
She kept a journal for quite some time now, and only wrote in it occasionally. When there was actually something exciting enough to write about. Tonight was one of those nights. Sookie said it's about time. Is it really? Was it inevitable from the beginning? Sometime's I wonder. Life is good right now. Life is good. She closed her journal, and lied there smiling at it. She slipped under her covers and happily fell asleep.
To Be Continued: So Unrealistic
