Rory-Aida

A/N: This chapter will have MAJOR Taylor bashing, so all you Taylor fans leave.

(Rory)

I read Dean's letter on the way out to meet my mother at Luke's, so when I was done I put it back in it's envelope and put it in the bag I was carrying. As I walked to Luke's, people were staring at me and talking and looking at me. I knew I was the prime topic of their conversation.

I had been getting this attention all week. Disapproving stares followed by whispering. I felt safe when I opened the door to Luke's, but even then I got more cold stares. To make matters worse, I bumped into Taylor who was on his way out. The collision caused me to drop my bag and send it's contents spilling on the floor.

I bent down to pick up my things. I was shocked when Taylor bent down to help me because he was really upset about what I did, but it wore off when his hand landed on Dean's letter. He stared at the envelope. I guessed he saw the return address.

"Oh, my," he said, loudly. "Miss Rory Gilmore got a letter. Who is it from you ask? It's from our married friend, Mr. Forester."

I couldn't believe Taylor was humiliating me like this. He'd never stooped so low before. I looked around the diner. Where was my mother? Where was Luke?

"Because she just has to have the married man," Taylor continued. "Never mind that she rejected him before. 'Oh, he's married. I don't care. I should just take him.' And it's not like he has any feelings either. I mean, eventually they're both going to get sick of each other anyway."

My embarrassment melted into fury. Taylor was being a jackass and I couldn't take it anymore. I snatched Dean's letter out of his hands.

"Shut up, Taylor," I said, angrily.

The bell above the door rang and I saw my mother and Luke walked in. But, I was too angry at Taylor to acknowledge their existence.

"Just shut the hell up for once!" I said, angrily.

"Excuse me?" Taylor looked shocked.

"Yes, that's right," I continued. "Shut the hell up! Whenever something goes wrong you always have to make a big deal out of it! Well, I'm sick of it!"

I turned to face everyone in the diner.

"In fact, that goes for all of you!" I shouted. "I'm so sick of you talking about us behind our backs! You know nothing about what happened between Dean and I, so just GET YOUR FUCKING FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU START GOSSIPING!"

You know nothing about me and care even less



How could you understand our emptiness

You've plundered our wisdom, our knowledge, our wealth

In bleeding us dry

You long for our spirit

But that you will never possess

I turned on my heel and heard Luke yelling at Taylor just as I walked out. I'd never been so angry in my life. I was sure that smoke was rising out of me.

"Rory!" my mother called behind me. "Stop!"

I didn't stop. I didn't even turn around. I just kept walking.

"That's the opposite of stop," she said.

"Well, it's opposite day," I said, sarcastically.

"Can we talk?" Mom asked.

"About what?" I retorted.

"About what happened in there."

"I don't want to talk now. Leave me alone."

My mother grabbed my shoulder and turned me around so I was facing her.

"Hey," she said, sternly. "I know you're upset, but please don't take it out on me. I didn't do anything."

"I'm not taking it out on you," I said, feeling bad. "But, I don't want to talk about this in public."

My mom nodded. "I'm sorry," she said. "I misunderstood."

I chuckled in spite of myself and walked home. Suddenly, my behavior in Luke's struck me. I was a totally different person than I was now. I was "perfect." I got good grades. I was nice to everyone. They all loved me and I loved them in return. I was so sure of everything I did. I had so much certainty. I had longer hair, then, I thought. I was Rory Gilmore, the town golden girl.

The past is now another land

Far beyond my reach

Invaded by insidious

Foreign bodies, foreign speech

Where timeless joys of childhood

Lie broken on the beach

Now I was different. For one thing, my hair was shorter now. I slept around with married men. I broke up marriages and I cursed at the entire town. All the confidence I had was gone. Now I was Rory Gilmore, the town tramp. For some reason, I couldn't feel sad about it. It was too pointless by now. All I could feel was numbness.

"You okay?" mom asked when we got back to the house.

I sat down on the couch. "I guess," I said.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I was tired," I said. "I was tired of everyone talking about Dean and me. I was just........sick of it. This has been the worst three weeks of my life."

The present is an empty space

Between the good and bad

A moment leading nowhere

Too pointless to be sad

But time enough to lay to waste

Every certainty I had

"They'll all get over it," Mom said.

"But, not soon enough," I said. "I think I'm just going to go back to school and not bother to come home."

"Sweetie, you can't do that," Mom said.

"Yes I can," I said. "I can't stand being around nosy, cold, people who have nothing better to do than talk about other people's business."

"That's what everyone does," Mom argued.

"But, I don't want to be in a town where everyone knows who I was then and who I am now," I said. "I don't want to stay here anymore. There's no future for me here."

"Honey," Mom said. "You're starting to sound like you just walked off the set of Days of Our Lives."

"Sorry," I said. "But it's true."

"Okay," Mom said, calmly. "I know you don't mean any of this stuff. What's going on? Is this about Dean?"

Everything suddenly came back to me like a very fast slide show. Sleeping with Dean............The fight with my mother..........The break up with Dean on the bridge..............The town talking about me............Dean's Letter........The outburst in the diner...........Dean........Taylor.........my mother..........Dean.........

All the emotion that I kept pent up inside me for the past month suddenly erupted and I burst into tears.

"I miss him," I wailed.

"Oh, honey," my mom wrapped her arms around me and I collapsed on to her shoulder.

"I love him so much," I sobbed.

"I know," Mom said, rubbing my back.

The future is a barren world

From which I can't return

Both heartless and material

Its wretched spoils not my concern

Shining like an evil sun

As my childhood treasures burn

I lay awake that night. Now that all that emotion was out adrenaline surged through my body and I couldn't sleep. I looked at my clock. Midnight. I threw off my covers, put on some clothes, and tiptoed out the door.

I walked aimlessly around town when I suddenly came to Ms. Patty's. I remembered back in my sophomore year when Dean and I came in after the winter formal and fell asleep.

It seemed so long ago now. It was a part of my childhood. I wasn't a kid anymore now. There were times when I wish I was.

On impulse I walked up the step and opened the large double doors. After four years it never occurred to Ms. Patty to lock up. Not knowing why I was doing, I walked inside. There were benches, balance bars, and yoga mats everywhere. I collapsed on to a yoga mat and stared at the moon through the small window.

Shining like an evil sun

As my childhood treasures burn

To Be Continued...........

A/N: Final chapter coming up.