Disclaimer: Amy and Daniel Palladino, along with the rest of the WB, own Gilmore Girls. I'm just borrowing the characters.
Jess- That sage advice you promised? It's gonna be coming soon. How do I know this? Coz I've read my newest chapter. I swear, it's like I have no control over myself. El sigh. Whatever, it's a filler. I already know what I want to do with the next chapter. But the soap-opera arc thing? Cracked my shit up. It was funny, seriously. Even if I didn't follow any of it...
Ms. Vaughn- Oh my god! Germaphobes are the best. Unless they're Michael Jackson... Haha. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Might as well make a Kobe Bryant one while I'm at it... Or not. Whatever, I'm not picky. But honestly, germaphobes are awesome. And Sebastian Bach wearing eyeliner on the episode last Tuesday? Brilliance! I was immediately reminded of Skid Row... how I miss thee... Ok, random tangent. Anywho, I'm in an exceptionally good mood. Why? Not sure. Lots of homework. Hate marine bio and hate Kyle for telling me that it's easier than regular bio. Pssh! Whatever. Ok, no more random tangents. I'm done, honestly.
liz3386- I made a big deal about it for no reason, actually. Haha. I bet I probably met for it to mean something, but no. I was thinking about the Jess thing, and you know what? I'm just so used to thinking of Jess as a guy's name that I forgot that it's also a girl's name. Oh well, nobody's perfect.
PomegranateQueen- cackles evilly and does the Mr. Burns finger tap Excellent...
More thank yous to Karin, badwriter, Lioness-07863, readergurl87, whisperofinsanity, Mommasdevil, OTHlover04, Callista NicTeryn, TiCkLeDpInK22, Nicolette, talia7899, loser7, MzFreak, smile1, Her Juliet, at the Cellar Door. I love you all alot!
A/N: Holy shit, you're all on my good list. Hell, you're on my 'special people who must have a special place in freakin' heaven!' list! 136 reviews! Hot damn! I thought I'd only get, like, 50. At the most! I curse a lot more when I'm happy. Or angry. Can you tell? Oh, man, I've been having a good week. Well, good in everything except school. PE has become a lot more enjoyable. Let's leave it at that. Or not. Let's not. My friends are already bored of me saying this: I have a boyfriend! Yeah, ok, great. Moving on. So, I've been writing this chapter for the past two weeks. No shit. Not continuously, but more or less consisant. Hope you all like it, coz it's short and I really want to write the next chapter. It'll be up.... god, I dunno. Hopefully before homecoming.... Also, how did you all know about the James/Thomas thing? And here I thought I was being sneaky. Curses! Also, watching the best movie ever now: Kill Bill. Yay!
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James was exactly how Rory imagined him to look like. He had shaggy blondish-brown hair that he kept sweeping out of his face with a head jerk. His hands were shoved into a jacket that was open over a Rolling Stones t-shirt. On his feet he wore tattered Doc Martins that matched his ripped up jeans. And though his teeth were chattering slightly, he was grinning almost manically.
Of course he looks familiar, she thought. I just saw him this morning!
"Thomas!" she exclaimed, shock evident on her face.
"It's James," he replied smoothly. "If I'd known that you were Tristan's Rory, I wouldn't have bothered with the whole mystique thing."
Rory raised an eyebrow at Tristan. He glared at James who merely stared back at him with his most innocent look.
"So lunch?" James asked, gesturing towards the restaurant they were standing in front of.
As they were getting seated, James pulled out a seat for Rory. To Tristan, he mouthed 'step up!'
"Tell me a little about yourself, James," Rory said after they were seated as a way to break the ice.
Tristan smirked at him and suggested, "Why don't you start by telling her about how you ended up in military school?"
James calmly took a sip of his water. He kicked Tristan in the shin under the table as he began to speak. Tristan bit his lip to keep from cursing at the top of his lungs. James gave Rory his nicest smile and began.
"The first month of my junior year, there was a huge hurricane off the coast of Baja. This great beach in San Clemente- about twenty minutes from where I lived- was getting eight to ten footers, so everyday for a week my friends and I would skip the first three periods to surf down there. We'd call in as our parents to get ourselves out, but it wasn't one of our best ideas, and the school caught on eventually, especially when a friend of mine called in completely stoned. We all kicked out of school for three months, but my over-dramatic parents decided to send me to a place where I couldn't surf."
Tristan gripped the arms of his chair. James, his best friend, already had a girlfriend. And there he was, laying on the charm even while he told a story he hated to tell. And then James smiled at him. It was the same smile he'd had on his face when he'd sauntered up and saw Rory. It was a grin he'd mastered just as Tristan had mastered his smirk.
He didn't know he hadn't noticed it before. It was a trademark, one that he should've already picked up on. This was James's 'I'm fucking with you and there's not a damn thing you can do about it' grin. Tristan smirked back at him and leaned his chair on the hind two legs.
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James, Rory, and Tristan hung around outside the restaurant for a few minutes before departing. It was snowing slightly, not enough to do any damage, but James was keeping them though he had work in ten minutes. His claim was that he was already going to be late, so why not enjoy it. Tristan knew the truth though: James got nervous driving in the snow. Even when he'd go up to Mammoth in California to go snowboarding, he'd make somebody else drive.
Finally, James had to leave. He shook hands with Tristan, though shivered while doing it.
"Are you cold?" Rory asked.
"Nah," he replied, and then shuttered. His teeth chattered while he talked. "Ok, maybe a little. But my car's close."
"Well, I guess I'll see you around," she said a bit awkwardly. She'd never been able to really say anything to people she didn't know that well.
James just laughed and wrapped his arms around her in a big bear hug, much to her surprise. Tristan ground his teeth, though he tried not to let it get to him.
"Well, man, wish me luck. I just hope el jefe won't fire my ass." James shook his head slightly. To Rory, he said, "I know I'll be seeing you around a lot more." He gave Tristan a pointed look and walked away, rubbing his arms and laughing to himself.
"He's nice," Rory decided.
"Yeah, you're not his best friend," Tristan muttered, turning to his car. "C'mon, we've gotta get to my car. You're freezing."
"I am not!" Rory defended, running after him. "I play in the snow all the time. I relish the snow. As my mom would say, everything good happens in the snow."
Tristan laughed and wrapped a playful arm around her shoulder. "Yes, and both you and your mom are insane." He mussed her hair around her head so it stuck out every which way.
Rory giggled and pushed him away. "Jerk!"
"Your insults aren't that effective when you're giggling," he told her, unlocking his car. "Besides, you look cute like that. It's very just-got-out-of-bed."
Rory rolled her eyes. "Pervert."
"Actually, I was talking about sleeping, not sleeping around, but you were, so I guess that makes you the pervert," he informed her. Rory got in the car and turned the seat warmers up. Tristan gave her a triumphant look. "See, I knew you were cold."
"You're still on that?" she asked.
"Mary, Mary, Mary," Tristan said disapprovingly. "When will you learn that I don't get over things all that easily?"
"When you learn my name," she quipped.
Tristan chuckled. "Good one, Mar."
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Tristan pulled up to Saks Fifth Avenue forty-five minutes later. Rory peered out of her window and then turned her gaze back to Tristan.
"You're joking, right?"
"What do you suggest, then?" he replied, raising a questioning eyebrow in her direction.
"Many places; music store, kitchen appliance store-"
"Kitchen appliance store?" he asked with a smirk. "There's a kitchen appliance store?"
"There's a store for everything," she told him defensively. "Besides, those aren't my only suggestions. There's also the used book store if you're going to get something for Paris."
"And then the coffee shop?" he asked sarcastically, maneuvering out of the crowed parking lot.
"Only if you'd like to stay on my mom's good side," she replied with a smirk of her own.
He smirked back at her. "You two really are some pieces of work, aren't you?"
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Just drive."
He mocked saluted her. "Aye, aye, cap'n."
"What would your captain say if he saw you now?" Rory teased.
"To do one hundred push ups," he replied.
Tristan pulled up to Tower Records. Rory looked at him. "This should take a while. Zach and Lane have similar tastes, but their music is hard to find. For Zach, I'd suggest something like The Thrills or The Rapture. For Lane, something similar to Zero 7 or The Charlatans UK."
"What about Lorelai?" he questioned.
"Oh, she's easy. Just get her Bowie or Blondie. Luke has dibs on the new U2 cd, though, so that's off limits to you," she warned him. "You can get her a movie if you'd like. You've seen our taste."
"What're you getting for me?" Tristan asked her excitedly.
Rory rolled her eyes. "A lobotomy."
He winced. "Harsh, Ror."
"I'm kidding. I don't know. What do you like?"
"Well, I recently heard two bands I liked: Pepper and Flogging Molly."
"Which do you like better?"
"I have to pick just one?" he whined, giving her puppy dog eyes.
Rory stifled a laugh and put on her best disapproving look. "How old are you, six? Yes, rich boy, you only get one. I'm not made of money."
He folded his arms over his chest and turned away from her. "If you're gonna be that way."
She rolled her eyes again and opened the door. "I'll see you inside."
"Fine. Pepper," he decided.
"What kind of music is it?" she asked, pausing from getting out to turn back and look at him.
"Reggae," he replied, getting out faster than her.
"Show off!" she called out to him as he sped up in front of her.
He craned his head back to smirk at her. "That's why you love me!"
Rory rolled her eyes. "If you keep that up, no cd at all for you."
Tristan put his right hand over his heart and pretended to faint. "That hurts, Mar. That hurts right here." He tapped his chest for emphasis.
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Over an hour and a half later, Tristan and Rory met at the register. "Ok, hand them over, mister."
"Don't trust me?" he replied sarcastically.
"Not even with amnesia," she quipped back. "Gimme."
He leered at her. "When you put it that way."
She rolled her eyes. "Just give me your choices, and I can tell you whether or not you'll get laughed at."
He smirked and gave her his basket. "Your present isn't in there, you know."
"Oh darn, you caught me. I was hoping to sneak a peek at whatever you might be getting me," she dead-panned.
"Yes, that's right, I've out-snuck a Gilmore. My Nobel Peace Prize in Craftiness should be arriving any day now," he replied.
"Like you need any more money," she retorted, rifting through the CDs. "These actually look pretty good. I hate to say this, but you did a good job."
He took the basket back and turned around. "Can I get that in writing?"
She smiled at his back. "Nope!"