Everything
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and the characters that you don't recognize from the show.
Summary: When Rory Hayden comes back to Chilton for her senior year, she still sees Tristan Dugrey as her brother's annoying friend that won't seem to leave her alone. But when opinions change, friendships can form, and maybe, it could become something more.
Good to know: Rory went to school in England for a year, then comes back to Chilton for her senior year. She hangs out with her old friends. Lorelai and Christopher are married and they live in Hartford. Dean and Jess don't exist. She's not friends with Paris; I'm having fun with my own characters.
Rating: PG13
A/N: So, so sorry for the long update! I pretty much had this whole chapter written out a while ago, but when I read over it, I hated it, so I had to re-write it. Hence the longer than long update. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed, but if I don't want to drag it on, then I tend to just get it all out... can't seem to make it go at the right pace. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Note: Flashbacks are italicized, and are separated with '.x.x.x.'
Chapter 18
The four guys exited the house with satisfied smiles on their faces. Yes, there was definitely an ego bash. And no, he would no longer be an issue within the group. Mission accomplished; simple as that.
.x.x.x.
"Make it quick, I was in the middle of something." Nick said carelessly as he plopped down on the kitchen stool, and put his hands behind is head, leaning back against them.
"Well then please, don't stop on our account," Danny said with a sweep of his hands, "Go back and entertain your female friend, we can always just continue this at school on Monday."
"In front of everyone." Charlie added with a fake smile.
Nick glared at them suspiciously, "What the hell do you want?"
.x.x.x.
They piled into the car, and Danny geared up the engine. No one said a word. Sending one last look at the cold mansion they had been in just moments ago, he backed out of the driveway.
.x.x.x.
Nick peered cautiously at the white folder in front of him before slowly reaching for it. He opened the folder and his eyes widened as he read the contents.
"Where did you get this?" Nick asked through gritted teeth. His eyes flickered up to meet those of Danny's, whose expression was unreadable.
.x.x.x.
Their smiles slowly faded for some unknown reason. They had finally managed to get Nick to stay away. They should be happy about this. Now the past wouldn't come back to haunt Rory, and she and Tristan could continue to be the nauseating couple that they were and make people around them feel physically ill.
.x.x.x.
Nick's face turned from about five shades of white, to five shades of red just as Mike read an excerpt from one of the conversations between 'SweetCherryPie' and NickMac.
"Awww, did Mrs. Piggle Wiggle haunt your dreams again?" Danny said, feigning sympathy.
"What do you want?"
"For you to stay the hell away from Rory and us."
Nick didn't say anything, though Danny knew that he didn't exactly have a choice on the matter, just for kicks though, he added, "Should we tell them about the things you've got hidden under your bed as well?"
"I get it, okay?" Nick said bitterly, before they could continue.
.x.x.x.
Yet, why did they have the nagging feeling that their completed task didn't have quite the intended affect? What if they should have listened to Rory? 'Just leave it alone.' What if they really had just gone and dug up something that was meant to stay buried? What if Rory really was telling the truth when she said that she wasn't going to let him get to her? What if that single phone call and a slip of the tongue had changed that?
What if... what if they were too late?
Tristan spotted Rory at her locker on Monday morning talking to the girls. He hesitated before walking up to her, not quite sure what to expect. They had only talked once during the weekend after their date, and even then she seemed distant.
"Hey," he greeted, leaning down to give her a kiss. Her action of turning her face so that he kissed her cheek instead of her lips did not go unnoticed by him, or their friends. The girls sent wary glances to each other while Tristan tried to hide his disappointment, "You feeling better?"
Rory gave him a somewhat forced smile, "Yeah."
The next thing he knew she was quickly making her way down the hall after mumbling something about having to talk to a teacher about a paper.
Tristan sighed moments later, and sent a longing glance at Rory's retreating figure before turning around and walking away, without any acknowledgement to the small group of friends watching the scene unfold.
Amber, Chelsea, Kelly, and April just continued to stand there in the middle of the Chilton hallway, which was slowly filling up with students. None of them said a word, but they all had the same thoughts.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to see what was going on inside Rory's head when it came to relationships. People could read her like an open book; the only one who took decades to figure out what was happening was Rory herself.
This pre-breakup behavior was long over due.
"Where's Rory?" Tristan asked when he didn't see his girlfriend sitting at the lunch table like usual.
Rory had specifically told them not to tell Tristan where she had gone. When they asked her why, her response was that she wouldn't be able to get much studying done with him around, which they usually would've bought, since that was a very true statement, but given her earlier performance, her and Tristan making out behind the bookshelves didn't really seem to be a likely factor. Though they agreed to cover for her nonetheless.
"Uhh, she had to go to the library to study." Kelly blurted out after a few moments of silence. Amber kicked her underneath the table and Kelly's face shone with guilt.
The four girls winced as they watched Tristan stalk off towards the library, throwing his uneaten lunch in the garbage along the way. They really shouldn't have told him that, well, Kelly really shouldn't have told him that. She was never really one to keep things from her friends.
The guys sat there picking at their food, not knowing what to do. Silence engulfed the table. A rarity. Not a good rarity to say the least. It usually resulted in a big fight between one pair or another while the others watched uncomfortably, though someone would end the dispute eventually. It never did get past one lunch hour.
Except this time it was different. There weren't any mishaps or misunderstandings. This time it was just Tristan and Rory. Relationships had never really been a problem amongst the group, after denial ran its course and the current pair that they were playing matchmaker with got together, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there, at least where they were concerned. Obviously there would be fights behind closed doors, but that was only natural.
They weren't sure what this would be classified as. Rory and Tristan had gone past the stage of getting together, but they weren't exactly having a fight. In order for a fight to ensue, both parties would have to know what was going on, and there would have to be a disagreement. But in this case, Tristan was still left on dry land while Rory was floating around in that little mind of hers, trying to figure things out for herself. And there can't be a disagreement if there's nothing to disagree about. So... what was this exactly?
Tristan headed straight for the back of the library to Rory's favourite spot. Whether he was with her or not, it was her hideout. He found her curled up in an overstuffed chair. With a textbook open and her notes out, she appeared to be studying. And, maybe that was her original game plan, but the fact that her eyes had remained still on the same spot of the same page showed that she was clearly not studying.
He crept up behind her, and leaned over, "Hey." he said quietly into her ear.
Rory sat alone in the library, attempting to get her mind off of things by studying, but all she was doing was staring at what appeared to be piece of paper with pencil marks all over it, her thoughts far from the contents printed in the textbook.
Throughout the entire weekend, she had been second guessing her decision about their relationship. Maybe this wasn't something that needed to happen; it sure as hell wasn't something she wanted to happen.
She mildly remembered him saying something about having physical as well as mental torture induced on him if he ever hurt her, a threat—made by more than a few people—in which he had no doubt on his mind would be carried out if he ever performed such an act.
But those words were of little comfort to her at the moment. They were just meant as a joke, she told herself. Maybe her friends and family would just hold a grudge on him and hate him forever, ban him from the group. He could get new friends in point zero one seconds flat, so it wouldn't really even have much of an effect on him, if any. A part of her knew that none of the things she was thinking were true, but she ignored it, maybe that way it would make her decision easier.
"Hey."
Rory snapped from her train of thoughts at the sound of his husky voice. The tingles she got from his warm breath across her neck answered her own inquiry. This was definitely something that needed to happen.
"Hey." she said softly without making eye contact.
He very well knew that something was different, but that didn't stop him from acting like everything was normal. Just last week they had been here kissing like there was no tomorrow, and he planned on reenacting a very similar scene today. In an instant he had pulled her up from her seat, sat down on the leather chair, and plopped her down on his lap, crashing his lips to hers.
She was slightly taken back by his actions, he was never this bold. She shouldn't be doing this, not when she had just realized that she had to end it, but she kissed him back anyway. She felt his tongue pleading for entrance into her mouth, and she granted him the request. He would've gotten his way sooner or later.
And with that thought, the warning bells went off in her head, and for once, she forced herself to listen to them, the shrilling sounds were too much to ignore. She put her hand to his chest and pushed him away.
One minute they're kissing passionately, the next, they're not.
She met his piecing gaze and stared into his deep blue eyes; they were full of wonder and confusion, but they were also full of lust and lo—. 'Oh my god.'
She really had to do this. Now.
"Ror—"
She stopped him before he could ask any questions. She had a gut feeling that she was about to make a huge mistake, one that she was sure to regret, but her panic level continued to rise and her mind took over. The way he was looking at her scared her more than she could've ever imagined. The decision was set.
She was usually one to beat around the bush and wait until the last possible moment. But if she treaded any deeper into this, she was afraid that there would be no turning back.
"I think we should—."