Title: Rory Gilmore, This Is Your Life!
Lucky Chapter 13: End Of The World
Summary: The Junkie and her Angel are awkward, of course. Christopher and Sherry maybe make another appearance. I'm pretty sure REM is featured pretty prominently in one of the sections.
Spoilers: None. Seriously, I'm chopping this part out soon.
Disclaimer: Do I really own anything? No. Including basically all of the new characters (Nicole Bezou is based on my English teacher) and REM. I especially do not own Michael Stipe or the end of the world.
Distribution: Sure! Just tell me, because then I'll stick your website on my list of favorites and frequent it…frequently.
A/N: I liked the last chapter. I especially liked the ending: very effective.
Nicole Bezou shall be explained here.
Oh, and I've just noticed that I used the word "prominently" about three times in the last twenty minutes. Ignore it, if you want to.
"Wedding Crap" box—it's just Rory and Greg's stuff that they're planning for the wedding. They stuff it in a box (affectionately titled "Wedding Crap" by Lorelai) and stuff the box in the BB closet when they're not planning. And that's why the BBs are freaked out—cause it's more real now; they're actually planning.
~~~~
"Williams Hardware," the sign above the door said prominently. However, underneath that was a hanging coffee cup with the word "Luke's" printed on it, and "Good Food" was painted on the windows.
Nicole decided that this was as good a place as any to get information, and so she traveled up the steps and pushed the door open.
The bells jingled as she walked into the diner and looked around. Yep. Definitely a small town's gathering spot. Nicole smiled as she walked past the small arguing/lovey-dovey groups of people and settled onto a stool at the counter. Someone ran by her and threw a menu at her, so she picked it up and started looking through it. After a few minutes, she decided that she wasn't that hungry, so she set it down and waited for Luke or whoever to walk over.
"Whaddya want?" a guy wearing a plaid flannel shirt, jeans, and a blue backwards baseball cap asked her, pulling a pencil from behind his ear and holding it over his order pad.
"Chili fries and coffee." Nicole stated simply. The guy let out a sigh and muttered something under his breath about how the whole world was going to hell, and then placed a cup onto the counter in front of her.
"Are you Luke?" she asked as he poured her coffee. He stopped and looked up, suspiciously.
"Are you delegated by Taylor?"
"Uh, no."
"Yeah, I'm Luke. Why?"
"I'm looking for someone, and I figured that since your name is featured so prominently outside, you might know of the person."
"Who?"
"Rory Gilmore. She lives somewhere around here, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, she lives a few blocks down that way," Luke said, pointing. "And it also looks like she's coming in."
Nicole swirled around on the stool to see a relatively tall brunette in a blue suit walking in, her face all aglow with smiles and what Nicole recognized from personal experience as love.
"Hey, Luke. A cup of your finest, filled to the brim," Rory demanded, settling onto the empty stool next to Nicole's.
"More like your mother every day," Luke complained, shaking his head, but pouring her coffee just the same.
"Is that a bad thing?" Rory pointed out, grinning.
Luke paused a split-second too long, before finally shaking his head and just pouring Rory some coffee. "Oh, by the way. Someone's looking for you."
"Oh, really? Who?"
Luke pointed to Nicole to the left of Rory, and Nicole waved slightly. Rory smiled.
"Hi. Rory Gilmore." Rory stuck out her hand.
"Nicole Bezou." Nicole took it.
"Mmm, Bezou. Where have I heard that name before?"
"I just wrote a book, Insecurity In A Southern Town."
"Oh, right. I read that. That was good." Rory took a sip of her coffee.
"Thank you. I've basically been working on it since I was ten."
"Which is how many years?"
"Shameless attempt to learn my age, huh?"
Rory laughed. "You can see right through me."
"Yep. Actually, it's been about thirteen years since I started. Of course, that's not the only book I've been working on. And I've got about three books awaiting publication right now, and I've already published two."
"Oh, what were the other two? I've probably read those too."
"Virtual Dreaming and May Flowers."
"May Flowers, I liked that one. About the girl who changes her name at sixteen cause she hates it and then changes it back at the end of the book?"
"Yep, that's the plot," Nicole laughed.
"Okay. So you're here because…."
"I want you to interview me."
~~~~
"She's lost?" Paris asked incredulously.
Lorelai shrugged. "She didn't tell me she was going anywhere. Did she tell you?"
Lane shook her head.
"So we're completely out of the know. Ugh, that child." Lorelai continued, shoving popcorn into her mouth.
Paris rolled her eyes. "So you don't know where she is?"
"Paris, calm down. She's a big girl—she'll be okay. I bet you anything she's at Luke's right now."
"Okay, Lorelai, you're on."
"What?" Lorelai asked, confused.
"I bet you fifty dollars that Rory is not at Luke's."
"Okay." Lorelai shrugged and then whispered to Lane, "Easiest fifty bucks I ever made."
"Hey, hey, hey. No whispering till after we get there," Paris protested.
"Whatever you say, oh she-who-will-owe-me-money."
Paris laughed. "Oh, that's what you think."
"You're both nuts," Lane decided, standing up from the floor and walking to the front door.
"Says Ms. Purple Hair." Paris retorted back.
"Ms. Wants To Have A Baby Purple Hair," Lorelai corrected as she and Paris followed Lane outside.
"No," Lane shook her head. "Mrs. Wants To Have A Baby Purple Hair Rygalski," she corrected. The other two women nodded knowingly, and they all started toward Luke's.
~~~~
"You want me to interview you?" Rory asked, just to clarify.
"Uh-huh."
"Did Josh send you?"
"Josh who?"
Rory laughed. "Josh Martins, my boss. Editor in chief of various identities, my magazine. The one who assigns all of my interviews."
"I didn't talk to him. I did, however, talk to Kate, your assistant."
"Kate told you where I was?"
"Yep! You see, my agent's been badgering me to give an interview since the first book came out, but I've been putting it off. But," Nicole sighed, "I can't put it off any longer, as my agent and I are in negotiations to make my newest book into a movie. Everyone I've talked to has mentioned that you're the best interviewer; much better than Oprah Winfrey or Barbara Walters."
"Baba Wawa," Rory laughed softly to herself. Nicole shot her a confused look. "Sorry; it's just whenever I hear the name Barbara Walters I think about Gilda Radner as Baba Wawa."
"Ah," Nicole said, obviously confused. Rory shook her head. How interesting could this girl be if she didn't know Gilda Radner as Baba Wawa? Had she never seen the Saturday Night Live reruns on E!?
"Well, if I'm gonna interview you, I need to get to know you better," Rory started, bracing her hands on the counter.
"You're gonna interview me?" Nicole asked hopefully.
"Maybe," Rory said cryptically, spinning herself around before sliding off of the stool. "Follow me."
~~~~
"Uh, I don't wanna go in," Lorelai said, her feet refusing to move from their spot as her eyes spotted Luke's.
"What? Come on, we've gotta see if Rory's there."
"She's just worried that she's gonna lose fifty dollars," Paris said confidently.
"No, it's—it's not that," Lorelai protested. "I just…remembered something I have to do. You guys check for Rory. I'll see you at home." And she turned and fled, running as fast as her legs would let her.
"She's acting weird." Lane observed.
"Weirder than usual."
"Uh-huh." Lane turned to face Paris. "What do you think it is?"
"I dunno," Paris shrugged. "Could be Rory and Greg."
"Or them," Lane offered, pointing behind Paris. Paris spun around to see Christopher, Sherry, and Georgia Hayden walking down the street toward Luke's.
"It's probably them," Paris nodded. "Come on. Let's go."
"Let's."
Paris started to go up the steps into the diner. Lane followed her, but a little slower, taking time to notice little nuances in the Haydens' behavior. Such as the way that Christopher's arm seemed a little awkward over Sherry's shoulder. Or that Sherry's smile seemed a little forced. Or how completely uncomfortably Georgia looked leading her parents through a strange town.
"Hello? Lane! Let's go!" Paris ran back down the steps and started tugging on Lane's sleeve.
"What?" Lane snapped back to earth.
"We gotta go check for Rory. Let's go!"
"Okay!" Lane yelled back, finally following Paris into the diner.
~~~~
"I don't know why we have to be here," Sherry Hayden muttered through her smile.
"It's my daughter's wedding. I've gotta be here."
"Well, you've got another daughter. Can't you just wait to walk her down the aisle?"
He won't get to walk me down the aisle, Georgia thought. I'm never getting married. I don't wanna turn out like the two of you.
"Sherry, she's my first daughter. I want to be here."
"Well, I don't," Sherry grumbled. "And I don't see why we have to stay in that woman's inn."
"The mother of my first daughter? Cause it's the best inn in town, and she's offering it for a reduced rate."
"I bet if G.G. and I weren't here it would be free."
"It's Georgia," Georgia spoke up.
If you and Georgia weren't here, Chris thought, I wouldn't be staying in the Inn at all.
"Oh, whatever you say, G.G. sweetie," Sherry smiled, passing her hand over Georgia's head briefly, her semblance of affection for her daughter.
Georgia rolled her eyes. "Let's just go get dinner."
"Good idea," Sherry forced another smile as a member of the town went by. Maybe if I smile hard enough, they'll believe that I'm happy.
~~~~
"Oh, a bookstore!" Nicole exclaimed in delight as Rory led her to Stars Hollows Books.
"Yep. Thought wandering around books would be the best place to get to know you."
"Good. I like books." Nicole started walking backwards in front of Rory. "What's your favorite genre?"
"I don't know. There are so many," Rory answered after a second's thought.
"I agree. There's quite a few." Nicole skipped back over to Rory and held the door to the bookstore open for her. "If I had to choose, I'd say Classics."
"Classics are always good," Rory nodded, following Nicole into the shop.
"Oh! I remember what book I wanted!" Nicole smiled and ran off down an aisle, leaving Rory standing alone in the middle of the store. Alone in a bookstore. Not a bad thing.
Rory smiled and headed down an aisle opposite from Nicole's, hoping to get away from the very hyper younger woman for a few minutes. It seemed as if she was so much younger than she actually was. Normally Rory could act that young right along with her, but today she was feeling subdued, and she wasn't sure why.
Finally looking around, Rory realized she was in the self-help section. As that wasn't where she wanted to be, she started to walk to the next aisle when a few titles caught her eye.
How to Plan Your Wedding for $2000 or Less
Weddings For Dummies
The Lifetime Network's Wedding Planner
Martha Stewart Weddings: Creative Alternatives to Expensive Traditions
Brides
Wedding Dresses
Look Your Best at YOUR Wedding!
Stars Hollow's Own Miss Patty's Guide To Weddings: I've Had Four!
Rory shook her head and continued out of the aisle. Still shaking her head, she turned around and walked back. She grabbed four books and then started to the counter.
"What am I thinking?" she wondered out loud as she walked back to the section and left all four books in a stack on a shelf. She sighed and walked away, not looking back.
"I'm just trying to plan a wedding, that's all," she tried to convince herself as she walked back and picked up all eight titles she'd looked at, including Weddings For Dummies and Stars Hollow's Own Miss Patty's Guide To Weddings: I've Had Four!
Still shaking her head, Rory walked all the way up to the counter and paid for her books.
As a last minute thought, she chose two wedding magazines at the counter and bought those, too.
~~~~
"Thanks, Luke!" Paris called as she herded Lane out of the diner. Luke shook his head. She'd just questioned him for two minutes on the whereabouts of Rory and then, when he'd responded with the story of her interviewee, Paris had inquired about her, too.
Paris was certainly high-maintenance and very excitable—but she seemed to be a good friend to Rory, which was always a good thing in Luke's eyes.
As Luke started to wipe down the counter, he noticed a small purse/wallet-like contraption. It looked like a wallet, but it was too big. It didn't have a strap like a purse, and it wasn't big enough to be a purse…or was it? Luke was hopelessly clueless about…everything having to do with fashion. Period.
Still, this was a wallet/purse type thing of sorts, and probably had money and identification in it, so he picked it up gingerly to check for ID. He paused before opening it, expecting some woman to jump out from the woodwork and start squealing like a siren before the police came and took him away. When nothing of the sort happened, he slowly edged the zipper open and opened the wallet thing. It fanned open with three compartments—one for cash, one for coins, and one for cards. The only card in the last compartment was a Blockbuster card, but at least it had a name on it.
Nicole Bezou.
Where did he know that name?
Was that the new owner of the thirteenth goddamn porcelain unicorn shop?
No; that was Sophie Jacobs. Luke shuddered as he remembered the creepily peppy older woman.
Okay, so that wasn't who Nicole Bezou was—but he'd heard the name recently.
Luke racked his brain and finally came up with an answer. Nicole Bezou was the girl that Rory was going to interview. Luke tried to remember if Rory had mentioned any specific place she was going to be. She hadn't.
Luke sighed as he realized that he was going to have to go the one place he really didn't wanna go right now: Lorelai's house.
~~~~
"That's great it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane; and Lenny Bruce is not afraid. Eye of a hmmm-mmm, hmm-mmm, hmm-mmm," Lorelai tried to sing along with Michael Stipe to "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by REM, but it wasn't working out too well.
She'd had the song since it'd come out in the eighties and she still didn't know all the words.
"Dun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh breathing down your neck. La la la la la la la, fine then. Uh-oh, overflow, population common food but it'll do, save yourself, serve yourself. World serves its own needs, listen to your own needs…." Lorelai trailed off as she realized she wasn't singing the same words as Michael. He finished out the rest of the verse and she started back in with the chorus.
"It's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."
Lorelai bobbed her head for a few seconds, trying to remember the beginning of the next verse. And it was…
"Six o'clock, TV hour. Don't get caught in foreign towers. Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn, lalalalala, lalalala, lalalalalala. Light a candle, light a votive, step down, step down. Watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh, this means, no fear cavalier. Renegade steer clear, a tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies. Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline."
"It's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine…." Michael sang the chorus by himself this time, as Lorelai focused on dancing around the living room as congratulations that she'd gotten almost half of the last verse. Unfortunately, she didn't know the third verse well at all.
"It's time I had some time alone. It's time I had some time alone. It's time I had some time alone," Lorelai sang along with background Michael as she waited for the third verse. And here it came.
"Hmmm-mmm, hmm-mm, hmm-mmm," Lorelai hummed. "Leonard Bernstein!" she yelled to the music, holding her arms over her head in triumph. And then there was some other stuff, but she was fine cause it was all over for her—she'd shouted "Leonard Bernstein" better than the best of 'em. She smiled and collapsed on the couch, and it was only then that she noticed someone standing awkwardly in her foyer, holding an unfamiliar large wallet.
"Luke," she said.
"Uh, hi," he responded, holding his free hand up in some semblance of a wave.
It's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it, it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.