Disclaimer: All Amy Sherman-Palladinos.
Finally! Here's the update! Sorry about the long wait, finals are coming up and I'm getting ready to study so I haven't had as much time to write lately! But here is the next chapter. We hope you guys enjoy it. We just wanted to give a HUGE thanks for all the reviews we've gotten! It's so nice to hear from you guys and we hope you continue reviewing! We appreciate it so much! Enjoy the chapter and let us know what you think!
Chapter 6: The Coming Out
Horrible, she thought to herself, the after affects of drinking: horrible, horrible, horrible.
She strolled out of her house major headache in hand, walking towards Sookie's house. She turned left on Plum, followed by another left on Fruit, the main street.
She walked with her head face down, afraid to see anybody. She couldn't drive because her car was at Sookies. After her curb-presence last night, she got up and walked home. She hardly remembers walking home; all she remembers is that she did because her car was still at Sookies. As well as her purse, keys, and cell phone. Oh, and her shoes too. She took the mystery boots home with her, but took them off on her way home at some point because they were outside on the porch in the morning; little scratches embedded on the bottom of her feet.
Soak them in hot water later, she mentally reminded herself while she tried discretely walking past Miss Patty's.
"So she must have been kissing him for a while if he--" Miss Patty caught glance at Lorelai and shut her mouth immediately.
Not even a hello, Lorelai noticed. No sympathy in her direction- then again, why should there be?
She headed to Sookie's to pick up her stuff, clean up a little, and apologize for the scene she made last night. Oh and also apologizing for being a lying friend and never telling her about Luke, and Christopher; then leaving Sookie to find out in the most horrifying way possible. How sweet she is.
She should really win the best friend of the year award.
As she made it past the newsstand, she saw a bundle of people in a small circle whispering and pointing a little in her direction. She attempted a small wave to the crowd but they all looked down and shut their mouths.
She tried acting cool. She lifted her head up and smiled, walking proudly down the street. 'Play cool,' she thought to herself, 'act normal, and tough, and strong, and gosh my head is pounding.' She reached in her purse and took out a bottle of aspirin. Eyes shot in her direction, observing the medication in her hand. She opened up the bottle and took two pills out, holding them in her hands as she placed the bottle back in her purse. She didn't have any water but still casually popped them in her mouth and swallowed as quickly as possible.
Great, that'd probably be on the front page of the Stars Hollow webpage; "Lorelai Gilmore: Liar, Cheater & Drug Abuser."
If only Emily Gilmore could witness that. Gosh she'd be proud.
The rest of the walk towards Sookie's was simple. She avoided all major streets possible. Banana, Orange, and Kiwi always were quiet streets.
As she approached Sookie's house, she glanced to see if her car was still on the street. When she didn't see it, she started to freak but then realized that it was in the driveway. They must have moved it at some point.
She walked up to the door before nervously knocking. She shouldn't be afraid to see Sookie, she should understand, after all, she is her best friend.
"Hi sweetie." Sookie said sympathetically, motioning for Lorelai to come inside.
"Hi Sookie." She said, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. "Killer party last night, huh?" Lorelai said trying to sound perkier.
"Killer alright."
Lorelai nodded her head and looked at the boots in her hands. "Oh here, I'm not sure who's these are. I just took them last night because I couldn't find mine." Or she just didn't want to look. Either excuse would work.
"Ah, those are Jacksons."
"Tell him sorry for me."
"Here, here, come on in." She took Lorelai's purse and settled it on the table before walking down and sitting on the couch. "So, how are you?" Sookie asked curiosity in her voice.
"I feel horrible to be honest."
"Aw, I'm--"
"No, I feel bad for ruining your party, and for leaving without explaining myself, and not helping you clean up like I told you I would, and--"
"Wow, Lorelai calm down. I don't mind at all." She patted her on the leg. "I meant how are you and...Luke? What happened with you guys?!?" She asked suddenly very anxious to know.
"Uh...man," she looked around the room and swung her head back to Sookie. "I don't really know where to start."
"How about from the beginning?"
"Beginning, yeah, that sounds right to me. Well let's see, oh hell- Chris and I kissed."
"You didn't..." Sookie said, not believing Lorelai would do that.
"Well, he kissed me after we had this weird conversation...he was trying to prove himself right, though I don't know why that was such a big deal to him, and he kissed me. And...I didn't exactly pull away right away, rather I...increased the intensity of the kiss, and...when I finally pulled away, I told him to leave."
"Wow."
"Yeah, so...I went to go tell Luke, and...he didn't take it so well. He was mad Sookie, really mad. So, he pulled out all this crap, that sadly, is true, about me and how I've been helping Chris too much, and how when I lied to him times before, it was because of Chris...and, all this stuff really. And he broke up with me." She finished lamely.
"When was this?"
"Second week of September." She said quickly and Sookie gasped, surprised it had been so long. She nodded her head for Lorelai to continue.
"And the next day I went to see him because I was thinking about what he said at the town meeting we went too when we started dating. He told Taylor that if we ever broke up, he would leave town. And naturally, I was thinking of ways at this point to keep him from leaving, and also, to keep him from being away from me because I knew that I would hardly see him. It's not like we'd be the best of friends, you know? So, I went to the diner the next morning and proposed a plan to him. I thought it would be clever if we pretended we were dating just to keep him from leaving because Taylor sure is a man of his word."
"Oh yes he is."
"So, after a little persuading, he agreed. And we have been 'together' ever since." She said using air quotes.
"A month and a half?" Lorelai nodded. "A month and half you two have been pretending?" She asked still not believing everything.
"Yes."
"Wow."
"I know. I mean I was just thinking, what can I do to still be with him? I liked him so much Sookie, I was so happy with him. But I blew it. I really blew it. I knew he wouldn't forgive me and just suggest we begin dating again. So that's why I came up with the plan."
"I can understand that."
"But...I hurt him, really badly too. I didn't mean to, you know that."
"I know."
"But, I don't know...I guess things just happen. And he came over a few nights ago, and I kissed him, which then led to my bed...and I thought we were going to be together...at least for the night, but...he pulled away and said he wanted to quit pretending."
"Was that the first time you guys ever did something together...in private?"
"Yes." She said seriously. "And, I asked him to the party with me, and he said he wasn't coming...but I guess he came for some reason..."
"Uh, I might have had something to do with that." Sookie said with a guilty face.
"Huh?" Lorelai asked.
"I sorta went to the diner the other day and told him that he better come or else it'd be rude of him. He...had no choice. You know how pregnancy hormones work..."
"Oh do I."
"So consider that my fault."
"No, it's not your fault at all. So I guess, I don't know, he sorta blew up last night. I don't really remember much...spin the baby-bottle, and the sentence 'I don't like kissing my ex's unlike some people' and fighting and chasing him down the street."
"Yeah you didn't come back to the party."
"I know, I was scared. I didn't want to see anybody. Were they all talking?"
"It's Stars Hollow, sweetie."
"I know, stupid question."
"Well. That's a lot of news to take in. I don't know what to say."
"Oh don't say anything," she said shaking her hand, "especially that you're sorry because you shouldn't be. It's all my fault. I messed things up with him, and I didn't tell you anything before now...I guess I just wanted to keep this private..."
"I understand."
"But, I'm sorry for ruining the party last night. And not sticking around afterwards to clean. I just didn't really want to be around anyone."
"I understand, don't worry."
"Well...good." Lorelai leaned over and gave Sookie a hug. "Thanks Sookie. For listening."
"Your welcome. And you know, I'm..."
"I know."
She pulled away and looked around the house. "I don't take it there's anything in here I can clean, huh?"
"I did it last night."
"Ah, man."
"Oh here," Sookie said getting up and grabbing Lorelai's other purse, "here's your purse. You're stuffs all in there."
"Oh thanks." She said getting up and taking it. "Well, I'm going to go. I've gotta go do a few things for the Inn and...you know how it goes."
"I do."
"So, I'll see you a little later. Tomorrow if I don't see you again today."
"You got it."
"And, sorry again. We'll talk."
"We'll talk." Sookie repeated as Lorelai walked out the door.
She smiled as she walked to her car, glad to know she didn't have to walk back and face reality a little bit more.
xxx
"...and she tried following after me last night but I just didn't want to listen to it anymore." Luke said into his cell phone while walking towards the door of his apartment.
"Aw, I'm sorry bro. I never saw that coming, you guys really did seem perfect for each other." Liz said truthfully.
"Funny...neither did I," he opened the door and tripped over something in the hallway, "ah, damnit!"
"You okay?"
"Yeah I'm just on my way down to Doose's. I've gotta pick a few things up. But anyways, I don't know what to do, Taylor's bound to kick me out of this stupid town soon enough anyways. But I guess its okay because I don't even want to see her."
"Well, being the kind little sister that I am...you know there's always a room at our place. We'd love for you to come stay with us. It's the least I can do..."
At this point Luke was walking into Doose's, grabbing a basket and putting the necessary things he needed in it.
xxx
Lorelai walked into Doose's in desperate need of coffee. She walked over to her favorite isle and searched for the best looking cans before putting them in her basket. When she heard a familiar voice, she froze, suddenly not wanting to breathe because it may be too loud. She walked towards the end of the isle, ducking slightly, trying to hear what Luke was saying.
"...really because I didn't know that about him. That's a great mental image." He said laughing a little. Lorelai's eyes narrowed, suddenly curious who he was talking too. "I know, I know. Yeah I'll see you soon...right when things get a little less crazy over here...sure, a few days...I know, and thanks...I miss you too...bye."
'I miss you too?' She wondered to herself. 'Who could he possibly be talking too? Has he actually moved on already?' She stood there, frozen until she heard something fall, then gaining her concentration again. She turned the corner into the next isle, not realizing Luke was still there, and knocked over a few bags of potatoes.
She looked up at him guiltily, trying to smile but couldn't manage to with her toes hurting the way they did.
"Hey...ouch, that hurt." She said looking down at her feet and bringing her eyes back up to his. "Good thing that didn't happen in the diner, huh? You know, since your insurance only covers you..." Her voice grew quieter as she saw him roll his eyes and walk away not even saying a word to her.
'Gosh I'm so stupid!' She said mentally hitting herself. 'Why on earth would I say something like that?! And who the hell was he talking too...'
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The next morning, Lorelai woke up and went downstairs to make a pot of coffee. But wait...she thought, looking through the cabinets; she never actually did buy that coffee she meant to get yesterday. She ran out as quickly as possible, humiliated by the way she acted around Luke. She spent the rest of the night at her house watching mockable movies on TV in between taking naps because she had been restless for the past few nights.
After sulking around the kitchen she walked into Rory's room, looking around and taking in the loneliness of the house as a whole. Luke used to be around so much when they were really dating. He'd sleep over just about every night but leave extra early. He always liked sleeping at Lorelai's better because he felt guilty when he'd leave her alone in his apartment. Occasionally, he'd come upstairs; still at early hours-about 6:00- just to check if she was awake. Most of the time she was sound asleep, buried underneath his pillows. She always was a pillow hog...
Though it was the opposite way around for her. She enjoyed sleeping there because she liked the smallness of his apartment. She'd never have to go looking for him-unless he was in the diner-because he was always visible. She liked the homey feeling he brought to the place, and plus- his bed was much more comfy than hers, so she said. She liked the fact that he had flannel sheets, dozens of pillows, and a comforter that she usually stole off of him at some point during the night.
Early August
"I am so full. I don't know why you made me eat that third piece of pie." Lorelai whined while walking up her porch, holding hands with Luke.
"You're kidding right?"
"No. I told you my stomach would hurt but you insisted anyways."
"Yes that's exactly what I did." He said nodding his head as they stopped in front of her door.
She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss. "Thanks for tonight."
He gave her another quick kiss. "My pleasure."
She rested her forehead against his, smiling at him.
"Stay with me tonight." She whispered. She never asked him to stay over before. She had only stayed over at his house twice but he never actually slept at her house.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Returning her smile, he pulled his head away from hers and followed her inside the house.
"You wanna watch a movie or something?" She asked taking her coat off and hanging it up.
"It's almost midnight."
"Ah, good point. Straight to bed it is then. Come on." She grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs with her. When they got in her room, she closed the door and walked over to her dresser.
"You know, I have clothes you can wear."
"Oh yipee. Do they have the words Princess or Queen written on them?"
She smirked at him and rolled her eyes. "No. As a matter of fact they say Diva so, ha."
"My bad."
"No really, I stole a pair of boxers from your apartment once. And I have at least 2 flannel shirts of yours in my closet."
"Why did you steal my clothes?" He asked accusingly.
"I didn't steal them, I borrowed them." She threw the change of clothes at him and pointed towards the bathroom. "You can use it first."
As he went into the bathroom she changed into a slinky slip she had. She pulled back part of her hair and as she finished with that, he walked out of the bathroom, eyeing her up and down.
"It's all yours." He said nodding his head towards the bathroom.
She smiled at him as she watched his eyes travel up and down her body. She walked by brushing against him, closing the door behind her.
She came out a few minutes later and noticed Luke sitting at the foot of the bed.
"I didn't know what side of the bed you slept on..." He said when he noticed she was looking at him strangely.
"You're so sweet." She walked over towards the right side and got under the covers.
They both adjusted under the covers and turned the bedside lamps off.
"You tired?" She asked hitting him with her hand.
"Yep."
"Okay," she rolled over and gave him a kiss goodnight, not moving to far away from him, "goodnight."
"Night."
Less than 5 minutes later, Lorelai poked him and cooed, "Luuuuuuke?"
"What?" He responded, clearly still wide awake.
"I'm not tired."
"You're never tired when we go to bed."
"I'm sorry I never sleep. It's not my fault."
"You don't never sleep. You're not 19 you know."
"So. I could still stay up all night if that's what you're inferring."
"No you couldn't. You'd pass out quicker than you'd realize it."
"Fine, it's a bet. We'll see who cracks first."
Luke sighed, rolling his eyes. "Fine, you're on."
"Good."
She rolled over on her stomach, resting her chin on his chest and throwing a leg in between his two, laying on him partially.
"Can I tell you a secret?"
"Sure." He said gazing down at her admiring her positioning. He had realized over time that she constantly has to be very close to him, if not on top of him.
"You're the second guy that I've ever let sleep over. I mean with me...actually in my bed."
"Really?" He asked somewhat surprised.
"You sound surprised." She knew him too well. "Do you think I'm easy to be with?" She asked accusingly with a touch of sarcasm in her voice.
"I didn't say that."
"Because you know, you're not the only one that said they were all in. And as you probably know, I'm not usually the 'all in' kind of girl."
"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked.
"I haven't had the best track record with relationships...I've never actually put myself all the way out there because I was afraid I'd get hurt. But with you," she brought her hand up and taped him on his cheek, "I knew it was different."
"Oh yeah?" He asked. "How so?"
"I just knew you before we dated. I've watched you for 8 years. You were my best friend before we actually started dating and I felt comfortable with you. I knew you wouldn't hurt me, cause word has it, you're the sweetest guy I know." She said honestly, blushing slightly but he couldn't tell. Thank God for darkness.
He leaned down and kissed her on top of her head. She bit her lip and smiled, adjusting herself on his side and wrapping her arms around his stomach bringing her head closer to his.
"I'm glad you feel comfortable."
"Me too."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did but I'll let you ask another one."
He laughed and turned so he was facing her.
"Who was the first guy who slept here?"
"Max."
Ah, Max. How could he forget Max? "Oh."
"You sound awfully disappointed young man."
"I'm not disappointed. I just don't know if you remember but I didn't exactly like the guy."
Lorelai laughed, recalling several incidents. "I don't know why. He was a nice guy."
"Yeah but...never mind." He said, voice growing quieter.
"What?" She pestered. "What, what, what?"
"It's nothing."
"You can't say that. You have to tell me now."
He stayed quiet for a second before opening his mouth. "I was jealous of the guy. He dated you before I did."
"Aw Lukey." She kissed him several times on his cheek.
"It's no big deal, I'm just saying."
"I understand."
"But I don't know about the nice guy thing. He might have been nice to you but he was rude to me."
"When did you ever talk to him? You guys had secret meetings without me?" She pouted playfully.
"No, just the way he'd look at me. Like at the town meeting he went to, when I was walking out, I remember you were looking at me and I was staring at Max. He kept looking bothered, so he pulled you in and gave you a kiss to distract you."
"That's because he thought you and I slept with each other."
"What?!"
"Yeah. Or, dated I guess. One or the other. Remember that one time you came over a while ago to pick up Bert and I was going out with Max that night?"
"Yeah." Luke knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Well you kept throwing around these things about being around for me and always helping me out, and when you left he asked if whatever happened between us was over. He wouldn't believe that we never dated before."
Luke stayed quiet, knowing Lorelai had more to say. "Which by the way, I don't know why you didn't ask me out before this summer."
"You know you could have made some sort of move before."
"Perhaps, but I choose to be the lady in this relationship, or for that matter…any relationship. So it was on you."
"Well…for one, you weren't always the most single person out there…then again I wasn't always either," he added knowing she'd mention something about Nicole or Rachel later. "And also, I never thought you'd want to date me. So that goes to show how surprised I still am that I'm lying here with you."
"Why wouldn't I want to date you?!" She asked like that was the stupidest thought in the world.
"I don't know. You dated high-class English teachers and business men that worked with your father, or…guys that liked coffee. I never thought you had interest in me because all you'd do is come in, yap for coffee, then leave."
"That's not true at all." She said seriously. "First…I didn't necessarily like that high-class living if you couldn't tell by now. Remember that's how I used to live and remember how much I hated that? And also, I wouldn't come in and just yap to you. It's not like you were my dealer, we were great friends you know."
"I know."
"But I'm going to skip over the fact that you thought I wouldn't want to date you because that's insane."
"So you're telling me that if I don't know…4 years ago I asked you out you would have said yes?"
She took a minute to think, not wanting to sound rude. "I might have. But you see, I don't think I was ready to be in any sort of relationship 4 years ago. That's roughly when I dated Max and you saw how that turned out. And it wasn't because he was a bad guy or anything, I just…I wasn't ready to commit. I had just started putting Rory through Chilton, and the Independence was growing stronger, and I had a lot of things on my mind. I had to start going to my parent's house, knowing that I'm in great debt to them and all these things aren't necessarily reason's not to date somebody but that's how it worked for me. Guys were a whole different part of my life. And, the past 4 years have given me ample time enough to get to know the real you, and really have the desire to date you. I'm glad we waited although if I were as stable as I am now back then, I would have loved to spend the last 4 years with you."
"Well then with all that said I'm glad I waited."
"So am I."
"I'm glad we got a chance to talk about these things." He leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Goodnight."
Lorelai didn't respond, instead rolling her eyes. "Luuuuuuke…we have a bet going on."
"Ah that's right." He said disappointingly for he was growing tired.
"So don't think you can just drop out that easily."
"I won't."
They were quiet for a few moments, lost in their own thoughts though both thinking about the past.
"You asked me out before."
"What?" Luke asked not hearing what she said.
"You asked me out before." She repeated.
"When?"
"On Sookie and Jackson's first date. We were playing poker and you said maybe we should do this again sometime. Whether or not you were talking about playing poker, or 'hanging out' with me, I don't know, but either way Mrs. Kim interrupted that."
"I meant did you want to go out sometime."
"You remember?" She asked happily.
"Of course I do. Don't you think I was a little mad at Mrs. Kim?"
Lorelai laughed, tracing her fingers along his jaw before leaning in and kissing him slowly. He wrapped his arm around her back and held her closely.
"You have been pining."
"Have not." He insisted though he probably was for a nice amount of years.
"I like this…reminiscing."
"It's nice." He agreed.
"You know, I actually admitted to my mom once that I might have feelings for you."
"You did?"
"I did. As a matter of fact it was about 4 years ago. I was at her house for dinner and I said how you came to find Stella for Rory and I…and she went into this rant about how you're always around…which you are, and how it seems that you're always doing stuff for me and she asked me to be honest with her and admit if I had any feelings for you."
"And you said…"
"'Maybe I do…'" She said exactly so. "I hated making her feel right though. Just like how she was right about me always calling you when I need help, or helping me find a loose chic…"
"The infamous Stella."
"Aw, I'm glad you still remember her."
"That was the night that we picked out the paint colors for the diner." He said knowingly, rubbing his hand against her back.
"It was."
"I remember that night clearly because I thought when you called me to help you look for Stella—"
"…that there wasn't actually a Stella." Lorelai finished.
"Right. Because that night, I thought…well, it sounds stupid, but I thought I had the nerves to actually kiss you but the stupid town came banging on the door to take pictures of the diner."
"God, I remember that…" She said grinning.
"So, I didn't actually think that you had a loose chic. I just thought… I don't know maybe you wanted to be with me but now that I'm saying this out loud, I feel extremely stupid."
"You're not stupid. And it's not a stupid thought at all."
"Yeah but it wasn't true."
"Well, who knows? Maybe it was and I was just scared."
"Maybe…" He said, not convinced that was the truth but didn't want to go further with the conversation.
"I still have pictures of Rory from that night…her Donna Reed outfit, I still cry with laughter when I see those."
"Poor girl, you shouldn't blackmail her with those."
"Who said I blackmail her?"
"I know you."
"Ah, damnit."
"How is Rory? I haven't seen her around in a while."
"She's doing good. She's busy, but…she's coming by sometime next week I think."
"Good. Make sure you guys come by when she's here."
"I will." She grabbed his face and tilted it towards hers. "You're so sweet. To me of course…and my kid."
"She's a great kid…easy to be sweet too."
"She is."
"She got it from you, ya know. You were the one who raised her." He said nudging her.
"I know…though you were a big help too, Luke. More than Christopher ever was."
He stayed silent.
"I mean, you were always there for her. You made her cake on her birthday…and blew up balloons…and you brought food over when she was sick when she was younger…you were at her graduation…I mean the least her real father could do was go to her graduation but he couldn't even arrange for that. You were there in a heart beat. Hell, you wanted to go. I don't think you know how much she appreciates that."
"I do."
"And I appreciate it so much also."
"I know you do." He kissed her forehead. "And I'm glad I could be there. For her birthday, for her graduation…"
They stayed still for a few moments, not talking at all, enjoying the silence.
"Hey Lorelai?"
"Yeah?"
"Remember at Rory's graduation…how that was the last time I said bye to you before I left on my cruise."
"Yeah." She said, sighing at the thought of Nicole. The name itself made her instantly roll her eyes.
"Well that night when I went home, I had a dream about you."
"Oh was it dirty?" She asked excitingly.
He sighed, laughing a little. "No it wasn't dirty."
"Then what was it about?"
"You told me not to get engaged."
"Huh? You mean I came up to you and said 'Hey Luke, can I get a cup of coffee to go…thanks, here's the money, tip included baby, and oh one thing, don't get engaged.' I winked, and then left?"
"Uh, you couldn't be any more wrong."
"Damn. It was worth a shot. Well what did I say?"
"It was after Rory's graduation. I was closing up and you came into the diner and said you wanted to say something in case you didn't see me again before I went on the cruise, and I asked you what it was and you said don't get engaged. When I asked you why you just left."
"Gosh, I'm so mysterious." She said admiring the description.
"I guess."
She took a few minutes to take in his dream. "I wish that wasn't a dream."
"Really?" He asked surprised.
"Cause knowing you, you would have listened. And I don't know if you could tell but I didn't like Nicole. She was always so mean to me, giving me dirty looks like she owned you."
"Well, she owned me more than you did, ya know."
She hit him on his chest. "She was just rude to me. She always talked to me like I was beneath her and her stupid lawyer friends."
"That's because she was jealous of you." Luke said knowingly.
"Oh, hostility. I like." She said rubbing her hands together, smiling devilishly.
"I told you that before though, when you slept at my house. I mentioned how you were a sore spot in our relationship."
"I know because you couldn't stop yappin about me!"
"Ha. I could, but I didn't know what else to talk about."
"I was on your mind a lot, huh?"
"Apparently."
Lorelai smiled, thinking about how Luke had secretly been pining for her while dating the wicked witch.
"You know, I was upset when I found out you got married to Nicole."
"Because you didn't like her?"
"I didn't like her being with you. I didn't like the fact that you left and went on a cruise with some girl. You never leave Stars Hollow. And then when you come back and said you were married? I just…I guess I don't like change. I just don't like thinking you've been married before."
"Change isn't all that bad is it?" He said squeezing her side.
"No it's not bad at all." She smiled. "This just might have been the greatest change that ever happened to me." She laughed at herself. "Oh gosh that sounded so cheesy. You can enter the happy-sappy-music now, Fred."
Luke laughed. "Hey, it might have been cheesy but it was true."
"I know it was." She said grinning proudly. "And to think that it didn't even start to long ago…"
"Yeah. Hey, just out of curiosity…when you think of us being together, when do you consider the starting point?"
"I always think of the night of your sisters wedding, when we danced. And then when you walked me home and asked me to the movies."
"Just wondering."
"Because I remember a few days after that I went to the diner with Rory. And I asked her if she noticed anything different about the way you asked me…for coffee." She finished lamely, laughing at the stupidity of the circumstances. "And, I dragged her outside and had this whole big, 'I think I'm dating Luke' confession."
"Ah, so that's what you were saying that day."
"You remember?"
"Of course. It wasn't that long ago. That's the day you rammed into the table and knocked everything over."
"Not to mention ramming into the door at the Dragonfly, and Derrick the server…"
"You're a clutz."
"Or you just made me nervous." She said truthfully.
He smiled and pulled her closer.
She closed her eyes smiling to herself, thinking about all the happy memories she's had with him. Pre-romance and post. Time's when she'd be mad at him, or jealous over him…with Nicole, and Rachel…She'd never forget how much of a big deal she made Rachel, before meeting her. When she asked Sookie about her during the concert, and when Sookie pointed out the sweatshirt that she thought was Rachel's. Lorelai laughed at the memories.
"Luke." She said quietly.
"Mmm hmm?" He mumbled.
"I did imagine her being a Lorelai kind of pretty."
Luke nodded, not sure what she was talking about, but then again not really needing to know the truth behind whatever it was she meant.
He figured agreeing with her would be easiest.
"I bet, Lorelai, I bet." He paused for a moment. "So what do you say…time to go to sleep?"
"We have a bet mister…" She said wagging a finger.
"How do you plan on staying up the rest of the night?"
"Oh I have an idea…" She smiled seductively, falling on top of him, legs intertwining, kiss him intensely
xxx
At around 5 am, Lorelai woke up. She hadn't been sleeping for the past hour; tossing and turning lost in thoughts.
"Hey…Luke," she said shaking him awake, "Luke…wake up."
Eyes still closed, he answered.
"Hmm?"
"I just want you to know that I'm rally, really happy."
He rolled over on his side facing her and smiling.
"I'm really, really happy too."
She nodded and fell back asleep in his arms.
But now she had to be strong and forget all about their times together. She's going to act mature about this, she decided. Wanting to be the adult in this situation because she knew he wasn't going to be, and sooner or later he'd realize how childish he's being.
Speaking of children, she's overdue an email to Rory.
As she clicked on Internet Explorer, the homepage came up; In big bold letters, the headline read- "Breakup of the Year: Watch Out, You May Be Next. What We Never Thought Would Happen."
Lorelai's eyes narrowed as her jaw dropped and she read the article. Familiar words such as "cheating, lying, Christopher, hurt, pretending, drunk..." showed up on the screen.
"...new rumor has it that Lorelai is moving to Rory's dorm to live with her. Sookie and Michel will take on the Dragonfly themselves while Lorelai takes part time job at Yale...sweeping the floors."
"What!" She practically screamed, actually holding back laugher at how wrong this all was. "Who wrote this crap?" She scanned down to the bottom.
'A Story by Kirk.' The bottom of the screen read.
She cut down to the bottom of the story and read aloud. "Send your condolences to Lorelai Gilmore's house. She'll be leaving the Dragonfly within a few days and don't ever expect to see her at the diner again. The day she faces him again will be the day that my mother adores my cat."
She exed out the screen, suddenly not in the mood to write an email to Rory. That could wait. She had other business to do.
She ran upstairs and threw on a change of clothes and shoes, applying a little makeup and throwing her hair back loosely.
"Screw the Hollow." She said slamming the door behind her. She hopped in her car and drove off to the diner.
'Be mature,' she thought to herself. 'Go in there, act as if everything's normal, and try to be friends with him. Like the way it was before. Before anything happened.'
She walked up the few stairs and opened the door to the diner. Everybody turned around, eyes widened, staring at Lorelai as if she was an alien.
"Hi everyone!" She said in a chipper voice. "If you don't mind, I'm just going to sit down and eat..." she said walking over towards the counter.
She sat down at the counter and waited for Luke to come out of the kitchen. As soon as he did, he stared at her coldly before turning around and going to serve a table's food. When he returned he started fumbling with the cash register and writing notes on his order pad.
"Hi Luke. Can I have a cup of coffee please?"
He didn't move, let alone look up at her. He continued what he was doing.
"Luke, may I have a cup of coffee please?" She asked again, more hopeful this time.
He kept doing whatever the hell it was that kept him so occupied for a little longer before turning around and walking back into the kitchen.
"What was that? You're not going to serve me?" She called into the kitchen. "Isn't there a rule against that?"
He walked out with two plates and set them down at the people beside Lorelai.
"Can I have coffee to-go please?"
He walked back into the kitchen and she heard him say something to Caesar.
"I'll cook for a little while. You can go take your break."
"Great." She said out loud as Caesar walked out of the kitchen taking his apron off. "Screw maturity." She said under her breath, though walked out of the diner with a proud smile to cover up the feeling of stupidity that was currently being rubbed in her face by all of Stars Hollow.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Later that afternoon Rory came over for the night. She didn't have any classes for the next two days and tomorrow, they were going to her grandparents Christmas party together. So she thought spending some time with Lorelai wouldn't hurt at all.
"Hey mom!" She said walking in and setting her things on the ground by the door.
"Oh, hey babe. We need coffee."
"No hello how are you my lovely daughter who drove in the middle of rush hour to get to you because you were lonely and bored."
"Oh I'm still lonely and bored…and now, I'm coffee-less too."
"Let's go to Luke's." She said walking towards the door.
"Uh, not so fast."
"What?"
"We can't go to Luke's." She said sighing and pulling Rory down on the couch with her.
"Why? I thought you agreed to work out your differences…if that's what you want to call them."
"Well…I did."
"So live up to the deal and let's go. Unless you want to make coffee."
"We don't have any."
"Okay…so, Luke's it is."
"But we just said we can't go to Luke's."
"But you said you'd be mature."
"I said I was mature."
"Okay so continue being mature and let's go."
"Oh my God, I think we've been here before." She said rolling her eyes.
"Well then what's up?"
"Well…I went to the diner today. I agreed with myself that I'd be mature about this whole Luke thing. So, I went, and I sat down, said my hellos, and asked for coffee. What did he do? A normal person would say he got me coffee. Well not this time. He rolled his eyes because that's all he ever does and then went to serve some customers. 'That's okay,' I said to myself figuring he was busy though when I looked around it looked a little dull, 'He'll get to me soon.' I said, convincing myself. Well the second time he came behind the counter I asked again, and he went into the kitchen, told Caesar to go cook and I just left."
"He refused to serve you?" Rory asked utterly surprised. She figured he would be the mature one in this situation. But she never actually found out why they broke up, did she? Nope.
"He refused to serve me." Lorelai reassured him.
"Wow. I'm surprised he's being so immature about this."
Lorelai laughed pathetically and sighed. "I'm not."
"You know, mom. I think it would be helpful if you told me why you guys broke up. Maybe then I'd understand why he's being so stubborn about this."
"I don't want to talk about it Rory."
Rory rolled her eyes, thinking of ways to crack her stubborn mother.
"I'd just appreciate it if you told me."
"I know you would Rory, but I don't want to talk about it. Not now at least." She didn't want Rory getting mad at her father for doing what he did. Though it was wrong, she felt wrong telling her that, especially since Rory had been getting around with her father for a little while now.
"Fine."
"Ok good. Well, will you go pick me up some coffee from Luke's…please?" She said pouting.
Rory thought about it for a moment, concentrating hard on the situation.
"Yeah, I'll be right back."
She grabbed her purse and hurried to the diner.
She drove over their quickly, not really concentrating on the road and busted in the door looking around for Luke.
"Luke!" She called into the kitchen.
"Yeah?" He asked walking out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel.
"I need to talk to you. Do you think we could step outside for a second?" She said grabbing his hand and dragging him outside, across the street to the gazebo.
Bad times have happened here…he sighed thinking about the feeling of familiarity.
"What's going on Rory? Is everything okay?"
"She tried Luke." She started, already pacing back and forth, gesturing with her hands. "She tried to act mature, she didn't want to make this a big deal, she told me she didn't, so she said she'd act mature. She wasn't going to let her stubbornness stand in the way of your friendship because you guys were such great friends before."
She turned to him and he looked at her wide eyes, speechless. He's never really seen this side of Rory before. Well, not around him at least.
She continued. "But you can't even act remotely interested in being friends with her again. You don't even try to save the 8 long years of being friends with her. You just let it slide like you don't care at all. And she cares Luke. She really cares. She may look like this strong independent woman because that's how she is. That's how my mom is. That's how Lorelai is. And you know that. But just because she acts like she's not upset doesn't mean she's really hurting inside because she is Luke, she really is. I know her, probably better than anybody and I know when she's sad and hurt. And believe me, she is."
Luke still didn't know what to say. Clearly, Rory didn't know why they broke up. But he wasn't going to be the one to tell her that.
"I want to be friends with your mom, Rory. I do. I just…I don't think it's going to be the easiest thing to do right now."
Rory rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.
"Just give it some time, kid. Not too much but a little at least."
It was almost as if he was asking for her permission. She nodded her head in agreement.
"Fine."
"And you know…I'm sorry about everything too. I didn't want…these things to happen."
Clueless, Rory nodded her head. 'I'm really going to have to get mom to tell me what happened.' She thought to herself.
"I'm sure you didn't." She bit her lips and motioned with her head that he could go back to the diner. He rubbed the side of her arm, smiled as much as he could and left.
After she saw him settle in the diner, she walked back to the car and drove home.
"I'm home." She called walking in.
"Yes and baring coffee. Get in here."
Rory stopped and looked down at her hands. Empty.
"Uh, I forgot to get it." She said walking into the living room.
"How could you forget it? What you went to the diner, said hi and left?"
"Not quite." She bit her lip, hoping her mother wouldn't ask what the real truth was. "I just, got carried away talking to someone. That's all. I can go back and get it if you want."
"Nah," Lorelai waved her hand in the air, "its okay. I'll run to Doose's real quickly. I want to get a few things for the house anyways. I'll be back in a few. Don't leave me!"
"I'm not going anywhere." She said plopping down on the couch.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Marshmallows, peanut butter, red vines, chocolate syrup, whipped cream…" she said out loud, putting each product in her basket.
She turned the corner and bumped into somebody, dropping her basket.
"Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to ram into you like that." She didn't even look at who it was. She automatically bent down and picked up her belongings. She noticed his shoes though.
She slowly worked her way up, staring him in the eye. Maybe she should try saying something. Something…normal. Like a hello for instance.
"Hey Lorelai." He said smiling weakly. If Rory wanted him to grow up, then he would.
Or maybe a hello would be too kind.
She rolled her eyes slightly and walked straight to the cash register.
'I'll give him a little taste of his own medicine. See what he thinks of that.' She thought to herself.
Luke watched her walk away, amazed that she completely blew him off. Not to mention amazed at how much that hurt him. Seeing her walk away like that.
More than he imagined, that's for sure.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
It was almost 12:00 when she finally settled in her bed. It had been later than usual. She and Rory had a movie marathon and killer sweet teeth. Though just about the whole time Lorelai was lost in thought about her market appearance earlier, she managed to seem like she was paying attention.
She got under the blankets and had one of the biggest cravings yet. She wanted to be next to him right now more than ever. She needed to be next to him. It was almost as if her body would collapse if someone didn't hold her tightly like the way he used to, but she knew she couldn't have him.
And wanting him was down right killing her.
After a good hour of tossing and turning, she finally fell asleep.
xxx
Bang!
She shot up in bed.
Bang! Bang!
"What the hell?" She said aloud, rubbing her eyes open and glancing at the clock. 2:36.
Bang!
Was somebody at the door? She wondered. Couldn't be. When she heard the noise again, she looked towards the window and saw rocks being thrown at it.
She got up and looked outside of the window nervously.
Luke.
She opened the window and looked down at him.
"What do you want?" She said harshly. "Its 2:36 and I'm trying to go to sleep."
"Can I come inside for a second?"
She thought long and hard. Did she want to get into whatever the hell this was at this time? Yes, for if she passed up the offer, it may never come back up again.
"Sure…" she said, closing her window. "Why not Romeo." She said to herself while walking down the stairs.
She opened the door and allowed him to come in. He leaned against the back of the door and grabbed her hands, holding them tightly.
"Lorelai." He looked deep in her eyes. "Look, I've been thinking about ways to do this…approach you…and this is the only thing I can come up with. Coming to see you. And I know it's late, but…you were on my mind after what happened today at the market, and I needed to do this…now."
She nodded for him to continue.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for over reacting about everything, and I'm sorry about blowing up in your face about the pretending thing, and I'm sorry about ignoring you at the diner and market. I know you didn't mean all that crap with Chris…I know you didn't mean to do it purposely."
Was he actually apologizing? She smiled at him wanting to forgive him from everything he said. But she knew she had to be the one to apologize.
"It's not your fault Luke."
"Well part of it is." He insisted.
"No it's really not. I was the one who screwed things up. I was the one who let things go to far."
He shook his head but she kept speaking.
"I shouldn't have let Chris get in the middle of us. I really shouldn't have. And though I owe you more than an apology, this is the best I can do right now. At least at this hour." She said smiling. "You know I'm not a morning person."
"I know you're not."
He inched his head in closer and closer to hers. It was almost as if it was in slow motion. Too slow for him to handle. He crashed his lips against hers for a few long moments. He backed away and wrapped his arms around her so tightly she almost couldn't breathe. But right now, this moment, breathing wasn't a problem.
He rubbed her back soothingly, kissing her on her neck.
She could stay like this forever if she wanted.
And that is what she wanted.
To be with him, here, perhaps at a different hour, but with him.
And she got her dream.
xxx
"Mom!" Rory said rubbing her back in attempt to wake her up. "Mom…mom! My God are you dreaming about or something?"
Lorelai shot up in bed, looking around confused.
"Where is he?" She asked hazily.
"Who? Where is who?" Rory asked confused.
Lorelai took a minute to digest everything.
"Uh, nobody honey. I'll be right down."
"Okay."
"Right."
When Rory walked out of the door Lorelai got up the room and looked around. She went out to her window to see if anything looked different, but it didn't.
"It was a dream." She said quietly looking down at the floor. "It was just a dream."
Man.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Ready?" Rory asked while Lorelai walked down the stairs.
"Yes, and I can't even tell you how much I'm craving these apple tarts."
"I know, I think we'll have to stuff some in our purses!"
"Sounds like a plan, mate. Got the big one?"
"Got it!" Rory said holding up a rather large purse.
"Then let's hit the road."
They headed towards the center of town to get towards Hartford. They drove down the quiet streets. Stars Hollow was never a loud city at night. Ever.
They approached the stoplight near the diner and both girls looked out the windows at the diner simultaneously.
Lorelai's stomach dropped. She felt like she had just been hit with a ton of bricks. Rory's eyes widened, but not too large in case her mom was watching.
Lorelai read the words carefully. Once, twice, as much as she could, over and over again just to make sure she wasn't imagining them.
A large red sign hung on the door. "FOR SALE." It was printed in big, bold white letters against the red background. Hanging underneath that was Luke's cardboard sign with his scribbly writing underneath it. "Closed until further notice. Thanks."
The light turned green and Lorelai hit the accelerator.
She bit her lip, not wanting to cry. Not here, not now, and especially not in front of Rory. 'Be strong.' She kicked herself, forcing herself not to let a tear slip. 'Just be strong and this will be over soon.' She couldn't stop thinking about the words. She meaning behind the few words that changed her life, as dramatic as that may sound.
They both looked straight ahead for the rest of the time not once saying a word to each other.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Lorelai we're so glad to see you!" A few of Emily and Richards close friends approached her, smiling politely and giving her huge hugs.
"Yeah, you too." Lorelai said quietly.
Emily watched out of the corner of her eye, mentally reminding herself to yell at Lorelai at how rudely she said that.
"Emily was just telling us the how the other night you came over and started dancing around the table to Emily's music insisting her to join you."
Lorelai thought back to the moment. 'Ah yes, being drunk.' She thought, but was careful not to say it out loud.
"Oh…yeah." She said sitting down. "I did, didn't I?"
Emily went up to Lorelai and dragged her up.
"We serve dinner on time young lady. When you're late, you forfeit the right to your cocktails."
"Oh well, whoopee." She walked over to the table and sat down next to one of their family friends.
The dinner talk with light and cheery, clear that just about everyone had the holiday joy…well, everybody except for Lorelai.
"So Lorelai how's the Dragonfly?" Denise, one of Emily's good friends asked.
"It's good." She said blandly, picking at her salad.
"That's such an accomplishment. To have your own business."
Lorelai continued digging in her salad, not bothering to look up and respond just yet. She was lost in her own thoughts. Continuing the meltdown within herself. She couldn't let it show though, not here.
"It's a nice feeling." Lorelai said nodding, lacking eye contact.
At this point, Emily was just about fed up. Clearly, Lorelai wasn't in the mood to talk, though Emily didn't take into consideration why, she made it a big deal anyways.
"Lorelai can I see you in the kitchen please?"
"Why?" Lorelai shot not wanting to go with her mom. "I'm eating."
"Lorelai, the kitchen please."
Lorelai groaned loudly, throwing her napkin in her seat and walked into the kitchen.
"What is the matter with you?" Emily barked.
"What do you mean what's the matter with me?" Lorelai shot back.
"You've been nothing but rude to our guests. They all love when you are here, they think you're adorable and hilarious and love to catch up with you but you simply can't behave accordingly."
Lorelai rolled her eyes and continued listening, not even interested in arguing with her mother.
"Those people are very polite out there, they deserve some manners and you've been nothing but rude."
When Lorelai didn't respond, Emily began to wonder why she wasn't starting a fight with her. She looked into her daughters eyes and realized something was different but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"I mean seriously Lorelai!" Her voice rose. "All I've seen you do is roll your eyes and be damn near a female monosyllabic clone of your boyfriend."
With that said, Lorelai shook her head, pouting her lips and looking at her mother coldly. She walked out into the dining room again, looking down hiding the tears forming.
"Where is your boyfriend anyways?" Emily asked, joining Lorelai in the dining room again.
At this point all the guests were watching.
Lorelai bit her lip and sniffled.
"Couldn't get out of the diner on a Friday night? Was it too busy Lorelai? Just couldn't bare a 3 hour break?" Emily snapped.
Lorelai looked up at her mother, eyebrows bowed. The hot tears were streaming down her face at this point. It was too much to ask for, holding in her pain. She had done it for too long and this was it. The hell with being bottled up for so long.
She turned to her daddy, bit her lip and spoke just above a whisper.
"Daddy," she sniffed, "can I go home now?"
Richard looked at his daughter with sympathy. Whatever it was she was going through, he felt bad watching his little girl crying in front of everyone else, wanting nothing more than to go home.
He put his arm on hers. "Yes. Yes you may."
Lorelai walked out of the room not once looking back. Not even curious as to what face Emily was wearing.
When Rory heard the door slam, she got up from her seat and walked over to Emily and Richard.
"Mom's not…with Luke anymore." She said calmly. "Thanks for dinner it was great." She said quietly before walking out the door.
She got in the car and Lorelai was on the passenger side crying to herself. Rory leaned over and patted her leg.
"Let's go home."
xxx
The drive home was quick. Rory rushed as much as she could. She couldn't stand watching her mother this upset. It made her sad and she had to do something about it.
When they got home, she helped her walk up the stairs, linking arms with hers and settling her on the couch. She took both of their shoes off and went into the kitchen grabbing a pint of ice cream and handing it to Lorelai back in the living room. She sat down on the couch beside her, placed a blanket over them and put her arm around her mom, kissing her on her cheek.
"I'm ready to wallow now." Lorelai said so quietly Rory could hardly hear her.
She gave her mother another kiss.
It's going to be a long night.
This is what puts the angst in the genre part of our story! Review and let us know what you think! We're eager to know how you feel!
And the flashback was to all the flashback lovers! I know we're huge fans of them because trust us, them nothing being together is driving us crazy! And so it the hiatus! 2 weeks till a fresh episode! But don't worry; you'll get another update for that!
Thanks for reading!