Title: The Bigger Picture
Author: Angeleyez
Summary: Rory tells Lorelai all about the party the night before. She leaves no details out. Not the Moulin Rouge revival, the tassels, or the kiss. (RoryLogan)
Disclaimer: Not mine, although I kind of wish Finn was.
A/N: This was written for the Rory/Logan Fic Exchange in response to the following request:
Include: Finn and Colin, Luke and Lorelai, A Dare, Mistletoe, Humor
Don't Include: Richard and Emily or any of Rory's ex's (Dean, Jess, Tristan), angst/tension, overly graphic language or situations.
-
"Alright, spill it," Lorelai said as her daughter sat in the seat across from her.
"Spill what?"
"You went to one of those rich kid parties and everyone knows that something interesting and, more than likely, illegal always happens at them. So…" Lorelai waved a hand at Rory in a 'gimme, gimme' gesture. "Tell Mommy everything."
"Is that a mistletoe sticking out of your purse?" Rory asked, trying to change the subject.
"Never mind that. Tell!"
Rory sighed. "What do you want to hear first? The Moulin Rouge revival or the part with the tassels?"
Lorelai's eyes widened with excitement. "There are tassels?"
"Not in a place you would normally find them either."
"Oh boy, such suspense. Where to begin?" Lorelai tapped her chin. "You know, I think you should start at the beginning."
"Good idea."
-
The party was thrown by a friend of Stephanie's, a blonde bubble of a girl who made herself scarce as the rest of the Life and Death Brigade invaded her home. She lived in a wannabe mansion – a place much larger than most colonials but smaller and less extravagant in comparison to her classmates' summer homes. The interior was beautiful with twinkling Christmas lights strung across the halls and vines of tinsel curling over her staircase as if they had grown there naturally. It was warm inside and cheerful; Rory thought if felt homey.
"I think I'm already drunk."
"We just got here, Finn. It's completely impossible for you to already be drunk," Rory explained in a delicate tone, the one she reserved specifically for him.
"It's the fumes. I already feel as if I've downed a few shots." He took a huge gulp of air. "Now, I'm nursing a Heineken. It's expired though." He sniffed once more. "Three days too old."
Rory blinked. Logan laughed and led her into the kitchen. "He's some kind of blood hound," he told her as he poured a drink, which she politely declined. He shrugged as if to say 'suit yourself' and continued. "He's not too bad with drugs either. I think he aspires to be some kind of drug sniffing hound. You know, if the whole partying for the rest of his life thing doesn't work out."
"Are those your plans too?" she asked, grabbing a bottle of water off the Formica counters, the surface already covered in crumbs and suspiciously colored spills.
"Working as a dog? No, I thought I gave off more dignity than that. I'll have to up the arrogance."
Rory shot him a disapproving look. "Please, don't. I can barely fit in the same room with your ego as it is." She twisted the cap of her bottle, pleased to find it brand new and previously unopened (untampered with, really). "I meant about the partying. Is that how you see you spending the rest of your life?"
"Wow. We've been here – what? – five minutes, and already you're asking me soul searching questions. I'm too sober to contemplate the inner workings of my mind." He took a sip of his drink, as if to show her that it wouldn't be long before his sobriety was gone.
"Just answer the question."
"Yes. I plan on spending the rest of my life partying," he deadpanned. "When I'm seventy and living in the nursing home for the unbelievably rich, I'll still be holding weekly drinking games with the older women down the hall. Clothing will be optional when we play bingo and checkers, and jello will be substituted with jello shots. That will truly be the time of my life."
She glowered at him, displeased. "Your sarcasm does not amuse. I'm serious. What are you planning on doing?"
"Come on, Ace. We're at a party." He put his arm around her, guiding her into the living room. "Loosen up, have a drink. For five minutes, don't wonder how this minute is going to affect the next. Tonight, there is no future."
"That sounds promising," she mumbled.
("No future!" Lorelai exclaimed. "He didn't ask you to join a vampire cult, did he?"
"Yeah, but I turned him down. Black makes me look washed out."
"Good girl.")
It was during a rousing game of 'I've Never' when Rory grew restless. As it turned out, Rory had never done, well, anything. It had only taken three rounds for half of the participants to become sufficiently drunk, while Rory's lips had yet to touch a single drop of alcohol. It wasn't as if she wanted to be able to fess up to promiscuous or otherwise dangerous activities; she was perfectly happy with playing it safe. She simply didn't appreciate the odd looks thrown her way every time she sat back while the rest downed another shot.
"Rory, I've been looking everywhere for you!"
She looked up, surprised to find Finn hovering by the arm of the couch, a smile plastered on his face. Next to her, Logan and a slim blonde took a shot, both sharing a secret smile as they did so.
"I've been sitting here, in the living room for the past…" She trailed off, checked her watch, and groaned. "Hour." She had wasted an hour of her life that she was never going to get back.
"Unless you were located at the bottom of a bottle, he wasn't going to find you so easily," Logan whispered, surprising her. She thought he had been too busy flirting with his former conquest to pay attention to what she had been saying. Apparently, Logan really did hear and see all.
Finn held out his hand. Rory hesitated, but in the end decided that whatever Finn had in mind was more interesting than what she was currently doing. She followed him back into the kitchen.
"I've realized I didn't get you a Christmas gift," he announced, looking remorseful. The corners of his lips drooped as he told her, reminding her of a lost puppy. Albeit a drunk puppy, but it was still rather sweet.
"I didn't get you one either, Finn. It's okay."
"No, no, it's not." He shook his head vehemently to enunciate his point. "You're the new girl! It is my job to make you feel at home here in the Life and Death Brigade circle." He paused and folded his arms across his chest. "So that's why, I'm willing to do whatever you want me to do."
("Excuse me?" Lorelai interrupted. "What did he mean 'anything'?"
"Wait, wait, I'm getting there.")
"Excuse me?" Rory asked. "What do you mean 'anything'?"
"Anything you want. I could…" He scratched his chin, scrunching his face in serious thought. "I could carry you around on my shoulders for the rest of the night. You would be like some European queen while I played your lowly manservant."
"I don't think so."
"You're right," Finn nodded. "It does seem to have a certain sexual nature to it."
"I appreciate the thought, but you really don't need to do anything for me," she assured him.
"No, no, I insist. Really." He grabbed her hands. "Anything. Right now, tell me what you'd like."
"Finn – "
"I wont take no for an answer." He gave her a curt nod and waited.
Alright. In order to extract herself from the situation she was going to have to think of something simple and quick.
"You know, Finn has an excellent singing voice," Stephanie said, stopping next to Rory.
"Oh." It was all Rory could think to say.
"Don't you think he has a certain Ewan McGregor quality to him?" she asked, looking at Finn out of the corner of her eye.
Finn smiled smugly, striking a pose reminiscent of an off-balance Abercrombie model. "I always thought I possessed his charm and boyish good looks."
"I meant your voice, genius."
Rory turned away, hiding her smile behind her hand. She was beginning to catch on to Stephanie's train of thought.
"Kind of like Moulin Rouge's Christian," Rory said, only to clarify what Stephanie was dancing around. When she received a nod of approval, she looked at Finn, ready to request her Christmas gift. "Serenade me."
"Pardon?"
"Serenade me," she repeated. "I want you to sing me a song from Moulin Rouge." "
Your Song," Stephanie quickly added. "She wants that one."
Rory gave her a strange look but went along nonetheless. "Sing it to me and my quota for Christmas cheer will be fulfilled."
"I'd be happy to." Finn bowed before jumping up onto the counters, knocking over a bottle of wine in the process. Rory rushed to catch it, staining her shirt in the process. With a frown, she righted the bottle and grabbed a nearby towel.
"My gift is my song! And this one's for you…" Finn belted out the first line, ruining the song's romantic tenderness. He pointed down at her as he continued.
("Please tell me you took pictures," Lorelai said.
"Sorry, my picture phone was in my other Louie Vuitton purse." "
Aw, did you feel left out because you were the only non-jaded, moderately rich, morals-in-tact girl there?"
"Did you want to hear the rest or not?" Rory asked.
"Fine, continue. We'll talk about your need for therapy later.")
"I've always wanted to get him to do this," Stephanie announced quietly as Finn went on.
Rory looked up from her blouse, which, by now, was soaked with wine. "You like accents?"
"Love them," Stephanie confided. "Plus there's something about boy's singing to me that get me all… hot and bothered."
Rory laughed, too embarrassed to give a reply.
"You see I've forgotten if they're green or if they're blue," Finn half yelled, throwing up his arms. By now a crowd had gathered to watch his performance. His voice had carried throughout the house, effectively ending all party games including the now stale 'I've Never'. The kitchen was quickly becoming overcrowded with the rich, beautiful, and disgustingly drunk.
"They're blue," Logan said, walking up behind Rory.
She turned around, startled. "Excuse me?"
"Your eyes. They're blue." Rory felt herself smile. She didn't mean to, not at Logan. But something passed between them in that small space of a moment as Finn's out of tune voice rose above them and everyone blurred into a rainbow of colors. For just a second, she and Logan were the only ones in the room.
"Is that wine all over your shirt?" Logan asked, staring at her chest.
"Um." Her mind clambered back into place. She covered her chest with a self-conscious arm and nodded. "Finn has no grace."
"Come on, I'll find you something to change into."
"But I'm being serenaded," she said blankly.
Both turned to look at Finn who was kneeling on the counter. His hand was in a redhead's hair as he sang how wonderful his life was now that she was in the world. Rory rolled her eyes.
"Don't take it personally," Logan said. "He has this thing for redheads. It cannot be unexplained." As an afterthought he added, "Finn cannot be explained. Come on."
For the second time that night, she took a boy's hand, hoping it would lead her some place better than where she was.
("I'm dying my hair red," Lorelai announced.
"Mom."
"I want you to introduce me to this Finn."
"You're kidding."
"Is he over eighteen?" Lorelai flipped her hair, batted her eyelashes. "Don't tell Luke. Finn will be my boy on the side."
"Oh man.")
Logan led her down a hall, and opened the second door on the left, guessing it was the bedroom he was looking for. Unfortunately, the room was otherwise occupied, and he quickly slammed the door shut.
"That was a threesome," Rory said slowly.
"It was."
"I feel like Seth Cohen right now."
"Who?"
"Never mind."
("A threesome? Seth Cohen? Was anyone snorting cocaine off of anyone else's stomach?"
"No, Mom, that's next week's party."
"So are you permanently scarred from the sight? Or just confused? Do you have any questions?"
Rory glared. "This is why I shouldn't tell you stories."
"No, don't shut me out! I want to hear more."
Rory paused, considering her mother. "Well, that wasn't the worst room we walked into. We tried one more door before we found the bedroom."
"And?" Lorelai lowered her voice. "Were there four people?"
"Two. Except the girl had tassels on her…" Rory looked down at her shirt.
"Oh? Oh!" Lorelai covered her mouth. "Wow."
"Apparently she aspires to be lawyer by day, stripper by night."
"It's every little girl's dream.")
On his third try, Logan discovered the bedroom. Rory followed him inside, mumbling something about learning how to knock. Logan immediately began to rummage through one of the dressers Rory, deciding not to bring up the issue of invasion of privacy, looked around the room as Logan searched. Her surroundings were quiet and still, a stark contrast to what she had just walked out of. She sat on the bed, glad to be somewhere that she liked, where she fit. She watched as Logan pulled out a black t-shirt that plainly said in white bubble letters: SLUT.
Rory said nothing. She just stared.
"Right." Logan nodded and began his search again. Moments later, he presented her with a plain white blouse, similar to what Rory was wearing. She accepted the shirt with a smile, hoping that the anonymous friend of Stephanie would not mind a stranger borrowing her clothes.
Logan turned away from Rory, and she stood and slipped off her shirt. She turned away as well, too nervous to risk anything.
"I'm considerably less sober now," he blurted out.
"No kidding."
"I'm ready to discuss what you brought up earlier. About the future."
Rory glanced over her shoulder, the shirt in her hands. Logan was staring at the wall.
"Okay." Okay?
"You think I'm going to party for the rest of my life," he said slowly, making sure he had her pegged correctly.
"I never said that that's what I thought. I asked if that was what you were going to do." Her new shirt hung in her hands as she spoke, her need to change temporarily forgotten.
"But you think that's what I want to do."
"I never said – "
"Admit it," he told the wall. "You think that's all I'm good for."
She spun around, angry. "Now you're just putting words in my mouth."
He heard her voice change, and turned to meet her. He eyed her bra, the material white and thin. Bright red, Rory quickly slipped the shirt over her head as he continued.
"You tore my head off when I played that prank on you. You told me, and I quote, that Yale is a big joke to me."
She tugged on the sleeves, the blouse now in place. "It is! When was the last time you attended a class?" He opened his mouth but she interrupted. "A class that you're actually signed up for."
"I go to class," he insisted. "I've even been known to take a test or two." His tone was edging toward a bitter sarcasm. She thought maybe she had upset him. She continued anyway.
"You sound very committed. Are you in your fifth year or your sixth?"
"I'm a junior," he said. "I never stayed back."
"But you took a year off."
"So?" He looked confused. "People have been known to do that."
"And people have been known to sink their daddy's yachts before returning?"
He shook his head, his familiar smile back in place. "That's just a rumor. The only reason it started is because I came back without it. But that wasn't my fault. The police wouldn't release it from the impound. They said something about them needing it for evidence."
Her eyes widened.
"I'm kidding! Do you have a sense of humor in that uptight body of yours?" he asked. "Because you seem to take everything entirely too serious."
"I take things too seriously?" she asked, a hand on her chest. She couldn't believe this! "Yeah, maybe I take things like college and my future a little serious. I couldn't imagine why."
"Oh, here we go."
"I worked for years to get where I am now. I've dreamt of nothing but college since I was a little girl. I know what I want to do, where I want to be." She ran a hand through her hair, frustrated as her rant intensified. "I've wanted to be an overseas correspondent since I was seven and asked someone what all those men and women on CNN were called. I'm preparing myself for my career, and I don't need someone like you who thinks everything is just one huge joke messing that up for me!"
"You're kidding, right?" She scowled, something that did not fit with the Rory Gilmore persona.
He took a step closer, his expression suddenly very serious. "You think you're going to learn everything you need to know inside a classroom?" he asked. "You think teachers and tests prepare you for the real world? College isn't just about studying and getting the grades. If you don't experience what college is really supposed to be like, then when you graduate, you're going to fail."
She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Tears stung her eyes but she blinked them back.
"Think about it," he said before turning on his heel and walking out.
("Why that little son of a – "
"He's right, you know," Rory admitted quietly.
"Oh, Rory. You're not going to fail. If you don't get the grades, how are you going to make it out of there?"
"But everything he said – he's right. There's more to life.")
When she entered the living room, she was still shaken. Her skin felt hot and her head hurt from the bottled up emotion she didn't know how to express.
The furniture had been pushed to different sides of the room to clear a huge area in the middle. A group of people sat in a circle, playing another sort of party game. Finn noticed Rory's arrival and invited her to sit down next to him. As she sank into the free spot, a tall tree trunk of a man was asking Logan if he wanted truth or dare. Rory rolled her eyes. How old were they again?
"Dare," Logan answered.
"I dare you to kiss Bella."
The blonde from the 'I've Never' game smiled deviously.
"For god's sakes, another kissing dare?" Colin asked.
His protest went ignored as Bella crawled across the circle, her movements catlike. She climbed directly into Logan's lap and kissed him hard, knocking him back. Everybody except Rory laughed at the sight. Rory just sighed.
When Bella had returned to her place and Logan had stopped grinning like a jackass, he looked over at Rory.
"Truth or dare?" he asked.
"Truth," she answered without hesitation. She knew what she wanted to do next; she needed to get her turn out of the way first.
"Name the most interesting place you've had sex. If you have, that is."
He was vindictive when he was angry, Rory realized. Fine, she could play this game. "A dance studio," she answered simply.
Logan cocked his head to the side, obviously surprised. "Really?"
"Like a club?" Stephanie asked.
"Like a dance studio," Rory said. "My turn now, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Logan said. "Go ahead."
"Okay, Logan. Truth or dare."
He didn't hesitate. "Dare."
"I dare you to kiss…" She glanced around the circle, even though she already knew whom she would pick.
"Oh great, we're back to this," Colin mumbled.
"Finn," Rory said. "I dare you to kiss Finn."
("What now?" Lorelai asked. "Finn. My Finn?"
"Yep."
"Finn's a… boy. Right?"
Rory nodded. "Yep."
"And last time I checked, Logan… a boy?"
"Yep."
"Huh."
Rory snickered. "Yeah.")
Colin came to life at Rory's challenge. "Finally, something interesting."
Finn began to crawl across the circle mimicking Bella's movements. Logan kicked him as soon as he got close.
"There's no need for violence, Logan!" Finn exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot.
"You're not touching me," Logan stated very clearly.
Rory raised a hand. "I dared you though."
"Yeah, Logan. She dared you." Finn sidled up next to his friend. "Don't blow this out of proportion."
"Come on, Logan," Rory said, smiling. "Live a little."
She had never seen him look so angry before. Hell, she had never seen Logan angry period. It was unnerving. She had never given a thought to what he would do if he ever applied his intensity to something other than her happiness.
Finn grinned cheekily before puckering up his lips. Logan rolled his eyes and leaned forward. He had barely touched his lips to Finn's when Finn grabbed his face and tackled him to the ground.
"Get off me, man!" Logan shouted, dodging Finn's searching mouth.
Rory laughed along with the rest of the crowd. This was the happiest she had been all night. Before Logan could escape Finn and punish her for this, she disappeared into the kitchen.
("You are evil," Lorelai decided.
"I know." Rory winced, hiding her face in her hands. "Maybe that water did have something in it after all…"
"You are terrible!"
"I know! I feel so bad about it. Stop rubbing it in."
"Oh, sweetie, I am so proud of you."
Rory raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"You're turning out to be just like me!")
Rory had the kitchen to herself. She couldn't leave yet – unfortunately, Logan was her ride. She considered calling a cab until she found a two-week-old Star Magazine and decided to flip through it and wait out the rest of the party. She sat at the kitchen table and began to read, the living room falling eerily quiet.
Nearly ten minutes passed before a loud burst of 'ooh's' and 'ah's' exploded from the truth and dare group. Rory looked up from her magazine and found Logan standing in the doorway. She stood up and walked away from him, not wanting to get into an argument.
"Rory, come on," he said, grabbing her wrist before she could bolt. He maneuvered her against one of the counters, so her escape path was blocked.
"You still mad?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied curtly.
He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I was only trying to give you some advice."
She folded her arms across her chest, looking away from him. From the living room, she heard a drunken laugh.
"I wasn't trying to insult you."
"I think…" She took a breath, still hugging herself. "I think I'm angry with you because you're right."
"Really." His familiar smug smile appeared. "Well."
"Don't do that," she warned.
He held his hands up in defense. "I'm not doing anything!" He paused, deciding to give her a break. "I'm in here on a dare."
"Oh?" she asked, happy for the change in subject. "What do you have to do?"
"Steph dared me to kiss you."
Rory's mouth went dry as she tried to formulate a response. No words came out.
"She said she wanted to make sure my masculinity stayed intact, so she dared me," he explained.
"That was very thoughtful of her."
"And you can't back out of a dare," he pointed out. S
he gripped the counter behind her. "I've heard."
"So?" he asked, taking a step forward. He put a hand on the side of her face, leaning close.
("You two have been sitting here for a half hour, and have yet to order anything."
"Luke!" Lorelai yelped. "You ruined it! You ruined the moment!"
"Moment?" he asked. "What moment? You and Rory were having a moment?"
"No," Lorelai replied pointedly. "Rory and Logan." She enunciated the boy's name as if it should ring a bell with Luke. It didn't, of course.
"Logan?" Luke paused. "You hiding a boy underneath the table? Because I told you that you couldn't do that anymore. Not after Kirk got stepped on and broke a toe."
"Um, no," Lorelai said. "There is no hidden boy. Rory is telling me about last night and her first kiss with a rich socialite and you interrupted!" She sighed. "Don't you remember our first kiss?"
Luke grunted. "Vaguely."
"Don't you remember the way you felt? The rush of feeling, the magic?"
Luke frowned, sticking the order pad into his back pocket. "There was magic?"
"Yes. And stars."
"Stars?" Luke asked.
Lorelai rolled her eyes and pulled out her mistletoe. "Let me remind you." She stood and held the mistletoe over Luke's head. Luke stared at her as if she was crazy before giving her a quick peck on the lips.
"Oh, come on? What was that?" Lorelai yelled after him, as he disappeared into the kitchen. "There were no stars!"
She sat back down and looked at Rory. "Now, where we were? I believe someone was leaning?")
The scene registered bit by bit, smaller pieces falling into place to form the bigger picture. His mouth was sweet and chaste as it moved against hers, then inviting as he touched his tongue to her lips. She lay a hand over his collarbone, followed its slope through the fabric of his shirt. When she reached his neck, his pulse jumped beneath her fingertips.
He pulled away, kissing the corner of her mouth as he did so. He stared down at her and she stared back, their words a jumble in the air between them.
Then he slipped off his shirt.
("I'm sorry!"
"Wait, wait," Rory said. "Don't interrupt.")
"Logan?" she asked.
"That wasn't the dare," he told her. "Steph dared me to run around outside in the snow," he explained. "Naked."
"And this?" Rory asked.
"I wanted to see if you'd do it."
Her confusion quickly dissolved into anger. "I can't believe you. You just – you – "
"Relax, Ace," he said quietly. "I'm glad you did."
He touched her shoulder, dragged a finger down her arm and grinned. "I'll see you later," he said, as he began to unzip his pants. "Try not to stare." He winked and headed down the hallway and into the waiting crowd.
-
"Oh my god."
"Mom."
"Oh my god!" She paused, reconsidered what she wanted to say and then, "Oh my god! This boy – I – I can't decide if I like him or not."
"Neither can I!" Rory angrily shoved a piece of hair behind her ear. "I don't know what to think of him. Sometimes he can be nice, other times he's arrogant, selfish, and unbelievably rude. Then he kisses me and runs around naked in the snow! What does that mean?"
Lorelai smiled. "I think that means he has a crush on you."
Rory frowned, uncomfortable with the thousands of thoughts now racing through her head. She wasn't his type and he certainly wasn't hers. He liked girls like Bella; promiscuous and easygoing. He liked spending his weekends at these parties and his weekdays at the pub. He couldn't find a balance between his carefree attitude and the need to be serious. He was not for her.
"No. No way," Rory insisted.
"And I think this means," Lorelai began, ignoring her daughter's protests, "that you have a crush on him too."