Disclaimer: Oh how I wish they were mine.

The Secret Admirer

Chapter 1: Back to School

"Are you ready hun?" Lorelai asked as she popped into Rory's room. Winter break just ended, which means it was time for Rory to return to Yale.

"Yeah Mom," Rory replied as she closes her last trunk. "Do you have to go straight to the Inn, or can we get some coffee from Luke's before I leave town?"

"Michel can handle it for twenty minutes. Besides, I always like to spend time with my baby."

"Oh thanks Mom. I like to spend time with you too."

"That's great sweetie, but I was talking about Luke," Lorelai flashed her daughter a sly smile.

"Ha, very funny. Unh," Rory was having trouble bringing her trunk out to her car. Lorelai hurried to help her.

"Oh my God. What is in here?!" She asked as they shuffled out the door.

"Oh, just some books. I wanted to make sure I had something to do over break, cause you are always doing who knows what with Luke."

"I know what I do with Luke, and, if you wanted to know so badly, why didn't you just ask? Last night and the night before, and before that, we were ha..."

"Ewww MOM! Gross! I do not want to hear this."

"You are the one that expressed interest."

"Mom, it's an expression. It keeps me from thinking anything...dirty about my mother. Great, you still make me do it." Rory pouted.

By this time they had put Rory's trunk in the car and they were ready to head off to Luke's for coffee. After getting coffee and saying goodbye to Lorelai, Luke, and Lane, Rory drove off to Yale for her second semester of the year.

"Paris? Are you back yet?" Rory called as she walked into the common room of her suite lugging her stuff. There was no response so Rory figured that she was first back and finished dragging her things into her room. As she opened the door she noticed that there was a package sitting on her bed. She looked at the box, but there was nothing on it to indicate who it was from. Curious, she set her bags down and grabbed a letter opener to cut open the tape. When she got it open she looked in. Seeing nothing but styrofoam peanuts she shifted through them until she hit something hard. She pulled out the frame and found that it was actually a painting; Writer's Window by Linda Paul. She was floored. Carefully placing the painting on her desk, she rummaged through the box, throwing the peanuts all over her room, searching vainly to see who it was from. All she found was a note that said 'Potere lei ha un giorno la sua propria finestra.'

"Who would send this, and what language is that even?" Rory asked aloud. She checked the box one more time to make sure that she didn't miss anything. When she came up empty she looked on the painting but all she found there was a certificate of authentication.

Just them she heard the door to the hall open so she went to see who it was, expecting to see Paris, but after the present she was a little uncertain. Her expectation was correct. Rory stopped Paris before she could go into her room. "Paris, do you know how this package got into my room?"

"Well hello to you too, Gilmore. My break was wonderful, thanks for asking. And despite what you might think, I have better things to do with my time then monitor your room and see whom among your inexhaustible supply of friends and admirers left you a new surprise. Maybe you should teach them to write so that they can leave you a note like any normal person in order to say whom it is from. But I'm sure that would take away all of the fun." Paris said with her usual sarcastic tone, then marched straight into her room and shut the door.

"I think you ate too much fruitcake Paris!" Rory yelled at her door. She decided to ignore Paris and try to focus on the problem at hand. "This would be better if I had coffee." So saying she walked out to the nearest kiosk.

There were a few people in line so she stood patiently looking around and thinking how that package had gotten into her room in the first place. She had locked her window, so someone couldn't have climbed in. Paris said she didn't know about it, so she didn't put it there. Then there was the question of who sent it.

"Ace. Did you miss me?"

Rory's stomach fluttered annoyingly at the sound of that voice. She was a little worried about him because she had not heard from him at all since she and her grandfather pulled off their little prank. She had been expecting some retaliation, but none was forthcoming. 'Oh well,' she told herself. 'Maybe he forgot about it.' Allowed she said, "Logan. I haven't heard from you in awhile. Did you have a good break?"

'She didn't answer my question,' he smirked. "It was horrendous. I was simply desolate without you. I thought my heart was breaking."

"Well, I can see that it didn't since you are still alive," Rory answered with a gesture towards his healthy appearance before ordering a grande coffee.

"No, mon amore. I am but a shell. What you see before you is all that is left." He pulled out a five then handed it over to the vender before Rory could pay for her own coffee.

"You don't have to do that. I can buy my own coffee." Logan just shrugged and walked off implying that Rory should follow.

"What are you doing right now Ace?"

"I need to start unpacking. Why?"

"You got here and went straight to get coffee, even though I am sure you got some before you left your little town. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't throw that cup away at the kiosk. Really Ace, you should see someone about that habit."

"I wasn't planning on getting coffee but Paris was yelling and I had a headache, so I went to get some."

"Ah Paris. What, her time off was that terrible that as soon as you walked in the door you were accosted? Did she throw anything at you?"

"No. It was nothing like that. I walked into my room and found a package sitting on my bed. There was no mention of who it was from, so I asked Paris if she knew anything about it and she kind of lost it." They were still walking apparently, as far was Rory could tell, without a destination.

"A package? What was in the package?" Logan seemed slightly interested besides his normal amusement.

"It was a painting. I don't know the artist, but it is beautiful. It's called Writer's Window."

"Oh. It looks like my welcome back coffee has been out done. No matter. I can fix that." Logan abruptly changed direction.

Rory stopped, causing Logan to follow suit. "Logan, where are you going? I don't feel like following you around anymore."

"I'm going to my room. You're welcome to follow if you wish," he added with a suggestive eyebrow raise and seductive smirk.

"No, I don't think so."

"In that case, I will see you soon Ace," he replied with a wink, then turned around and walked away.

'See you soon?' What was that supposed to mean?

A/NThank you everyone for reading it. I know reviews are a pain, but I want to know if anyone is reading it, so if you would just leave a msg, any kind of msg, that would great. Thanks so much.