Chapter 10
The Escape
Logan knew that it would take more than a little sucking up to win over Luke. From what he assumed, Luke had been the father figure for Rory. He wanted to impress Luke, but he knew that it would take a lot of time and he hoped that Rory would give him that. This was not the only issue that was tormenting Logan, however. He wanted to make sure that Rory knew who the real Logan was, not the one who's reputation precedes him. He wanted to get Rory alone for a while so they could begin to understand each other outside of personalities that their friends and family pegged them as. Logan knew that away from Finn and Colin he was an entirely different person, and he could only assume that Rory's mother had a similar impact on her behavior. School was to start in a mere two weeks, and Logan felt that it would be a perfect time to get away with Rory for a while and spend some time with one another before the hectic demands of Yale began affecting their relationship.
After Rory and Logan finished eating with Lorelai, Logan asked if Rory would do him the honors of giving him a tour of the town. He wanted to get to know the place where she grew up and hear her memories of the town. Rory was happy to take Logan around town, and she was ecstatic that he was interested.
"You two have fun," Lorelai said. "I don't expect it will take too long to get the complete tour, so do you want to meet back at home around 7ish for pizza and a movie marathon?"
"I don't know if Logan is ready for a movie night with the Gilmore's." Luke said smiling.
"I am sure I can handle it." Logan responded.
"Well, we have only been official for a day now, it may be a little early to introduce him to that side of me." Rory said laughing.
"That side of you? Now I have to go!" Logan said.
"Luke will you be joining us?" Rory asked.
"Oh, um, yeah. As long as we are not watching Pippi Longstockings again." Luke said.
"I am not even going to comment on that last statement." Lorelai said. "Anyway, Rory why don't you stop by the movie store and pick up a few flicks and go to Dosse's and get the usual."
"Sounds good. See you guys at 7." Rory said, getting up.
Logan said his goodbyes and left Luke's with Rory.
"So I don't think Luke likes me too much." Logan said to Rory.
"I am so sorry about that. He is really protective, but just be yourself and I know you will win him over." Rory said giving him a small hug.
"I hope you are right…for my own health." Logan said laughing. "Anyway, where to first my lovely tour guide?"
"I was thinking we could go to some of my favorite places around town and we could go visit my friend Lane and then depending on the time, grab some coffee before heading home for movie night." Rory said.
"That sounds great. I am really looking forward to seeing the place you grew up." Logan said seriously.
"I am glad that you want to learn about it." Rory said. "But…there are a few things that I should warn you about."
"Warn me about? Should I be worried?" Logan said with a nervous smile.
"Not really, it is just that most of the people I grew up with are a little…quirky." Rory started. "I would advise you to stay away from Miss Patty, Babette, and Kirk, just to name a few."
"I do hope you will give me fair warning when you see any of the aforementioned approaching?" Logan asked.
"Oh yes, don't worry, I will try to save you if I see them coming." Rory said smiling. "Never mind, too late."
"Oh hello there dear." Rory heard Miss Patty yell to Rory.
Instinctively Rory grabbed Logan's hand and smiled at her. "Hi Miss Patty!" Rory yelled back.
Miss Patty slowly made her way over towards Rory and Logan. Rory could see her looking Logan up and down with a small smile on her face. "Who is your handsome friend?" She asked as she came nearer.
"Miss Patty, this is my boyfriend Logan." Rory answered, not wanting to have this conversation with the biggest town gossip. She knew that it would only take a matter of minutes for the entire town to hear about Logan, and she was afraid that the news would spread to Dean.
"Why hello there Logan." Miss Patty said seductively. "The Gilmore Girls have always had such wonderful taste in men."
"Nice to meet you Miss Patty. Rory was actually just talking about you. It is nice to put a face to the name." Logan said as he gave her a quick kiss on her hand.
"Oh I hope that she was telling you nothing but positive news." Miss Patty said.
"Of course. She was telling me how much of a role you played in her life growing up." Logan said, easily covering for what Rory had said to him earlier.
"Well everyone in this town has loved Rory from the beginning. She is such a sweetheart. I hope that you take care of her, if not, the entire town will know about it." She said with a laugh.
"You have nothing to worry about Miss Patty. I know that she is an amazing girl, I can't believe how lucky I am to be with her." He said, hugging Rory's shoulders.
"Well Miss Patty, we should get going, I promised I would give Logan a tour of the town before we go home for movie night." Rory said.
"You two love birds have fun now." Miss Patty said, giving Logan one final smoothing glance.
As she walked away, Rory looked back towards Logan. She smiled at the way he was able to handle the situation. "Sorry about that. I promised I would give you fair warning, she just sprung up on me."
"I don't think Miss Patty does a lot of springing up anywhere." Logan said laughing. "Does she flirt with all of your boyfriends like that?"
"Does she flirt?" Rory questioned. "You were the one kissing her hand! I thought I would have to dump you right then and there." Rory said laughing.
"I was only playing along with her. I did not think she was seriously hitting on me! I thought it was all a game. So you are telling me that it was not?" Logan asked.
"Oh no, she flirts with all the guys we bring around. She is a very interesting woman. In her day she was in practically every Broadway play. She loves to talk about it, so if you are interested we can go to her dance studio and she can tell us stories." Rory said smiling.
"As intriguing as that sounds, I think I would rather save that for another time." Logan said laughing.
"Okay, I will keep that in mind." Rory said. Her heart flipped as he talked about future visits to her hometown. She could not believe that Logan was telling Miss Patty of all people how much he cared about her. Logan was definitely proving all of Rory's worries wrong. She could only hope that their relationship would continue on this path, because Rory was definitely beginning to enjoy what they shared.
"I was thinking that we could go to the local bookstore. I am waiting for some out of print books to come in that I ordered the last time I was home." Rory said, hoping he would not mind running an errand with her.
"That sounds like a plan to me." Logan said.
The two of them made the quick journey to the book shop and entered the cramped store in a matter of minutes. Rory approached the counter and asked Andrew what the word was on her books.
"Sorry Rory, I was only able to get two of the books you wanted. I don't think the other ones will be possible to get here for you." He told her.
"Oh, well thanks anyway Andrew." Rory said, obviously disappointed.
She paid for the two books and then went to find Logan. He had disappeared somewhere in the cramped store. She found him looking in the classics section. "Please tell me it is not Hemmingway." Rory said.
"Hell no, Hemmingway is entirely overrated." Luke responded.
"Louis, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship" Rory said laughing.
"I was hoping for an affair to remember." Logan responded. "So I take it you are not a Hemmingway fan either?"
"I could not agree more with your review of his work." Rory said with a smile. "Anyway, are you ready to continue our tour? It is already 5, we don't have much time."
"Lead the way my dear." Logan said grabbing Rory's hand.
"I talked to Lane earlier, and her band is practicing today, so I thought we may want to check them out and then you can meet her." Rory said.
"That sounds like it would be fun." Logan said, looking forward to meeting this Lane he has heard so much about.
"Right, well let's head over there, and then we can grab some ice cream from the Soda Shoppe and then get our sustenance for the movie marathon." Rory said sounding excited.
Rory and Logan entered the garage interrupting yet another band feud.
"There is no way I am going to play that song!" Zach yelled at Brian.
"Yeah man, playing Chicago would be like totally selling out." Gil agreed.
"But guys, it is a paying gig; we need all the cash we can get." Brian retorted.
"And if you don't remember, we have been short of cash for the past few weeks." Lane reminded them.
As entertaining the argument they were having was, Rory could not help but laugh and thus distract them.
"Rory! Hey, I did not see you come in." Lane said, laying down her drum sticks and walking up to her.
"Hey Lane. So what are you guys fighting about now?" Rory asked.
"Zach and Gil agree that if we take the gig at a class reunion and play Chicago we would be selling out." Lane tried to explain.
"Why do you have to play Chicago anyway?" Rory asked.
"Because 'You're My Inspiration' was the theme of the class of '85's prom. They want to make sure we play that lame song at their reunion." Zach said.
"You guys are looking at this all wrong." Rory tried to explain. "Remember the time you had to play 'Believe It Or Not' For Jackson's Inauguration? You guys rocked. So why can't you take this Chicago song and liven it up. Do to it what Hendrix did to the National Anthem."
"DUDE, did I not say that exact same thing before we played that?" Gil yelled.
"Yeah, you totally did." Zach grinned. "Wow Rory, you are a totally cool groupie."
"Well thank you. So are you going to punk up the song?" Rory asked.
"Hell yeah! We are going to show Chicago how Stars Hallow ROCKS!" Brian yelled.
"Umm, yeah. Anyway Rory, who is your friend?" Lane said looking towards Logan.
"Remember me telling you about Logan?" Rory asked.
"I thought you hated him and he was the bane of your existence?" Lane questioned.
"The bane of your existence hu?" Logan asked in mock hurt.
"Well, you were quite the irritant." Rory said to him. "Anyway Lane, things have sort of changed between us."
"Explain Gilmore." Lane said looking from Rory to Logan.
"Well, we are sort of dating." Rory concluded.
"'Sort of dating?' Gee Ace, when I tell my friends that we are going out I hope I make it sound better than that." Logan said laughing at her.
"So you guys are together? Like boyfriend-girlfriend together?" Lane asked.
"Yes, since yesterday." Rory said, she could not help but break out in a grin.
"Oh that is so cute! I am so happy for you. I am glad you are finally with someone new, I was really getting sick of all the Stars Hallow drama." Lane exclaimed. "Oh by the way, I am Lane, Rory's best friend." Lane said, sticking out her hand for Logan to shake.
"It is very nice to finally meet you Lane. Rory tells me a lot about you and your extraordinary music tastes." Logan said.
"Well music has been my only escape from the Kim household since the age of four, so I have had a while to develop my taste." Lane said grinning.
"Are you guys going to stay for rehearsal? I think we are going to play the Chicago tune a few times and then call it a night." Lane said.
"I definitely want to hear this." Logan said laughing.
"Cool, pull up a carton and have a seat." Lane said pointing to the crates in the corner of the garage.
Zach sounded it off and began singing in a slow melodic voice, "You know our love was meant to be/the kid of love that lasts forever/and I need you here with me/from tonight and forever." The band suddenly stopped playing for a brief moment and then began the song again, this time with a much heavier punk rock tone: "Always on my mind/in my heart/in my soul baby…" The rest of the song proceeded in a similar tone. When the song concluded, both Rory and Logan stood up and gave them a standing ovation.
"Wow, I never knew Chicago could rock that hard." Logan said.
"Dude, that was awesome! That is the way it should have been played the first time around." Gil agreed.
"So does this mean we can take the gig?" Lane asked the band.
"I think that it is a good possibility." Zach answered.
"Hey Lane, you guys sounded great. Logan and I have to get going though." Rory said standing up.
"Thanks for stopping by Rory. And call me later okay?" Lane said with a tone that meant Rory had some explaining to do.
"Okay, bye guys." Rory said to the rest of the band.
"It was nice meeting you all. You sounded great. Good luck at the reunion." Logan said as they left.
"I have to admit they were really good." Logan said as they left the garage.
"Would you expect me to have bad taste in music?" Rory asked?
"Not at all, I just did not know what kind of music your friend's band would play. I was scared it would be some kind of pop-rock. This was way more Ramones than Creed." Logan said.
"If you ever called Lane's band Creed I think they would castrate you." Rory said laughing.
"I got that impression after hearing their rendition of 'You're the Inspiration.'" Logan said.
"So are you in the mood for some ice cream?" Rory asked.
"I am always in the mood for ice cream. It is one of my favorite food groups." Logan said smiling.
"Great, because I know where we can get the greatest Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate ice cream ever." Rory said smiling.
As Rory and Logan entered the Soda Shoppe, a smiling Taylor greeted them. "If it isn't Stars Hallow's own Ice Cream Queen!" He said going up to Rory.
"Ice cream queen?" Logan whispered to Rory questioningly.
"Long story. If you are lucky some day I will tell you about it." Rory whispered back. "Hey Taylor. Could we get two cones of Triple Chocolate?" Rory asked.
"Sugar or waffle cone?" Taylor responded.
"Sugar please." Rory said. "What about you Logan?"
"I will have sugar as well." Logan said.
As if only noticing Logan at that point, Taylor looked up from his scooping to acknowledge Rory's guest. "Who is your friend Rory?" He asked looking Logan up and down.
"This is Logan. Logan this is Taylor Dosse." Rory said.
"It is nice to meet you Logan. Do you go to Yale with our Rory?" Taylor asked.
"Yes, we met through the newspaper." Logan said, which was only half the truth.
"It is nice to see someone with similar passions as Rory. Well aside from that Paris girl." Taylor said.
"Yes, Rory and I have a lot in common." Logan said, smiling at Rory.
"Thanks for the ice cream Taylor." Rory said as she paid for the two cones. "I will see you at the next town meeting." She said leaving.
"Does this entire town know your life history?" Logan asked as they walked out of the store.
"It is hard not to. We are an incredibly small town, and with people like Miss Patty spreading all the latest gossip, it usually takes a matter of minutes for the entire town to learn the latest news." Rory explained. "I am sure that everyone here now knows that my new boyfriend is visiting."
"So why are they all playing it cool?" Logan asked.
"Who knows? I never said I knew the thinking behind the town, I just know its logistics." Rory said laughing. "They probably have some sort of ulterior motif. They all most likely enjoy watching my new Yale friend squirm."
"Well, as much fun as that all sounds, it is 6:30 now and I think we should get the stuff your mom asked for so we will be back by 7." Logan said, hoping to change the subject from the townspeople's reaction to him.
"Okay, well Dosse's is just across the street, so lets stop by there first and then pick up the movies on the way back to my house." Rory said.
Rory and Logan entered Dosse's again hand in hand while licking their ice cream cones. Rory motioned for Logan to pick up a basket for their food and she continued her way towards the junk food isle.
"Okay, we are going to need some popcorn, caramel, M&Ms, licorice, peanut butter, marshmallows and some chocolate bars." Rory said as she grabbed the things off the shelf and threw them in the basket. "I think that should do it. I am pretty sure that we still have some stuff left at home too." Rory said, worried that she did not grab enough food.
"Yeah, this looks like it could feed an army as it is." Logan said laughing.
"Tisk-tisk Huntzberger. You have no clue how the Gilmore's eat." Rory said laughing.
"Well if you need anything else though out the night I promise that I will get it for you." Logan said.
"Oh no, no." Rory said. "You don't understand. Once the movie marathon commences, there is to be no interruptions. This includes telephone calls and trips to the market." Rory said.
"I did not realize that you had rules regarding this." Logan said smiling.
"Oh yes, we take movie night very, very seriously." Rory explained with a straight face. "We are running out of time, let's hurry out of here and go get the movies." Rory said, hoping that they would escape before running into Dean. Unfortunately as Rory and Logan rounded the corner of the isle and made their way towards the registers they smacked right into him.
"Uh Dean. Hi." Rory said awkwardly. "I don't know if you remember Logan." She said, gesturing to the guy whose hand she was holding.
"Yeah, I think you were at the party at the Gilmore's." Dean said gruffly.
"Yeah, I helped out Ace at that party." Logan said, not knowing how to act around Dean.
"I am sure you did." Dean said looking more mad than hurt.
"Well it was great seeing you again Dean." Rory said hurriedly. "My mom is waiting, so we should get going."
"Yeah, whatever Rory." Dean said, turning away.
Rory could not help but look a little hurt after the encounter with her ex.
"Are you doing okay?" Logan asked as they made their way to the video store.
"I think so. I just did not want to run into him there. I have not really spoken to him since that night, and things ended so suddenly. I know that things were coming to an end for the past few months…but the reality did not set in until that night at my grandparent's." Rory tried to explain.
"I know Rory." Logan said as he put his arm around her waist. "I figured that running into him would shake you up a bit. I hope you are not regretting anything though." Logan asked seriously.
"I would never regret anything that has to do with you and me." Rory said. "Things between me and Dean were going nowhere, and if it weren't for you I would still be with him miserable." Rory said. "I think you are one of the best things that could have happened to me."
"I know you are the best thing that happened to me." Logan said. "I have something that I want to run by you, and I want to talk to you about it before we go back to your mom's." Logan said, looking really nervous.
"Should this worry me?" Rory asked. "You seem a little edgy."
"No, this is good news, I hope." Logan said. "I was thinking that because we still have a couple weeks left of break, I thought you may want to take a little vacation with me." Logan said.
"A vacation?" Rory asked. A little shocked that he was asking her to go away with him after dating for a grand total of one day.
"Well, my parents have an apartment in New York, and they are planning on selling it before the summer because they never stay there anymore. My dad says he would rather stay in a hotel when he goes to New York now and it is too much work maintaining an apartment they only use a few times a year. So they told me that I should get any use of it now while we still own it. I really love New York, especially at this time of the year, and I would like to share it with you." Logan said.
"Wow, you want me to stay in your parent's apartment in New York with you?" Rory asked in shock.
"Well, my parents won't be there, they are actually spending the next few weeks in London. But yeah, we can spend as much or as little time there as you would like." Logan said hopefully.
"New York City." Rory said in disbelief. "You want me to go to New York City with you."
"You can take some time to think about it." Logan said, hoping she would not turn him down immediately.
"I don't have to think about it." Rory said.
"Oh, okay" Logan said looking a little depressed.
"Of course I would like to go to New York with you!" Rory said dropping the bag of groceries in her hand and embracing him in a huge hug. Logan dropped his head down so that their lips connected. Rory deepened the kiss, allowing his tongue to plunge deep inside her mouth. His soft lips lingered on hers for a while longer and Logan stepped back, needing to distance himself from her for a minute to gather his thoughts.
"So you really want to go?" Logan asked unsure.
"Oh my God yes! When can we go? Can we stay until school starts? Will I get my own room? Where in New York are we going? Do you have anything planned for us to do? Are you going to drive there?" Rory rambled.
"Calm down, calm down." Logan said laughing. "Are you sure your mom is going to be okay with this?"
"I will convince her, don't worry about that." Rory said with a gleam in her eye.
"So do you want to leave tomorrow?" He asked her.
"Yes! I will have to go back to school and pack some stuff, but that should not take too long." Rory said excitedly.
Rory and Logan continued walking down the street towards the video store as Dean watched the interaction take place on the street from Dosse's. He clenched his fist as he saw Rory kiss him. He knew that he broke up with her, but Rory would always have a strong hold on him. He realized that she was happy now, and he would not be able to make her happy again, but he still wished it was him that she was with.