Title: Just Can't Get Away

Author: GrapeSmshr

Coupling: RoryFinn

Rated: PG

Posted on: 2-15-05

Thanks to: otownroxx, my lovely sis (who is a true GG addict), for helping me out. And loookylooky, I kept 'jaunt!'

A/N: This is rapidly becoming one of my fave ships, I think. Which is hilarious to me since I took my characterization of Finn pretty much from other fics and not the show; I didn't really remember him from any eps. Stupid holiday hiatus! Grr! Anyway... So yeah, here is my second posted GG fic, my first RoryFinn. Read on and enjoy!

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Chapter 1: The Concept of Alone

Sitting at a study table in Sterling Memorial, Rory Gilmore tucked an unruly strand of hair behind her ear as her eyes moved eagerly over a large and rather dusty book. As academically inclined as she was, it was a rarity when she received an assigned paper topic that actually had her enthused. Such was the reason she had been in the library for over three hours on a gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon.

It was the perfect time to do research. Besides her, the current population of the library included the librarian, the janitor, and another student across the room. He appeared to be sleeping, if the soft snores were anything to measure by.

So engrossed was she in her reading that she failed to notice another presence, one who was in front of her and trying to tear her away from the intimidating and most assumedly boring tome.

"Rory." No answer. "Rory." Again no answer. Then, with a sly smile, "Hey, Ace."

Sighing in irritation, she growled, "Listen, Huntzberger, I'm really not in the mood to-" Rory cut off her rant as she looked up and saw not Logan but Finn grinning jovially at her. "You're not Logan," she said dumbly, inwardly cringing as the inane comment.

"What gave it away? My dashing good looks?" He struck an Abercrombie-esque pose.

Rolling her eyes at his antics, she replied, "If you were Logan, you would be wearing my hot coffee right about now."

"Ouch. Burn spots are quite difficult to color coordinate with outfits. So," he said brightly, pulling out the chair next to her and scooting it over so that they were side by side, almost touching. Sitting down, he told her with an overexaggerated wink, "If I had known that all it took to gain your attention was to impersonate Logan, I would have done so a long time ago. I know! Maybe I should give you a nickname!" Rubbing his hands together, he suggested, "Sugarplum? Hmm. How about Dollface?" When she scrunched up her face in displeasure, he only shook his head sadly. "Do you have no respect for film noire? Ah, well."

"May I make a suggestion?" Rory interrupted, closing her book when she realized she would be getting no more work done. "How about you just call me Rory?"

"Excellent idea, darling!" Finn agreed enthusiastically, perhaps too much so because the librarian shot him a dirty look. He only flashed the older woman a dazzling smile before addressing Rory again. "I have another excellent idea, if you please. How about we leave this depressing library and have a jaunt about the campus?"

"Now that is a good idea." Rory gathered up her study materials and hastily strode out of the library. She was a good distance down the walkway before Finn caught up to her, panting softly.

"When I said jaunt, I wasn't referring to an impromptu marathon," he said breathlessly, inwardly cheering as she paused on the walkway. He was not a fan of unprecedented physical activity.

"And I wasn't referring to a jaunt," she said airily, shifting her books in her arms. She did love her research, yes, but she would have been more thrilled if the texts weren't so heavy! "Look, Finn, the whole point behind my going to the library was to be alone. No disturbances. Since that has been interrupted, I am off to find another quiet place to study. Alone," she emphasized pointedly.

"Ah. Right." Finn paused for a moment before asking casually, "Mind if I join you?"

Rory stared at him incredulously. Was he not just listening to her? "Alone. By myself. Is that a foreign concept to you?"

"I am from Australia. Everything is foreign to me, love."

Trying to squelch the smile that threatened, Rory said, "That is not what I meant."

"Of course not. But honestly, isn't it more fun to be alone with someone else?"

It was a losing battle. Rory Gilmore, master of wit, had met her match. "Fine," she relented, resuming her walking but at a more leisurely pace. "But now you owe me a coffee refill," she warned as she tossed her now empty drink into a nearby trash can.

"Anything you wish, darling," Finn said breezily as he fell in step beside her. A moment later he reached over and plucked the stack of books out of her arms, walking along nonchalantly as if he had done nothing at all.

Shaking her head, Rory sighed. This was bound to get interesting.

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Rory sure did call it. Her day with Finn was definitely not boring. And she had spent all day with him.

After buying the obligatory coffee, they meandered around campus, no destination in sight. By pure luck-or perhaps misfortune, in Rory's case-they stumbled upon the archery team's practice.

Utilizing his charm, Finn persuaded the team captain to let Rory and him have a go at the sport. Finn, as it turned out, was quite the archer; he hit three bullseyes in a row. Rory, whose hand-eye coordination was somewhat lacking, managed to shoot a particularly suspicious pruned hedge as well as just barely missing her own foot. She was still trying to figure that one out.

They left the archery club behind, much to the relief of Rory. She must have been looking somewhat haggard because Finn's next suggestion involved junk food and coffee and a stack of movies that put her ritualistic Movie Nights to shame. They were lucky in that Paris was at some conference for the weekend; otherwise she surely would be nagging about their wasting the day when they could be doing something academically productive.

They had only made a minuscule dent in the movie stack, had only made it halfway through The Breakfast Club when Finn announced suddenly, "I'm bored!"

"What?" Rory grabbed the remote, pausing the movie in the middle of one of Molly Ringwald's rants. "You're bored?"

"Yes, bored," he repeated impatiently, snatching the remote from her and shutting off the movie. "I'm falling asleep here. It is only"-he checked his watch-"eleven on a Saturday night, and I am falling asleep. What is wrong with this picture?"

"Well, you're the one who tagged along with me," Rory reminded him mockingly. "I was perfectly content in the library." When he only gave her sad puppy eyes, she sighed loudly and said, "All right, fine. So we need to find some energizing activity that will keep you awake."

"Energizing, hmm? What did you have in mind?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Well, it's a Saturday night. It's just the two of us, alone in the dorm with nothing to do. And we need a physical activity to keep you awake..."

Liking this train of thought, he leaned toward her interestedly.

Placing both hands on his shoulders, Rory paused before revealing enthusiastically, "Twister!"

"What?" Finn wrinkled his nose in confusion. They were going to watch a cinematograpy-challenged movie?

Jumping up from the couch, Rory ran into her room and emerged a moment later with a square box that she plunked down on the table in front of Finn. "See? Twister."

Finn tried to contain his laughter but failed dismally. Who was this girl that was suggesting they partake in such a juvenile game? "I'm sorry to disappoint, darling, but the only way that I would ever play Twister is if I had some strong libations in me."

"I thought alcohol was in your blood," Rory challenged, hands on her hips.

"Like coffee is in yours?" he countered, smirking in satisfaction when she blushed.

He thought the idea was sufficiently dismissed until Rory said, "Hold on a minute..." She went over to the mini fridge and started shuffling through its contents. "A-ha!" she cried triumphantly. "Your libations, sir." She presented him with a can of beer. When he sniffed in disdain, she pointed out, "You never specified on the alcohol. You're just lucky that someone left this here after the last floor party."

He definitely had to hand it to her. She was not going to let him off the hook. No way, no how. "Oh, if we must," he conceded finally, heaving a long-suffering sigh as he began to untie his shoes.
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And so ends chapter 1. I originally intended this to be a one-shot, but I decided to vary it up a bit. Besides, I need feedback to let me know how I'm doing. Language, charas, plot... You name it, I'm asking about it. So please review! Reviews are like peppermint cookies: one is great, but more is definitely better.

Thanks bunches for reading. Until next chapter, then. Peace out!