So here's chapter 2! Thank you guys sooooo much for the reviews! When I first checked them, I was so scared that they would be nothing but criticism! But they weren't! They were all good! This is my first FF but I've read a bunch of others and I'm always thinking 'jeeze, why do these people flip out over the reviews that they get?' but now I know why! Oh, and thanks a lot for help on the word "gossips"! I didn't think that you guys would actually help me on that so now I am kind of embarrassed (omg, I'm even blushing a little!) but anyway, I should get on with the story…..(oh and yes, I might raise the rating if juicy stuff comes along, but that won't happen for a few chapters )

Chapter 2

She Loved…

The next 4 days passed in a surreal blur. Christmas was always a festive holiday in Stars Hollow. Miss. Patty had her dance students rehearse for their Christmas recital, Kirk (in a desperate attempt to be "festive") annoyed everyone more then normal, and, once again, Taylor Doose a tried to get Luke to decorate the diner.

"Please Luke-"

"No! And I'm not saying it again!"

"But this place looks so…un-Christmas like! It'd only be for one single day! For god's sake, it's Christmas Eve! Christmas is about decorating! It's about celebrating! It's about tradition-"

"And my tradition is that I'll never decorate this place! EVER!"

"Luke,"

"Besides, Christmas isn't about Santa Clause and all that cheesy, commercial stuff! That's all fake! Christmas is really supposed to be about-"

The doorbells jingled as Lorelai entered for her daily afternoon coffee.

"About what, Luke?" Taylor pestered.

"Goodbye, Taylor," Luke mumbled.

"But,"

"Goodbye, Taylor," Luke said, slightly raising his voice.

"Oh, sure! Drop everything and run to Lorelai the second she steps foot in…"

Luke ignored him and started to walk over to where Lorelai was draping her coat over the chair and sitting down at her usual table. It was hers and Rory's usual table, as Luke observed.

"Do I even want to try to prevent you from rotting out you insides?"

"Not unless you are willing to accept, once and for all, that coffee will actually make me live longer then I would without it!" Lorelai played back, pretending to be all dramatic.

"Or, you could accept that tea is-"

"The worst substance on earth? Gladly!" Lorelai flashed Luke a smile. The smile that made his body go entirely weak. Luke poured her a fresh cup of coffee. Their eyes met.

'Wow' Lorelai thought 'Have Luke's eyes always looked so…so…blue?' Lorelai had to glance away, because if she didn't, she might get eternally lost in that sea of blue.

Luke was glad that inviting Lorelai to spend Christmas with him had really made her cheer up. But deep down, in a place where only Luke could really see, there was still a hint of sadness. Luke waged an inner battle on whether or not to bring up the subject to remind her that she wasn't alone, or if bringing it up would only hurt her even more. Luke eventually left her to help with the other customers.

Lorelai silently sipped her coffee. She had originally expected that sitting in Luke's, alone with her own thoughts, would only make her hurt more. But as she sat in Luke's Diner, she surprisingly found herself thinking about how much she loved this place. She loved the coffee. She loved the food. She loved the homeliness it had. She loved-

Lorelai's cell phone range, disrupting her thoughts. Luke noticed but didn't have the heart to point out the 'no cell phones allowed' sign.

"Uh-huh…..ok…..I'll be right there." Luke heard her say. She got Christmas off, but today, she still to do a few last minute things at the inn.

"Luke! I, uh, have to go." She called.

" 'Kay…..so I guess I'll see you tomorrow…around 3-ish?"

"Great!...and, um, Luke?'

"Mmm-hmm?"

"I really can't thank you enough for doing this for me…" Lorelai smiled shyly.

"You mean for clearing your plate?" Luke questioned.

"No! You know what I mean!" Lorelai's smile was large and apparent now. Luke liked it. He smiled back.

"Bye, Lorelai."

"Bye!"

xxx

The sun shone brightly through Lorelai's window. It was winter, but it still was a sunny day. Lorelai blinked and through drowsy eyes looked over at her Hello Kitty calendar which read: HELLO December 25th!

The word 'CHRISTMAS' instantly popped into Lorelai's head.

"RORY WAKE UP ITS CHRI-"

Rory. Reality hit Lorelai like a big, yellow, school bus. Rory wasn't here. Rory was a Yale. Lorelai wouldn't see Rory until the 28th.

But she could still talk to her. Lorelai sat up in bed and reached for the phone, which started ringing the instant, Lorelai touched it.

"Hello?" Lorelai answered.

"Mom!" Rory cried into the phone.

"Hey! I was just picking up the phone to call you!"

"You know what that means…" Rory put on a mysterious voice.

"You can dial a phone number faster then me?" Lorelai asked in a sleepy voice.

"No! We must be psychic!"

"Oh! Like gypsies!"

"We should start one of those fortune telling booths!"

"And have tons of costumers!"

"Yeah, and be world famous!"

"And make lots of money!"

"And spend lots of money!"

The possibilities went on and on until they both forgot what had started the conversation in the first place.

"So, anyway, Merry Christmas, Mom."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Hon."

"I'm really sorry I'm not there"

"Don't be," Lorelai hesitated before adding "Besides, I have plans for today."

"But I thought Sookie was out of town…"

"Oh, yeah, right, I couldn't possibly have plans because Sookie, my only friend in the whole stupid world is out of town!" Lorelai sarcastically said.

"Oops, sorry! So what are your plans?'

"I'm going to this kind of festival-like thing with Luke. Liz and TJ are going too." Lorelai wasn't exactly sure why she'd added the part about Liz and TJ so hastily. Was it to tone down the fact that she was going with….Luke?

"Oh, with Luke?" Rory asked, ignoring Liz and TJ. "Is this like a date?' Rory's voice was extremely bubbly.

"No, its not." Lorelai said, imitating Rory's perky tone.

"Sure," Rory said, slightly sarcastically, "But that is really sweet of Luke to do something to cheer you up on Christmas."

"Yeah. It is pretty nice of him." Lorelai found herself smiling uncontrollably.

The two of them talked for about a half an hour until Rory had to go. Next, Lorelai ambled down stairs and made herself a cup of coffee. She watched some TV Christmas specials. More coffee. More TV. Sookie called, which gave Lorelai a little feeling of Christmas happiness. Unfortunately, Sookie couldn't talk long, so Lorelai went back to her Christmas morning. More TV. More coffee.

She decided to get dressed (she was still in her pajamas) at one 'o'clock. Even though Luke wouldn't be there until three, she wanted to do something to remind herself that she was doing something for Christmas. She pulled on her jeans very slowly, just to waste time. She also put on a red sweater over a tee-shirt. She went downstairs and sat on the couch for a bit. Lorelai glanced at the clock. 1:27. "Go faster!" Lorelai moaned at the clock. She went back upstairs and curled her hair with Rory's curling iron. Back downstairs. 1:59. Lorelai put on her coat, hat, scarf and gloves. She didn't need them now but she would because the festival was outside. Back downstairs. 2:11.

Lorelai knew that time seemed to slow down when you were anxiously awaiting something, but what was anxiously awaiting? Seeing Luke? She saw Luke every single day, so this wasn't any different, right? Lorelai looked at the clock. It was only 2:14 now.

Lorelai went upstairs again. This time to do her make-up. She applied her make-up just like she always did, but she felt that she looked kind of plain.

'Am I trying to look prettier just because I'm going on a date with Luke?'

Lorelai dropped her mascara. Did she just say date? Well, technically, she didn't say it, she had thought it, but all the same, she had used the word 'date'.

'This is just a friendly….well what was it exactly? Well, it wasn't a date, that's for sure!'

Lorelai told herself over and over again that it wasn't a date. Each time she said it though, it sounded less and less true.

Slightly annoyed at herself and her weird thoughts, Lorelai went back downstairs, sat on the couch, and tapped her foot anxiously until there was a knock on the door at precisely 3:01.

Lorelai sighed and slowly stood up. As she walked to get the door, she felt a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even though she regretted it, Lorelai knew exactly what the feeling was. It was the feeling you get right before a first date.

TBC!

Please review, since now I'm such a big fan of your comments! I'm sick today so I might even update the next chapter now, since I have so much time on my hands! Yay for sickness! Well, actually, not total YAY for sickness because it sucks. My friend, who I probably caught it from, now has PNEUMONIA! I really don't want pneumonia! So yay for you, boo for me! I'll try to update soon.