As the two slowly pulled away Jess whispered, "I broke up with Shane today."

Rory looked up at him, surprised, "...Oh."

"Yes..." Jess looked embarrassed - a rare occurance if anyone knew him.

"So..." Rory blushed, knowing that he (and could it be that she too?) wanted her to break up with Dean so that they could finally be the couple that they should be. Thoughts drifted around in Rory's head. Dean. Jess. Dean. Jess.

Dean's smiling, trustworthy face.

Jess' secretive smile, and his gorgeous eyes.

"I-I have to go now," Rory stammered, tears streaming from her eyes. When she reached home she was relieved to see that Lorelai wasn't back from the inn yet.

Seeking solace in her room, she ran in and cried her eyes out. She was sad - so sad that she had to break up with him. He was her first kiss. Her first love. But Jess was also her now. Her everything. After half-an-hour she came up with the conclusion that she had to break up for real with Dean.

She called him on his home phone.

"Hello?"

It was Dean. She never expected him to pick up - he usually wasn't in at this time - he'd either be working or at some after-school activity. She slammed the phone down.

She lay in a foetus-like position on the bed, as her tears eventually dried up and her nose turned back its normal colour. By this time, Lorelai was home and she cried out cheerily, "Hi, Rory! I'm back!" She poked her head into Rory's room, smiling, "How was your day?"

Rory looked at Lorelai, contemplating whether to tell the truth - essentially, yes - she should have told her Mum - she was, after all, her best friend in the whole wide world - heck, she had brought Rory into the world! And up to this point - yes, they had told each other everything. Rory wondered if it was time to break the unspoken bond of sharing everything with each other.

"It was fine," Rory said glumly, her still-puffy eyes concealed behind her long brown fringe.

"Okay!" Lorelai bounded off, seemingly in an extremely good mood.

Rory turned back to the phone. It was just sitting there - Dean was on Speed Dial 2, after Lorelai's cell phone number. She reached slowly for the receiver, promising herself this time that she would break it off once and for all.

"Rory!" she heard her mother's voice call from the front yard.

She quickly replaced the receiver and ran out, "What?"

"Look what came in the mail!"

"What?" Rory bounded to the mailbox. In her mother's hand laid a fancy, rose-scented envelope - which looked extremely pricey and classy. "What is it?" Rory asked curiously.

"You tell me!" Lorelai cried excitedly, jumping up and down, pointing to the front of the envelope. Calligraphied finely were the words 'Rory Gilmore' and then her address. On the back, it said, 'I love you. Dean.'

"Oh...God..." Rory gasped, taking the letter off her mother's hands. The pair ran back inside - well, actually Lorelai did, but Rory sort of shuffled back onto the verendah. By this time, Lorelai had produced a pair of scissors.

"What are those for?" Rory asked, still dazed.

"What's the matter with you? You know - scissors - snip, snip - open up the envelope already!" Lorelai smiled, pushing the scissors into Rory's hands.

"Okay..." Rory shakily slit open the side of the envelope. A neatly folded piece of expensive-looking paper fell out. With it came a little key, attached on a rose-coloured ribbon.

"Mum?" Rory asked.

"Yes, hun?"

"Is it okay if I read this...in...in private?"

Lorelai looked back at her daughter in disbelief - they usually shared everything with each other. Why the sudden change? On the outside she tried to react calmly, "Sure - I'm certain that Dean has some secret lovebirds stuff to tell you!" She winked and walked back into the kitchen to make some coffee.

Rory walked slowly into her bedroom. She opened the envelope and began to read...

***

"Dear Rory," it began in Dean's perfect handwriting.

"I'm so sorry for going completely crazy over Jess at the dance marathon. I know that he was really annoying you and I shouldn't have had reacted the way I had. You're probably really mad at me now and I can understand why."

"I know it won't really help, but if you want to, I have booked us in at the Promenade Hotel for two nights this Saturday. If you want to patch things up, please meet me in Room 2207 on Saturday night at 8:30 pm. I will wait for you until 9:00 pm. If you don't come I'll know it was never meant to be...enclosed is the key."

"I love you. Dean."

***

Rory gasped. The Promenade Hotel was a five-star hotel on the edge of Stars Hollow - how could Dean afford this on his salary? This probably meant that he had to do multiple jobs at once, as well as borrowing money off his parents - and all this trouble for her?

Rory started crying - no, bawling her eyes out. No way did she deserve Dean! He was far too good for her! He loved her, even though she had more or less cheated and two-timed him with Jess! Although she loved Jess, she didn't want to break Dean's heart. He shouldn't be the one apologising to her! She should apologise to him - on her hands and knees, and beg for his forgiveness!

What would she do? Shakily, she shouted, "Mum? Are you there?"

Immediately, Lorelai appeared, "Yes, honey, right here..." when she saw Rory crying she rushed over, "What's wrong? What's wrong, Rory?"

At this moment, Rory just burst and told Lorelai everything. How Jess had given her the letter, what it had said, that stolen kiss at the bus stop, how she was going to break up with Dean until his letter had come - everything. After what had seemed like hours, Rory had finally told her the whole story.

Lorelai looked stunned, "Are you going to go to the Promenade?" she asked Rory, subdued.

"I don't know, Mum! What should I do!"

"I'm not sure, Rory. It's up to you," Lorelai said mechanically. She couldn't believe that Rory didn't want to go back with Dean. The two were like Romeo and Juliet together, Aladdin and Jasmine, Cinderella and the Prince...Lorelai's mind ran out of other Walt Disney couples to compare Rory and Dean to. She left the room, but not before saying, "Saturday is in two days, Rory..."