Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, any of the characters I mention, or any movies I reference. I'm just borrowing them for my own delusions. Lyrics belong to Bowling for Soup.

Author's Ramblings: Written for the Event Integrity Fic Exchange. We must uncliche a cliché.

Rating: PG-13

Include: A Life and Death Brigade event, Finn and Colin, Some sort of movie reference(s), some sort of secret code, A bet

Things not to include: Rory's exs, Richard and Emily, Too many townies, too much angst

Cliché: Marty interfering in the Rory/Logan relationship

Missing You

You kept me guessing and now I'm destined
to spend my time missing you
And I almost had you
I almost wish you would've loved me too

She doesn't let herself wallow. She won't. She can't. She pretends it doesn't bother her that she's okay with the way things are going. That she doesn't hope for to come back to her, telling her he'd like to be with her, and only her.

But she does think about it, about that exact scenario actually. She'd toy with him for about a minute, and then kiss him .Because she still thinks about kissing him.

But no, she won't acknowledge those thoughts. She lets herself forget for a while.

At least until she catches a glimpse of him by a coffee kiosk, coming out of a class, or on a Friday night when she's leaving for dinner at her grandparents and sees him and his entourage heading towards a party.

Then she can't help it and she remembers. The worst part is she remembers all the good stuff.


They're at a party. Grease themed. Poodle skirts and all. She chooses Sandra D (Before the makeover - she didn't need to change herself for a man!) and he's Danny Zooko. The irony does not escape her.

They laugh, they drink; they talk.

Then it gets interesting. Colin bets Stephanie a hundred bucks that Rory wouldn't dance with Logan, center of attention, with everyone watching.

"I'm rhythmically challenged." She explains.

"Told ya." Colin smirks.

Finn laughs. "That was a stupid bet Steph."

"Come on Ror!" Steph cheers. "Now you have to."

And she does.

She even kisses him afterward.


Her mother had thought it was more about the sexual attraction than anything else, but it was more than that. He challenged her. He was her equal in most ways, her superior in some, and her inferior in others.

It didn't get boring, simply because they were so different. It made it interesting, exciting, and so worth it.


Her alarm clock rings and automatically she groans, placing a hand on top to search for the snooze button. A hand clasps hers, and she opens one eye.

"Morning Ace…" She looks at him, looks back to her alarm clock, which now reads 6:31 and rolls over, closing her eyes again. He was being a smart ass-waking her up two hours before she needed to be woken up. Men!

"Go away…" Se mumbles more to the pillow than to him.

"Sorry, I can't do that."

"Sure you can, just walk out the door at don't come ba—ahh!"

Her remark is cut off as Logan pulled the sheets from her bed. "Get up."

"Sadist." She mumbles, burying her face in a pillow as he opens the blinds.

"Only if you want me to be."

"You're insane…"

"And you're vocabulary is lacking."

"It's my of caffeine level that's lacking."

"Already taken care of…it's in the car."

With this she raises from the bed, he hands her box, and pushes her towards to bathroom. "Go get changed."

"Bribery won't always work, you know."

He winks as she retreats to the bathroom. "I know, that's when I get to use seduction."


She wants to call him, go see him, walk past his dorm, or casually head to the pub.But she resists. If she sees him, she'll relapse and end up doing something she knows she shouldn't but will anyway. That's what he does to her. He makes her forget what's right and he makes what's wrong seem so damn appealing


"Logan…I can't do this."

He laughs, strapping the belt around her waist. "We're in a plane, a plane that is expecting us to jump out at any minute, and now you say you can't do this?"

"This—" She stammers. "This was a mistake. I am not this person; I should not be in the LDB. I do not live an exciting life---I'm boring and only have once-in-a-lifetime-experiences once."

He smiles, grabs her hand, and whispers "This is the point of being young." Just before they jump.

She feels amazing, exhilarated, ten times better than she felt when she jumped off the first time.

She's glad she's with him, and as they fall through the sky, she kisses him. She's one up on Mary-Jane Watson now, because kissing a guy while your flying is way better than kissing a guy upside down.


She's not sure when she realized that she couldn't t continue the charade, but when she did, there was no going back. There was no turning around.

She'd fallen, and there was nothing in the world she could do about it.


"We can't keep doing this—I can't keep doing this---I can't be that girl!"

"Rory…"

His arms snake around her waist. Instinctively she moves closer.

"You're not giving up on me, are you Ace?"

She laughs bitterly. "That's just it Logan---there is nothing to give up on! We're not a couple, we're not friends. We're just having fun--a fact that I'm bitterly reminded of every time I see you with another girl!"

"You knew the situation before we started this. I asked you if you were sure and you said---"

"I know what I said. I thought I could. I really thought I could. But I hate myself for it, every time it happens I hate myself for it. I can't hate myself anymore Logan."

"Rory, I can't give you what you need. I want to I just—"

"Can't; I know, but I can't keep doing this."

He releases her with a nod, and she moves towards his door.

"So, I'll see you around, maybe?"

"Yea, see you around."

He closes the door and collapses against it.


There's a knock at her door, without hesitation she answers.

"Marty? " She hasn't seen him in a while. Things had gotten awkward, which was the last thing she'd wanted. "How are you? How's school work?"

"Rory, how are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know what happened between you and Logan."

"Oh." Her fake smile fades. "How'd you find out?"

"Paris told me."

"Paris?"

"Yeah, we're---damn! She didn't tell you yet, did she?"

"Tell me what?"

He shrugs, looking at his feet. "We're seeing each other."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He blushes slightly and she jumps up, hugging him.

"Marty that's great. But why were you afraid to tell me?"

"I just thought it'd be weird."

"Marty we're friends. I'm happy for you."

"Yeah, well…" He embraces her again. "Now I feel bad broadcasting my new relationship when you're…"

She shakes her head. "Don't worry about that."

"Rory…"

She hiccups. "I miss him so much."


"The eagle is leaving the nest." Finn repeats into his phone. "The eagle is leaving the nest."

Logan grabs her hand, as they walk out into the quad; he smiles.

"So, are you going to tell me what we're doing today or is it going to stay all Agent Cody Banks for a while."

"Agent Cody Banks?"

"Please tell me you've seen that movie."

He shakes his head.

"Who educated you on pop culture?"

"I must have skipped that class at Andover."

"Poor boy."

She brushes her lips against his. "I'll have to make it up to you later, with you're deprived childhood and all, I mean."

He stops walking and pulls her towards him. "I'd like that."

"Good." She whispers, before he's kissing her again.

Colin turns to Finn. "Maybe you better change that code name to 'love bird' instead of eagle. "

Finn shrugs.


He cannot believe he's doing this. He can't believe it. If someone told him he'd be doing this a few months ago, he would have thought they were insane. Now…not so much.

One of his friends answers, he thinks his name is Flip…or something like that.

"Do I know you?"

Marty shakes his head. "Not so much. Is Logan there?"

"Yeah…hold on."

"Shit!"

Logan throws his phone towards his doorway, and Finn ducks his head to avoid a concussion. "Bloody hell mate, what's the problem?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing."

"Oh, so it's the reporter?"

He runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah…she's not answering her phone."

"Well, her buddy the bartender is outside. He wants to see you."

"What?"

Finn shrugs. "Don't kill the messenger."

He shakes his hand. "Marty, hey, what can I do for you?"

Marty wastes no time. "She's miserable without you."

He groans, runs a hand through his hair, and collapses on the couch.

"You come here just to tell me that?"

"No, originally I planned on punching you. But you've got more friends than me, and Rory would probably just yell at me. For some reason, she likes you."

"Apparently not enough."

"No, apparently you don't like her enough."

"Look." He clenches his fist. "You know nothing about this relationship, so why don't you just go find someone else to preach too."

"Look…" Marty counters. "I know more than you think."

Logan scoffs.

"She likes you; she cares about you. You messed with her, and now she's miserable. I know you care about her, what I don't know is how much."

He backs out of the dorm room. "I guess we'll find out how much."


He paces outside her bedroom window for fifteen minutes, and by the time he gets the nerve to knock he's afraid she'll be asleep.

She's not.

She stares at him, and then he's afraid she won't let him in.

She does.

"Is there a reason you're here?"

Her voice comes out stronger than she thought it would. It only makes him more determined. He takes a few steps towards her, their bodies in a close proximity for the first time in weeks. He smiles.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"I didn't like not being around you."

She sighs. "I wasn't all that fond of the arrangement either."

His arms wrap around her and he whispers in her ear. "Than let's try a different arrangement."

"What'd you have in mind?"

His boyish grin is back. She missed that grin.

"You, me, and some strings."