Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything up to Jews and Chinese Food is fair game. Past that, it's just where my mind takes over.
Teaser: When Rory and Logan's arrangement goes prematurely sour, his friends take it upon themselves to intervene. Sequel to Keeping it Casual
Story Title: Nothing A Good Friend Wouldn't Do
Chapter Title: Fleeing
AN: Sorry this took a while. Had some software issues, and some busy life to deal with. Both will be resolved quite shortly. Thanks for all the reviews, and as your reward, another new chapter!
Rory sighed as she dumped her belongings onto her bed and looked to the spastically blinking light that indicated her voicemail's full status. She'd just spent most of the afternoon debriefing Colin and Finn with Logan, filling them in on dinner and all that had gone on there. The talk of her father and future. The talk of Logan's lackadaisical attitude and the dessert departure. Logan refused to speak of the 'plaid shirt' incident, and after much ribbing, it was dropped and deemed as fruitless to probe further for details, though neither man believed that there wasn't a story worth hearing behind it.
She turned in a circle, in attempt to find anything more pressing to do than listen to her voicemail messages. Finding nothing of the sort, she went into the main room to grab a soda out of the mini-fridge before settling down in her desk chair to listen to the missed callers.
"Hey, Hon, it's me. I got your note, and uh, I'm sorry I missed you. I'd love to hear how dinner went. . . Don't worry about Luke's shirt, he'll never miss one of the hundreds of plaid patterns that surround him daily. You really would understand if you'd ever seen the wonder that is his closet. I still have nightmares. Anyway, I would really like to talk. To you. So. Yeah. Call me."
Rory bit her lip and ingested her mother's clearly concerned tone. She knew the morning's events were more of a wake-up call than Lorelai had ever wanted, that was for sure. It wasn't as if she'd planned on her mother walking in on a string of shed clothing that clearly marked their lust-filled path to her bed the night before. She certainly would never want to see any evidence of her mother and Luke that indicated such activities. She just hoped that they hadn't lost any gained ground concerning Lorelai's acceptance of Logan because of this incident.
"Rory, dear, it's your grandmother. I was really hoping to catch you, I am just dying to hear all about your dinner at the Huntzbergers' last night. They are such dear friends, and I just can't tell you how pleased I am that you and Logan have hit it off so well. Please do feel free to bring him along to Friday night dinners. And call me when you get in."
Rory hung her head. Her grandmother, while sounding pleased, knew what she'd done. She would have to explain leaving before dessert was over, and having had to talk about Christopher. Suddenly her mother popped into her mind, and she saw the steam rolling off of Lorelai upon hearing Rory had been attacked via means of the circumstances around her inception. Perhaps she could give her the bared down version of the night's events to her mother. And perhaps she could achieve world peace while she was at it.
"Rory, this is Mitchum Huntzberger. We were sorry to see you two go so quickly last night. I was quite intrigued by your interest in summer internships, and I was hoping to get a chance to speak with you about options for you to follow up on. Give me a call back, and I'd love to go over some ideas with you."
Now she was just staring blankly at the machine, as if it were the one truly speaking to her. The automated voice popped on, saying that was the end of her new messages, and she leaned back in her chair. All three messages made her uneasy, and for three very different reasons. She grabbed her jacket and headed back out of the suite. She needed coffee.
XXXX
Logan threw his phone on to the bed as he emptied his pockets. Rory had gone home to study, or whatever she deemed necessary to do on a Sunday evening all to herself. They'd been together non-stop for the last few days. After the last two, both needed some well deserved time to catch up on their own lives, and now that she was gone, he looked around, considering what he would really rather be doing other than hanging out with her. He picked his phone back up and turned it on, considering making a call, to see that he had new messages.
"Logan, it's your father. I was just wondering exactly how the rest of your evening went. I think you overreacted to the entire situation, and I think that you and I are in serious need of a long conversation. Call me when you get around to checking your messages."
He groaned outwardly, shaking his head in denial. He was not in the mood to deal with that. Not that he was really ever in the mood to deal with his father, but now he just flat out wouldn't. Before he could get too worked up over even the idea, the next message was coming over the speaker.
"Logan, hello, this is Richard Gilmore. I've just gotten off the phone with your father, who thought it might be a good idea for the three of us to get together for a round of golf some afternoon. Give me a call back at my office, and we'll set something up."
Logan's mouth dropped open a bit, unsure of how this got to be his reality. These were not messages he was used to receiving. Breathy girls offering an available time and place to meet, yes. Finn too drunk to remember where he parked his car, yes. Grandfathers of girlfriends wanting to chat, no. He shook his head again, and waited to hear the last new message.
"Hey, it's me. We so need to talk. My mother spoke with your mother, and I just got off the phone with Colin. Are you crazy? You must be crazy. Of course you're crazy, you went in the first place. Whatever. Just, call me."
Jill sounded a bit crazed, but it wasn't new as a concept to him. She got a little bossy when it came to his life, since they were old friends. Old friends tell you when you're about to make a big mistake, or have just made such a mistake. But Jill liked the idea of him and Rory being together. And she literally could have heard anything, if their mothers had been talking about the evening.
The only thing he really knew for sure was that he needed to get out of the confines of his bedroom. There was nothing of interest in it currently, and he needed some fresh air.
XXXX
Rory pulled her cell out of her jacket as she walked around campus with her coffee, sipping on it as she tried to clear her thoughts of what she would have to say and to whom. She pulled up Logan's entry on her phone, and ran her finger lightly over the send button. She wanted to hear his voice, and possibly get his insight on her barrage of calls from this morning. Thinking better of it, and not wanting to overwhelm him with her presence, she snapped her phone shut and stuffed it back in her pocket as she wound around toward the library to seek out total body warmth and a good story to truly take her mind off her real life.
She threw her empty cup away upon entrance and went immediately to the one area that always brought her comfort. The fiction section in the back corner with the sofas scattered about for maximum reading enjoyment. She'd spent hours up in this space, blissfully unaware of the passing time. She stopped in her tracks before she could examine one title, as she found Logan sitting on one sofa, looking up at her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, somewhat guarded. Part of her was thrilled to see him, part of her was concerned that something was wrong from the way he sat there looking so solitary, and part of her was bummed that her secret hideout had been outed.
He shrugged. "I took a walk, and ended up here."
She smiled. "Why?"
"Well, I needed to get out of my room and think. You seem to like it here."
"But, how did you know that I, I mean, that this is where I go?"
He smiled this time, as her stammering didn't seem to have an end when she got flustered. "Just because others go unnoticed to your attention while you're up here doesn't mean you go unnoticed to others."
"Is that your cute way of telling me that you're stalking me?"
"Its no secret you like books, and I came up here, after the first time we–well, I guess it wasn't technically a fight, but it felt like one–the first time you saw me with another girl, and I wasn't so convinced you were fine. I came looking for you, Paris said you'd gone to the library, and after hitting several on campus, I found you here."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
He shrugged as she sat down next to him on the sofa. "I was going to, but you looked so content. I hated to pull you out of whatever world you were in."
"Grapes of Wrath."
"Huh?"
"It's what I read that night. That book always makes me feel better about my own circumstances."
"I knew you weren't okay with it."
She shrugged. "I was fine."
"So, what are you up here because of today?" he asked, not wanting to argue with her.
"Things were weird at my room. I just wanted to get out. You?"
"Same."
Rory looked at him for a beat and realized that they knew each other too well to hide this stuff. Perhaps telling him wouldn't be overloading him, but rather telling him things he would want to know about. She shirked off her jacket and let it fall behind her back.
"I got a ton of messages, all of them equally terrifying, and I came here to have a legitimate excuse as to why I couldn't call any of them back."
"Same," he smirked, and she looked at him in surprise.
"Really?"
"My father, your grandfather, and a very accusatory Jill."
"My mother, my grandmother, and your father."
"Yikes. Wait, my father?"
She nodded. "Something about wanting to help me with internships?"
"God. He's nothing if not unpredictable."
"What's that mean?"
"I'm actually not sure. Don't call him, if you don't want to."
"What did my grandfather say?"
"Oh, he's been speaking with my dad, and we're all to go golfing together soon, and won't that be fun?"
Rory cringed. "Better you than me. I suck at golf."
He gave a small laugh. "But I bet you look cute trying."
"Shut up. I have no idea what to say."
"To whom?"
"To anyone. My mother sounded weird, my grandmother sounded livid in a cheerful way, and your father sounded surprisingly the most sincere."
"He's deceptive that way. You'll learn that in time."
Rory sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. "What'd he say to you? That they hated me?"
"No, he said we needed to have a long conversation. We have a lot of those. Well, he does, and I tend to leave in frustration."
Rory felt him lace his fingers through hers and she closed her eyes in momentary contentment. He'd come to her safe haven, and truth be told, she didn't mind him knowing where she went to be alone. She liked having him in her personal space. He seemed to fit there, as no one ever had before.
"I guess we do have to deal with them sometime. Sooner or later."
"Later. Right now, you've come to read, I presume?" he asked, kissing the top of her head. She looked up at him with a sheepish grin.
"Well, I had entertained the idea. I just didn't expect to have such a good diversion."
"Don't let me stop you," he insisted, and she stood up, brushing imaginary dust from her pants before walking over to the shelves. She skimmed the crowd of titles, fingering the spines delicately as she scanned for old favorites and new treasures. She knew he was watching her, but she didn't feel awkward. She was letting him in closer, and they were both keenly aware of that fact. He was waiting in anticipation. She pulled two titles off the shelves and handed him one before settling back down in her spot next to him yet again.
"Skinny Legs and All?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Don't you trust me?" she raised one back.
Silently, he opened his book, settling back with one arm around her shoulders as she delved into her own selection. They sat in silence, in comfort, and found themselves in new worlds surrounded by characters that they would never have to answer to.
XXXX
"Wanna come in?" she asked, still in the thicket of his embrace as they hovered outside her door.
"That has to be the best offer I've had all day."
"You didn't like your book?"
"No, I did, it was quite unique. I was referring to the offers I got via my inbox."
"Right. Those."
"Yeah. It seems everyone is in our business."
"When you told me this would be something, right away, I really only thought that pertained to us. Not to everyone we've ever met."
"Live and learn."
"I need some LUVS," she joked.
He smirked, and leaned down to kiss her again. "Feel better?"
"You don't need to talk me into letting you in–I already offered."
"I have a better idea."
She continued smiling, trying to figure out what he meant. Their only real options were crashing at her place, his, or in their respective rooms. Neither seemed to like the latter, however. He had to be talking about his room, but Colin and Finn would surely be there to continue to hound him about his recent fashion 'choice.' It seemed that of all the new things Logan was trying of late, the flannel shirt had been the most mockable to the other two men. At any rate, it was a Sunday night, and they both had class in the morning, and it was starting to get late.
"Let's get out of here."
