Disclaimer: Once again, not mine. And I don't think ASP will get a lot out of me if she decides to sue.
A million thanks to everyone that reviewed:D You are the ones thatmake me want to continue posting this story. :)
So without further ado, I give you...
"A dance?", Rory's voice asked, a few miles away in her dorm room at Yale.
"Yeah, a dance", Lorelai confirmed, while rummaging around her closet.
"Huh, that's weird, I never thought Taylor was the kind of person that would organize and event like that one".
"You and me both, sister. . . Ouch!", she screamed loudly and Rory heard a loud thud at the other end of the line.
"Mom? What happened?", she asked, concerned.
"Nothing, just this insanely big baseball bat just fell off from the top of the closet. What is a baseball bat doing in my closet, anyways? Although, now that I think about it, it could really come in handy during Friday night dinners".
"Why are you rummaging around your closet so desperately in the first place?"
"How do you know I was doing it desperately?"
"Well, a baseball bat just fell off from the top, you must have been doing a lot of movement, unless a wicked house-elf decided to have some fun and throw it out at the first person to open the door".
"Hmm, are you sure about that last statement?", she said and with a hissing voice she added "My prrrreciousssss".
Rory rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "That's Gollum. He's not a house-elf".
"Oh, well, big deal, he's little and talks in a weird voice too, enough for me".
"I'm officially declaring the topic of house-elves closed for the sake of my sanity. I can't do much for yours at this point. Why were you rummaging so desperately in your closet, I repeat?".
Lorelai sighed. "I was looking for the dress I wore to your coming out party, but I can't find it. It looks like I'm gonna have to buy myself a new one."
"Whoa, whoa, slow down for a minute", said Rory, confused. "You're saying you're actually going to this dance?"
"Um, yeah, didn't I mention that?"
"I don't think so! Who are you going to go with?"
"Well, I was thinking I'd ask Jason to go with me, cause, you know, we're dating, so it's only appropriate. Plus he's never really been to Stars Hollow before and, well, it could be fun".
"Wow, sounds like you've got it all figured out. I didn't know you were so serious about Jason".
"It's not like I'm so serious about him, it's just perfect timing, the dance and our relationship", said Lorelai, a bit taken aback by Rory's clearly disappointed tone, but she resolved not to say anything for fear of sparking a very obvious conversation that she didn't want to have at that particular moment regarding a certain diner guy.
"Yeah, sounds reasonable". As if on cue with her mother, Rory decided to drop the subject of Jason at least for the moment. She didn't want to deal with a Lorelai that was so clearly soaked up to her neck in denial.
"You should come too, it would give you a chance to, you know, get back at Taylor for making you look like the evil Witch from the West when he opened his Soda Shoppe, remember?"
Rory shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I don't know, mom, I mean, who would I go with? Cause I can't just show up alone to that kind of things".
"Well, this would be a great opportunity to socialize and meet more boys at Yale. How about that guy you dated a while ago, Trevor?"
"Um, no thank you, I don't think he will ever want to go with me anywhere after my so very interesting analysis of urine mints", Rory shuddered at the memory.
"Ooh, how about Naked Guy?", Lorelai smiled excitedly. She would love it if Rory was able to come, they hadn't seen each other in a while.
"He has a name, mom, I already told you", Rory said, exasperated, although not hiding a smile.
"Well, how about him?"
Rory hesitated. "I don't know, it's not such a bad idea now that I think about it".
"See? That's the spirit I want to see in any daughter of mine. Just think about it and let me know what your final answer is, OK?"
"OK, bye mom, love you"
"Love you too, kid, bye". Lorelai hung up and went back to her wardrobe crisis. She finally gave up when she couldn't find that dress anywhere and decided that it was time to pay the mall a little visit.
Finally, the day of the dance arrived. Lorelai made a break in her busy schedule at what was going to be the Dragonfly Inn to head over to Luke's diner for lunch. She always had a craving for his delicious cheeseburgers and her hourly cup of coffee. She was humming excitedly as she got out of her Jeep and walked towards the door. She had talked to Jason the day before and he had agreed to go with her, so now she was all set and ready for that night.
She pushed open the door and the small bell attached to it jingled quite loudly. Luke looked up from the coins he was counting at the cashier and his face almost broke into a broad smile when he saw her come in. It was unbelievable how much brighter and happier his day became just by seeing her come into the diner or exchanging a few words with her.
"Hi", she said, and sat down in one of the stools in front of the counter, dropping her purse next to her.
"Hey", he replied, as he wiped the spot in the counter right in front of her. "So, everything ready for tonight?"
"Pretty much, yeah. I got my dress, my shoes. . ."
"Date?", he asked, a bit too quickly and anxiously for it to pass unnoticed by her.
"Um, yeah, that too", she looked at him quizzically.
"And. . .", he prompted her to tell him who she was going with.
"Oh, it's just an old friend from summer camp", she replied, uneasily. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to tell Luke that she was actually dating that old friend. For some strange reason, she thought he wasn't going to take it too well, as if she was cheating on him.
"Summer camp?", he said, amused. "I never thought of you as a summer camp kind of girl".
"Ohh, I'm not, trust me. But, apparently, my parents did think of me as a summer camp kind of girl and, of course, when Emily Gilmore thinks she's right, she's got to be right or else heads will roll".
"I see", he chuckled. "Well, I hope you have fun with this. . . old friend", he stressed these last two words very carefully, trying to find out whether her date was indeed an old friend or there was something else.
"I hope so too", she smiled, ignoring or trying to ignore Luke's tone when he was referring to her "old friend".
"What can I get you?"
"Oh, you know, the. . .", but at that moment her cell phone rang. Luke pointed wordlessly to the door and Lorelai, exasperated, muttered "Fine, fine" and walked outside to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Before you say anything, just remember that you like it that I have these quirks, that they are what make me me", said a voice at the other end of the line.
"Jason?", Lorelai asked, a bit confused by this greeting. "What happened?"
"I'm very sorry, but I can't go to the dance with you tonight", he said in a clearly sorrowful tone.
"What?", she replied, utterly shocked. "Why?"
"I don't have a suit", he stated simply.
"You don't have a suit?", Lorelai asked, getting more exasperated by the minute. "What do you mean you don't have a suit? Jason, you go to work every day in a suit, you must have at least one that's clean enough to be used". She couldn't believe that Jason was actually considering dumping her the same day of the dance just because he couldn't find a suit.
"See, that's the thing, the suits I go to work with every day are work suits. They are not fancy enough to be worn to a dance like the one tonight".
"Well, don't you have a couple of dance suits or whatever it is you call the suits you go with to events outside work?"
"Um, yes, I do, but, unfortunately, they are both at the dry cleaner's and I won't get them back until tomorrow night".
Lorelai was ready to scream in exasperation. This couldn't be happening to her, not that day, of all days. "Can't you just wear one of your work suits just for tonight? I won't say anything, I promise, but if you're really concerned we can just sit at a table where the light is not shining directly over you and you can slither on the floor every time you want to go to the bathroom, which I certainly hope it's not too many if it's going to bring me bad 'Anaconda' flashbacks".
"I'm really sorry, Lorelai, but I just can't do it. I'll be fidgeting with the suit all night trying to make it appear fancier than it really is and I'll be turning my head sharply around every time anyone comes within 2 feet of me, I've been there before, and you won't have a good time".
"But, Jason, look where you're leaving me now! The dance will be in about 6 hours and now I don't have anyone to go with me!".
Jason's voice acquired an almost begging tone. "Have I mentioned how sorry I am about this? I am, I really am and I wish there was something I could do about this, but there isn't. I promise I'll make it up to you in as many ways as I can think of, but please, please forgive me".
Lorelai sighed. There was nothing she could do now to convince Jason. "Fine. It's OK, don't worry. I'll figure something out".
"Please, don't be mad", Jason pleaded.
"I'm not, bye Jason", she said abruptly and hung up. This was unbelievable. She never thought Jason would be capable of something like that. That is, she knew he had his quirks, they had cause her to sleep in a very well equipped room, but this was just too much. He had just ruined her Saturday night. Heavily, she walked back into the diner almost dragging her feet and took her seat at the same stool as before. She threw the cell phone on the counter a bit more forcefully than she had intended and sat there, staring into space, too mad to utter any coherent sentences.
Luke had been in the kitchen the whole time Lorelai was having her conversation with Jason, but now he came back out and saw her sitting at the counter, her eyes narrowing slightly, her breathing a bit loud and staring at a fixed spot on the wall. He took a second to make a mental note of how much more beautiful she looked when she was angry, before he came up to her and touched her arm slightly.
"Lorelai?", he said, gently shaking her arm. "Are you OK?"
Lorelai snapped out of her reverie and looked back at him with the same angry expression. "No. No, I'm not OK! Who does he think he is? I was counting on him and he was already committed to me, he can't just back out just because he couldn't find a suit, we're not going to meet the Queen, for God's sake!"
Luke was taken aback by this sudden outburst of Lorelai's. However, he now had an idea of what was it that had happened and it took him by surprise the wave of relief he felt wash over his whole body. Apparently, Lorelai had been dumped by her "old friend". Whoever he was, he was a jerk and clearly knew very little about how to treat a woman. He had now made Lorelai extremely angry and he hated to see her like this. Luke was going to make sure that this "old friend" paid for it.
"Wait, so your friend dumped you?", he asked tentatively, not sure whether there was going to be another outburst, this time at him.
Lorelai buried her face in her hands. "Yes, he dumped me, and for one of the most stupid reasons a person can get dumped. I'm seriously gonna e-mail Mr. Guinness as soon as I get home because I'm so starting a new world record."
"I'm sorry to hear that", he said, placing a mug of steaming coffee in front of her.
"Thanks", she said wearily, taking the mug in her hands and putting it to her lips. She wasn't even marvelling at the fact that Luke had given her coffee without her nagging him incessantly about it or him lecturing her about the different ways in which coffee could be turned in the next most dangerous lethal weapon, next to the atomic bomb, which clearly meant that her mood was lower than ever. Luke noticed this, and realized immediately that things were much more serious than he thought. He wanted to make things right for Lorelai, but couldn't think of anything that would make her feel any better if coffee didn't do the trick.
"Luke, what am I going to do now?", she asked in a slightly panicked voice. "The dance is tonight and I have no one to go with! I won't be able to go!"
The sound of complete despair transmitted in that last sentence was enough to get the wheels turning around in Luke's head, trying to find a solution for Lorelai's sudden problem. He couldn't stand seeing her feeling all defeated and frustrated when just minutes earlier she had been one of the most excited ones for the dance. Suddenly, an idea started to form in his head. He tried to push it away at first, because it was too good and perfect to be true. However, as the other possibilities started looking dimmer and dimmer by the minute, he decided that was the only option there was in order for Lorelai to still go to the dance. The thought of voicing it made his heart beat madly in his chest until it made it difficult for him to breathe. He took one last look at her and her saddened eyes, and managed to muster up all the courage he needed to say his next words.
"Um. . . You know. . . I. . . I could. . . go with you. Only if you want, though", he added hastily, not wanting her to feel that he was pressuring her.
Lorelai looked up from her mug at these words and gave Luke a bewildered look. Had she heard correctly? Was Luke actually asking her to go to the dance with him? She needed to get that straight. "What?", she asked softly.
"It was just a thought, I mean, that way you wouldn't have to miss the dance at all and it's better than going with some random guy from the street, but, anyway, ignore me, I'm just babbling", he finished lamely. Her eyes on his were starting to have their usual effect and he was in serious danger of burning himself with the coffee pot right behind him. The thought of Lorelai's rejection enhanced Luke's nervousness even more. He looked down, unable to meet her eyes and see rejection and pity written all over them.
"I'd love to", he heard, and looked back up immediately. Lorelai was smiling her trademark smile and there was a pleased look in her face that hadn't been there a minute before.
"Really?", he managed to let out once his pulse got back to normal.
"Sure! It will be fun! Plus, I'll get to brag that I was the one that got you to participate, very actively, I might add, in another one of those crazy town events that you so much claim to hate", she grinned mischievously.
"Ah, geez", he muttered, but deep down he smiled even broader than her. He couldn't believe he had actually gathered enough courage to do something he so secretly had wanted to do. And the outcome hadn't been bad at all.
"Well, Dancing Burger Boy, I have to get going, I have a meeting in about 10 minutes with Sookie and Tom at the inn", she said, gathering her things and standing up.
"Oh, well, I'll save you a cheeseburger, I'll get it to you later"
"Sounds good, thanks", she smiled again, making him temporarily unable to swallow. "What time are you picking me up?"
"Oh, uh, 8 sound good?", he stuttered.
"Perfect. And you do have a suit, right?", she paused in her way to the door.
Luke chuckled. "I think I can pull something from the depths of my wardrobe".
She gasped exaggeratedly. "Luke Danes has a wardrobe? How many flannel shirts have you got stored beneath the surface? Or you just lost count after reaching 1000?"
"Lorelai. . .", he warned her with his voice.
"You do know that suits are not made of flannel, right? Are you sure you'll be able to take such tremendous shock?"
He pointed to the door, indicating her to leave immediately or else. Lorelai could get really annoying sometimes, but it didn't stop his heart from sinking a bit when he saw her open the door.
"See you tonight!", she called and she was gone.
Luke leaned on the counter and sighed. How had he gotten himself involved in this again? He hated town events and most of all Taylor himself and now everybody was going to see him participating at this particular town event and they were not going to let him forget that as long as he lived. The only thing that made him look forward to that night was the thought of Lorelai in a tight, low-cut dress and the possibility of dancing with her. And with those cheerful thoughts flying around his head, he got back to work with a small smile he wasn't aware he was wearing.