Puppet Master

Rory timidly knocked on the doorframe of Doyle's office. He looked up, and as he saw who it was, he grabbed the latest copy of the newspaper and bellowed, "What the HECK is this, Gilmore?"

Instead of timidly presenting some lame excuse as he had half expected her to do, she barged into the office and gave it right back to him. "That's what I was going to ask YOU!"

Doyle's face contorted in confusion. "What do you mean, that's what you were going to ask me? It's bad enough that you get engaged to Logan Huntzberger, but the Yale Daily News is not your own personal gossip column. This is unacceptable Gilmore, and you're lucky I don't fire you for it."

Rory stewed as Doyle ranted. When it seemed as though he was drawing to a close, she spoke, her voice under control, but he could tell she was pissed off.

"First of all, let me clear this up. I am not, nor will I ever be engaged to Logan Huntzberger! Secondly, I did not publish this rubbish that someone has the gall to call an article. Thirdly, I would advise you to keep the final copy of paper under closer security. With security so sketchy around here, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often."

"Alright Gilmore, since you seem to have such a good idea what this is, why don't you tell me who put it there?"

Rory answered cryptically. "I would keep a close eye on Huntzberger if I were you."

With that, she turned and began to exit the room. As she reached the door Doyle's voice stopped her. "Uh, Gilmore. I think I owe you an apology." Rory turned around.

"Don't worry about it Doyle," she said sweetly. "Just remember that you owe me."

"Yes Gilmore," Doyle sounded exasperated. "I owe you a favor."

"Yes, you most certainly do. Oh, and by the way Doyle, you're an editor now. Learn to say hell." As Rory left the office, she had a small smirk on her face. You never know when a favor might come in handy.

Logan sat in his very pink room. Although he definitely had enough money, he couldn't bring himself to re-redecorate it. In his mind, the pink had become the special mark Rory Gilmore had left on his life. Although he would never admit it aloud, she intrigued him. She was opinionated, witty, and aggressive, but at the same time she also managed to be sheltered, shy and bookish.

Yes, he could see himself forming a relationship with Rory Gilmore. He could see an actual relationship, not the series of one night stands he usually indulged in. He could see himself becoming attached, something he hadn't done in a long time. He could see her breaking his heart if he gave her the chance.

Rory walked into her dorm room just as her cell phone rang. As she picked it put, Paris stormed into the room.

"Hello?"

"Hello Rory. How's Yale?"

"Hi Grandpa. Yale is fine, as usual."

"Say, I just received a copy of the latest Yale Daily News."

Rory groaned. Her grandfather laughed.

"So, is it retaliation, I'm assuming?"

"Yes, Grandpa, it's Logan's idea of retaliation. Don't worry though, it's all under control."

"I would expect no less. You will have to keep me up to date."

"It's actually a long story."

"Well, how about you and I meet? Why don't you come a half an hour early on Friday?"

Ignoring her internal wail, Rory replied, "Sounds good."

"Alright Rory. See you then."

As Rory hung up her phone, Paris pounced. "So, I see congratulations are in order," she said with a smile.

Rory decided to play along. "Why yes. Yes they are." She paused for a moment. "I have succeeded in putting Huntzberger on the offensive. He is now going all out. But I plan on outdoing him all the way. I think I deserve congratulations for that."

Paris laughed. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Not yet. Finn and Colin have to perform their part before I bring you in."

"Can't you at least tell me what you're doing?"

"Calm down, Paris. Patience is a virtue."

Logan was walking through the Yale campus later that day as Finn and Colin trailed behind him like lost puppy dogs.

"Come on, Logan. You can't hold this over our heads forever. We said we're sorry." Colin had been whining obsequiously for the past fifteen minutes.

Before Logan could muster up the energy for a retort, he was ambushed by a guy that he didn't recognize.

"Mr. Huntzberger, I need to talk to you."

"Alright. Talk to me."

"No, I need to talk to you alone."

Logan looked behind him, sending a confused expression to Finn and Colin. They got the message, quickly making themselves scarce. He turned back to the young freshman. "Would you please tell me your name?"

The freshman glanced quickly around before muttering, "Tim Young."

"Alright Tim, what was it you needed to talk to me about?"

Tim looked over Logan's shoulder at something before continuing. "I think….well, I think I like you." And suddenly, Tim pushed forward, pressing his lips to Logan's.

Logan didn't know what to do. It was so surreal. This boy that he didn't even know was kissing him? What could he do?

All of a sudden, a bright light when off behind him and brought him back to his senses. He moved to push Tim off, only to discover that Tim had already run away. Dazed, and confused, Logan quickly left the courtyard. He was too out of it to notice Tim go up to Colin and receive a large denomination bill, and too dazed to notice Finn leaning against a tree trunk, camera in hand.

Colin and Finn made their way to Rory's dorm. They barged right in, only to find Rory engrossed in her phone conversation.

"Mom, I can't believe you said that. You know it's only a joke!"

She paused, listening to the person on the other end of the line. "No, it's not funny."

Finn and Colin could hear laughter on the other end before Rory spoke up. "I can't talk to you when you're like this." She hung up the phone.

"So, are you getting some trouble for Logan's article?" Colin asked.

Rory groaned. "You saw that?" She paused. "Wait, you didn't help him write it, did you?"

"Alas, no. That was Logan all by himself. But I must admit, I didn't think he was capable of thinking up such a devious plan." Finn looked around before confiding, "I'm usually the master planner."

Colin snorted, obviously debating whether or not to comment. He and Rory shared a disbelieving look to Finn's consternation.

Finn cleared his throat. "Anyway, mademoiselle, we came to tell you that we have completed our assignment."

Rory immediately perked up. "You did? Let me see it!" Finn offered up the digital camera and Rory burst out laughing.

"This is great, guys! Precisely what the doctor ordered!"

"We aim to please," Colin said and both Rory and Finn grimaced.

"Now, who wants to help me with phase two?"

Logan sat in his economics class, staring out into space.

Even though most people thought he never attended classes and just slid on by with the help of daddy's reputation, Logan was a slightly above average student. However, today he couldn't concentrate on what the professor was lecturing about; choosing instead to devote his time to contemplation of what he had come to think of as 'the Rory situation.'

They hadn't had a single meaningful exchange since he had pulled the prank on her in her philosophy class. She ignored him at the newspaper, and they didn't often run into each other elsewhere. Sure they had the notes, but those were such a teaser. The back and forth banter had ceased abruptly.

Worse still, was the fact that Rory seemed to monopolize his two best friends' time. In fact, campus was abuzz with the fact that it was more common to see Rory with Colin and Finn than it was to see them with Logan. His position as one of the three stooges seemed in dire jeopardy.

Without Rory, Finn, and Colin, his life seemed empty. He was starting to believe Finn and Colin were right, and he shouldn't have started this practical joke war. But now that he was in it, how could he gracefully bow out? His pride told him that he couldn't, that he had to win, but the rest of him disagreed. For the most part, he felt that Rory was truly the puppet master and deserved to win. But he had to figure out a way to decline without looking like a wimp.

What a dilemma.

Doyle looked up, stunned as two very determined females barged into his office.

"Yes?" he asked, as politely as possible (at least for Doyle).

Paris moved forward and laid something on his desk. "We need you to print this…on the front page."

As he looked it over, his eyebrow raised. He set it down and returned his gaze to Paris and Rory. "You don't really expect me to print that, do you?!?"

Rory stepped back and let Paris steal the show. "Yes, as a matter of fact, we do."

"Why ever would I do that?"

"First of all, it seems you owe Rory here a favor." At this, Doyle inclined his head, acknowledging the point. "Second, Rory needs here revenge. You saw what he put in. Thirdly, we're sleeping together. Fourthly, it will get in one way or another. Just be thankful we're going through more official channels than Huntzberger did." Paris took a breath and began pulling Rory out of the room, convinced that she had sufficiently intimidated her boyfriend.

As they reached the door, Doyle finally found his voice. "But Paris," he whined, "do you know what Huntzberger would do to me?"

Rory looked at him. "Leave Logan to me."

Doyle scowled, knowing he was not going to win the argument. Under his breath he muttered darkly, "I wasn't talking about Logan, I meant Mitchum."

The next day as Logan walked to class, he noticed that many girls were staring at him. This in itself wasn't noteworthy, but the way they were whispering to one another and avoiding him like he had some contagious disease was.

When he got to statistics, he tried to intercept Colin before class started, but Colin was nowhere to be found. As he sat down in the front row, the professor walked in and started class. Five minutes later, Colin walked in, flushed and made his way to the back row, but not before unceremoniously depositing a copy of the newspaper in front of Logan.

Logan attempted to quietly open the newspaper. Shocked, he looked at the eight inch by five inch picture of his unfortunate kiss with Tim underneath a headline that read:

Trouble in Paradise?

The caption under the picture read:

Just days after the announcement of his engagement to Lorelai Gilmore, Logan Huntzberger is seen kissing an unknown boy. Perhaps not all is what it seems with Gilmore and Huntzberger.

As humiliating for Logan as it was, he immediately recognized the last sentence as a direct rebuke of his article.

Even as his dignity pled with him to exact revenge on Rory, his head recognized it as a good thing. This latest prank that Rory pulled was good, very good. He could bow out gracefully, citing the fact that there was no topping her. Satisfied, he sat back to listen to the lecture.

It had been two days since Rory's prank and she was beginning to get worried. There had been no note from Logan. She fretted that maybe the last joke had crossed the line; that Logan had a shorter tolerance for humiliation than Finn and Colin had thought.

She checked her mail, but there was still nothing. She sat down with her cell phone in hand, debating whether or not she should call him. As she focused on the phone, she noticed that there was one new message. Putting the phone to her ear, she was surprised to hear Logan's voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey Ace. The Pub. 10:30. Don't worry about a blindfold this time."

She smiled – he didn't sound angry. She looked at the clock: 8:24. Perfect.

AN: I want to make one thing clear – I do not have anything against homosexuals, and did not mean the joke the cause offense. If I have offended anyone, you have my sincerest apologies. I just thought that this would be something that would really get to Logan.

So, was it too over the top? Too weird? Too OOC?