Puppet Master

For the umpteenth time that evening, Logan checked his monogrammed watch. And for the umpteenth time that evening, he was surprised to see that it still wasn't 10:30. He was nervous. And this also surprised him.

He wasn't the kind of guy that was nervous for a quasi-date. He was self-assured, confident the point of cockiness and suave. But that night, he felt very much the opposite. His palms were sweating, when he had ordered his drink he had actually stuttered, and his leg would not stop bouncing. Why couldn't Rory just hurry up and arrive?

It was driving him crazy.

Back at Rory's dorm, she too was in a panic. After going through both her own and Paris' closet without finding an appropriate outfit, she finally dug out her cell phone and called her mom.

It was picked up on the fifth ring. "Lorelai's cell phone. Luke speaking."

"Luke?"

"Rory?"

"What are you doing with mom's cell phone?"

"She left her purse on the counter and it was ringing and ringing and disturbing paying customers, so I answered it."

"In the diner?"

"Yes, in the diner? Where else would I be?"

"You're talking on the phone in the diner?"

"Yes."

Rory giggled. "All those years of admonishing us for talking on our cell phones and you break your own rules? I'm ashamed of you, Luke!"

There was silence for a moment and when Luke spoke again, his voice was gruff. "So, anyway, what can I do for you?"

"Mom wouldn't happen to be around, would she? I need to talk to her," Rory added unnecessarily.

"She just went to the bathroom. She should be back any second."

"When she gets back, can you tell her to call me right away?"

"Sure thing."

Three minutes later as Rory stood glaring at her closet, her phone rang.

"Mom?!"

"No…" came the confused Aussie voice.

"Finn?"

"That would be me."

"What do you want?" Rory hadn't meant to be that short with him, but it was getting closer and closer to 10:30.

"I was wondering," Finn continued, oblivious to her distress, "if you would want to come hang out with us tonight? We thought we could watch some movies, eat some junk food, maybe get a bit drunk…" Finn trailed off.

"That sounds nice, but I'm afraid I already have plans."

"That's too bad. Oh, alright. Talk to you later, then."

Rory went to hang up her phone, but when she heard something on the other end, she decided to listen.

"She has plans," came Finn's voice.

"Ha! I told you she would go meet him. You owe me twenty bucks." That was Colin's voice.

"She never said she was going to meet Logan…but since I'm such a good sport, I'll give you the twenty. I'd just waste it on alcohol anyway."

Rory had had enough. "Finn! Hang up the phone before you start talking about someone!"

"Rory? Is that you? Terribly sorry dear." The dial tone rang in her ear.

"Boys," Rory muttered under her breath and turned back to glare at her closet some more.

Logan waited impatiently. The longer it took Rory to get there, the more time he had to rethink whether or not he really wanted to back out. His pride told him that a Huntzberger never gave up at anything. They saw things through to the end, no matter if the outcome was good or bad. At the same time, his head told him that dogged stubborn-ness was not necessarily the best way to go at things. A good businessman needed to know when to concede defeat, or at the very least, when a compromise was called for in order to ensure the good of both parties. One final voice came into play in the argument. His heart told him that the only way he had a chance with Rory Gilmore was to stop this nonsense quickly before the pranks became personal attacks that put their strange friendship in jeopardy.

He sighed. There was no answer to this dilemma that at least one part of him was opposed to. Suddenly, a fragment of a conversation with Finn came floating into his head. "Always remember to follow your heart…it's the thing least likely to be affected by alcoholic beverage consumption." He chuckled. It had seemed like good advice at the time, but perhaps his judgment had been impaired by great amounts of 'alcoholic beverage consumption.'

Still plagued by indecision, Logan slumped down in the booth to wait for Rory.

When 10:10 came without any sign of a call from Lorelai, Rory decided the time had come to bite the bullet and choose an outfit. Closing her eyes, she pointed to a pair of jeans and a shirt. Thankfully, the two matched and she threw them on quickly.

The minute she finished doing her hair and makeup, her cell phone rang. Mindful of her previous conversation with Finn, she answered professionally. "Rory Gilmore."

"Fruit of my loins! Luke said you needed something?"

"Awfully long bathroom break you had there." Having successfully put together an outfit, Rory was in a better mood and snickered.

"Yes…well…" Lorelai drew out the 'L' sound, "I called to talk about you, not me."

"Nice try Mom. That was an almost convincing change of subject. Luckily for you, I don't have time to talk at all. I'm late for my rendezvous."

"Oooh, a rendezvous. Sounds dodgy."

"I don't know what else to call it," Rory confessed. "After I pulled the last prank on him, Logan called and told me to meet him at the pub tonight."

"I was meaning to ask," Lorelai interjected, "how did that last prank go?"

Rory giggled. "Pretty good if I say so myself. I put a copy of the paper in the mail and you should be getting it any day now."

"Goody. Wait, you're going to the pub?"

"Yeah."

"You're going to the pub, knowing full well that it may be an elaborate prank? You're just walking into it?"

"I thought about that, but it seems too unsubtle for Logan."

"Hmmm…you may be right. But I would think about the prank."

"Alright. Mom, I gotta go. If I'm going to find a bodyguard, I have to leave now."

"Love ya toots!" said Lorelai, but Rory had already hung up the phone and was flying out the door, in the direction opposite the pub.

Finn and Colin were in the middle of a rousing game of Monopoly when there was a frantic knocking at the door.

"You expecting company?" Finn cocked his eyebrow at Colin.

"Not me? Maybe it's a certain redhead come a callin' for you."

"Maybe." Finn sounded unconvinced.

"Well, there is one easy way to find out who's at the door."

The frantic knocking continued unabated.

"And that would be?" Finn asked intrigued.

"We could open the door. Then the solidity of the wall between us would be breached and we could view the other person."

"You make a good point, mate. But that would mean interrupting our fascinating game of Monopoly."

"It's okay with me. You're winning anyway. Hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk as well as a half a dozen other properties is hard to compete with."

"But it was just getting fun."

The knocking suddenly ceased. A moment later, they heard Rory yell, "Finn! Colin! I know you're in there."

Finn and Colin glanced at each other, wearing eerily similar grins. Colin nodded his head at Finn, indicating that Finn should be the one to reply.

"And why, pray tell, do you know we're in here? For all you know we could be out at a party getting wasted and having an enjoyable time dancing with a couple of cute redheads."

"First of all, there's the fact that you just acknowledged me. That is sufficient evidence for me that you're in there, so please, Finn, open the damn door."

"There is no need for that kind of crude language," Colin called back, but neither had budged from their spot on the floor. "By the way, why are you here? Aren't you late for your date with Logan?"

Frustrated, Rory replied, "It's not a date. And I won't be late for it if you open the door right now and just talk to me."

"Alright, alright." Finn slowly got up and walked at a leisurely pace to the door. As his hand reached the doorknob, he stopped. "Why are you here?"

"Open the door already, Finn. It's getting tiring yelling through the door at you when you could easily 'breach the solidity of this wall' by turning the doorknob and pulling in."

Finn complied and stepped back to let Rory in but as soon as she saw him, she grabbed his wrist and started dragging him outside. "Let's go."

"Go where?" asked Colin blankly.

"To the pub," said Rory flatly.

"But isn't Logan there?"

"Exactly."

Finn interjected, "I think I missed something. Colin, did you follow that?"

"Nope."

"Have I been drinking?"

"Surprisingly, no."

"Then why did that make no sense?"

"Because."

"Let me try again." Finn turned to Rory, who had continued to pull him in the direction of the pub. "Why are you dragging me to your date with Logan?"

"For the last time, it's not a date. But I'm dragging you to the pub because you two are my new bodyguards. You don't really think I'm going to walk right into what could very well be a trap, do you?"

AN: I'm so sorry for the lack of updates lately. I hate making excuses, but I'm going to anyway. I had a boatload of work for finals and then I was dragged to visit family for the holidays. Thankfully, although there wasn't internet where I was staying, I did have my laptop and was able to get a jump on the next couple of chapters. So, assuming you guys are still interested and keep reviewing, I'll be able to keep the chapters coming.