Puppet Master

"So, met the parent, did ya mate?" began Finn, smirking slowly.

Logan rolled his eyes. "You guys really need to get a hobby."

"We have one," said Colin who was finally beginning to really wake up. "It's called interrogating our roommate."

Logan shifted his look from Finn to Colin. "You do know that two can play that game, don't you?" He paused before pointedly asking, "So did you and Steph have fun last night?"

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!"

"Well how about we go tit-for-tat? I tell my story and you tell yours."

"Sorry, no!"

"And why ever not?" asked Finn. "It seems fair to me!"

"I don't think so. First of all, you don't have anything to tell since you were watching late night infomercials when I came in last night-"

Finn cut Logan off. "Okay, I'll go so you can tell Colin. How about that?"

"Still not fair. Colin will tell you as soon as I get done speaking, and besides, given the symptoms Colin is currently exhibiting, I would say he has a massive hangover and probably can't remember what happened last night so he wouldn't be able to tell me anything worth hearing!"

"Give me a little credit!" scoffed Colin pompously. "I would at least wait until you leave the room to tell Finn what happened."

Finn peeled his gaze from Logan's face to look disbelievingly at Colin. "You mean you don't remember what happened? How much alcohol did you have?"

"Not too much, but I, unlike you, don't regularly drink heavily and haven't developed a most unfortunate tolerance for the stuff."

"Too true, too true," moped Finn, disappointed that Logan had outmaneuvered them and wouldn't have to share any juicy details and that Colin couldn't remember any. "Why must you deprive me of gossip? It's my lifeline!"

"You're pathetic!" was Logan's only comment as he returned to his room.

"So Logan won't spill, huh?" came a new voice. Colin's head snapped up to look at Stephanie standing in the doorframe.

"Nope," grumbled Finn. "I can't believe I got up this early for nothing!"

"Oh, well," said Steph airily, "I'm sure Rory will be more than willing to tell me what happened!" She was specifically trying to get a rise out of Finn, but was much disappointed when he only got an evil gleam in the corner of his eye. She turned to Colin. "I think I should probably be going. You know, classes to get to, shopping to get done, the usual stuff."

"I'll walk you out," offered Colin graciously.

Stephanie waved her hand dismissively. "Don't bother. I'm sure you have a killer hangover! I wouldn't want to inconvenience you!"

Colin puzzled over her comment, but in the end he decided that she didn't seem mad. He rose from the couch anyway. "Actually, it's not too bad! I'm sure I can manage to walk you out!"

"Such a monumental achievement," teased Stephanie. "You can make it the whole twenty steps to the door!"

"You have short legs," teased Colin right back. "It's actually only fifteen steps for us normal people."

"Normally, I would slap you for that, but I don't think that would be too well received right now!"

"No, probably not! So, uh," Colin floundered when they reached the door. "I had a good time last night?" he said uncertainly.

"No you didn't! You drank yourself into oblivion to drown out the music."

"That might be, but the company was great!" he said with a wink.

An uncharacteristic blush graced Stephanie's cheeks. She shifted awkwardly, unable to find anything to say. "So, I…uh…should probably get going." After a moment of indecision, she darted in to give Colin a quick kiss before leaving in a hurry.

Colin stood looking at the door in some sort of trance. At Finn's chuckle, he whirled around, the spell broken. "What!"

For a moment, Finn didn't respond, too busy tying his shoelaces. "You're acting like you just got your first kiss!"

Colin didn't respond for a moment. When he finally regained control of his voice, all he said was, "In some way, I think it was."

Finn scoffed. "Don't give me that cliché true love speech!"

"Whatever!" Colin finally ventured a look at Finn and noticed that Finn was getting ready to go outside. "Are you going somewhere?"

"What does it look like, genius?"

"Okay, let me rephrase that: Where are you going? I didn't think you believed in leaving bed, much less the dorm, before noon."

"Normally, I don't, but when something is important enough, I bend the rules."

"Oh!" queried Colin. "And what would be this something that is important enough?"

"Bugging Huntzberger," said Finn mysteriously. When Colin didn't take the bait and ask, Finn gave in and explained. "I'm going to see Rory!"

Colin rubbed his hands together evilly. "And suddenly, my hangover has all but disappeared!"

"Well, grab your coat," said Finn ask he exited the room at a brisk pace.

Colin stared after him, not used to seeing this new side of Finn. "Wait for me!"

Rory had just finished recounting her evening to Paris when a knock came at the front door.

"Who is it?" called Paris at the top of her lungs.

"Paris," cried Rory, "hush! Did it never occur to you that not everybody gets woken up by an annoying roommate at the crack of dawn? People are still sleeping!" she repeated in case Paris had missed her point the first time.

"Well I just wanted to know who was at the door!"

"Well a wise guy once observed that if you open the door, the solidity of the wall between the two parties would be breached and you could view the other person," said Rory, remembering a remark Colin had made not that long ago.

From the other side of the door came a voice. "Hey! Did you hear that? She called me wise!"

Rory could practically see Finn roll his eyes. "You really had too much to drink last night, didn't you?"

"Pot calling the kettle black!"

Eager to break up the verbal sparring, Rory crossed the room and opened the door. Her opening words to the dynamic duo were, "Some people are still sleeping!"

Colin fixed her with a withering stare. "This a college. People are always sleeping!"

Rory shrugged. "Speaking of that," she turned to Finn, "I didn't realize you were acquainted with this thing called morning!"

"Yes well, something demanded my attention."

"And that would be?" demanded Paris.

Finn turned to her, seeing her for the first time. "Ah, Paris Gellar. How nice to see you again!"

"Charmed, I'm sure. Now, can we get on with it? I have class in a half an hour."

"Well, we mustn't keep you from your classes," said Finn soothingly. "We just wanted to get Rory to tell us how her evening was."

Rory, already tired of recounting her night, whirled around and stomped off to her room. Colin and Finn looked confusedly at Paris. She shrugged. "Gilmore just got done telling me about it, but by all means, go bug her!"

"Why thank you!" grinned Finn as he and Colin made their way into Rory's room.

"So," said Finn as he belly-flopped onto Rory's bed, folding his hands under his chin and kicking his legs in the air, looking like a young gossip-hungry girl. "What did ya do?"

Colin was more subdued, entering the room and pulling out Rory's desk chair to sit down allowing Rory to have a bit of private space.

"So am I to assume that Logan didn't gossip?"

"Nope. He's being a poopy-head!" Finn was getting too immersed in the young girl friend role.

"And he doesn't know you're here?"

This time Colin answered. "No. And we'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him."

"He holds the keys to the liquor cabinet, and he's not afraid to use them."

"Why do you put up with him?"

"Actually I think the question is, why do you?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you are annoyingly persistent?" inquired Rory, exasperated at being interrogated.

"I get that all the time!" Finn shut up and the two boys looked at her expectantly.

"What? There isn't anything to gossip about!"

"Nothing at all?" asked Finn, looking at Colin confusedly.

"He sure is losing his touch!" chimed Colin.

"I'll be sure to tell him that you think so!" said Rory cheerfully, trying whatever she could to get them to shut up!

"You wouldn't!" gasped Colin, fearful of the powerful wrath of Logan.

"Want to try me?" asked Rory as she reached for her cell phone, which was sitting barely within reach. As she did so, the phone began to ring. Finn exchanged an amazed glance with Colin. "Hello?...oh hi, Logan!"

"She must have psychic abilities or something," breathed Finn.

"Oh that? Paris just has some friends over." Finn and Colin breathed a sigh of relief. "You're on your way over?" Rory repeated Logan's portion of the conversation pointedly. "Yeah that's fine! Great, I'll see you in a couple of minutes!" She hung up.

"Ro-ry!" Finn whined.

"What?"

"Logan's coming over here, and we're here!"

"Ah yes! We'll all be just one big happy family!"

"But you said you wouldn't say anything to him."

"No I didn't, but I won't have to anyway. The fact that you're here will speak for itself!"

Colin and Finn exchanged panicked glances. Rory finally took pity on them. "Don't worry!" She marched over to the window and threw it open. "Out the window you go!"

"What?"

"It's either that or risk being seen by Logan!"

"I'll take the window," cried Colin.

The duo hopped quickly out the window. Rory smirked. It was just too much fun to play with their heads!

AN: Let's see. What to say? I know I'm dragging the story out too long when I can't find anything to say in my author's note. Just to let y'all know, I'm hoping to wrap the story up in the next three to five chapters. It just seems to drag on and on now. Nothing really happens! I'm really sorry about that and hopefully the last couple of chapters will be more exciting (but even I'm not holding my breath!) Any suggestions made would not only be welcome, but might also help me get going. I love hearing what you think should happen, because then I know what would make you happy. And of course, one of my first goals as an author is to make the readers happy (most of the time!). I hope you don't hate me too much!

Thanks for all of the reviews. Love 'ya. -Rebecca