Hey everyone, Thanx for all the reviews, they really mean a lot to me. So...shall we continue?

I looked at Biff who looked equally surprised. But his surprise, was different than the spellbound shock that registered on the faces of the other girls. They couldn't believe she'd walked out on a place to the final three. They were staring at each other, at her, at me, at the cameras. Diane's face lit up with awful pleasure.

"Can I have her place?" Clara demanded.

I waited for Biff to explode in a declaration of "You've WON!" But he looked to surprise.

I glanced at the camera man, I glanced at the producer behind the camera. She stood there in surprise, her pitiful earpiece buzzing loudly with instructions.

"Somebody move!" I cried.

But everyone seemed surprised. I could practically see smoke coming out of Biff's ears, his tiny, peanut-sized mind was working overtime. The production team had too obviously not thought that anyone would actually call me a jerk. They all expected that the million dollars was just a gimmick that was provided for the TV audiences. They had expected a grand hoax.

So I moved. And I moved quickly.

"Mary!" I ran after her.

How could any of the other girls fall for this crap? Could they really look at his handsome face, and the perfect chiseled feature blotted out the fact that his face was marred with the biggest, ugliest, smarmiest smirk I'd ever seen in my life? He was so full of it! He was on TV, proving to the world he could seduce any woman.

And he can too.

I couldn't believe that I'd fallen for him. I couldn't believe he had made me blush in something other than rage. I couldn't believe that I'd spent the day with him and liked him. I was so right, he hasn't changed the slightest since high school. It's Peter Pan. I choked down a raged cry. Peter Pan, the half-naked playboy who refuses to grow up.

"Mary!"

He is not! Oh my god...he is.

He was chasing after me.

I ran. I ran out of the room. I ran out of the door, I ran past the security guards, the cameras, the trailers, and all the equipment set up in the yard.

Surprised cameramen aimed their lenses at me, running after me.

I ran, and I could hear the parade after me. I could hear the string of producers, executives, security guards, and cameras. But for some reason, I could hear Tristan's steps the loudest. They echoed. Like his voice.

"Mary!"

I kept running, I ran out the gates that the contestants are forbidden to run past and there I froze. I looked at what was in front of me and just...froze.

I watched her stop, dead in her tracks. Her back was to me, but I could almost see her eyes widening in betrayed surprise.

She was standing in front of the TV van. The van was white save for the advertisement plastered over the side.

"THE JERK!" It proclaimed. My face was plastered there, my trademark smirk so firmly in place.

In elegant script, underneath was written "We took a great guy and turned him playboy...are girls too shallow to notice?"

Her shoulders were stiff, her knees were locked. She was silent, the only noise was the buzz of the earpieces behind me insisting that this was the best ending they could have ever scripted for the show. This was the perfect way for her to find out. Did anyone have the check? Was she ok? Was Tristan there? Get the other girls ready for their confessional shots. The studio was going to love this. The audience was going to love this. Wasn't it perfect? Their ratings were going to go through the roof!

"Miss Gilmore, Miss Gilmore." Biff checked his hair quickly before running into the camera sight. "Miss Gilmore! You've won!"

She didn't turn. I could sense her decyphering what was going on.

"Rory, this show is ahoax! We wanted to see if girls would fall for guys, even if they're jerks! You know, Tristan's really a great guy! He's only been acting like a jerk! You'vejust wona million dollars!"

Rory turned around and I was shocked to see her eyes were watering.

She blinked stubbornly, refusing to shed a tear. "You didn't need a SHOW!" She cried.

Everyonefroze, surprised by the soft-spoken girl's tone.

"You needed a SHOW? You needed a SHOW to prove to you that stupid, arrogant, playboys dupe girls? Go to a freakin' bar, gentleman! Go to any high school in the world and you will see decent, hardworking girls with the stars in their eyes get pulled over by jerks every day! EVERY day!" She shook her head in disgust.

"Mary! I'm not like that!" I stepped forward. "I've changed since-"

She winced slightly and I remembered no one knew we'd met before.

"I've changed since...since ever. I don't want to be a jerk." The words tumbled out, trampling on top of each other. "Don't you see, Mar? I've given up on that stuff! I haven't done the whole bed-post notch! I changed!"

She shook her head. "If you changed, why are you on a god forsaken TV show?"

"My friend put me up to it Mary! If I'd known that I would have to lie to you. If I'd know I was going to see you I wouldn't have signed up! I...I ...I would have just watched you on TV like the rest of the world and wished I could be in your presense!"

Her lips curled back, disgusted. "You. Are. Pathetic! Don't you get it Tristan?"

"No!" He yelled back. "Don't YOU get it?"

I frowned.

"I'm not the jerk that I used to be. I was acting! That day, where I didn't act like a jerk, where I got to act like myself meant everything to me! It was the one time, that I would ever get to be with you, and be able to smile, andand mean it. When Igot to joke with you, and laugh with you without my ego getting in the way. Where I got tosay stupid things, and playQuestionsOnly!To be able to say lines that weren't...prescripted! Don't you understand?"

I watched him and I felt my anger fade. He wasn't kidding. He had changed. He was on TV show, that's why he'd been a jerk.

My pride flared again. Why had he tricked me like this? There was this sudden desperation. I liked him! I liked him and I didn't know why! I felt like stamping my foot, and putting my hands on my hips and screaming! "Tristan DuGrey, you're...you're..incourigible!"

He grinned so brightly. "Two-love." (A/N: He got a point on the phone of the last chapter as well)

All I could do was cover the choking laughter by looking down.

"Rory Gilmore, I'm in love with you!"

The cameras zoomed in and out, enjoying every moment. They buzzed around, getting every angle.

"You what?" She asked, stunned. The laughter was gone. And so was mine. I hurried to her.

"I've been in love with you. You're in my dreams, you're in my thoughts. How could I eliminate you from a show, even when I have to be the jerk? I couldn't. I'd rather have you hate me, but be around me, than think I'm anything else and only watch me from behind a TV screen. I'm crazy about you!"

She ran at me.

Dear God, she's gonna kill me...

She threw herself in my arms and wrapped me in the warmest kiss I'd ever felt.

I suddenly wasn't aware of the cameras, of Biff, of the buzzing ear pieces.

Just Rory Gilmore.

Mary.

She drew back, her eyes sparkling. "I think you just want my million dollars." She whispered softly.

"I think you're worth a little more than that, don't you?" I whispered back.

She smiled. "Maybe."

I kissed her gently. "Three-love. Match...I win."

Ta-da. I know, some people might think the ending was slightly rushed, but I got some reviews saying it was dragging on. I'll probably start a new FF later. I like"Dealin' With It" way, waybetter than "The Jerk", so if anyone would like to give me some feedback on the comparison, I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you guys for being so faithful in reading, it's meant a lot to me!

-Thought's Pen

p.s. I WANT THE AP TEST SCORES, NOW! ads;lfakj;sdlkfa;ldskfa;lsfk :)