TITLE: Presenting... Mary

SUMMARY: A twist in the episode "Presenting Lorelai Gilmore." Who will be Rory's escort?

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gilmore Girls or anything related to it. I am just an obsessive fan!

A/N: This is my first fanfic ever! I have been reading and enjoying them for a long time and never got the courage to write one myself! Please be kind and review. I accept constructive criticism! Thanks for giving me a chance!

Also, italics mean a character's thoughts!

The kiss at the piano in season one DID happen!

Sorry for the little gap in updating. I hope this chapter is okay, I was having a hard time getting this together.

All of the reviewers have been so awesome! You guys really do encourage me to keep posting, even when I feel unsure. So, if I hadn't said it enough yet, thank you, thank you, thank you! Smiles to all of you.

Rory hadn't slept at all last night. She just laid in bed thinking about Tristan and Dean. She had definitely felt something when Tristan kissed her, reminding her of their kiss at Madeline's party. She couldn't even remember the last time she felt something when kissing Dean. Sure the kisses were nice, but they didn't give her the same fluttering feeling anymore. She needed to sort out her feelings, and fast.

It was 7:00 in the morning and Rory was sitting at the counter in Luke's. Well, more like laying on the counter. "Coffee" she muttered.

"Hey Luke, you heard the girl, more coffee. Hop to it mister!" Lorelai said cheerfully. She had been trying desperately to cheer Rory up all morning. Something's up with her. She came home from mom's in a really strange mood yesterday.

Luke sighed and said "she's already had three cups this morning. I'm not contributing to this sickness anymore." He went back to the kitchen and came out with their food, placing the heaping plates in front of them. The rest of breakfast was spent with Rory sitting quietly, pretending to listen to Lorelai's story about Michel and an incident involving a guest.

Rory made her way to her locker, hoping Tristan wouldn't be waiting for her. Never one to disappoint, Tristan was leaning against the lockers when she arrived. "Hey Mary, I got a surprise for you."

"I'm not in the mood for this right now Tristan. Can't you go bug someone else?"

Tristan, hurt at her reaction said "fine, forget it." What did I do? Last time I saw her she was looking forward to seeing me, now she's acting like she never wants to see me again. I really don't understand this girl. Tristan gave her one last glance and walked away, leaving Rory staring after him.

Is it my imagination, or did Tristan seem hurt by what I said? Rory thought, walking towards her first class. She hadn't intended on being rude to him, but she just wasn't ready to talk to him yet. For the rest of the day Rory couldn't concentrate. She kept wondering why he had reacted so differently to her typical remark. Did he really have a surprise for me?

Tristan was sitting in his room after school when there was a knock on his door. "Mr. DuGrey, there is someone here to see you." Curious, Tristan went downstairs to see who it was. He was shocked to see Rory standing in the foyer, looking very upset. He could tell she had been crying and it seemed like she was still fighting back the tears.

"Rory, what are you doing here?" Tristan walked over to her and took her hand. She allowed him to lead her upstairs to his room. He shut the door and motioned for her to sit on the bed.

Rory remained silent, looking around Tristan's room. There were posters all over the walls and she began to stare at the one right above Tristan's head. Unable to wait any longer, Tristan quietly said "Rory, are you alright?"

Finally, Rory shouted "No! I'm not alright! I don't know what I'm doing or why I'm doing it!" Tears started to roll down her cheeks, running her already smudged makeup.

"What? What don't you know you're doing?" Tristan was growing more concerned by the minute. He had never seen Rory like this and he wasn't sure what to say to comfort her.

"Why did you have to mess with my head? I was perfectly happy until you came along. I loved my boyfriend, or at least I thought I did." Rory was sobbing and staring wide-eyed at Tristan.

"Please tell me what's wrong." Tristan moved to sit next to Rory, putting his arm over her shoulder and pulling her close.

"All I can think about is you and I don't even know why. I'm supposed to hate you." Rory was looking at her lap, afraid to see Tristan's reaction. When she finally looked up at him, his face was unreadable.

"Rory, I don't know what to say. But I do know that I have wanted to hear you say that for two years." Tristan said quietly and sincerely. He didn't even recognize his own voice. He remained still, staring at her. It felt like one of his dreams and he was afraid if he moved, he would wake up.

After several minutes of quietly staring at each other, Rory softly said "I don't know if I can do this. What about Dean? Oh god, I'm such an awful person!" Rory resumed her sobbing and Tristan felt the shaking of her shoulders. He just held her, silently reassuring her until she stopped crying.

"You are not an awful person Rory. You are the kindest person I have ever met." Tristan almost seemed sad at saying this. He knew she would never do anything to hurt someone, meaning that she wouldn't hurt her boyfriend. She's going to realize that this is a mistake and go back to Dean.

"No, I'm not. Look what I'm doing. I'm crying in the arms of another guy because I've felt more for him in the past few days then for my boyfriend." Rory knew what she was doing was wrong and that no matter what she would end up hurting someone. I don't know what to do. I'm playing with the feelings of two guys and I can't decide what I want. Rory stood up and quickly walked out the door, leaving Tristan staring at her retreating back.

Tristan heard the front door close and quietly said to himself "I love you Rory." He walked over to his dresser and retrieved the Coldplay tickets he had planned on giving to her today. I should have known that buying concert tickets for Rory never works out well. Last time I had to watch her making out with her boyfriend after telling him she hated me. He put the tickets back in the drawer and slammed it shut. Then he fell back on to his bed, falling asleep thinking about Rory.

Rory had cried all the way back to Stars Hollow. She kept seeing Dean and Tristan's faces in her head. Why is this so hard? Dean is my sweet boyfriend and Tristan is the guy who has tormented me for two years. This should be an easy choice. But it's not and I can't figure out why. After getting off the bus, Rory had wanted to see Lane but it was past 8:30 and Mrs. Kim does not allow visitors after that time. Instead, she headed to Luke's and was not surprised to see her mom sitting at the counter.

"Rory, I'm so glad you're here. I was about to hit Luke because he's been saying terrible things about my beloved coffee." Lorelai looked like she was actually enjoying herself with Luke, and Rory wasn't in the mood for their flirting. She went up to them and asked for a cup of coffee to go.

"Sorry mom, I'd love to stay but I have a ton of homework to do." Rory said, not looking Lorelai in the eye. She knew her mom would be able to tell something was wrong if she got a good look at her face.

Lorelai could tell something was wrong, but knew her daughter well enough to know that if she wanted to talk, she'd ask. "Ok hun, I'll be home in a little bit and I'll get some Chinese from Al's." Luke cleared his throat loudly and looked annoyed.

"Don't talk about getting someone else's food while you're in my diner."

"Oh, relax Luke. You know we love you more. If only you would consider offering some ethnic food, we would never leave here." Lorelai was giving Luke a sweet smile, knowing he wouldn't stay mad.

"Fine, go ahead and rot your stomachs away with Al's food. Just don't come crying to me when you're sick." Luke headed towards the back and Rory gave her mom a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.

Rory was sitting on her bed, attempting to finish her homework when Lorelai came through her door. "Hey, I got the food but I think we should get a movie, don't you?"

Rory didn't even look up from her homework when she said "I don't know mom. I don't think I have time."

Lorelai knew something was bothering her and finally said "Ror, please tell me what has been going on with you. I'm really worried about you."

Rory opened her mouth to speak, but burst out in tears instead. Lorelai moved to the bed and embraced her in a tight hug. "It's okay sweets. Just tell me what happened and we'll fix it."

Rory pulled away from the hug and looked at her mom. She wasn't sure how well her mom would take the news about her feelings for Tristan. Lorelai was always going on and on about what a great boyfriend Dean was. She decided she had to tell someone before she went crazy, and slowly said "I, I don't think I love Dean anymore."

Not sure how to react, Lorelai said "Oh, well, when did this happen?"

"The last couple of days. Tristan and I have been spending a lot of time together and I think I like him." Rory couldn't bring herself to look at her mom. She felt so guilty at the confession.

"Ror, you know it's okay if you don't love Dean anymore. It was bound to happen sometime. He is just your first boyfriend. I know it hurts to admit, but you didn't do anything wrong."

"How can you say that? I'm supposed to love Dean. What kind of person dumps their boyfriend for a guy she couldn't stand a week ago?" Rory had started crying again and Lorelai was stroking her arm comfortingly.

"Ror, don't you think it's possible that you have liked Tristan for a long time and never noticed it?" Lorelai asked, knowing the answer. She could tell from the stories that Rory told her about Tristan. She acted as if he was annoying, but she believed she did so to cover her true feelings.

"I don't know! I'm so confused mom." Rory looked into her mom's eyes, trying to find an answer to her problem. She knew she wouldn't find one, but she wasn't able to look to herself for one either.

Lorelai could see the internal battling Rory had engaged in and decided she should leave her alone to think. "Why don't you go to sleep hun? A good night's sleep always helps."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." Rory moved to put her things in her backpack and Lorelai headed to the kitchen. Just as she was about to close the door, Rory said "Hey mom? Thanks for listening and not being mad at me."

"Anytime kiddo, anytime. I love you." Lorelai smiled and closed the door. Rory changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She knew she wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. The ball was only two days away and Rory was dreading it more then ever before.

Hey, so that's it! Please tell me it didn't suck too much. It may seem a little fast for Rory to admit her feelings, but I really didn't want to drag it out any longer. Thanks for reading, and please review. :)