Devin stared down at the history text book on his bed, trying to decide how important this homework assignment really was when his cell phone began to ring from the nightstand. He leaned over, picking it up, "Hayden house of pimps and hoes, how may I help you?" he asked, and since it was his phone he didn't have to worry about getting his ass chewed out for 'insulting on of Christopher's associates.'
"So a lot's happened in a month, eh?"
Devin's eyes widened, "Tristan?"
"The one and only....actually, there's probably more than one Tristan in the world, but of course none as amazing and good looking as-"
"Except for me of course...but I'm not named Tristan, so never mind."
"And that was completely off the subject."
"It's part of my charm. And might I ask to what I owe the pleasure of this conversation?"
"The truth is...I'm dying." he said over dramatically.
"Are you?"
"Yes. I'm going to this school Chilton, and oh god, no one listens to good music. It's all rap and pop shit. Oh, but a few know about Good Charlotte or Blink 182 or Linkin Park, someone every single person in America has heard of. Not that I don't like Linkin Park or Blink, because I do. None of them have heard of half the bands we listened to. Finger Eleven? No. Seether? No. Finch? No. Something Corporate? No. Shadows Fall? No. Phantom Planet? No. Nine Inch Nails? No. Story of the Year? No. Box Car Racer? No. Mest, Sugarcult, Lostprophets? No. Bowling For Soup? Less Than Jake? No. It's horrible, I am dying!" he finished dramatically.
"Are you done?" Devin asked.
"Yeah. I'm done."
"Okay, good. Anyway, sorry I can't do anything about the people there. But you'll be happy to know that Spastic is dead." Devin said, referring to their band.
"What happened?"
"We lost our lead singer."
"But you can sing."
"Not as well as you."
"That sucks."
"Yes it does." he changed the subject, "And I'm not stupid. Why, after a whole month, have you finally decided to call? Why did you wait so long?"
"Because I didn't know what to say."
"What gave you inspiration?"
"I was bored and everybody here is so fucking innocent it annoys the shit out of me."
"I thought so."
"You know me too well."
"Sadly, yes."
"Shut up."
"Yes master."
"So, how's everybody been?" Tristan asked, changing the subject.
Devin let a beat of silence pass before he replied, "Rory's good."
"She is?"
"Yeah."
"What about Kaleb and Tray?"
"Bored as hell, but we only have a week of school left and all of us are going to Key West for two weeks. Tray's grandparents live down there."
"Nice."
"Hell ya."
WHITLAND
"Yearbooks." Erin said, tossing one to Rory on the last day of school.
She smiled, opening it on her lap, "Fun. Ahh." she laughed upon turning to the Freshmen pages and seeing her picture. "Why are yearbook pictures always the worst?"
Erin shrugged and sat down next to her, opening her own, "Let's see what's in here." she began flipping through pages, "Hmm, don't care, don't care, I skipped all the days with pep rallies, Homecoming sucked..." she said, turning the ones with pictures of past school events, "Ahh, here's one with us." she said, surprised.
"What?" Rory looked over.
"Umm, page 108, 'What Students Do In Their Free Time'. It's us at Element."
Rory got to the page and grinned, there was a picture of the band playing and then one of them dancing in couples. Rory read the caption aloud, "Element, A very popular teen rock club in Boston, plays live music twice a week. Even our very own Tristan Dugrey, Devin Hayden, Kaleb Mackey, Tray Crispino, Garrett Livingston, and Josh Ring play there. Playing music is a good way to spend the weekend and keep kids out of trouble." Rory laughed, "Right, like playing music ever kept them out of any trouble. I think it might have GOTTEN them in trouble a few times."
"Yeah. Like the assembly incident. I'm guessing these were made before that." Erin laughed at the memory, "That was great, really. I think it'll go down in the history books. Calling a fake assembly."
Rory grinned, "They're crazy."
"I guess it rubs off on you." Erin said absentmindedly, looking at the pictures.
"Just a little. But on you more than me."
"Hey!" Erin laughed, pushing her playfully.
CHILTON
Tristan sat on one of the walls outside after school. Austin Greene was talking about the last football game with Will Maddox and Mac Fowler, and Summer Chestin was talking animatedly to Francie Madley and Vicky Gilmore. Gilmore...damn that name sounded familiar, he just couldn't figure out where he'd heard it.
He couldn't deny he was attracted to Vicky physically. Sandy blonde hair, about the color of Devin's. Green eyes, a slim build, probably about four inches shorter than him. The problem was, she followed every rule she was told to, she didn't listen to good music, she rolled her skirt up so much that it was almost halfway up her ass, and all of her clothes looked like they could fit a ten year old. Although physically he was attracted, she had nothing on her mentally. She couldn't put up a good argument and she giggled like hell.
He sighed, "I'm bored." he picked up Vicky's purse and started to look through it.
She giggled, and pulled out her phone, "Here, play with this."
He rolled his eyes and took it from her, "Let's see who Vicky has in her phone." he said, scrolling through the contacts, which were listed in alphabetical order:
Adam
Alix cell
Ashley Cell
Ashley Home
Austin
Dad Cell
Dad Home
Darcie
Devin Cell
Tristan paused, eyes wide. He pushed the button marked 'details'. Sure enough, Devin's full name: Devin Christopher Hayden; Birthday: 3-18-84; and phone number: 909-563-1803. He breathed out deeply and cursed mentally, so that's why the name Gilmore sounded so familiar. It was Devin and Rory's mother's maiden name. The same name Devin's twin was given. That was great, he had Devin and Rory's sister's phone in his hand, and, already guessing it would be there, he scrolled down until he was to the R's. Sure enough, it said 'Rory Cell' right there for the whole fucking world to see. He clicked on the 'details' button for Rory.
Name: Lorelai Leigh Hayden
Birthday: 2-19-85
Phone number: 909-563-4028
He glanced up, "Hey, Vicky?"
"Yeah?" she looked away from Summer.
"Who's this?"
She looked at the screen, "Rory? Oh, that's my sister."
"You have a sister?" Austin asked, turning away from Will and Mac.
"Yeah. I also have a twin brother, Devin. He's in there too. But they live with my dad."
"I didn't know that. How come you never told us?" Mac asked.
"They live in Boston. You'll probably never meet them."
"They live with your dad?"
"Actually, up until a few months ago Rory lived with my grandparents, but she moved in with my dad."
"How old is she?" Francie asked.
"She's fourteen. Eleven months younger than me and Devin."
"You don't sound very happy about it." Will said.
Vicky shrugged, "She's my sister, so I love her, but we've never gotten along. She listens to a lot of bands I've never heard of," her nose wrinkled, "and she's kind of punk rock slash goth. Like my brother. They get along better than I ever did with either of them." she sounded slightly upset about the last part.
"They live in Boston?"
"Yeah."
"Tristan,"
"Yeah?"
"Didn't you move here from Boston?"
"I did..." he trailed off, looking at Summer calmly.
"Did you ever meet them?"
His heart stopped, "Boston is a big city."
Summer studied his face for a moment before answering, "That's true. Sorry. So I guess there's no chance you ever saw them?"
He shook his head, "It's not likely."
"Oh." she sounded slightly put out, but turned back to Francie and Vicky. Tristan exhaled a breath he'd been unconsciously holding. Rory's sister. This wasn't good.
ONE WEEK LATER
Rory walked out into the spacious back yard, knowing where Devin would be. She was barefoot, the skirt of her knee length black dress moving as it slid across her thighs. Not surprisingly, her brother was sitting against a large tree, blocked from view of the house. He was wearing black dress pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He stared at her feet as she stopped in front of him.
She kneeled in front of him, frowning, "I thought you didn't do that anymore."
"You knew I was lying just to make Erin happy." he said, pulling the end of the bowl from his mouth and handing it to his sister, along with the lighter. She took it and closed her mouth over the nozzle. She lit the bowl of it and inhaled deeply, holding the smoke in before blowing it out slowly.
She frowned again and handed it back, "You lied to her."
"Ror, I need it. We have to stand a whole dinner with Emily and Richard Gilmore, AND Vicky. We really need it. Mom won't be that bad, or dad's parents, but they'll be horrible. You need it too." he hit it again.
"But I didn't tell anyone that I wouldn't do weed anymore."
"That's because you did it with Tristan." he said, handing it back.
"And you've done it with Erin."
"She doesn't like it, though."
"I know. I won't tell her." she lit it and inhaled deeply, using the last of it. Devin started to get the baggie out of his pocket, but she put her hand over his, "We can't get stoned. Only high."
"Why?"
"Devin, our parents were bad growing up. They would know."
He sighed and dropped the bowl and bag into a small space in the tree trunk. She grabbed the eyedrops they kept in the tree trunk and told Devin to lay on his back, she dropped two in each of his eyes so that they wouldn't be red. He did the same to her and they went inside. They sat in the living room, waiting for their families to arrive.
Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang and the maid answered it. Chris walked into the room, waiting for whoever was at the door to come in. Rory glanced at Devin and grinned, causing him to smile as well. She looked away from him, grabbing her drink and taking a piece of ice in her mouth, only to drop it back into the glass. She laughed, doing it again. Devin grinned, watching her. Chris looked between them, suspicious, but said nothing as his parents walked into the room.
"Rory!" Francine said loudly, hugging her granddaughter. Rory smiled, hugging her grandfather next.
"And Devin." she smiled, enveloping the other child before hugging her son. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang again, and Emily and Richard walked in. Rory looked at her brother through the corner of her eye. He had on a grimace that could pass for a grin, and they prepared to let the torture begin.
Half an hour later, they were all sitting at the table, having polite conversation, all except for Lorelai, who'd been forbidden to speak after she started talking about midget strippers. At the moment she was looking at her plate and playing with her food, acting like a reprimanded child. She and Chris continued to hit feet under the table, he was trying to get her to look up and get yelled at, and she was trying to get him in trouble like she was. They were like six year olds.
Rory and Devin had been exchanging smirks all night, but neither had spoken to their sister. They weren't worried about her or their grandparents noticing that they weren't their normal selves. They'd smoked in situations where they'd needed to be able to hide it, so they learned quickly, but their dad saw them every day. He may notice. Vicky sighed, tired of being silent. "So, Rory,"
She looked up, "Huh?"
"Is there a guy?"
"Where?" she looked around before laughing.
Vicky's eyebrow arched, "I mean in your life. Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Luckily, no."
"Why luckily?"
"Well, see, I had a boyfriend, but that didn't exactly work out." she said, waving her hand around.
Devin shook his head, "Nope, nope, nope, didn't work."
"What happened?" Vicky asked.
"He moved, but not before acting like a huge jackass and-"
"Watch your language, Lorelai." Emily said sharply.
Rory shook her head, "Never mind, I'll tell you later."
"Okay..." she trailed off and they all fell into silence.
"So, is everyone done?" Francine asked. There was a round of nods, "Then why don't we move to the sitting room?"
They all stood up, exiting the dining room and making their way to the next room. Rory sat in the loveseat, soon joined by Devin, who was followed by Vicky. Lorelai, Emily, and Francine sat on the couch while Richard, Straub, and Chris sat in recliners.
"So," Emily said, starting conversation, "pray tell why we were all called to your lovely home tonight, Christopher."
"Well, Lorelai and I have been talking for a few weeks and we've come to a decision."
"Which would be..." Francine trailed off.
"Next month the company needs me to leave for five months, I'll be in Paris setting up a branch there." Rory and Devin looked at each other, both being able to guess where this was going, and neither liking it. "We decided that Rory and Devin don't need to go, so they'll be moving to Hartford with Lorelai."
Rory shot out of her seat, "Dad, no!" while Devin stood as well, voicing his opinion just as loudly.
"Guys," Lorelai said, "come on, I'm not that bad."
"No, it's not you, it's just, I am not moving to a different state." Rory said, "We could move back to Maine. I know people in Maine. I don't however, know anyone in Hartford."
"I'm sorry, sweetie, the decision has already been made. If there was any way around this trip then I'd take it, but I have to go." Chris said, obviously sincere.
"When do we have to go?" Devin asked.
"You're moving three weeks after you get back from Key West."
"You're going to Key West?!" Vicky cried, obviously upset. "Why can't I go, dad? Why does Devin get to go?"
He rolled his eyes, looking at his twin, "Rory's going too."
"Why can't I go dad?"
"Sorry, Vic, their friend Tray invited them. His grandparents live down there. I'd let you go if I could."
She sighed, sinking back into the chair, "Oh well. Anyway, you guys, Hartford isn't that bad. The people at Chilton are actually great."
Devin turned on his sister, "Did you just say Chilton?"
"Yeah..."
"What am I missing?" Rory asked, looking between the two twins.
"Chilton. I know I've heard that before."
"Who-"
He shook his head, "I'll explain later."
"Alright..." she trailed off uncertainly.
Rory opened her mouth to protest again, but she froze, eyes wide, and shook her head as a though dawned on her. "Hartford.....oh god no. Uh-uh. No way."
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, looking at her granddaughter with question.
"I-I can't." she looked at Devin. "Hartford?"
He nodded, "Chilton." locking eyes with his younger sister, and that was all it took for her to understand.
"No way." she breathed. Devin nodded. "How do you know?"
"He called me a few days ago." they were talking so quietly that no one else in the room could hear them.
Rory's eyes narrowed, "You didn't tell me."
"What would have been the point?"
"Are you two quite done with your little club meeting of which you seem to feel as if the rest of the world should be left out on?" Emily asked, looking at Francine, who in turn shrugged.
The two teens whipped around to look at her, "Oh, yes. Sorry grandma." Rory said, sitting down, followed closely by her brother. Chris and Lorelai finished explaining everything. Rory and Devin were leaving for Key West in four days. When they got back, they would be home for three weeks, and then they would leave for Hartford. Their Sophomore year would be at Chilton Preparatory Academy, and they would attend social dinners at the country club practically every month. At the mention of this, Lorelai pretended to hang herself with an imaginary rope, causing Devin to smirk, Rory to grin, Chris to chuckle, and Emily to frown.
But Rory's grin slowly faded as she turned to her brother, the adults still talking. Devin looked at her as well. In just a month, she'd be in the same town as Tristan. In a few months, she'd be at the same school as him. After everything he put her through, after everything he'd said, she was going to see him again. She must have been horrible in the past to have gotten such bad karma. Chilton might not be that bad, but then again it could be hell. She'd just have to wait and find out.
"So a lot's happened in a month, eh?"
Devin's eyes widened, "Tristan?"
"The one and only....actually, there's probably more than one Tristan in the world, but of course none as amazing and good looking as-"
"Except for me of course...but I'm not named Tristan, so never mind."
"And that was completely off the subject."
"It's part of my charm. And might I ask to what I owe the pleasure of this conversation?"
"The truth is...I'm dying." he said over dramatically.
"Are you?"
"Yes. I'm going to this school Chilton, and oh god, no one listens to good music. It's all rap and pop shit. Oh, but a few know about Good Charlotte or Blink 182 or Linkin Park, someone every single person in America has heard of. Not that I don't like Linkin Park or Blink, because I do. None of them have heard of half the bands we listened to. Finger Eleven? No. Seether? No. Finch? No. Something Corporate? No. Shadows Fall? No. Phantom Planet? No. Nine Inch Nails? No. Story of the Year? No. Box Car Racer? No. Mest, Sugarcult, Lostprophets? No. Bowling For Soup? Less Than Jake? No. It's horrible, I am dying!" he finished dramatically.
"Are you done?" Devin asked.
"Yeah. I'm done."
"Okay, good. Anyway, sorry I can't do anything about the people there. But you'll be happy to know that Spastic is dead." Devin said, referring to their band.
"What happened?"
"We lost our lead singer."
"But you can sing."
"Not as well as you."
"That sucks."
"Yes it does." he changed the subject, "And I'm not stupid. Why, after a whole month, have you finally decided to call? Why did you wait so long?"
"Because I didn't know what to say."
"What gave you inspiration?"
"I was bored and everybody here is so fucking innocent it annoys the shit out of me."
"I thought so."
"You know me too well."
"Sadly, yes."
"Shut up."
"Yes master."
"So, how's everybody been?" Tristan asked, changing the subject.
Devin let a beat of silence pass before he replied, "Rory's good."
"She is?"
"Yeah."
"What about Kaleb and Tray?"
"Bored as hell, but we only have a week of school left and all of us are going to Key West for two weeks. Tray's grandparents live down there."
"Nice."
"Hell ya."
WHITLAND
"Yearbooks." Erin said, tossing one to Rory on the last day of school.
She smiled, opening it on her lap, "Fun. Ahh." she laughed upon turning to the Freshmen pages and seeing her picture. "Why are yearbook pictures always the worst?"
Erin shrugged and sat down next to her, opening her own, "Let's see what's in here." she began flipping through pages, "Hmm, don't care, don't care, I skipped all the days with pep rallies, Homecoming sucked..." she said, turning the ones with pictures of past school events, "Ahh, here's one with us." she said, surprised.
"What?" Rory looked over.
"Umm, page 108, 'What Students Do In Their Free Time'. It's us at Element."
Rory got to the page and grinned, there was a picture of the band playing and then one of them dancing in couples. Rory read the caption aloud, "Element, A very popular teen rock club in Boston, plays live music twice a week. Even our very own Tristan Dugrey, Devin Hayden, Kaleb Mackey, Tray Crispino, Garrett Livingston, and Josh Ring play there. Playing music is a good way to spend the weekend and keep kids out of trouble." Rory laughed, "Right, like playing music ever kept them out of any trouble. I think it might have GOTTEN them in trouble a few times."
"Yeah. Like the assembly incident. I'm guessing these were made before that." Erin laughed at the memory, "That was great, really. I think it'll go down in the history books. Calling a fake assembly."
Rory grinned, "They're crazy."
"I guess it rubs off on you." Erin said absentmindedly, looking at the pictures.
"Just a little. But on you more than me."
"Hey!" Erin laughed, pushing her playfully.
CHILTON
Tristan sat on one of the walls outside after school. Austin Greene was talking about the last football game with Will Maddox and Mac Fowler, and Summer Chestin was talking animatedly to Francie Madley and Vicky Gilmore. Gilmore...damn that name sounded familiar, he just couldn't figure out where he'd heard it.
He couldn't deny he was attracted to Vicky physically. Sandy blonde hair, about the color of Devin's. Green eyes, a slim build, probably about four inches shorter than him. The problem was, she followed every rule she was told to, she didn't listen to good music, she rolled her skirt up so much that it was almost halfway up her ass, and all of her clothes looked like they could fit a ten year old. Although physically he was attracted, she had nothing on her mentally. She couldn't put up a good argument and she giggled like hell.
He sighed, "I'm bored." he picked up Vicky's purse and started to look through it.
She giggled, and pulled out her phone, "Here, play with this."
He rolled his eyes and took it from her, "Let's see who Vicky has in her phone." he said, scrolling through the contacts, which were listed in alphabetical order:
Adam
Alix cell
Ashley Cell
Ashley Home
Austin
Dad Cell
Dad Home
Darcie
Devin Cell
Tristan paused, eyes wide. He pushed the button marked 'details'. Sure enough, Devin's full name: Devin Christopher Hayden; Birthday: 3-18-84; and phone number: 909-563-1803. He breathed out deeply and cursed mentally, so that's why the name Gilmore sounded so familiar. It was Devin and Rory's mother's maiden name. The same name Devin's twin was given. That was great, he had Devin and Rory's sister's phone in his hand, and, already guessing it would be there, he scrolled down until he was to the R's. Sure enough, it said 'Rory Cell' right there for the whole fucking world to see. He clicked on the 'details' button for Rory.
Name: Lorelai Leigh Hayden
Birthday: 2-19-85
Phone number: 909-563-4028
He glanced up, "Hey, Vicky?"
"Yeah?" she looked away from Summer.
"Who's this?"
She looked at the screen, "Rory? Oh, that's my sister."
"You have a sister?" Austin asked, turning away from Will and Mac.
"Yeah. I also have a twin brother, Devin. He's in there too. But they live with my dad."
"I didn't know that. How come you never told us?" Mac asked.
"They live in Boston. You'll probably never meet them."
"They live with your dad?"
"Actually, up until a few months ago Rory lived with my grandparents, but she moved in with my dad."
"How old is she?" Francie asked.
"She's fourteen. Eleven months younger than me and Devin."
"You don't sound very happy about it." Will said.
Vicky shrugged, "She's my sister, so I love her, but we've never gotten along. She listens to a lot of bands I've never heard of," her nose wrinkled, "and she's kind of punk rock slash goth. Like my brother. They get along better than I ever did with either of them." she sounded slightly upset about the last part.
"They live in Boston?"
"Yeah."
"Tristan,"
"Yeah?"
"Didn't you move here from Boston?"
"I did..." he trailed off, looking at Summer calmly.
"Did you ever meet them?"
His heart stopped, "Boston is a big city."
Summer studied his face for a moment before answering, "That's true. Sorry. So I guess there's no chance you ever saw them?"
He shook his head, "It's not likely."
"Oh." she sounded slightly put out, but turned back to Francie and Vicky. Tristan exhaled a breath he'd been unconsciously holding. Rory's sister. This wasn't good.
ONE WEEK LATER
Rory walked out into the spacious back yard, knowing where Devin would be. She was barefoot, the skirt of her knee length black dress moving as it slid across her thighs. Not surprisingly, her brother was sitting against a large tree, blocked from view of the house. He was wearing black dress pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He stared at her feet as she stopped in front of him.
She kneeled in front of him, frowning, "I thought you didn't do that anymore."
"You knew I was lying just to make Erin happy." he said, pulling the end of the bowl from his mouth and handing it to his sister, along with the lighter. She took it and closed her mouth over the nozzle. She lit the bowl of it and inhaled deeply, holding the smoke in before blowing it out slowly.
She frowned again and handed it back, "You lied to her."
"Ror, I need it. We have to stand a whole dinner with Emily and Richard Gilmore, AND Vicky. We really need it. Mom won't be that bad, or dad's parents, but they'll be horrible. You need it too." he hit it again.
"But I didn't tell anyone that I wouldn't do weed anymore."
"That's because you did it with Tristan." he said, handing it back.
"And you've done it with Erin."
"She doesn't like it, though."
"I know. I won't tell her." she lit it and inhaled deeply, using the last of it. Devin started to get the baggie out of his pocket, but she put her hand over his, "We can't get stoned. Only high."
"Why?"
"Devin, our parents were bad growing up. They would know."
He sighed and dropped the bowl and bag into a small space in the tree trunk. She grabbed the eyedrops they kept in the tree trunk and told Devin to lay on his back, she dropped two in each of his eyes so that they wouldn't be red. He did the same to her and they went inside. They sat in the living room, waiting for their families to arrive.
Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang and the maid answered it. Chris walked into the room, waiting for whoever was at the door to come in. Rory glanced at Devin and grinned, causing him to smile as well. She looked away from him, grabbing her drink and taking a piece of ice in her mouth, only to drop it back into the glass. She laughed, doing it again. Devin grinned, watching her. Chris looked between them, suspicious, but said nothing as his parents walked into the room.
"Rory!" Francine said loudly, hugging her granddaughter. Rory smiled, hugging her grandfather next.
"And Devin." she smiled, enveloping the other child before hugging her son. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang again, and Emily and Richard walked in. Rory looked at her brother through the corner of her eye. He had on a grimace that could pass for a grin, and they prepared to let the torture begin.
Half an hour later, they were all sitting at the table, having polite conversation, all except for Lorelai, who'd been forbidden to speak after she started talking about midget strippers. At the moment she was looking at her plate and playing with her food, acting like a reprimanded child. She and Chris continued to hit feet under the table, he was trying to get her to look up and get yelled at, and she was trying to get him in trouble like she was. They were like six year olds.
Rory and Devin had been exchanging smirks all night, but neither had spoken to their sister. They weren't worried about her or their grandparents noticing that they weren't their normal selves. They'd smoked in situations where they'd needed to be able to hide it, so they learned quickly, but their dad saw them every day. He may notice. Vicky sighed, tired of being silent. "So, Rory,"
She looked up, "Huh?"
"Is there a guy?"
"Where?" she looked around before laughing.
Vicky's eyebrow arched, "I mean in your life. Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Luckily, no."
"Why luckily?"
"Well, see, I had a boyfriend, but that didn't exactly work out." she said, waving her hand around.
Devin shook his head, "Nope, nope, nope, didn't work."
"What happened?" Vicky asked.
"He moved, but not before acting like a huge jackass and-"
"Watch your language, Lorelai." Emily said sharply.
Rory shook her head, "Never mind, I'll tell you later."
"Okay..." she trailed off and they all fell into silence.
"So, is everyone done?" Francine asked. There was a round of nods, "Then why don't we move to the sitting room?"
They all stood up, exiting the dining room and making their way to the next room. Rory sat in the loveseat, soon joined by Devin, who was followed by Vicky. Lorelai, Emily, and Francine sat on the couch while Richard, Straub, and Chris sat in recliners.
"So," Emily said, starting conversation, "pray tell why we were all called to your lovely home tonight, Christopher."
"Well, Lorelai and I have been talking for a few weeks and we've come to a decision."
"Which would be..." Francine trailed off.
"Next month the company needs me to leave for five months, I'll be in Paris setting up a branch there." Rory and Devin looked at each other, both being able to guess where this was going, and neither liking it. "We decided that Rory and Devin don't need to go, so they'll be moving to Hartford with Lorelai."
Rory shot out of her seat, "Dad, no!" while Devin stood as well, voicing his opinion just as loudly.
"Guys," Lorelai said, "come on, I'm not that bad."
"No, it's not you, it's just, I am not moving to a different state." Rory said, "We could move back to Maine. I know people in Maine. I don't however, know anyone in Hartford."
"I'm sorry, sweetie, the decision has already been made. If there was any way around this trip then I'd take it, but I have to go." Chris said, obviously sincere.
"When do we have to go?" Devin asked.
"You're moving three weeks after you get back from Key West."
"You're going to Key West?!" Vicky cried, obviously upset. "Why can't I go, dad? Why does Devin get to go?"
He rolled his eyes, looking at his twin, "Rory's going too."
"Why can't I go dad?"
"Sorry, Vic, their friend Tray invited them. His grandparents live down there. I'd let you go if I could."
She sighed, sinking back into the chair, "Oh well. Anyway, you guys, Hartford isn't that bad. The people at Chilton are actually great."
Devin turned on his sister, "Did you just say Chilton?"
"Yeah..."
"What am I missing?" Rory asked, looking between the two twins.
"Chilton. I know I've heard that before."
"Who-"
He shook his head, "I'll explain later."
"Alright..." she trailed off uncertainly.
Rory opened her mouth to protest again, but she froze, eyes wide, and shook her head as a though dawned on her. "Hartford.....oh god no. Uh-uh. No way."
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, looking at her granddaughter with question.
"I-I can't." she looked at Devin. "Hartford?"
He nodded, "Chilton." locking eyes with his younger sister, and that was all it took for her to understand.
"No way." she breathed. Devin nodded. "How do you know?"
"He called me a few days ago." they were talking so quietly that no one else in the room could hear them.
Rory's eyes narrowed, "You didn't tell me."
"What would have been the point?"
"Are you two quite done with your little club meeting of which you seem to feel as if the rest of the world should be left out on?" Emily asked, looking at Francine, who in turn shrugged.
The two teens whipped around to look at her, "Oh, yes. Sorry grandma." Rory said, sitting down, followed closely by her brother. Chris and Lorelai finished explaining everything. Rory and Devin were leaving for Key West in four days. When they got back, they would be home for three weeks, and then they would leave for Hartford. Their Sophomore year would be at Chilton Preparatory Academy, and they would attend social dinners at the country club practically every month. At the mention of this, Lorelai pretended to hang herself with an imaginary rope, causing Devin to smirk, Rory to grin, Chris to chuckle, and Emily to frown.
But Rory's grin slowly faded as she turned to her brother, the adults still talking. Devin looked at her as well. In just a month, she'd be in the same town as Tristan. In a few months, she'd be at the same school as him. After everything he put her through, after everything he'd said, she was going to see him again. She must have been horrible in the past to have gotten such bad karma. Chilton might not be that bad, but then again it could be hell. She'd just have to wait and find out.