No one else can feel the pain that breaks my heart each day...
I'm not okay
Why did I ever let you inside my heart...
I'm such a fool
Don't you know that I always see you in all of my dreams?
I wanna kill you, but now I'm insane
- One Eight Seven (Senses Fail)
Rory glanced at Paris across the picnic table in the courtyard two weeks later. "Okay, so let me get this straight, you-" she pointed to Rory, "-are sisters with Vicky Gilmore, and Devin is her twin and your older brother...and when you were little your parents divorced, so he moved to Boston with your dad, Vicky stayed here with your mom, and you moved to Maine with your grandparents."
Rory twirled the stick to her blow pop, nodding. "Mm-hm." Madeline and Louise glanced at each other, they'd heard pieces of what had happened, but this was the first time they were hearing it confirmed.
"But your dad wanted you to move in with him, so last fall you packed up and went to Boston for a few months, and then your father had to move to Paris for five months with business, so you and Devin moved here with your mom, am I right?"
She pulled the lollipop out of her mouth, grinning, "You got it."
Paris nodded, "Okay. God, you have the most complicated family I've ever met." Rory laughed and popped the sucker back into her mouth.
"Wow, so then the first thing you heard me and Louise say was how hot your brother is?"
Madeline asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
She nodded, "Yeah."
"Sorry about that." she apologized, smiling sheepishly. Louise just looked at her fingernails, pursing her lips, and Madeline elbowed her in the ribs.
She gave her friend a dirty look, "What? It's true." she smiled at Rory lightly, "sorry, but one can't deny the facts."
Rory nodded, "Oh no, it's fine."
Madeline smirked lightly, "Speaking of fine..." she whispered under her breath, looking over Rory's shoulder..
"Hmm?" before Rory could turn around, someone sat on the table, resting his feet on the bench next to her. She glanced up at him, "Tristan." she looked back down, closing her eyes momentarily, and taking a deep breath. It got harder every time she saw him. Sometimes she wished that she'd never let him in, and she asked herself how she let a guy hurt her that bad...and then Tristan smiled at her, and it all made perfect sense; his smile, his laugh, his voice...it all screamed at her that there was a reason she allowed him to hurt her, and a reason that she was still willing to go back for more. She wanted to kill him sometimes, but he'd beat her to it. He'd driven her insane.
She squeezed her eyes tightly before opening them. He smiled charmingly, "Rory." and then he nodded to the other three, "Maddy, Louise...Gellar." She rolled her eyes and hit im in the side with her notebook, but it was obvious she was fighting back the smile of someone who was used to friendly banter with Tristan Dugrey. He laughed, "Hey Paris."
She shook her head, "Loser."
He touched his heart lightly, "Ouch, that one hurt." he smiled when she laughed at the pained look on his face, and he turned to Rory. "She's as bad as you."
She shrugged lightly, taking her lollipop out of her mouth again, "You bring it upon yourself."
He nodded, "So they say. Why such mean things from such a pretty mouth?"
"Are you talking about me or you?"
He shrugged, "Either, you decide." She just laughed, shaking her head. He watched her, smiling lightly.
"Tristan Dugrey, you are so cocky."
"Oh but you like it."
"So much. How ever could you tell?"
"I have a sixth sense about these things."
"Is that it? I always knew there was something weird about you."
"Oh aren't you a clever one?"
"You're just jealous because I'm smarter."
"That's it."
"I knew it." she said lightly, a small smile creeping onto her face as she popped the sucker back in.
Tristan looked at the other three, "Well, I'll let you four get back to...whatever you were talking about because I seem to have interrupted something important."
Madeline shook her head, "Not really."
He just smiled at her before looking back at Rory and pulling the blow pop from her mouth, sticking it into his own, and saying goodbye before walking away. Rory watched him go with her jaw dropped. He'd taken her candy. Louise tilted her head, "What the hell was that about?"
Rory shook her head, biting her bottom lip lightly, "I have no idea." Madeline snorted lightly, shaking her head. Rory turned to look at her, "What?"
"You might want to be careful. Even though we all know that Vicky and Tristan will break up eventually, there's still a line to get to him."
She shook her head, "I don't like Tristan. He's dating my sister."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you're not attracted to him. I say that you'll fall for him within a month, doubtless of his status with your sister." Louise seemed to be under the impression that Rory wanted her opinion on the subject.
She shook her head and deadpanned, "You know, you're right. I am I love with him. I want him madly and deeply. Is it that obvious?" it might have been wittier if it wasn't slightly true.
Louise just smiled lightly, "It'll be true, just wait."
"Mmm." Rory just looked away from her, but she wouldn't give it up.
"I mean, we all liked him. I fell for him after two weeks, Madeline was quicker than me."
The brunette nodded solemnly, "He was in my first period. It was instantaneous."
"And are either of you attracted him anymore?" she challenged.
"Rory, you can't be a heterosexual female and not be attracted to Tristan Dugrey. Of course we're still attracted to him, even if we don't have a crush on him per say." Louise explained as easily as if it were common knowledge.
She nodded, "Is that so?"
"Well yeah."
Rory shook her head, this was insane, "Okay, I'm gonna go now." she stood up, walking away when Paris caught up with her.
"Hey, Rory?"
"Yeah?"
"So what's the story with you and Tristan?"
She stopped walking and turned to face her, "What?"
"You and Tristan. Louise and Madeline may think you're just into your sister's boyfriend, but I know Tristan, and I've gotten to know you pretty quickly, and I can tell that there's something there that has nothing to do with being friends with him because he's dating your sister, and there was more there than a few weeks of knowing each other. You guys haven't exactly been discrete about knowing each other around me. Hell, the first day I met you, the two of you were joking and flirting. So, what's it gonna be? Do I have to figure out the hard way? Because I'll tell you, I'm planning on being a journalist, and a damn good one at that, so do you want to tell me or am I going to have to dig?"
Rory just stood in silence for a moment, shaking her head as Paris waited for an answer. She finally found her voice. "Who the hell do you think you are? Yeah, I think you're great and fun and all, but what makes you think that after knowing you for two weeks that I'm about to spill my soul to you? And what in the world makes you so sure I know Tristan from somewhere else?"
Paris sighed, "I just don't get it, and I hate when I don't get things. I mean, it's obvious that Tristan likes you, so why is he with Vicky? And why is it that you two act like you never knew each other before when it's obvious to any idiot in my position that you do know each other? I mean, around other people you act like perfect strangers, but you've never acted liked that around me, and I just want to know why you still insist on telling me that you were never a couple." Rory nodded, tilting her head, "Wow. That was actually really impressive."
Paris sighed, "Thank you. Now, will you...please-" the word didn't seem to come to her very easily, "- tell me what's going on."
She sighed, closing her eyes, "It's really complicated."
"Oh trust me, I can understand complicated."
"And it's a long story because in order to understand it there are a lot of details."
"I have time, and I love long stories, seriously. I used to drive my nanny crazy because I always complained that the stories she read me weren't long enough."
She sighted lightly, "It's not really a happy story. I mean, he really hurt me."
Paris leaned back on the tree behind her, "Maybe if you talked to me about it..." she trailed off,
"It might not hurt so much anymore."
Rory bit her lip, looking over the grounds of Chilton as the bell rang signaling the start of their last class. Apparently they were skipping, "I guess it all started back last fall when I moved in with my dad and brother..."
A/N: Okay, that's it for now. It's not that long, but the next chapter should be up soon since I'm on spring break and have no where to go.