A/N: sorry this took so long to post. I've had a really busy weekend. I do still love you all and I felt soooo guilty. Well here it is. It's a little short, but it's better than nothing, right?

Chapter Six: Rainy Day Tea

It was a warm spring day and Rory was attending a garden party at the Gellar mansion. However, the April showers decided to fall that afternoon, forcing the party indoors into the cramped parlor.

Paris Gellar eyed Rory suspiciously every time she went near Tristan, who was looking particularly handsome that afternoon. It was all Rory could do to keep a proper three feet away from him. His golden hair was growing longer and looked just a tad unkempt. The locks that were constantly falling into his eyes teased Rory. She longed to push them away so she could see his beautiful blue eyes.

But paris' measured glare made Rory nervous and kept her away from him.

Rory was seated on a comfortable sofa, eating a scrumptious piece of chocolate cake. Paris, Louise, and Madeline were seated with her, arguing over the suffragette movement.

"You just can not rely on your husbands," Paris was saying. "How do you know they will vote in your best interest."

Madeline and Louise just gave her blank, uninterested stares.

"I don't want to get married," Louise said after a long moment. "It's so…final."

"Which is why you need to vote!" Paris interjected.

"Why?"

"So you can be independent and still feel represented."

Rory was not listening. She was watching logan who was across the room, talking to some of the boys he went to school with. Rory recognized most of them. They had grown up together. It was a very limited circle of acquaintances.

Logan was surreptitiously stealing glances at Rosemary Lavine, a girl of sixteen. Rory considered the situation, and continued watching him until he looked over at her. She gestured minutely. Logan left his friends and went to Rory.

"Excuse me girls," she said. Logan took her hand and gently pulled her off the sofa. They walked to a deserted cornor of the parlor.

"Hello Ror," he said, genuinely pleased to see her. "You look beautiful."

Rory took a quick glance at her pale green chiffon gown. She agreed. It was perfect for a garden party. "Thank you," she said simply. "The tie you left me is beautiful too. I was going to wear it with my other dress, but then I thought better of it."

"You didn't want to parade my clothes around?" Logan played.

"I didn't want everyone to notice how much better I looked in it than you."

Logan laughed. "And how about my cufflinks. I see you're not wearing them as earrings."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't do that."

"And why not Miss Hayden? Were you afraid that I would have to pierce my ears too? I would look quite stunning with earrings."

Rory looked at him seriously. "I couldn't wear them because I pawned them."

"Pawned them?" Logan's eyes danced.

"Yes. With every intention of buying some nice diamonds. But you know what the pawn man told me? He told me they were fake. They weren't real gold?"

"Ah, aren't I deceiving?" Logan joked. "No really, where are my cufflinks."

"For someone who leaves such expensive jewelry lying in a girl's fireplace, I am surprised at how eager you are to have them back."

"Well they are my finest. Did you notice the initials."

"I did. I consider them your calling card."

Logan laughed. "So why did you call me over here Rory? I'm assuming you are not returning my precious items. And I was having a very riveting conversation about Old Proffessor Wigams."

"Professor Wigams?" Rory repeated. "Who is he?"

"he's my English professor at Yale. He belches when he says 'Shakespeare.'"

Rory laughed. "Colin and Finn must love that."

"Colin and Finn don't go to class."

"And I am supposed to believe you that you attend more often than they do?"

"Compared to them I'm a star student."

The mysterious twinkle in Logan's eye captivated Rory. They stood silent for a moment, studying each other's eyes.

Rory was the first to break the slightly tense silence. "I saw you looking at Rosemary."

"Ah yes, Rory I thought that-"

"You can do better than her," she said, shaking her head to silence him.

"Excuse me?"

"Look at her," Rory whispered. "I don't want to be mean, but…"

Logan nodded. "I would watch out for Miss Paris over there," he said. "She looks like she's about to prey on Dugrey."

Rory nodded too, but did not turn away from Logan to look.

"I'm going to go find out if there's real food. I can't just eat cake all afternoon."

Rory smiled. "When you find out, tell me. I'm hungry too."

Logan walked away in search of food. Rory returned to the sofa and sat down in the corner farthest from Paris. She was not in the mood to hear her friend's loud opinions.

Tristan was across the room talking with the group Logan had left. Rory watched as a maid came over with tea and cake on a tray. Tristan gave her a sly but obvious wink. The maid blushed deeply. Rory observed the scene with wide eyes. She recognized the maid as one that had served her at Tristan's house. The idea of Tristan and his maids left Rory feeling disgusted and ashamed.

Logan returned empty handed and shook his head at Rory. It did not matter to her. She was not so hungry anymore anyway.

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He did take a close look at Rosemary Lavine, closer than he had ever bothered to look before. She was a very plain girl with crooked teeth and an awful complexion. Her obvious flaws stood out to him and glared him in the face.

After studying her briefly logan turned his gaze to Rory; she was studying the rain falling outside through the window. Her skin was milky white and clear. Her cheeks had a healthy pink glow from the warmth of the room. Something came swept across logan, making him long to touch her skin, test it's softness.

He shook the thought from his head. He couldn't think of Rory like that. Thinking of her like that would make her no better than Louise or Rosemary. Logan knew she was much more special than that.