Summary: Mid-BIAG. Rory ends the 'no-strings' with Logan and they go back to being friends yet are farther apart than ever. A new arrival forces Rory to figure out her infatuation with Logan and forces Logan to realize he missed out on something great. Features the usual cast of Yale characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Gilmore Girls; they are property of the WB, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Hofflund-Polone and Dorothy Drank Here Productions.

A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews! Seriously, your response was amazing and the best I've ever had for one chapter. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Ultimately this is a R/L fic, but some reviewers do like a Rory/Nicholas pairing so an alternate ending is a definite possibility. By the way, I suck at titling chapters. This one's from an Embrace song.

Chapter 3: Wonder

Rory makes her way into the dining hall for lunch, one hand anchoring her messenger bag to her shoulder and the other plastering her cell phone to her ear. She was absently listening to her grandmother, her attention set only to grasp the finer points. Evidently the customary Friday night dinner would be replaced with a social gathering that her grandparents were absolutely obligated to attend. By default she was to be there as well. She didn't mind the change of plans so much because her mom's absence from the dinners meant she had to carry the brunt of the conversation and meant fewer moments of levity.

"Now the party begins at 7:30, you can meet us there. I've already left the address on your answering machine."

"Sounds good, grandma," Rory chimes in rather brightly as she's glad the conversation's nearing its end. Though she loves her grandma, she's not as fond of Emily's tendency to overemphasize her instructions.

"Wonderful. I can't wait for you to meet Olivia Pierce, you will adore her -"

Rory almost trips over her feet, "Did you say Pierce?"

"Why yes I did, they just moved here from London. We've known their family for years, they're lovely people. Their son, Nicholas just transferred to Yale. You'll also get the opportunity to meet him at the party," Emily cheerily informs, completely ignorant to Rory's increasing panic. "So your grandfather and I will see you then… Friday at 7:30, don't be late."

Rory closes her eyes with a subdued groan, cursing her luck, "I won't. Bye grandma." She slips her phone into her bag with a downtrodden sigh. This latest development only adds to her already muddled mind. She had entertained the idea of avoiding Nicholas Pierce for the rest of her Yale career, seeing that she was still massively mortified at his dismissal of her. Clearly avoidance was no longer an option, as fate seemed to have other ideas. Not only was Nicholas firmly entrenched in the graces of Stephanie, Colin, Finn and likely Logan - he was also the son of her grandparents' friends. Evading him was highly improbable.

She's about to line up to grab food to try and forget her misfortune when she spots Marty sitting by himself at a table. She hasn't seen him around much since that regrettable night at China Palace with Logan and his friends. She's not so ignorant to think these two events are in no way related. Marty's disdain for Logan and his fellow band of revelers was quite evident from the beginning. Nonetheless, she takes this rare opportunity to see how he's doing.

Cautiously, she slips into the seat across from him, "Hey Marty."

"Rory! Hey!" From his expression he's obviously surprised and it pains her to say he looks cornered.

In spite of that, she forges on, "How have you been? I haven't seen you around lately and I know you've probably been busy with work and school, but…"

He cuts her off with a small, reserved smile, "I've been good."

"That's good. I hoped you were good," she remarks inanely.

"How about you?"

"Busy with school and the paper," she responds, though the pleasantries are killing her. She misses discussing mundane and random things with him.

"And Paris?"

"Still with Doyle."

"Great, I'm sure you've been enjoying that pair," Marty replies, giving her a more familiar smile.

The uncomfortable tension abates somewhat and she feels brave enough to attempt a joke, "Well you know… Paris really misses you."

"That would be the day. Paris would rather have C-SPAN go off the air than admit to missing me. You've always been a terrible liar, Rory," he laughs dryly.

"Fine, you're right. But I miss you, Marty. I miss our friendship," Rory confesses rapidly, then awaits his reply with apprehension. She's afraid he's going to tell her to forget any hope she has to salvage their cracked friendship or that he hates her. She can't tell by his expression what his response will be.

"I do too. I've been a pretty lousy friend," he states, looking down at his almost-finished lunch. "I thought I would be okay with you and Huntzberger, but I'm not and I let that completely ruin our friendship…"

"It's okay, Marty. Logan and I… we really aren't together anymore. We're still friends, but we're not dating," Rory reveals, hating the hope she sees in Marty's eyes.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that," he utters contritely. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Rory confirms. She's in much better shape than a month ago when she had been hibernating, watching chick flicks and consuming the unhealthiest food known to man.

"I'm glad to hear that," he replies blankly.

She nods, not wanting to talk about that anymore. "Thanks. Listen Marty… I know we haven't been close lately, but I was hoping we could hang out -"

"Rory," he interjects in an all too familiar tone of voice. He looks certain of something now and she has a feeling she won't like what he's about to say. "We can't hang out anymore… I still like you. I can't be around you knowing you don't like me… at least not in the way I want you to."

She exhales slowly trying to understand his position and states evenly, "You don't think we can still be friends."

He shakes his head morosely, "I can't, not when I'm trying to get over you."

"Marty- "

"Rory," he interrupts with a doleful smile. "I'm sure you'll be fine without me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He sighs and rises to his feet, gathering his things hurriedly, "It means even though you're not with Huntzberger, you're in with him and his friends now. You're part of that group and I just don't fit. I'm not from a wealthy family, I don't have five platinum credit cards, I don't belong to a country club…"

She frowns heavily, grasping his arm so he doesn't leave, "You're being ridiculous. You know I don't care about money or family names. So all because I'm friends with them, I can't be friends with you? What is this The Outsiders?"

"No, this is real. I know you never intended for it to be this way but it just is. I mean I'm the guy that serves margaritas at parties held by your new friends, who don't exactly look nicely upon the hired help…" his gaze falls upon something at the dining hall entrance and he trails off.

"Marty?" She looks to see what's captured his attention only to see Logan there, looking back at them.

Evidently this is enough to validate his point and he shakes his arm out of her hold. "I should go. Bye, Rory," his voice is laced with finality and he takes off before she can say anything else.

Rory wilts momentarily, still shocked by Marty's attitude and his reasons for not wanting to be her friend. God, she was just on a roll wasn't she? First by pegging Nicholas wrongly and now unwittingly losing Marty's friendship. While she was aware that Marty liked her and that he wasn't fond of Logan and company, she never thought he'd brush her off because of that. She sighs sadly, glancing briefly at Logan who is coming her way. Not wanting yet another confusing and emotionally draining encounter – least of all with Logan - she picks up her bag and makes a beeline for the exit before he can reach her.

"You know you're talking like that just because I'm going out with Blane."

Rory's phone rings, but she's in the midst of watching Pretty in Pink and gorging on Phish Food, making her extremely hesitant to leave her cozy nest on the couch.

"His name is Blane? Oh! That's a major appliance, that's not a name!"

Her phone rings again and she finally submits, craning over to reach her cell on the coffee table. She flips it open, "Hello?"

"Hey sweets."

Rory turns down the TV volume a bit so she could focus on her mom, "Hey you."

"Question."

"It's not shopping related is it? Because I think I'm on some sort of blacklist."

"No, no, nothing like that… although what do you think of that skirt I bought last week?"

Rory rolls her eyes, "I thought you loved that skirt. You said it made your legs look Angelina Jolie-y."

"Hmm, I did say that. But in light of the whole Brangelina thing do I really want to look like Angelina?"

"A question for the ages," Rory replies, a bit comforted by her mother's familiar tangents.

"I'll think about it," Lorelai responds. "Anyway, I was just wondering what time you finished dinner at your grandparents' tomorrow. I was thinking you could come over and we could have a movie night. Talk, do girly things, the whole nine yards…"

"I would, but I don't know what time I'll be done," Rory answers. "I'm not actually having dinner there. They asked me to go to their friends' party instead."

Lorelai snorts, "Sucker."

"Well I am obligated, they are paying for Yale."

"Please, you'd go there for dinner every Friday regardless, you little brownnoser."

"I'm just feeling the love tonight."

"Sweetie, you know I'm kidding. You are the nicest kid, I raised you, I should know. You're so damn nice that you willingly subject yourself to the DAR's version of Pol Pot on a weekly basis."

"So I take it you won't be joining me at Friday night dinners anytime soon?"

"Ha! I think not. She has her soap opera machinations to thank for that, sending Chris to muck up my relationship with Luke. Hell will freeze over before I readily go back."

Rory sighs, "Got it."

There's a pause, "So what's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You sound funny."

"You're just rolling out the compliments."

"I'm not saying you're Fran Drescher, you have that voice, the one you have when something's bugging you. Is it Logan?"

Lorelai's voice has an implicit tone of disapproval. She knows her mom wasn't particularly fond of Logan, thinking he had taken advantage of her somehow. "No, it's not Logan. It's Marty." And Nicholas, she adds mentally. She's not sure whether to bring him up, perhaps one problem at a time.

"What happened?"

Rory proceeds to explain her run-in with Marty in the dining hall and her distress over his dismissal of her. She finishes, "What do you think I should do? Should I apologize to him?"

Lorelai hmms thoughtfully for a moment and states, "Alright, I'm going to say something and you might not like it."

"Shoot."

"I think you should give Marty his space."

"Why?"

"Look at it from his perspective. He likes you and you only like him as a friend. And you're friends with people he's not on great terms with. It's a sucky situation for him. You can't just expect him to hang out with you like everything's normal. You're going to have to let him deal with his own issues before you can try to be friends again."

"So you think I should give up?" Rory questions, sighing under her breath. She hates giving up on someone and leaving something unresolved.

"Yes, I know you would do everything in your power to set things right again but you should give him some time. He'll come around and if he doesn't, I'll come down there and knock some sense into him for you."

Rory laughs at the thought. But she supposes her mom is right, she tried to force her friendship on Marty last time and that ended badly. Maybe giving him some time and space is wise. While she's feeling better about Marty, it doesn't lessen her guilt about the Nicholas situation.

"Any other social crises that I should know about?" Lorelai teases lightly.

She hesitates thinking of Nicholas, then responds, "No, nothing I can't handle."

"What am I doing here?" Rory mumbles to herself as she knocks again. She's standing outside the dorm Nicholas shares with Finn and Colin and no one is answering the door. She exhales and waits, hearing nothing. Either no one was home or Finn was, but he was hibernating and wouldn't be up for at least another four hours or so. Whatever the reason, she was waiting around for nothing; no one would be answering the door.

There is another option, but she's a little reluctant to try it. But then again she's eager to talk to Nicholas because she wants to rectify at least one thing that's wrong in her life, one thing she still has the power to fix.

After getting off the phone with her mom yesterday and feeling some closure with the Marty situation, she decided to deal with Nicholas instead of letting things fester. That explained why she was seeking him out and why she was currently walking to Logan's dorm, a place she had avoided judiciously since ending their "relationship."

Wringing her hands slightly, she heads into Berkeley. She knocks twice and steps back waiting for someone to answer. Moments later, the door swings open and to her relief, it's Lanny not Logan. Breathing easier she greets him, "Hey Lanny."

"Hi Rory, haven't seen you in awhile. Are you looking for Logan?"

"Uh no. I'm actually looking for Nicholas… or Colin or Finn?" She adds, thinking that would seem less suspicious. She thinks it could be weird if Lanny told Logan she had visited their dorm looking only for Nicholas.

"Sorry. They all went to play a round of golf, Logan too. Do you want me to tell them you stopped by?"

She shakes her head, "That's not necessary. Thanks, Lanny."

"No prob, see ya."

"Bye," she walks away. Evidently her apology to Nicholas would have to wait and who knew what time he'd be back? She's wasn't eager to wait around for him because it was likely Logan would be with him and how was she supposed to explain why she wanted to speak with Nicholas alone? It looked like she would have to apologize to Nicholas when she could get him alone at the party this evening.

"This is way too early," Finn grumbles, shielding his eyes. "Who was the bloody twat who thought of this?"

Colin pats him on the back patronizingly, "I believe that was you my friend. You thought a round sounded lovely, you called the club, you booked the tee time…"

Finn idly scratches his head, "Why did I do that again?"

"You were being all sweet and thoughtful," Colin flutters his eyes with feigned saccharine. "You did it for Nicholas, thinking a boys' outing was appropriate."

"Last time I do anything like that," Finn gripes, removing a three-iron from his golf bag with a flourish forcing Colin to duck reactively.

"Thanks, Montgomery. I'm really feeling the love," Nicholas dryly interjects.

"Nicky-boy, you're one of my good mates, but I'm never waking up this early for you again," Finn replies.

"I'm absolutely devastated," Nicholas laughs. "However shall I go on?"

"Buy me a drink after and I'll make it up to you, honey buns," Finn winks at him and then lines up his shot and lets it go. "Fore!"

Logan whistles lowly as the ball falls tidily in the middle of the fairway, "Half asleep and still better than Colin."

"Says the guy who's always hitting from the bushes," Colin retorts as he follows Finn's attempt.

Logan smirks lewdly, "The bush isn't a bad place to be."

"Funny you should mention that," Finn drawls with interest. "How did it go with Annelise Carmichael the other night?"

"How do you think?" Logan answers.

"Swimmingly of course. I don't doubt your prowess with the ladies just as no one doubts mine."

"Cheech and Chong, shut up," Colin interrupts caustically. "I'm trying to take my shot here and I can't do it with your juvenile nattering."

"Killjoy," Finn mutters, but allows Colin to take his shot without distraction. The quartet watches as Colin's ball bounces a few times and lands in the rough to the right of the fairway. "Nice try. So Nicholas, now that we're on top of Logan's exploits, is there anyone you've got your eye on?"

"Yeah Pierce," Logan chimes in with a grin. "Please tell me there is a girl that meets your high standards."

"Don't rag on me because I'm more discriminating than you," Nicholas shoots back tauntingly. "At least I don't nail anything that walks by in a short skirt and looks easy."

Finn looks confused, "Which one of us are you addressing?"

"I must admit Logan's taste is getting better," Colin interjects. "He actually dated a smart girl for awhile."

"We're at Yale, most girls are smart," Finn points out rather sourly. He rather liked it when girls were vapid and empty-headed, it made them a hell of a lot easier to seduce.

"Perhaps, but this girl didn't put up with Logan's bullshit," Colin states. "In fact, she kicked his ass to the curb."

"That's rare. I'd like to meet her," Nicholas chuckles, noticing Logan looked rather chagrined at their discussion.

"You already have, mate," Finn informs. "Rory. You met her the other night."

"I remember. Not everyone's got your memory loss problem, Finn," Nicholas replies, glancing at Logan who was in the midst placing his tee. "Doesn't really seem like your type, Huntzberger."

Logan looks up and grins, "She wasn't. But I couldn't exactly turn her down, now could I?" He takes his shot; unaware of the scowl Nicholas was sending his way. He strides back to them, putting his club in his bag. "So, what did you think?"

"Of what?" Nicholas asks as he takes the passenger seat in the golf cart.

Logan starts it up, shaking his head seeing that Finn has shanghaied the other cart and is driving erratically up the course with Colin trying to grab the wheel. He restates his question, "What did you think of Rory?"

"She was nice."

"Just nice?" Logan laughs. "Man, you are still the same, always the consummate gentleman. Your mother's not around, you don't have to censor yourself."

"Not my fault your manners are shit," Nicholas responds mockingly. "What do you want me to say?"

"How about what you really think of her," Logan suggests.

Nicholas can't help but think Logan's looking for something more than just his superficial opinion of Rory, something significant in his response. He shrugs casually, not giving anything away, "I barely talked to her. But since Finn, Colin and Steph really seem to like her, I guess she can't be bad."

Logan assesses him momentarily, and then nods, "She's not." He parks the cart and the conversation is dropped as Finn crashes into yet another tree. He looks at Nicholas whose expression of panic is mirroring his own. "Ah, shit."

Logan sighs as he steps into the main room of the Pierce Estate. He's particularly tired of these elegant soirees thrown by the Hartford elite, which are yet another excuse for his parents to flaunt him as the next Huntzberger Corporation CEO and introduce him to his future colleagues. The palatial mansion has been dusted to utter perfection and embellished with white flowers and candles, creating a hushed, romantic glow certain to please the crème de la crème of high society. In attendance is the entire membership of DAR wives, flanked by their husbands who delight in the opportunity to enhance their business connections. The women are content to marvel over the extravagance of the party or gossip about the latest rumors, including Janet Wickham's botched butt implants and Franklin Monroe's company falling victim to a hostile takeover.

It's all familiar and trite to him. And he would rather be anywhere but here at the moment. He would have made some excuse to escape this party, but it was to celebrate Anderson Pierce and his family's move to Hartford and was likely one of the soirees of the year. Seeing as his family had long been acquainted with the Pierces, he was obligated to come and he himself was good friends with Nicholas.

A swish of delicate gauze to his left catches his attention and he is instantly glad he had forgone the typical decorum of greeting his parents first. It seems Rory has arrived in an ice blue, form-fitting dress that is deliciously becoming to her endless legs and slender figure. He can't help but appreciate her appearance. She looks to be searching for someone and is quite oblivious to his presence. Their encounter or lack thereof from the dining hall yesterday is still fresh in his mind and he doesn't want to give her any warning that would make her flee from him again, so he approaches her surreptitiously from the side.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

She turns slowly her shoulders tense, a seemingly guilty expression on her face as if he caught her in the midst of doing something inappropriate. What that could be, he's not sure. "You LDBers sure have mastered the art of sneaking up on people."

"It is a useful skill, Ace," he grins charmingly, though it is wasted as she is distracted.

She nods once, her eyes darting back to scan the crowd, "I would presume so."

He reaches out and lightly grasps her elbow, "So are you going to tell me why you ran off when you saw me in the dining hall yesterday?" The question had been burning at him since she had unexpectedly snubbed him.

Her eyes widen and she blinks away her surprise at his bluntness, "I was having a bad day."

"So talking to me would have made it worse?" he questions, wincing at the underlying hurt in his voice.

Rory glances down, her curls falling past her shoulders and her cheeks flushing. He knows her reactions well enough to know that he's close to the truth. Maybe he's even hit the nail right on the head - she had been avoiding him. The thought upsets him more than he cares to admit. "It's not that. I think talking to anyone would have been ill-advised considering the roll I've been on," she distantly answers.

There's a glimmer of hurt in her eyes and he knows immediately that her odd behavior yesterday was related to Marty, not him. He had seen Marty with her and whatever happened between them had clearly taken a toll on her. He takes a closer look at her, noting that she does indeed look a bit weary and strained. He frowns in concern, tipping her chin up so their eyes meet, "Anything you want to talk about?"

She withdraws from his touch as if burned and adds a few inches of impersonal space between them, "Nothing you have to worry yourself over."

"Rory-" he begins.

"Have you seen my grandparents? I told them I'd find them as soon as I arrived."

He's all too familiar with that tone of voice meaning she wants to change the topic. He clears his throat and acquiesces, telling her where he had seen her grandparents upon his cursory examination of the party, "Last I saw they were headed out to the gardens."

"Thanks," she offers him a faint half smile and disappears into the mass of socialites.

"Anytime," he mutters after her, not liking how she is constantly walking away from him. With a sigh he allows himself to be absorbed into the crowd, making pleasantries and small talk. His first task is to find his parents, then once the formalities subside, form a sub-party. Of course in order for that to happen, he must wait for the libations to start flowing more liberally and the attentions of the older crowd to wane.

Weaving through the throng of impeccably groomed people, Rory makes her way out to the gardens, which are trimmed with glittery, delicate lights casting an ethereal light over the area. Her grandmother is not difficult to locate.

Emily notices her instantly, "Rory, you're here! You look beautiful."

"Thank you, so do you Grandma. I like your dress," Rory replies, kissing her grandmother's cheek.

Emily waves it off with a pleased smile, "Oh, you and your flattery. Your grandfather's running around here somewhere with his business associates, you know how he is. Come with me, I want to introduce you to someone." She takes Rory's arm, guiding her over to an elegant dark-haired woman dressed in a stylish ivory dress. Rory presumes this woman is in her forties, although there is something youthful about her. "Olivia, I promised to bring my granddaughter over to meet you. Rory, this is Olivia Pierce."

Rory can't help but feel mildly awkward as she shakes hands with the mother of the guy she had egregiously accused of being an all-around manwhore and spoiled brat. Her manners prevail however, much to the thrill of her grandmother, "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Pierce. Your home is lovely."

"Thank you, Rory. You can call me Olivia. Your grandmother has told me so much about you that I feel I already know you," Olivia states graciously. Rory tries to correlate her expectations of what she thought Nicholas's mother would be like and how she actually is and they don't match. She was expecting Olivia Pierce would be haughty and condescending like the other DAR ladies Rory has met. But instead, she is just so… effusive and surprisingly sincere - traits uncommon in this crowd – that Rory can't help but like her.

Rory glances at Emily who is beaming proudly. "Well I am fond of bragging about Rory."

"And rightly so," Olivia agrees, sharing a friendly smile with Emily. "Your grandmother tells me that you're majoring in Political Science and English at Yale. Are you enjoying it?"

"I really am," Rory answers, once again surprised that the question is directed to her instead of her grandmother. Some people had the annoying habit of discussing her as if she weren't there.

"Olivia also attended Yale," Emily interjects.

"A long, long time ago," Olivia assures good-naturedly. "I majored in Economics myself. My son, Nicholas, just transferred there, much to my husband's delight. Nicholas is around here somewhere. I'll introduce the two of you…"

Rory inwardly groans. Though she had been looking for Nicholas to apologize to him – she had gone to his dorm earlier in the day - she's not exactly ready to meet again him especially in front of her grandmother and his mother. But the wheels are already in motion as Olivia is waving over her son. Nicholas emerges from somewhere inside, looking indisputably handsome and polished in a pinstriped black suit.

Nicholas doesn't look especially overjoyed to see her, Rory notices. Although he manages to conceal this for his mother's benefit and appears like the good, dutiful son.

"Nicholas, I'd like you to meet Richard and Emily's granddaughter, Rory," Olivia initiates the introduction. "She is also at Yale, perhaps you have seen her around campus."

"Oh, I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure," Nicholas replies, his smile tightening imperceptibly, though Rory manages to detect it. "It's very nice to meet you, Rory."

Rory bites her tongue and fights back the suggestion that he join Yale's drama school. She's determined to behave as unflustered as he is. So she takes his proffered hand, disregarding the electricity she feels at the contact and smiles widely, "Likewise, Nicholas."

Emily and Olivia look exceedingly pleased at the scene and Rory can only imagine that they are hoping some special connection will be formed between her and Nicholas. Maybe if she hadn't offended him so appallingly the other night because he's clearly still upset with her.

Some silent communication passes between Olivia and her grandmother. Emily speaks, "Olivia, didn't you want to show me those new rose bushes your gardener planted?"

"Why yes I did," Olivia replies. "I'm sure you two aren't interested in looking at roses with a couple of middle-aged ladies. Nicholas, why don't keep Rory company while we're gone. You two probably have a lot in common."

Rory discreetly rolls her eyes as her grandmother takes leave, arm-in-arm with Nicholas's mother, "They certainly were subtle." Nicholas simply shrugs passively, avoiding eye contact. Rory crosses her arms at a loss as what to do. Apologizing to him was somewhere on her agenda but she wasn't ready to pour her heart out, not when he was being so unreceptive. She decided to start with small talk, "So that was your mother, she seems-"

"Are you going to call her conceited and arrogant as well?" He finally responds, albeit coldly. "Like mother, like son, right?"

"No, that wasn't what I was going to say at all. I was about to say that your mom seemed nice, I liked her," Rory explains, gradually growing exasperated.

"That's great that she has your stamp of approval. I'll be sure to tell her you don't think she's a high society snob," he retorts caustically.

Evidently small talk wasn't the route to go either. She scoffs resentfully at his attitude. Was she really about to apologize to him? "You are unbelievable."

"So are you," he states, facing her with irritating composure.

She glares at him for a moment, an angry outburst on the tip of her lips. His eyes flash challengingly and he smirks ever so slightly, awaiting her retort. Suddenly her rage subsides to resigned frustration. She just doesn't know how to win with him and she's not sure if he's worth her continued persistence. "Ugh, you suck!" He looks extremely amused by her lack of eloquence so she turns her back on him; deciding storming off huffily is a better course of action than reasoning with him. She is only two feet away when her Lorelai-ness emerges and she has the severe urge to get her feelings out. She changes her mind and strides back up to him, forcibly grabbing his wrist and relocating them to a less populated section of the garden where it's less likely they'll be overheard.

"What are you doing?" he demands, looking highly irritated. "You're lucky no one really noticed."

His inquiries go unheeded, as she's intent on getting her piece out, "You know I was going to apologize to you for assuming you were some rich jerk. I felt really bad since that night, I didn't sleep well and was vacillating over it all of yesterday thinking I misjudged you and wondering how to apologize to you. I mean I went to your dorm this morning and no one answered. I even went to Logan's dorm after to check if you were there only to be told by Lanny that you went golfing with Logan, Colin and Finn. After all that fruitless running around, I still planned on coming here tonight to tell you I was sorry! Because I am. And I feel horrible that I pegged you wrongly and accused you of being a womanizer without knowing you, although you can't really blame me because you were sort of acting like a snot…" His eyebrows rose at this. "Anyhow here I am to say that I am sorry and that I'm not like you think I am – I'm not haughty or judgmental, I'm usually very nice…" Her tirade slows and she takes a deep breath feeling moderately better. "There, that's all I have to say." They stare at each other for a beat, but Nicholas doesn't respond or even react. Her gaze hardens the longer he doesn't say anything and she sighs in exasperation, feeling fairly stupid. She had basically apologized quite emphatically in her opinion and he just stands there looking at her like she was mentally unbalanced. Annoying idiot. "Okay, fine. I guess you don't accept my apology, at least I can say I tried." She waits for a moment before heading back inside to look for less insufferable company. She resigns herself to the fact that Nicholas just doesn't like her. She could accept that, couldn't she?

Logan can't help but keep an eye on Rory; she's with her grandmother now being introduced to Olivia Pierce. Despite what he tells himself, he is worried about her. She seems upset about something and he wants to know what it is, though the likelihood of her telling him is slim to none.

"There you are."

He turns to see his mother beside him, looking impeccable like a walking Stepford wife. He perfunctorily kisses her cheek, "Hello mom."

"I've been looking for you. You were supposed to come find your father and I when you arrived," she chastises.

"It slipped my mind," Logan answers nonchalantly, sipping his scotch. He pretends to survey the partygoers floating around the gardens, though his gaze is on one person.

"Your father's with the Fallons now, he wants you to join him," Shira states.

"When I'm ready."

"Now, Logan," Shira insists. "You have to say hello to Sloane."

Logan groans at the mention of the girl that is being constantly forced upon him by his parents, "Don't tell me you're on that again. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not interested in Sloane?"

"Logan, she is a wonderful girl from a good family," Shira remarks meaningfully.

He has a multitude of facts to dispute that statement but holds his tongue. It was futile to reason with his mother over this issue, he had tried tirelessly in the past to no avail. "I'm perfectly capable of finding a 'wonderful girl' myself." His stare inadvertently casts to Rory as he says this, a subconscious action on his part.

However it is not something that escapes his mother's attention. She sighs and brushes back a lock of blonde hair, "Please tell me you're not interested in Emily Gilmore's granddaughter."

"Fine, then I won't," Logan defiantly replies.

"Logan, you can't be serious."

He wants to tell her he is, to see how far he can challenge her. But he doesn't. Maybe it's because he himself is not certain if he is pursuing Rory, at least not anymore. She has made it pretty clear anything beyond friendship is not in the cards for them, "Relax mom, I'm not serious. I just know her from the paper."

She calms down, her expression of horror vanishing, "Rory Gilmore is not the girl for you. It's not even about the girl's mother, what a scandal that was…" She sniffs disdainfully. "The Gilmores are a nice family, but Emily was telling me her granddaughter wants to be a reporter and travel around the world. Really, what sort of an aspiration is that? She can't expect to find a husband with that attitude. I think she's only got a hope if she marries into new money, they certainly don't mind their wives working. She would be fortunate to marry into a prestigious family like the Pierces, they seem to accept it also. Olivia Pierce worked for a good ten years after graduating for God knows what reason. She certainly didn't need more money." It was well-known that Shira Huntzberger was of conservative thinking and had little patience for society wives who thought they could have a career and a family. "I wish luck to whichever family Emily's granddaughter marries into, she certainly wasn't bred to be a proper wife." Logan rolls his eyes at his mother's pretentiousness and takes a heavier swig of his drink. He didn't necessarily agree with his mother, but wasn't anxious to correct her knowing she was firmly entrenched in her traditional views. "You need a girl that fully understands the demands of this family, Logan. You should know that by now."

Of course he knows it by now. It has been drilled into his head. He has to find a suitable wife, suitable meaning docile and fully amenable to him and the needs of his career and family. God forbid his wife actually have a mind and ambitions of her own. He grits his teeth, "Of course I do."

"Good," Shira comments airily, entwining his arm with hers and leading him away. "Now we don't want to keep the Fallons waiting do we? Sloane was very anxious to see you."

Logan feels like he's being dragged off to the gallows as his mother escorts him over to his father who is standing with the Fallons. Sloane no doubt perks up at the sight of him, straightening her dark hair self-consciously. He has been running from her since he was six when she had the insane idea that she was going to marry him. It appeared her opinion hadn't wavered significantly since then, much to his dismay.

"Logan! There you are," Mitchum greets, clapping Logan on the shoulder.

"How are you doing, son?" Gregory Fallon asks, shaking Logan's hand jovially.

"Well, thank you," Logan politely responds, though he's choking at the way Sloane's father had addressed him. His mother engages in small talk with Sloane and her mother, leaving the men to discuss their businesses otherwise known as discreetly bragging about their success while appearing charmingly modest.

"Logan's been extremely busy working at the paper," Mitchum remarks proudly.

"The Yale paper's a damn good training ground for your business," Gregory adds. "You should be a fine successor for your father."

"That's yet to be seen," Mitchum states. "The boy's got a lot to live up to."

Logan bristles at his father's demoralization and clenches his jaw, managing to smile, "Shouldn't be a problem, dad."

Mitchum chuckles hollowly, "We'll see. Have you spoken with Sloane yet? I'm sure you two have plenty to chat about."

Logan doubts that, but reluctantly obeys, trading one tedious situation for the next.

Sloane smiles widely as he approaches and slips her arm into his, "I was wondering when you were going to come over and talk to me."

Logan notices his parents are watching him and inwardly groans, forcing himself to make small talk, "Wonder no more. So how have you been, Sloane?"

"Better now that I'm with you," she flirts.

"Right," he curtly states, subtly craning his neck to look around for anyone who could get him out of Sloane's clutches. Damn it, where was Finn when you needed him? Finn was supposed to come rescue him so they could form a decent sub-party or if he was in trouble, which he was now. He sighs and pretends to pay attention to what Sloane was prattling on about. If Finn didn't save him soon, Logan was going to make him pay.

"How many calories do you think this has?" Juliet asks, holding up a hors d'oeuvre.

Rosemary sighs, "Just eat it. You'll need it with all the champagne you've been drinking."

Juliet shrugs and stuffs it in her mouth in as ladylike a manner as she can and washes it down with more champagne.

Stephanie, who has been distracted surveying the crowd, nudges Rory and gestures across the room, "Alert Page Six, Kendall Chase is on the prowl yet again."

Rory follows Stephanie's gaze to a thin blonde who is dressed a bit provocatively considering the refined occasion. Just from a cursory glance, she is inclined not to like the blonde, which is in no way related to the fact that the girl is currently and very noticeably hitting on Nicholas, "Who is that?"

"Kendall," Stephanie replies with apparent abhorrence. "Perhaps you've seen her around Yale, trying to sink her claws into the first attractive male she sees."

Rory takes a closer look and the girl is indeed familiar, but she can't place her finger on where she's seen her before.

"Stephanie and Kendall are not on good terms," Rosemary fills in.

Stephanie snorts, "That's putting it mildly. I've known her since I was young, we went to all the same schools. She's like the Heather to my Veronica, the Amber to my Cher, the Regina to my Cady…"

"I'm starting to get the picture," Rory states, watching Nicholas nod at whatever Kendall is saying. She can't read whether he's receptive or not to Kendall's advances. She wouldn't be terribly surprised if he was. She thought he could have been a good guy especially considering he was so insulted when she accused him of being a spoiled jerk. Now she's thinking she had him pegged correctly from the beginning.

"She's so skinny," Juliet says enviously.

Stephanie scoffs and shakes her head, "Please it takes a lot of money and surgery to look like that. She's carrying more plastic than Colin."

"Colin's had plastic surgery?" Juliet has a horrified look on her face.

Rory, who was well versed in obscure metaphors thanks to her mom, helpfully adds, "Credit cards, Juliet."

"Oh." She looks relieved. That made more sense considering Colin's aversion to touching money, he was slightly anal about cleanliness and deemed carrying cash vulgar.

The girls look on as Kendall practically melds herself to Nicholas's arm. Sickened at the sight, Rory turns to Stephanie, "Why do you have a blood feud with her?"

There's a beat and then Stephanie launches into an explanation, "Kendall's a grade-A bitch, I think she came out of the womb that way. Let's just say it isn't an exaggeration to say her main ambition in life is to latch onto a rich blueblood, marry him and become the perfect trophy wife and she'll do anything to get there. She dislikes me because she thinks I have an inside track, being best friends with the most sought after guys. Our competition intensified in prep school, where she made it a habit to go after whomever I was interested in. I thought it was a petty and stupid phase, since were in high school, but she still does it now. I have no doubt she's after Wes now too, probably thinks she can charm an in through Nicholas."

"Do you think Nicholas will fall for her ploy?"

Stephanie was still observing Kendall trying to work her wiles and was oblivious to how much her answer mattered to Rory, "No. He's not stupid enough to succumb to Kendall's tricks. He knows what she's all about. All because the girl wears Chanel, doesn't mean she's not a skanky gold digger."

"Kendall's not really Nicholas's type," Rosemary interjects. "He likes them good, faithful, bright… all the things that Kendall is not."

Stephanie nods, "Kendall's after Wes and she's not above bedding his best friend to get to him. I've seen her do it countless times before. Nicholas knows the score and he's never been one to care for one night stands. He's rare that way."

"Rare?" Rory furrows her eyebrows in thought.

"Come on Rory, I'm sure you've noticed by now. Guys in this group aren't really looking for commitment or lasting emotional connections. They like to get what they want and move on," Stephanie begins. Rory swallows dryly, wondering if that was all she was to Logan. Perhaps Stephanie realizes that her comments are too close to home and clarifies, "Oh, I know what you're thinking. It wasn't like that for you and Logan."

"Totally," Juliet echoes. "I mean you dumped his ass."

"Right," Rory concurs wryly, crossing her arms. But if she hadn't, would Logan have been the one to end it? She hopes she was more than that to him.

"Anyway, Nicholas isn't like that. He hates the fact that girls are only after him because of his money or his last name. So instead of letting girls use him and using them in return, he avoids them completely. He puts on a front and acts like an insufferable snob hoping to ward off girls he dislikes. Problem is he might chase away girls he actually likes too. It's not quite a scientific system," Stephanie shrugs. "But it's how he operates."

Rory steals a peek at Nicholas as Stephanie speaks, her words casting doubt yet again on her opinion of his character. She just can't figure him out and it dawns on her that she wants to. Whether he will let her is another matter.