October 8
By: Alyson Tierney
Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls, Lorelai, Rory, Lane, Logan, or any other related characters or things. They all belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the WB network. The ending dialogue is paraphrased from the episode "Rory's Birthday Parties," so I don't own that, either. Please no suing, because I already am in debt. Thanks!
Author's Note: This is a short one-shot, two chapter story that was written in honor of today—Rory's 21st birthday. All episodes to date are taken into account.
Chapter One
Rory was staring at the ceiling. The room was dark, the television turned off somewhere around 2 am. 2 am on October 8, 2005. She was officially 21 years old. Well, technically she wasn't 21 for another hour, she realized, as she looked at the clock. It was just past three in the morning, and she was born at exactly 4:03 am. She blinked back tears as she realized what would not be happening this year at 4:03 am. For as long as she could remember, her mom had come into her room and woken her up every year at that exact time. This year, however, she doubted that would happen. She hadn't spoken to her mother in weeks, since the debacle at the baby shower. They hadn't been civil since May. May. Five months ago. That was the longest she'd ever gone without speaking to her mom like they always used to. Playful, witty banter lost to furious and stubborn tempers. Rory's life was not complete without her mother, and she realized that now, too late.
Logan and Lane had showered her with gifts earlier in the day at the party her grandparents had thrown for her. As usual, they invited people that Rory hardly knew. She'd made sure Logan and Lane were there, and they were the only things that kept her from hiding in the pool house for the entire party. Sure, the party was supposed to be for her, but she didn't feel like celebrating. She didn't feel happy. A part of her had hoped Lorelai would somehow find out about the party and come and celebrate with them. She had glanced at the entrance every five seconds or so, hoping with all her might that her mom would come, but nothing happened.
After the party had finally ended around eleven, Rory had come to the pool house and spent the rest of the night alone and feeling more and more depressed by the minute. She was half ready to take a sort of sleeping aid and just sleep through her entire birthday.
Finally, she stumbled out of bed to take a nice, warm shower to relax herself. As the water streaked in shiny rivets down her face and chest, she let herself break down into sobs. She wasn't herself anymore, and she knew it. It wasn't her to quit Yale, throw away her future and her relationship with her mother, and join the DAR. The problem was she didn't know what was her anymore.
She turned the water off and hurried back to her room. It was almost four now, and she could feel her eyes getting heavy. Finally she was actually tired, and hoped she'd sleep for a long time now. Crawling under the cool sheets, she watched as the clock changed from 3:52 to 3:53. She was going to be 21 in ten minutes now, and it was already shaping up to be the worst day of her life.
Letting herself drift off into dreamland, she thought she saw the form of her mom walking into the room. Smiling, she let herself be drawn into the land of dreams, where no one was fighting, no one was mad, and no one's lives were going down the tubes.
Lorelai tiptoed into the familiar room. She'd practically lived out in the pool house in her middle school years, wanting to be as far away from her controlling parents as possible. Smiling, she watched as her daughter's breathing evened out, and knew she had just fallen asleep. Torn between waking her up, or just lying down beside her, Lorelai simply sat on the bed, reaching out to trace her daughter's delicate features. She realized now how much Rory resembled her, in both looks and personality. It was no wonder they fought all the time.