The Swiss Army Romance
Chapter 2: The Brilliant Dance
A moment or shocked silence passed between them. Rory had to remind herself to keep her composure. There's something about a link to your past, a past you'd almost forgotten about, that reminds you of who you were, and how far you've come from that.
She forced an uncomfortable smile, "Tristan, hey," she said politely, "how are you?"
He grinned a little bit and sat down in an empty chair beside her. "You don't have to pretend this isn't even a little bit uncomfortable, Mary. You haven't seen me in years. It's okay to be shocked, that isn't breaking any society codes."
He read her well. She just smiled and looked down at her drink. "Oh, yes. Well, wow. What are you doing here?"
"I've been at this thing every year since I was born. The true question is, what are you doing here." Tristan said, raising his eyebrows.
"Well, actually, I'm dating Logan Huntzberger."
Tristan grinned, and the grin turned into a smirk.
"What?" she asked, getting aggravated. He knew how to push her buttons.
"I never saw you with a guy like him, that's all," he said, though he hadn't yet lost the smirk.
"Please tell me you're not going to go into this."
"Well, come on. If you were going to date him you might as well have dated me. I'm better looking, you know."
She rolled her eyes at him, though she couldn't argue that the two didn't have many similarities. She tried to remind herself why she had found Tristan so repulsive in high school, considering Logan wasn't really all that different, and she'd managed to fall for him... hard.
When she didn't answer him, Tristan decided to fill the uncomfortable silence. "Well... where is he, anyways? Why'd he leave you all alone in a room full of snobs?"
She sighed, "Good question. For some crazy reason, he's in love with this particular family event."
Tristan smiled knowingly, "Probably the same reason I let my parents drag me here this year. This place has the best memories. I looked forward to it as much as I did Christmas when I was younger."
"Wow," Rory said, slightly relieved that it wasn't just Logan.
"Still," he said, "I wouldn't leave a pretty girl like you all alone to go schmooze with my parents friends either." He motioned subtlety over at Logan, who was talking with a heavyset man in extravagant dress.
Rory rolled her eyes, "he's being prepped to take over the Hutzberger empire."
"Wait, didn't you want to be a journalist?" Tristan asked, already knowing the answer, "I guess Logan's dad got you a prissy little job at one of his papers?"
Rory sighed and looked at the table, "Well, actually, he didn't think much of my work."
Tristan raised his eyebrows, "He what? You have got to be kidding me. That man is such a pompous ass."
Rory smiled, "Well, I'm glad you think so too."
Tristan smiled back at her, glad to be enjoying a good conversation with Rory Gilmore, "Well, it's a pretty popular opinion. He's let a lot of really successful journalists go, Rory, he's lost his talent for seeing it in other people. He's too close-minded. If Logan doesn't change that when he takes over, the Hutzberger empire is going to fall apart."
"That shouldn't make me feel better," Rory sighed, "but somehow it does. Thank you."
Rory then sighed, "Wow, this may be the first pleasant conversation we've ever had."
"Not the first," he said deviously, "I remember an amazingly pleasant conversation on a certain piano bench."
"Tristan!" she said sharply, trying to get him to forget it.
"Well, it was pleasant, until you ran out crying, of course. I'm still kind of offended about that."
"Well, cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it," Rory said, but she was amused. She hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time, but she hated that it was with Tristan instead of Logan.
The two of them shared a carefree laugh, and then she sighed and smiled. "So, really, what have you been doing since you left for military school?"
He was just about to tell her when the two were interrupted.
"Wow, I really can't believe you had the nerve to show up here," Logan said, addressing Tristan, "and to hit on my girlfriend at that."
Tristan rolled his eyes and sighed, "I went to high school with Rory. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to catch up with her."
Logan put an arm protectively on Rory's chair, and then looked at her, "You went to school with this ass?"
Rory looked between the two, trying to figure out what was going on. "Well, yes, for a while. We were friends."
Tristan and Rory exchanged a look. They both knew this wasn't exactly the truth, but it was the only way to get him to lighten up.
Logan didn't look happy about the prospect of Rory and Tristan having any kind of past, so Tristan took this as the perfect moment to leave.
"I'm going to leave you two to... talk. I'll catch up with you later, Mary," he said.
When Tristan called her Mary, Logan flinched and stared him down as he walked away.
Logan and Rory couldn't see it, but Tristan's face had transformed into his signature smirk once he turned from them.
For a minute, neither of them said anything.
Finally Logan broke the silence, shaking his head and sighing, "Sorry about that. I just... don't like that guy."
Rory forced her face into an uncomfortable smile, "No, really? I thought you guys were the best of friends."
Logan looked down at her, his expression serious, "see, that's the thing. We used to be."
Rory was about to ask for the story, but Logan said, "Why don't we go back to the cabin? The party is starting to thin out anyways."
Rory nodded and followed him, taking his hand. However, she couldn't help but steal one glance over her shoulder at Tristan who was watching them with an eerie intensity.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
When Logan and Rory reached their cabin, the couple immediately reclined on the couch.
Logan put his arm around her and Rory leaned her head into his shoulder, and he filled her in on his rift with Tristan.
"When we were kids, our parents brought us to a lot of the same functions. So, of course, we had this friendship. This particular event was one of the big ones. But, two years ago, I brought my girlfriend, Naomi."
"Oh, no," Rory said, starting to get an idea of what happened.
"Oh yes," Logan said, almost bitterly. "She's no you, obviously, but before I knew you, I really thought she was the one. My parents adored her. They were practically making wedding plans from the day we started dating. So, I introduce her to my friends here, and she particularly hits it off with Tristan. He was always hitting on her, but I didn't think anything of it, because that was just Tristan. But, by the end of the trip, Naomi was distant, and I didn't know why. Three months later, she dumped me. She was pregnant, and it wasn't mine."
"Oh my God," Rory said, "you poor thing!"
"I know," Logan said, making a pitiful face, "I mean, I have to give her credit for at least telling me. She got rid of it, so she could have just kept lying to me."
Rory rubbed Logan's shoulder and kissed him, "I'm sorry."
"Want to make me feel better?" he asked teasingly. and kissed her.
She just laughed, and Logan picked her up and carried her to the bed.