Disclaimer: I don't own. You don't sue.
Author's Ramblings: Just for the record I have no intention of making the friends play matchmaker. It has been done to many times, even by myself. They're going to have to figure this out all on their own. Oh, and I'm sorry for the ridiculous wait. I have no good excuse. Laziness, tiredness, lack of anything worth writing.
Moving BackwardChapter 04: Wishing Slowly
Wishing to be friends is quick work,
but friendship is a slow-ripening fruit.
–Aristotle
The rest of the night passed with some semblance of normalcy. That normalcy being that Finn still ended up drunk and half naked, Colin and Stephanie stole an intoxicated kiss, and Rory and Logan spent the night in each other's company. Lane stood back, watching this scene unfold before her. Sothis was college life. She could do without the extra drama thank-you-very-much. Nevertheless that didn't mean she didn't enjoy watching drama unfold before her. And oh, there was drama. Things got interesting once again, as the party began to wrap up. She watched as the group struggled to remain nonchalant, despite the fact that they all wanted something more.
Rory Gilmore let out a deep sigh as she and Logan walked, arm and arm, towards the table where their friends had gathered. Moving out of Logan's grip and into a chair Rory smiled at her best friend. "Hey stranger…how was your night?"
"Entertaining, thanks. Your friends are hilarious."
"I like to think so." She gave the dark haired girl a nudge. "Sorry I left you on your own all night. I got a little preoccupied."
She shrugged. "I might be able to forgive you if we go to that good bagel place in the morning. The one that has them shipped from New York, your treat?"
"I think we can arrange that, but tonight…" She looked at her watch and instinctively yawned. "It's getting late. You want to get going?"
"Hey you're running the show. I'm just here for the parties and free bagels."
"Right. Okay, so then let's get going, then."
"You're leaving already?" The only other female at the table asked, catching the attention of all the other occupants of their group. At the moment that included Rory, Lane, Stephanie, Colin, Finn, Robert, Logan, and his very unhappy date.
"Yeah…it's getting kind of late. Plus Lane's sleeping over so we have to do the whole eat- junk-food- gossip-watch-movies-thing. So we're just going to head back now."
"I'll walk you to back."
Logan stepped forward without thinking. If anything, it was out of instinct. All he knew was that Rory and her friend were walking home, alone, late at night; he didn't like the thought of that. Logan had always walked Rory home when they were out in a group. Always. Well, except for two times. The first being when the bartender had taken off in frenzy and the second being when Robert had asked Rory out. Neither of which, he wanted to remember at that moment. He was nonetheless, brought out of his thoughts by a nudge and an annoyed glare from his date. Apparently he'd been ignoring her.
Rory barely had time to register Logan's offer to walk them home, never mind respond that it was unnecessary before Logan's Barbie doll began yelling in protest, all the while shooting daggers at both herself at Logan. Yes, in all honesty Rory had to admit that she had a right too, but it wasn't as if Rory had asked Logan to dance with her, or even to take her home. She had been fine spending the night with Lane; having fun with her friend. That was why she was there. It was just that now, Logan was one of her friends. She shook her head. Things were getting too complicated.
"Really, Logan, I'll be fine."
"That's ridiculous Ace. It's late and it's dark. You walking home alone is unacceptable."
"Well, so is my walking home alone." Barbie body piped up.
"I know sweetie, but we're not leaving now. I'll be back before you even know I'm gone."
"That's not necessary either Huntz, I'll walk these ladies home." Robert smiled, offering an arm to both Rory and Lane.
"Really Robert…" Rory began.
Logan's jaw clenched. "Yeah, really Robert. You don't need too—"
"Ah, but I want too. That is the difference." He grinned. The girls finally gave in, looping their arms through Roberts. "Have a nice night, Huntz." He winked and turned away.
"So, how was the party? Did you and Huntzberger get back together?"
Rory smiled, taking off her coat. "The party was fine Paris and no Logan and I didn't get back together. We were never together to begin with…"
"They just danced all night, and didn't leave each other's side. Plus, he almost had a coronary when this guy Robert offered to take us home."
Paris shrugged, flipping through the channels. "Nothing new there. Huntzberger wants to treat her like his girl, but he doesn't want her to be called his girl. Commitment scares him. "
"Oh, like Doyle is so open to the idea of being your boyfriend?"
"Well, actually, Doyle and I sat down, had an adult conversation, and decided that we are in a mature, adult relationship."
"Oh well…that's good for you guys. Really good."
Realization covered Paris's features. "Rory…I didn't mean—"
"Don't worry about it Paris."
Letting out a sigh of relief Rory gave into the warmth of the shower. Closing her eyes, she let the water pelt harshly against her body. It had been some night. Everything came rushing back to her Paris' comments, her dance with Robert, her dances with Logan, the look in his eye when Robert had walked her home. She couldn't be sure, but she would bet that it was jealousy.
It was a horrible thing to say, but she almost liked that he was jealous. It meant that he still cared for her, didn't it? It meant that she might not have been exactly like all of the rest if it bothered him when she was around other guys. That had to mean something, didn't it? She let all of these thoughts go. After all, wasn't Logan supposed to be her friend now? They were friends; not two people who were dating or two people who used to date. They were just friends.
Rory bit down on her bottom lip. Sometimes it felt like her relationship with Logan was going in reverse. They were friends now, they had dated, and slept together, and before that she had hated him. To say the least, it wasn't a normal relationship.
Again, as she changed into her favorite pajamas (they had pastries and coffee cups on them) she tried to clear her mind. The nothingness lasted about two seconds before her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller id. It was Logan.
She let it go to voicemail.
She had more important things to deal with tonight. Lane and Paris were waiting. They had a movie night to begin. And as she made her way back into the common room she tried not to think about the fact that both girls had worked out their romantic problems while it seemed like hers were just beginning.
"Hey, it's Rory. You know what to do. And if you don't, well, you shouldn't be calling my phone when I'm not around…or at all."
Pacing his floor, Logan waited for the beep. It came, and he left his message. "Hey Ace, its Logan. Just checking to make sure you got home okay. I'm taking this to mean that you're already asleep. Okay, um…call me."
Hanging up, Logan resisted the urge to throw his phone against a wall. Why wasn't she answering, and why did he care so god damn much? It certainly wasn't because he was her friend. Yes, he and Rory had more than a physical connection, yes he valued her friendship, but that didn't mean he hadn't had to resist the urge to kiss her all night long.
Whether she was unaffected by his presence or she was just one hell of an actor, Logan wasn't sure. All he knew was that it bugged him that she seemed so calm all evening. And then, she had refused his offer to walk her home only to allow Robert to do so instead. He didn't know what to think.
Logan decided, instead not to think at all. He returned to the party room, ordered himself a vodka tonic, and kissed Ashley (He had finally managed to figure out her name) hard on the lips. "What's gotten into you?" She asked playfully.
He shrugged, consuming another drink. "Just in a better mood, is all."
She awoke the next morning to the insistent buzzing, not of her alarm clock, but of her cell phone. Groaning she rolled over, and silenced the phone, punching in her password. Apparently she had six new voicemails, an unusual amount for someone who had last seen said phone only eight hours before.
The first was from Logan. He had left her a message when she hadn't answered her phone. She smiled as she played it. He had been worried about her. He was playing this friend card pretty well. Quickly she moved along to the next message; she would call Logan back and tell him she was fine. Eventually.
The next, was from Emily Gilmore. She didn't understand how her granddaughter could possibly still be sleeping. It was after eleven. She went on to inform Rory that next week's dinner had been canceled. Instead, she was to attend a dinner party with her grandparents. The hosts were dieing to meet her, or so she'd been told.
There was one from her mother, but it was for Lane. Evidently Luke needed her to work an extra shift the following night. She and Luke had a date, and Luke was afraid to leave Caesar alone in charge of the diner. There was also a mention of Caesar singing under the boardwalk and eating all the food last time. She had mostly tuned that out.
Then came a message from Marty. (The two had recently began an attempt at rebuilding their friendship) However, it was the last two messages that had caught her attention.
"Gilmore…its Robert. So it is true that you and Huntz are through? It didn't look like it last night. Give me a call. I'll show you what a good time really is." She could sense his grin through the phone line. She would do nothing of the sought.
And the most recent had been from Stephanie. "Rory, hi it's Steph from the party. Remember me? I was thinking we could do lunch some time. We didn't get to talk much last night, and I have a few things to say to you. Call me."
Rory Gilmore's social calendar was becoming a bit more interesting.
"So that was you too being friends, huh? I'd love to see what you did when you were 'involved."
"Go to hell Colin."
"I'm already there my friend."
"Don't I know it. I saw that kiss between you and Stephanie. Are you two going to walk on egg shells around each other for the next week or are you going to play the i-was-so-drunk-i-don't-remember-what-happened-card?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The latter it is."
They sat in their common room, waiting for Finn to emerge from his room. They had lunch dates waiting for them. Triplets. Logan wasn't as excited about it as he should have been. He was more concerned by the fact that Rory hadn't called him back yet. But he would never admit that. He didn't have time to contemplate further because Finn came barreling out of his room, arms wide open.
"Mornin' my emotionally scared friends!"