You know what would be just great? If We reached 100 reviews by the end of this story. If you think about it, we're only 37 reviews away...and there's still some left to go...

"No no, I insist." Emily said firmly, oblivious to Rory's distress. "You and your mother certainly may have ducked out of Christmas with your grandparents, but new years is another matter altogether. This is the first year it will be held at our house, and I want to make a good impression."

"That might not be so easy," Rory said, half to herself. Emily had no idea that Tristan and Rory were dating, it had never come up. Lorelai had given her to following advice early in hers and Tristan's relationship, and she had followed it to the letter:

"Kid, if you learn one thing from me, it will be not to worry about break ups because there are plenty of fish in the sea, so long as you don't introduce them to the shark."

"The shark?"

"You are one fourth shark, girlie. Beware."

She hadn't really thought about telling Emily about her and Tristan, and after he left for military school she had tried to minimize the time she spent thinking about him. The last thing she needed was to spend every friday night enduring pity from her grandparents.

Now, however, telling Emily would be even harder. She had already voiced her oppinion that he was a 'horrible boy,' and Tristan's father and him were sure to make a scene at the new years function. Rory hadn't realized that is would be the same function until Emily had called her, and now she had no idea what to do.

"Okay, grandma, I'll talk to you later, okay?" she hung up the phone. Now what?

-

"No, Dean, I swear it was nothing. It was coffee." Dean shook his head adamantly.

"Coffee is a pre-date. How could you, Molly?"

"Dean, it meant nothing! I was trying to make friends with a person from my community service kitchen. It, meant, nothing." She said the last few words slowly, in exasperation. They had been having the same arguement since that meeting in the diner, and she was getting sick of it. She flipped her copper hair and stared at him imperously. "Why don't you trust me?" This was the last card up her sleeve. If this didn't work, she'd go insane.

"I do trust you, I just don't trust him. Them. I don't know." Her eyes softened and she put a hand on his cheek.

"You're my boyfriend. Okay?" he nodded and looked away, and she sighed in resignation. She knew he was hurting and all, but sometimes she just wished ge would get over whatever happened with his last girlfriend.

"Okay...just...don't do it again?" Wait. What?

"Wait. What? Finn works where I do, and Rory and Tristan seem like fine people. I don't have to be their best friend or anything, but you are not forbidding me from seeing anyone."

"It's a betrayal! She's my ex girlfriend. He stole her away from me. And Finn--"

"--Oh, so you lied? You said you were over her, Dean!" he stopped midsentence. "Look, it's okay if you're not, but I'm not going to hang on while you pine over some other girl."

"Molly I just need to figure some things out." he said lamely. That was it. She was done hearing the same words echoed over and over through lips numb from lying. She picked up her purse and stood up.

"Fine. Call me when you do." she dropped ten bucks on the table and stormed out. She wasn't even dissappointed, just mad. Her entire experience with Dean had been a mistake, a month of fretting over something which was in no way her problem.

-

Finn locked up the doors of the kitchen, taking his first bracing breath of the cold air. Ugh, December. He sighed dejectedly and turned face to face with Molly. She looked adorable, with her red hair poking out of a pom-pommed hat, and her nose pink with the temperature.

"Hey, I was wondering. I've had a really bad night, and I just want to have a good time. You seem like the sort of fellow who would know how." She smiled hopefully.

"What kind of good time?" he asked carefully, putting his keys in his pocket.

"I'm celebrating the first taste of freedom in months!" she smiled wide and lifted her arms in the air as if she were smiling.

"Hmm, and will bag boy try to flay me for it? I'm rather attatched to my skin." she laughed, her voice not matching her appearance. She looked like a snow bunny, but her voice was far more sultry than that. It was throaty and inviting, and Finn knew what a tone like that implied.

"I swear I won't remember in the morning." she promised archly, and he put an arm around her.

"Not if I have any say in the matter," he said in outrage. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the expression, 'drunk as a monkey?'

I hope you guys like where this is going, and I hope you guys like it enough to COMMENT.

Just to COMMENT on Molly: I don't think she'll be a permanent character, just a...temp sort of thing. She'd just around to I can further my own silly ends. No, don't apologise, that was a COMMEN T hing to think, that I was sticking myself in the book. Cause really I'm not. I'm brown haired and my voice isn't s-s-s-sexy, it's squeaky. Not saying I dislike that, my insecurities lie else where. I'm just saying this cause I hate when people put themselves into these things. It's a freaking story, not 'let's play put me in TV.'

Sorry for the rant, and the COMMENTs were supposed to be ironically blatant and subliminal at the same time.

Huh, that soo didn't work.

COMMENT!