Talk About Bad Timing
Disclaimer: No matter how hard I wish and pray, I still do not own the Gilmore Girls
A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback. I appreciate it more than you know!
Summary: This is a completely AU idea that popped into my head clear out of the blue. Rory starts her junior year at Chilton and falls in love with the unexpected. There is no Dean and no Jess; Rory is completely boy free at this point in her life. This probably isn't what you're expecting because I'm introducing a brand new character. Hope you enjoy this, please read and review!
Chapter Two – Hot for Teacher
Embarrassed by her reaction to his entrance, Rory quickly picked up her book and tucked her hair behind her ears, staring down at the floor. Mr. Smith cleared his throat, obviously stunned to see her in his first class, but pulled himself together and moved on.
"This is my first teaching gig, ever. And I know you're thinking, 'how could he possibly teach me anything?' Yes, I'm young… twenty-two to be exact, but I know what I'm talking about. I'm not going to lie; I'm a complete and total math geek. Calc is my thing, and I'll try to do my best to not give you major migraines. I'm not promising anything though. This is, after all, an advanced school, is it not?"
He continued to talk, but Rory heard nothing; it was as if she no longer knew how to speak or comprehend English. This man, the one she didn't know, even in the broadest sense of the word, had this sudden power over her that she had never known before; he was intoxicating beyond belief. Rory continued to stare at the square in front of her desk, mad at herself for choosing to sit in the front row. She was shaken out of her thoughts by the repetition of her name.
"Lorelai Gilmore?" Mr. Smith called.
"Oh, oh. Um, that's me. But you can call me Rory. Lorelai is my mom's name… but it's my name too. We have the same name. Um, yeah." Rory suddenly stopped her ramble and for the first time, looked up at Mr. Smith since the moment in the hallway. She felt so stupid and ridiculous at that very point in time she could hardly stand it. Mr. Smith was standing there, a huge smile on his face, laughing at Rory's nervous behavior.
"Nice to meet you Rory, not Lorelai, Gilmore." Behind her, Rory heard the entire class erupt in laughter. She crossed her arms and sunk down into her seat in embarrassment as Mr. Smith continued with the roll call.
Rory's first Calculus class had to be the longest fifty-five minutes of her life. She could hardly pay attention, but luckily for her Mr. Smith didn't teach anything that class. As soon as the bell rang, Rory bolted out the door and flew down the hallway to her locker. She spent the rest of the day in a daze, unable to shake the feelings Mr. Smith had helped to induce.
"He's my teacher," Rory thought to herself. "I can't believe he's my teacher," she repeated in her mind as she made her way home. As she walked up the driveway, she was surprised to see Lorelai's tan Jeep parked there.
"Mom?" Rory called as she entered the house, dropping her bag at the door.
"Kitchen!" Lorelai called. Rory strolled into the kitchen and there was Lorelai, bent over the sink, obviously struggling with some unknown object.
"What are you doing?" Rory inquired, perplexed by her mother's current behavior.
"Well," Lorelai began, wiping her brow as she stood upright and faced her daughter, "the spoon and I are fighting the garbage disposal and, needless to say, the garbage disposal is kicking our ass. Anyway, how was school? What's the dish?"
"Oh," Rory commented quietly, scuffing the toe of her saddle shoe against the linoleum tile, "nothing really. Just same old Chilton."
"Please. Don't lie to Mommy; I invented the concept. What happened that you don't want to tell me?" Rory sighed heavily and sat down at the kitchen table while Lorelai followed suit.
"Basically, it started with me literally running into the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen and falling in love with him on the spot, and ended with him walking into my first period Calc class and announcing that he's the teacher." Lorelai said nothing, but Rory could see the smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Mom! This isn't funny! I was so embarrassed." But still Lorelai did not respond. She just sat there, trying not to giggle at her grief stricken daughter. Before she could stop herself, she broke out into her own horrible rendition of "Hot for Teacher."
"Alright, that's enough," Rory exclaimed as Lorelai stood up and grabbed a spoon, using it like a microphone.
"Goodbye Van Halen!" Rory yelled over the off key singing as she stood up and walked into her bedroom, slamming the door with a huff.
As Rory exited the bus the next morning, she couldn't help but feel nervous about running into Mr. Smith outside of class. He had to know that he made her anxious; just look at the way she acted in class yesterday. She stepped off the bus, with her book in hand, as she looked around trying to make sure that he wasn't anywhere to be found. With a sigh of relief, Rory opened her book and started to read and walk at the same time; it was one of those skills that she had mastered over the last few years. Just as she was turning the corner, she felt someone run into her. She looked up, and there he was.
"Not again," Rory groaned under her breath as she inhaled his scent.
"Wow, we've got to stop meeting like this, Rory. People are going to think there's something going on between us," he said with a laugh. It was obvious that he was trying to make a joke, but Rory's anxiety had distorted her sense of humor.
"What! Why would they think that?" she exclaimed, her voice shaking ever so slightly.
"It was a joke. Calm down, I was just playing with you. It just seems coincidental that we keep running into each other, literally. I think the both of us just have a tendency to not pay attention to where we're going; that trait seems to attract us to each other."
"Oh, yeah. I know what you mean. My attention span isn't so great; I think I get that from my mom. She's always forgetting her sentences and stopping in the middle of projects. Like, there was this one time that she decided she was going to make her own seashell candles, but that just ended in lots of hot wax and dinky plastic seashells lying around for me to clean… okay I have no idea why I'm telling you this so I'm just going to shut up now." Rory ended her rant and looked up at Mr. Smith who was smiling down at her just like he had yesterday.
"You know, you're very endearing Rory Gilmore. It's nice to have a student so much like yourself. See you in class," he commented as he walked away very much like he had the day before. Rory smiled as he turned the corner, but as soon as he was out of sight, she walked away with a frown plastered to her face.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid," she muttered as she made her way to her locker.
Sixth period ends and Rory makes her way to Calculus, not sure how she should feel about it. She walks slowly, not wanting to be the first one there. With great luck, she enters the room just as the bell rings and the room is filled with students. The unfortunate thing is that there's only one seat left and it's the very same seat she sat in the class before.
"Crap," she thinks to herself, not wanting to spend the next hour sitting right in front of him, trying to take notes while she's inhaling his intoxicating scent and staring into his deep, jade green eyes; the unwanted seating arrangement makes the entire act slightly obvious and hard to complete. Rory sighs and takes the seat just as Mr. Smith stands up to begin class, flashing a very brief smile at the girl in front of him. He begins to speak, and Rory watching as his mouth forms the words, his tantalizing red lips distracting her focus and bringing her into another world.
Suddenly, someone drops a notebook next to her and she is brought back to earth. Shaking her head as to clear the air, she leans over into her bag and grabs her notebook to take notes, determined not to lose her focus again.
As the class ends, Rory gathers her things and exits the room a lot slower than she had the day before. Somehow she feels more relaxed and not quite as stupid. She's halfway down the hallway when she reaches into her bag and finds that her book is no longer there. Figuring that she left it back in Calc, she turns on her heel and makes her way back there. She stands in front of the door, nervous about going in there alone. She stares and the dark oak frame, nibbling on her lip and contemplating her behavior.
"He's just a teacher," she thinks to herself, "a gorgeous, smart teacher, but nevertheless, a teacher just the same." A bundle of nerves, she takes a deep breathe and turns to bronze knob and opens the heavy door.
Mr. Smith, who had his feet up on the desk and was staring out the window, turns around in a flash due to the introduction of sound. He sees Rory standing there in her uniform, timidly tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling diffidently at him.
"Um, I forgot my book," Rory says sheepishly, and as she does, she sees her novel in his strong, masculine hands.
"Oh, is this yours? I thought so, but I wasn't sure," he commented as he stood up from his chair and handed the book back to Rory. "The Awakening, good choice," he remarks, leaning back against the desk.
"You've read it?" Rory inquires, surprised by his comment.
"Yeah, I really enjoy Kate Chopin. Her short stories are really good also. Have you ever read Story of an Hour? If you haven't, I suggest you do. It's short, but good."
"I have read it actually and I really enjoyed it. I kind of have an obsession with reading."
"I noticed. Every time I've seen you you're either reading a book or have one in your hand. Books seem to be your signature mark," Mr. Smith said as he cleared a place on his desk and sat there. Rory chuckled and smiled down at the floor.
"Yeah, I guess you could call them that. I've always been known as being a bookworm."
The two continued to talk, becoming more and more comfortable with each other. Fifteen minutes pass and Rory looks down at her watch.
"I've got to go or I'll miss my bus," she says as she makes her way to the door, "it was nice talking to you."
"Same here," Mr. Smith replies, smiling broadly at Rory. "I'll see you tomorrow in class." The reality that he's a teacher comes back to smack Rory in the face.
"Bye," she mumbles meekly as she exits the room. She's about to close the door as he calls out to her.
"Wouldn't want to forgot this," he comments as he holds up the book that is the very reason for the visit in the first place.
"Oh yeah, thanks," she saunters over to him and takes the book. Before she realizes it, the fingers are touching and his rough touch causes her skin to tingle. The two stare at each other for only a second and say nothing.
"You should go. I don't want you to miss your bus," Mr. Smith says as he breaks the silence and removes his eyes from her gaze.
"Yeah, you're right. See you tomorrow Mr. Smith," Rory replies as she turns on her heel and leaves the room, the warmth from his hand touching hers still causing her to shiver
A/N 2: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please R&R for it will cause my life to be complete :)