Talk About Bad Timing
Disclaimer: No matter how hard I wish and pray, I still do not own the Gilmore Girls
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!
A/N: Okay, okay. I know I haven't updated in a bajillion years. And to top it all off, I don't think this chapter makes up for the fact that I've been MIA for the last couple weeks. Honestly, this is a filler chapter and I think it's bad but I needed a transition piece and this was the best I could do. I know, I know, you hate me. But if I let you swat me with a ruler, do you think you could find it in your heart to forgive me?Life has been crazy lately between my new job and college hunting and vacation and life in general so here you go. The next chapter will be so much better, I promise. There's probably three or four chapters left in this series and I know exactly where I want to take them, so hopefully you won't have to wait too long. So now that I've probably caused you to lose interest in this story and click the "back" button on your internet server, here is the four installment of Talk About Bad Timing The Edith Wharton Debate...
Chapter Four: The Edith Wharton Debate
"Rory?" Lane asked, trying to pull her best friend out of her zombie-like trance.
"Oh, hi. Um. Yeah… have fun! I'm going to go now. Bye," Rory called as she hung her head, sprinting blindly out of the café, a feeling of extreme embarrassment overwhelming her body.
"What was that all about?" Will asked as Lane stared at her friend's retreating form as she took off down the street.
"That…was strange," Lane commented, extremely perplexed by Rory's peculiar behavior. She turned to Ian and, trying to use her manners, tried to cover up for the awkward silence that was encroaching on the situation. "So you're Rory's teacher? That's cool… I hope she doesn't always act like that in class."
"No, she's usually not so deer-in-headlights. I think she was just freaked out about seeing her teacher outside of school. I'm sure it's the last thing she wants.
"Yeah," responded Will, "and it's the last thing I want, too." He nodded suggestively towards the door at Ian.
"And… that's my cue. I'll you back here around 6:45ish?"
"Yup, I'll see you then."
"Okay, I'm out. Nice to meet you, Lane. If he gets fresh, just slap him one," Ian commented sardonically. With a ruffle of Will's hair, Ian exited the café and headed towards the nearest bookstore.
Rory wandered aimlessly around the bookstore, breathing in the smell of new books and watching as the colorful bindings blended together in a rainbow effect. Rory loved everything about the bookstore; the rows of tall walnut bookcase, the roaring fires surrounded by brown leather wingback chairs, and the fact that you could sit and read for hours without being bothered by a single soul. Rory grabbed a leather-bound copy of The House of Mirth, and plopped down in the nearest chair. She was about twenty pages into the book when she was startled by the introduction of a familiar voice in her ear.
"I was never much of an Edith Wharton fan. Did you ever read Ethan Frome? What a terrible book." Rory turned around and there was Mr. Smith, looking more gorgeous than ever. His worn, faded jeans fell baggily around his hips and his burnt orange sweater was just fitted enough to give Rory a glimpse of his pectorals. Rory was going to continue to stare until she actually had an intellectual thought.
"But, you can't judge Edith solely on Ethan Frome. I totally agree with you; it is a terrible novel. But it's so unlike the rest of her cosmopolitan novels. Did you even give Mirth a chance? Choosing Ethan as your first Wharton was probably a bad move," Rory rambled with a feeling of satisfaction. This she could do; books were her thing.
"Who said it was my first Wharton?"
"Well, I just assumed. It seemed that you based all your opinions of Wharton on one novel so most people would think…"
"But you're not most people," Ian cut her off.
"True. But I guess my brain just assumed the obvious."
"Well, you know what they say about people who assume things."
"Oh, do I?" Rory bantered
"You do," Ian commented knowingly.
"I guess I just made an ass of myself then." As soon as Rory said it, she could not believe that she had gone from behaving like a frigid imbecile to a witty, self-confident girl in so little time. It seemed that Lorelai's flirtatiousness had finally started to shine through in Rory's personality. "Wow, I can't believe I just said that," she commented quietly, sinking back into the accepting, plush cushion.
"Honestly? I can't believe it either," Ian stated, seemingly flabbergasted. "You seem far too innocent to ever utter a word like 'ass.' Especially to a teacher,"
"Now look who's making assumptions," Rory commented, trying to lead the conversation away from her last statement.
"Yeah, I guess so. What hypocrite I am," Ian claimed facetiously, flashing a half smile at Rory that warmed her insides. Ian flopped casually into the chair opposite of Rory and began to twiddle his thumbs.
"So," he said after a few moments of awkward silence, "my brother and your best friend. What are the odds?"
"I know. It all seems a tad too ironic."
"Yup… I know what you mean," Ian replied as he traced absentminded circles into the arm of his chair.
"With us having the relationship we do…" Rory trailed off as Ian looked up suddenly, seemingly surprised. "I mean! Not that we have a relationship! It's just that we're student and teacher, and I wouldn't expect us to be paired up in a non-school environment! Not that we're paired up. We've just been coupled together in an odd way…" as Rory's mind slipped back into panic mode, she looked up as she tried to end her ramble and saw that Ian was leaning his chin against his hand, his eyes flickering with amusement as he gazed at her intently. Rory's breath caught in her throat and she smiled shyly. Suddenly, Ian snapped out of his daze and was brought back to earth. He shook his head as if he were trying to rid his head of its thoughts of Rory.
"Off visiting Captain Spock, were you?" Rory asked with a nervous, yet sarcastic, smirk.
"Yeah, something like that. I'm going to get some coffee. Do you want some?"
"That's like asking if Jessica Simpson thinks tuna is chicken," Ian looked at Rory, perplexed, "the obvious answer is yes. You might as well have asked me if I remembered to breathe this morning."
"So I take it you're a coffee lover?"
"No, I'm a coffee worshiper. Without coffee, I would currently be lying in a ditch mumbling incoherent phrases like 'sea monkey's got my money.' Coffee is my elixir of life, my reason for living. Without it, my mother and I would be nowhere, lost in a translucent world of coffeelessness."
"Now I see that coffee is what feeds your ability to ramble," Ian commented with a laugh.
"Indeed it does. It's just yet another trait my mother has passed on to me,"
"And I'm also guessing that your mother is the most important person in your life."
"Well, let's put it this way. If it weren't for her, I would be another rich, high society Chilton snob. And what kind of world needs another one of those, right?" Rory replied proudly as she stood up from her chair and smoothed the front of her jeans.
"Right," Ian responded inaudibly as he followed Rory down the aisle, watching as she retreated away from him.
A/N 2: I know it's short and I know that it's a filler, but I hope against hope that you still want to read my story because the next chapter will be better. Oh yeah, I do not own Edith Wharton's works or that line from Finding Nemo, even though I own the DVD because I'm five and love that movie. Yay. I do, however, support the opinion of Ethan Frome presented in this chapter and I'm sorry if I offended anyone. But yeah, read my next chapter. And please REVIEW. Even if it says "this story is a steaming pile of crap" I will still love you for it.
Voila :)