A/N- Another hectic week, another late update. I'm sorry sorry sorry sorry! But this chapter at least gives you some of what you want... I hope... Ok, I'm going to finish this then go to bed, cuz it's after eleven here, and we had a bomb threat in my school on Friday and we were outside for three hours. I called my sister-in-law and wished her a happy birthday while I sat there. Then I had my cousin's Bat Mitzvah this weekend... Yeah, Ally, we screwed up the poem. Nice. It was still awesome though.

A/N 2- There is more Rory/Ryan in this chapter, I promise! I just really felt, last chapter, like I didn't have enough Seth/Lane or Seth at all, so I needed some in there. Hopefully, this chapter will quench all of your fanfiction needs. Oh, and I did indeed get the hippo out of the pool (Wait, you don't have a hippo. Or a pool... Oh. Right. Never mind... LOL Ally)

Disclaimer- I own nothing regarding the OC or GG, despite what my friends believe.

The Trouble with Love

"Do you think they'll like it?" Rory asked Ryan, tugging at her rising shirt as she took out the Disney Princess plates that she had hidden in her bookshelf.

"Yeah, I think it's a really good surprise. They'll appreciate it," he answered, eyeing the questionably-themed flatware that she had purchased, "Remind me again why we let you go shopping for the plates?" She climbed down from her wooden perch,

"Two reasons. One- Otherwise, I would've been the one buying the food and you said that, as much as you love sugar, you couldn't deal with a Rory Danes dinner. Two- I threatened to make you go see On the Line with me if you didn't let me decorate. You caved like a little girl."

"Oh, that's right. Now I remember."

"Yeah, my dad reacted the same way when I asked him if I could go see the movie on my own and he told me no. For some reason, no one wants to see it."

"There's something oddly unsettling about Lance Bass not being able to find a girlfriend. Joey Fatone or Chris Kirkpatrick, I could imagine. But Lance? Everyone knows he's one of the pretty three of the five." Rory eyed him curiously,

"I'm going to move past that comment and vow to never mention it again."

"Deal. So, how long until they come home?"

"My dad said that they're all going out until five and that they'd be back with dinner."

"Ok. So we have an hour left," He paused for a second, considering what still needed to be done, before screaming, "Seth!"

"Ahhh!" A loud crashing sound came from the kitchen. As Ryan and Rory jumped, Seth called back, "I'm ok! I'm ok! I just dropped a few balloon weights! My toe will eventually get back to normal!"

As Seth's footsteps hobbled towards her room, Rory was compelled to mention,

"Sometimes I can't believe you two are related."

Seth, rounding the corner, glanced at the pink plates in Rory's hand,

"Someone want to tell me why we let you buy the plates?" She sighed,

"And sometimes it's so obvious that it's painful."

"On the Line," Ryan reminded his brother.

"Ahh, yes." They heard the back door open.

"Jess?" Rory called out tentatively. Jess was out picking up the framed pictures that they had had made.

"Lane!" Lane's voice corrected as the door closed again.

"What's our selection?"

"An assortment of Beatles, some Al Green, a bit of Aerosmith, and a little bit of Spice Girls."

"Spice Girls?" Seth and Ryan glanced at each other in confusion.

"For old time's sake. Lorelai loves Spice Girls."

"She does?" Seth asked.

"Don't you remember the Halloween where she dressed me up as Baby Spice and she dressed up as Posh Spice?"

"Oh, that's right. She spent the entire night posing without saying a word." Ryan nodded, intrigued by the memory,

"Oh, yeah! And didn't she also dress your dad up as that guy from the movie?"

"Well, she tried to dress him up like Clifford, but he wound up looking like a guy from the CIA. Which was actually kinda funny, so it was ok."

They heard the back door open again, a relaxed Jess announcing his presence with a,

"Honey, I'm home!"

"You need to stop watching Lucy reruns with my mom."

"Sorry, they're addicting," he answered, strolling into the room.

"Just stop before you start wearing the Fred Murtz pants-up-to-your-neck look."

"Really? I think it's sexy," Lane joked.

"I'm more into the Ethel Murtz polka-dotted dress, feathered-hat look," Seth said sarcastically. Ryan took in the scene before him,

"Hi, I'm Ryan. Now, I know you might not know me, but I've been sent here to help you set up for the surprise for our parents. We have a limited amount of time for that, but an infinite amount of time to talk about I Love Lucy. So, lets go on with the more time-sensitive issue."

"It's official. You can no longer hang out with dad," Seth said, rolling his eyes.

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"Surprise!" The kids screamed as the front door opened.

"Oh my... what's going on?" Kirsten asked as she and the other adults entered the house.

"What is this?" asked Luke incredulously, taking in his surroundings.

There was a sign that read "Happy New Year" with the last two words crossed out, replaced by the word "Anniversary" in Rory's neat handwriting. Balloons reading "Al's Pancake World" occupied the corners of the den. Piles of junk food, pizza, vegetables, and dip sat on the coffee table.

"Happy 'Kelly Road Posse' anniversary!" The kids all shouted.

"Our..." began Lorelai.

"Our 'Kelly Road Posse' anniversary," Seth explained.

"It's been seven years to the day that we moved to the Hollow," Ryan continued.

"So, we threw you a party to celebrate," Seth finished.

Jess leaned over to Rory, whispering,

"I've lived here three years. Still not used to the finishing-each-others'-sentences thing."

"Give it another two," She whispered back as she followed the adults into the den.

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An hour later, the group sat around, eating and joking, when the phone rang.

"I got it!" Rory announced, diving to grab the phone before her cousin could, "Hello?... Oh, hey... Yeah, what's up?... Same here... Yeah, he's right here. Here you go," She pulled the phone away from her ear, "Jessssss," she said in a sing-song voice, "It's for you. It's Aaaaaally." Jess hastily stood up, his cheeks shining red, and grabbed the phone from Rory, beginning to move towards the stairs leading to his bedroom.

Everyone smiled; Jess and Ally had been "going out" for almost a month. When Jess finally worked up the courage to ask her out (owing, in large part, to Seth and Ryan's insistence), she had told him "yes" instantly. His excitement was obvious at dinner that night, and his aunt had prodded him until he finally admitted why he was happy.

As expected, this prompted squeals and giggles from Lorelai and Rory, and a lecture from Luke about the "proper way to treat a girl."

"They're getting very serious," Kirsten commented.

"It's good for him to have something like this, though. It teaches him about relationships. Shows him that he can have a stable relationship," Lorelai pointed her fork at Kirsten, nodding as she spoke.

"He's still young, though. Do you think it's a good idea for him to be so serious?" Luke thought out loud.

"Yeah. He'll be fourteen next month. He's at the age where he'll like girls and they'll like him. If he likes this girl, I don't think we should keep him from her."

"You've met her?" Sandy asked.

"Yeah, she came over for dinner once a few weeks ago. She seemed very sweet."

"As long as he found someone nice, it's actually kind of cute."

"My thoughts exactly."

Jess bounded up the stairs and hung the phone back up, not expecting to face prying eyes.

"What?" He asked sheepishly, staring intently at his old Nikes (He was prohibited from wearing his new ones before school started- Lorelai's orders.)

"How's Allllllly?" Lorelai asked, her voice reflecting the sing-songiness of Rory's from moments earlier.

"She's fine." He answered bluntly. Jess glanced at Ryan, pleading with him to create any kind of diversion. Ryan, in turn, looked at Seth, who looked at Rory, then Lane, then back to Jess.

"Alright, alright. We have an announcement to make," Seth announced, clanging his plastic fork against his paper cup, "That definitely works better in the movies." Ryan rolled his eyes at his brother and stood up,

"Now, as amazing as we know this is, we have another surprise for you."

"You guys do so much for us, and we just wanted to say thank you," Rory contributed.

"And, even though I'm not actually any of your kid, you all still do a lot for me, so I pitched in too," Lane stood next to her friends.

"So, we all pitched in and bought you guys a night out on the town," Jess said, still not able to look any of the adults in the eye.

"You..." Luke started, attempting to meet his nephew's eye, but failing and staring down his daughter instead.

"We made reservations at a fancy French restaurant in Hartford," Seth said, prompting Luke to move to say something. Before he could get the words out, Rory interrupted him,

"I checked. The portions are fine, and it isn't too expensive."

"That's my girl," he nodded proudly.

"Then, you're all going out to a night of dancing," Lane finished. The adults sat in stunned silence for a moment before Sandy spoke up,

"How did you kids manage to afford all this?"

"I used some of my Bar Mitzvah money," Seth said.

"Same," nodded Ryan.

"Money from helping at the inn and the diner," said Rory.

"Same," Jess said, his eyes now on the ceiling.

"I've helped my Mama in the store now and then. I earned money from there. Plus odd jobs at the inn and the diner," Lane said, looking Lorelai in the eye.

"You kids... are amazing," Kirsten said.

"Well, thanks. We were raised well."

"Thank you guys so much."

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"Now, you guys know where the numbers are to reach us?" Luke asked Rory. Jess was in the basement, on the phone with Ally, making plans for the next night.

"Yes, dad."

"And you know where the cell phone numbers are?"

"I had them memorized when I was ten, daddy."

"But, just in case. Do you know where they are?"

"Yes, daddy."

"Where are they?"

"On the fridge."

"Ok. Good girl. There's money on the table for pizza or the diner or..."

"Sandip's?"

"No, princess. Last time you did that, I had to hold mom back from burning the house down."

"Fine."

"We'll be back around eleven. Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Umm... I think Lane and the boys are going to come over and hang out. Watch some movies or something."

"Ok. Are they sleeping over?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Ok. Just keep me posted," Lorelai descended the stairs wearing a black v-neck halter dress, putting in the diamond earrings that Luke bought her for her birthday, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," She turned to Rory, "Dad read you the riot act?"

"Unnecessarily, yes."

"I'm sure that the only thing that you needed reminding of is no Sandip's."

"I'm still not sure why not."

"Because mommy can't deal with the smell. It's worse than sticking your head in week-old garbage."

"Fine." Lorelai leaned over to give Rory a kiss,

"Be good. No keggers. Try not to wear togas. I love you."

"You too." Luke took his turn kissing Rory's forehead,

"The emergency phone numbers are on..."

"Dad!"

"Right, right. Got it. I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Jess!" Luke called down the stairs.

"Yeah?" Jess's voice echoed up towards his family.

"We're going!"

"Ok, have fun!"

"Stay in the house this time, please!"

"Can do, chief."

"Ok, we'll see you later!"

"Bye!"

"Bye, Jess! Love you," Lorelai called down the stairs.

"Bye, Lorelai!"

"What? No 'I love you, too, Lorelai?'"

"I'm sorry, but it's so uncool to tell your aunt that you love her. Deal," He said jokingly.

"Goodbye, Jess."

"Bye, Luke. Bye, Lorelai."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Do you think the boys are gonna do it?" Kirsten asked as she hooked her necklace, glancing at Sandy from her place in the bathroom.

"Do what?"

"Act on their feelings. Ask the girls out."

"Why? Do you think it'd be a bad thing?"

"I don't know. It's just... they're so young."

"Honey, they're almost fourteen."

"Doesn't mean I'm not their mother anymore."

"Sweetheart," he said, walking to her and pulling her into his arms, "They like Lane and Rory. They always have. Wouldn't you rather they go out with girls that we know and love instead of little brats who just want to go out and get gifts?"

"I guess."

"C'mon. We love Rory. We love Lane. We love Lorelai and Luke. We're... tolerant of Mrs. Kim. I think, if anything, it's a good idea."

"You just want your boys to be ladies men."

"And you just want them to be babies."

"They're my babies."

"Hey... if Ryan and Rory get married, then you and Lorelai would be related." She paused and considered,

"Ok, fine."

They walked into the hallway to find the boys moving hurriedly out of their bedrooms. Seth was wearing his favorite sweater-vest and a pair of nicely-creased jeans, and Ryan sported his nicest dress sweater- a gray round-neck.

"Woah, what's up with the dapper young men look?" Sandy asked, his arm around Kirsten's waist.

"Nothing, dad."

"We just felt like getting dressed up."

"Is that a crime?"

"Are we in trouble?"

"What? No, no, boys. Don't be so defensive... What are your plans for tonight?"

"We thought we'd... go hang out at Rory's," Ryan said sheepishly, his eyes fixated on the floor.

"Oh, really?" Kirsten glanced at Sandy, "Well, give the girls our love."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later, the kids sat in a circle on the floor of the den. Lane, the Cohen boys, and Ally had all come over, and all of the kids were now embroiled in a heated debate over which was the better show- Family Guy or The Simpsons.

"Family Guy, no question," Ryan said, "There's nothing that can beat a good Brian-Stewie scene."

"Yes there is. A good Lisa-Ralph scene," Lane said. After watching a few episodes of The Simpsons with Seth, she was turned on to "the beauty of the Wiggum."

"Lane, you're deranged. Ralph anything is funny," Seth said, waving his pizza at her.

"I never said Ralph anything wasn't funny, Seth. I just said that Ralph-Lisa was very funny."

"Ok, ok. I give." He smiled warmly at her, and she responded in kind.

"I say they're about equal," Ally offered. Despite her status with Jess and the fact that they had all been friends for a year, she wasn't completely sure of her status in the tight-knit group.

"I definitely could understand that. They both have some really good points. But I must say, I think Family Guy wins. I can't help it. I love Stewie."

"Rock on, Rory," He smiled at her, similarly to the way Seth had smiled at Lane, and was rewarded with a wink.

"I still don't get why you guys watch any of those," Jess mentioned, nibbling at the corner of his crust.

"You just like to watch I Love Lucy. I vote we kick Jess out of this discussion."

"Or we could start a new one?" Lane suggested.

"Actually, I have a new book in my room that I wanted to show Ryan," Rory offered. She had recently gotten a new copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, complete with side-notes and she knew that Ryan was interested in the book.

"Oh, ok."

"Ally, do you want to go downstairs? I have that CD that I burned for you."

"Sure." He helped her up. The four left the room, leaving only Seth and Lane in the once-full circle.

"And then there were two," Seth said, motioning to the empty spaces.

"So..." Lane started. The last time they had been alone together in this room they had almost... Get a hold of yourself, Lane Kim! That was a long time ago!

"So... What do you think of Ms. Reynold's class?" She sighed and decidedly moved closer to him under the guise of better communication. But really, I just want to be closer to him.

"She's alright. It sucks that you and Rory aren't in our class, though."

"I know. They purposely split the five of us up, I swear. How they manage to get you, Ryan, and Jess in one class, and me and Rory in the other I'll never know."

"I bet Taylor had something to do with it," she joked.

"You sound like Luke."

"I hang out with Rory too much." Seth was suddenly very aware of the small distance between them... not that he minded.

"We all hang out together a lot."

"But you and I don't do so much alone. Just the two of us."

"We could change that," he smiled at her- a smile which she returned shyly, though never breaking eye contact.

"We might have to."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, here it is," Rory told Ryan as she handed him the paperback.

"Very cool. My dad keeps telling me to read it. I think it's because it's about a lawyer."

"Atticus is awesome, though. Very good lawyer. Good dad. Seems to be a nice guy."

"How many times have you read this book?"

"About twenty-five," She said sheepishly, "It's one of my favorites."

"It should be good, then," he paused and decided whether to add the next part. Against his logic, he said, "You always have good taste. In books and clothes and everything."

"Thanks," she giggled, looking him in the eye.

They had been best friends for seven years, but there was something different over the past year or so. Their words were calculated. There was a different gleam in their eyes that was only evident when they spoke to or about the other. They almost felt magnetized towards each other, and wanted to spend a lot of time alone. Just with each other.

"So..." Ryan started, willing himself to pry his blue eyes off of Rory's, "Who's your favorite character?"

"Me?" She asked, plopping down next to Ryan on the bed, "Probably Boo Radley."

"Boo Radley? Don't you, like, never see him?"

"Yeah. He's elusive. I like that. But, see, there's one part," she leaned over and turned the pages of the book still in his hands. I have Rory Danes this close to me. I am the luckiest man alive. He felt a surge of something- perhaps electricity, perhaps elation- flow through his body, "It's just... read this." She leaned against his shoulder as he read the portion she had instructed him to. I hope I'm not being too forward, but I really like him and he needs to know it.

"Looks like a good book."

"Well, you and I have a lot of the same interests."

"We like the same things."

"So, maybe we should... spend some more time... just you and me?"

"I'd like that."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Jess?" Ally asked, looking at the picture of Jess, Rory, Ryan, Seth, and Lane on the wall.

"Yeah?"

"Your cousin... she likes Ryan, doesn't she?" Jess glanced at her incredulously,

"How did you..."

"It's obvious. Same way he likes her."

"I didn't think it was that obvious."

"Please. The eyes tell everything. How long have they liked each other?"

"As long as I can remember... Supposedly since they've met."

"And Seth and Lane?"

"What about them?"

"They like each other, too."

"How on earth can you tell all of this?"

"It's a girl thing. So spill." Jess sighed,

"Yeah, they've liked each other forever also."

"So... why don't they do it already?"

"Do what?"

"Ask each other out?"

"Well... Lane's mom is... Mrs. Kim."

"Oh, right... She's that lady who yells at us if we touch the fence as we walk by, right?"

"Yeah. And Lane and Seth really like each other. But Seth's... Jewish and not Korean and... not a boy Mrs. Kim would approve of."

"Does it matter to Lane?"

"Not at all. Which is why I think they'll wind up together sooner rather than later."

"And Rory?" Jess's gaze wandered to the picture on his desk of himself, Rory, and Luke.

"Rory... has a weird lifestyle. Her mom's pretty laid back, but her dad is really protective of her. Not strict or anything. Just protective. He adopted Rory when she was, like, six, and ever since then, he's kinda felt like, maybe he could lose her. Plus, it's just his nature to be so protective of her." Ally stared at Jess, stunned,

"Where did you find this out?" He laughed,

"My mom. Last time she was in town, I asked her why Luke was so protective of Rory. That's what she told me."

"Wow."

"Well, it's the Danes family way."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, Lane..." Seth started. They had been talking alone for nearly twenty minutes, laughing, joking, and never moving further than six inches away from one another.

"Yeah, Seth?"

"Remember that day... when we were here... and everyone else was out... and it was just us... and we almost..."

"Yeah, Seth. I remember." How could I forget?

"Well... it got me thinking..." he paused before allowing his emotions to take over, "I really, really, really like you Lane. And no matter what your mama says, I don't think it's 'inappropriate' for us to be together. And I just think that you're awesome, and it's fun to be with you, and I really like you, and..."

"Seth, spit it out," she said gently, interrupting his rant.

"Will you... be my girlfriend? That is, assuming you like me, too." Seth watched in bewilderment as Lane stood up and turned away from him.

After five seconds of complete silence, she let out a vague shriek, muffled by her hands placed over her mouth. She turned around and knelt next to him, a smile stretching from ear-to-ear,

"Yeah, Seth. I will." He smiled back at her and paused before asking,

"I don't need to give you a ring or anything, do I?" She shook her head no and leaned in slowly, her lips meeting his gently.

"Today... is awesome."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Rory?" Ryan said tentatively, flipping through the pages of yet another book.

"Hmm?" She mumbled, entranced by the same novel. Now or never, Ryan. You'll never get her alone like this again. He began a well thought-out speech, which quickly deteriorated into Seth-like rambling,

"So, we've been friends for a long time and I think it's... it's pretty clear... that you're a... a great person... and that everyone likes you... and you're funny and smart and... cute..."

"Cute?" She asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yeah. Cute," he recomposed himself, "So, what I'm trying to say, is... I like you, Rory. I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but I like you. A lot. And I don't think this feeling's going to go away, because I've felt this way since I was six. And lately, it's just gotten stronger. Now, I'm not sure if you like me, too, or not, but I'm gonna gamble on this one," G-d, Cohen, spit it out, "Would you... maybe... like to go out sometime? Just you and me? To the movies or... something?" Rory's grin broadened,

"Like... boyfriend and girlfriend kind of a thing?" He grinned, his cheeks reddening,

"Um... yeah..." Rory surprised herself by leaning forward, kissing him squarely on the mouth, "I'll take that as a yes?" She nodded,

"You should take that as a 'Finally, yes!'" They laid back on the bed together, his arm resting around her shoulders. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Rory spoke up again, "Hey, Ry?"

"Yeah?"

"What took you so long?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Kids?" Lorelai yelled into the house as she, Luke, Sandy, and Kirsten entered, the men rubbing at their feet.

"How did we let them talk us into this?" Luke asked his friend.

"The kids paid," Sandy answered definitively, making his way into the kitchen to relieve his throbbing feet.

Lorelai and Kirsten wandered into the den.

"Awww," They both said as they took in the sight of Lane and Seth, fast asleep on the floor atop a mountain of pillows, their arms around each other.

"Let them sleep here tonight," Lorelai said, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over the teenagers.

"Rory? Ryan?" Kirsten called out in a hushed tone. When they received no answer, Luke announced,

"She's probably in her room. I'll look," He groaned as he got to his feet, making the short distance to his daughter's bedroom. He opened the door a crack to find Rory and Ryan, still dressed in jeans and t-shirts, fast asleep atop Rory's bed, their arms around each other, "Oh my G-d!"

"What? What?" Kirsten and Lorelai rushed into the room behind Luke to see what was wrong.

"Awwwww," They repeated again.

"Aw? What the hell is aw? My only daughter is asleep in her bed with a guy! She's thirteen!"

"So's he," Kirsten joked. Luke put his hand to his head in disbelief, sitting back down at the kitchen table,

"I don't know if I'm ready for this."

"I don't think you have a choice." Suddenly, Lorelai began to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Teenagers. We're raising teenagers."

"That just hit you?"

"It just occurred to me."

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

"It should be interesting, is all I'm saying."