A/N- I love reviews. I want to make a review song and dance. But that might be a little extreme... Any other suggestions?
A/N 2- Questions! Thanks for the movie suggestion. I'll definitely check it out :)... I have no idea what I'm gonna do about Max. I'll probably throw him in in some way, shape, or form... I got the nature vs. nurture thing from habit. I'm a crazy political nutjob. I'm the daughter of a lawyer. I have to be. Ask my friends and cousin. I'm crazy political... K that's all for now, darlings!
Dedicated to: Everyone who knew that the movie in the last chapter was Rocky Horror Picture Show. I freakin love that movie... My friend and I were working together last week and there was a lull and we randomly started doing theTime Warp in my parents' ice cream store...So, to... GarniGal, KatyDid7186, Katelyn Lilly, Du Grey, Chelsea (again! Gosh, are you watching while I type or something? Lol... we really do have similar tastes), and beatlechicksteph
Challenge: What movie is Ryan watching in the first scene of the chapter? Same rules as always, darlings.
Disclaimer: You think I'd go to the store at 11:30 to decorate cakes for my parents if I owned GG or the OC? I don't think so.
Happy Birthday
Ryan lounged in the big leather sofa-chair in the den, one of his favorite movies playing on the TV.
"If you want to join the People's Front of Judea, you have to really hate the Romans."
"I do!"
"Oh yeah, how much?"
"A lot!"
"Right, you're in." Ryan laughed. No matter how many times he'd seen this particular movie, he still found it hysterical. He considered it one of the classics of the cinema. He glanced up quickly from Brian's attempts at joining one of the Judean groups to find his father walking frantically into the room.
"Ry, have you seen my order sheets?" Ryan nodded and pointed in front of him, still staring at the TV,
"On the coffee table."
"Thanks," Sandy was about to grab them and leave, but stopped in his tracks when he realized the scene in front of him, "Ryan?"
"Yeah, dad?"
"What are you doing?"
"Movie," he shrugged. Sandy shook his head,
"No, I mean what are you doing at home? On a Friday night at 7. Watching a movie in your pajamas. Eating Corn Pops from the box." Ryan shook his head,
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Well, if I'm not mistaken, don't you have a girlfriend that you could be out with right now?" Ryan shook his head,
"She's at dinner with her grandparents. Gonna be every other Friday from now on or something."
"What about your brother? Couldn't you do something with him?"
"He's out with Lane. She's taking him out for a birthday dinner at Al's."
"Jess?"
"His parents took him out to go clothes shopping. He said Lorelai kept telling him that once he hit sixteen his shot up seven inches."
"Yeah, she was telling us. Said that as a birthday present, nature gave him a growth spurt as a present," He paused, trying to find another person to get his son to get together with, "How about..." Ryan stopped him,
"Dad, if you say Hannah and Josh, I'm going to erase all of your Tivo'd 'Daily Shows'."
"Ok, ok. Not the twins. Please, Ed Helms doesn't deserve that. But don't you have anything better to do than to watch people on crucifixes sing 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'?" Ryan shrugged,
"I don't know..."
"Why don't you come over to the store and help out mom and me? Brad and Megan are working. You're friends with them, right?" Ryan shrugged,
"Yeah, I am. But I'm not really in the mood to go help at the store."
"You don't have to help. You can just hang out. Sit in the office if you want."
"Isn't that kinda the same as sitting in the den?"
"Work with me here."
"I don't know, dad. I want to relax." Sandy sighed, but smiled as he realized a possible solution,
"Tomorrow's your birthday. Go out and go shopping for some new CDs. On me. Consider it an early birthday present."
"Thanks, dad, but I'm not getting any more until after Seth and my birthday. We don't want doubles. If we buy them now, we might have to go all the way to the mall to return them and we just don't have the patience for that." Sandy laughed,
"That was the laziest thing I've ever heard you say." Ryan nodded,
"I'm tired and bored. I can be lazy right now."
"C'mon, Ry. There's gotta be something else you can do. Nobody in the world knows the difference between the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea better than you." Ryan shook his head and looked back at the TV, but the pictures perched next to it were what caught his eye. They were professional pictures that they had taken in school earlier in the year; the Cohens and Daneses had ordered "sibling shots" in different combinations. The sibling shots were usually pictures of brothers and sisters at the school, but the adults had decided that they wanted pictures of their four children together
There were two photographs- one of Seth and Ryan standing next to each other, hands tucked into their pockets as Jess and Rory did the same closely next to them. Lorelai had titled that picture "Our Four Eldest," and Kirsten, Luke, and Sandy had agreed. The other picture was of the three teenage couples, Seth and Lane on the right, Ally and Jess on the left, and Ryan and Rory in the middle; all three couples had the boys behind the girls, their arms wrapped around the girls' waists, heads over shoulders, forming a straight line of faces, though it was obvious to see who the couples were.
His gaze focused on Rory for a second before he jumped up,
"I have it!"
"What do you have?"
"An idea. I'm going out. I'll be back later." He was about to run out the door when his father stopped him,
"Ryan!"
"What, dad?"
"You go out looking like that, people are gonna be afraid to wake you up."
"Huh?"
"You look like you're sleepwalking. You're in pajamas." Ryan looked down,
"Oh, right. Thanks, dad."
"No problem, son," Ryan ran up the stairs as Sandy called after him, "Sorry about interrupting your movie!"
"That's ok! You tore me away before Brian comes out of the window and sees the crowd!" Sandy laughed; that part had disturbed him when he had first seen the movie also.
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"Holy cow, you missed the funniest thing the other day," Lane breathed to Seth over their shared piece of chocolate cake at Al's. Seth cocked his head to the side and looked his girlfriend in the eye, confused,
"Your mom try and convert some of the Hare Krishna's at the airport again?" Lane laughed,
"No. They still won't let her through the terminals unaccompanied there, though."
"So what happened?"
"In school, Dean was walking down the hall and Mike called his name. Dean turns around and waves hi, turns out Mike was standing right next to Ellie."
"Dean likes Ellie, doesn't he?"
"A lot. He's always drooling after her. Then again, he does after most of the girls in school." Seth became nervous,
"Not you, right?" She grinned at his innocent insecurity,
"No, Sethie. He knows I have a boyfriend who I love and that he could never tear me away from him."
"Good... because otherwise I'd have to... you know... kick his ass..." She smiled patronizingly at him,
"I know you would."
"Continue with the story."
"Oh, yeah. So Dean gets all excited and starts walking towards them and he does that creepy eye contact thing..."
"Ah, yes. Don't break eye contact with a girl you like while walking towards her. It's mesmerizing. The guy's guide to dating."
"It's creepy. The girl's guide to stupid guy tricks."
"Ok. No more creepy eye contact."
"Thank you... so, he's making eye contact with Ellie and Tom walks by..."
"The maintenance guy?"
"Yeah... So, Dean doesn't see him walk by and he trips, knocks over the garbage can Tom's carrying, rolls over the can, right into the garbage." Seth, envisioning the situation, began to shake with laughter, tears rolling down his cheeks,
"Oh, man. Everyone was ok, right?"
"Yeah. Dean's ego was bruised, but it'll heal. Unfortunately." They sat and laughed together for a few minutes before the noise grew into a comfortable silence. Seth grabbed her hand from across the table and ran his thumb comfortingly over it,
"Hey..."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry..."
"For what?" He was silent for a moment, seemingly reaching for the right words,
"For leaving you."
"You're doing what!"
"No, no. Not like that. For leaving you alone. At school." She shook her head,
"No, Seth. No. Don't go into this now. Please. I already told you I'm ok at school. I'm happy for you. Proud of you." He sighed,
"I worry about you..."
"Don't. I'm sure you're talking about it constantly, and I'm sure it's bothering Ryan, Rory, and Jess. I'm honestly fine. Ok?"
"Ok... but promise me one thing?"
"If anything's bothering you, you will tell me, right?"
"Of course." He leaned forward and kissed her,
"I love you."
"I know you do."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rory stood in the living room, a stack of post-its in her hand. This is bizarre.
"So, how's it going?" Her grandmother's voice startled her. Mom. Daddy. Jess... Hannah or Josh... I don't care who. This is just too weird. Please come soon.
"Oh... fine, Grandma."
"Very nice piece you chose."
"Oh... you have good taste. It's hard not to pick a nice piece."
"Why, thank you, Rory."
"Oh. No problem."
"Rory, dear, I wanted to ask you. Do you have any special requests for dinner next week?"
"Oh, well..." I'm not supposed to be here next week. So shouldn't I be telling my mom?
"I was wondering what you wanted to eat on your birthday."
"Oh, Grandma... Mom and Dad already..."
"Rory, did you forget about our deal?" Our what?
"I'm sorry?"
"Our deal. We decided that you would be here next week and then you'll go two weeks in a row with no dinner here." I'm sorry... I don't remember that at all...
"Grandma, I..."
"Oh, no, Rory. Did you forget?" Forget what?
"Well, I..."
"Oh, well, go ahead with your plans... I guess I don't need to see my granddaughter on her sixteenth birthday..."
"Oh, Grandma, I..."
"I guess I'll just cancel the plans I had made." Oh no...
"You made plans, Grandma?"
"Yes, dear. I made plans. But I'll cancel them. Go ahead. Have your fun."
"Oh... no, grandma... we can change our plans."
"Really, Rory? I don't want to be any inconvenience." Yes, you do.
"Oh, no. It's ok... Mom and dad can just... throw my party on Saturday instead, I guess."
"Oh, wonderful." Mom's gonna be maaaaad...
In the foyer, the maid swung the front door open to reveal a man in a flannel shirt and backwards baseball cap,
"Hi, I'm Luke Danes. I'm here to pick up my daughter Rory," Luke told the frightened-looking woman. She nodded,
"Yes, sir. Just a moment," The woman turned around and jumpily made her way towards the living room. What's Rory doing there? Shouldn't they be in the den? Or the dining room?, "Miss Gilmore, your father is here for you."
"Danes," Rory corrected.
"I'm sorry?"
"Danes. I'm Rory Danes," Luke smiled; he knew Rory hated it when people called her Gilmore or Gilmore-Danes. She had recently told him it was because it made her feel less connected to him and her siblings.
"But your grandmother said..."
"Yes, yes, Cecilia. My granddaughter occasionally goes by Danes."
"Always," Rory said adamantly.
"Rory, are you going?" From what Luke could gather, judging by his tone of voice and the footsteps that entered the next room, Richard had just entered the living room.
"Yeah, grandpa. My dad is here."
"Luke is here?"
"Yes. It's time for Miss..." Cecilia trailed off, unsure how to finish.
"Gilmore," answered Emily as Richard and Rory both said, "Danes."
"Well, Rory, I have something to ask your father. Lead the way." Rory, Emily, and Richard appeared from behind the threshold.
"Hi, daddy," she breathed. Luke noted her apparent worry,
"Hey, honey," She streamed towards him and he put his arm comfortingly around her, kissing her temple, "You have a good time?" She nodded unconvincingly and he stroked her hair, giving her a questioning look,
What happened? She looked him in the eye,
I'll tell you later.
"Luke, just the man I needed to see."
"Hello, Richard. How's life treating you?"
"Not bad at all. Listen, I have a question for you. What size does Joshua wear?"
"Josh and Hannah are both wearing zero to three months right now, but they're growing fast. Why?"
"I have some Yale baby clothes that I bought for him and Hannah and I was wondering if they were the appropriate size."
"What size did you buy?"
"Zero to three months."
"Oh, Richard, it might be a better idea to return them and get the twins the bigger size. They'll grow out of it within two weeks."
"Nonsense. I'll buy them in all of the sizes. That way they can have them as they grow."
"Oh, that's not necessary."
"Don't be silly, Luke. They're my grandchildren. They deserve the best. Which reminds me, I bought matching sweatshirts for Rory and Jess." Luke was touched at the gesture; for Richard, this was acceptance of Jess as another grandchild, or at least as a member of the family,
"Thanks, Richard. That's really great of you."
"No problem at all. I'll be seeing you soon?"
"Yeah. You should really see the twins. They're getting so big... If you want, you can come to our house next week. We're having a sweet sixteen for Rory."
"That sounds lovely, Luke. We'll see you then."
"Great. We'll call you once we figure out the details."
"Wonderful. Speak to you then," he turned to his granddaughter and offered her an awkward hug, "Goodbye, Rory. See you soon."
"Bye, grandpa. Bye, grandma."
"Goodbye, Rory dear." Luke led Rory out the door, giving a small wave goodbye.
"Ror? What's the matter, princess? You look pale," He stopped her after the front door was closed,
"I'd rather tell you and mom together, dad."
"Ok." Rory opened the back door (to the new SUV that her parents had purchased (despite much protest from her mother) after the twins were born) to cries of angst from a tired Josh.
"Jess, give your brother his binky," Lorelai told Jess.
"Where is it?"
"I don't know. Doesn't he have it on his lap or something?"
"No."
"Is it on the seat?"
"No."
"On the floor?"
"No."
"Jess!" She exclaimed at her eldest, frustrated.
"Mom!" He countered. Rory smiled slightly; since the first time he'd said it two weeks earlier, Jess had become increasingly comfortable calling Luke and Lorelai "Mom and Dad". He often alternated between the two in conversation.
Without another word, Lorelai plunged into the diaper bag, searching for a toy to calm Joshua.
"Aha!" She cried, "I found it!"
"Atlantis?"
"No. Binky!" She handed him the small blue pacifier, which he promptly put into Josh's mouth, his crying ceasing, slight intrigue in his eyes as his big brother watched him drift back to sleep.
Lorelai turned her attention to Rory, now checking her cell phone for missed calls,
"Hi, sweets. How was dinner?"
"It was good. A little weird."
"Ah, Emily and Richard's house of horrors. What happened?"
"Well, dinner was perfectly nice. We had some kind of meat that was really good and then we had pudding."
"Pudding? My mother served pudding?"
"Yes. Granted, it was in a crystal bowl, but..."
"What's the big deal?" asked Jess.
"Emily Gilmore does not serve pudding. To her, pudding is hospital food. Why did she serve pudding?"
"I told her I liked it a few weeks ago. She asked what kinds of foods I ate, and I told her pudding."
"Incredible. I lived there sixteen years and never once got pudding. I did a song and dance about my love for pudding once. Was not allowed pudding. I offered to whack anybody who knows any of the family's deep, dark secrets. Still no pudding. I threatened to get a puppy without telling them, bring it into the house, and let it do whatever it wanted. I wasn't allowed to go to the Winter Formal at school and I still didn't get any pudding," Her tone wasn't jealous; it was actually admiring.
"We have pudding at home. I'll give you a SnackPack if you behave," Luke offered, putting the car in drive.
"Mom, are you jealous?" Jess asked, laughing.
"No, I'm impressed," she turned to Rory, "You have much skill, master. I am forever at your mercy." Luke ignored her,
"What else did you do, Ror?"
"Well, this was the weird part. Grandma goes, 'Our lawyer, Joseph Stanford, is coming by tomorrow.'" Her mother cut her off,
"Uggh... Crazy Sissy's dad."
"Crazy Sissy?"
"Sissy talked to her stuffed animals and they answered her."
"Oh, yeah," Luke laughed, "I've heard stories." Rory forged on,
"So, she's like, 'Joseph Stanford is coming tomorrow and we thought it might be nice after dinner for you to go around the house and pick out what you'd like us to leave you in our wills', so Grandpa goes, 'Or anything that your parents or brothers or sister might like'. And I'm sitting there thinking 'What? I don't know what Hannah and Josh are going to like. And this is not Jess' taste. And mom and dad are going to make fun of this forever.'"
"You're damn right we are! I'm sending you with a tape recorder from now on. We need to save these things."
"But that's not it. I'm standing there, Post-iting this vase which, by the way, there's nowhere we can put it."
"How about the Emily and Richard Gilmore psycho museum?"
"Mom, focus. So, grandma walks in and goes 'Any special requests for dinner next week?'"
"Next week is your birthday," Lorelai said.
"I know."
"We're throwing you a party."
"Well aware, dad. And, apparently, Grandma wasn't, nor did she care."
"Oh no."
"She guilted me into coming next week."
"She did what?"
"And all of you, too."
"Oh, Rory..."
"I'm sorry, mom. I really didn't want to. But I didn't have the heart to say, 'No, you can't celebrate my birthday with me'."
"Ugh, that woman. That conniving, scheming woman. Don't worry, Ror, I'll call her right now and tell her to let you do what you want and to cancel whatever bizarre plans she's made."
"No, mom! Don't." Lorelai stopped herself from dialing and turned to face her daughter,
"Why not? Did she bribe you or blackmail you or something?"
"No, Bugsy. It's just... as manipulative as she is, she's still my grandma. And it's not worth it to me to get into a fight with her now; I barely know her. Just... please, mom. Switch my party to Saturday. Please." Lorelai sighed,
"That's what you really want?"
"Yeah."
"Ok. Saturday it is."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ryan, large shopping bags in hand, bounced into the backyard in frustration, encountering Seth and Lane nestled together on the backyard swing.
"Good. There you two are. Listen, I need to talk to you." Lane sat up against Seth's warm sweatshirt,
"What's up?"
"Ok, well, tonight, I didn't have anything to do..."
"So you sat in your pajamas all night eating cereal and watching old movies."
"How did you...?"
"I'm your brother, dude." Ryan shook his head,
"I was doing that, but then dad came in and told me to stop wallowing and go out and do something."
"So what'd you do?"
"I went shopping."
"Alright, Ryan!" Cheered Lane as Seth whined,
"C'mon, bro, don't tell me the girls have finally gotten to you!" Ryan shook his head again,
"No. I went shopping for Rory's birthday present. I need your opinions."
"Ok, shoot." He pulled out an oversized Harvard sweatshirt and handed it to Lane,
"Now, I know she has a million of those, but I thought that it would be perfect."
"And completely unromantic," commented Seth. Ryan scoffed,
"What do you know about romance?" Lane shrugged,
"For my birthday, he took me out for a nighttime picnic by the river and gave me a copy of Yellow Submarine because the first time we met, that was the movie that we watched." Ryan's mouth dropped open,
"Fine. Then I need your help."
"What else you got?" Ryan pulled out a copy of the Beatles' CD One,
"She mentioned that she wanted it. I thought it was a good idea."
"Closer, but..."
"Still no good?" Seth shook his head,
"And I think Jess got it for her already..."
"Not romantic?"
"Not if both you and her brother bought it for her."
"What else you got in your bag o' goodies?" Ryan sighed,
"It's stupid."
"Show," Lane commanded. Ryan obligingly pulled out the last present. Lane gasped,
"Oh, my gosh! That's gorgeous!" He blushed,
"These each symbolize something." Lane squealed,
"Oh my gosh! That's so sweet!"
"G-d! I have the perfect idea," he gasped, "Thanks so much, guys! I've got to go finish this!" As he ran away, Lane called after him, checking her watch,
"Happy birthday in three hours!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Seth and Ryan. Happy birthday to you!" The small group of guests at the Cohens' house sang. Ryan and Seth smiled at their guests before blowing out the ice cream cake with a picture of the two of them in their Grease outfits on top.
"Speech! Speech!" Sandy demanded. Seth stepped up first,
"Ok, ok. Since I am older, smarter, and, let's face it, better looking, I will make the first speech," Seth joked
"You're gonna let him get away with that?" Lorelai asked.
"It's his birthday. Besides, we all know it's not true. No need to screw up his confidence," Ryan shrugged, slipping his arm around Rory's waist. She cuddled closer to him and listened to Seth deliver his speech,
"Hello, all. Thank you so much for attending my baby brother and my birthday celebration. Today, I am sixteen years old. I am almost a man. In my religion, I've been a man for three years. It's a good feeling, and I'd like to thank you for letting me know just how terrific I really am. You're all wonderful. Thank you, my babies." Seth stepped down from the chair and motioned for Ryan to take his spot. Ryan pulled away from his girlfriend and stood up on the chair,
"Ok. Unlike my brother's modest thank you two seconds ago, I'm gonna keep a modicum of normalcy in my speech. I'd like to thank you all for coming and for being there for me and my family for the past ten years. Thank you to my parents and my brother. Because... because they're my family. And, thanks Lorelai, Luke, Jess, Ally, Hannah, Josh, and Lane. Because our little extended family is crazy and keeps me alive every day." Lorelai, Kirsten, Ally, Lane, and Rory wiped tears from their eyes as Ryan stepped down, back over to Rory.
As everyone returned to talking and cutting the cake, Ryan leaned in to whisper to Rory,
"Is it ok for me to kiss you right now?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"Your dad's standing right there." She glanced over at him and looked back at Ryan, smiling devilishly,
"It's your birthday. I'm sure it's ok." He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. Their lips met softly, but they were interrupted by Seth,
"Yo, Romeo! Juliet! We're opening presents! Get over here!" They hesitantly pulled apart, Ryan whispering,
"I should've been an only child."
They spent the next half-hour opening gifts. A new bike each from their parents. A new set of noise-reducing headphones each from Ally. A photo album "from Hannah and Josh" (Luke laughed and rolled his eyes at the gesture, but the girls all oohed and aahed). A copy of Dark Side of the Moon and the Wizard of Oz from Jess, with specific instructions to host a movie night within the next month to try the trick out. Lane gave Ryan a copy of the Friends Trivia Guide, winking at him jokingly (she was one of the few people who know of his guilty pleasure), and a new metal baseball bat and ball. Rory, joking that she should've given Seth a baseball bat, handed him the first two seasons of Family Guy on DVD.
Lane stood up and walked over to Seth,
"Ok. So... for my last birthday, Seth, believe it or not, had this whole grand romantic gesture. And I wasn't really sure if I could match it. But I tried." She picked up a small present from behind Seth's chair, "Ok, now, if you really don't like it, we can always return it."
Seth ripped eagerly at the paper,
"No freakin' way."
"What is it?" Lorelai asked eagerly, propping Hannah up on her lap. Seth only looked up at Lane,
"Thanks. This is so cool." She smiled at him,
"You're welcome."
"What is it?" Lorelai asked again, leaning over a bit to see if she could catch a glimpse.
Seth began to flip through some sort of book,
"This is too much."
"No it isn't." He leaned forward and kissed her gently, smiling through the kiss.
"Seth Ezekiel Cohen," Lorelai scolded, "What is it!" Seth laughed and flipped the gift around. First, he held up a copy of Grease on DVD, a note attached reading, "If you ever need inspiration. Or something to distract your dad." Sandy laughed,
"Lane, you were always my favorite." Next, he pulled out a copy of Monty Python's Meaning of Life, another piece of paper reading, "To distract your brother." Ryan laughed,
"Great, great movie." Seth held up the last DVD, a copy of The Bridges of Madison County and a note, "To distract your mom. Or anyone who enjoys a good chick flick now and then." He held up the last thing, "And finally..."
It was a homemade book, bound by yarn, the cover reading, The Guy's Guide to Dating a Girl with a Brain by Lane Kim, Rory Gilmore, and Ally Leigh. Inside was pages describing good dates to go on, the rules for eye contact, and acceptable situations in which a wink is allowed. The book was dedicated to, "The guys who don't need a guide, but insist on following it anyway. To Seth, Ryan, and Jess (even though it isn't his birthday). Love, Lane, Rory, and Ally." All three boys kissed their girlfriends thank you as the book was passed around, laughs being shared.
Rory was now the only one left to give her boyfriend his gift.
"Ok," she breathed, "Now... I suck at this, so, if you hate it... well, then... I really don't know. Just open it." He laughed and pulled her closer to him, ignoring the concerned glare he received from Luke. He opened it up,
"Rory," he gasped. He stared at the gift in shock, "I love it."
"You remember what it is?" He nodded,
"This is the book," he said, holding up a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, "that we were reading when I first asked you out," he pulled out a DVD of Finding Nemo, "The first movie we saw together," he picked up the CD Queen Greatest Hits I and II, "And that was the CD we were listening to the night we first said 'I love you.'" Rory nodded and all of the other women (and Seth) commented,
"Aww!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Your dad was even lightening up on me kissing you there for a second," Ryan commented as he and Rory walked through the halls of Chilton, hand-in-hand, before the start of last period later in the week.
"Yeah, well. What can I say? He romanced my mom. He's got a soft spot." Ryan laughed,
"Hey, how was English today? Did that Tristan guy bother you?" Rory shrugged,
"What can you expect? Everyone picks on me. I'm used to it."
"Oh, Ror..."
"No. This is not a poor me thing. This is the truth. Between Paris, Madeline, Louise, Tristan, and all those other preppies, I'm a target. But I have you and Seth and Jess and that's all I need."
"I wish I could..." Ryan started, grounding his fist into his hand; Rory stopped him,
"No. No you don't. We don't have a rapport here yet. You can't get into trouble because I cannot deal with you leaving me alone in school."
"I thought you said you had Jess and Seth, too." She shrugged again,
"I love them, but I love you in a different way. You're the one who kisses me. I couldn't let you leave." He smiled and kissed her,
"Like that?" She nodded,
"Something like that, yeah."
"Ok. I have to go to the bathroom, and then I'll meet you out front."
"Ok." He walked away, leaving Rory alone to struggle with her locker.
"Hey," said a boy's voice from behind her.
"What, Tristan?"
"I just wanted to say 'happy birthday.'" She decidedly remained focused on her locker,
"It's not my birthday."
"No, but it will be," he held up a small decorated paper and began to read, "'On Friday at 4:03 in the morning, Lorelai Leigh...'" Rory turned to face him at the mention of her name,
"What is that?" she ripped it out of his hands and read silently, "Who else got these?"
"I don't know. Everyone in our class, I think."
"I have to go," she slammed her locker shut and began to walk purposefully towards the boys' bathroom.
"I'll see you Friday, birthday girl," Tristan called after her as she walked past a group of girls who whispered,
"That's her."
"My parents are making me go."
"Another obligation party."
"My life stinks." Yours? Rory thought desperately. My boyfriend's in the bathroom and I'm having a crisis. She stopped in front of the boys' room and waited half a minute for Ryan to emerge.
"Hey, you didn't have to wait..."
"Did you get this?" she asked, thrusting the invitation into his hand. His eyes widened,
"No. What is this?"
"Apparently, it's an invitation to Rory Danes' birthday party from Hell!"
"Where did you get this?"
"Tristan," she exclaimed.
"Wait... What!"
"Tristan. He walked up to me at my locker, tried to wish me a happy birthday, and I took this from him. Tell me, did you check the mail yesterday?"
"Yeah. I brought it in. I didn't get it." Rory began to breathe heavily,
"Oh my G-d. Ok... Ok, I need to call my grandma," she tried to regain composure, pulling out her small cellphone and dialing with a quivering finger, "I'll figure this out." It rang twice before a maid picked up,
"Gilmore residence."
"Hi, this is Rory Danes. I need to speak to my grandmother, Emily Gilmore, please."
"One moment, please." Rory heard the rustling of the phone passing hands,
"Rory, dear, how are you?"
"I'm fine grandma. Look, I just... this party that you're throwing on Friday..."
"Oh, yes, dear. It's going to be just lovely."
"I'm... I'm sure it is," she stammered, "Grandma, did you invite everyone on the class roster?"
"I believe so, yes."
"Everyone?"
"Everyone who was on my list." She paused for a second,
"So you invited Ryan and Seth Cohen, then?" She heard her grandmother hesitate,
"No, dear. They weren't on my list. I have an old one." Rory sighed,
"But, grandma... You knew they were my friends... You knew I'd want them there."
"Yes, Rory, dear. Thinking back on it now, I do. But..." she seemed to be formulating a story, "in all of the haste to send out the invitations in time, they must've slipped my mind." Rory shuddered,
"Ok, well, just send the boys an invitation. This can be all sorted out."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Rory. I don't think that's possible. You see, we've already told the caterers the number of people we'll be having, and to change it now would be disastrous. Impossible, even."
"Oh... ok, then..." she didn't want to fight with her grandmother, so she merely agreed and said goodbye, turning off the phone and sinking into Ryan's arms, "My birthday's gonna suck."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"You should not have to go to school tomorrow," Lane commented as she spoke to Rory on the phone on Thursday night.
"Have to. Latin test."
"Jeez. Every day you guys have a test. When do you have time to learn anything to be tested on?" Lane noted the apparent angst in her best friend's voice, "Are you OK?" Rory paused,
"Yeah, I'm just...I'm getting old, Lane."
"You seem a little quiet tonight."
"I'm just dreading this whole night. I mean, it's bad enough that I have to see these stupid kids from Chilton every day. But tonight? On my birthday? I've never even talked to most of them. I mean, I've only been going to this school for a couple weeks. God, they're gonna think I am the biggest freak and I need my grandma to get people to come to my party. And that my boyfriend isn't even there? I don't know..."
"Well what did Luke and Lorelai say when you told them?" She shook her head vehemently,
"I didn't."
"Why not?"
"My parents are... so against this dinner thing..."
"They tell you that?"
"No, but I can feel it... And, I feel like if my mom and dad knew that my grandma pulled a stunt like this, I wouldn't be allowed to go anymore and Hannah and Josh wouldn't be able to get the chance to get to know them and everything will just get screwed up..." she took a breath, "It's one night, right?"
"Right."
"I can stand it for one night... I hope."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rory sat next to her mother, father, and Jess at her grandparents' house on Friday night. They had left the twins home with Sookie (who was prepared with bandaids and emergency phone numbers (for herself, not Hannah and Joshua)), partially because she had volunteered to Lorelai at work and partially because the Cohens were already busy. Either way, they felt that the twins were in capable (albeit slightly bruised) hands.
"Why is there no beer here?" whined Luke.
"Because this is a fancy party. And because my parents don't believe in beer," Luke grunted in annoyance, "Chill. This is your daughter's birthday party. Now smile and pretend like you're happy to be here." Jess and Rory both spotted a boy, about their age, in a stiff suit, listening on awkwardly and uncomfortably to the conversation between some adults. They met each others' eyes and Rory spoke first,
"Welcome to the world of the rich, famous, and embarrassing."
"Remind me to thank mom and dad for never making me do that."
"Mental note." Emily came running over and grabbed Rory by the arm, pulling her away to meet and greet the other strikingly-similar guests.
After ten excruciating minutes, Emily led Rory into the library, Rory protesting with a,
"I have to go to the bathroom."
"Just say hello first. Come on, I'll hold those for you." Two boys in the library turned around to face her, but spoke only to each other,
"Who's that?"
"I think it's her party."
"Oh." They turned their attention away from Rory (Not a moment too soon, according to her), and she spun on her heel to escape, encountering an unpleasant surprise,
"Paris?"
"My parents made me come."
"Oh G-d!"
"Otherwise I wouldn't be here. You believe me, don't you?" She nearly ran away from Paris towards the front door, where she was greeted by Tristan. G-d, this is like the fun house that Satan makes at the carnival in Hell!
"Oh, coming to greet me?"
"Hello, Tristan."
"So where's my birthday kiss?" She swiftly pulled away from him,
"It's my birthday."
"So I'll give you a birthday kiss." She pushed him away,
"What is wrong with you?"
"Ok, I gotta tell you something. I'm madly in love with you," he dramatically told her.
"Well, good luck with that."
"I can't eat, I can't sleep...I wake up in the middle of the night calling your name. Rory, Rory!"
"Would you shut up please?" Her grandfather stalked up behind her,
"Rory, who's your friend?"
"I don't know, but this is Tristan."
"Excuse me?"
"Tristan Dugray, sir."
"Dugray? Are you any relation to Janlen Dugray?"
"That's my grandfather, sir."
"Well, I've done business with Janlen for years. He's a fine man."
"That he is."
"Rory, you've got very good taste in friends. I approve." Richard's friend appeared at the door,
"Richard, I've got Dennis on the phone and he heard the same thing I heard."
"Well, one wrong man can always find a friend." The two left, leaving Rory and Tristan alone.
"He likes me."
"He's drunk."
"Let's take a walk," Tristan said, slipping his arm tightly around her waist. As Rory was about to push him off of her yet again, she vaguely heard the front door open behind her.
"Tristan, you..." she started, but was cut off by a familiar voice,
"Rory!" Rory spun around to find Ryan, dressed up in a suit, staring furiously at her and Tristan. She hastily threw Tristan off of her,
"Ry! Ry, this isn't what it looks like!"
"Yeah, well, it looks like you're having a happy birthday!" He turned around and stormed out of the house; she chased after him,
"Ryan! Ryan, stop! Please," she began to cry, "Please let me talk to you!"
"I already know, Rory. There's no need to explain. I came here to surprise you and give you a gift and crash your grandmother's crappy party, and you're with Tristan. You know what? Happy birthday," he said angrily, throwing the gift in his hand on the floor.
"Ry, let me explain!"
"I'll see you later, Rory," he hopped into the car that his father was waiting in; Ryan hadn't given him the signal to go yet.
Rory stood in front of the front door, tears freely spilling over as she shook with sobs, watching her boyfriend drive away in anger. She felt her mother come up behind her,
"Hey, are you ok?" Before she had the chance to turn around and answer, her grandmother stepped up,
"Oh there you are! I think it's time that you said a few words to your guests."
"What?" she choked out.
"Just a little speech to say thank you and tell everyone how it feels to be one year older."
"Mom, I don't think she wants..."
"She's the hostess, Lorelai. This is her responsibility." Rory turned around hastily,
"I am not the hostess! You are!"
"Hey, honey, hold on..." she noted her daughter's tearstained cheeks as she blurted out,
"This is your party and these are your guests and I don't have anything to say to them. My guests are not here right now and the person that I really wanted to be here just left. So you give the speech."
"Rory!" her grandmother exclaimed as Rory turned to her mother,
"Where's daddy and Jess? I want to go home."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rory sat in her room alone for the first time in an hour. They had gotten home at ten at night and her parents and brother had insisted on staying in the room with her to comfort her. When she had finally assured her mother that she was alright, Lorelai left and she turned on her Queen CD, crying into the pillow. She was startled by a knock at the window. She sat up to find Ryan peering hopefully in, one hand behind his back. She carefully scrambled up and pulled the window open,
"Ry! What are you..."
"I came to apologize."
"You came to..."
"I was wrong. I overreacted. I'm sorry." She folded her arms across her chest, glad that the dark hid her tear-stained, blotchy face,
"How did you come to that revelation?" He sighed shyly,
"Seth. I came home and told him the story. He told me I was an idiot. That you love me and not Tristan. That I should trust you, and that you were probably just about to push him off..."
"I was. You had bad timing there, mister."
"I know... I was a jerk... and I'm sorry." She sighed,
"I forgive you."
"Hey," he started shyly, "You still have another," he checked his lit-up watch, "fifty-seven minutes left of your birthday. Care to spend it together?"
"I would love to," She grabbed the as-yet-unopened gift off of her dresser and climbed out of the window after Ryan.
"So, what happened after I left?"
"I screamed at my grandma. Basically told her to shove it. Dad was proud." Ryan looked at her with concern,
"Is that gonna be ok?" She shrugged,
"It should be. I'll call her up and apologize and everything will go back to normal."
"Good... I see you didn't open the present?" She looked away shyly,
"I wanted to open it with you."
"Go ahead." She carefully pulled open the smaller of the two gifts, revealing a charm bracelet,
"Oh, Ryan," she breathed, "it's gorgeous." He pulled it out of her hands,
"This one," he pointed to a charm of a book, "is for your love of reading," he touched a charm of five children, "That's all of us," a charm of two babies, "Hannah and Josh," a heart, "love," a letter "R", "For Ryan and Rory," and a boxing glove, "These are for our world-famous arguments... which was well-documented tonight." She leaned in to kiss him thank you, but he stopped her,
"Open the second one." She pulled out a frame with little boys and girls decorating the edges. She gasped as Ryan explained, "It was at Miss Patty's Halloween party last year. She gave me the picture, but made me promise not to show you yet, because your father would kill her for taking a picture of this instead of stopping it." She laughed and stared at the picture.
Her and Ryan, dressed as Woody and Bo Peep from Toy Story, stood together, kissing softly. She remembered Miss Patty taking pictures of everything, but she didn't remember this being taken,
"She took it while we weren't paying attention." She leaned in and kissed him softly, imitating the picture,
"I love you."
"I love you... Happy birthday."
"Thanks." She leaned against his chest as he asked,
"If you're passed out for your party tomorrow, how much are the adults gonna kill us?"
"A lot." He paused,
"Do we care?" She shook her head,
"Not at all."