Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own ideas!
Special Thanks to:Fairy girl 07, who did a great job as my beta for this chapter!
AN:Tristin might seem grown up a bit, but just wait until he begins to really like Rory!
So, have fun with the next chapter - and don't forget to tell me if and how you liked it!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 2- Act your age!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When Tristin woke up after a long nap, he felt passably recuperated from last night's party.
He threw a simple white shirt on and slipped into a pair of comfortable jeans.
Rubbing the remaining sleep out of his eyes, he left his bedroom.
He had hardly entered the common room, when his bare feet tapped into a gooey liquid.
With a disgusted groan, Tristin removed his hand from his eyes and looked around the room.
God, had it really been that messed up?
It looked like someone had thrown a bomb into it: empty bottles everywhere, dumped glasses and cans, as well as rubbish cover the ground.
Seemingly, his roommates had neither been in the mood to clean up yet,
Most recently, they we're still sleeping, as he should be, too, Tristin decided, as he looked at the chaos and frustratingly ran a hand through his already tousled hair.
Grudgingly he cleaned his feet and began to clean up, but after a bag of collected cans and a couple of mopped up slops he got bored and decided to leave the rest of the mess over for his roommates.
Therefore, he took a coke out of their mini fridge and left the dormitory to walk around New Haven a bit.
He emptied the can fast. Passing the next trashcan, he threw it away.
He may have looked hardly a second into the trashcan, but when he did so, he casually caught a glimpse of a student ID, which was lying between the rubbish.
He stopped. Who'd throw their ID away?
Curiously, he shifted the trash aside, picked it up and contemplated it. Looking at picture and name, Tristin chuckled amused- now he knew why.
There was a knock on Rory's suite door. She opened and when she saw Tristin standing in front of it, giving her a charming smile, she couldn't help but smile back. "Hey,"
Tristin's smile turned into a smirk. "Hey Mary."
Rory's smile disappeared at once. "It's Rory," she said more annoyed, than she had intended to. She didn't know why, but the way he called her Mary released or activated something in her. "What do you want? Paris isn't there." She said shortly.
"Actually I wanted to you." Tristin answered matter-of-factly. Rory gave him a questioning look.
"And why is that?"
"Because I have a question: Is it always the case, that people don't know your proper name?"
Rory shook her head. "No, just you don't," she retorted and Tristin smirked.
"Oh, I do know your name, Mary. But apparently Yale doesn't", he said before making a short pause to give Rory the opportunity to think. Then he went on with an amused grin. "I think you lost something, Rony." Tristin said raising the wrong printed student ID, he had found in the trashcan. After showing it to Rory, he turned it around to survey it over again. "Nice picture", he said restraining laughter. "You look like you got at least two of your wisdom teeth out."
Rory grimaced, but when Tristin leaned in to hand her the ID card and added, "And although the picture's bad, you're beautiful otherwise."
She blushed embarrassed. "Thanks." She murmured barely audible, her blue eyes locked for a second with Tristin's.
As she noticed, Rory immediately gathered herself and looked away, hoping not to blush even more. However, she must have done so, because when she looked back at Tristin, he had such a cocky, fulsome self-confident smirk plastered on his face, she could have slapped him for.
Instead, she narrowed her eyes at him and taunted, if it was normal for him to go through trashcans, knowing exactly where he had found her student ID.
Tristin shrugged.
"It's at least as normal for me, as throwing away a student ID is for you, Mary", he smirked at first pointing a finger on himself, then at her.
Rory scoffed.
She wanted to say something back, but breathed a. millisecond too long because another smirk appeared on Tristin's face. "There you are, Mary," he teased her amused.
Just then he saw from the corner of his eye, that one of his roommates was going up the stairs to the boy's floor and because Tristin knew, that he'd have to follow him to their suite to guarantee, that there'd be order anytime near in the future, he decided to lead the conversation in direction of its end.
"So…I guess I'll see you tonight, Mary." He said more as stating fact, than asking a question. Ready to turn around and leave, Tristin noticed that Rory obviously couldn't follow him and held on.
"Tonight?" She asked puzzled, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, tonight." He said leaning a bit forward, mouthing the last word clearly and stressing it as a hint. Nevertheless, he could read from her face, that she still didn't know what he was talking about. Tristin ran a hand through his hair. "The first party of the year? Don't you tell me you didn't know about it yet…?" He said wondering, if she really could have missed that news.
Suddenly it clicked in Rory's head. "Hum, of course I did, but I don't think we'll see each other there. I wasn't planning to take part."
"You weren't planning to take part?" Tristin frowned. "But you do know, that it'll take place on your floor?"
Rory crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm not living behind the moon. I know that it takes place on my floor, but I also know that if I take part, I'll have to open my door for all the people who want to come in and I don't think, that this I a good Idea. Because I have the misgiving that someone might annoy me the whole evening", she said annoyed by Tristin acting as if she was a complete buffoon. He, however, just used her allusion on him to answer.
"Well, Mary, I think you should try it. I'm sure you'll discover, that these people aren't so bad…," he said sending her a charming smile, which, however, hadn't its planned effect on Rory, who was still wondering, if he'd ever learn her name.
"That's your opinion", she said unbelievingly.
Tristin nodded. "That it is. Let's see if yours won't change, Mary, "he said cockily and winked at her, before he finally left." I don't think so." Rory muttered watching him as he sauntered away.
"And it's Rory." She added crabbily, before she turned around and closed her suite door behind her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lost in the lines of Ernest Hemingway, Rory had settled back on the sofa in the common room of her suite, as a hysterical Paris walked in and went straight over to her.
"Did you hear?" She asked excitedly as she stood in front of Rory.
"Hear what?" Rory questioned back, looking up from her book, as she heard the excitement in Paris' voice.
"The first party of the year, you know, the one which was originally planned to celebrate the first week of classes, was brought forward aaaand, it's going to be on our floor. Everyone who wants to take part will just leave their door open, so people can just wander in and out." Paris explained, while gesturing wildly with her hands, but she had to watch the curiosity fading from Rory's face, as she turned back to her book.
"Oh, that. Yeah, I already know." Rory murmured uninterestedly and continued her lecture.
"And?" Paris digged deeper.
"And what?"
"What are we going to do?"
Rory sighed, trying not to lose her line. "Since when are you for the themes quickly degenerating to 'Hey, walking works- let's drink.'"
Paris took a deep breath. "Look Rory, the important thing is, that this party, the first party is going to be on our floor. Our floor."
"Yes, our floor." Rory repeated dryly, trying hard not to lose her line.
"So?"
"So, what?" Just concentrate, Rory….
"So, what are we going to do?"
Trying to ignore the annoying roommate further on. "Nothing."
"What do you mean by nothing?"
Argh! Great! Now she was out! Paris had succeeded. Irascibly Rory closed her book and looked up. "Nothing, nothing. I don't want to open my door open to everyone. "
"So we're not going to be apart of the first party on our floor?"
She really knows how to drive you nuts! "Nope, But look, you can still go." Stay diplomatic.
"Going isn't the same."
But enough! "But it is something."
"So, no is your last word?"
Wasn't it oblivious? "Yep."
"Then, what are you going to do tonight?"
"Actually I was planning to read a book and go to bed early."
"Aha." Paris said in a voice full of anger. "I was expecting something like this."
"Fine, then you were prepared." Rory retorted shaking her head, as she reopened.
However, when Paris stood up without another word and left in direction of her room, Rory became sceptical. That's all? Her inner voice told her repeatedly. That had been excessively easy! After all, she had refused to Paris- Paris Geller. In addition, it seemed impossible to Rory that Paris Geller had just given up. Paris Geller would never, never ever give up that fast!
Overwhelmed by a sudden misgiving, Rory quickly put her book aside, jumped off the couch and followed Paris, who had just picked up the phone and dialled a number.
When she heard Rory coming up behind her, she told her, that she was sorry, but apparently had no other choice. That of course, made Rory begin to panic.
"No choice to do what?" She asked stepping closer, trying to catch a glimpse of the phone display. Nevertheless, Paris kept her at bay. "Paris, what are you talking about? Who are you calling?"
"Your Mom." Paris said and pressed the green button.
Rory's eyes flashed open. "My Mom?"
"Yes, your Mom, Rory. Maybe she'll be able to show you, how important this first Party is. Ah, hello Lorelai. Paris here, I thought you should know that Rory is going to miss the perfect opportunity to solidify our social standing at Yale. She is refusing to open our door tonight, which is necessary to be a part of the first party of the year, which in turn will virtually guarantee invitations to every other party thrown this year, and which will get our faces in people's heads. I thought you could bring her to senses. You wanna talk to her? Okay, bye Lorelai, Thank you."
With that, Paris turned to Rory and pressed the phone into her roommate's hand. "It's for you."
"Oh yeah? I wouldn't have guessed." Rory muttered sarcastically, before she brought the phone to her ear. "Hey Mom."
"Hey Sweetheart." Lorelai greeted from the other end of the line.
"How are you?"
"More adventuresome than you. Why don't you want to take part at that party tonight?"
"Wow, straight ahead, huh?"
"I'm under time pressure…Luke is coming over in an hour."
"An hour?"
"We're going out and my red bra with frills is missing."
Rory chuckled, as well aware of her mother's disorder, as of her taking her saying 'if underwear, then matching one' very serious.
"Oh, OK then." She said completely understanding.
"Yup. So, sweetie, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong? Huh? Ask Paris! She's totally of freakin' out. She's thinking she will miss the perfect chance to start over new just because I prefer reading a book instead of having a bunch of strangers wandering through my room…I'm sorry she bothered you."
For a second the line lay in silence, then Lorelai said something, she knew ahead, her daughter would not want to hear. "Maybe she's right."
"Mom!"
"No, listen Rory. It is the first party of the year and you want to read a book instead of going? God, you can read whenever you want, but the first party-"
"….Is taking place only once," Rory finished sighing and Lorelai nodded into the phone.
"You got it. I knew you where a smart kid. Come on, Rory. This is not only about making friends, you're making friends anyway- everybody likes you. It just belongs to college- like football games, parties, protests, barn burnings…."
"Barn burnings?" Rory laughed.
"Those are all experiences. Maybe dumb ones, but they are. "Lorelai defended her example, before she went on. "Come on, you'll have fun. Maybe it isn't such a bad idea to get to know the people in your building, see who's gonna be the ones to have the emergency Pop Tarts on hand…Who knows, you might even stumble across someone, who is….someone. "
Lorelai said clearly alluding on the fact, that since her first boyfriend, Dean, Rory had neither been together with someone, nor had been on a date.
Well, in fact, she had been on one date: A date with Jess.
But it took them less than an hour to figure out, that they were not dating material for each other.
Much to Lorelai's relief, who couldn't stand Jess at first. Nevertheless, by and by she began to like him (not only because she really enjoyed his pranks) and she had to admit, that he and Rory were great friendship material. Her daughter had found a big brother in him and since Lorelai got together with Luke, he slowly became like a son for her.
Well, as much as she appreciated Rory being a good, innocent girl, she was an 18-year-old young woman now and if Lorelai wanted to be grandma anytime before she landed in a nursing home, her daughter finally had to get over the thing with Dean.
As projected, Rory took Lorelai's hint at her nonexistent love life, but without much enthusiasm.
"Great. I already stumbled across someone who's weird, annoying, incredible cocky and a jerk." She said, thinking of her encounter with Tristin.
Lorelai chuckled. "4 words are a lot to describe someone you only stumbled across…is he hot?"
"Either he has memory problems or a speech impediment. He can't say Rory, although I told him often enough. Definitely he keeps calling me Mary.
Suddenly Rory heard he Mom laughing at the other end of the line.
"Mary? A Bible Boy, huh? I can't believe they still say that. But it fits somehow."
"What?"
"Mary. like Virgin Mary. It means he thinks you look like a goody goody."
"You're kidding."
"No."
"Just great, and how do I get him to stop?"
"Well, you don't need to change into a Magdalene, but doing more things I'd do may help."
"Like?"
"Like opening the door to the world."
Rory sighed. "I will."
"Fine, I've to hang up. We talked way too long and I've still not idea where my bra is."
"Look in the oven."
"I will. Bye honey, I love you."
"Love you, too, Mom."
Lorelai pressed the button and the signal tooted.
Rory put the phone aside and smiled at their conversation. Then she turned around to face Paris, who stood next to her, her eyes wide open in waiting.
Rory sighed.
"No themes."
"But-"
"No."
"One candle?"
"At the most."