A/N:

0000

Rory stared at the man sitting to her left as they drove toward some destination unknown to her.

"It's not polite to stare," Finn said and his comment reminded her of Logan saying the same thing before they had left for the land down under. Just the thought that Finn and Logan thought the same way put a sour taste in her mouth.

"How exactly are we supposed to pretend to be together?" Rory asked ignoring his comment.

"It should be relatively easy, just act somewhat interested but don't be clingy," Finn suggested.

Rory just nodded thinking that it wouldn't be too difficult to act interested in him.

"And sorry about before, I know you don't actually like me," Finn said.

Rory nodded again wanting to yell in his face that he was wrong and she really did like him.

"Here we are. This is where we've always hung out," Finn said pulling into a small lot where they could see the water.

"It's so pretty," Rory said looking out at the shimmering water.

"This is what I missed most," Finn agreed getting out of the car at the same time she did. He joined her on the other side and slipped his arm around her waist. "For effect."

She nodded understanding but was actually relishing his light touch.

"Took you long enough to get down here! Did you have a quick naughty at the pub?" Roo asked still seeming quite hyper.

Rory laughed and Finn just gave him a mysterious look.

"You going to hit the waves?" the red headed girl that Rory had spoken to before asked Finn giving him sex eyes the whole time.

"I'm not quite dressed for that, am I? I haven't surfed in ages," Finn said pulling Rory closer to him hoping that Sheri would notice.

She did, and promptly excused herself.

"Thanks love," Finn whispered, his breath tickling Rory's ear. "She's been after me since I can remember."

"You called me love…you usually call me mate," Rory observed aloud.

"For effect," he said again.

"What did you say your name was?" a guy asked coming over.

Rory couldn't help but notice how cute he was; he had tanned skin, extremely dark brown hair, and the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen. "Rory."

"Rory, would you like to tango? Horizontally or vertically, whichever you prefer," the guy continued. She realized that he had a New York accent, not an Aussie one.

"Uhm…" she started.

"Nice to meet you mate, I'm Finn…the boyfriend," Finn said reaching his right arm over Rory's head (it had been around her) and shaking the guy's hand.

"Oh…well let me know if you change your mind. Name's Greg," he winked at her and wandered away.

"Finn! What if I had wanted to hook up with him?" she asked hitting him in the chest.

"You didn't though, you found him repulsive, as did I," Finn rebutted.

"You had no right!" Rory yelled.

"You're pretending to be my girlfriend, don't forget," Finn reminded her.

She sighed but didn't say anything else because she knew he was right about the girlfriend thing. She didn't want to admit it but she had wanted to throw up while Greg was trying to hit on her.

"Listen, I want to go find to Colby and see if maybe I can talk to him…will you be okay yourself?" Finn asked looking at her.

"Yeah…I'll be fine," Rory nodded but missed his warmth when he smiled and left her side. She was in a huge crowd but was extremely uncomfortable because she knew no one.

"Hello," a voice said beside her.

She looked over and saw Finn's crazy friend Roo. "Hi."

"Where'd your boy toy go?" he asked.

"To talk to Colby…he said he wanted to smooth things over while he was here," Rory replied. She had the feeling that Colby, Finn and Roo had been like the three musketeers at one point.

Roo immediately scanned the group and saw Finn and Colby talking by a grill.

"Where d'you know Finny from?" he asked.

"We both go to Yale…we have mutual friends," Rory explained.

"I hope to hell that you don't mean those snobs, Colin and Logan," Roo said looking like he had eating something foul.

"As a matter of fact I do mean them…how do you even know them?" she asked curiously.

"The three of them all went to school in Switzerland and then he brought them home for the summer hols one year and they were bloody assholes," he replied.

"That doesn't surprise me…at all. They're still asses," Rory nodded.

"I hate that he left and went off to school but I hate even more that he completely changed who he is to be around them," Roo sighed. Rory couldn't help but notice that he was being a lot more serious than she originally thought.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"You're his girl and you don't even realize that? He's always drunk around them because they're never serious and while Finn is hilarious and fun to be around he's also quite intelligent and that's why he never could have just been a surfie like us," Roo told her.

"I have noticed that actually but I don't get why he's such an alcoholic," Rory said hoping that Roo would reveal something that she didn't already know.

"Ever since Braden died he has been…that's why he quit surfing and went away to school. You know about Braden right?" Roo asked.

"I know that it was his brother and they were close then he died right before they moved back down here…but I don't know much else."

"Braden was one of the coolest kids ever. He looked exactly like Finn…like mirror images. Then when they were living in…Athens, I think…he got in a car accident with a drunk driver. Braden loved to surf and ever since then Finn hasn't touched a board. It was his promise to Braden's memory. Then he left because he couldn't stand to be here without him and then he met the rich idiots and turned into a chronic drinker," Roo told the story staring out over the ocean.

"You forgot that my mum has never been the same since he died," the familiar voice said behind them.

Rory turned and saw Finn standing a few feet away.

"I'm sorry mate…I shouldn't have said anything," Roo said getting to his feet.

"No worries…it's been ace to see you," Finn said genuinely and gave him a man-ish hug.

"Thanks…I'll let you two chat," Roo said and nodded to Rory before heading off to the others.

"Hi," Finn said to Rory and sat down next to her in the sand.

"Hey…I know you don't want to hear it but I am sorry about everything."

"Fine, but I never want to hear those words out of your mouth again," Finn warned.

She smiled sadly and nodded at him then rested her head on his shoulder.

"Why are you friends with Colin and Logan? You're nothing like them…do they even know this side of you?" she asked.

"I'm friends with Colin and Logan because they're there. They are nothing like me but I deal with it just fine…I will always be friends with them. I've actually become quite fond of them over the years. And yes, they do know this side of me…Roo probably told you, they came here over summer with me one year. And they were complete asses to my friends which is why I didn't invite them with me today," Finn explained.

"Do you drink because of Braden?" Rory asked hoping he would open up.

"I drink to forget…in general," Finn said softly.

"How did it go with Colby?" she asked trying to change the subject.

"About how I expected…he's not about to forgive me but I'm hoping that something will change his mind. I don't know when I'll ever see him again," Finn replied staring out over the water.

Rory sighed and rubbed his arm comfortingly.

"Thanks for being here love," Finn whispered and turned his head slightly so he was looking at her. Since her head was one his shoulder, this move made their faces quite close.

"You called me love again," Rory pointed out and she could feel Finn's breath tickling her face. She wanted to kiss him so bad.

"For effect," he mumbled and suddenly Rory felt his lips press into hers.

They pulled apart after a few moments and her head was swimming as she tried to focus on his face.

"For effect," he said yet again but she didn't formulate it this time. She just pulled his face back to hers and kissed him again.

They heard a yell from the crowd by the grill and pulled apart again.

"Food's ready," Finn muttered but didn't sound very hungry.

"We should go get some," Rory murmured in response hoping he would disagree.

He nodded and pulled her up with him and once again slipped his arm around her as they headed back to the party.

0000

A/N:

Ryan's Note- Hey everyone. Okay, so we got the 15 reviews and all that and here's the new update. I know this isn't a good place to leave off but this chapter was long so I decided to split it into two updates. Once again, need 15 reviews for the next part. Thanks again for all the positive reviews and everything. It means a lot to Lara. Thanks and God Bless. –Ryan

P.S. Okay, so I know there was a lot of Aussie lingo in the last chapter and I admit, she got carried away but she loves writing that. And as for the mix ups with dialect I know for a fact she picked up most of those words from my dad who was born in Australia and lived there until he was 28. So sorry if it's wrong but that's how my dad and his Australian "mates" who visit talk. They always say boozer and my dad once accused Lara of being "preggo".