Defeated: Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of these characters. I do, however, own this storyline.

A/N:Ok, so it's been a while since I've written a fanfic (a HUGE apology is owed to everyone who read my two previous stories, which are, unfortunately, on hiatus). I will try my hardest to actually stick with this one and update as quickly as possible. It's not the best, I know, but give it a try. You might like it. And, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated.

She could remember so vividly the day she received the letter she believed would change her life forever. The smooth, white paper shook in her trembling hands as her eyes tried to decipher the seemingly foreign words written on it.

She looked up as she heard her mother enter the room.

"Oh my God, is that it?" Lorelai questioned as she excitedly ran to her daughter's side.

Tearing her eyes away from the paper to meet Lorelai's gaze, she managed to choke out a strained, "Yes."

"Well what does it say?" Lorelai asked craning her neck to try to read it.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

Feeling the panic rise up in her throat Rory replied with a hint of urgency, "I mean, I don't know! I can't read it!"

Suppressing a laugh at her daughter's nervousness, Lorelai said, "Rory, come on. Just read it and get it over with."

"No, you don't understand! I really can't read it!" She shoved the paper into her mother's hands and added, "You have to do it for me. Please."

"Ok, ok. Fine, I'll do it," glancing at her daughter's panic-stricken face, she added with a smile, "Nut case."

Lorelai quickly scanned the paper looking for the sentence she new was there. When she found it she looked directly into Rory's eyes and smiled.

"You got in babe."

-xxxxx-

Her freshman year had been difficult, to say the least. When she first entered the school, Rory had been the small-town girl with ambitions and dreams and a gleam in her eyes that let everyone around her know she planned to do great things. She buried herself under a massive workload that required every minute of her time in and out of class to be spent studying.

She didn't mind at first. After all, she was used to working hard and actually enjoyed it most of the time. But then something changed. She didn't feel the same strive to go above and beyond. Her grades began to slip. Due dates and tests were no longer important. She began spending more and more time in the solitude and comfort of her bed, letting the time pass by.

Rory knew a lot of it had to do with her relationship with her mother. Ever since she went away to college, something was different. They weren't as close as they used to be. There was a wall between them, and neither of them made an effort to tear it down. They spoke one to two times a week, usually for no longer than 10 or 15 minutes. Rory never told Lorelai about how she was changing. She simply told her everything was fine and that college life was everything she had hoped it would be. She didn't want to disappoint her mother. After all, Lorelai was the reason she was here; the reason Rory had worked so hard her entire life. It was all for Lorelai; all to make her proud. And Rory couldn't stand the thought of disappointing her.

But she couldn't hide the truth from herself. She could feel herself drowning, sinking farther and farther down into a world she didn't want to be a part of. She was trapped in the life she thought she wanted and there was no way out.

A/N: Now remember, this is just the prologue, so the next chapters will more than likely be longer and more eventful. This just kind of, sets the stage for what kind of emotional state Rory is in. Sorry for any mistakes you might have found. Unfortunately, spell check doesn't catch them all. Oh, and review please!