You guys are amazing. Seriously. Fighting with my family, working through insane amounts of homework, and then I check my email, and there's like 7 reviews right there. You guys rock.

Rory had barely slept that night. Upon entering the room, Paris had immediately called up enough ice cream that the pair of fiends knew they would regret it in the morning. She tried to get Rory to talk, but there were no words which could appropriately phrase her thoughts. There was so much to say, and yet she couldn't say any of it. Explaining it to someone would only give it reality. As long as she retained her silent countenance...

After an hour or so of helpless sobbing, she was ready to talk. Her friend had sat by her the entire time, not saying anything, just being there. That deserved at least some explanation. She had settled on explaining the situation with Tristan. Paris sat through her explanation, doing her best not to look too distasteful of her friend.

"You kissed him?" she asked finally, in as neutral a tone as she could manage.

"I...no. He kissed me. But I sort of..."

"Kissed him back." Paris finished. Rory nodded and took another spoonful of rocky road, the last spoonful of the container. Paris opened another. They sat quietly for a while, each wrapped up in their own thoughts.

"I dated him once." Paris suddenly confessed. Rory's mouth fell open in shock. "Yeah, I was one of his first attempted conquests, in seventh grade. I didn't do anything, but he kissed me and then told people we'd done more. I haven't spoken to him since."

"I'm sorry," Rory whispered, feeling even more terrible about breaking her own policy and giving in to his charm.

"Don't. I didn't really care, and it's been years since then. For all I know he could be harboring secret tendancies of kindness." she snorted derisively. "Maybe."

Rory sighed, and wiped her face. They had been up for hours. This certainly wasn't the way she had imagined her first all nighter, but somehow she felt awake. After all the drama of the night before, logic predicted that she'd have collapsed of exhaustion by now.

"What do I do now? I'll see him first period," Rory fretted. Paris thought a moment, then smiled.

"Don't do anything. That's what he does to girls all the time, so do the same to him. Act like nothing happened." suddenly she was laughing. "Imagine the look on his face when he sees that he failed to break a heart. It'll just kill him." Rory shook her head.

"I dont want to kill him. He didn't really do anything wrong. I just freaked out." Paris shrugged.

"Well, fine. Let him make the first move. He will, of course, he's Tristan. It's in his nature to be smarmy." Rory didn't say anything. She could never make Paris understand how different Tristan had been the night before. She shook her ghead again and took another spoonful of ice cream.
-

First period was a solid hour of worrying and wondering. Tristan had entered the classroom as always, but had said nothing at all to Rory. She looked at him once and found him looking at her, his blue eyes sad, and questioning. He immediately looked away, however. After the class ended, Rory regretfully concluded that she had scared him off. No wonder, after the freak night before. She imagined he rarely obsessed over girls who cried after a kiss. She imagined he rarely obsessed over anyone.

The bell rang, startling her from her thoughts. Everyone cleared from the room, but Rory took her time to leave. She saw Tristan at the door, but he didn't say anything, so she turned back to potting things into her standardized leather bag.

"Hey," a voice came from right next to her. A boy with curly black hair stood next to her, and she graced him with a wan smile.

"You look, well, pretty miserable." he said, and was rewarded by her dry laugh. He had no idea. "You wanna grab some coffee, maybe chill in the library? We have 45 minutes until next period." he smiled hopefully, and Rory gave in.

"Coffee, sounds great." she walked with him out of the classroom. Once she exited she found Tristan leaning against the wall outside. She stood, awaiting some sort of action from him. None came. He just looked from her to her new companion, and said nothing. His eyes searched Rory's face, but she could think of nothing to say to him. What was she supposed to do, apologise?

Sorry I cried on that date you tricked me into, wanna try again?

Sorry I freaked out and ditched you on a roof, how about we go for dinner somewhere?

Everything which came to mind was immediately discarded as rediculous. Instead she just turned away, and went to go get coffee. The cure-all sounded especially nice right now. "I'm Marty, by the way," the boy next to her introduced himself. She reached to the side and shook his hand.

"Rory," she said.

-

This blew. There was no other description for it, really. It was no one's fault. Nobody made Rory come to Chilton, and shake the very foundations of Tristan's life. No one made her say yes to...Marty...No one made Tristan take her on the roof and--well, he supposed that might have been his doing. Probably not the greatest idea, he thought ruefully, kicking a stone with one foot.

He was pacing the streets of Chiltonville, as it was called, angsting about his failed date. She had looked so wan today, yet he couldn't bring himself to say anything to her. Not on his own, after what he had done, and not with Marty sitting two rows behind them. He kicked the stone again, and followed after it down the road.

Why couldn't he have controlled himself? Why couldn't he have set aside his selfishness and desire, and simply let his friend have a small piece of the world? This blew. He kicked the stone again. It rolled against the side of the road and into a gutter. Game over. Tristan looked around, randomly searching for a new place to saunter in. He found himself near a library, with tall windows and taller shelves within.

He walked closer to the window, idly peering in at the interior of the building. He rarely went into libraries. It would absolutely destroy his image if he was ever seen in one. Instead he made trips late at night, borrowing as many volumes as he could, and reading them in the privacy of his own room. He let his eyes travel the extent of that tall window, and then he saw it.

Them. He should have expected it. With the pile of books regulating her arms, it was no wonder Rory would enjoy frequenting a library. It was also no wonder she would bring her boyfriend there. Tristan scowled and strode away, disappointment sinking into the pit of his stomache. He had to give up already. Only a day had passed, and this girl was invading his every thought.

Why, why couldn't he have just let things alone? He though again, until a much more puzzling thought entered his brain. She had kissed him back last night, had leaned into it just as much as he had. That was a mutual stolen kiss, and she was as much to blame as he. He shook his head and continued back to his dorm, more confused than ever.

-

Lunch with Marty was, nice enough, though rather lackluster. The conversation was often awkward, and every time Rory glance over, her new friend was staring at her. Things were peaceful, however, which was a refreshing change from the tumultuous happenings of the night before. The pair had nothing in common except that Marty loved and agreed with everything Rory said.

Consequentially, the conversation was rather one sided. That was hours ago, though. Now Rory lay on her bed, a book open in front of her. She couldn't read, though. very time she turned her gaze to the page, they would glaze over as her thoughts returned once again to Tristan.

Every time she tried to think about anything, he invaded her thoughts and consumed them. All she could see were his eyes, staring at her with heated intensity. All she could see was how heartbreakinlgy sad they looked in class that morning. The one thing she couldn't see was what to do next.

How was she supposed to right the wrongs of the other night? She didn't regret kissing him. Sure, it had gone against her strict resolve, but she most definitly wanted to repeat the action. She only regretted the way things had ended; the way she couldn't speak to him today. There was so much she had wanted to explain, yet at the same time she was unable to voice even a greeting.

Rory sighed, and closed her book. Clearly she wasn't going to sleep tonight either.

I'm sorry, I know it's short, but I needed a filler chapter.

Definite Trory action next chapter, I swear!

Sooooo, yeah.

Jess probably wont enter the picture until the chapter after the next one, or possibly even the one after that.

Rest assured though, I have already started the number 8.