First of all, sorry for the HUGE lack of updates, I know, I know, it has been just over a month and all I have is one chapter for you… Again I'm sorry, but chapters should be coming more frequently now that I have finished both graduating and working. Secondly, thank you for all of the reviews; they really make this story worth it. And now, without further to do, here is chapter five of Perfect!
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Perfect
Disclaimer – No, I don't own Gilmore Girls, obviously I'm still just obsessed; and it's still sad isn't it?
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Chapter Five – Hurting
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Hurting.
Logan Huntzberger wasn't hurting.
At least not anymore.
It had taken a while, but his typical smirk, which had rarely been present in the beginning of his time without his Ace, was now securely back in place – and for good reason.
After all, today was the day, the day that Rory would finally know the truth. The pain of the past two years could finally be forgotten and he and Rory could begin to rebuild what had been so brutally torn down. The thought that Rory might possibly feel any differently never even occurred to Logan, much like the idea of actually moving on and dating again had never once crossed his mind.
Simply put, he still loved her, still wanted to marry her, and the thought of everything working out was cancelling out all the hurt of the past, by far.
It wasn't as if Logan hadn't made real progress in the last few years, because he had, but somehow, deep down, it still seemed as if he had managed to move on without really moving on. Even though he had picked himself up, cut himself off from his family, and had even started a new sort of adventure, it had still only served to replace the one that was put temporarily on hold.
He had finally proven his family wrong and added a new, and in his opinion infinitely better, branch to the Huntzberger name. Yes, after that faithful night he had hastily moved to New York, and in turn away from the hurt, and had used his newfound Yale degree, not to mention his trust fund, to build a sort of development/architecture mini-empire.
One which he was more than proud of, not just for its success, but for its greater meaning – to him, Huntzberger Development's current state symbolized his slow rise above the pain and his journey to the day that would finally end it all, his journey back to the one girl who could take away the hurt once and for all.
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Hurting.
Rory Gilmore was hurting.
The long, cold New York winter had managed to make the pain that came with wearing a gorgeous pair of high heels somewhat of a memory, but now that spring had rolled around, that memory she was so unfond of was returning with a vengeance.
It wasn't as if she didn't have enough to deal with right now, what with her mom and dad finally getting married next month, her magazine's largest issue to date on the verge of hitting the presses, and of course the still lingering questions that became slightly more pressing around this date, the two year anniversary of her split with the one man she had ever really loved.
Sure, she had dated since then but the annoyingly huge lack of closure haunted her and thoughts of what could have been often clouded her mind.
She told herself that this was okay, perfectly natural, there was nothing wrong with her – after all she had been ready to make the ultimate commitment and marry the guy, so the way she saw it she was definitely justified in taking her own sweet time to move on.
Although, in a way, Logan's abrupt departure had been good for her. It had been a hugely motivating source, one of the driving reasons that she had completed her final year at Yale in half the time, and had since moved to the big city and started her own spin on the classic women's magazine.
Her magazine, which even she had to admit had essentially become her life, combined her love of pop culture with her passion for current events, and of course her flair for good writing. And for the past two years it had filled the void of excitement that Logan had left, with its constant string of both hitches and successes, and its eventual rise to the top of the newsstands.
So yes, she was hurting, and yes her parent's wedding would be hard to get through, but she would live, if only because she had finally reached her desk and could remove the torturous three inch heels.
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What Rory didn't know was that today she would be faced with a decision so much more pressing than the usual, "Do people care more about the latest Jimmy Choos or the Middle East crisis?"
She didn't know that the comfortable routine that she had built around herself, and deeper still, the walls she had constructed, were about to come tumbling down. She was about to be hit close to home.
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"Meredith, I told you, work on one layout at a time. Start with the 'Search for the next great superpower, China joins the race' photo spread, and then work your way from there. Don't worry we will get this done on time, there is no point in stressing… It'll be fine," Rory reassured her frazzled employee/best friend.
"Yep, okay, I'll call you when I leave tonight, and we can hang out," Rory confirmed, taking a deep breath to release the tension that was building and also admittedly to bury the newly emerged thought of the poker night when she and Logan had so-calledly 'hung out'.
She didn't need to worry about getting caught up in the past though, because her pity party was again interrupted by the ringing of her work phone.
"Mere, for the last time, freaking out about it will only make it worse!" Rory stated rather impatiently, only to get an answer she hadn't expected, from a person she definitely hadn't expected to be hearing from.
"Wrong person, but definitely good advice, I'll take it into consideration."
"Mom? Since when do you call me at work? Are you crying? Wait, nothing happened with dad did it, because I really have enough on my plate…" Rory ranted, only to be interrupted.
"Oh, hun, it's not your dad, I just, I've done something horrible. I need you to come here, I need to see you again before you don't ever want to talk to me again," Lorelai wept dramatically.
Rory replied, completely unfazed, "Mom you know it can't be that bad. I love you more than that. I'll see you tonight at eightish, but right now I really have to go."
And with that they said their goodbyes, Lorelai holding in the thought that was dying to come to the surface, "Yeah, but even after two years, you still love him more."
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Logan sighed, it was nearing ten o'clock and he had yet to leave his office. Not that that was a rare occurrence for him, but tonight he just didn't seem to be getting anything done.
Tonight, his brain was completely focused on the all-important phone call that seemed less and less likely to happen with every passing minute.
Another hour passed without any work done, and Logan was growing more and more frustrated.
Once again, too much like his conversation with Lorelai two years ago, his whole life lay in the hands of a Gilmore Girl. At least he hoped to God Rory was still a Gilmore Girl – suddenly his heart rate quickened.
What if that was the reason for the lack of a phone call? What if Rory had moved on? And for some reason the worst question of all, what if she hadn't loved him the way he had, and really still did, love her?
No, he couldn't do this, he couldn't think about the what-ifs. Rory was going to call – she had to, otherwise he didn't know what he would do, I mean, it wasn't like he could spend any more hours at the office than he already did.
Thankfully, before Logan could think of the dastardly consequences of a non-existent phone call, he heard it. The one thing he had been waiting for, there on his desk was his old cell phone, the old cell phone he hadn't used since he had left Stars Hollow that night.
He had gone through two cell phones since but he had always kept this one as his lifeline to Rory, and now, almost miraculously, it was ringing.
All the thoughts and the words he had planned to use to get them across to her instantly left him, and all he could do was what came naturally, flipping open the phone and voicing the single word, "Huntzberger."
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There was a momentary silence on the other end of the line, and Logan was so scared that he hadn't answered it quickly enough, or that she had rethought her actions and had hung up.
But then he heard it, heard that voice he had missed so much, saying the one word that could open up a whole new future for them, he heard her say hello.
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As usual reviews are extremelyappreciated. Thank you!