A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the generous reviews, I'm so glad I have you guys as fans! I'm flattered by the number of alerts and favorites I have for only two chapters. Keep the reviews coming, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Trust Me
Chapter 3
Rory sat on the bus, watching the apartments slowly turn into suburban houses. She gave sad smile as the bus came to a stop; the bus stopping meant she was farther away from where she wanted to be, with Jess. She sighed, not wanting to remember what had happened at the airport. When Jess left, Rory fled. She didn't want to see him board the plane; she wasn't willing or ready to let him go. She looked out the window again, and saw they were approaching their small town. Her brows furrowed in confusion as the bus passed by the town square. She sat up quickly and ran down the aisle of the bus.
"Stop the bus!" She told the plump man. He jerked to a stop, and Rory ran off the bus. She jogged the middle of the town square; out of breathe from lugging her backpack. She wasn't much of a runner, or athlete for that matter.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Rory asked desperately, dropping her bag on the ground.
"Hanging my sheets," She shrugged, pinning another corner of the white sheet onto the line.
"You're hanging sheets in the middle of the town square?" Rory gestured towards the rest of the town.
"There wasn't enough sun hitting the back of the house," Lorelai replied carelessly.
"You never do laundry," Rory remarked. "Who gave you the crazy pills?"
"Crazy pills? Oh, sweetie, if you think that's what I'm on, you're seriously mistaken."
"Mom, right now the drugs you take are not the problem."
"What's the problem, then?" Lorelai asked innocently.
"Put the pins down and back away from the laundry," Rory stated carefully.
Lorelai laughed. "Why should I? Hon, these sheets have been sitting on your bed forGod knows how long. I'm washing these sheets so when you do future dirty things your boyfriend won't go 'I'm not in the mood' on you."
"Mom!" Rory cried, blushing a deep crimson. "Do not do this here!"
Lorelai just continued hanging the remaining sheets.
"Now, are you going to tell me the real reason you're hanging sheets?" Rory asked quietly, moving to help her.
"I already told you the reason. Don't deny it just because I gave you a dirty reason."
"Most of your reasons are usually dirty," Rory muttered.
"Are not!" Lorelai argued childishly.
"Mom, you washed your car on your own one day, which by the way was the worst idea of your life, just because some muscle man moved in across the street."
"That happened to be one of my finest moments."
"You pulled a cheerleader car wash move and sponged yourself," Rory conitnued. "I still think you're permanently bleached."
"Ok, so the aftermath of my moment wasn't so great, sue me. You have to admit, though, Lover Boy had the hots for me."
"My, what big ego you have," Rory remarked, hanging the last sheet.
"Oh, thank god. We finished!" She cheered, plopping onto the grass.
"You're tired?"
"Of course. The trophy wives make hanging sheets look easy. My arms are tired, oh boy," She sighed dramatically. "I don't think I'm going to make it. Rory, be good to mama and get food at Lukes."
"Rory's going to rebel and go home," Rory grabbed her bag. She didn't want to Luke's because that's where He worked. "Besides, Luke's is right over there," Rory pointed to the quaint diner across the street.
"Then I don't see the point in you going to get some food."
Rory shifted her weight, slowly becoming impatient. "I just…I just don't want to go to Luke's."
"Why not?" Lorelai asked.
"I just don't," Rory stated firmly, "I'm going home."
"I'm coming with you," She announced, grabbing her basket and catching up to Rory. The entire town watched as Lorelai, who was not known for her housework, walked through town with a laundry basket and Rory by her side.
Lorelai noticed and mumbled to Rory unnoticeably. "Just smile and wave."
Rory walked through the living room, slipping off her shoes as she went. "I'll be in my room, I have studying to do for finals tomorrow," She announced, secluding herself in her room.
Lorelai just nodded, dropping her keys onto the hall table. She slipped off her shoes, pressing the message button.
You have 2 new messages.
The first message began playing. Lorelai, I'm calling to tell you that dinner this week has been cancelled- Lorelai let out a small squeal- and has been rescheduled to Sunday. You know we have this agreement, and it clearly states that we have a dinner every week to keep in touch.-Lorelai groaned. 'We also agreed to have them Fridays' Lorelai thought.
Lorelai pressed delete.
Message has been deleted. You have one 1 new message.
Lorelai sighed, leaning onto the small table. Ms. Gilmore, this is Headmaster Charleston calling in concern of Rory's absence in school today.-Lorelai's brows furrowed in confusion. Rory had gone to school today.- Chilton has high standards, and an un-excused absence is not tolerated. Since Rory is such an honorable student, we will not penalize her for her actions. Nevertheless, we leave this in your hands to take care of, and we expect this not to happen again. Good day, Ms. Gilmore.
Lorelai ambled over to Rory's room, unsure of what she was actually going to get out of her. How could Rory be stupid enough to skip school during her last week at Chilton? Lorelai dismissed the thought as she entered Rory's room. She closed the door behind her and sat on Rory's bed, still going unnoticed by her daughter.
"Rory, what were you thinking?" She asked suddenly, hoping to catch her by surprise.
And she did. Rory jumped slightly before turning around and looking at her mom. "You scared me!"
"I was going for that effect," Lorelai answered quietly, playing with the hem of the bed sheet. "How could you be so stupid, Rory?"
"Was I demoted from top of my class?" Rory wondered out loud, not sure exactly what was going on.
"You might be," Lorelai stated simply, this time looking up at Rory. "Rory, you skipped school!"
"Oh," Rory hung her head, not sure of what to say.
"Yea, oh. Why would you skip school?" Lorelai questioned. "I could understand doing this during the year, but your last week of school? Rory, you have Yale to think about!"
"I know! I know."
"What could have possibly gone wrong that you had to skip school? You couldn't have possibly done it out of spite. Who could you be mad at?"
"I wasn't mad at anyone," Rory answered, a sigh escaping her lips. "Look, why are you making such a big deal out of this? I mean, it's not like I missed a final or anything."
"You're bound for Yale, Rory. What more of a reason do you need to stay in school?"
"Mom, some things just came up and I had to deal with it. Can't you just trust me?" Rory pleaded.
"Rory, you skipped school. The only time you actually skipped school on purpose was when you were falling madly in love with Jess, and you went to New York. You've never done that after. You almost grounded yourself when you were forced to miss school for the chicken pox. I think you need to tell me what happened."
Rory sighed in realization, knowing she would have to tell her mom sometime. She wasn't prepared to tell her just yet, but if she didn't do it now, her mother would never let it go. "Um-I saw Jess on the bus to school this morning," Rory started, wringing her hands in her lap.
"What was Jess doing on the bus?"
"It sounded fishy to me too, since I knew he had school. I walked back and sat with him, and we talked. I found out that Jess couldn't get prom tickets, meaning we couldn't go together. We talked about books and things, and then my stop came. I went to get up and the-" Rory was interrupted.
"You're stalling, Rory. Just get straight to the point," Lorelai stated impatiently.
"Jess is going to California, and I almost boarded a plane to California a week before my graduation just so I could be with him," Rory rambled, averting her mother's gaze.
"Rory, California? A week before graduation? What were you thinking?" Lorelai asked desperately, not really wanting the answer.
"Mom, we've been together for a while. I couldn't stand him leaving. I made a rash decision in ditching school, and I went with him to the airport."
"Is that why you skipped school?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, if Romeo and Juliet could pull it off, my Rory Gilmore can definitely pull it off."
"Mom," Rory whispered. "I broke down in the airport. I couldn't help it; I had to let him know I was going to miss him. The only way I figured to accomplish that was crying, and I did a pretty good job at it," Rory crawled to the floor, her mom wrapping her arms tightly around her.
"Rory, I know this is hard for you, but you can't just skip school when you have your finals starting tomorrow and your graduation in one week!"
"Yes, I think I got the gist of it," Rory mumbled.
"Rory, why did you decide to even go with him to the airport if he was leaving to California?"
"How would you feel if your boyfriend left forever and you never got to say goodbye?"
Lorelai sighed in defeat. She knew Rory had won her over with the 'How would you feel…' question. Always worked, no matter what situation they were in, Rory always seemed to win her over with that simple question. It was sneaky and underhanded, but when Rory used it she never meant harm, it was always purely innocent when coming from her mouth.
"I'd probably feel just as bad as you're feeling," Lorelai thought this answer was enough to sustain Rory until she was curious enough to ask 'for real' another time.
Lorelai turned Rory so she was facing her. "Look, I know this is going to be very mommy-ish of me, but you have to promise me you won't be stupid again and get on a plane to California."
Rory's eyes widened. She hadn't really been expecting that. What if one day, deep into her college years, she had the urge to go see Jess? Rory knew, deep down, she wouldn't be able to keep a promise like that. She knew she would eventually have to go see Jess. She couldn't lie to her mom. She barely ever lied to her mom, only when it was absolutely necessary. But as Rory looked up at the woman sitting in front of her, something inside of her just pushed her over that last hill. She turned to her mom, looking her in the eye, and for the first time since she could remember, Rory Gilmore lied. Straight to her mother's face, she lied.
"I promise."