AN: You guys are majorly enlarging my ego! Thank you so much for all the reviews! Okay I had no plans to update today but then my soccer team won and I was so happy (we never ever win) and so I decided to! And I know that everyone is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Logan and so since I'm in such a good mood, I'll tell you that he makes his first appearance in chapter nine! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Rumors were flying Monday morning at Chilton and everyone was eager for more information. Rory Hayden had left the party Friday night with Tristan Dugrey and neither had returned or been seen until the next morning. Nobody could remember much more than that but suddenly it was certain that the two of them had been seen making out on the dance floor previous to their departure.
When Rory walked confidently into Chilton Monday morning, all eyes were on her but her step didn't falter. She was kind of confused but didn't show it, wanting to find out what was going on first. As she made her way towards her locker she was happy to see that Alex and Abby were standing in front of it; she knew that she could count on the two of them to explain the reason for all the staring.
"Hey!" She called as she got closer.
"Rory!" Abby squealed and Alex winced at the sound before smiling slightly and pulling Abby closer to him.
"Hey Ror," Alex smirked. "You had a big night Friday, didn't you?"
Rory paused in the process of opening her locker. "Friday? I was at the party on Friday."
"Oh, we know that you were there Rory," Abby grinned as if she knew a secret. "Everyone knows that you were there and, better yet, everyone knows who you left with."
Rory started putting her books away and gathering new ones for her next class. "Oh, so this is what the whole staring at me thing is all about." She rolled her eyes. "Yes I left with Tristan Dugrey but no, nothing happened."
"You're saying that nothing happened?" Tristan had snuck up on them without them knowing. "After everything that went on between us, you're acting like it's nothing?"
Rory could see the students in the hall exchange whispers and looks as Tristan talked rather loudly and knew what they were assuming. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed back at Tristan and noticed that although he was trying to look hurt, his eyes were definitely amused. He knew what the rest of Chilton was guessing what happened on Friday and he was having some fun with it.
Rory smirked; she could play this game and she could play it well. "That's what I said, Tristan." She tossed her hair. "There's nothing to talk about." She looked Tristan up and down appraisingly, enjoying the way his eyes narrowed.
"Sweetheart you weren't saying that on Friday." He placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, smiling triumphantly at her.
"Oh honey, I have three words for you." Rory was well aware that the entire hall had grown silent and was fully concentrating on their conversation. "I was faking."
She patted the dumbstruck Tristan on the chest before turning and walking down the hall towards her first class, enjoying the way the students were looking at Tristan. Today was going to be a good day; she could feel it.
It was at the end of the day that Tristan caught up with Rory in the halls as she made her way towards the parking lot.
"So, interesting show you put on earlier." He slipped his arm around her completely naturally.
"Interesting show I put on?" Rory raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You started it!"
"I started it? Oh yeah, that's mature Rory."
Rory sighed sarcastically. "Yeah Tristan I wish that I was as mature as you but you know that because, you know, I was saying that on Friday." She glared at Tristan pointedly and he laughed, raising his hands in defense.
"Alright, alright, maybe I didn't take the most mature route but c'mon, you have to admit that you had fun."
Rory laughed. "Okay, fine, it was kind of fun."
Tristan grinned in response and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off.
"Dugrey!"
Rory and Tristan turned to see a group of guys gesturing for Tristan to join them. He grinned and squeezed Rory on the arm.
"Sorry, duty calls. Maybe we can catch up later." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Rory smiled and shook her head. "Bye Tristan."
She made her way out the front door, hearing Tristan greeting his friend's behind her. Sighing slightly, she somehow knew that everything was about to get more complicated with Tristan and there was no way to stop it. For a brief moment she wondered if she would stop it if even if she could.
By the middle of the week, it was a common sight to see Tristan and Rory together. Tristan still flirted with all the girls and Rory was constantly with Alex, Abby and their friends, but somehow they always found a way to catch up in the halls for a minute or to hang out at lunch. Although at first it caused an outbreak in the rumor mill, the gossip surrounding the two of them soon died down, but not without a lot of speculation about their relationship.
It was on Thursday that Chilton received a new student by the name of Devin Martin. He was introduced in each of his classes and was immediately rejected by the majority of the population. His shoes were scuffed, his tie wasn't straight and his hair was too long and too messy to be acceptable. He simply screamed scholarship student, and to many that was the equivalent of being diseased; he was simply someone you didn't associate yourself with. Of course Abby and Alex took him under their wing immediately.
By lunchtime rumor had spread of the new guy and so there was a lot of neck craning and disgusted looks being thrown his way in the cafeteria. Rory sauntered over to the table that she now regularly occupied and sat down in her seat, taking out her lunch and laughing at the joke that someone had just told. It was only when she started eating that she noticed that there was an extra person at the table.
"Oh hey Ror, this is Devin. Devin this is Rory," Alex supplied, seeing the object of Rory's scrutiny, gesturing with his hand while holding a sandwich, spreading its contents in the process.
"Oh yeah, right. You're in my English class," Rory said, smiling sweetly. "Welcome to Chilton." He might not have been well-liked but Rory had learned to be polite to everyone she met because it could work out to your advantage someday.
"Yeah, thanks," Devin mumbled in reply, obviously not liking that he was now the center of attention.
"So Dev," Abby started. "I can call you Dev, right? It's easier." She plowed on without waiting for a response. "How do you like Chilton so far? It's a bit overwhelming for the first little bit, just ask Rory; she was new last week." She patted Rory hard on the back, causing her to cough slightly.
"It's alright, very intense." Devin was now concentrating fully on his lunch, looking as if he wanted the interrogation to be over.
"Intense, yeah." Abby nodded wisely, before ruining the affect by giggling as Alex nudged her in the ribs.
"Hey." A body squeezed his way between Rory and Josh and reached out to grab one of Rory's chips before it was slapped away. "Ow!"
"Serves you right, Tristan," Rory pouted dramatically. She pointed to the opened bag of chips. "Mine."
"I thought that we were past the whole possessiveness thing and were onto the whole 'what's mine is yours' thing."
"I don't want what you've got," Rory retorted immediately.
Tristan laughed. "Ouch, that hurts Ror." He looked around the table, nodding to everyone that he knew. His gaze stopped at Devin but he didn't say anything to introduce himself, merely looked at him and moved on. "But I know that you're lying, so I'll get over it."
Rory arched an eyebrow. "I'm lying?"
"Of course you are. You know that you want what I've got," he said arrogantly, prompting the table to laugh. Rory shook her head and rolled her eyes, already used to Tristan's conceitedness.
"So I was thinking," Tristan began, turning to Rory and lowering his voice so the rest of the table couldn't hear him.
"Did it hurt?"
He rolled his eyes. "And you say I'm cliché. Anyway, I was thinking that we should do it again sometime."
Rory wrinkled her nose. "Kinky but we didn't do it the first time so technically we can't do it again."
"You know what I mean. We should, I don't know, hang out this weekend. Watch a movie or something."
Rory shrugged. "Sure, I guess."
"Just the enthusiastic response I was hoping for." He stopped to look at someone across the room. "I have to go but I'll call you later."
"Okay." Rory turned back to her food, suddenly starving.
"So are you and Tristan dating?" Abby asked, never being able to mind her own business for very long.
"Nope, just friends."
Abby wrinkled her nose. "How boring. You should make up a better story. Ooh I know! Tell people that the two of you met on a bus five years ago and starting talking without ever knowing the other's last name and you got separated although you thought of each other every minute of every day for the last five years and then you started here where you walked into the classroom and back into his life. It was fate; how romantic."
The table was engulfed in utter silence, as every occupant stared at Abby like she was crazy.
"What?"
Alex laughed and pulled her close, kissing her cheek. "Nothing babe, we're just astonished by your brilliance."
Rory laughed. "That's an understatement. I'll see you guys later." She stood up and walked out of the cafeteria, unaware of Tristan's eyes following her every move.
Later that night, Rory was lounging comfortably on her living room couch watching T.V. in her pajamas when her dad walked into the room.
"Hey kid."
"Hey daddy." She paused, looking up from the screen and surveyed his outfit, noticing that it was fancier than usual. "Got another date with Lisa?"
Chris straightened his shirt self-consciously. "Yup, I have to leave in a few minutes to pick her up; just wanted to say good-night first."
Rory nodded, smiling slightly. It wasn't like her dad never dated; it was just unusual that he went back for a second date. Sometimes Rory felt guilty, knowing that her father's life revolved around her; the only thing not in her favor was the constant moves but even then he always picked houses in the best school districts, with the most kids around. Even though she had attended more than one boarding school, it was out of necessity when Chris had no other choice; not because he wanted her out of his way.
"Have you finished your homework?" Chris' typical dad question interrupted Rory's musings.
"Yup," Rory lied, thinking of all the work that hadn't left her backpack since it was put in there.
"Good." Chris eyed her suspiciously before glancing at his watch. "I have to go; I'll be home by 10:30 at the latest. Good-night."
"Bye daddy, have fun."
Chris turned and walked out of the room and a minute later Rory heard the front door slam. She sighed and turned back to the T.V. and immersed herself in the teenage drama that was currently playing. Just having got caught up to what she missed, she was annoyed when she heard her cell phone ringing. She got up off the couch and left the room, racking her mind as to where she had left it. Finally locating it, she picked it up and opened it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, you sound out of breath; been thinking of me?"
"Yes Tristan, I was just sitting here staring at my phone, hoping desperately that you would call me."
Rory could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "That wasn't the type of 'thinking' that I meant," he replied, innuendo heavy in his voice.
She rolled her eyes. "I know. So what's up?"
"I'm bored." He stated simply. "And then I was overcome with the urge to hear your voice and so I decided that I would call you to talk to you."
A smile blossomed on her face at his words and stayed on her face for the rest of the night. It was late when she hung up the phone, late when she dragged herself to bed and late when she woke up in the morning. Somehow none of that mattered and none of that fazed her as his words and their conversation stayed with her for the entire night and following day. Rory didn't know how or when it had happened, but somewhere along the way, Tristan Dugrey had come to mean a lot to her and that scared her.
