Previously on The Point of Being Young:

Logan continued. "I think we should end this quickly so these nice fellows can get back to their little game." He stopped suddenly as if struck by a brilliant idea. The bulldog head covered his face but Rory had no doubt that his lips were curved in a sly smile. "I've got it. The perfect solution. It defends my sister's tarnished honor and it gives you at least a tiny chance at survival." he held out a hand to Mark and said in a grandiose tone " Mark, I challenge you to a duel."

Mark's dumbstruck look implied that he was quite certain that an alien ship had landed mid field and they had all just disembarked after a long journey from mars. Rory was pretty sure he was checking for those little green antennae as he gave Logan a bug eyed stare.

He looked around desperately for help but found no hero or savior among the enthralled crowd. At this point no one was willing to stop the soap opera on the field. Truthfully this was the best entertainment that had been had at a Harvard Football game for as long as anyone could remember.

After a long pregnant pause Logan sighed and dropped his hand.

"Okay, you are right, I was trying to cut off some time but if you insist I will make the challenge with the proper etiquette." With a big show of impatience he pulled off the paw of the bulldog costume and threw it at Mark's head. It bounced off his forehead and landed in his arms.

Logan gave him a satisfied look. "You didn't pick it up but I think that counts.You have accepted my challenge. Now on the the next order of business."

He might as well have been speaking in tongues for all the comprehension on Mark's face.

Logan continued without preamble "According to the rules we must now each chose a second. I chose Sir Fred the Light footed. Come forth Sir Fred."

At this summons Colin came trotting towards them wearing a suit of chain mail and a metal helmet. Rory rolled her eyes; they had passed right by the turn off for ludicrous and were headed straight for burlesque. Monty Python would have been proud. At this point it was only slightly incongruous that he was wearing tap shoes and carrying two light sabers. She did, however, have to give credit where credit was due. Not just anyone could have worked Fred Astair into a medieval duel. She nodded appreciatively in Logan's direction and he gave here shallow bow.

Colin took over the speaking now, as was only fitting for the Second. "Have you chosen your second?" he directed this at the somewhat sick looking Mark.

"Uh."

Colin looked at Rory "Not the most eloquent chap I've ever met...apparently love is not only blind but deaf."

Rory nodded tragically "We didn't tdo much talking.... if you know what I mean."

She saw Colin swallow a quick laugh as Mark managed to look slightly affronted. Logan sighed, "We are wasting precious time, since our Casanova here seems incapable of choosing a champion I say we appoint one."

Colin nodded in agreement and added in a scholarly tone "I think that would be allowed under the little known In Omnia amendments to the offical Rules of Engagement."

Logan nodded sagely "I concur. Lucky for Romeo here I have just the candidate in mind. Sir Fred fetch our fine furry friend won't you?"

Rory recognized her next cue and ran towards Logan who was pacing off steps seemingly with every intention of having a fencing match. She grabbed his arm and pulled at in anxiously stepping into her role as defender. "Come on Mac, don't do this. He isn't worth it."

Logan brushed her off. "He impugned your honor, he should have to pay the price. He should have known better than to screw a Finkelstein." He looked apologetic "No pun intended" the crowd roared.

The crowd, now on the edge of their seats quite literally watched with baited breath as Colin trotted, albeit it somewhat delicately in the tap shoes towards the opposing team's sideline from whence he had appeared. Princeton was the unfortunate team that had the dubious honor of being a witness to this farce but as it was not their home turf they had for the most part chosen, quite understandably to settle back and watch the show...you couldn't pay for better entertainment on a fine Saturday afternoon. This was shaping up to be ahell of a lot more fun than any silly old football game. The team was on its feet when Colin reached the Princeton Tiger who was sitting on the sidelines with the tiger head next to him on the bench.

Colin reached down and handed the head back to the mystified boy

"Now is no time to lose your head man, we've got a duel to attend to." The crowd groaned.

The Tiger seemed hesitant at first but soon acquiesced when the crowd roared its approval. There was clapping a few hoots of laughter when the sound system began to play "Eye of the Tiger". The tiger himself began to get into the spirit of things and trotted across the field making fists in the air ala Rocky IV.

Rory leaned surreptitiously towards Darcy and asked in a guarded whisper "This is fun and all but do you have any idea how we are going to get out of here alive?"

Darcy snickered and turned back to the stage that was being set. "Pilgrims and Tigers and Bulldogs, oh my. Watch and learn reporter girl, if we manage to pull this off it is going to go down in the history books of the LDB as one of the greatest stunts of all time. Just play along and a word of advice, worst case scenario, if Logan says run then run first and ask questions later."

Colin and the tiger reached the center of the field and Logan made a slashing motion against his neck that stopped the music abruptly. "Thank you to our Y2K compliant minstrel for that rousing anthem."

Then he turned to Colin "I assume you brought the weapons." Mark turned a particularly unattractive shade of green and looked like he might pass out.

Colin walked over the sidelines and pulled out two light sabers, one red and one blue. The crowd gasped in appreciation. He quickly trotted back towards center field and handed the weapons to the two combatants. Mark took his with shaking hands and Rory figured he was vowing silently that if he survived this day he would take a vow of celibacy and never have sex again.

Logan bowed once and then assumed the stance for the beginning of a fencing match.

Rory leaned in towards Darcy again "I didn't know Logan could fence. Where did he learn that, Swashbuckling 101?"

Darcy smirked "There's a lot you don't know about Logan, he is a man of many hidden talents." She cast a sideways glance at Rory "You've got a chance though, most girls never even see this much."

Rory didn't know how to respond to the bizarre insinuation so she turned her head back to the action on the field.

"En garde."

The two duelers started to circle on another. Mark looked completely out of his league and Rory was actually a little concerned that he might burst into tears at any moment. The duel itself was made quick work of when after a flurry of parries and ripostes the trembling Mark lost his grip on the saber.

Logan pointed the light saber at him "On your knees philanderer. I am the rightful victor of this duel and as such I have the right to decide your fate."

Mark fell to his knees, now openly sobbing. "I want my mom." Came over the speakers loud and clear right before the beginning of the music to "Always look on the bright side." Someone had definitely spent too much free time watching "The Life of Brian".

Rory rolled her eyes at the cliché. Logan looked at Colin "Well Sir Fred what should I do with this pathetic mass of a man?"

Colin relished his moment in the spotlight "Off with his head I say"

The entire stadium held its collective breath and Rory was with them all the way. She jumped half a foot when a loud, distinctly Australian voice cut through the tension like a knife. "Cut, Cut. That's a wrap folks."

Rory spun, mouth agape, towards the entrance to the field. Much to her shock her disbelieving eyes landed on Finn, Armani clad and wearing the ever-present sunglasses. He had a bullhorn to his lips and he was strutting towards center field looking for all the world as if he owned the place. Rory thought that if someone had pushed her with a feather right about then she would have dropped helplessly to the ground.

Finn continued in commanding voice "Great work people. That was just perfect, just the key scene we were looking for. Now let's break for lunch. We can pick up the rest back at the studio."

Logan grabbed the light saber from the thunderstruck, still blubbering Mark and patted him on the shoulder "Thanks man, you've been a good sport about this, hope they are paying you well." From the glassy eyed look Rory could tell that it was going to take the guy a good week to piece together what the hell had happened here today.

Colin and Logan started towards the end of the field and Darcy quickly followed with the still stunned Rory in tow. They paused just inside the tunnel entrance and watched as Finn turned the bullhorn on the crowd.

"Thank you all for your participation today. We apologize for the inconvenience but you have all been great sports. The film Krissy the Mascot Slayer should be available in independent theaters in the spring. We hope you all come to see it. Now I am going to ask you one last favor, we would like everyone to stay in their seats until we are able to extricate the camera crew, we would hardly want the rest of your fine sporting event to become a bloody mess. Thank you again for your tolerance."

Finn turned and with great ceremony shook hands with the Tiger and the Harvard coach. Then he turned and began his trek back towards the tunnel ambling as if he had all the time in the world.

Halfway there he stooped where the giant John Harvard head had rolled to a stop and scooped it up in one arm. "Can't forget this." He said with a self-effacing grin for the crowd, "the cost of good props is murder these days." He was whistling to himself when he entered the tunnel.

A heavy silence fell over the stadium and the perpetrators of the ruse held their breath waiting for their hoax to be discovered. Rory could hear her heart pounding maniacally in her chest; she so would not look pretty in a jump suit.

There was a single clap and then a smattering that built to a crescendo. Soon a wave of applause swept into the tunnel and was greeted by a grateful exhale on the parts of all involved.

Finn gave a little shrug when the clapping went on. "I think that's our curtain call my friends." he held out an elbow to Rory and Darcy and sent them a cheeky grin "Come on ladies, our adoring public awaits."

Rory 's heart was in her throat as they stepped from the mouth of the tunnel into the sunlight. Her eyes nearly fell out of her head when she saw the crowd on its feet. She couldn't believe Finn's audacity as he waved and smiled at the crowd. He whispered sardonically in her direction as he waved. "Here's a life lesson for your Gilmore. People are lemmings. Wear the right outfit and act like you know what you are doing and the gullible masses will follow you blindly into the fires of hell itself. "

He bowed deeply one more time to the crowd and then blew them a kiss before backing away from the spotlight.

Rory was flabbergasted...the whole crowd had been in on it? For once she could do nothing but shake her head in amazement, this had to be one of the most elaborate deceptions that she had ever heard of much less seen.

She turned to as a large hand landed on her shoulder and saw Frank, the overly protective security guard. "Good job there girly...you really had me going."

She searched his face to see if he was angry and was perplexed at the amusement in his eyes "You knew that it was an act?" she tried to piece together the disparate facts to make a whole picture.

"Well, no, not until you were already on the field and then your director pulled me aside and explained. No hard feelings, I know you were just doing your job."

Rory stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for being such a sweetheart Frank. Its too bad there aren't more guys out there like you. The world would be a better place."

Rory was awed by the criminal acumen of her companions. Not only had they absconded in one piece with the head of the esteemed John Harvard aka the Mad Puritan....they had gotten a standing ovation for doing it.

Fifteen minutes later the car slid to a stop in front of a fancy townhouse about a mile from Harvard Square. Reminiscent of many an old time clown car the doors swung open to reveal a Bulldog, a boy in chain mail and tap shoes carrying two light sabers, A Don Corleone look alike in Armani, a giant head of what appeared to be pilgrim, sans body and a rather stunned looking Yale cheerleader, minus the pom poms which were regretfully left behind in the scuffle.

They had parted ways with Darcy and the talented Seth at the field with a promise to rendezvous at their next destination. Which appeared to Rory to be a private residence.

Rory came to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk when she saw the house. "Please do not tell me we are breaking in to this house. I don't think I can handle any more criminal activity this afternoon, at least not until after a nap and more coffee."

Logan gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder before he brushed past her as he removed the bulldog head "No worries Ace, I have a key. It is time for a little rest and refueling, we have a full night ahead of us."

She watched in surprise as he and Colin ascended the steps and he slid a key into the lock. She followed with hesitant steps still unsure whether this was just another trick. The foyer was a masterpiece of marble and polished wood and she nearly tiptoed afraid of disturbing the museum like stillness.

The silence was broken by voices as they approached what Rory guessed was a parlor. When the turned the corner at the stairs a spacious room littered with members of their team in various states of relaxation was revealed.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Logan said with a gracious air, waving her into the room. She surmised that this must be his parents' house.

The Three Musketeers ambled into the room taking up various positions lounging on the furniture.

Logan propped his feet up on the coffee table in front of him and cocked an eyebrow at her. "So Ace, what did you think of our little spoof?"

"It was bizarre." there was the hyperbole of the millennium " You are like a..." she searched for the right word.

"Virtuoso?" he supplied

"No."

"Wizard?"

"Not exactly "

"Wunderkind?"

"Hardly."

"Maestro?"

She snapped her fingers "Artful Dodger. You are the Artful Dodger."

"Ouch." Logan retorted with a hand to his chest. "I think I will stick to coming up with my own monikers from now on, I much prefer Master and Commander."

She rolled her eyes and turned to Finn "And you are David Copperfield, only not the Dickens's one, the magician one, able to create grand illusions and escape even the most hopeless of situations with your sneaky little brain as your only tool. The world would be taken by storm if you ever decided to use your powers for good."

"Don't forget my dashing looks."

"Kind of a muddled analogy if you ask me" Logan said with a huff.

"I'm still regaining my vim... the shock of this afternoon has dulled my wits a bit. Speaking of which why didn't you tell me we had a game plan?"

Logan smiled "I told you what you needed to know. You are transparent Rory, if you had known the whole plan you would have given it away. Besides, now you have proven your chops. I had my doubts but Finn assured me you would meet the challenge."

He glanced up at Finn in the front seat "What did you think Finn? Our little Ace gave a performance that would have knocked old Vivien Leigh on her ass. My applause to the newest bearer of the scarlet letter...a star in the making."

"Indeed" Finn said with a grin, "I think we should take this show on the road. I'm bored with college anyway."

Finn lowered the rim of his sunglasses and gave Rory a particularly lascivious once over "and may I say my dear you look yummy in that skirt. Quite smashing indeed. You can cheer for me anytime." He turned to Steph who was listening intently from a nearby armchair and whispered a confession "I just love a girl in uniform."

Rory blushed crimson to the great amusement of all assembled. It seemed you could take the girl out of Stars Hollow but you couldn't quite take the Stars Hollow out of the girl.

"Now Finn, lies do not become you." Steph returned, "We all know you aren't that picky. You love a girl in anything...or nothing at all for that matter."

Finn pushed his sunglasses back up his nose and stuck it in the air " I would be insulted if you didn't have a point. So how did you like your debut in the spotlight my dear Scarlet? Have you succumbed to the acting bug?"

Rory shook her head emphatically "No thanks, the stage is definitely not for me. I think this little role will be my first and last time in front of the camera." She stopped dead and her eyes widened in realization. Her eyes threatened unspeakable violence when she turned to Logan.

Her voice came out a threatening his "Did this little play get recorded?"

He looked at the ceiling "Yes."

"If I remember correctly the one thing I asked was that there be no photographic proof of me in this outfit. You promised."

Logan shook his head "I'll apologize in advance but I do have to disagree with you there."

Rory whirled mid pace and stormed towards his chair kicking his legs viciously off the table and standing directly in front of him. "What do you mean? I heard you promise."

"Well no, technically you didn't. You gave me an ultimatum regarding your mother and pictures of you in your full pom pommed glory and I made a rather cunningly distracting remark, something about the Internet I believe."

Her mouth dropped open to retort and then she had a flash of the conversation. Damn him. "You tricked me!"

"I suppose you could look at it that way if you were so inclined. I am not as it turns out, so inclined."

She huffed but there wasn't a good comeback for that. He had her beat on this point and he knew it. The irritating sparkle in his eyes made her lean forward over his chair. She should never have budged off that plane without a contract written in blood.... preferably his blood. If her mother and the rest of the Stars Hollow gossip network ever got a hold of this she was definitely going to have to fake her own death and move to Greenland.

"Fine, we will move on to the other indictments against you. You could have warned me about Darcy as the ringer. As it was I had to improvise and that girl is not as light as she looks when she belly flops on top of you." She rubbed her rear end with a disgruntled look "My butt still hurts from its little rendezvous with the ground."

Logan gave her a flirtatious wink "I'll kiss it and make it better if you want."

"You are only allowed to kiss my ass in the most proverbial sense."

"Your loss."

Rory gave him a less than friendly look "Now where was I?"

"You were complaining about your less than graceful meeting with the Astroturf."

"Right, so not only are there permanent welts on my rear end but I am pretty sure there is a picture of said rear end that will end up on the internet some day just when I am about to step up and accept my Pulitzer Prize."

He gave her a smirk "Now Ace you know that in the world of journalism these little vagaries of our youth just lend perspective. You can make a witty remark in your acceptance speech about how adversity builds character."

"This is all just a big game to you isn't it?"

He shot her a look that clearly questioned her understanding of the English language and spoke very slowly "Well, yeah, its a Scavenger Hunt, which is by definition a game. Do I need an interpreter or something to put it in Rory speak?"

"No...I meant life is a game to you."

He shrugged and gave her a somewhat whimsical smile "Not one big game but certainly a series of ever evolving games, in general I think the house odds are against me but I do manage to win a hand or two now and then."

He sent her an impudent grin and with his dancing eyes and hair spiked every which a way from being inside the bulldog costume he had a remarkable resemblance to one of the Little Rascals. She had always had a soft spot for the mischievous little boy look and she found herself softening despite her best intentions.

"You know you are very hard to stay mad at."

His grin went up in wattage " I know. I'm sure its the only reason I've lived this long."

She stood up straight with a muttered comment "At this rate you won't live to 22."

He stood and met her eyes and his face had gone serious. "What do you say Ace, can we call a truce?"

She considered him for a long moment, clearly weighing the pros and cons on a mental list.

He held out a hand in an offering of peace. "Friends?"

She was going to make him work for it. "What's in it for me?"

He considered "The pleasure of my charm, the amusement of my adventures, the witty conversation..." she cocked a skeptical eye at him as he wracked his brains for a suitable offering "and all the coffee you want."

Her smile was impish as she stuck out her hand "You should started with that, it would have been a no-brainer. "She leaned forward with a calculating gleam in her eye "So, is that as much coffee as I want for life?"

Logan chuckled "You forget, I've seen you go through coffee like water. More specifically the first water you have after a week stranded in the desert. I don't think that even my father's considerable coffers could keep you in coffee for life."

He laughed at the lip she stuck out in a pout. "Okay, a compromise. How about all the coffee you want for a month? A preemptive apology for the photograph."

She grinned jubilantly and skipped right over the comment about the photograph. "You've got yourself a deal Mac. Now where's the kitchen? There's no better time to start than now. No use wasting any time."

Logan groaned as she skipped excitedly out of the parlor. He gave Finn an incredulous look "I don't think I have ever had to bribe a girl to be my friend before. Even worse, I have feeling that I just got out negotiated by a novice."

Finn cocked an eyebrow. "I think you miscalculate Miss Gilmore's talents. She is a quick study. If she got coffee for a month in return for a promise of friendship, a somewhat nebulous commodity at best, imagine what it will cost for a kiss."

Logan paled as he turned to follow his new friend to the kitchen. Machiavelli could take lessons from Rory Gilmore.