It was an understatement to say that Logan was in a bad mood. Satan himself probably had cheerier days than Logan was having. Logan was fuming; whoever had hired that damn bartender for this little event was going to pay. Usually they didn't even bring in help for these events but for this one they had brought them, blindfolded of course, just for the party, they had been told that it was a costume party and knew nothing of the involvement of any group called the Life and Death Brigade. Now thanks to Rory's presence the bartender probably knew more than he was supposed to, not to mention the fact that he had interrupted what was shaping up to be one of the top 5 best kisses ever. Who knew that a girl like Rory Gilmore could kiss like that? He glared at his so-called friends

"If I find out you all had anything to do with his presence here tonight then I would worry about your own fortunes gentlemen. The deepest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers."

Finn observed him silently for a moment " I find your lack of faith disturbing. But you're maudlin and full of self-pity so I will forgive you."

Logan just gave an irritated huff and stalked away towards the bar intent on erasing the last minutes of hell from his mind. Damn sad eyed lap dog just always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time but how could he compete with the sainted Marty, the loyal friend. At this rate he was never even going to get to the friend stage much less to second base. He detested bartenders he thought sourly. Maudlin indeed, more liek homicidal.

Rory was disappointed in herself. Why was it that kisses always seemed like such a traumatic events in her life...especially first kisse? First there was Dean and the shoplifting, Tristan and the crying, Jess and... well, Dean and now Logan and Marty and her own doubts seemed to be forming a nice little trio of things gone wrong, didn't they always say that trouble came in threes? Logan, her fingers unconsciously came to rest on her lips and her mind paused at him, wiped blank by the memory of that kiss that was still tingling on her lips, quivering in her chest like a butterfly just spreading it's wings to fly. She had enjoyed kissing before, Dean's had always seemed sweet and gentle, Jess' had seemed, well a little dangerous, like him, but this kiss, this was a transcendent kiss, for that one eternal second that they had been caught up in the maelstrom of sensation it had been like being consumed from the inside out by fire. She and Logan had always behaved sort of like two magnets, there was no doubt that they created a strong force between them but usually it was a force like two identical poles of the magnet pushing at each other, holding each other at arms length. Yet during that dance, and that kiss they had suddenly been flipped and now she felt the pull of the force, only this time it was that pull of attraction and its trajectory was straight into his arms. She sighed and put her head in her hands as she leaned on the railing of the balcony. She had a lot to think about. She hadn't been looking for it, in fact had gone out of her way not to see it but she could no longer deny there was something there between she and Logan. Maybe it was just chemistry, maybe it could be more, there was only one-way to know the answer to that. The problem was that path was far from simple for a myriad of reasons. She really needed to talk to her mom; this was just the sort of situation in which two Gilmore brains were clearly better than one very confused one.

Rory sighed when she heard the door open and close behind her and turned to face her visitor. She resolutely ignored the little thrill of disappointment when she saw it was Marty and not Logan. She silently berated herself for her disloyalty. Marty had never been anything but a good friend to her. It wasn't his fault that she was so mixed up that she couldn't seem to unravel the tangled web that her life had somehow become in the last weeks, days, hours even. She yearned to spill her mental wanderings at the feet of her friend but wouldn't know where to even begin to describe the turmoil and the discoveries of the past days. She looked up at Marty and could see that he had something to say so she gratefully ceded him the floor as he joined her at the railing.

His eyes bored into hers and for once he looked deadly serious as if what he had to say was a matter of life or death. "Why are you here Rory? I thought you hated these guys as much as I do."

She paused and regarded her fingers intently trying to find a rational explanation for her presence here, for her actions earlier; she went with the simplest explanation first.

"I came with the group to write a story." The excuse sounded implausible and weak even to her own ears, the dress, the dancing, the kiss, none of that was even remotely related to any story she was going to be writing in this lifetime unless it was her own tell all autobiography.

It was patently evident from Marty's look that he didn't buy it either. "Come on Rory give me some credit, I have eyes and I have a brain, that was no interview going on in there when I so rudely interrupted."

She flushed with embarrassment but Marty continued. "Its pretty obvious that Logan has a thing for you, I guess I just thought the Rory Gilmore I knew was smart enough to stay away from cocky rich assholes like him."

Rory's eyes went wide at this diatribe and she shoved aside her mental wanderings and stuck to the simple version, she wasn't ready to talk to anyone but her mom about the rest of it. Besides she definitely wasn't ready to think about what Logan thought of her. "Marty, it's not like that. There is no thing with Logan, you know how we argue and most of the time he is totally infuriating."

Marty snorted knowingly "Yeah, like the five year old that pulls the girls hair on the playground because he likes her."

Rory stuttered, damn him for being quicker to pick up on the situation than she was "No, no...I'm sure you are wrong, what you saw in there tonight was just a weird collusion of circumstances. Its just a game we play, nothing more."

He gave her a disappointed look that stung "Stop being so naive Rory. It's annoying. You were kissing him, this guy that you profess to hate. The way I see it there are really only two plausible explanations for what I saw in there tonight either you really are as oblivious as you seem and you are lying to yourself as much as to me about what is going on or you are a much better actress than I gave you credit for although I certainly hope the Rory Gilmore I know doesn't stoop to those kind of lows just to get a story."

This got her back up; she knew Marty was her friends but that last comment had definitely crossed the line into insult territory. "Look Marty I know you are my friend but that doesn't mean that you get to judge me or tell me how to live my life. I have plenty of other people to do that for me. Besides the fact that you dislike these guys on principle what is so wrong with them or with me getting to know them? You know they really aren't as bad as you paint them to be, maybe you would figure that out if you stopped being such a reverse snob and actually talked to a few of them. Why do you care so much anyway, if I get in over my head that's my problem not yours and contrary to popular belief I can take care of myself and I can chose my own friends."

Marty gave her a surprised looked and then opened his mouth to say something. As if he had thought better of it he clamped his jaw shut again. Rory watched this show perplexed. "What Marty? What ever you have to say, just say it."

Marty looked like he was weighing his options and finally he turned and leaned his hands on the balcony looking out over the grounds of the old estate. Rory suddenly felt a little nervous about what ever it was he was going to say, this build up seemed a little extreme. Marty's voice was low and no longer accusing but it still bore an unwelcome heaviness. "I know this world seems bright and glittering and glamorous but it isn't you Rory."

She started to retort, "I think I can decide for myself..."

He held up a hand to stop her tirade "I'm not finished, you are right, it isn't my place to tell you who you can be friends with or to try to protect you its just that I've seen these guys chew girls like you up and spit them out and it would kill me to see that happen to you. You don't belong here.

She shivered slightly recognizing some truth in his statement. "How do you know...that I don't belong here?" she heard the desperate uncertain tone in her own voice, like she wanted him to tell her the answer, to tell her where she belonged.

He looked at her thoughtfully "Because whatever identity crisis you are going through can't change the core of who you are, I should know after the chaos of my own life these last couple of months. This is Logan's world, it's a world of wealth and privilege, which you could qualify for thanks to your grandparent's but at the core of it you don't belong. You care too much about yourself, about other people, about people believing that you are a decent person. You are sweet and yes naive and slightly kooky and eccentric but you are your own person.... and you aren't one of them."

She felt slightly ashamed at the praise, knowing in her heart that she didn't deserve it. Suddenly she realized that despite the short tenure of their friendship Logan actually knew more of her secrets than Marty did. "You give me too much credit Marty. I'm not perfect."

Marty nodded in agreement "Not perfect by any means. Just human like the rest of us but that doesn't change the fact that the Rory Gilmore I call a friend is too good for this world, is to good for Logan Huntzberger or any other guy who isn't going to treat her like a princess."

That was something to ponder, unfortunately that comment had the opposite effect that Marty might have intended because it made Rory think of Dean. Dean had put her on a pedestal, he had treated her like a princess, he had loved her, even at the end and the fairy tale hadn't been all that it had been cracked up to be. Maybe in the end she would be happier with someone who challenged her and recognized her faults and kept her on her toes. She was going to have to sort that out later.

She turned to Marty with curious eyes "I appreciate the concern but why does it matter to you so much Marty?"

His eyes snapped back to the landscaping as he answered, "I care about you Rory..." he paused and risked a lightening quick glance at her face, which was frozen in expectation, waiting for the end of the sentence.

He saw his chance it was now or never. He leaned forward impulsively and his lips met hers in a brief kiss. Rory was stunned, it was like standing out in left field without a care in the world counting the daisies and having a ball drop from the sky and smack you on the head. Marty, sweet, funny, sarcastic, unassuming Marty, her friend Marty was kissing her. She had never really looked at him as anything other than a friend. She thought about it for a long moment, with his lips still on hers, which should have been enough of a clue that the kiss wasn't exactly knocking the wind out of her. With the scorching kiss with Logan still seared into her nerve endings it was hard to get excited about a kiss that felt a little like an amorous lip lock with a fish, an animal that clearly had no business being kissed. She pushed Marty gently away, breaking the connection of their lips. She bit her lip, trying to come up with a way to extricate her from the situation without undue damage to either of them or their friendship, which did mean a great deal to her. Man, what a mess.

As it turned out she didn't have to say much, her eyes spoke volumes for her as they displayed shock and an eminent apology. Marty backed away embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I..I shouldn't have done that."

Rory interrupted not wanting to travel that path with him. "

"No Marty, don't apologize. You are one of my closest friends; I don't want to lose you because of some stupid misunderstanding. I'm sorry, I guess this just caught me totally by surprise, I just never thought of you as more than a friend."

He stiffened slightly "And you do think of Logan as more than a friend?"

She paused and looked out into the dark night "I...." she wasn't sure what she actually thought about Logan other than that he was one hell of a kisser. "I guess I don't know."

It was obvious this hurt him but the last thing she wanted to do was make the situation worse by lying to him. He nodded very stiffly now "You're right, I overstepped my bounds I can't tell you what to do, I just want you to be happy, I don't want to see you get hurt. Just promise me you will be careful."

"I will." He turned to go but she stopped him "Marty, we are still friends right?"

He sighed like he was considering his options "Yeah, we are still friends. Just promise me you that you won't come crying to me if Huntzberger breaks you heart, I don't think I could handle that."

She nodded solemnly "Its a promise." She walked over and gave him a quick hug "Thanks Marty, for being such a good friend, I don't deserve you."

He pushed her gently away. "Just take care of yourself Gilmore." The door clicked shut behind him and she was left alone on the balcony again.

Logan was sulking there was no doubt about it. He hated the fact that Rory Gilmore, like no other girl before her could almost effortlessly tie him in knots with one look from those expressive eyes. While he was deep in thought contemplating the bottom of his empty whiskey glass Colin suddenly appeared at his side.

"Don't drink alone. People always find out, and it ruins the reputation."

"Thanks for the sage advice."

Colin laughed and looked out at the dance floor to where Stephanie was whirling and laughing with another guy, he waved to the bartender to bring them another round of whatever Logan was drinking. "I always give myself such very good advice, but I very seldom follow it."

Logan gave him a half smile "Well pull up a chair, misery loves company."

Finn watched as Marty exited the balcony, from the look on his face he wasn't too happy with how things had gone with the fair maiden. Maybe there was hope for their champion after all. He ambled over to where Colin and Logan sat and took one look at his two pathetically unhappy friends and sighed in exasperation. These two were about to be crying in their drinks if he didn't step and throw them out of the nice hole they had dug for themselves. Someone always had to do the dirty work.

He narrowed his eyes and put his hand son his hips. He aimed his first remark at Logan "Are you gonna do something, or are you just gonna stand there and bleed?"

"What would you suggest since you are suddenly the resident expert on matters of the heart?"

"You can never loose while you're fighting. You only loose when you stop."

"I already tried, what if I'm all fought out?"

"Do or do not, there is no try." Finn said in a pointed tone.

Logan contemplated the slow swirl of whiskey in his glass for a long moment pondering the truth of Finn's words; sometimes the wisest things came from the mouths of fools. He had tried but maybe he hadn't put his heart and soul into it. He had been playing the game, letting Rory call most of the shots; maybe it was time for a change in strategy. He was Logan Huntzberger, he never gave in without a fight. He liked the girl, he wanted the girl and by god he was going to go get the girl. Now all he had to do was plan an offensive. Rory wasn't exactly the type to appreciate the old me Tarzan, you Jane routine, he was going to need something a little smarter to outwit her. Finally he raised his head and acknowledged Finn with a toast of his glass. "Alright my friend to bastardize the words of the late Captain Hook - love is the last great adventure I have left to live."

Finn smiled in triumph and raised his own glass "Shall we drink to a blitzkrieg? "

Logan smiled with his glass raised to his lips and swallowed slowly his mind working overtime on solving this new problem. Finally he nodded as if decided and rose from his seat. He gave his friends a last look this time with the old confidence back in full force "I prefer a slow encirclement. " he said with a smile as he headed for the balcony doors with a confrontational swagger to his step, like John Wayne counting off the steps to a shoot out. He was going to put all the cards on the table and this time he wasn't letting her run until he got some answers.

Finn watched him go with a raised eyebrow and then remarked in a thoughtful tone to no one in particular. "The trouble with real life is that there is no danger music."

Rory felt numb, Numb with exhaustion mental and emotional, paralyzed with confusion from the dizzying onslaught of emotion and the overdose on sensation. Unfortunately she was not numb to the cold of the November night. She shivered as she felt the cold seeping through the thin fabric of the dress and inching its way up her exposed spine. She hugged herself for warmth. She was about to give up the battle and face the enemy in his lair when she heard the soft snick of the door opening again. This time she somehow knew without looking who it was.

He paused for a long moment and watched her at the railing, he could only see her in profile but something in her face was so wistful, so defeated that he almost lost his will for battle, he shifted his weight back to exit the balcony thinking that this wasn't the best time for a confrontation but her voice stopped him. "Don't leave on my account."

She turned slightly as he joined her at the railing he was careful to leave a safe distance between not sure from her neutral tone what her current state of mind was.

Seeing her shiver he almost automatically shrugged out of his tuxedo jacket and held it out to her " Much as it goes against the grain to suggest you cover up that dress, I'd really hate to have you get hypothermia out of spite for me."

She eyed the tempting offering and fought the petty urge to refuse him. A breeze that brought Goosebumps to her chilled flesh had her opting for the practical routes. She held out her hand for the coat but he gestured for her to turn and gently eased the jacket over her arms.

"Thank you." She said a bit hesitantly.

He gave her a friendly smile; all traces of earlier animosity wiped clean from his face. "My pleasure." He paused "You look good in my clothes."

The chivalrous gesture made her wary and she suddenly felt a little nervous at his presence. The look in his eyes was different, like he had made a decision and he was at peace with himself. It unsettled her. She wrapped the jacket around herself and felt the luxuriant softness of the still warm fabric soothe her shivering body. It smelled good, a combination of scents that she couldn't quite place but somehow had imprinted in her brain as Logan's signature smell. Funny what the reptilian brain chose to store in its archives.

There was silence, not unheard of but unusual between them. They usually avoided it. Maybe because more was actually said in that silence than in many a witty repartee. She gazed down at the dark meadow below them and suddenly noticed moving lanterns and men that hadn't been there a few moments ago. She latched on to it as a new topic of conversation as she pointed down at the bobbing lanterns.

"What are they doing? Setting up for a night under the big top or that famous underwear dancing ritual?"

He looked down at the men that were now erecting a white-tented pavilion and laughed at her astute remarks. His voice was matter of fact "They are setting up for a chess game."

Her brow wrinkled with confusion. "A chess game?" Then she thought about all the chess players that had accompanied them back on the plane. "You mean they really are going to play a chess tournament?"

"Not exactly" he chuckled at her look knowing she was trying to fit the pieces together "They are the chess tournament."

"Huh?"

"Just hold your horses Ace, you will get to see it first hand in a little while."

She seemed about to say something else but he cut her off, determined not to let her lead their conversation off on some merry goose chase, he had noticed that she often resorted to verbal evasion when confronted with an uncomfortable situation, she had a talent for it that he guessed more often than not managed to deflect unpleasantness and confrontation. This time it wasn't going to work. "Do you want to start or shall I?"

She looked at him all innocence and wide eyed confusion "Start what?"

He sighed a long-suffering sigh and appeared to be praying for patience. He leaned his elbows on the railing, inching almost imperceptibly closer to her although her body noticed and her internal fires kicked up a notch in response. "Fine, if you want to play it that way, I will start." He looked out over the meadow as he spoke "Why did you run?"

She stiffened slightly, clearly she hadn't been expecting that blunt of a question. She chose to parry with a question of her own "Why were you so horrible to Marty?"

He swallowed, no pulling punches then. He knew this question for a question could go on for a while if he didn't swallow the bitter pill of pride and take the first leap "I was hurt...and jealous."

Rory was silent for a long moment and her voice came as close to meek as he had ever heard "Why were you jealous?"

Her voice suggested that she knew the answer to the question but she was stalling, he wondered for a moment what she and Marty had talked about out here. He began forming a plan, a way to work around to the true reason he had come out here to talk to her. Misdirection was the key to a good ambush so he would start with a little detour. He turned and leaned his elbows back against the railing looking back into the elegantly ostentatious ballroom full of swirling color and music and laughter that could be heard faintly through glass doors. "I'll get to that in a minute, first tell me what you think of our little shindig."

She turned and mirrored his stance as she gazed into the room. Marty's words came tumbling back into her brain and she knew that on that point he was right. This wasn't her world. She searched for the words "Its beautiful, its a glittering glamorous, exotic spectacle like no other I have seen. It's kind of like going to the circus, you get carried away in the magic and the daring, the tight rope walkers and the woman juggling flaming batons, you ooh and ahh at the trapeze artists as they fly so high above the rest of us humans and then there is the magician who draws you into that world of illusion so deeply that you almost believe that its real, you almost believe that you belong." She paused and now her voice was far away traveling some deep path of her own "But in the end when the crowds have gone home to their regular lives and the spotlights are all off that's really all it is...a grand illusion."

"Yes I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion." He said in a thoughtful voice, he could see by the earnest expression in her eyes that she believed what she was saying.

"Your analogy maybe true in some respects but you don't really know us, you don't know me. You've taken a few moments of out of the ordinary and extrapolated that to a picture of us that is far from complete. Despite what you think of me I am not all parties and girls and highflying stunts. I am a real person, just like you, I'm no illusion. Maybe it is just easier for you to see me that way because you can keep me at arms length if you draw a picture of me that fits your ideas of what I should be."

She looked slightly surprised at his sneak attack "Are you saying that I am stereotyping you or some such nonsense?"

"More drawing me the way that you want me to be, as long as you consider me to be some rich, cocky playboy you can dismiss me and you don't have to look too closely at what is really between us. "

Now she was getting a little ticked off at his insinuation that he knew her emotions better than she did. She crossed her arms stubbornly in front of her. "Fine, if you are so much more self aware then I am then you tell me, what is between us?"

Ah, he had her right where he wanted her, it was time for the big unveiling, the ace up his sleeve so to speak. He took a deep breath and prepared to do something that he had only ever done with one girl and he preferred not to recall that instance because that path only led to doubt. He was resolved on his course. "I was jealous of Marty because he has what I want. You."

She opened her mouth to protest thinking that perhaps he was too observant for his own good. His hand stopped her.

"I know you aren't in a romantic relationship with him but that doesn't change my jealousy of your friendship with him. He gets what I have to struggle for without even a second thought. You kiss me like there is no tomorrow and then he shows up and you look at me like I am suddenly a leper...that's a little bruising for a man's ego."

She looked disgusted "So this is all about your ego?"

He wanted to shake her "Sometimes for a smart girl you are so incredibly dense." The next words came out with crisp precision driven by irritation and a soupcon of fear "This isn't about ego, this is about the fact that I like you." He stopped her again before she could interrupt "let me finish. I can't explain how this happened or why. You are not blonde or a supermodel, your IQ is above the double digits, you have no respect for my money or status, you argue about everything, you have a dreadful need to always have a retort even to my wittiest remarks, you have an unhealthy addiction to caffeine and junk food, you are quite obviously a workaholic, something I avoid with nearly religious fervor, you have a strange fetish for books, an odd penchant for quoting historical facts about Universities and an annoying need to use obscure cultural references, add in that total cluelessness about your own appeal which drives me absolutely batty and you pretty much don't have anything like the normal resume I look for in a girl. Yet despite this preponderance of evidence to the contrary, it appears that through some unexplained combination of temporary insanity and masochistic tendencies my heart has decided in direct opposition to the orders of my brain that you ARE my type after all."

She looked at him with eyes like Frisbees and an expression that would have been appropriate had he announced that actually was Elvis reincarnated in the body of a twenty one year old WASP and had belted out a rousing rendition of "You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog." God, she was so exasperating.

She didn't know what to say, thought perhaps her entire store of vocabulary had just been wiped clean by the tornado of his declaration. She knew there was some chemistry between them but she had not been prepared for a declaration of the When Harry Met Sally variety. Her brain spun in neutral but failed to engage. She spit out the first words in her mouth. "Inconceivable."

He couldn't do anything but laugh at that, sometimes her denial truly bordered on the ridiculous. "It's your choice whether or not to believe me but in this I do not lie."

The silence stretched between them as she searched his eyes for a long moment. Then she turned back to the railing breaking the persuasion of the gaze. She didn't know what to do, what to say, she didn't know what she wanted or where to even start. She wanted to run. Her mind stopped as if someone had just clapped a hand over the spinning top and brought it to a dead stand still. Damn him to the eternal fires of hell but he was right about the kiss earlier. She had run, she always ran.

He was still watching her and this time she spoke almost stream of consciousness, more to herself than to him. "I always run, its like a genetic predisposition, I guess I learned it at the feet of the masters, my mom ran when she had me, my dad ran away from me and I have followed in their footsteps. I run when things go well, I run when things go badly, I run when things get confusing, no matter what happens it seems like I never stop running. I don't even know what I am running from anymore or why, or where I am running to..." She trailed off into heavy silence.

His voice was soft as he broke into her thoughts "Then choose not to run."

She looked at him slowly and her eyes were filled with indecision and doubt. "What do you mean?"

He gestured to the space between them "I don't know what this is between us, but there is something, maybe it won't last past the first five minutes of anything real" he patently did not believe that after their explosive kiss earlier 'But you will never know either way if you don't stand still long enough to find out."

She hated that he had a point. She hated him for not fitting her nice little one-dimensional picture of him. She thought about her options. She turned contemplative eyes back on the room that swirled with color and movement. She watched the laughing faces and drunken antics of the people she had come to know and call friends in last two days. Only they weren't really her friends, they were Logan's friends. This was Logan's world and she suddenly felt very out of her element amidst all the glamour and adventure seekers. She looked at Logan out of the corner of her eye "You know its not really that simple, you and I are practically different species."

"Well if that case then I want to be a shrub. Something prickly and hard to eradicate. Though I have to disagree, we aren't as different as you think we are. It has given me a few not so comfortable moments of imbalance to see just how easily you do fit into this world."

"This is you world Logan, not mine."

Logan watched the whirl of dancers and hesitated at his next comment. When it came out it was soft "It can be yours too if you want it to be."

She faced him fully for a second and then she turned back to face out into the night. "For you this is everyday life. For me this world is not so much a place to live but more a Caribbean vacation spot. Somewhere you go to lounge on the beach and read a few good books for a week or two before you go back to real life. Its fun for a while but I'm not of much of a beach bunny, it gets old.'

Logan knew they weren't really talking about the beach but he continued the metaphor. "Come on Ace, give it a chance, what's not to like? Sun, sand, margaritas and a chance to work on your tan."

"I sunburn." It was a matter of fact statement and a rejection neatly rolled into three syllables. It stung.

Logan knew better than most that there were plenty of willing fish in the sea, his sea in particular and he almost tossed in the towel right then and there. She didn't want his world...she didn't want him, she had made that clear. So why did his heart continue to battle his mind for control of his decisions. Why did he continue to hope or to pursue when she never showed even a crack in her defenses? He remained lost in thought until he felt her gaze on him again and that hopeful part of him spoke before his pride could stop it. "Isn't that the point of being young? Trying new worlds on for size, having new adventures, taking risks and finding yourself."

She heard the frustrated note in his voice. ""You are absolutely right. The point is to find yourself, to figure out who you really are and who you want to be. I guess for me a part of that is realizing what I don't want to be. I've made a lot of mistakes in the last couple of years.... I guess that's part of what led me here. What made me accept your invitation? It wasn't just about a story, much as I wanted to tell myself it was, it was about trying it on for size. Seeing the other side of the looking glass and experiencing for myself the life that my mother chose to run from."

"I am not asking you to change your name or run away with the circus, I'm not even asking you to be a part of this world. Contrary to your belief this is not all that defines me. I am asking you to take a chance on me. What are you afraid of Rory?"

"It's complicated. "

He held up a hand "It's not complicated, I think you are just scared that you might find something that you can't run from. I won't waste any more breath arguing with you. You seem like the type to make pro and con lists so I will leave you with my final argument."

She saw him close the space between them in one step but her body was frozen, unable to move, unable to look away from those hypnotic melted chocolate eyes. Then his hand grasped the back of her neck and pulled her towards him. She was pinned between his body and the railing of the balcony and she was almost glad because she was sure that her suddenly boneless body wouldn't hold her weight. Rory felt herself flying, was sure in fact that her feet were a good foot of the ground, like Mary Poppins and the tea party on the ceiling. Logan could feel the moment when the shock wore off and she started to kiss him back. The kiss quickly escalated until he knew he was in dangerous territory. What had started as a little object lesson was quickly becoming a chemistry experiment out of control.

He pulled back and they both stood breathing hard, there was a frozen moment as they stared at each other, their worlds still rocking from the force of the kiss, the chemistry that seemed to practically connect them with an invisible current. Logan was shaken and took a step back from Rory in an attempt to regain his composure as he raked a shaky hand through his hair. It never ceased to amaze him that someone like Rory Gilmore could take his breath away so completely with a simple kiss. Of course with Rory nothing was ever just simple.

He regained a bit of his equilibrium when he noticed her death grip on the railing behind her, at least he wasn't the only one who was affected. He struggled for a smirk.

She blinked dazed eyes at him in a vain attempt to regain her balance. She had a lot to think about but she gave up trying to sort it out right now. Finally she managed to stand on her own legs and she gave him a disbelieving look. "Was that a pro or a con?"

That put them back on solid footing. The smirk turned up a notch "I'll let you decide."

He put his hands in his pockets and turned towards the doors to the balcony satisfied that he had accomplished his mission. He gave her a last glance and only hoped that he hadn't pushed her too hard or too fast, he didn't want to scare her away completely. He kind of wanted her to stick around; things were just starting to get interesting. "Cheer up Ace, the book isn't ending, you are just starting a new chapter. You figure out what happens next and then let me know. Know I have a chess game to attend."

"Time" she whispered, "I just need some time."

He gave her a little mysterious smile "As you wish."