A.N.: Hey guys! Thanks for all the kind reviews. I'm still not happy with the way the break up went about. I had it written way better in the original version, but being the stupid person that I am I deleted it when I started writing it and couldn't just copy and paste, so sorry if it sort of disappointed you. Trust me, you guys weren't the only ones!

Some of you actually got who the person is. You'll find out for sure in this chapter.

Hope you like.

Kassandra

P.S.: I am officially 16 as of November 10th! So as a b-day present to me why not review!

Part 18: Girls' Night... Or Something Like It.

They had just finished watching Shakespeare in Love and were crying silently when the boys walked in carrying the bags.

"What the hell happened?" Colin asked setting one of the bags down on the small kitchenette as Finn passed the girls a box of tissues.

"Maybe not the best choice of movies." Steph said to Rory ignoring Colin. Rory nodded in agreement as she wiped the underside of her eyes. Steph stood up and started unpacking all the things the boys brought.

"Need help, Steph?" Rory asked as she got up from the couch and stopped the movie.

"No, I'm good." Steph replied. Rory turned back around and was about to sit down again when she saw Logan sitting in her seat. She sat down next to him and reached over him to grab her cell phone and made herself comfortable on the other end. Steph came out with Colin and Finn, each carrying two bowls filled with every chip imaginable (Lays, Ruffles, Fritos, and chocolate) and well as candy. Steph tossed her a bag of marshmallows making Rory smile and remember movie nights with her mom. She quickly squashed the memories not wanting to be more depressed.

"Hey, you alright?" Logan asked. She turned to him and was about to reply but heard Steph's scoff as she put another movie in.

"Did you seriously just ask her that?" Steph said as she sat next to Colin on the floor. Finn was sitting on the recliner watching Rory with concern.

"I did, why?"

"My god, boys are so oblivious it hurts. Her and her boyfriend just broke up and you have the gall to ask if she's all right." Rory bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Hey, I don't know what to ask at a time like this. I'm usually the one doing the dumping." Logan said. "As are Colin and Finn."

"Hey, we've been dumped! Remember Sherry Shepard in the ninth?" Colin said rubbing his chest where his heart was. "That hurt."

"Rebecca Nota." Finn said with a shake of his head. "My love. Broke my heart and ran it over with a bulldozer. Those were the days." Rory hid her face. God, these boys sure did know how to make a girl feel better.

"What about you, Ace? You ever done the dumping?"

Rory shook her head. "Not that I can remember."

"What about you, Steph? Who dumped you?" Colin asked.

"Well, let's see, the one that hurt the most was probably Mick Lemmy in the eleventh grade. Turns out he was sleeping with the captain of the water polo team."

"Must have been some woman." Finn said.

"The captain of the boys' water polo team." Steph said smiling at Finn. Finn, Colin and Logan laughed while Rory shook her head.

"Sorry." Rory said. Steph shrugged.

"Wasn't meant to be is all." Steph said. "It's over and in the past. What about you? Which one hurt the most?"

"There have only been two guys in my life that I've had relationships with." Rory said trying to keep her voice from cracking. "But this one hurt the most. He's never said anything to purposely hurt me and it hurts to get everything we've done wrong dumped on my shoulders you know."

"Like what?" Logan asked.

"Just stuff." Rory replied.

Steph rubbed Rory's leg in comfort. "It'll be okay, Rory. You know we all get our hearts broken once."

"This is the fourth time I've got mine broken and I don't think I can handle it anymore." Rory whispered.

The rest of the night was spent in silence watching movies and eating junk food. Rory hadn't said much and they hadn't pushed her. She was grateful. She wasn't ready to get into all her flaws as of yet or to re-hash old loves like Jess (even though they were great friends now). She trusted them all or she wouldn't have befriended Logan, Colin, Finn and Steph otherwise, it was just she wasn't ready.

Of course, they probably heard the whole thing and knew what a fuck up her relationship with Dean was, but she knew they wanted to hear the whole story and she would give it to them, but in her own time and it seemed like they were accepting it. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused on the movie that Steph had put in.

Ocean's Eleven. Steph was shaping out to be a great gal pal. She had great sense in wallowing movies. One to make you cry, one to make you laugh and cap it all off with an action adventure (that category had been filled by the movie The Fast And The Furious).

Somewhere between blowing up a safe with 150 million dollars and the colorful glow of cars racing at night Rory had fallen asleep on the couch, curled up in a ball. Logan looked at her and tapped Steph on the shoulder.

"Do you have a blanket?" He whispered. Steph nodded and got up from her comfortable position on the floor on Colin's lap. She went to her room and came out with a blanket and pillow. They carefully lifted her head and placed the pillow underneath and covered her up. Logan stood up and woke up Finn and tapped Colin.

"Let's get going." Logan said grabbing his jacket.

"You guys don't have to go. Laura isn't coming back till next week, she's in Florida. You and Finn can take her room while Colin and I bunk in mine."

"You sure, Steph?" Logan asked.

"Positive. I think Rory needs friends around her right now."

Logan nodded and looked down at the sleeping girl, her cell phone resting in her hand. He had noticed that she had had quite a tight grip on it all night.

"Yeah, we'll sleep here. If you guys want to?" Logan said to Finn and Colin.

"I'll stay, mate. It hurts to see Rory like this. She's like a little sister to me now." Finn said. Logan smirked.

"Will you look at this? She has Finn wrapped around her little finger." Logan teased.

"Shut up."

"I'll stay." Colin said.

"Just cause you want to get some." Logan teased.

"Who said anything about him getting laid?" Steph said going to her room. Colin frowned as he followed Steph and closed the door. Logan and Finn made their way to Laura's room.

"You take the bed, Finn. I'll take the chair." Logan said pointing to the black recliner in the corner.

"You sure, mate?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to get much sleep anyway."

"All right." Finn said taking off his coat and lying under the covers. He tossed Logan a blanket and Logan made himself as comfortable as one could get in a recliner.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Rory was awakened by a light buzzing in her hand. She opened her eyes and looked at the vibrating cell phone. She opened it and answered

"'lo?" She said, her voice filled with sleep.

"Ror?" Rory opened her eyes and sat up.

"You called back." She stated surprised.

"You told me to."

"I didn't think you actually would though. But thanks."

"You're welcome." She could hear his voice full of concern. She settled herself deeper into the couch and noticed the blanket wrapped around her feet. She smiled and wrapped it around her body as she curled her feet under her. "Sorry I didn't call back sooner. I just got off work."

"How's that going?"

"Good. I like the job."

"I'm proud of you, you know that, right?"

"It means a lot coming from you. But I did not call to talk about me. You said you wanted to talk, so talk."

"Dean and I broke up tonight."

"Good." Rory winced. "Sorry, didn't mean for that to come out."

"It's fine. Oh, and I'm getting married next month." She heard a crash and laughed.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard right."

"Nope, I am marrying Logan Elias Huntzberger next month."

"He's the newspaper heir, right?"

"Yep, my mother and grandparents arranged it. I tried holding off the press. Logan got his dad to. But trust Miss Patty and Babette to spread to the news like a fucking wildfire."

"I'm sorry, did Rory Gilmore just say the word fuck?" He teased.

"Shut up."

He laughed. "Let me see if I got this all straight. You broke up with Dean tonight and are marrying Logan Huntzberger next month. And your grandparents and Lorelai arranged this."

"Yep."

"Lorelai Gilmore agreed to this?"

"It was to get me into Chilton. She didn't tell me. That's what pissed me off the most."

"Wow. That's a lot of info to take in."

"Trust me I know. So anyway, somehow Miss Patty and Babette got a hold of a picture from the engagement party on Tuesday and plastered it all over the Stars Hollow Gazette. Which is sold at Doose's market where who works? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you guessed right. Dean fucking Forrester. Sometimes I really hate that town."

"I'm so sorry."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Logan was a light sleeper and the fact that he wasn't even half asleep when he heard Rory talking in the living room contributed to him not being able to sleep. He rubbed his eyes and got up from the couch opening the door slightly as to not announce his presence and wake the even lighter sleeper, Finn. He saw her sitting up on the couch, her feet under her and talking to someone on her cell phone.

"It's fine. It doesn't matter anymore… No, it doesn't… Shut up." She laughed. "You know I love the town, but sometimes the way they go about things is really bad and annoys me. This newspaper thing is just one of them…" Logan frowned. Was she talking to her mom? He wondered.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"You know Miss Patty and Babette will twist words around, Ror. You told them not to tell anyone. Technically they didn't."

"No, they didn't. And who knows, I'm probably too hasty to judge and it wasn't even them. They weren't the only ones at that party."

"90 percent chance it was though."

"Yeah."

"You okay?"

"I'm not mad about the break up. Believe me, far from it. I just didn't like how he blamed me for the divorce."

"Ror."

"No, I know that I was part of the equation. A HUGE part of the equation, but it takes two. I sure as hell wasn't in that bed alone."

"Didn't need to hear that." He said. She could hear him humming.

"Sorry."

"It's okay and I know, Ror."

"He called me the Stars Hollow Princess."

"True."

"The way he said it though."

"Bitter?"

"No, disgust. God." Rory ran a hand through her hair. "Like I said I'm not mad that we broke up. We were heading that way anyway without the help of this stupid engagement. But…"

"It hurts."

"A lot." She said feeling the tears well up. "Way worse than when Lindsay's mom called me a home wrecker in the middle of town and a whole lot worse than when you left." She said, tears spilling

"You know I'm sorry about that, right?"

"I know, Jess."

"I just had to ..."

"Figure things out, I know. You've told me before. And I understand now why you didn't tell me and why you left."

"I knew you'd want me to stay and want to help me figure all this crap out, but... I couldn't do it in that damn town where everyone was watching."

"I know."

"And I met Tristan."

"Your gay lover."

"Will you shut up about that!"

"Oh, come on Jess!"

"Rory!"

"You guys would make the most beautiful couple in the whole entire world!"

"You forgetting one thing Rory! WE ARE NOT GAY!"

"Just a matter of time." She teased.

"SHUT UP!"

"Hey, no yelling. I have no idea how light of sleepers they are. And you scream loud."

"Not as loud as you, babe." She could hear the double meaning in his voice and blushed.

"Shut up. Like you know."

"I heard around."

"Shut up, Jess!"

"I see you're feeling better."

"I am, thanks."

"I still don't see why you couldn't talk to Tristan or Lane."

Rory sighed. "I don't know. I just..." She sighed again. "I feel like I'm being a burden to them, dumping all my problems on them."

"And not on me?"

"You're more realistic. Tristan and Lane would tell me everything will work out. How the hell is everything going to work out? I'm marrying a guy I barely even know because I wanted to get a better education and instead I got three years of hell."

"Chilton wasn't so bad."

"You weren't there."

"You got Paris."

"And that's a good thing?"

"You got Tristan."

"Again, that's a good thing?"

"Rory…"

"Okay, Chilton wasn't too bad, but still… I mean who the hell does that? Who the hell trades in their daughter?"

"You exaggerating again. Look, I'm not saying it's all peachy keen. But..."

"But?"

"Maybe you'll learn to love him."

"He's a nice guy, I'm not saying he's this awful guy with a beer belly."

"Never thought he was."

"He's nice, and... as much as I hate to admit it ,cute." She heard Jess laugh "But I just don't think he's the one for me, Jess."

"Why? Still waiting for me?"

"You wish, Jess."

"Every night on a star."

Rory sighed. "He has a reputation."

"Intrigue."

"He's Tristan."

"Oh."

"I mean he doesn't have that annoying tendency of calling me Mary and hitting on me every time we talk."

"Finally admitting he was hitting on you."

"But he's a playboy." She continued as if Jess hadn't talked. "I got my wedding dress."

Jess choked on the banana he had been eating. "What?"

"Yeah, we went to L.A. and we went walking around L.A. and we passed this wedding dress shop. It was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen and I knew I had to have it. And when I told Steph about it, she's our friend,"

"Our?"

"Yes, our," she snapped. "Anyways, I told her about it and we went and I tried it on and Steph bought it for me. As a wedding present."

"Wow."

"And I can't help but notice how final this is."

"Why?"

"I can't divorce him, Jess."

"Why not?"

"We lose our inheritance. Some stupid clause to keep the family joined." Rory looked over finally noticing the door to a room was open. It hadn't been open when she had fallen asleep. She smiled. She knew someone was listening to her conversation. She had a good feeling she knew who as well

"You sure there's no loophole?"

"I haven't looked over the papers, but I'm pretty sure that if Logan had found one he would have told me by now."

"Unless he likes you and doesn't want to tell you."

"What?"

"It's possible he wants to marry you and decided to keep the loophole to himself so that you guys stay married."

"Why are you doing this to me! Don't put that in my head! Now I'm going to be very paranoid. Oh my god! What if he does now? That bastard."

"Hey, hey, hold on. I'm kidding." Jess laughed.

Rory sighed. "Don't do that."

"Let's talk about something else. How long are you going to keep from talking to Lorelai?"

"I'm having a late lunch at the inn. Lane already made the reservations."

"You taking Logan?"

"Why would I?"

"Maybe so that he can meet your mom."

"It's not going to make a difference. He has to marry me anyway, no matter what my mom thinks. Plus she's the one that arranged this."

"Ask him to go. Moral support and he might help with the inevitable awkward silences. Hey, show him around town, get some Luke's."

"Jess."

"I'm serious, Rory. You say you guys barely know each other."

"We know the basics."

"That's not enough for a marriage and you know that. Let him see Stars Hollow. The real Rory. Not the studious Rory, not the Reporter Rory, not the smart alec Rory and not the nervous breakdown Rory."

"Jeez, you make me sound like I have multiple personalities."

"He has to see this side of you at some point. Might as well do it soon. I've got to go. I have to wake up early tomorrow. You know, go to this thing called work."

"I've heard of that." She teased settling back down on the couch and laying her head on the pillow.

"I'll call you later. Night."

"Night, Jess. And thanks."

"For what?"

"Listening. Dealing with me and my problems."

"We're friends. It's what we do. Bye."

"Bye." Rory hung up and pulled the blanket tighter around herself as she put her cell on the coffee table.

"Night, Logan." She called. She heard him sigh.

"Night, Ace." Then he closed the door. She just smiled and closed her eyes pushing back her plans for tomorrow to the deep recess of her mind.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

A.N.: FINALLY! HAHAHA! I got it out! God, I hated writing this chapter! I had it all finished, I just planned on editing here and there... but then I changed the convo from her talking to Lorelai to her talking to Jess and then writing Jess is really hard for me and OMG! I'm so glad I'm done with it! Sorry for the wait!

You guys know what to do!

Kassandra

P.S.: If you guys want to know how I'm doing on the other stories. Go to my blog! www. kassruvalcabas. blogspot. com (Just without the Spaces) I have news about new stories I'm working on as well as the stories I have here!

P.S.S: Flynn, It's your own fault you were almost late for your bus. It's not my fault your addicted :P