AN: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I really wasn't inspired for this chapter (The next one should be better) so it took forever to write. I hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think!

Chapter 2

Rory hurried to answer the door as soon as it rang. A bubbly brunette stood there with a jean miniskirt and a blue tank top, with sunglasses perched on top of her hair.

"Hi, are you Rory? Cause if so we're going shopping! Do you have your credit cards? Cause you're going to need them. Your dad gave me directions to make sure you spend, spend, spend! Don't you love it when parent's do that?" The girl asked, smiling.

Rory looked at the girl, amused that she could ramble with the best of them.

"I'm Rory, and yes, I have my credit cards." She responded, smiling.

"Well then come on!" The girl told her, leading her to her car. "Let's go!"

Once they were in the car the girl turned to look at her before pressing the gas. "By the way, I'm Summer."

Rory smiled. "Yeah, I kinda figured. I'm Rory Gilmore."

"So you're from Connecticut?" Summer asked her as she drove towards the mall.

"Yeah, it's very, very different from here."

"I bet. So do you have a boyfriend?"

Rory looked out her window. "No. My ex boyfriend took off for LA one day without telling me… I haven't really dated since."

"Ouch, that sucks." Summer replied, shaking her head.

"What about you?" Rory questioned, looking over at the other girl.

"I'm dating Seth Cohen. He's a dork… really into comics and stuff… but he's just got something about it." Summer shrugged, pulling into a parking space at the mall.

"Now let's go shopping!" She squealed, motioning for Rory to get out of the car.

-GG-

Four hours later the girls came out of the mall laden with shopping bags. At first, Rory had been hesitant to buy much. Apparently her dad had told Summer's dad that was to be expected. Summer ended up talking her into giving her credit card a work out. She knew her dad really wanted her to buy the stuff she did, but she couldn't help but feel guilty.

The girls loaded their bags into the car, and Summer turned to look at Rory. She had a blast with Rory while shopping. The girls had spent the past hours enjoying trying on clothes and looking at shoes and purses. Both had a wonderful time.

"I'm supposed to meet some of my friends at the Crab Shack soon." Summer informed her, opening her car door.

"Oh, ok. I had fun today." Rory told her, getting into the car.

"Me too! So, are you coming with?" Summer asked as she started the car and pulled out of the parking spot.

"Where?" Rory asked her, confused.

"To the Crab Shack."

"Oh… I don't want to intrude…"

"You won't be. Come on." Summer said, trying to persuade her. In honesty, she hoped to make a good friend of Rory. The two girls had certainly hit it off while shopping.

"Ok then. Thanks."

A few minutes later the girls pulled up to the Crab Shack and got out of the car. They walked inside and Summer led them over to a booth where two guys and a girl were sitting. The girl was blonde and thin. One of the guys had hard hair, while the other was blonde.

"Hey guys, Coop. This is Rory, she just moved here from Connecticut, and our dads know each other." Summer said, sitting down and motioning for Rory to sit across from her.

"Hi, I'm Marissa." The thin blonde girl said, smiling at Rory.

"I'm Seth." The dark haired guy told her.

"I'm Ryan. How do you like California?" The blonde guy, who she was sitting next to asked.

Rory smiled back before responding. "Well… it seems nice, but I only arrived yesterday… soo…" She trailed off, shrugging.

"Well, in that case we should show you around some, that way you can see all the things to do." Marissa suggested.

"That would be great." Rory told her, smiling. She was relieved. These people seemed to be very nice. Making friends was something she had previously been worried about. At Chilton the students didn't exactly go out of their way to be friendly. It seemed she had worried for nothing.

"So why did you move here?" Seth asked her, putting his arm around Summer.

Rory thought for a moment. She wasn't sure exactly how to answer that. She knew she certainly didn't want to tell a group of people she had just met that she felt left out of her mom's new life, so she decided to leave. "I used to live with my mom, but my dad lives here, so I moved in with him."

Ryan sensed there was more to the story from the way Rory had tensed up before answering, but he could understand a need for privacy. He watched her as she talked with the rest of the group and drank her coffee. Her eyes would light up when she took a drink of it. She seemed almost… at peace with the dark liquid.

As the minutes rolled by and they all continued talking and eating he watched as she finished her third cup. She was definitely addicted to the stuff.

Rory watched Ryan out of the corner of her eye. Ryan and Seth cracked her up. They were always saying or doing something funny. It didn't hurt that Ryan was easy on the eyes, either. She was glad she met up with them.

"So, what are we all going to do tomorrow? Any plans?" Seth asked. It was Saturday, so they still had one more day until Rory started Harbor High.

When no one said anything, Rory decided to speak up. "Well, I've never been to the beach before. I mean, I have back home, but that's East Coast."

"So we'll spend the day at the beach?" Marissa asked, looking around the table.

Everyone agreed, and left shortly after that.

Summer dropped Rory off at her house. "Do you think you can meet us at the Crab Shack at noon? Then we'll go to the beach? Or do you need me to pick you up? If you don't remember how to get there, that's fine."

"I remember. I'll see you tomorrow!" Rory said, getting out of the car.

Chris looked up as his daughter walked inside the house. She had a smile on her face, and her eyes were lit up. That was always a good sign.

"Did you have fun?" He asked her, knowing the answer.

She nodded. Her dad was making such an effort. If she were at home with her mom, she would be spilling all the details about her day to her over Chinese and pizza.

"Hey dad, have you eaten yet?" She asked, sitting down beside him.

He shook his head. "No, I was waiting for you. I mean, if you already ate then that's fine, I just-"

"Want to order Chinese and pizza?"

Chris smiled and watched as his daughter placed their orders. Once she got off the phone, she said, "Now let me tell you about my day."