"Operation Headliners"

Nearly three months later Rory and Logan headed back to Yale to begin their junior year after the summer hiatus. Things were a bit different this year; being juniors meant that Rory and Paris were no longer required to dorm on campus. So, over the summer they had decided, per Paris' suggestion, that they would get an apartment off campus, a little closer to home, with Lane. The three of them would be living together. Sure, Rory and Lane had always talked about it, dreamt about one day living together, in a house made of cheese. But Lane had been living with Zack and Brian, her band mates and she and Zack had been dating for over a year now. After Rory and Logan's nuptials Paris had brought up the idea of the three of them sharing a place and before they knew it the plan was in motion, they had found a place, Rory had moved in the furniture that her Grandparents had bought to furnish her dorm with and they had all other necessary items from the wedding gifts that she and Logan had scored and were obviously never going to use together. The three girls were settling into living together and Rory and Paris headed back to classes. Rory hadn't seen, heard or thought about Logan Huntzberger since the day they were married. She had spent her summer hanging around Stars Hollow with her mother, visiting her dad and sister in Boston and making arrangements for the apartment with her friends. And from what she knew Logan was in Fiji or Australia or traipsing around the globe to God only knows where. No, she didn't know, nor care where he was, that was until she heard a familiar voice call her name on campus.

"Honey I'm home!" she heard him scream

"Hey Ace, did ya miss me?"

"Ya, tons, how was your summer?"

"What no kiss hellow for your hubby?"

"I guess the honeymoon's over" she heard Finn say

Rory ignored them

"My summer was great how about yours?" he asked

"Mine was great too, thanks"

"So, you living in Branford again this year?" he asked her

"No, I'm not living on campus this year, Lane, Paris and I got an apartment together actually"

"Really, that's great"

"Well, I have to get to class, nice seeing you" Rory said

"Ya, you too Ace, don't be a stranger"

Two months later Luke and Lorelai and Richard and Emily had all decided to go away for awhile, not together. Luke and Lorelai were going to California to spend some time with Mia and the elder Gilmores were going to Europe. Neither group were sure just how long they would be gone, they all felt the need to get away; Lorelai was positive that Sookie and Michel could handle the Dragonfly on their own and she also knew that Rory was doing great at Yale and living with Lane and Paris. So, for the first time ever Rory would be completely on her own, no adults, no parents and no Grandparents for awhile. But if and when she needed them, Stars Hollow was always there.

Over the next few months things returned to normal, meaning pre-matrimony normal, Rory once again started hanging out with Logan and the other Life and Death Brigadiers.

What had changed though was the fact that she and Logan spent a good amount of time alone these days; they would talk and watch movies, walk around campus, go to the pub, they were becoming really good friends. They, of course, were too involved to notice that something besides friendship and this arrangement that the Huntzbergers and the Gilmores had concocted, was hanging in the shadows. Their friends noticed though, Finn, Colin and Steph, Lane and Paris, all of Stars Hollow could see it, not to mention the Life and Death crowd. Subtly, but firmly Lane, Paris, Finn, Colin and Stephanie all decided that they needed to do something; they needed to open their friends eyes. One day the three Yalies stopped by Lane, Paris and Rory's apartment, knowing that Rory wouldn't be there, to discuss a plan of recourse.

"I don't know" started Lane

"Rory and Logan, together as a couple, really?"

"They are already married, you know Lane" said Finn stating the obvious

"Well, Duh Finn, but it's not a real marriage, it's not like they dated, fell in love, and decided to get married"

"You want a fairytale Lane, turn on the Disney channel" piped in Paris

"I'm just saying, they got married to help out their families, and in a year or so they will have the marriage annulled and move on with their lives"

"Ok" started Steph

"Let's just start stating the obvious"

"They are friends, they spend a lot of time together, I don't know about Rory, but Logan talks about her all the time"

"Ya, she's constantly bringing up his name; Logan said this, Logan did this and they are constantly talking on the phone" said Paris

"Rory is always with us; at the pub, the China Palace, she belongs to this group that we belong to" stated Steph

"What group, I didn't know you belonged to a group, can I join?" asked Paris

Not wanting to rat out the LDB Steph just stated that in order to belong to the "group" you needed to be from a long line of one of them. And as soon as she could Stephanie returned to the issue at hand.

"So, I see definite possibilities"

"I don't know him all that well, but Logan doesn't seem like a one woman man" said Lane

"Oh, he'd definitely not, but Gilmore could definitely change that" stated Colin

That day the five of them decided on a plan of action; Colin and Finn would handle their best mate and Lane and Paris handle Rory and Steph concluded that she should run interference between both parties, just in case. They decided that they would begin with Plan A; which was to confront both Rory and Logan, separately of course and hopefully get them to see between the lines, to admit their feelings for one another. And if that didn't work they would move on and take more drastic measures. Operation Headliners had officially sprung into action.

Chapters 2 and 3 are NOT the same, I triple checked. You guys scared me there; you'd be thinking that I really am a moron if I screwed up again. Ok, well thanks so much for continuing to read. This story was originally posed at about a year ago, so some of you may have read it. R and R