DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Gilmore Girls or the song "What's Up Lonely?" by Kelly Clarkson. I am simply borrowing them for a little while.

Hey guys! Once again, your reviews were so awesome! Thanks so much! Really, truly! Okay, so if you guys have not seen "Tristan and Isolde" yet I suggest you drop everything you are doing and go see it right now! Okay, maybe not that drastic, but I saw it last night and I am in love with it! Well, now that I got that out of the way, on with the story!

As soon as the double doors of Chilton opened to reveal Tristan and Rory holding hands, the entire student body stopped what they were doing to watch them. Tristan inwardly groaned because he may be used to the attention, but Rory certainly wasn't. Rory just tried her hardest to keep her eyes forward and ignore them. It wasn't so easy, however, when she noticed Summer and her friends whispering and pointing.

Tristan gave Rory's hand a gentle squeeze and whispered, "You okay?"

Rory returned his gesture and gave him a meek smile. "Yeah."

They had finally made it to Rory's locker and she was currently unloading her backpack as Tristan watched her intently from the side. When he heard an "Ow!" come from inside the locker, he placed his hand on her shoulder and asked, "You alright, Mary?"

Rory popped her head out of the locker and said, "This locker really hates me." She rubbed the top of her head and added, "Just like the rest of this school."

Tristan gently stroked the back of her head and said, "Mary, no one hates you. They're just jealous."

Rory rolled her eyes and said, "Oh yeah, of what?"

"Well, for starters you are gorgeous." Rory blushed, and he continued. "And, you're smart and you don't pretend to be someone you're not. I don't think anyone at Chilton has ever come across someone who isn't acting for the purpose of someone else. They don't know what to make of it."

A bright smile came across Rory's face and she said, "Wow, I'm impressed Bibleboy. Hmm... If all these things are true, why am I hanging around you again?"

Tristan smirked and said, "I have been asking myself the same question for a while now. But, let us not forget the other reason they are jealous of you."

"And what would that be?"

Tristan leaned forward and captured her lips in a short, but sensuous kiss. He pulled back and smirked at her closed eyes and happy grin. "That."

"I can't believe I am going to say this… but I agree with you on that." Rory said, laughing.

"Well, that's a new one. I don't blame you though, I am a fantastic kisser."

Rory hit him on the shoulder playfully and shut her locker. "Come on."

Tristan happily followed Rory as she started towards their first period class. Rory sat in her usual seat, and Tristan sat in his behind her. Rory turned around and pointed a finger at Tristan and said, "You better behave mister. I really have to pay attention today."

Tristan held up his hands in mock surrender and answered, "I will try my best Mary." Rory smiled and turned forward to get her things ready for class. "No promises though."

"Tristan! Why do you like to torture me so much?" Rory asked in the most annoyed voice she could muster. She couldn't help but secretly enjoy bantering with him.

Tristan leaned forward and whispered, "It's what I do. You know you love it."

Rory just shook her head and waited for the newly arrived teacher to begin the lecture. Paris was sitting a few rows across from her and Rory could see the death glares that were being sent her way. Rory gave her a confused look back. I thought we had a truce, she thought.

The bell rang and Rory sighed, grateful to be getting away from not only the stares of Paris, but also the rest of the class. Tristan grabbed her hand and led her out of the classroom. He walked her to her locker and said, "So Mary, what do you want to do during study period?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Rory rolled her eyes.

"Hmm, let me think about that one… Study, maybe?" Rory said sarcastically.

Tristan let out a groan and gave her a sad look. "That's no fun."

"Some of us care about school Tristan."

"And for the life of me I could never figure that out." Tristan smiled at her as she tried to load her already full backpack even more. "Let me give you a hand there."

Rory was about to refuse, but then said, "Sure, at least you'll be of some use."

"That hurt Mary. I should leave you with your fifty pound backpack and go catch a movie." Tristan placed the backpack on the floor and turned to walk away.

"Oh, no you don't! You are coming to the library and you are going to do this new fangled thing called studying."

Tristan turned around and said, "Well, if you insist… I guess I can suffer the library for you." He picked up her bag again and they made their way to the library.

Rory was sitting at a table trying to read over her history notes as Tristan sat across from her drumming an imaginary beat on the table with his hands. She looked out of the corner of her eyes and saw him staring back at her with a playful smile on his face.

"Seriously, Tristan. Do you have ADD or something?" Rory asked.

"Not that I know of. Come on Mare, let's do something fun."

Rory sighed and shut her notebook. She just couldn't resist giving in to him, especially when he was looking at her like that. Plus, anything that Tristan considered fun really had to be something interesting.

Tristan smiled when he noticed the look of resignation on Rory's face. He stood, and walking over to her and grabbed her hand, leading her away from the library with all of her things still sitting on the table.

Rory quickly noticed that she had no idea where they were. "Um, Tristan, where are we going?"

"A secret Mare, a secret." Tristan continued leading Rory through the school. After a few more minutes, he stopped in front of an unlabeled door. "Close your eyes." He told her. Rory gave him an apprehensive look and he just cocked his head to the side and said, "Trust me."

"Tristan and trust. An interesting combo." Rory said nervously as she closed her eyes. She felt Tristan place his hand on the small of her back and lead her into a room.

"Okay, stop here… And open."

Rory opened her eyes and stared in amazement. "Tristan, what is this?" She asked breathlessly.

Tristan smiled happily at the look of pure bliss on Rory's face. "This is where they keep all the books that were deemed 'un-educational.' You like it?" He asked nervously.

"Are you kidding? I love it! How did you know this was here?"

"Let's just say that I have a penchant for wandering around the halls when I'm bored." Tristan said as he watched Rory slowly walk and examine the book titles.

Rory gently fingered the spines of the books and said, "Or this is one of your many make-out places?"

Tristan sighed at Rory's comment. He couldn't shake the feeling that she still thought so little of him. "No, it's not Rory. Maybe I just wanted to show you something that seemed so perfect for you." He said defensively.

Rory's hand dropped from the books and she turned around slowly. She looked to see the same old wall built in his eyes again. Her face softened and she walked towards him and said, "I'm sorry, Tristan. I didn't mean it like that. Really."

Tristan regarded her silently for a moment and then said, "You know that I would never do anything like that to you, right?"

"What?" Rory asked quietly.

"I care about you too much to push you into some room and act as if what we were doing was some game."

Rory smiled and said, "I know that, but it's good to hear." She wrapped her hand around his neck and brought his lips to hers. Slowly, she found herself pushed up against a rack of books with Tristan's hands around her waist. They broke away in need of air and she said, "Definitely can't object about the secret room thing."

Tristan smiled at her uncharacteristic reaction. "You are just full of surprises Mary."

Rory placed her hand on Tristan's chest for a moment and just as he leaned in for another kiss, she gave him a slight push and moved to examine the books once again. Tristan laughed as she pretended to be completely engrossed in what she was doing. He walked up behind her and placed his hands around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder. "We better get out of here. Third period starts soon." He whispered in her ear, which made her shiver.

"Okay, but we have to come back here soon." Rory said as Tristan took her hand and led her out of the room.

"Count on it, Mary. I think that is my new favorite place."

Rory smiled and said, "Mine too."

So, what did you think? I didn't want to do the usual drama of Tristan and Rory having to defend themselves against their classmates. Please, please, please review! This story is definitely going slower than I thought it would, but I kind of like it this way. Let me know about some more suggestions though! Thanks!