Chapter 14
It was dark. The blindfold did a very good job at blocking out all the light, but then again after a few minutes passed, Rory being too excited to wait any longer and having headed out into the vestibule to wait, and as she waited her other senses were becoming heightened. She could smell the Chinese food someone was carrying - damn, that smelled good, a less appetizing smell or Sauerkraut coming from one of the dorms… possibly the German exchange student's across the hall. She could hear voices too - some girls from the next room arguing over which music to play - Foo Fighters or Red Hot Chili Peppers apparently were out for debate, someone passing her was discussing Japanese literature, another… the Cloud Atlas, really huh? Not exactly original - she thought to herself, pondering whether thinking whether that made her a snob.
It was safe to say she also had a little too much time to think, the few minutes seeming like forever. Friday Night dinner had been surprisingly uneventful and she was indeed feeling more and more relaxed about her article - both her mailbox at the paper and at the dorm having been flooding with tiny, and she assumed faux, hints about the Life and Death Brigade that she was supposed to use for writing the story. There were cutouts, citations she could use, even a couple of pictures, which she could only assume were either framed or from the doings of some other groups. But the interviews were still AWOL and despite Logan's words and the assumption that she was going to an event tonight with plenty of such possibilities, she still worried how in the world was she going to write that story together in that short of time.
"Hey, Ace, you ready?" Rory suddenly heard Logan's voice, and felt his arm grab her gently by her upper arm and pull her aside.
"Well…," she began to say. Considering Logan had mentioned she should keep her weekend plans flexible, she'd half assumed whatever this was overnight, or at least involved getting back late. So being her mother's daughter she had packed a mountain of things into her tiny book bag - change of clothes, toothpaste and toothbrush, moisturizer, a hairbrush, granola bar and water, a very small first aid kit, a book, quite daring to go without one and lots of pencils and notebooks for her interviews.
"Thanks for the donuts," Rory managed, on instinct slipping her arm around Logan's so it was more comfortable being led around the campus blindfolded. Even though she was blindfolded she had a pretty good idea they were going towards the parking lot.
"My pleasure. So which one's your favorite?" Logan asked, his smirk being audible. "You know, for next time," he added.
"Chocolate, definitely chocolate," Rory replied.
It was then Logan surprised her by pulling her into what felt like an alleyway, her back gently touching against the cool stone wall for a moment, and felt his lips on hers, catching her my surprise.
The slight confusion soon turned into passion, her lips and tongue gaining courage as well.
"Hi," Logan, breathed, as he forced the kiss to break as if knowing he wouldn't make it far if they continued.
"Uh-uh," Rory said, biting her lip, knowing just what he felt.
"I felt like I missed a proper 'hello'," Logan commented, his hands still on her waist.
"Hello," Rory replied, humbly, sounding incredibly cute like that. "You got some awful disfigurement on your face, don't you? The blindfold, I mean…," Rory teased. At the same time she realized this was the ultimate trust exercise in a way.
Logan chuckled, guiding her along.
Rory could hear the car door open, and Logan suggested she climb in. By the height of the door she recognized the SUV rather than Logan's BMW.
"Hit it," Logan urged, once they were seated, and Rory quickly fastened her seat belt.
"Aah.. not so loud," Finn complained.
"You're very auditorially sensitive today," Stephanie commented.
"Oh, and your voice helps," Finn shot back at her. It sounded like their voices were coming from the front, leaving Rory assuming Finn was driving. Not a scenario she felt the most comfortable with but at least she had the seat belt.
The car began to move.
"Is the blindfold secure?" Colin asked, surprising Rory from behind her.
"Secure and in place," Logan replied confidently.
"Our anonymity is crucial, Logan - Crucial," Colin lectured, which made Rory raise her eyebrows - she'd met all of them, what the hell was he talking about?
"What's wrong with Finn?" Rory asked, deciding to point out the obvious that she knew all of them.
"Great job with the blindfold, Logan," Colin grumbled.
"I recognize your voices, Colin," Rory said to him.
"Could everyone please keep it down, please?" Finn begged.
"Can we remove the blindfold now?" Rory asked.
"We're also hiding our destination," Logan informed.
"We had to leave at this ungodly hour," Finn mumbled.
"It's 4 in the afternoon," Rory pointed out.
"He's got a thing about the sun," Logan said.
"It's too bright," Finn groaned.
"So, how come you're not wearing your gorilla masks?" Rory decided to ask a reporter-like questions.
"She can see," Colin complained.
"I can tell because your voices aren't muffled," Rory informed him, feeling a little annoyed with him.
"She's sharp," Stephanie commented.
"Oh, hey Steph, nearly missed you," Rory replied.
"Hi," Stephanie replied.
"Oh, by the way, this thing's overnight," Logan said, speaking a little more quietly as if wanting to not get on her bad side.
"I half assumed..," Rory replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"You did?" Logan replied, some huskiness in his tone. "Did I mention that before?"
Rory shook her head.
"I hope it doesn't screw up anything for you, does it?" Logan spoke, and Rory got the feeling half of what he was saying was a pretense for the others. Did they even know they were seeing each-other like they had, dating and all?
"No," Rory replied, playing along.
"No?" Logan teased.
"Nope," Rory assured.
"Hmm, loose schedule. Good," Logan commented, sounding amused.
"We like our schedules loose, like our women," Finn said, and Rory could just hear Logan punch his seat for that, which Rory appreciated.
"Clever," Stephanie replied and chuckled.
"My god, it's early," Finn groaned again.
Through the rest of the journey the group told her stories, which sounded a little out there - about some wild goose chase for the master key of Yale one year and pranking Harvard, hence she assumed - this was essentially making good use of the time by giving her one of her faux interviews. She wished she could've made notes, but she was pretty sure a loose interpretation would do either way.
This way, several hours passed, and while Rory could no longer see, sensing even the last rays of sun through her blindfold which she sometimes did when the sun was shining directly at her, had vanished. She could also feel Logan's shoulder against hers, also the turns Finn took, not that she knew where they were heading, and as the latest change, sensed the road turn into a gravel road instead of the highway. It generally was a good sign they were approaching their destinations, just like last time when they'd gone to the party at the lace factory.
"Come on, Ace. We're here," Logan tapped her knee upon their arrival.
"This mountain air has revivified me!" Finn exclaimed loudly, clearly feeling a lot better.
Colin and Stephanie chuckled.
Logan helped Rory climb out of the car, being a moment late to open her car door for her.
"You okay?" Logan asked, sounding a little worried.
"I smell trees," Rory commented, having caught on that it had not been the variation of Logan she'd gotten to know earlier in the car.
He'd been more friendly than flirty, definitely more obnoxious and also a lot more indifferent, not out to impress her as much as have a lark with his buddies. She wasn't sure of his reasons exactly, but she now had the knowledge that the Logan she knew was still in there somewhere.
"Oh, nothing gets past you," Logan replied, still holding onto her, and guided her down a forest path of some sort. Walking it was a little tricky, there being rocks and roots on the ground, and she felt relieved for having worn at least flats if not her sneakers.
"So, the firing squad is just up ahead?" Rory teased, being sick of this blindfold already, after a good few minutes of walking.
"Yep, and there's a line. Damn!" Logan played along, but his tone of voice had changed to one that Rory recognized a lot better.
"Seriously, Logan. Is the blindfold coming off or am I Patty Hearst-inng it the whole trip?" Rory asked, now sounding a little annoyed.
"It's coming off. It's coming off right now," Logan assured, his tone relenting as if his mask was falling off along with it. With her other senses heightened his scent poured into her nose even more now when it mixed with the fresh air.
The blindfold did come off, leaving Rory baffled.
The coniferous forest opening was decorated in white canvas tents - at least a few dozen of them, white table-clothed tables with antique chairs placed around them. but what caught her the most was how beautifully the moon shone through the trees in the distance, framing this scene. There were a couple of couches, even a couple of carpets laid out. Candles and lanterns were spread all around, illuminating the place. There were servers, dressed in white, still setting the place up, lighting each and every candle, carrying trays of food and beverages.
"Oh my god…" Rory exclaimed, and followed Logan who stepped a few steps ahead of her into the settng that looked like it was out of a fantasy novel.
"Is this what you expected?" Logan inquired, not quite being as up and physical either, making Rory wonder why.
"No, not at all what I expected," Rory replied. She had expected some fancier venue for sure. This just seemed so outdoorsy, not at all what she'd expected. By this time also many other guests had begun to gather, and she had to say she did appreciate the effort, as she began to notice all the little details.
"Let me guess what you were thinking…sleeping bags, flashlights, keg, three boxes of stale triscuits, half-eaten bag of oreos, some doritos, and a bong?" Logan made a fair guess, placing his lantern down on a table as they came to a halt.
"Um.. no. I assumed it'd be exceptional. It involves you, right? A keg and a bong would so not live up to Logan Huntzberger... That much I do know by now," Rory said, sticking her nose slightly up in the air, adding a dash of flirtiness.
Logan smiled widely, but heldback.
"Listen… I hoped I wouldn't have to say this..., but you're making this very hard for me, looking like that...," Logan began, and Rory's face just went grim at the sound of him.
"Oh, no-no… don't worry…," Logan corrected, clearly seeing her take this the wrong way. "What I am saying that at least for the beginning of this event, I don't want to flaunt too much that I am seeing you, and it's not because of some other girls or some stupid line… it's because this is actually the celebration for your initiation. Not just yours…of course. You'll be an official member of the Life and Death Brigade. And I think it's fair you know that you were always going to be a member... Just you sort of figured us out a little ahead of time, so hurried things along a bit," Logan explained.
"I was?" Rory stared at him in disbelief.
"The Gilmores… they've been a part of this since the beginning. Your great-grandmother and your grandfather… Richard was actually supposed to talk to you on Friday at the dinner, but he was out of town as I heard. So he'll talk to you soon," Logan assured, hitting Rory with another unexpected piece of information.
"Wow..," Rory responded, now knowing what to say. She could just barely picture her grandfather at something like this, but as she thought about it a little - there were certain stories that did resonate in this context.
"I just want other people to get to know you as you, because you're most definitely worth knowing. So for the next few hours at least I want them to get to know you, not as someone who is here 'with me'. I know it might sound self centered of me to say that but...," Logan shrugged. "I know it is important to you and I truly want you to enjoy this for your own sake too. Do you understand? So if I appear… indifferent… just know I am not, okay? Later in the evening… I'm sure I can meet this beautiful brunette out here and woo her all over again," Logan assured, his explanation also demystifying why he'd wanted to kiss her so badly back at Yale before departure - blindfolded or not.
"Okay," Rory said, blushing slightly, still taking in the fact that this was actually happening and also his words. She didn't know what it meant, but supposedly she had already felt like she was part of the group in a way, it was not like this was her first participation in something they did even if the last one had technically been an after party.
"This one is yours," Logan threw open a canvas tent door for her.
"Mine?" Rory reflected, having not expected this.
"Not much closet space, but the view is decent," Logan commented smugly. "Oh and there are a few rules - you cannot interfere with the integrity of the event. So you should at least wear the cape - it warm, I think you'll like it, or if you want to go all out like the rest of us are going - the dress," Logan said, as Rory paused to face her at the tent entrance. He pointed at the outfit that had been hung from the back of her tent ceiling. The costume department had again clearly been busy.
"And?" Rory asked, loving the authenticity of this tent. There was no plastic in sight, no typical camping paraphernalia whatsoever. It felt like stepping into Indiana Jones' tent or something if one didn't focus on the fact that it was fall.
"No pictures, no names, no physical descriptions of any of us. We may or may not have done things in the past that people are out to charge us, naughty things… and this is not a part of the fake story you're running, unlike the stuff we said in the car, okay?" Logan insisted, sneakily.
Rory nodded in agreement. "I understand," she added.
"Wait… what if I don't don't want to join?" Rory suddenly asked, her mind thinking a million miles a minute.
"Not impressive enough for you?" Logan asked, his eyes wide.
"No… it's not that. I guess I just want to know that there's an out in case something happens that I don't agree with," Rory said, showing that she was a girl of principles.
"You've been reading too much about the Skull and Bones crowd, clearly..," Logan chuckled. "But sure, if you at any point want 'out', the same rules apply. You cannot reveal us to the authorities or the press, nothing crazier than that. But I don't think we've ever had anyone not wanting to be a part of this before… I mean sure, there are people who participate less but..," Logan continued.
"Okay. I get it. Sorry I asked..," Rory apologized.
"It's fine, ask all you want," Logan asked, brushing her upper arm for a moment, his head radiating through to her, almost making her shiver for a moment. His touch was addictive.
Rory smiled humbly, not believing she'd gotten wrapped into this. She had a lot of questions - like why hadn't she been hazed on her freshman year but now, why her grandfather hadn't said anything about this when she'd been picking colleges… well she could guess considering their fight on the subject. She still wondered how much this was Logan's doing despite his earlier words - and what had he meant by hurrying things along? When was she supposed to become a member actually? Did everyone automatically inheriting their position in the Brigade automatically get initiated? - the journalist within her continued to grind her gears.
"I'll see you out here in a bit, I need to get changed too," Logan replied, gesturing right of him but it remained a little unclear which one of the tents was his.
Rory nodded, smiling a little. And let the tent door, if it could be called that, fall shut behind her.