Note to Readers: This story is AU. I probably will use every character from season one to season six. The story will span from Rory's 16th birthday till her graduation from Yale. Tristan never went to Chilton therefore, Rory didn't recognize him in the music room. It will be explained later in the story, in Chapter 3. Rogan and Lit fans will not be disappointed, the sexy boys will be in the story later.
Sorrento, Italy
Summer 2001
"Do you ever ask yourself those what-if questions?" Madeline asked Rory as she took out a bottle of tanning lotion from her beach bag. "What if you followed him out of room?"
"What if you pushed him back on the piano bench and fucked him on that beautiful Steinway piano," Louise chimed in and she abandoned her US weekly for a more intriguing conversation.
"Louise!" Rory exclaimed. She looked to Paris and Lane for support.
"What if you asked him his name," Paris added with annoyance, "I can't believe you made out with a total stranger when you had your boyfriend and a hundred or so guest in the other room!"
'So much for support,' Rory thought. She pulled down her sun glasses and cranked up her ipod. She closed her eyes and tried to enjoy the remaining days of her summer vacation.
Emily Gilmore insisted that Rory brought companions to their annual summer trip to Italy because Richard was off doing business and she was on a mission to purchase a vineyard. A normal person of average socio-economic standing would purchase wine as a hobby, Emily Gilmore wanted a vineyard.
The girls had the Gilmore's coastal villa practically all to themselves, minus the help of course. Lane is Rory's best friend since their toddler years. Lane is the offspring of a prominent Korean neurosurgeon and a world-renowned antique dealer. Since Mr. Kim often spent most of his time at the Hartford Medical Hospital, and Mrs. Kim was often away on travel, Lane became a regular at the Gilmore residence.
Louise and Madeline met Rory in kindergarten and they have been friends since. Louise and Madeline have a similar family background, tycoon fathers and gorgeous trophy wives. The only difference is Madeline is on step mom number four.
Paris is the wealthiest of the group. The interest alone on the Gellar bank accounts was enough to live an extravagant lifestyle. Paris hardly saw her parents because her parents had her quite young and they didn't really want to take on the parental role so soon. Paris was raised by her Nanny who often took her to the Hartford Park to socialize with the Hartford kids. How Rory and Paris became such good friends is still a mystery to everyone. Maybe it was their love of books or greasy diner food, it was a strange friendship that made sense only under close observation.
The girls were pretty much inseparable. They just finished their third year at Chilton and with the final year approaching, it was a bittersweet summer. They knew a year from now, they may be going to different universities and they may not be able to see each other so often. These girls were so close to each other, they knew exactly when one of them is going through something.
Lane looked at the Rory and sighed. She knew better than to push Rory. Her best friend was infamous for running away from situations that were beyond her control. The mysterious stranger is a perfect example of Rory's inability to deal with things she could not control nor explain.
"I would have fucked him," Louise said nonchalantly as she readjusted her bikini top, "If anyone could rock my world with a single kiss, imagine the sex."
"Rory never said the kiss rocked her world," Paris clarified.
"Rock, no. Shaken, yes. Don't you think it was strange that she broke up with Dean the day after the party," Lane said.
Madeline nodded in agreement, "And she would go into daydream mode in our Music theory class."
"It's a shame we have no idea who the guy is," Lane responded. The three girls nodded in agreement. All they knew was it was a beautiful blond hair stranger with piercing blue eyes. His gorgeous mouth with lips that curved up into a devilish smile. The mind numbing, I can hardly breathe, kiss was magical to say the least. The girls had no idea who it was and in a way they didn't want to find out either. They, including Rory, wanted to immortalize the stranger as this perfect memory. A passionate memory that they could hold on to and say, that is the definition of perfection.
"Let's not dwell on Rory's fantasy guy when we have a plethora of gorgeous Italian men to play with," Louise said with a devilish grin. She scanned the beach for her next victim and set her sight on a tall, tan, dark hair man. "Ladies, I think I found a cute distraction."
"I give her one hour before we catch her making out with him," Paris commented to Lane and Madeline.
"Care to put a wager on that?" Louise asks as she applied lip gloss. "And girls, I'm not talking about money. This vacation has been too tame so far, it's time to take it up a notch."
"Winner decides what the other girls have to do." Madeline suggested. The girls decide on the rules and make their prediction for Louise's poor new target.
Louise slowly stood and walk to her new target.
"Blondie, three o'clock," Colin informs Finn, "And she looks like she aiming for you."
The sexy Australian lets out a lazy smile and puts on his game face. He turns his head and lets out a soft whistle of appreciation. "Damn, she's definitely working that itty-bitty white bikini."
"You sound like a moron," Colin responded to Finn's idiotic rhyming.
"Shut up mate," Finn said as he gives his full attention to the beautiful girl making her way towards him. "She's seizing me up as if I'm a piece of meat, and boys let me tell you, I've never felt sexier."
Tristan let out a short laugh, "five hundred dollars if you can't last twenty four hours without kissing her."
Finn looked at his friend with horror, "I'm appalled! Why would I agree to such a thing!"
"Because I'll raise it to one thousand and you never back down from a dare or bet," Colin responded. "You can not survive one day with that little vixen."
"I'll take the bet," Finn said with defiance, "I can't believe you guys think that I'm just a pretty face. I'll have you know that I can wow them with more then just my physique."
The two boys were laughing by the time Louise reached her destination.
"Hello boys," she said with a sexy grin.
"Hello kitten," Finn responded
"My friends and I are throwing a party tonight…"
"My grandparents are going to find out!" Rory exclaimed. She stood in front of the girls and waited for an explanation
The girls seated on the couch stared at the fuming Rory. They looked at each other to see who had the courage to speak. Seeing that no one wanted to start Rory asked, "Who did you invite!"
"The three boys at the beach, our waiter from lunch, the football team at the park, and our cute neighbors next door." Louise stated the list.
"They're all male." Rory stated.
"Indeed they are," Madeline said with glee. Lane shot her a look.
"It's not going to be a big event," Paris began, "Fifty people, tops."
"I can't believe you are actually going along with this party." Rory said to Paris.
"The cute neighbor winked at her today," Madeline offered. It was Paris' turn to give her a look.
"My summer vacations used to be so calm and relaxing. It often involved a book and nice glass of iced coffee. I remember waking up to the sound of the waves and now, I wake up to the sound of a blow dryer," Rory rambled.
"Gilmore, you need to have a little fun," Paris suggested. "After Dean left the picture, you've pulled away from everyone. You were the one who dumped him and yet you seem to come out of the relationship with more battle scars."
Rory folded her arms over her chest, "I broke his heart and didn't even have a good reason why." She said sadly.
"Sweetie, we're not here to put blame on you. We just want to see you have fun again. It's not a crime to be happy." Madeline said.
"What better way to have fun and be happy than a party," Louise added. "Beside we should leave Italy with a bang. I can't believe we're flying out tomorrow."
Rory let out a small smile. She knew the girls were right. Ever since she broke up with Dean, she has been a little withdrawn. Sure, the mysterious guy in the music room was the catalyst in the breakup but the breakup was definitely over something greater. The mysterious guy reminded her that she no longer had those electrifying sparks with her boyfriend. More importantly, she lost touch of who she was. She was no longer Rory, she became Dean's girlfriend. She should have ended the relationship a long time ago but she couldn't find the courage to let go.
THE PARTY
"What happened to Rory?" Lane asked Madeline as she mixed her third cosmopolitan of the night.
Madeline took a break from across the room flirting with a cute Italian local and answered, "You know our Rory, she took a book up to the rooftop an hour ago and I'm sure she has ever intention of staying there until all the guests leave."
"Should we force her down?" Lane asked. She honestly felt a little guilty that her best friend has imprisoned herself up on the roof.
"No, she really doesn't seem to be in the partying mood." Madeline said before disappearing into the crowd to get closer to her flirty Italian.
Lane let out a frustrated sigh, with a sip of her cosmo, she followed Madeline into the crowd.
"Man, where are you?" Colin yelled into his cell phone as he tried to find a quieter place in the Gilmore villa.
"I'm on my way there" Tristan responded as he maneuvered his car through the cobbled streets.
"We're setting up a beer pong competition, meet us at…there's this girl…your…" Colin said.
"I can't hear you, the static is ridiculous." Tristan tried to explain. "I'll be there soon." Tristan said before hanging up.
"I gather this is not where they are holding the beer pong competition." Tristan said as he reached the top step onto the roof top and was welcomed with silence. He looked at the stranger in front of him and realized that she didn't hear him. The beautiful stranger was curled up on a rattan lounge chair a few feet away from him completely absorbed with a book on her lap. He looked at his surrounding and realized that it was a beautiful garden rooftop, complete with enchanting twinkling lantern lights.
He was about to head back down the stair when the girl with the chestnut hair raised her head and gave him an inquisitive look.
The moment he saw her brilliant blue eyes, he remembered who she was.
"It will strike you when you least expect it," he whispered to himself.