AN: Thanksfor all the reviews.Sorry for the delay! This is mainly a filler. I knew from the start it would be a filler. But hey, look at the bright side. Next chapter definitely won't be a filler.So... just remember, this chapter sets important events up for the next chapter.

Chapter 12

Peyton walked over to the blonde that was staring at the fire. She knew from the look on his face he was just starting to realize he was going to lose her heart. She saw him earlier, staring at their retreating backs, walking further down the beach. Further away from him. Once they were out of his sight he turned towards the flames, watching them flicker.

"They're hard not to watch, huh?" She asked, now standing beside him.

Logan turned to look at her, a wry expression on his face. He shook his head, not saying anything.

Peyton took a deep breath. She liked Rory, she really did. Rory was good for Lucas. She made him happy. But that didn't make watching them together any easier. Sure, time had healed her broken heart, but there was still a slight sting left.

"I used to love him you know." She told him, breaking their silence.

Logan turned to look at her, surprise evident on his face. He wasn't sure why she was telling him this. "What happened?" He questioned her before he could stop himself.

She continued once she realized she had Logan's complete attention. She shrugged. "It didn't work out. He didn't love me. I knew he could never love me. It was kind of 'what's the point?' you know?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Because, whether he realizes it or not, he loves her. He always has, he always will. She means everything to him. In the end, they will be together."

Logan gave her a questioning look. "I thought you liked Rory?"

"I do." She answered him simply.

"Then, uh…" He trailed off, not sure how to word his thoughts. For a writer he was having the worst time coming up with words.

"She's a great person. She didn't have anything to do with our relationship failing. Lucas will never love anyone except her. It's just a fact. He doesn't realize it though. That was the problem."

"You could have ignored it." Logan told her, shaking his head.

She gave him a sad smile. "No, no. The kind of love they have for each other isn't the kind that is ignorable. It's the kind that's so obvious to everyone around them that you want to smack the two of them until they see it. It's the kind that lasts… and makes everyone else sick to their stomachs in the process." She paused. "I couldn't ignore it anymore than I could blame either of them. I ignore it, and my heart breaks slowly over time. I get angry with Rory, and Lucas would never forgive me. The situation we were in was no one's fault. You can't help who you love."

Peyton paused, watching as Logan took her words in. "Think about it. If you need me, I'm here."

With that she walked away, leaving the blonde man to continue to stare into the flickering fire, wondering how much longer the flames of his relationship would last before they burnt out, and nothing was left.

-OTH-GG-

Lucas paced the floor. It had been hours since Rory ran away from him. He didn't immediately go after her since he needed to process. He needed to think. He knew beyond a doubt that he was deeply, madly, truly, head over heels in love with his best friend. And she kissed him. He was doing just fine watching her with Logan and slowly dying inside… then she kissed him. And ran away. She ran away from him.

He continued to pace, his thoughts tearing him up, haunting him. He heard the slight tick-tock of the clock.

He was waiting for her to come home. They needed to sort things out, and soon. If not, things would just turn awkward, and that would ruin their friendship. He loved her too much to lose her completely. If she was going to tell him it was a mistake and it didn't mean anything to her, it would kill him. It would kill him, but he would deal with it. He just needed to talk to her, and sort things out.

-GG-OTH-

Rory knocked on the door lightly, hoping someone was home. She couldn't go back to Lucas', not yet.

The door opened. "Hey, can I stay the night?" She asked hopefully.

The girl nodded. "Come on in Rory."

The girls walked into the living room. "Do you need some pajamas?"

Rory looked down, nodding again. "Sorry about this, Brooke. I just needed…"

"Hey hey hey, hold on. We'll get comfy and grab some junk food before you start the story, ok?"

Rory smiled gratefully at Brooke. "Thanks."

-OTH-GG-

The girls discussed Rory's dilemma late into the night with mint chocolate chip ice cream and Oreos. Neither girl was exceptionally tired, so they stayed awake even as the sun rose.

"I know, I know." Rory nodded, playing with her coffee cup.

"Rory, you need to talk to Lucas before you do anything else. Find out how he feels about everything that has happened." Peyton said, having joined the two other girls hours before.

"I will… I just, I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry about what you'll say. Just go talk to him. You'll find the words." Brooke reassured her as Rory's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" Rory asked, not glancing at the caller i.d.

"Hey Ace." Logan greeted her.

Rory rolled her eyes. She did not need to deal with Logan today. She wasn't sure she could face him after everything that had happened.

"Logan, why are you calling so early?" She asked, sitting back in her spot on the couch and draining the last of her coffee.

"I thought I'd take you out for breakfast. It is our day together after all."

'Shit.' She had forgotten. "Uh, Logan, about that…"

"Come on, you can't back out. You promised you would spend the entire day with me."

She sighed guiltily. That she did. "How about if I meet you for breakfast somewhere, then we'll decide what to do today?" She asked, receiving glares from the two girls sitting by her.

-GG-OTH-

Logan sat waiting at a table for Rory to arrive. He took a drink of his coffee. He wasn't sure how everything got so messed up between them.

Before summer ever arrived they were already facing problems in their relationship. He knew it and he knew Rory knew it. He also knew that if he didn't follow Rory to North Carolina he would have lost her because she would have had time to reevaluate everything. The problems weren't so much either of their faults. His family didn't want them together. In their minds, a Huntzberger wife should come straight out of Stepford. They didn't think a woman needed a job. That's what marriage was for. In Hartford society the wives ran their husbands social calendars, and did little else.

Logan didn't agree with his family. He thought Rory was the best thing to have ever happened to him. She was smart and sophisticated. But she was also fun. She had several idiosyncrasies that made her unlike anyone he had ever known. They made her distinctly Rory. It was that combination of quirkiness and sophistication and beauty and brains that made him love her so much.

And love her he did. It wasn't just something he said to hold on to her and keep her. For the first time in his life he meant it when he said those three words.

Despite his feelings he wasn't sure if they would last much longer. He had his family to deal with, and Rory had hers. He knew Lorelai hated him. It wasn't as if she tried to make a secret of it. Lorelai hated everything about Logan, and everything about their relationship. That, along with the new Lucas problem, just added to the strain on their relationship.

Logan thanked the waitress as she filled up his coffee cup. He glanced at his watch, wondering if Rory was even going to show up. Just as he was about to call her again, the diner door opened and Rory walked in.

She smiled slightly, avoiding meeting his eyes as she sat across from him, picking up the cup of coffee he had the waitress bring over for her.

-GG-OTH-

The couple spent the next several hours browsing various shops in town. The day hap, surprisingly, went well. Rory avoided talking about Lucas, explaining to Logan that it was their day alone. He easily accepted this answer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and holding her close.

Rory yawned, tired from the lack of sleep the night before.

"Tired?" Logan asked her, stopping on the sidewalk.

She nodded, her eyes now heavy. "Very." This was true. She was exhausted. But she didn't want to go back to Lucas' yet. She knew it was wrong. It wasn't fair of her to avoid him like this.

Logan looked into her eyes. "Stay with me tonight. I miss you Ace. Just stay with. Please?"

Rory sighed. She knew it was wrong to avoid Lucas even more, but she needed to. She wasn't ready to talk to him yet. So she took the easy way out. "Sure. I'll spend the night with you, Logan."