AN: Thank you so, so much for all of my wonderful reviews. I'm so excited, like a littl kid at Christmas when I see they've gone up.
nina: thank you, I know i's really AU, so I've just scooped up the characters and thrown them into my own plot etc. I'm glad you like it ayway.
Karah06: Thank you for your advice. It should make the story alot easier for everyone to follow. That was great. And dow we know the killer? I'm not sure yet, I haven't even decided who did it...any suggestions?
HolyCrossBaby: Stay tuned, I'm working it slowly so the suspense and URST builds up.
Kat86: The chapters should start getting a little longer now, with a few scenes in tem instead of jut one or two. Thanks for reading
Disclaimer: Although I now own a modem with my very own internet connection - which means even more updates! - I sadly, don't own GG.
Rory sat in the dining hall for lunch the next day. She hadn't seen Tristan at breakfast and now she was watching the door for him. She was sitting with Paris, Louise, Madeline, Finn and Jay. Paris was talking about an assignment they'd been given in class. As far as the school was concerned, the grieving time for Liz was over. She watched as the doors opened and Tristan walked in.
This time two weeks ago he had been greeted by dazzling smiles from the girls, claps on the back from the guys. He'd been greeted like a God, like a movie star, like…like Tristan DuGrey. Today though, her heart broke as he watched him walk through the hall, his head down, everybody's eyes on him though they'd never let it show. Without actually having to do anything, the kids made it clear that he wasn't welcome to sit with any of them. As he was approaching their table Jay and Finn looked down and Rory looked at them in horror.
"What are you doing?" She hissed at her brother as Paris grabbed Tristan's blazer.
"Sit down DuGrey" She said loudly. "We need to talk about this project" Rory grinned while the boys scowled. She'd never thought she'd see the day that Tristan DuGrey would have reason to be grateful to Paris Gellar. He shrugged and sat down, his eyes cold until they met Rory's. He smiled softly at her but there was still an edge to it.
It was the strangest thing she'd ever seen. This boy who'd once been their King was now on the outside. Nobody wanted anything to do with him except the few that knew without any doubt that he hadn't done anything to hurt Liz. Paris had made that clear, as had Rory and Madeline. Louise was still uncertain ad Jay and Finn were acting strangely. Even his roommate, Matt, had moved out for the time being and rather than sitting with Tristan and standing by him, was ensconced in Summer's party.
Rory walked with him to class after lunch, it was literature, and they sat next to each other, at the back. Rory glared at Summer who kept looking over her shoulder.
On Friday afternoon Rory packed her duffel bag for the weekend and hugged Louise good-bye. There were no Chilton parties this weekend. She made her way down to her car until she saw Tristan standing next to his, just standing. She watched him. He was looking around, bemused, waiting for someone to come up and clap him on the back, tell him to have a good weekend, ask him which parties he was going to go. And perhaps, perhaps for Liz to come bouncing down the steps of DuGrey building and into his arms. She crossed to him.
"Hey Mary"
"It's Rory" He smiled half-heartedly.
"I know"
"What's on this weekend?" He sighed heavily.
"Well I was having a party at mine, my parents are away…well, they haven't come back" Rory was horrified that they hadn't come back at this time in their son's life. He looked around himself.
"But I suppose that that's been more than cancelled" Rory smiled wryly then on impulse, added:
"Come and pick me up tomorrow afternoon, say two and we can do something"
"I don't accept pity invitations," He said coldly and she recoiled a little before laughing it off.
"It's not a pity invite Tristan, it's just that you're like, the hottest guy at school" She trailed her finger down his chest, surprised at how defined it was at seventeen. He burst out laughing.
"The Mary becomes a Magdalene" She shrugged good-naturedly. "Okay, okay, two o'clock it is"
The next day Rory pulled on a knee-length black skirt with boots and a v-necked blue sweater. She heard the doorbell ring and she bounced downstairs to answer it.
"Hey, come in" She said to him with a smile. He stepped into the house self-consciously.
"Want a coke or something?"
"No, no I'm fine"
"Rory?" Came Lorelai's voice. Rory cringed as her mom rounded the corner into the foyer and stopped dead.
"Tristan" He stepped forward, offering his hand.
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Gilmore" She ignored his hand.
"What the hell is he doing here Roy?" Tristan winced and Rory blushed.
"We're going out" Rory replied, tilting her chin up in defiance.
"Like hell you are"
"Mom"
"Don't mom me, you," She continued, turning on Tristan "Get the hell out of my house and don't you ever come near my daughter again!" Tristan turned to Rory.
"I'll see you at school" He whispered as he backed out of the house. Rory glared at h mother before running after him.
"Tristan! Tristan wait!" She was horrified. He turned to her with cold eyes and she stops dead.
"I'm sorry" She whispers.
"It's not your fault"
"Then whose is it?" He sighed heavily.
"Look, let's get out of here for a while" he looked at her hopefully before Lorelai's voice shattered their moment. She was now on the porch with Jay.
"Rory come back here!" Rory turned to her mother and when she turned back Tristan was in his car.
"I can't believe you" Lorelai laughed ruefully.
"You can't believe me huh? What the hell did you think you were doing bringing that monster here? He may be pretty but he's evil"
"He's not evil mom! Jay tell her, you told me what a good guy he was at first" Jay shrugged.
"That was before" Rory stomped her feet, she was on the verge of a full-blown tantrum. Christopher tried to hose down the situation.
"Lorelai, perhaps you're being a bit drastic. The poor guy hasn't been charged with anything, he's just lost his girlfriend…"
"Don't you dare Chris! Don't you dare defend that!" Lorelai spat. They all turned as Rory kicked and screamed her way out of the kitchen and up to her bedroom.
Rory didn't see Tristan again until Monday morning. He ignored her waving to him at breakfast and sat by himself, hunched over the table. She watched him as she sipped her coffee. He'd changed, she shook her head, of course he'd changed, in two weeks he'd been through so much. First he lost the love of his life ad then he lost his footing as King of Chilton. Rory couldn't believe the other students. She'd never seen people turn so quickly. Summer was leading the Hate Tristan club of course. She was acting as though she was the only person with any right to miss Liz. Even Tristan's oldest friends had abandoned him. Rory had asked Louise about it the night before:
Louise sat at her dressing table, facing the mirror. Rory had told her what had happened on Saturday. But to her horror, Louise had agreed with Lorelai.
"Why are you doing this?" Rory asked Louise. "You've known him longer than anyone…how can you turn your back on him?" Louise sighed.
"It's not that I want to Rory…I don't. But there's thins I know about Tristan"
"Like what?" Louise stopped brushing her hair and half-turned.
"I've seen him"
"What do you mean?" Louise's eyes darkened.
"I've seen the way he is when he loses his temper" Rory scoffed.
"Everybody loses their temper now and then"
"Not like him" Rory frowned and cocked her head. Tears were forming in Louise's eyes.
"I've seen him nearly kill a guy…a boy" Rory sat down next to her.
"What are you talking about?"
"It was my boyfriend…years ago. We were fourteen and he was my first boyfriend. His name was Mike, Michael Nightingale"
"I don't know him" Louise looked down at the ground.
"He isn't here anymore, his parents moved away afterwards". Rory put her hand on Louise's shoulder to get her to continue.
"We had been dating for a few weeks. He was Matt's cousin, so he was sort of friends with Tristan and that group, but not really. Tristan didn't like him, he never liked any of the guys that liked me. He was always over protective of us, me and Mads, and Paris" Rory nodded.
"And then, there was this party, that Mike threw for his friends one night when his parents were away. Tristan and Matt and Finn, they crashed it and spiked the drinks and everything. Mike and I weren't there. They couldn't find us. We were upstairs…in a bedroom…Tristan, he was drunk an h was pissed off when he found us. E weren't doing anything, just thinking about it. But he completely lost it. I remember him grabbing Mike by the collar of his shirt. He beat him up pretty badly. I was in shock, I couldn't say anything. And then, hen Tristan threw him through the French windows. Mike fell over the balcony. The sound when he hit the concrete downstairs was just…I remember I screamed then and Tristan, he held me, like pinned my arms to me in this hug and kept telling me it was going to be okay." There was tightness in Rory's chest.
"Oh my God" She whispered. Louise nodded, tears trickling down her cheeks slowly.
"The police came, the ambulance. Mike, he had broken bones, some internal injuries, but worst of all, something happened to his head, the fall…it was some kind of damage which meant he couldn't form memories for long, and had trouble remembering things from before. He'd wanted to go to college, study art history and lecture but, well…" Rory felt cold.
"What happened to Tristan?" Se asked quietly.
"He said it was an accident" Louise whispered. "It was only the two of us there apart from Mike. He told the police they'd fought, but that he hadn't meant for Mike to fall. They believed him because…because I agreed with him" Rory squeezed her shoulder.
"It's okay Louise" Louise stared at her in the reflection of the mirror.
"No Rory, it's not, I know what happened that night, I saw the look in Tristan's eyes. When he loses it, he just loses it, even with Liz he did. I remember one night they had an argument because she was drunk and dancing with Finn. It was completely innocent of course but he was pissed off anyway, he grabbed her by the wrist in the middle of the floor. Finn tried t calm him down but he just kept yelling about how she didn't feel the same as him. She told him he was hurting her but he just dragged her out. Of course, they were fine. They didn't fight that much but when they did they were fine within a few minutes" Rory tried to ignore the light bruises on her wrist, pulling her jumper down to cover them.
"Louise…still, one drunken brawl, does that qualify you as a cold-blooded murderer? Michael, that might have been an accident but Liz?" Louise dried her eyes.
"You don't understand" She sniffed.
"You're right, I don't"
"Oh Rory, I don't know anymore. I always thought Michael had been an accident but now, with Liz. I guess it was always in the back of my mind, but it's made it all fresh again"
"What happened, to Michael I mean?"
"He left, his parents moved away, it's difficult, in a place like this to bring up a kid who's…different"
"Did you ever see him again"
"Every year" Louie thought about the photo album in her bedside drawer, filled with photos of her and the only boy who'd every really cared about her. "I visit him, they live in Pennsylvania, in a small town. Nobody knows I do that. It's difficult, sometimes he knows me, other times he doesn't."
"Why do you do that to yourself?" Rory asked quietly.
"Because I love him" Louise replied simply. "He opened my eyes, he still does. In some way, he always will" Rory couldn't believe it. Louise had always seemed as though she had a head full of bubbles, but here she was, pouring out to Rory a very mature heart.
Rory finished her coffee and said good-bye to the girls and Jay and Finn. One the spur of the moment, as she was leaving the cafeteria, she slid into a chair opposite Tristan.
"I'm sorry about my mom" She said when he looked up at her, his eyes were heavy. "I'm sorry that there are people who have changed the way he act towards you. I'm sorry that you lost Liz and I know how hard it is for you right now" He watched her, waiting for her to continue.
"But all that means is that your friends were never good ones to begin with" He raised his eyebrows.
"Are you finished?" He asked quietly. She held up her finger.
"Almost, finally, I'm sorry that I almost threw up in your car" He stared at her for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. She smiled as well but sobered.
"I know that it's difficult at the moment, but there's a few of us here who really do care for you, don't push us away as well" He didn't make any promises, just nodded and sipped his coffee.
Summer watched Tristan from her seat in the cafeteria. He was sitting with Rory Gilmore and her friends. Summer's eyes narrowed, he didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be here, laughing, joking while Liz was…She reached for her wallet. Inside was Detective Corry's business card. She flipped open her cell and dialed the number.
"Detective Corry? It's Summer Roberts, I have some information about Liz Belmont"
AN: Summer's a bitch. She really did love Liz but she really, really hates Tristan. Can anyone guess why? And Lorelai, I know she's usually really cool, but the only evidence the police have points to Tristan, she's just trying to protect her daughter. Stay tuned for chapter nine and more problems facing Tristan.
