A/N: Ok, this chapter is going to be my account of how The Roadtrip to Harvard went. It'll have some things from that episode in it, though.
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The two Gilmore girls were driving down random roads aimlessly. They had been in the car for a few hours now, and the ride was beginning to get to them. They hadn't been in a car for this long in a while, and it was making them restless and irritated. Rory had been reading one of her books intently before Lorelai started whining for her to entertain her.
"Mom." Rory sighed. "There's not much entertaining I can do while stuck in such little space we have here in this car."
"Come on, Rory. There has to be something to talk about."
When Rory heard this, she felt the need to ask why, exactly, Max had called off the wedding. But, she knew she couldn't do that. Not yet, at least, anyway. So, instead, she tried to come up with topics to talk about, but it seemed like they all related to weddings, engagements, churches... which would remind her of a wedding, romance, and all that jazz. She honestly had no idea what to do.
"Rory." Lorelai said exasperatedly.
"What? Oh, sorry. I don't know, mom. It's your call. You choose the topic."
"Hmm, well, what are you reading?" she asked.
"This?" Rory said, looking down at her book.
"Yeah."
Without thinking, Rory began to summarize the book she was reading for her mother.
"It's about this girl, Elizabeth Bennet, the second oldest of five daughters. Her parents are trying to get her to marry a wealthy man, but Elizabeth doesn't really care about it all. She meets this one guy, Mr. Darcy, and despises him. He's rude, snobby, and prideful. But, as the book progresses, the two of them fall in love and get engaged and finally marr... oh." Rory said when she saw the look on her mothers face.
Lorelai, who had been listening to her daughter, felt a slight jab at her heart. Her face fell, all of this was bringing back painful memories from the night before. She tried to put it all aside and pay attention to her daughter, but it hurt too much.
"Mom," Rory said quietly. "I'm sorry."
Lorelai looked over at Rory and gave her a fake smile.
"It's fine, sweetie." she said. "Oh! You want to play the license plate game?"
Rory, who felt extremely bad for upsetting her mother, put on a fake smile as well at her mothers enthusiasm.
"Sure, but, remember, I was the last champion."
"Yeah, well, we'll see about that this time." Lorelai said as she began looking at other cars' lisence plates.
xox
Rory was looking at a map, trying to find the best routes to take. She became paranoid when she thought she saw a "Caution. Extrememly dangerous area" warning sign and bought them a map first thing when they had stopped to get gas.
"Ok, now, we can continue the way we are going, or, we could..." Rory started, but then noticed her mother dialing a number on her cell phone. "What are you doing?"
"Calling Sookie." Lorelai said as she put the phone to her ear.
"Why?"
"Well, in all the craziness, I forgot to tell her about the... and she's probably wondering where I am right now."
"Oh." Rory said, nodding her head.
"Hey Sookie, it's me." Lorelai said once she heard Sookie's voice.
"Oh, hey honey. Where are you? I figured you'd be here by now." Sookie said.
"Listen, Sook, Rory and I are going to be out of town for a couple of days."
"Really? Is Max with you? Are you eloping? Oh, Lorelai, why didn't you tell me? Oh well, I guess I can just save the cake for until you guys get back."
"No, Sookie, I'm not eloping."
"You're not? But, but, you're getting married this weekend." Sookie said, but Lorelai remained silent. "You are getting married this weekend, right?"
"No." Lorelai said quietly. "I'm not."
"Oh, sweetie, what happened?"
"It's a long story and I really don't feel like telling it right now, but I just thought I'd inform you so you wouldn't freak. Do me a favor and tell the rest, ok?" she asked.
"Of course. I'm so sorry, Lorelai."
"It's fine. I'll talk to you later, ok? Bye."
"Bye."
Lorelai hung up her phone and put it back into her purse then focused her attention back on the road. The rest of the ride remained pretty silent. Neither Rory nor Lorelai really knew what to say. After seeing a couple of signs, Lorelai knew where they were headed and pulled up to an Inn about an hour later.
"Where are we?" Rory asked, getting out of the car.
"We're in Portmouth." Lorelai answered, grabbing their bags out.
The two walked up and into the The Comfort Inn. Lorelai checked them in and led them to their room. She walked in, tossed her bag on the floor, and fell back on the bed, closing her eyes.
"I'm exhausted." she said.
"So am I." Rory said, laying beside her.
"I'm also hungry."
"That too."
"Wanna go get something to eat?"
"Yeah. I think I saw a Panda Express not to far from here."
"Oh, yeah, I did, too. You wanna go get some and bring it back here?"
"Sounds good. Let's go."
xox
Later that day, Sookie was sitting at the counter at Luke's, sipping coffee. She hadn't run into Miss Patty or Babette yet, and she was hoping she would soon. She figured news would travel double the time if she told them about the wedding cancelation.
When Luke brought her food out, the bell about the diner door jingled and in walked Miss Patty and Babette. They made their way over to the counter, taking a seat while chatting about the latest gossip.
"Miss Patty, Babette, hi." Sookie said, smiling.
"Oh, hello sweetie. What are you up to?" Miss Patty asked.
"Well, I actually have a piece of news to share with you."
"You really think that's a good idea?" Luke asked her. "They'll have it all over town in the next five minutes."
"Well, that's what I'm aiming for."
"Spill, suga." Babette said.
"Yes, do tell." Miss Patty said, suddenly very interested.
"Well, I got a phone call from Lorelai today."
"Ohh, how is she doing? Is she nervous?" Miss Patty asked.
"Well, there's been a bit of misfortune." Sookie told them.
"Oh no, what is it?" Babette asked.
"The wedding's been called off."
"No!" Miss Patty gasped.
"Yeah."
"Who called it off?" asked Babette.
"I don't know. She didn't tell me."
"Well, did she tell you why it was called off."
Sookie shook her head no.
"Oh dear." Miss Patty said.
Luke, who had been listening to Sookie tell all of this, suddenly found himself thinking.
The wedding's been called off? I wonder why. Who did it? Wow. Poor Lorelai. She must be feeling horrible right now.
"Her and Rory took off this morning. She said they'd be out of town for a few days."
"Poor thing." Babette said. "Having her poor little heart broken just days before the wedding"
They sat their, shaking their heads sadly.
"Wait," Luke said. "She left?"
"Yeah." Sookie said.
"Where to?" he asked.
"I don't know. She didn't say. She just told me she'd be back in a couple of days and to spread news around."
"Oh, wow. Well, tell her I'm sorry." he said.
"I will." Sookie said, smiling.
She left? She left town? This wasn't like Lorelai. She would never do something like that. She wouldn't just run away. She usually faces her problems head on. She must be really hurt. I swear to God! If that son of a bitch did anything to hurt her, I'll kill him! Luke thought, suddenly becoming angry.
In the next fifteen minutes, all of Stars Hollow knew about the broken engagement and of Lorelai and Rory's fleeing. It was by far the biggest and most traggic news they had gotten that week.
xox
Thirty minutes later, they entered the room. Sitting on the bed, they opened their boxes and began to eat. Neither were talking much, just focusing on their dinner.
"So... mom?" Rory asked, She had to know. She had to know what all of this was about. She'd backed off, given her mom space, but now it was time for answers.
"Hmm?" Lorelai asked, shoveling some rice into her mouth.
"Do you, uh, wanna tell me whats going on?"
Lorelai put her fork down, looking at the bed.
"Not now, Rory, ok?" she asked pleadingly.
"Mom.."
"No, I don't want to talk about it."
"But..."
Lorelai got up, placed her food in the little refrigerator, came back, and climbed under the covers.
"Goodnight Rory." she said, turning opposite her and closing her eyes.
"It's only eight-thirty."
"Well, I'm tired."
"You are not. You're avoiding the subject."
"I am not."
"Maybe you would feel better if you just talked about it."
Lorelai didn't say anything, leaving Rory just sitting there, staring at her. Rory sighed, knowing her mother wasn't going to give in.
"Fine. Goodnight." she kissed her mothers cheek and then got up, placing her food in the refrigerator as well, and climbed into bed.
Why won't she talk to me? Rory thought. I thought I was her best friend. We tell each other everything. Why is she all of the sudden shutting me out? I don't understand. Is what happened between her and Max really that bad? It would all be a lot clearer to me if she'd just tell me.
This was all new for Rory. Her mother not telling her things wasn't normal. Rory knew her mother was in a lot of emotional pain right now, she could see it. Lorelai's once bright, once full of life, energy filled, blue eyes were now dark, sad, and lifeless. Her heart had been torn right out of her chest and thrown the the ground.
It felt weird, too. Rory really liked Max. He was nice to her, and he was nice to her mom. He treated them both well. He was her almost step-dad. What had gone wrong? What had he done to her? And why? Rory never thought Max to be one who crushed hearts. He seemed to more the one who got crushed. She had a hard time seeing him play out to be a jerk.
He might have had a reason though. she thought.
Yeah? Like what? a part of her asked.
She lay there, looking up at the ceiling, trying to come up with reasons as to why Max would call off the wedding. None came to mind. She thought about the last few days. Had there been anything different between them?
Well, mom calling dad at her bachelorette party had been a little strange. But, I guess she just felt bad for not having informed him of it all. I mean, he did deserve to know that there was going to be another father figure around permanently.
Rory sighed, she'd just have to wait until her mother was ready to tell her. Until then, it was best if she got some sleep.
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