Shipmates

Pairing: Rory/Paris

Author's note: I love you, my loyal reviewers! Keep 'em comin'!

Chapter 6: A Call From Lorelei...

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As Rory and Dean neared the dock, they saw Paris sitting on a bench.

"Well, I'd better say goodbye. I wouldn't want Paris to beat me up. Personally, I've always been a little afraid of her." He admitted.

"She's not that scary, when you get to know her. C'mon, she'll be fine, nice even." Rory dragged him along.

"Paris, we're back!" she called, coming to a stop next to her. Paris looked up at them.

Rory was alarmed at the look she saw in her eyes. "Paris, what's wrong?" She knelt beside her, taking her hand. Paris pushed her away and stood.

"I was just...and then she came in...and she was saying...but you're not with him...at least it doesn't seem like it..."

"Paris, you're not making any sense." Rory said, clearly confused.

"I was in my room, and Mary came in, and she was talking to me about you two..."

"Wait, Paris. Listen to yourself. Mary said? Weren't you the one who said she was up to something? Not really taking your own advice, are you?"

Paris looked away, then back to where Rory and Dean stood. "So, you two didn't..."

"Umm, I don't know exactly what you're talking about, but Rory and I didn't do anything. I just came over here to...uh...say congratulations to you two."

"I'm sorry. I think I just made a complete idiot of myself." she sat back down. "I can't believe I listened to her."

Rory laughed.

"What?" Paris asked angrily.

"I just never thought I'd hear you call yourself stupid."

Despite the situation, Paris giggled along with her. Soon Dean joined in.

When their laughs had subsided, Dean spoke up.

"Sorry ladies, but I have to go. Hopefully, I'll see you both on your way back."

"Okay, bye Dean. And thanks. For everything." They shared a brief hug, with Rory genuinely happy, and Dean wishing for more. But for now, he would be content in the knowledge that Rory was happy, and although he wasn't in her heart now, maybe someday he would be again.

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The happy pair entered their room again, after an enjoyable afternoon out on the town. Paris collapsed on the bed.

"I never want to walk again." She moaned, nearly incoherently.

"Aww, poor Paris." Rory said, sitting down next to her. "Next time we won't take a romantic stroll through the park."

Paris lifted her head slightly, to let out another small moan.

Rory laughed.

A few moments passed in complete silence, with Rory a little bored.

"Let's go swimming." She said, poking her in the side.

"Ug." Paris responded eloquently.

"Come on, Paris."

"Ug." She said again, louder this time.

"PLEASE?" She pleaded.

"UG!" Paris nearly yelled.

"I'll wear my little string bikini."

Paris' eyes snapped open, as she sprang to her feet. "What are you still sitting for? Didn't you say something about swimming? Let's go!" She grabbed a towel off the rack, and threw it to Rory, who stood up.

"Well, that's one way to get you moving." She crossed the room to her dresser, and dug through the drawer to find her swimsuit. At her own, Paris was mimicking her actions, but having little success in her search.

"What did I do with my bathing suit?" She asked, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "All I can find is that stupid blue bikini Louise made me buy before we left." She held up the offending garment.

"Hmm, that's too bad, guess you'll just have to wear that." Rory said in mock disappointment.

"Did you take my other swimsuit?" Paris asked suspiciously.

"Paris," Rory said exasperatedly. "Do you really think I would go to all that trouble? Besides, how would I know what clothes you brought with you?"

Paris mulled it over for a second. "Fine, I'll wear this."

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A few minutes later, the two were headed down to the deck to the Olympic sized pool. The pool was mostly deserted, many of the students not having returned to the ship yet. Only a few remained, and Paris and Rory quickly located a few lounge chairs near the water's edge.

"I'm going in." Rory announced after a few minutes.

"Knock yourself out." Paris responded, seemingly engrossed in a book she brought with her.

As Rory stepped towards the diving platform, Paris gave up any pretext of reading, and stared at the lithe form slicing straight through the calm water.

Paris was nearly drooling, as Rory kicked her way back up to the surface. Cool blue eyes opened, glistening droplets of water clinging to her eyelashes. Paris was reminded of a fantasy she had entertained of Rory in the weeks before the trip.

'Mmm,' Paris remembered with smile. The same figure she was seeing now, in a steamy shower. Eyes closed, a small moan, clearly loving the warmth of the water pouring over her sensuous naked body. Looking at her now, in an outfit that left little to the imagination, Paris was able to visualize the scene much more clearly. 'Damn those stupid Chilton uniforms,' she thought bitterly.

Rory looked up, and caught Paris staring intently at her. "Coming?" She asked teasingly.

Paris couldn't miss the double meaning behind her words. "I can't be held responsible for anything I do to you in that pool." She retorted, only half joking.

The two held their gazes for quite awhile, until another presence made itself clear.

"It's so cute, how you can't even stand to look away from each other." Paris and Rory turned to see Mary standing there, but she wasn't alone this time.

"Mary." Paris said coldly. "Hello Jenna." She addressed the other girl.

"Hey Paris," Jenna responded. "And…?"

"Oh, hi nice to meet you. I'm Rory." She pulled herself out of the pool, and offered her slightly damp hand.

"Jenna and I were just looking for you two." Mary informed them.

"And to what do we owe that pleasure? No offense to you intended, Jenna." Paris said, suddenly remembering what she was wearing. She tried to cover herself as best she could without being obvious.

"Don't try to hide, Paris. You're beautiful." Mary complimented, raking her eyes up and down Paris' embarrassed figure.

Rory frowned, and wrapped a towel around her shoulders protectively. "Do you have a reason at all, or do you just like to bother us?"

"Jenna and I want to have a movie night; you know kind of a girl's night. We could make some new friends, paint each others nails, talk about boys…or girls, in your case." She smirked at them.

"Don't listen to her," Jenna pleaded. "You're like the only people I've met on this entire trip. I won't let her be mean. Hang out with us."

Paris looked back at Rory, who shrugged indecisively.

"Fine, where do you want to have this 'fun' girls thing?"

"Since you guys have your own room, we were kind of thinking…" Jenna trailed off.

Paris rolled her eyes. "Fine. We'll see you guys at our room later."

"See you then." Jenna said, turning to leave.

"And of course up until then in my fantasies." Mary said as she followed Jenna.

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Rory and Paris re-entered their room after their brief encounter with Jenna and Mary, to the sound of a ringing phone. Paris got to it first.

"Hello?"

"Paris? Where's Rory? Is she okay?" came Lorelei's frantic voice.

"She's right here. Umm, is something wrong?"

"Her and Dean broke up. Is she crying, heartbroken?"

"She's fine. Here, let me put her on."

She crossed the room to bring Rory the cordless phone.

"She's flipping out. She thinks that you're a dissolved pile of teenaged girl."

Rory smiled at Paris, taking the phone.

"Hi Mom."

"Hi, baby. Are you okay? I know this must be hard, but don't worry, it will get better. He's wrong for dumping you."

"Well, you should probably punish your informants. I broke up with him, not the other way around."

"What? Why?"

"Umm, hold on." She covered the phone with her palm. "Do you want me to keep this…us a secret?"

Paris looked at her. "Like you could keep anything a secret from your mother. Besides, I want to yell it from the rooftops, tell everyone, so I definitely don't mind if you tell Lorelei."

"Rory? Where did you go?" the phone squawked.

"I'm here." Rory replied.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Yep."

A pause.

"Okay…"

Rory took a deep breath. "I'm seeing someone else."

"No Rory, not Jess? Please tell me it's not him."

"It's not him."

"Are you serious, or are you just saying that cause I told you to?"

"It's not him."

"Thank god. So, who is it?"

"Paris." Rory said simply.

Lorelei laughed. "Who is it really?"

"Paris."

"Okay, now you're scaring mommy."

"You asked."

"Rory, let's be completely serious. You left on a ship, with your enemy, Paris, now you're talking to me a week later, and you two are dating?"

"Yes."

"Paris?"

"Mom, I need you to be okay with this. We're going to have enough people who hate us for this. Please tell me you'll try."

"Of course. I'm just trying to make sure that the long months at sea haven't affected your ability to make rational decisions."

"Okay, I'm fine, but I have to go. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"There's no coffee there, is there? That's what's wrong-."

Rory hung the phone up, cutting off her mother mid sentence.

"How'd that go?" Paris asked her.

"She'll come around. Let's not worry about her." She moved closer to Paris, leaning down to kiss the shorter girl. Soon, Lorelei was gone from both their minds…

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Authors note: hey guys, I typed this on my laptop on the way to college, just for my fans! Well anyway, I start classes tomorrow, so I don't know when the next update will be….sorry, but at least it's no cliffhanger…

Till next time!

-Michelle-