Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls...so sad...
New Neighbours
Chapter Eighteen:
Family Trouble
One month after the party Rory and Tristin had gone to for their second date; they found themselves together in the cafeteria, trying to work out a plan for the holidays. It was the last week of school before Christmas break and they still hadn't figured out where they wanted to go.
"It's pretty much your decision," Tristin told her as he stole a chip out of the bag in her hand. "I haven't been anywhere."
"So then you should choose," she insisted. "I mean, where have you always wanted to go?"
"Well, truthfully, the only place running through my head when I lived in Maine was 'anywhere but here'," he told her with a smirk.
"Yeah 'cause that helps narrow down the choices," she replied in a sarcastic tone.
Tristin grinned, "Well I am here to help," he said in a fake innocent voice.
"And how grateful I am," Rory held a hand to her heart dramatically.
"Oh I love you!" someone suddenly exclaimed and the couple watched as Lilly sat down opposite them at the table.
"I love you more!" Blake echoed, sitting beside Lilly and throwing his arm around her.
"Lets run away and get married!" Lilly cried loudly, earning curious glances from some people sitting around their table.
Rory raised an eyebrow. "You're hilarious, really," she remarked dryly and laughed when Lilly stuck her tongue out. "You know we're trying to find someplace to go for Christmas break, you might want to way in."
Lilly shrugged, "I don't really care, sis. As long as it's nothing like when we went to France with the grandparents."
Rory frowned, "God I forgot about that."
"What happened?" Blake asked, sharing the same questioning look that Tristin had on his face.
"Our grandparents decided that every girl needs to tour France before she goes into high school," Lilly started, the disdain dripping from her voice.
"…and so we went with them the summer before ninth and it was horrible," Rory finished for her.
"Horrible?"
"Yes, grandpa didn't talk about anything but insurance and business," Rory said.
"Grandma was even worse," Lilly exclaimed. "All she wanted to do was go antique shopping or gossip with the 'girls' over tea."
"Sounds fun," Tristin said smirking.
"Well it wasn't," Rory explained, letting her elbows fall onto the table and her chin drop into her palms. She was about to say something else when a loud and irritable screeching noise echoed throughout the cafeteria.
"Oh God!" Lilly yelled, along with most other students and covered her ears with her hands, glaring at the PA system. "Why can't they fix that stupid thing?"
"Because they live to torture us," Rory exclaimed, copying Lilly's actions and shaking her head from side to side as the noise ended but a horrible ringing was left in her ears.
"Would Lorelai Hayden and Lillian Hayden please report to the office. Thank you."
The girls in question looked at each other, each sporting identical confused looks.
"We didn't do anything did we?" Rory asked, trying to think back to earlier that week.
"I don't remember," Lilly replied. "Might as well go see the headmaster," she exclaimed and stood up front the table, kissing Blake on the cheek.
"Right," Rory answered and packed her books up that had been lying to the table and stuffed them in her bag. "I guess we'll see you in class," she said and smiled at both guys before walking off with Lilly.
---
Rory and Lilly walked into the impressive and intimidating office that belonged to headmaster Charleston. They quickly took seats as they waited for the secretary to tell them they could go see him.
Rory couldn't help but wonder what they were in here for. Everything had been going well at school lately. They hadn't gotten into any trouble really, well nothing big at least. Sure Alicia and her posse of cheerleaders loved to start things with them but it was easy enough fighting her off. Although Rory was getting annoyed at how much time Alicia spent drooling over Tristin. Seriously the girl had to get a clue that he wasn't interested in her.
"You may go in now," the secretary told them as she set down the phone she'd been talking on.
The twins exchanged looks and then both got up, moving towards the huge mahogany doors that lead into his private office. Once inside Charleston gestured for them to take seats in front of his desk and Rory grew slightly nervous at the grave expression on his face.
"Good afternoon, ladies," he greeted them and both girls smiled in return as they seat themselves. "I assume you're wondering what I've called you down for."
"Kind of," Lilly answered, tucking her head behind her ear. "We didn't do anything did we?" she asked, letting her curiosity get the best of her.
Charleston laughed, "No, actually this would be the first time you two are in here for a different reason," he explained. "It's not about punishment and it's not about the exams you wrote this week," he reassured them.
"Then what's wrong?"
"I got a call from your father just now," he told them and both girls instantly sat forward, both wondering why their father would call the school. "He's requested that you be excused from your classes for the rest of the day and report back home instead."
Rory blinked a couple times, staring at him. "What?" she asked, briefly looking at Lilly but she didn't seem to know what was going on either.
"I'm sorry I do not have anymore information," Charleston told them and then stood up. "You are both signed out already so you can leave the school immediately."
Still in shock and very confused both girls got out of their seats and thanked the headmaster before walking out. They stayed silent as they got into the hallway and all the way down to their lockers.
"What you think happened?" Lilly asked, opening her locker and grabbing her bag.
"I don't know," Rory told her, clueless as well. "They would have told us if it was an emergency, right?" she asked, a note of panic entering her voice.
Lilly smiled reassuringly and looped her arm through Rory's. "Yeah, they would have told us," she said, although she sounded like she was trying to convince herself as well.
---
"Dad!" Rory yelled as soon as they got into the house.
Both girls dropped their bags in the foyer and kicked off their shoes. They walked into the living room, stopping in their tracks when they saw the amount of people walking around, all their faces grave and solemn.
"Dad?" Lilly repeated, her voice wavering slightly as they both looked over the crowd not recognizing anyone.
"Girls, you're here," Lorelai called from behind them and Rory and Lilly turned around, relief coming into both their eyes. They went towards her, letting her wrap them into a hug.
Rory had never felt so relieved to see her mom before that day. She had never thought before that she would ever be in the situation where she could have lost someone. But that was exactly what she'd thought when she'd walked in and saw a group of people who she didn't know walking around her house. She tightened her grip on Lorelai before a thought entered her mind and she lifted her head.
"Where's dad?" she asked almost hesitantly.
"Don't worry, your father's just in his study, settling some things," Lorelai promised as she let them both go and started to wring her hands, not meeting their eyes.
"Mom? What's going on?" Lilly asked.
Lorelai swallowed loudly before she looked up at them, running a hand through her hair. She briefly let her gaze go to the group of people in the living room and shook her head. She grabbed both their hands and led the twins into the kitchen, sitting with them at the breakfast table.
"There's something important that's happened," she started, the worry that crept into her voice scaring Rory and Lilly more than anything. "You know the business arrangement that you father had with the Dugrey's?"
"Oh God…" Rory trailed off, her hand flying to her mouth as the conversation she'd overheard in her fathers study assaulted her mind again.
"Your dad didn't want to trust him at first but the others in the company thought it would be a good decision. They said it would help the company a lot," Lorelai continued. "But…uh…something happened and…"
"And what?" Lilly asked even though she was pretty sure she knew what her mom was going to say. Rory had told her about what her dad had been talking about on the phone last month.
"Arthur, Tristin's father…" Lorelai didn't seem to be able to say what had happened but her silence said a million words.
"The company's gone isn't it?" Rory asked her voice low and emotionless.
"Not gone…just…bankrupt," she finally managed to get out, a forlorn look in her usually bright eyes.
Rory lowered her eyes to table before her, not quite sure what she was supposed to do at the moment. She would have thought she'd react a little more to the news but she couldn't bring herself to do anything. She wanted to scream, she wanted to throw something…but she couldn't. Her gaze snapped towards Lilly as she stood up from her seat roughly, the chair jerking backwards and almost falling over.
"I'm gonna…" she trailed off, gesturing at the stairs.
Rory watched as Lilly walked upstairs and she held her breath for a moment, before letting it out. She looked over at her mom who's eyes were still fixed on the stairs.
"Should I go talk to her?" Lorelai asked, her gaze not breaking.
Rory frowned, "I don't think so. She just needs time…to think," Rory said, threading her fingers together in her lap, not knowing if she should stay with her mom or if Lorelai wanted to be alone to.
"Mom?" she asked hesitantly. "What are we gonna do?"
Lorelai looked back at her daughter who was usually so strong and so mature and now she looked small and unsure, just a little girl trying to figure the world out.
"I'm not sure honey," Lorelai told her truthfully and watched as Rory nodded a couple of times. "I should probably go and check on your father, see how he's doing."
"Yeah…" Rory agreed and stood up from the table. "Um…do you mind if I call Tristin?" Rory asked.
Lorelai's eyes hardened a little, an edge coming into them that startled Rory. "I'm not sure if that's a great idea, Ror," she said.
"Why not?" Rory asked, her voice raising a bit as she felt her whole being becoming defensive.
"Rory it was Tristin's father who did this to us!" Lorelai exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "I just don't think it's a good idea to bring him into this house right now."
"Tristin didn't have anything to do with this," Rory told her mom vehemently, defending him. "This is all on his dad; you can't take it out on him!"
"I don't want him in this house," Lorelai stated, her tone leaving nothing to argue.
Rory glared, "Fine."
Rory spun around and stalked off up the stairs. She let herself pause at Brooke's door and heard her sister talking to someone on the phone who she guessed must be Blake. She continued on into her own room, feeling the adrenaline from her outburst still running through her veins. She couldn't believe her mom would ever think that Tristin had something to do with this. She should know that he would never intentionally hurt their family.
She shook her head and fell back onto her bed. Closing her eyes Rory brought one of her pillows to cover her face and screamed into it, letting out all her frustrations. She knew she shouldn't ignore what had happened but she just didn't want to think about it. She didn't understand exactly what it meant yet. Did they have other money besides the company? She wasn't sure but she knew she had her inheritance when she turned 21.
Rory sighed and sat up, clutching the pillow to her front and then grabbed her phone off her nightstand. She quickly dialled Tristin's cell phone number, feeling a sense of excitement rush through her as she knew her parents didn't want her talking to him.
"Hello?" he picked up, his voice slightly annoyed.
Rory sighed, "Hey you," she said, trying to sound like her normal self.
"Rory? Where the hell have you been?" he asked immediately and Rory smiled at the hint of concern slipping into his voice.
"I'm at home," she told him quietly. "I was wondering if we could go somewhere."
"What? Go where?" he asked. "Why'd you go home? What happened?"
"I don't what to talk about it," Rory said, knowing that she should probably tell him what happened considering it was his father who'd done it but she just wanted to forget, wanted to be carefree like she'd been earlier that morning.
Tristin paused on the other end. "Okay," he said after a while. "Where do you want to go?"
"You'll leave school?" Rory asked shocked, she hadn't thought he would go someplace now.
"Yeah, I think you're having a bad influence on me Mary," he teased, obviously trying to lighten the situation a little.
Rory smiled, "I kinda like that," she told him and heard him chuckle on the other line. "Tristin, are your parents home?" she asked cautiously, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger.
"No, they left last night for some business thing," he told her and Rory had to hold back a scoff as she knew why they really did leave. "Why?" Tristin asked.
Rory sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. "Can I meet you at your place?" she finally got out and waited for him to say something.
"I'll see you there," Tristin promised and Rory could hear the confusion filtering through his voice but she chose not to say anything and instead clicked her phone off.
Rory jumped off her bed and went into her bathroom as she knew she must look drained. She quickly ran a brush through her hair and ran a warm wash cloth over her face before applying just a layer of lip gloss. She was about to walk out her door when she caught her reflection in the mirror and noticed she was still in her North Brooke uniform. Rory walked out of the bathroom and into her closet, not paying much attention as she grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater and changed into them. She put on her winter boots to keep her feet warm and then decided to leave a note on her bed in case her parents or Lilly came looking for her.
After scribbling down an excuse about wanting to be alone –she thought it would be a better idea if she didn't include Tristin in the note- Rory walked out of her room and tiptoed down the stairs. She checked the hallway first but didn't see anyone and then made a dash for the foyer and threw her coat on before running out the door.
---
Rory nervously stood in front of his house, wringing her hands and trying to convince herself to ring the door bell. She'd been confident about seeing him when she'd called him but now that she was standing on his porch her emotions were starting to get the best of her.
She wanted to see Tristin, wanted to just let him distract her for a while so she could forget about what happened. But at the same time she wasn't sure she would be able to be around him without blurting out what happened. Especially because she knew he was going to ask what was wrong.
She finally managed to gather enough courage and brought her finger to the doorbell, pushing it once and hearing the faint echo of the sound throughout his house. She waited for the door to open and was surprised when he answered it himself and not one of the maids.
"Hey," she said, rotating her ankle around and smiling slightly.
"Come in," he said and moved out of her way.
Rory breathed in and exhaled a couple of times as she walked past him and into his foyer. She took off her coat and let him go hang it up as she slipped her shoes off.
"Rory, what's wrong?" Tristin asked and she turned around to find him no more than foot away from her. "Why'd you go home in the first place?"
Rory shrugged, "My dad called the school, he wanted us to come home," she explained as if it was nothing.
"Why?" he asked and brought a hand forward, rubbing it along the length of her arm.
"I really don't want to talk about it," she told him again meeting his narrowed eyes. "Please?"
Tristin watched her for a moment, his gaze intense and boring through her but then he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, sure. You want to…watch a movie?"
Rory smiled at how great he was being. She could tell he was confused and that he wanted to know what had happened but he wasn't going to push her into telling him. She moved closer to him and let her arms go around his neck, laying her head against his chest. Rory felt his arms com around her waist and pull her even closer to him and she couldn't help but sigh out at the warmth that his embrace sent throughout her.
Rory pulled away from him after a minute and she let their eyes meet. She couldn't stop the sudden onslaught of feelings she felt going through her. She recognized the same emotions in his intense blue eyes and Rory suddenly smiled shyly. She interlaced her hand with his and walked around him, tugging on his hand so that he would follow her.
She led him up the stairs and into his bedroom, where the two of them had spent many evenings and weekends just lying around. She smiled reassuringly at him and then closed the door.
"Rory?" Tristin asked, watching her as she stood in front of him again, her eyes were determined and deep but he could still see the hesitant way she moved.
Rory bit her bottom lip and then moved closer to him. She laid her hand on his cheek and let their lips connect slowly, letting out all her pent up emotions in the kiss. It started out sweet but soon grew more passionate as Tristin snaked his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, stroking one hand down her back and the other gripping her hip.
Rory moaned as she threaded both her hands through his hair, kissing him harder as every thought flew out of her mind. She'd wanted this for a while now, wanted to show him how much he meant to her. She completely forgot about her parents and about the bankruptcy and Tristin's father.
It was only him and that was all she needed.
---
So this story is a little overdue…you know by a couple of months! I really didn't know where this story was going and I was contemplating just abandoning it but I decided that I would finish it quickly instead. So in that light, there will only be a couple more chapters…maybe three or five and then it'll be done.
Okay so a little bit of a cliffy…did they sleep together or did they not? Well you'll have to wait until the next chapter…which should be out sometime. This week has been hectic though because I just started school again and on top of that I've been sick for the past three days. Anyway…review please…if anyone actually remembers this story!
Hugs
and Kisses,
-Ella.
