Chapter 1

Rory fell through the door. She was definitely feeling the effects of

the Founder's Day punch. Picking herself up off the floor of the

entrance way, she closed the door.

"OK, defiantly no more punch." She slurred. Stumbling around, aiming

for the kitchen doorway, which would then lead towards her room.

Stumbling into the kitchen, she froze. Holding onto the frame, she

looked at her kitchen. "I must be much drunker then I originally thought

Er, does alcohol makes you hallucinate." She mumbled to herself.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in my kitchen?" Rory asked,

still frozen in shock. She stood up as straight as she possibly could,

trying to look dignified, despite her messed up hair and rumpled

clothing.

Logan looked at her, his eyes shining with hope and apprehension. "I'm

sorry. I just can't do this...this thing with us anymore." He looked

down at the floor, missing the look of hurt and shame crossing Rory's

face. She was near tears, but wouldn't let him see that.

"I can't do casual anymore. Not with you. I can't stand the thought of

someone else's hands on you. It kills me to think of you with someone

else." His eyes shone with honesty, and Rory had no idea what to do.

Thinking of everything, making the lists in her head, was too much.

Somehow, during his mini-speech, he had made his way towards her, and he

was a mere 3 inches from her. Looking at him, her head exploded with

possibilities.

"I need to think. This is...too much to handle." She walked into her

room, suddenly much more sober. Falling onto her bed, she called out to

the stunned Logan, "I'll call you."

Logan watched her walking away, and prayed to whoever could hear him

that he hadn't scared her away. She was the best thing that had happened

to him, and he didn't want to loose that.

Rory didn't sit up until Logan was gone, but when she saw the empty

kitchen, she instantly regretted not calling him back. She cursed her

drink fogged brain for messing with her judgment. Wasn't she the one who

had been complaining about the 'casual thing' only a few hours earlier?

She tried to focus, thinking that maybe mind power would bring Logan

back. But it was only wishful thinking (or drunken thinking, she couldn't

decide). She lay back down, forgetting entirely about water and

aspirin, and waited for the alcohol induced sleep to consume her. It didn't.

She sat up again and looked around her room, trying to think of which

book would put her to sleep the fastest. Her eyes fell on Oliver Twist.

She picked it up and flicked it open to a random page before laying

back to read. Through the haze in her mind, one at a time jumped off the

page towards her until her eyes rested on 'Dodger.' She slammed the book

shut and tossed it aside.

"Damn word associ... word asso... damn Dodger," she mumbled, sleepily,

as the long awaited rest finally decided to catch up with her.

Rory woke up rested and rejuvenated. In other words she was groggy and

had a splitting headache.

"Damn punch," she mumbled, slowly pushing herself into a sitting

position, her eyes still closed. A sharp knocking came at her door.

"C'mon, sweetie, Luke made breakfast." It was Lorelai, cheery as

always, and she kept knocking even after she finished speaking.

"No knocking," Rory said. "And no talking." She finally pried her eyes

open, squinting at the sun that filtered through her curtains. Her eyes

fell on her mother, who had finally stopped knocking. She was leaning

against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest, and a

worried expression on her face.

"Too much punch?" she asked.

"Too much punch," Rory agreed. The scent of pancakes reached Rory's

nostrils, which would have been fine except for the scent of bacon that

followed it. Lorelai swore she watched her daughter visibly turn green.

"Luke, coffee, now," Lorelai called as she turned and headed into the

kitchen. She returned a few moments later with a mug of coffee, a glass

of water, and a bottle of aspirin wedged between her elbow and her

side. She set the coffee down and handed Rory the water and aspirin.

"Thanks," Rory said as Lorelai left. Rory took the pill and had started

to slowly sip the water when Lorelai returned with a plate of plain

pancakes.

"Starch," Lorelai announced, setting the plate down next to the coffee.

Rory smiled at her mother, and Lorelai smiled back before leaving. When

Rory finished her water, she started in on the pancakes and coffee.

Rory wasn't good at thinking on the spot, she relied heavily on pro-con

lists, and lots of time to think. When Lorelai and Luke had left, she

had grabbed a pad of paper and sat down at the table. She wrote 'Dodger'

at the top of one page and 'Logan' at the top of another. She stopped

and stared at her writing on the yellow paper of the legal pad.

"This is silly," she said. Sighing, she closed the pad and returned to

her room. She grabbed The Rules of Attraction from her bedside table

and headed to the living room. She curled up on the couch, her nose in

the book, hoping it would take her mind off of everything the founders

punch had put in there.