Reviews: Wow, just wow. You guys are awesome!
I am so unbelievably sorry that this chapter took so long. Unfortunately, my updates are going to be more spread out now that it's summer. I still have two exams left (I hate provincials!) and I'm volunteering for the three weeks after that. Hopefully I will find some time in there to write!
I hope that you enjoy this chapter!
The figure huddled on the couch, half-lying, half-sitting as they stared at the TV, not really seeing anything. When the door creaked open, they didn't move, didn't change position, giving no notice that they even noticed that someone had entered.
"Mary?" Tristan walked further into the room before spotting the cocoon of blankets on the couch. In seconds, he was sitting on the ground in front of Rory who was on the couch.
She didn't say anything and avoided his questioning glance. He ran a hand down her cheek, pushing strands of hair away from her face.
"C'mon Mare, its okay," he said, his voice low and soothing.
She shook her head stubbornly. "No, it's not. I have never been so embarrassed." Tears started to trickle down her face and she swatted at them, annoyed with herself.
He brushed away the wetness with his thumbs and held her face in his hands. "You don't have to be embarrassed. They're idiots, Ror. They don't deserve your tears."
She grabbed a Kleenex from the box beside her and wiped under her eyes, laughing bitterly. "I liked him. I actually liked him."
"Logan?"
"I was so excited because I thought that I actually meant something to him, that he would actually consider being with me," she continued without seeming to hear Tristan's words.
"Maybe he does like you. He made a mistake, Rory. That doesn't mean that he doesn't want to be with you." Tristan sat back on his heels, still running his hand through Rory's hair.
She shook her head stubbornly. "If he liked me he wouldn't have eavesdropped on my conversation with you."
"He wasn't the only one who listened in."
"That makes it worse!" She sat up, letting the blankets pool around her. "I was just a joke. They're probably all laughing about it somewhere."
"He seemed pretty upset by it after you left."
"Did you talk to them?" She turned to look Tristan in the eye and he felt his heart break at the tear tracks down her cheeks.
"No, I didn't. I left right after you did."
"Then how do you know? Maybe he was only pretending to feel bad about it."
"I don't know, Ror." Seeing that she wasn't in the right frame of mind to listen to reason, Tristan moved up so he was sitting on the couch beside her and opened his arms. "Come here."
She moved into his arms, pressing her nose against his chest as he ran a comforting hand down her back. It was a short time later that the sound of her pain dwindled and then died, as she drifted off to sleep.
-
She felt his presence the moment he stepped into her vicinity but she refused to turn around and look at him. Her gaze was almost ripped away from the murky depths of the cup filling with coffee in front of her when his knee brushed hers as he sat down but at the last minute she resisted the urge. In her peripheral vision, she could see him lean forward on his elbows, looking in her direction and prepared to talk. She ignored him.
"Rory…" he started before she turned determinedly away. He sighed, running an agitated hand through his already messy hair. "Just listen to me."
She turned in his direction and raised an eyebrow. "I guess that's fair considering you spent a lot of time listening to me last night," she replied bitterly. She took a sip of her coffee before wincing at its horrible taste and she tossed into a nearby trashcan.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Rory got the impression that he wasn't used to saying that as his nose scrunched up and his voice got quieter as he said it. She also got the impression that he thought that saying those words could make everything go away and be forgotten. His naïve beliefs almost amused her as she had learned long ago that sorry doesn't make anything go away.
"You invaded my privacy, Logan! You had no right!" She poked his chest with her finger before curling her hand into a fist and looking away from him again. Suddenly she wished that she hadn't thrown out her coffee, it had been a good prop to use while ignoring him.
"I know I had no right. None of us did, Rory. We weren't thinking; we never seem to be thinking." He laughed almost bitterly. "We have done so many stupid things, said so many stupid things. Eavesdropping on someone's conversation is at the very bottom of our list of sins."
"But that doesn't make it any better," Rory whispered, standing up from the table at which she had been sitting and making her way towards the door.
"How can I make it better?" Logan was out of his chair and blocking her way before Rory could even process the question.
"What?"
"You, me, us. How can I make it better?" He ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly and stared into his eyes.
Rory sighed, hoisting her book bag slightly while she thought. "There is no us, Logan," she said quietly, ignoring how much she wanted it.
Logan shook his head and grinned ruefully, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She wasn't sure when he had gotten into the proximity to do so and she fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Then how can I make it so that there is an us?" Logan asked quietly.
"Logan…"
"Rory…" he countered, grinning slightly. "How do you feel about dinner tonight?"
"What about it?" Rory shifted her weight and chance a glance at her watch, hoping that he would get the hint.
"Finn, Colin, Steph and I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight to apologize for last night." He didn't mention that it was all his and Steph's idea and that Colin and Finn had been hard pressed to even remember Rory, never mind feel remorse for listening on her conversation. "C'mon Ace…"
Rory's eyes narrowed. "Ace?"
He grinned. "You're a reporter, figure it out. Now, what do you say about dinner tonight?"
She thought for a moment before sighing. She and Steph had been on their way on becoming close friends and she didn't want to lose that over a misunderstanding, no matter how much it had hurt her. "My friend is staying with me this weekend," she finally said on a sigh.
"I'll change the reservation." Logan grinned, too eager that she was agreeing to bother asking for details about her friend. "I'll pick you guys up at seven."
Rory nodded but didn't say anything as she walked away. Already she was regretting her choice, not wanting to put herself through a night of awkward silences and unwanted apologies. She sighed as she walked towards her dorm, knowing that it was going to be a long night.
But she might as well be optimistic, at least this way Tristan would meet Logan meaning that he hadn't traveled all the way for nothing. Rory sighed again.
Suddenly dinner looked all that much worse.
-
Finn leaned back against the pillows, letting his head fall back as he watched his girlfriend get dressed, throwing him a dirty look as she did so. He didn't let it faze him and he grinned lazily in response. Stretching out his sore muscles, he let his eyes close and debated giving into the sleepiness that was beginning to overwhelm him.
"Up!" His head snapped to attention and his eyes shot open as something landed on his stomach. He looked up to see his smirking girlfriend and noticed a pillow lying innocently beside him. His eyes narrowed.
Deciding that it would take to much energy to throw the pillow back, he crossed both arms across his chest and leaned back on the bed. "I'm tired," he complained as she made a noise of protest.
"Too bad! We're going to this dinner for Rory whether you like it or not." Steph put her hands on her hips and gave him her best glare, ignoring the fact that his eyes were closed and therefore he couldn't see her.
Finn sat up slightly on his elbows. "I don't even know this Rory person."
His girlfriend rolled her eyes. "The girl that I met at the Dugrey's party? The one that you spent an afternoon with while we were broken up trying to come up with a plan to get me back?" At Finn's dubious look, she sighed. "Logan likes her."
Finn snorted and fell back, closing his eyes. "Logan likes every pretty girl on campus, love. That doesn't exactly narrow it down."
"Finn," Steph warned, picking up her shoes and sitting on the end of the bed to put them on. "Just come tonight okay? I feel really bad about the whole eavesdropping on her thing and I don't want her to hate me."
He sighed, getting up and crawling to the end of the bed where his girlfriend was sitting. Moving so he was behind her with his legs on either side, he slipped his arms around her waist. "She couldn't hate you if she tried." He pressed his lips to the side of her neck. "Where are we meeting them for dinner tonight?"
Steph concentrated on doing up her shoe, trying to hide the smile that had appeared when Finn had agreed to come to dinner that night. "Logan's meeting us here and then we're going to go pick up Rory and her friend."
His eyebrows rose. "She's bringing a friend? What, is this a triple date? You and me, Logan and Rory, and Colin and Rory's friend?"
She looked unsure for a minute as she leaned back against Finn. "I don't think so. Rory had someone staying with her and she didn't want to just ditch her, so she's coming with us."
Finn reluctantly let go of Steph, as she got up and tossed him his shoes. "At least tell me that Logan checked to make sure that she was hot?"
"Finn!"
"C'mon love, do you really think that Colin will appreciate being set up if his date is hideous?"
-
Tristan flipped through the channels, not paying attention to any of the shows that flashed by on the screen. The volume was low enough that he could still hear Rory in her room, rummaging through her closet and slamming dresser drawers. She had been stressing about what to wear ever since Logan had invited them to dinner and had dragged Tristan back to the dorm to get ready almost an hour previous.
"You done yet, Ror?" he called as he flipped passed a talk show and settled on the music channel. He leaned his head against the back of the couch as the sound of the new teen idol filled the room.
"Almost!" she called back, her voice slightly muffled. "I can't find my black sweater."
Tristan looked around the room, knowing from experience that she had probably just left it lying around somewhere. Sure enough it was lying over the back of a chair.
"It's out here." He looked at his watch and ran a hand through his hair. "What time are we leaving?"
"Logan's picking us up at seven." Rory walked out of her room, barefoot with a rolled up pair of socks in her hands. Sitting on the edge of the couch, she pulled them on before surveying the room. "Do you know where my black boots are?"
He shrugged. "Probably in your room somewhere." He yawned, stretching his arms up over his head. "You should go find them, he'll be here soon."
Rory nodded and headed back into her room as Tristan picked up the remote and turned off the television, causing a sudden silence to engulf the dorm. For a moment, it felt as though it was quiet enough to hear one's thoughts. Of course that only lasted a minute or so.
"I can't find them, Tris!"
Tristan tried not to wince at the nickname, knowing that Rory hated being called Mary almost as much as he hated being called Tris. "Wear different shoes then!" he called back, getting up to find his own shoes.
Looking at his watch, he noticed that this Logan guy was already late as he was supposed to have picked them up five minutes ago. Already there was one strike against him. Not that Tristan was determined to dislike this guy; he was sure that Logan was a good person or Rory wouldn't be friends with him.
Tristan sighed, knowing that nobody could ever be good enough for Rory, that no one could even come close. Even before meeting Logan, he knew that he wasn't right for his friend. Rory deserved the world and, while this guy may be rich enough to buy it for her, he would still never be everything that she needed. Deciding to reserve judgment until he had met the guy, he pulled his left shoe on and was in the middle of tying it when there was a knock on the door, causing him to look up.
"Tristan! Can you get that?" Rory called from the next room, a tremor in her voice giving away her nerves.
"Yeah, I've got it," he called back, already heading towards the door with only one shoe on, mussing up his hair out of habit along the way.
He pulled open the door and inwardly smirked at the surprised look on Logan Huntzberger's face. He was going to enjoy tonight.
"Hey, you must be Logan." He allowed himself one smug smile as he held out his hand in greeting. "I'm Tristan, Rory's friend. It's nice to meet you." Tristan could tell immediately that his sentiments weren't returned but the other man's upbringing required him to shake hands.
"It's nice to meet you too," Logan replied, looking at Tristan warily, determined not to show the shock that he was feeling. "Are you guys ready to go?"
"Almost," Tristan replied, almost too cheerily. "I just have to finish putting on my shoes." He gestured towards his unshod foot before raising his voice. "And someone's been taking forever getting ready."
He could practically hear Rory roll her eyes. "I'll be out in a minute."
Tristan grinned at Logan as if sharing in a private joke. "Women," he said, shaking his head as though he were exasperated.
Logan sighed dramatically, going along with Tristan's joke despite the jealousy that was currently coursing through his veins. "Can't live with them, can't live without them."
Tristan smiled and flopped down on the couch, reaching down to pick up his shoe that had fallen under the furniture. He looked up at Logan who was still standing with his hands in his pockets. "Take a seat man. Rory will be a while longer."
"She said that she'll just be a minute," Logan pointed out, taking a seat adjacent to Tristan's.
He rolled his eyes in response. "She always says that. I spent more hours than I want to think about this summer waiting for her to finish getting ready."
"This summer?" Logan asked, his face portraying nothing but curiosity. After spending the majority of his life around people like Logan Huntzberger, Tristan knew better; he was jealous as hell.
Tristan shrugged. "Rory and I spent the summer together," he explained, being deliberately vague.
Logan opened his mouth to reply but, before he could, Rory walked out of her room, digging through the black purse in her hands. Tristan stood up and a second later Logan followed suit. Rory looked up and smiled.
"Hey Logan," she said, her smile widening. "Sorry that I'm late."
"No problem." Logan gestured towards Tristan. "I was getting to know your friend here."
Rory smiled, glad that Tristan and Logan were getting along. Despite her hesitancy to go to this dinner, she was beginning to think that it was a good idea. After talking to Logan that morning, she was almost positive that something was going to happen between them and soon. She was happy that she would get to know Tristan's opinion of Logan before she went out with him.
Tristan smiled as well, noticing what Rory had not. There was annoyance in Huntzberger's voice; annoyance that he was certain came from Logan's interpretation of his relationship with Rory. His smile widened; call him sadistic but after spending at least a year in high school mooning over Rory while her boyfriend took every opportunity to make it obvious that she wasn't available, he was eager to pass on the favor to someone else, even if it was a lie.
Oh yeah, he was definitely going to enjoy dinner tonight.
-
They sat around the circular table in the restaurant, an uncomfortable silence engulfing them. The car ride over had been awkward after Tristan's introduction. Steph had picked up on Logan's annoyance as he drove them to the restaurant and therefore decided to stay silent. Both Colin and Finn had followed suit leaving both Tristan and Rory to make conversation. Needless to say, any of their attempts were dead ends.
"So how did the two of you meet?" Steph asked after they had gotten their drinks, gesturing to Rory and Tristan.
"We met in high school," Tristan answered with a smirk. "It was love at first sight." He enjoyed the way that Logan's grip tightened on his glass, turning his knuckles white.
Rory rolled her eyes and gave a disbelieving laugh. "I hated him," she explained to the group. "I hadn't even been at Chilton for a morning yet and there he was, pushing me into a wall and propositioning me."
"I offered to give you my notes and asked if you needed any help studying!" Tristan replied defensively.
"You went to Chilton for all of high school?" Colin interrupted, disbelieving that someone could spend their high school career at one school.
She nodded. "Yeah I did. Tristan left part way through junior year?" She posed the last part of her explanation as a question, unsure of the year of Tristan's departure. He shrugged and took a large swallow of his drink in response.
"Where'd you go after that?" Steph asked, opening checking Tristan out, causing Finn to place a casual arm around her shoulders.
"Military school in North Carolina." He laughed bitterly. "Last time I ever thought that my parent's threats were empty."
Finn raised his beer in response, toasting Tristan. "I've made the same mistake, mate." He laughed. "And yet I keep on repeating it."
And just like that, the ice was broken.
-
Over an hour later, they were lingering around the table, empty plates surrounding them. If they were any other patrons, the serving staff would already be hinting at their departure but one look at the college student's fancy clothes had stopped them.
Tristan snuck a glance at his watch and grimaced at the time. When he had decided to spend the night at his parent's house, he had expected that he would leave Rory safe at her dorm instead of in the middle of New Haven with a group of people that might have been him once upon a time. He started to stand up, catching the attention of the entire group.
"Leaving us already Dugrey?" Finn asked raising an eyebrow.
He pulled on his jacket, pushing in his chair. "Yeah, I was actually supposed to have been somewhere half an hour ago." He leaned down and kissed Rory on the cheek quickly, inwardly smirking at the look on Logan's face. Despite deciding that Huntzberger was an okay guy, he still enjoyed riling him up a bit.
"I drove you here," Logan pointed out, leaning back in his seat with no intention to drive Tristan anywhere.
Tristan nodded. "I'll catch a cab. How much do I owe for dinner?"
Rory shook her head. "I can cover for you, Tristan. Come on, I'll walk you out." She pushed back her chair and followed him out of the restaurant, looking back to see Logan watching them leave with an unreadable expression on his face.
Logan watched them walk out and frowned, reaching for the glass in front of him. He could tell that while Tristan and Rory were just friends, there was a bond between them that could not be broken. His thoughts were at a stand still as he didn't quite know what to do.
"Do you think she forgives us?" Steph asked with a troubled expression on her face. Finn wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulder.
Logan nodded. "I think that she forgave us after she accepted the invitation for dinner."
Steph grinned happily. "Good, she's an amazing person. I would hate it if she never talked to me again because of the other night."
Logan stared down into his drink as his friends discussed Rory's positive qualities. He honestly felt something for Rory and, while he wanted to pursue her, he still wasn't sure whether he was ready for that. He wasn't sure if he could handle the responsibility that would inevitably come with a committed relationship. He had always run from responsibility in the past.
But then again, he wanted her. He wanted to get to know her, he wanted to be able to laugh at stupid things that they had done in the past like Rory and Tristan had done all through dinner. Logan Huntzberger decided right then and there that his goal for the future would be to take charge of the situation and get Rory to agree to go out with him.
He didn't care how long it might take.
-
"So?" Rory asked, the second her and Tristan stepped out of the restaurant and into the cool air.
"So?" Tristan asked back, despite knowing exactly what she meant. At her annoyed glare, he caved. "He seems alright."
"Alright?" Rory repeated incredulously, raising an eyebrow. "You, Colin, Finn and Logan spent almost half of the dinner discussing whether brunettes, blondes or redheads were better. You wouldn't have wasted your time on someone who's just alright. What's the deal?"
Tristan shrugged, an innocent expression on his face as he pulled out his cell phone to call a cab. "Well you see, Logan like brunettes the most while I'm partial to blondes."
"Tristan," Rory chastised, although she was smiling. "Seriously, what did you think of him?"
He held up a finger to signal her to hold on a second as he made the call to the taxi company. A minute or so later he disconnected the call and placed his cell back in his pocket. At Rory's expectant gaze, he sighed.
"He's arrogant and, from what I understand, somewhat of a player." When he noticed that Rory was about to interrupt, he continued to talk faster. "But he seems like a good guy. I think that he'd be good for you."
Rory could help the smile that was spreading across her face. "Really?"
He shrugged. "Sure. He isn't my first choice for you but I think that you would be good together, kind of balancing each other out."
Her smile broadened as she leapt forward and caught him in a hug. She burrowed her nose in his chest for a moment before drawing back. "Thanks Tristan."
He laughed in response as she made her way towards the door to the restaurant. "For what? I didn't do anything."
She shrugged. "I'll see you later, Tristan."
"Bye Mary," he replied softly, watching as she walked back into the restaurant, the doors closing quietly behind him.
He leaned back against the building behind him, closing his eyes as he waited for his ride to get there. Despite his feelings for Rory being completely platonic, he was still slightly jealous. He wasn't jealous that Rory liked Logan, he was jealous that Logan had someone like Rory chasing after him. He sighed, straightening when the taxi pulled up to the curb in front of him.
He was happy for Rory, really he was.
-
They gathered outside of the restaurant, as they contemplated what to do next. Steph was up for dancing while both Colin and Finn wanted to retire to the campus pub. It seemed like none of them could manage to agree resulting in them standing outside in the cold for almost twenty minutes. Colin and Steph were arguing loudly when Rory interrupted them.
"I think I'm just going to go back to my dorm," she said softly, causing everyone to turn and look at her.
"You want to go home?" Steph asked in disbelief.
Rory nodded and half shrugged. "I have an early class tomorrow."
"I can drive you back," Logan offered, not looking Rory in the eye. Despite his intentions to win her over, he had been silent since leaving the restaurant.
She shook her head. "I don't want to put you out or anything."
He laughed. "Its fine, I don't really feel like going out tonight anyway." He ignored the disbelieving look on his friend's faces. "You guys can find a ride, right?"
Finn opened his mouth to argue when Steph elbowed him in the side. "Its fine, mate," he said instead, shooting a dirty look at his girlfriend beside him.
"We'll see you later," Steph said, giving Rory a quick hug. "I'm really sorry about the other night; you know that right, Ror?"
Rory nodded with a smile. "I know and its fine. You made a mistake, I understand."
Steph grinned back. "Get her home safe, okay Logan?"
Logan rolled his eyes. "Who do you take me for? Finn?"
Rory and Logan turned towards the direction of where they had parked Logan's car. It wasn't very far away, only about ten minutes or so. Finn, Colin and Steph watched them go, a contemplative expression on all of their faces as they stood silently.
Finally Finn broke the silence that engulfed them. "So Colin, was Tristan your idea of an ideal date?"
-
The car ride home would have been spent in almost complete silence, if it weren't for the sound of the radio in the background. Rory leaned her head against the window, sneaking glances at the man beside her out of the corner of her eye. It was dark, making shadows dance across his face as he concentrated on the road. Minutes later, they arrived back at campus and got out of the car, still in silence.
"You don't have to walk me back to my dorm," Rory said quietly, looking at Logan for the first time since they left the restaurant.
Logan grinned at her. "I told Steph that I would get you home safe. You wouldn't want me to disobey her, would you?"
She pretended to gasp in horror. "Perish the thought! I will hear no more of such blasphemy!"
He laughed, slinging a casual arm around her shoulders as they neared her dorm. Trying not to look disappointed when she shrugged it off to look through her purse to find her key moments later was harder than it should have been. He stuck his hands in his pockets to stop himself from fidgeting. When at last Rory had found her key and unlocked her door, she turned to face Logan with a smile on her face.
"So I'd have to say that that was the best apology dinner that I have ever had."
He raised an eyebrow. "You've had a lot of apology dinners?" Obviously he would have to think of something more original next time.
She smiled. "No, this was my first and therefore the best by default."
"Well, as long as it was the best." He took a step forward, noticing that she had also gotten closer without him noticing.
"By a long shot." She took a step towards him, vaguely recognizing what she was doing.
"I'm glad," he whispered, not really knowing what he was saying even as he said it. He smirked, reaching out to put a hand on her hip. Before he would take a step closer, she was there with her arms looped around his neck. There was only a second for him to revel in the feeling when her lips were on his and all coherent thoughts flew out of his head.
So much for being in charge of the situation.