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Rory sighed as she walked over to the garden. She spent the night tossing and turning, unable to forget the kiss that she and Logan Echolls shared. She played what happened over and over in her head.
She could not for the life of her understand where the kiss came from. All she did was put a comforting hand on his knee, but something else happened.
Rory could not deny the attraction she felt towards Logan when she first saw him, then again most women find him attractive as well, she's just fortunate enough to befriend him. The first time she saw him she was kind of star struck she doesn't usually react like that, after all she's been interviewing senators and congressmen for her job, but there was a certain something about him that made her all gooey inside. His photographs in the tabloids did not do him justice.
Of course with everything that happened between her and Jess she had no time to dwell on her attraction towards him. And she happen to have a boyfriend and he had Addy. Everything he said the night before points to his love for the younger girl.
The moment their eyes locked, however, all of that went out of the window. Rory felt more alive when they kissed, she never wanted it to end. But when they got caught by his 'dream girl' he chose to follow Addy and she can't help but think of the consequences of their actions.
She kept walking until she reached the fountain. Sitting on one of the benches was Logan Huntzberger. Guilt and humiliation washed over her as she remembered who would be hurt by one kiss.
When Logan walked out of Addy's study the other day he went straight to the room he was using at Jess' house. He avoided any encounter with everyone and busied himself with phone calls.
This morning when he went down for breakfast he heard Jess tell Veronica that the Townsends were coming. He did a one eighty and went back to the room. Later he sneaked out through the balcony and took Jess' car for a drive.
He got back at twelve and was relieved to find that the Gilmores and the Townsends were off to lunch. And that's how he came to be in the garden just as his girlfriend of seven years found him.
"Hey." She greeted quietly.
"Hey."
"You missed breakfast and meeting the Townsends."
"I went out for a drive." He replied.
"They're nice, very warm and friendly. Grandpa and grandma are out to lunch with them." She commented.
"Yeah, I know."
"You should have been there; they were like doting parents to Jess."
"Was Addy there with them?"
"No. Jess said she was meeting a writer, she'll be back before the wedding rehearsal at four."
"Look Rory-" he was cut off by Rory who was also about to say something.
"Go ahead." Rory nodded in his direction.
"The reason I went out for a drive was because I knew they were coming." He began quietly.
"You did not want to meet them?" her brows furrowed in puzzlement.
"I'm pretty sure that they won't want to see me."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I know them, they hate my family." He stated plainly.
"Why would they hate your family?"
"Because of what my father did to them."
"Mitchum strikes again. What did he do now?" Rory did not look surprise.
"Rory, there are some aspects of my life that I never told you, partly because they are in the past and perhaps because it's too painful to talk about. But I guess now is the time to do just that."
"Okay, you're making me nervous." She smiled uneasily.
"When I was younger my parents and their friends discussed the pros and cons of arranged marriages. They came to the conclusion that it would be better, since the certainty of a good connection is ensured through such an arrangement."
"Okay."
"I was ten when my father told me that they found a perfect match for me. I thought it was a joke. I never actually took them seriously. Then I met Addy, her grandfather and my father agreed that once she turns twenty-one we're going to get married. She's the one who started calling me Hunter, when she was younger she told me that my last name was too long and that it did not make any sense at all, my first name she said was too plain for me. That's when she started to call me Hunter, she said I epitomized the word."
"You two knew each other all this time?" shock was written on her face.
"We both grew up thinking we're going to marry each other. But she was five years younger than me, as I grow older I started to resent the setup. Once a year since I was ten we'd meet socially, my parents and her grandfather did that so there would be a sense of familiarity. When I was eighteen and she was thirteen I found out that she wasn't taking anything that her grandfather was saying about our supposed marriage seriously. I found it refreshing. I guess I started looking at her differently then."
"If that's the case then you should have been married to her by now." Rory declared in disbelief, Logan looked at her and nodded.
"I would have been if it hadn't been for what happened a year later. When she was fourteen I saw her again. I just got back from Yale and I met with her as usual. She told me she had a boyfriend I told her I had a lot of girlfriends; she just shrugged and said 'good for you'. By then I was coming to terms with the idea of marrying her. I invited her to a party but she never came. I got drunk and made an awful phone call to her. The day after that my father told me that the deal was off, I was free to consort with whomever I wanted. I thought she was angry at the phone call. I wasn't about to swallow my pride and apologize to her. I always thought that everything would work out." Logan shook his head in regret.
"That's it." She looked at him unconvinced.
"No. A few days later her grandfather bought out some of our competition and started a new company, Writers' Inc. Since then the feud between the Townsends and the Huntzbergers was on. I never really understood why it happened but I accepted it just the same."
"There's something else isn't there?" Logan nodded slowly; as if what came next was difficult to tell.
"Yesterday I had a meeting with Addy. And I finally found out the entire story. She was at the party nine years ago. She was almost raped by someone I used to call friend." His voice broke as he said this.
"What?" a horrified look painted her face.
"My father told her grandfather that he would take care of everything. My dad told her attacker's father to send his son away. That's why there was a feud, because my dad let someone who hurt her get away with it." He said bitterly.
"Oh my god." she wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
"All these years I blamed her. I always thought it was the message that I left her that broke us, I kept thinking that maybe if she just called me then I would have apologized and everything would have been alright." he was no longer with Rory, he kept muttering, blaming himself for what had happened.
"Logan." She touched his arm tentatively.
"I called my father last night and he told me he'd do it all over again. He called her a slut for going to a party where there were college boys and she was only fourteen. That our family was better off without damaged goods." He continued as if she never touched him.
"I told her to come. It was my fault. Somehow over the years I've come to think of her as mine. I was so jealous that she had a boyfriend that I insisted she come over even if she was only fourteen. I was jealous and she got hurt." He ran his hand through his hair.
"Logan." Rory tried again.
"I love her and I let some bastard hurt her." His eyes connected with Rory's, regret and profound sadness clouding his eyes.
"You love her?" Rory let go of his arm, as though burned.
"I'm in love her." He did not look away, he allowed Rory to see what he was feeling.
"I tried denying it for so long. I convinced myself that the only reason I was obsessed with Writers' Inc was because they were beating us. But I wanted to see her. I thought that if she saw me she'd take the blame for everything that went wrong with us. Then maybe I could finally move on with my life."
"You love her." She repeated the words.
"I do love you Rory. When we first met I was trying to come to terms with the fact that I would have to live a life without Addy. That's why I put you through everything I did. I felt that I could never open my heart again because the moment I did I ended up getting hurt. I'm not trying to justify any of my actions but that's the truth. I always thought that we can get married and live happily ever after despite my past. But you and I both know that we are living a lie. We've been pretending for so long that we just don't want to let go."
Rory looked at him dumbly, as if she was not actually seeing him.
"We became stuck in this place that is just comfortable. The passion we had for each other has dwindled into nothingness. For all intents and purposes we have become an old married couple without the marriage. But I can't do it anymore. I won't do it anymore. We can't be together anymore because it's convenient for the both of us. I think...I think we should break up." He touched her arm but she jerked her arm away.
"I kissed Logan Echolls." She stated blandly.
"You did?"
"Yes I did. And I liked it. Addy saw us." Rory turned so she could see his reaction.
"How did she react?"
"She grinned and said as you were."
"They don't belong together." He muttered quietly.
"I suppose you think that you and Addy belong together." Rory replied harshly.
"We do belong together." He responded stubbornly.
"Then what was the point of our relationship?"
"So it could lead me back to her. And lead you to Echolls."
"You're just saying that because there would be less of a mess if I ended up with him." She countered coldly.
"No, it's because of what I saw when we were at the beach. I could tell there was something there. You two were acting so comfortably with each other, like you've been together for years, something we as a couple never achieved. " Rory did a double take and she saw that Logan meant everything he said.
"Whatever. He went after her. For all we know they're probably together now. Last night he was lamenting that she refused to make a commitment with him. Today he is missing and so is she. Obviously they made up and ran off somewhere together."
"Then we'll just have to break them up."
"Don't you have any conscience?"
"Not when it involves Addy. I deserve a chance with her. I allowed my pride to break us nine years ago, but I won't let that stop me anymore. As of this moment I have no pride. I want to be with her and I may not deserve her right now but I'll make sure to work on deserving her for the rest of my life. If it means I'll have to break her and Logan up then so be it. The question is will you fight with me or against me." Logan shot her an expectant look.
"You jump I jump Jack." Rory nodded determinedly. The kiss wasn't just a kiss; it was a promise of a new beginning, one that she was determined to have.
AN: Okay so there you go. Hunter's POV on everything, his version of what happened between him and Addy. And finally an end to his and Rory's relationship. So the two are now in cahoots, for Addy and Logan's hearts. I tried not to make them sound manipulative, both have sincere feelings for the other two. But let's just say that it'll be interesting to see what happens next. Anyway, I am posting early because I want to finish this fic before the new season for both shows start. So I'll probably be making multiple postings just so I can achieve this goal. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter.
To my reviewers:
shotswithMrsKim: Thanks for the review as always.
MHxxPAPER DOLL: Hiya new reader! Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked the Veronica/Jess pairing, everyone else seemed to like it as well. As for the RoganE well it is the new pairing I've been working on so I am glad that you are rooting for them.
tylerhiltongrupie53: Glad you loved the VJ in last chapter. Their presence made the chapter less dramatic, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I'm glad you warmed up to the RogaE. As for the bachelor party I just finished that chapter and it was fun writing it. Thanks for the review as always.
LoVe23: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. That was the hardest chapter I wrote, especially the part between Logan and Addy. You are right in saying that Logan is passionate about Addy, it's all a matter of knowing at what point he should stop. As for the Jess and Addy moment, I put that in so she at least come off as human, with regular emotions. Jess said that she loves both Logans and she does, her problem is knowing which one she loves more. And Jess shares everything with Veronica so I put that out there as well, they actually made the chapter more tolerable. And I'd like to think that Rory is grown up enough not to have to run away again. That's why she stayed. In the upcoming chapters, well the interaction between the four is increased so watch out for those. Now I realize I never really described Addy all I said about her is that her hair color is black. So I'm addressing it now, she is five five, a little taller than Veronica and little shorter than Rory. She has gray eyes and dimples on each cheek. Think Sophia Bush but a little more conservative. I think once season 3 starts we are going to see a whole lot of LoVe, I saw a preview of VM and there was one scene when the two were on a bench and they kissed, I had to keep myself from jumping in joy. I kinda miss Teddy Dunn when they said that he is gone for good, they said that the fans chose Logan so he's out of the picture. Thanks for the review as always, and I did see your review of my one shot on Mac/Dick, I wasn't able to respond because it was a one shot and last week when I posted chapter 17 I was little preoccupied with the chapter. Thanks again. btw, everyone seems to be liking the RoganE.
