I see by all of the reviews the first chapter got most of you like it. I only write on Tuesdays when I have long classes. There really is no way to get through college then to do something else. Procrastination is key.

"Who's this Logan, Mary?" he asked.

"Tristan?" I stood there in my Betty Boop pajamas for a solid 5 minutes.

"You wanna get that drool, Mare?" he smirked. I had never realized how much Tristan and Logan had in common. But Tristan was playful, Logan was just arrogant.

"Sorry. I was just shocked to see you at my door. What are you doing here?"

"Paris didn't tell you I was coming?" he dropped his bag on the floor

"You're my surprise? Wow."

"So, may I come in or …?" he asked.

"Sure. Come on in. Why are you so early?"

"I was going to stay at the apartment but Paris suggested that I come straight here. Her exact words were 'don't waste anymore time'. And this is when my plane came in."

"My head's spinning. I need coffee." I walked into the kitchen and mom was already pouring us coffee.

"This is Tristan. Long story short, this is my surprise."

"You drink coffee, cutie?" mom asked Tristan.

"It's the only way to get the night watches. So, yes, thank you." He accepted the mug and took a sip. "Strong." He winced as he swallowed.

"Military don't teach ya nothing, does it?" I laughed and sat down. Tristan followed suit.

"So, you and Paris have had contact all this time?" I asked.

"Yeah. We keep tabs on each other. My cousin told me she was going to Yale. So, I sent her an email and next thing you know we're best buddies. Well, you know Paris, not best buddies, but closer than we used to be." He laughed.

"And she told you all about me and my stupid choices, I'm sure."

"She told me you got together with an asshole and you got into some trouble, but that's it."

"Oh, good. Well, if you wanna go take a walk I can fill you in with the past."

"Don't you think you should change first?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Be right back." I scurried into my room and put on the first clean clothes I found. I reappeared a few minutes later. Mom ha two travel mugs of steaming hot coffee ready for us.

"I'm going to get dressed and get to the Inn. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Lunch at Luke's?"

"Sure, mom. We'll see you later." We took our mugs an walked to the door.

"So, you wanna tell me all about your life, Gilmore?" he asked.

"Well," I hesitated, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of Tristan. "I came to Yale this year and met Logan Huntzberger." I looked at him, expecting him to be swayed by the name, he starred back at me, unfazed. "He's a playboy type, you know. And he interested me, so I agreed to a casual relationship. No strings attached. But it got serious very quickly." I explained as we walked past Miss Patty's. "I was about ready to break it off because the casual thing wasn't me. But he claimed he could be a 'boyfriend'. And I thought 'hey, if he's willing to settle down, I must be someone special, right?' Wrong."

The Logan issue didn't upset me anymore, so I had no problem talking about it usually, but I was standing here, bearing my soul to the Devil himself and all I wanted was a hug. Tristan has this perfect life, or at least he did and I'm nothing but a screw up.

"You're wrong, Mary. You are special. Just because some jackass didn't see it, doesn't mean it's not true."

"I'm a screw up. A failure, believe me. Let me finish my story."

"Fine but don't think you're going to convince me otherwise." He smiled.

"Let me see about that. We were fine, for a while, but a series of unexplainably bad things happened and I would up at Logan's sister's engagement party, stealing a yacht. I was arrested, had to do community service, and I dropped out of Yale. I didn't talk to my mom for, like, six months and everything was horrible." I felt like I was going to cry but I had cried enough over what has happened. I wouldn't let Logan get the best out of me anymore.

"So, you made some mistakes. So does everyone else. It's not a big deal. I don't understand why you dropped out of Yale though."

We made our way up the gazebo stairs and sat on the bench. "Mitchum Huntzberger said I couldn't be a journalist and I believed him."

"Oh, Rory. Mitchum Huntzberger is a tyrant. He's awful and has no people skills what so ever. Never take him seriously."

"I figured that out so now I'm back at Yale. So, all in all, everything's good."

"What about Logan?"

"What about him? We broke up. Well, I broke up and he calls me seven or eight times a day. I was thinking about getting a new cell phone number."

"Don't do that. Don't let him push you around. If you want, I can get rid of him for you."

"No, that would just cause more problems. I still care about Logan. I've seen his world and I understand why he is the way he is. I want to be friends with him but I can't stand being his trophy anymore."

"I understand. I really do, but you have to make sure he gets a clue and stops stalking you."

"I know but he was such a big part of my life for so long. He got me to do things I would never had considered. So, I can't just shut him out forever."

"I know, Mare. Maybe just give him time. I know how he feels. When the girl you like wont give you the time of day. It hurts and it's a major blow to the ego, too." He laughed.

"Okay, enough about me. What about you? Last time I saw you it was military school in North Carolina. Did your dad force you to 'be all you can be', too?"

"I'm not in the Army. I'm in the Marines." He laughed again. His laugh sounded different that I remembered it. His laugh used to be for everyone else, now it seemed like it was for himself. I was happy to see him.

"What's the difference?" I asked.

"The uniform, for starters. We have camouflage, like the Army, but we look better. And they're a branch themselves. We're under the department of the Navy."

"Sounds complicate."

"Not really. But I enjoyed the structure of the military so much that I joined as soon as I turned 18. And now, I am the property of the U.S. Government."

"Wow. Well, I'm out of coffee. Let's go to Luke's and get some more."

He laughed and we walked to Luke's.

What will happen next? Do you like it? I hope so. Reviews are greatly appreciated.