Thanks for the feedback! This is a continuation of the previous chapter

Annie's feet are aching. Kicking off the third pair of high heels, she watches as Charlotte models another pair in red.

"What do you think?"

"They're okay."

"Just okay?"

"They're great."

Kicking off the shoes, Charlotte sits on the seat next to her sister.

"You didn't like those ones?" she asks, nodding at the discarded set and Annie shrugs.

"I don't need heels anyway."

"You haven't wanted to get anything all day," Charlotte remarks. "Not even that cute jacket."

"I didn't want it that much."

"It was on sale and it looked great on you!"

Annie shrugs again. Typically she loves going shopping with Charlotte, having a sister day out, but today she's not in the mood. Her mother had to remind her to get up in time this morning. "It's not like you," Rory remarked, a frown of concern on her face, and Annie had got up, snapping, "I'm just tired," as she made her way to the shower. Annie pretended not to see the hurt on her mother's face and feels a slight pang of guilt. She should apologise, should have said so before she left, but shakes her head when Charlotte asks, "What's up?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired."

"Okay. How about a sundae?"

"Sounds great," Annie says, trying to sound more cheerful than she feels. Following Charlotte out of the shop, Annie reminds herself that icecream always helps. Her theory is doubted, however, as she sits in the booth with the dish in front of her. Suddenly, Annie feels five years old and the icecream makes her feel pathetic. Sundaes are a time honoured tradition of sister days out, but as Annie takes a spoonful of icecream it tastes dull. The sugariness is sickly and Annie sits back in her seat.

"Spill."

"What?"

"I know something's going on," Charlotte declares. "You usually finish a sundae two seconds after it hits the table and you've barely touched this one."

"I don't feel like a sundae."

"So something's wrong. Come on, tell me."

"High school stuff," Annie mumbles. She stares at the sundae, watching it melt, and as her sister gently says, "Annie," she feels her eyes tear up. Grabbing a napkin, she furiously wipes at her eyes only for them to fill again as Charlotte says, "Hey. What's going on?"

"It's nothing," Annie says, her voice wobbling. She doesn't want to look up but is aware of Charlotte getting up. Sitting next to her sister, Charlotte puts her arm around her and asks gently, "You want to talk about it?"

"No," Annie sobs. "I don't."

"Okay," Charlotte says softly. "But it might make you feel better."

They sit in silence for a moment, Annie watching her sundae sink into the dish, before finally saying, "It's not just senior year."

"Okay."

Taking a tearful breath, Annie swallows the lump in her throat before saying, "Drew and I broke up."

"What?" Charlotte exclaims but Annie is crying again before she can explain. Charlotte hugs her, kisses the side of her head and asks, "When?"

"A month ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to still be with him," Annie manages to say. "I didn't want to be broken up."

"Oh, Annie. Whose idea was it?"

"His," Annie chokes out. Waves of humiliation join her sadness as she admits it, but she smiles slightly as Charlotte angrily says, "Jerk."

"I don't know."

"How come he wanted to break up?" Charlotte asks gently. The question stops Annie's smile and she looks at her sister, looks away and finally says, "We didn't have sex."

"You didn't have sex? Annie, if he broke up with you because you wouldn't sleep with him then he is a jerk. Worse than a jerk." Charlotte's voice is fierce with anger but Annie roughly shakes her head. "That's not why?"

"No. I don't know."

Charlotte waits for a moment and, after another, Annie says, "We were going to."

"Okay."

"I really thought we would. We talked about it and we didn't, like, decide when for sure, but we said we would. And then…then we were at his place and his mom and dad weren't there and I thought I wanted to but I didn't. So we stopped."

"What did Drew say?"

"He said it wasn't a big deal. He said he was going on vacation the next day anyway and we both kind of laughed about it."

Annie looks at her lap, feeling Charlotte's arm tight around her, and eventually says, "But when Drew got back he broke up with me."

The admission makes Annie cry again. The tears fall hard down her cheeks and Annie doesn't try to stop them, doesn't look up despite hearing her sister's sympathetic words. She cries and cries until her eyes start to hurt and, as she blinks the last of them away, Charlotte hands her a pile of napkins. "Thanks," Annie manages to mumble, wiping her eyes. Drinking some water from the glass by the dish, Annie looks up to see Charlotte frowning in concern, the same look Rory had that morning. It almost makes Annie start crying again but this time she holds off as Charlotte asks, "Did he say why?"

"He said we'd been together a while and – and when he was away he thought about stuff, and he thought we needed a break."

"What stuff?"

"Like…like we're in our last year of high school and there was a girl on vacation. He said nothing happened but he liked her, and he…I don't know. But he wanted to end things and then he started seeing someone else."

Annie's words end in a wail. Normally she would feel embarrassed about crying loudly in the food court, knowing her face is red and eyes sore and that other customers are staring but right now she doesn't care. She cries into the pile of napkins Charlotte gave her, feeling as sorry and sad as the melted sundae in front of her. The sadness is a physical ache.

"Listen," Charlotte says gently, "This whole thing sucks and I hated it when people said it to me, but he wasn't the right guy for you. And I am so proud of you, Annie. You knew it wasn't the right moment and you stopped. I'm proud of you."

Annie hiccups, tears rolling as she shakes her head and finally she chokes out, "It wasn't just that."

"What happened?" Charlotte asks carefully. "Annie?"

"He started dating this other girl," Annie sobs. "Some girl across town, and they broke up kind of fast. And I was really sad but I was so happy it was over between them that I went to his place, when I knew his mom and dad weren't there, and I said I changed my mind. I said I did want to do it, I'd have sex with him. I thought if we did he'd want to get back together."

Charlotte is silent for a moment and, after Annie dares look up, she asks, "Did you?"

Annie looks away again as she shakes her head, hearing her sister let out a sigh.

"Drew said we could, but it would just be sex. He didn't want to get back together and so I just left. I didn't even say anything to him…I just left and went straight home."

"Oh, Annie. And you didn't tell Mom or Dad?"

"No way! They'd freak out."

"Maybe not."

"Charlotte, they would. Mom would get upset and Dad would get mad and talk about killing Drew or something."

"Okay, okay. But why didn't you tell them before? When he broke up with you during summer?"

"Because I wanted to still be with him," Annie says tearfully. "And I didn't want to tell them why and I didn't want them to be sorry for me. Even if they didn't freak out."

"You could have told me," Charlotte says softly. "I'm your sister."

"I feel like such an idiot," Annie sobs. "I messed everything up."

"No you didn't. It's okay. Hey, it's going to be okay, I promise."

Annie is too tearful to talk and finally Charlotte says, "Let's get out of here."

"You didn't eat your icecream," Annie manages to sob and Charlotte smiles, looking at the melted sundae which matches her sister's.

"No big deal. I like icecream better in cones anyway."

They get coffees to go and take them to Charlotte's car. The fresh air helps Annie feel calmer as they walk and, as they climb into the car, she asks, "What do you think?"

Charlotte sighs and says, "About which part?"

"Any part. Name one."

"Okay." Charlotte looks at Annie, looks at her coffee cup and back at Annie before saying, "The whole thing is a lot."

"I got that."

"But you're not an idiot," Charlotte says firmly. "You loved him and you missed him. That's not stupid."

"I just feel like if we had slept together, that first time, we'd still be together," Annie admits, staring straight ahead. The coffee is hot in her hands but she doesn't care as she says, "I wish we had."

"Annie, you don't know that. Hey, listen to me," Charlotte says and Annie reluctantly looks round. "You know you weren't ready and you did the right thing. That's the only thing that matters."

"But he broke up with me."

"Not because of that, and it was, then you were better off without him."

"But I miss him," Annie says, starting to cry. "I really miss him."

"I know, Annie. I know."

"And he didn't want me anyway," Annie says, crying harder. "So what was the point? I said I changed my mind and Drew still didn't want to be with me. He really didn't want me. I'm such a loser."

"Stop that right now. He's just a guy."

"No he's not!"

"Annie, I get that you love him. I know how much it hurts, I've been there, but he's still a guy. Him not wanting to be with you doesn't make you a loser, you know that, and it wouldn't mean anything more if he had. You're way more than some guy's opinion."

"I don't know what happened," Annie sobs. "I thought we were happy. He said he loved me right before he went on vacation and it was over and I don't know why."

Charlotte sighs, gripping her own coffee cup before saying, "I fell out of love with Alec and broke up with him. I felt like the worst person in the world. He hadn't done anything wrong but I just didn't feel the same way anymore. And because I'm your sister I want to punch Drew on the nose, but if he didn't feel the same way then I think he did the right thing, even if hurts. And if he did dump you because you didn't want to have sex then I'll do more than punch him."

Annie laughs a little at that. She takes sip of coffee, welcoming the heat on her tongue, before nervously asking, "Do you think it was dumb that I said we should sleep together? You know, when I went over there?"

Charlotte is silent for a moment and finally says, "I don't think it was a great decision but I get why you did it. You shouldn't beat yourself up over it."

"If he said yes, he wanted to be with me again, I would have slept with him."

"I know. Still doesn't make you an idiot."

Annie nods and Charlotte adds, "I mean, my first time wasn't for the best reasons. I don't regret it but he wasn't that great a guy. You should be with someone amazing."

Before she's aware of it tears are running down Annie's cheeks in a flood and, leaning over, Charlotte takes Annie's hand.

"Hey, listen. There'll be other guys. He wasn't right for you and it's okay."

"I want him to be right for me."

"I know, but he wasn't. Someone else is."

"How did you get through breakups?"

"A lot of icecream," Charlotte says honestly. "Swearing off guys for a while."

Annie laughs at that but sobers as Charlotte says seriously, "It really did help talking to Mom and Dad."

"I am not telling them what happened."

"They found out I had sex and the world didn't implode."

Annie folds her arms and Charlotte says, "Okay, it's awkward. I get it. But I really think it would make you feel better. At least tell them you and Drew broke up."

Annie shrugs and Charlotte suggests, "How about Nana Lorelai? She always understands."

"I don't want to talk about it with her. I don't want her or Mom and Dad to be weird and sad around me. I don't want them to say I can meet someone else and Dad to talk about how he never liked that guy and Mom to say I'm only eighteen."

"Annie, give them a chance. Even if they say the wrong thing they still want to help."

"I'll think about it," Annie says eventually and Charlotte nods, giving her hand a squeeze.

"Good."

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Annie says quietly. "Let's talk about something else."

"What?"

"Anything."

"Okay. Richie's coming over later."

"He is?"

"Yeah. Maybe he can tell us why guys are so dumb."

Annie starts laughing, shaking her head as Charlotte groans, "That wasn't changing the subject."

"No, it's okay. You said you went for dinner last night, right?"

"Yeah, he saw Logan."

"Logan?" Annie stops and asks, "As in…"

"Yeah, that guy."

"How come?"

"He ran into him somewhere." Charlotte exhales, sitting back in her seat, and says, "It's complicated."

"Richie seeing him?"

"No, my stuff with him. It always is."

Charlotte sounds tired but shakes her head as Annie asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Let's go home."

Charlotte drives them back and Rory greets them at the door, exclaiming, "Here's my girls. Where are all the bags? I thought you went to the mall."

"We didn't actually do a lot of shopping," Charlotte explains and a curious expression crosses Rory's face.

"Is everything okay?"

Charlotte glances at Annie for a moment before saying, "I'm going to say hi to Dad."

"Okay, sweets," Rory says, still looking at Annie. "Annie? You want to tell me about your day?"

Annie opens her mouth to decline but instead the words waiver and half a sob comes out. She doesn't argue as Rory puts an arm around her, steering her upstairs and into Annie's bedroom.

"What is it?" Rory asks gently as they sit down on the bed. "Annie, tell me what happened. Just tell me."

"Drew broke up with me," Annie says and is crying before the sentence is complete. She cries as hard as when she told Charlotte, the hurt just as strong, but as her mother hugs her it helps a little. Rory's arms are tight around her and for a few minutes Annie cries without trying to stop, shoulders shaking with sobs. Rory kisses her head and cheeks before finally asking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Annie hesitates and, although she was ready to say no, the whole thing comes out. Rory looks sad but not angry as Annie finishes with a hiccup and, as the story turns to silence, she simply asks, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was embarrassed."

"Oh, Annie."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, but I wish you had talked to me. I said you could tell me when you were going to have sex, remember? You said you would."

"I know…it was just in the moment. But nothing happened."

"You swear?" Rory asks seriously, cupping her daughter's face. "Nothing happened both times?"

"I promise."

"Okay," Rory says, letting out a breath. "I still wish you had talked to me. I wouldn't have freaked out."

"I'm sorry. I just…I didn't want you to be sad about it."

"Why not?"

"Because I really miss him," Annie says, starting to cry again. "And I kept thinking we could have got back together."

"Angel."

"It's stupid."

"No, it's not. It's really not, I've been there. When your heart is involved it all comes out in moron."

"Why does it suck so much?"

"It's hard losing a guy, a relationship. I stayed with guys way too long because I didn't want to lose them."

"Charlotte said he wasn't right for me," Annie says, looking away. "But I don't know. What if I don't meet someone new?"

"Annie, you're eighteen."

"I knew you'd say that."

"Hey, let your mother finish. You're eighteen, you have your whole life in front of you. You have so many great people to meet, experiences to have, and I don't just mean romantically. I promise this won't hurt as badly someday."

"It doesn't seem like it."

"That's because it's right now. Right now it just hurts and it's hard. I know how much it hurts."

Annie doesn't answer but hugs her mother in reply and lets Rory rock her for a moment, kissing her hair. They hear a call that dinner's ready and Annie sits up, rubbing her eyes.

"Thanks, Mom."

"Thanks for telling me," Rory says, smiling at her. "Do you want go eat?"

"Always."

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I snapped at you this morning," Annie says nervously. "I was in a bad mood and I took it out on you."

"I know, sweets," Rory says, taking Annie's hand. "It's okay."

They make their way downstairs where Jess and Charlotte are waiting. Annie knows Charlotte didn't tell him but her father must see she's upset as Jess pulls her into a hug, saying, "Hey, Annie-girl."

"Hey, Dad," Annie sniffles. She doesn't want to talk but hugs her father, nodding as he asks, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Annie says, wiping her eyes. "I'm okay."

"Whatever's wrong, it'll be okay," Jess says firmly. "I promise."

"I know," Annie says, smiling. "Thanks, Dad."

Jess smiles back, going to check on the food and Annie wanders over to Charlotte, nodding as she asks, "Did you tell Mom?"

"You were right, I kind of feel better."

"I'm your big sister, I'm always right."

"Yeah, yeah."

Annie nudges Charlotte's hip, making her laugh. Sometimes the years' difference between them seems to disappear rather than stand out, and Annie is grateful that Charlotte can bring some clarity. Rory breaks her thoughts by announcing that Richie is running late and that Jess has made what he calls the Mariano pizza for everyone.

"Where's the pizza?" Charlotte asks bluntly and Jess rolls his eyes, pretending to be annoyed.

"Richie will be here soon."

"But I'm starved."

"Me too," Annie chimes in, laughing as Rory adds, "Me three."

"You guys are shameless," Jess says, pointing at them. "Rory, what the hell are you teaching our daughters?"

"Hey, they're Gilmore girls, they came out this way!"

"Yeah, yeah." Jess grins, giving Rory a kiss and going back into the kitchen. Annie smiles at her sister, relaxing for the first time in weeks. There's a way forward and Annie knows she can take it. She's a Gilmore girl.