Chapter 2: Fresh Beginning
A week has passed since he had that heated discussion with Rory and Logan hasn't seen her ever since. Sure, he has been occupied with the start of school year and planning the upcoming Life and Death Brigade event but he still found it interesting. The campus was large but not that large, usually you'd at least see people in passing - unfortunately not her.
Sighing, he made his way to the Yale Daily News. Today was the first meeting of the year at the school newspaper where the beats are supposed to be appointed to the staff members. His father had called him a couple of times during the past week and made abundantly clear that he is not to miss the meeting and that he is expecting an article within the next two weeks. He, naturally, made some other observations about Logan's life and followed them up with threats.
Logan entered the newsroom and saw Doyle, the editor, suddenly going pale when he realised Logan had shown up. He made his way over to him, "Well, Doyle, my friend!" He shook his hand, "You're looking very, very well," he patted him on the shoulder, "How have you been?" Oh, how he loved watching him squirm. It was the only thing that made going to the newsroom bearable.
Doyle chuckled nervously, "I've been great, Logan. It's great to have you back!" Oh no, the sucking up is about to start. If there was one thing Logan couldn't handle, it was the sucking up coming his way because of who his father was. Especially when he wanted to be everything opposite from what his father was.
"Yeah, well I stayed as well as long as I could but the Yale Daily News have called to me," Logan tried to answer as neutrally as possible, not wanting Doyle's sucking up to increase. If it had been up to him, he would have stayed on Fiji for the rest of his life. Honestly, anywhere not close to his father and his impending future.
Doyle nodded eagerly, "Yeah, sure… So, how's everything? How's the family?" Aha, here it is, the direct sucking up! Argh!
"Everything's fine, the family is family," Logan turned around just to escape this conversation as soon as possible, "Ahh! My desk! Beautiful!" He pointed at his old desk.
"You know, Logan," Doyle started sheepishly, following him to the desk, "I actually didn't know whether you were coming back or not so this desk belongs to someone else now. It has actually for the past year while you were away."
Did this guy really think that Logan cared about a freaking desk? If it were up to him, he wouldn't see it ever again… "Relax, Doyle, I'm sure I can figure out something with whomever who uses this desk now…"
"Sure," Doyle chuckled nervously, "Wouldn't expect anything else," he looked around, "Okay, it seems that almost everybody is here, if you'll excuse me" he made a hasty retreat from Logan.
Logan looked around and saw many new faces, wondering who could be the new owner of his desk. He was actually surprised that Doyle hadn't been saving his desk for him, it would seem like a perfect thing to do as a part of his usual sucking up. Hm, maybe Doyle started growing some balls and would actually treat Logan now as any other staff member. As much as Logan wasn't a fan of more direct work coming his way, he'd definitely appreciate Doyle more if he'd show some guts.
"Listen, everybody! Let's get this show on the road and start working!" Doyle got the room's attention and started talking about the upcoming year, changes that are about to happen and some other stuff that Logan was not listening to because he decided to take a nap. He leaned back in his chair and put his legs on the desk and tried to filter out the voice of the annoying small man making the speech.
"Huntzberger!" Doyle yelled and Logan opened his eyes to glare at him, wondering what he's about to say, "Features!" Aha, he was handing out the beats.
Logan stood up and bowed at the small man mockingly, "Greatly appreciated, chief!" He sat back down with his legs on the table and noticed the glare Doyle sent him just before he closed his eyes again.
Just as he was starting to doze off again, the door of the newsroom opened loudly and Doyle exclaimed, "Gilmore! You're late! I'd appreciate if you'd show some professionalism!"
Wait! Gilmore?! Since when was there a Gilmore on the campus? Who was this? Just as Logan started opening his eyes to observe this person, a girl spoke up annoyed, "It's not the end of the world, Doyle, chill," she said with a perfect eye-roll and Logan's eyes landed on her: Rory. Of all the places he had thought he would meet her, the newsroom certainly wasn't on top of the list. He watched her moving through people towards him, juggling two large cups of coffee in her hands.
She is a Gilmore? The granddaughter? But she's too old to be the prodigal granddaughter! This certainly explains why he hadn't recognised her back at that party. He'll really have to look her up and find out more about her. So, she was from Society, after all… Well, she certainly wasn't like any other girl from Society he had known. Interesting. Wonder what her story is?
"Are you mocking me, Gilmore?!" Doyle exclaimed exasperatedly.
She threw him a look over her shoulder, "Wouldn't dream of it, boss." Logan snickered at her comment, she sure was feisty.
"Gilmore, don't make me regret giving you the features beat!" Doyle yelled at her and Logan saw a sparkle in her eyes at the mention of features beat. It seemed that she was pleased with this outcome. He could understand it - features were always fun to write. Not that he wanted to admit that to himself, but if he had to choose, he'd always choose features. Or politics. Anyways, he couldn't dwell on that now since she was fast approaching him.
Rory made her way to his desk and lowered the cups of coffee on it and only then noticed the legs on the table. Her look following from the legs upward, her eyes landed on Logan's face and she made a grimace, "Oh, Christ, this could not be happening," she groaned.
Logan laughed inwardly at her reaction, honestly, he should have seen it coming. It seemed that this was her desk. Hm, he could have some fun with her now, "Hello, Rory, nice to see you again," he grinned widely at her.
She shot daggers at him and hissed, "What the hell are you doing at my desk?"
"You mean my desk?" He responded politely.
"No, I mean my desk!"
"Oh, Honey, this is my desk. But I'm sure we'll manage to find some solution."
"You better have not called me 'Honey' just now!" She hissed at him, "And the only solution we'll be finding is you moving from my desk. Permanently!"
Interesting, she didn't enjoy being referred to with endearments. Logan was so used to calling girls by various endearments, mostly because he didn't remember their names, but he never encountered one who didn't enjoy them. Especially coming from him. He could definitely have some fun with this fact.
"I will not be moving anywhere, Honey," he dragged the endearment, hoping to enhance it as much as possible.
"Let me draw it out to you: this is my desk. It has been for a year now. Find another desk," she bored her eyes at him, her finger pointing at the desk.
"You see, the problem here, Honey, is that I have been away this past year, you know? But this used to be my desk before I left so I'm just reclaiming it back now. You have been using it temporarily," he watched anger flow across her face until something resembling realisation settled in her eyes.
"You're Mr. Invisible?"
Logan burst out laughing, this one he hadn't heard so far, "Mr. Invisible?! I have been called many things in my life but 'Invisible' for sure wasn't one of them!"
She scoffed at him, "Sure."
"I'm telling you, Honey."
"Stop calling me 'Honey'!" She shrieked at him and got the attention of the whole room, he had to suppress his laugh.
"What the hell is going on over there, Gilmore?" Doyle screeched, not liking being interrupted.
"Um, nothing, boss, sorry," she apologised quickly, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
"Ah, I don't have time for this childish behaviour. Doesn't matter anyways, the meeting is over, people, get back to work!" Doyle exclaimed and went to his cubicle.
A blonde girl approached Rory, shooting daggers at Logan. What the hell was wrong with this girl? "Gilmore, what's up with you?"
"Everything's fine, Paris, I just have to get my desk back from this Beach Boy over here," Rory pointed at Logan with a roll of her eyes. Ah, he was a Beach Boy again. It wasn't enough that Colin and Finn have yet to forget about it, but now she was calling him like that in public! Could she really still not know who he was?!
"Really, Gilmore, what do you get yourself into?!" The blonde scoffed and stormed off.
Logan seized the opportunity and took one of the coffees and took a sip, "You've even brought me coffee, how nice of you, Honey," he smirked at her.
She turned back to him, shock on her face, "Did you seriously just take my coffee?!" She exclaimed unbelievingly.
Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea, Logan thought as he watched her reaction, she sure seemed out of her element about this coffee, and then he remembered her drinking coffee the other day and realised that he most definitely should not have done that, "Well… it couldn't be that you were planning on drinking both of these giant cups, were you?" He asked her sheepishly.
"You're unbelievable!" She shook her head in exasperation, "Okay, now that you got your coffee, could you please move? I have work to do!"
"And what makes you think that I don't?"
She scoffed at him, "Yeah, right. You don't seem like someone who gives a rat's ass about the paper."
"I beg your pardon?" Logan asked unbelievingly. What kind of vibe was he giving out actually?
"Well, you were sleeping when I came here, with your legs on my table! It for sure doesn't go with the job description."
What the hell did she think about him? She didn't even know him! How could she make an assumption like that? Sure, he was indeed napping when she came and he wasn't that interested in the YDN, but it was more because of the pressure from his father. He actually loved writing. If he could choose his career, it would definitely be the one of a reporter. He just hated the fact that he was being pushed into it.
"Ah, and what if I told you that I have a sudden urge to write something Pulitzer-worthy?" She started to protest but he continued, "But don't worry, I actually have somewhere else to be right now. We just need to settle the ownership matter of this beautiful desk." He patted the desk and grinned at her, an idea forming in his head.
"Ugh, it's my desk!" She exclaimed and he looked pointedly at her, letting her know he wasn't giving up.
"I beg to differ, it was my desk first," he smirked at her, "But I do have a proposition on how to settle this matter."
She eyed him suspiciously, "And what would that be?"
Logan grinned wickedly at her, "Easy. You go on a date with me."
Rory burst out laughing at his proposition, "You really are delusional, you know that, right? What makes you think I'd ever go out with you?"
This was a first for Logan, for sure. No girl ever rejected his date invitation. Especially in this manner. But he had expected it, he just wanted to see her reaction. Although, her reaction was a little extreme compared to what he had expected and the question remained: What did this girl think about him exactly?
"I'm definitely not delusional and this is the only way you'll get your desk back, mark my words," he pointed out, smirking at her.
"Jesus, where do you get off behaving like this?!" She exploded, completely riled up now, "First, you take my desk. Second, you take the elixir of life from me. Third, -"
Logan had to stop her, laughingly, "Hold on right there for a second! Elixir of life?!" This girl sure loved her coffee, her previous reaction was finally explained.
She blushed profusely and looked away for a short moment, "Coffee. You took my coffee."
"And you took my desk," he pointed out still laughing.
"You weren't here!" Yeah, she was angry again. Geez, angry really worked for her, she was a real spitfire.
"But it was still my desk."
"And how was I supposed to know that?!"
"Doesn't matter now. You just have to go out with me and the desk is yours," he smirked at her.
"Not in this lifetime," she scoffed at him.
Logan decided to end this game because he was late for a meeting with the LDB so he got up, drank the rest of the coffee, threw the cup away and leaned way into her personal space and whispered in a low seductive voice, "Trust me, Honey, you'll succumb sooner rather than later. You'll have the night of your life and you'll get your desk back," he held her look with his eyes.
Her cheeks were momentarily painted in deep red and her eyes were overtaken by a darker shade for a moment but she shook her head a second after, groaned, grabbed her stuff and left the newsroom. Too bad, he was leaving now as well, she could've used the table.
What intrigued Logan was the fact how she reacted to his proposition. The blushed cheeks and that look in her eyes for sure had to mean that she was interested in him too, right? On the other hand, he was hoping that she wouldn't give in that easily, he was really enjoying playing this game. And it was about time he found out who she was! But, if he were honest with himself, he actually kind of enjoyed the surprise effect: her always showing up when he least expected, there was something enticing about it. About her.
Lost in his thoughts, he made his way to Colin and Finn to finish up the planning of the upcoming LDB gathering. They were in charge of this one which could only mean it would be a blast.
"So, I think we're done. Tents and lanterns are ordered, catering organised and invitations have been sent out," Colin concluded and took a sip of his drink.
"Yeah, and I've talked with Seth, he's getting the games and the stunt set up," Logan agreed with him.
"Mates, may I say that this might come out as the best LDB gathering so far? They won't know what hit them!" Finn exclaimed, satisfied with the work they've done.
They all cheered at his declaration, grinning like idiots. It's going to be epic! The three of them were responsible for organising this year's annual ceremony of the Life and Death Brigade and have taken their task seriously, aiming to make history with this event among the LDB population.
Logan sunk back in his thoughts, planning a way of keeping his desk at the YDN occupied at all times so that Rory would agree to go out on a date with him in order to claim it as hers. The problem was that he had absolutely no tendencies of actually being at the YDN himself to guard the desk so he had to think of a solution to drive her crazy. He already had a couple of ideas, but none of them seemed drastic enough. Or they made him look like a bad guy, which he definitely wasn't. He just wanted to have some fun with her and didn't want to fuel her thinking badly of him. Why that mattered to him so much was still a mystery.
"Logan?" Colin called him.
"Huh?" He focused on Colin.
"What's up with you? First you were late for the meeting and now you're sitting here grinning like a madman and completely not aware of us. So, what's up?"
Logan debated for a second if he should tell them about his encounter with Rory. After all, they are his best friends, but something deep inside of him wanted to keep this to himself. Sighing, he answered, "Do you remember Rory?"
"Rory?" Finn asked confusedly while Colin nodded slowly.
"Yeah, the girl we met at the Gilmore's party and then a week ago here at Branford."
"Ah! Love!" Finn exclaimed excitedly, then frowned, "Wait, here at Branford? Was I there?"
Logan rolled his eyes, "You were there."
"Hm, how do I not remember it?" Finn wondered.
Colin sighed, "Finn, we are happy when you remember your own name," he turned to Logan, "So, what about Rory?"
"I saw her again today and you wouldn't believe where - at the Daily News!"
"No way! You were searching for her for a week," Logan wanted to protest but Colin just lifted his hand to stop him, "Don't even try to deny it, buddy. Anyways, after a week you finally find her at your least favourite place on the planet. Gotta say it sounds like fate," he looked at him mockingly.
"Funny," Logan deadpanned, "And get this: she is using my desk," at mocking glares from his friends he corrected himself, "Well the desk I declared as my own and do actually work there sometimes."
"And what now, you're sharing the desk with her? Geez, Huntz, your powers over the ladies started dissipating already?" Finn mocked him, interested in what his friend was about to tell them.
Logan glared at him, "No! What the hell is wrong with you, man? My powers are flawless as they've always been, thank you for asking. Anyways, as I was saying, she has been using my desk while I was away and won't give it back now so I decided to play with her a little," he smiled wickedly.
"Now you're talking!" Finn exclaimed, "What have you done?"
"Well, I merely suggested that she'll get the full ownership of the desk if she goes out on a date with me."
"And how did she react?" Colin asked with a slight frown.
"What do you think how did she react? She almost had my balls and told me that she wouldn't go out with me in this lifetime."
Finn burst out laughing, "Well, that's a first. I'm already loving this girl! To decline the great Logan Huntzberger, didn't know I'd ever see this day."
Colin was laughing with Finn but had to ask, "But you don't seem bothered by that, hm? Why is that so?"
"Oh, I'm just enjoying the game. She's a true spitfire when she gets all riled up and, trust me, I've been succeeding at getting her to that point so far."
"I can see the attraction, but why her? You have never been hung up on a girl."
"Dunno, man, she's different," his friend looked at each other knowingly but Logan chose not to acknowledge it and continued, "There's something about her that just makes me want to be around her. And she's probably the first girl I could hold a normal conversation with ever."
"She is also the first girl ever who managed to put you in the corner," Finn piped in.
Logan groaned, "I'd rather not talk about that."
"Sure you wouldn't, but did you find out who she actually is?" Colin asked, interested into the mystery girl's identity.
"That's the part you won't believe. She's a Gilmore."
"No way!" Finn exclaimed connecting the dots, "She's the scandal child!"
"Richard and Emily's granddaughter?" Colin asked incredulously.
"What do you mean a scandal child, Finn?" Logan focused on his friend with a frown. Did he know something about her?
"That's like the greatest scandal within the Society in the past few generations! How can you not know this?"
"What are you talking about, Finn?" Of course, Finn was the biggest gossip of them all. They still could not understand how he could remember all the Society's gossip when sometimes he didn't even remember his name but they got used to it.
"The story is that Richard and Emily's daughter got pregnant when she was 16 and refused to get married or to abort the child so she gave birth to a baby girl we today know as Rory. But that's not the end of it, they were living with the Gilmore's for a year and one day Richard and Emily went out and when they came back she had already fled with the child and never came back," Finn explained thoughtfully.
Wow! That for sure is a scandal. Logan wondered how he had never heard about this, "I had no idea about that. I was perplexed when Richard mentioned their granddaughter at their party, until then I didn't even know they had a daughter!"
"Now that you mention it, I remember some rumours from when I was a child, but it's all fairly similar to what you've said," Colin added.
"But she is going to Yale now and lives in the Branford ground floor apartment, that must mean she went back to the Gilmore's at some point, right?" Logan was confused.
Finn nodded, "I'd say so, but I don't know the exact story."
"Does that mean she was completely raised out of Society?" Colin asked.
"It appears so, I mean, she doesn't know who I am," Logan responded still deep in thought about this new revelation. Was that why she was so different?
"What do you mean she doesn't know who you are?" Colin asked with a frown.
"I can't believe this!" Finn exclaimed laughingly, "I think it means exactly what he said! She doesn't know that our mate here is the great Logan Huntzberger! And I think that our mate here wants to keep it that way for as long as possible. Why is that so, I don't know, but I'll for sure enjoy finding out."
Colin grinned wickedly at Finn's statement, "Could it be that our buddy here is so interested in a girl that he's willing to conceal his identity with which he usually gets anything he wants?"
Logan glared at his friends, "You two are idiots," he shook his head, "As I've already told you, she's different. I have no idea how or why but I intend on finding out."
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" Finn cheered.
"I agree with you, Finn," Colin grinned and looked at Logan, "So, what's your plan now?"
"I need to figure out how to keep the desk used without going to the YDN so that she has to agree to a date with me," Logan grinned wickedly, "Care to help me?" He looked at his friends who nodded eagerly and spent the rest of the evening creating a plan.
As planned, Logan kept his promise of keeping the desk. From a pyramid of coffee cups on the said desk to piles and piles of notes to various deliveries - he was driving her nuts. And he was well aware that he was driving her crazy because he made an effort of showing up around her at least once a day to see how his plan was progressing. To say that she wasn't amused by him was an understatement. As soon as she saw him each day, she glared daggers directly through him. Nevertheless, he managed to ask her each day if she had changed her mind, to what he was mostly rewarded with scoffs and even more glares. He was thoroughly enjoying this game, but something deep in him was nagging him that this may not be the best way to get her attention.
In the meantime, he managed to find out more about her, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore the Third, the daughter of one Lorelai Victoria Gilmore the Second. There was no information about her father, what Logan found curious. She was a sophomore in Yale and was majoring in Journalism and Business, just as he was. Even more interesting. When her mother fled with her from the Gilmore's, they ended up in Starts Hollow, a small town half an hour from Hartford. There is practically no record of her among the Society until she was 16 and started Chilton, where she graduated as a valedictorian. She got into Princeton and Harvard as well as some other schools. So, Logan's suspicions were correct - she actually was smart. No Society kid would even try applying for different schools if they weren't good students. They would set their eyes on a specific one and get enrolled via connections. But, she obviously wasn't a typical Society kid, if at all. On the other hand, she was also a debutante. All in all, these findings spiked Logan's interest even more. One thing he couldn't understand was when that girl had any time to have fun. She was a double major and was taking a variety of extra courses, as well as writing regularly for the YDN. Weird girl, she is in college, she should be having fun.
He was now in the Sterling Memorial Library waiting on some extra literature he needed for his classes, so he decided to walk around a bit and enjoy the peace and familiarity. This library was one of his favourite places on the campus. Unbelievable, right? A playboy extraordinaire and his favourite place on the campus was a library. If his friends got a hang of it, they would never let him see the light of the day. But Logan liked reading - a lot. He enjoyed the escape that the world of literature could provide him. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud, he still needed to protect his reputation.
Just as he made his way around the corner to the common room of the library, he saw her there. She was sitting in a corner of a large leather sofa, her legs crossed. She was reading a book, her long hair framing her face and casting a shadow over her, her bangs covering her eyes. He made his way to her and sat on the opposite edge of the sofa. She was so invested in her book that she didn't even notice him. Logan found this sight of her completely entrancing and peaceful so he decided to pull out his book and read as well.
Almost a half an hour later and she had yet to notice him sitting there. He was sneaking peeks at her every few minutes and was amazed how engrossed she was in the book. Sometimes she was biting her lip, sometimes she was shaking her head. It seemed like she was enjoying what she was reading. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to see what she was reading. He wanted to know what kind of book would elicit such reactions from her. And just as he sneaked a peek at her again, she lifted her head and looked straight in front of her. She then stretched a bit and looked in his direction and a frown appeared on her forehead, as well as shock in her eyes, "What are you doing here?" She glared at him.
Logan smirked at her, "What does it seem like I'm doing?" He waved with his book.
"Seriously? Am I really supposed to believe that in comparison with-"
"In comparison with what?" He interrupted her mid-sentence. What was she thinking?
"You've obviously made it your life's mission to bug the crap out of me and now you want me to believe you that you were just reading here?" She exclaimed.
"Yeah, I was just reading," he explained.
She narrowed her eyes at him, "I find that hard to believe."
"Believe what you want, Honey, I was indeed just reading."
"Stop with the endearments already!"
"You just have to agree on a date with me and I'll do whatever you want, Honey," he winked at her.
"Are you really that slow?" She hissed, "I won't be going on any kind of a date with you. It's better for you if you understand it sooner rather than later and stop waisting your precious time on me and invest it into hitting on some blonde bimbo."
Wow. What did she actually think of him? He didn't feel comfortable with statements like these and, moreover, didn't want her to think of him like that. True, he was, after all, a ladies man. And he would definitely like to have his way with her. But all lights were flashing in his head that she wouldn't appreciate coming on to her like he did to other girls. And that in itself made her more interesting.
"Hey! You don't know anything about me so you have no right to judge me!" He exclaimed, aggravated by her statement.
She looked at him wide-eyed and started getting up to go away but he quickly reached for her hand to stop her. The moment their hands touched, a bolt ran from his fingers, through his arm, directly to his deepest core. What the hell was that? He looked confusedly at their connected hands and then at her to find her also staring at their hands perplexedly. Did she feel that too?
"Wait, sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you," he apologised sheepishly, realising he should not have behaved like that, "I'm sorry I've been acting like this, I'm usually not that annoying. What do you say we start from the beginning?" He smiled hopefully at her and gently let go of her hand.
Rory looked at him with confusion but then nodded her head slightly, "I'm also not this snappy normally," she gave him an apologetic look.
"Good to know," he smiled affectionately and stood up, extending his hand, "Nice to meet you, my name is Logan Huntzberger." He observed her reaction at his name, but caught only a glimmer of realisation. Nothing more. Interesting.
"Rory Gilmore," she shook his hand and the bolt reappeared, they both noticed it again, looking weirdly at their hands, "Well, it's Lorelai actually. But my mom's name is also Lorelai. She had this great feministic epiphany in the delivery room that girls can be given their mother's name as well as boys get their names from their fathers. Personally, I think it was just a lot of Demerol included in that decision…"
He laughed softly at her ramble, "Okay then, nice to meet you, Rory," she blushed as she realised that she was rambling and looked at her feet, "Say, would you like to grab a cup of coffee? I still owe you one actually."
Her face lit up at the mention of coffee and she nodded, "Yeah, coffee sounds nice."
Logan looked at her surprised, he really didn't think she would give in so easily. On the other hand, he was kind of glad she did but that only meant that he had to prove to her now that he wasn't an asshole, "Cool, let's go," he picked up his bag and led her to the nearest coffee cart outside the Library.
"So, what were you reading in there?" He asked while they were waiting for their coffees.
She blushed slightly, "Oh, I've finally succumbed to the pressure of the best-seller lists and started reading 'The DaVinci Code'."
"Ah, the great Robert Langdon," Logan nodded knowingly, "How do you like it?"
"You've read it?" She asked shocked.
He laughed slightly, "Yeah, don't look so surprised, I can read, you know," he smirked at her.
"Sorry, I just didn't place you as a literature fan."
"Oh well, it's your loss," he stated and took the finished coffees, handing her one and led her to the nearby bench, "So, what do you think of it?"
"It's definitely interesting and nicely written. I can see the appeal to the mass population. The way he connects real historic facts with a fictional development is really interesting," she looked at him, taking her first sip and continued, "But I fear that many people could be giving in the truth of his story. It's convincing at some moments and I don't know how I feel about that."
He looked at her astonished, he thought almost the same thing when he had read it, "I agree with you, I thought the same thing. For 'Angels and Demons' as well."
"Yeah, that one was good as well. I like the way he describes all of the locations that Langdon has to go to, it's almost as if he takes the reader there with him," she sighed with a dreamy look.
"I was rather fascinated by his descriptions of historic facts, I even read some of the books he had listed as his research for the novels. They were pretty cool."
"Really?" Logan nodded at her, "I should get them then as well."
"You should," he smiled at her, "That part of history is really fascinating. But I must say, as much as I've enjoyed the Robert Langdon books, my favourite from Brown would be 'Deception Point'."
She gleamed at him, "Oh! I loved that one as well! But 'The Digital Fortress' was also great."
"I agree with you, he for sure can write entertaining stories."
She nodded and turned her head to the park, silently sipping on her coffee. He did the same, a comfortable silence enveloping them. Logan was definitely enjoying talking to her and didn't want their conversation to end so soon and as he was about to say something she looked back at him and asked, "So, what were you reading? If you were actually reading?" She looked at him suspiciously.
He laughed at her look and answered, "I think we have clarified already that I do actually read. And enjoy reading" he gave her a convincing look, "I was reading 'The Murder Room' from P.D. James."
Her face brightened at the mention of the book, "I love her!" She exclaimed, "I've read that book during the summer now, it's good - "
"Hey!" He interrupted her just as she was about to continue, "Don't spoil it for me!"
"I would never!" She put her hand on her heart in a mocking way and a wicked gleam in her eyes but then she smiled understandingly, "But honestly, I would never spoil a good book to anyone, seeing as I myself honor it so much."
"How nice of you," he stated with a smile, "But what were you going to say then?"
"Ah! That the book is good, but it doesn't hold a candle to 'Cover her Face' or 'A Certain Justice' for example."
"You think so?"
"I know so," she smirked at him.
"Well, then I have to take your word on it," he sighed, "But 'A Certain Justice' is one of my favourite books ever so I might end up agreeing with you."
"Oh, wouldn't that be a tragedy," she stated sarcastically.
"It most definitely would be," he winked at her and she blushed slightly, turning her head back from him again.
Logan looked at her, mesmerised as she was drinking her coffee again and thought how fascinating this girl actually was. He was actually holding a sensible conversation with a girl! With a girl who didn't swoon at his feet! Deciding that he wanted to prolong the conversation as much as possible, he asked, "So, what are your favourite books?"
She looked at him with her face radiating, "Oh, well - " she started listing all of her favourites with a dreamy look on her face. He was again mesmerised by her obsession with books but also with the amount of books they both found great. They continued their conversation for another half an hour, discussing all of their favourites, when two people appeared in front of them, casting a shadow.
They didn't notice anyone and were completely enthused in the conversation when a certain thick Australian accent made them jump in surprise, "Well, well, well… If it isn't our dear friend Logan, hm, mate?"
"It most definitely is. Funny we should find him here, when he was supposed to meet us a while ago on the other side of the campus…" Colin looked pointedly at Logan. Oh shit, the LDB pre-gathering!
Logan smiled apologetically at Rory and turned to glare at his friends, "You could've called me, you know?"
"We tried, but your phone is off," Colin provided an explanation.
"Wonder why that might be…" Finn wiggled his eyebrows at Rory. Logan sometimes really hated his friends. He should have seen this coming.
"Finn, behave!" He hissed at him which only threw Finn and Colin into a fit of chuckles, "I was in the library so I turned off my phone."
"The library?!" Finn exclaimed, "Colin, take me to the nearest pub, I'm not feeling well," he threw one of his hands around Colin and the other over his forehead to pretend as like he was about to faint.
Logan's glare at his friend only increased and as he was about to tell him to knock it off, the girl beside him started laughing. Sure, he had heard her laugh before, in exasperated and scoffing ways, but never the laugh of pure amusement. It was beautiful. Like millions of little bells ringing in a most incredible melody. His friends temporarily forgotten, he turned to her, to see her eyes sparkling with laughter as well. It was breathtaking.
Her laughter subsiding, she looked at Logan with amusement, "See, my first assumption wasn't false. The library definitely doesn't fit with your reputation."
Now she was mocking him! "Hey! Don't say it so loudly!" He looked around observing mockingly, "Someone might hear you!"
"And wouldn't that be a tragedy," she answered with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"I would say so," Colin piped in, still holding Finn, "Poor Finn here wouldn't know what to think of the world anymore," he patted him on the back and turned back to Rory, "Nice to see you again, Rory. I see that Huntz finally got you to surrender to his pestering." Logan glared at him wondering why he was still friends with them. The amount of mocking he'll be hearing about this is indescribable.
"Nice to see you again as well, Colin," she smiled politely at him, "And, don't worry, I'm definitely not surrendering to the Casanova over here," she pointed at Logan.
"Casanova! Ha!" Finn exclaimed loudly, "I'm loving you, Love. Where have you been all this time?"
"Oh, here and there," she answered sheepishly.
Logan glared from his friends to her and stated, "Don't worry, Honey, you'll succumb one of these days, I can feel it."
She looked at his friends with a frown, "Have you ever tried admitting him to a mental asylum? I think that the men in nice white shirts are excited at the prospect of getting to observe such a narcissistic character."
Finn burst out laughing again and Colin chuckled as well, "Sure, we've tried. Unfortunately, they returned him to us not even a day later stating that there's no help for him anymore."
"Poor child, just imagine what goes in that head of his…" she sighed mockingly.
"Hilarious. You are all hilarious," Logan glared at them and they all burst out laughing again, "Okay, time to go," he stood up abruptly, wishing he could just escape from his mocking friends.
"Pif, I didn't think you'd give up that easily," Rory stated with a gleam in her eyes. She really was mocking him! How could he have let that happen! A girl! Mocking him! Not only mocking him, but obviously challenging him as well.
"Hm, Honey, this for sure sounded like a challenge," she was about to protest but he cut her off before she could say anything, "And I, for one, never step back from a challenge." Now it was his time to smile wickedly at her.
She groaned, "Jeez, what did I get myself into now?"
"Either a lot of annoyance coming from the smashingly good looking me or a date of your lifetime with the smashingly good looking me," Logan winked at her.
"Just when I've started thinking that you actually may be a resemblance of a normal person, you go and ruin your appearance once again," she rolled her eyes and got up.
"I am many things, but normal is not one of them. You'll se with time," he flashed her his killer smirk.
"Can't wait," she deadpanned, "But I do need to go now, I have an interview to do."
"That's cool, we need to leave as well."
"Well, it was nice seeing you again, boys, and please keep this one," she pointed at Logan, "somewhere far away from me. At least in the moments he decides to bug the crap out of me."
Colin and Finn snickered at her plea, "Sure thing, Love, but it may be a lot harder than you think. You see, our mate here can be really persistent when he wants to be. And something tells me that's the case here," Finn looked pointedly at Logan to what Logan answered with a glare thinking of how he'd punish him later.
"He'll get bored eventually," Rory stated confidently.
"Wouldn't bet on it, Honey," Logan smirked at her again, "See you soon. Remember, if you want to go out with me, just let me know. The address is still 'Master and Commander'."
She rolled her eyes at him, turned around and left. Logan turned back to his friends who were eyeing him suspiciously, "So, are we leaving or what? We still need to change," he asked them annoyed.
"Sure thing, mate," Finn winked at him and was about to continue when Logan gave him a look to drop it and continued walking to their dorms.
He wasn't in the mood for discussing Rory with his friends and he wasn't so eager to all of them making fun of him. But he also kind of liked that she could get along well with them. The only girl they ever hung out with was Stephanie Vanderbilt - they have been friends since kindergarten and she knew them well. But it was still hard finding girl friends who wouldn't get hung up on some of them. And if he was honest with himself, he liked talking to Rory. He will, of course, still continue pestering her about the desk, but he'll make sure he's a lot nicer from now on. He couldn't explain why, but he wanted her to know him - the real him.
With that thought, they continued on their evening: a pre-gathering of carefully picked out members of the LDB, in anticipation of the big gathering that will follow in a couple of days.
TBC!
Author's Note: Here it is - a new chapter! Hope you enjoy it! I would like to thank you again on your wonderful reviews on the last chapter - keep 'em coming! Also, what do you think - will Logan continue annoying Rory or will he give up soon and realise that's not a way to get her attention?
I'm currently writing my version of the infamous LDB event and I'm having loads of fun with it - you'll see it soon. Thanks again and just keep letting me know your thoughts in the reviews!