A Divine Accident Chapter 7: Calling the Dibs, a gilmore girls fanfic

Chapter 6: Calling the Dibs

It was almost Thanksgiving time and Logan was still as confused as ever about his and Rory's relationship. Or, better said - lack thereof. Especially since he had barely seen her since her birthday, and it had been weeks! If he were to admit to himself, he had found himself thinking more in the direction of taking some action towards her after the events of her birthday but he hadn't reached any conclusion nor actually taken any action.

The thing is - he had really barely seen her since then. They've run into each other a couple of times, mostly in the YDN (he would never admit to anybody that the sole reason he had even stepped a foot in there was to look for her) or by the coffee carts. She had always been her nice and witty self but Logan sensed that something was off. As if she was avoiding him and his friends, as if she was ashamed of what happened with her ex-boyfriend at the party.

So, that was the conclusion that Logan had reached. He could understand that she was feeling a bit off about that but who was he to judge? It wasn't her fault in any way and the things that he had found out about her that evening only made her more real. And, to his satisfaction, a bit imperfect. A laughable declaration but, nevertheless, truthful. Even though he would always see her as perfect. He was even more amazed with the combination of the worlds she's made of by every day. So enticing, so alluring.

And yet, he has done nothing about it until now. And if he could do anything about it now, he wasn't really sure what it would be. Because, honestly, he was petrified. He was petrified to just let go with her because the pull she had on him was already stronger than anything else he had experienced with any other girl before. And he wasn't sure if he'd survive that. Not with her.

Logan Huntzberger, brought down to his knees by a siren with piercing sapphire eyes. He had been replaying the scene on her windowsill when he had given her the photo from the LDB event over and over again in his head for weeks now. Eventually, he had come to the conclusion that the way he was acting and feeling around her wasn't in accordance with his usual modus operandi. No, it was completely opposite actually. And he had made his peace with that fact - that everything is just plain and simple different with her. What he didn't conclude as of now is what he was going to do about it.

In the meantime, after realising that she was really avoiding him out of whichever reason, he had gone back to his previous ways, trying to convince himself that everything was as it's supposed to be. That he's still his old self. That he still has his freedom. And he had to admit that he had succeeded in that - living his exciting and frivolous life to the fullest, partying, doing crazy stunts and sleeping with girls that were still throwing themselves onto him. Although, the latter has been shown as slightly challenging after some time. It seems that he had been searching for the right shade of deep brown silky colour in the girls' hairs, or deep blue eyes full with intelligence and wittiness or even the pale smooth creamy skin. Sufficient to say, none of the girls provided him with any of those characteristics so he had just given up at some point, trying to wrap his mind around what was happening to him.

He had just come back from his last class of the day to his dorm and noticed that the answering machine was blinking as a sign of an unplayed message on his receiver. He pressed play and went to grab himself a beer when he was stopped in his tracks, "Hello, Logan. This is your mother. I would appreciate it if you would answer the phone just once when I'm calling you. Give me a call when you get this message, it's important. You can't avoid your obligations forever, you have duties to this family!" The message ended abruptly.

Shit, shit, shit.

Just when he had thought that he was having a relatively nice and peaceful day, his family comes swooping in. If he were honest with himself, he was kind of surprised that he had more or less managed to evade any contact with his family until this late in the semester. But, he had seen it coming now, it was Thanksgiving season after all and he supposed that his mother had carefully planned to con him into some excruciating holiday parties with the Hartford's finest. An there was, of course, the obligatory Thanksgiving dinner with his family on the day itself - the one where they pretend they're a loving and proper family - when, in real life, they're actually anything but a real family. He had made his peace with the fact during his early teen years already, but he just hated this faking of happy and functioning family.

Groaning, he picked up the phone and dialled his mother's number in hopes that she won't actually answer now. No such luck.

"Shira Huntzberger."

Of course.

"Hi, mother," Logan sighed at the pretentiousness of his mother's voice on the other side.

"Logan! How nice to hear back from you so soon! I was thinking I would have to send out the search parties out there to get you to return my call," she faked her excitement. Logan could only imagine her fake Society smile plastered across her face.

Rolling his eyes, "Is this really necessary, mother? What did you want to talk to me about?" Logan asked in hopes of cutting through the pleasantries and jumping straight into the matter, just to make this excruciating phone call as brief as it could be.

"Really, Logan, is that any way to talk to your mother?" She faked outrage.

"I don't really have a lot of time at the moment," he lied, "Just tell me which parties am I to attend this Thanksgiving."

"What could be more important than talking to your mother whom you haven't seen or talked to in months?" She scolded him, as if it was the most serious offence.

Groaning inside, he answered, "Mother, please, just tell me when and where I need to be."

"Okay, if you insist…" she relented, "There is, of course, the dinner in our house on Thanksgiving Thursday, I'm sure you're looking forward to coming back home," she added joyfully, having no idea what he actually thought about that.

"I know…" he sighed, willing her to jump to other obligations that were coming his way.

"We're again invited to the Vanderbilt's on Saturday, as every year. You're needed there as well."

Okay. Steph's.

That won't be that excruciating. They would just form a sub-party as they do every year and avoid any other guests. Finn and Colin will be there as well for sure. As most of the LDB as well, for sure.

"I supposed we'd be going there this year as well," Logan stated, "Is there any other party that I'm required to attend?" He asked hoping that there won't be any more. Two days of being in the near vicinity of his parents would be more than enough for the whole season.

"Well…"

No such luck.

"We've been invited to one more party, on Friday," his mother continued, "It would be nice if you could join us there as well."

"Mother…" he tried to get out of it, "I think two events is more than enough."

"Logan, it's time for you to take on a more serious role within the family. That means fulfilling the societal obligations as well. Your father and me think that you should stop fooling around and step up to the Huntzberger name," she chided him.

Huntzberger name.

HA!

What he would give not to have that name. Or anything that comes with it.

Well, not everything. He did enjoy the perks of his name and the position in the society. But the cost for that has been increasingly becoming too high for his liking. The cost in the amount of his freedom.

"Mother, I am well aware of my duties to the family's name," he rolled his eyes, "However, that doesn't mean that I'm willing to be dragged around those god-awful events anytime you and dear old dad decide to make me go."

"Logan! That's no way to talk about your parents! Especially your dad! He only wants what's best for you, you know that."

HA!

This is just getting better and better.

Logan took a swing of his beer, "I'm sure," he grumbled, "So, where is this godforsaken party on Friday?"

"Richard and Emily Gilmore have invited us to their Thanksgiving party. Along with other Yale Alumni as well."

Gilmore?

That means Rory would be there as well, right?

Suddenly, the party on Friday didn't seem like such an unbearable burden, right?

Just as his mother was about to continue persuading, or better - ordering, him to attend this event, he interrupted her, "Okay, I'll be there," he stated nonchalantly.

"What?" She asked in surprise, "I had thought it would me take at least three phone calls to get you to really show up there."

Fuck.

How was he to explain to his mother the sudden urge to be where she wanted him to be. Or, more important, how to play this off coolly, so that he doesn't raise any unnecessary suspicion?

The light bulb turned on in his head, "Well, mother, you said that it's a Yale Alumni event as well. Don't you think it would be useful for me to attend a party with such esteemed guests?" He explained smoothly, hoping his mother would accept his reasoning.

"Oh, that's wonderful, Logan," she gushed, "See, you're really growing up," she complimented him with a fake voice, "Apparently the granddaughter of the Gilmore's is also attending Yale. I honestly don't understand why they would be proud and presenting her in the Society considering her background, it's highly inappropriate," she stated with venom in his voice. Gossiping - her favourite past time. Right next to looking down on everybody.

Logan's rage raised at his mother's statement. How could she say something like that when she doesn't even know Rory? When she doesn't know that amazing person - gorgeous both outside and inside.

He decided to just ignore her last statement, not being sure if he could keep his emotions in control, "Okay, mother, I need to go. I'll see you on Thursday then."

"That's alright, Logan. See you soon. Kisses!" She replied as it was the most natural way for them communicate and hung up.

Ugh.

Logan groaned and sat on his sofa, lowering his head into his hands. He knew that answering his mother's call won't bode well for him because it meant spending time with his family. Well, it won't be that bad because he'd get to see Honor again.

And, of course, he'd get to see Rory at the Gilmore's party. She won't be able to escape from him there. Hopefully. And he was also looking forward to seeing her mingle with those crowds. Sure, he had seen her within the Brigade and it proved that she really did belong into this world, no matter what his mother had said.

That's also the thing - what did his mother want to accomplish with that comment? She was really the last one to talk, with her even worse background considering the Society. But, she was a Huntzberger wife after all. They really were like royalty in these circles, much to his dismay. And, apparently, he was on the verge of getting completely sucked in.

He was well aware that his time was getting even shorter and shorter. He was doing absolutely everything to slow down the time until his impending doom, but it wasn't working. No matter how hard he tried, it was still looming upon him. A little more than a year and a half until his freedom would officially be over.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice his two best friends entering his dorm until both of them collapsed on the sofa next to him, "I get it that you've received the invitations from your parents to this year's Thanksgiving shenanigans?" Colin inquired.

Startled, Logan looked up and grumbled, "Unfortunately," he nodded and then a small smile played on his lips, "Say, you guys, did you also get an invitation for the party on Friday?"

Finn and Colin shared a knowing look. Logan was really getting tired of those looks - they've just magically appeared in the same period as they've met Rory.

"Yeah, the Gilmore's party," Finn nodded.

"Hey, Huntz, say, are we going to that one or?" Colin quirked his brow.

Logan threw him a perplexed look, "Why wouldn't we be going?"

"Well, we haven't seen Reporter Girl in a while now and we were just wondering if everything was okay between the two of you," Colin explained.

Finn piped in, "You see, we're not really in the mood for any uncomfortable situations. And," he was about to continue just as he shared another look with Colin, "we're not sure what happened there actually. If anything did happen at all," he wiggled his brows.

Logan glared at his friends as he got up from the sofa and stood in front of them, "Nothing happened!" He exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Then why haven't we seen her lately?"

"Why are your panties in a twist then? This reaction seems rather over the top if nothing had really happened."

Sighing, Logan shrugged, "I thinks she's avoiding us. Avoiding me."

"No shit, Sherlock! We gathered that already," Colin rolled his eyes, "The questions is why. We've kept our mouths shut for weeks now, hoping that you'll tell us what's wrong."

"Mate, you've gone back to your old ways and we've kept quiet during that as well, even though we see that you're really not enjoying it as much as you used to," Finn added, "Would you explain to us what's going on in that head of yours?"

Logan observed his friends' worried looks and decided to share what's on his mind, "I… I think that she's ashamed of what had happened with her ex at the party…"

Fin threw him a perplexed look, "What does she have to be ashamed of? The only person who should be ashamed is that scumbag who dared to touch her!"

"Agreed," Colin added.

"I dunno," Logan shrugged and sat in the armchair opposite of his friends, "I went to see her…" he continued, noticing raised eyebrows on his friends' faces, "After we got back to Yale that night. She looked so broken, I think she regrets what happened."

"I get that, but that's no reason to be ashamed. We are her friends, after all," Colin stated, "And she really shouldn't be ashamed about what happened or what we had found out that night. Everyone does stupid things, that's the way of life. You get over it and continue."

Logan nodded, "I agree, but I don't think it's that easy for her. She's used to being this perfect person and I think imperfection just throws her through the loop."

"Perfection is overrated," Finn stated, "And we would never think any less of her because of that. I mean, I'm kind of relieved she's not that clean," he grinned wickedly, "I don't think you'd enjoy being with her when the time comes if she were a virgin," he wiggled his brows while Colin let out a bark of laughter.

Glaring at Finn and then at Colin, "That won't be happening anyways. We're friends, it's all we can be," Logan then added, "If she ever decides to hang out with me again."

"Oh, Logan, you're so see-through," Finn laughed, "You're fooling yourself."

"Just drop it, Finn, okay?" Logan exclaimed, "Nothing won't be happening between Rory and me. That's final."

"You sure about that, mate?" Finn asked with a raised brow.

No.

He wasn't sure about that.

He knew what he wanted. He wanted her. He wanted to talk to her, to spend time with her. To kiss those luscious lips. To touch that creamy soft skin.

But he knew that could never happen. It would just be too much.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Logan nodded confidently, trying to convince himself as well.

"Then why are we going to the Gilmore's party on Friday?" Colin asked.

"I have to go to get Mitchum off my back," Logan tried to reason, "And Emily does always have good food and we can form a sub-party in the pool-house again."

"That's a lame excuse and you know it, mate," Finn stated and shared one of those looks (again!) with Colin.

"Whatever," Logan grumbled and went to his room, slamming the door behind him, followed by the sound of his friends' laughter.

"It's time for you to stop wasting your time and take your duties to this family seriously, Logan! I mean, really, this self-destructive streak of yours will not only cost you but the family as well!" Mitchum Huntzberger yelled at his son.

Logan was sitting in an armchair opposite of his father in his study at the Huntzberger Mansion. His plan was to escape just after the dessert, hoping that his father won't drag him into the Hell-hole of his office to give him yet another one of his you're a disappointment - spiel. As it seems, he hadn't managed to do so and now he was here, listening to his father's raging voice pointed towards him, a speech he had heard so many times until now that he couldn't keep count anymore even if he wanted to.

There was only one way he could cope with his father's speeches - sarcasm. Nothing more, nothing less. Whatever he would say or do would be rebuffed and he would still be a disappointment. He had learned to live with the fact that his family doesn't need him for anything other than an heir to their precious empire and to paint a pretty picture within the Society. There was no love or safety in this house. That was also one of the reasons he had never spent more than a week of time since the age of twelve - better said, since he started attending boarding schools.

"I do love your pep-talks, pop," Logan rolled his eyes, resorting to sarcasm.

"Don't be glib, Logan! This concerns you more than anyone else! I have kept my mouth shut for years now - well, not anymore! I have given you the permission to take the last year off, and what did you do?!"

Logan rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath, "If only you had kept your mouth shut…"

"You sunk a yacht!"

Actually, Finn sunk it.

Not that it matters, he still wouldn't believe me.

"Your point?" Logan asked bravely, wanting his father to get to the end of his tirade as soon as possible so that he can leave and go get drunk and forget about one more meeting with his parents.

"You don't talk to me like that, son!" Mitchum exclaimed, now the vein on his forehead clearly visible, "Beginning from next semester, you will be accompanying me on more trips. It is time you learned the ropes to he business you'll inherit someday. God knows that you obviously don't learn anything at Yale. You don't attend your classes and you haven't written a single piece for the paper this year! Is that really so hard?!"

Rolling his eyes, Logan thought to himself how easy was to his father to just scream at him like this, with no substance. Only because he figured he was right without actually checking any facts beforehand. Not a good quality for a reporter - oh, the irony.

The fact was that Logan's grades were really good, he was in the 10% of his year. Sure, he didn't attend many classes, but he did attend the ones that were important. And he did study, he actually loved studying.

The way he saw it, if he has a good Yale diploma after his time there, maybe it will come him handy sometime in the future. Not that he relied much on that glimmer of hope. But he did do it for himself. He hated the fact that everybody always thought that he was there based on his family name. Of course, he was at Yale because it was a family legacy, but he worked hard to get in on his merit. He couldn't let his father be right about that as well, couldn't give him the opportunity to gloat. So, he studied only because he wanted to have something to his name, especially when everything else had been planned for him even before his birth.

"Looking forward to it, pop," Logan answered, thinking about the trips that he would be taking with his father.

"Logan! I am not joking here. Mark my words - I will disown you if you continue behaving like this. You have a reputation to keep and you will do so," he slammed his fist on the mahogany desk, "And I want a byline with your name until Christmas break, am I making myself clear?!"

Logan stood up and nodded, "Perfectly clear," he spun on his heels and headed towards the door, having had enough of his father for one evening. As he opened the door, he turned around, "I do really hope that you'll come up with a new speech sometime soon, Dad, this one is getting old," he stated and slammed the door behind him, making a b-line for the main door of the mansion, his father's enraged voice following him.

Fortunately, he didn't run into his mother on the way out, and his sister had left with Josh earlier, so he was quickly in his car speeding back to Yale. Theoretically, he could've spent the night here, seeing as he was supposed to be back in Hartford on the two following nights as well. However, he just couldn't do it. There was a reason he called that place Hell and there was nothing that could make him spend more time than necessary there.

On his way back to Yale he decided to take a detour to one bar that he usually goes to alone. It was this old-school, secluded bar close to campus which he had discovered his first year at Yale by accident. Since then, he kept coming back there alone, especially after heated arguments with his father. Simply - it was his place to brood. Not even his friends knew about this place and he could imagine that the snobbish part of Colin would have many things to say about his place but Logan liked it.

It was a not so small bar, furnished with giant leather armchairs and sofas, mahogany coffee tables and dimmed lights. There was a huge bar in the back, equipped with the finest booze and snacks. Most of the walls were covered with bookshelves - books practically spilling from them. The rest of the walls were covered with photos and posters of famous jazz or soul performers, vinyl and other memorabilia. In the background, there was always a faint sound of some Motown essential, much to Logan's pleasure.

He sat in his corner, right after he had ordered his drink. The owner of this fine establishment, Max - a usually grumpy old man, but with Logan always somewhat nicer - as if he had sensed a long time ago that this was Logan's place to sulk, greeted him with a soft smile and a nod, letting him know that he will have his drink ready shortly. That was also one of the reasons Logan enjoyed coming here - he always knew what he could expect and no one would be nosy about his reasons to be there in the first place.

After getting the drink and taking the first sip of it, Logan relaxed and looked around. There was only one more couple in the bar, in the corner on the opposite side. When he first started coming here, Logan was curious about how this place managed to exist when it was always fairly empty when he visited it. He once asked Max about it and he told him that he's struggling but he could never get rid of it - he had worked hard to build it up from the ground and invested everything he had into it, leaving him now with his only and prized possession. After that, Logan kept donating money to keep the bar alive, his reasoning to max being that he needed just one place in the world where he could be completely alone and completely himself. Max had accepted that reasoning and since then they have formed a curious acquaintance - one filled with quiet understanding and empathy.

Now, sitting here, a thought that Rory would enjoy this place flashed through his mind unexpectedly. He had never even considered bringing anybody here, protective of his little safe piece of heaven. Smiling, his mind wandered to Rory and how she would really enjoy this place - filled with books, comfy chairs and really good coffee if she decides not to have drink. Maybe he could bring her here someday. Just that thought should have the alarms in his blazing with fiery red - but, somehow, it just felt right. He still couldn't understand it - this inexplicable urge not to hide himself in front of her.

That, for sure, was a first.

He had spent most of his life hiding his true self from almost everyone. Only Finn, Colin and Honor had a deeper insight and knew him as he was but not even they knew all his thoughts and hopes and dreams. He couldn't bring himself to share those with them, especially when knowing that they won't ever be coming true. That's why it had come as a surprise that, out of nowhere, there was this girl who made him actually want to be himself. Want to share himself with her. Sure, he still resisted it as much as he could, but he wasn't sure that he would be able to do so much longer.

Sighing, he took another sip of his drink and continued brooding over his impending future while his mind kept racing to tomorrow's party and possible outcomes.

What the hell was he to do with this girl?

"I say we split up and greet the parental units right away, that way we are more or less free for the rest of the evening," Colin proposed a plan when they entered the Gilmore Residence.

"Maybe find some scotch beforehand?" Finn counter-offered, "I am seriously not drunk enough to start with all this schmoozing."

"Good idea," Colin nodded and moved towards the bar, "Huntz, you coming?" He threw a glance towards Logan when he noticed that he hadn't moved from his spot, still carefully scanning the room. Logan got out of his stupor and nodded, moving to his friends.

"We'll find her, she must be somewhere here," Colin commented offhandedly.

Frowning, Logan answered, "I wasn't looking for her."

Finn chuckled, "Sure you weren't, mate."

"I wasn't!" Logan exclaimed exasperatedly, fully knowing that he was, in fact, looking for her. But he was never going to admit that to his friends directly.

Shaking their heads, Colin and Finn led him to the bar and ordered their drinks.

Passing him his drink, Colin stated, "Let's meet here as soon as we are done with the folks and then we can find the one we are not looking for and form a sub-party."

They all separated and went in the directions of their respective families. On his way to his parents, Logan ran into Emily Gilmore, "Emily, good evening!" He threw her his best smile and kissed her hand in greeting, "Thank you for the invite to this wonderful party."

"Logan!" She smiled in return, "Nice that you could make it. I've just spoken to your parents, you should go and say hello to them."

"I was just on my way over," he confirmed.

"Well then, I won't keep you waiting," Emily nodded and looked past him, "Oh those incapable caterers, I have to go deal with them," she added exasperatedly and before she went away, she turned to him with a smile, "Rory is here somewhere, make sure to find her later."

"Will do," Logan answered, "Enjoy the evening, Emily," he added with a smile, a real one for change, knowing that she and Richard were still on the outs. She nodded appreciatively and with that continued further, just as he did - towards his parents.

"Mother, Father," he greeted, "Nice to see you again."

"Logan, you're late," Shira said under her breath.

"Not by much, we got caught up in the traffic," Logan shrugged, "I've greeted Emily already."

"Shocking that you did the proper thing for a change, Logan," Mitchum chided.

Of course.

Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Logan answered, "I do like to surprise you sometimes, Pops."

Just as Mitchum was getting ready to retort him on that sneaky comment, Shira piped In, "It is good that you greeted Emily already," she looked around, "Even though I can't see why she would be throwing a party now and pretending that everything between her and Richard is okay when everyone knows it's not. I mean, really, what's the point?"

Logan almost laughed out loud at this comment, knowing fully well that that was most of his parents' life - pretending for the sake of the image within the Society, "I think it's admirable that they're still keeping up appearances. I think they'll surely get over what they're going through and get back together properly."

Mitchum scoffed at this comment and went to get himself another drink while Shira furrowed her brows, "Honestly, there's no need to express this fake concern, Logan. The Society hardly depends on the Gilmore's," she furrowed her nose, "And that whole scandal that surrounds them."

Inwardly, Logan had to count to five to calm himself, "Mother, I don't think it's nice to express such thoughts about the hosts at their own party. And the Gilmore's are an important family, with or without some long-forgotten scandal."

"Well, they're certainly not on the Huntzberger level," Shira scoffed before she spotted a friend of her's from the hospital committee, "I see Nancy there, I'd better go and say hello," she turned back to Logan with a fake smile, "Be sure to mingle a bit and leave a nice impression," she stated and went to her friend, leaving Logan alone.

Okay. This was short and painless. Which was to be expected after yesterday's heated dinner with his family but he could never be safe enough around them.

Scanning the room once more and not spotting the certain granddaughter of the hosts, Logan decided to make his way to the bar to wait for his friends.

Exhaling the breath he was holding, Logan made his way back to the bar where his friends were already waiting for him, "Did you see her?" He asked nonchalantly while nodding to the bartender for another drink.

Smirking, Finn replied, "Oh, yeah, we've seen her."

"Well, where is she?"

"We saw her being introduced by Emily to the one and only Kipp Barnes," Colin grinned at Logan's apprehensive face expression.

"Poor girl," Finn piped in, "But she managed to escape him shortly after Emily moved away from them and went somewhere to the back of the house."

"So you don't know where she is?" Logan inquired.

"At the moment? No," Colin clarified, "But we'll find her."

Finn looked around, "Man, these are some really slim pickings tonight. All the ladies here are either the ones I have already gone through or the ones I wouldn't even get near to."

Laughingly, Logan retorted, "What did you expect, Finn? It's always the same people at these things."

"I propose that we summon up some of the okay people for the sub-party and find your reporter lady so that we can make our way to the pool-house," Colin stated, looking at Logan.

Logan scowled, "She's not mine."

"Not for much longer, hopefully," Finn said under his breath, earning himself a glare from Logan.

"Guys, I don't want to hear it," Logan stated firmly, "You go find some people and booze for later and I'll go look for her."

"Sure you will, buddy, didn't expect anything less," Colin grinned.

Glaring at his friends, Logan hissed, "Just do so and let me be," and he turned around to go and find Rory before his friends rid him off all of his nerves.

Making his way away from the party to the back of the house, he decided to check in the first room he stumbled upon. He opened the door slowly, hoping that she was there and that no other party-goers were there. Taking in the darkened room in front of him, the only light provided by the moonlight peering from the window, he figured that it was Richard's study. He took a step in the room, closing the door behind him, to inspect the room closely, finding it full with bookshelves, comfy armchairs and paintings on the wall. One particular painting peaked his interest - a portrait of younger Rory sitting and reading a book. He took a couple of more steps towards it to be able to see it better without turning on the light. He found it to be peaceful and in character, perfectly complimenting her in every way.

He was so transfixed with the painting that he didn't notice someone sitting in the shadows on the bench next to the windowsill on the opposite side of the room from him.

"I remember fighting with my Grandma about how I should be posing for that one until she allowed me to read the book while doing so. The hours I threw in the wind for that discussion…" she whispered with a slight chuckle.

Logan spun around, surprised that he wasn't alone in the room and focused on the shadows where the whisper was coming from, "I'd say that it was worth it. It's rare to see the portraits being so in character with the subject of the painting," he whispered back with a smile, slowly making his way towards the shadows to see her.

"Dunno," she shrugged, "I just remember being relieved when it was finally over."

"Can imagine," Logan chuckled softly, "So, why are we whispering, Ace?"

"I really needed a breather and I don't want to risk my Grandma finding me before I'm ready to go back."

Finally reaching the shadows, Logan moved to sit next to her on the windowsill, moving the curtains a bit more so that the moonlight would reach her as well. Laying his eyes on her, he lost his breath - she was wearing a dark green midi-dress, with a sweetheart neckline, cinched waist and flaring out below it. She was decked in diamonds all over, them making her eyes sparkle with even more force. Finally, his eyes landed on hers, finding her blushing a bit under his gaze. Getting his voice back, he whispered, "Hey, Ace."

"Hi," she smiled back softly, averting her gaze away from him.

Chuckling, Logan commented on her previous statement, "So, we're hiding. May I inquire why?" He asked even though he was pretty sure why.

"It seems that my Grandparents have decided to sell me to the highest bidder tonight," she replied bitterly, still avoiding his gaze, "I imagine that they've already discussed my dowry with most of the eligible bachelors at the party."

"Ah, the famous meat markets. Can't say that I envy you," Logan replied.

"I just don't understand it," she continued perplexedly, "Do they honestly think I would be happy leading a life like that?" She asked disappointedly, finally looking him straight in the eyes.

Logan observed her, the emotions running through her eyes and he understood what she was getting to. However, he didn't have an appropriate answer for her, he himself puzzled by the works of the Society. Sure, he had gotten used to it and made his peace with it eons ago, but he still didn't understand it. Nor supported it. "They just want what they think is best for you," he tried to soothe her.

Rory scowled at his reply, "How can they think that?!" She got up and started pacing in front of him, "I mean, am I not capable of finding myself a boyfriend? Let alone, a husband? And I'm only twenty, for God's sakes! I have a whole life ahead of me, I want to study and work and travel the world, not spend my future being some trophy wife with no aspirations besides having tea parties with fellow trophy wives and mindlessly decorating the house! But, no! I have to meet the Campbell Heir! Campbell, like the soup, you know?!" She abruptly stood in place, her gaze lowered towards the floor, taking a deep breath, she continued, "And also these clothes, these diamonds! This is not me! I don't even want to know how much they're worth - probably enough to sustain a middle-class family for years! I mean, do people really want to live lives like these?" She asked dejectedly, "Are there any goals in those lifestyles? Any aims? Or just shallow thoughts?" She sighed and continued looking down to the floor.

Logan followed her ramble carefully, understanding what she was talking about. He was, yet again, amazed at how she was different from any girl he had met before, especially any girl from Society. But, that was the thing - she wasn't a typical Society member. She wasn't raised to be a trophy wife. And Logan had to admit that he liked it - he liked it a lot, in fact.

Standing up carefully not to startle her, he took the few steps to her and put his index finger under her chin, making her look at him, "Hey," he said softly, "Just breathe," he added and put his arm at the small of her back to lead her back to the bench - upon contact with her, the spark surged through his body again, making him just a bit more alive, a bit more aware that he was standing next to her.

Once seated, he tried to soothe her again, "It's the unfortunate way the Society works, Ace. There's no way to change it, it's just the way it is. You just have to learn to live within it."

"But I don't want to live within it!" Rory exclaimed, "That's the thing. I know who my family is and I know why I'm here but I wasn't raised that way. I was raised to have dreams and follow them, to achieve everything on my own."

"Then you have it much simpler and easier than the rest of us," Logan stated ruefully.

She eyed him for a long moment before she spoke up again, "Do you approve of it?"

Logan threw her a confused look until he realised what she was asking. How was he to answer this question? The simple answer would be that he didn't approve of it, in any way. But the truth would be that, aside his disapproval of this world, he still lived in it. And had to live accordingly.

He shook his head, deciding on an answer, "No, I don't. But I still have to live that way," he stated sadly, choosing to tell her the truth.

"Then why don't you fight it?" She asked her with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

"I'm not allowed to," he answered quietly and stood up abruptly, extending his hand to her, hoping to avoid this topic with every fibre of his being, "Let's go back, shall we? Finn and Colin are gathering some people for the sub-party."

"Sub-party?" She asked confusedly, accepting his hand and standing up, obviously seeing that he wouldn't like to continue their previous topic.

It always amazed him how she understood his mood swings and topic changes when themes like that would arise.

What was it about this girl that she made everything so simple but so complicated in the same moment?

"Ah," he smiled knowingly, leading her to the door, "I see that you'll be introduced to the art of a sub-party this evening for the first time," he opened the door and let go of her hand, opting to put it on the small of her back and leaned to her ear to whisper, "You won't regret it, trust me."

He observed the blush and goosebumps that appeared on her skin as a reaction to his whisper and it made the certain lower region of his body twitch in anticipation. She then bit her lip as if weighing her options and the only thing he could think of was kissing her then and there, in the hallway of her grandparents' house. However, before he could lean in towards this luscious lips, she asked, "And where would this sub-party be taking place?"

Getting his wits together and leading her back to the party, "At the pool-house, of course."

"The pool-house?" She furrowed her brows, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Don't worry, Ace, no one will know we were there," he reassured her, "We have a life-long experience in throwing these things. No one has caught us yet."

"I bet," she quipped, "But I should really get back to my Grandparents for a bit. I really don't want to face the backlash if they figure out I ditched their party. It's enough that my Mum managed to escape it tonight, since she was at the dinner yesterday."

Logan shot her an inquisitive look, "Then why are you here if she's not?"

"I have to be," she stated and looked around the party, "Listen, I'll go hang out here for a bit longer and then I'll find you guys."

He eyed her suspiciously, "You're not thinking of backing out, are you?"

"Oh, trust me, I want to get out of here," she rolled her eyes, "I just have to spend a bit more time here."

Nodding, he removed his hand from the small of her back, "I'll come looking for you if you're not at the pool-house in 30 minutes."

"I'll be there," she reassured him and made her way towards the party.

He called after her, "Ace!" She turned back to him, "Don't let them marry you off in the next half an hour," he grinned wickedly and then added with a soft smile, "Just be yourself."

She threw him a blinding smile and headed back to the party.

Jesus.

Logan leaned against the wall at the end of the hallway and observed the way she was moving through the party - always engaging in conversations with a smile on her face. She really was a natural in these crowds, no matter what she thinks. The smile on her face was her true smile, not the faked one he got used to seeing from people in these circles. She worked the crowds effortlessly, easily contributing to any conversation she got roped into. Maybe that was because she was raised away from all this? Maybe her soul was still too pure to see the actual workings of the Hartford Society.

No matter what, Logan made a promise to himself that he would never let her lose that about herself. Even if she has nothing to do with him in the future, he would always make sure that she stays her true self. It was refreshing to see someone like her in these crowds, even though he was sure they could eat her for breakfast if they decided to. But he won't let them.

The fact which was getting more and more apparent with each second was that his attraction towards her was not ceasing in any way. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted. From just simply talking to her to the possibility of finally kissing her. He couldn't even imagine what a kiss with her would boil up in him, just based on that weird spark appearing anytime he touches her. Based on that fluttering in the pit of his stomach anytime he's near her or thinking about her.

How was he to deal with this?

"So, where is our Love?" Finn swaggered up beside Logan, taking a swig of his drink and throwing him an amusing look.

Colin followed him closely, "Yeah, wasn't she supposed to be here by now?"

Logan took a glance at his watch and frowned, it had been a bit more than 45 minutes. Poor girl, she probably got sucked into some excruciatingly boring discussion, "I really should go and get her out of there before she loses her mind."

"What do you mean loses her mind?" Colin frowned.

"Nothing," Logan shook his head, "She just wasn't happy about the meat market part of the evening."

"Understandable," Finn nodded thoughtfully and then slapped Logan on the back, "Now, mate, off you go!" He exclaimed and pushed him in the direction of the door.

Logan threw a dark look towards his friends before he made his way to the main house. Stepping to the patio behind the house, he noticed Rory being hit on by that sleaze bag Jordan Chase. He stopped for a second and watched her interact with him and almost laughed out loud at her squirming face to Chase's lines. Quickly, he made his way to her and slung his arm over her shoulder, "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" He exclaimed and then added softly, "I'm late, I'm sorry, don't be mad," before he turned to Chase and introduced himself with confident voice, "Logan Huntzberger," he stated and reached to shake the guy's hand.

Chase nodded uncomfortably, obviously not happy with this turn of events, "Jordan Chase," he shook his hand back. Sure, Logan had already known the guy's name and a couple of dozen of rumours circling around about him. He just hated these Society guys who lived for their fraternities and teenage girls. Not that he and his friends were any better, but they did have more class. And they would never sink down to a lame fraternity or sleeping with a teenage girl. That was always too much drama.

"Good to meet you," Logan retorted and squeezed Rory a bit more to himself, feeling her relax next to him, much to his pleasure. "Thanks for keeping my girl busy. If you hadn't, then she would've noticed how late I really am and then she might've left," he explained smoothly, "And that would be very very bad."

Chase chuckled disbelievingly, "Excuse me, I'm sorry," he tried to clarify, "You're with her?" He asked, pointing from Logan to Rory.

Logan replied confidently, "Going on a year and a half," he threw him a shit-eating grin and squeezed Rory's shoulder in affection, overjoyed when she decided to play along and put her hand on his on her shoulder.

"Great," Chase stated dejectedly, "Then why the hell was I sent here to talk to her," he huffed and turned to go back to the party.

The moment the guy got a decent distance away from them, Rory burst out laughing, "I honestly can't believe this!" She said in half a breath, still laughing uncontrollably, "He actually had the decency to ask me how old I was just to make sure that everything was legal. And he insinuated that I probably get crazy when I'm drunk and that he should get me a drink."

Logan enjoyed her laughter and shock over the situation, "He's an asshole. Good thing I showed up on time - you looked cornered."

"I was," she nodded, calming down again, "You know, you could've gotten here sooner!" She narrowed her eyes at him, "If you hadn't shown up now, I would've probably been sold to the next bidder."

"I'm glad I did," he smirked and looked around, "Are you done here?"

"Yeah - " she was about to answer when she was interrupted by the booming voice of her grandfather.

"Logan!"

Turning towards the voice, Logan smiled, "Richard!" and shook his hand.

"How are you, son?"

"I'm very well, Sir, and yourself?" Logan inquired, "It's nice to see you again so soon."

"I'm fit as a fiddle," Richard replied, "Yes, I was hoping that we could forget that little incident from Rory's birthday," he chuckled uncomfortably.

"No worries, Sir," Logan nodded reassuringly.

"Are your parents here?"

Unfortunately.

"They're wandering around here somewhere. Mom is obsessing over Emily's new draperies."

"Ah, yes! Emily has exquisite taste in fabrics," Richard stated proudly and looked at Rory, "Alright, Rory, since I see you're in the capable hands, I will make another round and end up at the bar and you kids can go back to the pool-house, I will distract your Grandmother away from there," he smirked knowingly.

Rory shared a look with Logan and replied, "What has gotten into you, Grandpa?" She asked amusedly.

"Rory, I have been a college student once as well and, sufficient to say, these parties are a drag for young people. Go, have fun with your friends," he reassured her.

"It's been nice seeing you, Richard," Logan stated with a smile, amused by the tall man in front of them.

"You too, Logan," Richard nodded, "Now go," he shooed them away and turned in the opposite direction.

"C'mon, Ace," Logan steered her in the way of the pool-house, "Richard's orders," he grinned.

"I can't believe it," she chuckled.

"See, he doesn't want you sold off to the highest bidder," Logan smirked.

"Yeah, he actually wants me to have a career. Grandma is the one who goes over the top from time to time. I suppose it's because she never got the chance to do that with my Mum," Rory explained.

"Well, you managed to escape her diabolical plans this evening, haven't you?"

She sighed in relief, "Thankfully."

He opened the door to the pool-house for her, and led her in. The moment he closed the door behind them, Finn was on his knees in front of them, "Oh, thank Lord, you're here, Love! I was starting to think you would never show up! These guys are a bore, I need some distraction!" That comment got him a round of boos from around the room, as well as some hoots, much to Logan's dismay.

Rory eyed him for a moment and then turned to Logan, "How many sheets to the wind is he already exactly?"

Logan chuckled, "Believe it or not, he's just getting started," he glanced to the improvised bar, "Would you like something to drink?"

She thought for a second, "Yeah, bring me something strong," she surprised him, "I think there should be a Tequila in that cupboard," she pointed to the kitchen.

Tequila?!

"A lady after my own heart!" Finn weeped again before he was swooped up from the floor by Colin.

"Are you sure, Ace?" Logan asked concerned. He had never seen her drink anything as strong and wasn't sure how she would handle it.

Rory narrowed her eyes at him, "Why wouldn't I be sure?"

He noticed the glare from her eyes and tried to formulate his next answer carefully, "Well… it's just a bit strong, isn't it?"

She burst out in laughter, "Geez, Huntzberger, even if I don't drink every day like the rest of you, it doesn't mean I can't handle my booze. So," she waved with her hand, "Feel free to bring me my drink, you humble servant," she grinned wickedly at him while Colin and Finn burst out in laughter as well.

That little minx.

While he got her her drink, she situated herself on the sofa, took off her heels and tucked her legs beneath her, with Finn and Colin sitting on both sides of her. Great, his friends were blocking him yet again. Just as he has thought that he had been making some progress with her, his friends had to butt in.

"Here you go, milady," he presented her with her drink and a glass of water.

"Why, thank you, kind sir," she grinned at him and took a sip of her drink, engaging back in the conversation with Finn, "So, why do you need my help with this girl?" She frowned.

A girl?

Logan shared a confused look with Colin, who just mouthed Rosemary to him. Ah, Finn's never-happening conquest, the one for whom he claims to be the love of his life. A redhead, of course.

"Well, Love, it seems that my beautiful Rosemary consistently doesn't want to go out with me. No matter what I try," Finn explained sadly, "And, believe me, I've been trying for months now! Ever since the school started and I met her."

"Please help him, Rory, he's been driving us crazy with this," Colin piped in.

"And how exactly have you been trying to get her attention, Finny?" Rory narrowed her eyes at him.

Finn glared at her because of the nickname before he jumped into the explanation, "Well, I proposed a heated night with my exotic self for a couple of times. I also tried with spontaneous meetings in the bar, some smooth making out when we were both inebriated and with a deck of Finn-lovin' coupons, but nothing has worked!"

Rory laughed loudly at his explanation and answered when she calmed down a bit, "And you think that is normal?"

Finn threw he a confused look while Logan and Colin shared an amused one, Logan now sitting on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Finny, you can't make someone go out with you by giving them a deck of Finn-lovin' coupons, whatever those might be," she scrunched her nose, "Actually, I don't even want to think what they might be."

Finn looked at her like she sprouted a second head, "So, what should I do then?"

"Maybe try with something simple? I mean, have you never wooed a woman?" She threw him an overly amused look.

Nodding thoughtfully, Finn asked, "And how does one exactly woo a woman?"

"You know, flowers, candies, candles and slow jam in the background."

Now he was looking at her like she sprouted the third head as well.

"Seriously, Finn, how in the Hell do you get all those girls you're parading around with to go out with you?" Rory asked him with a raised brow.

"I see you've been noticing me around, haven't you?" Finn leered at her, earning himself a glare from Logan.

She just shrugged her shoulders, "It's hard not to miss a loud, over-the-top Australian in flashy-coloured clothes and painted nails," she quipped back, making Colin and Logan burst out in laughter again.

"Right on point, Ace," Logan praised her.

"Oh, how we have missed you, Reporter Girl," Colin added, "We need someone to kick some sense into our friend her from time to time."

"Happy to serve," she grinned and looked at Finn who was definitely not amused by this turn of events.

"Why do you all always have to turn against me?" He exclaimed exasperatedly, "It's not my fault that I'm exotic!" He added and lunged for the bar cart in a flurry.

Logan nodded to Colin, "It's your turn, buddy. Go make sure he doesn't break something."

Colin threw him a gleeful look, fully aware that Logan wanted to be left alone with Rory and went after Finn.

Finally alone with her, Logan sat on the sofa and stated the first thing that had come to his mind, "You know, I didn't get a chance to tell you, I read your article about the Brigade."

Lame, he knew it but he just wanted to talk to her. And the truth was that he actually never got to congratulate her on her good job. And it had been a really good job. She had painted the picture in a perfectly mysterious way without revealing any vital information.

"You did?" She asked surprisedly and turned more towards him.

"Yeah, not bad," he smiled at her.

"Thank you," she replied with a small blush and a bit of honor, if Logan was not mistaken.

"You caught the spirit of it, I'll give you that," he continued.

"But?" She asked as if she was not believing him fully.

"No, no buts. You've got a good style," he added, hoping to convince her but he just had to irk her a bit, "There were a bit too many similes in it for my taste but it definitely had a little Joseph Mitchell thing going for it, I liked it," he ended on a high note.

She shook her head disbelievingly, "I'm surprised you even bothered to read it," she stated with a smile, goading him back.

"Are you?" He smirked. He knew that she was just goading him as well but he really didn't want her to think that he was just some punk who wouldn't comment on her marvellously done job or, even worse, not even bother to read it. And, being who he was, he knew good writing when he saw it. And she was good. More than good.

"Mhm," she nodded and then looked at him again, "Speaking of Mitchell, do you prefer his pieces for the Profiles section or for The Talk of the Town?" She asked him with a knowing smile, giving him a wonderful opening for one more bantering session with her, just like he wanted it to be.

Later in the night, after much protest from Rory and even more offers from Logan, they were in his limo, along with Colin and Finn, giving her a ride back to Stars Hollow.

Does this girl ever accept anything easily?

It took him 15 minutes to convince her that they should give her a ride home because she had been drinking and she tried to convince him that her grandparents would get her a driver to take her back home. He had finally won her over with an argument that she surely wouldn't like for her grandparents to see her in a drunk state.

She wasn't drunk, not really. Just a fair amount of tipsy-drunkness. It had actually surprised Logan how well she handled her alcohol and how she was a really fun drunk. Sure, they were all more and more under the influence as the night got farther, but she really kept up well. She talked to him for a while until she was dragged away by Finn to partake in some drinking-game and then ended up reenacting some musicals scenes with him. She was wonderfully enjoyable and everyone in that pool-house was put under her spell that night, whether they wanted to or not. And she did it effortlessly, Logan was sure that she wasn't even aware of her influence among the guys tonight or aware of the looks they have been giving her.

For the most of the night, he had managed to glare off any unwanted leers towards her, surprising himself at his actions as well. He wasn't usually the one to act like this but he just couldn't fathom guys seeing her and treating her like a piece of meat.

They were now nearing her small town and she was sitting next to him, across from Finn and Colin with whom she had been engaged in a conversation about which character from Friends was the best and whether Rachel and Ross had actually been on a break.

Suddenly, just as they've entered her town, Colin had to ask, "So, Reporter Girl, mind if I ask you something?" Logan got an uneasy feeling and glared at his friend, hoping that he won't screw up something.

"Sure, Colin, shoot," Rory replied as if it was understood. And it probably was.

"May we ask why you have been avoiding us since your birthday?"

Shit.

Logan should've seen it coming. Trust dear old Colin not to beat around the bushes. Sure, normally Logan liked that about Colin, but it would be nice that he sometimes thought before he asked things like that so directly.

Fortunately, Rory shook her head and averted her gaze just a bit towards the back of the car, "I haven't been avoiding you. I've just had a lot going on and had to deal with some of my stuff," she glanced back at them, "I didn't mean to make you feel like I was avoiding you."

"It's okay, Ace, we understand," Logan tried to reassure her.

"Of course, Love, we just missed you!" Finn exclaimed and then continued more seriously, "We just thought you were ashamed or something because of what happened with your ex-boyfriend at the party."

"Oh…" she shook her head and smiled sadly, "I will forever be ashamed of that but it really wasn't the reason I've been neglecting you guys these past few weeks," she smiled warmly at them, "I really appreciate what you did for me back then, I think I never got to thank you properly for that."

"No need to thank us, Reporter Girl, you are our friend and we take care of ours," Colin stated simply.

"So, what has been occupying your time, Ace?" Logan inquired, both hoping to change the subject so that she felt more at ease and also honestly interested in what she had been up to.

"There's this girl from Chilton who is coming to visit me next week," she explained excitedly, "She will be staying with me for a couple of days so that I can show her around Yale. I've been planning her visit and advancing on my schoolwork so that I don't have to do it when she's here."

"And you are actually excited about that?" Finn frowned disbelievingly.

"Yeah, it's a wonderful opportunity, isn't it?" She asked gleefully.

Logan shook his head with a chuckle, "You're a strange girl, Ace."

They pulled up in front of her house and she greeted them good bye and made her way to the house, leaving them alone on their drive back to Yale.

"So, what is going on between the two of you?" Colin asked Logan.

"What do you mean?" Logan frowned.

"I mean, you haven't left her side tonight at the sub-party and before you were so eager to find her and then you also rescued her from that sleaze Chase. You have been glaring off all the guys who even dared to look in her way the whole evening. Hence the question - what's up?" Colin elaborated.

"Nothing, we were just hanging out," Logan tried to avoid this conversation with his friends for the umpteenth time.

"Don't you think it's time to ask her out, buddy?" Colin got straight to the matter.

Squirming uncomfortably in his seat, Logan attempted to avoid his friends' gazes until Finn piped in, "C'mon, mate, you have been drooling after her for months now! It is high time that you do something about it, it can't continue this way anymore. Honestly, I have no idea what you are waiting for. I mean, only the chemistry between the two of you is evidence enough that there actually is something there. Something good. Why won't you give it a try?"

Logan looked at him thoughtfully, he himself having reached the more or less same conclusion recently. Although, he was still aware of all of the drawbacks to that idea, but somehow the pros have gradually been starting to outweigh the cons.

Besides, he really did want to kiss those lips finally.

And do many more things to her.

"So, are you going to do it?" Colin asked again.

Looking between his friends, Logan nodded softly but surely.

Yeah.

Until Monday morning, Logan's resolution from Friday has slowly started to dissipate. Sure, he was still firm on the idea to finally ask her out but a new problem had reemerged in the past two days. Namely, how to go about such a thing as asking her out? Laughable, really. The great Logan Huntzberger's mind in shambles because of a simple thing as asking a girl out on a date with him. However, this girl wasn't like the others and herein lies the problem.

Consumed by his thoughts and possible ideas and plans, Logan got ready for the day and ventured out of his dorm to the campus with the idea of finding her somewhere and maybe grabbing a coffee with her, engaging in a friendly banter and definitely not asking her out now. No, he wasn't ready for that but he definitely was ready to see her again, especially now when it seemed that he wasn't going to ignore him anymore.

Yeah, that will do.

Not spotting her anywhere on the campus, he relied on his last resort - the YDN office, and made his way over there, even though that was the last place where he was willingly wanting to be.

What was this girl doing to him?

Entering the office, he was disappointed when he didn't find her there either. However, before he could escape this doomed place without being seen, he was unfortunately spotted by the editor himself - Doyle McMaster.

"Logan!" The little guy exclaimed, a bit flustered, "What brings you here?"

Logan grinned - at least he could have a bit of fun in making Doyle squirm, "Well, Chief, I woke up today and felt the office calling me. I see it's still in good hands by our competent Chief," he patted him on the back.

Doyle gulped visibly, "Logan, Logan, Logan…" he chuckled nervously, "You surely have been missed."

"You don't say," Logan grinned wickedly and then looked around, "So, how is everything going on around here?" He faked interest.

"Oh… everything's still the same," Doyle looked around as well before he focused back on Logan, "You know…"

Uh oh. He should've seen it coming.

Ah, what the hell, he has to write an article sometime.

The things he did for a girl.

"Yeah, Doyle?" Logan raised an eyebrow at the nervous editor in front of him, really enjoying his flustered state.

"There's this article that has to be written, you know," Doyle started explaining, getting short of breath and blushing a bit in his state.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, about the student's uproar versus Professor Roark's resigning," he managed to choke out, "Would you maybe be interested in writing it?"

Logan started chuckling at the little man's uncomfortableness in front of him, just because he was finally asking him to write something. To be fair, Logan appreciated it. Usually, Doyle never asked him to do anything, let alone demanded anything from him and now he finally did it. Miserably, but still… Logan hated the way he always danced around him and sucked up to him, only to get himself in his father's good graces. Little did he know that Logan had absolutely no influence over his father. If he did, maybe he would be able to commandeer his future himself and not let his father take the ropes. "Sure, thank you," he finally replied.

The look of shock on Doyle's face made Logan laugh out loud, so he patted him on the shoulder and made his way out of there where he came across Paris in the hallway in front of the office, "Hey, Paris."

"Huntzberger," she quipped in her usual tone. Even though they had spent s good time in the same company at Rory's birthday, she was still as stuck up and frigid as always.

"Nice to see you again," he smirked, "Could you please tell me where Rory is?" Well, at least he could find out where she was from her roommate, right?

She glared at him for a long moment before rolling her eyes, "She's showing that kid from Chilton around today. I mean, really, why would anyone want to do something like that, let alone be excited about it?"

My sentiments exactly.

"Ah, she's already here? I didn't know she was coming today already," Logan stated simply.

"How do you know about the girl's visit?" Paris frowned.

"Rory told us on Friday when we gave her a lift back home from the Gilmore's," he answered, "Do you maybe know where she is right now?"

Lame, Huntzberger. You are lame.

Really, it's like all his suaveness flows out the window when she is concerned.

Paris chuckled amusedly, "Based on the plans she had told me, they should be at Sterling. Poor girl, she'll die of boredom before Gilmore takes her around all the benches."

Laughing out loud, Logan replied, "Yeah, seems like Ace," he smiled at Paris, "Thanks!" and made his way to the Sterling Memorial Library.

Once in the library, he found her easily on the second floor. He moved closer to her and stood behind the column a few feet away from her, watching her excitedly explain something to the poor high school girl who looked like she was about to die of boredom.

He shamelessly eavesdropped for a few minutes longer, catching some glimpses about Rory's love of libraries, guys and no uniforms until Rory picked up an old book from the shelf in front of her and brought it up to her nose and inhaled deeply.

Yeah, that was his Ace.

Somehow managing to contain his laughter, he made his way to her, the opportunity to mock her simply impassable. "I'm sorry, excuse me," he approached her, "Did I just see you smell that book?" He asked her with an evil glint to his eye.

"Hey, Logan," she blushed a bit and averted her gaze from him, pretending that he didn't see anything

"Hey, Ace," he smirked and nodded to the girl next to her, fully aware of who she was, but still needing to keep the conversation going somehow, "Who's your friend?"

Probably relieved that he wasn't going to mock her about the book-sniffing incident, Rory made a movement with her hand, "Oh, Anna, this is Logan," she introduced, "Logan, this is Anna. She's from my high school, you know - the girl I told you about that was coming to visit me so that I can show her around campus."

"I remember, Ace, I just didn't think she was coming already on Monday," he replied easily and then turned his charm up a notch, figuring he could use Anna to spend some time with Rory today, "What, high school? Nah, I would've sworn you were a college girl," he smirked, making Anna giggle girlishly to his comment.

Easy.

Time for the attack.

"So, is she showing you a good time?" He asked Anna while nodding to Rory.

Rory glared slightly at him, "I'm showing her everything important."

Of course she is.

Let's make sure of that.

"Mhm, good," he said disbelievingly, then added when an idea occurred to him, "Make sure she takes you by the Pub. Local place, everyone goes there."

Rory rolled her eyes and intensified her glare, "I'm not taking her to the Pub."

He'd seen it coming, of course. He was well aware that Rory wouldn't take Anna willingly to the Pub but something told Logan that Anna might just convince her to go there. She sure seems like the persistent type.

"Oh, please? The Pub sounds fun," Anna giggled again, throwing a seductive smile towards Logan. Yeah, she was just playing right into his game.

"Ace, you've been there. You don't have to drink, they do have coffee there, which I'm pretty positive you're fully aware of," he grinned at her glare and looked again towards Anna, "It's a cool scene, make her take you," he added and returned his gaze to Rory, just to irk her a bit while he was there already, "Bring a book to sniff," he grinned wickedly.

As expected, she scowled at him, "What are you doing in the library anyhow?" She retorted, obviously getting pissed off with him. Angry sure did work for her.

Fully aware that he couldn't just flat out admit that he had spent his morning looking for her, just to get to talk to her for a bit or grab a coffee, he came up with an answer, "Got lost," he joked, "Don't tell anyone I was here, it'll ruin my rep."

"I'll be sure to mention it to Finn, poor guy is still recovering from the last time," she grinned wickedly at him.

Ignoring her comment by throwing her just a wink, he smiled at Anna, "Anna, it's been a pleasure," then he nodded at Rory, "See ya, Ace," he added with a full-wide grin and made his way back to behind that column from earlier, having a feeling that he would maybe hear something useful.

"He's cute," he heard Anna practically drooling.

Bingo!

"Yes, he is," Rory quickly replied, making him sport the biggest grin anyone had ever seen before he frowned after hearing the rest of her statement, "But not as cute as Pushkin."

What?!

Did she really just compare him to a Russian realism writer on the scale of cuteness? Sure, he never was one of the guys to be in the business to be referred to as cute, but come on! With a perplexed look on his face, he got out of the library and headed to his classes.

Not as cute as Pushkin?!

Early in the evening, Logan entered Colin and Finn's dorm, "What are you guys doing tonight?" He asked as he spotted Colin on sofa flipping through channels on TV and went to the refrigerator to grab them both a beer.

"Probably just the Pub, if Finn ever gets out of the shower!" Colin exclaimed towards the bathroom, "I swear to you, the amount of time he spends in the shower is beyond disturbing at this point," he said to Logan with a shake of his head.

Cringing, Logan replied, "Thanks for the image," but then grinned as he realised that Colin had mentioned the Pub, "Marvellous, we should get going ASAP then."

Colin raised an eyebrow, "It's not even 7PM, Huntz. What's the matter with you?"

Logan continued grinning as he was about to share the events of his day with Colin, "Watch this - I stumbled upon Ace this morning at Sterling," he fabricated a bit, hoping to avoid his friends' incessant mocking, "and she was showing that girl from her high school around. When I saw her, she was sniffing a book! Can you believe it?"

Bursting out laughing, Colin shook his head, "Sounds like Reporter Girl to me, why are you so surprised?"

"I'm not surprised, I was just shocked that she did it in the middle of the library in the middle of the day."

"You tell it like as if she was having sex in the middle of the library," Colin grinned.

Jesus. He really shouldn't be getting that image in his head now.

Shaking his head, Logan replied, "Nah, I'm sure she'd never do it in front of the books," he grinned.

"I think you're up to something there, Huntz," Colin chuckled, "So, what else did she say?"

Logan frowned for a bit, remembering the comparison to Pushkin. Sure, he didn't give a flying fig about other girls finding him cute or not, but with his Ace it was something different. As was the fact that she managed to compare him with a dead Russian writer mere seconds after the former statement - something that was breezing through his mind the whole day.

Weighing his options and whether telling this to Colin would in any way be smart, he decided to just share it, "Well, she did say that I was cute, but not as cute as Pushkin," he mumbled.

Staring bewildered at him, Colin started laughing uncontrollably after a few beats, "I can't believe this!"

"What can't you believe, mate?" Finn asked as he got out of the bathroom, wearing only his flashy Hawaiian-print boxers.

"Our dear Casanova friend here got compared to a dead Russian writer on the matter of his cuteness and got out on the wrong side of the deal," Colin managed to croak out between the waves of laughter. Logan was seriously regretting sharing this with him.

Finn listened carefully before he burst out in laughter himself, "Let me guess… that would be the work from your precious Ace, right?"

"Don't call her that," Logan grumbled, making his friends laugh even harder, "Laugh it up, you idiots," he got up from the sofa and went to the door, "Now hurry up, otherwise I'm going alone to the Pub," he glared at them and chuckled when Finn bolted for his room to get dressed at the mention of the Pub.

Finally in the Pub, which was fairly full considering it was Monday, they scanned the crowd in hope of spotting their favourite Reporter Girl. Disappointed after not spotting her immediately, Logan made his way to the bar to order some drinks for them and leaned onto it while waiting for the drinks.

"It seems that your girl's not here after all," Finn commented.

Logan rolled his eyes, "She's not my girl."

"Sure," Colin grinned, "And Finn doesn't like redheads."

"Colin!" Finn exclaimed, "Don't even dare to speak such nonsense again!" He reprimanded him.

"Oh, knock it off, you two!" Logan grumbled, "Always the same discussion!" He exclaimed exasperatedly and turned around to pay the bartender and pick up their drinks. Just as he was paying for the drinks, the crowd on the other side of the bar cleared out a bit and he spotted her sitting with Anna and Marty. He scowled at the fact that she was there with Marty - that surely wasn't his plan. His scowl intensified even more when he registered two guy approaching their table and a couple of more guys checking her out. Then he looked closely towards her and understood why - she was wearing a mini skirt and knee-high boots, her legs perfectly accentuated. Yeah, he could definitely understand why. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like if those legs were wrapped around him.

And he definitely shouldn't be thinking about that now.

Following his gaze, his friends easily found the object of his current distraction. Finn exclaimed joyfully, "Love!" And bolted towards her. Casting a glance at each other, Colin and Logan quickly followed Finn before he managed to do something inappropriate. It's not that Finn would purposefully do something inappropriate, it was just the fact that one could never know with him.

The moment they reached the table where she was sitting, Finn had already pulled Rory up from her seat and was giving her a bearhug. She casted a desperate look towards Logan and let out a cry for help, "Did the two of you let him off his leash again?"

Patting Finn on the back, Logan said, "Finn, let her go before you suffocate her."

Begrudgingly, Finn let go off her and immediately turned to Anna, "And who might you be?" He threw her his famous knee-weakening smirk.

"Oh boy," Rory grumbled, "She's in high school, Finn!" She hissed and turned to look at Logan and Colin, letting them know to take care of this.

Quickly grabbing a couple of chairs, they positioned Finn between a frowning Marty and Rory, Logan taking his place between her and Anna, leaving Colin to sit next on Anna's other side, next to Finn.

"Hi, Marty, good to see you again," Logan smiled.

Obviously uncomfortable and entirely unhappy with the new company, Marty smiled sourly, "Hello."

Logan couldn't blame him for his reaction really. He would've also had the same one if he was in his spot. However, he wasn't and he'd be damned if hw screw up with Marty once again in front of Rory.

"See, Rory, you're talking to boys all the time! Why can't I?" Anna whined.

Boys?

"Well, you're in high school, Anna," Rory stated, "Besides, what are you talking about?"

Anna rolled her eyes, "Like you don't know what I'm talking about. There have been guys hitting on you the whole day. Why can't I talk to them when you won't?"

"Oh, for Christ' sake! They haven't been hitting on me!" Rory exclaimed, "And you're here to see Yale, not to get wasted in some dump with a bunch of frat boys!"

Dear Lord, this girl can sometimes be really dense when it comes to her beauty. Logan would bet his entire inheritance that guys have, in fact, been hitting on her. Even though he is somehow, with no sensible explanation, deeply disturbed by that fact, he still sees it as a pretty cute fact about her.

Finn wiggled his eyebrows to Anna, "So, which guys have been hitting on our Love here?" He asked, making Rory groan.

"Well, almost all the baristas at the coffee carts, a guy in the library, then some guys in the cafeteria and now a bit before you joined us two another guys," Anna stated matter-of-factly, "And she flat-out refused all of them."

"So, what was with the two guys here in the bar?" Colin asked amusedly, eyeing Logan's reaction, "At least this place is a nice venue to pick up some fun at this time of the day," he winked at her.

"Oh yeah, Matt and Matthew were such cuties!" Anna gushed.

"Too biblical," Rory muttered under her breath but unfortunately both Finn and Logan had heard her.

"What was that, Love?" Finn grinned at her, "They were too pure for you, weren't they?" He mocked her.

"Dear Lord, leave me out of this discussion!" Rory exclaimed and stood up abruptly, "I'm going to get another coffee before this conversation escalates any further. Does anyone want something else?"

Seeing everyone nod in confirmation, even Marty - much to Logan's chagrin, he stood up as well, "Come on, I help you," he told Rory and steered her to the bar.

After ordering a round of drinks for the boys and cappuccinos for Rory, Anna and Marty, Logan turned leaned with his elbows on the bar, mimicking Rory's position, "So, guys with biblical names are not your type?" He grinned at her.

She threw him a glare, "Not you too!" She exclaimed and let out a long sigh, "I mean, she's here to see the campus, experience college life! Not to grope with some random guy!"

Logan laughed loudly at her statement, "But here's where you're wrong, Ace. That is what college life is really like."

"Well, maybe for you," she narrowed her eyes at him, "But not for the rest of us. Not everything is about booze and parties and bimbos."

"Wow, a high opinion you have of me there," Logan chuckled, fully aware of his reputation, but still hesitant when she mentioned it. Nevertheless, he decided to make his point, "But that is college life, Ace. Whether you see it like that or not, it is like that and should be like that. It's about experiencing new things, being wild and free."

"Maybe," she relented, "but you don't have to be drunk all the time to experience new thing in college. There are many things to experience during classes as well, if you didn't know. And also all over campus, wild parties are not the only way to experience college."

Logan just looked at her with mockingly wide eyes, barely containing his smirk. Moments after, the bartender gave him a tray with their drinks and they made their way back to the table.

After Rory and Anna left with Marty, the guys got to discussing their plans for Christmas break - mainly their annual trip to Aspen. Sometime later, Finn noticed Logan's distracted demeanour, "Spill, mate, what's bothering you?"

Logan furrowed his brows in confusion, "What makes you think something's bothering me?"

"You've been distracted ever since Love left and even when she was here you were acting weird. So," he made a move with his hand, "feel free to share with the class."

"Nothing's bothering me, Finn," Logan stated simply, fully aware that something, in fact, was bothering him.

"So, it wouldn't be that tiny information about guys hitting on Reporter Girl then? Or that she was here with Marty who is obviously head over heels for her?" Colin raised an eyebrow knowingly.

"I thought the same!" Finn exclaimed, "Let's add all the guys who have checked her out while she was sitting here with us."

Logan had to admit - it was bothering him. A lot. Much more than it should have. But she wasn't his and she never could be. He really was planning on asking her out since Friday evening, but as further away the day of the decision went, the less-likely-happening did the decision appear to be. And on top of it all, he had this burning unrealistic reaction about guys checking her out or hitting on her! She really was a beauty in her own demure way and Logan could understand why any warm-blooded male would react in such a way towards her. But he didn't like it. Not at all.

Before he got a chance to formulate a reasonable answer, Colin decided to continue, "Logan, buddy, don't you think it's time to do something about it?" He asked seriously, too seriously if Logan was concerned, "I mean, she won't be single forever. And she is a hot commodity, especially between the Society guys after last Friday's party," he explained carefully, "And you like her Logan, whether you'd like to admit it or not there is something going on between the two of you since the day you've met. So why not react somehow?"

Logan started him for a while until he shook his head softly, "I'm not ready."

"Not ready for what?" Finn asked.

"To ask her out," Logan sighed, taking a sip of his scotch and looking down at the glass, "I'm not ready for that. Honestly, I don't know if I'll ever be ready for that with her."

Colin and Finn shared a look at his statement and remained quiet for a few moments before Colin spoke up again, "We're not saying that you should ask her out immediately, even though I really don't understand what you have to be ready for," he rolled his eyes, "We're just saying that maybe, maybe you should do something to steer the guys from campus away from her for a little while, at least until you find your balls and ask her out finally."

"Thanks, Colin," Logan glared at the statement about his balls. But, if he was honest with himself, his friends' idea didn't sound that bad. Not bad at all. It would give him time to, hopefully, get his thoughts in order and in the meantime he wouldn't have to obsess or stress about the fact that she might be taken right from under him.

Not a bad idea at all.

Now, the only question would be of how he could do it so that she remains completely unaware of the fact.

Looking up from his glass to his friends, he nodded slowly, "It's actually a pretty sound idea. The only question would be of how does one go and do something like that?"

"Oh, come on, mate," Finn laughed, "You are the God of diabolical plans! I'm sure you can figure something out."

Colin piped in, "We can spread some kind of a rumour."

While that was an idea, the chances of this rumour coming back to his Ace were pretty high and he wouldn't risk it. Especially since his balls would for sure be on stake if she ever found out something like that. "No, it must be something much more subtle so that she never finds out," Logan stated and continued his musing aloud, "It has to be something grand so that that takes the focus off the message but still clear enough so that the guys all over the campus get the message loud and clear," he stared in his glass, "Preferably, it has to be something that would irk her a bit so that she doesn't focus that much on it. And it has to be in public. Very public, so that the message spreads around fast and correctly," he was tumbling the ice in his glass until an idea popped up in his head.

Yeah, that could work.

That could do more than work.

Sure, it would be on a high school level but, nevertheless, the grandiosity of it would be incomparable. And the word would definitely travel fast.

Quickly making up his mind, he put the glass back down on the table and lifted his head to look at his friends, a huge satisfying smirk spreading out on his lips.

"I've got it."

"Why do I have to be the one who gets beaten up?" Colin whined for the millionth time, "You know I bruise like a peach!"

Logan rolled his eyes at his annoying friend, "Because Finn wanted to wear the costume," he looked pointedly at Colin, "And you know well that if we hadn't let him to wear the costume, we would be risking another one of Finn's naked phases. Don't know about you, but I've seen more of them than I would have liked to."

"Hey, I just think I look dashing in this costume," Finn cheered with a fake British accent, "And, don't worry, the newest naked phase is just around the corner."

Groaning, Colin changed the subject, "So, are we going in?" He nodded towards the door.

They were currently in the hall in front of Professor Bell's classroom, preparing themselves for what is about to follow. The prank of all pranks.

Hopefully Rory sees it like that as well.

"Yeah," Logan nodded slowly, "Does everybody know their lines?" The boys nodded in affirmative, "Good. Then, let's do it," Logan grinned and patted Colin on the back.

Colin took a deep breath and swung the classroom door open, leaving it like that after him. Logan and Finn quickly moved to a spot where they could observe what's going on in the classroom without being seen from the inside. It has to be believable.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," Colin frantically interrupted Professor Bell's lecture.

"I'm in the middle of the class, young man," Bell admonished him.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just -" Colin made a soothing move with his hand towards the Professor and the located Rory in the auditorium, "Rory, you can't just walk out like that, not after everything we've been through!" He exclaimed frantically while moving towards her, "You just left! I was still in bed! I mean, what is that all about?" He exclaimed as he reached her row.

"Okay, you need to do this later," Bell stated and pointed to the door.

Colin pointed his arm to the Professor, "I can't do this later," he stated and turned back to Rory, "Rory, I love you. I love you, dammit! How many times do I have to tell you?! God, just talk to me!"

Professor piped in again, clearly pissed-off that somebody was disrupting his class, "Okay, out! Right now! Just get out!"

Before Professor managed to finish his last sentence, Logan stormed in, "Colin!" He made his way to him, "What are you doing, man?" He asked with the same frantic voice.

"Get the Hell out of here!" Colin exclaimed, pointing towards Logan accusingly.

"She's with me now, I've told you that. Let it go," Logan replied.

"I will not let it go!"

Logan's voice raised in frantic, "She doesn't love you!" He turned to Rory to see her flustered and confused by the situation, but also obviously mad as a hornet, "Rory, tell him you don't love him!"

"Everything was fine until you came along!" Colin yelled accusingly.

"Oh, don't blame me because you couldn't keep her!" Logan stated flatly.

Colin glared at him, "I swear to God, I'm gonna kill you," he threatened.

"Oh, I'd love to see you try," Logan replied with venom in his voice, making Colin catapult himself onto him, grabbing him on his shoulders. They wrestled for a bit before Logan knocked him into the ground. Colin got up quickly and grabbed Logan on his shoulders again, smoothly punching him in the stomach.

"Oh, stop it you two!" Bell yelled, "Break it up! Somebody get security!"

Logan got ahold of Colin again and threw him over the desk, quickly jumping over it as well.

Dear Lord where is Finn already, we can't keep like this much longer?!

In that moment, Finn entered the classroom in his British policeman costume and whistled loudly, "Alright, that's enough!" He exclaimed in a really bad fake British accent, and made his way towards Logan and Colin, "Break it up, you two!" He grabbed them both at the back of their collars and pulled them up, "Rory Gilmore, you should be ashamed of yourself," he stated admonishingly, "Toying with these boys like this. They used to have pride, they used to have dignity," he raised his voice, "They used to have balls!"

He led them towards the door and then stopped ceremoniously before exiting for the grand finale, "Damn it, Gilmore, give them back their balls!" He exclaimed and dragged the other two with himself out of the classroom, a loud applause following them.

The moment they got out, they erupted in laughter and Colin, registering the reaction of the students inside, pulled them back for a triumphal bow. They quickly followed him, Colin making a show of his bow, Finn bravely (but stupidly) pointing triumphantly at Rory and Logan bowing mindlessly, out of breath, grinning like a madman, trying to glance at Rory's reaction.

This is bad.

Very bad.

She wasn't even smiling, let alone applauding. She half-covered her face with her hand, trying to disappear in her chair, throwing daggers with her eyes at him. The bad thing was that during that short glance he managed to sneak towards her, he didn't only see fury at their act but also disappointment.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

They quickly left the classroom after their bow and b-lined towards Berkeley, to get cleaned up for their afternoon classes.

"I've gotta say, mate," Finn laughed, "This was one of the best pranks we have ever done! I mean, have you seen her face?! She'll have your balls for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the upcoming future!"

"Yeah, you should have seen her face when I first called her name," Colin added, "She didn't even know what was going on! She was so flustered!"

Logan listened to his friends, and while he was happy with the outcome of the prank and everything playing out smoothly, he was really worried about her look when they were bowing in front of the class. He shook his head undecidedly, "I don't think this will come out as we've planned it out, boys."

"What do you mean?!" Finn asked, "Everything went according to plan! And now every guy on the campus will know that she's your girl. I say it went perfectly."

"I agree," Colin nodded, "You got what you wanted. Calm down, Huntzberger."

"Yeah, every guy will know that I've called dibs on her but what will it be worth when she won't speak to me ever again?" Logan exclaimed agitatedly, "You didn't see her look at the end. It was awful. I knew this was too much, I knew it!"

"Mate, calm down," Finn patted him on the back, "Yeah, she will be pissed off with you for a while but then you'll make her see the amusing side of it and everything will be right in the world again. Besides, you were the one who said that she really had to experience the proper college life and this was it. So, in the end, you actually did a favour to her."

Putting it like that - well, the goal was definitely reached. The story about the prank and the message which followed out of it will spread out rapidly if he didn't know any better. Maybe Finn really was right, she would calm down eventually and he will make her see the fun part of it - the way college life actually should look like.

He grinned at his friends who were still looking worriedly at him, "I think you're right," he threw his arms on their shoulders, "Now, let's get cleaned up and get back outside to see how the story our genius prank is spreading out."

Until the time his last class of the day finished at 5PM, the news of the prank had already spread out nicely throughout the campus - some people even congratulating them on job well done. Even though they were basking in victory and compliments that seemed to be pouring from all sides, Logan was still worried about Rory's reaction.

Instead of going straight back to his dorm after his last class, he decided to look for her, just to make sure they were still okay. He couldn't explain it, he just had this God-awful feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had fucked up everything with her earlier today. After seeing that she wasn't in the YDN office, he decided to check on her dorm.

A big mistake. Big, big, big mistake.

A few moments after he had knocked on Rory's dorm door, a certain YDN editor answered them, clad only in a short bathrobe. "Lo-," Doyle stuttered, "Logan!" He exclaimed uneasily.

Before Logan even got a chance to answer, Paris' voice was heard, "Doyle! What do Hell are you doing answering our door?!" She yelled at him and made her way to the door as well, only in her short nightshirt, "What do you want, Huntzberger?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Unlike Doyle, she wasn't embarrassed in any way by their current state of un-dress, "We're kind of busy here, if you can't see."

Logan grinned a shit-eating grin, "Oh, I see. I was just looking for Ace. Do you know where I could find her?"

"They went to the cafeteria a while ago, she should still be there," Paris answered and then raised an eyebrow, "Are we done here now or?"

"Oh, we're definitely done here," Logan grinned, "Thank you, Paris. And, go get him, Tiger!" He grinned even wider at his comment to Paris and winked to shocked Doyle. He turned and headed towards the cafeteria, laughing loudly at what he had just witnessed while inside he was cringing at the image of the little guy clad only in a really short female bathrobe. Definitely not on the agenda today.

Finally reaching the cafeteria, he took a deep calming breath and entered it, quickly spotting an out-of-it Rory and babbling Anna.

May the odds ever be in your favour.

He approached them easily, not wanting to give himself out before he examined the damage. "Ladies," he greeted with joyfully with a smile and stood next to Rory, who was sitting opposite to Anna.

"Hi, Logan!" Anna greeted him cheerfully.

Removing his gaze from a frowning Rory, he asked, "How are we doing this fine evening?"

"We're doing great," Anna answered giddily, "You wanna join us?" She pointed to the chair next to Rory.

Bingo.

"Sure," he took off his jacket and threw it over the back of the chair before he sat down, "So, dull day, huh?" he commented while looking at Rory who wasn't giving him any attention.

This won't be as easy as he had thought it would be.

"Not for me," Anna replied.

He leaned towards Rory a bit, "Someone's quiet," he smirked at her and threw Anna an amusing look.

"Got nothing to say," Rory brushed him off while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Logan grinned at Anna, "Do you get a sense she's mad at me?" He asked mockingly.

Anna answered flatly, "Yup."

Rory threw him a death-glare before she turned to the girl, "Hey, Anna, why don't you head on over to the fro-yo social? You remember where it is, right?"

Uh oh. She was getting rid of Anna which could only mean she would rip him a new one in a matter of minutes. Oh, well, he'll survive, right? Hopefully.

"Yeah, but I just had threw scoops of ice-cream," Anna started to protest. That's good, maybe she manages to convince Rory to stay here and I won't die as soon as I would if she left - Logan mused.

However, Rory was not taking it, "Kid, you're in college now," she made a move with her hand in the direction of the door, "Now, go get yourself some yogurt."

"Are you going to come, Logan?" Anna asked hopefully.

Following the interaction and getting another side-glare from Rory, he decided to joke to ease up the tension between him and the furious brunette next to him, "I'm not sure how well I'll be walking here in a minute, Anna," he smirked softly at Rory, which only caused her glare to intensify.

This is going to get ugly.

"Oh, okay," Anna chuckled while she gathered her things and got up, "Bye," she waved softly, leaving Rory and Logan alone.

Seeing her still mute and glaring at him sideways, Logan decided to break the ice, "That's not a good look," he smirked, hoping that it would melt her a bit.

Fat chance of that happening. He was so, so wrong. In his defence, it worked on other girls seamlessly. But his Ace wasn't like the other girls, was she?

"I have no words," she exclaimed disbelievingly, shrugging her shoulders.

Okay, defence time. "It was just a joke," he tried to reason.

And then she set off all motors. "Oh, no, wait! I've thought of some!" She started mockingly with a wild look in her eyes and started listing, "Jerk, ass, arrogant, inconsiderate, mindless, frat-boy, lowlife, butt-faced miscreant!" She fumed, now finally looking directly at him

Okay, this was worse that he had thought it would be. To get her on the level of mindless insults even worse than the ones she used throw at him back then when they had only met. But wait…

Butt-faced miscreant? BUTT-FACED?!

"Butt-faced miscreant?!" He asked disbelievingly.

"Why would you do something like that?!"

"I'm sorry," he shook his head in confusion and narrowed his eyes, "Butt-faced miscreant?"

She rolled her eyes and continued with and exhausted voice, "Here I am, trying to show Anna what college life is really like - "

He interrupted her, deciding to really defend himself now, "That is what college life is really like!" It was the truth, whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not. And a part of the idea of the prank was to show her that. Maybe he could still get her to see some reason.

"Maybe your college life, not mine," she replied in disagreement, pointing at herself before she continued on her tirade, "That was my class, Logan. That was my professor who decides my grades and you made me look ridiculous to him," she added disappointedly.

Still, he wasn't backing down, "No, I made my ridiculous to him!"

"Oh, you don't think he thinks I was a part of it?" She asked him as he was a child.

"I'll talk to him," he offered, hoping that that would calm her down, "I'll tell him you're an innocent bystander."

However, she wasn't giving up, "The whole class was in a frenzy the entire time. We never got back to what we were talking about," she complained."

I mean, really? Is that really such a problem?

But, with his Ace, he should have known that it was.

"There's another class next week," he supplied.

She sighed loudly, "I know that classes and the paper and Yale in general means nothing to you but it means something to me." And here she was wrong. It did mean something to him and he had thought she had known that. Apparently not. Sure, he wasn't going to all of his classes, but he still was in the top ten percent of his year. And, yeah, he didn't care about the paper but that was only because of his doomed destiny, not because he didn't like to write. Nevertheless, he let her continue, "Professor Bell's course is only six weeks long, and you blew one of those weeks for me. I won't get that week back," she ended desperately.

Deciding to really just try and calm her down, even a little bit, he stated, "Look, you want up close and personal time with Bell, my dad knows him, he'll arrange - "

"Please stop talking!" She exclaimed infuriated by his offer.

Okay, this wasn't working.

Next step: apology.

"I'm sorry you're so bent out of shape!" He exclaimed and then added honestly, softer, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Anna thinks that Yale is just a big joke," she commented disappointedly.

Logan rolled his eyes, "If Anna thinks that Yale is just a big joke after spending five minutes with you, then she was always gonna think that Yale is just a big joke," he stated confidently, "Relax."

She just glared at him for a moment longer before she sighed and started getting up, adding in a disappointed voice, "You and me - very different people," she nodded in enhancement of her statement and got up, "I have to go."

What?!

Is she for real now?

That's it?! It's over?

Quickly throwing her the first thing that came to his mind, "To the fro-yo social?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, I have to go to the fro-yo social," she put on her jacket, "And yes, I do realise how incredibly stupid that just sounded. Excuse me," she supplied and left him alone at the table.

His gaze followed her until she got out of the cafeteria, then he lowered his head onto the table and groaned deeply in frustration. He simply couldn't believe this turn of events. How could've she attack him like that? He had thought they had gotten to know each other a bit better than this - this blatant throwing if meaningless insults. Okay, he did deserve some of them. And his goal was to disrupt her in her class and he knew that she wouldn't be happy about it. But still, too much is too much, right? And what about that comment about him and Yale? Did she really have that picture of him in her stubborn head?!

Getting up swiftly, he put on his jacket and headed back to his dorm, fuming about the result of the conversation.

Still, one thing she said kept ringing in his head.

You and me - very different people.

Maybe they really were. Maybe all this was for nothing.

Maybe it was for the best after all.

Storming into his dorm, he b-lined for the bar cart, desperate for a drink, no noticing his two best friends on his sofa following him with a worried look. He downed the first glass of scotch and the poured himself another one, downing it immediately as well. When he was about to pour himself the third glass, he was interrupted by Finn letting him know about their presence in the same room.

"Logan, mate, you know I'm all for excessive drinking, but are you aiming for an alcohol poisoning tonight or?"

Pouring himself the third glass, he turned to face his friends, a fuming glare in his eyes. He remained quiet for a while, sipping on his drink, trying to get his thoughts in order.

"What happened to get you in this state?" Colin asked after a while, "You were just fine before your last class, especially after hearing the news of the prank spreading around so efficiently," he narrowed his eyes at him, "So that either means that something happened during or after class. If something did happen during class, it definitely wouldn't affect you this much. That means it had to be after class, right?" He nodded decidedly, "Did the Dark Lord call you or what?"

Logan still couldn't form his thought in any proper and coherent order so he continued staring at one point on the wall until his friends shared a worried look and then Finn spoke up, "Don't tell me you met Reporter Girl somewhere?" He added with a chuckle, obviously finding it amusing, making Colin grin as well.

Well, that did it.

And then the flames burst out, uncontrollably.

"Who does she think she is?!" He exploded, making his friends jump a bit in shock at his sudden loudness and agitation. "To attack me like that! She has no idea what she's talking about! Absolutely no idea what my life is like. She lives in her own little perfect bubble, perfectly shielded from the darkness and doom of this world! She has absolutely no idea what it's like to have no choice whatsoever! And then she attacks me like that!" He downed the rest of the drink and launched the glass across his living room into the wall.

Finn and Colin stood still in place, shaken a bit by his outburst. Colin was the first to ask, "What did she tell you exactly?"

He just chuckled darkly, "Oh, yeah. What did she say to me?" He tapped his finger on his chin in a mockingly thinking manner, his eyes shining with craziness, "Well, I'm a jerk, ass, arrogant - I can contest to that. But then she called me a frat-boy, and we all know I'd rather die than be a frat-boy. Then I was awarded the label of a lowlife - honestly, no comment to that one, I really thought she knew me better. And to top it all, she ended with the craziest one - butt-faced miscreant! I mean, really? Can you believe it?!"

They just stared at him for a few moments until they both burst out in laughter. "Oh, that's genius!" Finn exclaimed, "Brownie points to Love for such a creativity, I will definitely give her a pat in the back for that one next time I see her," he was still laughing.

Colin decided to pipe in then, "That's just precious! What I would give to have been able to see your face when she told you that. It must've been worth at least a million dollars!"

Logan just glared at his friends, not at all amused by their extreme joy about what he had told them.

Finn was the first to calm down a bit and notice that Logan was still as serious as before, "But what did she say that made you react like that? I mean, you're not the one to just lose it over girls. The Dark Lord - sure. But, girls? Never."

"She basically told me that I don't care about anything connected to education or responsibilities. That I don't give a flying fuck about Yale and my grades and classes. But the thing is, she knows I do. At least partly. And then she says that," he shook his head, "And then she ended her little attack with the conclusion that we are very different people," he chuckled darkly, "Well, guess what? It seems that we are! What in the hell had come upon me to get involved with her in any way?!"

"Logan, buddy, don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit?" Colin tried to reason, "I mean, what even came upon you to go seek her out tonight? You should've given her some time to cool off."

Logan laughed darkly, "Overreacting?!" He exclaimed, "I'm overreacting? What would you then call her reaction to just a little bit of fun? College fun?! Because, that was the idea, right?!"

"She'll cool off, mate, just give her some time," Finn stated seriously.

"Oh I don't give a fuck anymore whether she cools off or not. We're done. Over. Kaputt. What drugs was I on to even entertain the idea to claiming her in front of the whole campus let alone actually doing it?! I can go and have fun! I could've been doing that all this time! But no, I was waiting for something with a girl who is obviously crazy and doesn't know to have any kind of fun whatsoever! Well, now it's done. I'm back in the game. She be ridden and forgotten," he motioned with his hands a cleaning manoeuvre.

His friends shared a look, one of those looks - again! Honestly, it was like they were testing his last bit of patience. "Are you sure about that?" Colin asked seriously, "Why don't you sleep on it?"

"I'm definitely sure. Logan the playboy is back in full force starting today. I mean, that's who I am, right? Just a mindless frat-boy. Just a mindless fuck-boy with a seemingly grand and prosper future in front of him, a trust-fund brat-child destined to rule the news-world in just a bit less than two years. That's who I am, right? When I can't be anything else, I'll be that! I'll live my life fucking another blonde brainless bimbo each night, drinking to oblivion, spending frivolously and everything will still be served on a silver platter to me. No matter what I do, I am still destined to lead that life, am I not? No matter what I do, I'll always be seen like that, a useless piece of crap, a disappointment to almost my whole family, half of the Society and even her! And I've only known her for three months and she still gets to be disappointed in me! I mean, how dares she?! She has no idea what is like to be me! Nobody knows! And then I want to show her just a bit of the fun side of college and she goes off on me like that! How in the Hell is that reasonable, how? It seems though that she was right - we really are different people. She could never even understand what it means to be roped into what you want to fight out of with every fibre of your being but can't because you know that your own father will destroy your life if you do so?! How do you explain that to anybody, let alone her who lives her life just the way she wants. She gets to do what she wants, create her own future, spread her wings. To feel, to love, to cry. And she doesn't use her freedom properly! She doesn't even see that she could use it. What I would give to have just an ounce of her freedom. What I would give - " he was pacing uncontrollably up and down the room until he got stopped mid-sentence by Colin.

"Logan!"

He stood still abruptly at Colin's raised voice and looked maniacally at him.

Finn went to grab a bottle of water from the fridge and then forced it in Logan's hands, "Here, drink this."

"What the Hell just happened, Logan?" Colin asked somber, "Are you okay?"

Finally realising what he had just said, shock went through Logan, tingling through his spine. Trying to clear his head from these dark thoughts that he always kept safely locked in himself, he took a sip of water and nodded, "I'm fine," and sat on the sofa, turning the TV on, hoping to find something distracting before his thoughts eat him alive.

Later in the evening, after Finn and Colin had convinced him not going out to the Pub to find someone for a mindless fuck in his state now, they were watching some action movie on the TV. He hadn't spoken almost at all since his outburst earlier in the evening. He didn't know what to think of it himself let alone what coherent thought to provide his friends with.

He got up to get them more drinks from the mini bar. Surprisingly, his earlier stream of consciousness aloud sobered him up completely, and his friends were also nursing their drinks slower than usual, probably wanting to be capable of handling him if he goes off-track again tonight - what won't be happening.

While he was pouring the drinks at the bar, a loud frantic knock was heard coming from the door. Finn got up absentmindedly, focused on some chase-scene on the TV and opened the door.

"Where is he?!" A loud infuriated voice pierced through the (until then) relatively silent room.

Logan groaned deeply, hanging his head down.

"Love!" Finn exclaimed cheerfully when he registered who was at the door, "What brings you here?"

"Get out of my way, Finneas," she fumed and bolted towards Logan.

He looked up at her, pissed-off by her storming in like this, "What do you want now? Haven't you already said all you had to say?"

She chuckled ironically, making the hair on his back stand up in nervous caution, "Oh, I just wanted to share with you what happened to me today, all because of your mindlessness."

"Really? Mindlessness? Are we back on that?" He bit back and then narrowed his eyes, "And how did you even know where I lived?" He had never told her where he lived and she was never here, so the questioned imposed itself, really.

"I just asked the first bimbo I came across where you live," she stated matter-of-factly.

Ouch.

But it really shouldn't bother him, should it? He had sworn off her earlier tonight. It doesn't matter anymore, does it?

"That's not important now, however, I still have to tell you a very good story for a good-night's sleep," she stated venomously, "You see, earlier today a blonde jerk and his two equally jerky friends decided to interrupt my class and humiliate me - not only in front of the whole class and, by now the whole campus, but also my professor. Then, the aforementioned blonde jerk decided to find me out of God knows which reason, while I was still mad as a hornet at what had happened and made me want to rip him a new one with a definitely unstable mind," she chuckled darkly, "But, to do that, I had to send the poor kid that was spending time with me, for whom I was responsible, away so that I could do what I so wished to do at that moment. So, I sent the poor girl away. And guess what?" She looked pointedly at him.

He really couldn't follow what she was talking about. She just retold all that he had already known. That means that something else had happened. He shared a confused look with his friends before taking the bite, "What?"

"I lost her!" She exclaimed, "I got to the social and she wasn't there! And she wasn't in my dorm! I lost her!"

That sobered him up right away, "What?! What do you mean you lost her? Where is she? Did you find her?" He exclaimed, his friends approached them worriedly as well.

"I found her in the meantime, no thanks to your help. Well, it wasn't actually me who had found her, it was the campus police," Rory narrowed her eyes accusingly, "I had to deal with you and you childish notions and I lost a poor 16 year old girl somewhere on campus. She was found on one of the frat parties! Do you even know what happens at those parties to innocent 16 year old girls?! No, you don't! And you probably don't even care!"

"Ace…" he tried to interrupt her.

"No! Don't Ace me!" She exclaimed frantically, "That's just the tip of the iceberg! On top of it, my headmaster from Chilton called me and informed me that Anna was arrested by the campus police. My headmaster! One of the few steady contacts I needed for my future is now disappointed in me and I will never be able to repair it. And you cost me that with your supposedly funny little stunt! And to finish off, I got in a fight with Marty, my dear good friend Marty, because of you!" She let out a breath, "So, that's why I'm here. Because this day was the worst day in a while for me, I even got to see Doyle barely naked today, God! Yeah, that's why I'm here - I'm here to yell at you and tell you to bring your feet finally to the ground because nobody has obviously ever told you anything like that. Nobody had ever taught you that your actions affect the people surrounding you whether you'd like them or not!"

"Now, that's not fair!" Logan exclaimed, "I am sorry about Anna and you should've called us to help you find her sooner but you don't get to come to my dorm to yell at me just because you had a shitty day. You don't get to do that when you have no idea what you are talking about!"

"I have no idea what I'm talking about?!" She asked disbelievingly, "Are you even hearing yourself? Okay then, let's just start from the beginning: do you know anything about girls? I mean, anything?!" She looked at Colin and Finn, "This question goes to the both of you as well, you idiots followed his idea," she looked back at Logan, "You all claim to be these infamous cocky playboys but the truth is that you have absolutely no idea how to handle a girl because you never spend more than a night with one! And that's really sad. To be Yale Juniors with no knowledge whatsoever about the other sex. If you had known anything about girls, you would know that girls know at least 2 days to cool off before they can inspect the situation, that made them furious in the first place, rationally. But no, you had to seek me out just hours after your prank and I had no option but to get off on you. If you had waited just a couple of days, none of this would've happened. Sure, I would have still been mad at you, but I would see the entertaining part of it. Because, whether you'd like to admit it or not, I do know how to have fun. Just because I like to dedicate most of my time to school and the paper and other obligations, doesn't mean I don't know how to have fun. But that's not my priority! I have worked my ass off to get to where I am! And I still have to continue doing so if I want to achieve anything in my life. Even though you think that my last name or my family will give me the same privileged life as all of you have, they won't. The only way for me to succeed is to work every day in the hopes of making my dreams come true. And I've had these dreams since I could formulate proper sentences, so you can imagine why I won't give up on them. And I certainly don't need someone whose life is perfectly organised and served to him to go about and screw up all my hard work!"

Logan just stared at her while she was yelling, feeling guilty about what they had done. But also mad at her statement that his life was so perfect when it was far from it. "Okay, I'm sorry, I really am sorry."

However, it didn't make her relent, "Yeah, you should be," she scanned all of them briefly, "You all should be," she added with a disappointed look, "But that's not all what I'm mad about. I'm mad because I trusted you and thought that all of you were my friends! I invited you to my home, knowing that it's a far cry from anything that you have ever experienced and you all were there and saw it and you all still did what you had done today. I just can't believe it. And you decided to pull the prank in front of an impressionable teenager. What were you thinking?! Not only did you ruin her visit to Yale - a school she wants to go to, but you made her believe that college is all that - alcohol, sex and Rock'n'Roll, right? Well, it's not! And now I have to live the fact that something could've happened to her while she was under my guard!"

"Now, Reporter Girl, don't overreact, nothing happened to her," Colin tried to reason.

"She was attained by the campus police who called her headmaster and he had to inform her parents that their under-age daughter was caught on a college party while she was supposed to be visiting the campus where she might go to school in two years! So, yeah, something did happen to her! Something that really wasn't supposed to happen!" She let out a loud sigh and shook her head.

"Love, you can't blame us for all that happened today!" Finn exclaimed.

"Oh, I certainly can, especially your dear friend Huntzberger, whose main mission in life continues to make my life harder out of reasons I can't even fathom to understand. You all live so high up in the sky that your don't even know how the real world functions! Or that actions have consequences! And because of your actions, in which you obviously put no forethought on how they could affect others, people today got hurt. Especially me - and that was the last thing I was expecting from people who were supposed to be my friends."

"But we are your friends," Logan supplied, even though he didn't see it anymore. Didn't even see the point to it.

"Well, I don't want friends like that. I don't want friends who will seriously disrupt my life with a 3-minute stunt! Real life is not your precious little Brigade - it's ugly and hard and demanding. But who am I talking to? You obviously never had to face it like that. Because if you did, you wouldn't do what you did today and by that hurt me in the process. You wouldn't make me fight with one of my best friends because of that. Poor Marty today got the rest of the rage I was feeling completely undeserved. And now I have no idea how to fix that. Yeah, I'm really pissed off at all of you right now and I really do hope that you land from whichever cloud you're living on soon, before you cause anymore damage."

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think, Love?" Finn asked seriously.

Logan agreed completely with him. Okay, she was pissed off and partially rightfully so. But that didn't give her the possibility to come here and take it out on them. Actually, he was pretty mad at her now, having thought that she was reasonable. And remembering his earlier monologue, he got even angrier. He just wanted her to leave so that they all could calm down. "Ace, we apologise again, but I think it's time for you to go now. You don't get to barge into my room and yell accusingly at us because of what we did. We are sorry for what happened but you should really go and cool off," he told her seriously, not wanting to pussy around anymore.

She stared at him for a few beats and then laughed sarcastically, "Just as I have thought, you don't even understand what I'm talking about," she shook her head, "Well, I'm off, enjoy the rest of your evening," she headed towards the door and just as Logan was about to let out a breath of relief, she turned on her heels and got back to him, standing inches away from him, definitely in his personal space.

She smiled darkly at him, with a wicked glare in her eyes, "And just so you know, if a boy likes a girl, there are far better ways to claim her than humiliating her in front of the whole school."

Colin and Finn exhaled in shock while Logan stared after her, shocked as well that she found out the hidden meaning behind the prank. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him - he was going to have the last word, after all.

"Hey, Ace!" He called after her, just as she was about to close the door, "I was right. Angry really works for you."

She huffed, slammed the door behind her and they could hear stomping down the corridor.

"Well, mate, she figured you out," Finn was the first to speak, "What are you doing to do now?"

Still mad at her and firm with his decision from earlier, Logan answered simply, "Nothing. I'm done with her," he headed to his room, "I'm going to sleep. You can stay and hang out here, Lanny is away for a couple of days," he told them and closed the door behind him, looking forward to finally getting into his bed and hopefully forgetting about this drama-filled day.

The week passed by quickly - in a whirlwind of regular schoolwork, talks about their prank and many more congratulations. After Rory's outburst on Monday evening, the guys have decided to just enjoy the positive outcome of their prank on the campus. Logan was still firmly standing by his decision of pursuing her no longer, which was only made easier by the fact that he hadn't seen her since.

He was meeting the guys for a short coffee between their classes at one of the coffee carts and they were discussing their plans for the weekend when a loud familiar voice boomed through the quad, "Logan!"

Logan looked in the direction from where the voice was coming from and spotted none other than Richard Gilmore.

What is he doing here?

"Richard!" He exclaimed, standing up, "Wow, this is a pleasant surprise!" And it really was pleasant. No matter his current non-situation with Rory, he still admired the man greatly. "Finn, Colin, you know Richard, don't you?" He re-introduced the group, fully knowing they did, in fact, know each other - they've seen each other a couple of times in the past month. However, it gave him the time to ponder about what Richard was doing here but he was coming up with no reasonable explanations.

It seemed that he would be getting his explanation sooner than he had expected.

"Logan, I wanted to talk to you," Richard addressed him, "I just heard about the incident," he stated.

Logan narrowed his eyes in confusion, "The…?"

"I heard that you professed your feeling for Rory," Richard explained.

What?!

"Whaaaat?" He dragged in confusion, throwing a glance at his friends who were just as confused as he was but still sporting amused smirks.

"Mr. Bell is a very dear friend of mine, as is the Dean of Admissions," Richard smiled knowingly, "Well, you know in this place news travel fast."

Okay, time to explain before it blows out of proportion.

"Yeah, look - "

However, Richard continued, "I have to tell you, that while I could understand what could have driven you to such a public display of affection, there is a proper time and place for that sort of thing, and a classroom in the middle of the class is not one of them."

Is he really thinking that I was serious?!

"No, I know…" he tried to explain again.

"However," Richard patted him on the sides of his shoulders enthusiastically, "What is done is done. It's out," he clasped his hands, "So I dropped by to tell you that I've spoken to your father."

WHAT?!

Mission abort!

MISSION ABORT!

"My father?!"

Richard nodded, "We pounded out a few things - property agreements, prenups, that sort of thing."

Prenups?!

Again - mission abort!

"Okay, I think that there's been some sort of…" he tried to explain again with no luck. Richard was just not having it.

"Oh, we came to a very reasonable agreement," he told him reassuringly, "I'm sure you'll be pleased," he added, "Now, we're setting up a dinner for next week to finalise the engagement - "

Engagement?!

Logan's whole mind started going blank after the word engagement. He had been dreading that word coming up in conversations in their circles ever since he turned 21. He knew his father hated him, but they wouldn't just marry him off without letting him know would they?

He faintly heard Richard talking about the ceremony and newspaper announcements, his mind spiralling in a frenzy.

With the last ounce of strength he possessed, he tried again, "But…"

"She's a fine young lady, Logan," Richard interrupted him with a stern voice and look, "I want her to be happy. You'll take care of that, I assume," he added and then cheered up again, "Alright, I'll let you go back to your coffee break." He looked at Colin and Finn and smiled at them, "Nice seeing all of you again," then he turned back to Logan, "And, Logan, welcome to the family, son," he fist bumped him on his shoulders in a jovial manner before he left, leaving Logan to keep standing completely dumbfounded and short of breath.

Marriage?! Engagement?! Prenups?

How could it already be time for that?!

He still had more than a year and a half of his school - they couldn't be marrying him off already, could they?!

The moment he started hyperventilating, his friends grabbed him on his forearms and sat him back down on the bench where he was sitting before Richard came.

"Are you okay?" Colin asked.

How could he be okay?! His future was closing in on him much faster than it was supposed to! How could he be okay with that?

Still out of breath, his mind was spiralling until a thought occurred to him.

Mitchum!

He would have at least called him if something like this was happening, wouldn't he? Quickly, he pulled out his cellphone out of his pocket to check if he had any messages.

Nothing.

Huh. Weird. But then, one could never be surprised with Mitchum.

Then another, much more disturbing thought occurred to him.

Ace.

Dear Lord, what might she be thinking now! To be roped into something like this because of their prank. To be roped into a marriage at only 20 years old. He looked at his phone again and there was nothing from her either.

He kept looking at his feet a while longer, trying to calm his breathing and figure out what the hell was going on.

Still focused on his thoughts, he registered the amused chuckle from his friends a bit later than he was supposed to. Raising his head, he cocked his eyebrow at then in a questioning manner. They just looked at him pointedly, like they were waiting for him to realise something. But what? He really wasn't in the mood for their games now.

And then…it all became clear.

No, no, no!

That little minx!

His friends obviously registered that he had figured it out and started laughing loudly, attracting even more attention in the quad. "She got you real good, mate!" Finn managed to say.

Logan stood up abruptly, "I'm gonna kill her," he hissed and turned in the direction of her dorm, wanting to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

Seeing what he was about to do, Finn and Colin grabbed him and pulled him back. "Now, cool off and don't be a baby," Colin said.

"She joked with marriage! Marriage! Doesn't she know that you're not supposed to joke with it in our circles! What was she thinking?!" Logan started yelling.

"Logan," Finn stated, "She knew exactly what she was doing. That was the point. Now cool off and be a man, she got you back."

"But she got me back viciously! I would never do such a thing to her!"

"Oh, buddy, but you did," Colin chuckled, "You went after the thing she prizes the most in her life - her education, and she went after the thing that terrifies you the most - marriage. You're even. She got you back fair and square."

"And in a marvellous way, I must say," Finn piped in.

"How can both of you be so happy right now?! And on her side?!"

"We're on no-one's side. We're just saying that she got you good. Honestly, didn't think she had it in her," Finn commented.

Colin continued, "I'm not that surprised, to be honest. But look on the bright side, Logan. If she got you back, that can only mean one thing…" he let him reach the conclusion himself.

"What are you talking about, Colin? The only thing she got me are five years off of my life," Logan exclaimed exasperatedly.

"You fool," Finn shook his head and then grinned, "She likes you back. I'll admit, it is a bit on a high school level of how you went about to let each other aware of the fact, but the message is loud and clear."

"She likes you," Colin confirmed.

Logan scoffed, thinking about what they said, "She doesn't like me. She doesn't want to have anything to do with me. You heard her yourselves on Monday."

"That was on Monday, buddy, she has obviously cooled off since then and decided to return the sentiment," Colin explained calmly.

Putting it like that…

Finn chuckled again, "I didn't believe I would ever get to say this but, Logan, it seems that you have met your match," he patted him on the back.

Logan looked at him for a moment a bit confused until clarity hit him and a soft smile started playing on his lips.

You have met your match.

TBC!

Hello! Coming at ya with a freshly brewed chapter! It seems that my mojo is returning slowly but surely and, let me tell you, I'm enjoying it immensely. Now, I just wanted to mention again that I'm not a native speaker, so please excuse me if you find any absurd mistakes. It happens to the best of us (as well as typos). The other thing - thank you for your wonderful reviews on my next chapter! They gave me a much-needed boost to write this chapter so fast, so keep 'em coming to see the other chapter soon as well. ;)

On the topic of reviews - from the next chapter on, the story will be taking a slight turn and not many scenes from the OS will be so accurately followed. I will still be using them to give me some frame of what's happening, but main events won't be greatly affected by them. So, let me know in reviews what you think will happen next? Where and when will they share their first kiss? Are they going to be stringless as they are in the OS first? What do you think of Logan's hesitance about asking her out? Do you think there's something more beyond the reasons he had supplied us with until now?

Until next time, enjoy this baby and I'll be back soon. :)