Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, settings, music, or movies mentioned.

AN: New Chapter! I wanted to update yesterday but it wasn't done yet. I'm trying to update at least once a week. Enjoy!

"So, the study group starts at 10:00 tomorrow morning, and you're coming here tonight?" Elle asked through the phone.

"Yeah, I should be there around 8," Rory said zipping up her duffle bag. "I'm about to leave."

"Ok, I still don't know why you want to come this weekend, we're just studying," Elle said.

"Yes, studying for the same course that I'm dual enrolled in, it makes sense," Rory defended.

"Ok…" Elle said.

"I'm going to say goodbye to mom and dad and then I'll be on my way," she said.

"Ok, I'll see you soon. Look, I promised Steph I would go to the pub early, I think we're actually going to some dance club later," Elle said. She paused before adding, "Logan said he could wait for you if you really want someone to and take you to meet us. I think he's bringing a date too, so if you'd rather go in the town car I'll tell him."

"Um yeah, I'll just take the town car," Rory said. "Tell him he can go ahead and I'll meet you guys. What is the club called?"

"Pulse something, I don't know. I'll text you the address," Elle said. "And I'll let Logan know."

"Ok, I got to go, bye," Rory said, hanging up the phone. She sat down on the edge of the bed, holding her phone in both hands and sighed. Of course, he has a date. Why wouldn't he have a date? It's a party, you bring dates to parties. She didn't expect him to stop dating when they met. She was trying to show him how well they could get along, and how good they could be together. And she believed they could be good together. She looked down at her jeans and tank top and bit her bottom lip. She was going to have to step up her game.

She rifled through her closet and some of the jewelry Elle left in her own room until she found the perfect outfit. She chose a light purple velvet top with a plunging neck line and a tight nude skirt that ended a mid-thigh. She also wore gray thigh-high boots and a long gold necklace that came down to her breasts. Her hair, of course, was in full curls, outlining her face with half of it pulled back in a high pony tail. (Cover Photo)

She ended up sneaking out the front door, just yelling goodbye to her parents. If Chris saw her dressed like this, she would never leave the house again, especially since she was going to Yale, a college, with lots of college guys. She hurried to the town car, bag in hand and slid into the car. She leaned back against the leather seat and sighed, closing her eyes.

She was excited to see Logan, and of course everyone else, but especially Logan. With or without a date she wanted to see him, because… well because she liked him. She liked talking to him, and joking around with him, and looking at him. Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone, looking down at it she saw Logan's name on her screen.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey you," he answered.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I don't know you tell me," he said.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Elle said you didn't want me to take you to the club, something wrong Ace?" he asked.

"Um, no nothing's wrong. I just thought it might be awkward so I was going to take the car to the club too," Rory explained.

"Awkward? Why?" he asked.

"Well I just don't want to 'cramp your style'," she said.

"What? I don't think you have to worry about 'cramping my style' grandma," he laughed.

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry, who says that?!" he asked.

"I say that, deal with it Huntzberger," she teased.

"Seriously though why would you be 'cramping my style'?" he asked.

"I just mean I don't want to be a third wheel, it's easier if you go and take your date instead of waiting for me to get there too," she said.

"My date?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah, Elle said you had a date. She made it sound like you were going out of your way to wait for me, so you can go ahead," she said.

"Um, well I don't where she got that but I don't have a date. And I definitely don't mind waiting for you. Just text me when you get here and I'll head over to Elle's place," he said.

"Ok, sounds good," she said, relieved that he didn't in fact have a date but, why did Elle lie to her?

"Good, glad we got that cleared up. So how far away are you?" he asked.

"I left about 10 minutes ago, it should be half an hour but, I'll let you know if we hit traffic," she said.

"Alright Ace, I'll see you soon," he said.

"Bye," she said, hanging up with smile on her lips.

Rory made good time getting to Yale, hitting no traffic and making it there in a half an hour as promised. She fired off a text to Logan before heading to Elle's room to set her bag down and check her appearance in the Elle's vanity mirror. She heard the front door open and close as she pulled her skirt up further.

"Hey Ace?"

"I'm here, just a second!"

"How many seconds?" he laughed.

"I resent that," she said.

"You can only resent something if it isn't true, you take forever to get ready," he said.

"Compared to Elle and Steph I'm not that bad," she defended. "Ok let's go." She came out the room and found him turned around, looking at new pictures the girls had pinned on the board.

"Did Elle text you the address?" he asked, as he turned around, stopping a soon as he saw her. "Holy shit."

"What?" she asked, looking up from her phone.

"Um," he swallowed the lump in his throat as his eyes traveled over every inch of her body, wishing it was his hands or mouth instead. "I… I said…"

"You said…?"

"I said holy shit. Ace, you look…" He wasn't entirely sure how to describe her. She looked very un-Rory, but absolutely gorgeous all the same.

"Hot? Stunning? Sexy? Drop dead gorgeous?" she prompted with a smirk.

"All of the above," he laughed.

"Well thank you," she said, surprisingly demurely. "Elle did give me the address."

"Good, you ready to go?" he asked, running his hand through his hair nervously.

"I am," she nodded, walking past him and towards the door. He followed her out, placing his hand in the small of her back as she closed the door behind them. His touch burned her through the material of her top and she was acutely aware of every move he made as they walked. He opened the door of his Porsche when they reached it, allowing her to slide into the passenger seat and wait for him to get in next to her. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, resisting every urge he had to hold her hand or place his on her thigh.

"So, you thought I had a date?" he asked her.

"Yeah, Elle told me you did. Did she cancel or something?"

"No, I actually never had a date nor did I tell your sister that I did. I'm not sure where she got that or whys she's telling people that but it's not true." He didn't want Rory to think he was a player, I mean he was but he didn't want her to think he was. Ok that makes no sense, but he just wanted to make a good impression on her. Over the last week he had enjoyed getting to know her, mostly on the surface. SO now he was looking forward to getting to know her on a deeper level, her fears, all of it. As cheesy as it sounds he wanted to know her, everything about her.

"I don't know why she would say that, maybe she just assumed you had one," she said, wanting to give her sister the benefit of the doubt.

"Yeah, I guess," he agreed, still skeptical but dropping the topic.

"This is going to be so boring," Elle whined as they waited for Logan and Colin by the coffee cart, lattes in hand.

"Boring but educational," Rory said.

"Only if I can stay awake," Elle said.

"You should be actively participating," Rory warned her. She fixed her bracelets, then grabbed two coffees handed to her by the man at the cart. Elle took the other two and they made their way to a bench. Rory crossed her legs as she sat down and adjusted her dress so it didn't rise up to an obscene length. She had on the same gray boots from last night and a simple long-sleeved navy-blue dress that ended and flared out at mid-thigh.

"So… how are things with Tristan?" Elle asked.

"Things? There are no things with Tristan. He's a pain in the ass," Rory laughed.

"He likes you!" Elle said desperately.

"No, he doesn't," she rolled her eyes. "And even if he does, it doesn't matter. I like someone else."

"Really?" Elle asked, excitedly.

"Yes," she sighed.

"Well who is it Rory?" Elle pushed.

"I can't tell you," she said.

"What? What not?" Elle whined.

"Because you know him and you would make things uncomfortable," Rory said pointedly.

"Come on! I'll tell you who I like," she offered.

"I know who you like," Rory said.

"What? Who do I like?"

"Logan," Rory said.

"What about me?" The man in question walked up behind them, sliding onto the bench next to Rory and draping his arm behind her.

"Nothing, just wondering how much later you could possibly be," Rory teased.

"Look who's talking," he said.

She handed him the coffee cup and before he could turn it down she forced it into his hand and said, "Decaf."

"Thank you," he laughed, taking a sip out of it.

"So, why are we going to this?" Colin griped.

"Thank you!" Elle said.

"Because its educational," Rory said.

"Because she wanted to," Logan said, gesturing to Rory.

"I didn't force you," Rory defended. "But its beside the point now, let's go." With that she stood up and headed away from them.

"Your wish is my command your highness," Logan joked, following her.

"Shut it Huntzberger," she warned.

"Oh, the last name, that can't be good," Colin laughed.

"At least it's not the full name, right?" Logan said.

"Logan Elias Huntzberger," Rory barked.

"Damn," he muttered, catching up with her.

The four of them made their way to the library where the study group was being held. There were 14 people coming in total, most of them freshman like Logan, Colin, and Elle. When they made it, three people had already shown up and gotten one of the study rooms. They all took their seats and soon everybody had filed into the room and gathered around the table, books and binders open. After introductions, the session began and Rory found herself liking the atmosphere immensely. It made her look forward to going to Harvard even more than she already was and that was saying something.

Logan found himself enjoying the session as well, but his reasons had more to do with the brunette sitting awfully close to him at the cramped table. He couldn't take his eyes off her, whenever she tucked her hair behind her ear again or bit her lip as she took notes it just endeared him more. They were sitting so close that their legs were touching and her arm would occasionally bump his. Not that he minded though, in fact he loved it. Since most of their conversations had been over the phone the last week it was nice to be with her in person. And damn was she smart, he just loved it. Every girl he talked to only showed off her cleavage and flipped her hair, but Rory simply didn't give a damn about that stuff. Ok, so that's a stretch, every girl cares about how they look including Rory, but intelligence was important too. This was someone he could argue with, debate with, and boy had they.

About an hour went by and they had made serious progress in the notes and class material. Rory's coffee was starting to get to her and she got up to use the restroom. "I'll be right back," she said, standing up and heading out of the room. Logan, once again watched as she walked away, loving how her hips swayed and her legs bounced out. He took the five minutes she was gone as an opportunity to actually focus on the material. Of course, when she came back in that concentration went out the window.

Rory walked back to her seat, her heel catching the strap of a bag in the process. She tripped and fell, unable to catch herself and apparently leaving Logan to do so instead. She landed, quite ungracefully, in his lap, where he pulled her and held her tight to keep her from hitting the ground. "Woah, Ace are you ok?" he asked frantically.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, flustered. "I just… tripped."

"Obviously, but are you sure you're ok? You didn't twist your ankle?" he asked, pulling her closer and allowing her to extend her leg out.

"I promise I fine," she assured him.

"She's fine," Elle said, not liking how attentive Logan was being or the fact that Rory was, you know in his lap.

"She fell," Logan argued.

"I didn't, because you caught me, thank you. I'm really am fine," Rory said.

"Can you walk?" he asked, skeptically.

"Probably," she said, trying to stand up. She failed, wobbling on her right foot and falling back onto Logan.

"Oh yeah your fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm getting you ice." He stood up and set Rory down in her chair before hurrying out of the room.

"Are you really hurt?" one of the girls asked her.

"It's a little weak and sore, but I doubt that it's serious," Rory said.

"That's good," a guy across from her said.

"Yeah, these boots are cute, but not the most practical," she laughed.

"They are cute," Elle agreed.

"And impractical," Colin said.

"I'm back," Logan said, coming back into the room with a bag of ice.

"Thank you," Rory said again. She smiled as he propped up her foot and helped her get the boot off. He laid the bag of ice on her ankle and she winced at the cold. "You know one day I'm going to fall and you won't be able to catch me."

"Well hopefully not anytime soon," Logan said with a smirk before standing up and taking a seat in her chair.

"I wish my boyfriend was that sweet," someone said.

"I know right, mine would have let me fall," another girl said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh no, he's not my boyfriend," Rory corrected them.

"We're just friends," Logan said.

"Really?" a guy asked.

"Yeah," Rory confirmed.

"That's a shame, you two are cute together. I would snatch him up while I had the chance," a girl told her.

"Hear that Ace?" Logan teased. "Better snatch me up."

"Shut it Huntzberger," she warned. "Sorry I interrupted everything, let's keep going."

"No, you guys continue. Ace, you and I are going back to my dorm, you need to keep ice on that," Logan said. She groaned and attempted to protest to which Logan cut her off by sweeping her up into his arms.

"You really do have a flare for the dramatic, don't you?" she laughed.

"Glad you're catching on," he said.

"Logan why don't you stay, I'll walk back with Rory," Elle offered.

"I got it," he said.

"Yeah, he's got it," Rory said, rolling her eyes. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"I will not," he said with a smirk.

"You are so cocky," she groaned.

"That has been established," Logan said. "We'll see you two back at the dorm," he added to Elle and Colin.

"Feel better Rory," Colin called.

"Thanks," he heard as Logan carried her out the door.

"They would make a good couple," Colin said as the rest of the group started back up with the notes.

"No they wouldn't," Elle said, defensively.

"Why not?" Colin asked.

"Well I love my sister but Logan is out of her league," Elle said. At Colin's raised eyebrow she added, "He's a playboy, she's a… virgin. They don't fit."

"I see where you're coming from, but she could be good for him," Colin said.

"They've only known each other for a week," Elle said, rolling her eyes.

"And every time in the last week that he's gotten off the phone with 'Ace' he's had this huge grin on his face. And he hasn't had a date since last Thursday," Colin said.

"So, what?"

"So, that doesn't happen. I know you haven't know him as long as us but, that just doesn't happen."

"Well, I for one hope something happens. He's my best friend. I like seeing they guy happy," he said sheepishly.

Elle stayed silent, the wheels in her head turning. Colin's words were swimming in her head. Why did Rory make him happier in a week than she had in 2 months? It didn't make sense. It sucked and it didn't make sense. I mean he literally swept her off her feet, he caught her in his lap, and carried her out of the room. That was too fucking romantic and she needed to nip this in the bud. She sat back in the chair and sighed, tuning out the rest of the lecture to think things over.

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Rory said. Logan had brought her to his dorm where they were currently sitting on the couch with her feet in his lap, ice on her ankle. He had put in a movie, made popcorn, the whole nine yards.

"What?" he asked.

"You think too low of yourself," she said.

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "A lot of things we've talked about. Like when you had dinner with your parents and I talked to you that night you just sounded really down."

"Well, dinner with my parents doesn't usually end in hugs and pleasant goodbyes so, I tend to get frustrated," he said, pausing the movie.

"Yeah but, one thing in particular you said just resonated with me… you said, 'what's the point?' I asked you why you didn't finish that article you started. And you said, 'what's the point?'"

"And?" he asked.

"And, you don't give yourself enough credit. There is a point. You're smart and I hate to be blunt but, I've met your dad and he sucks," she said.

"Well there's one more thing we can agree on," Logan laughed.

"Logan," she warned lightly. "Your dad sucks. And when he tells you things that makes you think 'there's no point' please don't believe him."

"I can do that, under one condition," he said.

"What's that?" she asked.

"As long as I can call you when he does say anything. I need someone to remind me my dad sucks," he said, nudging her side lightly.

"I'll be there, promise," she said, smiling. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. Logan tried to hide the grin on his face as she found comfort against him.

"You know I've known you for a week, and we've had more meaningful conversations than Colin and I have had in the last 17 years," he said.

"Well, Colin better step up his game," she joked.

"Oh yeah?" he laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "Do you and Elle talk like this?"

"Our conversations never go past 'Hey Logan you're cute, let's bang' and usually she's drunk when she's says it too," he said.

"I don't know whether to laugh or be disappointed because that's my sister," she said, trying to stifle a giggle.

"I laughed," he said, laughing with her.

"Good choice," she said.

"So, are you coming next weekend too?" he asked.

"If I can walk," she laughed.

"I'll just carry you around the campus," he said, smirking.

"Oh, that will go over well," she mocked him.

"Hey, I am perfectly capable," he defended.

"Yeah right," she said, grabbing a throw pillow and hitting him with it.

"Are you questioning my masculinity?" he asked, incredulously, grabbing the pillow and hitting her back.

"Yes," she said, leading to Logan hitting her again. "Hey!" she pouted. He would have killed to be able to kiss that out of her lips. This adorable look didn't last long, as she grabbed the pillow back and hit him again before dissolving into giggles. One month and 3 weeks…