AN: I wanted to have this up on Thursday what with the chapter taking place during Thanksgiving and all but I just didn't get it done in time and now is acting up and all, like usual. I had to get crafty to figure out a way to upload this chapter but I did it ;) And seriously, when are they going to fix the alert system? I think this is the longest it's ever been down. I miss getting emails about reviews and updates. Well anyhow back on track, I know this is 2 days late but you can just get some leftovers out and pretend it's still Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review because I love reviews :)

Rory and Logan entered the pool house which was already filled with all the young adults forced to attend a Gilmore Thanksgiving. Logan motioned to an empty spot on the couch. "Sit down, I'll get you something to drink," he offered.

"Oh, no, I don't drink," she replied.

"This lovely creature speaks blasphemy, Logan," Rory heard someone say in an Australian accent. She turned around to face a tall brunet. "Finnegan Morgan, at your service, Love," he introduced himself before taking the seat next to her on the couch. "Now what is this I hear about not drinking?"

"I'm only 18, it's illegal," she told him.

Finn scoffed, "It's legal in Australia," he argued.

"We're not in Australia," she reminded him.

"Damn shame too," he pouted. "Such a lovely country."

By this point Stephanie had worked her way over to the group along with Colin and Honor. "Are you trying to tell us you've never done anything against the law?"

"Well…I've J-walked before," she admitted ruefully, "oh and there was that one time I shoplifted, but it was an accident."

"An accident?" Colin asked, curious as to how one accidentally shoplifted.

Rory gave him a look, wondering who he was. Stephanie picked up on this and made the introductions. "Oh Rory, this is my…Colin," she told her, steering clear of the "b" word; Stephanie and Colin's relationship was undefined but whatever they labeled it, it involved a lot of sex. "So, now that you know who everyone is, tell us about this accidental shoplifting," Steph instructed, as everyone took seats on the various chairs, sofas and ottomans surrounding the coffee table in the middle of the room with Logan taking the third seat on the couch next to Rory. Steph watched as he instinctively moved to put his arm around her shoulders then paused and took it back.

"It's stupid, really," Rory assured them, not wanting to get into such an embarrassing story in front of people she had just met.

"Come on," Honor pried. "Did you at least steal something good?"

"It was cornstarch," she admitted bashfully, casting her eyes downward.

"Cornstarch?" Logan laughed. "What the hell were you doing with cornstarch anyhow? What does anyone do with cornstarch for that matter? Does it even have a purpose?" he wondered.

"It's really stupid, I'm telling you," she tried to convince them. Why did she have to go and bring up the cornstarch incident anyhow?

"Come now, Love. You can tell us. You can't of done anything more embarrassing than any of us."

"Yeah, especially Finn; he's great at looking like a fool. Johnny Knoxville would be stunned at his ability to make an ass out of himself," Colin commented dryly.

"I may act like an arse sometimes but at least I have fun doing it," Finn said defensively.

"Come on, Rory," Steph pleaded. "Tell us about the cornstarch."

Rory looked at the group surrounding her. She didn't know what it was but she actually felt comfortable around them. She'd expected a bunch of society kids like these to look down upon her but they were treating her as one of their own. And they themselves were so open with her. After a few moments of thought she finally relented. "Fine."

"Yay! Story time," Finn clapped his hands excitedly, bouncing up and down in his seat. Rory shot him an exasperated look and he settled down.

"So it was just after Dean had moved to Stars Hollow," she began.

"Dean?" Logan asked.

"Ex-boyfriend," she said offhandedly before continuing on. "Anyhow, he was working at the grocery store and one day I went in there to see him. But of course I wound up getting nervous and so I just pretended to be looking at groceries. When he approached me I freaked out and grabbed the first thing my hand touched…"

"A box of cornstarch," Honor said, getting the picture.

"Yeah. So we started talking and all the while I'm holding onto the box of cornstarch. Then all of a sudden he leans forward and kisses me. I was so shocked I didn't know what to do, so I said 'thank you' and then I ran away."

"You ran away?" Stephanie asked incredulously, chuckling light heartedly at the image.

"Ouch, that could not have been good for the poor boy's ego," Colin remarked.

"No girl has ever run after a delish-kiss with this Aussie delight," Finn said proudly. The group just ignored him.

"Don't worry about it Ror," Steph said. "First kisses are always awkward. I found out that the first boy who kissed me only did it as a dare. And Logan's first kiss, now that's a funny story."

Logan glared angrily at Steph for bringing up such an embarrassing moment in his life. She would pay for that, he'd make sure of it.

"Ooh, tell us," Rory said excitedly, turning to look at Logan.

"I don't think so, Ace," he replied. That was not a humiliation he was ready to share with Rory.

"I'll tell it," Steph replied gleefully. Rory looked at her attentively. "He was nine and he was having a pool party for our whole class. There was this girl; I think her name was Jillian. Anyhow, she tried to take a dive off the high dive board and instead wound up doing a belly flop. When she didn't resurface after a few seconds, Logan flipped out thinking she had died. He dove in and pulled her out of the water and started doing CPR on her since we'd just learned about it in school. All of a sudden her eyes flew open and her arms went around his neck and she pulled him down for a kiss way beyond what one would consider appropriate for a nine year old. He was so startled he stumbled, tripped over her, and fell head first into the pool, nearly cracking his head open in the process."

"Oh my god what I wouldn't have given to have seen that," Rory laughed hysterically.

"It was priceless," Steph admitted, laughing along with her new friend.

"Oh that's right," Logan said sarcastically. "Yuck it up. I'm glad my near death experience is of such amusement to you."

Rory was about to respond with a snappy comeback when her cell phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket to look at the caller ID. She stopped laughing and sighed. "Sorry guys,' she apologized for the interruption as she flipped her cell phone open.

"Hi Mom," she answered, her voice conveying the frustration she was still feeling over the argument earlier.

"Where are you? I've been looking all over the house for you."

"I'm around," she answered vaguely.

"Well we're leaving so meet me in the foyer," Lorelai commanded.

Rory looked around at the group, chatting quietly amongst themselves. She was having fun here and she really didn't want to have to sit in a car with her mother for half an hour listening to her rant about the evils of Yale and how her grandparents were manipulative puppet masters controlling her every move. "You go ahead without me. I'm going to stay here a little while longer."

"Excuse me? You do realize I'm your ride, don't you? So unless you plan on hitch hiking back to Stars Hollow I suggest you get your butt over here."

"Hold on one second, Mom," Rory told her, then turned her attention to her new friends. "Hey could one of you guys give me a ride home later?" she asked.

"I got ya, Ace," Logan agreed, patting her on the knee.

"Thanks," she replied, then replaced the phone to her ear, " Logan's going to give me a ride. I'll see you at home later."

"Logan?" Lorelai asked incredulously. "The same Logan whose guts you hated last time I checked? What words did you use to describe him? Egotistical, insufferable, arrogant, pompous…would you like me to go on?"

"Well I like him more than I like you right now," she snapped, immediately regretting the words that came out of her mouth. What was wrong with her? First she acted like a total bitch to Logan and now she was doing it to her mother. She was just so tired of being treated like a child who was incapable of making her own decisions, but that wasn't an excuse to keep snapping at people. "I'm sorry Mom, I didn't mean that."

"I'll see you at home later," Lorelai said coldly before hanging up the phone. Rory listened to the dial tone for a moment before snapping her phone shut and stuffing it into her bag.

"You OK?" Logan asked her for the second time that night. This time she answered him honestly.

"We never fight," she said sadly.

"Your Mom?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"So what happened?'

"Yale," she replied.

"Huh?"

"She found out I applied to Yale."

"What do you mean she found out you applied to Yale? She was there when you toured the campus," he reminded her.

"And the Gilmore's are a Yale legacy," Colin added.

"Exactly," she responded. "Yale is my grandparent's school therefore my mother hates it. My whole life we've always planned for me to go to Harvard…"

"Harvard?" Logan cut in. "I don't think I can associate with you anymore, Ace."

"Gee, if I knew that was all it took I would have told you sooner," she shot back, but she was smiling.

"So you really want to go to Harvard?" Steph asked her.

"That's the thing…I don't know anymore. I think I do but what if it's really her dream and not mine? I had to keep my options open; I had to apply to other schools. But I think she sees it as some sort of betrayal. I'm going against the plan."

"Believe us; we know what that's like. None of us had any options. Yale wasn't just a plan for us it was a destiny. It sounds like you at least have some options. Your Mom may be mad right now but ultimately it's your choice. Don't take that kind of freedom for granted," Logan told her.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I just hate fighting with her," she sighed. She just wanted her Mom to be proud of her but Logan was right; ultimately she had to make the decision that was right for her, not the one that would make her mom the happiest.

"Well from what you've told me it seems like you guys have a really good relationship, I'm sure she'll understand that you just want to consider your options more carefully."

"Yeah and we can help you consider Yale. After all, we can't willingly let Harvard snatch up all the hot coeds." Finn commented happily.

"Yeah, you can come visit us and we can show you around the campus," Steph said excitedly. She really liked Rory and besides, it would be fun to keep throwing her and Logan together. Logan was obviously in denial about his feelings for this girl and she could sense something from Rory's end as well, though it was much more subtle. Sure there was that boyfriend to consider but she'd deal with that when the time came.

"I've already seen the campus with my grandparents," she reminded them.

"You've seen the educational Yale. We can show you the fun Yale."

"Oh please," Stephanie scoffed at Colin. "What do you know about 'Fun Yale,' Mr. Stick-Up-Your-Ass?"

"You never seem to question my ability to have fun when we're in the bedroom," he shot back at her.

"True, but I don't think that's the kind of fun Rory wants us to show her."

"Yes, please don't," Rory replied.

"OK then, it's settled, we're going to show Ace here a fun, non-kinky, Yale experience," Logan replied, keen to end the Colin-Steph sex talk. "You have dinner with your grandparents on Friday's right?" he asked her.

"Yeah."

"So how about we pick you up from Chilton after school, you can hang with us for a bit and then we can drop you off here in time for dinner?"

Rory looked around the room at her quirky new friends and smiled. "That sounds good," she agreed.

Logan smiled back at her. "Good, then it's a plan."

"Thanks guys. I had a great time tonight," Rory told the group as the limo pulled to a stop outside her home in Stars Hollow. "I never thought I'd say that about time spent at one of my grandparent's parties, but I really did."

"The pleasure was all ours, Ace," Logan responded sincerely, she fit in well with the group and she was fun to have around. "It's always good to get some new blood in the group, mix things up a bit."

"Plus it helps even out the estrogen-testosterone ratio. These guys can be a bit much to handle by myself," Steph told her.

Rory opened the door and climbed out of the limo. "I'll see you guys next week," she waved goodbye before shutting the door and watching the car drive off.

She stood in front of the house for a moment, just staring. It was time to go in and face her mother. She sighed and walked in the front door. "Mom?" she called out tentatively.

"In here," Lorelai responded unenthusiastically. Rory followed her mother's voice to the kitchen and joined her at the table where she was gnawing on some biscuits.

"You're eating?" Rory asked in amazement.

"Well I didn't really get to eat at your grandparents and I realized that with only three Thanksgiving dinners consumed, skipping the rolls was completely unnecessary. Luke had some leftovers," Lorelai replied conversationally but it definitely felt forced. Rory could tell she was still mad.

"I'm really sorry about what I said on the phone, Mom."

"Yeah well…" Lorelai trailed off.

"Are you mad?" Rory asked timidly.

"No," Lorelai responded tersely, not looking up from her biscuit.

"You're not very convincing."

"I'm not mad I'm just…" she trailed off but finally looked up to meet Rory's eyes.

"What?"

"I don't know- nervous I guess."

"About what?"

"Losing you to them; to their whole world. It's just…I got out of there for a reason, Rory."

"You won't lose me," she promised her mom.

"I already am."

"What are you talking about?"

"You want to go to Yale, don't you?"

"I don't know," Rory admitted. "I've never really considered anything but Harvard. How do I know that Yale's not right for me unless I look into it? But even if I do wind up there, that doesn't mean I'm going to turn into some socialite. All kinds of people attend Yale, not just young Richard and Emily Gilmore types."

"And Logan?"

"What about Logan?" she asked, wondering how he fit into this conversation.

"One minute you hate his guts and the next you're willingly hanging out with him and his friends and getting rides in their limos."

"Well maybe I misjudged him, but that doesn't mean I'm going to become him. I'm your daughter, nothing can change that. I might not stay exactly the same for the rest of my life but there's a little piece of you in me and that will always be there."

"Just be careful, Rory. They'll pull you in. They make that kind of life seem so glamorous and exciting but it's not. Just be careful," she reiterated.

"Mom," Rory said hesitantly. She wanted to be completely upfront. "They want to show me around Yale next week."

Lorelai sighed. She didn't like this; she didn't like it at all. She'd tried so hard to keep Rory from that life and all the pain it would inevitably bring her and here it was, practically banging down their doorstep. But she couldn't protect her kid anymore, she wasn't a kid anymore. "I can't tell you who to hang out with or what to do anymore. You're a big girl now. Just try and remember what I said."

"I know Mom, I'll be careful," Rory promised. "So fight over?" she asked.

"Fight over," Lorelai confirmed with a nod of her head.

"Good, I don't like fighting with you."

"Right back atcha, Kid," Lorelai agreed. "Biscuit?" she offered her daughter the bag of rolls Luke had given her.

"Don't mind if I do," Rory said happily, grabbing a roll and taking a hearty bite out of it. "Thanks for this by the way," she said through her mouthful of bread.

"For what?" Lorelai smiled at her lack of manners. Maybe there was still hope for her after all.

"The ability to eat three and a half thanksgiving dinners and rolls without weighing 300 pounds."

"Yes, that was one of my better gifts to you, if I do say so myself."

"I love you, Mom."

"Love you to, kid."