A/N: Thanks for all the reviewage! Now, excuse me whilst I take a left turn off the canon track - who's up for a slumber party? ;)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 17
"This was such a good idea," said Rory, climbing back onto her bed and sitting down amongst the pillows and blankets. "We should've done it a lot sooner."
"I've never been to a real slumber party before," Paris admitted then, watching closely as Lane continued to paint her toe nails for her. "Madeline and Louise used to invite me but... I don't know, it never felt like somewhere I'd really fit in."
"Well, you fit in just fine with us," insisted Rory. "Lane and me needed a really good catch up and I was hardly going to leave you out of the proceedings."
"I have no problem with two people to boast to about my Dave," said Lane with a grin as she finished off Paris' toes and recapped the nail polish. "You're done."
"That is a ridiculous colour," the other girl gasped and then smiled anyway, "but I love it."
"Ooh, good choice," said Rory, practically hanging off the bed to see. "I'll bet Jamie would love it."
"Yes, I'm not the only one with a new boyfriend!" Lane enthused. "Tell me all about the delicious Jamie."
"There's not all that much to tell," said Paris, eyes down and fingers messing with a loose thread on her pyjama sleeve. "He's just a guy."
"Just a guy?" Rory gasped. "Jamie is not just a guy. Seriously, I could not be more in love with Jess, but Jamie is such a great person and insanely good looking."
"I guess he is." Paris blushed furiously. "And he likes me, so much. That's the part I can't wrap my head around. I keep trying to find a reason why a guy like him would be interested in a girl like me, and I can't do it, but he does. He really just wants to spend time with me and talk to me and... It's kind of scary and thrilling and I can actually feel myself turning into one of those ridiculous girls that daydreams about romantic walks on the beach and kisses by moonlight. What's happening to me?"
"Sounds to me like you're becoming a normal teenage girl," said Lane, shrugging her shoulders. "You should embrace the fact that you're even allowed to do that. If Mrs Kim found out I was actually dating Dave, I think her head would spin around and explode."
"At least your mother cares what you're doing." Paris rolled her eyes. "I haven't seen mine in months."
Rory looked from one friend to the other and felt the evening sliding into melancholy. That was no good to her. She wanted this to be a fun night, a time for talking about makeup and girly movies and boys. It was so cliche and not usually her style really, but school had been intense this past week or two since they got back after New Year, and as she said, she really hadn't spent enough time with Lane lately. The three of them should be allowed to get together, share secrets, and blow off steam for a while. Lorelai had agreed all too easily. In fact, Rory was amazed she wasn't trying to get in on the fun herself. She might when she got back from picking up food from the diner.
"Come on!" she urged Lane and Paris both. "This is supposed to be a fun night. Let's put on some music and talk about something else."
"No, no, no!" Lane insisted, scrambling up from the floor to get in Rory's way of the stereo. "Music is my department," she reminded her friend, searching through a pile of CDs for the correct one.
"Y'know I'm really not supposed to drink this much soda," said Paris, doing just that anyway, "but this is so good. What brand is this?"
"No brand." Rory shook her head. "It's the cheap stuff from Doose's Market, but somehow it tastes even better than the real deal. Oh, I love this one!" she declared then, looking at a triumphant Lane.
"This is good," Paris agreed, bopping to the beat a little. "What is it?"
"What is it?" asked Lane, eyes wider than wide. "This is Wasp Star! XTC!"
Paris was shocked by the way she had just gotten yelled at and understood nothing of what Lane had said anyway. Her only, uncontrollable, reaction was the most enormous burp, and all three girls bust up laughing like kids.
"It was, without doubt, the worst seminar on anything ever!" said Lorelai with all the indignation she could muster. "Honestly, Sookie and me knew more about running an inn before we attended than after."
"You can't possibly know less now than you did before," Luke argued, pulling together all the food items on her list.
"Er, yes, I can," his girlfriend insisted. "It was so incredibly boring that some of my brain cells died, which means I actually lost knowledge."
Luke knew there was no use arguing with her anymore. Lorelai had her own special brand of logic, which could be equal parts amusing and frustrating dependent upon the situation. Right now he just chose to find her funny and concentrated on putting doughnuts and a pie into the already mostly full box for Rory's slumber party.
"Of course, it wasn't a total bust. Sookie met up with an old friend. They really reconnected, it was cool." Lorelai smiled then. "He had a friend with him too, Alex. Nice guy."
"Uh-huh." Luke nodded along, unsure if he wanted to say more yet.
"With Sookie and her buddy so deep into conversation that we didn't stand a chance of following, me and Alex got chatting ourselves. They're going to open a coffee shop, apparently."
She started to wax lyrical about the wonder that was Alex and suddenly Luke was feeling all kinds of uncomfortable. There was a girlish giggle in Lorelai's voice and a lightness in her eyes that made his heart ache. She liked the guy, this Alex person. He was probably good-looking and charming and everything women looked for in a guy. Luke wasn't stupid, he knew how lucky he was to have Lorelai, how it made no sense that someone like her wanted to be with someone like him, grumpy and stuck in his ways and such.
"Luke?" she prompted when she realised he had zoned out.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"It's not important," she said, shaking her head. "It was just a funny story Alex told me, but I'll tell you about it later. I should really get this stuff over to the girls."
She moved to lift the box and realised it was way heavier than expected. Before Luke could offer to assist, Jess rushed over and cut in.
"I got it," he said, scooping the box into his arms. "You're parked out front, right?"
"Yeah. I'll grab the door," said Lorelai, moving to do so. "Thanks, Jess. You're a doll."
"Not a compliment I'd usually accept, but okay," he admitted, going with her to the Jeep and loading the box inside. "I hope Paris brought her allergy meds."
"I'll check when I get home." Lorelai promised. "Thanks again for the help."
"You want a little more?" asked Jess with a look. "Luke's really not happy hearing about your new friend Alex."
Lorelai laughed loudly.
"Seriously?" she said, shaking her head. "Alex is not even a friend. I only met him today, and he was just this nice guy that I had a conversation with. Why would Luke be weird about that? Being jealous of Alex would be like Rory being jealous of a customer you served in the diner and dared to have a laugh with," she insisted.
"Maybe, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen."
He didn't say anymore, just gave a salute type wave and headed back inside. Luke looked up when Jess walked back in.
"They're all going to end up overweight and diabetic," he said of the girls who he had made up the food package for. "I really shouldn't encourage that."
"It's not like they eat like that all the time." Jess shrugged. "Well, Lane and Paris don't anyway. Rory and Lorelai are pros, they can handle it," he insisted.
"I hope you're right," his uncle agreed. "Y'know if they're doing the whole slumber party thing, they're probably talking about you?"
"Well, when Lorelai gets back she'll probably join in and then they'll be talking about you too," said Jess with a look.
Luke seemed as if he really wasn't sure how he felt about that.
When Lorelai walked back into the Crap Shack, all she could hear was the joyous laughter of her daughter and friends. It made her smile so wide. It was so cool to hear everybody happy, no drama occurring, nothing traumatic. Right now things really did seem to be on the up and up, and though that sometimes meant trouble was right around the corner, Lorelai chose to believe that maybe this time that wasn't true.
Struggling as far as the kitchen table with the box of food supplies for the party, she dumped it down there and shook out her aching arms. She turned to tap on Rory's bedroom door to encourage her to come out and take the box in herself, when suddenly she paused on hearing the topic of conversation being discussed within.
"Paris, Rory's done telling me about sex with Jess now. You can uncover your ears!" Lane yelled, laughing still.
"Thank you," Paris replied, presumably uncovering her ears as instructed. "God, I know Jess isn't my brother by blood, but I do not need to be thinking of him and sex in the same moment. It's disgusting."
"Not if you're me." Rory sighed happily.
"Oh, you make me so jealous!" said Lane desperately. "So far I've had three kisses from Dave. Three really good kisses," she amended, "but moving forward seems like it's going to take forever."
"It's okay if it takes a while," Rory advised. "Honestly, I'd known Jess for more than a year and we'd been dating for ten months before we got that far," she reminded them. "He was so patient and so sweet. He never pushed."
"You're lucky," said Paris. "Not that I have any problems with Jamie. He's a real gentleman, I can't imagine him ever trying for anything I wasn't ready for, but so many guys just want to dive right in and expect a woman to be ready before she is."
"Nobody should be coerced into sex, male or female," Rory insisted. "I'm glad I waited until I was ready. Mom always told me, if a guy pushes you into that kind of thing, he doesn't really love you. That and always, always be safe," she added. "Good advice on both fronts."
"Agreed." Paris nodded. "All my mom ever told me was that dad didn't satisfy her."
All three girls shuddered at that particular revelation.
"You two are so lucky," said Lane then. "Mama would go crazy if she knew that I'd even heard of sex."
"You know you can always talk to us, or my mom, if you need to," Rory insisted.
There was a brief silence, and as Lorelai listened she found the need to wipe a tear away from her cheek. These girls were too much, her own daughter in particular. None of them were the type to sit here talking about sexcapades, drugs, anything a mother had to worry about, because those were not things they were into. Sure, Rory was sleeping with Jess, but she just told her best girlfriends that she only started doing so when she was sure and that she was always careful, things she was encouraging both Lane and Paris to do when the time came. She was a beacon of goodness, and always knew she could turn to her mom in a crisis. Lorelai could not be more proud.
"I think there's a good chance that Jamie will be... y'know, the one," said Paris then. "Not yet, but some day, probably."
Lane said nothing, and Lorelai took pity on her. She would be lucky if she got to have sex before she was fifty, poor thing. That was tough to admit in front of even a minor amount of company. Lorelai tapped on the bedroom door and called to the girls to come grab some food already.
The pattering of bare feet was followed by Rory, Paris, and Lane all falling out onto the tile in their PJs to grab at fries and doughnuts. Lorelai watched them go nuts for a moment, and then subtly threw an arm around Rory's shoulders, hugging her close and kissing the side of the head.
"You okay, Mom?" she asked, looking up at her.
"Yeah, kid," she promised. "I just... I love you, a lot."
"Love you too, Mom," Rory assured her.
Thank God some things never changed.
To Be Continued...