Thanks for the reviews guys. I hope I don't butcher two of my other favorite episodes as my include some lines from Norman Mailer I'm Pregnant and I Jump you Jump. It was also was hard work choosing which scenes to use and which scenes not to use. I also had to tweak some of the dialogue a bit since Rory knows Logan and the limo boys better than she did at the time the episode had taken place. I would like to thank my beta Kaytie for her hard work
Fate had a really cruel way of playing tricks on her. It had been four weeks since she had last spoken to Logan. She had tried everything in her power to keep herself busy, so she would not have to think about Logan, which was surprisingly easy since she was taking a course load of classes and was working at two newspapers; YDN and the one in Stamford. She was very grateful for Casey's advice the first day of the paper, for she noticed how Mitchum hated passive people and writers. She remembered one writer who had come to her crying because Mitchum had thought of her as an assistant. Therefore, she made an effort to speak every time she saw Mitchum and not suck up to him as she might not have done if she hadn't met Casey. Mitchum had strongly praised her 2004 election article, having said it was the very best article that he had seen from her.
Rory spent all of her time researching for articles so that she did not have a moment to herself, and she liked it that way. For when she wasn't busy, she started to think about Logan and what it had been like to kiss and touch him. She missed Logan desperately; without his friendship the days were long and empty. She had trouble sleeping at night, because when she did she would see his face. The bed felt so very empty without him next to her; she could not believe she missed Logan's comfort in bed; after all they had only shared the same bed three times. Even though two of those times had been completely accidental, she still missed his warmth or the way he would touch her. She hoped it would all go away; her complexion was becoming pale and ghostly from lack of sleep, but it didn't stop her from not being busy.
She had even agreed with Chris to watch Gigi once a week after finding out that Sherry had bailed. Rory could absolutely not believe Sherry. A part of her was also worried about what Chris's singleness would mean for him and Lorelai. As much as the little girl inside her wanted her parents to get back together, Rory did not want to see the sad look on her mother's face after yet another failed attempt at having a relationship with Christopher. However, she needed to take her own advice and let her parents make their own mistakes in their relationship. Therefore, instead of telling them to stay from each other' Rory decided to not be hypocritical and let them be their own people. She was glad her mother was happy with Luke, and there was no signs of her running. Rory found it strange that she did not confide to her mother everything that went on between her and Logan; she could tell that Lorelai was curious as to why she wasn't mentioning Logan in their weekly phone calls but she didn't wanted another rift between them. Rory wanted to deal with Logan on her own and not seek the approval or disapproval of her mother.
Rory's avoidance of Logan was working well with the exception of the fact that she had forgotten that he was working on the same newspaper with her. God, it took her everything not to laugh and tease Logan after his hilarious Smitty impression last week at the YDN. Generally, though, Rory could deal with avoiding him at the paper, for Logan seldom came and when he did he would fall asleep at his desk. However, what she could not deal with was the fact that she needed to ask Logan for her Life and Death brigade story. She was having trouble finding a good features story, until she had found a drunken girl with a Gorilla mask saying, "In Omnia Paratus" in front of a SUV. After googling "In Omnia Paratus," she had found out about the secret society entitled the Life and Death Brigade, and Doyle had approved the story. Everything had seemed to be going smoothly until she found the name of Logan's grandfather and father on old newspapers connected to the Life and Death brigade. She figured Logan was in it since these clubs went with generations, and Logan was the guy who enjoyed stunts. Plus she recognized the phrase "In Omnia Paratus" from what Logan had written to her on the card right before their special day. Her heart did a thump at the memory at how extraordinary that day was, and how despite everything, she did not regret it. She had to ask Logan and have the pain of being reminded of what she couldn't have; why was fate so cruel? Yet, why did her heart do flip-flops with excitement at the thought of hanging out with Logan again?
Logan Huntzburger had tried his best to go back to his old life before Rory Gilmore had existed. He had spent all his nights at the pub and going to parties and he had even managed to hook up with two girls, but it wasn't the same. He had even accidentally called one of the girls Ace, they just laughed thinking it was a cute nickname; but he felt greatly disturbed and ashamed of himself. He also felt embarrassed for allowing himself to get jealous of Marty, which had cost them their friendship. Whenever he was alone he kept thinking of Rory and everything he had shared with her. She had become such a big part of his life in the last month that being without her made him feel as though something had been missing or ripped out from under him. When he saw her at the paper he felt the familiar fluttering in his chest. He hoped that his Smitty impression would get a reaction out her; instead he just saw a blank look on her face. God would she ever speak to him, argue with him, kiss him again?
Logan tried to push aside his Rory thought by focusing his attention on the latest Life and Death Brigade meeting, although he felt another pang in his chest when he remembered how he was suppose to introduce Rory to the LBD right before all the complications happened. He had sulked all night during the initiation ceremony; not caring about Colin and Finn's teasing throughout the service.
Logan shifted his attention to what the members Brandon and Alex were saying about the cost of doing the Safari theme when right at the corner of his eye was Rory Gilmore saying to his surprise, "Hey Huntzburger."
Logan wondered if she had finally buried her feelings so they could be friends again, but a part of him was disappointed at that. Whatever it was his curiosity shifted him towards her.
"Hey! You waiting on me?" Logan asked trying to be casual although his heart was pounding with anticipation; he so badly wanted to know what she really wanted.
"Could be."
"Wow, I'm flattered," Logan said, filling the statement with innuendo and hoping to get a blush out of her.
Instead Rory said, "Your prerogative." She wanted it to be strictly business with her and Logan, and not to be affected by Logan's presence.
"You're here on business or pleasure?"
"I thought maybe I'd give you a chance to respond to my article?"
He should have known his Ace had her 'I'm on a mission to finding a good story face.' He wondered what the story could be. "Okay Ace, what is the special article this time?"
"I'm doing a article on the Life and Death Brigade."
How did his Ace find out about the society? Well, he would tell but right now he wanted to mess with her a little until he okayed her coming with the Brigadiers, since they really did not like reporters coming in.
"Don't really know what you're taking about," Logan said, trying to appear unfazed.
Rory could tell that Logan was hiding, two could play at this game she thought. "You don't. Huh. I thought you would. It's a club. One of these super secret super exclusive clubs here at Yale, membership spans a thousand centuries, secret handshakes, and secret sayings, and a lot of running around in circles in your underwear."
Logan smiled at Rory's superficial knowledge on secret societies; she was about to get her socks knocked off. However, he was going to continue to play it nonchalant. "Sounds pretty secretive."
Rory was getting a little annoyed at Logan's apathetic tone, but she decided she was going to keep her cool. "Yeah. Anyhow I'm doing this expose on this one particular club; and I figured since you're in it, maybe you like to have your point of you included."
"I'm in it?" Logan smirked wanting to know how she came to that conclusion.
"Well aren't you?
"I've yet to run around in a circle in my underwear." That was true, although Colin and Finn were another story.
Rory rolled her eyes, " Well. Okay. I mean, I have proof that your grandfather was in it, which means that your father was in it. Which should mean that you're in it. But maybe not. Although you did use your clubs catchphrase, "In Omnia Paratus," when you wrote me the note, and you did sometimes seem secretive when you were talking about your friends. But it could all be a coincidence."
Logan tried to hide his fascination of her sleuthing and offhandedly said, "Sorry to let you down."
Rory remained unfazed and decided on one last strategy that was sure to make Logan tell her about the club. "No let down. It would have been nice, but I have plenty of stuff without you, and I'm sorry to have bothered you."
"You have plenty without me, huh?"
"Oh yeah! I have the ball gowns, the girl in the gorilla mask, "In Omnia Paratus" – very fancy catch phrase, by the way – the license plate on the black SUV, and about a dozen other little things. I mean getting an interview with an actual member would have been great. But I'm okay without it."
"Well, great." Logan knew that the information was not going to cut it to make a good article, for some reporters had already written articles on the LBD with just that information.
Logan was still relaxed, but lucky for Rory she had another trick right up her sleeve. She smirked and said, "Yep. Plus I'm completely onto your routine now."
His Ace was good, but she seemed to have forgotten whom she was messing with. "Wow."
Rory continued, "Yeah. So I figure I'll just track you, and you'll eventually lead me there anyway. So, hey. I mean it would have been easier if you just would have talked to me now, but I can do it the other way if you want."
"You tracking me?"
"Yes?" Rory said, confused that Logan was not budging.
"Following my every move," Logan said amused, he had very much missed talking to this girl.
"Yeah…" Rory was wondering where Logan was going with this. She did not realize until now that she had missed Logan's cleverness.
"I pick that way." Logan replied.
"Okay, but –" Rory cursed Logan's ability to render her speechless.
Logan smirked and remained unfazed. "We can start right now, if you want. I'm heading back to my room, I can keep the window open in case you feel the need to sneak in, and track me from the inside."
"Thanks for the info." Now how was she going to get the information on the LBD?
"Absolutely," Logan said turning to go to his dorm to talk to Colin about letting Rory come to the next event. "And hey, good luck with that article. Sounds like a hell of a scoop."
Logan walked away feeling excited that he would temporarily have Rory back in his life.
Rory sat their feeling completely speechless, she was excited after talking to Logan, but she wondered if she was ever going to get the information about the LBD article.
The next day she was sitting at her desk at the YDN wonderThe next day she was sitting at her desk at the YDN wondering what she was going to do with her article, since Logan decided to be uncooperative. She saw Logan going to his desk, and debated whether to go up and persuade him some more, but she knew Logan would tease her some more. Suddenly the sound of an instant message had interrupted her thoughts. Rory read the instant message, which said; "Hey Ace. I've got a proposition for you."
Rory looked around and saw Logan watching her. Intrigued, she wrote: "Shoot."
Logan responded quickly. "I'll help you with your article. Get you the inside scoop. You just have to agree to a few conditions."
Rory felt excitement, she should have known that Logan would eventually help "What conditions?" she typed back. Even though she didn't really care what the conditions were, just that she was getting help with her article, and the simple joy that she and Logan were communicating again
Logan replied back; "The first condition is you have to agree before you know the conditions. What do you say, Ace? You in or out?"
There was only one answer, for no condition was going to keep her from hanging out with Logan. She wrote; "I'm in." Her heart was pounding to see what Logan was going to write next. Instead she was disappointed to find that there was nothing more, and the mere fact that Logan had left from his desk. She tired to focus on the positive; Logan was going to help her; and she hoped that it would be sooner rather than later.
--
Rory sat there with the blindfold in confusion. It had been more than a week since she had heard from Logan and she was beginning to think that she had imagined Logan's IM's from the week before, until this afternoon when she found a note in Logan's penmanship telling her to wear the blindfold. At first Rory put it on enthusiastically, but now after waiting it felt ridiculous to be standing there in the middle of the Yale hallway wearing a blindfold. She hoped Logan would come quickly.
Logan found Rory wearing the blindfold, he laughed at her confused and annoyed reaction, and at how beautiful and silly she looked in the Yale hallway wearing the blindfold. He hated that he didn't contact her within a week, but Colin kept coming up with lists as to what to tell Rory and how to keep the anonymity of the LBD. Logan had found the whole thing ridiculous; Colin knew Rory would not blab and she was originally supposed to be a member. Logan wondered if that could still happen after all the events took place. He hoped that this LBD outing would be a good way for him and Rory to regain the friendship that they had built in New York; even if they couldn't be together romantically. Logan felt a pang in his heart from that though. However, he needed to focus right now on helping Rory with her article and nothing else, he quickly went up to her and said, "Hey, Ace, you ready?" Logan had gently touched her arm, he savored being in physical contact with her after weeks of being without it
"Yeah, but can I please take off the blindfold now?" As much as she loved the feeling of Logan's hand touching hers the blindfold was really getting to her.
Logan chuckled lightly and rubbed her back. "Patience Ace, the blindfold is to secure the anonymity of our location." He quietly led her to Colin's SUV and said, "Hit it."
"Ah! Not so loud!" Finn shouted; for anytime before eight o' clock at night was not Finn's best hour.
"You're very auditory sensitive today," Stephanie replied amused.
"Oh, and your voice helps," Finn answered annoyed.
"Is the blindfold secure?" Colin asked, sternly ignoring Finn's childishness.
"Secure and in place," Logan said sarcastically for he did not understand Colin's paranoia. Plus with the exception of Stephanie, Rory had met them and had known the sound of their voices.
"Our anonymity's crucial, Logan. Crucial."
Finn was groaning in the background.
"What's wrong with Finn?" Rory asked in concern. "Is he having trouble with the sun again?"
"Yes, we had to leave at this ungodly hour. And the sun is too bright," Finn whined.
Rory laughed, only Finn would consider four in the afternoon to be an ungodly hour.
"Great job with the blindfold, Logan," Colin chastised.
"I recognized your voices, Colin. Not to mention that we have talked in depth in the past." Rory said in the most obvious tone.
"Could everyone keep it down, please?" Finn complained again.
"So how come you're not wearing your gorilla masks?" Rory asked trying to change the subject.
"She can see!" Colin complained.
"I can tell because your voices aren't muffled." Rory replied somewhat annoyed Colin could be so stubborn.
Logan in the mean time was smiling at how perceptive Rory was, it was another thing that he had loved about her.
"Rosemary and Juliet were right, she is sharp," Stephanie observed.
"Who's the girl?"
"I've been told we've met. I've no memory of it." Stephanie was someone who easily forgot things when she was drunk.
"Oh, Gorilla Girl." Rory smiled.
"Oh, well, isn't that a pretty nickname. I've heard some nicknames for you from Colin, Finn, Rosemarie, and Juliet. They are Reporter Girl, and girl who stole Logan's heart.""Hey, I didn't steal Logan's heart," Rory said on the defensive; why was everybody getting between her and Logan's business?
"Touchy," Stephanie replied with a smile.
Logan tried to change the subject to ease Rory's discomfort. "Oh, by the way, this thing's overnight."
"Overnight?" Rory said surprised, she did not pack anything for an overnight trip.
"Didn't I mention that before?"
"Oh, must have slipped your mind." She was curious as to why Logan didn't tell her this until the last minute.
"That doesn't screw up anything for you, does it?" Logan wanted to know if she had plans, and hoped that they did not involve her and some other guy. Logan hated this jealousy that kept popping out whenever Rory was involved. He tried to keep it in check to not get out of control the way it did with Marty.
"No." It was true, she was supposed to watch Gigi tomorrow afternoon, but she was sure her Dad would understand if she had to cancel.
"No?" Logan smiled with relief
"Nope." Rory repeated, she wondered why Logan was so relieved. Was he really afraid that she had found another guy? She did not know why his potential jealousy made her happy. Maybe it was a sign that in spite of everything that had happened, he still cared about her. But she brushed it aside, what mattered was getting her article done, not her and Logan she thought sadly.
"Hmm. Loose schedule. Good." Logan smirked.
"We like our schedules loose, like our women." Finn replied.
"Clever."
Rory laughed, these boys made innuendos over everything small. It could be annoying and amusing at the same time. The rest of the ride went smoothly despite the fact that the gang was incommunicado about the LBD. Finn continued to whine, but Colin started to loosen up his paranoia and spoke to Rory. Rory also got to know Stephanie, who proved to be just as fun as the three stooges, as she tended to refer to Logan Colin and Finn now. She was reminded by how much she had missed their company during the four weeks she had avoided Logan. She was also reminded how much she had missed Logan, which had hurt terribly. She felt the same familiar pangs of not being able to be with him completely. She didn't know what was wrong with her; being around Logan hurt, and not being around Logan hurt as well. When would these feelings be completely buried? Rory silently asked again.
Rory thoughts were interrupted when they had reached their destination, she could tell by the engine stopping; and then the sound of the doors opening. Logan took her by the arm.
The minute they had gotten out of the car Finn had shouted, "This mountain air has revivified me." He then laughed and ran off happily. Logan looked at Stephanie and Colin for they often took turns on who would make sure Finn wouldn't do anything too crazy. "Make sure he doesn't run off a cliff," Logan instructed.
"Stephanie, it's your turn," Colin told her.
"Finn!" Stephanie called out. "You slow down!" She grabbed a lantern and followed his trail.
When Stephanie and Colin were gone Logan turned to Rory and asked, "You okay?"
"I smell trees." Rory sniffed, trying to find out where their mysterious location was; but she did not have a clue except that they were probably in some woods or forest.
"Oh, nothing gets past you." Logan chucked at Rory's perceptiveness. He grabbed a lantern and gently led Rory deep into the camp area.
"So the firing squad is just up ahead?" Rory joked.
"Yup, and there's a line. Damn."
"Seriously, Logan, is the blindfold coming off, or am I Patty Hearst-ing it the whole trip?" Rory was very frustrated; she really wanted to know where they were.
Logan laughed at her impatience. "It's coming off. It's coming off right now." Logan went up and gently pulled off her blindfold, his heart did a thump while looking at her blue eyes again. Then he had to take a step back in order to murder the infamous butterflies again.
Rory opened her eyes, her heart pounding at the sight of Logan's deep expressive eyes looking at her. How she missed those eyes, to suppress her feelings she turned to look at the campsite. She was surprised to see a camp full of white tents, candles and lanterns, and turn of the century furniture. She was surprised that the camp was so beautiful, for she expected to see a camp that looked like the inside of a fraternity house, with beer and food sprinkled all over the floor. "Oh my. No, not at all what I expected."
Logan laughed at her surprise at the sophistication of the LBD. "Let me guess what you were thinking; sleeping bag, flashlights, keg, three boxes of stale Triscuits, half eaten bag of Oreos, some Doritos and a bong." Logan smirked.
"That may be exactly what I pictured." She was surprised that Logan knew what she was thinking, and clearly ashamed that she had thought Logan would have a club that was so simplistic. She continued to walk with Logan in shame.
Logan could sense Rory's discomfort and said, "Ace its okay you can apologize later. Here, this is yours," he pointed to her tent.
"Mine?" Rory was surprised, this tent was breathtaking, it had a bed and was full of fancy amenities. If she had known camping could be like that she would have told her mother to take her at a much younger age.
"Not much closet space, but the view's decent."
"It's cozy." She went inside and smiled.
Logan loved that Rory seemed to be enjoying everything, he would make sure that she would have a good time: "Festivities start in half an hour," he said, hating having to leave her, but he had to have things set up for the event to take place.
Rory was disappointed to see Logan go because she loved spending time with him again. She sighed and got out her notebook; this was going to be the best story that she had ever written.
Later that night Rory sat underneath the tree writing everything that she had observed from the group; for most did not seem to not want to cooperate with the article; with the exception of Stephanie's accidental information. She hoped the girl would not go and actually kill herself for talking to her as she said.
She also tried not to listen to Stephanie's words about there being a line to get to Logan. Why was she jealous of that line? The sound of footsteps interrupted her thoughts.
"How goes it, pariah?" Rory was surprised to see Logan looking all devilishly cute in his white suit. "Logan?"
"Word was a bear dragged you off." He said jokingly, not wanting Rory to know that he had spent a half hour looking for her and wondering if there were wild animals in the woods.
"No bear, I just wanted a calm place to collect my thoughts," Rory said, loving the peace and quiet of the place.
"You found it." Looking around and agreeing with Rory he could understand why she had liked the place, it reminded her of the pool in New York. She looked at the food on Logan's plate and assumed that it was for her. "Thanks, I've eaten."
"Good. This is for me. Sorry you're not getting much from the group. Took a little arm-twisting to get them to agree to let you come in the first place," he told her, remembering Colin's insufferableness.
"I don't need their cooperation. I've already filled two notebooks without their cooperation. Half of one without using the letter 'e', but I could use yours."
"Way too much salt on this." Why did Finn feel the need to mess with the food, it was distracting his train of thought.
"I mean, this is pretty incredible, but it's just a preamble to the big stunt tomorrow, right?" She wanted to know more about the LBD and not talk about the food's saltiness.
"It's Finn, he's Australian. They like salt." Logan added, ignoring Rory's questions.
Rory could not believe that Logan had ignored her question. But she decided to ask the questions in her notebook, hoping that Logan would cooperate this time. "How do you pay for this? Are there dues, or do you chip in, are there alumni sponsoring it? How is it organized? And what is happening tomorrow? Is it just as big, or bigger? And do people know that you're here? Park Rangers, or the landowner? Where are we? Are we still in Connecticut? And your answer cannot include the word salt," she ordered, remembering that Logan kept bringing up salt in every one of her answers.
Logan knew that she was getting frustrated, but he could not answer her question, for they were part of Colin's list of rules: "Okay. I think it's time to fill you in on the conditions of you being here."
"Okay."
"First, no pictures." He gently reached up and took the camera away from her.
"Hey!" How was she going to do a features story if she did not have pictures?
"Aw, you'll get it back at the end of the trip. Second, no names." Logan made sure that she would get a good picture of her doing the big stunt. He would do anything in his power to make sure that she participated in the pinnacle of the event.
"I'm not exactly being introduced to anyone as it is," Rory answered exasperatedly.
"Third, no physical descriptions of any of us. There are authority figures up and down Connecticut trying to nab us for things we may have done in the past. Naughty things."
"Somehow I'm not surprised Logan, but I will keep you anonymous."
Logan smiled "What number am I on?"
"Just at third." Rory answered with her own smile, it was funny to see Logan stating rules; for Logan and rules were an oxymoron.
"Fourth, no identification of our location."
"I don't know where we are!" Rory exclaimed.
"Fifth."
"You're going to run out of -ifths." Rory answered in jest.
Logan ignored her teasing. "Most important condition of all. You must agree not to interfere with the integrity of the event."
"What is the event, and how could I interfere?"
"So you agree?"
"Yes, I agree."
Logan looked at Rory and said softly, "I'm glad you're here."
"Despite being worried that I will mess up the integrity of the event?"
Logan laughed. "Those are Colin's worries, not mine. Plus they are a little ridiculous since I persuaded him to let you join the LBD before everything happened."
"You wanted me to join?" Rory asked, incredulous.
"Yeah, you didn't think I wanted to keep this a secret from you?"
"But I'm not as adventurous as you are to do big stunts Logan."
"Its why I wanted you to join Ace, you have an adventurous side; and I'm so sorry that I overreacted with Marty, I just got jealous and I never get jealous."
"Logan its okay, it's mostly my fault, I am sorry I kissed you at that party and for requesting us to have a day together."
"Ace, you're crazy to think this is all your fault. I would have eventually kissed you. And for what it's worth I don't regret that day." Logan reached for her hand, and Rory's heart pounded, they were both at a loss of what to say. They wanted to just enjoy the quiet moment, until the song of the brigadiers interrupted their moment.
"It's pretty," Rory said, loving the song and the unity of the brigadiers.
"They're drunk." He loved the song too, but he hated that it had somehow ruined the moment between him and Rory.
"Well it sounds pretty. I like it."
"I didn't say I didn't like it." Logan said in a matter of fact tone, secretly hoping that this would be a moment for another debate.
Suddenly a girl's voice interrupted them saying, "Logan you coming?" Logan recognized the voice, it was Caitlin, a girl who had given him the suggestive smile earlier that evening. Logan had no intention of hooking up with her, but he would use it as an excuse to show Rory that he had moved on.
"Yeah?" He answered back.
"You coming?
"I'll be right there." He turned to Rory and said, "I'll leave the light for you, Ace. I won't need it."
Rory watched Logan go, she sadly realized that he really had moved on. What Rory did not see was that he had walked past Caitlin without giving her a second thought.
--
The next day Rory woke up eagerly awaiting what was in store for her and at the thought of seeing Logan again. She was surprised to see Logan there, looking very handsome in a tux. Neil Young had nothing on him, she thought as she remembered her mother saying that once about her father. "Another day, another sartorial surprise." Rory stated with a smile.
"Start getting ready yourself." Logan ordered.
"I am ready." Rory answered back, confused as to what Logan was talking about.
"Dressed like that?" He was surprised that Rory did not notice the white box in her room.
"Well, Mr. "I like my schedule loose," I didn't have the "it's an overnight thing" warning, so unless you want me to fashion something out of pinecones, this is it."
Logan had to block out the image at how sexy she would look in pine cones, and neutrally said, "That clothing is going to interfere with the integrity of our event and you agreed not to interfere with the integrity of our event."
"Logan all I've got is a washbowl, a towel and a toothbrush. Jesus, for a Yale guy sometimes you can be so dense."
"Is that all you've got? Look again, Ace. And next time think before you call someone dense," Logan smirked.
Rory went inside her tent to find out what the hell Logan was talking about. She searched the tent and under her bed she found a white box similar to the one that contained the black dress Logan had got for her in New York. She opened it and found the dress to be even more gorgeous than the black one, it was like a wedding dress decorated in baby blue, her favorite color. Rory went and excitedly tried it on.
Logan stayed outside and waited for Rory, once again cursing himself for not putting the dress in a more visible location so she could find it more quickly. He had forgotten how long it took Rory to get ready.
Suddenly a voice interrupted him "I got your event integrity right here, mister." Logan took in Rory's form, God she looked beautiful in that dress. It brought out her eyes and suited her figure.
Rory smiled, she loved how she felt when Logan looked at her like she was the most amazing creature in the world.
Logan tried to cover up his hormonal feelings by saying, "Yep. I was right Ace, I got an eye for dress sizes. We go this way." Logan put his hand on the small of her back and Rory sighed in content at how comfortable it felt.
--
Rory was enjoying herself immensely, she loved how much like a couple she and Logan felt with sharing the champagne and cheering for him during games. She loved the sophistication and organization of the LBD, "And to think that some groups just went bowling," as Logan so classily stated. She had never remembered having so much fun at an event in her life, or been so curious about anything before. Rory kept trying to guess which was the big stunt was, but Logan was leaving her on her own to figure that out. Rory now wondered if something on the scaffold was going to be the big stunt.
Rory started to look at the seven story scaffold, she was inquisitive as to what the four people on top of the scaffold were going to do; and whether this was the famous big stunt. Suddenly Logan's voice had interrupted her thoughts.
"Hope you're thinking up superlatives." He said jokingly, he was wondering if he could convince Rory to do the stunt. The girl needed to have a little adventure in her life.
"What are they going to do?" Rory asked curiously.
"What do you think they're going to do?" Logan replied as if the obvious was the right answer.
"They're not going to jump." Rory replied fearfully, she would never be able to do that it looked much too dangerous.
"Jump!" Logan said excitedly.
"That's like seven stories! They'll die!" Rory said in concern for the four people who were up there.
"We're all going to die one day Ace, remember when I said that?" He smiled as he remembered their first meeting, it was funny how things had changed and stayed the same.
But Rory still continued to panic, "But those four are today."
"Six." Logan corrected her with a smirk.
"I see four."
"I'm heading up."
"Of course you are." She knew Logan, unlike her, was a daredevil and did not back down at the face of a risk.
Logan smiled, now came the tricky part of convincing her to go up, and it was a good thing he knew her so well. "And Finn was supposed to do it, but few of us figured he'd make it this far, so there's an extra space."
"Hmm." She was wondering who the vacancy was for, and then she saw the way Logan was looking at her and gasped "No!"
"And we're not going to die. No one in the Life and Death Brigade has ever died. Old ones have." Logan reassured, although she needed a lot more than that statement to be convinced.
"I am not going to jump!" Who did Logan think she was? Did he not know her at all?
"We're all set," Seth the genius behind stunts said.
"This is Seth, he's the genius behind all this," Logan introduced him, although Rory was still too panicked to acknowledge Seth's presence.
Seth could sense her discomfort and tried to reassure her. "It's very safe. We did a dozen successful test drops, every potato came through without a scratch."
"Potato?" Rory asked incredulously, was Logan kidding? He expected her to jump from something that had not even been tested on humans?
"You can't test using people, that'd be dangerous!" Logan joked, her trepidation was very amusing, but he knew the stunt was safe, nearly every stunt at the LBD had been successful.
"Look, thanks for the offer, but I'm here as a journalist. An observer. Journalists do not participate." She hoped Logan would leave her alone, and stop his crazy idea.
Now it was the time when Logan would use his elegant persuasive manner, "Since when?"
"Since forever."
"George Plimpton never participated?" he quizzed her, eyebrows raised.
"What?" How the hell did Logan know who George Plimpton was; she always knew he was intelligent but she did not know that he had studied famous journalists.
Logan smiled, he knew he was beginning to have her there. Plus the look of surprise on her face was priceless. "His best stuff put him in the think of it. Fighting Sugar Ray Robinson, quarterbacking for the Lions, skating for the Bruins."
"So he participated." Rory exasperatedly replied, hoping the conversation would come to an end.
His Ace was sure wrong if she thought that he was going to stop there. "Bill Buford lived with soccer hooligans in and amongst the thugs. Ernie Pyle was so deep in the action in World War II, he was killed by a Japanese sniper, not that you got to go that far." He glanced at Rory, she was surely trying to hide her fascination with him with annoyance.
"Buford, Pyle. I know."
However, Logan continued, "Richard Hottelet was four months in a Nazi prison working for the U.P., Hunter Thompson lived with the Hell's Angels. Got in the muck, didn't just orbit around it, and it drove his writing. He put you in those biker's parties, he put you in those biker's heads."
"All right, all right, so, those guys participated. I got it, but I –" How was she going to tell Logan that she was scared, even though a part of her wanted to feel that thrill.
"Jumpers to their places, please!" The emcee had blared from up ahead.
"You're scared."
"Well, yeah!" Rory replied obviously
"And that stops the greats!"
"It's stopping this great!"
"Come on, you look like you need a little adventure."
"What does that mean?" Rory said, did Logan think she was too timid?
"You're just a little sheltered." It was true, his Ace tended to be a little bit introverted, afraid to try new things.
"Why? Because I haven't spent time in a Nazi prison, been stomped on by hooligans and beat up by Hell's Angels? And Plimpton got banged up pretty good too. Plus aren't I someone who almost quit Yale to live in New York?"
"Yeah, but you weren't having any fun in New York until you met me. Ace this will be fun; it'll be a thrill. Something stupid, something bad for you. Just something different." Rory smiled, Logan seem to be throwing her vow that she thought when she had visited Stars Hollow; to be her own person and to do new things. Wasn't jumping off a scaffold her own thing?
"Isn't this the point of being young? It's your choice, Ace. People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute. You climb up here with me; it's one less minute you haven't lived."
Rory was fascinated by Logan's speech and she decided that she was not going to miss an exciting opportunity just because she was scared. "Lets go!" Rory said determinedly.
"Let's go!" They both walked to the scaffold in unison, they both felt a sense of intimacy as they were going to share this exciting experience together.
"But I am not a fan of ladders." Rory said as she was climbing and started to feel the same sense of trepidation.
"They scare the crap out of me, too." That was true, he also started to feel a small sense of fear as they were going up. But he suppressed that as they were climbing up the ladder.
They both continued to climb, soothed by the sensation that the other person was right next to them as they were climbing up.
"High. We are very high." The panic hit her stomach again as she was at the top.
"I've been higher," Logan joked, trying to lighten her mood.
"I meant distance from the ground," Rory said, not in the mood for Logan's sense of humor.
"That, too."
Seth came up to them with harnesses. "This is totally safe. And it goes with your outfit. Nice." He wrapped a band around her waist, which a line was connected to.
Rory started to look at the crowd, "Why do they look so worried?"
Logan tried to find a way to reassure her. "We're low on champagne. You can back out, you know. No one's forcing you." He wanted Rory to be completely sure that she wanted to jump; for he never wanted to force her into anything she didn't want to do.
Rory contemplated one more time on whether or not she would back out. But somehow, despite all her fears, she had felt a sense of excitement and safety just being with Logan. She grabbed the umbrella and said "I know."
Logan asked one more time, "You trust me?"
"You jump, I jump, Jack."
Logan tried to think of one parting word to say before they jumped, instead he said, "I really should have confirmed that those potatoes were okay.''
They instinctively held hands and took the plunge. The jump had been amazing. To Rory it was same feeling as kissing him at the party, it had felt light yet full of adrenaline rushing through her, she did not want that feeling to go away. Holding Logan's hand made everything so much more electrifying. To Logan holding doing was more than the exciting adrenaline that he had felt, even more so he felt a sense of unity as he and Rory were sharing the same jump together. When they landed their hands were still intertwined with each other's and their hearts were both pounding at the same time. Neither paid attention to the cheering of the crowd nor the people congratulating each other. All they focused on was each other, drowning out the voices of the crowd. Logan had brought her hand close to his heart, not wanting to let go of it and between breaths said, "You did good, Ace!"
"Once in a lifetime experience!" Rory said breathing heavily.
"Only if you want it to be." It was at that moment that Logan realized that he did not want what he and Rory shared to be a once in a lifetime experience. He took a deep breath and said the most important thing he may ever say. "Rory, let's take the jump and be together."
"What?" Never in a million years did she expect Logan to say that to her.
"Rory, I have never wanted to be in a committed relationship. But then I met you, and from the moment I saw you in Central Park I had never met anyone that I wanted to protect more than you, nor felt so comfortable with. So Rory while I can't guarantee you that everything will be smooth sailing, but I'm willing to try. And I now know that being with you won't be so hard as those weeks apart were."
Rory found herself touched by Logan's speech, it seemed as though her grandmother and Casey were right; Logan was willing to change for her, yet she felt a shred of doubt in her mind, "Logan I don't know, what if you end up resenting me for forcing you to give up your life style? Jess tried to change for me and look what happened."
"Rory, Jess didn't really love you, and my life style is starting to seem empty without you in it. I'm getting bored and I want something new."
"Oh, so you want me cause your bored," Rory said a little too harshly.
Logan cursed himself, "Rory no, look, the whole time you were with Jess I hated seeing you miserable; it's one of the reasons I was scared about being with you. But I know that my hatred for the way he made you feel like trash makes me not want to treat you like that. Rory you make my life more interesting, I miss not seeing you, arguing with you, and talking with you. I've never felt this way about any girl before."
Rory could tell that Logan was serious, but some of her doubts were still there. "Logan, I'm scared of us" Rory started to talk towards her tent when Logan voice interrupted her thoughts. "And that stops the greats."
Rory turned around and said, "You really think we could have something great together?"
"Yeah, I'm scared too Rory, but it's like the scaffold. I believe that we will both feel excitement in the process, and in the end it will be more than worth it. Rory, don't back down just because you're afraid. Didn't we have an amazing day in New York?"
"Yeah, but-"
"No buts Ace. All that matters is if you want to be with me in your heart?" Logan looked at her pleadingly.
Rory knew deep in her heart that the answer was definitely yes. All of August and September Rory wanted to be her own person without consulting Lorelai with her decisions. Being without Logan, Rory only felt a shell of her own person. Therefore, after an easy mental pro and con list she took a deep breath and said, "Let's do it. Let's jump again."
Logan in his entire life had never felt so happy. He pulled her in his arms and kissed her in the way that he had been longing to for days. Rory hungrily responded, feeling that she finally reached heaven and that she didn't know it could be so hot. The kiss was a like a mixture of spice and sweet champagne, she kept pulling herself closer, not wanting to let him go.
When they pulled away Logan asked, "Rory, you're sure about this?"
Rory smiled and said, "You jump I jump jack" and kissed him again with the same passion as before.