Thanks everyone for the reviews from that chapter. I also hope everyone had a Happy New Year!
Thanks to Lourenda, my beta.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
This had to be a dream, a hallucination, a figment of her imagination because there was no way that she was really standing in the middle of camp, the place she worked, being held tightly as she kissed Tristan DuGrey. Opening her eyes and moving back slightly Rory realized that this wasn't a dream, it was really happening.
Tristan saw the look of panic appear in her eyes, "If you're going to run this time, can you run that way so that Eric doesn't see. I'd never live it down if he found out that you ran away from me crying twice." he joked.
Rory smiled, she didn't have the urge to run away like she had the first time. Though honestly, the first time she ran, it wasn't because she felt horrible about Dean. No, she had run because of the shock that she had just enjoyed a kiss that she wasn't supposed to.
She rested her head on his chest, emotionally exhausted. "No running." she mumbled. The day's events were starting to take a toll on her.
Tristan smiled down at her, "We have to talk about this, Mare."
"Shouldn't it be me using that line?" Rory questioned not moving.
"See, you've reduced me to the chick's role in this situation. Next thing you know I'm going to be calling you nonstop just to find out where you are."
"I should have expected you'd be clingy and needy." Rory teased.
Before Tristan could make say anything else the bell rang signaling the end of the day. Kids were already disappearing into their parent's cars while the others went to the benches to sit. "I guess I should go sit with my campers. I don't need another one MIA."
"Definitely not." Tristan agreed hesitantly letting go of her.
"We'll talk after." Rory called to him over her shoulder as she walked towards the benches to sit with her campers.
"That was some kiss." A voice said behind Tristan.
"Sammie, were you watching Rory and me kiss? That's a little strange. I could get into it, but I'm not sure Rory could." Tristan said, as he turned around.
Sammie just rolled her eyes, "Her campers set you two up, you know."
"What?"
"They told Kiah to go to the nurses' station without telling. They knew Rory would flip out and she'd ask you for help." She explained and stifled a laugh as she noticed the shocked expression on his face. "Kids do the darnedest things."
"Should we tell Rory?"
"And give her a new reason to doubt that you two should be together? I don't think so."
Tristan raised an eyebrow, "You think we should be together?"
"I've heard the sordid details of your high school days, and yes I think you two should give it a go. Even if you aren't soul mates, it's worth a shot."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"You're welcome. Unfortunately it's not me that needs convincing that you guys should have your chance. It's Rory."
Tristan sighed, knowing that even if she didn't want to talk about it Rory was having her doubts, "I know."
"Good luck." Sammie smiled, as she patted him on the shoulder and walked off towards the office.
----------------------------------------------------
Rory was sitting on the bench waiting for her campers to leave, seemingly calm and collective. However anyone who knew Rory knew she was as far from calm and collective was Jupiter was to Earth.
So she had kissed Tristan, no big deal. People kiss Tristan all the time or at least they used to. She had no idea what his dating habits were nowadays. Argument against them number one- they didn't know each other that well. Sure, she knew the basics. Where he went to school, he was only close to his sister, Eric was his best friend and he liked Chinese food, but what about the other stuff? The stuff that said what kind of person Tristan was. She couldn't try to date another playboy and being with someone like Dean was completely out of the question. Jess, well…Jess was a different story all together.
Lorelai liked him, which was a plus. She hated Jess and Logan and well she officially hates Dean now too, but she used to like him before the incident during the Dragonfly test run. Logan said that he was a pretty decent guy; however, Logan does have a strange standard for people. The campers all adored him, he was like their superman. Hell, he'll probably get along with Luke which would be a miracle all in itself, and she knew her grandparents would love him he was a DuGrey after all.
Rory sat there mentally making a pro/con list and for every con she had, she seemed to be able to add three more pros. Not even Dean had that good of a pro/con list. Maybe her pro/con list method was failing her. What if for once in her life it was no longer as dependable as she thought it was? Good systems had been known to become outdated in the past. The Dewy Decimal System was a perfect example: dependable for all those years then computers came along and screwed it all up. Her pro/con lists were perfectly reliable until Tristan came along and ruined it.
"If you keep frowning like that your face'll freeze." A voice said bringing her out of her reverie.
"Finn." Rory greeted relieved that it wasn't going to be someone looking for answers.
"My niece tells me you lip-locked with Tristan."
Rory dropped her head and groaned. She knew there was no escaping the matter now. Finn knew and it was only a matter of time before Logan knew and as soon as that happened her phone would be ringing wanting a story and a rough plan of action for the aftermath. For as spontaneous as Mr. Life and Death Brigade was he seemed to like plans of action an awful lot. "Your niece talks too much."
"It's a Rothschild's curse. We are incapable of keeping our mouths shut and though we do develop a filter, Kiah's won't work for a few more years." Finn explained.
"Do you ever use your filter, Finn?"
"No, but its there," he told her, "But back to the matter at hand, you kissed DuGrey."
"I wouldn't have had to if Kiah hadn't gone MIA."
"You lost my niece?!" Finn asked, feigning anger which Rory hadn't obviously caught onto.
"Oh my god, I didn't mean to! She was finished running the race and instead of coming to sit with the counselors she went to the nurses' station and didn't tell anyone. I was worried sick!"
"Rory!" Finn said placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, "Relax it wasn't your fault she didn't tell anyone. Besides, it surely isn't the first time someone has lost her. One time we were in that huge toy store in New York City and there was a redhead working in the Lego department which distracted me and I hadn't noticed that Kiah didn't follow me. She was in the Barbie section the whole time, little brat said she didn't wanna watch me as her mother said, 'strike out'."
Rory let out a shaky laugh, "I was just so scared. I thought she was really lost then Tristan found her and I was so relieved…So I kissed him."
"I go back to my previous statement that you two should just do it, because you didn't kiss him just because he found Kiah."
"So what if I like him? He deserves better."
"Better? Love, there is no better. You're smart, beautiful and funny. I don't know why he wouldn't want you."
"I'm a felon; I'm only working here because I stole a yacht! I slept with a married man. I'm not in school anymore. Oh yeah, I'm a treat."
"You have some serious self esteem issues; did anyone ever tell you that?" Finn asked her and Rory just glared. "He knows you stole a yacht, he knows you slept with Dean and he knows you're not in school anymore but he's still around. Wanna know why? Because he doesn't care about that. He cares about you and the present, not the past."
Rory looked up at him, "That was profound."
"I have my moments." He grinned
"Uncle Finn, let's go! I have ballet class!" Kiah said, running over to them and tugging on his arm.
"Fine, Dear. We're going." Finn said groaning and looked at Rory. "None of the teachers are hot."
"Bye Finn and thank you." Rory smiled giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Rory, do you love Uncle Finn or Tristan because you keep hugging them both?" Kiah questioned.
Finn let out a loud laugh at the look on Rory's face, "Love, I'll explain to you the difference between the hugs I get from Rory and the hugs Tristan gets from Rory on our way to dance class."
"Keep it G rated." Rory warned.
"I'd never consider anything else." Finn told her before he walked towards the car with Kiah.
----------------------------------------------------
Rory walked into the camp office and yawned, the days events were starting to get to her. She knew she had to talk to Tristan but all she wanted to do right now was curl up in bed and sleep off the long day. "So, you and Tristan." Wendy said, as Rory walked up to get her paperwork.
"Did everyone see that?"
"You were in the middle of everything." Wendy grinned. She considered Tristan like her son and she liked Rory, they were a good match.
"I'm sorry about that." Rory blushed, she hadn't intended to make such a spectacle of herself.
"Don't worry about it; I'm pretty sure half the camp cheered." Wendy told her then leaned in slightly, "He's a good boy. Don't hurt him."
Rory nodded, "I won't."
"Good." Wendy said before walking off into her office.
"You look exhausted." Tristan said as he watched Rory collapse onto the staff couch.
Rory looked up at him, her eyes half open and another yawn escaped her mouth, "I am."
Tristan sat down next to Rory on the couch and she leaned towards him in hopes of becoming more comfortable, "You can't drive, Rory. You could fall asleep at the wheel."
Rory slowly sat up, "I'll be fine."
"You can't drive home." Tristan said not budging, he'd heard too many stories of people falling asleep at the wheel to even consider letting her drive home.
"What do you want me to do?" She asked drowsily, "My car is here."
"Is there anything really important in it?"
"No."
"Then it can stay here over night and I'll drive you home."
"How will I get back tomorrow? Fly?"
"You can sleep at my place. I've got an extra room."
"Whatever." Rory mumbled as she stood up, grabbed her stuff and walked toward Tristan's car and leaned up against it until he unlocked the doors.
Rory slowly got in and buckled her seatbelt barely able to keep her eyes open much longer, "Can I sleep?"
"Go for it." Tristan told her as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
----------------------------------------------------
Rory opened her eyes slowly, everything after talking to Finn was a blur. Sitting up slowly she realized she was on someone's couch covered with a very soft blue blanket. "Whoever lives here, I'm stealing your blanket." she mumbled.
"I thought you had learned your lesson with the stealing things, Mare."
"Why am I at your place?" Rory asked as she moved over on the couch allowing room for Tristan to sit.
"Because I wasn't going to let you drive yourself home when you couldn't keep your eyes open more then two minutes after you got in my car."
"Thanks."
"No problem." Tristan grinned as he handed her the TV remote, "Let's watch TV."
Rory took the remote and flipped through the channels, "Amazing, you have hundreds of channels and there is absolutely nothing on."
"There was a baseball game on I wouldn't mind watching."
Rory turned her head and gave him a look as if he'd grown and extra head, "You gave me the option of what we watch and you honestly think I'm going to pick a sport? You're crazy!"
"My mistake."
"Yep." Rory said finally picking a channel and setting the remote down on the coffee table.
"I love this show." Rory told him.
"What show is it?"
"You've never seen Still Standing?!" Rory said shocked.
"I'm not that big on watching television and if I do it's usually a game."
"Well, this is one of my favorite family sitcoms because to me it's the perfect family. The parents make mistakes. There are moments when the kids are more responsible than the adults. Plus, the Mom and Dad still love each other."
"That is rare these days isn't it?" Tristan commented.
Rory nodded and rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the show in silence.
Two hours and four sitcoms later Tristan had had enough of avoiding what had happened earlier. He wasn't one to dwell on things, but this was bothering him and the fact that she was acting as if it never happened was getting on his nerves. "So are we going to talk about it sooner or later?"
"Talk about what?"
"Rory…"
"Oh…That it."
"I get it if it meant nothing to you, you were on a bit of an emotional roller coaster this afternoon and I wouldn't blame you. Just tell me, I won't be mad. I just hope we can still be friends, but don't avoid the topic or me for that matter because I really--" Tristan was effectively cut off by Rory's hand covering his mouth.
"Please, stop talking." She told him as she slowly removed her hand. "I don't regret it and it did not mean nothing. In fact, it was far from nothing. I've made the pro/con list in my mind over and over again and let me tell you the list is certainly in your favor. Finn is too and so is Logan , I know Sammie is and my mom already likes you." Rory told him and Tristan started to get his hopes up, "But me…I'm not so sure."
Tristan tried not to look disappointed, he shouldn't have expected Rory to instantly fall into his arms and confess her love. "It's ok, don't worry about it. We're still friends."
"No! That's the thing. I don't wanna be friends! I want that something more! I want to tell you anything, I want you to tell me anything, I want to be able to fall asleep in your arms and not wake up feeling awkward. I want to ramble and you cut me off with a kiss."
"Then what's the problem if we both want that?" Tristan asked, unsure as to what the problem was.
"I'm a complete and utter mess!" She shouted frustrated. "I'm so confused as to what my future is! I'm not in school anymore because I don't know if journalism is my thing because according to Mitchum Huntzberger it isn't. I don't have an actual job because I am too busy doing community service cause I stole a yacht. And you…You are so together, you have a plan, a goal, an idea of what you are doing and I can't bring you down."
Tristan shifted so that he was facing her completely and took her hands in his "I'm not as together as you think I am and I love that you are a mess, what fun is it being with someone perfect?"
"I'm so far from perfect it shouldn't even be allowed in my vocabulary." She mumbled.
He laughed and pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest. "No one is perfect and I wouldn't want you to be. You are going to figure out your future and I'll help you if you'll let me."
Rory looked up at him and nodded slightly, "I'd like that."
"So…"
"So…"
"Where does this leave us?"
"Well, if you're willing to be my boyfriend I wouldn't object."
"I'd be honored." He grinned.
"Just so you know us Gilmore Girls, we're not simple people. We like coffee and lots of it, we're not morning people, simple things amuse us and you can't mock us when it does." She listed.
"Is there somewhere were this is all written down?"
"I'm sure if you ask Luke he'll go through it all with you and you can take notes."
"I'll do that." He told her before tilting her head up towards him and bringing their lips together. Rory moved her arms around his neck and leaned towards him.
"Tris--Oh!" Someone yelled as the door flung open.
Tristan and Rory moved so they were both sitting normally on the couch and Rory was covering her face from her eyes down with a blanket to hide her blushing face.
"What are you doing here?" Tristan asked.
"Eric and I were wondering if you wanted to hang out, but apparently you have someone else your hanging out with." Breelynn grinned as she stepped into the apartment to reveal Eric behind her.
"Yeah, I do. Now leave." Tristan said shortly.
"Hi Breelynn, Eric." Rory greeted blushing.
"Apparently the lip lock at work wasn't just for show." Eric smirked.
Rory groaned, "I hate you."
"Please tell me this is the end of you two dancing around each other, it's getting a little annoying. Plus if you go to work tomorrow and say you're together I win the pool."
"There's a pool going?" Tristan laughed
"Yep."
"That's embarrassing that people are actually betting on when we will become a couple!"
"Wendy started it."
"How much are you winning?" Rory questioned.
"Pots up to like two hundred bucks."
Rory grinned up at him, "Fine, we'll tell everyone we're a couple tomorrow, but then you have to pay me my fifty bucks from our bet today."
Eric's face fell "That's not fair!"
"You were betting on me! I should take more."
"I agree, it's only fair." Tristan chimed in.
"You're not getting any of my money!" Eric told him sternly.
"But I should at least get twenty dollars…I'm sure you owe me money from something."
"He's right, he should." Breelynn agreed.
"This isn't fair. I'm out numbered!" Eric argued, "She's going to side with Tristan because she's his sister and she's going to side with Rory because it's that whole feminist thing."
"Sucks to be you." Rory told him smiling.
"I'm leaving." he grumbled walking out of the apartment.
Breelynn watched Eric leave then turned back to the couple on the couch "I guess I should go before he leaves without me."
"Yeah, because you can't stay here."
Ignoring his comment Breelynn continued, "I'm happy for you two. I'm going to have such cute nieces and nephews!" She squealed before leaving the apartment.
"I'm not sure how I feel about your sister planning what our children will look like."
"Please don't let my crazy sister scare you off."
"Oh no, it's not that, it's just when you will inevitably have to go to my grandparents house with me they will say the same thing."
"Really?"
"They did with Logan . The talk about my eyes with his blonde hair went on for a while."
"I've got blonde hair."
"Yes, so my grandma can keep hope alive that she'll have a great grandchild with blonde hair and blue eyes."
"You're planning on me sticking around that long."
Rory pretended to think. "I'm kind of hoping you'll be around for a while."
"Good." Tristan mumbled before crashing his lips into hers again.
Reviews and critiques are always welcomed.