Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys are the best.
Thank you to Lourenda, my beta.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"What…" Rory trailed off unsure of what to say, what do you say when everyone you loved was against you. "Why…" she tried again but nothing came out.
"Mare…" Tristan began stepping closer to her.
Rory backed away from him, "Rory."
"Don't…Don't do that." He told her warningly. He refused to let her push him away.
"Don't do what? Don't distance myself from people who don't understand me?!"
"We do understand you, we just…"
"Obviously you don't!"
"Bullshit." Logan said walking to stand next to Tristan. "We all understand you and you know it."
"If you all knew me so damn well you wouldn't be doing this to me!"
"We aren't keeping you here, Rory. We aren't forcing you to stay."
Rory glanced around and noticed no one was standing next to her ready to pounce if she decided to bolt, no one was guarding the door. "But…"
"We just want you to hear our side." Finn chimed in. "We've all heard yours."
She hesitantly nodded, it's not like she had a way to get home or any money to take a cab. Besides, where would she go? Everyone she would turn to was here. "Fine."
The room was silent for a good ten minutes. No one knew how to begin. Rory was a ticking time bomb, one wrong thing said and she'd flip out. Rather than saying the wrong thing, no one said anything.
"Ror?" Tristan finally said quietly trying to get her attention but she wouldn't look at him. "I know you, I know you feel like we are all against you. That we are all trying to change you but that's not true. Rory, we've all known you different lengths of time. We've all seen different sides of your personality, but the one thing we all know is true is that you love school."
"I loved school." She corrected, not making eye contact with anyone.
"No, you still love school." Lorelai said, speaking for the first time. "I've stood by the last three months and let you work your way through this. I've supported you, I helped you looked for community service jobs and I've given you money. Don't get me wrong I am more than happy to do it, you are my daughter but that's not what you want, Rory. That's not who you are. You liked to be independent, you don't want to depend on me for everything. When you were two you were dressing yourself and by three tying your own shoes because you didn't need Mommy's help. You've never liked to be dependant, this is killing you."
"I'm going to get a job, you don't have to keep giving me money."
"So not the point, Hun." Lorelai told her as she sat down on the couch across from her. "I love you, you are my only child and I would do anything for you, but I know how much learning means to you. You used to be all excited about school, even when we were in Europe you were reading pamphlets about classes that Yale was offering in the upcoming semester."
"I wanted to be prepared." Rory weakly defended, realizing for the first time how much school had actually impacted her life.
"School isn't the only thing we want you to continue doing." Paris said once Lorelai was done with her speech.
"It isn't?"
"We want you to go back to the newspaper."
"No."
"Why not?" Logan questioned.
"Your father…He said I didn't have it." Rory explained. "A man like Mitchum Huntzberger knows what he's talking about. He knows when someone has it, or in my case doesn't."
"Mitchum Huntzberger is the biggest prick to walk the earth." Finn cut in. "No offence Logan ."
"None taken." Logan dismissed with a wave of his hand.
"Love, you're an amazing writer. I've seen your work and though my family is in the hotel business my brother-in-law James, Kiah's father, is an editor for one of the dark lord's newspapers and I showed him your work, he said he'd hire you on the spot."
"I don't believe you." Rory mumbled. It was all too coincidental.
"It's true." Logan told her. "In fact, Finn's sister met James at one of the Huntzberger annual Christmas parties."
Rory looked around, she wanted to go to school and she wanted to be back writing, but what if all the stuff they were telling her wasn't true. What if she went back and tried and once again got her dreams crushed? She couldn't handle that rejection twice, the first time broke her the second time it might just kill her. "I can't make promises."
"Rory!" Steph whined, "You have to come back, we're outnumbered!" she said motioning to Rosemary and herself. "There is Colin, Finn, Logan, Robert, Seth, Lanny…and others! It's just me, Rose and Juliet. We need another girl."
"Plus, Juliet doesn't eat. Which makes us look like slobs when we all go out to lunch! We need you."
"Are you saying I eat a lot?"
"Yes." The two girls said simultaneously.
Rory smiled at their enthusiasm but it wasn't enough to make up her mind, she had friends there and she would hate it if they couldn't hang out, but something was still making her doubt.
"I am here on behalf of Stars Hollow," Lane said. "I've seen you go from picture books to chapter books, Stars Hollow High to the prestigious Chilton Academy . I saw your pro/con lists for Harvard, Yale and Princeton . Rory, school means as much to you as you mean to me."
"Uh, Rory. Can I talk to you out here?" Luke asked gesturing to the hall.
"Sure." Rory nodded before getting up and following him out to the hallway.
Luke shut the door and then leaned against the wall before sighing. "Look, I'm not really big on the emotional stuff, you know that. I couldn't say this in front of all those people, but I want you to know that I want you to go back to school. I think of you like my daughter, I've always been so proud of you.
"When you'd hand me papers you'd gotten an A on to read, granted even when you were in the seventh grade you were using words I didn't know the definition of, I was proud. I was ecstatic when you graduated from Chilton. No matter what happens between me and your mother, I will always be there for you. This might sound selfish, but I want nothing more than to see you walk across the stage at Yale and prove to that jerk Mitchum Huntzberger that you do have it. I want to put a TV up in the diner with CNN playing so when you appear on the screen as a reporter I can point and say I knew her back when."
Tears began to stream down Rory's face as she realized how many people she was letting down. She was letting down her friends, she was letting down her town and she was letting down her family all because of what Mitchum Huntzberger, one person, had said.
"I think of you like my dad, Luke." Rory sniffled as she leaned to give Luke a hug. "I want to make you proud. Most of all I want you to put a TV in the diner."
Luke cracked a smile then awkwardly returned her hug. "As long as it makes Taylor mad. But it doesn't matter what you do in life, I'll be proud of you, but I know school makes you happy and I want you to be happy."
Rory pulled away and nodded, "School does make me happy."
Luke smiled at her then gestured for them to go back into the apartment where everyone was eagerly waiting for Rory to see if Luke had changed her mind.
Walking into the apartment, Rory walked over and hugged her mother. "I'm so sorry if I disappointed you."
"Hun, you could never disappoint me. I just want you to be happy." Lorelai told her, hugging her tightly.
"I want to go back, I'm going to go back." Rory said quietly just for her mother to hear.
"Seriously?" Lorelai asked pulling away.
"Seriously."
"Dead seriously?"
"Dead seriously."
"Swear on coffee?"
"I swear on coffee."
Lorelai jumped up, bring Rory with her and hugged her again. "My baby's going back to school!"
"I'm going back to school, but not this semester."
"What?" Lorelai stopped and looked at her.
"I want to go back to school after everything you all said. I need to, but I've still got a lot of community service hours to do." Rory reasoned, "Plus, I'm going back but I cannot promise its back to the newspaper or with a major in journalism. I love writing but I've still got to figure out if I'm cut out for that."
Everyone became quiet as if they were silently deliberating with one another to figure out if they were happy with her decision. Finally, after what seemed like forever Logan spoke up. "Fine, but we are going to talk about the newspaper thing another time."
Rory grinned, "Deal," and walked up and hugged Logan . "Thank you for doing this, Logan ."
"Not a problem, Ace. We might not be dating anymore, but I still care about you. You are one of my best friends."
"One of your best friends that you've slept with?"
"One drunken night I slept with Steph."
"Does Colin know?"
"Colin knows, has gotten a few good punches in for it and is over it. Now, we just don't speak about it."
"I'm sure Finn brings it up now and then for giggles."
"Yeah…That bastard." Logan muttered then began to grin again. "I'm glad you are going back."
"Me too."
"Alright! Enough of the ex-lovers love fest!" Finn exclaimed, pulling Rory into his own arms. "You're going back! My reporter girl is going to be reporter girl again. I was afraid I'd have to come up with new nickname."
"I didn't say I'd go back to writing, Finn."
"I know. My psychic powers are telling me you will."
"You're crazy."
"You love me."
"I do." Rory admitted hugging him again before pulling away and walking towards Sammie, "So, why are you here? We didn't even know each other when I was obsessed with school."
"Logan invited me."
"Logan?"
"Yeah." Sammie blushed, "He asked me out on a date. I wanted to know if that was ok with you, I know you guys have a past. You've become one of my really good friends and I'd hate to lose that because I dated your ex so I won't go out with him if you don't want me to," she rambled.
Rory smiled, "I think you'd be a nice change in pace for the girls that Logan has been dating."
"That's a yes?"
"Yep, I've given you the green light."
"Oh! Thank you!" Sammie smiled, "Because he's really hot."
"He's easy on the eyes, isn't he?"
"Well, your boyfriend is no slouch either."
"Yeah, boyfriend."
"Oh, no. I know that look. That's the distressed Rory look. I'm not sure what your issue with Tristan is at the moment, but please get over it."
"I have no issue."
"I don't believe you." Sammie said giving her a look that clearly told her to fess up.
"He told me he didn't care that I wasn't in school, that he didn't care if I was a mess or had a plan that he wanted me anyway. But he was here today; does that mean he lied to me?"
Sammie was quiet before she shook her head. "No, he probably meant every single word he said to you. He is here for the same reason everyone else is. He wants to see you happy, I've never seen you in a school environment, but from what I gather, you're pretty intense. You met Tristan in high school so he knows first hand how much you love to learn."
"I don't want to feel like I'm disappointing him all the time."
"And you won't. As long as you do what you truly want to be doing."
"We've only been dating for a little less than a week, it feels like we've been dating so much longer."
"You're lucky, those are the best relationships. The kind where you just fall into love and there is no awkward period."
"I'm not in love."
"I give it a week."
"You're wrong." Rory said shaking her head.
"I'm willing to bet even less." A voice from behind them said.
"Oh, uh… Hi, Paris !"
"You're dating Tristan?"
"Sammie, this is my friend Paris. Paris, this is Sammie."
"Nice to meet you." Paris said quickly then turned her attention back to Rory. "You're dating Tristan?"
"I'm gonna go." Sammie smiled and disappeared.
"Again, you're dating Tristan?" Paris repeated.
"What makes you think that?"
"The fact that when I asked what he was doing here he said trying to get his girlfriend back on the right track was a tip off."
"Oh."
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"I didn't think you'd take it well."
"I'm taking it perfectly fine!" Paris exclaimed.
"I'm sorry." Rory said looking a little ashamed that she hadn't mentioned her relationship with Tristan.
"I wouldn't have cared."
"Really? Because I was afraid you'd flip out. I was under the impression that Tristan was off limits because of how much you liked him in before."
"Ok, so I would have cared a little," Paris admitted, "but I wouldn't have flipped out. Tristan was the first boy that I thought I loved. He was my first crush and you never forget those."
"True."
"I'm glad he found somebody with a brain. Not that you've been using it lately."
"Hey!"
"Rory, why would you let some idiot like Mitchum Huntzberger tell you that you can't do something? I wouldn't be surprised if it was all a ploy to get you and Logan to breakup."
"It worked."
"And you found someone better."
"Logan's a good guy." Rory defended.
"I'm sure he's fine but you and Tristan…There's always been something there."
"Thanks, Paris." For some reason it meant a lot to Rory that Paris didn't mind that she was dating Tristan.
"No problem, but I swear if he pulls any shit with you I'll kick his ass."
Rory laughed, "I think you could take him."
"Who could Paris take?" Tristan asked walking up to the two girls.
"You. I was just saying that Paris could take you."
"Maybe back at Chilton, but I think now I could give her a run for her money."
"Wanna go DuGrey?" Paris asked eyeing him.
Tristan stepped back and brought Rory to stand in front of him, "No. That's ok. I believe you."
Paris laughed, "I think I'm going to go. I've got to meet Doyle."
"Have fun." Rory smiled giving her a hug.
"I'll call you later." Paris told Rory then turned to Tristan. "It was good to see you."
"You too." Tristan said, giving her a hug as well.
"Take care of her." Paris whispered in his ear.
"I will." he nodded letting go of her and waving as she turned towards the door.
Rory stood there staring at her shoes, unable to make eye contact with Tristan. She really liked him and the idea that she wasn't good enough for him kept running through her head.
"So…" Tristan said quietly, "I'm not going to beat around the bush: are you pissed off or what?"
"At you or the situation?"
"Both."
"I'm not mad at you and I'm mad at myself for even getting into this situation."
Tristan instantly relaxed at the news that she wasn't mad at him. All he could think about was what if she didn't want to be with him anymore. What if the intervention didn't work and she got mad at him for being against her. He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know I only did this because I want you to be happy."
Rory nodded, "Yeah."
"Good."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier." She told him. "I called you so you'd get me out of here, to take me away from all the people that were against me, but when I realized you were here too, I lost it. I didn't even consider that you truly cared."
"I care, I care a lot." Tristan mumbled quickly pulling her into a tight hug and kissing the top of her head.
As he stood there holding her he realized he was in way over his head. His feelings for Rory were progressing far too quickly. Was it possible that he was already in love with her? He felt like he was in high school, when it came to Rory he had no control over his emotions. He might already be in love but there was no way that Rory could already be and he was afraid to rush it. He couldn't lose her; he'd waited to long to get her to lose her because she didn't reciprocate his feelings.
"Tris?" Rory said bringing him out of his thoughts, "You ok?"
"What?"
"I asked if you wanted to go get something to eat with Logan, Sammie and everyone?"
Tristan glanced over at everyone who was waiting for his decision, "Oh. Yeah sure."
"Great!" She said happily and grabbed her purse, "Let's go. I'm starved."
"Aren't you always?" Tristan told her linking his hand with hers.
"Hush you!" Rory laughed, kissing his cheek.
Tristan watched as she said goodbye to her mother, Luke and Lane then started an animate conversation with Sammie, Steph and Rosemary. Her eyes lit up and her hair sparkled in the sunlight. Yup, way over his head.
I hope I didn't let anyone down with the intervention, I wasn't sure how to do it. Reviews are always welcome.