Disclaimer: I own nothing. I haven't owned crap this entire story. Except of course the storyline...

A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews! I hope you like the story! The story is going to move a bit faster through the next few chapters in an effort not to bore you. I promise, though, it will be both entirely unexpected and somewhat expected. Enjoy! If you have any suggestions let me know! (Oh, PS to one of my faithful reviewers: Your wish will come true in just a few chapters). Cryptic, yow.

The next night:

Lorelai smiled across the table at Alex. She couldn't help but think how cute he looked with his striped shirt and blue jeans. She, of course, had dressed up a little more, but not too much. Alex had made it pretty clear to her that the date warranted no formal clothing. But, even though she was just wearing a light (and somewhat long) jean skirt and a blouse, Lorelai had still taken some time to get ready for her date. She'd curled her hair and put on her "special occasion" lip gloss. She'd gotten it as a "just because it's Sunday" present from Lydia back in high school and had managed to only wear it three or four times. No occasion seemed to fit the beautiful dark pink color. Well, this did.

Alex had gone out of his way. He'd picked her up and handed her a daisy. She asked him why he hadn't gotten her a rose and he told her that roses were over-rated and that she deserved much better. And so he'd given her a daisy and told her she looked beautiful. Lorelai smiled and laughed it off, but inside, she had no idea she was beautiful. In her mind, her hair was too dark, her lips were too thin, her arms were to big, her stomach wasn't toned enough, and her skin was far too pale. She couldn't see what everyone else saw in her.

After walking in the snow for a while, they'd reached a small Italian place. It was somewhat expensive, and was definitely fattening, so it was perfect for Lorelai. They had just finished dinner and for some reason beyond Lorelai's understanding, she had butterflies floating around in her stomach. She knew she liked Alex, but she couldn't figure out why she was so nervous. It was just Alex, her buddy, her friend. But he did look mighty nice…

"What are you thinking about?" Alex asked her. Lorelai bit her lip, unsure what to tell him. Chocolate… she thought… No, Grey's Anatomy… crap.

"Um, you." She replied. She wanted to kick herself. Her mother had always told her 'guard your heart, Lorelai.' Last time she had let her guard down she'd ended up pregnant, confused, and broken. She had sworn she wouldn't do it again.

"Me? Uh oh…" Alex smiled at her. "I told you I was having a bad hair day. No matter what I did it just wouldn't seem to stay down… I know I look like Alfalfa…"

Lorelai laughed, "That's not what I'm thinking."

He smiled at her. "Is it the shoes, then?"

She smiled. "No. It's definitely the face…"

"There's something wrong with my face?" Alex feigned surprise. "I knew I should have opted for that plastic surgery." Lorelai giggled and gave him a smile that told him what she was really thinking about, but it also told him she was too scared to tell him.

He smiled back at her. "Are you ready?"

"To rumble?" Lorelai joked. "Born ready."

He laughed. "To leave."

Lorelai pouted. "But I love spaghetti. It's noodles. Who doesn't love noodles? Oh and there's the hot, meaty tomato sauce! And the pieces of meat! It's heaven in a bowl. Oh and don't get me started on the garlic bread. It's delicious and amazing and--"

Alex cut her off, "Hmm, I guess we just won't go get coffee then. Since the spaghetti's so amazing here."

Lorelai jumped out of her chair and grabbed her coat. "Hurry up!!! Alex, hurry up!" Alex laughed and ran out the door with her, following her to the best coffee place in all of New Haven, a little kiosk near the dorms.

Lorelai smiled as she sipped her mocha coffee. "Yummy."

Alex laughed, "Yeah, you are."

Lorelai looked at him. "What did you say?"

"Yeah, it is…" Alex trailed off, taking a swig of his coffee and downing it fast. "So, what are you doing this summer?" he asked, trying to get a new topic.

As Lorelai went on about her summer plans to help run an inn outside of Hartford, all Alex could think about was how beautiful she was. Her beautiful eyes, her hair, her smooth skin. It was all he'd been able to think of since the day he met her. They'd been friends since freshman year, and even though he had pretended that he wasn't in love with his best friend, everyone around him could tell he was. Everyone except Lorelai, of course. He'd been so scared to tell her. He was scared he'd lose her friendship and everything that he treasured most in the world. He never wanted to hurt her, he just wanted to be with her.

Lorelai smiled at him. "Did you hear a word I just said?"

Alex looked flustered. "Uh, no, I was thinking…" he said kicking himself under the table for being so stupid as to not listen to her.

"Ow," Lorelai said, "you kicked me." Alex groaned and Lorelai looked at him funny. "What?"

"I'm messing up here," he said, blushing and looking down. She looked at him quizzically. "You're talking and I should be listening to you but instead I'm here thinking about how damn gorgeous you are. And then I start to kick myself for not listening to you and I start kicking you and…" he trailed off, looking up at her sheepishly.

She smiled at him. "You think I'm gorgeous, huh?"

He stammered. "Y-y-yes…"

She smiled. "You're not so bad looking yourself, you know." He smiled at her. "Even with the whole Bud Hall resemblance you've got going there. If I was Darla, I would totally dig you."

"But you're not Darla," he said.

"Yeah, but I still totally dig you." She said, looking away and smiling lightly. He kicked her lightly under the table and when a laugh escaped her lips she turned to him and smiled.

"I dig you too," he said softly and touched her hand.