A/N: As always, THANKS FOR THE GREAT REVIEWS!! There will probably be some different reactions to this chapter. Personally, I don't particularly like Logan, but I don't not like him either. I tried not to make him take too much of the heat, because Ror, as much as I love her, has some issues of her own to work out. But it just kinda came out the way it did by accident. I'm crossing my fingers.

Disclaimer: Humble old me? Puh-lease.

"What's going on, Ace?"

She sighed. If only he'd picked his words differently. It reminded her of someone else's.

What the hell is going on?

Funny how her answer was the same, but the meaning was so much different.

"I—I dunno," she stammered, bowing her head.

"Yes, you do, Rory."

I mean with you! What's going on with you?

"I—what—it's…nothing. Fine—everything's…fine." No. Everything was screwed up, just like before.

"No, it's not. Something's going on," he said angrily. "I know it. I know you."

I know you.

Only this time, it wasn't true.

"No!" she said. Suddenly, just like that, she was pissed. No, furious. "You don't know me, Logan! That's the problem. You don't!"

It was his turn to stutter. "What—what are you talking about?"

"Us!" she screamed. "Don't you get it? It's not working!"

"Of course it is," he said defensively. "It's you. You're never here. You never talk to me, or tell me anything. You're always on the phone, or out, or somewhere else. It's like when we broke up the second time."

"Oh, God, Logan," her tone was annoyed. "I'm so over that."

"Then what is it?" he said, his face suggesting that he actually didn't know. How could he not know? It was there, it was always there.

"It's this," she said, desperately wanting him to understand. "Us. This—this marriage."

"I don't understand. I love you."

"No," she sighed. "Don't say that. This isn't love—what we have. It's…want. Or hope. Or something. It's not love."

"Of course it is," he said. "We love each other."

"No!" she shouted. Her emotions were on their own, shifting up and down like a thermometer, and now it was boiling over. "It's not love! Love is…" she wanted him to understand. She wanted herself to understand. "Love is…Howl," she said.

"What are you—"

She interrupted him. "Yeah. Love is Howl. It's not coffee carts and forgiveness and everything's fine-just-fine; everything's perfect. It's spending ninety bucks on a basket full of crap," she said, laughing. She really was going insane. "It's not pet names and jewelry. It's stealing bracelets and twenty-four-hour dance marathons where you don't actually dance. It's Guns of Brixton and socks on the door and book teases and bribing and chalk-fucking-outlines."

He looked really confused now. She didn't get why.

"Don't you get it?" she said, her eyes wide. "It shouldn't be easy!" she yelled. "Love shouldn't be easy! It should be sneaking-hiding-everyone-hating-you tough. You should argue and argue, you should hate each other; but then be able to go see The Distillers and be in love again."

"We have that," he said, but he sounded tired.

"No!" she said. "We don't, Logan. You don't know me." And she knew, then. She had finally figured out what he had figured out so many years ago. And, she realized now, it was probably too late.

"Well, God, Rory, who's fault is that?" Logan's voice was frustrated, and he zapped Rory right out of her thoughts.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"I mean you never let me in to what you are," he said. "When we first met, I chose you because you were different than everyone else. You were smart, really smart, and you loved to learn and to joke and had this wacko sense of humor. You were real."

I know, she thought. I don't know what happened. But she did.

"But you never let me in. It's not my fault, Rory."

No, it was hers.

"And you said you loved me." He was back to angry again. "You came back to me, twice. I gave you the ring and you took it. You said "I do" at the alter. You had a million chances to back out, but you didn't. So I'm sorry if you think it's me, but it's not."

"You're right," she said, tears streaming quietly down her cheeks. She wasn't sad though, she was just—it was just—well, over. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," he said. "So am I."

"So…" she sighed. "I guess…that's—it."

"Right," he nodded. "It."

And after all the work was done, all the i's dotted and the t's crossed, and everything was legal and binding, Rory walked towards her car.

"Where are you going?" Logan called after her. She already had her answer.

"I have to go take care of something," she said, and got into her car.