Disclaimer: Not mine...not ASP's either right? Idk whose it is anymore...
Chapter 3
I glanced up at the television where Grey's Anatomy was playing. It was a rerun so I wasn't enthralled with it like usual. Mocha was settled on the couch beside me, curled up against my leg. Cold Chinese food was spread across the coffee table and I had one of my new books opened in my lap. I grabbed the remote and turned Meredith off so I could concentrate more on my book, but before I could get back into it, the phone rang.
I jumped up and answered without looking at the Caller ID first. A bad decision on my part.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Rory, dear! Hello!" The voice on the line greeted.
I rolled my eyes, once I realized who the caller was. "Hey, Grandma. How are you?"
"Oh, simply marvelous. How are you?" She asked cheerfully.
"I'm fine." I answered, wondering why she was calling.
"Just fine?" She asked suddenly.
"I'm great." I corrected myself. I could hear the pleasure in her voice and wondered what she was up to.
"Oh, good. Rory, what are you doing Friday night?" She asked, once the formalities were out of the way.
I walked over and opened my day planner, hoping for plans. No such luck. "Nothing." I admitted, trying not to sound dejected.
"Terrific! Richard and I are having this wonderful party and you must come. I insist." She said, cheerfully.
"What time?" I submitted easily, not wanting to cause problems.
"7 o'clock. But you can come early if you need to. And you can stay over night if the drive back is too long." She added with a hopeful tone in her voice.
I shuddered at the thought. "No. That won't be necessary, but thank you. I'll be there at seven."
"Bring a date." Grandma added.
I blinked. Todd had never encountered my family. I wondered how he would react to them and to society.
"Okay." I said, feeling a little less sure of myself now.
"Wonderful. I've got to go convince your mother to come. See you Friday, Darling!" She tittered, before hanging up.
"Bye Grandma." I said weakly, only to be left listening to the dial tone.
"Meh!" I yelled and tossed the phone back at the couch. It bounced off and landed on the floor with a clunk.
Mocha, thinking it was a game, leapt off the couch after it. She tried to grab it in her mouth but it was too big so she settled for lying on top of it. I lifted her off and took the phone back to call Todd.
"Hello?" He answered.
Mocha barked at me and jumped back onto the couch where I'd settled in again.
"Hey, Todd. It's me." I said, trying to sound confident.
"Hey, Babe! How are you?" He said happily.
"I'm okay." I answered.
"Just okay?" He asked. It was like Déjà vu! I suddenly had flashbacks of the conversation with my grandmother, and for a second, pondered the thought of them sharing a brain.
I shuddered at that thought, and quickly changed the subject. "Listen, I have a huge favor to ask you." I asked, unable to hide the hopeful tone in my voice.
"Anything for you." He said sweetly.
I smiled at how sweet he was. "Well, Friday my Grandma is having a party and I know Hartford is kind of far, but she's insisting I bring a date. And I figured who better to ask than my boyfriend." I rambled out in one breath.
There was no answer from Todd. I sighed, knowing it was a no.
"Todd?" I asked, checking to make sure that we hadn't been cut off.
"I'm really sorry, Ror. I can't. Brady's got me covering a basketball game that night. I can't miss it. It's supposed to be huge." He said immediately.
"But I need a date!" I protested.
"Rory," Todd sounded almost like he was lecturing me, "You know as well as I do that work comes first. Work comes before everything else including family, friends, and fun." He said seriously. She could already picture the look on his face.
I bit my lip to keep from going off on him. Personally, I thought family came before everything else but I wasn't in the mood to get in a huge fight with Todd.
"But feel free to invite someone else. Especially if your grandmother insists you have a date." He added, when I didn't respond.
I sighed, "Fine then. If work means that much to you, I will bring someone else."
"Rory, I…" He started.
"Bye." I clicked the 'Off' button before he could say anything else. At that moment, I wished that I had one of those phones where you could slam it back down, just because you were mad and leave the other person's ears ringing.
I'd buy one tomorrow. But right now, I needed a last minute date. It was already Wednesday and most people had plans for Friday. Besides that, I didn't have many male friends. I considered calling Lane to borrow her boyfriend for the night but that would bring too much trouble. I could ask if he had any friends but I wasn't about to get stuck with a stranger for a whole night, including a two hour drive to Hartford and then back.
Of course, there was Tristan. We had just become friends again and it was probably too soon to be asking favors like this from him but he was an option. And he grew up in Hartford society. He would know exactly what kind of predicament I was in. I searched through my bag for his number.
"Hello?" He sounded a little distracted.
"Um, hi. Tristan?" I asked, hesitantly.
"Yeah, who's this?" He answered.
"Rory. Rory Gilmore." I said, trying to sound a little more confident.
He laughed, "Hey, Rory Gilmore. What's up?"
"Is this a bad time?" I asked, remembering that he sounded distracted earlier.
"No," He answered easily, "I was just trying to grade some papers. But friends like you are always a welcome interruption."
"Okay. What about if they're calling to ask a favor? A huge favor that will probably end up making you miserable." I said, my face scrunching up in anticipation to his negative response.
"Wow. I'm not so sure if I want friends who want me to be miserable." He said, in mock seriousness.
My shoulders drooped. "Okay, well, um…"
"Rory," Tristan interrupted, "I'm kidding. I don't know if I'm up for it or not until you tell me what the favor is. So shoot." He said, sounding amused.
I took a deep breath, "Well, you know my grandparents, right?"
"Yes."
"My grandma is having a party on Friday and she wants me there with a date. And I called Todd but he has to work and work comes first with him so he can't do it. But he wants me to ask someone else. But the thing is, I don't have a lot of male friends. So um, would you do it?" I rambled.
"Woah. You sure talk fast when you're upset." He said, laughing lightly.
"Gee, thanks." I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see it.
He laughed, "No. It's not an insult, and yes, I can be your date for the party. Anything for a friend. Besides, you'll get me away from grading these papers all weekend."
"There is no up side to this. Don't try and make there be an up side. I'm going to be perfectly honest, this night will probably make us both miserable." I said, giving him the opportunity to back out.
"I can take it. I've attended way more Hartford society parties than you have." He said somewhat cynically.
I sighed, "If you're sure then I would really appreciate it."
"What time do we need to leave?" He asked her, giving her his answer.
"Um. It starts around seven so probably five. I don't want to be too prompt." I said, only half joking.
Tristan laughed, "Oh, Emily will love that. I'll pick you up around quarter to five then?"
"You have a car?" I asked.
He laughed again.
"Sorry." I apologized, "You don't mind driving? I can pay you for gas."
"Don't worry about it. See you Friday." He said, laughter still clear in his voice.
"Bye." I hung up and groaned. Why did I always embarrass myself when it came to Tristan?
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Friday evening came and I found myself rushing around my apartment trying to get ready before Tristan arrived. I'd gotten off of work at four and by the time I'd gotten back to my apartment, it was four thirty, leaving me with fifteen minutes to prepare.
I showered quickly and had just finished up blow drying my hair when there was a knock at the door. I groaned loudly. I was only in my bathrobe but I hurried to open it. I peered through the peep hole to make sure it was Tristan.
He was standing expectantly, in a nice black suit with a crisp white shirt. He wasn't exactly clean shaven but he was groomed nicely and looked amazing. More amazing than usual.
I opened the door. "Hey, come on in. Sorry but I got off work late. I'm not ready."
"Go ahead and finish up." He said, smirking.
"Duh." I rolled my eyes. "Make yourself at home. Stereo's there, TV's there, kitchen's there. Help yourself to anything you need."
I went back to the bedroom to get dressed. When I emerged, Tristan was standing in front of my bookshelf containing my CD and movie collections. I went into the bathroom but left the door open so we could talk while I put up my hair and put on my makeup.
"Tenacious D? I never imagined you'd be a Tenacious D kind of girl, Mare." He called out, clearly mocking her.
I scoffed, "Come on! Tenacious D is amazing. I love Jack Black."
I heard a burst of laughter and peered around the doorframe to see Tristan holding another CD in his hand. It was a burned CD but I recognized it instantly as a CD Lane had burned for me as a joke. It was filled with songs that could be consider "Dirty."
"Put that back." I told him.
"I never imagined you as the kind of girl to listen to this either. I guess you're not such a Mary." He said, suggestively
"That's not mine." I scoffed.
"Yeah right." He said, clearly not believing me.
I sighed and ducked back in the bathroom, "Okay. It is. But Lane burned it for me as a joke. I don't listen to it."
Tristan ignored me, "Look at this playlist! Nine Inch Nails with Closer. And, oh my god." He said, laughing as he read the rest of the artists and songs.
"Put it back!" I ordered, leaving the room to glare at Tristan until he did.
He kept laughing as he continued roaming my collection. He read the artists out loud as he went along.
"Panic! at the Disco? Wow. And, The Cure. The Clash. Metallica. Fall Out Boy. Dashboard
Confessional. Pink Spiders. Story of the Year. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. AFI. Thirty Second to Mars. Wow, what kind of order are these in?" He said, incredulously.
"As of now? No order. I haven't gotten to it yet. Leave my music alone." I called out from the bathroom.
"Okay." He said quickly. Almost too quickly. He agreed too easily. I knew he wasn't done.
"Wow. Look at all these chick flicks." He said in awe.
So he'd moved on to my DVD's. Of course.
"Uptown Girls, A Walk to Remember, Serendipity, Tristan and Isolde. Tristan, huh? Bet you wished you were Isolde." He said, wagging his eyebrows at me, as I stuck my head out of the bathroom to answer him.
"Actually," I said as I leaned my head out. "I did. Tristan is very good looking in that movie. However, he reminds me nothing of you. So don't flatter yourself."
Tristan only laughed and kept going, "Pirates of the Caribbean. Good taste."
"Yeah, well, Jack Sparrow is hot." I replied, only half jokingly.
"What about Orlando Bloom? Not a fan?" He asked, in mock interest.
"He's not a pirate in the movie." I shrugged.
"Got a thing for pirates, Mare? I'll have to remember that when Halloween rolls around next year." He smirked.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes, securing the last bobby pin. I walked into the other room, grabbed Tristan by the shoulders and guided him towards the couch. Mocha opened one eye and glanced lazily at us as I pushed Tristan down into a sitting position.
"What?" He asked, his eyes, shining with amusement.
"No more making fun of my movies and music. I'm going to finish my makeup and we can go. Until then, watch TV." I reprimanded, shaking my finger at him.
I handed Tristan the remote.
"TiVo. Wow, pricey." I heard him say as I walked away.
I shrugged, "But worth it. Plus my grandparents insisted on paying for it. Since I don't make that much money and I waste it all on clothes, books, movies, CD's and tons of food, I let them take care of my TiVo needs."
I heard another chuckle but tried to ignore it. At this point, I just wanted to finish my makeup and get him out of here as soon as possible. We were running late enough as it was.
"So you're a Grey's fan, huh?" He called out, clearly checking my TiVo list.
"Going through my recorded shows, huh?" I asked, calling him on it.
"Yep." He admitted easily and I heard the blooping noises as he kept going down the list.
"Grey's Anatomy. Family Guy. Futurama. Seinfeld. King of Queens. Wow. You like the good stuff don't you." He commented, sounding impressed.
"Are you mocking me?" I asked, as I leaned out once again.
"Nope. I love Family Guy. And Seinfeld doesn't suck either." He answered, honestly.
"Oh, I'm flattered." I teased back.
I heard more blooping and another burst of laughter.
"Oh God. You're a Law and Order addict. And Justice." He laughed.
"You teach business law. You should like those shows."
"Full House? How old are you again?" Again, still mocking.
"Full House is a classic!" I defended.
"And how many Lifetime movies do you need recorded?"
"It's only till I burn them onto DVD's!" I replied.
"Oh nice." He said. I could hear him rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, well, I'm cheap." I called out, as I carefully put on my mascara.
I heard another laugh and rolled my eyes.
"Not like that!" I called out, realizing why he was laughing..
"Sure. I'll be sure to give you a call next time I'm lonely." I could hear the leer in his voice.
"Okay." I grabbed my purse from the hallway floor and turned off the TV. "Let's go before you
start making fun of my books."
"You have books in here? Where?" He said, turning around pretending to look.
I grabbed his arm and pushed him towards the door, stopping only to grab my coat and keys. Soon enough we were on our way to Hartford. Luckily, Tristan granted me control of the radio. Though he continued to mock my choices the whole way. Unfortunately for me, he didn't have any CD's in his car that I could mock in return. I would find out what he liked eventually. He probably had horrible taste in music. Then we'd be even.
We pulled into my grandparent's already crowded driveway and Tristan hurried around to open my door for me. I smiled up at him. "Thank you."
"Of course. Watch your step. It's slippery." He said, as he took my hand to help me out of the car. Tristan held out his arm and I slipped my hand in the crook of his elbow and let him lead me towards the door.
"Rory!" Grandma was right there the moment we got inside and handed our coats to the maid.
"Hi Grandma. This is Tristan DuGrey. Tristan, my grandmother." I said, as I introduced the two.
"Oh Rory," Grandma shook her head, "I know Tristan. He's a marvelous choice for a date. I approve. Now, Tristan, how are you?" She said, smiling.
"I'm wonderful, Emily. How are you?" He greeted.
"Oh, I'm just as wonderful." Grandma said, almost giddily. I just stood in awe as I watched the exchange.
"This is a lovely party." He complimented her, glancing around the room.
Grandma blushed, "Thank you! Now, Rory, Lorelai and Christopher are around here somewhere. Unfortunately, they opted to be a disturbance and bring Gigi and Aaron. Go find them."
"Okay. Bye Grandma." I said with a smile.
"Nice seeing you again, Emily." Tristan said before once again, offering his arm.
"Have fun!" Grandma called after us.
I shuddered playfully as we started towards the crowd, "Sorry about this."
Tristan chuckled good naturedly, "Don't worry about it. I'm used to this. And knowing what should be done now, I say we find the bar."
"Good idea." I agreed.
We managed to get through the crowd of people and got ourselves some drinks. Unfortunately, there was only champagne and nothing stronger. But it was better than nothing.
"You okay?" Tristan asked softly.
I nodded slowly. "This just isn't my type of atmosphere. You know?"
"Mine either. But it's not so bad. And we don't have to stay very long." He said with a shrug.
"Okay. Oh, there's mom." I exclaimed, pointing her out.
Mom was sitting in a chair off to the side of the room with Gigi beside her and Aaron in her lap. She looked bored to death.
"Go say hi." He said as he nudged me towards her.
"Come with me. I'll introduce you." I offered.
"Okay." Tristan looked a bit unsure. He's probably heard stories. But he followed me anyways.
"Mom!" I exclaimed.
"Rory!" Mom set Aaron on the floor and pushed herself out of the chair. The bump of her stomach was barely noticeable but it was there.
"How are you?" I asked as we hugged. I picked up my two year old little brother and kissed Gigi on the cheek.
"As well as can be expected. I hate being pregnant. Tell your dad to build an addition to the house so we can have separate bedrooms." She said seriously.
I giggled, "Mom, this is Tristan DuGrey."
Mom looked Tristan up and down as he extended his hand. She shook it but continued studying him.
"Mom." I hissed.
"Sorry." She looked back to me. "Is he your date? What happened to Todd?"
I shrugged. "Work comes first."
Mom's eyes narrowed. She did like Todd but I knew she didn't always agree with him and his ideas about life.
"It's no problem. Tristan and I ran into each other at a bookstore a few weeks back and we had coffee. About a week ago I took him to Manny's for tacos and I figured I might as well torture him with a night at the Gilmore's."
Mom nodded. "It is torture. But seriously, watch out for her." She glared at Tristan.
He nodded slowly, his eyes wide.
"Hey, Ror!"
I turned as Dad enveloped me in a hug. "Hey!"
"How are you? Who's your date? What happened to Todd?" He asked, looking at Tristan.
"Work comes first." Mom spat out, her eyes fiery again.
Dad smiled a little and helped her back into her chair. "Relax, Lor. He'll get the hang of it. And if he doesn't I'll make sure to have a chat with him. Don't worry."
Mom smiled wickedly.
"Mom. Dad, please." I plead.
"Sorry, Ror. We know you can handle your own life." Dad told me.
"Yes. I can." I rolled my eyes, "Oh, this is Tristan DuGrey."
"Nice to meet you, Sir." Tristan held out his hand again.
Dad shook it. "Are you related to Janlan?"
Tristan nodded, "He's my grandfather."
"I've known Janlan for quite some time. He and my father were friends." Chris said amicably.
Tristan just nodded and smiled looking slightly uncomfortable talking about his family. I decided it was time for a save.
"Tristan, let's get some refills on our drinks." I suggested.
"I want a drink." Mom complained.
Dad chuckled, "Sorry, Lor. Not until the baby is born." Mom groaned.
"We'll catch you later." I added and grabbed Tristan's wrist, tugging him towards the bar.
"I'm so sorry about that." I apologized, turning to him once we reached the bar.
"No. It's fine. I like your parents." He said honestly.
"They're better than most." I agreed with a smile. "More champagne please."
"Rory!" A voice rang out from behind me. I swallowed hard and threw back my champagne in
one gulp, holding out my glass for another.
Tristan gave me a funny look but I would need another few drinks to get through this next encounter. I had to be on my game to protect Tristan from attack.
"How are you, Love?" Finn asked, as he came up behind me.
I turned and smiled widely, "Finn! Logan! Colin! Rosemary! How are you?"
Rosemary gave me a tight, obviously fake smile, "I'm going to find Juliet."
Logan was glaring at me and Colin had the same expression he always had on his face. Finn was the only one who seemed to be smiling genuinely but I didn't care.
"I'm great! Who's this, Doll?" Finn was the only one speaking but that was probably for the best. I only hoped it would stay that way.
"Tristan DuGrey. Tristan, this is Finn Morgan, Logan Huntzberger, and Colin McCrae."
After the introductions, my odd behavior seemed to click in Tristan's mind as he stepped up to make sure Logan didn't step out of line.
"Nice to meet you." Tristan nodded and smiled politely but it was by no means friendly.
"Your new boyfriend?" Logan asked suddenly.
Colin jumped in the second Logan started the attack, "Seems to me he looks a lot like Logan. In fact, I've heard about him. He was the Logan of Chilton. Coincidence?"
I opened my mouth to respond but Logan cut me off.
"Don't bother her Colin. She just doesn't recognize a jackass when he's standing right in front of her. Remember?" He leered.
I cringed remembering my breakup speech that turned into a bitter fight. I did scream that at him right before I left.
"Well," I gave Logan a sugary sweet smile, "I can recognize the one standing in front of me right now. Or rather, two. So I'd say my judgment has improved since college."
Logan scoffed, "Finn doesn't get included? What? You want him in your bed or something? Since you're such a whore."
"Funny, I wasn't the one who cheated all the time, Logan. That was you." I was using my overly friendly tone, trying to act happy.
Logan's eyes darkened. "Maybe if you were better in…"
"That's enough!" Finn stepped in between us. "We're going to ruin the party and I don't want to get on Emily Gilmore's bad side." He admonished.
"This isn't over." Logan glared at me.
"Oh it was over when I walked out the door, Logan. Just because you aren't over me doesn't mean that this isn't over." I responded, unable to help myself.
"You're such a little slut." He hissed.
Tristan stepped towards Logan suddenly and Logan took a quick step backwards. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Even Finn and Colin looked startled.
"Just leave her the hell alone. She didn't do anything to you, man. She's just trying to move on. If you can't let it go, leave her out of it. And…" Tristan's voice lowered and even scared me a bit, "If you ever call her anything like that again, you're going to find yourself in a lot of pain."
Logan just stared up at Tristan as Tristan stepped back towards me and took my arm, "Ready to go, Rory?"
"Yes, please. Bye Finn." I said feeling tired suddenly.
Finn stepped towards me and leaned down to me ear, "Sorry, Doll. Call me sometime, okay?"
I nodded and kept walking. We grabbed our coats from the closet and I could hear Logan complaining behind us as we headed outside.
"Thank you so much, Tristan. I mean, I could have handled it but that was much faster. And seriously, I'm really sorry. Logan is a jerk." I said, sadly.
Tristan shook his head as he opened the car door for me, "Don't worry about it. I knew guys like him."
I giggled as Tristan got in on his side and we pulled out of the driveway and started back to New York.
"All I'm saying, is that I owe you." I said, gratefully.
Tristan glanced at me as we stopped at a red light. His face was tinted a slight red color and he smiled. Time seemed to stop and I was tempted to lean in but something stopped me.
"Okay. I'll let you know when you need to pay up." He answered, jokingly.
"You better." I said seriously.
"Don't worry about it, Rory. Really." He said, shaking off my comment.
"I won't, I swear. Now, can I please turn on the radio?" I whined.
"Go for it." Tristan smiled and I smiled back, leaning forward to turn up the volume for the drive home.
AN: Hopefully you liked this chapter! Let me know with a review! Or send me some constructive comments! I appreciate all the reviews I get! They keep me going! Thanks guys! And thanks to LoVe23 for betaing this for me! I appreciate it!
Mellie