AN: Wow ok, so my promises suck, and so do I for not keeping them. Apparently with the summer coming to a fast approaching close, everyone wants to do something. The fact that come September 8 me and most of my girlfriends will be heading back to our uniformed all girls prison that is Mother Seton Regional High School only increases the number of phone calls I get in the morning with the words "Hey let's do something today" which leads to me running off to random unplanned places and having no time to write or update.
In all honestly, I will probably update update MORE during the school year because that's when my social life slows down and leaves me time to write. But hey! No more empty promises from this mouth!
Enjoy this chapter because it's the last drama-free chapter for a while before my inner ever present Drama Queen takes over. Evil I know!
I own nothing except... nope still own nothing!
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Christmas was never a big event in the Logan or his friends' lives. They always wanted it to be something to look forward to, like how everyone else did but it just never was. With their parents annually going on trips lasting the length of their vacations, their holidays ended up a little different than everyone else's.
There wasn't any eggnog, no, their drink of choice was something hard to make them forget the fact that their parents had abandoned them again, leaving to fend for themselves on the Blessed Day. One would think that maybe the Huntzberger's Christmas tree would serve as some kind of festive decoration. But then that person would be wrong because the tree was far from festive: adorned with fragile Swarovski crystals from trunk to tip. The result was an icy appearance that wasn't celebratory at all, but it did remind them of how cold hearted their parents were. Caroling was replaced by their hangover moans and groans and the sound of the toilet flushing after one would wretch out the contents of their stomach. It's didn't exactly scream Merry Christmas.
However, this year was different for him because of Rory. As he strolled around the town with his friends close by and Rory under his arm, he took in the sights that he knew he would never forget. It was as if they were in the North Pole, everything around was either covered in something red and green or sparkled with glitter. Each and every house he had passed on the way there had something festive decorating it; from Santa's to reindeers to Nativity scenes and snowmen. In the gazebo of town center sat jolly old St. Nicolas himself, with a long line of hopeful children, waiting to be told they were on his good list. Around the 10 foot tall Christmas tree, decorated with ornaments of every shape color and size,was assembled a group of carolers, singing real carols, not the tunes of the toilet.
"I love Christmas!" Rory squealed, her eyes lighting up like, well, a child's on Christmas. Logan turned and smiled at her, loving how innocent she looked with her curly hair falling softly around her face, her cheeks tinted pink from the cold, and her blue eyes lit up and sparkling. She held a cup of hot chocolate in between her gloved hands tightly, depending on the warmth it gave her.
"Is it like this every year love?" Finn asked looking around overwhelmed. For once, he didn't drink, in honor of the holiday. Plus, he wanted to remember this night, trying to commit to memory the cords of lights that were strung every where he looked and the cold kissed pink cheeks of everyone he passed.
"Actually, this is a little stingy this year. Usually they turn one of the roads into a giant ice skating rink but I guess we hit a lack of time since the first snow didn't come until this morning," Rory said.
"I love it none the less," Steph gushed with a big smile, her fingers entwined with Colin's.
"Me too," Madeline agreed. "I want to see Santa!" she yelled before running over to the line of little kids, not caring she was the only one over 4 feet there.
"I need to keep that girl on a leash," Louise said jokingly before running over to stand with her.
"Colin, you're awfully quiet there… no critiques?" Rory asked with a smile. Colin usually commented on everything, believing that nothing was flawless.
"Nah, everything looks fine to me," he said, being unable to hide his grin. The group raised their eyebrows at him.
"Say it aint so!" Stephanie exclaimed dramatically, feigning shock. Colin just shrugged and continued smiling. As much as he hated to admit it, he thought everything was perfect. His usual hardened heart had created a soft spot for the Winter Wonderland that was Stars Hollow.
Finn suddenly stopped walking and froze in his spot. "What's the matter Finny?" Rory asked.
"RUM BALLS," he exclaimed with a goofy grin turning to Rory for some kind of approval.
"Go ahead, they're festive," Rory said laughing.
"I love Christmas!" he yelled. Tristan shook his head laughing before telling the group he would make sure Finn didn't go
overboard and running after him.
"Me and Colin are going to get a refill on the hot chocolate," Stephanie said, "Coming with?"
"Nah, we'll be over here on the bench when you guys come back," Rory said pulling Logan to sit with her. Colin and Steph nodded before walking away still hand in hand in the direction of the beverage cart. Rory just sighed and laid her head on Logan's shoulder thinking about the perfection in a bittersweet way.
"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you or should I use my psychic powers?" Logan asked holding onto her tighter. Rory sighed again; she didn't want Christmas night to be the night where she discussed her worries with him, she didn't want to ruin the first good holiday he had.
"Not tonight Logan," Rory answered.
"If not tonight then when Rory? I know how long you've had something on your mind," Logan replied running his cold hand up and down her arm, trying to get some warmth that was radiating off of her. Rory noticed and took his hands in hers, rubbing on them gently.
"Just not tonight, not on Christmas," Rory stated. Logan nodded, as much as it annoyed him she was keeping something like this from him, he knew it was best to let it go and enjoy the night. Kissing the top of her head, he pulled her unto his lap and held her even closer, enjoying their intimacy and perfection of the moment. "I love you Ace," he whispered.
"I love you too."
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That moment would be forever imprinted in Logan's mind and was still fresh even now, almost one week later. He was lying, almost naked, under the warm down comforter that draped over Rory's bed in the master bedroom at her penthouse apartment on 5th Avenue. He held Rory tightly in his arms, stroking her hair gently while looking at her sleeping figure, thankful that she was in a deep slumber.
He smiled replaying the events that took place last night in bed, and looked down to make sure it wasn't a dream. Sure enough, there he was, with nothing on except for the dog tags that Rory had given him for Christmas. The two pure white gold plaques shone in the sunlight, glossing over Logan's engraved name. The other dog tag contained an embossed picture of him and Rory kissing, taken by Lorelai. On the back Rory had their anniversary date engraved with the words 'Ready for Anything' underneath it.
His gaze drifted to Rory in here peaceful sleep. She was laying on her stomach with Logan's arm underneath her and one of her own arms draped casually over Logan's hard stomach. Under her coffee tresses, Logan could make out the thin white gold chain that she now only took off when she showered. On the hand that lay on the side of his body, was a matching thick ring with the words 'Ready for Anything Ace' and the date of their anniversary engraved.
Out of pure coincidence, the two had given each other corresponding gifts that expressed the same sentimental value. Both of them loved each other's gift equally and the group continually commented on how cute the two were and how disgusting it was getting.
Logan thought about it all the time, wondering what kind of screwed up karma had allowed him to find Rory even after how much he used girls in the past. Sometimes he doubted himself, not believing that he deserved her… actually he knew he didn't deserve her yet some how he had her. Rory still had yet to voice what was on her mind, but he would let the worries go until after the holdiays were after.
He couldn't help but wonder when his amazing luck was going to run out.
Soon.
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"So what's the plan for today guys?" Tristan asked as he folded up the pull out bed Finn slept on the previous night, not before pulling out a pair of boxers from the crevice of the couch. "Ew Finn what are these doing here?" Tristan asked throwing them over to Finn who was pouring Vodka into his orange juice.
"I sleep in the nuddy mate," Finn replied as he threw the used boxers into his open suitcase next to the couch. Tristan made a disgusted face and shook his head, comprehending what nuddy was Aussie for.
"Back to the point," Colin said pulling everyone back on the forgotten track. "What are we doing today?" The guys shrugged in indifference while the girls sent each other mischievous grins.
"We are on 5th avenue…" Rory started innocently.
"Yes we're aware of that Ace by the giant Christmas tree outside the window and the high class department stores surrounding us," Logan replied with a smirk. However, when he saw the smirks of all the girls he understood what they wanted to do. Instead of protesting, he took out his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out his American Express black card and slipped it over to Rory.
"Logan no it's alright I have my own, you just have to carry my bags!" Rory protested sliding it back over to him.
"Come on Ace, do you really think I'm going to let you pay?" Logan asked firmly placing it in the palm of her hand. Rory smiled gratefully and planted a smacking kiss on his lips and taking a seat on his lap.
"Gee I wish I had a boyfriend like that," Stephanie said feigning sadness while sending a pout to Colin. Colin sighed, knowing there was no way out of it, and pulled out his credit card, handing it begrudgingly to Stephanie. Steph immediately perked up and blew him a kiss before running into her bedroom to get ready, dragging Rory with her.
"Do you ladies need ours too?" Tristan asked Louise and Madeline worriedly.
"No, it's alright… our daddies gave us ours!" Madeline replied excitedly before she and Louise ran in the direction of the bedrooms, most likely to collaborate with Rory and Stephanie to see what to wear.
"You do realize even our trust funds won't be enough to cover how much they're going to spend right?" Colin asked Logan as soon as the closing of all of their doors were heard. Logan just laughed and reasoned, "Go and take it back and stand the risk of not being able to get laid for the rest of the trip. Besides, I can trust Ace with my card," Logan replied before sauntering off back to the room to change. Colin just grumbled in response.
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"Shopppppppinnnnnnnnnnnnngggggg!" Stephanie screamed like a lunatic as soon as the eight stepped out of the high rise apartment building. Many of the passerby's looked at her as if she was crazy while some other people pulled out their cameras and began snapping pictures of the group. Rory guessed that several of them knew their identities, and others probably assumed they were famous by the way they were dressed and the building they stepped out to.
While the guys were dressed casually in polo shirts, jeans, and hoodies(except Colin who wore his usual sweater vest and buttonup with a scarf), the girls were dressed to impress, and they certainly did impress. All four of them were dressed from head to toe in designer items, from their Ugg boots to their Lacoste tights that ran up their toned legs under their Guess denim skirts that varied in designs. They wore thick Bebe jackets with matching scarves and gloves atop their long sleeved Abercrombie Henley's. Perched atop their perfectly groomed heads were Gucci sunglasses. Despite the fact that it was the last week of December, the sun was shining brightly, but the air was still frigid from the typical winter weather.
Tristan knew that if they stood there too long, the crowd would only become larger so smiled quickly at the cameras before leading the group away. "Where are we headed?" he asked trying to keep up a quick pace.
"Saks 5th Avenue, 10 levels of pure shopping glory," Stephanie replied with a big smile. Tristan nodded and led them on their quick short walk to the tall building, knowing that they would find a haven in the high class store. Once they stepped in, the girls couldn't be stopped.
Stephanie was in her element and there was no way anyone could halt her bargain searching hand. Granted, a bargain in the store was a skimpy yet trendy top for 100 dollars instead of 200 but never the less, Stephanie knew how to find a good buy. The girls slowly but surely accumulated over 15 bags, leaving the guys except Finn bored.
The group sat in the men's department while Finn sorted through the several racks of outlandish shirts. He quickly pulled out a bright pink shirt with a brown wave print on it and waved it around. "What do you think loves, good on Finny?" he asked holding up to his chest and putting on a pouty face.
"Oh definitely," Louise replied loving Finn's crazy style. Finn pondered it for another moment before nodded and tossing it on a nearby coach, with his 18 other shirts he had decided were good on him. The guys rolled their eyes at his unmasked femininity.
"I swear we're going to see him on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy one day," Colin said shaking his head.
"Mate that show is totally over rated and I don't even watch it. The night it's on is the movie night in Lifetime," Finn replied in a matter of fact voice. The girls laughed and got up to help him find some more shirts while Colin, Tristan and Logan shook their heads.
"We have to get out of here," Tristan groaned with his head in his hands.
"Go ahead Logan," Colin said nudging him a bit. "Why me?" Logan asked irritated that he was going to be used as their scapegoat.
"Because you can afford not to get laid Huntz. Me and Steph heard you two last night," Colin argued.
"Please we all heard you," Tristan replied disgusted, "The whole building heard you. Hell, all of New York probably heard you. Finn wanted to record Rory but unfortunately your voice was a immediate response to hers." Tristan cringed just thinking about it.
"Alright, alright I get the point I'll ask," Logan said defeated, although a small smirk of self confidence crept onto his face. He slowly approached Rory from behind and slid his arms around her waist, giving her butterfly kisses on her neck. She hummed and closed her eyes leaning against him. "How's the whole shopping for Finn going?" he asked her softly.
"Fun, I love finding these crazy shirts for him to wear," Rory replied happily. Logan nodded against her shoulder but didn't say anything. Rory thought that his subtle approach was so cute; she knew that the guys minus Finn were bored but Logan was the only one who wasn't being so annoying about it.
"You guys can go Logan," Rory said with a smile of reassurance.
"How did you know?" he asked surprised.
"The moans and groans of disapproval were a big clue. Go ahead we'll call your cell phone to meet up with you later," Rory said turning herself to face Logan.
"See this is why I love you, best girlfriend ever," Logan replied with a smirk before giving her a firm kiss on her lips. Rory laughed and shooed him away with her hand. She watched as he went over to the guys and said something, causing them to jump up and grab all of the bags they were holding and walk quickly to the elevator after Logan looked back and waved goodbye to Rory. Rory smiled back and watched them get into the elevator before turning back to the racks and searching for more clothes.
"Kittens what about this?" Finn asked holding up a black lace no sleeve top that was practically see through.
Madeline stared at for a while, tilting her head from one side to another before coming out with a verdict. "It looks like King Kong's lingerie!" The girls all laughed while Finn looked in the mirror and frowned.
"So is that a yes or no love?" Finn asked seriously.
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"How are you and Steph?" Tristan asked Colin while casually flipping through a sports book he had picked up.
Colin took a sip of his Chai Latte before answering. "Really good. No rough patches yet."
"Yet," Logan stressed leaning back in his chair and sipping his strong black coffee.
After bringing the shopping bags they had back to the apartment, the guys left again and went strolling around 5th avenue, stopping every now and then at a Best Buy or Sports paraphernalia store. Now 1 hour later, they sat in a Barnes and Noble's Starbucks, just relaxing and waiting for Rory and the group to show up since Logan had called Rory and informed her of their location.
"Just because you and Rory went through one doesn't mean me and Steph have to," Colin replied agitated.
"Ha! Who are you kidding man, you can't avoid rough patches with girls," Tristan said knowing well from experience. Colin grimaced and leant back in his chair. "We've got a fan club," Tristan mumbled while motioning to a group of girls that looked their age whispering and eyeing them out.
Colin and Logan turned to look at them. Several of them waved and winked flirtatiously at the three of them. None of them found this attractive and they just smiled back stiffly before turning back around.
"You know, 4 months ago I would've had all of their phone numbers and one or more of them coming back to my place by now," Logan said.
"Same here," Colin said. Logan and Tristan raised their eyebrows. "Ok well maybe not but I would at least have had one of Logan's leftovers."
"But now you're whipped," Tristan joked.
"Not whipped just has what he wants," Rory's voice said from behind them. The three all looked over to see Rory, Stephanie, Madeline, and Louise all smirking with amusement while Finn was behind them carrying what looked like 10 additional bags of purchases from Saks.
Rory threw a mischievous look to the girls that had been eyeing her boy friend, best friend, and two newest close guy friends before going over to Logan and sitting down on his lap, giving him a hard kiss on the lips. Stephanie followed cue, doing the same with Colin while Finn went over to Tristan to sit on his lap, dropping the bags in the process. He was about to lean in for a similar kiss when Tristan stuck his hand in front of Finn's face.
"Don't even think about it Rothschild," Tristan warned causing the group as a whole to laugh and Finn to get up with a feigned sad expression. Rory nodded her head in the directions of the girls, who responded by shooting her dirty looks before walking out of the building empty handed.
"That was fun!" Stephanie exclaimed jumping out of Colin's lap and pulling 5 chairs for the group to sit in. Rory giggled and got up, running her hand haphazardly in Logan's hair before talking. "Guys I'm going to go look for a book alright so I'll be right back," she said before walking off to find the newest Nora Ephron book.
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"So Ladies what else did you buy?" Tristan asked gathering the bags closed to them.
"Nothing, those are all Finn's bags," Louise said. The guys looked at Finn disbelieving while he looked up at the list of beverages near the counter. "Bloody hell mates don't they have anything here with alcohol?" he asked irritated not even noticing the guys sighing and the girls giggling.
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Rory was in the New Release aisle looking for her book, oblivious to everyone around her. She skimmed her finger along the spines of each individual book enjoying the silence that surrounded her and the barely audible murmur of the voices coming from the Starbucks.
She took a deep breath of the paper scented air, there was just something about being surrounded by so much tangible knowledge in one room that made her happy and relaxed. She found the book she was looking for and took a seat on one of the nearby book stools, with the intention of reading the 1st chapter before purchasing it.
She licked her finger and leafed to the first page of chapter one, immediately engrossing herself into the book, quickly turning through the pages with her expert reading eye. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw coming towards her but just assumed that it was someone looking for a book in the aisle. It wasn't until the man's familiar yet unwelcome voice called her name, drawing her eyes up to meet his with surprise and disdain.
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He had seen her as soon as she stepped into the book section of the Barnes and Noble, immediately drawing his attention. He followed her to the New Release section and stayed a little bit farther down the aisle, not wanting to be identified just yet. He wanted the chance to observe her, see how much she had changed since he last saw her.
As she ran her fingers down the spines of each of the books, bittersweet memories flooded his mind. He and she were two peas in a pod when it came to intellectual and witty conversations and interests. They used to have such a thrill when one would show the other a book that was deserving in their attention, staying up and discussing it while sitting on the bridge with their feet hovering just over the water and looking up at the sky. He smiled seeing her act like the place was some kind of paradise, knowing that her interests hadn't changed from when they had last talked.
However, he did notice some physical changes about her. She seemed much more confident in herself, more at ease in the world around her. The girl he knew was one who was some what sheltered that never wanted to stand out in the crowd. But now, seeing her dressed from head to toe in luxurious designer apparel, her beauty was even more enhanced than he remembered. As she ungloved her hand to pull out a book from the shelf, he noticed a band adorning one of her fingers and his mind went into over drive.
Sure, he had seen the tabloids when he passed news stands, but he never took the time actually read them, so he never got the chance to see how much in Rory's life had really changed. He had no idea about her new social standing and group of very rich friends with high and mighty last names. This meant he also didn't know about the fact that she was now taken by a newspaper mogul heir.
He watched as she took the book and sat in the stool, unaware that he was standing there watching her. He wondered who the ring was from, but automatically assumed that it was just any old accessory that someone got her as a present. As her semi-curly hair framed her face while she hunched over her book, he realized how much he missed her and a flicker of hope lit up in his heart.
Gathering up all of his confidence he slowly walked his boot covered feet over to where she sat, hearing the swish of his black jeans and the buckles of his jacket clank against his metal buttons. The closer he got, the more beautiful she got to him and the more he wanted to kiss her and tell her he loved he just like the time he left.
He now he stood right next to her, still not looking up until he found his voice and said her name quietly, yet still registering in her ears. He flinched as her head shot up to show him her blazing blue eyes that seemed to hold a mix of emotions. He felt a stab at his heart as soon as she spoke his name with anger leaking off ever letter.
"Jess."
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AN: Well that was fun! haha Ok uhmm next updaate will be... when it comes! Soooo wait for it haha Review please. Flame if you must but not too over the top please.
Oh, and I started a C2 with Rogans and Trories involving Chilton so please message me or state in yoru review if you want to be a staff memeber or know a good story for it!