Note: The song, which I've begun the chapter with is sung by American Idol winner David Cook, called Dream Big.

Chapter Nine

Two weeks before prom…

"Avery?"

She looks up from her engrossing book and sees Adam standing before her. She smiles.

"Hi Adam. What's up?"

He looks down at the floor, embarrassed. "I know that my friends haven't been very nice to you lately, but I hope that won't bias you on your answer."

"My answer?" she asks, puzzled.

"Will you come to prom with me as my date?"

Avery grins. "Of course!"

When Adam turns to leave Avery pumps her arm in the air in victory. She was hoping that he would invite her to prom as his date. Besides Nathan, she always liked Adam. Especially since he is the only one who is nice to her.

Prom Night

"If you don't dream big, what's the use in dreaming? If you don't have faith, there's nothing worth believing. It takes one hope to make the stars worth reaching for. So reach out for something more," Avery sings to herself as she twirls, waiting for her nails to dry.

Logan sighs. He can't believe that his baby girl is growing up so fast. Or that its been years since he's seen her this happy. Rory wraps her arms around the back of his neck. "Your daughter is growing up," she whispers. "She has a date."

"Yeah? Who is this guy? Should I be afraid?"

"Oh, calm down, Mr. Father figure, he's cool. Approved by all members of my family."

Logan smirks. "That's your mother."

"Shouldn't she count for something?"

"Your mother's a nut case."

"Hey, I heard that mister!"

Avery, having just stepped out of the bathroom sees a flash of light and her father proudly relinquishing the camera to his ex-wife.

Suddenly Avery stops dead, a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look, turning into anger. "What are you doing?"

"Are you embarrassed?" Logan asks. "You're too sensitive like your mother."

"So, that's my fault? It's you two that had…and…"

Logan cuts her off. "I love you, babe. And you look beautiful."

Nathan opens the bottle of expensive champagne that his father kept hidden in the very back, almost obscured, corner of his whiskey cabinet. The stuff instantly goes flat and his date is not impressed. "You promised me the expensive stuff," she whines.

Adam just rolls his eyes. "You picked a real winner," he says sarcastically. Not picking up on the sarcasm, Nathan's date, Elle says sweetly, "That is such a nice thing to say. Thanks!" This makes Nathan want to gag, but he slides his arm across her shoulders. After all, she is really hot and he has a feeling that in spirit of prom she'll have sex with him.

As they pull up in front of the Gilmore house, Adam looks like he is going to be sick. "I don't know if I can do this…I feel sick…"

"Okay, you two stay here, and I'll go get her. You just…well…here," he says, disgusted, handing Adam a paper bag.

From inside the house, Rory and her mother peer through the window. "Why is no-one getting out of the car?"

Five minutes later, a tall haired boy, steps out of the vehicle and starts walking towards the house. Rory and Lorelai immediately drop the curtains and sit on the couch excited. "Oh my god, is that him?" Lorelai asks.

But Rory is confused. She could have sworn that Avery said she was going with Adam, and yet, here is Tristan's son, ready to pick her up.

"Avery, sweetie, he's here!" Nathan can hear her grandmother yelling from within the house.

Before he even has to knock, Rory opens the door. "What service," Nathan smiles. "Is she ready yet?"

Avery's smile immediately disappears when she hears the voice. That isn't Adam. Where the hell is Adam? She doesn't want her parents to believe that she has actually been stood up, so she starts walking towards the stairs. She will pretend that Nathan's her date, although, they've barely said two words to each other since that day.

That day (in tenth grade)

When the bell rings at two forty-five pm, she escapes to the girls' washroom. In her hurry she doesn't notice Nathan watching her from a distance. But when she emerges five minutes later he is leaning against the doorframe to the washroom, a smirk resting on his tired looking face.

"You look tired," Avery comments.

"You keep me up at night," he replies.

"How so?"

"Just by being you. You look beautiful, by the way."

Avery looks at him suspiciously. "I'm wearing a sweatshirt that my grandmother bought me. How beautiful can I be?"

Nathan looks at her. She can tell he really looks at her. "More than you'll ever know." He presses his body into hers, and she can feel his arousal.

"I have to meet my dad now."

"You want me to meet your dad?"

"No. I have to go. I'm meeting him out front."

"Let me come with you."

"What?"

"Let me come with you."

"I heard you before. But what's made you change your mind about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you suddenly like me?"

Nathan looks as if he's contemplating his answer for a little bit. "I've always liked you…its been complicated…"

"You mean, your friends think I'm a loser."

"Well, yes."

"That wasn't complicated now, was it?"

Nathan smiles. "No, I guess it wasn't."

"See you around."

"See you around."