Gilmore Girls

Uncanny

A/N: Not my most shining moment of literature but it's an update. Happy reading! Evie. xx

Summary: The voice on the answering machine. The picture on the entertainment. Both are eerily, uncannily familiar. L/R/T in London.

Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Gilmore Girls in anyway.

"Rory?" Clarissa asked softly as someone crawled into bed next to her. "Sweetheart, what happened?"

"I just told Logan that I loved him," Rory replied, with a whimper.

"Oh, baby," Clarissa said, sympathetically. "Why are you crying? What's so wrong with that?"

"I just don't want to hurt Tristan. I feel awfully about him," she cried.

"Oh, don't you worry about Tristan. I have a feeling he can take care of his own some," Clarissa answered. She turned to Rory and stroked her hair. "Did you hear that, baby? I made up a new word."

"Yes, you did," Rory laughed softly. She ceased to cry and let her best English friend stroke her long brown hair. "When I left Logan, what did you think?"

"I thought that you were the stupidest person in the world and that you were making a huge mistake. If you remember correctly, I told you so," Clarissa replied.

"I know that but I mean, did you think that we would end up together again?" Rory asked.

"I knew that he would come for you one day. Rory, I know you don't know this because you weren't there but I was. When you left Logan was beside himself. He was destroyed. You reduced him to nothing, a great big gaping black hole. A mirror image of Logan. But I knew that wouldn't last long and I knew that he would pretend to put you behind him but that the façade wouldn't hold up and that he would come back for you," Clarissa explained. "I don't know how I knew it, I just did."

"I don't deserve him," Rory murmured. Clarissa drew in a sharp breath. She knew Rory wanted her to calm her, to appease her but Clarissa was a true friend and she just couldn't do it. Rory wanted the truth more and Cass was going to give it to her.

"No, you don't. You don't deserve him at all. He deserves someone who won't give him up to follow their dreams, he deserves someone who won't break his heart by parading their new love in front of him or leave him with no explanation. He deserves someone who will put him first and who will love him above all others and you couldn't do that. You are selfish and you are ruthless because your mother always told you you can have everything and that you can trample over anyone and anything to get your dreams, that if you're happy the world is happy but that isn't true, Rory. You're happy, that's it. Logan doesn't deserve what you did to him but you did it. He doesn't deserve you but he's got you and he wants you," Clarissa sighed. "And he's okay with it because he knew you were like that before he fell in love with you. He's the one who taught you to go for what you want. Your mother said it but he put it in practice."

"Ouch," Rory said. "I deserved that."

"You did but I don't ever want to hear that word again. Okay, babe?" Clarissa asked.

"Okay," Rory whispered.

"Good. Now get some sleep, precious. I want to go to Portobello tomorrow and you're no fun when you have a hangover," she said. Rory smiled and made a kissing motion with her mouth.

"Night, Cass."

"Night, Ror."

-

"Mummy?" Rory spoke into the phone.

"Rory? Baby girl, honey girl, sweetness, what's wrong?" Lorelai asked. Her voice was cracked and tired as if she had just woken up. "You realise it's still deep dark night here, don't you? It might be breakfast time there but it isn't here."

"I talk to you at breakfast all the time and you don't care then," Rory replied.

"Yes, but cherry pie, I talk to you at three am in the morning when I've prepared for it or I just happen to still be up. I'm much more lucid when you call me at your lunchtime also known as my liquid breakfast," Lorelai babbled. She yawned and then stopped herself. "Rory, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you. I forgot about the time difference. You want me to call back?" she asked, her voice sounding wistful. Lorelai very much wanted to go back to sleep but she knew that either way it would plague her. She would either spend hours wondering over what her only child wanted to tell or if Rory had told her, she would undoubtedly spend hours obsessing over it.

"No, babe. It's okay. I'm already awake, right?" she said, keeping her voice calm and steady.

"Right," Rory said with a smile. Lorelai just knew her daughter was smiling. She could hear it in her voice.

"Alright, tell Mummy what you're so happy about," Lorelai continued.

"I think I picked Logan," she said quickly. She waited to hear Lorelai's response but all she heard was a gasp and then silence.

"Umm, hon, I think I will take that rain check," Lorelai whispered. She bit her lip and to her surprise found herself blinking back tears. "Don't call me. I'll call you."

"Mum?" Rory tried. She heard Lorelai sniff. "Mum, are you crying? Are you mad at me? What's wrong?"

"I'm going to have to call you back, Rory," Lorelai replied, her voice suddenly full of steel.

"But Mum…"

"Deal with it, Rory," Lorelai snapped. "I said I would call you back."

And the phone went dead.

-

"Are you nearly ready?" Rory called from Logan's bed. She was trying in vain to buckle up a Prada shoe but it wasn't working for her. Logan came into the bed and rolled his eyes when he saw where she was. She put on an angelic face and held her foot out to him, twisting her ankle seductively. "Would you?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he replied. Clarissa came in from the hallway and rolled her eyes.

"You are whipped, boy," she laughed. Rory smirked as Logan continued to prod around with the shoe.

"Rory, just wear another pair of damn shoes," he grunted, giving up. He shoved her leg away and she pouted. "I swear that should be illegal."

"So people keep telling me," Rory laughed. Her eye caught a photo frame that hung in the hall on the opposite side to Logan's wall. She knew the photo well. It was what Lorelai called their 'quintessential' photo, their very epitome. Rory and Lorelai on her sixteenth birthday, arms slung around each other, a pink feather boa flung casually over Rory's neck.

"Hey, you okay?" Logan asked, squeezing her leg. She blinked and then smiled.

"Fine," she replied. Clarissa pushed Logan out of the way and expertly did the buckle up. She grinned wickedly and pumped her arms.

"Who's the best?" she called.

"You are," Logan muttered. Rory laughed and gave her friend a hug.

"Yes, Cass, we all know it."

-

Rory's cell phone began to ring as they browsed the markets. She pulled it out of her bag and gulped when she saw the name. She motioned to Clarissa and Logan, who were arguing over a bag, that she would be right around the corner.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey yourself. I miss you," Tristan's voice spoke. She felt a prickle of guilt go down her spine and she grimaced.

"Miss you too," she replied, forcing the words out of her mouth.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Portobello Road," she answered. "Just doing some shopping. Cass wants a new bag. Or boots. Or a hat. The English and their hats, right?"

"Right," he answered their long-time joke. "Logan's with you, isn't he?"

"Well, he and Cass are friends too," she said, hating how it sounded.

"I didn't ask if he was with Cass, I asked if he was with you," Tristan repeated, testing the waters.

"What do you mean? We're all here together," she lied. There was a silence and then he spoke.

"I might be coming home a little early," he said.

"Really?" Rory cried, putting on what she hoped was an Oscar-worthy performance. "That's great."

"You really think so?" he asked.

"Sure," she answered. "Tris, what's going on? You're acting like a crazy person."

"I guess I'm just tired and missing you. How's Lorelai?" he asked, changing the subject quickly.

"She's Lorelai," Rory shrugged, keeping the bitterness out of her voice. "The one and only. She's a phenomena, unexplainable. And she finally got through a whole tub of mine chocolate chip ice-cream all by herself."

"Tell her I'm proud the next time you talk to her. I think I miss her almost more than I miss you," he mocked.

"Well, that's not nice," Rory sneered. Something in his voice jarred her and a thought popped into her brain. Her mother couldn't have betrayed her, could she? Not that Lorelai knew what had happened but what had happened between her and Logan was innocent. Innocent in that they had done nothing more than kiss and innocent in that they wouldn't. Rory couldn't sleep with Logan while she was still 'with' Tristan and Logan would never have put her in the position. And even though Lorelai didn't know what had happened, she had a big imagination. She could have spun a story or said what she thought. Whether or not Lorelai had indeed called him, something in Tristan's voice said that he knew and that he wanted it out in the open. Rory wanted it out in the open more than anyone but she knew it couldn't be done over the phone. "Tris, have you talked to my mother?"

"No. Why?" he answered just a little too quickly. Rory fell against a telephone pole, her breath coming in quick, short spurts. She swallowed and pressed her forehead to the cool metal.

"You just didn't seem surprised about the ice-cream, that's all," she said weakly. She sighed and swallowed again. "When are you coming home?"

"It's still looking like Tuesday," he said. She pictured him shrugging and then looking out at the rolling white waves. He sounded distant, not just in… distance.

"That's forever away," she murmured.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed. "I'd better go. I'll see you on Tuesday?"

"Of course," she answered.

"I love you," he whispered fiercely as if he knew it would be the last time.

"Oh, I love you too," she whispered back with just as much feeling. She knew it would be the last time she ever said. "Tristan, I really do."

"Goodbye, Rory," he replied flatly

"Bye," she answered. Rory paled and hung up the phone before she could even think about what had happened, she was typing in another number. She could feel someone staring at her and she turned to find Logan and Clarissa watching her intently.

"Tristan," she shrugged. Tears sprang into her eyes and she brushed them away impatiently. Clarissa looked worriedly between Logan and Rory but there was no need. There was nothing but concern on Logan's face.

"You are allowed to hurt, you know," he comforted her, taking her into his arms. "You were with him for a long time."

"I'm leaving him to be with you. you can be understanding," she shot-back. "You and I are going to be happy."

She was going to break up with him eventually and she was doing it for another man. She wasn't allowed to feel sad. It was 'High Fidelity' all over again. Laura should never have been upset because she had left Rob and yet she was. Rory knew it was stupid to relate her life to a movie but that was how she had been raised, in prose and metaphor and imitation. That was the Lorelai way and right now, Rory was not a big fan of Lorelai's way. She remembered that she had typed Lorelai's number into her phone. She hit the call button and held the small piece of silver metal up to her ear.

"Mum, I hope you're happy," was all she said before she flipped her phone shut and shoved it in her bag. She slipped her hand into Logan's and glanced at Clarissa. "Cass, I thought you wanted a new bag."