Summary: JJ. Long buried secrets and memories are awakened during this game of Truth. Slowly but surely, the relationship between Luke and Lorelai deepens. This story is based on the book, The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen.

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing - This fan fiction is based on the book The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen. I'm not taking full credit for all of the dialogue and plot of this story, seeing as some of it belongs to one of my all-time favorite authors. Keep in mind most of it is written by me, so I'm not just copying the book. Okay, having said that, hope you like it and please leave a review!

Author's Note: This story takes place after Lorelai and Max break up in season two.

A Game of Truth

Chapter Two: A New Appreciation

An hour, two Elton John songs, three REM songs, and four Aerosmith songs later -

"I'm bored." I break the silence.

"That's only the hundredth time I've heard you say that."

"You're exaggerating. I don't have the patience to say, 'I'm bored' one hundred times."

"I wasn't exaggerating, I was being sarcastic."

I lean my head against the seat, repeating, "I'm bored."

"You're the one who wanted to take the 'scenic route'."

"Well, I thought the scenic route would be scenic, I haven't seen anything other than trees and road signs... I'm so bored!"

"I need earplugs."

"We should play a game."

"All the more reason for me to need earplugs."

"I'm serious, I can't sit in this claustrophobic truck and not speak."

"Really? It's quite relaxing for me."

I let that comment slide, "You know who always cheats in games? Like, always?"

"Who?" He's clearly not interested.

"Michel."

"Ah... that French I-mean-business receptionist of your's."

"When we play monopoly, he always insists on being banker, then he helps himself to multiple loans and 'service fees' for every real estate transaction."

"Why don't you stop him?"

"It takes a lot of energy to argue with Michel. It's not worth it."

"I see."

"He cheats the most when we play Truth, though."

"What's 'Truth'?"

"It's a game. And yes, it's fun, so you may not want to know much more about it."

"Okay, that was your last comment about me being boring."

"You're right, I'm getting carried away."

"So, again, what's Truth?"

"It's a game."

"What, like 'Truth or Dare'?"

"No, it's a little different than that."

"How do you play?"

"Oh, we can't play Truth. It can get really ugly."

"What do you mean?"

"You have to tell the truth, even if you don't want to."

"I can handle that."

"You think?"

"Yeah. What's so hard about telling the truth?"

"Well, they're hard questions. Things you normally wouldn't tell anybody."

"Is this a girl game? Something you used to do at slumber parties?"

"I don't know that telling the truth makes it a 'girl game' but, yeah, I used to do it at slumber parties."

He chuckles, "Thought so."

"But they're not stupid questions, they're real questions."

"Well, how do you know if the other's not lying?"

"I don't know. You just - you don't lie. There's no reason to."

"Yeah, you lie if you don't want anybody to know the truth."

"No, just trust me. You don't lie in this game. Once you start playing, you won't want to lie."

"How do you win?"

"That is such a boy question."

"What, girls don't like to win?"

I just rolled my eyes. "Well, if I ask you a question and you say 'pass', then I have to answer the next question no matter what. If I answer it, I win."

"That's it?"

"What, is that not hard enough for you?"

"No, it's just... what if I ask you an easy question?"

"You wouldn't, you don't want me to win."

"Got it... Okay, ask me a question."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You want to play Truth?"

"Why not?"

"Alright... but once you're in, you're in. There's no backing out."

"I won't back out."

"You sure about that?"

"I won't back out. Now ask me a question."

"Okay." I sit up straight, and begin to think of a question. He may be new to the game, but there's no reason to go easy on him. I decided to ask a hard one, "What's your biggest fear?"

"My biggest fear?"

"Yep."

He thought for a moment and then replied, "Clowns." He wasn't getting the idea of the game.

I raised my eyebrows, "Clowns?"

"Yup."

"That is not a real answer."

"Says who?"

"Says me. I meant a real fear, like of failure or death, of regret. Like that. Something that keeps you awake nights, questioning your very existence."

He thought longer this time. "Clowns."

"Oh, come on."

"Hey, are you gunna except my answer or not?"

"I'm not. Tell me what your greatest fear is."

He let out a sigh and adjusted his baseball cap, lazily steering the wheel with one hand. I didn't think he wanted to answer my question, and when he was silent for several seconds, I was about to tell him to forget it. But he beat me to speaking.

"I guess - I guess my biggest fear would have to be... reliving what my parents had to go through, with the cancer and everything. I wouldn't want anyone else close to me have to experience that. Whether it be my sister... or any of my friends."

"Explain."

"I mean, my dad... he was sick for almost a year before he died, and those ten months were brutal for him. He was always in pain, either that or the drugs had him completely knocked out. And I mean, his personality was completely different. He wasn't fun to be around, he would forget things, or hallucinate, or yell for no reason. In a way, I just wish it ended sooner, so he didn't have to suffer."

"I can't imagine what that must have been like."

"It would have been easier if Liz wasn't such a wack job."

"Luke..."

"No, I'm serious. My dad was sick, and I was all on my own. I did everything I could for him. Liz didn't. She didn't do anything. As soon as my mother died she just went crazy. She morphed into something else... became completely self-absorbed."

"At least the two of you, you and your dad, at least you were close. I'm sure you have a lot of great memories."

"Yeah, but, after he died, I found myself remembering the bad things. I couldn't remember everything we did together, it was like it never happened. After he died, that was it for me. I stopped filling out my college applications. I stopped playing baseball. I didn't want to leave Star's Hollow. I didn't want to forget everything."

It was incredible. One moment he was telling me of his slight fear of clowns, and the next he was letting me in on his deepest, hurting feelings. It was the most of a conversation I had ever gotten out of Luke. It was nice.

"See, that's a real answer." I complimented him.

He shrugged his shoulders before asking, "What about you? What's your biggest fear?"

"What?"

"That's how the game works, I go next, right?"

"Uh, yeah, right."

"So, what's your greatest fear?"

It took all that was in me to convince myself that Luke wouldn't mock me. I guess I was too used to his teasing.

"Probably... dying alone, I guess."

He seemed surprised, "Seriously?"

"I mean, I know I have Rory and my friends... It's just the whole 'guy thing' I don't have down yet. I'm not so good when it comes to commitments," I paused for a moment, "you've seen how my relationships have ended, you know what I'm talking about."

He stretched both of his hands out to the wheel and shifted in his seat. He then took in a deep breath and let it out, all in the same motion. I waited for him to speak.

"Lorelai... I don't think you have to worry about 'dying alone'."

I scoffed, "Why is that?"

"Because. You're gunna find someone. You're gunna find someone, and you're gunna be happy... you're gunna get the whole package. Just give it time." I rolled my eyes and stared out the window, he still spoke, "Any guy who wouldn't want to be with you, would have to be crazy." This caught my attention, and I turned to face him, first noticing his eyes. They were filled with a sense of sincerity.

I smiled, "You're sweet-"

"Am not."

I chuckled, "But you're not so good at this truth thing."

"No, you're just no good at listening to the truth."

I must say, he was beginning to impress me. "Why is it that an amazing man such as yourself, is still single?"

"What are you talking about?"

I decided to hit him with one of his previous statements, "Any girl who wouldn't want to be with you, would have to be crazy."

"Nope, not crazy. Perfectly normal."

"Oh, really? Should I remind you of the 'Butch days'?"

"No, I don't need reminding."

"Admit it, the girls were all over you in high school."

He didn't say anything.

I spoke in a high prissy voice, "Oh no, don't ignore me, Butch. Well, if I thought you didn't care, I'd die, oh, I'd just die."

"Will you cut it out?"

I laughed, "No, I want the truth Luke, what was it like being Mr. Popular?"

"Oh, come on..."

"Answer the question, Luke."

"I wasn't popular..."

"The stories prove otherwise."

"What stories?"

"Answer my question."

He sighed, "Honestly?"

"Yeah, seeing as I want the truth, honesty would be a good thing."

He hesitated for a moment, "I hated it."

"I can't image that..."

"Imagine what you want... but I'm telling you, I hated it."

"Why?"

"You know me, you know I'm not into the whole out-going thing, the PDA thing."

I smirked at his mention of PDA's, "Not even when you were a teenager?"

"I mean, I guess things were different then. Sure, I had my share of beer runs, and parties but, dating... that was a night-mare."

"Why?"

"Because, I never knew if a girl liked me because she liked me, or because she liked the fact that I was..." He looked at me before going on, and then faced forward again. "Never mind..."

"Because she liked the fact that you were popular? That you were good-looking? That you were the jock of the high school?"

"Your words... not mine."

"No, I know what you're saying. You didn't know if any of your relationships were real."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Makes sense." And it did make sense.

"I'm sure you weren't sitting in the back of the classroom. I can see you in the principle's office everyday."

I chuckled lightly and noticed him doing the same."No, no it wasn't like that."

"Mhm..."

"No, it wasn't. I was a good girl in high school... Well, for the most part."

"Yeah, exactly."

"I don't know, I only had two boyfriends, well two that were serious. It was Billy Enos in the ninth grade... and Chris junior year. You already know what happened with me and Chris."

"Yeah."

"So, I guess I wasn't such a good girl, getting pregnant at sixteen and all. But, Rory was the best thing that ever happened to me. And it's not like I was running around having sex with random guys. It wasn't like that at all."

I smiled before asking my next question, I don't know why I asked it, really, "How old were you when you lost your virginity?"

"Oh come on, I'm not answering that."

"Are you passing?"

"... No."

"Yeah, you're too competitive to pass."

"I am competitive and I'm not gunna deny it."

"So, back to my question. How old were you?" I couldn't keep the smirk off my face.

He hesitated before speaking, and I could see a very faint shade of red appear on his cheeks, "I was a sophomore."

"Really?"

"Yeah, don't act so surprised."

"So, what were you sixteen then... fifteen?"

"Sixteen."

"Who was the girl?"

"You don't know her."

"Come on, I'm curious."

"Her name was Ashley."

"So, it was serious?"

"Yeah, it was serious."

"Why did you breakup?"

"I did something really stupid."

"What did you do?"

"I answered your question, I don't have to go again."

"Nope, this is a two-part question."

"There's such thing?"

"Yep." No, not really.

"What, are you changing the rules as we go?"

"No, it's a real rule. Now, answer the question."

With a roll of his eyes, he finally spoke, "Fine. A few weeks before Junior prom, I took Rachel out."

"On a date?"

"Yeah."

"So, you had two girlfriends?"

"Rachel wasn't my girlfriend, it was just - it was stupid. I shouldn't have done it."

"How long did it go on?"

"I met up with Rachel every Saturday night for about two months."

"Did Ashley find out?"

"Yeah... and she was pretty upset."

"Wow..."

"And then Rachel freaked out because she was nervous about the whole thing, and we didn't end up really 'going out' until after high school."

"Were you sorry after?"

He paused, "I was an ass... what I did to Ashley, I was an ass. And for a long time I just felt horrible. But, I mean, once Rachel and I got together things weren't so bad. Well, until she left."

I didn't know if I was over-stepping, but I wanted to know, "Did you love her?"

"Who?"

"I don't know, either of them, I guess."

"I don't know if I loved Ashley, but uh - yeah..." He sighed, "Yeah, I loved Rachel."

Rachel had left him about three weeks ago. He could deny it, but I knew he was still hurting. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him as he blankly stared at the road. I don't know for sure, but I think he was wishing she had never left. That blank, empty, stare was the same stare he wore whenever he heard her name. Come to think of it, it was the same stare he wore when he heard 'Chris' or 'Max'.

"Luke, I'm sor-"

"Don't... it was a long time ago. I'm over it, I'm sure she's over it."

"Yeah, but she came back, and that wasn't a long time ago."

"I'm over it."

I could tell he was getting irritated. "Okay, um, it's you're turn."

"Are you sorry for not marrying Chris after Rory was born?"

"Oh, God no. It never would have worked out. It still wouldn't work out. He's just - he's not mature enough to - to be a husband, to be a family guy. He's just not." I turned to look at him as I laughed a little. "You know, he asked me to marry him. Again I mean, a little before Rachel came back, before I got back together with Max."

"And you said no." He pointed out.

"Yeah, I said no. Sure, it would be nice to be with the father of my kid, but not now."

"Not now? Not ever?"

"Probably, not ever. But I mean, who know's, really."

"Did you love him?"

"Hey, you can't-"

"Two-part question." My made-up rule was working against me.

I let out a deep sigh before speaking. "Honestly, I will probably always love Chris. But, in a different way. You know? I care about him, and I'd go crazy if anything ever happened to him, but I don't necessarily want to be with him. I probably make no sense right now..."

"No, I get it." And that's what comforted me. I knew that Luke understood what I was saying.

"Who would have thought Luke Danes was a good listener?"

He looked at me questioningly, "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"I'm just surprised, is all. I mean, your Mr. Monosyllabic all the time."

"That's not true."

"Mhm, yes it is."

"I disagree."

"Well, of course you disagree. You don't like to admit anything about yourself. You don't like to admit that your shy... that girls like you, that people care about you." I raised my voice so they he got the next part, "That you're sweet. That you have secrets. I don't expect you to agree with the fact that you don't talk."

"Changing the subject..."

"Fine. I'm just saying that you should open up more often. I don't mind this side of you."

"You don't mind this side of me?"

"Okay, I like this side of you."

He turned to look at me, "Yeah?"

"Mhm."

"Good."

"Good."

It was good.

TBC