A/N: I don't own 'The Reason' by Hoobastank
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'm not a perfect person
As many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rory sat in bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for someone to come in her room and tell her she needed to get ready for school, but after almost half an hour, realized that she was suspended. So she tried to climb out, but realized too late that she was extremely tangled up in covers, and fell on the ground in a heap. Oh yeah, that was definitely going to leave a bruise on her hip. She crawled out of her room and across the hall, into Blake's room, laying beside him.
He rolled over, awake, but still deathly tired. "Hey." he yawned.
"Hey." Rory whispered.
"So...you and Tristan?" she nodded. "What happened?"
She shook her head, "I mean, I knew what happened with Summer. But when I actually heard it, I just snapped."
"Why? Like you said, you knew."
"I know. I just...I can't handle Summer. She's a headache."
"Well yeah. It's what she prides herself on. I'm just surprised that you let her get to you."
Rory sighed deeply, closing her eyes, "I dunno. Everything is an emotional rollercoaster. Especially everything with Tristan."
"Which is exactly why he needs you. He's going insane. I mean, have you seen the way the guy lives?"
Rory buried her head in the pillow, "Yes." was the muffled reply.
"So don't give up on him yet, okay?" She nodded, not looking up from the pillow.
WEDNESDAY, COUNTRY CLUB
Rory sat on the extremely uncomfortable chair, chin resting on her hand. She sighed deeply, watching Madeline and Blake dancing. She hated these things, they were so boring, and last time it hadn't been that bad because Tristan had been with her. Now he was somewhere on the other side of the room. Her head was throbbing from being pounded with music for the last hour since dinner ended. Shane came and sat beside her, his girlfriend was out of town for the weekend and none of his friends were here, so he was bored out of his scull.
She glanced over at him, nodding, before turning back. She was surprised when he asked, "So when are you two ever going to make up?"
"What?" she asked, turning to look at him.
"You heard me."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Yes you do. You're over it, but you refuse to let it go. By the way, it was a stupid thing to fight over."
"Thanks. That means a lot coming from my thirteen year old brother." she said sarcastically.
He shrugged, "I might only be thirteen, but I'm in a healthier relationship than you." Rory opened her mouth to bite back, but nothing came, so she closed her mouth and turned back around grumpily.
"Oh, Rory, there you are," Emily said, coming up to them.
"Hey Grandma."
"Come with me."
"What? Where are we going?"
"Too many questions. Just come." She grabbed Rory's hand and pulled her along. Rory looked back at Shane, who just shrugged, grinning. Emily finally let go of Rory in front of an older woman, around her grandmother's own age, perhaps a few years older. "Rory, I'd like you to meet my friend Albany. Albany, this is my granddaughter Rory."
She grabbed Rory's outstretched hand, "It's good to meet you, Rory."
She nodded, "You too, Mrs..." she trailed off.
"Dugrey."
"Ahh." she tried to cover up her grimace.
"I see you've met my grandson."
Rory laughed, "Yes, I have."
"He give you a bad idea about us? Or you may have met my offspring and that nun he chose to marry."
"All three, actually."
"Yes. Tristan can actually be quite a joy, but his parents are a lost cause."
Rory smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as her grandfather joined the group, accompanied by an older man and a teenager. "Rory," Richard said, trying and failing to act surprised to see her, "well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?"
"Hi grandpa."
"Richard, are you planing on introducing me to this beautiful young lady?" the man asked.
"Oh, yes, Janlen, this is my granddaughter, Rory, Rory, this is my good friend Janlen Dugrey, and I believe you know his grandson Tristan."
She looked over to see that Tristan was uncomfortable, but masking it well. "Yes, I do." she said, not taking her eyes off him.
"Oh, do you go to Chilton together?" his grandmother asked.
"Yes, we do." Tristan spoke at last.
"Well isn't this nice?" Albany smiled.
"Say, I have an idea."
"What's your idea grandma?" Rory asked, following along with her little game.
"Well, I just love this song. Why don't you two have a dance."
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Tristan said quickly.
"Oh, why not?" Albany butted in, "You could get to know each other better."
"And I want a picture." Emily said, smiling between them.
"Just one dance, that's not too much to ask for two old women, is it?"
Rory wrinkled her nose, glancing at Tristan questioningly, who shrugged. She sighed, "Okay, why not?"
Emily smiled, "Well go on before it's over!" they scooted the two together and pushed them towards the middle of the floor.
Tristan breathed in deeply and wrapped one arm around Rory's waist, taking her hand in his own and she rested her second hand on his shoulder. They looked at separate corners of the room, not meeting each other's gaze. After a few moments Rory spoke up, "So, how horrible are they at acting?"
He looked at her, "They definitely shouldn't give up their day jobs."
She laughed, "No, definitely not."
They moved until silence until he said, "So, what have you been doing for a week?"
She sighed thinking, "Umm...sleeping...eating...listening to music...laughing at Shane because he's a good kid that never gets in trouble."
Tristan laughed, "Sounds like fun."
"Oh, it is. What about you?"
"Same, minus laughing at the thirteen year old."
"Nice."
"Yeah." he nodded and they fell back into a comfortable silence until the song ended.
Rory pulled away, and walked over to her grandmother, followed closely by Tristan. "There, happy?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Emily said, smiling innocently.
Rory rolled her eyes, "Grandma, you can't lie to me, you never could."
"I have nothing to lie about, silly."
"Right, grandma. Don't try to fool the master."
"I'd never dream of it." she said, "Albany, let's go for a walk, I'm getting rather warm and I'd love to see the rose gardens." Tristan's grandmother nodded and they walked through the doors, leaving the teenagers alone.
Rory turned to Tristan, "What now?"
"I think we should talk." she nodded. "But not here." Rory followed him out to one of the deserted balconies. She leaned against the rail, and he leaned beside her, not looking over. Rory looked down, swallowing the lump in her throat. She shivered in the December air, snow flurries falling around them. Tristan noticed her shaking and slipped off his jacket, putting it over her. She smiled in thanks and looked over the grounds. They stood in silence until he finally said, "Okay, I need to move or else I'm going to freeze to death. Want to walk?"
Rory glanced down at her shoes before nodding, she might get a blister, but what the hell? "Sure." she followed him down the stairs and onto the frozen grounds. They walked down one of the paths until she said, "So, are we going to initiate conversation or just walk around aimlessly?"
He grinned, "Well, I was planing on conversing."
"Wonderful."
"I thought so too."
She smiled, "So, what were you planning on conversing about?"
"Friday."
"Oh, yes." she grimaced, "Friday."
Tristan stopped walking and turned to her, "Okay, I'll probably be really bad at this because I've never talked through a relationship problem before in my life."
Rory laughed, "Okay, talk."
"Honestly, I don't know where to start."
She thought for a moment, "Why don't we start with the Summer conversation."
"Alright, thank you."
"No problem."
He breathed in deeply, "Just hear me out, okay?" she nodded, "I did sleep with Summer, but it was back in Freshman year, at the beginning. Almost a year ago, even. She never meant anything to me, we only dated for a month, and then I broke up with her. That's when I got labeled a player. She thought I broke up with her because I'd gotten what I wanted, but I really broke up with her because there was nothing to the relationship. And no matter what she made you think, it only happened once." he stopped, showing her he was done.
She nodded, "You never had feelings for her?"
He thought for a moment, "Actually, I did, at first, but they'd started to fade before anything happened."
Rory looked down, "She still has feelings for you."
"She wants revenge." he corrected. "So she's trying to ruin you."
She looked up, "Well it's working."
Tristan stepped closer, she was obviously upset, "Why are you letting it?"
She closed her eyes, tears filling them, "Because I don't know how to stop it." she whispered, covering her face with a porcelain hand. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, stroking her hair gently and whispering into her ear. Her words came out choked, "I just-I can't handle to hear her talk about you like that, like you belonged to her, and I don't even want to think about you with another girl...and I can't not be with you, because you thought I wasn't over Dean and then I was and it's only because of you, and now Summer's with him and it's like she want to take away everything and everyone from me, and I am so scared that you're going to choose her over me because I'm not good enough or because I'm a virgin and I'm so inexperienced and she isn't-"
"Whoa, hold on a second," he cut her off, moving so he was looking into her eyes, "What are you talking about? I would never choose Summer over you. All that happened before I even met you." he said it in a way that left no room for doubt as he wiped the tears away gently with his thumb. "Rory, I'm not going to pretend like I didn't do things I regret. I've made a lot of mistakes, but I don't want to anymore, and that's all because of you, I want to be better for you." he whispered.
She looked up at him from under thick lashes, her hands gripping onto his upperarms while he had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other resting on her cheek gently. She looked down, sliding her hands from his arms to his neck, resting her forehead on his shoulder. He moved both his arms to her waist and tightened his grip on her. Her neck was too tempting to be left alone, so he placed comforting, feather light kisses all along it gently. She looked up at Tristan and he leaned down, looking in her eyes until their lips met in a soft kiss. He deepened it with her consent and pulled her closer. Rory pulled away to breathe, but Tristan reclaimed her lips a second later. They pulled back every so often for breath, but always came back for more.
"I love you." she whispered between kisses breathlessly. Tristan smiled against her lips, replying by pulling her closer and kissing her deeper. She froze, pulling away, "What time is it?"
Tristan looked at his watch, "Eleven, why?"
"I have to go." she started to pull away, but he pulled her back.
"What? Why?"
"My parents don't know where I am. They'll be wondering-"
"Rory, I can drive you home."
"I know, but they won't know where I am."
He let go of her hand reluctantly, "Okay."
She kissed him lightly, "Walk me back?" he nodded, following her through the gardens.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
I've found a reason to show
A side of me that you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'm not a perfect person
As many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rory sat in bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for someone to come in her room and tell her she needed to get ready for school, but after almost half an hour, realized that she was suspended. So she tried to climb out, but realized too late that she was extremely tangled up in covers, and fell on the ground in a heap. Oh yeah, that was definitely going to leave a bruise on her hip. She crawled out of her room and across the hall, into Blake's room, laying beside him.
He rolled over, awake, but still deathly tired. "Hey." he yawned.
"Hey." Rory whispered.
"So...you and Tristan?" she nodded. "What happened?"
She shook her head, "I mean, I knew what happened with Summer. But when I actually heard it, I just snapped."
"Why? Like you said, you knew."
"I know. I just...I can't handle Summer. She's a headache."
"Well yeah. It's what she prides herself on. I'm just surprised that you let her get to you."
Rory sighed deeply, closing her eyes, "I dunno. Everything is an emotional rollercoaster. Especially everything with Tristan."
"Which is exactly why he needs you. He's going insane. I mean, have you seen the way the guy lives?"
Rory buried her head in the pillow, "Yes." was the muffled reply.
"So don't give up on him yet, okay?" She nodded, not looking up from the pillow.
WEDNESDAY, COUNTRY CLUB
Rory sat on the extremely uncomfortable chair, chin resting on her hand. She sighed deeply, watching Madeline and Blake dancing. She hated these things, they were so boring, and last time it hadn't been that bad because Tristan had been with her. Now he was somewhere on the other side of the room. Her head was throbbing from being pounded with music for the last hour since dinner ended. Shane came and sat beside her, his girlfriend was out of town for the weekend and none of his friends were here, so he was bored out of his scull.
She glanced over at him, nodding, before turning back. She was surprised when he asked, "So when are you two ever going to make up?"
"What?" she asked, turning to look at him.
"You heard me."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Yes you do. You're over it, but you refuse to let it go. By the way, it was a stupid thing to fight over."
"Thanks. That means a lot coming from my thirteen year old brother." she said sarcastically.
He shrugged, "I might only be thirteen, but I'm in a healthier relationship than you." Rory opened her mouth to bite back, but nothing came, so she closed her mouth and turned back around grumpily.
"Oh, Rory, there you are," Emily said, coming up to them.
"Hey Grandma."
"Come with me."
"What? Where are we going?"
"Too many questions. Just come." She grabbed Rory's hand and pulled her along. Rory looked back at Shane, who just shrugged, grinning. Emily finally let go of Rory in front of an older woman, around her grandmother's own age, perhaps a few years older. "Rory, I'd like you to meet my friend Albany. Albany, this is my granddaughter Rory."
She grabbed Rory's outstretched hand, "It's good to meet you, Rory."
She nodded, "You too, Mrs..." she trailed off.
"Dugrey."
"Ahh." she tried to cover up her grimace.
"I see you've met my grandson."
Rory laughed, "Yes, I have."
"He give you a bad idea about us? Or you may have met my offspring and that nun he chose to marry."
"All three, actually."
"Yes. Tristan can actually be quite a joy, but his parents are a lost cause."
Rory smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as her grandfather joined the group, accompanied by an older man and a teenager. "Rory," Richard said, trying and failing to act surprised to see her, "well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?"
"Hi grandpa."
"Richard, are you planing on introducing me to this beautiful young lady?" the man asked.
"Oh, yes, Janlen, this is my granddaughter, Rory, Rory, this is my good friend Janlen Dugrey, and I believe you know his grandson Tristan."
She looked over to see that Tristan was uncomfortable, but masking it well. "Yes, I do." she said, not taking her eyes off him.
"Oh, do you go to Chilton together?" his grandmother asked.
"Yes, we do." Tristan spoke at last.
"Well isn't this nice?" Albany smiled.
"Say, I have an idea."
"What's your idea grandma?" Rory asked, following along with her little game.
"Well, I just love this song. Why don't you two have a dance."
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Tristan said quickly.
"Oh, why not?" Albany butted in, "You could get to know each other better."
"And I want a picture." Emily said, smiling between them.
"Just one dance, that's not too much to ask for two old women, is it?"
Rory wrinkled her nose, glancing at Tristan questioningly, who shrugged. She sighed, "Okay, why not?"
Emily smiled, "Well go on before it's over!" they scooted the two together and pushed them towards the middle of the floor.
Tristan breathed in deeply and wrapped one arm around Rory's waist, taking her hand in his own and she rested her second hand on his shoulder. They looked at separate corners of the room, not meeting each other's gaze. After a few moments Rory spoke up, "So, how horrible are they at acting?"
He looked at her, "They definitely shouldn't give up their day jobs."
She laughed, "No, definitely not."
They moved until silence until he said, "So, what have you been doing for a week?"
She sighed thinking, "Umm...sleeping...eating...listening to music...laughing at Shane because he's a good kid that never gets in trouble."
Tristan laughed, "Sounds like fun."
"Oh, it is. What about you?"
"Same, minus laughing at the thirteen year old."
"Nice."
"Yeah." he nodded and they fell back into a comfortable silence until the song ended.
Rory pulled away, and walked over to her grandmother, followed closely by Tristan. "There, happy?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Emily said, smiling innocently.
Rory rolled her eyes, "Grandma, you can't lie to me, you never could."
"I have nothing to lie about, silly."
"Right, grandma. Don't try to fool the master."
"I'd never dream of it." she said, "Albany, let's go for a walk, I'm getting rather warm and I'd love to see the rose gardens." Tristan's grandmother nodded and they walked through the doors, leaving the teenagers alone.
Rory turned to Tristan, "What now?"
"I think we should talk." she nodded. "But not here." Rory followed him out to one of the deserted balconies. She leaned against the rail, and he leaned beside her, not looking over. Rory looked down, swallowing the lump in her throat. She shivered in the December air, snow flurries falling around them. Tristan noticed her shaking and slipped off his jacket, putting it over her. She smiled in thanks and looked over the grounds. They stood in silence until he finally said, "Okay, I need to move or else I'm going to freeze to death. Want to walk?"
Rory glanced down at her shoes before nodding, she might get a blister, but what the hell? "Sure." she followed him down the stairs and onto the frozen grounds. They walked down one of the paths until she said, "So, are we going to initiate conversation or just walk around aimlessly?"
He grinned, "Well, I was planing on conversing."
"Wonderful."
"I thought so too."
She smiled, "So, what were you planning on conversing about?"
"Friday."
"Oh, yes." she grimaced, "Friday."
Tristan stopped walking and turned to her, "Okay, I'll probably be really bad at this because I've never talked through a relationship problem before in my life."
Rory laughed, "Okay, talk."
"Honestly, I don't know where to start."
She thought for a moment, "Why don't we start with the Summer conversation."
"Alright, thank you."
"No problem."
He breathed in deeply, "Just hear me out, okay?" she nodded, "I did sleep with Summer, but it was back in Freshman year, at the beginning. Almost a year ago, even. She never meant anything to me, we only dated for a month, and then I broke up with her. That's when I got labeled a player. She thought I broke up with her because I'd gotten what I wanted, but I really broke up with her because there was nothing to the relationship. And no matter what she made you think, it only happened once." he stopped, showing her he was done.
She nodded, "You never had feelings for her?"
He thought for a moment, "Actually, I did, at first, but they'd started to fade before anything happened."
Rory looked down, "She still has feelings for you."
"She wants revenge." he corrected. "So she's trying to ruin you."
She looked up, "Well it's working."
Tristan stepped closer, she was obviously upset, "Why are you letting it?"
She closed her eyes, tears filling them, "Because I don't know how to stop it." she whispered, covering her face with a porcelain hand. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, stroking her hair gently and whispering into her ear. Her words came out choked, "I just-I can't handle to hear her talk about you like that, like you belonged to her, and I don't even want to think about you with another girl...and I can't not be with you, because you thought I wasn't over Dean and then I was and it's only because of you, and now Summer's with him and it's like she want to take away everything and everyone from me, and I am so scared that you're going to choose her over me because I'm not good enough or because I'm a virgin and I'm so inexperienced and she isn't-"
"Whoa, hold on a second," he cut her off, moving so he was looking into her eyes, "What are you talking about? I would never choose Summer over you. All that happened before I even met you." he said it in a way that left no room for doubt as he wiped the tears away gently with his thumb. "Rory, I'm not going to pretend like I didn't do things I regret. I've made a lot of mistakes, but I don't want to anymore, and that's all because of you, I want to be better for you." he whispered.
She looked up at him from under thick lashes, her hands gripping onto his upperarms while he had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other resting on her cheek gently. She looked down, sliding her hands from his arms to his neck, resting her forehead on his shoulder. He moved both his arms to her waist and tightened his grip on her. Her neck was too tempting to be left alone, so he placed comforting, feather light kisses all along it gently. She looked up at Tristan and he leaned down, looking in her eyes until their lips met in a soft kiss. He deepened it with her consent and pulled her closer. Rory pulled away to breathe, but Tristan reclaimed her lips a second later. They pulled back every so often for breath, but always came back for more.
"I love you." she whispered between kisses breathlessly. Tristan smiled against her lips, replying by pulling her closer and kissing her deeper. She froze, pulling away, "What time is it?"
Tristan looked at his watch, "Eleven, why?"
"I have to go." she started to pull away, but he pulled her back.
"What? Why?"
"My parents don't know where I am. They'll be wondering-"
"Rory, I can drive you home."
"I know, but they won't know where I am."
He let go of her hand reluctantly, "Okay."
She kissed him lightly, "Walk me back?" he nodded, following her through the gardens.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
I've found a reason to show
A side of me that you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~