A/U: Okay, so I am aware that I have taken forever getting this done, but I am simply too busy… As I have told you earlier I have gotten involved in student politics, I have exams biting my ass soon (Syntax, among other cruel things), and I have just been told that I have been picked to be a tutor for our new students in the fall…

I simply have too much to do, but I will try to get another chapter up in a month or so… If you have also been reading 'It Still Matters' I am sorry, but I have no news as of yet… The chapter just doesn't seem to be going my way…

Ten Lords A-leaping

Rory was standing outside Steph's door the next afternoon. They had decided to go shopping, which was really a bad lie to cover up the fact that Steph needed to talk, and 'shopping' was the only thing they were sure the boys would not wish to join in on. She knocked lightly on the door, and a small brunette opened it.

"Hi," Rory greeted her "I'm here for Stephanie?"

The girl gave her a critical look, a hint of recognition appeared in her eyes, and then she put on a sour face.

"Steffi!" she called into the room, and left the door without asking Rory to come in.

Stephanie came into the common room with a frown on her face, but when she saw Rory she lit up. She opened the door wider, and allowed Rory to come in.

"Welcome to the Maxi Pad!" she exclaimed.

She half stumbled through the room, apparently looking for a shoe to match the one she had on the left foot. She ducked down behind the couch, where she located her shoe, and on the way back up she made a face at the other girl, who was now sitting in the couch with her nose buried in a fashion magazine, and Rory held back a laugh. Steph threw on a coat, picked up her purse, and joined Rory in the door.

"I'm leaving" she said to the brunette, and slammed the door after herself. "Can't stand her… She has a thing for Finn, so she probably won't think much of you either"

Rory gaped, she wasn't really used to people being so straightforward, and she didn't even know Steph that well. Also the fact that some strange girl had a crush on her boyfriend kind of threw her of. Steph smiled and Rory relaxed. When they started walking down the hall, Steph linked her arm with Rory. And smiling at each other they went on, chatting and laughing.

The girls took their time shopping through most of the stores they passed, and after a couple of hours they both needed a break. They decided to go into a café and get some coffee, and when they sat down, Rory finally mustered up the courage to ask about Logan. She drowned half of her triple espresso, and cleared her throat.

"So, about Logan…" the sentence just hang there, fluttering in the air between them, so loud that you could almost hear it, like a hummingbirds wings beating 1000 times a second.

Stephanie sighed. She tried to drag out time, fumbling with her spoon, and tugging hair behind her ear. When there was nothing more she could occupy her hands with, she locked eyes with Rory.

"Okay" she mumbled "it's ridicules really. I guess Finn has told you that Logan is my cousin?"

"Yes, and that's why I'm a little confused." Rory almost shrieked "He was teasing me this morning, saying that I was so fixed upon getting people together that I was seeing things"

Steph sniggered.

"Now that sounds like Finn!" She grinned.

Rory frowned at her.

"Anyway," Steph continued "We're not really cousins… My dad married Shira's, that's Logan's mom, little sister. So there are no blood relations. Yay, to come from a broken home. While I busy falling for my 'cousin', my dad is cheating on his thirty-year old wife with a girl my age, and my mom is chasing around after 23-year old cabana boys somewhere in St. Bart's"

Both girls didn't talk for a while, Rory was quietly thanking heaven that her parents never got married and put her in the situation that Steph was in now, then, it was her turn to sigh.

"And now you're not sure if he sees you as a girl, or just as his cousin?"

"Something like that" Steph massaged her temples "I fooled around with Colin before Christmas, just to see if he'd get pissed, but he didn't even react."

Steph looked as if she was on the wedge of tears, and Rory didn't know how to console her.

"Shit!" she muttered, and quickly drew a hand over her eyes "I feel so stupid!"

Rory couldn't do much more than just throw her arm over Steph's shoulders, and give her something that reminded of a hug.

"I still think he has a thing for you too!"

Rory's voice was strong and insistent, and Steph smiled as she looked at her new friend.

"Thanks" she sniffled.

"Don't thank me! Help me figure out how we get him to realize that he likes you instead"

The girls sniggered, and stuck their heads together over their table.

In the other end of campus, to be more precise in Finn's dorm Colin was watching Logan pace. He always enjoyed seeing Logan get worked up, especially when he was absolutely sure that he had nothing to do with it. He was sitting on the couch clutching a bag of gummy worms and watching Logan's floor show. Logan on the other hand was frustrated beyond belief. He was worried and feeling strange, and to top it of he had no idea why. After having paced up and down in front of the couch for a while, he flopped into it, and wrestled the gummy worms out of Colin's hand.

"Crap!" he mumbled, after having stuffed a handful of worms into his mouth. "Crap! Crap! CRAP!"

"Lemme guess?" Colin clipped "The question is 'What's life?'"

Logan shot him a dirty look, and hit him straight in the nose with a pillow.

"Thank you, but I would prefer if you would not compare my problems with a game show!" Logan snorted not noticing Colin's slightly muffled look, and the hand that he clutched to his sore nose.

The two boys were staring at each other angrily, when Finn entered the room a few minutes later. Colin was armed with a pillow, and was back in possession of the gummy worms. Logan on the other hand had a surprised look to him, almost covered by the angry expression. He looked like he was processing the events that had landed him in this situation. Finn shook his head at them and walked on into the kitchen, were he placed the two grocery bags he had been holding on the counter. Suddenly he heard a loud crash coming from the common room, and pelted in there. Logan was sitting with a shocked expression on his face in the middle of the floor, and Finn reached the room just in time to see Colin flee the room with the gummy worms still clutched securely in his hand. Finn smiled weakly before going over to give Logan a helping hand.

"Mate?" he mumbled, when Logan didn't seen to notice his outstretched hand.

Instead of taking Finn's hand, Logan was just mumbling quietly to himself. The words were so close to silent that even Finn couldn't hear, but after a moment they seemed to be growing in volume, and he caught a few of them.

"…she was…missed her…made me angry…"

Finn shook his head, it was now obvious to him that he would be forced to call the little men with the very long-sleeved shirts on one of his friends at one time before they left college, he might as well get used to the idea. Just as he was about to give up on Logan, the blonde suddenly focused his blue eyes on Finn, and realization spread over his face.

"I like her!" he exclaimed, making Finn choke on the cough drop he was sucking out of pure surprise.

"I like her!" he said again, loud enough to drown out Finn's desperate coughing. "So what the hell do I do now?"

Realizing that Finn was probably the only one able to answer that question Logan jumped to his feet, and started thumping his back. Against all odds this only seemed to make the coughing worse, and he quickly stopped, leaving Finn to get his body back under his control and dry his tearstained eyes.

"You were saying?" he stuttered seconds later, afraid of making Logan wait too long, and thereby making him attack his poor back again.

"I like her, so what do I do now?" Logan looked at him expectantly, and he sighed.

"Mate, if you would be so nice as clarify who the bloody hell you're talking about, maybe that would help!" he barked.

Logan glared at him as if he was an idiot to ask the question.

"Well Steph, of cause"

Finn shot him a confused look, trying to remember why that didn't seem as terribly wrong to him as it should. He had a faint memory of Steph telling him something about the closer relationships in her and Logan's family, but they had most likely both been drunk at the time, and he tended not to remember much of what drunk people told him when he himself was trying to maintain a nice buzz. Despite of his struggle, all he remembered was a few words, something along the lines of "Divorced" and "a slut half my age" and he had no idea why he should consider that extenuating circumstances. His confused look said all of this better than words, and Logan got an overbearing gleam in his eyes.

"Jeez Carl, You really are a wanker, aren't you?" he mumbled and Finn frowned.

"Harsh,… but fair" he returned and Logan continued.

"A couple of weeks ago at the sit-com party Steph got too drunk, and she told you most of our family history."

Finn could feel his eyebrows closing in on each other, and he knew that he had on his thinking-face.

"She told you that we aren't blood relations? That her father married a girl, who in Steph's not so well picked words was half her age, and happened to be my aunt?"

Finn's face relaxed again, and he was able to put the missing words into the conversation again. Steph had been really drunk, and apparently quite… Nostalgic, or something. She had talked with her mother for the first time in five years earlier that day, and it had rendered her in a mood to get royally wasted, and pissed off.

"Oh yeah," Finn mumbled "I remember now"

Logan smiled.

"So?"

"So, what?" Finn was back to being confused.

Logan shook his head, and got a hard grip on Finn's shoulders. He shook him violently back and fourth, while speaking loudly and clearly into his face.

"What do I do about Stephanie? Are you both deaf and dumb today?"

Finn tore loose, and the look on his face was now a little angry, but Logan's frustrated face quickly cooled him down. He sank down into the couch and sighed heavily. The whole situation was completely uncommon to him, and he rested his head in his hands.

"Ask her out for God's sake!" he sighed, not knowing what else to do.

Logan's face lit up, and he speed out the door in less than a second. Finn looked after him, and shook his head. He fished his phone out of his pants pocket, flipped it open, and dialed the by now so familiar number. He waited for her voice, and smiled wide when he heard it.

"Hi Kitten," he didn't wait to let her speak but continued "I take it back, you are not obsessed with matchmaking, you are just perfect."

He listened to her laughter, and then she mumbled a question.

"Yes, he is just as… smitten. He left, like two minutes ago, probably looking for Steph to ask her out."

He could hear through her next words that she was sporting a big smile, and it inspired one to creep across his face too. She told him that Steph had left her about ten minutes ago, to try to find Logan and talk to him.

"I would like to see that meeting." He sniggered.

She told him that she was on her way, if he was interested in company, and he immediately obliged.

"Sure, I'll be waiting impatiently. So you better hurry!"

He hung up, smiling, and looked around. After Colin and Logan's little run-in, the common room was less than tidy, and with a sigh he got up to clean up before Rory showed up.