A/n; First of I would like to thank all my reviewers-The27thGilmore, Danger1Zone1998, Nuriel the Pirate, and LoVe23. You guys rock! Sorry this update took so long. School's been hell. O, and btw I've decided that Rory DID quit Yale, but now she's back. Sorry about that!

Disclaimer: I don't own squat. Except my story line.

"Hey Mary," Tristan said with a grin, "How've you been?" He tried to keep his voice calm, but in reality he was nervous as hell. Rory merely stared at him, her mouth open and her palms sweaty. "Jeez Mary," Tristan said with a chuckle, "I know your glad to see me but you don't have to go all Ronald McDonald." Rory closed her mouth, wetting her dry lips with her tongue.

"I- I just," she muttered, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," he grinned, "Aren't you happy to see me."

He smirked and she felt her blood run cold. Maybe he had forgotten how he had toyed with her and then just left, but she hadn't. If he thought he could just come back now and be friends he was wrong. Besides, it wasn't like she didn't watch the news. "My name is not Mary," she said icily and turned to walk away.

"Now, now," he whispered, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards him, "Do you think that's wise, considering my, history?" He leaned in close to her ear, his hot breath sending shivers through her body. She felt herself forgetting how to breathe as he ran his finger along the wrist he had grasped.

"Ace?" she heard a distant voice question, "What's going on?" Rory took this interruption to break free from Tristan's spell. She pushed his hand off of her arm and turned to Logan.

"I was just saying hello to an old, acquaintance." She stressed the last word and wrapped her arm around Logan's waist. He draped his arm across her shoulders and cast Tristan a suspicious glance. Rory cleared her throat nervously. "Uh Logan this is Tristan. Tristan, Logan." She muttered. Both boys nodded in recognition and shook hands, quickly letting go. After a few more moments, Rory spoke again. "Well, we should be going. Nice seeing you."

Tristan grinned. "Yeah, it was good to see you too Mary," he smirked. Rory blushed crimson and merely lowered her gaze. Logan glanced suspiciously from her to Tristan. He could tell that Rory was uncomfortable by her body language and he knew that it had to be this Tristan fellow. He tightened his grip around her shoulders, as if trying to protect her.

"You go on ahead babe," he said, "I've got to do something first." Rory began to protest but seeing the fierceness in Logan's eyes she decided to just do as he asked. She squeezed his hand tightly before hesitatingly walking away.

As soon as she was out of ear shot Logan turned to Tristan. "So, you're an old friend are you?" he questioned frostily.

"Weren't you listening?" replied Tristan, his voice dripping with disdain, "I'm an old acquaintance, which is code for ex-boyfriend." Logan scoffed, and rolled his eyes.

"Rory would never be stupid enough to hang around someone like you," he retorted, "Let alone date you. Actually I can't imagine any woman wanting to date you." Tristan took a step towards him. He was almost a foot taller than Logan and took full advantage of it. Logan didn't shirk and just stared threateningly up at him.

"Listen," said Tristan his voice lowered menacingly, "Just stay out of my way. I always get what I want, and right now, I want Rory." Logan chuckled taking Tristan by surprise. He was indeed used to getting what he wanted.

"You know what man?" smiled Logan, "I really don't care what you want. Rory is mine and that's how it's gonna stay." With that he turned around and walked off towards Rory's dorm leaving a fuming Tristan behind.

When Rory got back to her dorm she collapsed onto her coach. She buried her head in her hands and let out a frustrated groan. She slammed her fists into the couch and threw a pillow across the room. A sudden voice made her jump.

"I'm assuming you're mad," smirked Paris, Rory hadn't even seen her hidden away in her craft corner, "Logan again?"

"It's a different blonde this time," sighed Rory, falling back into the couch. Paris cocked her head quizzically. "Tristan's back." Paris's eyes grew wide.

"Tristan, Tristan?" she questioned, "As in Tristan Dugrey ex king of Chilton, now a mob member Tristan?" Rory just nodded her head, her eyes closed. "Holy shit," muttered Paris, "Did he talk to you, or did you just see him?"

Rory groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. "I saw him," she finally muttered, "And he talked to me, and he . . ." here she trailed off leaving Paris's eyes wide. A knock on the door made both of them jump.

"Ace?" called Logan, "You in there? Come on Ror open up." Rory hurried over to the door and opened it. Logan grabbed her arms and bent down kissing her forcefully. He gently sucked on her bottom lip and traced the outline of her mouth with his tongue. All the breath left her body as she grabbed the door frame behind her with one hand and ran the other through his hair.

Paris cleared her throat and they broke apart. Rory stared up at Logan questioningly but he just shook his head. "So," asked Paris annoyed, "Should I leave or what?"

Logan chuckled. "Well if you're offering…" he began but Paris cut him off with a snort.

"Dream on lover boy. I've got a paper due next week so you'll just have to find somewhere else to screw around. No pun intended." She said with a grimace.

Rory smirked. "I hate to break this up but Logan and I both have classes so we better go." Paris just waved and began typing furiously on her laptop.

Rory let out a frustrated groan as she dropped her books for the tenth time. She kneeled down on the brick pathway and began to pick them up one by one, stuffing as many as she could into her worn shoulder bag. A whimper escaped her mouth when she realized that there was a hole at the bottom of it. She stuck her finger through it and it ripped even further making it impossible to ignore.

She sat back on the pavement and leaned her back against an old oak tree. A sob escaped her lips as she finally let her emotions come through. The stress of finals, the strained relationship with her mother, the fear that she wasn't good enough to ever be a journalist, and somewhere in the bottom, mixed in, her feelings for Tristan.

A sudden voice jerked her to awareness. She looked up to find Tristan standing over her. "What's wrong Mar?" he asked, "Are you missing me already?" Rory glared bitterly up at him and wiped away her tears. She carefully surveyed her surroundings.

"Well," she began, "You did well in making sure that there won't be anyone to hear me scream."

"You're right about that," Tristan smirked, "But they're going to be hearing a different kind of screaming in a little bit." Now it was Rory's turn to smirk.

"You just can't take a hint can you?" she sighed, rising from the ground.

"Actually, I've been told I'm extremely good at reading people." He stepped forward until she was pinned to the tree. He raised one arm nonchalantly above her head and the other near her ear, trapping her in place. "Take you for example," he whispered silkily into her ear, "You may act happy with that boyfriend Landers or whatever the hell his name is, but you know that he can never fulfill your needs that way that I can. You may fight, in fact, I expect you to fight, but know now that you are fighting a losing battle. You will give in to me eventually, so you might as well accept it now."

He said this with such assurance and such ease that her whole body was instantly covered in goose bumps. She felt her heart beating faster, whether in fear or attraction she wasn't sure. She stood, frozen to the ground, as he brought his lips to her ear. "See you around," he whispered, "Mary."

Tristan slightly nipped the top of her ear before straightening up and grabbing her bag. He pulled out her cell phone, pocketed it, and put his in its place. "Call me," he grinned and walked away. Rory collapsed into the tree, gasping for breath, just now realizing that she had been holding it.

A/n; SO WHADDAYA THINK! I wasn't really sure how I wanted Logan to find out Rory and Tristan's past so I threw in Paris thinking maybe she could help. Plus she's so fun to write! Anyway, reviews are ALWAYS appreciated, so you know what to do!

Love Always,

Rachel