CHAPTER 3
Tristin went through half of the day being called 'Charlie'. He didn't know what this guy did but he was popular character.
"Good show last night, Charlie."
"Charlie, awesome set!"
"Charlie, you forgot to get my number last night."
He had be a player other than the musician kind. He was amazed that he got three phone numbers from girls he had never met in his entire life.
He was thankful that lunch came around and he could hide from the mass of students calling him a name that isn't his.
"Tristin, there you are!" Joey tracked his way in a lively gait. There was something in her smile that made you want to get to know her.
"Joey. Thought I scared you off last night," he admitted, waiting for her to catch up to him. "So, any luck?"
"I tried to get in touch with Charlie," she started off. "But he's not picking up on his cell."
"Oh," disappointment resonated in his voice. Joey can't help but feel sympathetic towards him.
"But, I talked to Jen," she added. "She works at the radio station with him. She said he's on this afternoon at five. You available then?"
"You are a godsend, Joey," he said throwing an arm around her.
"I'd like to think so," she replied smugly. "So, what do I get?"
"How about some lunch?" he offered as payment.
"That's a brilliant idea, " she agreed, a haughty smile accompanied the words.
oooo0---0oooo-------
"Hey Rory, wait up!" a familiar voice called out after her when she stepped out of her History class.
"Pacey!" she looked up in surprise. "I just wanted to let you know I had a blast last night."
"Why, thank you," Pacey said suavely. "Usually, when girls say that, there's more than food and drinks involved."
"Why Mister Witter, I thought you had more couth than that," Rory teased as they walked side by side.
Pacey laughed. "You're alright Miss Gilmore." His arm went around her shoulders. She didn't mind the friendly yet possessive stance he stamped on her.
"So," she started the conversation again several steps later, "I know you didn't call out my name just to walk the campus with me."
"Do you want to tell me what happened last night?" he hinted.
It was Rory's turn to chuckle. "We met, we ate, I went home."
"Let's talk about your last activity," he stated. Before they knew it, they were in the dining hall grabbing their trays.
"What? Have you spied on me?" she teased. "Are you offended by bunny slippers and Powerpuff Girls jammies?"
"Powerpuff, eh?" he mused. "I'd assume you were the Hello Kitty kind."
"That's my summer wear," she conspired, whispering.
"Ah," he smirked. She was an enigma. Both stuck to sandwiches before heading out to the tables. He with his cola, she with her coffee.
"So what is it with my sleep gear you find offensive?" she asked again.
"Heh," Pacey let out a short laugh. "Truly, I won't find your attire offensive if I ever choose to keep you company nocturnally. However, I just wanted you to tell me that Charlie Todd kept his promise last night."
Rory was amused at his question. "Charlie was a perfect gentleman."
"Really?" Pacey raised his eyebrow. "I had the slightest impression that he abandoned you on I-90 and went on his happy little way."
"I take it Charlie isn't your favorite person in the world?" she inquired.
Pacey was flustered. "Am I that obvious?"
"The Chuckie comments, the overt murdering statements? I assumed you were best friends," she taunted him until he softened under her gaze.
"Okay, so I don't trust the schmuck but can you blame me?' he tried to defend his dislike for Charlie.
"It takes one to know one," Rory humored him.
Pretending to be offended Pacey stepped back from her. "Rory Gilmore, if I wasn't mistaken, you're defending the sot!"
"Somebody should since you're lambasting him when he isn't around to defend himself," Rory argued.
"Bleeding heart," he mocked back.
"So what made you think that he abandoned me?" Rory got back to his original question. "Not that I can't find my way back to campus with a map or some cab fare."
"That's not the point!" Pacey was getting frustrated that Rory wasn't immune to Charlie's charms.
"Since you are set on having me dislike Charlie, would you want me to entertain you with what I did on the way home with him?" Rory offered.
"Please," Pacey took her up on her offer as he chose a vacant table for them to share lunch.
"He showed me Boston in a way I never thought I'd see it," Rory admitted begrudgingly.
"The ride back to campus took a little longer than I expected but I got to see Fenway Park with all the lights on, Beacon Hill without the tourists and Quincy Market. Wow, that place really looks different when it's closed for the night!"
Pacey was more than amused. "You have been a busy bee last night."
"And, he kept his promise," Rory finished her account of events. "He made sure I was behind the dorm room's main doors before driving away."
"He didn't ask you to let him in?" he was stupefied.
"Nope," a conceited look appeared on her all too-knowing eyes. "He was a gentleman."
"Not even a kiss?" Pacey was quietly irritated.
"Now, what kind of girl would I be if I kiss and tell?" Rory baited him.
He groaned. "Oh, fun. With you and Joey around, I might as well give in and subject myself to your torture."
"Wait," Rory feigned a search for something. "Can you repeat that line while I tape it?"
Pacey swatted her playfully on the arm with a notebook.
"Other than christening Charlie as a saint, don't tell me you're not done singing his praises," Pacey asked.
"Actually, you're right!" she exclaimed. "He is trying to get me a job at the radio station."
"He did," Pacey deadpanned. Charlie, Jen and Rory? Oh, what a tangled web we weave!
"Yeah, as a researcher and girl Friday. It sure beats a minimum paying job that I'd be quitting two minutes into it."
"Indeed," Pacey agreed, waiting to see how this whole charade would blow up in Charlie's face.
oooo0----0oooo--------
Jen Lindley was shuffling through a few sheets of paper when a brunette walked in hesitantly. The afternoon sunlight hit her from behind leaving her with an aura of innocence and purity. What a bunch of croc! Jen smirked.
"Hi, can I help you?" Jen stepped out from behind the glass partition to greet her.
"Uh, yeah, I was supposed to meet with a…" she pulled out a sheet of paper from her back pocket. "A Mister Albright? I'm here for the research job."
"Newbie?" Jen said in delight. "You'll love the job immediately." Not!
"I guess you can say that," Rory replied.
"Down the hall on the left," she directed the girl. "Knock hard. He's hard of hearing." Jen was reveling at the girl's naïveté.
"Thanks," Rory said. She walked off to the end of the hall.
Jen was on her last half hour of her show when she saw Charlie saunter into the building. Despite her obvious dislike for the blonde, she had to admit that he was gorgeous: spiky blonde hair, deep probing eyes, lickable lips, lean torso. He was a walking Calvin Klein ad and he knew it.
As REM filled the sound booth, Charlie let himself into the room pretending that she didn't even exist. She had to admit that he played the game well. She always was the first to say something just to break the tension that followed them since their break-up.
Five, four, three, two, one.
"Hey, was there a girl about this tall," he exaggerated a height of about 5'7", "with dark hair come in?"
"Are you talking to me?" Jen stammered. She was rather surprised that he spoke to her first.
"No, I'd take a response from the walls if they can echo back an answer," Charlie implied.
Annoyed, Jen admitted. "Yeah, she walked in about twenty minutes ago."
Charlie smiled. "Thanks, Jen." He hurried out the door in search of her.
"I am not going to do your shift tonight!" she yelled out in contempt.
Charlie rounded the corner to see Rory smiling radiantly.
"Rory! I'm glad you were able to make it!" he said sweetly.
"I'm glad you told me about the job," she gushed. "I got it!"
"Great!" he replied excitedly. "When do you start?"
"Today. Do you have anything for me to do?" Rory asked. "Apparently, the catalog has just been put together recently."
"Well, here is a list of CDs I'll be needing tonight," he handed her a piece of paper.
She glanced through the list. "Let me see what I can do."
"You're a life saver," he said as he laid a loud kiss on her forehead.
"Don't thank me until I get this together!" she warned before she walked to the music library.
oooo0-----0oooo--------
Jen was speaking on the microphone when the familiar figure of her Worthington friend passed by the bay window. In excitement, Jen walked toward the glass and knocked on it furiously to get her attention.
Joey turned around and enthusiastically waved at her.
"This is Jen Lindley, signing off," Jen ended her program, tossing the headphones on the tabletop even before the red light went off.
"So, where is this surprise of yours?" Jen asked. Joey was so cryptic she herself was beside herself.
"He's coming," she looked at the face of her watch. "He had a class until four thirty and he said he was running behind."
"Cure? Smart? Will Jack fall for him?" Jen asked the three important questions. If she can't have him, she might as well give her best friend a chance.
"I will leave that to you to judge," Joey chuckled.
Charlie walked around the corner to witness the Capeside girls converse.
"My, my. What is Joey, the smart girl from Worthington doing here?" he asked.
"Visiting a friend," Joey replied coquettishly.
"Yes, Charlie. It's not only you that gets visitors, you know," Jen mocked.
Charlie waved his index finger at her. "See, Jen, if you only used…" he got cut off.
"So, am I late?" Tristin asked, beaming a breathless smile at Joey.
"Oh… my… God," Jen reddened, not knowing what to say.
"Tristin! You made it," Joey replied, a leer formed on her lips. "I'd like to introduce you to…" Joey was interrupted.
"Charlie, here's the list of music you asked me to look for," Rory didn't even bother to look up as she shuffled the CD jewels in her hand.
"Rory?" Joey asked in amusement.
"Mary?" Tristin asked in bewilderment.
"Tristin!" Rory cried out, confounded.
It seemed like no one heard the CDs fall at their feet.