A/N: Thanks for your patience. This has been sitting in a file for so long I almost forgot about it.
Thanks to Ames, my beta, the Ickle Gals and their support, Mrs. Boyscout and The Coffee Snob for being uber cool peeps.
As usual, comments and reviews are appreciated.
CHAPTER 10
Pacey was taking out his aggression on the paper in front of him. Streaks of red heavily adorned the white sheet, crossing, underlining, and striking though words mercilessly.
"Are you using a pen or is that a smeared paper cut?" Rory asked jokingly as she sat next to him.
He could lighten up with the red pen, he mused. He felt a little guilty that he'd taken out his anger at the paper, which had innocently presented itself in front of him.
"How did someone get into Harvard and not know when to use apostrophes and commas?" he defended himself. "Now, far be it for me to criticize, but at least I know that I don't have to use an apostrophe s after CD to make it plural."
Rory just stared at him.
"It just annoys the crap out of me when I am expected to perform at a higher standard than any one else, and yet I see these losers drop lousy papers and expect to get an A!" he remarked angrily.
"Let me know when you get to my paper. I might as well mark it with an F to save you the trouble," Rory mumbled, rolling her eyes at him at the same time.
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"The red marks," she pointed out. "I may not be able to keep with your standards."
"What, the low kind?" Pacey tried to lighten up the mood.
"No, the picky kind," Rory clarified.
"I'm not picky," Pacey defended himself.
"Says the man who just made white paper bleed red," Rory quipped. "The poor paper didn't do anything to you!"
"Bleeding heart!" Pacey sneered.
"Meanie," she replied quickly.
"You think that's the reason why she's avoiding me?" Pacey suddenly asked.
"Who? The girl that wrote the paper?" Rory asked, confused.
"No, Joey!" he said with a sigh. He finally dropped the pen on the next paper ready to be violated in front of him and rubbed his eyes. "Am I mean?"
"No," Rory replied hesitantly.
"Am I rude? Obnoxious? Annoying?"
"I may not be able to answer that question honestly," Rory said, "but you've not exhibited those qualities to me as of yet."
He pulled up close and faced her. "Then why, pray tell, would she play the friend card and go out with Tristin?"
"What?" Rory pulled away in surprise. Her heart sped up as she digested the information. "Tristin?"
"Yes," Pacey sighed. "I thought we had everything patched last weekend," he muttered. "But then, she turns around and dates the frosh!"
"Maybe you misunderstood," Rory mumbled almost incoherently.
"There is no misunderstanding when the information comes from Audrey herself," Pacey informed her.
"Maybe they just went out for coffee. Better yet, a stroll. Tristin is that kind of guy, you know," Rory rationalized.
"A guy that takes girls out for a stroll isn't just looking for a stroll, if you know what I mean," Pacey snorted.
"No, I don't know what you mean," Rory said heatedly, trying her best to defend Tristin despite her emotional distress. "Besides… not all men would consider taking a girl out just to get her to sleep with him, right?"
Pacey raised his eyebrow at her. "Take my word for it. I have a pecker," he retorted. "That's all the evidence I need."
Rory was silent for a beat or two. "Wh-when did they go on their date?"
"Yesterday."
--------------oooo0---0oooo-------
Audrey stared Tristin down. Through her goggles she imagined boring a hole in his forehead, extracting telepathically what he was thinking.
"What, Audrey?" Tristin asked, nonplussed.
"I am on to you," Audrey squinted her eyes. "I don't know what your intentions are or what kind of girls you've associated with, but I'll make sure you do not treat Joey like another notch on your bedpost."
"Intentions to what? Better yet, toward whom?" he clarified as he lifted the lit wick over his head to set off the device they had managed to build for their physics project.
"Don't play innocent with me, DuGrey. I am on you like white on rice," she threatened him, pointing her pen at him.
"Audrey, I don't think this is the time or the place," Joey scolded her roommate.
"Bunny, don't you see? He is evil. He pretends to be nice and chivalrous, but he's nothing but a poseur. He's a peacock. He's a…."
"I'm a what?" Tristin interrupted.
"Bambi Eyes," Audrey deadpanned.
"Bambi Eyes?" Tristin and Joey chorused. Half of the class looked at them.
"Bunny, don't tell me you're falling for it," Audrey said, exasperated.
"Lidell, I don't need you to play bodyguard for me," Joey said.
Audrey dramatically snatched the goggles off her face and came inches off of Tristin's face.
"You think you're innocent, fresh-faced. Pure. If your evil twin can con half of Boston to spread their legs for him, you, my friend, are no different."
"Alright," Joey smacked the pad down on the counter top in annoyance. "Time out, Audrey. Out."
"But…." Audrey tried to argue her case when Joey plucked her ear and dragged her out of the classroom and into the hallway.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" she cried out in little spurts.
The door slammed behind them.
"What are you doing?" Joey snapped at her as they were out of earshot.
"I was trying to protect you!" she said, hurt. "I was trying to find out what designs Tristin has on you."
"I don't think the classroom is the place or the time to accost him," Joey argued, frustrated at the whole situation.
"Well, it's a little hard to do any interviews when you don't give me a moment or two to thoroughly interview your latest beau!" Audrey pursued her argument.
"Audrey, I hate to point out the obvious, but you are not my mother. I am a grown woman, who can make decisions on her own," Joey replied heatedly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Apparently not!" Audrey contradicted her friend. "Friends don't let friends date losers."
Joey shot her a look. "Who are you, Pacey?"
Audrey averted her eyes from her friend.
Joey's eyes hardened. "You didn't."
"He called yesterday," Audrey finally confessed.
"Audrey!" Joey wailed, closing her eyes and running a frustrated hand through her hair.
"I told him that you were out with Charlie 2.0," Audrey blurted.
"You know better than that," Joey said in a clipped tone.
"He actually took the news rather well… Better than I expected," Audrey said, wrinkling her brow in admission. "You may be right. I may just be overacting a tad."
"Auditioning for an Oscar?"
"Baby steps, Bunny. The Emmys. Maybe a Tony. Not quite Oscar yet," Audrey replied to lighten the mood.
"Focus, Lidell," Joey clapped her hands to catch her attention. "What did you exactly tell Pacey?"
"That you guys went out…."
"Went out?" Joey flipped. "We went to brunch! We brought you scones and muffins!"
"And they were rather tasty," Audrey placated her friend. "But you have to admit, Bunny, you two still went out despite the time of day it happened. You went out by yourself, alone, with him, right?"
Joey nodded.
"And he didn't have anyone with him other than you, right?"
"Yeah," Joey tried to follow her logic. "And came back two hours later without retiring into anyone's room except ours, where we watched you devour our gifts to you. Audrey, you have to rectify this!"
"No, you have to rectify this. I don't care if you choose the Charlie twin or Pacey, but decide, damn it. I like Pacey, and I don't like seeing him hurt," Audrey's anger started simmering to the surface.
Joey was taken aback by her confession.
"Ladies, we happen to be conducting a class behind this door. Would you two be joining us any time soon?" their professor sternly informed them.
"I'm sorry, Professor," Joey immediately apologized.
The professor cleared his throat and retired back behind the closed door. As soon as it slammed shut, Joey threatened Audrey.
"This conversation isn't close to being over."
---oooo0---0oooo----
There was a monkey named Jealousy that sat on Rory's shoulders that whole afternoon. She didn't know why the monkey lingered. She just knew that it affected her in a way she was not usually accustomed to, especially in incidents like this.
Maybe it was because she always thought of Joey as someone looking out for her best interests by cluing her in to make an alliance with Tristin who might as well be the devil incarnate. It didn't sound like a bad idea at the time.
Boy, was she wrong.
Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer.
Rory let out a sigh. 'Joey is not an enemy!' she had to remind herself. She knew she was thinking irrationally. She had no designs on Tristin. Heck, she had no claims when it came to her former classmate except for the fact that she cancelled on him the day he supposedly went out with Joey.
It was not like she lived the life of a nun herself twenty-four hours ago.
She touched her lips and felt the burn: the burn of Charlie's lips against hers.
The taste of cloves suddenly jumped out of her subconscious. Her hands turned clammy, her fingers curled into balls.
She was a fool to think she could handle the likes of Charlie Todd, let alone feed on his appetite. If Jen Lindley was right, his tastes were insatiable.
She was nothing but an appetizer to a bigger meal.
Disgusted with her current sense of helplessness, she dropped the pile of research paraphernalia she had and retreated to the restrooms. Her day seemed to dim a little darker when she found the pixie, Jen, primping.
"Hey, Newbie," Jen greeted her warmly. "How was your family get-together?"
"Didn't happen," Rory said as she washed her hands with the warm water. "My sister got sick and my stepmom didn't want me and Tristin around."
"That's a bummer," Jen continued on. "I hope she gets well soon."
"Thanks," Rory replied politely.
Awkward silence followed.
"I guess I have to go," Jen said. "Joey and Tristin and I are supposed to head on out."
"Oh," Rory replied. "That's… nice."
Jen was a little surprised with her response. "Yes, it is."
"Uhm, I didn't mean to make it sound so strange," Rory apologized, "but I thought Joey and Pacey…."
"Were an item?" Jen finished her question in amusement. "That's classic."
"Why?" Rory queried.
"It's complicated," Jen left her answer at that. "Joey and Pacey won't be Joey and Pacey if it weren't for this dance."
Rory nodded like she understood what Jen meant.
"Besides, I thought you might like it that we're taking Tristin under our wing and showing him around while you're at work. You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not," she quickly answered. "Tristin is his own man."
Jen chuckled. "Good to know. For a second I thought you guys were dating or something."
"Just friends," Rory corrected. "Just friends."
Jen and Rory headed out of the restrooms and into the break room, where Joey and Tristin waited, leafing through some of the materials Rory compiled.
"Hey," Joey greeted, getting up from her seat.
"Hi," Rory mumbled, somewhat feeling anxious as she felt Tristin look her way.
"Want us to stop by and drop off some food for you tonight?" Joey asked as Jen collected her belongings from the locker.
"Uhm, that's alright. I'll grab something before heading back to campus," Rory declined, straightening out the pile of magazines before picking them up.
"Alright then," Joey said, surprised at Rory's suddenly reserved behavior. "See you around then?"
"Sure," Rory said. "Have fun."
Jen and Joey headed out while Tristin lingered behind.
"Here, let me help you," he offered.
"I'm fine, Tristin. Go on. You might miss your date," Rory quipped as she balanced the magazines in her arms and maneuvered the narrow hallways.
"Is that what's bothering you? That I hang out with Jen and Joey?" he asked.
"No," Rory lied.
"Rory, it's not what you think," Tristin clarified.
"I'm sure you have a rational explanation as to what you're doing with Joey," Rory said, acting like she was not affected. "You're a young, single man, and she's an attractive single woman. Dating her would not be illogical."
"Somehow I feel like you're judging me," he charged her as he snaked the halls right behind her.
"I'm not," Rory said. "I have no say on who you date and what you date. Besides, you never cared about my opinion when we were at Chilton."
"But we're not in Chilton any more. We're small fish in a big pond and we're supposed to be a team here, Gilmore. I feel like you're not living up to your end of the bargain," he accused her.
"Tristin, there is no 'team' here," she said, stacking the magazines on another table with a scanner. "There's a you and there's a me. Whatever you thought was between us is… like sibling loyalty."
Tristin was more confused than ever.
"Hey, the girls have been gone for a while. I think you need to catch up with them," Rory reminded him.
Frustrated, Tristin gave up. "We have to talk. I'll call you tonight."
Rory did not bother responding to his disappearing figure.
She stewed over her thoughts and the words that were exchanged. Why was she so perturbed?
Annoyed at the whole situation, Rory got out of the building and gulped in a few breaths of fresh air. Was she really upset that Tristin was hanging around Joey in his free time or the fact that she felt betrayed that Joey pretended to be her friend only to have her hanging around the one man Rory associated with like a security blanket?
The stinging feel of the cold breeze hit her suddenly, making her shiver through her thin turtleneck shirt. Ducking back into the building, she ran into Charlie like he was waiting for her to come in.
"I was wondering what was taking you so long out there," Charlie cajoled as he pinned her up against the wall.
"Just needed some breathing space," she said.
"Would this be enough?" Charlie asked, whispering the question in her ear as he nibbled on the lobe.
Rory could feel her heart beat twice as fast as her knees buckled from beneath her, forcing her to wrap her arms around his neck.
"This is…," Rory couldn't seem to find the word 'inappropriate' in her vocabulary.
"You really think you can handle me, Gilmore?" he taunted as he skimmed his hands from her side to her waist as if he was inviting her to lean toward him.
She replied with a sigh.
"Rory, I am not going to lie to you, I find you attractive," he said in all seriousness. "And I know that Lindley may have warned you about my ways."
Rory snorted.
"So you know that I've been around the block a few times, but I won't ever force myself on you," he assured her.
"Maybe you should put that on a business card or something," Rory said, feeling a little insulted. She tried to push herself away from him, but he held her back.
"Give me a chance," he dared her.
"And then what?"
"Then, if you don't like the Charlie Todd you see, you walk away. I can't guarantee you anything but a moment to prove myself to you that I am not the guy Jen thinks I am," Charlie guaranteed.
"Have you ever heard that leopards can't change their spots?" Rory quipped.
"As you said, 'Stranger things have happened.'"