AN: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I appreciate them all! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I rewrote it a few times, and I'm pretty happy with how it is. Let me know what you think!


Chapter 6

Two days had passed since she talked to Tristan. Thankfully, he dropped her off at her dorm and didn't press her for details. She had left her room only to go to classes, avoiding both her family and Logan.

Emily had left her several messages about getting together for making wedding plans. To be honest, she didn't care if Emily wanted to plan the whole damn thing on her own. She didn't want to get married, and she didn't want to spend the rest of her free time bogged down with planning what she was now oh-so lovingly referring to as the union from hell.

Currently, Rory was sitting on her bed, trying to write an article for YDN. She had her cell phone turned off and was screening all her calls.

A knock at the door finally forced her to get up, grumbling. "I'm coming, I'm coming." She muttered, annoyed.

"What?" She snapped, swinging the door open.

"I missed you too, Ace." Logan replied, the sarcasm evident in his voice. "Where have you been the last couple days?"

"Logan… hey… come in." She said, not meeting his gaze.

He followed her over to the couch and stared at her. He could tell something was off. He knew that she was under a lot of stress with her family and this whole arranged marriage deal.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, reaching out and taking her into his arms.

He frowned slightly when she pulled away, shaking her head no. "Ace?"

Rory stood up and walked to her room, returning almost instantly with several pieces of paper. "Here." She told him, handing him the documents.

He glanced over them, not liking what he saw. "And this is…"

"That is what we can change in the contract. Apparently, that's all we can change. Actually, we'll be lucky to change everything on that list."

Logan dropped the papers onto the coffee table, putting his head in his hands. "And by 'we', you mean…" He trailed off, already knowing the answer.

"I mean Tristan and me." She told him, sitting back down beside him.

Neither of them said anything for a few long moments. They simply sat and stared blankly at the documents on the coffee table in front of them. Finally, Rory couldn't take the silence any longer.

"What am I supposed to do?" She whispered, looking at Logan and trying not to cry.

Logan looked into her eyes and dried a tear that fell. He shook his head, looking at her sadly. "You're supposed to do what you have to do… for you." He told her, wrapping his arms around her. This time she didn't resist.

"I do love you, Ace." He said, not even realizing he was about to say it until the words were already out.

Rory looked up in shock, opening her mouth. Logan shook his head and placed a finger on her lips, not letting her speak. "Don't say anything; just listen."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I know I've never said it to you before, I just, I wanted you to know. Yeah, my timing sucks." He paused, looking down. "But, that's why I have to walk away… I love you, and I know you'll regret it forever if you lose everything by staying with me."

Logan stood up and pulled Rory up with him.

"I love you, too. I really do." She told him as her heart broke.

"I know Ace, I know." He kissed her sweetly before pulling away. He gave her a sad smile.

She leaned in and threw her arms around his neck, laying her head on his chest, sobbing softly. "I really don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you, either." He whispered, kissing her hair as he ran it through his fingers, possibly for the last time.

She looked up into his cocoa colored eyes and saw pain there, mirroring her own. She kissed him, slowly at first. They both poured their desperation into the kiss, hoping, pleading, that somehow something would change. Walking slowly together, their lips never parting, they went to her room. He kicked the door closed behind them and laid her on the bed.

-GG-

A while later Rory laid in Logan's arms, tears still on her face. "I don't want you to go." She whispered, her fingers lacing with his.

"Me neither… but if I don't go soon, I don't know how I'll ever let go of you."

She nodded, trying not to let anymore tears fall. "If you have to go, then go. I understand."

He pulled away slightly, looking into her eyes. "Ace, I want you to know that even though you have to do this…" He couldn't say 'get married,' it left a bitter taste in his mouth, and felt so wrong after they made love. He wouldn't say the dreaded 'M' word. He paused; looking into her teary eyes, and took a deep breath before continuing, this time stroking her cheek, "If you ever, ever need anything, please come to me. I'll be there for you no matter what. I'll always love you Ace."

He closed his eyes, leaving one more lingering kiss on her lips before getting up to get dressed. "Bye, Ace."

Rory laid on her bed, watching as the man she loved walked out the door, out of her life. "Bye Logan." She whispered, fighting tears until she heard the front door shut, signaling Logan's removal from her life.

Once he was on the other side of the door he leaned back against it, shutting his burning eyes tightly. "Bye Ace." He whispered. For the first time in his life, Logan Huntzberger knew what it was to be broken hearted. 'It's sucks.' He thought as he trudged back to his dorm where massive amounts of alcohol awaited him.

-GG-

Rory woke up the next morning with a heavy heart. She had spent the previous night wallowing with Paris and watching Willy Wonka. While Paris had started to do her duties as a friend last night, sitting through the movie and ordering take out, she had also let her know in no uncertain terms what she thought…

"Rory, I know it hurts, and wallowing is ok for now..." Paris began, trying to summon up some sympathy for her friend. She had never been good at the sympathy deal, but Terrance had told her that she needed to be there for Rory during the whole wedding issue.

"But…" Rory prodded her, having known Paris long enough to know that the girl had a point.

"But, you need to decide what you want, and you need to do it quick." Paris told her, being her usual blunt self.

"What are you talking about? I don't get to decide what I want. I'm being forced into a loveless marriage, what more is there to decide?" Rory asked, stabbing a piece of General Tao's Chicken.

"You're going to lose everything if you don't get your act together!" Paris yelled, taking an egg roll.

"Oh, yeah, like I already haven't lost everything."

"You are the most obtuse person I've ever known. You have a great family, a family that actually loves you. And you're just pushing everyone away over nothing!"

"It's not over nothing! They pushed me away! They broke Logan and me up!" Rory retorted, slamming her takeout carton on the coffee table and fully facing Paris now.

Paris rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and he was just such a great influence on you." Paris sighed, standing up and moving over to her bedroom. Before going in, she turned around.

"I care about you; you're one of my only real friends. You've dealt with all my drama over the years. Just know that if you don't get your act together and decide what you want you're not going to be left with anything. You've pushed your family completely away. Yeah, you're getting married against your will to Tristan. It could be worse. At least he cares about you, and he's not just some stranger who is only after the Gilmore and Hayden fortunes."

With that, Paris had walked into her room, leaving a shocked Rory behind.

After her conversation with Paris, Rory had a difficult time falling asleep. Tristan's words had been haunting her since their discussion at the café. Her talk with Paris last night had only made her feel worse. Rolling out of bed, she made a decision.

She hurriedly gathered her clothes and got ready for her day. Once she was ready, she picked up her phone and dialed the number Tristan had given her when he dropped her off.

"Hello." Tristan answered on the first ring.

"Umm… hey, it's Rory." She said, biting her lip.

"Rory, hey." He said, surprised. He honestly hadn't expected her to call him after her break down in front of him the other day. He had half expected not to see or hear from her until she was being dragged kicking and screaming down the aisle.

"Are you busy? I was thinking we could talk, in person, if that's ok."

"Yes. Uh, no. I mean, No, I'm not busy, and yes, we can talk in person." He told her as he banged his head on the wall in his room. 'Idiot…' he thought to himself, feeling stupid for babbling.

"What?" She yelled, shocked.

It was only at the tone of her voice that he realized he had said 'Idiot' out loud, instead of thinking it.

"NOT YOU! I was… just… not you. I didn't mean you're an idiot."

There was silence from both ends of the line, so Tristan decided to speak up.

"Where do you want to meet? Do you want to talk at your dorm? That way it's in private?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." She told him. "Just come by whenever you're ready."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes. See you then." He said, hanging up.

Hanging up the phone, Rory sat on her bed. She had twenty minutes to figure out what the hell she was going to say to him when he got there.