Chapter 8
Rory was silent and Tristan had no idea what was wrong. She stabbed a french fri into her ketchup before setting the fri back down.
"Ok, so what gives?" He questioned her, setting his own burger down.
She looked up at him, sighing. "I guess I should just go ahead and tell you… you'll have to know eventually I suppose."
Tristan waited for her to continue.
"Logan and I broke up yesterday."
"Logan being the boyfriend your family hates?"
Rory rolled her eyes, "If they've mentioned anything about him in front of you the words 'hellion' or 'pitchfork' were probably used."
Tristan laughed. "What did he do to deserve such a great reputation with your family?"
"He kinda stole the yacht with me." She admitted quietly.
"Ah." Tristan said, nodding his head slightly. "Who's idea was it?"
"Huh?"
"The yacht… who's idea?"
"Mine, but no one believes me."
Tristan smiled at her. "Of course no one believes you Mar. You're the sweet, innocent Virgin Mary from Chilton. Now you're the Gilmore's pride and joy at Yale. It's much easier for everyone to believe that Logan's the big bad wolf who caused you to turn bad rather than to think you would do something so bad of your own free will." He pushed his plate to the side.
"Now what does that have to do with your sudden bad mood? You were ok earlier."
"He was at the pub." She answered him, meeting his eyes.
"Ok."
"Ok? Like, ok-ok, as in more questions ok?" She asked him in disbelief.
"Yeah, why would I push you about it?"
"Because everyone always pushed me about issues."
"Not me. Now, are you going to make Paris a bridesmaid?" He asked her, turning the conversation in another direction, much to her relief.
She grinned. "Yes… but I figured a little torture was in order. Maybe get a foofy yellow dress and make her try it on."
"Basically, think bad 80's movie with a wedding?" Tristan smirked.
"Exactly." She nodded.
Rory bit her lip, silent for a moment. "We're really going to have to go through with this, aren't we?" She asked him, looking as he nodded grimly.
-GG-
Twenty minutes later they were walking side by side through a park. Neither spoke a word. They were too lost in their own thoughts.
Rory tugged at Tristan's hand, bringing him towards a bench near a water fountain to sit with her.
"So, tell me about you." She said, turning towards him to look into his icy blue eyes.
"What do you want to know?" He asked her, shrugging.
She smiled. He had changed so much. Before, in high school, had she made the same request he would have made some sort of lewd remark, laced with innuendo. This Tristan was a nice, refreshing change.
"How did you go from spoiled Chilton king to the man you are now?" She asked him, her tone slightly teasing so she wouldn't offend him.
He sighed. "Well, let's see. I got shipped off to military school. That sucked. Really, really bad. I met Jason Border, my best friend, there." He paused, thinking back to a few years ago. "I realized I hated the person I had become. I was a spoiled brat. I got anything and everything I wanted, and I didn't care how I got it… as long as the end result was what I wanted, then any means necessary was worth it. You know what I mean?"
He paused, and she nodded, encouraging him to continue.
"Anyway, military school gave me a chance to change and become someone I could be proud of. It changed my perspective of the world. I'm no where near the person I used to be. I used to hate my dad… now he is one of my best friends. I respect him."
Rory was silent as he spoke. When he talked about his dad being his best friend she felt a sharp pang to her heart. She used to talk that way about her relationship with her mother.
"How did that happen?" She asked him, her voice quiet.
"Something Jason said to me one time. He always gave out great advice. He said I should put myself in my dad's shoes… look at it from his perspective before I judged his parenting techniques. So I did. I thought about it. My dad didn't want to send me away. He was simply at the end of his rope. He knew he couldn't handle me anymore, and that if he couldn't, then he needed me to go somewhere where they could… and it worked."
"Wow. But… if you're so close… then why are you being roped into this?" Rory asked him, confusion on her face.
"I wish I knew." He shrugged, putting his head in his hands. "I've argued until I'm blue in the face." He looked up at her. "I haven't lived in Hartford in a while. Not since I went to North Carolina. I graduated Duke last year, since I took a lot of AP classesand summer courses. My dad thinks if I come back here left to my own devices, I'll revert back to who I used to be."
"Doesn't that make you mad? I mean, this is ridiculous!" She exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Look, you're preaching to the choir here. But there's not much I can do. If I don't go through with this, then I lose everything that comes with my inheritance. The money I don't care about."
"Then why do this?" She questioned him.
"Because I lose something more important to me. I lose the family business. My great-great-great Grandfather DuGrey founded it… it only goes to me if I go through with this. If not, it goes to my cousin Ernie, who has made no small secret of the fact he would sell it off." Tristan admitted to her.
"So you're handing over your life to save the family business?" Rory huffed, folding her arms in front of her.
Tristan let out a groan, frustrated. "It's not just a business to me, Mar… you need to understand… I'm not any happier with this situation than you are… but I can't just let everything the DuGrey's have worked for over 100 years for just… fall down. You know? I mean… my family has money, yes. But I can't allow our company to be sold off just because… that's my family history. I can't let that happen, and I'll do whatever it takes to stop it from happening."
Tristan stopped speaking and looked at her. "Believe me when I say I am no happier with this situation than you are. I hope you don't blame me for this situation. But if you do, there's nothing I can do about that. Just understand where I'm coming from in this."
Rory looked down at her hands and then back up to him. "I don't blame you. At least your reasons for going through with this aren't selfish. I just want to get an education, that's why I need my money. At least your reason has to do with family loyalty."
"Hey, hey, you're not selfish." Tristan chided her, standing up and holding his hand out to her.
She looked at him with a 'yeah, right' look, taking his hand and standing.
"Really, Mar. There's no one I'd rather be roped into a loveless arranged marriage with." He teased her as they walked along with park path.
She laughed, "Gee, thanks."
"Anytime."
"So, even though you're close with your folks, are you up for a little revenge?"
"Revenge?" He questioned her, raising an eyebrow.
She grinned. "Just the kind that will make them very, very uncomfortable."
Tristan laughed at her, "Do tell."
AN: Thanks for all the reviews! I just wanted to explain a few things real quick. This is a Trory. That's a firm answer, no conditions. Also, right now I'm just trying to set a Trory relationship up. Have them bond, have them get to know each other. They're not going to suddenly be madly in love... they will be friends first. Thanks for reading!
