A/N: And another chapter.. We're heading towards the end guys..
I want to thanks Ann for being my beta, this time I'm going to give you some medicine so you will get better soon!
But anyway, let's return to the Hollow
Chapter 23: Kirk pulls a Kirk
Song: Terri Clark, I just wanna be mad
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Last night we went to bed not talking
Cause we already said to much
I face the wall you faced the window
Bound and determined not to touch
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"What smells so good?" She called.
She heard the door close behind her and the smell of food greeted her. It was weird to smell food in her own house after years without it. Never in her life had she experienced anyone cooking in her kitchen. No, that wasn't right. Many years Rory had tried to do it, and then there was the times Sookie had looked after Rory if Lorelai was on a date. But now someone was just standing there, making food for her.
Lorelai entered the kitchen with a smile plastered on her face. There by the stove was Luke; way to focused on his cooking to notice that she was home.
"What are you doing?" she asked teasingly, knowing very well that he hated it.
"What does it look like?"
"Boiling socks? 'Cause in case you were, I must say that I'm very impressed. I never thought of that myself."
"Seriously? You expect me to be boiling socks?"
"Sure, why not?" He just shook his head and continued stirring or whatever you do with a spoon in a casserole. Lorelai chuckled and moved over to the table where she sat down on a chair. She was still a little blown away by Christopher and Sherry's news, and of course her own thoughts during the ride home. She was rather unsure whether to discuss it with Luke or not. Was it a good idea or would he just think she had lost her mind? Probably the last one, but at some other point, there was no point in skulking around, pretending that her mind was like a cloudless sky.
"So, how was the meeting?"
"What meeting?" she burst out.
"The one you were at today. About graduation…"
"Oh that one… Well, it was fine. Great actually" Busted! She wanted to dig a big hole and jump in to it. When Luke found out… not good was all she could come up with. Lorelai got up again and went back into the hallway where she took of her coat and shoes. Originally she would have placed her wet socks in the oven, but since Luke was using it… it probably wouldn't be the best day.
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We've been married 7 years now
Some days if feels like 21
I'm still mad at you this morning
Coffee's ready if you want some
I've been up since 5
Thinking about me and you
And I've got to tell you
The conclusion I've come to
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The food was sitting there, mocking her. She knew she should be eating, but her head was still spinning. Now it was no longer the baby boom thing, but the fact that she didn't tell Luke about her "meeting". At least not about the real one.
She hated lying… especially to Luke. There was the thing being a liar and then a compulsive liar. If it had been Max she lied to, she would've excused herself as a compulsive liar, but it was Luke they were talking about.
Luke! Diner Luke, the man she was going to marry and now, she had lied to him… about meeting Christopher.
"You don't like it"
"What?"
"The food, you don't like it."
"What? No, I love it Luke. I really do."
"Then why aren't you eating anything?"
"Just a long day… That's all."
There was a long break. Not one of those nice breaks. But a long, very uncomfortable break. Lorelai started picking in her food with her fork and took some small bites. It really tasted good, she just felt awful.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"'Cause if there was anything wrong, you would tell me… right?" she just smiled and nodded.
Her head was on fire. Flames all over and all she could see was red. It was like some idiot had dumped a torch in front of her. Why hadn't she told him? Why wasn't she able to do it, to tell him the truth? She truly was a horrible person. Maybe she should jump off a cliff? On the other hand, that wouldn't make things much better and she would prefer to stay alive.
Tell him…
A voice inside her head whispered. It sounded a little like Rory, but also a little like her mother. Scary combination.
Tell him…
There it was again. That little sticky voice, that would be there until she spoke up.
"Luke…" she began, but then lost her voice completely. Unable to say a word she just looked at her plate and took one more bite.
She could feel his eyes resting on her. It was like they were burning a hole in her. She wanted to tell him, more than anything. But the little devil inside of her refused to let her speak.
"I…" she tried again, but once again she felt the devil's tail strangle her words. In the back of her mind the little angel was sitting, crying. But there was nothing she could do to save it. Now the angel had to step up and help her instead of being a chicken.
"I" she tried again, but still not even close to succeed.
Tell him… the angel cried silently.
She just couldn't stand it anymore. She wasn't a horrible person, she wasn't a liar. It was just something her mind made up. She had to save herself by telling Luke and no one else, but herself, the truth.
"Luke, I…" She was getting closer.
"That meeting, it… I did go to a meeting, just not with the business class. I had a meeting with…"
He looked at her with those intense eyes, and she was now forced to look him deep in the eye.
Pretend he's no human! The picky voice spoke. Now it sounded a little too much like her mother. After all, he wasn't a maid, though he would look cute in that apron.
The picture of Luke dressed in an apron quickly left her mind.
"I met Christopher and Sherry, not the business class" she burst out and then turned her face away.
There they were sitting… Two individual persons that probably knew each other better than a married couple that had been together since they were kids. It was like their hands were made for each other, but still there were so many things that they didn't know about each other. Tiny things that sometimes just popped up and needed to be seen. It wasn't the big picture there was anything wrong with. They loved each other and trusted each other; it was the small things that made the difference. If they should be able to make it to the altar, they had to trust each other.
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I'll never leave, I'll never stray
My love for you will never change
But I ain't ready to make up we'll get around to that
I think I'm right I think your wrong
I'll probably give in before long
Please don't make me smile
I just want to be mad for awhile
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Luke felt it like she had just stabbed a knife in his back. He trusted her, he loved her. But she always seemed to surprise him, not always in the impressive way though.
"Christopher" he started, but she broke him off.
"Luke, I'm so sorry. I know I should have told you, but I didn't want to upset you and… please tell me not to drink coffee in ten years."
"You really believe that you could do that? Live without your caffeine in ten years?"
"Yes, I believe so 'cause I feel so bad."
"Nothing happened?"
"No Luke, trust me on that. It was a total innocent situation. Sherry was there, we had coffee and I left after 15 minutes or so."
"I want to believe you. I just wished you would have told me"
"I wanted to, I just. I was afraid you would ask for the ring back or something."
"You're crazy"
"I know, but you don't mind. Do you?"
"Not really" he grinned. She smiled and took his hand over the table. Like a couple in love…
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For now you might as well forget it
Don't run your fingers through my hair
Yeah that's right I'm being stubborn
No I don't want to go back upstairs
I'm going to leave for work
Without a goodbye kiss
But as I'm driving off
Just remember this
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Rory and Dean were walking down the streets of Stars Hollow hand in hand. It was in the late November, and soon snow would fall to the ground. Ina few months fires would be lit because of the Firelight Festival. This time they would probably stay to watch the fire be lit instead of running of to some weird place for car wrecks… and also to avoid another break up.
"So… this has been a great evening" Rory concluded and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Yeah? Good, I'm glad."
"Me too"
At the same time they passed Miss Patty's and the door was ripped open.
"Rory, perfect timing" Taylor exclaimed and pulled her inside. The studio was stuffed with people. Every chair, except from two up front were taken. Taylor pushed them in front up to the free chairs and asked them to take a seat.
"Welcome people to this last minute town meeting."
Rory looked around but couldn't see her mother anyway. Weird, she loved the town meetings, how come she would miss one?
"We have a lot on the agenda for tonight, so why don't we get started? It seems like ever citizen of Stars Hollow is here."
"Not everyone Taylor! I don't see Lorelai and Luke anywhere!" Gypsy made notice of.
"And some of us were about to take a shower!" Babette shouted from the back.
At the same time the door was opened with such a power that it almost fell off.
"I made it" Kirk exclaimed.
"Oh dear" Rory muttered as she turned her face away. There in the doorway was Kirk standing with nothing but a towel wrapped around his torso.
"Kirk, what are you doing?" Taylor asked, obviously bothered that his opening speech was interrupted.
"I had to go to the meeting" Kirk protected himself.
"But you didn't have the time to dress?"
"I'm not? Oh, sorry"
"Go home and putt something on, Kirk" Babette shouted.
"But then I'll miss something"
There was silence for a while. Some people laughed and other hid there faces just like Rory. While she was sitting there she got more and more angry at herself for not bringing a camera. Her mother was going to kill her when she told her about this. It would be useless trying to convince her mother that she had no idea about this, even thought she didn't. Then the whole "always bring a camera wherever you go when you live in Stars Hollow" It was more like a routine now.
"Hey Patty? Don't you have a costume he could borrow?" somebody asked.
"Eh.. Sure" Patty agreed, though she probably wasn't too fond of the thought.
"I have Cinderella, a banana, a pineapple and some armor, and a Tevye costume."
"Give him the Tevye!" people shouted, and then the naked-Kirk problem was solved.
A few minutes passed before Kirk was back practically looking ridiculous and once again Rory heard her mother's voice in the back of her mind, but soon "Lorelai" was cut off by Taylor.
"Okay folks. Attention please! Now, you probably wonder why you're all here. But we have an emergency."
"Anyone's dead?"
"No, no one's dead."
"Anyone badly injured?"
"Well, no"
"Then what is all this about?"
Taylor sighed. Stars Hollow was known for its impatience and now was one of the days where it was very obvious.
"If I say "diner" what do you say?"
"Luke's" Kirk suggested.
"And "inn"?"
"Independence inn?" Kirk said.
"Close"
"Lorelai? This is fun!" Almost everybody in the dance studio rolled their eyes of Kirk's enthusiasm.
"Great Kirk. And now last word. "Ring"?"
"Ring? Like the one you throw a towel in? No, no…" he took a deep breath. "Ring as in engagement ring?"
"Yes Kirk."
"Okay give me a second here. "Diner" was Luke's. "Inn" was Independence inn" and "Lorelai". Technically it was "Lorelai". So that gives us "Lorelai and Luke" and then an "engagement ring"… That must be "Luke and Lorelai are engaged" or something like that"
"Thank you Kirk" Taylor sighed.
"Okay people. Kirk just solved the "clue" for us. As you all could hear Lucas Danes and Lorelai Gilmore have apparently decided to get engaged"
"We know!" Babette exclaimed.
"You did?"
"Yes Taylor. I told you they were" Patty added.
Again the rare silence fell over the town. Finally you could hear your own heartbeat and rest your eyes for the else way eternal ranting.
"And now the floor's open for debate" Taylor said silently. For the first time in years he actually seemed tired and down earth. Hands flew into the air and Taylor pointed accidentally on Gypsy.
"Let's throw them a surprise party!"
"Good idea!" people chimed in.
"All those in order says: 'Aye'" Taylor muttered and the whole studio shouted "aye".
"Very well. Now we just need a fund raiser"
"I'll do that" Kirk exclaimed but it ended up with Andrew.
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I'll never leave, I'll never stray
My love for you will never change
But I ain't ready to make up we'll get around to that
I think I'm right I think your wrong
I'll probably give in before long
Please don't make me smile
I just want to be mad for awhile
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Rory and Dean left the dance studio as the last two besides Taylor and Patty. Taylor had insisted on Rory's story and it was two exhausted teenagers that left the dance studio. It was now dark outside and the leafs were drifting over the streets in the wind.
"I wonder if it's going to snow soon" Rory muttered to herself.
"Yeah" was all Dean said. They walked in silence, down the blocks towards the crap shack.
"So what do you think?"
"What about?"
"Your mum getting married to Luke?"
"I'm happy about it, why?"
"Just wondering" Dean saved himself and grabbed her hand. She quickly realized how cold she had been.
The house approached them and a little too quickly they were standing on the front porch about to say good bye.
"You can come in, you know. We can order some food and watch a movie."
"We've already had dinner, Rory."
"You seem to forget how much I can eat."
"Yeah… Well…" He was cut of by her lips on his.
Meanwhile the two people inside had finished dinner long ago. Now they were sitting on the couch cuddled to each other. Lorelai's head resting on Luke's shoulder and his arm tight around her. Quite a few times they had been on the way towards the staircase, but every time they decided that since Rory was going to come home at some point, they decided to wait.
They heard the door close and soon Rory entered the living room with a smile plastered on her face.
"Hi Hon" Lorelai said in her sleepy voice.
"Hi" Rory just said and was about to wander of to her room.
"Hey, wait a sec. young lady. I wanna hear every detail about your evening"
"I saw Kirk in a towel"
"What? And let me guess, you didn't take a picture?"
"Sorry!" and then the door to her room slammed.
"Damn kids" Lorelai mumbled as she slowly drifted back to sleep.
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I'll never leave, I'll never stray
My love for you will never change
But I ain't ready to make up we'll get around to that
I think I'm right I think your wrong
I'll probably give in before long
Please don't make me smile
I just want to be mad for awhile
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Lorelai's eyes shot open. She felt an arm around her and smiled as she saw Luke beside her. Slowly she turned around and looked at the alarm clock. It said 3.45. Very early… but she had her reasons. She quickly got up and grabbed some clothes from the chair in the corner. A PJ that Luke had given her so she didn't have to use his flannel shirts all the time. She ran downstairs and quickly opened the window. She smelled the air… she was never wrong. She smiled and then ran back upstairs.
"Luuuke?" she called as she entered the bedroom. She heard somebody mutter something from beneath the sheets and smiled. She knew how much he hated when she woke her up. But he just needed to see this.
"Luke, wake up!"
"Why?" he complained as she lifted the sheets.
"Just do it, will you"
Grumpy as he was he wanted to refuse, but since she was Lorelai Gilmore with the black hair… well.. He just couldn't say 'no' and she knew that very well, so she understood how to take advantage of the situation. Which he didn't find very funny.
"Come on Luke, hurry up or we'll miss it!" she shouted from the stairs. He grabbed some clothes and then followed her down the stairs. In the hallway she was waiting for him already wearing her own overcoat and holding his.
"Put this on"
"We're going out in this weather? It's 45 degrees outside!"
"Just shut up and follow me" Luke sighed and put on his coat. Suddenly the door was open and a cold breeze hit him. Why did he always do what she wanted him to?
She grabbed him by arm and dragged him the last few feet before the where standing on the lawn.
"What the…" he didn't make it any further before the white flakes started falling from the sky.
"We made it" she exclaimed happily and grabbed his hand.
"How…" But she just leaned her head against his shoulder and then kissed him gently on his chick.
"I always know… Snow and me, we connect."
"So I got competition?"
"Nah, not really… You know what?"
"Nope"
"This is a sign"
"How can that be a sign?"
"It just is, always has be. The world changes, the people in it too. All to the better."
"Really? So no ones killed while it snows?" he said sarcastic.
"Meanie… Luke, you of all people should be happy about this"
"Why?"
"Because…"
"Because?"
"My dress will go well with the snow"
"Your… wedding dress?"
"What else, my nightgown? Come on Luke.. We haven't set a date yet, why not do it while there's snow? It would be amazing, beautiful, wonderful and a thousand of other words I can't think of right now."
They both fell silent for a while. Just standing there, letting the snow make the world around them white. It was beautiful; Luke could do nothing but agree on that. And standing here let him find some inner feelings he had never experienced before. True happiness, it could be nothing but that.
"Okay winter it is. But you are aware that there might not be snow at the moment, right?"
"Who's so not getting into the romantic spirit if I may ask?"
"Sorry that I'm being realistic."
"There will be, trust me" she grinned and kissed him again, this time on the mouth. It was a sweet kiss. Light but still deep and full of love. It was like a seal to the fact that they loved each other.
"January 26th?"
"What?"
"That's the date... for our wedding…"
"If you say so" he smiled and kissed her gently again. He could get used to this stuff. Even if it included being awoken in the middle of the night to see the snow fall. After all it was only once a year…
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I just want to be mad for awhile
I just want to be mad for awhile
I just want to be mad for awhile...
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A/N: And how many chapters to go? Absolutely no idea, so you just have to adjust :p
Well as always review, I'm gonna marry those thingies one day :P
And now I'm going to be Taylor and say "lip-gloss"… Guess who I'm talking about.
Go, go, hit the little pretty button beneath these "holy" written words..
And ranting stops now…
Asta