ANUpdating again. Read, review, hopefully enjoy.
Rory stared at the Pro/Con list in her hands. None of it made any sense to her, none of it was helping her decide. It felt wrong making this decision with a list, but she didn't know what those feelings meant.
"RORY!" Paris stormed into the room, her eyes blazing, "One of your friends Hayden friggin Panettiere just floated into our dorm and wont leave until she talks to you… so hurry up and talk! Her peppiness is ruining my Zen environment and Terrence says that will take away from my constructive time."
"Steph! Come in here! Paris has some damn good fencing skills and I'm not too keen on her trying them out in our dorm!" Rory called out, confident that this overly peppy character was indeed her friend.
Paris wasn't kidding when she said that Steph floated, the way she moved into the room made her look like she was atop a cloud.
"So, you going to ask me what happened or will I just tell you!" She said with a grin so large it shouldn't be physically possible.
"Wow Steph, what happened?" She placed her notebook with the list down and sat up on her bed.
"Well, last night Colin and I got a bit drunk… and things got… steamy," She paused to confirm that Rory was following, "Then, come the morning after I expect him to wig out, call it a mistake… but he didn't!! He said that he wanted to try dating me exclusively!" Steph let out an excited squeal.
"You said yes!" She jumped up to hug her friend, "That is so exciting! You always had that tension between you! You two are so cute together!"
"I know right? We're going out to dinner tonight… like an actual date! Then he's coming back to my place! It'll be like the first time as a couple, so cute! I think Rosemary's got plans to keep Finn entertained till the early hours of the morning, so if you want to go and visit Logan..." Steph sent a sly wink to Rory. She was so happy, shouldn't Rory have just said yes and been that happy? She always had to over analyse stuff.
"Umm… Steph, I don't mean this in a bad way… but did you have any doubts… I mean, how do you know to say yes?"
Steph looked a bit taken aback, but answered. "Sure, I had a few doubts about wether he could give up his playboy ways… but I figured that if he said he can do it, he can do it. I really like him, isn't that enough?"
"Defiantly enough!" Rory genuinely smiled and engulfed her friend in another hug. First thing in the morning, she'd tell him.
Rory walked past Logans dorm on her way to class, she was excited, but nervous at the same time. 'What if he reconsidered? Am I too late?' she pushed the thoughts aside. He had said she could have time. She knocked twice and waited for an answer.
"Hey Ace." Said a surprised and sleepy Logan when he opened the door. "to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I thought about what you asked me yesterday, and I decided… if it's not too late, that I'd like to give it a try. I'm not too late am I?" She blushed a little and bit her lip. Logan smiled, she looked so cute when she was shy.
"No too late at all."
Just then a leggy blonde girl stuck her head around the corner wearing nothing but a t-shirt. "Where do you keep the glasses Logey?" She said with a heavy Swedish accent.
"Bottom cupboard to the left." He replied casually as Rorys mouth dropped. He turned back to Rory, "So, could we grab a coffee after your first class?"
"Wait a second," She started, obviously annoyed, "When you said girlfriend I didn't know you were referring to the 'John Tucker' form of the word. If you can't keep your pants zipped for one night… one night! Then this isn't going to work! I'm sorry, I was stupid… I've got class."
Logan looked flabbergasted, "No, RORY! It's not what you think!"
"Did you invite her here?"
"Yes but-"
"Is she a relative?"
"No but-"
"Did she spend the night?"
"No… well yeah… but not-"
"Is that your shirt?"
"Yes, she-"
"Now can you see why I'm just a little pissed off now Logan? I have to go to class." She tried to sound final, but Logan wouldn't let her have the last word.
"Class doesn't start for forty-five minutes! Hear me out!" He saw her hesitate a little, it was enough to encourage him to continue. "Frida is just a friend, she went out with Colin when he was in Sweden and he told her to come visit when she was in the US. So, when she came she went to see Colin who, as you may have known is no going exclusive with Steph and so he wanted nothing to do with her. She had nowhere else to go… and what was I to do? Throw her out onto the street? I gave her the couch and I stayed in my room, with the door shut… all alone! As for the shirt… well I don't know what happened there!" He sounded desperate, yet she wasn't sure if she wanted to believe him. It was such a coincidence of timing.
"Look… I've got to get a coffee before class… I should go." He voice lacked the anger it had previously held.
"I'll come with you."
"No Logan… I'll go alone. Besides, you're in your pyjamas."
"Oh, right. Rory, please don't be mad! Where do we stand?" He was no longer the cocky and confident Logan, but rather the venerable desperate one. Still, how could she open herself up to this kind of doubt so soon? Two dates for crying out loud!
"We're still friends." The words cut her apart almost as much as they tore him.
"Sure… friends." He gave her a wan smile before his usual façade was reignited. "I've got tickets to Cancun for spring break if you'd like to join me. Should be a bit of fun… you never know what's going to happen on spring break." He smirked, it was all he could do to stop from publicly humiliating himself.
"God Logan! Wipe that condescending smirk off your face! You can't buy me!" She was annoyed at how calm he was, how he went from sounding sincere to making suggestive and cocky comments. She tried to deny herself any thoughts in his favour, but she couldn't help trusting him.
"Well the offer still holds!" He called out as she walked away. 'How can I screw this up so quickly?' He thought, the impact of the words shared slowly sinking in.
Rory enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the newsroom, it made her feel involved in something, it was a distraction from all her other thoughts. She sat down on her desk and turned on her computer.
"You're going on spring break with Logan." Doyle said, causing Rory to jump.
"What? No I'm… how'd you…?" She had no idea how word had gotten to Doyle.
"Word travels fast around Huntzberger Rory. I need yo to go with him."
"No! Why can't I just? I'm going to Stars Hollow… what's it to you anyway?" She was defiantly confused by this point.
"I need you to write a human interest article covering what people got up to on spring break… and who's better than the three stooges themselves?" Doyle always spoke so business-like.
"But I don't-" She was interrupted.
"You're doing the article Gilmore."
"You can't make me!" She said it in a child-like tone.
"You like working on the paper Gilmore?" he asked innocently.
"That's blackmail!" She gasped.
"That's journalism!"
"Fine! I'll go to Cancun, do the article… but do not expect any subtle sucking up from me in the future!"
"Good luck in Cancun Gilmore." He turned and walked away, Rory sighed from frustration and continued her work even less cheery than before, dreading the degrading experience of asking Logan to go to Cancun that was sure to come.
Just then Rory saw Logan walk into the room, he sent pleading looks her way before sitting at the desk across from her. He pulled out his phone and started a game of Solitaire, secretly stealing glances at the girl who fascinated him.
"Logan, stop playing games, I need to talk." He was startled to see Rory speaking to him, and couldn't help but cringe thinking that by games she wasn't just talking about cards.
"Sure Ace, what's up?" She didn't miss the slight lack of confidence in his voice this time, and it almost made her smile.
"I want to come to Cancun with you." She mumbled.
"Cool. I'll pick you up from your dorm… say 3:00 two weeks from Sunday?"
"Cool." She smiled, that had been easy enough. "Wait. Aren't you going to make some cocky comment?" She could have slapped herself for saying that, but he merely smiled.
"And risk you being even madder at me? Ace, I might not pay attention in classes… but I'm not that stupid."
Rory walked back to her desk with a smile on her face. She was actually looking forward to a week in Cancun.
A week ran by quicker than expected, Rory as constantly absorbed in mounds of revision for her midterms, but enjoyed every moment of it. She saw a lot more of Logan at the paper, although she wasn't sure if he was there to see her, or because none of the teachers looking to reel him in for a test would think to look for him in a working environment.
Rory pulled up outside her childhood home for the first time in a little over a fortnight when she came home to do washing. She opened the door and called out to her mother.
"Agh! Who is there?" He mother called out, running into the room with a spatula.
"It's me, Rory! Your only child!" Rory said, taken aback by the spatula waving around in Lorelais hand.
"Oh, that's you kid? My, it's been so long! I can no longer recognise the fruit of my groins!"
"It's loins mum!" Rory laughed.
"Dirty!" Lorelai had a way of making Rory cringe.
"Why do you have a spatula anyway mum?" Rory knew that the closest her mother had come to cooking was opening a packet of instant pizza, even instant mashed potato was too complicated.
"Oh, that's what this thing is. Hm. Luke must have left it here. I thought it was something arty." She put the spatula down and embraced her daughter in a hug. It was good to have her home again. "So, besides missing me terribly, what brings you to the Hollow?"
"I'm going on spring break again. Cancun this time, with some friends." Rory said shyly, recollecting her last spring break.
"I'm not sure if I should approve of this, I mean last time you watched 'The Power of Myth' without me!" Lorelai said in Jest. "I guess it's ok, just don't kiss too many Paris'."
"I won't mum. Besides, this time I'm going on official newspaper business. Oh, and Paris isn't going."
"Can't even give up school on your break! I'm going to miss you! So, who are you going with?" She was always keen on the gossip.
"Logan, Colin, Finn, Steph and I think Rosemary might tag along. Then we might catch up with other people like Seth and Robert but who knows."
The two made their way to Rory's room who had started taking clothes out of her cupboard and putting them into bags to take.
"Hey mum, where are my bathers?" Rory asked casually.
"Oh… your mosque suit? I kinda ran over it with a lawnmower…"
"You WHAT?" Rory asked shocked, "What was my swimsuit doing on the lawn in the first place… and what were you doing with a lawnmower?"
"Well, it was a win win situation really. You see, it destroyed the lawnmower too, which means that Luke can't tell me it's a waste of money to pay a guy to come do my lawn when I don't have a lawnmower. He's always so worried about the house and everything. He hasn't done any early morning starts since you were still here though." Lorelai rambled.
"And my swimsuit?"
"Well, I got to buy you this lovely blue bikini instead!" Lorelai walked over to some bags that were shoved in a draw and pulled out a light blue halter neck bikini.
"Mum! I can't wear that! I love my swimsuit! It was practical!" Rory whined.
"But nowhere near slutty enough if you want to be related to me!" argued Lorelai.
"Fine!" Rory caved, "I guess I can just wear a t-shirt over it and sundresses the rest of the time." She pondered out loud.
"Nuh-uh. You missy are going to give those limo boys something to gawk at!" She mimicked a coach their team a motivational speech, but Rory just rolled her eyes.
It was good to be home, even if Rory had to add wearing her first bikini to her list of things to worry about in Cancun.
AN: So, next chapter should see Rory and friends on spring break. I've got the next few chapters planned… I'm just not sure how long it will take exactly.