Chapter 12

"So then what happened?" Finn asked from his position on the couch next to Paris. Rory was retelling the previous night's events to the couple. The couple was comfortably seated side-by-side on the couch in the girl's common room in their dorm. They resembled psychiatrists. By the questions they were asking and by the facial expression they were making, people would believe that they truly were professional psychiatrists.

"We then walked out the restaurant to his car and he drove me back here," Rory told them as she was curled up in the love seat with a bucket of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

"Did you guys talk at all?" Paris questioned.

"No."

"And why not?" Finn asked.

"I was too humiliated to even look at him, how was I suppose to talk to him?" Rory answered his question with a question of her own.

"So he didn't even try to talk to you?" Paris asked disbelievingly.

"He did…"

FLASHBACK

The ride back to Rory's dorm was absolutely silent. Rory didn't want to say anything and Tristan didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to think.

Was it true what Logan said? It had to be because Rory didn't deny it and the look of pure embarrassment should confirm that he wasn't lying.

So if she did call out his name, it meant that she was thinking about him. She was thinking about him sexually. She was thinking about being with him.

Tristan tried not to get ahead of himself; he remained silent.

But once they arrived at their destination and the car was parked and shut off, Tristan had to say something.

"Rory."

"Yeah?" she quietly says looking at her hands that were resting nervously on her lap.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine," she answers still not looking at him.

"Baby look at me," he didn't mean to say 'baby' it just slipped. She looked so helpless that he just wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her. And when she finally did look at him, he wished that she never had, "You can't let Logan get to you like this."

"Tristan--"

"I mean, so what if you said my name? We look similar, anyone could mix us up," he told her trying to lighten up the mood.

Rory turned away from him and opened the door and got out of the car. Shutting the door she bent down and talked through the pulled down window, "Thanks for the ride Tristan, but I just really want to go home and sleep."

He didn't bother hiding the disappointment on his face, "Okay, but promise me you'll call me."

"I promise," she said with a small smile.

She then turned around and disappeared into the dormitories.

END FLASHBACK

"Rory!" Paris practically yelled.

"Ah, Kitten," Finn held his ears in pain.

"Oh suck it up," Paris told him before refocusing on Rory, "The boy was trying to talk to you and you just slammed the door in his face."

"I was completely humiliated--"

"Do you have any idea what he's thinking right now after finding out you want him?" she rhetorically asked her, "He finds out that you said his name while you were sleeping with Logan; that boy was given hope and you just shut the door on it."

Finn rolled his eyes, "Don't you think your being a little over dramatic?"

"Yeah," Rory agreed.

"Tristan wants you, Rory, he always has and I will bet my life that he always will--"

"No he doesn't," Rory cuts her off.

"Yes he does," Paris and Finn say together.

"You guys are annoying when you get together," Rory tells them.

"You have to talk to him," Paris tells him.

"But--"

"But nothing. Go talk to him," she tells her, showing no sign of backing down.

"Ugh! Fine!" Rory gives up.

She gets off the loveseat and makes her way to the bathroom to freshen up.

"Those two have it bad," Paris tells Finn.

"I agree, Doll," Finn says; he's such an ass kisser.

"Good," she says before she hungrily attacks his lips with his.

"I love it when you're rough," he growls against her lips.

He heard a soft timid knock at his door and he just knew that it was Rory. Quickly getting off his ass he went to his front door and swung it open revealing a nervous looking Rory.

"Hi," she shyly says.

"Mary," he playfully teases.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course," he says as he gets out of the way so that she has room to walk into his apartment, "So what brings you here?" he says, even though he knows the reason.

"Like you don't know," Rory tells him as she turns and faces him.

"Well I do know," he sheepishly says, "But I can't just jump in and say 'so you were thinking about me while you were sleeping with Logan?'"

"You just did," she smiled a small smile as a blush crept onto her cheeks.

"Aw, Mary, don't be embarrassed," he told her with a smirk, "It's every girls dream to sleep with me."

Rory's jaw dropped, "I can't believe you just said that."

Uh-oh.

"Rory--"

"You think this is funny," she cut him off, slightly annoyed, "Here I am completely humiliated and you're making jokes--"

Tristan chuckled, "Chill Mary, I'm not making jokes. I'm just trying to show you that it's no big deal."

"Well it is to me, Tristan!" And as if she realizes something she lightly laughs, "I can't believe I actually thought you had changed," she looks straight in his eyes.

He didn't think it was actually possible to feel so much pain from such a simple sentence. He had changed; for the better, and if Rory didn't see that, what the hell was he doing with her?

"That's bullshit and you know it," he raised his voice; she offended him.

"I don't think it is--"

"I mean we've both changed," he told her snidely, "me for the better and you for the worse."

"Stop it."

"No, I'm serious," his sarcasm was getting to her, "you go from being the sweet, innocent Mary who blushed whenever a guy glanced at her to a girl who's in a no-strings relationship with the biggest playboy on campus even though she likes those stupid strings--"

"Enough," she was on the verge of tears.

"Never again will you tell me that I have not changed because God knows I have," he didn't know when to shut up, "So don't come here just because you made a fool of your self when you were fucking that wannabe me--"

"I'm leaving," she was fed up; she turned around and went to his front door.

"Good, go run back to Logan, if you're lucky he'll feel bad and take you back," he said after her.

"Go to hell."

"I'll see you there," he threw at her before she slammed the door behind herself.

"Don't hold to anger, hurt or pain. They steal your energy and keep you from love," Paris wisely told Tristan as she barged into his apartment without knocking.

"Is that what your shrink tells you?" he says being a smart ass from his sprawled out position on the couch. "Nope," she says as she roughly throws his legs off the couch and sits down beside him, "Leo Buscaglia wrote it."

"Huh."

"Yup."

"What do you want, Paris?" he cut to the chase.

"You're an asshole," she flat-out tells him.

"So you want an asshole?" he twisted her words.

"She came here to talk to you about last night--"

"And then completely attacked me--"

Paris wouldn't be Paris if she didn't cut people off, "Since when would what she said offend you – Oh."

It dawned on her.

"What?"

"I can't believe this."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh how the mighty have truly fallen."

"If you don't start making some kind of sense, I'm gonna have to kick you out."

"You love her – I mean I knew you liked her, but I just realized that you love her--"

"No I don't," he said defensively.

"Don't get defensive, your little secret it safe with me," she smirked.

Tristan sighed out of annoyance, "Is there a reason why you came here?"

"Yes, but now the reason has changed," she told him as she go off the couch and stood in from of him with her arms crossed in front of her chest, "You have to get your ass off this couch and go to her. You have to talk to her, and I mean really talk to her, like you used to before you got your stupid ass shipped off to military school. And trust me when I say Rory, didn't mean what she said, she was just hurt and embarrassed. So stop moping around and get her back. I'll be at Finn's so I won't be in the way. Work wisely."

She didn't even give Tristan the opportunity to reply because she was out the door.

"Good ol'Paris," Tristan muttered to himself.

He waited for her to answer, but she never did. He just figured she was being her usual stubborn self.

Instead, he just took the liberty of walking into her dorm.

"Hello? Rory?" he called out.

There was no answer, but he heard faint shuffling coming from her room.

"I get you're mad at me and you have a right, but you can't avoid me forever," he said as he stood in front of her bedroom door, "Rory, can you please just talk to me?"

He turned the knob and pushed the door open and almost fell to his knees.

On Rory's bed was Rory trying to cover her naked body from view and Logan with a smirk plastered on to his face.

"Sorry to interrupt," he nearly choked out, "I guess he did feel bad for you," he said looking at her with his hurt eyes. "Continue."

Slowly shutting the door he made his way out of her dorm room…and her life.

AN: Review! Is there any hope for these two? Review!