"Happy New Year, Ace," Logan murmured, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her in for a kiss.

Rory smiled against this lips, "Happy New Year."

She leaned back into his side, and felt the familiar pressure of his arm close around her waist. Smiling, she tilted her body towards him, receiving a gentle kiss on top of her head in return.

The months spent with Logan had been fantastic. From their first kiss to the one they had just shared as the ball dropped, every moment was simply perfection. Deep down, she still had her doubts, and he still scared her. She didn't want to bore him, didn't want him to disappear. She didn't want to end up hurt. And the way she felt about him gave him the power to destroy her.

"What?" he asked, glancing down at her with those soft brown eyes.

She smiled, "Nothing."

Before Logan could open his mouth to argue with her, Finn arrived and draped his arms around both of them, handing them drinks in the process.

"Happy New Year, everyone," he greeted, "Drink up."

Logan laughed and raised his drink to his lips, his arm never leaving Rory's waist, "How long have you been drunk?"

"Since I was born," Finn replied, raising his eyebrows, "Where have you been, love?"

Logan winced, "Don't call me that. Ever."

Rory erupted into laughter, "I knew you guys were close, but..."

"Hush, Ace."

Rory laughed again and leaned against Logan, inhaling the scent of his cologne. The two of them had been reluctant to attend the party at Tristan's at first, but then they decided spending the evening with their best friends was more important than their ongoing feud with Tristan.

Rory had decided to let her parents spend the holiday alone, considering their lack of time spent together between their two demanding careers. And she didn't mind being in her boyfriend's arms for the night, either In fact, she couldn't think of any place she'd rather be.

"Hey guys, Happy New Year," Stephanie called, walking over to them with Colin in tow.

Logan's arm retreated from Rory's waist and she watched as Logan shared a short hug with Stephanie. He whispered something in Stephanie's ear that caused the blond girl to burst out laughing and a smirk to appear on Logan's face.

"Let's not talk about that night, okay?" Stephanie grinned as they parted, brushing a stray curl behind her ear.

"If you insist," Logan smiled, "But I thought you'd want to remember Tom performing a strip tease for you as the ball dropped..."

"Logan!"

Logan chuckled and was about to open his mouth again, when his phone rang and interrupted. He glanced at the caller id, smiled, and held up a finger to his friends as he walked a few steps away.

"Hey Honor."

Taking the opportunity while Logan was talking to his sister, Rory whipped out her own phone selected her mother's name off her call list. A few rings later, Lorelai's bubbly voice answered.

"Happy New Year, kid! I was just about to call you."

"Happy New Year, mom. Having fun?"

"You bet," Lorelai paused, "What about you? Did you get a nice, long, juicy kiss when the ball dropped?"

"Mom!"

"What? I'm just curious."

"Well, don't be," Rory insisted.

"I can so picture you turning five different shades of red."

"I'm hanging up now."

Lorelai laughed, "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, hun. Have fun."

"You, too."

Logan walked back over, and his arm was instantly placed casually around her shoulders. It was simple gestures like that which caused Rory's heart to melt. Never had a boyfriend showed so much with so little action, never had a boyfriend kept physical contact with her constantly the way Logan did.

She was falling for him. Fast. And she was petrified.

"Ace? What's going on?" Logan asked softly, "You keep zoning out on me."

"Nothing," she faked a yawn, "Just a little tired, that's all."

He glanced at her somewhat strangely, and she knew he didn't believe her explanation for a second. Nonetheless, he didn't press her. And she thanked him for that silently. She knew that he was aware when she was ready, she would tell him what was wrong.

But the truth was, she wasn't completely sure what was wrong. Everything about their relationship had been absolutely perfect, nothing at all had gone astray. He was funny, sweet, and as always, cocky. He was the Logan she knew, and the Logan she was afraid of.

She guessed that was it, more than anything. She was afraid to love him, afraid that it was all happening too fast, afraid that he wasn't going to stick around. She didn't want to have her heart broken again, she wasn't sure she could handle it. And so, she wouldn't admit to anyone, or even herself, that she could be falling in love with Logan Huntzberger. As far as she was concerned, that emotion didn't exist.

"Do you want to go lay down?" Logan inquired.

She shook her head, "And miss the first party of the New Year? No way."

He laughed, "I've had too much of an affect on you."

Colin appeared suddenly, seeming to materialize out of nowhere, "We're going down in Tristan's den. Come on."

Logan and Rory shared a glance, and she chuckled, "Yes, sir."

They followed their friend down into Tristan's den, where the host, Finn, and Stephanie were already sitting. Rory inwardly rolled her eyes when she saw Tristan, but she showed no outward emotion. This was his house after all.

"Good to see you, Mary," Tristan grinned as her and Logan took a seat on the couch, "I haven't seen you all night."

"That wasn't by accident," Rory replied, curling up next to Logan's side as his arm found it's way around her shoulders once more.

"I thought we could get off to a better start this year," Tristan offered with a grin, "And there you go shutting me down all over again."

"What can I say? It's just so much fun."

"Tristan, you don't stand a chance against this girl. Just give up already," Stephanie laughed.

"He never will," Rory answered for him, "He's a stubborn ass, emphasis on the ass."

Tristan shook his head with a small smile, but didn't reply. That was one of the ways Tristan differed from Logan, Logan always had a comeback for everything. Besides that, deep down Logan was a good person, a great friend, and an even better boyfriend. In Rory's opinion, Tristan wasn't and never could be any of those things.

Later on, Tristan disappeared from the room to join the rest of the party and the group of best friends was left alone. It was nearing three in the morning by this time, and Rory could feel her eyes growing heavier.

She tried to keep them open, until Logan's soothing voice reached her ears.

"Go to sleep, Ace, it's late."

He laid down on the couch, pulling her next to him. There, curled up next to him, she felt happier than she had in a long time. Smiling softly in his arms, she entwined her ankles with his, and closed her eyes. As she drifted off, she could feel his hand gently stroking her hair. And in that moment, she felt loved.

"Tonight was great," she told him.

"I know," he whispered, his lips close to her ear, "I know."

--------

"Ace."

Rory groaned and shoved her hand in the first direction she found, which happened to be Logan's. She heard him laugh as her hand came in contact with his shoulder, and then his fingers closed around hers.

"It's time to get up," he informed her, a smile in his voice.

"There is no specific 'time to get up'," she told him, the sound muffled by the pillow, "'Time to get up' is whenever I feel like getting up, Huntzberger. And I don't feel like getting up."

"That would be a great theory, Ace, if you were at home. But you're not, and Tristan is basically kicking us out."

She groaned again, louder this time, and buried her face into his chest, "What time is it?"

"Seven."

"See, there's a problem with that. I can't function on four hours of sleep. It just doesn't happen."

"You don't have to function," he replied, sitting up, "You just have to get in my car. You can sleep on the way home."

"What about you?" she argued, "Driving when you're this tired can't be safe. I'm sure Tristan wouldn't want to put your life in danger."

Logan laughed, "Don't be so sure about that. And I can function on four hours of sleep, that's the difference between me and you."

"Logan..."

"Come on, get up. I promise it won't last long."

"Fine," she growled, sitting up finally, "Let's go."

She glanced around the room quickly to see that the rest of the group was already gone. With a sigh, she untangled herself from Logan's arms and stood. A headache almost instantly consumed her, partly from lack of sleep and partly from the slight hangover. She swayed slightly, but Logan's strong embrace steadied her. She leaned against him, and breathed deeply, attempting to stop the pounding of her head.

"Are you okay?" Logan asked softly, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired."

"And hungover?"

"That too."

"Well, come on. Let's get you home."

With his arm around her waist, he held her steady as they made their way upstairs and out of Tristan's house. The area was quiet, with most people still sound asleep after celebrating the arrival of the new year. Logan stopped in the middle of Tristan's sidewalk and pulled Rory around to face him, smirking as he ran his hand along her jawline.

Neither one of them had to say a word. Rory leaned up, placing her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him. He deepened the kiss, drawing her into his chest and bracing her head with his hand. For a few moments, the world stopped, and Rory felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

When the pulled apart, Logan only smiled, "Good morning, Ace."

She smiled and walked forward, grabbing his hand and pulling him after her. Once seated in Logan's Porsche, they began the trek to Stars Hollow. Rory leaned her head against the window, feeling the fog of sleep beginning to consume her.

Somewhere between sleep and awake, she heard the faint sound of the radio in the background. And the lyrics made her want to smile at the same time. So, as her lips turned upward, a single silent tear streamed down her cheek.

She was so happy, and yet, so afraid.

He's soft to the touch

But frayed at the end he breaks

He's never enough

And still he's more than I can take

Oh 'cause I don't know

I don't know what he's after

But he's so beautiful

Such a beautiful disaster

The feeling of the car coming to the halt pulled Rory completely out of her sleep. Logan gently placed a hand on her shoulder and she forced her eyes open. Glancing up at him, she could see he was just as tired as she felt, and she was instantly concerned.

"Why don't you come in and sleep for awhile?" she offered, "You look exhausted."

"I'm fine. It's not that far away," he assured her.

"Logan, if you are anywhere near as tired as I am, there is no way you're staying awake for even the shortest amount of time. Come inside, please?"

He paused, staring at her intently, before sighing in defeat and turning off the car.

"This is only because I'd much rather be with you than my family."

She smiled as they made their way inside, and she wasn't surprised to find the house completely silent and dark. Her parents probably only got home a few hours ago.

As much as she would like to fall asleep in Logan's arms again, she really didn't feel like answering questions from her dad the next morning. Lorelai would probably applaud the action, Christopher however, would not.

"I'll be right back," she whispered, leaving Logan in the living room as she walked to her bedroom.

She grabbed an extra pillow and a few blankets, before returning to find Logan walking the length of her wall observing the room. She paused in the door way, and watched as he picked up a photograph that Rory knew well. It was from last year's first snow. Rory and Lorelai were outside, laughing hysterically at something as they stared up at the falling snow. Christopher had captured the moment when they weren't looking. She had to smile as she watched Logan smile, his eyes lighting up as he stared at the image.

When he placed it back down and turned around, he saw Rory instantly.

"Is the couch okay?" she asked him, not letting on how long she'd been standing there.

"That's fine."

She placed them on the couch and then turned back to Logan, kissing him lightly as he held her in his arms.

"Good night again, Ace," he smiled, releasing her from his embrace.

"Night."

She turned and wandered back to her bedroom, casting one look over her shoulder to see Logan settling in on the couch.

As soon as she was behind her bedroom door, she collapsed on her bed, her mind drifting back to the thoughts that had consumed her all evening.

Honestly, she knew that her and Logan's relationship was strong, very strong, mainly because they were best friends before anything else. She was so happy with him, and she wanted to be confident that she wasn't going to get hurt. But her past wouldn't let her. She still thought about Dean and Jess and Logan's history and wondered where all this was going to end up.

Would she end up heartbroken all over again?

She hated being scared to love him, hated being scared of the relationship she adored. There was an unspoken barrier between them, a barrier she had constructed. She knew he had felt it tonight, and she also knew he would probably bring it up in the near future.

She had to talk to him about it. She knew that. But she was scared that her still present doubts would hurt him, and the last thing she wanted to do was cause Logan pain. Sighing, she decided to worry about it more in the morning, and let herself drift off to sleep.

--------

When she woke up again, her clock read 11:30. She kicked off her covers, surprised to find a piece of paper next to her pillow. She picked it up, smiling when she saw Logan's familiar writing scrolled across the page.

Ace,

I left around 10, and I'm fully rested, so don't worry. I hope you slept well. Call when you're up, I'll be awake and home all day. By the way, have at least three cups of coffee in your system before you call.

-Logan

She laughed at the last sentence on the note and got up out of bed, placing it on her desk as she left her room. The house was completely silent. She was surprised that both her parents were still asleep, but then she figured they probably didn't get home until five in the morning.

She put on a pot of coffee, and then went back in her room to grab a book to read. A few minutes later, the coffee was finished and she poured the liquid into the largest mug she could find. After gigantic mugs full, which she counted as three, she grabbed clothes from her room and headed upstairs. Once showered and changed, she felt lively enough to give her boyfriend a call.

With her wet hair tied behind her head and another mug of coffee in hand, she went into the living room and sat down on the couch, selecting Logan's name off her phone in the process. It rang several times, before Logan's voice mail came up. She was surprised. Logan said he would be awake and home. She shrugged it off. He probably just fell asleep. When the beep came, she smiled slightly, and then started speaking.

"Hey you," she greeted, "I'm guessing you probably just feel asleep again, but that's okay, I'm not going to judge you. Call me when you wake up."

With a sigh, she got up from the couch and walked back into the kitchen, grabbing her book off the kitchen table. She walked back into her room and curled up under the covers, planning on reading until her parents woke up or Logan called back.

She was completely engrossed in the book when her mother came downstairs. Lorelai glanced at her daughter, made an umph sound, and walked into the kitchen. Rory chuckled slightly, knowing Lorelai would be back in a few minutes fully revived after several cups of coffee. She picked up her cellphone and checked the time, shocked to see that it was almost 2:00 in the afternoon.

Where was Logan? It wasn't like him not to call back for this long.

She selected his number again, only to once again be directed to his voice mail. Growing worried, she chose Colin's number and waited while it rang.

"Hello?" he greeted.

"Colin, have you talked to Logan?"

"Yeah. I talked to him after he got home from your place, around 11:00."

"Did he say if he was going somewhere?"

"No," he paused, "Why?"

"He left a note telling me to call him, so I did around 12:30. He still hasn't called back yet and I keep getting his voice mail."

"Well, he got home okay if that's what your worried about. He probably just fell asleep."

"Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Colin."

"No problem."

She closed her phone, biting her lip slightly. It didn't seem likely to her that Logan had fallen back asleep, especially not at home. But then where was he? She placed her phone down, determined not to call him again. He would call as soon as he got her message, and she hoped that was soon.