Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls does not belong to me. It never has, but someday it will. That is my life's ambition starting now.

A/N: I'm sorry it's taken this long, but I hit major writer's block. I've gotten a game plan together, so I know the general gist of the story for at least the next few chapters. That means quicker updates ;)

Thanx: Thanks to my amazing reviewers who keep me encouraged, and to my lovely and super sweet beta, Katherine (rosie 4299). Check out all of her stories!

Rating: PG-13

Chapter 8: Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

Lorelai and Rory finally pulled apart after several minutes of hugging and crying. Lorelai somehow managed to guide her sniffling daughter to the couch and took a deep breath before she asked the question burning in her brain.

"Did you use protection?"

Rory's brain froze for half a second before deciding that she couldn't take another lecture from her mother right now. She was humiliated and confused and her mother yelling at her for not using protection would not help matters. Besides, what are the chances that she'd actually get pregnant?

"Of course," Rory replied, feeling very guilty for lying.

Lorelai sighed in relief knowing that at least pregnancy and/or an STD were pretty much out of the picture. Now they'd just have to deal with the emotional problems caused by her sleeping with a guy she hardly even knew. Lorelai was surprised Rory would do this because it was very out of character for her. She had always been the levelheaded one that would punish herself if she did anything wrong. Rory had sex. The reality of it was mind-boggling.

"Was he, uh, nice to you?"

Rory blushed and looked down. "Yeah."

"Okay, that's good. Do you feel okay, though?"

"Yes," Rory said, with a pause. "Mom, this is really weird."

"I know, but it shouldn't be. We talk about everything. Talk to me. Ask me questions. Let me be the all-knowing mother who's had sex many times with many men. Okay, wait, that makes me sound like a whore."

Rory grinned, and that was it. The ice was broken. All the anger and tension that had been plaguing their relationship over the last few days disappeared as they smiled at Lorelai's joke. Finally, Rory decided to ask Lorelai something.

"What was your first time like?"

Lorelai was startled by the question, but was happy to answer it. "Very short. I'd say your dad lasted about five minutes."

Rory was a little freaked out by this new information, but her mother had a gleam in her eye like she was reliving the special experience. To be truthful, Rory's first time had been a beautiful and wonderful experience until she left. Rory didn't know why she ran, but it just felt like a reflex. She had unprotected sex, so she ran.

"We were on my parent's balcony, which is also where you were conceived by the way. It's been a long time since I thought about this. That was a very special night, and even after everything that's happened I still think of it as a good memory. Why did you come back home, Rory?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "It was great, and a lot longer than five minutes, but when it was over I just thought 'Oh my God, what have I done?' and I just ran."

"Okay, how about you go take a shower and then we'll go to Luke's. We can get coffee, and talk some more, or not talk. Whatever."

"Thanks, Mom."

"For what, babe?"

"For understanding," Rory said before slowly climbing the stairs.

Rory looked at her reflection in the mirror and tugged on her shirt to hide a very noticeable hickey. Although she didn't look any different than she had a few days ago, she felt worlds away from her former self. She had always been curious about sex, but Tristan had taken her to places she couldn't have imagined existing. The new feelings in her body were exhilarating, but terrifying simultaneously.

Rory liked Tristan, but now that they had . . . she didn't know where they stood. Would he refuse to talk to her now that he had bedded her? In her heart, Rory knew Tristan wasn't like that. Everyone portrayed him as an arrogant jackass who would sleep with anything that had a vagina, but she knew better. He was a caring, misunderstood guy who had made some errors in judgment. Underneath his cocky exterior was a kind soul that laughed at her silliness and held her in a way that made her feel like the only girl in the world.

"Hey sweets. Are you ready?" Lorelai called.

"Yeah," Rory replied.

She took a deep breath and slowly walked down the stairs to meet her mother. Lorelai gave Rory a smile and they linked arms and walked to Luke's. Lorelai knew Rory didn't need a lecture about sex, what she needed was time to come to terms with what happened. Even though it would be hard, she knew it was something she had to do if her relationship with her daughter stood any chance of getting through this. Richard and especially Emily pressured her when she was a teenager and it drove her out of their lives for years.

Rory and Lorelai finally arrived at their destination and Lorelai stormed in and went straight to the counter and sat down. Rory followed her and inwardly winced as she plopped down onto the stool a little too aggressively. Even though Tristan had been "nice" to her, she was still very sore from being stretched like that for the first time.

"What can I get you, and make it snappy," Luke asked them shortly.

"Well, someone's in a very angry mood."

"Sorry, but Kirk's been in here all morning and he won't leave."

"What time did he get here?"

"6 a.m."

Lorelai glanced at her watch and raised an eyebrow. "It's almost 3:00."

"Don't remind me."

"Okay, well I'll have a burger and onion rings with coffee."

"And what do you want, Rory?"

"Oh, uh. The same thing."

"Coming up, and I'll throw in free pie if you can convince Kirk to get out of here."

"Will do," Lorelai said with a grin.

"Hello Kirk."

"Hello Lorelai. I haven't seen you in here for quite a while. That's very unusual."

Rory looked like a deer caught in headlights when he brought attention to their absence. She silently begged her mother not to say a word to Kirk about what had happened. Luckily, her mother was very merciful.

"Yeah, I've been having back spasms," Lorelai quickly explained, touching her back for emphasis.

"Oh, is that why your mother stayed at your house a few nights ago."

"Yeah."

"But then why didn't she come home until the next morning?"

Rory felt like the world had just swallowed her up, and then she caught Luke staring at them out of the corner of her eye. His face was pale and he obviously knew about the dance. Rory's chest felt tight and all the emotions that she was feeling about her possible pregnancy came out as tears uncontrollably began pouring out of her eyes.

"Oh my God. I'm one of those girls," she shrieked.

"One of what girls?" Lorelai asked her, very confused by her outburst.

By that point, Miss Patty and every other busy body in the town had leaned forward expectantly to hear her explanation.

"I'm one of those girls who stays out all night with her boyfriend behind her mother's back. I'm not supposed to be one of those girls," Rory bawled.

Lorelai closed her eyes, and when she opened them, Rory had her hand over her mouth trying to muffle her choked sobs. Apparently, she hadn't realized that everyone in the diner had their mouths dropped and were staring at her. But to make matters worse, she took her hand away from her face and continued to vent.

"And the irony of it all. I ran out because you accused me of having sex. I basically yelled at you for not trusting me. Well you were right not to trust me because I had sex. Oh my God. I had sex with Tristan DuGrey. Oh my God, what have I done? He's… well he's Tristan DuGrey!" Rory cried out, much to her mother's horror.

"I'm not a virgin anymore," she continued. "What have I done? I'm a horrible person I should be . . . Oh my God. I'm going to be sick," she finally finished and ran upstairs to use Luke's personal bathroom.

Everyone in the diner was stunned into silence at her declaration. Rory was the golden child of the town and she had just admitted to sleeping with some unknown guy. They knew she had gone to the dance with Dean Forester, but no one knew how this Tristan kid fit into the picture. Lorelai was still in a state of shock, and Luke was the first to snap out of it. He could tell by the look on Lorelai's face that she wasn't ready to deal with what this meant, so he took the initiative and trudged up the stairs where he could hear the little girl he would make mashed potatoes for when she was sick crying in his bathroom.

Rory hovered over the toilet, mortified and feeling ashamed of what she had done, and she couldn't believe she had just puked. She didn't know what she had to throw up; it's not like she had eaten anything all day. Her stomach angrily churned as she sniffled and gasped through shaky breath. She heard a knock at the door and she quickly opened it, expecting it to be her mother.

"H-i Luke," she said, looking down at her shoes in shame.

"Rory, are you okay?" he asked her.

Even though he was uncomfortable as hell in the situation, one look at how much she was hurting made him want to hug her until she stopped crying. He refrained from doing so, though. Instead, he lifted her chin to meet his eyes.

"I'm so-rry L-uke."

"Sorry for what?" he asked her.

"F-or making a sc-ene."

He smiled at her and screwed whatever had stopped him from hugging her before. She was tense for only a fraction of a second before she hugged him back. Rory felt safe with him, and that was a feeling she needed. Lorelai smiled from the corner of the room as she watched their father/daughterish embrace.

"It'll be okay, you know," Luke whispered into Rory's ear.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks."

They pulled away and then they noticed Lorelai. Luke decided to leave them alone, and he walked back downstairs to the gossip mill. What he hadn't counted on was a new character standing in the diner with confidence dripping from his stature. One look at the Lexus parked in the front of the store was all it took to make Luke sure that this was the now infamous Tristan DuGrey.

"You, outside," Luke ordered.

Tristan stared him down for only a second before deciding that this guy was serious. He spun around and walked outside with Luke hot on his heels.

Lorelai and Rory stood in silence and without warning, Lorelai started to laugh. Rory looked at her like she had just grown 6 heads and raised her eyebrows at her. Lorelai tried to explain why she was laughing, but she couldn't get the words out before another fit of giggles would overtake her.

"Well I'm glad you find my absolute humiliation to be entertaining," Rory said icily, obviously hurt by her mother's insensitivity.

"No, it's not that. It's just that this is so not funny that it's funny."

"What?"

"I mean you go off to the dance with Dean, and by the way I'm still wondering exactly how the Dean/Tristan switch happened. Then you came home and we fought. You ran away and then had sex. And to top it all off, you just announced that Tristan DuGrey took your virginity to the entire diner, which means the whole town will know about it in a matter of hours. Who does that happen to?"

Rory smiled as her mother relayed the events of the weekend, and soon she was laughing along with her. This hysteria relieved the tension they both had been feeling since Rory had returned, and now they both felt better. Well, except for the nagging little voice in Rory's head that was making her feel guilty.

'Liar, liar pants on fire. You had a dick in you without a cover.'

Rory gulped as she felt fear settle into her gut. There was no turning back.

A/N: I'm cruel, I know. I promise the next chapter won't take as long. Thanks for reading, please review.