Chapter 2: Counting blouses

Tristin sighed and shruged his shoulders at the girl laying on his bed. He waited a second then slapped his knees and stood up.
'Well OK, I'm going to go kill him.'

The matter of fact tone of his voice had Rory shooting straight up.
'Tristin.'
He had his phone out and was already dialing a number. He held a finger up signaling for her to wait a second.
'Tristin stop it. Who are you calling?'
She began to panic.

'Colin. And do you think you can lower your voice? I can't hear.'

Rory jumped off of the bed and tackled the phone away from him.
'What the hell is wrong with you? Do you know what he'll do to him?!'

'As matter of fact'
He moved to grab the phone back from her, but she moved it out of his reach.
'I know exactally what he'll do to him.'
He made a move for it again, after pulling it away from him she glared at him.
'Which is why I chose him over Shawn or Finn. But if you don't give me my damn phone back, I might just call them also.'
This time when he moved to get it from her, Rory dropped it into her bra. Tristin stopped mid grab, she crossed her arms just below her chest and smirked at him. He glared at her for a second before an easy smirk fell onto his face. He moved closer and she moved back.
'You think I wont go in there?'
He took another step forward and she took one more back. Her eye's had grown wide and she crossed her arms over her chest as if to gaurd herself from him.
'I've been down far more blouses then I'd like to count. I'd have no problem finding my way around under there.'

Rory suddenly feeling brave moved her arms down around her stomach and stepped forward. She was only inches away from Tristin who wasen't about to back down. She kept her eye's locked on his, and smirked when she saw his gaze drop to her chest, then catching himself, they quickly returned back up to her face. Stepping closer to him, she herd the automatic, sharp intake of air. It always made her laugh how the fact that they were friends didn't erase the fact that Tristin was very much a male and she was just as much, a female, leaving them in many situations like this. Smirking at the obvious effect she was having on him, she reached inside of her blouse and pulled the phone out. He stared at it for a second before taking it from her.

Tristin glared at her then spun on his heels and moved as far away from her as he could get. When he herd Rory sigh, he looked back over at her, the look on her face made his stomach turn. Sighing he shook his head and fell into onto the couch that sat between his bookshelf and a large window.
'Your going to do it arent you?'

Knowing what he was talking about she let out another sigh. It apperantly gave Trsitin all the answer he needed because he began to shake his head and his eye's started to turn a very dark, almost black, blue. She quickly walked over to him and sat facing him on the couch.
'I just think that maybe he's right.'
When she touched his arm he pulled away from her with quickly, feeling as though a fountain of flames had washed over his skin.
Rory's eye's began to fill with tears.
'Tristin stop it. Please. Just look at me.'

The desprate pleading of her voice had him looking over at her relunctently. When he saw the tears falling slowly down her cheeks, his first instinct was to pull her into his arms and hold her there forever. But quickly checking that impulse, he simply shook his head at her.
'How the hell is him threatening to cheat on you if you dont have sex with him right Rory? How can you be sitting there honestly thinking about this when just minutes ago you were crying to me about what a jerk he is?'

Rory shook her head and shrugged, not knowing what to say.
'He's my boyfriend.'

'The guy's an asshole! He treats you like shit and you just let him!'

She started to cry a little harder which finally caused Tristin to sigh and wrap his arm loosly around her.
'I don't want him to break up with me.'
Rory herself couldn't believe the things she was saying. When did she become so weak? She saw Tristin's eye's flash that same dark blue.

'Ror-'

'I know your right. But it dosen't change how I feel. I'm not saying I'm in love with him or anything like that, I'm just saying that I really want to be with him. Yea he's a jerk sometimes, but I know he dosen't mean even half of the stuff he says. And I know he'd never really cheat on me..he just dosen't know how to express how he's feeling.'
It wasen't often that she would lie to Tristin because he seemed to always be able to tell when she was. In all reality she didn't really know if he'd cheat on her or not, all she did know was that she didn't want to risk it.

Tristin sighed and moved his neck in a slow circle causing the kinked bones to crack. He hated it when she lied to him.
'Fine. I won't tell Colin.'
Rory smiled through her tears and jumped ontop of him wrapping her arms around his neck. He caught her before she could knock him over and held her around her waist. She wasen't going to like the next part.
'But you know the deal. You take something ... you gotta give something.'

Rory groaned and sat back down on the couch. She glared at him. Of course it was to good to be true.
'What?'

A boyish grin that had Rory biting her bottom lip, spread across his face.
'I get one free punch! No consiquences. I get to walk up to him, and you can give him fare warning if you want to, but I get to punch him with the knowledge that he wont punch me back.'

'Tristin! No!'

He sighed and shook his head while opening his phone.
'OK then...'

Rory's hand shot out and shut the phone.
'Wait .... he's not going to go for it Tris ....'

All of a sudden Money Money Money By Abba started playing from benith their hands, Tristin smirked and Rory groaned while getting up and walking over to his bed and falling un-graciously onto it.
Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
Aha-ahaaa
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It's a rich man's world

'Well speak of the Devil, there's our dear Colin now. What'll it be Mar?'

Rory glared at him even though her face was pushed into a pillow and he couldn't see her, then through gritted teeth said the word that made Tristin's day.
'Fine.'

Smiling from ear to ear, Tristin got up and flipped the phone open. Rory groaned and closed her eye's as tight as possible.
'Talk to me.'

'Hey man did you call me?And do you know where Rory is? Because she didn't show up to first and Mads said she wasen't in second either.'

Tristin laughed into the phone.
'Yea that's actually why I called. Mar wasen't feeling to well and wanted to go home, so you know me being the great friend that I am, offered to come with her.'

Colins voice instantly changed from non-cohalent to worried.
'Is she OK? What's wrong with her?'

'It's cute, that worried older cousin thing you do. She's fine Colin, she's laying on my bed. It's one of those girly problems that we don't like discussing.'
He just barley dodged the pillow that came flying at his head.

'Oh alright. Well are you guy's going to be back today? Or should we just stop by later?'

Moving the phone away from his mouth Tristin turned to Rory, who was busy going through his drawers. He picked up the pillow that had fallen at his feet at pitched it back at her. Startled she turned around with those deer caught in headlight, eye's of her's and frowned.
'Are we going back? Or do we just want them to come by later?'

After her confusin subsided she galred at Tristin, giving him an idea of what was going to happen as soon as he hung up the phone.
'We'll meet them at lunch.'

Not taking his eye's off of Rory, who was in turn staring with determained eye's back at him, he moved the phone back up.
'Colin man, we'll be back by lunch. Now I gotta go. Your lovely cousin looks like she's about to pounce on me.'
Not waiting for a reply he snapped the phone closed, never taking his eye's off of her.

They stayed locked for a moment, then a noise outside caught Rory's attention and had her glancing out the window. In an instant he was ontop of her attacking her side's with his fingers. She screamed at the sudden weight that had her falling backward on the soft matress, then when he began tickling her, her shouts turned to bursts of laughter.