Chapter 28

"...And then what? She just... left him up there?"

"It would appear so..." Rory said with a sigh as the two walked down the street, their high heels clicking and their pace quickening with the promise of Luke's donuts.

She scoffed. "But... He killed someone for her! Where's her sense of loyalty?"

"Probably with whoever she had children with."

Lorelai whipped her head around to face Rory as she opened the door. "She had children?"

Rory laughed at her. "She was telling the entire story to her granddaughter!"

Lorelai rolled her eyes and scoffed as the two of the stood in the door's path. "They could have been adopted!"

"Get outta the doorway," Luke grumped.

Rory stared over at him, and she raised a hand. "Luke, please, we're trying to have a serious conversation here."

"Yeah? About what?" He asked, not caring even a little, as he poured another stranger coffee.

"Edward Scissorhands," Lorelai said.

"Who's that?"

Their two heads whipped around to glare at the clueless man. "Who. Is. That?"

Lorelai looked at Rory. "'Who is that?' he says."

"So I heard," Rory said with a mysterious brow raised.

"He should be shot," Lorelai jokingly scowled.

"Dragged through the streets!"

"Lobotomised!"

Rory grabbed Lorelai's shoulders. "No need – he must already be!"

Lorelai raised her chin. "Yes, he must if he does not know of our beloved Edward."

"And not just any Edward!"

"The Edward," Lorelai declared.

"Edward—"

"Edward Scissorhands, yeah, I get it – now are you gonna sit down, or what?" Luke grumped.

Lorelai and Rory grinned proudly at each other. "We certainly are entertaining, Mack."

"Indubitably, Tosh." Rory replied with a bob of the head. Lorelai turned her daughter around by the shoulders and led her towards the table by the window.

"So..." Lorelai began, sitting down. "What are your plans for tonight?"

Rory looked at her mother skeptically. "Well, I was thinking about just hanging out at home – maybe watch a movie."

"Hm."

"What?" Rory asked, a mischievous grin upon her face.

"Nothing."

Rory bowed her head and picked up a menu.

"It's just—"

Rory sighed, dropping the menu and looked up.

Lorelai smiled. "I'm going to be staying at Jason's tonight, but I don't want any funny business while I'm gone."

Rory found it in herself to grin. "Aw, mom, it'll be fine. Jess is busy anyways – says he's moving his stuff out of his apartment in New York."

Lorelai raised her brow. "Really?"

Rory dropped her purse on the floor next to her. "Yeah."

"So I guess this whole 'new change' thing is really permanent."

Rory hesitated before answering, running the words 'new change' through her mind."Yeah... I guess."

Lorelai nodded along. "So while he's doing that you'll be watching movies."

"Yep."

Luke came over. "Coffee?" he asked as he poured them drinks.

"Uh... sure," Lorelai said, though her response was not ignored. "Luke."

"Mm?"

She leaned forward on crossed arms. "Is everything okay?"

"Whaddaya mean?" He grouched, staring down at the cup he was pouring.

Lorelai looked away. "Never mind..."

Luke left them to drink and talk, going back to taking people's orders and glaring at them all.

Rory took a sip. "So what are you and Jason gonna be doing?"

Lorelai grinned almost evilly. "Well... He claims to have made some 'last-minute' reservation at some sort of restaurant that serves a lot of ritzy people, but..."

"Something tells you he's got bigger plans?" Rory suggested, finishing off her sentence, which was confirmed by another wry smile of Lorelai Gilmore's.

"So you guys have been good?" Rory asked, hopeful. She loved seeing her mother happy.

"Yes. Everything's perfect," she lied.

"Really? Everything?" Rory clarified.

Lorelai glanced down at the table, enable to look her daughter in the eye. "Yes. Everything's fine."

Yeah... That's if you categorise $30,000 in debt as being 'fine'.

"Okay," Rory said, though she sounded completely unsure. But was willing to allow her mother to lie to her.

Then Rory's phone started ringing. She fished the buzzing phone out of her little orange purse and flipped open the top. "Hello?"

"Rory, it's Dean—"

"I'm sorry, you have the wrong number," Rory said and hung up, a smile plastered on her face.

Yeah. Everything's fine.

Two hours of them eating breakfast on a Thursday morning with more arguments over Edward Scissorhands, and Lorelai left to get to work. Rory's plan was to 'casually' hang around, so she could bump into Jess, and to finish off some last-minute homework. But he never came down, and she then forgot her original plan to see Jess because the homework then consumed her.

Luke had refilled her coffee several times as she battled through an article on Yale's lacrosse game and an essay on man. Kind of a broad topic to conqueror when all you have to console you is really bad peach pie.

"Rory!" An enthusiastic voice came through to her, and she looked up. Then she grinned like a child again when she realised who it was. "Lane!" Rory shouted and stood up to hug her best friend.

"How are you?" Lane asked, sitting down across from her.

Rory smiled. "I'm good – school's good; me and my mom are good; and me and—" She stopped herself. Rory forced the smile back on her face when she remembered how Lane felt about Jess. She always hated him and that would never change. Damn.

Rory looked back at Lane. "But how are you? – You're looking particularly bouncy and happy today."

"Well," Lane began and couldn't control her grin. "I was gonna call you and say 'Hey – I've got gas', but I knew that would be followed by a severe amount of mocking, so I thought I just come and say it in person."

Rory frowned. "That you've got gas?"

"No," Lane said, "That I've moved into my own place!"

"That's great!" Rory shouted gleefully, earning a glare from Luke. Rory smiled over at him with a bashful smile, then turned back to Lane who was still grinning. "But how are you able to afford it?"

Lane, still smiling, said, "Well, I'm sharing it with Zach and Brian – and I know that's gross and a little unhygienic, but it's worth it!" Lane squeaked with excitement.

Rory grinned. "Yeah, that's – that's something..." She said with a raised brow, and a flexing hand.

"I should go," Lane said with a warm, contagious smile. She stood, the seat beneath her scraping against the floor. Before she left, she turned around in her fluffy suede jacket and said, "I know it's weird, but who cares? I've got gas!"

"You've got gas!"