AN: I'll try to keep this short! A lot of the reviews from last chapter said that the whole POV thing didn't really work for various reasons, so from this chapter and on I have decided to use third person omniscient, so this is written in third person but has everyone's opinions and feelings. I have put characters direct thoughts in italics. Please let me know if this is better! I can re-write chapter 1 if you think it's necessary however that will delay the update speed even more so let me know! that leads me to my next point, sorry it's been quite a while, I've been very busy! I have already started Chapter 3 so hopefully that won't be as long!
Thank you to all the amazing people that reviewed the last chapter, it was greatly appreciated. Those amazing people are: Red Lightening, PuppiesRcute, Keep It Lowkey, JJsMommy27, Rori Potter, Rosie, AminalLuv, Julie-sue, SmAsh92, Curly-Q, Apalusa-light, SophieeeeXD, Fox24
So just enjoy the chapter! - Oh also, I know that she didn't do a speech at her graduation but this is AU so i decided to have her do one!
Chapter 2 - Last night of college
Rory's Graduation...
Oh my gosh... I can't believe I'm graduating today! These past few years have passed by in a flash, yet so much has happened. Of course the best thing was Logan. In a way, I can't believe he's the one I'm on my way to graduation with now. If someone had told me he was the one I would be in love with and living with three years ago I would have told them they were crazy! I thought he was an arrogant, egotistical arse! He was a playboy, and had a different girl in his bed every night, he got drunk all the time, did stupid things and looked down on people with less money than him! Who knew he could change? Who knew he could be the most caring, protective, sweet and sensitive guy? Although the thing I love most about Logan is that he is all of those things, plus he is fun and exciting! He takes risks, lives life to the fullest and just takes life as it comes. The connection between us is great, he's witty and intelligent, something that I never would have thought he was when I first met him. I never knew he would be as much of a bookworm as I am!
And here we are... and I'm so, so happy!
Frank pulled up outside one of the main buildings at Yale where the ceremony was talking place. Frank opened the door for Logan before Logan helped Rory out of the car. They were walking up to the entrance of the building, Logan's arm draped around Rory's shoulders. Rory noticed Logan stopping and looking over her shoulder behind her and smiling. Rory turned to see who he was smiling at. It was her dad.
My dad always liked Logan which I was really happy about. They always have a lot to say to each other and are debating about something or another which makes it easy when hanging out with my dad, knowing that both of them are actually happy with the company.
They started to walk in the direction of Chris who was already walking towards them.
"Hey Kiddo!" he said, pulling her into a hug "you look great!"
"Thanks! I can't believe I'm graduating!"
"Chris!" Logan said doing the hand-shake-pull-into-man-hug thing with him.
"Logan! How are ya? Didn't get to speak to you much last night"
"I'm well thank you, and yourself?"
"I'm very well" Dad looked down then said "Wow, you have excellent taste in shoes!"
Logan looked a bit confused at first that was a bit of an odd thing for a guy to say? Then looked down to see that Chris was wearing the same pair of black brogues. Logan laughed "I bet you just wanted to get the latest Huntzberger look, didn't you?" He quipped
Chris was about to reply with a witty comeback when he was interrupted "Rory, Logan, Christopher! Why are we standing out here? We should go inside!" Emily said, looking in the direction of the doors.
Logan replied first "We were about to Emily when we ran into Chris." He said, giving her his winning smile.
"Oh, that's fine. Shall we go inside now then?" she asked.
Everyone just nodded and followed Richard and Emily into the tall building. "You two are wearing the same shoes!" Emily observed, looking at Logan and Christopher.
Christopher laughed "We are, coincidence, eh?" Emily just smiled and continued to wonder into the building.
They stood in the room, along with everyone else graduating and their friends and family, drinking champagne and making polite conversation. Then of course Emily had something to complain about. "Ugh, where is Lorelai? She was supposed to be here nearly ten minutes ago! This is ridiculous, what's the point in agreeing on a time to meet if you don't stick to it?" she ranted.
"She'll be here soon, I'm sure she's just running late Grandma" Rory tried to reason.
Richard rolled his eyes at Emily then said "Rory dear, could I have a word with you?"
"Of course" she replied politely. They walked away to a quiet corner of the room.
"Rory, I know you said you didn't want graduation presents..." he said, retrieving an envelope from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
"Grandpa you didn't have to-"
"Rory, I want to. I'm so proud of you, and how far you've come. You're so intelligent and focussed and you've made so much of your life so far. I always knew you could do it, but this is just something to show you how proud I am." He said, handing Rory the envelope.
She smiled at him "Thank you, not just for this, or your kind words, but for everything, if it weren't for you I wouldn't be here right now."
"Rory, you're more than welcome" he said, hugging her.
"Right, now if I recall correctly, when I took you golfing, many years ago now, you told me all about how you wanted to travel when you were older and go backpacking across Europe with Lorelai. Now, you've done that, but you also mentioned you wanted to go to Fez, so why not use some of that money to go to Fez with Logan or something?"
"You remember that?" She asked, amazed by how much notice he took of what she had said to him that day, many moons ago.
He lightly chuckled "I do"
"Well again, thank you" she said, looking down at the envelope.
"You're more than welcome Rory" he glanced up and saw Emily blabbering on and on to Logan and Christopher. "Now, come on, we should go and save your dad and Logan"
Rory laughed then nodded and followed Richard back to the group.
"Everything ok, Ace?" Logan whispered in Rory's ear as she came and stood next to him.
"Everything's great" she replied, a genuine smile on her face. He just smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Lorelai!"
"Mom, dad, hey!"
You're late!" Emily growled, staring pointedly at her.
"Lovely to see you too, mom! I'm great, thanks for asking!" She replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Emily continued, ignoring what she had just said "We on agreed a time, is it really that hard to stick to it?"
"Sorry mom, I'm only ten minutes late, we still have like three quarters of an hour 'till the ceremony starts!"
"Hey, Lor" Chris said, kissing Lorelai on the cheek, effectively breaking up the sure to come fight between mother and daughter.
"Hey! Hey Yale graduate!" Lorelai said with a big grin plastered on her face as she gave her daughter a hug.
"Lorelai!" Logan said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Hey Logan. You and Chris are wearing the same shoes!" she commented.
"Oh my god! What is it with people and staring at our feet?"
The voice of someone making an announcement at the front of the room refocused their attention. "Will all the graduates please begin to make their way to the classroom just on the other side of the corridor outside this room to get their caps and gowns. Oh, and also Professor Andrews would like to have a quick word with the honor speaker. Family and friends you will be able to take your seats fairly shortly, if you have not already been assigned seats then please come forward and choose them now. That is all. Thank you."
"I need to go find Professor Andrews..." Rory said under her breath, looking around the room to see if she could see him.
"What was that?" Lorelai asked.
"Huh?" Rory asked, not really paying attention.
"You said something about finding Professor Andrews?"
"Yeah"
"But he said only the honor speaker needed to..." Christopher stated, confused.
A mischievous grin appeared on her face.
"Are you the honor speaker, Ace!" Logan asked, excited.
"Maybe..." she squealed.
"Oh my god! Kiddo, that's GREAT! Why didn't you tell us?" Christopher asked.
"Thanks, and I don't know I guess I wanted it to be a surprise, anyway I better go, I'll see you guys after the ceremony!" with that she waved and walked off to find Professor Andrews.
"Now we have the great pleasure of introducing you to the graduate that is our honor speaker today. This young lady is studious, dedicated, loyal and responsible as well as having a great sense of humor, sociable and interesting. She has worked remarkably hard over the last four years and puts her all into her work. She receives glowing reviews from every professor that has had the honor of teaching her. Her journalistic abilities are exceptional and she has been one of the best staff writers at the Yale Daily News and was the editor in chief during the last year! I also believe she has had more front page articles than anyone else on staff! Everyone, it is an honor to introduce you to Miss Rory Gilmore!" Everyone clapped as Rory walked onto the stage in her cap and gown with a yellow piece of material around her neck.
"I can't believe that's our little baby!" Lorelai said to Christopher, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Yeah, not so little anymore"
She cleared her throat then began. "Thank you. Welcome everyone, to the last day of our school careers and the first day of the rest of our lives. I think I can safely say that I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that our college experience has been an emotional rollercoaster!" Many 'mmm-hmm's' and 'yeah's' were head from the audience. "Some moments were good and bad, happy and sad, exciting and scary, daunting and daring. May I just point out that poetry never was my forte!" A chuckle escaped from those sitting in the crowd."We have all created many memories over the last four years, be it ones to do with love and friendship, funny ones, or just plain embarrassing ones and many that we all wish people would forget about but we know they never will! As Adele said, 'regrets and mistakes are memories made'.
What can I say about the education at Yale? Exceptional, outstanding and stupendous are the words that come to mind, yet don't begin to cover it. Each and every professor is incredible and awe inspiring! They're a walking encyclopedia and are so enthusiastic! But seriously, you learn something new every minute, whether it be Newton's laws of physics or that the sandwich you just had was out of date!" Another laugh came from the audience. "My point is, you're constantly gaining knowledge, be it academic or about life in general. Although my college experience has been mainly about academics and classes, I have also learned to live, take risks and let my hair down. My boyfriend of the past three years, Logan Huntzberger, has shown me how, to both live and love. And for this I am extremely grateful, he has had a big impact on my life and has built my character immensely and we have had an amazing few years and hopefully many more to come, I love him so much!" Logan's smile almost reached his ears when she said this "Although his friends and now mine Steph, Colin and Finn have also played a large part in this."
"Paris Geller is an indescribable person! She's stubborn, strong willed, persistent and sometimes even scary, but I love her! She's also considerate and got my best interest at heart. We actually started off as mortal enemies at Chilton, and eventually after a bumpy few years ended up where we are today, closer than ever." This made Paris smile, she really did consider Rory one of her best friends, although they fight they were actually incredibly close."
"I have met some people that have inspired me to no end and I will continue to remember their advice for the rest of my life. I have also made some great friends that I will hopefully remain friends with for years to come, Olivia, Lucy and Marty to name a few."
"But there are a few very important people in my life that if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be standing here right now. Richard and Emily Gilmore play a huge part in my life's success so far, they have always supported me and encouraged me and helped me get to where I am now. I don't know what I'd do without them! Then there's my dad, Christopher. He wasn't always there for me when I was growing up, however he has more than made up for lost time in the last few years. He is there for me unconditionally whenever I need him and I can count on him 100%."
"Then there's my mom... Lorelai Gilmore, she's more like a best friend than a mom. When I was growing up, we did everything together. She believed there wasn't a thing I couldn't do. She was unflagging in her efforts to give me role models. I remember the person I always aspired to be like was Christiane Amanpour because I wanted to travel and report what I saw. Anyway she was at my mom's inn one morning and mom rushed home and dragged me out of bed -in my pajamas might I add- to meet her. I felt ridiculous but my mom knew it made my day! My point is that she always goes above and beyond to make me happy. As she guided me through these wonderful 21 years I don't know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her. Thank you mom, I don't know what I'd do without you, I have you to thank for everything!" Lorelai had tears streaming down her face; she was so incredibly proud of her kid and couldn't believe what she had just said.
"Anyway, I'd just like to say the best of luck for the future to everyone graduating today! I hope you fulfill all your aspirations and goals! And I hope to see you all again one day! Also, a massive thank-you to everyone here at Yale for making our last four years incredible and extremely memorable!" The crowd erupted into applause and cheers and lots of people chanting "GO RORY!"
A huge smile graced Rory's features as she was handed her diploma and shook the headmasters hand then stood at the front, put the tassel on her hat to the other side then stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth. Lorelai saw the action and did the same, much to Emily's disapproval.
"Lorelai! Must you do that!"
Lorelai just ignored her and did it again, a grin plastered all over her face.
The whole ceremony had taken quite a while, who knew so many people attended Yale! There was also lots of speeches from different professors and other 'boring, important people' as Lorelai put it so elegantly. It was about 2:00pm, Rory walked up to Lorelai, Christopher, Logan, Emily and Richard who were standing around on the grass. She was still wearing her cap and gown and had a huge smile on her face.
As she approached the group Lorelai took a few steps forward to meet her. She enveloped her daughter in bone crushing hug. "I can't believe it babe! I can't believe you're all grown up! You were so small, and now you're so big!" She pulled away slightly to look at her straight in the face "I'm so proud of you kid!"
Rory's eyes welled up with tears "Thank you mom, for everything!" and pulled her into another hug.
"You're welcome babe, you're welcome. And as for that speech, wow! That was amazing! Seriously, screw journalism, you could make a career of writing speeches! Everyone loved it"
She smiled at her mom's enthusiasm about her speech writing abilities before she and her mom headed back to the rest of them.
"WOW! Some speech Ace! That was incredible" Logan said as Rory walked up to his side. He then said, slightly quieter but sincerity evident in his voice "I loved the bit about me" before placing a soft kiss on her cheek. She turned to face him and kissed him on the lips.
"I guess I'm not the only one that can declare my love in front of a crowd of people, eh?"
"I guess you're not" They were staring into each other's eyes when they were pulled from their thoughts by the sound of Emily's voice.
"Rory, that was simply wonderful!" she gushed.
Chris and Richard agreed. "Ok, photo time!" Lorelai exclaimed, holding up her camera.
"Oh yes, of course!" Emily agreed.
"Why don't I take one of you and Christopher with Rory, Lorelai?" Richard offered.
"Thanks dad, that sounds great" she said, handing him the camera.
Lorelai then took a photo of Emily and Richard with Rory. Then Logan suggested "How about I take one of all five of you together?"
"So we can recreate the memories?" Rory smirked.
He rolled his eyes "You're never going to let that go, are you?"
"Nope!" she smiled triumphantly before turning away and getting in position for the next photo. He just shook his head and chuckled then proceeded to take the photo of the five of them.
"Hey Logan, you're not in any of them! How about one of just you and Rory? Then we'll do some with you and me and Chris in them?" Lorelai suggested.
"Sounds perfect" he smiled. Rory was pleased to see her mom making an effort with Logan and realized; maybe she really was beginning to change her opinions of him! Logan walked up to Rory, standing behind her and circling his arms securely around her waist. They took one of them smiling and another of them kissing with Rory's head turned to meet his over her shoulder.
After the photo's they continued to talk a while longer before Rory heard her name being called by a group of people. She turned to see Paris, Olivia and Lucy all waving their hand towards themselves, indicating they wanted her to come over. She excused herself from the group and headed over to them.
"Oh my gosh! That speech was amazing!" Olivia exclaimed, hugging her.
"Seriously, it was fab!" Lucy agreed, also giving her a hug.
"Thanks guys! I can't believe we've all graduated!"
"I know it's scary!" they agreed.
Paris, finally speaking up, focused on Rory and said "That speech really was pretty good, Gilmore! It's hard to think we used to be enemies, eh?"
Rory smiled at Paris' words. She knew Paris rarely said nice things about people so it meant a lot when she did. "I know!"
"We've become pretty close these past few years" Rory nodded in agreement. "To be honest, although I had Doyle, I still kind of missed living with you and having you around to moan at this past year"
"Awww Paris, I missed you too!" Rory said, hugging Paris.
Paris pulled back before saying "Look, I got to go talk to some people, but call me and we'll meet up and do something in the next few weeks?"
"I definitely will!" Rory confirmed, giving Paris one last hug before the blonde girl walked off.
Then Lucy asked a question "so what are you doing t-"
"Rory?" Rory turned around to see who the man was that had called her name and interrupted Lucy.
Her face showed an expression of sheer shock and surprise "Mr Medina, Max...!"
"Hi" he said meekly.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, still trying to get her head around the fact that her old English teacher and the man that almost married her mum, that she hadn't seen in about 4 or 5 years was standing before her at her graduation.
"Well I was in the area and I knew that the Yale graduation was today and that certain students I know were graduating from there, so I thought I'd come and see you" he explained.
Lucy and Olivia saw the interaction and assumed it wouldn't be a short conversation so decided they'd leave them to talk and catch up with Rory later.
She stood there trying to think of something to say "... I haven't seen you in such a long time! How are you?"
"I know! And I'm well thank you. And well... as for you, you seem to be thriving! I got here in time for your speech, that really was something. You've come so far, Rory! I remember the days when you first started Chilton. Got off to a bit of a bumpy start, but to think Charleston implied that you might not be cut out for Chilton, well, how wrong he was! I always knew you could do it though" Max said, giving her a smile.
Still at a loss for words, "...thank you, so much! That really does mean a lot. I still can't quite believe it myself, where I am now."
"You deserve it Rory" there was a small pause. "I brought you something."
She gave him a questioning look as he opened up a bag he was carrying and retrieved a book.
"I believe this is yours" he said as he handed her a book entitled 'Swans Way'
She still looked slightly confused so he continued "When we were studying it in class, this was the book you used. Somehow I ended up with it. I flicked through and looked at all the notes in the margins and have to admit they are the most thought provoking and interesting notes on this book I've ever seen. I liked it so much that I used it to teach those lessons with the classes of following years. I kept meaning to return it to you but I guess I never really got round to it and then you went off to college, so... I continued to use it."
She stood there stunned at the things he had said about her notes, it was very flattering. The only thing she could think to say was "Thank you. You really used it?"
He nodded "It was an enormous help. It has done me well over the years, but I thought now would be a perfect time to give it back"
"Well, if it really helped that much, then... keep it" she said smiling, holding out the book for him.
"That's very sweet, but... I um... I already copied out all the notes so I could continue using them..." he admitted shyly with a chuckle "I hope that's ok" he added as an afterthought.
She smiled "Of course that's fine"
They were interrupted by a voice from behind with a thick Australian accent. "There's my lovely Reporter Girl!" Rory turned, shocked to see an excited Finn running towards her. Before she knew it he had picked her up and spun her round.
"Finn! Put me down... FINN!" she yelled giddily
He placed her back on the ground "Why I thought you'd be happy to see me, love" he said, placing a hand over his heart, acting hurt.
She rolled her eyes at his antics "I am! What are you doing here?"
"You didn't think we'd miss your graduation, did you?" Stephanie said, appearing for the first time.
"Steph!"
"Hey, girlie!" They hugged, then another familiar face appeared.
"Colin!"
"Hey Rory, congratulations!"
"Thanks" she said hugging him. She didn't really know Colin that well, or any of them really, I mean she was probably closest to Finn because he was the most talkative and outgoing. She used to hang out with them quite a lot when her and Logan were at Yale but hardly saw them at all this year because Logan was off in London and everyone was just starting up their lives after graduation. It was nice of them to come today though!
"So, you've replaced Logan already?" Finn asked jokingly, looking in the direction of Max.
Rory let out a small chuckle "I finally came to my senses" the others let out a laugh "no, this is Mr. Medina or Max, my English teacher from Chilton. Max, this is Finn, Colin and Stephanie" she said, pointing to each of them as she introduced them to him.
"It's nice to meet you all, and please, call me Max" he said, more directed at Rory.
Rory then felt a pair of arms snake around her waist and Logan whispered in her ear "Think you can get away that easily? Not a chance" His breath sent chills down her spine.
She turned to face him and bring him into the group. That's when Logan realized who she was with. "Guys! What are you doing here?" then kissed Steph on the cheek before doing the hand-shake-into-man-hug think with Finn and Colin.
"Why does everyone sound so surprised? We weren't going to miss Rory's graduation!" Finn exclaimed.
He just smiled, his friends really liked Rory and had always wanted to get to know her a bit better, that plan kind of went down the drain when they all went their separate ways after graduation. Maybe now would be the chance, although maybe not. He and Rory didn't really know where they were headed or what they were going to do now. They needed to talk about it.
He then turned and noticed the sixth member of the group that he didn't recognize. He couldn't be one of Finn, Colin or Steph's friends; he was much older than them. Rory saw the confused looks on both men's faces then made introductions "Oh yeah, sorry. Logan, this is Max, my English teacher from Chilton. Max, this is my boyfriend Logan."
The men shook hands "Nice to meet you" Max said.
"You too" Logan said with a smile. He knew who Max was. Rory had told him about everything that happened with Max and Lorelai and he also knew that Rory really liked him and was very fond of him.
"So, is Paris around here anywhere?" Max asked, mainly directed at Rory and was surprised when Logan answered.
"Aaah, the infamous Miss Geller" Logan chuckled. "I believe I saw her over by the entrance to the hall on my way over here" He answered
"Thanks, you know her?" He asked, curious.
"Oh yeah, for starters Ace was roommates with her for two and a half years" he replied.
"Ace?" Max asked, confused. Logan had said it as if he should know who it was.
"Oh sorry, Rory" he said cocking his head towards her.
Max nodded in understanding. "You were roommates with Paris!" He asked.
"Yeah, although we were getting along at the end of Chilton, I was still pretty annoyed that I had to have her as a roommate, but actually, we got quite close. The second year I was glad she was mine and now we get on really well, I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sure she's still psycho, but she's a good friend" The others laughed.
"I have to second the psycho part!" Finn added which made Max laugh. He had had plenty of experience with one Miss Paris Geller over the years to understand where he was coming from.
"Come to think of it you did mention her being a good friend in your speech" Max added.
"I also know her because she was on the Yale Daily News staff and so was I" Logan added.
"You write?" Max asked. The others all laughed, Max had obviously either not known or forgotten what Logan's second name was.
"I think you should re-introduce yourself" Steph suggested.
"I think that's a good idea." Logan chuckled. "Nice to meet you, Logan Huntzberger" he said with a laugh.
"Oh my god! I can't believe it, you're a Huntzberger! Now that I think about it I think Rory mentioned your second name in her speech but I didn't really take any notice of it. Wow Rory, lucky enough to find yourself a Huntzberger!" he added, partly joking around.
"Oh no, I'm the lucky one" Logan said sweetly yet sincerely, staring down into her eyes.
"Okay, sorry to break up the moment, but I should probably go and find Paris and talk to her" Max said.
"Good luck!" Colin said sincerely.
He chuckled "Thanks!" He then turned to Rory "Rory, it was great to see you again and I'm so glad to see you doing so well for yourself. I always knew you would. And I'd like it not to be four years before I see you again."
"Thank you so much, and definitely not, I agree!" she said smiling.
"Hey, is your mum around here somewhere? I'd like to talk to her..." he questioned.
"Errrr yeah, she's..." she scanned the crowds around looking for her mum and when she found her she pointed in the direction "over there"
"Thanks, and it really was great to see you" He said
"It was" It was a bit awkward but eventually he pulled her into a hug. After all, they were quite close; he was almost her step-dad!
"Bye Rory"
"Bye" she waved as he wondered off in the direction to find Paris.
"Okaaaay... that was a bit weird, it's not really normal to hug some random teacher you had years ago...?" Colin asked, a little confused.
"He's not just some random teacher I had years ago..." She then launched into the story of how he had always believed in her and how they were quite close but also the main part about him and her mom almost getting married and how he was nearly her step-dad.
Lorelai was standing, chatting to Chris and another fairly young mother of one of the graduates that didn't appear to be from society, named Sarah. She seemed nice enough and normally someone that Lorelai would take to and chat away to. However something was distracting her. She kept nodding and making small noises of agreement every now and then, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Paris talking to a man she thought she recognized, he was sideways on so she couldn't see him clearly but it looked an awful lot like him. Max! Max Medina! It looks like Max! It can't be? What would he be doing here? At that moment he turned so he was facing Lorelai then waved back at Paris and scanned the crowd, looking for someone. It's him. She was staring hard at him when all of a sudden he looked in her direction and their eyes locked.
Max set off in Lorelai's direction; slowly trying to think of what he was going to say. It had been 5 years. 5 years since she ran off and bailed on him the day before their wedding. He should have been mad at her...but he wasn't. He was at the time but he no longer hated her. Quite the opposite, actually. He had missed her for some time but he had gotten over her and went on with his life. Nonetheless, he still wanted to talk to her. He wanted to know how she was, what she had been up to and where life had taken her. Without a second thought, he continued to make strides towards her.
Lorelai excused herself from the conversation with Chris and Sarah. Chris gave her a questioning look. "There's someone I need to talk to." He nodded and she turned away from the group and cautiously took a few steps forward to meet Max.
"Lorelai, Lorelai Gilmore" He began. It was the first thing that came to mind. He always used to call her by her full name.
"Max, Max Medina" She said, mimicking his tone. "What are you doing here?" She couldn't help but ask, she was dying to know!
"Well I was in the area and remembered that the Yale graduation was today and remembered a certain other Gilmore Girl attended this fine institution so I thought I'd come and see her" He paused for a moment letting Lorelai take in what he had said. That was nice of him. He always was very fond of Rory. "I was talking to her a few minutes ago, she's doing great! I can't believe she's finished college! She's right where she always dreamt of being though, I'm so happy for her. And that speech was incredible! It sounds like she has had an incredible 4 years here."
"She has. I'm so proud of her. She's got everything that she's ever dreamed of. I mean, she doesn't have a job for right now, but she'll find one soon. She's got an amazing record of achievement."
"That she has! Anyone would be lucky to have her; she was editor in chief of the Yale Daily news for goodness sake!"
Lorelai just smiled so Max continued "So, she seems to be really into this Logan guy, how long have they been together?" He asked, truly curious, because he had heard about his playboy reputation.
"Yeah, they're really happy. It's coming up three years I believe!" Lorelai informed him.
"WOW! That's a long time! I must have got it wrong... I thought he had a really bad playboy reputation?"
Lorelai chuckled knowingly. "Oh yes he did! I think he's slept with most of the girls on the eastern seaboard!" Max laughed. "Then he met Rory. They didn't get on a first, in fact she hated him! But as time went on they became friends and he fell for her, as did she for him. From then on he wasn't the same. I mean seriously, he's crazy about Rory! They've been living together for the last couple of years, well actually he was in London for a bit of the last year but that's a whole other story"
He smiled sweetly "I'm glad she's happy" there was a small pause in the conversation. "What about you? Where's life taken you? You look good"
"Thanks, and, a LOT has happened in the last five years but I'm not going to go into it all now" she wasn't about to explain to him how she had been engaged to Luke but put the wedding off then finally set a date just for him to then put it off and it eventually it didn't' even happen and then how she married Chris but got divorced! With that and her engagement to Max himself, she really didn't have a very good track record when it came to relationships! "But I do own my own inn!"
"Just like you always wanted to" he smiled.
"Just like I always wanted to" she repeated with a smile matching his. "What about you?" she asked.
"Not much has really happened, I still teach at Chilton" She could tell he was hiding something but wasn't going to start prying because she too wasn't giving him all the details of the last four years, well hardly any of the details really. "So
Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He looked down at the caller ID before saying "Sorry I need to take this" he put the phone to his ear "Hi... yeah, I'm in the main courtyard... Ok, great... see you in a minute" He then closed the phone and turned back to Lorelai.
"Sorry, I have to go. That was my sister, she's picking me up from here, we're heading to our parents house for lunch" Max explained.
Lorelai nodded in understanding. Max was unsure of what to say so settled for "Bye, Lorelai" he said it in a quiet voice and was ready to walk off.
Lorelai waved. Max turned around and began to walk across the grass when Lorelai called out "Max!" he turned around, a curious look on his face. "It was really good to see you. Goodbye Max Medina"
"You too, goodbye Lorelai Gilmore" he gave her a sweet smile and with that he was gone.
She stood there staring at where he had been standing just a few seconds ago, not sure what to make of the whole situation. Max was a great guy, even after what she did to him, he was still sweet like he always used to be. She wandered what he had done these past four years. For some reason she wanted to know and she wasn't sure why...
Logan, Rory, Finn, Colin and Steph were standing chatting about various things, catching up a bit as they hadn't seen much of each other this past year.
"So anyways, although it was very nice and all, we didn't just come for the boring ceremony, we came to take you out! To celebrate you graduating!" Steph exclaimed, excitedly.
"So If you had any plans, well that's too bad! Cancel them! We'll be much more fun anyway!" Finn said.
"Did you have any special plans?" Colin asked, more directed at Logan, worried in case they had interrupted something special he had planned. They know what he was like with his big grand gestures.
"Nope, nothing special planned. We were just going to go out for dinner" Logan assured them and Rory nodded.
"Great! Now, we thought long and hard about what to do tonight and after careful consideration..." Steph began, dramatically "... we decided, since you're the last one to graduate out of all of us, we'd have..."
"A last night of college!" Finn announced.
"Because none of us will ever be able to hang out and be care free like were in college again! So what better than to do it for one last final time tonight with all our best friends?" Colin explained. They looked at Rory and Logan waiting for their thoughts on what they considered their 'brilliant' idea.
"That sounds great!" Rory said enthusiastically.
Logan nodded in agreement. "It certainly does!"
If Rory had learned anything about them over the last few years, it was that they sure knew how to have a good night out! Their last night out in college, even though they weren't technically in college any more, would surely be a memorable one!
"So what exactly did you have in mind?" Rory asked.
"Well, love, we have a few ideas but nothings certain. We'll just do whatever the hell we feel like at the time!" Finn deadpanned.
Rory chuckled at their carefree attitude. She always kind of admired them for that, she didn't understand how they could go and do anything and end up in some random place and not care. The thought of that happening scared her. She hated not knowing what was going to happen and not have a plan. Then again, maybe it was about time she relaxed and went along with all their craziness for once without worrying. "Sounds great!" She grinned.
Logan raised his eyebrows at her, surprised at her different attitude to their nights out than her normal one. "Really? Rory Gilmore isn't going to try and plan every minute of our night? She's going to just go with the flow!"
She smacked him on the arm "What can i say? It's our last night in college for heaven's sake!"
"That's the attitude!" Finn exclaimed, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "Might I say darling, you look fabulous!"
"Finn, I'm wearing a navy blue gown! You can't see what I'm wearing!" She exclaimed, gesturing to her graduation outfit.
"And a cap with a tassel on it! Can't forget the cap, love!" He said, flicking the tassel.
"He's right Ace, the cap is very sexy!" Logan joked.
She just rolled her eyes. "I think you should keep it on, all night" 'Finn suggested.
"What!" No! I'm not gunna keep it on! I'll look ridiculous!" She said, amazed at some of the things Finn came out with.
"Oh and you think we looked normal dressing in black and white striped prison outfits to a bar?" Colin mentioned. Finn nodded to emphasize Colin's point. That was a fun night they thought to themselves.
"But you were all doing it!" She defended.
"Fine, we'll all wear graduation caps!" Stephanie suggested.
"Excellent Idea love! I always thought they looked rather good on me!" Finn said.
The others rolled their eyes "How are you lot going to get caps?" Rory asked.
"I'm sure we can figure something out" Colin assured her.
"Ok, well I need to go and say goodbye to people and also go home and change-"
"You nee-"Steph interrupted
"I'll keep the cap on!" she promised, rolling her eyes. Stephanie gave her a satisfied smile so she continued "So what time and where are we meeting?" She asked.
"Rich Man's Shoe? 6 o'clock? Finn suggested.
"The pub... how did I guess!" Rory mumbled under her breath.
Logan chuckled then said "Ok, we'll see you there soon" Then him and Rory waved and wandered off into the other direction.
"So, shall we say goodbye to everyone, return your gown and then head back to the apartment to change?" Logan suggested.
"Sounds like a plan" she smiled. Logan placed a hand on the small of Rory's back and they headed across the courtyard to see the others to say goodbye. "It was nice of them to come. I had no idea they would!"
"I had a feeling they might. They always really liked you, but I guess they never really got a chance to properly get to know you. I mean we went out with them a bit, but quite often it was with other people. And last year we all went off our separate ways, having graduated so I barely got to spend any time with them, let alone you. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing a lot more of them this year, which is great because I kind of miss having them around" He smiled. He missed his old friends that last year, the years before that the four of them had been inseparable, that began to change when he met Rory. It wasn't her fault at all; he just chose to spend less time with them and more time with her. But it would be nice to see them more this year, but if he could see Rory and them together that would be the best of both worlds. "Wait, that is a good thing, right? You don't mind seeing them more often?" He asked, suddenly panicked. He didn't actually know if she liked them, he just kind of always assumed that she did.
"Oh yeah! They're great! I always loved seeing them; they're all such lively characters and good fun. It would be nice to get to know them a bit better." She suddenly added as an afterthought "I know you haven't seen them much lately. I don't want to get in the way of you hanging out with them or make them feel like they have to put up with me."
"Not a chance Ace, they love you! We all want you there!" He said adamantly.
"You're sure?" She questioned, still not convinced.
"I'm sure" He kissed her temple before walking up to Lorelai, Christopher, Emily and Richard who were now standing chatting. Mom, having a civilized conversation with Grandma! This is a strange moment! Rory thought.
They said their goodbyes to everyone, promising to call and get together soon. "I think I'm going to get going as well, I'll walk with you to the car" Lorelai said.
"Ok, but I need to go and return my gown first, we'll meet you back here in a-"Rory began but was interrupted my Olivia and Lucy.
"Rory, we're off now! We're just going to return our gowns then go" Olivia said.
"Oh me too, I'll come with you." Rory decided.
"Well why don't we just take yours? It would be easier" Lucy suggested.
"Oh that would be great, thanks!"
"No prob-lamo" Lucy said as Rory handed her her gown.
"Ok, so call us soon and we'll get together?" Olivia said, giving Rory a hug goodbye.
"Definitely" she agreed, hugging Lucy as well.
They waved as they walked across the courtyard. "Well, I no longer need to go and return that so let's go!" Rory said to Logan and Lorelai. They set off in the direction of the parking lot, waving one last time to the group behind them.
"So what are you guys up to tonight? Doing anything special?" Lorelai asked.
"Finn, Colin and Steph showed up so were going out with them. They said since we have now all officially graduated and are out off college that we should have a 'last night of college thing'. God knows what that will entail!" Rory laughed but was actually quite excited and looking forward to the night ahead of them.
"Oooo! Sounds fun!" Lorelai said as they reached her car and saw Frank off in the distance. "Well, have a good time, my grown up girl!" She said, giving Rory a hug and Logan a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye Lorelai" Logan waved.
Lorelai got in the car and as she drove off, she rolled down her window, stuck her head out and called in a dramatic fashion, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
Rory and Logan got out of the Limo and walked towards the gates of the pub's entrance later that night, Logan's arm draped casually around Rory's shoulders. Rory was wearing tight, dark blue skinny jeans with a black off the shoulder top; although it was loose fitting it complimented her body shape very well. She was wearing peep toe, red wedge heels and a red purse to match. Her hair was in loose curls, of course with her graduation cap resting on top. She looked absolutely gorgeous! Logan was clad in black slacks with black leather boots and a pale blue shirt with a grey blazer that had slightly shaggy edges; he used to wear it a lot in college. His hair was strategically messy, as per usual.
As they entered the pub they spotted Finn, Colin and Steph sitting in a booth, a graduation cap atop each of their heads as well as another one sitting on the table in front of them. They had obviously just got there because none of them had a drink and Finn would certainly not allow that for very long! The couple strode up to them greeting them with a "Hey"
Finn rose from his seat. "Just in time, I'm off to the bar, what can I get you? He asked the pair.
"Scotch, neat" Logan replied.
"Errrm... surprise me!" Rory said, at a loss for what to order. She knew this could be a dangerous move, letting Finn order her a drink, but to be honest she didn't really care. She didn't normally drink that much but she was going to let her hair down tonight.
"You realize that what Finn brings you to drink will probably be more alcoholic than any drink you have ever had, right?" Colin warned.
"Oh trust me, you haven't had Miss Patty's founders day punch!" Logan laughed, he had heard about the woman's infamous punch. "But yes I do realize that, but what the hell? It's our last night of college, right?"
"Absolutely!" Logan said.
"Huntz, I believe you are the only one cap-less" Steph observed as she stood up and placed the hat atop his head.
They all took a seat as Finn brought over their drinks, Colin and Steph next to each other and Rory and Logan together next to them, leaving a space on the end for Finn. He placed a large martini type glass in front of Rory that contained a pink-ish liquid. "Oh god, I'm having 21st birthday flashbacks!" Rory remarked, remembering the disgusting drink her grandmother had concocted for her and named 'a Rory'. The others laughed, they had all heard about the terrible drink.
"Love, I assure you this will be an awful lot nicer than that vile concoction!" Finn guaranteed her.
She tentatively took a sip, all eyes focussed on her, waiting for her reaction to Finn's drink choice. "Mmmmm... fruity!" a couple of seconds later when the drink had had a chance to go down she added "Strong!" The others chuckled.
"But nice?" Finn questioned, hopeful.
"But nice." She confirmed with a smile. Finn sat down with a satisfied grin on his face. "What's in it?" She asked, curious. She had never tasted anything quite like it before.
"Ahh, that's something I cannot say love. I'm excellent when it comes to mixing drinks, however I don't share my secrets! Just ask the others" He said as he cocked his head, mainly in Steph's direction.
"It's true" she confirmed. "I've been trying to get him to tell me for years!"
"Ok, I'd like to propose a toast to our last night of college!" Logan said, raising his glass.
The others followed suit and raised their glass, exclaiming "To our last night in college!" in unison. They all took a big gulp of their drinks and set them back down on the table.
Steph brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, her cap sliding off her head in the process. "To make this a little more interesting, I think we should enforce a punishment for the person who's hat comes off of their head first, be it because it fell off or because the person is sick of wearing it" Logan suggested.
"I'm listening" said Rory.
"Ok great, everyone else?" He received nods from around the table so continued. "So what should the punishment be?" There was a long pause as people tried to think of the perfect penalty. When finally Steph spoke up.
"How about, whoever's hat is separated from their head first has to profess their love for the nearest random stranger" She said with an evil grin.
"I like it" Colin said, approving of Steph's idea. "Of course I won't be the one doing it" he added, cockily.
"Ooooh, we'll see about that! All I know is that it certainly won't be me!" Logan stated confidently, raising his glass to his lips, taking a swig.
"Whatever. So, game on?" Finn asked, raising his glass. Any excuse to take another drink Rory thought to herself with a smile.
"Game on" They confirmed as they all took a sip of their drinks.
"So, please tell me tonight involves food, because you can't deprive a Gilmore of food!" Rory exclaimed with wild hand gestures. Logan smiled always thinking about her stomach, some things never change!
"How about Chinese?" Logan asked, knowing it was Rory's favourite.
"Chinese sounds good!" the others agreed as a large smile took over Rory's face.
"Shall we call and get it ordered here?" Colin suggested. The others nodded in agreement.
They ordered the food and conversation flowed easily as they ate. They were just about done eating when Finn announced there was a limo waiting outside to take them to their next destination. Steph and Colin also appeared to know what was going on but Logan and Rory were left clueless. For once Logan is also being the surprise-e instead of the surprise-er Rory thought to herself as they climbed into the limo.
"Guys, where are we going?" Logan wined.
"Ahh, that is for us to know and you to find out my friend" Colin replied with a smirk.
"Not enjoying being on the receiving end of a surprise, eh Huntz?" Steph asked.
"No, I don't mind. But I thought tonight was meant to be us just hanging out and having a laugh"
"Oh trust me, we're going to have a laugh"" Finn assured his friend.
"How long is the journey?" Rory enquired, trying to ascertain where their destination may be.
"Not very far at all. In fact..." Steph peaked out of the window "we're here!" With that the clueless couple jumped up, eager to find out where they were. They all piled out of the limo and found themselves standing outside Yale. Well I guess our College would be a perfect place to celebrate our last night of college! Logan thought to himself.
"Yale!" Rory exclaimed. "This should be good" she said as she pondered all of the different things the others may have thought of doing there.
"Trust me love, it will be." Finn said adamantly as he lead the way through a grand building into the courtyard.
"Ok, so what exactly are we doing here? Logan asked, a large smile on his face in anticipation of the answer he would receive from his best friends.
"Well..." Steph began.
"We thought seeing as we no longer go here! Colin continued.
"We want to make sure people remember us" Finn finished with a wicked grin in place.
"Ok..." Rory began. "So how exactly are we going to go about 'making sure people remember us'?"
"Well, we thought something that would be big and bold..." Colin started to explain.
"Something that everyone would notice and make people stop and think of us" Steph continued. "So in the end we decided we would paint our names all over the walls in black paint!" She exclaimed excitedly, gesturing to the two large pots of black paint in each of Finn's hands. None of them had noticed that until now, He must have picked it up on the way in somewhere and kept it out of sight.
Logan laughed "Oh my, you lot have out done your selves!"
"That is absolutely ridiculous!" Rory said, shaking her head at their crazy plan. Who in the world thinks of doing that! She asked herself.
"Ridiculous, but very bloody funny!" Finn amended. She nodded her head, signalling she thought it was funny.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Logan asked, walking over and picking up a can of paint and a brush. "Let's get painting!" The others laughed and followed suit, grabbing a brush, ready to ensure Yale remembers them.
Hope you liked it! Those of you who have written stories know how great it is when you get an e-mail saying 'Story Review' It literally makes my day! So pleeease review telling me what you like and don't like and what you would change or want to happen in the future!
Em xx