I've updated this one a bit quicker than I have been doing so hopefully i'll try and keep that up! Please don't hate me too much for this chapter! I'm sorry! Hehehe, as always, reviews are so so much appreciated and I love knowing what you guys do and don't like! So please leave me a quick review!

Chapter 8 - A Blast From the Past

While Colin just laughed, Logan's face suddenly turned serious and said "Would that be so bad?" His friends looked at him with confusion and all he did was simply produce a blue velvet box from his pocket and opened it up to reveal a sparkling engagement ring...

"Wow..." Finn gasped dramatically. "You're going to propose to the lovely reporter girl! Wait... It is reporter girl, isn't it!?" Finn asked in drunken panic.

Logan laughed at his friend "Yes, of course it's Rory"

"Well congrats man, we're really happy for you!" Colin said, patting Logan's shoulder.

He looked up and gave a sincere smile. "Thanks" Then looked intently down at the ring before speaking in a surprisingly sober tone. "I love that girl so much. I never thought a girl would make me feel like this... It's like without her I don't feel complete"

"Alright, no need to go all soppy on us" Colin teased.

Logan chuckled before snapping the ring box shut and returning it to the safety of his pocket. Finn then stood up and announced "Right, this revelation calls for celebration! And what better way to do so than... with shots!" He exclaimed, retrieving 3 shot glasses from their make-shift bar on the roof.

"Sounds like a plan" Logan said, filling everyone's shot glasses with vodka.

"To the East coasts most renowned bachelor finally tamed!" Colin said, raising his glass.

"Bottoms up boys!" Finn said as all three downed their shot and slammed their glasses down on the stone surround of the fire pit.

"We came to get drunk, how 'bout you?" Colin chanted.

"Bottoms up, let's go round two!" Logan screamed, quoting the song 'Shots' by LMFAO as they all downed another shot.

The rest of the boys night was spent drinking more, doing stupid things and playing more poker. They all crashed at his apartment and awoke the next morning with enormous hangovers. They spent half the day in bed before Colin had to leave at about 2 to spend the afternoon with Steph.

Finn and Logan were now sitting on the couches eating takeaway Chinese. "So you're really going to ask her to marry you" Finn stated more than asked.

"I really am." Logan said to himself more than Finn as a smile crept over his face.

"I've got to say mate, I didn't think you'd get married until you were forced into it. Never thought you'd voluntarily choose to" Finn said, thinking back to their early college days.

"Neither did I. Let alone at this age!"

"Once you're married you better still make time for your friends" Finn said sincerely with a hint of vulnerability in his voice.

"Course I will man, you know that" Logan reassured him. "And besides, she hasn't agreed to marry me yet, you don't even know that I definitely will be." He hadn't really thought about the possibility that she might say no up until now. And if he was truthful, the thought actually made him feel sick. He didn't know what he'd do if she said no.

"C'mon mate, this is Rory, you two are perfect for each other. Of course she'll say yes"

Logan just 'mmm'ed in reply, pushing the thought out of his head before changing the subject. "So, what about you?"

"What about me?" Finn asked, looking up at Logan.

"Do you think you might want to start thinking about settling down soon?"

Finn put down his chopsticks, contemplating Logan's question. "I honestly don't know, I'm not sure commitments my forte"

Logan nodded "That's what I thought a couple of years ago. Just... do me a favour and don't completely rule out the idea of commitment" After a short pause he said "Dude, quit hogging the duck!" As he grabbed the carton of duck from Finn's side of the table. The two best friends fell into easy conversation about various things. Later Finn went home at about 6 leaving Logan alone for the night.

Rory's weekend with the girls went by in a flash and before she knew it, it was midday on Monday and she was sitting in the airport departure lounge waiting for her flight to be called.

As she sat in the departure lounge of the airport, coffee in one hand and a book in the other, her phone began to ring. She placed her book face down on her thigh so she didn't lose her page and retrieved her phone from her pocket and smiled when she saw it was Logan calling.

"Hey" she said down the phone.

"Hey Ace" came the reply from Logan.

"Sorry, I can't talk for long, I'm boarding any minute"

"Okay, that's fine. Just one quick thing, my cousin called earlier and said he's coming to New York to visit for the week. I was just going to check with you to see if it's ok if he stays with us."

"Of course it is Logan! That's fine!"

"Okay good"

"I have to go, they're calling my flight"

"Okay. He's coming down today; I'm picking him up from the airport"

"That's fine, are you still picking me up?" She said, gathering her things together as she headed to the correct gate.

"Of course Ace, have a nice flight, I'll see you soon"

"Thanks, bye, love you"

"Love you too"

And with that she closed her phone and handed her boarding pass to the stewardess.

She had just placed her bag into the over head compartment and sat down in the seat by the window with her book, fluffy socks and her iPod. She took her shoes off and put her fluffy socks on. As she was just getting comfy she heard a deep male voice say.

"Well, well, well, if it' isn't Mary"

She looked up, shocked to see that the owner of this voice belonged to Tristan Dugrey!

"Tristan!" She said, still in disbelief; she hadn't seen him since he moved to military school after he got kicked out of Chilton. "What are you doing here!?'

"Same thing as you I'm guessing; flying to New York. Unless I'm on the wrong flight"

She laughed but before she had time to say anything he sat down in the seat next to her.

"That's someone's seat; you can't just sit there! Where will they sit?" She began to ramble.

"Ehh, I'm sure they can find somewhere else to sit" he brushed off, getting comfortable.

"Tristan! You can't do that!"

"Relax Mar, this is my seat" he smirked at her unsure expression. He retrieved his boarding pass from his pocket to prove that that was in fact his seat.

"How weird" she said, examining the ticket.

"It must be fate!" He winked.

She rolled her eyes at him and fastened her seatbelt for take-off as did he. "So where has life taken you since I last saw you? Last I heard you were going to military school" she said.

"Well I finished military school and after that I went to Princeton then I ended up in New Orleans working for my dad in the insurance business" he said with obvious fake enthusiasm. She laughed and he then said "So what about you? You look great by the way"

She blushed and chuckled before saying "Thanks. And as for me, well after Chilton I went to Yale-"

"Yale? Not Harvard?" He interrupted.

"Yeah, I changed my mind. Not sure why but I just did" at his nod she continued "had a quarter life crisis and dropped out of Yale in my third year, then came to my senses and went back to Yale. Now I'm living in New York with my boyfriend and looking for a job at a paper there." She pretended to be staring off into space for a minute "yep, I think that just about covers it"

He laughed "Rory Gilmore dropping out of school, well I never!"

She then laughed. "Yeah I can't believe I did really but I think it was something I needed to do"

He nodded, they were now up in the air, the seatbelt sign had just been turned off and the stewardess was standing next to them with the food and drink cart.

"Can I get you anything?" She said politely.

Tristan looked to Rory as if letting her go first. "Err yeah, I'll have a cappuccino and some Malteasers please" Rory said the woman; she nodded and began to prepare Rory's order then looked at Tristan, waiting for his.

"I'll just have a Diet Coke please" The woman nodded and finished preparing both their orders.

"That'll be $8.80 please"

Rory began to retrieve her purse from her bag but was stopped when Tristan said "It's ok, I got it" then he handed the money to the Stewardess and she moved on.

"Thank you, you didn't have to do that" She said to him while taking a sip of her coffee.

"That's ok" he smiled.

"So if you live in New Orleans, what are you doing coming to New York?"

"Oh I'm just visiting some family." She nodded. "So what about you, why were you in New Orleans?"

"I went to a spa with a couple of friends from Yale for the weekend to catch up and stuff. They're staying down there for a couple more days though because they have family there"

"Ahh nice, did you have a good time?"

"Yeah great, it was nice to see them. Everything's just been so hectic since graduation we haven't had much time to see each other"

"Sounds good." he said. "So you still read a lot then?" He said after a short pause, noticing the book on the trey-table in front of her.

"Oh yeah, couldn't live without books!"

"Some things never change" he said with a smile.

"What about you? Are you still the same guy you were in high school?" She asked.

"Well I'd like to think I've matured a bit but sometimes I really doubt that!" He chuckled. "But other than that, yeah I'm still pretty much the same"

She smiled. "I can't believe we're on the same plane! What a coincidence!"

"I know, small world, eh?"

"Definitely"

"So you said you've got a boyfriend?" He asked, remembering what she said earlier.

"Yeah, we've been together for about 3 and a bit years now, I live with him in New York. He's not really the kind of guy I pictured myself ending up with but he's great. He's so... exciting and a 'live in the moment' kind of guy! But at the same time he loves to read and is very intelligent... sorry, I'm rambling! So what about you? Is there a woman in your life?" She asked, realizing she had started day dreaming about Logan.

He laughed "That's alright, and yes, as a matter of fact there is. We've only been together about 6 months but she's great, a lot of fun, always up for a laugh, sort of a best friend as well as a girlfriend if you get what I mean"

She smiled, "Yeah, I do"

They continued to talk throughout the rest of their flight about everything and anything, filling each other in on their lives since they last saw each other. He was astonished to learn that she was actually good friends with Paris!

They had just got off the plain and were now heading to collect their suitcases.

"I still can't believe we were sat next to each other on the same plane, it's such a coincidence!" Rory said in disbelief.

"I know, It's been nice seeing you again though" Tristan added sincerely.

"Yeah, you too"

"And hey look, I'll be in town for a week so if you wanted to meet up and go for a drink or something..."

"Yeah that'd be great" she smiled at him.

"Awesome. Well here's my number" He said, handing her a card. "So give me a call sometime this week"

"I will" She said as they reached the luggage carousel. Tristan spotted his suitcase straight away and pulled it off the carousel.

"Okay, well I've got to go because I'm meeting someone. But it was really great to see you again Mar" He winked.

"You too Tristan" She said before embracing him in a hug.

"Bye" He said as he smiled, waved and walked away.

Rory smiled to herself, it was nice to see Tristan again. They had had a love hate relationship at Chilton but he appeared to have matured a lot and she thought he seemed like a lovely guy. She was dragged from her thoughts as she spotted her suitcase and grabbed it from the carousel. She then spotted Logan waiting a fair distance away.

She made her way over to him, wheeling her suitcase behind her. She increased her speed as she neared him and let go of suitcase to give him a kiss and be enveloped into a hug.

"I missed you Ace" He said, beaming at her with their foreheads pressed together.

"I missed you too" She replied as she kissed him once more. "Did you have a good time with the boys?"

"A very good time. A massive hangover is always indicative of a good night" he laughed.

"That's very true"

"What about you? Did you have fun getting coated in mud and wrapped in seaweed?" He asked sarcastically.

She chuckled "I did actually, I feel rejuvenated and revitalised and I smell like a peach so all is good"

"Glad to hear it. And your flight was okay? Didn't get stuck next to some old geezer who snored the entire time?" He laughed.

"No, in fact, coincidentally, I was sat next to an old friend! We used to go to school together and I haven't seen him in years so we caught up and had a good chat. It was nice to see him again."

"Ahh, nice. Small world, eh?"

"Indeed it is" She nodded.

"So, my cousins flight got in about the same time as yours so he should be here somewhere..." He said, looking around. "Oh, there he is!" Logan exclaimed, pointing behind Rory to a man walking towards them.

Rory turned around and her jaw dropped when she saw that the man walking towards them that was Logan's cousin was Tristan!

She turned back to Logan "TRISTAN'S your cousin!?"

"You know Tristan!?" Logan asked, confused.

But before she had time to respond, Tristan had reached them and exclaimed to Rory "LOGAN'S your boyfriend!?"

The three of them stood there in amazement and shock. Then Rory turned to Logan and said "You know I said I sat next to an old friend from school?" He nodded. "That was Tristan!"

"Oh my god, that's so weird" Logan said. "Well at least that saves me from doing introductions " He joked.

"When you were talking about your boyfriend, It was Logan?" Tristan questioned Rory.

"Yep"

"God, this world just keeps getting smaller!"

The three of them laughed then set off to Logan's car and got in, and headed back to Logan and Rory's apartment.

They were on the drive home when Logan spoke. "So you two know each other from school, but Tris, I thought you went to Military school?"

"That was only for my senior year. Before that I went to Chilton with the lovely Mary" He smirked.

"I was gunna say, I don't really see Ace as the military type" Logan joked.

"Ace...?" Tristan asked, confusion evident in his tone.

"Oh sorry, Rory" Logan smiled, explaining who he was referring to.

"And hey! I could be in the military! I could do the whole stop, drop and roll thing that army people do!" She pouted.

They guys laughed at her lack of knowledge of the army technicalities.

It was only a short journey and before they knew it, they were home. They showed Tristan their apartment of which he seemed to like very much.

"So Mary, you've stuck with the whole journalism thing then?" Tristan said as he leaned against the kitchen counter. Rory was sat on the counter in the middle of the kitchen while Logan got them each a drink.

"Yeah, I did. Now I'm just looking for a job at a paper"

He nodded approvingly before Logan chimed in. "Why do you keep calling her Mary"

There was a bit of an awkward silence as Tristan chuckled while Rory just blushed. "Well, at Chilton let's just say I wasn't exactly a party girl so on my first day Tristan decided to name me Mary as in virgin Mary" She admitted with a laugh.

Logan just laughed "So you two weren't best buddies in high school then?" Logan asked, amused.

"I'd say we had a love hate relationship, wouldn't you say that's about right Mar?" Tristan smirked.

Rory nodded with a silent laugh "Tristan was exactly the kind of guy you were when I first met you" she said to Logan.

"Then you realised what a fabulous, charming man I really was" Logan joked, slinging his arm around Rory's shoulders.

"Hmmm, I wouldn't go that far" she teased.

"I'm heartbroken Ace" He said dramatically, placing a hand over his hart. "Here I was all this time thinking you loved me"

"Awww, you know I do really" She said, smiling up at him.

"You sure about that?"

"Positive" She said, pecking him on the lips.

"Good" he said, kissing her again.

Tristan cleared his throat. "If you two are done with your little Romeo and Juliet moment, I'd like to discuss what we're doing tonight"

"Hmmm, I figured we'd just hit a pub and reminisce" Logan shrugged.

"Sounds good to me" Tristan agreed as Rory nodded.

"Okay, if you guys don't mind I quickly need to make a call." Logan said, picking up his blackberry from the kitchen counter next to Rory. He turned to Rory and said "I'm gunna give the guys a call about quitting my job that I haven't even started yet" He made a face showing guilt. "And I'm gunna postpone my meeting with Mitchum until next Monday when we're less busy."

"Okay, sounds good. I can't believe you're going back to HPG, it all seems so weird." Rory commented.

"Tell me about it! I still haven't got my head round the idea of working for Mitchum again" He laughed. "Anyway, I won't be long" he said, turning to Tristan then walking out the room.

Once Logan had gone into another room Tristan said "So, I've gotta' say, I really didn't imagine you with someone like Logan" he said, moving to stand next to Rory.

"I know, neither did I. When I first met him I quite literally thought he was the most arrogant, egotistical snob!"

"I seem to remember you having similar feelings about me" He laughed.

She did too. "That's true. Now that I think about it, you two were pretty alike."

"Were?" Tristan questioned her use of the past tense.

"Yeah, he changed. When I first met him, all he did was go out, get drunk and make his way through sleeping with every girl on the east coast and he'd puke at the word commitment. But... after we'd dated casually for a while, and apparently he never went out with the same girl more than twice, I went to him and told him I couldn't do the casual dating anymore, that It wasn't who I was and that I didn't like it. I tried to leave and he stopped me and said he wanted to give commitment a try. Said he didn't want to stop seeing me, I didn't believe it but he convinced me to give him a chance."

"Wow, you certainly must have made an impact on the guy, but I can relate to that" he said with a smirk.

She just blushed "Believe me, It wasn't all plain sailing, we had our ups and downs but he always made that extra effort and we pulled through it and... I guess it was all worth it" She said, signally to their apartment that represented the life they'd made together.

"Well, you've tamed the east coasts biggest bachelor, I'm impressed." He joked. "Although, I've got to say, I'm a little offended"

"What? Why?" She asked confused.

"You never gave me a chance at Chilton" he pouted.

She couldn't tell if he was serious or not. "Oh come on, you didn't actually like me!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that" He admitted, looking a little embarrassed.

Logan then re-entered the room at the most awkward moment possible, leaving Rory feeling very uncomfortable.

Tristan actually had a thing for me!? Rory thought to herself. She couldn't believe it. Did he still have a thing for her? And Why did he have to go and admit it now! He was Logan's cousin for god's sake, this was going to make everything so awkward!

"Did I interrupt something?" Logan asked unsurely, noticing the tenseness of the situation.

"Oh um no! Course not" Rory reassured him, moving away from Tristan.

"Yeah, no, we were just..." Tristan stuttered.

"Discussing where to go tonight" Rory finished for him.

Logan just nodded, unconvinced. "Right... Well Finn told me about this great bar in the centre of Manhattan about 5 minutes away"

"Sounds good to me" Tristan agreed as Rory nodded.

A take away pizza later, the three of them were entering a lively bar.

"I'm just going to the bathroom, you guys go get a table and drinks and I'll meet you there in a minute" Rory said, and walked off as the guys nodded.

As Tristan and Logan slid opposite each other into a booth Logan said "So man, it's been far too long! How have you been? Is there a woman in your life?"

"Hmmm, yeah" He said unassertively.

"You don't sound too sure about that" Logan laughed, taking a swig of his beer.

"Well yeah, but I don't think she'll be around much longer. She's a bit of a bore" Tristan laughed, figuring Logan would understand.

Instead Logan gave Tristan a look of almost disapproval. "Relationships aren't always constantly exciting. I learnt that love's more important than constant excitement with Rory. Although to be honest when you're in love, it doesn't get much more exciting than that"

"Yeah... she told me about how you turned into a boyfriend"

Was that jealousy Logan detected in his voice!? He couldn't believe this, his cousin had feelings for his girlfriend! Before he had time to give it much thought Rory slid into the booth next to him and smiled at him. He smiled back.

"What did I miss?" She asked.

"Not a lot, we were just catching up" Logan brushed off.

Logan pushed his thoughts out of his head, as did Rory and Tristan and they enjoyed an evening of trading funny stories, drinking and banter. They had a laugh and it really was a good night. They were now walking out of the bar and decided to walk home as it was only a few blocks.

"Yeah, Tristan had quite the temper back in high school!" Rory informed Logan.

"Oh please, me!? I wasn't the one who stormed out of a class room screaming that your car got hit by a dear when you were late for a test!" Tristan cried out in laughter as Logan did the same. He'd learnt quite a few funny things about Rory that night - and Tristan for that matter.

"A deer did hit me!" Rory exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Sure Mar, whatever you say" Tristan smirked.

"You know Rory loves reading right?" Logan asked Tristan, he nodded and Rory rolled her eyes. She didn't know what was coming but she knew it would be some embarrassing story.

"Well I once caught her sniffing a book in the library at Yale"

Tristan burst out into another fit of laughter. Rory was trying desperately to look annoyed but a small laugh still snuck out.

"What is this? Pick on Rory day!?"

The guys just laughed. Logan put an arm round her waist and squeezed her towards him. "We love you really"

A few minutes later they drunkenly stumbled into the apartment. "I'm gunna go make sure the guest bedroom's all set up" Logan said, leaving the two of them alone.

"I've had a great time tonight" Tristan said, following Rory to the kitchen.

"Me too" She giggled as she stood at the counter, starting the coffee machine. She turned round only to me bet my Tristan's face centimeters away from hers. They locked eyes. In a drunken haze she could feel his breath tickle down her neck...

Like I said, please don't hate me! Hehehe, let me know what you think about that in a review?

Em x