Author Note: I own nothing. As always Logan's inner thoughts are in italics.

The next day, Logan and Honor drive into Manhattan. Logan is quiet, as Honor jabbers on.

"So tonight, we are meeting up with all of the wedding party that is in town. We wanted all of the guys and girls to know each other a little bit before all of the showers and parties start. Now you know all of the girls- Walker, Megan, Alexandra, and Claudia- but I want you to know Josh's friends too."

"Wait, since when is Claudia in the wedding?"

"Well, we've become close again recently, and I had that falling out with Palmer- remember how I told you she was flirting with Josh? I needed another bridesmaid to keep the numbers even. Is that a problem? Because it has been years since you guys went out, and it wasn't even serious right?"

"No, it wasn't. It's just… Mom is going to be all over this. She always wanted me to marry Claudia. 'She's suitable' and all that crap."

"I'll take care of Mom. Don't worry about that. Now the groomsmen are Tripp Wallison, Grant Peavey, Charlie Varon, and-"

"Don't tell anyone about Rory, okay?" he interrupts Honor. "I have to start moving on, and I don't want to talk about her tonight."

"Okay, but I already told Josh."

"Josh is fine, but no one else, okay?"

Logan enters the bar behind Josh and Honor. He scans the room and decides his father is right. There are at least a dozen beautiful women here, and he is Logan Huntzberger. For the first time in ten months, he is going to sleep with someone other than Rory Gilmore. It was a stupid experiment anyway.

He moves through the crowd and zeroes in. Blonde, sexy, just his type. My new type.

An hour later, Honor approaches him belly-up at the bar, nursing a beer.

"Doing okay?" she asks him.

"Either I have been out of the game too long, or we are in a very bad bar. All of these girls are so… I can't have an intelligent conversation with any of them." I can talk to Ace about anything and everything, and she usually knows more than me.

Honor laughs. "It is definitely you that has changed!"

He sighs. This is going to be harder than he thought. Fuck, Logan. Just have sex with someone else. Forget conversation.

"What's up, Logan?" a shrill voice cuts into his thoughts.

"Hey Walker. Long time, no see."

"Yeah, not since that hot tub in Aspen," she slurs. Logan jerks his head up to look at Honor who is ordering a drink. She appears not to have heard.

"Shhh… Honor doesn't know about us."

"Well she knows we're both slutty," she laughs. "Relax. I don't plan on telling her I like to boink her little brother on occasion…It has been a while, though. How have you been?"

He takes a deep breath before answering. "One more semester at-"

"Actually, I don't really care." She lowers her voice to a whisper. "Do you want some E? It is unbelievable how happy it is making me right now."

Logan looks at her and notices how dreamy her eyes look- like nothing can bring her down. I want to feel happy again. "Yeah, give it to me."

Thirty minutes later, the ecstasy is in full effect. The world feels soft and fuzzy. Logan and Walker sit in a back corner booth, people watching. Logan knows what she is up to every time she laughs or touches his arm. Subtlety is not her strong suit.

I can do this with her. I have done this with her. She is a perfect rebound. She is wild in bed, and she doesn't want anything from me.

She leans forward and whispers, "Logan?"

"Let's go," he says without any hesitation.

He feels like he is floating as Walker pulls him the five blocks to her apartment. She attacks him as soon as the elevator door closes. He pushes her against the wall and kisses her back, hard.

She doesn't taste like sugary cereal…she tastes like cigarettes.

He pushes those thoughts away as the doors open into the penthouse apartment. Walker is ripping off his clothes and moaning. This doesn't feel right. It's too…

"Slow down, sweetie. We're not in a rush," he whispers. His legs still feel independent from his body, but he gently leads her toward the bed. Rory loves when I take my time with her… Rory…

He kisses every freckle on her pale body. It has been over a week since he has touched her. Too long. He can smell her shampoo coming off her long dark hair and hear her breathy moans. "Logan," she whispers, looking at him with those big blue eyes. He feels her roll a condom on him.

She pushes him back onto the bed and mounts him slowly. Ace loves to be on top. She builds a slow rhythm. He hears her voice.

"I've missed this."

He grabs her slim hips and helps her move.

"I can't wait to see you tomorrow!"

Faster and faster, he can feel the heat start to come off of her body.

"Logan, I love you... You don't have to say anything back." I love you too, Ace.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Walker's cries pull Logan out of his reverie. His eyes snap open. This is not Rory. And it never will be again.

As soon as Walker is done riding out her orgasm, Logan flips her over and begins angrily slamming into her.

"You were a jerk."

Harder.

"I'm not happy."

Faster.

"I need space."

With one final thrust, he hits climax. He rolls off of Walker, panting. He pulls off the condom and puts it on the bedside table. He suddenly feels a lot more sober.

"Wow, Logan. That was amazing. You have really upped your game in the last few years."

I just pretended you were someone else.

"We should do this more often," she giggles.

"Maybe," he says as he rolls away from her. As he lets the sleep take over, he thinks he may have never hated his life more.

He manages to avoid almost everyone the next week with claims of needing to study. He can tell that Colin and Finn aren't buying it, but they give him his space.

By actually studying, he manages not to fixate on Rory. I am going to be able to do this. It was just a dumb experiment. He has stopped feeling guilty about Walker. He feels lighter without the pressure of keeping pace with Rory's moods and movements. This was the right decision for us. There was too much drama. He keeps up his new mantra.

Due to the amount of actual effort put forth, Logan's finals are a breeze. Out of excuses, he finds himself at a party in Robert's apartment. He enters and is immediately handed a jello shot. What the hell…why not? He downs a red one and grabs a green one.

"Logan! Colin! Where's the third musketeer?"

"Hey, Robert. Finn had a date. He'll be here later," Colin responds. Logan is silent.

"So, Logan," Robert tries again. "How were your finals?"

"Fine. I can't believe we're almost done here," Logan relents. I should cut him some slack. Six more months, and I never have to fake-like him again.

"I know," Robert agrees. "I feel like I need to start mentally cataloging Yale. It's almost a memory."

"Hey now, we still have some time to party. We still need to plan one last LBD event," Colin says.

"Yes, and this night is still young," Logan says with a grin as he grabs another jello shot.

Robert grabs a shot as well and leans in toward Logan. "So what's up with you and Rory?"

Logan looks at Colin, who shakes his head.

"Josie said you two were shouting at each other in the pub a few weeks ago. Never would have suspected you to be such a drama queen."

Logan and Robert stare at each other for a few moments.

Logan cracks first. "We broke up."

Robert smirks. I can never fake-like him for 6 months. I can't even fake-like him tonight. "So does this mean she's on the market?"

"Don't even think about it, Robert."

"Well, we did have a connection once upon a time…"

Logan laughs sarcastically. "That's not the way Rory tells it. But seriously, if you even glance her way, I will kick your ass," he says with a tight smile.

"O-kay. We'll catch up with you later, Robert," Colin says as he drags Logan farther into the apartment. "Why do you let him get to you? You know he just likes to get you riled up. Ignore him…Hey, Cassandra!" Colin greets the girl standing next to the keg.

"Hey guys. I haven't seen you in forever! Done with finals?"

"Excuse me," Colin says abruptly and heads towards the kitchen.

"Did I say something wrong?" Cassandra grins. "Or are there just prettier options in the kitchen?"

"Prettier options? Doubtful," Logan flirts. She looks good. Better than I remember. "How have you been?"

"Busy. LSAT prep and law school interviews."

"I had forgotten you wanted to be a lawyer." He sees Colin giving him a thumbs up from the kitchen. Always was a good wingman. He nods back in understanding.

"Logan, we went on two dates, and you were not remotely interested. How could you remember anything about me?"

"That is not true. I was interested."

"Whatever, our second date…I'm pretty sure you zoned out before the food even came," she smiles to let him know she is teasing.

He thinks back to that date. "State Street Grill?"

"Alright. So maybe you were paying attention!"

I did zone out before the food came. I had just seen Rory and Lorelei, and I was completely panicking. I knew Rory was a girlfriend girl, no matter what she said… Forget her. It was a stupid experiment.

"I'm sorry. I'm interested now. Where are you hoping to go to law school?" Logan asks her as he pumps beer for both of them.

When Logan awakens the next morning, his head is pounding, and his tongue feels like ants are marching over it. He opens one eye, finding the room entirely too bright. He rolls over to go back to sleep when he is startled by the sound of coffee beans grinding. Rory?

He peaks into the kitchen where he spies Cassandra in one of his t-shirts glancing back at him. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize it would be so loud."

What the hell did I do last night?

He lifts the covers up and is slightly relieved to see that he has pants on.

"Oh… how much do you remember?" Cassandra asks.

"Not a lot," he admits, as he struggles to get out of bed.

"Don't worry. Nothing happened…much. You were too drunk to…you know, and then once you started talking about Rory, I kinda wasn't into it anymore."

Oh God, could I be any lamer?

"I'm sorry. I…" he stammers as he leans against the kitchen counter.

"It's okay. I mean, break-ups are hard. At least I know why you weren't into me in the first place," she smiles. "You listened to me ramble about Andrew, so it seems fair."

It starts coming back to him. He remembers that Cassandra has just been dumped as well.

"You want to go get some brunch? Maybe not talk about our exes," he grins.

"Actually, you convinced me last night to try and get Andrew back. For what it's worth, I think you should do the same."

Logan is silent for a moment. "I think it's too late."

"Well you won't know if you don't try," Cassandra counters, pushing a mug of coffee his way.

Logan ponders this conversation all morning. He starts to call Rory several times before chickening out. Finally, he decides to do it the Rory Gilmore way. A pro-con list. He sits at the kitchen table and begins writing.

PROS OF THE BREAK-UP

1- I can sleep with anyone I want.

2- I don't have to account for my time.

3- No drama if I drink too much.

4- She dumped me, and I have some pride.

5- I won't have to try and impress Lorelei anymore.

6- No marriage talks with Richard.

7- No baby talks with Emily.

8- No problems moving to London.

9- Mom will stop saying nasty things about her.

10- More time with my friends before we graduate.

Some of these feel like a stretch, but they are all things I want to be true. Moving on.

CONS OF THE BREAKUP

1- Mom will start trying to set me up with society girls again.

2- No girl compares to her.

3- I miss her.

Logan rereads his lists and sees the numbers skewed toward the pros. He decides not to call Rory. He folds up the list and tucks it into his wallet in case he gets weak again.