Someone You Loved

A/N: Song-fic. Based on the song by Lewis Capaldi.

Summary: Tristin leaves for Military School. When Paris points out that Tristin's in love with Rory, she starts to think about the things he's done or said around her. Did she love him too?

Pairing: Rory/Tristin

"Don't you think your overreacting to him leaving?" I asked Paris.

Paris shook her head. "I don't think that your reacting enough. How can you not see it? Tristin loves you." Paris said.

"No he doesn't." I countered.

"Are you sure about that?" She asked me.

Wasn't I?

I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to save me

This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy

I need somebody to heal

Somebody to know

Somebody to have

Somebody to hold

It's easy to say

But it's never the same

I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain

That afternoon when I got home, Dean was waiting for me. I definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with him, so I told him that I wasn't feeling good. He told me to feel better before he left. I went inside and sat on the couch. Was Paris right? Was Tristin in love with me?

I started to think about the interactions that Tristin and I'd had over the last year and a half.

Now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

He made my life hell when I first started Chilton.

When Dean and I broke up, he kissed me at Madeline's party.

He said Dean was an idiot for breaking up with me.

The week after the party, he said the kiss was a mistake.

After his date with Paris, he said he was in love with someone else.

He made out with random girls in front of my locker every day.

And then we started to become friends.

I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to turn to

This all or nothing way of loving got me sleeping without you

Now, I need somebody to know

Somebody to heal

Somebody to have

Just to know how it feels

It's easy to say but it's never the same

I guess I kinda liked the way you helped me escape

Okay, maybe I was overthinking this. Maybe he didn't actually love me. Maybe Paris was imagining what she thought she saw or what she heard him say. And if that was the case then maybe I had nothing to worry about.

But if by some chance Paris was right…Then how did I feel about Tristin?

Now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

I started trying to sort through my feelings and my thoughts when it came to Tristin.

The first thing that popped into my mind was the winter dance. Tristin and Dean had almost gotten into a fight because of me. That had to mean something right?

The next thing that came to mind had been Madeline's party. Tristin and I had bonded (so to speak) over the fact that we had both been dumped. When I'd told him about my break-up, he'd told me that Dean was an idiot and that I deserved better. Then he'd kissed me. It had been sweet and gentle but passionate at the same time. Dean had never kissed me that way.

The next thing that came to mind, was PJ Harvey. Tristin had gotten tickets knowing that I loved PJ Harvey and I'd thrown it in his face. But the main question was how did he know that I loved PJ Harvey? That day had turned into a disaster, when Tristin grabbed my books and Dean had shown up. Then on top of it, I'd told Dean that I hated Tristin. Which I didn't.

After summer break, Tristin and I had decided to try and be friends. Was that what he'd actually wanted or was it a way for him to get closer to me?

Then the Romeo and Juliet project happened. Tristin joined our group because he had exes in all of the other groups. So then Paris (as group leader) decides to make Tristin Romeo and me Juliet. Cause nothing can go wrong with that. Except it does. When Paris moved the rehearsal to Stars Hollow, Dean decided that he wanted to come watch. Yep! Definitely can't go wrong. Tristin decides to taunt Dean. After I finally get Dean to leave the rehearsal so that I can focus, Tristin decides to bail. What a night!

The night of the performance came and I really thought that Tristin wasn't going to show. But at the last minute he came walking down the hallway. After he tells Paris that his dad pulled him from school, she had a meltdown. Is it strange that as he told me that he was going to Military School, that I felt part of my heart break?

And I tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes

I fall into your arms

I'll be safe in your sound 'til I come back around

Realizing that I needed to talk to Tristin, I quickly called Grandma and asked her for the DuGreys address. It didn't take her long to give it to me and fortunately, she didn't ask any questions. For which I was grateful.

I quickly changed clothes and wrote mom a note before I headed over to Dean's house. Whether or not Tristin was in love with me, I knew that things had changed between Dean and I. I was no longer in love with him like I had once been.

It didn't take him long to answer the door, when I knocked. "Hey, you okay?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "No. Look I know that you're probably about to get really upset with me, but I felt that you needed the truth." I said. He looked at me confused. "I think that we should break up." I told him.

He nodded slowly. "It's him isn't it?" He asked me.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked.

"I guess not. Take care Rory." He said before closing the door.

For now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

When I got to Tristin's house, I suddenly felt nervous. I couldn't help but think that he was going to turn me away. I made my way to the front door and rang the doorbell.

I was about to turn around and leave when the door opened. Tristin stood there in a pair of blue jeans and a polo shirt that matched his eyes, surprised to see me. "Rory? What are you doing here?" He asked.

I sighed. "I needed to talk to you but I wasn't sure if you had left for North Carolina yet." I said.

He shook his head. "No. I leave in a couple of days." He said. I nodded. "What did you need to talk about?" He asked me.

"Paris said something today that really made me think. So I went home after school and I sat on my couch and I spent the afternoon really thinking." I told him.

"What did Paris say?" He asked.

"She said that you were in love with me." I said. He looked surprised that Paris had told me. "Was she right?" I asked.

"Would it matter? Aren't you still with bagboy?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I broke up with him before I came here." I said.

"So what did you think about?" He asked changing the subject.

"I thought about every interaction that you and I have had in the last year and a half. I thought about every conversation that we've ever had. Every moment that we've been in close contact." I said.

"And? What conclusion did you come to?" He asked me quietly.

"I've come to realize that I'm in love with you. I think that I have been for a while, and that I settled with Dean because I met him first. I think that I was scared about my feelings for you and that's why I kept pushing you away." I said.

"And now?" He asked.

I looked up into his eyes so that he could see that I was serious. "I'm not running anymore." I said.

But now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

Tristin grabbed my hand and gently pulled me to him. "I'm glad because I don't want you to run anymore unless it's with me." He said, catching me off guard. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me as close to him as he could. "Rory, I love you so much. I know that I was an ass when you first came to Chilton, but I honestly think that I fell for you that day you yelled at me in Mr. Medina's classroom." Tristin said and I couldn't help but laugh.

I reached up and wrapped my arms around Tristin's neck. "I love you." I said, smiling at Tristin.

He leaned down and kissed me. It was the best feeling in the entire world. "I love you too." He said, when he broke the kiss.

"Do you really have to go?" I asked.

"That's what the old man says. How about you come with me to the airport?" He asked me.

"Just try and keep me away." I said. I couldn't help the stupid grin on my face.

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved