CJ shot the ball and watched as it flew across the blacktop, missing the net of the goal by mere inches. He cursed loudly, skating after the ball as it continued rolling until it stopped in a nearby patch of grass.

He could hear Matt's loud laughter from behind him, and he rolled his eyes good naturedly. "It is not funny, Matthew!" He shouted as he grabbed the ball and began skating back over to where their goal was set up. "That's the third shot I've missed, and we've only been playing, like, ten minutes," he complained, his voice bordering on a whine.

Matt continued to chuckle. "Which is why it's so funny," he teased with a smile.

CJ rolled his eyes again, but tossed the ball to Matt and got into a defensive position, his hockey stick at the ready. They hadn't been able to get their usual street game team, so the pair were playing one-on-one. It wasn't a full-on game this way, just more of a practice, but CJ found that he didn't mind.

Matt suddenly rushed forward with the ball in his possession, moving his stick back and forth as he skated past CJ. CJ charged after him, urging his legs to move faster, and quickly caught up to his friend. The two fought for the ball, clashing their hockey sticks together and shouldering each other roughly. Matt regained the upper hand and shot the ball towards the empty goal, watching with a grin as it hit the back of the net with ease.

CJ groaned dramatically, throwing his head back. Matt just continued to grin as he skated past CJ in a victory lap. "Yeah, yeah," CJ grumbled, rolling his eyes, but with a fond smile etched on his face. "You're the better player - I get it."

Matt smiled, "You're just having an off day," he said, kindly.

CJ nodded, "You are absolutely right," he amended, playfully. "Any other day, I'd have beat your ass!" He exclaimed loudly, a grin pulling at his lips again.

Matt's smile fell, and he lowered his hockey stick slowly as he stared towards the ground.

CJ frowned, eyebrows furrowing with concern. He skated closer to Matt, calling out his name softly. "Matt? You okay, dude?" He reached his friend's side, but Matt didn't even acknowledge him. He stared off as if he were in a different world, his face growing paler by the minute. "Hey," CJ spoke again, placing a gentle hand on Matt's shoulder.

Matt flinched harshly, his eyes scrunching shut, and he ripped himself from CJ's grasp. CJ noticed his harsher breathing and how his hands shook, one of them gripping his hockey stick in a death grip.

"Matt, buddy, it's me," CJ spoke softly, raising his hands in a non-threatening pose. "You're alright."

Matt opened his eyes slowly at CJ's words, though his rapid breathing continued, his chest heaving with the effort.

"Hey, you're alright," CJ repeated, daring to skate a bit closer to him again. "It's okay."

Matt began to nod, his bottom lip wobbling, and he dropped his hockey stick. It clattered to the ground, but neither boy paid any attention to it. "Sorry," he whispered, so lowly that CJ could hardly make out the words.

"You didn't do anything wrong," CJ whispered back, rolling right next to him. "I'm sorry, I - I shouldn't have said -" he cut himself off with a shake of the head. "I shouldn't have . . . when I know that . ."

"It's fine," Matt cut him off, before taking in deep breaths, holding them for a moment, and then exhaling. He repeated this process a few times, while CJ stood and watched as he berated himself in his head. He should've known not to say that kind of stuff to him, to raise his voice at him, when he knows what it's like for him at home. You're such an idiot, CJ's mind hissed at him. His own heart began racing at the harsh words, frown deepening. He should know not to do that to him; he was a horrible friend.

"How about we go grab some food and relax?" CJ suggested quickly, picking up Matt's discarded hockey stick. It was CJ's technically, but Matt used it every time they played that it was basically his anyway.

Matt nodded, his lips pressed in a thin line, and the two went to grab the goal and carry it back to CJ's house.

CJ found himself distracted in class the next day, jiggling his leg excessively and chewing on his bottom lip. Should he say something about Matt? Guilt gnawed at him, taking bits and pieces of him every time, but he had made a promise to his friend. He had promised he wouldn't say anything; Matt didn't want anyone else to know. But did that make it right? CJ ran a hand through his already disheveled hair and sighed, running the hand down his face tiredly.

"Are you alright?" A voice whispered from his right.

CJ jumped, startled from his thoughts, and turned to see Marnie watching him carefully. Her bright green eyes sent butterflies throughout CJ's stomach.

"Uh, yeah," He whispered back hastily, eyeing up Mr. Medina as the man lectured about the upcoming Shakespeare test on Friday. His back was turned as he wrote on the chalkboard. "I'm fine."

Marnie didn't look convinced, if her deep frown was anything to go by. "Are you sure?" She whispered back.

CJ nodded quickly. "I'm good, I promise," he lied. How do you tell someone that your stomach is turning from the guilt of letting your best friend be -. He cut off his own thoughts, cringing. Matt doesn't want anyone to know, he thought. He had to respect his wishes.

"Alright," Mr. Medina's voice caught their attention. "I'll be handing back your essays today."

The class murmured with excitement and nerves, hushed whispers being exchanged.

"Great effort by most, and good effort by some," he continued, as he began passing back the papers. CJ's heart beat rapidly, the all-too-familiar aching in his chest clenching at him with full force. This was his first major assignment at Chilton. What would his grade be? He'd never gotten anything below an A- before, well, not since he cheated and gotten that zero all those years ago. This essay would prove if he was meant to be at Chilton.

A paper fluttered onto his desk, and CJ sent Mr. Medina a tight smile as he walked by, dropping another paper onto Marnie's desk beside him. CJ's heart clenched in his chest as he stared at the back of the stapled pages. He psyched himself up to turn it over, to reveal his fate.

He slowly moved, clenching the essay tightly, before he saw the bright red marking at the top of his essay.

B-.

His heart sunk as the red letter stared back at him, told him how much of a failure he truly was. Not only was it a B, but it was a B minus. The minus winked up at him from the page, mocking him. The bell rang loudly, piercing CJ's ears. He didn't move, he just stared down at his red-marked essay.

"CJ?" Marnie's voice called out to him, distantly. "What'd you get?"

CJ cleared his throat, shoving his essay into his backpack quickly, not even caring when it crumpled between his textbooks. "Huh?"

"The essay," she reminded with a bit of amusement laced in her tone. "How'd you do?"

"Uh, great," he lied, forcing a grin onto his face. "I got an A."

Marnie grinned back at him. "That's great! Usually there's a bit of a learning curve with new people, so that's really, really good!" She complimented as she swung her backpack over her shoulder.

CJ followed suit, and the pair headed down the hallway towards CJ's locker.

"Thanks," he forced out.

"I guess you don't need my help studying after all," she teased, lightly.

CJ faltered a bit, "Well," he amended, his cheeks flushing. "This test is, like, a huge deal, and it's my first one at Chilton, and Medina said it's gonna be really hard, and I'm worried -" he rambled.

Marnie let out a light chuckle as she looked up at him. "It's okay," she spoke. "Don't worry, I can help."

"Yeah?" CJ asked, hopefully.

Marnie smiled brightly at him, "Yeah! We can meet after school sometime this week." She suggested.

CJ nodded frantically, "Yeah . . . uh, yeah," he faltered, awkwardly, before cringing at himself. "Uh, that would be great, thanks."

"No problem. I'll see you later!" She walked off, and CJ couldn't help but stare after her. That is until she met up with Ezra down the hall, of course. She hugged him tightly around his waist, and CJ looked away quickly as if the sight had burnt him.

He pushed his head against his locker and sighed deeply.

After school, he and Rory sat at the kitchen table, poring over their textbooks and meticulous notes. They'd have to study every night this week for how much material this test covered. CJ's stomach twisted at the thought. There was so much to study and only so many hours in a day. He rubbed his forehead and sighed, flipping through his textbook for a particular quote he needed.

He let out a long yawn, rubbing at his tired eyes. He'd been staring down at these same pages for hours, and it didn't help that he was running on his usual amount of sleep: next to none.

"What'd you get on your essay?" He asked suddenly, glancing up at his sister in the dim table lamp lighting. He needed a distraction from his notes, his head beginning to throb lightly.

Rory stiffened, shifting slightly in her seat. "Why do you wanna know?" She practically snapped.

CJ's eyebrows shot towards his hairline. "I was just curious," he defended, frowning. "What crawled up your ass tonight?"

Rory crinkled her nose at her brother's imagery, but let out a soft huff. "Nothing," she said hastily, going back to her notes. "I'm just stressed about the test." She shrugged.

"Okay." Her reaction was odd, but CJ let it go. It had been a stressful day for him, too.

"News is on!" Their mother called from the living room.

"One sec," Rory called back, before turning back to her notes again.

"For our top story tonight," CJ heard his mom mock. "A grizzly, horrible thing happened in a small town where grizzly, horrible things never happen. Everyone shocked! House slides down hill!" She continued on and on in making the news more entertaining for herself.

CJ rolled his eyes good-naturedly and stood from the table, stretching his body and hearing the sharp pops of his stiffened arms and back as he moved. Rory crinkled her nose again, the noises catching her attention from her reading, but CJ ignored her and headed to the living room.

He plopped down on the couch beside his mom, stretching his legs out on the coffee table. "What'd I miss?"

"The government did something terrible - to nobody's surprise, someone saved a puppy - you know, the usual." She clicked off the T.V.

CJ quirked an eyebrow at her. "Why'd you turn it off? I literally just sat down."

"Let's go get ice cream!" She exclaimed. "I'm bored."

CJ felt a smile tug on his lips. His mother was such a child at times, he thought with a fond shake of his head. "We have ice cream in the freezer."

"I want soft serve!"

"Well, sometimes we don't always get what we want," he spoke slowly, as if he were talking to an actual child.

Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest and pouted dramatically. "You're no fun." She stood up, tossed her fuzzy, pink blanket onto him and headed towards the kitchen. "Rory, let's go get ice cream!"

Rory ignored her, focusing in on her studying.

Their mom tapped Rory's textbooks, catching her attention.

"Mom, I'm studying," Rory spoke, seriously.

"Yeah, but I'm talking ice cream. Can't you take a break?"

Rory shook her head. "I can't take a break right now."

"CJ's taking a break!" She pointed out, gesturing towards the living room.

"Just for another minute!" He called out from his comfortable spot on the couch.

"See? Just for a minute," Rory repeated. "That's not enough time to get ice cream."

"We have ice cream in the freezer!" CJ shouted to them.

"It's not soft serve!" Lorelai shouted back. She turned back to Rory, "So . . . when will you be able to take a break?"

"Are you four?" Rory snapped.

"No, I'm hungry!"

"In the freezer!" CJ yelled.

"It's. Not. Soft Serve!"

Rory let out a frustrated groan, running her hands through her hair. "Have some more pizza," she suggested to their mom.

"It's cold."

"So, heat it up."

"It's not the same," Lorelai whined.

CJ stood back up and trudged back to the table, thinking about how much more he had to study tonight in order to do well on Friday. His chest clenched tightly as he took his place back at the table and got back to work.

Lorelai groaned at this. "Ceej, come on! Ten minutes, and then you can go back to whatever smart stuff you're doing," she begged.

"Mom, we have a really big test on Friday," he informed. "We have -"

"If you say 'ice cream in the freezer', you're sleeping outside tonight."

"And I'm staying silent now," he quipped.

Their mom turned her sights back on Rory. "Can we go now?"

"No."

There was a pause of blissful silence.

"How about now?"

"Lorelai, go to your room," Rory demanded, only half-joking.

Their mom frowned playfully. "Wow, smart girls are mean!"

"If you let us study now, we'll play with you this weekend," she bribed with a small, amused smile.

"Promise?"

"Yes," Rory nodded.

"Sure, as long as we don't -"

"Will you go to the shoe sale with me?" Lorelai asked with a bright grin as she sat down beside him.

CJ sighed. "Do that," he finished his sentence, defeated.

"Will you let me try on anything I want?" Their mom continued, ignoring CJ completely.

"Yes," Rory agreed.

"Will you help me push other people out of the way if they're going for my size?"

"I'll even run interference for you."

"All right, you've got a deal." She stood and began walking out the kitchen, leaving the twins to their studying in peace.

Until she turned on her heel and walked back. CJ sighed as he saw her. As much as he wanted to go get ice cream and hang out with his mom, his nerves tugged at him, and the B- haunted his thoughts.

"So, I'm sorry," she interrupted. "Where did we land on the whole ice cream issue?"

CJ thumped his head onto the table, while Rory sent their mom a stern look before getting up and stomping into her room.

"Freezer," CJ mumbled into the table.

"I want soft serve!"

CJ followed Marnie into the library after school the following day, his heart racing rapidly and his chest aching. He lugged his heavy backpack along with him, hiking it further up on his shoulder. The pair found a table towards the back of the expansive room, tucked into a corner between some bookshelves.

"This is my favorite table," Marnie spoke, lowly, as to not disturb any other students.

CJ nodded, setting his backpack down on the floor as the two sat down across from each other. "It's nice," he complimented with a small smile.

"I like to have no distractions while I study," she explained. She gestured to the shelves that closed them in. "People don't usually come down this way."

The pair both lugged their extensive notes out of their backpacks, flipping open their binders and pulling out their pens and notebooks. They spread everything out on the table, organizing themselves quickly.

"All right, let's start with a quiz, and then we'll see what we have to brush up on," Marnie suggested.

CJ nodded in agreement. "Uh, sure, okay," he said quickly.

"What is Shakespeare's full name and birthdate?"

"William Shakespeare, born on April 23rd, 1564," CJ recited.

"Correct," Marnie said with a smile. She glanced back down at her paper. "How many plays did he write in his lifetime?"

"37."

"And poems?"

"Uh," he wracked his brain for an answer, his cheeks flushing a dark red as he floundered in front of Marnie. "120?" He guessed.

"Close," she spoke with a soft smile. "Over 150."

CJ nodded, jotting that fact down in his notes.

"What's his most famous sonnet?"

"Sonnet 18."

"Describe his family."

"He married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and she was 26 - what a cougar -"

Marnie let out a loud giggle, and CJ shushed her quickly, hardly able to contain his own laughter. "We're in the library," he reprimanded her playfully, his voice only a whisper. "Show some respect."

Marnie let out a small snort, but pushed down her laughter and motioned for him to continue.

"Right, uh, so he married the cougar and they had three kids: Susanna, born in 1580?"

She shook her head, a bright smile still etched on her face.

"1581?"

Another shake.

"1582?"

"Getting warmer," Marnie supplied with a grin.

"1583?"

She nodded eagerly.

"1583! She was born in 1583, obviously," he spoke confidently, acting as if he'd known that the entire time. "And they had twins Judith and Hamlet -"

"Hamnet," Marnie corrected.

CJ stared. "Ham - what?"

Marnie giggled again. "Hamnet, not Hamlet."

"But then why the hell did he name his character Hamlet?"

"I have no idea," Marnie shrugged. "That's not on the test."

Marnie and CJ continued to quiz and study, before writing more notes and discussing what the written section of the test could be about. Before CJ knew it, it was time for him to catch a bus back home.

"Thanks for helping me study," CJ spoke, smiling at the girl across the table.

"No problem; It helped me, too, so thank you."

"No problem," CJ echoed as he stood, gathering his study materials into his backpack. "This was fun."

Marnie nodded, "Yeah, it was. I'll see you tomorrow," She spoke cheerfully, before she gathered her own things, waved goodbye, and stalked off.

CJ stared after her, his cheeks warm and his stomach fluttering.

The door bell jingled as CJ entered Luke's later that evening, heavy backpack in tow. He scanned the diner quickly, spotting his twin sitting by herself. Her textbooks and notes sat spread out in front of her as she erased something on her paper furiously. Her eyebrows furrowed, her mouth a permanent frown as she wrote. CJ approached her table quickly, setting his bag down and sliding into the seat across from her.

"Okay, what's your deal?" he asked bluntly.

Rory glanced up from her studying, frowning at him. "What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she denied, staring back down at her paper and chewing on her cheek.

CJ scoffed at the obvious lie. "Something's clearly wrong. You've been so stressed over this test for days."

"It's a huge test, CJ!" Rory exclaimed, frustratedly. "Of course I'm stressed! Why aren't you?"

"I am stressed! Trust me," he emphasized, sighing as he thought about the nerves that jumbled throughout him. "But I'm not studying every second of the day like a crazy person."

"Oh, so now I'm crazy?"

"Kinda. When was the last time you took a break?"

Rory let out a frustrated huff, slamming her pencil down on the table. "I can't take a break, CJ! I can't fail this test!"

"You're not gonna fail! You're Rory GIlmore, school is, like, your thing!"

"Not anymore," she grumbled, frowning deeply at her papers.

CJ was silent for a moment, his mind reeling. "Was it the essay?" He asked, softly. "You've been weird ever since we got them back." Rory bit down harshly on her lower lip, and CJ knew he was right. "It was just one essay, so what if you got a B or -"

"A B?" Rory let out a humorless laugh that had CJ raising his brows in concern. "I wish I had gotten a B."

"Okay, so a C isn't bad -"

"I got a D," Rory snapped, glaring at her twin.

"Oh." Silence encompassed them. CJ nodded his head slowly as he processed her words. "That's - that's really not bad," he tried.

"Don't lie to try and make me feel better," she snapped at him again. "What did you get? An A?"

"No," CJ said, slowly.

Rory raised a brow at him. "A B?"

"B minus," he said lowly with a small shrug.

Rory shook her head angrily. "Of course."

"Look, Ror, it's really not that bad, and you can get your grade back up and -"

"Just stop. I'm clearly a failure, and I'm never going to make it at Chilton, and certainly not at Harvard."

"Rory -"

"No, don't try to tell me it's not true. We both started at the same time, we have the same background and everything, and you still did way better than me."

"Just this one time, that doesn't mean you're not smart, or that you're a failure, or that you don't deserve to go to Chilton and Harvard."

CJ felt the guilt bubbling in his stomach again. He had been feeling so sorry for himself for getting a B-, calling himself a failure, when his own twin had gotten a D. He didn't see her as a failure, so why had he been so quick to call himself one? And he felt bad, he thought to himself. She worked just as hard as he did, and he knew a D would have her feeling devastated.

"I'm sorry," he spoke, quietly. "We can study together for the test, and you can get your grade up, okay?"

Rory shrugged. "Yeah, whatever."

The bell over the door jingled again, and CJ noticed their mom walk in. She exchanged a few words with Luke before sliding in the seat between the twins.

"Oh, hello, bookworms," she greeted the twins with a smile.

CJ sent his mom a small smile, mind still whirling from his conversation with Rory and still feeling the guilt bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

"Finally," Rory spoke casually, as if her words exchanged with CJ had never happened. "Where were you?"

"Well, um, actually I was in Hartford," she spoke, shrugging her jacket off and hanging it off the back of her chair.

CJ furrowed his brows. "What for?"

"I was there for the . . ." she cut herself off, raising her brows at the twins pointedly, waiting for either of them to finish her sentence.

"The B-52s concert?" CJ asked with a small smirk after noting her t-shirt.

"The parent teacher meeting," Rory realized with wide eyes.

CJ's mouth formed an 'O', as he came to the same realization as Rory; their mom had definitely spoken to Mr. Medina.

"I forgot," Rory said, shifting in her seat.

"It went very well. I was extremely charming," she smirked. "I won the whole crowd over. They made me queen."

"So, you embarrassed yourself in some way?" CJ asked, another playful smirk on his lips.

"Yes, absolutely," Lorelai deadpanned.

"Uh, so, I guess you talked to Mr. Medina," Rory spoke, nervously.

"Mm hm," their mom nodded. "Why did you let me whine about ice cream and shoe sales when you had something major going on?"

Rory gave a small shrug, "I don't know."

"I hate when I'm an idiot and I don't know it."

"Why didn't you just tell us?" CJ asked with a frown. "We could've helped you study, or at least helped you feel better." He shook his head in amusement, "We totally should've gotten ice cream."

"Aha!" Lorelai exclaimed with a grin.

"Well, it's the perfect comfort food! If I had known Ror was feeling down, I would've been all for it."

"I couldn't tell you guys," Rory admitted, staring down at her papers. She fiddled with the cuff of her sleeve.

"You couldn't tell us?" Lorelai asked in disbelief. "You two tell me everything."

"Almost everything," CJ amended.

She sent him a raised brow, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," he brushed off. "Just, you know, guy stuff."

Their mother looked affronted. "I know guy stuff!"

CJ sent her a blank look. "Name one guy thing."

"Cars, nachos, beer."

"That's on me; I set the bar too low."

Lorelai turned back to Rory, to the more important matter, after being distracted. "Why couldn't you tell us, Hon?"

Rory shrugged again. "It was too humiliating."

Lorelai put a comforting hand on Rory's arm. "You once told me that you loved Saved By the Bell," she mocked, "what could be more humiliating than that?"

CJ let out a snort, while Rory only managed a small smile.

"I couldn't form the words," she explained. "I couldn't even say it."

CJ understood. Having something so awful to say that the words can't even come; they get stuck in the throat, or at the tip of the tongue, and you agonize over them, and your chest aches, and your fingers shake, and you want to tear your hair out. He'd definitely been there.

"I couldn't even comprehend it," Rory added. "A D. I got a D. I've never gotten a D - ever."

"I know," Lorelai replied.

"Even when I broke my arm and I couldn't write for a month, I still got an A-."

"That was a different school," their mom emphasized.

"And I did all your writing for you," CJ grumbled.

"I know," Rory agreed. "It was Stars Hollow High. A D at Stars Hollow is, like, an F at Chilton," she spoke, shaking her head. "It's worse; it's like a G, or a W."

"So, I'm guessing the spelling test didn't go well either?" Lorelai teased.

Rory sighed, glancing down at her notes again. "A D," she said, shaking her head again. "I suck."

"Hey, you don't suck," CJ butted in, shaking his head.

"Says the guy who got a B," Rory sulked.

"Rory -"

"Hey, a D is bad," Lorelai admitted. "But all this talk of 'I suck' and 'I can't do this' and self pity, and comparing yourself to Ceej, that's worse. That's not you," she lectured. "You didn't feel sorry for yourself when it took you three months to ride a bike and you won't now."

CJ couldn't help but snicker, causing both women to send him looks.

"Four months," Rory amended after a moment.

"Huh?"

"It took me four months to learn how to ride a bike."

CJ snickered loudly again, but their mom didn't even stop him this time.

"Really?" She asked, incredulously, amused laced in her tone. "Four months?"

"Yeah, you wanna belabor the conversation?" Rory snarked.

CJ sat back and, after pulling out his own study materials, read over his notes while their mom encouraged Rory, just as CJ had done before her arrival.

"All right, the three of us are going to study our butts off for this test," Lorelai was saying as CJ tuned back in. "And we're gonna get you that 'A'," she said to Rory, determinedly.

CJ nodded his head firmly, "Hell yeah we are."

"Now," Lorelai said, turning to focus on CJ. "I have a bone to pick with you."

CJ's brows raised in surprise. "What? What did I do?"

"You told me you had no feelings for that girl at school, but you lied," their mom spoke dramatically with a fierce smirk.

"I - uh - I -" CJ faltered. He turned to Rory for help, but she just shrugged and shook her head, an amused smile tugging at her lips. "How -"

"Parent teacher conference," Lorelai supplied.

CJ cursed the day parent teacher conferences were invented. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he tried.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!"

"Mom."

"A little birdie told me that you've been distracted in class by a certain girl named Marnie."

"A little birdie?" CJ deadpanned. "Just say Mr. Medina."

"It's more fun this way, come on," she complained, nudging his arm. She went back into 'serious mode'. "He said that you've been missing out on notes because of her."

CJ shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He may have been borrowing Rory's notes more often than he would like, but he wouldn't blame it on Marnie. Just because he sat next to her and had a perfect view of her long, dark hair, her button nose, and her bright, green eyes, didn't mean that he was infatuated with her. Definitely not. . . Okay, well, his mom didn't need to know about it.

"That is . . . not true," he tried again.

"So that's why you've been borrowing my English notes so much," Rory chose a great time to chime in, smirking at her twin.

CJ narrowed his eyes at her. "Traitor," he hissed.

"Ceej, trust me, I love that you have a little crush -"

CJ groaned at his mother's phrasing, but she pointedly ignored it.

"But you need to be focusing on your school work. Especially at this school, okay? Do you have all the notes for this big test?"

CJ nodded. "Yeah, I got them from -" he cut himself off, his cheeks tinging pink as he thought of Marnie again, at having to admit that he'd had a study 'date' with her.

Rory and Lorelai exchanged looks before they began cooing obnoxiously.

"Ooooh, from Marnie?" Rory asked with a grin.

CJ sighed, rolling his eyes, before he admitted defeat. "Yes."

"Oooooo!"

"Will you guys please stop?" He begged, his cheeks burning.

The girls exchanged more smirks.

"Marnie and CJ sitting in a tree. K - I - S - S - I - N - G -"

"Mom!"

"First comes love, then comes marriage," Rory joined in, chorusing with their mother. The traitor, CJ thought with contempt.

CJ sat slumped into the couch that evening, cocooned in about five different blankets. He yawned deeply, rubbing at his eyes. His mom sat in the chair beside the couch with their notes spread out in front of her, while his sister paced the length off the living room with a bag of chips in her hand.

"When was sonnet 17 written?" Lorelai quizzed.

"1609," CJ recited, slowly.

"The comedy of errors - written?"

"1590," Rory responded.

"Published?"

"1698," Rory spoke, uncertainly.

"Ooh, 1623 - close."

"How is 1623 close?" Rory asked with a frown, freezing in her tracks to send their mother a blank look.

"You got the 16 part right," Lorelai shrugged.

"That means it's, like, half right," CJ chimed in.

"Half right doesn't get you credit at Chilton," Rory complained as she crossed the living room and sank into the couch beside her brother. CJ reached an arm out of his blanket cocoon to snag a handful of Rory's chips, shoving them all into his mouth at once.

"All right, Richard the third?" Lorelai asked.

"Fif'een nine-y four?" CJ muffled through a mouthful of barbecue chips.

Their mom made a harsh incorrect buzzer-like noise, causing CJ to jolt in his seat.

"'91?" Rory guessed.

Another obnoxious buzz.

"'93?"

And again.

"'92?" CJ piped back in.

"Ding, ding, ding!" Lorelai beamed.

"Oh, thank god," he muttered to his sister lowly. She nodded to him quickly.

"Much Ado About Nothing?" Their mom continued.

"Uh, written in 1599, and published in . . . 1624?" CJ guessed, furrowing his brows in thought.

Another obnoxious buzzer noise echoed from their mother.

CJ groaned and hid in his cocoon, his head beginning to pound from both the stress of all the studying and his mother's antics.

Hours passed, but the Gilmore's stayed up studying. His mother hadn't been kidding when she'd said they would be studying their butts off. They had been living and breathing nothing but Shakespeare for days. He was sure his thoughts were going to start turning into sonnets soon enough.

Lorelai shuffled back in from the kitchen, carrying two mugs of coffee for the twins. CJ accepted his cup eagerly, slurping down the drink loudly and dribbling some down the front of his t-shirt. He wiped at it hastily with a shake of his head.

"Go on, I'm listening," she encouraged, nodding to Rory for her turn to recite the information.

"The sonnets are 154 poems of 14 lines," Rory began.

"Except?" Lorelai asked as she huddled in close to CJ on the couch.

"Except . . . for 126 which is 12 lines."

CJ nodded, trying to focus on his sister's words to help him remember as well, but every small sound made his head throb painfully.. He gulped down more coffee, trying to stave off the headache.

"They're written in Iambic Pentameter," Rory continued as she paced the living room.

"Except?" CJ asked, quietly.

"Except for 145, which is . . . in Tetrameter."

"Rock on, sister," Lorelai praised, setting down her page of notes.

"Really?" Questioned Rory with a grin.

"Not one mistake."

"See? I told you you're gonna do great on the test," CJ added with a small smile of his own.

"Wow," Rory said in disbelief, before seating herself in between CJ and Lorelai. CJ grunted as he was squished between his sister and the end of the couch.

"How do you feel?" Lorelai asked her.

"Nauseous."

"Yeah, well, I don't think the fries and the horseradish sauce was the best idea we ever had."

CJ shrugged. "I thought it was good."

"Ceej, you would eat literally anything - your opinion isn't exactly valid," Rory spoke, rolling her eyes at her twin.

"What, just because I have an extensive palate means I can't judge our food ideas?"

"You ate a hot dog off the floor once," Rory deadpanned.

"For a dollar!" CJ exclaimed.

"Best dollar I ever spent," Lorelai said with a grin while the twins chuckled.

They sat together in a moment of peaceful silence. CJ could practically hear his bed calling his name. With a sigh, he began to untangle himself from his cocoon.

"I'm gonna turn in," he said to his mom and sister. He checked his watch: 12:45am. Maybe he'd be able to get a few hours in. Hopefully.

"You two are gonna blow that class away tomorrow," Lorelai told them with a soft smile.

CJ smiled back at her. "You think?"

"Oh yeah, you two are brilliant." She grinned. "How about we turn in, too, huh?" She asked Rory, pushing herself up off the couch with a soft groan. "Get some beauty sleep."

"You go," Rory insisted. "I wanna review my notes one more time."

CJ frowned. "Rory, you've got this. Go get some sleep." If anyone knew the value and importance of getting enough sleep, it was CJ.

His sister shook her head frantically. "No, I just need to review again really quick."

He sighed, shaking his head, knowing how stubborn she could be. There's no way he'd be able to convince her to get some shut eye. "Alright, but don't stay up too late, okay?"

Rory nodded.

"I'll stay up with you, Hon," Lorelai said, sinking back down onto the couch.

"Mom, go to sleep," Rory directed as she headed into the kitchen with her notes.

"No, I'm not even tired," their mom clearly lied, as she laid back on the couch and propped open a book.

"Night, love you," CJ spoke, smiling tiredly at his mom, before he clambered up the stairs and into his bedroom.

"Love you!" Lorelai called after him.