Chapter 24: The firelight festival
"So Rory was 3 months old. The cutest little baby in the world if you ask me. But she got chicken pox. So all the way from Christmas and through New Year's Eve it was screaming and crying 24/7." Lorelai started the story.
"Oh yes. I thought we were gonna go insane. Couple of teenagers with a 3 month old baby, who wouldn't stop crying." Luke added. They were sitting in the diner with Rory and Dean, with no other customers near closing time.
"So the beginning of January was a nightmare. But soon it was time for our annual Firelight Festival. I saw it for the first time a year before that - only a few days before your conception if I may add."
"No, Mom, you may not add that. Gross." Rory interrupted her.
"Shh, I'm telling the story here. So I wanted so badly for my little baby girl to see her first Firelight Festival. But she was still really sick. And as if that wasn't bad enough there was no snow that week. No snow in the beginning of January in Connecticut is insane. I was really bummed about all of that. But then, on the morning of the Firelight Festival, a real miracle happened. Not only did it start to snow, but Rory's fever was completely gone. So we could all go out to celebrate and none of us missed a single Firelight Festival ever since." She finished her story.
"Wow, that's a really great story." Dean said, honestly. "I'm pretty excited to see it this year."
"It is pretty fun, even for me." Luke admitted. "It's probably one of the least annoying events of the town. I usually close down the diner earlier that day, and we meet together at 5 PM at the gazebo, we drink some hot chocolate, walk around for a while and watch as they light the bonfire. You're welcome to join us this year." It wasn't easy for Luke, but he really tried to accept Rory's boyfriend. After a while, even he had to admit that Dean wasn't really a bad guy - he seemed to genuinely care about his daughter, and he never made any plans with her without making sure that both Lorelai and Luke were fine with it.
"That's very nice, but I was actually wondering if it was okay with you that we would join you a little later this year? I wanted to take Rory out to dinner first. It's our 3-month anniversary."
"It is?" Rory asked, surprised.
"Yep. And I thought we could eat a fancy dinner to celebrate." He suggested.
"Wow, that's so romantic. How come you didn't do anything for our 3-month anniversary?" Lorelai asked Luke.
"Every year we celebrate 3 different anniversaries: the first day we met, the first time we kissed and our wedding day. If we would have to celebrate it every other 3 months we would go bankrupt." Luke rolled his eyes.
"Good point. But anyway, if Rory's up for it, you two can absolutely go to dinner first. We're gonna have a little date night first, and we'll meet at a bonfire around 8PM. Sounds good?" Lorelai suggested.
"Sure, let's do that." Rory agreed. They couldn't wait for the Festival.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you still needed a babysitter." Rory said, angrily.
"You know, I don't. It's just.. Jeez, we made plans. Doesn't this count at all?" Logan asked, upset.
"Lane and Jess will still be there. You can all go together and Dean and I will join you later."
"It is not the same without you." Logan couldn't let it go. He just found out that Rory decided to celebrate her 3-month anniversary with Dean on the day of the Firelight Festival. "We've been going to this thing together since I was 8. All of us - you, me, Jess, Lane and your parents. It's tradition. And you can't break traditions just because you have some stupid anniversary. It's not ever a real anniversary, you know? It should be celebrated annually. This is just stupid."
"Excuse me if you never had a girlfriend long enough to actually last 3 months. But for me it actually means something." This one hurt. Logan in fact never had a girlfriend who would last longer than a couple of dates. And the reason for that was standing right in front of him. But, of course, he couldn't explain that to Rory. "Logan, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. And I really want to go to the Firelight Festival with all of you. But this is also important. Can't you understand that?"
"I guess you're right. I'm sorry, I overreacted. I guess I just missed my best friend lately." He admitted.
"I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to abandon you. It's just been really hard to juggle my school, my friends and a boyfriend. But I'm gonna do better, I promise. In fact, why don't you stay over on Friday night and we'll spend the whole Saturday together. Just you, me, Jess and Lane, just like the good old days. I'll explain it to Dean, I'm sure he'll understand. Maybe I can even convince my parents to make a trip to the cabin."
"Sure, that sounds great."
"It's a date, then. And as for Friday, I really will be there. I wouldn't miss the bonfire, you know that. You can start as usual at 5 with Lane and Jess, and then I will join you around 8, okay?" she asked.
He really didn't feel like going to the Festival without Rory. But he couldn't say no to her, either.
"Okay." He agreed. He only hoped that a Saturday spend with Rory would somehow help with the bitter feeling in Logan's stomach, whenever he thought about her stupid anniversary.
"Come on, man. This is stupid. Let's just go." Jess tried to convince Logan to get off the couch and go to the Firelight Festival.
"Yeah, it'll be fun, as always. We can even hide out at Miss Patty's with something to eat, and just hang out and talk, waiting for the bonfire." Lane suggested.
"Guys, I really appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but I'm just not in a mood. And I don't want to be a buzzkill. You go and have fun, and we'll hang out tomorrow." Logan answered.
"Fine" Jess sighed and they walked out, leaving Logan alone. Normally, he would've argued longer, but for quite some time now Jess knew that Logan had feelings for Rory. He didn't say anything to him directly, but it was obvious. Whenever Dean was around him, or even mentioned by someone, his mood changed - Logan clearly couldn't stand a guy. And since he's done nothing wrong, except date Rory, it wasn't too hard to figure out. So Jess knew that nothing would cheer Logan up, when Rory was out on her 3-month anniversary date with Dean.
Logan was deep in his thoughts, drowning in self-pity, when only an hour later he heard someone opening the front door.
"Go away, Jess. I said I don't want to go, leave me alone!" He yelled, frustrated. But it wasn't Jess, who walked through the door. "Rory?" He asked, surprised. " It's only 6, what are you doing here?" But instead of answering Rory just bursted out crying. He quickly got up from the couch and hugged her tightly. "Hey, shhh, it's okay. Whatever happened, it's gonna be okay." They stood like that for a while, until she calmed down a little. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked gently, when she sat on the couch, and blew her nose.
"We broke up." She said, simply. Normally, it would've been amazing news to Logan. But nothing that made Rory so miserable could make him happy.
"Yeah, I figured as much from all the crying. But what happened, exactly? Did he try anything with you, try to pressure you?" He asked, suddenly angry. If this prick put his hands on Rory without her permission, he would've had to kill him.
"No, nothing like that. He told me he loved me. And I didn't say it back."
"What? He broke up with you because you didn't say you love him? What an ass. He can't pressure you into giving him a love confession."
"It's not like that. He was so sweet all evening, and we had so much fun. But when he told me he loved me.. I just couldn't say it back. And it hurt him. I hurt him." She said sadly.
"Hey, don't put this on you. You can't feel guilty for not loving him. Unless… Do you think you love him?" He asked. He couldn't help his curiosity, he had to know.
"I don't think so." She answered honestly. "At first I was just completely blindsided - I didn't see it coming. But then I really thought about what I should answer. And I couldn't lie. When I look at my parents I have no doubt that they're still just as in love with each other as they were 17 years ago. My dad told me once that he knew he loved my mom only 1 month after they started dating. And she felt the same. They were meant to be from the start. And I want that, too. But not every love story is the same, right? What if I just lost the one because I was waiting for this blinding and overwhelming feeling of love that I haven't felt yet? Maybe I don't love him now, but I could love him eventually. And I just ruined everything." Her eyes filled with tears again. Logan put his arm around her and brought her closer to him.
"It was not your fault that he broke up with you. You weren't in love with him and that's okay. And he acted like a jerk for making you say it back. If he was really the one for you, he would've waited till you did love him. And for the record, I don't think you're wrong. What your parents have is worth waiting for. They just got incredibly lucky to find the one at the age of 16, most of us have to wait a whole lot longer than that. But don't worry, you'll have it eventually. And I know it hurts right now - he was your first boyfriend and it'll always mean something. But you can't help who you fall in love with." The last sentence could apply to both Logan and Rory. If he could choose it, he definitely wouldn't fall in love with his best friend, which was clearly one-sided and miserable.
"Thanks, Logan. For being here. And everything you just said. When did you get so smart?" She chuckled lightly.
"I think it's Chilton's fault. They warned me it could happen in their brochure." He joked.
"Don't worry. All this wisdom really suits you. And it makes you an excellent friend." She hugged him, grateful. "Even if everything you just said can turn into total bullshit. For all we know, there may be no other man on earth who will find me attractive in any way."
"Are you kidding me, Ace? There'll be hundreds of men lining up for you. I just hope that poor Luke can survive this."
"Please, you're just saying it to make me feel better."
"You know I would never lie to you. Do you really want me to list all of your good qualities now? Fine. Beside the obvious, you're crazy smart and really funny, which almost never happens in a combo. You're loyal to your friends and caring to everyone you love. You are kind and strong, you make your parents proud every single day. You're compassionate, you're a good listener and even better talker." He listed. Rory looked at him, surprised. "Don't look at me so shocked, we've been friends for most of our lives, of course I think about you all those things."
"I guess. I just never heard it all at once. That's so nice, Logan. Thank you." She said, touched. "And what do you mean by 'beside the obvious'?" She asked, curious.
"Well, if you really must know, I meant the way you look. You're beautiful. So it's obvious to me that you'll have many guys chasing you." He said. She blushed at his words. Beside her parents, no-one ever told her that she looked beautiful, not even Dean. And the way he was looking at her … it made her feel something warm deep inside. Suddenly, she realize how close to each other they were sitting. Her eyes wandered to his lips and she was overwhelmed with wonder of what it would be like to kiss Logan Huntzberger. She needed to know. So she got closer to him. He seemed to understand her intentions. He leaned towards her, their lips only a few inches apart.
"You didn't want to come to the party so we brought the party to you." Lane exclaimed, happily. Her and Jess came through the door and Rory and Logan quickly jumped away from each other. "Rory, what are you doing here?"
"I.. uh.." Rory tried to gather her thoughts after this almost kiss. "I came home early. The date didn't really go as planned." She said.
"Oh, no, what happened?" Lane asked, concerned.
"I don't really feel like talking about it right now. But what are you doing here? Did something happen at the festival?" She changed the subject quickly.
"Everything's fine. We just brought some apple pie for Logan, hoping that we could convince him to see the bonfire." Jess said.
"And you know what? You convinced me. Let's go." Logan said, quickly. He was very grateful that Lane and Jess decided to show up. What was he thinking? He spent over a year trying to bury his feelings and here he was, wanting to kiss her the minute she broke up with her boyfriend. He needed distraction. But of course, no amount of bonfires or other festival activities could get Rory out of his mind.