Title: Miss Me?
Author: DaxisSteele
Rating: PG
Summary: Senior year, One bus, two enemies, 14 hours together.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Characters do not belong to the author.

Chapter Twelve: Exposed

"Wait, wait, wait. We are talking about the same Rory Gilmore aren’t we?" Louise gawked at the guy she was talking to. "Straight A student, only slightly less anal than Paris."

"One and the same."

"Are we in the twilight zone? You’re telling me that not only did you attend a party at Rory’s place, but it was beyond wild." Louise looked disbelieving as they walked into the cafeteria.

"We’re talking streaking, roof jumping, slave auctions and several arrests for indecent exposure."

"Who would have thought Mary had a wild side?"

"I know I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Did you know she had a tattoo?"

"What?"

They walked by Rory without noticing the terrified look on her face. Rory dropped her head to the tabletop and started hyperventilate. "Oh God." She felt the table shift next to her as a book bag dropped on the surface.

"What’s wrong?" Tristan chuckled as he sat down next to her.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"You have fell victim to the whims of your mother." She closed her eyes and started pounding her forehead against the wood. "Rory, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself." He slid his hand between her head and the table and pulled her back into a sitting position.

"Your fault. This is all your fault."

"I take it you’ve heard the rumors flying around the school."

"I went from innocent Rory the prude to Madam Dominatrix in one night." She whimpered and dropped her head into her hands.

"Well you were looking rather dangerous in that leather piss me off and you’re dead number." He smirked before he met her fuming eyes.

"This is why we never invite Chilton people." She leaned her head on his shoulder thankful for the support.

"On the bright side you made a few friends." He pointed over to Amy and Matt as they approached the table.

"Hey Tris, Rory. Can we join you?" Matt smiled at them.

"Sure, whatever." Rory gestured to the open seats with little enthusiasm.

"Don’t mind her, she’s in shock." Tristan laughed and dropped his bag on the floor.

"Well we just wanted to say we had a great time Saturday." Amy smiled and flushed slightly. "James is coming to the Winter Festival with me."

Rory perked up at the news. "Really? More friendly faces at this thing. Thank you God!"

"I’m asking Lane too." She smiled genuinely at Matt. Having her best friend there would be a big help. "So when is the next party?" Matt snickered.

"You, officially on my shit list. No parties for you." She poked his chest warningly.

"What did I do?"

"I do believe you were the one who informed half the Chilton population about the party." Tristan smirked. "I would suggest you buy her a cup of coffee quickly. The Gilmore shit list is not a place you want to be. Trust me, the donkey mask is only the beginning when they start plotting." Matt gulped nervously and scrambled to get a cup of coffee.

Rory looked at Tristan approvingly. "Good boy."

"Here you go." Matt dropped a Starbucks cup in front of her.

"Hey that was quick, where did you get this?" Rory inhaled the sacred aroma.

"I stole it from some freshman." Matt shrugged. "Had to stay on your good side or Lane would kill me."

"Demented and wrong, but oh so tasty." She smiled and chugged the full cup. "Okay, you are forgiven."

"So Ror, who got arrested first? I missed the Freedom Run." Amy smiled.

Tristan smiled. "Officer Dan."

"You’re kidding me!"

"Nope, got arrested by his brother Joe." Rory snickered. "They never did like each other."

"Damn, I had twenty on Taylor."

"Normally a good bet, you didn’t know the history between Joe and Dan."

"What is the history?" Matt geared himself for another outrageous Stars Hollow story.

"Well, apparently when they were kids, Dan shot Joe’s He-man action figure with his Beebe gun and broke the sword."

"That’s all?"

"We hold grudges for years, it’s a small town." She just shrugged.

Rory was shocked when one of the football players plopped down in the empty seat next to her. "Hey Gilmore, I hear you have a tattoo, mind a free preview?" Rory put her hand on Tristan’s arm before he could lunge out of the seat and hit the guy.

"Well that depends." Tristan just gawked at her.

"Oh yeah?"

"If you can get my mom to show you hers, I’ll show you mine." She smiled sweetly ignoring the angered look on Tristan’s face.

"I can go for that, I hear your mom’s a hottie." He leered at her.

"Just remember, when you ask her, make sure you tell her that coffee is the root of all evil. She only shows it to people who firmly believe that." Tristan tried to stifle a laugh as he caught on.

"I’ll be seeing you Gilmore." His gaze raked over her body before he walked away.

"Oh God." Rory rolled her eyes.

"Um, not that I’m one to judge, but that didn’t seem like a very Rory Gilmore thing to say." Amy fidgeted with her soda.

Tristan laughed. "It was a very Lorelei thing to do. Her mom will chew him up and spit him out."

"You told me to apply that devious mind to the Chilton population." Rory gazed at him with as much innocence as she could muster.

"I think I’m missing something." Matt studied her intently.

"You know how I told you to stay off the Gilmore shit list?" Tristan smiled when Matt nodded curiously. "The fastest way to get put on it is to say coffee is anything less then the nectar of the gods."

"Mom will start a campaign; hundreds of lives will be lost. They will find him in some little hole in the middle of no where crying for his mother." Rory smirked. "Mom has a very creative outlook on psychological warfare."

"Did I miss the death of Rory the timid?" Tristan snickered at Matt’s question.

"She’s never been timid."

"Well not for a few years anyway. It’s just no one bothered to notice." She shrugged. "I kept my personal life away from my school life."

"Hey, I noticed!" Tristan frowned.

"Only because I didn’t back down when you tried to bait me." She hit him playfully on the arm.

"Anyway back to my original question, when’s the next party?" Matt smirked.

"New Year’s Eve, and I suppose since you both survived this one without a jail sentence I can invite you both down for that one too."

"Four months?" Matt whined.

"Well there may be a few mini parties in the meantime, but that is when the next full scale blow out is." Rory laughed. "Oh, can I give you a piece of advice if you are serious about dating Lane?"

"Sure." He looked at her cautiously.

"When you meet Mrs. Kim, and you will trust me, tell her you want to be a doctor."

"But I don’t."

"Lie, it’s the only thing you will have going in your favor."

"What could she possibly have against me?"

"You’re not Korean, are you religious?"

"Not really."

"Lie about that too." Rory smiled. "You think my mom is interesting, Lane’s mom has her own category in psychology text books." He swallowed visibly.

"I am so glad I get to deal with your mom instead." Tristan laughed.

"Why is that?"

"She’s easy to buy off. A cup of coffee and some pez, and I’m Prince Charming."

"Prince John’s more like it."

"Wait, I have a question. What happened to Henry?" Tristan cocked a brow at his girlfriend.

"Lane has a problem dating anyone her mother likes. Henry was a Korean, who went to bible school, from a rich family intending on being a doctor."

"In short, Mrs. Kim was already trying to marry her off."

"Exactly."

"So when did this end?" Matt felt a little uncomfortable with the discussion about Lane. "Before the party." Rory smiled reassuringly. "It was mutual. I think Henry was scared of being locked into marriage at eighteen too." Rory chuckled.

"Is this something I should be worried about?"

"Nah, trust me. She won’t be planning your wedding any time soon." Rory smiled. "Which definitely means Lane won’t go running for the hills when you meet her mother. A definite plus in the relationship category."

"That’s a relief, I think."

"What can I say? Nothing is as it seems in Stars Hollow."

"Very true." Amy nodded.

"I’m going to go grab food. You want anything?" Tristan stood slowly.

"Coffee."

"Why do I ask?" He rolled his eyes.

"One of the many mysteries to be explained. But then again you aren’t the brightest crayon in the box."

"Watch it or I will withhold caffeine." He growled playfully.

"You aren’t that stupid. You value all body parts attached." She smiled sweetly.

"Oh come on, you can’t be close to werewolf stage yet. You’re halfway through a cup."

"Yes, but if you with hold coffee at some point I will hit that stage and then all hell will break loose. We are talking a Pandora’s Box level of chaos. Now move Tarzan."

"I will get her back for that."

"And the war has begun." Rory smirked as she watched him walk away. She turned back to Matt and Amy and leaned in conspiratorially. "So I lied. We are planning a party for my birthday."

"And you are whispering because?" Matt leaned in to match her pose.

"Not really hoping for a class reunion on my birthday." She smiled.

"Noted. Keep mouth shut." Matt nodded and laughed. "Now why did you wait until Tristan left to tell me that?"

Rory shrugged and sat back. Her eyes found Tristan studying them intently from the vending machine. "Because he hates it when he’s out of the loop." She chuckled.

"But he isn’t." Amy giggled.

"Yeah, but he doesn’t think that."

"You two really live to torment each other don’t you?" Matt just shook his head.

"What can I say? It’s the underlying theme of our relationship."

"Well isn’t this cute." Rory fought to hold back the wince when she heard Paris behind her. "Rory went out and bought herself some friends."

"You would be surprise how cheap it is to buy friends these days, Paris. You should try it." Amy huffed and focused her attention on her soda.

"I hear you made quite a spectacle of yourself at a party this weekend."

"Tis the rumor, yes."

"So how does it feel to know you can buy off half the student body with a party? Show a little flesh and all of a sudden you are popular." She hefted her books and sneered. "I hear streaking Town Square looks excellent on a Harvard application."

Rory bit her tongue and refrained from snapping back. It would do no good in the end. "It’s actually quite liberating." Tristan mumbled as he sat down in his seat and handed her some coffee. "So, what did I miss?" Amy giggled.

"They were discussing how good I looked at the slave auction." Matt smirked.

"Hey, what about me?" Tristan shot a look at Rory.

"Oh Lord." Paris snorted and left the room.

"You looked pretty good, Tris. At least Miss Patty seemed to think so. I just think Matt looked hot." Rory smiled sweetly at him.

"If I didn’t know you were trying to give my fragile ego a dousing I would be offended Mary."

"Fragile my tattooed butt." She smirked and switched coffee cups. "Mom wants to know if you are camping out on our couch again tonight."

"Of course. What you think I would actually choose home over the entertainment value you two provide."

"She said on one condition. You’re buying."

"Buying what?" He raised his brow with suspicion. "I already spent four hundred to rescue myself from Miss Patty."

"I could have let her have you." Matt just chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?"

"She really is perfect for you. I’ve never met anyone who can keep you in your place before." He laughed at his best friend and stood before Tristan could land the blow he was planning. "I’m off to gym, we’re investigating the wonderful world of handball today." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Later Matt."

"How is your mother planning on following up this weekend’s performance?" Amy smiled at the pair across from her.

"Who knows? She disgustingly creative when it comes to causing trouble."

"Hey Mare, I have to go. Donavon said I have to go to the office." Rory looked at Tristan with concern.

"Why?"

"Apparently it got back to the Crypt Keeper that I tried to get one of the school’s prized students arrested in DC." Rory snickered.

"It’s about time."

"Hey!" Amy and Rory were too busy laughing at him to respond. "Just come bail me out after school will you? I have a feeling I am going to be spending another evening battling my father via teleconference." She frowned at the thought.

"I’ll see what I can do."

"Later." He grabbed his bag and disappeared from the lunch room.

"You two really are good for each other." Rory looked over at Amy and smiled.

"Well if anything came out of dating him, at least I have a few more friendly faces here." She grabbed her bag and her coffee. "Come on, let’s get going." The two gossiped freely about the residents of Stars Hollow as they walked out of the lunch room. Rory smiled as they walked into their next class. This year wasn’t going to be too bad after all.