Title: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Laura
Rating: PG
Summary: Rory Gilmore thinks she finally has it figured out. She's back with Dean and is looking forward to a fun-filled summer with him and her best friend, Lane, in Stars Hollow. But when Tristan DuGray shows up and intrudes upon her life, she immediately thinks that her summer is ruined. But life proves otherwise.
Disclaimer: Based on the characters, settings and situations created by Amy Sherman-Palladino.

Chapter Four: New Perspectives

"So?" Lorelai looks at her daughter expectantly as Rory walks out of her bedroom, cordless phone in hand. Rory appears to be dumbfounded. "Is this a positive gaping fish impression, like he's just been surprised by a smorgasboard of ooey-gooey worms, or is this a negative gaping fish impression, as if he just swallowed a hook and is going to die a horrible death momentarily?"

"You couldn't have just asked me how it went?" Rory asks, putting the phone back in the charger and tossing a plaintive look at her mother. Lorelai shrugs.

"That was implied in the 'So?' but you were too stunned at the moment to fully process it, so I felt the need to elaborate," Lorelai smiles as Rory sits down across from her at the kitchen table. She slides Rory a mug of coffee across the table top. "Take a hit and then dish every sordid detail."

Rory takes a purposefully elongated sip of her coffee and Lorelai taps her fingers against the table impatiently. After Lorelai's second sigh of frustration, Rory sets down her mug with a satisfied grin.

"Exactly where did you learn to chug like that? Because let me tell you, I'm now quite worried to send you to college where chugging alcohol is considered a sport. You'll do it once just to prove to some boy that you can beat him, your unquenchable feminist spirit getting the better of you, and next thing I know you'll be sitting on a corner somewhere dressed in paper bags and asking people for spare change so you can buy a bottle of gin or whiskey from the corner liquor store and mumbling about how you were once training to be a ballerina."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Mom. I should just chuck my plans for Harvard right now." She gets up and walks to the sink, putting her now empty mug down and filling it with water. She sits back down and waits for her mother to predictably push the conversation back in the direction it was originally intended to go.

"Are you going to tell me about your little chat with Tristan or am I going to have to beg?" Lorelai inquires. "Please don't make me beg."

"I don't know...begging sounds incredibly entertaining."

"Please, please, Rory," Lorelai whimpers. "I just want to know what happened. You calling Tristan is a momentous step forward in your burgeoning friendship."

"I think Mr. Medina rubbed off on you," Rory remarks. "Your vocabulary has undergone an extensive expansion."

"Well, too bad none of those words have come in handy when I have seen Luke over the past week," she quips back and quickly continues, not wanting their talk to be diverted from Rory's life to her life. "But speaking of words, which ones were just used in your talk with Ken doll?"

"Words like, hello, how are you, good, things like that. Standard material really. Nothing groundbreaking."

"Stop being the smartass I trained you to be for a moment, darling."

"I'm sorry," Rory chirps. "It's ingrained into my very being. I just can't help it."

"Besides greetings, what else did you say to him, and what amount of weirdness was there to it?"

"Not that much weirdness, really. He seemed surprised at first, which was kind of funny because I temporarily knocked him from his ability to be suave and charming. I could swear he almost stuttered once or twice."

"Impressive."

"I know. I just talked to him about school and stuff. He bought a new cd yesterday so we talked about that. Told him about the movie Dean and I went to see last night, etcera, etcera. Basic plot points of any teenage conversation. I got his e-mail address and IM name so we could talk online."

"Wow, that's huge. You guys are totally, like, *best* friends now," Lorelai twirls her hair and pretends to be chewing gum loudly. "But don't let him like, borrow your clothes, cause I lent him my pink sweater one time, and like, I never got it back."

"We're far from being best friends, Mom. But I'm glad I called, even if it took me a whole week to work up the courage to do it. I feel better. After what happened on the Fourth of July, I really thought the odds of Tristan and I partaking in any events of a friendly nature were very slim, but the conversation we just had was very civil, bordering on moderately enjoyable. There's about a 70% chance that by September we could get through a whole week without arguing with one another."

"It's really amusing how you can talk about your friendship with Tristan like it's a weather report."

"Maybe I should be a meteorologist."

"Why go through all that school when you could just be a weathergirl? They just have to report it, they don't have to know what it means. Like Hilary on The Fresh Prince."

"I wouldn't know. You're the one who watched that show."

"Hey! It was a good show. I still know the theme song. You wanna hear it?"

"Not really."

"In West Philadelphia, born and raised, on the playground on which I spent most of my days-"

"I believe that you know it, you don't have to prove it, Mom," Rory covers her ears and Lorelai stops.

"It's almost as fun to sing as the theme song from Hey, Dude. It's a little wild, and a little strange, to make your home out on the range...so start your horse and come along, cause you can't get a ride if you can't hold on," Lorelai jumps up and starts bouncing around, twirling her arm above her head like a lasso. "Singin, Yip-ee-ki-yay-ay, Yip-ee-ki-yay-*what*? Like the cowboys say, sing it again now..." Rory gives her mother a look and simply turns and walks into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Lorelai stops singing and pouts. "You are no fun! You used to like that show! You had a crush on Ted!" She is met with silence. "Fine, I'll stop singing." Rory's door opens cautiously.

"You're really going to stop?"

"Yes, if I have to," Lorelai replies, still pouting. Rory comes back into the kitchen slowly, eyeing her mother like she's a time bomb about to explode.

"Are you sure?"

"I promise."

"Okay." Rory sits back down again, shooting Lorelai a warning look as she begins to hum. "Want to go to Luke's for lunch?" Rory suggests, knowing that'll stop Lorelai's humming immediately. It does, and she looks away, pretending to open up the fridge and look for food.

"Well...I thought we could eat the leftover Chinese we have in here," Lorelai replies, lifting a couple containers up.

"Mom, that is from five days ago."

"So?"

"Mom."

"It's still good!" She exclaims, opening one container up and sniffing it. "It smells fine- no, okay, that smells really bad." Rory gives her an I told you so smile as Lorelai tosses the containers into the garbage. "Okay, so no Chinese. We have plenty of other food here. We go to Luke's almost every single day. We should make our own meals for a change."

"Correction, we *used* to go to Luke's almost every single day. We haven't been there in six days now."

"Your point?"

"I think you're avoiding Luke."

"I am not," Lorelai scoffs, turning away. "I just haven't seen him that much. I've been busy. If I were *avoiding* Luke, I'd be..."

"Refusing to go to the diner to eat, skipping the town meeting, calling the market and making sure he's not there before going?"

"Dean told you?" Rory nods. "Why, the little rat. That was supposed to be confidential."

"Well, he happened to let it slip about doing a Luke Scan yesterday and I forced him to spill the beans."

"You're a regular J. Edgar Hoover, aren't you."

"And don't think I don't know about the time at work when Luke actually called to talk to you - which at any other time would've been a day to mark down on the calendar - and you told Michel to tell him that you were outside changing the pool filters."

"Now how did you know about that?"

"I have my ways. And judging from the fact that the Inn doesn't even have a pool and if it did, you wouldn't be the one changing the filters, I think it's pretty fair to say that Luke knew it was all a cover."

"I was under pressure for a lie and that's all I could come up with. Michel wasn't helping matters much since he was just standing there, snickering that snooty French snicker of his."

"So you're admitting that you're avoiding Luke."

Lorelai pauses, shifting from foot to foot as she contemplates an answer.

"I'm not admitting anything."

"Mom, a *Luke Scan*?"

"All right, so maybe I am avoiding him! So what?" She cries out, throwing her arms up in defeat. "I don't know what else to do."

"You could *talk* to him. I know it's a novel idea, but it has worked in the past."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?" Rory demands and Lorelai sits down, letting out a heavy sigh and propping her chin up with her hands.

"Because he's going to ask me what I'm feeling about the whole kiss thing and I don't have an answer yet."

"But I think you do have an answer." Rory looks her mother squarely in the eyes.

"When did you get so damn persistent?"

"Well, I learned from your example. Perhaps if you had laid off about the whole Tristan issue, I wouldn't be sitting here right now, so stubbornly set against your drastic avoidance measures. See, my theory is that you liked Luke kissing you and you're afraid that if you see him, you're likely to kiss him again."

"*So* not true," Lorelai guffaws as if it is the most insane thing she's ever heard. "Believe you me, I am not just sitting around and replaying the kiss in my mind like it was the be all and end all of all kisses I've ever received."

"I said nothing about you daydreaming," Rory says with a knowing smirk.

"Well..." Lorelai stammers for a response. "It was inferred."

"That's all you can come up with for your defense?"

"Perhaps you would like me to call Tristan and invite him over to our house for dinner? We could invite Dean too and the two of them could glare at one another over the box of pizza. Doesn't that sound like fun? I'm sure that would help build up yours and Tristan's tentative friendship and I'm *positive* it would work wonders with Dean. In fact..." Lorelai walks to the phone, picking it up and turning it on. "I think I'll call them both right now."

"Good. I'll walk down to the diner and invite Luke while you do that." Rory stands up and calls her bluff, heading for the front door. Lorelai shuts off the phone with a frown, slamming it back down.

"Go to your room," Lorelai points to Rory's open bedroom door. "You're annoying me."

"That just proves my point. I only annoy you when you know I'm right and you don't want me to be right."

"That is not true. You also annoy me when you say you don't want french fries and then you eat all of mine."

"You *know* I'm right," Rory states, ignoring Lorelai's comment about the french fries. She goes to the foyer, picks up Lorelai's bag and keys and shoves them into her mother's hands. "Now go." Rory pushes Lorelai toward the front door.

"You're not coming?"

"I already ate."

"Then why did you suggest Luke's?" Lorelai exclaims in exasperation. Rory just shrugs with a sly smile. "I'm not going if you're not going."

"Mom, you really want me standing right beside you when you and Luke talk about him *kissing* you? Somehow I don't think that giving me a front row seat to the trials and tribulations of your love life is the best idea. Not to mention the fact that it'd be thoroughly embarrassing, awkward and all together strange."

"You and your logic. A pox on both your houses."

"Romeo and Juliet. Already in the right frame of mind for romance, I see."

"Oh, please. Juliet was an insipid fool and if Romeo were a guy in today's world, he's probably have a little black book, a pager, and two other girls on the side. I mean, he jumped right from Rosaline or whoever to Juliet without so much of a thought. That's not a good sign."

"That's only because he thought he loved Rosaline and then he saw Juliet and he finally knew what love truly was."

"That's a really great line, I bet it took him forever to come up with that one. Probably sidled up to her at the bar, leaned over with a smarmy grin and said-"

"You know what? You should save your re-interpretation for a time when you can write it down and sell it to a publisher as a piece of jaded satire. Right now, you have more important things to do." Rory points out toward the Jeep. "Go."

"Oh, Ma, do I have to?"

"Yes."

Lorelai frowns and stomps off toward the car like a two year old throwing a tantrum. Rory smiles faintly at her mother's antics before turning and going back inside, shutting the door quietly behind her. Sighing at the now peaceful silence that had descended, Rory walks to her bedroom, flipping on her IMAC laptop computer. Plopping down in her comfortable desk chair, she turns on her cd player as she's waiting to connect to the internet. Aimee Mann's soulful voice fills the air, the first song from the Magnolia soundtrack reminding Rory of the time she and her mother went to see it and Lorelai went beserk with hatred for it.

AOL welcomes her with its annoying computerized voice and tells Rory that she has mail. She clicks on the mailbox and is about to open her first piece of mail, which is something from school, when an instant message box pops up.

ANY1 EVERY1: Hey there.

A small smile lights across Rory's face without her even thinking about it.

MuffinMaverick: I thought you said you were rarely ever online! Yet two seconds after I talk to you...

ANY1 EVERY1: Well, it's been a little more than two seconds, and I had to check my e-mail. I haven't checked it in two days and I have about 50 messages here.

MuffinMaverick: Aren't you just the social butterfly.

ANY1 EVERY1: No need to be sarcastic, Mary. You don't have to get jealous. I can send you some mail if you don't have any. The last thing I need is mail envy.

MuffinMaverick: Bad pun.

ANY1 EVERY1: What can I say, I'm gifted.

MuffinMaverick: Delusional, is more like it.

ANY1 EVERY1: I think you may be even more caustic online than you are in person. You wound me deeply, Rory.

ANY1 EVERY1: The pain of it all is so searing my eyes are filling to the brim.

ANY1 EVERY1: I can't see the computer screen through all of these tears.

MuffinMaverick: I don't think I'm capable of inflicting any kind of harm on that massive ego of yours. I'd need a sledgehammer, maybe even a jackhammer.

ANY1 EVERY1: I think you underestimate your power.

Rory pauses for a moment in her typing at this, wondering what Tristan meant by that. It was so hard to interpret statements when writing online, without the help of visuals such as Tristan's trademark smirk or easy laugh.

MuffinMaverick: Oh, I never underestimate my power. She-Ra has nothing on me, and Xena trembles in my presence.

ANY1 EVERY1: She-ra?

MuffinMaverick: Sister to He-Man?

ANY1 EVERY1: Oh.

MuffinMaverick: It's very sad that you don't know who She-Ra is. I'm sure that ties directly into your male chauvanistic tendencies, but I'll save that dissertation for another time.

ANY1 EVERY1: Do your fingers ever get tired from writing such big words?

MuffinMaverick: I could use shorter ones, but that's not much fun. A phrase like stupid idiot does not carry the same weight as unparalleled imbecile.

ANY1 EVERY1: I hardly think I'm an imbecile for not being up on my She-Ra. I grew up on Scooby Doo, Thundercats, Voltron...not She-Ra. Sorry to disappoint.

MuffinMaverick: Oo, Thundercats! I love that show!

ANY1 EVERY1: Well, color me surprised.

ANY1 EVERY1: I never would've thought.

MuffinMaverick: I never would've thought you thought either.

ANY1 EVERY1: Ha....ha. Your wit astounds me.

MuffinMaverick: You walked right into that one. It was just too easy.

ANY1 EVERY1: I wouldn't think you would stoop so low as to take pot shots at a friend.

MuffinMaverick: Oh forgive me, mighty Tristan. I have crossed the line.

Rory waits for him to reply, but after a few moments, her screen is still not moving.

MuffinMaverick: Please don't pretend like you're offended because we both know that you're not.

ANY1 EVERY1: My computer just froze up for a second.

ANY1 EVERY1: I think something is wrong with this stupid comp.

MuffinMaverick: Sue the company.

ANY1 EVERY1: Maybe I will.

ANY1 EVERY1: So, what's with the screen name?

MuffinMaverick: What do you mean?

ANY1 EVERY1: MuffinMaverick? What's the significance?

MuffinMaverick: Oh, it's a long story. It involves my mother using baked goods as baseballs, my neighbor's cat, three broken lamps and one broken window, a celebratory home run dance, my mother's love of monkeys, a large amount of superglue

MuffinMaverick: and Luke calling 911 as a result of the said neighbor's cat running up a tree because of said celebratory/scary dance and then getting stuck there because it had gotten said superglue on its paw. I won't even get into how it walked through superglue.

ANY1 EVERY1: Life at your house sounds fun

MuffinMaverick: We have three rings and a lion tamer. the bicycle riding elephants make special appearances on wednesdays

MuffinMaverick: What does yours mean?

ANY1 EVERY1: My screen name?

MuffinMaverick: Yes, that would be what I was asking.

ANY1 EVERY1: "anyone lived in a pretty how town..."

MuffinMaverick: (with up so floating many bells down)

MuffinMaverick: spring summer autumn winter

MuffinMaverick: he sang his didn't and danced his did

ANY1 EVERY1: I take it you know the poem?

MuffinMaverick: That I do. E.E. Cummings is amazing

ANY1 EVERY1: Yes, yes he is.

MuffinMaverick: But isn't it anyone and noone, and then everyones and someones?

ANY1 EVERY1: Yeah well, I'm an anyone who has found nothing but everyones.

MuffinMaverick: I dont believe that.

ANY1 EVERY1: well, we can't all be as endlessly optimistic as you are

ANY1 EVERY1: What are you listening to?

Rory takes the hint, the abrupt change in the direction of the conversation clearly indicating that Tristan didn't want to discuss it anymore.

MuffinMaverick: How do you know I'm listening to something? ::looks around, paranoid::

ANY1 EVERY1: I set up surveillance cameras in your room and there are bugs everywhere.

MuffinMaverick: Oh, well as long as I'm aware. But seriously, what makes you think I'm listening to something?

ANY1 EVERY1: You're a music freak, Rory you're always listening to something.

MuffinMaverick: Touché

MuffinMaverick: I'm listening to Aimee Mann

ANY1 EVERY1: Cool.

MuffinMaverick: You have no idea who she is, do you?

ANY1 EVERY1: not a clue

MuffinMaverick: figured as much.

ANY1 EVERY1: i'm sure you'll enlighten me.

MuffinMaverick: I'm giving you the cd to listen to on the first day of school.

MuffinMaverick: Now, what are you listening to? And please don't say Blink182 or something like that.

ANY1 EVERY1: Sum41.

MuffinMaverick: A Blink182 knock-off! Tristan, you're killing me here.

ANY1 EVERY1: Glad to be of service.

MuffinMaverick: Even popping in one of your Oasis cds would be better than that.

ANY1 EVERY1: It really sucks that Paris isn't letting you write the music column

MuffinMaverick: Whose fault would that be?

ANY1 EVERY1: ouch.

MuffinMaverick: I speak the truth, sorry if it hurts.

MuffinMaverick: It doesn't matter though. I would've done something to make her hate me again anyway, it was only a matter of time.

ANY1 EVERY1: Still

MuffinMaverick: i know, it sucks

MuffinMaverick: but nothing can be done to change it now. i'm stuck writing about parking lots all year

ANY1 EVERY1: maybe it'll work out so you can earn one of the good parking spots through your extensive coverage of all developments in the asphalt department.

MuffinMaverick: would help if i had a car.

ANY1 EVERY1: maybe you'll het one.

ANY1 EVERY1: get one, sorry

MuffinMaverick: I wish.

ANY1 EVERY1: Did you get the e-mail from school today?

She feels almost sheepish, remembering she had intended to come online only to check her mail and then sign off. Her mailbox was still open and untouched behind the IM box. Rory clicks on the e-mail from chilton.edu and reads it quickly.

MuffinMaverick: The newspaper is holding a meeting in two weeks? Before school even starts?

ANY1 EVERY1: Paris is the editor, remember

MuffinMaverick: so this is why you brought the paper up

ANY1 EVERY1: strike that reverse it. our conversation reminded me of the e-mail

MuffinMaverick: you got one - are you on the staff?

ANY1 EVERY1: I'm supposed to be one of the sports writers.

MuffinMaverick: You? Sports?

ANY1 EVERY1: I'll have you know that I play soccer, tennis, and baseball. not for the school, obviously, but other places.

ANY1 EVERY1: and I lift weights, so I'm not the sports ignoramus you think I am

MuffinMaverick: I just never pictured you as the sports type, that's all.

ANY1 EVERY1: I really don't like them that much, even though I'm kind of good at them. I just play them to get away from the house. Though it certainly helps that it keeps me in shape and all that. Girls like that.

MuffinMaverick: Your modesty really overwhelms me.

ANY1 EVERY1: Just honest. I don't see the point in depracating yourself for things just because you're good at them. there's plenty of other things wrong that I don't need to make myself feel bad about the good stuff.

MuffinMaverick: I never thought of it that way.

MuffinMaverick: I guess that makes sense.

ANY1 EVERY1: I am a fountain of logic.

Another instant message box pops up on Rory's screen, startling her. She clicks Accept.

NARK: Hey Rory.

MuffinMaverick: You changed your screen name to Nark???

NARK: I figured I'd just give in and go with the flow.

MuffinMaverick: My mother has poisoned your soul.

NARK: What are you up to?

MuffinMaverick: Just meandering online.

Rory winces as she writes that last IM, purposely telling a half-truth. Her other IM box flashes, signalling that Tristan has sent her another message. Moving Dean's box over, she reads Tristan's words.

ANY1 EVERY1: I'm not looking forward to going back to school this year, are you?

MuffinMaverick: Everyone says junior year is the hardest.

ANY1 EVERY1: the homework load is going to be insane

MuffinMaverick: you never do your homework!

ANY1 EVERY1: not true. you just assume i don't because I never pay attention

MuffinMaverick: oh, my mistake. ::rolls eyes::

ANY1 EVERY1: i have an amazing ability to still hear what the teacher is saying and absorb it while letting my mind go somewhere else

MuffinMaverick: Wish i had that talent. my mind would be on a beach in maui all day long

ANY1 EVERY1: tell me about it. esp. during mrs. richardson's class

MuffinMaverick: omg yes! that woman was beyond wretched.

ANY1 EVERY1: why rory, that's the first time i've heard you say anything bad about someone

ANY1 EVERY1: besides me, of course

MuffinMaverick: of course

MuffinMaverick: brb, I'm gonna go get some coffee. it's been forty-five minutes since the last hit

ANY1 EVERY1: k

Getting up, Rory dashes into the kitchen, feeling that for some reason she wants to get back to her conversation with Tristan as quickly as she can.

*******

"Lorelai..." Luke stares at her as she enters the diner, startled to see her standing there. She smiles faintly as he continues pouring coffee into Kirk's cup long after it is full.

"Luke, watch what you're doing!" Kirk exclaims, jumping up as the hot liquid spreads across the counter. "That's the second time in two months! I don't know why they let someone like you be in charge of this whole place! You can't even handle a simple task like pouring coffee, for god's sake!"

"Yeah, Luke, didn't you take the training class?" Lorelai asks, more poking fun at Kirk than at Luke. "Everyone knows that customers like him get a pie in the face, not coffee in the lap."

"I must've missed that lesson," Luke half-smiles and Kirk glares at them both.

"I'm the one who has been scalded, through no fault of my own, and you sit here and mock me. Satan has a place reserved in hell for you both, I hope you know that."

"Do I know it? I'm already in negoation with our dear Prince of Darkness for the luxury suite overlooking the fiery pit of demons. He's a tough, shrewd businessman, but I think I'm wearing him down," Lorelai laughs. Kirk throws the wet napkin he's holding down onto the counter with a huffy sigh, and after glaring at them once again, storms out of the diner. Lorelai looks at Luke, suddenly realizing that they're alone in the diner together. "Kirk certainly is..."

"Obnoxious, is what he is," Luke grunts and Lorelai nods overemphatically.

"With a capital O, that one."

"Yep."

"So..."

"How are you doing? I mean..."

"I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't have scared Kirk away. I was actually able to talk to you when he was in here."

"Oh."

"The words aren't coming together right now," Lorelai fidgets nervously. "I'm like chasing them around in my brain, trying to grab them, but...it's like when you push a magnet around the table and it always stays that same distance away from the one in your hand and...yeah, you just can't get it. Unless you flip the magnets over of course, but if that was a possibility, I wouldn't be standing here rambling like this. And you most certainly wouldn't be staring at me like that." She points at Luke, who has been watching her throughout her diatribe of randomness.

"I'm sorry that I kissed you, Lorelai."

"Excuse me, what?" Lorelai looks at him, almost in shock.

"I shouldn't have done it. It was a momentary lapse in judgment, an impulse. It meant nothing." Luke stares down into the half-empty coffee pot still in his hand, not able to meet Lorelai's questioning gaze.

"*What*?" She exclaims, anger rising into her eyes. He could not be serious. "You can not stand there and tell me that it meant *nothing*, Luke. I have been wracking my brain over this for the past week. I've been losing sleep because of it! God, I've even been depriving myself of your coffee! And now you're saying that it didn't mean anything?" Luke doesn't reply, not able to make himself utter the lie once more. "Let's get one thing straight here, buddy, that kiss meant a whole lotta something. I haven't figured out exactly what the definition of that something is, but at least I can admit that, yeah, it was at least something. And you're going to stand there and act like it didn't? What's next, you saying that we should just forget it ever happened?"

"Well, maybe we should."

"Oh. my. god," Lorelai backs up from the counter, getting more pissed off with every passing second. "I can't believe you! Why would you do it if you didn't mean it? Do you have *any* idea the hell that this has put me through? I have been sitting at home, day in and day out, trying to figure out what I was feeling and what I was going to do about it, and what I would say, and now...urggghhh. You know what? You're a jerk. A big jerk." She stares at Luke for a moment as if trying to figure something out. Her eyes travel over his face slowly and he tries to remain completely expressionless. "No...wait. You're a big liar."

"What am I lying about?"

"An impulse, Luke? You're the least impulsive person I know. You would never just kiss me because you were suddenly seized with the feeling that you wanted to."

"How would you know?" Luke retorts, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. With every passing second, Lorelai was edging closer and closer to the truth. After she finds out the Luke has been in love with her for quite some time, one of two things could happen: one being that she would flip out, run away, and never speak to him again, and two being that she would pretend to be okay with this revelation, tell him she didn't feel the same way, and then attempt to continue their friendship while causing them both supreme embarrassment and more than their fair share of awkward moments. Neither option looks appealing.

"I just do. I know you. And that's not you," Lorelai replies simply. Luke is about to reply when Taylor Doose and Miss Patty enter the diner, ready to embark on their daily meal together in which they would squabble over the various issues in the town. Luke heads over toward them without so much as another look at Lorelai.

"Hello Miss Patty...Taylor."

"Hello, Luke," Taylor says, nodding in greeting. "And how are you today?"

"I'm wonderful," Luke says, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Lorelai is still watching Luke, her fury building up and turning into supreme frustration.

"That's nice, dear," Miss Patty pats him on the shoulder, going past him to their normal table. "Could we start off with some coffee? I have a craving."

"Coffee, fine," Luke mutters. He turns around and finds Lorelai standing right behind him. "Oh, Jesus," he exclaims lowly, surprised. She crosses her arms over her chest and then looks at Miss Patty and then at Taylor.

"You guys didn't ask me how I am. I was sitting right over there and you didn't even say hi," Lorelai puts her hands on her hips, indignant. Taylor and Miss Patty exchange looks and decide to placate her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't see you. How are you doing?" Miss Patty cooes with a large smile.

"How am I doing? Hmmm...let's see..." Lorelai pretends to ponder for a moment, tapping her chin with her forefinger. "Oh, yes, I remember." She grabs Luke's shoulders, pulls him to her in a long, passionate kiss. She pushes him away just as violently. "*That's* how I'm doing. And I'd like to say that kiss meant nothing even though it seemed like it was monumental. Let me reiterate for the record, in front of witnesses, that I felt absolutely zilch. Zero. Nada. You happy now, Luke? We're even. Go back and hide behind your coffee pot." She storms out, the door slamming closed behind her. He stares at the closed door of his diner for a long time after Lorelai has left, open-mouthed and stunned speechless.

Miss Patty and Taylor are both agape, still processing the huge occurrence that had just taken place in front of their very own eyes.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Taylor suddenly exclaims, wondering why Luke is still standing there motionless. Luke turns to Taylor, shaken.

"What?"

"Go after her? Why aren't you going after her?" Miss Patty cries out, her hands flailing about. She wildly gestures to the door and Taylor shoves Luke toward it. Luke, finally regaining control of his ability to think and to speak, jumps away from Taylor's touch, avid.

"No, why the hell would I do that?" Not giving either of them a chance to raise their voices in outrage and dismay, Luke stalks off to the kitchen, his place of retreat. Taylor and Miss Patty stand there for a moment, flabbergasted. They're both thinking of storming back into the kitchen and pulling Luke out of there when he comes racing out all on his own, tossing the towel he was holding onto the counter. "Shut up, Doose or you're never eating here again," he threatens as he rushes past them and out the door.

Instantly Miss Patty and Taylor scramble for their cellular phones, pushing power and hurriedly dialing the first numbers that come to their minds.

"Hello, Andrew? Guess what just happened. You'll never guess."

"Jackson! Hello! I'm at Luke's, and I have some amazing news. Lorelai just kissed Luke and left. Luke's running after her."

"Yes, I know! It's huge!"

Within minutes telephones were ringing all throughout Stars Hollow, hurriedly passing on the latest gossip that the town's longest lasting should-be couple is getting a romantic yet frazzling jumpstart.

*******

ANY1EVERY1: So, coffee all set?

MuffinMaverick: Oh yeah. I'm definitely getting that caffeine kick I so desperately needed.

ANY1EVERY1: I don't think I've ever met anyone who loves coffee as much as you and your mother do. Besides my Great Aunt Ida.

ANY1EVERY1: She was a wretched woman and had really bad hair.

MuffinMaverick: Thank you for the comparison.

ANY1EVERY1: You're welcome.

MuffinMaverick: What are you doing now?

MuffinMaverick: And don't say talking to me.

ANY1EVERY1: But that's what I am doing.

MuffinMaverick: You're not doing anything else?

MuffinMaverick: You can't multitask?

ANY1EVERY1: Well, I was on a tele-conference trying to negotiate a trade between the Flyers and the Sabres, but that ended a while ago.

MuffinMaverick: Smartass.

ANY1EVERY1: Am I the only person you swear at?

MuffinMaverick: Yea

ANY1EVERY1: I feel honored.

MuffinMaverick: Still haven't answered the original question

ANY1EVERY1: what are YOU doing besides talking to me?

Rory looks around the room, suddenly realizing that talking to him is in fact all that she is doing.

ANY1EVERY1: Taking a long time to answer there, mary.

MuffinMaverick: oh, shut up you

ANY1EVERY1: Tristan: 1 Rory: 0

MuffinMaverick: Nice to know you're keeping score

ANY1EVERY1: someone has to

ANY1EVERY1: what are you doing this weekend?

MuffinMaverick: I have no idea

MuffinMaverick: in the summer, i try not to think more than one day in advance

ANY1EVERY1: Mind breaking that rule for a moment?

MuffinMaverick: what's the incentive?

ANY1EVERY1: back to school blow-out at Dan McAllister's house on sat.

ANY1EVERY1: I thought maybe you could bring Lane

MuffinMaverick: Henry?

ANY1EVERY1: Yeah

MuffinMaverick: I will consult with her and see if she can finangle her mother into giving permission

ANY1EVERY1: is that a yes then?

MuffinMaverick: it's a we'll see

MuffinMaverick: a maybe, if you will

ANY1EVERY1: just gimme a call and let me know. i can come pick you guys up

MuffinMaverick: i don't know about that one. riding in cars with boys is equivalent to sex for mrs. kim

MuffinMaverick: it's very, very not allowed

ANY1EVERY1: we can just meet there

ANY1EVERY1: just think about it, everyone's gonna be there

MuffinMaverick: Can Dean come?

The long pause before Tristan replies gives Rory a time to stare at her own words for a moment. Something seemed off about that question.

ANY1EVERY1: yeah, dean can come

The front door opens and Lane calls Rory's name out loudly. Rory quickly types a "gotta go" to Tristan but doesn't have time for explanation, becomes Lane comes bursting straight into Rory's bedroom, shouting her name frantically.

"What's the matter, Lane?" Rory jumps up from her computer, shutting the lid and looking at her panicked friend. "What's wrong?"

"I've been trying...to call you...but the line was...busy!" Lane exclaims, out of breath. "I ran all the way over here as fast as I could."

"I was online. What happened? Are you okay?"

"I was in town and I heard...I couldn't believe it! Is your mom here? Did she come home? Or is she still out? Lorelai?" Lane runs back into the kitchen, shouting. Rory goes after her, grabbing her best friend's arm. Her panic is starting to rub off.

"She isn't home, Lane. What did you hear?" Rory demands, and Lane takes a deep breath, trying to calm down so she can get it out.

"Miss Patty and Taylor were in Luke's and..." She gasps for air.

"Lane, tell me!"

"Your mom totally kissed him! She kissed Luke! Like right in front of them!"

"What?"

"Just grabbed him and kissed him, and apparently she *mega* kissed him, not just the friendly peck on the cheek, you know?"

"*What*?"

"I know! Apparently she just...wow. Just wow. I can't believe it. Can you believe it?" Lane grabs Rory's hands, clutching them tightly and jumping up and down.

"I can't...I mean, I *can*, I just...yeah, wow. She kissed him? You're sure?"

"Everyone is saying so. It's all over town."

"My mom just left here twenty minutes ago."

"Rory."

"Right, right. Stars Hollow. Should know better than to question the rate at which gossip travels," Rory shakes her head.

"So, what do you think? Are you flipping out?"

"Am *I*? Um...no, I guess I'm not. I'm surprised, of course, but...I'm not that surprised."

"You're not?" Lane eyes her best friend suspiciously. "What are you not telling me? Did you know that Lorelai was going to kiss Luke?"

"I'm not psychic, Lane. It's just happened before, that's all. Except Luke kissed my mom."

"What?" Lane shrieks. "Luke kissed Lorelai and you didn't tell me?"

"It was my mom's personal business, I didn't feel right," Rory shrugs, obviously feeling very uncomfortable. Lane relents.

"Yeah, sorry. Totally shouldn't have jumped on your case about that. I'm just so excited. Adrenaline is rushing through my body like you wouldn't believe. I never thought that Luke and Lorelai would actually-"

"Did you hear what happened after she kissed him?"

"Oh, yeah. She ran out and then Luke went after her, I think. Though that was more vague. Do you think we should go look for her?"

"*No*," Rory says adamantly. "I'm sure Luke found her and if he didn't, something tells me my mom will want some time alone."

"Okay. I'm sure Luke found her and they're talking, perhaps even kissing, somewhere in the Stars Hollow vicinity."

"Hopefully not in sight of your mother or you'll never be allowed to come here again," Rory jokes, but that suddenly reminds her of Tristan's offer. "Oh, by the way...Tristan says there's a Chilton party this Saturday and that Henry's going to be there, so maybe if you can swing it...?"

"Tristan?" Lane barely hears the comment about Henry.

"I finally called him today and then we were just talking online. He mentioned the party, and he said that you should come."

"Tristan invited you to come to a party?"

"I'm only going if you're going to go. He didn't really ask me, per se. He just let me know that the party was going to be happening and that if I went, I'd most likely see him there."

"Ah ha."

"But the main point of him telling me was to relay the message from Henry that he wants you to come," Rory emphasizes, knowing exactly what Lane is getting at. "Tristan and I are friends now, you know. Or at least agreeing to try to be friends. He was clearly just trying to take the first step."

"I thought you took the first step by calling him."

"I amend. Second step."

"So he took the second step and he wants you to come to a party. Without Dean."

"He said Dean could come."

"You need Tristan's permission to bring Dean?"

"Lane! Are you *trying* to be impossible?"

"Maybe."

"Do you want to go to the party or not? Cause we don't have to go and you could just sit at home and dream about what it'd be like to be hanging out with Henry at that very moment. I don't have a problem with that at all."

"I think we should go."

"Fine," Rory sighs and sits down at the kitchen table in a huff. "It's people like you who are going to make being friends with Tristan very hard."

"Everyone's going to make being friends with Tristan hard, Rory," Lane points out. "That's why you were reluctant to do it, remember?" Rory nods, frowning. "But you decided that you shouldn't let all of that get in the way. And I promise from now on, I won't bother you about it. I'll be your safe haven in a world of madness."

"How very poetic of you."

"It does have a certain ring to it, doesn't it?"

"That it does. Maybe you should embroider it onto a pillow or something."

"Or I could just get a name tag. Hello, my name is Lane Kim. A safe haven in a world of madness. I think people would be impressed."

"Oh, I'm sure they would."

"I really wish your mom would come home so we could find out what happened," Lane whines, finally getting sick of their banter and plopping down across from Rory at the table. "I'm practically dying in anticipation here."

"Not much I can do," Rory shrugs, folding her hands in front of her on the tabletop. Lane stands up again.

"I guess I'll just head home then. My mom is probably going to yell at me the second I walk in the door, no use in putting it off. I was supposed to be home like half an hour ago."

"Oops."

"It was worth it," Lane replies. "Luke and Lorelai kissing is more important than anything at this point."

"Anything? Lane, your priorities are seriously out of order."

"Hyperbole, Rory, hyperbole."

Rory nods in understanding as she walks Lane to the front door.

"I'll call you the second I find out what's going on," Rory promises as Lane walks down the front steps.

"You better," Lane points a finger at her friend in warning before hurrying off toward home. Rory laughs lightly and shuts the door, heading back toward her bedroom. She's two steps into the kitchen when the phone rings, breaking the complete silence and causing Rory to jump about three inches off the ground in surprise.

Glancing around, Rory pinpoints the location of the phone, surprised to find it where it's actually supposed to be, and rushes to pick it up before the machine comes on.

"Hello?"

"Rory?"

"Oh my god, Dean." Rory's eyes widen, suddenly remembering that she had been holding a conversation with him online. It had slipped her mind entirely. She realizes with a sense of dismay that while talking with Tristan, she had forgotten about Dean entirely. "I'm so sorry."

"I heard about your mom, did she come home?"

"My mom? No, she didn't come home. You already heard about her and Luke?" Rory asks in disbelief.

"Yeah, I heard."

"This town is scary. Who told you?"

"I got an e-mail from Taylor. He e-mailed everyone on his employee mailing list. I guessed that was why you so quickly signed off and I thought I'd call and see how you were doing with it."

"Oh, I'm fine with it," Rory says, relief seeping into her voice. "Totally fine with it. My mom can kiss Luke all she wants. I haven't talked to her yet though. It was actually Lane who told me. She came over, that's why I signed off."

"You're really cool with your mom and Luke possibly having a thing?" Dean asks, skeptically.

"Yeah," Rory replies. "It'll probably be easier to get coffee that way."

"Be serious, Rory."

"I don't know. I haven't really had time to think about it that much. It'd probably be an adjustment, yeah, but I'd rather adjust for Luke than for anyone else. But I don't even know what's going on yet, and I won't know until I talk to my mom, so I'm trying not to think it to death."

"Sounds like a good plan. I don't know how you stay so collected all the time. If it were my mom, I'd be freaking out, I think."

"Well, considering your mom is married, I think so."

"No, I just meant that Luke's like her best friend, right? And he's this major part of both of your lives..I just think it'd be a little weird to have him be your mom's boyfriend all of a sudden."

"Once again, jumping the gun," Rory points out. "Let's talk about something else, cause you're totally starting to weird me out and I'd rather put off going through that emotional process for another time."

"Okay. What else would you like to talk about?"

Rory is silent for a moment, wondering if she should even bother bringing up the party or not. Part of her wanted to go and be sociable, since she'd be going to school with these kids all year, but another part of her foresees potential disaster.

"Um...well, there's a party this Saturday. A Chilton one. And we're both invited to go, if you want to."

"Formal?"

"No, completely casual. It's a party, party. With loud music and everything. No dressing up required. We don't have to go, but Henry is going to be there, and I thought maybe if Lane came...but if I go so Lane can go, I'd really like you to be there too."

"You really think it'll be fun?"

"It could be. I won't make any guarantees, but I kind of sort of want to go," Rory replies. "At least for a little while. Since I burned most of my bridges with Paris at the end of last year, I think it'd be a wise idea for me to try to make some new friends."

"I'll go if you really want me to," Dean says. "Where is this party?"

"At Daniel McAllister's house, wherever that is. I'll have to look it up in the Chilton Directory. I'd be guessing it's somewhere in Hartford." Rory cradles the phone on her shoulder, using her free hands to start a new pot of coffee. Whenever her mom came in, she'd surely need some.

"Well, I can drive if you need me to. I'll make sure that I get off for Saturday night, even if it means battling with Taylor," Dean tells her and Rory can tell he's smiling at her over the line.

"Excellent," Rory replies. "You could beat Taylor any day. Though he does have a mean right hook, so watch out for that."

"I'll keep that in mind," Dean chuckles. Rory hears a noise on the front porch and hurries toward the foyer.

"Hey, I think my mom's home. I gotta go. I'll call you tomorrow." Not waiting for Dean to say good-bye, she hangs up and races to the front door, ready to greet her mother. She's about to open up the front door when she hears Luke's voice.

"So, Lorelai, are you going to avoid me all week again, or are we okay?"

Rory goes to the living room window and pushes aside the curtains, straining to see what's going on. Her mother and Luke are standing very close to one another on the front porch, just at the top of the steps. Lorelai is looking up at him with an expression on her face that Rory was very unfamiliar with. She can't hear her mother's reply, but she assumes it was good because she and Luke lean in toward one another, their lips meeting in a slow and sweet kiss, entirely different than the impulsive ones they had shared previously. It was a kiss made of equal desire and a mutual decision, each silently agreeing that this was the start of something new and exciting.

Rory watches for a moment and then backs away from the window, suddenly aware that she was in fact spying on them. Tiptoeing back to the kitchen as if afraid that Luke and Lorelai can hear her, she takes down two mugs and sets them on the table, filling them to the brim. Sitting down, she waits patiently for her mother to come into the house.

A few minutes later, Lorelai enters, walking into the kitchen with a dazed smile still plastered on her face. She looks at Rory, blushing almost sheepishly. She can tell just with one glance that Rory already knows and has probably known for awhile.

Rory taps a mug of coffee in Lorelai's direction and gestures to the seat across from her.

"Sit down. I want to hear *everything*."

Giggling, Lorelai takes a seat across from her daughter, but doesn't say a word. She just smiles, tilting her head to one side and giving Rory an innocent look.

"Why, whatever do you mean?"

"Mom, the whole town already knows about the cataclysmic coffee kiss. Lane ran over to tell me and Dean already called saying that Taylor e-mailed quite a few people about it."

"Oo, I finally warranted a Taylor e-mail. I've hit the big time now."

"I've only heard the story in short form. Most details preceding and proceeding the kiss have been left as blanks for a certain person to fill."

"A certain person...the Crossword King of America?"

"I don't think such a person exists, but nice try."

"What do you mean, he doesn't exist? In a society like ours in times like these? I'd put a fair amount of money on the guess that there is indeed a Crossword King of America. He's probably sitting at some run-down gas station in the middle of nowhere, his faithful dog Rusty sitting next to his rocking chair on the front porch as they calmly survey the vast, dust-filled prarie stretched out before them. He has nothing better to do with his time than play Scrabble once a week with the other gas station owner from fifty miles down the road and do his crossword puzzles. I'm sure he has little crossword books shipped in in bulk, big wooden crates full of 'em that are stacked up in his bare living room."

"I see."

"He probably even has an honorary crown. Maybe it even lights up."

"Since when do crowns light up?"

"Since I say they do."

"It's a strange trait to assign to such an object."

"Well, I don't care. I think it'd be pretty."

"Pretty hazardous, you mean. You want a crown full of electrical wiring and hot lightbulbs sitting on top of your head, just waiting to set your hair on fire?"

"Well, the Crossword King is bald, I'm sure. He's old."

"Ah, so the crown will simply burn right into his head, meld right into his skull."

"I'd think he'd be proud to wear it all the time."

"Oh, I'm sure he'd love it. It probably goes nicely with his plaid shirts and overalls, and being so confident in himself and his abilities, I doubt he'd feel emasculated by having to wear a crown 24/7."

"He might like it. I never determined his sexuality. He doesn't have a wife, so you never know."

"Probably because all the women saw the electric light parade on the top of his head and ran far, far away," Rory retorts flatly. "Now drink your coffee and tell me all about the recent developments in Luke Land like a good mother should. No more talk of crosswords."

"But I like crosswords..." Lorelai whines, pouting.

"You hate crosswords. You say they make you feel inadequate," Rory retorts.

"You're mean."

"You're mean too."

"How am I mean?"

"Mom, you were just kissing Luke on our front porch and you won't tell me how it happened."

"See, I leaned in, and then he leaned in, and then...our lips did this funny thing-" Rory glares at her mother and Lorelai stops. "You *asked* how it happened."

"Let me rephrase. What were the circumstances which led to the Luke-Lorelai kiss?"

"Oh, that. Well." Rory waits for her to elaborate, but when she doesn't, Rory simply stands up, taking her coffee in hand.

"That's it! I'm disowning you."

"That's a bit drastic, don't you think?" Lorelai asks as Rory heads toward her bedroom.

"No, not at all. I tell you everything and you're not even giving me a smidgeon of-"

"Excuse me? You tell me everything? Need I remind you I found out about your first kiss from Mrs. Kim? Discovered the true reason of your break-up from Dean? Dean's not you!"

"Glad of that, cause I'd really rather not date myself," Rory remarks. "And me not telling you a few random things is no excuse. I can't believe that you're holding out on me over something as important as this." She turns and walks into her room, slamming the door behind her. Lorelai frowns deeply and stares at Rory's closed door for a moment, maybe hoping that Rory will come back into the kitchen.

Slowly, Lorelai creeps over to the door and taps on it.

"Rory?"

"I'm mad at you!" Comes the reply.

"Don't be mad. I'm sorry." She is only met with silence. "You want to know what happened?" Silence once again. "I went to the diner and Luke apologized for kissing me. He tried to act like it didn't matter, that it was just an impulse and it didn't mean anything. So me, being me, got all upset and angry because I had been worrying about it so much, and there he was, trying to write it off...."

"And?"

Lorelai leans her forehead against the door.

"So, I did the rational thing. I kissed him, told him it didn't mean anything, and ran out."

"Makes perfect sense."

"Well, to me it did. That's all that counts."

"I wasn't disputing that."

"I was just giving him a taste of his own medicine, I guess. It worked, didn't it?"

"He came after you?"

"Yeah, that he certainly did," Lorelai smiles to herself, giggling. Rory opens her door and Lorelai almost falls flat on her face, managing to save herself from a smushy-faced fate by grabbing onto the doorframe tightly. "Hey, how about a warning next time before you do that?"

"I didn't realize you were using my door as a headrest, sorry," Rory replies defensively, putting her hands up innocently. Lorelai just hmmphs at her, turning away and walking back into the kitchen. "So Luke was running after you, and..." Rory prompts her to continue. Lorelai grins, rubbing her hands together as if about to tell a delicious secret that was so delightful, the mere thought of it was heavenly. She grasps Rory's hands like a swooning school girl talking about her new crush and begins recounting the tale once again.

"So, Luke was running after me and at first I tried to ignore him. I was so mad and so out of it, I just didn't even want to deal with it. I figured he was going to say something even worse and make me feel even worse and since I already felt like I had hit the bottom of the pit of despair, I really didn't feel like being handed a shovel and being ordered to dig even deeper. But then, just as we were rounding the corner, the wonderful haven of home in sight when suddenly Luke got sick of pleading with me to stop-"

"He was pleading?"

"And then he grabbed my arm."

"He grabbed you?"

"Not in the psycho killer I'm-going-to-become-an-obsessive-stalker kind of way but in the Rhett Butler wisking Scarlett up the staircase for a night of passion kind of way. It was a good grab. Very nice. Just the right amount of desperation," Lorelai clarifies, touching her arm where Luke's hand had been as she sits down at the table. "And he looked at me and I looked at him and we just stood there, looking...and staring..."

"Gazing lovingly into one another's eyes?" Rory pipes up and Lorelai points at her.

"Exactly. And all he said was that kissing me meant everything in the world to him. He told me that I am the only person in the world that scares him, because I'm the only person who he could never imagine life without."

"Oh, wow..." Rory sighs, stunned. The look on her mother's face said it all; she was totally in love with Luke, in a way she'd never been in love before.

"Then I told him that I was scared too...for many reasons...and then we agreed to be scared together and then he kissed me," Lorelai smiles tearfully at the memory, twining her own fingers together and glancing at Rory. She wipes the tears from her eyes, laughing slightly. "That kiss was more amazing than a million daisies."

Rory smiles dreamily, never before seeing her mother look quite so happy. She reaches across the table and takes Lorelai's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I am so indescribably happy for you, Mom."

"Really? I was afraid that you'd be weirded out by this."

"By you kissing Luke? Any potential flipping out will be done inwardly and silently because I know that this is what you want, and it's what I want too. I couldn't imagine fully letting anyone besides Luke into our lives, and while I think it'll be strange at first, any hard times or doubts I may have will be outweighed by the enormous happiness I feel that you've finally found the one person you truly love."

"Loving, supportive, and verbose. I couldn't imagine a better combination," Lorelai tells Rory gratefully.

"How about loving, supportive, verbose, and estatic after winning the lottery?" Rory offers.

"I suppose that would be good, yes, but honestly, right now, just the first three qualities are enough to make me happier than the Trix rabbit after he offs those annoying kids and finally gets some cereal."

"The Trix rabbit and the Lucky Charms Leprechaun are the most persecuted cereal cartoons. They should really form a union with Wile E. Coyote and Yosemite Sam and figure out a way to improve their station in life," Rory remarks. "It hardly seems fair."

"I agree with you on that, it's an excellent point," Lorelai replies, standing up to get some more coffee. Something jingles in her pocket and she pauses for a moment. Then a look of shock passes over her face. "Oh my god."

"What?" Rory asks, alarmed. "You're not having some post-event freaking out, are you?"

"I left the car at Luke's," Lorelai states, then laughs out loud. "The keys are in my pocket, the car is at Luke's. I'm just..."

"Silly."

"Yes, silly I am."

"How very Yoda of you."

"Wise, this young one is. But to Luke's I must go. Collect my car is most important," Lorelai continues. Rory nods knowingly.

"I bet you're just devastated to have to go back to Luke's again."

"Yes, I am devastated. I'm as sad as a Greek tragedy. Shakespeare should be here taking notes." She heads to the front door, another smile spreading across her face. Lorelai glances back at Rory as she opens the door, and finds her daughter just smiling back coyly. "Shush you."

"I didn't say a word."

"I'll be back shortly."

"I won't wait up," Rory retorts and Lorelai sticks her tongue out at her as she walks out the door.

*******

"Rory, can I talk to you for a minute?" Dean stops his girlfriend and Lane as they enter the market. Rory looks at him, surprised.

"Why, hello to you too," Rory replies.

"Sorry, hi. Hi, Lane," He says offhandedly to her as he pulls Rory slightly away. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, sure..." Rory screws up her face in puzzlement, tossing a look back at Lane as Dean leads her off to the side. "What's the matter?"

"I can't go."

"Go...where?"

"To that party thing."

"What?" Rory says, surprised. "I thought that you..."

"I did...but I can't get out of work. Taylor had already made the schedule and I can't find anyone to fill in for me, and he needs me. I've been trying to get someone to work for me all week and it just won't work out."

"Are you sure? What about Cynthia? Cynthia always is willing to fill in for people, isn't she?"

"Not this week. Family birthday party," Dean explains, frowning at the dejected look on Rory's face. "I'm sorry, Rory. I knew I said I could go..."

"No...no, it's okay. I mean, I'll just go with Lane. It'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Cause I thought you didn't want to be third wheel to Lane and Henry, and that's why I felt so bad about bailing on you."

"That's the only reason you felt bad?" Rory challenges him, a little annoyed. Dean sighs.

"No, not the only reason. I was of course bummed that I wouldn't get to spend time with you."

"Better answer. I doubt you're too broken hearted about missing out on all that Chilton action though." She picks up a piece of candy from one of the nearby pins and plays with it absentmindedly. "I'm a bit nervous about it myself."

"Don't be," Dean reassures her. "Even if those jerks harass you, at least you'll have tried. That already makes you the better person."

"That was an excellent thing to say," Rory grins, standing on tiptoe and kissing him quickly on the lips. "You're forgiven for ditching me last minute."

"It's not quite last minute."

"It is Friday. The party is tomorrow night. That's quite short notice."

"Short notice, yes, but I don't agree with the last minute."

"I'm going back to Lane now. I'll call you this weekend," Rory says, tossing the piece of candy back into the bin and walking toward where Lane is waiting, pretending to be enraptured by the paper towel display.

"No kiss good-bye?" Dean inquires as Rory throws him a look back over her shoulder. "Only if you go check the cooler in the storage room and find out if you're hiding any Phish Food back there. You're out of it in the dairy case."

"Will do," Dean mock salutes her and heads toward the back of the market, leaving Rory and Lane to giggle.

"There's Phish Food right here, Rory," Lane points, and Rory nods.

"I know. I just thought it'd be funny to send him back there. He ditched us for tomorrow night."

"You should've told him to find a Ben & Jerry's flavor that doesn't even exist," Lane smirks, heading down the aisle. "Oo, we should get some Sour Skittles. These are great."

"And packed full of sugar, too. Excellent choice," Rory tells her, taking the bag and dropping it into the basket she has slung over her arm. "Oh, grab that box of Ho-Hos. And anything else chocolate. The more chocolate, the better."

"What in the world are you two doing?" Luke appears behind Rory, scaring her half to death. She laughs at herself for being so silly, then turns to Luke.

"What does it look like we're going? We're going to eat enough sugar to make our teeth fall out within seconds," Rory replies matter-of-factly. "And we're going to have fun while doing it. In fact, I think we're going to Memorex the event so we can relive our moments of glory."

"Your mother put you up to this, didn't she."

"Nope, entirely of my own doing. I figured that since she's going to be preoccupied tonight, I'd have to entertain myself."

"And me, don't forget me."

"And Lane," Rory amends.

"What's your mom going to be doing tonight that has her so busy?" Luke asks, eyeing Rory wearily.

"Grandma and Grandpa are going away for the weekend, so there's no dinner...so my mom is going out with you, of course. Provided that you get on the phone and ask her. Which you will do the instant you get back to the diner." She pokes him in the chest for emphasis.

"Are you making a suggestion, or are you giving me an order?"

"That's an order," Rory laughs.

"So, this pre-emptive junk food hoarding that you're doing because I'm taking your mom out...what would you have done if you hadn't run into me? It would've all been for nothing."

"First, junk food hoarding is never all for nothing. Second, if we hadn't run into you, we would've made sure to stop by the diner and let you know of your duties for the evening. Thirdly, if by some strange force of nature we were prevented from talking to you, my mom was going to call and ask you to do something tonight anyway. I just thought it'd be nice if you called her instead, so I took it open myself to make that a reality."

"You are reminding more and more of your mother with every passing day," Luke replies.

"Why thank you." Something catches Rory's eye and she picks it up off of the rack with a flair of happiness. "Yes, Pixie Stix! My life is complete."

"You are crazy today," Lane laughs lightly and Rory nods.

"I don't know, it's something in the air. I love Thursdays for some reason."

"Thursday?" Luke repeats.

"It's Friday," Lane corrects her.

"Well, Fridays, then. Fridays are good days too."

"Exactly how much coffee have you had today?" Luke inquires, bending down slightly and staring into her eyes, as if checking to see if she's high.

"Four."

"Only four cups? That's all?"

"No...four pots."

"What?" Luke exclaims in outrage.

"I shared them with my mom!" Rory quickly defends herself. "I didn't drink *all* four pots on my own!"

"That's it...I'm taking the coffee pot away from you two and breaking it. And I'm cutting off your supply for good. I'll make sure Taylor doesn't sell you any coffee from here either. The Folgers, the Maxwell House...gone."

"You can threaten all you want, but we'll just get it on the black market. Nothing can stop us," Rory chirps defiantly. "Oh, we should go check out."

"I was just thinking you should check in." Rory is confused. "To a mental institute," he clarifies, and Rory just shrugs.

"Come on, our ice cream is melting." Rory pulls Lane toward the registers, practically bouncing. "Call my mom, Luke!"

"Bye," Lane manages to squeak out as Rory grabs her hand, literally dragging her away. Luke shakes his head sadly as he watches them go, but can't keep a small smile from edging its way onto his face.

"Did Lane and Rory leave?" Dean asks, stopping by Luke's side and glancing around.

"They went to check out," Luke mumbles. "Where were you?" He looks at Dean, who is flushed and shivering.

"In the back freezer. I had to get Rory some ice cream."

"She *got* ice cream."

"Phish Food?"

"Fish food?" Luke asks. "What the hell would she want with fish food? I thought we were talking about ice cream here."

"Phish food *is* a kind of Ben and Jerry's ice cream," Dean explains, chuckling. Luke rolls his eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't know. I don't buy any of that manufactured, advertised crap with all the stupid names."

"Of course you wouldn't," Dean snorts. Luke glares at him. Rory and Lane pass by, giggling. Dean goes to stop Rory and ask her about the ice cream but she dashes out, just tossing back a simple refrain.

"Call my mom!"

Dean looks at Luke, puzzled.

"She wasn't talking to me, was she?"

"No. I don't think so," Luke replies, unamused. He mumbles something under his breath and heads out of the market, leaving Dean standing there, holding two containers of rapidly defrosting Phish Food in hand.

*******

"Why is there a large amount of junk food in this cupboard?" Lorelai asks, staring at the shelves which are packed to the brim. A package of Cheetos falls out onto the counter, nearly missing her head. Rory appears in her bedroom doorway.

"What?"

"The junk has reproduced here...it has multiplied and is taking over the kitchen," She gestures to the cupboard as another small bag of chips falls down.

"Are you complaining?" Rory inquires, walking over to her mother. "It's just leftover stuff from last night. Lane and I gorged ourselves while you were out with Luke. We watched Tom Cruise fly planes and good stuff like that."

"I know what you did last night, I'm just questioning the fact that all of this was left at the end of it all. Have I taught you nothing? Junk food night means you eat it all until there's nothing left to eat. It's the one fell swoop idea. This is an extrodinary amount of unhealthy food that was not ingested and now will be tempting me all week long! Luke isn't going to love me anymore if I look like a beached whale!"

"Luke would love you if you weighed four hundred pounds and ate nothing but buntcake."

"I don't like buntcake."

"Cookie cake then."

"What the hell is cookie cake?"

"You know like...a big cookie. Sheet cookie?"

"Ah...Cookie cake is *great*. I *like* cookie cake," Lorelai says, closing the cupboard. "But-" She stops mid-sentence, a funny look on her face. "Wow."

"Wow, you suddenly have an urge for some cookie cake?"

"Did you hear what I just said? I made a joke about Luke loving me, like...wow. That's just so weird. Isn't that weird?"

"You joking about Luke?"

"Luke loves me. That's just...it feels so nice to say that. I feel happy," Lorelai says, grinning widely.

"I feel happy too," Rory chimes, giving her mom a cute squeeze of a hug. "Do you want me to hide the junk food so you're not tempted to eat it tonight when I'm not home to stop you?"

"Yeah, could you?"

"I'll take care of it," Rory nods and goes to the cupboard, beginning to take stuff out and put it into a pile. "But I think you need to start working on your will power issues."

"I have will power. I have had the will power to resist stuff like icky vegetables all of my life, when everyone was pressuring me to eat them."

"That is not willpower. That is stupidity. There's a big difference," Rory remarks, gathering up all the goods in her arms and stumbling toward her room, dropping a bag of Fritos onto the linoleum floor on the way. Lorelai grabs to pick it up before Rory can return and stop her. Opening it up, she hurriedly pops one into her mouth. Rory comes back and looks at her from the doorway, hands on hips. "What happened to me hiding this on you?"

"Hide the rest. This will appease me."

"Somehow I think it will just whet your appetite," Rory retorts and whirls around, going back into her room.

"Rory! I'm here! Let's party!" Lane calls as she bursts through the front door.

"Lane's here," Lorelai informs her daughter through a mouthful of corn chips.

"Thanks, Mom, because the whole Lane yelling thing really didn't clue me in."

"Sarcasm...heh. And...who wanted the car tonight?" Lorelai inquires as Rory and Lane stop in front of her. Rory shrugs.

"I can just call Tristan if you take away the car," Rory says off-handedly. "He said he'd come pick us up."

"Oh, did he," Lorelai's face lights up. "That's very interesting."

"Yes, the fact that Tristan has a car and is willing to drive it is so interesting it should be studied. Lane and I are going to go get ready now," Rory follows Lane into her bedroom, who looks like a nervous wreck.

"I'm going to have to borrow something of yours to wear. I convinced my mother to let me come but she insisted that I dress like a nun," Lane says, gesturing to her long sleeved black dress with a white collar. "You have to save me from this potential fashion emergency." She flings open Rory's closet as Lorelai appears in the doorway, munching away.

"Does Dean know that Tristan is going to be at this party?"

"No, Mom, he doesn't. No, Lane, wear that one. It looks great on you," Rory points at the dress Lane was about to put back in the closet.

"Ya think?"

"Yeah, you look hot, trust me. So, why didn't you tell Dean?" Lorelai asks, titting her head inquisitively at her daughter. Rory groans in frustration.

"Because he would get freaked out for no reason and it'd just be a huge mess for no reason so there was no reason to tell him! It'd just be a big deal when it didn't have to be."

"For no reason."

"Yes."

"Ah."

"Don't 'Ah' me when I'm trying to get ready for a party, Mom. All concentration must be placed on looking halfway normal so the mean kids don't throw stones at me, and any diversions, such as fending off my mother's apparent theory that I'm hiding something from Dean and therefore must be feeling something for Tristan, is out of the question."

"I never said anything about you liking Tristan."

"Lane, save me!"

"She didn't, Rory," Lane says, not turning her attention away from rifling through Rory's closet. Just then the back kitchen door opens and Luke walks in, calling Lorelai's name.

"Lorelai? Are you-"

"Luke! I love you!" Rory exclaims happily. Luke stops and looks at her.

"I guess that's good to know," he shrugs, not sure what else to say. "Love you too, kid."

"She's just happy because she thinks your arrival means I'll stop harassing her about Tristan," Lorelai explains, wrapping an arm around him and kissing quickly but lovingly on the lips as if it were the most natural greeting to make in the world. "But she's making assumptions that shouldn't be made. After 16 years of living with me, I think she would know better, but alas..."

"Where are you two going tonight?" Luke asks Rory and Lane, trying to change the subject.

"To a party that one of the Chilton kids is giving," Rory replies. "Which we kind of have to get ready for, which Mom is making impossible."

"I am not," Lorelai throws a chip at Rory. Luke grabs Lorelai by the elbow and starts guiding her out of Rory's bedroom. "Hey, where are we going?"

"We're going to make some coffee," Luke states and Lorelai's jaw drops.

"Excuse me? We're going to do the what now huh?"

"You have to leave Rory alone so we're going to make coffee," Luke hands her the coffee pot and she chuckles. Setting down the bag of Fritos, she takes the pot to the sink with a joyous smile. From her doorway, Rory smiles back.

"Luke is making coffee...anyone have a videocamera?"

"I make coffee every single day, Lorelai," Luke points out as he gets out the coffee from the fridge. "I just don't drink it."

"You make it very hard to remember why I like you, Mr. Danes," Lorelai says, frowning. Rory shuts her bedroom door, sufficiently convinced that her mother is now distracted and they are safe to go about their business.

"She's in a strange mood today," Lane says, adjusting the dress she has pulled on. Rory nods as she watches Lane twist around like a crazy person, trying to zip herself up. Giggling, she goes over to help.

"Let me get that," Rory offers, easily pulling the zipper up. Lane sighs.

"Dressing is so much easier when it becomes a two person job," she remarks. Rory makes a face.

"If Tristan were here, he would've had such a raunchy response to that."

"Why, what would he have said?"

"Something like, 'Undressing is even easier when you have another pair of hands as well,' and then he would smirk."

"That's not too raunchy. In fact, that would be considered outright flirting in some states."

"But not in Connecticut," Rory states, turning Lane around to face the mirror and fluffing Lane's hair with her hands. "What are you going to do with this tonight? Just leave it down?"

"I haven't thought that far. I'm still debating whether or not this dress is going to work or not. Does it make my shoulders look big?"

"Not in any way shape or form."

"I do, I look like a linebacker!" She exclaims.

"You look like Lane Kim, and Lane Kim is not pro football material," Rory assures her, laughing lightly. "Quit freaking out."

"I don't mean to freak out," Lane responds, wringing her hands. "I'm just...I'm nervous about seeing Henry. I haven't seen him since the mall."

"Why, you think he suddenly got ugly and turned into a big jerk or something? The victim of a teenage science experiment gone horribly awry?"

"No," Lane snorts, then shrugs. "I don't know. We're just...we're still at that beginning stage where I'm just...I'm still nervous every time I see him. How long did it take you to get used to Dean?"

"Not that long. A couple of dates, maybe?" Rory estimates. "I don't know."

"Ah. Well, that's no help."

"Why is it no help?"

"Because I'm not you. You're pretty, and clever, and witty, and you're just...you! Which I am totally not."

"Well, Henry doesn't like me so I suppose that being me would be considered a good thing," Rory retorts, pulling out a dress from the closet. "This looks too fancy, doesn't it?"

"It's fine, Rory. What if Henry is bored with me?"

"Thanks for the sterling advice on the outfit, Lane," Rory replies sarcastically, sitting down on the bed next to her best friend. "And Henry could never be bored with you. I've been friends with you for years and there hasn't been a dull moment yet."

"Thanks," Lane grins, a bit more relaxed but still obviously tense. She pulls at the hem of her dress nervously for a moment, then flexes her fingers and jumps up off the bed. "Okay. I have to stop psyching myself out. It's make-up time."

At that moment, the phone rings, causing Lane to jump.

"Mom, can you get that?" Rory calls through her shut door, but gets no response. It rings a second time and Rory goes to her bedroom door, opening it up. "Mom, can you-" She stops in surprise, finding her mother and Luke kissing each other by the sink, completely wrapped up in one another. It's evident that neither of them are even aware that the phone is ringing, much less that phones still even exist. Racing to get to the phone before the answering machine picks up, Rory chooses to disregard them for the time being.

"Speak," Rory says into the phone as she picks it up. The second the word comes out of her mouth she instantly winces, afraid that her grandmother might be on the other end of the line.

"Nice greeting, Mary."

Rory breathes a sigh of relief.

"Tristan, hi."

"You sound frazzled."

"Well, my mom is making out with Luke in the kitchen, Lane is in my room, freaking out because she thinks Henry is going to get some kind of lobotomy before tonight and he'll decide he actually hates her, and I still haven't even gotten changed for a party I'm supposed to be leaving for in twenty minutes. Oh yeah, and I haven't even considered how long it's going to take me to find the keys without my mom's help."

"Your mom is making out with Luke? When did this happen?"

"Thursday."

"I talked to you on Thursday and you didn't say a word!" Tristan exclaims. Rory shrugs, amused that he's upset by being out of the loop.

"I didn't know about it until after I signed off...why do you care?"

"Luke and I had a little chat the first time I was in Stars Hollow," Tristan informs her, and Rory can almost hear his smirk over the telephone. "I knew it was only a matter of time."

"Well, congratulations, you should start your own psychic hotline."

"I'll look into it."

"As well you should."

"Since you're running so far behind...you want me to come and pick you up? It'd save you key time."

"That's okay, really," Rory replies. "There's no point in you coming all the way out here just to-"

"That's not a problem."

"Tristan, it's a half hour drive, and-"

"Look out your front window," he says, and Rory takes a moment to walk to the front windows and obligingly peek out, though she knows what she's going to find.

"I can't believe you," she says, turning off the phone and going to the front door. She opens it up with flourish, tilting her head and looking out at Tristan, both annoyed and amused at the same time. He's leaning against his silver Camaro, his arms crossed and a playful grin dancing across his face.

"Hey," he says casually, rubbing his chin quickly and then sauntering up the lawn toward Rory. "I was in the neighborhood, so I thought..."

"You're just too much to take sometimes, you know that?" Rory puts her hands on her hips as he walks up the steps, pausing by her side and cocking his head toward hers. Rory shifts, uncomfortable with the strange feeling that flitted through her body at Tristan's closeness.

"Yeah, but you take me anyway." He stands next to her, waiting for her to reply, but she just stares at him for a moment, her mouth temporarily unable to throw out a witty comeback. Tristan is about to say something else when Lane appears at the front door, Rory's round hairbrush tangled in her hair.

"Your brush is attacking me!" She cries out, trying to pull on it, but all she does is whip her head back and forth. "I can't get it out!" Rory grabs Lane's hands and pulls them away from her hair. She starts to work the brush out of Lane's hair, but Lane shrieks. "Ow! Ow!"

"Here, give it," Tristan steps in front of Rory and within a few seconds has effortlessly and painlessly gotten the brush out of Lane's hair. He is met with a look of gratefulness on Lane's part, but a look of astonishment and amusement awaits him on Rory's face. "What?"

"That was very maternal of you," she snickers.

"Quit laughing."

"Should I even ask how you knew how to do that?"

"It's just something...and old girlfriend...shut up. You should be thanking me."

"I'm thanking you. Thank you. I am eternally grateful," Lane says, grasping Tristan's hands in hers.

"Yes, thank you. We need to do our hair now...perhaps you'd like to help? Can you french braid?" Rory taunts, walking all the way back inside as Lane finally lets go of Tristan's hands.

"Actually I can," Tristan tells her, stepping inside. Rory rolls her eyes.

"You can not."

"Want me to prove it?"

Rory pauses for a moment, eyeing him. For an instant she actually believes that he could be telling the truth, but a telltale grin plays at the edges of Tristan's mouth, giving him away.

"You're such a doofus," Rory says.

"Do you want this doofus to make coffee while you get changed?" Tristan counters, pointing toward the kitchen.

"If you want to try, go ahead. I wish you luck," Rory remarks and then goes into her bedroom with Lane, shutting the door. Tristan takes one more step into the kitchen and Rory's comment about needing luck becomes clear. Lorelai and Luke are still standing there, kissing, and Lorelai has the coffee pot in her hand, which is attached to the arm she has around Luke's body. Tristan glances around the room, not sure what to do.

Cautiously, he sneaks up behind the couple and as swiftly and smoothly as possible, he sneaks the pot from Lorelai's loose grip.

When Rory and Lane emerge from Rory's bedroom a few minutes later, three cups of coffee are sitting on the table. Rory looks at Tristan, surprised.

"How did you do this?"

"Your mom wasn't really holding onto it that tightly," he gestures to Luke and Lorelai with a chuckle. Rory sighs as she looks at her mom, shaking her head.

"This is crazy," she mumbles, going into the bathroom and re-entering a moment later, spray bottle in hand. She gets within range of the pair and starts spraying water at them. Lorelai jumps back from Luke's embrace, shrieking slightly in surprise.

"Rory! What are you doing?" Lorelai asks, startled. Rory shrugs.

"I didn't have a hose."

"You're a funny girl." She looks past her daughter and sees Tristan standing there and she smiles. "Why, there's a Tristan in my kitchen."

"Hi, Lorelai. Luke."

"Tristan," Luke grunts back.

"How are you?" Tristan asks, smiling at Luke, who is trying to avoid Tristan's I-Told-You-So smirk.

"I'm dandy - oo, there is coffee on the table. I didn't make that, did I?" Lorelai inquires, not remembering. She looks at the coffee maker, then toward the sink, then back to the coffee. She flexes her fingers back and forth, trying to figure out when and where she had lost grip of the coffee pot.

"No, I did," Tristan explains, supressing a laugh. "You were otherwise occupied. But that mug right there is for you." He points to the large blue mug and Lorelai claps happily.

"Oo, the biggest one. Tristan, all you need is wings. Someone should ring a bell." Lorelai is met with strange looks from all. "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings? People, tell me you've seen It's a Wonderful Life."

Rory and Lane each pick up their mugs of coffee with content smiles, shrugging at Lorelai.

"I'd love to sit and talk about how awesome Jimmy Stewart was with you, Mom, which I know you want to do, but we have a party to go to," Rory says after taking a sip of her coffee. "I'm sure Luke would love to listen, though." Luke shoots Rory a warning look which causes her to giggle, sloshing a bit of liquid over the rim of her cup. "Sorry," she murmurs to him and he grunts.

"Are you implying that listening to me is not as much fun as an 80's tribute night?"

"Listening to you is about as much fun as being the only guy at an Ani DiFranco concert."

"Tristan likes Ani DiFranco," Rory chimes in, and Luke gives Tristan a strange look.

"It's not a good sign when Tristan is being nicer to me than you are, Luke," Lorelai pouts, still stinging over his comment. Luke rolls his eyes at her.

"Now is no time to be taking our insults seriously," Luke says.

"Though one would think that since your mutual attraction is now out in the open, the love-hate relationship would be more of a love-love relationship-"

"Rory, get this kid out of here before I have to hit him," Luke gestures toward the door with his thumb and Tristan, Rory, and Lane all laugh, picking up their various jackets, purses and other items and heading toward the front door.

"He's threatening violence...you're definitely in his good graces now," Rory tells Tristan as she opens the door. "We'll be back around midnight, Mom. If the party is actually fun."

"If it's not fun?"

"Expect me home very much before that."

"Got it. Just checking, in case you were planning on ditching the boring party and going some place more fun...say, a random rave in some strange warehouse where everyone's tripped out on X."

"That's next weekend," Rory jokes.

"And in that case, we'd be home whenever you came to the police station with the bail money to pick us up," Lane adds. Lorelai grins at them both, waving her hands to usher them out the door.

"You're far too witty for me," Lorelai says, acting defeated. "I've created monsters."

"Well, Dr. Frankenstein, have a good night," Rory gives her mom a quick hug. "Should I be expecting any surprises if I come home too early?" She whispers into her mom's ear. Lorelai's eyes widen in surprise.

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore!" She exclaims.

"Just thought I'd check," Rory smirks. Deciding to escape while she's ahead, Rory ducks outside. "Night."

"Night," Lorelai waves good-bye as the three teenagers walk across the yard toward Tristan's car. Luke stops behind her, setting his hands on her shoulders. As Tristan starts the car and pulls away, Luke lays a light kiss on her neck.

"You do know that I don't really mean any of that stuff right?" Luke murmurs. "I'm just kidding around." Lorelai turns around to face him, smiling as she wraps her arms around his neck and his strong arms slide around her slender waist.

"I know. And I love teasing you back, so don't stop on account of me being pouty about it," Lorelai replies. "Fighting with you makes my day."

"Good to know."

"It definitely is. If I didn't have to battle you for my coffee every day, I don't think the coffee would taste nearly as good."

"I'll keep that in mind next time you tell me to stop harassing you about drinking that junk."

"Damn it...I just walked right into that one," Lorelai mutters. "I was just trying to be all nice and flirtatious and somehow I painted myself right into that coffee-withholding corner." Luke chuckles, pulling Lorelai to him in a sweet kiss. She runs her hands from his five o'clock shadowed face down his neck to the collar of his flannel shirt, playing with the fabric as she pulls back from him. "Hey...do you want to go upstairs and make out like horomonally crazed teenagers on bad television shows?" Lorelai grins at him wickedly, bouncing up and down slightly in place, giddy with the idea.

"That sounds romantic," Luke replies sarcastically.

"So you don't want to?"

"No, course I do."

"Great," Lorelai says. She grabs him by the hand and they dash upstairs, stopping at the top of the flight to engage in a long, heated prelimary kiss before disappearing into Lorelai's bedroom.

********

"This is the place, huh?" Lane peeks out the back window at the huge mansion as Tristan pulls to a smooth stop in the culdesac in front of the MacAllister's.

"This is the place," Tristan nods, sounding as bored as Lane sounds awed. He gets out and rounds the car quickly. Rory starts to open her door but Tristan opens it the rest of the way, offering her his hand in getting out. She takes it while giving him a stange look. He helps Lane out, who smiles at him graciously. Tristan hands his keys to the valet who is standing on the walk and even Rory does a double take.

"A valet? Where are we, the Plaza?" Rory asks him. Tristan shrugs, heading toward the house.

"The MacAllister's spare no expense. When they have a party, they do it right. Even if it is just for teenagers."

"You know what I never thought about?" Lane suddenly asks Rory, clutching onto her arm. "Do Henry's parents have this much money? They're not going to want him dating a girl like me. My family owns an antique shop! They're going to flip!"

"Lane, relax. This isn't a Merchant Ivory picture and I don't think any of Jane Austen or Edith Wharton's rules of marriage and class are exactly something to worry about right now," Rory reassures her. They catch up with Tristan, who is waiting for them by the door.

They enter the party and within minutes, Rory is bombarded with all the familiar and uncomfortable Chilton feelings. Having the whole summer away from them had left her unaccustomed to the usual questioning, judgemental stares and mindless, pointless chatter that was now echoing around her ears. She glances at Lane, temporarily paralyzed. Lane, nervous herself, doesn't say anything to help. Tristan sees the look on Rory's face as he returns from the refreshment table and takes her coat from her, replacing it with a cup of punch. He hands one to Lane as well.

"Rory, relax. It's the same people you hated last year, they're just more tan," he leans in and whispers into her ear. "You've got your book in your bag, right?" Rory nods, laughing slightly. The tension begins to slip away. "Then you'll be fine." He spots Henry walking into the room and waves to him. "Lane, Henry's here, so your misery is almost over. Within seconds you'll realize that all of your worries were silly and unnecessary. Henry, hey!" Henry stops by Tristan's side after nearly getting knocked over by a random dancer who has seemingly lost the dance floor.

"Hey Tristan, Rory. Lane, hi," He smiles at her. Lane smiles back at him shyly. "How are you?"

"I'm great...you?"

"I'm great now. You wanna dance or something?"

"Dancing sounds...great."

"Great," He offers her his hand and they walk toward the dancing crowd, Lane looking back over her shoulder at Rory with a relieved grin.

"Well, that went..."

"Great?" Tristan supplies, chuckling. "But now you're stuck with just me."

"Could be worse," Rory tells him. "I could be stuck with Gilbert Godfried."

"Gilbert Godfried?"

"The actor? The voice of that parrot in Aladdin?"

"Oh...yeah. It would really suck if you were stuck with him. He's really annoying."

"And short."

"Short is bad?"

"No, it's just an attribute he has. I happen to prefer guys who are taller than me."

"Like Dean," Tristan states. "Why couldn't he come, again?"

"Had to work," Rory mumbles, shrugging. She takes a sip of her punch and then tucks a flyaway strand of her hair back behind her ear.

"Oh," Tristan replies, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking away, a wave of awkwardness suddenly descending upon them. "Well...you wanna dance or something?" Rory looks at him, unsure. "In a friendly, slow-dance-at-a-Catholic-school way?"

"Ah, the at an arm's length way."

"Exactly."

"I can do that," Rory smiles and heads toward the dance floor. She sets her hands on Tristan's shoulders as he puts his on her waist, about a foot between them. "Miss Patty would kill me if she ever saw me dancing like this."

"The crazy dance instructor?"

"She's not crazy. She's merely...unique?" Rory corrects. "Anyway, she would cry out in terror."

"We could just show her Henry and Lane's marvelous dancing abilities and she'd be temporarily diverted by their astounding ability," Tristan remarks, pointing at the couple who seem melded into each other's embrace.

"And Lane was worried," Rory scoffs. She and Tristan watch the pair for a moment, unknowingly moving a little closer to one another.

"It looks nice," Tristan says quietly, his gaze still trained on Lane and Henry. Rory looks up at him, confused.

"What does?"

"That...being that happy," he murmurs, not looking at her. The silence remains for a moment before Tristan glances at her. "It just must be nice to be close to someone like that, that's all," he shrugs, shaking off any seriousness that he may have caused. "Henry really likes her."

"Well, Lane really likes Henry," Rory replies, a bit relieved that she wasn't forced to respond to Tristan's comment but at the same time, disappointed that he didn't elaborate further. "If only Mrs. Kim would loosen up on Lane a little."

"Vulcan death grip?"

"Yeah. She thinks that if Lane dates any guys that she doesn't personally screen herself, she's going to wind up like my mother."

"Well, of all people to wind up like, your mom isn't bad," Tristan says. "Granted, the whole teenage pregnancy isn't exactly great, but even that wound up being wonderful so Lane's mom should've picked someone else to justify her strictness."

"Well said," Rory replies, nodding. Someone taps Tristan on the shoulder and he and Rory stop dancing for a moment.

"Rory, do you mind if I sneak in here and steal Tristan for awhile?" Cassandra Williams flashes her 100 watt smile at Rory, already stepping between her and Tristan.

"Actually, Cassie...Rory and I were in the middle of a conversation." Tristan shoots Rory a pleading look over Cassandra's shoulder and Rory has to stifle a smile.

"I'm sure she doesn't mind finishing it some other time," Cassandra smoothes her hand down Tristan's chest, tossing a contemptuous look at Rory. Rory crosses her arms over her chest, annoyed at the girl's assumption.

"I do mind, actually. So I guess you'll have to wait," Rory tells her, taking Tristan's hand and leading him away. As Cassie stares after the pair, her mouth still open as she stumbles for a response, Tristan breathes a sigh of relief.

"I owe you big time, Ror," he says.

"Why the desire to escape the witch's clutches?"

"You're the one using the negatively connotated words to describe her, I don't think you need to be told," Tristan retorts as he follows her off the dance floor.

"Still, usually the willingness to make out with you is all it takes to convince you differently. The whole personality aspect of girls hasn't exactly been at the top of your list of desired attributes."

"You still think that about me?"

"Maybe not as much as before, but you haven't given me *much* evidence to the contrary," Rory remarks, turning around to face him. Tristan cocks his head to the side, moving close to her as she leans against the wall, out of a place to go. Rory looks at him, her blue eyes wavering slightly as he leans toward her, placing his hands on either side of her head.

"Someday I hope I'll be able to convince you otherwise," he breathes lowly into her ear before pulling back. Rory tries to suppress the shiver that runs down her spine at the feeling of his hot breath on her neck or the spark of feeling his body pressed to hers. He smiles at her faintly, suddenly feeling like he might have been far too daring and hastily trying to lighten the mood. "I'd hate to have you think I'm a womanizing jerk on top of all the other complaints you have about me," he adds, stepping back.

"I'll keep that in mind," Rory says, trying to calm her unsteady voice. "But for now I think I'm just going to get some more punch." She points toward the general vicinity of the refreshments and walks away, eager to get away. Feeling what she had just felt was scary, and above all, not good. Tristan DuGrey was in no way supposed to elicit such responses as a faster heartbeat, rushes of heat, or the inexplicable need to escape before doing something impulsive and sexual.

Tristan watches her as she weaves her way through the crowd, trying to decide whether or not the quick escape could be interpreted as good or bad. He doesn't get that much time to debate the issue, because within moments he's been flanked by Louise and Madeleine.

"Hello, Tristan...you're here with Rory?" Louise inquires throatily, putting her hand on his arm.

"With Rory and her friend Lane, yeah," Tristan replies, shrugging.

"You two looked pretty close a second ago..." Louise says, raising an eyebrow at him. "Does this mean that Rory and her big strong boyfriend are no more? I'm surprised...after that big courtyard make up scene they had in May, I figured she was completely off the market."

"She's still going out with Dean. She and I are just friends."

"But don't you like her?" Madeleine asks, confused.

"She has great command of the obvious," Louise remarks, just nodding at Madeleine. She goes back to fixing her hair, which she has now grown out to shoulder length, and is now attempting to tie back.

"I don't like Rory in that way," Tristan lies through his teeth. "We're just friends."

"Yeah, you already said that," Louise replies. "You're going to have to work on sounding more convincing than that if you're going to stop Paris from clawing Rory's eyes out."

"What?" Louise just gestures across the room to where Paris is approaching Rory, looking not too happy.

"She saw you decline Cassie's offer and lept to conclusions," she explains. "Rory's going to be lucky to even get parking lot duty on the paper now." She smirks and then walks away, leading the distracted Madeleine away with her. Tristan hesitates a moment, not sure what to do, then heads over to where Paris is talking to Rory.

"So, you're here with Tristan, huh?" Paris asks Rory, skipping a greeting entirely. Rory sets down her red plastic cup and turns to Paris with a heavy sigh.

"Paris, hi. Nice to see you too."

"I don't want to hear any stupid small talk. First I have to come to this stupid thing and now you're here with Tristan. I want answers.