Disclaimer: I have a recurring dream where Gilmore Girls is mine. I'm trying to get help, but until then.... IT'S NOT MINE!!!

A/N: Hallo my lovelies! I'm so very excited to be taking on a new story! I've been going crazy w/out a multi-chapter trory project ;) Luckily, it's Christmas vacation, so I have plenty of time to write hehehe! Enjoy!

Thanx: I must thank my dear beta, Katherine (rosie4299) who helps me fix my blunders in every story I write! She's wonderful and I love her dearly! Go read her stories!!!!

Rating: PG-13 (for now... it will go up)

Time Frame: Season 1 Chilton, set during episode entitled "Rory's Dance" only w/ my own twist to it!

Chapter 1: Fighting Leads to The Bangles

Tristan glared at the scene before him. His Mary was dancing with some giant beanstalk. Oh great, and there's the kiss. Tristan thought he was about to puke at the disgusting show the two were putting on. Just then, his date slinked up to him. Tristan looked at the dress she had chosen to wear, and while it gave a nice view for him and anyone else, it made her look like a cheap slut. He glanced back at Rory and saw how beautiful and classy she looked. That was definitely something his date, Cissy, lacked.

"Okay, I'm perfect now," Cissy said.

"Great," Tristan replied, not really caring. His eyes were still fixed on Rory and her stupid boyfriend.

"You wanna dance?"

"Nope."

"You wanna eat?"

"Nope."

Cissy sighed and decided to ask him the only thing he could possibly say yes to. She hated going to these stupid things, anyway, but she usually tried to make the best of it. But now, she was with Tristan, and that meant doing only one thing.

"You wanna go make out?"

With one last glance to Rory, Tristan said, "Yeah, alright, let's go."

As Rory and Dean danced, Rory's gaze fell to where Tristan's scantily clad date was now pulling him out the door. She had seen him watching her with Dean, and in a way, she felt guilty, like she was cheating on him. But that's ridiculous. She hated Tristan. Well, hate is a strong word. He's more like an annoying pest who won't go away. But is it good that he won't go away? No! He's rich and snobby and bugs the hell out of you! But he's also so hot. What! Wait, where did that come from?! Rory shook the thoughts from her head as she heard Dean talking.

"So, Ponyboy, you happy?"

"Yeah, I'm happy," Rory said with a sigh. In a way, she didn't think she was.

----------------

Tristan and Cissy returned from their make out session about an hour after they had left. Rory's eyes fell on the two of them. Cissy chose to fix her messy hair and her twisted skirt right in front of everyone. The site made Rory want to smack her for all decent women in the world. Just as her blood began to boil, her date began talking again. Rory decided she hated dances.

"So, uh, you want to maybe go?"

Rory's heart soared when he uttered those words! He wasn't having a good time, either. Now, they could just part and no one would get hurt, and nothing would be lost. Dean would always be special to her, since he was her first kiss, but he really wasn't the guy for her. As she replied to Dean, her eyes found where Tristan was drinking a glass of punch and practically groping his date. It was gross, but he was the type of guy that could make her feel alive, and that was something she had never really felt.

"You're bored. I'm sorry. Yeah, let's go, right away."

"I'm not bored. I thought, you know, there's still a little time left, maybe we could get a cup of coffee somewhere, hang out a little, take a walk. You know, just us," Dean said with a smile.

Crap. This was going to be harder than Rory thought. Here he was staring at her with this almost puppy-dog look. Rory knew that Dean wasn't going to give up so easily. He really liked her, and she liked him, too. But that pesky blonde boy kept showing up in her thoughts any time she was with Dean. It wasn't fair to Dean for her to be thinking of another guy when they were together. Rory decided just to get through the night, though.

"That'd be nice."

"No, you stay. I'll get the coats," Dean told her, his eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree.

This was definitely going to be harder than she thought. Tristan watched as the two separated, and was very glad to see Paris walk up to Rory in a huff. They were soon engulfed in an argument, so Tristan took this time to step in front of Dean. Things were about to get interesting.

Rory barely made it through her encounter with Paris before she saw a confrontation of Dean and Tristan. The site of it made her heart skip a beat! She rushed over, and caught the tail end of their conversation just as Tristan stepped in Dean's way, again.

"You're kidding, right?" Dean practically laughed.

"Why, are you going somewhere?"

"Get out of my way Dristan."

Tristan smirked at Dean, "Oh, aren't you clever."

Rory stepped between them, but was inclined to agree with Tristan... it was a horrible excuse for an insult. Dean could have walked away, and she knew it. Tristan isn't really a threat, but she could tell that Dean didn't want to give this up.

"Hey, what's going on?" Rory asked them, knowing perfectly well what was happening.

"Nothing. Just getting to know your boyfriend here," Tristan said, his eyes leaving Dean for a moment to gaze at the angel before him.

"It's going really well, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah. We're just about to build a clubhouse," Tristan said, slightly amusing himself.

"Okay. Well I hate to break up the party, but we should go," Rory told Dean, just wishing this night would end.

"Stay out of this, Rory," Dean told her.

"Oh, so you have to tell the Little Girl what she can and can't do."

Dean gritted his teeth and stepped in front of Tristan, towering over him. Tristan took a step towards Dean and they glared at each other. Rory knew this wouldn't end well, especially when she saw Dean shove Tristan. Rory inwardly groaned. Why couldn't he of just walked away? Tristan is harmless if you just ignore him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dean asked Tristan.

"Okay, you will not push me again," Tristan said through gritted teeth.

This guy had just overstepped his bounds. Rory glanced around and noticed several other people around them had stopped to watch the two argue. It definitely didn't look like either of them was going to walk away. Rory wanted to crawl under a table and stay there to avoid the humiliation.

"Are you seriously trying to act tough? You're wearing a tie for God's sake," Dean laughed.

"Outside! Now!" Tristan yelled. It was the first time he'd raised his voice.

The music came to a screeching halt, and everyone watched the two boys as their anger levels rose higher and higher. Rory heard Dean make some remark about Tristan looking like an accountant and that was it. Rory watched in horror, as they started fighting. This was awful! She never should have asked Dean. He doesn't belong here! She didn't even belong here. If she hadn't of decided to go to this stupid dance, then she could be at home with her mother eating tons of junk food and watching the classics. Plus, her mother wouldn't be having back spasms. This whole night sucked.

Finally, several guys pulled them apart and held them back. They continued to shout insults to each other, and Rory started thinking about how possessive Dean had been. He had been acting like she was his wife, not his... well whatever they were. This wasn't right.

"You don't want to fight me Tristan!"

"Why not?"

"'Cause I'll kill you, idiot! Come on, Rory, let's go."

Rory suddenly didn't feel safe with him. The fact that he said he'd kill Tristan was enough for her to shake her head. That was it. She was through with him and there was no way in hell she was getting into a car with him. He was way too angry. Tristan seemed to have calmed himself almost instantaneously, but Dean was still clenching his jaw.

"Rory?"

"No. I'm sorry Dean, but I think you should go."

"Fine," Dean said as he stormed out of the dance.

Luckily, the music started to play and Rory looked around the room as everyone got back to dancing, realizing the show was over. There would definitely be talk about it back at Chilton on Monday, though.

"So, nice scene," Tristan said, walking up to her.

"Right back at ya."

"It seems you've lost your ride. I'll take you home, if you want, since it was partially my fault."

Rory looked into his eyes and felt her knees go weak. She nodded and said a quick thank you. Tristan told her he'd be right back, and he quickly arranged for a friend of his to take Cissy home. Although, that was probably not needed since the last time he saw her she was flirting with anything in pants. He grabbed Rory's coat from the closet, along with his own and then led her towards his brand new BMW.

Rory was surprised at the turn of events. She came here with Dean, telling herself that she hated Tristan and he was just an annoying guy who thought of her as some sort of conquest. Now, she thought differently. Dean was a nice guy, but very possessive. Technically, they weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend. Tristan was the type of guy that would let her have her space if she needed it. Rory slipped her hand out of the bracelet Dean made her and dropped it into her purse. Bye-bye Dean.

Tristan opened the passenger door for her and Rory stepped in. This was definitely a new experience for her. Dean never opened any doors for her. It was kind of nice, and made her feel special. The logical part of her brain knew it was probably just instinct for him because it had been drilled into his head from the time he was young, but still.

"So, I'm not sure exactly how to get to your house."

"Oh, I'll tell you. It really isn't that hard."

"Hey, can we listen to some music?"

"Sure," Tristan told her.

"Can I pick the CD?"

"Yeah, I have some back..." he began, but trailed off as he watched her pull a CD out of her purse.

"What's that?"

"The Bangles."

Tristan suppressed a laugh as the 80's rock music flooded the car. He should have known that Rory would like something weird. She was a very strange girl, but she intrigued him because of that. Rory read all the time, and she ate lunch alone. It seemed as though she didn't need the approval of others to feel good about herself. That was something Tristan didn't think he'd ever understand.

"So, why do you have a CD in your purse?"

"Oh, my mom told me you should always have one with you. That way, if the music is crappy, you can pop it in."

"Why The Bangles, though?"

"Oh, this was actually my mom's favorite band when she was in high school. When I was born, she considered naming me after the lead guitarist. Of course she was whacked out on Demerol, so she named me after herself instead."

"Your mother sounds like quite a character."

"Oh, she is, but she's my best friend and we talk about everything."

"Everything?"

"Yeah. Oh, make a right up here."

"You mean you can even talk to her about sex?"

"Uh, yeah," Rory said, blushing a little. "It's not our favorite conversation, but we do talk about it sometimes. I got the first 'Birds and the Bees' talk when I was two."

"What!?" Tristan said with a laugh.

"Yeah, we're freakishly linked."

"I have to meet her," Tristan laughed.

Rory almost froze when he said that. Did that mean he really liked her, or what? She didn't think he asked many girls to meet their mothers. But what did that mean? Tristan was definitely an enigma. Rory looked out of her window and saw the door to Miss Patty's studio was open.

"I guess Miss Patty forgot to lock up."

"Who?"

"Miss Patty. She teaches dance and she was even on Broadway once."

"Oh. Did you ever take lessons."

"Yeah, for about a year. I sucked. I fell all the time, and my mom was terrified I was going to break something."

"Oh my God! I have to see the place where Rory Gilmore fell on her ass."

"Okay, I'm not really looking forward to going home, anyways."

Tristan was surprised that Rory agreed to go with him so quickly. They stepped out of the car and walked into the studio. Rory showed him all the pictures of Miss Patty, and he couldn't believe that it was all the same woman. He even saw a picture of Rory when she was in her ballet get-up.

"You were a very cute five-year-old," he told her, honestly.

"Why thank you. I'm sure you were too, what with the messy blonde hair and the little smirk on your face."

"Hey! I didn't develop the smirk until middle school!" Tristan teased.

They both laughed, and Rory accidentally dropped her purse. Tristan's gentleman instinct kicked in again and he bent over and picked it up for her. It was surprisingly heavy.

"So, what do you have in here. Besides the Bangles, I mean."

"I don't know. A lipstick, five-dollar bill. Gum, hair spray, a book."

"Ah, I should have guessed that."

"Yes, you should have."

"So, what book is it?"

"The Portable Dorothy Parker."

Rory leads him over to some yoga mats and they sit down on them. She begins to read out loud, and Tristan listens intently. He loved hearing how excited she got at certain parts. It was great to see how intently she read. Sometimes, she would almost miss the bell during lunch if she was focused too hard. Rory was getting very uncomfortable in the positions she was in, so she backed up to lean against the wall, next to Tristan. Well, she tried to do that while continuing to read, and so she misjudged the distance. The next thing she knew, she had leaned against something warm and very much alive. Rory started to pull away, but Tristan's hand snaked around her waist and brought her back against him. Rory stopped reading and looked at him.

"What..." she began, but he cut her off with a kiss.

A soft kiss that left her knees weak and her head swimming. With Dean, she had always worried about what to do while kissing, but Tristan made it seem so easy. She just melded to his mouth and he pulled her body closer to his. He licked her lips and she opened her mouth automatically to accept his tongue as it swept in and explored her mouth.

They pulled away and after a moment, Rory opened her eyes and looked into Tristan's. He was smiling at her. She picked up the book and went back to reading as the two of them laid there, not caring about Chilton or Dean or the time. Soon, the two exhausted teens fell sound asleep.

A/N: Did you like it? I hope so, because I've been toying with this idea for quite a while. I found all the dialogue that I took from the show on

Please review!!!