Disclaimer: I own neither the characters from Gilmore Girls or from A Walk to Remember.

Chapter Seven

It's a plan

"This is painful," said Tristan, who was sitting in the seat next to Rory in the Beaufort Elementary School auditorium watching eight year-olds attempting to act out The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Rory rolled her eyes at Tristan.

"I told you that you didn't have to come," said Rory.

"Well," said Tristan, "I had nothing better to do."

"Except," said Rory, "you know, work and everything."

"Yes, but this sounded so much better," said Tristan.

"Well, since you're the one that wanted to come, you can't complain," said Rory.

"Come on," said Tristan, "you can't tell me that you are actually enjoying watching Timmy Jones making Jonathan Taylor Thomas look like a brilliant actor."

"Jonathan Taylor Thomas?" said Rory.

"The Disney version of this," said Tristan.

"Right," said Rory, "see but the thing is there are parents here, and this is a small town where everyone knows everyone and the parents of the kids are here and they're going to hear the snarky comments that you're saying and then we're going to get kicked out which means that I won't be able to write the article that Perry assigned me and then I am going to lose my job."

"Well, I've got something you can put in that article of yours," said Tristan, "you can put 'Children shouldn't act.' That's about it. Just put that in your article a million times with a few similes and apostrophes and you'll have your article." Rory laughed at Tristan.

"You certainly have gotten snarkier since our days at Chilton," she said.

"I always was snarky, you just never got a chance to know me that well so you never got to witness my snarkiness," said Tristan.

"Well," said Rory, "I'm sorry that I missed that. That would have been entertaining to see."

"Yes well," said Tristan.

Up on stage, Tom and Huck were talking about something. They were speaking so low though that no one could hear them. "This is why," said Tristan, "children shouldn't be on the stage."

Rory laughed.

"Tristan!" she exclaimed.

One of the Mother's of the children turned around and glared at them. "Excuse me," she said, "can you two please be quiet? My kid is up there and I would like to be able to listen to them."

"Wow," said Tristan, "you must have super hearing if you can hear that."

"Tristan," hissed Rory.

"You know what," said the Mom, "I think you should leave."

"Good idea," said Tristan, and he smiled and pulled Rory by her hand out of her seat and the two of them exited the school's auditorium, laughing.

"I could kill you," said Rory.

"Oh come on," he said, "just tell Perry I got you kicked out, okay? Besides, how much longer were you planning on staying?"

"Not much longer," Rory admitted. The play had been painful to watch, even for a children's performance.

"See," said Tristan, "I just made your stay shorter. You can thank me now."

Rory laughed.

"Okay, okay," she said, "thank you."

"You're welcome," said Tristan.

Tristan's cell phone rang just then and he answered it. "Hello?" he said into the phone.

"Hey there Tristan," said Carter's voice into the phone, "where are you two?"

"Hey Carter," said Tristan, "Rory got a job today. She's writing for The Beaufort Gazette. She had to write an article on the elementary school play." Carter let out a laugh.

"That had to be painful," said Carter.

"It was," said Tristan, "we actually ended up getting kicked out of there."

"Tristan," said Carter in a warning tone. "You didn't do anything too awful, did you?"

"Of course not," said Tristan. "What do you want though, Carter? Do you need Rory to get something for you?"

"No, no," said Carter, "but I got a couple of steaks today. I wanted to know if you and Rory wanted to come back over to my house and have dinner."

"Hang on," said Tristan, "let me ask her."

Tristan took the phone away from his ear for a moment. "Hey," said Tristan, "Carter's on the phone. He wants to know if you would like to have some steaks with him."

"You know," said Rory, "that actually sounds good."

"Great," said Tristan, "I'll tell him."

Tristan put the phone back to his ear again. "Yeah Carter," he said, "That sounds great. We'll be there in a little while, okay?"

"Sounds good," said Carter, "see you then. Bye Tristan."

"Bye Carter," said Tristan. Tristan hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket. "So," he said, "we're having dinner with Carter."

"Sounds good," said Rory, "let's go then."

"Alright," said Tristan.

The two of them got into Rory's car and they headed back to Landon's house. When they got inside though, Landon was nowhere to be found. "Carter?" called out Tristan. "Where are you?"

"Outside," called Carter's voice, "I'm out on the deck."

Tristan and Rory exchanged looks and Rory just shrugged. "Come on," said Tristan, "let's go."

The two of them headed out to the porch. Rory hadn't been out there yet. The porch had some nice patio furniture and a barbecue, which was where Carter was standing by, cooking the three steaks that he had gotten. "Hi Carter," Rory greeted him.

Carter turned around. "Hello you two," he said, "how was your day?"

"Interesting," said Rory, "although I now am going to have to make up something for my article since Tristan got us kicked out of the play."

Tristan laughed. "You were going to have to make up something for your article whether or not I got us kicked out of there," said Tristan, "there was nothing good about that play."

"Yes," said Rory, "but they have an excuse. They're kids."

"Still," said Tristan, "it was painful."

"Just say that it was well done for a children's production," said Carter, "and that people who see it have to understand that they're children."

"You know what Carter," said Rory, "that is not such a bad idea. I think I will put that in my article. Thank you."

"You know," said Carter, "I think we need some music. Tristan, you know where I keep everything. Would you mind going to get something for us to listen to?"

"Sure thing," said Tristan, "any preference?"

"Not really," said Carter, "you know what I like."

"Alright," said Tristan. He headed back into the house to go and grab them some music to listen to. Carter kept his music on a shelf right next to his television. Tristan rummaged through his C.D's. He found some Ella Fitzgerald and took the C.D. out and then walked over to the stereo that Carter had and he put the C.D. into the C.D. player and turned it up loud enough for them to hear the music outside. He opened up the sliding glass door that led out to the porch and walked out, taking a seat next to Rory who was now sitting on one of the patio chairs.

"Good choice there, Tristan," said Carter, "you know me too well."

"I'm glad you like it," said Tristan.

"Hey Carter," said Rory, "Do you want me to make a salad or something that goes with this? I feel like I should be doing something."

"Don't worry about it Rory," said Carter, "I'm doing this for you guys. You two just sit there and wait while I cook, alright? You two are my guests tonight."

"Okay," said Rory, "if you're certain."

"Positive," said Carter. Carter looked at the two of them for a moment. "You know," said Carter, "you two should dance?"

"What?" said Tristan, sounding surprised.

"You two should dance," said Carter, "come on, you've got to do something while I'm cooking instead of just sitting there."

"Oh," said Rory, turning red suddenly, "you know, I'm not really that great at dancing. Actually I'm horrible at it."

"Oh come on Mary," said Tristan, "dancing actually sounds like a good idea. Besides, if you have a good partner to dance with, it's easy."

"You know," said Rory, "I think I have heard that somewhere before."

"Well," said Tristan, "come on and give me a chance."

Rory let out a sigh. She didn't really want to dance, but it was clear that Tristan did. "Okay," she said, "okay that sounds good. But I warn you in advance, I will probably trip over your feet." Tristan just smiled at her.

"Don't worry," said Tristan, "I won't let you."

"Okay," said Rory.

Tristan grabbed her by the hand and to an area of the porch where there was enough room for the two of them to dance. At first there was a fast song playing, but then it changed into a slow song and Rory let out a laugh as Tristan smiled and pulled her close to her.

"You know how to waltz?" Tristan asked.

"A little," said Rory.

"Alright then," said Tristan, "just follow my lead."

The two of them attempted to waltz together, although Rory wasn't really very good at it. She ended up stepping on Tristan's toes at least one or two times. "Oh," said Rory after the second time, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

Tristan laughed. "It's okay," said Tristan, "I don't mind. I didn't even feel it."

"Are you sure?" she said. "I don't know how you couldn't have."

"Well you know," said Tristan, "the first time you stepped on it, it kind of made my foot numb." There was a smile on his face, and Rory scowled at him.

"That," she said, "is not funny."

"You have to admit," said Tristan, "it was a little funny."

"Not really," said Rory.

Carter, who had been watching the two for a moment, laughed at them. "Really you two," said Carter, "you're both acting like children."

Tristan smiled. "Well," he said, "Rory did start it. After all, she was the one that stepped on my foot."

"I did not start it," said Rory, "you are the one who wanted to dance with me. I warned you that I would probably end up stepping on your feet."

Tristan laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he said, "come on, maybe we should sit down before this turns ugly."

"You know," said Rory, "that sounds good."

"Good," said Tristan.

Tristan and Rory sat down by the table. "You picked the perfect time to sit down," said Carter, "the steaks are ready." The steaks were in fact ready and Carter took the steaks and put them on a plate and put it on the table.

"I'll be back in a second," he said, "I've got to get the rest of the meal from inside."

"Are you sure-"Rory started but Carter gave her a look that told her not to finish that sentence. Rory let out a sigh. "Well," she said, "I suppose that's my answer."

"Don't mind Carter," said Tristan, "he just likes doing things himself."

"I've noticed," said Rory, "but aren't I supposed to be helping him in exchange for board and stuff?"

"Yeah, yeah you are," said Tristan, "but trust me, Carter will have you help him when he wants you to help him. Other than that, just let him do things his way, okay?"

"Okay," said Rory, "if you're certain."

"I'm positive," said Tristan, "once you're around here long enough, you'll understand how Carter works."

"I hope so," said Rory.

It was then that something occurred to Tristan. He still didn't know why it was that Rory had come to Beaufort, North Carolina. "Hey Mary," he said, "You mind telling me something?"

"Well," said Rory, "that depends. What do you want to know?"

"I kind of want to know what it is that you're doing here," he said, "I mean, don't you normally spend time with your Mom? I know I haven't seen you in a long time, but last I checked you and your Mom were pretty inseparable."

Rory winced at the mention of her Mom. She had been trying not to think about her, especially since they hadn't been on that great of terms when she left, what with her decision to take time off from Yale and her decision to stay with her grandparents for a while, well…

"Um," said Rory, "you know I just needed a change of scenery."

"A change of scenery," said Tristan.

Ah, so that probably meant that whatever the reason she had left home, it most likely had to do with a guy. She hadn't mentioned The Bag Boy but Tristan wondered if they were still together and if maybe that was the reason that she 'needed a change of scenery'.

"Yes," said Rory, "a change of scenery."

"Uh huh," said Tristan, "a change of scenery wouldn't happen to have a name, would it?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Tristan," she said, "my coming here has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with a guy. I am not broken hearted. In fact, I am perfectly fine."

There was something in the way that she was saying that that made Tristan doubtful. "What?" said Rory. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" asked Tristan.

"Like you think that there's something wrong with me," said Rory.

"Because," said Tristan, "I don't think that you just came here for a change of scenery."

"Well," said Rory, "think what you want."

"I will," said Tristan, "and I think that you're running away from something."

"I am not," said Rory, "I am not running away from anything."

"You are a very bad liar," said Tristan.

Rory sighed. "Look Tristan," she said, "I just don't really feel very much like talking about why I came here, okay?"

Tristan sighed. "Alright," he said, "but you know, if you ever want to talk about something, you can talk to me you know."

"I know," said Rory, "thank you."

"You're welcome," said Tristan.

"Trust me though," said Rory, "I'm not ready to talk about what happened with me. When I am though, that is if I ever am, you will probably be the first person that I tell."

"Probably?" said Tristan.

"Well," said Rory, "you never know. I might be all better before I have to talk to you."

"Okay, okay," said Tristan.

Carter came out just then carrying a salad, some bread, and a pitcher of some kind of juice. He put them all down on the table. "Just one more thing that I've got to get and then we'll be ready to eat," said Carter, although he paused and looked at Tristan and Rory, and noticed the irritated look on Rory's face and the annoyed look on Tristan's.

"Is everything okay out here?" asked Carter, wondering what exactly had happened while he had been inside the house.

"Yes," said Rory.

"Yep," said Tristan, "everything is fine."

"Really," said Carter, "because you two don't look fine."

"We're fine," said Rory, "honestly."

"Yep," said Tristan, "fine, fine, fine."

"Okay then," said Carter, "I'll be back in a second."

Carter headed on inside and grabbed the butter. While he went and got that, Tristan and Rory turned to each other.

"I'm sorry," said Rory, "I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's okay," said Tristan, "I shouldn't have asked about it."

"Okay," said Rory, "apology accepted."

"Same," said Tristan.

"Let's just forget that it ever happened," said Rory, "you know, for Carters sake so that we can have a nice dinner."

"Yeah, yeah," said Tristan, "okay-we'll be civil."

"Good," said Rory, smiling.

Carter came back out with the butter and put it back on the table. "There," he said, "now we're ready to eat."

Carter paused and looked at the two of them and noticed that once again their expressions were completely different then they had been when he had left. "Okay you two," said Carter, "are you absolutely certain that everything is okay?"

Rory smiled this time.

"Yes," said Rory, "I'm certain that everything is okay."

"Yes," said Tristan, "me too."

Carter highly doubted that everything was fine. Their expressions from earlier made it seem that there had been an argument between the two. Of course they were smiling but what had happened before?

"Uh huh," said Carter, "well, if you're sure…"

"Positive," said Tristan.

"Right then," said Carter, "let's start eating, shall we?"

They all took steaks from the one plate that they were on and then got the rest of the food. They ate, and the conversation flowed, all the while the music playing in the background. The whole evening, aside from that one point when Tristan had attempted to figure out what was going on with Rory, went smoothly.

Tristan was incredibly happy to have Rory there. The only reason he wanted to know what had brought her there was if there was going to be anyone who would come and convince her to go home. Because, truthfully, Tristan was hoping that Rory was going to stay long enough for him to get her to fall in love with him.

Because, at this moment, Tristan wasn't completely certain what they were, which was okay, considering the fact that he had only been around Rory for two days, and that wasn't very long at all. They had plenty of time to figure out what was going on between them, if in fact, there was anything that was actually going on.

At the end of the night, Tristan and Rory cleaned up for Carter. Carter had protested, however Rory had managed to convince him to let them do it. Carter himself was in his bedroom, watching the evening news which Rory and Tristan could hear because he had left the door opened.

"So," said Tristan, "I think I should show you around Beaufort so that you don't have to come running to me every time that you need to try and find something."

"You know," said Rory, "since I'm going to be staying here a while, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea. When should we do it?"

"Well," said Tristan, "I can't ditch work again-Duncan and Bowman will kill me. So, we should probably wait until the weekend."

"Sounds good," said Rory, "we'll make a date of it-that is-not a date, date. Just you know a plan."

Tristan arched his eyebrow at Rory. "A plan?" said Tristan.

"Yes," said Rory, "a plan."

"Not a date?" said Tristan.

"No," said Rory, "not a date."

"Why not a date?" said Tristan.

"Just um," said Rory, "because."

"Because?"

"Uh huh," said Tristan, "we've got a plan then."

"Yep," said Rory, "a plan."

A/N: There's Chapter Seven. I hope you guys like it.