Title: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Laura (c) June, 2001
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 One: Preconceptions
"Rory! Can you get that? I'm in the middle of...something!" Lorelai's voice calls down from upstairs, urging her daughter to answer the front door. Rory jumps up from her bed, tossing her copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass onto her nightside table and hurriedly rushing to the front door. Her heart races at the possibility it could be Dean. It was most likely Dean. They hadn't spoken to one another since their date last night, which meant he was due for a visit or a phone call at any time.
But Dean does not have blonde hair, blue eyes, or the tendency to wear suits on a normal basis.
"Tristan? What in the world are you doing here?" Rory demands, not able to keep the disdain from seeping into her tone. She hated herself for disliking Tristan so much, but she couldn't help it. Generally she considered herself to be pretty much warm and loving, and overall a very forgiving person, but Tristan DuGrey warranted an immense amount of patience that quite possibly Gandhi himself couldn't muster.
"How lovely to see you too, Rory," Tristan grins cockily, tilting his head to one side as if confused by the look of anger possessing her ordinarily serene face. "You don't seem too thrilled by my surprise visit."
"I'm estatic. Bursting with fruit flavor. Can't you tell?" Rory retorts. "I'm the new poster girl for the Stars Hollow Cheerleading Squad, that's how full of enthusisam I am."
"Rory Gilmore as a cheerleader...now that would be an interesting sight," Tristan smirks. "Somehow I can't envision you doing cheers with your nose stuck in a novel by Tchaikovsky."
"Tchaikovsky?" Rory repeats, laughing. "He was a composer. Try, Dostoyevsky, maybe?"
"Tchaikovsky, Dostoyevsky, what the difference?"
"Tchaikovsky's name was Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky while the other was Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky, for starters," she says matter-of-factly, and Tristan chuckles.
"That fact that you know both of their full names is quite scary. Especially since all Russian names sound exactly the same. At least here in the U.S. we utilize a little creativity."
"Your ethnocentric outlook is doing wonders for my opinion of you, really," Rory remarks blandly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Before you enlighten me with anymore of your astounding thoughts, why don't you fill me in on the reason you're standing on my doorstoop on what would normally be a wonderful day?"
"Why would it be wonderful? Going out with your boyfriend today?" Tristan asks pointedly. The events of the previous day had not been lost on him. In fact, he'd been so disoriented and upset after watching Rory chase after and then passionately kiss that Dean guy, that he'd walked right off with her schoolbooks. He hadn't realized it until he got home. Somehow he didn't think that all those carefully written notes had magically appeared in his notebooks.
"As a matter of fact, I probably am," Rory retorts. "So why don't you just get to the point and save us a whole load of trouble."
"Geez, Mary, pushy pushy. Didn't you ever learn your manners?" Tristan holds out her folder and book with a smile. "I figured you might want these. I peg you as the type to study over summer break." In reality, they had been sitting on his desk in his room, teasing and taunting him, as if laughing over his utter failure to convince Rory to go out with him. When his dad had suggested Tristan accompany him to Stars Hollow, he jumped at the chance to rid himself of the painful reminders of Rory Gilmore. The last thing he needed to be around all summer were her school books, when he was trying to move past her.
"Funny. I figured you as the type to already be sitting on a beach somewhere, hitting on anything in a bikini, yet you seem to have opted for the much less popular choice of visiting Stars Hollow for the sole purpose of returning my books. Somehow this doesn't add up. What is the catch?"
"There has to be a catch?"
"You travel all the way out here from Hartford just to give me a textbook and some old notebooks, Tristan? How stupid do you think I am?" Rory inquires, almost offended. What kind of idiot does he take her for? "What do you really want? Is this about P.J. Harvey? I'm not apologizing for not going with you, if that's what you're looking for."
"Nope, not it at all. In fact, this isn't a part of some huge plan, believe it or not. My whole life does not revolve around you," Tristan grins, running his hand through his tousled blonde hair. "My dad just happened to have some business out here this afternoon and I came along for the ride. I figured I'd give those back to you, hopefully get to check out a few hot girls around here, get some bonus points with my dad for pretending to care about the family business, you know, that kind of thing. He practically lives for people to boost his ego, anything to make him feel more important."
"Wow, I can't imagine that," Rory replies saracastically, silently thinking that it must be hereditary. She takes her books from him. "Thanks for returning these, but I have to go now. The concept of you being at my house is causing the circuits in my brain to go haywire. I stand here any longer and my head might burst."
"Who is causing your head to burst?" Lorelai's voice stops Rory as she's about to shut the door in Tristan's face. Within seconds, Lorelai is by her daughter's side, looking inquisitively at their new visitor. "Hello, and who might you be?"
"Tristan DuGrey, ma'am," Tristan introduces himself with a dashing smile. He extends his hand to Lorelai. "You must be Rory's mother. Pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard tremendous things about you." Rory rolls her eyes at Tristan, wondering how one person can go from being vile to charming in sixty seconds flat, and if Tristan is aware of how fake he is.
"Well, Tristan, I've heard things about you as well," Lorelai grins, shaking his hand. "I'd like to say they were...what was it...tremendous? But I have to say...the gossip here in the Gilmore household has not painted you as the most stellar representative of the male species. I give you one minute to prove my preoonceptions wrong by making a good first impression. And I have to state, for the record, that calling me ma'am has already earned you at least, oh, twenty demerits." Tristan stares at Lorelai, dumbfounded. "Go on, the clock is ticking!"
"These preconceptions...these would be the ones resulting from Rory coming home, telling you what an obnoxious slug I am, how I never leave her alone, and how my cocky arrogance and over-developed sense of self-importance, coupled with my apparent lack of respect for Rory and the fact I come from the same privileged upbringing which you have so carefully guarded Rory against, has driven her to the brink of insanity numerous times during the school year, correct?"
"Those would be the ones."
"Ah."
"That's all you have to say for yourself? 'Ah'?"
"Yes," Tristan replies, nodding.
"You're not even going to defend yourself?" Lorelai inquires, stupefied. Tristan laughs.
"Nope. I'm coming here to return the books that I stole from Rory because she wouldn't go with me to a concert. How can I possibly defend myself now?" Tristan says, turning to go.
"I like your honesty."
"Mom!" Rory whispers harshly. Lorelai throws her hands up slightly and makes a face.
"What? I value honesty. I wasn't asking him to stay for lunch. By the way, would you like to stay for lunch?"
"Mom!" Rory shrieks this time, not bothering to try to hide her outrage at the idea.
"No, I really can't," Tristan explains, keeping his eyes trained on Lorelai. "I have to meet my dad back in town in a few minutes. I really didn't come here to bother you both, I just wanted to return the books." He backs away from the front door slowly, trying not to look at Rory. "But thank you very much for the offer."
"Well, you're welcome," Lorelai smiles. "Make sure to stop by again soon." Rory starts tugging her back into the house, eager to get her mother away from Tristan before any more damage can be done. Tristan glances back at the front door as he reaches the sidewalk, but the door is already closed and any trace of Rory is long gone. Sighing deeply, he heads off toward the main part of town to meet his father. His meeting with Mr. Dosie had to be finished by now; his father wasn't too happy about having to come all the way out to Stars Hollow to discuss investment options with an old man who owned a market. He'd complained about it the whole drive out, declaring that he didn't care how much money the old coot has stashed away or how much his boss wanted to snag Mr. Dosie as a client. Tristan had settled back into his seat and tuned him out after a few minutes, just like he always did. At least he wasn't ragging on his mother.
As Dosie's Market comes into view, Tristan practically lets out a sigh of relief. Being in Rory's town was just a little too much to take, walking along the same streets she walked along every single day and seeing all the people she must know almost as well as she knows herself. Ignoring the inquisitive looks he was receiving from a man selling fresh fruit and vegetables outside the market, Tristan scans the busy street for his father's tall, familiar form, but he's nowhere to be found. He steps inside through the doorway, feeling entirely out of place and just slightly alone. Slightly. Heading for the back office where he had last seen his dad, Tristan nearly knocks over a display of Coca-cola and an old lady in the process.
Stammering an apology, Tristan finally hears his dad's stern, monotone voice one aisle over.
"If you're interested in setting up an apointment, I'd be more than happy to assist you with any questions you may have." Tristan peeks around the corner, his eyebrows furrowing in puzzlement as he watches his father interact with a rather flirtatious, loudly dressed woman.
"If Taylor trusts you, than of course I can," Miss Patty coos, patting Mr. DuGrey on the arm. "I'd like to make an appointment with you as soon as possible." She smiles, stroking his arm again and moving closer to him.
"Are you free this afternoon?" Mr. DuGrey asks and Tristan turns away, suppressing a groan. "While I'm here in Stars Hollow, we could at least set up the preliminary work, fill out some forms, answer your basic questions, and things of that nature." Tristan rolls his eyes in disdain at the peculiar jaunt his father's tone had just taken and heads out of the market, not believing he was going to be stuck in Stars Hollow for longer than expected just because some old woman was hitting on his dad.
He's almost out of the building when someone catches his eye.
Dean.
"Damn it..." Tristan mutters, looking at the Rory's boyfriend for a moment in pain before sticking his hands in his pockets and leaving as quickly as possible. When thinking about being in Stars Hollow, he had considered the possibility of seeing Rory. The concept had delighted him and tortured him all at the same time. But the possibility of seeing Rory and her boyfriend was just too wretched to even fathom.
Shaking his head, he spots what is apparently a coffee shop disguised as a hardware store across the street.
"Might as well." Tossing one last look over his shoulder at the market, Tristan crosses the street slowly. It is going to be a very long afternoon.
"Mom. You asked Tristan to stay for lunch."
Lorelai stares back at her daughter as if completely shocked by the fact Rory is upset.
"Rory, dear, when you described Tristan to me, you forgot certain adjectives. Along with evil, arrogant, and idiotic, you should have tossed in adorably cute," Lorelai says, grinning. "He has a very nice smile. Great tousled hair look going on. He looks like he should be on some terrible daytime soap where every single person is obnoxiously and unrealistically beautiful 24 hours a day. Is there a reason you left this information out?"
"Yes, because it doesn't matter! He could be Brad Pitt and it would not change the fact that he's unbearable!" Rory sits down at the table and heaves a frustrated sigh. Lorelai giggles lightly, a random thought occurring to her.
"Oh my god, what a coincidence! Didn't Brad Pitt play a guy named Tristan? In that movie! What was it? The one with that kid from E.T., 'cept he's all grown up and gonna marry that chick? And he dies and everyone's all like-" Rory shoots her mother a look to knock it off. Lorelai shrinks back overdramatically. "Sorry. No humor allowed. I forgot." She pauses, seemingly falling into deep contemplation. "But seriously! What the heck was that movie?"
"Legends of the Fall, Mom," Rory informs her unamusedly. Lorelai claps her hands together excitedly.
"Right! Boy, Brad was hot in that movie. What I wouldn't give to be Jennifer Aniston." She lets out a large sigh, folding her arms and sinking back into her chair. "I'm glad I'm not Courtney Cox though. Because frankly David Arquette freaks me out. Those 1-800-CALL-ATT commercials gave me nightmares."
"At least he's not doing them any more. Now you have to worry about Carrot Top."
"Yeah, he's equally scary. But no cast member from Friends is married to him, so he really doesn't play into this conversation, does he?"
"Not unless David Schwimmer is hiding something."
"A definite possibility," Lorelai agrees, then looks at Rory with a devious grin. "If you were a Friend, which friend would you be?"
"I think I would be the duck that roams around Chandler and Joey's apartment."
"Interesting. Not what I would have chosen, but it will do. Now which one do you think I'd be?"
"At this point I'm learning toward Phoebe, though Ross' monkey is also a distinct possibility," Rory remarks and gets up, heading toward her bedroom. Lorelai stands up and follows her, determined to keep bugging her.
"Now here's the tough question. Which one would Tristan be?"
"Mom! You're making me crazy!" Rory whirls around in her doorway and halts her mother in her tracks. Lorelai laughs lightly and throws up her hands in defeat.
"I'm just trying to save the asylum some gas money," she shrugs as if it's the most obvious defense. "When they come to get me, they can stuff you in a straight jacket as well. We can finally wear those matching mother-daughter outfits that you always refused to take part in. Maybe we could even get some kind of 2 for 1 deal or a discount on our rooms," she jokes and Rory finally cracks a small smile. "You want to hear something funny?"
"Oh, sure," Rory leans against her doorframe, realizing it's pointless to try to stop Lorelai.
"Tristan came all the way out here just to give you your books back."
"How is that funny?"
"I find it hysterical."
"It's not hysterical. It's terrible."
"Why?"
"Because Tristan DuGrey is on my home turf. I don't like it. He's invading a space which is supposed to be Chilton-proofed. A Tristan-Free zone."
"Honey, it's not like this is the invasion of Pearl Harbor. He'll be gone before you know it and will have left no damage." Lorelai retorts, then taps her chin with her finger thoughtfully, pondering something. "Though...he does have the chisled jaw line in common with Josh Hartnett, so even if this isn't an invasion maybe someday you can fictionalize the event and make a movie out of it."
"Right."
"Hey, if they can turn a tragic, important, historic event into an excuse for young girls to watch Ben Affleck romance Kate Beckinsale, I'm sure you could spin this little Tristan saga into...well, something more thrilling, glossed over and Hollywood-ized. Maybe a movie of the week? I'm sure Tori Spelling is looking for work."
"You know, you have far too much time on your hands."
"No, I just know how to maximize every minute. See, like now when I'm simultaneously harassing you and beginning to make a pot of coffee," Lorelai snorts, turning and walking toward the coffee maker. "You want some?" All she hears is Rory's door closing. "You know, it's going to be very hard to slide a whole coffee mug underneath that door," she calls. "Maybe I should just siphon it under to you through a tube?"
"Good idea," Rory calls back. Lorelai sets to work at making a fresh pot of coffee, puttering around the kitchen happily.
So, Rory's tormentor is a total hottie with the total hots for Rory, Lorelai thinks to herself, noting what a good tongue twister that sentence would make and therefore deciding to try it out on Sookie later.
Tristan sits down at the counter, eyeing the other people in the diner wearily. Needless to say, he felt quite over-dressed for his current location. The closest thing he saw to someone being dressed up in the entire room was a tall, thin man wearing a nice plaid shirt, khakis and a long jacket. And he looked like a real uptight dork. Tristan tugs on his tie, loosening it up, as someone sets a menu in front of him.
"Who are you?" Tristan looks up, startled, and immediately he is able to match a description with the person in front of him. Rory had mentioned Luke before; this man in front of him could be no one but.
"Do I have to present I.D. to get food here?" Tristan retorts, smirking slightly. "That's a business ploy I've never encountered before." From the look on Luke's face, Tristan can tell his comment has put him one inch away from getting yelled at. "I'm Tristan DuGrey. I'm here from Hartford with my dad. And you're Luke, right? Rory told me about you."
At the mention of Rory's name, Luke immmediately tenses up.
"How do you know Rory?"
"I go to school with her at Chilton." Recognition passes over Luke's face and Tristan bites his lip to keep himself from rolling his eyes in frustration. Was there anyone in Stars Hollow what Rory hadn't told that she hated him? "I see my reputation has preceded me."
"Yes, it has," Luke throws the towel he is holding over his shoulder and crosses his arms over his chest, eyeing Tristan with harsh scrutiny. "Any particular reason you decided to make Rory's first year at Chilton such a living hell?"
"Living hell, huh? I didn't know that she had represented me that badly."
"It was something I brilliantly deducted," Luke replies without a hint of humor. "You know Rory's a great girl and she didn't deserve you being so-"
"I know that," Tristan says off-handedly, looking down at his menu. "Things between Rory and I are complicated okay? I'd just...rather not talk about it." This town is already getting on his nerves. At home everyone just left him alone. Here it's twenty questions. He liked attention when he received it in his own way, but being interrogated by the owner of the diner about his actions toward Rory Gilmore was not how he had envisioned spending his afternoon. "Can I just get a club sandwich and a cup of coffee and forgo the Spanish Inquisition?"
"Perhaps," Luke replies, writing the order down on his notepad.
"Luke, you have to help me!" The bell above the door jingles loudly as Lorelai comes rushing in, looking harried, carrying her coffee pot. Both Luke and Tristan turn to look at her.
"What the hell is the matter with you?" Luke asks as Lorelai comes toward him, near tears.
"My coffee maker is broken! It's broken!" Lorelai cries out, as if lamenting the loss of a dear pet. She sets the pot on the counter and gestures to it as if she expects Luke to resuscitate it.
"What do you mean it's broken?"
"I mean exactly that! It's broken! It stopped working! Right in the middle of making a wonderful pot of delicious coffee, it went bleecch and suddenly it started smoking."
"It went...bleecch?" Luke repeats, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes! Just like that! Perhaps it made a little whirring noise as well, but the majority of it was bleecch. And then smoke. And no coffee."
"I got that."
Tristan watches in amusement as Lorelai reaches over the counter and grabs the collar of Luke's plaid shirt. The sexual tension between them could've fueled an entire season of MTV's Undressed.
"You have to do something! I haven't had any coffee since I was here this morning! Since this morning, Luke! It's now two in the afternoon! Do you know what this means?"
"That you should go out and buy another coffee maker?"
"You're treading a very fine line with a woman who is going through caffeine withdrawl, Luke. Perhaps now is not the best time to play games," Lorelai states, glaring at him.
"It's a chance I'm willing to take," Luke holds her gaze, neither of them moving. Tristan finds himself staring at the both of them, infinitely interested in the scene playing out before him. After a few moments Luke blinks and Lorelai shrieks happily.
"Ha! You blinked first! I win!" She throws her arms up in triumph and then hits the counter with her hand. "Coffee please!"
"I hate you," Luke grunts and turns away, reluctantly beginning a pot of coffee. Lorelai relaxes and finally notices Tristan sitting right next to her.
"Hey, I know you!"
"Hi, Miss Gilmore."
"Call me Lorelai. What happened to meeting your dad?"
"Change of plans," Tristan tells her, forcing a smile. "I thought I'd come check out this place. Rory raves about the coffee here. I see that you're a fan as well."
"Me? A fan? You poor clueless boy," Lorelai laughs. "You have no idea."
"I'm sure your recent outburst over the demise of your Mr. Coffee has enlightened him to your incredible insanity," Luke interjects and Lorelai smirks at him, choosing not to reply.
"So, Tristan, what did you order?"
"Uh, a club sandwich," Tristan tells Lorelai. Lorelai makes a face.
"You better tell Luke to leave the bacon off of it," she says, then leans over the counter and swats Luke in the back. "Make sure that to leave the bacon off of Tristan's sandwich, Luke."
"You hit me and then expect me to change his order?" Luke asks. Lorelai nods emphatically.
"Luke, your bacon is bad. No one deserves to have that put on their sandwich."
"Though I might, since after all, I am apparently devil incarnate," Tristan interrupts and Lorelai grins.
"Self-deprecation, I like that," she laughs. "I didn't think you had it in you."
"I'm full of surprises."
"There's nothing wrong with the bacon here," Luke states, glaring at Lorelai.
"Maybe not in a health code violation you're gonna get sick if you eat this way, but you make it too crispy. It's like eating rawhide."
"And you would know, because of course you've tasted rawhide."
"No, but I have enough of imagination to guess what it would taste like, and you know what it would taste like?"
"What."
"Your bacon."
"You have a problem with the way things are cooked here, why don't you come back here and do it yourself," Luke says flatly and Lorelai reaches out and touches his arm comfortingly, giving him a sympathetic look.
"The rest of the food here is fabulous, Luke. Coffee's the best in the world. It just doesn't change the fact that the bacon..." She twists her face into a particularly unattractive expression and makes a so-so gesture with her hand. Luke gets a look on his face like he's going to explode so Tristan hurriedly interrupts.
"It's okay, I'll have the bacon on the sandwich."
"Wise man," Luke nods and turns to go back to the kitchen. Lorelai pretends to hold up an imaginary checklist in her hand.
"Tortures daughter at school...calls me ma'am and makes me feel like I'm 50...sides with Luke when it's clear that I'm right...Tristan, the con side of your list is getting off to quite a good start," Lorelai teases and Tristan smiles sheepishly.
"You two always bicker like this?" He inquires, diverting the attention from himself. Lorelai nods yes.
"It's a tradition. Generally I just wear him down until he screams out in frustration and storms away. I should really videotape it someday and sell it to the independent film channel. I'll title it: Plaid. It's an enigmatic enough title to snag all the pretentious art house geeks but silly enough to pique the interest of the average movie goer. I think it would be a success." Tristan stares at Lorelai for a moment almost in wonder, suddenly feeling that Rory's uniqueness was definitely derivative of her one-of-a-kind mother. Lorelai wavers under his gaze, becoming self-conscious. "While I can now definitely put your big blue eyes in the superficial category within the pros column, you're making me feel all under a microscopish. Do I have something on my face?"
"No, sorry. I was just-"
"Baffled by her ability to just keep babbling?" Luke supplies as he sets two cups of coffee in front of the pair. "I've always wondered how she manages to talk that much without running out of breath."
"Rory does the same thing," Tristan remarks softly, looking down into his cup of coffee with a faint smile. Lorelai holds back her thoughts from becoming verbalized, knowing that Rory would not appreciate her asking Tristan exactly how much he worshipped the ground Rory walked on. She exchanges a look with Luke, who seems to get what she's thinking. "Though I am beginning to think that she is still an apprentice with much to learn from her master," Tristan continues, aware of the heavy silence.
"How very Star Wars."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You a fan?"
"Definitely."
"Which one is the best?"
"Empire Strikes Back."
"Another one for the pro column! Tristan, I think you've just been knocked down one notch on the public enemy scale."
"What number am I now?"
"Oh, six, I think."
"Who's number one?"
"Martha Stewart or Dr. Laura. I think they're tied. Though on Friday nights my mother tends to get the number one slot."
"Don't get along with her?" Tristan asks, not thinking that it was too personal a question. Lorelai seems like she was open to anything.
"Hardly ever will you see the two of us enjoying a wholesome Full House family moment. Although on that show, there wasn't a mother, so maybe I should used a different metaphor." Lorelai shrugs, taking a long sip of her coffee. "Anyway, parental relations are not my strong point."
"Know the feeling," Tristan mutters, picking up his own mug of coffee.
"I take it your parents aren't up for any accolades?"
"Not unless there is an award given for being the most self-absorbed, pompous, suffocating people on the face of the planet," Tristan replies honestly, his voice growing a little tight. He runs his fingers around the rim of the cup, wishing that he hadn't just said that. Lorelai chuckles.
"Don't hold back now, tell me how you really feel," she jokes, trying to lighten the mood up a little.
"Sorry," Tristan half-smiles, deciding to change the subject. "Rory's really lucky to have a mother like you. I can't imagine what it'd be like to have your mom be your best friend."
"But at least now I don't have to add Momma's Boy to the cons column. One pitfall has been avoided," Lorelai says, trying to put him back at ease. She could visibly see Tristan tense up when they had been talking about his parents. "But speaking of Rory, I have to go retrieve her from the market." Lorelai waves for Luke to come over. "Can I have two of the usual? I'm going to go snatch up my daughter and be back in a jiffy."
"What exact amount of time is a jiffy?" Luke asks, trying to be a pain.
"It's one thousandth of a second, technically," Tristan informs him, earning him an annoyed look in return. "I think."
"Okay, so I'll be back in a whole bunch of jiffys," Lorelai picks up her coffee pot and heads for the door, then turns around and comes back. "On second thought, I'll leave this here for now. But I will take this." She grabs her half-full coffee mug and is out the door between Luke can protest. A bell rings from the kitchen and Luke goes to get Tristan's sandwich.
He sets it in front of Tristan with little flourish, knocking a few chips off of his plate.
"Thanks," Tristan mumbles. His mood had been lifted slightly by Lorelai's antics, but the thought of Rory coming in within a few minutes had suddenly made his appetite disappear. Part of him, the confident part that was used to getting the girl he wanted, still felt that if he kept pursuing her she'd eventually change her mind about him, but the other part was beginning to waver. And that half of himself was growing more and more dominant, wondering if he should just retreat to a corner, nurse his wounds and try to forget about Rory Gilmore.
Luke hasn't moved from his spot, standing across the counter from Tristan and quietly judging him. Tristan feels his gaze and looks up, annoyed.
"What?"
"Is teasing Rory your kindergarten tactic of telling her you're really crazy about her?" Luke inquires, appearing slightly amused. Tristan, however, is just irked.
"Is bickering with Lorelai your kindergarten tactic of telling her you're really crazy about her?"
"I don't like Lorelai."
"I don't like Rory."
"That's a lie. How long have you liked her?"
"How long have you liked Lorelai?" Tristan counters, his tone bordering on snide.
"Shut up." Luke walks away, deciding that he definitely did not like that kid.
Tristan shifts on the uncomfortable stool, picking at his sandwich, and seriously debating whether or not to just split before Rory and her mom came in. He mentally wars against himself a few moments longer before practically jumping up off the stool, digging a ten dollar bill out of his pocket and tossing it onto the counter.
"You don't want that wrapped up to go?" Luke's voice stops him and it's in that second delay that he spots Lorelai and Rory walking across the street. Too late. His heart drops to his feet and he feels like he's frozen in place. The door to the diner opening jolts him into action and he quickly turns away from the pair, nodding for Luke to pack his sandwich up.
"What's he doing here?" Rory whispers to her mom. Lorelai shrugs, pretending to have no idea. She knew that if she had told Rory that Tristan was at the diner, they would've been going home and eating Pop Tarts for lunch, and she wasn't about to let that happen.
"I ordered our food already," Lorelai says to Rory as they claim their usual table. "Maybe you should ask Tristan to join us," she suggests innocently. Rory shakes her head no but Lorelai kicks her foot gently underneath the table. Rory reluctantly gets up and walks over to Tristan, tapping him on the shoulder. He turns around, a little surprised that she's talking to him by choice.
"My mom wants to know if you want to come sit with us," Rory says and Lorelai groans in frustration. Leave it to Rory to do as told but still finding a way around it.
That's the problem with having a smart kid, Lorelai notes inwardly.
"Um, thanks, but I was just leaving," Tristan replies. Rory glances at his still quite full plate with confusion.
"But you didn't eat anything," she points out.
"Astute, very astute," Tristan retorts. "Luke's getting a styrofoam container for it. I figured I better find somewhere else to go before you placed a curse on me or something." Feeling a little bad, Rory sits down next to him.
"I'm sorry about being so horrible before, Tristan, I just...you totally wrecked everything with Paris, you know that, right? She hates me now and I officially have no friends in the entirety of Chilton. I have a iron-clad excuse never to talk to you again. Most people would agree with me on this."
"Yet here you are still talking to me. What does that mean?" Tristan asks, the vague sound of hope mixed with his taunting tone. Rory shrugs.
"It means that I'm too nice of a person to truly hate you and that my mom, being just plain old crazy, thinks you should forget the carry-out and come sit with us."
"Thanks for the offer, Rory, but I should still go."
Luke re-appears and hands Tristan a container.
"Hey, Rory. This jerk bugging you?"
"No, not at the moment," Rory replies. Luke nods and promptly walks away, not looking at Tristan. "I see you've met Luke."
"Yes, that I did. We had an interesting exchange and I believe he has taken a disliking to me. Imagine that, someone not liking Tristan DuGrey." There's something sad, something hurt in his tone that catches Rory off-guard and she is instantly reminded of the night at Madeleine's house when he had kissed her. Then he'd been so sweet and so vulnerable. Then he completely destroyed any friendship they possibly could've had with the P.J. Harvey fiasco.
"So, how was the P.J. Harvey concert, by the way? Did you even go?" Rory is eager to dispell the strange awkwardness that had suddenly emerged.
"Yeah, I went," Tristan tells her, picking up his sandwich and setting it inside the box, closing the lid.
"Who'd you go with?"
"No one," he mumbles. Rory looks at him in disbelief.
"You went to a P.J. Harvey concert all by yourself?"
"Yeah. You said she was good so I figured I'd check it out."
"So, what'd you think?"
"I didn't like her. It was just something about her style and the way she performed," Tristan replies honestly and Rory gives him a look of reproach. "At least I tried it, don't go looking at me like I'm an idiot."
"I'm not looking at you like you're an idiot. I'm looking at you like you're a fool with bad taste in music."
"If it helps me at all, I'd just like to state for the record that I am going to an Ani DiFranco concert in July with my cousin."
"But do you like her music?"
"The political material is great. And in general, women with strong opinions turn me on," Tristan grins at Rory cockily and she can't stop herself from hitting in in the arm.
"I should've known there was a typically male reason behind it all," she cries in dismay, shaking her head as if it were the saddest thing she'd ever heard. Tristan laughs gently and stands up, fixing his tie and his coat.
"Yeah, you know how deep I am," he mumbles, running his hand through his messy hair. If he stayed a second longer, Tristan knew that any attempt to get over her this summer would be impossible. "Anyway, your food is ready so I'm gonna go. Have a nice meal with your mom. I'll...I guess I'll see you in September."
"Oh, okay..." Rory replies, a bit taken aback at how abruptly he ended their conversation. She had thought it was going rather well. "Thanks for returning my books."
"Sorry for taking them," he says, opening the door. He waves good-bye to Lorelai, telling her it was nice to meet her.
"Nice to meet you too, Tristan," she calls as he leaves. Rory walks back over to their table and sits down across from Lorelai. "You were having quite the chat over there. Dare I ask what you were discussing?"
"Nothing important. Just P.J. Harvey. That was the extent of the bonding. Sorry to disappoint."
"I'm not disappointed. It was a great opportunity to observe the interaction."
"You planning on a new career working for the Discovery Channel?"
"Maybe Animal Planet. Then I could meet the Crocodile Hunter. I could investigate how much speed he takes every day in order to maintain that insane amount of energy and excitement he has about facing potentially fatal animals with big nasty teeth." She makes the sharp pointy teeth gesture derived from Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Rory giggles. "Anyway, I think maybe you should call Tristan and get together over the summer. He doesn't seem that bad."
"I'm not going to call him," Rory says.
"It might not be so bad to have a friend when you go back to school next year, Ror," Lorelai states. "Even if it is your former enemy."
"I'm not that desperate for Chilton acquaintances just yet. I think I'll wait until school starts to worry about that. Right now I'm just going to hang with Lane and Dean and forget the whole Paris-Tristan mess that awaits me back at school."
"Okay, denial and avoidance it is then," Lorelai declares, picking up her hamburger. She takes a bite and then swallows, letting silence settle on the table for a minute. "I just think Tristan really needs a friend, more than you know. And you need a friend and it seems like-"
"Mom!"
"What?"
"You're concentrating on my life just a little too much here. Any chance you're trying to avoid thinking about a certain question Mr. Medina asked?"
"No," Lorelai adamantly denies, but Rory knows she's hit the nail right on the head.
"So why don't we talk about that then?"
"You know, this is the strangest shaped french fry I've ever seen in my life," Lorelai holds a fry up, intentionally ignoring Rory's statement. "It's very funky." Rory smiles in satisfaction, knowing that the Tristan issue had been officially dropped for the rest of the day.
Feeling relieved, she glances out the window. What she sees is Tristan and his father walking by, apparently arguing about something. There is a look on Tristan's face that Rory had never seen before, one of true anger, resentment and unhappiness. She watches as his father strides ahead of his son, leaving Tristan to mutter something under his breath and then slowly follow Mr. DuGrey toward their car.
Lorelai looks up from her french fries to find Lorelai gazing out the window, except now there's no one there.
"Don't tell me you're seeing dead people again," she jokes and Rory is bounced back to reality.
"What?"
"I lost you there for a minute. What were you looking at?"
"Oh...nothing." Rory says and begins eating, trying desperately to get her mind off of Tristan DuGrey.
To be continued...