Unconditional Presence

By: curlyk03

Rating: M. There is and will be sexual content.

I own nothing but the right to have an imagination.

Enjoy!

1:30 PM

The Chilton halls were jammed with students trying to get from their previous classes to their next ones. As Rory was gathering her books from her locker, Louise came in front of her.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, what are you doing tonight?"

"I'm going to dinner at my grandparents. Why?"

"Perfect, they live down the street from me. I'll see you at 9." Before Rory could respond, Louise handed her a piece of paper and walked away. Rory looked down at the flyer. A party. She inwardly cursed, seeing that Louise was hosting it. A few months back, she'd promised to go to Louise's next party. Pinky-promised.

"Crap." Rory was not in the mood to go to a party. Jess had disappeared just a few days before and she was still extremely upset.

"That's the face of a downer." She glared at the person who took Louise's place.

"Can't you just ever leave me alone?" Rory asked, letting out a deep breath.

"Nope," Tristan smirked.

"Isn't there someone else you can harass?"

"What fun would that be?"

"A lot. Here, I have to get to class," she said and shoved the flyer into his hands.

"What's this?"

"A party," she said.

"You going?" His eyes scanned the paper and then his gaze returned to her.

"Depends. How powerful are pinky promises?"

"You pinky swore you'd go to her party?"

She nodded.

"That sucks. I guess I'll see you there, Mary." Tristan winked and walked away with the flyer. Huffing, Rory gathered the rest of her books and headed to her next class.

4:30 PM

"No, mom. I'm NOT going!"

"Ror, you swore you'd go. Plus, I think you need a break from Stars Hollow. Get your mind on other things. You'll be right there anyway. You can stay at my parent's house tonight. I'll pick you up in the morning."

"Why does it always take you less than 1 minute to formulate a plan? It makes it so much harder to argue when everything is already planned!" Rory groaned. She had hoped that her mom would side with her.

"Well, I'm used to it. So come on, Rory. This might even be good for you. You can't just mope around because you're ex boyfriend is an idiot. You shouldn't have to."

"Please don't bring him up," Rory said and sat in the chair, eyes looking down. Lorelai kneeled in front of her.

"Someone who runs from something as good as you are is seriously deranged. He's not someone you can rely on, okay? Don't let him ruin a perfectly good party. I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe even have a little to drink. Be a teenager. You shouldn't have to suffer because he's a selfish jerk."

Rory sighed and nodded. She hugged her mom.

"Thanks."

"That's what I'm here for. So let's go pick something out for you to wear."

9:15 PM

"Rory! You're here!"

"I pinky swore," she breathed. Louise nodded.

"That you did. Come on in. Drinks are over there. The punch is good, not spiked. At least it wasn't when I had some. Anyway, have fun." Rory nodded uneasily and pulled down her tank top to cover her slight midriff. Why was she here again?

"So you do have a body!" Rory heard someone say, and turned to face Summer, who was leering at her tauntingly.

"Yea, imagine that. And here I thought I was just a floating head."

"You know guys might actually like you if you weren't such a prude."

"That's funny. Guys might actually care about you if you weren't such a slut," Rory mumbled before walking over to the drink table to pour herself a glass of punch. She smelled it, deeming it safe. She took a sip and smiled. It tasted really good. There was something in it that she couldn't quite place. As she was looking for someone to talk to, her phone began to ring. She went to a quiet room and took her phone out. Her caller ID read, 'JESS', and her stomach lurched.

"Hello?" Silence. "Hello?" Still nothing. "Jess?"

"Rory." Her stomach flipped when she heard his voice. "I, umm, how are you?"

"Why are you calling me?" She was being curt, but he deserved it.

"I'm sorry for leaving you." Rory scoffed.

"Then why did you?"

"Because I belong in California," Jess responded.

"Sure."

"I have a girlfriend here, you know?"

"That was fast."

"She moved from New York."

"And?" She was frustrated. Why the hell was he calling her?

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry and tell you why I left."

"That would be good."

"I had a girlfriend before I met you. It was fun, Rory…but it just…"

"I wasn't enough for you."

"No, it's not like that."

"What is it like then, Jess?" she demanded.

"She's pregnant." That didn't make sense.

"How the hell did she get pregnant? You just left! Unless you… Jess, please tell me you didn't."

"I'm sorry."

"You cheated on me?" No answer. She felt the tears coming. She was angry how much she had cried over him. "Don't call me." Rory flipped her phone shut and went back to the drink table, ladling more punch into her cup and taking a long drink of it. She must have had 6 or so cups before she left the table. Her stomach was killing her from the chugging of cheap sugar and various preservatives. Tears started to stream down her face again as she thought of the conversation she'd had 15 minutes before. She thought about her mom's words.

"Maybe even have a little to drink. Be a teenager."

Wiping away the tears, Rory looked at the drink table and grabbed a few bottles of alcohol. Taking them with her, she weaved through the people, already beginning to drink. She walked upstairs and opened a door. She found a spacious bed and went to plop on it. She turned on the TV and continued to down the bottle. 15 minutes later, the door opened and Rory saw Tristan enter with a bottle of his own alcohol.

She didn't remember much else.

5 AM

She woke with a start and ran to the bathroom. As she leaned over the toilet, she felt strong acid burning her throat as she threw up. She pulled away feeling sick to her stomach. Unfortunately, no more came out. Moving away from the toilet, she leaned against the wall, almost feeling drunk from the intense pounding in her forehead. She put her head in her hands and groaned. She heard footsteps and slowly opened her eyes. Looking out, she saw Louise.

"Oh, you're still here." Rory nodded.

"Are there other people still here?"

"Yea, there are people downstairs, some in rooms."

Rory nodded. "What are you doing up?"

"I never sleep late." Pause. "Are you okay?"

"Louise, what happened?" Rory asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't remember anything. I remember getting here, but did I do something stupid?"

"Rory, did you seriously just ask that question? You're Rory Gilmore. What could you have possibly done?"

Rory nodded and pulled herself up. "I drank a lot of punch."

"Ouch. I probably spoke to soon then—about it not being spiked.

Rory sighed. "I have to go," she said, trying to walk, despite her dizziness.

"I'll see you Monday, Rory. Thanks for coming. There's aspirin and water downstairs." Rory nodded, smiled weakly and braced herself on fixtures as she made her way downstairs. She found the bottle of aspirin on the counter and a bunch of glasses. A girl she recognized was standing nearby, also taking a little white pill.

"Hangover?" she asked knowingly. Rory nodded and about 20 minutes later, she left and walked the two blocks to her grandparent's house, stopping every few minutes to steady herself. Finally she made it to her grandparents.

She rang the doorbell and Emily answered. "Ah, there you are. We didn't know what time you were going to get here. We've been up since 6."

"6 AM?"

"Yes. You called last night and said you'd be here this morning early." She did?

"Oh, yea. I'm going to take a shower if that's okay with you." Emily nodded.

"Of course. You know the way. Can I get the maid to make you something for breakfast?"

"That'd be great." Rory smiled as best as she could and headed upstairs. She closed the bathroom door behind her and stripped down. As she pulled down her pants, she realized that something was missing.

"What happened to my underwear?"

A/N: Hii. A couple of things! So I started this story probably around a year ago, just because I felt like it. I've been writing more every so often and I figured since I'm just about done, I'd post it. I also am posting this because I know TRORY stories are becoming scarcer and scarcer and someone actually asked if I would writing anymore. :(

So yea, here's the good news (not that it's not all good…)! I'll be updating this story semi frequently since a lot of it is already written.

AND BEFORE YOU ASK/COMMENT: Yes, it is fast, short and and possibly confusing, but remember that I am updating this frequently (2-3 times a week). That will allow me to change something in the future chapters if something goes awry. Anyway, let me know what you think! I hope you're all doing well! Thanks, Kiki