*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the original
characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.
*A/N: I had a week off from school, which finally gave me the chance to get started on my new Trory. I hope you like the first chapter. :-)
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)
Rory blindly reached for her bag of chips, which lay open on a bright red tray, making sure to avoid the still neatly packed sandwiches. The same red tray could be seen on almost every table in the large cafeteria. It made the school believe that everyone was equal and therefor deserved the same color. It was a small part of a lie that no one even bothered to believe anymore. Even though everyone wore the same uniforms, each person was different. Each person held their own style and personality, and they each had their own groups. Groups that each had their own familiar location in the cafeteria and claimed it as their own.
And just like those groups, Rory had managed to find her own space. She usually ate her lunch at a table in the farthest corner of the cafeteria. A place where she could hide from the crowds and gossip. It was a space she hardly ever shared with anyone else, which she didn't mind at all. It gave her the chance to individualize herself from everybody else, just like each group was trying to distinguish themselves from all of the other crowds. Although Rory didn't have to try as hard as them. After all, she didn't belong to any clique and she was proud of that. She was proud of not letting peer pressure steer her in any direction but her own.
She put the chip in her mouth and took her time chewing, before swallowing, just like she took the time to scan across the page she had just finished, looking for a small detail she had missed before. When she was sure that she had missed nothing, she turned the page, taking the time to look up. Everything was still the same, except for the view, which was being partially blocked by a boy with tousled blond hair, who was casually making his way over to her. Every few steps he stopped to greet yet another one of his friends. All popular, of course. As the most popular guy in Chilton, he wouldn't settle for anything less, except her.....
Rory hid herself back behind her book, not wanting to add to his arrogance. He sat down across from her with a heavy sigh. This simple gesture got him looks from not only his friends, but also people he brushed passed every day without acknowledging. They didn't understand why he would degrade everyone who didn't fit into his social circle, but not her.
Tristan reached for her pack of sandwiches, causing Rory to lower her book down to her lap and follow his movements without cracking a smile. ''Where were you during class?''
''Headmaster Charleston's office,'' he answered, before taking a bite of one of the sandwiches. It took only one second for him to respond to the taste with a grimace that made Rory smile.
''What's on this sandwich?'' Tristan asked with his mouth full.
Rory watched him reach for a napkin and discreetly spit out the remains of his bite, before answering him. ''Yeah, see, that's what Paris wanted to know too. She actually made an appointment with the cook and demanded to see the ingredients that were used to make such a tasteful treat. Apparently they weren't to her satisfaction, cause when she came back, her face had turned white and she immediately ordered everyone who worked for the Franklin to do some research on school cafeteria sandwiches. There's going to be a story about it in Monday's issue. It might even end up on the front page. The headline's going to be something like: Cafeteria sandwiches: are they lethal enough to kill brain cells?''
''Well, if the taste doesn't scare everyone off then that reassuring story definitely will.''
Rory shrugged. ''I was just stating the facts. Maybe you can bring it up the next time you're in Headmaster Charleston's office. I hear that you two are becoming quite close.''
''Oh, yeah, last night he took me to one of his favorite strip clubs,'' Tristan said, keeping his eyes on Rory as he tried to pinpoint her reaction. ''And let me tell you that the man has taste, the pole dancers were hot.''
''I'm blocking you out now,'' Rory said, and brought her book up again.
''You say this like you're not interested in why I was in his office.....''
''Well, maybe I'm not. Besides, I can probably guess.''
Tristan raised and eyebrow. ''Having a sudden urge to turn into one of those circus freak shows who can predict the future, Mary?''
Rory pretended not to be bothered by his nickname, although she was. Every time he called her that it made her feel as if he thought he was superior to her. But she had given up on trying to tell him that a while ago. He never listened and her annoyance would only give him the response he was looking for.
''It's because of your grades. They have been slipping.''
''I'm impressed. There wasn't even a glass ball involved.''
''If they slip anymore you won't get into a decent college,'' Rory continued, knowing him well and long enough to know that he was trying to avoid the subject. He always did.
''I think you're confusing me with your boyfriend.''
Rory met his eyes, obviously a little taken back by his comment. ''That was below the belt, even for you.''
''If it had been below the belt you would have felt it, trust me,'' came his slick response.
''I'm sure you'll feel right at home down there, in the gutter,'' Rory murmured, before she lowered her eyes to her book again, not wanting to admit that one of Tristan's comments had finally gotten to her.
Tristan looked at Rory, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he knew that he had crossed the line with his earlier comment. A comment which had slipped out and created damage that couldn't be undone or forgotten. Something he hadn't really meant, no matter how much he couldn't stand her current boyfriend. Partly he disliked Dean, because Tristan couldn't keep an eye on him and Rory when they were alone. Dean didn't go to Chilton. He didn't have the will or grades and Tristan wasn't far behind.
Tristan sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. ''You know I don't like to study. It takes up too much of my time.'' He paused briefly to look at her. ''I'm not as motivated as you are.''
''Don't you want to go to college?'' she asked, while raising her eyes back up to his level.
''Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn't even be bothering with high school.''
''There's your motivation.''
''But I can't seem to focus myself on something for more than a few minutes,'' Tristan confessed, a smile already playing across his lips. ''If there would only be a thong involved.......''
''I can help you,'' Rory said, realizing too late that she had walked right into that one.
''You would wear a thong?''
''I'm not one of your fantasies, Tristan.''
''Actually,'' Tristan started, but stopping for a short pause when he noticed Rory glaring at him. ''......you're one of my daydreams.''
A crimson glow quickly spread itself across Rory's cheeks, making her lower her eyes back down to her book. Tristan always knew what buttons to push, a privilege that came with knowing her as well as he did.
''So, now that we got the chitchat over with, I was hoping you could do me a favor.....?''
Rory recovered from her temporarily shyness quickly and locked eyes with him once more. ''I'm not wearing a thong.''
Tristan ran his index finger over his lower lip, before throwing her one of his usual smirks. ''You just told me that you're not wearing a thong, which makes me more than curious to what you are wearing.''
''I wasn't implying that.''
''Well, that's what it sounded like,'' Tristan pointed out.
Rory frowned, while crossing her arms. ''I was referring to one of your earlier innuendos and you know that.''
''Do I?''
''God, you're so frustrating!'' Rory cried out. ''How can you expect me to take you serious and even do you a favor when you keep doing this?!''
''Doing what?'' Tristan innocently asked.
''Making me feel like this!''
Tristan grinned at her words. ''It's a gift. And that frustration you're feeling, it's actually the sexual tension between us.''
''You know, I hope your grades get so bad that you'll have to drop out of school.''
''Not if you help me,'' Tristan said, carefully implying his question in the short sentence.
Rory uncrossed her arms and glared at him. ''You want me to help you from flunking out?''
Tristan nodded, although he didn't like her choice of words.
Rory shook her head. ''No.''
''But it's your duty as a friend to keep me in school and by your side 24/7.''
''No, you can't even be serious about this. How can I expect you to sit still for a couple of hours and actually focus on a subject, when you can't even be serious for more than half a second?'' Rory asked.
''You're underestimating me.''
''Get Paris to do it.''
''But she's no fun,'' Tristan playfully whined.
''Studying isn't supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be boring and meaningful and Paris is good at............. Well, she's good at making you work.''
''Yeah, but I actually want someone to tutor me who I don't have to refer to as master,'' he said, pleading for Rory to give in with his eyes. ''Come on, Rory. I'm really serious about this. I do want to get my grades up.''
Rory met Tristan's eyes and sighed. ''You promise to be serious? Cause if you're not going to be serious then I can't work with you. I'm a very serious person and I take studying very serious.''
Tristan nodded. ''I promise.''
Rory mimicked his movement. ''Okay. We'll work out a schedule on Monday.''
''Actually, could we do that a little sooner, cause I have a test on Monday.''
''Saturday works for me.''
Tristan shook his head. ''Saturday's off limits, Tyler is throwing a pool- party, so.......''
Rory sighed. ''That's your problem. You're always too busy doing other things to study. What about Sunday?''
Tristan shook his head once more. ''I'm teaching Anna how to golf.''
Rory rolled her eyes at him. ''Then what do you suggest we do, Mr. Social?''
''I was hoping we could hook up today, after school?''
This time it was Rory's turn to shake her head. ''I can't.''
''Can't you postpone your plans with your boyfriend? He seems like.........''
''You are expecting me to drop all of my plans when I just asked you to do the same and you simply refused, because teaching some girl how to golf is more important than your grades?''
A silence fell between them and Rory made it last longer than it usually did, simply because she refused to be the first one to talk this time.
''Rory, I didn't mean it like that,'' Tristan started, carefully laying his eyes upon Rory's. ''You know I didn't mean it like that. I just........I'm not you. I don't usually tend to put studying before something else.''
Rory nodded. ''I know.'' She looked at him a little longer before continuing. ''Today's fine. I just have dinner with my grandparents, so we won't be able to start until 8.''
Tristan shook his head and covered his face with his hands. ''Now I don't know who's being more frustrating, you or me?''
''I wasn't being frustrating, I was being artful,'' Rory said proudly, while she smiled at Tristan, who was looking at her through his fingers.
He softly chuckled, while removing his hands from his face. ''Artful indeed.''
*~*~*
That night, Lorelai and Rory arrived home later than expected. Emily had been in one of her talking moods and had lost track of time, even though both Lorelai and Rory had kept reminding her about dinner. Of course Emily had blamed them for letting her go on and on about what must be frivolous topics in their eyes, to which Lorelai bit her lip and just nodded. The actual dinner had started a little later than its usual time and after desert both the Gilmore Girls had been glad to leave, because frankly they would rather have the normal Emily instead of the talkative one they had experienced tonight. Knowing all of this, they weren't surprised at all to find Tristan sitting on the first few steps of their porch, waiting.
''Ah, Rory, look, a stray puppy,'' Lorelai said, while getting out of the car.
Tristan got up and nodded at her. ''Lorelai.'' He looked over Lorelai's shoulder at Rory, who was hastily making her way towards him. ''I'm sorry you had to wait, but dinner ran late.''
''Yeah, my mom was in one of her talking moods.''
''Talking moods?'' Tristan asked, while raising an eyebrow and looking from Rory to Lorelai.
''It happens rarely,'' Rory explained.
Lorelai nodded. ''Yeah, normally she has all those boring DAR people to talk to. Or my dad, although he doesn't really listen, he just nods every now and then and hums. Something he learned from none other than, you guessed it, moi.''
''And then of course I worked it out. I made a chart and calculated how long each pause must be between the humming and the nodding. You don't wanna do it too fast otherwise they'll notice,'' Rory added, smiling at the confusion that was apparent on Tristan's face.
''Anyway,'' Lorelai continued. ''.....tonight my mom had a lot of energy left over, because her usual chatting session had been canceled, so she took it out on us. Before dinner and even during dinner, because she felt like she needed to explain the entire Chinese culture to us just because we were eating some Chinese speciality. And she made us use the chopsticks.''
''And those didn't exactly speed things up.''
''I honestly don't even get why they insist on using chopsticks, I mean one grain of rice per bite just doesn't cut it for me. And I tell you that it had to be one of my mother's plans. She probably sensed that we had to get home at a certain time,'' Lorelai said, while heading up the steps and reaching for her keys. ''I swear, the woman has a sixth sense or a third eye or something.''
''My mom thinks that my grandmother's secretly a witch,'' Rory said to Tristan, before following her mother into the touch.
''Why do you think we're not allowed to go into that room she always keeps locked?''
''What room?''
''The.....ah room next to the other one on the floor that's haunted.'' Lorelai answer, while taking her jacket off and reaching for the phone. ''Now, I'm going to order some pizza, cause the taste of those two grains of rice is killing me.''
Rory smiled and took her jacket off, locking eyes with Tristan, who was openly staring at her and taking in her appearance.
''What?'' Rory asked, slightly annoyed by the attention he was paying to her. Something he normally never did, not unless he was getting something out of it.
A smirk elevated his jaw into a seductive curve, as he admired her evident features underneath the thin, pink fabric of her dress. ''You've been holding out on me.''
''One word,'' Rory said, while awkwardly crossing her arms, not wanting to admit that she felt slightly pleased with his comment. ''Gutter.''
*~*~*
Tristan woke up to the sound of constant breathing and the feel of its warmth against his skin. It was a soothing sound, probably the reason why he had fallen asleep in the first place. He opened his eyes and looked at the face of the sleeping figure beside him. Her eyes were hidden beneath her hair which lay spread across her face and her mouth revealed the slightest crack of an opening.
Tristan carefully wiped the strands of stray hair away from her face, letting his fingers linger a little longer than necessary, and just looked at her for a few silent seconds. He smiled at how she had placed her body deliberately into the crook of his, so she could be as warm as possible, since they were both lying on top of the blankets. He in the same clothes he had worn the entire day and she in a pair of baggy sweats and an oversized t-shirt he had bought for her at some concert.
Tristan looked at his watch, trying to move as less as he could. When he saw what time it was, he knew that he had to get home. But when he moved over to the side of the bed a little, Rory mimicked his action and snuggled herself in the crook of his body once more. He smiled and looked at her, wondering if he should wake her up or not. Finally he brought his head closer to hers and softly kissed the tip of her nose, hoping that the sudden touch would wake her, which it did. Her eyelashes fluttered for a few seconds, as if they were struggling to stay closed, before she opened her eyes and looked at him.
''Tristan......,'' she sleepily uttered, trying not to let her eyes close.
''Hey, princess,'' he affectionally said, calling her by a nickname he hardly ever used.
''Why did you wake me?'' Rory asked, while rubbing her eyes.
''I wanted to thank you for helping me study.''
A small smile escaped Rory's lips, as she lowered her eyes to the black cord he was wearing around his neck. It was the same cord she wore. She reached for the collar of his shirt and gently tugged it down, revealing the small silver charm that was attached to the cord. It was a small R. Rory smiled, as she let go of his collar and reached for her own necklace, lowering her hand until she felt the familiar shape of the T with her fingers. She remembered how he wanted to buy matching silver necklaces, but she had refused and said that that would be too expensive and how she didn't want him to pay for everything just because he could. And maybe that was what made her different from all the other girls Tristan knew. He was never sure if they liked him for him or for his appearance and money.
''Any time,'' Rory finally answered, as she met his eyes again. ''But you could have just done that tomorrow, you know, instead of waking me up and making me all awake again, so I have to go through the whole getting asleep process.....again.''
Tristan chuckled at her words. ''I wouldn't have woken you, but you wouldn't let me get out of this bed. If you would have just done that then I would have been able to just leave quietly, without waking you.''
''You're leaving?'' Rory asked.
Tristan nodded. ''Yeah, I have to get home before my parents find out. See, last time I stayed over at a girl's place, her parents found us the next morning and called my parents.''
Rory rolled her eyes and turned around so she was lying on her back. ''I don't even wanna know.''
''I can tell you that it wasn't as pleasant as this, although we could always find ways to make it even more pleasant,'' Tristan said, while bringing his lips up to her ear. ''For the both of us.''
Rory managed a small smile, as his lips grazed her ear. She closed her eyes and turned her head a little, so it was resting against his chest. She thought about how lucky she was to have a friend like him, although he did force her towards the edge at least once a day. But she had accepted that as one of the most complicated and frustrating parts of their friendship, but at the end of the day she knew that she could trust and rely on him, which was what made her smile.
''Don't go?'' she asked, while opening her eyes.
Tristan lowered his eyes down to her with a smirk. ''Mary, Mary, if only you knew how many times I have imagined you saying that in my head.''
''I changed my mind,'' Rory said.
''Afraid of what will happen if I don't?''
''More like disgusted,'' Rory said, before sticking out her tongue.
''Mature,'' was his response, as he got up and collected the few books he had brought. When he turned around, Rory had already closed her eyes. And with one last look in her direction, he left the room.
*R*E*V*I*E*W*! Please? :-) So, this was just the prologue, because I need to start the story off somewhere. I'm not sure if Tristan was in character, but I don't think I can keep him in character anyway for the plot of this story. Hope ya'll keep reading, even when I change the rating to PG13, which won't happen for another couple of chapters. Lemme know if it was horrible or if I might have a chance of continuing. *Updates will be as frequent as possible!* Thanks! :-)
*A/N: I had a week off from school, which finally gave me the chance to get started on my new Trory. I hope you like the first chapter. :-)
*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)
Rory blindly reached for her bag of chips, which lay open on a bright red tray, making sure to avoid the still neatly packed sandwiches. The same red tray could be seen on almost every table in the large cafeteria. It made the school believe that everyone was equal and therefor deserved the same color. It was a small part of a lie that no one even bothered to believe anymore. Even though everyone wore the same uniforms, each person was different. Each person held their own style and personality, and they each had their own groups. Groups that each had their own familiar location in the cafeteria and claimed it as their own.
And just like those groups, Rory had managed to find her own space. She usually ate her lunch at a table in the farthest corner of the cafeteria. A place where she could hide from the crowds and gossip. It was a space she hardly ever shared with anyone else, which she didn't mind at all. It gave her the chance to individualize herself from everybody else, just like each group was trying to distinguish themselves from all of the other crowds. Although Rory didn't have to try as hard as them. After all, she didn't belong to any clique and she was proud of that. She was proud of not letting peer pressure steer her in any direction but her own.
She put the chip in her mouth and took her time chewing, before swallowing, just like she took the time to scan across the page she had just finished, looking for a small detail she had missed before. When she was sure that she had missed nothing, she turned the page, taking the time to look up. Everything was still the same, except for the view, which was being partially blocked by a boy with tousled blond hair, who was casually making his way over to her. Every few steps he stopped to greet yet another one of his friends. All popular, of course. As the most popular guy in Chilton, he wouldn't settle for anything less, except her.....
Rory hid herself back behind her book, not wanting to add to his arrogance. He sat down across from her with a heavy sigh. This simple gesture got him looks from not only his friends, but also people he brushed passed every day without acknowledging. They didn't understand why he would degrade everyone who didn't fit into his social circle, but not her.
Tristan reached for her pack of sandwiches, causing Rory to lower her book down to her lap and follow his movements without cracking a smile. ''Where were you during class?''
''Headmaster Charleston's office,'' he answered, before taking a bite of one of the sandwiches. It took only one second for him to respond to the taste with a grimace that made Rory smile.
''What's on this sandwich?'' Tristan asked with his mouth full.
Rory watched him reach for a napkin and discreetly spit out the remains of his bite, before answering him. ''Yeah, see, that's what Paris wanted to know too. She actually made an appointment with the cook and demanded to see the ingredients that were used to make such a tasteful treat. Apparently they weren't to her satisfaction, cause when she came back, her face had turned white and she immediately ordered everyone who worked for the Franklin to do some research on school cafeteria sandwiches. There's going to be a story about it in Monday's issue. It might even end up on the front page. The headline's going to be something like: Cafeteria sandwiches: are they lethal enough to kill brain cells?''
''Well, if the taste doesn't scare everyone off then that reassuring story definitely will.''
Rory shrugged. ''I was just stating the facts. Maybe you can bring it up the next time you're in Headmaster Charleston's office. I hear that you two are becoming quite close.''
''Oh, yeah, last night he took me to one of his favorite strip clubs,'' Tristan said, keeping his eyes on Rory as he tried to pinpoint her reaction. ''And let me tell you that the man has taste, the pole dancers were hot.''
''I'm blocking you out now,'' Rory said, and brought her book up again.
''You say this like you're not interested in why I was in his office.....''
''Well, maybe I'm not. Besides, I can probably guess.''
Tristan raised and eyebrow. ''Having a sudden urge to turn into one of those circus freak shows who can predict the future, Mary?''
Rory pretended not to be bothered by his nickname, although she was. Every time he called her that it made her feel as if he thought he was superior to her. But she had given up on trying to tell him that a while ago. He never listened and her annoyance would only give him the response he was looking for.
''It's because of your grades. They have been slipping.''
''I'm impressed. There wasn't even a glass ball involved.''
''If they slip anymore you won't get into a decent college,'' Rory continued, knowing him well and long enough to know that he was trying to avoid the subject. He always did.
''I think you're confusing me with your boyfriend.''
Rory met his eyes, obviously a little taken back by his comment. ''That was below the belt, even for you.''
''If it had been below the belt you would have felt it, trust me,'' came his slick response.
''I'm sure you'll feel right at home down there, in the gutter,'' Rory murmured, before she lowered her eyes to her book again, not wanting to admit that one of Tristan's comments had finally gotten to her.
Tristan looked at Rory, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he knew that he had crossed the line with his earlier comment. A comment which had slipped out and created damage that couldn't be undone or forgotten. Something he hadn't really meant, no matter how much he couldn't stand her current boyfriend. Partly he disliked Dean, because Tristan couldn't keep an eye on him and Rory when they were alone. Dean didn't go to Chilton. He didn't have the will or grades and Tristan wasn't far behind.
Tristan sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. ''You know I don't like to study. It takes up too much of my time.'' He paused briefly to look at her. ''I'm not as motivated as you are.''
''Don't you want to go to college?'' she asked, while raising her eyes back up to his level.
''Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn't even be bothering with high school.''
''There's your motivation.''
''But I can't seem to focus myself on something for more than a few minutes,'' Tristan confessed, a smile already playing across his lips. ''If there would only be a thong involved.......''
''I can help you,'' Rory said, realizing too late that she had walked right into that one.
''You would wear a thong?''
''I'm not one of your fantasies, Tristan.''
''Actually,'' Tristan started, but stopping for a short pause when he noticed Rory glaring at him. ''......you're one of my daydreams.''
A crimson glow quickly spread itself across Rory's cheeks, making her lower her eyes back down to her book. Tristan always knew what buttons to push, a privilege that came with knowing her as well as he did.
''So, now that we got the chitchat over with, I was hoping you could do me a favor.....?''
Rory recovered from her temporarily shyness quickly and locked eyes with him once more. ''I'm not wearing a thong.''
Tristan ran his index finger over his lower lip, before throwing her one of his usual smirks. ''You just told me that you're not wearing a thong, which makes me more than curious to what you are wearing.''
''I wasn't implying that.''
''Well, that's what it sounded like,'' Tristan pointed out.
Rory frowned, while crossing her arms. ''I was referring to one of your earlier innuendos and you know that.''
''Do I?''
''God, you're so frustrating!'' Rory cried out. ''How can you expect me to take you serious and even do you a favor when you keep doing this?!''
''Doing what?'' Tristan innocently asked.
''Making me feel like this!''
Tristan grinned at her words. ''It's a gift. And that frustration you're feeling, it's actually the sexual tension between us.''
''You know, I hope your grades get so bad that you'll have to drop out of school.''
''Not if you help me,'' Tristan said, carefully implying his question in the short sentence.
Rory uncrossed her arms and glared at him. ''You want me to help you from flunking out?''
Tristan nodded, although he didn't like her choice of words.
Rory shook her head. ''No.''
''But it's your duty as a friend to keep me in school and by your side 24/7.''
''No, you can't even be serious about this. How can I expect you to sit still for a couple of hours and actually focus on a subject, when you can't even be serious for more than half a second?'' Rory asked.
''You're underestimating me.''
''Get Paris to do it.''
''But she's no fun,'' Tristan playfully whined.
''Studying isn't supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be boring and meaningful and Paris is good at............. Well, she's good at making you work.''
''Yeah, but I actually want someone to tutor me who I don't have to refer to as master,'' he said, pleading for Rory to give in with his eyes. ''Come on, Rory. I'm really serious about this. I do want to get my grades up.''
Rory met Tristan's eyes and sighed. ''You promise to be serious? Cause if you're not going to be serious then I can't work with you. I'm a very serious person and I take studying very serious.''
Tristan nodded. ''I promise.''
Rory mimicked his movement. ''Okay. We'll work out a schedule on Monday.''
''Actually, could we do that a little sooner, cause I have a test on Monday.''
''Saturday works for me.''
Tristan shook his head. ''Saturday's off limits, Tyler is throwing a pool- party, so.......''
Rory sighed. ''That's your problem. You're always too busy doing other things to study. What about Sunday?''
Tristan shook his head once more. ''I'm teaching Anna how to golf.''
Rory rolled her eyes at him. ''Then what do you suggest we do, Mr. Social?''
''I was hoping we could hook up today, after school?''
This time it was Rory's turn to shake her head. ''I can't.''
''Can't you postpone your plans with your boyfriend? He seems like.........''
''You are expecting me to drop all of my plans when I just asked you to do the same and you simply refused, because teaching some girl how to golf is more important than your grades?''
A silence fell between them and Rory made it last longer than it usually did, simply because she refused to be the first one to talk this time.
''Rory, I didn't mean it like that,'' Tristan started, carefully laying his eyes upon Rory's. ''You know I didn't mean it like that. I just........I'm not you. I don't usually tend to put studying before something else.''
Rory nodded. ''I know.'' She looked at him a little longer before continuing. ''Today's fine. I just have dinner with my grandparents, so we won't be able to start until 8.''
Tristan shook his head and covered his face with his hands. ''Now I don't know who's being more frustrating, you or me?''
''I wasn't being frustrating, I was being artful,'' Rory said proudly, while she smiled at Tristan, who was looking at her through his fingers.
He softly chuckled, while removing his hands from his face. ''Artful indeed.''
*~*~*
That night, Lorelai and Rory arrived home later than expected. Emily had been in one of her talking moods and had lost track of time, even though both Lorelai and Rory had kept reminding her about dinner. Of course Emily had blamed them for letting her go on and on about what must be frivolous topics in their eyes, to which Lorelai bit her lip and just nodded. The actual dinner had started a little later than its usual time and after desert both the Gilmore Girls had been glad to leave, because frankly they would rather have the normal Emily instead of the talkative one they had experienced tonight. Knowing all of this, they weren't surprised at all to find Tristan sitting on the first few steps of their porch, waiting.
''Ah, Rory, look, a stray puppy,'' Lorelai said, while getting out of the car.
Tristan got up and nodded at her. ''Lorelai.'' He looked over Lorelai's shoulder at Rory, who was hastily making her way towards him. ''I'm sorry you had to wait, but dinner ran late.''
''Yeah, my mom was in one of her talking moods.''
''Talking moods?'' Tristan asked, while raising an eyebrow and looking from Rory to Lorelai.
''It happens rarely,'' Rory explained.
Lorelai nodded. ''Yeah, normally she has all those boring DAR people to talk to. Or my dad, although he doesn't really listen, he just nods every now and then and hums. Something he learned from none other than, you guessed it, moi.''
''And then of course I worked it out. I made a chart and calculated how long each pause must be between the humming and the nodding. You don't wanna do it too fast otherwise they'll notice,'' Rory added, smiling at the confusion that was apparent on Tristan's face.
''Anyway,'' Lorelai continued. ''.....tonight my mom had a lot of energy left over, because her usual chatting session had been canceled, so she took it out on us. Before dinner and even during dinner, because she felt like she needed to explain the entire Chinese culture to us just because we were eating some Chinese speciality. And she made us use the chopsticks.''
''And those didn't exactly speed things up.''
''I honestly don't even get why they insist on using chopsticks, I mean one grain of rice per bite just doesn't cut it for me. And I tell you that it had to be one of my mother's plans. She probably sensed that we had to get home at a certain time,'' Lorelai said, while heading up the steps and reaching for her keys. ''I swear, the woman has a sixth sense or a third eye or something.''
''My mom thinks that my grandmother's secretly a witch,'' Rory said to Tristan, before following her mother into the touch.
''Why do you think we're not allowed to go into that room she always keeps locked?''
''What room?''
''The.....ah room next to the other one on the floor that's haunted.'' Lorelai answer, while taking her jacket off and reaching for the phone. ''Now, I'm going to order some pizza, cause the taste of those two grains of rice is killing me.''
Rory smiled and took her jacket off, locking eyes with Tristan, who was openly staring at her and taking in her appearance.
''What?'' Rory asked, slightly annoyed by the attention he was paying to her. Something he normally never did, not unless he was getting something out of it.
A smirk elevated his jaw into a seductive curve, as he admired her evident features underneath the thin, pink fabric of her dress. ''You've been holding out on me.''
''One word,'' Rory said, while awkwardly crossing her arms, not wanting to admit that she felt slightly pleased with his comment. ''Gutter.''
*~*~*
Tristan woke up to the sound of constant breathing and the feel of its warmth against his skin. It was a soothing sound, probably the reason why he had fallen asleep in the first place. He opened his eyes and looked at the face of the sleeping figure beside him. Her eyes were hidden beneath her hair which lay spread across her face and her mouth revealed the slightest crack of an opening.
Tristan carefully wiped the strands of stray hair away from her face, letting his fingers linger a little longer than necessary, and just looked at her for a few silent seconds. He smiled at how she had placed her body deliberately into the crook of his, so she could be as warm as possible, since they were both lying on top of the blankets. He in the same clothes he had worn the entire day and she in a pair of baggy sweats and an oversized t-shirt he had bought for her at some concert.
Tristan looked at his watch, trying to move as less as he could. When he saw what time it was, he knew that he had to get home. But when he moved over to the side of the bed a little, Rory mimicked his action and snuggled herself in the crook of his body once more. He smiled and looked at her, wondering if he should wake her up or not. Finally he brought his head closer to hers and softly kissed the tip of her nose, hoping that the sudden touch would wake her, which it did. Her eyelashes fluttered for a few seconds, as if they were struggling to stay closed, before she opened her eyes and looked at him.
''Tristan......,'' she sleepily uttered, trying not to let her eyes close.
''Hey, princess,'' he affectionally said, calling her by a nickname he hardly ever used.
''Why did you wake me?'' Rory asked, while rubbing her eyes.
''I wanted to thank you for helping me study.''
A small smile escaped Rory's lips, as she lowered her eyes to the black cord he was wearing around his neck. It was the same cord she wore. She reached for the collar of his shirt and gently tugged it down, revealing the small silver charm that was attached to the cord. It was a small R. Rory smiled, as she let go of his collar and reached for her own necklace, lowering her hand until she felt the familiar shape of the T with her fingers. She remembered how he wanted to buy matching silver necklaces, but she had refused and said that that would be too expensive and how she didn't want him to pay for everything just because he could. And maybe that was what made her different from all the other girls Tristan knew. He was never sure if they liked him for him or for his appearance and money.
''Any time,'' Rory finally answered, as she met his eyes again. ''But you could have just done that tomorrow, you know, instead of waking me up and making me all awake again, so I have to go through the whole getting asleep process.....again.''
Tristan chuckled at her words. ''I wouldn't have woken you, but you wouldn't let me get out of this bed. If you would have just done that then I would have been able to just leave quietly, without waking you.''
''You're leaving?'' Rory asked.
Tristan nodded. ''Yeah, I have to get home before my parents find out. See, last time I stayed over at a girl's place, her parents found us the next morning and called my parents.''
Rory rolled her eyes and turned around so she was lying on her back. ''I don't even wanna know.''
''I can tell you that it wasn't as pleasant as this, although we could always find ways to make it even more pleasant,'' Tristan said, while bringing his lips up to her ear. ''For the both of us.''
Rory managed a small smile, as his lips grazed her ear. She closed her eyes and turned her head a little, so it was resting against his chest. She thought about how lucky she was to have a friend like him, although he did force her towards the edge at least once a day. But she had accepted that as one of the most complicated and frustrating parts of their friendship, but at the end of the day she knew that she could trust and rely on him, which was what made her smile.
''Don't go?'' she asked, while opening her eyes.
Tristan lowered his eyes down to her with a smirk. ''Mary, Mary, if only you knew how many times I have imagined you saying that in my head.''
''I changed my mind,'' Rory said.
''Afraid of what will happen if I don't?''
''More like disgusted,'' Rory said, before sticking out her tongue.
''Mature,'' was his response, as he got up and collected the few books he had brought. When he turned around, Rory had already closed her eyes. And with one last look in her direction, he left the room.
*R*E*V*I*E*W*! Please? :-) So, this was just the prologue, because I need to start the story off somewhere. I'm not sure if Tristan was in character, but I don't think I can keep him in character anyway for the plot of this story. Hope ya'll keep reading, even when I change the rating to PG13, which won't happen for another couple of chapters. Lemme know if it was horrible or if I might have a chance of continuing. *Updates will be as frequent as possible!* Thanks! :-)