Disclaimer: The characters belong to ASP and the WB.
Pairing: Rory/Tristan, Rory/Dean
Rating: PG-13 for now
Spoilers: This is set in Season 1, up until the episode entitled Kiss and Tell. After Rory's first kiss, it's pretty much AU with the parts of the show I feel fit into my own, deluded version.

The Art of Kissing

Prologue

And then he kissed me…
- The Crystals

She got kissed. Rory Gilmore had received her first kiss at Doose's standing in Aisle Number Three. Tall, floppy-haired, gorgeous Dean Forester leaned down and kissed her, right on the lips.

Of course, after that, she ran away stammering a very polite and stunned 'thank you'.

Thank you? Rory berated herself from the millionth time after the fateful kiss as she stalked down the quiet halls of Chilton the next day on her way to class from the Headmaster's office. Your dream guy kisses you and you say thank you? God, I am such a spaz. He'll probably never want to kiss me again.

Sighing, Rory picked up the pace as she headed for class. The bell had rung two minutes ago but she wasn't worried, she had a pass from Headmaster's secretary who had messily signed the piece of paper and trusted Rory to fill in the rest.

Just as she rounded the corner, she caught sight of a scenario that had become a staple of her Chilton life: Tristan DuGrey with a pretty blond pressed up against a locker, playing an interesting game of tonsil hockey. Rolling her eyes, Rory hoped they wouldn't notice her as she passed by. Of course, she couldn't help but stare as she approached the unaware couple. Speaking of kissing…God, look at them go. How the hell do they breathe? He's, like, eating her face. Does she even like that? I am sure that it's very unsanitary.

With a disgusted look on her face, Rory passed the couple but unfortunately, not fast enough as Tristan's lips broke away from his partner's and his head lifted. He spotted her immediately and didn't even have the decency to blush or be embarrassed as their eyes met. Instead, he smirked at her and remained pressed against the blond who was trying to get his attention back to her.

Much to Rory's chagrin, Tristan didn't return to his earlier activities but rather, called out to her. "Hey Gilmore, wait up."

In spite of herself, Rory's legs stopped and she turned to face him fully as he disentangled himself from the blonde, telling her he'd meet up with her later. As the put-out blonde wandered away, hopefully to her own class, Tristan approached Rory with a wide grin. She shook her head. "Don't you think you were a little rude?"

He furrowed his brow. "To Kelly? No."

Rory let out another sigh as she continued to English with Mr. Medina. "God, never mind. You know you're late right?"

Tristan pocketed his hands and shrugged. "So are you."

She waved the piece of paper in her hand. "I have a pass."

He grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "Then jot down my name down too and I won't get in trouble either."

"No! It's wrong!" she declared vehemently as she wrenched her arm free. "I had an excuse for being late and Ms. O'Donnell gave it to me because the reason for my tardiness is justified. You, on the other hand, have no such justification, pal."

"Come on Gilmore," he begged as she followed her. "I've been late to Medina's class one time already and he has a stupid two time limit. He'll give me detention. Help a fellow classmate out, Mary. Have a heart."

"No," she said, harassed. Didn't this guy know when to take a hint? "You do the crime. Although I am sure you can weasel your way out of detention. What's the big deal? I'm sure this won't be your first."

"Exactly, it's not my first." He stopped her again, this time blocking her path and glanced desperately at the door to their English class, a few feet away. "If I get another detention my father will find out and it won't be pretty. Tell you what, you do this for me and I'll owe you."

Rory scoffed. "Like your word means anything."

"I'm serious," he emphasized. "I'm a good person to have on your side, Gilmore, here at Chilton. Stick with me and you'll be fine. It's a win-win situation. And you're a smart girl. Think about it for a second. Anything you want, it's yours."

She worried her bottom lip as she stared at his beseeching face. He didn't look the least bit trustworthy with that messy hair and perpetual gleam in those blue eyes. Even she could see that. But, damn it, he was right. He was popular at Chilton, a place she didn't fit in and she had already managed to tick people off. She could hit him up for any favor and all she had to do was write his name down on a piece of paper in return. Nothing bad could happen, really.

"Fine," she stated finally and glared when he smirked triumphantly. She was about to reach in her back pocket for a pen when he offered the one tucked behind his ear. "No, it has to be the same ink."

He shook his head and teased. "Stickler."

"Shut up, Tristan," she shot back as she used the wall to neatly print his name beside hers. "I hope to God this doesn't get me in trouble as well."

Companionably, he slung an arm around her shoulder and strolled towards class. "Gilmore, you're paranoid. Nothing bad can possibly happen."

Famous last words.

- & -

Of course, Mr. Medina didn't say anything as Rory handed him the excuse slip. He merely looked at her and then at Tristan before telling them to take their seats. Rory breathed a sigh of relief and ignored Tristan's wink as he sat down and turned her attention to Romeo and Juliet.

On this particular day, Mr. Medina was discussing Act 1, scene 5 in the classic play: the Capulet's ball. As Max animatedly read the famous lover's first meeting, and their rather wordy diatribe about kissing, Rory's mind wandered back to her first kiss with Dean. She replayed the scene in her mind; the kiss, the feeling of his lips on hers, the utter shock to her system as her mind processed what was happening and then of course, the knee-jerk reaction to run away as fast as she could.

The kiss, as she had told Lane, was perfect. Dean had been perfect and sweet and she was sure that as far as first kisses went, theirs was definitely up there with the best of them. It wasn't the most passionate one, she was sure. After all, she just stood there while Dean did the work.

She sat up straighter in her seat, suddenly, as an awful thought popped into her head. Dean had kissed her and she had done nothing. She hadn't kissed him back but had run instead. And she realized, if he ever did kiss her again, she had no idea what to do. She had never kissed a guy before! Kissing was never a reality for her until now. She had been too busy with Harvard and school and books.

Books! There had to be books on the subject. Or a website. Information was the key; there was nothing she couldn't read up on, learn about. After all, how hard could it be? All she had to do was research and she'd be fine.

Kissing was no big deal if you knew exactly what you were doing.

Involuntarily, her head turned to Tristan who was looking at her oddly but smirked when she met his gaze. Now here was a guy who knew a lot about kissing. He did it with confidence, ease and a certain amount of, she had to admit, flair. Locker Girl wasn't complaining and seemed to be enjoying herself as well.

She turned away and focused on Romeo and Juliet until the end of class. When the bell rang, Rory collected her books and tried to push back her kissing fears. Once outside the classroom, she ran into Tristan who was waiting near the door.

"You were distracted," he said by way of greeting.

"What?" she asked defensively, hugging her notebook to her chest.

"In class," he clarified as they started walking down the hallway, towards the cafeteria, together. "You were a thousand miles away. Thinking of me again?"

Without thinking, she answered truthfully. "Yes."

He was probably expecting an intense denial because his mouth dropped open slightly and he managed a surprised, "Really?"

"Well sort of," she answered with a wince and then colored a bit as she clarified, "I was thinking about you kissing that girl."

"Ah." He chuckled as they reached the cafeteria with other students milling about. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "So you like watching. I would never have figured you for that kind of girl, Mary."

"Why does your mind immediately go the gutter?" she asked, exasperated. "Or is that just where it happens to be, all the time?"

"Hey, you're the one preoccupied with images of me kissing another girl," he replied with a grin. They stepped in line for food and he handed her an empty tray. "Let's step off the pedestal there, Gilmore. So tell me, in this fantasy, do you eventually join in because that would really work well with my fantasy."

"God no," she replied a little loudly, causing some people to turn their attention to them. Blushing she lowered her voice and glared at Tristan. "I was just thinking about kissing in general and you were the last person I saw making out. Jeez."

He put his hands up in a sign of surrender and they moved down the line quietly, with their food and drinks. At the register, he paid for her and silenced her protest with one look. "Believe me, I have the money."

As they carried their trays to a table, she rolled her eyes. "And an ego to go with it. Tell me, how do you fit through the doorways?"

He ignored her and found an empty table. As they sat down, she realized that they were alone and a bunch of people were staring at him from across the room. Paris Gellar shot her a death look from her table. Rory had been so engrossed in her "conversation" with Tristan that she hadn't even processed that she had accepted they were eating lunch together and were, for all intents and purposes, being friends.

"Are you going to stare at your food or actually eat it?" Tristan asked as he popped open a can of soda.

"I think your groupies are missing their leader," she returned easily, hitching her head in the general direction of his friends. "Slumming it, are you, DuGrey?"

He dismissed her remarks with a wave of his hand. "C'mon. Tell me why you were thinking about kissing. And what it has to do with me. I am intrigued."

She sighed and debated a full moment before revealing the reason for her preoccupation. "Dean kissed me yesterday."

His brows shot up and his grip tightened on his can. "Who's Dean?"

"A guy at my old high school," she replied, blushing a little. "He moved here from Chicago just as I transferred to Chilton."

"How tragic," Tristan replied sarcastically before furiously biting into his hamburger.

"Anyway," she continued and gave him an odd look, "he kissed me and I ran away."

"That bad, huh?"

"No," she defended indignantly. "It was great. I just didn't know what to do."

Tristan looked at her surprised. "Wait a minute. That was your first kiss." She avoided his gaze and shifted in her chair uncomfortably. "Wow."

"Hey!" she stated offended. "We're not all whores, Tristan."

He laughed and took another sip of his soda. "I still don't know what it has to do with me kissing Kelly."

Rory fidgeted with the bag of chips in her tray. "Well, he kissed me. I didn't kiss back. And I don't know how to…you know. Or if I will ever be able to…kiss back properly. And you seemed to be doing it just fine."

"Why thank you."

"So it can't be that hard to learn."

He smirked. "Not with the right partner, no."

God, his arrogance. Annoyed, she took a dainty bite out of her sandwich. "If you're so good, why don't you teach me how?"

He considered it for a moment, then leaned forward and grinned. "Sure."

Shocked, her eyes widened. She wasn't sure she had heard correctly. Had she really, in a moment of insanity, asked Tristan DuGrey to teach her how to kiss? And had he actually agreed? It was like a weird out-of-body experience. "What? No, I was just kidding. No. You can't teach me."

"Why not? You said so yourself that I'm good at it. And, this could be the favor I owe you," he replied seriously. "You know you have to learn from the best."

"You're serious?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"As a heart attack," he answered and dipped a French fry into the ketchup.

"You're out of your mind," Rory returned, shaking her head. It was insane; there was no way that she was going to let Tristan teach her how to kiss…the idea was just absurd. Kissing Tristan DuGrey…never! Although, a voice reminded her quietly, you don't really have to kiss him. It can be more of a hands-off approach. He can just give you a few pointers and you can have the added benefit of a male's perspective. Still, the sane part of her rejected the idea. "No. I'll ask for another favor, thanks."

Tristan smirked. "You're scared."

She let out a strangled laugh. "What? No I am not!"

"Then prove it," he challenged, leaning back in his chair. "Let me teach you. After school lets out, we'll begin our lesson. I'll teach you how to kiss the socks off Bean."

"Dean."

"Whatever," he replied with another triumphant grin and dismissive wave. "Meet me at my car, Gilmore. Don't be late."