“Come on Tristan concentrate. The test is tomorrow, you shouldn’t be pre-occupied with
things.” They had been studying in the Stars Hollow Library for over an hour and Tristan
had become restless. Somehow he ended up in the position he was now, Rory still
couldn’t quite figure out how that had happened. He was sitting, well not really sitting, in
a reclining chair. His casted was thrown over the armrest, his other leg was dangling over
the top of the chair. His head was hanging off the front of the chair as he stared at Rory
upside down. And somehow he had gotten a hold of goldfish that he was randomly hitting
her with.

“Rory you know this information like the back of your own hand, there is no way that you
are going to fail.” He flicked a goldfish at her, but she threw it back. Instead of letting it
hit him he caught it with his mouth. The smirk appeared on his face.

“You are impossible. Where did you get those things anyways?” He flicked one more at
her, it stuck in her hair. Rory glared at him before brushing it out.

“One must keep something to snack on in their bag. I for one have a thing for goldfish,
thus the reason as to why I have access to them.” Tristan began humming the goldfish
theme song and received another glare from Rory. His head bopped back and forth as he
smiled at her.

“I beginning to think their is some form of illegal drug baked into those things.”

“What makes you say that?” He threw another goldfish at her, she caught it and popped it
into her mouth.

“Oh I don’t know... maybe it’s the fact that you are sitting, I use that word loosely, in an
odd position, and haven’t answered a single question without making it sound like your
seeing the Queen of England.” She tipped her head to the side and stared down at him.

“Rory, my darling. You need not worry. These crackers have nothing laced in them. I’m
merely enjoying everything wonderful that life has to offer. I need no drugs to see the
beauty that is in front of me.” His eyes danced across her face and she blushed at his gaze.
Rory cleared her throat when his eyes rested on her lips.

“So... umm....” Rory was unnerved by the look on Tristan’s face. It was the look that
made her knees weak. His features softened. His eyes sparkled with light as the stared into
hers. A smile played upon his lips. Rory let out a soft groan when his tongue ran along his
bottom lip.

*Cold shower Rory, think very, very.* Tristan smiled at her. *VERY cold shower.*

Tristan slowly righted himself in his chair. His one leg came off the back and meet his
other on the armrest. He but his arms behind his head and leaned back to look at Rory
more closely. The window behind her sent the sunlight cascading into her, setting off a
halo of light around her. She saw Tristan’s gaze and dropped her head down to study
something on the table. He laughed to himself. She was biting her bottom lip, he noticed
that she did that whenever she was thinking or embarrassed. Her hand unconsciously
brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. Tristan thought she looked extremely kissable at
that moment. She glanced up at him quickly but returned to studying the table when she
saw that he was still looking at her.

She shook her head as if trying to rid herself of his gaze. Rory was trying to not look at
Tristan, but it was difficult. Every now and then she would lift her eyes but she still saw
him staring at her. With each glance she studied him a bit longer. The way he was casually
situated in the chair. Chilton coat tossed on the floor, shirt unbuttoned and the sleeves
rolled up. It was hard for her concentrate because she could still smell that shirt, she could
still smell.... him.

“Rory.” No answer. “Rory?” Tristan got up out of his seat and hobbled his way to her, she
still didn’t move or acknowledge his presence. He waved his hand in front of her face and
she still didn’t move. She was off in dream land. Tristan took a seat beside her and
brushed a strand of hair away from her ear. No movement. Tristan leaned his lips into her
ear.

“What are you dreaming about?” Rory jumped away from him when his breath tickled her
ear and sent shockwaves through her entire body. She swatted him away.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that.” A blush slowly creeped up her cheeks. Tristan’s hand
reached out and lifted her chin so that she was staring right into his eyes. Her mouth tried
to form words, but her voice didn’t back them out. With every passing second she grew
weaker and weaker. His touch warming her all over.

“Rory, we need to talk about some things.” His thumb ran across her bottom lip. He was
sick and tired of her pulling away. He knew that she felt something for him, or else she
wouldn’t be trembling everytime he touched her. They way she studied him gave him even
more hints. There was no more hurtful tone behind her bantering. Granted she had bitched
him out in the hospital, but he deserved that. But what gave her away the most was the
way she didn’t pull away until the last moment. He ran his thumb over he bottom lip one
more time before it returned to her chin. He leaned in, but once again she pulled away just
before his lips touched hers.

“Coffee? We can talk over coffee.” She grabbed her bag and was out the door before he
could say anything.

“And once again she pulls away.” Tristan let out a frustrated groan before grabbing his
things and following her out the door. They walked in silence as the made there way to
where ever Rory was leading them. She opened the door to Luke’s an began to walk in,
but was halted by Tristan’s voice.

“Rory, this is a hardware store.” He pointed up at the sign.

“No Tristan, this is Luke’s.” She opened the door wider so that he could see the inside of
the diner.

“Oh.” He followed her in and they sat down at the counter. Luke walked up to Rory and
smiled at her, but his smiled disappeared when he saw Tristan.

“Who are you?” Tristan trembled under the older man’s glare.

“Tristan DuGray sir.” Luke turned back to Rory.

“You let the evil one into my diner?” Rory’s shrug was the only answer he got. Tristan
turned to face Rory.

“Evil one? I see my not so decent reputation precedes me.”

“Two coffees Luke.” Rory’s fingers drummed on the counter as Luke went to get the
coffee. Luke set the cups in front of them, and Rory immediately took a long drink from
hers. Luke noticed the crutches leaning against the counter.

“How did you get on those things?” Luke stared Tristan down.

“Rory put me there.” Luke beamed a smile at Rory before ruffling her hair.

“Good job. An incapacitated evil being. I like that idea.” Luke pondered the thought
before going to help another customer. Tristan stared at Rory questioningly over the rim
of his cup.

“Evil one? You care to explain that to me?” He set the cup down and leaned against the
counter.

“Not really.”

“Please, I’m just yearning to hear how this name came about.” Rory didn’t get a chance to
answer because Lorelai pranced into the diner. She took a seat next to Rory.

“He baby....” Noticing Tristan. “Bible-boy.” Lorelai and Rory lapsed into their normal
conversation and Tristan was feeling extremely isolated. He picked up his crutches, threw
enough cash on the counter to cover his coffee, along with Rory’s, and then left the diner.
Rory noticed him leave, a look of disappointment on his face. Lorelai nodded her head in
understanding. Rory jumped off the stool and followed him out the door. She saw him
leaning against the outside wall of the diner. She walked up to him, but didn’t say
anything.

Tristan new she was standing there, but it was a few minutes before he spoke. “Can you
take me home now?” 

“Sure.” They got into the car for a silent trip back to Hartford. No words were passed, but
they understood each other completely.

***

Rory tapped her pen on her desk top unconsciously. She stared blankly at the paper on her
desk. She had studied for a long time for this test, and yet she still drew a blank. She could
hear the clock over the blackboard mocking her. It was ticking down the seconds, getting
louder each time. Rory let out a frustrated groan.

Tristan heard her and look at her out of the corner of his eye. Noticing her tapping pen he
reached out and placed his hand on hers. She stopped, and her eyes slid up his arm and
over to his eyes. He gave her a look that said ‘Calm down.’ Rory closed her eyes and took
a deep breath. Tristan squeezed her hand reassuringly, before quickly pulling it away when
he saw the teacher turning towards them. They both returned to their tests. Rory’s
attention span lasted long enough for her to answer all of 10 questions. 

Her eyes slowly drifted back to Tristan. She studied his profile for a minute. His eyes
attention was focused wholly on his test. Every now and then his tongue would come out
a run across his bottom lip. Every time he did this Rory felt her heart beat a bit faster. Her
eyes drifted from his profile to his hand. His strong handed gripped the pencil like it was a
delicate ballerina as it drifted across the page. Tristan’s head began to turn towards her
and she quickly shifted her gaze back to the test.

*Why is it that everytime he looks at me I feel all warm? Why do I get butterflies? Why
do I not want him to stop? The only time this has happened before was with Dean, and
that was so long ago. It’s only Tristan. The guy who made your life misery.... but you
looked forward to it. Why is he having this affect on you?*

Rory struggled to recall her knowledge of William Shakespeare.

*Or Willy... as Tristan called him.* Groan. *Again with the Tristan. Get your mind off
the man. Yes he’s hot.... oh god is he hot... but he’s not all that. You shouldn’t fail a test
because can’t get your mind off of him.*

Tristan had glanced over at Rory when she had groaned. He knew she was having trouble
concentrating, but he didn’t know why. Her pencil tapped on her desk causing a racket
that was beginning to annoy several people. He noticed that she busy biting a finger on her
left hand. Rory’s legs were bouncing up and down in frustration. He would have placed
his hand on her knee to stop her were they not in the middle of a test. He saw her answer
a few questions before letting out a deep sigh.

Rory glanced Tristan’s way and noticed that he was looking at her. She immediately
turned back to her test and answered a few questions as a blush slowly creeped up her
neck to her cheeks. Tristan hid a smirk when he saw her reaction. He finished his test and
turned the paper over on his desk. He clasped his hands in front of him on the desk top
and looked towards the front of the room, every now and then turning his head to catch
glimpses of Rory. Rory saw that Tristan had finished her test and that made her even more
frustrated. 

*How can he be done? He was the one who was fooling around yesterday. Not me. Of
course he isn’t fighting his feelings. Which is something that you shouldn’t be doing.
Think English. Shakespeare. Sonnets. Drama. Tristan. No... concentrate. This is not a
hard test, just put pencil to paper and get it done. There is no Tristan right now. He
doesn’t exist. He is not sitting two feet from you. He is not done with his test. Because he
does not exist. He is not staring at you. He is not.... woah... he’s staring at you!*

Rory looked over at Tristan again. His face was calm and collected and she was having a
hard time pulling away. Before when she had been caught looking at him she had turned
away immediately, but now.... Now there was something different him. The look on his
face was something she had never seen before. When he had tried to kiss her all those
times his eyes were on fire as they looked at her, Rory thought it was just the passion of
the moment. But the look in his eyes now went far beyond fiery passion. 

The look Tristan was giving to her was one of, dare she even think it, love. Like she was
the only thing that he was seeing. Like they could have been in the middle of a hurricane,
and he still wouldn’t notice. Tristan’s gaze burned into her and rocked her to the core. She
couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She knew that time was running out and she had to
finish the test, but none of that seemed to matter. The only thing she cared about at the
moment was the way he was looking at her. She struggled to catch her breath and Tristan
must have noticed because soon he was mouthing the words ‘Calm down,’ to her.

Rory closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She tipped her head away from Tristan and
back to her test. She was on autopilot now. She finished the test, but the vision of
Tristan’s face was the only thing she saw. The bell rang as Rory put the last period on her
essay. She closed her eyes and let out a sight of relief. She sat in her seat until almost
everyone was out the door. She walked up to the teachers desk and placed her test on it.
By now she was the last one in the room. She started to head out the room, but a crutch
came up and blocked her exit.

“Nice to know that you were waiting for me Tristan.” He peeked out from behind the
doorway and hobbled into the room.

“Nice nothing. I need you to carry my backpack.” Rory gave him a look of disbelivement.

“How does carrying your backpack hamper you?”

“I just does.” Tristan said defiantly. Rory jutted her hip out and crossed her arms.

“Sure it does.” Rory said as she glared at him. Tristan searched his mind for a real reason
as to why carrying his backpack would hurt his knee, but he couldn’t find one. So he did
the next best thing. Made her uncomfortable by changing the subject. A smirk appeared on
his lips. Rory saw the look and slowly backed away from him.

“So I noticed that you looked a little uncomfortable during the test. Something on your
mind?” He inched his way towards her. Her jaw dropped.

“So... you want me to carry your backpack?” She grabbed it and walked out the door.
Tristan let out a slight laugh and followed her out the door.

***

Rory opened the door to her house and practically ran to her room. She dropped her bag
by the door and flopped, face down, onto the bed. She let out a loud groan that was
muffled by her comforter. Her day had not gone at all like she expected. First there was
her whole not-being-able-to-concentrate-on-the-test-because-you-were-thinking-about-
someone’s-blue-eyes mood, and then Tristan had cornered her.

She should have known he knew something when he kept on looking at her, but no, her
brain decided to be stupid and not think of the possibility that he might know she was
beginning to see him in a new light. After the test all she wanted to do was try to erase the
image of Tristan’s eyes burning into. But when he had cornered her in the classroom all
she cared about was remaining standing.

Her knees were going weak everytime he opened his mouth and his smooth voice spoke to
her. She was beginning to grow attached to him and his antics. The way he brushed back
his hair, the way he licked his lips, hell, even the way he breathed was becoming addictive.
They sparkle that danced in his eyes. His smile. Him, Tristan. He was getting to her, and it
drove her crazy.

*Why did this have to happen? You were just suppose to help him out because you sent
him flying down the stairs. You weren’t suppose to start having feelings for him.*

Rory rolled over on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her forehead furrowed in
concentration. Every feeling was so new. It was unlike anything that she had ever
experienced before. The way she felt all tingly when he his skin contacted hers in even the
slightest way. The way she felt like she could melt into the floor when he looked at her.
And they way that she could almost loose herself in those moments when they were alone,
and he was leaning in. But something told her not to do it. She felt like she would be
betraying someone.

*But who? Dean? No you two split. Lorelai? Sure she calls him the evil one and bible-boy,
but that’s only based on what you tell her. And even now she seems to be warming up to
him. So who the hell could you be betraying?*

Rory stood up and began to pace her room. Her feet making the only noise in the entire
house. She grumbled and sighed trying to figure out why she was feeling this way.

*Youself! You feel like you’d be betraying yourself. He treated you like crap. Called you
Mary. All in all made your life a living hell. But even then. There was something then.
Something in the way he looked at you. In the way he sounded when he spoke to you.
There was something. There still is something. Dean always said that.... DEAN!*

Rory dashed out of the room and into the living room. Her eyes quickly scanned the room
for the phone. Not finding she hit the locate button on the recharger. A muffled beep came
from the far corner of the room. She dove into the pile of clothing and found the receiver
tuck into the sleeve of a dirty shirt. She emerged from the pile, phone in hand, sock on
head.

She shook her head and the piece of laundry tumbled to the floor. She pushed the first six
digits of Dean’s phone number and was about to hit the seventh, but she couldn’t.

*What is he going to say when I ask him for help? With Tristan of all things. You can’t
hurt him like that. He would never hurt you like that. Take that back. He did... but he
didn’t want to. So maybe he’ll understand.*

Rory pushed in the last number and his phone began to ring. Five rings later she was about
to hang up when someone answered.

“Hello.”

“Dean?”

“Rory?” There was audible shock in his voice. “How are you?”

“I’m fine...just dandy... everything’s great. Nothing wrong here....”

“Rory. Spit it out.” She could just see him grinning over the phone.

“I need help.”

“That wasn’t so hard. With what?” There was a long pause before Rory answered.

“I have some feelings to sort out, and I was wondering if you might be able to help me.”

“Guy problems.” Her silence confirmed his suspicions. He knew one day that she would
ask for his help. He just wished it wasn’t so soon. It still hurt him to think that she wasn’t
his. “Meet me at Luke’s in twenty minutes.”

“Thank you.” Rory heard the hurt tone in his voice, but was grateful that he was still
helping her.

Twenty minutes later she found herself outside of the diner staring at Dean through the
window. He was sitting at the counter getting a stare down from Luke and she could tell
that she was uncomfortable. He glanced down at his watch and his leg bounced up and
down. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The doorbell jingled as she entered,
Luke and Dean turned to face her. Luke saw the look on her face and went to get her a
cup of coffee. Dean’s face relaxed when he saw Luke leave. 

Rory took a seat at the counter next to him and smiled when Luke placed the coffee in
front of her. She took a sip, gathering what little strength she had, and turned to face
Dean. He smiled at her and she relaxed a little bit.

“Thank you for coming. You had no reason to.”

“Sure I did.” Dean answered. “You needed help.” Dean noticed that Luke was staring at
him once again. “Let’s go sit over there.” Rory glanced over Dean’s shoulder and saw
Luke. She gave him a critical look before following Dean to the table. Neither one of them
spoke. Rory decided to break the ice.

“So... how are you?” Her fingers began to tap on the table top.

“I’m fine. But we came her to solve your problem. Not talk about me.” Dean looked at
her hand. “Would you stop that?” He reached out and covered her hand with his. Rory
jumped back into reality and noticed Dean’s hand on hers. There was no warm feeling,
like the one she got when Tristan did the same thing earlier in the day.

*Just like Tristan did. TRISTAN! He’s the reason your here. Just get this over with
Rory.*

“Ok Dean. I’m just gonna spit this out. I need help.”

“Obviously.” He grinned at her but stopped when he saw her serious face.

“It’s about this emotions I’m having....” 

“We established that over the phone.”

“Would you just be quiet for a minute so that I can get this out?” She saw the look of
shock on his face. “Sorry.... anyways....lately I’ve been feeling something for.... Tristan... I
just can’t tell what it is or what it all means.” She closed her eyes and stared at the table
top. A few moments passed. Dean began to giggle and then laughed outright. Rory looked
up and just stared at him. She hadn’t expected this reaction. She expected yelling and
screaming and him storming out of the diner. But this, this had never even crossed her
mind.

“Sorry....” He calmed down before speaking. “I knew this was coming.” Rory’s jaw
dropped.

“What?”
“I knew that sooner or later you’d come to realize that I was right in saying that Tristan
has a thing for you. I noticed it all summer, with that whole emotional wall thing you put
up.” Rory’s jaw was still on the floor. “It began the second you turned around in the
courtyard and saw Tristan walking.. excuse me.... jogging away. You started liking him
even before then. Rory you love the way he banters with. I know because we never really
had that. He’s grown on you, and you just don’t know how to feel about it because you’re
scared.” His hand reached across the table and cupped her check. “You’re scared of being
hurt again.”

“Dean I....”

“Shhh...” He put his finger to her lips. “You called me because you wanted someone to
confirm that what you were feeling was indeed true. I should have told you a long time
ago. Rory you have a thing for Tristan whether you like it or not. I saw it a long time ago,
you just need to adjust to this idea. What you’re feeling isn’t a bad thing, it’s just new.
Take your time with it.” Rory sat for a few moments before speaking.

“Thank you Dean. I think I need to go take a walk. I’ll get the coffee.” She grabbed her
stuff and tossed money on the counter. She gave him a small smile before she walked out
the door. Both Luke and Dean watched her go. When she was gone Luke glared at Dean.
Dean held his hands in the air.

“It wasn’t me this time. I swear.”

***

Rory walked slowly through the cafeteria as she balanced Tristan’s books in her one hand,
and his lunch tray in another. She almost dropped the tray when some pulled out their
chair a bit too quickly. Tristan dropped one of his hands from a crutch to reach out and
steady her. He grabbed a hold of her arm, and the electricity that shot through the both of
them was enough to fuel a lightning storm. Tristan quickly withdrew his hand from Rory’s
arm when he saw her look at it.

“You had to buy your lunch today?” Rory dodged someone’s backpack.

“We’ll you were early this morning, and I didn’t have time to pack it.” Tristan said in a
matter-of-fact tone.

“Sure... sure... I see how it is.”

“And how do you see it?” Tristan’s lips were practically against her ear. His hushed tone
caused a warm tingle to spread through her like a wildfire. It was difficult, but she was
able to keep her composure. Even though she could just see him smirking.

“That you...” Before she could finish one of Tristan’s friends hollered at him from across
the cafeteria.

“Hey DuGray... over here.” Rory was directly in front of Tristan and he poked her butt
with his crutch in the direction he wanted to go.

“Hey!” Rory yelled. “Watch where you’re poking that thing.”

“Oh believe me.... I am.” Rory turned around and glared at him and his smirk.

“Neanderthal.”

“Thank you... I’ve been upgraded from pond scum.”

“You can be demoted you know.” They had reached Tristan’s table and Rory set down his
books and tray. She received a few odd looks from Tristan’s friends. Feeling
uncomfortable she began to walk away but Tristan put one of his crutches in front of her.

“I swear to God Tristan that as soon as you have no use for those things I’m going to beat
you down with them because I’ve seen them in my face way to much.” The guys oohed at
Rory before turning to look at Tristan. They may not know her, but they gave major
kudos to any girl who stood up against Tristan. They looked at Tristan expecting a
smartass come-back. He delivered.

“Why not right now when I’m helpless? Come on girl I’m ready.” Tristan dropped his
crutches on the floor leaned back in his chair and his arms opened wide. All the guys
turned and waited for Rory to speak. She knew that she had an audience, but at the
moment she could have cared less. The way Tristan was leaning was very inviting. She put
her hands on her hips and stared him down.

“You could never be ready for what I could give you.” The guys oohed and awed once
again and Tristan’s jaw dropped. Rory had rarely been blatantly sexual with him, and now
she was, in front of a ton of people none the less. Rory noticed his shock and raised her
eyebrows in a questioning fashion. He quickly closed his mouth. The guys turned to
Tristan and waited for his comeback. He just sat there and stared at Rory. Disbelief
covered his face. One of his friends coughed to get his attention.

“Well we could find out if you just give me a chance.” Tristan grabbed her hand and pulled
her towards him. Rory was caught off guard, and her hand reached out to brace herself.
Thing is, it landed in the middle of Tristan’s chest. Right over his heart. Her face stopped
inches from his. He was no longer kidding, but only the two of them new that. Rory could
feel the steady beat of his heart underneath her palm and it made her weak in the knees,
but she was not about to go down without a fight.

“Well maybe if you treated me like a human being and not something that just climbed out
of the primordial ooze like you yourself just had. Then we might be able to see what you
could actually handle. But this rich-white-boy-wanna-be-bad-ass-attitude ego of your has
got to go, before I even think of letting you see what I could give you.” 

That received a massive dose of cheers from Tristan’s friends and Rory had trouble hiding
her smile. She felt Tristan’s heart beat faster against her hand. His eyes stared into hers.
She had basically just laid it all on the line by saying what she did. It was an open
invitation to Tristan. If he treated her right, he might actually get somewhere. Of course he
had known that it was always that way, but now that she had actually said, it made him
want to actually work for it like he never had before.

It had been quite a while since Rory had spoken, what were now infamous words. His
friends were getting antsy for a comeback. One of them couldn’t stand out the silence.

“Tristan?” His friend’s voice jerked him back to reality.

“I could have countered that, but I had already moved on to other things in my head.”
Rory pulled away from Tristan. He let out a small groan at the loss of contact that only
she could hear. She stood upright in front of him, in between his spread legs, arms crossed
in front of her chest.

“You’re a West Wing fan I see.” Tristan’s jaw dropped for what seemed like the
hundredth time in the last five minutes.

“You watch...”

“The West Wing? Yes I do. It’s a fantastic show. And I’m sure Aaron Sorkin would be
please to hear you plagiarizing his words.”

“I was not plagiarizing them, I was merely using them as a resource of information.”

“Wouldn’t that require some sort of footnote or bibliography? I didn’t hear you insert one
after your usage of his statement.”

“Fine. Let’s go back up time so that I can say the comment again only to add: insert
footnote. This statement was taken without permission from Aaron Sorkin, aka the
screenwriting god. It was used in the eighteenth episode of the West Wing’s second
season. The show was entitled ‘17 People’ and the words were spoken by the character
Samuel Seaborne, who is played by the very talents Rob Lowe.... Would that have
sufficed?”

“Only if you added somewhere in there that Josh is better than Sam.”

“But he’s not.”

“But he is.” 

“He’s not.”

“He is and you know it.” Tristan’s friends heads were bouncing back and forth so fast
between the two bantering teens that it looked like they were viewing a tennis match.

“Fine I’ll say Josh is better only if you reenact the whole Ainsley blaming the bossa nova
scene.” Tristan recalled the scene in which a female character was caught dancing in a bath
robe in her office. He wiggled his eyebrows at hers, reverting back to old, sex-crazed
Tristan. Rory backed away from him.

“You’re impossible.” She grabbed her bag and walked out of the cafeteria. Tristan’s eyes
never left her retreating form. Tristan turned to face his wide eyes friends he had no idea
what to do, but one guy took care of that for him.

“Well aren’t you going after her?” The whole table waited in silence for an answer.

“Yeah. I am.” He grabbed his crutches and ran after him. His books and lunch left
forgotten at the table.

***

Tristan finally made his way to the hallway after barging through a crowd of freshman. He
looked both ways and didn’t see her. Thinking quickly he decided to try the library. He
got there as quickly as possible and was extremely disappointed when Rory was no where
to found.

“Where the hell could she be?” He ran his hand through his hair, and turned around one
last time. His eyes darted to something out the window. Rory. He took off again and made
his way to the courtyard hoping to catch her before she disappeared again. He skidded
around the corner on his one good leg and righted himself before he could fall. He began
to walk towards Rory very quickly, but his pace began to slow when he really began to
take in the vision in front of him.

Rory was sitting on ‘their’ bench. Shadows from the swaying trees danced across her
hunched form. She was bent at her waist, her elbows resting on her knees. Her head was
covered by her hands and her entire body was softly shaking. Strands of her hair began to
fall down and covered the sides of her face. Tristan leaned his crutches against the side of
the bench and sat down beside her. She didn’t make a movement that acknowledged his
presence.

Tristan heard her soft whimpers and it hurt him to know that he had done this. He brushed
the fallen hair strands back over her shoulder before he slowly put his arm around her. She
still did not acknowledge his actions. He bent his head down closer to her ear.

“I’m sorry.” It was spoken so softly that he was afraid that she had not heard him. But she
had. Rory’s head jerked up. The look on her face caused his heart to shatter into a million
pieces. Her eyes were red and watery, and a single tear made it’s way down her cheek.

*You made her cry DuGray! You are such a jerk. Can’t you do anything but hurt her?*

He cupped her cheek and his thumb brushed away the solitary tear. His eyes begged her
for forgiveness, even though he knew he didn’t deserve it. Rory pulled away from his
touch. But this time, unlike the other times, he understood her reasons. Her brain finally
registered who was sitting in front of her. She bent down, picked up her backpack, and
stood to try and leave, but Tristan grabbed her arm.

“Rory I’m sorry. Please don’t leave.” The pleading tone in his voice was so thick that she
could almost call it pathetic. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths to try and create
some feeling of comfort, but his grasp on her arm was the only thing she felt.

Tristan stared down at his hand, and then up to the back of her head. He could see her
shoulders rising and falling and he wanted to rub her back to calm her down. But after
everything that had just occurred, that thought even overwhelmed him.

“I understand why you want to leave, but please stay Rory. We need to talk about this.
About everything.” His voice was shaky and it sounded like he was about to break down.
He waited for an answer, but she wasn’t giving him one. His heart broke again. He
released his grip on her arm. “I won’t make you stay if you want to go.” He dropped his
head and stared at the ground. It was over. She had given him a second chance and he had
ruined that gift.

Rory slowly turned back around and saw the state he was in. This wasn’t faked. He was
genuinely giving up. He saw that he had hurt her one to many times, that any chance he
had left with her was totally her decision. Rory would have to chose whether or not to
trust him.

“Tristan did you really mean what you said?” His head lifted to face hers and she could see
that he was on the verge of tears. He nodded his head yes.

“Rory, I mean it, I am so sorry.” Rory shook her had back and forth.

“No, not that part. Did you mean what you said back in the cafeteria? About me giving
you a chance.” He nodded his head yes, and wiped a tear from his eye. Rory took her seat
beside him. “I don’t understand. I mean I already gave you another chance, and then you
stole my book.” He laughed a little.

“And look where I ended up.” He pointed to the cast. “But seriously Rory, think about it,
did you ever really give me a chance?”

“Sure I did, and you still acted like a jerk.”

“I even admit that I acted like a complete ass at first, and I am so extremely sorry for that.
But think back Rory, the book thing... that was banter.... childish banter, but banter non
the less. And think about Saturday Rory... was I a jerk then?” She shook her head no.
“See, we’ve had good times together. And what just happened in the cafeteria proves it.
Sure you said that you would give me a second chance, but you never really did.” 

He grabbed her hand and placed her palm over his chest. Rory closed her eyes reveled in
the feeling of his strong heartbeat. “You were so afraid I’d treat you like crap again that
you never let the real me in. Let me in Rory. Please. There is so much I want to learn
about you. I don’t want you to be a mystery to me.” Tristan lowered his eyed to look at
her down turned face, before he used his free hand to lift her chin so that his eyes met
hers. “Please Rory. Can you give me another chance.... a real chance?” She nodded yes
and they were silent. Tristan waited for her to say something, anything. “Say something
please, the nod was nice, but I need to hear you say it.”

“Yes Tristan I can give you a real chance.”

“Good, this time I won’t waste it.” They just stared at each other. They were going
somewhere new with no map and neither one of them knew how to steer them clear of the
dangerous spots, but at least they were going through it together. Once chance was all she
had given, and both wanted it to be the only one needed. Rory didn’t want to be hurt
again, but Tristan couldn’t loose her again. The mood was becoming all to serious for
Rory so she decided it was now or never to see what could happen. She pulled her hand
away from Tristan’s chest and placed it back in her lap.

“Do you remember the last conversation we had on this bench?” Tristan chuckled slightly
at her comment.

“How could I not? You wanted me to date Paris.” That wasn’t exactly the moment Rory
had been thinking of, but she went with it.

“Paris.... right... sorry about that.”

“It’s ok, besides, she has Robert now. How did that happen anyways?” The bell rang and
they both stood up. “Walk you to class.”

“I’m the one carrying your books.”

“Right! Forgot about that. We have to make a detour to the cafeteria.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s where I left them when I went to find you.” Rory laughed and they
walked off towards the cafeteria. Rory began to explain they Paris/Robert situation.
Tristan just watched her smile as she talked, happy that now he had a real chance, now
they were on equal footing.