Tristan slumped into a seat on the bus. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the
back of the seat. The past week had been hell for him. There had been practice everyday,
and each day was worse than the ones before it. Why? Because Rory was there, she was
so close, and yet still so far away. Her beauty and wit torturing every ounce of his soul.

To make matters worse there was Steve and Paris. For some reason Paris had been
beginning to cling to him. She would immediately latch onto him when he walked into the
room, and wouldn’t let go until he left. It was starting to annoy him to say the least. But
that wasn’t the worst of it. Rory and Steve seemed to be getting along very nicely, too
nicely if you asked him.

They’d come to practice together laughing as the entered. They would joke and have
private conversations. Each word they said making Tristan grow angrier and angrier. He
had spoken to Steve about the relationship he had with Rory, he would deny and romantic
entanglements and say that they were just friends. Steve also said that he had no intention
of going after Rory. Those words comforted Tristan, but his blood still boiled when ever
he saw them together.

Better the week had its nice moments. There was the practice where both he and Rory
were early and got a chance to talk about random topics. He still remembered the way that
she had almost fallen out of her chair when she tried to recreate the position in which her
mother had fallen asleep the night before. There were the times when he met her at her
locker in the morning, sharing cups of coffee as the walked to first period.

But none of that could make up for the pain in his heart. That pain that sent a sharp hurt
shooting through his body evertime he thought about the fact that she didn’t love him the
way that he loved her. The fact that the lingering looks of adoration he sent her way were
never returned. The fact that whenever she was in the room he went weak like never
before.

Tristan rubbed his tired eyes looking for any sort of relief. He looked out the window only
to be meet with a cruel act of fate. Rory was the first thing he saw. Her beautiful figure
making its way to the bus. Tristan closed his eyes and turned his head to face the inside of
the bus. Her simple greeting to Mr. Good almost sent him into a plunging spiral of nerves.
Her clear voice making its way to his ear. He turned back towards the window, not
wanting to torture himself anymore.

But it didn’t work. He could hear her footsteps and the rustle of her bag. Then came the
kick in the stomach. He heard her take off her backpack and sit down.... in the seat next to
him. There was a long pause in her actions, but after a bit she settled into the seat. He
heard the tell-tale signs of her bag being unzipped and then pushed down onto the floor of
the bus. Then came the turning of pages, a sound that he had come to associate with her
and only her.

Minutes passed as the rest of the time arrived and they began to move. Every now and
then Tristan would hear a page turn and it would stab at his heart. Begging him to open
his eyes so that he could see her. But he couldn’t, because seeing her face would only
cause more pain. To alleviate that he did the only thing he could, he forced himself into a
fitful sleep.

An hour later Rory looked up from her book for what had to be the hundredth time. Her
eyes didn’t look out the window, they didn’t scan the bus, they went immediately to
Tristan. Rory was some what surprised when he didn’t say hello to her earlier when she
got on the bus. She sat next to him so that she could talk to him, but he appeared to be
asleep. She took out her book to read, but her attention was elsewhere. It was on him.
Tristan.

He was huddled into the corner of the seat. He had tucked himself so close to the window
that Rory thought he might try to climb out. His arms were crossed against his chest as if
he were blocking someone to get to him. Rory’s eyes moved from Tristan’s arms up to his
face. The carefree look he normal had was no where to be seen. His lips were curled into a
tight frown and his forehead was furrowed with frustration.

Rory was tempted to just get up and give him a hug, because at the moment it looked like
he needed to be comforted. Rory marked her page and put her book back in her bag. She
looked at Tristan’s face a bit more closely. She had never noticed before how truly
handsome her was. And after this past week where he treated her like a human being she
almost admitted to herself that he was a nice guy.

Rory’s eyes landed on his closed ones. No matter how far away he was she could always
see his eyes. Their deep blue depths staring into her, making her knees go weak. Tristan
had accused her in the past week of never looking at him when they were talking. She
rarely did, only because one look into his eyes would make her melt. He may not have
known it, but if he asked her anything of her at those moments, she would have given in
unconditionally.

Her stare drifted from his eyes to his lips. His full red lips that she often found herself
longing to touch with hers again. Her tongue darted out to moisten her own lips as she
remembered their kiss. It was gentle and unforceful. Tristan’s lips were soft and she could
taste a faint trace of peppermint. Rory sighed when she remembered why that kiss hadn’t
been longer. She kicked herself now for running out on him.

Things had gotten weird between them after that. And they got even worse when she told
him she hated him. She regretted those words more than anything in the world. She
wanted to rebuild their friendship and they were on their way. It was a slow tedious
project, but they would accomplish it. 

The bus slowed to a stop and Rory looked out the window. They were at the competition
site. Everyone exited the bus leaving her and Tristan alone. He made no move to get up
and Rory knew he was still asleep. She grabbed her bag and leaned over to Tristan’s seat.
She placed her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. His eyes slowed opened and
Rory made the mistake of looking into them. Any verbal control she had was gone.

“Are we here?” Tristan asked, his voice creased with sleep. All Rory could do was nod in
reply. “Well then what are we waiting for? Let’s go kick some butt.” Tristan grabbed his
bag and stood up. He followed Rory down the aisle as she slowly exited the bus. She
bounded down the steps and followed the rest of the team inside.

Tristan paused at the base of the curb and smiled. He always had been a light sleeper. He
adjusted his bag and strode confidently into the school. She was breaking down, and he
liked the possibilities that came along with that.

***

“Ok team this is it. First match so don’t mess up.” Mr. Good stared each one of them in
the eye making sure to drive his point home that losing was not an option. Rory’s stomach
was in knots as he gave them their ‘pep talk.’ His words did nothing to calm her jumpy
nerves.

Rory’s fingers intertwined and twisted with each other as she looked about the room. Her
eyes landed on the opposing team. They were dressed in uniforms not much unlike the
Chilton kind. Rory noticed how not a single member seemed nervous and that made her
even more nervous. She brushed back a loose strand of hair and began to pace in the small
space that she had.

Tristan was sitting not two feet from Rory and found himself rather entertained by her
actions. Her steps were small but quick as she walked back and forth. Her hands were not
still  as she clenched and unclenched her fists at her side. She licked her lips every now and
then. Tristan knew she was giving herself a pep talk but her pacing was becoming rather
annoying.

He watched her for a few more minutes before he decided to do something about it. He
got up out of his chair and placed himself in the direct path of her pacing. Rory didn’t see
him until she bumped into his strong chest. Her head jerked and she met his eyes. She
didn’t miss the smirk on his face though.

“Sorry.” She dropped her head again and stared at her shoes.

“No problem. You are rather entertaining.” Tristan crossed his arms in front of his chest as
he stared at her down turned head. It lifted slowly, sending cascades of silky brown hair
over her shoulders.

“What are you talking about?” Rory crossed her arms to match his stance.

“Your pacing is rather entertaining. But it’s too much like a tennis match... gave me neck
cramps.” To further emphasize his point he began to rub the back of his neck. Rory’s heart
seemed to pause for a second as she watched his sculpted hand massaged his tan skin.
Rory wondered what it would feel like to touch the sensitive skin at the base of his neck.
To feel his sturdy muscles beneath her soft fingertips.

Tristan saw Rory’s eyes go into a dreamy haze. His hand slowly pulled away from his
neck and rested at his side. Rory didn’t move. Tristan tipped his head to the side to look at
her eyes more closely. He was drawn in by their deep blue color that seemed to mystify
him. He felt like he was drowning, but he didn’t care.

The two of them just stood there, staring into each others eyes. Rory knew that she was
getting lost in him, but she didn’t realize that she was openly staring at him. All rational
thoughts and feelings had left her the minute she looked into his eyes. The whirlpools of
blue dragging her down.

“What are you two doing? We have to go win this thing.” Rory and Tristan both jerked
out of their trances when they heard Steve speak. They had been so lost in each other that
they had forgotten where they were.

“Right. Let’s go kick some butt.” Tristan bounded after Steve. Rory slowly followed,
dragging her feet as she walked.

*Ok Miss Rory... what the heck was that? You totally lost it there. Come on, his eyes
aren’t really THAT hypnotizing. Focus on the game.* 

Rory took her seat which, because of her bad luck, happened to be right next Tristan. She
squirmed around a bit as she tried to get comfortable. She arranged the scrape paper on
her podium before grabbing her buzzer.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Tristan brushed Rory’s hand with his, neither one of
them missing the tingles.

“W-W-What?” Rory looked at their hands, trying to avoid his eyes.

“Here, let me help you.” He grabbed a small black thing that was clipped to her podium.

“What’s that?”

“A microphone.” His gentle hand brushed the sensitive skin of her neck as he clipped it to
her collar.

“Why would we need these?” Tristan’s eyes drifted from her neck and landed on the
cameras that were focused on them.

“You missed those?” Rory lifted her head and her eyes widened in shock as she saw the
large machines.

“I didn’t know that they taped these.” Her voice was right in his ear and it’s soft tone sent
tremors through her body.

“Well they do.” Tristan cleared his throat and settled back into his seat.

“Welcome to Quiz Bowl everyone....” Rory and the rest of the team turned their attention
to the announcer as he explained the rules. “Question number one....”

Rory heard him speak but his words sounded foreign to her ears. She heard a buzzer
sound and an answer given. More questions flew, and more answers were given. Rory
knew that she knew the answers, but she was frozen. She saw Mr. Good glaring at her
from his seat in the audience. She knew what she was suppose to do, but she couldn’t
move. Tristan saw her frozen state as well. He nudged her with his elbow, but she was still
as stiff as a rod.

Rory heard Paris speak, and Steve speak, and Tristan speak. But not a single word
escaped her lips. She had a death grip on her buzzer, and her thumb was ready to strike at
any moment, but nothing happened.

The host called for a ten-minute break half-way through the game. Rory immediately got
up out of her chair and dashed out of the room. Steve and Tristan followed her. Steve
made it to Rory before Tristan and he cornered her in the hallway.

“Rory what happened, you’ve never frozen like that?”

“I don’t know.” Rory let out a frustrated sigh and began to pace.

“Was it the cameras?” Steve racked his brain from reasons as to why she wasn’t answers
questions.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.” Rory’s hands dug into her hair with
frustration.

“Steve.” Tristan called out. “Let me talk to her.” He walked up to him. “Alone.” The last
word only Steve could here. He took the hint and left. Tristan watch Rory pace for a beat.
He felt her pain.

“Rory stop. Take a deep breath, and calm down. This pacing isn’t helping you.” Tristan
walked up to her and took a hold of her shaking hands. The gesture meaning more to both
of them they wanted to admit at that moment. Tristan brought his hands to his, pulling
Rory closer to him. “Close your eyes and focus on breathing nothing else.”

Rory did as she was told. Her short ragged breaths slowly became deeper and more
regulated. The trembling subsided in her hands and she gripped Tristan’s fingers even
tighter, trying to find a deeper sense of comfort. “I don’t know what happened in there.” 

Her voice was soft and Tristan strained to hear it. But the message came across loud and
clear. A single tear rolled down her cheek, Tristan brushed it away with his thumb. “Don’t
cry, it’s ok. You just siked yourself out back there. You can do this. You know you can.”

“Maybe I can’t.” Rory pulled away from Tristan and resumed her pacing, but it wasn’t as
fast as before. “Maybe I’m not smart enough to be here. I don’t want to let the team
down. Maybe I can’t do this.”

“Listen to yourself Rory. Do you know how pitiful you sound right now.” Rory stopped
dead in her tracks and stared at him. “You can do this. I know you can, Steve knows you
can. Paris and Mr. Good know that you can. But more importantly you know you can.”

Rory leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes. She didn’t believe his words,
and she didn’t believe in herself. Tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
Leaving trails of moisture behind. “No I can’t.” She shook her head back and forth as she
held back whimpers.

“Yes you can.” Tristan was beside her in an instant. He grabbed one of her hands and
massaged the palm with his thumb, while his other hand brushed away the rebel tears.
“You are so smart Rory. You know so much more than anyone else in that room. Did the
cameras freak you out.”

“No.”

“Was it the other team. Do you feel weird to be competing.”

“A little.” She sniffle and blinked her eyes a few times.

“What are you scared of?” Tristan caressed her soft cheek with the back of his hand in an
attempt to comfort her.

“I’m scared of looking stupid in front of everybody.”

“Rory you are so far from stupid that it’s not even funny. The word stupid has never been
and will never be used to describe you. Like I said before, you know more than anyone
else in that room... combined. You’re the smartest person I know.” Rory sniffled once
more as Tristan brushed her hair over her shoulder. His hand returned to her face and
lifted up her chin so that she was looking right into him. “Where is that confident Rory
whom I love to banter with.”

“Hiding.”

“Well it’s time for her to come out. I am smart. Say it Rory.”

“I am smart.” Her voice was quiet and weak.

“Oh yeah I believe that. That wouldn’t instill fear into my bunny slippers.”

“You have bunny slippers?” Rory hid her giggle.

“Don’t change the subject. Say Rory, and mean it this time.” He gripped her hand tighter.

“I AM SMART.” Rory practically screamed the declaration and it felt good.

“There you go girl. Now let’s go kick some bootay!” Rory let out a full fledged laugh.

“Thank you Tristan.”

“Don’t mention it. It was my pleasure. Got anything else to say.”

“The game is mine.” And with that Rory strode confidently back into the game room.
Tristan followed closely behind heard, hiding a tell-tale smirk.

***

“All bow to thee, the lovely Rory!” Steve got up out of his seat and started mock bow at
Rory as she climbed onto the bus. Tristan followed suit. Rory blushed at the attention.
After his little pep-talk she had gotten right back in the game. Her buzzer finger was on
fire. Her sudden capabilities to speak scared the other team who had liked her previously
silent ways.

“Oh stop guys. I wasn’t that good.” Rory blushed even more as she took her seat.
Tristan’s blue eyes following her every move. A snort came from the back seat. All eyes
turned to face Paris.

“You sure weren’t.” Paris’ voice was hushed and the words came out mumbled, but the
tone in her voice made Tristan angry none-the-less.

“What did you say?” His voice was controlled but anyone could see the anger in his eyes.
Paris looked up at him and immediately turned away when she saw the expression on his
face. 

“What Tristan? I was merely agreeing with what Rory said. She didn’t do anything special.
In fact she missed the entire first round where we could have earned valuable points.”
Paris’ voice was strong a steady as she made her point.

Rory lowered her head when she realized that the hateful words coming out of Paris’
mouth were indeed true. She coiled herself into a ball in the corner of her seat, wishing
that Paris’ degrading comments would just go away. She had been on cloud nine, and
Paris just crushed her.

Rory could hear Tristan and Paris arguing, but the words just slipped in one ear and out
the other. There full content never being heard. Rory looked out the window as the bus
started moving. She hummed a soft tune trying to think of anything but Paris’ harsh
words. 

She felt the seat dip next to her, and the sudden warmth of someone sitting next to washed
over her body. Their arm brushed against hers and the now familiar, yet still incredibly
unnerving shocks, came over her. She knew in an instant who it was. No one else could
make her feel that way. She turned and stared into his deep blue eyes.

“Ignore anything that comes out of her mouth.” Tristan grabbed Rory’s hand and
squeezed it gently. 

“I normally do, but this time... this time...” Her words were becoming shaky as she neared
tears.

“You’re afraid that they were true?”

“Yeah.”

“There not. So what if you blanked for a round. We’re all going to do that sometime this
season. Just you wait and see, Paris is going to blank once too. And I for one won’t let her
forget it.” A smirk crossed his lips and Rory let out a small laugh at the thought of a
helpless Paris.

“Thank you again. I really don’t know how I would have survived this day without you.”
Tristan smiled in return. A few wordless moments passed between the two. The only thing
they felt was the touch of each other’s hands and the warmth that seemed to radiate over
their entire bodies because of it. Suddenly Rory started giggling. It was small at first, but
soon her laughter came to the point of uncontrollable.

“What?” Tristan stared at her, a perplexed look on his face.

“This.”

“What?” Rory was able to hold down her laugh for a few seconds.

“This... us.... sitting here. And I for the first time in my life do not have the urge to tar and
feather you before making do the macarena in a very public place.” Rory’s eyes lit up at
that thought and she burst out laughing again.

“Oh... I see how it is. Have fun at Tristan’s expense.”

“Of course, because what better fun is there?” Rory placed her free hand over her mouth
and tried to muffle her laughter. It was hard for Tristan to keep a straight face. Her natural
beauty was only strengthened by her smile.

“I can think of something.” He pouted.

“Oh yeah? What?” Rory bit her bottom lip keeping any new sounds from escaping her lips.

“Oh... I don’t know... maybe like this!” And with that Tristan launched at her. Locking her
in between the seat and his body as he tickled her sides. The laughter was renewed and his
joined hers. She swatted at him, and screamed for him to stop, but that only made him
tickle her more. Her happy smile, and the twinkle in her eye causing him to want her even
more.

This is what Tristan wanted with Rory. A carefree relationship where she was candid with
him and there were no hard feelings. Sure he could hope for more. But maybe that would
come in time. But right now things were good, he would have to live those fantasies in his
dreams.

Meanwhile Mr. Good had taken a seat by Steve, who was staring amusedly at the pair. He
tried to contain his own laughter so as not to disturb them. Mr. Good took a look at
Tristan and Rory, and then back at Steve.

“Are they going out?” He cocked his head in their direction.

“No.” Steve almost let out a shriek when he saw Rory swat Tristan in the nose. Mr. Good
looked back at the pair before going back to his seat.

“They aren’t fooling anyone.” The teacher smirked to himself and sat down to enjoy the
ride. Steve leaned back thoughtfully in his seat.

*No one but themselves.*

END PT 9

“Rory!” She spun around on her heel when she heard Tristan call her name. He was
jogging down the hallway after her. They had just finished another practice. It had been a
week since their first match, and Mr. Good insisted on being evil and cramming even more
random bits of knowledge into their already jammed packed brain cells. “Hey. Where you
headed?”

“To the bus stop and then to Luke’s for some glorious coffee.” Rory’s eyes closed and her
voice became very breathy as she thought of her ambrosia. Tristan laughed at her lustful
state.

“I never will understand your obsession with that beverage.”

“What’s too understand? Coffee is the best substance ever created and I am merely paying
it the homage that it deserves. Now I will continue on my way to the bus stop so that I
may dive into my evening worship of the sacred beverage.”

“Well I could give you a ride home and you could convert me to coffee Catholicism.”
Tristan’s voice was strong and steady, but on the inside his stomach was fluttering with a
million butterflies and his heart beat loudly in his chest. Rory stared at him like he had two
heads. Sure they had done the coffee thing before, but this time the offer felt, well,
different.

“Sure.” A smile spread across Rory’s face. She had no idea where this would take them,
but at least the journey there would be fun.

“Really?!?” Tristan’s jaw dropped. He was not expecting an acceptance.

“Sure. Lead the way oh great one with a car.” Rory bowed and Tristan laughed. He
started down the hall and Rory followed after him. In a moment of mental abstraction she
grabbed onto his shoulders and had him half drag her down the hallway.

“What are you doing?” Tristan looked over his shoulder at her and saw her smiling coyly
back. “I am not a sled dog in the Iditarod.”

“Mush mush mush!” Rory giggled. Tristan grabbed Rory’s wrist and swung her around so
that she was in front of him.

“Who’s in charge now.. huh... Rory?” He kept his hand on her wrist, and place his other at
the base of her neck. He could hear her growl in displeasure. Rory peeked over her
shoulder at Tristan as they walked down the hall. She was determined to win this little
game.

She spun around quickly hoping to get out of Tristan’s grasp, but he anticipated her move
and held her tightly. She ended up facing Tristan, both of her wrists clasped in his strong
hands. She struggled to get away from him as the moved down the hall way, both of them
laughing at their own antics. 

Neither of them was watching where they were going and Rory suddenly found herself
backed up against the lockers struggling to free herself from Tristan. He had a huge smile
on his face. His happiness was genuine and the look in his eyes made her melt. Rory found
herself getting lost in his eyes.

Tristan noticed that Rory was struggling much less, and then she stopped completely. She
was staring into his eyes with a look on her face that he had never seen before. He
couldn’t explain what it was, but he liked it, and he liked the fact that it was directed at
him even more.

Rory’s breathing slowed as she stared into him. Her heart beat faster as she realized how
close he was. Tristan slowly let go of her wrists and her arms dropped to her sides. She
didn’t know what was happening at that moment, but all she knew was that she wanted to
be nearer to him.

He must have read her mind because in the next instant he was leaning in closer to her.
One hand was braced against a locker next to her head, and the other was slowly caressing
her arm. Rory was trapped between him and the cold metal against her back, but she
didn’t care.

Tristan’s eyes were darting between her deep blue eyes and her slightly parted red lips. His
heart pounded loudly in his chest and he was sure that Rory could ever beat. He was
begging for a sign of any type that Rory wanted to feel his lips on hers as badly as he
wanted. 

Tristan brought his hand up the her cheek, his thumb caressing the silky soft skin of her
face. Her breaths quickened and her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of his light touch.
When she opened her eyes again his face was right in front of hers. She could feel his
warm breath upon his lips and as awkward as this moment felt, she wouldn’t have it any
other way. She closed her eyes in anticipation of his lips covering hers, time passed very
slowly, then all too quickly the moment was over.

“What are you two still doing here?” Mr. Good was staring at them, hands shoved in his
pockets. “I thought kids hated school. Get out of her go home, and study some inane facts
that no one but I care that you know.” Tristan let out a laugh of disappointment as he
shoed them out the door.

The walk to Tristan’s car was silent. He unlocked the doors to his SUV and they climbed
in. The radio came on when he started the engine and the melodic notes of a violin quartet
singer cut through the tense silence. Rory gave him an odd look, one eyebrow raised.

“Ooops... how did that channel get on there?” Tristan blushed as he fumbled for the radio.
His shoulders were tense as he leaned back into his seat.

“What’s wrong with classical?” Rory hid her smirk by biting her bottom lip. Tristan
glanced at her to see if she was being sarcastic.

“You like classical music?”

“Sure. I’m more inclined to soundtrack scores, but I like Vivalidi just as much.” Tristan’s
body visibly relaxed at Rory’s statement and he let out a sight of relief when he realized
that she was not going to tease him for liking classical music.

“I’ve always been a fan of Hans Zimmer myself.”

“Gladiator would have to be his best.....”

The pair slipped into a comfortable level of conversation as they made their way to Stars
Hollow. The trip down the highway went fast as the conversation changed from music to
movies, then to Rory’s all time favorite subject, books. Tristan noticed the passion in her
voice when she spoke about all the marvelous pieces of literature that she had taken in.
Before they knew it they had arrived at Stars Hollow, Tristan pulling into a spot in front of
Luke’s.

“I’m sorry, but Robin Cook is so much better at the medical thriller.” Rory climbed out of
the car and slammed the door. Tristan who was already out was waiting for her on the
sidewalk.

“That is where you are wrong Rory, Micheal Crichton is the best in that area.” He trailed a
bit behind Rory as she led the way into Luke’s. Tristan looked up and saw the hardware
sign. “You never told me that a hardware store was a place that had the best coffee.”

“That’s because this is not a hardware store.” She opened the door and Tristan followed
her in, taken back a bit by the fact that there were no hammers or nails in site. “Luke! Two
cups please.”

Luke raised his head and smiled when he saw Rory sitting at the counter. His smile slipped 
a bit when he saw Tristan sit next to her. He brought out the cups and set one in front of
each of them, pouring the steaming liquid as he eyed Tristan.

“Good afternoon Rory.” Rory smiled in response as she took a big gulp from her mug. His
eyes shifted to Tristan “And you are...”

“Tristan DuGray.”

“Ah.... OH!” The name dawned on him and he quickly shifted his attention back to Rory.
“Is he....”

“He’s fine.” Rory nodded in understanding, but Tristan just looked back and forth
between the two, completely lost.

“Just checking.” The bell above the door rang, and Lorelai flounced into the diner,
plopping herself down on the other side of Tristan. He was now sandwiched in between
the two Gilmore girls.

“Afternoon Luke. Should I whine today or will you be nice and just fork the beautiful
beverage?” She was answered by a mug being placed in front of her. “Awww... you made
it way to easy. Rory how are you?... and who is this cute little darling.”

“I’m fine.” Rory smiled over her cup. “And this is Tristan.”

“You mean....” Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. 

“Yes....” Rory nodded. Tristan found himself lost once again.

“Is he housebroken yet?” She eyed him up and down suspiciously.

“He is completely trained.”

“Good.” Lorelai grinned. “Nice to meet you Tristan.”

“Same to you Mrs. Gilm...”

“Stop. It’s Lorelai now and forever.”

“Alright. Nice to meet you Lorelai.” His voice was a little shaky because he still was not
quite sure what this woman thought of him. But he was happy with the small smile on her
face, because it was not of the homicidal type.

“So....” She eyed Tristan once again. “You’ve been good lately.”

“Ummm.... I’m not sure that I understand what you mean.”

“You’ve been kind to my daughter, and haven’t called her Mary recently.”

Tristan cleared his throat. “That would be correct.” Rory was not to happy with the way
this conversation between her mother and Tristan was going.

“Good.” Lorelai perked up. “Now I can tell you some cute and embarrassing stories about
my daughter and you won’t manipulate them to hurt her. So when she was three....”
Tristan became engrossed in Lorelai’s speech that he missed the amused and mortified
look on Rory’s face. He also missed the smile that played upon her lips when she realized
that her mother liked Tristan.

***

“...Then one day she decided to entertain the neighborhood by running around in a pink
tutu with a pair of underwear on her head and a rolling pin in her hand.” Lorelai and
Tristan were clutching their sides because they were laughing so hard and Rory was just
staring into her coffee mug with a miserable look on her face. “But get this... she was
nine! She was old enough to think about how dumb she was making herself out to be and
yet she went around like the rolling pin fairy knocking on everyone’s doors and blessing
their baked goods.” Tristan started laughing so loudly that he felt off of his stool and onto
the floor. He stopped for a brief second when he heard Rory mumble something under her
breath.

“Serves you right.” At that Tristan burst out laughing again. He was clutching his sides
and rolling around on the floor. Rory was very tempted to kick him to make him shut up.
An evil smirk played upon her lips. She was raising her foot to strike, but Luke’s
authoritarian voice stopped her.

“Don’t even think about Rory.” Tristan was still laughing. Luke looked down upon his
shaking figure with disdain. “You! Off my clean floor, I don’t know where you’ve been!”
Tristan’s giggles slowed and he looked up at Luke’s face. He immediately quieted and had
that ‘deer in the headlights’ look about him. Tristan stood up quickly and brushed off his
pants. Rory sent an evil glare Tristan’s way. He regained his seat and suppressed his
giggles.

There was a moment of silence as Luke made his way around the counter. He saw Lorelai
smirking as she was drinking her coffee. He grabbed the cup out of her hand just as she
was about to take another sip.

“Hey!” She protested.

“Don’t ‘Hey!’ me. I know you’re the one behind this giggle fest and I think it’s this evil
beverage made you do it. No coffee for you.”

“Lukey.” Lorelai pouted and Luke turned away to keep himself from giving in to her.

“So Rory.... or should I say Baked Goods Goddess?” Tristan turned to face her, biting his
lip to keep from laughing out loud again.

“You call me that and I’ll castrate you with this here spoon.” She lifted the spoon that was
by her and swirled it around in front of his face. Tristan swallowed nervously.

“Umm... I’ll shut up now.” 

“That would be a pretty smart idea.” She started tapping the spoon on the counter and
that sound was the only thing making it to Tristan’s ears. Rory just stared at him, a blank
expression on her face. Tristan could see a fire in her eyes though. After a few minutes her
stare began to get on his nerves, and it scared him when she smiled.... evilly.

“What?” Rory just shrugged her shoulders. “Oh there’s something.... and I want to know
what it is.”

“Do you really?”

“Yes.” 

“You’re not gonna like it.” Rory said in a sing songy voice, while twisting the spoon
between her fingers.

“I don’t care if I don’t like it. Not knowing is driving me crazy.” Tristan’s voice was full
of agitation as he bounced around in his seat.

“Ok.... I was thinking about all the delightfully grotesque ways I could kill you if you
repeat even a breath of what my mother has told you today.” Tristan swallowed nervously
once again.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He glanced at the wall and noticed that it was already 8 at night.
“And on that note, I must be going. See you tomorrow.” He got out of his seat and made
his way to the door.

“Ta ta.... and remember....” Rory waved the spoon at him.

“Goodnight.” The bell above the door jingled as he left. Rory, Lorelai, and Luke all
watched him as he climbed into his car and drove off.

“I like him.” Lorelai said turning her attention to Luke who was nodding in agreement.

“I do too.” He said. Rory turned and stared at him like he had two heads. She had
expected her mother to like him, but Luke... well he was a totally different story. He had
never liked any of the guys she fraternized with.

“What did you say? Because if it’s what I thought you said then I think hell just froze
over.” Rory continued to stare at him in disbelievement.

“I said ‘I do too.’”

“The devil is now encased in ice.” Rory shook her head and stood up and began to wander
out the door.

“Where you going Rory?” Lorelai turned to face her daughter as she spoke.

“Home.”

“Why?”

“Because things just got all too weird in here.”

“Ok honey... see you later.” Rory walked out the door shaking her head in confusion.
Lorelai turned to face Luke once again. They both smiled knowingly.

***

“You like Tristan. You like Tristan......” Lorelai bounced around following Rory as she
tried to get as far away from her mother as possible.

“For the four hundredth time... I do not. You’ve been saying that for over an hour, can
you just stop.”

“No.... You like Tristan. You like Tristan.” Rory plopped down onto to the sofa and
buried her head in her hands. Lorelai ignored her obvious displeasure and plopped right
down next to her.

“Ok mother, I give. Why are you saying I like Tristan?” Lorelai grinned widely when she
noticed that she had won this battle.

“Because.”

“Oh, that’s a real good reason.” Rory stated, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“I thought so.” Lorelai bit her lip as she answered.

“Mother.” 

“Fine.”

“Why?” Rory began tapping her foot impatiently.

“Because of the way he looked at you, and the way that you didn’t totally kick his ass
after he called you the Baked Goods Goddess.” Lorelai hugged a pillow close to her just
in case Rory decided to pounce on her.

“The way he looks at me?” Rory was slightly confused to say the least.

“Yeah. Like he wants to eat you up.” Lorelai licked her lips to further her point along.

“What?!?”

“He gets all gooey eyed.” Lorelai batted her eyelashes at her daughter.

“You’re insane.”

“Do you deny that he looks at you differently than he does every other girl he looks at.”
Rory opened her mouth to say something, but then she really began to think over her
mother’s words. Tristan did look at her differently. He never even looked at Summer the
way he had been looking at her. And then he had been much nicer lately. And then there
was that incident in the hallway. “See... I was right.”

“Ok. You were right about one thing. That still doesn’t mean that I like him.” Rory dipped
her head as her words got softer.

“Then why are you blushing?” Lorelai inquired. Rory responded by lifting her hands to
cover her cheeks. She could feel the warmth radiating from them even before she actually
touched her face. “I’m off to bed. Goodnight sweetheart.” Lorelai kissed Rory on the
forehead before heading up the stairs, leaving a thinking Rory behind.

She leaned back into the sofa cushions, hands still covering her cheeks. Slowly her hands
moved from her burning cheeks to the back of the neck. She slowly rubbed her fingers
into her tense muscle.

*If only Tristan were here to do this.*

“Oh my God!” Rory stopped all her movement. “I did not just say think that.”

*You did. I can’t believe it. You did. You actually did.*

Rory dropped her hands and collapsed sideways on the couch. She buried her head into a
rather large sized pillow and groaned loudly. She slowly began to bang her head against
the pillow. Anything to rid herself of these thoughts of Tristan. Slowly though she drifted
off to sleep, curled up to guard herself from the outside world.

***
Rory slammed her locker closed on Monday with a loud, an oddly refreshing, bang. She
turned to walk to class but ended up bumping into Tristan. She bounced off him and
looked up to catch his eyes. He smiled down at her before shoving a cup of coffee in front
of her face.

“I come bearing coffee.... please don’t hurt me.” Tristan grinned sheepishly. Rory took the
cup from him and sniffed it suspiciously. “It’s safe, I didn’t do anything to it.”

“Good to know.” Rory took a big gulp and smiled. “I missed you.”

“You did?” Tristan was a bit taken back by her statement.

“Not you dufus.... the coffee. It’s been an hour since I’ve last consumed it.”

“Well we wouldn’t you to become addicted to it or anything like that.” Rory was not
please with the sarcasm in his voice.

“I have one word for you Tristan.”

“And what’s that?” He smirked at her as he leaned against the lockers.

“Spoon.” The smirk on his face disappeared, and he looked as if he wanted to climb into
the locker next to him. Rory smiled in satisfaction.

“So?” He cleared his throat. “I umm... like your shoes.”

“Uh-huh... whatever. Not like they’re different from everyone else’s.” She started to walk
down the hallway. Tristan stayed where he was, afraid that she didn’t want him to follow.
But only a few feet away she stopped and turned around. “Are you coming or not?”

Tristan practically ran to catch up to her. An offer like this came once in a blue moon, and
he wasn’t about to pass it over. Rory smiled to herself at his actions. She had done alot of
thinking about their “relationship” over the weekend, and decided that she wanted to
spend more time with him. He wasn’t nearly as bad as she had first thought, but then again
he had changed over the summer.

“Tristan, what are you doing after practice?” Tristan looked at her profile, making sure he
had heard her right.

“I was going home. Why?”

“Well... do you want to see a movie or something?” Rory looked up at him expectantly.
Not believing her words herself. They stopped by the entrance to their first period class.

“Sure.” Rory smiled broadly and walked into the classroom. Tristan just stared at her as
she walked away. Monday’s had always been word, but this had to top all of them.

*Shouldn’t I be the one asking her?*