It was a pleasant Saturday afternoon with the sun shining in all it's glory. Rory made her way to Luke's Diner, feeling very relieved that the weekend was here.

"Hey Luke." Rory said as she entered the diner.

"Hey there Rory," Luke replied. "You want the usual today?"

"Yeah."As Luke went to get her order, Rory spotted Paris sitting at a table in the corner by herself. It was very rare that Rory saw Paris outside of Chilton Academy. She thought about ignoring Paris, but decided to go talk to her.

"Hi Paris." Rory said.

"Hi Rory." Paris replied coldly. "What do you want?"

"Nothing really. It's just rather odd that I see you here. I didn't think you would hang out here."

"Well I've got a life outside of school, and besides I needed to get out of the house."

Rory got her order and sat down at the corner with Paris. Paris felt very uneasy about having lunch with her archnemesis Rory Gilmore, but decided to stay anyway.

"That's a great book you're reading." Rory said, noticing that Paris was reading Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller."Yeah, I like books that deal with the darker side of life." Paris said.

"By the way, I thought your report was very good."

"Thanks." Rory said, surprised to hear Paris' praise.

"I didn't think it would measure up to your high standards."

"Well you're the only one in school that's capable of coming close to me."

"So where are Madeline and Louise?"

"Oh, Madeline's at some weekend getaway with her family, and Louise had to go to some brunch with her mom."

As Rory ate her lunch, she noticed a look of loneliness on Paris' face. She felt bad that Paris was by herself.

"So Paris if you're not doing anything, do you want to hang out?" Rory asked.

Paris was stunned that Rory would ask her if she wanted to hang out, especially after the way she treated Rory.

"Sure." Paris replied.

"What do you want to do?"

"Anything you want."

"Okay how about seeing Planet Of The Apes at the movies."

"That sounds good." Rory said as she finished her lunch. "What time do you want to meet up?"

"How about before the next showing in an hour?"

"That's good enough for me," Rory said as she got up from the table. "I have to go off on a couple of errands for my mom, so I'll see you later."

"Yeah." Paris said as Rory left the table.

As Rory exited the diner, Paris felt a feeling of uncertainty on the prospects of spending time with her archnemesis Rory, but decided to go anyway to kill some time and perhaps get some insight about her.

* * * * *

Paris and Rory drove down the road after leaving the multiplex, discussing Planet Of The Apes.

"I though it was better than the first one, except they should've had Mark Wahlberg running around naked." Rory said.

"Oh yeah," Paris replied. "But if he did run around naked, he should leave that 'thing' he wore in Boogie Nights."

Rory immediately laughed at Paris' comment, which got a chuckle from her.

"So where are we going?" Rory asked as Paris made a turn to a back road.

"Just for a walk in the woods," Paris replied as she parked her car. "You want to go?"

"Sure." Rory said as she and Paris got out of the car and walked into the woods.

"Do you come here?"

"Yeah. I like to come here to think."

Rory walked slowly behind Paris as they made their way to a creek where they stop for a rest.

"By the way, I thought the movie would've been better if it didn't have that fucking bimbo model, Estella Warren in it." Paris said.

"I didn't see nothing wrong with her in the movie." Rory said as she threw a rock in the creek.

"Come on Rory, she hardly said anything in the movie. It's pretty obvious that she's eyecandy for the guys. I bet Tristan is going to see that movie about a dozen times just to see her."

"Tristan likes Estella Warren?"

"Yeah, he has this major crush on her. Has pictures of her on his locker and goes on for minutes about how beautiful she is."

As Rory sat down on a log, she noticed Paris pulling out a joint and lighting it, which stunned her.

"Paris!" Rory exclaimed.

"What?" Paris said as she took a puff of the joint.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like Gilmore."

"I didn't think you were the--"

"The type that smokes pot." Paris interrupted. "It helps me relax. Besides its not like I'm a stoner. Wanna smoke?"

"I don't know if I should do it." Rory said.

"Come on Gilmore, it's not going to kill you."

Rory reluctantly took the joint and started smoking it. She started coughing after she inhaled it.

"Fucking rookie," Paris said sarcastically as Rory handed the joint back to her. "Smoke a little more of it."

Rory obliged and smoked it some more, which gave her a relaxed feeling.

"This feels pretty good." Rory said as she handed the joint to Paris, who smoked the remaining part of it.

"Yeah. I still don't know why the government won't legalize it."

"They're just being a bunch of narrow-minded assholes."

Paris immediately laughed at Rory's comment, which caused Rory to start laughing.

After a few minutes of being silly with Rory, Paris' mood changed when she looked at her reflection on the water of the creek. Her insecurity about herself started to come back.

"I never told anyone this before, but I'm very envious of you Rory." Paris said.

"Why are you envious of me?" Rory said.

"You know why." Paris said bitterly as she begin walking back to her car.

"Paris will you tell me." Rory said as she grabbed Paris by her arm to stop her.

"Okay, I'm very jealous of how you can virtually put a trance on Tristan, but I can't get him to see me that way. I look at myself in the mirror and feel so ugly compared to you, Madeline and Louise."

"Oh Paris that's not true--"

"Don't try to patronize me Gilmore." Paris snapped.

"I'm just trying to help," Rory said. "Look Paris I think you're a very beautiful person."

"Oh come on Rory, you're just saying that just to make me feel better."

"No I'm not Paris," Rory said as she brought Paris over to look at her reflection in the car window. "I think there's a lot of guys out there who would want to be with someone as beautiful and intelligent as you Paris."

Paris was flattered by Rory's comment and smiled as she looked at her reflection.

"Thanks Rory," Paris said as she and Rory got in the car. "I've never had anyone besides my parents tell me I'm beautiful."

"You're very welcome." Rory replied.

As they made their way down the road, Paris suddenly started staring at Rory whenever she had the chance. Rory had always made her blood boil, and brought out a more competitive side of her, but now Paris suddenly felt an attraction to Rory.

"I guess I'll be going now." Rory said as Paris came to a stop in front of her house.

"Rory, I just wanted you to know that I had a good time today." Paris said.

"Thanks Paris. It was very fun hanging out with you."

Paris felt her attraction to Rory growing by the moment. As she looked into Rory's blue eyes, Paris felt the need to take action. Then as Rory was about to leave, Paris leaned forward, and began kissing her. Surprisingly, Rory didn't resist it and kissed Paris back. Then after a few seconds, Paris and Rory ended their liplock.

"I've got to go now." Rory said nervously as she opened the door.

"Rory don't tell anybody about this," Paris said. "It stays between me and you."

Rory didn't say anything, and ran off to the house.

Paris quickly drove away from Rory's house. A part of her felt disgusted that she kissed her nemesis, but mostly she felt pretty good about the kiss. Now Paris knew that things between her and Rory would never be the same.

Part 2: Questions Unanswered

The strains of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36 filled the Gellar home as Paris was having dinner with her mother and Julia Nelson, a longtime friend of her mother. Paris was her usual stoic self as she quietly ate her dinner, while her mom and Julia were dominating much of the dinner table conversation. She was trying to get the kiss with Rory over the summer off of her mind.

"So Paris do you have a boyfriend yet?", Julia asked. "I'm sure you have your pick of those fine Chilton gentlemen."

"No, I don't Mrs. Nelson," Paris replied as she drank her cranberry juice.

"Oh Paris, no girl at Chilton should be alone like this."

"That's what I keep telling her," Paris' mom said. "I'm very worried about her."

"Mom."

"I am, you're not as sociable as your friends Madeline and Louise."

"Mom i don't want to go through this again." Paris sighed as she finished off her lobster.

"Paris I'm thinking about sending you to Dr. Douglas about this." Paris' mom said, referring to the Gellar family psychologist.

"I don't want to go to Dr. Douglas. Besides there's nothing wrong with me."

"Paris I'm just trying to help you. Your social skills are very important, especially when you're being evaluated by Harvard."

"Don't pester her so much about her social skills." Julia said.

"I'm sorry, but she's starting to show the same signs as that girl Estelle Williams. Remember her?" Paris' mom asked.

"Oh yeah i remember her from college. She was such a loner. Remember when we set her up on that date with Lance Burgess?"

"Oh yeah." Paris' mom giggled. "She cut all of her hair off before the date and bored Lance to death. We should've known right then that she was a dyke."

Paris was shocked to hear her mom's comment. She felt like the comment was a slap in her face. Paris' emotions started to boil after hearing the comment and the laughing about it.

"May I be excused?" Paris said, trying to hold her anger.

"Of course Paris." Paris' mom replied.

Paris gave her mom and Julia an angry glare as she went up to her room. As she looked at the dark yard outside her window, Paris begin thinking about her kiss with Rory again. She didn't know how she really felt about Rory. A part of her hated Rory for trying to take away her place as the dominate scholar at Chilton and having a hold over Tristan that she hadn't been able to have with him. Another part of her liked Rory for being nice to her, even when she was being a total bitch to Rory. Paris knew that with school starting, sooner or later she had to confront Rory about the kiss.

However, fear crept into Paris' mind about anyone finding out about her and Rory. She knew that she might be made fun of and ostracized at Chilton for being 'the dyke' of the school. Even worse was the possibility of her image conscious mom finding out. As she sat on her bed, Paris knew that the battle would begin tomorrow.

* * * * *

The bell rang to signal the start of World History class. Paris sat in the back, along with Madeline and Louise. Rory came in late and sat near the front. Paris tried to ignore Rory as she came in the room, but she was drawn in to take a peek at her. Paris was enraptured by how beautiful Rory looked today, but she quickly ignored her and focused on a discussion about major military blunders.

"So who can tell me the major blunders made in the battle of Waterloo?" Mr. Barry asked as Paris quickly raised her hand. "Yes Ms. Gellar."

"The confusion where a message from Napoleon to Marshal Ney was instead delivered directly to General Jean Baptiste Drouet D'Erlon, who immediately left for Ligny, where he received a message from Ney ordering him to bring the corps back to Quatre-Bras. D'Erlon obeyed the orders, but in doing so let the main body of the Prussian army under Field Marshal Blucher escape, and handicapped Marshal Ney's assaults on the Anglo-Dutch positions." Paris said.

"Very good Ms. Gellar. What were the other blunders made in the battle."

Rory quickly raised her hand and was spotted by Mr. Barry.

"Yes Ms. Gilmore." Mr. Barry said.

"A couple of more blunders that took place in Waterloo was Ney's failure to obey Napoleon's orders to immediately engage Wellington at Mont-Saint-Jean and General Grouchy's failure to locate and intercept the Prussians after their retreat from Ligne," Rory said.

"Excellent Ms. Gilmore."

Paris frowned as Mr. Barry praised Rory's answer. She hated anyone, especially Rory, one-upping her in discussions.

"Also you can't forget that Napoleon himself made an error in the battle by only massing 124,000 men before Charleroi when he might have drawn on reserve troops left in secondary positions," Paris replied.

"Very good Ms. Gellar," Mr. Barry said. "You and Ms. Gilmore are both very knowledgeable. I'm going to pair you two together for the project on major blunders in battles to combine your great talents."

Paris was incensed about being paired with Rory for the project. It was the last thing she needed. The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Paris immediately rushed out of the class to avoid Rory, who ran over to her in the hallway.

"Hey." Rory said.

"What do you want?" Paris replied coldly.

"Look I know you feel very awkward about what happened and-"

"Look Rory, I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Okay do you want to talk about it at library during study?"

"No." Paris said bitterly.

"What the hell is your problem?" Rory said, befuddled by Paris' behavior.

"Look, I have to go to class."

"Paris wait!" Rory said as she went after Paris.

The tardy bell begin to ring and Rory immediately went off to her class. Rory was perplexed by Paris' cold behavior toward her after what had happened over the summer between them. As she entered chemistry class, Rory begin contemplating what she had to do to confront Paris about the events over the summer.

* * * * *

Paris sat on a rock by the creek in the woods, contemplating her situation with Rory. The solitude of the woods was a perfect place for her to get away from everything, and think about everything that was happening with her. Paris hated being cold to Rory in school earlier that day, but she couldn't deal with everything that was going on.

Everything since the kiss with Rory had become so complicated for Paris. She always had the answers for everything, but now she was confronted by something that she couldn't answer so simply. After she threw a rock in the creek, Paris heard footsteps behind her. Just as she was about to look behind her, a familiar voice spoke up.

"I knew I would find you here," Rory said as Paris turned around to see her.

"Go away Rory," Paris said as she walked away from Rory.

Rory quickly went after Paris and stood in front of her. "Look Paris we need to talk about this right now."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Why are you being such a bitch to me after what happened last summer? Is it some sort of mind game to regain your edge?"

"I don't have to answer any of your questions. Now get out of my way."

"You're going to have to move me out of the way." Rory said, standing in front of Paris.

Paris grew angry by Rory's standoffish attitude and pushed her, which didn't move her by much.

"Get the fuck out of my way!", Paris yelled as she tried to move past Rory, who pushed Paris down to the ground.

Paris grew even more angry and attempted to once again remove Rory out of her way, but Rory quickly jumped on top of Paris, holding down the smaller woman.

"Let me go." Paris said as she tried to break Rory's hold.

"Not until we talk about this." Rory said.

Paris was getting exhausted and gave in to Rory. "Alright, I'll talk."

Rory let go of her hold on Paris and helped her up from the ground.

"Rory I'm sorry about this, but I don't know how to handle this."

"Paris, just tell me how you feel about me."

"I--I like you Rory. I'm very attracted by how intelligent and beautiful you are. You're also about the nicest person I've ever met. A lot of people would've never speak to me again after the way I treated you at first, but you saw past the bitchy side of me and wanted to become friends anyway. But a part of me hates you for being so beautiful and intelligent. You make me so insanely jealous by the way you can compete with me and having Tristan worship the ground you walk on, but in a way, I get off on it."

Rory was left speechless after hearing Paris' confession. It was the first time she heard Paris pour out her feelings to anyone. Rory saw that Paris was hurting and immediately comforted her by rubbing her long brown hair.

"It's okay Paris." Rory said.

"So what does this mean between us?" Paris asked. "Does it mean we become girlfriends?"

"No. It means that we're friends Paris. I know that there's a strong attraction between us, but I think we should just be friends for now."

"I agree with you, I don't want things to progress too fast."

Paris felt a sense of relief after telling Rory how she felt about her.

"So you want to go to my place and work on the project?" Rory asked.

"Yeah." Paris replied.

Paris and Rory immediately started walking out of the woods. After they got into Paris' car, they looked at each other and shared a mutual smile. Then they leaned forward and shared a kiss. Paris felt a rush of ecstasy that she only felt while riding a roller coaster throughout her body as Rory deepened the kiss, and was left in shock briefly after she and Rory broke their liplock.

"You're a great kisser," Paris said with a smile.

"Thanks," Rory replied. "You're not bad yourself."

Paris and Rory laughed at their comments and started driving to Rory's house. They held hands throughout the drive. Paris now knew that she and Rory were friends, but she still felt a feeling of uncertainty about anyone finding out about her and Rory. Plus she still had feelings for Tristan. Paris knew that she would eventually have to deal with these things.

Part Three: Torn Apart

Paris and Rory walked together to Paris' locker. Their friendship was blossoming as each day passed.

"I thought it was a rather overrated book," Paris said as she gathered her books for her first two classes.

"It's not that bad," Rory said. "I'll admit the story wasn't the greatest, but it was pretty good."

"Call me crazy, but I just didn't like it."

Just as Paris and Rory were about to leave, Tristan passed by, catching their attention.

"Good morning Rory, Paris." Tristan said as he passed by them.

"Hey Tristan," Paris and Rory said simultaneously.

Tristan gave Rory a parting smile as he left for class. Rory rolled her eyes at him.

"I guess I'll see you later," Rory said as she left for class.

"Yeah, see ya." Paris said as Rory left.

As she went to class, Paris begin thinking about Tristan passing by and giving Rory a smile. Her cheerfulness that characterized her morning was now tempered by feelings of insecurity about not getting Tristan to see her as more than a friend. It loomed in Paris' mind like a dark cloud. As she entered class, Paris had a feeling that Tristan had something in store for Rory.

* * * * *

Rory looked on the shelves in the library to find a book for her report in English. She tried to reach for a book on the top row of the shelf, but wasn't successful, since she wasn't tall enough to reach for it. Just as she was about get a stool, Tristan quickly reached up and got the book for her.

"Thanks," Rory said.

"Anytime for you," Tristan said.

Rory quickly noticed Tristan was wearing a platinum necklace with his initials on it. She had never seen him wear any kind of jewelry before. "What's up with the necklace?"

"Oh, I got this Saturday. I'm starting out the new year with a new look. You like the ice around my neck?"

Rory immediately laughed at Tristan's comment. "Well you're no Cash Money Millionaire, but it looks alright on you. Is this an excuse to impress me?"

"To be honest, yes," Tristan replied. "I immediately thought of how your beautiful face would reflect off of it when I saw it."

"Okay lets not start with the poetic crap."

"Listen Rory, are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Well, not really."

"Great, because I would love to have a little get together with you. I have reservations at the Glorious Haven. Then, we can see a movie."

Rory felt flattered by Tristan's offer. "Well, I'll have to think about it. I'll let you know before school ends."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for your response," Tristan said as he left for class.

Rory knew that Tristan would ask her out, but she didn't think it would be so soon in the school year. She knew that she had a lot to think about before she would give him an answer. As Rory left to check out the book, Paris emerged from behind a shelf in the nonfiction section. She felt very angry that Rory would consider going out on a date with Tristan. Paris still had strong feelings for Tristan, and felt very territorial about Rory moving in where she wanted to be. She wanted to confront Rory about it, but decided that it would have to wait for now.

* * * * *

Rory gathered her books for the last two classes of the day from her locker. She felt very uncertain about whether she wanted to go on a date with Tristan. She was very curious to see what would happen if she did do it, but there was still the issue of Paris. Rory knew how Paris felt about Tristan. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt Paris. Then as she closed the door to her locker, Paris emerged from behind the door, which scared Rory.

"Oh, hi Paris," Rory said.

Paris said nothing and quickly pulled Rory to the bathroom.

"Listen Rory I know about you and Tristan," Paris said with her trademark 'iron bitch' face.

"What about me and Tristan?" Rory said.

"Don't give me that innocent bullshit. I heard you talking to him in the library, flirting with him. If you want to go on a date with him, be my guest."

Rory grew angry with Paris' jealousy over her getting Tristan's undivided attention all the time. "Look Paris, I think you're overreacting about this. I haven't given him an answer yet."

"I know what your answer is going to be."

"Look Paris I think you're being too anal about this," Rory said as she left the bathroom. "Besides, I can't help it if he just thinks of you as a friend."

Paris felt very angry at Rory for her comment. She was very tempted to punch Rory, but decided to return fire with words instead. "You know what Rory, I hope you and Tristan have fun. Just try not to suck his dick."

"Oooooooh," the crowd in the hallway murmured after Paris said her comment, which greatly offended Rory, who went face to face with Paris.

"I think you're being a real bitch about this," Rory said, pointing her index finger at Paris.

"Don't point your finger in my face you fucking cunt!", Paris said, as she slapped Rory's finger away.

Rory quickly responded by giving Paris a hard slap in the face, which was heard throughout the hallway, and caused a reaction from the crowd gathered around them. Paris held the left side of her face and stared at Rory. The slap hurt her face, but it hurt her even more emotionally. She never thought that Rory was capable of doing something like that to her. As the crowd waited in anticipation for something to happen, Paris quickly ran away from the scene. The crowd was left abuzzed by what had just transpired.

"I knew that it was bound to happen," a student said as Rory passed her.

Rory was shocked by what she did to Paris. She didn't mean to hurt Paris, but a part of her felt the slap was justified after she was called a cunt by her. As she slowly made her way to class, Rory saw Tristan standing with his friends.

"I accept your offer," Rory said. "Just don't be late."

Rory made up her mind that she was going on the date with Tristan. She felt mixed emotions about doing it. Part of her didn't want to do it, because it would hurt Paris. Another part wanted to do it to get back at her. Whatever she felt, Rory knew that the situation with Paris wasn't going to be easily solved.

* * * * *

Paris lay in her bed, as Sullen Girl by Fiona Apple played on her stereo. The song perfectly illustrated her feelings at the moment. She felt betrayed by Rory for considering a date with Tristan, and then slapping her in the hallway. As Paris looked at an old picture of her and Tristan together from when they were seven, tears started to roll down her cheek. She thought that she and Rory were starting a great friendship, but it turned out to be an illusion, much like her chances of being with Tristan. Then suddenly, there was knocking on her door.

"Paris, can I come in?", Mrs. Gellar asked as she knocked on the door.

"Sure mom," Paris replied as she wipe the tears from her face.

"Honey, are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"I heard about the unfortunate incident you had with Rory Gilmore. I'm very surprised that no disciplinary action was taken against her, in fact I'm going to call the headmaster about this."

"Mom, please don't."

"Well, she did slap you in front of witnesses."

"Mom, I caused the slap to happen by calling Rory a disparaging name."

"Well, I'm still going to talk to the headmaster about this."

Paris felt uneasy about her mom trying to take action against Rory.

"Paris, I'm so sorry about what happened with Tristan," Mrs. Gellar said as she comforted Paris by rubbing her long brown hair. "I know that you have strong feelings for him, but there's always other guys out there."

Paris didn't say a word, and looked down on the floor with a sullen look on her face.

"Listen, dinner's ready."

"No thanks, I just don't feel like eating right now."

"Okay, I'll keep your food in the microwave just in case," Mrs. Gellar said, as she left the room.

Paris quickly threw her head under the covers. She felt terrible about everything that had transpired that day, and wanted to lock herself in her room for the time being. Then her phone begin to rang. Paris quickly answered it and found out that it was Rory.

"What do you want?", Paris said bitterly.

"Paris, I just want to call to say I'm sorry about what happened--" Rory said before Paris interrupted her.

"Look Rory, I don't want to talk to you right now. In fact I don't know if I ever want to speak to you again."

"Paris, don't say that."

"I hope you have a good time with Tristan."

"Paris, please don't do this."

"I'm sorry Rory," Paris said, as she hung up the phone and threw it on the floor.

Paris felt terrible about being so cold to Rory, but she didn't want to talk to Rory then . Paris quickly got back in bed and fell asleep, still hurting by what happened that day.

* * * * *

Rory finished putting on the red dress that she had bought to wear on her date with Tristan. She briefly looked at her phone, and was tempted to call Paris, but decided not to, since she was very angry the last time she called. Lorelai quickly ran in the room to see how Rory looked in the dress.

"Oh honey you look so beautiful in it." Lorelai said. "Rory what's the matter? you don't look too excited about your date."

"I'm sorry mom," Rory said. "I feel so bad about what I did to Paris."

"Oh yeah, I got a call from the headmaster. He wants me to meet with him on Monday about what happened between you and Paris."

"I'm sorry about what happened yesterday."

"You didn't have to slap her."

"Well she shouldn't have called me the big 'c' word," Rory said, as the doorbell started ringing.

"We'll talk about this later," Lorelai said as she went downstairs to answer the door.

"Hello Ms. Gilmore," Tristan said as he entered the house carrying a bouquet of red roses.

"Hi there Tristan. Those are some great roses you brought Rory."

"Why thank you. Only the best for her."

"Rory, get your ass down here."

Rory slowly made her way downstairs to meet Tristan, who looked on in awe as Rory came down to meet him.

"You look very beautiful Rory," Tristan said. "Here's some roses for you."

"Thank you Tristan," Rory said as she took the roses. "They're beautiful. Mom, could you put these in some water."

"Sure," Lorelai said, as she took the roses from Rory. "Have a good time, and be sure to bring her back by 12:00 Tristan."

"I thought you said 1:00."

"I lied. Besides when you said you're coming home at 1:00, it usually means you're coming home at around 2:00."

"Okay, 12:30?" Rory sighed.

"That's good enough for me," Lorelai said as she escorted Tristan and Rory to Tristan's SUV. "Have fun."

"We will mom." Rory said as she and Tristan drove off for their date.

* * * * *

Tristan drove his SUV down the road. The date with Rory had been going well so far. She laughed at most of his jokes, enjoyed the dinner at the Glorious Haven, and loved the movie.

"Rory, was that fight you and Paris had yesterday about me?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah," Rory answered. "She had overheard us in the library and confronted me about it."

"Oh God, I can't believe she did that," Tristan sighed. "She can overreact about stuff sometimes."

Rory said nothing and just stared outside. She was having a good time on the date, much to her surprise, but the situation with Paris still weighted heavily on her mind. Then as Tristan drove past Luke's diner, Rory spotted Paris in there sitting alone. She wanted to tell Tristan to stop there, but decided not to, so that she wouldn't spoil the date.

Tristan parked his SUV a couple of blocks from the Gilmore house so that Lorelai couldn't spy on them. He was very tempted to make his move on Rory, but decided not to rush into it and instead engaged in some more conversation with her.

"Look I'm sorry about what happened yesterday with you and Paris," Tristan said. "I feel that its my fault what happened."

"It's not your fault," Rory said. "Paris just overreacted to what she heard. She really has a thing for you."

"I know. I'm very flattered by it, but like I said before, I only think of Paris as a friend."

Rory said nothing for a minute as Tristan put in a CD in his stereo, which started playing Fields of Joy by Lenny Kravitz. He started stroking Rory's hair as the acoustic guitar intro begin.

"Enough about Paris and everything else," Tristan said as he moved closer to Rory. "Did you have a good time tonight?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Rory replied. "It's nice to finally see you on your best behavior."

"Well, I wanted to make the date as pleasant as possible for you."

Rory stared at Tristan and smiled at him. She was always annoyed by him for constantly coming on to her, but she liked the way he could charmed her. Tristan rubbed Rory's cheek with his right hand and looked deeply in her sky blue eyes.

He finally had Rory where he wanted her, and leaned forward to kiss her. The kiss was slow and sensual, which aroused Rory's senses. She always heard that Tristan was a great kisser and was please to find out that he lived up to expectations. Tristan and Rory broke away from their liplock to catch their breath.

"My God Rory, you're an amazing kisser." Tristan said.

"Thanks," Rory said. "You're pretty good yourself."

Tristan and Rory quickly resumed their kissing, which grew more passionate as Tristan slowly slid his tongue into Rory's mouth. Rory became even more aroused by this move. Then Tristan started kissing all over Rory's neck. Rory had no resistance to it and felt like giving in to Tristan. Then just as things grew more passionate, she thought about Paris. Rory knew that her friendship would be permanently be over if she gave in to Tristan. Plus, she didn't want to hurt Paris anymore than she already did. Rory quickly pushed Tristan away as he was about to move his hand underneath Rory's skirt.

"Why are you stopping?" Tristan said.

"I'm sorry Tristan I can't do this," Rory said. "It's been a great date and I don't want to spoil it."

"I understand," Tristan said, trying to hide his disappointment. "So when is our next date?"

"I don't know," Rory said as she got out of the SUV. "Thanks for giving me a good time tonight."

"You're very welcome Rory. Sweet dreams babe."

Rory looked on as Tristan drove away. She liked the date she had with him, but she couldn't get Paris off of her mind and decided to head over to Luke's to try to make amends for what happened between them.

* * * * *

"Hey, are you going to eat that?", Luke asked as Paris stared at her coffee cake.

"No, I don't feel like eating it," Paris said as she handed the cake to Luke.

"Look I'm closing up in a few minutes, so if you plan on staying--"

"Look I've got somewhere to go," Paris snapped. "So don't pester me about leaving!"

"Hey don't shoot the messenger here," Luke said as Rory entered the diner.

"Hey Rory aren't you a little late for coffee?"

"Is she still here?", Rory asked.

"Who?"

"Paris."

"Oh yeah, that real uptight chick," Luke said. "She's over there. She wouldn't eat a bite of my coffee cake."

"Thanks," Rory said as she approached Paris.

"Hi Paris."

Paris said nothing, and didn't even look at Rory.

"Look Paris, I'm sorry about what happened."

"You think saying sorry is just going to fix things?", Paris said coldly.

"Paris, I never meant to hurt you. You know I wouldn't do such a thing to you."

"You know what Gilmore just save your pathetic excuses," Paris said as she got up. "Because I don't want to hear them."

"Paris, wait," Rory said as she ran after Paris outside the cafe. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just go away, and leave me the fuck alone. I never want to speak to you again."

"I'm not doing that." Rory said as she stood in front of Paris. "I want to listen to what I have to say."

"I know what you're going to say." Paris said. "You're going to tell me how much of a good time you had with Tristan. Tell me Rory did you let him fuck you?"

"I would never gloat about something like that Paris. I'll admit I had a good date with him, but it wasn't that great, because I couldn't stop thinking about how much I hurt you."

Paris started soften her hard stance after hearing Rory's declaration, but wasn't certain if Rory meant it. Then Rory moved close to Paris, and put her hands on Paris' shoulders.

"Paris I know this sounds so hollow, but I'm so sorry about everything. I want you to know that I would never hurt you like that, because you're my friend and I really care about you. If you don't want to forgive me, I understand."

Paris begin to feel her anger toward Rory going away after hearing Rory's confession. She turned her face away from Rory to conceal the tears that were falling down her cheeks. Rory turned Paris around to face her, and was saddened to see tears in Paris' eyes. She had never seen Paris cry before.

"I'm sorry that I've been such a bitch," Paris said as she wiped the tears off of her face. "I couldn't help how I felt about you going on a date with Tristan."

"I understand you still having strong feelings for Tristan." Rory said.

"Its not just that. I acted the way I did, because I couldn't stand the fact that he was going out with you and I'm starting to--"

Paris quickly became quiet, just as she was about tell Rory how she felt. She knew that she acted irrationally because her feelings for Rory were overwhelming her. Rory begin to sense what Paris wanted to say, and comforted her by holding her hand.

"I understand," Rory said as she looked into Paris' eyes and gave her a hug.

Paris broke away from the hug after a minute and leaned forward to kiss Rory. The kiss was more passionate than their first two kisses, as Paris moved her tongue inside Rory's mouth. Rory quickly moved her tongue to meet Paris'. She couldn't control her desire for Paris, and was tempted to get it on with her right in the dark corner away from Luke's. Just as things were heating up though, Paris began to feel that it wasn't the right place and time to be intimate with Rory. She wanted it to be special, and not in some dark corner. Paris pulled away from Rory.

"I'm sorry I went a little too far," Paris said.

"It's alright," Rory said. "It's getting late, I have to get home."

"Sure, I'll give you a ride."

Paris and Rory walked across the street to Paris' car. As they drove off into the night, Paris and Rory felt a sense of relief that they had mended the rift between them. Paris quickly stopped at the Gilmore house to drop Rory off. Just as Rory was about to get out, Paris pulled her back inside and gave her a soft, but brief good-bye kiss.

"Good night," Paris said as Rory left. "Thanks for making me feel better."

"Anytime," Rory said. "See you in school."

Paris and Rory gave each other parting smiles before they parted ways. After watching Rory get inside the house, Paris drove away into the night. As she made her way home, Paris felt more closer to Rory after their rift. They had the first test of their relationship, and came away with stronger ties. However, doubt still clouded Paris' mind. Her desire for Rory was growing even more, and she wanted to take their relationship to another level, but there still loomed the possibility of anyone finding out about them, which Paris greatly feared. As she went inside her house, Paris decided to put nothing but pleasant thoughts about her and Rory in her mind for the rest of the night.

THE END