The bright sunlight woke Paris up from her sleep, and she slowly got out of bed. All she could think about as she brushed her teeth and showered was her kiss with Joey. Paris very rarely acted on instinct, but she gave in to temptation during her time alone with Joey.

She didn't know what made her take such a drastic action. Maybe it was her inability of dealing with seeing Rory with Dean, or her attraction to Joey. Whatever it was, Paris knew that the kiss would cause some significant changes, especially between her and Rory.

As she got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast, Paris thought about calling Rory. For much of the time when she was eating, Paris stared at the phone. got it in her hands and contemplated making the call to Rory, but couldn't bring herself to do it and instead head outside.

"I'm going for a jog Rosa," Paris said in Portuguese to her maid as she ran out the door.

* * * * *

Joey sat at the table in the kitchen, thinking about what had transpired last night between her and Paris. She was still surprised by what Paris did. Joey knew that she wasn't gay, but she started to feel that a part of her liked the kiss. However, she felt an obligation to tell Rory about it. Rory entered the kitchen in a rather good mood.

"Morning Joey," Rory said as she fixed herself a bowl of cereal.

"Hey," Joey replied.

"So, you and Paris seem like you had a good time together."

"Yeah."

"You want to tell me about it?"

Joey felt a slight pang in her stomach when Rory asked the question.

"We talked for much of the time, and got to know each other."

"That's it?" Rory asked.

"Actually, no." Joey replied. "Rory, there's something that I have to tell about what happened last night."

"Wait a minute, did you anything to Paris?"

"No, I didn't."

"Okay, then tell me."

"Could we go to your room to talk about it?" Joey whispered as Lorelai came downstairs.

"Alright." Rory sighed as she and Joey went up to her room.

Joey quickly closed the door as soon as she and Rory entered the room.

"Okay, tell me this big thing that happened last night," Rory said.

"Well it started when I was talking to Paris," Joey said. "I asked her about what made her do those things to you when you first came to Chilton and she said that she was mean because of some inferiority complex she felt compared to you."

"That's funny, Paris never mentioned anything about feeling inferior to me."

"So, I gave her some encouraging words to make her feel better, and it seemed like the end of it, but--"

"Then what?"

Joey hesitated to answer Rory for a minute, before she decided to tell her what happened.

"Then all of a sudden, Paris kissed me."

Rory was stunned by what she had heard from Joey. She couldn't believe that Paris would do such a thing, especially with Joey.

"Rory, I didn't know that Paris was like that," Joey said. "Not that I would have a problem with it. Did you know about this?"

Rory didn't answer and stared at the wall.

"Rory, is there something you're not telling me?" Joey asked as she sat next to Rory.

"I knew that Paris was like that," Rory said. "And I'm a big part of it."

"What do you mean by...Wait a minute! Are you and Paris--"

"Involved? Sort of."

Joey was stunned for a moment by Rory's replied.

"Do you mind telling me about you and Paris?" Joey asked.

"I don't know if I want to talk about it," Rory said.

"Rory, you can tell me anything. I won't tell anybody else about it."

"Well, it started over the summer when I saw Paris at Luke's. I went over for a conversation with her, and she reluctantly talked to me. However, things got easier for us after that and we went to a movie. Then right before Paris dropped me off, she kissed me all of the sudden."

"How did you feel about it?"

"At first it felt weird, but then when I kissed her the second time, it felt like kissing Dean."

Joey stoically looked at Rory, who had a sad look on her face, and comforted her cousin by stroking her hair.

"Can I ask you something important?" Joey asked.

"Sure," Rory replied.

"Do you have feelings for Paris?"

Rory immediately got up and stared outside of her room. She felt her stomach turning, because she was about to confess her biggest secret.

"Yes, I do," Rory murmured. "I didn't realize how I felt about Paris until I went on that date with Tristan after I slapped her at school. I knew that we were alike in some ways like having the same drive to achieve excellence at school, but we were also very different from each other, which made our relationship more intriguing. I never expected to feel that way for anyone else besides Dean."

"Speaking of Dean," Joey said. "I think you may have to think about telling him about this."

"I know that, but it'll crush him if I tell him. I just don't want to hurt either one of them."

"I know that Rory, but it's something that will likely happen."

Joey immediately put her arm around Rory and whispered in her ear. "I just want you to know that whatever you do, I support you, as long as you follow your heart."

"Thanks," Rory said as she and Joey shared a hug.

"So, do you want to go on a jog with me?" Joey asked.

"No thanks," Rory replied. "You know I'm not the athletic type."

"Oh, yeah."

"Hey, thanks for the advice," Rory said.

"Anytime," Joey said as she left the room.

Rory sat by herself and thought about her dilemma. She cared about both Dean and Paris and didn't want to hurt them, but she knew that the truth could possibly end one friendship.

* * * * *

Joey slowed down her pace as she made her way back to the house. As she was about to go down the street, Joey suddenly saw Paris sitting in her car. She immediately ran over to the car and knocked on the window.

"Hey Paris," Joey said, as Paris rolled down the window.

"Hi," Paris said.

"What are you doing sitting here?"

"Oh, I was doing some thinking before going to see Rory."

"I've already told her about what happened."

Paris was startled by what Joey said. "What was her reaction?"

"She was surprised," Joey said as she got in Paris' car.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened."

"It's alright."

Paris started the car and drove in front of Lorelai's house where she parked.

"Paris, can I ask you something?" Joey asked.

"Yeah," Paris replied.

"Was that kiss because of some sort of frustration with the fact that you're not as close with Rory as she is with Dean, or is it because you like me?"

"I have to say both," she confessed. "I felt unhappy that I wasn't as close with Rory as Dean is. However, I didn't kiss you just to use you though. Joey, I really like you a lot. I didn't know how much I would until I first met you. You remind of Rory quite a little bit, especially with your beautiful eyes and cute, flirtatious smiles. However, I also admire you for your world weary wisdom and maturity."

Joey immediately smiled at Paris' comments about her.

"I'm very flattered Paris," Joey said. "I think that you're a great person, but I only like you as a friend, and you should know that I'm not into girls that way. Even if I was, I couldn't be with you because of the age difference, and the fact that your heart isn't truly in it. I know that you really like Rory."

Paris just sat in the drivers seat, and said nothing.

"I think you should go talk to Rory about this," Joey said.

"Okay, I will," Paris said as she and Joey got out of the car.

"By the way, that was my first time kissing another girl."

"How did it feel?"

"It wasn't bad. Paris, I'm glad that you and Rory are friends. If there's anyone besides Dean that I want to see with Rory, it's you, mainly because you make her happy."

Paris had a beaming smile on her face after hearing Joey's comments, as she and Joey made their way to the front porch, where Rory immediately met them there.

"Listen, I'll be inside if you need me," Joey said as she went inside to leave Paris and Rory alone to talk.

"Hi Paris," Rory said as she stepped outside.

"Hey," Paris replied. "Rory, I want to apologize about what happened last night. I wasn't exactly thinking when I kissed Joey, and I never meant to hurt you in any way."

"It's alright, Joey told me what happened. Why didn't you tell me how you felt?"

"Look, I'm not much for telling people how I feel. I feel uncomfortable letting people in like that."

"You don't have to be that way with me," Rory said as she put her hand on Paris' shoulder. "I'm always around to listen."

"Thanks Rory," Paris said. "You're a great friend."

"You're not too bad yourself."

Paris and Rory smiled at each other briefly and said nothing as Paris got in her car.

"You want to stay around and have breakfast with us?" Rory asked.

"No thanks," Paris answered. "I have to go to have brunch with my mom."

"I guess I'll see you later then Paris."

"Yeah. By the way, tell Joey that I'll be sure to write to her soon."

"I will," Rory said as Paris started her car.

The duo took one last look at each other, and smiled at each other. They were tempted to give each other a good-bye kiss, but instead, waved at each other to conceal their secret from anyone that would've been watching like Lorelai. After a minute, Paris drove off and Rory watched leave her until her car was out of sight. Then she headed back inside where Joey came to meet her.

"Are you alright?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, I feel better," Rory replied.

As she and Joey got ready to eat breakfast, Rory thought about Paris and what had just transpired between them. She felt better that things were straightened out between them, but still felt uncertain about the lingering question on whether or not to fully pursue a relationship with Paris and the possible chaos that it would create.

THE END.