#Rory while they date and that makes for the whole ‘Jess he’s great one minute and gone the next’ thing that Rory herself brings up in 4.22

[freddieslater]

Rowing the Rarepair Rowboat: Rory Gilmore x Tristan Dugray (Gilmore Girls)

Requested by @leighpeterson

"We don't have to go." It might be the fifth time Rory's said those words in the last ten minutes. Maybe five.

She's sure it's clear to both of them that they're less of a comfort for Tristan and more pleading with him for her own sake. His smirking smile in response is telling her she isn't doing too well.

"Seriously, it's not a big deal," she lies through her teeth. "My grandparents won't mind us missing the dinner. They know your parents, and your grandparents. Why do they need to know you?"

"Rory Gilmore," Tristan stops walking, hands still stuck in his pockets, his voice teasingly slow, "are you ashamed of me?"

Rolling her eyes and sighing, Rory stops with him, and admits, "I'm just worried."

"About what?" Tristan asks, dropping the act at least partially.

"All of this!" she says, gesturing her hands around them wildly. Between them. "About this. I'm not a good liar. It's hard enough pretending around my mom, but my grandparents? They're gonna think we're in a serious commited relationship, and then they're gonna hate me when we go through with the breakup because they probably already love you, but after tonight, they're going to be planning out our wedding and my baby shower!"

"Oh, have we picked names yet?" Tristan asks, straight-faced. "Because I, personally, love Dean. A fun inside joke to tell them and, someday, the grandkids."

Rory stares at him, incredulous as she just barely regains her breath from the train she chased down the spiralling track in her mind.

"You're so not helping right now."

Tristan laughs, honest to god laughs, like he's having a great time. She's suddenly having flashbacks to the halls of Chilton, seeing him in that uniform, probably leaning against a locker. And teasing her like the idiot he was and still appears to be, only now they're all grown up.

"This was your idea," he reminds her.

"And it was a terrible one!" She throws her hands up. "I admit that! I didn't think this through at all, I just--I just panicked when I saw Dean in New York, and you were right there, and I don't know why but I thought that saying we were engaged made sense, okay?"

"Made sense even though this was the first time we had run into each other since I left Chilton?" Tristan teases again, that grin still perfectly settled on his face.

Rory groans. "Okay, now you're making it sound worse. But, I didn't exactly think that Dean would be going back to Stars Hollow the same day, or that he and Jess were all that close for them to discuss it, or that Jess would tell Luke, and then Luke would tell my mom, okay? It's just a whole big unpredictable mess, and I'm sorry I dragged you into it."

She drops her face into her hands, scrubbing the heels into her eyes to relieve at least a sliver of the tension building behind them and in her temples. It's been a week-long headache and she has a feeling it's about to become a month-longth migraine.

"Hey, you didn't drag me," Tristan says, voice gentle now. He pauses when Rory drops her hands and looks up at him. "Okay, so you kind of did. But, I agreed to pretend we were in a relationship to keep the cover until we could properly "end things", so I promise you that I would not still be here if I didn't want to be."

Rory sighs. She wants to believe him, and she does. But maybe it's just too much. It was a stupid, pointless, immature lie in the first place, and now it's getting out of hand.

"And this is helping me, remember?" Tristan adds, tilting his head to recapture her eyes.

He shoves his hand back in his pocket with a shrug.

"This way, I don't have to admit to my parents that my real girlfriend who they had their hearts set on for a daughter-in-law dumped me because I got fired. Or that I got fired. They'll be far too interested in you as a fan of the Gilmores to question anything else."

"Gee, no pressure," Rory says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. But she smiles, and admittedly, it doesn't feel like such a bad idea when she knows it's benefiting someone.

"Well, maybe not for you, but I've met your grandparents and I am terrified," Tristan jokes.

"Oh, you should be," Rory says. "They have not liked a single one of my boyfriends, never mind me just springing a fiancè on them. You saw my mom's face. Imagine that but twice as hostile."

Tristan looks a tiny bit more worried at that thought, but he brushes it off.

"I'm not worried," he says. "But, uh... does this mean we're actually going to the dinner then?"

Rory thinks about it for a moment. Her options aren't good either way, but from past experience, ripping the band-aid off quickly is better than just ignoring it entirely and hoping it'll peel itself off.

"You say we've been engaged three months and were dating for seven before that," she tells him firmly with a pointed finger, starting to walk again. "No more, no less, or my grandmother will be furious. And we have to stick to the exact same details that we told my mom."

Tristan grins, falling back into step beside her. "Noted. But can we agree this time that I proposed in France? Because, it was a bit awkward last night when your mom asked and I said France while you said Denmark."

"I panicked!" Rory defends. "This is why we discuss things, but oh no, you said there was no point!"

"Well, we're discussing now."

"Fine. France it is, but I swear, if you tried to pull an Eiffel Tower proposal on me, I would've said no."

"Got it. No Eiffel Tower."

#gilmore girls #rory x tristan #trory #rory gilmore #tristan dugray #ggedit #moodboard #aesthetic #ficlet #drabble #rowing the rarepair rowboat #myedit* #fake dating au because yes #leighpeterson

[dodgergilmore]

fayesgifs said: Lorelai’s reaction was definitely far from good but I think it was also because her /own/ dreams were kind of at stake with Rory possibly quitting Yale (that she not-so-subtly placed upon Rory from a younger age). This isn’t to say that everything hangs in the balance re: Rory graduating from college, but Lorelai was way too used to having a somewhat obedient dutiful daughter that the minute Rory started failing, Lorelai thought she had to ‘play the mom card’ or w/e in order to get Rory to do what she wants her to do. All this isn’t to say that Lorelai is a malicious mother; she loves Rory and she wants what’s best for her, but too often her own personal wants clash with what Rory /actually/ want, and Lorelai obviously isn’t equipped with handling that well. It’s also why her thinking she’s a bad mom is a pretty poignant scene, because she’s realized that her way of approach wasn’t good at all, and you also mentioning how Rory moving in with her grandparents is something that Lorelai kind of ‘feared’ from the beginning, which is Rory “choosing” them over her when in reality that wasn’t the case at all.

It’s always funny seeing r*gans’ arguments about Rory being a ‘spoilt brat who fits in well with the rich society’ being the beginning of season 6 when it’s just SO obvious that Rory’s not doing any of these things (hosting parties and being a member of the DAR) because she’s found new love in them? she’s doing it to keep busy and to not think about her lack of general direction in life now. It’s why her seeing Mitchum at that event is important because it highlight how hurt and insecure she still is over what he said, and it’s even more obvious with how Richard responds once he finds out what Mitchum says, and even reacts with a frustrated “she’s running around planning tea parties like she’s the Mad Hatter” when it comes to Rory and her current preoccupation. Another argument that I feel like I should bring up is that the counter-argument for Jess’s “I know you better than anyone” is always “but what about Lorelai??” Here’s the thing, Lorelai most CERTAINLY know many more things about Rory than Jess does, but Lorelai also has a pretty skewed perception of her daughter because of her own approach to motherhood. The way she often misuses the ‘mommy card’ is kind of proof for this, in that even when she’s ‘accepting’ of Rory possibly wanting something else, she still makes an argument out of it while not really seeing that Rory is very deeply influenced by her opinion. It’s why once Rory puts her own foot down, Lorelai is unable to handle the situation well at all, and lets her own grievances with her parents get in the way of her relationship with Rory. Jess on the other hand, while only knowing Rory a smaller amount of time, has also seen her emotionally cheat on her boyfriend to a certain degree, kiss him while dating Dean, and randomly come to New York to see him. He also knew these things before Lorelai did, and didn’t take to telling Rory what she ‘should’ do in order to be a good daughter or girlfriend. Lorelai might TRY to accept some of Rory’s decisions when they clash with her own, but she still doesn’t show a lot of support towards Rory when she makes them, and just gives her radio silence when Rory decides to not come back to Yale. So Jess’s line might not be literally true, but it does make sense to a certain extent, because he knows her various flaws and quirks and the way Rory even acted towards Emily in the episode (with evasiveness and frustration, a result of other episodes’ worth of material) is further proof that she isn’t meant to live like this.

That’s a great point! It was as much Lorelai’s dream as it was Rory’s, similar to all of the plans they (particularly Lorelai) had for Rory’s 21st birthday. This fic has been a really interesting read for me in terms of exploring what Lorelai looks like as a mother when she can’t be the best friend to her child. The very premise of the show is contingent upon the significance of Rory and Lorelai’s relationship, so it pretty well goes without saying that Lorelai knows Rory but she doesn’t know how to react when their wants clash, like you say. Lorelai is strong-willed and can be real petty/stubborn – she herself even says, “As long as everything is exactly the way I want it, I’m totally flexible.” and as the series progresses, Rory keeps more things to herself because she knows how her mother will react. The ‘bad mother’ scene is very poignant! Lorelai takes a very hands-off approach after the plan with her parents falls through, telling herself that Rory needs to figure this out on her own.

That’s such an amusing argument to me?? Rory comes across as very fish out of water, especially in the beginning of season 6; she cleans dishes and bonds with one of the maids + the general weirdness she feels over having maids. And then there is her oblivious reaction to the whole Birkin bag gift, saying it can fit her computer cords lol. Whenever Rory is alone in a scene she seems so... lifeless and lost? That moment where she’s watching tv in the mostly empty pool house comes to mind.

Yes!! Like I said, obviously Lorelai knows Rory extremely well but her character flaws means that understanding has its limits in that Rory feels she has these expected roles to fulfill, not wanting to disappoint her mother for reasons we’ve both already mentioned. In moments like the whole car scene in 2x19, there’s an openness and sense of vulnerability in Rory that we don’t get to see often. There’s something to be said about how Rory doesn’t need to be ‘on’ with Jess because he doesn’t place these expectations on her, and this makes it so Jess does get to know significant parts of Rory – certainly enough to recognise when something isn’t right and she needs a push. Rory surrounds herself in season 6 with people who resign themselves to believing she is fine, or have this non-confrontational, unwavering belief that Rory will figure things out all on her own because she’s so smart. I definitely agree that the line doesn’t need to be taken so literally but that it’s still worth analysing as it raises some interesting points for discussion! He’s not completely off-base when he says it.

#reply #fayesgifs #text #s6

[darklingichor]

Gilmore Girls Season Two, Episodes 8 & 9

It would be nice to watch one episode of this show where someone I regularly see doesn't set my teeth on edge. I grew up watching weekly TV and it is possible to have conflict between recurring characters where you don't want to put one into a medically induced coma, so they can grow a new personality.

So I can see why I didn't remember much about this episode. Three things that were awesome: Mia, Luke giving Lorelei a pep talk, the development of the painting.

The rest is annoying.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with flights between friends. If everyone was always skipping through meadows it would be stupid. However, as I've said before, I have a problem with conflicts that come about because people don't open their damned mouths. As fast and as often as Lorelei talks, she couldn't say to Sookie “Mia selling this place scares me because this is where Rory and I started out” ? I know that sometimes friends pick fights with each other when they are stressed but in my experience, once you get into your 30s and have friends that have known each other, long enough you can tell that's what happening. There have been numerous times when my best friend or I have started a conversation where one of us is just geared up for a fight. My friend let's me get about ten words in before she says “You're acting weird, tell me what's wrong.” I can be a little more blunt saying something along the lines of “What are you pissed off about?” She has two kids so once I turned the mom tables on her and said: “Use your words”.

Basically a blind cat could see that Lorelei was being an ass and it had nothing to do with Sookie. I have a hard time buying that Sookie wouldn't see it. Why did there need a fight in the first place? Was the script too short? Lorelei could have been freaked out and been a little quiet with Sookie and it would have had the same effect. Luke could have just as easily asked how Lorelei was doing with the business stuff, and they could have had the same heart-to-heart. Lorelei could have come to Sookie and explained why she was being so weird, and they could have had a similar moment. The script must have been two minutes too short.

The town turning on Luke... Yep, officially dislike Jess. Also, not too happy with the rest of the town. I'm a little biased here. I grew up in a small town, while there were no town meetings where everyone got together to decide who to treat badly, there were certain people who were just routinely shit upon. It usually had to do with what last name you had. Two families in particular were sort of singled out as “bad news”. The weird part? Everyone in town (except for a very very small number of people) were in some way related to those two families, hell, those two families were related to each other. It always seemed crazy to me... But then I was one of those few people not related to anyone in town maybe it made sense if you had an inside track?

Anyway, I get where the town is coming from, sort of. Jess is a pain in the ass, but he is doing minor mischief. Star's Hollow should count themselves lucky that they aren't a bigger town because Jess is the type to match his mayhem to the town. In a bigger place, there just might have been a dead animal outside the store instead of a chalk outline.

I did love Rory telling him off. I don't really get why Rory would find the prank funny. I mean, she likes the town, right? And while her and her mom do like seeing Star's Hollow residents be quirky she's never really shown any love of chaos. I mean, yeah, Jess is being the G rated version of Loki, but he's still making a lot of people unhappy. I would think that that alone would annoy Rory.

Also, the vibe I got was that he did the whole prank as a way to get Rory's attention... What's the thought process?

“How do I impress the pretty girl who reads a lot? Talk to her about books? Movies? Just talk to her in general? Nah, too common. I know! Dead body chalk outline and police tape! That's not freakishly odd and totally not an idea I should seek therapy for!”

Then again, I also don't get the thought process of “How do I fix the fact that I made the whole town turn on my uncle? I'll fix the toaster, now we're square!”

Jess is both weird and annoying.

I did like the interaction between Emily and Mia. It is weird because I see both sides. I totally get why Emily would be upset that Mia didn't send her home, but on the other hand I get why Mia didn't. Mia didn't send her home because she couldn't have.

Think about it. A sixteen-year-old turns up with a baby, asking for a job, she has steel and determination in her eyes. If you tell her no, you can tell she's not going to give up. She'll just move on to a place that would hire her and maybe that wouldn't be a place where she and her baby would be safe. If you give her a job and a place to stay and then try to make her go home. You can't be sure that she'll actually go home or stay home, that leaves the pair of them in the same iffy situation. Mia knew that Lorelei and Rory would be safe with her, so she took them in.

Not saying Emily should be happy about it, but as always she is looking at how Lorelei leaving impacted her and Richard, not anyone else. She has never talked to Lorelei, asked what her thinking was, the why of it all. It is just all about Emily. That is annoying. But I do like that she seems to be taking small steps forward.

All in all a fairly forgettable episode.

Episode 8. Don't really know why I forgot this one as I really liked it. I loved the ice cream machine bit. I loved that Lorelei named it and called a bunch of relatives. She should have just donated it to Luke's! Even if he didn't need it he would have taken it. Made it into a planter or something.

I feel sorry for Paris for a number of reasons but this episode highlights one. She's laser focused on college, so much so that she's not getting the most out of her education. The assignment of interpreting Romeo and Juliet in a new way is a great one! It allows for the students to really look at and analyze the play, think about the themes consider which are universal and which were products of the time and culture it was written in. This allows for creative thinking and the development of the ability to think about and use what one is learning. But poor Paris is only worried about the grade and so afraid of taking risks that she will only go with what is standard. I speak from experience here, college will melt your brain until you learn how to think.

The teachers are worried because Rory doesn't socialize? I would think they would also be worried that Paris can't think beyond the rigid boundaries of what is written on a page. This school is supposed to prep the kids for college, right? They aren't doing anything differently than the public schools of the early 2000s (aside from the one rogue teacher, I guess).

I kinda like the fact that Paris ended up being Romeo. If they had used a more modern setting that could have been the plan from the start and the whole Tristian drama could have been avoided. I mean, they could have reinterpreted the whole “forbidden love” thing as a lesbian relationship or with the idea that Romeo might be a DFAB trans guy. It would have highlighted society's issues with non hetero, non binary identities. Hell, if they wanted to go deep they could have figured out a way to address the “LGBTQ+ people don't get happy endings” trope that is obvious in a lot of media.

That would have been interesting as Paris and Rory would have had to work together to make this believable and maybe come out of it with a better idea of each other's perspectives.

Speaking of perspective, it was a throw away joke but I liked that Lane's mom watched and came up with a different take on Romeo and Juliet. In my view, R&J is many things, but a love story it is not! What kind of great love story ends in teen suicide? Sure, I thought of it as a love story when I was younger as do a lot of teenagers. I think this makes a point about the play. Teenagers do dumb things out of emotion (adults do too, but that's a whole other line of thought). This doesn't mean that teens are dumb just that they are feeling things so intensely, probably because it is the first time they have felt these emotions that they do stuff that is not well-thought-out. Add parental pressure to that and you have a powder keg. I think R&J is more about how overly controlling parents can push their kids into dangerous situations. Also, to look at the play in a way that might not have been Shakespeare's intent, it could also be seen as a parable detailing why 14 year olds might not be ready for marriage, arranged or otherwise.

Anyway, the little “love triangle” between Christian, Rory, and Dean in this episode was less interesting. First off, I get that Rory is a pretty girl but why is she like catnip to all the boys? Are there really no other nice girls in Chilton or Star's Hollow? The way all the guys flock to and fight over her, you'd think she was dating a sparkly vampire.

Secondly, am I the only one who sees a lot of similarity between Tristian and Jess? Is that why Tristian had to go? Because he was redundant? It is sort of like Christopher and Max. They both could play the same role so one of them had to be cut. The writers needed to compare notes because I feel like there were a few “Oops, we wrote another doppelganger” discussions.

Thirdly, why is Rory still getting the blame for her and Dean's break up? The whole practice fight between Lorelei and Rory just highlights that Lorelei is sort of mean when it comes to this plot line. Dean told Rory he loved her and then got pissed and broke up with her because she didn't feel comfortable saying it back. How does this make Dean the victim? Just because one person is ready for the L word doesn't mean that the other person is, and that doesn't make the latter person bad. Acting like an ass and breaking up with someone you “love” because you didn't hear what you wanted to hear when you wanted to hear it makes that person a jerk.

This seems sort of like the whole “friend zone” myth. A dude decided he wants to date someone but that person doesn't want to date him therefore it is the other person's fault because the dude wants to date them, so they should date the dude! He's decided that he is the right guy for this person, so it must be true. The other person is just a bitch.

Dean loves Rory and is ready to say it, therefore Rory must love Dean and be ready too. He's reached this point so, goddammit, she needs to be at this point too. After all Dean decides how emotions work.

Dean is a teenager (and did something dumb out of emotion) so I can sort of forgive him for not fully empathizing and acting out of hurt feelings. It is the fact that Lorelei keeps sticking up for the dude who was trying to emotionally manipulate her daughter that gets to me. That was part of the “rage trilogy” from last season that made me annoyed at Lorelei because she was all “See it from his side” which is totally valid except for the fact that his side was to act like a brat who didn't get the ice cream he wanted *right then*.

Uge!

Okay on to somewhat happier things. Lorelei's date. That was cute and funny, how she was all proud of being a casual dater and I even liked a lot of jokes Luke made about how old the guy was. It was also really cute how Sookie tried to explain Luke to her. But Luke was being snarkier than necessary. I mean Lorelei is firmly set on her course of sailing that river in Egypt, so she's not going to ask him out right now. I get him being jealous, but he could, you know *ask her out*. I get why he doesn't, I mean what if she says no? But if what Sookie said is supposed to be true, that he's upset because it seems like Lorelei would date anyone but him, how can he be pissed at her when he's never asked? I guess that's why Luke limits it to taking pot shots and then being grouchy(ier) because he realizes he's sulking? Oddly I don't mind this sort of stuff when it involves Luke and Lorelei but when the same stupid jealousy stuff comes up with Rory and Dean, it bugs me. Maybe because as pouty as Luke gets he doesn't act like he owns Lorelei? Don't know really. Luke is likable, Dean is not. Might be as simple as that.

A forgettable episode followed by a pretty good one. Episode 8 didn't have Jess and despite revolving around Rory's love life Dean was less irritating than Tristian. Nothing has pissed me off horribly yet. So far, so good.

#gilmore girls #rambles

[obsydyan]

Chapter 8: Rory & Jess

Yesterday felt like a weird dream.  Well, it actually felt more like a nightmare.

My alarm went off at 9:00 a.m. I was face down on the pillow with my arm stretched out trying to find my phone so I could turn off my alarm.

Today I didn’t have to set up and be at the venue until 2:00 p.m. but I figured that I might as well get up at a decent hour and relax.

I dragged myself out of bed, grabbed my towel, clothes, and various other things that I would need and headed into the bathroom so I could shower.  From what I could tell I was the first one up.  Yesterday probably wore everyone out. I know it wore me out.

I showered, got ready, and then headed out into the kitchen to see what I could scrounge up for breakfast.

I poured myself a bowl of Lucky Charms and then turned on the T.V.

Since nobody was up yet I figured that I could get away with watching some Gilmore Girls on Netflix.  It has been my all time favorite T.V. show for years. Austin and I would watch it together every Thursday night right at 8:00 p.m.  We never missed an episode.

Of course Austin denies it these days when the guys are around, but when he’s home for the holidays we still binge watch it together.  I consider it our own little tradition.

I was currently at the end of Season 3.  Rory was dating Jess and Jess had just found out that he wasn’t going to graduate from high school.  I loved Jess so much and I was so sad to see him leave the show but when Logan came around in the later seasons I basically forgot about Jess.

I was about halfway into the episode when a sleepy and shirtless Alan stumbled into the kitchen.

“Good morning.” Alan said mumbling and then doing a half wave.

I chuckled, “Good morning, someone seems grouchy this morning.”

“I slept wrong and now my back is killing me.”

“Aw, I’m sorry.  Why don’t you grab something to eat and then join me on the couch and watch some T.V. with me?”

“Yeah, that sounds great!” He said, seeming to chipper up a little bit, “What are you watching?”

“Uhm…Gilmore girls.” I hesitated to say this because I knew what his reaction would be.

“Again Dakota!? I swear you are in way too deep.” Alan said shaking his head in disappointment.

“Well, can you blame me? It’s a good fucking show. Now come sit with me and enjoy it.”

Alan laughed at me, “Yeah, okay, whatever you say.”

Alan made some toast and then came over and plopped down on the couch right next to me.

He reached over and kissed me, “Good morning!”

“You already said that.” I said giggling.

“I know, but it wasn’t a proper good morning.”

“And what is a “proper” good morning exactly?”

“This.” Alan said reaching over towards me and kissing me again.

“Well I definitely can’t complain about that.” I said with a goofy smile.  I leaned over and put my head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in closer.

I have probably said this a million times but he really did give me the biggest butterflies.

Alan finished his toast and seemed to be really getting into the episode.  I was so going to give him crap about this later.

The episode was coming to an end and Alan was basically at the edge of his seat.  It was one of the last scenes where Rory and Jess went to a party to see Lane’s band perform and Rory and Jess had gotten into an argument, which ended with Rory crying and fleeing the room.  Dean, Rory’s ex-boyfriend, saw this and then went after Jess and punched him, which started a fight between the two.

“The Jess guy seems to be a real jerk!” Alan blurted out.

I turned to him smiling, “No, I just think that Jess has a hard time explaining how he feels.  He kind of has a messed up family life and he really cares for Rory. He makes that very clear in the earlier episodes. This was all just an unfortunate situation.”

“If you say so.” Alan said getting all defensive.

“Well I do say so because I actually watch this show and know it by heart.” I said poking his side.

Alan chuckled, “Yes ma’am!” He stopped for second just staring into my eyes with a big smile on his face.  I could feel myself getting red. I hate it when people stare at me and I hate it even more when they are looking at me straight in the eyes.  I feel like they are reaching inside of me and finding out all of my secrets and vulnerabilities.

“Did you know that you are so beautiful and amazing and I always have the best time with you, even if we are just sitting here watching Netflix? I am truly lucky that I get so much of your time.” Alan said softly to me.

“Oh stop Alan, you’re making me blush!” I said looking away from his beautiful eyes.

“No Dakota, I really mean it! I am so lucky to have you in my life” Alan said while moving my chin up with his fingers so I was back in his gaze.

“I-well thank you. No one has ever said such sweet things to me. I have always felt so naturally comfortable around you and I feel like I don’t have to try too hard to be myself.  I think that you are amazing in every single way” I said smiling up at him.

Then we closed the gap between us with a passionate kiss.

Apart of me was so thrilled about all of this because I have always had a thing for Alan and I have kind of been waiting for years for this to happen.  He made me feel like no other guy ever has. On the other hand I was terrified of things going wrong between us, whether it be Austin not approving of us, the stuff that Austin said about Alan happening to me, or that I will get hurt again just like how Josh hurt me.  I don’t know if I could handle another heart break.  I’m so glad that me and Alan are trying things out and taking things slow though, because I could already feel myself falling.

We made out on the couch for a solid 5 minutes before we heard someone behind us.

“Mhm.” The currently unknown person sounded while clearing their throat.

OH FUCK…

I stopped kissing Alan and turned around to see Aaron behind us with his arms crossed.

“Would one of you like to explain to me what exactly is going on?” Aaron said with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

“Well we-I-I-we” Alan was spitting out. He was trying to find a way to get us out of this mess but was failing horribly.  There was no way to get out of this.

“Aaron look…Alan and I have had feelings for each other for awhile now and after yesterday those feelings became known to one another.  We aren’t official yet but we have decided to try things out and see where they go.” I said while biting my lip, hoping that Aaron wouldn’t flip.

Aaron wasn’t one to get mad easily but when he did, boy, you did not want to be in the same room as him.

Aaron walked over towards me and engulfed Alan and I into a miniature group hug. “It’s about fucking time!”

What? I was so confused. “What?” I said questioning Aaron.

“Oh come on it’s been apparent for quite some time that Alan and you liked each other.  I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out!” Aaron said in a chipper voice.

“So, you’re not mad?” Alan said in somewhat of a relief.

“Hell no! I just want you two to be happy.” Aaron said while patting Alan’s back, “So what are you going to tell Austin?”

“We were going to wait until everything was official before we shared this news to him.” I said explaining to Aaron.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? He is your brother you know. He deserves to know.”

“Yes, I know all of this.  I will tell him eventually, he is the most important person in my life, but I want to tell him when we both are completely exclusive.  So would you please not say anything to him until I, I mean, we do?” I said, pleading to Aaron with puppy dog eyes.

“Fine, yes, I will do that for you! You owe me!” Aaron said pointing his finger down at me.

“Thank you so much!” I said giving him a big hug.

“Yeah, thanks man. You have no idea!” Alan said patting his back.

“No problem! Now that we got this settled I’m going to go get ready. Don’t get too rowdy out here.” Aaron said winking at us.

I felt my cheeks heating up.

“Well thank goodness we got that all settled. We have to be really careful from now on.” I said somewhat pleased and also somewhat worried.

“I know and from now on we will be!” Alan said while hugging me and kissing the top of my head.

- -

It was only 1:30 p.m. but I had texted Selena and we agreed to get together before we had to work and have some girl talk. We are the only two girls here, so it’s nice to be able to vent to someone of the same species.

I heard a knock on the bus door so I got up off of the couch and opened it.

“Hey!” Selena said while walking onto the bus and then giving me a hug.

“Hey, long time no see!” I said. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since the whole Josh and Alan incident but it felt like a lifetime.

“Yeah, it sure feels like it.”

“Let’s go into the back lounge so we can have some privacy.” I whispered to her while pointing my thumb behind me at Austin and Alan, who were playing video games and Phil who was just sitting on his phone.

Selena chuckled, “Okay, sure! Hey guys!” she said towards the guys.

They all looked up for about half a second, grunted back a “hey”, and then diverted their attention back to the television screen.

We walked back through the bus.  Aaron was passed out on his bed and Tony was on his laptop with his headphones plugged in.

We went into the lounge area and shut the door behind us.  I definitely didn’t want anyone to hear us. We sat down on the couch and started talking.

“So spill the details!” Selena said very chipper while leaning over towards me with a eager smile on her face.

“Well, you already know what happened last night between Josh and Alan.” I pointed out to her.

“Yes, yes I know, but earlier today you texted me saying that something else has happened.” she said with a curious tone in her voice.

I sighed.  I was trying to figure out where to begin in all of this mess. A beautiful mess, but nonetheless, still a mess.

“Um, after I texted you last night I walked into here and Alan was already in here on the couch watching T.V.  I sat down next to him and we started talking about the previous events that night and how he was happy to protect me and about how great I am.” I was staring to blush, “So basically the talk continued and he ended up kissing me.” I said biting my lip.

“Shut up! No way!” Selena said basically screaming.

“Shhhh! No one knows about this, except for Aaron, and I would like to keep it that way.” I expressed to her a little worried.

“Oh right, sorry.” Selena said quieting down a little bit. “What else happened?”

“I expressed to him how I was scared of being in another relationship and how Austin had expressed his concerns to me about Alan’s past relationships. Alan explained some things which made me feel a lot better but we decided to take things slow and not rush into a relationship right away.”

“Wow!” Selena said with her eyes wide and smile on her face. “How did Aaron find out?”

I laughed, “Well we were on the couch making out and he walked in.  We explained it all to him and he was cool with keeping it quiet until we tell Austin.”

“Well that’s good.  When are you planning on telling Austin?” she asked.

“Not until we are 100% official.”

“That makes sense. Do you think he will be upset?”

“Honestly, I have no clue.  He is very protective of me and did warn me about Alan, but then again he is best friends with Alan.  So it could really go in any direction.  I’m kind of scared to tell him honestly.” I said with a worried look on my face.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you.  Well whatever happens please know that I am here for you! I am so glad that we became friends.”

“Me too!” I said hugging her. “So tell me what’s going on with you!” I said also intrigued with what was going on in her life.

“Well recently I have started to develop these feelings for Shane…” Selena said blushing.

“Aww, really?”

“Yeah, you know that we spend a lot of time together and I’ve started to like him as more than just friends.”

“Have you told him how you feel?” I asked curiously.

“No and I’m kind of scared to tell him because on one hand I don’t want to ruin our friendship and on the other I’m scared that he doesn’t feel the same way.”

“Well, I don’t see why he wouldn’t! You’re so great! You’re generous, kind, sweet, and funny. Anybody would be lucky.” I said smiling over to her.

“Thanks, that really means a lot. I don’t know, I think I’m going to give it time.” Selena said deep in thought. “I want to make sure 100% feel this way towards him and that it is not just lust, ya know?”

“Oh trust me, I know. Why do you think I’m waiting to tell Austin about me and you-know-who.” I said with a slight giggle. “You’ll figure it out I’m sure, and if you need help figuring it out, need to talk, or anything at all, I am right here.”

“Yeah, I know! Thanks Dakota!”

“Anytime doll!”

I checked my phone to see what time it was and it was 5 til 2:00.

“Hey, we better get over towards the venue to set up. It’s 1:55!” I said while showing her the time on my phone.

“Oh yeah, let’s go!” she said while standing up.

We walked out of the room and headed towards the front of the bus.  I grabbed a jacket for later out of my bunk before we left.

We met up with Shane and Jake over at their bus and headed towards the trailer to get all the boxes of merch out before heading over to the venue.

We walked over and security let us in and showed us where we could set up.  This venue was massive and I could already tell that tonight was going to be an insane show.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ideas for next chapter: 

-help Jake with merch bc venue was bigger

-Jake and Dakota start becoming friends and super friendly

-Alan sees this and sees that Jake is flirting. At least from his perspective. Dakota doesnt think so and thinks that Jake is being a good friend

-Alan is jealous. Tells Dakota to be careful.

#omamff