❝𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝, 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎,
𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚎?
(𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚎).
𝚂𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎,
𝙻𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎,
𝙼𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚌𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝,
𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚍.
𝙰𝚖 𝙸 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑?
𝙸𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎?
𝙰𝚖 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎?
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍,
𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑?❞
𝙲𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚗 𝚂𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚛 — 𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝙴𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑

Theodosia, or Thea, as she was known to everyone in Stars Hollow, went to Luke's Diner. One of her friends, Liberty Danes, worked there with her dad, Luke. Liberty was half-white from her dad's side, and half-Filipina, on her mother's side. Liberty's mother had passed from cancer when Liberty was around three, so Luke was left to raise Liberty on his own, however, when Liberty was eight, Luke dated a woman named Rachel, but Rachel split town when Liberty was ten.

Thea remembered Rachel, but Thea knew that when Rachel left, it shattered Luke's heart. He thought he found true love with Rachel, who seemed to adore Liberty like her own, but she just left to go on a photographic adventure, tearing Luke up, before he seemed to move onto Lorelai Gilmore.

Rachel also seemed to adore Thea as if she was Rachel's own. It was like Rachel seemed to notice that Thea needed a mother-figure, although Liberty's and Thea's other friend, Georgia Lovett's mom, Annette, was a bit more of a mother-figure to Liberty and Thea than Rachel.

It wasn't to say that Lorelai was a terrible mother, she was a good mother, but Lorelai was pretty obvious on who she favored and loved more, that being Thea's twin sister, Rory. Most of the time, it seemed like Lorelai forgot she had a second daughter. But Lorelai sure was hell of a lot better than Thea's dad, Christopher, who called once a week and visited once a year, at Thea's grandparents' house in Hartford.

Even Christopher seemed to prefer Rory, because she 'looked like him', in her family's words. Thea always thought that Rory kind of looked like their mother more, although everyone pointed out that Thea looked like Lorelai more than Rory did. Thea never saw it. Sure, she had dark brown hair and shared Lorelai's blue eyes, but she was sure that was where the similarities ended.

Luke seemed to sense that Thea needed a father-figure, so he stepped up to the plate. However, Thea knew that Luke loved Rory more.

Rory was practically the queen of Stars Hollow, everyone propped her up on a pedestal and then completely forgot that Thea was the twin sister to Rory.

Rory was Perfect and Thea was Never Good Enough.

Thea was trying to be okay with that.

So, Thea sat at the bar counter in Luke's, thanking Liberty, who poured Thea a mug of coffee.

"There's a chemistry test today," Liberty told her.

Thea stayed silent, because she knew that not even her grades were good enough. She was always compared to Rory.

One teacher once asked, "Why can't you be more like Rory?"

"Because we're two separate people, not one entity," Thea had replied.

It was frustrating and irritating. There had been a few nights where Thea cried because of stress and the idea that she'll never be good enough.

Liberty gave her a look.

"Oh," Thea replied. She took out In Broad Daylight by Henry N. MacLean to read out of her backpack while Liberty went into the kitchen to get some food.

"Hello there," a man in a brown flannel came up to her. "Is that a good book?"

Thea looked at him.

She had one leg under herself. She wore denim short-shorts and black over-the-knee socks paired off with gray converse and a black band shirt. She had tossed aside her jacket. Georgia's mom, Annette says that Thea has some nice legs.

"Hi," Thea greeted back almost warily. "Yeah, the book is pretty good so far."

"I've never been through here before," the man said. "I was wondering where to get a souvenir."

"My mom told me to never talk to strangers," Thea told him.

"I'm Joey," the man said. "Am I a stranger now?"

"I'm not entirely sure where to get a souvenir," Thea said. "Have you tried Doose's Market? They sell things."

Liberty walked out of the kitchen, holding a plate with pancakes and bacon. She was smirking, which wasn't a good sign.

"Thanks," Thea muttered, a little uneasy at Liberty's smile.

The door opened and Georgie walked in, "Hey, creep! That girl is fifteen!"

Joey looked like he swallowed something unpleasant. "Bye." He moved away from the counter.

Georgia sat down next to Thea.

Georgia's mom, Annette, was also a single-mother, however Annette had Georgia at the age of twenty-two. Georgia's parents were divorced but Georga's dad had visitation rights, so Georgia would visit during school breaks.

Annette was also the person that Thea went to for milestones, like when Annette told Thea about sex (at least the kid friendly version) when Thea was eight, Thea getting her first period at ten (Annette read the tampon instructions through the bathroom door for Thea, because Annette was the first person that she went to), her first training bra, then a real bra, Thea's first kiss with Joshua Patterson (at Georgia's thirteenth birthday party, during spin the bottle), Thea's first date with Danny Mahoney (three months after spin the bottle, they went to Luke's Diner), Thea's first boyfriend Jackson "JJ" Jennings (four months after the first date with Danny), and Thea's first heartbreak (two months after JJ dumped her for someone else). There had been other dates and other boyfriends.

Liberty went in the kitchen to get Georgia breakfast.

Georgia asked Thea, "What do we need to do for English, again?"

"We're doing Huckleberry Finn," Thea told her.

"I read that in elementary school," Georgia muttered.

"I know," Thea replied.

Luke emerged from the kitchen, "How's it going?"

Thea and Liberty had been friends since first grade. Thea and Liberty had known Georgia since fourth grade.

"We have to do a report for Huckleberry Finn in English," Georgia said. "I read that in elementary school."

Liberty came back and set a plate of strawberry crêpes and a glass of orange juice in front of Georgia.

"I'll be back. I'm going to get ready for school," Liberty told them before going upstairs to where the apartment was.

"Libby and I have a chemistry test, too," Thea told Luke. "Also, I have to go to work after school too. Fran wants to go over—"

"Please, Luke," Lorelai said, interrupting Thea. Lorelai held a mug of coffee, "Please, please, please."

Luke looked at Thea, "I'm sorry, what were you going to say, Teddy?"

For some reason, Luke had taken to calling Thea 'Teddy' every now and then.

"Fran wanted to go over what fall food to have when fall starts," Thea mumbled. Her mom didn't even say anything to her when she came in.

Lorelai glanced at Thea and focused on her coffee addiction. There. Barely acknowledging Thea.

That was how insignificant Thea was to Lorelai.

Thea was trying to be okay with it.

Luke asked, "How many cups have you had today?"

"None," Lorelai replied.

"Plus..." prompted Luke.

"Five," Lorelai said. She added, "But yours is better."

"Junkie," Luke told Lorelai, filling up Lorelai's coffee mug.

"Angel," Lorelai said. "You got wings, baby."

Lorelai went to a different table to wait for her favorite child, Thea guessed, feeling something acidic in her stomach.

She was never taken on shopping trips, or even had special outings with Lorelai, or anything else that proved how close Rory and Lorelai were.

Sometimes Thea wondered why Lorelai took her with her when she ran from Emily's and Richard's home at seventeen. Sometimes late at night, Thea wondered why they didn't give her up for adoption since she was clearly unwanted...

She jumped when the phone in the diner rang.

"Phone, phone," Georgia mocked, pointing at the 'no cell phones' sign.

Joey looked at Lorelai and made his way over to talk to her.

Thea asked Georgia, "So, what's the plans for today? I have to go to the bakery, but afterwards..."

Georgia asked, "Quentin Taratino movie marathon at my home?"

"Sure," Thea replied.

While Rory and Lorelai had their movie marathons, Thea was excluded from them. They never wanted to watch what she wanted, so she was often 'voted off the island'. She eventually stopped offering since they didn't want to watch what she wanted.

After a few minutes of eating, Lorelai came to the table with a new mug.

Luke gave Lorelai a look.

"What? It's not for me, it's for Rory, I swear," Lorelai said.

It wouldn't have been the first time Lorelai used Rory as an out.

"You're shameless," Luke said.

"Look, Officer Krupke," Lorelai stated. "She's right at that table, right over there." She turned to point. Joey must've moved onto Rory.

Luke filled up Lorelai's coffee mug.

"Ah, he's got quite a pair, this guy," Lorelai stated.

Yeah, he also hit on Thea, but she wasn't going to say anything about that. Lorelai took the mug, "Thanks." She went to give Joey a piece of her mind, Thea guessed.

After eating, they took off to meet the guys; Aiden Castro and Sage St. James.

Lorelai tried to make Sage, Sookie's son, befriend Rory since Lorelai was best friends with Sage's mom. However, Sage wanted nothing to do with Rory, to be fair; he also wanted nothing to do with Thea because Sage wanted to make his own friends, thus he befriended Aiden Castro. However, last year, Sage struck up a friendship with Thea, something Lorelai never seemed to understand, but Sage thought Rory was boring and chose Thea.

However, her friendship with Aiden and Sage changed almost a month ago, when she started dating both boys. Aiden wanted to go take some pictures of the lake, so Sage and Thea went with him. One minute they were standing there, the next they were splashing around and the next minute, Thea was kissing the both of them.

She was going to tell her mother about it, but Rory came in with something more important, so Thea decided not to tell Lorelai. Thea told Sage not to tell Sookie about the relationship upgrade, because she would tell Lorelai, so Sage stayed silent, even though he didn't like lying to her, even if it was by omission.

The only ones who knew were Liberty, Georgia, and Annette, possibly a few others, like Aiden's dad, aunt and uncle, and Thea's boss Fran. It was just how Thea wanted it.

Sage and Aiden were standing by a board advertising some stuff.

Georgia asked, "Who wants to go to the Teen Hayride with me?"

"I will," Thea said. Whereas Rory and Lane didn't see the fun in the hayride, Thea liked it. She thought it was relaxing and a way to bring in the fall season.

"Me too," Liberty and Sage said at the same time.

"Me three," Aiden replied.

Thea asked Aiden, "Do we have a test for math?"

"We're having a substitute," Aiden told her.

Georgia asked Sage, "How about history?"

"Just lame historical crap that we talked about last year. Civil War, World Wars crap, segregation," Sage told her.

Georgia nodded, "So basically a recap."

"Pretty much," Sage replied. "On Friday, I had to do my homework in the hospital."

Liberty looked alarmed at that. She asked, "For what?"

"My mom had to get stitches," Sage said. "I drove her there."

Thea nodded. She knew how accident prone Sookie was. It was amazing that she didn't accidentally drop Sage when he was a baby. Maybe she was a lot more careful when she had him and all that accident-proneness just came back with a vengeance to make up for lost time.

They headed for the school.

Georgia asked, "Is Sookie okay?"

"Yeah, she got stitches," Sage told her.

After working at the bakery, Thea took the left-over desserts to Georgia's house.

Georgia asked, "What time are all of you supposed to be back?"

Thea shrugged, "She doesn't care." She once stayed at all of her friends' homes for a week and Lorelai didn't notice. She stayed at Liberty's apartment, then Georgia's home the next night, then Aiden's home, and then at Sage's home, then back at Liberty's apartment, then Georgia's home. She was sure that Luke and Sookie called Lorelai to tell them where she was though.

Once, she considered seeing how long she'd stay gone before Lorelai or Rory freaked out about how she went missing, but Thea was a little terrified to find out. Once, she considered living with her dad, but she was sure that it would've been worse. She even considered living in a cardboard box once, which she thought was much more preferable to her situation.

Thea went to make some popcorn while Aiden and Sage got other snacks ready. Georgia was getting the movies ready to watch.

Sage stood next to her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Thea replied. She smiled, "Can't wait to watch Pulp Fiction again."

Sage placed his hand on top of hers and Thea looked down at it. His hand felt hot against her cold skin. It was like he was fire and she was ice. It shouldn't work, but somehow it did. Maybe it was because she was cold because her family didn't love her. She looked at her blue charm bracelet that had a lot of coffee charms on it. 

She got it last year as a birthday gift from Luke.

Rory had gotten a lavish gift that she always wanted, and Thea got a second-hand romance novel; she didn't like the romance genre. She went down to Luke's diner and took out her frustration and bitterness on some pie. Luke handed her the charm bracelet as a birthday present. She only took it off when she showered, went to bed, and when it was time for PE at school. She wanted to keep it in good condition.

"I said I'm fine," Thea told him.

Aiden looked over at them.

Sometimes Aiden burned hot, but there were times he seemed to run cold. Thea could easily see which one he needed, if he needed Thea to thaw him out or melt him.

He didn't have it easy. His dad murdered Aiden's mother by poisoning her, so Aiden was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. Aiden kept in very close contact with his dad. All Aiden said was his mother used to go into his room at night. Then one night, his mom turned her attentions on Aiden's friend. Aiden's dad really didn't like that. Aiden's dad said he did what he had to protect his son because no one would believe Aiden and his unnamed friend. Aiden did keep in contact with his dad, even though for whatever reason, his dad apologized for what happened. To what happened to Aiden's mom, all Thea can say was 'good riddance' so Thea made it her mission to tend to Aiden's needs.

Of course, Annette held her door open for Aiden and mothered him.

Annette was a mother that Thea aspired to be.

Sage was the one who made sure that Thea had needs to be taken care of while Thea focused on Aiden's needs.

Thea felt that she, Sage, and Aiden danced in a way that most people didn't understand. It was a dance that the three of them knew the moves to that left people confused. It worked for them.

It was like the people Stars Hollow were waiting for Thea to pick one and leave the other behind. Thea didn't like the idea of doing just that because both had a place in her heart. So, she chose both.

The problem was that she was sure that she wasn't good enough for them. If she wasn't good enough for her family, then who was she good enough for?

Thea and Sage came to the Gilmore home, because Sookie was there too. Lorelai and Sookie were on the porch.

Sookie smiled brightly, "Hi, Sage and Thea."

Sage smiled back, "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Sookie," Thea greeted. At least Sookie acknowledged that Thea existed unlike Lorelai.

Thea considered going inside, but Rory came out in a blue plaid skirt.

Rory said, "Mom? What do you think?"

Sookie enthusiastically exclaimed, "Wow! It makes you look smart!"

"I think that's enough wine, Mom," Sage said, taking her wine glass away from her.

Rory prompted, "Mom?"

"You look like you were swallowed by a kilt," Lorelai said.

Thea guessed that Rory made it into Chilton, judging from the skirt. She moved to go inside the house.

Rory asked, "Thea?"

Thea wanted to say, You don't care about my opinion, so why are you bothering? She forced that down. "You look good. Congratulations on making it in Chilton." She went inside the house and to the kitchen with Sage following.

Thea looked in the fridge for something to eat, although Sookie started checking the cupboards.

Sookie asked, "Hey, Thea, do you have any pâté?"

"We don't have any," Thea replied.

Sookie looked in the fridge, "Like how you don't have any food in the fridge either. I'll be right back. I'm going to run to the store to get some food."

"Okay," Thea said. Sookie took off and Thea took out a slice of pizza before going up to her room to wait for Sookie and Sage to return.

The next day, after school, Thea stood outside the bakery, reading a book, because she got there a little early. Sure, she could've gone inside, but it was kind of pleasant outside.

Rory came up with the new guy, Dean something or other, holding a box.

"She's my twin sister, Thea," Rory said. "Well, her full name is Theod–"

"Dora?" finished Dean.

"No, it's Theodosia," Thea stated. "My dad named me after one of his great-grandmothers. Rory and my mom called me Theo, but it got a bit confusing when one of my classmate's was named Theo. So, my teacher called me Thea and it stuck."

Dean nodded, though he seemed a little bored talking to her, because no surprise, everyone focused on Rory, besides Thea's friends.

"She works part-time at this bakery," Rory told the guy. "So, do you like cake?"

Dean asked, "What?"

"They make really good cakes here," Rory stated. "They're very...round."

"We sell other stuff too," Thea told them.

Dean seemed to snicker, "Okay, I'll remember that."

When Thea got inside the bakery, Fran asked, "Who was that guy that Rory was walking with?"

"Ah, just some guy named Dean," Thea said. "He's new here and he clearly has eyes for Rory." She took her apron out from behind the counter and put it on. She put her hair in a ponytail using the elastic band from her wrist. She also wore a hairnet but they ran out.

Fran nodded, "Hmm. We need two dozen red velvet cupcakes for a birthday party tonight."

"Got it," Thea said, going to wash her hands.

"And Luke wants more cherry and apple pies too," Fran said.

Luke may make food at the diner, but for the baked stuff, he went to Weston's Bakery. According to Liberty, Luke kind of sucked at baking things. Cooking he was good at, but baking, he was bad.

Thea had been working at Weston's Bakery since she was thirteen. Thea originally helped Fran with putting food in the display case and using the cash register before she went into making food at fourteen.

Baking helped her get rid of stress and resentment in a healthy manner. She had, admittedly, taken a razor blade to her upper arms. Fran had spotted the cuts and decided that Thea was going to help her with the bakery. Fran kept the self-harming a secret, because she saw how Lorelai was towards Thea.

Fran became a grandmotherly figure towards Thea and Thea became a surrogate daughter to Fran. Fran kept an eye on Thea's upper-arms, becoming proud when the last cut had faded into a scar. It took a while, but Thea got there. They celebrated with Fran adding Thea's caramel apple tartlets to the menu.

Thea was getting ready to go to the hayride. She wore black thigh-highs socks with gray converse to go with her outfit. She even wore her charm bracelet.

She added vanilla body-spray, put on lip-gloss, and was adding eyeliner when her mom came in.

"We're having dinner with your grandparents on Friday," Lorelai told her.

Thea frowned at that, "It's not Christmas or Easter."

"I know, it's just dinner," Lorelai told her.

Why did Emily and Richard want her there? Oh, right; to compare her to Rory and criticize her for not being Rory.

Thea asked, "Why are we having dinner with them?"

"It's just dinner, Thea," Lorelai told her a little harshly.

Thea recoiled a little, "Okay, sorry, Mom."

"Sorry," Lorelai replied, "Just had a long day."

Thea nodded, "I'm going on the Teen Hayride with my friends."

"Okay," Lorelai told her and left, because she filled her quota of acknowledging her second daughter for about three months, apparently.

Thea met her friends and boyfriends at the Teen Hayride.

"Hey, Thea," Lane, Rory's best friend since kindergarten, greeted her.

"Hi, Lane," Thea replied. "What are you doing here?"

Lane motioned, "I'm on a date." She motioned to one of two miserable looking Korean boys. "His brother is chaperoning."

Thea nodded, "Oh."

"The three of us don't want to be here," Lane stated.

Thea nodded. She wasn't sure how she would feel if her mom forced her to chaperone one of Rory's dates. She was sure she would be mortified.

The wagon arrived and they got on.

"Sit near the back," Georgia whispered to them.

"Okay," Thea replied. They moved towards the back, sitting down on the hay bales. "I won't be able to have our movie marathon on Friday because I have dinner with my grandparents."

Liberty asked, "Aren't you supposed to have those on Christmas?"

"Yeah," Thea replied, shrugging. "It's probably a congratulatory dinner on Rory getting into Chilton. They live like five minutes away from the school."

Funny, she never had anything of the sort when she earned all those first place trophies in archery competitions. Her family didn't even celebrate when she got first place in the World Archery Field Championships.

When Thea got inside the house, her mom was playing a Macy Gray song. She almost groaned at that. She didn't care too much for pop music. She liked metal and rock music, which she got from her dad.

But Macy Gray wasn't why Thea groaned. Whenever Rory and Lorelai got into one of their spats, Lorelai tried to make Rory jealous by trying to act like Thea was her best friend, which meant that Lorelai did everything with Thea that Lorelai and Rory did together.

Rory never bit and Lorelai eventually caved in because Thea wasn't Rory.

Thea hated it, because the first time, she thought Lorelai wanted something to do with her and then she got tossed aside when Lorelai and Rory made up. The second time, Thea hoped that Lorelai wanted something to do with her again, then Lorelai and Rory made up. The third time, Thea realized why Lorelai did that. It was heartbreaking to know that was all that Thea was good for; being used. Now it was just annoying.

Thea went to the staircase.

"Thea," Lorelai called to her.

Oh, great, Thea thought. She turned around, "Yeah, Mom?"

Lorelai took Thea's arm in hers and moved to the sofa, "We haven't talked in what felt like forever."

They never sat down and talked before. Thea never told Lorelai anything because Lorelai never seemed interested in talking to her.

Thea asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

Lorelai asked, "Do you know the guy that Rory is willing to throw Chilton away for?"

Thea got a strange taste in her mouth at that. Yup, there it was. Lorelai was just looking for gossip about Rory. In a small voice, Thea asked, "Rory doesn't want to go to Chilton?"

"Apparently," Lorelai stated. "Does he have dark hair, romantic eyes, and looks a little dangerous?"

Thea didn't want to talk about this, "I think he has dark blond hair. I don't know about his eyes and he looks perfectly harmless even though he wears a leather jacket."

Lorelai nodded. "Does he have tattoos and drive a motorcycle?"

Thea was already tired of their 'talk'. She said, "No tattoos as far as I saw and I don't even know if he drives a motorcycle. I'm going to bed. I have school tomorrow."

She went upstairs to go to bed.

Lorelai, of course, latched onto Thea because Rory was mad at Lorelai, because Rory didn't want to go to Chilton and Lorelai was going to make sure Rory went.

So, Lorelai made Thea sit in the front seat of the jeep when they drove down to Hartford, even allowing her to play her music instead, even though Lorelai didn't like Slipknot.

Lorelai did ask about Thea's day at school and the goings-on at Weston's Bakery. Thea managed to make small-talk with Lorelai because it's the one of the few times that Lorelai was interested in her. Thea couldn't even enjoy it while it lasted because she knew that Lorelai will end up ignoring her in a day or two.

They finally got to Emily and Richard's home and got to stand on the porch.

Thea wore a black sweater with a dark blue denim skirt with black leggings and black converse shoes. She wore a dark blue peacoat to go with her outfit.

It was awkward, especially since it wasn't even a holiday.

Thea knew that it was because her mother had been a teen mom and left home at seventeen to raise them alone. Also, it was because Lorelai and Rory were having a fight at the moment.

Rory asked, "So, do we go in or do we stand here reenacting Little Match Girl?"

Lorelai looked at Rory, "Look, I know you and me are having a thing here and I know you hate me, but I need you to be civil, at least through dinner, and then on the way home, you can pull a Menendez. Deal?"

Rory replied, "Fine."

Lorelai rang the door and Emily opened the door.

"Hi, Grandma," Rory greeted.

"Well, you're right on time," said Emily.

As they walked in, Lorelai said, "Yeah, yeah, no traffic at all."

Emily took the overcoats from Rory and Lorelai, and put them on a coat-rack. It left Thea to put up her own coat, because she didn't exist apparently. Emily spoke, "I can't tell you what a treat it is to have you girls here."

Lorelai replied, "Oh, well, we're excited, too."

Emily noticed the to-go cup Lorelai was holding, "Is that a collector's cup or can I throw it away for you?"

"Oh," said Lorelai, like she realized she was still holding the cup and went to throw it away in the wastebasket.

"In the kitchen, please," Emily stated. She turned her attention to Rory, "So, I want to hear all about Chilton."

"Well, I haven't actually started yet," Rory replied.

Thea rolled her eyes as they headed to the living room, where Richard was reading the newspaper.

"Richard, look who's here," said Emily.

"Rory, you're tall," said Richard.

"I guess," said Rory.

Richard asked, "Well, what's your height?"

"Five-foot-seven," said Rory.

Richard asked, "How about you, Thea?"

"Five-foot-six," said Thea.

"Five-foot-seven is tall, you're tall. Five-foot-six is about average but still tall," said Richard.

Thea nearly pouted at being called average, because it basically summed up her entire life. Average. And being ignored by her own family.

Lorelai walked in, "Hi, Dad."

Richard said, "Lorelai, Rory's tall."

"Oh, I know," said Lorelai. "It's freakish, we're thinking of having Rory studied at M.I.T.."

Thea grimaced at that. 5'7 wasn't even that tall because Thea saw girls taller than Rory.

"Ah," said Richard. "Thea is average height, though." He returned to his paper.

Emily came up to them holding a tray of champagne flutes. "Champagne, anyone?" asked Emily, holding a tray of champagne flutes.

"Oh, that's fancy," said Lorelai, taking a champagne flute.

Thea took a champagne flute too because she might as well, since Emily didn't forget about her.

"Well, it's not every day that I have my girls here for dinner on a day the banks are open," said Emily. "A toast – to Rory entering Chilton and an exciting new phase in her life."

"Here, here," said Richard, holding his glass up.

Thea downed her champagne, because she needed the boost just to even make it through the dinner, even though she didn't like the taste of champagne.

It was just going to be another dinner of being demonized and criticized as if she didn't have feelings too. It was a toss up of being ignored or criticized.

"Well, let's sit everyone," said Emily. Thea set her empty glass on the tray and sat next to her sister on the couch. She continued speaking, "This is just wonderful. An education is the most important thing in the world, next to family."

Thea knew that she didn't exist in that 'family' aspect.

"And pie," Lorelai blurted out. Thea looked at her mother confused, "Joke, joke."

"Ah," replied Emily clearly not getting it.

Richard held out a section of the newspaper, "Rory, dear, can you please pass this to Thea?"

Rory looked confused and passed the newspaper to Thea.

"Ooh, the comics," Thea said, delighted that her grandfather remembered that she liked reading them.

After an hour had passed of awkward small talk that Thea didn't participate in because they didn't include her or directed anything to her, they made their way to the dining room where dinner was served. Thea took the spot at the table next to Rory.

Emily asked, "Rory, Thea, how do you both like the lamb?"

Thea was surprised that Emily seemed to realize that Thea was there.

"It's good," said Rory.

Emily asked, "Too dry?"

"No, it's perfect," said Rory.

"I like the dressing that you used," Thea spoke up.

"The potatoes could use a little salt, though," Lorelai interjected.

Affronted, Emily asked, "Excuse me?"

"So, Grandpa, how's the insurance biz?" asked Rory trying to avoid a fight that would inevitably break out.

Richard said, "Oh, people die, we pay. People crash cars, we pay. People lose a foot, we pay."

Thea took a mouthful of potatoes to stifle a laugh.

Lorelai stated, "Well, at least you have your new slogan.

Richard asked, "And how are things at the motel?"

"The inn?" Lorelai said, "They're great."

"Lorelai's the executive manager now," Emily told Richard. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"Speaking of which, Christopher called yesterday," said Richard.

"'Speaking of which?' How is that a speaking of which?" asked Lorelai.

Thea considered asking for wine, because an argument was coming. She wondered how they could fight over everything.

Dinner was basically over now.

"He's doing very well in California. His internet start-up goes public next month. This could mean big things for him." Richard spoke to Rory and Thea, "Very talented man, your father."

"They know," said Lorelai.

Richard said, "He always was a smart one, that boy." He spoke to Rory, "You must take after him."

Thea cringed at that, because that was a low-blow. Her mother was smart since she started off as a maid and worked her way up to executive manager, despite having no knowledge of how to manage a business, before successfully running the inn. Her mother took care of them on her own, sure with a little help. And why were they trashing her mother's smarts? Because she accidentally got pregnant at sixteen which Christopher helped?

Before Thea can even voice that out loud, her mother said, "Speaking of which, I'm gonna get a Coke. Or a knife." She stormed out of the dining room into the kitchen.

Rory and Thea looked at each other and then moved to get up.

Rory stated, "We should go talk to her."

"No, I'll go. You both stay and keep your grandfather company," said Emily.

Thea sat down in her seat and slumped down.

"Don't slouch, you'll get a crooked spine," said Richard.

Thea sat up straighter.

Lorelai's voice rose up from the kitchen, "The wrong way? How could I have taken it the wrong way? What was open to interpretation?"

"Keep your voice down," said Emily.

What else was said, Thea couldn't make out.

"Why would he bring up Christopher? Was that really necessary?" asked Lorelai.

"He likes Christopher," replied Emily.

"Isn't that interesting? Because, as I remember, when Christopher got me pregnant, Dad didn't like him so much," Lorelai replied.

Emily responded, "Oh, well please, you were sixteen. What were we supposed to do – throw you a party? We were disappointed. The two of you had such bright futures."

Thea guessed disappointment ran in the family, because she was a disappointment to Lorelai.

"Yes, and by not getting married, we got to keep those bright futures," Lorelai countered.

"When you get pregnant, you get married. A child needs a mother and a father," said Emily.

"Oh, Mom," started Lorelai, "Do you think that Christopher would have his own company right now if we'd gotten married? Do you think he would be anything at all?"

"Yes, I do," said Emily. "Your father would have put him in the insurance business and you'd be living a lovely life right now."

"He didn't want to be in the insurance business and I am living a lovely life right now," said Lorelai.

"That's right, far away from us," said Emily.

"Oh, here we go," Lorelai stated.

"You took those girls and completely shut us out of your life," said Emily.

"You wanted to control me," responded Lorelai.

"You were still a child," countered Emily.

"I stopped being a child the minute the strip turned pink, okay? I had to figure out how to live. I found a good job," said Lorelai.

"As a maid, with all your brains and talent," replied Emily.

"I worked my way up. I run the place now. I built a life on my own with no help from anyone," said Lorelai.

"Yes, and think of where you would have been if you'd accepted a little help, hmm? And where the girls would have been. But no, you were always too proud to accept anything from anyone," replied Emily.

"Well, I wasn't too proud to come here to you two begging for money for Rory's school, was I?" replied Lorelai.

Rory stopped talking to Richard, turning her head to the side, obviously overhearing that.

Now it made sense how Lorelai was suddenly able to afford the school, Thea realized.

"No, you certainly weren't. But you're too proud to let Rory know where you got it from, aren't you? Well, fine, you have your precious pride and I have my weekly dinners. Isn't that nice? We both win," said Emily.

Thea looked at Richard who was trying to get Rory involved in a conversation again.

Lorelai left the kitchen, "Come on. We're going home."

Thea nodded and they got up following after Lorelai. Thea said 'goodbye' to her grandmother, who still seemed a little smug for Thea's liking.

Lorelai and Rory got their coats on and left the home. Lorelai sighed deeply and leaned against the outside wall.

"Mom, are you okay?" Thea said, "That argument sounded very intense."

Rory nodded in agreement.

Lorelai said, "I'm okay. I just...do I look shorter? 'Cause I feel shorter."

"Hey, how 'bout I buy you a cup of coffee?" asked Rory.

"Oh, yeah," Lorelai said. "One of you drives, though, okay, 'cause I don't think my feet will reach the pedals."

Lorelai handed Rory the car keys.

Thea guessed that it was the part where Rory and Lorelai made up, so she got in the backseat, though she reached forward to eject her cassette tape.

Thea went to Georgia's house because Rory and Lorelai went to Luke's diner and she wasn't invited. She could just go with them, but they'll ignore her or look at her like 'why are you still here?' It was strange, how people said that having a twin is like having a built-in best friend. Thea didn't have a built-in best friend at all. She was more like Rory's built-in shadow.

Sure, Rory and Lorelai acknowledged her sometimes, they just didn't care enough to get to know her. She doubted that they knew what her favorite colors were (blue and gray), or favorite number (613), they didn't even know what career that she wanted in the future (physicist), or what university she wanted to go to (Yale). They just...didn't care.

Her friends were watching some horror movie when she got there. She considered just going home but Georgia opened the door and smiled at her, "Oh, good, you're just in time. The movie is just starting. You didn't miss much."

Georgia took her arm and dragged Thea inside her home.

Her family may not have wanted her, but Thea had found some people who clearly did.