"Let the games begin."

--☆--☆--☆--

"Girls, let's move! They'll be here any minute!" Lorelai called out to her daughters as she walked into their kitchen carrying a duffle bag.

"I'll be right there," Rory replied from her room.

"I'm here," Cassie added as she walked inside from the back porch.

"And make sure to bring an extra coat," Lorelai reminded them.

The twins gave their mom a confused look, "Why?"

"Do not ask why. It's Gilmore road rules, trust me."

Rory looked over at Cassie, who'd just shrugged her shoulders in response. "But that doesn't make any sense. We're only gonna be gone for a day."

Lorelai laughed at her daughter, "Yeah, do me a favor, say those exact words to my mother when she shows up."

"Getting the coats," Cassie sighed before walking over to the closet, grabbing one for her and one for Rory.

"Thanks."

"Sure."

Things between Rory and Cassie still weren't great. Rory wasn't angry like she was before but things weren't normal. They both felt like they were walking on eggshells around each other. It was an uncomfortable dynamic for them.

"Now, I have been doing some research on our trip," Lorelai informed them. "I went to the bookstore and found this," she said, holding up what was supposed to be a book on New Haven.

"The Best of New Haven," Rory read aloud.

"It's... small," Cassie observed.

"Honey, it's New Haven," Lorelai reminded them when she saw the judgemental looks on their faces. "Anyhow, I looked through it and just so happens that one of the best taco places on the East Coast is ten minutes from campus."

"We like tacos."

"Love," Cassie corrected.

"Yes, we do," Lorelai agreed before she started reading from the book, "You haven't had a taco until you've spent some time at Hector's, crisp and meaty-"

"Dirty," Cassie interrupted.

"Thank you," Lorelai smiled at her before continuing. "Not greasy. With homemade tortillas, it elevates this fast finger food to the level of haute cuisine."

"Sounds good," Rory told her.

Lorelai nodded in agreement, "Yeah so I thought maybe when Dad was busy poofing it up, we could go say hello to Hector."

"I like your thinking."

"Good," Lorelai sighed as she closed the book. A look of confusion appeared on her face as she looked from Cassie to Rory then back to Cassie. "Where's your stuff?"

"We have our coats," Cassie said, holding up the coat.

Lorelai nodded, "I can see that, but where's your stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"I left you both a list on your dressers last night," Lorelai reminded them.

Cassie smiled, "I thought it was a joke."

Lorelai's eyes widened in horror, "You didn't pack?"

"Well..."

Without letting another second pass Lorelai was walking into Rory's room. "Girls, let me explain something to you. The way you survive a road trip with my mother is to make sure you have all your bases covered, leave nothing to chance."

Lorelai walked around the room, going from dresser to closet, both her daughters watching her. "Never give her the opportunity to give you a thirty minute lecture on how if you'd brought the second bathing suit, like she told you to, it wouldn't have mattered that the first one's strap broke in a freak pool slide incident that no one, including the amazing Kreskin, could've predicted, you would've been covered."

"Do we have to bring bathing suits?" Rory asked her.

"Yeah I'm not exactly up for a cold plunge," Cassie added.

Lorelai shook her head, "This was an example based on a true story. Now, get a skirt to go with this."

"But I'm still confused, when are we changing?" Rory asked her.

"Not the point."

"It's exactly the point," Cassie replied to her mother, "We're driving, walking, eating tacos, then driving again. We aren't hitting the runway."

"Check the list," Lorelai responded as she handed Rory the list she'd written.

"Rain boots?"

"Don't question me."

Rory sighed, giving in to her mother's seemingly crazy request. "Should we bring both a rain hat and an umbrella or will one or the other do?" She asked but then saw the look on Lorelai's face. "Forget it, stupid question."

"Go pack," Lorelai ushered her youngest daughter out the door.

"Aw man," Cassie sighed before going upstairs finding the list she'd been laughing at the night before.

As quickly as she could Cassie gathered her clothes and put them into a duffle bag. She might've left a few things out, like a winter coat. In her mind what Emily doesn't know, won't hurt her. Cassie finished zipping her bag up just as the doorbell rang downstairs.

Cassie grabbed the bag and ran down the stairs, hearing her mom say, "Let the games begin," before she opened the door.

"Your drivers have arrived," Emily said proudly as she and Richard smiled at them.

"Hi Grandma, Hi Grandpa."

"Hello girls, hello Lorelai. What a perfect day for a drive," Richard commented.

"Sure is."

"You brought an umbrella?" Emily asked them even though the sky was perfectly blue and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

"And a rain cap," Rory informed her.

A bright smile appeared on Emily's face, "Excellent!"

"Here, let me help you with those," Richard said as he grabbed the girls' bags and carried them to the car.

As they walked Emily noticed the travel mug her daughter was carrying. Rory and Cassie hadn't given it a second thought as they were running to the car so they wouldn't get a middle seat. Cassie held out her fist, the two of them engaging in a quick game of rock, paper, scissors.

"Ha!" Cassie smiled when she won.

"Yeah, yeah," Rory sighed before getting into the middle seat.

The two of them were alone in the car. Richard put the bags in the trunk while Lorelai and Emily discussed Lorelai's travel mug. Cassie looked over at her sister, smiling awkwardly at her.

"You know you haven't said much post Dean," Cassie spoke cautiously, not knowing how Rory would react to this particular conversation.

"Haven't really wanted to talk about it," Rory informed her.

"Right."

Rory turned her head to see the expression on her sister's face. Cassie was looking down, like she was thinking of what to do next. Rory let out a short breath before saying, "I just feel dumb... like I threw away my relationship for nothing."

"For nothing?" Cassie gave her a confused look.

"Jess uh-"

"You can't have that in the car," Emily said to her daughter, accidentally interrupting the conversation the twins were having. Cassie kept looking at her sister but it was obvious they weren't finishing this conversation with everyone in the car.

"I know," Lorelai replied. "It will not be in the car."

"Is that everything?" Richard asked as he closed the trunk of the car.

Lorelai nodded, "Yes, I think so."

"All right then. Let's get this show on the road," Richard smiled as he got into the driver's side of the car.

Lorelai opened the backseat door, rolling the window down before getting in. Emily watched as she held the mug outside of the car as she sat down. "Now let's see you drink it."

Lorelai smiled before sticking her head out the window and taking a sip of her coffee. "Mm, good to the last drop."

"You stay that way until it's gone."

"Aye, aye captain," Lorelai replied with a smile.

--☆--☆--☆--☆--☆--

All in all the drive to New Haven really wasn't that bad. Richard is a cautious driver and the music wasn't exactly Cassie's first choice but there wasn't any arguing or even bickering. Emily and Richard were just excited to show the girls Yale.

Which is where they were now. Walking through the campus where Richard spent "some of the best years of his life".

"Wow, does that guy look smart," Lorelai smiled as some random college kid walked past them. "I mean it, he's got the smart look down. The glasses, the furrowed brow, the ticky walk."

"The Kierkegaard."

"I really think it's the walk," Lorelai observed.

"Well, we are at Yale, you know. Lots of smart people here," Cassie smiled as she took in their surroundings. It was pretty. Prettier than she had pictured.

"I know there are smart people here. I just didn't realize how many."

"Grandpa, that art gallery was amazing. Thank you," Rory said as she glanced back at Richard.

"Yale has one of the finest collections of British art in the world. I spent a lot of time in that gallery as a young man," Richard told them.

Emily smiled, "I'll Say you did."

Her tone of voice quickly caught Lorelai's attention. A sly smile appeared on her face as she looked back at her mom, "What was that I'll say you did?"

"I just remember that that gallery was one of your father's favorite places to bring the ladies," Emily told them.

"Huh," Cassie gasped not knowing if she wanted to hear the rest of this story. They were talking about her grandfather after all.

"What?"

"Emily."

"It's where you took me on our first date," Emily reminded him.

"So, Dad liked to impress them with paintings," Lorelai laughed.

Cassie smiled at the embarrassed look on Richard's face, "Oh boy."

"Why did you bring this up?" He asked Emily.

"He was the master of the frown, step back, wrinkle, and sigh."

Confused looks appeared all around as they tried to figure out what Emily was talking about, "I'm sorry, the what?"

"Frown," Emily frowned before taking a step back, "Step back. Wrinkle," she furrowed her brow, "and sigh."

The appalled look on Richard's face caused smiles to appear on his granddaughters' faces. "I did no such thing."

"And then he'd talk about the paintings he'd seen in Paris and the colors of Titian, and by the end of the date, you thought he was the most brilliant man in the entire world."

"Using Titian to score. Even Titan didn't do that," Lorelai smiled at her father.

"You know, Emily, you weren't such an innocent little doe lost in the woods yourself," Richard said, turning the teasing onto his wife and away from him.

"I beg your pardon."

Lorelai gave her daughters a look as she said, "They're turning on each other, I love it."

"I'll have you know, I was happily involved in a very serious relationship when your mother decided she simply had to have me," Richard informed the girls.

"Oh the size of your ego, I swear," Emily shook her head as they rounded a corner on the campus.

"Linny Lott."

While Cassie, Rory, and Lorelai had confused looks on their faces at the mention of this random woman, Emily just shook her head. "That mouse."

"That mouse and I were engaged."

Emily shot him a look, "Oh, you were not."

"I'd given her my pin, introduced her to my parents," Richard reminded her.

"So?"

"The date was set, invitations mailed out."

Lorelai smiled, having not expected this story about Emily Gilmore, "Mom."

Emily shook her head, "Well, you couldn't marry Linny Lott. That woman needed directions to get to a point."

"Rawr!" Lorelai faked a cat noise causing her daughters to laugh at her antics.

"Richard Gilmore, you are going to give these girls the wrong impression."

Cassie leaned forward, smiling at her grandmother as she said, "And what impression would that be, grandma?"

"That you were the Helena Bonham Carter of the society set?" Lorelai added.

"I did not steal your grandfather, I simply gave him a choice."

Cassie smiled as she looked over at Rory, "A choice she says."

Richard shook his head, "When you showed up at my fraternity party in that blue dress, I had no choice."

"You stole my father with fashion," Lorelai smiled proudly.

Richard stepped over to the side by a trash can. Both his daughter and granddaughters were giving him a confused look, wondering if this was part of their Yale tour. "Well?"

"Well what?" Emily gave him the same confused look.

"You mean you don't remember?"

Emily looked at the trash can before turning away from it, taking in the surroundings around them. It took her a moment but then her face lit up. "Oh my god! There was a bench here."

"They moved it last year."

"I can't believe this," Emily spoke excitedly.

"Me either. What if we wanted to sit down?"

Emily turned to face the girls, telling them, "This is where your father proposed."

"Huh."

"Really?"

"By the trash can?"

Emily nodded, "That's right."

"Well, that's very romantic... especially if you needed to spit out your gum," Lorelai tried her best to not give them a judgemental look.

"We were going to meet my girlfriends who were going to drive me back to school," Emily remembered.

"And you were angry with me."

"Because you wouldn't commit to plans for the holidays," Emily recounted the memories from that day.

"Because I was going to invite you to the house to meet my parents after I proposed," Richard informed her.

"Which I didn't know because you gave me no indication whatsoever."

"Anyways, you had just finished calling me a spineless jellyfish," A smile appeared on Richard's face, matching the one that was slowly appearing on his wife's.

"Any you got very annoyed, reached into your pocket, pulled out a box and said, here."

Richard nodded his head as he continued the story, "And you opened the box, showed no emotion, slammed it closed and said Fine."

"Yes, I did."

The two of them leaned over the trash can, sharing the cutest of kisses. "Aw," Rory and Cassie gushed and before they knew it the tour of Yale was continuing.

--☆--☆--☆--☆--☆--

They'd been walking for a while now, letting Richard show them all his old favorite places. Turns out it was most of the campus. Now they were walking into one of the more extravagant buildings.

"Woah," Cassie's eyes widened as she took in the sights.

"Lions and tigers and bears..."

"Oh my," Rory finished the quote for Lorelai.

"It's impressive, isn't it?"

"What is this place?" Rory asked him.

"This is the main administration building," Richard informed them. "Professors' offices, the dean's office. Some of the best scotch in the country can be found behind those doors. Come on. Follow me, please."

Rory and Cassie kept up with Richard's stride, slightly confused why his mood brightened more the second they walked in. "He sure is excited, huh?"

"Yeah," Rory nodded in agreement.

"Girls," Richard stopped to look back at his granddaughters, "this is the office of a very dear friend of mine. His name is Harris Fellows, and he just happens to be the Dean of Admissions."

"Really?" Lorelai gave her father a suspicious look.

"That's right. And I called him just before we came down and I asked him if he had a little time to squeeze you both in and he said yes."

"Squeeze us in?" Rory repeated.

Richard nodded, "For an interview."

Cassie and Rory shared a nervous look, or rather an unprepared look. They'd both done an interview before but they had been prepared. They knew what to say and how to present themselves.

"Interview for what, Dad?"

"An interview for Yale."

"Oh..." Cassie looked back at Lorelai.

"Grandpa..."

"Oh, I told him all about both you and how well you both are doing at Chilton. Well, of course, he insisted on seeing you. He wouldn't let off the hook."

"But I haven't applied to Yale," Rory reminded him.

"Yes, but Cassie is and I told him you weren't finished deciding, being very picky," Richard replied, causing a confused glance from Rory to Cassie.

"But grandpa," Cassie tried to talk.

"He's expecting you both at three. Oh, look, it's three now. Well, we times this perfectly. Cassie, you can meet with him first, I'll walk you both in."

"Oh uh, girls, you don't have to go in if you don't want to," Lorelai told them.

"What? Well, of course they're going to go in there."

"Girls, my daughters, the only two people I'm talking to," Lorelai shot her father a stern look before looking back at her girls. "You don't have to go in there if you don't want to. You wanna leave. Cause we could just leave."

"No," Cassie shook her head first, "I'll go in."

"Me too," Rory nodded.

Richard smiled at their decision, "Harris is a very nice man. I think you all will hit it off. Come on, I'll walk you in."

The twins followed behind their grandfather, exchanging encouraging looks. Cassie smiled at her sister, trying her best to remind herself of her usual interview talking points. She knew this was a good opportunity for her, Richard's idea or not, so she wasn't going to mess it up. She only wished he'd told her before, that way she could've presented herself the way she wanted to.

"Harris."

"Richard."

"These are my granddaughters, Cassie and Rory."

"Nice to meet you," Cassie reached her hand forward, shaking Harris' before she followed him into his office for her interview.

"It was a pleasure meeting you both," Harris told the girls after he'd interviewed them both separately. "I'll read that book you recommended."

"Don't be fooled by the Oprah seal on the cover, it's actually very good," Rory reminded him.

"Well, how did it go?" Richard stepped towards them and the twins quickly noticed that Lorelai and Emily weren't with him anymore.

"Richard, your granddaughters are everything you said and more. You should be very proud," Harris complimented him.

Richard smiled at the girls who were both still wearing an anxious expression on their faces, "I am, very proud."

"It was very nice meeting you both."

"Same here," Cassie smiled at the man.

Harris turned his attention back to Richard, "I'll see you at dinner later."

"Thanks Harris," Richard shook his hand before Harris was heading back into his office. "Well, that sounded like it went very well."

"Why did you do that?" Rory asked him.

"Do what?"

"Make this appointment without telling us," Cassie replied, and Rory nodded.

"Girls, I know this appointment upset your mother, but it was an important opportunity-"

"We know it was an important opportunity," Cassie interrupted him. "That's why you should've told us about it earlier."

"I didn't have my transcript or letters of recommendation. I couldn't even remember what I wanted to major in when he asked," Rory added with an equally upset tone.

"I'm sure he knew you were nervous."

Rory shook her head, annoyed that he didn't get it. "But I didn't have to be that nervous. I could've been calm. I could've brushed my hair, I never would've worn this."

"Oh, Rory, none of this matters."

"It matters to us," Cassie spoke up this time. "This has nothing to do with mom. If you really wanted us to take the meeting we would've done it just because you asked. And we could've been prepared and done it our way."

"Girls," Lorelai's voice came from down the hall, "A cab is meeting us at the main gate."

"Coming," Cassie replied.

"Bye Grandma," both girls smiled at Emily before walking past her to get to Lorelai.

"Bye girls."

--☆--☆--☆--☆--☆--

Cassie wasn't feeling great. She wasn't sure if it was the Yale thing, Rory's changing moods, or maybe even the long cab ride. She just knew something wasn't sitting the way it was supposed to.

The Gilmores got out of the cab and headed towards Luke's. Lorelai and Rory were talking about what had happened but Cassie was completely spacing out. She heard the words collage and Gloria Estefan but everything else was white noise.

All she knew was she was now sitting in the diner and Lorelai was putting a taco in front of her. "Yeah, Hector really came through," Rory said before tapping her sister's arm, bringing her back to the present moment.

"Indeed he did," Cassie agreed.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked the girls as he approached their table.

"Recovering from a day with my parents. Want a taco?" Lorelai replied.

Luke gave him that look that they all knew too well, "Uh, no thanks. See, I already have food here. We sell it to other customers who don't come quite as prepared as the three of you."

"Mm, be nice and get us some salsa," Lorelai requested.

"At least order a cup of coffee," Luke asked them.

Cassie gave him a concerned look, "You want us to drink coffee with our tacos?"

"Sounds just gross enough to work," Lorelai smiled.

"I don't know, it just sounds gross to me," Cassie admitted with a shake of her head.

When Jess walked down the stairs into the dinner he paused when he saw the Gilmore family sitting by the door. Admittedly Jess had been casually avoiding them, he wasn't sure if they were on good terms or not.

Rory noticed him first. Her eyes lit up for a moment before remembering their last conversation. The one where Jess informed her that he did not feel the same way she did.

"Hi," Jess gave them all an awkward smile, except his eyes lingered on one Gilmore longer than the rest of them.

"Hi," Rory responded almost immediately.

"Please, I'll finish it, hi, hi, hi, hi. I'm getting the coffee," Luke let out a sigh of annoyance. He couldn't keep up with all the teenage drama anymore. Not that he ever wanted to deal with it.

"I gotta run out for a second and get a part for my car," Jess said as he looked over at Luke.

"Get a receipt this time."

Jess turned his attention back towards the family sitting at the table. Rory watched where Jess' gaze landed, and how it stayed there. Rory guesses that this might be the reason Jess didn't like her, she'd been debating that possibility for the last few days. Except now she could see it, clear as day. She almost wanted to laugh, how did she not notice it earlier? His entire body language changed when he looked at her.

"I'll be back," Jess said to no one in particular but his gaze remained on one girl. There was a soft smile in his eyes but he didn't say anything else before he turned and left the diner.

"Hey, what's the record for the most tacos eaten in a diner that doesn't actually sell tacos?" Lorelai asked Luke.

"I have no idea," He replied as he walked away from their table.

Rory turned her attention to Cassie, who looked like she was having an internal debate. Cassie's gaze was focused out the window where Jess had just been. But then within a second she was shaking her head, like she was telling herself not to do something.

Cassie felt Rory's eyes on her, causing her to look at Rory. "Do I have taco on my face?" Cassie asked her.

"No," Rory shook her head slowly.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

Rory shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to say anything yet. "Nothing."

--☆--☆--☆--☆--☆--

In the last couple of days Rory has taken after sister in terms of late night walks. The house would be quiet, Cassie and Lorelai were fast asleep, but Rory was wide awake. She'd lay there and initially try to do something productive like homework and reading but that never lasted.

Before this Rory never understood why Cassie took late night walks when she was feeling anxious about something. In fact Rory would honestly be worried Cassie was doing something worse than just walking. It wasn't until two nights ago that Rory put her shoes on and left the house, that she realized just how therapeutic a walk could be.

Tonight was no exception. Only difference was this time Rory didn't pretend to do her homework, she just put her shoes on and left the house. It was no later than midnight but Cassie and Lorelai were already sleeping, a long day with the grandparents wiped them out. So tonight especially Rory knew they weren't going to know she ever left the house. She went out the backdoor and headed towards town.

It was quiet, quieter than normal. Rory took in the evening air, cherishing it for a moment. Everything was calm, serene even. That was until she heard a car driving towards her. Quickly Rory turned around but saw no one. She wasn't scared, this is Stars Hollow after all, only confused. Without needing a second glance she knew the car belonged to Jess.

He parked on the street beside her, rolling down the window to say, "Rory?"

"Hi."

"What are you doing out here?" Jess asked her as he looked around, partially expecting Cassie to be with her.

"Walking."

"Walking?" Jess repeated. He found it almost humorous how if he'd run into Cassie he wouldn't have thought twice about it, but finding Rory, that was unusual.

Rory nodded her head, "It's nice out."

Jess let out a short breath as he opened his car door and got out. Now looking right at Rory, trying to read her expression but he couldn't. "Look uh, about the other night-"

"It's okay," Rory interrupted him before Jess could finish his sentence. "We don't have to talk about it."

"I'm sorry," Jess said looking over at Rory, "I was never trying to mess with your relationship or drag you along."

"I think I was dragging myself," Rory admitted to him. "It's not your fault. None of it."

"So, we're okay then?"

"Sure," Rory nodded her head. A silence fell between them, it was a little uncomfortable but neither of them knew what to do. Rory looked over at Jess, he was looking at the ground with a thoughtful expression on his face. "It's because you like Cassie, right?" Jess looked at her with wide eyes as he slowly started shaking his head. "Are you going to tell me I'm wrong?"

"I- I..."

"Am terrible at hiding my feelings?" Rory smiled softly at the boy who'd broken her heart. "You must really like her."

"How?"

Rory laughed a little, kinda glad that he was actually able to admit what he was hiding, "I opened my eyes and finally saw what was right in front of me. I don't know how I didn't realize it before. Just the way you look at her... I mean, it's like there's no one else."

Jess crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly feeling weirdly exposed. He wasn't used to this, at all. Girls never had this kind of effect on him. Except all girls aren't Cassidy Gilmore. He's never met anyone like her before, and now it was slowly driving him insane.

Now Rory's words were running through his mind. No one else. He looked at Cassie and there was no one else. Rory was right, when Jess looked at Cassie sometimes it really did feel like the rest of the world faded away. He'd been trying to bury his feelings for so long, but now they're all coming out.

"She doesn't know right?" A concerned look appeared on Jess' face, knowing that his feelings were the reason he'd been avoiding Cassie for the past couple of days.

Rory shook her head, "I don't think so. Even if she did she would've ignored it... for my sake," Rory glanced down at the ground.

Jess knew that too, he knew that was the reason Cassie had pushed him to follow Rory the other night. It's the same reason she went to Sherry's baby shower, or kept secrets from Lorelai, hell it was the reason she was at Chilton. Cassie even would've let Rory be with Jess, even if it meant messing up the friendship she clearly cared about and depended on.

"I think you should tell her."

Rory's statement got him to look up but he didn't respond right away. Jess thought it over, he'd been thinking it over since the dance. But then he let out a short breath, "No point."

"No point?" Rory repeated his words back to him.

"She'd never..." Jess shook his head, not wanting to finish his own sentence. "She has Ethan, and even if she didn't I'd find some way to mess it up. I have that habit. Besides, I'm her friend, that's how she sees me."

Jess finished talking but there was more he wanted to say. Except his own words would've terrified him. He was thinking that he'd rather always be her friend than try to be more only to mess it up and lose her. If he did that he'd truly have nothing. He'd settle for being 'just friends' so he could keep her in his life.

"But?" Rory prompted him to keep talking.

"That's it," Jess shrugged his shoulders, "Friends."

"You're kind of an idiot," Rory told him.

"What's that say about you? You had a crush on me," He reminded her, bringing back a playful tone in their conversation.

"Oh jeez," Rory laughed a little, "I'm trying to forget."

"Ouch."

Silence fell over them again, giving them both a chance to think. It felt weird for the two of them to talk like this. All their prior conversations were about Dean or books they'd enjoyed. Nothing like this. Nothing that meant anything. Dynamics were slowly changing and things were going to be different from now on.

"I should go home," Rory spoke quietly but he heard her.

Jess nodded, "Right. Goodnight Rory."

"Goodnight Jess."

a/n: guys to be honest I have no clue what's going to happen, so I'm putting it to a vote. Do we want Cassie and Jess together, yes or no?

as always thank you all so much for reading, I appreciate you all more than you know.