❝CHILTON PARTY TROUBLES❞
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ chapter twenty-one,
Gilmore Girls — Season One

January 27th, 2001

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

[ LUCY'S POV ]

     TONIGHT IS THE CHILTON PARTY.

Surprisingly, my dad allowed me to go as long as Addy and Nathan didn't leave me. He was fine with Tristan bringing me home, just as long as I return home before eleven or I'm a dead man— girl— walking. Addy and Nathan seemed adamant on coming, insisting that they weren't ones to enjoy parties like these.

I don't think I have anything to worry about with going to this party. I met Madeline and Louise when I went to New York at the start of the month, and I've heard about some of Tristan's friends. The only thing he failed to mention was the swarm of ex-girlfriends that stared me down like I was crap on the bottom of their expensive heels.

I tried to dress the part, choosing to wear a blue sundress that cuts off at the knee. The weather doesn't call for dresses but I figured I'd try and look suitable for a Chilton party.

Tristan's already complimented me many times, and I've thanked him repeatedly despite the gnawing feeling my stomach.

Everyone is staring at me, questioning me silently, and I feel overwhelmed. I should've stayed home in my pjs with my dad and coffee. I wish to be at Sniffy's Tavern, eating the most delicious food with my favourite people and not here. I hate here. Why do I hate here?

Tristan walks us through the crowd, Addy and Nathan following behind me as we walk towards a small crowd of people. We reach Rory who stands with Lane, Paris, Madeline and Louise, and I offer a smile towards them.

"Luciana!" Louise loves saying my name, claiming that it's unusually beautiful, and I guess I should take that as a compliment. "You came."

"Hey," I say. "Uh, you remember Addy, and this is her boyfriend, Nathan."

"My, my." Louise stares at the boy who cuddles an arm around Addy's waist. "Aren't you gorgeous?"

Addy grins. "Isn't he just?" Addy reaches up on her tiptoes and pushes a kiss to his cheek.

"Okay, I'm officially bored."

     Louise snatches Madeline's hand and the two girls walk away. They're practically attached at the hip, sort of like me and Addy, and I turn away from the two girls to Paris, Lane and Rory.

Tristan pushes a kiss against my head. "I'm gonna go get us a drink, okay?" I nod, unsure on what to say but I let him walk away.

     "Madeline's house is beautiful," Addy says, her eyes scanning the scene. There's teenagers filling every square inch of this fabulous home that looks like a castle, and I've never seen this many people in one place. It's daunting.

     "It's her stepfather's," Rory says, and I can't say I'm surprised.

     Rory turns to Paris. "Lucy, you remember Paris, right?"

     "Yeah, hi." I offer her a smile but she doesn't reciprocate. I know she doesn't exactly like me— I don't know why— but I didn't mean to make enemies with someone I don't know. Paris just remains silent, and I look over at Addy who shrugs in response.

     Tristan steps back over, his arm sliding around my waist, and I let him place a drink in my hand. "It's lemonade," he whispers, and I'm relieved that it is because I am not one for underage drinking.

     "We're gonna go dance," Addy tells me. "If you need us, call or find me, okay?"

     I nod, flattening my hand into Tristan's while my two friends step away from us to join the crowd of dancers. I look up at Tristan, and he wraps an arm around my shoulders, drinking his drink and I stand awkwardly.

     I hate being here. I wish I didn't, but I feel awkward and embarrassed. There's girls scowling at me, there's boys staring at me, and I feel my stomach ache and my legs shake. All I want to do is leave, but I promised I'd give this a chance. I promised I'd give his life a chance, and I'm here to do so.

     But then I find myself sitting next to Rory Gilmore thirty minutes later. She has a book in her lap, and I sip the drink that Tristan gave me while he mingles with some of his friends.

     "You okay?" Rory asks, and I shrug. "Did Tristan do something?"

     "No," I say, looking forward to see him laughing with a girl I don't recognise. I haven't met any of the people he knows— besides the girls— and I don't know why he hasn't introduced me. Maybe he's embarrassed by me, but I might sound ridiculous.

     Rory closes her book. "Lucy?"

     "Every girl is looking at me like I don't belong here— which I don't— and every guy is staring me down," I admit, my eyes moving from Tristan to Rory who has a sympathetic smile on her face. "I don't know anything about his life, and his friends, and he hasn't even introduced me. Do you think he's..."

     "Embarrassed by you?" Rory interrupts, shaking her head. "He's not, Luce, trust me. He's crazy about you. He always talks about you."

     "Really?"

     "Really," Rory repeats. "He has ex-girlfriends, and they might try to intimidate you but Tristan really isn't interested in them. I hear him talking about you at school all the time, and it's obvious how he feels about you. He really likes you."

     I sigh, letting my head hit my hands because I feel like an idiot. Here I am, complaining and bitching about my boyfriend when he's quite literally perfect. He cares about me, he's sweet, and he wants to be with me, but I'm still worrying about all the what ifs of our relationship.

     Rory turns to face me, and I glance over at her. "I'm not suited for this kind of life," I admit. "I'm a loner. I mean, I hardly have any friends, and Tristan is great but I'm just..."

     "Worrying about the what ifs?"

     I laugh because Rory Gilmore can shockingly read my mind. "What if there's somebody better out there for him? Like one of these girls who just throw themselves at him?"

     "You're really good for Tristan, Lucy. He needs somebody to keep him grounded, to stop him from being a jerk, and you do that." I can't quite believe that I'm sitting with Rory Gilmore at a party, complaining about my relationship when she's just broken up with Dean. "He really does like you, Luce. I think you should talk to him."

     I face Rory. "I'm sorry about you and Dean," is what I say to avoid discussing Tristan any longer.

     The only reason I know about Rory and Dean's breakup is because Lorelai told me and Dad this morning. After telling us, Dad stepped outside the diner and had a slap fight with the sixteen-year-old who simply wanted coffee.

     I hit him around the back of the head, finding his behaviour unacceptable, and when I ran into Dean at Doose's market, I apologised to him for my dad's behaviour. After apologising, me and Dean talked and he explained the breakup in very little detail to me, but I could see that he was heartbroken. It was obvious he liked— loved— Rory, and that he was upset.

     It must be difficult breaking up with someone who is beloved by town because everyone— and I mean everyone— is watching him and spiting him. I've warned a few townsfolk to leave him be because it isn't fair, and that if he needs anything, I'm here to talk.

     I may be a friend to Dean, but I'm also a friend to Rory, and if she wants to talk, I'll listen just like she's done for me.

     "It's okay," Rory insists, shrugging it off. "I just want to forget about it."

     Before Rory can say anything else, Lane comes barrelling into the room. "I have a major problem." Her eyes land on me. "Hey, Luce."

     I wave. "Hi, Lane."

     "Henry, the guy I've been dancing with."

     "What?" Rory questions, and I'm just as confused because when I saw her earlier, she was well into her second dance with him.

     "Ok so he's really good in school, he's going to be a doctor— paediatrician to be exact. His parents are extremely involved in their local church. He himself helps out with Sunday school. He speaks Korean fluently, he respects his parents and he's also really cute, very funny and surprisingly interesting."

Me and Rory look at one another, completely and utterly confused. "I'm not seeing the problem," I say, and Rory agrees.

"I'm falling for a guy my parents would approve of!" Lane exclaims, and I nearly laugh at the ridiculousness. "They'd love him, they'd go crazy! There'd be dancing in the Kim house!"

I can't picture dancing in the Kim house at all.

"Dancing?"

"Followed by a lot of praying but initially there'd be dancing," Lane rambles. "This is horrible. This can't happen. I have to stop it. We have to go."

"But uh—"

"Now! You need to grab your stuff, we gotta go," Lane demands, and Rory quickly collects her things off the chair.

Lane begins to walk off, and Rory turns to face me. "Will you be okay?"

I nod. "Yeah. Have a good night. Thanks for the talk," I say, offering her a smile before Rory rushes off with Lane.

I move from my seat and towards the dance floor where I come face to face with somebody I don't recognise. She's beautiful, brunette and I think she's either an ex-girlfriend or someone who wants to dance with me.

I clear my throat. "Do you wanna dance?"

She ignores me, and I nearly laugh. "Are you Lucinda?" she asks, and I've never had anyone butcher my name like this.

"Uh, no."

"You're not Tristan's girlfriend?"

"I am," I say, my voice firm. "But I'm Luciana, not Lucinda."

The girl huffs. "Hmm. Strange name."

"Blue!" Oh, thank God. I turn my head to see Tristan who is rushing through the crowd to reach me. "Hey, you okay?" His arm closes around my waist, and I smile warmly, relieved that he's here.

I nod. "Yeah, I'm just..."

"I was just introducing myself," the mystery girl says, reaching her hand out towards me. "I'm Summer. Tristan's recent ex-girlfriend."

I nearly do shake her hand, but Tristan pulls me flush against him, and he leans down. "You wanna dance?" he asks, his lips brushing against my ear, and I nod quickly.

He looks back to Summer. "We gotta go."

     Tristan drags me away before Summer can say another word, and he pulls us away from the dance floor entirely. I assumed we'd be dancing but he instead pulls me into a private room that holds a piano, and I don't question him.

     He closes the curtain, separating us from the party. "Why are you talking to her?"

     I scoff. "Me? She came over to me."

     "Well, she shouldn't be."

     "Well, you should've warned me then," I say, and he sighs. "I've had to walk on eggshells all night. All the girls are staring at me like I don't belong here, and I know I don't, but it's horrible to be here when I'm obviously not wanted."

     "You are wanted," Tristan tells me, but some part of me doesn't believe him. "I want you here, but every time I look away, you're not there. Where do you keep going?"

     "I spoke to Rory. I was feeling awkward."

     Tristan steps towards me, and he takes both my hands. "Blue, if you want to leave, you tell me, okay? I will leave in a heartbeat. You wanna go now? Come on, the night is still young, we can leave right now."

     I shake my head. "Your friends are here, Tristan. You should stay. I'll go."

     "No," he insists, his hands still in mine. "We either stay here together or we go together."

     "What? Are you going to hold me here against my will?" I laugh at how silly he sounds. "Come on, Tristan, I can leave and you can stay, okay? It's fine, really."

     I free my hands and take a step back but Tristan takes a step forward and snatches my arm again. "Luce, please." I take my arm back. "Sorry. Let's just go. We can go wherever you want. Hell, if you want to go home, I'll drive you, but please don't go without me."

     He sounds genuine. "Okay."

     "Come on." He steps forward, his arm falling over my shoulders.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

TRISTAN DRIVES US AWAY FROM THE PARTY and we park in some car park in the middle of Hartford. It's surprisingly empty, with only a few cars in the very far corners. It's secluded, and the perfect place to kill someone if things go south in this car. I don't know why my head immediately went to that thought, but it did.

But I obviously don't think Tristan is planning on killing me.

I told Addy and Nathan that I was leaving, and that Tristan would drive me home. They were a little hesitant to let me leave but Addy said she'd call me the second she gets home to make sure I'm okay which I appreciate.

"Luce, talk to me," Tristan asks for the third time tonight.

"I don't want you to be mad," I say.

"All I want you to do is talk to me," he says, turning his body towards me. "Please."

I sigh, and allow myself to completely let go, to let everything leave my mouth. "I keep thinking about how there might be somebody else out there for you who's better than me— who's prettier and smarter and better— and I know I shouldn't think that, but I do. I'm just worried you'll change your mind one day, and realise that I'm just some girl from a small town who doesn't have many friends, and you'll run away."

Tristan remains silent, and I continue to talk. "I really like you, I do, and I want to be with you, but the life you live is so different to mine. You have so many friends, and I have, like, two. I mean, my best friend is my own dad. You go to parties, I don't. We live different lives, and we shouldn't pretend that we don't."

"It doesn't matter what kind of life I live," he says, and I look away from him. "Lucy, I really like you, okay? I only wanted to show you the party so you could meet a few people. That's not who I am. The parties, the drinking, the people, that's not me. Sure, I enjoy the occasional drink and party, but I'm not a serial partier, okay?"

I nod, understanding him and he continues to speak. "I don't care if your dad is your best friend or that you have two friends, okay? I care about you and your life, Lucy. I want to be apart of it, and seeing your world these past few weeks has been incredible, I mean that. It meant a lot to me, and all I wanted to do was introduce you to some occasional part of my life."

I guess that makes sense, and I hate that I'm paranoid about something so minor when Tristan is literally perfect in every single way. "Lucy, I really do like you, and I really want to show you that I'm serious about us."

"I know," I whisper.

"There's nobody else out there for me, okay? I'm not even embarrassed to say that you might be the only girl out there for me." I turn to him, my eyes glistening with tears because nobody has ever said such a thing. How can he possible know that I'm the only girl for him? "Yes, I know I'm mad, but I have a really good feeling about us."

"You do?"

He nods firmly. "I know that I've been a jerk to people in the past, and I know that I've dated a lot of people but..." He pauses, his eyes searching mine. "I've never been more serious about anyone in my life than I am with you. You know me better than anyone, and you see me as somebody I can be proud of."

"We've been together for two months."

"And two months can turn into a lifetime."

I scoff, shaking my head. "You're crazy," I state, a laugh leaving my mouth.

"I may just be, but I'm hopeful about us."

     "I'm hopeful about us too," I admit.

     Then, in the space of five seconds, I'm pulled forward and Tristan's lips attach to mine while my body moves to straddle Tristan's legs. I laugh, my hands on his shoulders as I lean forward to capture his lips again. His hands fall against my waist, and I inhale at the touch of his fingers against the thin material.

I feel him bite my bottom lip, and I jolt forward, hands tightening on his shoulder as I push myself against him again. He opens his mouth, his tongue finds mine, and I rock forward again, caught off guard by the passion.

I pull back to catch my breath before I find his lips again. His hands hold my face, and I breathe heavily at the contact of his warm skin against my cold skin. He pulls back for a second, and I push forward again and he brings my mouth to his in a soul crushing kiss that even I hadn't quite expected from him.

He squeezes my hip again, and my arms fall around his neck, depending the already hard and passionate kiss. One of Tristan's hands travel down my back, the other one against my face to pull me against him, and I arch at the touch of his fingertips at the small of my back.

I jolt backwards, my hands taking his face as I try to compose myself. "Wow," I breathe.

"You okay?"

I nod frantically, pressing my forehead against his so we can catch our breaths. I clear my throat, my hand patting against his chest a few times before I lift myself off him and sit back in my chair.

My body feels warm, and I really need to get out this car before I pass out.

I push open the car door, and lift myself out. I hear Tristan's car door open, and I close mine just as music begins to play through the speakers of the car. I recognise the song to be "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer, and I roll my eyes when he steps towards me and offers me his hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" I ask, slipping my hand into his.

"I owe you a dance." He pulls me flush against him, and he pulls me closer to the car so we can still hear the song faintly playing through the car door as Tristan moves us side to side carefully.

As we move, the tension and worry in my body melts away and into the thrumming of the song. I don't know why I was ever worried because I feel safe here, I feel relaxed in the arms of somebody I care so much about. Somebody I—

I stop my thought from finishing, and I look to him with a kind smile as he leans down to press a kiss against my head. Laughter bubbles in my throat, and Tristan presents me with a rueful smile that would make any girl swoon. Thankfully, I'm the only one who gets to see this exact smile.

Tristan spins me around, my dress circling me before I'm pulled against his chest again, and he spins me away one final time before the song ends, and I tumble back into his arms, swaying to the music as the next song plays.

I laugh loudly when "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel begins to play.

"I'm in love with an Uptown Girl," I sing, swaying my arms around and moving away from Tristan who smoothly glides towards me and wraps his arms around me again.

"She's my Uptown Girl," Tristan sings poorly, and I laugh loudly again. "You know I'm in love with an Uptown Girl."

I press my head against his chest, my laughter never quietening even when the next song begins to play. The softer, quieter voice of Cyndi Lauper begins to sound through the speakers, and we sway together in the middle of this car park.

Tristan tightens his arms around me, and I sigh happily against him. "Are we okay?" he asks, and I lift my head to look at him.

"More than okay," I say, and I mean it.

He pushes his lips against mine softly, and I wrap my arms around his neck while we dance together in this car park.

As I look at him, I wonder if being in love with him is the most ridiculous thought I could have.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

authors note:

aren't they the sweetest?

is it too early to love him? probably but idc :)