❝WELCOME TO YALE, LUCY DANES❞
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⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ chapter one,
Gilmore Girls — Season Four

𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟖𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟑
―୨୧⋆ ˚ LUCY'S POV

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈 𝐆𝐎 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐃, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈'𝐌 𝐀 𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐖𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐊. I'm running on three cups of coffee and no sleep. I didn't sleep because I was thinking about everything going wrong today, and despite the day not barely starting, everything has managed to go so, so wrong.

I had to pack the last of my things from the apartment today, and that was a complete disaster thanks to the lack of suitcases my dad owns. Despite going on a major trip last month where he── the man afraid of commitment── got married, he still doesn't seem to have any suitcases or bags so I can put my belongings in.

I'll come back to the whole "my dad got married to Nicole" thing later. Right now, I need to focus. I've stuffed all my crap into bin bags── yes, bin bags, aren't I classy? Anyway, once I had loaded my stuff into the back of Dad's truck and my car, I forgot something very, very important.

I forgot the bags of coffee beans from the diner. Yes, I know they'll have coffee at college, but if I have some way to make my own coffee, I'm going to bring my own beans and make coffee with the beans I've been using since I was thirteen. I can't live without coffee from the diner, so when I loaded several bags of coffee beans into the truck, Dad didn't look the least bit surprised.

Just before we set off on the road, I had a tiny── okay, a major── anxiety attack on the side of the road. I was hyperventilating and crying, terrified of going to college, and I refused to get into the car for half an hour. Dad would keep saying, "If you get in the car, I'll give you fifty dollars," but I would just cry harder.

I was supposed to be driving my own car to the campus but after Dad deemed me unsafe to drive, he had Buddy drive my car. The poor man hasn't driven in nearly six years, but he drove my car all the way to the campus without a single problem. Dad was worried I'd drive my car off the road or drive away from the campus, so I had to ride with him while he did everything in his power to calm me down.

  He kept pushing words of wisdom on me, but all his generous words brought tears to my eyes, and I was back to square one── crying anxiously. Dad looked like he was about to run off the road, and if I had any manners, I'd apologise for my strange, depressing behaviour.

Once we arrive at the campus after a long, painful journey, I've surprisingly calmed down either from Dad's words or from the fact that Dad took several wrong turns trying to get us here. Mentally, I'm doing a lot better, but I psychically look like I've been dragged through a bush and caught an allergic reaction.

  I'm then introduced to my freshman counsellor, Tess, who hands me my key and points me in the right direction. She's doing a tour later for the Durfee girls── I'm a Durfee girl, exciting, right? After the tour, I'll need to take my picture for my ID and collect it. From there, I'll unpack the rest of my belongings and then I'll say my goodbyes to my dad── something I'm really not looking forward to.

  I have the entire day planned out, I just have this unwanted anxiety interrupting my schedule. No, I did not plan for the mental breakdown earlier, but it's fine. It only pushed me back by thirty minutes, and it's in the past now.

  I'm moving forward.

  We stop at Suite Six── my suite that I'll be sharing with three other girls.

  Using the key, I unlock the door, and I find that it's completed deserted. I assume I'm the first to arrive, and I don't know when the other girls will be arriving. They may move in later today, they may move in tomorrow, or they may move in the day after tomorrow. Right now, it's just me in this room, and that's good. I can get the lay of the land, pick a shelf in the bathroom and choose a bed in the room I'll be sharing with another girl.

  I drag my suitcase into the room, stopping in the shared common room. "It's nice," I say, looking at the very basic, very boring furniture that we should definitely amend once I meet the other girls.

  A lot of my fear today stems from the fact that I'll be introduced to three girls that I have to live with for the entire year. What if we don't get along? What if we hate one another? What if they aren't nice people? I also have to share a bedroom with one of these girls and from the looks of it... "J.A. is my roommate."

"Well, doesn't she seem nice?"

Dad has been trying to cheer me up since my little breakdown, and while I appreciate it, I really think I'll be okay once I settle into my room and unpack my things.

  I push open the door to the room I share with J.A. and I wheel my suitcase over to the bed closest to the door. Dad puts two bags down onto the desk next to my bed, and Buddy puts another two bags down on the floor next to my suitcase. I stare at the stuff I already have, realising I have way too many belongings.

  "Did I leave anything at home?" I ask.

  "Luce, this bag is full of coffee beans," Dad tells me, lifting up the bag. "And this one is full of polaroids."

  "Well, I wanted options," I argue, snatching the bag of polaroids from him. Over the summer, I took loads of pictures with Dad, with Maisie and Buddy, with Tristan, with Lindsay and Addy just so I could have plenty of memories on the walls of my room. If I decorate this place to look a little more like home, I'll feel a thousand times better.

I open the bin bag of polaroids, and I smile as I flick through several photos of me and Addy.

Addy is in New York now. She called me last night, letting me know that she arrived safely, and I promised to call her once I was settled into my room. She wants to hear all about my roommates and make sure I don't replace her which I definitely, definitely will not be doing. Nathan is at NYU, and he's going well according to Addy. They've already visited one another and visited a few sights nearby. I'm just glad they're doing well. I miss them a crazy amount.

The goodbye Addy and I shared yesterday morning was pretty devastating. We hugged each other tightly. I cried, she cried. I promised I'd visit her soon, and she promised she'd be home for every holiday just so she can see me, but I don't hold her to that. She's in New York now, and she's going to have an amazing time, I just know it.

I look to the polaroids of me and Tristan, flicking through all the ones we took whilst we spent a whole week together in Maine while my dad was on his cruise── you know, the one he married Nicole on?

Yes, I'll discuss that later, but for now I need to not get mad.

Anyway, Tristan is moving into his room tomorrow, and I've offered to help him but he said Logan and his friends would be stopping by so he didn't need any help. After he unpacks tomorrow, Logan is throwing a... welcome party that I've been invited to, and I figured I'd go so I can meet some new people and maybe I could bring my suitemates if they're up for that.

  "Okay, we should move the mattress in next." Dad grabs my hand, placing my polaroids down on my desk, and he pushes me out the door again.

  I step out the door, and I crash straight into another body. "Oh!" Something made of glass falls out of the stranger's hands, and it smashes on the floor. "Oh, my God. I'm so sorry." I immediately drop to the floor, trying to clean up the glass.

Great first impression, Luce. Way to go!

"Lucy, get up." Dad tugs on my arm, pulling me up and off the floor. I'm clumsy, that much I know, and I've just broke something that belongs to one of the girls I'm going to be staying with for a year. This is just great. "Sorry about──"

We look to the girl── a black girl with curly hair, a tint of makeup, and a large smile plastered on her face. She's... laughing, and I don't know if I should laugh with her or cry my eyes out. We stare at her strangely, wondering why she's laughing, but none of us can figure it out.

I look away from the girl to Dad, shrugging my shoulder. "W-What do I do?" I ask quietly.

"Uh..." Dad clears his throat, staring straight at the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Oh!" The girl laughs, tears in her eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm perfect." She kicks the glass at her feet, wheezing softly. "I'm so glad you broke that. I hated that freaking vase."

"Oh," I breathe out, relieved and confused. "Uh, I'm still sorry."

She shakes her head. "Oh, it's fine. That thing was ugly. My parents wanted me to bring it for some stupid reason." That vase belonged to her parents? Oh, that's just── "Really, don't worry about it. I'll tell them I dropped it. They know how much I hate that thing."

"Are you sure, I can──"

She holds her hand out to me. "I'm Amara Davis, and you must be..." She peers over my shoulder at my bedroom door. "...either J.A. or L.D."

  I laugh, shaking her hand softly. "L.D.," I reply, smiling politely. "Luciana Danes, but please call me Lucy." I've decided that I'd still rather be known as Lucy at college because Luciana still sounds too... old, I don't know how to explain it. If my dad had just picked Lucy as my name, we wouldn't need to have this debate.

  "Luciana." She whistles, removing her hand from mine. "Beautiful name."

  I smile in appreciation. "Thank you. Uh..." I look to my dad who is standing with a tight-lipped smile, unsure on what to say. "...this is my dad, Luke Danes." Dad nods to her, offering his hand towards her.

"Nice to meet you," he says, and Amara takes his hand to shake hers.

  "Lucy and Luke." Amara laughs. "You guys sound like you should have your own show." I've totally always thought that, but Dad would never want his own show. Anyway, I like this girl, and while she isn't my roommate, I'm quite excited to live with her.

  I then look towards Buddy, placing a hand on his arm. "And this is Buddy Linds." Buddy shakes the girl's hand, offering her a kind smile.

  "It's nice to meet you guys," Amara says, looking at each of us. "My parents are on their way. They got into an argument about where to park, but you can meet them soon."

  "Great!" I clap my hands together. "We're just going to go grab the rest of my stuff. It was really great to meet you."

  "Yeah, you too, I'll see you soon, L.D." She winks at me, stepping past me to walk out of the room, and I smile up at Dad proudly.

  "See what I did?" I shake Dad's arm, tugging him towards the door. "I introduced myself to a complete stranger, and I didn't feel nauseous."

  "Very proud of you, kid."

  One down, two more suitemates to go.

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𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐘 𝐈𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃, me, Dad and Buddy began to unpack my belongings, focusing solely on my side of the room. Amara is in her room unpacking, and after being introduced to her parents, we went our separate ways. Later tonight, I think I'm going to invite her to Logan's welcome party extravaganza thing tomorrow night so we can... bond, and if my other suitemates move in, I can invite them too.

Right now I need to focus on unpacking, but I'm purposefully doing it very, very slowly because after we unpack, I have to say goodbye to my dad. Sure, I can go home whenever I want, but I'll still be ridiculously homesick whenever I'm away so saying goodbye to Dad today will hurt all the same.

  I stick several polaroids on my wall, smiling at the photos Dad and I took on our great American road trip in May after I graduated. I had an amazing time travelling from New York to San Fransisco, visiting every state in between and spending as much time with my father as possible. It was great, and now I have a thousand pictures to remember it.

Dad steps up behind me, hands on my shoulders. "You feeling okay, kid?" I nod, turning away from my impressive photo wall.

"Sorry about the freak out," I say, still feeling a little embarrassed about my silly breakdown over leaving home. "And, uh, sorry for..." I pause, looking away from Dad. "...kicking the truck."

  Yes, I kicked my dad's truck. I'm not proud of it.

He shrugs. "It's okay. It probably deserved it."

"It did." My lips upturn in a smile, and Dad ruffles my hair. "I'm still sorry."

Dad wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him, and I lift my arms to hug him back. We stand there for a long moment, just hugging one another for both of our comforts, and I feel tears prick in my eyes again.

I really need to get a grip.

  I pull back, wiping my eyes and Dad pins me with a pointed look. "Come on, Luce."

  "I'm pathetic," I breathe out, exhaling a laugh. "I mean, here I am, about to start college and I'm crying about leaving my dad who isn't even that far away from me. College kids shouldn't want their dad's, but look at me." I wave my hands to exaggerate. "I need my dad. I need you. Why?"

  "Well, I──"

  "You never socialised me properly," I ramble, continuing to rant at my poor dad who just stands there and listens. "You made me a daddy's girl, and while that was cute when I was little, it isn't so cute now that I'm at college!"

  Dad stares at me, utterly lost, and I step away, hands on my hips as I try to regain composure. "Okay, I realise I'm freaking out again." I laugh, sucking in a sharp breath. "I'm done."

  "Well, I'm sorry for not..." Dad sighs, his mouth tight-lipped. "...socialising you properly."

  I'm far from rambling...

  "I'm a stinking daddy's girl," I complain, throwing myself down onto my mattress. "The second you leave, I'm probably going to get in my car and drive straight back to you, Dad. I mean, what the hell was I thinking?" I scoff, shaking my head. "I can't move away to college." I stand up abruptly. "Come on, we should repack because I am never, ever──"

  "Lucy." Dad grasps my shoulders. "Lucy." He pushes me to sit back down. "Luce, look..." He grabs my desk chair, pulling it forward so he can sit across from me. "...I know it's going to be scary, and I know it's going to be hard at first, but you are going to enjoy this." He grabs my hands, squeezing extra tightly. "You want to be here, so no, we're not going to repack. You're going to give this a shot── a real shot."

  "What if I fail, Dad? What if──"

  "Luce," Dad interrupts, voice stern. "College is not going to be easy, alright? You may have your ups, and you may have your downs, but I know you, kid, and I know you're going to work it out whether you fail or not. If you fail, you'll figure out a solution because that's who you are."

  "I don't wanna let you down."

  He scoffs, squeezing my hands again. "You could never let me down, no matter what you decide to do. I'm always going to be proud of you, Lucy."

  "I'm terrified, Dad." My chest tightens, and I look down at my knees. "I don't know why because I've wanted this for years, but now that I'm here, I'm..." I shrug, inhaling sharply. "...I'm terrified of what's to come."

  Dad removes one hand from mine, and touches my cheek, lifting my face up so I'm looking directly at him. "It's okay to be scared, Luce, that's normal. If you weren't scared, I'd be confused. I mean, come on, this is scary. You're going to be living with three strangers, away from home, and──"

  "Not making me feel better, Dad."

  "Sorry." He laughs. "All I'm saying is..." He flattens a hand against my hair. "...while it's scary now, I can promise you that it won't always be once you really get settled."

  "Do you really think I'll be okay?"

  "Kid, I know you're going to be okay. You're my kid, alright?" I crack a smile, and Dad smiles right back at me. "There you go, smiling already."

  "I know you're only down the road or whatever, but I'm really, really going to miss seeing you everyday, Dad." Unwanted tears start to spring in my eyes, and Dad's smile turns down into a frown.

  "You have no idea just how much I'm gonna miss having you around, Luce." He leans forward, pushing a kiss against my forehead, and a tear slides down my cheek. "But I need you to remember that I will always── and I mean always be here for you, alright? If you need me, night or day, I will be here in a flash."

  "Even if I need you at two in the morning?"

  He nods in confirmation. "Even if you need me at two in the morning."

  I move forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding onto him like a child. I bury my face into the side of his neck, and I squeeze my eyes closed, afraid that I'll breakdown once again. Dad rubs a hand down my back, breathing heavily, and I inhale a shaky breath.

I look over at Buddy who is the common room throwing a cushion from Dad's sofa onto the sofa I now share with three other people. An idea then springs to mind, and I voice it, "Every Saturday night. Sniffy's Tavern."

"Every Saturday night?"

I nod, tightening my hold on Dad. "If we can't do a Saturday, we'll do another day. Basically, one day a week we'll eat dinner at Sniffy's, okay?"

Dad laughs softly. "Alright, kid."

I pull away, wiping my tear-stained cheeks, and Dad pats my knee. "You swear?" I hold out my pinkie, and Dad rolls his eyes, but he wraps his pinkie around mine── swearing that we will always show up for dinner at Sniffy's once a week regardless of what we're doing.

"There's one thing we need to do before I leave." I stare at Dad strangely, but when he goes to grab the Yale t-shirt I bought earlier today, I know exactly what he wants to do. "Come on."

  Dad drags me out of my room, out past all the kids who are unpacking, and to the front gates that says, "Welcome to Yale. Class of 2007".

  I put the t-shirt on over the shirt I'm wearing. Dad pulls out his wallet, reaching for the mini print of thirteen-year-old me wearing a Yale shirt. "Okay. Hold this." I grab the print. "Now go stand under the banner. "I take a few steps back, and I stand underneath the banner.

  "Okay. Smile, kid." Dad steps back, holding the camera up, and I smile widely at the camera and at the man I get to call my father── at the man who is unbelievably proud of me, and who loves me despite everything. He is who I want to grow up and become, and I hope he knows that.

  He snaps several photos, and once he's finished, I apologise to the other newcomers who need to walk past us. I rush back to Dad who flicks through the photos, showing them to me with a smile on his face. "Look at you." He nudges me. "You did it all on your own, just like I said you would, Luce."

  "I couldn't have done it without you," I say, wrapping my arm around his to pull him away and back to my suite so we can finish unpacking my belongings.

We spend two hours unpacking the rest of my things, and while it definitely shouldn't have taken that long, it did because every single thing I unpacked brought memories back to us, and I became a blubbery mess all over again. Buddy and Dad shared a few tears and laughs, and they both hugged me when I had another anxious breakdown about the idea of saying goodbye, but by the end of my breakdown, we were unpacked.

Now the time to say goodbye is here, and I have to face it head on.

We stand outside Durfee Hall, and it's dark outside, meaning we've spent the entire day doing this, but I'm not surprised.

Buddy hugs me tightly first, whispering a "Good luck" to me before he pulls back. He presses a kiss to my head, insists that I call him and Maisie constantly, and then he steps away so Dad can say goodbye to me.

He pulls me into another hug. "Tomorrow I have to sort out some divorce stuff but──" I laugh out loud, and Dad pulls back, a strange look in his eyes. "What?"

"I can't believe you married Nicole."

"You already laughed about it."

"Yeah, and I'll laugh about it for the rest of my life," I wheeze.

Right, Dad got married to Nicole on the cruise he went on. When he came back home, he was in a funk all day until he finally admitted to me what was going on. When I heard that Dad had gotten married, I was mad because I── his only daughter── should be at his wedding, on a cruise or not, and I wasn't. But then he interrupted my angry rambling to let me know that he and Nicole had decided to get a divorce shortly after getting stupidly married.

Then I burst out laughing... just like I'm doing now because come on. It doesn't sound real, and that's what makes it ridiculously funny, but Dad certainly isn't amused because now he has to deal with a bunch of incessant lawyers.

I technically have a stepmother, and Lord knows I don't want one── not Nicole anyway, but I didn't say a damn thing. I support his decision to get divorced All I hope is that he invites me to the next wedding which he claims won't ever happen.

I have hope that Dad will get married to the right person one day and I'll actually get to attend it.

  Anyway, back to the goodbye.

  "Okay, as I was saying..." My laughter dies down, but the amused grin remains on my face. "...Rory is moving in tomorrow, alright?" I nod, knowing that she will also be in Durfee Hall so I'll have a familiar face nearby. "Lorelai is borrowing my truck, but I think I'm going to drive her here because I don't trust her in my truck." Dad trusts nobody but himself and me in his precious truck. "Anyway, I can stop by tomorrow if you want?"

  I nod, liking that idea very much despite us saying this very heartfelt goodbye. "Okay. Hopefully my other suitemates will have moved in by then."

  "Yeah." He brings me back into another hug. "But then after tomorrow..." He sighs. "...you need to grow up and be independent."

  I groan. "Great."

  He squeezes me, laughing softly as he pulls back. "Okay, if you need anything..." Dad places his hands on my face.

  "You're here for me," I say, filling in the blank. "I know, Dad. I'll be okay though."

  "You can call me or you can drive back." I nod, smiling sadly. "But try and get some rest tonight, okay? Talk to Amara── make a friend, kid."

  "Make a friend," I repeat, laughing. "Okay."

  "I love you so much, Luce." He presses a kiss to my forehead again. "And I am so, so proud of you, you have no idea."

  "I love you too, Dad. Don't forget me, okay?"

  "Like I could ever forget you."

  He hugs me one final time, saying goodbye a few times in my ear, and then he pulls away and begins to step away. I wave sadly at him, my chest tightening as I watch him turn away, leaving me here alone.

  I don't move until Dad is completely out of sight, and even then, I struggle to move away.

  I'm a college girl now. I'm a Yalie.

  It's time to be independent, right?

  Welcome to Yale, Lucy Danes, you're gonna be fine, kid.

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authors note:

the first official chapter of 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄!!!!

i hope you liked the longer chapter . . . i'm going to write much longer chapters in this fic so let me know how you feel about them :)

anyway, i hope you're excited for this sequel as much as i am bcos i have some very dramatic, very happy and very exciting plans for lucy and her friends

leave any opinions, thoughts or ideas that you may want to see for our college girl :) !!

thankyou for reading <3