❝𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐀𝐘'𝐒 MAID OF HONOUR❞
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⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ chapter four,
Gilmore Girls — Season Four

𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟑
―୨୧⋆ ˚ LUCY'S POV

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        𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃'𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐑, 𝐈 𝐀𝐌 𝐃𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐒. If she needs a hug, I've got arms open and wide for her. If she needs food, I'll run around town for whatever she craves. If she needs a getaway car, I'll sneak her out of here and drive us into the sunset. I'm Lindsay's right hand woman for the rest of today, and if she needs a single damn thing, I've got her.

  Not only have I got Lindsay's back, Addy does too. She's running late, but she'll be here in time before the ceremony starts. When I called her, she was cursing out every cab driver in New York so I imagine she'll be here shortly after tackling some helpless old woman for a cab.

  Right now, Lindsay doesn't need anything from me but my time and my expertise in makeup── something I have little of, but I try my best.

  When she revealed herself to me in her wedding dress, tears started to spring in my eyes because Lindsay Lister might be the most beautiful bride I've ever seen, and I'll say that for the rest of my life. She truly is a visionary.

She sits in front of me, keeping her eyes on me as I move the makeup brush across her cheekbone softly, making sure not to put too much blush on her face. I pull the brush back, examining my work.

  I spin Lindsay's chair. "What do you think?"

  Lindsay's smile is wide, and I rest my chin on her shoulder as we look at the mirror. She reaches for my hand, squeezing it tightly, and this single hand squeeze tells me so much. "Thank you," she whispers to me. "It's perfect."

  "You look beautiful," I whisper back, feeling oddly emotional looking at my best friend. Despite not even knowing one another for long, Lindsay has become one of my best friends, and I can't imagine not having her in my life. It's a honour to be at her wedding, and it's an even bigger honour to be her maid of honour. "Are you happy?" I ask, and she nods.

  "Are you?" The question surprises me── so much so that I don't manage to stutter out a response in reasonable time. Lindsay spins her chair around, now facing me. "I know it's my wedding day, and today is supposed to be all about me, but there's something wrong, Luce. You've been..." Lindsay shrugs. "...off."

  "I'm fine, Linds," I assure, but she doesn't look convinced. "I'm just a little tired, that's all. College is very... tiring," I sigh, not entirely lying.

  College, even in the first few weeks, has been hectic, stressful, and tiring. I've been cramming in work, reading constantly, and double-checking all my assignments before turning them in. Despite being new to this whole college thing, professors seem to have no problem tormenting us with a truck load of work.

  Lindsay shakes her head. "No, something else is going on, and it's not college."

  I stare at her, contemplating telling her about my difficulties with Tristan, but I really don't want to implode on her wedding day. Today is about her, and I'd feel completely self-centred if I started rambling on and on about my insignificant problems.

  I open my mouth to answer, but she speaks first, "And before you say, "I'm fine. Let's focus on your wedding," I asked you what's wrong because I want to talk about anything other than my wedding, Lucy." I stare at her wide eyes, shocked that she knows me well enough that she can practically read my mind. "All anyone has talked about is me getting married, so I want to focus on something like..." She pats my hand. "...you, so I suggest you talk, Luciana."

  I scoff. "You did not just use my full name."

  "You're damn right I did." She leans back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Talk."

  "Lindsay, I'm──"

  "It's my wedding day," she interjects. "Do it for the bride, Lucy. Talk to me."

  "Wow," I breathe out, exhaling a laugh. "Lindsay Lister pulling the bride card on me── I didn't think you were that kind of bride, sweetie."

  She shrugs, a smug grin on her face. "Talk."

  I give in, deciding that I can't lie to my best friend── not on her special day. I sigh, kicking my feet up onto another chair.

  "Tristan isn't here," I say, looking down at my hands. I've been picking at the skin around my nails for the last two weeks which I've now realised has become an anxious habit for me── something I'm not too proud of because it makes me look weak. "Things have been... tense between us."

  "Okay," Lindsay drawls. "How?"

"Well, for starters..." I inhale a shaky breath, now wishing we didn't need to talk about this, but I'm sure it'll take a weight off my chest. "...he's making time for his friends at college, but won't make any time for me and him outside of college. I know it's college, and I know he's got to have his own life, but it feels like he's..."

Lindsay frowns. "Forgetting you?"

I nod, leaning back in my chair. "I know that's ridiculous because he hasn't forgot me, he's just stopped making time for me like he used to. I mean, he cancelled our first date together since starting college. He was late to his birthday dinner, leaving me to sit in the restaurant for nearly thirty minutes alone."

Two days ago, it was Tristan's birthday and I had booked a table at a restaurant nearby. It was within walking distance from the campus, and he still made me wait thirty minutes. By the time he arrived, we were forced to eat quickly as somebody else needed the table. I tried not to act salty around him, but he showed up late to his own birthday dinner where he and I could spend some time alone── away from college. It just stung more than I wanted it to, and he kept saying "I'll make it up to you", but I don't really count on it.

"And he isn't here?" I shake my head. "When he said he would be?" I nod, not looking at Lindsay because I feel ashamed── I feel embarrassed that he's not here, I don't know why. "God, what a jerk."

I crack a smile. "What?"

"You can't use "it's college" as an excuse, Luce." I lift my head, now looking at her. "Yes, he's at college and he's busy, but that's no excuse. You're at college too, and you've managed to make time for me, your Dad, him. You need to talk to him, Lucy. He can't keep leaving you to sit in restaurants by yourself, or cancel on important dates, or leave you alone at a wedding when he agreed to come weeks ago."

"I know," I mumble, knowing that she's right, but wishing she wasn't.

"You deserve better than that." She sits up, reaching forward to snatch my hand. "You deserve somebody who will show up, who will take you to dinner, who will want to come to a wedding with you. You deserve the world."

"I don't want anyone better, Lindsay, I want Tristan." I sigh, letting my head fall into my hand. "Tristan's always been my person. He's never let me down..."

"Until now?" I nod, feeling utterly defeated. "If you don't talk to him soon, Lucy, he's only going to keep letting you down, and then..."

  I lift my head, raising a brow. "And then what?"

  "Look..." She squeezes my hand. "I don't want to say it, Lucy, but I'm worried that Tristan will only keep letting you down unless you talk to him, and if you put it off for too long, you may..." She sighs, a frown touching her lips. "...you may lose him, Luce, and I'd hate for that to happen.

  I look away, removing my hand from hers.

  I know she's right. If I don't talk to Tristan, I may lose him to college, to Logan and his friends, to this... life. I want him to enjoy college. I want him to have fun. I want him to do whatever he wants to do, but I still want him to be there for me. I want us to still be... us── Lucy and Tristan, Tristan and Lucy.

I don't want to lose him. Sitting here, all I can think about is how I really, really want him and only him. I want him here, helping me with Lindsay. I want him here, dancing with me after Dean and Lindsay share their first dance. I want him here, next to me, for the rest of my life.

I'm committed to him, but I don't know if he's as committed to me as I am to him anymore.

"Lucy, I love you, and I'm just worried, okay?" She smiles thoughtfully at me, but I don't smile back. "I know you love him, and I know you're always going to, but you need to think about yourself. It's not fair that he's treating you like this. You need to talk to him about your worries."

"I know."

"You two are the perfect couple, Lucy. You two compliment each other," she laughs, but I can't force a smile. "You and Tristan are a large reason why I believe in love. You two are perfect for each other, so──"

"Not really making me feel better here, Linds."

"What I'm saying is..." She sighs loudly. "...you and Tristan will make it work regardless of what happens. When you talk to him, you and he will figure it all out because you're right for each other, Lucy. I think your wedding will be the next one we go to."

My chest tightens at the idea of that. Don't get me wrong, I've thought about marrying Tristan, but it's also just a silly dream of mine. I'd like to think we'd get married here, right in Stars Hollow. I'd wear the poofy dress. He'd wear the dashing suit. We'd have the blue flowers. We'd get married in November. We'd dance to ABBA and Billy Joel. We'd have our dream wedding.

"You really think we can?"

"You're the reason most believe in love," she tells me, and I scoff. "You're the epitome of perfection, Luce."

"Lindsay..." I inhale sharply. "What if we can't make it work?"

"You can, and you will."

  I nod, deciding to agree with her. "Yeah."

"Do you want me to kick his ass?" A laugh bubbles out of me, and Lindsay laughs with me too. "I'm serious, I can. Addy will too."

"You're getting married."

"And I will happily leave my wedding to kick that jerk's ass."

"Lindsay──"

"Just say that word."

"I love you," I whisper, reaching forward to grasp her hand. "I love you a lot, and I'm really happy for you. I'm sorry that I've..." I shake my head. "I'm sorry about my stupid issues──"

"Hey," she interrupts. "Any issue of yours is an issue of mine, okay?"

God, what did I do to deserve a friend like this? I'm unbelievably lucky.

"I'm sorry, Luce. I'm sorry you're dealing with this, but if you ever need anything, I am there for you. I might be getting married, but..." She squeezes my hand. "...you are far more important than Dean."

"I'm sure he'd be very happy to know that."

"I don't care. You came first."

"Thank you," I say. "You're amazing."

"Come here." We stand up, wrapping our arms around in each other in a bone-crushing hug── a hug that releases every emotion, every worry, and every single anxious thought. "I love you, okay? Don't ever forget that, Luce."

"I love you too, Linds. Thank you."

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❝𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄, 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒. 𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐑?❞

  Lindsay grins at Addy's comment. "I think I'm okay. Thanks, though." She steps towards us, wrapping us in another hug.

  Addy arrived an hour ago, and we had a tearful reunion, and now I feel myself getting emotional all over again. Lindsay pulls back, smiling widely at us. "Thank you, guys."

  "You're the most beautiful bride," I say, squeezing her hand. "We love you."

  "I love you guys too."

  "Wow, you're the first one of us to get married." Addy wraps her arm around mine, nudging me. "Who do you think's next?"

  "All I know is you're my maid of honour." I point to Addy, and she points back, nodding her head in confirmation.

  We decided that I'm Lindsay's maid of honour, Addy will be mine, and Lindsay will be Addy's so we each get a turn at being each other's. Either way, we'll all be stood at the altar regardless of who we are to the bride. We're always going to be standing next to each other, supporting one another, and that's what we're doing right now.

I love my best friends, I really do.

"Oh! I have something for you guys." Lindsay steps away to her bag, and she retrieves three handmade bracelets── one blue, one yellow, and one pink.

"What are these?" Addy asks as Lindsay passes the yellow one to Addy and the blue one to me.

"Friendship bracelets."

She slips the pink one onto her own wrist, and I join her in sliding my blue bracelet onto the same wrist that holds the bracelet Tristan gifted me on my sixteenth birthday. "They're cute, Lindsay."

"Thanks." She beams, and I swear her face actually lights up. "I just wanted to give you guys something as a thank you, that's all."

"Well, thank you. I love it."

We hug again, and just as we pull away from each other, Lindsay's mother walks in, and tells us it's time for us to walk down the aisle. Addy leans in one final time, and speaks quietly so Lindsay's mother doesn't overhear, "You sure you don't need that gateway car? We could go to Hawaii."

  I snort a laugh. "Hawaii?"

  Addy shrugs. "Always wanted to go."

  Lindsay shakes her head, grinning. "No, I'm really okay."

  "Okay." Addy squeezes Lindsay's shoulder. "Well, how about we get out there and kick this wedding's ass!" She cheers, waving her hands in the air and spinning around to the door where Lindsay's mother still stands, mouth agape. "Oh, hi, Mrs. Lister. Lovely dress."

  Addy turns back to us, wincing at her poor choice of words. We laugh at her, but she doesn't look amused.

"Time for the wedding?"

Addy nods. "Time for the wedding."

Twenty minutes later, Addy and I stand at the alter, holding bouquets of white lilies and staring at our best friend as she vows to love Dean forever. Tears glisten our eyes as we stare at her, talking so sweetly and softly to the man she loves── to the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with, even at just eighteen years old.

  Lindsay and Dean exchange their vows, and I'm trying to suppress the ugly tears that are threatening to fall. I feel Addy reach for my hand, and I take hers, squeezing tightly.

  I never imagined that at eighteen years old, I'd be watching one of my best friends get married, but here I am. Not only am I watching her get married, I'm picturing what it would be like to be standing at the altar with Tristan.

I guess being at a wedding makes me think about my own relationship, and after being together for nearly three years, I hope we can reach this step one day because it would really── and I mean really── would break my heart to lose what we have.

  Would we even make it to the altar one day?

I tighten my hold on Addy's hand, needing her support. I didn't expect to be this emotional about Lindsay getting married, but the ugly tears I was trying to stop are rolling down my cheeks, and I think half of the reason for crying is my current relationship.

I don't want to think about Tristan, not when he isn't even here, but I can't seem to help it.

Addy steps forward, resting her chin on my shoulder. "It'll be you one day, sweetie."

Could it really be me one day? Could I be the bride? Could Tristan be the groom? Could I have this one day? I want it── I really want it, and I know I'm only eighteen, but I can see my wedding so clearly. I can see myself. I can see Tristan. I can see us, getting married and being together forever.

I want Tristan forever.

I can't imagine not being with him. I can't imagine being with somebody else because he's the only one for me.

  I'd like to be a bride. I'd like to wear the white dress. I'd like to walk down the aisle with my dad next to me. I'd like to step up to the altar to the love of my life. I'd like to exchange our vows. I'd like to kiss him in front of all our family and friends. I'd like to go on our honeymoon. I'd like to have his children. I'd like to grow old with him.

  I want Tristan but he's not here.

  I want him sitting in the crowd, staring at me. I want to stare back at him, tears in my eyes, but I can't find him in the crowd. The one I love── the one I want more than anybody else isn't here, and it pains me. I want to look out to the crowd and see him, but I can't.

  He isn't here, and I find that I'm standing here alone. I don't have him right now, but I want him regardless. I've always── no matter the circumstances── wanted him, and I will forever want him, even if he isn't here.

Part of me wanted him to show up and be here, but I was silly to think he'd miraculously arrive to make it up to me.

Lindsay was right. I need to talk to him.

When everyone leaves the church, I sit inside, not wanting to mingle with anyone just yet. I want to sit here for a little while, and then I'll go to the wedding reception once I've decided whether I should call Tristan or not.

Will he even answer if I call?

  Before I have the chance to consider my options, Addy sits down next to me. "Hey, best friend."

  "Hi," I whisper, staring down at my cellphone.

  "Lindsay told me you stayed back."

  "Yeah."

  "What's up with you?" She shuffles closer, taking my hand in hers. "Who do I need to kill?"

I exhale a laugh. "No one, Ad. No one."

"What did Tristan do?"

I snap my head over to her. "What? Tristan──"

"You were crying during the ceremony, Luce." She places a hand on my knee. "Yes, it was sweet, and yes, I shared a few tears myself, but you were close to having a breakdown, sweetie, so what happened?"

"Things have just been tense between us, but I really don't want to talk about it, Addy. I've talked about it too much."

"Okay." She squeezes my hand. "Wanna hear something funny?"

  I nod. "Please."

  "So I was trying to get a cab to the bus station, and I was sick of waiting and having other people beat me to cabs, so I..." She inhales. "...grabbed this lady trying to get into a cab by her hood, yanked her out, yelled at her, and then I climbed in like I didn't just grab a helpless woman."

  A smile touches my lips, but it doesn't quite reach my eyes. "You know, I said to Lindsay you might do that, but I didn't think you actually would."

  "Well, you underestimate New York me."

  I look at her, and she looks back. "I really miss you, Ad."

  "I miss you too, Luce."

  "But I'm so proud of you."

  "Even after I just told you I tackled an old woman out of──"

  "Old?" My mouth gapes. "How old?"

  She shrugs. "Oh, I don't know. I didn't ask when I was pushing her down onto the kerb, did I?"

  "I can't believe you did that."

  "No, go back," she whines. "You just said you were proud of me."

  I scoff. "Not after you just told me you pushed an old lady."

  She pouts, resting her chin on my shoulder, and I lean my cheek against her hair. "How's college treating you?"

  Addy and I try and call each other as much as possible, but it never feels like enough. She calls me in the evenings when she doesn't have any plans, and I always try to call her in the mornings before I start classes. We sometimes miss each other, but we always send out a complimentary email if we don't get a phone call.

  We considered sending each other cheesy postcards every week, but we thought that'd be a little stupid when we have a phone.

  "It's great," I say, lying through my teeth.

  I don't want Addy to worry about me, not when she's having the greatest time in New York, so instead of telling her that I've been having anxious breakdowns and crying constantly about being at college, I tell her I'm having a good time. The classes are fine, but it's the whole general idea of being at college that is eating at me, and I wish I could just settle into this new change.

  Addy picks up my hand, shaking her head. "Picking at the skin around your nails, huh?" I snatch my hand back, sighing loudly. "It's not as great as you hoped it would be, is it?"

  She knows me. She knows me very well. Fourteen years of friendship will do that, I guess.

  "It's just..." I shrug. "...hard, that's all. I'm just not used to the change, but I'm handling it. My classes are great, and my suite-mates are lovely, so it's not all that bad."

  "Is that professor still acting weird around you?"

  I told her about the Game Theory professor, and how she was acting strange around me. She still doesn't look at me for too long when I answer a question, and she still says my name like it's some sort of sin, but I really can't figure out what I've done wrong. I have a reading due next week for her, so I really need to wow her or I'm afraid she'll hate me for the rest of the semester.

  "I don't know why." I shrug, not wanting to fixate on my professor's strange behaviour either. "Anyway, we need to get back out there." I grab Addy's wrist, forcing her to open her hand. "Take my phone."

  "Why?" I place my cellphone in her hand, closing her fingers around it.

  "I don't want to call Tristan── not on Lindsay's day, so please take my phone and don't give me it back until you leave."

  She nods. "Okay. You got it."

  "Thank you."

  "In exchange, I need you to do something with me," Addy says, and I look at her strangely, not having a single clue what she means by that.

  "What?"

  "I was thinking we could do a little dance for our best friend on her wedding day."

  Oh, no.

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          𝐈'𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐀 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆. First, me, Addy and Lindsay had our photo taken. Then I was shoved into a photo with Lindsay's family. Me and Lindsay took one, and then Addy and Lindsay took one, followed by a picture of me and Addy. Then the bridesmaids, groomsmen and the happy couple had a photo taken, and I was squished in between Addy and some sweaty groomsman. I then had a photo taken with Dean, and just before I was forced to take one with the best man, I claimed to feel dizzy, so now I'm finally sitting down.

  We've eaten, and I ate a lonely slab of beef but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lindsay and Dean are supposed to have their first dance soon, but I have a speech planned because that's another duty as the maid of honour── a toast.

  Addy sits next to me, waving a piece of broccoli in my face, and I knock it away from her, laughing. She's been keeping an eye on me, always checking in on me and talking to me. I'll have to say goodbye to her in a few hours because she needs to get back to New York, and it's going to be tearful once again.

  We have a little... dance planned for Lindsay, and it's embarrassing but memorable as hell. Lindsay is going to be a shade of red after she sees what we have planned, but hopefully she'll find the ridiculous dance funny. I'm not a dancer, but Addy gave me a rundown on what I need to do, and it sounds simple enough.

  I look around, seeing that the guests are either talking or finishing their food, so I think it's as good as time as any to finally give my toast.

  I stand up, reaching for my fork and glass. I hit my fork against the glass a few times, catching the attention of the guests at the wedding. They all turn to me, and I look to Lindsay and Dean who sit together at their own table.

  "Hi." I wave to everybody, feeling a little ridiculous but I talked to more people than this when I gave my valedictorian speech. This should be a piece of cake, and speaking of cake... it looks freaking delicious. "I'm, uh, Lucy Danes── you may know me as the diner owner's daughter." A few people laugh, and I swallow down my fear. "I'm Lindsay's best friend, and the maid of honour."

  People cheer and clap, and my hand shakes as I hold onto my glass of sparkling water── disgusting, by the way.

  "I want to start by saying that I'm so unbelievably happy for both of you." I wave a hand to the happy couple. "You two mean a lot to me, and you just make such a beautiful, honest couple." Lindsay smiles to Dean, and that single action says a lot about how she feels towards him. "Lindsay and I haven't known each other long, but she's become somebody I can't live without. She means so much to me, and I love her dearly. I can't wait to see where your future takes you, and I'm just so honoured to be her friend. I love you guys, happy wedding!"

  I raise my glass along with the rest of the guests, and I drink the disgusting bubbly water. Water shouldn't be sparkling, that's all I say about that.

  I look to Addy who nods, her grin wide.

  "And, uh..." Everybody falls silent, looking back to me. "Addy and I have a little something planned for our best friend, so please turn your attention to the..." I swallow my embarrassment. "...the dance floor."

  I place my glass down, grab Addy's hand and we walk to the "dance floor"── the gazebo.

  Spice Girl's "Wannabe" starts to play, and I have to hide my embarrassment behind my hand as Addy pulls me onto the steps. "You ready?"

  "I don't think I'll ever be ready for this."

  We begin the ridiculous dance that Addy choreographed over this song. I try to recall the moves she said back to me in the church, and I know I'll trip up, but I'm going to try my damn hardest not to.

  We twist our upper body, bringing our right shoulder down as our left shoulder moves up. We then shoot our right arm up, and our left shoulder moves down. We repeat that move several times, moving our body and our arms to the beat of the song, laughing and singing along to make light of this awful freaking dance.

  We move our body side to side, moving our arms in front of us. I grab Addy's hand, pulling her forward while she pulls me forward, and we switch places. We move our feet, jumping slightly as we move them side to side, attempting to dance to the very upbeat part of the song.

  We rush up the steps of the gazebo, jumping onto the platform, and Addy grabs my hand, pulling me towards her while I pull her towards me. We nearly crash into one another, but I push past her, switching places with her again.

  We shake our hips, laughing at one another, and I can see the amused looks on everybody's faces from over here. They're definitely enjoying this, and I find that I'm actually having a ridiculous amount of fun acting like a damn fool.

  We wave our hands to Lindsay, demanding she come up here and make a fool of herself too. She shakes her head, and we take it upon ourselves to run down the steps of the gazebo over to her. "Come on!" We grab her arms, pulling her up and off her seat, and we dance her back to the gazebo.

  She steps up, laughing loudly, and we interlock our arms together, swaying our hips in tune with the music and singing at the top of our lungs. I can hear the clapping, the laughing, and the cheering over the music, and that only makes this entire thing more entertaining.

  "I can't believe you guys!" Lindsay yells over the music, still hysterical.

  "Happy wedding!" Addy yells back, moving away from Lindsay and spinning her around towards me.

  "Did you enjoy it?"

  "Oh, yeah."

  She moves back to stand in between us, and the music comes to an abrupt end. People stand up to cheer for us, and we take each other's hands before bowing to the audience, still laughing like children because I can't believe I just did that in front of half the town.

  Dean rushes forward. "Nice one, guys."

  He takes Lindsay's hand, moving her forward so she can step down the steps without breaking her ankle or something.

  "We're thinking of forming a girl group── you know, like the Spice Girls."

  "We could be the dirty, Stars Hollow girls," Addy laughs, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we move down the steps of the gazebo. "Our initials stand for A.L.L── We could be ALL."

  "What?"

  "Addy, Lindsay and Lucy stands for A.L.L. We could be the ALL girls." I shake my head, but I do find it amusing. "No? Okay, we'll just be the dirty, Stars Hollow girls."

  "Yeah, because that's better."

"Hey, Lindsay, do you wanna form a girl group?" Addy asks, moving towards her as she separates from Dean. "Me and Lucy will drop out of college, we'll leave our men, and we'll travel the world, singing and dancing. What do you say?"

"That doesn't sound too bad."

Addy looks to me, nudging me. "What do you say, Luce? Wanna be a dirty, Stars Hollow girl?"

"Am I not one already?"

"Not officially, but you can be."

I sigh, looking from her to Lindsay. "Fine."

Addy claps her hands together before taking mine and Lindsay's hands. "Perfect. I'll drop out tomorrow."

"Based off that dance, you should probably stay at Juilliard, Ads," I comment, and her mouth gapes in offence which Lindsay and I laugh at.

"Says you. You've basically got two left feet."

"Hey, I never said I was good," I argue. "You are supposed to be a dancer, Addy."

"Well, I was under pressure." She pouts. "Too many people watching me."

"Oh, that's good to say you want to be a professional dancer, Addy," Lindsay says, and I hide my laughter behind my hand because Addy looks like she wants to kill me.

"I'm gonna ignore that because it's your special day, but Luciana Danes, you're dead."

"No, I'm sorry," I insist, stepping away before she kills me with her bare hands. "I love you!"

"You better start running."

"No!"

I start to back away, and Addy starts to chase after me as I rush back to the gazebo, a little afraid I'll trip up the stairs and hit my head, but I keep running until she cuts me off and catches up with me before I hit my table.

We sweep each other into a hug, and we force Lindsay to stand with us, and we refuse to let go of one another until Lindsay is taken away by Dean so they can have their first dance.

I watch them dance with tears in my eyes, and when other couples start to join them, Addy grabs my hand and pulls me onto the floor, and we dance together.

Lindsay joins us shortly after her dance with Dean, and the three of us spin in a circle, giggling and cheering.

I didn't need Tristan here.

No, all I needed was my girls.

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authors note:

quite a wholesome chapter for my favourite trio

i just love them sm :')

they've all got each other's backs and will for the rest of their lives . . .

thankyou for 3k reads already,, i'm really, really appreciative

i have a lot of exciting chapters planned,, some sad,, some funny,, and some adorable . . . so thankyou for reading, and let me know what you thought!!