A/N: I changed the title because 𝐖𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 wasn't working for me anymore. And I think 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐬 seems more fitting anyway.

Lorelai wasn't happy that Dylan cut his hair. She had to tell him, "Just because a guy makes a mean comment to you about your appearance, doesn't mean you have to change it for them."

Easy for her to say, every man she meets always has to do a double-take.

"But at least you and Rory can't threaten to cut my hair anymore," Dylan told her.

"That was a joke," Lorelai replied. "Now, you and your sisters have to pick a sport to play?"

"It's a requirement," Rory said. She and Christy had been a bit bothered by how Dylan cut his hair over one douchey guy's comment.

"I hate required sports," Lorelai said. "What are your choices?"

"I picked lacrosse," Christy said.

"I tried out for basketball, sucked at it, and was told that I fulfilled my 'required' sport," Dylan said. "Apparently I sucked so badly at something that I was told to never try again."

"Geez, I thought I sucked at sports," Rory replied.

"Ha, no one sucks as much I suck," Dylan told her.

"Hey, come on," Lorelai tried. "You're a Gilmore, self-depreciation is beneath us."

Dylan doubted that. He could rant about himself for three years if given the chance. "Right."

"Besides," Lorelai continued. "You should've tried out for soccer. You used to be good at soccer."

"I broke a window in the new house playing soccer," Dylan told her. "Then you yelled at me and I yelled at you the way I yell at Dad." He remembered going to his room and crying afterwards, then he feel into a depression. At ten-years-old.

He did apologize after that, after constant worry that his mom hated him.

Usually when Christopher made his kids visit him in Hartford about once a year, Dylan would get this rage towards Christopher and it would result in him yelling at Christopher about how he didn't really love his kids and loved Lorelai more. Christopher would sometimes argue back, but deep down, Christopher knew it was true.

During those arguments Christy would hide somewhere and Rory would be torn, wanting to stand by her dad because she loved him and wanting to be by Dylan's because it was them against the world. 

"Hey, water under the bridge," Lorelai replied.

In the morning, Christy, Rory, Lorelai, and Dylan went to the market for school supplies. Rory literally dragged him out of bed to get him up.

Lorelai had her arms linked with Rory's and Christy's as they headed towards somewhere.

"Shopping for school supplies - party," Lorelai said.

"Nobody demanded that you come," Rory said.

"Are you kidding?" Lorelai asked, "How often do you get to do things like this?"

They stopped outside the market.

"I was thinking, while we're going crazy, we should get some toilet paper and a plunger next," Lorelai continued.

"I'll just do this later," Rory said.

"I can't go in there, anyway," Dylan replied. "I'm banned for life."

Lorelai turned to him, "People forget."

"He took my photo and fingerprints," Dylan reminded her.

Lorelai, Rory, and Christy went inside the market, promising to get him school supplies Dylan spotted Doose glaring at him and shaking his head. Dylan smiled and waved at him, before going back home to go to bed.

He still had no clue what that was all about, either. He never experienced anything like that before and he hoped he didn't experience it again.

During late spring, it was like he just lost his mind. He had been full of restless energy and he just wanted to do something stupidly impulsive, which resulted in him knocking things right off the shelves, opening up boxes of cereal to eat while opening up other boxes of cereal, climbing the shelves and when Doose tried knocking him down from the shelves with a broom, he hissed at Doose. While Doose yelled at him to get down, Dylan yelled 'shut up you stupid furry, cardigan-wearing gerbil!' while throwing packages of marshmallows at him.

After all of that, Doose had finally gotten a hold of Dylan and took him to the office where Doose took Dylan's picture and thumbprints.

Honestly, whatever happened in those months, he can barely remember. He had a good memory, but the incident in the market and trying to convince Ricky to jump out of Lorelai's moving jeep with a rope to get road rash, while Alex drove. Alex was fine with driving, but he and Ricky both were not okay with the road rash idea. Then Dylan suggested he will do it and was going to but someone stopped him.

He's still not sure how he managed to keep straight As in school during that time period, especially when he was doing his homework at the last second, as in doing his homework while his teachers collected it.

After that, throughout the summer, he had been getting irritated, impatient, and annoyed easily. He vaguely remembered yelling at a man in Luke's for coughing three times in just ten minutes. He also yelled at Lorelai for making a 'someone's on their period' comment, then he stormed out, which had been in late June. After that, he would get mad at his band-mates for stupid reasons, mostly it was Alex intentionally pissing him off. After one particular argument with Alex, made Dylan go home and cry in a very ugly manner too which honestly helped level out his emotions and then he fell into this depressive state, which he had been stuck in and then he started taking everything out on his arms.

He'll get over whatever this was and go back to living his life before, when he had been happy, friendly, and social. Despite that, he had separation anxiety and would cry, worried that his sisters and mother were going to die. Funny how he was worried about them dying when it turned into him wanting to end his life.

Although when it came to his dad, whenever Christopher went to Hartford, making his kids see him, Dylan would usually get into this rage where everything went red and Christopher would yell back because Dylan knew that the only person Christopher loved was Lorelai and not his kids. It was just that something about that man just made him fill with rage.

Rory hated it because she wanted to stand by her dad's side because he was her dad and she loved him and she wanted to stay by Dylan's side because he was her brother.

Sure, that wasn't good, but it was better than whatever was happening to him, especially what happened during late spring and throughout summer.

Dylan and Christy helped Rory with her bags, while getting off the bus. He stopped and looked at the school and thought, Fuck this shit.

Christy grabbed his arm and dragged him to the school, before Dylan could take off. He went to his locker, got his books, before going to sit outside Mr. Medina's class, because Rory and Christy were making sure that he didn't ditch class again.

Caroline sat next to him. "You okay?"

"Well, I'm not dead yet, so I take that as a good sign," Dylan replied.

"Yeah," Caroline agreed. "We're not dead yet."

Sometimes, Dylan wished he was.

Then the bell rang, but Dylan really didn't want to move from his spot. Caroline stayed beside him as well.

When their classmates were inside, Dylan and Caroline went into the class together, taking the last two remaining desks. Dylan had to sit in front of Paris.

Mr. Medina went over the class roster.

When class was over, Mr. Medina said, "I have graded your papers." He took out the papers and started passing them out. "Decent effort by most. Good effort by some, exceptional effort by two, extraordinary effort by one. Miss Gellar, Miss Grant, Miss Graham, Mr. Gilmore."

Mr. Medina set Dylan's paper down in front of him.

Dylan angled his head to look down at the giant A+ on his paper. He heard Paris shift in her seat, probably trying to look at what his grade was. He flipped his paper over and he was sure he felt Paris glare at the back of his head.

"Miss Gilmore and Miss Gilmore. Take these home, learn from your mistakes. Look at the large red circles around various parts of your paper as friendly reminders that to err is human. And that here at Chilton we try to beat that humanity right outta ya!"

Dylan was sure he didn't have any humanity left in him.

"Okay, next up," Mr. Medina said. "The test – the dreaded test." He gestured to a picture, "Shakespeare!"

It reminded Dylan of Dean from the Iron Giant yelling art at the Giant.

"The man we've been droning on about for the last three weeks, finally comes back to haunt us on Friday," Mr. Medina continued.

It sounded like the consequences of Dylan's actions from that episode he had late spring. Like the hissing at Doose and destroying goods from the Market.

"This is a big one my friends – multiple choice with an essay section that will count for 20% of your grade for this semester. And don't be fooled by my kind face and charming personality. This test will be hard, and there will be no makeups," Mr. Medina continued and the bell rang, "Refer to the study materials that I gave you at the beginning of the month and those extensive notes I know you've been taking."

Dylan didn't think that Mr. Medina was all that charming. He was kind of like Cole – bland and boring.

"Hard paper," Paris said.

Louise agreed, "Killer."

Dylan looked at his paper. He didn't think the paper was all that hard. He finished his paper in three minutes and edited it for one minute – because he wanted to take a nap – and got an A+ for it.

"How'd you do?" asked Paris.

"A," Louise bragged.

"Me too," Paris replied with fake shock.

"Oh, small world," Louise said.

"Isn't it?" Paris said, "Madeline, what'd you get?"

"You know I got a B," Madeline replied, not sounding happy at the thought.

"A B's not bad," Paris told her.

"Oh, not at all," Louise continued.

"Respectable even," Paris continued with their bragging.

"I'd be proud," Louise said.

"A D and a C+ however, that would be cause for concern," Paris said.

"A cry for help," Louise continued.

Paris grabbed Dylan's paper and looked at it.

"Hey," Rory said, angry on Dylan's behalf.

"How did you get an A+?" asked Paris, scowling so hard at Dylan and his paper both.

Dylan shrugged because not even he knew.

"Yeah, how?" asked Christy. "You spent four minutes on that thing."

Somehow Paris did the impossible and scowled even harder at Dylan and his paper.

"Uh, Mr. Gilmore, a word please," Mr. Medina called out to Dylan.

Rory and Christy stayed behind while Paris stormed out, apparently pissed at Dylan surpassing Paris's grade.

Madeline and Louise followed after Paris.

Mr. Medina looked at Rory and Christy who stayed behind, "Alone, please."

Rory and Christy looked concerned for Dylan before leaving the classroom.

Mr. Medina leaned against his desk, "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"How did I get an A+?" That was the first thing that came to mind.

"Well, you have a talent for writing," Mr. Medina replied. "And you are a smart kid."

Dylan looked at his paper. "Okay then."

"Is everything okay?" asked Mr. Medina. 

Dylan felt how Beetlejuice looked.

Mr. Medina continued, "You're here, but you're not here, if that makes sense. You're clearly not paying attention but you overtook Paris, which is a feat in itself." Dylan stared blankly at the teacher. "Like what you're just now." Dylan wanted him to get on with it. "I'm concerned about you. Is there anything going on at home you need to see the school psychiatrist about?"

There was a spark of panic, because Dylan couldn't talk to anyone. He couldn't burden anyone with his non-existent problems, because he wasn't entirely sure what his problems were.

"I'm fine," Dylan replied. "Really. It's a new school. I just have to adjust."

"It's okay to ask for help, you know," Mr. Medina tried.

Dylan grabbed his things, stuffing them in his backpack, feeling irritated. He wasn't a basketcase, "I'm fine. I'm going to be late to the next class."

"Okay then," Mr. Medina said. "Just keep that in mind, that you can reach out for help. They want  to help you."

Dylan left the classroom, feeling irritated and also like he was going to cry from humilation. He couldn't talk to a psychiatrist. He was fine. No one would 'save' him. He'll get by by himself. He was doing just fine on his own.

Dugray was talking to Christy, "See, I can't figure out why we're not friends. I think it's because I make you nervous."

Christy looked disgusted, "I think it's because I want to bury you underneath my porch."

"I think it's because you want him to step on a Lego barefooted," Dylan added.

"That too," Christy replied. "And if he died, I would cry tears of joy from deep inside."

"That's a bit harsh," Dugray said.

"That's because you're a dick," Dylan replied.

After school, Christy and Rory went to the inn. As soon as they entered the kitchen, Lorelai was saying, "I'm looking," Lorelai looked up at her two-thirds of her kids. "Oh." In a mock announcer's voice, she said, "Behold in theaters now, the thing that reads a lot and the other thing that now works at Luke's." She dropped the voice, "Where's Dylan?"

"He went home to take a nap," Christy said as Rory dropped all her bags.

"Behold, the thing that thinks he's a fifty-five-year-old man in a fifteen-year-old boy's body," Lorelai said in a mock announcer's voice.

Rory asked, "Chocolate?"

"Glass measuring cup," Sookie told Rory. "Lorelai, look, look."

"I'm sorry," Lorelai said as Christy went to look for cookies or lemon squares.  

Rory went to the measuring cup and asked, "Jeez, who's naked?"

Christy found some lemon squares.

"Lucien Mills," Lorelai told her.

"Yeah?" asked Rory. 

"Does he have a nice butt?" asked Christy.

"Oh, no," Lorelai told them, flipping through the magazine. "He's supposed to do a review of the restaurant – oh, here it is."

Sookie asked, "Is it – is it good? Is he mean? Should I cry?"

"Here we go," said Lorelai. "'The words divine, delectable, and delirious don't begin to describe the delicious experience of dining at the Independence Inn.' Oh, I'm smelling rave!"

Sookie brightened, "Really?"

"'Only chef Sookie St. James can make a simple salad of hot house tomatoes and assorted fresh herbs seem like a religious experience. Her lobster bisque is worth every sinful cream filled rich sip'," Lorelai continued reading.

Christy went over to grab Sookie's shoulders. She shook them, "That's amazing, Sookie. See, there's nothing to worry about."

Sookie started, "See I don't use that much cream. I just use a very concentrated lobster stock and it really make it—"

"Sookie, he's not here," cut in Lorelai.

"Okay, go on," said Sookie.

Lorelai continued reading, "'The entrees are as heavenly as the starters. Though the much lauded risotto was perfectly fine, it was the simple handkerchief pasta with brown sage in a butter sauce that sent me through the roof.'" She smiled, "Sookie, this is unbelievable! I'm going to have framed for the dining room!"

"Oh, yeah, that'd be swell," Sookie said, though she didn't seem all that happy. "Can I see that again?"

"Yeah, so we should celebrate huh?" Lorelai said. She did a little dance, "Girls on the town? I doubt that Dylan would come because it's interrupting his nap time."

"I can't," Rory said. "I have to study."

"I should probably go to Luke's," Christy stated. She was considering working at Luke's to get out of future Friday Night Dinners or family things, like her being forced to go golfing with Rory and Richard. Dylan had gotten out of that by working at Weston's.

"You know, I should really get started on this shopping list," Sookie told Lorelai, looking at a shopping list.

Lorelai asked, "What is going on here? We are young and fiery women. Studying? Shopping lists? Planning to work at Luke's? Where's 'to hell with it all'? Where's 'Throwing caution to the wind'? Where's – oh shoot – the linen delivery." She took off to go tend to the linen delivery.

"You go girl," Rory called after her.

After Luke sent Christy home after her shift was finished, she walked inside the house to see that Lorelai and Dylan were sitting on the couch. Dylan, still somehow, looked tired.

"Oh, good, you're home." It sounded like Lorelai was trying to talk to Christy and Rory at the same time, "News is on."

"One sec," Rory called from the kitchen, where she was studying.

"For our top story tonight, a grisly horrible thing that happened in a small town where no grisly things ever happen. Everyone's shocked," Lorelai said.

"Someone gets stabbed," Dylan muttered.

"Eating ice cream is healthy, so stuff your face," Christy added with a grin.

"Ooh, that's a good idea," Lorelai stated, turning the TV off. She tossed the remote to the side, nearly hitting Dylan in the face with it. "Sorry." She stood up "Hey, let's get ice cream. I'm bored." She went to the kitchen and knocked on the table in front of Rory, "Hello?"

"Mom, I'm studying," Rory told her. "Unlike Dylan, I can't look at a page and memorize all of its contents."

"Hey, don't be mean to your brother because you're frustrated," Lorelai said. "Christy and I are talking ice cream." Lorelai looked at the books that Rory had around her. "Besides, can't you take a break?"

"I can't take a break right now," Rory told her.

Lorelai asked, "Okay, when?"

Rory asked, "Are you four?"

Lorelai looked in the fridge, "No, I'm hungry!"

"Have some more pizza," Rory told her.

"It's cold," Lorelai replied, closing the door.

"Heat it up," Rory countered.

"It's not the same," Lorelai said.

"That's true," Dylan agreed, because he hated reheated food.

"Lorelai, go to your room or go bother your other two kids," Rory snapped.

"Wow, smart girls are mean," Lorelai replied. "And it's no fun when I have two-thirds of my kids with me."

"If you let me study now, I'll play with you this weekend," Rory bargained.

Lorelai asked, "Promise?"

"Yes, we can do anything you want," Rory bargained.

Lorelai asked, "Will you go to the shoe sale with me?"

"Yes," answered Rory.

Lorelai bargained, "Will you let me try on anything I want?"

"Yes," repeated Rory.

Lorelai asked, "Will you help me push other people out of the way if they're going for my size?"

Rory said, "I'll even run interference for you and turn the other way when Christy starts pelting others with marbles."

Lorelai smiled, "All right, you've got a deal." She left the kitchen.

Rory smiled, "Good."

Lorelai came back into the kitchen, "So – I'm sorry – where did we land on the whole ice cream issue?" Rory got up and went to her room. "What?" Lorelai turned to her other two children. "Go get your coats on. We're going to get ice cream."

Lorelai asked Max, "Hey, are you this nice to my kids?"

"Yeah, it's easy," Max replied. "Rory and Christine are sweet girls, but Dylan is a little rough around the edges."

"Yeah, they are, they are," Lorelai replied, nodding in agreement.

Max pulled her aside, "How are they liking Chilton?"

Lorelai followed him, "Oh, Rory and Christy love it. Dylan, on the other hand...I think he likes it too. He just shows indifference to show how much he likes it."

Max was incredulous and asked, "Really?"

"Oh, yeah," Lorelai replied. "I mean it's an adjustment of course, but Rory always wanted to go to Harvard and this is how she'll get there."

Max asked, "Harvard? What about Christine and Dylan?"

"Yeah, ever since they could crawl, I've really wanted them to go there to, but Christy and Dylan decided they didn't want to go Harvard, but Rory does."

"It's a great school," Max replied. "Where does Christine and Dylan want to go?"

"Christy isn't sure, but Dylan has different ambitions that don't involve university," Lorelai replied. She normally doesn't like bringing up Dylan's 'metal band dream' because other parents seem to judge her as failing as a parent because of it.

"What does Dylan want to do then?" Max said, "I thought he wanted to be a veterinarian."

"That's his backup career option," Lorelai said. "He has this dream of being in a metal band. He even has own band called 'Burn the Witch!' He sings. They sound really good though. Although there was this one incident at a bar they performed at, late spring, when I guess some drunks got rowdy and started a bar fight and Dylan got arrested. When I was trying to talk to him about what happened, he threw himself out of the car while I was still driving. He got grounded for six months." She grimaced, "I probably shouldn't have brought that incident up. That was a weird time period for him. He also got banned for life from our town's market."

"Hey, I won't look at him any different," Max said. "So what is Christy's dream career?"

"She doesn't entirely know. She writes short stories and poems, though," Lorelai said. "I tell her not to sweat it, because she doesn't have to have her entire life planned out. I'm sure she'll figure it out eventually."

"I hope she does," Max replied, "So, Rory?"

"She wants to be a journalist," Lorelai said. "When they were four, I bought them Harvard sweatshirts, which of course was way too big for them. Rory used hers as a blanket, Dylan lost his somewhere, and Christy ended up staining hers with mustard. However, I had to turn Rory's into a makeshift diaper on this really ill-fated shopping trip and now I've told you a story that would so mortify her. She'll kill me when she finds out you know."

"Don't tell her then," Max said. "It'll be our secret."

"Well, I appreciate that," Lorelai replied.

Max asked, "So are you a B-52's girl?"

"What?" Lorelai looked at her shirt and giggled, "No. I'm a klutz girl who should not drive with a coffee in her hand. I, uh, had it in the car."

"You know, I hope Rory and Christy adjust to this place. We need them here." Max said, "Especially Dylan."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied. "That's so nice."

"Have you considered moving Dylan up a grade?" Max said, "I don't think we ever had a student move up a grade here at Chilton, but he'll be the first. He was also the first student I gave an A+ for on his paper."

Lorelai explained, "Yeah, actually, back at Stars Hollow, he was considered moving up a grade, but he refused because he said that he and his sisters were born together, so they'll graduate together, because that's how it is."

Max had to bring it up and asked, "Have you considered having Dylan see a therapist?"

Lorelai frowned at the mention of that, "Why would we see a therapist?"

"No, not you," Max said. "I meant Dylan. He's just...he stares into space a lot and a few times; he ditched class and he's always falling asleep during lunch. I suggested him seeing the school psychiatrist, but he declined."

Lorelai stated firmly, "He's fine. If he doesn't feel like going through therapy, he doesn't have to."

Max had made his suggestion, but it was up to the parents to follow through. He can't force a parent to do something they didn't want to. "You know, I hope that Rory and Christine aren't too disappointed about their papers, because it's very hard to catch up on all that reading material, despite Dylan managing to do it. I know they're separate people, but I know Rory's D and Christy's C+ seems pretty dismal—"

"They got a D and C+?" interrupted Lorelai, being a bit more concerned for Rory and Christy at the moment. Dylan was fine. He always was.

Max started, "Yeah, but—"

"Rory's never gotten a D before," Lorelai continued. She needed to go to them.

Rory was studying at Luke's and Christy was busy doing a shift. Dylan was sitting at Rory's table. Rory tried to write something down, but the pencil tip broke and Rory threw it in frustration, hitting Dylan with it.

"Sorry," Rory said.

"Why? It didn't poke my eye out," Dylan replied.

"Here," Luke said, putting a Neapolitan milkshake in front of Dylan.

"I didn't order that," Dylan told Luke.

"Yeah, but you seemed upset, and I thought this would cheer you up," Luke explained. He put a slice of pie in front of Rory, "And here you go."

"What's that?" asked Rory.

"You look like you need pie," Luke replied.

"I do?" asked Rory.

Luke said, "Violent pencil tossing usually signals the need for pie."

"What if I'd thrown a pen?" asked Rory.

"I would've brought you a trout," Luke replied.

Dylan gave Luke a strange look and Rory asked, "What?"

"Lydia makes the rules," Luke said. "I carry them out for her."

Lorelai came in, "Hey, backwards baseball hat – new look for you." She looked at Dylan and Rory, "They have a milkshake and pie? Did they even have dinner?"

Luke said, "You raised them, I just serve."

Lorelai sat down at the table with Rory and Dylan, "Oh hello, bookworm."

"Finally," Rory said. "Where were you? Dylan isn't great at conversations anymore."

"Well, um, actually I was in Hartford," Lorelai explained.

"Why?" asked Rory.

Lorelai started, "I was there for the..." She motioned for them to finish the sentence.

"Parent/teacher meeting," Rory said. "Oh, my God. I forgot."

"It went very well," Lorelai said. "I was extremely charming. I won the whole crowd over. They made me queen."

Rory said, "So I guess you talked to Mr. Medina."

Lorelai said, "Mm-hm. Why did you let me whine about ice cream and shoe sales when you had something major going on?"

Rory said, "I know."

Lorelai looked at Dylan, "And why didn't you tell me about Mr. Medina suggesting you see the school psychiatrist and the fact that you ditched class a few times?"

Dylan said, "It didn't matter."

Lorelai said, "I hate when I'm an idiot and I don't even know it. I like to be aware of my idiocy – to really revel in it, take pictures. I feel we missed a prime Christmas card opportunity."

Rory said, "I'm sorry." She stomped on Dylan's foot to get him to apologize too.

"Sorry," Dylan muttered.

"You should've told me," Lorelai said.

Rory said, "I couldn't."

Lorelai said, "You couldn't tell me? You tell me everything."

"It was too humiliating," Rory said.

"Oh, honey," Lorelai said, "You once told me that you loved Saved by the Bell. What could be more humiliating than that?"

Dylan asked, "Getting caught watching Charmed?"

"I couldn't form the words. I couldn't even say it. I couldn't even comprehend it. It was...a D. I got a D, I've never gotten a D – ever," Rory said.

"I know," replied Lorelai.

"Even when I broke my arm and couldn't write for a month, I still got an A-," Rory said.

Lorelai said, "That was a different school."

"I know. It was Stars Hollow High" Rory said. "A D at Stars Hollow is like an F at Chilton. It's worse, it's like a G or a W. And Dylan is making me feel stupid because he caught on better than me."

Lorelai joked, "So I'm guessing the spelling test didn't go well either?"

"A D." Rory said, "I suck."

Lorelai said, "You don't suck."

"Nah, I do," Dylan said. "I got you beat at how much I suck."

Rory said, "I can't do this."

"I'm the Burnt Out Little Engine That Never Could, not you," Dylan told Rory.

"Hey, no need for self-pity here," Lorelai said. "A D is bad, okay? But self-pity is worse. That's not you both." She spoke to Rory, "You didn't feel sorry for yourself when it took you three months to learn how to ride a bike, and you won't now." She spoke to Dylan, "And you didn't get like this after you got banned from Doose's Market."

No. That came after the depression. "It took Rory four months to learn how to ride a bike."

Lorelai looked at Rory, "Really? Four months?"

"Yeah," Rory asked, "you wanna belabor the conversation?"

"All right, forget about the bike." Lorelai said, "Listen, a D is one grade. It's not the end of the world. You'll catch up, you'll do better. You are of hardy stubborn stock, my dear. If there's one thing I gave you, it's my stubbornness."

"Please don't say hardy stubborn stock again," Dylan told Lorelai.

Rory countered, "I'm not stubborn."

Lorelai said, "Yes you are."

Rory was proving Lorelai's point, "No I'm not."

Lorelai said, "Fine you're not."

"Thank you," replied Rory.

"You're welcome," Lorelai said. "You can do this Rory, and I will help you. I will get you through this, now put that D behind you. Now what's next?"

"We have a test on Friday," Rory said.

"Ooh a test!" Lorelai said, "Great!"

Rory continued, "It's on Shakespeare."

"Bard with a beard – love it," Lorelai said.

"It's 20% of our grade, so you better make sure Rory doesn't fail," Dylan told Lorelai.

"Just makes life interesting," Lorelai said. "Now what do we have to do to get you an A on that test just like Dylan will get?"

Rory asked, "Do you really think I can do this?"

"I bet you a dollar," Lorelai stated.

"One whole dollar?" asked Dylan. "Not even a buck fifty?"

Rory said, "That's it? That's all my future's worth – one dollar?"

Lorelai said, "Well you did get a 'D'."

"That's because that's all she has right now," Dylan said. "One dollar."

"Hey, I have more than one dollar," Lorelai said. "And while you're awake, let's talk about you ditching classes."

"And I still overtook Paris, so I don't think ditching class is the least of your worries," Dylan replied.

Rory was studying with Lorelai at home. Christy ended up going to Kayla's house to study with her and Lydia. 

It left Dylan to go somewhere – which turned into him going to Jack's house, because Dylan would rather not have Alex decimate his (nonexistent) self-esteem even more.

It turned out that Jack had ended up calling Cecilia, Mai, Ricky, and Alex to come over anyway.

Dylan was sure that it was because Jack didn't want to be left alone with him, and it left Dylan to try to figure out if he made Jack uncomfortable somehow to where he didn't want to be left alone.

 Alex was looking through a binder, "Why is this shit twenty percent of your grade? It makes no sense."

"I agree," Ricky said. "What would happen if poor little Muffy fails? Parents would sue."

"Muffy?" asked Dylan. "I have never heard anyone be called Muffy while I was there. Some girl named Lemon, yeah, but not Muffy."

Cecilia took the binder from Alex, "Look at this binder though. I could murder someone with this thing."

"That's what I was thinking," Jack said with a laugh. "I could brain someone with it."

"At least a small child," Cecilia agreed with him.

"Again, that's what I was thinking," Jack agreed, grinning.

"That's because you two practically share a brain," Alex told them. He looked a little jealous.

Dylan wondered if he would ever have someone who would get jealous over him, but he almost laughed, because who would ever have a crush on him?

"Yeah, you two do," Dylan agreed with Alex. Mai was looking intently at Dylan, "What?"

"Are you okay?" asked Mai.

Why did everyone ask him that? It was getting annoying.

"I'm fine," Dylan replied.

Sookie was nice enough to wake everyone up, to get them ready to go to school, although she had a bit of trouble of getting him up, but she got him up. 

"Hey, eat some eggs," Mai told Dylan. 

Dylan looked at her, "I'm good." Mai narrowed her eyes and proceeded to tackle him out of the chair, pinning him to the ground. She practically crammed scrambled eggs down Dylan's throat, despite the fact that he didn't like eggs because they tasted sulfuric to him.

"I probably should get going," Mai said, noticing the time on the microwave. She continued to straddle Dylan. "I have a doctor's appointment."

Ricky asked, "For what?"

"I had breast cancer when I was a kid," Mai said. "It's very rare, but I had it. So, I was going to make sure that it's not coming back."

Jack asked, "The hell is wrong with you two?" He was speaking to Cecilia and Alex who had matching weird looks.

Alex shook his head, "Nothing."

Dylan would've taken the bus, but Alex insisted on driving Dylan to Chilton. Cecilia, Ricky, and Jack went with them, except for Mai, because of that doctor's appointment.

Mr. Medina smiled when Dylan got in the class, because he was glad that Dylan showed up this time.

Before the bell rang, Christy ran in, her hair a mess, but she arrived.

"You two look like you slept on the floor," Paris nicely pointed out to Dylan and Christy.

"You look like your parents dropped you on the floor when you were a baby," Christy snapped out.

Dugray laughed at that, and Mr. Medina took the roster and started going over the rules of the test.

When Mr. Medina looked away, Christy punched Dylan's arm and looked at the empty desk, filled with worry.

Oh.

Rory wasn't there.

Dylan looked questioningly at Christy, who shrugged in response.

Mr. Medina passed out the tests.

Oh shit.

Where the hell was Rory at?

Ten minutes into the class time, Dylan finished, the essay part took the longest, and then the door to the classroom burst open and a disheveled Rory stood there.

"I'm sorry," Rory stated, going to her desk.

"Everyone back to your tests," Mr. Medina ordered his class. "Miss Gilmore, you're going have to wait in the library."

Rory continued over to desk, "But what about the test?"

"I'm afraid you've missed the test," Mr. Medina told her.

"No," Rory replied.

"We start class promptly at 8:05," Mr. Medina explained.

Rory replied, "No."

"That's when I need people to be in their seats," Mr. Medina replied.

"Please," Rory begged.

"I'm sorry but it's the rules," Mr. Medina told her sadly.

Rory explained, "But you don't understand! I was up all-night studying and then I missed my bus, so I had to drive—"

"Illegally?" interrupted Dylan; baffled at the thought of his sister driving illegally. First, stealing a spa towel and then driving illegally? What's next? Also getting banned forever from Doose's Market? 

"Mr. Gilmore, back to your test," Mr. Medina told him. To Rory, he said, "Rory, let's discuss this outside."

"So, I'm driving down this road and I stop, and I get hit by a deer," Rory continued explaining.

Mr. Medina was shocked, "You hit a deer?"

"No, I got hit by a deer," Rory corrected him. "You don't believe me? I've got antler prints on the side of my mother's car."

Christy looked Rory over, concerned, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but I've got antler prints on the side of our mom's car," Rory told her.

"Rory, come on," Mr. Medina replied, trying to get Rory outside the class.

"No!" Rory pleaded, "You have to let me take this test. I'm ready for this test. I know everything there is know about Shakespeare. Probably not everything like Dylan, but I know his birthday and his mother's name and the kind of ink that he used—"

"Loser," Paris whispered to Louise.

Rory turned to her, "And just what is wrong with you, huh? You already have everything! You already have the grades and the status. What the hell is wrong with you that you have this constant need to be the biggest jerk in the entire world?"

"Okay, let's go," Max said.

Rory wasn't done with Paris, "Huh? What's up? What's up quippy? Why so silent?"

"Outside – now," Mr. Medina ordered.

Rory walked by Dugray and snapped, "And for the last time – the name's Rory!"

Dylan got up, reading to go after Rory.

"Dylan, if you leave the classroom, I'm afraid you won't be able to complete your test," Mr. Medina said.

"I finished it fifteen minutes ago," Dylan replied, and left the classroom to go after Rory.

Mr. Medina looked at the clock. It was 8:30. So, Dylan essentially finished his test ten minutes after it being passed out.

Why did that guy continue to surprise him?

He eventually got to the headmaster's office, where he found his friends at, along with Kayla and Lydia.

Dylan, confused, asked, "What are you all doing here?"

"The security officer thought we were ditching, even though we told him that we went to a different school. He didn't take that to kindly, so he sent us to see the principal," Ricky told him.

Lydia nodded, "Same."

After class was finished, Paris and her two friends walked by, looking a bit smug. Paris looked at Dylan's friends with obvious disgust, and spoke to Madeline and Louise, "They're letting anyone in these days." However, Louise seemed a little too interested in Alex and Ricky.

Alex asked, "What makes you think they'll allow me through the gate?"

The three girls continued on and eventually Dugray walked by. He looked at Rory, "Mary." He eyed Cecilia.

Alex put one arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and pulled her close.

Dylan kind of wished he had someone do that to him.

Dugray continued on. 

Caroline walked by and handed Dylan her notes. "Here's today's notes."

Dylan smiled at her, "Thanks." 

Caroline nodded and looked at Dylan's friends. "Oh, they're Ricky, Mai, Jack, Cecilia, and Alex. This is Caroline."

Cecilia was looking at Caroline in a almost scrutinizing manner. Caroline was looking at Cecilia in the same manner, and then at Alex, who, too was looking at her in a scrutinizing manner.

Caroline looked at Dylan, "See you at lunch."

"Yeah," Dylan agreed. 

Ricky hit Dylan's arm, "Dude. You've been holding back."

"Not really," Dylan replied. "I don't even know her last name."

"Astor," Rory said. "Her last name is Astor."

"I better go," Dylan said, getting up. "I have other classes to go to."

"Bye," Ricky told him. 

Dylan nodded, "Yeah, bye."

He headed to class. 

The only good thing that came out of the day was that he wasn't failed from walking out of a test (another A+ that made Dylan worried at that Paris was going to break her desk in half from anger) and Rory had gotten extra credit to make up for the test.