Title: When She Cries

Book: II
Chapter: Eighteen

Chapter Title: Reason To Shine

Rating: R.
Coupling: I should get rid of this section since, it just seems repetitious to me.

Disclaimer: Aye, captain. I hold no deeds to Gilmore Girls. And I don’t own matchbox twenty’s The Burn.
Author’s Note: I plan on updating this five out of seven nights. I can tell you that I’m 97% sure that I will not update Tuesday.

 

*

 

 

Now I'm down/And I wonder how I never got the burn/
And if I'm ever gonna learn/How lonely people make a life/
One strain at a time.

 

 

            The Franklin meeting had been destined to be hell; Dallie had known this, yet he did not properly prepare himself for it beforehand by taking two Advil. He desperately wished for that Advil right now. And he smarter than to forget to take them, he knew he was. Still, Chilton must have released class rankings this early to rival up the seniors into doing their best. And they’d continue releasing class rankings with every marking period, and any other chance they could find. And every time was going to be absolute hell.

 

            Lennon raised her hand, yet didn’t wait for permission before speaking. “I say we print the top fifteen.”

 

            Spring leaned forward and Dallie’s head throbbed. “That’s because you’re number fourteen.”

 

            “If that’s so, does that mean you’re going to insist we print the top fifty?” Lennon returned.

 

            Thankfully the door opened, and Thalia walked in, saving them all from Spring’s inimical reply.

 

            “Sorry about that,” Thalia whispered to Dallie, as she sat at his right.

 

            He nodded, she had already told him of her possible tardiness for the meeting. Dallie gave her the class ranking, and again desperately wished for any form of aspirin.

 

            “Congrats,” Thalia told him, obviously reading the number one ranking first. Yeah, it was coming soon. The rest of the staff also seemed to anticipate what was coming because they were being uncharacteristically quiet. Oddly enough, this made his headache worsen.

 

            Thalia mumbled something like, “number five- not so bad”, and then came the barely audible gasp. And then…

           

            “You’re number three?”

 

            Oh, he could practically feel the complacency oozing from Lola. “Yeah, so how does it feel to be officially beneath me?”

 

            “Lorelai,” Dallie sighed. Like it would do anything.

 

            Lola rolled her eyes, “You can’t say anything, Mariano. You’re number one. Therefore, in no position to complain.”

 

            “And he’s earned it,” Thalia practically leapt to his defense. Though he was pretty sure that he didn’t need defending.

 

            Lola arched a blonde eyebrow. “Saying that I haven’t? Saying that I haven’t studied just as hard to secure my place as number three? If I gave just a little bit more, I could so be up there competing with Dallie for the valedictorian spot. But I’m not, know why?”

 

            “Because you’ve rebuffed all your teacher’s advances, and this is now the price you must now pay?” Gee, that wasn’t sarcastic.

 

            “Miss Haze,” Mrs Peters admonished her. “Cease fire, or go visit the Headmaster.”

 

            Properly chastised, Thalia slumped in her chair. “Sorry.”

 

            “I’d kind of like to hear what Lola was going to say,” Spring spoke up.

 

            Well, Dallie kind of wouldn’t. Dallie kind of wanted to go sit in the dark for a while.

 

            “All I was going to say,” Lola shrugged. “Was that I find number three a very copasetic place. Highest place you can be without all the stress.”

 

            There, that wasn’t too bad. He was almost tempted to thank Lola. Instead, all he said was:

 

            “Meeting adjourned.”

 

*

 

            Respectable. Aurora looked too damn respectable. It was perfect for what she was going for, but it still bothered her. She needed a little rebellion. She went through her lip glazes before picking out Starlet Scarlet, or as she and Lo had christened it- Starlet Harlot. She blotted her lips. Much better. Aurora looked at herself one more time in her full-length mirror before leaving the room. She met her father in the foyer. Showtime.

 

            “Where are you going, Aurora?” Jamison Thomas’s eyes didn’t look up from the pile of mail he was sifting through.

 

            “I have a date,” she replied blithely.

 

            “It’s a school night,” her father reminded her. A Monday night, to be exact. “And I don’t remember you acquiring my permission.”

 

            “Oh,” Aurora played dumb- an act that her father always seemed to buy. “I didn’t think I needed it, Father.”

 

            Now he looked up from the mail, and at her. “Oh? And what would make you think that?”

 

            “Well,” the doorbell rang. She was now quite sure that she’d enjoy the look on her father’s face when he saw who was on the other side. Ten seconds before the housekeeper answered the door. “I just thought that if they were on the list, that it would automatically mean…”

 

            The housekeeper cleared her throat. “Excuse me, sir, but a Master Bartholomew Lennox is here to see Miss Aurora.”

 

            For the first time in her life, Aurora saw her father shocked. In fact, she was pretty sure that this was the same expression he had on his face when she was born female, rather than male.

 

            “Lennox?” She wasn’t sure if he was directing the question to her, or if it was more of a rhetorical. Then he turned to her, so the first was rhetorical then. “You’re going out with Lennox?”

 

            “Yes, sir,” Tolly was the one to answer the question. Jesus, he looked like a father’s dream come true. Her father’s, to be exact. “I hope that this isn’t a inconvenience, but I don’t have a class on Tuesday, and today I only had one in the morning.”

 

            “No inconvenience at all, as long as you have her back by twelve,” Jamison Thomas actually smile. Genuinely, like he was happy about something. It sort of creeped Aurora out.

 

            “That should be no problem,” She assured him.

 

            “Have fun, Rory,” Her father told her. Right, he had never quite gotten that Rory wasn’t actually her nickname. But it was for the best; Aura would sound too new age for his tastes.

 

            Aurora and Tolly said good-bye to her father before leaving.

 

            Once outside, and the door had been closed, Tolly smiled at her. “Your father bought it. You should thank me for that.”

 

            “You made my father very happy, I should kill you for that,” Aurora returned. “Speaking of which, I’m driving.” She started walking faster towards the driveway.

 

            Tolly ran after her, really it would be best for everyone involved if they came out of this evening completely unscathed- mentally and physically.

 

 

 

To Be Continued…