3

Rory

It was Friday night dinner, which meant five people sitting around a table that could fit eight, slowly and gracefully filling their stomachs with pretentiously cooked food and holding even more pretentious conversations. Rory's grandparents joined them on occasional Fridays, and she would have to stay for the entire three courses. Today, she was on her best behavior since she was gearing up to ask for permission to attend Chelsea's birthday party.

Sitting across her, her mom took a sip of her martini before pursing her lips in the exact way Grandma would. With her brown hair styled into voluptuous curls and slender frame fitting nicely in a pale blue blazer, her mom looked just like Grandma. Actually, she didn't just look like Grandma, Mom was essentially a duplicated copy, just younger in age. They both sat with their backs super straight and loved DAR meetings. At least Mom had a sense of humor. No matter how strict her mom was about Hartford society rules, she always made Rory laugh. Her favorite memories included those nights when they would stay up and snack on pop tarts.

"How's school going?" Mom asked.

"Good," she replied automatically. What else was she supposed to say? Her parents asked the same question every dinner. She was a high school student, not an overseas correspondent working in Iraq or something. Was something dinner-talk worthy supposed to happen every single day?

"Exams are coming up?" Grandpa chimed in, smiling eagerly while his swirly thick moustache danced as he talked.

"Yup, I've got seven finals this year."

"Wow," her dad exclaimed. He seemed to try too hard in front of the in-laws. Rory almost felt embarrassed for him. "That's quite a lot. Have you started preparing?"

"Mmhm. I'm going over History and English notes."

She was glad she started studying early since now her Wednesday and Saturday nights were occupied by community service. Ever since she was little, she'd wanted to attend Harvard, and it was those numerous Harvard posters on her bedroom walls that kept her motivated no matter the nerdy names Tristan would call her.

"Rory loves English and History," her mom said to Grandma, "I was never too fond of it."

"That's 'cause Rory's a hundred times the student you were." Grandma spoke proudly with a small smile.

"Let's not go there, Mom."

Rory's mom had told her how she got married hastily after she found out she was pregnant. Her mom and dad held a small wedding in a white chapel with only twenty something guests, because it was apparently critical to keep her pregnancy a secret for as long as they could. However, the secret only lasted for the first trimester since Hartford housewives with money and no work reserved twelve hours a day for gossiping.

And gossiping was exactly what Rory's mother and grandma did all dinner. They talked about incredibly boring subjects such as so and so got married, and so and so hooked up with a third cousin with a hideous buzz cut. Halfway through dinner, Rory felt her patience wean as all she wanted to do was ask about Chelsea's party. Chelsea would kill her if she didn't attend.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Chelsea's having a party next Saturday-"

"No." Immediately, her mom's smile turned into a stern line. "Not after what happened at the last party you went to."

"But, Mom," Rory whined. She wasn't proud of it, but she had to admit that whining had worked before. "It's her birthday. She's my best friend. I can't miss it!"

"Your mother's right," her dad stepped in, "You're still grounded after what happened, which means no parties."

"Didn't the girl already have a birthday party a few months back?" her mom asked.

Groaning, Rory said, "That was her three quarters sweet sixteen party. This is the official sweet sixteen. I really can't miss it."

She had no choice but to whip out the 'Goldfish Pout' her dad had coined, sticking out her bottom lip, and puffing her cheeks in the most subtle way. It was the look that got her out of a few piano lessons when she was younger. She was too old for it now, but maybe, just maybe, it still had a bit of effect.

"Mom," she pleaded, "Dad. Pleasee."

Her mom turned to catch her dad's eyes. She knew they were holding one of their unspoken parent discussions. For the next minute, everyone at the table was silent. Seeing her mom's lips turn upward ever so slightly, she high-fived herself in her head, believing there was a chance. Crossing her fingers under the table, she watched and waited some more.

Finally, her parents broke eye contact and her mom said, "Be home by ten."

"What?! Chelsea's party doesn't even start 'til eight."

Sighing, her dad said, "Fine, eleven-"

"Daadd-"

He held out a finger, his expression firm. "That's final. Take it or leave it."

"Fine."

Rory stabbed at the food on her plate, putting on a slight frown, although secretly she knew she'd won a huge victory. This time, she was the one to try at a conversation, even bringing up Grandma's favorite topic – the piano.

"I'll practice for the level test when I get home tomorrow."

"Good," her mom said. "You've got real talent for it."

Rory resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Thanks, Mom."

"It's a good skill to have for a girl of your age and background," Grandma unsurprisingly chimed in, "We're not expecting you to be the next Stephen Hough or anything-"

"I sure hope not, 'cause I've tried but it's definitely a challenge to grow a beard," she couldn't help but throw in.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Grandma's head cocked to a side, looking at her with either mock or genuine bemusement. She couldn't tell which.

"Never mind, it wasn't funny," she muttered.

"Richard, was that supposed to be a joke? Did you find it funny?"

Grandpa's eyes widened, as if dreading to be brought into the conversation. He licked his lips, pondering the right thing to say. "I think what Rory meant was-"

"I know what she meant, I just don't know if it was supposed to be funny and I missed something. Maybe my sense of humor is completely off." Grandma's tone dared anyone around the table to agree.

"Oh, no, no." He shook his head. "I think you've a perfect sense of humor, Emily."

"Oh yeah, perfect, Mom." Catching Rory's eyes, her mom gave a slight chortle. "When the next comedian retires, they'll definitely want you there with your own talk show."

Stifling a giggle, Rory and her mother exchanged another look. See? Sometimes, her mom was pretty cool.

❤ Happiness and Him ❤

Rory walked into the familiar classroom the next day. It was the third Saturday she was forced to spend with Julie and her cheerful grin. Readying herself for another two hours of ridiculously cheesy discussions, she made her way to the circle of doom and took her seat beside Ted. It wasn't like there was a seating plan or anything, but she was a creature of habit. What she didn't like about her seat, however, besides the fact that it was in Greyview High, was that she sat right across from the red-head, Lindsey. Over the weeks, Rory's learned that this girl was no Miss Congeniality. She glared whenever Rory moved in her chair, or answered a question, or as much as breathed.

"Hey," Rory greeted Ted.

With his round cheeks a light pink, he looked at her like he always did – nervous and scared. "H-Hi."

The sound of claps turned Rory's attention to Julie who was wearing a bright yellow sweater to match her always bright mood. Quickly, Rory scanned the faces in the circle, confirming that a certain boy wasn't there, causing a tiny sense of disappointment to sink in her stomach.

"Today, I've some really exciting news to share!" A smile appeared on Julie's face as she looked at the door. "But, we'll have to wait for the missing person… AH, there you are!"

Logan stepped through the door, clearly startled by Julie's exclamation.

"Uh, hey," he said.

Julie rushed over, pulling him by the arm while he looked around in confusion until his gaze stopped on Rory. He threw a questioning look, to which Rory shrugged back.

Positioning Logan in the front and center, Julie grinned. "As I said, I've really exciting news!"

The boy jammed his hands into his jacket pockets (the one that was draped on her the other night) and stood there.

"You might have heard of the Connecticut Creative Writing Contest." Julie patted Logan's arm. "Well, a short story by Logan here was selected by the school aand… Drumrolls please!"

While Ted might have contributed a tiny clap, Rory just gaped, not understanding why Logan was up there since she certainly didn't pin him as the academic type. The guy had gotten a giant bruise for crying out loud. The academics at her school certainly didn't do that. She certainly didn't do that.

Unaffected by lack of enthusiasm, Julie punched Logan in the arm playfully. "Logan's story won FIRST PRIZE, which is a whopping $1000!"

Blinking a couple times, Rory jerked her attention from Julie to the boy still standing there, not holding any expression on his sculpted face. Before she realized it, Logan was heading directly toward her. Her gaze followed his every move as her brain tried to place him, the boy with the bruise, with creative writing. He looked at her with what she swore was a smirk and sat down to her right.

Composing herself, she whispered, "Congrats."

He responded with a small curl of his lips, just like the one he gave the other night, and as previously, her heart beat a little faster.

"All righty!" Julie clapped, snapping the tension between the teenagers in half. "Let's move on to today's question since we wouldn't wanna run out of time, would we?" She started passing out the dreaded worksheets. "As usual, get into partners and discuss."

"Mind if I steal her for today?" Logan asked Ted casually.

Rory's eyes widened in surprise. His voice startled her. It sounded like a new melody every time.

"N-No."

After apologizing to Ted, she faced Logan.

"Hey, Rory Hayden." Her full name sounded sophisticated off his lips.

"Hi," she replied.

Everything about him was brighter today under the daylight. He had golden eyes and golden hair. He no longer looked dangerous. He looked almost warm.

"Do you always sit here?" she asked, smoothing her skirt before sitting down while maneuvering her clumsy feet so she didn't trip.

He dragged a chair over to the wall. "I like my privacy while answering these deep, soul-searching questions."

A light smirk touched his lips as he sank down.

"Well then, let the soul searching begin."

He leaned his head against the wall and looked at her with his mouth pressed. "Read me the question," he said.

Licking her dry lips, she read, "What comes to mind when you think of the word 'happiness'?" Looking up, she watched him expectantly.

"You first."

"But I asked the question," she complained, wishing to avoid answering for as long as possible, "Why do I've to go first?"

"'Cause." He shrugged, and then added acidly, "You're the one with the fancy school and driver. You surely have lots to be happy about."

Taking offense in his words, she frowned, "You just won $1000." She mimicked his tone, "Surely that makes you happy?"

"I didn't choose to enter the contest," he simply stated.

"What?"

"It was for an assignment and my teacher wanted to submit it."

"It's a good thing he did."

"I guess." He shrugged again.

"Let me get this straight, you're seriously not happy about winning?" she asked, bemused. She'd be stoked if her photos won at any contest. Plus, not to sound rude or anything, but judging by the state his clothes were in, he could benefit from a thousand dollars.

"I write for myself," he said. "I don't care what others think."

He leaned forward, decreasing the distance between them.

A waft of his lavender and leathery scent met Rory and her heart almost tripped over itself.

"It's still an accomplishment," she tried for optimism to cover her nerves. "Even if you're not overjoyed, your parents must be really proud."

He pursed his lips as if musing over a tough question, "It's hard to tell, since they're dead."

"I- I'm so sorry."

Silence, even louder than the conversations in the air, met them. She had no idea what to say.

"Five more minutes!" Julie's usual reminder came and for once Rory wished she could talk more, just to make up for this moment of absolute awkwardness.

Breaking the stillness, Logan snatched his worksheet from the nearby table and cleared his throat. He looked irritated, which she didn't blame him for since it mustn't be pleasant being forced to mention your dead parents.

He spoke up, "So, happiness?"

"Uh."

She watched him and sympathy rose in her. He looked so vulnerable such that she felt embarrassed to be seeing him like this. She answered whatever came to mind,

"When I think of happiness, I think of a room full of people, admiring my work. I'd wanted to hold a photo exhibit since I was eight."

He scribbled on the paper.

Feeling timid, she said softly, "Your turn."

"Grocery shopping with my mom."

❤ Happiness and Him ❤

Her mom used to race her down the aisles in search for chips and Pepsi whenever they grocery shopped. They would Rock Paper Scissors for their favorite flavor, which was always between All Dressed and Ranch.

Rory couldn't imagine never sharing those moments with her mom again. She knew when she had a bad day or got into a fight with Chelsea that her mom would be there. With a pot of freshly brewed coffee and junk food enough for the whole town.

What was it like to lose your parents?

She stole sideway glances at Logan throughout the rest of the session. When the clock struck six, everyone stood up all at once. This time, she wasn't in a rush and worked on tucking her worksheet into her backpack slowly, noticing that Logan was doing the same.

When the stationaries were safely put away and she had no other props to stall with, she turned to face him. "I'll see you next week?"

He flung his backpack on his shoulder, and zipped up his jacket. "Yup, are you going to the entrance? I'll walk with you."

A little ball of joy rolled in her stomach as she smiled. "Yeah, okay."

Together, they walked to the door.

"Logan?"

Oh man.

Julie's call stopped them in their tracks, and they looked over their shoulders simultaneously.

"Yeah?" Logan replied.

"Can we talk?"

Logan glanced at Rory before replying. "Sure." He gave her an apologetic shrug. "I'll see you next week then."

Watching a sheepish smile graze his face, she bit her lip to contain the foolish gawk she surely had on. "Okay, see ya."

With a quick wave, she blushed all the way to the door.

Turning into the hallway, she walked past numerous classrooms without noticing her surroundings. All she did was replay the last two hours with Logan in her head over and over again. The way she felt around him was so strange, almost as if she developed an itsy, bitsy crush.

She was walking closer and closer to the wall which was interrupted at regular intervals by teal-colored doors. Suddenly, a gush of wind hit her and she was being pulled into a classroom with a smooth, sharp tug. Before a scream left her throat, her mouth was cupped and the door shut with a loud bang.

Yelling into the cold hand, Rory struggled against the body wrapped behind her.

"Stop squirming!" A sharp, girl voice shrieked and the hand left Rory's mouth.

In her extremely confused and panicked state, she spun around, her heart pounding. "What in the worl-?!"

She was met with the face of a girl with heavily lined eyes and lashes so long that they seemed to all point and sneer.

"Lindsey?!"

Thanks for reading!