Chapter Text
Sweet mother, I cannot weave — slender Aphrodite has overcome me with longing for a girl.
Rory was going to a private-school dance. She hadn’t planned on going, but after her mother’s inquiring she had agreed to give it a chance. Lorelai had not questioned her choice at dinner, in hindsight probably just to spite her mother. Rory had become more and more irritated with her in the car-ride home, and one sentence from her mother still rung in her head: I don’t want you to miss any experience because you’re too afraid.
Rory often felt like she was being a teenager wrong, and it didn’t feel great when her mother implied it. Lorelai was pregnant and ran away from home when she was Rory’s age. Rory liked to spend time with her mother, followed the rules and liked to stay in reading books or watching TV. Was that so wrong?
Rory was telling Lane about the Chilton dance as they walked through a snow-covered Stars Hollows.
“Rory, listen to me; there’s absolutely no point in having a boyfriend if you can’t get him to go to the dance with you,” Lane said.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Rory said.
“Really?”
“No.”
“What is he then?”
Rory thought for a second.
“He’s my… gentleman caller.”
Lane grinned.
“Okay Blanche.”
Rory tried again: “I don’t know what he is but he is not a boyfriend… Do you think he’s my boyfriend?”
Lane smiled.
“I think you guys spend a lot of time not kissing other people if this isn’t a girlfriend/boyfriend thing.”
“Girlfriend,” Rory tried.
“You,” Lane helped.
“Boyfriend.”
“Him!”
“No, it sounds weird.”
Was Dean really Rory’s boyfriend? He did make her nervous, which supposedly meant that she liked him — that what she was feeling in her stomach were those butterflies everyone talked about. After all, Dean was good-looking and kind. He liked to watch movies with her and tolerated Rory’s many book-rants, and her mother liked him. Rory supposed asking him to the dance wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. And she didn’t want to be afraid, like her mother had insinuated.
“Rory, you came!”
Rory turned around and saw Louise coming towards her. She was wearing a dark, figure-fitting dress with red and flowery details. Her light hair was in a curly up-do, and she had a silver necklace around her fair neck.
“Oh, great dress,” she continued, touching Rory’s sleeves and waist which made Rory tense up. “Who’s it by?”
“Lorelai Gilmore,” Rory managed to say, even though she suddenly felt very hot.
“You made it yourself?” Madeline said, making Rory notice she was there too.
“No, my mom made it for me.” Rory said, looking at Madeline. It was much easier: Louise’s eyes were so intense they made Rory nervous.
“She did, really?” Madeline sounded impressed.
“Yeah,” Rory smiled.
“So you travelling with a bodyguard now?” Louise said, looking at Dean.
Of course she was interested in the boy Rory was with. Rory felt foolish, though she didn’t understand why.
“Oh, no, this is my… This is Dean. Dean, this is Louise and Madeline.”
“Hey,” Dean said casually.
“My mom can’t make anything.” Madeline said, more to herself than to anyone.
Louise daringly stepped closer to Dean.
“How tall are you?”
“Uh…”
“Soup,” Madeline interrupted. “She can make soup!”
But Louise went on:
“You know, my family is really tall. I mean, the men mostly.” She looked Dean up and down. “What are you, 6’1”, 6’2”?”
Rory was irritated now and said: “Does he get like a prize if he guesses?”
This made Louise avert her gaze from Dean and look at Rory, arching an eyebrow at her. Rory held her breath.
“One kind of soup actually.” Madeline was still in her own conversation. “It’s green, lumpy,” she made a face at the last word.
“I’m 6’2”,” Dean leaned in and smiled. Louise smiled triumphantly at him and Rory wanted to leave, but she stood still and kept looking at Louise.
“Actually, she can’t make soup either.” Madeline decided.
“6’2” is a good height,”
“You think?” Dean asked Louise.
“I think,” Louise said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
“Huh,” Dean stepped back and slowly put his arms around Rory’s waist. “What do you think, too tall?”
“Not in heels,” Rory joked.
“Good.”
“Although the saddle shoes make it kinda difficult,” Rory continued, looking at the floor; Dean’s public display of affection made her a little uncomfortable.
Dean chuckled.
“I’ll just have to stoop then.”
“I guess so.”
“Okay, I’m bored.” Louise decided, looking at Dean. She turned away, took a bread roll from someone’s table, and left. Madeline stepped forward in her place, smiling broadly:
“I like your dress!”
“Thanks,” Rory smiled back, as Madeline followed Louise.