Pretty & Perfect

Chapter Twenty

Colin and I were in Stars Hollow to go to a concert that Lane's band was playing at. Lane had invited both me and Rory to the concert and Colin had practically invited himself once he learnt that I was going home to Stars Hollow. Since I had first brought him home, he had this weird fascination with the craziness that was Stars Hollow. Having met Kirk the first time he wanted to see the rest of the weirdo's that inhabited the town. We walked into Luke's diner to meet up with my mother.

"Rory and Christa's coming in tonight?" we heard Luke ask Mom as we walked into the diner. They hadn't noticed us yet as we walked over to them.

"Yeah, they're going to see Lane's band play at Positively Four Street tonight. They have the coveted three in the morning slot." Mom informed him as I led Colin over to the table she was sitting at.

"I hear that's how Zeppelin started." I said to her as I approached. Mom and Luke looked up at us and I smiled at them as I gave Luke a hug and Colin kissed Mom on the cheek in greeting. I gave Mom kiss on the cheek as Colin greeted Luke with a hand shake and then we sat down at the vacant seats at the table.

"Hey, kids!" Mom said enthusiastically to us and smiled brightly. "Colin, you got dragged into the concert too?"

"Actually, I invited myself." He informed her with a smirk and she quirked an eyebrow at him in question.

"He thinks Stars Hollow is his own personal mental asylum. Full of crazy's." I explained to them with a giggle.

"That's true." Luke agreed gruffly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, anyway, Rory's genius plan is to come home, go to bed early, set the clock for two, get up and go rock." Mom told us.

"Solid plan." I said with a nod of my head.

"Yes, except that when the clock goes off at two, she will be dead asleep and won't hear it. I, however, will. I will then proceed to get up, drag myself downstairs, recreating a classic Zucker Brothers moment and then I'll shake her awake. She'll get up, throw on some jeans, a t-shirt, and no make-up and look like a Neutrogena ad, whereas once she leaves, I'll pass out on the couch, too exhausted to make it all the way upstairs, and in the morning I will have bags under my eyes that should have Tumi stamped on them. I love being a Mom." Mom ranted to us and we laughed at her.

"Aw. Are the guys in town unusually lonely these days?" I joked as I noticed two men carrying a mannequin down the street through the large glass window.

"No, they're from the museum. I think they're getting ready to close it." Luke told us and Mom frowned up at him.

"Close it? No! Why?" she asked him with a pout as she watched them move the mannequin.

"Oh, well, you know, no one was going."

"I was going." Mom argued with her boyfriend.

"Oh, well, you went once."

"No, I was going to go again! Just as soon as the nightmares about the 'I love Jesus' mannequin subsided."

"Well, you saw it once."

"I guess." Mom said with a defeated sigh. Mom then turned to me with a bright smile and I raised an eyebrow at her in suspicion. "Did you return the blue sweater?" she asked me innocently.

"Oh, no." I moaned in anticipation of her line of questioning and threw my head back as Colin chuckled next to me.

"Answer, please."

"Two days ago." I informed her impatiently.

"Why?" Mom whined to me and I smirked at her.

"Why? Because two days ago you asked me to take it back. Demanded me, in fact."