GILMORE → gilmore girls

"You didn't sleep with the principal, did you?"

Victoria Gilmore's life ran like clockwork. Almost every hour was accounted for on a strict daily schedule to ensure nothing was missed. Weekdays consisted of the occasional early morning shift at work, ending just in time for her to make the 7:55 am school start. 3:15 pm saw her on a 40-minute bus ride (which also doubled as homework hour) to Hartford for her dance classes, and 6:55 pm usually saw her back on the bus to Stars Hollow.

Which was why 5 am in Stars Hollow was one of Tori Gilmore's favourite times of the day. Other than a select few, the residents of the lively tiny town were still sleeping, and her walk was peaceful. She could breathe, take in the quiet and just exist, something that her scheduled life did not always allow for. The mid-August air was crisp, and a slight breeze caused the stray leaves that littered the streets to dance around Tori's feet as she made her way across the town square to Luke's Diner.

Luke Danes was a gruff man who, as evidenced by the name, owned the local diner. He was snarky, occasionally to the point of meanness, and seemed to only own flannel shirts and blue baseball caps.

If her mother was to be compared to a hurricane; what with her animated personality, sunshine smile, and wild antics - then Luke was a summer storm. His frustration could cloud over him quickly, his voice booming like thunder, but as fast as lighting the Danes storm would be over just as quickly as it arrived.

And Tori adored him more than almost anyone.

He was grumpy, most times cynical and trying to get a smile out of the man was like trying to use a cell phone in his diner (not entirely impossible, but you have a better chance of getting away with it if you're name is Lorelai Gilmore). But he was also steadfast, he had a big heart and he loved Stars Hollow and its residents greatly.

They had met when Tori was 8 years old. Her mother, Lorelai had just collected her from Miss Patty's dance studio, and they were walking to meet her sister Rory (supervised by Lorelai's quirky best friend Sookie) at the bookstore. Tori was skipping along in front of her mother, jumping, and spinning as she went, when she landed on the uneven sidewalk and fell. Before her mother could reach her, strong arms lifted her back to her feet and proceeded to ask her if she had broken anything, before starting an impressive rant about the state of Stars Hollow's sidewalks and a man named Taylor Doose.

It was in that moment that 8-year-old Tori looked up, eyes slightly misty and decided that Luke Danes was going to be her new best friend.

After that day, Tori took any opportunity she could to visit the surly diner owner and, along with her mother and sister, the Gilmore girls slowly wormed their way into his affections. In hindsight, it probably had more to do with her mother and her endearing teasing of the man, than anything Tori did. It was clear to the entire town that at first, Luke had no idea what to do with the little girl who often spent her free time following him around his diner.

Which was how Tori had landed her part-time job as a waitress. She had spent years watching Luke and Ceaser cook, Luke sometimes even talking her through what he was doing or pretending to take customers' orders when she was following him around the diner. A she grew older, Tori found that she often confided in Luke; he was her sounding board for most of her ideas and the person she trusted most to tell it to her straight. So, when she concluded that she needed a real job at age 14, to help with the cost of her classes Luke was the one she turned to, to help her figure it out.

A job at Luke's Diner was not something that Tori had originally considered, believing it would be easier for her to pick up a small job in Hartford where she now took the bulk of her dance classes, but when explaining her reasoning for needing a job, Luke quickly offered her shifts at the diner.

"You've pretty much been working here since you were ten, might as well pay you for it now" he had remarked whilst they'd filled up the sugar containers one evening.