chapter seven! the birthday parties
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"What are you doing here?" Paris snapped at Rory,
storming over to the table alongside Thea, who was silently flipping through a Yale brochure she'd picked up a couple of tables ago.
"There's a college fair going on," Rory answered, gesturing around her.
"No, she means, what are you doing at the Harvard table?" Thea spat out, glancing up from her dark blue brochure.
"I'm getting a new brochure," Rory answered, lifting the glossy brochure in her hand.
"Why?"
"Because they're not selling pizza,"
"Oh, no," Paris stuttered out, realisation washing over her, "You can't,"
"You're applying to Harvard?"
"Yes,"
"No!"
"Ten generations of Gellers have gone to Harvard, I have to go to Harvard," Paris informed, the desperation seeping through.
"I can't believe this," Rory mumbled, running a hand over her temple.
"You can go somewhere else, Go to Brandeis," Paris suggested, looking over at Thea for help.
"Brandeis is nice," Thea adds, grabbing herself a Harvard brochure from the table, "It's no Yale though."
"I've only ever wanted to go to Harvard. That's it. Nowhere else," Rory sighed, nervously shutting the brochure.
"It's a big school," Thea points out, slipping the Harvard brochure into her satchel,
"You'll probably never see each other."
"You think?"
"And if we do, we duck,"
"Ok, so," Paris pondered, pausing before the trio moved to separate, "Hey, are you dating Tristan?"
"What? No. No way,"
"Do you like him?"
"Not even a little,"
"Really?"
"Really,"
"Hey, Thea," Rory called, quickly panicking as her sister and Paris began to turn away from her,
"I-I'm sorry. I was just embarrassed about my grade, and school seems so easy for you. I - I didn't mean it, I was just so annoyed about how easy everything is for you. I'd love it if you came to my party tonight."
"I'll think about it,"
• • • • • • •
"Jeez, who the hell's ringing the bell? It's a party! Get your ass in here!"
Lorelai cried out from inside the cosy looking house.
Thea follows behind her grandparents into the house, nervously clutching the small present she'd brought for Rory against her white rose-printed dress.
"Or asses I guess," Lorelai greets, upon seeing her parents and youngest daughter standing at the entrance of the living room.
"Grandma! Grandpa! Thea!" Rory calls, rushing over to the door, and hugging her grandparents before nervously pausing in front of Thea, "I can't believe you're here. I'm so glad you came. Hey, no tie?"
"I thought I'd mix it up a little," Richard smiled.
"Grandma, look," Rory smiles, holding up her wrist to show Emily the colourful bracelets.
"Why, it looks lovely,"
"I want you to meet everyone. Everyone, these are my grandparents and my sister," Rory introduces ushering them further into the house, the last section of her sentence shocking the Stars Hollow residents.
"Hello,"
"Lorelai,"
"Emily, Thea, Dad," Lorelai greeted, offering her daughter a small smile.
"Lorelai, you look well," Richard greeted.
"I'm Patricia LaCosta. We just love your daughter and granddaughter," a cheery woman introduces, extending a hand to Emily, and flirty smiling up at Richard.
"Thank you,"
"My God, you're a tall specimen of a man. Must be all that good air in Hartford," Miss Patty laughed, her eyes raking over Richard.
"Thea, let me introduce you to Lane," Rory smiles, guiding her twin over to her best friend, Lane Kim.
"Hi, I'm Lane," a Korean girl smiled, offering the Gilmore a slice of birthday cake that had been cut minutes before the Hartford Gilmores had arrived.
"I'm Thea," she smiled back, accepting the slice of cake, "Nice to meet you."
• • • • • • •
"You having a good time?" Rory asked, dropping down beside her sister, a small wrapped item in her hands.
"Yeah, Miss Patty has some great stories," Thea gently smiled, glancing over at the performing arts teacher she'd been talking to not so long ago.
"That she does," Rory nodded, unwrapping the soft pink boa from around her neck and dropping it onto the small present she was clutching,
"I bought you something."
"You did?" Thea asked, furrowing her eyebrows at her twin's seemingly random statement.
"For your birthday," Rory breathed out, nervously handing the neatly wrapped present to Thea.
Thea nodded, carefully ridding the present from its neat wrappings. Rory's eyes nervously focused on her sister's face as she looked over the present. A small spread across Thea's face as she read over the words printed on the front cover of the book, "Charlotte Brontë."
"I know you're a fan,"
"Thank you, Rory," Thea smiled, turning to her sister who seemed to relax a little at her sister's words. Rory nodded, gently placing the light boa over Thea's slender shoulders.
"Oh, Morey," Babette asked, snapping the twins from their little bubble, "you remember the time that Rory decided that our old tree stump was a fairy ring?"
"I sure do,"
"How old was she then, sugar?" Babette asked, turning to Lorelai at the other end of the sofa.
"I think she was about ten,"
"Hey, all I know is that it matched the description," Rory defended, smiling over at Thea.
"Oh, God, she was cute, she used to sit out there with a peanut butter sandwich just waiting for the fairy to get hungry," Bebbette continued, smiling at the fond memory.
"Okay, new story,"
"I'm still crushed beyond belief that she quit her ballet lessons," Miss Patty spoke up, smiling over at Rory.
"Oh, not me. Miss Perfect Work Ethic would prance around this room 24 hours a day," Lorelai pointed out, pulling a slight face at the memory of Rory's dancing.
"And I still stunk," Rory frowned, looking over at her sister, "Thea's a great dancer, she's always performing in competitions and shows."
"I can vouch for that," Lane laughed, taking a sip from her pink plastic cup.
"That's not true!"
"She was pretty bad,"
"No, don't you listen to them. You had a true gift."
"What? She did, she was talented,"