A Different Life

twenty five

A/N This chapter will seem anticlimatic. This is on purpose. A more dramatic meeting is in the works for later.

"Hello Ace."

"Hi Tristan."

"Hello Logan, Summer"

Logan looks at his wife. He's shocked to hear her name from his ex's mouth. He quickly masks his shock by taking a sip of his drink.

"Hello Summer, it's been what? eleven years?" Tristan breaks the silence with a smirk.

"Something like that," Summer replied, looking at her high school fling.

"So I see we all know each other," Rory says looking around the quartet.

"I was just wondering about that Ace, it seems I'm the odd one out here." Logan smirks, as he sees Rory smart at the nickname.

Tristan also sees the smart and wraps his arm around Rory's waist instead of just a delicately placed hand. She instantly relaxes at the pressure.

"I suppose you are. Myself, Summer and Tris here all went to high school together. Met everyday at my locker matter of fact." At this final sentence, Tristan smirks, while Summers' face flushes.

"So I see Tristan finally got his Mary?" Summer intoned, looking them both up and down.

"Something like that," Tristan responded with a bored tone.

"Well it's been nice catching up and all, but I see Grandma Emily trying to catch my eye. We better get over there before she comes looking for us. Logan, Summer I'm sure we will see you again. Come on Bible Boy, Adolf beckons." Rory pulled Tristan away without a second glance at the other couple.

Rory and Tristan mingled their way around the party. Occasionally they would stop for a dance, whenever they needed a break from the monotony of small talk. Rory and Tristan had attended multiple society parties together since they had reconnected during law school. While they had both been single it had helped to stop the family set ups, as both families agreed the pair would be a good match if they ever did become more than friends, even though Rory and Tristan knew that would never happen, even before Finn and Louise had come back into the picture. Most of the crowd knew that Tristan was engaged to Louise Grant, and all of the crowd knew about Logan and Rory's history. The gossip hounds were watching the two couples work the room with bated breath.

While the society gossip mongers watched both couples, Logan and Summer were both watching Tristan and Rory work the room. Logan was trying to see what this blonde guy had that he didn't, he was disappointed to see that it didn't look like Rory's life had fallen apart, she looked happy and content and even more beautiful because of it. He was sure it was just an act so he wouldn't know how much she regretted turning him down. Summer was trying to understand why it still felt like she was a second choice behind Rory Gilmore after eleven years. If anything Rory should be jealous of her Summer thought, she was the one with the rich hot husband and the life of leisure. Summer looked at her husband, he was also staring at the couple and she didn't understand why, she had history with them, he didn't.

Later that night as Rory was leaving the bathroom she bumped into someone.

"Oh excuse me, I'm very sorry about that," she started.

"Are you really?" Summer questioned.

"Of course I am, I didn't even see you so how could I have known who it was I bumped into?" Rory asked, confused where Summer was going with this.

"So how does it feel to have my sloppy seconds Gilmore?" Summer sneered

"Tristan and I are just friends Summer, so there is no seconds' having going on at my end. For you on the other hand, how does it feel knowing your husband proposed to me first, and of his own volition not at Daddy Dearest's request?"