Chapter 1

Four of them stood there,staring at the ice cream shop. Everything was completely bare; the shop was spotless for the first time since opening in March. The walk-in fridge and ice cream cake freezers were empty. Candy containers and hot fudge canisters cleaned and stored away. No more rainbow jimmies or crushed-up waffle cones scattered on the floor. No more snaking lines or bulging tip jars or music blasting in The War Room. Just silence, and the faint smell of bleach.

It was November first, the day after Scoops By The Sea's annual closing…and the day Rory dreaded the most.

She faced the front of Scoops, watching as Calvin rounded the corner after locking up the back door leading to The War Room. It's what they called the small room in the back of the shop that customers couldn't see, the place that belonged to the Scoopers and the Scoopers only.

Calvin slid up next to Melanie, curling an arm around her neck and kissing her forehead. But Melanie kept her hand firmly in Rory's, holding on tightly.

"I can't believe it's over," Melanie whispered.

"Just for now," Calvin said. "We'll be back before you know it."

"Not soon enough," Rory huffed.

"You guys are bananas," Blake said. "I, for one, will not be sad about having a few months off."

"Says the boy who doesn't have to work a second job," Jess said tightly.

"School is basically a job," he complained. "The worst kind, actually."

"Not as bad as having to refill the wet nuts container," Rory quipped.

"Or pressure cleaning the sticky ice cream from the sidewalk," Melanie added.

"Or dropping an entire ice cream cake and trying to clean it out of the rug," Jess said.

Rory winced. "Okay, that was one time, Jess."

"One is still too many," Jess mumbled back, shaking her head.

Rory sighed. "It's weird," she confessed. "Not having them here."

No one had an answer for her…and she understood why. It was her fault everything was so weird between the seven of them. Without Tyler and Jay, it felt like a massive hole in their family. And now, after another wild summer season at Scoops, they were all going their separate ways.

Rory truly hated this day.

"I've gotta go to work," Jess said curtly, and it was enough to break the awkward silence. She turned on her heel and went for her car, not stopping to look back.

"There's our Jess," Blake said as they watched her pull out of the Scoops parking lot. "Always the most sentimental one."

Rory heard sniffling and turned toward Melanie, who was now crying. Calvin tightened his arm around Melanie's shoulders. "Ready to go?"

She nodded. Rory squeezed her hand one last time before letting go, watching the two of them walk over to Calvin's truck.

She sighed, turning toward Blake. "Need a ride?"

"Nah, Zach's picking me up," he said, his face flushing slightly at the mention of his boyfriend. He stepped closer to her. "Hey, is Melanie, um, doing okay?"

She felt her heart twist in her chest. "I-I don't know."

Blake's brows furrowed. "But aren't you guys, like, best friends? Shouldn't you know this stuff?"

She tried to steal a glance through the window of the truck as it pulled away, catching Melanie as she nuzzled her head against Calvin's shoulder. "I'm not really good at the whole ‘best friends' thing."

"But—"

"Blake," she snipped. "Drop it, 'kay?"

Blake nodded, his face bright pink from embarrassment.

Rory knew it was probably the polite thing to wait for him to get picked up, but she wasn't feeling particularly polite at the moment. So, she mumbled goodbye and walked toward her car.

He wasn't wrong; she knew that. It was strange that her newly proclaimed best friend barely talked to her about the fact that her twin brother died a mere two months ago. Yet…she also knew part of the reason they never spoke about it was her own fault. She probably should make more of an effort to be there for Melanie.

But her mind was a little too preoccupied these days. Mostly over the fact that her final season on Haverport's varsity soccer team was about to come to a close and she had no idea what to do with herself the rest of the school year—let alone after graduation. And maybe more importantly, she still had no idea how to get her other best friend of over ten years to talk to her again.

* * *

Rory pulledinto her driveway on Chestnut Road and let out a low curse. After the emotional roller coaster she just went through at Scoops—the high of being at work with her friends, the lows of realizing it was the last time until March—she hoped to come home to an empty house. Her plan included pouring herself a giant bowl of Lucky Charms, ignoring her Calculus homework, and watching Peter Pan. She was making her way through all of the Disney animated movies again, but this time in the order they were released. Alice in Wonderland was her Sunday night watch when her mom had to work a double at the Haverport Diner, leaving Rory home alone with the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, and a frozen pizza. Tonight was supposed to look similar, but her mother's bright red Prius parked outside of their house pointed to her perfectly planned evening being doomed before it could even take shape.

Which, of course, made no sense. Thursday was trivia night at the diner, and Gabriella always worked the late-night shift for those extra tips. And yet, here she was…and Rory really didn't want to deal with it.

She groaned as she climbed out of her car, slamming the door behind her and slinging her backpack over her shoulder. The day was surprisingly warm for mid-autumn, and the heat from the sun caused a bead of sweat to trickle down her spine. She huffed, ignoring the front door and what faced her inside as she walked to the edge of the lawn. It was magically covered in more campaign signs even after purging some that same morning. She pulled them out one by one, not daring to look at the gleaming smile of Garner Clark. The man was bound to win first selectman, just like every other election year, yet that didn't seem to slow down his campaign fairies from littering the neighborhood with his horror-film-worthy smile every day.

After tossing the last one in the dumpster, she straightened and surveyed her handiwork, then trudged her way up to the house. She took a deep breath in a pitiful attempt to try to calm herself, then opened the door.

"Hi, sweetie!"

Rory blinked twice as she took in the scene in front of her. The living room had been completely transformed. A massive sheet hung from the ceiling and cascaded down to the floor into a canopy. A few strands of twinkle lights draped down the sides, disappearing into a mound of pillows on the floor. The coffee table was pushed to the side, but you could barely see the surface of the wood thanks to the endless number of bowls filled with all kinds of junk food covering the top. Cheetos and Hershey Kisses and Twizzlers and tortilla chips next to a steaming bowl of hot queso.

"Gabi…" she began, no small amount of concern lining her tone. "What's going on?"

Her mother huffed. "You know I really hate that you call me that."

She ignored her. "Did you take all of the pillows in the house and make a massive pile in the middle of the living room?"

She smiled. "Yes! It's a little slumber party surprise for you."

Rory crossed her arms, pushing down the hope that was starting to bloom in her chest. "Why aren't you at the diner? It's Thursday."

"Well," Gabi started, hesitating as she crossed the room to get closer to where Rory still stood by the front door. "I remember how hard this day was for you last year, so I thought I would do something to cheer you up."

"With a slumber party and lots of junk food," Rory said flatly. "Just like Gilmore Girls."

Gabi crossed her arms. "Hey now, you're not being fair. I'm trying to do something nice here."

She shook her head, not surprised at her mother's lack of denial. While some parents got their parenting advice from books written by actual professionals, Gabi used the show Gilmore Girls as her rulebook. Sure, their stories were similar, Gabi had Rory at 19, her father didn't stick around, and they lived in a small Connecticut beach town where everyone knew everyone's business. But for Gabi, the show was like a religion in itself…hence how her name came to be.

Rory detested it. She hadn't watched much of it, but from what she gathered from the show, Rory was nothing like the fictional one on screen. Fictional Rory had no idea what to do when it came to boys. Real Rory was not above making out with someone, even if it was just for fun. Fictional Rory never really went to parties or drank. Real Rory had her first sip of alcohol at 14. Fictional Rory was always the smartest in the room, the top of her class, and an aspiring journalist bound for Harvard (or, apparently later in the show, for Yale). Real Rory was average in the classroom, had yet to apply to any college, and had absolutely no clue what she wanted to do with her life.

But that didn't stop her mother from working extra hours and late nights to save up for Rory's education. Which meant she was always out of the house.

Rory was used to being by herself at this point, used to the disappointment that had made a home in her heart. So the fact that Gabi was here with an absurdly over-the-top sleepover setup didn't sit right with her. There was no way her mother was choosing her over work.

"You know, if we really want to live out your fantasy, Rory Gilmore would say no and go straight to her room to do homework instead of succumbing to her mom's whims," Rory reasoned.

Gabi shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, um, the sleepover isn't for me."

There it was. Her stomach sank as she dropped her backpack to the ground with a thud.

"I was thinking you could invite Melanie over, if you want?" she continued. "I know it's a school night, but I called her mother and she said she didn't mind."

She blinked. "You called Mrs. Albertson?"

"Yeah, just to make sure it was alright before you offered," Gabi continued. "And I was—"

"Wait," she cut her off. "So you are going to work?"

Gabi wrung her hands, a nervous tic Rory was aware she'd developed in recent years. "Yes, but not at the diner."

She stood there in silence for a moment, staring at her mother, who was now looking down at her shoes. "Did you lose your job?"

Gabi coughed out a chuckle. "God no, they need me. I'll still be working there, but only during the days. I took a second job."

"You took…a second job?"

Gabi nodded. "Yes, as a bartender over at Wilson's Pub," she started. "Remember how I said I was getting my bartending license? Well, I finished, and now I'll be working there to make extra money."

Rory shook her head, pacing back and forth for a moment as she let all of this sink in. Second job. Bartending. Working nights. "You're already not home that much."

"I know, sweetie. And I'm sorr—"

"Why?" Rory cut her off again. "I don't get it. We're doing fine. You said the house is paid off."

Gabi's shoulders dropped. "Because you're a senior bound for college. And I don't want you to have to take out too many loans."

She lifted her arms out at her sides. "That is insane! I don't even know where I want to go to college, let alone if I want to go."

"Rory, you're going to college."

She stopped pacing and stared at Gabi, who now had her arms crossed against her chest. Her face was stern, a look Rory had honestly only seen a handful of times in her life. The time she came home drunk. The time she flunked out of chemistry and had to take it again the following year. The day she told her she took a job at Scoops, even though Gabi told her countless times not to get a job and to focus instead on studying for the SATs.

It made no sense why her mother was so obsessive about her going to college. Was it because Rory Gilmore was desperate to go to college? Was it because Gabi never got the chance to go herself? Whenever she tried to broach the subject, she always got the same answer: Because it's just what you do. But she knew there was more to the story.

She shook her head and crossed her arms, looking away from Gabi and out the sliding glass door leading to their backyard.

"Sweetie, please try to understand."

"Whatever," she said tightly. She charged for the back door, only pausing to deliver what she knew was a harsh and probably unfair blow. "You do what you need to do."

She didn't listen for a response as she slid the door closed with rattling force. She kept moving down the back porch steps and onto the lawn, her mind reeling as she charged for the play set. She sank down on a swing and placed her face in her hands.

She knew it was stupid to be so mad about this. She should be happy to have the ultimate freedom to do as she pleased. More movie marathons and cereal for dinner, more chances to avoid her homework and stay up late. But instead, the entire situation made her feel like a giant dark cloud hovered over her, blanketing her with a deep sadness she couldn't make sense of. She didn't want to give Gabi the satisfaction of knowing she was lonely, that she missed spending time with her. And yet, a tiny part of her wanted to say screw it to her pride, charge back in that house, and plead for her not to take the job.

The soft ping of a net next door pulled her out of her head. She peeked out from her hands and looked out to the lawn next door as a shirtless Tyler retrieved a football from the ground. He walked a few paces then turned back to face the net, posturing himself again for another perfect throw. He tightened his shoulders and turned to the side, clutching the ball tightly to his chest. He paused, his eyebrows knitted together as he homed in on the tiny red square at the center of the net. Then, in one swift movement, he made the throw, the ball spiraling effortlessly through the air, making the same pinging noise as it hit dead center of the target before bouncing down to the grass.

She watched as Tyler's shoulders relaxed, his expression one of satisfaction. She couldn't help but take in the smooth ridges of his bare chest, his sweat making his light brown skin gleam beneath the unseasonably warm sunlight.

When did Tyler get so…ripped? Gone was the boy she used to play with in the backyard, all scrawny bones and lanky limbs as he chased her around the lawn. Now he was all muscle and brawn, his shoulders and pecs chiseled like a Greek god's, his hair trimmed into a fresh fade. He even had a set of abs that she'd never noticed before, even after spending countless days at the beach together that summer.

Maybe I just wasn't looking, she thought to herself.

Tyler turned then, his gaze shifting toward the swing where she was perched. She glanced away quickly, feeling her cheeks get warm, and wondered if he could sense her checking him out.

Her…checking Tyler out.

For years, he'd been the brother she never had. Rory vividly remembered the day he and his family moved in next door from New Orleans. She watched from that same swing as Tyler jumped out of the car, immediately running for the backyard, his mother steps behind him with a toddler at her hip—a little girl with two poofy pigtails tied with bright pink bows at the top of her head. Tyler ran up to the swing set and asked if he could join Rory, and she nodded enthusiastically, if not a little surprised. She would never forget how hopeful she felt that day, swinging next to her new friend, realizing she wouldn't be so alone in the neighborhood anymore. They were seven.

But now here she was, a decade later, no longer looking at the boy next door as her brother, but something more. She physically shook the thought away. What was wrong with her? Was it because of what happened this summer? The party? The vile words she'd said to him? Or, more likely, was it the confession that had brazenly come from Jay's lips?

Rory felt the phantom crushing in her chest, the same one she felt when Jay had screamed at her that summer at Scoops. He'd wanted her to pretend to flirt with him to get the attention of some girl, and she completely lost it. She screamed back, telling him how absurd he was in his mission to constantly get into someone's pants. And in their back and forth, he just told her, like it meant nothing. Like having Tyler standing right there wasn't a big deal as Jay confessed Tyler's feelings for her after a decade of harboring them in his heart.

She remembered the awkward silence as Melanie watched from the sidelines before Calvin sent him home for the night. She remembered bolting herself moments later, afraid to look Tyler in the eyes, afraid of what she would find there.

She hadn't spoken to either of them since. But it seemed, as a shadow cast above Rory, blocking out the sunlight above her, that their bout of silence was about to end.

She looked up to find Tyler right in front of her, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.

"How'd it go today?" he asked.

She just shrugged, finding a spot above his left ear to focus on. "Fine, I guess. How was practice?"

"Awful, as always."

They were silent for what felt like eternity. He really needed to put on a shirt.

"May I?" he asked, pointing to the swing next to her.

Rory smirked. "If you can fit."

He moved to the side and grabbed the chain of the swing. "You making fun of me, Ry?"

She smiled at the use of her nickname. That first day on the swings all those years ago, Tyler told her to call him Ty. As a joke, she told him to call her Ry—pronounced like "rye" to rhyme with Ty. They instantly became best friends, Ry and Ty. He never told anyone else in Haverport to call him Ty. Just Rory. A nickname only for her.

"Pretty sure your shoulders are wider than the swing," she quipped.

He chuckled as he sat down, the swing hanging low to the ground under his weight.

She laughed at how absurd he looked. "I honestly think you're going to break this thing."

"If I did, Bea would probably kill me in my sleep. She's been out here every day."

Rory smiled, thinking how, just the day before, she saw Tyler's little sister out here, swinging while she listened to music. "I know."

Tyler glanced up at Rory, his expression soft and kind. Just like the boy she'd always known. Even if he was hidden behind a massive set of muscles now.

"I've missed you, Ry."

Rory nodded, glancing down at her grubby sneakers. "Me too."

They swung back and forth in silence for a few moments, listening to the trees as a cool breeze brushed past them, golden brown leaves falling off branches from the force of the wind.

She didn't know where to go from here. She desperately wanted her friend back, especially now that she was going to be home alone even more. But how exactly were they supposed to go back to what they'd been before everything went down?

How do you win back your best friend when you know he may actually be in love with you?

Okay…love was a strong word. She actually had no idea if Tyler was in love with her. As far as she knew, it was just a crush. One he'd had for a very long time.

She looked up at Tyler, noticing that he was staring at her like he was trying to read what she was thinking.

He took a deep breath. "Ry, I—"

"Wait."

He stopped, his mouth closing around unspoken words.

"Gabi took another job," she confessed. "A bartending gig. She's going to be working days and nights, and I'm just going to be alone. All the time."

His face was now etched with concern. "I'm sorry."

"I don't like not talking to you," she continued. "I need my best friend in my life. These past few months have been torture."

"I know," he said, his voice lower than she'd ever heard it.

"Can we just…" She paused, hoping beyond all hope that he wouldn't be offended by what she was about to say. "Can we just forget any of it happened and move on?"

Tyler looked down at his hands, thinking it through. The seconds ticked by slowly as she waited for him, wondering if she did the wrong thing by suggesting it.

"Is that what you want?" he asked gently.

She nodded. "Yes, that's what I want."

His dark chocolate eyes wandered her face, searching for something. What, exactly? She couldn't be sure.

A blink later, his expression shifted, a smile brightening up his face. "Then we're all good, Ry."

She exhaled and tilted her head back to look at the now-darkening sky, relief flooding her chest. More silence stretched between them, but this time, it felt a little more comfortable. The kind of silence that was easy between two best friends who knew each other inside and out.

"Do you think, if he were here, that my mom would be around more?" Rory asked, her voice soft and vulnerable.

"You mean your dad?"

She nodded. When they were kids, Rory would talk to Tyler about her father—extensively. She shared what she imagined he was like, from the kind of job he had to the personality traits they shared, even down to the kind of food he probably ordered for takeout. Tyler always listened to her, dreamed with her. He knew how much Rory yearned to know the man. One who celebrated a good grade, fixed her beat-up Honda Civic she bought with her Scoops money, scolded her for coming home tipsy, looked uncomfortable when she got her period for the first time. In her head, he was the perfect dad—always attentive, always around.

But besides paying regular child support, he wasn't in her life. She didn't even know his name.

"Ry."

She glanced over at him, noticing the hand he was holding out to her. She smiled, taking it like she always did when they sat on these swings.

He squeezed it tightly. "Just because she takes these jobs does not mean she doesn't love you or doesn't want to be around. It's more like the opposite."

She nodded, brushing the tears streaming down her cheeks with her free hand.

"And you know you always have us," Ty said, cocking his head toward his house. "You're never alone. We are always here. I am always here."

"Promise?" she whispered.

He dipped his chin, that familiar confidence having returned as he squeezed her hand again. "I promise."

They swayed lazily, still holding hands. Her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as they drifted to his chest again. He didn't seem to notice, his own gaze down at the football near his feet.

She cleared her throat, then pulled her hand away from his. "Practicing for the big game?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"Need an opponent?"

He looked at her with a menacing grin. "Maybe one who's a little more challenging—"

Before he could finish, Rory lunged for his football, running to her end of the lawn for a touchdown.

"Oh no you DON'T."

She heard Tyler sprinting behind her as she charged. He quickly caught up though, wrapping his strong arms around her waist as he lifted her from the ground and threw her over his shoulder, and then turned and ran in the opposite direction.

"Oh my god," she screamed, kicking her feet in protest as he carried her. "CHEATER!"

Tyler laughed as they reached his end of the lawn, dropping her down on her butt so he could celebrate his victory. He threw out his arms like an airplane and jogged around her in a circle, just like he always did when he scored a touchdown against her.

She chuckled and shook her head, feeling at peace at the sight of having Ty back in her life.