TROUVAILLE ... l.danes (REWRITE)

chapter twenty-three; the past

THEY CLING TO AN IDEA OF A BOY THEY THINK THEY KNOW

nineteen-eighty-five

PAULA GLEASON is the most annoying girl in Stars Hollow.

Lucas feels bad for thinking it, but he's currently trying to buy her ice cream after their movie and every time she thinks she's decided on one, she changes her mind completely. A dull, thudding pain is starting to form at the forefront of his skull. This is the worst date he's ever been on.

She hums, finger tapping delicately on her chin. "I think strawberry." Just as the ice cream guy – wasn't he quarterback for the high school team a few years back? – goes to scoop some pink ice cream onto a cone, she is quick to stop him. "No, wait! I don't know!"

A queue has started to form behind them.

Lucas doesn't even want ice cream anymore. He just wants to get home. Get home and rid himself of the feeling of having to be around Paula for any longer. Oh, fuck, is she going to be one of those girls who don't leave him alone because they've been on one date together. She'll probably stalk him now. Which isn't so hard considering the size of the town that they live in.

Perfect. He'll need to start dating Tammi again just to get rid of her. How long has it been since they broke up? Three weeks. Great. He'll give her another week and she'll be ready to fall into his arms again. They've never been able to stay off for very long at all. As long as he buys some tulips from Aunt Pam and maybe some chocolates, Tammi will be more than happy to pick up right where they left off and Paula will move on.

God, she better move on.

"Okay. Okay. I got it." She points to the cream-coloured ice cream barely touched. "I'm definitely choosing vanilla." The ice cream guy scoops it onto a cone and she doesn't even change her mind, grinning now that she has it in her hand. Lucas hands over a few dollars and leads her away from the booth. The queue looks a little smaller now. Lucky them.

"So, Lukey." God. How did she land on that for a nickname? "Anything else you want to do? My Mom said to be home by eight, but I've got Shelley babysitting Kirk so, as long as I pay her, we can stay out for as long as you like."

Shelley is babysitting Paula's younger brother, Kirk. She'll be in the house, probably tied to a chair and forced to face the onslaught of plastic-tipped arrows aimed at her head. The sooner he takes Paula home the sooner he can see her. Christ, he sounds like a love-sick puppy. He's not. He definitely does not care about Shelley St James.

(He is most definitely a liar.)

"My Dad definitely wants me home by eight. So, I should get you home."

Paula pouts but doesn't argue. William Danes can be a hardass, everybody in town knows that, so it works well to Lucas' advantage to bring his Dad into conversations anytime he wants to get out of something. In all honesty, his Dad is too busy worrying about Liz to even care about Lucas anymore. Let him do what he wants, who he wants, it's Liz he has to be scared for. Always out and about, causing trouble, egging people's cars and smoking cigarettes that will turn her lungs black. Lucas is the star. He runs hurdles, and brings home trophies, and works in the shop. He breaks girls' hearts and smokes enough weed that he's pretty sure he's ruined his dreaming habits forever. And he's been in love with Shelley St James since he was fourteen years old. His Dad should be worried about him.