holy ground ★ conrad fisher (1)

material girl ★ madonna

thirteen | 1x02

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE SHITTING ME right now," Rory muttered, grabbing her phone to text Sophie.

There, amongst what Rory assumed were the Deb sisters, stood Nicole, the girl Conrad had been with at the bonfire, and who he had taken to the debutante ball last year.

Rory didn't know how to react or interact with the girl. She thought of texting Conrad but it would be too awkward to talk to him about some girl he was hooking up with. Things were okay again between them, but they still weren't perfect. 

So, Rory continued to text Sophie in all caps, and the blonde girl replied in all caps, also informing Rory that she was at the country club lounging at the pool.

She even offered to run in with a fake emergency in case Rory wanted to make a run for it.

But Rory calmed down and told herself to get over it. Just in time too, since Paige called her over to where the Deb sisters had sat around a table. 

Rory put her phone away and walked over, Paige having her stand before the girls to introduce her. "Before we officially get started, I would like to introduce you to our photographer for the next few weeks, Miss Aurora Cooper."

Rory gave the girls a little wave as a chorus of Hi's and Hello's echoed. Paige continued, "We have already discussed your duties during yesterday's meeting so mingle amongst yourselves as we wait for the debutantes. Aurora will be taking some pictures at this time so why don't you introduce yourselves to her."

The girls took turns introducing themselves to Rory, before excusing themselves to different tables that she figured had been assigned to them before the afternoon.

The last person to come up to Rory was Nicole. "Hi again!"

Rory felt uneasy with how cheery the girl's voice sounded, but she told herself to stop being so judgemental and replied with a smile.

The slightly shorter girl held her hand out for the brunette, "Nicole."

"Rory."

"You leave a very lasting impression on people Rory, I won't forget that name for a long time." Nicole had spoken with a smile on her face the entire time, still shaking the girl's hand, but her words had sent chills down Rory's spine.

Why did she feel threatened right now?

"Uh... thank you." Nicole nodded, before letting go of Rory's hand and walking over to the last table in the room, Rory shaking her head to clear her mind.

She would worry about Nicole later. Right now, she had to make sure Belly was in the car on her way over to the country club, she couldn't be late to the first event of her debutante season.

The room slowly filled with teenage girls, dressed to nines, but the Conklin girl was yet to make an appearance. 

The tables filled, and tea was poured as the debutantes mingled. Rory continued to take pictures, making small talk with a few of the girls as she went along, but still keeping an eye on her phone in case Belly texted her.

She snapped a picture of Steven in his hair net and apron, mostly for herself to later tease him for it before she stepped back to the corner of the room and used her phone to call Belly.

"Belly you're late!"

"I know I know, we're driving over." She replied, and Rory could hear the nerves in her tone.

"Just tell Laurel to pick up some speed, they're gonna start soon." Rory hung up and went back to taking pictures, expertly avoiding making eye contact with Nicole the entire time, who had been watching the Cooper girl since she got to the tea room.