Different

-1-

Dean Forester's life was kind of messed up right now. He had just broken up with his girlfriend, after his wife divorced him because he'd slept with his ex-girlfriend who was also now his ex-girlfriend. It was complicated, and all he wanted to was get away from it, get away from it all. He had to find a job, of course somewhere other than Doose's, since that  was obviously in Stars Hollow. Texas, he immediately thought. Texas was where he could really escape everything. Dean felt like a coward, though, running from his problems. The thing was, he was just too tired to go on. Rory had really lit that flame, the flame of his problems. Gosh, that was corny.

"Rory?" "Yeah?" "I-I love you."  "You're into him, and he's into you, and..."  "Because I love you, you idiot!" 

"Hey. Hey. Um, hey? Hey, wake up!" I woke up, startled at the high-pitched voice screeching into my ear. I'd been dreaming about Rory, and the sweet and not-so sweet moments we've shared together. I shook myself briefly. That was why I was here, at the Jackson Ridge salvage yard and  harvesting center, to forget. I turned to the sound of the high-pitched voice, and there stood what looked like a cherub. She had long, straight black hair, like Rory, but not really, pale skin, adorable freckles, emerald-green eyes, arched eyebrows, a small figure, and a jawline sharp enough to cut. She was beautiful, and was wearing a pair of over-sized, stained, and ripped jeans, and a plain white t-shirt. Her hair was up in a low and neat bun, and she was wearing some dirty and dingy combat boots. Her glare said it all, and her crossed arms and tapping foot. She was feisty. But Rory. I was going to get back to her as soon as I could. "Took you long enough, sleeping beauty. I swear, I was standing here like an idiot, yelling in your ear and tapping your head for a millennium." The girl said, looking me up and down. I tilted my head slightly at her and realized where I was. I was on a metal bench by the bus stop, where'd I'd been told to wait for my "escort" to drive me down to the center. I'd gotten off the bus and sat there, obviously falling asleep as I thought about Rory. I grinned up at the girl, standing up and towering over her. She was so tiny and very short, probably 4"11. She looked up at me and shielded her eyes with her hand from the sun. "You're freakishly tall, guy. You know, if you think that's intimidating-" I cut her off, crouching down so I could be eye-level with her. "I dig the name "Guy", but my name's Dean." I joked, looking the girl up and down. I was totally checking her out, and I felt horrible for it. Rory. "Ah, I see. Well, guy, I'm Sophie Lott, and if you haven't picked it up, I work at the Jackson Ridge center. My car's this way." Sophie said, completely changing the subject and brushing me off. Why did this always seem to happen to me? She turned around and glanced back at me. I was smiling like crazy. The thought of having her there every day was amazing, I had no idea why. Well, maybe I did."Are ya coming, guy?" Sophie called, picking up the pace. I quickly fell into step with her, dragging my suitcase along with me. "How old are you?" I asked bluntly as we approached Sophie's car. She once again looked me up and down with a raised eyebrow and shook her head. "I'm nineteen, if you must know, and I'm turning twenty in three months. Now, can we stop with the incessant  flirting and go to the center, please?" Sophie said frustratedly, walking over to the other side of her car. I turned red and rubbed my neck. She knew. She was smart. Sophie opened the driver's seat door and jumped inside, starting up the ignition. She gestured over to the passenger seat, and I quickly opened it and got in also. Sophie's car kind of reminded me of mine. A rusty old pick-up truck, with a rattly-sounding engine. I turned back to Sophie and adjusted myself and my suitcase so I was completely facing her. She seemed intriguing, not like Rory, and definitely not like Lindsay. Rory was a little not-too hard to get, and seemed a little submitted to me, even. Lindsay was a whole other story. Too open, too available. Not that it was a bad thing, per se, but Sophie was much more interesting. "Sorry. For the, uh, flirting. I'm just-um, jet-lagged." I explained awkwardly. Sophie turned to me and smirked, shaking her head. Why did her smile make me all fuzzy inside? Why did that sound so gay? What if Sophie was Rory all over again? Sophie finally began backing out of the parking lot and craned her head to look behind her. "Didn't you take the bus? And, besides that, I don't really think you get jet-lagged over what, six, seven hour flight?" Sophie remarked, maneuvering the steering wheel to turn the car around so she'd be at the entry of the parking lot. I grinned and nodded slightly. "Yeah, well, the bus ride was like, ten hours long." I said as Sophie looked back and forth between the right and left, watching for cars. She took off, her tires squealing. "Oh, definitely. Anyway, so where you from?" Sophie yelled over the open window noise. My hair was flying in my face, and I fought to keep it under control. "I'm from Chicago, but my family moved to Stars Hollow, Connecticut about eight years ago!" I  yelled. Sophie nodded and gave me a thumbs up. She reached under her seat to get something, straying her eyes from the road. I reached for the wheel instantly, my heart racing. We were leaving our lane, and several people were honking at us. I couldn't really control the car, and Sophie was still down there, rummaging under her seat. What was she even looking for? "Sophie!" I yelled glancing at her. She shot straight up and smirked at me. I sank into my seat and threw my arm out the window. "That was dangerous, you know." I said seriously, rubbing my sinuses. I turned to her, and she rolled her eyes. In her small hand there was an XTC CD, and she was reaching for the CD player-thing. I quickly took it from her hands and she squinted at me, about to say something. I held up a finger and ejected the CD in the player. I smiled over at Sophie, and she was smiling, too. "Ya like XTC?" She yelled, pressing play and turning up the volume to a hundred. Rory did that sometimes. "I guess, yeah. They're pretty cool." I chuckled as Then She Appeared came on. "I guess? What do you mean, Dean-guy, they're awesome!" Sophie yelled as she started nodding her head to the rhythm and tapping the steering wheel like a drum. I smiled and started tapping my feet. The whole car was vibrating from the music, and several people who were walking on the sidewalk turned to stare. Pretty soon, Sophie and me were singing along at the top of our lungs. I would have never done that with anyone else, but with Sophie, it just felt right. The song ended, and we were both laughing and panting. I turned to look at Sophie, and she was looking at me, too, and when she realized I was looking at her, she blushed slightly and turned back to the road.