Chapter One | Enchanted
[ August ]

"All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you"

"C'mon, Lai, you need to get out of the house and this ridiculous headspace you've been in the past few weeks. Moping around ain't gonna do you no good," Lourdes Daly complained as she pulled on her strappy black high heels.

Lorelai Busby crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "It's not a 'ridiculous headspace'. It's called wanting to study. You know we have finals coming up, and you know I'm really struggling in my Renaissance class."

Lourdes poked out her bottom lip in exaggerated sadness. "But this party at Mick's is gonna be super hot, and who knows, maybe you'll meet a guy... if you change." She looked down at Lorelai's clothes. While Lourdes was dressed in a tight, satin, emerald green dress, Lorelai was in her favorite pair of plaid pajama pants and an old vintage t-shirt that talked about painting the life of your dreams. Her curly blonde hair was up in a messy ponytail, and a pencil was tucked behind her ear.

"Why would I do that when I have a practice test to take, followed by my reward of How I Met Your Mother? And I can hear hot chocolate calling my name from the kitchen." Lorelai said teasingly. She had a smile on her face, but there was no glimmer in her eyes. She was tired, and just wanted Lourdes to go and leave her in peace. She started pushing her friend towards the front door. "So, I will see in the morning, either with your latest booty call, or trying to sneak in at seven am. I'll have a pot of coffee waiting just for you."

Lourdes rolled her eyes and stopped, not letting the blonde push her any farther. "Lorelai, don't be like that. You haven't been to a party in... months? We're sophomores in college, we should be out partying, living life. Besides, you know Mick is, like, really well connected. Supposedly some really big names are gonna be there tonight. You don't wanna go getting tipsy with the rich?"

"I'm more concerned about what you're going to say and do when you get 'tipsy'," Lorelai uses air quotes to show her disbelief. "Around the rich. What if I just want to watch a few episodes of a good show, drink some hot chocolate, study for my test, and go to bed at a somewhat decent hour?"

"You know that the second Theo, Faith, and Danny get here, they're all gonna tell you to get into that sexy black dress we all know you secretly love, and get off your butt for once," Lourdes said with an accusatory finger pointed, pursed lips, and a disapproving look.

Lorelai would never admit it, but her best friend looked scary when she wanted to, and this was only a little sliver of her intimidation. Lourdes was Puerto Rican, and definitely knew how to be aggressive if she needed to be. She always made sure to specify that with people, even if she had just met them. She was rather proud of her ethnicity. Lourdes was tall as well, five foot, ten inches, while Lorelai was only five foot six (and a half, but she wasn't a stickler for details).

Nevertheless, Lorelai didn't waver. She was tired. It had been a long week of work, and tests, and she even had to give a speech in one of her classes. Despite all of that, she still had to study for her Renaissance class which was, admittedly, kicking her butt.

The sound of the apartment building buzzer broke Lourdes's threatening gaze. She narrowed her eyes at Lorelai before turning around to buzz their friends in.

It didn't take long for the trio to make their way to the girls' apartment, since they were only on the second floor, so Lourdes wasn't able to get another word in edgewise about Lorelai ditching the party. However, she didn't have to, because as soon as the rest of their group walked in, Lourdes wasn't the only one noticing that Lorelai wasn't ready to go out.

"Girl, this is not party material..." Faith Winscott said skeptically as soon as she saw the plaid pajama pants. She looked over at Lourdes, a pained expression on her features. "I can't work with plaid."

"Tell her to get into that black dress, maybe she'll listen to you," Lourdes murmured.

Lorelai turned to the other two for assistance, but the boys were already rummaging through the fridge, looking for a little pre-party snack.

Danny O'Neill and Theo Beckett had found a few slices of leftover pizza and were already halfway through eating them. Theo was a goofy guy, who seemed to have a smirk permanently on his lips. He had dark hair and a bit of stubble on his chin, and was an overall good-looking guy.

Danny was a little bit shorter and dark-skinned. Most girls found him attractive because of his strong jawline and broad shoulders. However, he was the quietest one of the group.

Faith was their fashionista friend, or at least that's how she was perceived by others. They're not wrong, she does love clothes and looking good, but underneath that all, she had the sweetest soul. Faith was currently majoring in Education, looking to become an elementary school teacher. She looked like your stereotypical little kids teacher, too. She had a warm, welcome demeanor, and a sweet smile on her face. Her blonde hair was always down and curled. Everyone loved her.

No one would've guessed that this group of friends lived for parties. Well, maybe they would've guessed Lourdes did, but not the other four. And at that moment, Faith was trying to figure out how best she could convince Lorelai to come to the party with them.

"Look, it's Friday night! You have all weekend for TV and studying," Faith insisted, her arms crossed and her lips pursed.

"See, you say the same thing on Saturdays," Lorelai shot back.

"How bout," Theo began, his mouth full of margherita pizza. "If you come tonight, Lourdes and Faith won't make you come tomorrow?"

Danny gave the other two girls a look, hoping they'd agree to the conditions.

Lourdes looked unsure and Faith looked thoughtful. The two girls looked at each other and an entire conversation passed between their eyes.

With a dramatic roll of her eyes, Lourdes said, "Fine. I suppose that's acceptable."

Lorelai merely rolled her eyes back. "I'm so glad that I have your approval."

Danny placed a comforting hand on Lorelai's back. "Why don't you go change? If you still want to leave after an hour, I'll drive you back myself. Deal?"

In response, Lorelai stomped down the hall to her room, slammed the door, and threw the curtains closed. The t-shirt and pajama pants were discarded and thrown into her laundry basket, quickly replaced by the short, skinny black dress that barely covered her butt. The spaghetti straps rubbed a bit, and she couldn't really move without flashing someone, but Lourdes had a point. When paired with her tall silver heels, Lorelai looked hot as hell.

Just as Lourdes called her name impatiently, Lorelai finished up her quick makeup routine and grabbed her clutch, making her grand entrance into the apartment hallway.

"Well don't you look enchanting," Lourdes said quickly. "Can we go now?"

"Yes, we can go," Faith said. "But you do look pretty sexy, Lorelai."

Her lips curled into a small smile, pulling down the back of her dress a bit. "Thank you."

When they got down to Danny's car, he got in the driver seat and Lourdes in the passenger seat. The other three climbed in the back. That's the way it's always been. It was never discussed or decided upon, everyone just had their seats. Besides, Danny was the best driver of the five of them. He was also the only one that didn't have terrible road rage. Even Lorelai and Faith could go a little crazy if they got cut off on the road, which typically surprises anyone driving with them.

The house they were going to-- a friend, Mick's-- was in the center of Hartford. It was a good sized house, fairly secluded, and typically a hot spot for college parties. People loved his parties. Big names commonly came to Hartford, since it was the capital of Massachusetts and a bit of a historical spot, and somehow, Mick managed to get them at his parties.

When they pulled onto the street, the house was already bursting with colored lights and alcohol fumes. Just like any college party, alcohol wasn't the most uncommon. To no one's surprise, Lourdes was the heaviest drinker of them all, followed by Theo and Faith. Lorelai didn't drink much, and Danny didn't drink at all, yet another reason why he was always the driver.

Lorelai could hear the music pulsing as soon as she stepped foot out of Danny's car. She pulled down the back of her dress again. Yeah, she liked her dress, but the bunchy fabric was rather annoying. The five walked up the front steps and through the partially open door. The sound of the bass reverberated through Lorelai's body, up her spine, and into her skull. It felt like the speakers were inside her brain.

Men in sweaty shirts (or no shirts) and women in skimpy dresses swayed and bobbed in the hallway with their solo cups and bottles of beer. As Lorelai took the scene in, Lourdes squeezed past her and headed for the kitchen, quickly followed by Theo. She knew Faith and Danny would find their cliques shortly, so she was on her own.

All she could do was pretend like she wanted to be there, forcing laughter and faking smiles. She just sat inside herself, in the same old tired, lonely place. But it made her feel better knowing that she wasn't the only one putting on a face. Everyone had their own walls of insincerity up.

Lorelai wandered through the halls, through the crowds of shifting eyes and vacancies.

The music played. People made out.

Lorelai got herself a cup of water from the sink and sipped it quietly in the corner.

She could've been studying for her Renaissance class. She didn't mind these kinds of parties when she wasn't busy. When it was a holiday break or she didn't have a major test coming up. Being here was pointless.

She peaked over the edge of her red cup. Across the room, a silhouette drowned in red and blue accent lights started to make his way over to her. He came to a stop beside her, and Lorelai started to be able to make out some of his dark features. He had dark hair that swooped over his forehead and dark blue eyes that still shone in the dark light. For a moment, he didn't say anything. He stood by her side, still watching the people around them.

"You look uncomfortable," he finally spoke. Even at the loud volume at which he spoke, Lorelai could still barely hear him.

She let out a scoff and took a small step away. "Yeah, you could say that."

"It's okay," he said, taking a small step away himself. "I am too. I didn't want to be here, but I got dragged into it."

"Me too. I should be studying or doing something productive right now," Lorelai grumbled, more to herself than to the man standing next to her.

He just watched her and chuckled. "I completely agree." He paused, looked around, and grabbed her hand. "Come with me."

Lorelai was surprised when he didn't lead her to some closet, or upstairs to one of the bedrooms. Instead, he took her to one of the side rooms where there were people around, but not many. It was also farther away from the music so that they could hear each other. He led her to a corner where a sofa and a coffee table had been pushed out of the way. He sat down on the sofa and immediately seemed a little more relaxed. However, Lorelai wasn't yet.

But he had watched her anxiously tug at her dress for about five minutes, so he knew what to do. He took off his hoodie and gestured to the sofa.

"Sit down, you can put this over your lap if it would make you feel better."

He smiled up at her, and suddenly Lorelai was a little more relaxed as well.

She sat down and took him up on his offer. She spread the sage green hoodie over her legs and was surprised at the softness of the fabric.

"So, you said studying," the mysterious man said. "What, are you struggling with a class? Big test coming up?"

"Actually... both. I'm struggling with my Renaissance class at the moment."

"Oh, history major?

"Art history major. I've written theses on how Vincent Van Gogh's art could have shown his mental state, and the posturing of rulers in Ancient Greek and Roman inspired art."

The man chuckled. "That's not nerdy at all."

Lorelai cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Tell me, what do you do?"

He just shrugs in response. "I play a little bit of piano."

"See, that's artsy, which according to you is nerdy."

"Hmm, that seems like a long shot to me."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Well I'm sure you're a fantastic musician."

He narrowed his eyes for a split second. For just a moment he was trying to see through her, see past the smart, blonde, attractive exterior that sat in front of him. But then his face snapped back to normal.

"Well, thank you."

***

Theo swirled the contents of his lime green solo cup, his eyes heavy with indignation. He had been waiting for a certain phone call for a few days now. That certain phone call was supposed to be the news that decided his future. It was taking everything in him to not sit and stare at his phone, waiting for it to buzz. So, it sat in his jeans pocket, on vibrate so he'd still know. Hopefully he'd be able to have a little bit of fun tonight.

The cheap alcohol was already starting to make the inside of his body tingle. He was starting to feel warm and loose. Hopefully, the "on-top-of-the-world" feeling was coming soon. He loved that feeling, but not just getting it through alcohol.

The first time his parents took him on a plane ride was the first time he got the "on-top-of-the-world" feeling, and it became what he lived for. The weightless feeling of being in the sky, seeing how small everything was beneath him... he knew that he wanted that feeling all the time; a perpetual high. But not a false high. Drugs and alcohol created a world and a feeling that was fake. He wanted the real deal.

That's why Theo had been looking at flight school since he could remember. He would spend hours pouring over captain's logs, manuals for different types of planes, big and small. At sixteen, he even went and inquired at the closest airfield (it took a lot to convince his parents to drive all the way out there and back), but they turned him away, claiming that he was too young. But Theo knew that he probably knew more than half of the eighteen year old newbies there.

Theo would've joined flight school at eighteen, but he didn't have the money. So instead he took some basic classes at the University of Hartford, and took up an apprenticeship doing mechanical engineering on aircraft at the airport. At least he could be close to planes, and earn money to start his flight training.

The only thing standing in his way to begin pilot school was this stupid test.

Theo took another swig of his drink, trying to cast the impending results out of his mind, but he couldn't. Everything rested on this, his entire life's work.

As he was going to take another drink, his phone started vibrating against his thigh. Theo inhaled deeply and the alcohol went down the wrong pipe, causing him to sputter and cough in surprise. He set the cup down and pounded his chest for a few moments, hoping to get the liquid out of his lungs. Once he had stopped coughing, he looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but no one batted an eye. They were all too drunk themselves.

He quickly remembered what it was that made him choke, and scrambled for his phone. Thankfully it was still buzzing, so he coughed one last time and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Theo Beckett?"

"This is."

Theo's heart pounded as he ducked into an empty room so the surrounding sound wasn't as loud.

Anyone who walked into the room would've heard the quiet murmurs of Theo talking into his phone, and seen his facial expressions growing long and distraught.

When the call ended, Theo stood there, his phone still to his ear and his heart sad.

***

Meanwhile, Lorelai and the mystery man were still chatting up a storm. The playful conversation started a long time ago, but it felt like mere minutes. She countered all of his quick remarks with such wit that he was impressed and dazzled.

Without warning, Faith burst into the room, a wild look in her eyes. Lorelai shot to her feet, immediately knowing that something was wrong. She barely took notice when the man's hoodie slid off her legs and landed in a pile on the floor.

"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked.

The man next to her stood up as well, intrigued and concerned for the girl.

"We need to go," Faith said firmly, marching over and grabbing her hand.

Lorelai tried to squirm from her grip, looking for at least some sort of explanation first. "What do you mean? Did someone run into an ex or something?"

"Actually Lourdes did, and then she proceeded to throw up all over him."

Lorelai's eyes grew to match the size of Faith's in surprise. "Oh my gosh." She turned to the man she had been having such a good time with as Faith tried to pull her away. "I'm so so sorry, but I need to take care of my friend."

To her surprise, he didn't look upset at all. In fact, he looked understanding. "Of course, go." As she began to walk away, he grabbed her hand, causing her to look back. "All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you."

Lorelai looked at the small smile on his face, but she couldn't come up with a response. Instead, she let Faith pull her out of the room, but her eyes watched his until they couldn't anymore. She was leaving too soon.

When the two girls found Lourdes, she was surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. Danny was trying to hold a trash bag under her face, but she wasn't taking it. She was hunched over a little bit and stabbing her finger into a random girl's chest who had a disgusted look on her face. When Lourdes turned around, Lorelai understood why.

There was yellow vomit crusted on the side of her dark red lips and her eyes were bloodshot. Lorelai found a hair tie in her purse and pulled Lourdes's hair back into a loose ponytail before she could start puking again.

"Let's get her out of here," Danny murmured, giving up on keeping the trash bag near her. Instead, he shoved it into her purse. "I have water in my car, she can drink that on the way back."

Everyone left quickly and piled into Danny's car. Theo was, for some reason, already there. He looked oddly sober, so no one wanted to bother him. Danny helped Lourdes into the passenger seat and helped her drink some water before starting the car and heading back to the girls' apartment.

Lorelai leaned her head against the window, smiling softly to herself as she recalled the past hour.

"Hey Lori, why does it look like you're glowing?" Danny asked, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you.

That's why.

On the inside, she was wonderstruck

But Lorelai just rolled her eyes and blushed all the way home.

When they arrived, Danny helped get Lourdes up to her and Lorelai's apartment as Lorelai followed behind holding both her and her best friend's heels in her hands. She opened the door and told Danny to bring Lourdes to the bathroom and set her on the edge of the bathtub.

Lorelai went to her room, dropped the heels and her purse on her bed, and looked longingly at her pillow. She wanted to go to sleep, but she also wanted to squeal into her pillow with the brightest smile on her face. However, she knew there was something she needed to do before either of those things were an option.

In the bathroom, she found Danny lightly wiping Lourdes mouth and cleaning off her makeup with the pack of wipes on the counter.

"I've got it from here," she muttered, taking the wipes from his hand. "Thanks for all of the help. Have a good night."

Danny smiled and nodded. "Thanks, you too." He cast a final look at Lourdes before exiting the room.

Lorelai took the rest of Lourdes's makeup off while she sipped water from a plastic cup. She wished that she didn't have to leave the party early. Lorelai loved talking to that man, and she didn't even get his name before she was pulled away, nor did she know if she'd recognize him in the daylight rather than a dark room.

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you.

She let out a sigh and smiled lightly to herself.

"You look happy," Lourdes said with a hoarse voice.

Lorelai shook off the joy and gave Lourdes a motherly look. "Not with you I'm not. What were you drinking?"

Lourdes's eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to remember. "Tequila... vodka... something else I think."

"Well, clearly it was a lot of it."

She made a face. "Yeah, and I think some of it is coming up right now."

Lorelai opened the toilet seat just in time for Lourdes to double over. As Lourdes regurgitated her entire evening, her friend rubbed her back and looked off in the distance.

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you.

She kept coming back to those words. Who says that? But after thinking about it on the way home and at that moment, Lorelai realized that she was enchanted to meet him, too.

When Lourdes was done, Lorelai wiped her mouth and led her to her bedroom.

"You get changed, I'll wait outside." She handed Lourdes the bathroom trash can just in case, and closed her friend's door.

It was late. Lorelai stood outside, biting her fingernails, an ugly habit she'd had since early high school. She couldn't stop thinking about what would've happened if she had more time, or had gotten his name, or even his phone number.

Now she was pacing back and forth, mentally scolding herself for not asking in the first place.

The movement sounds inside Lourdes's room stopped for a little bit, so Lorelai knocked lightly, and when no reply came, she opened up the door.

Lourdes was already asleep on her bed, her mouth wide open as she snored lightly.

Lorelai moved the trashcan next to the bed, turned her friend on her side, and put her water bottle on her nightstand along with an Aspirin. Once she was sure Lourdes would be okay, Lorelai got ready for bed herself.

After changing back into what she was wearing before getting roped into going to the party (which, honestly, she didn't regret), Lorelai turned off the light and crawled into bed, still thinking about her mystery man.

She rolled over and looked at the clock.

2 a.m.

"Who do you love?" she whispered into the dark, hoping the question would float out the window and find the one that was on her mind.

She realized she didn't like that thought, so she changed it into a prayer. Pressing her hands together under the blanket, she pleaded to God. "Please don't let there be somebody waiting on him. Please don't let him be in love with somebody else. I pray that this is not where the story line ends."

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you.

She let out a little squeal as she thought of it again, and under her covers, she did a little dance all alone.

Her thoughts would echo his name until she met him again.

. . . . . . . . . . 𝙖𝙗𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 . . . . . . . . . . 

hi guys! what do you think of the first chapter? any favorite characters so far? i love faith, she's a personal favorite of mine. also, any guesses as to what taylor swift song might be next? remember to go back and comment on all of the lyrics you find, and whoever finds the most gets a mention in the next chapter.

for the next chapter to be published, i'd like to get 10 votes and 10 comments!

hope you guys enjoyed! let me know what you want to see!