Lorelai walked past Patty's dance studio on her way to Luke's. A big poster caught on the door caught her eye. She walked over to read the advertisement.
"The bookstore/theater is now having karaoke nights!" Lorelai thought out loud. 'We should get everyone together for this, it'll be fun!'

Feeling giddy, Lorelai rushed over to Luke's Diner.

Lorelai threw open the door and ran up to the counter. Caesar was working the counter, and Lorelai tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, Lorelai," he greeted.
"Hey. Where's Luke?" she asked.
"In the back," he replied.
"Ok, thanks." Lorelai ran into the back and found Luke making a burger, his back turned to her. "Hiya, Lukey!" she yelled loudly.
Luke dropped the patty he was making and cursed. "Damnit, Lorelai! How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that? And that's it, I'm getting you Ritalin."
"Funny guy. Ok, you play guitar, don't you?"
"I, um...no," he stuttered.
Lorelai sighed. "Luke, I know you do, I've seen it up in your apartment. It's black and white and it has this funky design on it, and it has this-"
"Ok, ok, yes, I do play guitar. So, what's your point?"
"Well," she began excitedly, "Stars Hollow is having a karaoke night at the bookstore slash movie theater! It's tomorrow night!"
"Great. Another stupid Stars Hollow tradition. So? What does that have to do with me?" he asked stubbornly.
"Hello, earth to Lucas! You're gonna play tomorrow night."
"What? You've gotta be kidding me," Luke laughed. "There is no way in hell I'm doing that."
"Please, Luke? Pretty please? With a big fat juicy cherry on top?"
"No."
He left the back and went into the front of the diner with Lorelai tagging along behind him. She grabbed his arm and pouted.
"Pwease? Don't make me beg, Luke. Pllleeeaasssee?"
Luke rolled his eyes and took her hand off his arm. "Why are you so eager for me to play, anyway?"
"Because I want to hear you. I've never heard you play before," Lorelai responded. "And I'm sure you sound great. And you can sing too, can't you? I mean, I've noticed a couple sheets lying around your apartment with lyrics on them..."
"What are you doing snooping around my apartment?" Luke asked angrily.
"I wasn't snooping, they were just...there."
"I'm not doing this stupid karaoke thing, no matter how much you beg."
Lorelai pouted.
"And don't even try pouting with me. It's not gonna work."
Lorelai frowned and stuck her tongue out.

Lorelai sat down at the counter contemplating what she could do to convince Luke. She was deep in thought as Luke poured a cup of coffee for her and set in on the counter.
"Luke, there has to be something I can do to convince you." Lorelai said raising her eyebrows suggestively.
Luke cracked a little smile but Lorelai didn't see it.
"No way in hell am I getting up there and playing my guitar!" Luke said firmly.
"C'mon, there isn't anything you want me to do?"
Luke scratched his chin and looked in the air. He thought for a while leaving Lorelai on the edge. She stared at him with hopeful eyes.
"Hmmm...Nope." he said quickly.
"Ahhhhh," Lorelai yelled, "Luke, your impossible."
"Yes I know." Luke said matter of factly.
Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and continued to think of what she could do. She looked deep into the dark liquid and came up with an idea.
"I'll stop drinking coffee." Lorelai blurted out.
"WHAT?" Luke said in shock.
"Yeah, uh for a week." Lorelai said
"It must be cold outside because hell has frozen over." Luke beamed
"What do you say?"
"Lorelai, anyone can give something up for a week. Do it for a month and we have a deal." Luke said thinking she would never accept.
"Deal." Lorelai said extending her hand for Luke to shake it.
Luke looked at her not believing she agreed. He slowly extended his hand, took hers and shook it.
Lorelai smiled "Okay then, we have a deal."
She got up and walked out of the diner stopping dead in her tracks.
"Oh my God, what have I done?" Lorelai said realizing what she did. "I gave up coffee for a month, help me God!"
She turned around to Luke who just looked at her and smiled.
"Damn" she said. She turned and started for home.

Lorelai got home and slammed the door. She walked into the kitchen and saw Rory pouring something into the sink and turning on the garbage disposal.

"What are you doing?"

Rory turned and looked at her mom with a big grin, "I'm throwing all the coffee grounds out."

"WHAT! WHY!?" Lorelai shouted. Then it hit her..Luke.

Rory continued pouring the coffee into the sink. "Luke just called and told me about your bet and to throw all the coffee out of the house."

"And you agreed to this? What about you? You need your coffee?" Lorelai was starting to panic. 'A whole month without coffee! How am I going to get through this? Me and my big mouth!'

"The bet is you can't have coffee, not me. I can always go to Luke's and get coffee." Rory was clearly enjoying this way too much.

"I'll get coffee from Sookie and at the Inn!" Lorelai said, happy that she has another option.

Rory shook her head, "Nope. Luke said he was calling Sookie and to make sure you don't get any at work either. By tonight the whole town should know that you can't have coffee for a month."

Lorelai was shaking now. 'Luke is going to kill me! He can't do this to me!'

"All this to hear Luke sing and play his guitar? You must really want this bad." Rory gave her mom a sly glance.

"And on top of this all, I have to sing karaoke too!" Lorelai grabbed her purse and walked out the door.

"Where are you going?" Rory yelled.

"I don't know!" Lorelai screamed back. She really didn't know where to go.


Lorelai got into her car and pulled out of the driveway. As she drove aimlessly around town, ignoring the cries of townspeople wanting to know if the rumors were true, she thought about what she was about to do.
"How am I going to get out of this?" she thought desperately. She flipped on the radio to hear "No Such Thing" by John Mayer start playing. Lorelai started to hum along, and then quickly turned off the radio. "Oh God," Lorelai moaned, "I still have to pick a song to sing tomorrow!" Deciding to worry about that later, Lorelai took a lesson from 'Clueless', and drove to the nearby mall to do a little shopping.

About 45 minutes later, she was walking through the mall, with a soda in her hand. She passed a store with a glittery tube top and black leather pants in the window. "Cute," she thought, "But what would I wear it to? Friday night dinners?" Then she realized she had the perfect occassion coming up to wear such a thing. "Hm, if I'm going to do this karaoke thing, I'm going to do it right," Lorelai said, and marched into the store.


Later that night Lorelai walked into the diner. Luke was serving a customer. He looked up when he heard the door open.

"Hey, tea?"

"You're so funny Luke. So have you decided on what you'll be singing tomorrow? Lorelai wanted to make him sweat a little. 'Serves him right for the no coffee thing.'

"I have something." Luke lied, but he wasn't about to let Lorelai win.

"How about you? What are you going to sing?"

"Don't know, but I have the perfect outfit!"

Luke rolled his eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a long night.

The door opened again and Miss Patty walked in. "I can't wait to hear you both sing tomorrow night! Lots of people will be there!"

Lorelai and Luke stared at each other then at Miss Patty. "WHAT?" They both cried in unison.

Miss Patty just smiled and sat down at a table.

Luke glanced at Lorelai, "This is all your fault."

"Hey, don't pin this on me. You just have to play one song. I have to go a month without coffee!"

"The highlight of my life!" Luke smirked and went back to work.

Lorelai turned and left. Without coffee there wasn't much reason to stay. 'Now, what song am I going to sing?'
***********
The next morning, Luke was getting ready for work. He still had no idea what he was going to play tonight at the karaoke night. 'Well, if you're going to bomb, might as well go nuclear!' He looked over at his guitar before going downstairs. 'I should have hid you in the closet!'
***********
Lorelai drove to work still trying to think of a song to sing. 'Something fun, something funky. Maybe something from the Bangles. Maybe Sookie will have some ideas.'

She walked into work and into the kitchen to say hi to Sookie. Sookie looked up when she heard Lorelai coming in.

"Hey sweetie. What's this I hear about Luke playing his guitar tonight and you going without coffee for a month."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes, I made a bet with Luke that I'll go without coffee for a month if he'll play his guitar." She looked over at the empty coffee pot and frowned. "You aren't going to help me sneak some coffee into my system?"

Sookie shook her head and laughed, "I'm really interested in how this bet will play out! And plus, I don't want to incur the wrath of Luke."

Lorelai groaned. "I need some ideas for what to sing tonight. Have any?"

Sookie gave her a small smile, "Can you sing?"

Lorelai's eyes widened, "Yes, I can sing! I just need to know what to sing!"

"Well, how about a song you already know. Oh, I know! You can sing a love song or one of those angry chick songs or.."

"You know, I need to go check out the front desk..see if anyone needs me." Lorelai quickly left before Sookie could suggest something crazy like singing opera.


The next day, Lorelai walked into the diner and sat down on a stool. Luke came in from the back and Lorelai smiled at him.
"Tonight's the night, Luke. You ready?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm ready. And yourself?"
"Oh, I was ready yesterday."
"Mmhmm."
"So, uh, what song are you singing?" Lorelai inquired.
"You'll see."
Lorelai made a face. "You're no fun." She huffed and pointed at him. "After this month is over, I'm gonna binge on coffee like there's no tomorrow. You know, if I end up dying because of this lack of caffeine it'll be all your fault."
Luke smirked. "I'm willing to be you'll be fine. And probably even healthier."
"As if," she responded, and left the diner.
Later that evening, Lorelai arrived at the karaoke place, dressed to kill. She noticed Kirk had been staring at her since she walked in. She rolled her eyes and walked up to Luke, who was tuning his guitar.
"Hey," she smiled.
Luke looked up and smiled. "Hey." He took a double take and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Um, Luke? Hellllooo. Earth to Luke!" Lorelai called.
Luke snapped his head up at attention, embarrassed that he had been caught staring.
"Oh, uh, sorry," he mumbled.
Lorelai just grinned. "You like?" she asked, twirling around.
Luke gulped. "Um, you...you look, well, you look...."
Lorelai smiled at his nervousness. "Yes?"
"You look really good," he finally said.
Lorelai blushed a little. "Thank you," she beamed. "Um, you too."
Luke looked down at his jeans and tight dark blue shirt. "Oh, uh, thanks."
"I think this may be the first time I've seen you without flannel," Lorelai commented.
"No, you've seen me without flannel before."
"Hmm, well, I guess so. But not many times."
"I guess."
"You look good. Maybe you should try wearing other stuff besides flannel occasionally."
"I'll think about it."
"Ok. I'm gonna go talk to Sookie. Good luck."
"Thanks, you too."
Lorelai smiled and walked over to where Sookie, Jackson, and Rory were.

Luke watched her walk away. 'How am I going to do this without hurling first?' He felt scared and excited at the same time. Luke continued to stare at Lorelai and walked over to where she was standing. 'She looks good tonight'

"So you going up there first to sing?" Luke asked Lorelai.

She looked at him and laughed, "Nuh uh! You are going first. You have to uphold your part of the bet!" She smirked at him.

Luke smirked back, "How's are you doing without your coffee?"

Lorelai just pouted. "I think it's time for you to get on stage!"


**************************
Luke was up on stage, guitar in his lap. He was sitting in a chair, the microphone in front him.

He cleared his throat and spoke, "Uh, this is a song I wrote."

My heart is breaking
I'm tired of taking
In this pain
I can't see past the rain

I've tried so hard for so long
And its in so many love songs
The classic tale of friends turned lovers
And its true that I don't want no other

Lorelai was smiling. Luke sounded great! She wondered what this song was about. Friends turned lovers. Could it be about her? Could everyone in town that told her that Luke liked her for more than a friend actually be right?


So why don't you hand me a lifeline
Don't leave things draggin' behind
Give me a little help now baby
Don't'cha think that maybe
We could be good together
Maybe even last forever
Now come on
How could we go wrong?

I've never fallen so hard before
I've already slipped through the door
The bridge between friendship and love
I've wished on the stars above

"Oh My God!" Lorelai thought, "I think he is talking about us."


So why don't you hand me a lifeline
Don't leave things draggin' behind
Give me a little help now baby
Don't'cha think that maybe
We could be good together
Maybe even last forever


No matter what goes wrong
I can't seem to give up on that love song
Without you, I find it hard to breathe
When are you gonna see
That maybe
We were meant to be.

The room exploded with applause. Luke bowed and thanked everyone. He couldn't help but wonder what Lorelai would choose to sing.

"Lifeline"
Written by: Christy (KanesSugar)

***********************************

Lorelai stood on the stage and waited for the music to start. She began to sing:

I love it in your room all day
You're the only one who gets through to me
In the warm glow of the candlelight
Oh, I wonder what you're gonna do to me

In your room
I come alive when I'm with you
I'll do anything you want me to
In your room

I love it in your room all day
When you're gone I like to try on all your clothes
You won't regret it if you let me stay
I'll teach you everything that
a boy should know

In your room
I'm alive when I'm with you
Gonna make your dreams come true
In your room

I feel good in your room
Let's lock the world out
Feels so good when we kiss
Nobody ever made me
crazy like this

I'll do anything you want me to
I only want to be with you
In your room
In your room.

She finished and everyone applauded. Luke smiled proudly as he clapped. He had no idea she could actually sing. And she was so into it, so at home or at ease while doing it. She was truly full of surprises.

************************


Luke and Lorelai were sitting in the diner alone.

"Luke, that song you sang and wrote." Lorelai started.

"Yeah?"

"It was really great. You were really great."

"Thanks. You were really good too."

"Okay, maybe its just the coffee talking, but was that song about me?" Lorelai looked down, embarrased by her question.

"Do you want it to be about you, Lorelai?"

"What kind of answer is that?" She stood up and threw her hands up in the air.

"I mean it's bad enough that you've deprived me of coffee," Lorelai continued. "Not to mention you've now taken all my dignity away by making me get up on that stupid platform, but -"
"Whoa, calm down," Luke said. "Sit down. Take a deep breath."
"I can't take a deep breath! I need coffee!"
"I'll tell you what, if you promise to calm down, I'll tell you the answer to your question." Luke bit his lip, regretting that he had just said those words.
Lorelai sat down immediately and pretended to zip her lips. She tried to hide her anticipation of what his answer would be.
Luke cleared his throat. "Yes."

Then Luke remembered something she had said. "What coffee?" He asked.

"What?"

"You said 'maybe its the just the coffee talking'. What coffee Lorelai?"

"I meant lack of coffee." She replied and Luke gave her a "yeah right" look. "No, really. I didn't have any coffee." She paused and looked up at him, "Okay, I had a piece of coffee flavored candy, but that's it, I swear!"

"Okay."

"Did I break the rules?"

"No."

"Good." She walked closer to him and pulled him into the back so that the town's nosy people couldn't see what was happening.

"Lorelai, what are you doing?" But, before Luke could say anything else, Lorelai's lips crashed against his. She parted his lips with her tongue and deepened the kiss. Luke's arms went around her waist, hers were around his neck. When they finally pulled apart, in need of air. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

Lorelai broke the silence, "Wow! We should have done that a long time ago!"

"You can say that again!"

"We should have done that a long time ago." Lorelai repeated and Luke chuckled softly. "Luke?"

"Yes?"

"Let's go upstairs."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure you heard me? Yes."

"No, are you sure you want to do this? There's no rush."

"I'm sure." She took his hand and they walked back to the front of the diner.

"Let me lock up first."

"What about Jess?"

"He's got a key."

"Oh, okay." Luke locked the door and the two of them walked upstairs to his room.