A/N: I'm a Los Angeles native and I became super intrigued with the idea that Jess was in LA for an extended amount of time. In this, I try to get into Jess' mind regarding his time in LA that went unexplained in canon. Updates will be whenever inspiration hits, which means said updates will be sporadic.


If Jess Mariano was good at anything, he was the best at making himself disappear. His stealth made him easily able to sneak through places people's eyes overlooked. Flexibility and creativity were traits that helped him in the long run; emotionally, he needed work because no one had the decency to teach him healthy coping mechanisms (after all, falling through the cracks and not dealing with his problems head on was much more convenient). He was lean and coordinated and able to sift through rock bottom with disgustingly comfortable ease.

Stars Hollow shined a spotlight on him Jess didn't expect and didn't ultimately want. Being the center of attention wasn't his strong suit. Their judgment hit Jess like a ton of bricks. When he struggled with the weight of those ton of bricks on his wiry shoulders, Stars Hollow as a whole pegged him as a loser, a failure, and other negative traits that Jess refused to believe applied to him.

Maybe his mother's shadow, the same one he avoided trying to step in most of his life in fear of walking down the same path, would always find a way to haunt him. She was all of those things Stars Hollow accused Jess of being: moody, flighty, irresponsible, a loser, a freak...

She was the one who dumped him in an unknown town without much explanation and erased herself from any records holding herself accountable for her actions.

Maybe Jesse needed to actually follow in her footsteps for once. He needed out of this town that smothered him, that choked him, and kept him afraid. He needed to grow up. Maybe abandonment of the responsibilities that overwhelmed him and expectations he'd never fulfill was the only way to transform himself into something more, something better. Jess could only hope.