Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story. They are all property of Amy Sherman-Palladino and the WB.
Distribution: I'm all for it, but please ask for my permission first.
Feedback: Please, read and review. I love the criticism, whether it is positive or negative.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: The season finale "I Can't Get Started" and anything prior to it.
Synopsis: Rory and Paris don't win the student council elections, thus meaning that Rory spends her summer in Stars Hollow. And, as the weather warms, unexpected passion arises...
Chapter one ~ Nostalgia
Rory sighed contentedly as the warm water ran down her face and neck, massaging the tender skin. The last week had been a living hell for her; not only was her mother working double-time at the inn, but Jess had been giving her odd looks ever since the kiss, an event that had perturbed them both greatly. To make matters worse, Dean seemed to have noticed the growing tension between the two, thus pushing him to be exceptionally overbearing and suspicious of their so-called friendship. She sighed again and tried to push the antagonizing thoughts out of her mind.
"Rory! I come bearing gifts! Hurry up and get out of the shower!"
Rory smiled at the sound of Lorelai's overpowering voice. Hurriedly, she rinsed the last of the shampoo out of her hair and turned off the tap. Wrapping a towel around herself and enveloping her hair in another, she threw on her blue and yellow bathrobe, shoved her feet into the matching slippers and ran down the stairs to greet her mother.
"Hey mom!" she said, happy to know that she was no longer alone. "How was the day?"
"Ugh, terrible," she declared, throwing herself dramatically onto the couch. "Michel totally freaked out. First, somebody ate his low-fat bran muffin. Then he had to deal with some rude client and he totally lost his patience. He started cursing at the guy in French, only to find out that he taught French at some community college in Nowhereville, so he understood every word he said. So the guy took his coffee and poured it over Michel's new suit. It was funny, but not pretty. And a waste of perfectly good coffee."
"Aw, I'm sorry mom," Rory sympathized. "My day wasn't much better. But maybe you can raise my drooping spirits. What's this about gifts?"
"Right, I almost forgot. I brought you some coffee from the inn and Sookie made us some of her gooey double layered double chocolate fudge brownies. Help yourself."
Rory skipped down the remaining stairs and raced down the hall that joined the living room to the kitchen. She found the steaming cup of coffee and the plate of brownies, just as Lorelai had promised, and walked back into the living room. She plopped herself down onto the couch next to her mother, who had her head nestled on one of the oversized pillows that were scattered here and there. Both girls sat in silence for several minutes before Lorelai opened her eyes. She glanced at her daughter, who was slowly munching away on a brownie. Never in the seventeen years that she'd known Rory had she ever seen her so unhappy. Her face, which had always been full of colour, had lost its vibrance. She hardly smiled, and on the rare occasion when she actually did, the smile appeared to be lifeless and sad. Her animate blue eyes had lost their light and were most often glazed over with tears. For weeks, Lorelai had tried to pinpoint the exact source of her daughter's grief, but in vain. Lorelai hated seeing Rory so depressed and it made her heart ache to know she could do nothing to ease her daughter's pain.
"Rory," Lorelai broke the silence.
"Yeah, mom?"
"How are you doing, hon? I mean, I've noticed you've been totally spaced out lately, and we're talking Armageddon here. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" she asked, raising one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows.
"I'm fine mom. I've just been thinking about the future, Harvard mostly. It's nothing."
Defeated, Lorelai just nodded her head. Rory was lying, and her mother knew it, but she wasn't about to force the truth out of her. The way she saw it, Rory would come to her when she was ready to talk. And, with any luck, that day would come sooner than later.
Later on that evening, Rory sat on her bed, surrounded by the contents of her Dean box. She had spent the last couple of hours rereading old love letters and looking at the pile of pictures that had accumulated over the past months. Dean was so special to her; he was the one that she had shared all of her firsts with: her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her first love. She loved Dean. But, lately, visions of Jess had been clouding her mind, and she had no idea what it all meant.
"I love Dean. I will always love Dean," she whispered to herself.
As she leaned back against the pillows at the head of the bed, she replayed the kiss she had shared with Jess the day of Sookie's wedding. Its passion had nearly swept her off her feet. She had been the one to instigate it as she had grabbed him and pulled his face toward hers. Their lips had met with a frantic desire she hadn't recognized. As his lips had danced on hers, he had traced her bottom lip with his tongue and brought his hand to the nape of her neck, to pull her closer. It was then that she had pulled away, astonished by what she had just done. And then she ran. Still, she hadn't quite figured out why she had done it. Did she like Jess? Defeated, she pushed the mess off her bed and layed her head on the pillows, letting a single tear roll down her cheek.
Distribution: I'm all for it, but please ask for my permission first.
Feedback: Please, read and review. I love the criticism, whether it is positive or negative.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: The season finale "I Can't Get Started" and anything prior to it.
Synopsis: Rory and Paris don't win the student council elections, thus meaning that Rory spends her summer in Stars Hollow. And, as the weather warms, unexpected passion arises...
Chapter one ~ Nostalgia
Rory sighed contentedly as the warm water ran down her face and neck, massaging the tender skin. The last week had been a living hell for her; not only was her mother working double-time at the inn, but Jess had been giving her odd looks ever since the kiss, an event that had perturbed them both greatly. To make matters worse, Dean seemed to have noticed the growing tension between the two, thus pushing him to be exceptionally overbearing and suspicious of their so-called friendship. She sighed again and tried to push the antagonizing thoughts out of her mind.
"Rory! I come bearing gifts! Hurry up and get out of the shower!"
Rory smiled at the sound of Lorelai's overpowering voice. Hurriedly, she rinsed the last of the shampoo out of her hair and turned off the tap. Wrapping a towel around herself and enveloping her hair in another, she threw on her blue and yellow bathrobe, shoved her feet into the matching slippers and ran down the stairs to greet her mother.
"Hey mom!" she said, happy to know that she was no longer alone. "How was the day?"
"Ugh, terrible," she declared, throwing herself dramatically onto the couch. "Michel totally freaked out. First, somebody ate his low-fat bran muffin. Then he had to deal with some rude client and he totally lost his patience. He started cursing at the guy in French, only to find out that he taught French at some community college in Nowhereville, so he understood every word he said. So the guy took his coffee and poured it over Michel's new suit. It was funny, but not pretty. And a waste of perfectly good coffee."
"Aw, I'm sorry mom," Rory sympathized. "My day wasn't much better. But maybe you can raise my drooping spirits. What's this about gifts?"
"Right, I almost forgot. I brought you some coffee from the inn and Sookie made us some of her gooey double layered double chocolate fudge brownies. Help yourself."
Rory skipped down the remaining stairs and raced down the hall that joined the living room to the kitchen. She found the steaming cup of coffee and the plate of brownies, just as Lorelai had promised, and walked back into the living room. She plopped herself down onto the couch next to her mother, who had her head nestled on one of the oversized pillows that were scattered here and there. Both girls sat in silence for several minutes before Lorelai opened her eyes. She glanced at her daughter, who was slowly munching away on a brownie. Never in the seventeen years that she'd known Rory had she ever seen her so unhappy. Her face, which had always been full of colour, had lost its vibrance. She hardly smiled, and on the rare occasion when she actually did, the smile appeared to be lifeless and sad. Her animate blue eyes had lost their light and were most often glazed over with tears. For weeks, Lorelai had tried to pinpoint the exact source of her daughter's grief, but in vain. Lorelai hated seeing Rory so depressed and it made her heart ache to know she could do nothing to ease her daughter's pain.
"Rory," Lorelai broke the silence.
"Yeah, mom?"
"How are you doing, hon? I mean, I've noticed you've been totally spaced out lately, and we're talking Armageddon here. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" she asked, raising one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows.
"I'm fine mom. I've just been thinking about the future, Harvard mostly. It's nothing."
Defeated, Lorelai just nodded her head. Rory was lying, and her mother knew it, but she wasn't about to force the truth out of her. The way she saw it, Rory would come to her when she was ready to talk. And, with any luck, that day would come sooner than later.
Later on that evening, Rory sat on her bed, surrounded by the contents of her Dean box. She had spent the last couple of hours rereading old love letters and looking at the pile of pictures that had accumulated over the past months. Dean was so special to her; he was the one that she had shared all of her firsts with: her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her first love. She loved Dean. But, lately, visions of Jess had been clouding her mind, and she had no idea what it all meant.
"I love Dean. I will always love Dean," she whispered to herself.
As she leaned back against the pillows at the head of the bed, she replayed the kiss she had shared with Jess the day of Sookie's wedding. Its passion had nearly swept her off her feet. She had been the one to instigate it as she had grabbed him and pulled his face toward hers. Their lips had met with a frantic desire she hadn't recognized. As his lips had danced on hers, he had traced her bottom lip with his tongue and brought his hand to the nape of her neck, to pull her closer. It was then that she had pulled away, astonished by what she had just done. And then she ran. Still, she hadn't quite figured out why she had done it. Did she like Jess? Defeated, she pushed the mess off her bed and layed her head on the pillows, letting a single tear roll down her cheek.