A/N- This is the sequel story to Love Will Keep Us Together. If you haven't read that story yet I suggest you head on over there first!
March 19th 1999
"Jess don't you think that even if I believed it was a day off school that I might notice the school is still open when I look over from the diner, across the street from said school, and see all the students heading into the building?" Luke spoke with ease as he fried eggs on the stove, used to his nephew's antics by now.
Jess shrugged, "Some people are just overachievers Uncle Luke, what can I say."
Luke gave the teen a blank stare, "Go get ready for school."
With an eye roll, the teen accepted his defeat and turned on his heels to exit the small kitchen.
"I told you it wouldn't work," Rory gloated as she passed him through the kitchen door and the boy made a face at his step-sister.
"Yeah well if you would have agreed to back me up on the matter it would have!" he yelled through the house as he headed into his room to reluctantly grab his books.
His room was bigger than Rory's, extending the house to add a bit more space had given the family the ability to make it a decent size, and though the parents had made sure that Rory hadn't been jealous of the fact, she had assured them that she was just fine with her smaller room if it meant that they got to stay living in the girls' old house. His room was still on the first floor, however, right next to the staircase in the living room, making the upstairs a private, 'kid-free', retreat for the couple of the house. The biggest thrill for Jess had been actually having a door and four walls to call his own. Not that he hadn't gotten used to the lack of privacy, sharing the tight quarters of the apartment with Luke for over a year, but the older Jess was getting, the more he appreciated their relocation.
Living with the girls hadn't taken much adjustment in the end. Sure it was a little odd not living in the apartment at first. For a while Jess actually kind of missed it and would hide out up there while Luke worked down in the diner. But really, the family had already been spending so much time at the Gilmore house that moving in full-time hadn't felt that different. The boys had long since passed the feeling of being guests in the home and everyone took on their new family role pretty well.
"Jess get your butt out here if you want a ride from me!" Lorelai shouted through the house unnecessarily. She was only in the living room and Jess hadn't shut his door.
Standing in his doorway, still readjusting the watch on his arm, Jess answered the woman, who was now standing near the door with Rory in tow, waiting to leave, "We'll walk today," he spoke for both teens, even though Rory looked every bit ready to accept the ride.
"You'll walk?" Lorelai asked in disbelief, "I'm sorry, is this coming from the same boy who complains on a daily basis that his legs couldn't possibly make the incredibly LONG walk all the way to school?"
"Well it's true we're no longer living in the stone ages like you grew up in Lorelai, usually I'd agree we shouldn't be made to walk all the way to school, uphill in a snowstorm, but yes, on this particular day I think a walk might do us some good, you wouldn't want us getting lazy now would you?"
Lorelai shook her head in astonishment, too tired to think of one of her regular witty comebacks, "Sometimes I really can't keep up with how your brain works kid. Okay, well if you're going to walk you two better get a move on, it's twenty minutes to."
Jess nodded once, bypassing the woman at the door while grabbing Rory's arm to drag her with him. The boy turned, heading the long way to school, but Rory didn't question it, like her mother she had long ago stopped trying to figure Jess out. Sometimes he liked to walk the less populated route to school anyway, less time wasted interacting with the idiots that inhabited their school he once explained.
They walked relatively quietly through the cleared path of the woods, not unusual for either of the teens on a school morning, both liking the quiet time before a long day of school interactions.
Rory only spoke up when she noticed her brother veering away from her and the direction of the high school, "Where are you going?"
"Social studies with Fritz first period," Jess shrugged nonchalant, "Don't feel like sitting through that wack's class today."
"Jess you can't skip again!" The girl chastised wide-eyed, "It was too close of a call last time and I'm done covering for you!"
"I won't get caught," the teen insisted with an eye roll, "you won't have to cover anything. Don't worry, it's not like I'm asking you to come with me, Miss Harvard."
"Come on Jess, just come to school! You've already scored way lower than you should have on two tests in that class, not to mention the others, Luke and Mom are going to start catching on eventually, and you're ruining your GPA!"
"Rory, I'm fine! Seriously stop worrying about me, I'm only skipping first period anyway. I've got it covered. I'll even study with you later if it'll make you happy."
"You know you're probably smarter than me if you actually took your school work seriously every once in a while, you could be trying out for Chilton with me," Rory pointed out, "Wouldn't you like to stay together?"
"We've already discussed this Ror, Harvard's your thing, besides we don't even know if you'll get into Chilton."
"Gee thanks for the confidence boost," Rory muttered.
"That's not what I meant and you know it."
Rory sighed, "I know, it's just we've been in the same class since you moved here. It's going to be weird if we're not."
Jess nodded, fixing her with a reassuring look, "Well we don't have to worry about it right now anyway, right? Now you better hurry or you're going to be late."
"Come on Jess, just come to school! Why do you insist on making your life so much harder?"
Jess just shrugged, trademark smirk on his face, "Because following the rules all the time is boring."
"Ugh! You're impossible sometimes, you know that?"
"Love you too," Jess laughed, turning towards the bridge.
The old bridge hadn't changed much in the years Jess had been visiting it. It was still quiet, still peaceful and Jess was still grateful that no matter how much had changed in his life, he could always count on it to be there, just like his bench in New York.
Luke and Jess had actually visited his old stomping ground last summer, a weekend when the girls were off on a pampering day with Sookie and Luke had needed to grab some material from the 'Big Apple' as Rory still loved to call it if not only to aggravate Jess. It was the first time Jess had been back since he was sent away when he was eleven and he felt somewhat relieved to see that not much had changed in the four years he had missed it. It did, however, seem even busier than when Jess had left, if that was possible, although he wasn't sure if that was actually true or more due to the fact that Jess had spent the last four years in a community the size of a fishbowl. Maybe he had really become a small town boy after all.
Thinking back, it almost amazed him that he, a five, eight, ten-year-old had walked these busy streets alone, at night even. It was almost a wonder that he had made it to Stars Hollow in one piece.
Jess had returned from that trip with a new appreciation for the town he now called home. New York would always have a piece of his heart of course, but he had learned over the years that small towns weren't so bad after all.
He sat down on the old bridge, the wood weathered down from years of exposure to the elements, and pulled out his book, checking his watch quickly to be sure he would make it back in time for his next class. Jess may have liked to bend the rules a bit when he could, but he also knew how far those rules could be bent before he really got in trouble. He wasn't planning on getting caught, having done this a few times had made him better at the ins and outs of ditching, but he also knew that if he did, explaining one missed class to Luke as opposed to a full day, would be a lot easier.
Luke grabbed his keys off the table by the door as he left the house, being sure to lock the door behind him before heading towards his truck. It was unusual for him to be the last one to leave the house in the morning. Usually, Luke liked to be at the diner to help open up early. He had been trying as of late, however, to lessen his daily duties, passing them down to his staff instead, in order to be able to spend more time at home with his family. With both parents working full-time jobs the lack of family time had been becoming an increasing issue. Lorelai didn't have as much control over her duties, not being the owner of the Inn after all, so Luke took it upon himself to lessen his load the best he could in order to give the family with two rapidly growing teens some much needed time together.
Luke still couldn't believe that Jess had turned fifteen last Sunday, Rory soon following him in the fall. It didn't seem like all that long ago that the house was home to two children when suddenly it felt like Luke blinked and the kids were practically grown. Okay, well maybe not grown per se, but they were definitely growing into their role as teenagers, a fact Luke was still trying to grow accustomed to.
He was glad to have Lorelai by his side through it all though. Sure he would have found a way to do it on his own. Jess was usually a pretty good kid, they both were, but still, the peace of mind to know that he wasn't in it completely alone anymore was a huge weight off his shoulders, no matter how much he still managed to worry about his boy.
Both parents had taken on the role as step-parents to each other's kid incredibly naturally. There was no real feeling of my kid, your kid, anymore in the house and both teens knew that neither adult was more in charge than the other. The family really had moulded together exceedingly well. They had a good routine now, like a well-oiled machine.
Luke greeted his staff as he entered the diner. Caesar now being his second in command, in charge when Luke was out, and Luke had hired a few new employees to help pick up the slack on those occasions as well. Jess too had started working there a few hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school and every second Saturday. Luke had started him off slow, considering he was not only still technically too young to legally be working there, but also because Luke didn't want it to interfere with the boy's school work. At first, Luke had been very hesitant to agree to it at all, even to as few hours as he was currently giving Jess, but Jess had long since grown out of the dollar discipline system that Luke had put in place when the boy was younger, and after near constant begging from the younger boy, he realized it was about time that the kid started earning some real money for himself. Luke reasoned that if he wanted a job that badly at least it would be under his uncle's careful watch.
Rory, who was much more dedicated to her schoolwork, helped her mom out at the Inn when she could, but her worries were less about making money and more to do with getting into Harvard. The family had been talking about her applying to get into Chilton, a school that could apparently prepare her much better than Stars Hollow High for having the greatest chance at making her college dreams come true according to her principal. Luke had no doubt that she would be accepted as soon as the fall semester, he only hoped they would be able to find the money for it when she did.
The man sighed as he prepared himself for another day. He may have been naive when he used to think that the stresses of parenthood would get easier as the kids got older.
"Jess Mariano," Jess heard his name as he passed Mr Fritz in the hallway between periods later that day, "I don't seem to recall seeing you in this morning's class, I'm glad to see you decided to show up for everyone else's lessons."
"Had a dentist appointment," Jess stated boredly.
"That's funny, your sister said doctors," he raised his eyebrow, catching the student in his lie.
"Well a dentist is a type of doctor wouldn't you say? Unless you're now diminishing other people's professions Sir, but I know you wouldn't do that," Jess spoke with confidence.
"Well I'm glad I caught you, I was hoping to speak with you after your final class. I've noticed you've been slipping a bit on your latest tests and I like to discuss any issues with my students before things get too bad."
"I love the concern, but that won't be necessary, everything's A-ok here Teach!" he assured with faux enthusiasm.
"Jess I know how bright you are, I'd really like to understand what is going on with you lately," the man pressed, "if it continues to happen and I don't know why then I'm going to have to contact your parents."
"Look, I'm fine. I was just busy last week and I didn't have as much time to study," Jess replied. Okay maybe 'didn't have time' and 'didn't feel like it' weren't exactly the same thing, but Jess didn't feel bad for the small lie if it got his teacher off his back.
The man nodded, concern still evident in his eyes, "Alright, well if you are struggling like that again then come talk to me, I'd rather we work something out than watch your grades drop."
Jess gave as respectful of a nod as he could muster before finally pushing past the man and towards his next class.
Math with Ms Harper. Mr Fritz may have been off his rocker half the time, but at least he was an okay guy. Ms Harper, on the other hand, seemed to hate Jess with a burning passion and Jess had to mentally prepare himself every time he entered her classroom.
Now if you asked Rory, she would say that Jess was exaggerating when it came to the woman's hatred for him, and maybe Jess could admit that he may have brought some of it on himself. Math was by far his least favourite subject, however, mostly because he didn't feel the need to be there. The problems were easy and he always felt sitting in the class was a waste of forty-five precious minutes of his day. If he hadn't already skipped out on social studies he would have given himself a day off from math as well.
These facts in themselves always seemed to put Jess in a bad mood and it wasn't five minutes into the class before the teacher already caught the bad end of it.
"Jess do you have your homework to turn in?"
"Nope," he replied with a bit too much attitude and he could see Rory shaking her head from a few seats over.
"And why not?" the lady pressed, their conversation almost routine by now.
"I didn't feel like it was an appropriate use of my time," the teen responded honestly and he could almost hear his sister's sigh.
"Well I hope you enjoyed the free time because you will be spending the afternoon with me in detention," she sentenced.
"Gee still no boyfriend huh? I promise you there's better company than me out there if you used the time you spent with me in detention to actually go out and look."
The comment didn't bode well with the older lady, but even so, Jess didn't manage to get kicked out of class that day, probably a good thing, yet Jess couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed anyway. He was glad the day was almost over.
"Uncle Luke I need you to sign this," Jess spoke, eyes downcast, as he handed the man the pink paper.
Luke fixed his nephew with a stern look when he realized what it was, "Jess what is going on with you!? This is your third detention slip this week!"
"It's all the teacher's fault, right Jess," Rory chimed in with a smirk, having heard the excuse a million and one times before.
Jess glared at his surrogate sister, but Lorelai muted her daughter before he could speak, "Rory, stay out of what's not your business, please."
Luke held his hands up expectantly when Jess used the interruption as an excuse not to answer his uncle, "The teacher's a b-" Luke gave the boy a warning look and Jess stopped himself, "belligerent snob," he finished, making a face as to say that's what he was going to say all along.
Luke gave him a 'nice try' look before shaking his head, "Jess I really don't care whether you like this lady or not, the fact is, I'm signing these notes every second day lately and I'm done letting it slide."
"I don't need to sit in that class!" Jess protested, "I already know everything she's teaching and then she gets mad at me for not paying attention."
"And when she gets mad, you respectfully apologize and start focusing right?" Luke raised his eyebrow.
Rory snickered from across the room and Jess shot her daggers, "She deserves to be taken down a few pegs," he defended to his uncle.
Luke pinched the bridge of his nose, "She is your teacher Jess, you need to respect her and you need to start paying attention in class," he pointed his finger at his nephew.
"Fine, okay, I will, are we done here?" the teen asked with a little too much attitude for Luke's liking.
"No we're not done here," Luke shook his head in exasperation, "If this is the same attitude you are giving your teachers than I don't think you are planning on working that hard to fix the problem."
Jess sighed, eyes fixed boredly on his uncle, "I already told you I would."
Luke exhaled heavily, realizing that the conversation wasn't going to get them anywhere. Instead, he pointed his finger at the teen's chest, "I mean it Jess, if I see one more of these you'll be grounded until I see an improvement for myself, understood?"
Jess nodded wordlessly. Luke quickly signed the slip and handed it back to the boy, "Go get started on your homework until supper."
Grateful for the excuse to leave, Jess didn't feel the need to mention that it was Friday and he didn't actually plan on doing any homework until Sunday night. Instead, he exited the kitchen and a second later his bedroom door clicked shut. Rory had already retreated to her own room earlier, the small battles between uncle and nephew had lost their novelty long ago. Now the parents were left alone in the kitchen.
"And you thought you missed the terrible twos," Lorelai joked in an attempt to relax her husband.
"He's going to miss his sixteenth birthday if he doesn't smarten up pretty soon," Luke vented still frustrated.
"C'mon babe, it's just a few detentions, I'm sure you weren't an angel in high school either, I know I wasn't."
"I just thought that we would grow out of these school battles eventually," Luke sighed tiredly, "It's like I've been having these same conversations with him since he was eleven-years-old."
"Not everyone's Rory Gilmore obsessed with school Hun, he's managing alright I think."
"I know. I guess I just find it hard to understand because he actually has the smarts to do well in school and he just doesn't want to put in the effort."
"We'll just have to keep pushing him," Lorelai reasoned, "We'll get him there," she assured, patting her husband on the back, "Now I don't know about you, but I'm starving and for once we're all here on a Friday night, when was the last time that happened?"
"You think we should force the kids to go out for supper with us?" Luke smirked to his wife, aware of just how uncool it was to be seen with your parents at that age.
"Nah, we're not that cruel, let's order in," Lorelai smiled as she grabbed for the take-out menu on the fridge and proceeded to dial the number.
A/N- I told you it wouldn't be long before I posted the sequel!
Also just fyi I'm not going to promise weekly updates with this story. It just got too stressful with the first one so I'm just going to say I'll post when I can and I'll try my best to be fast about it! That way I can enjoy writing it a bit more and hopefully you guys will get more quality chapters!
Please review! They help me so much!