Summary: Three strangers meet by chance, and they end up talking about the one thing that binds them together.
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gilmore Girls or its characters – the only thing I came up with was the story line.
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Cheers
Chapter 1: Of Beer and Good Impressions
The bar was unusually quiet for a Friday night – too quiet, perhaps. But no one seemed to mind, least of all the young man slumped over the counter, head resting on his arm, a half-finished beer resting beside him. Straightening up again, he took another disheartened gulp of his drink before looking around the room indifferently. Finishing the remainder of the amber-colored liquid, he smiled crookedly. "Fill 'er up, Dave."
"That's the fourth one you've had in one night," Dave the barman pointed out, his concern hidden behind the casual tone of his voice. "How about calling it a night?" He scrutinized the young man seated in front of him. His patron waved a hand dismissively, his coffee brown eyes dull.
"One more," the young man said, his words leaving no room for argument. Shaking his head, Dave retrieved the mug and refilled it, but he couldn't help wondering what had happened to make the young man so unhappy. On any other day, he would have been his usual wry, cynical self, regaling Dave with tales of how messed up life was in general, but tonight…
Taking in the man's disheveled dark curly hair and unshaven jaw, Dave leaned against the counter. "Want to talk about it?"
Hearing this, Jess Mariano lifted his head briefly, but then he shook his head. "It's nothing you want to hear, believe me."
"Go ahead," Dave raised his eyebrows, smiling slightly as he did. "Give it a shot." When Jess lapsed into a moody silence, Dave soldiered on. "Let me guess. Women problems?"
"Ding ding ding, somebody get the man a trophy!" Jess smiled sardonically, his eyes bitter. "You are a true genius, my man." He sighed heavily, dropping his gaze to his hands.
"Okay," Dave continued, hoping to prod Jess into talking again. "So it's about a woman, and you're really bummed out…" Dave frowned. "What, did she break it off with you or something?"
Jess snorted. "Not even close."
"You're going to have to help me out here, Jess," Dave said, scratching his head. "I'm going on zilch information, may I remind you."
"Okay," Jess finally muttered unwillingly. "It's this girl I know–"
"Oh, it's that Gilmore girl you keep talking about, huh?" Dave interrupted, understanding creeping across his face.
Jess glared at him. "Do you want me to tell you about it or not?"
"Sorry."
"Anyway," Jess continued, tearing at the paper napkin in his hand. "I moved to Stars Hollow a couple of years ago. My mom had just crated me off to live with my uncle Luke, and he decided that it was in my best interests that we go have dinner at his friend Lorelai Gilmore's place – something about meeting new people or making a good impression, somewhere along those lines, anyway. In any case, that was the day I met Rory." He paused to take another gulp of his drink. "Of course, she was seeing someone else at the time, some beanpole who worked as a bag boy in town. I even went to the same high school as him."
"Competition, huh?" Dave smiled knowingly.
"Yeah," Jess nodded tersely. "Man, was that guy insecure. Couldn't even stand seeing me anywhere within a mile of his precious girlfriend! Geez, that guy had issues."
"But I take it the guy was justified in being – worried?" Dave suggested, choosing his words carefully.
"Yeah," Jess tilted his head, the expression on his face contemplative. "I guess he was. There was just something about her…" He broke off, looking almost embarrassed.
"Isn't that always the case?" Dave joked, shaking his head.
"I suppose so," Jess grinned slightly as he shifted in his seat. "You wouldn't happen to have any pretzels or something, would you?"
Reaching beneath the counter, Dave extracted a package and placed it in front of his customer. "Here."
Jess frowned at the sealed bag before glancing up. "How come you don't put these in bowls?"
"What does this place look like, a five-star hotel?" Dave grumbled, picking up a cloth and wiping down the counter. "Just eat them already. So what happened with Rory?"
Shrugging, Jess ripped the bag open and popped one of the salty pretzels into his mouth. "She was smart, she was sweet, she was funny, she was pretty – I'm telling you, she was everything any guy could possibly want." Inwardly, he winced at the sentimentality in his words, but he was too tired to give a damn.
"Sounds like you had it bad for her," Dave commented lightly.
"I did," Jess admitted reluctantly. "But I don't know, she was a little…oblivious. She needed a few nudges to help her see the light of day, if you get what I mean." He smiled understatedly. "You see, I was what everyone referred to as the resident trouble-maker, but Rory – she stuck up for me, never saw anything but the good in me. That didn't go over very well with her mom, her boyfriend, almost everyone else in town. It was like I was intruding on this perfect little fairytale existence everyone had set up for Rory. Everyone was so caught up in thinking I was this scheming little weasel who only wanted to steal Rory away and wreck her Ivy League dreams. God, that pissed me off!" Irate, Jess snatched up his drink and tossed it back.
"What then?" Dave pressed on, curious despite himself.
"It seemed that my friendship was exactly what Rory needed to unleash the rebel within," Jess noted, shrugging carelessly. "The more people trashed me, the more worked up she got, and apparently, that sort of behavior wasn't the sort of thing Stars Hollow expected from someone like Rory. And they blamed me for it. I was the bad influence." He wiped his fingers on the shredded napkin. "One thing led to another, and I ended up in New York for a little time-out, courtesy of my uncle."
"Let me guess," Dave broke in. "She came after you."
"Something like that," Jess nodded indifferently. "Made me realize that no matter what I did, I was still going to get dumped on for causing Rory to act 'out of character'." There was another bitter grin. "Did I tell you she missed her mom's graduation because of me?"
"Wow." Dave stared at Jess. "So it looked like she liked you too. What was the problem, then?"
"Remember that thing I told you about how everyone in Stars Hollow wanted Rory to live out this perfect life?" Jess shrugged again. "I figured the more she hung around me, the more upset everyone would get. So that was it." His lips formed a crooked smile. "We still hung out, but not as often as we did before. I'm pretty sure her boyfriend was grateful for that, you know – that I did the gentlemanly thing and backed off." He smiled wearily. "Man, that was years ago." Noticing his empty mug, he pushed it forward. "One more for the road, Dave."
"Jess…" Dave said warningly, but a new voice cut across the conversation.
"One more for the man, Dave," the stranger said, shrugging off his coat as he sat down beside Jess. "On me."
Turning around, Jess was about to thank his mysterious benefactor, when he felt his jaw drop. The stranger merely smiled with amusement, watching as Jess struggled to find his voice.
Finally, Jess recovered. "What – what are you doing here?"
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To Be Continued…