A/N: My new Literati fic takes place after Season 4 episode 12 - A Family Matter. But I changed few things. Jess came back in Stars Hollow after year of absence. He and Rory met again in the night when he spent in his car before his uncle diner. In my fic Lorelai is single and Rory just started her first year in the college. What would happen if they actually had a chance to fix things between them? What choices Rory would make if Jess was a factor in her life? What if Jess hadn't ran? Read and you'll see.

As a special note I would add – my first language is not English. Please excuse my grammar here and there. Review if you like and please – enjoy the story. I really hope my Literati muse came back. I missed writing for these two.

Yours,

ArinnaVal

Chapter 1 Welcome back Mariano

Strange things happened when you thought you put everything bad behind you. Rory Gilmore made the same mistake in her life. Just when she thought that, everything was forgotten. Just when she thought, Jess Mariano was out of her heart and her life once and for all. He never called back. Not even once and she got tired of thinking of him. It was hurting so bad that she barely survived. Therefore, Rory just cut her hair and started over. New college. New friends and new life. Her mother was proud of her. Everybody were proud of her.

Then she decided to pay her mom a visit. Lorelai was thrilled. Oh and her grandparents as well. So Rory has to pass through the official dinner with Richard and Emily to get to the part of the night, she liked the most. Her movie nights with her mom. So they were joking around on their way back home. Their way passed beside Luke's Diner.

Just then, Rory saw something taking her smile away. She noticed a familiar car parked across the street. Her heart pounded when she slowly walked toward it. Lorelai followed her, keep babbling about something they joked before. But somehow, Rory had lost her hearing right now. She stood close enough to see Jess asleep in the backseat. He was like a ghost from the past, came haunting her.

"I don't believe this." Rory stared at the sleeping man in the car. Her heart betrayed her again and she could feel the well-known butterflies in her stomach. Jess.

"Um, is that - ?" Lorelai touched her shoulder.

"Yes." Rory barely nodded, keep staring at the man in the car.

"Oh." Her mother followed her look.

"I don't believe this." Rory just lowered her voice.

"What is he doing here?"

"What is he doing - there?" Rory looked at her mother and then back at the car. Lorelay just shrugged.

"Asleep in his car - is he living in it?"

"I don't see stuff."

"Does Luke know he's here?" Lorelai looked at the Diner and then back at Jess' car.

"Well, I know what you know." Rory just frowned and her mother looked at her with disbelief.

"He - may not know."

"Well, it's right in front of his place. How could he not know?" Rory tilted her head and looked back at her mother. She was careful with her facial expression. Lorelai didn't have to know how much Jess still meant to her. Rory hated that feeling, but she knew it was there.

"Well, it's freezing out here. He could die, he must not know." Lorelai looked at her daughter closely. But Rory shrugged again like she didn't care at all.

"Or doesn't care."

"Do you think David Blain put him up to this?"

"Why is he here? I mean, why did he come back?" Rory bit her lower lip, trying to control her voice.

"Light's still on in there, Luke's in there somewhere - should we go talk to him?" Lorelai kept looking at the Diner. Her daughter shifted uncomfortable.

"No. It's too weird." She shivered. "And it's - weird."

"Definitely weird." Lorelai finally looked at her and Rory put on her blank face.

"Well, I'll just see you at home. I'm - cause I don't want to deal with this. I'll see you at home." She quickly walked off, while Lorelai paused a moment before walking to Luke's diner door.

Rory stopped and turned around just to see how her mom walked in the Diner. She put her hands in the pockets of her warm coat and just stood there. It was like her feet had glued to the ground. She just stared to the car, parked there. She couldn't see his face now, but she knew he was real and he was back in her life. The saddest part was, she missed him. No matter how he hurt her. No matter how bad he was and how bad he could be, Rory still cared about him.

"It's not love." She whispered to herself, shaking her head furiously. "I don't love him!" Rory stirred and turned around to leave. Maybe if she repeated the words long enough she would believe in herself.

When he mother came back home, Rory was in the living room studying. It was strange how she could still concentrate over her books. Lorelai entered through the front door shivering. Rory looked at her over her book.

"Hey."

"Hey. So, do you want an update?" Lorelai hooked her coat in the small cupboard they had at the corridor. She walked in the living room and sat on the couch, close to her daughter.

"I guess." Rory shrugged and put the book down.

"Well, the whole thing - the mystery woman from this morning? Jess' mom."

"Whoa." Rory furrowed her brows.

"Still a mystery though. Luke's not quite sure what she's up to." Lorelai looked at her daughter carefully.

"She came with Jess?" Rory was careful to control her voice, knowing her mom could read her like an open book.

"She called him or something. It's very confusing. Luke was not in an expansive story telling mood. All he knows is that Jess said he came for his car and he's not leaving without it."

"Okay."

"Yeah. Which means he might be here part of the day tomorrow, so uh, "Danger, Will Robinson." Rory rolled her eyes with her mother's last words.

"I can live with it, really."

"That's what I told Luke." Lorelai nodded.

"Good."

"Okay. So, I'm going to go upstairs, get warm - Good night." Lorelai yawned and stretched out. Rory just smiled and closed her study folder, kissing Lorelai's cheek.

"Well, goodnight mom."

"Good night angel." Lorelai almost ran upstairs and Rory leaned back on the couch. The books and her study folder were spread across the table. She sighed and gathered her hair, looking at the window.

Before she could realize what she was doing, Rory grabbed her coat and walked out in the chilly night. Her feet led her back to Luke's Diner. Jess' car was still there. So it was real. Everything was real. He wasn't just a fruit of her imagination and her mother was right.

Just then, the door of Jess' car opened and he got out heading straight for the diner. Rory just stood there, unable to move. She was close but out of his sight and she was thankful for it. Her eyes narrowed when he knelt before the front door, searching the key under he rogue. Rory heard him curse when he finally found it, but it slipped out from his hands.

"Damn it!" Jess murmured, but she was close enough to hear him. Still he had not noticed her yet.

Maybe that was for the best, but just then, his eyes stopped on her. They both stood there, staring at each other. No one of them was able to move. Too many things had happened between them. Too many words had left unspoken. But they stood there, just watching at each other. No one said a word. No one made a move. It took a long moment before Rory could finally open her mouth. However, before she could even say a word, Jess unlocked the Diner and rushed in, slamming the door behind his back.

Rory just shook her head. No, she wasn't happy to see him. She didn't love him and she wasn't hurt. She wasn't, right? Maybe if she kept saying that to herself she would finally believe it. With a final look to the Diner, Rory turned around and headed back home. Jess would've been gone by the next morning and she could breathe again. She had to.