Story: Tales of a Non-Couple In NYC

Author: LitJJAiken

Chapter Title: Blame It On the Bus

Rating: PG-13 (future dialogue, language, etc.)

Summary: What if Rory had missed her bus back to Hartford in "Lorelai's Graduation Day"? Literati/Java Junkie.

A/N: Yes, another one. Wildflowers is not finished; The Intern and Her Baby-Sitter, however, is. I got the idea for this one the other day, and I had to write it. I hope you like it.

As always, thanks to Joan, Summer, Helen, Loz, Lauren, and Katherine. You all are great supporters and (since you like being called this so much, Joan) muses.

Rory and Jess fought their way through the usual late-day crowd at the bus station. Rory's bus back to Connecticut was leaving in mere minutes.

Jess though of how surprised he was that Rory came to see him. And on top of the event itself, she had skipped school to execute it. He was a little thrilled that he could influence her to do something so out of character.

"So," she said, turning to face him. She fingered her cast nervously. "Thanks for showing me around today. I had fun."

"So did I," he answered sincerely. "Thanks for coming."

Rory shifted her eyes. "You want to know exactly why I came, don't you?"

Jess nodded. "If you don't mind."

She hesitated, then looked him straight in the eye. "Because . . . you didn't say goodbye."

Jess was caught off-guard. He certainly wasn't expecting that.

She looked at him for a moment longer before nodding her head slowly. "Okay then." She held out her good arm, and Jess handed her bookbag to her. She grinned.

"Hand it over."

Jess smiled back and pulled the Go-Gos record from behind his back. "Are you sure you want that in your house?"

"'Vacation' is an absolute classic," Rory answered. She smiled again. "I guess I'll see you around then." Rory turned and began walking toward her bus.

Jess watched her leave, then called after her, "Goodbye." He saw her turn briefly and smile, and in that moment he didn't think her eyes had ever been brighter. But just as quickly, she turned back and disappeared into the throngs of bus-riders.

He didn't leave immediately, though. And this was a fortunate thing, because ninety seconds later she pushed her way back to him. Jess was imagining a last-minute kiss, a declaration of love, then --

"The bus left already!" Rory cried despairingly.

He snapped out of his visions of a Hollywood-esque ending. "What do you mean?"

"I missed the bus!" she said impatiently. "Time that I spent defending my mom's musical taste to you should have been spent boarding a bus to take me to said mother's business school graduation!"

"Well," Jess said calmly, "are there any leaving for Hartford again soon?"

"I don't know," she said. She grabbed his hand and began weaving them through the people. "There's an information booth over there."

Rory and Jess approached the counter of the booth. "Excuse me," Rory said to the blonde reading Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Rory shuddered inwardly at the girl's chosen reading material, then asked, "When's your next bus to Hartford?"

The girl turned to the computer, typed in an impossibly quick command, and told Rory, "The last one left a few minutes ago."

"But . . . but surely there's another one," Rory said helplessly.

"Well, since I just said the last one left already, surely there's not," the girl said, picking up her book and beginning to read again.

Rory turned to Jess, dumbfounded. "Now what?"

________________________________________________________________________

They stood outside the bus station. Rory rummaged through her bookbag, triumphantly pulling out two quarters. "Ah-hah! Now I can call Mom."

She walked to a nearby pay phone and inserted a quarter. With trembling fingers, she dialed the numbers to her mother's cell phone.

"Hello?" Lorelai answered on the first ring.

"Mom," Rory said. She had a feeling this would be their worst fight ever. Worse than the one they had had a few weeks ago after Jess left.

"Rory!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Oh, I hope you're on your way. My mother is here, and she's hired a professional photographer, and --"

"Mom," Rory interrupted. "I'm not going to be there."

Silence.

"What?"

"I'm in New York City, Mom," Rory said. "And I can't get back until tomorrow."

"Why are you in New York?" Lorelai was struggling to keep from shouting. "Why aren't you in school? The school that made me come groveling to my parents for money, and is now the source of the pure embarrassment that I am feeling as a man that I don't even know is asking for a repositioning of the stage in my name?"

"I came to say goodbye to Jess," Rory answered. She closed her eyes and waited.

"Well, sweetie, you got it backwards. You don't visit someone to say goodbye to them," Lorelai said. "You say goodbye to them when you leave!"

"I know," Rory said, close to tears. "But he didn't do that."

"I'm not even going to ask what you mean by that," Lorelai said. "Look, I'm coming to pick you up."

"No!" Rory cried. "You can't skip your graduation."

"Uh, yeah I can. And I am. Where should we meet? I'm sure you know the city fairly well by now."

"Mom, wait. I have an idea." She genuinely didn't want Lorelai to miss graduation, even though she knew it wouldn't be the same without her there. "I'll stay here tonight."

"'I'll stay here tonight,' she says, as though it's no big deal," Lorelai said sarcastically. "And just where do you plan on staying?"

Rory looked at Jess, who had moved closer to her. "I'll stay with Jess." She regretted it as soon as it came out.

Jess' eyes widened.

"You have got to be on something. That's the only way you could be saying these things," Lorelai said.

"Mom, he's not an axe murderer," Rory pointed out.

"Do you really want to be getting sarcastic at this point in time?"

Rory sighed. "Mom. Do you have a better idea other than skipping out on your graduation to come get me? Besides . . . I think we probably need time to cool off before we ride back in a small compartment together."

"You need time?" Lorelai screeched. "What do you need --" She stopped. "All right. Fine. Point taken."

"All right. Now, look, I'll just stay with Jess for the night."

"I swear to God, if he does anything to you --"

"And then," Rory went on loudly, drowning the second half of her mother's sentence out, "I'll call you in the morning to agree on a place where I can take a cab to and you can pick me up."

"All right," Lorelai said, a note of defeat in her voice. "Um . . . just call me in the morning then, I guess. Right. Just like you said a minute ago."

"I will," Rory said softly. "Goodbye."

"Bye." Lorelai hung up.

Rory replaced the pay phone and looked at Jess. "So, it's okay if I stay with you, right?"

"It's more than okay."

Rory nodded. "Okay, then."

"But why don't we go do some other stuff first?" he suggested. "My place is boring. I could show you around a little more."

Rory was hesitant. Was she supposed to be enjoying herself at this time? She felt as though she should be paying penance of some sort.

"You don't have to feel guilty, you know," Jess said. "You screwed up. Perfect Rory Gilmore made a mistake, and the world keeps on turning."

In spite of his mocking tone, Rory was amazed at the way he had seemingly read her mind. She couldn't remember the last time Dean had done that. Had he ever done it?

"Come on. There's this great bookstore I want to show you," Jess persisted.

He knew just how to get to her. Rory smiled. "Okay. Let's go to the bookstore."

Jess set off onto the New York street, Rory following closely behind. She had a good feeling -- despite the fact that her mother was upset with her and the growing feeling of betraying Dean, she was glad to be able to stay with Jess for a little while longer.