AN: I wrote this story for my creative writing class, and loosely based it on Rory and Jess's relationship. The characters had other names, which I obviously got rid of, but some of the other info might be a little different (i.e. she didn't go to Yale). Even so, I hope you like it!
A Transitory Enchanted Moment
Rory sipped her champagne quietly, watching all the people from her corner of the room.
She hated come to parties alone. Well, technically, she hadn't come alone. She'd come with her best friend Kate and Kate's boyfriend Cooper, but of course they went off on their own the minute they arrived at the party. Now she was left to her own devices, in a room full of strangers. She wasn't even that much of a party person. She preferred having a quiet night in, ordering Chinese and reading a good book (The Great Gatsby often came to mind), then dancing and getting drunk, surrounded by hundreds of people she didn't know and would probably never see again.
She was alone on New Year's Eve. Was there any worse time to be alone? She sighed. Maybe Christmas, but New Year's was a close second.
She glanced at her watch. 11:12. She had enough time to get back home before midnight, and celebrate alone in her quiet apartment, watching Dick Clark and the ball drop in her pjs.
Rory turned to leave. She had gotten about halfway to the door when a familiar voice stopped her.
"Well, well, well, Ror, long time no see."
She stopped. It couldn't be him. She hadn't seen Jess in over two years. Last she heard, he was somewhere out in California. What was he doing back in New York City? She debated pinching herself, just to see if this was real.
When she turned around, she realized her ears hadn't deceived her. There he was, standing less than three feet away from her. She was speechless. When she was finally able to produce sounds, she stuttered, "Wha…..how…why….uh…"
He shrugged, and put his hands in his pockets. "Can we talk?" he asked.
She nodded, and he led her to a small couch, in a secluded area of the party.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he said, "for taking off like that."
"I don't know if it was a complete surprise," Rory replied. "Knowing the kind of guy you are, and what I did to you, I can't believe you actually wanted to see me again."
"Why wouldn't I? I really missed you."
"I missed you too. I've been pretty lonely since you've been gone." Will knew she wasn't exaggerating when she said this. They had been best friends in love. No one knew or understood her like he did, not even Kate or Logan.
They first met in their freshman year of high school, when they were assigned to work on an English project together. When deciding on authors, she casually brought up Marcel Proust, completely expecting his face to go blank. Surprisingly, he started a debate with her on the significance of involuntary memory in Remembrance of Things Past, and they had been inseparable ever since. Their debates on every author under the sun had been the most stimulating conversations she'd ever had. He was also the only guy she'd ever known who admitted to reading (and liking) Jane Austen.
It wasn't just their similar interests and intellects that had made them so compatible though. It was like they were on the exact same wavelength. He always seemed to know what she was thinking, and could tell how she was feeling sometimes before she had figured it out herself.
"I read your book – I had no idea you were a writer, _."
"Yeah, well…" he trailed off, clearly embarrassed. "What did you think?"
"Well, it's no Fitzgerald, but…" And they were off. Who knew how easy it would be from them to revert back to their old ways.
It struck her when she realized how much their relationship had reflected her favorite book. Like Daisy and Gatsby, Rory and Jess had always loved each other, and would probably never stop loving each other, but the timing had never been right. The first time they had gotten together, the end of their junior year of high school, he had been a young, teenage boy who was still trying to figure himself out. He needed to get out of that small town, see the world and what it had to offer. The second time, she was a senior in college and engaged, and found out he had gotten an apartment in the city, not too far away from where she was studying at Columbia. They'd had a passionate 3-month affair before he found out she was with someone else, and he disappeared.
Not that she was a bad person. She wasn't a slut, or a man-eater. She just couldn't stay away from him, no matter how hard she tried. Even though he had left again, she just knew that Jess was the person she was meant to be with. That was why she had broken off her engagement with Logan. Because he wasn't Jess.
He had always been a runner, though. Instead of confronting difficult situations, he would take off and not look back. Which is why this encounter was so surprising. He actually apologized for leaving her at the end of their high school career. They were talking, laughing, genuinely enjoying themselves.
She told him she wasn't married. He nodded, as if he'd already known, but he had the tiniest glimmer of hope in his eyes – he still had a chance with her. He was shocked at that, but didn't let on. He knew she was too good for him, so why wasn't she with anyone else? She was smart, and funny, and driven, and passionate, and even though she had used him to cheat on her fiancé, he still couldn't help being in love with her.
All of a sudden, they heard cheering from the partying crowd. Was it midnight already?
She turned to face him. "Happy New Year Jess," she said, and kissed him on the cheek. "See you around."
As she got up to leave, he spoke, "so do you think I could call you sometime, maybe?" he asked, hopeful.
"Yeah," she replied, smiling, "maybe."
It was a new year. Anything was possible
Please review! Thanks so much!