NOTE: You know what I say. Screw the timeline. This is supposed to take place right after "Love, Daisies & Troubadours", but Jess is in this story.
"You go first!" they said in unison, grabbing at each other and jumping around like young girls.
With a smile on her face, still giddy, Lorelai said, "Max asked me to marry him!" Her smile slowly faded as she saw the look on Rory's face. The once happy Rory now looked as though she'd seen a dog get run over. "Rory, what is it, honey?"
"Uh, nothing.." she said, not making eye contact with Lorelai. "You know what, I'll meet you back at home, okay?" Rory kissed her mom on the cheek lightly, turned and started to walk home, hands in pockets.
Lorelai made a face to herself. "Did I say something wrong?" She shrugged and looked over to Luke's place. A small crowd had gathered around the front. A crowd? Luke's Diner was popular, but it was never that crowded. Lorelai began to walk across the street to see what the commotion was.
She squeezed herself through the crowd, muttering an "excuse me" here and there, and she eventually found herself at the front of the crowd. She tilted her head and started to laugh. Everyone's head snapped to look at her with ice-cold glares.
The traffic light that Taylor has just recently put up infront of the dinner was completely vandalized. The traffic light was adorned with different spray paint colors and toliet paper. Within the crowd, Lorelai could hear people muttering different things: "How could this happen? In Star's Hollow of all places?", "What will Taylor say when he sees this?", "I betcha it was that cute nephew of Luke's" and "Mommy, I'm hungry"..
Lorelai continued to look at the now defunct traffic light as she entered the dinner. "Hey Luke! Quite a crowd out there. Since when did you become Star's Hollow's Man of the Moment?"
Luke was behind the counter pouring an elderly woman a cup of coffee as Lorelai made her way to the counter.
"Coffee?" he asked her.
"You know me all too well. You think we were separated at birth?"
Luke got Lorelai's cup from behind the counter and proceeded to fill it up. "I hope not," he said. "So, where's Rory? She's usually with you for your..." Luke put down the pot and looked at his watch, "... 7:13 coffee break. Honestly, how can you have caffeine this late in the evening?"
"The world will never know; it's like that damn owl on those commercials!" she said and took her coffee. She picked up the mug and took a sip, savoring the taste. "But, um, Rory said she'd meet me at home."
"That doesn't seem like her," he observed.
"Yeah.. but, I *think* it's because of what I told her," she said.
"What did you tell her?" he inquired.
"I told her that Ma--"
The door behind Lorelai slammed opened, followed by a scream of "LUKE DANES!!!"
"Taylor Doose!" Luke shot back.
Taylor didn't seem at all affected. He walked to the counter and stood uncomfortably close to Lorelai. "Don't get smart with me Luke. I know what you did to my traffic light out there!"
"The traffic light?" Luke asked, completely oblivious. "Ooh! That traffic light! The traffic light that you knew I hated with a burning passion, yet with every attempt with Star's Hollow laws I could not go against you to take that damn thing and move it to some other street corner because you knew very well that it would tick me off? How could you accuse me of doing anything to vandalize that light?"
Lorelai held in her laughter as she motioned for Luke to breathe between sentences.
Taylor was infuriated. He stood there for a few moments, stuttered a few vowels, screamed "I'll get you, Luke Danes!" and stormed out of the diner. The diner folk went back to eating their food.
".. And your little dog too!" Lorelai chimed in. "Wow, I've never seen Taylor flip out like that in, like.. a day. Is that a new record?"
"He just wants to get Jess in trouble," he said.
"Jess? You think he did that?" Lorelai asked.
As Lorelai finished her sentence, Jess made his way down the stairs from the apartment above, grabbed his jacket and started to make his way to the door.
"Jess, where do you think you're going?" Luke asked.
"I think I'm going out," he answered, his back facing the counter. "Away. Off. Afar. Therefrom. Forth. Would you care for some other synonyms?"
"Hold on a moment, boy," Luke said as Jess turned around. "Do you know anything about the traffic light outside?"
"Uh, that it's a traffic light?"
"Did you vandalize Taylor's traffic light, because he came in here, yelling at ME, telling ME that he's out to get ME and that he's going to find some way to get back at ME. Now, I think you're seeing a pattern of ME.. and you know perfectly well that I'm not this self involved; now did you do it?"
Jess stared at Luke and Lorelai for a moment and then he innocently smirked and left the diner, as Luke, for the first time ever, burst out saying, "Yeah! Go Jess!"
******
Rory slammed the door as she threw her coat onto the floor. She stood there, tears falling down her cheeks and her clothing a-mess from her frustration.
"Why? Why does she even bother finding a guy? I just don't get it!" Rory said to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror. She wiped her tears and straightened herself out.
"You know what, if she needs me, she'll know where to find me." With that, Rory walked out the door, leaving without even a note.
******
Lorelai walked up the steps to her house, muttering to herself. "I couldn't tell Luke. I can't. Not yet." She reached for the doorknob and turned; it was unlocked.
Still muttering, "Okay, okay.. we're very friendly. Open doors to all. No need to be alarmed." She made her way into the foyer and saw Rory's jacket laying on the floor. "And we're very messy.. nothing wrong with that."
Lorelai shut the door behind her and called out for-- "Rory! Rory, honey.. where are you?"
Silence.
"Rory! This isn't the best time to play hide and seek with your soon-to-be-worried mother!" she called out. Moments passed. "Okay, I'm worried now! Rory!!!"
She continued to mutter to herself as she walked to the kitchen entrance to peer in. "My daughter is going to be the poster-child for missing children on milk cartons!" No sign of Rory in the kitchen. She made her way to Rory's bedroom and saw it empty.
Lorelai sighed heavily as she muttered finally to herself, "Not again..."
"You go first!" they said in unison, grabbing at each other and jumping around like young girls.
With a smile on her face, still giddy, Lorelai said, "Max asked me to marry him!" Her smile slowly faded as she saw the look on Rory's face. The once happy Rory now looked as though she'd seen a dog get run over. "Rory, what is it, honey?"
"Uh, nothing.." she said, not making eye contact with Lorelai. "You know what, I'll meet you back at home, okay?" Rory kissed her mom on the cheek lightly, turned and started to walk home, hands in pockets.
Lorelai made a face to herself. "Did I say something wrong?" She shrugged and looked over to Luke's place. A small crowd had gathered around the front. A crowd? Luke's Diner was popular, but it was never that crowded. Lorelai began to walk across the street to see what the commotion was.
She squeezed herself through the crowd, muttering an "excuse me" here and there, and she eventually found herself at the front of the crowd. She tilted her head and started to laugh. Everyone's head snapped to look at her with ice-cold glares.
The traffic light that Taylor has just recently put up infront of the dinner was completely vandalized. The traffic light was adorned with different spray paint colors and toliet paper. Within the crowd, Lorelai could hear people muttering different things: "How could this happen? In Star's Hollow of all places?", "What will Taylor say when he sees this?", "I betcha it was that cute nephew of Luke's" and "Mommy, I'm hungry"..
Lorelai continued to look at the now defunct traffic light as she entered the dinner. "Hey Luke! Quite a crowd out there. Since when did you become Star's Hollow's Man of the Moment?"
Luke was behind the counter pouring an elderly woman a cup of coffee as Lorelai made her way to the counter.
"Coffee?" he asked her.
"You know me all too well. You think we were separated at birth?"
Luke got Lorelai's cup from behind the counter and proceeded to fill it up. "I hope not," he said. "So, where's Rory? She's usually with you for your..." Luke put down the pot and looked at his watch, "... 7:13 coffee break. Honestly, how can you have caffeine this late in the evening?"
"The world will never know; it's like that damn owl on those commercials!" she said and took her coffee. She picked up the mug and took a sip, savoring the taste. "But, um, Rory said she'd meet me at home."
"That doesn't seem like her," he observed.
"Yeah.. but, I *think* it's because of what I told her," she said.
"What did you tell her?" he inquired.
"I told her that Ma--"
The door behind Lorelai slammed opened, followed by a scream of "LUKE DANES!!!"
"Taylor Doose!" Luke shot back.
Taylor didn't seem at all affected. He walked to the counter and stood uncomfortably close to Lorelai. "Don't get smart with me Luke. I know what you did to my traffic light out there!"
"The traffic light?" Luke asked, completely oblivious. "Ooh! That traffic light! The traffic light that you knew I hated with a burning passion, yet with every attempt with Star's Hollow laws I could not go against you to take that damn thing and move it to some other street corner because you knew very well that it would tick me off? How could you accuse me of doing anything to vandalize that light?"
Lorelai held in her laughter as she motioned for Luke to breathe between sentences.
Taylor was infuriated. He stood there for a few moments, stuttered a few vowels, screamed "I'll get you, Luke Danes!" and stormed out of the diner. The diner folk went back to eating their food.
".. And your little dog too!" Lorelai chimed in. "Wow, I've never seen Taylor flip out like that in, like.. a day. Is that a new record?"
"He just wants to get Jess in trouble," he said.
"Jess? You think he did that?" Lorelai asked.
As Lorelai finished her sentence, Jess made his way down the stairs from the apartment above, grabbed his jacket and started to make his way to the door.
"Jess, where do you think you're going?" Luke asked.
"I think I'm going out," he answered, his back facing the counter. "Away. Off. Afar. Therefrom. Forth. Would you care for some other synonyms?"
"Hold on a moment, boy," Luke said as Jess turned around. "Do you know anything about the traffic light outside?"
"Uh, that it's a traffic light?"
"Did you vandalize Taylor's traffic light, because he came in here, yelling at ME, telling ME that he's out to get ME and that he's going to find some way to get back at ME. Now, I think you're seeing a pattern of ME.. and you know perfectly well that I'm not this self involved; now did you do it?"
Jess stared at Luke and Lorelai for a moment and then he innocently smirked and left the diner, as Luke, for the first time ever, burst out saying, "Yeah! Go Jess!"
******
Rory slammed the door as she threw her coat onto the floor. She stood there, tears falling down her cheeks and her clothing a-mess from her frustration.
"Why? Why does she even bother finding a guy? I just don't get it!" Rory said to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror. She wiped her tears and straightened herself out.
"You know what, if she needs me, she'll know where to find me." With that, Rory walked out the door, leaving without even a note.
******
Lorelai walked up the steps to her house, muttering to herself. "I couldn't tell Luke. I can't. Not yet." She reached for the doorknob and turned; it was unlocked.
Still muttering, "Okay, okay.. we're very friendly. Open doors to all. No need to be alarmed." She made her way into the foyer and saw Rory's jacket laying on the floor. "And we're very messy.. nothing wrong with that."
Lorelai shut the door behind her and called out for-- "Rory! Rory, honey.. where are you?"
Silence.
"Rory! This isn't the best time to play hide and seek with your soon-to-be-worried mother!" she called out. Moments passed. "Okay, I'm worried now! Rory!!!"
She continued to mutter to herself as she walked to the kitchen entrance to peer in. "My daughter is going to be the poster-child for missing children on milk cartons!" No sign of Rory in the kitchen. She made her way to Rory's bedroom and saw it empty.
Lorelai sighed heavily as she muttered finally to herself, "Not again..."