Authors Note: So, it has been FOREVER since I wrote something 'Literati.' Actually, my laptop crashed a few weeks ago and I found this on a disk when I was looking through some of them, trying to find anything that was saved (I didn't have most of my current writings saved, so I lost all of them.) Anyways, once I found this, I fixed it up and thought, 'Might as well post it up,' I know it's been done before, probably many times, but give it a chance! So that's what I'm doing. I hope you all enjoy it :) REVIEW please!!
* Rewrite for "Nag Hammadi Is Where They Found The Gnostic Gospels" *
Summery: Literati Rewrite for "Nag Hammadi" with a better ending, or so I think. Basically how I think the episode should have ended.
Apology
Jess Mariano slowly ambled up to the auto shop in Stars Hallow to pay the snarky black haired woman who ran the auto shop, Gypsy, the money he owed her. He had come back to Stars Hallow to retrieve his car, which he had recently found out that Luke had been the one to steal it. It seemed like so long ago that Jess had found out that his precious car had been stolen, it had been a piece of crap, but it was still Jess's car, and he loved that car.
When he entered the shop, he stopped awkwardly behind Gypsy. He ran his fingers through his hair and waited for her to notice him. When she does, she turned around sharply and glares at him.
She hands him the keys as he hands her over the money for the repairs, "There you go," he said. "That should be all of it."
Gypsy smiled cruelly, "Why, thank you for your pleasant business," she said sarcastically. Then her spiteful smile turned to a frown, "Do not come again." she snapped at him.
"Eh, that's pretty likely." Jess snapped back. "I don't plan on coming back anytime soon."
Jess didn't even want to be in Stars Hallow in the first place. There were so many people in the town that hated him now—for breaking town princess Rory Gilmore's heart—like she hadn't hurt him either! They both hurt each other many times. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to right out hate her. She was Rory and no one could deliberately hate Rory. He hated Stars Hallow and every single insane person in it. Well, maybe not everyone. In fact, he didn't really hate Stars Hallow. It had grown on him during his time there, but he couldn't admit that to anyone.
He got into his car and was about to pull out of the space when saw something white stuck under the drivers side visor. Curious, he pulled down on it impatiently and an envelope fell down on his lap. He looked at it closely. It didn't look familiar to him. He didn't place it there.
Jess decided to open the curious envelope. After tearing it open, he looked inside. What he found was not something he expected. Inside was money from Luke, money that Luke had given him to repair his car with. It was a kind gesture, and even though Luke acted like he didn't care about Jess—well he did and Jess knew this. Jess sighed heavily and looked at the money for a few moments. He decided that he needed to do the right thing. He needed to thank his uncle. So, before Jess left town for good, he opened his car down and started off towards his uncle's diner.
Jess walked aimlessly through around town in search for his uncle. He knew that he could be anywhere at this point. The firelight festival had already started and he knew that Lorelai had probably drug his love-stricken uncle out for a night on the town. Even though Luke tried to tell Jess that he wasn't interested in Lorelai, he had a girlfriend, Jess almost felt as if it was a cover-up.
"I'm NOT in love with Lorelai!" Luke had shouted at Jess when he teased him.
"Oh yeah?" Jess asked sarcastically, "Then why are you always following her around like a lovesick lap dog?" he smirked crookedly at his Uncle.
Luke growled at his nephew, "I do NOT follow her around all the time, Jess. We are friends, platonic friends, she had a boyfriend and I have a girlfriend. There is nothing between us." Luke then began to start ranting, Jess tuned him out like usual.
Jess rolled his eyes, "Did you know that your eye twitches when you lie?" he said randomly.
Luke stopped his rant, "Huh?"
"Yeah, you're eye—it twitches when you start lying. That's how I know that you are lying right now." Jess said proudly, the shit eating grin still on his face.
"Shut the hell up!" Luke responded.
"My, my, my, someone is getting a little defensive. It's called denial, dear Uncle." Jess laughed.
Luke groaned and ran his hand over his face, "I do not have time for this," he then retreated down to his diner, leaving a hysterical Jess in his wake.
Jess smiled upon the memory. It was one of the better times between he and his uncle. He loved Luke, he just had a weird way of showing it. He thought back on some of the times with his uncle—like the first time they met, when he dressed up like Luke just to annoy him, Luke pushing him into the lake on his and Rory's bridge, telling Luke about the swan attacking his eye…
"You don't believe me?" Jess accused.
Luke held back his laugher, "I've just heard no one use the work 'beaked' as a verb before."
"No! This isn't funny, that bird attacked me! He could have blinded me—it's a vicious, vicious bird!" Jess retorted, losing his patience. He was not going to be laughed at.
Jess left quickly and went and grabbed a ladle from under his Uncles diner counter.
"Jess," Luke sighed, "What in the hell are you doing now?"
Jess turned around angrily, "I'm going to do a little beaking of my own!" He then stormed out of the diner.
He had so many good memories with his Uncle, and he through that all away when he left without any goodbyes.
"Oh, then we can hold hands and skip afterwards."
Luke sighed, "Do you have some obsession with skipping and holding hands?"
Jess regretted it, he really did.
Jess continued to make his way around town, only now he began to think about Rory. If only he had told her the truth about the swan, they would have never fought and they would have still be together. If only he wouldn't have pressured her into sex. If only—Jess stopped himself short in his thoughts.
'Speak of the devil and she will appear,' Jess thought.
He stopped short when he ran into her. There she was, his ex-girlfriend, the town princess, the girl of his dreams, standing right in front of him. He had ran into her many times since he had come back to town, but this was the first time he actually got a good look at her. He stopped to study her closely.
She looked exactly the same as she did before he left, only she cut her hair. It was shorter now. Instead of going just past her shoulders, it came just past her chin. But, Jess had to admit, she still looked absolutely gorgeous in his eyes. Hair was hair, he didn't care. She was still Rory, the girl that he loved. The only girl he had ever loved. Jess wanted to run up to her and hug her, kiss her, tell her how much he missed her and how life was hell without her. He wanted to tell her he was sorry. But he knew that he couldn't, she wasn't his anymore.
Then, just at that moment, she finally noticed him looking at her. They both frozen in their spots, caught in one another's stare. Neither could get a word out of their mouth to the other. Suddenly, Rory broke from her trance.
"I get to leave first!" she yelled out, startling the both of them. Then she took off running in the opposite direction of Jess.
'You can't let her leave, apologize,' Jess's conscious told him.
"Rory! Wait!" Jess called after her. He started to chase her after her. Jess couldn't let her get away from him again, he wasn't going to run from his problem. No, he was going to go after it. It was about time that he actually grew a fucking pair and went after the one and only love of his life.
Rory ignored Jess's pleas and continued on her escape, "My town!" she said childishly, "I get to leave first this time!"
Jess sighed, still running after her. She was running hazardless, like she didn't know exactly where to go, "Rory wait, I just wanna—" Suddenly Rory darted in a completely different direction, effectively cutting Jess's words off.
The next words that Rory spoke effectively cut into his head, "Leave me alone!" She spat.
Jess shook it off and replied with, "We look like idiots!" He whined, still chasing her.
Rory knew this of course, but she didn't want Jess to know that he was right. She had too much pride right now and she wasn't going to let him get the best of her. She wouldn't, she couldn't let that happen.
"I don't care!" she yelled back to him.
All the people who were attending the festival stopped and stared at the ridiculous looking couple as they ran around in the streets, Jess chasing after Rory. They knew it had been bound to happen. Some of the town sided with Jess, hoping he could catch her and apologize, while most of them hoped his tripped and fell flat on his face. It is what he deserved after all.
"Stop running." he pleaded to her. Jess wasn't really comfortable with the fact that everyone was staring at them—watching their every move with critical eyes.
"Stop following!" Rory snapped back at him, cutting into his heart.
But, Jess knew he had to catch her. He started to run faster after her and finally caught up with her. Rory tried to run faster after him, but she wasn't much of a runner and Jess knew this. She was already panting as it was, he didn't want her to overexert herself. He reached out and grabbed her arm as firmly as he could without actually harming her in any way, that was the last thing that he wanted.
"Rory, please, I just want to talk to you." Jess was begging her, he knew this and he didn't care. If begging was what it took—well he would get down on his knees, kissing her feet if it was what she really wanted. Rory was his undoing, his everything. Jess wasn't one to get emotional, but Rory was different. He loved this girl.
Rory stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Jess's begging, causing him to run into her. She slowly turned around and finally got a good look at him for the first time since he came back.
She could not help but think about how cute he was. Rory had always found Jess cute, even when he first came to town and she was with Dean. He was still cute to her, even then and he still was now. Jess looked like he had matured a lot since she had last seen him. He still had it crazy black hair. It was just the way that she liked it. His eyes were the same. She stared into them and saw so many different emotions raging in their depths.
Pain. Fear. Sadness. Passion. Hope. And even love. This caused Rory to snap out of her thoughts and bring her back into reality. She wasn't going to let Jess's eyes fool her.
"What! What could you possibly have to say to me!" Rory yelled at him.
Jess couldn't believe she was actually speaking to him. Stupidly, he brain wasn't caught up with his mouth and he said the first thing that came to mind, "Where did you learn to run like that?"
Rory narrowed her eyes at him in sheer anger and pain. Now was her time to give him the big lecture that she had thought of every night since she had last seen him. Everyone thought that she was over him, but she wasn't. Jess, well, she had really loved him. Sometimes late at night she would lie in bed, thinking of him and what went wrong between them. She still dreamed about him and his dark eyes. He wouldn't leave her alone, even in her dreams.
"You know," Rory started, "I have imagined this moment hundreds of time. What would Jess possibly say to me if I he saw me again. I mean, he just took off and left me. No note. No card. Wait, he might have called me once. But I possibly couldn't know since he didn't have the guts to actually talk to me. For all I know, I could have been talking to an empty receiver. I heard nothing from him after that and you know, it kind of hurt me. Then a year goes by, a year, Jess! NO word from him at all. So, how could he possibly be able to explain that." Rory paused momentarily and took a look at her ex-boyfriend who was looking at her with such sad eyes that her next words came out completely broken and defeated, "I have pictured hundreds of different scenarios with a hundred different last parting lines and to tell you the truth I'm actually very curious to see how this goes."
Jess sighed and took in her words. He deserved them as much as he hated to admit it. He had hurt her more than he could ever possibly understand. He watched as she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for him to speak. "Can we sit down?" he asked her softly.
Rory narrowed her eyes again, "No! You wanted to walk so talk! What do you have to say to me?" she hissed out.
Jess took a deep breath and stared down at the ground for a few moments. Suddenly, the concrete and his converse where much more interesting than what was standing in front of him. He couldn't stand the cold stare she was giving him. It was her withering stare, and he had come to found out he didn't like to be on the receiving end of it.
He took another deep breath, trying to gather his bearings. He didn't have any excuses to give her. He knew that if he had any choice to say anything, he had to come right out and say it. No more beating around the bush, he had to say it.
He looked up and met her eyes, "I love you." Jess said.
His tone was firm, yet caring as he stared back at her.
Rory stared back at him in complete shock. She couldn't believe after all this time, after everything that had happened, after everything she had said to him, he still loved her. Jess loved her. Jess Mariano, rebel without a cause, loved her, Rory Gilmore, town princess.
"No, don't say that." Rory found herself saying. "You don't, you're lying."
Jess took a desperate step towards her. She took one back and he took another forward. This continued until she left the back of her legs come in contact with a bench. She fell down on to it and Jess knelt down in front of her, startling her with the seriousness in his eyes.
"I'm not lying Ror," he said softly. "I love you. I don't have a huge suck up speech for you, but I do love you. I'm sorry that I fucked everything up between us, it was stupid. I should have told you the truth when I got the black eye. I lied, I was beaked by a swan. A stupid, stupid swan and I was too afraid to tell you because you would laugh at me," he confessed. Rory stared at him. Her blue eyes were opened wide and beginning to fill with tears. He reached forward and wiped away the tears.
He continued, "I never should have pressured you that night at the party. You weren't ready for sex and I pressured you. Then I fought Dean. I was stupid, juvenile and I fucked up. I fucked everything up. I was a coward, I left you and I left everyone. I couldn't handle the fact that you hated me, that the town hated me. Everyone loved Dean. Dean was the perfect guy and I was the town fuck up. Everyone sided with him, even you. And I couldn't take it—I was a pussy Rory. It's no excuse for what I did but it's the truth. I'm back now though and I'm not backing down. I realized that I can't run from my problems anymore. I love you Rory, and I always will whether you feel the same or not. You are it for me." he said, his eyes glowing with love, "I'm going to talk to Luke, I need to apologize to him. And then afterwards I am going to tell him I'm staying. I can't stay away from you Rory. I can't stay away from this town. You crazies have got me stuck her now. I'm going to prove to you everything. I'll prove to you that I love you. I feel like such an idiot, I'm begging but I don't care."
Jess was never a man for words, in fact he rarely spoke long, dramatic sentences and her he had just given Rory a huge speech. She knew that it was straight from his heart, she knew he wasn't making things up. Rory felt her heart begin to burst with happiness. She couldn't help it, she loved this man sitting in front of her too. Jess took her silence as rejection and began to get up to leave. Rory couldn't let that happen. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her eyes level.
"Don't leave," she whispered.
Jess was shocked, but he managed to say, "Never again, never."
Rory stared at Jess's lips and thought about how much she had really missed kissing those soft lips. The next thing she knew, she was crashing her lips into his. She wrapped her arms around him quickly, holding him tight, not wanting to ever let go of him.
He squatted there in front of the bench, shocked for a couple seconds. Then quickly returns the returned the kiss. He couldn't waste his one chance to be with Rory again. As much as people might disagree, Jess wasn't stupid and he wasn't going to waste his last chance with Rory. He wrapped his arms around her in return, feeling how well she fit into his arms. They were made for each other, and he knew it.
Rory quickly deepened the kiss between the two of them. They felt as if sparks were flying everywhere, electricity flowing between them. They had both missed the feeling of just holding, touching and kissing each other. Rory sighed happily into Jess's mouth while he hummed contently back at her.
After a few more minutes they broke the kiss and looked into each others eyes. For the first time in nearly a year, they both had genuine smiles stretched across their faces.
He gently placed a kiss on her forehead and then rested his forehead against hers.
She looked at him from beneath her eyelashes shyly now. He grinned crookedly at her reaction and she managed to smile the biggest smile she ever had smiled.
"You have a lot to make up for," Rory sighed.
Jess nodded against her, he moved his head into the crook of her neck and kissed her collarbone softly, inhaling her familiar scent. "I know." he said.
"Monosyllabic Jess strikes again?" she giggled.
Jess nodded, "Yep. I love you," he said.
"I love you too," she answered back at him.
"Good." he said simply.
"The townsfolk won't be too happy with this," Rory muttered.
Jess smirked, "That's to be expected." He pushed her hair back and kissed on her neck more. Rory arched it back a little, letting him get better access.
Suddenly Rory pulled away, mischief sparkling in her eyes, "You get to tell my mother!" Then she took off.
Jess stood stunned, "Oh shit," he muttered, before taking off after his love. "Rory!"
Any thoughts? I know it's been a while but what do you think? Review please!