Disclaimer: I got nothing.
Rating: PG-ish
A/N: I always liked it when Jess and Dean got into verbal arguments and I always just really like the conversations that Jess and Rory have, so I decided to write some of my own. This isn't really meant to have a plot... it's just supposed to be a little part of their lives or whatever. Set in Rory's senior year of high school. I have no clue when They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They? took place- I guessed November sixth, but I know I'm way off. Oh well. Oh, and Jess (obviously) hasn't met his father yet, or moved to California. Rory and Jess are still dating and all that good stuff. And this is in Dean's POV for part, and Jess's for the other. Lyrics are from Grant Lee Phillip's Mona Lisa (I'm rather obsessive over that song). Reviews? Love me?
Dedicated to: T., for the fact that I've had her story done for over a month and still haven't been able to get it perfect for her. I'm a terrible person—but I love you, and I will get it done eventually!
Title: Pixie Sticks
You're the last of your kindMona Lisa
With a wink of your eye
Make it all right
Oh there's more left to life
Mona Lisa
Let me take you along
For the ride
Dean
"Don't you have a life?"
"I appear to be breathing," I answer.
"Yeah, that appears to be all you do."
"Is there a reason you're standing here?"
"Like lines."
"And you ask me if I have a life?"
"Snap- the bagboy just came up with a comeback. Too bad that I don't have a pencil- I could write it down, you know, for memory's sake and all."
"What do you want, Jess?" I ask impatiently. He throws a bag onto the counter.
"I've been waiting for you to check this out for the past ten minutes."
"That can't be true because just five minutes ago you were mauling Rory."
"Huh, so you were timing. Hey, did you catch the part where we were making out near the soda? Because I gotta tell you, that was pretty priceless."
"I'm ignoring you."
"Never told you to listen." I grab the bag of Pixie Sticks he threw on the counter and ring it out.
"Two dollars."
"I thought you could get two for three dollars."
"Where's the other bag?" I ask, raising my eyebrows simply. He smiles and hands me the other bag of Pixie Sticks. I don't move for a second. I wonder if there's anything I can hit him with so Taylor can't see... I look around quickly before rolling my eyes. It's just Jess. Jess, who lives to piss me off. Why the hell should I lose my job just to punch him?
"If you could hurry this up, I kinda want to get out of here before the store closes."
Punching him wouldn't really be so bad. Taylor probably wouldn't see. He's on the other side of the store. Maybe if I did it quick, he wouldn't be able to tell.
"And why is Jess Mariano in such a hurry this afternoon?" I ask sarcastically as he rifles through his back pocket, trying to find three dollar bills. He looks up at me for a minute before going back to his search.
"Really sure you wanna know?" he asks innocently, handing me a dollar bill. I take it and wait for the other two to appear.
"Sure. It's been a slow day." Jess shrugs, and hands me another bill. It's crumpled and somebody traced all around the edges. I no longer wonder what he's up to when he's supposed to be in school.
"Well, what do you do on a Saturday night when your girlfriend's mom isn't home?" My eyes shoot up, and he watches me for a moment before smirking. He takes the final dollar bill out of his pocket and hands it to me. I put it in the cash register and slam the door loudly.
"Just joking- Jesus, keep slamming that and you're gonna break it. But I'll be honest with you for a minute here Dean. Did you notice the day?"
"It's the sixth."
"And what happy event occurred on November the sixth, six months ago?"
Rory broke up with me and started going out with Jess. I'm guessing my face conveys what I'm feeling as Jess opens his mouth to speak again.
"Ah damn, did I say too much?" he asks mockingly.
"You think you're bugging me?" I ask loudly, leaning slightly towards him. His eyes never waver from me and he sticks his hands inside his coat pockets, shrugging.
"I think you're holding onto those pixie sticks just a little too tightly." I ignore him and answer my own question.
"You aren't. Incase you forgot, I broke up with Rory."
"Yeah, sorry again about that. Harsh break, man," he says. "Look, can I have my stuff now? I did pay for it and all."
"You think she won't break up with you?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Get over yourself." He stops talking for a minute, and if I wasn't me and if he wasn't an ass, I would laugh. Silence. Finally.
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," he says, his voice lowering. "I hate to be the one to end this moment, but I do really need to get on my merry way."
"So you really don't think that Rory's going to break up with you? You think she cares about you? Even a little? I thought that. Look where it got me," I say, and Jess shifts on his feet, his hands tightening. And I thought I would never be able to provoke him enough to fight me. Interesting.
He opens his mouth to retort before a loud buzzing noise interrupts him. He stares at me for another minute before searching inside his coat pocket, finally pulling out a cell phone.
"Yeah? Hey," he says, turning away from me. His voice lowers and I place the plastic bag onto the counter. I try to busy myself with organizing the change in the cash register. I don't manage to loud enough, because I still hear his damn voice talking.
"... I got the pixie sticks, so dying really wouldn't help you there... yeah. I know.... I'll be there soon.... that was unexpected.... it's fine. This is me not caring...." he breaks off, laughing slightly. "OK. It's fine. Luke wanted me back by one anyway.... there's a first time for everything. We should get there by seven. All right. Bye." He hangs up abruptly, and turns back to face me. He takes the bag and I look up at him.
"Problem?" I ask.
"No problem. Just wondering why you're so desperate."
"Desperate," I repeat slowly, trying to figure out exactly what he's going to say next. He shrugs and leans his elbows on the counter, striking a conversational pose. I try not to roll my eyes and shut the cash register again.
"Yeah. I mean, it's obvious that you still want Rory."
"I have a girlfriend," I remind him. He nods and snaps his fingers sarcastically.
"What's her name again? Lindy?"
"Lindsay," I say through clenched teeth. "Look, take your bag and get the hell out of here." He holds up his hands, surrendering.
"Hey, I'm just pointing out the facts here. Lindsay's apparently not a good rebound girlfriend, that's all. I mean, if you're still wanting Rory, that's not a good sign," he notes, and takes his bag off from the counter. "Now, I'm feeling generous, so I'll give you some advice."
"Lucky me," I mutter under my breath.
"Look, get over Rory. She's never gonna go out with you again so why bother wasting your time on her?" he asks. I stare at him for a moment and he begins to talk again. "Besides, no offense, your whole 'stalker-ex-boyfriend' shit is kind of annoying. Really good way to kill a moment though," he adds on.
"Jess, if you don't shut the hell up and clear-."
"Hey guys!" I stop talking and turn around. Rory's standing a few feet away, wringing her hands together in front of herself. I look over at my shoulder at Jess. He waves obnoxiously at her and holds up the bags of pixie sticks. She smiles wearily at him.
"I thought you said you would be there soon."
"Got a little held up." She stares at him for a moment, then looks over at me.
"So... what's up?" she asks awkwardly. I shrug, looking down at the ground before looking back up at her. If she wasn't so beautiful... she's wearing a white skirt and blue shirt, and her hair's all wavy... for the first time, I notice that Jess isn't wearing jeans but black pants and a button up shirt.
"Not too much. Something going on tonight?" I ask, motioning towards her outfit. She blushes, and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She bites her lip, and looks back at me.
"Usual stuff," she says, and Jess slowly wanders over to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist casually. "Did you pay?" she asks him, and he nods.
"Yep."
"So you're ready?"
"Seems like it." Rory gives me a small half wave, and turns to leave the store. Jess stays behind for a minute, and then starts to leave.
"Hey, we'll have to have this talk again some time," he says as he finally leaves. I sigh and turn back to the cash register. Miss Patty's in line and I begin to check all of her things. She smiles widely at me, and glances out the window again.
"Doesn't Rory look beautiful tonight?" she asks pleasantly.
"She looks nice," I say mechanically, and Miss Patty starts to talk again.
"To be young and in love."
Jess
"We're taking Luke's truck?"
"Yes we are."
"What happened to your car?"
"It ran away."
"I hope you're not being serious," she says nervously, frowning.
"Go ask Gypsy," I tell her, cocking my head towards the other side of the road. She looks over and sighs.
"It broke down again?"
"Appears that way," I agree, as we continuing walking slowly towards Luke's. Rory wraps an arm around my waist and leans her head against my shoulder. Without thinking, I follow suit.
"So, wanna tell me why you got this desperate urge for Pixie Sticks?" I question, looking down at her. She shrugs carelessly.
"Just wanted 'em. I haven't had them in a while."
"You just ate a bag of these last week when we were watching Garden State."
"Hey, I only ate half of the bag that time," she retorts, smiling to herself. I roll my eyes as she continues speaking. "And besides, I distinctly remember you eating three of them at the same time."
"You told me to do that," I remind her. She blushes, but quiets down for a moment. We reach Luke's after a moment and stop outside of the diner. Rory takes the grocery bag from my hand, motioning towards the door.
"Do you wanna get the keys and I'll wait out by the truck?" she suggests.
"Sure," I say, and she turns to walk over to the vehicle. I watch her for a moment before walking inside the diner, the door closing softly behind me. Luke looks up from where he is at the counter.
"I thought you were gonna be gone for the evening," he says in a monotone voice.
"Close your eyes and pretend I am," I suggest, heading towards the stairs.
"Where are you going?"
"I need your keys."
"And my money, and my home, and a job... I'm sensing a trend." I stop walking and turn around to look at him. I have about five thousand things I could to say to him right now, but every single one would probably end up in the Stars Hollow Gazette, stating how 'improper Jess Mariano's language' is. Jesus.
"My car broke."
"That's, what, the fifth time this week?"
"Sixth," I answer back. "So I need your keys to drive the truck."
"Who says you won't break it?"
"I promise I'll keep both eyes on the road," I say. I hold out my hand for the keys. "Come on, Luke."
"Where are you going, anyway?"
"To a magical land far, far away."
"How badly do you want the keys?" he asks, smiling sarcastically. I take a deep breath, looking away before meeting his eyes again. I begin to speak in a flat tone of voice.
"Rory and me are going to dinner. We'll eat. Maybe we'll talk if I'm lucky. We'll drive back to Stars Hollow. I'll drop her off at home. I'll come back here. That is what I'm doing tonight."
"Rules still stand. You're back here by one, Jess." He hands me the keys.
"Whatever," I say, closing the door to the diner loudly behind me. I walk over to the truck and hold up the keys to show Rory. She smiles brightly, waiting for me to unlock the car doors. I quickly get into the car and start to drive before Luke changes his mind.
"So," Rory begins, "where exactly are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise," I say, leaning my head back against the headrest.
"I don't like surprises."
"I know."
"Since I don't like surprises, you should probably tell me then what you're planning on doing with me," she hints, pouting slightly. I shake my head.
"Trust me."
"Hmm, no, don't feel like it. Tell me," she insists, laughing. "Come on, this whole six month anniversary dinner thing would be a lot more fun if we both had a say in where we were going."
"Eat your damn pixie sticks." She sighs melodramatically, but opens one up anyway.
"You really aren't going to tell me?"
"I'm really not going to tell you," I tell her.
"We shouldn't keep secrets from one another. It's bad for the relationship."
"Huh- what, did you hear that on Dr. Phil?"
"No, on Oprah," she says, in a 'duh' kind of voice.
"Sorry," I say plainly, "but I'm not gonna tell you."
"Jess," she says in a stern voice.
"Rory," I mock.
"Tell me!"
"I'm gonna ignore you now," I inform her, turning up the music. She sits quietly for a minute, before leaning over and turning the music back down.
"I'm not gonna-." She interrupts me before I can continue speaking though, placing her hand on my thigh to get my attention.
"Thanks."
"For?" I ask.
"This," she says simply. "And the pixie sticks."