Sumary: This could be possibly the last thing Jess Mariano ever expected to do. Who's the new girl in his life, and what is Rory not telling him?
A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you will all enjoy the first chapter of Inevitable. Sorry if it's not all that interesting as of yet, but basically I just needed to introduce the plot. I packed a lot of love into this small lovely little chapter, so please return it by reviewing. That's all for now, enjoy.
Chapter One
He's not sure when he had stopped thinking about her. Really thinking about her that is, because the truth is that despite where he is in his life, she is always in the back of his mind; a glint of blue in the distance, the whiff of coffee in the air when he leaves his apartment in the mornings. But it had been over four years since she had left his life for good, and somewhere along the line, he had stopped thinking about her as a possibility, and started moving on with his life.
He's done well he thinks. He's in a relationship now, has been for over six months – or was it seven - and he's working part-time at the Truncheon's new branch in New York, a few blocks away from his apartment building. He's kept in contact with Liz and his father, and talks to Luke every other week.
The only thing Jess isn't happy about is the one thing that is most important to him; writing. Because the truth is that his first book was written out of anguish; what he couldn't have, and hoped he would gain by writing his first novel. And now that he had finally let go, he felt as if he had let go of his muse too. In all honesty he was terrified; terrified that he would be writing as just him. He wasn't sure if he could do it without her.
"Jess, this is amazing! Really!"
Jess smirked at the appraisal, tapping his fingers absently against the arm of his chair. "Are you saying that as my editor, or the woman that I'm sleeping with?"
The woman across from him tried to hide a blush, a smile pulling at the edges of her lips. "Both".
"Well, it's not Hemmingway or anything."
"No offence, Jess, but there will never be another Hemmingway," he felt a pang, and he's not sure why, "but this comes close. The only thing the publishers wanted me to talk to you about was the deadline. Are you sure you can make it?"
"Yeah, it's no big deal."
"We're behind on schedule. You know it's not much trouble for me to extend the-"
"I said I'll be fine," Jess snapped, "I just haven't been able to write much lately, you know that."
There was a small pause, and Jess knew he had hurt her feelings. "Right…" she mumbled softly.
"Paige…"
"Umm…" she interrupted, shuffling through some papers on her desk distractedly, biting her lip. "So you mentioned on one of our first meetings that Charlie was going to be thrown into the system after his drunken father disappears, right?" she asked, not looking him in the eye.
Jess let his unspoken apology float away, instead giving her a small nod.
"If you're stuck for writing at the moment, you might find it useful to do some research, you know, tail some service workers, and visit some of the local orphanages. Since you said your protagonist was going to get thrown around a lot by the system, you're going to need to know a great deal about its inner workings."
"Thanks, Paige," he said with sincerity. He wasn't sure what had caused his small outburst before, but he was more than glad to have her as his editor. He wouldn't have gotten half as far as he had now without her guidance.
She looked up hesitantly, "So I'll see you at seven?"
x x x x
Jess thought he must really want this book of his to work out; either that or he was now officially insane. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to walk through this door, and he had driven all the way from New York to New Hampshire to do so. He glanced once more at the sign above the door, 'St. Mary's Orphanage', and with one last crazy thought, he entered.
Jess looked around the small and dreary room, pulling out his notebook as if to write notes – what the hell on, he was still to find out. He reached around his pockets for a pen, only to realise he hadn't brought one; as much as he may not like to admit, some things about him just hadn't changed. Scanning the room once more, his eyes fell upon a pencil that was lying unused on the single desk occupying the room, but noticing the old, tired looking women sitting beside it scribbling away on various papers, he decided his memory was as good as any.
"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?" He heard the lady call from her desk. He was turned away, looking at a painting of the very building – if you could call it that – that he was in now. He pretended not to hear her, and instead mulled over how ridiculous it was to have a painting of what you could step just two mitres outside to see.
"Excuse me," he heard again; louder this time, from beside him, "Is there something I could help you with?"
He turned to face her and shrugged, "Nope."
"Visiting hours are at nine, and are for certified volunteers only. So unless there is something I can help you with, I'm afraid you will have to leave the premises," she said dully.
"Is this for sale?" He asked sarcastically, pointing at the painting.
Her face turned cold, but then her eyes flickered to the notepad in his hand and her face lit up instantly.
"You're a reporter. At last. This way, please."
x x x x
In all the years Jess had lived, he had never seen so many kids in such a small residence. There were limited toys, all of which had to be shared, and some of the kids were practically wearing rags.
"We're so glad that they've finally sent someone to cover the story," The lady said from beside him, "We're supposed to only have resources for thirty-five, but right now there are over forty kids we're caring for. It's getting quite out of hand, and of course there has been a drop in the number of couples adopting. Write that down," She added.
Jess rolled his eyes at the fact that this lady felt she could order him around, but copied down what she had just said anyway.
"Hopefully if people become aware of our situation through your story there may be more couples wishing to adopt."
Jess was barely listening, as for some reason his eyes had been drawn to a young girl with auburn-brown hair sitting in the corner with a tattered copy of 'Oliver Twist'. As if she could feel his eyes upon her, she looked up, and her round, bright blue eyes met with his.
x x x x
"You what?"
"Do you want me to repeat myself, or was that just for dramatic effect?" Jess said with a hint of frustration, glancing over at the pair of bright blue eyes following his every pace. Fifulls of his uncle's laughter now sounded out of Jess' phone.
"This is a joke," Luke stated, "It has to be a joke. You, Jess Mariano..." Luke could barely finish over his laughter. "That has to be the funniest thing I've heard all day, and let me tell you, I've seen Kirk today."
Jess sighed feeling almost humiliated by his uncle's histaria, "This isn't a joke, I'm serious. I went to a court and everything."
There was silence on the other end, and Jess almost feared his uncle's reaction. "You're serious," he stated in awe, "You actually adopted a kid."
Jess didn't fail to notice his uncle's lack of reaction, which meant only one thing.
"A kid, Jess! This is a kid we're talking about here!" And there it was.
"Really? I had no idea," Jess retorted sarcastically.
"A kid is hard work, believe me, I would know! I mean, you out of all people… a kid Jess! A kid!"
"Okay, I get the picture already!"
"This is the stupidest thing you have ever done! Which, by the way, is a very long list! I mean, what the heck were you thinking, adopting a kid?"
Jess wiped his hand across his face, letting out a deep sigh as he glanced once more at the little girl sitting with her legs dangling off his couch, her wide eyes still watching his every move. "Look, I don't know what I was thinking, okay? I just… I dunno'… did it. She had nobody in that place."
"And you think that by adopting her you're giving her a better life? Jess, a kid is hard work-"
"Geez, I heard you the first time! And don't you think I know that?" Jess yelled, feeling increasingly aggravated by his uncle's lectures.
"Look, I have to go," he muttered, "I guess I'll catch up with you at a better time."
"Jess, I know I said all those things… but the kid… if you need any help… I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm here."
"Thanks, but I think I've got it," Jess replied coldly, hanging up the phone. He let out a few deep breaths before turning back to his living room. "So, Ellie," he said, addressing the small girl, "You hungry?"
She stared at him for a moment, unmoving. And then, as if terrified, she bounded off the couch and into his room, closing the door behind her. Jess sighed anxiously, running a hand through his hair.
"What the hell am I doing?"