The All-American Reject
By stella maynard
Summary: He's the town's bad boy and troublemaker. She's the sweetheart of Stars Hollow. They are total opposites and they seem perfect for each other. But is their relationship meant to last? Or is it doomed to burn like one of his cigarettes?
Disclaimer: I don't own Rory, Jess, Stars Hollow or any of its inhabitants, A Room With a View, or any other book/author I may mention. They all belong to whomever they belong to.
Chapter 1: The Start of Something New
The sky was blue and cloudless, the trees swayed in the gentle breeze, and Stars Hollow was the picture of the perfect fairy tale town. If you ventured down Plum Lane, you would even see two girls, braids in their hair, skipping towards the town center hand-in-hand. But Lorelai Leigh Gilmore was oblivious to all of this. At the moment, she was on her way to London, trekking down lonely dirt roads in her bare feet – while sitting on a bench in the town square. So engrossed was she in the troubles of young Oliver Twist that she did not notice as a dark-haired young man exited the diner and walked briskly over to her. She did not even realize when he sat down on the bench and turned to stare at her. After a moment, he leaned over and snatched the book from her hands.
"Hey! What do you think you're – " Rory began hotly but was cut off as the boy quickly put his lips on hers. She was surprised, but soon lost herself in the kiss.
When they broke apart, Rory smiled at the boy who was now watching her intently. "Hey, Jess. You're quite the Dodger, aren't you?"
"Yep," replied the dark-haired young man as he pulled her close and linked hands with his girlfriend of a month. "I steal books. And kisses," he added with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.
Rory laughed. "Really? I consider myself warned. What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to work until four today."
Jess smirked. "Huh, you don't say? Well, here I am."
Grinning, Rory said, "Good. Then you can come with me."
Standing, she pulled on his hand, trying to make him join her. Jess refused. He looked up at Rory suspiciously. Her light brown hair fell in soft ringlets around her face, her blue eyes sparkled mischievously. "Where are you taking me?" he demanded.
Shaking her head, Rory leaned in close towards his face. She pressed a light kiss on his lips. Just as he tried to pull her to him and deepen the kiss, she pulled back and started walking away.
Jess groaned. "You're a tease, Gilmore!" he called after her retreating back. She smiled over her shoulder and winked. Thankfully, she wasn't the awkward winker her mother was. The sunlight made her hair glow against her blue sweater. Sighing, he stood and hurried after her.
As he caught up with her, he lightly placed his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer. She leaned into him and said with a smile in her voice, "I knew you couldn't resist me."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't get cocky," Jess warned.
She feigned innocence. "Me? Never! I'm shocked that you would ever think such a thing. I'm flabbergasted, hurt, bewildered – " She broke off with a squeal as she spotted her destination and began to drag him towards the bookstore.
Lorelai Leigh Gilmore was acting in her typical fashion. She did not appear to be your average teenage girl embarking on her senior year of high school. For one thing, she still looked forward to school and gave all her effort on each and every class assignment. She enjoyed reading, extensively. When asked, the inhabitants of Stars Hollow always said the same things of Rory: "She's such a sweet girl. She's always reading or helping us with town events. She's going to reach the top, that girl. Her mother raised her right, even if they are a bit strange. She never caused any trouble at all. You cannot find a better, nicer girl than Rory Gilmore." A pause would generally follow, then a question in a bewildered tone. "What is she doing with that boy?"
"That boy," of course, referred to Jess Mariano. Stars Hollow had never seen the likes of him before, and for that they were grateful. Dressed in all black, even in the summer, Jess stood out from the unbelievably chipper town. He first arrived at the end of his sophomore year after his mother, Liz, gave up on him. Although the two hadn't been close, they had only had each other, plus whoever happened to be Liz's current boyfriend. Jess's father had left them shortly after his birth. Jess came to stay with his Uncle Luke, though he usually just called him by his first name. The man ran and owned the diner where Jess worked after school. With the boy's colorful language and cigarettes, the town was blown away. They wondered how he had ever managed to befriend Rory, especially since he was accused of stealing from the grocery shop, vandalizing a store, and egging the town square. But the two bonded over their love of books. When Rory broke up with her first boyfriend, the town was shocked that she began to date him of all people. They were sure he would corrupt their angel, but the girl remained her usual sweet self.
But at the moment, the two did not seem odd together, discounting the fact that Jess was actually smiling. He only seemed to let his guard down around Rory, as he proved by those rare smiles. The town had gotten used to seeing Rory with her moody companion.
They entered Paperbacked, the local bookstore owned by Andrew, and went to opposite sides of the small room. They browsed and consulted one another.
"Hey, Jess? Have you read A Room with a View?"
"Get the movie, much less confusing, great actors, stays true to the story. Look, Persuasion. You like Austen," he suggested.
"True, but Pride and Prejudice is better," Rory murmured before emitting a squeal. "Dickens! Any recommendations?"
"Oliver Twist is good, but you already have that one, of course," Jess smirked at her while walking over to look at the selection. "I'd stay away from Hard Times, really strange with the whole circus and clown thing it has going. Great Expectations, too, you know, with Miss Havisham, her dress, her clocks, her cake. A Tale of Two Cities is kind of dark, but hopeful, like yours truly." She swatted him with the book in question. "You could also try Nicholas Nickleby or The Pickwick Papers."
Jess watched, amused, as she read the summary of each of his picks and placed all of them on top of her already large pile of books to purchase. He raised his eyebrows at her.
"What?" she asked, confused at his interest.
"You know," he said with a mocking grin, "it is possible to overdose on Dickens. You should try to sober up with some Hemingway."
"Never!" Rory gasped. She turned back to the stacked shelves and picked out a thick paperback. "Here, you try this. I know you'll like it."
Jess glanced incredulously at the cover of that book she had pressed firmly in his hand. "Little Women?"
She nodded her head; he shook his. "I'm not reading this."
"Yes, you are. Now be quiet and help me find some more things. These won't last very long," she said, gesturing to the pile that already reached her knees with one hand while tracing her finger across books on the shelves, whispering the titles as she searched, every once in a while pulling one out to skim the back cover.
Three hours later, Rory and Jess struggled out of Paperbacked. Each was holding a large bag overflowing with books. On the top of Jess's pile was a brand new copy of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.
Music: "The Start of Something New" from Disney's High School Musical
Author's Note: And that the first chapter. A sort of introduction. What do you think so far? Any suggestions? I made a few changes, mainly because I can't remember the details of what happened on the show, but the essentials are the same. Each chapter will be a song title (I do not own any of the songs in case you were wondering) that fits with the mood of the chapter. If you have any ideas, I welcome them. And yes, I do watch the Disney Channel faithfully, not ashamed to admit it. Please review! I'd love to read your comments! Also, I could not remember the name of the bookstore in Stars Hollow, so I made one up. This story will probably follow the basic plot of the show for a time, but it will change, so stay tuned and please review!