NOBODY SAID

PROLOGUE

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

Rory Gilmore caught a tear with the back of her hand. A small gust of wind blew into her form, as if to intensify the desolate feeling lurching inside her chest. She could do nothing as her eyes followed his figure walk away from her.

Suddenly, he stopped.

She bit her lip, praying for him to come back.

"Please," she whispered as the moment of anticipation grew.

"Rory?" he called icily.

"What?"

"Do us both a favor. Forget about me, okay?" Jess Mariano looked back and stonily waited for an answer.

Rory never gave him one.

"Just forget I ever existed," he urged again. He licked his lips, which had grown chapped from the cold weather and raised his eyebrows, silently asking her for some form of affirmation.

She mustered all her strength and looked straight into his eyes, saying nothing. She wasn't going to give up that easy. As soon as they made eye contact, she saw Jess' expression soften. His shoulders drooped and his stance became less rigid. He slowly nodded in defeat, and gently spoke, "Okay. Don't, then." His gaze traveled to the taller boy who stood behind Rory with a worried look on his face. Smirking in an almost defeated manner, Jess turned his back to them.

And he was gone. She had wanted to run after him, say she was sorry, hug him until he wouldn't fight her off, scream at him until he forgave, but some things needed time. Rory took a deep breath and turned around. Dean Forester sadly stared at her, waiting for an answer as well. He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, "Rory, whatever that kiss meant…"

"Let's just forget it, Dean. Let's just forget."

She hugged herself and pushed past Dean with her shoulder. He tried to stop her by grabbing her arm, "Rory."

"No. Just go, Dean. I can't..." But the words all got stuck in her throat, leaving her words limp and trailing towards him. Rory faced him and showed him the tears that formed in her eyes, begging to be let go.

And he did.

She walked away.

And just like that, everything shattered.

***

Lorelai Gilmore greeted her daughter at home with a giant smile, "So, how was that coffee thing with Dean? You guys friends yet? When can he change our water bottles again?"

One look at Rory's face gave her all the information she needed. Rory collapsed into her mother's arms and cried. The cotton in Lorelai's shirt felt rough against her cheek as it absorbed her sadness. Things were never going to be the same again.

"He's gone."

"Dean's gone?"

Rory sniffed, "Jess."

It hurt just to say his name.

Lorelai stroked Rory's hair and led her to the couch where they curled up together. After a few hiccups, the girl's words slowly tumbled out of her mouth, almost incoherent through her gasping breaths.

"Dean and I kissed. He saw. I didn't mean to kiss him. It just happened. I didn't…"

Lorelai embraced her little girl as she visibly broke down in her arms. She wouldn't talk anymore.

"Don't worry about it. Things will work out. You'll see. Give Jess some time to cool off, then talk to him. You'll see."

Rory buried her head against Lorelai's shoulder, hoping, wanting for her mother's words to be true. Lorelai furrowed her eyebrows and just held her, not knowing what else to do or say. "You'll see."

***

The next morning fared no better than the night before. Lorelai had walked to Luke's Diner in the hope of nothing short of a miracle. A miracle for Rory. She strode into the diner with hesitance. As she approached the counter, she tried her best to sound nonchalant. "Hey, Luke. Where's Jess?"

Luke Danes looked up to see Lorelai Gilmore staring at him expectantly. He took a rag from behind and started wiping the counter. Chipping a glob of something with his fingernail, he spoke softly, "He's gone."

The nonchalant shield was immediately thrown to the ground, "What? Gone where?"

Luke, not knowing what else to add, lamely offered this: "Away."

Lorelai dropped her hand against the counter. If things were different, that would have called for a joke. However, this situation was far from amusing. Luke flinched as it thumped with a dead sound. He stared at its lifelessness and heard Lorelai's voice break though.

"He's not coming back, is he?"

He cleared his throat and looked away. Jess had come and gone again, like a flash. He intended to stay. Luke knew that. But love always changed things.

Heartbreak just made it impossible to fix.

"I don't know."