Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"I get to leave first!" she exclaimed, taking off at top speed.
"Rory, wait!" he yelled. "Stop!"
"No--you don't get to walk away!"
"Hold on!"
"My town! I leave!" she raced through the square, dodging people and carts.
"Where are you going?" he was getting tired of running.
"None of your business!" she called over her shoulder.
"We look like idiots!" he yelled, trying to catch up with her.
"I don't care!" she cried.
"Stop running!" he pleaded.
"Stop following!" she shot back.
"Oh, come on!" he protested.
"Go away--I'm leaving!" she insisted.
"Rory, stop!"
"Why?" she demanded.
"Because I want to talk to you." His words caused her to stop dead in her tracks. As she stopped, he caught her by the arm and swung her to face him. She pulled her arm from his hand.
"About what? What do you want to talk to me about?" she demanded.
"When did you learn to run like that?" were the first words out of his mouth.
Rory looked at Jess as if he was insane. Then she exploded, "You know, I've actually thought about this moment--a lot. 'What would Jess say to me if he ever saw me again? I mean, he just took off--no note, no call, nothing. How could he explain that?' And then a year goes by; no word, nothing, and so he couldn't possibly have a good excuse for that, right?
"I have imagined hundreds of different scenarios with hundreds of great last parting lines, and I have to tell you that I'm actually very curious to see which way this is going to go." she seemed to be waiting for Jess to say something, and he realized then that he had been holding his breath.
Jess took a deep breath, shifting his weight from foot to foot, and finally said, "Can we sit down?"
"No; you want to talk, so talk! What do you have to say to me?" she demanded.
Jess took another deep breath, and as his mind screamed, "NO! Don't say it!" his mouth uttered the three words he hadn't ever told Rory so seriously. "I love you."
She stood there, still, and just looked at him. "See? I told you it was a bad idea!" his mind told his heart. Jess backed away, slowly at first, across the snow laden ground, and then broke into a jog. He opened his car door across the street and looked back. She still stood there, and was watching him.
Suddenly, without heed to oncoming traffic, she crossed the street and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you." she said softly, burying her face into his shoulder. He wrapped her in his arms, and they just stood there for a while, hugging, keeping each other warm, and suddenly she pulled away. He released her, but she surprised him yet again--she kissed him long and hard, and together they walked into Luke's.