Full Circle
Summary: AU. Her goal- to be independent. His- to get away. And as strong as they are, they must learn to cling together, because it is the only way to get out alive. AU. Literati.
Discaimer: I don't own the characters from Gilmore Girls. I do own the other minor ones that will make an appearance from time to time. The story is all my own.
Rating: Pg-13/R. I'm going to leave it PG-13 for now at least.
AN: I'm back. This is a weird idea that I've had. I can't seem to get past chapter three, but I'm sure something will work out. Anyways, please read and tell me what you think!
****
Chapter 1: Catapult into Space
A morning like any other. Bright blue sky hiding just above the hazy fog as the city awoke from its slumber. There had been similar conditions nearly every day for as long as she could remember. For almost fourteen years, in every apartment, every home she lived in, Rory woke up at the crack of dawn to see the sun trying to peek its way through tiny openings in the smoky miasma. This morning there was no change, nothing different in the sky or the bustling people below. There was a reason, she figured, that this was the city that never sleeps. It was monotonous, redundant, and utterly boring to her. She sank back on her bed and closed her eyes, opening her mind to a steady flow of thoughts, emotions, and memories.
She had lived in New York practically all of her life. She knew that she had been born in Hartford, Connecticut, but had moved here with her young mother barely a week after being released from the hospital. Rory knew none of the circumstances, simply that she had lived in an apartment in Tribeca, furnished by her mother's substantial trust fund. That apartment was where the men came to take her away. That's what it was like. At the age of three, you have no sense of logic. All she could think of was the fact that her mommy had gone to the office downstairs to make a phone call. She was going to come back.
It took her many years to finally understand what had happened. She never actually found out how her mother died, and frankly she wasn't too interested in the details. She had no souvenirs of her prior life except for a vague memory of a trip to the zoo and the knowledge that she bears her mothers name. She knows nothing of her extended family. The social workers had searched high and low for relatives, but they evidently had not wanted to be found. So, at the age of three, Rory embarked on her new life, full of constantly changing homes and families.
Now, at the age of seventeen, she finds herself in a three-bedroom apartment on the lower-east side, surrounded by a middle-age couple, Jim and Angie, who insist on her calling them "mom & dad" (she never does), and two other foster children- a boy and a girl, twins, named Dillon and Zoë. All she can do now is hang onto the single shred of hope she has left, which is that she can leave at eighteen and go out on her own. Maybe go to college, if she finds one that will give her a full ride. That was her dream, although she would never tell anyone that. She never told anyone much, for that matter. She had herself to keep her company, and she thought that it was enough to keep her going for a while. Little did she know how wrong she was.
But on this morning, Rory had other things to worry about. Realizing the time, she jumped out of bed, and grabbed a random book off the shelf, anxious to grab breakfast and get out the door before Jim and Angie are able to bombard her with activities to waste her last free days of summer before school starts up again. Unfortunately, though, she's wasted too much time in bed this morning, and as she exits her bedroom she sees them walking in the front door. Rory notes the odd timing, considering the two were not prone to early morning jogs around the neighborhood. Still, she ignores them and sulks into the kitchen to search for some pop-tarts. It is not until she comes back out of the kitchen, having discovered the lack of breakfast foods, that she noticed the reason for their odd behavior. Walking, slouched, through the front door behind them, was a boy about Rory's age, maybe a little bit older, who was staring at the floor while dragging his olive green duffel bag behind. She believed that the older couple had given brief introductions, but Rory had only barely caught his name.
She was slightly intrigued by him, although not entirely sure why. Perhaps it was because this was the first person remotely her age that she had stayed with so far. Perhaps it was because he was roguishly attractive with messy hair and baggy clothes. Maybe it was because it was the first person she had seen in a long time that seemed he might have more of an edge, a personality, than she herself. Or possibly it was because, behind the characteristically sad eyes of a person in his situation, there was a small, almost non-existent glimmer of hope. It was this glimmer that told Rory that, although Jess had lived a tough life, he ain't seen nothing yet.
****
AN: Short, I know! The next one will be too, but they're just introductions. After that they will get much longer. Please review and tell me what you think!
Summary: AU. Her goal- to be independent. His- to get away. And as strong as they are, they must learn to cling together, because it is the only way to get out alive. AU. Literati.
Discaimer: I don't own the characters from Gilmore Girls. I do own the other minor ones that will make an appearance from time to time. The story is all my own.
Rating: Pg-13/R. I'm going to leave it PG-13 for now at least.
AN: I'm back. This is a weird idea that I've had. I can't seem to get past chapter three, but I'm sure something will work out. Anyways, please read and tell me what you think!
****
Chapter 1: Catapult into Space
A morning like any other. Bright blue sky hiding just above the hazy fog as the city awoke from its slumber. There had been similar conditions nearly every day for as long as she could remember. For almost fourteen years, in every apartment, every home she lived in, Rory woke up at the crack of dawn to see the sun trying to peek its way through tiny openings in the smoky miasma. This morning there was no change, nothing different in the sky or the bustling people below. There was a reason, she figured, that this was the city that never sleeps. It was monotonous, redundant, and utterly boring to her. She sank back on her bed and closed her eyes, opening her mind to a steady flow of thoughts, emotions, and memories.
She had lived in New York practically all of her life. She knew that she had been born in Hartford, Connecticut, but had moved here with her young mother barely a week after being released from the hospital. Rory knew none of the circumstances, simply that she had lived in an apartment in Tribeca, furnished by her mother's substantial trust fund. That apartment was where the men came to take her away. That's what it was like. At the age of three, you have no sense of logic. All she could think of was the fact that her mommy had gone to the office downstairs to make a phone call. She was going to come back.
It took her many years to finally understand what had happened. She never actually found out how her mother died, and frankly she wasn't too interested in the details. She had no souvenirs of her prior life except for a vague memory of a trip to the zoo and the knowledge that she bears her mothers name. She knows nothing of her extended family. The social workers had searched high and low for relatives, but they evidently had not wanted to be found. So, at the age of three, Rory embarked on her new life, full of constantly changing homes and families.
Now, at the age of seventeen, she finds herself in a three-bedroom apartment on the lower-east side, surrounded by a middle-age couple, Jim and Angie, who insist on her calling them "mom & dad" (she never does), and two other foster children- a boy and a girl, twins, named Dillon and Zoë. All she can do now is hang onto the single shred of hope she has left, which is that she can leave at eighteen and go out on her own. Maybe go to college, if she finds one that will give her a full ride. That was her dream, although she would never tell anyone that. She never told anyone much, for that matter. She had herself to keep her company, and she thought that it was enough to keep her going for a while. Little did she know how wrong she was.
But on this morning, Rory had other things to worry about. Realizing the time, she jumped out of bed, and grabbed a random book off the shelf, anxious to grab breakfast and get out the door before Jim and Angie are able to bombard her with activities to waste her last free days of summer before school starts up again. Unfortunately, though, she's wasted too much time in bed this morning, and as she exits her bedroom she sees them walking in the front door. Rory notes the odd timing, considering the two were not prone to early morning jogs around the neighborhood. Still, she ignores them and sulks into the kitchen to search for some pop-tarts. It is not until she comes back out of the kitchen, having discovered the lack of breakfast foods, that she noticed the reason for their odd behavior. Walking, slouched, through the front door behind them, was a boy about Rory's age, maybe a little bit older, who was staring at the floor while dragging his olive green duffel bag behind. She believed that the older couple had given brief introductions, but Rory had only barely caught his name.
She was slightly intrigued by him, although not entirely sure why. Perhaps it was because this was the first person remotely her age that she had stayed with so far. Perhaps it was because he was roguishly attractive with messy hair and baggy clothes. Maybe it was because it was the first person she had seen in a long time that seemed he might have more of an edge, a personality, than she herself. Or possibly it was because, behind the characteristically sad eyes of a person in his situation, there was a small, almost non-existent glimmer of hope. It was this glimmer that told Rory that, although Jess had lived a tough life, he ain't seen nothing yet.
****
AN: Short, I know! The next one will be too, but they're just introductions. After that they will get much longer. Please review and tell me what you think!