A/N: I'm developing a sort of fascination with the character of Luke! So this is pre-series, right as Rachel is leaving. It includes some flashbacks and is all Luke. There is no Lorelai here.

Disclaimer: Look, I can't come up with clever disclaimers for everything I write. I don't own!

Airplanes

You sit there on the hill staring at the airport. You hate planes right now. Not that you've ever actually been on a plane, but a plane is taking her away from you. That's a good enough reason to hate them. It's not as though the plane forced her to leave. Planes obviously can't do that. But she decided to leave you.

You watch as she throws clothes into a suitcase. She is in a big hurry; you can tell.

"Rachel," You say. "Why are you going to California?"

"I have to." She tells you like it's the millionth time she has done so. It probably is.

"No you don't," You argue. "You can stay here. There are lots of photography jobs in the area. Any place would want to have you."

"Luke," She says pausing in her packing frenzy and turning to face you. "This is too good an opportunity to pass up. I have to go." She somehow misses the incredibly disappointed look on your face at her words. Everyone is leaving you and there's nothing you can do.

You have to wonder what you did wrong. Did you not pay enough attention to her? If you had devoted more time to her would she have stayed? What could you have done differently? Maybe she got tired of your grief. Of the attitude that you constantly carried around with you. Trying to fend off any potential friends just to keep from getting to close to them. You can see now what a trap it is to get close to someone. You start to love them. Need them in your life. And then, they leave. That's always the end. They die or they go off to California without another thought to it. You wonder if maybe she got sick of you for the nowhere that your life is going. No college, no ambitions, nothing.

"Luke! Come on, let's go."

"I don't wanna." You slur drunkenly. There's a good reason to be talking like that – you are drunk.

"It's time to go home." She says calmly, trying to placate you.

"No!" You yell jerking your arm away from her grip. "I can't go back there!"

"Luke-" She starts, but you interrupt her.

"Uh-uh, I wanna stay here." You whine leaning in to kiss her neck. It's sloppy; you're slobbering all over her. She stares at you sadly, blinking back tears.

"I don't know what happened to you," She whispers. "You just aren't the same Luke that I fell in love with." She walks away without once looking back. You slump to the floor too exhausted to keep standing.

"Rachel." You manage to call before the nausea hits and you are doubled over and the alcohol is forcing its way back up.

You watch the lights flare up on the runway. A plane prepares to take off. You glance down at your watch to check the time. 5:15. This will be her plane leaving now. You wonder if you can possibly run after her; stop her somehow. There is no way to do that though. All you can do as your first love prepares to leave you is to watch. The plane rolls forward; your heart rate picks up. She's leaving. The front wheels lift up slightly. The only person left in your life that you care about; she's leaving. The back wheels lift and the plane is in the air. She is flying away, escaping you, escaping her old life.

"Goodbye Luke." She leans in and places a chaste kiss on your cheek.

"Bye." You whisper watching as she turns her back on you and walks toward the waiting area for her plane. You can feel your heart breaking into a million pieces.

You nod as the plane disappears into the clouds. Another loved one gone. You climb into your truck, turn it on, and drive away. You know that there is comfort waiting in the fridge at home. It's the only thing you can think of to mend your broken heart.