A/N: Hello, lovelies! With a new account comes a new Lit fic. Let me start out by saying that I was once sofaritsalright instead of this new account. I lost the email for that one after clearing out my computer and I cannot for the life of me get back in. However, I'm here now, wanting to revamp all of my stories to make you guys and myself happy.

Here are some questions that'll probably be asked, so I'll give you the answers right now before starting: This is sort of an AU. Jess never left town, leaving Rory behind. She ended up going to Yale, but never ended up with Logan. Instead, she stayed in an on-again off-again relationship with Jess. In this story, Lorelai and Luke are happily married, thus why he's no longer occupying the apartment above the diner. Jess is still a writer, Rory's a journalist, but they stay in Stars Hollow after having a crappy time in their apartment in New York. Stars Hollow was just the safe bet for the time.

Now that those are out of the way, I present you my new fic. I hope you all like it!

Rory Gilmore thought that she knew everything there was to know about the universe at one point in time. Perhaps it was just the high of the ride that came with the love of a lifetime, but soon she learned her lesson and crashed and burned, spinning out of control.

Enter Jess Mariano. The boy who loved Rory more than he loved himself… Which is saying something for a man that didn't love himself whatsoever. Soon enough, he ran. He ran because there was too much on the line that he could mess up somewhere in the future. It was better to do it now, rip off the Band-Aid and leave before it got too painful.

But that was a year ago, after a five-year relationship.

Everything went downhill when she woke up one morning to find that Jess was not on the other side of her neatly made bed in the makeshift apartment above Luke's diner. Since Luke and Lorelai got together, Jess' uncle was gracious enough to give them the apartment and start to figure out their real lives together. Little did he know, Jess wasn't going to stay. He never liked to stay in one spot for too long anyway, but he didn't think his nephew was stupid enough to run from Rory.

She saw the note lying on his usual pillow, the place where he would rest his head every night as he wrapped his arms around her. She'd slowly fall asleep in his arms, feeling safe, loved, and warm. That's why when she saw the note, she didn't think too much of it. There wasn't a single ounce of panic in the girls' body until reading and re-reading it.

Rory,
I'm sorry, but I have to go.
Remember that I love you and I'm only trying to do what's best.
I've screwed up so many times in the past… I can't do that to you anymore.
I really am sorry, Ror.
-Jess

Afterwards, her heart shattered into a million pieces in a way she didn't think it could. Sure, she had gone through break-ups before – even a few with Jess when things were on the rocks – but this one stung worse than any other out there. Rory wasn't sure what happened, what made him snap and turn away; all she knew was that it hurt deeply like being carved open with a butcher's knife.

Again, that was a year ago.

Now, Rory's trying to live out her life peacefully, traveling all over to do write and do what she loves the most: reporting, being a journalist all while learning to live without a significant other.

That was until he rolled into town with that beat-up, black Cadillac, looking like James Dean as usual, making her heart drop into her stomach, causing her to be nauseous as she stared out the window of Luke's while having her morning coffee with her mother. It was back and forth banter, laughing in hysterics, annoying Luke as usual… And then it was nothing except pure silence all throughout the town. They knew the sound of that engine anywhere; they heard it every day for the past few years. Now that it was back, it felt as if everyone in the diner and out on the street turned to look at Rory with wide eyes and sympathetic emotions painted on their faces. They knew what this did to a person. They knew that the town would often choose sides, just like they did with Luke and Lorelai once upon a time, but at least Rory took comfort in knowing that she would get the majority of the votes. More pink ribbons than blue, that is.

The woman studies him, waiting for him to get out of his car just to see what he would do next. Rory watched on, her blue hues screaming for him not to come into the diner. She wasn't sure what she'd do if he actually had the audacity to step foot in the place. But then again, Jess did everything, even if it would piss off an entire mob. Luke walks over to the Gilmore table, standing over them like a watchful eye, ready to attack if necessary. He had done it a few times before and wasn't afraid to do the whole thing over again, even if it was to his own flesh and blood. However, seeing that Rory was the one to get hurt in the situation, he was choosing her over Jess. He was pretty sure that even Jess could understand that.

It takes a few minutes, but you can hear everyone in Luke's gasp and scoff when he finally steps foot out of his car. He looks a little rundown and beat, as if he hadn't slept in days. Sometimes that was just his look – writers did it all the time, but to Rory, this felt different. There was an instinct in her that wanted so badly to rush over and take care of him, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't let herself break after all that he put her through.

They all watch on, ignoring their breakfast and coffee, just to see the town hoodlum walk up to the door and open it, inviting himself in once again to a place he had called his home for a good chunk of his life, whether it was with Rory or Luke. It still felt familiar to him – nothing truly ever changed in Stars Hollow, though.

As he walks in, he eyes the crowd with a mournful look on his face. He knew that at any moment, he could be chased out of town by a mob with pitchforks and a screaming Taylor – or perhaps Dean for all he knew.

It takes every single ounce of bravery in his system to walk up to their table and look down at Rory, the woman he loved for what seemed like several lifetimes, and lets out a sigh. "Can we talk?" he asks, his sad eyes staring into hers.