A/N: Hello, readers! So, I got an idea for a second Literati fix and it starts in 4x21 when Jess went to visit Rory at Yale. I needed to re-write the scene a bit, just so you know. Also, remember to favorite, follow, and review! Enjoy!

Jess felt as if he had completely lost his mind after today's events. He was in a foggy haze of all the love and relationship banter he had to endure all day long. He wouldn't admit it, but he was happy for his mom. She did look happier than she had his entire life, after all. Before he knew it, he was thinking about all the lovey-dovey relationship crap that Luke had gotten him. He didn't even know why he bothered to read the dumb books in the first place. You Deserve Love. You're Not Alone. The whole thing made him sick to his stomach. He didn't exactly realize what he was doing on the drive home, but he seemed to have taken the wrong turn. It had taken him precisely 22.8 miles away from Stars Hollow and he was now sitting in the parking lot of Yale, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He should have just drove right back out of there, but instead, he got his hopes up and got out of the car to head straight for the dormitories.

As he walked in, he was almost on the verge of praying that she would be there. And she was. Much to his surprise, so was Dean. Once again, Dean was somehow standing in the way of the two like they were seventeen all over again. His hands quickly turned into fists the moment he saw Dean, but he gladly smirked as soon as Rory sent him away.

Rory had watched Dean walked out and turned her attention onto Jess. "Why won't you leave me alone? You won't go away."

"Rory—"

She cut him off. "What do you want?"

His eyes dropped to the floor, suddenly feeling insecure about being there. "I don't know. I just wanted to see you… Talk to you. I just…" He trailed off, not able to find the correct words. He had a world of things to tell Rory, but the moment he saw her face, his brain turned to slush and every word he had ever known wasn't intact any longer.

"What?"

He sighed, "Come with me."

The girl scoffed at his abruptness, "What?"

"Come with me," he repeated, this time his voice was heavier, knowing it was what he wanted.

"Where?"

He lifted his arms, unsure of everything. This felt sudden to her, but it had been sitting in the back of his head for months now. "I don't know," he shrugged, "away."

Rory crossed her arms and huffed. "Are you crazy?"

"Probably," he admitted. "Do it. Come with me. Don't think about it."

"I can't do that." Her voice was full of uncertainty as she turned around to walk into her dorm, almost hoping that Jess wouldn't follow her in, but he trailed right behind her like a lost puppy.

"You don't think you can do it, but you can. You can do whatever you want."

The girl turned around in a flash just to meet his eyes. "It's not what I want!"

"It is! I know you."

"You don't know me!"

"Look," he grabbed her arms and tried to get her to keep his eyes on him, "we'll go to New York. We'll work, we'll live together, we'll be together. It's what I want. It's what you want, too." He stopped, amazed that he was able to get those words out and speak in full sentences, but the girl jumped back, making him grow more irritated by the moment.

"No!" She yelled.

"I want to be with you, but not here. Not this place. Not Stars Hollow." The words tasted more bitter than he remembered. He knew that he screwed up time and time again, leaving Rory in the dirt when he didn't exactly mean to. Stars Hollow and Jess Mariano were always terrible together. "We have to start new."

She started walking away once again, trying to clear her head for only a moment. "There's nothing to start!"

Jess turned around, needing to be face-to-face with her. "But you're packed, your stuff is all in boxes — it's perfect. You're ready and I'm ready. I'm ready for this. You can count on me now. I know you couldn't count on me before, but you can now. You can."

"No," she said once more, making Jess shift once more.

"Look, you know we're supposed to be together. I knew it the first time I saw you two years ago and you know it too."

He finally stopped and waited for an actual answer. If she was going to say no once more, he promised himself that he'd leave it alone and walk right out the door. He didn't need the rejection. He may have deserved it for all that he had done to her in the past, but that doesn't mean it made him feel any better.

Rory sat down on some boxes and let out a sigh. "Okay," she spoke softly.

Jess did a double-take and repeated her. "Okay?"

Rory nodded slowly, still full of apprehension. "Okay. Let's do it. Let's go. Let's go to New York."

The boys face softened and his heart started pounding harder than ever before. He didn't think that this would work. He was sure that she'd kick him out of the dorm and leave him on his ass. He toward over her with a genuine smile on his face. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure," she confirmed. The girl stood up and wrapped her arms around him. It was a weird feeling, but she was trying her hardest not to think about it like he had said earlier. This was going to be different. It was probably going to be tough, but she was all in and so was he for once.