AN: Hi everyone, this is my first story, so please review so I know if it's worth continueing or not. I hope you like it :)
Disclaimer: Nope... I wish.
Chapter 1 - The First Snow
I guess my mom and I always have our silly traditions. Like every year, on the last week before I go back to school, we watch the first three godfathers, order way too much junk food, and re-watch Sofia's dying scene over and over. Or one of my personal favorites, which thankfully I am not a part of, is on Halloween night, when the town puts on quirky displays in their front yard that everyone clearly puts far too much effort into. But this is Stars Hollow, and the quirkiness cannot be denied. And I guess its part of the fun, too. Mom always puts in a lot of effort, and she even managed to convince Luke to play a small part last year. I guess it's not so easy for him to get out of mom's crazy ideas now that he has his husbandly duties to uphold. But some traditions of ours aren't so silly. Like when it snows for the first time. That's definitely not silly.
"Rory, sweets, wake up."
I squinted my eyes open as I felt my mother sink into my bed beside me. Letting out a tired groan, I turned to my fluffy pink alarm clock, which was clearly mocking me with its earliness.
"It's five-thirty," I groaned, "Still another hour and a half until sane people are up."
I buried my head back into my pillow, as my mom let out an excited giggle. I turned my head to look at her, wondering why the women who cannot even function properly before seven was laying beside me at five-thirty in the morning with a wide, giddy smile.
"It's snowing, babe."
No matter what time it is, mom and I always take a walk in the first snow. Mom worships the snow, and no matter what's going on in her life, when it snows she is always happy. She believes it's a sign, a way of saying that someone is watching over her. She always says that the snow is the beginning of something new and wonderful in our lives. And growing up with her, taking yearly walks in the glistening first snows, it's hard not to believe that the snow is a sign that something in our life is going to change for the good. I wonder what this year will bring.
oOoOoOo
Mom and I walked into Luke's, still glowing from the early morning snow. We took a seat at our usual table by the window, pulling off our beanies and gloves.
"Oh, Luke!" Mom called across the diner, waving her glove in the air, "The ladies want some coffee!"
Luke held up a finger, signaling he would be a second, as he spoke gruffly into his phone.
"I'm sleeping with the owner, and yet we still don't get any coffee privileges." Mom sighed.
I scrunched up my face at the unwanted information, "I really didn't need to know that."
"What do you mean your sending him?!" We heard Luke yell into the receiver. I gave mom a questioning look that she mirrored. We both turned our heads to look on confusedly.
"This is ridiculous, Liz! How can you expect me to be fine with this?!"
"I don't think I've ever heard Luke say the word ridiculous." Mom said in awe.
"Wow. Whatever it is, it must be truly Luke-ridiculous." I replied.
"How exactly am I supposed to take care of him, Liz?!"
Mom threw me another questioning glance, obviously wondering what this phone call could be about.
"Fine!" We heard Luke yell, almost throwing down the phone in his fury. He snatched the coffee pot from the counter, almost spilling it everywhere as he made his way over to us. He poured us both a large cup of coffee, before placing the coffee pot on the table, and letting out a sigh.
"Lorelai, I, uh, need to ask you a favor."
"Sure, hon, what is it?"
He pulled out a seat from under the table, turning it around so when he sat his arms were crossed over the back of the chair.
"That was my sister. My sister, Liz." He said nervously, re-ajusting his hat.
"Ah, the famous Liz."
"She's going through a rough patch at the moment. She's sending my nephew down for a while. He'll need a place to stay.
"Oh, wow, uh..." Mom recovered quickly from her surprise, doing her best to give Luke an encouraging smile, "It's fine if you want him to stay with us, I mean it's your home too Luke."
Luke seemed to let out a breath he had been holding. "Okay. Great. That's... Great. And you're sure that's okay. I mean he'll take up space and food and stuff."
"You mean he actually consumes food like a normal human being? Well now I'm not so sure." Mom said sarcastically.
"So what's his name?" I asked curiously.
"His name's Jess. He's actually around your age, Rory."
"Was he at the wedding?" I asked, scrunching up my face as I tried to recall his face.
"Ah, no. He and Liz were... they couldn't make it." Luke brushed off, standing up again and grabbing the coffee pot (a little more gently this time).
"So when is he coming?" Mom asked.
"Liz said he should be here this afternoon."
"Wow, that's short notice."
"If it's too fast he can always stay above the diner for a few nights... or weeks... or-"
"Luke, it's fine, really," Mom said, grabbing his arm reassuringly, "Of course he will stay with us."
"Okay... great. I'll be picking him up from the bus, so I'll see you this afternoon then. And... You're sure this is okay?"
"I'll see you and Jess this afternoon." Mom said with an air of finality, leaning forward as Luke placed an appreciative kiss on her lips. I smiled at Luke as he walked back behind the counter.
"I better get to school. I'll help you set up for Jess when I get home." I said, getting up and giving mom a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay. Bye, sweets."
oOoOoOo
I stepped out of my regular bus, getting a small surprise as I saw my boyfriend, Dean, sitting there waiting for me; a coffee in each hand. He knew me too well. I walked up to him with a smile, and he stood to greet me, placing a light kiss on my lips and handing me a coffee.
"You're nice." I said with a smile, wrapping my arm around his back as we begin to walk back to my house.
"I try." He smiled. "So, I was wondering if you were free this afternoon. Maybe we can hang out?"
"Oh, well my mom and I are kind of expecting someone. Luke's nephew, actually. He's coming to stay with us for a while and I promised Mom I would help her get things ready for when he comes. But hey, why don't you come for dinner tomorrow night. It's Al's Chinese night, and we haven't had a movie night in a while."
Dean turned to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I'm there." He said, kissing me softly again.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow night." I smiled.
He kissed me once more before turning to leave. I watched with a smile as my perfect boyfriend walked away, before I happily turned towards my front door.
oOoOoOo
"Okay, so do you think he will prefer 'Hello Kitty' or 'Paul Frank'?" Mom asked me, holding up the two sets of sheets.
"Please tell me they're not the only sheets we have? What happened to the sheets Grandma sent up last year?"
Mom made a disgusted face. "Ehk, one-hundred percent Egyptian cotton? I think I traded them in."
"Mom!"
"What? I got that cute yellow ducky pillow set."
"And now we have to give a sixteen year old boy 'Hello Kitty' sheets."
"Or 'Paul Frank'" She added as if it made all the difference, holding up the monkey covered sheets.
I pulled the sheet out of her hands, rolling my eyes. "Okay, Mr Paul Frank will do for now. But we are going shopping tomorrow, missy."
Just then we heard the front door open, and Luke entered with a slightly unsure, dark haired boy behind him. Mom walked up to him and Luke as I finished tucking the sheets into the couch.
"So you must be Jess." I heard mom say politely.
"Yep." It could have just been me but he didn't sound very enthusiastic.
"So, Rory's just fixing up the couch for you to sleep on until we find something more permanent for you. Sorry about the sheets. I'm guessing you would prefer them over 'Hello Kitty'."
I didn't hear any response.
"So... you can put your bag down by the couch if you like."
I finished tucking in the sheet as I heard Jess' bag drop beside me. I stood up, and found myself face to face with him. I nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Hi, I'm Rory."
"Yeah, I figured." He said, nodding his head slightly and shoving his hands in his pockets as he quickly glanced around the room. He walked past me to the fireplace, taking a picture of me and my mom in his hands.
"So, do you like it here so far?" I asked him, his back to me as he studied the picture.
Returning the picture to its place on the fireplace, he turned back to me, his hands in his pockets again. "I guess."
"So you ready to eat, Jess?" Mom asked him.
"Whatever." He shrugged.
He moved past her, making his way to the kitchen. Mom gave me a confused glance, and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was - was he always this monosyllabic? I mirrored her expression as we too made our way into the kitchen; Luke following behind us.
oOoOoOo
"So, this is your room?" Jess asked, making his way into my room after we had finished dinner - which, like before, was fairly uneventful, and to be honest slightly awkward.
"Yeah. It's not much, but-"
"I like it." Jess shrugged, glancing around my room, and stopping at my 'Harvard' wall.
"Aren't we a fan?"
"Yep," I said proudly, "Me and mom have been working on that wall since I was five."
"Huh." He said, now making his way to my bookshelves.
"Oh. I read a lot." I told him as his eyes ran across the various titles. He turned to face me again, his hands in his pockets, and his eyes still wondering the room. "Do you like to read?" I asked him.
His eyes fell back on me. "Not much," He answered simply.
I nodded and began staring at the floor, suddenly at a loss for what to say. I heard the springs of my bed squeak slightly and looked up to see him sitting on the edge of my bed. I suddenly begin to feel very uncomfortable, not sure how I felt about a boy being on my bed - which is actually kind of weird, since he was only sitting on it; but even Dean hadn't sat on my bed before.
"We should probably get into bed." I said, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.
"What?" He said, laughing slightly and raising his brow at me.
At the sudden realization as to how my words came out I began to blush furiously, quickly correcting myself. "I-I meant that I should get to my bed and you should get to your... couch."
He nodded, still laughing as he stood up and brushed past me, glancing at me with a smirk.
I watched him disappear around the doorframe, before turning to my bed; almost frightened to lay in it.
oOoOoOo
It's not at all an oddity when I hear my mom up in the kitchen after midnight, searching for snacks of some sort. So when the sound of the fridge door opening awoke me from my sleep, I assumed it was mom. But when I heard the back door open and click closed, I sat up in my bed curiously. I strained my ears again, but when I heard nothing I got to my feet and walked quietly out into the kitchen. The light was on, but nobody was there, so following the sound I had heard before, I walked outside, making sure to close the door quietly behind me. Turning around, I saw Jess staring out over the porch. I was about to leave, not wanting to invade on his privacy, but he had already turned to half face me, his hand still on the porch railing. He must have somehow sensed I was behind him.
"Oh, uh, sorry... I just heard-"
He nodded before I could finish, and turned back again. I was about to leave again, when I noticed him take a sip of the beer he had been holding that he had obviously taken from the fridge. So instead I walked up to him, slightly irritated that he had taken something that did not belong to him without asking.
"So, what, you couldn't sleep or something?" I asked with a slight edge.
Something tells me he sensed I wasn't exactly happy, but he took another sip anyway, shrugging as he swallowed, "Guess not."
I stared at him as he stared out over the porch, still sipping away at my mom and Luke's beer. So I held out my hand, both eyebrows raised.
He glanced back at me, noticing my hands and rolling his eyes as he gave up the beer. I took it from him and rested it on top of the porch railing. He raised his brow at me. "You're not gonna' drink it?"
"Nope."
"So why'd you take it?"
"I was just trying to protect the property of others." I said, crossing my arms over my chest protectively.
He smirked, letting out a slight chuckle. "Well aren't you a high class citizen," he said mockingly.
I stared at him for a moment, still partly annoyed. "So why are you here?" I asked, afterwards realizing it was quite a personal question.
"I thought we had already established the fact that I couldn't sleep?"
"I mean, why are you here... in Stars Hollow?" I asked more cautiously this time.
"Why are you out here with me?" He countered.
"I think you're trying to avoid my question."
"I think you're trying to avoid mine."
I stared at him for a moment as he smirked at me. "Fine, be evasive." I said, "I'm going to bed."
He nodded at me, smirking slightly, "And I'll go to my... couch."
I blushed at the memory of the earlier events of tonight and turned away quickly; hopefully before he had a chance to see.
"Hey," I heard Jess call. I turned around to face him, finding him with his arm outstretched, holding a book. And I was almost positive it was one of mine. He must have noticed my questioning look, because he smirked and gave me a small nod. "It's yours. I just thought I would add some notes in the margins for you."
"You stole my book?" I asked him with surprise, taking the book back from him.
"Technically, no. It's been in your house the whole time."
"You stole my book." I repeated, opening it and looking at the small cramped writing in the margins. As I read the words, my eyes only proceeded to open wider. "You've read this before?" I asked him.
"About forty times." He shrugged.
"I thought you said you didn't read much?" I asked him accusingly.
"Well... what is much? Goodnight, Rory." He said, glancing at me as he stepped past me towards the door.
"Goodnight, Dodger." I replied.
He stopped before he reached the door, turning towards me. "Dodger?"
"Figure it out." My tone was almost challenging.
"...Oliver twist!" He said after a moments hesitation.
I nodded, and he smirked back, turning again towards the door and disappearing behind it.
I stood outside for a while after he left, staring at all of his notes. And before I turned to go inside, I noticed the all familiar glistening of the dark night sky, and couldn't help but smile as the snow began to fall.