Chapter 1

A Sight for Sore Eyes

Over the years I have asked the same question over and over again, "why?" Why did I deserve to meet such a wonderful girl who completely changed my life? Why was I the one she chose over someone who unlike me had proven to be the better choice? And why, why did I mess it up? Why did I cause her so much pain? Why did I leave her when I could have had everything? I have asked this question and still have found no answer, probably because there is no answer, no good reason why all of those things happened. After you hear my story you will probably see why. You see it all started when my mother sent me to Stars Hollow to live with my uncle.

Jess Mariano sat in one of the seats on a bus in Hartford reading over what he had written. He was surprised at how clear all of the emotions he had felt so long ago were. He could remember traveling onto a bus to Stars Hollow. Wishing that I could be anywhere but there. He could remember the first time he walked into the Gilmore's house and seeing her, Rory Gilmore. She was the only one who made living in that town not seem like a nightmare. He could remember how Dean and him would constantly fight over Rory. No matter how many times he would fail to win her heart, he would keep trying. Then one day it finally happened; he finally won. Rory was his and he screwed it up, he did everything anyone could possibly do to mess up a relationship. After he left he realized his mistake and tried to go back and fix everything, but he couldn't; the damage was done. He hadn't heard from Rory in at least a year. There last meeting he had asked her to go away with him. Of course she said no, whom did he think he was just asking her to totally give up all of her life just to be with him? He missed her terribly and always thought of returning, but he knew he couldn't, not yet. When he left Stars Hollow for the last time he vowed that he would return one day and finally prove to Rory that he could make something of himself. He moved all over until her found a place to go to high school. Once he finished high school he began moving around again. He decided that soon he would find a place to live long enough for him to go to college. He had started writing as a way to express all of the feelings he had kept bottled up inside him for so long. He opened the book and continued writing.

Rory Gilmore sat in her parent's pool house where she had been living for quite some time. She was upset about the fight she had with Logan the other night. She couldn't even remember what the fight was about, but she was pretty sure it was something important since Logan had gotten pretty mad. Rory hated the feeling of being alone but she couldn't do anything about it. Usually she could open the door, walk down the hallway, and ask her mom if she would go out with her. But that was before, before she stole the yacht, before she dropped out of Yale, and before she moved in with her grandparents. Rory tried to reading but she had already read all of her books and she wanted something new. She decided it was time that she should go to the library. She walked out of the pool house, through her grandparents house, and out to the bus stop. She waited there until she saw the bus coming around the corner. When the bus stopped she climbed on and made her way to the back. Then she froze.

She couldn't believe it, all that time of never seeing him, never thinking about him, and there he was just sitting there. Jess Mariano, her old boyfriend who had left so many times and hadn't once said good-bye. All of the painful memories she had worked so long to forget came flooding back. Why was he here? Did he remember her? Did he still think about her? These were all of the questions that she asked herself. She didn't know what to do. Should she sit down and pretend like he wasn't there? Should she just get off the bus? Or should she talk to him and tell him about her life, all of the mistakes she made that sent her life down a road that she could never get off of? She knew he would understand, he had made mistakes, he knew how they could ruin your life. Rory was instantly upset about how she had acted when Jess made the mistake of leaving. She knew it was a mistake, she knew he just wasn't thinking, but she still reacted badly. Fighting an incredible urge to turn and run, to get off that bus, Rory walked over to Jess and sat down.

"Hi" she said, her voice barely audible. Jess looked up and as soon as he saw her his eyes opened wide. "Well I guess he wasn't expecting me," Rory thought.

What should he do? What should he say? Was she still mad at him? Why was she here? Jess couldn't believe it; Rory was there, on that bus with him. No escape, nowhere to run, he had to talk to her, to say something.

"Hi" he said quietly. Hi? That's it, you don't see her in over a year and the best you can do is "hi."

"So, what's up with you?" Rory asked still hardly believing Jess was there.

"Not much" Jess replied, "You?"

"Not much" Rory replied. They sat in silence for a few minutes, "I stole a yacht and dropped out of Yale" Rory blurted out unable to stop herself, "That's not all I did; after you left I slept with Dean, when he was already married, then we dated for a little while but we broke up when I realized I couldn't exactly date a married man. I just went to school without a boyfriend until I met Logan who also went to Yale and now I sleep with him almost every day. I went to meet his parents you know, but they were mean and rude and they practically ordered Logan to dump me. Then his dad gave me an internship because he was sorry because Logan's mother and grandfather treated me badly. Of course after a little while of me working my butt of to try and please him and everyone and still having to go to Yale and carry all of this work, he so kindly informed me that I didn't have what it takes to be a good journalist so I went with Logan and stole a yacht because I was depressed and in Moby Dick when the guy was upset he had to be out at sea. Then I went to jail and my mom and I had a fight and I moved in with my grandparents and now I can't talk to my mom anymore and Luke and her are getting married and I want to be there because my mom was my best friend and I always thought I would be there for her when she got married, but I know I can't go back because I messed up so much that I can't fix it and I'll never be able to make it right again!" She stopped when she realized she was rambling.

Jess just sat there for a few minutes and Rory wondered if he had heard her. Finally he said, "Wow, your life has been-" he pause searching for the right word, "eventful." Rory knew he would understand that and she nodded.

"So where are you going?" Jess asked. "The library" Rory replied. "Good" Jess said, I have something I want to show you.