Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone mentioned. Although I wish I did...
She'd honestly thought she was in love.
There had been nothing to compare it to. She'd never been in love. Of course, she was no stranger to the idea. Undeniably, love was a recurring theme in the many novels she read. They had taught her the words that were appropriate for such a feeling. "Love" was synonymous with "comfort" and "stability". She knew all of the signs to look for. When she compared her relationship with Dean to that of her fictional heroines, she had taken the similarities as her cue.
Obviously, she liked the guy. She enjoyed his company, and they spent all of their free time together. They got along well, just as he did with the rest of her family. Most notably, he took care of her. He had all of the stereotypical qualities that the girls in the books had pined for. There was no doubt to her then. This must be love.
Until everything she thought she knew was blown out of the water. Until he showed up.
The instant her eyes rested on Jess for the first time, she'd felt a twang of guilt. There was an immediate attraction; a spark that flickered so brightly she was momentarily blinded. She quickly muffled it. I'm with Dean, she'd reminded herself. I can't be looking at other guys. Then the smirk, the sarcasm... The rebel within him revealed itself. Instead of repelled, she was intrigued. It was only the beginning.
The more time she spent with him, the more entranced she became. He was unpredictable, flittering from one thing to the next without warning. The excitement he stirred within her was otherworldly. He was everything she had never thought she would want, and at the same time he was her dream. His love of books, his fast wit, and his inability to take anything serious were things that she suddenly yearned for Dean to have. The contrast was almost unbearable. The better she got to know Jess, the more boring, and just outright annoying, Dean became.
All at once, she realized that she'd misidentified love. Now, there was something to compare it to.
Dean was comfortable. Easy. It was so simple she hated to question it. Yet there was nothing there. She felt no desire. There was no burning flame. She'd never known it was missing. Jess, however... Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. He was on her mind every moment of every day. She would have done anything for him, done anything to be near him. The passion that had spontaneously bubbled up inside of her was something she had never known. It was something she couldn't stand the thought of sacrificing.
Now Rory knew what falling in love felt like. And she was falling hard.