Disclaimer – I still don't own Gilmore Girls…louder sigh…
AN – I've been thinking about writing this for awhile now, but just didn't have the little details down, (still don't have some of them but I'm taking a shot here). This is my first multi-chapter fanfic and I've got some super big ideas in this gooey thing I like to call my creative mind, - super big ideas. This one takes place after the show and mainly focuses on Jess in Philadelphia, though I hope to do some neat little Stars Hollow scenes...again super big ideas yah huh. Beware those who are huge fans of Jess and Rory that she won't be in this much, I'm sort of creating my own characters for Jess…(Please be gentle).
Another warning - My punctuation sucks ass, so sincere apologies
Shout Outs – Once again Tott, my fellow fanfic junkie…And a whopping mention to my Sarah because lets be honest kids; there's no way I'd be even half this cool with out her.
Enjoy Peeps.
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It was a door.
It wasn't painted an obnoxiously bright color. It didn't have any pictures or sparkles decorating it. And it wasn't so small as to fit in a tiny, finger sized piano behind it, though he wasn't sure whether or not it held a full sized one.
He had been standing in the exact same spot, in front of the now infamous door, for over twenty minutes now, thinking intensely about the reasons why he had agreed to move out in the first place.
He liked staying at Truncheon. It was the first real place he had built for himself, and though he wouldn't tell anyone this, he had gotten quite attached. Though that attachment had been stretched to its limits lately with Matthew, Chris, Keith, Dallas and him all sharing the same, small, cramped rooms upstairs. It had all got to be a bit much. Jess had lost count of the times when he had forgone sleeping upstairs in his own bed, in favor of sleeping on the couch downstairs amongst the stacks of books and manuscripts. One could only put up with thunderous snoring and noisy bed springs, for so long. Also the incredibly thin walls didn't allow for much privacy, which was something that Jess admitted he was extremely fond of.
So here he was, fidgeting with his torn, rolled up newspaper; looking at his eighth apartment for the day. Already wishing he was back at his small, cramped and sometimes less than fragrant smelling room at Truncheon.
Maybe this one wouldn't be as bad as the last? Though it'd be pretty hard to top the place right beside the fish market he thought.
The building had looked fine from the outside; no graffiti on the walls, stairs all intact, elevator working, no shady looking groups hanging around, no weird smells or substances, seemingly safe neighborhood and pretty decent for the price.
He let out an exhausted sigh; he had been standing out here way too long. There was nothing to do now but knock on the damn door and see for himself. He knocked three times and stood back to wait, then heard a male voice yell from inside. "Come on in!"
He stuck the newspaper in the back pocket of his jeans and walked through the door, mentally preparing himself for the worst.
He entered into a wide open space which he noticed was roughly split up into three different areas: The right hand side was clearly the living room with a few large couches and chairs arranged in front of what he could tell, was a decent looking entertainment system, with a TV on the far wall. On the left hand side was the kitchen, with cabinets lining the left wall and a window over the sink looking out onto the street. There was an island-type-bar further away from the cabinets where stools were set up looking into the kitchen and partially out the window as well. There was also a stylish looking dinning table and chairs set up in the middle-left area of the room near the bar. He also saw that most of the floor was carpeted in a deep shade of gray while the kitchen had a hardwood floor.
As his eyes ran over the apartment trying to take it all in, he couldn't help but think it was a little too good to be true. His gaze finally settled on the figure sitting on the bar stool, farthest away from where he was standing, at the door. He was a lanky, muscled figure in jeans and a long-sleeved button up blue shirt. He had longish, curly brown hair and was holding a bowl of cereal, and from what Jess could see, he had also been sizing him up from across the room. Then he spoke in a slight English accent.
"Well I don't see a suitcase so I'll assume your not selling anything. No big slasher, pshyco, 'kill kill kill' vibes, and you don't look like a preacher of any kind so I'd say you're a new potential roommate?" At Jess's nod he held out his hand. "Baxter."
Jess walked the short distance towards him and shook the extended hand. "Jess."
"Nice to meet you." He replied. "Now feel free to sit back and watch the show." Baxter said as he leant back against the counter with a grin and continued eating.
Jess's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but he accepted the invite and took a seat on the bar stool next to him, removing the newspaper from his pocket for something to keep his hands occupied.
"You right in there pet? Haven't heard any yelling for a while now?" Baxter half shouted in the direction of what Jess could only assume were the doors leading to the bedrooms and bathroom; almost directly opposite the front door, in a small hallway.
A female voice yelled back from behind one of the closed doors. "I can't find my socks! Dammit! Bax have you seen the long ones with the black and purple stripes?"
"Sorry love I don't believe I have. Didn't leave them in the wash did you?" Baxter replied. Jess now noticed the packed suitcase on the floor next to where Baxter was sitting, and was starting to get a better understanding of what was going on.
"No I already checked. I swear I've looked everywhere!" Then Jess heard a gasp come from inside the room. Baxter chuckled and ate another spoonful of his cereal.
The bedroom door opened suddenly and out came a petite, dark haired figure, a few inches shorter than Jess with a fierce, determined look on her face. "Where is she?" She said slowly to Baxter, acknowledging Jess with a quick glance so as not to be too rude.
"Hey, your guess is as good as mine." He had given up trying to control his laughter as he watched her scan the apartment.
"She's got to be inside somewhere!" She said as she moved towards the living room and started looking under the couches and removing the cushions. She then stopped and slowly turned towards the pile of folded blankets in the corner of the living room, by the TV.
"Bingo." Baxter said rather cheerfully, still focusing on his bowl.
She moved towards the pile and quickly removed the thin blanket on the top. A small furry form then jumped and ran under the nearest couch, making a bell like sound as it moved. She turned around to face the guys, while still on her knees, to hold up two socks for them to see.
"Was that a rabbit?" Jess asked; a bit stunned.
"Cat." Baxter replied.
"Bitch." The girl said. She got up off her knees and walked past them back into the bedroom.
"Huh." Jess said, still perplexed by the scene he had just witnessed.
Baxter laughed at this. "Kitten actually. It's a special breed or something. It's one of the stupidest things I've ever seen, honestly." He waved his hand as if 'whatever'. "Why couldn't you just get a normal cat?" He yelled towards the bedroom.
"Quit dissing Tink!" Came the quick and heated reply.
Jess smirked at this. "It's named Tink?"
"Yeah, like Tinkerbell." Baxter answered. "Shit your not allergic are you?"
"Allergy free." Jess replied calmly. Though he wasn't too sure how he felt about living in an apartment with a mutant rabbit-cat thing.
As if he could read his mind Baxter reassured him. "It's harmless really. Just watch out it chews through cords a lot and hides in the weirdest places. It's also kind of vicious and obviously has a thing for socks, but I think that's it."
The girl abruptly came back out of the bedroom with a large duffel bag and smaller carry bag. Jess took the time to notice her more, as she wasn't in such a frantic rush. She was slender with fairly defined curves and had dark, slightly curly hair that went past her shoulders. She was wearing beat up black chucks, jeans and a gray t-shit that had a picture of Elmo on it. She walked to the kitchen counter, putting the larger bag next to the suitcase on the floor, and then started picking items off the bench and stuffing them into her smaller bag.
Baxter swiveled round in his chair to face her over the counter, also placing his bowl down. "Sure you've got everything now darling?"
Jess half turned on his stool and watched as she took the time to think. She bit her lip in concentration, mentally checking her list. "Yeap, list never lies." She then turned to face him swiftly. "Hey potential roommate."
He was dazed for a second by the sudden attention she was giving him, and the small smile that graced her face. But as always; he didn't let it show. "Hey." He replied simply.
Satisfied with his response; she quickly shoved the rest of the scattered items in her bag. "Ok I'm off." She then moved around the counter to kiss Baxter on the check in a friendly manner. "Later Bax, See you when I get back ok?"
He kept hold of her bended arms as he answered. "Without a doubt love, now be safe."
Jess watched silently and saw that they both had genuine smiles of affection on their faces. "I will." She then moved to pick up her other bags; extending the handle on the suitcase and slinging the other one over her shoulder. She walked past him, pausing slightly and gave him a small friendly wave. "Bye potential roommate."
"Bye." Was Jess's stoic reply.
A small bell sound came form the living room as a small furry form settled on the back of the couch to watch all three of them.
She quickly walked over to the form and whispered something to it while patting it affectionately.
Both men then watched as she walked out the front door with her bags; one still looking a bit confused and the other, saddened at her departure.