A/N: This was a story idea I had a looong time ago. It was in a poll that I posted on my Profile Page some time ago and got quite a few votes, but not as many as The Blame Game or Home Is Where You Are, so I ended up writing them first, and then Well Did You Ever?, etc. Anyway, finally I got back to this one and decided to run with it. The first chapter is short, but it's just setting up what's to come. Please do let me know if you like it :)

(Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and any recognisable dialogue from Gilmore Girls belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and other people that aren't me)

Chapter 1

Rory was in two minds about how she felt when it came to returning to Chilton for Junior Year. She had to admit there was plenty to like about the school, the classes, the facilities, some of the teachers even, but there were downsides to going back too. One issue was always going to be Mr Medina. It was barely a couple of weeks since her mom dumped Max, at very short notice before their wedding, and Rory was feeling all kinds of awkward about it.

The other fly in the Chilton ointment was one Paris Geller. She had quite decided that she and Rory were enemies by the end of Sophomore year, despite the two of them being some kind of quasi-friends for a while there. Trust a guy to mess things up, especially when that guy was Tristan DuGrey. Now it seemed Rory and Paris were destined not to get along at all, and Ms Geller certainly wasn't in a great mood when they first ran across each other in class that first day.

"It's not you," Louise insisted when Paris nearly snapped Rory's head off for just walking within three feet of her. "Honestly, it's way bigger than you," she rolled her eyes.

"You heard what happened, right?" asked Madeline in a low voice. "With Paris' parents?"

"Er, no," Rory shook her head, looking across at where Paris had taken her seat a short distance away. "I mean, she mentioned their relationship wasn't great."

"They've been circling each other in the divorce stakes for months now, total ongoing saga," said Louise in a voice just above a whisper. "Finally, her father decides to pull the plug on the whole thing, pretty much pays off the little wife just to get rid of her."

"Then he takes off on some kind of 'business trip' to New York," Madeline air quoted. "Comes back a week later with a new bride!"

"He... He remarried that fast?" asked Rory, stunned by the revelation and feeling just a little sorry for Paris if she were honest.

After the break down of the relationship between her parents, the last thing she needed was a hastily selected step mother. Unless of course Mr Geller had been seeing this woman all along. Rory frowned at all the negative implications. She hated to think badly of people without good reason, as a rule. Paris' parents didn't seem to have much time for her, or for each other, but she really didn't know either of them well enough to make judgements.

"If you're going to talk about me behind my back, at least get in all the important facts!" said Paris herself as she came storming over.

Rory literally stepped backwards as her frenemy came at her in a fury.

"You want the gory details, Gilmore?" she asked, not waiting for a response before she continued, her arms folded across her chest. "Here it comes. My parents got their divorce finalised in record time. Mom is gone, Dad went off to New York to find himself or some other vague and ridiculous Satre-esque idea. What he actually found was a waitress, and in a fit of insanity, he believes he fell in love with her. So home he comes with a new wife and just moves her right in with us to play happy families. What do you think to that?"

"Well, I..." Rory began, not really sure what to say for the best.

Paris didn't seem to care much about giving her time to think of a reasonable response and powered on regardless.

"Oh, and it's not just the step-monster that I gained, I get a step-brother too! How about that?"

Madeline and Louise shared a troubled look and then started to back away to their seats. Clearly they had heard this rant a few times already, so Rory completely understood their need to run. Still, she could've used not being left alone with a crazy-mad Paris.

"So, this new love in your father's life has a son. How old?" she asked curiously, thinking at least that was a reasonable question that couldn't cause too much more of an explosion.

Apparently she was wrong.

"Seventeen!" Paris yelled so loud that several people in the class room who hadn't been paying attention before now looked over out of curiosity. "And the worst part?"

"Um, you don't have to share a room or anything, right?" checked Rory, trying to think of the worst case scenario that might be making Paris so upset.

"Obviously not," she rolled her eyes dramatically. "But I have to share my academia. He's coming here! That reprobate, that commoner! At Chilton, on my father's dime!"

She was practically growling about it and Rory wanted to continue to feel at least sympathy but it was pretty tough. Rory herself was technically a commoner in a rich kids' school. Sure, her grandparents had money, but not herself or her mom.

"Paris, I don't think you should..."

"What? I'm supposed to be all politically correct to some random son of a waitress that my Dad brings home like a stray dog?!" yelled Paris, once again exploding at anyone who so much a glanced at her.

A couple of fools dared to make eye contact as they looked over and were soon shot down. Rory winced, and Paris carried on yelling.

"I'm glad my disastrous family situation is amusing to you! God, you must be saving a fortune on the movie channel by staring at me!"

"Paris," said Rory, almost putting a hand on her arm but thinking better of it at the last moment and pushing her own hair back behind her ear instead. "Um, well, maybe they won't be so bad to live with. I mean, you haven't known them long. Given time, you could get to know them, they might turn out to be nice people."

Paris snorted in unladylike fashion that that suggestion.

"I guess you'll find out for yourself soon enough, at least where the son is concerned," she explained, finally quietening down some when the teacher walked into the room. "He's with Headmaster Charleston for his induction talk, then I'm guessing he'll put in an appearance in class," she sighed heavily.

"Do these new step family members have names at least?" asked Rory carefully.

"Liz and Jess Mariano," said Paris grumpily. "I mean, how dumb is that? Jess? That's not even a name!"

"Well, I'm guessing he didn't name himself..."

Rory was prevented from finishing that thought and thankfully Paris was stopped from reacting to it either when Ms. Smith called the class to order. Everybody took their seats and the actual educational portion of the day began. Rory wasn't thinking much about Paris and her step family after that, just concentrating on her work, though it was hard to ignore the fact that her usual rival wasn't raising her hand to answer half so many questions as usual.

It was not long before the bell was due to ring when a knock came on the door. Ms Smith had the class quietly reading the next chapter in the text book by then, and so it got a lot of attention when she called for whomsoever was knocking to come in. Rory looked up from her book, just like everybody else in class, as a new boy walked in. He had to be Paris' step-brother, Jess, it was the only explanation, but Rory was surprised by how he looked. She had expected some punk with piercings and green hair, or maybe a real loner with a duffel bag and a weird smell coming off him. Paris certainly described something repulsive, but Jess really wasn't anything like that at all. Actually, Rory couldn't help but think how surprisingly good-looking he was as she watched him quietly converse with the teacher. He was dressed in the standard issue Chilton uniform like everybody else, and yet somehow he carried it off better, made it look cooler. Rory couldn't figure out how that worked but it did. He had dark hair and dark eyes, if she had to guess Rory would say he was maybe a little bit Italian or something, certainly the name Mariano suggested it, she realised, when the teacher introduced the newcomer to the whole class and then pointed him towards the only empty seat, two rows across from Rory. She hadn't realised she was staring until she found he was staring right back, smirking at her apparent inability to look away. Rory blushed furiously and put her eyes back to her book.

When she spared Jess another glance at least five minutes later, he was reading too, but from this angle it didn't look like he was nose-deep in the text book for class at all. If Rory didn't know better, she would say he was reading Slaughter-House Five. The bell rang, the teacher dismissed class and chairs scraped against the tile as everybody got up to leave. It took Rory a moment to realise she was the only one not moving. She gathered her books quickly then, focusing on getting to her next class and not expending any more energy on wondering about the new kid. Perhaps that would have been easier if she had been looking where she was going and not ploughed right into that very person.

"Sorry," she said, righting herself fast. "Um, yeah, I am sorry," she repeated lamely.

"Is that your given name or...?" he asked amusedly.

Rory opened her mouth to explain herself and then realised at the last that he was joking. He was smirking again, and it was getting real old, real fast. She just wished he would move so she could successfully get out of the door this time, but he didn't.

"My given name is Lorelai, but most people call me Rory," she explained, a little snippily.

"Lorelai? Like the mermaid?" he checked. "Because I'm not really getting the temptress vibe, though you do seem like you might be dangerous to know," he teased, referring to their collision moments before.

Rory found a smirk of her own forming as she lifted her chin defiantly and gave him a light shove out of her way.

"You have no idea," she said then as she walked away.

Jess watched her go and a genuine smile replaced the smirk he had been wearing this whole time. Maybe having to go to this snotty private school wouldn't be so bad after all.

To Be Continued...