A/N: The other day I got the urge to write about a Paris and Jess friendship and then this happened. I hope you like it! I'm kind of just jumping in here, but for some backstory they exchanged email addresses when they were hanging out with Rory in There's The Rub and they became friends. Super simple. The title and chapter titles are from All Time Low's Under a Paper Moon so don't pay too much attention to them if they don't seem to fit a chapter :)

"How could she do this to me?"

"How could who do what to you?" Jess asked, getting comfortable on the couch. These types of phone calls always took a while.

"What do you mean who? Your girlfriend, only my best friend in the world." Paris sighed. "Rory didn't tell you what happened at school?"

Jess cleared his throat uncomfortably. "She might have mentioned an incident in gym class. She didn't really elaborate, she just said that it wasn't a big deal." He instantly regretted his choice of words. For Paris, everything was a big deal.

"Not a big deal? Hah! She betrayed me! And now everyone knows about it and they all think I'm the moron."

"Okay, let's get rid of the emphasis there. Nobody thinks anyone is a moron. What happened though?"

Paris let out a long sigh. "She told Francie that I have a boyfriend," she said dramatically. When Jess didn't respond right away, she sighed again. "Aren't you even going to say anything?"

"Okay. Is it possible that she said it in an offhand kind of way, or that she was actually defending you somehow?" As much as Jess tried to maintain a neutral position he couldn't exactly throw his girlfriend under the bus. "Maybe she didn't know you wanted it to be a secret."

Paris was quiet for a moment. "It should have been a secret. How on earth can I be an effective leader if everyone thinks I'm preoccupied with my boyfriend? It shatters my credibility. Look at Madeline and Louise! They spend more time picking out nail polish for a date than they do on anything for school."

"Rory has a boyfriend," Jess pointed out rather unnecessarily. "Does that shatter her credibility?"

"She's not the president," Paris said quickly. "I am. I have to be a strong leader. Do you think people would respect Hilary Clinton if she ended every speech with 'And that's my speech, now I have to go make Bill dinner'?"

Jess laughed, which prompted an irritated noise from Paris. "I'm sorry. I just can't imagine you closing out a meeting by saying you have to go make dinner for your boyfriend. Paris, no one is going to think less of you if you have a boyfriend. And Jamie goes to Princeton, not the local clown college. That has to count for something."

"She told you all about him. Of course she did. Nothing is private anymore!"

"She just mentioned him when she was telling me about the summer program you guys did in DC. I promise Rory is not out to ruin your life or discredit you in any way. She likes you. You're friends."

Paris was quiet. "I've never had a best friend before. I barely have any friends as it is. High school is hard, you know. There's a lot going on and I don't have time to cuddle up to some other losers because Rory is being a pain in the ass."

"Yeah, I know. I don't have a lot of friends either. But you've got Rory. And you've got me."