Title: All grown up
Summary: Sequel to The Kid. It's almost eight years to the day when Jess Mariano returned to Stars Hollow with his younger sister in tow. Now Annie, Stars Hollow's newest golden girl, is a teenager. True to her guardians, raising this kid isn't easy. Follow Annie, Jess and Rory as they struggle to make their family work under the ever-watchful eyes of Stars Hollow
Rating: M. And it will be justified all the way.
Author's note: I just wanted to start this off by thanking (big, bold, THANKING) every reader that happened upon The Kid and stuck with it, even though sometimes it got sort of... random, I guess. Writing and posting on the fly, it happens. I have a plan for this sequel, sort of an overall plan but I'm finding where it's going chapter by chapter, so if you have any ideas, please drop by and share. I especially wanted to thank those readers who left a little note, a review, their thoughts. They help through the bumps and blank spots. Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy the sequel. Without further ado, I give you...
ALL GROWN UP
CHAPTER 1 – Making Plans
"DOULA ANNE JAMESON, where do you think you're going?" a voice asked from the kitchen.
Caught in mid-tiptoe, the sixteen-year-old froze. Busted.
"Uh... Out?" Annie attempted. She'd seen it work before.
Jess Mariano, his hair unkempt, walked out into the living room drying his hands on a dishtowel. "Try again, kid." Annie could almost smell the freshly chopped tomatoes on his fingers.
Annie sighed. "Luke's," she replied, shuffling her feet.
"But dinner's almost ready. And Rory'll be here any minute now," he reminded her.
Annie shrugged. "I know, I know, it's just that the twins said..." She looked up at Jess just as his eyes dropped in disappointment. "You know what, never mind. I can see them later. Haven't seen Rory in over a month."
Jess's eyes lit up again. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Thanks, kid. Rory'll be really happy you stayed."
Annie forced a smile. "Don't mention it." She hung her jacket back up on the coat rack. "Want me to set the table?" she asked, trying to hide her disappointment.
- - - - - - - - - -
Luke made the rounds with a coffee pot in one hand. His graying hair was covered in a baseball cap as per usual.
He stopped at a table where two lanky korean boys had taken it upon themselves to build a percussion band with the regular table toppings: Salt shakers, forks, spoons, napkin dispensers, ketchup bottles. Brian was playing the main beat with two spoons. Lee filled in with the forks on the various surfaces.
"Will you stop if I give you free coffee?" Luke asked.
Lee narrowed his eyes at Luke. "I think you're confusing us with your niece."
"Or with a Gilmore," Brian added, never stopping his beat.
"Your mother must be real proud of you," Luke muttered.
"Not today," Lee replied. "We're trying to learn how to play Cuban percussion, so she threw us out."
"Couldn't believe how un-rock-and-roll we were being," Brian volunteered. "Hence our presence in this food-dispensing establishment."
Luke sighed. "Do you want something to eat?"
"We're waiting for Annie," Brian answered.
"Well, just keep it down a bit, ok? Else Kirk will start coming in here with his ukelele," Luke warned, walking away.
"Kirk has a ukelele?" Lee asked.
Brian shrugged. Just then his cell phone rang. "It's Annie," he told his brother. "Speak," he told the phone. "U-huh. U-huh. Traitor..." Lee rolled his eyes, knowing all too well what was going on. "Ok. Will do. Bye."
"Family stuff?" Lee asked, knowingly.
Brian nodded. "Rory gets back from overseas this afternoon."
"So the plan would be..." Lee started.
Brian agreed. "Hey, Luke? We'll take you up on the free food for silence deal," they called out. Luke nodded. He motioned his pen towards a tall girl with stick-straight hair.
"Hey, guys, what can I do you for?" she asked, pushing her glasses up.
"Hey, Lynn. Didn't know you were working here this summer," Lee said.
Brian nodded. "Thought your dad hated the diner."
Lynn Forrester nodded. "He does. But he also doesn't want me to tear Seth apart limb for limb, which is exactly what would happen if I had to work over at Doose's market with my brother. And Luke was hiring, and he loves pissing off Dad, so..." She motioned to the diner with her pen. "Here I am."
Brian watched her talk with a look of concentrated infatuation. Lee kicked him under the table.
"So, how're the Chili Fries today?" Lee asked.
Lynn shrugged. "Oh, you know... Chili-ish. But I could get Cesar to make up an extra-spicy batch for you two."
"Thanks, that'd be great," Lee replied.
Brian tried to think of something smart to say but all he could come up with was, "And two cherry cokes."
Lynn smiled. "Coming right up."
Lee slumped lower into his seat. "You have great style. You know... Smooth."
"Shut up," Brian replied, sulkily. "This could all have been averted if Red had gotten here on time."
"The burdens of befriending a girl with complex family history."
"Yeah."
"Well, you can always kill her if she survives the night."
- - - - - - -
Jess fidgeted, his fingers twisting the dishtowel every which way.
This always happened on days like these.
On the days Rory returned from a long trip abroad, a few things would happen.
First off, Annie's music would sound twice as annoying as usual. So he'd get into a fight with her, she'd tell him to fuck off, then they'd both apologize and look sheepish.
Second, he'd cook something with a deep-seated fear that it would taste like crap.
Third, he'd twist a dishtowel within an inch of its life.
Jess Mariano had to admit it, he was getting silly in his old age.
The fourth thing that would happen, and it would invariably happen at the exact moment the thought of old age popped into his head, he would look at his reflection in the mirror by the door.
He searched for signs of his old self.
He still saw Jess Mariano, town hoodlum, somewhere in there, below the crow's feet and the sparse grey hairs. Only when he saw a glimpse of that, could he take a deep breath and walk to the porch.
Then he would sit on the hammock (not the same one they'd put up almost eight years ago, but another one, in exactly the same place) and wait for her cab to appear up the road.
She was wearing her hair long again, or at least she had been when he'd dropped her off at the airport two months ago, and he was itching to run his fingers through it.
She'd already called to say the airplane had landed. And knowing Rory, she'd probably also called Lorelai and Paris to let them know she was back on good, old, U.S. of A. soil.
He fixed his hair in front of the mirror, and went out to the porch to wait.
- - - - - - -
Annie plopped back on her bed and sighed. One more Saturday afternoon wasted.
Not that she didn't want to see Rory. She did. After all, Rory was practically her mother.
That was just it.
It was completely unnatural for a teenager to spend all her time with her parental figures. That alone was weird enough, Lee and Brian never tired of pointing out. Add to that the fact that the parental figures are your brother and his live-in-girlfriend of eight years and you got yourself a case of big weird. Lorelai Gilmore and daughter kind of weird.
She hadn't minded all that much before but now... She got that both Jess and Rory had crappy relationships with at least one parent and how they tried to be there for her, but sometimes they were there too much.
She stared at her cellphone.
Not like it made much of a difference. The phone doesn't ring more often just because you stare at it.
She heard a car approach, and then she heard Jess's footsteps on the porch, and she knew it was time to smile and walk downstairs.
- - - - - - - -
Rory Gilmore took a deep breath of relief once the house was in sight.
She could see him in the distance, sitting on the hammock.
She loved this quiet moment before getting home, when there were no words, no reproaches, no stories, no kisses, no tears, nothing except the joyous expectation of being home again and the sight of the house getting closer.
And she loved that he shared this moment with her, that he was always sitting there waiting for her.
The car pulled up to the driveway and she paid the cabbie before even looking out to him.
When she did, she grinned widely and all but kicked the door open.
They never actually ran to one another. They just kind of sheepishly gravitated towards each other like they had that time of their first kiss.
Rory linked her hands with Jess's while the cabbie unloaded the luggage.
Rory buried her face in Jess's olive green jacket and Jess tipped the cabbie. As the cab drove away, Jess kissed Rory's forehead, caressed her hair. She'd started to grow it out again a year ago and he loved it. It reminded him of kissing her when they'd been teenagers. "Hey," she said.
"Hey," he whispered back.
"I missed you."
"Right back at you."
Rory smiled into his shirt. She heard light footsteps on the porch and she took a step back to look over Jess's shoulder. This time she did run. So did Annie. They ran to each other and hugged and jumped up and down.
"You're so tall!" Rory said. "Isn't she taller, Jess?" Rory shook her head, and Annie smiled. Ok, Annie had to admit it. She had missed Rory. As much fun as Jess was, once a girl gets used to having another girl around, there are just some things boys can't help you with. "I swear, every time I come back, you're like, a foot taller."
"You lie!" Annie said, smiling.
"And you cut your hair! It looks really nice," Rory complimented.
"I missed you!" Annie said, hugging Rory again.
"I missed you, too."
Jess ran his hand through his hair and harrumphed. "If you two girls are done bonding, I'd like to go through the space you're occupying with a heavy suitcase. If you don't mind."
Rory stuck her tongue out at him. "Crabby," she said.
Annie rolled her eyes. "You have no idea."
- - - - - - - -
"Next time I go to Asia, you are coming with me, Annie," Rory said, in between bites of Jess's mac and cheese. "You would've loved the Angkor Wat temple." She had already excitedly described the past two months and all but produced a slideshow.
Annie smiled. "You'll have to convince Jess and Uncle Luke to let me skip school."
Jess rolled his eyes and poured wine into Rory's glass.
"We'll sneak off without telling," Rory replied. "I think my mom still has her incognito outfits in the Crap Shack."
"Those wouldn't be the black pants, black turtlenecks, black beanies?" Jess quipped.
"Don't forget the sunglasses," Annie chimed in.
"Mock away. But it would be a learning experience," Rory replied. "Anyway, since we're on the subject, how's school?"
Annie smirked. A classic Danes smirk. "Almost out."
"You're not enjoying it," Rory stated.
"I think I'd enjoy it more if the teachers didn't think we were morons. If next year starts with another 'What-did-you-do-over-the-holidays' essay, I will drop out," Annie said.
Jess stopped chewing. "You will not."
Annie rolled her eyes. "Whatever, dad," she replied.
Rory gave Jess a steadying look. This was always how their fights started. "This is me, just got in, too tired from the flight to get in the middle of this fight."
"Sorry," they said in unison.
"So aside from school, what's been going on?" Rory asked.
Annie shrugged. "Not much."
"Is there an end-of-the-schoolyear dance?" Rory pushed.
Annie nodded. "Lorelai promised to make me a dress if I wanted to go. Still haven't decided."
"You should go," Rory replied. "Jess hated all school-related-social-functions and look at what he's become."
"Mock me all you want, I'm not chaperoning any proms," Jess chimed in.
"You would if I let you spike the punch," Rory countered.
Annie laughed. Rory had him pegged. "I'll think about it," Annie said, lying a little. "Wouldn't want to end up like Jess here."
"That hurts," Jess deadpanned.
Annie finished her food and started clearing the dishes. "So, I was wondering if I could..." she started, cautiously.
"Go over to Luke's to meet the twins?" Jess completed.
"Yup."
"Free country," Jess replied.
Rory kicked Jess under the table. "What he means is that of course you can. Thanks for having dinner with us."
Annie leaned in and hugged Rory. "I did miss you."
She leaned in to Jess and kissed his cheek. "And I won't be out late."
"Be careful," Jess warned as Annie bounced into her room to get ready.
"It's Stars Hollow. What could happen?" Rory asked.
Jess sighed. "She could get roped in by a local."
"I did not rope you in," Rory said, tossing a napkin at Jess.
"If the shoe fits..."
"Who's roping her in?" Rory asked.
Jess shrugged. "Don't know. But something's going on, and if I find out the name of the guy I'll kill him with my bare hands."
"Danes genes, kicking in." Rory asked."You don't think it's Brian or Lee?"
"No. Someone else."
Rory sighed. "She'll tell us eventually." She got up. "Come on. I'll help you clean up," she said, taking a couple of glasses to the sink.
Jess stopped her hand mid-motion. "Leave it. We'll clean tomorrow. Right now, there's more important stuff to do."
"Like what?" Rory taunted.
"Like what did you bring me?" he asked, twining his hand with hers.
"Who says I brought you anything?"
Annie bounded out of her room. "Bye, guys."
"Stop by Doose's and get some Pop-tarts, please," Jess called out.
A groan. Footsteps.
Annie returned, extended her hand. Jess gave her a ten dollar bill. "Three boxes."
"You forgot to get my Pop-tarts this week at the market," Rory said.
"We don't inhale them like you do," Jess said, justifying himself.
"I'm going," Annie reminded them.
"Grab a jacket!" Rory called out after her.
"I did!" Annie replied.
The door closed behind her. "She really has gotten way too tall," Rory added.
"Rory?" Jess asked.
Rory turned to face him. "Yeah?"
Suddenly, Jess was kissing her. She sunk into the kiss, boneless. His mouth expertly welcomed her back home, made her remember what it was that anchored her here. "Right. Hello to you too."
"It's been too long," Jess reminded her, kissing her jaw.
"What about your present?" Rory teased.
"I think the present can wait," Jess replied. "I'd rather unwrap you now," he said, kissing her neck. His fingers moved to her blouse and started to unbutton it.
Rory bit her lip to contain a moan as his mouth moved lower, to her collarbone. "Wish granted."
- - - - - - - -
They barely made it to the room. They barely made it out of their clothes.
They didn't make it to the bed.
He was inside her and they couldn't think. She moaned with abandon, and he murmured her name over and over and over again. He moved and she moved and the door moved. She closed her eyes and fought to get enough air, because she couldn't breath, not when they were this close, not when he was doing that... oh, god, that...
"Jess..." she whispered, over and over again. "Please... please..."
He readjusted his hold on her, lifted her thighs just a little higher. It was a minuscule change in angle, but he knew, as he knew her body, that it would be enough. Years of exploring her body had taught him exactly what she needed now. He thrust into her once again, twice, and she was there, his name flowing from her lips like a prayer. He came a few seconds later, and it took all his strength to keep them from sliding to the floor.
When the tremors subsided he carried her over to the bed. They lay down together, fingers intertwined.
"Hey," she said, almost blushing. Even after all these years.
"Hey you," he replied. He laughed against her shoulder. "I needed that..."
"I've been dreaming of that since the day I left," Rory countered.
"Next time you go to Asia, I'm coming with," Jess quipped. "Even if I have to be the one staging the coup. I'm boning up on those foreign languages."
Rory let out a contented sigh. She took Jess's hand in his, played with the light streaming through his fingers. Biting her lower lip, she seemed absorbed in thought.
"Something on your mind?" Jess asked.
Rory nodded lightly. "You know that thing we talked about years ago?"
"How Pop-Tarts were astronaut food first?" Jess quipped.
"No. The other thing. The important thing," Rory said.
Jess ran his right hand over her belly. "The kid thing?"
Rory nodded. "I'm ready to stop traveling for the next few years. If the bookstore's doing well, I mean."
Jess nodded, his mouth agape. Practicality first, that was Rory alright. "We have savings. Good savings. Still have some money left over from the book advance. Next payment should come through as soon as I'm done with the next draft. We've got enough money for college, for Annie."
"And we have the trust fund Christopher set up for me. We haven't touched that."
"It'll be fun having a kid running around again," Jess said softly.
Rory nodded. "And Annie's older now, she's mature enough to deal with it. She won't feel threatened or diminished."
"You sound like you're planning a hostile takeover. Show me that pro-con list," Jess said.
Rory rolled her eyes. "Don't mock the pro-con list."
"Rory..."
"Let's just say there were absolutely no cons and 127 pros," Rory said.
Jess smiled. "You wanna have a baby with me?" he asked.
"Current polls point to that outcome," Rory quipped.
"So..."
"So..."
Jess kissed Rory on the lips, softly. He readjusted his weight. "So we start trying, I guess."
"What, now?" Rory asked, mocking him.
He trailed kisses all the way down to her belly. "No time like the present."
- - - - - - - - -
Annie walked into the diner with a certain sense of dread.
She had spent the last eight years of her life walking into the diner at least once a day. The dread was not to the diner itself but to the gnawing sensation of days going by and nothing interesting happening.
Every day was like the next.
School. Home. Diner. Home. Up to do it again the next day.
"Red, you made it!" Lee called out. Annie pushed her reddish hair out of her eyes. Red. A bad nickname that had stuck. Lee and Brian only called her that when they were angry, or upset, or annoyed.
She was betting on number 3.
She waved hello to Luke and plopped down on the chair in front of Brian. "You know how it is."
"Rory's back?" Brian asked.
Annie nodded. "Yup."
"At least now your brother will have someone to distract him," Lee added helpfully.
"Yeah, she'll keep him out of your hair," Brian volunteered.
"Who knows, maybe you'll see the sun long enough to get a date for the dance," Lee commented, playfully bumping her shoulder.
Annie slid down in her chair and groaned. "I wouldn't bet on that. Jess has a track record of castrating all boys that might have the slight idea of walking past me," Annie replied.
"Not us," Lee countered, offended.
"Yeah, but you guys are like... cousins or something. Doesn't count," Annie explained. "I'm depressed. I need junk food."
"I thought you just ate," Lee said.
"I grew up with Rory Gilmore. I learned what it means to eat," Annie pointed out, backing away from the table.
She walked over to the counter to where her Uncle was punching numbers into the calculator. "Hey, Uncle Luke."
"You're not getting coffee," he said, barely looking up.
"Come oooooon," she whined. "Please, please, please, please..."
Luke groaned. He looked up at Annie who was practically jumping over the counter. "No coffee after eight p.m. It's the agreement."
"If I was Rory or Lorelai you'd give in," Annie pouted.
"It's too late for them and their ulcers. You, on the other hand, I can save."
"Come on. Jess has been impossible, Rory's back, and now they're at the house probably going at it like bunnies and I'm here, all alone, wishing for nothing but some coffee and a doughnut."
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Rory's back, huh?"
Annie nodded.
"Good, that'll get Jess to lighten up a bit."
Annie smiled sideways. "Everyone says that. Me, I have my doubts."
"He's just looking out for you, you know that, right?" Luke pointed out.
Annie nodded.
"I was worse with him."
"I've heard the stories."
"Didn't work, though."
"Heard that too."
"What kind of doughnut?" asked Luke, giving in.
"Chocolate sprinkles!" Annie requested.
"Go sit, I'll send them to the table with Lynn."
Annie narrowed her eyes. "Lynn Forrester? You hired her?"
"She wanted a job, I had one."
"You just did it to mess with Mr. Forrester."
Luke let a small smile leave his lips. "That's just a perk. She's efficient and she doesn't glare at customers," he pointed out.
"I resent that. I do not glare at customers. I glare at Kirk, Taylor, and the idiot who asks for twenty coffee refills but never tips," Annie replied. "And the lady that comes here on Wednesdays and barks."
"Right. So you're still going to work here this summer, right?"
Annie nodded. "Gotta work to support my crack habit."
Luke shook his head. To hear a sixteen-year old talk about drugs so lightly always made him feel strange. But Annie and Jess had grown up with the knowledge of Liz's activities and the fact that they made light of it, though uncomfortable for him, made sense. It was a way of dealing with it.
"It's like you're Jess but with long hair," Luke muttered.
"I'm going to go wait for my coffee... You know, before your head explodes from all that stress."
"You do that."
- - - - - - - -
Doose's was deserted, and five minutes from closing, when Annie finally worked up the energy to go in.
She scanned the aisles for something new and exciting, but found no such thing. She sighed and headed straight for the Pop-tarts.
She grabbed the three boxes and, balancing them in one arm, struggled to keep them from falling as she searched her pockets for the money.
In a manner not unlike Rory's, she walked without looking to where she was going, only to find herself slamming into someone tall. The boxes flew out of her hands.
"Watch it, Red," he said, steadying her.
Annie looked up at Seth. For a sixteen year old, Seth was almost as tall as his father. He had longish blonde hair. He was wearing the classic Doose's green apron.
"You watch it," she replied, picking up the boxes.
"What the hell is your problem?" Seth asked, following her to the cash register.
"I have zero problems. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Except that you're following me," she rambled. "You do know stalking is a felony in Connecticut, right?"
Seth shook his head in disbelief. "I work here. It's almost closing so it's just me, working. You bring stuff to the register," Seth explained, pointing the price gun at the boxes. "I ring up the purchases, you pay. It's how this generally works."
Annie smiled tensely. "Thanks for the update. Always a pleasure to hear about how this wonderful establishment functions." She pushed the ten-dollar bill onto the counter and walked out without waiting for the change.
"Nut-job!" Seth called after her, but she was already out of the store, stuffing the boxes into a plastic bag as she walked.
- - - - - - - - -
Rory lay in bed, her pajama of choice one of Jess's t-shirts. She liked these moments when they were the old-unmarried-married-couple, showered and dressed for bed. He liked it when they wore clothes to bed, because he loved undressing her. She traced lazy circles on Jess's belly by the lamplight. Jess proofed some pages, something that Rory usually did for him.
"I've been thinking about what Annie said," Rory started.
Jess looked up from his papers. "Which part?"
"About not feeling challenged in school. How she's bored. Kinda reminded me of someone."
Jess took off his glasses and set them on the bedside table. "Who?"
"You. And me."
"Chilton always challenged you," Jess pointed out.
"The reason I went to Chilton was because Stars Hollow High was getting... well... boring."
Rory had caught his attention, she could tell. "You think private school would be a better idea for Annie?"
"Or maybe she could take some AP classes in a college nearby. I don't know. There are options."
"You think they'd take her? At some place like Chilton, I mean."
Rory shrugged. "I don't see why not. She has great grades, work ethic, she's done some volunteering. Plus she has an interesting profile, she's been taking dancing lessons since she was seven."
"Raised by unwed brother, mother in and out of rehab until a few years ago," Jess countered.
Rory felt the pang of regret in Jess's voice. "Hey, you. You... we've given her a stable home. As stable as can be. Plus, my mom was unwed when I got into Chilton."
"Right."
"Anyway, we'd have to ask her first, see if she's interested in taking the placement test."
"You ask her. If I ask her, she'll think it's some ploy to lock her up in a castle or something."
Rory propped herself up on her elbows. "You two have been having trouble getting along?"
Jess shrugged. "Don't know. Things have been getting harder. She doesn't want to talk to me much anymore. She's secretive, and she doesn't like to be around the house so much, she likes to go out all the time. Almost like she's avoiding me."
"You tend to be a little overprotective."
"I'm just looking out for her."
Rory sat up and kissed Jess's bare shoulder. "I know you are. But maybe, just maybe, you should give her some space. Trust her judgement. She's got a good head on her shoulders."
Jess nodded. "I'll try."
"Plus you raised her. And you were nothing if not trouble when you were her age."
"I was a gentleman."
"You were a hoodlum."
Just then Rory heard the front door close. Soft steps approached their door. Catching the light from under the door, Annie knocked.
"You guys decent?" she asked.
Rory blushed, Jess rolled his eyes. "Come in."
Annie opened the door with her hand over her eyes. Peeked. Smiled. "Just wanted to let you know I'd gotten in."
"How are the twins?" Rory asked.
"Banned from their living room until they decide to drop the Cuban Percussion Project and go back to rock-and-roll," Annie explained, plopping down at the foot of the bed.
"Man, Lane can be worse than Mama Kim," Jess pointed out.
"Luke?" Rory asked.
"Refused to give me coffee."
"Blasphemy!" Rory deadpanned.
"Smart man," Jess countered.
"I talked him out of his crazy ways. He told me to tell you that Lorelai would be out of town until Thursday at the Inn Convention Thingy in New York," Annie said, trying to recall the exact name of the convention. "She took Hannah with her."
"She told me, I talked to her on the phone."
"Oh, Oh, and this is good gossip!" Annie started, pounding her hands on the mattress. "Luke hired Lynn."
"Lynn?" Jess asked, confused.
"Lynnette Forrester. You know, Dean Forrester's daughter?"
Jess groaned. Rory swatted his arm. "What?"
"No need to bring the kids in on your feud with Dean," Rory said sternly.
"Everyone knows you and Dean don't like each other. Luke really doesn't like Dean. And Dean never lets Lynn or Seth eat at Luke's. That's why the gossip is so good. Word is that Lynn's mom and dad had a huge fight over it. Finally they let her take the job, because Lynn's mom threatened divorce or something."
"Go, Lindsay!" Jess joked. Rory elbowed him again.
"What have I said about this before?" Rory asked.
Jess and Annie sang along in unison. "We will not mock Dean Forrester."
"Thank you."
"So Annie... I have this idea... It might be a solution to your problems at school," Rory mentioned.
"I can drop out?" Annie asked, excitedly, knowing it was a bad joke. Jess groaned.
"Do you think Chilton would be a good fit for you?" Rory asked.
Annie's mouth dropped open. She forced it closed. She looked over to Jess for help, but he just looked at his hands.
"Stuck up, private-school Chilton?" Annie asked.
"Challenging, competitive, I-went-there Chilton," Rory replied.
Annie fidgeted with the sheets. "No offense, but I don't think I'd fit it."
Rory pursed her lips. "I didn't really fit in socially either, not really," she conceded. "But the curriculum and the teachers... Well, it was really hard but I learned a lot."
Annie nodded. "I learn."
"But you're bored in school," Jess said.
"So were you, but you didn't go to private school," Annie pointed out.
"I was. Bored to death of Stars Hollow High," Rory confessed. "Going to Chilton gave me and edge to get into the college I wanted."
Annie nodded, trying to get it to sink in. "I'm not sure about this," she said, biting her lower lip.
"We're not saying, hey, you're switching schools. It's your choice because it is a lot of work and it's your life. But maybe you want to look into the curriculum, have a look around campus... Then, if you want, you take the entrance exam."
"So even if I wanted to go, I have to take a test to see if I get in? Oh, maaaan."
Jess raised his eyebrows. He always did that when Annie did something that was purely Jess-inherited. "Crazy, right?"
Annie shook her head a little, softly, just to clear her head. "Can't hurt to look around, see what the classes are like."
Rory grinned from ear to ear. "I could get you an appointment."
"Cool," Annie nodded.
At least it would be something different. At least it would be something to do.
"Anyway, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," Annie said, smoothing the sheets where she'd just been sitting.
Rory rolled her eyes. "You have any big plans for tomorrow?"
Annie shook her head. "Nope."
"Maybe we can go shopping or something?" Rory suggested.
"Sure," Annie replied. "Goodnight."
"Night, kid," Jess called out after her. Annie closed the bedroom door.
"Have I ever told you how much I love our family?" Rory asked softly, burying her nose on Jess's bare shoulder.
He kissed her forehead softly. "I think so."
"Good. Don't want to be repetitive."
"Or redundant."
- - - - - - - - - -
Annie closed the door to her bedroom.
Private school. What a curious idea.
It would mean no twins. That would just be... unheard of.
Also would mean no Forresters.
No Seth Forrester.
She groaned into her pillow. That would be just swell. He wouldn't be around to bug her in school.
She wouldn't be around to see him leave school with his arm around a different girl every week.
Private school was sounding pretty good right about now.
TBC...
Author's note 2: Soooooo... How do you like it? As I said before, most of the usual suspects will male an appearance. Hopefully you enjoyed this... Let me know!
