Author: Scarlettmarch

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

Possession

Rory Gilmore sat at the cluttered desk in her office, staring at the forms and reviews that lay in front of her. As if in a trance, never taking her eyes off of the documents on the polished mahogany, she walked to her kitchen to get a glass of water. It was times like these that she was glad that the advance for her book afforded her the luxury of working in her apartment instead of in a cubicle, slaving away at a mundane and miserable 9 to 5 job.

She lowered herself slowly into the leather chair, and taking deep gulps of water that painfully burned her lungs, reread all the advance reviews for her book. It was being hailed as, "The Great American Love Story," "a masterpiece on the pain and futility of being in love," and "a novel that will smash your heart into a million little pieces." The book was going to be on the cover of The New York Times Book Review in two weeks, and the buzz surrounding it practically guaranteed her place on the NYT Bestseller's List.

This book, the child she had nursed and raised into existence, was going to be read by everyone, everywhere. Which made it even harder for her to do that which she knew she needed to. This book was his child as much as it was hers, perhaps even more so. He was the one who had written the story without ever having put words down upon paper; that was her task. It would be easy to write the dedication to her mother, but that would have been a lie. And writing their story was the only truly honest thing she had ever done; it would be a blasphemy to tarnish it now. It deserved better than this, they deserved better than this, he deserved better than this.

And so, with her hands trembling, she poised her pen above the paper, and began to write.

To the man I named Dodger, the one who always got away.

You are the only one who can write the end of our story.

_________________________

The wedding rehearsal had just ended, and Jess could see his fiancée coming over to his side of the room after talking with her parents. Jess cursed under his breath when he saw her coming towards him with a gift-wrapped box. This was the only thing he hated about the woman he was going to marry in the upcoming hours, the presents she insisted on giving him. Not being a big reader herself, she always gave him the books that were at the top of one Bestseller's List or another. These books were terribly written 99% of the time, but then again, this percentage was only based on the few he actually bothered to read; the rest he placed on a high shelf somewhere in his apartment as soon as he received them.

She laughed as she saw him about to flip to the dedication page. He likened this habit to that of Billy Crystal's in When Harry Met Sally: Crystal's character always read the last page of a book before anything else, so he would know what happened in case he died before he finished reading. Jess, on the other hand, always checked first to see who the book was dedicated to, and how that dedication was written. If it seemed worthy, Jess continued to read the book. If not, the book had just found a new home on his shelf.

So, continuing with his tradition, Jess flipped to the dedication page. He read quickly, trying to make a snap judgment. Then he read it again, more slowly. And again, until the words were the only thing he could see, the only things that mattered.

Breathing in sharply, Jess closed his eyes, and let the waves rushing through and over his body carry him out to a state of calm.

Finally, he slowly opened his eyes, and was heartened by the fact that the woman he was about to marry hadn't noticed a thing, being very concerned by whether or not her French manicure had chipped. Slowly (everything seemed to be moving slowly now), Jess closed the book, and, with difficulty, tried to focus his eyes on the author's name. It could all have been a sick coincidence, one of fate's jokes. However, fate's taste in humor was even more terrible than he had previously imagined: the author's name was the same one that Jess had been trying to wipe from his mind for almost a decade now, to no avail.

Rory Gilmore.

_______________________

Jess, with strength he didn't know he possessed, was able to act naturally enough to make it home without anybody detecting anything unusual. He quickly maneuvered the keys out of his pocket and into the lock, and then locked it behind him. Then, he collapsed.

With his back sliding down the door, Jess thought ironically that Rory had always caught him before he fell. This time, though, there was no one to catch him before he made impact with the cold, unforgiving wood of the floor. And then, hearing fate's cruel laugh ring once again in his ears, the book slipped out of his hands and fell open to the dedication page.

_______________________

Rory pulled open the door to Starbucks, and shuddered as her body became acclimated to the coffee shop's warmth. Tapping her toes as she waited on the long line, she was happy to see that Johnny, her favorite Starbucks employee, was on duty this morning. He got her usual ready immediately, and moments later, she was on her way.

Dashing her way quickly through the crowd and taking large gulps at the same time, Rory's heart began to race. She couldn't believe what she was about to do. After her book came out, she had waited and waited for Jess to contact her. She told herself that she wasn't expecting him to call her up and madly profess his love for her… but then again, that was just what she was telling herself. Rory had tried to believe that he hadn't seen the book (or its dedication) but the entire city was abuzz with the question: who was he? When asked that question, which was quite often, considering the amount of interviews she had done, she just smiled coyly and looked away, her eyes slightly glazed over.

But how hadn't he seen it? Or what if he had seen it, but he just didn't feel that way about her?

Rory violently pushed those questions out of her head, and continued to walk at a furious pace towards the church, ignoring the snow falling slowly upon the busy streets.

______________________

The church was only a block away. Rory paused in a moment of reverence for its beauty and gazed upward, following the Gothic architecture. Shaken out of her reverie by an angry passerby, Rory quickly turned and threw away the empty coffee cup she had been holding. Taking deep breaths, she ran up the wide stairs, taking them two at a time. Thinking desperate thoughts, she hoped that it wasn't already over. She had only found out about it this morning, from one of his coworkers whose number she had gotten a hold of.

Standing on the tips of her toes, Rory peered through the stained glass windows. The bride was walking down the aisle, slowly, holding a bouquet of red roses. Rory entered slowly, hoping the door wouldn't close too loudly. Every romantic comedy she had ever seen (and that was quite a lot, thanks to Lorelai's tutelage) had the person wait to speak until that fateful moment, when the priest would announce to the gathered crowd, "Speak now, or forever hold your peace." Rory was unsure if she could wait that long, but she would try. Thankfully, the door didn't slam shut behind her, and no one turned around to look at her. Well, one person saw her enter, but he didn't exactly need to turn around.

­­______________________

Jess took his eyes off those of his bride when he saw the large wooden door open slightly. Luckily, the person who had just entered was just to the left of his bride, so no one thought to follow Jess's eyes. But when he looked at Rory. . .

______________________

They locked eyes, and Jess couldn't look away. This, assuredly, was why she was not the one heading towards him down the aisle. Rory was the only person who could fully possess him, the only person he had ever belonged to him. He was terrified of her, of her power over him. Jess had never wanted any of this.

______________________

Rory, never taking his eyes away from his, opened her mouth.

______________________

Jess half-listened to the priest as he talked on and on, barely noticing the girl whose hands he limply held. Rory had walked along the perimeter until she was, once again, just a little off to the side of the bride.

"I love you," she mouthed.

______________________

Jess's mouth opened, and he stared at her for a second, mentally screaming at her to run, get away from him, he never wanted any of this, he never wanted her to waltz into his life, with her cerulean eyes and her rose-red cheeks and the snowflakes that were slowly melting into her eyelashes.

But he couldn't lie to those eyes; he couldn't hurt her again.

The priest was asking him whether he took the blonde beauty in front of him to be his lawfully wedded wife, Jess wasn't with them though, lost in those eyes.

Finding his voice from somewhere deep in his throat, Jess answered Rory, trying to tell her how much he loved her, trying to tell her that he wanted to be with her forever, trying to tell her that he wanted to write the end of their story.

"I do."

The blonde leaned in and kissed him gently, but all he felt was the physical pain of his heart shattering as she looked at him, those eyes opened wide, and her backing away from him, with salty tears coursing down her cheeks, until she couldn't take it anymore, turned around, and ran.

*Hey guys, I hope you like this. Tell me what you think, and REVIEW!!!!!

Love always,

Gabrielle