AN: This is written as if Rory and Logan had never broken up after Rory graduated.
It was exactly four years since he had walked away.
She remembered this seemingly harmless fact one day.
Then she started to lose her mind.
Slowly, but surely.
It started when she would go to Logan's parties, and she would catch a glimpse of a dark-haired man out of the corner of her eyes. Her breath would catch and everything around her would slowdown into a sluggish, foggy daze. The chatter around her would distort into an incomprehensible noise and the lights around her would start to blur.
And when she realized that he wasn't really there, she would become numb and the only thing she was aware of was the dull, distant, pulsing of her heart.
Then she began to think that the hallucinations were actually him. She would go around the party looking for him, and sometimes asking people if they had seen where he had went.
Logan started to realize she was losing it when she would stare into space for minutes at a time. Soon the minutes turned into hours and Logan no longer knew what to do. When he finally figured out what was making her act this way, he couldn't look at her without crying. But he stayed with her, because he loved her and she needed him.
She never figured out that Logan knew. Then again, she didn't really realize much of anything at that time.
It was exactly four years since he had walked away.
Then he started to lose his mind.
He had no one to go to. He was utterly alone. He would wander around aimlessly, wondering if anything in his life was worth living without her. When people looked at him, it was like the light behind his eyes had been extinguished.
He didn't know how much longer he could keep living without her.
Then one day, he cracked.
She was sitting in Luke's diner when he found her.
Luke had called him to make sure he was still alive. He asked how she was. Luke told him that she had moved home because she wasn't doing so well. He finished the phone call, got in his car. He wasn't letting go this time.
--------
She saw him come into the diner. Her world went foggy. She had to leave. This hallucination was too real.
--------
He ran to her and took her in his arms. Her small body started to shake and the tears flew down her face. He finally felt whole again
--------
She knew she had lost it completely. This was a whole new level. She could actually feel him. She could smell him.
She knew she wouldn't be able to recover from this.
--------
He looked into her eyes and spoke through his tears,
"I love you, Rory."
Her eyes closed as if in pain and she buried her face in his chest. He heard her whisper,
"I love you too. I miss you so much."
He had missed her too and now, they had their whole life together ahead of them. The thought of being with her forever, erased all his pain. His happiness left no room for the heartache.
--------
She couldn't take anymore and she ran away from the illusion of Jess.
Jess. Jess. Jess.
She ran away and she left his memory far behind.
She hoped everyone would forgive her.
--------
Jess let her go. He watched her run out of the diner and to her house.
Not even five minutes went by before the thought of losing her again almost brought him to his knees.
He ran after her.
--------
He found her on the ground in her room.
Even his screams weren't enough to drown out the ringing in the house.
----------------
They were buried side by side.
Everyone knew it was what they would have wanted.
Because after all this time, they were finally together.