Mystery Guy
Rory walks through the door to Kim's Antiques, "Lane!" she calls out. "Lane!"
All of a sudden Mrs. Kim appears out of nowhere.
"Hello, Rory."
"Mrs. Kim," Rory replies politely, "Is Lane home?"
"Yes, she's up in her room." Rory just stands still waiting for Mrs. Kim's permission, "You can go up."
"Thank you," Rory replies as she hurries towards the stairs.
"Wait!" So close Rory thought and she turns around. "What's in your backpack?"
"Umm?" Rory falters. "School books, Lane wanted my help studying."
"Good," Mrs. Kim replies, "She needs help."
"Rory," Lane interrupts. "You're here."
"Yes, here to study," Rory says as she makes her way over to Lane.
"Alright, then," was all Mrs. Kim said as she disappeared around the corner.
Lane and Rory made their way up the stairs and into Lane's room.
"I'm so sorry," Lane said as she closed her bedroom door. "I would have come sooner, but I thought you were a customer."
"It's ok," Rory replied. "Good timing though, I thought she was going to go through my backpack." Rory sat down on Lane's bed and opened up her backpack. "I have something for you," Rory told Lane as she got the CD's out of her bag and handed them to Lane who grabbed them hurriedly.
"Thanks, Rory," Lane said as she flicked through the CD's. "Wait," Lane paused. "You didn't… you got me all the CD's to complete my '60s collection."
"Well…" Rory started, but was interrupted by Lane.
"How did you have enough money?" Lane looked at Rory skeptically.
"Well as much as I would like to take the credit," Rory explained. "I didn't buy them for you." Rory dug into her pocket and handed Lane her money back.
"Then how?" Lane asked curiously.
"Well, I went to the record store in my lunch break," Rory explained. "And had found three of your five CD's fairly quickly. Then this guy whispers 'Bee Gees' in my ear."
"Oh my god!" Lane squealed. "Was he hot?"
"Well, he had dark brown hair and the chocolatiest brown eyes." Rory explained as she blushed for the second time that day.
"You think he's hot," Lane stated.
"No," Rory lied and Lane looked at her suspiciously. "Ok, yes he was hot." Rory confessed as she placed her head in her hands. "But none of that matters because I have Dean."
"Eh, minor detail," Lane says as she sits down next to Rory on the bed. "So continue."
"So we started talking and I told him all about the CD's I was getting for you and he insisted on helping. Anyway I ended up losing track of time and had to run out of the store so I wasn't late for class."
"Ah," Lane said in realization. "So you shoplifted my CD's."
"What? No," Rory quickly shot back. "I dropped them."
"So how do I have all my CD's, plus some?" Lane asked.
"Fate? Coincidence?" Rory questioned. "I don't know exactly."
"Rory you must know how you obtained the CD's," Lane said. "I'm sure they didn't just magically appear."
"Well no," Rory starts. "I go to the bridge after school and there he is."
"Who?" Lane asks confused.
"The guy from the record store."
"Ah! Mystery guy," Lane remembers. "Continue."
"So he reaches into his duffel bag and pulls out the CD's. He said that he would save me another trip."
"Wow!" Lane was shocked. "Wait? How did he know where you lived?"
"He didn't."
"He didn't?" Lane questions whilst trying to digest everything.
"No."
"Then why did he buy the CD's?"
"He said that he a feeling that our paths would cross again."
"Fate," Lane said.
"What?" Rory asked.
"Before when you said fate and coincidence," Lane explained. "I think its fate."
"I don't know?"
"Well, what's his name?"
"I don't know."
"Where does he live? What's he doing in Stars Hollow? How old is he?" Lane blurted out one after the other.
"I don't know," Rory answered. "I know nothing about him, yet I feel like I've known him for years."
Rory lay back on Lane's bed and Lane followed suit.
"I can't believe the day you've had."
"Yeah," Rory replied. "Neither can I."
"Come on Jess, we were supposed to be at Lorelai's house ten minutes ago," Luke argued.
"Dinner's not until 7:00, yet you expect me to leave at 6:30," I retorted. "I don't think so."
"Come on Jess, I want you to meet her daughter Rory," Luke explained. "And I already let you dress… like that." Luke said motioning towards my outfit.
"There's nothing wrong with black," I shot back. "And have you had a look in the mirror lately?"
Luke decided just to dismiss my comment. "Now were 15 minutes late." Luke said as he dragged me out of the diner.
I don't even want to go to this dinner. I know Luke's only going because he's madly in love with some chick named Lorelai. What does that have to do with me? I tell you what nothing. It didn't take long to get there and before I knew it Uncle Luke was knocking. I heard a women's voice yell 'coming.' Lorelai I presume. She opens the door and I notice my uncle blush a little. I just stand there trying to look as bored and angry as I can.
"Hey, Perfect timing," she greets us happily. "Sookie's about to break her own record for the most food served outside the Roman empire."
The first thing I notice about Lorelai is she likes to talk.
"So you must be Jess, Luke's nephew," She says as she addresses me, she seems a little nervous.
"Yep, that's me," I reply sarcastically.
She decides to ignore my sarcastic comment and says, "So, come on in." She steps aside and I walk in first.
I quickly head into the next room, trying to get away from her. She a little too peppy for my tastes. I glance around the room and my eyes fall upon the mantelpiece. I make my way over to a mantelpiece filled with a whole lot of family photos and that's when I notice her. I pick up the most recent picture of her, "Huh, Bee Gees girl." Then I think maybe this dinner won't be so bad after all.
I put the photo back down as soon as Lorelai enters the room, with Luke tailing along behind like a puppy dog.
"Hey Jess, you want to come in the kitchen?" Lorelai asks me.
I nod my head in response and am silently hoping the she is in the kitchen. I follow closely behind Lorelai glancing around trying to spot her, but I can't see her.
"Sookie, Jackson, I want you to meet Luke's nephew." She said proudly as I was her own nephew. "This is Jess."
"Do you eat cheese?" The one named Sookie asks me. Well I think she's Sookie, she doesn't look like a Jackson.
"What?" I reply not fully grasping 'do you like cheese' as a proper greeting.
"This is the greatest lemon I've ever grown! This is a great lemon." Jackson said. "Sookie you've got to try this lemon."
Lorelai looks over at me trying to make sure that I'm not totally freaked out, which by the way I am.
Sookie tries the lemon. "This is a great lemon!"
"Try it!" Jackson suggests. "It's a Meyer!"
Oh god, what have I got myself into. These people are crazy, but fun to watch. Then Lorelai jumps in trying to save me from thinking that everyone in this town is crazy, too late.
"Jackson grows fruit and scares people with it," Lorelai says. "Rory, they're here," Lorelai adds as she motions towards the door to my right.
"Coming," She replies without turning around.
I see this as my chance and hurry up towards her before she can turn around and whisper in her ear, "Bee Gees girl."
She turns towards me and I take a step back.
"Hey," She replies excitedly.
"Hey," I added as I look around her room. "Rory," I say quietly as I let out a laugh.
"What?" She asks amused, as she turns around again.
"Guess, I can't call you Bee Gees girl anymore," I say a little sadly.
"I guess not."
"So what do you call me?" I ask curiously.
"What do you mean?"
"Well you don't know my name so…" I prompt.
"Mystery guy," She replies nervously and I laugh. "Lane came up with it," She says in her defense.
"Huh?"
"Well, when am I going to find out your name?"
"If you know my name then I won't be mystery guy anymore." I say as I pout.
She laughs and replies, "That's the whole point."
I ignore her comment and turn to her bookshelf.
"Fine, I'll just call you Luke's nephew," I cringe at the sound of that.
"Ok, ok, it's Jess," I give in. No way do I want her calling me Luke's nephew.
She starts to laugh and I feel a subject change coming along quickly.
"Wow! Aren't we hooked on phonics?"
"I read a lot," She says as she gets up from her desk. "Do you read?"
I grab a book off of the shelf, Howl to be exact and reply, "Not much?" It was my last ditch effort to retain some of my mystery guy aspect.
She seemed disappointed at my answer. I open up Howl and flick through the pages.
"I could loan you that. It's great."
"No, thanks," I reply as I sit the book down on the corner of the desk.
I begin to walk around her room. Mainly trying to look at her desk to see what she had been doing.
"Well, if you change your mind."
She's so well-mannered, it's cute. I was just getting closer to her when her mom came in. Damn, I thought.
"Ok, we need to get Jackson away from the lemons, so we're moving the feast into the living room," Lorelai explained as Sookie, Jackson and Luke took the food into the living room.
"Be right there," Rory replies.
I glance at her desk and notice she is doing homework and I smile. I look up towards Rory and pout.
"Do I have to go out there," I whine.
"Look Sookie just made a ton of really great food and though it may not seem like it at this moment, it's going to be fun. Trust me."
How could I deny her, she was practically begging me to stay. I must admit I was starving. I had made up my mind, but I decided to have some fun first though.
"I don't even know you."
"Well, don't I look trustworthy?" She says hopefully.
"Maybe."
That was all she needed. "Good, let's eat."
I watch her walk out of the room and I just stand there. She is in the kitchen when she glances back and I reluctantly begin to walk out. I stop momentarily at her desk and swiftly pick up her copy of Howl, that I conveniently placed earlier and hid it behind my back.
"You want a soda?" She asks me.
"I'll get it," I reply, so that I can safely stash the book in my back pocket without her knowing.
"Okay," She says as she grabs her soda and makes her way to the living room.
I pass her in the center of the kitchen and our sides touch. I ignore the feeling I get and walk towards the fridge. I open the fridge and immediately spy the beer. I think of how easy it would be to take the beer and leave out the conveniently located backdoor. But then I think of her and the food, jeez I'm starving, and decide to play it safe and grab a soda.
I begin to head into the living room when I hear Uncle Luke.
"Hey Rory, where's Jess," Luke asks suspecting the worse.
But before she had time to answer I say, "Right here, Uncle Luke." I walk up and stand next to Uncle Luke.
"Good," Luke replies as Lorelai hands him a plate piled high with food. "I'm sorry, you must've mistaken me for you."
"Too much?" Lorelai asks as she grabs Luke's plate and piles another spoonful of mashed potatoes on.
"I forgot the garlic bread," Sookie exclaims.
"I'll get it," Lorelai offers as she heads out the room.
I watch as Rory loads up her plate and I walk over to her and do the same. I take a little extra time and wait for her to sit down. She sits down at the end of the table. I follow and sit across from her.
"We have garlic bread," Lorelai says triumphantly as she re-enters the living room.
Everyone takes their seat and then the grilling begins.
"Hey Jess so Luke tells me you're from New York…"
After about 45 minutes of grilling and sarcastic, one word answers from me. I was a little pissed and mainly because I haven't been able to talk to Rory for most of the night. We would steal quick glances at the other without the others knowing, but that was pretty much it.
We had all finished our dinner and the adults began their own conversations, leaving Rory and me to fend for ourselves.
"So…" I prompt.
"So…" She responds. "By the way, Lane thanks you for her CD's. She was really excited."
"No problem," I reply.
But before either one of us could say anything else, Uncle Luke stood up and announced that we were leaving. I looked at Rory as I stood and could see she was mirroring my disappointment.
"Thank you for dinner, Lorelai," Luke said. Boy is he whipped I thought.
"Yes, thanks, it was a lovely evening," I add directing my comment more towards Rory than her mother.
"It was my pleasure Jess," Lorelai replied happily, whilst Rory just smiled back at me.
We went out the front door, with Lorelai, Sookie and Jackson waving goodbye to us. I was disappointed that I couldn't see Rory with them, but the disappointment quickly turned into happiness as I saw her at the living room window. She smiled and waved at me, I tried to conceal my happiness and just smirked back.
