Chapter Two's Up! Sorry for the delay...my laptop was down for two weeks! I'm already working on Chapter 6, so I promise to update MUCH sooner! R/R!
xXx
Jess grabbed the menus out from Lane's hands, both scaring and angering her. "Morning," he grinned.
"Jess!" she snapped, snatching the menus back. "You can't have my job," she insisted.
"Don't need it," he assured her. "Wow, you sure do make this place shine."
"Stop it," she ordered, slamming the menus down. "What do you want?"
Jess smiled. "I hear you're in the neighborhood for a place to live."
"So?"
"So, I happen to have a proposition for you," he grinned.
"Oh lord," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Jess, I will absolutely not be propositioned by you."
Jess winced. "Wouldn't dream of it, kid."
"Good to know."
"Okay, but really," Jess started again. "What would you say if I told you I knew of this really nice place with close proximity to your job and really cheap rent."
"How cheap are we talking?" Lane bit, taking the bait.
Jess raised his eyebrows. "Two fifty."
"Impossible."
"The landlord is highly out of touch with reality, particularly cost of living."
"Go on," Lane goaded.
"And, you would have ample opportunity to annoy Taylor."
"Is it heaven?" Lane joked.
"Close," Jess grinned. "It's the apartment above Taylor's Ice Cream Shoppe, right next to the diner. Luke just finished fixing it up."
"So, why didn't he offer it to me himself?" Lane questioned.
"Please, Luke would never dream of you living alone. He'd freak."
"So who am I living with?" Lane asked.
Jess grinned.
"Oh, no," Lane shook her head. "No way."
"I'm very neat," Jess smiled.
"No," Lane insisted, shaking her head. "Absolutely not."
"Come on," Jess began. "You can't stay at Lorelai's forever. And you'll never find anywhere cheaper. Plus, utilities are included and I can rig us some cable and..."
Lane slammed down the box of coffee filters she had been struggling with. "Jess, look, even if I decided I could stomach living with you, I would still be obligated to say no."
"Why?"
"Oh, come on, don't act all innocent on me," Lane huffed. "Rory, Jess. I would have to say no because Rory..."
"Wants you to be homeless?"
"Leave."
"Sure," Jess started. "But be fair. Talk to Rory about it and see if she doesn't change your mind, because I have a strong feeling she'd rather you be living in your own place than sleeping on a couch."
"I have Rory's room."
"When Rory's not there," Jess insisted. "It's got to be kind of inconvenient for you."
"It's fine."
"Talk to Rory," Jess pressured her. "If she finds it weird, say no. If she doesn't mind it, then come find me and you can look at the place before deciding."
Lane bit her lip. "Well..."
"You can have the bigger bedroom," he offered.
"I don't know..."
"Walk-in closet," Jess dangled.
"I..."
"Two bathrooms."
"Sold!" Lane all but shouted. "I mean. Well...if Rory says it's okay."
"Find me when you're ready, roomie," Jess grinned, grabbing a danish as he left.
xXx
"Marco!" Lorelai yelled, pushing through the swamp of clothes on the floor.
"Polo," Rory grumbled, barely lifting her head from the spot where she lie collapsed on the floor.
"Did the washer explode?" Lorelai questioned.
"Something like that," Rory yawned. "Too many clothes."
"And to think of all those kids in Africa just dying for a cashmere sweater."
"Shush," Rory mumbled, accepting Lorelai's extended hand and pulling herself up. They climbed out of the mess in the laundry room and sat down in the kitchen. "Did you talk to Tom?"
"Tom my carpenter, Tom?"
"Yes, big guy, yellow tool belt, likes to yell?" Rory joked.
"What was I supposed to talk to him about?" Lorelai asked.
"Oh, nothing in particular, I guess," Rory began. "It's just that Dean called and said Tom offered him a job, so I was wondering if he took the job and..."
"Dean called?" Lorelai paused.
"Well, yeah. He wanted to make sure it wouldn't be weird if he accepted Tom's offer," Rory explained. "You know, with us not coming to the wedding and all."
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, well, I saw Dean there today, and I didn't really think much into it."
"Oh, okay," Rory nodded. "Just was wondering."
"Oh, honey, Lane left a note asking you to come by Luke's...something about a potential new living quarters."
"And leave our humble abode?" Rory frowned.
Lorelai nodded. "She can't stay here forever, Rory. I mean, I love having her, but she wouldn't feel right about it. You know Lane."
"Yeah," Rory agreed. "Very true. Well, look, I have to bring some of these clothes back to Yale with me and I'll be back for the rest next week."
"Next week?"
"Spring break," Rory nodded. "Paris had some wild idea about going to a beach, but I don't think I'm going to go."
"Honey, you should," Lorelai insisted. "You could work on that alcohol addiction of yours, find new uses for whipped cream, and maybe even get your stomach pumped. It's like a right of passage."
"Well when you put it that way," Rory grinned.
"I'm just saying that it could be fun."
"There is no way that going to a beach with Paris could be anywhere near the realm of fun."
"Bring Lane," Lorelai suggested.
"Eh, maybe," Rory finished. "But right now, I have to get back to school."
"After Luke's," Lorelai reminded her.
"Right, right, after Luke's," Rory promised.
xXx
"Are you going to kill me?" Rory asked, confused as to why they were sneaking down the alley next to Taylor's Ice Cream Shoppe.
"Well, now would I be a good assassin if I told you?" Lane pouted, leading her through a doorway and up a set of stairs.
"Are we going to kill Taylor? 'Cause if so, I'm going to need some more coffee first."
"Close your eyes," Lane giggled, as she led her through another door. "Okay, okay, open."
Rory quickly opened her lids, startled by the sight before her. She was standing in a vast room with a large picture window, and to her left was a small kitchenette with a breakfast bar. "Oh wow!" she remarked, recalling the reason for her venture to Luke's. "Is this...is this yours?"
Lane grinned, rushing down a long hallway. "Hopefully! Well, maybe. Okay, come here and look at this."
Rory followed the sound of her friend's voice into another room with a window seat.
"This would be my room," Lane explained, ushering her to the large closet in the corner of the room. "Isn't it awesome? I mean, it has this eccentric feel to it and I could blast my music and disrupt Taylor and it's so retro-mod, isn't it?"
Rory nodded. "Definitely Lane Kim-esque," she agreed.
Lane beamed and opened another door. "And, here's my bathroom," she pointed out. "Which is small, but hey, it's a bathroom."
"Very bathroomy," Rory grinned. "Lane, this is so exciting! Your own place!"
"I know!" Lane squealed jumping up and down. "Oh wait! Here's the other room," she said, leading Rory into a room at the very end of the hallway.
"Wow," Rory said, scoping it out. "Not as big, but decent closet, and built in bookshelves...definitely an added perk. You should take this one!"
"Rory, I'm not you," Lane reminded her, patting her on the back. "But my roommate would love it."
Rory thought for a moment, her face falling. "Lane, no."
"You guessed?" Lane asked, disappointment quickly spreading across her face. "Oh Rory...it's just...okay, well, tell me what you're thinking."
"Lane, it's beautiful, really, but I...I can't move in with you," Rory said gently. "As much as I hate bunking with Paris, living at the college has it's own unique feel to it, and I don't know...I kind of like it there...are you mad?"
Lane laughed. "Rory, I was not asking you to move in with me," she remarked, ushering a sigh of relief.
"Oh!" Rory exhaled. "God, I'm sorry...I just thought that the bookshelves..."
"Well, maybe my new roommate will enjoy the bookshelves. He may read," Lane began.
"He?" Rory asked.
"Or she," Lane added quickly.
"Lane, what's going on?" Rory asked nervously. "Just say it."
Lane exhaled. "Okay, so, um, here's the thing...this place is owned by Luke."
"Yeah, I figured...I mean he bought this building so, I kind of assumed he got the upstairs too."
"Right," Lane continued on. "And well, Luke would never allow me to live alone, you know how chivalrous he is, even if it's hard to see..."
"He's certainly old-fashioned," Rory agreed.
"...but see if I had a roommate..."
"Then he'd feel better about you living here," Rory concluded. "Understandable."
"Right, so the thing is, he kind of offered the place to someone already, and well, I didn't even know about it until that someone came to me, and while it's not the most ideal of situations, I think it might just work and that maybe I should at least give it a shot."
"Of course you should," Rory agreed. "Just because you're going to community college doesn't mean that you don't deserve to have the whole roommate experience. Plus, I bet Luke would give it to you for a fair price."
"A phenomenal price," Lane added.
"Even better."
"Like an unbeatable, impossible to say no to under any situation price," Lane rambled.
"That's amazing," Rory said.
"Like, it would be completely idiotic of me to let this opportunity slip through my fingers when..."
"Okay, Lane, I'm not quite following, because, see, I'm on your side and agreeing with you, but it seems like you're insisting on arguing with me," Rory speculated. "And I have to get back to school, so if you could wrap this up."
"Right," Lane said, positioning herself right in front of Rory. "Okay, here goes. Don't freak, and if you don't like it, tell me and I won't do it. This is your call."
"Strange, but shoot."
"So um, the other person is um...well...it's um...Jess," Lane's voice descended.
"Jess?" Rory repeated.
Lane nodded. "I know, it's weird. And I would say no if it wasn't for the amazingly insane low price of this place...and the convenience of it. And well, I don't want to live with Jess, but Rory I don't want to live on your couch either, or bombard you at Yale, and well, it's a place of my own...and really if you think about it, Jess and I are just doing each other a favor by coming up with half of the rent, and I doubt we'll even see each other that much, and well..."
Rory threw up her hands signaling for Lane to stop. "Jess," she said out loud, nodding her head. She turned to Lane. "You love this apartment," she deciphered.
"I didn't want to, but I really do," Lane pleaded.
"Well then, you should have it," Rory insisted. "Jess or no Jess. I mean, you guys will probably rarely even see each other..."
"Rarely as in never," Lane promised.
"And even if you do, it's not a big deal...he'll probably stick to his room," Rory rambled.
"Duh, the kid's a complete loner."
"Plus you could have Dave over," Rory pointed out.
"I know, I thought of that," Lane squealed.
Rory exhaled. "Okay. You should do it. I mean, it's not fair that because Mrs. Kim wanted to control your life that you should miss out on experiences like this. You deserve to be happy, and well, if this will make you happy..."
"So happy," Lane insisted.
"Then you should do it," Rory reaffirmed. "I mean, I have to get used to the fact that Jess will be living here from now on, so this...this is good."
"Really?" Lane was unconvinced. "Because, if you really don't want me to, Rory, I swear I won't."
Rory rolled her eyes. "Torment him incessantly with the indie music he hates."
Lane pinky-sweared. "I do solemnly vow to blast Tegan and Sara as well as the melancholy and depressing ballads of Bright Eyes strategically throughout the day."
"And that chick with the accent he can't stand?" Rory asked. "With the weird hair?"
"Regina Spektor will try her best," Lane grinned, hugging her friend. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Rory droned, sporting a happy masquerade as she hugged her friend back, knowing that this arrangement would never be as innocent and easy as Lane made it out to be.
xXx
"You need a good tan," Lorelai argued.
"I'll get skin cancer," Rory protested, using her shoulder to hold the phone to her ear as she tied her sneakers. "Besides, I told Lane I'd help her paint tomorrow."
"Is she still stuck on sunset orange for the living room," Lorelai asked.
"Yep," Rory said, stuffing three books in her backpack. "She said something about it setting the right tone."
"Luke will freak."
"I think that's the tone she's going for," Rory nodded. "Look, mom, I have to go before Paris coerces me into going bikini shopping. I'll be in town either tonight or tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll kick the homeless man out of your bed."
"Homeless man wouldn't happen to be named Jason, now would he?"
"Oh, now, don't tease," Lorelai grumbled.
"Things aren't going well?" Rory asked, concerned.
"Well, let's just say we don't have any food in common, and he started calling me 'Lori'."
"Poor guy," Rory said, shaking her head.
"Yes, well, we'll see how it goes," Lorelai replied.
"Alright mom, gotta go."
"Bye kid."
"Bye."
"Rory!"
"Paris?" Rory said, turning towards the now open door. "What the..."
"I went tanning," she explained. "And now I'm..."
"A human lobster?" Rory offered.
"This is terrible," Paris remarked.
"Well, at least it's not on your face," Rory pointed out.
"I'm not going."
"Oh, but you were really looking forward to it!" Rory remarked. "And I'm sure plenty of people will be sunburned and uh..."
"I think I have boils on my back."
"Ew," Rory scrunched her nose. "Over-share."
"What are you doing?" Paris asked, curious.
Rory shrugged. "Going home. One of Lane's bandmates is having a party. I told her I couldn't go, but now I'm thinking I might as well. Nothing to do around here."
"Oh, yeah, right," Paris said, sitting down on her bed.. "Well, I figured I'd get a jump start on my term papers, maybe write a few advance articles for the paper, or um, organize my gluesticks, you know, basic, fun, spring break-type activities."
Rory sighed. "Fine."
"Fine what?" Paris asked, innocently.
"Fine, you can come with me," Rory remarked.
"Me?" Paris grinned. "Oh, well, if you insist...I mean, at least I can wear a long sweater and no one will notice the potential cancer I have festering all over my body. I mean, it's a small town party, I doubt anyone will be that aware."
"Gee thanks," Rory rolled her eyes. "You're not inviting Professor Flemming."
"Oh please!" Paris laughed. "Like he'd come to a small town bonfire or shin dig or whatever it is you kids are calling it these days."
"Well, I'm stopping by the paper then going to my grandmother's for dinner," Rory announced. "If you want, just meet me at my house."
"What about that diner?" Paris questioned. "They have great food."
"Fine," Rory agreed. "We'll meet there at nine thirty."
"Okay," Paris grinned. "Rory?"
"Yes, Paris?"
"Thank you."
"Sure."
xXx
"Honestly Lorelai I just don't understand why you can't bring yourself to succumb to one night at the opera."
"Opera's are slutty," Lorelai yawned. "And Bryce Fairborn is the most insolent, boring soul that I've ever encountered...plus..."
"My goodness!" Emily remarked. "His mother and I go way back. I swear, I don't know how Rory became so polite with you as her mother."
"Mrs. Kim," Lorelai concluded.
"Definitely," Rory agreed. "I was scared to even ask to use the bathroom."
"Oh honestly," Emily muttered, polishing off her martini. "Rory, what do you have planned for Spring Break?" Emily asked excitedly.
"Oh, now, Emily, leave the girl be," Richard remarked, looking up from his newspaper. "Spring break is a time during which Rory does not have to take any responsibility for her actions."
"What?" Lorelai asked, shocked. "My how the times have changed."
Rory giggled. "No, I'm not doing anything crazy, grandma. I'm pretty much helping my friend Lane move into her new apartment and spending the week at mom's, doing nothing but relaxing and having fun."
"Facials, shopping, and learning how to dance like Mariah Carey?" Lorelai offered, causing Emily to frown.
"Finishing the book I just bought, doing laundry, and probably scanning amazon for good book deals," Rory translated.
"She sure knows how to let loose this one," Lorelai remarked.
"Silence crazy woman," Rory insisted.
"Well, now, Richard, won't you look at the time!" Emily remarked.
"It's uh, eight thirty mom," Lorelai reported.
"Is it?!" Richard remarked. "My it's late!"
"What?" Lorelai argued. "We just nearly finished dinner and we haven't even had dessert."
"Yeah," Rory realized.
"Well, now you could do without some dessert now and then Lorelai," Emily insisted.
"Did you just insinuate what I think you just insinuated?" Lorelai asked, mortified.
"Oh, come now, I was just saying that maybe..."
"Lorelai, really, it's late and your mother and I are tired," Richard concluded.
"Wow, um, well, okay," Lorelai remarked, slipping her coat on. "But uh, next time you're going to do this, why not just skip dinner altogether so that Rory and I can have a full meal either before or after we arrive. Or um, why not skip the driving here in person thing, because there's no point driving so far for just a half hour dinner and..."
"Goodnight Lorelai," Emily said, rushing her outside. "Goodbye Rory."
"Bye grandma," Rory said, grabbing her coat on her way out. "Well, that was weird," she said, turning to her mom.
"You're telling me," Lorelai remarked. "You know, I'm a little offended. I'm superb company and I think my McCain jokes were quite on point tonight..."
"Very on point...borderline harsh," Rory agreed.
"Thank you!" Lorelai exclaimed. "And to rush us out like that! The nerve!"
"The wonders never cease," Rory commented, climbing into her mom's car.
"So you want to go right back to the school?" Lorelai asked.
Rory shook her head. "Actually, Luke's please."
"Pumpkin pie?" Lorelai asked hopefully.
"Please, he hasn't made that in years," Rory reminded her. "I told Paris I'd meet her there. Lane's band's playing a few songs at some party and I wasn't going to go, but I figured I might as well make an appearance."
"That's my good little loner," Lorelai teased. "Paris isn't going to that beach thing?"
"Nope. Let's just say her artificial sun exposure experience wasn't pleasant, so she decided that real contact with the sun would be anything but fun."
"Red never was her color."
"Here here!" Rory laughed.
"So um, are you sure you're okay with this whole thing?" Lorelai started, a bit gentler.
Rory furrowed her brow. "Well, Paris isn't Party Time Barbie or anything, but come on, neither am I, so..."
"Honey, I meant the whole Lane moving in with Jess thing," Lorelai replied.
"Oh," Rory said. "That. Luke told you?"
"And Lane," Lorelai confessed. "In fact I heard from just about every person in Star's Hollow except you."
"It's not that big of a deal," Rory insisted. "Lane's so psyched about the apartment. And Jess will never really be there. I don't know. It's weird, but it's a really good opportunity for Lane."
"Okay," Lorelai said. "Ew. Are they going to have to share bathrooms?"
"Gross," Rory laughed. "No, Lane has her own and then I'm guessing Jess will use the bathroom right off of the hallway."
"Good, because guys and girls sharing bathrooms don't mix well," Lorelai informed her.
"Plus, Lane can blast music and annoy Taylor," Rory added.
"Ah, the hidden perks of hell," Lorelai nodded. "Almost cancels out the whole living with Jess thing, huh?"
"Yeah," Rory replied. "Almost."
xXx
R/R! Much more to come in Chapter three including an alcohol-infused Rory...uh oh!
