The Unexpected Visitor

Rory was so shocked to him there. She just stared.

"What?" he finally said in a smooth, calm voice.

Before she could even search for words, Luke interrupted her thoughts.

"What the hell are you doing here, Jess?!"

"I thought it would be fun to come back, is all."

Rory didn't understand it. How could he just come back after all that he did to this town, to Luke, to her? How could he talk in that tone of voice that he did when he first came to Stars Hollow? Why did he choose to come back now? Everything was finally falling back into place for her, everything fit. Now that Jess was back, she knew that would change.

"That's all?" Luke retorted. "You can't just come back here. Why didn't you just stay with Jimmy?" Luke moved back behind the counter. Rory stayed standing in the doorway.

"So, Rory, you just going to stand there, in everyone's way?" Jess questioned her amusingly.

Rory peered back, noticing the people who wanted to get into the diner for some of Luke's delicious food. She quickly replied, "Sorry," and walked out of the door, not looking back at Luke or Jess. She had to get out of there; she had to go somewhere to think, or get her mind off of Jess; she wasn't quite sure which one yet.

The whole walk home, she mumbled to herself. She was so confused. How could just five seconds at looking at Jess bring back all of that confusion and hurt she thought was all behind her?

She entered her house, then rushed to her room. She flopped down on her bed, sighing deeply. She turned so that she was on her back, now staring at her ceiling. She was so overwhelmed with thoughts of Jess, that she couldn't even think anymore. Her mind was blank, which was a first for her, considering her background.

She heard a faint knocking at the door. She got up and started to walk towards the door. "Mom, did you forget your key again? I told you to keep it in your purse or at least somewhere where you'll know where it is so you can get into the house…" she opened the door, but didn't find her mom.

"What are you doing here, Jess?"

"Well, you kind of took off so suddenly from the diner that I didn't really get to say hi."

"Um, well, I had some studying to do, so, I thought that I would come here and do it, so…"

"Right." Jess said hesitantly. "Isn't it summer now? You know, symbolizing not having to do homework?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, school, is over, but there is still summer reading and stuff like that. I just didn't want to get behind."

Jess stared at her for a few moments, noticing how awkward she was.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Rory."

"Yeah, you, too."

Jess began to walk away, when he heard Rory say, "Why did you come back, Jess?"

"I'm not sure yet," he said, while walking away, leaving Rory standing in the doorway.

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"Hey, babe, are you ready?"

"Yeah, I just need to find my coat."

"It's by the door on the coat rack. You know - the thing that has the spiky things sticking out so you can hang your things on them?" Lorelai said in a sarcastic voice.

"Right," Rory said flatly. She still thought about Jess, even though she hadn't seen him for a couple days now. She kept on wondering if he took off again or was just avoiding her, as she was trying to avoid him.

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~Later in Hartford at Lorelai's parents' house~

"So, Grandma, how was your dinner party?"

"Oh, it went very well. Thank you for asking!"

"No problem," Rory told her Grandmother, displaying a small smile.

Lorelai began to talk about her event-filled day, as Rory accidentally tuned her out. She didn't know. She didn't know he was back. If she knew, then she would have marched right down there and told him off. Rory knew that her mom would do this - she didn't like what she did to her only daughter, and she would make that known to him and whoever else that would be listening.

After the drive home, they passed Luke's. Rory saw Jess working and immediately thought that she had to see him. She didn't know what she would say to him or if he would even want to talk to her.

When they got home, Rory told her mom that she wanted to go over to Lane's, just to talk. She didn't seem suspicious or question her daughter's intentions, so Rory left the house and headed for the diner. She was standing outside of Luke's when she suddenly felt nervous. Her stomach began to fill with knots. Before she could turn away, she heard the bell above the door ring. She just hoped, wished, that it wasn't who she thought it was.

She looked up after squeezing her eyes shut for a few moments. It was Luke. She never felt so relieved.

"Hey, Luke."

"Hi, Rory. Did you want something to eat?"

"Um, no. I was just walking. So, where's Jess at?" Rory asked as subtly as she could.

"Jess? I don't know. His shift was over, so he just took off. Your guess at where he is is as good as mine." Luke declared.

She took in a deep breathe and knew exactly where he was. She began to walk away, forgetting that Luke was there. After a few minutes, she saw him. She saw Jess. Exactly where she knew he was going to be.