The True Story of What Was
Chapter Two: Hypnotized

xXx

It was fairly simple, Rory determined. She woke up, went to Luke's, saw Dean at the bus stop, went to school, worked on the paper, came home around five, had dinner, then usually thought of a perfectly acceptable school-related excuse as to why she couldn't see Dean. She had no desire to see Dean, although she couldn't admit those words out loud. No, she was simply going through the motions of a person who was fully and wholly happy and pretending that she, in fact, was this person. So long as Dean believed her, she'd keep up the charade. It wasn't challenging at all.

Except that night, she messed up slightly. She told Dean she had an English paper to do, which was true. However, she'd already completed most of it the night before, and she was able to finish it within an hour. Dean said he had homework to catch up on, and that usually meant he would be inside all night. So, Rory thought it safe to venture to Luke's for food. Lorelai had to stay late at the inn and naturally their kitchen possessed no more signs of food than any normal family's bathroom would have. She was famished and in need of fresh air, and altogether tired of cramming herself indoors all of the time. Plus, if she saw Dean, she'd just explain what had happened and eat dinner with him. It would be better than sitting in her room, alone. She could muster happiness for him.

She was not, however, prepared for the dark-haired boy who sat flipping through a Hunter Thompson book while she stood gaping at the entrance of Luke's diner. She knew she couldn't leave. He'd look up if he heard the person who had just walked in turn to leave. She glanced around at the empty building. Of course, it would be her luck that the diner would be empty.

At last, Jess glared up from his book, eyes freezing when he caught sight of Rory. He set the book down and climbed to his feet, eyeing her rather anxiously.

"Where um…where's Luke?" was all Rory could come up with.

Jess tilted his head towards Miss Patty's studio. "Town meeting."

"Oh, right," Rory replied, glancing at the clock. It was only eight which meant that the meeting had just started, which also explained the emptiness of the diner. Still, it would be rude to leave, even if it meant enduring Jess, alone.

"So, uh, hungry?" Jess asked quickly.

"Yeah," Rory nodded, looking up at him. "How did you guess?"

"It's…a…diner," Jess said, not trying to sound too insulting, but really, what else could he say?

"Right," Rory nodded nervously, exhaling. She took a seat at the counter as Jess returned to his place behind the counter. "Your arm," she said, pointing at his splint free hand. "It's better?"

Jess shrugged. "Pretty much," he replied.

"So, how'd it happen?" Rory asked, knowing the skateboard story was a complete lie.

"Don't really want to talk about it," Jess said honestly.

"Okay," Rory replied, understanding.

"So, what do you want?" he asked, gesturing to the menu.

Rory pursed her lips as she contemplated. "I guess, just a cheeseburger and fries," she insisted.

"Okay," Jess said, pushing open the kitchen door. "Caesar, I need a Rory!" he remarked quickly, letting the door slide shut when he was finished.

"A Rory?"

Jess nodded. "It's the most common thing you get. For instance, a Kirk is scrambled eggs, one hard boiled egg, and a side of eggs over easy."

"Wow," Rory remarked, stunned. "You'd think I'd be unfazed by Kirk's eccentricness after so long, but here I sit, floored."

Jess nodded. "And, a Lorelai is a bacon cheeseburger with fries and onion rings," he informed her. "Unless it's morning, when it's eggs over medium, because god forbid she was anything but difficult, sausage and bacon, no toast, extra home fries."

"You're good," Rory complimented. "What's mine? For the morning?"

"Oh, that's easy," Jess replied. "Pancakes with a side of bacon if it's a normal day, but if you're really tired or upset then it's chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon and Caesar puts that whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top that drives Luke mad. I love when you order that, because Luke spends about ten minutes debating whether or not to attack Caesar with the whipped cream can. Can be quite fascinating to watch."

Rory grinned. "Well, you're quite perceptive," she noted.

Jess shook his head. "Caesar's the one who names the foods by customer," Jess explained. "I just finally caved into his system, because I got sick of him throwing cutlery at me."

"Huh," Rory nodded. She paused. "Wow, I always order a cheeseburger and fries? How boring of me!"

Jess shook his head. "Not always…just most of the time. Just last week you tackled the whole ethnic food section," he reminded her.

"I did, didn't I," Rory recalled.

"Quite ambitious," Jess nodded.

"Thank you." Rory's eyes locked with his and she looked away quickly.

"I'll just be over here," Jess insisted, reaching for his book.

"Wait, um, I mean, if you're hungry…" Rory started. Jess stood still, indicating that she had his attention. Rory continued against her better judgment. "I just mean that, it's quite doubtful that you'll have any customers for the next hour while the town meeting's going on, so if you were hungry, you know…you could…"

"Eat with you?" Jess questioned.

Rory nodded, trying to hide all traces of anxiety or embarrassment from her face. "I think we've done it several times quite successfully," she reported.

Jess nodded. "I dare say we have," he agreed, setting his book back down. He stuck his head into the kitchen. "Caesar make that two Rorys!" he called.

"An excellent choice," Rory grinned.

"Yeah, I thought so, too."

xXx

Over a half hour later, Rory and Jess sat upstairs listening to the Stereophonics, who Jess swore Rory would love. She did. Luke had returned shortly after they had finished eaten, and Jess offered to let Rory borrow the cd they were now currently listening to. Rory, curious to see the new room that had been built for Jess only weeks before, followed him inside eagerly, and when she spotted Fahrenheit 451 on his bookshelf, the two instantly struck up a conversation about the book, leading to their current positions of sitting on the floor, backs propped up against his bed.

"Okay," Rory began, smiling coyly. "What about Jane Eyre?"

"Read it," Jess remarked, shooting her a glare. "I mean, isn't it just as equally sexist to assume I haven't read book by women authors?"

"For school or on your own?" Rory continued, ignoring his comment.

"Not answering," Jess grinned.

Rory let out a cry of glee. "You read Jane Eyre on your own?"

Jess sighed. "I hate you."

"That's amazing," Rory confirmed. "Really. I couldn't even get Lane to read it, and it possessed some appeal to her, as her mom was against anything written by Bronte sisters.

"Frank McCourt?"

"I loved Angela's Ashes," Rory insisted. "Never read the sequel though…"

"Oh, you have to read the sequel," Jess insisted. "You won't be sorry."

"Okay," Rory agreed. "Tim O'Brien?"

Now it was Jess's turn to be shocked. "You read The Things They Carried?"

"That surprises you?"

"Well, no, not exactly," Jess apologized. "It's just that it's a pretty intense book…"

"What are you saying exactly, Mariano?" Rory grinned, jutting her jaw out in an effort to look tough.

Jess grinned, quickly losing his train of thought. "I do hope that's not your withering stare," he teased.

Rory pouted. "Maybe you're just not affected by my withering stare," she prompted.

"Small kittens wouldn't run," Jess teased.

"Hey, now, it can be very intimidating if the person's not expecting it," Rory insisted.

"Okay, okay," Jess laughed, as the cd ended. His eyes flashed to the cd player and then to Rory. Both seemed suddenly aware of how loud the silence now engulfing them had become, and Rory realized with shock how close her body was to Jess's. Their legs were practically touching, and when they turned their heads, a mere sheet of paper would have had trouble separating the two.

Rory's heart seemed to be rattling inside of her chest. "I should go," she said quietly.

Jess nodded. "Yeah," he agreed, climbing to his feet. Rory stood up in front of him, the two still dangerously close to one another.

"I uh…thanks for the Rory."

"The what?" Jess remarked, unable to think clearly with Rory so close to him. He felt his hand graze hers accidentally. She trembled.

"The uh…the burger," Rory replied softly.

"Oh," Jess said, suddenly understanding. "No problem."

"Well," Rory started, fidgeting her hands nervously. She watched as Jess's eyes left hers, focusing towards the wall behind her instead. She felt the body warmth emanating from their proximity, but felt it warmth melt away as he began to step back, in an obvious attempt to ease the tension so that Rory could leave feeling as if she'd done nothing wrong.

"Jess," Rory whispered, eyes flicking to him for approval. He stopped backing up and froze, unsure what she wanted from him. Rory didn't wait to hear his question. She didn't wait to see what he would do. She only knew exactly what she wanted to do at that moment. Taking the small steps forward that placed her directly back in front of Jess, she reached for his hair, for the second time ever, and pulled him down towards her, her lips meeting his in an act of desperation. She kissed him heavily and passionately, this time not stopping when his arms wrapped around her waist. She felt his hands traveling up and down her back and the sensation was overwhelming. With Jess, every little movement, every touch, every word felt so intensely personal, and while this prospect scared her, it was also wildly exhilarating.

"Rory," Jess breathed, forcing himself to pull away.

Once the moment had been broken, Rory was left feeling uncomfortable, vulnerable, and extremely guilty. She stepped back quickly.

"Don't do this," Jess remarked, shaking his head. "Rory."

"I can't!" she remarked hysterically. "I can't be doing this!"

"Rory, I'm not forcing you to do anything," Jess insisted, his voice calm in an effort to keep her from overreacting.

"I know," she admitted quietly. "I know."

Jess opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it when he realized he had no idea what he wanted to say. What could he say? Rory was with Dean. She was off limits. He wasn't going to destroy her relationship if she didn't want to be with him.

"I…" she started, backing even farther away. It wasn't the distance that got to him. It was the fact that her eyes were changing in front of him, retreating back into that comatose state he'd seen her ambling around in for the past few weeks. She was locking herself back up, keeping herself safely away from him, and he hated it.

"You have every right to hate me," she said instantly, not meeting his eyes as she waited for his response.

"Rory," he remarked, growing annoyed with her self deprecating attitude. He paused, knowing that any irritated comment would just leave them on bad terms. "I don't hate you," he insisted softly.

Rory blinked in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the sound of heavy footsteps drawing near stopped her. She turned to Jess in alarm. It was past eleven and Luke had no idea she had been upstairs all of this time. It wasn't as if she had snuck upstairs or anything like that. She just waited until Luke went into the kitchen, and now that she was realizing the implications of her being with Jess, mainly Luke's tendency to tell her mother everything, she didn't want to be found.

"Wh…" Rory started, turning to Jess.

"Quick," he whispered, kneeling down. She followed suit and dropped to the floor. He dug out a long box from under his bed that housed several of the books that didn't fit on his bookshelf. He pushed Rory to the ground and she quickly followed his lead, pressing herself to the floor and slipping underneath of the bed. Jess quickly replaced his box of books, knowing how suspicious it would look if Luke saw it sitting out on the floor. He had just fixed his comforter and plopped on top of his bed when Luke rapped on his door. Jess grabbed a book from his nightstand and opened it quickly.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking up nonchalantly from his book as Luke pushed open the door.

"Caesar just left and I have a delivery tomorrow," Luke started. "So, no loud music."

"Got it," Jess nodded. "Old men need sleep."

Luke rolled his eyes not in the mood to argue. "Just keep it down."

"Understood," Jess remarked, freezing as Luke shut the door. He waited until he heard the reassuring footsteps of Luke returning to his own room before he slipped off of his bed and once more slid out his box of books from under the bed. He had to keep from laughing when he looked at Rory's face. He grinned. "You look like you've just been caught committing a felony."

Rory smirked, taking Jess's hand to help pull herself out from under the bed. "I feel like I just committed a felony," she insisted quietly.

Jess grinned. "Well, Luke's usually out within ten minutes."

Rory nodded, feeling a bit ridiculous in this whole situation. "Sorry," she apologized.

Jess squinted his eyes. "For what?"

Rory shrugged. "I don't know…this…Luke…it just seemed like I should apologize."

Jess looked amused. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" Rory asked.

"Apologize for things that aren't your fault?"

Rory shrugged again. "I don't know. Sorry." She grinned. "I didn't mean that."

Jess stifled a laugh. "So," he began, directing his attention back to the more difficult issue at hand.

Rory shook her head, indicating she didn't want to talk about it.

"Are you sorry for that too?" Jess asked quietly.

Rory paused. "I should be," she remarked.

"I didn't ask whether you should be sorry or not…"

"I know," Rory replied, looking up at him.

"So you're not going to answer?"

Rory pursed her lips. "Not right now, no," she said, bringing her arms across her chest to hide her awkwardness.

"Okay," Jess said softly, standing up and opening his bedroom door. He peered down the hallway to the stairs. Luke's door was shut and he had no doubt Luke would never suspect anyone was in his room. He motioned for Rory to follow him.

Rory tiptoed across Jess's room and then quickly scurried across the hallway and treaded lightly down the stairs. Rory looked back at Jess who had a painful expression on his face.

"What?" she hissed as she crept to the door.

"Nothing," he insisted, grinning. "It's just, you run really funny when you're trying not to get caught," he teased.

Rory clamped her hand across her mouth to stop herself from laughing. "Jess, be serious."

"Right, serious," Jess whispered, unlocking the diner door. "There you go," he said, holding the door open for her.

Rory lingered in the doorway, her head turning back to Jess momentarily, but he knew the moment wouldn't last. It couldn't. He watched sadly as she blinked, eyes darting away from him. She was already gone.

xXx

Rory's pace slowed as she approached her house. Her mom's jeep sat in the driveway and suddenly an overwhelming feeling of dread crept over her. Her mom wasn't supposed to be home until midnight. She gulped. She'd have to tell her mom where she'd been.

Suddenly, the prospect of talking to Lorelai seemed like the easiest thing in the world when she turned and spotted Dean sitting on the porch. Rory's heartbeat quickened.

"Dean!" she called, jogging up to the porch. "Dean…I…"

"Where were you?!" he all but shouted, standing up.

"Dean, I can explain. See…"

Dean shook his head. "Rory, your mom calls me a half hour ago and asks if I've seen you, because she can't find you. So we wake up Lane…"

"Oh no…" Rory started.

"And then we decide to try Luke's…" Dean started.

Rory's eyes widened.

"And Jess tells your mom not to worry, you're on your way back."

"The diner had just closed…" Rory started.

"Closes at ten thirty," Dean muttered.

"Dean, I know this looks bad, but…"

Dean pushed past her. "Save it."

"Dean!"

Dean sighed, turning around to face Rory. "Were you with him?"

Rory frowned. "Yeah, but it…it was an accident. I just went there to get dinner and…"

"You told me you had a paper to write."

"I did!" Rory insisted. "I finished early and I just went to get some food and…"

"And what Rory?"

"Stop yelling!"

Dean pointed his finger at her. "You lied to me."

"I didn't lie!"

"You were with him!" Dean remarked. "I'm not an idiot, Rory. It's almost midnight and the diner closed an hour and a half ago. Come on!"

"Rory!" Jess remarked, rushing down the sidewalk. He froze when he spotted Dean, obviously regretting his decision to come over.

Dean shook his head. "I'm out of here."

"No, Dean, wait…it wasn't…" Rory began, trying desperately to figure out how to explain her lapse of time.

Dean turned back to Rory, a look she didn't recognize in his eyes. "You can't have it both ways, Rory. And I'm not waiting around here while you figure out what you want. I'm out. We're done."

"Dean!" Rory pleaded, running after him. "Stop…why are you doing this?" she insisted, reaching for his hand.

"Rory, stop it!" Dean insisted. "I'm so over this game."

"What game?!" Rory remarked.

"The one where you run after Jess and then tell me it was all some big

misunderstanding," Dean remarked bitterly. "Just stop lying Rory. Just stop it."

Rory was floored by his loaded words. "Dean, I didn't want to…I didn't mean to hurt you…I did…I do love you…I just…it's just…."

"Rory, I don't care!" Dean snapped. "And I'm sorry if that seem insensitive or blunt to you, but at this point, I really don't. I'm just tired of this whole situation, and I don't want to be a part of it anymore."

Rory started to protest but knew it was useless. Dean was right. She knew he was right. It was just much harder to admit all of the repercussions of his being right. She watched as Dean pushed past Jess and stormed across the street, disappearing around the corner. Rory stared after him, stunned. It took her a moment before she remembered Jess was standing next to her. She turned to him quickly, no longer wanting to be around anyone.

"I'm sorry," Jess insisted, looking up at her. "I didn't mean…your mom called the diner and I wanted to try and reach you before…"

"Before this," Rory said, almost laughing at the irony.

Jess nodded. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"See," Rory muttered.

Jess turned to her perplexed. "See what?"

"People always apologize for things they didn't do," she insisted. "You just apologized twice."

Jess held back a grin. "I…Dean's a jerk," he insisted. "I mean…if you want…if it'll help, I'll talk to him…I'll explain that…" Jess stopped, hoping she didn't really take him up on this offer.

Rory shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. "He's not a jerk," she insisted. "He's…" She cut off, her mouth threatening to tremble if she continued any longer. She turned to her house. "I really have to get inside."

"Okay," Jess nodded, understanding. He turned away and headed back to the diner. Rory meanwhile had to go inside and face the unknown; her mother.

She had the strangest sense that this was what other teenagers experienced when coming home late or sneaking out at night. Rory had never experienced that type of adolescent fear. Her mother was different. But, as she reached the front door and turned the small golden knob, she wasn't so sure Lorelai would just let this incident slide.

"Mom?" she offered meekly, her body still trembling from the fight with Dean. Too many emotions were bubbling inside of her, and she suddenly didn't care to apologize or to explain or to force her mother to listen to reason. She just wanted to drop to the ground and cry.

"Rory," Lorelai began, tight lipped. "Kid, I don't ask for much, but when…" Lorelai froze as she entered the living room and saw Rory leaning against the door, sobbing, knees pressing into her chest. Lorelai softened instantly, wrapping her arms around her daughter. She didn't ask what was wrong, but she had a pretty good idea. But right now, Rory didn't need judgments or advice. Right now, Rory just needed her mom.

xXx

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