Disclaimer: All characters, events, situations you recognise from the
Gilmore Girls are not owned by myself.
Notes: Again, I know little of New York, costs, etcetera. Any corrections
would be great.
Rory stared out the window. It was drizzling. Not raining, but not just overcast. Drizzle. It was pathetic, misery-inducing. The bus eased to a stop at the terminus, gas brakes hissing and the gears groaning. Along with the other passengers, their faces all a similar mask of depression, she shuffled off the bus, collected her luggage and eased herself into a cab. She recited the address on the scrap of paper to the driver. She closed her eyes and relaxed into the drive.
She had no idea where she was going. She'd never been there before, and wasn't even sure whether he would be there. But it was worth the risk, worth the awkwardness and embarrassment. This was Jess. It was time to face the music.
The driver braked suddenley and she put her hand against the seat to brace against it. "This you," he said quickly. "$54.67. You pay $55."
Rory pulled out her wallet and swiped her card. She scribbled her name on the slip of paper and hauled her baggage from the backseat. "Thankyou!" she cried as he sped off, hand heavy on the horn.
She gripped the handle of her bag in one hand and the address in her other. She stared at the building. There was no doorman, but there was an alcove and a buzzer. She walked up the stairs and to the intercom. She read the names. Steph Elcot, M. Matrina. K & P Snith. J. Mariano.
It was him. The number matched Luke's address. She pressed the button and held it down longer then she really needed to.
"Who is it?" a voice barked back from the speaker. She managed a grin at the harshness and didn't hesitate to reply. "It's Rory Gilmore. Remember me?"
There was a muffled stumbling sound. "Shit. Rory? Come on up, what are you doing here?"
She pressed the button again. "Visiting. Buzz me in, Jess." The heavy deadlock buzzed and she pulled the door open. It was stiff and heavy, and she had to wedge herself to keep it open as she dragged her bags in behind her. "Floor 12, Apartment 123," she muttered as she stabbed the lift button aggressively. The doors slid open and a young man, half empty bottle of Coke in hand, stumbled out, winking at her. "G'm'rnin'," he slurred. "Good evening," she replied wryly. The door slid shut behind her, and she leant against the back wall, idly wondering whether her hair, newly cut a week ago, was messy.
10, 11, 12. The lift stopped. The doors slid open and she looked down to grab her bag handles. When she looked up, Jess was walking towards her. She kicked her back from the lift and hugged him, slightly surprising him and causing him to stumble backwards a step.
"Long time, no see,"
She bent down and hoisted her bags onto her shoulder. "Yeah, well, shit happens when you're too cool to write to your old friends,"
For a moment, he was taken aback. She looked like Rory, she smelt like Rory, but the words spewing forth from her mouth didn't sound like Rory. She looked back at him and grinned. "Four year changes a person. I swear now,"
"Like a sailor?"
She laughed and shook her head. "Like a schoolkid, really. But I shocked you, didn't I?"
She'd grown up, she'd changed. Lost her innocence, certainly. But he liked the change. She didn't seem so fragile and fleeting now. Not breakable, but still breathtaking. He wished he could have been there to know why she changed, but that was past.
"You've changed," he commented as he pushed his key into the lock.
"We've all changed,"
Jess took her bags and dropped them in the guest room without a second thought. "So you're in New York,"
She sat down on his lounge, folding her legs beneath her and wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans. The apartment was sparse, but decorated nicely. Blacks, greys, whites and blues. It was spartan, male and lacked homey girly touches that she was familiar with. But it was nice and it was Jess and so she liked it. The old vinyl covers stuck on the walls in a checkpattern just added an off-beat charm.
"I have a weeks holiday, and then I have a review to write of an arts festival. My first job,"
"Freelance?"
Rory shook her head. "No, I somehow managed to snare a job with a magazine called Found which covers the arts in the north-east area. It's based in Boston and New York. I'm based in Boston, and got sent here for my first job to check in with the head editor,"
"Who's with you? Back with Dean?" he asked. He didn't care, not really. He'd moved on since the almost-maybe-could-have-been-love with Rory.
"We broke up before I left for college, Jess. You've really been out of the loop," she paused to skim the back of a CD. "I'm flying solo. I thought I'd hang out by myself, get my head together, then knuckle down to work. How about you? Where are you working?"
He lit a cigarette and put his feet up on the footrest. "Managing some bands for a friends label, running the business side of it sometimes. Trimester,"
Rory nodded, ignoring the cigarette. They fell silent. Her brave optimism and steeled confidence was failing. He didn't know what to say.
"I really missed you, Jess. I was so worried something was wrong, Luke called you, told me nothing was wrong. I thought you'd rejected me somehow; you did reject me. And then, things fell apart. Dean and I broke up, Luke and my mother got together, on and off and suddenley I sort of lost both of them, though I'll deny I ever said that. Lane hooked up with a guy called Stephan, and then you stopped writing," she drank from the glass on the table and grimaced momentarily when she realised it wasn't water, but finished it off anyway. "So, suddenley from being happy, in love and having cool friends and a cool mother, I was this pathetic eigtheen year old spending her weekends watching telemovies and counting the days to college down on a calendar. And then, I left, just like you did. Only I go back occasionally, rather then severing all ties,"
Bitterness was starting to seep out from her walls. She refused to believe that she'd only visited Jess to rub her good life in his face, but there were things she wanted to say. She took a breath.
"I'm sorry, Rory,"
She closed her mouth and rolled the glass between her palms. "Yeah, you should be. . I refused to hear anyone talk about you for nearly two years. Then I met Matt and decided I was going to move on, even if it killed me. So I did, and now I've graduated, have a job and you're not dead, so I can tell Luke that and check into my hotel," she said quicklu, standing as she spoke. She put the glass onto the side table. "Nice seeing you Jess," she said softly.
Within a few seconds, he was standing in front of her, holding her arms and kissing her. She closed her eyes, let her bags slide from her fingers and wrapped her arms around him. "This is wrong,"
He rubbed her face with his and whispered into her ear. "At least you're not running,"
She moaned in delight, "I should be,"
"But you're not," He picked up the remote, flicked on the stereo and lay back on the couch, pulling her to him. The Beta Band filled the room and she closed her eyes, melting into him. "You've changed, Rory Gilmore,"
She slid her hands underneath his shirt and grinned dreamily. "More then you know, Mariano,"
Rory stared out the window. It was drizzling. Not raining, but not just overcast. Drizzle. It was pathetic, misery-inducing. The bus eased to a stop at the terminus, gas brakes hissing and the gears groaning. Along with the other passengers, their faces all a similar mask of depression, she shuffled off the bus, collected her luggage and eased herself into a cab. She recited the address on the scrap of paper to the driver. She closed her eyes and relaxed into the drive.
She had no idea where she was going. She'd never been there before, and wasn't even sure whether he would be there. But it was worth the risk, worth the awkwardness and embarrassment. This was Jess. It was time to face the music.
The driver braked suddenley and she put her hand against the seat to brace against it. "This you," he said quickly. "$54.67. You pay $55."
Rory pulled out her wallet and swiped her card. She scribbled her name on the slip of paper and hauled her baggage from the backseat. "Thankyou!" she cried as he sped off, hand heavy on the horn.
She gripped the handle of her bag in one hand and the address in her other. She stared at the building. There was no doorman, but there was an alcove and a buzzer. She walked up the stairs and to the intercom. She read the names. Steph Elcot, M. Matrina. K & P Snith. J. Mariano.
It was him. The number matched Luke's address. She pressed the button and held it down longer then she really needed to.
"Who is it?" a voice barked back from the speaker. She managed a grin at the harshness and didn't hesitate to reply. "It's Rory Gilmore. Remember me?"
There was a muffled stumbling sound. "Shit. Rory? Come on up, what are you doing here?"
She pressed the button again. "Visiting. Buzz me in, Jess." The heavy deadlock buzzed and she pulled the door open. It was stiff and heavy, and she had to wedge herself to keep it open as she dragged her bags in behind her. "Floor 12, Apartment 123," she muttered as she stabbed the lift button aggressively. The doors slid open and a young man, half empty bottle of Coke in hand, stumbled out, winking at her. "G'm'rnin'," he slurred. "Good evening," she replied wryly. The door slid shut behind her, and she leant against the back wall, idly wondering whether her hair, newly cut a week ago, was messy.
10, 11, 12. The lift stopped. The doors slid open and she looked down to grab her bag handles. When she looked up, Jess was walking towards her. She kicked her back from the lift and hugged him, slightly surprising him and causing him to stumble backwards a step.
"Long time, no see,"
She bent down and hoisted her bags onto her shoulder. "Yeah, well, shit happens when you're too cool to write to your old friends,"
For a moment, he was taken aback. She looked like Rory, she smelt like Rory, but the words spewing forth from her mouth didn't sound like Rory. She looked back at him and grinned. "Four year changes a person. I swear now,"
"Like a sailor?"
She laughed and shook her head. "Like a schoolkid, really. But I shocked you, didn't I?"
She'd grown up, she'd changed. Lost her innocence, certainly. But he liked the change. She didn't seem so fragile and fleeting now. Not breakable, but still breathtaking. He wished he could have been there to know why she changed, but that was past.
"You've changed," he commented as he pushed his key into the lock.
"We've all changed,"
Jess took her bags and dropped them in the guest room without a second thought. "So you're in New York,"
She sat down on his lounge, folding her legs beneath her and wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans. The apartment was sparse, but decorated nicely. Blacks, greys, whites and blues. It was spartan, male and lacked homey girly touches that she was familiar with. But it was nice and it was Jess and so she liked it. The old vinyl covers stuck on the walls in a checkpattern just added an off-beat charm.
"I have a weeks holiday, and then I have a review to write of an arts festival. My first job,"
"Freelance?"
Rory shook her head. "No, I somehow managed to snare a job with a magazine called Found which covers the arts in the north-east area. It's based in Boston and New York. I'm based in Boston, and got sent here for my first job to check in with the head editor,"
"Who's with you? Back with Dean?" he asked. He didn't care, not really. He'd moved on since the almost-maybe-could-have-been-love with Rory.
"We broke up before I left for college, Jess. You've really been out of the loop," she paused to skim the back of a CD. "I'm flying solo. I thought I'd hang out by myself, get my head together, then knuckle down to work. How about you? Where are you working?"
He lit a cigarette and put his feet up on the footrest. "Managing some bands for a friends label, running the business side of it sometimes. Trimester,"
Rory nodded, ignoring the cigarette. They fell silent. Her brave optimism and steeled confidence was failing. He didn't know what to say.
"I really missed you, Jess. I was so worried something was wrong, Luke called you, told me nothing was wrong. I thought you'd rejected me somehow; you did reject me. And then, things fell apart. Dean and I broke up, Luke and my mother got together, on and off and suddenley I sort of lost both of them, though I'll deny I ever said that. Lane hooked up with a guy called Stephan, and then you stopped writing," she drank from the glass on the table and grimaced momentarily when she realised it wasn't water, but finished it off anyway. "So, suddenley from being happy, in love and having cool friends and a cool mother, I was this pathetic eigtheen year old spending her weekends watching telemovies and counting the days to college down on a calendar. And then, I left, just like you did. Only I go back occasionally, rather then severing all ties,"
Bitterness was starting to seep out from her walls. She refused to believe that she'd only visited Jess to rub her good life in his face, but there were things she wanted to say. She took a breath.
"I'm sorry, Rory,"
She closed her mouth and rolled the glass between her palms. "Yeah, you should be. . I refused to hear anyone talk about you for nearly two years. Then I met Matt and decided I was going to move on, even if it killed me. So I did, and now I've graduated, have a job and you're not dead, so I can tell Luke that and check into my hotel," she said quicklu, standing as she spoke. She put the glass onto the side table. "Nice seeing you Jess," she said softly.
Within a few seconds, he was standing in front of her, holding her arms and kissing her. She closed her eyes, let her bags slide from her fingers and wrapped her arms around him. "This is wrong,"
He rubbed her face with his and whispered into her ear. "At least you're not running,"
She moaned in delight, "I should be,"
"But you're not," He picked up the remote, flicked on the stereo and lay back on the couch, pulling her to him. The Beta Band filled the room and she closed her eyes, melting into him. "You've changed, Rory Gilmore,"
She slid her hands underneath his shirt and grinned dreamily. "More then you know, Mariano,"