Disclaimer: Most characters, places and
shindigs belong to Amy Sherman- Palladino. Some characters are made ups. Title
inspired by Nsync's "Falling". Chapter title inspired by 5ive's
"Reminiscing".
A/N: This chapter isn't the best. It's not that good; I'll say that now.
But that's all I can do right now, so.
"Reminiscing"
She stood still in the place, in his arms. She closed her eyes, hoping to bring
back some good memories. It's been about four years since she last had any
contact with him. Sure, she came to NYC to visit him once. They talked on the
phone a few times. They even exchanged addressed. But it came to an end. It was
one of the things that caused the slight rip between her and her mom. When
Lorelai found out that she has been still in touch with Jess after everything,
she wasn't very happy about it. So they somehow stopped. And she still
regretted it all. But being there, now, in his arms...
-
He was stroking her hair, slowly. He tried to act as friendly as possible. He
missed her. It's been a long time since he saw her, and he missed her. He
missed her more than anything. It felt like time was standing still. And
remembering that it wasn't a public place they were at, it was kind of
disturbing. He slowly pulled out of her embrace and stood in front of her,
can't hide the fact that he's thrilled to see her. "What are you doing
here?" he asked, half thrilled, half confused.
-
She felt a little disappointed when he pulled out, but she knew he meant well.
She missed him like crazy; there was no doubt about that. She scanned him with
her eyes, trying to see if he changed. It was funny - Four years had passed,
and he still looked exactly the same as he looked the last time she saw him.
She looked up, meeting his eyes. She couldn't help but smile. She saw the
confusion in his eyes. "Me?" She asked. She knew the answer, but she
asked anyway. Even though she asked, she kept talking. "I'm. On some sort
of a road trip, you could say." she said.
-
His eyes widened a bit. Rory never seemed like the road-trip kind of girl. But
he figured that she must have changed since he last talked to her. A lot of
things went through his mind - Who was she with, where was she staying, was she
thinking about him when she came to the city. But he stayed silent and let his
eyes do the talking. He nodded, not quite sure of what to ask and what to keep
inside. He shrugged, kind of an answer to his own question. Still uncertain of
what to say, he decided to do what he really wanted to do at the moment.
"You wanna get out of here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
-
She knew he was battling with himself. He used to do that a lot. She didn't
quite know why he was doing so or what he was thinking, but it was just simply
entertaining to watch him do that. She looked around and nodded at the same
time. She could spend hours at this place, but there's always later, or
tomorrow, or the next day. Who knows when she'll meet Jess again?
"Yeah." she said, her voice low but confident. She looked back at Jess
and smiled.
-
He simply looked away, scanning the area he already knows so well.
"Coffee?" he asked, with that smirk playing on his lips. She just
simply laughed. "Do you really need to ask?" she teased. He stuffed
his hands in his pockets and started walking out of the store. She smiled and
followed.
-
She was sitting at the other side of a small table, slowly sipping from yet
another cup of coffee. He was sitting in the other side, moving a small plastic
spoon in circles inside of a small plastic dish, containing ice cream. She was
looking at him the whole time, still trying to read him. She chuckled and
placed her half-empty cup on the table. "Enjoying your ice cream?"
she asked, jokingly. He let go of the spoon and shoved the almost-full ice cream
container away from him. "Can't people just use a cone?" he said,
lightly irritated, before releasing a sigh. "Ahh." She responded,
knowingly, letting her smile grow. A second later, the cup was back in her
hand, heading towards her lips. He looked up at her and laughed weakly. They
shared some cone-related talks in the past. He was a bit surprised that she
still seemed to remember what he was talking about. She noticed that he was
staring at her as she was taking her sip. She pulled the cup away from her lips
and held the cup in front of him. "Do you want a sip?" she asked him,
raising her eyebrows questioningly. He shaked his head slowly. "No
thanks" he said, thanking her with a half-smile. She took another sip and
placed the empty cup back on the table. They both sat there in silent, staring
at each other, smiling. She felt as if it was getting a bit too awkward and
looked down at the table. She cleared her throat, as if to get her attention.
Not that she didn't already have it. "Is it too late to get some more ice
cream?" she asked, looking back up at him. He raised an eyebrow in return.
"In cones?" he asked, wonderingly. She nodded. "How else?"
she responded as she grabbed her purse. He rose up from her seat and followed
her out.
-
It was getting late. The sun was getting ready to set. They were walking down
the cold streets, staring at their shoes. The road was the way to the subway
station that eventually leaded both of them to the bookstore where they met.
He wanted to break the awkwardness. "So..." he said, glancing at her
from the corner of his eye, "Where are you staying?"
She tilted her head to look at him. "Hotel 17," she replied,
"It's in West Village".
They kept walking in silence, as his smile just got bigger and bigger.
She straightened herself up and turned herself to face him, walking sideways.
"Where do you live?" she asked him. He looked down at the ground
again. "West Village," he replied, not able to hide his smile. She
gasped, surprised. "No!" she said, laughter escaping her throat. He
simply nodded. Could it have been faith?
-
The subway came to a stop. They were silent as they stepped out of the train.
They were silent as they walked up the stairs, meeting the cold evening. They
stood there, facing each other.
-
She looked up at the sky, then down at the ground, then up at him. It was too
early to say goodbye, but it was late. "I had a really good time
today." She said, smiling sweetly. There was something inside of her,
something that caused her to want more. But she just looked down again.
"I..." she said, taking a deep breath. "I'm glad I ran into
you."
-
He looked down at her, feeling the need to hold her hand, or to wrap his arms
around her. His old feelings knocked on the door to his heart since the moment
he saw her at the store, but he refused to let them in. Not now, not like this.
But he was happy to see her. "Yeah." he simply said, looking up at
the sky.
-
She looked at him, glancing at the sky. She wasn't sure if he was pleased of
the day or if she just bore him to death. But whatever it might be, she was
glad she saw him. "I better..." she started, turning towards the
road, searching for a taxi. He reached out his arm and touched her on her
shoulder, causing her to stop. "Hey..." he said in a rush.
"Would you like to see my apartment?" he asked, half-smiling. She
turned to him. She was happy about his suggestion, but she was also a little
afraid. "What exactly are you suggesting?" she asked, half-jokingly,
half-seriously. He wiggled his eyebrows. "You'll never know until you
try." He said sarcastically, but her hesitant look changed his attitude.
"I'll make you some more coffee." He said, adding a smirk for a
stronger effect. She simply nodded. He offered her his hand, and she took it.
They looked at each other, sharing some more quick glances and shy smiles. He
led her to his apartment, his hand in hers.
They both dreaded what they felt at the moment. But they didn't dare to stop.
