A/N: New chapter!! Yay. ;) LOL after I upload this, I'm going to upload the next chapter of CoffeeJunkie02 meets NYer02, so please check that out if you haven't already and let me know what you think. ;)

Lunatic Lauren : they are in high school...seniors, I guess. I don't think it really matters.

Sarinileni : Actually, if you look in the Gilmore Girls books, it's TristIN not TristAN.

Everyone else : Thanks so much for reading, and thanks for the great reviews. Note: Tristin won't be in the picture again for a few chapters, but HE WILL COME BACK into the story more, so just be patient. These next few chapters are mainly focused on Rory and Jess. You'll see why soon.

Chapter 2

Jess scrubbed furiously at an invisible spot on one of the tables in Luke's Diner. Luke walked by, carrying a plate in each hand. He leaned over.

"You know, instead of repeatedly cleaning this already-spotless table, you might want to go clear off some dirty ones now. Unless you want to be here all night. In that case, please continue."

"What?" Jess glanced down. "Oh. Yeah, okay." He moved to another table and started to clear it off.

"What's wrong, Jess?"

"Nothing, Luke. I'm just a little preoccupied right now."

"Are you still upset about what happened with Rory?" Jess gave him a look, so Luke continued, "Then go talk to her. You're not going to solve anything being here."

Jess sighed. "I guess..." His eyes swept over the diner, and he finally noticed at all of the dirty tables that he had neglected cleaning.

"Don't worry about it," Luke told him, reading his mind. "I'll finish up here. Go on."

"Thanks," Jess flashed his uncle a half-smile, which was a nice change from his usual scowl.

Jess hurried out of the diner, heading to the Gilmore house.

Lorelai jumped at the sound of the doorbell. She glanced down at the red polish covering her toe and frowned. Wiping it off quickly before it dried, she went to answer the door.

"Jess? What are you doing ringing the doorbell? You usually just walk right in."

"Uh, I thought maybe since Rory and I aren't talking, it might not be the best thing to just barge in. Especially since—" He leaned forward confidentially, lowering his voice. "I've come to apologize."

"Ah. Good move. She's in her room. Knock before you go in and she'll really be impressed."

Jess grinned, walking inside and shutting the door behind him. He took off his coat and tossed it on the couch. Lorelai went back to painting her toenails.

Jess let out a breath, knocking on Rory's bedroom door.

She opened it a few seconds later, and her face instantly became guarded.

"Hey," Jess greeted, attempting to smile.

"Hello," Rory replied coolly.

"Are you busy?"

She shrugged. "I was studying."

"Right. Of course you are."

"What's that supposed to—"

"No, that's not what I—" He swallowed. "Do you need help?"

She frowned at him. "No thank you." She turned and went back to sit at her desk.

Jess sighed, following her into the room and closing the door. "Look. I'm sorry, okay?"

She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry about what?"

He stared at her. Was she really going to make him—oh, yes, she was. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Rory waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts, but all he ended up coming up with was, "Sorry I tried to make you feel guilty for wanting to go to the party."

She relaxed, smiling at him. That was all that she had wanted to hear. A simple 'I'm sorry' sure did wonders sometimes. "Apology accepted."

"So...how was it?"

"How was what?" she returned.

"You know...the party."

"Oh, that." Rory glanced down at the open book in front of her. "I didn't end up going."

Jess's eyebrows shot up. "But that was all that you had talked about all week long. What changed your mind?"

"Well, you would have been the only sane one there. You wouldn't have been obsessing over your looks, stressing to find a dance partner who's outfit didn't clash with yours..."

"I see your point," he commented with a grin, stopping her there. They both knew the list went on and on. "But Tristin was there."

"Yeah, but he was probably playing the host and mingling with everyone. I would have gotten bored real quick. I pictured myself finding an empty room and curling up on a couch, reading a book. It didn't sound appealing. Besides, it's always more fun with your best friend by your side." She linked her arm through his.

"Maybe we are joined at the hip."

"So, now that the party is out of the way, we can start planning for our road trip next weekend," Rory said to Jess.

They were sitting indian-style on Jess's bed, facing each other. Jess reached over and grabbed something from his night stand, tossing it over to her.

"A map?" She looked confused. "We've driven to New York a hundred times, Jess. I could drive there in my sleep. I hardly think we need a map." She tried to hand it back to him.

He took it from her and handed it right back. "We do if we're not going to New York."

"But...Where are we going then?"

His lips curved upward slowly, and warning bells were already starting to go off in Rory's head.

"Massachusettes."

"Massachusettes?" she echoed, frowning. "What's in Massa—" Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her, and her face broke out into a big smile. "Boston?"

"I saved up some money from working in the diner, and I thought it would be nice to drive somewhere new for a change. If you're up to it, of course."

"Oh no, I'm totally up to it," she replied, trying hard to contain herself from squealing.

There was only one reason for them to go to Boston. Rory's dad lived in Boston. She hadn't seen him in over a year. He called regularly, but it wasn't the same. She was just thinking how nice it would be to see him again and surprise him, when Lorelai opened the door.

"Is everything okay in here? It got really quiet, and I ws afraid that one of you, you know, did something to the other one or something."

"Can Mom come, too?" Rory whispered to Jess.

Lorelai leaned forward, whispering as well, "Come where?"

Jess sighed. Talk about putting him on the spot. He had been hoping it would just be the two of them on this little outing. But Rory was looking at him expectantly, so he answered, "Of course."

She surprised him by throwing her arms around him in a hug. They almost never hugged. They just showed their affection to each other with their words. He would have thought it would have been awkward, but it was actually kind of...nice. Just as the thought registered in his mind, however, she pulled away.

"We're going to go see Dad!" she squealed.

"You're what?" Lorelai asked, not sure she had heard correctly.

"We're—"

"Going to see Christopher."

Rory waited for her mother to get excited, but it didn't happen. "Do you not want to go?"

"It's not that...I'm just wondering how Jess came in here five minutes ago to apologize and all of a sudden everything's back to normal and you're on your way to Boston."

"It was just a thought. We don't have to go if you don't want us to."

"I just think he'll be really busy and probably not even have time to hang out, that's all."

"He hasn't seen us in over a year. I'm sure he would make time," Rory pointed out.

"She has a point there," Jess said.

"Weren't we mad at you? Yeah, what happened to that?" Lorelai asked.

Jess frowned. "Hey, leave me out of this. This is between you and Rory."

"You're mad?" Rory asked her mother.

"No, honey, I'm not mad. I just...I don't see why all of a sudden you have to see your dad."

"It's not all of a sudden. I've always wanted to go up there, I just never mentioned it. Now Jess did, and I want to go."

"So go then," Lorelai cried, throwing up her arms. "Have fun!"

Rory frowned. "You're not coming?"

Lorelai shook her head, on the verge of tears. She hurried upstairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

"Shouldn't you go see what's wrong?" Jess asked after a moment.

"No," Rory replied, staring in the direction that her mother had just gone. "When she wants to talk, she'll come find me."

Jess shrugged. "If you're sure."

She nodded. "Come on. I'll walk you home."

He rolled his eyes. "You just want some of Luke's coffee."

"Do you want to walk back alone, is that what you want? Keep talking." She grinned.

"Well, I walked over by myself, so I think I'm capable of walking home alone..."

"Ugh. Fine."

She started to turn back to her homework, but Jess placed a hand on her arm, stopping her. She glanced at him, flashing him a smile that she reserved only for him.

He nodded to her door. "After you."

She ducked her head, leading the way out of the house. She paused at the front door, hesitantly, then called out to her mother that she was going to Luke's. She received no response.