This One is Different

Chapter Two

DISCLAIMER: I own no rights to the characters from Gilmore Girls created by Amy Sherman-Palladino. I merely recreate scenarios.

TIME: Set after Episode 18 "To Live and Let Diorama" in Season 5. AU from then on as Jess comes back on the scene.

A/N: I'd like to know whether you followers prefer long chapters or short chapters. Please let me know what you think. If Jess seems out of character I'm sorry, but I think that he was really grown up and mature in "The Real Paul Anka" and I want to write him that way. I don't know how long this fan fiction will be but I hope you enjoy it. Reviews make me work harder!

She went to the bridge, the one place she still had to herself. No one went there, no one who still lived in Stars Hollow. Rory went through the underpass, humming to herself and then stopped short when she saw a figure sitting on the bridge, legs dangling over the edge.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps and stared her in the eye.

"Jess."

Jess looked at her and didn't know how to respond. Not long ago he would remove himself from the situation but after chasing her around the streets one time he decided to go for the more controversial approach.

"Hi," he said tentatively. She looked at him with wide eyes and smirked slightly.

"You get lost on the way to New York?" asked Rory, raising her eyebrows.

He smirked and closed his book, sliding it into his back pocket. "What can I say? Stars Hollow calls to me."

She laughed once and he felt a pang go through his chest. He loved her laugh.

"Can I sit?" she asked and he nodded, not wanting his voice to betray the happiness he felt at seeing her again, and not having her yell at him. She sat down next to him, leaving a good amount of space between them. There was a slight awkwardness in the air as they both looked out onto the water. In Jess's mind he was remembering all the times they had spent on this bridge, talking, laughing and reading together and he wished he was back in the old days; the days where 'Casual dating' wasn't a factor and old fights didn't hang between them like it did now.

"How are you Jess?" asked Rory quietly and he looked at her.

"I'm good. How are you?"

"Oh I'm good," she said and Jess could tell that he was lying. He didn't want to push her though; he wasn't expecting her to rush into his arms.

"And how is Yale treating you, young Miss Gilmore?"

"Always a joker, right?" He nodded as she grinned and answered "It's great. Crazy and difficult but great."

"Better than Harvard?"

"Well, I've never studied at Harvard have I?" He laughed softly and then looked towards the water.

"So . . . What are you doing here?" asked Rory lightly, and Jess could hear the nervousness in her voice and felt nervous himself.

"Here in Stars Hollow or here on earth?"

"Jess –"

"Well, some could say we have a divine purpose which I think is a lot of bunk, but personally I think I am here to devour as many novels as possible and give the world my opinion on them, writing in the margins as such. I think if I give bad writers such as Rand a bad rep, they'll disappear on the shelves and people will not have to endure that pain. So there, I think is sufficient reason to why I am here on earth."

She glared at him and he stared at her. "What?"

"I think that is the longest amount of words I have ever heard you say. I would be impressed except I meant in Stars Hollow. And I resent that comment about Rand." She shuffled a bit closer to him and he grinned wickedly.

"Oh! You meant Stars Hollow, right, right." She rolled her eyes and Jess noticed that she looked tired and exhausted. "I'm here visiting Luke, wanted to update him on my life."

"And how is it?" she asked carefully, and Jess could sense she didn't want to intrude but was really curious.

"My my, Miss Gilmore, curious, are we? Whatever would your mother say?"

"She'd say 'Hurry up and tell her so she can tell me'," retorted Rory quick as lightning.

"You're probably right. And I probably should tell you," Jess sighed and looked at Rory. He was drawing out the suspense of telling her his biggest news but he didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Oh come on, tell me!"

"Naa . . . I don't think I will. I don't think you're interested enough." Jess turned away from Rory and pulled the book out of his back pocket, pretending to open it and read.

Hearing a huff of indignation he waited, trying to see what she would do. Without him predicting this next move, Rory snatched the book out of his hands and danced away from him. He jumped up and trying to grab the book from her hands but she just kept moving away.

"Tell me!" she said, waving the book in his face as he tried to reach and get it.

"Give me my book back!"

"Oh, come on, it's just a Hemingway. Tell me!"

"Rory!"

"What, you're some big shot in New York now and have come back to size up the land?"

"No, Rory, give it back."

"No, wait, you're an actor and need to get research done on how to play Kirk when you perform 'My Life at Seventeen, a musical on Broadway.'"

"Pfft, cause that's bloody likely. Give it back, Rory," he said, reaching for it. This scene reminded him so much of when they'd fight over books when they were together; she'd grab one that he wanted and then they'd fight over it, but she would always get it because she had the ability to convince him he didn't need it.

"Not until you tell me your news." He leaned towards her on the bridge and tried to grasp her arms. Jess bumped Rory and she stumbled towards the edge of the bridge near the water. Seeing that she was close to falling in he said "Rory, stop moving away –"

"I'm going to win!" He moved to her and knocked her arms and she slipped, dropping the book on the bridge but falling backwards. Jess lunged out to grab her and connected their arms but momentum pulled her back and he went with her, both of them falling into the murky water of the river.

Jess lifted his head out of the water, coughing as he tasted the river of Stars Hollow. He was soaked to the bone and looked around for Rory. He found her coughing and sputtering next to him and went to her.

"Here, let me help you." She grabbed his arm and he pulled her to the bridge. He heard her making a strange noise and looked sharply at her.

She was laughing.

"Rory?"

"Jess . . . I'm . . . So . . . Sorry . . ." She continued to laugh and laugh and Jess got worried that she had inhaled some of the bad water.

"Rory, are you ok?" He grinned when he saw her smear mud across her face and continue laughing.

"I'm fine . . . Wet, but fine. Help me up?" She grabbed onto the bridge and Jess moved to push her up by her legs. After she sat on the bridge, he hoisted himself up and sat next to her, ringing the water out of his shirt. Rory was still laughing.

"You wanna tell me what is so funny Gilmore?" asked Jess, frustrated that he didn't know what was going on.

"Oh," said Rory, grinning at him. "The book . . . is . . . saved!" She pointed to the Hemingway on the other side of the bridge, completely dry and in good shape. Jess laughed with Rory and grinned and laughed some more. It felt nice to let go and laugh with Rory; he had really missed it this last year.

Jess leaned across the bridge and grabbed the jacket he had next to the book. He passed it to Rory and said "Here, put this on. I don't want you to get cold."

She began to protest, saying that it would get wet but he put it around her shoulders, feeling her cold skin under his fingertips. She shivered and he placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, trying to keep her warm.

For a moment he was worried that she would get the wrong idea but she leant into him, sighing as she got warmer. It was so nice for him to have her there, with him, but he had no idea where they stood. Jess decided to leave it, and just enjoy the moment with her.

"Jess?" asked Rory, quietly. "If I asked you a question would you answer it truthfully?"

"Yes," Jess answered, thinking that they were going to talk about them together or something else, "of course."

"Why are you in Stars Hollow?" Jess laughed and cursed himself inwardly for being stupid and getting excited about answering a question.

"You slyly worked up to that one didn't you?" said Jess, looking down at her. She smiled and he grinned, amazed that this girl could continue surprising him, despite the fact that he knew her really well.

"I'm visiting Luke, nothing sinister about it, don't worry. I just wanted to catch up with him face to face, not over the phone like we usually do."

"Do you talk often?" she asked and Jess could sense a slight bit of jealousy in her voice. He was pleased to hear but also nervous about how they could work this out between them.

"Yeah, about once every couple of weeks. He calls or I call and we just catch up." She nodded and he was quick to say "I would have called you but . . . I didn't know if . . . you know, you wanted to talk." He coughed nervously and she sat up and looked at him.

"I understand Jess." He nodded and she looked at him carefully. "It would have been weird, especially since last time . . ." The awkward Come with me conversation stood between them and he ducked his head, ashamed at his weakness at that moment. "I'm glad you're here," she whispered and Jess looked at her in shock.

"What?"

She looked at him and rolled her eyes, in classic Gilmore fashion. "Yes, you heard right. I'm glad you're here Jess. You . . . keep me grounded and I could do with some of that right now."

Jess looked at her and noticed that she was frowning slightly. She was different now. More worn, older. She wasn't herself or the girl Jess had grown up with. He was worried. Something had happened to change her and he hated that.

Jess smirked and stood up, holding out his hand to her. "Where are we going?" she asked as he pulled her up.

"Back to Luke's. You're gonna catch a cold and I do not want Lorelai killing me if you go home sick, especially since she's not happy I'm here anyway." Rory nodded looking down at her feet and then looked at their hands intertwined. Jess hadn't even noticed that he was still holding it; it felt normal, like they'd never been apart.

"I need to show you something at Luke's anyway. Part of the reason I'm here." Rory's face lit up at that statement and she picked up the Hemingway and passed it to Jess, saying, "Onward my friend, to dry land we go!"

Lorelai sat at home at the kitchen table, one that was covered in takeout menus. She had decided to organise the takeout drawer while she waited for Rory to come back. She had fought with Luke over the whole Jess debacle and she was here silently fuming. Why he continued to defend that hoodlum she would never know.

Perhaps Lorelai was mad that someone else was protected by Luke. It wasn't just her and Rory anymore; now Luke cared about Jess and Liz and her family as well. She loved that man, but she was mad that Jess was under his protection.

Lorelai would love to hurt him but she didn't have the guts to try anything. Long ago she had given Dean a warning on how to treat Rory but Jess had never received one. She told herself that this was why he hurt Rory, he didn't know the repercussions of hurting her daughter but in the back of her mind she knew that her warning wouldn't have changed anything.

"He's grown up. He's mature now Lorelai! He won't hurt her, I won't let him." Luke's words rang in her mind and she growled frustrated.

"Damn right, he's not going to hurt him. I won't let him near her," she growled to herself as she shoved the menus back into the drawer.

Luke looked up as Jess walked into the diner. He grunted at him, still angry about the fight Lorelai and he had had in regards to Jess. Realising something he looked back at Jess, who was standing in front of him.

"Why are you wet?" Jess smirked and looked slightly sheepish. "Is Lorelai here?" he asked, running his hands through his hair.

"No. Answer the question, Jess!"

"Is she coming back?"

Luke sighed and answered "I don't know. We had a fight – mostly about you and Rory. She flipped out, though some could argue with reason." Jess flinched and looked apologetic before he said "So she's not here?"

"No, Jess what is going on?" Luke watched as Jess went out the door again and motioned for someone to come in. But not just someone; Rory, who was just as soaking wet as Jess.

Luke stared at them, waiting for an explanation and when none was given coughed pointedly.

"Why are you both soaked? And together might I add?" Rory gave a sheepish grin and looked up at Jess, who had his arm on Rory's back.

"Well," Rory said. "We were talking. He was in my spot and wouldn't tell me why he's here and so I took his book and he was trying to get it and we fell in the water. The book didn't; the book stayed on the bridge which was good because it's one of Jess's Hemingway's and you know how he is with his Hemingway's. We had a good laugh about falling in. It would have been better if I had pushed him in, I hear it's cathartic but we fell. Together. That's why we're here, together, hoping to get dry before Mum freaks out." Rory's rambling speech struck Luke as being odd since they hadn't done anything wrong. He looked at Jess and saw a slight smirk on his face, obviously amused by the young Gilmore's rambling.

Luke was less amused but he wasn't angry. He was just trying to figure out how Lorelai would react to find the two of them had found each other while they were fighting. Luke wasn't worried about them getting back together, Jess had his job and Rory had school, but he knew Lorelai wouldn't be happy with a budding friendship between the two.

Luke looked at the two and held back a grin. They were two young people who could sort out their own lives without the influence of two people who had taken years to get together.

"Go upstairs and get changed. Rory, use some of my clothes so Lorelai doesn't freak out you're wearing Jess's." He looked Rory in the eye as he said "It's up to you to explain this to her, not me." Rory nodded and walked upstairs, Jess following her, Luke watching them leave the diner.

Luke turned around to find Kirk staring at him. "Jeez Kirk! What do you want?"

"I need more cheese with my cheeseburger."

He rolled his eyes and went into the back to find more cheese.

Rory opened the door to Luke's upstairs apartment and looked around. She hadn't been up here for ages. She thought about the last time she had been up here and remembered that it had been with Jess, while they were together. They had been – Rory stopped that thought there. It had been a good amount of time since her and Jess had been together but surprisingly the memories still hurt. She could remember how much she had loved touching him and kissing him; his kisses were much more memorable than Dean's or even Logan's. They had a –

"I'll get you some clothes," Jess's voice said, interrupting her from her thoughts. She turned around to smile at him but he was already at a dresser, pulling out some clothes. She saw quite a few feminine things that she assumed were her Mum's and assumed correctly when she saw a pink lacy bra sticking out from under Luke's bed.

Groaning aloud, she had Jess come towards her and give her clothes that she assumed were Luke's.

"You alright?" he asked and she nodded.

"Just my Mum's embarrassment following me everywhere," she answered evasively, hoping he would drop it. He looked around and saw it straight away, giving a nervous laugh.

"Ah right." He looked at her and then said "You can get changed in the bathroom."

She nodded and went in to the bathroom, locking it behind her as she quickly got changed. The clothes were loose and baggy but she was comfortable and warm and she emerged from the bathroom much more comfortable than before.

Jess was sitting at the kitchen table, holding a book in his hands. He was all dry, fully dressed and Rory couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked all in his normal clothes. It felt like they were back together but as she got to the table she remembered that they weren't; they weren't anything anymore.

"Not reading?" she asked, watching as Jess looked up at her. She sat beside him as he smirked.

"It's not for me. It's for you." Rory stared at him and he passed her the book, looking away as she looked down at it.

"The Subsect," she read out loud. She flipped it over and read the back and then looked at Jess before reading the back again.

"By Jess Mariano," she said quietly. Rory looked at him in shock and exclaimed "Jess. You wrote a book?"

Please review!

This is a literati fic and I know it seems like they are taking a while to get together but they need to be friends again before anything else happens. Sorry it took so long for the update. I didn't finish it before I went on holidays but expect more updates soon!

Please review!