Stars Hollow
I had finally arrived at Yale and decided to check out my dorm before I went to Rory's. I walk up a couple of flights of stairs and knock on the door.
"Can I help you?" A guy answers.
"Jess Mariano," I reply. "I think I'm your suitemate."
"Was," The guy corrects.
"What?" I ask confused.
"They gave your room up," The guy replies. "I'm Glenn by the way."
"Great," I say annoyed. "So they gave my room?"
"Yeah," Glenn replies. "To some guy named Chester Fleet, and he's annoying the crap out of me. I think I'm going crazy."
"Well," I say as I turn to leave. "Good luck with that."
"Where are you going to stay?" Glenn asks me. "Because you can stay here if you want, it was your dorm after all."
"No thanks," I reply.
"Just until you find your own place," Glenn clarifies.
"Its fine," I reply as I once again turn to leave. I was actually thankful that I had lost my dorm because Glenn seemed a little… unstable. Maybe he and Chester will be perfect for each other, and hopefully I don't cross either one of their paths again.
"I'll see you around campus," Glenn shouts after me.
"Sure," I reply.
I now set off for Rory's dorm thankfully it was only a few flights down. I had called up Luke earlier and found out where she was staying, so that I could surprise her. I was now waiting outside her door nervously. I knocked on the door quickly before I could do anything rash. I was surprised when Paris answered the door. Luke didn't tell me that Paris was one of Rory's roommates.
"Rory it's for you," Paris says as soon as she notices me.
"What?" Rory asks confused as she gets off the couch and sees me. "Jess," She squeals as she runs and jumps into my arms. She wraps her legs tightly around my waist, not wanting to let go. I didn't mind though because there was no way I was letting go either.
"Hey Rory," I says sweetly in her ear. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," Rory replies. "Don't ever go away again," Rory pleads.
"Not unless you're right there with me," I agree.
"I don't want to let go," Rory whines.
"Then don't," I suggest and I walk us both over to the couch and sit down. I move Rory so that she is now sitting in my lap and she snuggles her head into my chest.
"I can't believe you're back," Rory says to me. "It's been like forever."
"Yeah," I agree. "Sorry I was gone so long."
"I was in Europe for two of those months," Rory argues. "Plus we both decided to split up for the summer, remember?"
"Yeah," I reply. "That was a stupid idea wasn't it?" I ask her as I lift her head off of my chest and kiss her lovingly.
"Umm," This guy sitting next to us on the couch clears his throat.
"Ah," I say in realization as I stop kissing Rory and turn my attention to the guy. "I'm Jess… Rory's boyfriend."
"Marty," The guy replies disappointed.
"Rory's mentioned you," I reply. I refrained from calling him naked guy that probably wouldn't have gone over too well.
"She's mentioned me?" Marty asks his mood suddenly picking up again.
"Of course I have," Rory replies.
"You were the main focus of her Yale stories, well apart from Paris." I explain.
"So you know Paris?" Marty asks.
"Yeah," I reply. "I've met her a couple of times before."
"You're friends," Rory says to me.
"Never," I reply. "It's Paris Gellar, enough said."
"You know I'm sharing a dorm with her," Rory explains. "So you're going to have to get along."
"Yeah," I reply. "But we can always escape to your room."
"Let me clarify that," Rory says. "I have four roommates, which means that Paris and I have to share a room."
"Oh," I say in realization. "Is this a bad time to tell you that I need to crash here for the night."
"What?" Rory asks confused. "Why?"
"Umm," Marty clears his throat again trying to get our attention.
"Sorry," Rory apologizes. "Sometimes we get a little carried away."
"Yeah," I agree as I kiss Rory quickly and then pull away.
"So," Marty says obviously uncomfortable. "How long have you two been going out for?"
"Two years," I reply without thinking.
"Well, two years in two months," Rory corrects.
"Yeah," I agree. "November… the 27th."
"Two months," Marty muses quietly. "And you just left her for the summer?" Marty accuses me.
"Yeah," I reply sadly. "I had some things to work out and she was going to Europe for two months anyway, so we figured we'd both go our separate ways and meet back at Yale."
"Okay," Marty says. "And you were fine with this?" Marty asks Rory.
"Yeah," Rory replies. "As he said I was in Europe too."
"So you guys just broke up for three months?" Marty asks us.
"No," I reply forcefully. "We were still together… just a continent or two apart."
"And it worked out fine?" Marty asks. "You guys look like you haven't been apart for three months."
"Well we talked all the time," Rory explains.
"Plus," I add. "Rory went to Washington for the summer last year, so we had been apart for that long before."
"Must've been hard," Marty says.
"Yeah," I agree. "You have no idea." I say and then kiss Rory again. More passionately and forcefully this time, I needed her close, I missed her so much.
"Maybe I should go," Marty suggests uncomfortable.
"Okay," I agree breaking away from the kiss much to Rory's disappointment. "Come back soon."
"Yeah," Rory agrees. "I'll see you later."
"Okay, sure," Marty replies uneasily as he heads for the door.
"Well that was interesting," I say to Rory as I kiss her again, but she pulls away.
"How do you do that to me?" Rory asks frustrated.
"Do what?" I ask her confused.
"Get me so distracted that I forget everything around me," Rory explains.
"No idea," I reply as I try to kiss her again, but she turns her head. I let out a sigh, but kiss her neck tenderly instead.
"I forgot Marty was here," Rory continues. "Marty… my friend."
"He's a big boy," I say in between kisses. "I'm sure he'll get over it."
"But…" Rory starts, but I silence her with my lips crashing down on hers, I can feel her weakening. "Jess," Rory says pushing me off.
"What?" I ask her confused as I stop kissing her.
"Three other roommates," Rory explains. "Including Paris whom I share a room with."
"Yeah," I sigh. "So much for thinking that college was our escape."
"Yeah," Rory agrees. "And what were you saying about crashing here tonight? What's wrong with your dorm?"
"Yeah about that," I say to Rory. "I stopped by my dorm before I came here and turns out Yale gave it up to some other kid."
"No," Rory says disappointed. "Where are you going to live?"
"I'll find a place," I reassure her. "There's bound to be at least one person at Yale who needs a roommate."
"Okay," Rory agrees. "And in the meantime you'll be staying where?"
"Here," I reply. "But I figured we could head down to The Hollow tomorrow seeing as its Saturday, then I could get a couple of good night's sleep in my own bed."
"Really?" Rory asks happily.
"Sure," I reply. "I haven't seen Luke or Lorelai in three months either. Plus Lorelai's got to be looking fairly pregnant by now, being five months and all."
"So tomorrow," Rory clarifies. "We can eat breakfast at Luke's."
"Sure," I reply. "Maybe we should get some sleep then."
"Where are you going to sleep?" Rory asks me. "On the couch?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of in your bed with you," I say flirtatiously as I kiss Rory sweetly.
"Umm," Rory replies breaking the kiss. "Roommates."
"I know," I reply. "I meant sleep, not sleep with. Your mind's gotten so dirty since going to Europe," I say playfully to Rory.
"Shut up," Rory replies as she gets up and heads to the door, I follow her.
"Nice," I say as we walk into her joint room with Paris.
"Here," Rory says as she throws my hoodie at me. "Your hoodie doesn't smell like you anymore," Rory says sadly.
I glance over at Rory and smile. She stole my hoodie before I left, she must've been using it to sleep at Yale. I already knew from Luke and Lorelai that the first month I was gone she would only sleep in my bed and nowhere else, it was cute.
"Jess?" Rory asks me softly interrupting my thoughts. "You can have your hoodie back… for now."
"Okay," I reply letting out a little laugh. "Thanks."
"Put the hoodie on now," Rory says to me and I comply. "That's better now come and sleep," Rory says as she gets into her bed.
"Sure thing," I reply as I snuggle up next to her and pull the blankets up over us. I put my arm lovingly around her waist and pull her close. "I love you," I whisper softly to her, but she was already asleep.
"Jess, Jess!" Rory yells from next to me and I open up my eyes.
"Have a good sleep?" I ask her.
"The best," Rory replies sarcastically. "Now get dressed so that we can head down to Stars Hollow," Rory says excitedly.
"Okay," I mumble as I close my eyes.
"Jess," Rory says as she walks over to the bed and kisses me lovingly. I lean forward to deepen the kiss only to have Rory pull away a few seconds later.
"No fair," I mumble.
"Stars Hollow," Rory says as she pulls the blankets off of me. "Now!"
"You're so demanding," I say as I get out of bed and hug her.
"Well you should be glad that you have your own dorm to escape to," Rory says. "Oh… well you will have one day."
"Let's go," I say to Rory as I grab her hand. "Your car or mine?"
"You're not getting changed?" Rory asks me.
"I have no dorm," I tell Rory. "Plus everything's in my car."
"Let's take your car then, just in case," Rory says excitedly. "Plus they will be able to hear your car from a mile away, so they will know that we are coming."
"Okay," I reply as we head towards the parking lot.
We jump in my car and head for the highway.
"So Marty seemed nice," I say to Rory.
"Yeah," Rory agrees. "He's a good friend."
"Just a friend?" I ask Rory. I knew she didn't think of him that way, but I wondered if she knew that he liked her.
"Yeah," Rory answers sharply. "Just a friend."
"So how's Yale?" I ask her avoiding the subject of Marty.
"It's good," Rory answers. "Even better now that you're here."
"Yeah," I reply. "I make everything better."
"You're so full of yourself," Rory replies annoyed.
"You love it," I say as I take my eyes off the road for a second and grin at her. "What's this I hear about you sleeping in my bed whilst I was gone?" I ask Rory turning my attention back to the road again.
"You weren't using it," Rory defends.
"It's okay," I reply whilst laughing. "I was just teasing you."
"Tell me more about California and Philadelphia," Rory says excitedly. "How was your father?"
"Alright?" I reply truthfully. "Better than I expected at least, he wasn't the dead beat that I always made him out to be."
"Well that's good," Rory replies. "And you mentioned something about Sasha and Lily?"
"Yeah, they were great," I explain. "Lily's smart, reads way too much. Sasha was like a mom to me, which did get annoying at times. They all want to meet you sometime."
"Really?" Rory asks nervously. "You told them about me?"
"Of course," I reply. "And don't worry they're going to love you."
"Okay," Rory accepts. "And how about Philly get your Philly Cheesesteaks, Philly."
"I think they're just going by Philly, now," I say jokingly to Rory. "And that was great. I met Chris and Matt."
"The old married couple?" Rory questions.
"Yeah," I agree. "But more like two single, straight, desperate, males, compared to an old married couple."
"And did they help you fix your car?" Rory asks.
"No," I answer as I let out a laugh. "They know absolutely nothing about cars."
"So did they end up getting their business?" Rory asks excitedly.
"Yeah," I reply smiling. "They found the extra money and Matt went and brought it while I was still there."
"Wow!" Rory replies. "You were there when their dream came true, that's amazing."
"Sure," I reply. "They both deserved it."
"That's cool," Rory says. "Is there any chance that they want to meet me too?" Rory asks hopefully. "Or any chance that you're going to go back to Philly and visit them?"
"Who wouldn't want to meet you?" I ask Rory as I grab her hand gently and intertwine our fingers together. "And yeah I'll be heading back there sometime soon," I tell her and she smiles.
"You promised last night that you wouldn't go anywhere without me," Rory explains. "So?"
"Of course you will be coming with me," I reassure Rory as I give her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm never going anywhere without you again."
"Me either," Rory says as she looks at me. "Umm Jess you might want to watch the road," Rory say frantically.
"Oh, right," I reply as I turn my attention back to the road. "You're too distracting," I tell her.
"Sorry," Rory apologizes as she blushes.
"So how is pregnant Lorelai?" I ask Rory changing the subject again. "Anything that I need to be pre warned about?"
"Not really," Rory replies. "Just don't give her coffee no matter what. Also don't question her healthy eating because she can get a little violent."
"I'm guessing that violent pregnant Lorelai needs to be avoided at all times?" I ask Rory.
"Yeah," She answers. "It's for everyone's sake. We're here, are you ready?" Rory asks me excitedly.
"Sure," I reply as I get out of the car. "I missed them more than I thought I would."
"Well let's go," Rory says excitedly. "They're going to be so excited."
"Okay," I say as I grab Rory's hand. "Do you promise to protect me from the angry pregnant lady?" I ask slightly scared.
"Sure," Rory replies as she opens the diner door. "I'll try my best."
"Jess," Lorelai screams as soon as she sees me.
"Lorelai," I reply as I go over to her and give her an awkward hug. "How's the baby?" I ask nervously looking at her ever expanding stomach.
"It's good," Lorelai replies. "But Luke won't let me have coffee."
"Lorelai we've been over this," Luke sighs as he comes out of the kitchen. "I'm not having my baby coming out with a caffeine addiction."
"Or two heads," Rory agrees.
"Fine," Lorelai gives in. "But when I push out your child I expect to get double the amount of coffee that I was originally getting."
"No," Luke replies sternly.
"Give her what she wants," I say to Luke.
"Jess," Luke says surprised. "You're back."
"I'm back," I reply. "How's things…"
I start but am interrupted by Luke hugging me forcefully.
"Sorry," Luke replies as he pulls out of the hug.
"It's okay," I say trying to catch my breath. "I missed you too."
"Yeah," Luke replies gruffly. "Me too."
"Well that was manly," Lorelai says. "Have a seat Jess, tell me about everything?"
"Oh, that reminds me," Luke says as he goes behind the counter. "This came for you today Jess," Luke says as he hands me the big white envelope. "It says it's from Philadelphia."
"Ah," I say in realization as I grab the envelope off Luke. "That was quick."
"Probably because it was sent by express post," Lorelai replies sarcastically.
"Funny," I reply dryly as I set the envelope down.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Luke asks me.
I could open it, but I already knew what it was, it was the contract for the publishing house. If I did open it in front of them then I would have to explain it to them and Luke would definitely give me a lecture about being responsible, so I decided to leave it unopened.
"Jess," Rory asks me waving her hand in front of my face.
"What?" I ask her confused.
"You spaced out there for a minute," Rory replies.
"This looks like a contract," Lorelai replies. I look over at Lorelai and notice that she's already opened the envelope, so much for the plan I thought to myself.
"You know it's a crime to open other people's mail," I say jokingly to Lorelai, I didn't want to make her angry, according to Rory that would be bad.
"Why do you have a contract?" Luke asks confused. "From Philadelphia."
"No reason," I reply evading the question, maybe I could confuse them all.
"Does this have anything to do with Matt, Chris and the business they brought?" Rory asks catching on.
"Yeah," I give in. "They wanted me to check over the contract for them… see if everything's in order," It was only a part lie.
"It's says here that you're entitled to a third of the business," Lorelai states.
"When did you become a lawyer?" I ask Lorelai lightly, still not wanting to set her off.
"Give me a look," Luke says as he takes the contract off of Lorelai. "It says here that you've already put forward 5,000 dollars and have agreed to pay more. Is this correct?"
Great, I thought.
"Yeah," I reply as I look down at the table.
"They needed more money for a deposit," Rory muses out loud. "That means that you paid the rest of the deposit."
"They needed the money," I argue. "And it seemed like a good business opportunity."
"So you just met two random guys," Luke says. "And willingly gave them 5,000 dollars?"
"That's about right," I reply.
"How could you be so irresponsible Jess?" Luke asks me angrily. "They probably just took your money and split.
"I think the contract proof that they didn't," Rory tells Luke, at least Rory was on my side.
"I guess," Luke replies. "But it was still a stupid decision."
"But it was my decision to make," I tell Luke. "I've heard somewhere that you learn from your mistakes."
"Fine," Luke replies. "But if this all comes crashing down on top of you don't come running to me."
"Wouldn't dream of it," I reply.
"So Jess," Lorelai says changing the subject. "You own a business, how does it feel?"
"I don't know," I reply sarcastically. "The same as before I owned a business."
"You must be excited though," Lorelai says. "Starting a business and all."
"I guess," I reply, I hadn't really put much thought into the matter.
"I think we're overlooking something," Rory says. "What type of business is this?"
"Publishing," I respond. "That's all I know, but I think I can swing them into making it a bookstore too."
"Wow," Luke says. "You've thought about this."
"Not really," I reply. "I just know what I want."
"A publishing business," Rory says excitedly. "That's so cool. I was thinking it was going to be a pizza shop or something."
"And you think I would put in 5,000 dollars for a pizza shop?" I ask Rory in disbelief.
"You could have been thinking of Rory and me whilst you brought it," Lorelai suggests. "You know how much we love pizza."
"Okay," I reply. "Have your wild fantasies. I'm going home- forget angry pregnant Lorelai, I don't think you want to see angry annoyed Jess. "
