Part 3

a/n Ok guys so that was the first two chapters, I know it wasn't much of a "story" but I just wanted you guys to know where Rory and Jess stood with each other: in love but too scared to do anything about it. Ok so on with the fic! Oh yes….review!

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Rory was alone again tonight, it's the fourth time this week she has eaten dinner alone. It seemed that Logan always had somewhere else to be, two days ago he had a "meeting" (for what she still didn't know, but he didn't get home till 4 in the morning), then dinner with the Huntzburgers, and now he has been gone for two days straight. He left with Colin and Finn to partake in another stupid Life and Death Brigade stunt, leaving her to fend for herself! Ok so maybe she was being a tad dramatic but Rory was getting restless. She didn't like the feeling at all.

Back in Philadelphia Jess was a nervous wreck. He was going on a date. Jess Mariano was going on a real date. He combed his hair and everything. He had no idea why he was so nervous! Jeez he felt like he was 17 all over again. I guess it was the fact that it was he that asked her out instead of the other way around. He was used to getting asked out and politely declining due to the fact that he "had to work" or he would be "going out of town", its not that he wasn't attracted to these women because he was, it's just that they didn't have that certain "something". He would almost call it a quirk. They lacked quirkiness. None of them challenged him or even got him to think at all really, they would all just arm candy to put it nicely. And to be honest, none of them were Rory, not by a long shot. Nobody ever would be.

But this wasn't just some random girl he was going out with, it was Bianca. She wasn't like the other girls that cam into the shop; she was so fresh, raw almost. It attracted the hell out of the guys that were lucky enough to be there while she was. She didn't chase after Jess or pester him or even pay attention to him at all. Actually during their first encounter she was pretty rude.

"Hey, can I help-"

"No."

"I-"

"No."

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"No… Run along now."

Jess had no idea how to react. She never even looked at him. She just kept running her fingers along the spines of the books along the back wall. She had been in before and jess noticed that she always went to the same shelf at the back of the store. The Classics. She was looking for something. He saw the determination in her eyes as she slowly went from book to book so she wouldn't miss it. She was once again let down and began walking towards the exit and jess found himself not wanting her to go. So he tried again.

"Maybe I can help you find it."

"Excuse me?"

"The reason you come in here every week, maybe if you tell me which one you are looking for… I can help you find it."

"Oh. Um… Oliver Twist."

He felt his heart bang hard against his chest and that was it. He was hooked. They started talking and really hit it off. She couldn't understand how an author would refuse to keep Oliver Twist in stock. When she tried to press him on the issue all he said was: "It's personal." And she left it at that. Jess just couldn't have a constant reminder of the woman he loved and lost staring at him from the back shelf, mocking him.

"Goodnight Dodger."

"…Dodger?"

"Figure it out…"

"Oliver Twist."

Damn that girl. He loved her so much. Maybe Bianca would be the one to finally get him put Rory in his past. Hell maybe Bianca is his future, maybe not. He didn't know. The one thing that he was sure of was that when he was with her, his heart didn't hurt…as much.