4. TALK

We would probably have gone on and discussed the war and agreed that it was in reality a calamity for civilization, and perhaps it would have been better avoided…

By the end of the night, Jess found the remaining contents of the bottle flowing somewhere in-between his esophagus and his liver. His parents should have been home hours ago, and yet they weren't. He felt drowsy, almost as he was floating on air. As he ascended the stairs to his room he imagined himself being pulled by Neptune's chariot even though he could never really tell the gods apart. His head started to pound as he began to question himself aloud about whether or not Neptune even had a chariot.

As his head hit the pillow, his thoughts began to thread into the events of the evening. Rory had shown up and they almost kissed and then she yelled at him and then she left and then, and then, and then… Everything was becoming a blur as his head started to pound more fiercely than he could ever remember. Then again, he had never drunk so much vodka.

Just as it had felt like he'd fallen asleep, Jess found his eyes fluttering open, daylight out his window. He spent the day in his room worrying over what he would say to Rory when he saw her tomorrow. There was no avoiding the fact that he had to talk to her or else the chances that the unsettling feeling in his stomach going away was limited. He was going to apologize. Never in his sixteen years had he ever felt the need.

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His head still aching two days after the fact, the black and white checkered floors of Chilton did not help his lingering hangover. It seemed Jess had as much control over his own self as he did his own future…

He looked around the halls only to see a number of faceless teenagers dressed in their navy blue uniforms. None of them mattered at the moment; he just needed to find her. He turned the corner and spotted Rory talking with the last person he would want to see.

"Rory can I talk to you?" Jess asked as he tapped her on the shoulder.

Rory turned around and hastily replied once realizing it was Jess, "No." She then went back to her conversation with Tristan DuGrey.

"Please?"

"Listen, man. No need to beg. She doesn't want to talk to you. Deal." Tristan spoke.

Jess narrowed his eyes. "Tristan, this doesn't concern you so just shove off." Jess shook his head and turned to Rory, "Please talk to me."

"No!" She stated boldly while giving him a withering stare.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. "You shouldn't talk to him, he's a jerk."

"And you're not?"

"Rory I know you're mad but…"

"Is this your attempt to apologize?"

"I don't know." He answered honestly.

She raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

At sometime during their conversation, Tristan had left and was already talking to another girl halfway down the hall.

He brought his voice down an octave as he saw the occupants of the hallway staring at them. "Yes. Okay. I'm trying to apologize."

"Do you even know what you're apologizing for?"

"That…that I was being a jerk."

"So you admit it?"

"Rory…"

"No! You're changing the subject. You always change the subject. Why do you care so much if I like you?" Rory blurted.

"I…"

Rory nodded her head and smiled smugly. "Why don't you just leave me alone until you figure that part out?"

Jess closed his eyes briefly. "Because I know why."

Rory grimaced. "Care to share then?"

"Not here." He glanced around the hall again. "Not with all these people watching," he added in a whisper.

She rolled her eyes. "I thought you were used to it." She mocked.

"Fine! I care if you like me because I like you. Happy?" His voice had increased in volume over the entire exchange and Jess was near to shouting. Suddenly, the lingering chatter of the halls ceased and all eyes were on Jess. Usually, he would have cared and told them to mind their own business. However, as of now, all he cared about was Rory's reply.

Rory bit her bottom lip. "That was honest, but I kind of already knew that."

He glared. "Then why did you make me say it?"

She smiled. "I needed to make sure."

"Huh."

The bell rang signaling it was almost time for first period to start. The echoing tone of the chimes was enough for everyone to snap back into reality and get back to their conversations.

"Later Jess."

-----

For the first three periods of the day, Jess' mind was elsewhere. At lunch he found Rory sitting alone at the end of a table. Her nose was buried in a book and her headphones were leaking music over her ears. He sat across from her removing his messenger bag from over his shoulder. She didn't seem to notice and he began to tap his fingers on the table.

It wasn't until she turned the page of her novel that she finally saw him sitting there, staring at her. She jumped in surprise and removed her headphones.

"God! Give a girl a heart-attack."

"Not my fault you're oblivious to the world."

Rory's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

Jess ignored her. "What are you listening to?"

She stared at him unbelieving. "The Clash."

"Hmm. Good taste."

"Thank you. So do you need something?"

Jess snickered. "Nope, just wanted to talk."

"See, what you failed to notice were the headphones and the book—headphones to block out the noise, book to block out the distractions. It's supposed to send the message for people to leave me alone."

"Huh. What you failed to notice was the fact that I have no intention to leave you alone. Ever."

"Wow. That's slightly creepy."

Jess shrugged. "I try."

Rory rolled her eyes. "So what do you really want?"

"Can't a guy just want to talk without a hidden agenda?"

"You don't strike me as that kind of guy."

Jess smirked. "I told you I liked you."

"I know. I was there."

"It's common courtesy to make some sort of reply other than 'I knew that'."

"What do you want me to say?"

"How you feel."

"I hardly know you."

"We've known each other for the same length of time and I told you how I felt."

"Do you really think you know me that well?"

"Yup."

"Please share then."

"Okay…your name is Lorelai but you go by Rory. Your mother has a very eccentric style," Rory laughed in remembrance of what her mother was wearing when she first met Jess, "You care a lot about school, I make you nervous, and you almost kissed me."

Rory's eyes bugged out. "Excuse me?"

"What?"

"What makes you think you make me nervous?" She bit down on her lower lip.

"Hmm…maybe that thing you just did." She glared at him and quickly released her lip, hoping he hadn't noticed. "You think I didn't notice that?" He chuckled and leaned halfway across the table and spoke in a husky whisper. "Very sexy by the way," he added an intentionally corny wink before returning to his side of the table.

Rory blushed. "Stop that."

"What?"

Rory shook her head. "You're making me nervous on purpose…"

"So you admit I make you nervous," Jess grinned.

"Stop."

"Told you..." Jess added like a petulant five year old.

"You're cocky."

-----

As school ended, Jess found Rory taking her books out of her locker. He tapped her on the shoulder for the second time that day.

Startled, she dropped one of her books. "Oh, hey," she greeted as she bent down to pick it up.

"How 'bout some coffee?" Jess ignored the need for a proper greeting.

"You do realize the last time you asked me that all hell broke loose," Rory responded standing up at her full height.

Jess smirked and held his hands in the air. "I promise I won't spike it."

Rory couldn't help but smile. "Fine."

"Really?"

"One condition." Jess simply nudged his head, urging her to continue. "My town."

"You want me to come to your town." It didn't come out as question; it was a statement.

"Yup."

"And drink the coffee that a man who I remind you of made I assume…"

"Yup."

"Why?"

Rory shrugged. "Well, if you don't want to…"

"I'll go. I was just wondering why we should go all the way out there."

"I was going there anyway…" Rory made up an excuse.

"Uh huh…and?"

Rory took a deep breath, "I want to get to know the real you. Without all this," she gestured to the people still in the hallway. "I want to meet the real Jess Mariano; not the one whose actions only justify what's expected of him."

A pause.

"How do you know he exists?"

Rory leaned in close and spoke in a soft whisper, "I've seen him around."

He smiled. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," she replied, surrendering a smile.

"So shall we?"

Rory looked down at her watch. "My bus isn't here yet."

Swiftly, Jess pulled his keys out of his pocket. "How 'bout I drive?"

-----

"There's a spot." Rory pointed toward a space in front of Doose's Market.

"It says 'No Parking'."

"So?"

"The sidewalk is lined with red paint."

"So?"

"So…isn't it reserved for emergencies or something?"

Rory couldn't help but laugh. "Emergencies in Stars Hollow?" Jess pulled into the space anyway while giving Rory and incredulous shake of the head.

After he parked, Jess and Rory unbuckled their seatbelts, stepping out of the car. "So which one is it?" Jess asked as he scanned the area around the town square for the first time.

"It's right on the corner. I'll lead the way."

While walking toward their destination, Jess focused his energy into remaining a half-step behind Rory at all times. He wanted to pretend it was because that's what you do when you 'follow' someone but he knew it was because he was afraid that if he got too close to her he might do something that would freak her out.

Rory abruptly stopped. Jess stared at the interior of the building through the window first before taking the time to look up at the establishment's name. Rory already had the door half open when she realized Jess wasn't right behind her.

"What?" She asked in response to his raised eyebrow.

"'William's Hardware'?" He questioned.

'Yeah. That's just Luke's dad's old sign. It used to be a hardware store but when Luke's dad died he turned it into a diner."

"Oh. What's it called?"

"Luke's," Rory rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. "Come on." She grabbed the sleeve of his Chilton uniform and tugged, dragging him into the diner.

The pounding in Jess' head suddenly seemed to wash away along with the unsettling feeling in his gut.

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A/N: I wanted it to be longer for you guys, but it needed to end there so the next chapter can be all about Stars Hollow. Review?