This is a pretty long chapter, enjoy. Sorry for the lack of update, I had writer's block. Please leave me a review, they inspire me :)
Jess's POV:
This week felt like a month but it's finally over; it's Friday afternoon and Jason and I are walking back home, which we're finally allowed to do.
"So, how long are you grounded?", I ask Jason, who has his headphones on.
He puts them down around his neck when he sees my mouth move.
"What?"
"I asked how long Luke 'grounded' you", I reply, putting air quotes around 'grounded'.
"Two weeks", he replies.
"Sucks"
"No kidding, I just made the football team too, I'm gonna miss all the parties and shit", he complains.
It's amazing to me, Jason and I have been here for four days and in these four days he got a girlfriend, got invited to 5 parties, made the varsity football team, and became one of the most talked about guys in the school.
I don't say anything, we just continue to walk in silence until we get to the diner.
"I hate it here", I suddenly say, standing outside the diner door, not going in.
"It's not too bad, Jess"
"Easy for you to say'
"It's just as easy for you to say it too"
Jason never really caught on to sayings, he's great at lots of things, but he's definitely not the smartest.
"Nothing ever goes on in this lame town"
"Say what you want about Stars Hollow, but their parties aren't too shabby. You could say the same about the girls"
I roll my eyes at his remark.
"The people are lame"
"What about that Rory girl? You seemed to like her"
I shoot him a look that says stop talking. Jason looks around for a few seconds and he looks like he's thinking.
"Come on", he says, beginning to walk away from the diner.
"Where are you going? Luke's gonna flip if we're late"
"Jess, just follow me. Don't question me, just follow me"
I look back at the diner then back at Jason. I decide to follow Jason.
"Where are we going?", I ask, following him across the street.
"To have some fun", he replies.
"Fun at Doose's Market?", I ask, reading the sign.
"This is Taylor Doose's market, he complained to Luke that I took too long to take his order"
"He got you in trouble with Luke?"
"No, Luke just threw him out. But, I was still pissed he said anything in the first place", he explains.
"What are we doing here?"
"I wanna see a movie"
"First off, I really hope you're just stupid and not actually retarded, Jason, considering this is a grocery store. Second, you spent the little amount of money we had on your date so we can't buy tickets"
"That date was so worth it"
"What are we doing here?", I repeat.
"Listen up little bro", he begins, pulling me in closer so no one else hears.
"You distract Taylor, I'll get us the money", he instructs, motioning over to a black jar labeled 'bridge repair money'.
"How the hell am I supposed to distract him?"
"Spill something, talk about how stupid traffic lights are, preferably make him mad"
"This is a stupid idea"
"Come on, Jess. What, have you gone soft?"
"Fine, but you distract him. I'll grab the money"
"That's what I'm talking about!", he grins, then begins to make his way over to the soda aisle.
I stand a few feet away from the jar and pretend to look at a magazine, looking out of the corner of my eye, I see Jason uncap a big bottle of Coke with some mints in his hands. I can't help but chuckle to myself, we did that all the time as kids. I look over at Taylor eyeing me suspiciously, he probably remembers me from when I spilled coffee on him. I walk a few feet farther away from the jar.
First came the explosion noise, then came the actual explosion. The soda was shooting out of the bottle in every direction. It wasn't just one bottle, Jason had managed to do it to a total of 6 large bottles of Coke. Soda and fizz were everywhere. I take the opportunity when Taylor runs over to the exploding bottles yelling something about a clean up emergency. I open the jar to find stacks of money, I grab all of it and stuff it in my pockets then put the lid back on. The jar wasn't see through so he wouldn't notice right away anything was wrong. In all the chaos, no one noticed me or Jason rush out of the market.
Jason has a big grin on his face, and I have one too. I hadn't done this in a while. I'm not really a regular thief or anything but if there's one thing Jason and I know how to do, it's to create a scene. This scene happened to grant us some movie tickets.
"That was insane! We haven't done that in forever, it was so worth it", he exclaims.
"Now we just have to get past Luke", I say.
"Let's just sneak out to the movies tonight, then if Taylor finds out about the money and thinks it was us, we could say we were at our sweet, Uncle Luke's, diner", Jason suggests, ending with a hint of sarcasm.
"It's a plan", I conclude, as we walk back into the diner.
Luke's POV:
This is ridiculous. Jason and Jess come strutting in almost an hour late, they had me worried sick.
"Where the hell were you two?", I demand.
The two just looked at each other, Jess had a straight face but Jason had a big grin on his face.
"What, you think this is funny? I was gonna send the national guard looking for you"
"Relax, we're here now", Jason says.
"If your shift starts at 3:30 that means you have to be here at 3:30. No special treatment. You get paid like everyone else", I argue.
"Yeah but they're all allowed to quit whenever they want, you're forcing us", Jess mumbles.
I sigh, there's no use arguing with them.
"Are you guys okay?", I ask.
"Just dandy", Jason smirks.
I roll my eyes at his sarcasm.
"I'll make you two some lunch but then you have to get to work", I tell them.
They sit down at the counter and talk in hushed voices. I bring out two burgers and a plate of fries and place it in front of them. The diner was relatively empty so I leaned on the counter, across from them. They continued to eat their food and ignored me.
"Anything interesting happen at school?", I ask.
Jess rolls his eyes, he really doesn't enjoy conversation.
"Yeah, I got a happy face sticker on my spelling test", Jess mumbles sarcastically.
"The football team's having a party tomorrow and everyone's going", Jason says.
"You're grounded", I remind him.
He glares at me.
"Besides, it's not like you're on the team", I say.
He gives me a look and rolls his eyes. I immediately realize what that look meant.
"You made the team! Oh my god, congratulations", I exclaim, suddenly understanding.
He continues to eat his burger in silence, ignoring my enthusiasm.
"Aren't you excited?", I ask.
"I'd be ecstatic if I could go to the party", he coaxes.
"Grounded means grounded, I'm sorry but you can't...", I begin but he cuts me off with a loud groan.
"Whatever", he grumbles.
"Clean off your plates when you're done", I instruct, as more people walk into the diner.
Lorelai and Rory walk in and make their way to a table. I watch Rory look over to the counter and see Jess, then say something to her mom who gives her a confused look, then they both walk over to the counter.
"Hey, Luke", Lorelai greets when I walk back.
"Hey", I respond, keeping my eyes locked on Jason and Jess who are eating as slow as possible.
"Jess, Jason, come on, get to work", I order.
"I'm not done", Jason replies, holding a french fry in his hand.
"You've been munching on that fry for five minutes, get off your ass and do the dishes", I barked, getting frustrated.
"Whatever you say, Uncle Luke", he smirks, grabbing all the dishes and walking back into the kitchen.
"Great communication skills", Lorelai comments, with a hint of sarcasm.
I roll my eyes at her remark. Jess walks up next to me and Rory gives him a shy smile.
"Hi", he says.
"Hi", she replies.
"Coffee", Lorelai cuts in.
"Pour her some coffee before she starts to whine", I tell him.
He rolls his eyes and pours the coffee.
"Do you even need me down here? You have Jason", he mutters.
"It hasn't even been two minutes and you haven't even done anything"
"You haven't done anything yet"
Exactly, which proves that you don't need me"
"You two working in the diner was part of the deal"
"I didn't agree to any deal"
"Too bad"
"What do I get out of this deal?"
"Let me see, how about a pay check, a roof over your head, free food, and the satisfaction of a hard day's work", I smirk then pat his back. He glares at me.
"Sorry to break the family bonding, but, I am absolutely, positively, starving", Lorelai exclaims.
"You came in for lunch two hours ago", I remind her.
"Oh my god, mom, the last time you ate was two whole hours ago?", Rory gasps.
"Don't you feel bad for mommy?", Lorelai pouts.
"Can I leave?", Jess asks.
"Just order, Lorelai", I exasperate, ignoring Jess.
"Surprise us", she declares.
"Burgers and fries coming up", I reply.
"It's not a surprise if you tell us what it is", Rory argues.
"That's right", Lorelai agrees.
"Fine, pretend I said something else", I conclude.
"Go pour refills", I say to Jess, then walk into the kitchen.
"I can't find the dishwasher", Jason says as soon as I walk in.
"We don't have a dishwasher"
"Then how am I supposed to do the dishes?", he asks, pointing to a large pile of dirty plates and silverware.
"Gee, that's a tough one. Maybe the answer's next to the sink and dishcloth", I reply sarcastically.
"You've gotta be kidding"
"Nope"
"I can't hand wash these"
"And why is that, Jason?", I sigh.
"This here is my football throwing arm, I can't mess with that, this is my ticket to touchdowns, winning MVP of the varsity team, being surrounded by hot cheerleaders, and basically everything else", he argues, raising his right arm up and down.
"Don't be ridiculous"
"Whatever, I have practice, I gotta go"
"You can't just walk out"
"Luke, I have football practice, I can't skip it"
"You never told me about football practice, we really have to work a schedule out"
"I don't care, do whatever you want, I have to get going"
"Fine, but you go straight there and straight back"
"Yeah, whatever"
"No, I mean it, Jason. You're still grounded. Straight there and straight back. Are we clear?"
"Clear as day", he mutters.
"Good"
He smirks as he walks out of the kitchen. Jess storms in a second later.
"This isn't fair!", he exclaims.
"Calm down"
"He's the one who's grounded, why am I the one who's cooped up in here?"
"He had practice for a school sport, I can't keep him from that"
"That's so unfair"
"Life's unfair, get used to it"
He mutters something under his breath that I'm rather glad I can't make out, before walking back outside. I make the burgers and walk back outside to find Jess leaning on the counter across from Rory, and Lorelai nowhere to be found.
"Where's your mom?", I ask Rory as I put the food down.
"She had to take a call"
"Oh, for once she listened to the sign"
"No, Jess threatened to cut off her coffee"
Jess smirks at me, I can't help but think he was just trying to get Rory alone.
"Make yourself useful", I tell Jess, throwing him a rag to wipe the counter.
He takes it with one hand and continues to wipe one part of the counter, but keeps his eyes focused on Rory.
"So, how do you like it in Stars Hollow?", Rory asks. I pretend to count the money in the cash register so I can eavesdrop on Jess.
"It's whatever", he replies, shrugging.
"Dean says you're in some of his classes"
"Dean talks about me, huh? I'm blushing", Jess replies sarcastically.
"Hey, he's mine", Rory jokes.
"So, you and Dean... you two like... a thing?", Jess asks, I watch as he avoids eye contact with her. The color rises to Rory's cheeks.
"For a few months now, yep", she awkwardly answers.
I watch them as they stare at each other in silence. This looks like a scene straight from a teenage movie and one of the few times I've been reminded that teenage boys have feelings.
"Dean's a lucky guy", Jess finally says. Rory just smiles. Lorelai walks back in and goes straight for her food.
"Oh my god, I'm starving"
"Slow down, you'll choke and I'll have to be the one to save you from dying", I warn her.
"Just make sure I get the food in my stomach before you save me", she says with a mouth full of food.
"How about you finish up the dishes then you can go up and start your homework", I suggest to Jess as he continues to stare at Rory eating her food. He nods at me and walks into the kitchen.
"That felt like heaven on a plate", Lorelai exclaims when I turn to her.
"I think you set a world record for finishing a whole burger in two minutes and fifty three seconds"
"Ooh we should so do that, mom!"
"Tomorrow, definitely"
"Are you done?", I ask.
"I have four fries left"
"Would you hurry up?"
"Service with a smile as always, huh, Luke?", Lorelai notes sarcastically. I roll my eyes at her.
"I'm just busy. With Jason and Jess here things have just been crazy. One of them's got football practice, the other one's doing who knows what, one of them refuses to do this, one of them refuses to do that, it's crazy", I confide.
"How are they settling?", she asks.
"How am I supposed to know?"
"Don't you talk to them?"
"You really expect them to just sit around and spill their guts to their uncle?"
"A simple, 'how are you' once in a while couldn't hurt"
"It doesn't just work like that, Lorelai. Boys are different than girls"
"Sexist much?", she replies, pretending to sound hurt.
"Watch, I'll show you", I say, walking over to the kitchen door.
"Hey, Jess? How are you?", I call into the kitchen.
"Upright and still breathing. You?", he replies sarcastically.
I turn back to Lorelai with an 'I told you' face.
"How about you three come to dinner tonight? We'll have a nice dinner and it'll give them a chance to just talk in a comfortable environment"
"That's real nice of you, Lorelai, thanks. Are you sure it's not too much trouble?"
"It's no problem at all, we'll see you at 8?"
"Great. We'll be there at 8:08"
"I've taught you well", she praises.
"Bye, Luke", Rory waves as she gets up.
I wave bye to Rory and Lorelai puts money on the counter.
"Thanks, Luke, see you tonight"
I wave once again as they leave.
Jason's POV:
Football practice just ended and I'm in the locker room changing.
"Mariano! Me, Riggins, and Smith are getting burgers later, you in?", one of my teammates, Brian, ask.
"Nah, wish I could, but I'm grounded"
"Sucks, man"
"You don't know the half of it"
"You're staying with Luke Danes, right? Owns the diner in town?"
"That's the one"
"Is he tough?"
"He's all talk, I can tell. Deep down he's a pushover"
He gives a short laugh then starts to walk away.
"Hey, Williams, you guys should just come over to Luke's for burgers. On me", I offer.
"That works, I'll go tell 'em"
Jess's POV:
"Lorelai invites all of us for dinner tonight", Luke tells me, leaning across from me at the counter. I look up from my book.
I nod. I didn't really know how to respond, Jason and Luke already think that I like Rory, so if I showed any emotion, I wouldn't be able to live it down. I glance back up at Luke when I notice him staring at me.
"What?"
"Nothing"
I go back to reading and Luke just wipes the counter.
"Do you know when Jason's football practice ends?", he asks.
I look up at him with an annoyed glare; I don't like being interrupted when I'm reading, especially with a stupid question.
"No, but if you like, I can contact the student activities director of Stars Hollow High and get his entire schedule for the season. Heck, I can get two schedules. One for the fridge, one as a back up. Then we'll never have to wonder when practice ends and this conversation could be avoided altogether, we could just refer to the schedule", I reply in my most sarcastic tone.
Luke was used to my sarcasm and glares by now, after a day of living with Jason and I, you have to get used to it.
"He knows he's grounded, I told him he had to come straight back"
I look up at him, expecting to see him furious, but I saw genuine concern in his eyes. Like he was actually worried.
"Knowing Jason, he's probably out at a party with girls throwing themselves at him", I mutter, not expecting Luke to hear me.
But he does hear me, "What happened to his girlfriend?".
"Jason's not into commitment and all his girlfriends know that, they just feel lucky enough to be in his presence", I reply, without thinking. I don't why I just said all those things about him, they were all true, but Jason and I had an agreement to never say anything about each other to anyone unless both of us were present. Luke probably saw the look on my face because he dropped the subject altogether.
"Where is that kid?", he questioned, pacing.
His question was answered when the bell above the door rang and in came Jason and three other guys in football sweatshirts with bags of equipment.
"Where the hell were you?", Luke demands, immediately.
"Football practice", he answers, sitting down at a table with his friends.
"I thought I told you to-", Luke begins but Jason cuts him off.
"Jess, come here", he calls to me.
I reluctantly get up and walk over to the table where they're sitting.
"This is my little brother. Jess, this is Brian Williams, Matt Riggins, and Frank Smith", he introduces, pointing to each of the guys individually. They each say 'hey' or 'what's up'.
"Hey", I mutter, before walking away.
"Jason, we're going out for dinner, you got out of work for the day so I suggest you go up and get ready", Luke says. Jason just smirks.
"I promised them some burgers, come on Luke, I'll get ready after we're done"
I can tell Luke is getting more and more frustrated.
"Jess, get us some soda, would you?", he yells.
"You know where it is, get it yourself", I reply, not looking up from my book.
"Fine, I'll make the burgers, but you have to promise you'll behave for the rest of the night", Luke finally says.
Jason grins as his friends cheer like they're at a football game and they've scored the winning touch down.
"Scout's honor", he smirks.
Luke walks into the kitchen with a scowl on his face.
"Jess, get over here", he calls from the kitchen. Usually I would ignore him but right now I'd rather be anywhere else than listening to Jason and his football friends talk about the girls they've screwed. I walk into the kitchen.
"Get me the buns, tomatoes, lettuce, and pickles", he orders, standing over the stove in front of sizzling burgers.
"I'm not helping you serve Jason and his stupid friends"
"The sooner they get their food, the sooner they leave, help me out, Jess, please"
"He's taking advantage of you"
"If it keeps him from being rude tonight, I can deal with it for now"
I grab everything he asked for and place it next to the stove. I can't really help in any other way and I don't want to go back outside so I sit on the counter next to the stove. I watch Luke flip the burgers and he doesn't say anything, even though he looks like he wants to.
"How are you?", he asks hesitantly.
"What?"
"How are you doing? What's up? What's going on?", he elaborates.
"I'm fine", I shrug.
"Good", he replies, sounding unsure.
He makes the burgers and sets them on four separate plates. I watch him take two in each arm and walk out, I hold the door open for him. They all mutter a 'thanks' at one point before devouring the food.
"Behave, both of you, I mean it", Luke warns as he parks in front of a house.
"Wow, turn up at the Gilmore house. Classic Stars Hollow Friday night, am I right Luke?", Jason sneers.
"Hey, Jason? Try not to talk", he replies.
We walk up the driveway and ring the doorbell. Lorelai opens the door and greets us.
"Well, well, well it's our favorite diner boys", she greets.
Jason gives a short, bitter laugh; obviously wanting to be anywhere else.
"Hi, Lorelai", Luke greets, ignoring Jason.
"Come in", she smiles.
"I'd rather stand out here", Jason smirks.
Luke smacks the back of Jason's head and he wipes the smirk off his face, following Luke inside.
"Rory, they're here", Lorelai calls. I look around the house. It was nice, average sized, and had lots of pictures.
"Hey", Rory says, coming out of a room.
"Hello, Rory", Jason greets with a smirk on his face.
"Hi", I say.
"Jess, I have my collection in my room, if you want to...", her voice drifts off.
I nod and follow her into her room. She guides me to a bookshelf and I look through titles.
"My, aren't we hooked on phonics?", I comment, a little more sarcastically than I had meant.
She gives an embarrassed smile.
"A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway", I take notice.
"It's amazing, you can borrow it if you like", she offers.
"No thanks", I reply, not mentioning that I've read it over five times.
"Sorry to interrupt nerdfest, but the food's here", Jason says, poking his head into Rory's room. I put the book back on her shelf and we walk to the table.
"Chinese or Indian?", Rory asks.
"Chinese, we'd have to burn the house down if we ordered Indian", Lorelai answers.
I sit down next to Rory, Jason sits across from me, Luke sits at one end of the table, and Lorelai sits at the other end.
"Help yourselves", Lorelai says as she and Rory start to pour the food onto their plates. Jason reaches out to grab the dumplings but Luke pulls him down.
"Trust me, there's nothing more terrifying than a hungry Gilmore", Luke tells Jason with a straight face.
"True", Lorelai confirms with a smile.
"Okay, you're in the safe zone for about three minutes, till we want seconds", Rory jokes.
I can't help but crack a smile. Jason and I both go for the last egg roll.
"Jess, move your hand, I want the egg roll"
"Why do you get to have it?"
"You're being ridiculous"
"You just had a burger, you're so selfish, you can't think of anyone else but yourself"
"It's a damn egg roll, Jess, stop being so sensitive"
"Hey! Not at the table", Luke cuts in.
"Tell him to stop being such a baby!", Jason accuses.
"The world doesn't revolve around you, Jason! Have the goddamned egg roll! I don't care!"
"You're actually insane, it's an egg roll"
Lorelai and Rory stare at us, Luke just shakes his head.
"Are you that stupid to think I'm angry over an egg roll?", I demand, getting up.
"So what are you so pissed about? Enlighten me!", he insists, standing up, as well.
"Both of you stop it! Take it outside if you're gonna argue like this!", Luke shouts. Everyone stares at Luke who looks furious.
"You two are not allowed to step foot in this house until you work out whatever the hell is going on!", he orders.
Rory and Lorelai stare in disbelief at Luke, I don't think they've ever seen him get so angry.
Jason and I reluctantly walk outside.
"This is all your fault", I mutter.
"My fault? You freaked out over an egg roll!"
"Would you forget about the stupid egg roll? You're an idiot"
"What the hell are you pissed about? You need to calm down"
"What shouldn't I be pissed about? Tell me, Jason, tell me one thing that's happened in my life that I should be happy about. My own mother shipped me off cause she didn't want me anymore! School is a waste of time! Every freaking person in this lame town has their eyes on my every move, waiting for me to screw up! And you wanna know what the worst part is? Nobody gives a damn about me!", I yell. I immediately take into consideration what I just said and I wish I could take it back, I hate complaining, I don't want Jason to think that I'm weak. He stares at me in shock.
"Jess... I know, hey, everything you said, I went through it too"
I turn my back to him, I don't want to look at him.
"Dude, you're not alone, we're in this together, remember?"
I scoff after he says that.
"Yeah, right. While I was sitting in that diner, working my ass off to keep Luke off my back, you were out partying"
"I'm sorry about that, okay? You never cared before, but I get it, I took advantage, I shouldn't have done that"
I sit down on the front steps and he sits down next to me. We used to sit on the front steps of our apartment staring into the city, just watching everything go on. New York; the city that never sleeps. The world would go on right in front of our eyes, we would just sit and take it all in. It was like we were on pause but the world was in fast forward. The cars never stopped driving, the people never stopped working, the city never stopped living. It's different here.
"Luke's gonna have an aneurism if we don't get back inside", I say.
He gives an amused laugh. "Hey, I've been thinking, maybe we should go a little easy on Luke. He seems to give a damn, let's play it out", Jason says.
I nod, not admitting that I had sensed that from the first day.
"Are we still sneaking out tonight?", I ask.
"Tomorrow, we'll cut him a break for tonight", he confirms with a nod and his signature smirk.
We walk back inside to find most of the food cleared off the table and everyone just sitting around the table talking. The conversation stopped when we closed the door behind us.
"Well, if it isn't Tom and Jerry", Lorelai acknowledges with a smile.
"Jason, Jess, isn't there something you wanna say to Lorelai and Rory for ruining the evening?", Luke asserts.
"I give you my sincerest apology for the outburst my brother and I have caused, I hope that you could find it in your kind hearts to forgive us", Jason smirks.
"I'll try my best", Lorelai replies, mimicking the same 'fake-distressed' tone that Jason was chorusing.
Luke rolls his eyes.
"On that note, I think it's time for us to head out", Luke announces, getting up from his seat. Lorelai and Rory get up to walk us to the door.
"Thanks for having us, I had a great time, despite the interruption", Luke says.
"I'm happy you came", she replies.
"Good night", Rory chimes in.
"Good night", Luke says, with a wave.
Jason and I follow Luke to the car, we argue over who has to sit in the front, neither of us wanna be that close to Luke considering the scowl on his face.
Jason rushed into the back seat and locked both doors behind him, I made my way over to the front. When we were all seated Luke put his hands on the wheel but didn't move. He had a stern face on.
"I could drive", Jason offers a little obnoxiously.
"You're gonna be walking if you don't shut your mouth", Luke replies, starting the car.
I glance back at Jason, I can tell he's thinking the same thing as me: why isn't Luke yelling yet?
"Did you two work it out?", Luke asks after two minutes of sitting in silence.
I look at Jason who has the same surprised look in his eyes.
"Yeah", I answer hesitantly.
"Good"
We sit in silence for another minute.
"I'm sorry", Jason mumbles suddenly. Luke pulls the car over and turns to look at him.
"What?", he asks, as if Jason had just said some unbelievable statement.
"I said..."
"No, I heard you, I just couldn't believe it"
Jason rolls his eyes. I can see Luke's mouth trying to hold back a smile.
"I'm sorry, too", I admit. Luke's half smile had now turned into a grin. He quickly covers it up when he sees me glaring.
"I appreciate that"
When we pulled up in front of the diner we each got out and looked at each other.
"I'm not giving up on you two, I hope you know that", Luke states, before walking inside. Jason and I look at each other, not saying a word. We follow him inside.
