A/N: I own nothing. Just read. ;)

It took only a few hours for news of mine and Jess's "relationship" to spread. Most likely Miss Patty's doing. I got some mumbled congratulations from a few people, and words of unhelpful advice from others. Lane was the only one who seemed truly supportive, claiming that she "saw it coming." Jess and I shared a look when she told us this, silently agreeing that it would be best not to question it.

Before I knew it, Thanksgiving was upon us. Mom and I went about the town, getting gifts and flowers for the people we'd be visiting. Our first stop was Lane's, then we'd hit Sookie's house, then Grandma and Grandpa, and then the grand finale at Luke's.

It wasn't until we were both standing outside Doose's that either of us remembered who worked there.

"Dean," I mumbled. "I forgot about that."

Mom smiled sympathetically. "I'll go. You get the flowers."

I nodded gratefully. "Meet you in five?"

"Got it." She gave my arm a little squeeze before disappearing inside. I ambled over to the outdoor flower display, looking for something generic and inexpensive, but still pretty. I had just decided on a few bouquets of orange and red chrysanthemums, when I felt an arm around my waist.

"Hey," a familiar voice murmured in my ear, and I tried to ignore the little shiver of pleasure. I turned around to face Jess. "You coming by later?"

"Of course," I grinned. "Wouldn't miss it."

"Good," he nodded, "because... I had kind of an idea."

My eyebrows flew up. "Oh?"

He bit his lip. "Ol' Deano's working today, right?" I nodded. "So, he'll probably get off around seven, and if we time it just right, you and your mom can leave around then, too. He sees us together, he gets jealous, we're one step closer to fulfilling our plan."

I beamed. "Jess, that's brilliant!" I cried, leaping forward to hug him. He laughed into my hair, hugging my back. After a few seconds, I moved away from him. "Okay, I'll let my mom know. We'll be there... five-ish?"

"Perfect," he smirked, then glanced over my shoulder. "Don't look now, but your neighbor's over there watching us."

"Babette?" I asked, and then I heard her boisterous, gravelly voice. I couldn't make out what she was saying, so I assumed it wasn't meant for me.

He bit his lip. "I'm gonna kiss you," he warned.

I sucked in a breath, bracing myself for the impact. His right hand found my waist, while his left cradled my face. The kiss was tender and quick, but still had enough energy and passion to leave me breathless. As he pulled away, he gave me a soft smile. "See you later," he mumbled, and then he was off. I watched him walk away, only somewhat aware that I must look like some goony, love-struck schoolgirl.

Then again... that was what I was supposed to be.

"Hey, babe," Mom appeared a second later, carrying a plastic bag. She grinned as she showed me her spoils. "Look at this! Chocolate turkeys! Aren't they great?"

I laughed, sharing her excitement for a moment, and then we made our way across the street, toward the Kims' house.

"You do realize that Mom's going to be vibing us for the rest of the year now, right?"

Mom and I were walking through the square, having just gotten back to town after Grandma and Grandpa's dinner. We'd left early so that we could get to Luke's at five, which had, of course, resulted in a rather nasty, unspoken, passive aggressive argument. Grandma was a master at those.

I sighed. "You always complain that Grandma's vibing you. Why should this time be any different?"

"Because this time, it's not just me. It's you, too," she pointed out. "What was with your lame-o excuse? 'Oh, sorry Grandma, I have some paper stuff to finish!' Hello! You've got three more days of no school! Of course she'd see right through that!"

"Well, yours wasn't much better! 'I think I'm getting a nose flu?' There's no such thing as a nose flu!"

Mom exhaled. "Okay, this is getting ugly. Let's just get to Luke's and enjoy our last Thanksgiving dinner for the night."

"Agreed," I nodded.

We walked into the diner, and were soon greeted by Luke and Jess. Jess kissed my lips quickly, and I thought I saw Mom blanch a little. I knew she still hadn't adjusted to the idea of Jess and me dating, even if it wasn't for real. I'd kind of hoped she'd be over it by now. I mean, it had been two full weeks, and we didn't even know for sure how much longer it would go on. So she should get used to it. At least for now.

Wait, why am I stressing this?

Dinner was quiet and uneventful... if by "quiet and uneventful" you mean that Luke and Taylor got into a fistfight, Babette got drunk off her own whiskey and started hitting on Andrew, calling him "Morey," while the real Morey tried to get her home, and Patty put on a show on the top of Luke's counter while he and Taylor were still busy fighting.

Other than that, quiet and uneventful.

Luckily, though, it all started winding down by a little before seven, giving me and Jess plenty of time to follow through with our scheme. Luke handed Jess some black trash bags, telling him to put them in Taylor's bins (because that would make Taylor mad). Mom and Luke started talking about something, and I turned to watch Jess. In the corner of my eye, I spotted Dean just locking up the store. There it was, my window of opportunity. I raced out the door, catching Jess before he got very far.

"What—" he began, but I cut him off.

It was our third kiss—fourth, if you count that little peck he gave me in the diner—but somehow, it felt just like the first. I heard a strange, muffled crash, and deduced that he must have dropped the trash bag he'd been carrying, because a moment later, his arms were at my waist, pulling me closer.

As I pulled back, I smiled. "Hi."

"Hi," he grinned, that eyebrow of his quirking upward.

I didn't know what else to say—which is a remarkable feat for me—so I just grinned and said, "Later!" before sprinting back to Mom. She looked even paler than before, her eyes narrowed.

"What was that all about?" she asked warily.

"Dean was there," I whispered.

"Oh," was her only response, and we started the walk back home.

Jess POV

I couldn't help but laugh a little as Rory ran back over to her Mom. She really was weird. Of course, I knew that already, having been friends with her for more than a year now, but even so, she still found ways to surprise me.

First, with her ridiculous plan. I couldn't believe she'd even suggested it, let alone that she would be so willing to actually go through with it. Part of me had wanted to say no, that she should just get over that dick and find someone else (I had my own ideas about who that "someone else" should be, but I wasn't about to tell her that). Then again, I'd never really been good at saying no to Rory, had I?

Not since the first time she asked me to read The Fountainhead. I really hate that book.

Shaking these dangerous thoughts out of my head, I bent down, stuffing the trash that had fallen out of the bag when I dropped it back into the bag. As I walked toward Doose's, though, I saw a tall, familiar figure standing in my way. Dean the Douche. Joy.

"How's it going, Jess?" he spat my name out with obvious distaste.

"Just fine," I muttered. "And you?"

"Cut the crap," he growled. "What the hell are you doing kissing Rory?"

I leveled my gaze with his—hard to do when he was a head taller than me. "She's my girlfriend," I said. "That's what you do with your girlfriend. You kiss. And once in a while, you treat her like a human being, rather than an object of possession. But hey, I guess that's news to you."

"Go ahead and keep laughing," he snarled. "But just you wait. She'll get bored, she'll find someone else, and then you won't be laughing so much, will you?"

"Oh, geez," I rolled my eyes. I tried to start walking, but he moved in front of me. I sighed. "Don't do that."

"How does it feel?" he asked, ignoring me. Man, I hated that guy so much. It was mostly this fact that caused me to say what I said next:

"Feels like I'm with Rory, and you're not."

He scowled. "Well, we'll see how long that lasts, won't we?" He turned and started to walk away, calling over his shoulder, "Happy Thanksgiving, Jess."

Happy Thanksgiving to you too, asshole.

A/N: In case you can't tell, I'm not a fan of Dean. In fact, the nickname "Dean the Douche" is something I came up with in Season 3, right after the breakup. He sucks, and I was beyond thrilled when he stopped appearing in the series altogether. But anyways, what do you think? Please let me know in a review!