I hope you like it x] I've got the next chapter written so yeah. Review please! Im totally grateful for them seriously!

Disclaimer- own nothing…

Luke looked at the writhing bodies in the mud and then looked away instinctively. This wasn't really his kind of place... He looked over to TJ and Jess, who sat there talking. Well, TJ was talking and Jess was commenting.

TJ stood, going to grab Jess, Luke could see Jess about to defend himself and Luke pushed himself between the two. A few others at the party pulled the two away from one another. Luke pulled Jess outside, letting the fresh air hit him.

"What's wrong with you?" Luke shouted.

"He started it," Jess yelled back, rubbing his jaw.

"Why did he start anything?"

Jess looked down. "He was trying to get me to walk Liz down the aisle."

Luke looked taken aback. "Why?"

"Because she wants me to."

After a moment of silence: "Why won't you do it then? I mean, you came to Stars Hollow for the wedding- for your mom, why not just do it for her?"

Jess stayed silent. Luke looked Jess up and down; he looked tired and worn down. His clothes were wrinkled and unwashed which made him guess he didn't even own a washing machine. Jess looked stiff, defensive, his whole body rigid and frozen.

"Do you hate your mom that much?"

Jess scoffed, "I don't hate my mother…"

"Is it me then? Do you hate me?"

"I don't hate you either," he said sincerely.

"Then why weren't you coming?" After a moment it dawned on him. "Rory?"

Jess looked at Luke for a second, the lifeless Jess becoming animated for a moment. His usual stone gaze had emotion swimming behind them, and then looked away again.

"You're still... wow..." he laughed, "You haven't seen her in over a year!"

"I saw her last time I was here," Jess sighed, leaning against the wall. He'd never said the words 'I love you' to anyone before that night. Not even his mother, at least past the age of 12. It took him so much to say it, and he meant it, with everything he had. She just stood there, gaping. He clenched his jaw at the look on her face which he still remembered clearly. Even after weeks of not seeing her again he couldn't stop thinking about it and her. He'd drink himself into a stupor and then wake up and go to his crappy job and come home to his crappy apartment and crappy room mate.

"Oh..." Luke nodded awkwardly, not sure what to say, "What happened?"

Jess looked down and then back up, he tapped his fingers on leg compulsively and then with a sigh he said "I told her I loved her,". The expression on his face showed that it was a big thing.

"Wow!" Luke exclaimed. "What'd she say?"

"Nothing." Jess shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away down the road. Luke looked at his nephews face and saw him clench his jaw again and then swallowed hard.

"So what, you just said it and ran away?"

"No... I drove."

"Jess!" Luke shook his head. "You handled this all wrong!"

"Yeah, maybe." Jess knew that he handled it badly, he knew he handled everything with Rory badly, but that's the only way he knew how to handle things. He reached out to her and she stepped back. Or he just ran away too fast for her to try and reach back. "She could've called me anytime in the last four months, but she didn't!"

"How? You change your phone number weekly."

"Eh, whatever, the ball was in her court," he said certainly.

"Jess..."

"Don't Jess me!"

Luke looked down, debating his next words. "She thinks about you, you know?"

Jess looked up suddenly but stayed silent.

"She asks about you every now and then- subtly. But she does ask," Luke said.

Jess looked down at his shoes and couldn't help but smile slightly.