AUTHORS NOTE: Most of the background story is still the same. The only thing I changed was the fact that Rory and Jess never dated in high school and that Jess is currently a Yale student. The characters will, from time to time, act ooc due to the fact that this story is BASED ON REAL LIFE. And for the sake of telling the narrative correctly, the characters may need to deviate from what their canon versions may be like. YES the egg baby project really exists.
(SOPHOMORE YEAR, FIRST SEMESTER 2013)
Fall had come full swing in October and by this time Jess and Rory had gotten to become good friends. They had 2 classes together and were currently partners for their egg baby project in their general psychology class. Taking care of the egg baby took up a lot of time and effort. And the more time they spent together, the more Jess liked Rory. He never admitted his feelings to her because he had never felt this way before and he was scared—scared to ruin their friendship. He figured that it would be better to have her as a friend than to not have her at all.
On a cold October night, one week before the Killers concert, Jess and Rory had been preparing a creative scrapbook for their egg baby in her dorm room.
"So, how do we do this? Should we have a family picture together?" Rory asked.
"I'm down."
"Alright. So let's sit on the couch. And then who should be holding baby Jake?"
"When did we name the baby Jake?" Jess asked, surprised.
"Right now."
"I mean, do I have a say in it? Why is it a boy? What if I wanted a baby girl? A little princess." He smiled."
"Cute. But I mean I carried the baby for nine months, I think I should decide on the gender."
"That's not really how that works, you know that right?"
"Right. So I think you should hold baby Jake."
Jess laughed and relented to her. He didn't really care about the gender or the name of the baby. He was just happy to be hers, even if only for a project.
Jess sat down on the couch as Rory set up her phone on a selfie stick.
"God, why do you have one of those? I never pegged you for the selfie girl." Jess asked.
"Shhh. I'm not. Now, let's take the family picture."
Rory sat down next to Jess who was holding the egg baby in both his hands.
"Hmm maybe put your arm around my shoulder."
Jess hesitated for a moment and then put his left around Rory's shoulder. He held up their egg baby with his right hand and then smiled at the camera. In that moment, he was genuinely happy just being next to her. A moment later, Paris storms into the dorm.
"Aw how sweet. Kodak moment right there." Paris jokes.
"Given that that is indeed the point, I guess I'll have to thank you." Rory retorted. "Anyway, are you guys hungry? It's a little past dinner time but I can run out to get us something to eat."
"I should probably head out." Jess said, half-heartedly.
"No, it's okay. You should stay. And we can continue the rest of this scrapbook after eating."
"I mean, if that's alright with the both of you." He said looking at Paris.
"Yeah, sure you should stay." Paris replied.
"Alright. So, does anyone have any objections to Thai food?" Rory asked.
"Actually I—"
"Cool so Pad Thai for everyone!" Rory said cutting off Paris.
Jess watched as Rory quickly left the room. And Paris looked knowingly at Jess.
"I see the way you look at her, you know?" She said.
"I—I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you don't. Jess, look we're not best friends or anything like that—"
"Well, that's a shame. I guess it's time for me to stop braiding our matching BFF bracelets."
"Hilarious. But let's be real for a moment Mariano. If you asked me, I'd say you were butt crazy for this girl."
"Well it's a good thing no one's asking you."
"Jess, let's stop with the snide remarks. I'm trying to help you. Rory… she's a great girl. She's smart, funny, caring, beautiful."
"Alright."
"My point is that she's a catch. She's not going to be single for much longer. You're an idiot if you don't do something about it. Like now."
"Paris. I appreciate your concern, I do. But let's say, hypothetically, I do have feelings for her, I… I don't know how she feels."
"I don't know anything in this department and to be honest I'm probably the last person who should be doling out advice in this area. But you're a goddamn fool if you don't say anything."
Did Paris have a point? Jess wondered about that and thought of the pros and cons of making a move. Was he willing to risk it all? And how much did they really know each other to begin with? Maybe they should become really close friends first, he thought.
Not too long later, Rory came back holding takeout food from a nearby Thai restaurant. During dinner, they had friendly chatter but Jess couldn't help but wonder what his next move should be. The Killers concert would be in a week and he decided that if he was going to do anything, the concert would be the perfect time to do it. And Jess had an idea.
"Hey, Rory this might sound like a weird idea but what if we bring our egg baby—"
"Jake."
"Right. What if we bring Jake with us to the concert?"
"That might be kinda difficult don't you think? Like we're just gonna be walking around holding an egg—holding Jake?"
"Well we could put it, uh—him, we could put him in some sort of Tupperware? And I'll be coming from class anyway so I could carry him in my backpack. Then maybe after, we could grab some dinner? Like you know as a family?"
"Sounds cool." Paris said, smiling at Jess.
It was a bit of a reach for Jess but something inside him told him that he should just go for it. Informal or not, at least he could lock down the whole evening with Rory.
"Uhm yeah sure why not? I mean if you're game to carry him around and everything. And just make sure you won't squish him. What container are you gonna use? And you should stuff it with newspapers and cotton."
"See, don't you think we make a great team? You, a regular overprotective mother. And me, a capricious but totally cool dad. We complement each other well I think."
"Ha, sure if you say so." Rory smirked.
After dinner, Jess and Rory continued their scrapbook for their egg baby project. At around a quarter to midnight, Rory had dozed off on the couch. Jess stood up and put a blanket over her. He packed his stuff, cleaned up, and quietly left her dorm. As he walked over to his own dorm, he couldn't help but smile at the prospect of a brighter future for the both of them.
