Title: Hidden Truths Discovered: Chapter 7
Author: Delilah (keeks82@aol.com)
Rating: PG
Pairing: R/J L/L
Summary: Picks up where "I Can't Get Started" left off. Rory must deal with the situation she created by kissing Jess.
Author's note: Hope people are enjoying this. denise - thanks for the feedback and thanks for pointing that out, it didn't even cross my mind as I was writing but you are right about the coffee thing!
It had been almost the full six weeks since she had left and Rory couldn't wait till tomorrow when she would be flying home. Living with Paris in a dorm room for this long hadn't been as bad as she had anticipated but it was still a little wearing on her. Rory was sitting on her bed in the small room reading, having returned from another leadership seminar that was just as boring as the one before. Thankfully it was the last one she had to go to. Paris was rambling on about something or other but Rory had grown accustomed to that and had learned to tune her out fairly well.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I boring you?" Paris' voice took on a harsh tone.
"No, you're not," Rory answered.
"You weren't even listening to me," Paris said accusingly.
Sighing, Rory set her book down. "Sorry Paris," Rory apologized. "I'm trying to be interested in all this stuff but if you remember I didn't really want to do this whole thing in the first place."
"You're right," Paris said, her voice softening a little bit. She knew she would never have won if it hadn't been for Rory agreeing to run with her and Paris was grateful that Rory had done it. "What are you reading?" Paris asked.
Rory held up her book so Paris could see the cover.
"Please Kill Me," Paris read. "Where'd you here about that one?"
"Jess," Rory answered. "He recommended it to me a little while ago. I saw it in a bookstore yesterday and decided to get it."
Rory was very proud of herself. She had been consciously trying to stop dwelling on the memory of their kiss, the feelings it stirred up, and the situation it had created. They had resolved that issue and she was determined to get things back the way they should be. Rory had done quite a good job and seeing the book yesterday had only caused minor anxiety. She was very pleased with the progress she had made in returning her life to the pre-kiss stage.
Rory set down her book and stood up. She grabbed her empty suitcase and placed it on her bed getting ready to pack her things back into it. Tomorrow at this time she would be back in Stars Hollow. Rory smiled at the thought.
Jess was wiping down a table in the diner attempting to ignore the voice that kept following him around. He felt a strong urge to tell that voice to shut up but he didn't, reminding himself that it was his own fault that he was constantly hearing the incessant rambling.
"Jess, are you listening to me?"
Holding back a stinging remark, Jess looked up at Ashley. "Sorry, no I wasn't," he responded not sounding the least bit remorseful. That's right, I wasn't listening, Jess thought to himself, because cleaning this table is about ten times more interesting.
Ashley then continued babbling on leaving Jess to wonder for the fiftieth time that day why on earth he ever agreed to go out with her. But he did know why. He'd talked to Ashley in school a couple of times but never gave her a second thought until about two weeks ago when she came in the diner and asked him if he wanted to go to a movie. His first impulse was to laugh at the suggestion, but then he saw it as a way of making it easier for him to get his mind off Rory. So, he said yes. . .much to his regret. His not very well thought out plan had back fired and instead of getting his mind off Rory, he was actually always thinking about her even more. He was constantly comparing Ashley with Rory and the former was always falling short. Ashley would always talk about the most meaningless things - half of which he tuned out - and Jess would then find himself thinking about how much he would love to discuss a book he had just read with Rory.
Ashley probably doesn't even know how to read, Jess thought bitterly to himself. Oh wait. I take that back. She did spend half of the day yesterday looking over a menu in the diner trying to decide between iced tea and hot tea. He had no patience for girls like her but had endured it this long through sheer will power. In a way Ashley had kept his mind off Rory because he spent most of his time being so irritated by Ashley it left him with little time to dwell on thoughts of the person he really wanted to be with.
Jess couldn't stand being with Ashley for more than two hours at a time and it was getting close to that limit when he spotted April, Ashley's friend, walking into the diner. Elated at the sight of her because it meant that Ashley would be leaving, Jess stopped cleaning.
"Hey," he said loudly to Ashley so she could hear him over her own voice. "April's here, guess you have to go." Jess tried to contain his happiness.
"You're right. I'll see you later, Jess," Ashley said picking up her purse. She then proceeded to strike up a conversation with April about nail polish color. As Jess heard them discussing the pros and cons of nail polish with sparkles, something snapped and Jess felt the sudden urge to break something. Controlling that impulse, he instead decided that whether she helped him keep his mind off Rory or not, he could not stand being with Ashley for one more second. He walked upstairs to the apartment having made up his mind that the next time he saw Ashley it would be the last. There was no point in enduring her any longer. Jess had spent the last six weeks thinking about Rory anyway and he knew that there wasn't much he could do to change that. Truthfully he didn't want to change that and he decided he was over feeling wounded by what Rory told him before she left and Jess made up his mind to wait for Rory. He would be patient and he would be there - for as long as it took. Feeling liberated at the thought of not having to endure Ashley any longer, he grabbed a book and started reading, a smile on his face.
About five minutes later, Lorelai walked in the diner. "Hey, Luke. I need some coffee to go, please."
Grabbing a cup, Luke filled it up with coffee. "Where you headed?" he asked noticing Lorelai had a slightly antsy look about her.
"I'm going to the airport in Hartford to pick Rory up," Lorelai said cheerfully. "I'm surprised you didn't know that."
"Seeings how you've mentioned it only about twenty times today, I was just making sure I heard you right." He handed her the cup of coffee.
"Thanks," Lorelai said gratefully. "Bye!"
"I'll see you and Rory in a few hours," Luke called to Lorelai as she waved to him while closing the door.
To be continued. . .
Author: Delilah (keeks82@aol.com)
Rating: PG
Pairing: R/J L/L
Summary: Picks up where "I Can't Get Started" left off. Rory must deal with the situation she created by kissing Jess.
Author's note: Hope people are enjoying this. denise - thanks for the feedback and thanks for pointing that out, it didn't even cross my mind as I was writing but you are right about the coffee thing!
It had been almost the full six weeks since she had left and Rory couldn't wait till tomorrow when she would be flying home. Living with Paris in a dorm room for this long hadn't been as bad as she had anticipated but it was still a little wearing on her. Rory was sitting on her bed in the small room reading, having returned from another leadership seminar that was just as boring as the one before. Thankfully it was the last one she had to go to. Paris was rambling on about something or other but Rory had grown accustomed to that and had learned to tune her out fairly well.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I boring you?" Paris' voice took on a harsh tone.
"No, you're not," Rory answered.
"You weren't even listening to me," Paris said accusingly.
Sighing, Rory set her book down. "Sorry Paris," Rory apologized. "I'm trying to be interested in all this stuff but if you remember I didn't really want to do this whole thing in the first place."
"You're right," Paris said, her voice softening a little bit. She knew she would never have won if it hadn't been for Rory agreeing to run with her and Paris was grateful that Rory had done it. "What are you reading?" Paris asked.
Rory held up her book so Paris could see the cover.
"Please Kill Me," Paris read. "Where'd you here about that one?"
"Jess," Rory answered. "He recommended it to me a little while ago. I saw it in a bookstore yesterday and decided to get it."
Rory was very proud of herself. She had been consciously trying to stop dwelling on the memory of their kiss, the feelings it stirred up, and the situation it had created. They had resolved that issue and she was determined to get things back the way they should be. Rory had done quite a good job and seeing the book yesterday had only caused minor anxiety. She was very pleased with the progress she had made in returning her life to the pre-kiss stage.
Rory set down her book and stood up. She grabbed her empty suitcase and placed it on her bed getting ready to pack her things back into it. Tomorrow at this time she would be back in Stars Hollow. Rory smiled at the thought.
Jess was wiping down a table in the diner attempting to ignore the voice that kept following him around. He felt a strong urge to tell that voice to shut up but he didn't, reminding himself that it was his own fault that he was constantly hearing the incessant rambling.
"Jess, are you listening to me?"
Holding back a stinging remark, Jess looked up at Ashley. "Sorry, no I wasn't," he responded not sounding the least bit remorseful. That's right, I wasn't listening, Jess thought to himself, because cleaning this table is about ten times more interesting.
Ashley then continued babbling on leaving Jess to wonder for the fiftieth time that day why on earth he ever agreed to go out with her. But he did know why. He'd talked to Ashley in school a couple of times but never gave her a second thought until about two weeks ago when she came in the diner and asked him if he wanted to go to a movie. His first impulse was to laugh at the suggestion, but then he saw it as a way of making it easier for him to get his mind off Rory. So, he said yes. . .much to his regret. His not very well thought out plan had back fired and instead of getting his mind off Rory, he was actually always thinking about her even more. He was constantly comparing Ashley with Rory and the former was always falling short. Ashley would always talk about the most meaningless things - half of which he tuned out - and Jess would then find himself thinking about how much he would love to discuss a book he had just read with Rory.
Ashley probably doesn't even know how to read, Jess thought bitterly to himself. Oh wait. I take that back. She did spend half of the day yesterday looking over a menu in the diner trying to decide between iced tea and hot tea. He had no patience for girls like her but had endured it this long through sheer will power. In a way Ashley had kept his mind off Rory because he spent most of his time being so irritated by Ashley it left him with little time to dwell on thoughts of the person he really wanted to be with.
Jess couldn't stand being with Ashley for more than two hours at a time and it was getting close to that limit when he spotted April, Ashley's friend, walking into the diner. Elated at the sight of her because it meant that Ashley would be leaving, Jess stopped cleaning.
"Hey," he said loudly to Ashley so she could hear him over her own voice. "April's here, guess you have to go." Jess tried to contain his happiness.
"You're right. I'll see you later, Jess," Ashley said picking up her purse. She then proceeded to strike up a conversation with April about nail polish color. As Jess heard them discussing the pros and cons of nail polish with sparkles, something snapped and Jess felt the sudden urge to break something. Controlling that impulse, he instead decided that whether she helped him keep his mind off Rory or not, he could not stand being with Ashley for one more second. He walked upstairs to the apartment having made up his mind that the next time he saw Ashley it would be the last. There was no point in enduring her any longer. Jess had spent the last six weeks thinking about Rory anyway and he knew that there wasn't much he could do to change that. Truthfully he didn't want to change that and he decided he was over feeling wounded by what Rory told him before she left and Jess made up his mind to wait for Rory. He would be patient and he would be there - for as long as it took. Feeling liberated at the thought of not having to endure Ashley any longer, he grabbed a book and started reading, a smile on his face.
About five minutes later, Lorelai walked in the diner. "Hey, Luke. I need some coffee to go, please."
Grabbing a cup, Luke filled it up with coffee. "Where you headed?" he asked noticing Lorelai had a slightly antsy look about her.
"I'm going to the airport in Hartford to pick Rory up," Lorelai said cheerfully. "I'm surprised you didn't know that."
"Seeings how you've mentioned it only about twenty times today, I was just making sure I heard you right." He handed her the cup of coffee.
"Thanks," Lorelai said gratefully. "Bye!"
"I'll see you and Rory in a few hours," Luke called to Lorelai as she waved to him while closing the door.
To be continued. . .