"Guess who's back."

"Shady?"

"No. Do you actually know someone named Shady?"

"No, it was… never mind," Jess said, stepping out into the hallway of his apartment so he wouldn't wake up his roommate, who was sleeping on a futon mattress on the floor. "Who's back?"

"Dean."

"Koontz?"

"No. Dean Koontz isn't dead." Paris gave an irritated huff. "No, Rory's Dean. They're back together. They're at the dorm right now. I went out to pick up more batteries for my noise canceling headphones."

"I'm hoping those two thoughts aren't related," Jess said, willing any mental pictures away.

"So that's all you have to say?" Paris asked, sounding clearly disappointed.

"She's a big girl. She can do what she wants."

"You're not seriously telling me you don't care about this."

Jess looked at the peeling wallpaper on the wall across from him. This place was gross. "I figured it would happen sometime. I saw them together in May so it's not really a surprise. You were the one who told me to get over her, anyway. Why do you care about this?"

"I don't know. I don't like Dean. He's not good enough for her. And he's just so tall. What is that about? I don't trust him."

"You don't seem to think I'm good enough for Rory either."

"You could be if you stopped doing idiotic things. You know Rory. I know you do. So you should know by now that she isn't into ridiculous gestures and grand proclamations followed by running away. Dean won't do any of that and she knows it. He's dependable. He's safe."

"So I should be more like Dean?"

"No, don't be more like Dean. Just be a less terrible version of yourself."

"Thanks for that."

"I'm serious," Paris insisted. "Dean is dependable and safe but she's going to get bored with him. I can just tell. So when she gets bored with him you can be there. Jess 2.0, with the boyfriend software all upgraded."

"You are a nerd. And I wouldn't know what to do. The last two times I saw her it ended really badly."

"Three. You skipped out to California the first time."

"Yeah, thanks. Three times then. Doesn't Dean play baseball or something equally dumb? He's probably counting the strikes against me right now. I'm out."

"Come on. You're just giving up?"

"I gave up a while ago," Jess admitted. "She doesn't want me and she hasn't for a long time. I need to work on getting my own shit together and not worry about what Rory's doing."

"She seems really great, Jess. And not with you. Doesn't that bother you?"

"No," Jess lied. "I'm happy for her." Not a lie.

"Do you want me to stop calling about her?"

"You don't have to stop calling but there's more to talk about than Rory. No need to rehash ancient history."

"I got really good grades in history."

"I bet you did. You never seem to forget anything."

"That's why you can't lie to me. I remember how you looked at her when I first met you. That kind of love doesn't just go away."

"No. It doesn't." Jess stared at his shoes. He hadn't bought new ones since high school. Dean probably had a shiny new pair of shoes every week. "But sometimes it's best just to let things go."

"And you can do that, for real? You keep saying you're going to but I don't think you are.

"I don't know. But I'm going to try this time."