I do not own Gilmore Girls
Rory yawned as she got on to the elevator with several other reporters. Because the rally was late in the day her story wasn't due until tomorrow. Then they would spend most of the day on the bus traveling to the Midwest for a rally the next afternoon. She decided her best option was to write the story tonight, since there wasn't much new to report from this stop than the last. Then she could hopefully fall asleep quickly and sleep later in the morning and spend her time ion the bus relaxing.
After completing her story she realized it was still early enough to have a pizza delivered. She got a weird look from the night desk clerk when she went down to pick it up and pay for it, but she didn't feel like explaining her eating habits to him.. She snuggled down into her bed with the pizza on her lap and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels a couple of times and growled when she found nothing worth watching. She decided she should call her mom and leaned over to grab her bag from the floor beside the bed. The strap caught on the bedside table as she hauled it up and when she yanked on it to try and free it a few items spewed across the bed. "Crap," she huffed as she picked up the pack of gum, assorted receipts and other miscellaneous things. Before she could shove it all back in the bag she saw the napkin with Jess's number on it. Instead of overthinking and analyzing, like she usually would, she just pulled out her phone and dialed. He answered after the second ring. "That was quick; I didn't expect to hear from you for a couple of days."
"Wait, what? How'd you know it was me?"
"The only people I know with a Connecticut area code are, Luke, my Mom and you. Luke and Liz are already programmed into the phone."
"Oh." She said somewhat defeated that she couldn't surprise him. The something occurred to her, "you know my mom, and she has a Connecticut area code."
"Why would Lorelai call me?"
"Why does she do anything? She's Lorelai."
"Good point, enough about your crazy mother though, I'm glad you called."
"I told you I would."
"I know, but it seemed like you just said that so I would let you go. I am sorry by the way, if I upset you, I didn't mean for any of that to happen. It just kind of did.
"It's okay you said it yourself 'it is what it is' right?" Just saying those words deflated Rory a little. She was happy that her and Jess were on good terms again, just how good she wasn't sure, and being reminded of that day wasn't going to help either one of them move on.
Jess had been watching a movie when d=she called and now he was pacing his apartment, cursing the nicotine patch on his upper arm. "Is that really what you think?" He asked, his voice sounding bitterer than he had intended.
"Think about what? I can't figure us out anymore. We don't speak for almost two years then we have an awkward conversation over coffee, followed the next day by a pretty epic make-out session."
"Pretty epic?" He said hopefully as some of the happiness he felt when she called started to seep back in again.
"So not the point, Jess," her frustration becoming evident in her voice.
"Then what is the point, Rory?" he was irritated that he couldn't get a read on her. He had always known her so well and now he couldn't figure her out from one minute to the next, "or is there a point at all? Why did you call me?"
"I honestly have no idea."
"Clearly," he yelled "Call me back when you figure it out." That had not gone how he planned. After he hung up the phone he couldn't really figure out what had made him so angry. Except that it was Rory and she always had this effect on him. She had the unique ability to play with his heart and not even realize what she was doing. He knew she hadn't meant to upset him when she made the comment, but being reminded of that night in such a flippant way irked him more than he understood why. That was a lie and he knew it. He knew why it upset him; he just wasn't ready to admit it to himself.
Rory tossed her phone back in her bag, not completely sure of what had just happened. She threw the rest of her pizza away; her appetite gone, turned off the TV and crawled under the blankets, hoping sleep would overtake her quickly. It didn't.
She tossed and turned for hours before giving up on sleep entirely and taking a shower. After she had dressed she went down to the vending machines for a cup of crappy coffee and a bad muffin. She was going stir crazy, it was only 5:20 in the morning and they wouldn't be leaving until 9. She sat on her bed contemplating what to do. It had been less than 24 hours ago that she was making out with Jess and now they were back in this awkward holding pattern again. She thought about maybe calling him and trying to smooth things over, she knew why she had called him yesterday, she could start with that. She had wanted to talk about a possible friendship with him; she needed someone in her life to challenge her intellectually. She wanted to know what it was that she needed to do so they could try friendship again. But it was still before 6 in the morning and she knew he wouldn't be awake or appreciate being woken up by her call. The last thing she wanted was to make him mad just by calling. She pulled out her phone to send him a text, that way she could talk to him, say what she needed to say, and let him respond when he was ready.
R: Sorry about last night.
I was tired.
I do know why I called.
She put her phone back in her bag and decided to veg out in front of the TV until it was time to leave.
She had been staring out the bus window since she got on forty-five minutes ago, when her phone buzzed, signaling a text message.
Why, it was Jess's reply.
R: To talk, Rory responded, glad to have a distraction from the bleak countryside outside her window.
R: About us.
J: Us?
R: Yeah
J: What us?
R: What do you mean what us? Do you not remember yesterday?
J: Vividly
R: So shouldn't we talk about it?
Rory was starting to get annoyed with how non-committal he was being, but she tried to stay calm. This is how Jess was sometimes. He was all about avoiding uncomfortable things.
J: What's there to talk about? We've had this conversation before; we had it last night actually. You were pretty clear about how you feel.
R: I was? I barely said anything.
J: Trust me; you said exactly what you needed to say.
Jess was done with this conversation, Rory had told him last night that the crazy make out session they had in his office the other day pretty much meant nothing to her, with her off handed 'it is what it is' comment. He had said that to make her feel better about the cheating thing, even though it was killing him inside to know that she was using him. But she had been in a bad place at the time and that kiss had given him a glimmer of hope. Seeing her the day before yesterday had been great. Rory was back, his Rory. She hated her job, but what young adult didn't hate their first job? He had hated the three he was working at when he first arrived in Philadelphia, but his break had come and hers would too. He hadn't expected her to come back yesterday and express her undying love to him that was his thing after all. But when she had showed up unannounced at Truncheon again, he had gone for it. She seemed like she had been all in too, when she left abruptly he was flustered but not upset, he knew she had to get back on the road. She had called last night and that was when it had all gone wrong. Except that maybe it hadn't and he was just overblowing and innocent comment. He decided he needed to step back from the situation, take a day and figure out why such a small comment had made him so angry and confused.
J: I need to get back to work; I'll talk to you later.
He hadn't meant for the reply to sound so curt, but that's how Rory took it, not being able to get inside his head and see the thought process behind it. She didn't bother responding, just put her phone away and took out a book, preparing for another long, lonely bus ride.
A/N So when I originally sat down to write this chapter, I intended on having the texts just be fluffy, flirty book banter. Clearly that is not what happened, but I feel like this is what was supposed to happen, they have both hurt each other a lot and have never really dealt with those issues as adults.
