The Distance Between

Chapter Eight: Eyes Open

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, it would be nice, but I don't.

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Jess sat with his legs open and back leaned against the chair, comfortably spread out and giving off the impression that where he was, was the last place he wanted to be. When in reality, that could have been the farthest thing from the truth. Inside, Jess was full of pride and joy, as well as hope and fear. He masked it well, but when he heard his name - the glory and excitement of graduation took over him as a small smirk crept up on his face.

He stood up as Luke, Lorelai, and Rory watched him intently when he swiftly made his way to the podium in order to receive his diploma. Rory noticed the smirk, and smiled widely as she watched Jess make his way toward the principle. They shook hands and Jess was handed his diploma in one hand, while the other moved the tassel. He beamed with accomplishment and quickly turned toward Rory. At first, it was hard to notice her with everyone else around but then he caught a glimpse of her breath-taking smile and he winked at her. She winked back and he made his way off stage, back to his seat.

Nothing was going to ruin this day for him. Not even his Mom not showing up at his graduation, hell, it was something he should have expected to begin with. And in a way, he did; but there was always that last bit of hope that she would unexpectedly show up at the last minute and cheer him on as he made the leap from high-school to adulthood.

Alas, it didn't happen. Jimmy was there however, but certainly not sitting with Luke, Lorelai and Rory. Actually, he was probably as far away from them as you could get. Jess had talked to Jimmy on the phone only once since he and Luke had argued. And that was only when Jess called Jimmy to let him know when his graduation was, still not expecting Jimmy to show up either. But Jess was happy with the way things turned out; Jimmy showed up, Rory came... and even Lorelai made an appearance. It wasn't bad, not bad at all.

The only cloud over his head was that he and Rory never talked about what happened that night he came over, wanting to talk about Luke and Jimmy's argument. It just never came up, the morning after he had come over, she walked into the diner and just greeted him with a wide smile, acting as if nothing happened. He figured if she wanted to play that game, he could to. And the next night, the two went to prom without any problems and ended up having a blast. Rory had gotten the baby blue dress she wanted, and Jess actually wore a tuxedo. It seemed as though they both forgot about the awkward night and were happy again with the way things were; when in reality, the thought of Jess leaving was stirring in the back of both their minds.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the Stars Hollow High Class of 2003!" The principle boomed over the speakers. The girls squealed as the guys cheered; all of them throwing there hats in the air in excitement. Rory quickly got up out of her seat before Lorelai could stop her and ran over to Jess, noticing him still sitting with his hat on and head down. She ran up to where he sat and quickly grabbed his face, planting a kiss on his lips and smiling.

"My own little graduate. I've always wanted one..." Rory joked, but Jess continued looking at the ground. He smiled to himself as her concerned voice filled the air.

"Hey Jess," she said softly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he mumbled, while childishly kicking the dirt with his shoe.

"Jess... tell me." She pleaded, trying to get him to look at her. He smiled to himself again and this time tried hard not to laugh, turning his head away from her and trying to contain the laughter that was creeping up inside him. He finally gave in and quickly turned to face her, with a grin from ear to ear.

"I just can't believe I actually graduated." He proclaimed, taking in the confused look on her face.

"I mean, I barely showed up, got barely passing grades and I'll even admit it… I had a pretty sorry attitude."

"Ugh, Jess! I thought you really were sad over something!" She sighed, shaking her head.

"So I saw." He shot back at her, smirking.

She ignored his unnecessary and cruel joke and continued on with their conversation. "And I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Rory offered about his attendance, grade and attitude; knowing full well that it was probably all true.

"Not that bad? One time, I didn't turn in this essay for Mr. Hendricks class and he asked to talk to me privately during class the next day when he noticed I hadn't done it…" Jess was getting into his story and Rory noticed how excited he was getting by already reminiscing on his high school days. In a few days she would be graduating, and she wondered if she would be that excited. The uplifting thoughts of graduation quickly turned into the gut wrenching feeling that Jess would be leaving right after her graduation was over. She silently cursed herself for thinking of it again and continued listening to Jess's story.

"…so basically," he continued, "just because your teacher says he can't punish you for what your thinking doesn't mean he wants to know what your thinking."

"Jess, there's a difference between thinking someone's a son of a bitch and saying to their face, 'I think you're a son a bitch'." She stated with eyebrows raised.

"Yea, well when I asked him what he would do if I called him a son of a bitch, he said something about suspension. Then when I asked him what he would do if I thought he was a son of a bitch; he said he couldn't control my thoughts or punish me for them because there was no way he could change what I was thinking. So, I told him what I thought."

"Which brings us back to your well brought up point about how just because your teacher says he can't punish you for what your thinking, doesn't mean he wants to know what your thinking."

"Hey, if your ever looking for a nice, long, 5 day weekend - just speak your mind."

Rory laughed at Jess's crazy antics and then stopped suddenly and made a face as if something had suddenly clicked.

"Hey, wait a sec! Was that the week you convinced Luke we had Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday off for 'September Break'? And then you wouldn't tell me why?"

Jess shook his head 'no' but the face he made stated otherwise. Rory chuckled and gently grabbed hold of his hand.

"You know I'm surprised they didn't just recognize that as the Mariano charm and let it slip along with your 'barely-there' attendance and barely passing grades. Your coulda been one lucky guy!" She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling into his embrace and resting her head on his chest.

"This gown really suits you, you know that?" She stated, playing with the blue fabric between her fingers.

"If you like it that much I'll steal you one." He joked; she quickly pulled away and smacked his arm, making her 'I can't believe you!' face.

"Hey!" He reacted, pretending the be hurt badly from her smack, "What was that for!"

"For not offering to steal me a hat to." She joked, putting her arms back around his neck. He grunted in acknowledgment and looked around at everyone who was hugging their parents and laughing with extended family and friends. He secretly wished he had that, then he looked back to his left and remembered everything he ever wanted was right beside him. He leaned in and kissed her, putting his hand behind her head and after a few seconds, opening his eyes. He always kept his eyes closed while kissing... well, anyone. That's how your supposed to kiss - eyes closed, mouth open. But this time he couldn't help himself, he wanted to be that close to her and be able to see her beauty. Opening his eyes allowed him to do that, and he silently wondered why he had never done it before. 'Probably because she would think I was psycho...' he thought to himself as he pulled away from her kiss. Their eyes locked and she smiled. Inside, however, she couldn't have been more distraught. He was leaving - by the end of the week he would be gone from her life. She snuggled into him again, wondering how was she supposed to handle knowing that.

Lorelai and Luke walked over to where Jess and Rory had been sitting, and Luke shook Jess's hand in congratulations. Lorelai was unsure as to whether she should give Jess a hug, or just shake his hand, but he answered that questions for her by getting up from the chair and extending his hand towards her. She shook and smiled.

"Were really happy for you Jess. Great job!" She kept shaking his hand and glaced at Rory who was nuzzled up beside him. 'God, he makes her so happy. Oh what the hell!' she thought, pulling him into a hug. His eye's widened and he stood stiffly with his arms to his side as she patted his back.

"Hey, hands off!" Rory teased, "Find your own man!" Lorelai pulled away from Jess, who was still stunned, and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"It'll never happen again. Momentary lapse of judgment."

"Glad to hear it." He said, still a little confused from her showing of affection and caring towards him. She had never done that before, in fact, he thought she still hated him.

"Yup," Lorelai said, her attention focused towards Luke now.

"Luke," She hesitated asking him as he turned and faced her. What if he said no? Well it wouldn't matter. It's not like it was a date or anything.

"Yea?" He casually replied, making her feel a little more comfortable.

"Would you, um, want to come with us to Rory's graduation?"

"Oh, yea Luke please come!" Rory chimed in. "Mom's gonna go, Jess will be there, my grandparents, Sookie, Jackson, my Da…" She stopped short when she remembered he Dad wasn't going to come. He had called earlier that day to break the news that he would be out of the country on a business trip. Luke noticed the look of disappointment in Rory's eyes and quickly agreed to come, hoping it would take that sad look away. It did and Rory quickly seemed to have forgotten all about how her Dad wasn't going to attend her one and only high school graduation.

"You mean it? You'll come? You don't have to Luke, I mean if your busy…" She started off with excitement in her voice then trailed off when the realization that he might only be saying yes to be polite entered her mind.

"I'm not." He offered, and he wasn't. He knew when her graduation was and he had planned on coming anyway.

"Well great then! So that's, what, seven people? I gotta get more tickets." Lorelai lied, she had already bought the tickets knowing, well… hoping, that Luke would come with her.

"I gotta go get changed," Jess kissed Rory's forehead, "I'll see you back at the diner?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded, smiling at him. He would never know how truly proud of him she was. She gave him another kiss and then said goodbye to Luke before her and Lorelai began making their way home.

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A/N - This was the only good place I could find to stop at. I hope you all are liking it!! Let me know if I should keep on going, and I will happily oblige. R&R! Thanks so much!