Hey, Readers!
Here is the first entire flashback chapter. I hope you guys like it.
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- BehindGrayEyes x
2.16 There's The Rub:
Lorelai POV
I was sitting on my bed as Rory walked around my room packing a suitcase for my weekend getting at a spa with my mother. I was talking on the phone with the spa to see if I could organise the entire weekend in a way that meant I didn't have to see my mother.
"So, then we're all confirmed. Uh, great. Thanks so much for your help. Okay, bye." I said politely into the phone but on the outside I was smiling widely. I hung up the phone and threw it on the bed in triumph. 'Yes…!"
"That was an evil yes." Rory stated from her spot in my closet.
"Not an evil yes. It's a 'yes, I'm pretty, but hello, I'm smart' kind of a yes." I explained the difference to her with a devilish grin.
"Oh, my mistake." She replied sarcastically as she rolled her baby blue eyes at me.
"So here's the deal – I go into my facial just as my mother is finishing her salt glow, which will end ten minutes after I've hit my scalp treatment which puts me in the watsu massage pool at least six minutes into her back facial. Uh, in fact, the day is so well planned, I won't see her until dinner which will be cut tragically short by the food poisoning I plan to contract."
"You are twelve and disgusting." Rory scolded me and I couldn't help thinking about how my other daughter, Christa would have found it funny.
"I am trapped and desperate." I told her pathetically.
"You really think you can avoid Grandma the entire weekend?"
"Hey, I'm nothing if not a great organizer. Now, let's talk about what you're gonna do tonight. Throwing a party, I hope? Inviting hundreds of bikers and lowlifes who are gonna trash the place?" I joked with her but I was exactly kind of hoping the answer was 'yes'. Rory had always been studious in nature and I thought that she really needed to relax and act like a normal teenager.
"I am going to do laundry, watch TV, order Indian food and go to bed early."
"And then come the bikers and lowlifes who are gonna trash the place?"
"I may even fall asleep on the couch with the TV on."
"When do the bikers and lowlifes get to trash the place?"
"You're all packed." Rory told me, ignoring my commentary as she zipped up the suitcase filled with my clothes for the weekend.
"Rory, you have to do something bad when Mommy's out of town. It's the law. You're seen Risky Business, right? Now I'm not asking for a prostitution ring, but how about a floating craps game or something? Learn from your sister." I insisted with a pout.
"I'll see what I can do." Rory replied to my request as she left my bedroom to take the suitcase down the stairs. I frowned at her retreating figure and made a split second decision as I grabbed my cell phone from bedside table. I pressed the speed dial number two and then held the phone up to my ear. The phone rang twice before someone picked it up and I heard the music playing in the background.
"Welcome to the Madame Scarlet's House of Pleasure! For a little dirty pearls action with Miss Manner's press 1. For a study date in detention with Principal Mary press 2. To learn the ins and outs of inns with our naughty French maid Lola press 3. And finally, if you are looking for a night of extreme satisfaction press 4 in order to get me, Christa Hayden!" I heard my other daughter say into the phone line and I burst out laughing at her greeting.
"God! I love you so much. I have no doubt that you are mine, daughter." I told her through giggles once my laughing fit quietened down.
"I thought you might like that." Christa said to me with a chuckle.
"I appreciated it greatly." I assured her with a wide smile that she couldn't see. "So, the reason I called…"
"It wasn't to say 'hello' to your favourite daughter?" she asked me jokingly and I rolled my eyes at her comment.
"You know how I'm going out of town with my mother?" I asked her as I cringed at the thought of spending the weekend with Emily Gilmore.
"Oh, God. You're not making me go with you, are you?"
"No! Definitely not!" I said hurriedly because I didn't want her to freak out and hang up the phone.
"Thank God." She swore quietly and I chuckled at the similarities between me and my more rebellious daughter.
"I was just wondering what you were doing this weekend? I know that Rory would want some company…"
"Hmm. Guess where I am right now?" Christa asked me randomly and I frowned at the change of topic. When I didn't say anything after a minute, I heard my daughter huff on the other end of the phone line. "I'll give you a hint." She said and then I heard a car horn beep but it wasn't through the phone line. Instead the honk had come from outside the house so I turned my head to the window in my bedroom and then ran towards it with the phone still pressed to my ear. I pulled the curtain back and squealed when I saw a familiar Porsche driving down the driveway towards the house. I dropped the phone to the ground and ran out of my bedroom with a giant smile on my lips.
Christa POV
I was already on my way to Stars Hollow to spend the weekend with Rory when my mother rang me. I pulled to a stop outside their small house with a smile on my face. I saw Mom's face peeking out the top floor window and hung up my phone when she disappeared. I jumped out of my car as soon as it stopped and ran towards the house. When I was halfway to the porch, the front door opened and my mother came running out at full speed. She jumped down the three steps without slowly down and met me on the middle of the front lawn. I giggled loudly as Mom's arms wrapped around me and I hugged her back just as tightly.
"Oh, my baby." I heard Mom coo at me and I had to laugh a little as I let her go. Mom smiled down at me as she gripped my cheeks in between her hands. She squeezed my cheeks so that my lips pursed together and I frowned in pain.
"Mom, you're hurting me." I mumbled through squashed together lips and she immediately let go of me.
"Sorry, hon." She apologised to me and I smiled at her reassuringly. She grabbed my hand with a grin and pulled me into the house after her. "Rory! I brought you a surprise!"
"Thanks for making me sound like a hooker, Mom." I muttered drily and she shot me a grin over her shoulder.
"What did you do?" I heard my twin sister yell from the living room as we walked into the room. I saw Rory sitting in front of a suitcase as she folded clothing.
"What didn't she do?" I retorted with a smirk and Rory spun around quickly in surprise.
"Christa!" she screeched before she stood up and threw herself at me. I giggled as I hugged her back tightly before wrapped us both in her arms in a group hug. We pulled away from each as a car honking was heard from out the front of the house.
"I think Grandma's here." Rory said to us as Mom and I frowned in confusion.
"What's she honking for? She hates honking. She calls it a mechanical bodily function." Mom quipped and I snorted in amusement as Mom looked out the window. "Uh, geez."
"Oh, cool!" Rory and I said at the same time as we both rushed over to look out the window with Mom. We all walked outside and saw Emily standing in front of a limousine with a bright smile on her lips.
"Hello, hello, hello!" Emily greeted us.
"What, are you going to the prom?" I asked her with a nod at the limo as I leaned up against one of the pillars on the porch.
"I just thought since this weekend is all about relaxing, we should start with the ride." She explained with shrug as Mom and Rory approached her.
"This is cool, Grandma." Rory told her as she looked over the limo.
"Thank you, Rory. So, are we all ready to go?"
"I guess so, Miss Daisy. Bye sweets." Mom said to both of us and I nodded at her with a smile while Rory gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye. Bye Grandma." Rory said to them with a small smile.
"Goodbye Rory." Emily said to her warmly.
"Have a good time." I called from my spot on the porch.
"Bikers and lowlifes, Christa." Mom reminded me and I smirked at her in understanding.
"I'll get right on it."
Since mom was already gone on her spa weekend with Emily and Rory was at Chilton, I decided to go to Luke's for lunch and see if Jess was there. I frowned as I got close and saw the construction taking place in the diner. I looked in the window and smiled when I saw Luke looking aggravated.
"Hey." I called out to him brightly in greeting as I entered the diner. He turned out at the sound of my voice and gave me a surprised half smile.
"Hey." He replied in shock at seeing me.
"Geez, look at this place. It's a mess. How long – "I started to say as I went to sit down at one of the vacant seats.
"Nope – can't sit here." Luke interrupted me as he grabbed my arm to stop me from sitting down at the table.
"Why not?" I asked curiously as held my spot defiantly.
"Three people got nailed in the head there earlier."
"But their food was okay, right?" I asked him cautiously and he just rolled his eyes at him as he tried once again to move me away from the table by my arm.
"Will you just move?" Luke asked me irritably and I smiled at him innocently as I let him pull over to the new table that was vacant. "God help me, you're just like your mother."
"Thank you!" I replied to him brightly as I sat down at the table. Luke shook his head at me as I noticed Jess walking over to the table. I smiled at Jess as he came over to the table and held out an open umbrella I hadn't noticed in his hands. I frowned in confusion but took the umbrella from him and held it over my head.
"Oh, you are really funny. You and Tom should put an act together." Luke said drily to Jess as I smirked in amusement but went to put the umbrella. "I'd leave it open." He warned me as he pointed to the umbrella and I let my hand fall back to the table. "I'll bring you your food." He said as he turned to walk away.
"I haven't ordered yet." I pointed out to him with a frown and he turned back to me with a half-smile on his lips.
"I know what you're going to order. You're going to have French toast, pancakes and a bucket of coffee."
"Lucky guess." I muttered to him with narrowed eyes before he chuckled lightly and walked back to put my order in with Caesar. Jess rolled his eyes at his uncle and sat down at one of the chairs at my table. I turned to face him with a bright smile because I hadn't seen him in a few weeks since I hadn't been to visit Stars Hollow. "Well hello, handsome." I greeted him and he smirked at me from across the table.
"Christa." He replied to me in greeting as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you doing in town?"
"Mom went away from the weekend so she called begged me to come over and try and get that studiously boring twin of mine to rebel."
"Rory? Rebel?" he asked me to clarify as he raised an eyebrow in doubt.
"I know, right? She must think I'm a freaking miracle worker or something." I told him drily as Luke came over with my food and coffee.
"Here you go." Luke said as he put the plate and cup down in front of me. "Aren't you meant to be working?" he asked his nephew.
"Oh, come on, Luke. I hardly get to see Jess." I said with a pout of my lip and Luke sighed before turning and walking away from us.
"You're powerful." Jess teased me with a smirk and I grinned back at him.
"It's too bad I only use them for evil." I quipped back at him as I took a sip of my coffee.
Rory was sitting next to me on the floor as she folded clothes into piles and I watched television while on the phone ordering Indian food for our dinner.
"No, that's four orders of garlic gnon, six simosas, and two chicken vindiloo. And rice, and the green sauce, and no salad, and . . . . Oh wait, sorry. Can you hold on a sec? I asked as the phone beeped to say that I had a call waiting. I pressed the hold button and answered the other call. "Hello?"
"Hi, this is Phil's Liquor. I'm supposed to be delivering a keg there tonight." I heard mom's voice on the other end of the call and I smiled at her greeting.
"I'm sorry, we ordered our keg from Jim's Liquor. Hold on." I said to her before I switched back to the Indian restaurant. "Hi, sorry. Yeah, that's it. Forty minutes, great. Bye." I said to them in parting before I pressed the hold button and went back to mom. "Hey."
"Who was that?" mom asked me and I leaned back onto the couch.
"The male stripper." I joked with her and Rory slapped my leg playfully while mom chuckled at me. "It was Sandeep's."
"Oh, you're ordering the Indian food?"
"Yup."
"Good, enjoy. Can you burn the house down afterward, 'cause that's the only way we'll get the smell out." Mom told me and I giggled at her.
"Absolutely. How's the spa?" I asked her curiously.
"Tranquil."
"Really?" I interrupted her doubtfully as I raised an eyebrow that she couldn't see.
"I wasn't done. Tranquilizers, uh, will be required if I have to spend one more minute with my mother."
"Please tell me you're at least trying to get along with her? I don't want to have to go to the morgue and identify a mangled body." I warned her playfully.
"Oh, hey, I'm being a peach." She assured me and I laughed out loud doubtfully.
"Really?"
"Well, I smell like a peach. Was that the doorbell?" she asked me when the doorbell rang at the front door. I looked over at the door from my spot on the floor with a confused frown. I hit Rory's thigh so that she turned and looked at me. I pointed to the door and she rolled her eyes at me but stood up to answer it.
"Yeah, I'm making Rory get it. But I better go pay the drug dealer and help carry in the keg." I quipped to her.
"Oh wait, I wanna find out who it is." Mom exclaimed excitedly and I rolled my eyes at her.
"The sooner you get back to your weekend, the sooner it'll be over." I reminded her with an amused smile on my lips.
"Okay, but before you go, can you get out my address book and count how many friends I have? I'll wait."
"Okay, sure. Here we go. Hmm, one. Bye." I replied jokingly and she gasped playfully at me.
"Mean!"
"Steal me soap!" I told her before I hung up the phone and listened to whoever was at the front door. I frowned when I heard a familiar voice along with Rory's.
"Paris. What -." Rory said in an annoyed voice.
"I tried to stay home and study myself but I can't. I don't know what anything means anymore. I mean, I can't even read my own handwriting. What does this say? The person who wrote this should be dressed in a clown suit stuffing bodies under their porch. You're in your pyjamas." Paris Gellar said as she pushed her way into the living room and I made sure to stay quiet so that she didn't notice me in the room.
"I know."
"This was the big night you had planned – a rendezvous with Mr Peanut?"
"Well..."
"You're doing laundry."
"Yes."
"You're doing laundry in your pyjamas."
"My mom is out of town and I never get the house all to myself."
"You mean you never get to go months on end without seeing your parents, just getting an occasional postcard that doesn't even have a courtesy "Wish you were here" written on it? That does suck. Don't let me stand in your way." Paris snapped at Rory and I rolled my eyes at her outburst but my heart did feel for her a little.
"Paris, wait."
"No, forget it, I don't want to get in the way of your big night. I hear there's gonna be some hot knitting going on later."
"Fine, I'll study with you." Rory agreed reluctantly.
"You will?"
"For one hour, that's it. We can do a quick review and a pop quiz and then you are going home. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Okay, so, go sit on the couch. I'll be out in the minute."
"Where are you going?" Paris asked her suspiciously.
"I'm going to go change." Rory informed her as she walked towards her bedroom off the kitchen.
"Okay, but my hour doesn't start until you get back out here, right?" Paris called after her and I chucked lightly.
I was reading a magazine on the couch while Rory and Paris were studying on the living room floor later that night. I tried to block out their voices as I read but it was getting annoying because I was hungry.
"So, given that those are the reactions occurring in the two half-cells, what do you do next?" Rory quizzed Paris.
"Well, if we add them together, doubling the coefficients of the silver half equation but not the voltage, we get the equation for the complete reaction." Paris answered her correctly and I rolled my eyes at that as I closed my magazine.
"Well, you're in much better shape than you wanna think you are." Rory assured her as I sat up from my sprawled position on the couch.
"Impossible." Paris muttered just as the doorbell rang. Rory sighed loudly and got up off the floor to go answer the door. "Where are you going?"
"That's our food." I explained to her as I stood up and stretched out my body. Paris glanced at me, annoyed and then turned back to Rory's retreating back.
"Another half hour, please!"
"No, you got your hour. You need to go." Rory told her without turning around to face her.
"But – "
"Go!" Rory and I both said sternly at the same time.
"Fine." Paris grumbled as she started collecting to books from the floor. I followed Rory to the door as she opened it to reveal Jess standing on the other side. I smiled at my friend as he smirked at the shock on my twins face.
"Delivery." Jess said as he held up the box in his hands and I grinned wider.
"Ooh! Food." I exclaimed happily as I clapped my hands together.
"What are you doing here?" Rory demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
"Well, Luke figured since you're alone tonight that maybe you wouldn't have any food in the house, so he sent over a care package." Jess explained to her and I smirked at him because I knew that real reason he was here. I had noticed the last time I was visiting that Rory and Jess shared a chemistry that was missing from Rory and Dean.
"We don't need a care package. We ordered food from Sandeep's."
"Really? Planning on burning down the house afterwards? The only way to kill the smell. Where should I put this?" he asked as he pushed passed her into the house. I stepped back to let him through and gestured towards the kitchen. "Kitchen?"
"Sure." I answered him with a shrug and he smirked at me before he headed for the kitchen with me and Rory following after him.
"God, how much food is in there? This could feed twelve." Rory exclaimed as she looked in the box that Jess sat on the table.
"Excuse me, I've seen you two eat." Jess reminded her and I giggled as I sat down at the table.
"Fine, six."
"Yeah, well, he wanted you taken care of. He wasn't sure how long your mom was gonna be gone for." Jess answered her and I narrowed my eyes at him because I knew for a fact that he was lying to her.
"Just tonight."
"Oh, he didn't know that."
"Well, now you can tell him."
"I will."
"So how come Caesar didn't bring this over?" I asked him innocently as I leaned my chin in one of my hands.
"I volunteered." Jess answered me tightly as he glared at me.
"Why?" Rory asked in naïve confusion and I smirked at Jess.
"Yeah, Jess, why?" I repeated the question.
"Just wanted to get out of the construction zone. There's nothing but banging and yelling. That place gives me a headache." He answered us both with a shrug and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Oh." Rory said and I swore I heard disappointment laced in her voice.
"Why – did you think I wanted to come over here and see you?" Jess asked her pointedly and Rory shifted uncomfortably as she glared at him. I leaned back in my seat with my arms crossed over my chest and watched the tension filled exchange between them.
"No."
"Just needed some quiet."
"Fine."
"That is all."
"Got it."
"Clear my head."
"I understand."
"So, aren't you gonna eat?"
"Eventually."
"It gets cold fast."
"I can heat it up." Rory pointed out to him and I grimaced at the thought.
"Reheated French fries really suck." I reminded her as I reached into the box and pulled out some fries.
"Hmm, they do suck." Rory agreed with me.
"Yeah, so, eat." Jess said to her as he pointed to the box.
"Okay, I will. You're still standing there."
"I know. You didn't give me a tip."
"You want money?"
"No, I'll take a fry though." Jess said to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, yeah, have as much as you want." Rory told him as I ate another fry.
"Okay, great." He replied to her as he took off his jacket and I raised an eyebrow at him.
"What are you doing?" Rory asked him and I could hear the panic in her voice.
"Getting ready to eat." He said to her in a 'duh' tone as he sat down on the chair next to me at the table.
"You're staying?"
"Didn't you just invite me?"
"No, I -."
"No, you told me to have all I wanted. That sounded invitation-like."
"That did pretty invitation-like, Rory." I said to her with shrug as she glared at me for being on his side of the argument.
"You wanna stay here and eat?" Rory asked him incredulously.
"Beats being at Luke's." he answered her as he pulled out some fries from the box on the table.
"Company's better." I added as I winked at Jess and he smirked back at me.
"But –" Rory started to protest just as Paris walked into the kitchen from the living room.
"I can't find my flashcards." Paris said to Rory as she came into the room.
"I didn't know you had company." Jess said as he gave Paris an onceover.
"This is Paris. We were just studying." Rory explained to him as she gestured to Paris with one hand.
"Huh."
"Don't worry, I was just leaving. If you find my flashcards, call me, okay?" Paris said to Rory with a small smile on her lips.
"No." Rory rushed to say to her and I shared a glance of understanding with Jess.
"What?"
"Stay for dinner."
"But I thought. . ."
"We have a ton of food, and we can go over the notes more later."
"You're sure?"
"Positive."
"Is that mac and cheese?"
"It sure is."
"I love mac and cheese."
"Great."
"I'm not allowed to have mac and cheese."
"Splurge. Come on Paris, stay."
"Do you have a twenty-four hour pharmacy just in case I have an allergic reaction to something?" Paris asked Rory seriously and I rolled my eyes at her.
"Believe it or not, we do." Rory assured her.
"Okay, can I borrow your phone?"
"It's by the door." my twin told her and Paris smiled at her before leaving the kitchen to find the phone near the door.
"Interesting." I stated calmly as I took in the scene that had just unfolded in front of me.
"What is?" Rory asked me nervously.
"You think we need a chaperone?" Jess asked her with a smirk on his lips.
"No, I don't."
"You just invited one." I pointed out to her as I nodded my head towards where Paris had exited. "I actually find it quite insulting that I'm not enough of a chaperone for you?"
"I'm just being polite. Paris is alone tonight and you yourself just said we have enough food for four."
"With me around, it's down to two." Jess pointed out to her.
"With Paris around, it evens out perfectly."
"Works out well." I said with a shrug as I tried to force my laughter at the situation down so that I didn't laugh out loud.
"I think so." Rory agreed with me and I shook my head in amusement.
Rory, Paris, Jess and I were all sitting around the kitchen table eating the food that Jess had brought with him.
"A tragic waste of paper." Paris declared and we all stared at her opened mouthed.
"I can't believe you just said that." Jess said vehemently as he shook his head. I nodded in agreement with Jess as I took a bite of my mac and cheese.
"Well, it's true. The Beat's writing was completely self-indulgent. I have one word for Jack Kerouac – edit."
"It was not self-indulgent. The Beats believed in shocking people, stirring things up." I told her pointedly as I smiled in genuine pleasure at the lively debate.
"They believed in drugs, booze, and petty crime."
"Add sex, shopping and coffee and you have my six favourite things." I joked lightly with a smirk and Rory and Jess laughed while Paris quirked her lips at me.
"Well, then you can say that they exposed you to a world you wouldn't have otherwise known. Isn't that what great writing's all about?" Rory added to my argument.
"That was not great writing. That was the National Enquirer of the fifties." Paris disagreed with us and I shook my head at her as I chuckled lightly at her point of view.
"You're cracked." Jess told her.
"Typical guy response. Worship Kerouac and Bukowski, God forbid you'd pick up anything by Jane Austen."
"Hey, I've read Jane Austen." He protested in offence.
"You have?" Paris asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"I made him read Pride and Prejudice and Emma." I admitted to her and she smiled at me as I patted Jess on the back.
"Yeah, and I think she would've liked Bukowski." Jess said to Paris as he pointed a fry at her. I picked up a fry from Jess's plate and dipped it into the dip on the table.
"What are you doing?" Paris asked me curiously as she watched me.
"Salt and pepper dip. Only way to eat a fry." Jess told her as if it was obvious before he popped a fry into his mouth as well.
"Really?"
"It's fast food gospel." Rory and I explained at the same time as we both ate a fry. Paris raised an eyebrow at us before smiling and picking up a fry to dip in the sauce. She ate it and her eyes widened in wonder.
"Mm. That's good. That's really, really good." She said to us in awe just as the phone rang.
"You like hot sauce?" Jess asked her as Rory stood up to answer the phone.
"I don't know. Should I?"
"I think it's wise." I told her as I handed her the container of hot sauce. I watched Rory pick up the phone and I watched her curiously as Paris and Jess continued to talk about literature.
"Hello? Oh, hey. Where are you? Oh, well - We just said hi. But, I'm a mess, really. It's not pretty. You won't recognize me. I miss you too, but – But. . .Paris is here. She freaked out about a grade and she wanted to go over some notes, and you know Paris – she will not be denied. Yes, but – "I heard Rory's half of the conversation and frowned because I knew that she was talking to Dean. Rory had told me that Dean didn't like her being friends with Jess. I shook my head as thought about the tangled mess my sister was weaving with the two boys in her life. I turned back to the conversation going on between Jess and Paris as Rory hung up the phone.
"I can't get into poetry. It's kind of like, geez, just say it already, we're dying here." Jess said to Paris and I smirked at his view of poetry then though I loved it.
"Wow, you know, I just noticed the time, and it's getting really late." Rory said as she came back over to the table.
"It's seven o'clock." I told her pointedly because I didn't want her to just get out of the mess she had made too easily.
"I know, but Paris and I still have a lot more studying to do. Jess, please thank Luke for me. It was really nice of him."
"Who was on the phone?" Jess asked her knowingly and I shot him a look that told him he was right in his assumption that it was Dean on the phone.
"No one." She replied hastily and I raised an eyebrow at the obvious lie.
"No one wouldn't happen to be heading over here now, would he?"
"Jess."
"What's going on?" Paris asked us in confusion.
"Nothing."
"Dean's on his way over and Rory doesn't want him to find Jess here." I explained to her casually and Rory shot me a glare.
"Why?" Paris asked Rory.
"Yeah, why?" Jess and I both asked at the same time and then smirked at each other.
"You know why." Rory said to both of us in an exasperated tone.
"We're just eating dinner." Jess said to her and I nodded in agreement. I really didn't like how much control Dean was having over my sister. I felt that she could be friends with whoever she wanted without her boyfriend's permission.
"Jess, I'm asking you as a friend, just please leave now."
"You really want me to go?"
"I really wanna avoid a fight with Dean." Rory said to him.
"Okay, I'm going." Jess said as he stood up from his seat at the table. I stood up from my seat next to him so that I could say goodbye.
"Thank you." My twin said in relief but then Jess pretended to trip on a chair leg and I giggled at him.
"Ow!" he cried out as he clutched his ankle.
"What?"
"Ooh! I just twisted my ankle." He joked as he hopped on one foot and I rushed around to his side.
"You better go lie down." I said as I played along with him and started leading him to Rory's bedroom right off the kitchen.
"Jess! Christa!" Rory exclaimed impatiently and we both came back into the kitchen with smiles on our faces.
"God, you're no fun when you're tense." I pointed out with a pout as I crossed my arms over my chest as I walked towards the front door with Jess and Rory.
"Are you sure you want me to go? 'Cause maybe this whole thing can be solved between me and Dean if we just sat down and had a little heart to heart. He can tell me his issues, I'll tell him mine." Jess suggested to her with a cocky grin and I chuckled lightly at him.
"Jess!" Rory exclaimed again as she pushed him towards the front door.
"I promise I'll speak slowly." He said to her and I laughed at him as I opened the front door.
"Bye!" Rory and I both said at the same time as Rory pushed him out the front door and onto the porch.
"Okay, well, give him my best, would ya?" he said to Rory before turning around and seeing Dean standing on the front lawn with a plastic bag in his hand. I cringed at the awkwardness of the moment and pushed Jess down the stairs because I really didn't want this to hurt my sister. "Actually, I guess I could do that myself."
"Dean, Jess just came by to bring me some food." Rory hurried to explain to her boyfriend as he just glowered at Jess.
"From Luke's." I filled in to the conversation.
"He wanted to make sure I ate."
"Luke did." Jess added.
"Right, Luke did." Rory and I both said.
"Personally, I could care less if she eats."
"Yeah, true, he could care less." Jess said with a shrug.
"Hey! I thought we were friends?" I said to him in mock hurt and he just smirked back at me as I smiled at him.
"I see you brought a little something, too. Is that ice cream? That's so nice. A tiny little ice cream package just big enough for two. Hey, are you guys gonna feed each other 'cause that's just so darn cute. Oops. You're doing that towering over me thing. Huh. I tell you, you've really got that down. It helps that you're twelve feet tall, but this Frankenstein scowl really adds to the whole – "Jess said to Dean as to Dean as he walked towards him on the grass and I had to hold back a laugh because I didn't think that would help the situation.
"Jess." I said warningly but I couldn't help the humour that leaked into my voice.
"Okay, I'm going. Look, man, I really was just dropping off some food, so don't get all West Side Story on me, okay? I'll see ya later, Christa." Jess said to me before he walked down the driveway and headed back to Luke's.
"So, do you wanna. . . "Rory said to Dean but he just walked right by her and into the house which I found quite rude. ". . . come in?" she finished to the air and we both hurried inside to the kitchen where Dean was now and Paris was sitting at the table with a confused frown on her lips.
"What the hell is going on?" dean demanded as Rory and I entered the kitchen. I went to sit down in the seat I had been in during dinner while my twin opted to stay standing.
"Hi." Paris said meekly from her spot at the table and I could tell that she was confused by what was happening.
"Dean, you remember Paris, right?" Rory asked as she gestured towards Paris, who waved slightly.
"Yeah, hi. So Jess just dropped this off, huh?" dean asked Rory and I frowned at the tone of his voice directed at my sister.
"Oh, well. . ."
"Now I know you eat fast, but this is a lot of food to put away that quickly, even on your best day."
"Okay, so he didn't just drop it off but - ."
"You told me you were doing laundry tonight."
"I was."
"And now you are here with Jess."
"And Christ and Paris!"
"Jess, Rory!"
"Ah, well, I swear, I didn't –" Rory started to defend herself.
"You didn't what? You didn't know he was coming over?" dean interrupted her.
"I didn't."
"And you also didn't know he was gonna stay, right?"
"It just happened."
"How does that just happen?"
"Well, he was. . .and the diner, the diner was. . .and I. . ." Rory rambled for the right wording and frowned in sympathy.
"And you what? What? Say something!"
"Stop yelling!" she shouted at him.
"You totally lied to me!"
"I didn't!"
"Turn the situation around, Rory! How's it looking?"
"It's looking complicated and she's trying to explain it to you." I said in my sister's defence as I stood up to go and stand next to her.
"Ugh, that's crap." He said to both of us and I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.
"It's my fault." Paris declared loudly and the three of us turned to look at her. She stood up from the table and moved around it so that she stood next to Rory and me in silent reinforcement.
"What?" Dean asked her dumbfounded.
"It's my fault that Jess was here. I saw him in the diner the day I came to Stars Hollow and I thought he was cute and since I'm not great at the whole 'batting the eyelashes, look at my belly shirt' kind of thing, I asked Rory and Christa to help me. I thought if they could maybe get him over here, we'd have a chance to talk and. . .I don't know, it seems totally stupid now and it obviously didn't work – shock, but that's why he was here. Thanks for trying to cover for me." she said tome and Rory and I smiled at her gratefully while Rory looked shocked for a second.
"That's okay." I told her since Rory seemed to be having trouble speaking.
"Anyway, I should get going. I'm probably gonna break out in some sort of rash any second now." Paris said to us before leaving the kitchen to get her things.
"So Paris likes Jess?" Dean asked Rory and I frowned at dean before I decided to follow Paris into the living room.
"What was that?" I asked Paris softly as I walked into the living room and saw her cleaning up her study material.
"What?" she asked me as I sunk down on the couch.
"That, the story, the save? You helped Rory. Why would you do that?" I asked her curiously as I stretched my arms over my head.
"I don't know, it just came out." She admitted with a shrug and I smiled at her.
"You have no idea what you did."
"It was no big deal."
"No, it was a very big deal. It was a huge deal." I told her and she looked over at me.
"Well, Rory helped me tonight when she didn't want to, so I owed her."
"Thank you. I know Rory doesn't deal well with conflict." I said to her with a chuckle and she smiled back at me lightly.
"You're welcome. Okay, well, I'll let you get back to your and Rory's alone night." Paris said as she stood up from the floor with her bag.
"You should stay." I said to her randomly.
"Stay?" she repeated back to me dumbfounded with the notion.
"Yeah. We could hang out, maybe watch some TV. You can even spend the night if you don't wanna drive all the way back to Hartford."
"Spend the night, like a slumber party?"
"Sort of." I admitted with a shrug of my shoulders.
"You're just doing this because I lied to Dean for you and Rory, right?"
"I'm doing this because it's what you do with friends." I corrected her pointedly with a smirk.
"We're friends?" Paris asked me, astonished.
"I'm not sure if there is an exact definition for what we are, but I do think it falls somewhere in the bizarro friends-ish realm. Come on, stay." I urged her with a smile.
"Okay. But if you're doing all this so you can freeze my bra, I'll kill you."
"Duly noted." I said in mock seriousness before breaking out in a grin and standing up from the couch. "I'm going to get the ice-cream!"
Rory, mom and I were sitting at the table at Luke's the next morning for breakfast discussing what mom and Emily got up to at the spa that weekend.
"You actually got Grandma to steal a bathrobe?" I asked her in awe as I sipped me coffee and mom nodded her head at me enthusiastically.
"Although I did catch her trying to return it while I was getting the car." Mom relented with a shrug.
"Still." Rory said to her in the same impressed tone that I had used.
"I know, life with my mother, one step forward, five thousand steps back. It's kinda like the spastic polka."
"Excuse me, are you done?" Kirk asked us as he came up to the table's edge.
"No, uh, sorry, not yet." I told him politely.
"So, you're gonna eat that half a piece of bacon that's been sitting there for ten minutes?" he asked me and I frowned up at him.
"I can't eat with people watching me like a zoo animal." I told him pointedly as I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Kirk." Mom said to him warningly.
"I mean, of course, you must be if you're saying you're not done because that's the only thing left in front on you, unless you eat plates." Kirk continued to say to us and mom and I shared an amused look.
"Go away." We said in unison.
"You are hogging the table."
"You keep it up, I'm ordering seconds." Mom threatened him with a smirk on her lips.
"Fine." He grumbled and then walked away from us.
"So, Paris looked a little green this morning." Mom commented to us as she turned back.
"Yeah, she had a sugar/carb hangover of monumental proportions." I informed her as I sipped the rest of my coffee.
"People don't realize it, but it takes years of training to be able to eat the way we do."
"Don't I know it." Rory said in understanding as I smirked in agreement.
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" mom asked us.
"I have to head back to Boston after breakfast. I'm meant to be going on a date tonight." I told them happily.
"Let's see. Dean, Dean, and uh. . .oh, did I mention Dean?" Rory said to us sarcastically.
"Wow, he must've been crazy mad last night." mom said in sympathy.
"I'd say that was a fair assessment." I acknowledged with a deep nod.
"Okay, I gotta get to the inn." Mom said to us and I smiled at her as she pulled me into a hug. "Drive safe, baby."
"I will, mom. Love you."
"Love you, too." She said as she kissed my cheek before standing up.
"Okay. Well, I'm probably gonna have dinner with Dean, so. . ." Rory said to our mother as she stood up as well.
"I'll have the house to myself tonight. Life's funny, isn't it?" mom quipped as I stood up as well.
"I simply cannot stop laughing." Rory said to her. "I'll get the check."
"Thanks, twin." I told them as I chuckled.
"Thanks hon." Mom added and then we both walked out of the diner as Rory approached the counter.
"Bye, mommy." I said in a childlike voice as I frowned at her. Mom laughed at me and pulled me into another tight hug.
"Bye, offspring." She whispered in my ear and I giggled at her before pulling away with grin. I kissed her cheek and made my way over to my car. I turned around and waved at my mother one more time before climbing in the driver seat and saw Rory and Jess conversing at the counter in the diner. I smirked to myself as I thought about the underlining sexual tension between my twin sister and my friend. It was only a matter of time before they stop fighting it.
