A/N: Once again, I have updated. To all my reviewers, you are the best. Seriously, you make me want to keep on writing. I worked really hard on this chapter and I hope that it's to your liking.
Remember to leave me a review!
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The cold winter air hit Rory in the face on a fresh Friday morning, as she got on to the same old bus, her foot tapped in anticipation to get out of there. She had never liked riding the bus to Chilton, but her mother was far too busy with her job (and now with her new boyfriend) to be able to even drive her out of Stars Hollow. She sighed, and unzipped her backpack. There lay all the books she would use for the day, and just by seeing that made her want to get the day over with, so, she could focus on the weekend.
Like the date with Jess.
Her date with Jess.
It was amazing what a little arm-twisting could do. Everything fell into place when she had called him in the beginning of the week, he seemed upset about something and she thought that maybe this would cheer him up. He agreed to meet her in this little coffee place about an hour out of Connecticut.
She closed the book she was reading, the smell of bus giving her a headache. But, it didn't matter, because the bus screeched to a stop in front of Chilton a few minutes later.
As she approached her locker, she could see that Paris was already waiting there for her with a cup of coffee in her hand.
"To-go-cup?" Paris asked, strangely pleasant.
Rory eyed the cup, sensing something weird. "If this is any kind of bribe, I'll hurt you."
She handed her the cup. "Well, aren't we just in a bad mood this morning?"
"Well, let's just put it this way…I'm not going to be opening for The Happiest Donut any time soon."
"What?"
She sighed, putting in her number-code for the locker. "It's a town thing."
Paris smiled. "Ah, the town things. That's what I need tomorrow. A town thing. Your freakishly small town is a good place to start. You know, a night out on the town. Invite me."
Rory turned to Paris, shaking her head. "No can do, Paris. I have a date."
"What happened to Jordan?"
"Well, if you must be clueless…we broke up."
"I knew that. But, why aren't you swimming in a large sea of grief?"
She furrowed a brow, "I don't swim in grief. I get right back up. Anyways, the point is that I can't take you out for a 'night on the town' because I have plans." She turned back to her locker. "I'm not about to change them."
Paris looked at her impatiently. "There must be something going on in that town of yours. A carnival, perhaps?"
"No." She paused, "A Dance Marathon."
"That's perfect." Paris exclaimed, looking very excited. "We'll go to the marathon. Blow off the lame excuse for a date and come with me."
"Paris, it's my town…and there's a reason I don't go to these things."
"And…?"
"And their tiring, and the same people always win every year."
Paris shook her head. "We could win."
"I have a date."
She seemed to ponder this for a moment and then just jumped right back into the argument. "Bring him, he'll be your partner…and I'll bring someone too. Double date, but like a marathon."
Rory seemed confused. "How did you think of that so soon?"
"Well--," She looked guilty.
"Paris, the whole idea for a night on the town was for me to come with you on your date, wasn't it?" Rory crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't do that."
"Please. I'm not good at the whole dating thing. You'll be lamer than me, and he won't be able to point and laugh."
"Paris…" She groaned. "I really don--,"
"Just be there. E-mail me the directions and we can go. It's not like you're not young, there will be time for you to go on a date for your own."
With that being said, she walked off, not letting Rory argue the point.
She looked at her feet; this was officially the worst Friday she could have that week.
-0-
Rory stumbled into her house that afternoon, and what caught her attention was not the messy living room, but a beeping answering machine. What crossed her mind instantly was Jess. Maybe he called? She was being hopeful. She pressed the button to hear the message.
Rory, It's me, I'm staying at Luke's tonight…so, don't let—
She cut her mother's message off by erasing it. She didn't really care about anything that was going on in her mother's life. The truth was, that they had a fight the day before…it really wasn't a surprise. They were always fighting.
Rory dropped her bag on the floor, sighing. She walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge to see if there was anything to eat in the house. There was nothing but milk. She picked up the carton and took a swig of it.
She stared at the phone that was on the kitchen table. She had to call him sometime so she could break the news that he was supposed to go to a Dance Marathon.
"Hello?" Jess' voice sounded much more annoyed that day.
Rory started to pace, nervous. "Jess. It's me…Rory."
His voice sounded a little bit happier, which took her a little by surprise. "Thank god. A sane person."
"Well, I wouldn't go that far." She joked.
"Um, so, what are you doing?"
He sounded like he was paying attention to something else rather than the conversation. Maybe that was to her benefit.
"Oh, nothing. But, I have bad news."
"Bad news, huh? Pretty popular these days." Jess snapped on the other line, and ran a hand through his hair. "Go ahead."
Rory cleared her throat. "Well, I have to change the events of tomorrow's date."
"Date?"
She felt her stomach jump, how could he not remember? "Me and you. We planned a date, but if you don't remember…we could just cancel. Um, you sound preoccupied." The truth was, she didn't even want to think of canceling.
"No, no. I remember." He sighed, "So, what change?"
"Well, you know Paris, right?" She didn't give him a chance to answer. "She's kind of dragging us to a double date…at a Dance Marathon. And I know that it's the last thing you want to be doing…I'm really sorry."
"That's okay."
Rory raised an eyebrow. This was not normal behavior; Jess would have made a sarcastic comment, and then challenged her with witty banter. He sounded weird. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He paused, "Look, I have to go. But, where should I pick you up?"
She stood up straighter, happy that he agreed. "Well, when you get into Stars Hollow, there's a huge town square. I'll be waiting in the gazebo."
"Okay. Bye."
-0-
Rory could barely sleep all night. The Dance Marathon had her so excited, not the actual dancing part but the whole Jess thing. She knew it was girly to be so excited, or maybe it was because this was the first time she had actually really wanted to go on a date with a person.
In the morning, her alarm clock rang and she was awake on the first ring. Her mind was immediately set to getting ready. Maybe because it was four in the morning, she was a little slow, but her excitement conquered her tiredness.
She finished setting the last bobby pins in her hair, and then twirled around in front of the mirror.
Rory nodded, satisfied that she looked good enough. Sure, she had to wash her face with cold water a few times so she could look the best and not too sleepy like she would have. But, as she walked to the Gazebo, everything was going great in her eyes.
A few people were lurking around the Gazebo when she got there, but they left quickly after. She sat down on the bench and looked down at the bench. She hugged her coat closer, the cold windy air of the morning hitting her legs.
"Hey. Is there a Dance Marathon going on somewhere in this freakishly small town?"
Rory looked up to see Jess smirking, with a large cup of coffee in his hands. She smiled, "I think I could tell you if you gave me that coffee in your hands." When she reached out to get the coffee, he pulled away.
"Hm. I believe this is my coffee."
Her eyes widened, "You are not that evil."
Jess rolled his eyes and handed her the coffee. "Okay, I'm not. But, you'll still pay for getting me up at this deadly time of day. Do you know that I had to drive for three hours just to go on a measly date with you?"
"I must be something, huh?"
"You must be."
Rory smiled at his compliment, and stood up, taking a sip of the coffee in her hands in the process. "Shall we dance?"
"Did you take that right out of a chick flick?"
"Hey, I can be cliché if I want to."
"Sure."
They walked towards Stars Hollow High, looking at all the lights that they had set up so people could take a hint that it's there. But, Rory noticed on the way, that Jess was not showing any kind of affection. Not even a nice holding hands session, he didn't even put his arm around her. She didn't know why that bothered her, maybe it was just the mood.
When they entered the gym, everyone was gathered around the bleachers. The town selectman, Taylor, was up on a podium next to the town gossip queen, Ms. Patty. They looked to be arguing about something or other, as he was clutching his megaphone.
"So, this is your town?"
"Yeah. It's basically just a bunch of people that should be committed all together." Rory looked around at her fellow town-folks. "But I love it."
Jess nodded, "It looks exactly like the town that would keep Rory Gilmore on her toes."
She chuckled at the comment, and took him by the arm.
"All dancers on the dance floor, we're about to start the competition."
There was a mad dash for the dance floor as the couples arranged themselves to begin dancing. Rory helped Jess with his number, pinning it onto the back of his shirt. She smiled proudly, and took his hand.
"Put this hand on my waist." She let go of his hand, and he immediately set it on her waist. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and they intertwined their fingers on the hands that they weren't using.
Jess used the hand that he had on her waist to pull her closer. "Maybe this whole dancing thing won't be that bad." Rory blushed, but looked up and smiled.
Before they could talk any longer, loud jazz music started to play. Their eyes roamed to the band that was responsible for the music, but before they could put any attention to this, Taylor announced that it was time to start dancing.
Rory and Jess started moving, she could tell that he wasn't exactly keen on dancing, but he was alright.
"I wonder where Paris is…" Rory mused, looking around.
Jess pointed to the entrance of the gym. "Over there?"
He was not lying, Paris came running over to them as soon as she caught their eye. A good-looking guy came after her, holding both of their coats. He dropped them on a bleacher, and walked towards them, holding Paris' hand.
"Hi," Paris smiled at Rory, and then cast a look at Jess. "Are you the over-mused-hair-freak that came with us on Spring Break?"
Jess raised an eyebrow. "I think you could come up with a better nickname."
"This is the jerk that had you all starry-eyed?"
Rory blushed, she couldn't help herself.
"Starry-eyed, huh?" Jess looked over to Rory, smirking.
"No." She denied, shooting a death glare at Paris. "So, your late."
"It doesn't matter, it's not like anyone noticed."
The guy who was holding her hand, stepped forward. "Hi. I'm Jaime." He shot out his hand, looking at Jess. Jess shook his head, but shook his hand. But Rory had some kind of conspiracy that it was sarcastically.
"Jess."
They kept moving as Paris and Jaime situated themselves next to them.
"And how long do we have to keep this up?" Jess moaned, holding on to her tightly. "Because I'm not exactly having fun here."
"Aww…your not? Because I was sure that you were just clicking your heels for joy."
"The whole sarcasm thing does not go great with you."
"Oh, and with you it does?"
"Of course." He smirked, and leaned into her. "The sarcasm just makes you want to get a hold of me and ravish me right here in front of everyone."
Rory rolled her eyes, "Your just full of yourself today, aren't you?"
The morning went on, and there was only a few minutes until the break, and Rory couldn't help but beam at the success of the evening. They had only been dancing for six hours, and it didn't feel like so long.
The horn blew, and Taylor's voice filled the gym. "Ten minute break, everyone! Ten minute break!"
Everyone stopped dancing immediately, and Rory sighed. "Well, that could have been worse."
"What do you mean?" Jaime asked, walking towards them slowly. "I thought it was pretty fun...me and Paris had a blast." (A/N: Please don't kill me. I really DO NOT know how to write Jaime.)
Paris looked down, rolling her eyes. "You kept stepping on my feet." She mumbled.
Rory looked at the quarreling couple nervously. "No. I meant that for the last few years, these dance marathons used to be none stop. But, now they've made the right decision to give us a couple of minutes of rest in between the whole dancing part."
"Well, if that's what you meant then we'll get along just fine." Paris exclaimed sarcastically, storming off.
"Paris! Wait!" Jaime called after her.
Jess turned to Rory. "Well, that was…dysfunctional."
"Hey, it's Paris." She smirked.
Rory felt something buzzing at her side, and she looked at Jess' pant pocket.
Jess' cell phone vibrated in his pocket, he sighed, taking it out. "I don't really believe in cell phones…but, it's the easiest way to get around to people."
Rory nodded, "It's fine. Actually, it'll make it easier when I want to get in touch with you." It continued to vibrate and Rory smiled. "Take it, it's fine."
He glanced over at the caller ID and sighed. "Hello?"
Jess didn't say who it was, only walked off. Which made her wonder why he was being so secretive. She shrugged it off and wondered along the hallways of the High School. She hadn't been there before, and it was really different from what she knew in Chilton. For her, it looked much more welcoming, or maybe homey.
She noticed that the walls were covered in the student's writings, and pictures. In Chilton that would be unacceptable. And for a second it made her wish that she could have been in those welcoming halls in freshman year, it had been so scary for her to face all of those Chilton kids when she was nothing like them. Or maybe she was now. It was scary for her to even think that she was anything like those competitive monsters that she went to school with every single day.
Rory jumped when she felt someone sneak up behind her.
"It was Liz…she's been calling a lot." Jess explained, looking at Rory sincerely.
"Oh. Well, that must be nice." Rory commented, not sure to herself if it was. She wouldn't want her mother to be calling her every five minutes. "You scared me."
He sighed, "Yeah, well, you're out here in the dark hallway. That can happen."
Rory flinched. "Um, so, what did your mom want?"
"Nothing. It's her crap…I don't want to deal with it."
"But don't you think that it's good that she's coming to you?"
Jess looked down. "Actually, I would rather not know anything about her life…you know what, maybe it would be better if I wasn't their son. I think that whomever was stuck with the task of being in the same house as them for so long, was bound to end up screwed up."
"You're not screwed up."
"Whatever." He stated, looking around the hallway. "We should get out of here, people will think we're going to go and steal something."
"Yeah. Let's go."
-0-
It was hour 13 and Rory was exhausted. It was usually her bedtime, and she really didn't want to even have to stay up. But, Jess was being good about holding her up. But, he didn't talk much, which kind of bothered her in a way. What had put him in a bad mood?
"So, your less talkative than some." Rory sighed, dropping her head on his shoulder.
"It's not like your just chatting away here…"
"Okay, okay. Don't snap at me." She held up her hands in surrender. "Now, I know that this isn't exactly a memorable first date, and it's been kind of boring so far…but, I'm having a good time. Are you, because you don't seem like it."
Jess peered at the people around them, avoiding her eyes. "I'm clicking my heels for joy."
"You're being sarcastic."
"I'm always sarcastic."
She sighed, and let go of his hand. "Yes, but your not this way. I don't know. Just—I mean, you would tell me if something was going on?"
He looked in her eyes for the first time in a while. "Nothing is going on."
Rory nodded, deciding to believe him. "Alright."
She looked over his shoulder to see that Paris was storming towards her. "Do you know that this is the most boring stupid town function that I've been to in a long time."
"You've never been to a town function." Rory pointed out.
Paris sighed, "The date is a dud."
She rolled her eyes, "Jaime seemed nice."
"Yes, he's nice and smart…and completely good looking. But, why?"
Rory narrowed her eyes at Paris, as if she was crazy. "Why what, Paris? Are you creating a problem just to make our lives more of a soap than it already is? 'Cause it really doesn't need your help."
"Why does he like me?"
She looked over at Jess and threw him a look as if for him to let go of her so she could talk to Paris. He did so, and took out a yellow card. "I'll use this to get us some coffee, while you guys…talk."
Rory nodded, and kept on moving to the music. "Paris, you can't be serious. Your nice and pretty, he probably doesn't want the blonde airheads that he would get anywhere else. Sure, you can be a little bit hysterical, but it's part of your charm."
"But what if it's just all one big joke?"
"Have you ever considered the fact that he might just like you?"
Paris shook her head. "Guys only like you, they don't even take a second glance at me. You're always the brunette with the blue eyes, and the looks that the guys go crazy for. I'm not a real comparison to you."
"Paris, I don't think it was ever about comparing or competing." Rory have her a genuine smile. "I think that you should embrace these moments. There aren't much guys like Jaime left, you know. You have to hold on to the good ones."
"Is that what your doing with Jess?" She raised an eyebrow.
Rory looked down. "Yeah, at least I think so. I just wish that he would do the same with me."
"Well, I have to get back to my date, and apologize for being such a maniac. Thanks for the whole support…" Paris stood there awkwardly. "Do we have to do the whole weepy, hug and then tell each other that we're best friends forever? Because I skipped that part of the Sisterhood."
Rory patted her on the back. "Go before he gets scared off."
She did as she was told without question and scattered off to find her date.
"So, how's that situation going?"
Rory smiled at Jess, and took the coffee that he was holding out of his hands. "Not great, but it's going to be fine. How was your coffee hunt?"
"It turns out that I had to go all the way across the street just to get to Luke's Diner for a cup of coffee."
"Ah, your Uncle Luke."
Jess nodded. "Yup. We had a bit of an awkward moment."
"At least you get something…the last time I saw a relative that didn't include my parents was two years ago at Christmas when we went to visit my Grandmother for her yearly party."
"I would have thought that you had some interaction with your outside family."
"I don't even have a lot of interaction with my inside family." Rory scoffed. "I guess I'm the only sane one of the bunch." She sighed, "Anyways, let's not depress ourselves more than we have to tonight…now, come dance with me."
Jess gave a polite nod and took her hand. They positioned themselves comfortably on then dance floor as a slow song came on. Rory felt her insides flutter, although she had to admit it was a little cliché.
They swayed to the music while she leaned close so she could smell the Jess-smell.
"So, do I get points for this part or are you going to hold a grudge for waking you up so early?" Rory laughed, looking at the pained look on his face. "You can't say that this is not nice."
He nodded. "It's nice."
She positioned herself so her hands were around his neck. If possible, they were closer than they were before. Rory leaned in and looked straight into his eyes. "I think that it was worth it."
"What?" He cleared his throat.
"All the stuff that we had to go through to get to this point."
Jess leaned in and put his lips near her ear. "The best is yet to come."
"It amazes me that you can go from sarcastic-cocky-Jess to the Jess I have grown to love." Rory stopped as she realized what she had just said. "Like. I meant like. Uh, I messed it up."
He shook his head, chuckling. "It's what I love best about you."
Rory blushed, looking down. "Don't mock."
Buzz.
They looked down at his pocket again, and Rory could hear him groaning. He picked it up out of his pocket and then shut it off. "Sorry." He mumbled into her hair.
"Why'd you end the call?'
"I knew who it was, and who it was going to be for the next few hours."
Rory swallowed hard, and pulled away slightly. "Your mother?"
"Just leave her out of this moment, I'm sorry she disrupted the whole dancing. But, I really can't do anything about that. Do you want to continue bickering or continue the moment?"
She looked down. "The moment's gone, Jess. And it's not because of the cell phone or the call, it's because you won't tell me what the calls are about."
"Nothing."
"They're not nothing, Jess!"
Jess looked around, people were staring. "Why are you pushing this? Do you have to make this something completely horrible for me?"
"How is this supposed to work?"
"What, Rory? We can't even get through one measly date without ending up yelling at each other." Jess spat. "The fact is that's none of your business, and I don't want to talk about it. So, can you just leave me alone?"
Rory opened her mouth as if to say something, but everything that ran through her head just made her feel like crying even more. She started breathing hard, and tried wiping the traces of sadness away. Jess looked at her accusingly before storming off into the night. She bit her lip and looked over to the people on the bleachers. Paris was sitting there with Jaime by her side.
"Rory,"
"Paris, not now."
She ran a hand through her bobby pinned hair and slumped out into the High School hallways. She had just been there hours ago, but it seemed much darker now. She slid down the wall, and sat leaning against a bunch of lockers. She placed her head in her hands and closed her eyes.
Rory felt like an hour had gone on and she was still sitting there. What was wrong with her? Jess looked so pained in there, okay, so maybe he didn't want her help, but what was going on?
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and stood up shakily. Her arms hung low as she walked out of the High School. The first date was officially over for her. After she found Jess, she could go home and forget about it.
"Rory, are you alright?"
She heard Jaime run after her, when she had just stepped down the sidewalk. "Hi Jaime."
He sighed. "You've been crying."
"I don't like to think of myself as the kind that sits there and cries over a boy," Rory sniffled. "I must look really stupid in your eyes."
"I don't think so. But, I also don't think that he meant what he said in there."
She looked up at the sky above her. "Great. Another person that saw my most embarrassing moment."
Jaime looked at her hopelessly. She could tell that he was trying really hard, it must be a disappointment to get a case like this. "Paris wanted to make sure you were okay. And so did I. You seem like a nice girl."
"Well, nice girls are always the ones to get hurt, right Jaime?"
He walked beside her, trying to understand. "He's at the bridge, you know."
"Oh yeah?" She acted like she didn't care, but it really made no sense to do this, because anyone could have seen right through her. "Do you think I should go talk to him?"
"If you do, make sure you put on your shield. I don't like to see nice girls get hurt."
"I really don't think it'll happen again. Jess doesn't want anything to do with me."
Jaime smirked, and started walking backwards in front of her. "I'll be sure to tell Paris that you're alright." He walked off before she could tell him 'thanks' or something lame like that.
Rory thought about what he had said all the way to the bridge, but when she saw Jess sitting there, all of her thoughts flew out of her mind. She wasn't going to think rationally, she was going to think like Rory Gilmore, the girl that he asked out. And that girl was not rational.
"Jess!" She shouted angrily.
He turned his head to look at her. "Come to yell at me?"
Rory looked into his brown eyes and then her anger didn't seem so important any more. She shoved her hands in her pockets and sighed. "Look, I've just come here to give you the benefit of the doubt. You treated me like dirt in there, and everyone saw…and maybe you can get past that with all of the other girls, but really. Who are you kidding?"
"I don't treat other girls like dirt."
She looked down. "Oh, so I'm the only one who gets kicked around, now that's just great."
"You're not being kicked around."
Rory bit her lip. "I get it, Jess. You don't want me in your life…you don't want anything to do with me and you never want to see me again. Now, if I could make more sense of it maybe I could accept it."
Jess sighed and lit the ciggerate that he had been fingering for the past few minutes. She didn't have a choice but to sit next to him as he smoked.
"Why are you doing this? You were doing so great, and then suddenly you hit rock bottom."
"Trust me, this is not rock bottom. Maybe in a few hours."
"Now, I'm only going to ask you once…and now, you could tell me or just tell me to shove off." Rory stated, scared of what the outcome might be. "What happened?"
"Liz happened. She's a freaking psycho, but a tragic Trojan accident had to bring me into the world." He puffed the smoke out of his mouth. "She should sue."
"Pregnancy? Is that the problem?"
Jess sighed, and flicked his ciggerate into the water. "She came by my dorm the other day."
"Did you two talk?"
"She's having twins."
Rory's eyes widened. "Wow, Jess. You're going to be a brother to two? Do you know how great that is…your mom is going to be happy like crazy, and you'll be a big brother. It's the best feeling in the world."
He looked into the lake. "They're not Jimmy's."
"Oh."
"She's been sleeping around and drinking for ages…maybe it didn't cross her mind that the fact that she's cheating on her husband is going to bring some ugly outcomes." Jess swung his legs tiredly. "She's so damn selfish, maybe if she thought out something useful she could do something other than make my life a living hell."
"Jess, this isn't your problem. You know that, right?" Rory mumbled. "You should let your mother deal with it. It's her life, and she shouldn't be doing this to you."
He looked at her, blinking. "She has no one else."
"I—I don't know what to say. All I can say, I guess, is that now I know why you were the way you were. It was all a blur to me."
"I'm not going to grovel for your apology. But, you should know that I didn't mean what I said. It was your business, or it is your business now. Maybe I'm not great at communication, but we're just going to have to work on it."
Rory smiled, and placed a hand over his'. "It always turns out better."
He looked up. "You know, it's not always going to be this simple. I'm not always going to have a reason."
"We're both new at this, Jess. Maybe we could take it one step at a time."
Jess nodded slowly and leaned in. "Could we just not for tonight?"
Rory positioned herself so that they were in front of each other, fingers intertwined. He leaned in to capture her lips in his, taking his time to make her feel every single thing he felt. Heart racing, Rory knew that they would have to stop some time and it terrified her to death.
She placed a hand in the back of his head and played with the curls in the back of his neck. They pulled away, breathing fast.
"Stop. Now." Rory's chest heaved up and down.
He looked at her wearily. "What?"
"It's been a weird twenty-four hours…I think we've had enough."
Jess chuckled, and leaned in to brush his lips against her's again. But, this time he pulled away before anyone could deepen it. "Maybe we could just sit here."
"And sleep?" She added childishly.
He nodded and helped her position herself in between his legs, she leaned against his chest and looked out into the lake where the swans were swimming around. "And sleep." He rested his head on the crook of her neck.