A/N: *sigh* I know I'm ridiculously late and this chapter is rather lame but seriously...it hates me. I swear it does. Or I hate it. Or both. And I can't look at it any more of fear of my brain exploding. And I'm sure I've explained before why my brain going 'splodey would be a bad thing. Thank you for the reviews.

Deep Breaths and Go!

Standing on the sidewalk, a few steps away from the windows of the diner, Rory tried to desperately regain her calm. She'd had things planned. She'd woken up early, thankful to see Lorelai already gone, because that was one conversations he definitely did not want to have with her mother before caffeine, put on her uniform, done her hair, even put on a hint of lip gloss, just enough to look great but not like she was trying too hard. She was going to waltz in, order some coffee to go, smile and be at ease and maybe even enjoy the butterflies in her stomach.

And now she was pacing like a maniac, making even Kirk look at her oddly as he passed her on his way to the diner. Glancing at her watch, she realized she was running out of time, so, after taking a couple of more deep breaths, she marched to the front door, trying to stop her hand from shaking as she twisted the doorknob. Walking to the counter, she glanced around, hearing her heart beat a million times a minute when Jess walked up to her, giving her a small nod.

"Hey." He half smiled when he was in front of her, tilting his head in the direction of the coffee machine, trying to keep his cool. "To stay or to go?"

"To go. I…uh…school." She mumbled, looking down, hoping to hide her blushing.

"Ok." He nodded before pouring the coffee and pushing the cup in front of her. "Anything else?"

"Coffee's enough, thanks." Inhaling deeply, she finally looked up at him after checking that no one was nearby, her teeth biting her lip. "Should we talk?"

"About?"

"Last night." Before Jess had a chance to reply, Kirk walked up to the counter, clearing his throat.

"I'm busy, go away." Jess grumbled, not taking his eyes off Rory.

"As a paying customer, I demand your attention."

"Go away." He punctuated both words but the man shook his head, pushing a plate with pancakes at him.

"I will stand here until you explain to me what this is!"

Rolling his eyes, he smirked, making Rory laugh before looking at the man. "What do you want?" Pulling out his order pad, he scribbled "What about last night?" on a page before ripping it off and pushing it towards Rory, as Kirk went off on some rant about his improperly cut pancakes.

Realizing how much easier getting what she wanted to say out was in writing, she smiled happily, scribbling "Don't you think there's something to talk about?" before pushing the piece of paper towards him as discreetly as possible.

"Not really." He replied, smirking as he watched her reaction while trying to answer Kirk's question.

"Oh…ok." Standing up, Rory picked up her coffee and fixed her backpack, pointing at the door. "I should go or I'm going to miss my bus."

Seeing the slightly deflated look on her face as she started walking towards the door, Jess shook his head, kicking himself mentally before stepping into the kitchen, leaving Kirk mid-sentence.

"Luke, I'm off to school!"

"School doesn't start for another…" The man grumbled, walking outside only to see Jess already out the door. Catching up to Rory, he smirked, trying to catch his breath.

"You going to do this storming out thing often? Because I'll need some running shoes if you do."

"Bus." She took a sip from her coffee, not looking at him.

"Ok, what we have here is failure to communicate." Jess looked at her, catching her half smile at his movie reference.

"No, we don't. I get it, you don't want to talk."

"No, I said I don't think there is anything to discuss. Jeez, are we going to do this every time?" Standing in front of her, stopping her marching, he smiled as his fingers brushed against her hand.

"But you…"

"I just don't see what the hell we're supposed to say." He leaned closer, trying to kiss her but Rory pulled back, smiling at the same time.

"Not here. I haven't told mom yet and I'd prefer it if she heard it from me instead of the town gossip mill." She glanced around her, carefully and Jess nodded.

"Bridge after you're done with school?" He stepped back, continuing to walk her to the bus station.

"Can't. I promised Lane I'll go by her house. I can meet you at 4." Rory shook her head, blushing slightly. Spotting the bus approaching the station, Jess smiled, nodding.

"I'll see you at 4." He backed away from Rory, still watching her, making even more blood rush to her cheeks.

Later that afternoon, Rory bounced into the antique shop, finding her best friend dusting a table. Standing in front of her, she grinned, her arms crossed across her chest.

"I have news."

"Good news?"

"Really good." Rory confirmed and the Korean girl quickly finished wiping the table before walking to the other room where her mother was watching a customer browse.

"Mama, Rory and I are going to go upstairs and study."

"Tea is in an hour. Don't be late."

As soon as the girls were upstairs, Lane closed the door behind them, while Rory walked to the closet, waiting for her friend to get in as well before closing the door and shoving a few pillows in front of it to muffle sounds.

"I kissed Jess!" Rory blurted out as soon as everything was done, making Lane stare at her in shock. "Last night. Well, technically, he kissed me, but I don't it matters much who kissed who and I'm seeing him at 4 and it's so good to finally tell someone because I thought I was going to burst all day at school!" Half a minute later, when her friend still hadn't said anything, Rory tilted her head to the side. "Lane?"

"You're…serious?"

"Yes." She confirmed, laughing.

"Oh, my God, you're dating Jess!" Lane finally screeched happily, before covering her mouth with her hands, hoping her mother hadn't heard anything. "Tell me everything!"

Rory nodded, smiling as quickly recounting their fight and the kiss.

"And then?"

"And then he walked me home, since it was ridiculously late."

"And?"

"And there was more kissing along the way. That's about it."

"Ok, you cannot say that's about it when it comes to the biggest piece of gossip Stars Hollow has had in ages!"

"Lane, it's not…" Changing her mind, she smiled. "It's exciting, isn't it?"

"Yeah! So…how is he? Because he looks like he's a really good kisser, but you can never be sure until there's first hand evidence and now there is! And I have access to it!"

Blushing hard, Rory bit her lip before nodding. "He is."

"Miss Patty will be very happy to hear that, I'm sure. How's Lorelai taking it?"

"Haven't told her yet." Rory bit her lip, shrugging. "I haven't seen her today. I'm not looking forward to admitting the sneaking out thing."

"I suggest you sanitize the story. Just…tell her it happened today. What's 12 more hours?"

"I don't like lying to her."

"Do you like fighting with her? Because she's not a fan of Jess and you sneaking out in the middle of the night to be with him will not win him or your relationship any points."

"But…"

"Try telling her. If she takes the news of you two kissing calmly, then give her the details. If not…"

"If not, I'll spare her the details until we can joke about it."

"With luck, it should happen by the time you're 50."

"I'm just going to tell her tonight on the way to my grandparents' house. How bad can it be?"

"You really want to be stuck in a car with her, without the possibility to escape without causing yourself a lot of damage while having that conversation? Not to mention, there is no way she'll be in a good enough mood."

"You have a point." Rory conceded, making a face. "After dinner?"

"Probably your best bet, unless it goes horribly bad." Glancing at the watch on her friend's wrist, Lane grinned. "Shouldn't you go meet Jess?" She took Rory's hand in hers, lifting it to show her the time.

"Oh, shoot!" Standing up, she kicked the pillows away before opening the door. Instead of leaving, she looked back at her friend, smiling. "You're ok with this? Are we over your whole disliking Jess thing?"

"Hey, as long as he's nice to you, the grudge is dead and buried as far as I'm concerned."

"Thank you, Lane."

"Call me and tell me how everything went tomorrow!"

"I will." Rory nodded before heading out the door.

Approaching the bridge carefully, she spotted Jess already sitting down, a book in his hand. Running her fingers through the tips of her hair quickly, she inhaled sharply before sitting down next to him.

"Hey." She almost whispered as he put his book down. Noticing her nervousness, he smirked.

"How was school?"

"Same old. Madeleine and Louise spent lunch break interrogating me about you." She smiled, making him chuckle.

"What did you tell them?"

"I stuck my headphones in my ears. I was however made to swear I would give you this…" She handed him a couple of pieces of paper, her smile growing even bigger when he crumpled them without even looking and threw them in the water.

"I'm sure they're very nice…" Jess trailed off before leaning closer, cupping her face in one hand. "Hi." He smiled again before placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Hello." She mumbled again before kissing him back, grinning. "How was your day?"

"Same old." Jess mimicked her answer, not moving away from her. "Is there a reason why we haven't been doing this sooner?" He leaned in for another kiss, this time more passionate.

"Because you're stubborn and stupid."

"You could have said something as well." He smirked, moving to be closer to her as pressed another kiss to her mouth.

"I almost did." Rory admitted, laughing.

"Really?"

"Just…forget I said anything." She started backpedaling, flustered. "It doesn't matter."

Pulling back away from her, Jess cocked an eyebrow, smirking. "Oh, no, I want to hear this one."

"Please drop it." She widened her eyes, trying to look innocent before kissing him again.

"Bribery is extremely effective." He chuckled as he tangled his hands in her hair.

A while later, Rory finally detached herself from him, trying to catch her breath as she looked at her watch. "I should head home. I have to get ready for Friday night dinner."

"Damn." Jess chuckled, placing another small kiss on her lips before jumping up, extending his hand to help her up as well. Starting to walk towards her house, he pulled a bit further away from her as they walked away from the cover of the trees.

"I'm telling mom tonight, so hiding this won't be necessary." She motioned between the two of them and he smirked again.

"Unless she kills me."

"She won't…I think." Rory answered playfully.

"I'll leave an envelope with my lawyer, just in case I mysteriously disappear."

"It's probably safest." Pausing for a second, she smiled, looking at him. "I had fun today. And last night."

"Let me know after you've told Lorelai, I'll see if I can offer a decent follow-up."

"I will."

"I should head back to the diner before Luke's head explodes." Jess smirked, tilting his head back towards the town.

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing."

"Jess!"

"He's used to it by now, don't worry." He chuckled. "Bye, Rory."

"Bye." She smiled back as he turned around and headed towards the diner, brushing his hand past hers, his index finger curling briefly around hers. Taking one more deep breath, she resumed her walk towards her house, trying to prepare herself mentally for the conversation.