A/N: Greetings, reader peops :) Hope everyone had a good Christmas (or whatever you celebrate) and New Year too. The Literati Advent Calendar seemed to go down well again this past December, so that's cool, but now, after a break, we are back to our regularly scheduled fics, with a fairly long chapter too, and would you believe, it's Thanksgiving! ;)

(For disclaimer, etc. see chapter 1)

Chapter 11

"Do we have to go?" asked Rory, practically whining as she followed Lorelai upstairs to her room.

"Er, if you wanna eat, then yeah," her mother told her. "Come on, what's the problem? We're talking free food of the really yummy kind, no dishes, no clean up whatsoever, nothing to do but eat, drink, and be merry... and when I say drink, I mean, booze for me, soda for you," she clarified, opening up her closet and peering inside.

"I just don't see why we have to eat at the Danes' house. There are other places."

Rory threw herself down on the bed, knowing she was being dramatic but somehow unable to help herself. She really wasn't sure what was going to happen if she got left alone with Jess at all. Quite honestly, she didn't even know what she wanted to happen anymore.

They managed to avoid each other all week, which was no mean feat for two people who lived in the same town, went to the same school, and were supposed to be pretty good friends, despite such a short acquaintance. Nevertheless, Rory and Jess both pulled out their best avoidance tactics and, at the very least, had managed not to be alone together since their major lip-lock moment.

Of course, things were going to get a whole lot more complicated now that Thanksgiving was upon them. In school, even in the streets of Stars Hollow, it was easy enough to take a left when the other person took a right. Trapped in a house together, with only Luke and Lorelai to act as buffers, that was going to be a heck of a lot tougher.

"You think this looks okay?" asked Lorelai, holding a dress against her body.

Rory made a face.

"Hey, a resounding 'no' without a word spoken, clever."

"I thought you said something about a green dress?"

"I did, but then I remembered I spilled wine on it last time I wore it and never got around to having it cleaned, so green is out." Lorelai sighed. "I should've had a Plan B sooner than an hour before we have to leave, but not so much."

Rory pulled herself up off the bed and pushed into the closet beside her mother, looking at options. It occurred to her that she could probably talk to Lorelai about Jess and that maybe she might even be able to give her some sound advice. After all, Lorelai had her own share of teen angst when it came to boys, Rory's father being a case in point. Rory couldn't ever imagine talking to Emily about that kind of thing, but Lorelai might be okay. She had proven to be kind of cool over the past few weeks, for a woman who lied to her from Day One and avoided her at all costs anyway.

"This one," she said, pulling out a dress in deep burgundy and holding it out to her mom.

Lorelai put it against herself and looked in the mirror, smiling suddenly.

"This could work," she said, nodding approval. "You're pretty good at this game for a person who has such a deep love for the black."

"I'm not allergic to colours or anything." Rory rolled her eyes. "Black's a good base. It goes with everything."

"That is true, and also, very practical," Lorelai noted. "Thanks, hon," she said, waving the dress at her. "Any way I can repay the favour?"

Rory looked at her oddly as she sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"I can dress myself, thanks."

"Not what I meant." Lorelai shook her head, hanging the dress on the closet door and coming to sit by her daughter. "You seem like maybe you have something on your mind the past few days and, call me crazy, but it also seems like maybe you've been avoiding Jess?"

Rory was a little stunned that Lorelai was that observant, or maybe it was just that she hadn't expected her to care all that much about what was going on with her life. Clearly, she was wrong on both counts, and Lorelai was giving her an easy in to talk about what was on her mind, Rory just wasn't quite sure she was ready to trust her enough to share.

"I'm fine," she said, forcing a smile, "and so is Jess, as far as I know. I'm actually kind of surprised he's not spending Thanksgiving with his girlfriend," she said, getting up from the bed and wandering towards the window.

"Oh, well, I guess with the holidays being more a family thing, he wanted to spend it with Luke," Lorelai considered, shrugging her shoulders.

"We're not family and we're going over there."

"That is true."

Lorelai wasn't sure what was going on with Rory. She had her suspicions and they ran in the direction of Rory liking Jess more than a little, and maybe even Jess liking her back, but as Rory just pointed out, Jess did have a girlfriend. Francie never did seem keen to come to Stars Hollow and so Jess usually went to Hartford to take her out. Not that they seemed to really go out that much. From what Luke said, even he had barely met Francie above a couple of times, and most of her and Jess' interactions seemed to take place in school.

"Do they hang out much at Chilton?" she asked aloud. "Jess and Francie, I mean."

"How should I know?" Rory shrugged, continuing to look through all the trinkets on Lorelai's vanity, picking up the occasional necklace or eyeshadow compact for a closer look.

"I don't know, you're there too, and I thought you and Jess spent time together, you know, when you're not avoiding him."

"I'm not avoiding him!" Rory snapped.

Of course, when she looked at Lorelai and blue eyes met blue eyes head on, she knew she couldn't keep on lying, because her mother was not believing it.

"I'm still open to repaying the favour on the clothing help," said Lorelai gently. "If you want to talk about it, I can listen. Might even be able to help a little. Wasn't so long ago I was a teenage girl, you know?"

Rory swallowed hard and then sighed.

"You can't help," she declared, dropping a lipstick back onto the vanity with a clatter. "But I guess you may as well know. Jess kissed me last week."

"What?" Lorelai gasped. "He kissed you? But he's still dating Francie?"

"As far as I know." Rory shrugged.

"Okay," said Lorelai, looking thoughtful a moment. "So, how exactly are we feeling about this situation? I mean, you don't like Jess that way, right?"

There was some definite squirming on Rory's part and then she quickly made for the door.

"I'm going to get changed." she said as she left.

"Rory, honey, come on," Lorelai called behind her. "Please, don't walk away. I wanna help."

"Yeah, well, you can't," said Rory snippily, not turning back at all.

Lorelai heaved a sigh.

"And a Happy Thanksgiving to all," she said to herself. "At this point it might actually have been less stressful going to my parents' house!"

"Damn it!" Jess cursed as he dropped a plate and it shattered spectacularly against the kitchen tile.

"You go finish the table," Luke advised, shooing his nephew away from the mess. "I'll clean this up. Seriously, what is the matter with you today?"

"Nothing, it was an accident," grumbled Jess as he went out of the door.

Luke sighed and shook his head, grabbing the dustpan and broom to clean up. It wasn't that he thought Jess was deliberately causing damage today, but there was definitely something wrong with him. He had been like a bear with a sore head for days now and Luke had sort of hoped that it was just some trouble at school that he would get over when the holidays rolled around. No such luck, apparently. If anything, Thanksgiving seemed to have put Jess in a worse mood than ever, and though he wasn't exactly the guy to encourage anyone else to open up about their feelings, Luke was reaching a point where he might just have to ask Jess what was going on. Just maybe not today when the Gilmore girls were due to arrive at any moment.

Right on time, the doorbell rang, and Luke called for Jess to answer it.

"Hey, Luke," Lorelai greeted him as she came into the kitchen.

"Hey," he replied, finishing off washing and drying his hands. "Er, Rory's with you, right?"

"Sure, yeah," she agreed. "I left her back there with Jess," she explained, coming further into the room and lowering her voice. "Truth is, I think they could use a little alone time to figure things out."

"Oh. Okay," said Luke, whispering back to her. "What happened?"

"Jess didn't tell you?"

"No, Jess didn't tell me anything."

"Well, Rory didn't say much except that those two kissed last week."

"Rory kissed Jess?"

"I think it was more Jess kissed Rory, actually."

"But he's with Francie."

"I know this."

"Well, that's not okay."

"I know that too, which is why I think maybe if we give them a few minutes maybe they'll talk and figure it out."

"Or maybe they'll take this opportunity to kiss some more and make matters worse," said Luke with a look.

"Damn it, I didn't think of that," Lorelai replied, opening up the door and rushing through to the living room. "So, kids!" she said, clapping her hands together and grinning wide. "Who's ready to eat until they puke?"

It was almost a relief to find them on either side of the room, not speaking never mind touching. Of course, it might have been nice if they were at least talking given that this was supposed to be a celebratory meal and day, but Lorelai would take what she could get for now.

"Anybody want anything else?" asked Luke as their Thanksgiving feast came to an end.

"Delicious as it all is, I think you may actually have achieved a miracle today, Luke," said Lorelai, smiling widely. "Pretty sure I'm full."

"Wow, that really is a miracle," he agreed. "Rory, Jess, more pie or anything?" he checked then.

"No, thank you," said Rory, as politely as she ever said anything.

"I'm done," said Jess, waving his hand in a 'no, thanks' gesture too.

"Alright then." Luke nodded, getting up to clear the table.

"Oh, we can help with that, right, Rory?" said Lorelai politely, standing up and encouraging her daughter to do the same.

"Actually, I was thinking I'd take a walk, if that's okay."

"A walk? Really?" Lorelai checked, finding that strange.

"Yeah, I... I'm supposed to make a call," she said, pulling out her cell phone. "I kind of promised them."

There was a significant look on her face when she said 'them' and a light bulb went off over Lorelai's head. She quickly nodded.

"Right, sure. Yeah, you go, walk, talk, whatever you need," she said, grabbing up plates and dashing off to the kitchen with them.

Luke followed at a more sedate pace, checking back over his shoulder to ensure that Rory really was leaving and Jess was staying put. Satisfied that seemed to be the case, he went to the kitchen, only to find Lorelai braced over the sink, looking pale.

"You okay?" he checked.

"Yes. No. I don't know," she admitted, turning to look at him. "I'm an awful person, Luke," she told him, shaking her head. "I just feel so weird about Rory calling my parents. I... I don't really want her to talk to them, which is crazy, because they're her grandparents, and before that, they were kind of her parents and... my God, this makes me sound so selfish, but now she's here, I kind of feel like it's my turn," she said, her hand on her heart even as tears filled her eyes. "I feel like she's mine now and they shouldn't get any of her time because when she was their's I sure didn't."

Luke felt awful for Lorelai as she started to cry. Dumping the dishes on the table, he reached for her, pulling her into a hug without even thinking about it.

That was how Jess found them, though they didn't notice him by the door and he decided it was probably best not to interrupt. Turning back around, he grabbed his jacket from the hook and headed out the front door, planning to follow Rory.

She said she wanted to call her grandparents, but Jess knew what she was like with false alibis. Besides, it was time the two of them really talked. Earlier, when Lorelai left them alone, he had waited for Rory to say something but she hadn't, and just when he had thought about speaking first, Lorelai was back and the moment was lost. It was so stupid. He had been the one to kiss her, but she had definitely kissed him back, and now neither of them was saying anything about what happened next. Well, Jess decided he was going to now, because the not knowing was driving him crazy.

Rory couldn't have gone far and Jess suspected he knew where she would be headed. Not home, because she had told him before that she barely considered Lorelai's house to be home yet, not anywhere in the town square where other people might see her. No, Jess had a feeling she would be in the one spot he had told her himself was a good place to go to be alone, and there she was, sat on the bridge, seemingly just finishing up her call.

"Okay. Well, Happy Thanksgiving and I guess I'll talk to you soon. Okay, bye."

She hit the button on her cell and shoved it into her pocket, eyes fixed on the view even when she spoke.

"You're really not that stealthy."

"I wasn't trying to be," Jess told her as he came a few steps closer. "You okay?"

"Fine," she replied, even as he watched her wipe her cheek with the back of her hand. "Did you have to follow me? I thought Stars Hollow was one of those towns where nothing bad ever happens to anyone."

"It is, mostly," he agreed, moving to sit down beside her. "Rory, we need to talk."

"Do we, Jess?" she asked, turning angry eyes on him then. "And what exactly do you think we need to talk about?"

"Rory," he said, shaking his head, but she wasn't letting it go that easy.

"No, Jess, you tell me what we need to talk about. The fact you say you're my friend, only to judge me on everything I do and everyone I hang out with? Maybe the fact that you made a big deal about having a girlfriend and yet you kissed me the other day, before running out the door like I was a leper?" she asked him angrily. "Are these the things we need to talk about, Jess? Because honestly, I don't think I want to."

She moved to get up, but he grabbed her sleeve and kept her by him.

"Rory, I'm sorry," he told her honestly. "I didn't mean to... to make things complicated. I don't know what happened last week, I just... I like you."

"You like me?" she echoed with a humourless laugh. "That's great, because you are still dating Francie, right?"

"That's not the point."

"It's exactly the point, Jess. Are you still dating, Francie?" she asked again.

"Yes," he told her, though his eyes had shifted to the water now as he looked pretty shame-faced about the whole thing.

"Okay then." she said, pulling free of his grip and getting to her feet. "Then do me a favour and stay the hell away from me."

When she walked away then, Jess knew there was no point in following her anymore. What she said was true, as was what she made him confess. He was still dating Francie, and while the thought had occurred to him a few times that he could easily break things off with her, he never quite followed through.

Being with Francie was easy, most of the time. They got along, didn't really bug each other, and they always had a date when they needed one for a school event or dance, plus they kept any other unwanted interested parties out of each other's hair. It was more a business arrangement these days than a real relationship, but it worked for them.

Jess couldn't imagine breaking up with her in pursuit of Rory, who would probably never date him in a million years anyway. Her reputation proceeded her. She hung around with guys like Tristan, having a good time but not seriously wanting to be with them in any real way. That wasn't what Jess wanted with Rory.

Getting up from the bridge, he dusted off his pants and started to walk home. He had barely gone a few steps when he changed his mind and headed the other way. For Lorelai's sake, if nothing else, he ought to make sure Rory was okay, and he had a feeling she was heading for her house rather than his right now, given the conversation they just had.

Nearing the Crap Shack, as it was affectionately known, Jess stopped walking very abruptly when he saw two people at the end of the drive way with their arms around each other. The girl was definitely Rory and the guy, if he wasn't mistaken, was Tristan DuGrey.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered to himself, turning around and walking quickly back home.

If Lorelai asked, he was going to tell her the truth about this, damn the consequences.

To Be Continued...