A/N: Hello again all you awesome readers! Thank you for your reviews and for returning. It's ICanSeeYourFace writing, and I'm feeling pretty happy now (just hit 20 pages on my Master's, which makes me all kinds of happy), and what better way to keep feeling happy than posting another chapter of CP? I'm sure there are some errors in this chapter regarding the American banking system, but we tried our best to make it sound believable. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: We don't own Gilmore Girls, only Cammie. She is awesome.


"Okay, you need to tell me what's going on here, Jess. You've been all smiles and giddiness all day, and it's freaking me out!" Cammie told Jess accusingly as they were having their lunch break at Stampede.

Jess hadn't told anyone about the business space he was buying. Although everything pointed to the place being his in just one short week, he didn't want to jinx it by telling anyone else before all the papers were signed. Tomorrow he'd go to the realtor's office to hash out the details. He called Jimmy yesterday, asking him to wire all the money he had saved up in California. And Luke should have wired him the college fund-money by now, so Jess could swing by the bank to get a bank statement on his way home later. He had also spent the night making notes of all the things he could use to haggle over the price. The ground floor, especially the support beams were a big issue, because the repair costs would come out of his own pocket.

"Hello? Are you even listening to me?"

Jess looked up at Cammie, and gave her a crooked smile. This would drive Cammie nuts, and part of him found it strangely satisfying to see her face all scrunched up and irritated.

"Maybe I've found my happy place," he suggested.

"Please, you're like any other man on this planet, you can't find your way anywhere because you are too damn proud to ask for directions," Cammie snorted. "Now tell me!"

"You really need a girlfriend, Cammie. You can't live vicariously through me and Jessie for the rest of your life."

He could tell Cammie was on the verge of giving an acidic reply to that, but she held her tongue.

"Have you talked to... to the guys yet?" she asked instead.

"Nope," Jess replied curtly. He was in no mood to talk about his former roommates. "I brought my duffel bag, so I'm going over after my shift to get the rest of my stuff. No one should be home."

It wasn't really a lie. If he hurried, the apartment on Locust Street would be empty, since all four should be at work. He could slip in, get the rest of his belongings leave the key and leave without having to confront either one of the guys.

"Don't worry, it's not much," he said when he saw Cammie open her mouth to say something. He was sure it was to complain about him dragging all of his things to her place, but in case it wasn't, he didn't want to hear the sermon about making up with the guys which was most likely to come out of Cammie's mouth.

"You know I don't care."

"Fine."

"God, you're impossible..."

"Noted."

The rest of the day went by in the same monosyllabic fashion until Jessie turned up for her shift. Jess hastily packed up in the back and was out the door before Jessie had even changed and stepped in behind the counter.

"I'll see you at home!" Cammie yelled behind him, but he didn't reply.

He half-ran up South 49th Street until he turned onto Locust Street. Only then did he slow down to a walk, assured that his race had saved him some more time. The apartment building soon came into view, and he again quickened his pace. He flew up the flights of stairs until he was standing in front of the apartment door. He hesitated a second before he unlocked the door.

"Hello?" he called out. No answer.

Quickly, he was inside, moving around the apartment, picking up the things he recognized as his and stuffed them in his duffel bag. Mostly, it was books, a few cd's he'd bought from the record store where Jake worked, and odd stuff he hadn't managed to get his hands on when he left the other day.

Jess had almost collected all of his remaining belongings when he heard something that made him freeze up; keys rattling outside the door, followed by the familiar clicking and thudding of someone unlocking it.

'Please, don't let it be Jake or Reg...' Jess had time to think before the door swung open.

"Jess?"

He felt relieved, it was Chris and Matt. If he had to run into any of them, he'd rather run into Matt and Chris than any other combination of the four guys. Jess turned and nodded at them, then continued packing.

"Hi... um... I... We didn't think you'd be back for your stuff so soon," Matt said, trying to strike up a conversation.

"The sooner the better," Jess replied, almost automatically.

"Where are you staying?" Chris wondered and Jess thought he detected concern in Chris' voice.

He pondered telling them the truth, but really, there was no reason to drag Cammie further into this by saying he was staying with her. As soon as the papers were signed and the utilities fixed and turned on, he'd move into the new place. Then, maybe, would he try talking to Matt and Chris.

"Look, I just came to get my things," Jess replied, ignoring the question. He zipped up the duffel bag, slung it over his shoulder and turned around. Matt and Chris were blocking the doorway.

"Jess, come on! I'm not saying we're not a bit annoyed with you, but can you at least give us some peace of mind and tell us you're not sleeping on the streets," Matt pleaded.

"I'm not sleeping on the streets."

"You know, we checked out that park bench on Spruce yesterday, you know, to see if you were roughing it like that first night," Chris said, smiling.

"I told you," Jess said pointedly, trying not to think of that night when he'd slept on the good bench on Spruce. "I'm not sleeping on the streets. I've got my things, and I should go."

He walked up to them and pushed past to get out. He heard Chris trying to protest.

"Key's on the coffee table," Jess said over his shoulder as he began descending the stairs. "Thanks again for everything."

The run-in with the guys effectively put a damper on his bright day. Getting the bank statement took a minor eternity, and traffic was crazy on his way home. When he got home, it took Cammie all of two seconds to look at him, and then resignedly point out his bad mood.

"What's up? Someone steal your mojo?" she asked him from the couch that was Jess' night-time bed.

He hadn't missed the irony of having moved from one couch to another, and wondered if there was a bed with his name on it somewhere in his future.

"I ran into Matt and Chris at the apartment," he said, deciding to be truthful.

"Oh..." Cammie immediately turned off the tv and sat up straight. "How'd that go?"

"I dunno... But we didn't hug it out, so don't even think of asking."

"Jess, you should talk to them, all four of them. I know they can be a bit stubborn, especially Jake and Reg, but if you just explain everything..."

"No," Jess interrupted hastily. "I will not mess this up any more than I already have."

"Matt and Chris are reasonable guys. You've seen them. They're not the kind of people to hold grudges," Cammie tried coaxing, clearly in an attempt to appeal to some softer side she thought he had.

Jess looked at her and shook his head. Sure, Matt and Chris could be reasonable, grudge-free guys, but as long as them, Jake and Reg were a package deal, Jess suspected they wouldn't be friends again anytime soon. Still, part of him wanted at least Matt and Chris back. The two of them had really come to appreciate the publishing business, whereas Jake spent increasingly more time working at the record store, and Reg (although having been crucial in spreading their published works at the campus bookstore) now had a more Jessie-centric worldview. If only there was a way to get Matt and Chris to leave Jake and Reg behind. Jess sighed, pushed aside his thoughts on the future, and watched tv with Cammie for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, he felt oddly jittery. He had never been the type to get overly nervous, but on the other hand, he was buying an apartment today. He made up a story to Cammie about having to go out, took the things he needed and left. The realtor had her office downtown, and the bus ride felt like he was heading towards his doom. He went over his strategy in his head, repeating silently as he walked the last block from the bus stop to the realtor's office. Stopping outside the glass door, Jess took a deep breath. He could do this. He would dive in, head first, and hope he wouldn't hit the shallows. Turning around was not an option. Grabbing the metallic door handle, he stepped inside, ready for whatever was waiting for him.

It turned out to be a bit more complicated than he'd thought. There was the matter of discussing his background, his current situation, his plans for the place. He was a bit worried that it would look bad that he didn't actually live anywhere at the moment. The realtor asked if he'd been in Philly long, and he answered that he'd been here a little while, staying with friends, but that he wanted a place of his own. The realtor accepted his explanation, and they moved on. They talked about the place itself, haggling over the price. Jess managed to get the price down to $ 50,000 on account of overall state of the place and the support beams he'd need to put in.

So far, he was keeping up. Then came the hard stuff, things like down-payment, mortgage, escrow and interest. Jess tried his best to keep up, but somewhere along, his head just got lost in the terminology. He kind of wished he could've had Luke with him. Still, he got the gist of what the realtor was saying, and he signed the papers, wrote a check for the down-payment and they agreed on a plan for the mortgage. He got a set of keys, and information on how to get water, heat and other utilities turned on. Officially, he couldn't move in until next week, but the place was his. He had a space that was his own.

Jess's head swam as he exited the office. He texted Luke about it, but didn't get a reply. He wondered if Luke even knew how to read a text message. Jess desperately wanted to talk to someone, so he called the last, well, next to last, person he'd ever thought he would contact.

"Hello?"

Liz sounded just like she always did, like she'd been smoking all her life (which she probably had, at least for a while...). Still, she sounded happy, and Jess couldn't help but smiling. Maybe that TJ was a good guy after all, despite the Etch-A-Sketch and his weird fondness for tights.

"It's Jess," he began, not entirely sure if he should say Liz or Mom.

"Jessie!" Liz exploded with joy. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear from you! Luke told me you had been in town."

"Just a short visit, passing through actually."

"You shoulda come by, visit me and TJ, we live here now, y'know."

"I had a tight schedule," Jess lied, feeling a pang of guilt.

"Is it true what Luke said?" Liz began asking.

"Probably not," he blurted out before he could stop himself.

"So you're not in Philly?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, I'm in Philadelphia. Been here for a while."

"That's good. Luke said you were working, living with a bunch of guys. Said you'd written a book," Liz said, and there was no mistaking the pride in her voice. Jess didn't have the heart to correct Liz about the living situation.

"I did..." he replied evasively.

"Y'know, I've been trying to get Andrew to let me buy or at least borrow your book, but he's so stubborn. He's got it locked up in a bulletproof case, did you know that?"

"Luke said he kept it in a glass case."

"He upgraded it when Taylor started lookin' all sneaky and shady. Anyway, you shouldn't be surprised, Jess. It's Stars Hollow. Nothing's too crazy here."

"Yeah, I know. Look, I just... I called to say I'm fine. I just bought a place and..."

"You bought a place? What place?" Liz demanded excitedly.

"It's a place, you know... For living in, possibly running a business in, too."

Liz got so excited about this she spent a good ten minutes squealing and commending him for having come so far. In truth, Jess felt like he had come a long way only to double back and end up where he first began. He hastily said goodbye to Liz, and began walking toward the bus stop. He thought again about Matt and Chris. They had had some good times together, and Cammie was right, they weren't the kind to hold grudges. He needed to do something to gain their trust and respect back, so they would take him seriously when he talked to them about the new place.

A round of laughter pulled him back to reality, and Jess looked around. A few yards ahead, two guys and three girls were walking out in front of him, laughing and talking. Jess looked around some more and spotted the Community College of Philadelphia. That would make the girls and guys ahead of him students. He had never gotten the big deal about school. Sure, he liked learning stuff, but the American educational system could not take credit for much of his knowledge. Mostly, he was self-taught, and had found it worked best for him. The hierarchy of the classroom annoyed him; teachers who wouldn't accept any other perspective than their own, the way everyone else seemed to just accept it, no questions asked. Rory had...

He stopped, wondering if this was the best time go down the 'Rory had said'-path. It used to take his mind to places he didn't like, and he never quite understood why he kept following it. He had managed to keep away from it for some time now, but today, he simply couldn't fight it. Rory had said he had a first-rate mind. Okay, there it was. Hadn't he already proven that fact by writing a book? She had thought so, but Rory was not the one he needed, or particularly wanted, to impress now. The easy way would be to finish high school. It would also be like rolling over and saying "I give up". He didn't want to go back to school, he couldn't take the brain numbing lessons and homework.

As he passed the steps that led up to the community college entrance, he noticed a large sign on the double doors, which read in bold letters: GED-prep info week.

GED. It was as if a bell had rang in his head. A GED was equivalent to a high school diploma, and he really didn't need to attend any of those prep courses. He'd have to brush up math, science and social studies, and then simply take the test. Jess weighed his options, and then decided. He might have to spend some time on cramming for the test itself, but it would be in his own time, in his own way. GED it was. He quickly raced up the steps, entered the building, and began searching for the administration's office.


A/N: And there it is! Leave us some love