A/N: Please accept my apologies and a lame school-based excuse for not updating this sooner. I actually have no real concept of time this semester so maybe it hasn't been an egregiously long time, but I feel like I should be updating more anyway. If you're also reading Made for Me and You or A Walk Out in The Cold, I'll try to update those this coming week too. I'll be on vacation the week following so I want to make sure I at least leave you guys with new chapters!


"So did she call you back?"

"In a manner of speaking," Jess said. "She left a voicemail."

"So yes, then. Why are you always so cagey? Just be straightforward for once in your life."

Jess ignored her. "Well, we didn't actually talk. I didn't call her back. Not really into playing phone tag."

"What did she say?"

"It was just a basic thanks for calling, Logan will be fine, et cetera."

"That was nice of her. Why aren't you going to call her back?"

"Like I said, I don't want to play phone tag forever. Anyway, it was the phone call equivalent of a thank you note. That's the end of it." After being pushed by Paris to call her he was glad they'd had a more or less pleasant interaction, but he was equally glad that it could just be over finally.

"Rory is breaking her neck with classes and studying for finals and Logan being in the hospital and she took the time to call you," Paris said. "That means something. How long was her message?"

"37 seconds."

"Really? Respectable."

"No, not really," Jess said. "I have no idea. It was short."

"You're irritating. But short or not, this is a big deal. You should call her back."

"I'm telling you, she was just being polite. It was not a big deal. And like you said, she's been busy. I'm respecting that."

Paris scoffed. "Yeah, that's exactly why you won't call her back. I'm going to punch you in the face. You're making me want to punch you in the face."

"You should start doing yoga instead of Krav Maga. Or get your life coach back. That was just mean. Since when are you the violent type?"

"I'm not violent, I'm frustrated. I cannot be the only person in the world who thinks she would be better with you than with Logan. For instance, you would never get plastered and throw yourself off a cliff."

"You should start polling people or something since you're in such need of validation. She's with Logan, and that's that." Lately it felt like Jess kept having the same conversation with Paris. He knew she meant well, but it was getting on his nerves. Her insistence in making something out of nothing was only making her crazy, and it was making him crazy by association.

"I never thought I would see Jess Mariano give up."

"I give up basically every time I talk to you. Don't tell me you haven't noticed that."

"I've noticed you try to give up, but if you have to do it every time we talk then it's not really giving up, is it? Just call her. You can always give up again next time we talk."

Jess rolled his eyes. "There isn't going to be a next time I talk to you. But maybe I'll call her back in a few days if I have a reason to." He should have known that being vague wasn't going to fly with Paris.

"So loving her isn't reason enough? Look, come up here and hang out with me. Now that she knows we talk it wouldn't be weird to just casually invite her along."

"It would be incredibly weird, actually, as well as the most blatant set-up in the history of the universe. Look, it might not seem like it to you but Rory and I left things on a pretty good note the last time I saw her. It would be perfectly reasonable to just leave things as they are. Rory and I are both adults and she's in a relationship with someone. You need to just listen to me and trust me when I say that this is for the best."

"You're no fun anymore," Paris said. Jess could almost hear her pouting. "What happened to the crazy Jess who would stop at nothing to make things right with Rory?"

"He realized that he was actually making things worse and grew up a little," Jess said. "And then eventually he did make things right with her. So now normal rational Jess is asking you to please drop this, okay? It's gone on for long enough."

"Fine," she said. "But you're going to change your mind. I know you are."

"Trust me, if I do, you'll know."