A/N: I figured it was about time Rory had a Michigan bestie, so meet Jules. I borrowed her from an RP I had going forever ago and she's one of my favorites. She's tiny and blonde and looks like Kristen Bell whenever I picture her and I hope you enjoy her even a third as much as I do.
"So, are you excited to go home for Christmas?" Jules asked, blowing on her soy chai latte. Rory inwardly shuddered and took a sip of her own coffee that was soy-free and loaded with espresso. Jules made a point to order something different every time they went out for coffee and Rory occasionally joined her, but nothing with the word soy in it was getting past her lips.
Jules Blake had just started at the paper two months ago and was a new friend, but already she had claimed Rory as her partner in crime. Jules had moved to Michigan from Chicago and spent her time either good-naturedly complaining about how either Detroit was nothing compared to the real city or how the Chicago Tribune was a terrible paper full of wankers. After her post-college internship with the Tribune didn't turn into a real job, she applied to nearly every other paper in the country and landed at the Free Press in the news department. She had absolutely no qualms about complaining about the work and swore up and down that within the year she was going to move to New York City and get a job at a fashion magazine.
Rory still wasn't sure what to make of her, but she was a lot of fun. She was a big fan of passing notes gossiping about their coworkers during staff meetings and was always up for going out for a drink after work. She had been given formal warnings about her work wardrobe three times in two months and would occasionally make her coffee Irish on Fridays to get the weekend started early. After being friends with Paris for so long, Jules was an interesting change of pace.
"Of course," Rory said, breaking off a piece of cranberry scone. For a brief moment she thought of Logan, and how when he was in London they always made a point to discuss what kind of scone he was having for breakfast. Before she even fully formed the memory, it was gone. "It'll be nice to actually be home on Christmas. Last Christmas I was in Europe with Logan."
Jules rolled her eyes. "Of course you were. You need to hook me up with his number. I could use a trip to Europe."
"He lives in San Francisco now," Rory pointed out. "He's probably taking some other girl to Europe this Christmas. Besides, what would Jeremy say if you were talking about going to Europe with some other guy?"
Jules took a gulp of her coffee, wincing noticeably. Rory had warned her that a soy latte would be disgusting. "Jeremy is such a tool," she said. "He wanted me to go to North Dakota with him to visit his parents for Christmas. Yeah, right. We've been dating for like what, three weeks? And I didn't even know people actually lived in North Dakota. I thought it was just like, Mount Rushmore and some cows."
"Mount Rushmore is in South Dakota," Rory pointed out. "But I don't blame you for not wanting to go. Jeremy's pretty intense." She didn't know him well, but she had encountered him enough in staff meetings to know that he was kind of a hothead who always had to have the last word. When Jules said he'd asked her out last month, Rory had discreetly crossed her fingers and hoped it wouldn't blow up in their faces.
"He's a wanker," Jules proclaimed, stealing a bite of Rory's scone. Since Jules said that about nearly everyone when she was annoyed, Rory wasn't too worried about Jeremy's fate. Jules was the type of girl who constantly needed to be surrounded by people, including a good-looking guy on her arm. They'd only been at the coffee shop for fifteen minutes and she'd already sent six text messages. "I think I'm going to wait it out a little longer, though. See what he gets me for Christmas."
"You're terrible," Rory said, shaking her head. "I am so behind on my Christmas shopping it's insane. The fact that I don't have any money is kind of putting a damper on things."
"I feel you there," Jules said. "I think I might just get all my family members snow globes from the Henry Ford gift shop and call it a day."
"I swear, every year I have more people to buy gifts for and less money. Shouldn't that be the other way around?"
"Unless you're going to start murdering your family and friends, I don't think you'll have fewer people to buy for," Jules said. "Is one of those extra people this year Jess?"
Rory blushed and tried to cover it up by taking a sip of coffee. She and Jules had gone out for drinks when Rory got back from Connecticut after Thanksgiving and she had spilled the whole story about her and Jess. It had completely fascinated Jules, but Rory had been embarrassed the next day. She still kind of was. Jules had a million different stories about the guys she had dated and had no trouble flirting confidently with strangers in bars. Compared to her, Rory felt very juvenile with all her Jess-related baggage. "I don't even know if he'll be home for Christmas. I called him last week and was going to ask him, but I chickened out," she admitted.
"So what's up with you guys?" Jules demanded. "You made out at Thanksgiving and you text him all the time and I can tell because you always smile when he texts you back, but you're too scared to ask him about his plans for the holidays? You should tell him to go home for Christmas so you can finally work things out!"
"It's complicated," Rory said, instantly hating herself for using such a tired sentiment. "We're in different places, literally. I don't think either of us really want a long distance relationship."
"I had a long distance relationship for two years in college once," Jules said. "Well, we were both sleeping with other people for like the last year and a half, but it was still kind of nice."
"How is that nice?"
"Because he was just sweet," Jules said. "He sent me cute little cards if I had a big test coming up and he sent me a box of chocolates like once a month. Having him as my boyfriend was great."
"But you were both with other people."
"Best of both worlds, baby." Seeing Rory's face, she continued hastily. "But obviously that was ridiculous. You and Jess are both mature adults. You'd be able to work it out."
Rory shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "It just seems like it's not the right timing, you know? I've got a good job here and he's got a good job in Philadelphia and I don't see that changing any time soon. There's nothing wrong with just being friends."
"I agree, but you're not," Jules said. "People who are just friends don't kiss each other or make gross swoony faces when they text each other. Look, if you answer one question honestly right now you don't have to get me a Christmas present. Deal?"
"What's the question?" Rory asked warily. If it was about her sex life, she'd rather just buy Jules a present. Jules would talk unabashedly about this guy or that guy, but Rory was not that type of girl.
"Do you love him?" Jules asked seriously, her eyes meeting Rory's meaningfully.
"I…" Rory took a deep breath. "Yeah, I do. But love isn't always enough, you know."
"Take it from someone who's never really been in love. Love is always enough."
Rory considered that. Jules had a lot of experience and was whip smart, but Rory just couldn't agree with her this time. She had seen time and time again that love wasn't always enough. It wasn't enough to keep her and Dean together and it wasn't enough to make Logan stay with her, and it hadn't been enough to make things work out with Jess in the past. "Yeah, maybe," Rory said, poking a crumb on the table. "You've really never been in love?"
"Oh, I've been in love like a billion times. But never the right kind of love, you know? Never the kind of love that makes you care about the other person more than anything in the world." Jules said it casually, like it wasn't a big deal, but it made Rory think.
She knew she loved Jess, and probably had in some capacity since she was 17. It had always been there, lingering. It had faded at times, but when they had started talking again a few years ago she was very aware of it being there. She had loved Logan and loved being with him, but whenever she talked to Jess there was always a little spark there that reminded her that she had once loved him too. When she was with Logan she tried to push that feeling away, but there was really no reason to do it now. She was single, Jess was single, and that spark was still there. Did she care about him more than anything else in the world? She wasn't sure. Despite Jules' claim that that was the right kind of love, Rory thought it only existed between parents and their children.
Maybe that was the problem. Rory didn't know if she had that kind of self-sacrifice in her. Her career was important to her and she liked being at the Free Press in Michigan. If she and Jess actually worked out a way to be together, and not long-distance, they would both have to make sacrifices. She wasn't sure she was willing to make any sacrifices in her life right now, and she didn't expect Jess to either. Rory loved Jules' optimism and encouragement, but facts were facts.
Then again, Christmas was a time for miracles. As Jules and Rory finished their coffee and headed back to the office, Rory let herself feel a little bit hopeful. Maybe Jess would be home for Christmas. Maybe they could figure things out.
