A/N: Thanks for all the latest reviews, reader-peops! :) Now, who's ready for the Bid-A-Basket event? This chapter got a little longer than intended, but I hope you'll all enjoy my twist on the first half of what is one of my all-time favourite GG episodes! :)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 26
"I actually thought this would be the first Bid-A-Basket that I could actually participate in. I mean, Mrs Kim would actually have approved of Henry if I had just told her about him, but oh no, I thought I knew better. I thought keeping secrets and sneaking around would be fine. One date. One actual date was all we had, and even then, we didn't go anywhere, we hid in the apartment over the diner. You know, I don't think I'll ever have a real relationship. It's just not going to happen for me. I'll be forty-five and still living at home with my mom, never knowing what it's like to have actually been out on a date!"
Lane slammed her hand on the kitchen table and turned her face away from the basket that Rory had carefully been filling for the event tomorrow.
Rory felt horrible as she listened to her best friend rant. It was just awful seeing her so upset about a break up that hurt her so much, while Rory's own relationship was going so very well.
Henry and Lane seemed like the ultimate pairing. They had so much in common, they were both smart and kind and fun, plus the whole Korean connection meant Mrs Kim shouldn't have had a reason to complain. It was such a shame, the way things had worked out.
After all, Rory was well aware that, when it came to her and Jess, there were plenty of people who didn't think they would work out. He was a big change from Dean, no doubt about that, and yes, Jess did have that whole Outsiders vibe going on, which could be misinterpreted as unsuitable for the princess of Stars Hollow, a title Rory knew she was sometimes given, whether she liked it or not. Despite all this, their relationship was flourishing, while poor Lane was suffering.
"Lane, I just know you'll find someone eventually," she said, hoping it sounded both genuine and kind. "I mean, look at me. Do you think I was expecting to meet a guy like Jess and end up dating him, when I thought me and Dean would be forever? Do you think my mom ever thought for a second that she and Luke would make the perfect couple? Sometimes, life just surprises you."
Lane heaved a sigh. "Even if life decided to surprise me, I don't think my mother ever will," she said sadly. "I was so stupid, Rory. I had a Mama Kim approved boyfriend, right there for the taking. He actually, genuinely liked me, and I lost him!"
"I know," Rory sympathised, sitting down with her friend and putting her hand to her elbow, "but there'll be other guys, even some your mom approves of, probably. Well, maybe," she amended when she saw the look on Lane's face. "Besides, even if there was one that you liked that she didn't entirely approve of, well, you've had practice at the hiding of these things, right? The clothes, the music. You have a whole other life she doesn't know about, and it's only for a while longer. When you're eighteen, you can go to college and have even more freedom. Won't things be better then?" she said with a hopeful smile.
"Maybe," Lane considered, seeming to shake herself then. "I'm so sorry, Rory. I'm being so unfair to you. You were all excited about tomorrow and I'm just bringing you down."
"Hey, you are my best friend," Rory reminded her firmly. "If you need to rant about guys or your mom or anything at all, I am here for you, sister!" she said with real enthusiasm. "I just don't want you to be upset that I'm happy with Jess, that's all."
"Rory, I could never be upset about that," her friend assured her. "A little jealous, I'll admit, because you guys are working out so well, but majorly happy too. You're the best friend I could ever have and, honestly, Jess has really been there for me too. You know, teaching Chuck Presby a lesson, and setting things up for that one date I got with Henry. He was even weirdly supportive of my brief cheerleading career."
"You don't have to sell him to me." Rory smiled, putting two cans of soda into the basket she was almost done in preparing.
"No, but you have to sell Jess on buying that basket," said Lane, peering under the lid. "I'm guessing that's why you're actually making a real effort this year?"
"I am. I mean, I store bought most of it, since cooking or any kind of food prep is really beyond the Gilmore girls, but Sookie's helping me out with the dessert. I'm pretty sure Mom's going with the same set-up."
"And you both have great boyfriends to bid on you." Lane sighed. "Am I turning green? Because I feel like I should literally be turning green."
"No green, I promise," Rory told her with a smile, "but if I notice any Bruce Banner shades on you tomorrow, I will definitely let you know."
"You really are the best friend ever," said Lane, reaching out to hug her.
Rory was more than happy to hug her back.
"Can you even believe we're doing this? Because I cannot believe we're doing this."
Jess tried not to smirk at his uncle's grumbling. He had been asking the same, or at least similar questions, all morning. In fact, he had started the night before, questioning his own sanity as well as Jess' own.
Honestly, Jess thought this was one of the less insane events he had seen in the crackpot town so far. Stars Hollow had some completely nutty traditions, but bidding on the chance for a picnic-basket lunch with the woman of your choice? It may be old-fashioned and a little like a cattle market, but if the girls didn't mind, Jess saw no reason to complain. After all, as much as the company that came with the lunch was supposed to be a surprise, he knew very well which basket was Rory's own work, so he had nothing to worry about.
"Lorelai told you which basket was hers, right?" he checked with Luke.
"Obviously," he told him, rolling his eyes. "You think I wanna risk having to take Mrs Lanahan to lunch?"
Jess chuckled at the imagery but sobered up fast when Taylor banged his gavel and announced they were starting the festivities. Across the crowd, he spotted the Gilmore girls, both grinning like loons. They were so into this whole thing, and quite honestly, Jess wasn't against the concept. It all meant he got to spend time alone someplace with his girlfriend and got a free lunch into the bargain. What was to complain about?
"Okay, gentlemen, this is our next basket up for bid," said Taylor, doing his best gameshow host bit.
"That is Lorelai's basket," Luke said out of the side of his mouth.
"So bid already," Jess encouraged him as a couple of other guys chimed in with offers of their own, including Kirk who was looking weirdly determined.
Jess wasn't sure why he was surprised when a mini-bidding war broke out. After all, Lorelai was a decent person, attractive to a guy of a certain age too. Of course, the competition ought to have known better than to go up against her boyfriend on this. Luke wasn't giving in, even if he had to spend more than fifty dollars to get a lunch date with his own girlfriend, apparently.
Once again muttering and complaining, after the gavel went down, Luke went to claim his prize. He had the basket in one hand and Lorelai's fingers clasped in the other as they walked away together. The way she whispered in his ear and they suddenly quickened pace in the general direction of the Gilmore house, Jess had a feeling they were planning to do way more than eat lunch together. Happy as he was for them, it was a mental image he could well do without!
Just as the boredom of other people's baskets started to weigh on him, Jess looked up and realised the next lot in the auction was probably the lunch Rory had put together. He glanced across at her, just to be sure, smiling when she nodded her head in the positive.
"We'll start the bidding at ten dollars," said Taylor, looking out into the crowd.
"Right here," Jess told him, raising his hand.
"Fifteen!" Kirk called out, taking more than Jess by surprise, it seemed.
Rory looked completely underwhelmed, that was for sure.
"Twenty," said Jess, without pause, glaring at Kirk, but since the other guy was only looking at Taylor, he missed the threatening glance and continued on.
"Twenty-five."
"Thirty."
"Thirty-five."
"Forty!"
At that point, Andrew elbowed Kirk in the ribs and gestured in Jess' general direction. Kirk's hand had been half-way up for his next bid but suddenly came down fast. He clearly hadn't realised whose basket he was bidding on or who he was fighting for it. Now he did, he looked nothing but apologetic, and also, just a little scared.
"We have a bid of forty dollars from the town hoodlum," said Taylor, gavel raised. "Any advance on forty? Forty dollars, going once, going twice..."
"Fifty dollars."
Those two words spoken in the silence caused a ripple of conversation as everyone looked around to see who was being so foolish. Jess couldn't see at first, and then suddenly noticed one head sticking up above most others towards the back of the crowd.
"You have got to be kidding me!" he complained, even as Forester grinned at him.
"Okay, we have a bid of fifty dollars," said Taylor then. "Any advance?"
"Sixty dollars!" Jess said firmly, eyes fixed on his supposed rival.
"Seventy."
"Eighty."
It was getting stupid. Really, really stupid. Jess wasn't even sure that he had eighty dollars, but he'd be damned if he was going to let Dean win his girlfriend back like this. For one thing, Jess wasn't sure how Rory would react to something like that. He just had to hope that Forester hadn't saved up any more pennies, because there was no way he could go any higher.
"Ninety dollars."
The self-satisfied smirk on his lips when he said it made Jess want to knock his head clean off his over-sized body. The red rage came down in his eyes and it took everything Jess had not to act on it. It was probably all the effort he was putting in to controlling himself, keeping his fists in his pockets out of harm's way, that led to him completely missing the part where Taylor gave the chance for further bids. He only tuned in again when it was too late.
"Sold to Dean Forester for ninety dollars!"
Rory couldn't breathe. Her feet seemed to be stuck to the spot also. She really couldn't believe it when Dean started bidding on her basket. It had freaked her out enough when she thought she might have to have a lunch date with Kirk, but at least his bids were a legitimate mistake. The moment he realised he was up against Jess for a date with Rory herself, he stopped. Dean had clearly come along to the event with a plan, and not one that Rory approved of.
When the number of dollars grew steadily higher, she knew Jess was going to run out of funds. He made a pretty good wage at the diner, but he had spent plenty on her these past few weeks, on a couple of really great dates and gifts and such. He hadn't told her what his limit was today, but she had never expected him to have to go too high, especially not when everyone realised it was clearly Rory's basket up for bid. She never, ever could have foreseen this outcome to today.
"This was not supposed to happen, right?" Lane asked her in a low voice.
"Of course, not," Rory told her, shaking her head violently. "I can't believe Dean would do this!"
"I can," her friend muttered, but by that time Rory was rushing away, straight towards Dean as he carried her basket away from the podium.
Naturally, Jess was soon giving chase also. They met on the other side of the gazebo, away from too many prying eyes and curious ears, as the bidding on baskets continued. Jess looked more than a little mad while Dean looked horribly smug in a way Rory had never seem him before. She was not at all impressed.
"What just happened?" she asked helplessly.
"I think that's pretty obvious," Jess snapped, glaring at Dean. "Your ex has completely lost his mind."
"Hey, man, I'm just participating in a town event." Dean shrugged like nothing was wrong. "I live in the town, right? I am allowed to join in the fun, same as you."
"Dean, please," Rory urged him. "Don't be a jerk. It's not you."
"Oh, I know it's not," he told her, meeting her eyes. "You chose to dump me so that you could be with the only jerk around here," he said of Jess, "but I know it won't last. I needed you to know, Rory, that I'm still here, and when you're done with your rebellious phase or whatever this is-"
"You need to shut your mouth, right now!" Jess told him loudly, not even letting him finish his sentence as he bodily put himself between Dean and Rory, "or I swear-"
"You swear, what?" Dean countered, glaring down at Jess.
"Stop it, both of you, please!" Rory yelled, coming around to try and get in-between them, but there just wasn't the room. "Jess, Dean, will you please stop? I don't want this. I don't want either of you threatening each other or insulting each other or anything!"
She tried to give them both a shove to get them apart. It didn't really have much impact physically, but it did get their attention. Jess must've seen how upset she was and felt badly, because he suddenly backed up a step.
"I'm sorry, Rory, but he is asking for it," he told her anyway.
"I know he's made you angry, but I don't want there to be a fight," she said definitely. "He did the wrong thing, I know, but... but he didn't mean any real harm, and it is just one lunch..."
When Jess' eyes went wide with shock, Rory was pretty sure she had said the wrong thing, and yet, she did at least partially believe she was right. Dean wanted to be there for her. He clearly missed her and wanted her back. It was so sad and she really did feel sorry for him. Of course, she didn't want Jess to be angry and upset, but she also didn't want Dean to feel bad either. He always treated her so well before.
"You're going to go have lunch with this guy? And you think he doesn't mean any harm?" Jess shook his head. "Geez, Rory, come on. You're not this dumb. Why else would he do this if not to make trouble between us?"
"I don't need to do anything to make trouble between you two," said Dean then, getting both Rory and Jess' attention at the same time. "You really think she's going to stay with you anymore than she stayed with me?" he said, shaking his head. "Look at her wrist."
Jess did as he was told, despite who was giving instructions, and Rory couldn't help but follow suit. She realised, slightly too late, what Dean was referring to, and cursed herself inside her head for being so stupid.
"What am I looking at?" asked Jess, eyeing Rory's bracelet in confusion.
She wasn't sure who he expected to answer him, but it was probably her. For all his smug attitude, Dean wasn't saying anything now. He wanted her to have to explain. So much for being there for her and caring so much about her.
"Dean gave this to me. He made it for me, a long time ago," she said softly, showing Jess the bracelet. "I... I didn't even think about it. Jess, it's not that I kept it on because it was from him, I just... I got so used to it being there, I genuinely didn't think about it."
He looked so hurt. The anger was bad enough, but the pain in Jess' eyes then, Rory could hardly stand it. The second-hand hurt turned to anger in a second when she looked at Dean and realised this was exactly what he wanted. How could she have ever loved a person who would do that to her?
Pulling at the bracelet until the knot gave, she threw it in Dean's general direction. He fumbled, not managing to catch it, and had to stoop to pick it up from the ground instead.
"Rory..." he began to say, but was prevented from continuing.
Lane was suddenly at her friend's side and she did not look happy by what she had clearly seen and overheard.
"Go away, Dean," she told him crossly. "Why can't you just leave Rory and Jess alone and let them be happy? Isn't it enough that you've been practically stalking them? That you tried to goad Jess into hitting you the other day?"
"What?" Rory gasped, without really meaning to.
She was just so shocked to hear all this. Nobody had told her, not Lane or Jess, no-one.
"I didn't want to tell you," Lane explained, as if she read Rory's mind. "I thought maybe Jess would or... well, it didn't seem like any of my business, but the truth is, Dean has been obsessed ever since you guys broke up. I had no idea he would go as far as bidding on your basket and everything."
"What do you expect me to do?" said Dean himself then. "Just let her be with this-"
"One more word, man," said Jess loudly. "Just one more."
He was going to hit him. Rory was so very aware of it, and though she knew she should say no, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Right in that moment, she could actually hit Dean herself and take great pleasure in it. She probably wouldn't do it, but she felt as if she could.
"Rory?" he said, giving her those big puppy dog eyes he did so well, but it didn't work anymore.
"Go away, Dean. Leave the basket and just go, before you make it any worse."
He seemed to consider it for a moment, before finally nodding his head, putting the basket down on the ground and walking away.
"I'll make sure he doesn't change his mind and come back," said Lane, side-stepping away, though honestly, Rory barely noticed.
All her focus was on Jess, who was still staring after Dean, looking as if he would love to run after him and tear him limb from limb. Rory wasn't even sure she could blame him right now.
"I'm so sorry, Jess," she said softly, finally getting his attention. "About the bracelet, I really didn't think about it. Also, for the basket thing, even though that wasn't my idea or anything, obviously, but I'm... I'm just sorry it happened this way. Jess, you do know I don't want to get back together with Dean, don't you? You do know that-"
When she reached for him, he pulled his arm away. Rory felt as if he might as well have slapped her face.
"Jess? Please, let's just go have lunch and..."
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'm really not hungry anymore," he told her, turning on his heel to walk away.
"Jess, don't," she urged him, grabbing hold of his sleeve and pulling him back around. "You do know I don't want to be with Dean, right? You know that... that I love you."
She couldn't read the expression on his face after those words were spoken, and then, all of a sudden, he turned from her again and walked away without looking back.
To Be Continued...