AN: I own nothing. This story is based on the songRed Ragtop by Tim McGraw.It was previously posted, but removed for having song lyrics in it. This is a repost of the story without the lyrics. If you aren't familiar with the song I highly recommend you listen to it.
All recognizable characters are property of the peeps that own Gilmore Girls. I'm just making them do the weird things my brain comes up with. Characters are OOC in my somewhat AU world. This story deals with abortion.
Jess stepped off the bus. He couldn't believe he had been exiled to this podunk town. His uncle, Luke, walked up and greeted him awkwardly.
As he followed his uncle down the street to the diner he would be living in, she caught his eye.
Right off Jess could tell she wasn't his usual type. She was in a school uniform, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but everything about her screamed goody goody, from the tip of her pony tail to her polished saddle shoes. She was sitting in the gazebo, reading. For some reason he wanted to sit next to her, pull his book out of his pocket, and read with her.
He pulled himself out of his reverie and followed Luke.
Jess started to settle in. He wouldn't say he was comfortable here, but he was finding a rhythm. He had discovered the girl he saw on his first day was Rory, the town's golden girl. He had also found out that her mother was the coffee fiend that came to the diner every morning. It was obvious the mother was not impressed with him and he was sure she'd warned her daughter to stay away.
Jess didn't care. He planned to be out of here in a few months. It was better to stay unattached.
Jess had started going to the bridge when he needed to get away from the... closeness... of the town. It was his favorite place to sit and think, or read, or dream about leaving.
The bridge was his favorite place for another reason. It was where Jess and Rory sat and talked for the first time. She stumbled across him thumbing through his worn copy of Howl. Before Jess realized what was happening they were friends.
It didn't take long for Rory and Jess to open up to each other. They would spend hours talking about books or music. Rory told him about the pressure her mom put on her. She was sure it wasn't intentional, but her mom wanted so much for her. It was a lot to deal with. Sometimes Rory wanted to break free from the expectations and revolt.
Jess was happy to help her with her rebellious phase. One afternoon on the bridge she stole one of his smokes and promptly had a coughing fit when she tried to take a deep drag, like she had seen him do. He chuckled at her red face and assured her she'd get the hang of it.
It was the place where she had her first beer. She sat under the stars with Jess, feeling warm and slightly numb. It was also the place where they shared their first kiss.
Rory knew her mother didn't like Jess, but there was a magnetism that pulled her to him. She wanted his mind. She wanted to kiss his crooked smile. She wanted to crawl in his lap, dig her fingers into his hair, and feel every inch of him. So, after she had her second beer that was exactly what she did.
Jess wanted her, but he had tried to stay away. He knew she was the type of person that deserved more than he could ever offer. She was destined for amazing things, even if she didn't realize it yet. Once he tasted her candy lips on his and felt her hands tugging his hair none of that mattered.
Jess led her to the shore and nestled her under the branches of a willow tree. He stretched out beside her and ran his fingers along the exposed strip of skin at her waist.
He had done this before, with a few other girls, but he knew that nothing would be the same with Rory.
He leaned toward her and kissed her as he slid his hand further under her shirt.
She said, " Jess, please don't stop. "
Jess wasn't one for cliches. He tried to be the most authentic version of himself, but, touching Rory was like nothing he had experienced before. She was all smooth skin and quiet sighs, and moans of "please", "more", and "right there". He couldn't help burying his face in her neck and whispering about how good she felt, and how he never wanted to stop.
After the first time, he knew she had ruined him for anyone else. His feelings for her scared him, so he kept them to himself.
Rory had always had an honest relationship with her mom. It was easy when there was nothing to tell. She had always promised she would tell her mom when she was ready to have sex, but she didn't. It was too special, and she knew Lorelai wouldn't understand, so she started keeping secrets.
Most nights she would carefully open her window, tiptoe across the porch and run through the shadows to meet Jess at the bridge. It was thrilling to be in an all consuming love like this. They couldn't get enough of each other and they didn't want to stop.
In the beginning of their relationship it was easy to keep it quiet. Jess and Rory didn't really run across each other in town, unless she was at the diner while he was working. After a few weeks the stolen moments at the bridge just weren't enough. They wanted to spend more time together, and they were at the point where they didn't care who knew about them.
"Well, I guess it's time we tell my mom that we're dating," Rory said one night. They were on the bank, cocooned under the willow tree. "I'm tired of sneaking around all the time, and I have never kept a secret from her this long before."
"We can tell her, but I hope that doesn't mean you will completely stop sneaking out," Jess replied. He dragged his fingers across her bare skin, which caused her to shiver.
Rory turned to him and snuggled closer. "I wouldn't give up these nights with you for anything." She leaned over and kissed his chest softly.
Jess held her tightly, trying to keep his doubts at bay. He was afraid that they were like a shooting star, burning too bright and hot. He prayed that they weren't just a flash in the night sky.
Rory was nervous. She was heading to the diner with her mom for breakfast, like they did many mornings. Today was going to be different though. They had debated about the best way to tell her mom and his uncle, and after much consideration, they decided to take the band aid approach. They were going to announce it quickly and hopefully painlessly.
She knew it wouldn't go over well. The town loved her, they just barley tolerated Jess. She wasn't sure what people would say. She had spent so much of her life worrying about the opinion of others that she was scared. But, then she thought of Jess and her nerves calmed. She knew he wouldn't let anything bad happen. They were in this together, and it was going to be great to finally have it out in the open.
Jess saw Rory coming down the sidewalk with her mom. He was excited. It had taken all of his self control these past few weeks to keep his feelings in check. He couldn't wait to be able to hug her, kiss her, hell, even just sit with her and bask in her glow.
They came in and sat at a table. Jess tried to get to them first, but Luke make his way over and started chatting with Lorelai. Rory fidgeted in her seat for a second, visibly steeled herself, and headed toward the counter where Jess was.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey back," he replied. then before either of them could over think it Jess leaned in and kissed Rory across the counter. They rested their foreheads together for a moment, then Rory whispered, "Is everyone staring?"
"Yeah, and I think your mom is going to explode in a second."
Rory groaned, she really didn't want to deal with this. "Maybe we shouldn't have done this in the diner."
"Too late now," he smirked and kissed her again.
Rory headed back to her table, feeling nervous about what her mom was going to say next.
Luke and Lorelai were still in the same position they had been in when Jess and Rory had kissed. Jess silently congratulated himself on the job they had done keeping their secret. It was apparent no one had figured out that they had been seeing each other for weeks. He turned toward the kitchen to grab an order that Caesar had just put in the window.
He heard his girlfriend say brightly, "So, Jess and I are dating." His heart felt full, hearing Rory admit to two of the most important people in her life that she had chosen him
As Rory had predicted, her mom wasn't thrilled with the arrangement, but she made an effort. She went out of her way to be polite. He knew asking for anything more than polite would have been expecting too much, but it was hard on Rory.
Since they had come out to the town about their relationship, things changed. He knew it had to happen, they couldn't live in a bubble forever, but how he wished they could go back to those early days. Rory wasn't quite as carefree as she had been. He began to worry they had already burned out.
Two weeks after they had gone public Rory met Jess at the bridge. It was a clear night, with a full moon. It reminded Jess of the first night they had been together.
She snuggled in close. He could tell something was bothering her, but he waited. She would talk when she was ready. They sat in silence for minutes, or possibly hours, when they were together like this time had no meaning. There was never enough time with her to satisfy Jess.
Finally she spoke so quietly he had trouble hearing her. "Jess… I'm pregnant."
He couldn't respond at first. So may thoughts were swirling in his head. Could they make this work? Did he want it to work? What were they going to do?
"Jess, did you hear me?"
"I did. Sorry, that's not what I was expecting to hear from you." He sighed and raked his hand through his hair. "What do you want to do? I will support you no matter what."
Rory started sobbing. He rubbed her back and whispered words of love and commitment into her hair. He sat with her until she was able to talk.
"I don't want it," she hiccuped. "I feel like a terrible person saying that. My mom was younger than I am when she had me, but I just don't want to. I have a plan. I have goals. I want to travel and see the world."
Jess was quiet. He knew when he came to this town all he wanted to do was leave, but now, faced with the possibility of a future with Rory, he truly considered staying. He had flashes of the life they could have.
"Jess, what do you think? What is the right thing to do?"
"Rory, if that is what you want I will support you." He was scared to tell her to keep it, that they could get married, he had always known that she had dreams bigger than this town, bigger than him.
After that night on the bridge they never wavered from the plan. Sometimes the words would burn the back of his throat, and he wanted to tell Rory to change the plan, that they could make things work, but he would swallow them down.
He helped her make an appointment. On sunny morning, he got on the bus to Heartford with her. They held hands the whole way. He wrapped his arm around her as they went into the clinic.
On the way home he held her as her heart broke, and tried to help keep her together.
They got her settled in her room before her mom was home from work. She told Lorelai that she had a headache and just needed to sleep. Once her mom had gone to bed, Jess climbed in through the window and held her.
She was almost asleep when she said, "Jess, please don't stop loving me."
"Never," he whispered back. She didn't hear him. She had already drifted off.
After their trip to Hartford things changed. It began slowly at first. Rory was finishing her senior year at Chilton. She was making plans to attend Yale in the fall. Her rebellious phase seemed to be ending. First, she stopped sneaking out to meet Jess at the bridge. Then when they were together she wasn't interested in having a beer or stealing a smoke from him.
Jess had known this would happen, but he had hoped against hope that he would be wrong. He could see her shedding their relationship like a snake that had out grown it's skin.
They held on for a while longer. They could still fall into the world that was full of books and music and talk for hours, but she started to hold herself back. Sometimes he felt like he agreed with his take on a subject just so they could end the conversation.
Jess didn't want to stay to find out how she planned to end their relationship. It didn't matter. He knew she was done with him. So, he did the only thing he could. He left her first.
He had no place to go, so he headed to California to see if he could find his dad. He didn't really care about a family reunion, his main goal was to put as much space between himself and Rory as he could. He figured the best way to do that was to travel clear across the country.
He had planned to skip out without telling anyone he was going, but his uncle had been good to him, so he left a note saying thanks, and telling Luke not to expect him back.
Rory came bounding into the diner, looking for Jess. She hadn't seen him in a couple of days, because she had been so busy wrapping up her school year. She hoped to make a date with him. It had been too long since they had met at the bridge and she had missed him. She knew that she had been a bit flighty lately, but she was sure he would understand. The stress of school and the baby had made things hard for a while, but the thing that had kept her strong was his support. Looking back, she hadn't really told him that, but she would make sure to let him know tonight, at the bridge.
When she spotted Luke she asked where Jess was. He looked at her with sadness in his eyes.
"He left. He went to California to find his dad." Luke was surprised she didn't know. The last time he had seen them together they were practically attached.
Rory didn't say anything, she just nodded solemnly and ran from the diner before the tears filling her eyes spilled over. She ran over the bridge and to their spot under the willow.
She cursed Jess. She cried for their baby. She sobbed for their lost relationship. She cried until she was empty. After hours, she dragged herself home. Her mom looked so worried. All she said was, "He's gone."
She locked herself in her room and cried until she was empty. She cried for the choices she had made.
Finally, she steeled herself and came out. "I don't want to talk about it." she told her mother curtly. He had left without saying goodbye, like she had meant nothing. She was not going to waste another tear on him.
Over the years Jess thought about Rory. He never went to visit his uncle. The fear of running into her was real and terrifying. If he didn't see her he could pretend she wasn't special. He had heard that she had a boyfriend, a rich jackass she had met at Yale. She had never been pretentious, but it sounded like she had embraced the role of a socialite. He didn't want to see her like that. He wanted to remember the girl he had known and loved.
Rory tried to fill the void in her life left by Jess. She dated Logan for several years, but as her time at Yale came to a close, she knew they wouldn't last outside in the real world. She feared that she had met the person she was supposed to have been with. He had left her.
Jess really wished he wasn't back in this Podunk town. When Luke had called and asked him to be his best man Jess knew he couldn't say no. He also knew it meant he would have to see Rory again. After all, his uncle was marrying Lorelai.
He didn't want to see her, but he hoped that maybe he had built her up in his head, and that reality wasn't as good as the fantasy, that all those years ago he had been wrong when he predicted she would ruin him.
As she came down the isle he knew the truth. He still loved her, even after all these years.
Rory was overjoyed to see Jess standing up beside Luke. Time had been good to him, and if it was possible he was even more handsome than she remembered.
After the ceremony they were thrown together for the wedding party dances. It was awkward at first. There was so much to talk about, but it was impossible to know where to start.
Rory decided to start with the most honest thing she could. "I'm glad you're here. I've missed you."
Jess looked down at her. He thought he could see a trace of the love in her eyes from all those years ago. He decided to take a chance. "God, I missed your Rory."
He wrapped his arms around her and leaned in. She wove her hands into his hair, and it was like no time had passed at all. They were still the same people that fell in love on the bridge all those years ago.