A/N: Look at all those wonderful reviews. Thanks so much, folks :) Yes, I know, Rory has gotten herself into the middle of something she's having trouble getting out of, and Jess & Logan... I know, it's super messy! But y'all trust me, right? ;) Now, let's all celebrate Finn's birthday!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 11

Jess felt just a little conspicuous as he crossed the Yale campus, headed for Rory's building. Maybe it was the outfit he had on for Finn's costume party, but Jess was almost convinced that wasn't it, since he had already seen a half-dozen other people in much weirder outfits, not all of which he could identify as Tarantino-related.

The problem was the date, in a way. The bigger problem was Logan.

They hadn't spoken since the confrontation over Rory. Maybe they should have, maybe apologies should've been made, explanations given, but they weren't. It wasn't cool, the rift between Jess and Logan, and he would sooner it didn't exist, but he also wasn't about to bow out of this weird competition. He honestly didn't see why he should, when all Huntzberger seemed to be trying to get out of it was the 'prize' of Rory. She wasn't an object to be won, she was a person with a mind and personality as great as her looks ever were.

Of course, when Logan had asked him if he loved Rory, Jess had left the question unanswered. It seemed like territory too dangerous to navigate right now. Not that he had been actively avoiding his so-called friend so much as Logan just hadn't been around. If he had been back home to the house, Jess wasn't aware of it, but then, he had been home much less himself this past week or so.

Getting a job and pulling some money together was always the plan, and Walmart was an easy choice, even if it wasn't anything special. By working the shifts nobody else wanted, Jess was making a pretty decent rate of pay, all things considered. Of course, he was well-aware that when he had got enough cash saved up, he would need to be moving out and off on his way, leaving Connecticut behind one more time. Maybe that was the biggest problem of all, but he wasn't about to dwell on it, at least, not tonight.

Knocking on the dorm-room door, Jess was only mildly startled to find it wasn't Rory on the other side when it opened.

"Hi. Paris, right?"

She smiled a tight-lipped smile that seemed to mean more than Jess could understand, not even bothering to say hello before turning her head and bellowing in the direction of Rory's room.

"Gilmore! Prince Charming is here to take you to the ball."

"Really?" Jess questioned her odd phrasing,

Paris' smile turned into a smirk. "Well, I guess maybe I do have it backwards. Aren't you more the Cinderella type yourself? Related to the help, right?"

"Step-son to a valet," he confirmed as she finally let him across the threshold. "I'm not exactly sweeping ashes out of fireplaces or anything."

"Hey, I'm not judging, man," Paris assured him, hands held up in mock surrender. "Honestly, between you and Huntzberger, even I might choose substance over money and power. Of course, with Mitchum owning all those newspapers and Rory seeing journalism in her future, Logan certainly has his appeal, but like I said, there's something to be said for substance. The heir apparent does lack character, from what I can tell."

Jess wanted to take Paris' words as a compliment, but quite honestly, it was tough to tell if that was what she was going for. If it were approval she was giving him, she could've been clearer. Not that Jess was really looking for the nod from Rory's dorm-mate and friend. Of course, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to have allies if Logan was going to make this a war.

"Wow," said Paris then, her eyes no longer on Jess but towards Rory's room, and when Jess looked that way too, he realised why. "That's setting feminism back a good few years," she said of Rory's outfit choice. "Susan B Anthony just turned over in her grave"

"This is not to please the male masses, Paris," Rory told her with a look. "It's a Tarantino themed party. I'm not random slutty school girl here. I'm Gogo Yubari," she said definitely, showing off the dime-store plastic mace in her other hand.

"Sure you are." Paris nodded, rolling her eyes for good measure. "Well, while you two are partying like it's 1999, I'll be getting some work done to further my career."

"Good luck with that!" Rory called as Paris headed back into her own room, not quite slamming the door behind her. "Sorry about her."

Jess was barely hearing a word. Though just moments before arriving at the dorm, he had been thinking how Rory was so much more than just her looks, he had to admit she looked pretty amazing as she was dressed right now.

"What?" she asked warily, letting him know he was probably staring just a little too much.

"Nothing," said Jess, clearing his throat as he very purposefully put his eyes on her face and kept them there. "Uh, you look amazing."

"Well, thank you, so do you," she told him with a smile, eyes travelling over his body clad in dark suit and skinny tie. "Um, Mr Blonde? Mr White?" she guessed, smile beginning to slip a little as she went on. "Mr... some other colour? I'm sorry, I'll be honest, I'm not super into Reservoir Dogs."

"Pick any colour you want, it doesn't really matter," he assured her. "I wasn't aiming for anything specific. It's not like Finn will notice, right?"

"That's true." Rory nodded, as they turned to the door and headed out.

They walked down the hall in silence, Jess with his hands in his pockets, feeling weirdly uncomfortable. He never had that with Rory before. From almost the first moment, he had just been so relaxed and at home with her, something he rarely found in his life with new people he met. Since the whole blow-out with Logan, things just felt different, awkward, odd. He really wished they didn't, but they did.

"Are you okay?" Rory asked, when they were not far from the party.

Jess shook the cobwebs out of his head and looked at her. "Sure."

"Really?" she checked, looking worried yet.

Maybe he should just tell her what happened with Logan. Jess had been giving the whole situation due consideration for days now, but somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to actually say the words. To confess to Rory about the fight with Logan was to reveal himself, heart and soul, to her. That was risky, possibly downright dangerous, in the circumstances. It sure as hell was going to ruin what was pretty much their first real date. There was no way Jess was letting that happen.

"The only thing bothering me right now is that we're going to be late to this party, and Finn will have drunk the place dry before we even get in the door."

Rory opened her mouth as if she was going to counter, then swiftly closed it again. After a second of consideration, she spoke, but she certainly didn't argue.

"You make an excellent point," she noted, grabbing Jess' hand and physically dragging him to the dorm where the very loud party was being held. "Wow, this is just..." she said, the moment they got through the door, clearly struggling to find a suitable adjective.

"Yeah, I know," Jess sympathised, taking his turn at leading them through the crowds towards the buffet table.

It was weighed down with twice as much booze as food, but that was okay. Quite honestly, Jess needed a beer. He offered Rory the same and was only mildly surprised when she took it. She didn't exactly seem like a beer drinker, but then she did have a tendency to surprise him from time to time.

"To Finn, on his birthday," she said, offering a toast.

"To the birthday boy," Jess agreed, as they clinked their bottles and drank.

Rory had removed her bottle from her mouth but Jess hadn't quite managed the same when suddenly he felt an arm wrenching him around the neck and saw that his date was similarly afflicted.

"Friends!" Finn said loudly. "Can't believe you finally made it, mates. Isn't this just the best party you ever saw?"

"It is," said Rory, staggering a little under the weight of drunken Finn but smiling nonetheless. "Happy birthday, Finn."

"Thank you, darling," he said, kissing her cheek sloppily. "And Jess, my book reading buddy from Boston."

"New York," Jess corrected him, evading his own kiss from Finn, because that was just going too far.

"Whatever. Save me a dance, won't you, sweetheart?" he checked with Rory, not even waiting for the answer before he staggered off, grabbing a tray of shots from a passing server. "All right, children, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we will all be in a great deal of pain!"

"He really did start early," Rory noted.

"I expect nothing less from Finn," said Jess, taking another careful sip of his beer now it seemed safe to do so. "So, glad we came?"

"Um, I guess so," said Rory awkwardly. "I'll be honest, it wasn't so much about the party when I called and asked you if you wanted to go with me."

"It wasn't?" Jess checked, unsure if this was about to go where he wanted it to and determined to keep his theories to himself until he was more certain. "So, what was it about?"

"You really don't know?" she asked, moving in closer to him, closing the wide gap that Finn's presence had made before. "Jess..."

"Well, well, well, the gang's all here!"

Logan's dulcet tones were unmistakable, as well as entirely unwelcome, especially since Jess was pretty sure he was more than a little drunk. The gold-coloured boxing get up was clearly an homage to Butch Coolidge. That figured.

"Logan." Jess nodded once.

"Rory, I love the costume," Logan told her, completely blanking is supposed friend.

"I like yours too," she replied, even as she looked past him at The Bride who was presumably his date.

"Right, yes, introductions," said Logan, his arm as far around the other girl as it would go as he pulled her into the circle. "This is Whitney. Whitney, Jess, Rory."

They all exchanged 'hellos' and all looked equally as awkward as each other. Jess had a feeling Whitney was more Logan's usual speed. Looked great in her underwear, put out on the first (and probably only) date, and only made it into Yale on a technicality to take the world's most pointless courses. She was no Rory Gilmore, he knew that much. Of course, nobody was.

"So, great party, huh?" Logan was saying when Jess started paying attention again.

"Music's cool." Rory bobbed her head as she said it.

"Very cool. Well, we're just heading over to reload on drinks. Can we get you two anything?"

The look he cast Jess' way was nothing like a friendly offer and way more like a challenge somehow. Logan was spoiling for a fight tonight, and it wasn't the boxing outfit that proved it to Jess. He just knew the guy that well. Unfortunately for Logan, if he was looking for Jess to start trouble, then he had a really long wait on his hands.

"We're fine," he told his so-called friend shortly. "Actually, we were going to dance?"

"We were?" Rory checked. "Oh, we were," she agreed as Jess put both their beers aside, took her hand and pulled her towards the dancefloor area. "Seriously, you almost tore my arm from the socket," she complained as Jess then spun her unceremoniously into his arms.

"I'm sorry," he told her with a sigh. "I just... I can't deal with him right now."

Rory frowned at that, even as she settled her arms up around Jess' neck and swayed to the music that was thankfully pretty slow right now. Jess really wasn't much for dancing in the first place, but as he said, he had just wanted to get away from Logan. Slow dancing he could do, especially with Rory.

"What's going on with you guys?" she asked, looking up into his eyes. "Jess? Talk to me. What's going on?"

He really should tell her, Jess was well aware. Before, he could just pretend she was better off not knowing, but now she was asking outright. The last thing he wanted to do was lie to Rory. A lie by omission was still a lie.

"We... had words," he said diplomatically, "and before you ask, yes, it was about you."

Jess knew he shouldn't have told her, because the second the words were said, Rory looked sad and guilty. He really didn't want that, not tonight, not when they were finally actually on a date and things were going so well.

Not knowing what else to say or do, he pulled her closer and let his lips finds hers. When she didn't fight it and even seemed to be leaning in more when he considered pulling away, Jess deepened the kiss, held her closer, let himself get lost in the moment. It was only when he felt someone tapping on his shoulder that he was pulled very firmly back to reality. He turned sharply to see what was going on, only to receive a fairly forceful, but ultimately sloppy punch across his face.

"Oh my God!" Rory gasped, reeling back out of the way, as Jess fought to stay on his feet. "Logan, what are you doing?!"

"Are you kidding me with this?" Logan asked her, too loudly. "You can't be with this guy. He's a jerk. Haven't you noticed he's kind of a jerk?"

"No, I haven't," Rory insisted. "You, on the other hand..." She leaned down towards Jess and helped him stand straight. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he insisted, wiping his hand across his lip and not overly surprised to find it came away bloody.

"You're a real piece of work, Huntzberger," he told Logan then.

"You're one to talk, Mariano," he spat back. "I warned you!"

"Go to hell!" Jess yelled, so tempted to just slug the guy right back, but trying his damndest not to give in to that particular temptation.

After all, that would just make him as bad as Logan, which he so didn't want to be, especially in front of Rory. Besides, if things got ugly and the cops got called, money and power would ensure it was Jess who spent the night in jail, never Logan.

"Okay, I'm done with this crap," Logan said then, moving towards Rory. "Let's go."

"Are you kidding?" she checked, pulling her hand away the moment he reached for it. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Seriously, Logan, what is your problem?"

"My problem is you're here with him and it's bothering me," he said, waving his arm towards Jess, "and I don't like that it's bothering me."

"So, leave, but I'm not going with you," she told him definitely. "I came here with Jess because I wanted to. I asked him to be my date, because that was what I wanted. You get to date who you want," she pointed out, gesturing towards poor Whitney, who didn't exactly look thrilled about this whole situation either. "And why would you hit Jess anyway? I thought he was supposed to be your friend."

"Some friend!" Logan scoffed, turning back to look at Jess. "And just in case you were wondering, you're not welcome in my house anymore. If I have my way, your precious stepfather will be out too, but you? You come back, I'll call the cops and have you locked up for trespass so fast your feet won't touch the ground. You hear me, Mariano?"

Jess didn't even flinch, just turned around and walked towards the door with a purpose. He didn't exhale until he was out in the hallway and realised that he wasn't alone. The pain in his face, the dent in his pride, the worry over Joe's job, it all lessened in an instant, because Rory had actually chosen him.

To Be Continued...