"We should talk,"
Lorelai pitched forward, she stumbled from her perch behind the counter – knocking over the display of magazines she was adjusting and almost spilling into her coffee.
"Wha-?"
Liz stood on the other side of the counter. Her hands were gripped over the surface and looking to invade into Lorelai's personal space – reaching for the woman's hands in what was definitely meant to be enthusiasm.
"We should talk – I can come over, a few drinks, conversation. You know! Talk!"
"Uh – Why?"
"You're dating my brother, silly. I want to get to know you better. Luke is obviously enamoured – it's only right that I learn about my possible sister-in-law."
"Woah, Liz. You might be going into warp-drive there."
"A trekkie? That makes sense."
Lorelai snickered at the reminder of Luke's Star Trek obsession, and failed to defend herself from Liz' planning.
"So tonight? I can come over at about 6 – we can have a few drinks and get to know one another. TJ is meeting up with friends in the centre of town, and I'll be by myself anyway. Brillaint! I will see you then."
The woman ran off without Lorelai being able to get another word in, skipping away and back upstairs to her room in her inn.
Lorelai shook her head, smoothed down her work skirt and muttered incredulously to herself, "What the hell?"
She picked up the phone and rang Luke.
Jess walked back into the diner, his book open and his eyes never leaving the words. He heard the bell above him, and fumbled around behind him to catch the door before it crashed behind him. He took two steps forward before -
"-Jess!"
He fumbled, jumping, dropping his book after a grappling attempt at catching it, "Jesus Christ."
He stood upright, looking at the small woman incredulously, his palms held out and his eyebrows raised, "What the hell Lane?"
"Sorry. Did I scare you?"
"Scare me? No. Of course, just ..."
She raised an eyebrow behind her thick frames.
"Okay, yeah. Scared me." He pushed passed her, picking up his book and smoothing out the cover, "What's up, Lane?"
"Luke is looking for you."
"Thanks, uh – where?"
"He bolted out earlier."
She turned back around, waving absent-mindedly behind her at the door. He followed her to the counter, placing his book down and slipping onto one of the stools. "Was it a raging, muttering bolting out of here, or more of a worrying, manic bolting?"
"Calm Down. It was a more 'I have to speak to Jess', bolting out of here." Lane rubbed down the counter in front of him, consciously avoiding the area around the book.
"While you wait," She continued, "Shall I get you something to eat? It's not like I'm swamped right now." She gestured vaguely around the empty diner and Jess snorted as he agreed.
"You're taking the fall if Luke is pissed."
"Pft," She waved off his concerns, "Luke loves me – he wouldn't dare be pissed."
He laughed, obviously surprising her from her widened eyes and muted squeak. He didn't acknowledge it, favouring to avoid the girl's embarrassment and instead opened his book, reading while she busied herself around the kitchen. When she did eventually place a plate of warm Chilli in front of him, she settled her elbows next to him and kept stuttering out conversation starters.
"What's up, Lane?"
"Nothings up – why would you think something was up. I'm just trying to chat – is that a crime?"
"Not a crime, no." He took a bite of the chilli, humming around the fork at the taste, "but I'd say we're both chronic avoiders of small-talk."
"Nothing's wrong." She said again, taking out a mug from under the counter and placing it in front of him in a grace evident of practice. She paused, pouring the coffee, and eyeing him as he ate. "You've missed a lot here, Jess."
He thought back to Rory and Dean only hours before - "I've gathered that."
He took a bite of his food and carefully chose his words, "Want to give me the low-down?"
"Of Stars Hollow? I don't think you'd be interested."
"Well, what about you Lane?"
"Oh, Well, Sure. I guess... well, a lot has changed there."
He gestured her to continue.
"I've moved out of my mother's house, I'm living with the band now."
He almost choked on his food. "You. You moved out? Your mother let you leave?"
"More like, she kicked me out."
"Oh. Jeez, Lane. I'm sorry, I know the feeling."
She regarded him carefully, "Yeah," she said, "I suppose you do."
He quickly got uncomfortable under her gaze, "What about the band? Dave still about?"
She cringed, and he realised his mistake. "uh, no." She said, "He moved to California for school – it didn't work out."
He paused momentarily, "I'm not doing great on this whole conversation thing, am I?"
"Just a few misses," She watched as he ate some more, happy to be seeing the boy get some appetite back, "How're you doing, Jess?"
He shrugged non-committally, "How do I look like I'm doing?"
"Honestly – not great."
"I can see why Rory hangs out with you – such encouragement."
"You know we're all just worried, Jess."
"Who is 'we' exactly?"
"We. Us. You know; Luke, Andrew, Lorelai, Rory – the town."
"I honestly doubt the town gives a shit."
"Well you're wrong."
"That's a new feeling."
She snorted. "They may not seem like it, and I know they were hard on you the last time you were here – but they do care. No one would wish what you're going through on their worst enemy – let alone someone they know and begrudgingly care about,"
A smirk briefly shows on his face and the apt description of any semblance of their 'caring', and yet he seemed to come back to reality just as quickly, "How do you know what I'm going through?"
"Jess. No one here is an idiot – please give us credit. Everyone wants to help - just not everyone is very good at that, at showing you. Just," she hesitated, pulling out a cup fro under the counter and wiping it away of any dust, "Just, you know, keep that in mind."
Jess nodded, trying to hide his discomfort at the conversation turn and stuffed more of the chilli into his mouth to stop himself from saying anything unnecessarily ungrateful.
He was saved by Luke bursting through the door – the noise drowning out the aggressive bell ringing – gratuitously announcing his arrival.
"Where have you been?"
Jess, his fork part way to his mouth, and food hanging precariously on the prongs, stumbled over his words "Uh, Here?"
"I've been looking for you everywhere,"
"And I've been here."
Luke pitched forward, he took the boys plate from under him, placing it in the cubby to the kitchen.
"Come on." Luke demanded, stalking passes Jess, grabbing the boy's coat from the back of the chair and marching back out the door.
"Wha-?" Jess cut himself off, made eye contact with Lane, shrugging at his uncles erratic behaviour – then, slipping his book from the table he quickly stumbled after him.
Jess followed Luke into his Jeep and waited for the man to start driving until he began to question his behaviour "What's going on?"
"Your mother has decided to get to know Lorelai better."
"Why is this an emergency?"
"She brought over a case of beer and some wine – that was a few hours ago."
Jess cringed opening, pulled his seatbelt around himself tighter and nodded determinedly like he'd just made the decision to march into battle, "Right. Emergency. Let's go then."
Luke rush to Lorelai's, apparently more concerned about what Liz could be saying to Lorelai then his diner and keeping up his income.
"You realise this is all your fault, right?" Jess mused moment before they arrived.
"Shut up, Jess."
The loud, boisterous laughter escaping through the cracked window in the kitchen only put Luke more on edge as they both made their way to the back entrance. The fact that Lorelai's manic giggles were louder than Liz's gruff chortles effectively catapulted Luke through the door.
Jess sauntered in afterwards, sidestepping his frozen uncle and letting himself grin at the interaction.
"Evening Ladies," Jess said in a drawl, his mouth pinched as he attempted to hold in an explosive laugh.
The scene they were met with was Liz and Lorelai, swaddled under a river of blankets that had spilled into puddles on to the linoleum floor of the kitchen. They had one empty bottle of wine on the table, another half drunk. Old take-away cartons littering the spare chair and Lorelai was creating artful knots in his mother's hair as she drank the wine gripped in Liz' hand from a straw.
"Jess!" Liz shouted in greeting. Her voice was even under the alcohol's influence – a well verse expert in the state of inebriation – she often slurred more when she was sober.
"Ah, great timing -" Lorelai, on the other hand, stumbled over her words – trying to get one out before the last had finished, "-your mother was just telling me about the Neruda incident of 1989."
His humour evaporated instantly. "Oh, Great." He said sarcastically, "I'm going to leave you to it then." He made to leave.
"Oh Come On, Jess! 'You can only have one book in this store and that's it.' - and the five year old Casanova, Jess Mariano, goes and picked up a collection of the sexiest poems ever? That's Comedy Gold!".
"He wouldn't stop screaming and crying until I let him have it," Liz added with a laugh.
"Thanks, Liz." He growled, "I'll be on the porch if you need me, Luke."
He caught sight of Luke snapping out of her reverie and slipping a hand over Lorelai's shoulder to gather her attention before Jess rounded the corner. Lorelai turned to beam up at Luke in such a way that seemed to light up the room and add colour to the man's face.
Jess made a mental note to remind Luke just how lucky he was.
It was some time later when Jess glanced up from his book, watching at Lorelai meandered onto the porch with a silly smile on her face and a beer held right at the tip of the bottle. He grinned at her approach, watching her sway towards him unsteadily and slowly plop herself down next to him, shimmying herself into a more comfortable position.
"Oh no," Jess said and she was able to hear the amusement in his clipped words, "Are we about to bond?"
"Damn straight, Jess."
She shimmied further down into the cushions next to him, her drink sloshing up the sides of the glass, and she dived forward for the small straw sticking out of the top.
He made a face at the straw and she laughed, "Don't knock it until you try it."
"I'll keep that in mind."
She was quiet for a while – watching him as he read his book. He was aware of her gaze but continued on, knowing that a Gilmore couldn't stay quiet for long. She watched him bite on the pencil in his hand as he thumbed the pages until he finally leant against his knee and scribbled his musings in the margins after underlining a passage with a few blunt lines.
"Your mother is an interesting woman."
Jess huffed in response, but continued his scribblings on the page.
She hesitated again, desperate to start a conversation but unable to get any words out – it was evident that Liz was not a topic of conversation that he wanted to have.
"I wanted to apologise."
"You've already tried that."
"I didn't have all of the facts then – it wasn't real."
"Are you telling me you faked an apology?" He was smirking and Lorelai couldn't help but grin back at his banter.
"Shut up, Jess. I am trying to apologise now. I misjudged you and let my fears out on you. You reminded me too much of Chris-"
"Chris? As in the rich prick who abandoned you and Rory – that Chris?"
"Alright – I know it was cracked."
He scoffed and turned back to his words.
"You're a strong young man, Jess."
His head shot up.
"You're strong, and intelligent, and you obviously care for people deeply when they give you a chance. It's frustrating to see you throw away your intelligence and not finish school, avoid qualifications, when I'm sure that you'd do better than half the quacks out there."
"What happened to the compliments?"
She ignored him, "You had less than half of the opportunities in life that I had and I know how long it took me to find my calling – I get it."
"I don't really get your point."
"All I'm saying is that I finally see what I should have seen when you were here the first time – or the second time. What Rory was trying to make me see – you aren't the devil. You're nice to people who are nice to you, and I'm sorry for not being one of those people."
"I – Thanks."
Lorelai tapped his shoulder once, before quickly pulling it away and going back to sipping her beer through her straw. "Saying that -" She started.
Jess groaned.
"- Rory told me what you said to her last night."
Jess dropped his head, letting his chin rest against his chest for a moment before he slowly brought his head around and looked Lorelai in the eye.
"I was a bit harsh, but it was kind of justified." He attempted to defend.
"No, I get that."
"What?"
"Things have changed here, Jess -"
"Everyone keeps saying that – but no one actually explains why. What happened?"
"Everyone?"
"Luke, Lane, Dean hinted at something- god, even Rory said things have changed. But no one is telling me why. I'm not an idiot – it's obvious something happened. You and Rory acting all awkward around each other. There was a time when her telling you everything was the most worrisome thing in our relationship – and now? Well, now, I don't know what to think."
Lorelai seemed to consider his words for a long time. She sipped on her beer and chewed on the end of the straw as she contemplated her words, "She made some decisions that I disapproved of." She started slowly, twirling her fingers around the bottle and talking at Jess more that to him. "I'm all for making your own mistakes, but she went about it the complete wrong way and – god, I shouldn't be telling you this,"
She didn't say anything. She went back to sipping her beer as if the straw would stop her from saying anything more.
"Does it have anything to do with the fact I saw Rory and Dean out together this morning?"
Her eyes widened and Jess took that as an affirmative.
"I thought he was engaged to that girl... uh, Lindsay?"
She visibly cringed.
"You're going to have to give me something here, Lorelai."
The was a beat of silence.
"He married her."
"Who? Lindsay?"
Lorelai nodded.
"Wow. Quick Marriage."
"Yeah, Rory said that it was like they were trying to put on a 'married couple' act."
She didn't elaborate – and Jess didn't ask her to. Instead, he asked "So Rory and Dean were friends again after I left?"
"Yeah for a bit."
The was the sound of the wind picking up the fallen leaves on the gravel, and then, "Huh."
"What Huh?"
He hummed.
"No. Jess, explain the 'Huh'?"
"It's just, when me and Rory were dating he was really quite – I don't know? Aggressively Possessive?"
"What do you mean?" Her voice pitched higher and she threw herself in such a way that she was fully facing the boy.
"He kept threatening me about her – that he'd steal her away like I 'stole' her from him. That she and him belonged together – all this crap. I thought it was sudden when I found out him and Lindsay were engaged as it wasn't that long after he'd threatened us."
Lorelai paused, contemplating this, before she swore – loudly.
Jess, having never heard the woman swear, couldn't help the hysteric laughter that bubbled up from him. The noise seemed to shock Lorelai out of her thoughts momentarily but her tipsy head seemed to thrust her straight back into her disbelieving grumblings.
"I'm guessing the light is no longer shining out of Dean's ass any more." Jess commented as casually as he could.
Lorelai snorted, "Yeah, well, reality kicked that ideal right in the nuts."
She caught his half smirk, sipping on her beer and looking our into the front garden. She listen to the wind whistling around them, felt the chill rush down her head, her spine, her toes, and felt around blindly for the blanket she knew they kept stored under the bench. As she spread the material over her legs she glanced back at the boy – he'd put down her book, thumb in the right place, but he was watching her with that same half smile, his head resting on his hand – his elbow firming against his bent knee.
"What?" She asked eventually.
His shook his head, snuffling out a slight laugh, "Got to admit, Lorelai, that's music to my ears."
She snorted, "You're still a cocky hoodlum – you know that right?"
He outright smiled at that – his crooked grin spreading over his face, his head ducking to hide the reaction and he shrugged in response, quickly turning back to his book.
Lorelai, ever the believer of quit while you're ahead, stood and announced her departure, "I'm going to go back in there and save your Uncle – will you be alright out here? Do you need a blanket or anything?"
Jess just shook his head, a small "thanks," on his lips and the quirk of a smile evident on his face even from Lorelai's height over him.
She slunk back into the house feeling lighter than she had in a long time.