Disclaimer: Hey! I actually own something! Adrienne is my idea. Ok, fine, I lifted the name from the song by The Calling, but the character is my own. As for the rest of the characters and places, they all belong to A.S.-P.

A/N: Ok, my computer doesn't like it when I write a dash, followed by quotation marks, so it turns out like this: -" . It bugs me, and it's confusing, but I can't do anything about it. Sorry!

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As predicted, the following days were hard. To say that Lorelai was mad would be a vast understatement. In spite of the hot summer weather, the Gilmore house was positively frigid. Rory escaped into the world of books. Life wasn't as easy for her partner in crime. Luke had Jess working in the kitchen every day from opening till closing. That way, none of the townspeople had the chance to see him, but Luke could monitor his actions. He collapsed into bed each night, too tired to do anything except dream about Rory.

On Thursday morning, however, things changed. Rory was awakened at 6:30 by the sound of her window sliding open. As Jess crawled into her room, she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make it presentable.

"Doesn't anyone in this town lock their windows?"

"Jess, this is Stars Hollow, not New York. Things don't happen here." Now Jess was closing the window behind him. "Um, Jess, can I ask why you're here?"

"Well, I got sick of listening to Caesar tell me that my hamburgers were inferior, so I left the zoo. I have an idea. I guess that things still aren't good between you and your mom?"

"No. She doesn't even say goodbye before she leaves for work. The only good thing about this whole thing is that now she and Luke aren't mad at each other any more."

"Well, they're both too busy being angry at us to care much about whatever it was they were mad about. Nothing brings people together like a little common anger." Rory smiled in agreement. "So, since this whole town is united against us, how 'bout we leave?"

"Leave? And go where?"

"New York. I didn't get to show you all my old hangouts when you came to visit me. I figure we could catch the 7 AM bus, spend the day there, and be back by ten tonight. Since your mom doesn't check up on you, it shouldn't be a problem. I left a note for Luke saying that I'd see him later tonight. He'll probably guess where I'm going, and with who, but he can't leave the diner for too long, what with the breakfast crowd coming in soon… So, how bout it?"

Rory thought for a minute, then nodded. "Let me just get dressed and stuff. Wait here. I'll be back in fifteen minutes." She grabbed some clean clothes and went to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she dressed and combed her hair. Going back to her room, she saw Jess sitting on her floor, reading her copy of "Walden" and making notes in the margins. She smiled at the scene. Moving quietly, she wrote a note to Lorelai and put it on her pillow. If her mom did come to check on her, it wouldn't be until supper time, which was what Rory had planned on. The note said that she'd gone out to see a movie and wouldn't be back until later that night. Surprisingly, Lorelai hadn't grounded her daughter. She figured that letting Rory stew in her own juices was punishment enough.

Once the note was placed, Jess opened the window, and the two escaped.

* * * * *

Later that afternoon, walking hand in hand down a busy New York street, Rory spotted a small store with a t-shirt hanging in the window. Giggling, she pointed it out to Jess. He immediately went inside and bought it. It was dark blue with deep yellow stenciled lettering on the front. It said 'Juvenile Delinquent', and the irony was not lost on its new owner. He figured he'd wear it the first time he took Rory on an official date. It would probably impress Lorelai to no end. He and Rory were still chuckling over their find when a high, nasal voice called his name.

"Jess Mariano? Is that you?" He turned to see a short, curvaceous blonde with obvious brown roots waving at him.

"Oh, God. Rory, hide me." But it was too late. The girl was hustling towards them as fast as her legs could carry her. Reaching the couple, she flung her arms around Jess and stood on tiptoes to kiss him. Rory looked on in shock as Jess tried to disengage himself from the grasping hands of the girl. Once he had managed to get some distance between them, he not-so-subtly wiped his mouth. "Adrienne." The statement held no warmth, only a vague sense of amusement. "It's been a while."

"Omigod, it's really you! Where have you been? You, like, disappeared, and no one knew where you were." She turned to Rory. "Who are you?"

Jess stepped in. "Adrienne, this is Rory Gilmore. Rory, this is Adrienne St.Claire."

The blonde lowered her sunglasses and stared over them at Rory. "I'm his girlfriend."

Jess sighed, and Rory hid a smile. "That's funny. Jess," Rory said, turning to him, "how come you never mentioned your girlfriend?"

"Because she never was my girlfriend. Only in her dreams."

Adrienne giggled annoyingly and lay a hand on Jess's forearm. Her fingernails (which, Rory noticed, were as fake as her hair colour) were painted a bright, shocking pink, which clashed horribly with the tiny green dress she was wearing. Her toenails, peeking out of the front of her two-inch tall platform sandals, were the same colour. Rory returned her gaze to the face of the tiny teen. The look she received could have turned the hottest cup of Luke's coffee into convenient popsicle format. Obviously Adrienne had noticed Jess and Rory's hands entwined as they walked, and she didn't like it. Whirling around, she turned her back on Rory, grabbed Jess's hand, and tried to drag him down the street with her. Unfortunately for Adrienne, Jess didn't particularly want to go anywhere with her. Reaching down, he pried her hand from his and reached out for Rory. With one hand safely entwined with Rory's, and the other one effectively out of reach in his back pocket, Jess smiled.

"Well, it's been fun, Adrienne. But Rory and I really have to leave now. Have a nice day." And, neatly sidestepping to avoid the false blond, he and Rory walked away. Rory couldn't help looking back. Adrienne was standing still in the middle of the street, her jaw hanging slightly open, and a look of confusion on her face. When she noticed Rory staring at her, she shut her mouth, gave Rory the finger, tossed her hair, and flounced off. Well, she would have flounced off, but she hadn't quite mastered her tall sandals, and she tripped, pitching forward into the arms of a pudgy businessman. Rory turned around quickly, trying to contain her laughter. She couldn't suppress it, though, and she snorted. Then she began giggling, and soon it escalated into full laughter. Jess looked over and thought that Rory looked even more beautiful than usual when she was laughing. Her laughter was contagious, and soon Jess was laughing with her. Passersby smiled, and some of them began laughing, not knowing why. Every time Rory or Jess calmed down, a look at each other would start them off again. The continued laughing for quite a while.

* * * * *

After Jess had shown Rory around all of his old haunts, they went back to Stars Hollow. On the bus, Rory and Jess sat in silence. After a short period, Rory lay her head on Jess's shoulder and sighed. Shifting so that he was closer to her, he wrapped his arm around her waist in the exact same way that he had on Sunday night. So much had happened in the past five days. Things had changed, and yet-

"Jess, you know that nothing will have changed. My mom will still be livid, and Luke will still make you work all day, and we'll still be shunned. Plus, I leave for Washington DC on Saturday for 6 weeks." Rory turned her face to see Jess's profile outlined in white-gold moonlight. Suddenly, none of those things seemed to matter. "I love you, Jess."

A smile crossed his face as he turned his head to look at her. Verbal communication wasn't his favourite, so he let his actions do the talking. Reaching up, he stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. He bent over slightly and kissed her forehead, then her nose, followed by her eyelids and her chin before he finally, tantalizingly slowly, kissed her lips. The kiss was sweet; full of promises and things unsaid. Rory smiled as she returned the kiss.

Only a deep need for oxygen made them stop, and even then they drew away reluctantly. Each was smiling, and together they made a picture of pure contentedness. Snuggling close and wrapping her arms around Jess, Rory fell asleep. Jess kissed the top of Rory's head and rested his cheek on the spot. In a few minutes, he too was sleeping peacefully.

* * * * *

Rory and Jess woke up an hour later, 10 minutes before the bus reached Stars Hollow. Taking a deep breath, Rory grasped Jess's hand tightly in her own, preparing for what was to come. When the bus came to a stop, Luke and Lorelai were waiting for them. Immediately the adults began peppering them with questions and comments. Their phrases overlapped and mixed together in a jumble of words.

"I just knew it would come to this-" "Rory, where were you?" "-sneaking around-" "I was so worried!" "-not telling me anything-" "Don't ever do that to me again…"

Rory and Jess tuned out the older couple's rantings. Sharing a smile, they stepped forward, hand in hand, into a future that was only beginning.

THE END

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A Word from the Author: I mean it now. This is really the end. I really enjoyed writing this story, but it is finished. Don't worry, I'll write more stories for ff.net (because, quite frankly, I'm addicted.) Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I love you all. *muah*. :)

Long live Jess and Rory.