Author : Nate
Pairing: Jess POV of a Paris/Jess relationship
Spoilers: Run Away Little Boy (Paris), Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy, The Ins & Outs of Inns (Jess)
Rating: PG-13 (language)
Disclaimer: You know it all by now, Amy Sherman-Pallidino owns Paris and Jess, Hofflund Polone does too, and Warner Bros. puts it all on the air. I don't.
Archiving: LWL - The Liza Weil List at Yahoo Groups , Gilmore-girls.net, Fanfiction.net and Smoothly Edged, everyone else please drop me a line for permission to post to your site.
Summary: Jess sees Paris for the first time from across the street by Miss Patty's during the Romeo & Juliet scene rehearsals, and ponders the possibilities of introducing himself to her.
Author's Note: This is probably the first ever Paris/Jess fic published of any kind, and I have to admit that even though I know Paris so well (You ask a question to me about her I have the answer), I'm trying to do my best with Jess as much as I can. If anyone has a problem with the way I write Jess, I apologize, I had to make up some facts in the beginning of the story so I could explain some things, and I'm trying to speed by the episodes he's been in so far so that I don't seem redundant. I'm very interested in a Paris/Jess coupling, and a few other people have shown interest too. I just feel that I need to gauge demand for this story before I even think about a full-blown Paris/Jess romance fic.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an easy guy to live with, especially if you're related to me in any way. For all seventeen years of my life I've been nothing but trouble with my parents down in Brooklyn, I'm amazed that my mom hadn't sent me away from home any sooner. I've always been a latchkey kid since I was ten, that's when my pop got divorced from my mom and took off for parts unknown, leaving Mom to take two separate jobs in order to keep us from living out on the street. She didn't do a very good job keeping an eye on me though, by the time I was thirteen I was hanging with the local toughs over on the busiest street corner in the neighborhood, and when I couldn't get a bite to eat from her I'd either figure out a way to separate her money from her purse so I could stop by McDonalds, or head down to the A&P and give myself a five-fingered discount, I wasn't caught that much at all, and she paid no mind to all my trouble. Until a few weeks ago, when she wondered where her $300 tax relief refund had wandered off to.
It headed into my pocket and I just had a fun old time blowing it all on cigs and other vices like beer. When she caught me and my friends having an impromptu party in the living room with all the stuff I bought, she just couldn't take it anymore, she threw out my friends and asked what the hell was wrong with me that I was such a sucky son. She cited alot of things, like how my school attendance was pathetic, how the cops over at the stationhouse were all but ready to dedicate the chair I sat in there in my honor because of my rap sheet, and how she couldn't even control my behavior anymore because of the influence of my friends. I shot back during the argument that maybe if she was home more often I'd be frickin' Wally Cleaver in her eyes, and that she didn't give a damn about me! I also told her that it was none of her damn business who my friends were, and that as long as I was under her roof she shouldn't care since all she saw me as was as a deduction or credit on her taxes. It was me and Mom's worst argument ever; all the trouble I had caused in my life came back to haunt me as she called me an uncontrollable hellian and said that as long as I lived with her in Brooklyn, there was no way I was going to change for the better!
So she pulled out the last card in her deck that didn't involve any kind of monetary exchange in turn for making me become a "good boy" (you know, Bellvue or some crap like that), she sent me to live with her brother Luke, who runs a diner in a one-stoplight town near Hartford, Stars Hollow. She told me to pack my bags, get my ass to Penn Station, and catch the next train to Hartford, then take the bus that goes out to that damn hick town. The minute I left I could've sworn I heard my mom sing "Hallelujah" at the top of her lungs. If there was one good thing about this trip, it probably prevented a black eye for each of us in our next fight, and we'd be away from each other for a year. Besides, now I had another family member who could take all the rap for everything I'd pull in that place, serves my mom and Luke right for causing me to ditch my buddies, who had to find another guy to play jokes on the fuzz.
I got off to a bad start in that town, apparently Uncle Luke thought that being 'easy' on me was the way to go, so I easily took advantage of all the friendly people around here, trying to piss them off in any manner I could. Taking change from the charity bowl at that grocery store the annoying bearded guy owns, swiping a lawn decoration from a couple who were probably too nice to be mad at me, swiping a paperback from under the nose of the town's bookworm so she'd be all flustered and angry with me, or think I'm such a badass and fall in love with me. All that did however was strengthen Uncle Luke's resolve to get me rehabilitated, so he pushed me into a pond when he really got mad when I was indifferent to him, then he had the gall to say that I had to quit smoking and stay in school. Then I had to return everything I stole to the owners of the property. Bearded grocery store guy gave me some stupid moral speech thing, the gnome owners made me listen to some boring story about a jazz show they played once for an hour, and although the smart girl liked the addition of my notes in the margins of her book and loved seeing my coin trick, she told me I should lay off the being a jerk act for a while. She was as close as I could get to sympathetic ear here in Podunk, but not by much, I was just wishing everyone left me alone.
The chalk outline I made in front of the grocery guy's store really pissed everyone off though, all the townspeople thought that Luke wasn't doing a good enough job helping me become rehabilitated. When I did this in front of the 7-11 near our apartment in Brooklyn, even my mom kinda found it funny, but no one here did, especially Dean, Rory the bookworm's boyfriend. What a stupid wuss that guy, whining because he had to clean up all of my mess, and he thought that just because she was the only one to crack a smile at my little joke, that I had an interest in making her my girlfriend. That guy has some issues, let me tell you. Rory just isn't my type really, she's smart, but she's just a little too nice for my taste, although she is really smart, going to that Chilton prep school in Hartford and all. She just doesn't have that, how do you say it? Edge to her, she'll befriend anybody if given the chance, but if the person is too wild, she'll stay away from them.
What I really like in a girl is someone who's challenging, a girl who isn't afraid to stand up to a person if they try to make her change her ways, also a girl who isn't afraid to speak her mind and won't change her opinion no matter how much she's prodded on by others to do so. She also has to be feisty and smart too, so that we can hold a very long and enlightening conversation with her about something like the latest book I've been reading, "Great Expectations". Not to mention of course that she has to be beautiful in her own unique way, not caring about what other's expectations of beauty are, she just has to shine on her own in my eyes.
And that perfect girl is across the street from me right now at that dancer Miss Patty's place, whipping her classmates into shape for a rehearsal of a Shakespeare project they're doing at school two days from now.
Paris Gellar. From what I've heard of her from Rory during our few short conversations together while serving her at my uncle's diner, she's the number one student in her class over at Chilton, and she'll do anything to keep that spot, by wounding her classmates emotionally with words and actions, and shoving the fact she's #1 in their stupid little blue-blooded faces. The only thing she focuses on is trying to graduate as valedictorian, and then going on after breezing through Harvard to become either a journalist or a cancer researcher. Damn that girl can write, I asked Rory for a copy of the Franklin (their school newspaper), and as student editor, Paris uses her clout to write passionate editorials about things she really truly gives a damn about, I read over and over her reaction to what was happening with women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and she didn't just state her position and give lame knee-jerk reactions to each issue, she passionately stated her side and suggested lots of ways to change the way the women were being treated. And she makes editing look like child's play, all of the stories she picked to print, I enjoyed reading with interest, I couldn't find one article that I thought was horribly written and out of place.
And when I saw a photo of her in the Chilton yearbook that Rory had, I couldn't help but become more enamored with her, it definitely brought out her personality in more ways than one. The way she sternly stared into that camera, those wide doey brown eyes looking straight into that lens like she was stating 'I'm queen of this school and I know it', the way she slightly smiled into the photo, she has a very nice smile, and the way her dark blonde hair fell down her back, she was perfect to me, smart, feisty and beautiful. Paris is like the girlfriend I had back in Brooklyn, she was focused on school fully, but still found time to love me. Problem was, Cheryl couldn't get past the fact I was always getting myself into trouble, and because I was always with the guys I could never find time to be with her, so we ended up breaking it off after a while. Luckily Cheryl is still doing great in school, as a matter of fact she moved on from our neighborhood high school to one of the gifted schools which have "New York School of the..." in the title over in Manhattan. We could never love again, but it was for the best.
I really wanted to meet this Paris chick, but Rory kept saying I might find her too much to handle, and that Paris wouldn't visit Stars Hollow unless she had some kind of school project she had to complete here. My heart sunk a little when Rory told me that, Paris is a city girl, just like I'm a city guy, and I'd like to have at least one friend who has lived in a big city all of her life while I'm up here, it would be cool if we could talk about something besides what the latest happenings were between Uncle Luke and that stupid Taylor grocery guy.
And the name Paris, it just takes my breath away that it is her name, the way I think of her, she is like the City of Lights, her brain is always running on all cylinders 24/7, and she always is trying to come up with new ways to get things done. And then there's the fact that you do everything her way, or no way at all. She expects the best effort out of you, any lower and you might as well be cruising for a bruising from her. There's her feisty side right there; She takes pride in making sure that everyone in her group puts their best foot forward when they're in her group, that's why everyone would love to have a study session with her, they know that they're going to be pushed to be their best when they're with her. It's the few who can't handle the pressure who hate her, but she doesn't give a damn about them, they're nothing but a distraction to her.
Anyway, back to the point of the story; the first time I ever saw Paris Gellar.
I was walking down Main Street away from Uncle Luke's so I could try to sneak a cigarette in a dark corner of an alley, the damn nicotine gum just wasn't taking effect like it usually did. I walk past Miss Patty's dance hall, and glance a look at the person arguing with the tall and robust woman about how she had reserved the room on the Internet hours before for a school project. I don't pay attention and keep walking down the street, leaving the two in argument, when I suddenly hear the most beautiful voice in my life.
"Look, I understand the whole Mystic Pizza, small town, we don't let a clock run our lives thing," she stated, "But I come from the big city, where money talks, and I'm paying good money for this place, and I have a schedule to keep."
The eccentric Latin lady then made a quick remark about the girl's face freezing in place in the position it was in at that moment. I then saw Rory and three other kids approach the girl a guy and two girls, and they talked about starting rehearsals in the dance hall in a little bit, after they went to pickup someone who had strayed away from the group. The girl turned to face Rory as she ran to Taylor's to see if the other person was there, and it was then that I saw the girl who I had heard so much about for the first time. It was Paris who made the 'money talks' remark. I laughed as I leaned against the wall in the alley puffing away on a Winston, but then decided to put it out.
Paris was even more beautiful in person, she was a short girl, around 5'3", but she looked even more beautiful than her yearbook photo. Her hair was so shiny and luxurious, and even though I was 150 feet away and out of her sight, I could still make out her brown eyes quite clearly, if she was staring at me right now she'd probably burn a hole through my shirt, I swear! And then she was wearing a red silk blouse under a brown jacket, the blouse made her look even more gorgeous, I could tell that she was a money girl, but I really didn't care if she had a friggin' bottlecap to her name, she was smart, funny and feisty, and I was totally in love with her, even if it was from afar.
I wanted to go over to her and introduce myself, tell her that I know how it feels to be in a weird town, and get into a discussion about her favorite books and movies. But I decided that looking at her from a distance was probably for the best then. For one thing, that prick Dean might try to get in my way and whine about all the crap I've pulled since I got here, and try to discourage Paris from even making friends with me. Also, dating a guy like me was probably the last thing on her mind, I knew she was director of the scene thanks to Rory, so if I tried to meet and greet her while she was at work, I would be as much of a pest as Taylor is when he's trying to get Uncle Luke to hang his holiday crap all over the front of the diner. And then there were the other two girls in the group besides Paris and Rory, who I could tell would probably distract me from getting near Paris by flirting with me and trying to get me to be their date one night, even though only one girl is on my mind. And she really wasn't in a good mood in the first place, having her night ruined by an exercise class that ran overtime and one of her players trying to stay out of the group. I went around the block after looking at her for a couple minutes standing in front of the door, put out my cigarette, and heading back home for the night.
There will always be other nights to approach Paris, and I know she'll be back in town someday, because her and Rory are sure to do more projects after that. While I wait though, I'm going to change my ways a little. No more cigarettes and sneaking a can of beer here and there, and trying to stay interested in school, so she doesn't think I'm a lazy guy who only cares about himself. I want to become Paris' friend so I have someone to talk about 'normal things' with, and then I want to be her boyfriend when she feels we're both ready, but that's at least nine months away at the earliest. I'm willing to change for her, so I'm hoping that I can get her to notice me, because I'm in love with Paris Gellar.
There's one more thing we both have in common; Both me and Paris are outsiders from other cities, looking in, to that mystery known as Stars Hollow. We're going to get through this together, someday.
