AN: Hi, sorry this post took so long, I've had an extremely busy week. One thing to note, I made up Dean's last name, I said it was Thompson, just to avoid any ambiguity there on that point. Hope you enjoy, and please Review, I can't say how much I appreciated your reviews from last time, it really helps!



Chapter 7: Meetings, Tears and Roses



School went by painfully fast. Rory hated that when you were dreading something, time always seems to be your worst enemy; the clocks always seem to move twice as fast. In no time, Rory was already getting off the bus back into Stars Hollow. She walked straight by Luke's, not even glancing in, she didn't think she could do it. If Jess was there, and she saw him, there was no way she would be able to concentrate on her homework. Only problem was that this plan didn't work either; trying to not think about him only made her think about him even more, resulting in a very frustrated Rory, two hours later with only five of her math problems done. Life was cruel.

By the time 6:20 rolled around, Rory was getting frantic. The town meeting was only 40 minutes away, and she still hadn't made up her mind on what to do yet. Maybe she could fake choking, a fever, a bowl movement? She was getting desperate. To keep busy she heated up some of the leftover Chinese in the fridge. At 6:45, her plate hadn't been touched, it was now cold, and Rory sat, quite upset. What the real splinter in her head was from was that she knew supporting Dean was the only thing to do, but it wasn't the right thing to do. At last, at 6:52, she came to the coconscious to speak only when spoken to and to say as little as possible. That was the only way to do it, the only way she could make it through the night.

As Lorelai and Rory made their way to the meeting, Lorelai looked over at Rory, seeing her face stiff, and her body tense. She wished she could make her feel better, but she knew nothing she said could help. Her daughter was a moral person, and now Dean was becoming a question of morality, and it was taking a toile on Rory.

"Hun, I know this is hard, but don't worry, I'll be behind yha. I wont let anyone give you crap about it, 'cuse if they do, you can be sure I'll ripe um a new one." Lorelai said, trying to keep her voice cheery

"Thanks mom." Rory said looking up at her and smiling feebly

"Oh, and we can hire Luke as your body guard! Just think, protection and portable coffee! Its perfect, maybe you should get people to go after you…" Lorelai started, but then paused looking at her expression

"Or Taylor, though not nearly as charming, he does have a tendency to make a wide birth in crowds, I don't think may people would come near." Lorelai rambled on, a grin on her face

"Humm, I think if things become drastic we'll have to go with Luke. Besides, you certainly wouldn't mind him around all the time." Rory smiled, a first since the morning, and poked her mom in the ribs

"Oh, that was so not funny Rory. I am not fraternizing with the coffee man!" Lorelai said back defensively

"Practically…" Rory said under her breath

"What was that? Did I hear a practically? Did I hear that you want to sleep outside tonight?" Lorelai teased

"Oh, no, it was ah…a…Possibly! Like I could possibly believe you?" Rory said grinning now too.

"Oh, ok, I guess you can sleep in the car now." Lorelai said

"I'm touched at your show of consideration." Rory sarcastically replied

"Well you should be." Lorelai said nodding

They walked a bit further, and upon seeing the town center, Lorelai turned

"You ready?" concern in her voice

"No, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Rory sighed, her smile gone

"You'll be fine babe, and don't worry, I'll work things out with Luke ahead of time, just incase a mob riot springs up. Things like that are freakishly common in Stars Hollow." Lorelai told her, a last attempt at humor

"I'll remember that..." Rory trailed of, staring ahead



At the meeting



As Rory and Lorelai entered the meeting, three minutes late, everyone turned to stare. Rory saw Jess off to the side by Luke; they looked at one another before Jess shook his head and broke the eye contact. Rory got the message, sighed, and sat down with her mom in the back.

"Well, that you for joining us ladies, late as usual." Taylor sarcastically

"At least were consistent." Lorelai fired back to a disgruntled Taylor who just groaned. Miss Patty smiled behind his back

"Ok, now that were all here, I'd like to start the meeting." Taylor said and banged the gavel down.

"Our first topic of discussion…" Rory held her breath "is concerning the coming spring decorations." Rory sighed relived

"Some of us here," Taylor looked directly at Luke "do not wish to put up decorations. May I remind everyone that it is a part of Stars Hollow tradition to do so?" Taylor said stressing the 'everyone' and causing Luke to roll his eyes and cross his arms.

"As a part of our tradition, the Easter festival is approaching soon, and this is a big tourist attraction. In order to create the most festive and inviting small town environment possible, it is…" Taylor refrained from using mandatory "highly encouraged, that all citizens participate and do their part to contribute to the festivities."

Luke just stared at him

"Ok, moving on," Taylor said annoyed, "our next topic of discussion concerns the battering of one citizen on another." Taylor said

Jess clenched his jaw and sighed angrily

"I'm sure it is quite well known," Taylor said glancing at Patty who smiled "that that young hoodlum," Taylor pointed to Jess and everyone turned to stare at him "was responsible for attacking this nice boy here." Taylor pointed to Dean, and everyone turned back around to look at him.

"I'm sure I am correct in saying that the rest of the town strongly feels that Mr. Mariano has taken his little jokes a bit too far this time. This young man," Taylor said now addressing Jess, "might be considered normal and okay in New York, but around here it is simply not tolerated." Taylor said firmly, and many nodded in agreement.

"Taylor, you don't even know what really happened!" Luke fumed, "how do you know bag- Dean" Luke caught himself, "is telling the truth?"

"Well Luke, are you suggesting I take the word of your nephew instead?" Taylor spat back

"I'm just saying you shouldn't take either of their words over the other, they both see things differently." Luke returned

"Very well, Ms. Gilmore," Taylor turned to Rory and she felt a lump rise in her throat "I believe by an account of some information I received, you to were a witness of the transactions between Mr. Mariano and Mr. Thompson on Sunday. Is this true?" Taylor asked

"Um…" Rory coughed, "um, yes, I was." She was now growing more nervous than ever.

The few people who hadn't heard the news from Miss Patty bowed their heads and whispered to each other giving Rory the strange impression of a gas leak.

"And…what happened?" Taylor prompted

Rory glanced over at Jess, his gaze stayed fixed to some spot on the floor, and he didn't look up. She turned back and realized Dean was staring intently at her, and for the first time since Sunday, she saw the extent of Jess' damage, it was pretty bad. In all her nervousness, Rory almost couldn't help but snickering, Dean's nose bandage really was just like the one in Rocky.

Reverting her gaze back to Taylor, who waited impatiently for her response, Rory sighed and continued

"Jess and Dean got in a fight." She said, remembering to say only as much that was necessary to answer the question

"And why did they get in a fight?" Rory felt like she was being cross- examined

"Because Dean got mad."

"Why did Dean get mad?"

"Because I was talking to Jess." Rory saw Dean roll his eyes

"And so…Dean…" Taylor prompted

"Started yelling at Jess."

"And saying…"

"Things I probably shouldn't repeat…" Rory trailed off

"Ah, and so Jess did what?"

"He, uh, hit Dean."

"Once?"

"Twice." Rory said quietly

"What?"

"Twice." Rory said louder

"Did Dean continue to say not nice things to him after Jess hit him the first time?" Taylor asked

"No."

"So the second hit it was…unprovoked?"

Rory paused before answering "…you…you could say that…"

"Yes, I could. So let me get this straight, Jess hit Dean, not once, but twice, because Dean made fun of him?" Taylor questioned sarcastically

"yes."

"And, Ms. Gilmore, do you feel that Mr. Mariano's reaction to the taunts made by Mr. Thompson was a justified one?"

Rory hesitated. She looked over at Jess, and he looked up at her. Jess stared at her intently and mouthed 'no' silently to her. Rory frowned at him, but he kept his gaze firm, shaking his head in the negative.

Rory took a big breath, deciding it was now or never

"no"

Lorelai gripped Rory's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, and Dean smiled smugly, nodding his head. She then saw him turn and smirk at Jess. She felt the anger, then guilt flare up in her like a fire, she shouldn't have said that.

"Very well, I think that now with this testimony of a bipartisan witness we can all agree that the actions taken by Jess Mariano were quite ruthless and unnecessary, and will not be permitted in this town. If we are all in conscientious, I motion to demand the removal of this boy to an area of more suitable location." Taylor said satisfied at finally getting his revenge on Jess.

Rory sat down and seemed to hear the virtually unanimous course of voices all chirp "Ay" as though it were all happening far off, and then Taylor's bang of the gavel which seemed to echo soundly in her head. Jess was gone, and she alone had made that decision, no matter what he had said otherwise.

Rory couldn't look at Jess, and she waited until all the people had filled out before getting up to leave. Outside, her mom was waiting, and standing next to her was Dean. She sighed; he was the last person she wanted to talk to, let alone see right now.

"Honey, I'll met you at home, don't be too long." She said to Rory, missing the pleading 'don't leave me' stare Rory was so desperately trying to convey.

"…Ok…" she said as she watched her moms back retreat into the darkness.

"So, you were great in there." Dean said smiling; creating a very strange similarity to what she had always pictured Victor Frankenstein's creation to look like. She shuddered as she looked down at her shoes.

He lifted her chin and bent to kiss her. Repulsed, she shrank back and avoided his lips.

"What's wrong Rory? Don't worry, you did the right thing. Now that asshole is gone for good." Dean said with a cruel satisfied smile.

Rory couldn't take it any longer, she just exploded

"NO Dean! I didn't do the right thing! You were the asshole, not Jess, and you deserved everything you got!" Rory spat at him

Dean froze for a moment before regaining composure.

"What! Did you just call me an…an asshole Rory?" Dean said in disbelief

"Yes, I did, and you are!"

Dean suddenly looked as though he had been stuck.

"Rory, I can't believe you'd call me that!" He said his voice like a wounded animal

"Well believe it Dean. Lately you have been nothing but an overprotective, jealous annoyance. What happened to the Dean I used to know?" Rory asked, staring hard at him

"Rory, I, I, just…I don't know. I could tell Jess was trying to get to you, and I just didn't want that to happen." Dean said back

"So you can't trust me enough to believe me when I said that I was just his friend, that I loved you, and that nothing was going on?"

Dean hesitated. A furrow formed on his brow and his eyes scrunched in confusion.

"Rory, why was that all in the past tense?" Dean said shakily

Rory stopped; she averted her gaze to a bush and sighed before looking back up.

"Because all that was in the past…" she whispered

"Rory, what do you mean?" Dean said, panic in his voice

"Dean, things aren't the way they used to be, I don't know, but things are just different."

"Well, we can make them the way they used to be! Now with Jess gone, it will all be like before!" Dean said frantically in disbelief.

"I don't think so Dean…" Rory said, now not able to look up into his eyes, so filled with grief, she couldn't take it.

"Why Rory, why not?" Dean questioned

"Because," she sighed, this wasn't easy, "because I can't make my heart go back to the way it used to be…I'm sorry Dean." She whispered

Dean just stood there, breathing hard.

"Fine, if that's how you really feel…"

"It is."

"Then I believe this conversation, and this relationship is over." Dean said venomously, anger and pain in his voice. Rory just nodded.

He took one more look at the love of his life with watery eyes before he roughly wiped them with his hand, and turned his back, walking away.

"Dean…" She whispered after him, the sound echoing strangely, "…I'm sorry…"



He didn't respond, just kept walking into the night, never looking back.

Lorelai noticed her daughters tear streaked face as she came through the door, and slowly got up, walking straight over to her. The two just came together and hugged, standing there a long while. Lorelai knew only too well what must have happened, she had sensed it was coming sooner or later. Lorelai pulled Rory back and wiped her face with her finger and smiled weakly at her.

"Ice-cream?" she whispered

"Sure." Rory smiled too.

An ice-cream carton and four cups of coffee later, Lorelai ventured to talk to Rory about it

"You ok?" she asked looking at her daughter sadly

"Yha, but I think I'm going to go to be now…" Rory said, starting to get up

"Oh, well, ok." Lorelai said a little hurt

"What?" Rory asked

"Its just, well, don't you want to talk about it?"

"No." Rory said, but then added as she say Lorelai's face fall, "in the morning, ok?" Rory asked, knowing she was being distant.

"Sure, good night." Her mom said, trying to act as though it was no big deal

Rory got up and made her way silently to her room. She changed, and then got into bed, the light still on. Rory lay on her bed, guilty thinking about the nights events. She had lost a lot tonight. While Rory had cried, she knew that she had done so more because she felt like she was loosing a part of her, a part of her life that she could never be replaced. While she had no broken heart, she knew she would forever miss the security Dean had brought, the feeling of knowing you were loved, and most of all, the memories of her first love. But still, she couldn't ignore the fact that she felt more like she had lost a brother than a boyfriend, and that in the end, her tears were not of sorrow, but of relief. She would sleep easier tonight.

Her thoughts then turned to Jess, to the fact that he was leaving and she probably could have prevented it. It killed her inside to know that she had choked, that she couldn't stand up to the town, couldn't stand up for what she though, no, for what she knew to be right. And now he was leaving. She hadn't seen him after the meeting, and he'd probably be leaving early in the morning. These thoughts in mind, Rory reached over and grabbed the phone. She lay quite for a moment, making sure her mom had retreated up stairs, before dialing his number. It was a little after 10, but Luke probably wouldn't mind her calling.

It rang twice until finally a voice sounded on the other end

"Hello?" It was Luke

"Luke, its Rory, can I talk to Jess?" she asked tentatively

"Oh, no. He left a couple hours ago, right after the meeting as a matter of fact." Luke said on the other end

"What?" Rory said confused "Where did he go?"

"I'm not sure for certain, but his bag was gone, and he left a note saying he was going to New York. Those seemed like good indications to me that he's gone home." Luke told her

"Oh…he didn't even say bye…" she said sadly, more to herself than to Luke

"Rory…" Luke sounded sympathetic

"Don't worry about it; I'll see you tomorrow, right?" she said trying to sound cheerful

"Yha, I'll make extra coffee…"

"Good, I'll need it. Bye Luke."

"Bye."

She hung up, and slowly put the phone back on the receiver. She couldn't believe it, she had obviously been wrong in thinking he thought of her as anything more than a friend. Rory cried herself to sleep, but her tears weren't for Dean.

The next morning Rory woke, as light streamed in through her window, a pale buttery color covering her floor. She clamped her eyes shut tight, and then, hesitantly ventured to squint at the source from which the path the light had found to hit her was coming from. It was odd, one of her window curtains was caught in the window frame, pulled back and letting light in. What was odd was that it looked like the window had been opened then accidentally shut on the curtain. Brushing it off, she groaned and rolled over, and as her eyes fell across her bed, she froze and stared, it all making sense. There, lying on the pillow next to her were three books, and a single, white rose.

Now wide awake, Rory sat up and pulled the bundle towards her. She picked up the rose and breathed in its fragrance deeply. Sighing, a smile now on her lips, she placed it besides her and picked the three up. A Farewell To Arms, Hemmingway of course, it was from Jess. Her hand trembling slightly, she opened the cover of the well worn book and noticed his writing; a note addressed her in the front.

'Rory,

I've never been any good at saying bye; the conclusiveness of it annoys me. I don't believe that I won't see you again; in fact I'm sure I will. Instead of my good-bye though, I am going to ask you to give Hemmingway another shot, you'll see life a little different after you've read it through his eyes. Think of the book, and the title, more as a reflection of our lives than anything. You really will be saying a farewell to arms, to the small town wars that plague your life, a farewell to me. Know this though Rory, if I ever liked you as a friend, I wouldn't be being truthful, for you have always been more than that to me. Always. Thank you for making me want to change, to be a better person, but all good things never do last, and it is time the both of us moved on. So Rory, I say farewell.

Jess'

Rory felt single tear roll down her cheek. Brushing it away, she flipped through the book, noticing Jess untidy scrawl on many pages. She then put the book down, and glanced at the other two. One was Oliver Twist, she laughed quietly to herself. The other, under it was her Fountain head book she had lent him. In the one day she had traded the hard cover for the soft, he had somehow reread it, and the book, just like Oliver Twist and A Farewell To Arms, was covered in his thoughts. She marveled at just how incredible he could be, how he continued to amaze her, even when he wasn't there in the physical. However, little did she know that he had planned just a few more surprises…







Please Review, sorry to leave you hanging, but you'll just have to wait!!! -Breanna