AN: Thanks for the reviews, and just to make it clear again, JESS DIDN'T
KILL ANYONE! Also, I never considered a back-door doctor or anything like
that, I don't know anyone that has ever done that, so I guess I didn't even
think of that as a possible option. I wrote the hospital part from my
experience at hospitals, which doesn't constitute doing the paper work,
just the 'everything's better on morphine' part. And, yes, I know I didn't
follow the 411 call recording exactly, but I decided to change it a bit.
Just pretend it's special in New York…Ok, sorry about that, here's the next
part. Enjoy.
Chapter 12: Pay Phone Dealings
"Wh-…at, what is it?" Jess asked practically chocking as he tried to swallow his potatoes.
"It's my mom…" Rory trailed off speaking quietly
"Oh. Did you tell her where you are?" Jess asked
"Um," Rory said turning to the nurse "do you think you could excuse us?" The nurse glared at Rory before glancing back at Jess and hesitating.
"I'll eat it. I promise." He added. She nodded and set the tray down on his bedside table.
"I'm going to come and check…" She threatened as she left.
"Rory, what's the problem?"
"I told my mom I was going over to Paris's house. You remember, the girl that was over that night "Luke" had you bring over dinner?" Rory asked him
"Oh, yah. So, she doesn't know you're here."
"No."
"Are you going to tell her?" Jess asked
"No, yes, no, I…I don't know…" Rory said exasperated
"Because…if you tell her she will be mad… but if you don't tell her…" Jess prompted
"And she finds out…then she'll be even madder." Rory finished
"Got it."
"I need to know if she's called Paris's house or not, because that will make a huge difference in what I tell her…" Rory said more to herself than Jess
"Rory," he said looked at her seriously "I'm…uh, sorry."
"How is this your fault? I'm the one that came chasing after you…" Rory turned as she felt her face redden a bit at the memory of what she had said, and at the guilty feelings and thoughts she had had when Jess had kissed her. Since then, whenever she so much as glanced at him, all she could think about was doing it again.
"Yes, but you forget, I willingly followed…" he said grinning at her. She couldn't help but smile back.
"Ok, but I still need to call Paris, then my mom." She said trying to get off the subject
"Fine, then call Paris." Jess said simply
"Oh, but I would, if it were that easy…" Rory trialed off and Jess picking it up
"…if you had her number."
"Yep."
"411" Jess suggested
"Wow, that's so simple, so easy!" Rory exclaimed "You know, it's amazing how living in a small town can affect your sense of technology. Why use some fancy 411 thingy when everyone you know, or would bother to talk to, you either have their number memorized, or they live with in walking distance. But then again, it can be pretty cold sometimes, or you just don't want to move, and the phone book is stuck in some random sock drawer because you've only called the pizza man for the last dozen calls…" Rory rambled on as she got up and walked out of the room.
Jess heard her still taking as she walked down the hall until her voice only became a muffled drown. He smiled to himself; there was no one like Rory Gilmore.
"Hello and welcome to 411 local and national listing. For what listing please?"
"Um, a person's house. Is that a listing? No wait, um, Par-"
"For what city please."
"How can I give you a city when I didn't even tell you the listing yet! I-"
"For what state please?"
"Connecticut, but now what does it matter, you don't even know…just connect me to an operator-"
"Hold on one moment, your call is being transferred."
"What! Ugg, I hate-"
"Thank you, your total-"
Bang. Rory slammed the phone done in frustration and desperately rattled at the coin return. Luckily, it was able to be salvaged.
"Can't go wrong with zero. Nope, can never go wrong with zero. Good number zero is. Quite round and-" Rory mumbled as she pushed the zero.
"Hello, operator speaking. How can I help you?" A woman sounded dryly on the other end, an obvious bubble crack followed.
"Oh, um hi. I was wondering if I could get the number of a person I need to get in touch with." Rory asked a little unsure
"What city, state and name please." The monotone voice followed by the bubble crack sounded again.
"Ok, um, Hartford, Connecticut, Paris Geller." Rory said slowly
"Not Paris France?" The woman snorted at her own joke
"No, her name is Paris Geller."
"Ok, one moment." (Pause) "No, sorry, they have blocked their number from our computer lists. Anything else?"
"Oh. Um, no, I guess not. Thanks."
Rory hung up the phone, a loss of what to do. Zero really wasn't that good of a number…too round…
"What's up?" Jess asked right by her ear
"Oh my God!" Rory screamed as she jumped from the sound of his voice
"Don't scare me like that! Jesus!" Rory said smacking him lightly (on the other arm)
"Ok, I'll have to remember that." Jess grinned at her as she stood gripping the phone booth behind her for balance.
"Wait, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Rory asked him narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"Oh, yah, probably. So any luck? You were gone forever; I was beginning to worry…"
"About me or the phone?" Rory asked him
"Actually both." He said smiling back
Rory's face grew serious.
"Oh, not good?" Jess said reading her expression
"You could say that. Your oh so brilliant 411 thingy was about to charge me for a nonexistent number, and the nice zero number, bubble snapping lady, informed me that the Geller's have had their number removed from their files." Rory said in a huff
"I didn't know they could do that…" Jess trailed off
"Yah, me neither, but I guess if anyone could, it would be Paris…"
"So, what now?" Jess asked, but knowing the answer
"I…I call my mom." Rory said with difficultly
"You know, it is possible that she didn't call Paris, that she really does think that you are still over there…" Jess tired to point out
"Yah, I guess. But, I won't find out unless I try. Right?" She smiled weakly
She turned back to the phone and dumped the change in. Just as she was about to dial the number, Jess's hand prevented her from doing it.
"What?" Rory asked in confusion
"I'll do it."
"Are you insane?" Rory asked surprised
"No, well, as far as I know I'm not. Listen," he said trying to pacify Rory, "I'll call and ask for you. This way, if she says you aren't home, I'll ask where, and then we will know how much Lorelai knows…" Jess said raising his eyebrows as Rory nodded in approval
"And, then, at the same time, she now wont even consider you being here as an option."
"Oh, you are a smart one!" Rory squealed.
"Wait." She stopped "but what happens when I show up in Stars Hallow with you in the car?" Rory asked
"You don't. You drop me off at the bus stop." Jess shrugged
"You are good." Rory grinned
"Yes, but this is what I pride myself at being good at." Jess smiled back
"You know, it's really sad to say I am making use of your evilly perfected habits. Guess I should have listened when they told me you were a bad influence." Rory said looking up at Jess, a smile on her lips, her eyes flashing
Jess moved closer so he was standing only inches away, Rory's back up against the phone.
"Yah, I guess you should have…" He trialed off as he moved in closer, holding his gaze with hers.
Rory felt her heart flutter again just as his lips brushed hers, but just then her hand slipped and knocked off the phone, as it hit with a loud thump, making them spring apart.
Jess smiled guiltily and rubbed the back of his neck as he turned around, and Rory tried to focus her attention back on the phone, but her face was red from blushing, her heart beating fast, and her breath shallow, making her head spin. Oh god, all that and he hadn't even kissed her? She shook her head smiling at her own foolish behavior.
Jess came over and dialed her number from memorization-which made Rory smile again- and waited for it to ring, concentrating seriously
"Oh, ow! Um, hello!" Lorelai said as she rubbed her toe she had stubbed trying to get to the phone.
"Is Rory there?" Jess asked in his curt manner
"Who is this?" Lorelai asked, but hardly needing to.
"It Jess. Is Rory there?" He asked again, sounding annoyed
"No, actually she's not." Lorelai snapped back
"Where is she?" Jess asked with an abrupt simplicity that made Lorelai hesitate
"Excuse me?" She asked in disbelief
"Where. Is. She." Jess sounded out sarcastically
"At a friend's house. And Jess, don't bother to call again, I won't pick up next time." Lorelai said slamming down the phone.
"God I hate that kid!" Lorelai yelled to the coffee machine as she limped in to the kitchen, in need of caffeine.
"So…" Rory asked
"We're ok. She still thinks you're at Paris's house." Jess said
"Good." Rory breathed a sigh of relief. "But I still need to call her, so she knows I got her page. She'll think it's a little weird if I don't call her back."
"Yah, but wait a little while. The last thing we need is for her to make some connection to my call and yours. Being your mom, I can't even fathom what she might come up with." Rory could only nod at this flawless logic.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Jess said as he grabbed Rory's arm leading her towards the door.
"But Jess, they haven't cleared you." Rory tried telling him
"Oh, they won't mind."
"But how do you know? Maybe they need to do something else, run some more tests, and take some more blood samples. You could have lead poisoning -even though I doubt that bullet thing was even lead, but it is possible- and there you could be, leaving and not even know it, and then because you're impatient and we left, you will die and it will be all your fault. So you can't leave because your life is at a potential risk of…" But Rory stopped; they were now outside, to continue on was completely pointless.
"You were saying…?" Jess said mocking her with a small smirk
Rory huffed at him. "I'm driving." It was about all she could think to say as she shot him a look and pulled out the keys, walking away.
"Sure thing Ror!" Jess acted annoyingly good natured. Rory glared at his sarcasm and saw he was now positively beaming at her. Turning back around, she couldn't help but smile to herself, despite her attempts to look angry.
Rory and Jess drove for a while in silence, both of them thinking about different things, but both of them kept unconsciously going back to the memories of the previous night. The ringing sound of the gun, the thud of the falling man, the sight of the dark pool running down the hill, the smell of the blood…the memories hung around them, clung to their very skins and resided in the air they breathed.
"There wasn't anything we could have done." Jess told her quietly knowing her solemn expression matched his thoughts.
"I know…" Rory said keeping her eyes on the road. "But I keep thinking what if I hadn't parked the car on that street, what if I hadn't been so ridiculous to come and get you, what…" Rory faulted and looked at Jess, "what if you hadn't moved?" Rory whispered turning back to the road.
"But I did." Jess said softly, but seriously
"I know…but-"
"But I did." Jess repeated firmly. Rory nodded
"Rory, we can't live our lives in what if's."
"I know."
"We have to take something from this, take it and never forget it." Jess told her
She looked over at him. "But all I want to do is forget it." Rory said her eyes watering
"But we can't, and we would be stupid to try. All we can do is try and find how this could be good, and even though I am having a really hard time coming up with an example for your next question, I think that the answer will come more in time than right now." Jess tried to explain
"No Jess, nothing can be good about this, nothing." Rory said adamantly shaking her head
"Yes something Rory. You now know not everyone is good at heart."
"I knew that before…"
"But did you really?" Jess asked her
"Yes, no, well, at least I have proof now…" Rory said sighing
"See." Jess told her "Something can come out of it, if you want it to."
"Ok, one thing that I personally would have preferred to have never found out."
"I know." I was Jess' turn to agree
They drove in silence for a while longer until Jess suggested they pull off so Rory could call her mom.
"Wait Rory," Jess stopped her, and then fidgeted awkwardly. "Are you, are you going to tell her? About last night I mean?" Jess asked quietly
"No, not now anyway." Rory told him truthfully
"But later?" Jess asked
"I want to…"
"But then she'll know you lied, how I got home, and knowing her, it will somehow be my fault." Jess finished for her perfectly
"I couldn't have said it better if I had finished my own sentence." Rory said sarcastically despite the seriousness of the situation.
"So…are you?" Jess asked again
"Maybe, probably, I don't know Jess." Rory said exasperated. "I'll need to see how things play out."
"Ok." Jess nodded and turned to go fill up her car with gas before they left.
Rory sighed and determinedly dropped two quarters into the money slot. Grabbing the phone, she slowly dilled the number to the house, and waited, heart pounding nervously as the first ring echoed through the receiver
Lorelai jumped as she had been deeply engrossed in her magazine when the phone rang. Sighing she got up and made her way over to it and picked it up.
"Hello?" Lorelai said
"Mom, hey, it's Rory." Rory tried to sound perfectly normal
"Oh, hi hun, I was wondering when you were going to call; I paged you like an hour ago." Lorelai told her walking back to the kitchen table and sitting down again
"Oh, sorry mom, I guess I didn't hear it." Rory lied "I just checked it a bit ago and realized you had paged." Rory said trying to sound convincing
"Ok, well good, I was planning to call Paris' house in a couple of minutes, but now I don't need to." Lorelai said flipping through the pages
"Right! Now you don't need to. No need at all, absolutely none because I called you. So why on earth would you need to call me, especially at Paris'? Nope, don't need to call here at all!" Rory said a little panicked
"What's up with you? Is there a reason you wouldn't want me calling Paris' house?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.
"Oh, yes, many!" Rory said hurriedly
"Like…" her mom prompted
"Like because Paris always gets snappy when other people call for me, I mean, she gets annoyed even when I only ask to use her phone. I think she feels that I am bored with her or something, or that she's not important enough for me to pay attention to." Rory lied
"Strange girl…" Lorelai muttered to herself
"Yah," Rory agreed and continued "And her house keeper, oooh, she is very strange. She has an obsession about picking up the phone, and she, well, think female Michel."
"Ouch."
"Uh huh, and her parents, they're really grouchy, they find the noise of the phone to be a disturbance. Especially her mom, she feels it upsets the balance of the house."
"Oh, she's one of those herbal, soy milky moms, huh?" Lorelai winced
"Yah, so, see, it is a very, very bad idea to call here. Stick to my pager." Rory said firmly
"Got it kiddo. So, when yha coming home?" Lorelai asked
"Um, not for a couple of hours at least."
"Oh…"
"Sorry, but you know Paris…and we've got a ton of home work to do. Projects and such, it will take a while, our teachers were extra nice this weekend." Rory lied again
"Ok, well, call me again some time in the next week or so."
"Will do. Love you mom." Rory said feeling a bit relived
"Love you too sweetie. Bye." Lorelai hung up sighing. Pausing a moment in thought, she turned and headed for the door, grabbing her coat and keys before she left. She needed coffee, food, and…she smiled to herself, company.
Rory hung up the phone and let her head fall on the top of the booth. She didn't think she had ever lied as much in her whole life as she had in that one conversation with her mom. Come to think of it, she didn't think she had ever really lied to anyone except here or there, until Jess had come. He had turned her life upside down, but what shocked her the most was that she was thoroughly enjoying the ride. 'I am my mother's child' she thought to herself.
"Hey, you ready?" Jess asked holding a coffee in one hand, and her car keys in the other.
"Yah, just got off the ph…Oh! Coffee! I love you!" Rory beamed as she saw what he was holding. She grabbed the coffee he handed to her, but then smiled shyly as she looked up at him, realizing she couldn't use that last phrase sarcastically anymore. Jess caught on and smiled back at her raising his eyebrows. Rory looked down, suddenly finding the lid to her coffee quite entertaining.
Lorelai bounded down the steps when she suddenly remembered she didn't have any money. It was ok to get away with not paying for a cup of coffee here and there, but it wouldn't be cool to not pay for a meal. Stopping she checked to see how much she had in her wallet. One dollar. She sighed, annoyed and went back up to the house. She checked her dresser, the counter, her dirty pants, and could only scrounger up one more dollar and 47 cents. 'Great' she thought to herself. 'Now I'll have to starve…unless…' she was struck with a sudden idea and bounded down the stairs two at a time. Rory must have some money in her room.
She opened the door and headed over to the bed table. In the process she tripped over a large yellow and black bundle…Rory's backpack?
Lorelai stopped and stared, and as realization struck her, a shocked and angry look caressed her face
"Going to Paris' to study, huh Rory?" She said out loud
Please review, I know I'm slow, but by now you're all probably used to it...
Breanna
Chapter 12: Pay Phone Dealings
"Wh-…at, what is it?" Jess asked practically chocking as he tried to swallow his potatoes.
"It's my mom…" Rory trailed off speaking quietly
"Oh. Did you tell her where you are?" Jess asked
"Um," Rory said turning to the nurse "do you think you could excuse us?" The nurse glared at Rory before glancing back at Jess and hesitating.
"I'll eat it. I promise." He added. She nodded and set the tray down on his bedside table.
"I'm going to come and check…" She threatened as she left.
"Rory, what's the problem?"
"I told my mom I was going over to Paris's house. You remember, the girl that was over that night "Luke" had you bring over dinner?" Rory asked him
"Oh, yah. So, she doesn't know you're here."
"No."
"Are you going to tell her?" Jess asked
"No, yes, no, I…I don't know…" Rory said exasperated
"Because…if you tell her she will be mad… but if you don't tell her…" Jess prompted
"And she finds out…then she'll be even madder." Rory finished
"Got it."
"I need to know if she's called Paris's house or not, because that will make a huge difference in what I tell her…" Rory said more to herself than Jess
"Rory," he said looked at her seriously "I'm…uh, sorry."
"How is this your fault? I'm the one that came chasing after you…" Rory turned as she felt her face redden a bit at the memory of what she had said, and at the guilty feelings and thoughts she had had when Jess had kissed her. Since then, whenever she so much as glanced at him, all she could think about was doing it again.
"Yes, but you forget, I willingly followed…" he said grinning at her. She couldn't help but smile back.
"Ok, but I still need to call Paris, then my mom." She said trying to get off the subject
"Fine, then call Paris." Jess said simply
"Oh, but I would, if it were that easy…" Rory trialed off and Jess picking it up
"…if you had her number."
"Yep."
"411" Jess suggested
"Wow, that's so simple, so easy!" Rory exclaimed "You know, it's amazing how living in a small town can affect your sense of technology. Why use some fancy 411 thingy when everyone you know, or would bother to talk to, you either have their number memorized, or they live with in walking distance. But then again, it can be pretty cold sometimes, or you just don't want to move, and the phone book is stuck in some random sock drawer because you've only called the pizza man for the last dozen calls…" Rory rambled on as she got up and walked out of the room.
Jess heard her still taking as she walked down the hall until her voice only became a muffled drown. He smiled to himself; there was no one like Rory Gilmore.
"Hello and welcome to 411 local and national listing. For what listing please?"
"Um, a person's house. Is that a listing? No wait, um, Par-"
"For what city please."
"How can I give you a city when I didn't even tell you the listing yet! I-"
"For what state please?"
"Connecticut, but now what does it matter, you don't even know…just connect me to an operator-"
"Hold on one moment, your call is being transferred."
"What! Ugg, I hate-"
"Thank you, your total-"
Bang. Rory slammed the phone done in frustration and desperately rattled at the coin return. Luckily, it was able to be salvaged.
"Can't go wrong with zero. Nope, can never go wrong with zero. Good number zero is. Quite round and-" Rory mumbled as she pushed the zero.
"Hello, operator speaking. How can I help you?" A woman sounded dryly on the other end, an obvious bubble crack followed.
"Oh, um hi. I was wondering if I could get the number of a person I need to get in touch with." Rory asked a little unsure
"What city, state and name please." The monotone voice followed by the bubble crack sounded again.
"Ok, um, Hartford, Connecticut, Paris Geller." Rory said slowly
"Not Paris France?" The woman snorted at her own joke
"No, her name is Paris Geller."
"Ok, one moment." (Pause) "No, sorry, they have blocked their number from our computer lists. Anything else?"
"Oh. Um, no, I guess not. Thanks."
Rory hung up the phone, a loss of what to do. Zero really wasn't that good of a number…too round…
"What's up?" Jess asked right by her ear
"Oh my God!" Rory screamed as she jumped from the sound of his voice
"Don't scare me like that! Jesus!" Rory said smacking him lightly (on the other arm)
"Ok, I'll have to remember that." Jess grinned at her as she stood gripping the phone booth behind her for balance.
"Wait, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Rory asked him narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"Oh, yah, probably. So any luck? You were gone forever; I was beginning to worry…"
"About me or the phone?" Rory asked him
"Actually both." He said smiling back
Rory's face grew serious.
"Oh, not good?" Jess said reading her expression
"You could say that. Your oh so brilliant 411 thingy was about to charge me for a nonexistent number, and the nice zero number, bubble snapping lady, informed me that the Geller's have had their number removed from their files." Rory said in a huff
"I didn't know they could do that…" Jess trailed off
"Yah, me neither, but I guess if anyone could, it would be Paris…"
"So, what now?" Jess asked, but knowing the answer
"I…I call my mom." Rory said with difficultly
"You know, it is possible that she didn't call Paris, that she really does think that you are still over there…" Jess tired to point out
"Yah, I guess. But, I won't find out unless I try. Right?" She smiled weakly
She turned back to the phone and dumped the change in. Just as she was about to dial the number, Jess's hand prevented her from doing it.
"What?" Rory asked in confusion
"I'll do it."
"Are you insane?" Rory asked surprised
"No, well, as far as I know I'm not. Listen," he said trying to pacify Rory, "I'll call and ask for you. This way, if she says you aren't home, I'll ask where, and then we will know how much Lorelai knows…" Jess said raising his eyebrows as Rory nodded in approval
"And, then, at the same time, she now wont even consider you being here as an option."
"Oh, you are a smart one!" Rory squealed.
"Wait." She stopped "but what happens when I show up in Stars Hallow with you in the car?" Rory asked
"You don't. You drop me off at the bus stop." Jess shrugged
"You are good." Rory grinned
"Yes, but this is what I pride myself at being good at." Jess smiled back
"You know, it's really sad to say I am making use of your evilly perfected habits. Guess I should have listened when they told me you were a bad influence." Rory said looking up at Jess, a smile on her lips, her eyes flashing
Jess moved closer so he was standing only inches away, Rory's back up against the phone.
"Yah, I guess you should have…" He trialed off as he moved in closer, holding his gaze with hers.
Rory felt her heart flutter again just as his lips brushed hers, but just then her hand slipped and knocked off the phone, as it hit with a loud thump, making them spring apart.
Jess smiled guiltily and rubbed the back of his neck as he turned around, and Rory tried to focus her attention back on the phone, but her face was red from blushing, her heart beating fast, and her breath shallow, making her head spin. Oh god, all that and he hadn't even kissed her? She shook her head smiling at her own foolish behavior.
Jess came over and dialed her number from memorization-which made Rory smile again- and waited for it to ring, concentrating seriously
"Oh, ow! Um, hello!" Lorelai said as she rubbed her toe she had stubbed trying to get to the phone.
"Is Rory there?" Jess asked in his curt manner
"Who is this?" Lorelai asked, but hardly needing to.
"It Jess. Is Rory there?" He asked again, sounding annoyed
"No, actually she's not." Lorelai snapped back
"Where is she?" Jess asked with an abrupt simplicity that made Lorelai hesitate
"Excuse me?" She asked in disbelief
"Where. Is. She." Jess sounded out sarcastically
"At a friend's house. And Jess, don't bother to call again, I won't pick up next time." Lorelai said slamming down the phone.
"God I hate that kid!" Lorelai yelled to the coffee machine as she limped in to the kitchen, in need of caffeine.
"So…" Rory asked
"We're ok. She still thinks you're at Paris's house." Jess said
"Good." Rory breathed a sigh of relief. "But I still need to call her, so she knows I got her page. She'll think it's a little weird if I don't call her back."
"Yah, but wait a little while. The last thing we need is for her to make some connection to my call and yours. Being your mom, I can't even fathom what she might come up with." Rory could only nod at this flawless logic.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Jess said as he grabbed Rory's arm leading her towards the door.
"But Jess, they haven't cleared you." Rory tried telling him
"Oh, they won't mind."
"But how do you know? Maybe they need to do something else, run some more tests, and take some more blood samples. You could have lead poisoning -even though I doubt that bullet thing was even lead, but it is possible- and there you could be, leaving and not even know it, and then because you're impatient and we left, you will die and it will be all your fault. So you can't leave because your life is at a potential risk of…" But Rory stopped; they were now outside, to continue on was completely pointless.
"You were saying…?" Jess said mocking her with a small smirk
Rory huffed at him. "I'm driving." It was about all she could think to say as she shot him a look and pulled out the keys, walking away.
"Sure thing Ror!" Jess acted annoyingly good natured. Rory glared at his sarcasm and saw he was now positively beaming at her. Turning back around, she couldn't help but smile to herself, despite her attempts to look angry.
Rory and Jess drove for a while in silence, both of them thinking about different things, but both of them kept unconsciously going back to the memories of the previous night. The ringing sound of the gun, the thud of the falling man, the sight of the dark pool running down the hill, the smell of the blood…the memories hung around them, clung to their very skins and resided in the air they breathed.
"There wasn't anything we could have done." Jess told her quietly knowing her solemn expression matched his thoughts.
"I know…" Rory said keeping her eyes on the road. "But I keep thinking what if I hadn't parked the car on that street, what if I hadn't been so ridiculous to come and get you, what…" Rory faulted and looked at Jess, "what if you hadn't moved?" Rory whispered turning back to the road.
"But I did." Jess said softly, but seriously
"I know…but-"
"But I did." Jess repeated firmly. Rory nodded
"Rory, we can't live our lives in what if's."
"I know."
"We have to take something from this, take it and never forget it." Jess told her
She looked over at him. "But all I want to do is forget it." Rory said her eyes watering
"But we can't, and we would be stupid to try. All we can do is try and find how this could be good, and even though I am having a really hard time coming up with an example for your next question, I think that the answer will come more in time than right now." Jess tried to explain
"No Jess, nothing can be good about this, nothing." Rory said adamantly shaking her head
"Yes something Rory. You now know not everyone is good at heart."
"I knew that before…"
"But did you really?" Jess asked her
"Yes, no, well, at least I have proof now…" Rory said sighing
"See." Jess told her "Something can come out of it, if you want it to."
"Ok, one thing that I personally would have preferred to have never found out."
"I know." I was Jess' turn to agree
They drove in silence for a while longer until Jess suggested they pull off so Rory could call her mom.
"Wait Rory," Jess stopped her, and then fidgeted awkwardly. "Are you, are you going to tell her? About last night I mean?" Jess asked quietly
"No, not now anyway." Rory told him truthfully
"But later?" Jess asked
"I want to…"
"But then she'll know you lied, how I got home, and knowing her, it will somehow be my fault." Jess finished for her perfectly
"I couldn't have said it better if I had finished my own sentence." Rory said sarcastically despite the seriousness of the situation.
"So…are you?" Jess asked again
"Maybe, probably, I don't know Jess." Rory said exasperated. "I'll need to see how things play out."
"Ok." Jess nodded and turned to go fill up her car with gas before they left.
Rory sighed and determinedly dropped two quarters into the money slot. Grabbing the phone, she slowly dilled the number to the house, and waited, heart pounding nervously as the first ring echoed through the receiver
Lorelai jumped as she had been deeply engrossed in her magazine when the phone rang. Sighing she got up and made her way over to it and picked it up.
"Hello?" Lorelai said
"Mom, hey, it's Rory." Rory tried to sound perfectly normal
"Oh, hi hun, I was wondering when you were going to call; I paged you like an hour ago." Lorelai told her walking back to the kitchen table and sitting down again
"Oh, sorry mom, I guess I didn't hear it." Rory lied "I just checked it a bit ago and realized you had paged." Rory said trying to sound convincing
"Ok, well good, I was planning to call Paris' house in a couple of minutes, but now I don't need to." Lorelai said flipping through the pages
"Right! Now you don't need to. No need at all, absolutely none because I called you. So why on earth would you need to call me, especially at Paris'? Nope, don't need to call here at all!" Rory said a little panicked
"What's up with you? Is there a reason you wouldn't want me calling Paris' house?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.
"Oh, yes, many!" Rory said hurriedly
"Like…" her mom prompted
"Like because Paris always gets snappy when other people call for me, I mean, she gets annoyed even when I only ask to use her phone. I think she feels that I am bored with her or something, or that she's not important enough for me to pay attention to." Rory lied
"Strange girl…" Lorelai muttered to herself
"Yah," Rory agreed and continued "And her house keeper, oooh, she is very strange. She has an obsession about picking up the phone, and she, well, think female Michel."
"Ouch."
"Uh huh, and her parents, they're really grouchy, they find the noise of the phone to be a disturbance. Especially her mom, she feels it upsets the balance of the house."
"Oh, she's one of those herbal, soy milky moms, huh?" Lorelai winced
"Yah, so, see, it is a very, very bad idea to call here. Stick to my pager." Rory said firmly
"Got it kiddo. So, when yha coming home?" Lorelai asked
"Um, not for a couple of hours at least."
"Oh…"
"Sorry, but you know Paris…and we've got a ton of home work to do. Projects and such, it will take a while, our teachers were extra nice this weekend." Rory lied again
"Ok, well, call me again some time in the next week or so."
"Will do. Love you mom." Rory said feeling a bit relived
"Love you too sweetie. Bye." Lorelai hung up sighing. Pausing a moment in thought, she turned and headed for the door, grabbing her coat and keys before she left. She needed coffee, food, and…she smiled to herself, company.
Rory hung up the phone and let her head fall on the top of the booth. She didn't think she had ever lied as much in her whole life as she had in that one conversation with her mom. Come to think of it, she didn't think she had ever really lied to anyone except here or there, until Jess had come. He had turned her life upside down, but what shocked her the most was that she was thoroughly enjoying the ride. 'I am my mother's child' she thought to herself.
"Hey, you ready?" Jess asked holding a coffee in one hand, and her car keys in the other.
"Yah, just got off the ph…Oh! Coffee! I love you!" Rory beamed as she saw what he was holding. She grabbed the coffee he handed to her, but then smiled shyly as she looked up at him, realizing she couldn't use that last phrase sarcastically anymore. Jess caught on and smiled back at her raising his eyebrows. Rory looked down, suddenly finding the lid to her coffee quite entertaining.
Lorelai bounded down the steps when she suddenly remembered she didn't have any money. It was ok to get away with not paying for a cup of coffee here and there, but it wouldn't be cool to not pay for a meal. Stopping she checked to see how much she had in her wallet. One dollar. She sighed, annoyed and went back up to the house. She checked her dresser, the counter, her dirty pants, and could only scrounger up one more dollar and 47 cents. 'Great' she thought to herself. 'Now I'll have to starve…unless…' she was struck with a sudden idea and bounded down the stairs two at a time. Rory must have some money in her room.
She opened the door and headed over to the bed table. In the process she tripped over a large yellow and black bundle…Rory's backpack?
Lorelai stopped and stared, and as realization struck her, a shocked and angry look caressed her face
"Going to Paris' to study, huh Rory?" She said out loud
Please review, I know I'm slow, but by now you're all probably used to it...
Breanna