Back at the house, Rory was laying on her back on the bed. Her mother hadn't said a word about her conversation with Jess, she had said a quick goodbye. Jess had sat with her for nearly a half an hour, but the kiss never came up. They both acted as if nothing had happened, but both of them knew something was largely amiss. They didn't belong across the table from each other, pretending as if nothing had happened. Rory had her hand on the phone. She dialed.. and then hung it up. She repeated this several times, until accidentally, or so it seemed - she finished dialing. She stared at the phone in horror as it rang.
Dean: Hello? ::pause:: Hello? Is anyone there?
Rory: Um.
Dean: Rory, is that you? Are you okay?
Rory: No.. I..
Dean: Where are you? I'll come get you.. are you..
Rory: Dean, no. No.
Dean: Rory, what's going on, are you alright?
Rory: ::takes a deep breath:: Look, there's an awful lot I really want to say, and I would really appriciate it if you would just be quiet long enough for me to say everything that I need to get out. I'm not sure if I'm sick, or unhealthy in some way - I'm not sure if I'm sane, or what, but look - I've been thinking, a lot. I've been thinking A LOT. And I just relized that you and I.. we just.. we're not the same people we were.
Dean: ::takes a sharp breath:: Bu..
Rory: No - let me finish. We're not the same people we were. Things are different now, people are different, people grow, and they change, and we're changing apart. There's a canyon between us and pretty soon it's going to be an ocean. I don't want to do this to you anymore. I love you too much to hurt you any more, and I think we'd be better off if we just went our own ways.
Dean: You don't have to lie to me.
Rory: I'm not lying.
Dean: ::takes just a second:: Fine.
Rory: Fine?
Dean: Yeah, fine. Is there anything else before I go?
Rory: ::surprised:: No.. I..
Dean: Fine. Goodbye. ::hangs up the phone::
Rory sat back against her bed, in shock. Not sure if she should be content with her decision, or bawling her eyes out. She looked at Colonial McClucker sitting on the end of her bed and she realized she wasn't really hurting as bad as she thought she should. She found herself feeling more guilty than sad. She looked at her wrist and took her bracelet off. For just a moment, she leaned towards her dresser and then changed her mind and tossed the bracelet towards her trash can. She missed, and it slid across the floor and landed by her closet. She rolled over, pulled Colonial McClucker up against her fell asleep.
Lorelai came home from the Inn and found Rory sound asleep. It was early, and she looked a bit puzzled glancing in to Rory's room. She spotted the bracelet on the floor and became worried, but she didn't want to wake Rory. Sadly, she walked in, kissed her daughter on the forehead and pulled the blanket over her shoulders, and then went to her own room.
(Sometime, hours later)
Rory opened one eye, and glanced around. She was still fully clothes, but her body ached strangely and she was so tired. She wondered what had woke her - when she heard another light tap against her window, and she glanced over. Jess was sitting on the porch, at her window, trying to attract her attention. Rory screamed a very brief shrill scream, and then covered her own mouth once she realized who it was. She jumped out of bed and went to the window, pushing it open.
Jess: I scared you.
Rory: You're damn right you did - what time is it?
Jess: Late. Or early. Depends on your point of view really.
Rory: Did you just come here to debate points of view, or is there a purpous to your waking me up and absolutely scaring the crap out of me?
Jess: I couldn't sleep.
Rory: So you felt the need to make it so that other people couldn't sleep either?
Jess: I thought you might still be awake. I heard you called it quits with bagboy today. ::mock sarcasm:: Figured you might need a shoulder to cry on.
Rory: Not necessary, can I get back to sleep now?
Jess: Can I at least borrow a book?
Rory: Can't you come back in the morning?
Jess: And what am I going to do all night while I'm waiting for the morning?
Rory: Ever hear of sleep?
Jess: Come on. One book. Your choice. It can be like a book club, we can meet tommorow and talk about character development and underlying plot devices.
Rory: ONE book. Come in, pick your book and leave. I need to sleep.
Jess: ::climbs in through the window:: Nice room you've got here.
Rory: One book. Hurry up.
Jess: ::walks to her under-bed storage of her books and begins to peruse through them, very slowly::
Rory: Jess, come on.. you've got to hurry up, I'm tired.
Jess: Don't let me keep you up. Go ahead, get back in bed. Pretend I'm not even here.
Rory: Not likely. ::finally concedes and sits down on her bed. After a moment, she slides back against the pillow and blinks a few times, tired. Only the moonlight is lighting her room::
Jess: Found it. ::holds up a book::
Rory: The Shining. Not exactly a bedtime story.
Jess: Hmm.
Rory: Hmm what?
Jess: ::sits down next to her on the bed:: I could read to you.
Rory: I'm capable of reading to myself. You.. you really need to go.
Jess leans toward her, very close. She thinks he's going to kiss her, and she closes her eyes. Jess was only going to wisper to her, he wasn't anticipating this.. so he leans toward her and their lips make contact. He pulls his jacket off and moves closer to her, never breaking the seal between their lips. She's got one hand on his shoulder, the other on her bed as she leans toward him. Their lips part and she pulls away from him, shocked.
Jess: What? Am I that bad?
Rory: No, it's just.. you shouldn't be here. You're.. you're in my room, in the middle of the night.. on my bed and we.. we can't do this. This isn't right. ::picks up the book and puts it into his hands:: You need to go. You really need to go.
Jess: Are you sure?
Rory: What is the other alternative? Let you spend the night? Somehow I see that going over like a mouse in a roomful of hungry cats.
Jess: So I guess I should go..
Rory: I guess you..
Rory's door swings open, and Lorelai stands there, with an umbrella in hand. When she realizes her house isn't being broken into - a very brief moment of non-panic crosses her face. And then she realizes that the boy she is the most afraid of is sitting on her daughter's bed in the middle of the night. She steps backwards as if blown away by the situation, and then recoils with anger. Rory sits in shock, and Jess jumps backwards from the bed and already has a hand on the windowsill before Lorelai can even speak.
Lorelai: GET OUT. ::Jess is already halfway out the window. Before Lorelai finishes - he's already gone. She turns to Rory:: We have an awful lot to discuss. I highly suggest you get some sleep because I have a feeling tommorow is going to be a VERY long morning for the both of us.
Rory: But mom. I..
Lorelai slams the door to her daughter's room, and turns around and yells "And lock your window" before retreating to her own room. She slams herself back down against the bed, and in less than a moment, reaches for the phone.
Luke: ::almost completely asleep:: Hmm?
Lorelai: Luke. Wake up.
Luke: Huh? Wha..
Lorelai: It's me, Lorelai. Luke, wake up.
Luke: ::sitting up:: I'm awake, Lore, is everything okay?
Lorelai: Just peachy. Where's your nephew?
Luke: ::looks over at Jess's closed door:: Asleep.. I think.. oh my god, what did he do?
Lorelai: I can't even.. I can't.. ::begins sobbing::
Luke: Lorelai, are you alright? Damn it, are you alright?
Lorelai: I.. he.. ::breaks down into sobs::
Luke drops the phone, and jumps out of bed towards Jess' door - throwing it open, he finds the room empty. Luke throws on a pair of jeans and his baseball cap and grabs the keys to his truck, and only minutes later is at Lorelai's back door. He pushes hard enough and the door gives - he looks around the kitchen and doesn't find anything out of place. Franticly searching, he gets to the stairs in time to meet Lorelai face to face. Tears are pouring down her face, and she is sobbing. Luke frantically gets ahold of her shoulders.
Luke: What did he do? Are you okay?
Lorelai: I found him in bed with Rory.
Dean: Hello? ::pause:: Hello? Is anyone there?
Rory: Um.
Dean: Rory, is that you? Are you okay?
Rory: No.. I..
Dean: Where are you? I'll come get you.. are you..
Rory: Dean, no. No.
Dean: Rory, what's going on, are you alright?
Rory: ::takes a deep breath:: Look, there's an awful lot I really want to say, and I would really appriciate it if you would just be quiet long enough for me to say everything that I need to get out. I'm not sure if I'm sick, or unhealthy in some way - I'm not sure if I'm sane, or what, but look - I've been thinking, a lot. I've been thinking A LOT. And I just relized that you and I.. we just.. we're not the same people we were.
Dean: ::takes a sharp breath:: Bu..
Rory: No - let me finish. We're not the same people we were. Things are different now, people are different, people grow, and they change, and we're changing apart. There's a canyon between us and pretty soon it's going to be an ocean. I don't want to do this to you anymore. I love you too much to hurt you any more, and I think we'd be better off if we just went our own ways.
Dean: You don't have to lie to me.
Rory: I'm not lying.
Dean: ::takes just a second:: Fine.
Rory: Fine?
Dean: Yeah, fine. Is there anything else before I go?
Rory: ::surprised:: No.. I..
Dean: Fine. Goodbye. ::hangs up the phone::
Rory sat back against her bed, in shock. Not sure if she should be content with her decision, or bawling her eyes out. She looked at Colonial McClucker sitting on the end of her bed and she realized she wasn't really hurting as bad as she thought she should. She found herself feeling more guilty than sad. She looked at her wrist and took her bracelet off. For just a moment, she leaned towards her dresser and then changed her mind and tossed the bracelet towards her trash can. She missed, and it slid across the floor and landed by her closet. She rolled over, pulled Colonial McClucker up against her fell asleep.
Lorelai came home from the Inn and found Rory sound asleep. It was early, and she looked a bit puzzled glancing in to Rory's room. She spotted the bracelet on the floor and became worried, but she didn't want to wake Rory. Sadly, she walked in, kissed her daughter on the forehead and pulled the blanket over her shoulders, and then went to her own room.
(Sometime, hours later)
Rory opened one eye, and glanced around. She was still fully clothes, but her body ached strangely and she was so tired. She wondered what had woke her - when she heard another light tap against her window, and she glanced over. Jess was sitting on the porch, at her window, trying to attract her attention. Rory screamed a very brief shrill scream, and then covered her own mouth once she realized who it was. She jumped out of bed and went to the window, pushing it open.
Jess: I scared you.
Rory: You're damn right you did - what time is it?
Jess: Late. Or early. Depends on your point of view really.
Rory: Did you just come here to debate points of view, or is there a purpous to your waking me up and absolutely scaring the crap out of me?
Jess: I couldn't sleep.
Rory: So you felt the need to make it so that other people couldn't sleep either?
Jess: I thought you might still be awake. I heard you called it quits with bagboy today. ::mock sarcasm:: Figured you might need a shoulder to cry on.
Rory: Not necessary, can I get back to sleep now?
Jess: Can I at least borrow a book?
Rory: Can't you come back in the morning?
Jess: And what am I going to do all night while I'm waiting for the morning?
Rory: Ever hear of sleep?
Jess: Come on. One book. Your choice. It can be like a book club, we can meet tommorow and talk about character development and underlying plot devices.
Rory: ONE book. Come in, pick your book and leave. I need to sleep.
Jess: ::climbs in through the window:: Nice room you've got here.
Rory: One book. Hurry up.
Jess: ::walks to her under-bed storage of her books and begins to peruse through them, very slowly::
Rory: Jess, come on.. you've got to hurry up, I'm tired.
Jess: Don't let me keep you up. Go ahead, get back in bed. Pretend I'm not even here.
Rory: Not likely. ::finally concedes and sits down on her bed. After a moment, she slides back against the pillow and blinks a few times, tired. Only the moonlight is lighting her room::
Jess: Found it. ::holds up a book::
Rory: The Shining. Not exactly a bedtime story.
Jess: Hmm.
Rory: Hmm what?
Jess: ::sits down next to her on the bed:: I could read to you.
Rory: I'm capable of reading to myself. You.. you really need to go.
Jess leans toward her, very close. She thinks he's going to kiss her, and she closes her eyes. Jess was only going to wisper to her, he wasn't anticipating this.. so he leans toward her and their lips make contact. He pulls his jacket off and moves closer to her, never breaking the seal between their lips. She's got one hand on his shoulder, the other on her bed as she leans toward him. Their lips part and she pulls away from him, shocked.
Jess: What? Am I that bad?
Rory: No, it's just.. you shouldn't be here. You're.. you're in my room, in the middle of the night.. on my bed and we.. we can't do this. This isn't right. ::picks up the book and puts it into his hands:: You need to go. You really need to go.
Jess: Are you sure?
Rory: What is the other alternative? Let you spend the night? Somehow I see that going over like a mouse in a roomful of hungry cats.
Jess: So I guess I should go..
Rory: I guess you..
Rory's door swings open, and Lorelai stands there, with an umbrella in hand. When she realizes her house isn't being broken into - a very brief moment of non-panic crosses her face. And then she realizes that the boy she is the most afraid of is sitting on her daughter's bed in the middle of the night. She steps backwards as if blown away by the situation, and then recoils with anger. Rory sits in shock, and Jess jumps backwards from the bed and already has a hand on the windowsill before Lorelai can even speak.
Lorelai: GET OUT. ::Jess is already halfway out the window. Before Lorelai finishes - he's already gone. She turns to Rory:: We have an awful lot to discuss. I highly suggest you get some sleep because I have a feeling tommorow is going to be a VERY long morning for the both of us.
Rory: But mom. I..
Lorelai slams the door to her daughter's room, and turns around and yells "And lock your window" before retreating to her own room. She slams herself back down against the bed, and in less than a moment, reaches for the phone.
Luke: ::almost completely asleep:: Hmm?
Lorelai: Luke. Wake up.
Luke: Huh? Wha..
Lorelai: It's me, Lorelai. Luke, wake up.
Luke: ::sitting up:: I'm awake, Lore, is everything okay?
Lorelai: Just peachy. Where's your nephew?
Luke: ::looks over at Jess's closed door:: Asleep.. I think.. oh my god, what did he do?
Lorelai: I can't even.. I can't.. ::begins sobbing::
Luke: Lorelai, are you alright? Damn it, are you alright?
Lorelai: I.. he.. ::breaks down into sobs::
Luke drops the phone, and jumps out of bed towards Jess' door - throwing it open, he finds the room empty. Luke throws on a pair of jeans and his baseball cap and grabs the keys to his truck, and only minutes later is at Lorelai's back door. He pushes hard enough and the door gives - he looks around the kitchen and doesn't find anything out of place. Franticly searching, he gets to the stairs in time to meet Lorelai face to face. Tears are pouring down her face, and she is sobbing. Luke frantically gets ahold of her shoulders.
Luke: What did he do? Are you okay?
Lorelai: I found him in bed with Rory.
