Disclaimer: You know the story. Song-Somewhere in Between-Lifehouse

Rating: PG-13  

Pairing: Literati

A/N: Thank you all for the feedback I got on the Prologue/First Chapter! I appreciate it. Y'all know I live for it. *LOL* Anyway, enjoy the next chapter. It's longer, but Jess loved Rory longer, and I wanted to put in things that may have stood out in his mind.

When it's Raining

Chapter 2--Static (Him)

"give me a...few hours...I'll have this all sorted out...if my mind would just...stop racing..."

Jess Mariano believed the starting point to be different. In the midst of the grey-blue haze swirling around him, years later, he was still thinking about her. Every word, every glance, every smile, every touch from her. So while he continued to shiver outwardly from the cold, the warmth inside grew as he began to remember bits of years-old conversations and little things she had done to make him feel.

~~~

"What?" Rory had asked that night, confusion masking her features. Black surrounded them, flooded in some places by dim, orange glow from the street lights and store fronts. She flipped through her book quickly, then stared back at him, her blue eyes sparking in the night, a smile threatening to overtake her features. "You've read this before."

Jess stared at her, masking a smile at the expression on her face that obviously told him she was trying to read him, but couldn't. A breeze gently and faintly rustled the trees as Jess replied.

"Only about 40 times."

She gave him the look again, but this time there was a realization in her eyes that she probably, no matter how much she tried, wouldn't be able to read him. Her hair shone underneath a velvet, starry sky, and he looked back at her, making her squirm just the tiniest bit. She didn't back down, however, and pressed on.

"I thought you said you didn't read much," she stated, still trying not to smile. It was a question.

"Well, what is much?  Goodnight Rory." Jess replied calmly, the tiniest of smirks donning his face. He knew this mystery was annoying to her, but also intriguing. He faintly, somewhere in the back of his mind, wondered if she had a boyfriend, then quickly erased the thought from his mind. Her blue eyes roved his, piercing him, locking him in her gaze, but then she turned and walked, as if she didn't want to get started. The light seemed to follow her, leaving Jess in increasing darkness.

"Goodnight, Dodger," she mumbled sarcastically as she walked, her head turning one last time. She paused for a moment, both in step and in thought, waiting for his response.

"Dodger?" he questioned unnecessarily, already knowing exactly what she meant, but waiting for her to explain. She smiled, the corners of her mouth turned upward, and bringing it all the way up to her eyes, creasing the corners and dimpling her cheeks slightly.

"Figure it out."

"Oliver Twist." Jess said, almost without thinking. One of his favorite books. She had simply nodded, turned, and walked away, leaving an invisible cloud of innocence to trail behind her. And Jess watched her for a second before he turned too. But the warmth didn't go away.

~~~

The question that constantly came up in his mind was answered for sure later. He remembered the chalk outline outside Taylor's store he had planted that day. It had caused such a stir. It showed how ridiculously small the town really was, he thought. Rory had come up to him, asking why he had done it. The laughter in her dancing blue eyes darted in the blackness of her pupils, and Jess knew that she was amused, but she stubbornly refused to say so. He also knew she liked him. Not in the corny flowers and hearts sort of way, but like just the same. And then, he had come, on that particular winter day. And had brought Jess's only hope crashing down with him. Not that Jess wasn't used to it.

~~~

"Funny, I never pegged you as clueless, my mistake," she scolded, just as she had been for the past 10 minutes. They were standing outside the store, on grey sidewalks in the winter. The sky was cloudy, but it seemed light out. Her cheeks had been tinged with pink from the chill, her hair slightly windblown. Jess thought she looked beautiful. Of course, he would never say so. But he was content to be scolded by her as long as it meant she was near him. Naturally, he wouldn't admit that either, not even to himself. But it was easy to see, looking back now.

"Okay. I get it. No, no, I do, I get it. So did you at least think it was funny?" he teased her, knowing all too well that she did. She was at least intelligent enough to know that this town was ridiculously ordinary and routine, and any entertainment she could get was appreciated. But, she was too stubborn to admit it, as Jess had come to know.

"That is so not the point," she cried, but there was a smile in her voice. Jess smirked at her, feeling a bit week in the knees watching her eyes light up. Then he shook away that thought. Girls like Rory definitely did not make him week in the knees. It was the cold or something.

"Ah, you thought it was funny," he mocked.

Just then, a tall, handsome, clean cut type walked out of the market. Jess noticed and frowned. He could still see the suspicion in his eyes when he saw Jess standing there.

"I got it." He told Rory, looking down at her affectionately. Then Jess knew. His frown deepened and his eyes narrowed as Dean acknowledged his presence. It had taken him long enough.

"Oh, uh, hey."

"Um Dean, I don't think you two have met. This is Jess. This is Dean," Rory jumped in, sounding nervous. Nothing went unnoticed by Jess. And as much as his mind warned him not to, he had to ask.  

"Boyfriend?"

"Of course," she replied, shooting him a quick look that pleaded him not to start anything.

"Sorry, you didn't say. How ya doing?" he asked bitterly.

"Good, good," Dean sputtered, giving him a hard stare. Jess remained unfazed.

"Okay, see you around," Rory said quickly, her eyes once again pleading with Jess. She glanced between the two guys, the laughter from her eyes long gone. She grabbed Dean's hand tighter and they left. Jess couldn't help but add the last bit of the conversation, knowing it would send Dean up the wall.

"Seems to turn out that way, doesn't it?"

~~~

Jess was still standing in the rain. His work clothes were probably soiled beyond repair, and his hair was somewhat flat. Not that he cared. He was just getting to the best part of his memories, as far as he was concerned. He sat on the curb. It was nearly time for him to be getting home, but the drizzle ran over his forehead, dripping off of his nose occasionally, lightly misting his cheeks. He watched the people of the city scramble for their cars and he couldn't understand why they didn't see rain as a beautiful thing.

~~~

Jess had known he was growing on her. He could see it in her eyes. That was where he could see everything. She was like an open book, the rest of her face saying everything her mouth couldn't. And she began to spend more and more time with him. There was that stupid town thing where he had paid $90 for her basket. He had outbid Dean for it, and not only had he succeeded in pissing Dean off, it made him look jealous, and Jess got to spend time with her.

For hours, they sat on that bridge, looking over the rippling water and the cove of trees, the clear blue sky painted overhead. They discussed literature, and he tried to make her smile so he could feel the warmth spread from his heart all through to his fingers and toes. He remembered her question, the one that had stumped him for only a minute.

"Why are you only nice to me?" she had asked innocently, really not knowing the answer.

"Excuse me?" he choked out. This was not a question he wanted to answer. Especially not to her face. He didn't expose himself to people like that. He only got hurt in the end anyway, so what exactly was the point?

"An hour ago you were totally screwing with Dean, and now you're totally nice to me."

Jess froze for only a moment, before replying honestly. "You see, it's the screwing with Dean-that's an important step to getting here so I can be nice to you." He immediately wished he had come up with a smart-ass reply, but the upward curve of her mouth as she talked was worth it. Best $90 he ever spent.

After that day, they talked on the phone once or twice. He had come over to her house once, and she had invited him in, but Dean came over, and he was quickly shooed away. He never showed the hurt. They always talked and bantered, but she never knew or realized how she affected him. And Jess tried and tried to get her to admit how he affected her. He was pretty sure she was falling for him, at least to some extent. But he wouldn't ask her directly. He wouldn't risk it.

Luke knew he liked her. He could relate to that, for sure, and he could see it. He had hired Rory as a tutor, which was kind of a naïve move on his part, simply because he should have known Jess wouldn't have been able to concentrate. That night, they went out for ice cream. He was driving. And an animal in the road had caused the swerve. The accident. Hurting her. He couldn't deal with that. He didn't care about anything but her. And if she didn't forgive him, that was it. So he ran. But she came after him.

She had skipped school and come to the city in all her plaid-Chiltonite glory. Jess had been sitting in the park, reading when she walked up. The leaves were heavy with a deep green, drooping from the branches. People were buzzing all around. Her hair was blowing back from her face, and there was a certain look on her face when she saw him. That's when he knew. So before she left the city, he had called her on it, knowing she would never give him a straight answer.

"Why did you come here?"

"What?" she asked, somewhat nervously. He didn't have to repeat. She knew what he had said and they both knew why. Sitting under the bus's dim lights, she was buying time so she didn't have to answer yet.

"I said, why did you come here? I mean, you ditched school and everything. It's so not you." He pointed out. She couldn't ignore that one, he knew. She seemed to consider. Something else was threatening to be said, but she responded quickly with the only thing she could think of.

"Because you didn't say goodbye."

"Goodbye, Rory." He replied simply, locking her eyes on his. He knew he would see her again. He'd come back.

"Bye, Jess." She said, closing the window behind her. He couldn't help but smirk at her as he walked away.

~~~

Jess finally decided it was time to head to his apartment. His girlfriend was probably waiting, and it was growing increasingly darker with every raindrop. He found his car about a block away. Had he only stayed there a few more minutes, he would have seen his other half. The one girl that had made him whole. But he didn't wait. He climbed in his car, starting up the engine and watching the drizzle lightly streak down the windshield before the wipers started and cleared it away.

~~~

The kiss. It had been totally unexpected, but it had been kind of unavoidable. Eventually, one of them would slip up. It was just odd that it happened to be her rather than him. She had always had that affect on him like no one else. His knees would go weak, and his breath would hitch and catch in his throat when he saw her, or was near her. So he always assumed that he would probably kiss her first. He was the screw-up, the one with no control. But it was Rory that lost her control this time. The last part of the conversation was the most distinct to him.

"What are you doing here?" she had asked. She was obviously confused, but he was surprised she didn't expect him to come back after she had tempted him in the city like that. She was smarter than this, he had thought.

"I moved back." Stating the obvious.

"What?" Rory always asked when she needed time to think. It bought her a few seconds to clear her thoughts. The water splashed gently and the green and gold combination of light was overbearing Jess's vision. He watched her bite her lip nervously.

"I moved back."

She absently smoothed her simple greenish dress down as she stared for a moment. She was gorgeous. There was a sprig of some type of flower in her hair, and her curves were accentuated by the thin fabric. He looked her over again as she stumbled over her words.

"But-What? Why?"

Jess shrugged. He didn't have to say why. It was unspoken truth, a reason he was pretty sure both of them knew.

"Just...wanted to."

A different emotion masked Rory's face just then. They were frozen there, Rory looking as if she were about to faint or something, Jess simply watching. Then he saw her move towards him, and suddenly, she felt her lips on his. Sweetly and passionately, she kissed him hard on the mouth with warm mint on her tongue. Her scent fogged his mind, and slowly, he realized what was happening. He brought his hands up to cup her face. Her mouth opened to his, and heat ran through him. He needed to feel her. But just as he brought her closer, she pulled away.

He had tried to comfort her when he saw the panicked look on her face, but it had done no good. She had run away. And after that, he was left with nothing but that single kiss. The memory. That was all he had of her. But he couldn't forget. All summer and fall, he waited for her to react, to speak to him about it. But the words never came. So it all went back to the way it used to be. Flirting and bantering. Lorelai still hated him, but Jess speculated that was because she knew and saw that her daughter was falling for him. Then again, she had stayed with Dean, so Jess didn't understand why it mattered.

Then there was his girl. Brielle. Beautiful, not in the innocent, radiant way like Rory, but sophisticated. She was from the city. They had a lot in common. He cared for her, if nothing else. She didn't read, but she was intelligent enough, and he liked her for it. She had been abused by her father, and she was stuck in Stars Hollow for the year with her aunt. They sat on benches late at night, talking and blowing blue smoke rings that dirtied the pristine night air, or she ate in the diner, waiting for his shift to let out, stealing kisses over the countertop.  

He remembered the first time Rory had seen them together. It had been snowing that day, light flurries that kiss your face. She had come in the diner in all her winter glory, looking for a cup of coffee, and maybe, a chat. But she stopped short. He saw the hurt look on her face, the jealousy plaguing her. But he didn't mention it. He wanted to say to her that this whole crazy thing was a mistake, and that as much as liked Brielle, it seemed like a distraction, and every thought seemed related to her. But Jess wasn't the show-your-feelings kind of guy. And too many things remained unsaid for Rory and Jess to get together. At least, at that point anyway.  

~~~

Jess parked his car outside the apartment. He knew he was just getting started. A darkness feel upon the city, but that didn't stop the rain that was splashing and gathering in puddles. As he rode the elevator, he vaguely wondered if his girlfriend was home. When he reached his apartment door, he realized that she wasn't, and he immediately sat by the window to stare at the rain some more. He should have stayed on the street, though, because Rory Gilmore was just now heading for home. But it didn't really matter. Fate knew that they would meet again, through the one person they had in common. Unfortunately, it would be the loss of this person that would bring them together.

A/N: I know the chapter is kind of messy and confusing. And the next 1 or 2 probably will be too, because I need to portray now and then all at once. Please review! I won't demand it, but it's always nice. Anyway, I'm getting to the real plot soon...like who the person is, how they meet again, will they be together, etc.