A/N: Again thank you for the reviews. As you can see, I'm still continuing this. It's not easy. I know what I want to happen, I'm just not sure how to get there. But I'll try to get there smoothly and hopefully not bore you to death on the way. Thanks again and please keep reviewing.

Coffee Beans...

"Mom!" Rory burst into Lorelai's room.

Lorelai shifted in her bed, turning her back to Rory. "Shh. Sleeping."

Rory stomped into the room already dressed in her Chilton uniform. She took the end of the comforter Lorelai was using and whipped it off her lying form.

"Wha-? Weh? Hey!—" Lorelai shot up sputtering. "Now, that's just mean."

"Mean it may have been but I have something called school and you have to go to work."

"Boo! No work. I've decided that no one at the Inn appreciates me. I'm going to run away the circus. I will be caffeine woman – astounding the audience with the enormous amount of coffee I intake."

"Right…Anyway, there's an assembly this morning for the new student council. And Paris is making me meet her extra early so we can go over our speeches. So, if we don't leave soon I won't be able to get any coffee at Luke's. And if I don't get any coffee this morning because of you, I'm going to get really mean." Rory turned towards the door before tossing a "you have twenty minutes" over her shoulder and leaving the room

"You are so bossy!" Lorelai called after her. "I don't know where you get it." She made a face before pulling herself out of the bed to get ready for the day.

…

"Are those new?" Rory said looking at Lorelai's shoes as they headed to Luke's.

"What? No! These are my favourite shoes."

Rory inspected the shoes and frowned. "They are?"

"Yes. In fact, if they'd have me, I'd run away with them and spend the rest of my life in sole bliss."

Rory rose a brow.

"But no," Lorelai continued. "No, they are snobs and refuse to spend every waking minute with me. Instead they'd prefer to stay in their box – alone."

Rory blinked. "So when did you buy them?"

"Last weekend."

"As I thought," Rory said matter of factly before they walked into Luke's.

Rory followed her mother into the diner but abruptly stopped in her tracks. Jess and the girl without a name, were making out at one end of the counter.

Rory hadn't really thought about how she'd feel when she saw them together again, but she hadn't counted on the tumultuous feelings raging inside of her. Anger. Pain. And the worst one of them all…Betrayal. And it was the worst one because she shouldn't feel betrayed because Jess was with someone that wasn't her, kissing someone that wasn't her. He owed her nothing.

He owed her nothing, logically she knew that but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. It didn't stop the anger from burning inside her.

"Rory?"

Rory looked up to see Lorelai giving her a look of inquiry. And she suddenly realized that she'd just been standing there staring at them.


"Sorry." She shook her head as if to clear it and followed her mom to their usual table.

"It's Jess, isn't it?" Lorelai said abruptly.

"What? No!" Rory denied quickly, as she turned herself so that she couldn't see the kissing couple.

"Rory, you can't lie to me. I know you."

"It's not him. It's just that." She made a disparaging gesture towards them. "It's so disgusting. Who does that? I mean, this is a public place and he has no right to be standing there making us nauseous. He's going to drive out business! People won't be able to keep their food down watching him shove his tongue down her throat." Rory stopped her tirade as she saw the look on her mother's face.

"My God—You have feelings for him." Lorelai said tersely.

"No, I don't."

"Rory. Stop! Just stop. The signs all point to it. Why else would you be reacting this way? Why else would you be ignoring your great boyfriend?"

Rory shook her head vehemently. "You're wrong and I'm not ignoring Dean. I just spent all of yesterday with him. And you know what? It was great…because I'm in love with him and only him…Mom, I'm just tired and cranky and need a big cup of coffee but I can't get any because Romeo over there is slacking off. Where is Luke?"

"I don't know. But the sudden mention of coffee is getting me all jittery." Lorelai said eager to follow another conversational tract. "Ok, we don't have time for this. I'm going to go find Luke." Lorelai got up from the table. "Are you going to be ok, down here?"

Rory nodded and watched her mother climb the stairs to Luke's apartment. She turned back to Jess and the girl and wasn't surprised to see that they were still kissing. Just as she wasn't surprised when she found herself walking determinedly up to them.

"Excuse me!"

Jess lifted his head and looked over at her. When he noticed who it was, he quirked a brow.

"Paying customer here." She said in annoyance.

He merely continued to look at her, a hint of a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"Isn't it your job to serve paying customers?" She said in exasperation.

He looked around, "What customers?"

Rory turned to see that there were only two people, other than themselves, in the diner.

Rory turned back to look at Jess. "Look, can I just get come coffee?"

"All you had to do was ask." He said mockingly before he let go of the girl, who had been shooting Rory dirty looks all through the conversation, and went behind the counter to make it.

"To go." Rory said quickly.

He shrugged. "Whatever."

"Jess?" Rory did her best not to roll her eyes at the whiny sound emanating from the blond girl.

"Yeah?"

"We should go."

"In a minute, Shane."

Ah. So that was her name. And what a stupid name it was.

Shane? Whatever.

Jess poured the coffee into two large Styrofoam cups and set them on the counter in front of Rory.

"Lorelai, stop it." Luke came suddenly into the room with Lorelai following closely behind.

"Not before I get my coffee, Lukey."

"Don't call me that." He grimaced as he walked behind the counter.

Lorelai batted her eyes. "But it's so fun…Lukey!"

Rory interrupted them quickly. "Mom, I have the coffee. We have to go. I'm going to be late." She set a few dollars on the counter, picked up the two cups and made her way out of the diner.

Lorelai followed her out quickly. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened. Nothing." Rory stopped walking and turned to her mother. "Mom, I just want to make sure you know that I'm not interested in Jess. I don't want to be with Jess. I love Dean. I'm happy with him. And whatever little stupid thing I might have had for Jess is over. Completely." With that said she continued walking.

Lorelai watched her daughter and hoped it was true.

…