A/N: Yeesh… so incredibly sorry for the ridiculously long delay between updates… Life has, unfortunately, decided to dump a whole lotta crap on me when I wasn't quite ready for it… The good news is, the whole story's done! But it won't quite be concluded in this chapter… About three more to come, then I'm through! Few minor points to note, previous chapters have been changed to alter the formatting… Also a couple of typos fixed… To all who've reviewed, thanks so much for all your comments! Truly appreciated. To , sorry if the pace has seemed slow, but the thing is, the story kinda concludes when Jess goes back to Stars Hollow… In fact, it ends in New York. My apologies if you've felt the story to be too slow… To the rest, hope you're still enjoying the story! Remember, do R&R please!!! :0)

Disclaimer: Have you not read the previous four chapters?? I own nothing!! I wish I did… But I don't. :0(

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Closing had been awkward. Once the customers had trickled out, he had tried in vain to appear busy, with Meg standing over his shoulders, the questions in her eyes and hanging in the air. He'd made a feeble excuse of Liz wanting to talk to him, but he knew she knew it was a lie. He never had been able to lie to Aunt Meg; she simply knew him too well.

He left the store with a standard "See ya", then turned onto the road home. But home was the last place he wanted to be, knowing full well that the solitude of the apartment and the company of the books he'd brought back would only drive his mind back to her. Plus, Liz might actually have been home, and he was in no mood to face her. Nonetheless, his legs, not knowing where else to go, carried him on the route home, while his mind stayed in that thick fog of Rory.

He couldn't stop thinking of her. The emotions he'd tried so hard to bottle up were spilling over, and anyone who'd noticed him would have thought he was lost. He was. He hated the way he felt now that he was so far from her, yet he could not deny that even here in the city he'd grown up knowing and loving, that gave him a rush of exhilaration whenever he walked in its streets, just as he was doing now, he was still horridly lost.

He shoved his hands further into the pockets of his jacket, zipped up against the chilly night. The cold emptiness that consumed him slowly abated when his fingertips brushed the cold metal in his pockets. A thought began to germinate in his head, against his will and better sense of judgement. Unwittingly, he shook the pockets, comforted yet appalled by the resounding jingling response.

It was unthinkable… He couldn't possibly do it… Could he? There couldn't have been anything more stupid for him to do now-- yet why did the thought of it feel so damn right?

He was on his street now, just half a block from the apartment. But there was a pay phone on the next block. It would be so simple…

Mariano, don't be an idiot, just turn left after another twenty metres, you'll be home safe, nothing else will happen.

But what could possibly happen? They were friends, weren't they? Well, she certainly may not have exactly reciprocated his feelings for her, but she had enjoyed his company enough not to chase him away. They talked, hung out, read the same books, liked the same music… That certainly could fall under the category of friends. And friends… called each other, didn't they?

No, Mariano, don't. You have no idea what one insane act can lead to, it's always been this way! Just look at your life, dammit!

Well, what harm could a long-distance phone call possibly do? She was in Stars Hollow, he was in New York. He was just a guy calling a friend in a place he'd left. Nothing wrong with that at all.

No, Jess, don't do this, this is stupid, it's suicidal, you'll just get yourself in deeper shit…

But it was too late. His legs now knew where they were going, and they took him right by the building. The angel had taken on the devil, and had lost. Or had it won?

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He hung up the phone, a small smile on his face. That hadn't gone too badly, now, had it? A little small talk, a neutral goodbye-- what could possibly have gone wrong? He had been so hesitant about doing it before, but now, only satisfaction and joy remained. It had been good to hear her voice.

A tingle still remained on his fingertips, that passed through his entire body. He turned to leave, but still felt the weight of his remaining coins. It would be more than enough…

Impulsively, he grabbed the phone off the hook again, inserting coins as his fingers instinctively dialled the numbers that he'd never dialled before, but still knew by heart. It rang once, twice… There's no point. Why am I doing this? He's probably still closing up anyway.

Jess was about to hang up, stop himself from doing something truly stupid, when the ringing stopped. He heard a muffled curse, then the gruff voice answered. "Hello?"

He froze at the sound, his mind wheeling, as he desperately ran over his options, all the time kicking himself for having even dialled.

"Hello?" The voice wasn't getting any more patient. "Kirk, if this is you calling about that damn wallet again, it was never there!"

Jess quickly hung up, cursing himself for having made this detour. He released a long breath, his thoughts clashing in waves in his head. He sounded fine, perfectly normal. Didn't show any signs at all…

Signs of what, Mariano? the voice in his head questioned abruptly. Told you you should never have done this. You should've just gone home, Mariano, and stayed there. At this point, Jess had to concur.

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A/N: Hmm… Yep, the story's taking on a different turn… That's why this isn't really a full-on Literati. Comments? Complaints? Like it? Despise it? Let me know! :0)