Ch 19 Underneath it All
"Ouch! Riz!" Lane shouted as the tumbled into the tool-shed. Jess and Rory immediately jumped up from their places on the floor.
"Sorry," Riz laughed unsympathetically turning to the couple, "Well, well starting from the bottom of the list was a good idea Lane."
"Well, thank you," Lane said happily. Rory looked at the two, confused.
"I can always count on you to find some way to find me," Jess smirked, "Sit down and join us won't you?" Riz did exactly that sitting on a stool in the corner as Lane got comfortable on the floor. Rory still stood confused but sat as Jess pulled her down.
"Jess!" Rory exclaimed in a scolding tone trying unsuccessfully to suppress a laugh.
"Rory!" Jess mimicked Rory's tone of voice. Rory rolled her eyes and snuggled in close to Jess. Once Rory was comfortable Jess turned back to Lane and Riz, "Alright, talk."
"Wow, that's getting straight to the point," Riz's tone was thick with sarcasm.
"Okay," Lane bit her lip unsure of what was to be said to her best friends, "Rory, I have no problem with you dating Jess. It's just I don't want it to affect our friendship the way your relationship with Dean did. I don't know if you noticed but as soon as Dean came along you began spending more and more time with him. You two became practically joined at the hip because he was so possessive. I liked the guy but it was a bit much."
Rory took in her friend's confession. She had realized that she and Lane's friendship had been suffering due to both her relationship with Dean and the whole ordeal with Jess and Sarah. She had noticed as much as Lane had what was going on but hadn't felt that she could stop it. She didn't want to lose Lane completely now. "Lane, there's no way I'll let that happen," Rory put on a small smile, "I learnt my lesson and there's no way I'm going to let this friendship go."
"Great," Lane grinned. The two girls got up and hugged.
"We'll double with you and Dave anytime," Jess winked putting his sarcasm aside because he saw the two crying and laughing as they pulled away."
"Come on Jess don't get sentimental," Riz called from across the room, "All I've got to say is what took you so long to hook up!" The three other began to laugh a little and eventually quieted down. Rory and Lane both returned to their places on the floor and sat quiet for a bit.
"We could do this more often," Lane said breaking the silence, "Hang out together here. I mean it's private and everything." Rory and Jess nodded thoughtfully.
"I'll ask my mom," Rory piped in after a second, "We could just come here to get away."
"Sounds good," Jess whispered.
Sookie and Lorelai were still there sipping coffee at Luke's. Both Jackson and Michel had taken off to tend to their business as usual. The rain was lightly falling now, most probably nearing its end. Luke was clearing and cleaning all the tables of the deserted diner. The bells on the door chimed but they hardly paid attention. The shock was just beginning to wear off on Lorelai who sipped her coffee gingerly still worrying about Rory though. She thought of all the places she could be and that she was alone, with Jess. A tap on her shoulder brought Lorelai back to reality. She turned hoping to see Rory, but instead sighed heavily. It was not Rory standing there behind her. It was Dean, Dean the angry ex- boyfriend whose ex-girlfriend was now unavailable. "Lorelai, may I have a word with you?"
"What is it Dean?" Lorelai groaned.
"It's about Rory," Dean informed.
"What else would it be about," Lorelai muttered frankly tired about the subject of her daughter from everyone in the town. All she wanted was to talk to her daughter not about her.
"Well," Dean continued, "I don't get what she sees in Jess. The guy's bad news and he's going to hurt Rory."
"Look Dean," Lorelai began, "I don't like the idea either but Rory's a grown girl and she sees something she likes in Jess. I can't stop her from dating Jess and neither can you anymore. Dean, she broke up with you because she no longer loved you. You can't keep trying to control her life or get her back." Dean nodded in quiet understanding.
"Sorry for bothering you," Dean apologized courteously and Lorelai realized that he drove her crazy. He was the perfect floppy haired-bag boy boyfriend. He was someone Lorelai would never have dated as a kid. He was courteous to his elders and played everything by the rules. There was and still is a small hope that Rory would be with him forever because he was safe and Lorelai loved poking fun at him. Yet, as time passed Lorelai became more and more glad that he was out of Rory's life. Time had revealed the true Dean. He was possessive and jealous and had nothing in common with Rory. Jess on the other hand was a dangerous rebel who loved to read and seemed to love her daughter just as much. Maybe Lorelai was reading too much into this.
"What did he want?" Luke grumbled as soon as Dean was gone, "I never liked that floppy haired bag boy." Lorelai smiled slightly as she looked up at Luke with his flannel shirt and backwards baseball cap. She wondered how all this would affect them. For the first time in a long time she saw Luke and the possibility of a relationship without the interference of her Chris thoughts. Maybe someday there could be something between them. Only time would tell.
Rory's eyes began to grow heavy. She felt overwhelmed by tiredness. She snuggled in comfortably with Jess and slowly began to drift to sleep. Things seemed so perfect sitting here in the little tool-shed in Jess' arms and Lane and Riz conversing around her. It all seemed so right. All the pieces fit in perfectly. She couldn't even begin to compare this to her relationship with Dean and she wouldn't. Jess was a completely different person and couldn't be compared to anything else especially not her relationship with Jess.
Jess watched Rory falling asleep in his arms as he listened to Lane and Riz talk about music and New York. He watched Rory carefully. She looked so peaceful there lying in his arms. He knew he would have to get her home to her mother soon. The mother who didn't like him in the least, the mother who was probably worried sick about her daughter. Yet, Jess didn't want to break this moment, not yet.
Lane watched Jess and Rory. They fit together in a way Lane couldn't have imagined. She suddenly was able to see past Jess' shield of sarcasm and see the true caring Jess that Rory had fallen for. She smiled slightly. Things would be different now, for all of them. Riz related to Jess but Lane could tell right away as their conversation went on that she was the carbon copy of Jess just younger and female. Lane turned her attention back to Riz for a second but was drawn to watch the couple. Jess now shifted and whispered something to Rory. She groaned tiredly, yawned and got up. "We should get back," she said.
"Yeah," Lane agreed, "Momma might find out I'm not in my room studying and then she'll probably put bars on my window or something." They left the tiny tool-shed and Lane remembered when it had once served as Rory and Lorelai's home. They walked through the still wet streets of Star's Hollow.
The rain had let out and Rory sighed in disappointment. She was hoping in would still be raining. She wrapped her arms around Jess not caring who from the town was watching. They were all headed towards Luke's because if Rory knew her mother she would still be there sipping on coffee. She knew they needed to have a talk and now she would be ready for it. Even if it resulted in a fight between the two she knew she had to stand up to her relationship with Jess.
The bells on the diner chimed once again. Laughing filled the diner. A familiar laughing that Lorelai recognized right away. Sookie and Luke apparently recognized it as well for they all looked towards the door. The four teens stood there. Their laughter died and they became engulfed in the silence of the diner. Lorelai watched as Rory pulled away from Jess, kissed him quickly and whispered something in his ear before approaching her. "Hi Sookie," Rory greeted quickly before getting straight to the point, "Mom we need to talk."
"Damn straight we do," Lorelai agreed.
"Let's go home and talk this over," Rory suggested.
"No, no I think we can do this here," Lorelai said anger rising in her voice.
"Mom you knew this might happen," Rory sighed, "You knew that I liked Jess. You knew and told me I was being no fair to Dean. I broke up with Dean and you knew eventually this might happen."
"Ror, he's not good for you."
"You don't know that," Rory argued, "You don't know him."
"I know him better than you think," Lorelai shouted, "He reminds me of what I was like at sixteen. He reminds me of both me and your father."
"And god forbid I like someone even remotely close to dad!" Rory cried out.
"You don't know Jess Lorelai," Riz interrupted, "You only know what he or anyone else chose to tell you. You don't know what it was like at home for him or at school. You don't know how hard he tried to protect me from my father at the same time as trying to keep me away from his friends. You don't know why he got arrested. You don't know Jess in the least! Underneath his rough and gruff appearance is a troubled kid trying to get away from his problems."
"Riz, stay out of this," Jess mumbled from behind her, "This isn't about us or our life in New York."
"Yes Jess it's exactly about that," Riz disagreed, "It's about how just because you're acting like a rebel doesn't mean she knows the real you. No one knows the real you Jess or me for that matter."
"Look, this is about Rory and Lorelai," Jess sighed, "Just let them sort this out."
"Whatever," Riz cried in exasperation bursting out of the diner. Jess glanced quickly at Rory before running out to follow her. Lane still stood there quietly watching the fight. She had never really seen Lorelai and Rory fight before. She knew they fought but she never actually saw it happen. Glancing quickly at Luke, Lane saw he hadn't either.
"Mom you've got to try and accept this," Rory pleaded, "Just give Jess a chance."
"Fine," Lorelai gave in. After Riz's outburst she thought it best to rethink her opinions of Jess. It was time she gave Jess another chance. For Rory's sake and for the sake of her friendship with Luke she had to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Alright, I hope I did this right and everything wasn't happening to fast. I'll just make this one short and sweet. If you've got any suggestions please let me know and well please review and tell me what you think. Thanks a lot for everything all of you who reviewed and thank you for reading. More to come soon I promise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ouch! Riz!" Lane shouted as the tumbled into the tool-shed. Jess and Rory immediately jumped up from their places on the floor.
"Sorry," Riz laughed unsympathetically turning to the couple, "Well, well starting from the bottom of the list was a good idea Lane."
"Well, thank you," Lane said happily. Rory looked at the two, confused.
"I can always count on you to find some way to find me," Jess smirked, "Sit down and join us won't you?" Riz did exactly that sitting on a stool in the corner as Lane got comfortable on the floor. Rory still stood confused but sat as Jess pulled her down.
"Jess!" Rory exclaimed in a scolding tone trying unsuccessfully to suppress a laugh.
"Rory!" Jess mimicked Rory's tone of voice. Rory rolled her eyes and snuggled in close to Jess. Once Rory was comfortable Jess turned back to Lane and Riz, "Alright, talk."
"Wow, that's getting straight to the point," Riz's tone was thick with sarcasm.
"Okay," Lane bit her lip unsure of what was to be said to her best friends, "Rory, I have no problem with you dating Jess. It's just I don't want it to affect our friendship the way your relationship with Dean did. I don't know if you noticed but as soon as Dean came along you began spending more and more time with him. You two became practically joined at the hip because he was so possessive. I liked the guy but it was a bit much."
Rory took in her friend's confession. She had realized that she and Lane's friendship had been suffering due to both her relationship with Dean and the whole ordeal with Jess and Sarah. She had noticed as much as Lane had what was going on but hadn't felt that she could stop it. She didn't want to lose Lane completely now. "Lane, there's no way I'll let that happen," Rory put on a small smile, "I learnt my lesson and there's no way I'm going to let this friendship go."
"Great," Lane grinned. The two girls got up and hugged.
"We'll double with you and Dave anytime," Jess winked putting his sarcasm aside because he saw the two crying and laughing as they pulled away."
"Come on Jess don't get sentimental," Riz called from across the room, "All I've got to say is what took you so long to hook up!" The three other began to laugh a little and eventually quieted down. Rory and Lane both returned to their places on the floor and sat quiet for a bit.
"We could do this more often," Lane said breaking the silence, "Hang out together here. I mean it's private and everything." Rory and Jess nodded thoughtfully.
"I'll ask my mom," Rory piped in after a second, "We could just come here to get away."
"Sounds good," Jess whispered.
Sookie and Lorelai were still there sipping coffee at Luke's. Both Jackson and Michel had taken off to tend to their business as usual. The rain was lightly falling now, most probably nearing its end. Luke was clearing and cleaning all the tables of the deserted diner. The bells on the door chimed but they hardly paid attention. The shock was just beginning to wear off on Lorelai who sipped her coffee gingerly still worrying about Rory though. She thought of all the places she could be and that she was alone, with Jess. A tap on her shoulder brought Lorelai back to reality. She turned hoping to see Rory, but instead sighed heavily. It was not Rory standing there behind her. It was Dean, Dean the angry ex- boyfriend whose ex-girlfriend was now unavailable. "Lorelai, may I have a word with you?"
"What is it Dean?" Lorelai groaned.
"It's about Rory," Dean informed.
"What else would it be about," Lorelai muttered frankly tired about the subject of her daughter from everyone in the town. All she wanted was to talk to her daughter not about her.
"Well," Dean continued, "I don't get what she sees in Jess. The guy's bad news and he's going to hurt Rory."
"Look Dean," Lorelai began, "I don't like the idea either but Rory's a grown girl and she sees something she likes in Jess. I can't stop her from dating Jess and neither can you anymore. Dean, she broke up with you because she no longer loved you. You can't keep trying to control her life or get her back." Dean nodded in quiet understanding.
"Sorry for bothering you," Dean apologized courteously and Lorelai realized that he drove her crazy. He was the perfect floppy haired-bag boy boyfriend. He was someone Lorelai would never have dated as a kid. He was courteous to his elders and played everything by the rules. There was and still is a small hope that Rory would be with him forever because he was safe and Lorelai loved poking fun at him. Yet, as time passed Lorelai became more and more glad that he was out of Rory's life. Time had revealed the true Dean. He was possessive and jealous and had nothing in common with Rory. Jess on the other hand was a dangerous rebel who loved to read and seemed to love her daughter just as much. Maybe Lorelai was reading too much into this.
"What did he want?" Luke grumbled as soon as Dean was gone, "I never liked that floppy haired bag boy." Lorelai smiled slightly as she looked up at Luke with his flannel shirt and backwards baseball cap. She wondered how all this would affect them. For the first time in a long time she saw Luke and the possibility of a relationship without the interference of her Chris thoughts. Maybe someday there could be something between them. Only time would tell.
Rory's eyes began to grow heavy. She felt overwhelmed by tiredness. She snuggled in comfortably with Jess and slowly began to drift to sleep. Things seemed so perfect sitting here in the little tool-shed in Jess' arms and Lane and Riz conversing around her. It all seemed so right. All the pieces fit in perfectly. She couldn't even begin to compare this to her relationship with Dean and she wouldn't. Jess was a completely different person and couldn't be compared to anything else especially not her relationship with Jess.
Jess watched Rory falling asleep in his arms as he listened to Lane and Riz talk about music and New York. He watched Rory carefully. She looked so peaceful there lying in his arms. He knew he would have to get her home to her mother soon. The mother who didn't like him in the least, the mother who was probably worried sick about her daughter. Yet, Jess didn't want to break this moment, not yet.
Lane watched Jess and Rory. They fit together in a way Lane couldn't have imagined. She suddenly was able to see past Jess' shield of sarcasm and see the true caring Jess that Rory had fallen for. She smiled slightly. Things would be different now, for all of them. Riz related to Jess but Lane could tell right away as their conversation went on that she was the carbon copy of Jess just younger and female. Lane turned her attention back to Riz for a second but was drawn to watch the couple. Jess now shifted and whispered something to Rory. She groaned tiredly, yawned and got up. "We should get back," she said.
"Yeah," Lane agreed, "Momma might find out I'm not in my room studying and then she'll probably put bars on my window or something." They left the tiny tool-shed and Lane remembered when it had once served as Rory and Lorelai's home. They walked through the still wet streets of Star's Hollow.
The rain had let out and Rory sighed in disappointment. She was hoping in would still be raining. She wrapped her arms around Jess not caring who from the town was watching. They were all headed towards Luke's because if Rory knew her mother she would still be there sipping on coffee. She knew they needed to have a talk and now she would be ready for it. Even if it resulted in a fight between the two she knew she had to stand up to her relationship with Jess.
The bells on the diner chimed once again. Laughing filled the diner. A familiar laughing that Lorelai recognized right away. Sookie and Luke apparently recognized it as well for they all looked towards the door. The four teens stood there. Their laughter died and they became engulfed in the silence of the diner. Lorelai watched as Rory pulled away from Jess, kissed him quickly and whispered something in his ear before approaching her. "Hi Sookie," Rory greeted quickly before getting straight to the point, "Mom we need to talk."
"Damn straight we do," Lorelai agreed.
"Let's go home and talk this over," Rory suggested.
"No, no I think we can do this here," Lorelai said anger rising in her voice.
"Mom you knew this might happen," Rory sighed, "You knew that I liked Jess. You knew and told me I was being no fair to Dean. I broke up with Dean and you knew eventually this might happen."
"Ror, he's not good for you."
"You don't know that," Rory argued, "You don't know him."
"I know him better than you think," Lorelai shouted, "He reminds me of what I was like at sixteen. He reminds me of both me and your father."
"And god forbid I like someone even remotely close to dad!" Rory cried out.
"You don't know Jess Lorelai," Riz interrupted, "You only know what he or anyone else chose to tell you. You don't know what it was like at home for him or at school. You don't know how hard he tried to protect me from my father at the same time as trying to keep me away from his friends. You don't know why he got arrested. You don't know Jess in the least! Underneath his rough and gruff appearance is a troubled kid trying to get away from his problems."
"Riz, stay out of this," Jess mumbled from behind her, "This isn't about us or our life in New York."
"Yes Jess it's exactly about that," Riz disagreed, "It's about how just because you're acting like a rebel doesn't mean she knows the real you. No one knows the real you Jess or me for that matter."
"Look, this is about Rory and Lorelai," Jess sighed, "Just let them sort this out."
"Whatever," Riz cried in exasperation bursting out of the diner. Jess glanced quickly at Rory before running out to follow her. Lane still stood there quietly watching the fight. She had never really seen Lorelai and Rory fight before. She knew they fought but she never actually saw it happen. Glancing quickly at Luke, Lane saw he hadn't either.
"Mom you've got to try and accept this," Rory pleaded, "Just give Jess a chance."
"Fine," Lorelai gave in. After Riz's outburst she thought it best to rethink her opinions of Jess. It was time she gave Jess another chance. For Rory's sake and for the sake of her friendship with Luke she had to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Alright, I hope I did this right and everything wasn't happening to fast. I'll just make this one short and sweet. If you've got any suggestions please let me know and well please review and tell me what you think. Thanks a lot for everything all of you who reviewed and thank you for reading. More to come soon I promise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~