A/N – Hmm…not so many reviews on Chapter 2 as on Chapter 1.  Oh well!  LOL

The final pairings are still undecided, but I'm going to play around with everyone kind've dating everyone, if that makes sense.  It'll help get me into the swing of writing each pairing, and it'll give you guys a taste of what each pairing would/will be like.

The current standings:  Rory/Tristan, Lane/Dean, Paris/Other, L/L, and Miss Patty/Jesus.

Brief Recap:  Everyone came home at the same time, for various reasons.  The Stars Hollow crowd, Rory, Dean, Lane, and Jess, all know that they're all back.  Paris and Tristan have encountered each other.  Neither Paris nor Tristan has encountered anyone from Stars Hollow. 

This chapter is picking up right where the last one left off.

WHAT HAPPENED TO US?

PART ONE – PARIS, TRISTAN, DEAN AND LANE

Paris sat back in her chair, staring at the phone number Tristan had hastily scrawled.  With a determined sigh, she picked up that loathed object, the phone, and punched in the numbers.

"Hello?"

"Tristan?"

"Yes."

"This is Paris Gellar."

"Oh, hey, Paris.  I didn't expect you to call so soon."

She shrugged, though he couldn't see her, and responded.  "No time like the present.  Did you still want to get coffee, or are you busy?"

"I'd love to…where?"

"Well, there's this place near Chilton that I stop at fairly often."

"Sounds great." 

The two quickly agreed to a time, and hung up.  Paris raced to her bedroom, running an inventory on her clothing through her mind.  She finally selected a pair of jeans and a sweater, and rapidly changed.  She washed her face, and pulled her long hair into a messy bun.  Satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her car keys, and rushed out the door.

Ten minutes later, she sat at a booth in the coffee shop, already sipping an iced latte.  He appeared momentarily, and approached her.

"Hello, Paris.  I see you started without me."

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd mind.  Besides, I'm ready for a refill."

He grinned.  "Allow me."

She smiled back at him, relieved that the awkwardness she had feared had yet to rear its ugly head.

Tristan walked to the counter, ordered, and waited while the teenager fixed the coffees.  As he stood there, he glanced around the coffee shop, noting the other customers.  A couple just walking in caught his eye.  The woman was a pretty Asian, with short sleek hair and a wide grin.  The man towered over the woman, and seemed almost dour compared to the woman's perkiness.  Tristan unobtrusively watched the two, unable to shake the feeling that he knew them both.

"Sir, that'll be $7.50."  The teenager behind the counter caught his attention.

"Oh, thanks."  Tristan paid the boy, and grabbed the two cups.  He turned, and narrowly avoided dumping the coffees onto the tall, dour man.  "Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't worry about it."  The other man muttered, not really looking at Tristan.

Tristan took a step away, and glanced back at the man.  "Hey, do I know you from somewhere?"

"Doubt it.  I just moved here from Chicago.  First time I've been in Connecticut in…10 years."

"Pretty much the same here…only North Carolina for me.  But, I swear, you and your girlfriend both look really familiar."

"I'm not his girlfriend.  You look familiar too, what's your name?"  The Asian interjected.

"Tristan DuGrey."

"Sounds familiar…I'm Lane Kim, and this is Dean Forester."

"Sounds familiar."  Tristan echoed.  "Hey, do you guys want to join us?"  He asked, waving one arm towards Paris.

Lane and Dean exchanged a glance.  "Sure, why not?"  Lane responded.

PART TWO – JESS AND RORY

Rory opened her eyes.  It was no use; she couldn't sleep.  Both her mother and grandmother had passed out a few hours ago, but Rory was wide awake. It's probably the time difference…it might be 2:00 a.m. here, but it's only 10 p.m. back in L.A.  She rolled out of her bed, landing on her feet with a muffled thump.  She grabbed a jacket, scribbled a quick note in case either of the two elder women woke up, and slipped out the front door.

She stood on the porch for a moment, breathing in the crisp Connecticut air.  The air here is so much sweeter than in L.A.  Hehehe…I don't trust air I can't see…Crimson Tide…decent movie, with lots of room for mocking.  Maybe the next movie night can have a submarine theme.  Yeah…we can watch Crimson Tide, Hunt for Red October, U-571, and K-19!  It'll be fun comparing Sean Connery's fake Russian accent to Harrison Ford's fake Russian accent. 

As she mused, she strolled through the darkened town, unconsciously avoiding the golden halos from the streetlights.  She realized with a start that she had arrived at the bridge, and felt an even bigger shock when she saw that she was no longer alone.  Jess sat there, his legs dangling over the side. 

Jess scribbled furiously in his notebook, unhindered by the lack of light.  He stopped writing abruptly, suddenly unsure of his thoughts.  He reached for a cigarette, and lit it.  Inhaling deeply, he looked down at what he had written so far, and began to critically edit the words.

"Jess."

He looked up.  "Rory."

"Want some company?"

Jess shrugged.  What the hell, right?  Not like any amount of revising or editing is going to get my book published, so I might as well spend time with her instead of working on it.

"So what's up?"  Rory asked, as she sat down next to him.

He shrugged again.  You ask that as though you actually care.

Rory was silent for a moment.  "How have you been?"

Jess looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then sighed, and tossed his cigarette into the water.  "Okay."

"Do you like being a book critic?"

He lay back on the bridge, using his arms as a pillow.  "It's not bad."

"How's your book coming along?"

"Fifteen."

"What?"

"Fourteen."

"What are you talking about?"

"Thirteen.  The number of questions you have left to ask before we hit twenty."

Rory stared at him, looking incredibly hurt.  "What happened to us, Jess?  We used to be so close."

"Things change."

"I know…but…"

"But what?"

"Why are you so cold towards me?  You haven't been like this towards me since we were seventeen, when I got back from Washington."

"You don't say."

"Jess.  Please."

"Alright, fine.  What happened to working for the Times?"

"What?"

"Senior year in college…you told me that you were going to be working for the Times.  I get there, and they've never heard of you.  A week later, I hear from Luke, who heard it from Lorelai, that you're in Los Angeles."

"Jess…I work for the L.A. Times…I never had any intention of working for the New York Times."

"Nice of you to tell me yourself."

"I did tell you!  I told you I had accepted a job with the Times!"

"So now it's my fault, that I thought you meant the New York Times?"

"Well…it was an assumption on your part, and you know what they say about people who assume things."

"Or maybe it was an assumption on your part that I'd know what you were talking about.  And that's not the only thing."

"Then what else?"

"It's been ten years, Rory.  Did I miss all the letters you sent?  The phone calls?  Emails?"

"Gee, I don't know, Jess.  I sure don't recall receiving any smoke signals from you!"

"Why the hell would I write you?  You didn't even have the decency to tell me yourself that you were moving to the other side of the damn country!"

"Like you told me yourself that you were going back to New York."

"Totally different!"

"How?"

"Because you should have known I'd go back!  Everyone else in this goddamn town knew!!"

"Fine, you know what, I'm done!  Go on being childish and pissy, I really don't care anymore!"  Rory yelled as she stood up. 

Jess rose to his feet also, not noticing that the abrupt movement knocked his notebook off the bridge.  "Anymore?  You might want to rethink your choice of word, Miss Star Reporter.  After all, anymore implies that you cared once!"

"Big shocker there, I did care!  God, Jess!"  Rory was so angry at this point, she found herself fighting back tears.  "Whatever.  Like I said, I'm done.  See you around."  She brushed past him, and disappeared into the night.

Jess stared after her, struggling with mixed feelings of anger and regret.  "So did I, Rory…so did I," he whispered.  With a sigh, he bent to pick up his notebook, and discovered it was gone.  He glanced around, and finally spotted it in the water below.  "Dammit…just what I needed to make this night even better."  He shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked off, headed towards the diner.

A/N – Well, that's it for Chapter 3!  What'd you guys think?  I told you there would be more Jess in this chapter.