Chapter 10 – And costumes to wear
Rory's POV
Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own anything to do with Gilmore Girls or any book or author references, or these chapter titles.
A/N: I hope you all like this chapter. The reviews are amazing, thanks to everyone who's reviewed! Also, I know Paris normally wouldn't really know Jess, but she had to for the story, so… She's not going to have a big role in the story, so it doesn't matter. On with the chapter! ~Arianna
I actually spent almost an hour talking to Jess. I was still sort of in shock. I kissed Jess. I kissed Jess. Jess kissed me.
I thought it would take me forever to get over Dean, I almost thought I'd never stop crying. It hurt, it really hurt. But Jess made me feel better about everything. And when he kissed me—it was like I was flying. The truth was, it was nothing like kissing Dean.
After I hung up, I opened The Sun Also Rises and started reading it again. I would probably be reading Hemingway for a while.
I got up early the next day and told my mom I would meet her at Luke's. She agreed, because she had just gotten up and was dying for blueberry pancakes, not to mention coffee. I grabbed my school stuff and hurried to the diner. Jess saw me out the window.
"Luke, I'll be right back!" I heard him yell.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Is it okay if I…" Jess asked.
"Yeah," I said. He leaned over and kissed me again. By the time I looked up, someone was standing there, watching us.
"Is there something you want to tell me, Rory?" Lorelai asked, staring meaningfully at me.
"Mom…" I let go of Jess and followed her into Luke's. "Mom, Dean and I broke up."
"Nice to know," she replied sarcastically. "How long?"
"The day before yesterday."
"Rory—"
"Listen, he said we should, I agreed, yeah I was hurt but…"
"But?"
"I went to Luke's afterwards, and Jess was there, and I cried and he was there for me and he didn't do anything, really, I promise…"
"I can see that he didn't. So what happened between then and now?"
"He kissed me last night," I whispered.
"Last night?"
"At the bridge. And we talked and…I don't know if we're exactly together…"
"Rory," my mom said seriously, "are you happy with Jess?" She sounded resigned.
"Yes," I told her. I meant it.
"You should get to school," she said softly.
"I guess. See ya after school!"
"Yeah."
I took the bus to Chilton, ran to my locker, and got out my books.
"What a difference," Paris remarked.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"One day you come in, all sad because you broke up with your boyfriend, you can't pay attention to anything anyone says. Today you're here grinning like you just got into all the Ivy League schools at once!"
"Nice comparison, Paris."
"You're crazy," she said.
"Jess kissed me." I was beaming.
"Guy who works in the diner?"
"Yes!"
"He's liked you forever."
"Well, now I like him too."
"You've always liked him."
"I'll take the fifth."
School was much, much better that day. I realized I was genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. I was going to have to explain all this to my mom. But that was later.
Jess was waiting for me at the bus stop.
"Hey!" I said.
"Hey." He put his arm around me and we started walking down the street. I put my arm around him too.
"Jess?"
"Yeah?"
"I like this more-than-friends thing," I told him.
"So do I," he replied, grinning at me. "Want to go to the bookstore?"
"Sure, I always do. But Jess—you know a while ago, when we were studying?"
"Uh huh."
"And you…"
"And I got upset and I cried. I admit it. To you, at least, Rory. What about that?"
"Well…now you know you can trust me."
"Rory, I always did…"
"No, it's okay. I just wanted you to know that I know it hurts to talk about, but if you want to tell anyone, ever, you can tell me."
"I know. C'mon, let's go to the bookstore. When I get the courage to tell you…I will."
I squeezed his shoulder. "You can do anything, Jess." I really did think that. I also really did think that Jess needed to tell someone about whatever had happened in New York. He was obviously upset about it, still. Luke probably knew part of it. But I was sure that for now, Jess was the only one who knew it all.
We walked into the bookstore. I was still leaning on Jess. Andrew stared at us.
"Thought you said you weren't seeing her?" I glanced up at Jess.
"Long story," he muttered. To Andrew, he said, "Things are different now." When Jess went over to look at some old books on a shelf, Andrew motioned for me to come closer.
"What are you doing hanging around with him, Rory?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You're a good kid—"
"So is Jess! Or he can be… Nobody's given him a chance, nobody else can see it!"
"There's nothing to see."
"Yes, there is!" I was really mad. Why couldn't anyone else see that Jess was hiding, acting the rebel because he was hurt? Why was I the only one who knew he'd never hurt me? And then he said it.
"Rory, none of us want you to be hurt."
"I broke up with Dean," I said. "Jess was there for me. He understood, he got me through it. Not my mom, not Lane, Jess. He's just hurt, he just doesn't—" I had promised. I couldn't say any more. "That's all I can say. But he's a good friend and he would never do anything to me; you should see that! Someone should see that." I really hadn't planned on Andrew being the first person I said that stuff to. But I wasn't sorry I'd said it. At all.
"You want us to give him a chance," Andrew said.
"Yeah."
I did. I really did.
