Title: What Sam Says
Chapter 7: The Second Snow—Kinda
Disclaimer: Yes. The secret is…they're all mine. Bwa-hahahahahahahahaha!!!!
A/N: Seriously, if I were you, I'd be scared. Seriously. Here's a list!
1) The "Bwa-hahahahahaha" up there. Scary.
2) I watched "The Ring" for the second time on Thursday and Friday—both nights cause it was really late, and the movie's really not that scary, and actually kinda boring, but Dave (Adam Brody) is "Kellen/Male Teen #1" which almost makes up for the suck-ass film, but of course the ending is pretty cool too, well, the part right before the ending, but I won't say anymore about the movie, but that's a good reason to be scared.
3) Oh, and yesterday afternoon, I watched "The Bourne Identity" which actually isn't the best movie, either, but at least it has a totally redeeming car chase scene (love the car chase scene) and it's all chock-full of mystery and CIA blah-blah talky scenes, so be scared.
4) Last night—oh, my God, I love this movie—I saw "The Matrix Reloaded" which is the kick ass sequel to the most kick ass movie ever made, "The Matrix (1999)." And of course, both Matrixes (matrices?) have lots of mystery and totally awesome special effects (yeah, I am addicted to the "totally awesome" 80s, too—another good reason to be scared) and the coolest coat that Keanu Reeves has ever worn—and does anybody else see that Keanu basically cannot act? I mean, I love him—seriously—but the man cannot act. He's always acting completely and totally serious, and every once in a while he'll be stuffed in gook or cry cause he fell in love with Charlize Theron (after Lauren Graham left him) and she's dying from cancer or I guess you could actually consider that him acting as Bill (or Ted—I haven't watched enough of the movie to know which one he is) in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" (Excellent! Whoa, Wayne, I think I'm gonna hurl! You can't hurl, Garth, I'm gonna hurl!) is completely different cause he's certainly not a surfer dude in the Matrix—but he does wear a coat that looks kinda like a skirt in the newest movie, but then again he flies, so everything's good.
Personally I think those are good reasons to be scared. Long A/Ns are also good reasons to be scared.
Be scared! Be very afeared!
Sorry.
Oh, and I'm not entirely sure what Jess' role in the story is yet. I'm not sure if he's the dad or what, but I do know that he's gonna be here for a while.
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"What are you doing here?" Jess asked, his arms still around Rory.
"Uh, it's a long story," Rory non-answered, glancing back over her shoulder at Tristan, who was still sitting in the limousine, but half-in, half-out, yelling vague threats her way. "What about you, what are you doing back in New York? And at a movie set, no less."
"Another long story," Jess said vaguely, letting go of Rory a little, so he could look at her. "Involving producers, directors, stars, and a multi-million dollar movie."
"Wow. Yours?"
"Yep. I wrote it, I'm directing it. My friend's starring in it; my other friend's producing it, and already passed a course in UCLA cause of it."
"Wow. 'E! True Hollywood Story' at its best."
Jess laughed. "I never thought of it like that."
"You know," Rory started, leaning closer to Jess again, "if you create a little scandal on the set, you're almost guaranteed to be on E!'s all new line-up in less than a year."
"Oh, really? And what do you suggest?"
"You're the big-time Hollywood writer," Rory shrugged.
"How 'bout the writer/director disappearing for a few days?"
"Perfect." Rory grinned.
"Great."
"Excuse me, Miss Gilmore, Mr. Miller's on the phone in the car," Tristan said, walking up.
Rory groaned and rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Tristan. You know, I can't believe you'd be friends with someone who bosses you around like that."
"Oh, come on, Mary, you know better than that. I secretly boss him around, but turn it around and make it seem like it's his idea. Either way, Mark's on the phone in the car, and he wants to talk to you," Tristan stressed the last five words, raising his eyebrows to show their importance. Rory sighed, and then looked back at Jess, who she was still wrapped around.
"Are you going to be in town for a while?"
"Uh, yeah," Jess said, staring at Tristan.
"Good. Give me your number, I'll call you when I can."
"Okay," Jess agreed, pulling a business card from the back pocket of his jeans.
"Wow, you've gone pro," Rory grinned at the card.
"Only the best for the best," Jess grinned back.
"Okay. I've gotta go. Bye," Rory kissed Jess quickly on the cheek and followed Tristan back to the limo, hitting him every few feet.
Jess watched them go, rubbing the spot on his cheek where Rory had kissed him.
*****
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*****
"That's not you going away with him," Lorelai pointed out.
"It's a long story," Rory said defensively, "and I'm tired of sitting here. I am putting on an oversize shirt and going for a walk. Come with?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Lorelai stood up and followed her daughter to her room. She leaned against the doorway as Rory pulled an oversize sweater from her bag. "How does Jess fit into this whole thing?"
Rory paused. "He's…an important part of the story."
"He's your past."
"And my future," Rory responded immediately, defensively.
"And the father," Lorelai sighed and stated simply.
Rory stopped. And then shook her head. "No, I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to."
"No. I can't tell you who the father is yet."
"Sweetie, you didn't have to tell me, I figured it out."
"No! You can't figure it out. Not yet. Not until you know why." Rory paused, wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Can you stay here? Let me vent on my own?" she asked quietly, desperately, tears welling up. Lorelai's heart hurt for her daughter.
"Sure."
"Thank you," Rory said, pushing past her mother and out of the house.
*****
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Rory glanced at Tristan, in the room opposite hers in the suite they were staying at tonight. Asleep. She glanced at the clock. 3:14. She shrugged. Jess was probably still up, either shooting still, or prowling the streets of the city that never sleeps, or, if he hadn't changed in the last four years, sprawled across his bed, reading and smoking a cigarette. She smiled at the thought and climbed from her bed, reaching for her cell phone and Jess' business card. Halfway through dialing his number, she stopped. Lorelai. She should call Lorelai. She erased Jess' number and dialed her mother's. It rang, four times, and Lorelai had just picked up and groggily answered hello when Tristan sat straight up in bed and spouted Shakespeare. Rory immediately hung up, hoping Tristan hadn't seen her on the phone.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!" Tristan yelled again, before slumping back into bed. Rory giggled. Tristan spouted Henry the fifth in his sleep? But, she'd learned her lesson, so she slipped into some actual clothes instead of her pajamas and walked downstairs, to the house phone, leaving her cell phone in her drawer.
Not knowing that it was ringing, that Lorelai had star sixty-nined her.
"Excuse me, can I use the lobby phone?" Rory asked, walking up to the front desk of the hotel.
"Yes, ma'am. To get out of the hotel, you must dial 9. For long distance, you must dial 1, and then the area code, and then the number, and then nine."
Rory nodded and thanked the man as he lifted the phone from behind the desk and onto the counter. She pulled Jess' business card from her back pocket and dialed his number. It rang twice before Jess answered.
"You're ruining my reading time," he stated, annoyed. Rory smiled.
"Jess."
"Rory," Jess responded, his tone happier. "Ready to disappear now?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Good. I'll come pick you up."
"Wait, you know what? Why don't we just meet somewhere?"
"Sure. Where?"
"Washington Square Park."
"Perfect. Half-an-hour?"
"Twenty minutes."
"Even better. See you later, Rory."
"See you, Jess." Rory hung up the phone, thanked the man behind the desk one last time, and walked out of the hotel.
*****
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Rory walked out of her mother's house and started wandering aimlessly around town, but wandering the back way, out of the center of town. Her mind was racing, reeling, with thousands of thoughts, and feelings, and memories, and before she knew it, she was laying on the bridge, staring at the gray clouds overhead, wishing for more snow, so that it could bury her, and she wouldn't have to think about her screwed up life anymore.
*****
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Rory and Jess met at the Washington Square Arch in the Park less than fifteen minutes later, and Rory immediately threw her arms around him and squeezed.
"Whoa!" he half-laughed. "I need to breathe."
"I know," she whispered, holding on with all her might. She squeezed once more and released him slightly, still leaving her arms around his waist, but moving back a little so she could look into his face. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too," he said, just as softly.
"But we can't be anything but friends. Only friends," Rory repeated, more to herself than Jess. Jess nodded and agreed.
"We should get going."
"Where are we going, anyway?"
"We're heading up to Maine for the weekend. I hear they're still getting snow."
"Snow!" Rory exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.
"Exactly." Jess laughed, and they started walking. "Do you have clothes you need to get?"
Rory bit her lip. Did she want to get her clothes, and risk getting caught by Tristan? She decided not to risk it, and shook her head. "Can we buy some?"
Jess nodded, and they walked out of the park.
*****
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Rory half got her wish. While the clouds did burst open, nice, fluffy, yet cold snow did not spill from them. Instead, cold, wet, rain fell down, drenching Rory from head to foot in minutes. She stood, slowly, but couldn't bring herself to go back to her mother's house, and instead pulled a John Cusack and sat back down on the bridge, thinking over her past, not-quite-good, love life.
Lorelai, on the other hand, was freaking out. Her daughter had disappeared ten minutes ago, and two minutes ago, it had begun to rain. No, not just rain—pour. After another minute of sitting at the kitchen table, five feet from one door and staring at the other door, waiting for Rory to get home, she got up, clothed herself in a raincoat, grabbed another, larger one for Rory, grabbed an umbrella, and braved the rain to search tiny Stars Hollow for her only daughter.
Unfortunately, tiny towns seem a lot larger when you're searching for your only daughter, who just happens to be five months pregnant with your only grandchild. Your angry only child.
Lorelai sighed and started searching, praying the entire time.
