Title: Rebellion


Pairing: R/J


Rating: PG


Disclaimer: I am, in NO WAY, affiliated with Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino, the WB, or any of the other big names. I am just a big fan of the Gilmore Girls, Milo Ventimiglia, and Chad Michael Murray. :)


Spoilers: Events from Season 2-3 are talked about.


Distribution: Please e-mail me first at rgilmore03@hotmail.com -Thank you very much.


Author's Note: It means a great deal that you are actually reading this. I spend a lot of time writing fan fiction, but this is my first one posted at fanfiction.net. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks so much for all your reviews!! :)

Rory sat down on the bench, and pulled A Farewell to Arms out of her yellow backpack.  She groaned inwardly as she stared at the worn paperback.  Under normal circumstances, Rory would already have finished reading the book, given that she had purchased it the previous day.  But this was Hemingway.

Rory checked her watch.  Dean always met her at this bench – the one by the bus stop – after school.  He was running a little late today.  Rory decided not to think too much of it, and instead opened her book.

She looked up to hear someone walking towards her, crunching the leaves on the ground as he did so.  It wasn't Dean.

"Hey."  Jess grinned, and raised his eyebrows as he looked at the book.  "Actually reading it?"

"Attempting to read it," Rory corrected.  "I can barely get past the first chapter."

Jess laughed.  "You'll like it.  I promise."  Jess looked at Rory, and gave her a small smile.  Rory smiled back, until she remembered…

Dean.

He could come here any minute.  Rory bit her lip nervously, and looked around to see if Dean was nearby.  Thankfully, he wasn't.  Yet.

"Anything wrong?"  Jess asked, following Rory's eyes towards Stars Hollow High.

"Um, no.  Nothing's wrong.  I mean, obviously, there are a lot of things that are wrong, but nothing is currently wrong.  In this situation."  Rory's face grew red as she babbled.

"Huh."  Jess looked amused, to say the very least.

"Is that all you have to say?"  Rory looked annoyed.

"Well, we aren't all gifted with the ability to chatter endlessly."

Rory hid a smile, and looked around nervously.  She looked at Jess, who was now sitting on the bench next to her.  She squinted a bit – the sun was in her eyes.

"I think I'm going to head home."  Rory said.

Jess nodded.  "Okay."

Rory picked up her book and hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder.  She looked around once more, and when she didn't see Dean, she looked back at Jess.

"I'll see you later…?" 

Jess nodded, a flash of pain visible in his eyes.  "I'll be there."

Rory nodded, and turned around, walking towards home.

"He's at an after-school meeting."

Rory stopped in her tracks and turned around.  She looked at Jess, who was looking at her, emotionless.

"What?"

"Dean.  He's at an after-school meeting."

"Oh."  Rory looked at her saddle shoes, unable to say anything else.  She didn't know what to say.

"You don't have to freak out anymore, mulling over what could possibly happen if he happened to see us here.  Together."  Jess said, bitterness dripping from each word he spoke.

Rory looked at him.  "I wasn't."

Jess laughed.  "You're a terrible liar, did anyone ever tell you that?"

Rory sighed, and stared at him for a couple seconds before replying.  "Only you."  Rory turned around, and headed towards home.

Rory looked at her textbook in disgust.  She had been studying for two hours, and was ready to throw her textbook against the wall.  Her stomach growled impatiently.  Rory ignored it, knowing that there was no real food in the house – only junk food.  Normally, Rory was all for junk food, but right now she wanted real food.

The phone rang, interrupting Rory from her thoughts on eating.

"Hello?"

"Hey."  It was Dean.  "I'm sorry about today.  I had a meeting after school, and I was tied up there for about an hour."

"Yeah, I know.  That's okay."  Rory reassured him.

"How did you know?"

Rory widened her eyes.  "Well, I didn't technically know that you had a meeting.  I kind of figured it out, because sometimes I have meetings after school, and…"

"Rory."  Dean laughed.  Rory stopped talking, and bit her lip nervously.

"So, you up for doing anything today?"  Dean asked.

"I'd like to, but apparently, Chilton has other ideas…I have a big test tomorrow."

"Maybe some other time…?" 

The door opened, and Rory heard her mother walk in.  Lorelai entered the kitchen, and took a seat at the table. 

"Of course."  Rory said.

"Bye."

 "Bye."  Rory hung up the phone.

"Hey mom."  Rory smiled.

"Hey.  Talking to lover boy?"  Lorelai grinned.

"Dean?"

"Unless there are multiple lover boys…yes, Dean."  Lorelai raised her eyebrows.

Rory rolled her eyes.  "No, there is only one…lover boy, as you so eloquently put it."

"I'm starving."  Lorelai whined.  "Let's dine out."

"Don't we always?"

"Never said we didn't."  Lorelai got up, and grabbed her purse from the counter.

Rory sighed as she recalled the day's events.  "Let's go to Al's," she suggested.

Lorelai wrinkled her eyebrows.  "I want to eat good food."

"Fine."

"Now this is good food."  Lorelai declared, taking a bite out of her burger.

"Yes it is."  Rory agreed half-heartedly.

"Don't go all optimistic on me now."

Rory sighed, and glanced around the diner, looking for Jess.  She hadn't seen him when she had entered the diner, but figured he might have come downstairs since then.  And he had.  He was standing behind the counter, refilling the ketchup and mustard bottles.

Lorelai looked at Rory, who was still staring at Jess, and smiled.  "Want to fill me in?" 

Rory snapped out of her trance and looked at her mom.  "What?"

Lorelai nodded her head towards Jess.  "Any new recent developments?"

"You sound like the President."

Lorelai widened her eyes in surprise.  "I object."

Rory shrugged, and took a sip of her coffee.

"Did you make a decision yet?"  Lorelai asked gently.

Rory shook her head.  "It's not quite that easy, Mom."

Lorelai nodded.  "I know."

"I need to talk to you about what happened today at home.  I don't feel like talking here, because…"

"I understand.  Ready to head home?"

Rory sighed.  "Actually…I needed to talk to Jess, so I'll be back in a little while."

"Okay.  Love you."

Rory walked up to the counter, which Jess was now cleaning leisurely.  He didn't look at her, making her even more nervous.  Rory watched as he ran the sponge over the same area repeatedly.

She couldn't take it any longer.  She had to talk.  "That area looks pretty clean to me."

Jess looked up.  "Huh."  He continued running the sponge over that area. 

"Jess…"

Jess continued cleaning the counter, his eyes fixed on that one spot in front of him. 

"It's actually starting to sparkle now."  Rory noted.

Rory sat there for a couple minutes, watching Jess clean the counter.  She couldn't take it any longer…

Rory placed her hand on top of his, forcing him to look up at her.  Jess looked at Rory, his eyes reflecting how surprised he was.

"I finally got your attention." 

Jess nodded.  "Oh yeah."

"Something was bothering me all day…are you mad at me?"

Jess shook his head.  "No."

Rory smiled happily.  "Good.  I'm glad."

Rory noticed that her hand was still on top of Jess', and looked at it with a bit of uncertainty.  Jess noticed this.

"Dean might come in and see."  Jess reminded her.

Rory looked at Jess, and when she looked into her eyes, all uncertainty was washed away.  "I don't care."

Chapter 6:  Rory reevaluates her current situation with Jess and Dean.