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:  This chapter has been done for some time now, and I'm pretty sure I am done editing and proofreading it.  About five minutes before posting it, something weird happened, and I lost the second to last paragraph.  It's a good thing I have a pretty sharp memory, because I retyped that part, but I'm sure I'm missing some parts.  Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter, and please don't forget to review!

Dedications:  This chapter is dedicated to otownroxx, DeeAnne, Oregano, and AvidTVfan for including me on their Favorites lists, and to all my loyal reviewers.  Thank you so much!

Note to reader:  This chapter takes place immediately after the last chapter.

Rory nervously cleared her throat, breaking the silence.  She smiled softly as she saw Jess stir slightly in his seat, having snapped out of his trance.

"Do you, uh, want anything to drink?" Rory asked, clutching a throw pillow in her hand.  She fingered the fringe, untying knots she had previously made during a movie night.

Jess leaned back in his seat, shaking his head.  "No, I'm good," he answered, enjoying watching Rory nervous.

Rory nodded, and then resumed concentrating on the fringed pillow.  For about a minute.  She looked up.  "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure.  But if you really want," he said, "I wouldn't mind a soda."

"Good," Rory practically jumped off the seat, abandoning her pillow, and went to the kitchen.  When she returned, she found Jess standing in the far corner of the room, examining picture frames of her and her mother.

"I hope you like Coke," Rory said, handing him a glass of the beverage.  He turned around, and accepted the glass from her hand, taking a sip.

"Who doesn't?"

She shrugged, taking a sip from her glass as well.  "Salisbury, Maryland?" she suggested.

"Ah," Jess nodded, "They're still outnumbered, though," he grinned.

Jess turned back to the photos, and gestured towards a frame with his free hand.  He picked up the frame, and looked at it closely.  "Are you dressed as," he squinted a bit, "Donna Reed?"

Rory raised her eyebrows, and grabbed the frame out of his hand.  "Yes.  I knew I shouldn't have let Mom take that picture.  She wouldn't stop asking me, and the only way to shut her up was to give in."

Jess laughed.  "I would never picture you as Donna Reed.  Was it Halloween?"

"What?  Oh, uh, no," Rory replied, a bit too nonchalantly.

Jess nodded.  "You just woke up one day, and had this sudden urge to go retro?"

"Mhm," Rory said affirmatively, taking the last sip of her Coke.  She held her hand out.  "I can take your glass," she offered, noticing that he too, had just finished his glass.

"I got it," he said, following Rory to the kitchen.  They placed their glasses in the sink, and stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do next.

Jess ran a hand through his hair, and debated asking Rory about what she had said earlier, about her breaking up with Dean.  He decided against it; he really didn't want to make her any more uncomfortable than she already was.

"So, uh," he couldn't resist asking, "Why the sudden desire to hang today?  Something like the Donna Reed incident?"

"You could say that.  Although this was more enjoyable," Rory admitted, examining a loose thread on her blouse.  What's with the sudden fascination in thread, Rory?

Jess raised his eyebrows, and took a few steps closer to Rory.  "More enjoyable, huh?"  Rory's face grew a light shade of pink, and she nodded slowly, still toying with the thread.

"Good.  I'd like to think I'm more enjoyable than baking doughnuts," Jess smirked. 

"Depends on the doughnut.  If we're talking Krispy Kreme, then I'm going have to think about it for a while," Rory looked up, her eyes twinkling.  As she looked up, she noticed how close Jess was standing to her.  Close.

"Hmm, think Donna Reed can beat Krispy Kreme?"

"Donna Reed can do anything," Rory reminded him, "She's perfect."

Jess took a step closer to Rory.  "Perfect, huh?" he nearly whispered.  Rory nodded, and bit her lip nervously.  Jess took one of her hands into his, and entwined the two, startling Rory, and leaned in a bit.  She breathed in the faint smell of his cologne, which was unidentifiable, but had a mysterious allure to it.  "Like you?"

Rory raised her eyebrows, and took a deep, shaky sigh trying to compose her words.  "I…uh…"

The telephone rang.  Saved by the bell, Gilmore.

Rory gently shook her hand away, and gestured towards the phone.  "Phone…I…one minute," she said.  Jess nodded, watching as she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rory.  Clara told me you called," Dean said.

"Oh, hey" Rory said, motioning to Jess that she would be right back.  He nodded, and took a seat at the kitchen table.

Rory entered the living room, and sat down on the plush couch.  "How are you doing?"

"Ah, I'm good.  Just swamped with school projects," he answered, "What about you?"

"Oh, just the same.  I have this major article for The Franklin due in three days, and I can't get past the first sentence," she sighed, knowing perfectly well why she couldn't concentrate on it.

"Is something wrong?" Dean asked.

"No," Rory lied, "I just have a bad case of writer's block."

"So, uh, was there anything you wanted to tell me?"

Rory's eyes widened at the blunt statement.  "What do you mean?"

"I hate to break this short, but Clara needs to use the phone.  You called me earlier…?  Was there anything you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh," Rory relaxed, "No, I just wanted to talk to you."

Dean smiled.  "And it was nice.  I'm sorry I have to go, but you know how Clara is," he laughed, "Bye Rory."

"Bye," she sighed, and turned off the phone, leaving it on the couch.  She returned to the kitchen where Jess was sitting on a chair, slouched, his head propped up by his right hand.

"Sorry about that," Rory said, taking a seat in the chair next to him.

Jess looked up and shrugged it off.  "No problem."

"Are you okay?" Rory asked, "You look…not okay," she finished lamely.

 "Just having a headache."

"Do you need anything for it?  Tylenol?  Aleve?  Food?  Whenever I have a headache, eating something cures it instantly."

Jess shook his head.  "No, thanks."

"Coffee?"

"I'm touched, really.  It's okay," he insisted, and paused, "This isn't a sinus headache, a migraine, or for that matter, anything medicine will help."

"Oh," Rory nodded, "Oh," she repeated with greater emphasis, understanding why Jess had a headache.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry," she said.  It felt like the only thing she could say, and it felt so…empty.

Jess looked up.  "Yeah?  Me too."  He stood up from his seat, and motioned towards the door.  "I'm going to go.  I'll catch you at the diner later…?"

Rory nodded.  "I'll be there."

Jess nodded as he walked backwards to the door, stopping in the doorframe.  He looked as if he was about to say something, but he didn't.  He just gave Rory a small smile, and left.

I'm breaking up with Dean.  I think I'm going to do it for sure, but I don't think I'll be able to do it yet.  I wish I could.  I really do, but I just don't have it in me to break it to Dean just yet.  I don't know how I'm going to tell him, or when I'm going to tell him, or where I'm going to tell him.  I just know that I'm going to tell him.  It's not fair, to Dean or Jess, but I just can't do it yet. 

*          *          *

Rory stared at the notebook in front of her, and groaned.  It had been hours since Jess had left, but she just couldn't stop thinking about him.  And, of course, the whole incident in the kitchen.

"I'm home!" Lorelai's voice filled the house, "And I come bearing food!"  She entered the kitchen, and set carryout bags on the table.

"I'm starving," Rory said, gratefully.

"Makes two of us," Lorelai said.  She motioned her hand towards all the books on the table.  "Can we clear this, or should we take the chow to the living room?"

 "We can eat here," Rory said, stacking her books in a pile, "I'm never going to get this done anyway." 

"Project?" 

"Major article for The Franklin," Rory explained, "and I can't get past the first sentence."  She groaned, stuffing her notebooks and binders in her backpack.

"It's just writer's block, honey," Lorelai reassured her, "Don't worry."

"It's due tomorrow."

"Okay."

"And I haven't started yet!"

"So you'll start now," Lorelai said, "Wait, you have the first sentence down.  That's a start.  A mighty good start, if I may add."

"Don't you see?  I put off this article that I had known about for almost three weeks!" Rory exclaimed, setting out the cartons of food.

"At least I now know you are human."

"Mom."

"Sorry," Lorelai said, as she dug her hand into the bag, searching for the plastic spoons.

"I am worthless.  I am…"

"Hey, hey, hey.  I'm not going to hear this.  You are not worthless.  You are just experiencing a craze that, although it was previously a foreign concept to you, is quite popular amongst the human race.  It is a skill that I have mastered successfully.  It's called procrastination."  Lorelai frowned a bit, sniffing one of the open cartons.

"This isn't me.  I don't do this," Rory sighed. 

"Wake up and smell the coffee, babe.  It is you, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.  Do you need any help starting this paper?"

Rory nodded, and made a face as she swallowed the chicken.  "And boy, is this terrible food," she groaned. 

Lorelai nodded in agreement, and wrinkled her nose.  "Al's losing his touch."

"He never was a good cook," Rory pointed out, depositing the containers and bags into the garbage can.

"But ethnic food was his specialty."

"True," Rory admitted.

"Luke's?"

Rory sighed.  "Luke's," she echoed.

*          *          *

Lorelai and Rory walked towards Luke's, the elder Gilmore closely trailing behind her daughter, curiously asking, "So, it was freaky, huh?"  Rory had just finished telling her mother what had happened during the day, including every single exclamation point and italicized word.

"Yes, it was freaky.  We were within such close proximities of each other, and we would have kissed, and the phone rings.  And it's Dean.  Dean!  My boyfriend," Rory exclaimed, repeating the story for her mother.

"Yes, I have vague recollections of who Dean is," Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"And here I am, about to kiss another guy, and my boyfriend is thinking of me at the exact moment, dialing the numbers to my house, because he wants to talk to me.  And I'm such a horrible girlfriend, all I can think of is Jess.  All I can think of is his cologne, and…"

"And how he thinks you're perfect," Lorelai said.

Rory was quiet for a moment, and she shook her head.  "I'm a horrible girlfriend," she admitted.

"No, you're not," Lorelai said, and then paused, "Does he wear the same cologne as Dean?  Because that would be freaky," she laughed.

"Mom!"

"What?  You guys were pretty close – you couldn't tell?"

Rory sighed, and shook her head.  "No, he doesn't wear the same cologne as Dean."

The two Gilmores had reached their destination, and were about to enter the diner, when Lorelai suddenly asked, "This 'mysterious allure' Jess' cologne has…does Dean's have it too?"

"Mom!  I told you, this conversation ends once we arrive at Luke's, and where are we now?"

Lorelai looked inside the diner window, feigning bewilderment.  "William's Hardware?"

"Mom."

"Come on, Ror.  It's just a yes or no question."

"Mom."  She sighed, and pushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.

"Fine, fine.  I can reword it to make it true or false, or multiple choice, but no short answer," Lorelai compromised.

Rory turned her head, and through the sheet of glass, watched Jess as he sat at the counter, slouched as usual, reading a book.  She squinted a bit to make out the words on the cover, but couldn't decipher it.  She gave up, and looked at her mother.  "Can we just forget this and eat?"

"No…and yes," Lorelai grinned.

"Since I wasn't there," Lorelai asked, "how high on the freakish scale does this rate?"

Rory rolled her eyes, and opened the diner doors.  "I don't know.  Your freakish scale changes quite periodically."

"Are we talking A Rose for Emily freaky?"

"Not even 1% of that," Rory said, taking a seat at one of the back tables.  "It was freaky in a different kind of freaky."

"Yeah.  It was freaky in that way that you liked what was going on…right?"

"Right," Rory answered, almost guiltily.

"And if you had your choice, you wouldn't mind repeating the day's events…right?"

"Right," Rory propped her head on her hand and looked away, trying to avoid the smirk on her mother's face.

"Well," Lorelai said, shaking her head, "You've fallen."

"I'm not quite feeling the burger and fries vibe here," Rory said, trying desperately to change the subject.

"No, you fell for him quite a while ago," Lorelai said.

"I've always wanted to try their Caesar salad," Rory said, looking at the specials board.

"Head over Heels," Lorelai said, knowing that her daughter would most definitely comment on her movie reference. 

Rory bit her lip, and shook her head.  "Terrible movie."

Rory sneaked a small peek at Jess, who was still at the counter, but was now ringing up a customer.  She had avoided him since she had entered the diner, and couldn't stand it any longer.  Her quick glance didn't go unnoticed.  Jess felt her eyes on him, and looked at her, a small smile playing across his lips.  Rory looked down, and blushed slightly, unaware that her mother had noticed this brief silent exchange that said so much, without using any words.

"Can I get you two anything?"

It was him.

"I'll have the usual," Lorelai said, "With coffee, of course," she added.

"Doesn't 'the usual' include coffee?"

"Good point."

There was a slight pause, and Rory felt two pairs of eyes on her, waiting for her response.  "Uh…"

"What'll it be, Rory?" Lorelai asked.  She noticed the double meaning behind the words, and watched her daughter cringe slightly.  Jess noticed this, and couldn't help smirking.

"I'll have a Caesar salad," she said, and then realized what she had just ordered.  "No, make that a burger and fries."

Jess nodded.  "No Caesar salad," he said.

Rory smiled softly.  "No Caesar salad," she echoed softly.

Lorelai watched the two curiously, as if watching a Table Tennis tournament.  As Jess left, she watched the content expression on Rory's face, and waved her hand in the air.  "Hi.  You guys talk in code," she complained.

"Does Jess strike you as the guy to use code?"

Lorelai shrugged.  "You guys were using code, and I know it.  'No Caesar salad' huh?  Can't fool me," she said triumphantly.  She watched her daughter and Jess exchange yet another "secret" glance, and shook her head, slightly amused.

"No," Rory said quietly, gazing at Jess.  The rest of the diner was insignificant to them, as the two teenagers snuck glances at each other.  Had they looked up, they would have noticed the crying baby in the back, or Kirk's numerous attempts to sell his latest book, Living with my Mother.  If they had looked up, away from the comfort of each other's eyes, they would have seen a number of Stars Hollow residents looking at them admiringly, thinking that this was young love.  They would also have seen disapproving glances, as many residents wondered what Rory Gilmore could possibly see in Jess Mariano.  But they didn't look up.    

Lorelai looked Rory, bewildered.  Rory was staring into space, with a somewhat dreamy expression on her face.  "No," Rory answered softly, to the question her mother had asked her earlier.