Title: Too Late to Forget
Author: coffeechick87, a.k.a. Jayde.
Disclaimer: I own it! I own It all!! Which is probably why I live in a room with padded walls... they're nice and squishy. So, as you probably figured out, I own nothing! Well, except Asia, who actually is my cat. Oh, and a few original characters.
Pairing: Rory/Jess.
Rating: Pg-13 - to be safe.
Summary: AU. Raised in LA, 17 year old Rory Hayden runs away to Stars Hollow to find her mother. There, she meets the quirky townspeople, and finds herself drawn to one in particular.
A/N: I'm evil, I know. lol. I added Bradley's Middle name to his intro, there were to many 'ey' sounds. I thank everybody who replied to that last chapter, because of you I had a shit-eating grin all day, and I was stimulated into writing faster. So, read on, and tell me what you think, I'll love you forever!
~Jayde
Too Late to Forget
Chapter 8: The Shock
"I'm Bradley David Shipley, your fiancé."
"Fiancé?!" Rory squeaked. The other words that were racing through her head seemed to be caught in her throat.
"Yes, your father."
He continued to speak, but she couldn't hear anything over the roaring in her ears. She couldn't breathe, she needed air. Rory blindly turned and, as calmly as she could manage, walked out the diner door and to the Gazebo in the town square.
She didn't notice the footsteps coming toward her, or feel the body sitting next to her until she heard a voice.
"Are you okay, Rory?"
She shot a look at the person beside her, then took a deep breath, "Yea, Luke, I'm fine... Actually, do you think I could have the rest of today off? Something came up." She resumed staring at the wood, and nervously tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
"Sure." Luke paused, "Does it have anything to do with the guy in there? The one you were taking an order from when you left?" He hadn't liked the look of the guy when he came in, and would gladly kick him out if he was bugging Rory.
She paused a little too long, "Uh, him? N-no, he has nothing to do with it. It's just that I remembered something very important that I have to do." She looked up at him and smiled nervously.
"Do you want me to get rid of him, anyway?" Luke pressed. Knowing Rory like he did, he knew that the guy in the diner had something to do with her harried state.
"If you want." She slightly smiled, and some of the tension in her shoulders eased.
"I will. How 'bout you go up to your apartment the back way, I'll send Jess up when he gets back from the suppliers."
"Ok," Rory stood up, and looked at Luke, "Thank you."
*~**~*~**~*
*Ring*
..............
*Ring*
..............
*Ri---
"Hayden Associates, this is Helen, how may I help you?"
Rory took a deep breath. "May I have the direct line to Christopher Hayden, please?"
"I'm sorry, there is no direct line--"
"Press 381, hold, then hang up." Rory interrupted, impatiently. The secretary had no choice but to comply, very few people knew of the direct line, and even fewer knew the code to it.
"One moment, Please."
Rory rolled her eyes as she was put on hold, and the insufferable elevator music blared into her ear.
"Christopher Hayden." Rory's fathers' voice rang in her ear, and Rory tried to calm herself down. "Christopher Hayden." He repeated impatiently.
"I have a fiancé?!" Rory couldn't say more through the tightness in her throat.
"Ah, Rory. I take it Bradley found you." She could practically see his smug face on he other end of the phone line.
"Yes, Christopher, your little disgusting clone found me. You do know that you can't force me into marrying him, right?"
"Ahh, that's where you are wrong. I've had the contract with the Shipley's since you were 2. And trust me, there are absolutely no loopholes."
"I'll be 18 in a few weeks, I can contest it."
"Ah, yes. Legal age." Christopher scoffed. "According to the contract, you will wed Bradley Shipley in exactly a week and a half, while you are still 17. When it was drawn up I made certain that you couldn't contest it. So, legally, you can't."
"I'm not marrying that... That Scumbag! I'll marry for love, not for any othe---"
"You will marry him, if I have to come to that hell hole of a town that you live in, and drag you back to California myself." He interrupted her. "I will not let you risk an alliance with Shipley Engineering just because you have the silly notion in your head that there is something as superficial as love in this world."
"You can't force my hand in this Chris. I can take you to court, no matter how airtight your lawyer drew up that contract. And I will. You have absolutely no clue how much power I hold."
Rory hung-up, and drew in a shuddering breath. She exhaled loudly, and dialed the phone again, switching to the portable headset.
**Ring**
.............
**Ring**
.......
"Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking."
"Hi, Mom."
"Hey, Hun. What's up?"
"Do you have a Bradley D. Shipley staying at the Inn, Mom?"
"Umm... Let me check." Rory could hear Lorelai tapping at the computer before she came back on the line. "Yea, he checked in a few hours ago. Are you okay, Babe? You sound odd."
"I'm okay. It's just that Chris is up to his old tricks again. "Rory walked up to her favorite chair and wearily curled up in its' soft cushions.
"Chris? Your father, Chris?!" Lorelai was heading toward full panic mode, Rory could hear it in her voice.
"Yes. Stay calm, Mom."
"Stay calm?! What did he do?"
"Well..." Rory hesitated.
"Well what?! Tell me, Rory!" Her mother demanded.
"He.. Well, he..." Rory paused, trying to think of how to say it. "I'm engaged."
"What?!"
"WHAT?!" Rory spun her head around, during her conversation with Lorelai, Jess had come into the apartment unnoticed, apparently, just in time to hear that last tidbit of information.
"Mom, I really gotta' go." She hurriedly pressed the off button on the headset, and pulled it off. "Come here, Jess." She shifted on the seat as he walked over to it, then, when he was within reach; she pulled him down with her. When he was silent, she grimaced.
"Well." Rory started.
"'Well.'? Well, what, Ror?" Jess faced her, a look of anguish on his face. He had thought that his heart had literally stopped beating when he walked in to Rory saying that she was engaged. He knew it definitely wasn't to him.
"Well," She took a deep breath. "It seems that. My father he. He signed a contract when I was little stating that I'd marry the son of the owner of a well-known engineering company in LA. I just found that out today, when my..." Rory paused and laughed shortly, "My fiancé introduced himself to me in the diner earlier."
"It's not legal, is it? I mean, you have to be consenting to marry a guy. Right?!" Jess said, relieved. Not that he thought She would mislead him like that, he knew that she wouldn't.
"It could be legal. I mean, Chris had it drawn up by his lawyer. Legal, probably, but not ethical. I could take him to court because of it, delay it. God, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I need to see that contract."
Jess tried to think rationally. "Do you think that your---" He stopped. He couldn't say fiancé, "What's his name?"
"Bradley." She shook her head, disgusted. "Bradley David Shipley."
"Do you think Bradley has a copy of it with him?" Jess finished.
Rory frowned, "I guess. He should, shouldn't he?"
"If you demanded proof, he could have showed it to you. So, yea, he probably has a copy of it with him. Why didn't you ask for proof, anyway?"
"He said something about my father. Obviously, everything fell into place. It's something that he would do."
"Well, let's go to the Inn- he is there, right?" Rory nodded, "Let's go there and get a copy of the contract, then we can go see Mr. Stephens, he's the most experienced lawyer in Stars Hollow. Sound okay?"
"Sounds good."
*~**~*~**~*
"I'm sorry Miss Gilmore, There seems to be absolutely nothing that can break the contract." Herald Stephens looked up from the marriage contract that he had just finished analyzing and at the three people sitting anxiously on the other side of his desk.
"So what you're saying, is that in a week, my daughter has to marry a guy that she just met today!? That she doesn't want to marry?!" Lorelai bust out angrily.
Rory just hung her head, tears forming in her eyes, and clutched Jess's hand tighter.
Mr. Stephens looked at the scene in front of him, thinking. "I can go over it more thoroughly tonight, I might be able to find something. I can't promise anything, but, I'll try."
Lorelai Rory and Jess stood up, "Thank you for your time Mr. Stephens." Rory said, shaking his hand.
"Your Welcome, Young Lady. I just hope that I can help."
"Me, too. Me, too." She took Jess's hand again, and walked out of the Stars Hollow Law Offices behind her mother.
*~**~*~**~*
"God, Jess, I don't know what'll happen if I can't get out of this contract. I'll going to be forced to move back to LA, and live in a sterile mansion, and be utterly miserable the rest of my life. I'll never see you again." She sobbed onto his shoulder. They were curled up on Rory's bed that night.
He ran his fingers through her hair, trying to comfort her. "We'll think of something Rory. I promise." He only hoped that he wasn't lying.
*~**~*~**~*
The next morning, as Rory walked into her bedroom after having a shower, she saw Jess hanging up the telephone. "Who was that?" She asked while towel-drying her chocolate tresses.
Jess turned towards her, an odd expression on his face. "That was Mr. Stephens. He found a loophole."
Rory grinned, "Really?! What is it?!"
"Well." Jess took a deep breath. "It turns out that the whole contract would become null and void if."
"'If ' what, Jess?"
"If you were already married."
*~**~*(*)*~**~*
He he he. I'm mean, I know. Don't you love me?
So, seriously, what did you think? Still likin' it? Tell Me! Tell Me! I'm starved for attention, can you tell? lol.
I'll try to update Soon!
~Jayde
Author: coffeechick87, a.k.a. Jayde.
Disclaimer: I own it! I own It all!! Which is probably why I live in a room with padded walls... they're nice and squishy. So, as you probably figured out, I own nothing! Well, except Asia, who actually is my cat. Oh, and a few original characters.
Pairing: Rory/Jess.
Rating: Pg-13 - to be safe.
Summary: AU. Raised in LA, 17 year old Rory Hayden runs away to Stars Hollow to find her mother. There, she meets the quirky townspeople, and finds herself drawn to one in particular.
A/N: I'm evil, I know. lol. I added Bradley's Middle name to his intro, there were to many 'ey' sounds. I thank everybody who replied to that last chapter, because of you I had a shit-eating grin all day, and I was stimulated into writing faster. So, read on, and tell me what you think, I'll love you forever!
~Jayde
Too Late to Forget
Chapter 8: The Shock
"I'm Bradley David Shipley, your fiancé."
"Fiancé?!" Rory squeaked. The other words that were racing through her head seemed to be caught in her throat.
"Yes, your father."
He continued to speak, but she couldn't hear anything over the roaring in her ears. She couldn't breathe, she needed air. Rory blindly turned and, as calmly as she could manage, walked out the diner door and to the Gazebo in the town square.
She didn't notice the footsteps coming toward her, or feel the body sitting next to her until she heard a voice.
"Are you okay, Rory?"
She shot a look at the person beside her, then took a deep breath, "Yea, Luke, I'm fine... Actually, do you think I could have the rest of today off? Something came up." She resumed staring at the wood, and nervously tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
"Sure." Luke paused, "Does it have anything to do with the guy in there? The one you were taking an order from when you left?" He hadn't liked the look of the guy when he came in, and would gladly kick him out if he was bugging Rory.
She paused a little too long, "Uh, him? N-no, he has nothing to do with it. It's just that I remembered something very important that I have to do." She looked up at him and smiled nervously.
"Do you want me to get rid of him, anyway?" Luke pressed. Knowing Rory like he did, he knew that the guy in the diner had something to do with her harried state.
"If you want." She slightly smiled, and some of the tension in her shoulders eased.
"I will. How 'bout you go up to your apartment the back way, I'll send Jess up when he gets back from the suppliers."
"Ok," Rory stood up, and looked at Luke, "Thank you."
*~**~*~**~*
*Ring*
..............
*Ring*
..............
*Ri---
"Hayden Associates, this is Helen, how may I help you?"
Rory took a deep breath. "May I have the direct line to Christopher Hayden, please?"
"I'm sorry, there is no direct line--"
"Press 381, hold, then hang up." Rory interrupted, impatiently. The secretary had no choice but to comply, very few people knew of the direct line, and even fewer knew the code to it.
"One moment, Please."
Rory rolled her eyes as she was put on hold, and the insufferable elevator music blared into her ear.
"Christopher Hayden." Rory's fathers' voice rang in her ear, and Rory tried to calm herself down. "Christopher Hayden." He repeated impatiently.
"I have a fiancé?!" Rory couldn't say more through the tightness in her throat.
"Ah, Rory. I take it Bradley found you." She could practically see his smug face on he other end of the phone line.
"Yes, Christopher, your little disgusting clone found me. You do know that you can't force me into marrying him, right?"
"Ahh, that's where you are wrong. I've had the contract with the Shipley's since you were 2. And trust me, there are absolutely no loopholes."
"I'll be 18 in a few weeks, I can contest it."
"Ah, yes. Legal age." Christopher scoffed. "According to the contract, you will wed Bradley Shipley in exactly a week and a half, while you are still 17. When it was drawn up I made certain that you couldn't contest it. So, legally, you can't."
"I'm not marrying that... That Scumbag! I'll marry for love, not for any othe---"
"You will marry him, if I have to come to that hell hole of a town that you live in, and drag you back to California myself." He interrupted her. "I will not let you risk an alliance with Shipley Engineering just because you have the silly notion in your head that there is something as superficial as love in this world."
"You can't force my hand in this Chris. I can take you to court, no matter how airtight your lawyer drew up that contract. And I will. You have absolutely no clue how much power I hold."
Rory hung-up, and drew in a shuddering breath. She exhaled loudly, and dialed the phone again, switching to the portable headset.
**Ring**
.............
**Ring**
.......
"Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking."
"Hi, Mom."
"Hey, Hun. What's up?"
"Do you have a Bradley D. Shipley staying at the Inn, Mom?"
"Umm... Let me check." Rory could hear Lorelai tapping at the computer before she came back on the line. "Yea, he checked in a few hours ago. Are you okay, Babe? You sound odd."
"I'm okay. It's just that Chris is up to his old tricks again. "Rory walked up to her favorite chair and wearily curled up in its' soft cushions.
"Chris? Your father, Chris?!" Lorelai was heading toward full panic mode, Rory could hear it in her voice.
"Yes. Stay calm, Mom."
"Stay calm?! What did he do?"
"Well..." Rory hesitated.
"Well what?! Tell me, Rory!" Her mother demanded.
"He.. Well, he..." Rory paused, trying to think of how to say it. "I'm engaged."
"What?!"
"WHAT?!" Rory spun her head around, during her conversation with Lorelai, Jess had come into the apartment unnoticed, apparently, just in time to hear that last tidbit of information.
"Mom, I really gotta' go." She hurriedly pressed the off button on the headset, and pulled it off. "Come here, Jess." She shifted on the seat as he walked over to it, then, when he was within reach; she pulled him down with her. When he was silent, she grimaced.
"Well." Rory started.
"'Well.'? Well, what, Ror?" Jess faced her, a look of anguish on his face. He had thought that his heart had literally stopped beating when he walked in to Rory saying that she was engaged. He knew it definitely wasn't to him.
"Well," She took a deep breath. "It seems that. My father he. He signed a contract when I was little stating that I'd marry the son of the owner of a well-known engineering company in LA. I just found that out today, when my..." Rory paused and laughed shortly, "My fiancé introduced himself to me in the diner earlier."
"It's not legal, is it? I mean, you have to be consenting to marry a guy. Right?!" Jess said, relieved. Not that he thought She would mislead him like that, he knew that she wouldn't.
"It could be legal. I mean, Chris had it drawn up by his lawyer. Legal, probably, but not ethical. I could take him to court because of it, delay it. God, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I need to see that contract."
Jess tried to think rationally. "Do you think that your---" He stopped. He couldn't say fiancé, "What's his name?"
"Bradley." She shook her head, disgusted. "Bradley David Shipley."
"Do you think Bradley has a copy of it with him?" Jess finished.
Rory frowned, "I guess. He should, shouldn't he?"
"If you demanded proof, he could have showed it to you. So, yea, he probably has a copy of it with him. Why didn't you ask for proof, anyway?"
"He said something about my father. Obviously, everything fell into place. It's something that he would do."
"Well, let's go to the Inn- he is there, right?" Rory nodded, "Let's go there and get a copy of the contract, then we can go see Mr. Stephens, he's the most experienced lawyer in Stars Hollow. Sound okay?"
"Sounds good."
*~**~*~**~*
"I'm sorry Miss Gilmore, There seems to be absolutely nothing that can break the contract." Herald Stephens looked up from the marriage contract that he had just finished analyzing and at the three people sitting anxiously on the other side of his desk.
"So what you're saying, is that in a week, my daughter has to marry a guy that she just met today!? That she doesn't want to marry?!" Lorelai bust out angrily.
Rory just hung her head, tears forming in her eyes, and clutched Jess's hand tighter.
Mr. Stephens looked at the scene in front of him, thinking. "I can go over it more thoroughly tonight, I might be able to find something. I can't promise anything, but, I'll try."
Lorelai Rory and Jess stood up, "Thank you for your time Mr. Stephens." Rory said, shaking his hand.
"Your Welcome, Young Lady. I just hope that I can help."
"Me, too. Me, too." She took Jess's hand again, and walked out of the Stars Hollow Law Offices behind her mother.
*~**~*~**~*
"God, Jess, I don't know what'll happen if I can't get out of this contract. I'll going to be forced to move back to LA, and live in a sterile mansion, and be utterly miserable the rest of my life. I'll never see you again." She sobbed onto his shoulder. They were curled up on Rory's bed that night.
He ran his fingers through her hair, trying to comfort her. "We'll think of something Rory. I promise." He only hoped that he wasn't lying.
*~**~*~**~*
The next morning, as Rory walked into her bedroom after having a shower, she saw Jess hanging up the telephone. "Who was that?" She asked while towel-drying her chocolate tresses.
Jess turned towards her, an odd expression on his face. "That was Mr. Stephens. He found a loophole."
Rory grinned, "Really?! What is it?!"
"Well." Jess took a deep breath. "It turns out that the whole contract would become null and void if."
"'If ' what, Jess?"
"If you were already married."
*~**~*(*)*~**~*
He he he. I'm mean, I know. Don't you love me?
So, seriously, what did you think? Still likin' it? Tell Me! Tell Me! I'm starved for attention, can you tell? lol.
I'll try to update Soon!
~Jayde