Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine. Even the basic plot isn't mine. It's based of a musical titled "Mary Lou" (only in Israel ;)), with a change of some things to suit the plot and characters better. This episode's title is borrowed from The Rolling Stones' "Paint it Black".
A/N: This is an AU (Alternate Universe) story. Some characters are not where they are supposed to be or not how they're supposed to be or not in the place you're used to see them at. You'll see.
Also, I know Jess doesn't believe in cell phones. But he'll have to try, just for this fic. ;)
Paint it Black
The sparkling lights were bright. Too bright. Way too bright. Damn, how he hated flickers.
The place was big. It was seriously enormous. There were tons of people in there, dancing and… well, impregnating each other on various couches.
"You brought me to a party." Lane stated sternly as they entered the club, attempting to block the flickering lights with the back of her hand.
"Did I?" He asked, trying to tone his voice to something that is a mixture of innocence, mockery and nonchalance.
"You said we're going to disco." She remembered, getting the real meaning of his words just now.
"Yes I did." He nodded, grabbing her arm, trying to drag her statuette being into the actual club surface.
She frowned. "I thought The Palace was playing 'Boogie Nights' again!" She claimed, standing still, refusing to let him move her.
"Right." He snorted, "As if I'd risk Mama Kim finding out. Again." He smirked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, dragging her in against her own will. He snuck some glances every few seconds, just to look... For someone.
She lightly chuckled. "'No Boogie! Boogie only with god! Bible boogie!'" She quoted in a heavy Korean accent.
He chuckled as well, rubbing one of his temples. "That's something that will forever be burned into my brain."
She smirked at his comment. "She's got power, she's got will!" She called in a fake cheer, lifting her hands halfway up.
"Break a vase, she'll send a bill!" He joined, and she lowered her hands.
She leaned her head on his shoulder as she started walking, willingly.
He looked around as they walked in silence, music blasting from about… everywhere. She was nowhere to be found. How surprising.
He hoped she would come. But he knew that she wouldn't. She lived near Hartford, and he had to learn to deal with it. She was just… A thing. A beautiful, beautiful thing. She was nothing like the girls he knew. The girls he dated. He was never… never infatuated by any of them. They were zero for him. But she… She scored a ten. She scored higher than a ten.
But she wasn't there. And she wasn't going to be, he knew. And pining for her won't help.
He took a deep breath as he turned to his friend, resting on his shoulder. "Wanna boogie?" He asked her, trying to distract himself.
"I don't boogie." She replied with a 'you know better than that' glare. "You don't boogie." She reminded him.
"It's better than sitting and doing nothing." He shrugged, leading her to the very edge of the wide and well-lit dance floor.
"Is it better than going to The Palace and watching 'Boogie Nights'?" She asked rhetorically.
"I promised Ian we'll be here." He told her, turning to an area full of loveseats.
"And you just forgot to remind me of that little fact." She sighed, crossing her arms against her chest.
He sighed in reply. "'Oh, you'll like it. They do a lot of reading there.'" He quoted, reminding her of how she mislead him in order to make him join her at bible camp.
"You always say that to justify yourself." She stated, shaking her head. "Your validation date has expired. You are the weakest link. Goodbye."
He tilted his head at her and narrowed her eyes, amused, waving two of his fingers near her face. "You need a drink."
She went quiet, gracing her facial features with a small pout.
He left her to plop down on one of the seats as he headed for the bar.
And then she entered.
Wearing a knee-length, light blue, skin-tight, ¾-sleeved dress, her hair fell curled on her partly bare shoulders.
She looked around, uneasily. She had no idea what she was doing, going to a party recommended to her by a guy she talked to for seven minutes, knowing no one but him and herself.
He grabbed a beer for himself and a bottle of Pepsi for Lane. He spun around and started heading back to the couch where Lane was sitting, but then he froze.
He lost his grip on the drinks and they slipped out of his hands, shattering on the flawless floor, causing numerous people to stare at him momentarily.
And he caught her attention.
She was perfect. Flawless. More than the club's floor, even, and that was a lot. He never believed she would come. But she did.
His lips unnoticeably curved in a coy smile, and she smiled in return.
She watched them from her seat, her hands fiddling together. She was nervous. She was worried. She was upset.
Jess had many girls before, she knew. He was a real skirt-chaser. He agreed to go out with anyone who didn't look like a billboard or a graffiti wall. And she was somewhat fine with it. He never had feelings for any of them. He told her so. He was an amazing friend, but in terms of relationships, she knew how he could get.
She wasn't worried. Until now.
She saw how excited he was to see that little piece of heaven he liked to name Ocean, even though he hated it. She hated it. He seemed to actually like this girl. He knew her for a week and he was already head-over-heels charmed. He wasn't set in his usual date-her, do-her, dump-her mood.
She, on the other hand, was there. Always. But she was just a friend. His best friend. She wanted to be more.
She knew nothing would come out of it. He was a troubled bad-boy, she was a misunderstood bible-girl. But still, she was waiting for the day he would notice her as more than just his best friend.
She kept watching them as they just stood and stared at each other for moments. She had a feeling this day would never come.
"Hey." She overheard his voice, speaking cautiously, and rolled her eyes.
"Hi." Rory replied to him, slowly getting closer to where he was.
"You came." He smiled, his eyes widened in surprise.
She nodded, smiling back. "I came."
Running out of words, they simply stared at each other for a short while, each one's expression unreadable. But the smiles on their faces hinted about how they actually felt.
"How was your ride?" He asked, wanting to hear her voice.
It took her a moment to focus her attention on his words. That's was the reason she came. "Oh." She laughed with embarrassment, "It was good. Really good." She nodded along as she laughed.
"Yeah?" He asked, not paying much attention but dedicating all his attention to her, both at the same time.
"Yeah." She replied, smiling so widely that it hurt. But it was natural. She was happy. "Someone spat on me."
He creased his brows in confusion. "What?"
"On the bus." She added quickly.
"Oh." He cringed with disgust.
She looked down and giggled lightly. "Yeah, so I had to take a cab."
He narrowed his eyes. "Was it expensive?" He asked with some concern.
She shook her head. "Not really."
"Coz I can reimburse you, if…"
"It was nothing." She cut into his words, dismissing the issue with a wave of her hand.
He nodded and just kept looking at her. Those eyes, that smile. He was a second away from making another sappy praising speech about her features. He was never that way. But now that he was, it felt good. It felt refreshing. It felt inspiring.
"You wanna dance?" He asked. It was one of these stupid things that he said since he was too busy with his mind to actually control his mouth.
She smiled slightly, biting her lower lip. "I don't…really… Dance." She said, looking down at her dress-matching pair of sandals.
He tilted his head and rubbed the back of his neck, sighing with relief. "That's good. I don't, either."
She looked back up at him, her brows furrowed, her lips still curved in a smile. "Why'd you ask me to dance, then?"
He simply shrugged.
"Because, I've… Been told before that I seem the dancing type, but I'm not, so I asked what I could do to look like I'm not and…"
"Do you want to go?" It was his turn to cut into her words, and she stopped talking, gazing at him with confusion in her eyes. "Outside. It's a beautiful night out."
Her gaze darted to the exit of the club, which she entered through just minutes before. She was here because of him anyway. She'll go wherever he will go. "It'll be my pleasure." She said with a nod.
He offered her a hand and she took it. Together they went outside, leaving not only the club, but also someone.
Lane watched them with undeniable frustration, compiled with hints of anger. She was never one to seek attention, but this was way too much.
He could have cared less. Having her there filled his mind, shoving any other piece of into out of his head. He was lucky to still remember his name.
"Where are we heading?" She asked, her hands still gripped in his.
He grinned as he looked ahead. "There's this park I like…" He said, turning to look at her. "It's about a minute away."
She looked into his eyes, another smile forming on her lips. "You're not going to try and grope me there, will you?" Her tone was full of mocking suspicious.
He faked a gasp, raising his free hand to cover his mouth. "Oh, no!" He dropped the hand and dropped the gasp. "I never grope on the first date." He joked, waggling an eyebrow. As if.
She laughed, and he pointed to somewhere, which she looked at. "There." He motioned, pulling her hand lightly with him as he took the lead towards the park.
She approvingly grinned at the sight. "Seems nice."
He nodded. "It is."
-
And the ring of a Cellphone stopped her from thinking. She pushed all thoughts of Jess to the back of her head as she tried to recognize the muffled ring. It couldn't have been her beeper.
And then she recalled the fact that Jess asked her to put his Cellphone in her bag. Who would've thought the two of them would part?
She sighed as she reached inside her bag and pulled the Cellphone out. Besides being mildly concerned about not having a way to contact her lovesick friend, her throat formed a chuckle after she saw the flashing 'Hell' title that followed the ring, shown on the caller ID.
She clicked something and brought the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She answered, waiting for a reply from the other line. "Hi, Mrs. Mariano."
She was told that Jess was needed for a reason. And then her facial expression fell.
-
They were sitting on a bench under a streetlight; body's turned to each other.
"So, fearless Sap-king," She titled her head, leaning it on her hand. "Tell me about yourself." She settled herself and waited, wanting to find out more about one she felt like she knew forever.
He shrugged. "There's nothing to tell."
She frowned at him. "Hey, I came a long way to a stupid party just to see you. I want to know something about you."
He sighed, realizing she's right. "My name is Jess." He said. It was the only thing he thought about.
She half-smiled. "I know that already. That and the fact that you're Hooked on Phonics. Give me more."
He leaned his head back on nothing, looking up at the sky. He had nothing to say. His life has been pretty much crap and he wasn't very proud of the person he is.
"Well…" He took a deep breath, "I… Like… stuff." He sighed, burying his face in his hands. "There really isn't much to tell."
She didn't want to make things hard on him. But she wanted to know more about that guy. She went back to New York to go to a party, just to see him. And he was telling her nothing.
"Do you have any hopes?" She raised an eyebrow, "Dreams?"
He half-smirked, a bit sadly. All his hopes died six years ago, along with his mom. But he still had some dreams.
"I'll might want try my luck at writing." He looked at her and smiled softly, "I can do better than sap." He assured her, his smile turning into a smirk.
"That sounds nice." She said, meaning it. "Be sure to send me an autographed copy of all your best-sellers."
"I'll put you as my beta reader." He said, joking, but still meaning it.
"I'd be honored." She smiled.
He smiled at her. Her smile was the most beautiful thing. And he felt sappy again.
"So, what about you?" He asked. "Do you have time for a Show and Tell?"
She chuckles softly. "You don't want to hear about it." She said, "It'll probably bore you to death." She looked down, her smile taming.
He grinned reassuringly. "I promise to keep a straight face."
She took a deep breath. "Well…" She started, laughing nervously. "I like music, I like reading, I… Well, I live with my mom in a small town near Hartford…" She rubbed her forehead, thinking of more to tell. "I… Well, that's me, basically."
"Any hopes?" He raised an eyebrow, repeating her former question, "Dreams?"
She shrugged. "I basically have everything I ever wished for." She said, "But… As of dreams… I want to be a journalist."
He chuckled. "You find joy in writing 'He said', 'She said' crap?" He asked, teasingly.
She shook her head. "Not especially." She slightly grinned, "Unless it's 'He said', 'She said' from the dark forests of Tijuana."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Tijuana?" He asked.
She shrugged. "Anywhere."
He nodded, realizing what she meant. "You want to be an overseas correspondent." He stated, and she agreed with a "Yep".
He smirked at her. "I'm impressed. It's not every day that you find a girl whose biggest dream isn't to model."
She laughed at his comment. "I figured that anything Barbie never was would fit."
"That's good to know." He said, looking down.
She looked down as well, at her hands, watching how one of her hands slowly moved to cover his.
He looked up at her and she did the same. Their eyes locked. Something drew them closer. And closer. And closer. And…
"Jess."
They pulled apart. Jess looked around, confused, until he finally found Lane standing a small distance away from them, holding a Cellphone in her hand.
He shut his eyes and cursed himself quietly. He forgot that he left her at that party. He was such an idiot. How can you forget your best friend?!
"Lane…" He started, shaking his head, wanting to explain.
"Sasha's on the phone." She said, interrupting him before he could say anything to justify himself.
Rory eyes her, confused, just as Lane did the same thing.
He frowned and rose up, walking towards Lane, taking the phone from her hand.
"What do you want?" He asked harshly into the phone as he held the phone to his ear.
"Well, hello to you, too." Said the person on the other line.
He rolled his eyes impatiently. When Sasha called him… Things had to be gone wrong. "And I repeat my question."
He heard Sasha's high-pitched chuckle, which only got him more annoyed. "Harsh. Stubborn. Just like your father was."
He narrowed his eyes, freezing for a moment. "What do you mean 'was'?" He asked, cautiously, fear rising in him.
"It's over." She said, trying to keep her voice chuckle-free… And not managing to do so. "He's gone."
His grip on the phone loosened, to the point where he wasn't able to hold it any longer. His heart started to race in an unexplainable beat. He felt dizzy. He wasn't even able to locate the bench, even though his legs couldn't hold his weight any longer.
She stood up quickly and rushed to his side. "What's wrong?" She asked, concerned. He couldn't answer. He wasn't able to hear her. "Jess, what's wrong?!" She repeated, her heart filling with fear.
"It's The End." Lane replied, following Rory to Jess's side.
She watched as Lane wrapped her arms around him, trying to comfort him.
Seconds later, she disappeared.
