Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Gilmore Girls. . . the WB however does, so. . . now you know. Glad to be of service.
A/N: There will be an excerpt of the episode Kiss and Tell written by Mrs. Amy Sherman-Palladino and her group of talented writers. It will be altered for the purpose of the story.
Every Time There's a Concert
Chapter 8: The Past Always Catches up Part 2
As she opened the door and said his name he looked up and gave her his trade half-crooked grin that she had been so familiar with so many years ago. The man standing in front of her had been, once in her life, the boy who turned her world upside down, making her do unthinkable and very unlike-her things like skipping school and going to New York to see him because "he didn't say good bye" when he left the town right after the accident they had in her car. He came back afterward, because of her and everything else that we already know. But, like I said before, that had been many years ago and they broke up after dating a little over a year because of, yes, geography. He was to far away and as much as they had tried to make it work, it turned out to be too much. They couldn't take it, so they decided to break up. One of them went on with her life; the other one, didn't.
They had kept in touch for a long time after they broke up, but then her calls and e-mails became less and less and as much as he tried, he wasn't going to do all the work himself.
~*~ NYU a couple of months before ~*~
"You have mail" said the very familiar AOL voice telling him that he had mail in his inbox. But none of them were from her. He sighed after going into his inbox and not seeing her name in it.
"Nothing, huh?" Jess' friend Christopher asked.
"Yes, Chris a bunch of them. . . I sigh at the sight of so many" he retorted sarcastically.
"Hey man, don't take it out on me. . . you see that forward over there. . . that's my name, my name is on that list. Hers isn't. Who do you think you should be mad at?" He answered back with a tone of annoyance in his voice.
"Whatever!!" Jess answered, knowing that his friend was right. It was her name that was lacking from the list and Chris didn't deserve what he had just gotten. . . although Jess was not going to give in to it.
It had been at least over a month since the last time he had heard from her. Before her sudden disappearance, there wouldn't be a week that went by that he didn't receive a phone call or an e-mail, or maybe, if she was feeling archaic, she would write an actual letter and put it in the mail and everything. But now she wasn't writing. So he decided to call.
"Hey Janine" he said as soon as Janine picked up the phone.
"Jess, hi" she said plainly. He wasn't her favorite guy in the world, because he had given up so easily on Rory and their relationship. She figured that if he had loved her enough he would have tried harder. She never exteriorized this opinion, but she knew she was right. . . at least a bit.
"Is she in?" he asked dryly.
"Nope, she went out with a friend to that library, the one with the manuscripts. . ."
"Oh, huh! Who did she go with?" he asked, curiosity getting the best of him, which was so not Jess-like.
"I believe that it's not my place to tell, but if you want to know you can call her later and ask her" Janine answered.
"Great, you've been most helpful" he said sarcastically, "do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Don't tell her I called"
"Sure thing. . . Bye Jess!" and with this she hung up. She never did like the guy, and it was obvious every time they spoke. Rory had noticed it too, but knew that this was just her friend looking out for her.
That was the last time he had tried to contact her. . .
~*~ Present ~*~
. . . Until now. He knew she was going to be in Stars Hollow, and he had to come over and see her.
"Hey. . . nice to know you are alive" he said very pissed off. And then he started to walk away.
"Jess wait!!" she said as she closed the door behind her and went after him.
~*~ At the kitchen, same time ~*~
"So Tristan, tell me about you?" Lorelai asked as soon as she had the chance to be alone with the boy who had, very successfully, taken her daughters heart, as corny as it may sound.
"What would you like to know, Lorelai?" he asked. Somehow he wasn't surprised that Lorelai would jump to the point straight away.
"Oh, the basics, you know: how old are you, what do you do, have you killed anyone before, any siblings. . . look I don't like to waist time so I'll get right to the point: up 'til about a year ago, Rory was the only thing I had in my life, until Luke became a constant part in it. I've worked hard to get her where she is, as she has worked hard to get where she is. Don't screw around with her, she is a good girl, and she doesn't deserve any bad stuff to happen to her, she has put up with so much since she was so young, that I don't want her to suffer anymore. Considering your history you can tell that concern is the first word that popped into mind when your name came up a couple of months ago"
"Well, um . . ."
"How about I talk and you listen? So, Tristan DuGrey, at the risk of sounding repetitive I'll tell you this: this is a very different kind of household you walked into today. Rory is a smart woman. She's never been much for guys, which you may know by now, so the fact that she likes you means a lot. I don't believe she'd waste her time with some loser. . That girl in there is beloved around here. You hurt her, there's not a safe place within a hundred miles for you to hide. Luke will make sure of that. This is a very small, weird place you've come into"
"Lorelai," Tristan said looking Lorelai straight in the eyes "I can assure you that I won't hurt Rory no matter what, I couldn't even if I tried. It has taken me years to be where I am and I am not planning on blowing it. I am here for the long run. I will protect your daughter from all harm, both physically and emotionally. No one will ever hurt her, they would have to go through me before they had to get to her, and I would give my life for her well-being. That, you can be sure of. My love for her is as honest as they get. About what I did before and how I behaved, like you said before, Rory wouldn't have wasted her time if she didn't think that I had a chance. I have proven to her that I have changed, and I will prove it to you, if needed, too"
"You gave all the right answers right now; all you have to do at the moment is live up to the expectations that you have just built."
"Don't worry, I will."
"How about you go and get Rory; she has taken mighty long to get that door, don't you think?" Lorelai asked, not knowing who the visitor had been.
"Sure thing, I'll be right back", and he got up from the table and walked towards the door.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
While Tristan and Lorelai's Conversation was taking place, Rory and Jess where having an argument of their own outside.
"What Rory? Did you all of a sudden remember I existed? What gave it away? The fact that I was standing in front of you right now?"
"I'm sorry, I know I've been MIA, but. . ."
"MIA? Rory I haven't heard from you in months; months Rory. What happened? I know I asked you this once, but did I happen to miss all your phone calls or did the postman happen to misplace all those letters you wrote to me?"
"No, Jess. . . it's just that I have been caught up in some stuff and I haven't been able to keep in touch with everyone as much as I would like to."
At that moment Tristan was walking out of the house.
"Rory, what's wrong?" He asked before he could see that Rory had company, and judging by her face, it wasn't a pleasant visit "Hey man!" he said directing it to the guy standing in front of his girlfriend.
"Boyfriend?" Jess asked like he had done before when he met Dean.
"Jess this is my boyfriend Tristan DuGrey, Tristan this is Jess" she said as she introduced them both.
"Hey, nice to meet you" Tristan said, not actually meaning it because he knew who Jess was and the place he had once in Rory's life, but being polite nonetheless.
"Yeah, it always is nice to meet Rory's boyfriends" Jess answered, as cynical as Jess can be. "I should go. . . bye" and with that he left, leaving both Rory and Tristan standing there in the middle of the lawn.
"Nice guy that Jess" he said as they both watched him walk away.
"Yeah, nice" Rory said a little dazed. "He was upset" she said trying to justify his behavior.
"One could hardly tell" Tristan answered, only half joking.
"He was mad that I didn't write in so long. . . but hey! You know what?" She said, cheering up, and hugging Tristan by the waist.
"What?" he asked doing the same, smiling now. He kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Why don't we go in and you can tell me how the conversation with my mom went, huh?"
"That sounds great, it is really cold out here" and they started walking into the house.
They had a nice dinner, they had ordered Chinese food, loads of it, and where watching TV the three of them. Luke didn't come over that night because he knew that Lorelai and Rory would want some time together, with Rory's new boyfriend in town and everything, and he had Jess to deal with so he called and told Lorelai that he wasn't going to their house after he closed the diner and to enjoy Rory's company. As much as she loved Luke, she was grateful at the thought.
Rory and Tristan put Lorelai up to date on anything and everything. Telling her anecdotes and details about the re-encounter, about Janine and Drew, and everything else.
At one point Tristan went to the bathroom, and they talked about the Jess encounter, but had to cut the conversation short before Tristan's arrival.
When it was a little late, Lorelai decided that it was time to turn in and she left the love birds in the living room, designated room for their guest.
"I guess I should turn in too." Rory said as she tried to get up, but couldn't because she was pulled back by Tristan.
"Do I have to stay here. . . isn't there anyway we can negotiate new accommodations?" he said as he winked and eye to Rory to try and persuade her. . . but to no avail.
"No sir. . . this is where you are staying. There is no way Lorelai would be happy about any other sleeping arrangements. Sorry!" she said, but not being sorry at all.
"Oh, man. . ."
"I can offer you a deal, though" Rory said, after all she did want to spend some more time with him. "How about you scoot over a bit, and I can stay here a little longer. . But I will go back to my room in a while, how about that?"
"Is that the best offer I get?" Tristan asked as if pondering other options.
"Yes"
"Well Ok. . ." and so they did, they turned on the TV and Rory laid next to Tristan for a little over and hour, until she couldn't stand her own sleepiness and went to bed.
When she got up she saw Tristan was sound asleep. So she covered him with a blanket, kissed him on his forehead and left to her room.
~*~ After Jess left ~*~
Jess walked away from the house and in direction to the diner. When he finally reached it he looked for Luke.
"Hey Cesar, where's Luke?" he asked in a very demanding tone.
"Upstairs, Jess" he answered without even looking at him, because he was busy in the kitchen.
Jess went up the stairs and entered the apartment.
"Luke?" he screamed as he opened the door.
"Jess, I am right here. It's a small apartment, you don't have to yell" Luke answered back.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what Jess?"
"That Rory has a boyfriend"
"Oh, that."
"Yeah, that. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Rory has the right to go out with who ever she wants. She went out with you, didn't she? I guess that proves it"
"You should have told me, you knew."
"Of course I knew. I knew from the very beginning"
"Then why didn't' you tell me. You knew I was coming here for her."
"Oh, and here I was, thinking that you came here to see me"
"Don't try to be funny Luke"
"I am not trying to be funny. Look Jess, I don't have to do anything. Not that it was a secret, but what happens in Lorelai's family and she trust in me, stays that way. I don't have to tell you, or anyone else, anything that I don't want to. It has always been that way. Besides, why do you care?"
"I care" he answered back.
"Yeah, I can tell. Why?"
"Because it's Rory Luke, That's why I care"
"Why?"
"I always have" he answered a little annoyed.
"Yeah, but why do you care this time?"
"Because I am not over her, OK!! Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"No. That I already knew. Look Jess, you had your chance with her. You were too lazy to try and keep her. 'Oh it's so hard' 'We don't have time' all those dumb excuses are that, dumb excuses. If you had cared, if you had loved her as much as you say you did, and obviously still do, you would have tried harder. It's too late now"
"I'm living" he said as he turned around.
"Isn't that always the way for dealing with stuff" he said as Jess was walking out the door. "That poor kid, he is in for a rough ride" he said to himself and went back to what he was doing.
~*~ The Next Morning ~*~
Rory and Lorelai where whispering in the kitchen so they wouldn't wake Tristan up before time. They got up a little earlier, which was very unlike them, so they could talk and not be interrupted.
"So how do you think things are going to be with Jess now?" Lorelai asked, not because she was concerned about Jess, but about Rory. Even after so many years, Jess still rubbed her the wrong way.
"Very weird. That much I know, anything else I am not able to tell" Rory answered a little puzzled, but knowing that the answer was the right one.
"But weird why? I mean I know why, but you guys broke up so long ago, it didn't work, deal with it, right?" Lorelai said a little pissed off, but still whispering.
"I am surprised that Jess is acting this way. You know how he is, he usually cares so little about everything"
"Yeah, but in all fairness, he never cared little about you, he cared a lot. . . so much that he came back to the small town life, that he hated so much, just to be with you"
"Are you defending him, Lorelai Gilmore?" Rory asked a little amazed.
"I said in all fairness. And he did care about you, and apparently he still does"
"Yeah, but how."
"Honey, that, you can only find out by asking him. . . I don't have the answer to that one"
"Yeah, but I don't think I'll ask him. . . he was a real jerk to Tristan also, after Tristan was polite to him, not nice but polite"
"Well, Jess never did hide his feelings much. That wasn't his strong suit, you know what I mean?"
"I guess I'll just let it go"
"You have never been able to do that before"
"Right, I'll think about it later then."
"You have never been able to do that before, either"
"Right, well I can try. . . I'll go and wake Tristan up." And as she said that she got up, and grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee.
"That a girl, now go and wake that boyfriend of yours. . I'll prepare the pop-tarts"
"Oh, a true cooking mom" Rory said mockingly.
"Go."
"I'm going" and as she said that she stepped out of the kitchen and walked towards the living room where Tristan was caught in a deep slumber.
She got the coffee and placed it close to Tristan's nose and she let the smell travel. She got the result that she wanted. He opened his eyes.
"Hey, sunshine" she said in the most sweet voice possible, almost inaudible.
"Mmmm, I like waking up like this. One can get used to such luxuries." He said, and as he said he smiled and grabbed the cup of coffee from Rory's hand.
"You were born in luxury, honey" she said.
"I would trade all of that in a blink, just to be awakened like this for the rest of my life" he said looking at her straight in the eye. She saw the sincerity in his eyes as he said it. And he drank a sip of his coffee, still holding the eye contact.
"Would you settle for a couple of days first?"
"Sure"
"Good morning" she said as she kissed him.
"Good morning"
"Mom's in the kitchen working on the pop-tarts"
"OK, I'll go wash up first." He said.
"Sure" and they got off from the couch. Tristan went into the bathroom and Rory, to the kitchen.
"His coming" she said to Lorelai who was already eating her pop-tart.
"OK. . . so what is the plan for tonight?"
"We eat light all day, 'til dinner, that way we can enjoy all the festivities' food."
"Of course."
"So where were we invited to?"
"Sookie's and Luke's"
"Good. How about grandma and grandpa"
"Well, grandpa had to go out of the country and he decided to take my mom with him. They were going to Europe, somewhere in Germany I think"
"Oh, that's too bad."
"Yeah" Lorelai answered, smiling.
"Sure, I believed that. You even look relieved that they were gone"
"Yeah" Lorelai said, honestly now.
"Good morning, Lorelai" said Tristan as he walked into the kitchen.
"Good Morning Bible Boy" Lorelai answered back.
"Bible boy?. . . Oh, I get it, because of the whole Mary thing. . . very clever!" he stated.
"Yeah, we thought so too." Lorelai answered and Rory nodded in approval.
"Pop-Tart?" Rory asked as she handed him a plate with two strawberry pop-tarts in it.
"Don't mind if I do. . . thanks"
"Don't eat too much, we are going to Luke's in a while", Lorelai said.
"Sure thing. . ."
"I guess that while you are here, I'll go and take a bath and get ready to leave and then you guys can do the same" Rory said as she was walking into her room.
"So it is the two of us again, huh?" Tristan said to Lorelai.
"I guess so" Lorelai answered back.
"So, may I ask what the plans for today are?" Tristan asked as he poured more coffee into his cup.
"Sure, we are going over to Sookie's first. . ."
"Sookie is. . the chef at the Inn right?"
"Not only that, but my best friend also"
"And then?"
"Over to Luke's"
"Sounds great. Dress code?"
"Dress casual, and comfortably because you will eat like in the majors."
"Rory told me that Sookie always cooks for like a thousand"
"Well, she enjoys what she does."
"Apparently so."
"Tristan, may I ask you something?"
"Sure" he said as he drank his coffee.
"What about your parents?"
"What about them?"
"Well, it is a holiday, and not that I don't enjoy having you here because I do, but why didn't you want to spend the holidays with them?"
"You know, as well as I do, that when your parents are part of society, a lot of social engagements come their way, right? And my dad travels a lot, and so does my mom, but they don't do it together. So they each went on their way for the holidays. Besides, I had a better offer coming here, than anything I would have with my parents, if they were here"
"Does it pain you that you are not with them?"
"Nope. Lorelai, you, in the few hours I've known you, have given me so much more warmth than anyone ever did in my house. Besides I got used to it. And after they sent me off to military school things changed even more. So I guess my answer will be: no, it doesn't pain me that I'm not with them."
"Those are some strong words"
"Yeah, they are, but that's how they are. But there is something good that I got from everything that I just told you. They taught me something that will help me forever"
"And what is that?" Lorelai asked curiously.
"To not be like them. When I have my own family, those are the things that I will try as hard as I can to avoid."
"That's good. You will make your family very happy one day."
"I hope so, Lorelai, I really do."
After he finished saying this Rory walked out of her room bathed and ready to leave. She always got ready really fast.
"Go get ready guys, I am starving"
And both Lorelai and Tristan got up from the table and went each way to the bathroom.
They were ready and leaving the house 45 minutes later. They walked down the street, the three of them. Both Gilmore Girls showed Tristan the town, or at least where they were walking by. They showed him the store that sold all those cat things. The town flower shop. The good pizza place. The stationary store and Al's Pancake world. Doose's Market. The gazebo. Miss Patty's studio.
"This is where we rehearsed that time, right?" Tristan asked, and Rory remembered that he had been in town once, right before he left for military school. As they where walking by, Miss Patty stepped out of the studio and into the stairs.
"Hey Patty" Lorelai said when they saw her standing there.
"Hello girls. And you are that handsome boy who has been the talk of the town since yesterday, huh?"
"Tristan DuGrey, Ma'm. Nice to meet you."
"Babette was wrong. You are not just cute. You are a fox!!" Miss Patty said after he introduced himself.
"Babette?" he asked into Rory's ear.
"Our neighbor, the one with the pink house" Rory answered in the same way.
"Oh, right"
"Nice seeing you Patty, we are going off to breakfast" Lorelai said trying to cut the conversation short.
"Bye girls. Tristan I hope I see you soon, I could teach you some steps, or anything you want to."
"Thanks Miss Patty, I'll keep that in mind"
"You do that."
"Wow, she is a piece of work" he said a little embarrassed because of what Miss Patty had said.
"She has been married several times. How do you think she managed that?" Rory asked rhetorically.
They kept walking until they reached the diner. Many customers where in it, but not enough to fill the place up. Obviously the morning rush had passed.
"Hey Luke" Rory said when she saw Luke standing there filling some clients cup of coffee, really glad to see him.
"Rory, hi" he said as he looked in her direction. He directed a grin at her, since he couldn't leave the cup just half full.
After he filled the cups of coffee around him, he finally reached the table where the girls and Tristan where. Luke kissed Lorelai good morning, and followed to hug Rory hello.
"And you must be Tristan?" he said as he extended his hand to greet him.
"Yes, and you must be Luke. It's nice to meet you" he said shaking Luke's hand.
"Luke, come on. . . I've been dying for a decent cup of coffee since the last time I was here . . . I already told you" she said "New Haven coffee is not Luke's coffee" Luke and Rory said in unison.
"I'll be a witness to that" Lorelai said, because she always complained that the coffee in New Haven wasn't that good.
"Yeah, me too" Tristan stated "she is always complaining about the coffee in New Haven and how it doesn't match up to yours"
"You have been around these girls for too long, apparently" Luke said.
"What can I say. They influence you" Tristan said. And so, both guys found a ground from where they would take it. They, both, were being influenced by a Gilmore Girl.
"What would you like for breakfast?" Luke finally asked.
"Coffee and Pancakes" Lorelai answered.
"Coffee and French Toast" Rory said.
"Coffee and a ham omelette, please" Tristan said.
"Coming right up"
"Did Luke actually bond with Tristan?" Rory asked Lorelai in mocking shock.
"I guess he just did. . Monosyllabic man is gone" Lorelai answered in the same tone.
"Funny. He is a nice man." Tristan stated.
As they where talking and eating, Jess came down from the apartment. When he saw they were there, he went back upstairs so he could avoid them. At least until tonight.
After breakfast, they walked around the town a bit more, and then went home to change. After that, they went over to Sookie's.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
So this is the chapter. The occurrences over the weekend will be the next chapter, because if I kept it on this one, it would turn our really long. I believe it will be up by the weekend, maybe Saturday afternoon, if not, Sunday morning. I know that this chapter lacked substance, but I needed to put it in for the Weekend Chapter. Please read and review. I will like to thank everyone for posting reviews. You guys keep me going!!! See you over the weekend and hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
One more thing: Jess' presence will not change the line of the story, but if everything turns out how I want it, he will spice it up a bit. Great things are coming your way. Just tell me something: do you think that he's in character? Please answer in your reviews.
