Title: Midnight Meeting (Chapter 2)
Author: Sirius
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Pairing: R/J
Summary: Jess comes to find Rory in the middle of the night.
Rory had a tough night's sleep, filled with anxiety for the following day. She knew it was just an e-mail, probably just a book recommendation like their usual e-mails revolve around, but for some reason, she had the idea that it wasn't. After sleeping till 9 o'clock, Rory got out of bed, ironically exhausted from trying to sleep more. To wake herself up, she took a long shower.
When her shower was over, Rory made her way into the kitchen, where her mom sat, staring into space with a silly grin on her face while idly sipping coffee.
"What are you smiling about?"
"I was just thinking."
"About?"
"Well, you see, there was this chicken I saw on TV. And I wondered, 'What kind of chicken is green?'" Lorelai had a questioning look on her face as she spoke and she continued to stare off into space.
"Was the chicken on the TV green?"
"No."
"Then what made you wonder "What kind of chicken is green?'"
"Before the chicken commercial, there was a commercial for green beans."
Rory pulled a mug out of the cabinet and shook her head at her mother, who continued to believe that she made perfect sense. "Ah."
"Then I started wondering, is the Jolly Green Giant real?"
"Oh boy, here we go." Rory rolled her eyes and poured herself a cup of coffee.
"But then I remembered, well, he's a giant. So, people would see him and be able to point him out."
"The fact that he's a totally green man is beside the point though right? That wouldn't make him stand out or anything, would it?"
"Of course not. Haven't you seen those people on Ripley's Believe It Or Not? All of them are weird looking and have weird talents, that doesn't set them apart."
"Actually, that's the point of the show, they do stand out because they have weird talents."
"Anyways, back to the Jolly Green Giant. I was wondering, how do you really know he's jolly? I mean, in all the pictures we've seen of him, he could have been faking the smile."
"That's if he even exists, which he doesn't."
"How do you know?"
"How do you know that Elmo doesn't really exist? It's all pretend Mom. Advertisement." With all her might Rory tried to reason with her mother, but this was another one of those endless battles that had no point.
"You speak lies! Elmo? He's my friend! He and I go way back!"
"And he's never told you the truth? That's a shame."
"No! Now I need coffee!"
"You've got some right in front of you."
"Not good enough, we need Luke's. Be ready in five."
"Okay."
The pair strolled arm-in-arm down the streets of Stars Hollow twenty minutes later and opened the door to the diner. A bell tinkled above their heads as they walked in and perched on stools by the counter.
"Coffee!" Lorelai moaned in her most obnoxious tone.
"Hold on," Luke mumbled in a grumpy voice.
Lorelai shot a confused look at Rory and said, "Well now, looks like he's got a bee up his bonnet."
"Looks like it."
Luke made his way over in a huff and set two mugs of coffee in front of the Gilmores.
"Here."
"Thanks for the enthusiastic service buddy."
"I would be more perky except that Caesar is sick and Jess, the little twerp, took off this morning without telling me."
Rory looked up at the sound of Jess' name and was shocked with what she heard. He took off? She'd just seen him last night; he didn't say anything about leaving. Where'd he go?
"Where'd Jess go?"
"Beats me. He just left a note that said he'd be gone this weekend but that he'd close up every day next week to make up for it. More like every day next month in my opinion."
Rory mulled this over in her head. Gone for the weekend? That still didn't answer where he'd been. Wait, last night he told her to check her e- mail at 11 o'clock today. That meant that she had forty-five minutes left until she could check it. Would his e-mail say something about where he was?
"Oh, Luke, I'm sure he didn't mean to inconvenience you. Something must have come up."
"Right, Jess, not mean to inconvenience me. Sure, that'll be the day."
"Come on Luke. He said he'd be gone the weekend right? So when he comes back, talk to him. You should at least see if he had a good reason before you get mad at him."
Luke's face softened at Rory's concern, but that still didn't replace the anger he felt for Jess abandoning him on a weekend shift.
After the girls had had their coffee, they left the diner, Lorelai to the Inn to check up on some things and Rory to the house to read a little. Time passed slowly for Rory as she picked up her book for her Honors English class. The words on the page ran together like colors in a water cup after the water had cleaned too many paint brushes.
It was one of those times where the clock seemed to go slower the more you look at it, antagonizing you and getting on every last one of your nerves. Rory turned on her music, looked at magazines, and sorted her sock drawer. Still, she had ten minutes left. Finally, she decided to go on-line- just to see if he had sent the e-mail early.
Her laptop signed her on slowly, much like everything else had gone that day, and she opened her e-mail account. She had 5 e-mails since the night before when she'd cleared it, and four out of the five were junk. Typical. The last e-mail was from Lane. She thought about answering it, but she figured she wouldn't be able to focus so she just kept it as new.
Rory's fingers tapped on her desktop as she stared at the computer screen. She sighed heavily and frowned. 10:57. Three minutes. This was going to be the longest three minutes of her life.
The volume to her computer was on low, but that didn't stop her from hearing a distant door opening. Someone had signed on. Rory clicked over to her buddy list and saw a very familiar screenname appear- FrequencyNY. Quickly, Rory double-clicked on it to start a chat.
TheClick10: Hey, where were you this morning?
Auto Response from FrequencyNY: Please leave a message after the beep . . . BEEP!
Rory was disappointed that he was gone, but remembered that in exactly one minute and thirty-two seconds, she would be receiving an email from him. Hopefully, it would explain a lot.
After fifty-four seconds, a door closed in the background and Rory saw that Jess had signed off. Wow, he was thirty-eight seconds early! Rory checked her e-mail for the second time that day and saw that she did in fact have an email from Jess. She opened it excitedly and began to read.
Subject: This weekend
From: FrequencyNY
To: TheClick10
Rory,
I've decided to go away for the weekend, that's why I had to see you last night. I figure you already know this because you've stopped by Luke's this morning to get your coffee fix. Anyway, I won't tell you where I am, because I can't. Just know that something came up and I had to go. I'll be back by Monday morning at the latest.
So, since I know you are going to miss me oh so much (wink, wink), I've created a little game for you to play while I'm gone. You have till midnight on Sunday to finish it and there's a surprise waiting for you at the end. This scavenger hunt has nine clues. When you've found each piece to the puzzle, put it together and you'll have the answer.
Your starting clue is this: On the first night I met you, I joked about your books. Yet, I still was stupid enough to take one from you and write in the margins. What book was it?
~Jess
Rory read his email, then read it again, then one more time just to be sure. A scavenger hunt? This was really not Jess. The clue was simple though. She would remember that book till the end of time. Howl. What was she supposed to do now though? How would she get the next clue?
Confused, Rory signed off-line and lay back on her bed. She took Howl from her nightstand where she'd laid it the night before when Jess had come to her window and just stared at it, willing it to give her the answer. She opened the cover and out fell a cardboard puzzle piece.
"Well, that was easy." Rory smiled to herself and at Jess' antics. How had he put the piece there? Did he have accomplices? Hmm . . .
Rory fingered the blank puzzle piece and turned it over. Written very small on the back of the piece was her next clue. This was going to be an interesting weekend.
(A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update such a short chapter! I'm trying to get better at staying on top of this. Anyways, I know there wasn't much content to this chapter, but it set a platform for the next one. I hope you like how this is going, review and tell me! Thanks for reading! ~Amanda)
Rory had a tough night's sleep, filled with anxiety for the following day. She knew it was just an e-mail, probably just a book recommendation like their usual e-mails revolve around, but for some reason, she had the idea that it wasn't. After sleeping till 9 o'clock, Rory got out of bed, ironically exhausted from trying to sleep more. To wake herself up, she took a long shower.
When her shower was over, Rory made her way into the kitchen, where her mom sat, staring into space with a silly grin on her face while idly sipping coffee.
"What are you smiling about?"
"I was just thinking."
"About?"
"Well, you see, there was this chicken I saw on TV. And I wondered, 'What kind of chicken is green?'" Lorelai had a questioning look on her face as she spoke and she continued to stare off into space.
"Was the chicken on the TV green?"
"No."
"Then what made you wonder "What kind of chicken is green?'"
"Before the chicken commercial, there was a commercial for green beans."
Rory pulled a mug out of the cabinet and shook her head at her mother, who continued to believe that she made perfect sense. "Ah."
"Then I started wondering, is the Jolly Green Giant real?"
"Oh boy, here we go." Rory rolled her eyes and poured herself a cup of coffee.
"But then I remembered, well, he's a giant. So, people would see him and be able to point him out."
"The fact that he's a totally green man is beside the point though right? That wouldn't make him stand out or anything, would it?"
"Of course not. Haven't you seen those people on Ripley's Believe It Or Not? All of them are weird looking and have weird talents, that doesn't set them apart."
"Actually, that's the point of the show, they do stand out because they have weird talents."
"Anyways, back to the Jolly Green Giant. I was wondering, how do you really know he's jolly? I mean, in all the pictures we've seen of him, he could have been faking the smile."
"That's if he even exists, which he doesn't."
"How do you know?"
"How do you know that Elmo doesn't really exist? It's all pretend Mom. Advertisement." With all her might Rory tried to reason with her mother, but this was another one of those endless battles that had no point.
"You speak lies! Elmo? He's my friend! He and I go way back!"
"And he's never told you the truth? That's a shame."
"No! Now I need coffee!"
"You've got some right in front of you."
"Not good enough, we need Luke's. Be ready in five."
"Okay."
The pair strolled arm-in-arm down the streets of Stars Hollow twenty minutes later and opened the door to the diner. A bell tinkled above their heads as they walked in and perched on stools by the counter.
"Coffee!" Lorelai moaned in her most obnoxious tone.
"Hold on," Luke mumbled in a grumpy voice.
Lorelai shot a confused look at Rory and said, "Well now, looks like he's got a bee up his bonnet."
"Looks like it."
Luke made his way over in a huff and set two mugs of coffee in front of the Gilmores.
"Here."
"Thanks for the enthusiastic service buddy."
"I would be more perky except that Caesar is sick and Jess, the little twerp, took off this morning without telling me."
Rory looked up at the sound of Jess' name and was shocked with what she heard. He took off? She'd just seen him last night; he didn't say anything about leaving. Where'd he go?
"Where'd Jess go?"
"Beats me. He just left a note that said he'd be gone this weekend but that he'd close up every day next week to make up for it. More like every day next month in my opinion."
Rory mulled this over in her head. Gone for the weekend? That still didn't answer where he'd been. Wait, last night he told her to check her e- mail at 11 o'clock today. That meant that she had forty-five minutes left until she could check it. Would his e-mail say something about where he was?
"Oh, Luke, I'm sure he didn't mean to inconvenience you. Something must have come up."
"Right, Jess, not mean to inconvenience me. Sure, that'll be the day."
"Come on Luke. He said he'd be gone the weekend right? So when he comes back, talk to him. You should at least see if he had a good reason before you get mad at him."
Luke's face softened at Rory's concern, but that still didn't replace the anger he felt for Jess abandoning him on a weekend shift.
After the girls had had their coffee, they left the diner, Lorelai to the Inn to check up on some things and Rory to the house to read a little. Time passed slowly for Rory as she picked up her book for her Honors English class. The words on the page ran together like colors in a water cup after the water had cleaned too many paint brushes.
It was one of those times where the clock seemed to go slower the more you look at it, antagonizing you and getting on every last one of your nerves. Rory turned on her music, looked at magazines, and sorted her sock drawer. Still, she had ten minutes left. Finally, she decided to go on-line- just to see if he had sent the e-mail early.
Her laptop signed her on slowly, much like everything else had gone that day, and she opened her e-mail account. She had 5 e-mails since the night before when she'd cleared it, and four out of the five were junk. Typical. The last e-mail was from Lane. She thought about answering it, but she figured she wouldn't be able to focus so she just kept it as new.
Rory's fingers tapped on her desktop as she stared at the computer screen. She sighed heavily and frowned. 10:57. Three minutes. This was going to be the longest three minutes of her life.
The volume to her computer was on low, but that didn't stop her from hearing a distant door opening. Someone had signed on. Rory clicked over to her buddy list and saw a very familiar screenname appear- FrequencyNY. Quickly, Rory double-clicked on it to start a chat.
TheClick10: Hey, where were you this morning?
Auto Response from FrequencyNY: Please leave a message after the beep . . . BEEP!
Rory was disappointed that he was gone, but remembered that in exactly one minute and thirty-two seconds, she would be receiving an email from him. Hopefully, it would explain a lot.
After fifty-four seconds, a door closed in the background and Rory saw that Jess had signed off. Wow, he was thirty-eight seconds early! Rory checked her e-mail for the second time that day and saw that she did in fact have an email from Jess. She opened it excitedly and began to read.
Subject: This weekend
From: FrequencyNY
To: TheClick10
Rory,
I've decided to go away for the weekend, that's why I had to see you last night. I figure you already know this because you've stopped by Luke's this morning to get your coffee fix. Anyway, I won't tell you where I am, because I can't. Just know that something came up and I had to go. I'll be back by Monday morning at the latest.
So, since I know you are going to miss me oh so much (wink, wink), I've created a little game for you to play while I'm gone. You have till midnight on Sunday to finish it and there's a surprise waiting for you at the end. This scavenger hunt has nine clues. When you've found each piece to the puzzle, put it together and you'll have the answer.
Your starting clue is this: On the first night I met you, I joked about your books. Yet, I still was stupid enough to take one from you and write in the margins. What book was it?
~Jess
Rory read his email, then read it again, then one more time just to be sure. A scavenger hunt? This was really not Jess. The clue was simple though. She would remember that book till the end of time. Howl. What was she supposed to do now though? How would she get the next clue?
Confused, Rory signed off-line and lay back on her bed. She took Howl from her nightstand where she'd laid it the night before when Jess had come to her window and just stared at it, willing it to give her the answer. She opened the cover and out fell a cardboard puzzle piece.
"Well, that was easy." Rory smiled to herself and at Jess' antics. How had he put the piece there? Did he have accomplices? Hmm . . .
Rory fingered the blank puzzle piece and turned it over. Written very small on the back of the piece was her next clue. This was going to be an interesting weekend.
(A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update such a short chapter! I'm trying to get better at staying on top of this. Anyways, I know there wasn't much content to this chapter, but it set a platform for the next one. I hope you like how this is going, review and tell me! Thanks for reading! ~Amanda)