Run to the Bridge
Chapter 1 – We know each other so well
Disclaimer: I don't own GG; I don't own any books or movies.
A/N: Okay, I got an idea at one in the morning the other day. I was writing the first chapter when I got an idea to make it original. So here it is. In this story: Rory and Jess are best friends. Jess has lived with Luke since he was 11, and he and Rory have been best friends since then. Dean doesn't exist in this story. Lorelai doesn't love Jess or anything, but she's ok with him. She definitely doesn't hate him. I know this is another story starting with Rory and Jess as best friends, but I promise this isn't anything like Connecticut Writers! I just like writing them like that at first, at least sometimes, which could have something to do with the fact that one of my closest friends is very much like Jess. Please tell me what you think! Sorry for another long A/N, and that this is so short! The next chapter will be longer. This is gonna be my last update until early August at least, cause I'm going to Utah for 3 weeks. But I'll have lots of time to write! This is like an introductory chapter, but there's action coming soon! (It's literati w/ javajunkie undertones, maybe some Dean and Lindsay.) ~Arianna
"Okay, I said, scanning the shelves to make sure I hadn't missed anything. "We've got the marshmallows, popcorn, chocolate bars, jelly beans—"
"And the rest of the junk food in Stars Hollow," Jess finished.
"Oh, no," I said, trying not to laugh. "We had to leave some for the other nine thousand people, because we're ordering pizza, too."
"How could I forget?" Jess replied in mock seriousness.
I grinned. "You've got the movie, right?"
"Right here." He held it up. "I can't believe you're making me watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory again."
"We can be very persuasive," I said proudly, meaning myself and my mom, Lorelai.
"Yeah, I know. C'mon, let's buy it."
"Coming." I knew that Jess knew that. We were both almost seventeen. He'd come to live with Luke when he was eleven. And we had been best friends since then.
We bought the junk food and left Doose's market.
"Next time we're getting Almost Famous," Jess stated.
"Willy Wonka is a classic!" I protested.
"It's redundant."
"It's a classic."
"After the fiftieth viewing, even classics get redundant," he argued.
"Most of them, maybe. But—"
"Not Willy Wonka," Jess said with me. He knows me too well.
Jess and I walked up the steps and went into the house.
"You're back!" Mom said excitedly when we came in.
"Yeah, Jess has the movie," I replied.
"Great." He handed it to her.
"Has the pizza come yet?" I asked.
"Not yet." The doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," I said. I brought it in; set it on the coffee table. Mom put the movie in, we all took a piece of pizza, and Mom sat on the couch, while Jess and I sat on the floor in front of it. I pressed 'play' and leaned back on Jess' shoulder.
After the movie and our ritual of throwing popcorn at each other, Jess went back to the apartment.
The next morning, as usual, Mom and I were at Luke's for breakfast. We were sitting at the counter, waiting for our pancakes, drinking our coffee. Bored, I picked up my cup of coffee and turned around on the stool to watch other Stars Hollow residents through the window of the diner.
Somebody I didn't know passed by. He was tall, about six feet, light brown hair, wearing a button-down shirt and jeans. "Look, I think there's a new guy in town," I said, as Jess came down the stairs and up to the counter.
Mom turned around too. "Ooh, who?" she said, curious.
"Don't know," I said.
"Where?" she persisted.
I shrugged. "He passed the diner already."
"No fun," she complained.
"Someone's had too much coffee already," Jess said to me in a low voice. Mom didn't respond, but turned to him with a mild Gilmore glare. She hadn't liked Jess when he first came, despite him being Luke's nephew. But she'd gotten used to him by now.
"Lucas!" Mom called. "Luke!"
"Lorelai?" he answered, without looking up.
"Coffee."
"It's coming," he said.
"Luke, we're suffering from caffeine deficiency," I teased.
"Right, what she said," Mom told him, laughing. "It's serious!"
"Hey, I think this could be dangerous," Jess agreed.
"No doubt about it," I said.
"All right already," Luke said to us. "It's done."
"Finally," Jess remarked.
"Not you too," Luke groaned. He wasn't really upset. He'd known us for too long to actually get annoyed by this sort of thing.
He turned around and set a plate in front of each of us. "Jess, you're not working."
"Caesar's here; it's not busy."
"Fine, forget it."
"You okay, Luke?" Mom asked.
"Oh yeah. I just didn't get much sleep and kept open a few hours more last week, been working a lot, that's all."
"You should take a break," she suggested.
"A break for me means no coffee for you," he pointed out.
"Give it to us in quantity."
"That's not quantity?" He pointed at our mugs.
"Not at all. We're Gilmores, remember?"
"Noted," Luke said dryly.
"Lord, what fools these mortals be," Jess quoted.
"A Midsummer Night's Dream!" I said.
"Yeah, of course," he replied.
"I didn't know you were reading Shakespeare again," I said to Jess.
"I'm not. It's Dickens right now."
"Great Expectations?" I guessed.
"The Pickwick Papers," Jess corrected me.
"Oh. Got a book to lend me?"
"I'll find one," he told me.
"Great," I replied, smiling.