*Disclaimer: I don't own the series Gilmore Girls or the characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

*A/N: Hey!!! :-) Another chapter. I personally think that this one is better than the last one, though I can never really tell, since everything I write sucks in my eyes. So......I hope it's readble and that you guys enjoy it. :-)

*~*~*:-)*~*~*Bye, smile :-)

Rory's eyelashes fluttered, as quick as the beating of the fragile wings of a iridescent hummingbird. She had the feeling that someone was watching her, their eyes prying into her flesh, making her aware of another lingering presence. Rory opened her eyes just enough, so she could see the blurry outline of someone hovering over her.

''Mom ?'' she asked, while she opened her eyes further, causing clear lines and a variety of colors to appear.

''What are you doing, hovering over me like you always see the surgeons do with their patients on TV ?''

''Almost twenty words and it's still early,'' Lorelai commented, sounding unusually awake for this early in the morning.

Rory moaned and stretched her arm, so she could point at her alarm clock. ''What does it say ?''

''Though clocks can't speak, it says 5.45 AM.''

''Hence the question, what are you doing here ?'' Rory asked, the sleepiness obvious in her incoherent words.

''I couldn't sleep.''

''And you got the sudden urge to watch me sleep ?''

''You're not sleeping,'' Lorelai pointed out.

''Which is a result of your hovering.''

''I was just checking up on you,'' Lorelai explained.

Rory sighed. ''Why ?''

''Because I was concerned.''

''About my sleeping habits........?'' Rory asked, in an annoyed tone.

''Now you're just being moody.''

Rory reached for her alarm clock, grabbed it and held it up so her mom could see. ''It's 5.46 AM.''

''Ooooo look at the pretty numbers.''

Rory dropped her arm and sighed once more. ''What do you want ?''

''I wanted to know how your date with Dean went.''

Rory turned her head and looked up at her mom. ''Now ?''

''It was your first date,'' Lorelai said.

''Fine, it was.............''

''Mind blowing ?'' Lorelai asked, interrupting Rory.

''..........okay.''

''Oh, well he did take you to an arcade, not exactly the background for a great-ish kinda date.''

''Can I go back to sleep now ?'' Rory moaned, as she turned onto her side and closed her eyes.

''Yeah............hey, did he kiss you ?''

''Mom, my eyes are closed and soon my brain won't be able to form meaningful sentences anymore.''

''Right, go back to sleep this is just a dream.''

Rory waited for her mom to leave the room, before opening her eyes again. She knew she hadn't really lied to her mom, since the date could be considered as okay. She had to admit that she did enjoy playing pinball for the first hour and the milkshake had been delicious, even better than Luke's, though she would never tell him. But she also had to admit that the company hadn't exactly been what she had expected.

*~*~*

When Rory reached school that morning, she once again walked passed a small group of guys without being bothered. They didn't even look at her. And maybe for some girls that wasn't exactly a compliment, but to Rory is was a relief. She also was pretty sure who she had to thank for that, however she wouldn't, not today, since they hadn't spoken so much as a word to each other after their little conversation at the bridge. Though they hadn't been avoiding each other, but she guessed that it was just too hard to even try to avoid each other in a town like Stars Hollow. Although she had to admit that the thought of avoiding him had never once crossed her mind.

When she reached her locker, she found Lane leaning against it, wearing headphones and bobbing her head to what probably was garage rock or something in that direction. While Rory opened her locker, Lane removed the headphones and looked at her best friend, anticipation clear in her eyes.

''So...........''

''So ?''

Lane rolled her eyes. ''Pay attention to my so's, this was clearly a questioning one, therefore awaiting and expecting an answer.''

''Well, is your so a code for an actual full sentenced question ?''

Lane sighed. ''What's the use of having our own secret language when it's still a secret to you ?''

''Translation please ?''

''How was your date ?''

Rory sighed, as she slammed her locker shut.

''Wow, you and your locker have some serious issues,'' Lane said. ''Everything alright ?''

''Sure.''

''Then what's with the sigh ?''

''I'm just sick of people asking me about my date. What's the big deal ?'' Rory asked.

Lane shrugged. ''Nothing, unless you consider ruining your best friends love life a big deal.''

''Please explain, how my date will ruin your future dates ?''

''Well, since this was your first date, it's your duty as my best friend to tell me about it, so I can evaluate and learn from it. Preventing me from making your mistakes,'' Lane explained.

''Well, I have evaluated it over and over and this is my advice for you, don't ever date.''

Lane crossed her arms and looked at Rory. ''You just wanna keep me from putting myself out on the market, so you can have all the cute guys.''

Rory smiled at her friend's expression. ''I'm sorry, it just turned out to be a disaster.''

''Why ?''

''I spend more than three hours with a pinball machine, who I ended up calling Mr. Ring Ring............''

''Because of the noise,'' Lane stated.

Rory nodded. ''Right, and I think I got pretty attached to him, cause when we left I wanted to take it home with me. Then there was the strawberry milkshake, which was the high point in my pathetic date. And I think Dean actually flirted with another girl, while I was there !''

''Are you sure ?''

''Sure enough to know that he likes Christy better than me.''

''Sounds like he likes girls with artificial brains, you know 'Bake A Brain'. Pop 'em in the oven, wait fifteen minutes and when it's ready you'll have a real looking brain,'' Lane said, trying to cheer Rory up.

''You're mean,'' Rory said, though she couldn't stop herself from softly laughing.

When the bell rang, the two girls headed in opposite directions, giving Rory some time alone, which only made her more unsure of Dean and more sure of Jess' words. What if Dean really didn't like her. What if he found her boring, because she liked to read and didn't like to wear dresses. What if Jess had been right all along ?

*~*~*

By the time lunch had arrived, she had made up her mind to approach Dean and try to talk to him about their date. Didn't seemed like a nice guy, so maybe their was a reason for his neglect. She desperately wanted there to be a reason, just to get rid of the weird feeling in her stomach, as if her emotions were being crumpled up in a small ball. One that would slowly fade as time passed by.

She started to make her way over to where Dean was sitting, pleased that he seemed to be alone. But just as she was close enough for the two of them to make eye contact, a girl, with a face she remembered clearly though she had only seen her for a couple of seconds, sat down next to Dean. She didn't like the bittersweet irony of the fact that the girl apparently went to the same school as them, but Rory hadn't seen her before until they met in the arcade. From Dean's expression she could find not even a hint of dislike for the girl sitting next to him and that made Rory feel even worse. Dean actually enjoyed being with Christy ?!

Rory turned around and left the cafeteria, the weird feeling in her stomach increasing, slowly becoming painful sensation. It was as if someone was plucking out the wings of a butterfly one by one, depriving it from its color and its destiny, to fly. And that sensation would continue until every single one of her butterflies had lost their ability to fly.

*~*~*

After school, Rory headed home as quickly as she could. She made her homework and ending up spending the rest of the afternoon, reading the saddest book she could find, not quite understanding why she was letting the situation get to her so much. It wasn't like her to care about what other people thought of her, however she did try to be liked by everyone. And she couldn't stand the fact that Dean seemed to like Christy better.

Finally Rory just closed the book and decided to go get a cup of coffee at Luke's, knowing that she would find comfort in that simple action yet symbolic action. Ever since she was allowed to have coffee, she went to Luke's with her mom or by herself just to get some. But she would only go to Luke's for a coffee to go, if she had had a bad day or if something hadn't been going right. And unfortunately today was one of those days.

She put on her favorite pair of sneakers and made her way over to Luke's. She slipped in to the diner unnoticed, although she didn't blend in with the rest of the crowd. But then again no one really did. Rory made her way over to the counter, hesitating for a brief second when she saw that Jess was there, but she continued anyway. After all, they weren't avoiding each other and she didn't have to worry about him saying anything, cause they didn't have anything to say to each other.

Jess looked up when she placed her hands on the counter, not saying a word, remembering where talking lead to last time.

''Hey,'' she almost whispered.

He nodded, waiting for her order.

''Can I have a coffee to go, please ?''

Jess nodded, though he hadn't quite understood her except for the last couple of words. But she always had coffee, so he could clearly suspect what she had asked for. He poured her the coffee and set the paper cup down on the counter, watching her as she placed some money on that same counter. But instead of reaching for it, he placed his hands in his pockets and looked at her.

''Are you okay ?''

''Uhm.......yeah, I have to go.''

Rory grabbed her coffee and headed back in to the crowd.

Jess knew that she was trying to pretend that she was alright. He had been keeping an eye on her all day, from a distance. And he had seen her distant expression turn into a hurt one throughout the day. The cause wasn't that hard to find, though he didn't know all the details. At least they had exchanged a few words today. He removed his hands from his pockets and reached for the money, just as the door of the diner closed.

*~*~*

Rory finished her last bit of coffee, as she listening to the message her mom left on the answering machine, telling her that she would be home a little later, because of some unexpected staff meeting, called by none other than Michel. Lorelai even claimed that he only did it to bug her, since there was really nothing to 'meet' about.

Rory erased the message and soon found herself going up to her mother's room. She couldn't help but smile when she saw that her mom hadn't cleaned up her clothes yet. She had just pushed them to one side of the bed, creating enough space for her to sleep at night. Rory shook her head and reached for a piece of her mom's clothing, a black skirt she had tried on for her date.

For some reason she regretted not dressing up for the date, especially after Dean's comment about her looking normal. She was almost positive that Christy wouldn't look normal on any date. Rory felt guilty about her own jealousy, but it got only worse when she reached for another one of her mom's many skirts.

*~*~*

Jess groaned as he missed another shot, the result of his feelings, though he would never willingly admit it. He sighed and turned around to get his ball, but froze at the sight before him. Rory was intently looking at the ball she held between her hands, but the fact that she was here didn't surprise him. Nor did the fact that he didn't hear her. The thing that did catch his eye, was her appearance.

For once she wasn't hiding underneath a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, this time she had managed to capture his attention with a knee-length black dress and strappy heels. Maybe it was indeed a simple choice in the eyes of people who were used dressing like this, but in Jess' eyes she looked anything but simple. She looked beautiful. A whistle escaped his lips, causing Rory to look up at him.

''Here's your ball,'' she said, as she threw the basketball at him.

Jess caught it without taking his eyes off of Rory. Rory lowered her eyes to her dress, before meeting his eyes again.

''What are you looking at ?''

''At you,'' Jess answered thoughtlessly.

''Wh......why ?''

Jess shook his head, wondering if she even looked in the mirror before she left. ''Because you're beautiful.''

Rory smiled at Jess' words, though it didn't last long. Jess' reaction just proved that she should have dressed up on her date with Dean. Maybe then he would have appreciated her company. Tears appeared in her eyes as she thought of how foolish she was being. Didn't her mom herself tell her that appearance didn't matter, it shouldn't matter. But yet Dean declined her, because of just that.

''Rory, are you okay ?'' Jess asked. It was the second time he had asked that same question today, but this time the concern was evident in his normally neutral voice.

Rory lowered her eyes to her dress again, letting her fingers brush against the dark fabric. As a tear spilled on to her dress, she looked up again.

''This was how I should have looked.''

''I don't....................,'' Jess started, but stopped when Rory interrupted him.

''You were right, about Dean.''

Rory paused for a second, letting her eyes glide across Jess' face, looking for a sign of satisfaction. When she couldn't find any, she continued.

''The date was.........it was horrible. We didn't talk. And.........the girl he was flirting with..............''

But she didn't go on, and she didn't have to. Jess knew how her sentence was going to end. For a couple of seconds, he just stood there looking at her, wondering what he was supposed to do now, what she was expecting him to do. But after he figured that there were no right decisions, he took a couple of steps towards Rory and wrapped his free arm around her waist, swiftly pulling her toward him as he did.

Rory tried to pull away, but when she realized that she was too later, she let Jess pull her towards him. His gesture reminded her so much of Dean's, though with Jess it didn't seem as awkward. She sobbed against his shirt, as she placed her hands flat on his chest, trying not to make it seem too sad and pathetic. After all it was just Dean.

When her cries seemed to die out, he knew that he should be saying something to cheer her up. And when the perfect line could be tasted on the tip of his tongue, he couldn't help but smile himself. It would be a pretty comical scene, especially if she would decide to keep her heels on.

''You wanna play a little one on one ? I'll let you win.........''

Rory laughed, but didn't back away from him. She had been looking forward to playing basketball with him again, but he just had to give her a couple of more seconds.

*R*E*V*I*E*W*! Please ? :-) I admite Jess was a little OOC in this last part, but he was sweet, right ? Luckily this isn't the last chapter yet. There is still a twist to come and some Lit interaction. Thanks for the kind reviews. :-)