Thank you for your reviews. Jess is totally coo-worthy. I didn't like it that on the show, all these Stars Hollow people seemed to ignore the fact about how good looking he was. Well, I know that everybody on TV is beautiful.. blah blah blah.. but Shane was the only girl who went after him, and we didn't see it. Plus the fact that she could have been a slut just looking for some fun. So yeah… haha. If you haven't noticed… I think Jess is hot. I shall now retreat to feed him grapes. Thanks especially to my beta Sandra, who has really helped get my story to where I want it to be. Thanks a lot!
Disclaimer: I admit it! I stole the characters! They are all tied up in my closet. Wait! *holds up hand* Stay right there! If you move another foot towards me, Luke is a gonner!
Chapter 7 – No Cell Phones at Victoria's Secret!
Lorelai and Rory are in the living room on the couch, reading the books they bought about backpacking.
"Oh!" Lorelai shouted.
"What now?" Rory grumbled.
"Did you know…"
"Stop."
"…that you should carry exactly twice as many socks as you carry underwear?"
"Twice as many pairs or twice as many socks?" Rory asked.
"Oh. I don't know. I'll have to read further."
"Because, if it's twice as many socks, then that would be the same amount of pairs of socks as underwear."
"Yeah." Lorelai agreed skipping through her book.
"Therefore, that fact you just told me, is common sense."
"Mmhmm." Lorelai continued reading. "Make sure you watch your sleep sheet."
"What?" Rory asked.
"It says here that the author lost it to an overzealous cleaning lady and never got it back." Lorelai said. "Hm. At least it would be clean." she commented.
"It says in my book that you shouldn't bring a sleep sheet. It says that they are super heavy to carry, and when you find hostels that require them, you can rent them."
"Eww."
"What?"
"I'm not renting somebody else's sleep sheet."
"I'm sure they wash them, Mom."
"Who knows what they've been doing in their sleep sheet!"
"In a hostel? With lots of other people around?" Rory replied unconvinced.
"I'm bringing my own sleep sheet." Lorelai said stubbornly.
"Fine. But don't come crying to me when it gets stolen."
"No fanatical cleaning ladies are coming near me!" Lorelai quipped.
"It says here that we need to bring thongs." Rory said.
"Why? To please the European men?" Lorelai said suggestively.
"They dry quicker." Rory replied disgusted.
"I guess that means we are going shopping!" Lorelai squealed excitedly.
"For thongs." Rory added.
"My baby is growing up." Lorelai pouted emotionally.
"If you haven't noticed, I've never actually been a child."
"That's right." Lorelai agreed. "You came out of the womb with a matching bra-thong set!"
"Eww gross!" Rory laughed. "Babies should not wear thongs."
"I totally agree. I tried to have an adult conversation with you, but you kept taking my credit card and putting it in your mouth." Rory looked at her mother as if she had lost her mind. "You were teething." Lorelai responded as if it were actually an acceptable explanation.
"Apparently some things come naturally to us Gilmores."
"Apparently so." Lorelai agreed.
Jess was sitting on the couch watching 'I Love Lucy' reruns in Jimmy's house. Lily comes over and sits next to him.
"What are you watching?" Lily asked.
"TV." Jess responded.
"No." she laughed. "I mean, what show is this?"
"One you probably haven't heard of."
"Oh." Lily paused. "Why isn't it in color?"
"Because back in the old days there was no color."
"Really?" Lily asked wide eyed.
"Yup. And the people who are color blind today, are really time travelers from the past."
"Are they evil?"
"Totally." Jess smirked.
Jimmy walked in. "Lily! I got you pizza!"
"Great!" she shouted as she bounced off the couch and skipped into the kitchen. Jimmy walked out of the kitchen and sat down on the couch next to Jess.
"So you came in pretty late last night." Jimmy commented.
Jess turned his head back to the TV. "Yup."
"I was getting a little worried. This being a new town and all."
"I'm fine." Jess said.
Jimmy sighed. "Are you staying here?"
"What?" Jess turned his head to look at Jimmy.
"Are you… living here?" Jimmy clarified.
"It's not my choice." Jess protested.
"Are you asking?"
"Are you?" Jess quipped.
"I already did." Jimmy retorted.
"I've got nowhere else to go…"
"I'll put sheets in the guest room." Jimmy got up off the couch and walked away.
"Jimmy." Jess called. Jimmy turned around. "Thanks."
Jimmy nodded and grinned. "You're welcome."
Lorelai and Rory are shopping at the mall. Rory is pulling Lorelai's arm.
"Don't do it again!" Rory laughed.
"Come on! One more wrinkled make up counter worker."
"No! You are taking advantage!" Rory replied pulling harder on Lorelai's arm and laughing.
"I am not taking advantage," Lorelai defended.
"You cannot ask any more counters for samples for our backpacking trip."
"But they understand!"
"Yes, but we have an entire Clinique shopping bag worth of samples. Plus I saw you stuff two hand lotion samples into your bra!"
"You saw that?" Lorelai asked surprisingly.
"Yeah and so did those two guys you wanted to impress." Rory giggled.
"I wasn't trying to impress them!"
"Oh you weren't?"
"No. Two good looking guys… at the mall…together."
"Oh mom!"
"Well, it's true!"
"Don't mock the gays." Rory warned.
"Yeah, well if they attack us, I'll hold 'em down and you can throw samples at them."
"I'm not helping you with your evil plan."
"Well then we aren't going thong shopping."
"Good. I'll wear my regular underwear."
"No! I want to go thong shopping!" Lorelai whined.
"You are so pathetic." Rory chuckled.
Jess was lying on the bed with the phone on his chest. He stared at it in thought. He had been in California for almost a week, and he hadn't yet called Rory. His girlfriend. Was she still his girlfriend? Was she still the one he intended to go back to? Why was it so hard for him to call?
Jess picked up the phone slowly and started to dial Rory's cell. Then he hung up. He started again, and held the phone with his hands trembling.
The ringing was the most obnoxious sound he had ever heard. He could almost hear it talking to him. It was telling him that she hated him. That he left her for a new life, and that he wasn't coming back. He almost hung up once more.
"Hello?" Rory said.
Jess's eyes opened wide. Her voice. The voice he hadn't heard for so long. Not a record breaking amount of time, but it felt like ages. He heard voices in the background. Lots of them. They were echoing.
"Hello?!" Rory said again. "I think my battery is low." she called to her mother.
"Rory." he managed to get out.
"What?" Rory yelled into her phone.
"It's Jess." he said softly.
"Hello?!" Rory repeated. She hadn't heard anything Jess had said.
"Jess!" he yelled. "It's Jess!" Jess sat up and forcefully leaned into the mattress.
More echoing. Then two clicks. Rory was gone.
"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked softly, observing her daughter's cold face.
"I-" she stuttered "-I don't… nothing."
Lorelai looked at her suspiciously. "Okay. Let's go. We've got a lot of shopping to do. And may no wrinkled sales lady or gay couple stand in our way!"
"Right." Rory responded. "Right." she repeated to herself.
Jess fell back onto the bed. These were the reasons why he would never get a cell phone.