Disclaimer: I own nothing except Maggie Perkins
Summary: Jess moves to Stars Hollow when he's seven years old, but he wears big glasses and has a speach problem. Most consider him a dork, but one of the popular girls, named Rory, sees a different side of him....or does she?
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"Hey Lukey, when is that nephew of yours getting into town." Asked Lorelai, taking a sip of her coffee.
"He's getting in sometime this week. He's actually around Rory's age. He likes reading too. Maybe they'll become friends or something." Luke replied while pouring Lorelai's daughter, Rory, another cup of coffee. He stared down at the seven year old brunett. "You got her hooked on caffeine the moment you got pregnant. It's all your fault!" He shook his finger at Lorelai and she feigned innocence.
"It's like it was meant to be." She stared lovingly at her daughter as Luke glared at her. "Ok! Soo NOT my fault! Who am I to play around with Destiny?" She smiled innocently. He rolled his eyes and went back to taking orders. "Who's ready for their first day of second grade??"
"OO! ME!! ME!!" Yelled Rory, jumping up and down. Rory absolutely loved school and she loved doing her homework and she ADORED reading. "Can we go yet? Can we go yet?" Lorelai nodded and they left Luke's diner for the school. Rory had been one of the more popular girls at Stars Hollow Elementary School when she was in first grade along with her best friend, Lane Kim. She had never asked to be popular, but because of her beauty and kindness, it just sort of happened.
She was actually -beautiful- for a second grader and almost every guy in their class had a crush on her....her or Maggie Perkins. Maggie was Rory's elementary school rival. Maggie hated Rory because she was so much more popular and well-liked than herself. That was one thing Rory was dreading about second grade, having to deal with her again.
"RORY!" Squealed a voice from behind Lorelai and Rory. "Rory, I'm so excited!"
"I know! Me too!!" The two girls giggled as they approached the school building.
"Well, girls. Here we are. You guys have a good day ok?" Lorelai kissed each girl on the head and headed off to work.
"Bye!" The two girls yelled. They looked at the school, then looked at each other and smiled. They couldn't wait to get this year started.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The little black-headed boy stepped off the bus and looked up from his book. This place was so much different from New York. It was smaller..and most definitely quieter. He looked around for Luke's diner, but didn't see anything. He adjusted the thick, black glasses that sat on his nose so they wouldn't fall off. He stopped a woman on the street and asked her for directions. "Ex-excuse me, ma'am c-could you tell me where L-luke's Diner is?" The little boy stuttered. He had a speach problem. He received the directions and headed to his destination. He pushed the door open and looked around for the man he had seen in the picture his mom gave to him. There he was. The little boy walked up to the counter and hopped up onto a stool. "L-luke?" The little boy questioned.
"Yeah that's me..."
"It's m-me. J-Jess." He smiled a little and set his book up on the counter.
"Hi, Jess. I wasn't expecting you till later."
"M-my mom s-sent me ear-ly." Luke hadn't known about the speach problem before this and was kind of shocked.
"Well, come on up stairs and I'll show you around a little bit, ok?" Jess hopped off the stool and walked to the stairs. Luke put a hand on the kid's back and led him up. Luke wasn't very good with kids, but this kid seemed ok. He seemed well-mannered and quiet.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"He's here." Luke stated to Lorelai as she sat drinking her coffee.
"Who? Your nephew?" Luke nodded.
"Yep. Liz sent him early. Didn't say why, just did."
"Wow...why did she send him here in the first place?" Lorelai asked, hoping the kid wasn't into trouble or anything...but he was seven years old!
"Liz is going through a hard time right now and she's trying to find a steady job and stuff like that. I don't know how long he's gonna be here. A year at the most, I'm guessing." Jimmy, Jess' father, had just walked out on them, but Luke didn't feel the need to go spreading that around without Jess' permission.
"A year? Wow..." Rory came bounding in from her first day of school.
"Mommy! Mommy! Guess what! My teacher's name is Mr. Sarkney and he's so cool! He let me read out loud to the class and everything! It was so much fun! I ran into Maggie too! She's such a snob!" At that time, Jess came down the stairs, holding a book in front of his face, almost tripping Luke.
"Sorry! S-sorry, L-luke, I'm s-sorry!" Jess apologized the best he could. "Please d-don't k-kick me ou-out!" His stuttering always got worse when he was upset. Luke looked down at the small boy.
"Jess, I'm not going to kick you out ok?" Jess nodded and went back to reading, hopping up on a stool once again. Rory leaned over to her mom and whispered:
"Luke's nephew is a dork!" Lorelai kicked her daughter's shin.
"Don't say that! That's not nice!" She growled.
"Well, he is! I mean look at his glasses! And he stutters!" Rory looked at her mom with an -I know you were thinking the same thing- face. The two were whispering, but Jess heard everything they said. He hated it when people made fun of him. The doctors said he would grow out of the whole stuttering thing, but until then, he wouldn't speak...well at least not much.
"Lorelai, Rory."
"What? What? We weren't saying anything!" Lorelai and Rory turned around and tried to pretend they hadn't been talking secretly.
"I want you to meet my nephew, Jess Mariano." Rory looked at her mother and then looked at the little boy who was obviously enveloped in the book he was reading. "Uh...Jess?" Luke clapped his hands in front of the little boy's face, causing him to practically jump out of his seat.
"Yeah?"
"I want you to meet Lorelai and her daughter Rory. They come in here everyday, so you might as well get to know them. Rory's actually in your class." Jess smiled brightly at this beautiful girl who was before him. He shook the two girl's hands and looked down bashfully.
"It's n-nice to m-meet you." Rory giggled at his stutter and Lorelai elbowed her in the ribs.
"OW!" Yelped Rory. "What was that for!?!"
"You know what it was for!" She turned and smiled at Luke. "We must be going. Bye! Jess, it was great meeting you!" She grabbed Rory's hand and awaited her daughter to say something to Jess. But when she didn't, she elbowed her again.
"OW!!!" She glared up at her mother and then looked back at Jess and gave him a sweet smile. "It was great meeting you too, Jess!" He nodded sadly, knowing she had laughed at him. That stupid stutter! ARGH!
*****
"Now, Rory. You have to understand. He can't help his stutter, ok? It's something that takes a lot of time and effort to correct. He was born with it. So don't make fun of him ok?" Rory looked down, ashamed at herself.
"I didn't know it couldn't be helped." She shook her head sadly. "I was acting just like those snobby popular kids."
"Guess those snobby-popular girl pills are starting to kick in already, huh?"
"Yeah...I won't do it again." Rory looked down at her shoes for the rest of the way home. She decided that she would never make fun of a person that she didn't know-because you never know what their situation might be....but she would let herself make fun of Maggie Perkins-she got on Rory's nerves so bad!
THE NEXT DAY- SCHOOL
Rory and Lane walked into school the next day and heard some girls whispering in the corner of the classroom. "That kid from New York is so dorky! Did you see his glasses?" The girls giggled as another one began to speak.
"And when he passed me in the hall this morning, he bumped into me and said he was sorry and guess what! He stutters! It's so funny!" Rory heard the girls, as did Lane. Rory had already told Lane about it and they had agreed not to make fun of him. This could mean that they ceased being popular, but they decided it was best not to make fun of people. If that was the only way to get popular...then it was just stupid.
Jess sat in the corner desk in the back row, his nose buried in another book. Lane looked at her friend. "Just because we aren't making fun of him, doesn't mean that we have to hang out with him right?"
"Of course we don't! We just have to be...nice to him if he talks to us." Lane nodded in agreement.
LUNCH
"Hey, g-give me my g-glasses!" Yelled Jess as some of the guys were tossing his big glasses around.
"W-what?" Mocked one of them, named Dean. Dean was tall for his age, and very scrawny. His shaggy hair would always fall over his eyes. He was one of the popular kids.
"Give 'em b-back!" Dean dropped them on the grass and Jess picked them up and put them back on. He looked for his book that they had taken...when he found it, the pages were torn and the words were smeared because the grass had been wet. His eyes filled with tears as he ran to the back of the school to finish his lunch. Rory and Lane watched the whole thing from a distance, feeling bad for Jess.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AFTER SCHOOL
"Hey, Jess, how was your first day of school?" Luke asked as his nephew trudged through the diner. Jess didn't answer, he just walked upstairs. Luke figured he must be tired...but if he only knew how wrong he was.
Jess threw his backpack on the floor and threw his book onto his bed. Tears streamed down his face. "I h-hate S-Stars Hollow! I h-hate it!" He yelled as he threw himself on his bed and cried his little heart out. He hated that his mom couldn't afford to get him better glasses that didn't look so dorky and that his mom couldn't afford to get his speech problem corrected. He hated it.
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A/N: Hey! I hope you liked this chapter! Jess is out of character, I know, but he is little. Just wait until later chapters, you'll understand why he acts sweet now and different later. Please REVIEW!
Summary: Jess moves to Stars Hollow when he's seven years old, but he wears big glasses and has a speach problem. Most consider him a dork, but one of the popular girls, named Rory, sees a different side of him....or does she?
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"Hey Lukey, when is that nephew of yours getting into town." Asked Lorelai, taking a sip of her coffee.
"He's getting in sometime this week. He's actually around Rory's age. He likes reading too. Maybe they'll become friends or something." Luke replied while pouring Lorelai's daughter, Rory, another cup of coffee. He stared down at the seven year old brunett. "You got her hooked on caffeine the moment you got pregnant. It's all your fault!" He shook his finger at Lorelai and she feigned innocence.
"It's like it was meant to be." She stared lovingly at her daughter as Luke glared at her. "Ok! Soo NOT my fault! Who am I to play around with Destiny?" She smiled innocently. He rolled his eyes and went back to taking orders. "Who's ready for their first day of second grade??"
"OO! ME!! ME!!" Yelled Rory, jumping up and down. Rory absolutely loved school and she loved doing her homework and she ADORED reading. "Can we go yet? Can we go yet?" Lorelai nodded and they left Luke's diner for the school. Rory had been one of the more popular girls at Stars Hollow Elementary School when she was in first grade along with her best friend, Lane Kim. She had never asked to be popular, but because of her beauty and kindness, it just sort of happened.
She was actually -beautiful- for a second grader and almost every guy in their class had a crush on her....her or Maggie Perkins. Maggie was Rory's elementary school rival. Maggie hated Rory because she was so much more popular and well-liked than herself. That was one thing Rory was dreading about second grade, having to deal with her again.
"RORY!" Squealed a voice from behind Lorelai and Rory. "Rory, I'm so excited!"
"I know! Me too!!" The two girls giggled as they approached the school building.
"Well, girls. Here we are. You guys have a good day ok?" Lorelai kissed each girl on the head and headed off to work.
"Bye!" The two girls yelled. They looked at the school, then looked at each other and smiled. They couldn't wait to get this year started.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The little black-headed boy stepped off the bus and looked up from his book. This place was so much different from New York. It was smaller..and most definitely quieter. He looked around for Luke's diner, but didn't see anything. He adjusted the thick, black glasses that sat on his nose so they wouldn't fall off. He stopped a woman on the street and asked her for directions. "Ex-excuse me, ma'am c-could you tell me where L-luke's Diner is?" The little boy stuttered. He had a speach problem. He received the directions and headed to his destination. He pushed the door open and looked around for the man he had seen in the picture his mom gave to him. There he was. The little boy walked up to the counter and hopped up onto a stool. "L-luke?" The little boy questioned.
"Yeah that's me..."
"It's m-me. J-Jess." He smiled a little and set his book up on the counter.
"Hi, Jess. I wasn't expecting you till later."
"M-my mom s-sent me ear-ly." Luke hadn't known about the speach problem before this and was kind of shocked.
"Well, come on up stairs and I'll show you around a little bit, ok?" Jess hopped off the stool and walked to the stairs. Luke put a hand on the kid's back and led him up. Luke wasn't very good with kids, but this kid seemed ok. He seemed well-mannered and quiet.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"He's here." Luke stated to Lorelai as she sat drinking her coffee.
"Who? Your nephew?" Luke nodded.
"Yep. Liz sent him early. Didn't say why, just did."
"Wow...why did she send him here in the first place?" Lorelai asked, hoping the kid wasn't into trouble or anything...but he was seven years old!
"Liz is going through a hard time right now and she's trying to find a steady job and stuff like that. I don't know how long he's gonna be here. A year at the most, I'm guessing." Jimmy, Jess' father, had just walked out on them, but Luke didn't feel the need to go spreading that around without Jess' permission.
"A year? Wow..." Rory came bounding in from her first day of school.
"Mommy! Mommy! Guess what! My teacher's name is Mr. Sarkney and he's so cool! He let me read out loud to the class and everything! It was so much fun! I ran into Maggie too! She's such a snob!" At that time, Jess came down the stairs, holding a book in front of his face, almost tripping Luke.
"Sorry! S-sorry, L-luke, I'm s-sorry!" Jess apologized the best he could. "Please d-don't k-kick me ou-out!" His stuttering always got worse when he was upset. Luke looked down at the small boy.
"Jess, I'm not going to kick you out ok?" Jess nodded and went back to reading, hopping up on a stool once again. Rory leaned over to her mom and whispered:
"Luke's nephew is a dork!" Lorelai kicked her daughter's shin.
"Don't say that! That's not nice!" She growled.
"Well, he is! I mean look at his glasses! And he stutters!" Rory looked at her mom with an -I know you were thinking the same thing- face. The two were whispering, but Jess heard everything they said. He hated it when people made fun of him. The doctors said he would grow out of the whole stuttering thing, but until then, he wouldn't speak...well at least not much.
"Lorelai, Rory."
"What? What? We weren't saying anything!" Lorelai and Rory turned around and tried to pretend they hadn't been talking secretly.
"I want you to meet my nephew, Jess Mariano." Rory looked at her mother and then looked at the little boy who was obviously enveloped in the book he was reading. "Uh...Jess?" Luke clapped his hands in front of the little boy's face, causing him to practically jump out of his seat.
"Yeah?"
"I want you to meet Lorelai and her daughter Rory. They come in here everyday, so you might as well get to know them. Rory's actually in your class." Jess smiled brightly at this beautiful girl who was before him. He shook the two girl's hands and looked down bashfully.
"It's n-nice to m-meet you." Rory giggled at his stutter and Lorelai elbowed her in the ribs.
"OW!" Yelped Rory. "What was that for!?!"
"You know what it was for!" She turned and smiled at Luke. "We must be going. Bye! Jess, it was great meeting you!" She grabbed Rory's hand and awaited her daughter to say something to Jess. But when she didn't, she elbowed her again.
"OW!!!" She glared up at her mother and then looked back at Jess and gave him a sweet smile. "It was great meeting you too, Jess!" He nodded sadly, knowing she had laughed at him. That stupid stutter! ARGH!
*****
"Now, Rory. You have to understand. He can't help his stutter, ok? It's something that takes a lot of time and effort to correct. He was born with it. So don't make fun of him ok?" Rory looked down, ashamed at herself.
"I didn't know it couldn't be helped." She shook her head sadly. "I was acting just like those snobby popular kids."
"Guess those snobby-popular girl pills are starting to kick in already, huh?"
"Yeah...I won't do it again." Rory looked down at her shoes for the rest of the way home. She decided that she would never make fun of a person that she didn't know-because you never know what their situation might be....but she would let herself make fun of Maggie Perkins-she got on Rory's nerves so bad!
THE NEXT DAY- SCHOOL
Rory and Lane walked into school the next day and heard some girls whispering in the corner of the classroom. "That kid from New York is so dorky! Did you see his glasses?" The girls giggled as another one began to speak.
"And when he passed me in the hall this morning, he bumped into me and said he was sorry and guess what! He stutters! It's so funny!" Rory heard the girls, as did Lane. Rory had already told Lane about it and they had agreed not to make fun of him. This could mean that they ceased being popular, but they decided it was best not to make fun of people. If that was the only way to get popular...then it was just stupid.
Jess sat in the corner desk in the back row, his nose buried in another book. Lane looked at her friend. "Just because we aren't making fun of him, doesn't mean that we have to hang out with him right?"
"Of course we don't! We just have to be...nice to him if he talks to us." Lane nodded in agreement.
LUNCH
"Hey, g-give me my g-glasses!" Yelled Jess as some of the guys were tossing his big glasses around.
"W-what?" Mocked one of them, named Dean. Dean was tall for his age, and very scrawny. His shaggy hair would always fall over his eyes. He was one of the popular kids.
"Give 'em b-back!" Dean dropped them on the grass and Jess picked them up and put them back on. He looked for his book that they had taken...when he found it, the pages were torn and the words were smeared because the grass had been wet. His eyes filled with tears as he ran to the back of the school to finish his lunch. Rory and Lane watched the whole thing from a distance, feeling bad for Jess.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AFTER SCHOOL
"Hey, Jess, how was your first day of school?" Luke asked as his nephew trudged through the diner. Jess didn't answer, he just walked upstairs. Luke figured he must be tired...but if he only knew how wrong he was.
Jess threw his backpack on the floor and threw his book onto his bed. Tears streamed down his face. "I h-hate S-Stars Hollow! I h-hate it!" He yelled as he threw himself on his bed and cried his little heart out. He hated that his mom couldn't afford to get him better glasses that didn't look so dorky and that his mom couldn't afford to get his speech problem corrected. He hated it.
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A/N: Hey! I hope you liked this chapter! Jess is out of character, I know, but he is little. Just wait until later chapters, you'll understand why he acts sweet now and different later. Please REVIEW!