I'd Rather Be There
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: How many times must I explain this to you? I didn't own it last time and…..well….things haven't changed. (LOL)
Pairing: Read it and find out! :D
Rating: PG-13…….can't have a fic without cussing. :P
Summary: This is the sequel to 'I'd Rather Be Anywhere But Here.' So…Jess was in California. Rory was at Yale. Jess came to Stars Hollow and then left again, leaving Rory in the dust with a heavy burden to carry. If ya don't know what know what I'm talking about then go read the above mentioned fic!
A/N: I love my readers and reviewers! This takes off after Jess has left. So without further adieu….. Hope you like it……Hopefully it's as good as the first one……and don't forget to review. If this sucks hard and it's not reaching the quality that it should….then please review and tell me! 'Cause only the readers can give an honest opinion. :D PS- I'm a little hyper today because I got my braces off!!! Chewy food here I come!
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Jess had been gone for hours yet Rory still remained outside sitting on the cement curb. Although she was freezing, she couldn't seem to get up. She had finally stopped crying…but not because she wasn't sad anymore, it was because she didn't have the strength.
She sat there thinking sadly about how happy she would have been if he had told her this 6 months ago when they were still together. Oh Jess, why did you have to come back and do this? She sighed deeply and rubbed her eyes. I don't know what to do.
Rory started to try and fix her hair. She patted it down and tucked the loose strands behind her ears. I have to go home. Mom is probably freaking out. I've got to straighten up. She can't ever find out about this. She grabbed a hold of the curb and steadied herself as she stood up. She placed an unstable foot on the grass, took a step forward and the next thing she knew, she was flying through the air. She landed face first on the ground.
Rory clutched the grass as she got into a sitting position and looked at her legs. Her tights were grass-stained and large holes were now at the knees. "Oh no," She said mournfully, "These were my good tights."
She crawled across the grass in search of a pole that could help her get up. It was very dark and she could hardly see. This town needs more street lights. She finally found one and managed to stand. She held onto it for awhile before trying to walk again. This time she didn't fall and she started to walk slowly to her house.
Rory arrived in front of the house to see that all of the inside lights were on. She climbed the stairs weakly and opened the door.
"Mom," She called faintly.
"Rory? Rory! Where are you?" Lorelai yelled.
"In here," She answered.
Lorelai rushed into the living room and her eyes widened as she looked her daughter up and down. "What happened? You're bleeding!"
Rory looked down to see dark red circles forming at her knees. "Oh," She said timidly. I didn't even know. I couldn't feel it. It was as though something broke when she saw the blood. "I'm bleeding!" She wailed. Tears started to fall quickly and Lorelai rushed forward to hug her. Rory collapsed gratefully into her mother's arms and continued to cry into her shoulder.
Lorelai guided her to the couch and they sat down. She rubbed her back and tried to comfort her, but she was confused about a lot of things. She waited for Rory to calm down before asking, "Babe, what happened to you?"
Rory dried her eyes with her sleeve. "I was walking and then I tripped and fell," Rory babbled as she sniffled and tried to catch her breath. "I didn't know that I was bleeding," She finished sadly.
Lorelai frowned. "Hun, its 11:30. Why were you out so late?"
Rory ignored the question and started to tug at her tights. Lorelai helped her slip them off and walked her to the bathroom. She dug around in the drawers, looking for a first-aid kit. Her search was unsuccessful. "Babe, I'll be right back. I'm gonna go call Luke." Rory nodded.
Lorelai ran into the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and dialed Luke's number. It rang and rang before he finally answered, "What?"
"Luke! Do you have a first-aid kit?" Lorelai asked anxiously.
"Lorelai?!" Luke asked, concerned.
"Do you have a first-aid kit?" She repeated.
"What happened?" Luke asked as he hopped out of bed.
"Rory…and her knees…..and the blood…" Lorelai babbled.
"I'll be right over!" Luke got dressed and grabbed his kit. He raced over to Lorelai's house and came in through the back door.
"Lorelai?!"
"In here!" She yelled from the bathroom.
Luke walked into the bathroom and frowned when he saw Rory. "What happened?" He asked worriedly.
Lorelai stood up and whispered in his ear, "I'm not sure, I can't understand her, I'm going to drop it now and try to find out more tomorrow."
Luke nodded understandingly. He opened the kit and pulled out some rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab. He started to wipe it onto a knee. She winced and yelled, "Ow!" That's the first time that I've actually felt any pain. He put some Neosporin on it and gently placed a butterfly band-aid on the top. He did the same to the other knee too.
"Thanks," She told him faintly.
"Sure…does it hurt much?"
"It's okay," Rory answered.
Luke and Lorelai left the bathroom and walked into the kitchen.
"Does it look okay? You think that it'll get infected?" Lorelai asked worriedly as she leaned against the counter.
Luke shook his head. "I don't think so. It's not so much deep as it is wide. There shouldn't be any problems."
Lorelai smiled sincerely. "Thanks Luke. I don't know what we'd do without you."
Luke blushed slightly and grabbed his kit. "So, you don't have any idea what happened?"
"Nope. She came home and I said something about how she was bleeding and she just started bawling," Lorelai answered.
Luke frowned. I wonder….I swear…If he was the cause of this… "Hmm. Maybe you'll find out more tomorrow." Luke walked towards the door.
"Yeah. Thanks again!"
"No problem," He said as he grabbed the door handle.
"See you tomorrow."
"I hope she feels better," He said as he closed the door and started to walk back towards the diner. This had better not be his fault. I swear….I'll kill him. I think I'll give him a call tomorrow…..Make sure he made it home…See what he did to her. He had to have done something. When does he not cause trouble? It's his favorite pass-time.
When he got back to the apartment, he walked over to Jess' old room. It was only the second time that he had been in it in six months. Everything was just how Jess had left it…bed unmade, glasses on the nightstand, there were even some books lying around. I guess he forgot about these. He walked over to a book and picked it up. What a piece of crap. It was a paperback whose cover was all raggedy and the edges were frayed. It was bent in half as though it had been shoved in a pocket.
He skimmed through the book and frowned when he saw writing in it. What a piece of crap! Who would want this? Maybe that's why he left it…or maybe he got this when he couldn't afford real books. He looked at the other books and found that they were all just like the first. I should throw them away….he's certainly not using them.
Luke tossed them into a box and started to carry them to the door, but he suddenly stopped. Rory might like them…since she likes to read and all. He set the box down on the table and headed back to bed. I'll have to remember that tomorrow.
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Jess yawned as he pulled off of the road. He had been driving for a few hours and he was exhausted, so he decided to pull off the road and take a little nap. He turned off the car and started to search underneath his seat for a book. He raised an eyebrow when he not only found the book, but the purple blanket too. Now I know that was Luke.
He lay back in his seat and unfolded the blanket. It reminded him of Rory. Oh god….what did I do?! I ruined everything…even the slight chance of being friends with her…although I don't know if I could handle that.
He closed his eyes. I wonder if I should call Jimmy….no. I'm sure he could care less. Jess had decided earlier that he was going to crash in New York for awhile. He still had over a week of vacation….and he actually didn't know how to get back to California. He would go over to Liz's for a day or so just to say hi….maybe grab some CD's and books that he had left there. Thinking of books, once again brought him back to Rory. Why did I say that? Really, when will I ever learn to keep my thoughts in my head? I only seem to have that problem when I'm around her…
Jess sighed as he grabbed her picture out of his book. god I miss her….being able to talk with her. Seeing her squirm around me….Jess broke off his thoughts and shut his eyes quickly. His next thought was a painful one…seeing her cry around me….because of me, and my yelling. He was thinking about the night of the party. His eyes widened. I completely forgot about that! My original reason for going to Stars Hollow was to tell her why I left in the first place. And that didn't happen….Instead I ran away again. I think I deserve some kind of award for that….huh…..maybe I should consider track. He smirked slightly at the thought of him running circles around grass in gym clothes. Scratch that.
He looked at her picture sadly. He was having major regrets about telling her….yet it was good to get it out. I wonder if it could have been different if maybe, I would have told her why I left and that I was sorry, instead of 'I love you.' I LOVE YOU?!?! She's not even my girlfriend anymore. I totally blew my chance at a friendship. I am such a moron.
But…I also wonder what she would have done if I wouldn't have ran a few hours ago. Maybe she would have yelled at me… 'I hate you,' or 'Don't talk to me,' 'Leave me alone,' 'Go away, get out of my town and don't come back' or……Jess swallowed hardly…..Maybe she would have returned the feelings….no. I might as well forget that….that definitely would not have happened.
He moved his fingers slowly across the picture. I screwed up the one thing that I had…well, if I ever even had that. He took a breath and closed his eyes again. He eventually fell asleep, holding her picture in one hand and the blanket in the other.
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A/N: What do you think? Is this a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad sequel? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Okay, I'll stop whining….but only if you review….a lot….and tell me….if I should stop (that was a lovely rhyme, don't you think ;) Anyways, please review and tell me if I should continue…or I could always stop…it's you choice :D