I'd Rather Be There
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: It's all mine! *evil laugh* NOT!!! I'm just kidding…unfortunately. I own nothing besides my pen…and my notebook…oh and my laptop too. But that was gift…..anyways… back to the subject I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with Amy Sherman-Palladino…or the tv show…or moneyL...yeah…. So. Don't. Sue. Me. :D
Pairing: Duh….I'm not gonna tell…but I'm sure you've figured it out by now…it's R/B! LOL! J/K. Brian is going to go far far away….in his own time….which may or may not be anytime soon…If you don't know who Brian is then go and read my first fic, I'd Rather Be Anywhere But Here. Thanks :D
Rating: PG-13. Cussing, fighting, sex…….Just kidding! Only cussing!!!!!!! None of the other. :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 got this one up fast didn't I? I did it just for you! And it's a long chapter too! :D Love the reviews…I'll try to get another chapter up this week. Keep reviewing! :D
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Rory came into the diner and sat down at the counter. She cringed when her knees bent. She could feel pain today and she thought that it was really weird that she couldn't feel it yesterday.
"Hey, how you feeling?" Luke asked as he popped in front of her with a cup of coffee in hand.
She accepted it thankfully. "I'm okay I guess. My knees kinda hurt."
Luke nodded. "Where's your mom?" He asked curiously.
"She's got to work today….she left me a note. She's supposed to be home by 4:00."
"Oh," Luke said as he wiped the counter off.
"Could I have a sprinkled donut please?"
Luke gave her the donut and went off to help another customer. He came back by a few minutes later as she was getting ready to leave.
"Hey Rory, I found some old books upstairs…I thought you might be interested in them, maybe…I was gonna toss them, but go ahead and take a look. If you see anything you want, then it's yours."
Rory nodded. Old books. Good. I need something to read. "Thanks," She said as she grabbed her purse and headed up the stairs.
As she approached the door, a wave of memories hit her. Stop, stop, stop, stop, STOP! She walked into the apartment and saw a box sitting on the table. She looked inside and inhaled sharply when she saw its contents. "Old books!" She exclaimed quietly. These are not just any old books! These belong to Jess. She could tell by there outward appearance alone, but she opened one anyways to double check. She smiled sadly as she viewed his scratchy writing that filled up the margins.
Rory sighed. What am I gonna do about this? Maybe…..it wasn't true……maybe it was a lie. She frowned. If he was lying….then he should be an actor because that was a very sincere look on his face. But…but…but…he left me. I can't do anything about it now. He's back in California by now and I'm here…all of the United States is between us…and I'll probably never see him again. So I've got to give it up….give it all up and cherish the memories.
She slowly picked up the box and carried it down the stairs. I can't let Luke throw these away. She looked around and walked over to Luke. He saw that she was carrying the box and he raised an eyebrow.
"I would like to take them if you don't mind," Rory said as she approached him.
"You gonna toss 'em?"
"No," Rory said smirking, "I'm gonna read them."
Luke looked at her curiously. "Aren't they ruined?"
She shook her head.
Luke frowned, "But they're all ripped and torn and graffitied….did you notice that?"
"They must be good books then," Rory said as she flipped through one.
"Hmm….well yeah. Do what you want."
"Thanks," She told him before leaving the diner and heading towards her house. She was almost there when she turned abruptly and walked to the bridge.
Rory sat down in the middle of the bridge and set the box next to her. Her feet dangled over the side and she stared deeply in to the dark blue water. She allowed the memories to come this time. I remember the first time that we came here together. It was for the bid-a-basket thing…and he outbidded Dean. I guess that was the day that I really go to know him. I thought then, that he had outbidded Dean just to piss him off, but I guess I subconsciously knew the real reason….that he liked me…but I denied it.
She started to pull at her sleeve. And maybe, on that day, I started to have feelings for him too. Rory's stomach began to ache as she realized that it was true. She frowned miserably. I'm a horrible person. How could I have feelings for someone else when I had a boyfriend?! I didn't even object to the picnic with Jess! I let my boyfriend walk away and I ate with another guy!
Her mind wandered back to that day. Rory smiled as she remembered how she had tricked him into eating that gunk, and how when she had asked him why he was only nice to her he pretended to be confused and avoided the question by changing the subject. We had so much fun that day.
Rory's thoughts jumped suddenly to Sookie's wedding. The kiss. That kiss was definitely the most spontaneous thing that she had ever done. With ditching school coming in at a close second. She could remember every detail of it, as if it had happened yesterday…She had glanced over and there he was, standing by a tree. She had walked over to him and asked him why he was there. He said just because…and at that moment, when those words had escaped from his mouth, she had the thought that maybe, just maybe, he was back for her…and that was exhilarating.
Something had come over her that day. She couldn't control herself…or her thoughts. It was as though someone had jumped into her body…..someone who was brave and daring, which was, in her opinion, very unlike her.
She smiled sadly at her reflection as she remembered how good his lips had felt on hers…not just the first time, but every time. Rory wrinkled her face in disgust as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. I have cried more in the past 24 hours then I have in my entire life! And over what? Three little words and a boy.
Rory looked into the box and searched for a familiar title. She came across a book finally, but it was a book that she hated. The book was 'A Farewell to Arms' by Earnest Hemingway. Rory opened the book and lay onto her back. She did not read the book itself….but instead she read the notes, his notes, that filled up the margins of every page. She could not stand the book, but that didn't matter. She missed talking to him…and this was the closest thing that she had. She found it comforting to have a part of him with her.
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Later that afternoon, Luke grabbed the phone and started to search for Jess's number. He found it and dialed.
"Hello?" A man answered.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Jimmy," He acknowledged.
Jimmy recognized the voice and groaned. "What do you want Luke?"
"Let me talk to him."
"Talk to who?" Jimmy asked frowning.
"Jess," Luke said annoyed.
"He ain't here."
Luke frowned. "Well, where is he?"
"Hell if I know," He answered rudely.
"He's gotta be," Luke said as he started to count on his fingers, "He left over 16 hours ago."
"I think I would know if my son was here," Jimmy said into the phone.
"Oh, so suddenly he's your son? You show up 18 years later after never having any interest in him and now he's your son?" Luke asked loudly.
Jimmy's face fumed. "Shut the hell up Luke!"
Luke didn't want to start a fight, he didn't have time, he needed to find Jess. "Call me if he shows up," He said before hanging up. Where the hell is he? What if he got into a car accident? What if something happened to him?
Luke started to wipe the counter nervously. Where could he be? He decided that he'd wait an hour and if he didn't show up then he'd call the police and see if any accidents had been reported.
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Jess slowly walked up the stairs to Liz's apartment. He had spent all morning checking out old book and CD stores, but now he was ready to see Liz.
Jess raised his hand and knocked twice.
"I'm coming!" She yelled. The door swung open shortly and Liz's eyes widened in surprise. "Jess!" She exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He stood there stiffly and cleared his throat to hint that he was done with the whole hugging thing. She let go of him and stepped back to examine him. "You look great."
"Can I come in?"
"Oh, yeah, sure," Liz said as he walked past her. She shut the door and followed him. "So, what are ya doing here?"
"Uh, I just, was uh, leaving Stars Hollow, and thought that I'd come by before heading back to California," He answered.
She nodded. "So how have you been?"
"Fine. You?"
"Good," She answered. "Are you hungry?"
"No."
"Okay…" She looked at her watch and started to say something when she was interrupted by the ringing of the phone.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Liz, is Jess here?"
Liz frowned. "Yeah Luke, he's here."
Luke sighed with relief but quickly exchanged his joy for anger. "Let me talk to him."
"Hang on," She held the phone out to Jess. "It's for you."
Jess frowned and grabbed the phone. "What?"
"Don't you ever do that again!" Luke shouted into the phone.
"Do what?" Jess asked.
"Leave town and not go where you were supposed to!"
"And where would that be?" Jess asked.
"Cut the crap, you were supposed to go back to California and you didn't. I thought that something had happened to you!"
Jess smirked. "Aw…you were worried about me."
"I just wanted make sure that you got home safely."
"Huh," Jess said nodding.
"So what did you do?" Luke asked into the phone.
"I drove to New York…obviously."
"No…what did you do to Rory?" Luke corrected.
Jess raised an eyebrow in confusion. His throat became tight and he took a deep breath. "Rory?" Jess asked softly.
"Yes, what did you do to Rory?" Luke repeated.
Jess was stunned. Surely she didn't tell him….maybe she told her mother. He cleared his throat. "I..I..didn't do anything."
"Hmm…for some reason I don't believe you."
"I didn't do anything to Rory," Jess insisted.
"Okay, then what did you say to Rory?"
Jess groaned. "Not much."
"So you did talk to her."
Jess sighed, "For about two seconds."
"Why?" Luke persisted.
"Because she was pissed off." Really pissed off. And she had good reason to be.
"So you didn't break her heart?" Luke asked roughly.
A lump formed in his throat. I…didn't break her heart…did I? He noticed that he was breathing heavily and concentrated on fixing it.
"Jess?" Luke asked loudly, making his nephew jump.
"No. I didn't break her heart," Jess finally responded. There's no way that I could have…
"Well…." Luke didn't quite believe him because he wasn't sure what else could have happened to her, but he could hear the honesty in his voice, and decided to drop it. "Do you know when you're going home?"
"No," Jess answered, glad for the change of subject.
"Will you call me before you leave?"
"Yeah, whatever," He replied.
"All right, bye."
"Bye." Jess turned off the phone and threw it onto the couch. He stared off into space and considered the question.
Liz watched him and was about to ask him what was wrong, but decided that he probably wouldn't tell her anyway.
After a few minutes he pulled his book out and began to read.
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Rory was sitting on the couch channel surfing. There was nothing on and she was bored out of her mind. She had came in from the bridge a few hours ago, and she had finished two of the books. She wanted to read them all but she was too tired to read and to restless to sleep.
The books were sitting on the couch next to Rory. She was afraid that they would get lost, or thrown away, or even, that they would disappear altogether….that she would wake up and they would be a dream…that the whole morning would be a dream…so she kept them right there with her.
The vibration of her purse interrupted her thoughts. She glared at it, before reaching over, opening her purse and grabbing her cell phone.
The word 'Brian' flashed across the screen. She groaned and threw her phone back into her purse. I don't want to talk to him. What am I going to do about him? He is very nice. He likes books, we have a good time together…but he's not…Jess. Only Jess is Jess. She frowned. I am brilliant. Only a genius could possibly know that Jess is Jess.
Her phone vibrated again and she looked at the screen. Brian again. He's awfully persistent. She waited for the phone to stop, before checking her messages.
"Hi Rory, this is Brian. Uh, I was just calling to see what's up. I haven't heard from you in a few days. Give me a call. Bye."
"Hi Rory, this is Brian again. If you aren't busy, I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner tonight. I'll try your dorm again…Are you mad at me? Did I do something? Give me a call."
Rory sighed. I better call him…I don't want him to think that he did anything wrong…because he didn't.
She picked up the phone and dialed slowly. He answered after the first ring. "Hello?"
"Hi Brian, this is Rory."
"Rory. Hi, how are you?" He asked curiously.
She looked down at her knees before responding, "Okay. How about you?"
"I'm good. So you got my messages?"
"Yeah," Rory nodded. "I just got the ones on my cell."
"I called your dorm a few times but no one ever answered."
"Yeah, I'm visiting home. I think every one else probably is too." Rory explained.
"Stars Willow was it?"
Rory smirked. "Stars Hollow," She corrected.
"Oh, so could you go out to dinner tonight?"
"Uh…" Rory stalled. "I've got other arrangements."
"Oh," Brian said disappointedly.
"But I could make it tomorrow," Rory said quickly. She didn't want to hurt his feelings.
"In Stars Hollow?" Brian asked.
Rory coughed. "Oh, um, I could drive back to Yale…it's not that far."
"Oh, no," Brian said, "I'll drive there."
Oh great. That way he can meet my mom. Rory frowned. "We could meet halfway," Rory suggested.
Brian laughed. "No, no. I'll drive to Stars Hollow…I can get directions off the internet."
"But…but, you might not be able to find my house." Rory knew that her statement was ridiculous but she really didn't want her mom to meet him and like him like she probably would.
"Is it a big town?"
Rory grinned. "It's pretty big."
"Well…" Brian paused. "If you give me your address then it will give me directions on the internet. It's very high-tech these days."
She gave him her address half-heartedly and they set the date. He was going to pick her up at 6:30 the next day.
"Okay, well, see you tomorrow," Rory said trying to sound cheerful.
"Can't wait," He said happily.
Rory sighed as she hung up the phone. She looked at the box of books. "Jess…what have I got myself into?" She whispered to the box.
She wanted to call him. She really wanted to call him. But she resisted the verge and resumed her channel surfing.
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A few hours later, Rory and Lorelai were eating pizza on the couch. Lorelai was trying to bring up the subject of last night, but she couldn't find a way to bring it up casually. So they were eating in awkward silence. Lorelai looked around the room to find something to talk about. Her eyes landed on the box that was sitting next to the couch.
"What is that?" Lorelai asked between bites.
Rory followed her mothers gaze and squirmed uncomfortably when she saw that Lorelai was looking at the books. She hadn't thought about how she would explain them. "Uh…looks like a box," Rory answered.
Lorelai nodded. "Is it your box?"
"Yes," Rory said simply.
"And what is inside of it?"
Rory shifted in her seat. "Books…"
"Where did you get them?" Lorelai persisted.
"Luke," Rory answered honestly.
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Luke doesn't read."
Rory cleared her throat. "Well, uh…they're actually Jess's books," Rory admitted.
"Oh," Lorelai said, obviously confused. "So, we're going to keep them in the living room?"
Rory shrugged.
Lorelai sighed. "Rory, what happened last night?" Lorelai finally blurted out.
Rory looked up with wide eyes. "Wha-what do you mean?"
"Hmm," Lorelai pretended to think, "Where should I start? Why were you late? How did you trip and what did Jess do?"
"I already told you. I was walking in the grass and I tripped. And I was out late sitting on the curb thinking…I lost track of time." Rory explained.
"And what about Jess?" Lorelai asked through clenched teeth.
"What about him?"
"What did he say to you?" Lorelai said annoyed.
"Nothing."
"He said nothing?" Lorelai asked unbelievingly.
"Well he said some stuff…..stupid stuff," Rory told her mother.
"Like what?"
"I don't know," Rory lied, "I can't remember…I think he asked me about my running…I only talked to him for a few minutes."
Lorelai squinted at her. "Are you sure?"
Rory took a deep breath. "Yes."
Lorelai looked at her again. "Okay," She said taking another bite of her pizza. She knew that Rory wasn't good at lying and that she was bound to crack sometime. And it would probably be soon.
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A/N: Am I in character? Is it good so far? What do you think? Please review. :D