I'd Rather Be There

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own it!

Pairing: This will be a lit eventually

Rating: PG – 13

Summary: This is the sequel to I'd Rather Be Anywhere But  Here.  Jess was in California. Rory was at Yale.  Jess came back to Stars Hollow leaving Rory with a heavy burden to carry.  If you don't know what I'm talking about then go and read the above mentioned fic.

A/N: I am sad to say that this is the end.  I hope you like it. It came to me this morning while I was sitting in bed. I had lots of fun writing this and I love you all who have reviewed! :D  And here it is….

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Jess looked towards the stairs before turning to look at Sammy.  "I'm sorry…I didn't know…" He looked back towards the stairs.

She looked at him and smiled.  "Go after her.  It's okay, go!"

Jess looked back at her before sprinting to the stairs.  Why is she here….what have I done now?

He got to the bottom of the stairs quickly and looked around for her as the door shut behind him.

He spotted her on a bench with her knees to her chest and her face buried in her hands.  Don't be crying…

He walked over to her slowly and hesitated before deciding to sit down next to her.

The sat there in silence for what seemed like ages, her crying softly and him staring intently at his hands.

"Rory-" He said quietly, breaking the silence, but not looking up.

She inched her way towards the edge of the bench.  "Go away!" She yelled, "Go find your girlfriend."

Jess looked up and watched her from the corner of his eye.  "She's not my girlfriend….I just met her yesterday and we were going to go out to lunch," Jess explained.

Rory sniffed and lifted her head up using both hands to wipe her eyes.  "Oh…"

"But I don't see how that's any different from your boyfriend."

"I broke up with him," She whispered.

"Oh…"  Jess cleared his throat.  "So…what are you doing here?" He asked.

Rory shifted on the bench.  Is it too late?  Should I still tell him?  "I came to talk to you."

He turned and faced her, beckoning her to look at him.  "So talk," He urged.

"No," She said stubbornly.  "You don't want to talk to me."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  "Rory, come on…"

A light wind started up and Rory shivered.  She glanced at him quickly and then looked away.  I….can't do it.  But this is why I came.  She remembered her mother's words, 'It's something you have to do….get it off your chest.'  I have to do it…

"Rory, just talk to me please…what did you come to say?" He asked, starting to become hopeful.

Rory exhaled deeply.  "I…I still have feelings for you, okay!  But it was stupid to come….it doesn't matter anymore," She said and then stood up, quickly walking away from the bench.

He raised both of his eyebrows in surprise, and his heart started to race as he got up from the bench and followed her.  "Rory…really?" He asked.

"Yes, really!" She yelled and quickened her pace.

He grabbed her hand and spun her around towards him.  "You still have feelings for me?" He asked again.

A look of annoyance spread across her face.  "Yes, god dammit, how many times do I need to say it?!" She shouted.

He smirked.

Rory frowned as she looked at him for the first time.  "Why are you smiling?!" She yelled.

"You still have feelings for me…"

Rory tried to pull her hand away from him but had no luck, so she turned around and stood there trying to walk, looking quite stupid.  "Will you just let me go? It doesn't matter, okay?" Rory requested.

He grabbed a hold of her other hand and turned her around to him, and then quickly let go and placed a hand on each of her shoulders.  "Rory…look at me…"

His touch sent chills down her spine and her eyes darted across his forehead.  "I am looking at you."

"Look at my eyes."

"I can't," She said to him.

"Yes, you can."

"Just let me go," She pleaded.

"Do you really want to go?" He questioned.

She shut her eyes for a second before reopening them.

Their eyes met and locked.

He leaned down slowly and gently placed his lips over hers, kissing her passionately, making up for his long absence.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, too caught up in the moment to realize what she was doing.

The realization finally hit her and she quickly pulled away from him and stepped back.  Her face was flushed and her cheeks were damp from the fresh tears that started to fall.

He looked at her confused.  "Rory…what's wrong?"

She wiped a tear off her face furiously.

He stepped forward, taking her hand in his and using the other to catch a tear.

"Don't cry," He whispered.

She looked at him sadly.  "I don't want to get hurt again…" She said, explaining her reason for pulling back.

He looked down.  "I know."

"So what do we do?"

He looked back up.  "Well…Yale is only about 30 minutes from here…if you drive fast…so I can visit you, and you can visit me on weekends maybe."

She nodded slowly.  "I want this to work."

She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"We'll make it work," He promised.

And there they stood, in the middle of the park, completely unaware of everything but themselves, clinging to each other tightly, afraid that if they let go that they'd lose again, and they each vowed silently that they would try everything to make it work.

She leaned up, inhaling his scent, and kissed him on the cheek.  "I've missed you," She told him.

He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.  "Me too…"

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

THE END

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

A/N: Review! :D  That's the end.  Was it in character?  A good ending?  Should I write more fics?