Title: The Empty Space
Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls, the characters, or the WB. And if I did would I be here writing fan fiction? ;)
Dedication: To the lovely reviewers at Stars-hollow.org who were so kind, helpful and sweet. Especially Lorena, Arianna, Jenz, Shannon, Kelly and stargazer. *hugs* I hope to see you around here for the revised version. :)
A/N: I couldn't help myself. ;) Finished this chapter fairly quickly, and, I think, it's the longest chapter yet. This is the revised version of a finished fic that is up at Stars-Hollow.org ~ Stephanie
Please R&R.
Chapter Seven: The Return of the Hoodlum
It had taken him a full week to arrive in Stars Hollow. A week of seven long days. He would occasionally take breaks and park his car anywhere he could, and he would sleep for four hours at the very most. He ate fast food on the hood of his car, watching as cars passed him by. He forced books into his hands to read and turned the volume up loud on his stereo; it was all an attempt to drown himself.
But nothing could drown his fear. His anticipation. His nerves. He hated feeling the way he did. He thinks himself as an idiot. He knows it. It took him so damn long to return, and it was only because of some dream that shook him to the ground. He hates that the feeling was always there but he never made a move. Memories that appeared out of nowhere were the cause to drive him out here. He hates himself for ever thinking that he could last forever in Venice Beach. In the beginning, he had forced that on to him too. And then it just became a regular routine. His dream broke that routine.
Now he is sitting in his car in front of the Welcome to Stars Hollow sign, and he can't move.
A honk fills his ears.
It hangs there for awhile before it disappears.
He honks again.
He begins to drive, very slowly. Gradually, the town comes into view. His breath sharpens.
The man in the car behind him rolls his eyes. "What took you so long?!"
-
The soft morning breeze made its way into his car, filling it with a fresh scent. He drove past the gazebo and the ever-familiar shops; nothing had changed. It was the same little fairytale town.
He parks his car around the diner, seeing the breakfast crowd swarm the diner already. In his head he imagines Luke pulling back the curtain, yelling for him to get his ass downstairs. He would scowl as he pushed the curtain behind him and make some smart ass comment before grabbing an order pad and start working.
He shakes his head at his reminiscing.
He turns off the engine with a sigh and takes a book by the passenger seat into his hands. He opens the door and places his first foot in Stars Hollow in seven years.
He shuts the door and a sign reading: Stars Hollow's 8th Annual Summer Festival: One more week 'till the fun begins! meets his eye. He rolls his eyes before he opens the trunk, and swings his duffel bag onto his shoulder. He takes a look at the town with a tight grip around his bag, taking a good picture of what he had left behind. With one final deep breath, he makes his way to the front of the diner.
He opens the door, and steps in, the diner bell has jingled merrily. For him, it was his unfortunate doom. Luke looked up from his work at the counter and paused for a minute. "You're here."
With the two simple words, every person in the diner whipped their heads around to look at him. The loud, cheery chatter died down in record time. With one quick glance, he recognized a third of the people in the diner. Just his luck.
He stood uncomfortably before them, trying to shift his eyes away from their shocked expressions and disgusted glares. He felt as if he were seventeen again. He walks towards Luke and greets him with a half smile. "Hey," he says, feeling the eyes of the diner watch his every move.
"Hey. You need help with that?" he asks, gesturing to the duffel bag.
"No, I'm alright," he responds. "I'm going to get settled upstairs…"
"Oh, yeah, go right ahead."
He nods and pushes back the same curtain and walks up the stairs.
Luke faces his diner again, whispering loudly. He rolls his yes and pushes up the sleeves of his shirt as Miss Patty quickly approaches him. "Luke, dear, what is Jess doing here?"
"Would it kill you to mind your own business?" With that, he yelled for Caesar to take charge, and headed upstairs.
Once he was clear out of the way, she walked over to his phone and dialed the first of the many numbers she knew in town. "Hello? It's Patty. Boy do I have news for you…"
-
Luke stood in the middle of his apartment, watching as his twenty-five year old nephew unpacked his belongings. "So, you missed that downstairs?"
A small laugh came from his mouth. "Oh, yeah. Town's charming as ever."
Luke nods knowingly. "You need any help?" he asks, already knowing his answer.
Jess shook his head, "I'm fine."
Luke sighed and walked over to the edge of Jess' bed. He sat there, surrounded by books and articles of clothing. "Look, Jess, I just have to know… what are you doing here?"
Jess sighed and mumbled something right away. If he was going to be pathetic, he might as well go all the way. He wasn't going to deny it.
"What?"
"Rory," he replies, clearly and loudly.
A sigh in disapproval is his uncle's response. "Jess…"
"You don't have to say it, Luke, I already know. I screwed up, I'm a jerk, and I'm out of my mind. But this is something I have to do, okay?" He replies, snapping like a twig. He sits down next to Luke with a sigh.
After a long silence, Luke responds: "What about Kate?"
He looks at his uncle, in disbelief. What about his lecture? It takes him a moment to respond. "It's over."
He nods, "Is that because…" Before he can finish and make the guilt return, Jess responds with a simple yes.
"I trust you enough that you know what you're doing. Don't be stupid, okay Jess?"
"No stalking, got it," his voice filled with sarcasm.
Luke rolled his eyes and chose to ignore his comment. "Lay low for awhile. The town's having a field day."
"Don't I feel special."
"I mean it, Jess. If Lorelai--"
"If Lorelai saw me she kill me with her bare hands. You don't think I know?"
He sighs. "Just give me time to explain it all to her, okay? She needs to get that you have changed."
He simply nods, not knowing how to respond. He wonders what changes Luke would explain to her. Jess had apologized after a couple of months after he had left, and after they would keep in touch regularly. Sure, he had a job and a nice home, but what did that mean?
"Just so you know," he can't believe he's doing this, "she's single."
"Oh," is all he says, as if it wasn't valuable information.
The small apartment fell into an uncomfortable silence. Luke crossed his arms in front of his chest uncomfortably and stared of what was ahead of him. Jess tapped his fingers against his knees and stared at the ground. It seemed like this routine was lasting for hours, yet it abruptly ended after several minutes, by the sound of Taylor Doose's angry voice.
"LUKE!"
"Geez. What now?" he mumbled as he made his way down the stairs. After a minute of debating, Jess followed.
Luke stood behind the counter, standing in front of a very irritated Taylor. "What is it this time Taylor?"
"Why in the world would you let him come back here?"
"Jesus," he sighs in exasperation. "He isn't seventeen anymore, Taylor. I highly doubt any chalk outlines of dead bodies will show up in front of your market."
"Oh, that doesn't matter! Once a hoodlum, always a hoodlum!" Jess smirked as he heard this from behind the curtain, clearly enjoying the show.
"Just stay out of this, Taylor."
"I will not. I will not just stand by as he parades around wrecking the town."
The diner bell jingled. "Who's going to wreck the town?" a voice asked.
Luke looked passed Taylor: Lorelai. She walked to the counter, tapping her fingers lightly on the counter, facing Taylor. "Who's going to wreck the town, Taylor?"
"That horrible hoodlum Jess."
A horrible, angry What?! slipped out of her mouth, turning her flaming eyes at Luke.
The pit of his stomach dropped.
Just as he was about to respond, Jess made his entrance in front of them. The diner, once again, fell dead silent.