A/N:  Once again, thanks for the feedback!  Kat, it's great to hear from you!  Mai, thanks for being a lovely art goddess, and Arianna, thanks for being so sweet and helpful.  Marissa and Lia, you girls are wonderful.

Chapter Six

Every step she took was one step closer to the diner, yet no sense of foreboding overcame her.  There was no fear of unbearable tension or stumbling conversation.  Instead, Rory felt light — happy, even — with the knowledge that if she were to step in there right now, she would be served a delicious meal with a side of healthy conversation.  Jess's words wouldn't contain underlying meanings trying to make her uncomfortable to the point of confessing something she was too scared to.  When she spoke, she'd think of the present, pushing the past to the back of her mind.  While she had no idea what all of this meant long-term, she understood that, for now, some kind of understanding had been reached.  They had come to a stalemate in which no one would ever win.  She was happy with this.  They both seemed to be.

The Saturday and Sunday after Halloween had been more than she had hoped for.  She had so desperately wanted normalcy around him, and she finally had it.  He had taken her order, asked her about classes, and when she had needed a coffee refill, he had done it himself instead of refusing to approach her a second time.  When she had stopped by for a quick dinner before her ride back to Yale, he had voluntarily sat with her while she waited for her meal to be made.

A biting fear that all of these developments were temporary plagued her mind, however.  There was nowhere to go but up, but how long would it last?  The anger she felt toward him had receded greatly, but was it gone, or simply hiding?  Maybe it was only a matter of time before something reminded her of how much he hurt her, and their fragile relationship would break once again.  Was this ever going to work? 

She needed to stop dwelling on the past, and worrying about the future.  She had to take this one day at a time.  It was what he was doing, although hadn't that been part of the problem in the first place?  He never thought ahead.  He didn't fully understand that every action had a consequence.

She came to a stop in front of the window that looked in on the diner.  As expected, Jess stood behind the counter in his standard position:  rag over shoulder, book in hand.  Always there, always the same spot… it was moments like these that he appeared to be an unwavering fixture in her life.  She'd walk in, and he'd be right there.  But if she hadn't noticed him on the bus months ago, hadn't gone to talk to him, then right now, she'd be staring into empty space. 

Squashing the awful thought, she was about to continue on her way, when he looked up.  He offered a small wave, and she returned the gesture halfheartedly.  She forced a smile, doing her best to ignore the uneasy feeling that had taken over.  His expression faltered almost as if he could tell how she felt, but she didn't stick around long enough to see if he had a further reaction. 

She stuck her hands in her jacket pocket, fingering the money she had to rent a video for her and her mother's impromptu movie night.  She entered the Stars Hollow Video Store, her mind now on the task at hand. 

No sooner had she begun browsing the comedy section, then the front door opened once again.  Her eyes flickered up to see who had entered, and strangely enough, there was Jess.  He headed over to where she stood.

"Hey."

"Hey?"  She asked.

"I gave myself the rest of the night off," he smirked.

"I wasn't aware you had the authority to do that."

"Neither was Luke.  So… anything in particular you're looking for?"

"A movie."

"Somehow, I should have guessed that."

"I'm stumped though.  Too many choices," she sighed.

"You could always go with that favorite classic:  Willy Wonka."

"Oh, bad.  Very bad.  So you know, do not mention that movie around my mom."

"Why?  She finally realize most of Wonka's lines were literary references?" 

"Don't be mean," she warned.  "Tim Burton is doing a remake of the film, and when my mom found out, she flipped, saying that the movie is a classic that cannot be redone, and that it's going to ruin it, and Tim Burton is the devil, ect, ect.  Then she found out that Johnny Depp was cast as Wonka, so now she's torn."

"So better not to bring it up?"

"Unless you want to hear a ten minute rant."

"Okay, Wonka is a moot subject.  It's noted."

"Ooh, Mom and Dad Save the World," Rory read the movie box in front of her.  "This could be good."

"Geez, if you want to rent a ridiculous alien movie, at least go for something a little better."

"Like?"

Jess reached to the left and grabbed a video.  "Mars Attacks.  Completely horrible, but still much better than that one.  Plus, plenty of big names in this one."

"I just got through telling you that my mom thinks Tim Burton is the devil.  Bad choice."

"Fine," he said, continuing down the aisle.  "But we're looking for a comedy, right?"

"We?"

"I have nothing better to do."

"Um, thanks?"

"Come on, I promise I'll find you something good.  If worse comes to worse, we look behind the Rory Curtain."

"Shut up, you know they got rid of that."

"Thanks to yours truly."

"Just keep browsing."  She poked him in the arm as she passed by.  For once, her thoughts from earlier did not resurface, and instead, she found herself smiling.

"The Princess Bride?"

"Ooh, Cary Elwes.  My mom would appreciate that," she said.  "Robin Hood: Men in Tights!" She exclaimed, spotting the other movie in front of her.  "Hmm, both have him, both are hilarious… which one to choose?"

"I'd go with Mel Brooks."

"Of course, if I was to go with him, I could always get Spaceballs."

"Dracula: Dead and Loving It."

"Decisions, decisions."

"Either way it's a parody," he pointed out.

"You pick."

"You're so indecisive."  He grabbed Robin Hood from her hands.  "See how easy that was?"  He asked, heading towards the front. 

She followed him to the cash register and paid for the movie.  They exited the building together, and immediately, she turned left, wondering if he'd follow.  When he fell into step beside her, she shot him a look.

"Walking me home?"  She asked.

"It's a better alternative than going back to the diner."

They passed several stores as they headed down the sidewalk in amiable silence.  Instinct kicked in, urging her to grab his hand or loop her arm around his.  It had been months since she had performed such a gesture, yet the desire to do it was back.  She ignored it, however, and contented herself with studying him out of the corner of her eye.  A few times, she caught him staring back.  She smiled.

"I've been meaning to ask you… how's school?" 

"Stars Hollow High is still the same sprit-crushing, anti-individualist, creativity-killing house of learning," he explained.

"Wow, aren't we a little overdramatic?  Other than that though… you've been, um, going and everything?"

"Yes, Rory, I've been going."

"How are your classes?"

"Good."

"How about something other than a one word answer?"

"Very good."

"I'm hoping a more detailed question will trigger a more specific answer."

He shook his head.  "You and your crazy ideas."

"How was school yesterday?  What classes were you awake in?  Ten word minimum, please."

"Physics?  Slept.  Pre-Calc?  Substitute.  Civics?  Test.  Spanish?  Dormí.  English?  Discussion."

"Wow," she said.  "Your monosyllabic tendency has taken on a whole new level.  I'm amazed."

He gave her another sideways glance, trying to gauge the level of her irritation.  She looked at ease, but it was obvious that his reluctance to elaborate was beginning to irritate her.  The last thing he wanted was another fight.

"A couple of days ago, my English teacher came up to me and asked who I was and what I had done with the real Jess Mariano," he said.  An amused smile appeared on her face, so he continued, "I told him the real Jess was outside egging his car."

"You do realize he was complimenting you?"

"He was bothering me," Jess clarified.  "I've never seen a fifty year old man run so fast."

"He actually thought you had done something to his car?"

"Like most people, his faith in me was short-lived."

Rory wanted to tell him that most of time, he didn't exactly give people a reason to believe in him.  With a sarcastic and rude exterior, it was too difficult and time consuming to get past it.  A majority of the people he had met hadn't bothered to put in the effort, and were perfectly happy writing him off as a screw-up.  Besides, even those who worked to get past the surface didn't always find the result to be so gratifying.  She had done her best to get to know the real him, and in the end, as it turned out, she hadn't known him at all.

The pair turned onto her street, and continued down the sidewalk, while she chose to keep her mouth shut.  The silence that fell over them was a comfortable one, and she didn't want to ruin it.  If she happened to voice her opinion, it would erupt into a fight, no doubt about it.  He would clam up again, angry that she was lecturing him on how he should act.

When they reached her house, she slowed her pace, wondering how much farther he'd walk her.  He followed her up the porch steps, and only stopped when she leaned back against her front door to face him.

"Thanks for walking me home."

"Thanks for getting me out of the diner.  I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later.  Maybe tomorrow?  I could stop in before I drive back to school," she said.

"Sounds good."

Neither made a move to leave.  She looked down at her feet before meeting his gaze.  "Jess, no matter how much you complain and groan… everything's going well, right?  School, and work, and… everything?"

"Yeah," he nodded.  "Everything seems to be going just… fine." 

He seemed to pause — both in step and thought.  She kept expecting him to leave, but then, to her surprise, he took a step forward.  Towards her.  Her back was already against the door, but she pushed harder against it, almost in hopes that she'd fall through.  He leaned forward slightly, reaching with his right hand to touch her face.  Her muscles relaxed, and she successfully fought off her nervous urge to flee.  He dipped his head down, moving slowly enough to see her eyes close.  This action erased the last of his doubt, and he moved the rest of the way in.  At the last second, she turned her head causing his lips to lightly brush her cheek before he could fully react, and move away. 

She did her best to ignore the small tingles that had been awakened by his brief contact.  They traveled down the side of her face, flitted through her chest, and landed in her stomach where they sank like a stone.  They twisted into knots of regret and possibility reminding her that she wanted this.  She did.  But it still felt as if she was setting herself up for a mighty big fall.  How did she know everything would be fine?  How did she know this time would be different?  How did she know they would last?

"Jess, I--"

"I should go," he cut her off.  He moved backwards, ready to begin down the steps, when she caught his arm.

"Don't."

He looked down at her hand clutching the sleeve of his jacket, and then back at her.  His expression told her that he was unsure about all of this.  He still didn't know what to make of what had just happened.  How had he read this wrong?  He had thought that she had wanted it too, and then… nothing. 

"Why don't you stay?  You can join the movie night."

"Are you serious?"

"We used to do this all the time.  It'll be fun."  She didn't want him to leave.  Not after that.  She didn't want to ruin what they had because she was scared to take another chance with him.  Especially now that she wasn't so sure that turning her head had been a good idea.  She could still feel his lips on her cheek, reminding her that if she had stayed still, he'd be pressed against her right now.

"I need to get back to the diner."

"I thought you gave yourself the right of the night off," she pointed out.

"Look, Rory--"

"Please don't go?"  She let go of his arm and reached for the doorknob behind her.

"Your mom doesn't own a gun, does she?"

"Nope.  And I very much doubt that she'd be able to locate the knives in the kitchen."

"So if I came in, there would be a good chance of me coming out alive?"

"Very good chance," she assured him.

"Okay."  He followed her inside.

"Mom?"

"Oh, Rory, good, you're home.  I have terrible news!  Joe has begun taking classes at the community college," Lorelai called out from the kitchen.

"Joe?"  Jess asked quietly.

"Pizza guy," Rory whispered.  "He's trying to further his education?  This is horrible."

"Hey, not appreciating the sarcasm," Lorelai complained.  "Do you realize what this means?"

"Joe is finally going to start making more than minimum wage?"

"You're thinking too far ahead.  Think here.  Think now.  This means that he takes class during the week, and on Saturday nights… like, this Saturday?  He's at home.  Studying.  Because apparently, that's all you do once you begin college."

"I can attest to that."

"So instead of Joe, we get Ben.  Mr. 'I just got my license two weeks ago, and have only been in four accidents!' Ben."

"This is tragic," Rory gasped in mock horror, stepping into the kitchen doorway.  Jess stood behind her.

"This is Ben who obviously does not understand the reputation that goes along with the name Lorelai Gilmore.  He refused to give me extra cheesy bread," Lorelai said, pouring popcorn into a bowl, her back to her daughter.

"This just keeps getting worse."

"The name Gilmore no longer wields power at the pizza place," Lorelai declared, turning around.

"And to think, we were this close to monopolizing the food industry in Stars Hollow."

"Hi," Lorelai said in surprise.  "Is that Jess behind you?"

"Yeah, I ran into him at the video store, and he helped me pick out something good.  I figured he could stay and watch."

"Uh, okay, sure."  Lorelai picked up the bowl of popcorn, an uneasy expression on her face.

All three headed out to the living room, where Lorelai set the bowl on the coffee table and took the movie from Rory.  After a small outburst of glee at the Cary Elwes factor, she slipped the tape into the VCR.  Moving to sit down, she found Jess and Rory both seated on opposite ends of the couch.

"Sorry Jess, but you're in my spot." 

At this, he slid to the right, closer to Rory. 

"You'd think that'd satisfy me, but… try again."

He moved even further to the right. 

"Jess…"  Lorelai warned.

He closed the rest of the gap between him and Rory, so that they were now shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee.  Rory put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile, and Lorelai glared.

"Right," he nodded and stood up.  He moved to the adjacent armchair and sat down.

The tape began to play, and all parties were silent.  The almost kiss from before combined with Lorelai's mere presence equaled a very tense setting.  Jess was almost happy he had been cast aside to the chair.  Sitting so close to Rory would have only made matters worse. 

Once the coming attractions were fast forwarded through, and the movie was underway, the feeling in the air became noticeably relaxed.  Rory and Lorelai seemed to almost forget he was there as the humor took over, and they laughed along with the scenes.

"My three brothers?"  Lorelai quoted.

"Died of the plague," Rory answered.

"My dog Pogo?"

"Run over by a carriage."

"My goldfish Goldie?"

"Eaten by the cat."

"My cat?"

"Choked on the goldfish," Jess interjected.

Rory and Lorelai both glanced over at him, and he shrugged.  "Now I know why Rory was incapable of staying quiet for more than fifteen minutes during any movie we watched."

"Fifteen minutes?"  Lorelai asked, shocked.  "New record."  She paused.  "You know, it's getting awfully cold down here."

"It is?"  Rory asked.

"Freezing, in fact.  Brrr."  Lorelai hugged herself and pretended to chatter her teeth.  "Do you think you could run upstairs and get me a sweatshirt?"

"Uh, sure," Rory replied, standing up.

"The gray one.  With the hood.  The one with the cat ears on it."

"Okay."  Rory disappeared up the stairs as Jess sank lower in his chair.  He knew what was coming.

"You know, you've never joined us for a movie night.  You and Rory did the movie thing, but we never did this.  How come?"  Lorelai asked, pausing the movie with the remote control.

"Because if Rory were to ever leave us alone together, there would be a very good chance that one of us wouldn't make it out alive?"

"Good answer."

"Do you even own a cat ear sweatshirt?"  Jess asked.

"Yes.  It's in the wash.  But Rory will be a good daughter and look everywhere for it.  And let me tell you, I have a big room.  Huge.  Massive.  And I have tons of clothes.  My closet is the size of Luke's apartment."

"Great."

"Look, Jess, I never trusted you.  You made me uncomfortable, and I hated the thought of Rory ever being alone with you.  I was convinced that you were a liar and a troublemaker and that you would break her heart.  And guess what?"

He didn't respond.

"I didn't think it was possible to not like you more.  I tried, really I did, to give you a chance.  To have just one small ounce of faith in you because Rory begged and begged me to.  She said that I had to get to know the real you, that you weren't as bad as you seemed, that you treated her wonderfully.  I'm sorry, but I never saw any of that.  All I know is that you lied and then you tried to leave."

"Why do you think I lied?"  He asked.

"What?"

"You think I lied for fun?  To hurt her on purpose?  I'm not an idiot."

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Hey, last Spring, everything went downhill for me all at once.  Excuse me if it caused me to make some bad decisions."

"Jess, it was bad before that.  The night of the hockey game, I warned you.  You weren't treating her right."

"I did my best.  If she had a problem with how things were going, she should have told me.  I'm not a mind reader."

"Yeah, so she had to tell you that she'd prefer you not lying to her and withholding important information?  'Hey, Jess, if you're thinking about running away to California without telling me, could you please not?'"

"How about you stop going on about things you have no idea about?  Yes, I lied.  Yes, I should have told her about what happened.  And no, running away wasn't the answer.  I know.  I've heard it over and over.  But at the time, it was the best I could come up with.  Things were really messed up, and I couldn't think right.  The last thing Rory needed was to hear about all the shit I was dealing with."

"Of course, because I'm sure that she was the first thing on your mind.  The top of your priority list, right?" 

"I don't need this," Jess spit out, standing up.

"Don't leave," Lorelai ordered.  "You leave, and that's it.  You need to stop running away from everything.  Sit."

Reluctantly, he sat back down into the chair.  He ran a hand through his hair, doing his best to repress his instinct to bolt.

"Just know, Jess, that if my boyfriend of seven months decided to up and leave without a word, I wouldn't take him back."

"Yeah, well you're not Rory."

"No, I'm not.  But don't forget… you're just another boy, Jess.  Someone came before you, and more will come after.  But right now, for reasons that I can't understand, Rory seems to want you.  So do us both a favor, and just… be here.  You have a problem, tell her.  You're upset?  Tell her.  Don't lie to her.  She doesn't deserve it.  Last Spring will not happen again, understand?"

"Yes," he muttered, eyes on the coffee table.

"I'm watching you, Luke's watching you…"

"All waiting with bated breath for me to screw up again?"

"Basically."

Before another word could be said, both heard the creaking of the stairs.  Seconds later, Rory reappeared in the living room, and dropped a sweatshirt in Lorelai's lap.

"Whoa.  How the hell did you manage this?"  Lorelai asked, holding up the cat ear sweatshirt. 

"I did laundry this afternoon."

"Oh.  Thanks."

"No problem," Rory said, grabbing the controller and pressing play.

A few minutes passed where Jess and Lorelai both wondered the same thing:  Had Rory heard all of that?  Jess stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eye, only to find that she was openly staring back.  He turned back to the movie, willing the time to pass faster.  Eventually, as the movie went on, some of the uneasiness faded.  While the Gilmores did not resume their mocking, they at least smiled at the appropriate comedic moments.

The phone rang much later, interrupting the archery contest on screen.

"You're closer," Lorelai and Rory announced in unison.

"Technically, Jess is the closest," Rory pointed out.

"I don't live here," he replied, not moving his eyes from the television screen.

"So?  All you do is pick up the phone, say hello, and ask who it is.  It's not rocket science," Lorelai said.

"That's the third ring.  I bet the person is getting impatient," Rory chimed in.

"What a pity," he deadpanned.

"Fourth… come on, Jess." 

"That's the fifth," Lorelai said, seconds later.

Jess picked up the portable from the coffee table and turned it on.  "Hello?"

"Uh… hi?"  A voice said from the other end.

"Hi."

"No, Jess, 'who's this' comes next," Lorelai said.

"Is Rory there?"  The voice asked.

"Who's this?"

"Look, he learned a new trick," Lorelai stage whispered to her daughter.

"It's Tyler."

Jess handed the phone to Rory.  "It's Tyler," he repeated.

At first she appeared confused, before realization slowly came over her.  "Oh!"  She grabbed the phone from his hand, and leaped up to take the call in the kitchen.  Seconds later, her laughter rang through the downstairs, and Jess stood up.

"Tyler?"  He asked.

"Who's Tyler?"  Lorelai wondered.

"I should get going."

"Movie's not over."

"Are you saying you want me to stay?"

"Oh.  Um."

"Bye, Lorelai.  Thanks for not flaying me alive."

"Yeah, well, next time."

Jess exited the Gilmore house with a significantly worse attitude than when he had first entered.  The non-kiss, Lorelai's words, and the phone call weighed heavily on his mind.  He knew now that he was wasting his time.  It wasn't going to happen, not again.  He should never have followed her into the video store tonight.  It had gotten him nowhere.  Instead, it had crushed any hope he had for having something more than they had now.

He had only taken a few steps down the sidewalk, when he heard someone walking behind him.

"Jess!"  Rory called out.  He kept walking.  "Jess, where are you going?"  When he didn't slow down, she became frustrated and let out a sigh.  "Come on, Jess, don't do this."

He whipped around to face her.  "Don't do what?  I have to get back to the diner."

"Now is not the time to lie to me.  That guy on the phone, Tyler…"

"You don't have to explain it, Rory.  Date whoever you want."

"We're not dating.  Tyler is just a guy from class who asked me out for coffee.  Paris gave him my number here, that's all."

"Okay, fine, thanks for the unneeded explanation.  See you tomorrow."  He turned back around to continue on his way.  She rushed ahead of him, and blocked his path.

"Jess, come back inside.  Don't be like this."

"I'm not being like anything."  He tried to sidestep her, but she mirrored his movement.

"God, Jess, what do you want from me?  We're getting along, really getting along… why can't you just be happy with how it is?"

"I am.  I'm perfectly happy."

"Stop it.  Tell me what you're thinking.  I'm sick of you telling me that everything is okay, when it's not."

"You heard your mother tonight, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you should know what's wrong.  I'm the one who should be asking what you want from me.  I don't get it.  I don't know what you want this to be.  We're getting along now, but it's all bull."

"Why?  Why is it so hard to believe that everything is okay now?"  She asked, even though he was voicing her earlier thoughts.

"Do you remember what Lorelai said?  About not forgiving a guy like me?"

"But I'm not her.  You said that yourself!"

"Oh, come on.  You're still mad at me.  You're never going to let what happened go."

"Don't tell me what I think or feel.  You don't know..."

"I know that Tyler sounded okay.  A nice college guy that'll treat you the way you deserve, and Lorelai would approve of.  A guy you won't have to worry about lying or leaving."

"I have no interest in Tyler.  Would you just forget about him, please?  And leave my mother out of this.  This is about you and me.  We were doing fine, why do you have to make such a big deal out of this?"

"Because we're not doing fine," he said.  "Everything is not okay between us."

"I thought it was."

"Rory, tell me honestly that you aren't angry at me anymore."

"I…"  She fidgeted uncomfortably.  "Jess…. this kind of thing takes time."

"Fine.  Then take all the time you need," he mumbled. 

He crossed the street and knew she wouldn't follow him.  He had really thought that Halloween had changed everything.  They had both apologized, both accepted everything that had happened.  But Lorelai was right.  He was just another boy.  He had had his chance, and blown it, and nothing he could do was going to make Rory forgive him.

She could have all the time she wanted.  Time wasn't going to fix this.