A/N: In regards to the season finale. Remember kiddies, what I'm writing now takes place in Rory's Sophomore year of college... and I disregarded everything after Nag Hammadi anyways. I'm pretty disheartened by what happened, and it's hard to write Rory the way I want her to be, but I am trying.

A/N 2: I hate Dean right now. I don't think I've ever hated him so much before, but I do. Therefore, he's taking a beating. Sorry.

And of course, by the time the next weekend rolled around, rumors had spread like wildfire.

Someone had heard Dean speaking to Rory in the diner, and someone had told someone else, and somehow it had most likely gotten back to Miss Patty.

And so Jess was stared at and whispered about as he made his way from his car into the diner that Saturday morning.

Inside, Rory looked miserable.

"So..." Jess said, walking to stand in front of her behind the counter. "You're Dean's mistress."

Rory groaned and slammed her head down on the table.

Jess tried his best to keep a straight face, but failed.

Rory pouted as she watched her boyfriend. "It's not funny!"

He looked at her with a smirk plastered on his face. "Rory... Rory, I love you so much... but... but..." he couldn't finish his sentence.

"Jess!"

Luke came in from the kitchen, and stared oddly at the smirk on his nephew's face. "What's his problem?"

Rory sighed. "There are these awful rumors going around about me..."

"That you're Dean's other woman!" Kirk cut in from his table. "For shame, Rory Gilmore!"

"It's not true!" Rory cried. "I have an alibi for every night they pinned me as being with Dean!"

Luke squinted. "Dean's what?!"

"Mistress," Kirk repeated. "Other woman."

Jess's smirk widened.

"Stop it!" Rory cried.

Lorelai rushed in. "It's not true, is it?"

Jess squeezed his eyes shut and turned around as he snorted out a quiet laugh.

Lorelai breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh... thank god... not true... nervous breakdown averted..."

Rory sighed. "What do I do?! The entire town is calling me names, and Lindsay looked about ready to kill me and Jess is dying from laughter!"

"He's not laughing," Lorelai pointed out.

"He is on the inside!" Rory cried. "Can't you tell?!"

Lorelai blinked at her daughter and took a step back. "Oh-kay. She's lost it."

Jess walked out from behind the counter and took Rory's hand. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Away."

"Away where?"

Jess shook his head. "You ask too many questions."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Luke shook his head. "You gonna be back soon?"

"Nope," Jess replied as he led Rory out the door. "Bye."

Rory followed him out of the diner and to his car. He unlocked it and got into the driver's seat. She just stared.

He rolled down the window. "Getting in?"

"Where are we going?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I figured we'd get out of here for a while... y'know... until this crap dies down... maybe go into the city and visit Sofia and Jamie."

She smiled. "Yeah?"

He nodded.

Rory smiled wider and hopped into the car.

Luke watched Jess's car drive off and sighed. "That kid..."

Lorelai smirked. "You love him."

"Ugh..."

Lorelai shook her head, changing the subject. "God... I can't believe people would spread something like this about Rory... it just doesn't make any sense! They know her. They know she's not like that... it's like... spreading the rumor that Jenna Jameson is becoming a nun..."

Luke shook his head. "Well, if someone claims they heard it from the source..."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Rory told me that Dean asked her to..." she made a few hand gestures as she tried to think up the words. "She said he asked her to 'take a break' with him."

Luke blinked and refilled her coffee. "'Take a break'?"

"Yeah," Lorelai replied, taking a sip of coffee. "And she told him no. That she and Jess are very happy and that she wouldn't do it."

"Did you just see that?" Lorelai heard Babette say. "They got into his car and just drove off! How can he even stand to look at her after this?"

Patty shook her head. "That poor boy... maybe he doesn't know."

Lorelai fumed, and was about to get up, when Luke grabbed her arm.

"They're not worth it," he hissed. "They have no idea what they're talking about."

Lorelai pouted.

"Okay, so Monday..."

"I was in classes, and then I was studying with Paris," Rory replied. "I was nowhere near Dean... Stars Hollow, even!"

Jess nodded as he drove. "Okay. Tuesday?"

"Class, and then I went to this play that Janet was in."

"Wednesday?"

"Class and then..." She smiled and turned red.

He nodded with a smirk. "I remember."

"Wednesday was a good night," She said softly.

"Stop it, I'm driving."

She snickered. "Sorry."

"Thursday?"

"My first class was canceled, so I slept in, and then I went to class, and then Lane came up and we had dinner, and then you and I..." She smiled again reddening even more.

"If you keep bringing that up, I may have to stop the car."

Rory took his hand. "And then Friday was class, and then studying, and then Friday dinner, and then Mom and I had a movie-fest."

Jess nodded.

Rory sighed and sat back. "I can't believe everyone thinks Dean and I are..."

Jess sighed and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

She blinked. "What..."

He unbuckled his seatbelt and slid across the bench seat to her. "Rory."

She sighed again and rested her head on his shoulder.

"It doesn't matter what they think," Jess told her. "Let them think you and Dean are having an affair. You and I both know it's not true. Your mother knows. Luke knows. No one else really matters."

She nodded.

"Okay?"

She smiled a little and kissed him. "Okay."

He nodded to her and slid back to the driver's seat. When he started driving again, Rory's cell phone rang.

"Hello... No, Lane! I am not sleeping with Dean! God!... No. No smoochies. No... Ew! Jess is sitting right here!"

Jess smirked as he drove. "She's being gross again, isn't she?"

Rory nodded. "You have no idea..."

"You're kicking me out?"

Lindsay nodded as she shoved Dean's clothing into a bag. "I am kicking you out."

"Lindsay, this is ridiculous! Nothing happened with Rory and I! We talked!"

"About what?" Lindsay snapped. "About when would be a good time to get together and have sex?!"

"What?! You have lost it!"

"Have I, Dean?!" Lindsay cried. "You know, things were really going well over the summer! And ever since... after Halloween, you've been so distant! Was it me?"

"No!" Dean cried. "No! I don't even...! You know what? We both need time to cool off. I'm... I'm going for a walk. I'll come back a little later, and we'll talk like rational human beings."

She kept stuffing clothes into the bag, tears welling up in her eyes. He really didn't love her.

Sofia smiled upon seeing who was knocking at her door. "Jess! Rory! Come in."

"Hi, Sofia," Rory smiled, and let the older woman pull her into a hug.

"Hey, Grandma," Jess said.

Sofia turned to him and looked him up and down. "You're skinny. Sit and eat."

He sighed. "Grandma-"

"Sit. You both must be hungry from the drive," Sofia cut him off. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"Just needed to get away for the day," Jess replied, taking a seat.

Rory sat next to him and looked around a little. "So, what's for lunch?"

Luke cleared his throat as he watched Lorelai drink her coffee with a troubled expression on her face.

"Uhm..." he stammered out. "Is there anything I can do? I mean..."

"You can go and break Dean's neck," Lorelai snapped, taking a large gulp.

"This really isn't his fault..."

"If he hadn't come to Rory with that crazy idea of 'taking a break' together, this wouldn't have happened," Lorelai said. She sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking this out on you."

"No," Luke said, sitting across from her. "It's okay. This is pretty upsetting... kind of funny, though... I mean, this is Rory we're talking about...her as...anyone's mistress is kind of funny."

Lorelai smiled a little. "Yeah. It is, isn't it? I mean... I couldn't see her going all dominatrix on anyone... not even Jess..."

"Okay," Luke replied quickly. "That's a little over-board with the imagery."

"Sorry."

They sat in comfortable silence.

"Hey... Lorelai..."

She looked up. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to-"

"It's not true, I swear!"

Lorelai looked up. "Dean."

Dean sighed. "I need to talk to you."

She rolled her eyes, and Luke sighed.

"Thanksgiving is one week away," Sofia said matter-of-factly. "What are your plans?"

"Eat," Rory said firmly. "Eat a lot. Eat until I explode."

"Please don't explode," Jess said. "I really don't want to have to clean that up."

Rory snickered and Sofia shook her head.

"You two should come here."

Jess nodded. "I might."

"I may stop by," Rory added.

"You two aren't spending it together?" Sofia asked, looking a little shocked.

"Well... I have about four places to stop off at," Rory said. "And Jess has... two?"

Jess nodded. "Two. Luke's and here."

"You two should host Thanksgiving," Sofia suggested. "That way you could be together, and have all of your family there."

Rory smiled. "That's not a bad idea."

Jess shifted in his seat a little.

"I can't believe you're kicking me out."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Look at the situation, Dean. You asked my nephew's girlfriend to cheat on him with you."

Dean sighed. "I-"

"Out."

"Luke!"

"Out!"

Dean shook his head and left.

Lorelai smiled and hooked an arm through Luke's. "My hero."

Luke smirked, and then became uncomfortable. "Hey... Lorelai?"

They stopped off at her dorm on the way back to Stars Hollow so she could pick up a sweater she wanted. He stood in the doorway and watched her zoom around the small space.

"Where could I have put it?" she asked herself.

"Maybe you left it at my place," he offered. "We could go there and check."

"If we go there, we won't make it back to Stars Hollow," Rory smirked.

"This is a problem?"

She turned to him with a smile on her face, and was about to reply, but stopped.

"Rory?"

Jess turned around and found Dean standing in the open doorway to the suite. "What the hell?"

Rory blinked and looked past Jess. This was no good. "Dean?"

Dean stormed in, brushing past Jess, who glared. "Rory, we need to talk."

"Wh... why?"

"Please, I just need to talk to you," Dean pleaded. He glanced back at Jess. "Alone."

Jess folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow.

Rory took a deep breath and tried to gain some composure. "Jess? Could you give us a minute?"

He gave her a harsh look in response.

She frowned and walked over to him, placing her hands gently on the sides of his face. "Jess."

He didn't reply, still.

Rory rested her forehead against his. "Please let me handle this. I can take care of this."

His harsh look softened a little. "Rory..."

"I won't be long," she promised.

"I don't trust him."

"But you trust me."

Jess sighed. "Yeah." He placed an arm around her waist and pulled her into a kiss.

Dean shook his head and turned away, really not wanting to see their embrace.

Rory watched him walk out, pulling a pack of cigarettes out on the way. She turned back to her dorm and started looking for her sweater again. "You wanted to talk?"

"Come away with me."

She stopped her movements dead and turned to him. "What?"

"Come away with me!" Dean cried.

"No."

"Rory-"

"No."

"We can escape all this craziness, all these people, talking behind our backs! We can finally... admit how we feel about each other."

"How we... feel?" Rory asked, confused. "You've lost me... how do we feel?"

"We love each other."

"We do?"

"Yes."

"No we don't, Dean," Rory said gently. "You're my friend... I care about you, but... I don't love you anymore. I haven't loved you for a long time."

"Rory..."

"Dean, that guy I just told to leave the room? The one who has probably smoked six cigarettes by now? I love him," she told him. "I love Jess. I have loved Jess for a long time now. And you! You have Lindsay!"

"Lindsay threw me out."

"You can work things out with Lindsay!" Rory cried. "You just have to try."

"I don't want to work things out with Lindsay, I want to be with you," Dean told her. "I know you don't love Jess."

"You don't know me at all, Dean," Rory replied. "I love Jess. I love Jess. I love Jess. How many times do I have to tell you that before you understand?"

"Please, Rory."

"No, Dean."

He took a step forward and she took a step back.

"No, Dean."

He nodded slowly, and then left the room.

When she was sure he'd gone, she went back to finding her sweater, and then left with it in hand.