A/N: I'm not really sure why this chapter took me so long… but here it is! Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Jess pulls up to a large house and puts the car in park. Jess gets their clothes and Rory puts her pants on underneath her skirt, and pulls it off, and covers her Chilton shirt with a sweatshirt. Jess takes off his uniform shirt and puts on a Metallica t-shirt.

"Ready?" Jess asks Rory.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Alright, let's go."

Jess takes Rory's hand and leads her to the back of the house where there is a large oval pool with a waterfall feeding into it. They walk past it and hear music coming from the pool house. Jess opens the door, and the music stops.

"Jess!" A teen with a similar build as Jess but with lighter hair runs up to Jess and gives him a hug. "How have you been?"

"I've been okay. I've missed all of you guys."

"Glad you came."

"Jake, this is my girlfriend Rory. Rory, this is my friend Jake," Jess explains.

Jake shakes Rory's hand and introduces her to his girlfriend Alyssa, a petite girl with short, layered, spunky hair.

Jess gives Alyssa a quick hug and tells her it is good to see her. She was around a lot, and Jess always tolerated her.

She invites Rory to sit with her on a bench on the side of the pool house.

She gives Rory the lowdown of the group.

"The lead singer of a band is my boyfriend Jake, I can tell he has been really excited about Jess's visit, so I'm glad he made it. I think he was really upset when Jess moved; Jake lost his best friend. The lead guitarist is Nate, he's over there. I think he's pretty cute, and he's really nice. Paul is the bassist and he is a little slow, oblivious to most everything, but he'll have his comedic moments. Then that's Whiskers. He's pretty quiet. He used to have a full beard, but had to shave it for his new job, and the name just stuck. No one calls him anything else… I don't even know his real name."

"Thanks for the info. I really didn't know what to expect when Jess said we were meeting his friends. I imagined them being more intimidating."

"Oh no, not these guys. They can be total… boys, but they're all good enough. I mean you're dating one of them, so I imagine that you can handle them."

"One on one, sure. I'm not so sure about this group."

Alyssa laughs at Rory. "You'll be fine," she assures Rory and takes her hand and leads her over to the boys.

"Get on stage!" Alyssa tells the boys.

Jake looks around and makes eye contact with the guys, shrugs, and walks toward his microphone. The other guys follow suit.

"Here's a song for you, Jess, it's a little different from the last time you've heard it."

They begin to play. Jess and Alyssa watch, and it's obvious they know the song, and are enjoying it immensely. Rory takes in the entire atmosphere. She is watching band practice when she should be in school. She sees Jess bobbing his head and tapping his foot to the music, Alyssa is doing the same. She smiles, and begins to enjoy this experience. They continue to play.

I've come to my senses, that I've become senseless

I could give you lessons how to ruin your friendships

Every last conviction I smoked them all away

I've drank my frustrations down the drain, out of the way

So I sit and wait and wonder, does anyone else feel like me

Someone so tired of their routines and disappearing self-esteem.

"I love that song. I love the words. Jake will play all the songs Jess wrote sometime today, so you can hear them, and he can hear a new one," Alyssa tells Rory.

"Jess wrote that?"

"Yeah, that's what Jake said. He wrote it when he still lived in New York."

"Was Jess in the band?"

"Not on stage with the band, but a definite groupie, and even more because he's written lyrics and helped arrange songs as well."

Rory smiles. She knew she would learn things about Jess today. Maybe this day will be better than she thought.

Jake begins, "Alright, here's another one Jess. You know this one, I'm sure."

The band begins to play, and Jess begins to hum along. Jake yells, "Jess come on up here. Help us out with this one."

Jess shakes his head. Rory gives his a small push on his back. He gets on the stage, and begins to sing. In a moment, he is engrossed in the music and is rocking out like the rest of them. Rory didn't know about this side of Jess, and she must admit, it is a sexy one. Jess bends back and to the side while singing his lyrics and brings the microphone stand with him as he moves. Eventually he pulls the microphone off the stand and begins jumping around on stage with Jake. All the time looking as if the band was going to knock each other over, or hit each other with their instruments, but they had done this before, they were close, but not too close.

So you sit and wait for a sign

That the coming days will be alright

And you drink so you can forget another night

Bruised from the blackouts and your blood red eyes

Try to start looking for the brighter side

Wait for a sign

Everything will be alright

And to be on the edge of your bed

With your head buried in your hands

Wishing that everything would end

I know how it feels to be the loneliest

Rory really hears these words, and although she knew Jess wrote them, now she could see him living these emotions. She stops smiling, stops tapping her foot. This is not just a song, this is Jess before she knew him. She wonders if he still feels this way.

Jess finishes the song and comes and sits by Rory. She takes his hand, and rests her head on his shoulder. He puts his arm around her.

Jake sees this. "And it's the new sappy Jess." Jess looks up and gives him the finger, Rory pushes it down.

"I guess that's where this song came from. Some of the lyrics you've sent us have been a little too 'lovey-dovey' for us. We have an image to uphold, but this song is completed, and we're in the process of arranging another of yours and one of mine. You can hear those the next time you're out here. Here goes this one; untitled as of yet."

This song starts out significantly slower and softer than the other songs, and keeps this pace for the remainder. The whole song has a different vibe to it. Although not terribly romantic, it was sweet, really sweet. Rory couldn't help but think that this must have been while they were together, and she is happy that he really has changed even in his private writing, his tone and thoughts have changed. He is happier. Rory is happier with him. She strokes Jess's arm and enjoys the song.

So I'll let you know

If you need, somewhere to go

I'll be listening when you call

And I'll be there if you fall off

If you need someone to believe in you, I'll let you know I will

Jess is somewhat embarrassed that Rory is hearing his lyrics with not much question that they were at least inspired by her, by the feeling that Jess gets from her. His embarrassment fades when he realizes he doesn't have much of a choice and when he realizes that she is enjoying them and appreciative of getting to know more about him.

When the song is over, the band puts their instruments down. "Ok, Jess collection over and I'm starving, do you guys want some lunch?" Jake asks everyone.

Everyone nods in agreement. It's lunchtime. They make their way into the main house and head directly to the kitchen and begin raiding the pantry and refrigerator. They pull out chips and salsa, and microwave some bagel bites.

Alyssa gets out some cereal and pours herself a bowl but pours way too much in. She gasps and Jake takes it and start eating it. Jess requests she give him the box.

"No! I can do it!" Alyssa insists.

"Ok, but I want less than Jake."

"I kinda figured," she responds and passes him his bowl of cereal.

Jake contemplates something while looking at his food. He decides to share it with the group, "I'm going to win the lottery. I don't really want to deal with college, and I think I'll just win the lottery."

Jess ponders this, "buy me a ticket, I'll win too."

Rory and Alyssa look at one another and smile; their boyfriends are so serious.

"Good luck with that boys," Alyssa mocks them.

"Thanks, I'm banking on it baby." Jake tells her and jumps on top of her and begins wrestling her to the ground and tickling her showing no mercy.

After the feast, and several comments on how Rory totally out ate Jess, Jake explains that they really do need to practice. They walk back to the pool house. The end of practice was slightly less interesting. A lot of debating, playing the same parts over and over, assigning solos, checking parts, harmonies and melodies, fixing every part in the song. Jess had done this before, he had been apart of it. Rory, however, found it fascinating, for a time anyway. Jess eventually pulls a book out of his back pocket and opens to the page where his bookmark is found. Rory sees this and pulls a book out of her purse and begins reading as well.

Jake sees this when he looks up and begins laughing and messing up the song.

"Sorry, are we boring you?" Jake asks.

"Oh sorry." Rory closes her book.

"Rory, it's fine. Jake, you aren't boring us, we like to read," Jess says.

"Yeah, I am thoroughly enjoying the background music to my Huxley." Rory explains.

"Wow, Jess, I never thought you'd find a nice girl for you, but you found her." Jake says into the microphone.

"Why is that funny? And what are you talking about?" Jess asks.

"You two are like the reading couple, I never thought you'd find a girl that carried a book around with her too. Listen, we need to tighten up this one song, and then we'll go do something fun."

"Sounds good." The reading couple resumes reading and Jake gets the band practicing once more.

Rory whispers to Jess, "What does he mean by 'something fun'?"

"Well, something dirty of course."

"Shut up. What do you guys do for fun?"

"Are you nervous?"

"I eat for fun, and watch movies for fun, and read for fun. We've already eaten, they've mocked our reading, and I doubt we're going to the movies. So what are we doing?"

"I honestly do not know, but I promise you won't have to do anything you don't want, and nothing illegal. Trust me."

"I don't know why I do, but I do."

A/N: I do not own the songs, they are all "Less Than Jake" songs.

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