Jenna McIntyre.

Jess applauded as he watched his best friend go up onto the stage in the school auditorium to recieve her diploma from the headmaster. She did a little bow as she walked from the headmaster and then glanced over to Jess as she moved the tassel from one side of her cap to the other, giving him a little smile and then doing a little dance as she left to the other side of the stage and sat down with the rest of the class.

Jess Mariano.

Jess walked up to the stage to get his diploma. He looked out into the audience. A sea of blank faces, none of which he recognized. There was no one there for him. He realized it shouldn't matter to him, but it did. There was no one there for him. No Jimmy, Sasha, or Lily. He hadn't invited them, and if he had, he doubted they would have come.

His duffel bag was in the gym. He had told them he was moving out that morning. He kept trying to convince himself that he wasn't running away again, but he wouldn't believe it. He supposed he was running away, but it wasn't the same kind of running away. This time he was going somewhere, not just leaving somewhere. He had decided to move back to New York again. He had an internship at the Times all lined up, a job waiting tables, and an apartment for lease. The key was in his pocket. The plane ticket was in his bag. His life savings were in his shoe.

He glanced over to Jenna and smiled as he moved the tassel on his cap. A guarded smile, one that no one else would be able to read, but she knew him almost as well as he knew himself now. He had told her a week ago that he was leaving. She had been sad, but happy for him. She had already booked a ticket to come see him over Thanksgiving.

What if I'm not there anymore by then? he had asked.

You will be. Trust me. You know and I know that you're going back for good.

He glanced back out into the audience and sighed as he took his place. He would never admit it to anyone, but he had really wanted two people there for him. Just two, was that too much to ask?

Yes, he decided, for those two people it was. The two people who had cared for him most out of anyone in his entire life. The two people who had let him in, given him a home, made him feel welcome, safe even. They had given him love. They had given him the feeling of a family that he had always denied that he had wanted. And he had thrown all of that back in their faces.

If only... no. He wasn't going to do it. He wasn't going to imagine what it would have been like. But he couldn't help it. Like an unwelcome guest, the fantasy was coming into his mind and refusing to leave.

Him. Standing on the stage, much as he had just a few moments ago, recieving his diploma. And in the audience: Luke standing up. He had removed the baseball cap, shaved. When he had left the diner like that, Lorelai had made fun of him, much as she had when he had gone on his date with Nicole. Luke was smiling as Jess moved the tassel from one side to the other. His eyes were shining, although neither man would ever admit to it. He had a true smile, a true look of pride on his face.

And Rory. She stood next to him, looking like an angel, Gorgeous. Proud of him. And happy. No sign of anger or frustration because he hadn't done anything wrong. If only he hadn't done anything wrong.

Congratulations class of 2004. Give yourselves a hand.

Jess stood without enthieusiasm and clapped his hands together lightly, barely making a sound. As the rest of his class threw their caps up in the air, he just stood there, and then, thinking better of it, decided to do the same. He slowly removed his cap and threw it up. As he watched it come back down, the realization settled on him. He had done it. He had graduated.

Luke would never believe it.

Rory would. But she would never know. Neither of them would ever know.

The cap came back down and setted into his hands.