Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. The plot and any original characters belong to me, but everything else is stuff I only wish I could take credit for.

A/N: Again, thanks for the positive reviews :) You guys are awesome. This might be the last steady update for a while, but I'll try to get a chapter a week to you guys. Soon, the fun stuff (aka the Rory/Jess interaction) begins. Reviews make me happy!

Chapter 3: In and Out of Love

Rory was still staring with unblinking, unbelieving eyes at Jess. Jess's face also registered the shock of seeing his ex-girlfriend, but that was secondary to the anger on his face. It was anger brought on by the hurt he felt when she rejected him, and anger was just easier for him to deal with.

"What are you doing here?" Jess demanded, hostility dripping from his voice.

Rory made no attempt to answer, but her lower lip was quivering. Seeing Jess right now was absolutely not what she needed, and she felt like she was going to cry again.

Claire saw this and answered for her new friend. "I met Rory downstairs in the shop and invited her up so I could lend her Blind Spot and witness for herself how terrible it is." Whatever was upsetting Rory, Claire had a very strong feeling that she wouldn't want Jess to know about it.

"That is a terrible book." Jess responded to Claire, but his eyes never left Rory. "What are you doing in New York?"

Rory opened her mouth to answer, but felt the tears reemerging and shut it again without answering.

"She's housesitting for her grandmother." Claire responded.

"I didn't realize you changed your name to Rory." Jess snapped at his roommate.

Claire's big eyes got wide. "Oh don't you dare snap at me, Jess Mariano. This isn't about me. I'm just trying to help the girl out." She commanded coolly.

Jess muttered something that sounded apologetic to Rory, and she looked disbelievingly at Claire. She'd just gotten an apology out of Jess, something Rory had very rarely, if ever, gotten from the boy.

As soon as Jess's gaze returned to Rory, the hardness returned. "So, someone else offers you New York and you jump right on that, huh?" He asked snidely.

"I'm not staying. I'm just here for the summer." Rory said, speaking for herself finally. "Grandma didn't ask me to throw my life away."

Jess's dark eyes flashed pain for just a moment before the wall of anger he'd built was erected again. That's what she thinks I asked her to do, he thought, God, why couldn't she have gotten ugly or something?

"For someone so smart, you're pretty dumb." Was the response he gave.

Rory sniffed back a tear and snapped, "Well, I had the master to teach me about that."

Jess just turned to Claire. "How much more of that ten minutes do I have?"

Claire looked at her watch. "About four."

Jess walked past the girls into the bedroom. He came out again, wearing a green t-shirt. Rory had to try very hard not to remember that she loved him in green because it brought out the gold in his hazel eyes.

Jess walked out the door and slammed it hard behind him.

Claire turned to Rory and said, "He won't be back till about 10 tonight. You can cry now." She handed her more tissues.

"Thanks." Rory whispered, allowing the tears to fall freely. She blew her nose into the tissue before squeezing it into a little ball in her fist. "He hates me."

"Jess?" Claire asked with a small laugh. "Jess hates everyone but me and his uncle. Although I don't think he hates you as much as he'd like you to think he does."

"His uncle…" Rory said. "Luke?"

Claire nodded. "Unshaven man, all about the flannel?"

Rory smirked. "My mother's boyfriend. You-you've met Luke?"

"Just once." Claire responded. "He helped move Jess into this place. Like, physically, not financially." She elaborated.

Rory stared at her, not believing what she was hearing. "Luke helped Jess move."

Claire nodded. "Yeah. Apparently, he stopped by to see him and saw that he was moving and offered to help. Surly guy, but amusing enough. I liked him. Jess is crazy about him. I mean, he'd never voice that aloud of course. But sometimes, Jess is so transparent."

There came those tears again. Rory was weeping openly again. This time though, it had very little to do with Dean. It was all about her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, a girl that Rory could very easily learn to become very good friends with.

"So, um, how long have you been dating Jess?" Rory questioned between tears.

Claire laughed loudly. "Oh my god, I think I just had a heart attack from laughing too hard." She continued to laugh until tears sprung to her eyes. She brushed them away and responded, "You think I'm Jess's girlfriend?" She asked.

Rory nodded. "Well, yeah. You seem to know him very well. He apologized to you for snapping at you. And you live with him in…in a one bedroom apartment." The thought of Jess and Claire sharing a bed upset Rory in a way she didn't want to think about.

"Oh, sweetheart. You've got it all wrong. I do know Jess very well. We're really good friends. I've known him since before he left for that Stars Hollow place the first time. I worked in the bookstore myself then and he came in all the time. He apologizes when we fight because he knows when he's wrong he has to apologize to me. When I'm wrong, I apologize to him. As for the bedroom, the sofa you're sitting on pulls out into a bed. I sleep there."

Rory felt relieved. She felt very relieved and she couldn't explain why. She didn't want Jess anymore. That's why she'd turned him away when he came back to her, begging her to start over with him…wasn't it? To avoid thinking about it, Rory was instead trying to figure out how old Claire must be.

"So, if you were working there before Jess moved away, you must've been like 16 right?"

Claire shook her head. "I'm older than I look. I'm 22."

Jess lives with an older woman. Jess lives with an older woman. Jess lives with an older woman. The thought kept repeating itself in Rory's head, and it was upsetting her deeply.

"So, Rory, how do you know the charming Jess?"

"We used to date." Rory said simply.

Claire rolled her eyes. "I kinda picked up on that one. You're not- no; you're not the Yale girl are you?" She asked with great interest.

Rory shrugged. "Probably. He-he talks about me?" She demanded, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.

"Not out of choice." Claire said. "When he got back from his mom's wedding, right before he moved in here, I could tell he was upset. So I pretty much told him if he didn't tell me about you then I'd withdraw my offer to let him live here. Extortion is an amazing way to get Jess to talk. Anyway, he told me that you went to Yale and were from Stars Hollow and that he asked you to come here. He said you said no."

"That's all?" Rory asked, disappointed.

It wasn't all. Jess had also told Claire about how much he loved Yale Girl, as he referred to her. But that was a confidence between her and her best friend that she wasn't going to share with this girl she just met. "It's all he said out loud. But it was obvious in his voice how much it hurt him."

Rory nodded. "I knew he was hurt. But I just don't feel the same about him anymore."

Claire saw the way her eyes shifted as she said it. She was lying. Claire read people very well, and she could tell that there was still something there. She still cared about him.

"Well, people fall out of love. It happens." Claire said, still reveling in her new knowledge. "How long are you here for?" She asked curiously.

"Until August, but I'm by myself till mid-July." Rory responded.

"That's too bad. But hey, do you want to get together to talk again sometime? Or we could see a movie or a concert or something. I love Jess, but he's so ridiculous and moody that I can't get him to go anywhere with me. And when your only friend is a shut-in, you don't get out too much. Plus, nothing against him, but sometimes you just need a girl to hang with."

Rory wanted to hang out with this girl again. Claire was funny and nice and actually reminded her of a combination of her mother and Lane. But she didn't know what that'd mean about her seeing Jess, and she was terrified of spending much time with him and having him yell at her more. That was the last thing she needed right now.

"We don't have to spend time here if you don't want to." Claire said in an assuring voice. "I know that might be uncomfortable. But come on, do you really want to spend five weeks all by yourself?"

"No." Rory responded. "I don't. I guess we could like check out a show or something. I mean, I'd love to have someone to talk to about books and stuff."

"Well, I'm your girl!" Claire exclaimed. "That reminds me." She went over to the table and picked up the book they'd been discussing. "Read it. See what you think. We can talk about it. I'm sorry if I seem excited about female companionship, but well, you've met Jess. You probably understand."

Rory nodded. "I do. Why don't I give you my cell number and you can call me later in the week?"

"Sure. I'll give you the number to the apartment too." Rory looked apprehensive about that and Claire reassured her by saying "We screen our calls. Jess won't answer."

The girls exchanged numbers and then Claire saw her new friend to the door. "If you go down the side steps, they take you right out to the street and you won't have to go through the bookstore."

Rory smiled gratefully. "Thanks so much for everything, Claire. And I promise the next time we hang out I'll be a lot more fun."

Claire watched Rory leave and she had a plan already formulating in the back of her mind.


"So, you're going to hang out with her again?" Jess demanded. He was looking at the pad of paper with Rory's name and cell phone number written down on it.

Claire didn't look up from her sketch. "I'm planning on it." She responded. "Why, issues with that?" She demanded.

"No." Jess said, too quickly. "I can't control who you're friends with."

"Yes, you can." Claire said, finally looking up at Jess. "We've been friends for a very long time, baby doll. If you said to me, 'Claire, it makes me very uncomfortable that you want to be friends with my ex-girlfriend who I'm still in love with. Please don't."

"I'm not still in love with her." Jess snapped. "And do what you want! Just don't bring her around when I'm here!" He pushed himself off the couch and stormed into the bedroom. He slammed the door behind him so hard that several posters fell off the wall.

"Oh yeah." Claire whispered with a smile, turning back to her sketch of Jess and the sad look in his eyes he'd had when he returned to see Rory's name and number on the coffee table. "Still in love with her. This is going to be fun."