Through Your Eyes #1: People Change
By: Apolla
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, settings, etc. Oh, but I do own Milo (sucks for you!).
Pairings: Literati and Java Junkie. I'm sorry, I didn't know there were any other options :p
Setting: One month after That'll Do, Pig, so it's late January/early February.
********************************************************************************
Lorelai heard a door slam. Oh, no, not again, she thought. "Rory, that you?" she called.
"Yeah!" Rory called back.
Lorelai came downstairs and saw Rory sitting on the couch. She flopped down next to her. "So, you know what I've been thinking?"
There was a pause, until Rory finally replied, "What?"
"Forget Harvard and go to beauty school! Just think about it. You could learn how to do hair and nails and makeup, so you could help me get ready for dates. And you could work in one of those gossipy beauty parlors and chew gum and start talking with a Brooklyn accent and then I could come to New York and live with you and we could be, like, these two crazy old ladies who have great hair and nails and too much drag makeup on and we could get a bunch of cats and - "
"Mom!"
"Rory, just think about it. We could be like Frenchie!"
"Beauty school dropout, go back to high school," Rory told Lorelai.
"You know, it just doesn't sound like too much fun when you say it like that. You've got to sing it, baby! Put some emotion into it!"
Lorelai took a big breath and opened her mouth to start singing at the top of her lungs when Rory clapped a hand over her mouth. "Mom, please."
"You're way too Sandy Dee."
She paused, but Rory still didn't say anything. "Okay, I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?" Lorelai asked, turning serious.
"What is there to talk about? He always does this."
Rory and Jess had been going out for a few months now and Rory didn't know what had gone wrong. Whenever she saw Jess, she knew he was glad to see her. He tried to hide it and act all cool, but she saw the way he looked at her.
But lately he wouldn't call her when he said he would. He'd break their dates for no real reason. Rory was tired of it, but she still liked him. She still wanted their relationship to work.
"Maybe it's just a phase. I mean, every relationship is different, right? So what if I didn't go through this with Dean. Maybe this is just phase one of my relationship with Jess. Or maybe - "
Lorelai put her hands on Rory's shoulders. "Honey, stop making excuses for him! He's being a jerk and you need to face that. Everyone sees it except you, but baby, you've gotta take off the blindfold. Jess is - "
"Mom, stop!" Rory said, growing angry. "Do you know how hard you're making this for me? You've never liked Jess, and you won't be happy until we break up. Maybe that's what the problem is - no one will give us a chance, including you! Everyone's just so convinced that we're wrong for each other!"
Ignoring the hurt look on Lorelai' face, Rory jumped up, grabbed her jacket, and did what she did best - she ran. She ran out the door, down the street, until she finally ended up at the bridge.
It figures I'd end up here, Rory thought. She had been coming to the bridge more and more lately. It was her and Jess' special spot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lorelai made her way to Luke's after Rory left. You shouldn't have jumped all over him like that, she chastised herself. At least not in front of Rory.
Lorelai sighed, sitting down at the counter. She was glad to see that the diner was empty - she didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, which was strange, especially for her.
"Coffee?" Luke asked.
"Mmm."
When Rory comes home, I'll apologize to her…………but I meant what I said! Jess is no good for her. He treats her horribly, and then she still stands up for him! Have I taught her nothing? I thought she had enough sense to stand up for herself, not to let a guy treat her like dirt.
"Lorelai?" Luke's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Hmm?"
She looked down and took a sip of her coffee. "Oh, thanks," she said.
"You okay?"
Lorelai sighed. "Rory and I had a fight," she told him miserably.
Ah, well, to hell with not talking to anyone, she thought.
"About what?"
"Um - "
Lorelai wasn't sure how to answer. She didn't want to insult Luke or anything. The last time she had blown up at him about Jess, they hadn't talked for months.
At that moment, Jess came down the stairs. Lorelai saw his eyes move from her to the empty seat next to her - he obviously expected to see Rory sitting next to her.
"Looking for someone?" Lorelai asked him sarcastically.
"Nope," Jess replied.
"Good. Because right now I think she's really upset with you. And I'm upset with you, too."
"Huh."
"Yes. Rory and I just had a really big fight because of you."
"Huh."
"Can't you say anything else?"
"Hmm."
"Ooooh! You know what, you're impossible! Do you care about anyone? I mean it, do you? Rory's the only one here who even likes you, and you treat her like dirt! You made her relationship with Dean extremely tense and difficult, and when they finally break up and you two get together, you break dates and never call her! What's the point, Jess? Is it all just a game? Something to amuse you in this small town? You're messing with people's feelings, diner boy, and it needs to stop."
Jess didn't say a word, he didn't even move. Lorelai downed the rest of her coffee, then stormed out. "Thanks for the coffee, Luke," she called over her shoulder.
Luke turned to Jess angrily after Lorelai had left. "Jess - " he started.
"I don't wanna hear it."
"Well, that's just too bad, because I have some things to say to you!"
"I'm going out!"
"No you're not, damn it, you're staying right here!"
He stood in front of the door, blocking Jess' exit, and started speaking in a would-be rational tone. "Jess, I'm not against your and Rory's relationship, really, I'm not. But Lorelai's right. You can't just mess around with her head, Jess. This isn't a game, and - "
"Damn it, Luke, I know that!" Jess yelled.
"Then what the hell are you doing?" Luke yelled back.
"I don't know! I've never done this before!"
"Never done what, treated a girl like dirt?"
"No, I've never cared for - " Jess started to talk quietly, but Luke kept yelling, totally oblivious to the fact that Jess had even said anything.
"Oh, I'm sure you have, Jess. Remember Shane?"
"Rory is nothing like Shane!"
"I know!" Luke said, exasperated.
"Then what the hell are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you're treating Rory the same way you treated Shane, Jess. Either shape up or let her go."
"Get out of my way," Jess said quietly.
Luke didn't move. "Damn it, Luke, get the hell out of my way!" Jess exploded.
"Think about what I said, Jess," Luke said in a calm tone once again, then walked back behind the counter.
Jess quickly left, pulling on his jacket and not saying a word. He had to - he had to think, he had to - he pulled out a cigarette as he walked. This would help him relax. He lit it and inhaled sharply as he approached the bridge.
He slowly exhaled. Nothing was more relaxing than looking out onto the water with a good smoke.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Rory?" Lorelai called out as she entered her home.
"Kitchen!"
Lorelai sat down next to Rory at the kitchen table. They both started talking at the same time.
"Mom, I - "
"Rory, I - "
They stopped and looked at each other. Rory's eyes filled with tears, and Lorelai felt her own eyes getting wet. Lorelai opened her arms and they hugged. "I'm sorry, baby," Lorelai said. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"I know, Mom. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was just - I still like him, you know? I still want us to work."
Lorelai pulled away from Rory and put her hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "Rory, if you want this to work, then you have to have a long talk with Jess. You have to let him know that you're not going to take this."
"Wait…….you're encouraging me to make up with Jess?"
"I'm encouraging you to stand up for yourself to him."
"I know, I know," Rory said, nodding her head. "I made a list of stuff I have to talk to him about. And if he doesn't want to make it work, then, well - " Rory stopped. "Mom, where did you go?" she asked.
"Um, what are you talking about? I'm right here," Lorelai said, getting up to make some coffee.
"I mean before."
"Oh, well, you know, I needed some coffee, so I went to Luke's, and I got some coffee, and I talked, and then I came home."
"You talked to Luke?"
"Oh, well, uh, yes, I did talk to Luke."
"Mom………….."
"Oh, all right! Yes, I yelled at Jess. I wasn't planning on it, but then he just came down the stairs and - and he was doing the 'huh' thing, and I just lost it!"
"What did you say?"
"Um, I don't know, something about him not caring about anyone and telling him that he had to stop playing games with people's emotions."
"Oh."
"Sweetie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, but you know how he is! And I still didn't get a word out of him. Are you sure he talks? Maybe he doesn't talk. Maybe he's like that movie with the guy who heard everything people said because they thought he was mute so he wouldn't tell anybody, but then they found out that he really could talk, so then they wanted to kill him because they thought he would tell all of their secrets and - "
"It's okay, Mom, I'm not mad."
"Oh. 'Kay."
"I'm going to go and try to find him and talk to him, okay?"
"Be back soon?"
"Yes. We'll order a pizza."
"Okay. See you soon."
"Okay."
Neither Rory nor Lorelai moved, and then they ran to each other and hugged. "It'll be okay," Lorelai said.
"I know."
"Don't stop until you get what you want……oooh, dirty!"
"Mom!"
"Okay. Come back soon."
"I will."
"Okay."
"Okay."
"Did I tell you I gave Jess a new nickname?" Lorelai blurted out.
"You did?" Rory asked with slight smile.
"Diner boy."
Rory giggled. "Real original."
Lorelai pouted. "Well, it was in the heat of the moment. Are you saying that it's not a good nickname?"
"It's not your best."
"Fine. Then hurry up and talk to him and come home and tell me what's going on with you two so that I can make up an appropriate nickname. This one will knock your socks off, baby!"
"Okay. 'Bye Mom."
"'Bye."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rory went to the bridge and found Jess just standing there, smoking. "I thought you quit," Rory said.
Jess threw his cigarette into the water, then turned around to face Rory. "I did."
"Oh."
God, she looks so beautiful. I don't deserve her. She's probably here to break up with me. It's ok, though. She can move on to someone better, Jess thought.
"Jess, I - we need to talk," Rory said slowly.
Her thoughts were spinning a mile a minute. What if he wants to break up? I don't want to break up with him. Maybe he wants it, though. Maybe that's why he's acting like this - oh my God, he wants to break up.
"Well?" Jess finally said after there was a long silence.
He startled Rory out of her thoughts. "Oh, right, well, um………… Jess, I think we need to - "
"It's okay," Jess said, interrupting her.
He didn't want to hear her say it. He knew why she was breaking up with him -because he had acted like a jerk. He didn't know why he had acted like that, especially with her. He just couldn't let down the walls he had built around himself - she had already gotten through too many of them. He didn't want to let himself become vulnerable.
"Jess?" Rory asked, confused.
Why was he walking away from her? she wondered. Then it hit her. Jess had thought she was breaking up with him.
"Jess, wait!" she called, running after him.
He stopped, and she caught up to him. "Jess, you need to listen to what I have to say."
"Rory, I know what you're going to say. Look, I said it was okay."
Rory felt herself getting frustrated. This is what always happened! "No, Jess, I have to tell you something! I'm not - "
"Rory! I said it was fine, just go."
"No! Jess, why do you always do this? I'm not breaking up with you."
He didn't say anything and just stood there, waiting for her to continue speaking. "This is our problem, Jess! We don't communicate. We talk about books and music or we make out. That's not the foundation of a good relationship! I mean, not that our discussions are bad, and the making out isn't bad either - I mean - it's good, but we shouldn't - I mean, we should be, because we're boyfriend and girlfriend, but I mean, we shouldn't just be doing that, we should talk. We never just talk. I mean, we talk about books and music but we never just, you know, talk. And I think that - "
"Rory? You're rambling," Jess said with a hint of a smile.
"Sorry."
She stopped, took a deep breath, and waited for Jess to say something. "I get what you're saying. But I'm definitely not good with the whole 'let's tell each other our feelings' thing. I must have missed that day in kindergarten."
Rory gave him a small smile. "I know, it's not really you. But Jess, it's just, we…….I never even know when you're mad at me. When we fight, we both avoid each other and then think that the other wants to break up. If we, you know, talked, I think this could be avoided."
Jess didn't say anything, so Rory continued. "Look, I'm not saying we're going to sit down after school every day and have some big heart-to-heart over a tub of ice cream, but - "
"Because that's just, like, so you and Lorelai's thing," Jess couldn't resist adding.
Rory grinned and playfully smacked him on the arm. "Hey mister, do not mess with the methods of the Gilmore girls."
Jess smirked. "Methods?"
"Whatever works, Dodger."
Jess took Rory's hand and led her to sit down at the edge of the bridge. They sat down side by side, and Rory continued. "I'm just saying that if, you know, you're thinking or feeling something, you can tell me. Don't hide it from me."
Jess shrugged. "Okay."
Rory stared at him. "Okay? Okay?! Jess, if you're agreeing with me, why didn't we talk about this sooner?"
Jess shrugged again. "Huh. I don't know."
"Oh, no you don't. Don't go back to those 'huhs'."
"You've been talking to your mom."
"Yeah, those huhs drive her crazy."
Jess smirked. "Good to know."
"You know, if you make her mad, she's going to come up with another nickname for you."
"What was wrong with diner boy?"
"I told her it wasn't very original, so she's going to come up with a new one," Rory told him laughingly.
Rory turned serious. "Jess, that's something else we have to talk about. My mother is very important to me, and I can't deal with having you two pull me in opposite directions anymore, I just can't."
"Okay."
"I'll tell her to be nice to you."
"Okay."
"Jess, I - I have to ask you something."
Rory looked down at her hands and started fidgeting. Jess looked at her in amusement and waited for her to say what was on her mind. "I'm not going to be that girl," Rory finally said.
"What girl?"
"That girl whose boyfriend treats her like dirt."
Ouch. She's right, though. But how can I explain this? "Yeah, Rory, I treat you like dirt because I'm in love with you and it scares me". Yeah, right. Like I'd ever actually tell her that. I'm just lucky she hasn't broken up with me yet.
"Sorry."
"Why did you do it?" Rory asked softly. "In the beginning, we were fine. But lately you've been distancing yourself from me."
She waited for Jess to reply. She could tell he was thinking as he stared out into the water. Finally he shrugged. "It's not always easy to date the town princess," he finally said, not looking at her.
"I never knew you to be a person who backed down from a challenge," Rory told him with a smirk.
Jess was glad that she was letting it go. He definitely wasn't one of those talk-about-your-feelings type of guys. Definitely not.
He turned to look at her. "Are you stealing my smirk?"
Rory shrugged. "Huh. Maybe."
"Oh no, Princess. Those are mine."
"Princess?" Rory asked.
"Dodger?" he replied.
"It suits you!" she said defensively.
"It suits you!" he said, mimicking her.
Rory sighed. "You're really hard to talk to," she said, pretending to be mad.
"I'm sure you can handle it," he replied, leaning forward to kiss her.
They were still sitting on the bridge, and Rory leaned forward eagerly into his kiss. His mouth on hers was hot and demanding, and Rory gave in, allowing Jess to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer.
They finally broke apart and Rory rested her forehead against Jess', both of them trying to catch a breath. "Hi," she breathed.
"Hi."
Jess looked into her bright blue eyes and felt at peace. He knew it was no good trying to protect himself from her anymore - it was too late, anyway. He was in love with her. Not that he was going to admit it to anyone. But he was.
"Oh no," Rory said, glancing at her watch.
"What?"
"I have to get home. Mom's ordering a pizza."
"I'll walk you."
Rory smiled up at him. "Okay."
Jess put his arm around her as they walked, and Rory liked the feeling of it there. She didn't care anymore about flaunting their relationship. It had been a few months, and if people weren't used to it by now, then that was their problem.
Rory and Jess were walking in comfortable silence, and Rory looked at Jess out of the corner of her eye. She loved his dark hair that always looked perfectly messy and his dark brown eyes that were the gateway to his soul. Sometimes she felt like she was the only one who could see in.
"What are you thinking about?" Jess finally asked, breaking the silence.
He had felt Rory's eyes on him as they walked, and she looked lost in thought. Rory looked at him, a little embarrassed that he had caught her staring, then replied, "You."
She gave him a quick peck on the lips. They had reached the Gilmore home, and Rory and Jess were standing in Rory's front yard. "Oh," Jess said, looking pleased with himself.
"Wipe that look off your face."
"What look?" Jess asked innocently.
"The look you have right now, that look that says 'my girlfriend's thinking about me because I'm so cool' look."
"Oh. Didn't know I had one of those."
"Oh, believe me, you do."
"Huh."
"You know, between the smirks, 'huhs', and that look, I don't know how I put up with you. You're - "
Jess cupped her chin in his hands, leaned forward, and kissed her. "What was that for?" Rory asked when the finally broke apart.
"To shut you up."
"Huh. Maybe I should ramble more often."
"You should stop saying huh"
"And why is that?"
"Because Lorelai will blame me."
"Well, it is your fault."
"No it's not."
"Yes it is. I get my rambling from being around my mom, which must mean I get my huhs from being around you."
"And you call me impossible?"
"Oh, you are," Rory assured him.
"Huh."
Rory grinned, then gave him peck on the lips. "I'm sure my mom is listening to our entire conversation, so I better go in," Rory said. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Okay. I'll have coffee ready."
Rory smiled, and then they kissed again. Rory started walking up the porch steps, then stopped and turned around. "'Night Dodger," she said.
"'Night Princess."
Rory shook her head, then went inside. "Marco?"
"Polo!"
"Marco!"
"Polo!"
"Hi," Rory said to her mom as she entered the kitchen.
"Hey."
"Mom, this is twice now that I've come home and you've been in the kitchen. Is something wrong?"
"Fred's been acting up lately," Lorelai whispered loudly. "I thought that maybe he was acting out, so I've been spending more time with him."
"Or maybe he's jealous, because you always talk about Luke's coffee in front of him."
"Sssh! Don't listen to her, Fred," Lorelai said, turning to the coffee pot on the counter. "You're first in my heart."
"Mom! You've got your fingers crossed behind your back!"
"Rory! Fred will hear you!"
"Okay, then I'll leave you and Fred alone. Want me to order the pizza?"
"Yeah. Get extra pepperoni."
Rory left the room to find the phone, and she could hear Lorelai talking to the coffee pot. "Fred, it's okay……..she just doesn't understand you like I do……………."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, what's up with you and James Dean?" Lorelai asked later that night as she and Rory finished off the pizza.
"That's not too great of a nickname, either."
"I'm working on it, I'm working on it!" Lorelai said with a hurt look.
"But it's better."
"Thank you. So?"
"We're good."
"Oh."
"Geez, don't sound so excited."
"Sorry. Oh!"
"That's better."
"Now please, continue."
"Well, we talked, and I told him I wasn't going to be that girl - "
"What girl?"
"That girl whose boyfriend treats her like dirt."
"Oh, her."
"Yeah. And we talked for a while, and he's not going to act like that anymore."
"Just like that?" Lorelai asked skeptically.
Rory nodded. "Yup."
"So I have to think of a good nickname for him?"
"Yes."
Lorelai sighed. "Are you sure? Because I have so many mean ones."
"Mom, please be nice to him."
"Aw, are little Jessie's feelings hurt?"
"Yes. He's heartbroken."
"Well, in that case…………"
"Just be nice."
"Will he bring me coffee?"
"I'm not making any promises."
"Hmmm. I'll have to think about this."
"You do that, and - "
All of the sudden the phone rang. "Leave it. What if it's the grandparents?" Lorelai said in mock horror.
The answering machine picked up, and then came Lorelai's voice, "Hey, you've reached Thelma and Louise. Leave a message if you want, but we'll only call you back if you're a.) Brad Pitt, b.) a best friend - Lane and Sookie, this is you, c.) Make great coffee and fix our house - Lukey, this is you, or d.) a boyfriend. Do what you want after the beep. Oooooh, dirty!"
"That's such a great recording, isn't it?" Lorelai asked Rory proudly.
"It is one of your best," Rory agreed.
"Rory? This is Paris. Is that your mom? Because that's a really weird recording, so I figured it was her. I know you're there, Gilmore. Pick up the phone. Come on! Pick up the phone! I'm giving you until the count of three. One - "
"Stop the madness! Stop it! I can't have Paris' voice in my house! It's echoing! I'm going to have nightmares! Stop, stop!" Lorelai started exclaiming dramatically, rolling back and forth on the floor with her hands over her ears.
"Mother, please. Don't you think you're being a little too - "
"Two - "
"Oh, all right!"
Rory went to answer the phone. "Hello?"
"Finally. What were you - what is that?" Paris asked, hearing Lorelai in the background.
"My mother. Hang on, I'll go to my room."
"No, Rory, don't leave me! The voices!" Lorelai called after her as Rory went into her room.
"Just handle them the way you always do," Rory called back to her.
She got to her room and closed the door. "Okay Paris, what is it?"
"I'm just reminding you about the meeting tomorrow."
"Yes, Paris, I know. Franklin meeting, Monday, right after school. I think I got it."
"Well, you have a lot of the articles, you know. You have to be there. You know that we're trying to make each edition of the Franklin better than the last."
"Yes, I know, Paris."
"Well, I just wanted to make sure - "
"Listen, Paris, I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow at school."
"Don't forget tomorrow's Monday, and that's when the meeting is. So you have to bring your articles."
"Well yes, Paris, since today is Sunday, I assumed that tomorrow would be Monday and we'd have the meeting."
"Right. So don't forget - "
"Paris, I'm hanging up now."
"Don't forget! Tomorrow is - "
Rory clicked the phone off, then flopped down on her bed. What a strange day, she thought. Huh.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please review. Don't hold back, be brutally honest. And don't forget to give me your ideas. You never know if I'll use them.
Coming in Chapter 2………. We'll be seeing more people! Yay! Lane, Kirk, Taylor, Paris, and more Luke, in addition to Rory, Jess, and Lorelai. Also, a mysterious old lady appears…..she's an original character of mine. Hmm, I wonder who she is? Stay tuned!